An auxiliary diagnostic strategy for distinguishing Guillain-Barré syndrome and chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy: combining platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio and cerebrospinal fluid interleukin-8 levels.

Background: Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) and chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP) are immune-mediated neuropathies with overlapping clinical and electrophysiological features but distinct treatment strategies. This study investigated whether the platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) interleukin-8 (IL-8) levels can serve as auxiliary biomarkers to aid in distinguishing CIDP from GBS.

Methods: For 65 patients with GBS, 38 with typical CIDP, and 65 healthy controls (HCs), clinical, serological, and CSF data were collected.

Pulsed electromagnetic stimulation promotes neuronal maturation by up-regulating cholesterol biosynthesis.

Background: Stem cell therapies have emerged as transformative therapeutic strategies for neurological disorders. However, neurons derived from transplanted stem cells often exhibit low survival rates and remain in an immature state. While pulsed electromagnetic fields (PEMF) may enhance neuronal differentiation, the extent of this effect and its molecular mechanisms remain poorly characterized.

Long-term electroacupuncture and repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation differentially slow the progression of Alzheimer's disease in App mice.

Both electroacupuncture (EA) and repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) possess the potential in combating the progression of Alzheimer's disease (AD). In this study, we compared the effects of the two regimens as early long-term intervention in App mice, a new amyloid precursor protein (APP) knock-in model that recapitulates multiple AD-associated pathologies, including amyloid-β (Aβ) plaques, microgliosis, astrocytosis, dendritic and synaptic degeneration. The 2-month-old freely moving model mice randomly received EA or rTMS for 2~3 sessions a week for 6 months.

Experimental evidence that readily diffusible forms of Aβ from Alzheimer's disease brain have seeding activity.

Significant data suggest that cerebral accumulation of the amyloid β-protein (Aβ) plays an initiating role in Alzheimer's disease (AD), however, Aβ can exist in multiple different forms and it is not clear which of these contribute to the propagation of amyloid or toxicity. When injected into animal models, Aβ-containing homogenates from AD or APP transgenic mouse brain accelerate amyloid pathology, but the nature of the seeding species remain ill-defined. In this study, we took advantage of well-characterized brain extracts from human AD cases and App mice, to assess the seeding activity of diffusible forms of Aβ.

In Vivo Seeding of Amyloid-β Protein and Implications in Modeling Alzheimer's Disease Pathology.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by extracellular plaques containing amyloid β-protein (Aβ) and intracellular neurofibrillary tangles formed by tau. Cerebral Aβ accumulation initiates a noxious cascade that leads to irreversible neuronal degeneration and memory impairment in older adults. Recent advances in Aβ seeding studies offer a promising avenue for exploring the mechanisms underlying amyloid deposition and the complex pathological features of AD.

Activin A enhances neurofunctional recovery following traumatic spinal cord injury by inhibiting autophagy.

In the early stages of traumatic spinal cord injury, extensive accumulation of autophagosomes creates a neurotoxic microenvironment, exacerbating neuronal cell death and worsening tissue damage, ultimately hindering neurofunctional recovery. Activin A is a critical growth factor necessary for the development of the embryonic nervous system and for maintaining neuronal function in the adult cerebral cortex. It can inhibit excessive autophagy in ischemic stroke to reduce neuronal damage.

Two-dimensional coordination risedronate-manganese nanobelts as adjuvant for cancer radiotherapy and immunotherapy.

The irradiated tumor itself represents an opportunity to establish endogenous in situ vaccines. However, such in situ cancer vaccination (ISCV) triggered by radiation therapy (RT) alone is very weak and hardly elicits systemic anticancer immunity. In this study, we develop two-dimensional risedronate-manganese nanobelts (RMn-NBs) as an adjuvant for RT to address this issue.

Caffeic acid O-methyltransferase from alleviates drought stress, and improves lignin and melatonin biosynthesis.

Drought stress is a major constraint on plant growth and agricultural productivity. Caffeic acid O-methyltransferase (COMT), an enzyme involved in the methylation of various substrates, plays a pivotal role in plant responses to abiotic stress. The involvement of COMTs in drought response, particularly through the enhancement of lignin and melatonin biosynthesis, remains poorly understood.

Beneficial utilization of ball-milled carbon sand to activate peroxymonosulfate oxidation: Quantitation of ROS using probe-based kinetic models and mechanism insights.

In this study, the oil sand was treated with an integrated process of pyrolysis and ball milling, and the obtained ball-milled carbon sand (BMCS) was utilized as peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activator to treat wastewater containing aniline (AN). Quenching experiments and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) confirmed the existence of sulfate radical (SO), hydroxyl radical (·OH) and singlet oxygen (O1) in the BMCS/PMS system. A probe-based kinetic model was constructed to describe the degradation process of pollutants in the BMCS/PMS system, quantified the exposure of each reactive oxygen species and their contributions to AN degradation.

Phase and Defect Engineering of MoSe Nanosheets for Enhanced NIR-II Photothermal Immunotherapy.

Inducing immunogenic cell death (ICD) during photothermal therapy (PTT) has the potential to effectively trigger photothermal immunotherapy (PTI). However, ICD induced by PTT alone is often limited by inefficient PTT, low immunogenicity of tumor cells, and a dysregulated redox microenvironment. Herein, we develop MoSe nanosheets with high-percentage metallic 1T phase and rich exposed active Mo centers through phase and defect engineering of MoSe as an effective nanoagent for PTI.

An Optimal Hierarchical Approach for Oral Cancer Diagnosis Using Rough Set Theory and an Amended Version of the Competitive Search Algorithm.

