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Abstract Background The adaption of brain region is fundamental to the development and maintenance of nervous system disorders. The prelimbic cortex (PrL) participates in the affective components of the pain sensation. However, whether and how the adaptation of PrL contributes to the comorbidity of neuropathic pain and depression are unknown. Methods Using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI), genetic knockdown or overexpression, we systematically investigated the activity of PrL region in the pathogenesis of neuropathic pain/depression comorbid using the combined approaches of immunohistochemistry, electrophysiology, and behavior. Results The activity of PrL and the excitability of pyramidal neurons were decreased, and the osteoclastic tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase 5 (Acp5) expression in PrL neurons was upregulated following the acquisition of spared nerve injury (SNI)-induced comorbidity. Genetic knockdown of Acp5 in pyramidal neurons, but not parvalbumin (PV) neurons or somatostatin (SST) neurons, attenuated the decrease of spike number, depression-like behavior and mechanical allodynia in comorbidity rats. Overexpression of Acp5 in PrL pyramidal neurons decreased the spike number and induced the comorbid-like behavior in naïve rats. Moreover, the expression of interleukin-6 (IL-6), phosphorylated STAT3 (p-STAT3) and acetylated histone H3 (Ac-H3) were significantly increased following the acquisition of comorbidity in rats. Increased binding of STAT3 to the Acp5 gene promoter and the interaction between STAT3 and p300 enhanced acetylation of histone H3 and facilitated the transcription of Acp5 in PrL in the modeled rodents. Inhibition of IL-6/STAT3 pathway prevented the Acp5 upregulation and attenuated the comorbid-like behaviors in rats. Conclusions These data suggest that the adaptation of PrL mediated by IL-6/STAT3/Acp5 pathway contributed to the comorbidity of neuropathic pain/depression induced by SNI.

In this study, to examine the possibility of using cage-like complexants to design nonmetallic superalkalis, a series of X@36adz (X = H, B, C, N, O, F, and Si) complexes have been constructed and investigated by embedding nonmetallic atoms into the 36adamanzane (36adz) complexant. Although X atoms possess very high ionization energies, these resulting X@36adz complexes possess low adiabatic ionization energies (AIEs) of 0.78–5.28 eV. In particular, the adiabatic ionization energies (AIEs) of X@36adz (X = H, B, C, N, and Si) are even lower than the ionization energy (3.89 eV) of Cs atoms, and thus, can be classified as novel nonmetallic superalkalis. Moreover, due to the existence of diffuse excess electrons in B@36adz, this complex not only possesses pretty low AIE of 2.16 eV but also exhibits a remarkably large first hyperpolarizability (β0) of 1.35 × 106 au, indicating that it can also be considered as a new kind of nonlinear optical molecule. As a result, this study provides an effective approach to achieve new metal-free species with an excellent reducing capability by utilizing the cage-like organic complexants as building blocks.

Background: Currently, case studies or clinical trials in different patient populations remain the main resource underlying the understanding of disorder of consciousness (DoC). This provides a low efficacy for the derivation of data and the implementation of associated controlled experimental designs. Preclinical models provide precise controls, reduced variability, rich data output and limited ethical complexity. Nonhuman primates are suitable model animals for disorders of consciousness due to their brain structure being very similar to that of humans. Behavioral tests remain the primary standard for assessing the consciousness status of humans. However, there is currently no behavioral assessment scale available for evaluation of the state of consciousness disorder in nonhuman primates. This presents a significant challenge for the establishment of different models of consciousness disorder. Therefore, there is considerable motivation to focus on the development of a proper tool for assessment of the state of consciousness associated with nonhuman primate models that are based on clinically common consciousness assessment scales. Methods: It is assumed that the Delphi and level analysis methods based on clinical consciousness disorder assessment scales may provide an effective way to select and include assessment indexes for levels of consciousness in nonhuman primates. Results: 8 first-level indicators with 41 second-level indexes were selected preliminary as a pool of evaluation entries of state of consciousness of nonhuman primates. Conclusions: It may be practicable to extract appropriate indicators for non-human primates from the clinical consciousness disorder assessment scales. Besides, a combination of Delphi method, behavioral analysis, electroencephalography, neuroimaging (such as positron emission tomography-computed tomography) and functional magnetic resonance imaging is necessary to test the reliability and validity of the novel scale reported here.

