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Objective: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is accompanied by widespread abnormal spontaneous regional activity related to cognitive deficits. However, little is known about the topological properties of the functional brain connectome of patients with OSA. This study aimed to use the graph theory approaches to investigate the topological properties and functional connectivity (FC) of the functional connectome in patients with OSA, based on resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI). Methods: Forty-five male patients with newly diagnosed untreated severe OSA and 45 male good sleepers (GSs) underwent a polysomnography (PSG), clinical evaluations, and rs-fMRI scans. The automated anatomical labeling (AAL) atlas was used to construct the functional brain connectome. The topological organization and FC of brain functional networks in patients with OSA were characterized using graph theory methods and investigated the relationship between functional network topology and clinical variables. Results: Both the patients with OSA and the GSs exhibited high-efficiency “small-world” network attributes. However, the patients with OSA exhibited decreased σ, γ, Eglob; increased Lp, λ; and abnormal nodal centralities in several default-mode network (DMN), salience network (SN), and central executive network (CEN) regions. However, the patients with OSA exhibited abnormal functional connections between the DMN, SN, and CEN. The disrupted FC was significantly positive correlations with the global network metrics γ and σ. The global network metrics were significantly correlated with the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) score, Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) score, and oxygen desaturation index. Conclusion: The findings suggest that the functional connectome of patients with OSA exhibited disrupted functional integration and segregation, and functional disconnections of the DMN, SN, and CEN. The aberrant topological attributes may be associated with disrupted FC and cognitive functions. These topological abnormalities and disconnections might be potential biomarkers of cognitive impairments in patients with OSA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Data sets of 26 fisheries target species from the fishery-dependent and fishery-independent surveys in the overwintering ground of open waters of northern East China Sea (OW-NECS) , combined sea surface temperature ( SST) , were used to examine the links between diversity index, pattern of common variability and climate changes based on the principal component analysis ( PCA) and generalized additive model (GAM). The results showed that the shift from a cold regime to a warm regime was detected in SST during the 1970s-2011 with step changes around 1982/1983. SST increased during the cold regime and the warm regime before 1998 (warming trend period, 1972-1998) , and decreased during the warm regime after 1998 (cooling trend period, 1999-2011). Shannon diversity index was largely dependent on the filefish, which contributed up to 50% of the total production as a single species, with low diversity in the waters of the OW-NECS, during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Excluding the filefish, the diversity index linearly increased and decreased during 1972-1998 and 1999-2011, respectively. The variation pattern generally corresponds with the trend in water temperature, strongly suggesting the effect of the SST on the diversity. The first two components (PC1 and PC2) of PCA for target species, which accounted for 32.43% of the total variance, showed evident decadal variation patterns with a step change during 1992-1999 and inter-annual variability with short-period fluctuation, respectively. It seems that PC1 was associated with large scale climatic change, while PC2 was related to inter-annual oceanographic variability such as ENSO events. Linear fitting results showed winEOF1 had significant effect on PC1, and GAM analysis for PC1 showed that winter EOF1 (winEOF1) and summer EOF2 (sumEOF2) can explain 88.9% of the total variance. Nonlinear effect was also found between PC2 and winEOF1, indicating that the fish community structure, which had predominantly decadal/inter-annual variation patterns, was influenced by inter-annual variations in oceanographic conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multiple hypotheses are available to explain recruitment rate. Model selection methods can be used to identify the best model that supports a particular hypothesis. However, using a single model for estimating recruitment success is often inadequate for overexploited population because of high model uncertainty. In this study, stock-recruitment data of small yellow croaker in the East China Sea collected from fishery dependent and independent surveys between 1992 and 2012 were used to examine density-dependent effects on recruitment success. Model selection methods based on frequentist (AIC, maximum adjusted R2 and P-values) and Bayesian ( Bayesian model averaging, RMA) methods were applied to identify the relationship between recruitment and environment conditions. Interannual variability of the East China Sea environment was indicated by sea surface temperature ( SST) , meridional