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During the Cultural Revolution, millions of youths, workers, intellectuals, and cadres were separated from their families and mobilized to work in distant places according to the needs of the state. For these families, the transition to the post-Mao era was experienced not as an epochal change but as a family reunion often delayed by specific institutional constraints. The constant friction between families' strategies to reunite and the bureaucratic logic specific to local contexts led to a sense of victimhood and a turn to domestic life and hope in children as the new sacred in life. By examining the processes of family reunion told in three sets of family letters, this article explores "transitional frictions," defined as the conflicts and tensions arising from different speeds of institutional change during a rapid transition, as a ubiquitous phenomenon in the post-Mao transition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present investigation was carried out in terrace rice field of Mao Sub-division of Senapati district, Manipur, north-east India. The native indigenous community, Mao Naga, mainly practiced two types of agricultural practices viz., shifting cultivation and terrace cultivation. The physico-chemical parameters of the rice field are: average atmospheric temperature 21°C; water temperature 18.5°C; pH 7.9; conductivity 143.79 μmho/cm; dissolved oxygen 8.22 mg/l; FCO2 11.5 mg/l; alkalinity 123.07 mg/l; phosphate 0.362 mg/l and nitrate 0.07 mg/l. Indigenous carps such as Labeo rohita, L. bata, L. catla and fish such as Channa punctata and C. striatus were cultured in both perennial and seasonal rice fields with the local rice varieties such as Phurel, Phicharo, Muzharo, Mikhriro, Chusoro, Rodziiro, Romonoro and Disha. The rice variety Mikhriro is the costliest and famous for its flavour and stickiness. One ha of rice-fish culture field produced 3,500 kg of paddy (Rs. 52,500/-) and 200 kg of fish (Rs. 30,000/-) in one year. The net profit for perennial rice-fish field was Rs. 54,200/ha (against expenditure Rs. 28,300/ha) and Rs. 43,700/ha for the seasonal field (against expenditure Rs. 38,800/ha). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

IntroductionGenetic variants that control dopamine have been associated with obesity in children through loss of control of satiety and impulses, the manifestation of addictive eating behaviors, and specific personality traits. The variants include FTO-rs9939609 and the MAO-A 30 pb u-VNTR low-transcription alleles (LTA).ObjectiveTo evaluate the genetic association of FTO-rs9939609 and the MAO-A LTA, along with personality traits and eating behavior with obesity in Mayan children from Mexico.MethodsWe cross-sectionally evaluated 186 children (70 with obesity and 116 with normal weight) 6–12 years old from Yucatan, Mexico. Nutritional status was defined with body mass index (BMI) percentiles. Personality traits were evaluated with the Conners and TMCQ tests; eating behavior was evaluated with the CEBQ test. Genotyping with real-time PCR and TaqMan probes was used for FTO-rs9939609, whereas PCR amplification was used for MAO-A u-VNTR.ResultsHigh-intensity pleasure (p = 0.013) and moderate appetite (p = 0.032) differed according to nutritional status. Heterozygous FTO-rs9939609 T/A children showed higher mean scores of low-intensity pleasure (p = 0.002) and moderate appetite (p = 0.027) than homozygous T/T. Hemizygous boys having MAO-A LTA showed significantly higher mean scores of anxiety (p = 0.001) and impulsivity (p = 0.008). In multivariate models, only LTA alleles of MAO-A explained obesity in boys (OR = 4.44; 95% CI = 1.18–16.63).ConclusionIn the present study, MAO-A u-VNTR alleles were associated with obesity in multivariate models only in boys. These alleles might also have a role in personality traits such as anxiety and impulsivity, which secondly contribute to developing obesity in Mayan boys.

Abstract We read with great interest the report on the new anti-obesity potential in mice models of reversible monoamine oxidase B inhibitors by Moonsun et al., as opposed to the lack of such effects observed with irreversible MAO-B inhibitors (iMAO-Bi). Our research aimed to explore the potential anti-obesity effects of iMAO-Bi in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD). This retrospective study included 37 PD in-patients from 2018 to 2023. Patients who took iMAO-Bi were assigned to the iMAO-Bi group, and those who never took iMAO-Bi were assigned to the control. The major outcomes were changes in body weight and body mass index (BMI) during follow-up. A subgroup analysis was conducted to compare the anti-obesity effect between the short-term and long-term administrations of the iMAO-Bi group. The results showed a slight yet insignificant trend of bodyweight loss among the iMAO-Bi group of PD patients. Subgroup analysis showed that short-term treatment of iMAO-Bi (less than six months) led to reductions in BMI and body weight, while the long-term treatment of iMAO-Bi displayed a slight increase in BMI and body weight. The results suggested that short-term administration of iMAO-Bi may have potential weight-loss effects. Further studies with larger sample sizes are needed to evaluate the weight-loss effect of iMAO-Bi.

