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ObjectiveHearing and functional mobility impairments are recognized as risk factors for cognitive decline in older adults, yet the causal relationship underlying these associations is not well-understood. This study aims to explore whether engagement in social activities mediates the link between hearing or functional mobility impairment and cognitive decline.MethodsThis cross-sectional study was carried out in two cities in Jiangsu Province, Eastern China. Participants self-reported hearing impairment and social activity engagement, whereas functional mobility impairment was assessed using the Timed Up and Go Test (TUGT). Cognitive function was evaluated through the Modified Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). Logistic regression analysis explored factors influencing cognitive function, and mediation analysis was conducted to examine the relationship between hearing or functional mobility impairment and cognitive decline.ResultsThe study included 10,217 adults aged 60 and above. Among them, 19.35% reported hearing impairment, while 40.86% failed the Timed Up and Go Test (TUGT). The Modified Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) indicated a 30.40% prevalence of cognitive decline. Logistic regression analysis identified significant associations of cognitive function with factors such as gender, age, education level, residency, living arrangement, hyperlipidemia, cerebrovascular disease, alcohol consumption, smoking, Activities of Daily Living (ADLs), Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADLs), social activity, hearing, and functional mobility (p

Lodging reduces maize yield and quality. The improvement in maize lodging resistance has proven to be instrumental in maximizing the yield potential of maize varieties under high-density planting. Tillage practices accommodate larger groups by enhancing soil conditions. This study aimed to elucidate the impact of subsoil tillage in reducing the maize stalk lodging rate. The maize cultivars Xianyu 335 (XY335) and Zhongdan2 (ZD2) were selected for field experiments including two tillage methods, shallow rotary (RT) and subsoil (SS), and two densities, 75,000 plants ha−1 (D1) and 105,000 plants ha−1 (D2), were set up to investigate and analyze the changes of maize lodging rate and the related indexes of lodging resistance under SS and RT conditions. The findings revealed that under high density, as compared to rotary tillage, SS tillage decreased the plant and ear height by 9.01–9.20 cm and 3.50–4.90 cm, respectively. The stalk dry matter accumulation was enhanced by 8.98%–24.98%, while stalk diameter between two and seven internodes increased by 0.47– 4.15 mm. Stalk cellulose increased by 11.83% –12.38%, hemicellulose increased by 6.7%–15.97%, and lignin increased by 9.86%–15.9%. The rind puncture and crushing strength improved by 3.11%–20.06% and 11.90%–27.07%, respectively. The bending strength increased by 6.25%–27.96% and the lodging rate decreased by 1.20%–6.04%. Yield increased by 7.58%–8.17%. At SS tillage when density increased, the index changes in ZD2 were mostly less than those in XY335. The rind penetration strength, bending strength, crushing strength, stalk diameter, and dry matter accumulation all had a negative correlation with the lodging rate. It suggested that SS tillage was beneficial to lodging resistance and, in combination with stalk lodging-resistant varieties, can effectively alleviate the problem of stalk lodging after increased planting density.

Pain imposes a significant urden on patients, affecting them physically, psychologically, and economically. Despite numerous studies on the pathogenesis of pain, its clinical management remains suboptimal, leading to the under-treatment of many pain patients. Recently, research on the role of macrophages in pain processes has been increasing, offering potential for novel therapeutic approaches. Macrophages, being indispensable immune cells in the innate immune system, exhibit remarkable diversity and plasticity. However, the majority of research has primarily focused on the contributions of M1 macrophages in promoting pain. During the late stage of tissue damage or inflammatory invasion, M1 macrophages typically transition into M2 macrophages. In recent years, growing evidence has highlighted the role of M2 macrophages in pain relief. In this review, we summarize the mechanisms involved in M2 macrophage polarization and discuss their emerging roles in pain relief. Notably, M2 macrophages appear to be key players in multiple endogenous pathways that promote pain relief. We further analyze potential pathways through which M2 macrophages may alleviate pain.

