Abnormal amyloid precursor protein processing in periodontal tissue in a murine model of periodontitis induced by Porphyromonas gingivalis.

OBJECTIVE: The study aimed to investigate the change of amyloid precursor protein (APP) processing and amyloid ß (Aß) metabolites in linking periodontitis to Alzheimer's disease (AD). BACKGROUND: Aß is one of the main pathological features of AD, and few studies have discussed changes in its expression in peripheral tissues or analyzed the relationship between the peripheral imbalance of Aß production and clearance. METHODS: A murine model of periodontitis was established by oral infection with Porphyromonas gingivalis (P. gingivalis). Micro-computed tomography (Micro-CT) was used to observe the destruction of the alveolar bone. Nested quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) was used to measure small quantities of P.gingivalis DNA in different tissues. Behavioral experiments were performed to measure cognitive function in the mice. The mRNA levels of TNF-α, IL-6, IL-8, RANKL, OPG, APP695, APP751, APP770, and BACE1 in the gingival tissues or cortex were detected by RT-PCR. The levels of Aß1-40 and Aß1-42 in gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) and plasma were tested by ELISA. RESULTS: P. gingivalis oral infection was found to cause alveolar bone resorption and impaired learning and memory. P.gingivalis DNA was detected in the gingiva, blood and cortex of the P.gingivalis group by nested qPCR (p < .05). The mRNA expression of TNF-α, IL-6, IL-8, RANKL/OPG, and BACE1 in the gingival tissue was significantly higher than that in the control group (p < .05). Similarly, upregulated mRNA levels of APP695 and APP770 were observed in the gingival tissuses and cortex of the P. gingivalis group (p < .05). The levels of Aß1-40 and Aß1-42 in the GCF and plasma of the P. gingivalis group were significantly higher than those in the control group (p < .05). CONCLUSION: P. gingivalis can directly invade the brain via hematogenous infection. The invasion of P. gingivalis could trigger an immune response and lead to an imbalance between Aß production and clearance in peripheral tissues, which may trigger an abnormal Aß metabolite in the brain, resulting in the occurrence and development of AD.

Comparison of clinical outcomes of supercapsular percutaneously-assisted approach total hip arthroplasty versus conventional posterior approach for total hip arthroplasty in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: This meta-analysis was aimed to compare the postoperative clinical outcomes between the supercapsular percutaneously assisted total hip (SuperPATH, SP) and conventional posterior/posterolateral approach (PA) for total hip arthroplasty in patients who have failed conservative treatment for hip-related disorders. METHODS: PRISMAP guidelines were followed in this systematic review. CNKI, Wanfang, PubMed, Embase, Cochrane, Web of Science databases and the reference list grey literature were searched for studies according to the search strategy. Endnote (version 20) was used to screen the searched studies according to the inclusion and exclusion criterias and extract the data from the eligible studied. RR and 95% CI were used for dichotomous variables and MD and 95% CI were used for continuous variables. All analyses and heterogeneity of outcomes were analysed by Review Manage (version 5.4). Publication bias of included studies was analysed by Stata (version 16.0). RESULTS: Thirty-six randomized control studies were included. Compared to PA group, SP group had a shorter incision length, less intraoperative blood loss, a shorter length of hospital stay and do activities earlier. Hip function (HHS) was significantly improved within three months postoperatively. Pain of hip (VAS) was significantly reduced within one month postoperatively. The state of daily living (BI) was significantly improved within three months. Patients' overall health status (SF-36) improved significantly postoperatively. There was no difference in postoperative complications between the two approaches. PA had a shorter operative time and a higher accuracy of prosthesis placement. CONCLUSION: The advantages of SuperPATH include accelerated functional recovery and less trauma associated with surgery. However, it required a longer operative time and implantation of the prosthesis was less accurate than that of PA.

Phase-Segregated Ductile Eutectogels with Ultrahigh Modulus and Toughness for Antidamaging Fabric Perception.