Oral cancer is introduced as the uncontrolled cells' growth that causes destruction and damage to nearby tissues. This occurs when a sore or lump grows in the mouth that does not disappear. Cancers of the cheeks, lips, floor of the mouth, tongue, sinuses, hard and soft palate, and lungs (throat) are types of this cancer that will be deadly if not detected and cured in the beginning stages.

Identification of evolutionary relationships and DNA markers in the medicinally important genus based on chloroplast genomics.

The genus has attracted great attention because of its medicinal and ornamental values. At least three reasons, including the accurate discrimination between various species, protection and sustainable development of rare resources as well as understanding of relationship of some perplexing species, have prompted phylogenetic analyses and development of molecular markers for species. Here we determined the complete chloroplast (CP) genomes for , , , and through Illumina sequencing, followed by assembly.

Structure basis of the caffeic acid O-methyltransferase from Ligusiticum chuanxiong to understand its selective mechanism.

Caffeic acid O-methyltransferase from Ligusticum chuanxiong (LcCOMT) showed strict regiospecificity despite a relative degree of preference. Compared with caffeic acid, methyl caffeate was the preferential substrate by its low Km and high Kcat. In this study, we obtained the SAM binary (1.

Strong Twirling-Rotating Manual Acupuncture with 4 r/s Is Superior to 2 r/s in Relieving Pain by Activating C-Fibers in Rat Models of CFA-Induced Pain.

Background: Manual acupuncture (MA) with different stimulus frequencies may give rise to varying acupuncture effects. However, the intensity-effect relationship and the underlying mechanisms of MA remain unclear.

Objective: To compare the analgesic effects of different frequencies of twirling-rotating MA on rats with complete Freund's adjuvant- (CFA-) induced pain and explore the underlying mechanism via peripheral sensory nerves.

Streptomyces luteolifulvus sp. nov., a novel actinomycete isolated from soil in Nanjing, China.

During the investigation of exploring potential sources of novel species and natural bioactives, a novel actinomycete, designated strain HIT-DPA4, was isolated from a soil sample, which was collected from Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, PR China and characterized using a polyphasic approach. On the basis of 16S rRNA gene sequence similarities and the result of phylogenetic analysis, strain HIT-DPA4 was most closely related to Streptomyces cyaneus CGMCC 4.1671, and shared the highest sequence similarity of 98.

Deep learning-based predictive identification of neural stem cell differentiation.

The differentiation of neural stem cells (NSCs) into neurons is proposed to be critical in devising potential cell-based therapeutic strategies for central nervous system (CNS) diseases, however, the determination and prediction of differentiation is complex and not yet clearly established, especially at the early stage. We hypothesize that deep learning could extract minutiae from large-scale datasets, and present a deep neural network model for predictable reliable identification of NSCs fate. Remarkably, using only bright field images without artificial labelling, our model is surprisingly effective at identifying the differentiated cell types, even as early as 1 day of culture.

Solid Lipid Nanoparticles Enhanced the Neuroprotective Role of Curcumin against Epilepsy through Activation of Bcl-2 Family and P38 MAPK Pathways.

Oxidative stress of neurons caused by a series of complex neuropathological processes will induce certain neurodegenerative disorders including epilepsy. Curcumin (Cur) is an effective natural antioxidant compound; however, the poor bioavailability obstructs its neural protective applications. In this study, Cur is encapsulated in solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs) for better neuroprotective efficacy.

Biodegradable Iodine-Labeled Microspheres: Potential Transarterial Radioembolization Biomaterial for Primary Hepatocellular Carcinoma Treatment.

Transarterial radioembolization with radionuclide-labeled microspheres is successfully used in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) treatment, but the non-biodegradability and rapid settlement of the microsphere material are associated with unsatisfied distribution and unable for multiple administrations. In this study, a novel biodegradable chitosan-collagen composite microsphere (CCM) with ideal settlement rate is prepared. The Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) results indicate CCMs have desirable shapes with diameters around 10 µm, and considerable biodegradability within 12 weeks.

[Indication of bloodletting therapy based on multi-dimensional evidence assessment].

The indication of bloodletting therapy was determined based on the multi-dimensional evidence assessment, which could provide guidance for the clinical application of bloodletting therapy. The literature of bloodletting therapy was comprehensively collected by retrieval in CNKI, Wanfang and VIP databases (until February 23, 2019), modern books in Library of Tianjing University of TCM and the (Fifth Edition). The disease spectrum of bloodletting therapy was determined by self-designed questionnaire survey e-mailed to relevant experts.

Size-Dependent Effects of Suspended Graphene Oxide Nanoparticles on the Cellular Fate of Mouse Neural Stem Cells.

Purpose: In this study, we aim to explore the effects of graphene oxide (GO), a derivative of graphene, nanoparticles of four different sizes on the cellular fate of mouse neural stem cells (mNSCs).

Methods: GO NPs were characterized with transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron micrography (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and Raman Spectra analysis. The cytotoxic effects of the GO NPs of different sizes on the mNSCs were determined using CCK-8 assay, Annexin V-APC/ 7-AAD staining and EdU staining assays.

[Development of traditional acupuncture manipulations by professor ].

Professor learnt from several famous acupuncturists and develops his own manipulations based on his teachers' clinical thoughts and family manipulations. "" is for cervical spondylosis and cerebrovascular diseases, etc, the description including Fengfu (GV 16), Fengchi (GB 20), Tianzhu (BL 10), Yifeng (TE 17) and Wangu (GB 12). "" is for the syndromes of hyperactivity of liver , upper heat and lower cold, and the acupoints are Taichong (LR 3), Xiangu (ST 43), Xiaxi (GB 43) and the point in the dorso-ventral boundary after fingerweb edge between the 3rd and 4th toes.