Evaluation on Improvement Effect of Different Anti-Stripping Agents on Pavement Performance of Granite-Asphalt Mixture.

There are abundant granite reserves in China, but the adhesion between granite and asphalt is poor, and there are problems such as insufficient water stability, which seriously restrict the application and promotion of granite in asphalt pavement. In order to improve the adhesion between granite and asphalt, as well as the water stability of asphalt mixture, amines and polymers were selected as anti-stripping agents. First, silane coupling agent modified asphalt (SCAMA), rock asphalt modified asphalt (RMA), SBS modified asphalt (SBS), and double rock composite modified asphalt (SCA&RMA) were produced; the modification effect of different anti-stripping modified asphalts was evaluated. Then, the adhesion of different types of asphalts and granite aggregates before and after aging was evaluated by time-delayed water immersion method. Finally, AC-10 and AC-16 granite-asphalt mixtures were designed, through indoor performance test and 1/3 scale accelerated loading test, evaluating the improvement effect of granite-asphalt mixture on pavement performance. The results show that the asphalt modified by amine or organic polymers anti-stripping agent could significantly improve the adhesion between granite and asphalt. The Hamburg wheel-tracking test failed to fully reflect the whole process of high-temperature rutting failure. When evaluating the high-temperature performance and water stability of asphalt mixtures, it is recommended that the evaluation method should cover the whole failure stage of asphalt mixtures; considering the coupling effect of water and high temperature, the order of water stability of granite-asphalt mixture is proposed as follows: SCA&RMA > RMA > SBS > SCAMA > 70-A, and SCA&RMA has the best modification effect.

The role of microbiota in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia and major depressive disorder and the possibility of targeting microbiota as a treatment option.

The importance of interactions between the brain and the gastrointestinal tract has been increasingly recognized in recent years. It has been proposed that dysregulation and abnormalities in the brain-gut axis contribute to the etiology of a variety of central nervous system disorders. Particularly, dysbiosis, or impaired microbiota, has been implicated in multiple neurological and psychological disorders. The present paper reviews current evidence and theories concerning the possible mechanisms by which microbiota dysfunction contributes to the pathogenesis of schizophrenia and major depressive disorder. Clinical trials that investigated the possibility of treating both illnesses by correcting and rebalancing microbiota with probiotics are also reviewed. Overall, despite the accumulated knowledge in this field, more studies are warranted and required to further our understanding of the brain-gut axis and the possibility of targeting microbiota as a treatment option for schizophrenia and major depressive disorder.

LncRNA TINCR attenuates cardiac hypertrophy by epigenetically silencing CaMKII.

In the previous study, we established a mouse model of cardiac hypertrophy using transverse aortic constriction (TAC) and found that the expression of long non-coding RNAs TINCR was downregulated in myocardial tissue. The present study was designed to determine the potential role of TINCR in the pathogenesis of cardiac hypertrophy. Our results showed that enforced expression of TINCR could attenuate cardiac hypertrophy in TAC mice. Angiotensin II (Ang-II) was found to be associated with reduced TINCR expression and increased hypertrophy in cultured neonatal cardiomyocytes. RNA-binding protein immunoprecipitation assay confirmed that TINCR could directly bind with EZH2 in cardiomyocytes. The results of chromatin immunoprecipitation assay revealed that EZH2 could directly bind to CaMKII promoter region and mediate H3K27me3 modification. Knockdown of TINCR was found to reduce EZH2 occupancy and H3K27me3 binding in the promoter of CaMKII in cardiomyocytes. In addition, enforced expression of TINCR was found to decrease CaMKII expression and attenuate Ang-II-induced cardiomyocyte hypertrophy. Furthermore, our results also showed that Ang-II could increase CaMKII expression in cardiomyocytes, which consequently contributed to cellular hypertrophy. In conclusion, our findings demonstrated that TINCR could attenuate myocardial hypertrophy by epigenetically silencing of CaMKII, which may provide a novel therapeutic strategy for cardiac hypertrophy.

99mTc-MDP uptake in implantation metastasis of gastric cancer: the additional value of SPECT/CT.

A 47-year-old woman with a history of subtotal gastrectomy due to gastric cancer underwent bone scintigraphy to evaluate possible recurrent disease. The whole-body images revealed a single focus of elevated 99mTc-MDP activity in the right pubic region, which was located in the intrapelvic soft tissue on subsequent SPECT/CT images. Pathological examination after needle biopsy demonstrated that the soft tissue was an implantation metastasis from gastric cancer.