Ionogels are extremely soft ionic materials that can undergo large deformation while maintaining their structural and functional integrity. Ductile ionogels can absorb energy and resist fracture under external load, making them an ideal candidate for wearable electronics, soft robotics, and protective gear. However, developing high-modulus ionogels with extreme toughness remains challenging. Here, a facile one-step photopolymerization approach to construct an acrylic acid (AA)-2-hydroxyethylacrylate (HEA)-choline chloride (ChCl) eutectogel (AHCE) with ultrahigh modulus and toughness is reported. With rich hydrogen bonding crosslinks and phase segregation, this gel has a 99.1 MPa Young's modulus and a 70.6 MJ m-3 toughness along with 511.4% elongation, which can lift 12 000 times its weight. These features provide extreme damage resistance and electrical healing ability, offering it a protective and strain-sensitive coating to innovate anticutting fabric with motion detection for human healthcare. The work provides an effective strategy to construct robust ionogel materials and smart wearable electronics for intelligent life.

Association of greenness surrounding school with aggression among adolescents: A multi-site study in China.

Association of greenness surrounding school with aggression among adolescents was not well understood. This study aimed to investigate the associations of greenness surrounding school with adolescents' total and sub-types of aggression and explore potential mediators underlying these associations. A multi-site study of 15,301 adolescents aged 11-20 years were recruited through a multistage, random cluster sampling across 5 representative provinces in mainland China. Satellite-derived Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) values within circular buffers of 100 m, 500 m, and 1000 m surrounding school were used to indicate the adolescents' greenness exposure. We used the Chinese version of Buss and Warren's Aggression Questionnaire to assess total and sub-types of aggression. Daily concentrations of PM2.5, and NO2 were obtained from the China High Air Pollutants datasets. Per IQR increment of NDVI 100 m and 500 m surrounding school was associated with lower odds of total aggression; odds ratio [OR] with 95% CI was 0.958 (0.926-0.990) for the 100 m buffer and 0.963 (0.932-0.996) for the 500 m buffer, respectively. Similar associations can be observed in two sub-types of aggression, including verbal (NDVI 100 m: 0.960 (0.925-0.995); NDVI500m: 0.964 (0.930-0.999)) and indirect aggression (NDVI 100 m: 0.956 (0.924-0.990); NDVI500m: 0.953 (0.921-0.986)). There were no sex and age differences in the associations of school surrounding greenness with aggression, except that the beneficial associations of greenness exposure with total aggression (0.933(0.895-0.975) vs.1.005(0.956-1.056)), physical aggression (0.971(0.925-1.019) vs.1.098(1.043-1.156)), and hostility (0.942(0.901-0.986) vs.1.016(0.965-1.069)) were greater among participants aged ≥16 years than those aged<16 years. PM2.5 (proportion mediated estimates: 0.21; 95% CI: 0.08, 0.94) and NO2 (-0.78, 95% CI: -3.22, -0.37) mediated the association of NDVI 500 m surrounding school with total aggression. Our data indicated that exposure to greenness in school surroundings was associated with reduced aggression, particularly in verbal and indirect aggression. The presence of PM2.5 and NO2 partially mediated these associations.

The role of depressive symptoms and social support in the association of internet addiction with non-suicidal self-injury among adolescents: a cohort study in China.

BACKGROUND: Both internet addiction (IA) and non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) are major public health concerns among adolescents, however, the association between IA and NSSI was not well understood. We aimed to investigate the association between IA and NSSI within a cohort study, and explore the mediated effect of depressive symptoms and the moderating effect of social support in the association. METHODS: A total of 1530 adolescents aged 11-14 years who completed both the baseline (T1) and 14-month follow-up (T2) survey of the Chinese Adolescent Health Growth Cohort were included for the current analysis. IA, NSSI, depressive symptoms and social support were measured at T1; depressive symptoms and NSSI were measured again at T2. Structural equation models were employed to estimate the mediated effect of depressive symptoms and the moderating effect of social support in the association between IA and NSSI at T2. RESULTS: IA was independently associated with an increased risk of NSSI at T2, with the total effect of 0.113 (95%CI 0.055-0.174). Depressive symptoms mediated the association between IA and NSSI at T2, and social support moderated the indirect but not the direct effect of IA on NSSI at T2. Sex differences were found on the mediated effect of depressive symptoms and the moderated mediation effect of social support. CONCLUSIONS: Interventions that target adolescents' NSSI who also struggle with IA may need to focus on reducing depressive symptoms and elevating social support.

