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Simple Summary: Despite major advances in treating non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the five-year survival rates for patients without specific genetic mutations remain low. This study aims to find better ways to treat these patients. We focused on a protein called Aurora kinase A (AURKA), which our prior study suggested may play a role in modulating resistance to the common cancer drug cisplatin. We looked at how AURKA affects the sensitivity of NSCLC cells to platinum-based chemotherapy and radiation. In lab tests, AURKA levels increased after cisplatin treatment. Blocking AURKA with a drug called alisertib or using a genetic method made cisplatin and radiation more effective, causing tumors to shrink in mouse models. The treated cancer cells showed more DNA damage and underwent cell death. Blocking AURKA also increased markers that help the immune system recognize cancer. Our study suggests that combining AURKA inhibitors with other treatments could improve outcomes for NSCLC patients. Despite major advances in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treatment, the five-year survival rates for patients with non-oncogene-driven tumors remain low, necessitating combinatory approaches to improve outcomes. Our prior high-throughput RNAi screening identified Aurora kinase A (AURKA) as a potential key player in cisplatin resistance. In this study, we investigated AURKA's role in platinum and radiation sensitivity in multiple NSCLC cell lines and xenograft mouse models, as well as its effect on immune checkpoints, including PD-L1, B7x, B7-H3, and HHLA2. Of 94 NSCLC patient tumor specimens, 91.5% tested positive for AURKA expression, with 34% showing moderate-to-high levels. AURKA expression was upregulated following cisplatin treatment in NSCLC cell lines PC9 and A549. Both AURKA inhibition by alisertib and inducible AURKA knockdown potentiated the cytotoxic effects of cisplatin and radiation, leading to tumor regression in doxycycline-inducible xenograft mice. Co-treated cells exhibited increased DNA double-strand breaks, apoptosis, and senescence. Additionally, AURKA inhibition alone by alisertib increased PD-L1 and B7-H3 expression. In conclusion, our study demonstrates that AURKA inhibition enhances the efficacy of platinum-based chemotherapy in NSCLC cells and modulates the expression of multiple immune checkpoints. Therefore, combinatory regimens with AURKA inhibitors should be strategically designed and further studied within the evolving landscape of chemo-immunotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Whether perceived stress is associated with loneliness and depressive symptoms in general adults, and to what extent sleep quality mediates the associations, remains unknown. The aim of this study was to estimate the associations of perceived stress with loneliness and depressive symptoms, and the mediating role of sleep quality in these associations. Methods: Cross-sectional data on 734 participants (aged 18–87 years) were analyzed. Perceived stress was assessed using the 10-item Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10; range 0–40). Sleep quality was assessed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI; range 0–21). Loneliness was assessed using the three-item short form of the Revised University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) loneliness scale (range 3–9). Depressive symptoms were assessed using the 10-item Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CESD-10) Scale (range 0–30). General linear regression models, multivariable logistic regression models, and formal mediation analysis were performed. Results: After adjustment for age and sex, we found that with each 1-point increment in the perceived stress score, both the loneliness score (β = 0.07; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.06, 0.08) and depression score (β = 0.45; 95% CI: 0.40, 0.49) increased significantly. Robust results were observed when adjusting for more confounders. Furthermore, sleep quality mediated 5.3% (95% CI: 1.3%, 10.0%; P = 0.014) and 9.7% (95% CI: 6.2%, 14.0%; P < 0.001) of the associations of perceived stress score with loneliness score and depression score, respectively. Conclusions: In general Chinese adults, perceived stress was positively associated with loneliness and depressive symptoms, and sleep quality partially mediated these associations. The findings reveal a potential pathway from perceived stress to mental health through sleep behaviors, and highlight the importance of implementing sleep intervention programs for promoting mental health among those who feel highly stressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently there is a limited understanding for the optimal combination of immune checkpoint inhibitor and chemotherapy for patients with metastatic triple-negative breast cancer (mTNBC). Here we evaluate the safety, efficacy, and immunogenicity of a phase I trial for patients with mTNBC treated with pembrolizumab plus doxorubicin. Patients without prior anthracycline use and 0–2 lines of prior systemic chemotherapies received pembrolizumab and doxorubicin every 3 weeks for 6 cycles followed by