Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and -steatohepatitis (NASH) imply a state of excessive fat built-up in livers with/or without inflammation and have led to serious medical concerns in recent ...years. Antrodan (Ant), a purified β-glucan from
.
has been shown to exhibit tremendous bioactivity, including hepatoprotective, antihyperlipidemic, antiliver cancer, and anti-inflammatory effects. Considering the already well-known alleviating bioactivity of
for the alcoholic steatohepatitis (ASH), we propose that Ant can be beneficial to NAFLD, and that the AMPK/Sirt1/PPARγ/SREBP-1c pathways may be involved in such alleviations. To uncover this, we carried out this study with 60 male C57BL/6 mice fed high-fat high-fructose diet (HFD) for 60 days, in order to induce NAFLD/NASH. Mice were then grouped and treated (by oral administration) as: G1: control; G2: HFD (HFD control); G3: Ant, 40 mgkg (Ant control); G4: HFD+Orlistat (10 mg/kg) (as Orlistat control); G5: HFD+Ant L (20 mg/kg); and G6: HFD+Ant H (40 mg/kg) for 45 days. The results indicated Ant at 40 mg/kg effectively suppressed the plasma levels of malondialdehyde, total cholesterol, triglycerides, GOT, GPT, uric acid, glucose, and insulin; upregulated leptin, adiponectin, pAMPK, Sirt1, and down-regulated PPARγ and SREBP-1c. Conclusively, Ant effectively alleviates NAFLD via AMPK/Sirt1/CREBP-1c/PPARγ pathway.
Hydroxyapatite (HA) is a major component of the inorganic minerals in the hard tissues of humans and has been widely used as a biomedical ceramic material in orthopedic and dentistry applications. ...Because human bone contains several impurities, including carbonates, chlorides, fluorides, magnesium, and strontium, human bone minerals differ from stoichiometric HA. Additionally, natural bone is composed of nano-sized HA, and the nanoscale particles exhibit a high level of biological activity. In this paper, HA is prepared via the hydrothermal process because its reaction conditions are easy to control and it has been shown to be quite feasible for large-scale production. Therefore, the hydrothermal process is an effective and convenient method for the preparation of HA. Furthermore, eggshell is adopted as a source of calcium, and mulberry leaf extract is selectively added to synthesize HA. The eggshell accounts for 11% of the total weight of a whole egg, and it consists of calcium carbonate, calcium phosphate, magnesium carbonate, and organic matter. Eggshell contains a variety of trace elements, such as magnesium and strontium, making the composition of the synthesized HA similar to that of the human skeleton. These trace elements exert considerable benefits for bone growth. Moreover, the use of eggshell as a raw material can permit the recycling of biowaste and a reduction in process costs. The purpose of this study is to prepare HA powder via the hydrothermal method and to explore the effects of hydrothermal conditions on the structure and properties of the synthesized HA. The room-temperature precipitation method is used for the control group. Furthermore, the results of an immersion test in simulated body fluid confirm that the as-prepared HA exhibits good apatite-forming bioactivity, which is an essential requirement for artificial materials to bond to living bones in the living body and promote bone regeneration. In particular, it is confirmed that the HA synthesized with the addition of the mulberry leaf extract exhibits good in vitro biocompatibility. The morphology, crystallite size, and composition of the carbonated nano-HA obtained herein are similar to those of natural bones. The carbonated nano-HA appears to be an excellent material for bioresorbable bone substitutes or drug delivery. Therefore, the nano-HA powder prepared in this study has great potential in biomedical applications.
Extant research has revealed the influence of family incivility on adults in the work context, leaving the reactions of adolescent victims unexplored. According to the frustration-aggression theory, ...it is possible that individuals become hopeless after experiencing such chronic low-intensity deviant behaviors in the family, thereby engaging in aggression. Considering adolescents' active participation online and their preference for covert ways to vent negative emotions, we focused on their cyberbullying perpetration rather than offline aggression. The participants were 3030 adolescents (57% girls, M age = 16.65 years) of a high school in China. The results examined the mechanism through which family incivility was significantly related to cyberbullying through the mediation of hopelessness, suggesting a strong link of real-life experience to online behavior, while emotional intelligence acted as a buffer against the relationship between family incivility and hopelessness as well as that between family incivility and cyberbullying. The findings revealed the durative underlying detriment of family incivility, and cyberbullying prevention strategies were proposed. Both theoretical and practical implications of these findings were discussed.