Speech silence character as a diagnostic biomarker of early cognitive decline and its functional mechanism: a multicenter cross-sectional cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Language deficits frequently occur during the prodromal stages of Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, the characteristics of linguistic impairment and its underlying mechanism(s) remain to be explored for the early diagnosis of AD. METHODS: The percentage of silence duration (PSD) of 324 subjects was analyzed, including patients with AD, amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI), and normal controls (NC) recruited from the China multi-center cohort, and the diagnostic efficiency was replicated from the Pitt center cohort. Furthermore, the specific language network involved in the fragmented speech was analyzed using task-based functional magnetic resonance. RESULTS: In the China cohort, PSD increased significantly in aMCI and AD patients. The area under the curve of the receiver operating characteristic curves is 0.74, 0.84, and 0.80 in the classification of NC/aMCI, NC/AD, and NC/aMCI+AD. In the Pitt center cohort, PSD was verified as a reliable diagnosis biomarker to differentiate mild AD patients from NC. Next, in response to fluency tasks, clusters in the bilateral inferior frontal gyrus, precentral gyrus, left inferior temporal gyrus, and inferior parietal lobule deactivated markedly in the aMCI/AD group (cluster-level P < 0.05, family-wise error (FWE) corrected). In the patient group (AD+aMCI), higher activation level of the right pars triangularis was associated with higher PSD in in both semantic and phonemic tasks. CONCLUSIONS: PSD is a reliable diagnostic biomarker for the early stage of AD and aMCI. At as early as aMCI phase, the brain response to fluency tasks was inhibited markedly, partly explaining why PSD was elevated simultaneously.

Association between Alzheimer's disease and risk of cancer: A retrospective cohort study in Shanghai, China.

INTRODUCTION: We investigated the association between Alzheimer's disease (AD) and the risk of cancer in the Chinese population. METHODS: In this retrospective cohort study, multivariate Cox proportional hazard regression analysis was used to determine the correlation between AD and the risk of various cancers, as shown by hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). RESULTS: Of 8097 AD patients, the HR for all subsequent cancers was 0.822 (95% CI, 0.728-0.928; P = .002). Among them, three specific cancers were associated with AD: lung cancer (HR, 0.656; 95% CI, 0.494- 0.871; P = .004), prostate and testicular cancer (HR, 0.414; 95% CI, 0.202-0.847; P = .016), and lymphoma (HR, 2.202; 95% CI, 1.005-4.826; P = .049). CONCLUSION: Patients with AD might have a lower chance of developing several cancers, including lung cancer and prostate and testicular cancer. Meanwhile, a positive association between AD and a higher incident rate of lymphoma was observed.

Opinions and clinical practice of functional movement disorders: a nationwide survey of clinicians in China.

BACKGROUND: There is rare reports about opinions and clinical practice of functional movement disorders (FMD) in China. The present survey aimed to investigate the views of FMD in Chinese clinicians. METHODS: The Chinese version survey of FMD were conducted in nationwide practitioners by means of an online questionnaire. RESULTS: Four hundred and thirty-four Chinese clinicians completed a 21-item questionnaire probing diagnostic and management issues in FMD. More than 80% of respondents considered that atypical movement disorder, multiple somatizations, and emotional disturbance were essential or absolutely necessary for clinically definite diagnosis of FMD. About three quarters of respondents requested standard neurological investigations to rule out organic causes. Over half believed that prior diagnosis of an organic disorder (59.9%), lack of associated non-physiologic deficits (51.8%), and evidence of physical injury (50.0%) were 'very influential' or 'extremely influential' for a non-FMD diagnosis. The majority (77.4%) of the respondents may refer patients to a neuropsychiatrist or psychiatrist experienced in FMD, followed by psychologist or psychotherapist experienced in FMD (53.2%). However, lack of guidelines, physician knowledge, and training often limited clinicians' ability in managing patients with FMD. Early diagnosis of FMD, identification and management of concurrent psychiatric disorder, and acceptance of the diagnosis by the patient were considered most important for predicting a favorable prognosis. CONCLUSIONS: Opinions and clinical practice of Chinese practitioners not only varied among Chinese neurologists, but also differed from international peers. Combined efforts are needed to promote related research and establish practice guidelines in China in the future.

