Glucoregulatory efficiency and ATP production are key regulators for neuronal plasticity and memory formation. Besides its chemotactic and neuroinflammatory functions, the CC chemokine--CCL5 displays ...neurotrophic activity. We found impaired learning-memory and cognition in CCL5-knockout mice at 4 months of age correlated with reduced hippocampal long-term potentiation and impaired synapse structure. Re-expressing CCL5 in knockout mouse hippocampus restored synaptic protein expression, neuronal connectivity and cognitive function. Using metabolomics coupled with FDG-PET imaging and seahorse analysis, we found that CCL5 participates in hippocampal fructose and mannose degradation, glycolysis, gluconeogenesis as well as glutamate and purine metabolism. CCL5 additionally supports mitochondrial structural integrity, purine synthesis, ATP generation, and subsequent aerobic glucose metabolism. Overexpressing CCL5 in WT mice also enhanced memory-cognition performance as well as hippocampal neuronal activity and connectivity through promotion of de novo purine and glutamate metabolism. Thus, CCL5 actions on glucose aerobic metabolism are critical for mitochondrial function which contribute to hippocampal spine and synapse formation, improving learning and memory.
A millimeter wave (mm-wave) communication system provides multi-Gb/s data rates in short-distance transmission. Because millimeter waves have short wavelength, transceivers can be composed of large ...antenna arrays to alleviate severe signal attenuation. Furthermore, the link performance can be improved by adopting precoding technology in multiple data stream transmission. However, the complexity of radio frequency (RF) chains increases when large antenna arrays are used in mm-wave systems. To reduce the hardware cost, the precoding circuit can be jointly designed in both analog and digital domains to reduce the required number of RF chains. This paper proposes a new method of building the joint RF and baseband precoder that reduces the computation complexity of the original precoder reconstruction algorithm and enables highly parallel hardware architecture. Moreover, the proposed precoder reconstruction algorithm was designed and implemented using TSMC 90-nm UTM CMOS technology. The proposed precoder reconstruction processor supports the transmissions of one to four data streams for 8 × 8 mm-wave multiple-input multiple-output systems. The operating frequency of this chip was 167 MHz, and the power consumption was 243.2 mW when the supply voltage was 1 V. The core area of the postlayout result was about 3.94 mm 2 . The proposed processor achieved 4, 4.9, 6.7, and 6.7 M channel matrices per second in four-, three-, two-, and one-stream modes, respectively.
Gallic acid (GA), a naturally abundant plant phenolic compound in vegetables and fruits, has been shown to have potent anti-oxidative and anti-obesity activity. However, the effects of GA on ...nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) are poorly understood. In this study, we investigated the beneficial effects of GA administration on nutritional hepatosteatosis model by a more "holistic view" approach, namely 1H NMR-based metabolomics, in order to prove efficacy and to obtain information that might lead to a better understanding of the mode of action of GA. Male C57BL/6 mice were placed for 16 weeks on either a normal chow diet, a high fat diet (HFD, 60%), or a high fat diet supplemented with GA (50 and 100 mg/kg/day, orally). Liver histopathology and serum biochemical examinations indicated that the daily administration of GA protects against hepatic steatosis, obesity, hypercholesterolemia, and insulin resistance among the HFD-induced NAFLD mice. In addition, partial least squares discriminant analysis scores plots demonstrated that the cluster of HFD fed mice is clearly separated from the normal group mice plots, indicating that the metabolic characteristics of these two groups are distinctively different. Specifically, the GA-treated mice are located closer to the normal group of mice, indicating that the HFD-induced disturbances to the metabolic profile were partially reversed by GA treatment. Our results show that the hepatoprotective effect of GA occurs in part through a reversing of the HFD caused disturbances to a range of metabolic pathways, including lipid metabolism, glucose metabolism (glycolysis and gluconeogenesis), amino acids metabolism, choline metabolism and gut-microbiota-associated metabolism. Taken together, this study suggested that a 1H NMR-based metabolomics approach is a useful platform for natural product functional evaluation. The selected metabolites are potentially useful as preventive action biomarkers and could also be used to help our further understanding of the effect of GA in hepatosteatosis mice.
Background
Social cognitive career theory (SCCT) can explain the mechanism underlying the formulation of nurse turnover intention. However, little is known about the role of professional commitment ...in such a mechanism.
Aims
The aim of this study was to explore how elements of SCCT have an impact on the three aspects of professional commitment and thus nurses’ intention to leave the profession.
Design
This study used surveys to collect two‐wave data.
Methods
The participants were sampled in all available units of a major medical centre in 2017. By using proportionate random sampling methods, we successfully followed up a representative sample of 524 full‐time nurses. Most participants (98.1%) were female. Items came from Cunningham et al.'s Self‐Efficacy Scale, Outcome Expectations Scale, Human Capital Scale and Vocational Interest Scale; Meyer et al.'s Professional Commitment Scale; and Teng et al.'s Turnover Intention Scale. Structural equation modelling was used to test the hypotheses.
