In addition to typical respiratory symptoms, patients with asthma are frequently accompanied by cognitive decline, mood disorders (anxiety and depression), sleep disorders, olfactory disorders, and ...other brain response manifestations, all of which worsen asthma symptoms, form a vicious cycle, and exacerbate the burden on families and society. Therefore, studying the mechanism of neurological symptoms in patients with asthma is necessary to identify the appropriate preventative and therapeutic measures. In order to provide a comprehensive reference for related research, we compiled the pertinent literature, systematically summarized the latest research progress of asthma and its brain response, and attempted to reveal the possible “lung–brain” crosstalk mechanism and treatment methods at the onset of asthma, which will promote more related research to provide asthmatic patients with neurological symptoms new hope.
Reduced nerve growth factor (NGF) is associated with cardiac sympathetic nerve denervation in heart failure (HF) which is characterized by increased oxidative stress. Apocynin is considered an ...antioxidant agent which inhibits NADPH oxidase activity and improves reactive oxygen species scavenging. However, it is unclear whether apocynin prevents reduced myocardial NGF, leading to improvement of cardiac function in HF. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that apocynin prevents reduced myocardial NGF, contributing to amelioration of myocardial apoptosis and failure. Rabbits with myocardial infarction (MI) or sham operation were randomly assigned to receive apocynin or placebo for 4 weeks. MI rabbits exhibited left ventricular (LV) dysfunction, and elevation in oxidative stress, as evidenced by a decreased reduced‐to‐oxidized glutathione ratio and an increased 4‐hydroxynonenal expression, and reduction in NGF and NGF receptor tyrosine kinase A (TrKA) expression in the remote non‐infarcted myocardium. Apocynin treatment ameliorated LV dysfunction, reduced oxidative stress, prevented decreases in NGF and TrKA expression and reduced cardiomyocyte apoptosis after MI. In cultured H9C2 cardiomyocytes, hypoxia or hydrogen peroxide decreased NGF expression, and apocynin normalized hypoxia‐induced reduction of NGF. Recombinant NGF attenuated hypoxia‐induced apoptosis. Apocynin prevented hypoxia‐induced apoptosis, and the suppressive effect of apocynin on apoptosis was abolished by NGF receptor TrKA inhibitor K252a. We concluded that apocynin prevented reduced myocardial NGF, leading to attenuation of cardiomyocyte apoptosis and LV remodelling and dysfunction in HF after MI. These findings suggest that strategies to prevent NGF reduction by inhibition of oxidative stress may be of value in amelioration of LV dysfunction in HF.
Apocynin prevents increased oxidative stress, decreased nerve growth factor (NGF) expression and increased myocyte apoptosis and improves left ventricular (LV) function in heart failure (HF) after myocardial infarction (MI). In cultured cardiomyocytes, hypoxia or hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) reduces NGF. Apocynin prevents hypoxia‐mediated NGF reduction. NGF treatment prevents hypoxia‐induced myocyte apoptosis. NGF receptor TrKA inhibitor K252a abolishes the suppressive effect of apocynin on apoptosis.
In China, coal-mining industries are mainly located in the water shortage areas including arid or semiarid areas. Mine wastewater is used for irrigation of agricultural land in these areas. However, ...few studies have been conducted to address ecological and food safety risks caused by mine wastewater irrigation. In this research, a pot experiment was performed to examine the effects of mine wastewater irrigation on soil enzymes, physiological properties of wheat and potential risks of heavy metal contamination to wheat crop. Plants were subjected to three mine wastewater irrigation treatments: leacheate of coal gangue (T1), coal-washing wastewater (T2) and precipitated coal-washing wastewater (T3). Plants irrigated with well water were taken as the control (CK). The results showed that mine wastewater irrigation caused adverse effects on soil enzymes, physiological properties and grain yield of winter wheat. At anthesis, T1, T2 and T3 treatments significantly reduced the activities of soil enzymes (urease, sucrase and catalase), root activity and net photosynthetic rate of wheat compared to CK. At maturity, grain yield was decreased by 17.8%, 15.4% and 9.8% by T1, T2 and T3, respectively, as compared to that of CK. Importantly, mine wastewater irrigation resulted in accumulation of heavy metals (Cr, Pb, Cu and Zn) in wheat grain. Contents of these heavy metals in grains of winter wheat subjected to mine wastewater irrigation were significantly higher than those in CK. The comprehensive contamination indexes of wheat grain in T1, T2 and T3 all reached high pollution level. Our results showed that mine wastewater irrigation significantly increased the pollution risk of heavy metals, thus unsuitable for crop irrigation.
