Spinal cord injury (SCI) can reshape gut microbial composition, significantly affecting clinical outcomes in SCI patients. However, mechanisms regarding gut-brain interactions and their clinical ...implications have not been elucidated. We hypothesized that short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), intestinal microbial bioactive metabolites, may significantly affect the gut-brain axis and enhance functional recovery in a mouse model of SCI. We enrolled 59 SCI patients and 27 healthy control subjects and collected samples. Thereafter, gut microbiota and SCFAs were analyzed using 16 S rDNA sequencing and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, respectively. We observed an increase in Actinobacteriota abundance and a decrease in Firmicutes abundance. Particularly, the SCFA-producing genera, such as Faecalibacterium, Megamonas, and Agathobacter were significantly downregulated among SCI patients compared to healthy controls. Moreover, SCI induced downregulation of acetic acid (AA), propionic acid (PA), and butyric acid (BA) in the SCI group. Fecal SCFA contents were altered in SCI patients with different injury course and injury segments. Main SCFAs (AA, BA, and PA) were administered in combination to treat SCI mice. SCFA supplementation significantly improved locomotor recovery in SCI mice, enhanced neuronal survival, promoted axonal formation, reduced astrogliosis, and suppressed microglial activation. Furthermore, SCFA supplementation downregulated NF-κB signaling while upregulating neurotrophin-3 expression following SCI. Microbial sequencing and metabolomics analysis showed that SCI patients exhibited a lower level of certain SCFAs and related bacterial strains than healthy controls. SCFA supplementation can reduce inflammation and enhance nourishing elements, facilitating the restoration of neurological tissues and the improvement of functional recuperation. Trial registration: This study was registered in the China Clinical Trial Registry ( www.chictr.org.cn ) on February 13, 2017 (ChiCTR-RPC-17010621).
This study aims to investigate functional brain reorganization brought about by the loss of physical movement and sensory feedback in lower limbs in chronic spinal cord injury (SCI). Eleven ...paraplegia patients with SCI and 13 healthy controls (HCs) were recruited. The experimental task used was a visuomotor imagery task requiring subjects to engage in visualization of repetitive tapping movements of the upper or lower limbs. Blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) responses were captured during the experimental task, along with the accuracy rate and the response time. The SCI patients performed worse in the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT) and the Trail Making Test. SCI patients had a larger BOLD signal in the left lingual gyrus and right external globus pallidus (GPe) when imagining lower-limb movements. For the upper-limb task, SCI patients showed stronger BOLD responses than the HCs in extensive areas over the brain, including the bilateral precentral gyrus (preCG), bilateral inferior parietal gyrus, right GPe, right thalamus, left postcentral gyrus, and right superior temporal gyrus. In contrast, the HCs displayed stronger BOLD responses in the medial frontal gyrus and anterior cingulate gyrus for both upper- and lower-limb tasks than the SCI patients. In the SCI group, for the upper-limb condition, the amplitudes of BOLD responses in the left preCG were negatively correlated with the time since injury (
r
= −0.72,
p
= 0.012). For the lower-limb condition, the amplitudes of BOLD responses in the left lingual gyrus were negatively correlated with the scores on the Short Delay task of the RAVLT (
r
= −0.73,
p
= 0.011). Our study provided imaging evidence for abnormal changes in brain function and worsened cognitive test performance in SCI patients. These findings suggested possible compensatory strategies adopted by the SCI patients for the loss of sensorimotor function from the lower limbs when performing a limb imagery task.
Mycobacterium leprae (M. leprae) lives and replicates within macrophages in a foamy, lipid-laden phagosome. The lipids provide essential nutrition for the mycobacteria, and M. leprae infection ...modulates expression of important host proteins related to lipid metabolism. Thus, M. leprae infection increases the expression of adipophilin/adipose differentiation-related protein (ADRP) and decreases hormone-sensitive lipase (HSL), facilitating the accumulation and maintenance of lipid-rich environments suitable for the intracellular survival of M. leprae. HSL levels are not detectable in skin smear specimens taken from leprosy patients, but re-appear shortly after multidrug therapy (MDT). This study examined the effect of MDT components on host lipid metabolism in vitro, and the outcome of rifampicin, dapsone and clofazimine treatment on ADRP and HSL expression in THP-1 cells. Clofazimine attenuated the mRNA and protein levels of ADRP in M. leprae-infected cells, while those of HSL were increased. Rifampicin and dapsone did not show any significant effects on ADRP and HSL expression levels. A transient increase of interferon (IFN)-β and IFN-γ mRNA was also observed in cells infected with M. leprae and treated with clofazimine. Lipid droplets accumulated by M. leprae-infection were significantly decreased 48 h after clofazimine treatment. Such effects were not evident in cells without M. leprae infection. In clinical samples, ADRP expression was decreased and HSL expression was increased after treatment. These results suggest that clofazimine modulates lipid metabolism in M. leprae-infected macrophages by modulating the expression of ADRP and HSL. It also induces IFN production in M. leprae-infected cells. The resultant decrease in lipid accumulation, increase in lipolysis, and activation of innate immunity may be some of the key actions of clofazimine.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Purpose The primary purpose of this study was to evaluate chronic low back pain by determining the ratio of the cross-sectional areas of the lumbar multifidus of the unaffected and affected sides at ...the L5 level using the ultrasound imaging. Subjects and Methods The subjects were 24 young people (10 males, 14 females) with chronic low back pain lasting for more than 6 months on one side. The visual analog scale (VAS) value of pain was assessed and the cross-sectional areas of the bilateral multifidus muscle were measured with the subjects in a supine position in a resting state using ultrasound imaging. Correlation and linear regression analysis were performed on the VAS and the ratio of the cross-sectional areas of the lumbar multifidus of the unaffected and affected sides. Results The VAS and the ratio of the cross-sectional areas of the lumbar multifidus were linearly correlated. Conclusion The results of this research indicate that when the ratio of the cross-sectional areas of the lumbar multifidus of the unaffected and affected sides increases, the symptom of chronic low back pain deteriorates.
