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Introduction: Prosodic focus marking in Seoul Korean is known to be achieved primarily through prosodic phrasing, different from the use of prosody for this purpose in many other languages. This study investigates how children use prosodic phrasing for focus-marking purposes in Seoul Korean, compared to adults. Methods: Using a picture-matching game, we elicited semi-spontaneous production of SOV sentences in various focus conditions from monolingual Seoul Korean-speaking children aged 4 to 11 years. Results: We found that the children varied prosodic boundaries to distinguish narrow focus from pre-focus and broad focus in a largely adult-like manner at the age of 4 to 5; at this age, they did not distinguish narrow focus from post- focus or contrastive focus using prosodic boundaries, similar to the adults. Their use of the prosodic boundaries in distinguishing the focus conditions was not fully adult-like in terms of frequency until the age of 10 to 11. Discussion: In conjunction with the findings of previous studies on the acquisition of focus marking in Germanic languages, performed using a similar experimental method, our findings suggest that Seoul Korean-speaking children acquire the use of prosodic phrasing earlier than Dutch-speaking children acquiring the use of pitch accent but slightly later than Stockholm Swedish-speaking children acquiring the use of a prominence-marking high tone. These findings imply that the rate of focus-marking acquisition depends on the transparency of the form-meaning mapping between the phonological cue and focus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The integrated stress response (ISR), a pivotal protein homeostasis network, plays a critical role in the formation of long-term memory (LTM). The precise mechanism by which the ISR controls LTM is not well understood. Here, we report insights into how the ISR modulates the mnemonic process by using targeted deletion of the activating transcription factor 4 (ATF4), a key downstream effector of the ISR, in various neuronal and non-neuronal cell types. We found that the removal of ATF4 from forebrain excitatory neurons (but not from inhibitory neurons, cholinergic neurons, or astrocytes) enhances LTM formation. Furthermore, the deletion of ATF4 in excitatory neurons lowers the threshold for the induction of long-term potentiation, a cellular model for LTM. Transcriptomic and proteomic analyses revealed that ATF4 deletion in excitatory neurons leads to upregulation of components of oxidative phosphorylation pathways, which are critical for ATP production. Thus, we conclude that ATF4 functions as a memory repressor selectively within excitatory neurons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

DNMT3A participates in de novo methylation, yet its impact on the proliferation of testicular Sertoli cells remains unclear. Development-specific methylation has been proven to be associated with cellular development. Therefore, in this study, we simulated DNMT3A expression pattern during testicular development by DNMT3A interference. Then, RRBS and RNA-seq were used to decipher DNMT3A regulatory mechanisms on Sertoli cell proliferation. Immunofluorescence staining revealed the expression of DNMT3A in the Sertoli cells of the prepubertal testis. DNMT3A was demonstrated to inhibit the cell cycle and proliferation of Sertoli cells, while promoting cell apoptosis. After transfected with DNMT3A interference, a total of 560 DEGs and 2,091 DMGs produced by DNMT3A interference were identified between two treated groups, respectively. Integrating the results from RRBS and RNA-seq, the overlapping genes between DMGs and DEGs were found to be enriched in the Gene Ontology (GO) terms related to cellular development and the Apelin signaling pathway. The present study demonstrated the impact of DNMT3A on the proliferation of porcine testicular Sertoli cells, suggesting that DNMT3A primarily acts through the Apelin signaling pathway. These findings provide valuable insights into how DNMT3A influences testicular development and health, offering new perspectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sepsis is a life-threatening infectious disease. Mitochondrial dysfunction is widespread in severe sepsis. The myocardium contains a large number of mitochondria, and the survival rate of sepsis decreases sharply when cardiac dysfunction is involved. Vericiguat (BAY 1021189) is a novel drug for the prevention of heart failure. In this study, we evaluated the mitochondrial function of septic mice and drug-treated mice by resonance Raman spectroscopy (RRS). RRS is a non-invasive and label-free technique that can identify molecular vibrations by their unique fingerprints, making it ideal for quantitative studies. By choosing 532 nm as the excitation wavelength, which is close to the absorption peak of cytochrome, we can greatly enhance the Raman signal of mitochondrial redox state. RRS can accurately identify the Raman characteristic peak at 750 cm-1, 1128 cm-1 and 1585 cm-1 attributed to the reduced cytochrome in septic mice. We found that the intensity of the characteristic peak was significantly decreased in septic mice, indicating an imbalance of mitochondrial redox function, while the function was improved in the drug-treated group. It proves that BAY has the potential as a novel treatment for mitochondrial dysfunction in sepsis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid and sensitive analysis of proteins in complex biological environments is crucial for the screening and defense against infectious