Objective Spasticity is a frequent complication after spinal cord injury (SCI), but the existing therapies provide only limited relief and are associated with adverse reactions. Therefore, we aimed to develop a novel strategy to ameliorate the spasticity induced by SCI. Methods This nonrandomized controlled study used a repeated measurement design. The study involved four monkeys, two of which served as controls and only underwent spinal cord hemisection surgery at the T8 spine level. The other two monkeys underwent transplantation of sural nerve segments into the injured sites and long-term infusion of acidic fibroblast growth factor (aFGF). All monkeys received postoperative exercise training and therapy. Results The combined therapy substantially reduced the spasticity in leg muscle tone, patella tendon reflex, and fanning of toes. Although all monkeys showed spontaneous recovery of function over time, the recovery in the controls reached a plateau and started to decline after 11 weeks. Conclusions The combination of peripheral nerve grafting and aFGF infusion may serve as a complementary approach to reduce the signs of spasticity in patients with SCI.

Paraplegic gait orthosis has been shown to help paraplegic patients stand and walk, although this method cannot be individualized for patients with different spinal cord injuries and functional recovery of the lower extremities. There is, however, a great need to develop individualized paraplegic orthosis to improve overall quality of life for paraplegic patients. In the present study, 36 spinal cord (below T4) injury patients were equally and randomly divided into control and observation groups. The control group received systematic rehabilitation training, including maintenance of joint range of motion, residual muscle strength training, standing training, balance training, and functional electrical stimulation. The observation group received an individualized paraplegic locomotion brace and functional training according to the various spinal cord injury levels and muscle strength based on comprehensive systematic rehabilitation training. After 3 months of rehabilitation training, the observation group achieved therapeutic locomotion in 8 cases, family-based locomotion in 7 cases, and community-based locomotion in 3 cases. However, locomotion was not achieved in any of the control group patients. These findings suggest that individualized paraplegic braces significantly improve activity of daily living and locomotion in patients with thoracolumbar spinal cord injury.

The possibility of using superalkali clusters instead of alkali atoms as ligands to design a class of cationic compounds, referred to as hyperalkali cations, has been examined by using gradient-corrected density functional theory. By taking typical superalkalis (FLi2, OLi3, and NLi4) as examples, a series of hyperalkali cations ML+ 2 [M = (super)halogen; L = superalkali] have been constructed and investigated. Calculational results show that all the superalkali moieties preserve their geometric and electronic integrity in these proposed cations. The stability of these studied cations is guaranteed by the strong ionic bonds between superalkali ligand and (super)halogen core, as well as their large highest occupied molecular orbital-lowest unoccupied molecular orbital gaps and positive dissociation energies. In particular, all these proposed cations possess lower vertical electron affinities (2.36-3.56 eV) than those of their corresponding cationic superalkali ligands, verifying their hyperalkali nature. We, therefore, hope that this study will provide an approach to obtain new species with excellent reducing capability by utilizing various superalkalis as building blocks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The first synthesis of facially polarized all-cis-1,2,3,4,5,6-hexafluorocyclohexane (1) was a tour de force of organic chemistry and opened up new possibilities for molecular design. In view of its large facial polarization, 1 was first utilized as a complexant to design a series of organic alkalides, namely M+·1·M'- (M, M' = Li, Na, K), in this work. The alkalide identities of these proposed species were guaranteed by their HOMOs and VIE values, as well as NBO analysis. Our computational results show that these novel alkalides possess large complexation energies and thus exhibit high stability due to the strong