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The spinal N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor (NMDAR), particularly their subtypes NR2A and NR2B, plays pivotal roles in neuropathic and inflammatory pain. However, the roles of NR2A and NR2B in orofacial pain and the exact molecular and cellular mechanisms mediating nervous system sensitization are still poorly understood. Here, we exhaustively assessed the regulatory effect of NMDAR in mediating peripheral and central sensitization in orofacial neuropathic pain. Von-Frey filament tests showed that the inferior alveolar nerve transection (IANX) induced ectopic allodynia behavior in the whisker pad of mice. Interestingly, mechanical allodynia was reversed in mice lacking NR2A and NR2B. IANX also promoted the production of peripheral sensitization-related molecules, such as interleukin (IL)-1β, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), and chemokine upregulation (CC motif) ligand 2 (CCL2), and decreased the inward potassium channel (Kir) 4.1 on glial cells in the trigeminal ganglion, but NR2A conditional knockout (CKO) mice prevented these alterations. In contrast, NR2B CKO only blocked the changes of Kir4.1, IL-1β, and TNF-α and further promoted the production of CCL2. Central sensitization-related c-fos, glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), and ionized calcium-binding adaptor molecule 1 (Iba-1) were promoted and Kir4.1 was reduced in the spinal trigeminal caudate nucleus by IANX. Differential actions of NR2A and NR2B in mediating central sensitization were also observed. Silencing of NR2B was effective in reducing c-fos, GFAP, and Iba-1 but did not affect Kir4.1. In contrast, NR2A CKO only altered Iba-1 and Kir4.1 and further increased c-fos and GFAP. Gain-of-function and loss-of-function approaches provided insight into the differential roles of NR2A and NR2B in mediating peripheral and central nociceptive sensitization induced by IANX, which may be a fundamental basis for advancing knowledge of the neural mechanisms' reaction to nerve injury.

The inflammatory response of central nervous system (CNS) and microglial activation is important in the development of pain behaviors induced by sleep deprivation. We found that chronic sleep deprivation (CSD) aggravated pain behaviors in rats with chronic pain by upregulating expression of Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), NOD-like receptor pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3), and interleukin 1β (IL-1β), which promoted microglial activation in the brain. We also found that CSD increased numbers of Iba1

Patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) are at higher risk for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-related morbidity and mortality. However, a significant portion of CKD patients showed hesitation toward vaccination in telephone survey of our center. Yet no serial data available on humoral response in patients with CKD, especially those on immunosuppression. We conducted a pilot, prospective study to survey the safety and humoral response to inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine in CKD patients receiving a 2-dose immunization of inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine. We found the neutralizing antibody titers in CKD patients was significantly lower than that in healthy controls, hypertension patients, and diabetes patients. Notably, immunosuppressive medication rather than eGFR levels or disease types showed effect on the reduction of immunogenicity. Interestingly, a third dose significantly boosted neutralizing antibody in CKD patients while immunosuppressants impeded the boosting effects. In conclude, our data demonstrates that CKD patients, even for those on immunosuppression treatment, can benefit from a third vaccination boost by improving their humoral immunity.

Neuropathic and inflammatory pain are major clinical challenges due to their ambiguous mechanisms and limited treatment approaches. N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) and calcium-calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) are responsible for nerve system sensation and are required for the induction and maintenance of pain. However, the roles of NMDAR and CaMKII in regulating orofacial pain are still less well known. Here, we established a neuropathic pain model by transecting a mouse inferior alveolar nerve (IAN) and an inflammatory pain model by injecting complete Freund

Background Brahma-related gene 1 (BRG1) is essential for embryogenesis and cellular metabolism. A deficiency of BRG1 in vivo decreases lipid droplets, but the molecular mechanism underlying its role in lipid metabolism associated with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains unknown. Aims We aimed to determine the role of BRG1 in lipid metabolism in HCC. Methods We assessed the differential expression of BRG1 in HCC and adjacent non-tumorous tissues using tissue microarrays. We stained lipid droplets in HCC cells with Bodipy fluorescence and Oil Red O, and verified BRG1 binding to the promoter region of glycosylated lysosomal membrane protein (GLMP) using chromatin immunoprecipitation. Results The expression of GLMP, a potential lipid metabolism regulator, was suppressed by BRG1 via transcriptional activity. Knockdown of BRG1 decreased lipid droplets, increased GLMP expression and altered the phosphoinositide-3-kinase adaptor protein 1 (PIK3AP1)/phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (AKT) pathway in HCC, which further GLMP knockdown partially restored. Thus, GLMP knockdown increased lipid droplets and differentially altered the PI3K/AKT pathway. Conclusions Downregulating BRG1 decreased lipid droplet deposition in HCC cells by upregulating GLMP and altering the PI3K/AKT pathway. Both BRG1 and GLMP might serve as therapeutic targets for disorders associated with dysregulated lipid metabolism, such as NAFLD and NAFLD-associated HCC.