Results
Self‐efficacy was positively related to outcome expectation. Outcome expectation was positively related to career interest. Career interest was positively related to affective professional commitment. Human capital was positively related to normative professional commitment. Affective professional commitment was positively related to intention to improve professional capabilities, which was further negatively related to intention to leave the profession.
Conclusion
Aspects of professional commitment are important process variables in the impact of self‐efficacy and outcome expectation on nurses’ turnover intention.
背景
社会认知职业理论(SCCT)可以阐释护士离职意愿形成的机制。然而,对专业承诺在此类机制中发挥的作用知之甚少。
目的
本研究旨在探讨社会认知职业理论中的因素如何对专业承诺的三个方面以及护士离职意愿产生影响。
设计
本研究通过调查收集两波数据。
方法
对2017年某大型医疗中心所有可用受试者单位进行抽样调查。采用按比例随机抽样方法,我们成功地获得了524名全职护士的代表性样本。大多数参与者(98.1%)为女性。样本项目来自Cunningham等人的自我效能量表、成果预期量表、人力资本量表和职业兴趣量表;Meyer等人的专业承诺量表;Teng等人的离职意向量表,并采用结构方程模型对假设进行验证。
结果
自我效能感与结果预期呈正相关。结果预期与职业兴趣呈正相关。职业兴趣与情感专业承诺呈正相关。人力资本与规范的专业承诺呈正相关。情感专业承诺与提高职业能力的意愿呈正相关,与离职意愿呈负相关。
结论
专业承诺方面是影响护士自我效能感和结果预期对护士离职意愿影响的重要过程变量。
To examine how nurses' self-efficacy impacts professional engagement (professional opportunities exploration and workplace improvement participation), nurses' turnover intention and further on actual ...turnover.
The problem of nursing shortage has become a common global issue. Nurses' self-efficacy could reduce nurses' turnover intention. However, whether professional engagement could connect nurses' self-efficacy and their actual turnover remains unknown.
This study adopts a three-wave follow-up design.
This study uses proportionate random sampling to survey nurses in a large medical centre in Taiwan. Totally, 417 participants were enrolled from December 2021 to January 2022 (first wave) and followed up from February 2022 to March 2022 (second wave). The data of nurses' actual turnover (or not) were traced in May 2022 (third wave). STROBE statement was chosen as the EQUATOR checklist.
Self-efficacy was positively linked to outcome expectation, which is positively linked to professional opportunities exploration. Self-efficacy was positively linked to career interest and workplace improvement participation. Professional engagement was negatively linked to nurses' intention to leave the target hospital, which was positively linked to actual turnover.
This study uniquely finds that professional engagement is the key to the mechanism underlying the influence of nurse' self-efficacy on their actual turnover.
Our findings impact nursing management that professional engagement is as well important as nurses' self-efficacy, with an aim to maintain the professional nursing workforce.
Nurses complete the questionnaires, return them to the investigators and permit investigators to check their personnel data.
Proton therapy has been widely applied on treating inaccessible and inoperable tumors, such as tumors deep within the brain or close to the critical brain stem. Nevertheless, the damaging effect of ...radiation for central nervous system (CNS) tumors is difficult to be confined within the irradiated region and has led to decline of neurological function in especially children with congenital CNS tumors. Currently, the involvement of n-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptors or secretary cytokines and chemokines in proton-induced bystander effects remains unclear. To understand the modulatory effects of NMDA receptor inhibition on the survival and proliferation of glioblastoma-derived cells, mesenchymal-like U373 cells were applied along with U87 neural glioblastoma cells for single doses of proton radiation at different LET in the presence or absence of pretreatment with memantine and/or collimation. Under collimation, neuronal tumor cells that are not directly irradiated (i.e., bystander cells) encounter similar biological effects potentially through cell coupling and synaptic transmission. Furthermore, whether proton LET plays a role in the mediation of bystander effect awaits to be elucidated. From this study, synaptic transmission was found to play differential roles in the proliferation of U373 and U87 cells after exposure to collimated radiation. Also, radiation-induced cell proliferation at the late stage was more correlated with bystander cell survival than early manifested γH2AX foci, suggesting that proton-induced glutamatergic synapse may act as a more important contributor than proton-induced direct effect on DNA double-stranded breaks to the late-stage responses of glioblastoma cells.
Background and Aim
Intestinal mucositis remained one of the most deleterious complications in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. 5‐FU treatment was reported to affect the abundance of gut ...microbiota and cause mucositis, which might be ameliorated by probiotics. We investigate the potential changes of 5‐FU treatment and the modulations of probiotics on gut microbiota in a mouse model.