wind stress (MWS) , zonal wind stress (ZWS) , sea surface pressure ( SPP) and runoff of Changjiang River ( RCR). Mean absolute error, mean squared predictive error and continuous ranked probability score were calculated to evaluate the predictive performance of recruitment success. The results showed that models structures were not consistent based on three kinds of model selection methods, predictive variables of models were spawning abundance and MWS by AIC, spawning abundance by P-values, spawning abundance, MWS and RCR by maximum adjusted R2.The recruitment success decreased linearly with stock abundance ( P<0.01) , suggesting overcompensation effect in the recruitment success might be due to cannibalism or food competition. Meridional wind intensity showed marginally significant and positive effects on the recruitment success ( P = 0.06) , while runoff of Changjiang River showed a marginally negative effect (P = 0.07). Based on mean absolute error and continuous ranked probability score, predictive error associated with models obtained from RMA was the smallest amongst different approaches, while that from models selected based on the P-value of the independent variables was the highest. However, mean squared predictive error from models selected based on the maximum adjusted R2 was highest. We found that RMA method could improve the prediction of recruitment success, derive more accurate prediction interval and quantitatively evaluate model uncertainty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By using the 2008 -2010 investigation data about the body condition of small yellow croaker in the offshore waters of southern Yellow Sea (SYS), open waters of northern East China Sea (NECS), and offshore waters of middle East China Sea (MECS), this paper analyzed the spatial heterogeneity of body length-body mass of juvenile and adult small yellow croakers by the statistical approaches of mean regression model and quantile regression model. The results showed that the residual standard errors from the analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) and the linear mixed-effects model were similar, and those from the simple linear regression were the highest. For the juvenile small yellow croakers, their mean body mass in SYS and NECS estimated by the mixed-effects mean regression model was higher than the overall average mass across the three regions, while the mean body mass in MECS was below the overall average. For the adult small yellow croakers, their mean body mass in NECS was higher than the overall average, while the mean body mass in SYS and MECS was below the overall average. The results from quantile regression indicated the substantial differences in the allometric relationships of juvenile small yellow croakers between SYS, NECS, and MECS, with the estimated mean exponent of the allometric relationship in SYS being 2. 85, and the interquartile range being from 2. 63 to 2. 96, which indicated the heterogeneity of body form. The results from ANCOVA showed that the allometric body length-body mass relationships were significantly different between the 25th and 75th percentile exponent values (F =6. 38, df =1737, P< 0. 01) and the 25th percentile and median exponent values (F =2. 35, df =1737,P =0. 039). The relationship was marginally different between the median and 75th percentile exponent values (F = 2. 21, df =1737, P =0. 051). The estimated body length-body mass exponent of adult small yellow croakers in SYS was 3. 01 (10th and 95th percentiles=2. 77 and 3. 1, respectively). The estimated body length-body mass relationships were significantly different from the lower and upper quantiles of the exponent (F =3. 31, df =2793, P =0. 01) and the median and upper quantiles (F =3. 56, df =2793, P<0. 01), while no significant difference was observed between the lower and median quantiles (F =0. 98, df =2793, P =0. 43). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Cu/SiO2 nano-composite thin films were prepared by a sol–gel method. The structure and optical property of the films were investigated with a special emphasis on the influences of Cu content. Cu particles were basically spherical and dispersed in the SiO2 matrix. The optical absorption peaks due to the surface plasmon resonance of Cu particles were observed in the wavelength range of 550–600nm. The absorption property is enhanced with increasing Cu content, showing a maximum value in the films with 30at.% Cu. Increasing Cu content above 30at.% results in a decrease in absorption intensity. The absorption peak shows a red-shift trend with increasing Cu content from 5 to 30at.% and then turns to blue-shift by further increasing the Cu content from 30 to 35at.%. The band gap Eg decreases with increasing Cu content from 10 to 30at.% but increases by further increasing Cu content. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Many cells in vivo have their inherent motions, which involve numerous biochemical and biophysical signals synergistically regulating cell behavior and function. However, existing methods offer little information about the concurrently chemical and physical responses of dynamically pulsing cells. Here, we report a soft electrode with an electrospun poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT)-based nanomesh to fully comply with spontaneous motions of cells. Moreover, this electrode demonstrated excellent electrical conductivity, electrochemical performance and cellular biocompatibility. Cardiomyocytes cultured thereon exhibited autonomous and rhythmic contractility, and synchronously induced mechanical deformation of the underlying electrode, which allowed real-time monitoring of nitric oxide release and electrophysiological activity of cardiomyocytes. This work provides a promising way toward recording chemical and electrical signals of biological systems with their natural motions., (© 2022 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Small yellow croaker is a trans-boundary fish resource shared by China and South Korea. Information on the distribution and preferred habitats of overwintering populations is lacking, parti-cularly in southern waters of Yellow Sea where the species is regulated together by China and South Korea. We simulated the geographic distribution under current condition with eight species distribution models (SDM) based on the presence-absence data and five environmental variables. The performance of model's prediction was evaluated using the area under the receiver operating characteris-tic curve (AUC) based on 5-fold cross-validation. Ensemble SDMs were constructed using a weighted average of eight habitat suitability model types to identify core areas with high probability of small yellow croaker occurrence. The results suggested that predictions based on presence-absence data generally perform better than those based on presence-only data and classical regression models under-performed compared to machine learning approaches. Among all the approaches that supported presence-absence data, support vector machine was the best performing technique and GLM was the worst. The ensemble model outperformed individual SDM models, demonstrating higher effectiveness of ensemble modelling approaches than individual models in reducing the predictive uncertainty. Salinity and temperature were important factors in predicting the overwintering distribution of small yellow croaker. The core areas with high probability of occurrence were concentrated in three areas, the open waters of southern Yellow Sea, the open waters of northern East China Sea, and the coastal sea of Zhejiang Province. Coastal waters in southern Yellow Sea and open waters in central and southern East China Sea were not suitable for overwintering of small yellow croaker. Our results provided a basis for predicting the potential overwintering distribution to guide spatial planning in support of sustainable utilization of small yellow croaker.

Objective: To observe the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) on changes of expression of L-Arg transporter 2 (CAT-2) mRNA and nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) mRNA and protein and contents of NO and cGMP of L 4 -L 6 segments of spinal cord in rats with spared nerve injury (SNI), so as to reveal its mechanism underlying reducing neuropathic pain ., Methods: A total of 120 male SD rats were randomly divided into sham operation, model, EA and NOS inhibitor (N omega-Nitro-L-arginine methyl ester hydrochloride, L-NAME) groups, with 30 rats in each group. The neuropathic pain model was established by ligating and cutting the tibial nerve and the common peroneal nerve. EA (2 Hz, 1-3 mA) was applied to "Weizhong" (BL40) and "Huantiao" (GB30)on the damaged hindlimb for 30 min, once daily from day 11 to 17 after SNI. Rats of the L-NAME group received i.p. of L-NAME (60 mg·kg -1 ·d -1 ) for 7 consecutive days. The mechanical pain threshold (PT) was determined before and 10 and 16 d after SNI, respectively. The expression le-vels of CAT-2 mRNA and iNOS mRNA, and iNOS protein in the L 4 -L 6 segments of the spinal cord were detected by using reverse transcription - polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Western blot, respectively, and the contents of NO and cGMP of L 4 -L 6 assayed using nitrate/nitrite reductase method and radioimmunoassay, respectively ., Results: After modeling, the PT was significantly decreased on day 10 and 16 after SNI in comparison with the sham operation group and their own baseline data of pre-operation in each group ( P < 0.01), and remarkably increased in the EA and L-NAME groups relevant to the model group on day 16 ( P < 0.01, P < 0.05). Compared with the sham operation group, the expression levels of CAT-2 mRNA and iNOS mRNA and protein, as well as the contents of NO 2 － /NO 3 － and cGMP were signi-ficantly up-regulated in the model group ( P < 0.05, P < 0.01). Following EA intervention, the levels of CAT-2 mRNA and iNOS mRNA and iNOS protein, and NO 2 － /NO 3 － and cGMP contents were all reversed in both EA and L-NAME groups ( P < 0.05, P < 0.01). The effect of EA was significantly superior to that of L-NAME in raising the PT on day 16 after SNI ( P < 0.05), but obviously inferior to that of L-NAME in down-regulating the expression of CAT-2 mRNA and iNOS mRNA and protein ( P < 0.05). No significant differences were found between the EA and L-NAME groups in down-regulating NO 2 － /NO 3 － andcGMP contents ( P > 0.05)., Conclusion: EA intervention can effectively relieve neuropathic pain in SNI rats, which may be closely related to its function in suppressing L-Arg/NO/cGMP pathway in the lumbar spinal cord.

