The Causal Relationships Between Gut Microbiota, Brain Volume, and Intelligence: A Two-Step Mendelian Randomization Analysis.

Background: Growing evidence indicates that dynamic changes in gut microbiome can affect intelligence; however, whether these relationships are causal remains elusive. We aimed to disentangle the poorly understood causal relationship between gut microbiota and intelligence.

Methods: We performed a 2-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis using genetic variants from the largest available genome-wide association studies of gut microbiota (N = 18,340) and intelligence (N = 269,867).

Intensive follow-up conventional follow-up for patients with non-metastatic colorectal cancer treated with curative intent: A meta-analysis.

Background: The frequency and content of follow-up strategies remain controversial for colorectal cancer (CRC), and scheduled follow-ups have limited value.

Aim: To compare intensive and conventional follow-up strategies for the prognosis of non-metastatic CRC treated with curative intent using a meta-analysis.

Methods: PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library databases were systematically searched for potentially eligible randomized controlled trials (RCTs) from inception until April 2023.

Positive LGI1 Antibodies in CSF and Relapse Relate to Worse Outcome in Anti-LGI1 Encephalitis.

Objective: This single-center study was conducted in a cohort of patients with anti-LGI1 encephalitis to investigate the factors related to their functional recovery.

Methods: We retrospectively collected the clinical information of patients admitted to Xuanwu Hospital from January 2014 until December 2019, and followed up for at least 12 months.

Results: A total of 67 patients were included, and 57 completed the 12-month follow-up.

Synergistic effects of Rapamycin and Fluorouracil to treat a gastric tumor in a PTEN conditional deletion mouse model.

The tumor suppressor gene phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) in PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway is essential in inhibiting tumor growth and metastasis. However, whether the mutation of PTEN gene could induce tumorigenesis and impact the treatment of gastric cancer is still unclear. The purpose of the study was to investigate the combined treatment of gastric tumorigenesis using Rapamycin and Fluorouracil (5-Fu) through interfering with the Akt/mTOR pathway in a mouse model with PTEN conditional deletion.

A Synthetic Photorespiratory Shortcut Enhances Photosynthesis to Boost Biomass and Grain Yield in Rice.

Several photorespiratory bypasses have been introduced into plants and shown to improve photosynthesis by increasing chloroplastic CO concentrations or optimizing energy balance. We recently reported that an engineered GOC bypass could increase photosynthesis and productivity in rice. However, the grain yield of GOC plants was unstable, fluctuating in different cultivation seasons because of varying seed setting rates.

Nonprecious Bimetallic Sites Coordinated on N-Doped Carbons with Efficient and Durable Catalytic Activity for Oxygen Reduction.

Developing efficient, inexpensive, and durable electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is important for the large-scale commercialization of fuel cells and metal-air batteries. Herein, a hierarchically porous bimetallic Fe/Co single-atom-coordinated N-doped carbon (Fe/Co-N -C) electrocatalyst for ORR is synthesized from Fe/Co-coordinated polyporphyrin using silica template-assisted and silica-protection synthetic strategies. In the synthesis, first silica nanoparticles-embedded, silica-protected Fe/Co-polyporphyrin is prepared.

A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of the Therapeutic Effect of Acupuncture on Migraine.

Migraine is an intractable headache disorder, manifesting as periodic attacks. It is highly burdensome for patients and society. Acupuncture treatment can be beneficial as a supplementary and preventive therapy for migraine.

RTN4B-mediated suppression of Sirtuin 2 activity ameliorates β-amyloid pathology and cognitive impairment in Alzheimer's disease mouse model.

Sirtuin 2 (SIRT2) is an NAD+ dependent deacetylase that is the most abundant sirtuin protein in the brain. Accumulating evidence revealed the role of SIRT2 in a wide range of biological processes and age-related diseases. However, the pivotal mechanism of SIRT2 played in Alzheimer's disease (AD) remains unknown.

Early neutrophil count relates to infarct size and fatal outcome after large hemispheric infarction.

Aims: To investigate the relationship between peripheral leukocyte dynamics and the outcome of large hemispheric infarction (LHI) patients.

Methods: Patients with acute LHI admitted to the neuro-intensive care unit of Xuanwu Hospital from 2013 to 2017 were prospectively enrolled and followed up for 6 months after LHI.

Results: A total of 84 LHI patients were included, 38 patients suffered brain herniation and 20 patients died from stroke.

[Screening, identification and antagonistic effect evaluation of biocontrol strains to Asarum leaf blight].

Leaf blight is the main disease of Asarum. At present, chemical treatment is main measure for disease control, and there is no report on biological control. In order to achieve the biological control of Asarum leaf blight, the biocontrol strains with antagonistic effect on Asarum leaf blight were screened.

Comparative Transcriptome Analysis Reveals Differentially Expressed Genes and Signaling Pathways Between Male and Female Red-Tail Catfish (Mystus wyckioides).

Sexual dimorphism is widespread in fish species. The red-tail catfish (Mystus wyckioides) is a commercially important catfish in the lower reaches of the Lancang River and the Mekong basin, and it shows a growth advantage in males. Here, RNA-seq was for the first time used to explore the gene expression difference between the sexes in the hypothalamus and pituitary of red-tail catfish, respectively.

