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Excessive accumulation of adipose tissue may accelerate brain aging, but the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. Several adiposity indices were proposed to assess obesity, while their linkage with brain health in older adults remained unclear. Here we aimed to examine the associations of adiposity indices with global and regional cerebral blood flow (CBF) in older adults, while considering insulin resistance. This was a cross-sectional population-based study that included older adults derived from the baseline participants in the ongoing Multimodal Interventions to Delay Dementia and Disability in rural China (MIND-China) study. The study included 103 Chinese rural-dwelling older adults (age≥60 years; 69.9% women) who underwent brain magnetic resonance imaging scans. We estimated eight adiposity indices based on anthropometric measures. We automatically quantified global and regional CBF using the arterial spin labeling scans. Insulin resistance was assessed using the triglyceride-glucose index and then dichotomized into high and low levels according to the median. Data were analyzed using general linear model and voxel-wise analysis. Of the eight examined adiposity indices, only higher waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) and body roundness index (BRI) were associated with reduced global CBF (multivariable-adjusted β-coefficients and 95%CI: −1.76; −3.25, −0.27 and −1.77; −3.25, −0.30, respectively) and hypoperfusion in bilateral middle temporal gyri, angular gyri and superior temporal gyri, left middle cingulum and precuneus (P<0.05). There were statistical interactions of WHtR and BRI with levels of insulin resistance on CBF, such that the significant associations of higher WHtR and BRI with lower global and regional CBF existed only in people with high insulin resistance (P<0.05). Higher WHtR and BRI are associated with cerebral hypoperfusion in older adults, especially in people with high insulin resistance. This may highlight the pathological role of visceral fat in vascular brain aging.

Soil acidification is a major problem in soils of intensive Chinese agricultural systems. We used two nationwide surveys, paired comparisons in numerous individual sites, and several long-term monitoring-field data sets to evaluate changes in soil acidity. Soil pH declined significantly (P < 0.001) from the 1980s to the 2000s in the major Chinese crop-production areas. Processes related to nitrogen cycling released 20 to 221 kilomoles of hydrogen ion (H⁺) per hectare per year, and base cations uptake contributed a further 15 to 20 kilomoles of H⁺ per hectare per year to soil acidification in four widespread cropping systems. In comparison, acid deposition (0.4 to 2.0 kilomoles of H⁺ per hectare per year) made a small contribution to the acidification of agricultural soils across China.

In this study, both AZ91 alloy and nano-SiCp/AZ91 composite were subjected to multi-pass forging under varying passes and temperatures. The microstructure and mechanical properties of the alloy were compared with its composite. After six passes of multi-pass forging at a constant temperature of 400 ℃, complete recrystallization occurred in both the AZ91 alloy and composite. The decrease of temperature and the increase of passes for the multi-pass forging led to further refinement of dynamic recrystallized grains and dynamic precipitation of second phases. The grain size of the nano-SiCp/AZ91 composite was smaller than that of the AZ91 alloy under the same multi-pass forging condition, which indicated that the addition of SiC nanoparticles were beneficial to grain refinement by pinning the grain boundaries. The texture intensity for the 12 passes of multi-pass forging with varying temperatures was increased compared with that after nine passes. The ultimate tensile strength is slightly decreased while the yield strength was increased unobviously for the AZ91 alloy with the decrease of temperature and the increase of the passes for the multi-pass forging. Under the same condition of multi-pass forging, the yield strength of the composite was higher than that of the AZ91 alloy due to the Orowan strengthening effect and grain refinement strengthening resulting from externally applied SiC nanoparticles and internally precipitated second phases. By comparing the microstructure and mechanical properties between the AZ91 alloy and nano-SiCp/AZ91 composite, the strength-toughness properties of the composites at room temperature were affected by the matrix grain size, texture evolution, SiC nanoparticles distribution and the precipitated second phases.

