Abstract
Male C57BL/6J mice treated with D-galactose (DG) were used to examine the effects of ergothioneine (EGT), melatonin (MEL), or their combination (EGT+MEL) on learning and memory abilities. ...The mice were divided into five groups and injected subcutaneously with DG (0.3 mL of 1% DG/mouse) except for group 1 (normal controls). Group 3 was orally supplemented with EGT 0.5 mg/kg body weight (bw), group 4 with MEL (10 mg/kg bw, p.o.), and group 5 with EGT+MEL. EGT and MEL were provided daily for 88 days, while DG was provided between days 7 to 56. Active avoidance task and Morris water-maze task were used to evaluate learning and memory abilities. DG treatment markedly increased escape latency and decreased the number of avoidance in the active avoidance test, whereas EGT and MEL alone significantly improved the performance. DG also impaired the learning and memory abilities in the water-maze task, and EGT and MEL alone also significantly improved the performance. EGT+MEL produced the strongest effects in both tasks. EGT and MEL alone markedly decreased β-amyloid protein accumulation in the hippocampus and significantly inhibited lipid peroxidation and maintained glutathione/glutathione disulfide ratio and superoxide dismutase activity in brain tissues of DG-treated mice. MEL alone completely prevented the rise in brain acetylcholine esterase activity induced by DG, whereas EGT and EGT+MEL were only partially effective. Overall, EGT, MEL, and, in particular, the combination of EGT and MEL effectively protect against learning and memory deficits in C57BL/6J mice treated with DG, possibly through attenuation of oxidative damage.
Deep Video‐Based Performance Cloning Aberman, K.; Shi, M.; Liao, J. ...
Computer graphics forum,
20/May , Letnik:
38, Številka:
2
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
We present a new video‐based performance cloning technique. After training a deep generative network using a reference video capturing the appearance and dynamics of a target actor, we are able to ...generate videos where this actor reenacts other performances. All of the training data and the driving performances are provided as ordinary video segments, without motion capture or depth information. Our generative model is realized as a deep neural network with two branches, both of which train the same space‐time conditional generator, using shared weights. One branch, responsible for learning to generate the appearance of the target actor in various poses, uses paired training data, self‐generated from the reference video. The second branch uses unpaired data to improve generation of temporally coherent video renditions of unseen pose sequences. Through data augmentation, our network is able to synthesize images of the target actor in poses never captured by the reference video. We demonstrate a variety of promising results, where our method is able to generate temporally coherent videos, for challenging scenarios where the reference and driving videos consist of very different dance performances.
Among the variety of selected response formats used in L2 reading assessment, multiple-choice (MC) is the most commonly adopted, primarily due to its efficiency and objectiveness. Given the impact of ...assessment results on teaching and learning, it is necessary to investigate the degree to which the MC format reliably measures learners’ L2 reading comprehension in the classroom context. While researchers have claimed that the longer the reading test (i.e., more test items and passages), the higher its overall reliability, few studies have investigated the optimal number of items and passages required for reliable classroom-based L2 reading assessment.
To address this research gap, I adopted generalizability (G) theory to investigate the score reliability of the MC format in classroom-based L2 reading tests. A total of 108 ESL students at an American college completed an English reading test that included four passages, each of which was accompanied by five MC comprehension questions. The results showed that the score reliability of the L2 reading test was critically influenced by the number of items and passages, inasmuch as a different combination of the number of passages and items altered the degree of reliability. Implications for practitioners and educational researchers are discussed.
Background
Crohn's disease (CD) is frequently associated with malnutrition, inflammation and a deficiency of vitamin D (VD) with the relationships between these symptoms being poorly defined. VD is a ...modulator of the immune system and is associated with the onset of CD and disease activity. The level of serum VD may have potential in the assessment of CD activity. This study aimed to evaluate the relationships between VD, nutritional status and inflammation, and to identify more accurate VD thresholds.
Methods
The study included 76 outpatients with CD diagnosed between October 2018 and October 2020 and 76 healthy volunteers. Levels of serum 25(OH)D and nutritional indicators, as well as biochemical and disease activity assessments, were conducted.
Results
Patients with CD and healthy participants were found to differ significantly in their 25(OH)D levels as well in levels of nutritional and inflammatory indicators. The optimal VD cut‐off value was found to be 46.81 nmol/L for CD development and 35.32 nmol/L for disease activity. Levels of 25(OH)D were correlated with both nutritional status and inflammation.
Conclusions
The VD level is likely to be a useful additional tool in the evaluation of CD patients and predicting the disease activity and clinical response. The VD level may relate both to the nutritional status and levels of inflammation in CD patients, and disease progression.
Highlights
1.
