Alterations of gut microbiota biodiversity and relative abundance in women with PCOS: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Numerous studies have implicated that the gut microbiota is associated with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). However, a comprehensive data-based summary shown that the effects of the PCOS on the gut microbiota is minimal. We aim to assess the alterations of gut microbiota in women with PCOS. METHODS: An electronic search of PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, Cochrane Library and Ovid was conducted for eligible studies published from inception to 28 March 2023, without any language or regional restrictions. We used Newcastle-Ottawa Quality Assessment Scale (NOS) to complete the assessment of the risk of bias and Stata 15.1 software to performed meta-analysis. RESULTS: There were 19 human observational studies in total with 617 women with PCOS and 439 healthy individuals were identified. Compared to the control group, the Chao index (WMD -28.88, 95% CI -45.78 to -11.98, I2 = 100%), Shannon index (WMD -0.11, 95% CI -0.18 to 0.00, I2 = 92.2%); and observed operational taxonomic units (OTUs) counts (WMD - 23.48, 95% CI -34.44 to -12. 53, I2 = 99.6%) were significantly lower in women with PCOS. The relative abundance of Bacteroidaceae was significantly higher (WMD 0.12, 95% CI 0.02 to 0.22, I2 = 9.2%), however there were no statistical differences in Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, Proteobacteria, Alcaligenaceae, Bifidobacteriaceae, Clostridiaceae, Enterobacteriaceae, Lachnospiraceae, Prevotellaceae, Ruminococcaceae, Veillonellaceae, Bacteroides, Bifidobacterium, Blautia, Dialister, Escherichia-Shigella, Faecalibacterium, Lachnoclostridium, Lachnospira, Megamonas, Phascolarctobacterium, Prevotella, Roseburia, and Subdoligranulum. CONCLUSION: We demonstrated the alpha diversity of gut microbiota and the relative abundance of Bacteroidaceae in women with PCOS are altered. The results indicates that dysbiosis may be a potential pathogenetic factor in PCOS and provided reliable information to investigate the role of gut microbiota in the development and progression of PCOS.

Posttraumatic Growth Among Parents of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder in China and Its Relationship to Family Function and Mental Resilience: A Cross-Sectional Study.

OBJECTIVE: This study was conducted to examine the posttraumatic growth (PTG) of parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and the association among family function, mental resilience and PTG. DESIGN AND METHODS: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted with 205 parents of children with ASD in the clinical department of a university-affiliated hospital in Guangzhou from January to October 2019. The Posttraumatic Growth Inventory, Family Assessment Device, and Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale were employed for data collection. RESULTS: The mean PTG score of parents was 59.56±18.46; and 24.63%, 43.84%, and 32.51% of parents exhibited a high level, moderate level and low level, respectively, of PTG. The problem-solving dimension of family function (p = 0.005) and the strength dimension of mental resilience (p ≤0.001) were positively related to PTG. CONCLUSIONS: Parents of children with ASD experienced moderate PTG overall. The problem-solving dimension of family function and the strength dimension of mental resilience were significant predictors of PTG. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: Interventions to improve family function and the mental resilience of parents with ASD children could contribute to improving the PTG of parents.

Inhibition of NLRP3 Protects Human Lens Epithelial Cells against Oxidative Stress-Induced Apoptosis by NF-κB Signaling.

BACKGROUNDS/AIMS: To explore whether NLRP3 is involved in the development of cataract and to study the effect of NLRP3 on hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)-induced injury in human lens epithelial cells. METHODS: Oxidative stress-induced apoptosis model was constructed by treating HLEB3 cells with 50 µM H2O2 at different times (6 h, 12 h) and was confirmed by flow cytometry and Western blot. HLEB3 were divided into NC, NC+H2O2, shNLRP3, and shNLRP3+H2O2 groups. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and Western blot were employed to detect mRNA and protein expressions, DCFH-DA to measure reactive oxygen species production, and Annexin V-FITC/PI staining to determine cell apoptosis. RESULTS: NLRP3 expression significantly increased in H2O2-induced HLEB3 cells. shRNA interference of NLRP3 inflammasome protects HLEB3 cells against oxidative stress-induced apoptosis by decreasing the expression levels of caspase-3 and Bax and increasing Bcl-2 expression. shNLRP3 was able to effectively suppress H2O2-induced apoptosis via inhibition of NF-κB signaling. CONCLUSION: NLRP3 might be involved in the apoptosis of lens epithelial cells. The inhibition of NLRP3 obviously attenuated H2O2-induced oxidative stress injury of human lens epithelial cells via NF-κB signaling.