pembrolizumab maintenance until disease progression or intolerance. The primary objectives were safety and objective response rate per RECIST 1.1. Best responses included one complete response (CR), five partial responses (PR), two stable disease (SD), and one progression of disease (PD). Overall response rate was 67% (95% CI 13.7%, 78.8%) and clinical benefit rate at 6 months was 56% (95% CI 21.2%, 86.3%). Median PFS was 5.2 months (95% CI 4.7, NA); median OS was 15.6 months (95% CI 13.3, NA). Grade 3–4 AEs per CTCAE 4.0 were neutropenia n = 4/10 (40%), leukopenia n = 2/10 (20%), lymphopenia n = 2/10 (20%), fatigue n = 2/10 (20%), and oral mucositis n = 1/10 (10%). Immune correlates showed increased frequencies of circulating CD3 + T cells (p = 0.03) from pre-treatment to cycle 2 day 1 (C2D1). An expansion of a proliferative exhausted-like PD-1 + CD8 + T cell population was identified in 8/9 patients, and exhausted CD8 + T cells were significantly expanded from pre-treatment to C2D1 in the patient with CR (p = 0.01). In summary, anthracycline-naïve patients with mTNBC treated with the combination of pembrolizumab and doxorubicin showed an encouraging response rate and robust T cell response dynamics. Trial registration: NCT02648477. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Hyperglycemia is recognized as a common adverse event for patients receiving alpelisib but has been little studied outside of clinical trials. We report the frequency of alpelisib-associated hyperglycemia in a real-world setting and evaluate proposed risk factors. Patients and Methods We retrospectively identified patients with PIK3CA-mutated, hormone receptor-positive, metastatic breast cancer who initiated treatment with alpelisib plus fulvestrant between August 2019 and December 2021. Ordinal logistic regression evaluated 5 characteristics (diabetes, prediabetes, body mass index [BMI], age, and Asian ancestry) as independent risk factors for ALP-associated hyperglycemia grades 2-4. Risk of error from multiple hypothesis testing was controlled using the false discovery rate method. Results The study included n = 92 subjects, all but 1 female, mean age 59.9 (+11.9) years with 50% non-Hispanic White, 15% Hispanic/Latino, 13% Asian, 9% African/Black, and 13% other/unknown. In total 34% of patients had diabetes, 10% had pre-diabetes, and 56% had normoglycemia. Thirty-six percent were obese, 32% were overweight, 25% were normal weight, and 7% were lean. Frequency of grades 1-4 hyperglycemia in current subjects (64.1%) was similar to hyperglycemia reported in the SOLAR-1 trial (63.7%). Our subjects' risk of grades 2-4 hyperglycemia was independently increased by pre-existing diabetes (Odds ratio 3.75, 95% CI, 1.40-10.01), pre-diabetes (6.22, 1.12-34.47), Asian ancestry (7.10, 1.75-28.84), and each unit of BMI above 20 (1.17, 1.07-1.28). Conclusion While receiving alpelisib, patients of Asian ancestry, as well as patients with pre-existing hyperglycemia and/or BMI above 20, should be closely monitored for hyperglycemia. The mechanism underlying the current association of alpelisib-associated hyperglycemia with Asian ancestry is independent of BMI and merits further study. The high incidence of hyperglycemia resulted in a change in practice to include consultation with a diabetes nurse educator or endocrinologist at the start of alpelisib. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is difficult to accurately measure the air exchange rate (AER) in residential and office buildings during occupation via on-site field measurement. The tracer gas method was widely applied to estimate the AER in these buildings, and human metabolic carbon dioxide (CO2) was often used as a tracer gas in different models. This study introduced three models (the ASHRAE model, the ASHRAE China-specific modified model, and the BMR model), which were proposed to estimate the AER based on exhaled CO2. We verified these models by comparing the exhaled CO2-based AER with AER from field measurements using sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) as a tracer gas. We also analyzed the potential factors that could affect the uniformity of the indoor tracer gas distribution. Our results indicate that the ASHRAE China-specific modified model has the best performance with an average deviation of −6.67% and a maximum deviation of −14.6% with multiple measurement points, a stable personnel activity, and proper Parameter settings in a single room in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The roles of lamin A/C in adipocyte differentiation and skeletal muscle lipid metabolism are associated with familial partial lipodystrophy of Dunnigan (FPLD). We confirmed that LMNA knockdown (KD) in mouse adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (AD-MSCs) prevented adipocyte maturation. Importantly, in in vitro experiments, we discovered a significant increase in phosphorylated lamin A/C levels at serine 22 or 392 sites (pLamin A/C-S22/392) accompanying increased lipid synthesis in a liver cell line (7701 cells) and two hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cell lines (HepG2 and MHCC97-H cells). Moreover, HCC cells did not survive after LMNA knockout (KO) or even KD. Evidently, the functions