Salmon Nasal Cartilage-Derived Proteoglycans Alleviate Cartilage Degeneration in Osteoarthritis by Modulating Inflammation and Apoptosis.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a chronic degenerative joint disease characterized by progressive cartilage damage, inflammatory responses, and apoptosis of chondrocytes. In this study, we investigated the therapeutic potential properties of proteoglycans (PG) extracted from salmon nasal cartilage in both (HTB-94 human chondrocytic cells) and (monosodium iodoacetate-induced OA rat model) approaches. Rats were treated with PG, and key parameters related to cartilage integrity, inflammation, and apoptosis were evaluated.

Light-driven dry process of lithium-ion battery electrodes utilizing solid-liquid phase transitioning polymers.

We report a dry processing strategy for lithium-ion battery electrodes enabled by photoliquefiable azobenzene (Azo)-based polymers. In this approach, Azo polymers temporarily act as solvents, providing viscosity to the cathode composite by liquefying under UV irradiation. After UV removal, they spontaneously re-solidify at room temperature and serve as polymeric binders, enhancing the mechanical properties of electrodes.

Bio-Inspired Artificial Muscle-Tendon Complex of Liquid Crystal Elastomer for Bidirectional Afferent-Efferent Signaling.

The muscle-tendon complex (MTC) in biological systems integrates contractile actuation and proprioceptive sensing, enabling coordinated feedback control of muscle activations through simultaneous afferent (sensory) and efferent (motor) signaling. To achieve similar functionality, artificial muscles, often based on polymeric materials with intricate material behaviors, require embedded proprioceptive capabilities to enable adaptive and reliable feedback control. Here, an artificial MTC-inspired liquid crystal elastomer (LCE) muscle with embedded physical intelligence is presented that supports simultaneous sensing and actuation.

Impact of Sleep Apnea on Perivascular Diffusivity and Cognition: A 4-Year Prospective Cohort Study.

Rationale: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) may impair perivascular diffusivity, a proposed glymphatic biomarker, contributing to cognitive decline.

Objectives: To investigate the longitudinal impact of OSA on cognitive performance and perivascular diffusivity, measured by diffusion tensor imaging along the perivascular space (DTI-ALPS), and whether changes in diffusivity mediate the relationship between OSA and cognition.

Methods: In a community-based cohort, 1,110 participants underwent polysomnography, brain DTI, and cognitive assessments at baseline and four-year follow-up.

Multiplexed single-cell transcriptomics reveals diverse phenotypic outcomes for pathogenic SHP2 variants.

The protein tyrosine phosphatase SHP2, encoded by , is an important regulator of Ras/MAPK signaling that acts downstream of receptor tyrosine kinases and other transmembrane receptors. Germline mutations cause developmental disorders such as Noonan Syndrome, whereas somatic mutations drive various cancers. While many pathogenic mutations enhance SHP2 catalytic activity, others are inactivating or affect protein interactions, confounding our understanding of SHP2-driven disease.

Millisecond-Scale White Matter Dynamics Underlying Visuomotor Integration.

In the conventional neuropsychological model, nonverbal visuospatial processing is predominantly handled by the right hemisphere, whereas verbal processing occurs in the left, with right-hand responses governed by the left motor cortex. Using intracranial EEG and MRI tractography, we investigated the timing and white matter networks involved in processing nonverbal visuospatial stimuli, forming response decisions, and generating motor outputs. Within 200 ms of stimulus onset, we observed widespread increases in functional connectivity and bidirectional neural flows from visual to association cortices, predominantly in the right hemisphere.

Extract Improves Insulin Sensitivity and Glucose Homeostasis by Activating Insulin Signaling and Glucagon-like Peptide-1 Modulation.

This study evaluated the effects of on glucose metabolism, insulin signaling, and key metabolic markers in type 2 diabetes (T2D). We evaluated how influences the activity of major enzymes responsible for carbohydrate breakdown. studies on C2C12 cells also examined glucose uptake and insulin signaling pathway activation.

Dynamic Causal Tractography Analysis of Auditory Descriptive Naming: An Intracranial Study of 106 Patients.

Humans understand and respond to spoken questions through coordinated activity across distributed cortical networks. However, the causal roles of network engagements alternating across multiple white matter bundles remain understudied at the whole-brain scale. Using intracranial high-gamma activity recorded from 7,792 non-epileptic electrode sites in 106 epilepsy patients who underwent direct cortical stimulation mapping, we constructed an atlas visualizing the millisecond-scale dynamics of functional coactivation and co-inactivation networks during a naming task conducted in response to auditory questions.

and Herbich var. (Maxim.) Kitamura Complex Attenuates Obesity in High-Fat-Diet-Induced Obese Mice.