BackgroundThe primary objective of this study is to thoroughly investigate the intricate correlation between postoperative molecular residual disease (MRD) status in individuals diagnosed with stage I-IIIA non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and clinicopathological features, gene mutations, the tumour immune microenvironment and treatment effects.MethodsThe retrospective collection and analysis were carried out on the clinical data of ninety individuals diagnosed with stage I-IIIA NSCLC who underwent radical resection of lung cancer at our medical facility between January 2021 and March 2022. The comprehensive investigation encompassed an evaluation of multiple aspects including the MRD status, demographic information, clinicopathological characteristics, results from genetic testing, the tumor immune microenvironment, and treatment effects.ResultsNo significant associations were observed between postoperative MRD status and variables such as gender, age, smoking history, pathological type, and gene mutations. However, a statistically significant correlation was found between MRD positivity and T (tumor diameter > 3 cm) as well as N (lymph node metastasis) stages (p values of 0.004 and 0.003, respectively). It was observed that higher proportions of micropapillary and solid pathological subtypes within lung adenocarcinoma were associated with increased rates of MRD-positivity after surgery (p = 0.007;0.005). MRD positivity demonstrated a correlation with the presence of vascular invasion (p = 0.0002). For the expression of programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1), tumour positive score (TPS) ≥ 1% and combined positive score (CPS) ≥ 5 were correlated with postoperative MRD status (p value distribution was 0.0391 and 0.0153). In terms of ctDNA elimination, among patients identified as having postoperative MRD and lacking gene mutations, postoperative adjuvant targeted therapy demonstrated superiority over chemotherapy (p = 0.027).ConclusionPostoperative ctDNA-MRD status in NSCLC patients exhibits correlations with the size of the primary tumor, lymph node metastasis, pathological subtype of lung adenocarcinoma, presence of vascular invasion, as well as TPS and CPS values for PD-L1 expression; in postoperative patients with MRD, the effectiveness of adjuvant EGFR-TKI targeted therapy exceeds that of chemotherapy, as evidenced by the elimination of ctDNA.

Studies on the neuroprotective effects of anesthetics were carried out more than half a century ago. Subsequently, many cell and animal experiments attempted to verify the findings. However, in clinical trials, the neuroprotective effects of anesthetics were not observed. These contradictory results suggest a mismatch between basic research and clinical trials. The Stroke Therapy Academic Industry Roundtable X (STAIR) proposed that the emergence of endovascular thrombectomy (EVT) would provide a proper platform to verify the neuroprotective effects of anesthetics because the haemodynamics of patients undergoing EVT is very close to the ischaemia–reperfusion model in basic research. With the widespread use of EVT, it is necessary for us to re-examine the neuroprotective effects of anesthetics to guide the use of anesthetics during EVT because the choice of anesthesia is still based on team experience without definite guidelines. In this paper, we describe the research status of anesthesia in EVT and summarize the neuroprotective mechanisms of some anesthetics. Then, we focus on the contradictory results between clinical trials and basic research and discuss the causes. Finally, we provide an outlook on the neuroprotective effects of anesthetics in the era of endovascular therapy.

Microplastics (MPs) pose serious threats to various marine organisms, including many threatened apex predators such as cetaceans. However, information on microplastic contamination in cetaceans from Asian waters is limited. Based on the analysis of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), we reported MPs from finless porpoise intestinal samples and from their habitats along the Fujian coast of the East China Sea. MPs proved to be ubiquitous in both intestinal and habitat water samples. Most intestinal MPs were fibers (86.90%), transparent (51.19%), small sizes (