of lamin A/C differ between the liver and adipose tissue. To date, the mechanism of hepatocyte lipid metabolism mediated by nuclear lamin A/C remains unclear. Our in-depth study aimed to identify the molecular connection between lamin A/C and pLamin A/C, hepatic lipid metabolism and liver cancer. Gain- and loss-of-function experiments were performed to investigate functional changes and the related molecular pathways in 7701 cells. Adenosine 5' monophosphate-activated protein kinase α (AMPKα) was activated when abnormalities in functional lamin A/C were observed following lamin A/C depletion or farnesyltransferase inhibitor (FTI) treatment. Active AMPKα directly phosphorylated acetyl-CoA-carboxylase 1 (ACC1) and subsequently inhibited lipid synthesis but induced glycolysis in both HCC cells and normal cells. According to the mass spectrometry analysis, lamin A/C potentially regulated AMPKα activation through its chaperone proteins, ATPase or ADP/ATP transporter 2. Lonafarnib (an FTI) combined with low-glucose conditions significantly decreased the proliferation of the two HCC cell lines more efficiently than lonafarnib alone by inhibiting glycolysis or the maturation of prelamin A. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Aromatase inhibitors (AIs) remain key elements of endocrine therapy for patients with hormone receptor positive HER2 negative metastatic breast cancer (HR+ HER2− MBC). Recent advances include the use of CDK 4/6 inhibitors or PIK3CA inhibitor in the clinic; however, few immunotherapy trials have been conducted in HR+ HER2− metastatic disease. The current phase II trial was designed to test the safety and efficacy of AIs in combination with immune checkpoint inhibitor pembrolizumab in patients with HR+ HER2− MBC (NCT 02648477). This combination was well tolerated, but minimal clinical activity was observed likely due to lack of PD-L1 pre-selection and heavily pretreated patient population. This study investigated the safety and antitumor activity of aromatase inhibitors (AI) with immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) pembrolizumab in patients with hormone receptor positive (HR+) human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative (HER2−) metastatic breast cancer (MBC) in a phase II study with a safety lead-in (NCT 02648477). Patients received pembrolizumab plus AI up to 2 years or until confirmed progression or unacceptable toxicity. Key eligibility criteria were HR+ HER2− MBC; RECIST v1.1 measurable disease; adequate organ function; and ECOG 0-1. Primary endpoints were safety and overall response rate. A 3-at-risk design was used for the safety lead-in with a targeted accrual of 20 patients. Grade 2 adverse events (AEs) included 35% fatigue, 20% rash, and 10% hot flashes. Grade 3 immune-related AEs (irAEs) related to pembrolizumab included 5% elevated AST/ALT, 5% rash, and 5% lymphopenia. Two (10%) patients had partial responses, three (15%) had stable disease, and 15 (75%) had progression of disease. Median progression-free survival was 1.8 months (95% CI 1.6, 2.6), median overall survival was 17.2 months (95% CI 9.4, NA), and median follow-up time was 40.1 months (range 31.3–46.8 months). The combination was well tolerated, but clinical activity was comparable to AI alone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Adherence to warfarin is associated with improved outcome in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF), but the adherence status of patients in rural areas of China is not known. Methods: A questionnaire-based study evaluating warfarin adherence of rural residents with AF was carried out in Dongyang, China. Potentially eligible patients were screened and contacted by telephone, and their demographic characteristics were collected. Illness perception was assessed using the Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire (BIPQ), and warfarin adherence was assessed using a Chinese-version adherence scale. Univariate and multivariate analyses were conducted to identify factors associated with unsatisfactory adherence. Results: A total of 201 patients (male, n=99; mean age, 70.3± 8.12 years) were included, among whom 95 (47.3%) patients showed good adherence and 63 (31.3%) poor adherence. Number of co-dispensed drugs (multivariate analysis: odds ratio [OR]=3.64, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.35– 9.81, p=0.011) and BIPQ score (OR=1.25, 95% CI 1.17– 1.33, p< 0.001) were identified as factors associated with good adherence. Conclusion: Medical adherence to warfarin needs to improve in rural patients with AF. Efforts that can reduce the number of co-dispensed drugs and increase illness perception may improve warfarin adherence. This study may benefit future management of warfarin administration to rural patients with AF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although remarkable development of titanate‐based glasses has been achieved, challenge remains to elucidate the correlation between structure and glass‐forming properties in these systems due to their complex structure that is inconsistent with the classic Zachariasen's model. In this work, we aim to correlate the structural evolution of titanate melts to their glass‐forming ability (GFA). The