diseases. Here, we show that the lateral °ow immunoassay strip based on confocal Raman imaging can achieve immune analysis at pM and » 104 cfu/mL molecular level for the rapid detection of COVID-19 virus and bacteria. Fluorescent dyes of Alexa 647 were used as Raman markers in the Raman silent region of 1800 cm¡1 and 2800 cm¡1, and colloidal gold nanospheres were used to enhance the Raman signal. Raman imaging was performed with our self-developed confocal Raman microscopy for COVID-19 and Escherichia coli O157: H7 on lateral °ow immunoassay strip. Compared to traditional colloidal gold test strips, the sensitivity of this technology has been significantly improved. This work will promote the widespread application of surface enhanced Raman detection for bacteria and virus, which is of great significance for in vitro screening and disease diagnosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sertoli cells are indispensable for normal spermatogenesis, and increasing evidence has shown that miRNAs participate in the regulation of Sertoli cell growth. However, the functions and regulatory mechanisms of miRNAs in Sertoli cells of domestic animals have not been fully investigated. In the present study, we mainly investigated the regulatory roles of miR-499 in immature porcine Sertoli cells. The results showed that miR-499 was mainly located in the basement section of seminiferous tubules of prepubertal porcine testicular tissue. Overexpression of miR-499 promoted cell proliferation and inhibited apoptosis, whereas miR-499 inhibition resulted in the opposite effect. The PTEN gene was directly targeted by miR-499, and the expression of mRNA and protein was also negatively regulated by miR-499 in immature porcine Sertoli cells. siRNA-induced PTEN knockdown resulted in a similar effect as an overexpression of miR-499 and abolished the effects of miR-499 inhibition on immature porcine Sertoli cells. Moreover, both miR-499 overexpression and the PTEN knockdown activated the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway, whereas inhibition of the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway caused immature porcine Sertoli cell apoptosis and inhibited cell proliferation. Overall, miR-499 promotes proliferation and inhibits apoptosis in immature porcine Sertoli cells through the PI3K/AKT pathway by targeting the PTEN gene. This study provides novel insights into the effects of miR-499 in spermatogenesis through the regulation of immature Sertoli cell proliferation and apoptosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Photosynthetic bacteria (PSB) bioconversion is a new technology for wastewater treatment and resource recovery. The C/N ratio is an important factor in biological wastewater treatment. For the first time, the efficient C/N ratio range for PSB bioconversion, and the effects of the C/N ratio on wastewater treatment efficiency and cell proliferation, were studied. The results of this study showed that PSB bioconversion was efficient when the wastewater C/N ratio was within the range of 400-0.1. Chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal was higher than 60% in this C/N range. The change in the NH4 +-N concentration was fitted by the logistic model for each C/N ratio. The Vmax of nitrogen removal was similar to that of other technologies and it decreased as the C/N ratio decreased. This shows that this technology exhibits reliable pollutant removal in the C/N ratio range of 400-0.1. The nitrogen transformation study indicated that the PSB might use a specific mechanism under a low C/N ratio. PSB cell proliferation was fitted by the logistic model in the C/N ratio range of 400-2, and µmax was found to be not correlated with the C/N ratio. The protein content in the cells was 40-60% in the C/N ratio range of 400-0.1. The results showed that PSB bioconversion technology has a very high resource value and the value of the C/N ratio places little restriction on it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Anthracycline‐related cardiotoxicity has a poor prognosis; therefore, early detection of any change in LV function is critical. Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the two‐dimensional speckle tracking technique for the early detection of cardiac toxicity after low‐dose anthracycline chemotherapy in the Chinese population. Methods: Forty breast cancer patients were treated by chemotherapy using anthracycline for 4–6 cycles. Patients were examined by echocardiography before chemotherapy (T0) and after the second (T2), fourth (T4), and sixth (T6) cycle. LV ejection fraction (LVEF), LV global longitudinal strain (GLS) and endocardium, mid‐myocardium, and epicardium global longitudinal strain (GLS‐Endo, GLS‐Mid, and GLS‐Epi). Additionally, global circumferential strain (GCS), RV global longitudinal strain (RVGLS), and LA global longitudinal strain (LAGLS) were evaluated. Results: Left ventricular ejection fraction was significantly reduced at T4 (P < 0.05). Compared with T0, GLS, GLS‐Endo, GLS‐Mid, and GLS‐Epi were significantly reduced at T2, T4, and T6 (P < 0.05 for all), the apical septum wall (AS) was also reduced significantly at T2 (P < 0.05), and the apical anterior wall (AA) and the basal anterior wall (BA) longitudinal strains were significantly reduced at T4 (P < 0.05). GCS, RVGLS, and LAGLS were not significantly changed after treatment (P > 0.05). Conclusions: LV stratified strains and strain of the segments supplied by the left anterior descending coronary artery are more sensitive to the cardiac toxicity of anthracycline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]