•Family incivility (FI) was positively associated with cyberbullying (CB).•Hopelessness mediated the relationship between family incivility and cyberbullying.•Emotional intelligence moderated the relationship between FI and hopelessness as well as that between FI and CB.•Being the first to explore the unique effects of FI on adolescents.•Flourishing the frustration-aggression theory by suggesting a strong link of frustration in real life to CB.
•Parent phubbing (Pphubbing) is related to adolescents’ depressive symptoms (AD).•Adolescent phubbing (Aphubbing) is positively related to AD.•Pphubbing is positively related to Aphubbing.•There are ...(in)congruent effects of parent-adolescent phubbing on AD.•Adolescent attachment avoidance moderates the (in)congruent effects.
With the widespread of smartphones, there is an increased interest in exploring the influences of phubbing in modern society. However, little research has examined the impact of parent phubbing (Pphubbing) or adolescent phubbing (Aphubbing) on adolescent development. This conceptual and empirical work aims to explore the unique and joint impacts of Pphubbing and Aphubbing on adolescents’ depressive symptoms.
Participants were 3322 students from 64 classes of a senior high school. The data were analyzed with polynomial regressions and response surface analyses.
The results showed that Pphubbing was positively related to Aphubbing. Pphubbing and Aphubbing were both positively associated with adolescents’ depressive symptoms. In addition, when Pphubbing and Aphubbing were in congruence, adolescents’ depressive symptoms would increase as the former two increased. Moreover, adolescents’ depressive symptoms would decrease as the discrepancy between parent and adolescent increased. Meanwhile, attachment avoidance moderated the congruence and incongruence effects of parent-adolescent phubbing on adolescents’ depressive symptoms.
This study used cross-sectional data, which cannot infer causality.
The effect between parent-adolescent congruence in phubbing and adolescents’ depressive symptoms is significant, and it is moderated by attachment avoidance.
Disalignments among dimensions of adolescent subjective social status (SSS) may be influential to psychological health. How an individual responds to this incongruence may be explained by personality ...traits. Drawing upon the conceptualization of SSS and self-concept dimensions, the current study examined how SSS-academic, SSS-interpersonal, and their congruency relate to adolescent psychological health, and the moderating effect of core self-evaluations (CSE). Data (
N
= 387) were collected in two waves with a three-week interval in a senior high school. Results from the moderated polynomial regression analysis suggested that when CSE was at high levels, there was a significant incongruence effect---the greater the academic-interpersonal discrepancy was, the worse psychological health was reported---and SSS-interpersonal was a stronger predictor of psychological health than SSS-academic. For adolescents with low CSE levels, as long as one dimension of SSS was high, psychological health was better than when both dimensions were low. Examining how congruency of SSS dimensions influences psychological health may shed light on how internal inconsonance within self-concept relates to adolescent adjustment, especially when personality traits are taken into account.
Background
The chemokine network orchestrates the cancer stem‐like property and consequently participates in cancer progression. CXCR3 contributes cancer progressive property and immunomodulation in ...the tumor microenvironment. The two major isoforms of CXCR3 are scrutinized and the divergence is showed that CXCR3A promotes cancer cell growth and motility while CXCR3B functions contrarily in many studies. However, rare studies illustrate the role of CXCR3 isoforms in cancer stem‐like property and chemoresistance, especially in head and neck cancer (HNC).
Methods
Levels of CXCR3, CXCR3B, and Sox2 were determined in HNC tissue microarray by immunohistochemistry staining to explore potential clinical relevance. Lentivirus‐mediated CXCR3‐isoform overexpression with MTS assay, clonogenic assay, transwell migration, sphere formation, and chemo‐drug susceptibility were implemented to investigate the role of CXCR3‐isofoms in HNC.