Flavobacterium ustbae sp. nov., isolated from rhizosphere soil of Alhagi sparsifolia.

A yellow-pigmented bacterial strain, designated T13T, was isolated from the rhizosphere soil of Alhagi sparsifolia collected from Xinjiang, PR China. Cells were rod-shaped, Gram-stain-negative, aerobic and gliding. Strain T13T grew optimally at 25-30 °C and pH 7.0-8.0 with a NaCl tolerance of 0-2 % on Reasoner's 2A agar. Phylogenetic analysis based on the 16S rRNA gene sequence showed that strain T13T belonged to the genus Flavobacterium within the family Flavobacteriaceae and was closely related to Flavobacterium nitrogenifigens KCTC 42884T with a similarity value of 97.4 %. The major polar lipid was phosphatidylethanolamine; the only respiratory quinone was MK-6, and the polyamine profile contained sym-homospermidine as the major polyamine and a trace amount of spermidine. The major fatty acids were iso-C15 : 0, C16 :  1ω7c and summed feature 3 (comprising C16 : 1ω7c or C16 : 1ω6c). The G+C content of the genomic DNA was 34.1 mol%. It is concluded from the phenotypic and genotypic data that strain T13T represents a novel species of the genus Flavobacterium, for which the name Flavobacteriumustbae sp. nov. with the type strain T13T (=KCTC 62874T=ACCC 60126T) is proposed.

Chitinophaga alhagiae sp. nov., isolated from rhizosphere soil of Alhagi sparsifolia.

A Gram-stain-negative, non-flagellated, rod-shaped bacterium, designated strain T22T, was isolated from rhizosphere soil of Alhagi sparsifolia, collected from Xinjiang, China. Its major fatty acids (>5 %) were iso-C15 : 0, C16 : 1ω5c, iso-C17 : 0-3OH, summed feature 1 (C13 : 0 3-OH/iso-C15 : 1 H) and summed feature 3 (C16 : 1ω6c/C16 : 1ω7c). The predominant respiratory quinone was MK-7. The major polar lipids were phosphatidylethanolamine, two aminolipids and four unidentified lipids. The DNA G+C content of the type strain was 53.4 mol%. According to phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences, strain T22T was related most closely to Chitinophaga barathri YLT18T (=CCTCC AB 2015054T) with similarity of 97.7 %. However, strain T22T was clearly distinguished from Chitinophaga barathri YLT18T using genome-to-genome distance and average nucleotide identity value calculation, as well as a range of physiological and biochemical characteristics comparisons. It is obvious from the genotypic and phenotypic data that strain T22T represents a novel species of the genus Chitinophaga, for which the name Chitinophaga alhagiae sp. nov., is proposed. The type strain is T22T (=ACCC 60125T=KCTC 62518T).

Pseudomonas urumqiensis sp. nov., isolated from rhizosphere soil of Alhagi sparsifolia.

A motile, Gram-stain-negative, fusiform-shaped bacterium, designated strain T3T, was isolated from rhizosphere soil of Alhagi sparsifolia, collected from Xinjiang, PR China. Strain T3T grew at 15-42 °C, pH 4-9 and 1-6 % (w/v) NaCl concentrations. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated that strain T3T belonged to the genus Pseudomonas and showed highest similarity of 98.6 % to Pseudomonas azotifigens JCM 12708T, followed by Pseudomonas balearica DSM 6083T (97.8 %), Pseudomonas matsuisoli JCM 30078T (97.7 %), Pseudomonas furukawaii KF707T (97.7 %), Pseudomonas tarimensis CCTCC AB 2013065T (97.3 %) and Pseudomonas indica DSM 14015T (97.1 %). Analysis based on concatenated gene sequences of 16S rRNA, rpoB and gyrB further confirmed the phylogenetic assignment of strain T3T. The Genome-to-Genome Distance Calculator results for P. azotifigens JCM12708T and P. balearica DSM 6083T were 28.7±4.4% and 24.1±2.4 %, and the average nucleotide identity scores were 81.3 and 78.1 %. The major polar lipids of strain T3T were diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine and phosphatidylglycerol. The predominant quinone was Q-9. The major fatty acids comprised summed feature 8 (C18 : 1ω6c/C18 : 1ω7c; 37.7 %), summed feature 3 (C16 : 1ω6c/C16 : 1ω7c; 28.2 %), C16 : 0 (15.6 %), C12 : 0 (7.8 %), C10 : 03-OH (3.0 %) and C12 : 03-OH (2.6 %). The G+C content of the genomic DNA of the type strain was 65.3 mol%. It is obvious from the phylogenetic, phenotypic and chemotaxonomic data that strain T3T represents a novel species of the genus Pseudomonas, for which the name Pseudomonasurumqiensis sp. nov., is proposed. The type strain is T3T (=ACCC 60124T=JCM 32830T).