electrostatic interaction between the alkali-metal ions and the axial fluorine or hydrogen atoms of 1. In particular, it is revealed that these novel alkalides possess remarkably large nonlinear optical responses with the first hyperpolarizabilities (β0) up to 1.45 × 106 au. Moreover, the feasibility of using 1 to design superalkali-based alkalide and superalkalide was also examined. We hope that this work will promote further application of 1 and, on the other hand, attract more research interest and efforts in designing and synthesizing new alkalides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new series of polynuclear superalkali cations YLi4+ (Y = PO4, AsO4, VO4) has been characterized using ab initio methods. The central Y3- (PO43-, AsO43-, VO43-) acid radicals preserve their structural and electronic integrity in the first several lowest-lying isomers of YLi4+. Meanwhile, the introduction of Li(+) cations can also dissociate an O2- ion from the Y3- groups. Besides, the AsO43- group is discerned to be separated into AsO2- and O22- fragments other than AsO3- and O2- units. This is why the AsO4Li4+ cation has been found to possess more diverse structures. The vertical electron affinities (EAvert) of the YLi4+ cations range from 2.44 to 4.67 eV, which are low enough to validate the superalkali or pseudoalkali identity of the title species. It is also noteworthy that the YLi4+ conformer with Td symmetry allows a more even distribution of the excess positive charge, and consequently exhibits the lowest EAvert value of ca. 2.45 eV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oxidative stress and excess hepatic lipid accumulation contribute to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Radix Hedysari polysaccharides (RHP) have attracted interest due to their antioxidant properties and immunomodulatory effects. However, the effect of RHP on hepatic lipid metabolism remains to be elucidated. In the present study, the response of Sprague-Dawley rat livers to a high-fat diet and RHP treatment was investigated by evaluating body weight, liver histology, hepatic lipid content, adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) activity and lipid metabolism gene transcriptional profiles. The present study demonstrated that RHP ameliorated lipid metabolism disorders, regulated hepatic lipid content, improved liver inflammation and damage, activated AMPK via phosphorylation, upregulated peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α and downregulated the mRNA expression of sterol regulatory element binding protein-1c in rat livers, which reduced lipogenesis and increased lipolysis. Taken together, these results suggested that RHP effectively ameliorates lipid metabolism disorders in rat livers; thus, RHP may be a potential therapeutic agent in the prevention of hepatic steatosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new series of superalkali-based alkalides, i.e., Li3+(calix[4]pyrrole)M-, Li3O+(calix[4]pyrrole)M-, and M3O+(calix[4]pyrrole)K- (M = Li, Na, and K), have been theoretically designed and investigated by means of density functional theory computations. These species have diverse structural isomers, in which the embedded superalkali units maintain their identities and prefer the horizontal orientation over the vertical one. All the proposed alkalides exhibit considerable first hyperpolarizabilities (β0) up to 34718 au. Especially, a prominent M- atomic number dependence of (hyper)polarizabilities is observed for the Li3+(calix[4]pyrrole)M- and Li3O+(calix[4]pyrrole)M- compounds. Besides, the dependence of the nonlinear optical response of such alkalides on the species of involved superalkalis is also investigated. We hope that this work will promote further application of superalkalis and, on the other hand, attract more research interest and efforts in exploring new, unconventional alkalides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Superalkali Li3 dissolved in gaseous ammonia is investigated by density functional theory. Similar to the lithium atom, Li3 can coordinate up to four ammonia molecules. Among the structural isomers of Li3(NH3)n (n = 1-4), the one with separately distributed NH3 ligands is preferred. Most of the Li3(NH3)n species possess the alkalide characteristics and exhibit considerably large static first hyperpolarizabilities (β0) up to 3.9 × 105 au. Especially, for the lowest-nergy