Layer-Averaged Water Temperature Sensing in a Lake by Acoustic Tomography with a Focus on the Inversion Stratification Mechanism.

Continuous sensing of water parameters is of great importance to fluid dynamic progress study in oceans, coastal areas and inland waters. The acoustic tomography technique can perform water temperature field measurements horizontally and vertically using sound wave travel information. The layer-averaged water temperature can also be measured with the acoustic tomography method. However, investigations focusing on the stratified mechanism, which consists of stratification form and its influence on inversion error, are seldom performed. In this study, an acoustic tomography experiment was carried out in a reservoir along two vertical slices to observe the layer-averaged water temperature. Specifically, multi-path sound travel information is identified through ray tracing using high-precision topography data obtained via a ship-mounted ADCP during the experiment. Vertical slices between sound stations are divided into different layers to study layer division inversion methods in different preset types. The inversion method is used to calculate the average water temperature and inversion temperature error of every layer. Different layer methods are studied with a comparison of results. The layer division principle studied in this paper can be used for layer-averaged water temperature sensing with multi-path sound transmission information.

Identification of prognostic alternative splicing signatures in uveal melanoma.

PURPOSE: Alternative splicing (AS) events were reportedly associated with the development of multiple cancers. The study was designed to provide a comprehensive analysis of AS events and explore their potential prognostic value in uveal melanoma (UM). METHODS: The prognostic AS events, identified based on the data of 80 UM patients obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas, were further screened and analyzed for construction of prognostic signatures by using LASSO regression and multivariate Cox model. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was used to evaluate the prognostic value. The AS events-related functional pathways were explored by gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA). The difference between two subgroups in terms of treatment options was investigated. The regulatory network between prognostic AS events and splicing factors (SFs) was then constructed. RESULTS: A total of 1014 AS events were identified as prognostic AS events. Five prognostic AS events were involved in the construction of prognostic signatures, including AKAP2/87175/AP, RGMA/32575/ES, DNASE1L1/90581/ES, BIN1/55198/ES and ERCC2/50430/AT. UM patients were then divided into two subgroups. Prognostic AS signatures had an excellent performance in predicting the survival of UM patients, with an area under curve (AUC) of 0.962. GSEA results suggested several splicing-associated mechanisms, including cellular metabolic process and apoptosis. Low-risk subgroup could be more sensitive to drugs. A higher expression of immune checkpoint genes was observed in high-risk group than in low-risk group. SFs-AS regulatory network also revealed significant association between AS events and SFs. CONCLUSIONS: Aberrant AS events in UM patients might serve as prognostic predictors.

Change of gene expression profiles in human cardiomyocytes and macrophages infected with SARS-CoV-2 and its significance. / 人心肌细胞和巨噬细胞感染SARS-CoV-2åŽåŸºå› è¡¨è¾¾è°±çš„å˜åŒ–åŠå ¶æ„ä¹‰.