Low-intensity walking as mild medication for pressure control in prehypertensive and hypertensive subjects: how far shall we wander?

Successful prevention and treatment of hypertension depend on the appropriate combination of antihypertensive drug therapy and nondrug lifestyle modification. While most hypertension guidelines recommend moderate- to high-intensity exercise, we decided to explore a mild yet effective type of exercise to add to hypertension management, especially in populations with complications or frailty. After comparing the short-term cardiovascular effects of low-speed walking versus high-speed walking for 3 kilometers (km) (3 km/h versus 6 km/h) in young, healthy volunteers, we delivered low-speed walking (low-intensity walking, 2.5 metabolic equivalents of task, METs) as exercise therapy in 42 prehypertensive and 43 hypertensive subjects. We found that one session of 3 km low-intensity walking exerted a transient pressure-lowering effect as well as a mild negative chronotropic effect on heart rate in both the prehypertensive and hypertensive subjects; these short-term benefits on blood pressure and heart rate were accompanied by a brief increase in urine ß-endorphin output. Then we prescribed regular low-intensity walking with a target exercise dose (exercise volume) of 500-1000 METs·min/week (50-60 min/day and 5-7 times/week) in hypertensive subjects in addition to their daily activities. Regular low-intensity walking also showed mild but significant blood pressure-lowering and heart rate-reducing effects in 7 hypertensive subjects within two months. It is hypothesized that regular low-intensity exercise of the necessary dose could be taken as a pragmatic and supplementary medication for hypertension management.

Screening of endophytic fungi with anti-phytopathogen activities from Heptacodium miconioides.

OBJECTIVE: To find anti-phytopathogen compounds from endophytic fungi associated with the endangered species Heptacodium miconioides. METHODS: Fungi from H. miconioides with antifungal activities were isolated according to the plate growth inhibition method. The fungus with preferable antifungal activities was identified by morphological identification and 5. 8S rRNA sequence analysis. The bioactive metabolites were isolated and purified by chromatographic methods; the structures were determined by spectroscopic analysis. RESULTS: Alternaria solani QZH 10 showed better antifungal activity against Rhizoctorzia solani and Valsa mali with the inhibition rates of 89.1% and 67.9%, respectively. The ethyl acetate crude extract of QZH 10 had strong antifungal activity against Magnaporthe oryzae with the rate of 100. 0% under the concentration of 100 µg/mL. Two antifungal metabolites altersolanol A and 6-O-methylalaternin were isolated and determined from QZH 10. Altersolanol A possessed strong activity against M. oryzae with the inhibition rate of more than 85%, 6-O-methylalaternin had the mightily activity against V. mali with the inhibition rate of 100.0% under the concentration of 100 µg/mL. CONCLUSION: Altersolanol A and 6-O-methylalaternin are potential fungicides originated from microorganisms.

Banxia Xiexin decoction combined with 5-ASA protects against CPT-11-induced intestinal dysfunction in rats via inhibiting TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway.