Results
High levels of CXCR3 were significantly associated with advanced stage (p < 0.01), regional lymph node metastasis (p < 0.05), and poor differentiation (p < 0.005) and further correlated with worse survival rate in oral cancer patients (p = 0.036). Higher levels of CXCR3B were found in regional lymphatic invasion of HNC and progressive stage of squamous cell carcinoma. Elevated Sox2 expression was significantly associated with the advanced stage of HNC in the oral cavity, and demonstrated a co‐expression pattern with CXCR3B. Furthermore, lentivirus‐mediated overexpression of CXCR3A and CXCR3B in SAS human oral cancer cells promoted cell mobility. CXCR3A overexpression enhanced sphere‐forming ability and chemoresistance of CSCs by upregulating stemness‐related genes.
Conclusion
This study first provides a novel insight of CXCR3 isoform A in HNC cancer progression via regulating cancer stem‐like properties and chemoresistance, suggesting that CXCR3A may be a prognostic marker and novel target for HNC therapy.
Cardiomyocyte apoptosis is the major risk factor for the development of heart failure (HF). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of Gamma‐aminobutyric acid (GABA) tea on ...hypertension‐induced cardiac apoptotic pathways in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). In order to reveal the mechanisms, 36 male SHR at eight weeks of age, 200 g were divided into six groups. One group was fed water as a control group. Other rats were administered one of the following treatments: GABA tea at dose 150 and 300 mg/kg/day as low GABA tea (LGT) and high GABA tea (HGT) groups, respectively, pure GABA at dose 150 and 300 mg/kg/day as LG and HG groups, respectively, green tea (GT) as control of LGT and HGT groups. After 12 weeks, cardiac tissues were analyzed by histological analysis, western blotting, and TUNEL assays. GABA tea, GT, and pure GABA decreased hypertension‐induced cardiac abnormalities, including abnormal myocardial architecture. In addition, GABA tea, GT, and pure GABA dramatically increased anti‐apoptotic protein, Bcl2. Furthermore, GABA tea, GT, and pure GABA also decreased activated‐caspase 9 and activated‐caspase 3. Additionally, the survival associated protein IGF‐I and PI3K/Akt were enhanced in cardiac tissues upon treatment. Our results showed an optimistic anti‐apoptotic and pro‐survival effects of GABA tea treatment against hypertensive rat hearts.
Preterm infant pain can be relieved by combining non-nutritive sucking (sucking), oral sucrose, and facilitated tucking (tucking), but the pain-relief effects of oral expressed breast milk (breast ...milk) are ambiguous.
We compared the effects of combined sucking+ breast milk, sucking+breast milk+tucking, and routine care on preterm infant pain during and after heel-stick procedures.
A prospective, randomized controlled trial.
Level III neonatal intensive care unit and a neonatal unit at a medical center in Taipei.
Preterm infants (N=109, gestational age 29–37 weeks, stable disease condition) needing procedural heel sticks were recruited by convenience sampling and randomly assigned to three treatment conditions: routine care, sucking+ breast milk, and sucking+breast milk+ tucking.
Pain was measured by watching video recordings of infants undergoing heel-stick procedures and scoring pain at 1-min intervals with the Premature Infant Pain Profile. Data were collected over eight phases: baseline (phase 1, 10min without stimuli before heel stick), during heel stick (phases 2 and 3), and a 10-min recovery (phases 4–8).
For infants receiving sucking+ breast milk, pain-score changes from baseline across phases 2–8 were 2.634, 4.303, 2.812, 2.271, 1.465, 0.704, and 1.452 units lower than corresponding pain-score changes of infants receiving routine care (all p-values <0.05 except for phases 6 and 7). Similarly, for infants receiving sucking +breast milk+ tucking, pain-score changes from baseline were 2.652, 3.644, 1.686, 1.770, 1.409, 1.165, and 2.210 units lower than corresponding pain-score changes in infants receiving routine care across phases 2–8 (all p-values <0.05 except for phase 4). After receiving sucking +breast milk +tucking and sucking +breast milk, infants’ risk of mild pain (pain score ≥6) significantly decreased 67.0% and 70.1%, respectively, compared to infants receiving routine care. After receiving sucking +breast milk +tucking and sucking +breast milk, infants’ risk of moderate-to-severe pain (pain score ≥12) decreased 87.4% and 95.7%, respectively, compared to infants receiving routine care.
The combined use of sucking+breast milk +tucking and sucking+breast milk effectively reduced preterm infants’ mild pain and moderate-to-severe pain during heel-stick procedures. Adding facilitated tucking helped infants recover from pain across eight phases of heel-stick procedures. Our findings advance knowledge on the effects of combining expressed breast milk, sucking, and tucking on preterm infants’ procedural pain.