•Mine wastewater irrigation reduced the activities of soil enzymes (urease, sucrase and catalase), root activity and net photosynthetic rate of wheat;•Mine wastewater irrigation reduced soil pH and promoted the uptake of heavy metals by crops;•Mine wastewater irrigation increased the contents of CR and Pb in wheat, above The allowable levels for agricultural irrigation.
Abstract
An exclusively regioselective hydrocyanation of monofluoroalkenes has been developed, with which a series of aliphatic quaternary α-fluoronitriles were synthesized in a facile and efficient ...manner. This novel method is featured with mild conditions, good functional groups compatibilities, and high reactivity.
ObjectiveTo clarify the full range of benefits and adverse consequences of Helicobacter pylori eradication as a strategy for gastric cancer prevention, the community-based intervention trial was ...launched in Linqu County, China.DesignA total of 184 786 residents aged 25–54 years were enrolled in this trial and received 13C-urea breath test. H. pylori positive participants were assigned into two groups, either receiving a 10-day quadruple anti-H. pylori treatment or lookalike placebos together with a single dosage of omeprazole and bismuth.ResultsThe prevalence of H. pylori in trial participants was 57.6%. A total of 94 101 subjects completed the treatment. The overall H. pylori eradication rate was 72.9% in the active group. Gender, body mass index, history of stomach disease, baseline delta over baseline-value of 13C-urea breath test, missed medication doses, smoking and drinking were independent predictors of eradication failure. The missed doses and high baseline delta over baseline-value were important contributors in men and women (all Ptrend<0.001). However, a dose-response relationship between failure rate and smoking or drinking index was found in men (all Ptrend<0.001), while high body mass index (Ptrend<0.001) and history of stomach disease were significant predictors in women. The treatment failure rate increased up to 48.8% (OR 2.87, 95% CI 2.24 to 3.68) in men and 39.4% (OR 2.67, 95% CI 1.61 to 4.42) in women with multiple factors combined.ConclusionsThis large community-based intervention trial to eradicate H. pylori is feasible and acceptable. The findings of this trial lead to a distinct evaluation of factors influencing eradication that should be generally considered for future eradication therapies.Trial registration numberChiCTR-TRC-10000979 in accordance with WHO ICTRP requirements.
Synthetic hexaploid wheat (SHW), possesses numerous genes for drought that can help breeding for drought-tolerant wheat varieties. We evaluated 10 root traits at seedling stage in 111 F9 recombinant ...inbred lines derived from a F2 population of a SHW line (SHW-L1) and a common wheat line, under normal (NC) and polyethylene glycol-simulated drought stress conditions (DC). We mapped quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for root traits using an enriched high-density genetic map containing 120370 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), 733 diversity arrays technology markers (DArT) and 119 simple sequence repeats (SSRs). With four replicates per treatment, we identified 19 QTLs for root traits under NC and DC, and 12 of them could be consistently detected with three or four replicates. Two novel QTLs for root fresh weight and root diameter under NC explained 9 and 15.7% of the phenotypic variation respectively, and six novel QTLs for root fresh weight, the ratio of root water loss, total root surface area, number of root tips, and number of root forks under DC explained 8.5–14% of the phenotypic variation. Here seven of eight novel QTLs could be consistently detected with more than three replicates. Results provide essential information for fine-mapping QTLs related to drought tolerance that will facilitate breeding drought-tolerant wheat cultivars.