Objective: We have demonstrated that electroacupuncture (EA) of "Weizhong" (BL 40) and "Huantiao" (GB 30) could evidently relieve mechanical hyperalgesia in spared nerve injury (SNI) rats. The present study was designed to observe the effect of EA on levels of cAMP, and protein kinase A (PKA) and cAMP response element binding protein (CREB) in the lumbar spinal cord of the same pain model rats, so as to explore its mechanisms underlying improvement of neuropathic pain., Methods: One hundred male SD rats were randomly divided into 5 groups: sham operation, model, EA, AP-5 and L-NAME groups ( n ＝20 in each group). The sham operation group underwent a simple separation of the sciatic nerve but without ligation and abscission. The neuropathic pain model was established by abscission of the right tibial and common peroneal nerve. EA (2 Hz, 1－3 mA) was applied to right BL 40 and GB 30 for 30 min, once a day for 7 days, starting from day 11 after surgery. For rats of the AP-5 and L-NAME groups, AP-5 (a competitive antagonist for NMDA receptor, 0.7 mg•kg －1 •d －1 ) and L-NAME (a non-selective antagonist for nitric oxide synthase, NOS, 60 mg•kg －1 •d －1 ) were respectively administrated by intraperitoneal injection, once daily for 7 days. The mechanical pain threshold was measured, the cAMP content of spinal cord (L 4－L 6) was determined by radioimmunoassay, and the expression of PKA, p-PKA and CREB proteins of spinal cord (L 4－L 6) was detected by Western blot., Results: The content of cAMP and the expression levels of PKA, p-PKA and CREB were significantly higher in the model group than in the sham operation group ( P <0.01), and considerably lower in the EA group than in the model group ( P <0.01, P <0.05). Compared to the model group, the expression levels of PKA and p-PKA were significantly decreased in the AP-5 and L-NAME groups ( P <0.01, P <0.05). Compared to the EA group, the content of cAMP and the expression levels of CREB were significantly higher ( P <0.05), and the expression of p-PKA was significantly lower in the AP-5 and L-NAME groups ( P <0.05)．., Conclusion: EA intervention-induced down-regulation of cAMP, PKA and CREB levels in the lumbar spinal cord may contribute to its analgesic effect in neuropathic pain rats, suggesting an involvement of reduction of cAMP/PKA/CREB signaling of spinal cord in EA analgesia.