OBJECTIVES: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an acute respiratory infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). SARS-CoV-2 can damage the myocardium directly, or activate the immune system, trigger a cytokine storm, and cause inflammatory cells to infiltrate the myocardial tissue and damage the myocardium. This study is based on the sequencing data to analyze the changes in gene expression of cardiomyocytes and macrophages after SARS-CoV-2 infection, and explore the potential effects of SARS-CoV-2 on the heart and immune system. METHODS: The public data set GSE151879 was retrieved. The online software Network Analyst was used to preprocess the data, and the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) [log2(fold change)>2, adjusted P-value<0.05] screening between the infection group and the control group in cardiomyocytes, human embryonic stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes, and macrophages were screened. Consistent common differentially expressed genes (CCDEGs) with the same expression pattern in cardiomyocytes and macrophages were obtained, and the online analysis software String was used to conduct enrichment analysis of their biological functions and signal pathways. Protein-protein interaction network, transcription factor-gene interaction network, miRNA-gene interaction network and environmental chemical-gene interaction network were established, and Cytoscape 3.72 was used to perform visualization. RESULTS: After data standardization, the data quality was excellent and it can ensure reliable results. Myocardial cell infection with SARS-CoV-2 and gene expression spectrum were changed significantly, including a total of 484 DEGs in adult cardiomyoblasts, a total of 667 DEGs in macrophages, and a total of 1 483 DEGs in human embryo source of cardiomyopathy. The Stum, mechanosensory transduction mediator homolog (STUM), dehydrogenase/reductase 9 (DHRS9), calcium/calmodulin dependent protein kinase II beta (CAMK2B), claudin 1(CLDN1), C-C motif chemokine ligand 2 (CCL2), TNFAIP3 interacting protein 3 (TNIP3), G protein-coupled receptor 84 (GPR84), and C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 1 (CXCL1) were identical in expression patterns in 3 types of cells. The protein-protein interaction suggested that CAMK2B proteins may play a key role in the antiviral process in 3 types of cells; and silicon dioxide (SiO2), benzodiazepine (BaP), nickel (Ni), and estradiol (E2) affect anti-SARS-CoV-2 processes of the 3 types of cells. CONCLUSIONS: CAMK2B, CLDN1, CCL2, and DHRS9 genes play important roles in the immune response of cardiomyocytes against SARS-CoV-2. SiO2, BaP, Ni, E2 may affect the cell's antiviral process by increasing the toxicity of cardiomyocytes, thereby aggravating SARS-CoV-2 harm to the heart.

Mortality of Alzheimer's Disease Patients: A 10-Year Follow-up Pilot Study in Shanghai.

BACKGROUND: Identifying risk factors and mortality of individuals with Alzheimer's disease (AD) could have important implications for the clinical management of AD. OBJECTIVE: This pilot study aimed to examine the overall mortality of AD patients over a 10-year surveillance period in Shanghai, China. This study is an extension of our previous investigation on mortality of neurodegenerative diseases. METHODS: One hundred and thirty-two AD patients recruited from the memory clinics of two hospitals in Shanghai in 2007 were followed up until December 31, 2017 or death, representing a follow-up period of up to 10 years. Overall standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) were calculated, and predictors for survival at recruitment were estimated. RESULTS: Sixty-seven patients had died by December 31, 2017, and the SMR at 10 years of follow-up was 1.225 (95% confidence interval 0.944-1.563). Employing Cox's proportional hazard modeling, lower Mini-Mental State Examination score, and comorbid diabetes predicted poor survival in this cohort. CONCLUSION: This pilot study suggests a similar survival trend of patients with AD compared to the general population in Shanghai urban region. Poor cognitive status and comorbid diabetes had a negative impact on the survival of AD patients.

Short-Range Water Temperature Profiling in a Lake with Coastal Acoustic Tomography.

Coastal acoustic tomography (CAT), as an innovative technology, can perform water temperature measurements both in horizontal and vertical slices. Investigations on vertical slice observations are significantly fewer in number than horizontal observations due to difficulties in multi-path arrival peak identification. In this study, a two-station sound transmission experiment is carried out in Thousand-Island Lake, Hangzhou, China, to acquire acoustic data for water temperature profiling. Time windows, determined by range-independent ray simulation, are used to identify multi-path arrival peaks and obtain corresponding sound wave travel times. Special attention is paid to travel time correction, whose errors are caused by position drifting by more than 2 m of moored stations. The sound speed and temperature profiling are divided into four layers and are calculated by regularized inversion. Results show a good consistency with conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD) measurements. The root mean square error (RMSE) of water temperature is 0.3494, 0.6838, 1.0236 and 1.0985 °C for layer 1, 2, 3 and 4, respectively. The fluctuations of measurement are further smoothed by the moving average, which decreases the RMSE of water temperature to 0.2858, 0.4742, 0.7719 and 0.9945 °C, respectively. This study illustrates the feasibility and high accuracy of the coastal acoustic tomography method in short-range water temperature measurement. Furthermore, 3D water temperature field profiling can be performed with combined analyzing in horizontal and vertical slices.