BACKGROUND: Banxia Xiexin decoction (BXD) can control irinotecan (CPT-11)-caused delayed diarrhea, but the corresponding mechanism remains undefined. AIMS: This paper aimed to uncover the mechanism of BXD in regulating CPT-11-caused delayed diarrhea. MATERIALS & METHODS: Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were assigned into the control, model, BXD low-dose (BXD-L, 5 g/kg), BXD medium-dose (BXD-M, 10 g/kg), BXD high-dose (BXD-H, 15 g/kg), 5-aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA, 10 mL/kg), and BXD-M + 5-ASA groups. Rats were injected intraperitoneally with 150 mg/kg CPT-11 at Day 4 and Day 5 to induce delayed diarrhea, and later treated with various doses (low, medium, and high) of BXD and 5-ASA for 9 days, except for rats in control group. The body weight of rats was measured. The rat colon tissue injury, inflammatory cytokine levels, and the activation of toll-like receptor 4/nuclear factor-κB (TLR4/NF-κB) signaling pathway were detected. RESULTS: BXD (5, 10, or 15 g/kg) or 5-ASA (10 mL/kg) alleviated body weight loss and colon tissue injury, decreased levels of inflammatory cytokines, and inactivated TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway in CPT-11-induced model rats. BXD at 10 g/kg (the optimal concentration) could better treat CPT-11-induced intestinal dysfunction, as evidenced by the resulting approximately 50% reduction on injury score of model rats. Moreover, BXD-M (10 g/kg) synergistic with 5-ASA (10 mL/kg) further strengthened the inhibition on rat body weight loss, colon tissue injury, inflammatory cytokine levels, and TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway. CONCLUSION: To sum up, BXD has a protective effect against CPT-11-induced intestinal dysfunction by inhibiting inflammation through inactivation TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway. In particular, the combined use of BXD and 5-ASA holds great promise for treating CPT-11-induced delayed diarrhea.

Integrated serum metabolomics, 16S rRNA sequencing and bile acid profiling to reveal the potential mechanism of gentiopicroside against nonalcoholic steatohepatitis in lean mice.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Lean nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) poses a serious threat to public health worldwide. Herbs of the genus Gentiana have been used for centuries to treat hepatic disease or have been consumed for hepatic protection efficiency. Gentiopicroside (GPS), the main bioactive component of Gentiana herbs, has been shown to be beneficial for protecting the liver, improving intestinal disorders, modulating bile acid profiles, ameliorating alcoholic hepatosteatosis, and so on. It is plausible to speculate that GPS may hold potential as a therapeutic strategy for lean NASH. However, no related studies have been conducted thus far. AIM OF THE STUDY: The present work aimed to investigate the benefit of GPS on NASH in a lean mouse model. MATERIALS AND METHODS: NASH in a lean mouse model was successfully established via a published method. GPS of 50 and 100 mg/kg were orally administered to verify the effect. Untargeted metabolomics, 16S rDNA sequencing and bile acid (BA) profiling, as well as qPCR and Western blotting analysis were employed to investigate the mechanism underlying the alleviating effect. RESULTS: GPS significantly reduced the increase in serum biochemicals and liver index, and attenuated the accumulation of fat in the livers of lean mice with NASH. Forty-two potential biomarkers were identified by metabolomics analysis, leading to abnormal metabolic pathways of primary bile acid biosynthesis and fatty acid biosynthesis, which were subsequently rebalanced by GPS. A decreased Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes (F/B) ratio and disturbed BA related GM profiles were revealed in lean mice with NASH but were partially recovered by GPS. Furthermore, serum profiling of 23 BAs confirmed that serum BA levels were elevated in the lean model but downregulated by GPS treatment. Pearson correlation analysis validated associations between BA profiles, serum biochemical indices and related GM. qPCR and Western blotting analysis further elucidated the regulation of genes associated with liver lipid synthesis and bile acid metabolism. CONCLUSIONS: GPS may ameliorate steatosis in lean mice with NASH, regulating the metabolomic profile, BA metabolism, fatty acid biosynthesis, and BA-related GM. All these factors may contribute to its beneficial effect.

Baicalein, a component of banxia xiexin decoction, alleviates CPT-11-induced gastrointestinal dysfunction by inhibiting ALOX15-mediated ferroptosis.

Baicalein, one of the active ingredients of banxia xiexin decoction, has good therapeutic efficacy in treating diarrhea and improving gastrointestinal dysfunction. The role and mechanism of Baicalein on irinotecan (CPT-11)-induced gastrointestinal dysfunction are the focus of this study. Concretely, CPT-11 induced delayed diarrhea rat model and intestinal epithelial cell (IEC)-6 cell injury model with Baicalein treatment as needed. Colonic pathological changes were analyzed by hematoxylin-eosin staining, and inflammatory factor expressions in serum were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Immunohistochemistry and western blot were performed to quantify ferroptosis-related protein expressions. Thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) kits and colorimetric assay kit were applied to detect lipid peroxidation levels and Fe2+ content, respectively. In vitro experiments also included quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction, cell counting kit-8, and C11 BODIPY staining. CPT-11 induced aggravation of intestinal tissue damage, inflammatory factor release, Fe2+ accumulation, upregulation of lipid peroxidation and 15-Lipoxygenase (ALOX15) expression, and downregulation of glutathione peroxidase 4 (Gpx4) and SLC7A11 in vivo in rats; however, Baicalein dose-dependently reversed the effects of CPT-11. Baicalein elevated cell viability, reduced lipid peroxidation and Fe2+ accumulation, and elevated Gpx4 and SLC7A11 levels, whereas ALOX15 overexpression reversed the effects of Baicalein on a CPT-11-induced IEC-6 cell injury model. In conclusion, Baicalein plays a mitigating role in CPT-11-induced delayed diarrhea via ALOX15-mediated ferroptosis.

