Can the elderly benefit from unitization? - Effects of different unitization manipulations on age-related associative memory deficit.

With the aging process, older adults performed significantly poorer than young adults at remembering the relationships between pieces of information. This phenomenon is known as age-related associative memory deficit. Associative Deficit Hypothesis posits that this deficit stems from hippocampal atrophy in older adults, leading to a decline in their ability to bind information and an impairment in hippocampus-dependent recollection.

Dengue situation in Chinese mainland, 2023.

Background: Dengue fever outbreaks have occurred in Chinese mainland in recent years, especially in 2014 and 2019. In 2023, following the Corona Virus Disease 2019 pandemic, dengue fever has exhibited some new trends and characteristics.

Methods: Descriptive epidemiological methods were used to analyse temporal, spatial and demographic distribution.

Cell surface Toll-like receptor polymorphisms influence and ectoparasite infections in striped hamsters.

This study explored how polymorphisms in cell surface Toll-like receptors (TLRs) influence susceptibility to and ectoparasite infections in striped hamsters. Among six TLR genes, four sites in TLR1, TLR4, and TLR10 genes were associated with susceptibility, while twelve sites across TLR4, TLR5, and TLR10 contributed to flea resistance. Similarly, eleven sites in TLR5, TLR6, and TLR10 were linked to gamasid mite parasitism.

An integrative study on the effects of Lingguizhugan decoction in treating Alzheimer's disease rats through modulation of multiple pathways involving various components.

Objective: To explore the active components and mechanisms of Lingguizhugan decoction (LGZGD) in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD) through an integrated approach.

Methods: The active components of LGZGD in rat serum were identified using HPLC-FTICR MS. Network pharmacology and molecular docking analyses were conducted, and their findings were validated using an Aβ-induced AD rat model.

Changes in the level of unitization moderate the impact of unitization on associative memory and its underlying processing.

The viewpoint that unitization provides a possibility of increasing the contribution of familiarity to associative memory has been widely accepted, but its effects on associative memory and recollection remain controversial. The current study aims to explain these mixed results by considering a potential moderator: changes in the level of unitization from encoding to retrieval phases. During the encoding phase, participants learned the related and unrelated picture pairs (i.

Metabolism and immune responses of striped hamsters to ectoparasite challenges: insights from transcriptomic analysis.

Introduction: The striped hamster, often parasitized by ectoparasites in nature, is an ideal model for studying host-ectoparasite molecular interactions. Investigating the response to ectoparasites under laboratory conditions helps elucidate the mechanism of host adaptations to ectoparasite pressure.

Methods: Using transcriptome sequencing, we analyzed gene expression in striped hamsters after short-term (3 days) and long-term (28 days) flea () parasitism.

Microevolution of driven by geographic and host factors.

Unlabelled: is one of the most prevalent species in wild rodents and has been associated with human cases of neuroretinitis. The structure and distribution of genomic diversity in natural is largely unexplored. Here, we have applied a comprehensive population genomic and phylogenomic analysis to 172 strains of to unravel the genetic differences and influencing factors that shape its populations.

Transcriptome analysis of Kunming mice responses to the bite of Xenopsylla cheopis.

Background: Flea bites could trigger a series of complex molecular responses in the host. However, our understanding of the responses at the molecular level is still relatively limited. This study quantifies the changes in gene expression in mice after flea bites by RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) from their spleens, revealing the potential biological effects of host response to flea bites.

High genetic diversity of the himalayan marmot relative to plague outbreaks in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, China.

Plague, as an ancient zoonotic disease caused by Yersinia pestis, has brought great disasters. The natural plague focus of Marmota himalayana in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is the largest, which has been constantly active and the leading source of human plague in China for decades. Understanding the population genetics of M.

Climate heterogeneity, season variation, and sexual dimorphism modulate the association between MHC II diversity and parasite variation in striped hamster.

Parasite-mediated selection is widely believed to play a crucial role in maintaining the diversity of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genes, which is thought to be maintained through heterozygote advantage, rare-allele advantage, and fluctuating selection. However, the relationship between parasite pressure and MHC diversity has yielded inconsistent findings. These inconsistencies may arise from the influence of environmental factors and individual variations in traits on host-parasite interactions.

Spectrum-effect relationship analysis based on HPLC-FT-ICR-MS and multivariate statistical analysis to reveal the pharmacodynamic substances of Ling-Gui-Zhu-Gan decoction on Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) threatens elderly human health and still lacks effective treatment. Our previous work showed that LGZGD possessed a neuroprotective effect on the Aβ-induced neurotoxicity in differentiated PC12 cells, indicating that LGZGD may be a potential drug for treatment of AD. However, its pharmacodynamic substances which show anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant stress activities are still unrevealed.