Objective: To observe the changes of intracellular calcium ([Ca 2＋ ]i) concentration and expression of calcium/calmodulin dependent protein kinaseⅡ (CaMKⅡ) in spinal dorsal horn neurons of spared nerve injury (SNI) rats, so as to explore its mechanisms underlying improvement of neuropathic pain., Methods: One hundred and ten SD rats were randomly divided into 5 groups: sham control, model, EA, AP-5 and L-NAME groups. The sham group underwent only a simple separation of the sciatic nerve but without ligation and abscission. The neuropathic pain model was established by abscission of the right tibial and common peroneal nerve. EA (2 Hz, 1－3 mA) was applied to right "Weizhong" (BL 40) and "Huantiao" (GB 30) for 30 min, once a day for 7 days, starting from day 11 after surgery. For rats of the AP-5 and L-NAME groups, AP-5 (a competitive antagonist for NMDA receptor, 0.7 mg·kg －1 ·d －1 ) and L-NAME (a non-selective antagonist for nitric oxide synthase [NOS], 60 mg·kg －1 ·d －1 ) were respectively administrated by intraperitoneal injection, once daily for 7 days. The mechanical pain threshold was measured, and the calcium fluorescence intensity (shown by Fluo-3/AM calcium fluorescence indicator) of the superficial layer of the lumbar spinal cord (L 4－L 6) was measured by immunohistochemical staining and the expression of spinal cord (L 4－L 6) CaMK Ⅱ protein was detected by Western blot (WB)., Results: After modeling, the mechanical pain threshold was significantly decreased on day 10 and 16 after operation in comparison with the sham operation group and baseline data of pre-operation in each group ( P <0.01), and remarkably increased in the EA, AP-5 and L-NAME groups relevant to the model group on day 16 ( P <0.01, P <0.05), while the effect of EA was significantly superior to that of AP-5 and L-NAME groups ( P <0.05), suggesting a reduction of EA analgesia after administration of AP-5 and L-NAME. The concentration of intracellular [Ca 2＋ ]i was significantly higher in the model group than in the sham group, and considerably lower in the EA, AP-5 and L-NAME groups than in the model group ( P <0.01, P <0.05). Moreover, the expression level of CaMKⅡ shown by WB and immunohistochemical staining was significantly higher in the model group than in the sham group ( P <0.05) and obviously lower in the EA group (not the AP-5 and L-NAME groups) than in the model group on day 16 after the intervention ( P <0.05). It suggests an involvement of glutamate NMDA receptor and NMDAR-NOS/NO signaling in the analgesic effect and CaMKⅡ expression down-regulation of EA., Conclusions: EA can ease pain in rats with neuropathic pain, which is closely related to its effect in reducing the calcium concentration and the expression of CaMKⅡ in the lumbar spinal cord, possibly mediated by glutamate NMDA receptor and NMDAR-NOS/NO signaling.

Objective: To observe the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) stimulation of "Weizhong" (BL 40)-"Huantiao" (GB 30) on expression of phosphorylated calcium/calmodulin dependent protein kinase II (p-CaMK II) and cAMP response element binding protein (p-CREB) in the spinal cord in rats with spared nerve injury (SNI), so as to explore its mechanism underlying easing neuropathic pain., Methods: Sixty SD rats were randomly divided into five groups: control (sham-operation) , model, EA, AP-5 (a NMDA receptor antagonist) and L-NAME (a non-selective nitric oxide synthase, NOS inhibitor) (n = 12 in each group). The neuropathic pain model was established by sectioning the right tibal nerve and common peroneal nerve. EA intervention (2 Hz, 1 mA, increasing 1 mA/10 min) was applied to "Weizhong" (BL 40) and "Huantiao" (GB 30) on the injured side for 30 min, once a day for 7 days. Rats of the AP-5 and L-NAME groups were treated by intragastric administration of AP-5 (0.7 mg · kg(-1) · d(-1)) and L-NAME (60 mg · kg(-1) · d(-1)) respectively from the 11 th day after operation, once daily for 7 days. The mechanical pain thresholds were measured before the SNI procedure (baseline) and at the 10th and 16th day after the procedure. The expression of p-CaMK II protein and p-CREB protein and gene of the spinal cord (L4-L6 segments) was determined by Western blot and fluorescence quantitative-polymerase chain reaction (PCR), separately., Results: In comparison to the control group, the mechanical pain threshold was significantly decreased in the model group (P < 0.01). After EA intervention, the mechanical pain thresholds of the EA, AP-5 and L-NAME groups were obviously increased (P < 0.01, P < 0.05) on day 16 post SNI procedure. The expression levels of p-CaMK II and p-CREB proteins and CREB mRNA in the spinal cord were significantly higher in the model group than in the control group (P < 0.05). Compared with the model group, the expression levels of spinal p-CaMK II and p-CREB proteins and CREB mRNA were obviously down-regulated in the EA group (P < 0.05), but not in the AP-5 group and the L-NAME group (P > 0.055., Conclusion: EA intervention of BL 40-GB 30 may alleviate pain in neuropathic pain rats, which may be related to its effects in down-regulating spinal CaMK II-CREB pathway function.