Considering the complex pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD), the multitarget ligand strategy is expected to provide superior effects for the treatment of the neurological disease compared to the classic single target approach. Thus, a series of 13 novel (5e-q) pyrrole-based Schiff bases were synthesized by conventional and microwave-assisted condensations, and the compounds were evaluated for MAO-A, MAO-B and AChE inhibitory activities. The chemical structures of the newly formed molecules were elucidated by a combination of spectral methods. The obtained results confirmed the theoretical data. The majority of the title Schiff bases demonstrated good potential towards AChE at 10 μM concentrations, with the most promising compound 5m (58%) exerting a comparative effect to that of the applied standard—Donepezil. 5j and 5o selectively inhibited MAO-B by 26% and 21% (at 1 μM concentration), respectively. The compound condensed with 5-nitro-2-furaldehyde (5j) achieved the best dual MAO-B and AChE inhibitory capacities. In addition to the in vitro analysis, docking simulations targeting the active sites of AChE (PDB ID: 4EY6) and MAO-B (PDB: 2V5Z) were employed to explore the possible interactions of the most prominent dual inhibitor (5j) with the enzymes. Furthermore, in silico ADME and PAMPA-blood–brain barrier (BBB) studies were conducted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The reform era began with the removal of Mao-era elites from leadership positions on a scale theretofore unseen in the People's Republic of China. Rather than depending on incentives to mobilize Mao-era cadres to support Reform and Opening, the new reform leadership brought in younger, better educated pro-reform elites. This article thus proposes a Personnel Model, in which the Communist Party brings in sympathetic cadres to implement major shifts in the Party line. Furthermore, personnel changes were first imposed on the military, then on the civilian apparatus. We show the large scale and rapid implementation of these reforms in 1982–1984 using an original database of over 60,000 cadres drawn from Organizational Histories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

"Lotus Blossoms and Purple Clouds: Monastic Buddhism in Post-Mao China" by Brian J. Nichols is an ethnographic account that explores the resilience and survival of Quanzhou Kaiyuan Monastery in Southeast China. The author examines the monastery's historical context, its institutional development, and various aspects of religious life, including devotional practices and individual experiences of monks. The book also delves into the role of material culture in constructing religious space and discusses different types of temple management in post-Mao China. Overall, the book provides a comprehensive study of Chinese Buddhist monasticism, grounded in the monastery's physical space and diverse perspectives. [Extracted from the article]

Kratom (Mitragyna speciosa Korth) is a tropical plant originating from Southeast Asia that predominantly contains alkaloid compounds and can potentially maintain levels of monoamine compounds in the body to treat depression. The study aimed to examine the potential of 8 alkaloid compounds in kratom as antidepressants towards four target proteins: Serotonin Transporter (SERT), Dopamine Transporter (DOPAT), Leucine Transporter (LEUT), and Monoamine Oxidase (MAO) via molecular docking. The Pyrx program is used with exhaustiveness 106 as the protocol, and the grid is adapted to the active site of each receptor. The affinity values ​​of the alkaloid compounds in kratom are mitragynine, 7-hydroxy mitragynine, speciociliatine, paynantheine, speciogynine, corynantheidine, mitraciliatine, and 9-hydroxycorynantheidine, for MAO were -7.1, -6.1, -5.7, -6.7, -5.7, -7.7, -5.7, and -5.7 kcal/ mole. All compounds bind to amino acid residues in the target protein through hydrogen and pi (π) bonds. All the tested alkaloid compounds have the potential to be re-uptake inhibitors SERT, DOPAT, LEUT, and Monoamine Oxidase (MAO).

The article examines China's foreign relations under the leadership of Mao Zedong when China retreated from the isolation of the Cultural Revolution and began opening up to the West and its Cold War allies, based on historiographical revisions to this periodisation. Topics discussed include China's opening to trade to buy textiles and foreign-made machines and technology, the Foreign-Three Program as a move towards integration with the world economy, and cultural exchange with the U.S.