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In recent years, researchers have highly observed that neurological disorders (NSDs) with the aging of the population are a global health burden whose prevalence is increasing every year. Previous evidence suggested that the occurrence of neurological disorders is correlated with predisposing factors such as inflammation, aging, and injury. Particularly, the neuronal cells are susceptible to oxidative stress, leading to lesions caused by high oxygen-consuming properties. Oxidative stress (OS) is a state of peroxidation, which occurs as a result of the disruption of the balance between oxidizing and antioxidizing substances. The oxidative intermediates such as free radicals, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), and superoxide anion (O2-) produced by OS promote disease progression. Curcumin, a natural diketone derived from turmeric, is a natural antioxidant with a wide range of neuroprotective, anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor, anti-aging, and antioxidant effects. Fortunately, curcumin is recognized for its potent antioxidant properties and is considered a promising candidate for the prevention and treatment of neurological diseases. Consequently, this review elucidates the mechanisms by which curcumin mitigates oxidative stress and emphasizes the potential in treating nervous system disorders, including depression, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, epilepsy, subarachnoid hemorrhage, and glioblastoma. We aim to provide a new therapeutic option for the management of neurological diseases.

Intrauterine adhesions (IUAs) often occurred after common obstetrical and gynecological procedures or infections in women of reproductive age. It was characterized by the formation of endometrial fibrosis and prevention of endometrial regeneration, usually with devastating fertility consequences and poor treatment outcomes so far. Telocytes (TCs), as a novel interstitial cell type, present in female uterus with in vitro therapeutic potential in decidualization-defective gynecologic diseases. This study aims to further investigate the role of TC-derived Wnt ligands carried by exosomes (Exo) in reversal of fibrosis and enhancement of regeneration repair in endometrium. IUA cellular and animal models were established from endometrial stromal cells (ESCs) and mice, followed with treatment of TC-conditioned medium (TCM) or TC-derived Exo. In cellular model, fibrosis markers (collagen type 1 alpha 1 [COL1A1], fibronectin [FN], and α-smooth muscle actin [α-SMA]), angiogenesis (vascular endothelial growth factor [VEGF]), and pathway protein (β-catenin) were determined by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), Western blotting (WB), and immunofluorescence. Results showed that, TCs (either TCM or TC-derived Exo) provide a source of Wnts that inhibit cellular fibrosis, as evidenced by significantly elevated VEGF and β-catenin with decreased fibrotic markers, whereas TCs lost salvage on fibrosis after being blocked with Wnt/β-catenin inhibitors (XAV939 or ETC-159). Further in mouse model, regeneration repair (endometrial thickness, number of glands, and fibrosis area ratio), fibrosis markers (fibronectin [FN]), mesenchymal–epithelial transition (MET) (E-cadherin, N-cadherin), and angiogenesis (VEGF, microvessel density [MVD]) were studied by hematoxylin–eosin (HE), Masson staining, and immunohistochemistry. Results demonstrated that TC-Exo treatment effectively promotes regeneration repair of endometrium by relieving fibrosis, enhancing MET, and angiogenesis. These results confirmed new evidence for therapeutic perspective of TC-derived Exo in IUAs.

As a key technology for radio monitoring and positioning, direction-of-arrival (DOA) estimation has garnered significant attention and has undergone in-depth research. This article proposes a new subspace-based DOA estimation algorithm based on an adversarial learning network. Considering the impact of the number of antennas in the signal-receiving array on the resulting DOA estimation accuracy, the proposed algorithm takes a covariance matrix corresponding to a small antenna array as the input of the adversarial learning network and reconstructs an extended covariance matrix corresponding to a virtual large antenna array. By introducing subspace technology, the multiple signal classification (MUSIC) algorithm can achieve high-resolution DOA estimation. Therefore, the extended covariance matrix corresponding to the virtual large antenna array is combined with the MUSIC to achieve DOA estimation. Simulated and real-world experimental results demonstrate that compared with conventional subspace-based DOA estimation algorithms, the proposed algorithm achieves significantly improved DOA estimation performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Telocytes (TCs), a distinct type of interstitial (stromal) cells, have been discovered in many organs of human and mammal animals. TCs, which have unique morphological characteristics and abundant paracrine substance, construct a three-dimensional (3D) interstitial network within the stromal compartment by homocellular and heterocellular communications which are important for tissue homeostasis and normal development. Fibrosis-related diseases remain a common but challenging problem in the field of medicine with unclear pathogenesis and limited therapeutic options. Recently, increasing evidences suggest that where TCs are morphologically or numerically destructed, many diseases continuously develop, finally lead to irreversible interstitial fibrosis. It is not difficult to find that TCs are associated with chronic inflammation and fibrosis. This review mainly discusses relationship between TCs and the occurrence of fibrosis in various diseases. We analyzed in detail the potential roles and speculated mechanisms of TCs in onset and progression of systemic fibrosis diseases, as well as providing the most up-to-date research on the current therapeutic roles of TCs and involved related pathways. Only through continuous research and exploration in the future can we uncover its magic veil and provide strategies for treatment of fibrosis-related disease.