This study aims to evaluate the anti-obesity effects of Ashwagandha (, AS), Herbich var. (Maxim.) Kitamura (C), and their combination (AS:C = 3:1, ASC) in high-fat-diet (HFD)-induced obese animal models.

Spectroscopic insights into charge-carrier dynamics modulated by donor-acceptor molecular distribution in organic photovoltaic materials.

Understanding the relationship between molecular distribution and charge-carrier dynamics is crucial for optimizing organic photovoltaic (OPV) performance. In this study, we employed advanced spectroscopic techniques, including flash-photolysis time-resolved microwave conductivity (FP-TRMC) to probe free-charge dynamics. Utilizing a model electron donor-acceptor dyad (P3HT-NDI), where poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) is covalently linked to naphthalene diimide (NDI), and a blended system (P3HT/NDI), we investigated the impact of acceptor distribution uniformity on the charge-carrier dynamics.

Enhances Bone Growth and Microarchitecture in Rats: Potential Involvement of IGF-1 Signaling.

This study investigated the effects of extract supplementation on bone growth and microstructural properties in male and female rats, with a particular focus on the JAK2/STAT5/IGF-1 signaling pathway. Three-week-old Sprague-Dawley rats were assigned to different groups receiving a normal diet (ND), growth hormone (GH), or varying doses of extract: low (L; 73 mg/kg body weight [bw]/day), medium (M; 146 mg/kg bw/day), and high (H; 292 mg/kg bw/day) for four weeks. The results demonstrated that the H group exhibited significant increases in femur and tibia lengths, trabecular and cortical bone mineral density, and growth plate thickness compared with the ND group.

Visualization of functional and effective connectivity underlying auditory descriptive naming.

Objective: We visualized functional and effective connectivity within specific white matter networks in response to auditory descriptive questions.

Methods: We investigated 40 Japanese-speaking patients with focal epilepsy and estimated connectivity measures using cortical high-gamma dynamics and MRI tractography.

Results: Hearing a wh-interrogative at question onset enhanced inter-hemispheric functional connectivity, with left-to-right callosal facilitatory flows between the superior-temporal gyri, contrasted by functional connectivity diminution with right-to-left callosal suppressive flows between dorsolateral prefrontal regions.

Effect of water extract of bay laurel ( L.) on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) involves lipid accumulation in liver without consumption of alcohol and affects many people worldwide. NAFLD is associated with metabolic syndrome disease such as obesity, insulin resistance, hyperlipidemia, and diabetes. However, there are no pharmacologic therapies for NAFLD.

Millisecond-Scale White Matter Dynamics Underlying Visuomotor Integration.

Unlabelled: In the conventional neuropsychological model, nonverbal visuospatial processing is predominantly handled by the right hemisphere, whereas verbal processing occurs in the left, with right-hand responses governed by the left motor cortex. Using intracranial EEG and MRI tractography, we investigated the timing and white matter networks involved in processing nonverbal visuospatial stimuli, forming response decisions, and generating motor outputs. Within 200 ms of stimulus onset, we observed widespread increases in functional connectivity and bidirectional neural flows from visual to association cortices, predominantly in the right hemisphere.

Normative high-frequency oscillation phase-amplitude coupling and effective connectivity under sevoflurane.

Resective surgery for pediatric drug-resistant focal epilepsy often requires extraoperative intracranial electroencephalography recording to accurately localize the epileptogenic zone. This procedure entails multiple neurosurgeries, intracranial electrode implantation and explantation, and days of invasive inpatient evaluation. There is a need for methods to reduce diagnostic burden and introduce objective epilepsy biomarkers.

Middle-age cerebral small vessel disease and cognitive function in later life: a population-based prospective cohort study.

Background: Cerebral small vessel disease (cSVD) is a major pathologic substrate of vascular contribution to cognitive impairment. However, population based long-term longitudinal cognitive function data in relation to cSVD are rare. We investigated the relationship between cSVD and cognitive decline over time in middle-aged through elderly population.

Porcine-Derived Chondroitin Sulfate Sodium Alleviates Osteoarthritis in HTB-94 Cells and MIA-Induced SD Rat Models.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a chronic disease characterized by cartilage degradation, leading to bone friction, inflammation, stiffness, pain, and reduced mobility. This study investigates the therapeutic effects of porcine-derived chondroitin sulfate sodium (CS) on OA symptoms at both cellular and animal levels. study, HTB-94 chondrocytes were treated with inflammatory stimuli and CS (10, 50, 100, and 200 μg/mL) to assess the release of inflammatory mediators and the expression of genes and proteins related to cartilage synthesis and degradation.