Li3(NH3)n complexes, a prominent coordination number ependence of β0 is found as follows: 12 608 (n = 1) < 38 564 (n = 2) < 121726 (n = 3) < 391149 au (n = 4). In addition, the case of introducing a Na atom into such superalkali-ammonia systems has been considered and the resulting Li3(NH3)nNa (n = 1-4) complexes are studied in the same vein. It is revealed that the β0 values of Li3(NH3)nNa are influenced by both the coordination number and the relative position of NH3 ligands. We hope that this study could provide a new type of alkalides and raise the possibility of exploring a fresh, thriving area, i.e. superalkali solutions with solvents of all sorts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We studied thermal tolerance limits, heat-hardening, and Hsp70 to elucidate the difference in thermotolerance between two color variants of the sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus. Green and Red variants occupy different habitats and have different aestivation responses to high temperature in summer. In the absence of heat-hardening, the variants showed no difference in the temperature at which 50% of the individuals died: Green, 31.49 °C; Red, 31.39 °C. However, Green specimens acquired higher thermotolerance than Red after a prior sublethal heat exposure. After 72 h of recovery from a heat-hardening treatment (30 °C for 2 h), the survival of Green variants was more than 50% and that of Red was less than 5% when they were treated at 33 °C for 2 h. Levels of mRNA and protein for Hsp70 were significantly higher in Green than Red after the heat shock of 30 °C, and the stability of hsp70 mRNA of Green was significantly higher than that of Red. Our findings suggest that within the same species, different variants that have similar thermal limits in the absence of heathardening can acquire different thermotolerances after a prior sublethal heat shock. The difference in induced thermotolerance between Green and Red is closely related to the expression pattern of Hsp70, which was partly governed by the stability of hsp70 mRNA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ginger has long been used as an alternative medication to prevent motion sickness. The mechanism of its action, however, is unknown. We hypothesize that ginger ameliorates the nausea associated with motion sickness by preventing the development of gastric dysrhythmias and the elevation of plasma vasopressin. Thirteen volunteers with a history of motion sickness underwent circular vection, during which nausea (scored 0-3, i.e., none to severe), electrogastrographic recordings, and plasma vasopressin levels were assessed with or without ginger pretreatment in a crossover-design, double-blind, randomized placebo-controlled study. Circular vection induced a maximal nausea score of 2.5 ± 0.2 and increased tachygastric activity and plasma vasopressin. Pretreatment with ginger (1,000 and 2,000 mg) reduced the nausea, tachygastria, and plasma vasopressin. Ginger also prolonged the latency before nausea onset and shortened the recovery time after vection cessation. Intravenous vasopressin infusion at 0.1 and 0.2 U/min induced nausea and increased bradygastric activity; ginger pretreatment (2,000 mg) affected neither. Ginger effectively reduces nausea, tachygastric activity, and vasopressin release induced by circular vection. In this manner, ginger may act as a novel agent in the prevention and treatment of motion sickness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract--The normal-pressure decomposition of CF[sub 2]Cl[sub 2] and CF[sub 2]ClBr in air by non-equilibrium plasma was studied. The pressure of CF2Cl[sub 2] and CF[sub 2]ClBr was 2.67 x 10[sup 3]Pa, added the dry air to 1.01 x 10[sup 5] Pa, discharged by corona or DBD, 11.5% of CF[sub 2]ClBr was decomposed by corona after 120s discharge, more than 85% of CF[sub 2]Cl[sub 2] and 95% of CF[sub 2]ClBr were decomposed by DBD after 10s discharge respectively. The main products were CF[sub 2]O, Cl[sub 2] and Br[sub 2]. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evaluates the effects of different macronutrients on appetite and pyloric motility and the impact of short-term dietary glucose supplementation on these responses. Potency of intraduodenal infusion of lipid in stimulating phasic pyloric motility; Alteration of the appetite suppressant effect of intraduodenal lipid after dietary glucose supplementation.