The battle against depression in the elderly is crucial due to its significant impact on their quality of life, physical and cognitive health, increased risk of social isolation and suicide, as well ...as the associated higher healthcare costs. This research investigates the effects of traditional and augmented reality Tai Chi, using the virtual environment “Managed Tai Chi,” on depression in elderly individuals. The study involved 300 participants aged over 60 from the Beijing Medical Center, with an experimental period lasting six months and sessions held once a week. The Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) was utilized as a diagnostic tool at the pre-test and post-test stages. The findings revealed that the VR group exhibited a more substantial reduction in depression compared to the traditional and control groups (p ≤ 0.05), indicating the enhanced efficacy of Tai Chi with VR augmentation in treating depression in the elderly.
Microplastic pollution has attracted mounting concerns worldwide. Microplastics may concentrate organic and metallic contaminants; thus, affecting their transport, fate and organismal exposure. To ...better understand organic contaminant-microplastic interactions, our study explored the sorption of selected polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), α-hexabromocyclododecane (α-HBCDD), and organophosphate flame retardants (OPFRs) on high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and polyvinylchloride (PVC) microplastics under saline conditions. Sorption isotherms determined varied between chemicals and between HDPE and PVC microplastics. Log Freundlich sorption coefficients (Log KF) for the targeted chemicals ranged from 2.01 to 5.27 L kg-1 for HDPE, but were significantly lower for PVC, i.e., ranging from Log KF data (2.84 – 8.58 L kg-1). Significant correlations between chemicals’ Log KF and Log Kow (octanol-water partition coefficient) indicate that chemical-dependent sorption was largely influenced by their hydrophobicity. Sorption was evaluated using three size classes (< 53, 53 – 300, and 300 – 1000 µm) of lab-fragmented microplastics. Particle size did not significantly affect sorption isotherms, but influenced the time to reach equilibrium and the predicted maximum sorption, likely related to microplastic surface areas. The presence of biofilms on HDPE particles significantly enhanced contaminant sorption capacity, indicating more complex sorption dynamics in the chemical-biofilm-microplastic system. Our findings offer new insights into the chemical-microplastic interactions in marine environment.
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•Biofilm and size effects of microplastics on pollutants sorption were studied.•Sorption isotherm results varied between chemicals or between HDPE and PVC.•Significant correlations between chemicals’ Log KF and Log Kow were observed.•Particle size didn’t affect sorption isotherms but influenced the maximum sorption.•Biofilms on HDPE particles significantly enhanced contaminant sorption capacity.
It has been reported that microRNA-203a-3p (miR-203a-3p) modulates cell proliferation, migration and invasion in a variety of cancer cell types. However, little is known about its role in lung cancer ...progression. The present study found that miR-203a-3p was downregulated in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cell lines and tissues. Overexpression of miR-203a-3p inhibits NSCLC cell proliferation, migration and invasion, and promotes cellular apoptosis in vitro. Restoration of miR-203a-3p expression in A549 and NCI-H520 cells enhances their chemosensitivity. Further experiments showed that DNA methyltransferase 3B (DNMT3B) was a direct target of miR-203a-3p. In addition, the present results revealed that promoter hypermethylation was the potential mechanism responsible for low miR-203a-3p expression in NSCLC. Notably, feedback regulation between miR-203a-3p and DNMT3B was observed in NSCLC. Moreover, Overexpression of miR-203a-3p reduces tumor growth in vivo. In summary, the present study has identified an miR-203a-3p-DNMT3B feedback loop that facilitates NSCLC progression.
Key message
Glycinebetaine alleviates the detrimental effects of aluminium stress by regulating aluminium uptake and translocation, maintaining PSII activity, and activating the oxidative defence, ...thereby maintaining the growth and development of rice.
Aluminium (Al) toxicity is one of the primary growth-limiting factors that limits plant growth and crop productivity in acidic soils. Rice (
Oryza sativa
L.) plants are susceptible to Al stress and do not naturally accumulate glycinebetaine (GB), one of the most effective protectants. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate whether exogenous GB can ameliorate the detrimental effects of Al stress on rice plants. Our results showed that the growth, development and biomass of rice were clearly inhibited under Al stress. However, exogenous GB application increased rice shoot growth and photosynthetic pigments contents, maintained photosystem II (PSII) activity, and activated the antioxidant defence system under Al stress. More importantly, GB may mediate the expression of Al uptake- and translocation-related genes, including
OsALS1
,
OsNrat1
,
OsSTAR1
and
OsSTAR2
, and the galacturonic acid contents in rice roots under Al stress. Therefore, our findings highlight exogenous GB application is a valid approach to effectively combat Al toxicity by regulating physiological and biochemical processes in crops.