Mapping Small-Scale Horizontal Velocity Field in Panzhinan Waterway by Coastal Acoustic Tomography.

Mapping small-scale high-precision velocity fields is of great significance to oceanic environment research. Coastal acoustic tomography (CAT) is a frontier technology used to observe large-scale velocity field in the horizontal slice. Nonetheless, it is difficult to observe the velocity field using the CAT in small-scale areas, specifically where the flow field is complex such as ocean ranch and artificial upwelling areas. This paper conducted a sound transmission experiment using four 50 kHz CAT systems in the Panzhinan waterway. Notably, sound transmission based on the round-robin method was recommended for small-scale CAT observation. The travel time between stations, obtained by correlation of raw data, was applied to reconstruct the horizontal velocity fields using Tapered Least Square inversion. The minimum net volume transport was 8.7 m3/s at 12:32, 1.63% of the total inflow volume transport indicating that the observational errors were acceptable. The relative errors of the range-average velocity calculated by differential travel time were 1.54% (path 2) and 0.92% (path 6), respectively. Moreover, the inversion velocity root-mean-square errors (RMSEs) were 0.5163, 0.1494, 0.2103, 0.2804 and 0.2817 m/s for paths 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6, respectively. The feasibility and acceptable accuracy of the CAT method in the small-scale velocity profiling measurement were validated. Furthermore, a three-dimensional (3-D) velocity field mapping should be performed with combined analysis in horizontal and vertical slices.

Real-time photoacoustic sensing for photo-mediated ultrasound therapy.

Photo-mediated ultrasound therapy (PUT) is a novel, noninvasive antimicrovascular approach that can treat neovascularization with high precision. We developed a photoacoustic (PA) sensing (PAS) system for PUT and achieved real-time PAS-guided PUT. Experiments performed on a chicken yolk sac membrane model demonstrated that PAS could monitor the treatment effect in a microvessel during PUT. Vessel shrinkage induced a decrease in the PA signal amplitude, while vessel rupture induced an abrupt increase in the PA signal amplitude. The integrated PUT and PAS system can significantly improve the safety and effectiveness of PUT, and may assist with clinical translation of this novel antimicrovascular technique.

How Medic-Patient Communication and Relationship Influence Chinese Patients' Treatment Adherence.

The deterioration of medic-patient relation in China raises the question about its impact on patients' adherence to medical instructions. This study focuses on how the quantity and quality of medic-patient communication influences their relationship, and how the perceived relationship at individual level, institution level, and society level influences patients' treatment adherence, through a survey conducted in a city of Southern China (N = 597, Response rate = 66%). The results of path analysis show that consulting time is positively associated with patients' relationship with individual doctors and the whole medical system, as well as their satisfaction with hospital. Unpleasant experience of having disputes with medical workers is negatively associated with the medic-patient relationship at all of the three levels and causes conditional nonadherence. The more positive medic-patient relationship perceived by the patients, the more likely they will display unconditional adherence.

A Dual-Chamber Serial⁻Parallel Piezoelectric Pump with an Integrated Sensor for Flow Rate Measurement.

A new concept of a dual-chamber serial-parallel piezoelectric pump with an integrated sensor (DSPPIS) is presented in this paper. By means of dividing a piezoelectric bimorph into an actuator and a sensor, sensing function is integrated onto the DSPPIS for flow rate measurement. A prototype of the DSPPIS was manufactured and assembled from a finished piezoelectric bimorph. Then, frequency and voltage characteristics were tested to evaluate the performance of the DSPPIS with serial and parallel connection. Experimental results show that the optimal frequency range of DSPPIS can be achieved and determined by itself through monitoring the sensing voltage when driven by a fixed voltage of 150 Vpp and a frequency range of 40⁻400 Hz. For a fixed frequency of 100 Hz and a voltage range of 50⁻250 Vpp, both the sensing voltage and output flow rate increase with the increase of driving voltage. It is observed that there is a positive correlation between sensing voltage and output flow rate, which was further fitted by using linear function. The correlation coefficients for the DSPPIS with serial and parallel connection are calculated as 0.9716 and 0.9054, respectively. As a result, the DSPPIS demonstrated in this paper has realized the measurement of flow rate without the additional flow-sensing equipment both in serial and parallel connection.

