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Background and Objective: Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is one of the most common monogenic neuromuscular diseases, and the pathogenesis mechanisms, especially the brain network topological properties, remain unknown. This study aimed to use individual‐level morphological brain network analysis to explore the brain neural network mechanisms in SMA. Methods: Individual‐level gray matter (GM) networks were constructed by estimating the interregional similarity of GM volume distribution using both Kullback–Leibler divergence‐based similarity (KLDs) and Jesen‐Shannon divergence‐based similarity (JSDs) measurements based on Automated Anatomical Labeling 116 and Hammersmith 83 atlases for 38 individuals with SMA types 2 and 3 and 38 age‐ and sex‐matched healthy controls (HCs). The topological properties were analyzed by the graph theory approach and compared between groups by a nonparametric permutation test. Additionally, correlation analysis was used to assess the associations between altered topological metrics and clinical characteristics. Results: Compared with HCs, although global network topology remained preserved in individuals with SMA, brain regions with altered nodal properties mainly involved the right olfactory gyrus, right insula, bilateral parahippocampal gyrus, right amygdala, right thalamus, left superior temporal gyrus, left cerebellar lobule IV–V, bilateral cerebellar lobule VI, right cerebellar lobule VII, and vermis VII and IX. Further correlation analysis showed that the nodal degree of the right cerebellar lobule VII was positively correlated with the disease duration, and the right amygdala was negatively correlated with the Hammersmith Functional Motor Scale Expanded (HFMSE) scores. Conclusions: Our findings demonstrated that topological reorganization may prioritize global properties over nodal properties, and disrupted topological properties in the cortical–limbic‐cerebellum circuit in SMA may help to further understand the network pathogenesis underlying SMA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Owing to its high aromaticity and carbon content, technical lignin as the by-product of chemical pulping and bio-refining industry can be converted into lignin-derived porous carbon (LPC) materials after activation, which is a promising strategy for high-value utilization. In particular, LPC with a higher surface area and graphitization will have a broad prospect as the electrode material for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). However, the structure of technical lignin varies greatly due to its different industrial processes and botany sources, which remarkably affects the activation process and electrochemical properties of LPC. Herein, we study the effect of oxygen/carbon (O/C) ratio and molecular weight on the structure of LPC by exploring the effect of four kinds of technical lignin on K2CO3 activation. High O/C ratio can promote LPC to maintain a high specific surface area (SSA). High molecular weight and low O/C ratio were beneficial to increase the graphitization degree and keep the porous structure of LPC. The electrochemical performance evaluation showed that high graphitization and stable porous structure were beneficial for lithium-ion storage. Therefore, LPC from enzymatic hydrolysis lignin (EHL) had long cycle performance (490 mAh · g−1 at a current density of 400 mA · g−1) and excellent rate performance compared to lignin from chemical pulping. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To investigate the reducing effects of shikimic acid from the total extract of Chaenomeles speciose on the differentiation of chondrocytes into hypertrophic chondrocytes by inhibiting RBL-2H3 cell degranulation. Methods The chondrocytes were identified by toluidine blue staining and tryptase immunohistochemical staining. The chondrocytes were divided into normal chondrocytes control group, C48/80 activated RBL-2H3 cell culture supernatant treatment group, 3, 10 and 30 μg/mL SA activated RBL-2H3 cell culture supernatant treatment groups. The toxicity of SA and RBL-2H3 cell supernatant were detected by MTT assay. Western blotting was used to detect the expression of collagen type II (Col2) and collagen type X (Col10) in chondrocytes. The levels of matrix metalloproteinase 13 (MMP13), soluble nuclear factor B receptor activated protein ligand (sRANKL) and bone protective factor (OPG) were determined by ELISA, and glycosaminoglycan polysaccharide (GAG) were tested by dimethylmethylene blue (DMB) colorimetry. Results (0~30) μg/mL SA had no significant effects on the growth of chondrocytes. Compared with the C48/80 activated RBI-2H3 cell supernatant treatment group, the expression of Col2 and GAG proteins increased significantly, while the expression of Col10 and MMP13 and the ratio of sRANKL/OPG decreased significantly in the SA treatment groups in a dose-dependent manner. Conclusion SA can effectively reduce the differentiation of chondrocytes into hypertrophic chondrocytes by inhibiting RBL-2H3 cell degranulation.