prototypical material barium dititanate (BaTi2O5, BT2) melts with different GFA were rendered by controlled melting atmospheres, and the corresponding structural changes were determined using in situ high‐energy synchrotron X‐ray diffraction combined with empirical potential structure refinement and ab initio molecular dynamics. The results show that BT2 melt in reducing atmosphere shows poor GFA but that in oxidizing atmosphere presents good GFA. Structural analysis demonstrates the mean coordination number of [TiOm] polyhedra is analogous in the melt under two different atmospheres but an enhanced heterogeneous cations aggregation takes place in the melt under reducing atmosphere, which is closely related to oxygen‐deficiencies. Furthermore, we reveal that the enhanced heterogeneous cations aggregation promotes crystallization (and therefore hinders glass formation) through disordering the distribution of [TiOm] and [BaOn] polyhedra, changing the connectivity between these polyhedra, creating more crystal‐like Ti‐Ti clusters, and decreasing topological disorder of BT2 melt. Our work provides a new viewpoint to understand the GFA of titanates melt from structural heterogeneity beyond the previous perspectives that only focus on [TiOm] polyhedra. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New strategies for highly selective and sensitive detection of highly toxic environmental pollutants are still a pressing need. Here, through Cu2+ metalated porous nanoscale covalent organic framework (NCOF), a novel heterogeneous NCOF fluorescence probe has been synthesized for sensitive and selectivity detection of hydrogen sulfide (H2S). Upon H2S addition, the Cu2+ released from the CuCOF, accompanied by the fluorescence recovered of COF. As far as we know, NCOF has not been reported as fluorescence probe for H2S detection. The as‐prepared nano CuCOF displays an excellent sensitive response to H2S with a detection limit of 10 nM. In addition, such heterogeneous fluorescence probe exhibited high selectivity towards to H2S relative to other thiols and anionic species. Moreover, the detection of H2S was achieved successfully in different actual water samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The crystallization processes of titanates are central to the fabrication of optical and electrical crystals and glasses, but their rich polymorphism is not fully understood. Here, we show when and how polymorphic selection occurs during the crystallization of barium titanate (BaTiO3, BT) using in situ high energy synchrotron X-ray diffraction and ab initio molecular dynamic simulation. An anomalous structure transition is found in molten BT during cooling across the cubic-hexagonal transition temperature, which enables nucleation selection of BT by manipulating the undercooling: a cubic phase is preferred if nucleation is triggered at large undercooling, whereas a hexagonal phase is promoted at small undercooling. We further reveal that the nucleation selection between the cubic and the hexagonal phase is regulated by the intrinsic structure property of the melt, in particular, the degree of polymerization between Ti-O polyhedra. These findings provide an innovative perspective to link the polymorphic crystallization to the non-isomorphic structure transition of the melt beyond the conventional cognition of structural heredity. The crystallization processes of titanates are central to the fabrication of optical and electrical crystals and glasses, but their rich polymorphism is not fully understood. Here, authors identify when and how polymorphic selection takes place during the crystallization of an undercooled barium titanate melt using aerodynamic levitation, in situ time resolved high energy X-ray diffraction and ab initio molecular dynamics simulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effect of Si on the growth behavior of the Fe2Al5 phase formed at the Al-xSi(liquid)/Fe(solid) interface during holding was investigated by a synchrotron radiation real-time imaging technique. Results show that growth of the Fe2Al5 phase is accompanied by its simultaneous dissolution into the melt. Addition of Si inhibits the growth of Fe2Al5 to reduce its thickness and change its morphology. The growth and dissolution kinetics of the Fe2Al5 phase are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The morphological transition and growth mechanism of Al3Ni phase during solidification at the liquid Al/solid Ni interface was investigated through synchrotron radiography. The remelted peritectic Al3Ni is dominated by coalescence of adjacent grains and precipitation with the morphology changing from columnar, irregular, scallop type to faceted shape. The hollow proeutectic Al3Ni is formed on a solid base. The increased r/R ratio and steep variation lead to the change from regular to irregular hollowness with asymmetrical shape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Synchrotron X-ray radiography was utilized to in situ study the Ni dissolution during holding and growth behavior of intermetallic compounds (IMCs) during solidification at the liquid Al/solid Ni interface, and synchrotron tomography was used to reconstruct the diversified Al3Ni phases. The dissolution and IMC growth was quantitatively analyzed. During holding, the solid Ni dissolved heterogeneously into liquid Al, and the quantification of Ni concentration was obtained from intensity values. The layered Al3Ni2 formed at the interface during solidification, following by columnar and needle-like Al3Ni. The growth of Al3Ni2 layer followed a parabolic law, being controlled by bulk diffusion mechanism. The peritectic and proeutectic Al3Ni grew along the length obviously at the early stage and coarsened in the late stage. The proeutectic Al3Ni phase had a stronger [001] orientation than peritectic Al3Ni phase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

