Tinnitus, noise exposure and the risk of dementia: a prospective cohort study based on UK biobank.

Background: The burden of dementia is increasing dramatically with the population aging. Tinnitus and chronic noise exposure are associated with neuropsychiatric diseases and cognitive decline, but relationships between tinnitus and noise exposure and incident dementia remain unclear.

Methods: 160 032 participants from the UK Biobank were included.

High plasma fibroblast growth factor 19 is associated with improved prognosis in patients with acute ischemic stroke.

Objective: To prospectively investigate the relationships between plasma fibroblast growth factor 19 (FGF-19) and clinical outcomes in patients with acute ischemic stroke.

Methods: Plasma FGF-19 levels at baseline were measured for 3048 patients with ischemic stroke, and all patients were followed up at one year after stroke onset. The primary outcome was a combination of death and major disability (modified Rankin Scale score of ≥3) at one year after stroke onset, and secondary outcomes included major disability, death, recurrent stroke, vascular events and the combination of death and vascular events.

GPR17 modulates anxiety-like behaviors basolateral amygdala to ventral hippocampal CA1 glutamatergic projection.

Anxiety disorders are one of the most epidemic and chronic psychiatric disorders. An incomplete understanding of anxiety pathophysiology has limited the development of highly effective drugs against these disorders. GPR17 has been shown to be involved in multiple sclerosis and some acute brain injury disorders.

A circuit from lateral hypothalamic to dorsal hippocampal dentate gyrus modulates behavioral despair in mice.

Behavioral despair is one of the clinical manifestations of major depressive disorder and an important cause of disability and death. However, the neural circuit mechanisms underlying behavioral despair are poorly understood. In a well-established chronic behavioral despair (CBD) mouse model, using a combination of viral tracing, in vivo fiber photometry, chemogenetic and optogenetic manipulations, in vitro electrophysiology, pharmacological profiling techniques, and behavioral tests, we investigated the neural circuit mechanisms in regulating behavioral despair.

Association between Constipation and the Risk of Parkinson's Disease among Participants in the UK Biobank.

Introduction: Constipation is common in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD), but its impact on incident PD remains uncertain. We aimed to prospectively investigate constipation symptoms and the risk of PD.

Methods: Participants without PD at baseline from the UK Biobank were included in the study.

Association between Physical Activity and Parkinson's Disease: A Prospective Cohort Study.

Background: The burden of Parkinson's disease (PD) is still increasing, and physical activity is a modifiable factor for health benefits. The benefits of physical activity in PD are not well established. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the association between various types of physical activity and the risk of developing PD.

The association of early life factors with depression and anxiety in adults aged 40-69 years: a population-based cohort study.

This study was aimed to explore the longitudinal association of five early life factors (breastfeeding, maternal smoking around birth, birth weight, being born in a multiple birth, and adoption) during the in-utero, perinatal, and early childhood development stages with incidence of depression and anxiety in adults aged 40-69 years. We used data from the UK biobank, 5,02,394 participants aged 40-69 years were recruited between 2006 and 2010. Participants provided information on early life exposures through touchscreen questionnaires or verbal interviews at baseline.

Associations of computer gaming with incident dementia, cognitive functions, and brain structure: a prospective cohort study and Mendelian randomization analysis.

Background: Computer gaming has recently been suggested to be associated with benefits for cognition, but its impact on incident dementia remains uncertain. We aimed to investigate the observational associations of playing computer games with incident dementia, cognitive functions, and brain structural measures, and further explore the genetic associations between computer gaming and dementia.

Methods: We included 471,346 White British participants without dementia at baseline based on the UK Biobank, and followed them until November 2022.

Twenty-four-hour blood pressure trajectories and clinical outcomes in patients who had an acute ischaemic stroke.

Objective: The management of blood pressure (BP) in acute ischaemic stroke remains a subject of controversy. This investigation aimed to explore the relationship between 24-hour BP patterns following ischaemic stroke and clinical outcomes.