Methods
Male BALB/c mice received either 5‐FU or saline (S). They were separated and fed saline, Lactobacillus casei variety rhamnosus (Lcr) and Lactobacillus reuteri DSM 17938 (BG). Lcr and BG were simultaneously administered with 5‐FU for 5 days. Stool specimens were collected for DNA extraction and pyrosequenced for bioinformatic analysis.
Results
Fecal microbial communities were obviously diverse. Bacteroides and Bacteroidaceae were the most abundant microbiota in FU.BG group while S24_7 was the most in S.S group. At phylum and class levels, abundances of Betaproteobacteria, Erysipelotrichi, Gammaproteobacteria, and Verrucomicrobia were significantly increased in the FU groups. Probiotics supplementation did increase the abundances of Enterobacteriales and Turicibacterales. We demonstrated that probiotics did modulate the abundance and diversity of gut microbiota. Bacterial motility proteins were found enriched and upregulated in the S.BG group. No mortality was noted. No bacterial translocation was found in spleen and blood among the six groups.
Conclusion
Gut microbiota of mice undergoing chemotherapy exhibited a distinct disruption in bacterial composition. Probiotic did modulate the abundance and diversity of gut microbiota. This is the first study to analyze the effects and safety of Lactobacillus strains on 5‐FU‐induced mucositis systematically and assess changes in the intestinal microbiota after probiotic intervention.
Mango peels are usually discarded as waste; however, they contain phytochemicals and could provide functional properties to food and promote human health. This study aimed to determine the optimal ...lactic acid bacteria for fermentation of mango peel and evaluate the effect of mango peel on neuronal protection in Neuron-2A cells against amyloid beta (Aβ) treatment (50 μM). Mango peel can be fermented by different lactic acid bacteria species. Lactobacillus acidophilus (BCRC14079)-fermented mango peel produced the highest concentration of lactic acid bacteria (exceeding 108 CFU/mL). Mango peel and fermented mango peel extracts upregulated brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) expression for 1.74-fold in Neuron-2A cells. Furthermore, mango peel fermented products attenuated oxidative stress in Aβ-treated neural cells by 27%. Extracts of L. acidophilus (BCRC14079)-fermented mango peel treatment decreased Aβ accumulation and attenuated the increase of subG1 caused by Aβ induction in Neuron-2A cells. In conclusion, L. acidophilus (BCRC14079)-fermented mango peel acts as a novel neuronal protective product by inhibiting oxidative stress and increasing BDNF expression in neural cells.
A new adaptive rational interpolation method is proposed to obtain the wideband frequency response of a resonant cavity simulated with the method of moments (MoM). This interpolation method uses both ...the Loewner matrix to construct a rational expression for the solution vector of MoM's matrix system and an error estimator generated by the solution vectors and their derivatives. This error estimator is implemented in the adaptive procedure to gain a minimum set of frequencies and solution vectors required in the interpolation. The resulting set of frequencies and solution vectors is applied to interpolate other system variables, such as shielding effectiveness and input impedance. Numerical results of a slotted cylindrical cavity supporting high-quality factor resonances are presented, showing that the new rational interpolation method is accurate and efficient in interpolating the complicated resonant response of the solution vector functions.
Although proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS) is a common method for the evaluation of intracranial meningiomas, controversy exists regarding which parameter of 1H-MRS best predicts the ...histopathological grade of an intracranial meningioma. In this study, we evaluated the results of pre-operative 1H-MRS to identify predictive factors for high-grade intracranial meningioma. Thirteen patients with World Health Organization (WHO) grade II-III meningioma (confirmed by pathology) were defined as high-grade; twenty-two patients with WHO grade I meningioma were defined as low-grade. All patients were evaluated by 1H-MRS before surgery. The relationships between the ratios of metabolites (N-acetylaspartate NAA, creatine Cr, and choline Cho) and the diagnosis of high-grade meningioma were analyzed. According to Mann-Whitney U test analysis, the Cho/NAA ratio in cases of high-grade meningioma was significantly higher than in cases of low-grade meningioma (6.34 ± 7.90 vs. 1.58 ± 0.77, p<0.05); however, there were no differences in age, Cho/Cr, or NAA/Cr. According to conditional inference tree analysis, the optimal cut-off point for the Cho/NAA ration between high-grade and low-grade meningioma was 2.409 (sensitivity = 61.54%; specificity = 86.36%). This analysis of pre-operative 1H-MRS metabolite ratio demonstrated that the Cho/NAA ratio may provide a simple and practical predictive value for high-grade intracranial meningiomas, and may aid neurosurgeons in efforts to design an appropriate surgical plan and treatment strategy before surgery.
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