To investigate the ability of amide proton transfer (APT) weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), arterial spin labeling (ASL), diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) and the combination for ...differentiating high-grade gliomas (HGGs) from low-grade gliomas (LGGs).
Twenty-seven patients including nine LGGs and eighteen HGGs underwent conventional, APT, ASL and DWI MRI with a 3.0-T MR scanner. Histogram analyses was performed and quantitative parameters including mean apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC mean), 20th-percentile ADC (ADC 20th), mean APT (APT mean), 90th-percentile APT (APT 90th), relative mean cerebral blood flow (rCBF mean) and relative 90th-percentile CBF (rCBF 90th) were compared between HGGs and LGGs. The diagnostic performance was evaluated with receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis of each parameter and their combination. Correlations were analyzed among the MRI parameters and Ki-67.
The APT values were significantly higher in the HGGs compared to the LGGs (p < 0.005), whereas ADC values were significantly lower in HGGs than LGGs (P < 0.0001). The ADC 20th and APT mean had higher discrimination abilities compared with other single parameters, with the area under the ROC curve (AUC) of 0.877 and 0.840. Adding ADC parameter, the discrimination ability of APT and rCBF significantly improved. The ADC was negatively correlated with the APT and rCBF value, respectively, while APT value was positively correlated with rCBF value. Significant correlations between ADC values and Ki-67 were also observed.
APT and DWI are valuable in differentiating HGGs from LGGs. The combination of APT, DWI and ASL imaging could improve the ability for discriminating HGGs from LGGs.
Blood vessels respond to injury through a healing process that includes neointimal hyperplasia. The vascular endothelium is a monolayer of cells that separates the outer vascular wall from the inner ...circulating blood. The disruption and exposure of endothelial cells (ECs) to subintimal components initiate the neointimal formation. ECs not only act as a highly selective barrier to prevent early pathological changes of neointimal hyperplasia, but also synthesize and release molecules to maintain vascular homeostasis. After vascular injury, ECs exhibit varied responses, including proliferation, regeneration, apoptosis, phenotypic switching, interacting with other cells by direct contact or secreted molecules and the change of barrier function. This brief review presents the functional role of the evolutionarily-conserved Notch pathway in neointimal hyperplasia, notably by regulating endothelial cell functions (proliferation, regeneration, apoptosis, differentiation, cell-cell interaction). Understanding endothelial cell biology should help us define methods to prompt cell proliferation, prevent cell apoptosis and dysfunction, block neointimal hyperplasia and vessel narrowing.
Copper-catalyzed selective coupling of C(sp
)-H bonds with C(sp
)-H bonds has been developed. An aniline module was used as a directing group to generate an aminyl radical, which selectively cleaves ...the secondary and tertiary C(sp
)-H bonds
a 1,5-HAT process to forge six-membered carbocyclic rings.
Population aging is occurring rapidly worldwide, challenging the global economy and healthcare services. Brain aging is a significant contributor to various age-related neurological and ...neuropsychological disorders, including Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. Several extrinsic factors, such as exposure to ionizing radiation, can accelerate senescence. Multiple human and animal studies have reported that exposure to ionizing radiation can have varied effects on organ aging and lead to the prolongation or shortening of life span depending on the radiation dose or dose rate. This paper reviews the effects of radiation on the aging of different types of brain cells, including neurons, microglia, astrocytes, and cerebral endothelial cells. Further, the relevant molecular mechanisms are discussed. Overall, this review highlights how radiation-induced senescence in different cell types may lead to brain aging, which could result in the development of various neurological and neuropsychological disorders. Therefore, treatment targeting radiation-induced oxidative stress and neuroinflammation may prevent radiation-induced brain aging and the neurological and neuropsychological disorders it may cause.
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