Minimally invasive electrochemical continuous glucose monitoring sensors: Recent progress and perspective.

Diabetes and its complications are seriously threatening the health and well-being of hundreds of millions of people. Glucose levels are essential indicators of the health conditions of diabetics. Over the past decade, concerted efforts in various fields have led to significant advances in glucose monitoring technology. In particular, the rapid development of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) based on electrochemical sensing principles has great potential to overcome the limitations of self-monitoring blood glucose (SMBG) in continuously tracking glucose trends, evaluating diabetes treatment options, and improving the quality of life of diabetics. However, the applications of minimally invasive electrochemical CGM sensors are still limited owing to the following aspects: i) invasiveness, ii) short lifespan, iii) biocompatibility, and iv) calibration and prediction. In recent years, the performance of minimally invasive electrochemical CGM systems (CGMSs) has been significantly improved owing to breakthrough developments in new materials and key technologies. In this review, we summarize the history of commercial CGMSs, the development of sensing principles, and the research progress of minimally invasive electrochemical CGM sensors in reducing the invasiveness of implanted probes, maintaining enzyme activity, and improving the biocompatibility of the sensor interface. In addition, this review also introduces calibration algorithms and prediction algorithms applied to CGMSs and describes the application of machine learning algorithms for glucose prediction.

Efficacy and moderating factors of the Early Start Denver Model in Chinese toddlers with autism spectrum disorder: a longitudinal study.

BACKGROUND: Several studies have shown the effectiveness of the Early Start Denver Model (ESDM), but few studies have explored the long-term efficacy of ESDM. This study aimed to explore the efficacy and moderating factors of ESDM in Chinese toddlers with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in a longitudinal way. METHODS: A total of 60 toddlers with ASD were recruited and randomly divided into two groups: ESDM group all received 24 weeks intervention; Control group were waiting for intervention. Baseline assessment (T0) was conducted before intervention, including Gesell Developmental Scale (GDS) and Psycho-educational Profile-3rd Edition (PEP-3). All toddlers with ASD were examined in the first assessment (T1) at 6 months and in the second assessment (T2) at 12 months. RESULTS: In T1 assessment, the increments in speech and personal communication development quotient in GDS were significantly larger in the ESDM group than in the control group (P = 0.010, 0.047). In T2 assessment, the ESDM group had higher elevation in cognitive verbal/preverbal (CVP), social reciprocity and characteristic verbal behaviors assessed by PEP-3 (P = 0.021, 0.046, 0.014). In addition, the severity of stereotyped behavior was negatively associated with improvement in CVP. Family income was positively associated with improvement in speech and CVP (all P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: ESDM can effectively improve speech and communication in toddlers with ASD after 24-week intervention. More importantly, ESDM can promote cognition and social interaction and can reduce stereotyped verbal behavior in toddlers with ASD in longitudinal observation. The severity of stereotyped behavior and family ecological factors may be considered as affecting the efficacy of ESDM.

Cognitive-adaptive Functioning Gap and Mediating Factors that Impact Adaptive Functioning in Chinese Preschool-aged Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

This study aimed to investigate the gap between adaptive functioning and cognitive functioning, especially verbal and nonverbal intelligence quotient (IQ) in Chinese children with ASD. We systematically explored cognitive functioning, ASD severity, early signs of developmental abnormalities, and socioeconomic factors as mediating factors of adaptive functioning. We enrolled 151 children (age: 2.5?6 years) with ASD and categorized them into one group with IQ ≥ 70 and another with IQ < 70. The two groups were calibrated for age, age at diagnosis, and IQ, and the relationship of adaptive skills with vocabulary acquisition index (VAI) and nonverbal index (NVI) were separately analyzed. Results show that the gap between IQ and adaptive functioning was significant in children with ASD having IQ ≥ 70, with both VAI and NVI showing statistically significant differences (all P < 0.001). VAI correlated positively with scores for overall adaptive skills and specific domains, whereas NVI had no significant correlations with adaptive skill scores. Age of first walking unaided had an independent positive correlation (all P < 0.05) with scores of adaptive skills and specific domains. IQ-adaptive functioning gap is significant in children with ASD having IQ ≥ 70, suggesting that defining "high-functioning autism" merely on the basis of IQ is not appropriate. Verbal IQ and early signs of motor development are specific and possible predictors of adaptive functioning in children with ASD, respectively.