Purpose: Etomidate is widely used in general anesthesia and sedation, and significant individual differences are observed during anesthesia induction. This study aimed to explore the molecular mechanisms of different etomidate susceptibility at the genetic level.Methods: 128 patients were enrolled in the study. The bispectral index (BIS), mean arterial pressure (MAP) and heart rate (HR) were recorded when the patients entered the operating room for 5 min, before the administration of etomidate, 30 s, 60 s, 90 s, 120 s and 150 s after the administration of etomidate, and the corresponding single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were analyzed.Results: Significant individual differences were observed in etomidate anesthesia. The results of two-way ANOVA showed that CYP2C9 rs1559, GABRB2 rs2561, GABRA2 rs279858, GABRA2 rs279863 were associated with the BIS value during etomidate anesthesia; UGT1A9 rs11692021 was associated with the Extended Observer’s Assessment of Alertness and Sedation (EOAA/S) score during etomidate anesthesia; GABRB2 rs2561 was associated with MAP. Multiple linear stepwise regression model results showed that CYP2C9 rs1559, GABRA2 rs279858 and GABRB2 rs2561 were associated with the BIS value and UGT1A9 rs11692021 was associated with the EOAA/S score; GABRB2 rs2561 was associated with MAP.Conclusion: GABRA2 rs279858, GABRB2 rs2561, CYP2C9 rs1559 and UGT1A9 rs11692021 are the SNPs with individual differences during etomidate anesthesia. This is the first to study the SNPs of etomidate, which can provide certain evidence for the future use of etomidate anesthesia and theoretical basis for precision anesthesia.

Sevoflurane can induce memory impairment during clinical anesthesia; however, the underlying mechanisms are largely unknown. TASK-3 channels are one of the potential targets of sevoflurane. Accumulating evidence supports a negative role of intracranial theta rhythms (4–12 Hz) in memory formation. Here, we investigated whether TASK-3 channels contribute to sevoflurane-induced memory impairment by regulating hippocampal theta rhythms. In this study, the memory performance of mice was tested by contextual fear conditioning and inhibitory avoidance experiments. The hippocampal local field potentials (LFPs) were recorded from chronically implanted electrodes located in CA3 region. The results showed that sevoflurane concentration-dependently impaired the memory function of mice, as evidenced by the decreased time mice spent on freezing and reduced latencies for mice to enter the shock compartment. Our electrophysiological results revealed that sevoflurane also enhanced the spectral power of hippocampal LFPs (1–30 Hz), particularly in memory-related theta rhythms (4–12 Hz). These effects were mitigated by viral-mediated knockdown of TASK-3 channels in the hippocampal CA3 region. The knockdown of hippocampal TASK-3 channels significantly reduced the enhancing effect of sevoflurane on hippocampal theta rhythms and alleviated sevoflurane-induced memory impairment. Our data indicate that sevoflurane can increase hippocampal theta oscillations and impair memory function via TASK-3 channels.

In Chinese cabbage (Brassica rapa L. ssp. pekinensis), leaf adaxial-abaxial (ad-ab) polarity is tightly related to leaf incurvature, an essential factor for the formation of leafy heads. Therefore, identification of the genes responsible for leaf ad-ab polarity and studying their genetic variation may clarify the mechanism of leafy head formation. By comparing the sequences of the genes regulating leaf ad-ab polarity development in Arabidopsis thaliana (A. thaliana), 41 candidate genes distributed on 10 chromosomes were found to be responsible for the establishment of ad-ab polarity in Chinese cabbage. Orthologous genes, including 10 single copies, 14 double copies, and one triple copies, were detected in the Chinese cabbage. The gene structure and conserved domain analyses showed that the number of exons of the 41 candidate genes range from one to 25, and that most genes share the conserved motifs 1, 6, and 10. Based on the 41 candidate genes, 341 simple sequence repeats (SSRs) were detected, including five replicated types: single, double, triple, quintuple, and sextuple nucleotide replications. Among these sequence repeat (SSR) loci, 323 loci were used to design 969 specific primers, and 362 primer pairs were selected randomly and evaluated using 12 Chinese cabbage accessions with different heading types. 23 primer pairs resulting with clear, polymorphic bands, combined with other 127 markers, was used to construct a linkage map by using an F2 population containing 214 lines derived from the hybrid of the overlapping heading Chinese cabbage “14Q-141” and the outward curling heading Chinese cabbage “14Q-279.” The result showed that the sequences of markers in the genetic linkage map and the physical map was consistent in general. Our study could help to accelerate the breeding process of leafy head quality in Chinese cabbage.