Durable anti-fog micro-nano structures fabricated by laser ablation of aluminum film on resin/glass.

This study presents a technique for processing transparent glass and resin substrates using a low-cost laser marker to create a micro-nano-structured surface with exceptional anti-fog properties. The approach involved depositing an aluminum (Al) film on the transparent substrates as an absorbing layer, followed by rapid laser marker ablation. This ablation process effectively removed the majority of the Al film, resulting in the formation of hierarchical hillock-hollow micro-structures and the dispersion of Al-based nano-particles throughout the surface. The resulting structure on resin glasses demonstrated anti-fog performance even after 629 days storage in the laboratory, which marked the longest antifog record. It exhibited impressive antifog property without visible degradation for the first 9 months, which though degraded substantially afterwards. Furthermore, the micro-nano structure played a key role in reducing the contact angle of the surface. The contact angle experienced a significant reduction from a value of 64° for the control resin to 6.9° for the treated resin, while it was reduced from 44° for the control glass to 0° for the treated glass, indicating superhydrophilicity. This 0° superhydrophilic state persisted for a period of 25 days.

Ethyl pyruvate alleviates NLRP3/Caspase-1/GSDMD-mediated neuronal pyroptosis in neonatal rats with hypoxic-ischemic brain damage.

Pyroptosis is an inflammation-associated programmed cell death, and neuroinflammation is strongly associated with severe neurological deficits in neonatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE). Ethyl pyruvate (EP), a known anti-inflammatory agent, has shown promise in the treatment of hypoxic-ischemic brain damage (HIBD) rats; nevertheless, the therapeutic mechanism of EP and its capacity to suppress neuronal pyroptosis in HIBD rats remain unclear. In both the neonatal Rice-Vannucci rat model and the OGD/R model, this study examined alterations in the NLRP3/Caspase-1/GSDMD classical pyroptosis pathway in hippocampal neurons during HIE and the potential inhibitory impact of ethyl pyruvate on this pathway. We used HE staining, immunofluorescence double staining, transmission electron microscopy, and western blot to demonstrate that EP effectively inhibited hippocampal neuronal pyroptosis and attenuated the activation of the NLRP3/Caspase-1/GSDMD signaling pathway in HIBD rats, which resulted in a reduction of neuroinflammation and facilitated neural recovery. The results suggest that EP may be a promising neuroprotective agent for treating HIE.

Host plant-induced changes in metabolism and osmotic regulation gene expression in Diaphorina citri adults.

The Asian citrus psyllid (ACP), Diaphorina citri Kuwayama (Hemiptera: Liviidae), is a worldwide citrus pest. It transmits the pathogen Candidatus Liberibacter spp. of Huanglongbing (HLB), causing severe economic losses to the citrus industry. Severalgenera of plants in the Rutaceae family are the hosts of D. citri. However, the impact of these hosts on the metabolism and osmotic regulation gene expression of the pest remains unexplored. In this study, the contents of total sugars, sucrose, fructose, and glucose in young shoots, old leaves, and young leaves of 'Shatangju' mandarin and Murraya exotica were analyzed. Metabolomic analysis found that sucrose and trehalose were more abundant in the gut samples of D. citri adults fed on M. exotica when compared to what's in 'Shatangju' mandarin. A total of six aquaporin genes were identified in D. citri through the genome and transcriptome data. Subsequently, the expression patterns of these genes were investigated with respect to their developmental stage and tissue specificity. Additionally, the expression levels of osmotic regulation and trehalose metabolism genes in adults fed on different plants were evaluated. Our results provide useful information on the transfer of sugar between plants and D. citri. Our results preliminary revealed the sugar metabolism regulation mechanism in D. citri adults.