Background Pulmonary hypertension (PH), particularly secondary to hypoxic lung diseases like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), lacks effective targeted therapies. Emerging evidence suggests that microbiota imbalances contribute to PH progression, raising the possibility of microbiome-targeted interventions. This study explores the role of antibiotics in modulating microbiota and ameliorating PH. Methods A retrospective cohort analysis was conducted using the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care (MIMIC) database to assess changes in mean pulmonary artery pressure (mPAP) after antibiotic treatment. Subsequently, clinical data of 220 PH patients (including group 1, 3, and 4 PH) from single clinical center were analyzed, with 16 S rRNA sequencing performed on pharyngeal and fecal samples to evaluate microbiota composition. A hypoxia-induced PH rat model was used to investigate the effects of antibiotic treatment on hemodynamics, pulmonary vascular remodeling, and gut microbiota. Results Antibiotic use was associated with reduced mPAP in PH patients, particularly in hypoxic associated PH. Microbiota diversity decreased with antibiotic treatment, but probiotic species like Lactobacillus were enriched. In hypoxia-induced PH rats, antibiotics attenuated right ventricular systolic pressure (RVSP), reduced pulmonary vascular thickening, and preserved gut villi integrity. Lactobacillus and Anaerostipes correlated negatively with PH severity, suggesting a protective role. Conclusion Antibiotic-driven microbiota modulation may alleviate PH progression by targeting dysbiosis and reducing inflammation. These findings support further investigation into optimized antibiotic regimens as a therapeutic strategy for PH, particularly in hypoxic lung disease-associated cases. Graphical Abstract

Schisandrin B is an active monomer of the Chinese magnolia vine (Schisandra chinensis) that can reduce transaminase activity in liver cells, inhibit lipid peroxidation, enhance antioxidant status, has protective effects in the liver and has antitumor effects. The present study investigated the potential protective effects of schisandrin B on the p53 signaling pathway in attenuating the inflammatory response, oxidative stress and apoptosis induced by traumatic spinal cord injury (TSCI) in adult rats. Behavioral examination, inclined plate test and spinal cord water content were used to evaluate the protective effect of schisandrin B in TSCI rats. The expression levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD), malondialdehyde (MDA), nuclear factor (NF)-κB subunit p65 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α were examined using ELISA kits. Western blot analysis was performed to analyze the protein expression of caspase-3 and phosphorylated (p)-p53 in TSCI rats. In the present study, schisandrin B improved behavioral examination results and the maximum angle of inclined plate test, and inhibited spinal cord water content in rats with TSCI. Notably, schisandrin B reduced the activation of traumatic injury-associated pathways, including SOD, MDA, NF-κB p65 and TNF-α, in TSCI rats. In addition, schisandrin B suppressed the TSCI-induced expression of caspase-3 and p-p53 in TSCI rats. These results indicated that schisandrin B may attenuate the inflammatory response, oxidative stress and apoptosis in TSCI rats by inhibiting the p53 signaling pathway in adult rats.

Exposure to the spike protein or receptor-binding domain (S-RBD) of SARS-CoV-2 significantly influences endothelial cells and induces pulmonary vascular endotheliopathy. In this study, angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 humanized inbred (hACE2 Tg) mice and cultured pulmonary vascular endothelial cells were used to investigate how spike protein/S-RBD impacts pulmonary vascular endothelium. Results show that S-RBD leads to acute-to-prolonged induction of the intracellular free calcium concentration ([Ca 2+ ] i ) via acute activation of TRPV4, and prolonged upregulation of mechanosensitive channel Piezo1 and store-operated calcium channel (SOCC) key component Orai1 in cultured human pulmonary arterial endothelial cells (PAECs). In mechanism, S-RBD interacts with ACE2 to induce formation of clusters involving Orai1, Piezo1 and TRPC1, facilitate the channel activation of Piezo1 and SOCC, and lead to elevated apoptosis. These effects are blocked by Kobophenol A, which inhibits the binding between S-RBD and ACE2, or intracellular calcium chelator, BAPTA-AM. Blockade of Piezo1 and SOCC by GsMTx4 effectively protects the S-RBD-induced pulmonary microvascular endothelial damage in hACE2 Tg mice via normalizing the elevated [Ca 2+ ] i . Comparing to prototypic strain, Omicron variants (BA.5.2 and XBB) of S-RBD induces significantly less severe cell apoptosis. Transcriptomic analysis indicates that prototypic S-RBD confers more severe acute impacts than Delta or Lambda S-RBD. In summary, this study provides compelling evidence that S-RBD could induce persistent pulmonary vascular endothelial damage by binding to ACE2 and triggering [Ca 2+ ] i through upregulation of Piezo1 and Orai1. Targeted inhibition of ACE2-Piezo1/SOCC-[Ca 2+ ] i axis proves a powerful strategy to treat S-RBD-induced pulmonary vascular diseases.