p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase-induced nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cell activity is required for neuroprotection in retinal ischemia/reperfusion injury.

PURPOSE: In our previous study, nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB) played a neuroprotective role in retinal ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury in rats. However, the mechanism of NF-κB neuroprotection is still unclear. We hypothesize that p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) is expressed and NF-κB activity induced by p38 MAPK plays a neuroprotective role through antiapoptotic genes (B-cell lymphoma [Bcl]-2 and Bcl-XL) in retinal cells in retinal I/R injury. METHODS: Retinal ischemia was induced by elevating intraocular pressure in rats. After retinal I/R, the p38 MAPK, NF-κB p65, Bcl-2, and Bcl-XL mRNA levels were measured with real-time polymerase chain reaction. NF-κB p65 activity was assessed with NF-κB enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in retinal I/R injury and after application of the p38 MAPK inhibitor (SB203580). Furthermore, SB203580 and NF-κB p65 short interfering RNA (siRNA) were used in retinal I/R injury to examine the effects on Bcl-2 and Bcl-XL levels and nucleosome release in the retina and cell survival in the ganglion cell layer. RESULTS: The mRNA levels of NF-κB p65 and p38 MAPK reached a peak at 6 h after retinal I/R and then decreased gradually. The mRNA levels of Bcl-2 and Bcl-XL significantly increased at 2, 4, and 6 h, peaked at 8 h, and decreased gradually, but remained at a higher level compared with the normal control, which was accompanied by an increase in NF-κB p65 in nuclear extracts. After application of SB203580, the increase in the NF-κB p65 levels in the nucleus induced with I/R was completely abolished, and the mRNA expression of Bcl-2 and Bcl-XL decreased significantly compared with the I/R controls. In addition, NF-κB p65 siRNA inhibited Bcl-2 and Bcl-XL expression. Inhibition of the p38 MAPK-NF-κB pathway (using SB203580 or NF-κB p65 siRNA) increased retinal nucleosome release and decreased the number of ganglion cells. CONCLUSIONS: These findings provide evidence of crosstalk between p38 MAPK and NF-κB p65 and demonstrate a possible neuroprotective role for the p38 MAPK-NF-κB pathway through Bcl-2 and Bcl-XL in retinal I/R injury in rats.

Study on diversity of endophytic bacterial communities in seeds of hybrid maize and their parental lines.

The seeds of plants are carriers of a variety of beneficial bacteria and pathogens. Using the non-culture methods of building 16S rDNA libraries, we investigated the endophytic bacterial communities of seeds of four hybrid maize offspring and their respective parents. The results of this study show that the hybrid offspring Yuyu 23, Zhengdan958, Jingdan 28 and Jingyu 11 had 3, 33, 38 and 2 OTUs of bacteria, respectively. The parents Ye 478, Chang 7-2, Zheng 58, Jing 24 and Jing 89 had 12, 36, 6, 12 and 2 OTUs, respectively. In the hybrid Yuyu 23, the dominant bacterium Pantoea (73.38 %) was detected in its female parent Ye 478, and the second dominant bacterium of Sphingomonas (26.62 %) was detected in both its female (Ye 478) and male (Chang 7-2) parent. In the hybrid Zhengdan 958, the first dominant bacterium Stenotrophomonas (41.67 %) was detected in both the female (Zheng 58) and male (Chang 7-2) parent. The second dominant bacterium Acinetobacter (9.26 %) was also the second dominant bacterium of its male parent. In the hybrid Jingdan 28, the second dominant bacterium Pseudomonas (12.78 %) was also the second dominant bacterium of its female parent, and its third dominant bacterium Sphingomonas (9.90 %) was the second dominant bacterium of its male parent and detected in its female parent. In the hybrid Jingyu 11, the first dominant bacterium Leclercia (73.85 %) was the third dominant bacterium of its male parent, and the second dominant bacterium Enterobacter (26.15 %) was detected in its male parent. As far as we know, this was the first research reported in China on the diversity of the endophytic bacterial communities of the seeds of various maize hybrids with different genotypes.