Engineering a New Chloroplastic Photorespiratory Bypass to Increase Photosynthetic Efficiency and Productivity in Rice.

Over the past few years, three photorespiratory bypasses have been introduced into plants, two of which led to observable increases in photosynthesis and biomass yield. However, most of the experiments were carried out using Arabidopsis under controlled environmental conditions, and the increases were only observed under low-light and short-day conditions. In this study, we designed a new photorespiratory bypass (called GOC bypass), characterized by no reducing equivalents being produced during a complete oxidation of glycolate into CO catalyzed by three rice-self-originating enzymes, i.

Metabolic Phenotype Characterization of , the Causal Agent of Gray Mold.

, which causes gray mold, is an important pathogen in four important economic crops, tomato, tobacco, cucumber and strawberry, in China and worldwide. Metabolic phenomics data on isolates from these four crops were characterized and compared for 950 phenotypes with a BIOLOG Phenotype MicroArray (PM). The results showed that the metabolic fingerprints of the four isolates were similar to each other with minimal differences.

Ulinastatin protects brain against cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury through inhibiting MMP-9 and alleviating loss of ZO-1 and occludin proteins in mice.

Background: The effects of Ulinastatin (UTI) on the blood-brain barrier (BBB) in the acute phase of cerebral ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) are not clear. This study was to investigate the potential protective effects of UTI on the BBB and the underlying mechanisms.

Methods: Male CD-1 mice were subjected to transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (tMCAO) and randomly assigned to four groups: Sham (sham-operated), tMCAO (tMCAO+0.

Integrin α4 Overexpression on Rat Mesenchymal Stem Cells Enhances Transmigration and Reduces Cerebral Embolism After Intracarotid Injection.

Background And Purpose: Very late antigen-4 (integrin α4β1)/vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 mediates leukocyte trafficking and transendothelial migration after stroke. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) typically express integrin β1 but insufficient ITGA4 (integrin α4), which limits their homing after intravascular transplantation. We tested whether ITGA4 overexpression on MSCs increases cerebral homing after intracarotid transplantation and reduces MSC-borne cerebral embolism.

The effectiveness of creatine treatment for Parkinson's disease: an updated meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Background: The effectiveness of creatine in treating Parkinson's disease (PD) has not been conclusively determined. Therefore, we performed a meta-analysis to address this issue.

Methods: The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, PUBMED, EMBASE, and other databases were searched, and outcomes measured by the Total Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) and the Schwab & England Scale were analyzed.

Translation, but not transfection limits clinically relevant, exogenous mRNA based induction of alpha-4 integrin expression on human mesenchymal stem cells.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) represent promising resource of cells for regenerative medicine in neurological disorders. However, efficient and minimally invasive methods of MSCs delivery to the brain still have to be developed. Intra-arterial route is very promising, but MSCs are missing machinery for diapedesis through blood-brain barrier.

An optimized transit peptide for effective targeting of diverse foreign proteins into chloroplasts in rice.

Various chloroplast transit peptides (CTP) have been used to successfully target some foreign proteins into chloroplasts, but for other proteins these same CTPs have reduced localization efficiencies or fail completely. The underlying cause of the failures remains an open question, and more effective CTPs are needed. In this study, we initially observed that two E.

Overexpression of Glycolate Oxidase Confers Improved Photosynthesis under High Light and High Temperature in Rice.

While glycolate oxidase (GLO) is well known as a key enzyme for the photorespiratory metabolism in plants, its physiological function and mechanism remains to be further clarified. Our previous studies have shown that suppression of GLO in rice leads to stunted growth and inhibited photosynthesis (Pn) which is positively and linearly correlated with decreased GLO activities. It is, therefore, of interest to further understand whether Pn can be improved when GLO is up-regulated? In this study, four independent overexpression rice lines, with gradient increases in GLO activity, were generated and functionally analyzed.

Clumping and Viability of Bone Marrow Derived Mesenchymal Stromal Cells under Different Preparation Procedures: A Flow Cytometry-Based In Vitro Study.

Complications of microocclusions have been reported after intra-arterial delivery of mesenchymal stromal cells. Hence, quantification and efficient limitation of cell clumps in suspension before transplantation is important to reduce the risk. We used a flow cytometry-based pulse-width assay to assess the effects of different cell suspension concentrations (0.

The cerebral embolism evoked by intra-arterial delivery of allogeneic bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells in rats is related to cell dose and infusion velocity.

Introduction: Intra-arterial cell infusion is an efficient delivery route with which to target organs such as the ischemic brain. However, adverse events including microembolisms and decreased cerebral blood flow were recently reported after intra-arterial cell delivery in rodent models, raising safety concerns. We tested the hypothesis that cell dose, infusion volume, and velocity would be related to the severity of complications after intra-arterial cell delivery.

[Purification technology of procymidone residues in ginseng extracts by macroporous resins].

The macroporous resin separation technology has been mainly applied in the enrichment of saponins, flavonoids, alkaloids and other ingredients, and used in the removal of heavy metal impurities and pesticide residues in recent years. This paper focuses on the synthesis of the new-type macroporous adsorption resin LKS-11 according to the molecular structure characteristics of procymidone. Specifically, the selective absorptive property and other advantages of macroporous resin were utilized to analyze the procymidone removal efficiency in ginseng extracts from different sources.