To investigate the epidemiology and independent risk factors of septic cardiomyopathy.
A prospective study was conducted. Patients with sepsis in intensive care unit (ICU) of Subei People's Hospital ...of Jiangsu Province, Yangzhou University, Fuxing Hospital, Capital Medical University and Beijing Electric Power Hospital from May 2016 to August 2019 were enrolled. All patients received standardized treatments according to the Surviving Sepsis Campaign (SSC) guidelines. Blood were collected within 24 hours of admission to ICU, and plasma histone H4, cardiac troponin I (cTnI) and N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) were detected by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Transthoracic echocardiography was performed to record the ultrasonic parameters within 24 hours after admission. Sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) score, usage of vasopressor drugs, and the prognosis of ICU were recorded. Patients were divided into two groups according to whether cardiomyopathy occurred or not, and t
Purpose The purpose of this study was to examine the different effects of long-term intervention between proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) and neuromuscular joint facilitation (NJF) ...patterns for the pelvis on chronic low back pain as assessed by the cross-sectional area of the multifidus muscle and the thickness of the transversus abdominis muscle. Subjects The subjects were 12 young people (five males, seven females) who had experienced chronic low back pain on one side for more than 6 months. Methods The subjects were treated by resting, PNF or NJF therapy, and each treatment was administered for one month. Ultrasonography was used to measure the changes in the transversus abdominis muscle thickness and the multifidus muscle cross-sectional area. Results The thickness of the transversus abdominis muscle and the cross-sectional area of the multifidus muscle in the NJF group, after resting, increased significantly and were higher than those in the PNF group. Conclusion The results show that significantly better improvement can be obtained for chronic low back pain by applying long-term intervention of NJF patterns.
This paper investigates the issue of fixed-time intralayer synchronization of stochastic switched duplex networks (SSDNs) with limited communication. Firstly, control scheme without sign function is ...created to explore intralayer synchronization of SSDNs within a fixed time, and the control gains can vary with the error information. By the Lyapunov functional method, some novel synchronization criteria are established. In addition, by means of introducing the channel matrices, this paper considers the limited communication. Moreover, numerical simulation indicates the correctness of our theoretical result. Finally, from the perspective of the application, image encryption is demonstrated to confirm our theoretical implementation.
•The switched duplex networks with stochastic disturbances are considered.•Synchronization criteria are obtained via fixed-time and finite-time control.•Limited communication is considered by introducing channel matrices.•Image encryption is realized based on our theoretical results.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Identifying how policy, socioeconomic factors, and environmental factors influence changes in human well-being (HWB) and conservation efficiency is important for ecological management and sustainable ...development, especially in the Giant Panda National Park (GPNP). In this study, we systematically analyzed the differences in the conservation status of the giant panda habitat and changes in HWB over 15 years in the GPNP, which includes six mountain sites, Minshan (MS), Qionglai (QLS), Xiaoxiangling (XXL), Liangshan (LS), Qinling (QL), and Daxiangling (DXL). Redundancy analyses were used to determine the factors contributing (policy, socioeconomic factors, and environmental factors) to HWB and giant panda habitat conservation (HC). In addition, using a structural equation model (SEM), we investigated the relationship between the aforementioned three factors and their direct and indirect effects on HWB and HC. The results indicated that there was spatiotemporal heterogeneity of HWB and HC in our study area. There was an increasing number of plant species as well as an increased number of giant panda in GPNP. Generally, HWB in 2015 showed an increasing trend compared with that in 2000. Socioeconomic factors (23.6%) have the biggest influence on HWB and HC, followed by policy (23.2%) and environmental factors (19.4%). Conservation policy had a significantly positive influence on HWB (0.52), while it negatively influenced HC (−0.15). Socioeconomic factors significantly negatively influenced HWB (−0.38). The formulation and implementation of policies to promote economic development will contribute to the protection of giant pandas and their habitat. Our results provide insight on the conservation status of the giant panda habitat, HWB, and factors influencing them in different mountain sites in the GPNP, as well as having implications for the future management of the GPNP.
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