Methods: A cohort of 4069 patients who had an acute ischaemic stroke from 26 hospitals was examined.

Nanofibers with homogeneous heparin distribution and protracted release profile for vascular tissue engineering.

In clinic, controlling acute coagulation after small-diameter vessel grafts transplantation is considered a primary problem. The combination of heparin with high anticoagulant efficiency and polyurethane fiber with good compliance is a good choice for vascular materials. However, blending water-soluble heparin with fat-soluble poly (ester-ether-urethane) urea elastomer (PEEUU) uniformly and preparing nanofibers tubular grafts with uniform morphology is a huge challenge.

Kinetically Controlled Star Copolymer Self-Assembly for Rapid Fabrication of Nanoparticles with High Encapsulation Capacity.

Rapid and scalable self-assembly of an amphiphilic 21-arm star copolymer, (polystyrene-block-polyethylene glycol) [(PS-b-PEG) ] in aqueous solution has been performed by reverse solvent exchange procedure. Transmission electron microscope (TEM) and nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA) reveal the formation of nanoparticles with narrow size distribution. Further investigation indicates a kinetically controlled self-assembly mechanism of the copolymers, in which the star topology of the amphiphilic copolymer and deep quenching condition by reverse solvent exchange are key to accelerate intrachain contraction of the copolymer during phase separation.

Poisoning by Purity: What Stops Stereocomplex Crystallization in Polylactide Racemate?

Formation of stereocomplex crystals (SC) is an effective way to improve the heat resistance and mechanical performance of poly(lactic acid) products. However, at all but the slowest cooling rates, SC crystallization of a high-molecular-weight poly(l-lactic acid)/poly(d-lactic acid) (PLLA/PDLA) racemate stops at a high temperature or does not even start, leaving the remaining melt to crystallize into homochiral crystals (HC) or an SC-HC mixture on continuous cooling. To understand this intriguing phenomenon, we revisit the SC crystallization of both high- and low-molecular-weight PLLA/PDLA racemates.

Multicompartment Nanoparticles by Crystallization-Driven Self-Assembly of Star Polymers: Combining High Stability and Loading Capacity.

Herein novel multicompartment nanoparticles (MCNs) that combine high stability and cargo loading capacity are developed. The MCNs are fabricated by crystallization-driven self-assembly (CDSA) of a tailor-made 21 arm star polymer, poly(L-lactide)[poly(tert-butyl acrylate)-block-poly(ethylene glycol)] [PLLA(PtBA-b-PEG) ]. Platelet-like or spherical MCNs containing a crystalline PLLA core and hydrophobic PtBA subdomains are formed and stabilized by PEG.

An Intelligent Nanovehicle Armed with Multifunctional Navigation for Precise Delivery of Toll-Like Receptor 7/8 Agonist and Immunogenic Cell Death Amplifiers to Eliminate Solid Tumors and Trigger Durable Antitumor Immunity.

Cancer immunotherapy is revolutionary in oncology and hematology. However, a low response rate restricts the clinical benefits of this therapy owing to inadequate T lymphocyte infiltration and low delivery efficiency of immunotherapeutic drugs. Herein, an intelligent nanovehicle (folic acid (FA)/1-(4-(aminomethyl) benzyl)-2-butyl-1H-imidazo[4,5-c]quinolin-4-amine (IMDQ)-oxaliplatin (F/IMO)@CuS) armed with multifunctional navigation is designed for the accurate delivery of cargoes to tumor cells and dendritic cells (DCs), respectively.

Asymmetric Incorporation of Silver Nanoparticles in Polymeric Assemblies by Coassembly of Tadpole-Like Nanoparticles and Amphiphilic Block Copolymers.