Data sets of 26 fisheries target species from the fishery-depen-dent and fishery-independent surveys in the overwintering ground of open waters of northern East China Sea (OW-NECS), combined sea surface temperature (SST), were used to examine the links between diversity index, pattern of common variability and climate changes based on the principal component analysis (PCA) and generalized additive model (GAM). The results showed that the shift from a cold regime to a warm regime was detected in SST during the 1970s-2011 with step changes around 1982/ 1983. SST increased during the cold regime and the warm regime before 1998 (warming trend period, 1972-1998), and decreased during the warm regime after 1998 (cooling trend period, 1999-2011). Shannon diversity index was largely dependent on the filefish, which contributed up to 50% of the total production as a single species, with low diversity in the waters of the OW-NECS, during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Excluding the filefish, the diversity index linearly increased and decreased during 1972-1998 and 1999-2011, respectively. The variation pattern generally corresponds with the trend in water temperature, strongly suggesting the effect of the SST on the diversity. The first two components (PC1 and PC2) of PCA for target species, which accounted for 32.43% of the total variance, showed evident decadal variation patterns with a step change during 1992-1999 and inter-annual variability with short-period fluctuation, respectively. It seems that PC1 was associated with large scale climatic change, while PC2 was related to inter-annual oceanographic variability such as ENSO events. Linear fitting results showed winEOF1 had significant effect on PC1, and GAM analysis for PC1 showed that winter EOF1 (winEOF1) and summer EOF2 (sumEOF2) can explain 88.9% of the total variance. Nonlinear effect was also found between PC2 and win EOF1, indicating that the fish community structure, which had predominantly decadal/inter-annual variation patterns, was influenced by inter-annual variations in oceanographic conditions.

Multiple hypotheses are available to explain recruitment rate. Model selection methods can be used to identify the best model that supports a particular hypothesis. However, using a single model for estimating recruitment success is often inadequate for overexploited population because of high model uncertainty. In this study, stock-recruitment data of small yellow croaker in the East China Sea collected from fishery dependent and independent surveys between 1992 and 2012 were used to examine density-dependent effects on recruitment success. Model selection methods based on frequentist (AIC, maximum adjusted R2 and P-values) and Bayesian (Bayesian model averaging, BMA) methods were applied to identify the relationship between recruitment and environment conditions. Interannual variability of the East China Sea environment was indicated by sea surface temperature ( SST) , meridional wind stress (MWS), zonal wind stress (ZWS), sea surface pressure (SPP) and runoff of Changjiang River ( RCR). Mean absolute error, mean squared predictive error and continuous ranked probability score were calculated to evaluate the predictive performance of recruitment success. The results showed that models structures were not consistent based on three kinds of model selection methods, predictive variables of models were spawning abundance and MWS by AIC, spawning abundance by P-values, spawning abundance, MWS and RCR by maximum adjusted R2. The recruitment success decreased linearly with stock abundance (P < 0.01), suggesting overcompensation effect in the recruitment success might be due to cannibalism or food competition. Meridional wind intensity showed marginally significant and positive effects on the recruitment success (P = 0.06), while runoff of Changjiang River showed a marginally negative effect (P = 0.07). Based on mean absolute error and continuous ranked probability score, predictive error associated with models obtained from BMA was the smallest amongst different approaches, while that from models selected based on the P-value of the independent variables was the highest. However, mean squared predictive error from models selected based on the maximum adjusted R2 was highest. We found that BMA method could improve the prediction of recruitment success, derive more accurate prediction interval and quantitatively evaluate model uncertainty.