Neutral Forces and Balancing Selection Interplay to Shape the Major Histocompatibility Complex Spatial Patterns in the Striped Hamster in Inner Mongolia: Suggestive of Broad-Scale Local Adaptation.

Background: The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) plays a key role in the adaptive immune response to pathogens due to its extraordinary polymorphism. However, the spatial patterns of MHC variation in the striped hamster remain unclear, particularly regarding the relative contribution of the balancing selection in shaping MHC spatial variation and diversity compared to neutral forces.

Methods: In this study, we investigated the immunogenic variation of the striped hamster in four wild populations in Inner Mongolia which experience a heterogeneous parasitic burden.

Knockdown resistance mutations distribution and characteristics of field populations within eleven dengue local epidemic provinces in China.

Background: , commonly known as the tiger mosquito, has attracted global attention because its bite can transmit several viruses, such as dengue virus. With the absence of an effective therapy and vaccine, mosquito control is the sole method for dengue fever control. However, has developed resistance to most insecticides, especially pyrethroids.

Identification and expression of potential olfactory-related genes related to Niemann-Pick C2 protein and ionotropic receptors in Haemaphysalis longicornis.

Studies have shown that the main pathway for tick host localization and perception of mating information may be chemosensory. However, chemical communication in ticks is poorly understood, especially in those other than the Ixodes ticks. Niemann-Pick C2 (NPC2) protein and ionotropic receptors (IRs) are considered to be closely related to the perception of infochemicals in arthropods.

Detection and genetic diversity of Bartonella species in small mammals from the central region of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, China.

In this study, we aimed to investigate the prevalence and molecular characteristics of Bartonella infections in small mammals from the central region of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Toward this, small mammals were captured using snap traps in Yushu City and Nangqian County, West China, and the spleen tissue was used for Bartonella culture. The suspected positive colonies were evaluated using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification and by sequencing the citrate synthase (gltA) gene.

Entomological and Molecular Surveillance of Mosquitoes in Freetown, Sierra Leone, 2019.

Malaria is endemic in Sierra Leone, with stable and perennial transmission in all parts of the country. At present, the main prevention and control measures for mosquito vectors here involve insecticide treated nets (ITN) and indoor residual spraying (IRS). The most recent entomological surveillance was conducted prior to the civil war, between 1990 and 1994.

Genetic diversity of Bartonella species in small mammals in the Qaidam Basin, western China.

Investigation of the prevalence and diversity of Bartonella infections in small mammals in the Qaidam Basin, western China, could provide a scientific basis for the control and prevention of Bartonella infections in humans. Accordingly, in this study, small mammals were captured using snap traps in Wulan County and Ge'ermu City, Qaidam Basin, China. Spleen and brain tissues were collected and cultured to isolate Bartonella strains.

Interactions and marginal effects of meteorological factors on haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome in different climate zones: Evidence from 254 cities of China.

Background: Haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) is climate sensitive. HFRS-weather associations have been investigated by previous studies, but few of them looked into the interaction of meteorological factors on HFRS in different climate zones.

Objective: We aim to explore the interactions and marginal effects of meteorological factors on HFRS in China.

Establishment of an innovative and sustainable PCR technique for 1534 locus mutation of the knockdown resistance (kdr) gene in the dengue vector Aedes albopictus.

Background: Mutation of the voltage-gated sodium channel (VGSC) gene, or knockdown resistance (kdr) gene, is an important resistance mechanism against DDT and pyrethroids for dengue vector Aedes albopictus. A phenylalanine to serine (F1534S), leucine (F1534L) and cysteine (F1534C) substitution were detected in many Ae. albopictus populations around the world, and the mutant allele frequencies have been increasing in recent years.

The driver of dengue fever incidence in two high-risk areas of China: A comparative study.

In China, the knowledge of the underlying causes of heterogeneous distribution pattern of dengue fever in different high-risk areas is limited. A comparative study will help us understand the influencing factors of dengue in different high-risk areas. In the study, we compared the effects of climate, mosquito density and imported cases on dengue fever in two high-risk areas using Generalized Additive Model (GAM), random forests and Structural Equation Model (SEM).

Development and comparison of forecast models of hand-foot-mouth disease with meteorological factors.

Hand-foot-mouth disease (HFMD) is an acute intestinal virus infectious disease which is one of major public health problems in mainland China. Previous studies indicated that HFMD was significantly influenced by climatic factors, but the associated factors were different in different areas and few study on HFMD forecast models was conducted. Here, we analyzed epidemiological characteristics of HFMD in Yiwu City, Zhejiang Province and constructed three forecast models.