To predict and analyze the structure and function of heat shock protein 33 by bioinformatics analysis.
The physical and chemical properties, hydrophilicity (hydrophobicity), transmembrane structure, ...secondary and tertiary structure, subcellular localization, signal peptide and glycosylation, phosphorylation sites, B cell, helper T (Th) cell epitopes of Hsp protein isolated from Pythium insidiosum were analyzed by corresponding bioinformatics software.
Hsp33 was composed of 608 amino acids, and the molecular formula was C2182H3538N624O654S16. Hsp33 was a hydrophilic unstable protein. The protein had no transmembrane domain and signal peptide sequence. Subcellular localization analysis shows that the amino acid was a nuclear protein;α-helix, β-sheet, β-turn and random coil accounted for 43.59%, 14.47%, 5.26% and 36.68%, respectively. There were 14 glycosylation sites and 48 phosphorylation sites. It has T cell and B cell dominant epitopes. TLR9 had the best affinity to HSP33 based on its binding affinity.
This study lays the foundation for future research on vaccine construct and also provides clues to explore the pathogenic mechanism of HSP33-TLR9 signal pathway for Pythium insidiosum.
(
) is one of the dominant algae during harmful algal blooms (HABs) in coastal regions of Southern China.
exhibits complex heteromorphic life cycles that could switch between solitary cells and ...colonies. The ecological success of
has been attributed to its colony formation, although underlying mechanisms remain unknown. Here, we investigated different bacterial communities associated with
colonies and their influence on colony formation of two
strains isolated from coastal waters of Guangxi (GX) and Shantou (ST). Eight operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were observed in ST co-cultures and were identified as biomarkers based on Linear discriminant analysis Effect Size (LEfSe) analysis, while seven biomarkers were identified in
.
GX co-cultures. Bacterial communities associated with the
GX were more diverse than those of the ST strain. The most dominant phylum in the two co-cultures was Proteobacteria, within which
was the most abundant genus in both GX and ST co-cultures. Bacteroidota were only observed in the GX co-cultures and Planctomycetota were only observed in the ST co-cultures. Co-culture experiments revealed that
.
colony formation was not influenced by low and medium cell densities of
sp. GS7, but was inhibited by high cell densities of
sp. GS7. Overall, these results indicated that the associated bacteria are selected by different
.
strains, which may affect the colony formation and development of
.
Electronic waste (e-waste) dismantling facilities are well-known bisphenol chemical (BP) sources. In this study, non-targeted screening combined with targeted analysis of BPs in surface soil from ...e-waste dismantling facilities and their surroundings revealed their presence, distribution, and exposure risk. A total of 14 BPs were identified including bisphenol A (BPA) and its novel structural analogs and halogenated BPs. The total concentrations of BPs ranged from 963 to 47,160 ng/g (median: 6970 ng/g) in e-waste soil, higher than those measured in surface soil from surrounding areas, i.e., 10–7750 ng/g (median 197 ng/g). BPA, tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA), and bisphenol F (BPF) were the dominant ones from the two areas. Concentrations of TBBPA and its debromination product from the surrounding area significantly decreased with increasing distances from the e-waste dismantling facilities. Estimation of daily intake via oral ingestion of soil suggests that current contamination scenarios are unlikely to pose health risks for e-waste dismantling workers and adults and toddlers living in the surrounding areas, with their intakes generally well below the tolerable daily intakes proposed for several BPs. However, the BPA intakes of workers exceeded the more strict tolerable daily intake for BPA established recently, which merits continuous environmental surveillance.