•The need for enhanced and better-tolerated approaches for effective migraine prevention remains strong.•Neuroinflammatory pathways with nutraceutical intervention may be promising targets for ...migraine.•High-dose EPA could be a promising prophylactic option for managing episodic migraine.•Patients receiving high-dose EPA showed significant improvements in psychological symptoms associated with episodic migraine.•The EPA treatment demonstrated a lack of major adverse events, underscoring its safety for use in patients with episodic migrain.
Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) may benefit migraine improvement, though prior studies are inconclusive. This study evaluated the effect of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) on episodic migraine (EM) prevention. Seventy individuals with EM participated in a 12-week randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial from March 2020 and May 2022. They were randomly assigned to either the EPA (N = 35, 2 g fish oil with 1.8 g of EPA as a stand-alone treatment daily), or the placebo group (N = 35, 2 g soybean oil daily). Migraine frequency and headache severity were assessed using the monthly migraine days, visual analog scale (VAS), Migraine Disability Assessment (MIDAS), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), Migraine-Specific Quality-of-Life Questionnaire (MSQ), and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) in comparison to baseline measurements. The EPA group significantly outperformed the placebo in reducing monthly migraine days (−4.4 ± 5.1 days vs. − 0.6 ± 3.5 days, p = 0.001), days using acute headache medication (−1.3 ± 3.0 days vs. 0.1 ± 2.3 days, p = 0.035), improving scores for headache severity (ΔVAS score: −1.3 ± 2.4 vs. 0.0 ± 2.2, p = 0.030), disability (ΔMIDAS score: −13.1 ± 16.2 vs. 2.6 ± 20.2, p = 0.001), anxiety and depression (ΔHADS score: −3.9 ± 9.4 vs. 1.1 ± 9.1, p = 0.025), and quality of life (ΔMSQ score: −11.4 ± 19.0 vs. 3.1 ± 24.6, p = 0.007). Notably, female particularly benefited from EPA, underscoring its potential in migraine management. In conclusion, high-dose EPA has significantly reduced migraine frequency and severity, improved psychological symptoms and quality of life in EM patients, and shown no major adverse events, suggesting its potential as a prophylactic for EM.
IGF-IIR plays important roles as a key regulator in myocardial pathological hypertrophy and apoptosis, which subsequently lead to heart failure. Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge (Danshen) is a traditional ...Chinese medicinal herb used to treat cardiovascular diseases. Tanshinone IIA is an active compound in Danshen and is structurally similar to 17Formula: see text-estradiol (EFormula: see text. However, whether tanshinone IIA improves cardiomyocyte survival in pathological hypertrophy through estrogen receptor (ER) regulation remains unclear. This study investigates the role of ER signaling in mediating the protective effects of tanshinone IIA on IGF-IIR-induced myocardial hypertrophy. Leu27IGF-II (IGF-II analog) was shown in this study to specifically activate IGF-IIR expression and ICI 182,780 (ICI), an ER antagonist used to investigate tanshinone IIA estrogenic activity. We demonstrated that tanshinone IIA significantly enhanced Akt phosphorylation through ER activation to inhibit Leu27IGF-II-induced calcineurin expression and subsequent NFATc3 nuclear translocation to suppress myocardial hypertrophy. Tanshinone IIA reduced the cell size and suppressed ANP and BNP, inhibiting antihypertrophic effects induced by Leu27IGF-II. The cardioprotective properties of tanshinone IIA that inhibit Leu27IGF-II-induced cell hypertrophy and promote cell survival were reversed by ICI. Furthermore, ICI significantly reduced phospho-Akt, Ly294002 (PI3K inhibitor), and PI3K siRNA significantly reduced the tanshinone IIA-induced protective effect. The above results suggest that tanshinone IIA inhibited cardiomyocyte hypertrophy, which was mediated through ER, by activating the PI3K/Akt pathway and inhibiting Leu27IGF-II-induced calcineurin and NFATC3. Tanshinone IIA exerted strong estrogenic activity and therefore represented a novel selective ER modulator that inhibits IGF-IIR signaling to block cardiac hypertrophy.
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