Abstract Lung fibrosis, or the scarring of the lung, is a devastating disease with huge unmet medical need. There are limited treatment options and its prognosis is worse than most types of cancer. We previously discovered that MK-0429 is an equipotent pan-inhibitor of αv integrins that reduces proteinuria and kidney fibrosis in a preclinical model. In the present study, we further demonstrated that MK-0429 significantly inhibits fibrosis progression in a bleomycin-induced lung injury model. In search of newer integrin inhibitors for fibrosis, we characterized monoclonal antibodies discovered using Adimab’s yeast display platform. We identified several potent neutralizing integrin antibodies with unique human and mouse cross-reactivity. Among these, Ab-31 blocked the binding of multiple αv integrins to their ligands with IC50s comparable to those of MK-0429. Furthermore, both MK-0429 and Ab-31 suppressed integrin-mediated cell adhesion and latent TGFβ activation. In IPF patient lung fibroblasts, TGFβ treatment induced profound αSMA expression in phenotypic imaging assays and Ab-31 demonstrated potent in vitro activity at inhibiting αSMA expression, suggesting that the integrin antibody is able to modulate TGFβ action though mechanisms beyond the inhibition of latent TGFβ activation. Together, our results highlight the potential to develop newer integrin therapeutics for the treatment of fibrotic lung diseases.

To improve direction of arrival (DOA) estimation for coherently distributed sources under impulsive noise environments, a logistic‐based adaptive factor is proposed to suppress the impulsive noise contained in the output signals of the array. The properties of this adaptive factor are derived. Furthermore, this adaptive factor is applied to subspace methods, and a novel DOA estimation algorithm is proposed. This novel algorithm ensures the boundedness of the signal and the noise subspaces while improving the DOA estimation accuracy and robustness. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm outperforms existing algorithms in terms of resolution probability and estimation accuracy under impulsive noise environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, high chromium cast irons (HCCIs) reinforced by TiC particles are designed and fabricated to improve the erosion–corrosion and wear resistances of materials for the pumping and handling applications. The TiC particles are formed by the in situ solidification method. The experimental results show that the hardness of as-cast HCCIs is improved significantly with TiC volume fraction. It can be as high as 63 HRC when the TiC volume fraction is 9.8%. The introduction of TiC increases the abrasive wear resistance of the HCCIs in both as-cast and heat-treated states. However, it is unexpected to find that the presence of TiC significantly reduces the erosion–corrosion performance. It suggests that corrosion-enhanced erosion is the dominant mechanism that controls the mass loss of the TiC-strengthened HCCIs.

A new species, Vetubrachypsectra huchengi Li, Kundrata & Cai sp. nov., is described from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber on the basis of a single adult female. The species is assigned to genus Vetubrachypsectra Qu & Cai based on its serrate antennae, long maxillary palps, presence of tibial spurs, and elytra without clear striae. Vetubrachypsectra huchengi differs distinctly from V. burmitica Qu & Cai, the only other species in the genus, in having the pedicel apically attached to the scape. Some other differences between the female of V. huchengi and the male of V. burmitica include less serrate antennae, a broader pronotal disc, a broader scutellar shield and smaller tibial spurs. However, at least some of these characters can be considered sexually dimorphic.