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Polyunsaturated fatty acids such as docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) positively affect the outcome of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP). Given that DHA metabolism by cytochrome P450 and soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH) enzymes affects retinal angiogenesis and vascular stability, we investigated the role of sEH in a mouse model of ROP. In WT mice, hyperoxia elicited tyrosine nitration and inhibition of sEH and decreased generation of the DHA-derived diol 19,20-dihydroxydocosapentaenoic acid (19,20-DHDP). Correspondingly, in a murine model of ROP, [sEH.sup.-/-] mice developed a larger central a vascular zone and peripheral pathological vascular tuft formation than did their WT littermates. Astrocytes were the cells most affected by Seh deletion, and hyperoxia increased astrocyte apoptosis. In rescue experiments, 19,20-DHDP prevented astrocyte loss by targeting the mitochondrial membrane to prevent the hyperoxia-induced dissociation of presenilin-1 and presenilin-1-associated protein to attenuate poly ADP-ribose polymerase activation and mitochondrial DNA damage. Therapeutic intravitreal administration of 19,20-DHDP not only suppressed astrocyte loss, but also reduced pathological vascular tuft formation in [sEH.sup.-/-] mice. Our data indicate that sEH activity is required for mitochondrial integrity and retinal astrocyte survival in ROP. Moreover, 19,20-DHDP may be more effective than DHA as a nutritional supplement for preventing retinopathy in preterm infants., Introduction Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is a complication of treating preterm infants with [O.sub.2]. It is estimated that as many as 10% of very premature infants become blind as a [...]

Healthy aging leads to complex changes in the functional network of speech processing in a noisy environment. The dual‐route neural architecture has been applied to the study of speech processing. Although evidence suggests that senescent increases activity in the brain regions across the dorsal and ventral stream regions to offset reduced periphery, the regulatory mechanism of dual‐route functional networks underlying such compensation remains largely unknown. Here, by utilizing functional near‐infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), we investigated the compensatory mechanism of the dual‐route functional connectivity, and its relationship with healthy aging by using a speech perception task at varying signal‐to‐noise ratios (SNR) in healthy individuals (young adults, middle‐aged adults, and older adults). Results showed that the speech perception scores showed a significant age‐related decrease with the reduction of the SNR. The analysis results of dual‐route speech processing networks showed that the functional connection of Wernicke's area and homolog Wernicke's area were age‐related increases. Further to clarify the age‐related characteristics of the dual‐route speech processing networks, graph‐theoretical network analysis revealed an age‐related increase in the efficiency of the networks, and the age‐related differences in nodal characteristics were found both in Wernicke's area and homolog Wernicke's area under noise environment. Thus, Wernicke's area might be a key network hub to maintain efficient information transfer across the speech process network with healthy aging. Moreover, older adults would recruit more resources from the homologous Wernicke's area in a noisy environment. The recruitment of the homolog of Wernicke's area might provide a means of compensation for older adults for decoding speech in an adverse listening environment. Together, our results characterized dual‐route speech processing networks at varying noise environments and provided new insight for the compensatory theories of how aging modulates the dual‐route speech processing functional networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A high-performance concrete rapid patching repair material needs to develop high early strength to satisfy traffic opening requirements, yet provides sufficient durability to sustain different environmental conditions and primary deterioration mechanisms for full-depth concrete repair. In this study, a set of experiments was conducted to evaluate the performance of developed pavement repair mixtures subjected to different environmental conditions, including low ambient temperature, highly reactive siliceous aggregate, wet/dry cycling, and moisture loss. Full-scale slab patching was also carried out to assess the rapid patching mixtures' constructability, compatibility, and interface bonding with the concrete substrate. Patching materials with a reduced cement content and Type IP cement exhibited a lower drying shrinkage rate and less deterioration from wet/dry cycles compared with commonly used patching mixtures that typically use high cement content and Type I cement. The tendency of alkali-silica reaction deterioration was reduced significantly by replacing 50% Type III cement with Type IP cement. The rapid patching mixtures generally displayed a high degree of early-age shrinkage but with satisfactory compatibility and good bonding with the concrete substrate. Test results also indicate that Type III cement-based rapid patching mixtures can be a promising option to reduce traffic closure duration at lower ambient temperatures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]