NaZn-type La(Fe,Si) alloy is a promising magnetocaloric material for solid refrigeration. Currently, several days of high-temperature annealing are typically required to transform both the α-Fe phase and LaFeSi phase to a La(Fe,Si) phase by diffusion. However, no bulk casting has yet been reported. In this study, directional solidification is used to prepare LaFeSi alloys with a dual-phase microstructure consisting of α-Fe and LaFeSi phases. It was found that the volume fraction of La(Fe,Si) phase in directionally solidified LaFeSi alloys can be increased to ~62 pct. It was also found that the volume fraction of the La(Fe,Si) phase is dependent primarily on the temperature gradient at different growth rates, which can be the result of their wide temperature range between solidus and liquidus. A significant Si segregation was observed in directionally solidified LaFeSi alloys. Furthermore, the solidification path was discussed, focusing on the volume fraction increase of the La(Fe,Si) phase by directional solidification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims. To measure plasma levels of superoxide dismutases 1, 2, and 3 (SOD1, 2, 3) and determine whether SODs can function as biomarkers for coronary artery disease (CAD). Patients & Methods. Patient groups were as follows: patients with stable angina pectoris (SAP, n=33), patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS, n=49), and controls (n=42). Protein quantification was done using ELISA. Results. The concentrations of plasma SOD1 and SOD2 were higher in CAD than in healthy controls. No difference in SOD3 levels between CAD and control groups was found. Limited correlations were found between SODs and gender, age, and severity of coronary artery stenosis. Conclusions. Plasma levels of SOD1 and SOD2 were elevated in patients with CAD and might serve as surrogate biomarkers for CAD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Testing drugs for anti-aging effects has historically been conducted in mouse life-span studies, but are costly and time consuming, and more importantly, difficult to recapitulate in humans. In addition, life-span studies in mice are not well suited to testing drug combinations that target multiple factors involved in aging. Additional paradigms for testing therapeutics aimed at slowing aging are needed. A new paradigm, designated as the Geropathology Grading Platform (GGP), is based on a standardized set of guidelines developed to detect the presence or absence of low-impact histopathological lesions and to determine the level of severity of high-impact lesions in organs from aged mice. The GGP generates a numerical score for each age-related lesion in an organ, summed for total lesions, and averaged over multiple mice to obtain a composite lesion score (CLS). Preliminary studies show that the platform generates CLSs that increase with the age of mice in an organ-dependent manner. The CLSs are sensitive enough to detect changes elicited by interventions that extend mouse life span, and thus help validate the GGP as a novel tool to measure biological aging. While currently optimized for mice, the GGP could be adapted to any preclinical animal model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An intermittency model that is formulated in local variables is proposed for representing bypass transition in Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) computations. No external data correlation is used to fix transition. Transition is initiated by diffusion, and a source term carries it to completion. A sink term is created to predict the laminar region before transition, then it vanishes in the turbulent region. Both the source and sink are functions of a wall-distance Reynolds number and turbulence scale. A modification is introduced to predict transition in separated boundary layers. The transition model is incorporated with the k− ω RANS model. The present model is implemented into a general purpose, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code. The model is validated with several test cases. Decent agreement with the available data is observed in a range of flows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Geosmin (GSM) and 2-methylisoborneol (2-MIB) have been identified as the major taste and odor-causing compounds in drinking water obtained from surface water. Carboxylated multi-walled carbon nanotubes (C-MWCNs) were developed for the highly efficient removal of GSM and 2-MIB from water owing to their unique large surface area, well-defined pore size, and high pore volume. Besides, the