Drug delivery system (DDS) refers to the method of delivering drugs to the targeted sites with minimal risk. One popular strategy of DDS is using nanoparticles as a drug carrier, which are made from ...biocompatible and degradable polymers. Here, nanoparticles composed of
-derived sulfated polysaccharide (AP) and chitosan were developed and expected to possess the capabilities of antiviral, antibacterial, and pH-sensitive properties. The composite nanoparticles, abbreviated as APC, were optimized for stability of morphology and size (~160 nm) in the physiological environment (pH = 7.4). Potent antibacterial (over 2 μg/mL) and antiviral (over 6.596 μg/mL) properties were verified in vitro. The pH-sensitive release behavior and release kinetics of drug-loaded APC nanoparticles were examined for various categories of drugs, including hydrophilic, hydrophobic, and protein drugs, under different pH values of the surroundings. Effects of APC nanoparticles were also evaluated in lung cancer cells and neural stem cells. The use of APC nanoparticles as a drug delivery system maintained the bioactivity of the drug to inhibit the proliferation of lung cancer cells (with ~40% reduction) and to relieve the growth inhibitory effect on neural stem cells. These findings indicate that the pH-sensitive and biocompatible composite nanoparticles of sulfated polysaccharide and chitosan well keep the antiviral and antibacterial properties and may serve as a promising multifunctional drug carrier for further biomedical applications.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
Acute high-intensity interval training (HIIT) is a time-efficient strategy to improve physical health; however, the effect of acute HIIT on executive function (EF) is unclear. The aim of this study ...was to systematically review the existing evidence and quantify the effect of acute HIIT on overall EF and the factors affecting the relationship between acute HIIT and EF. Standard databases (i.e., the PubMed, Medline, Scopus, and CENTRAL databases) were searched for studies that examined the effect of acute HIIT on EF and were published up until January 2021. The overall EF and factors grouped by three categories, namely, EF assessment characteristics, exercise intervention characteristics, and sample and study characteristics, were analyzed by percentage of comparison for positive or null/negative effects. Overall, 35 of 57 outcomes (61%) across 24 studies revealed that acute HIIT has a positive effect on overall EF. In terms of factors, the results indicated that among EF assessment characteristics, groups, inhibition, updating, and the assessment occurring within 30 min may moderate the effect of acute HIIT on EF, while among exercise intervention characteristics, total time within 11 to 30 min may moderate the effect. Finally, among sample characteristics, age under 40 years may moderate the effect. Acute HIIT is generally considered a viable alternative for eliciting EF gains, with factors related to EF components, timing of the assessment, exercise total time, and age potentially moderating the effect of HIIT on EF.
Dockless bike-sharing is becoming popular all over the world, and short-term spatiotemporal distribution forecasting on system state has been further enlarged due to its dynamic spatiotemporal ...characteristics. We employ a deep learning approach, named the convolutional long short-term memory network (conv-LSTM), to address the spatial dependences and temporal dependences. The spatiotemporal variables including number of bicycles in area, distribution uniformity, usage distribution, and time of day as a spatiotemporal sequence in which both the input and the prediction target are spatiotemporal 3D tensors within one end-to-end learning architecture. Experiments show that conv-LSTM outperforms LSTM on capturing spatiotemporal correlations.
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EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OBVAL, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
Acute aerobic exercise has been shown to benefit inhibitory control; however, less attention has been devoted to the effects of varying intensity and duration with a predetermined exercise volume. ...The current study assessed the influence of three distinct exercise conditions, each equated with a predesignated exercise volume but varied in terms of exercise durations and intensities, on inhibitory control utilizing both behavioral and neuroelectric measures obtained among late-middle-aged and older adults. Thirty-four adults (61.76 ± 0.80 years) completed three exercise conditions i.e., a 30-min low-intensity exercise (LIE), a 20-min moderate-intensity exercise (MIE), and a 16-min high-intensity exercise (HIE) and a non-exercise reading control condition (CON) on separate days. The exercise volumes of LIE and HIE were designed to match the exercise volume of MIE. Following cessation of each condition, the Stroop task was performed while event-related potentials were recorded. Improved behavioral performance (i.e., shorter response time, higher accuracy, and smaller interference scores) was observed after LIE, MIE, and HIE than CON (ps < .005). Additionally, whereas a larger P3b amplitude was only observed following MIE compared to CON (p < .01), larger N2 and smaller N450 amplitudes were observed following all three exercise conditions compared to CON (ps < .005). These findings suggested that while MIE may provide additional benefits for attentional resource allocation, exercise conditions volume matched to MIE resulted in superior inhibitory control, paralleled by modulations of the neural underpinnings of conflict monitoring/detection.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
The reliability and validity of the Voice-Related Quality of Life (V-RQOL) measure has been conducted in languages other than Mandarin. Therefore, this study aims to analyze the reliability and ...validity of the Mandarin version of the V-RQOL (MV-RQOL) questionnaire.