A general approach to asymmetrically localize nanoparticles (NPs) in larger polymeric nanostructures is demonstrated by coassembly of tadpole-like silver NPs (AgNPs) and amphiphilic block copolymers (BCPs). The tadpole-like AgNPs are prepared by template synthesis using a tailor-made A(BC) star polymer, namely poly(ethylene glycol)[poly(acrylic acid)-block-polystyrene] [PEG(PAA-b-PS) ], as template resulting in AgNPs decorated with twenty short PS chains and one long PEG chain, named Ag@PEG(PS) . The asymmetric distribution of these AgNPs in various polymeric nanostructures, e.

Polyzwitterions with LCST Side Chains: Tunable Self-Assembly.

Manipulation of self-assembly behavior of copolymers via environmental change is attractive in the fabrication of smart polymeric materials. We present tunable self-assembly behavior of graft copolymers, poly(sulfobetaine methacrylate)--poly[oligo(ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate)--di(ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate] (PSBM--P(OEGMA--DEGMA)). Upon heating the aqueous solutions, the graft copolymers undergo a transition from micelles with PSBM cores to unimers (i.

Photodynamic Antifungal Activity of Hypocrellin A Against .

Many studies have reported that hypocrellin A (HA) exhibits effective antimicrobial activities with proper irradiation. However, its antifungal activity and the involved mechanism have not been fully defined. In this study, HA-mediated cytotoxicity in cells was evaluated after antimicrobial photodynamic therapy (aPDT).

Electrospun frogspawn structured membrane for gravity-driven oil-water separation.

The aim of this study is to prepare a fibrous membrane scaffold that possesses a frogspawn structure for high-efficiency oil-water separation. Polyamic acid was first electrospun onto a rotating wheel-collector to obtain the fibrous membrane. Subsequently, post-processing by immersion in a polydimethylsiloxane solution and a silica nanoparticles suspension, followed by a thermal treatment generated a frogspawn-structured fibrous membrane.

Stimuli-responsive bio-based polymeric systems and their applications.

Stimuli-responsive bio-based polymeric systems are gaining considerable attention as intelligent versatile tools that show great potential in various fields. In this review, an overview is given of recent developments of stimuli-responsive bio-based polymeric systems. The characteristics of bio-based polymers in different applications are discussed and the superiority of these advanced stimuli-responsive bio-based polymeric systems is highlighted.

Durable superhydrophobic and superoleophilic electrospun nanofibrous membrane for oil-water emulsion separation.

Marinepollution andindustrial wastewater have caused serious environmental pollution, thereby resulting into an alarming damage to public health in the past decades, hence the high demand for, cost effective, energy-efficient oil-water separation technologies for the removal of oil contaminants from such water. Herein, we report a facile method to fabricate superhydrophobic/superoleophilic membrane by immersing a polyimide (PI)-based nanofibrous membrane into a water/ethanol/ammonia/dopamine mixture, followed by modification with 1H, 1H, 2H, 2H-perfluorodecanethiol (PFDT). The PI-based membrane exhibited water contact angle (WCA) above 153°, while the oil contact angle (OCA) approached 0°, thereby promoting an outstanding chemical stability which sustained its superhydrophobicity when immersed in aqueous solutions at different pH values.

Light-Driven Au-WO@C Janus Micromotors for Rapid Photodegradation of Dye Pollutants.

A novel light-driven Au-WO@C Janus micromotor based on colloidal carbon WO nanoparticle composite spheres (WO@C) prepared by one-step hydrothermal treatment is described. The Janus micromotors can move in aqueous media at a speed of 16 μm/s under 40 mW/cm UV light due to diffusiophoretic effects. The propulsion of such Au-WO@C Janus micromotors (diameter ∼ 1.

Dye-Enhanced Self-Electrophoretic Propulsion of Light-Driven TiO-Au Janus Micromotors.

Light-driven synthetic micro-/nanomotors have attracted considerable attention in recent years due to their unique performances and potential applications. We herein demonstrate the dye-enhanced self-electrophoretic propulsion of light-driven TiO-Au Janus micromotors in aqueous dye solutions. Compared to the velocities of these micromotors in pure water, 1.