Unlabelled: OBJECTIVE; To observe the changes of N-methyl-D-aspartic acid (NMDA) receptor expression of spinal cord after electroacupuncture (EA) intervention in rats with chronic constrictive injury (CCI) of the sciatic nerve so as to reveal the mechanism underlying improvement of neuropathic pain., Methods: Sixty male SD rats were randomly divided into sham operation (sham) group, CCI model group and EA group (n = 20). CCI model was established by ligature of the right sciatic nerve with a piece of surgical chromic suture. For rats of the sham group, the right sciatic nerve was just isolated without ligature. The rats of the EA group were given with EA stimulation of "Weizhong" (BL 40) and "Huantiao" (GB 30) on the injured side at a frequency of 2 Hz, electric current of 1-3 mA for 30 min (increasing 1 mA every 10 min). The treatment was conducted once a day from the 11th day to the 20th day after modeling. NMDA receptor 2 B subunit (NR 2 B) protein and mRNA expression levels in the spinal cord were determined by immunohistochemistry, Western blot and reverse transcription (RT)-polymerase chain reaction (PCR), respectively, and spinal NMDA receptor subunit 1 (NR 1) protein and mRNA expression levels were measured by Western blot and RT-PCR, respectively., Results: In comparison with the sham group, NR 1 protein and mRNA expression levels of the model group in the spinal cord were considerably upregulated after CCI (P < 0.01, P < 0.05). In comparison with the model group NR 1 protein and mRNA expression levels of the EA group in the spinal cord were evidently down-regulated (P < 0.05). No significant changes of NR 2 B protein and mRNA expression after CCI and EA stimulation were found after immunohistochemistry, Western blot and RT-PCR measurements (P > 0.05)., Conclusion: EA intervention is effective in alleviating neuropathic pain in CCI rats, which may be closely related to its effects in lowering functional activity of NR 1 protein and mRNA in the spinal cord.

By using the 2008-2010 investigation data about the body condition of small yellow croaker in the offshore waters of southern Yellow Sea (SYS), open waters of northern East China Sea (NECS), and offshore waters of middle East China Sea (MECS), this paper analyzed the spatial heterogeneity of body length-body mass of juvenile and adult small yellow croakers by the statistical approaches of mean regression model and quantile regression model. The results showed that the residual standard errors from the analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) and the linear mixed-effects model were similar, and those from the simple linear regression were the highest. For the juvenile small yellow croakers, their mean body mass in SYS and NECS estimated by the mixed-effects mean regression model was higher than the overall average mass across the three regions, while the mean body mass in MECS was below the overall average. For the adult small yellow croakers, their mean body mass in NECS was higher than the overall average, while the mean body mass in SYS and MECS was below the overall average. The results from quantile regression indicated the substantial differences in the allometric relationships of juvenile small yellow croakers between SYS, NECS, and MECS, with the estimated mean exponent of the allometric relationship in SYS being 2.85, and the interquartile range being from 2.63 to 2.96, which indicated the heterogeneity of body form. The results from ANCOVA showed that the allometric body length-body mass relationships were significantly different between the 25th and 75th percentile exponent values (F=6.38, df=1737, P<0.01) and the 25th percentile and median exponent values (F=2.35, df=1737, P=0.039). The relationship was marginally different between the median and 75th percentile exponent values (F=2.21, df=1737, P=0.051). The estimated body length-body mass exponent of adult small yellow croakers in SYS was 3.01 (10th and 95th percentiles = 2.77 and 3.1, respectively). The estimated body length-body mass relationships were significantly different from the lower and upper quantiles of the exponent (F=3.31, df=2793, P=0.01) and the median and upper quantiles (F=3.56, df=2793, P<0.01), while no significant difference was observed between the lower and median quantiles (F=0.98, df=2793, P=0.43).