The MV-RQOL was completed by a total of 57 participants, including 27 individuals with voice disorders (VD) and 30 individuals without voice disorders (NVD). Statistical analyses were carried out to evaluate the validity, reliability, reproducibility, and the Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve was also derived.
Statistical analyses demonstrated the MV-RQOL has strong internal consistency. The test-retest reliability was found to be high as well. There was a significant difference between the groups with and without voice disorders. The NVD group had higher scores compared with the VD group for the overall MV-RQOL score and for the 2 domains. In addition, the scores between males and females showed no significant differences. A significant difference was found between the MV-RQOL scores of individuals who defined their voices as good and very good, and those who defined their voices as poor and fair. Area under the curve value from ROC curve was found to be 0.994. The optimal cutoff value was found to be 85.00, with sensitivity of 96.7% and specificity of 96.3%.
Based on the results, it can be suggested that the MV-RQOL measure is a reliable and valid self-assessment tool, that discriminates well between patients with and without voice disorders, in the Taiwanese population.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
We evaluated the effects of acute Zn exposure (4 and 8 mg L−1 Zn) on lipid peroxidation, and activities and mRNA levels of antioxidant enzyme genes (Cu/Zn-SOD, CAT, GPx, and GR), and gene expression ...of the Nrf2-Keap1 signaling molecule at different exposure times (0, 6, 12, 24, 48, and 96 h) in the spleen of large yellow croaker. Lipid peroxidation remained relatively constant during 6–48 h and 6–24 h and sharply increased at 96 h and during 48–96 h in fish exposed to 4 and 8 mg L−1 Zn, respectively. Activities of all tested enzymes increased during the early stage of exposure and decreased towards the end of the exposure in both groups. However, mRNA levels of antioxidant enzyme genes were dramatically up-regulated by 4 and 8 mg L−1 Zn during the late stage of exposure. During the early stage of exposure for 6 h, the 8 mg L−1 Zn exposure sharply increased mRNA levels of Cu/Zn-SOD, CAT, GPx1b, Nrf2, and Keap1, whereas, the 4 mg L−1 Zn exposure did not significantly affect the expression of these genes. Our data also showed positive relationships between Nrf2 expression and mRNA levels of its target genes, suggesting that Nrf2 was required for the protracted induction of these genes. Furthermore, a sharp increase in Keap1 expression levels was observed in fish exposed to 4 mg L−1 at 96 h, and 8 mg L−1 at 6, 48, and 96 h. In conclusion, the present study demonstrated that Zn-induced antioxidant defenses were involved in modifications at enzymatic and transcriptional levels and the transcriptional regulation of the Nrf2-Keap1 signaling molecule; these results may contribute to the understanding of mechanisms that maintain the correct redox balance in the immune organ of the large yellow croaker.
•Fish spleen showed a capacity of detoxification against Zn stress.•This capacity depended on the regulation at enzymatic and transcriptional levels.•Transcription factor Nrf2 played a central role in antioxidant defenses.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZRSKP
To investigate whether high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and continuous moderate-intensity training (CMT) have different impacts on exercise performance and cardiac function and to determine ...the influence of these exercise protocols on modulating basal autophagy in the cardiac muscle of rats. Rats were assigned to three groups: sedentary control (SC), CMT, and HIIT. Total exercise volume and mean intensity were matched between the two protocols. After a 10-week training program, rats were evaluated for exercise performance, including exercise tolerance and grip strength. Blood lactate levels were measured after an incremental exercise test. Cardiac function and morphology were assessed by echocardiography. Western blotting was used to evaluate the expression of autophagy and mitochondrial markers. Transmission electron microscopy was used to evaluate mitochondrial content. The results showed that time to exhaustion and grip strength increased significantly in the HIIT group compared with the SC and CMT groups. Both training interventions significantly increased time to exhaustion, reduced blood lactate level (after an incremental exercise test) and induced adaptive changes in cardiac morphology, but without altering cardiac systolic function. The greater improvements in exercise performance with the HIIT than with the CMT protocol were related to improvement in basal autophagic adaptation and mitochondria function in cardiac muscle. Mitochondria markers were positively correlated with autophagy makers. This study shows that HIIT is more effective for improving exercise performance than CMT and this improvement is related to mitochondrial function and basal autophagic adaptation in cardiac muscle.