carboxyl group on the surface of C-MWCNs can improve the adsorption capacity of GSM and 2-MIB which each contain one hydroxyl group. Each adsorption of 200 cm 1 μg/dm of GSM (or 2-MIB) onto 40 mg/dm of C-MWCNs reached equilibrium within 120 min. This agreed well with the Langmuir adsorption model with maximum adsorption capacities of 23.56 and 23.52 μg/g for GSM and 2-MIB. The adsorption rates of GSM and 2-MIB on C-MWCNs fit pseudo-second-order kinetic models ( R > 0.99), which suggest that the adsorption process could be a rate-limiting step. Thermodynamic studies illustrated that the adsorption process was endothermic and spontaneous. C-MWCNs are able to remove over 90 % of GSM and 2-MIB in 200 cm of solution containing 1 μg/dm GSM (or 2-MIB) under optimized conditions. Graphical Abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Salt (NaCl) is a common physiological stressor of plants. To better understand how germinating seeds respond to salt stress, we examined the changes that occurred in the proteome of maize seeds during NaCl-treated germination. Phenotypically, salt concentrations less than 0.2 M appear to delay germination, while higher concentrations disrupt development completely, leading to seed death. The identities of 96 proteins with expression levels altered by NaCl-incubation were established using 2-DE-MALDI-TOF-MS and 2-DE-MALDI-TOF-MS/MS. Of these 96 proteins, 79 were altered greater than twofold when incubated with a 0.2 M salt solution, while 51 were altered when incubated with a 0.1 M salt solution. According to their functional annotations in the Swiss-Prot protein-sequence databases, these proteins are mainly involved in seed storage, energy metabolism, stress response, and protein metabolism. Notably, the expression of proteins that respond to abscisic acid signals increased in response to salt stress. The results of this study provide important clues as to how NaCl stresses the physiology of germinating maize seeds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The hand grip test has been correlated with mobility and physical performance in older people and has been shown to be a long-term predictor of mortality. Implementation of new strategies for enhancing healthy aging and maintaining independent living are dependent on predictable preclinical studies. The mouse is used extensively as a model in these types of studies, and the paw grip strength test is similar to the hand grip test for people in that it assesses the ability to grip a device with the paw, is non-invasive and easy to perform, and provides reproducible information. However, little has been reported on how grip strength declines with increasing age in mice. This report shows that grip strength was decreased in C57BL/6 (B6) NIA and C57BL/6BALB/c F1 (CB6F1) NIA male mice at 12 months of age compared to 8-month-old mice, and continued a robust decline to 20 months and then 28 months of age, when the study was terminated. The decline was not related to lean muscle mass, but extensive age-related carpal and digital exostosis could help explain the decreased grip strength times with increasing age. In conclusion, the grip strength test could be useful in mouse preclinical studies to help make translational predictions on treatment strategies to enhance healthy aging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's regular energy statistics does not include the building sector, and data on building energy demand is included in other types of energy consumption in the Energy Balance Sheet (EBS). Therefore data on building energy demand is not collected based on statistics, but rather calculated or estimated by various approaches in China. This study aims at developing and testing China's building energy statistics by applying an adapted EBS. The advantage of the adapted EBS is that statistical data is from the regular statistical system and no additional statistical efforts are needed. The research result shows that the adapted EBS can be included in China regular energy statistical system and can be standardized in a transparent way. Testing of the adapted EBS shows that China's building energy demand has shown an annual increase of 7.6% since 2001, and a lower contribution to the total energy demand as compared to the developed world. There is also a close link to lifestyle and living standard while industrial energy demand is mainly driven by economy and decoupling of building energy demand with increasing of building floor area, this is due to a considerable improvement of building energy efficiency. The adapted EBS creates a method for China conducting statistics of building energy consumption at the sector level in a uniform way and serves as the basis for any sound building energy efficiency policy decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents an overview of a model of chronic hepatitis in a four-month-old mice expressing a truncated XRCC1 protein. Topics discussed include the use of the alkylating carcinogen azoxymethane (AOM) to treat the mice, the liver morphology of the mice after 6 months of treatment and the possible use of XRCC1 mutant mouse in studying liver disease associated with epigenetic factors such as environmental exposure and diet.