This paper takes Yan’anas the study area, analyses the current situation of the policy, calculates the carbon sequestration value by using the afforestation area and woodland area in Yanan in 2019, and explores its carbon emission trading potential. The conclusions are as follows: (1) the amount of carbon sequestration increased by 203575.5 t due to the afforestation in 2019 in Yan’an. The green economy income of Yan’an can be increased by 5.8528 million RMB, because of it. The carbon sequestration value of total woodland is 120 million RMB, which can increase the forestry output value of Yan’an by 19.32%. (2) The new carbon sequestration benefit of northern area is higher than that of southern area in Yan’an; the highest carbon sequestration benefit of returning farmland to forest isWuqi County’s 35307.29t, and its value is 1.015 million RMB, it can be increased by 0.15% of the green economy income. (3) The industrial counties Huangling County and Huanglong County, the industrial counties Luochuan County and Yichuan County carry out carbon trading respectively, under the condition of ensuring the output value of the secondary industry in the industrial county, it can increase the green economy income of the total output value of Huanglong County and Yichuan County by 0.73% respectively.

We studied an amorphous solid dispersion of berberine with absorption enhancer sodium caprate (Huang-Gui solid dispersion preparations, HGSD). A therapeutic effect of HGSD was revealed in mice with type 2 diabetes mellitus and palmitate-induced injury to MIN6 [beta]-cells. HGSD treatment (150 mg/kg) improved glucose metabolism and decreased [beta]-cell apoptosis in diabetic mice. Furthermore, the effective component of HGSD berberine significantly attenuated the palmitate-induced decrease in MIN6 [beta]-cells viability and insulin secretion. Moreover, molecular docking analysis and Western blotting showed that berberine decreased cell apoptosis and expression of group VIA phospholipase [A.sub.2] ([iPLA.sub.2]), p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38 MAPK), and caspase-3. These data suggest that HGSD treatment protected [beta]-cells via inhibiting the [iPLA.sub.2]/p38 MAPK pathway. Key Words: berberine; diabetes; islet cells; group VIA phospholipase [A.sub.2] ([iPLA.sub.2]); apoptosis

Mismatched related donors of hematopoietic SCT (HSCT) for severe aplastic anemia (SAA) present challenges mainly associated with graft failure and GVHD. The greater the HLA disparity, the poorer the OS. About 19 consecutive SAA/very SAA (VSAA) patients who received HSCT from haploidentical family donors in our center are reported in this study, 18/19 pairs had 2–3 loci mismatched. All 19 cases failed to respond to previous therapy and were heavily transfused before transplantation. The conditioning regimen before HSCT included BU, CY and thymoglobulin. The recipients received CsA, mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) and short-term MTX for GVHD prophylaxis. The source of stem cell grafts was a combination of G-CSF-primed BM and G-CSF-mobilized peripheral blood stem cells. All patients achieved 100% donor myeloid engraftment; the median time for myeloid engraftment was 12 days (ranging from 10–29 days) and for platelets was 18 days (ranging from 8–180 days) with a cumulative platelet engraftment incidence of 84.21±10.53%. The cumulative incidence was 42.1±11.3% for grade II–IV acute GVHD and 56.2±12.4% for chronic GVHD. The OS was 64.6±12.4% with a median 746-day (90–1970) follow-up for surviving patients. These limited retrospective analysis data suggest that HLA-haploidentical HSCT for SAA patients without an HLA-identical sibling donor might be feasible. Further research to increase OS by decreasing GVHD while maintaining stable engraftment will be needed in the future.

An efficient catalytic system consisting of H2O, Polyaluminium chloride (PAC) and Tetrabutylammonium bromide (TBAB) was applied to the cycloaddition of carbon dioxide (CO2) to epoxides under mild conditions. Their catalytic cycloaddition activities were found to be well correlated with H2O and polyaluminium chloride, which had a synergetic effect with the halide anion of TBAB. The presence of H2O and PAC could remarkably improve the yield of propylene carbonate (PC) by which the reaction yield is about 4-5 times higher than TBAB. alone.The catalytic system also exhibited excellent cycloaddition activities for various epoxide substrates.