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FZAB, GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NUK, OBVAL, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
The reaction of a macrocyclic ligand 1,4,7-triazacyclononane-1,4,7-tripropionic acid (
tacntpH
3
) with Ni(
ii
)/Co(
ii
) sources in the presence or absence of lanthanide cations yielded a series of ...doubly mononuclear ionic complexes (H
3
O
+
)Ln
III
(H
2
O)
8
Ni
II
(
tacntp
)
4
(
1-NiLn
, Ln = La, Ce, Yb) and a mononuclear Co(
iii
) complex Co
III
(
tacntp
)·4H
2
O (
2-Co
) incorporating transition metal centers enveloped by both an azamacrocycle ring and pendant carboxylate groups. Either of the two preorganized mononuclear species M
II/III
(
tacntp
)
−/0
was taken as a tripodal 3d metalloligand for the further assembly of modular architectures. Two pentanuclear metallocage-Ln(NO
3
)
6
3−
complexes Ni
II
5
(
tacntp
)
2
(H
2
O)
12
Ln
III
(NO
3
)
6
Cl·2H
2
O (
3-NiLn
, Ln = La, Ce), one nonanuclear metallocage Ni
II
9
(
tacntp
)
4
(H
2
O)
18
(ClO
4
)
6
·10H
2
O (
4-Ni
), and two types of 2D layered heterometallic 3d-4f coordination networks ((H
3
O
+
)Ni
II
2
Yb
III
(
tacntp
)
2
(ClO
4
)
2
·3H
2
O (
5-NiYb
) and Co
III
2
Tb
III
(
tacntp
)
2
(H
2
O)
3
(ClO
4
)·Cl
2
·5H
2
O (
6-CoLn
, Ln = La, Eu, Tb, Dy)) differing largely in their weaving architecture were controllably prepared
via
the precise regulation of multiple reaction parameters. Furthermore, the time-dependent evolution of metalloligand-derived species was tracked
via
electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry, to elucidate the modular assembly pathway for the nonanuclear Ni(
ii
) metallocage
4-Ni
. Analysis of the structural details and the assembly procedures of the modular architectures revealed that the pH, metalloligand size, and the type of metal bound to the metalloligand considerably influence the structural evolution from mononuclear metalloligands to cage-like and polymeric coordination architectures. Magnetic property studies disclosed that pendant
syn
-
anti
carboxylate groups favor a weak ferromagnetic exchange between the adjacent Ni(
ii
) ions within the metallocages of
3-NiLa
and
4-Ni
but facilitate an antiferromagnetic coupling between the alternating Ni(
ii
) and Yb(
iii
) centers in
5-NiYb
.
The modular assembly of aesthetically fascinating polynuclear metallocages and 2D heterometallic coordination networks was achieved from preorganized azamacrocyclic metalloligands through precisely regulating the reaction parameters.
Considering the stochastic and complex pollutant emissions in the application of floating wetlands, we investigate the effects of release position on the solute transport in this work. On the basis ...of the analytical expressions derived from concentration moments, the temporal evolutions of dispersion intensity, the cloud distortion, and the displacement of the cloud centroid at the preasymptotic stage are all analyzed. Owing to the nonhomogeneous flow field, the location of the point source determines the strength of the initial advection, diffusion, and velocity shear acting on a solute cloud, which in turn affects the dispersion process. As a result, the waiting time before the dispersion enters the anomalous regime, the dispersion mechanism, the normality of mean concentration distribution, and the form of spatial concentration distribution are all influenced by the initial condition. The time at which the Taylor dispersion model is capable to depict the mean concentration distribution is t = 0.3 for the line source case and t = 0.5 for point sources released in the outer shear layer, and t = 1 for point sources released in the canopy region and the bottom boundary layer. The point source releases below the internal canopy layer and the line source release cause the initial accumulation of solute in the bottom boundary layer, even for the cases with relatively strong longitudinal dispersion. The depende-
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
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