Emotional labor is characterized by two main regulation strategies: surface acting and deep acting. However, which strategy consumes more energy? To explore this, we used functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to measure changes in hemoglobin density while participants performed a task requiring them to make the opposite emotional facial expression of that presented in a picture. We found that (1) neither surface nor deep acting led to a significant change in hemoglobin concentration in the prefrontal cortex; (2) making negative and positive facial expressions activated the same left front and middle areas of the prefrontal cortex; and (3) making positive facial expressions activated the rear portion of the prefrontal cortex, but making negative facial expressions did not. Based on these findings and past work, we can infer that deep and surface acting may not significantly differ in terms of the activity in the prefrontal cortex energy consumed. Furthermore, engaging in positive and negative emotional labor appear to utilize some of the same neurological mechanisms, although they differ in others.

Heading is a key agronomic trait of Chinese cabbage. A non-heading mutant with flat growth of heading leaves (fg-1) was isolated from an EMS-induced mutant population of the heading Chinese cabbage inbred line A03. In fg-1 mutant plants, the heading leaves are flat similar to rosette leaves. The epidermal cells on the adaxial surface of these leaves are significantly smaller, while those on the abaxial surface are much larger than in A03 plants. The segregation of the heading phenotype in the F2 and BC1 population suggests that the mutant trait is controlled by a pair of recessive alleles. Phytohormone analysis at the early heading stage showed significant decreases in IAA, ABA, JA and SA, with increases in methyl IAA and trans-Zeatin levels, suggesting they may coordinate leaf adaxial-abaxial polarity, development and morphology in fg-1. RNA-sequencing analysis at the early heading stage showed a decrease in expression levels of several auxin transport (BrAUX1, BrLAXs, and BrPINs) and responsive genes. Transcript levels of important ABA responsive genes, including BrABF3, were up-regulated in mid-leaf sections suggesting that both auxin and ABA signaling pathways play important roles in regulating leaf heading. In addition, a significant reduction in BrIAMT1 transcripts in fg-1 might contribute to leaf epinastic growth. The expression profiles of 19 genes with known roles in leaf polarity were significantly different in fg-1 leaves compared to wild type, suggesting that these genes might also regulate leaf heading in Chinese cabbage. In conclusion, leaf heading in Chinese cabbage is controlled through a complex network of hormone signaling and abaxial-adaxial patterning pathways. These findings increase our understanding of the molecular basis of head formation in Chinese cabbage.

Wood formation is an excellent model system for quantitative trait analysis due to the strong associations between the transcriptional and metabolic traits that contribute to this complex process. Investigating the genetic architecture and regulatory mechanisms underlying wood formation will enhance our understanding of the quantitative genetics and genomics of complex phenotypic variation. Genome-wide association studies (GWASs) represent an ideal statistical strategy for dissecting the genetic basis of complex quantitative traits. However, elucidating the molecular mechanisms underlying many favorable loci that contribute to wood formation and optimizing GWAS design remain challenging in this omics era. In this review, we summarize the recent progress in GWAS-based functional genomics of wood property traits in major timber species such as Eucalyptus, Populus, and various coniferous species. We discuss several appropriate experimental designs for extensive GWAS in a given undomesticated tree population, such as omics-wide association studies and high-throughput phenotyping technologies. We also explain why more attention should be paid to rare allelic and major structural variation. Finally, we explore the potential use of GWAS for the molecular breeding of trees. Such studies will help provide an integrated understanding of complex quantitative traits and should enable the molecular design of new cultivars.

In trees, xylem tissues play a key role in the formation of woody tissues, which have important uses for pulp and timber production; also DNA methylation plays an important part in gene regulation during xylogenesis in trees. In our study, methylation-sensitive amplified polymorphism (MSAP) analysis was used to analyze the role cytosine methylation plays in wood formation in the commercially important tree species Populus tomentosa. This analysis compared the methylation patterns between xylem tissues (developing xylem and mature xylem) and non-xylem tissues (cambium, shoot apex, young leaf, mature leaf, phloem, root, male catkin, and female catkin) and found 10,316 polymorphic methylation sites. MSAP identified 132 candidate genes with the same methylation patterns in xylem tissues, including seven wood-related genes. The expression of these genes differed significantly between xylem and non-xylem tissue types (P