High-valence metal doping and abundant grain boundaries (GBs) have been proved to be effective strategies to promote the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). However, the reasonable design of the two to facilitate OER collaboratively is challenging. Herein, a convenient and novel one-step molten salt decomposition strategy is proposed to fabricate segregated-Mo doped nickle nitrate hydroxide with substantial GBs on MoNi foam (Mo-NNOH@MNF). When processed in molten salt, the Mo species on the conductive substrate migrates unevenly to the surface of Mo-NNOH@MNF, which not only induces the formation of abundant GBs to modulate electronic structure, but also improves the intrinsic activity as high-valence dopants, synergistically elevating OER activity. As verification, the optimized Mo-NNOH@MNF-10h exhibits low overpotential of 150 mV at 10 mA cm

Lithium metal anode with high theoretical capacity is considered to be one of the most potential anode materials of the next generation. However, the growth of lithium dendrite seriously affects the application of lithium metal anode and the development of lithium metal batteries (LMBs). Herein, an ultrathin Li3N film modified separator to homogenize the lithium ions and protect the lithium metal anode was reported. Due to the intrinsic properties of Li3N, the functional separator possessed good thermal stability, mechanical properties and electrolyte wettability, and the homogenization of the lithium ion was realized without increasing the interface impedance. With this functional separator, the Li/Li symmetrical cell could achieve a long cycle with low overpotential for 1000 ​h at a current density of 1 ​mA ​cm−2. Furthermore, when the full battery was assembled with LiFePO4 and the discharge capacity could be maintained at 151 mAh g−1 after 400 cycles at 1 ​C. In addition, the full battery also showed good rate performance, and provided a high discharge capacity of 114 mAh g−1 at 5 ​C.

This paper studies the Mittag-Leffler stabilization for unstable infinite dimensional systems actuated by boundary controllers described by time fractional reaction diffusion equations. Via the Riesz basis method, the stable and the unstable part of the considered system are separated. The Kalman rank criterion, which is a classical linear algebra condition, guarantees the stabilizability of the unstable subsystem. Based on these, a controller governed by a finite dimensional system (so called the finite dimensional controller hereafter) is designed to achieve the Mittag-Leffler stability of the closed loop. From infinite to finite, this methodology is a substantial improvement for the existing control laws.

Accurately predicting energy consumption (EC) is a difficult task, owing to its inherent complexity and nonlinearity features. To decrease the complexity of EC predictions, applying a novel three-layer decomposition approach to decompose a complex series into a trend sub-series and several simpler non-trend sub-series. Since the trend sub-series describes the developing tendency that is determined by the primarily influencing factors on EC, it is predicted by multivariate linear regression (MLR). In view of its learning ability of nonlinear mappings and excellent performance in dealing with long term dependency, long short-term memory neural network (LSTM) is applied to predict non-trend sub-series. Then, the final EC prediction is solved by calculating the sum of all these sub-series prediction values. A novel EC forecasting model based on machine learning with three-layer decomposition-ensemble approach is proposed in this study. Compared with traditional decomposition approaches (trend decomposition (TD), wavelet decomposition (WD), empirical mode decomposition (EMD), TD-EMD and TD-WD), the proposed three-layer decomposition approach can improve the prediction performance by combining the advantages of TD, EMD and WD. The proposed forecasting model is validated by empirical studies using the EC data of China and U.S. Finally, this study gives the China’s EC prediction in 2020–2024.

The dramatic increase in atmospheric CO2 concentrations has attracted people’s attention, and many strategies have been developed to convert CO2 into high-value chemicals. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), as a class of versatile materials, can be used in the CO2 capture and conversion because of their unique porosity, large specific surface area, rich pore structure, multiple active centers, good stability and recyclability. Various functional nanomaterials have been designed and synthesized based on metal organic framework (MOF) of crystalline porous materials to meet these challenges. Herein, in this review, the latest processes of MOFs in field the of CO2 hydrogenation to carbon monoxide, methane, formic acid, methanol and olefins are summarized, and the synthesis methods of catalysts based on MOFs and the reasons for their high catalytic activity are analyzed. Besides, a brief introduction to improve the catalytic activity of the new MOF material and explore the feasible strategies for CO2 conversion are advised. Finally, the paper discusses the main challenges and opportunities of MOF-type catalysts in CO2 chemical conversion, and presents a brief outlook on further developments in this research area.

The fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda, is a dangerous pest of cereals originating from the tropical and subtropical parts of the Americas. It has invaded over a hundred countries and is spreading rapidly throughout East Asia. Biological control programs are a “model strategy” for the control of invasive pests. Egg parasitoids Telenomus remus and Trichogramma pretiosum are viewed as candidates for the control of S. frugiperda. The aim of this study was to evaluate the behavioral patterns and parasitism efficacy of Te. remus, Tr. pretiosum, and Trichogramma dendrolimi on S. frugiperda egg masses with and without scales. The proportion of parasitism by Te. remus was significantly higher than that by Tr. dendrolimi and Tr. pretiosum. The proportion of parasitism by Tr. pretiosum and Tr. dendrolimi on egg masses with scales was significantly lower than that on egg masses without scales. However, Te. remus had a similar proportion of parasitism on egg masses with and without scales. Residence time, oviposition time, oviposition frequency, risk of host being found, and risk of parasitism by Te. remus were significantly higher than the corresponding parameters of Tr. pretiosum and Tr. dendrolimi. Tr. pretiosum females exhibited a higher residence time, oviposition time, oviposition frequency, risk of host being found, and risk of parasitism than those of Tr. dendrolimi females. In addition, Te. remus females often crept into the scale layer covering the egg masses, whereas Tr. dendrolimi and Tr. pretiosum females did not; they could only parasitize the eggs located on the periphery of the egg mass. Both Te. remus and Tr. pretiosum females had similar proportions of superparasitism, which were significantly higher than that of Tr. dendrolimi. Therefore, Te. remus is the dominant egg parasitoid of S. frugiperda and this has important implications for developing augmentative biological control strategies for S. frugiperda.

Purse seiners deploy large amounts of drifting fish aggregation devices (FADs) in all tropical oceans to catch tunas. These FADs are constructed with porous synthetic fibre netting, which are responsible for incidental mortality of sea turtles and sharks through entanglement, and can engage in ghost fishing if they are lost and abandoned. The use of natural or biodegradable materials to build FADs can effectively mitigate marine pollution and bycatch issues, and as such they are currently promoted by fisheries management organizations. This study evaluated the degradability of ropes made of common natural fibres; cotton rope (3-strand, 96-thread, twisted, S-lay), jute rope (3-strand, 13-thread, twisted, Z-lay) and sisal rope (3-strand, 8-thread, twisted, Z-lay). Degradability was evaluated by measuring the breaking strength (cN/dtex) and retention ratio of rupture elongation. Results showed that jute rope and sisal rope experienced rapid reduction of strength which over the first month soaking in the sea fell by 66.8% and 46.9%, respectively. Cotton rope exhibited the most inert degradation behavior, with breaking strength maintained at half of the initial value at 10 months. The retention ratio of rupture elongation for jute ropes and sisal ropes fluctuated considerably in the following months after deployment, compared to the relatively stable change for cotton rope. Results suggested that among these congeners, cotton rope would be most preferable component for Bio-FADs with a 10-month minimum durability that matches the required lifetime of FAD fishing strategies.

To explore the microstructural alterations in subcortical nuclei in Parkinson's disease (PD) at different stages with diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI) and tensor imaging and to test the performance of diffusion metrics in identifying PD.108 PD patients (64 patients in early-stage PD group (EPD) and 44 patients in moderate-late-stage PD group (MLPD)) and 64 healthy controls (HC) were included. Tensor and kurtosis metrics in the subcortical nuclei were compared. Partial correlation was used to correlate the diffusion metrics and Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale part-III (UPDRS-III) score. Logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic analysis were applied to test the diagnostic performance of the diffusion metrics.Compared with HC, both EPD and MLPD patients showed higher fractional anisotropy and axial diffusivity, lower mean kurtosis (MK) and axial kurtosis in substantia nigra, lower MK and radial kurtosis (RK) in globus pallidus (GP) and thalamus (all p 0.05). Compared with EPD, MLPD patients showed lower MK and RK in GP and thalamus (all p 0.05). MK and RK in GP and thalamus were negatively correlated with UPDRS-III score (all p 0.01). The logistic regression model combining kurtosis and tensor metrics showed the best performance in diagnosing PD, EPD, and MLPD (areas under curve were 0.817, 0.769, and 0.914, respectively).PD has progressive microstructural alterations in the subcortical nuclei. DKI is sensitive to detect microstructural alterations in GP and thalamus during PD progression. Combining kurtosis and tensor metrics can achieve a good performance in diagnosing PD.