Investigation on diversity and population succession dynamics of indigenous bacteria of the maize spermosphere.

The spermosphere, an important habitat to the plant micro-ecosystem, has a unique significance to seed microbial ecology, but has been poorly researched. In this study, the mature seeds of reciprocal cross maize (Zea mays L., Nongda108) were collected to investigate the diversity and population succession dynamics of indigenous spermosphere bacteria at 12, 24 and 36 h into seed germination using 16S rDNA library construction. In the spermosphere of Nongda108A (Huang C × 178), the dominant bacteria genera identified were Pseudomonas and Burkholderia. The proportion of Pseudomonas increased from 59.60 to 75.00% then 82.61%; while Burkholderia decreased from 39.39 to 25.00% then 15.22% at 12, 24 and 36 h, respectively. Bacillus, Paenibacillus and Stenotrophomonas were the dominant genera in Nongda108B. The proportion of Paenibacillus after 12, 24 and 36 h into germination decreased from 68.00 to 46.15 to 13.27%, respectively. The proportion of non-Paenibacillus genera increased from 32.00 (Stenotrophomonas) to 53.85 (Bacillus) to 77.55% (Burkholderia) from 12 h to 24 h to 36 h, respectively. Some dominant bacteria genera identified from maize spermosphere have been identified as common PGPR.

Emotional Experience and Psychological Intervention of Depression Patients Based on SOM.

Depression is a severe mental illness with an unknown pathogenesis. Clinical diagnosis is based primarily on symptoms and does not include objective biological markers. Finding objective markers for diagnosis and treatment from imaging, on the contrary, is becoming increasingly important. The SOM (self-organizing feature mapping) model was used to identify the depression tendency of users in order to investigate the emotional experience and psychological intervention of patients with depression. On this foundation, the concept of depression index is developed further, and the relationship between depression index and the severity of depression in patients is thoroughly investigated. The system can accurately and quickly identify the depression state by applying it directly to the original EEG signals, without any preprocessing or feature extraction. When combined with traditional classifiers, the analysis and comparison results show that SOM can not only effectively select features but also improve the accuracy of depression classification. This research proposes a new research direction for deep learning in the context of large-scale big data analysis.

Finite-Time Consensus for Singularity-Perturbed Multiagent System via Memory Output Sliding-Mode Control.

In some practical systems, it often remains difficult to directly measure all state variables. This article investigates the memory output sliding-mode control (SMC) for the finite-time consensus of singularly perturbed multiagent systems (SPMASs). First, the virtual state-feedback sliding surface (SFSS) is constructed to ensure the consensus of all agent states. Then, the unknown output derivatives in SFSS are approximated by a moving finite difference method with error estimation and refinement, which gives rise to a new delay-dependent sliding surface. On this basis, the memory output switching control law is designed to stabilize the consensus errors in finite time, even in the presence of estimation biases, singular perturbations, and input noises. Different from the observer-based SMC, the proposed memory output SMC is of simple static form without introducing extra dynamical structures for state estimation. The effectiveness and superiority of the design method are verified in an SPMAS with double-integrator dynamics.

CPSF1 mediates retinal vascular dysfunction in diabetes mellitus via the MAPK/ERK pathway.

This study investigated the expression and underlying molecular mechanism of CPSF1 in diabetic retinopathy. Streptozotocin (STZ)-induced Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were employed as a diabetic model, and high-glucose (HG)-induced human retinal vascular endothelial cells （HRVECs）were used as an in vitro experimental model to explore the effect of CPSF1. The results showed that CPSF1 was downregulated in diabetic retinopathy (DR) tissues and HRVECs under HG conditions. Adeno-associated viral CPSF1 attenuated histological abnormalities of retinas. CPSF1 regulates the apoptosis, migration, and vascularisation of HRVECs under HG conditions in vitro. CPSF1 mediates retinal vascular dysfunction by suppressing the phosphorylation mechanism in the mitogen-activated protein kinase/extracellular-signal-regulated kinase (MAPK/ERK) pathway in DR. In conclusion, CPSF1 may be associated with the development of DR, and upregulated CPSF1 alleviates apoptosis and migration via MAPK/ERK pathway.