This study included the NRS‐2002 and PG‐SGA scores to provide a comprehensive picture of the nutritional status with Crohn's disease (CD).
2.
We found serum 25(OH)D levels were associated with both nutritional status and inflammation.
3.
Receiver operating characteristic analysis was used to determine the optimal vitamin D cut‐off values for predicting CD development and assessing disease activity.
A tunable stiffness and damping vibration isolator based on magnetorheological elastomers (MREs) is developed. In this isolator, four MRE elements are used as the tunable springs, whose stiffness can ...be controlled by varying the magnetic field. A voice coil motor, which is controlled by the relative velocity feedback of the payload, is used as the tunable damper of the isolator. Under the combined ON–OFF control, the proposed vibration isolator shows satisfying isolation effect. The experimental results indicate that the responses of the payload are suppressed significantly in comparison to the passive system. The transmissibility of the payload around the resonant frequency is decreased by 61.5%. The root mean square (RMS) value and the maximum value of the displacement responses of the payload are decreased by 36.0% and 50.0%, respectively. In addition, the RMS values and maximum values of the velocity responses are decreased by 45.4% and 52.5%, respectively.
We present a novel assay for rapid detection and identification of bacterial urinary tract infections using isotachophoresis (ITP) and molecular beacons. We applied on-chip ITP to extract and focus ...16S rRNA directly from bacterial lysate and used molecular beacons to achieve detection of bacteria specific sequences. We demonstrated detection of E. coli in bacteria cultures as well as in patient urine samples in the clinically relevant range 1E6–1E8 cfu/mL. For bacterial cultures we further demonstrate quantification in this range. The assay requires minimal sample preparation (a single centrifugation and dilution), and can be completed, from beginning of lysing to detection, in under 15 min. We believe that the principles presented here can be used for design of other rapid diagnostics or detection methods for pathogenic diseases.
N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors (NMDAR) overactivation is linked to neurodegeneration. The current prevailing theory suggests that synaptic and extrasynaptic NMDAR (syn- and ex-NMDAR) impose ...counteracting effects on cell fate, and neuronal cell death is mainly mediated by the activation of ex-NMDAR. However, several lines of evidence implicate the limitation of this theory. Here, we demonstrate that activation of NMDAR bi-directionally regulated cell fate through stimulating pro-survival or pro-death signaling. While low-dose NMDA preferentially activated syn-NMDAR and stimulated the extracellular signal-regulated kinase ½-cAMP responsive element-binding protein-brain-derived neurotrophic factor pro-survival signaling, higher doses progressively activated increasing amount of ex-NMDAR along with syn-NMDAR and triggered cell death program. Interestingly, the activation of syn- or ex-NMDAR alone did not cause measurable cell death. Consistently, activation of syn- or ex-NMDAR alone stimulated pro-survival but not pro-death signaling. Next, we found that memantine, which was previously identified as an ex-NMDAR blocker, inhibited intracellular signaling mediated by syn- or ex-NMDAR. Simultaneous blockade of syn- and ex-NMDAR by memantine dose-dependently attenuated NMDAR-mediated death. Moreover, long- but not short-term treatment with high-dose NMDA or oxygen-glucose deprivation triggered cell death and suppressed pro-survival signaling. These data implicate that activation of syn- or ex-NMDAR alone is not neurotoxic. The degree of excitotoxicity depends on the magnitude and duration of syn- and ex-NMDAR coactivation. Finally, genome-wide examination demonstrated that the activation of syn- and ex-NMDAR lead to significant overlapping rather than counteracting transcriptional responses.
Stomatal conductance (SC) and chlorophyll concentration (CC) are sensitive to soil matric suction (ψ). The relationship between these two plant parameters and ψ in the root zone can help understand ...the water uptake efficiency and photosynthetic capacity of a plant. This paper aims to quantify the relationships between SC and CC with ψ, for Schefflera arboricola grown in compacted bare silty sand and biochar amended soil (BAS). Plant parameters (SC, CC, leaf area (LA), root length (RL)) and ψ were regularly monitored in an atmospheric controlled room. The maximum recorded SC was greater in BAS than that in bare soil due to the higher water demand of LA. Based on measured data upon evapotranspiration, two equations are proposed to interpret the effects of ψ on plant water uptake and photosynthesis. A fitting equation is established to relate normalized SC with ψ to identify a threshold suction (
; indicator of drought stress resistance). The magnitude of
is found to be mainly dependent on LA/RL ratio and root ends. Furthermore, a new relationship between CC and ψ is observed and developed. A decrease in CC at higher ψ is attributed to leaf senescence and stomatal closure, restricting plant to produce more chlorophyll.
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