Microplastics as adsorbent for Pb and Cd: A comparative study of polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride, high-density polyethylene, and low-density polyethylene.

Microplastics (MPs) in aquatic environments adsorb heavy metals, thereby posing potential environmental risks. However, further research is needed to elucidate the adsorption behavior of different types of MPs for various heavy metals. The aim of this study was to characterize four types of MPs: polypropylene (PP), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), high-density polyethylene (HDPE), and low-density polyethylene (LDPE).

Effect of Ceramides Derivatives from the Peach on Skin Function Improvement in UV-Irradiated Hairless Mice.

This study investigated the protective effects of a ceramides derivates from the peach (PF3) on photoaging by UV-irradiated hairless mice. Mice were randomly divided into seven groups: AIN93G without UVB exposure (normal control, NC), AIN93G with UVB exposure (control, C), AIN93G supplemented 100 mg/kg body weight (BW) of L-ascorbic acid with UVB exposure (AA), AIN93G supplemented 100 mg/kg BW of arbutin with UVB exposure (Arbutin), AIN93G supplemented 10 mg/kg BW of PF3 with UVB exposure (10PF3), AIN93G supplemented 20 mg/kg BW of PF3 with UVB exposure (20PF3), and AIN93G supplemented 40 mg/kg BW of PF3 with UVB exposure (40PF3). The study examined the impact of PF3 on skin hydration, wrinkle formation, and melanogenesis using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), real-time polymerase chain reaction (real-time PCR), and Western blot analysis.

Skin protective effect of Indian gooseberry and barley sprout complex on skin dryness, wrinkles, and melanogenesis by cell models.

Background/objectives: UV radiation is a major factor contributing to DNA damage in skin cells, including stem cells and mesenchymal stem cells, leading to the depletion of these crucial cells. This study examined whether a mixture of Indian gooseberry and barley sprout (IB) could inhibit UVB irradiation and 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine (IBMX)-induced photoaging and oxidative stress in the skin using HaCaT, Hs27, and B16F10 cells.

Materials/methods: The moisturizing-related factors, the collagen synthesis-related c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK)/c-Fos/c-Jun/matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) pathway, and the melanogenesis-related cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP)/protein kinase A (PKA)/cAMP-responsive binding protein (CREB)/melanocyte inducing transcription factor (MITF)/tyrosinase-related protein (TRP)/tyrosinase activation pathways were analyzed by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, real-time polymerase chain reaction, and Western blot analysis.

Planned Immediate Chemotherapy and Cryopreservation of Oocytes or Embryos for Fertility Preservation in Women with Malignancies.

Oocyte and embryo cryopreservation before gonadotoxic treatment are established methods to increase the likelihood of live births. Although several sociodemographic factors were found to be associated with undergoing fertility preservation (FP) treatment, clinical characteristics such as planned immediate chemotherapy were not fully investigated. We aimed to investigate whether the planned immediate chemotherapy is related to the decision to undergo oocyte/embryo cryopreservation for FP with adjustment for other clinical characteristics.

Quantitative phenotyping of verbal and non-verbal cognitive impairment using diffusion-weighted MRI connectome: Preliminary study of the crowding effect in children with left hemispheric epilepsy.

The "crowding" effect (CE), wherein verbal functions are preserved presumably at the expense of nonverbal functions, which diminish following inter-hemispheric transfer of language functions, is recognized as a specific aspect of functional reorganization, offering an insight about neural plasticity in children with neural insult to the dominant hemisphere. CE is hypothesized as a marker for language preservation or improvement after left-hemispheric injury, yet it remains challenging to fully discern it in preoperative evaluation. We present a novel DWI connectome (DWIC) approach to predict the presence of CE in 24 drug-resistant epilepsy (DRE) patients with a left-hemispheric focus and 29 young healthy controls.

L. leaves Suppress Alcohol-Related Liver Disease by Exhibiting Antioxidant and Anti-Inflammatory Effects in Alcohol-Treated Hepatocytes and Mice.

Excessive and prolonged alcohol consumption can lead to a serious health condition known as alcohol-related liver disease (ARLD). This ailment represents a significant worldwide health challenge, affecting populations across various demographics. ARLD has a multifactorial pathogenesis involving oxidative stress, inflammation, dysregulated lipid metabolism, and apoptosis.