Orofacial ectopic pain can often arise following nerve injury. However, the exact mechanism responsible for orofacial ectopic pain induced by trigeminal nerve injury remains unknown. The α2δ-1 and glutamate N-methyl- d -aspartic acid receptor (NMDAR) interactions have been demonstrated to participate in neuropathic pain regulation in the spinal cord. In this study, a rat model of inferior alveolar nerve transection (IANX) was used to investigate the role of α2δ-1-NMDAR1 interaction in the trigeminal ganglion (TG) in regard to the regulation of orofacial ectopic pain. Western blot (WB) analysis indicated that α2δ-1 and NMDAR1 in the TG were substantially higher in IANX rats than they were in sham/naive rats. Additionally, immunofluorescence (IF) results revealed that α2δ-1 and NMDAR1 were co-expressed and distributed within neurons and activated satellite glial cells in the TG. Co-immunoprecipitation (Co-IP) results indicated that α2δ-1-NMDAR1 complex levels in the TG were higher in IANX rats than they were in sham rats. Furthermore, the results of behavioral tests demonstrated that intra-TG injection of gabapentin (α2δ-1 inhibitory ligand) or memantine hydrochloride (NMDAR antagonist) reversed the decrease in mechanical head-withdrawal threshold (HWT) in IANX rats. Moreover, inhibition of α2δ-1 by intra-TG administration of gabapentin suppressed the upregulation of the NMDAR1 protein, and the inhibition of NMDAR by intra-TG administration of memantine hydrochloride inhibited the increased expression of α2δ-1 protein induced by IANX. In conclusion, the physical and functional interaction between α2δ-1 and NMDAR1 is critical for the development of orofacial ectopic pain, indicating that α2δ-1, NMDAR1, and the α2δ-1–NMDAR1 complex may represent potential targets for the treatment of orofacial ectopic pain.

Background Graft vascular disease (GVD) is the main reason of late transplanted organ failure, which limits the long-term survival of patients. Murine aortic transplant is widely used in the field to understand the mechanisms leading to GVD. Currently, 3 major techniques, end-to-end anastomosis, sleeve suture and cuff technology, have been used to study the mechanism of GVD. However, which method is more suitable in mouse model of GVD? Herein, we compared these 3 surgical techniques in a mouse allograft arteriosclerosis model to determine the technique with the most appreciable outcomes. Methods Male C57Bl/6 (H-2b) and BALB/c (H-2d) mice were used for aorta transplantation with these 3 techniques. These 3 techniques were compared with regard to donor artery acquisition time, artery anastomosis time, overall surgical time, the amount of bleeding of each technique and the success rate of surgery. Hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) and Masson staining were used to examine the pathological changes of grafted vessels. The protein expression of phospho-NF-κb P65 and PCNA were determined to validate laminar flow and proliferative capacity of neointima obtained from different surgical and control groups. Results Sleeve suture had a shorter vascular anastomosis time and total operation time than end-to-end anastomosis and cuff technique. Sleeve suture and cuff technique had significantly fewer amount of bleeding from the site of vascular anastomosis than end-to-end anastomosis. Moreover, sleeve suture had the highest success rate among these 3 techniques. There was no difference in the degree of graft stenosis and collagen deposition between these 3 techniques. In addition, there was no significant difference in the expression of phospho-NF-κb P65and PCNA between the experimental group. Conclusions Sleeve suture is superior to end-to-end anastomosis and cuff technique with regard to vascular grafting in the murine model.

The practical application of lithium (Li) metal anode has been hindered by the fast Li depletion and shallow cycling conditions. Herein, a universal and scalable approach for current collectors combining an enhanced lithiophilic surface and a conductive inner core enables a promising pathway for high−performance Li metal battery (LMB). The interface between anode and electrolyte accelerates Li ions self−concentration and enhances the electrokinetic surface conduction with suppressed Li concentration polarization. With Cu@Cu3N as an example, a fast Li plating/stripping at 20 mA cm−2 for 10,000 cycles and a stable full cell under the near realistic conditions with a high active material loading (19.1 mg cm−2), a low electrolyte/active materials ratio (2.3), and a limited Li resource (10.24 mAh cm−2: equivalent to 50 µm Li foil) are achieved for broadening the commercialization of LMB.