Pythium insidiosum
is a rare fungus-like pathogen that is known to cause pythiosis in mammals with high morbidity and mortality. Identification of the pathogen is essential for timely treatment and ...rational use of antibiotics. However,
Pythium insidiosum
is difficult to detect
via
conventional microbiological tests. The current gold standard is polymerase chain reaction, which is lacking in most hospitals since human pythiosis is rare in China. In this study, we used metagenomic Next-Generation Sequencing and identified
Pythium insidiosum
in a 56-year-old Chinese male who was hospitalized due to severe edema in the right lower limb with scattered darkening indurations. The patient had a history of cirrhosis and occupational exposure to swamp water. Serological level of immune biomarkers indicated immunodeficiency, and Proteinase 3-Anti-Neutrophil Cytoplasmic Antibody was positive. Surgical incision of the lesions revealed radiating and reticular cutaneous ulcers. Microbial infections were suspected but conventional tests failed to discover the etiology. Empirical use of penicillin, vancomycin, and ceftriaxone had no effect. As a result, the peripheral blood and tissue biopsies were sent for metagenomic Next-Generation Sequencing, which reported
Pythium insidiosum
. This finding was corroborated by pathological staining, whole-genome sequencing, and internal transcribed spacer sequencing. Notably, antifungal treatment was ineffective, but the patient responded well to oral trimethoprim–sulfamethoxazole, which may be due to the
folp
gene found in
Pythium insidiosum
genome. Our study prompts future studies to determine the optimal treatment of skin pythiosis.
: Oxidative stress and inflammation play critical roles in the neuropathogenesis of PD. We aimed to evaluate oxidative stress and inflammation status by measuring serum superoxide dismutase (SOD) ...with lipoprotein cholesterol and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) respectively in PD patients, and explore their correlation with the disease severity.
: We performed a cross-sectional study that included 204 PD patients and 204 age-matched healthy controls (HCs). Plasma levels of SOD, hsCRP, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) were measured. A series of neuropsychological assessments were performed to rate the severity of PD.
: The plasma levels of SOD (135.7 ± 20.14 vs. 147.2 ± 24.34,
< 0.0001), total cholesterol, HDL-C and LDL-C in PD were significantly lower than those in HCs; the hsCRP level was remarkably increased in PD compared to HC (2.766 ± 3.242 vs. 1.637 ± 1.597,
< 0.0001). The plasma SOD was negatively correlated with the hsCRP, while positively correlated with total cholesterol, HDL-C, and LDL-C in PD patients. The plasma SOD were negatively correlated with H&Y, total UPDRS, UPDRS (I), UPDRS (II), and UPDRS (III) scores, but positively correlated with MoCA and MMSE scores. Besides, hsCRP was negatively correlated with MoCA; while total cholesterol, HDL-C and LDL-C were positively correlated with the MoCA, respectively.
: Our findings suggest that lower SOD along with cholesterol, HDL-C and LDL-C, and higher hsCRP levels might be important markers to assess the PD severity. A better understanding of SOD and hsCRP may yield insights into the pathogenesis of PD.
Background
Accumulating data support that regular physical activity potentially inhibits chronic colitis, a risk factor for colitis-associated cancer (CAC). However, possible effects of physical ...activity on CAC and the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood.
Methods
A pretreatment of swimming on azoxymethane/dextran sodium sulfate (AOM/DSS)-induced CAC mice was implemented to determine its protective effect. Inflammation and tumorigenesis were assessed using colorectums from C57BL/6 mice. In order to determine how swimming alters colonic lipid metabolism and gene expression, a comparative analysis was conducted. Meanwhile, alterations in intestinal microbiota and short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) were detected and analyzed. Finally, an integration analysis of colonic lipid metabolism with gene expression and intestinal microbiota was performed respectively.
Result
Swimming pretreatment relieved bowel inflammation and minimized tumor formation. We demonstrated that prostaglandin E2 (PGE2)/PGE2 receptor 2 subtype (EP2) signaling as a potential regulatory target for swimming induces colonic lipid metabolites. Swimming-induced genera, Erysipelatoclostridium, Parabacteroides, Bacteroides, and Rikenellaceae_RC9_gut_group, induced intestinal SCFAs and affected the function of colonic lipid metabolites enriched in glycerophospholipid metabolism and choline metabolism in cancer.
Conclusion
According to our experiments, swimming pretreatment can protect mice from CAC by intervention in the possible link between colonic lipid metabolites and PGE2/EP2 signaling. Further, swimming-induced genera and probiotics promoted glycerophospholipid metabolism and choline metabolism in cancer, the major constituents of colonic lipid metabolites, and increased SCFAs, which were also important mechanisms for the anti-inflammatory and anti-tumorigenic effects of swimming.
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