Progenitor-like cells derived from mouse kidney protect against renal fibrosis in a remnant kidney model via decreased endothelial mesenchymal transition

Showing A quantification of GFP-positive cells in the lung after intravenous injection of MKPCs in five-sixths nephrectomized mice (y axis shows the number of cells, while the x axis (FL1-H) shows the fluorescence intensity; M1 is the area of GFP-positive cells) and B immunohistochemistry of the lung after intravenous injection of MKPCs into a mouse that underwent five-sixths nephrectomy. Few GFP positive cells were found in the lung at the first day but there were no GFP-positive cells at week 14. (TIFF 2253 kb

Altered Heart Rate Variability During Mobile Game Playing and Watching Self-Mobile Gaming in Individuals with Problematic Mobile Game Use: Implications for Cardiac Health

Shih-Ching Chin,1,* Yun-Hsuan Chang,2– 6,* Chih-Chun Huang,6,7 Ting-Hsi Chou,1 Chieh-Liang Huang,8 Hsiu-Man Lin,9 Marc N Potenza10 1Department of Psychology, Asia University, Taichung, Taiwan; 2Institute of Gerontology, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan; 3Institute of Behavioral Medicine, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan; 4Department of Psychology, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan; 5Institute of Genomics and Bioinformatics, College of Life Sciences, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, Taiwan; 6Department of Psychiatry, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, Douliou Branch, Yunlin, Taiwan; 7Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan; 8Department of Psychiatry, Tsaotun Psychiatric Center, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Nantou, Taiwan; 9Department of Child and Adolescent Development and Mental Health, China Medical University Children’s Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan; 10Psychiatry, Child Study and Neuroscience, Center of Excellence in Gambling Research, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Yun-Hsuan Chang, Licensed Clinical Psychologist, Institute of Gerontology, College of Medicine; Department of Psychology, National Cheng Kung University, No. 1., University Road, Tainan, Taiwan, Email [email protected]; [email protected]: The surge in mobile gaming, fueled by smartphone and internet accessibility, lacks a comprehensive understanding of physiological changes during gameplay.Methods: This study, involving 93 participants (average age 21.75 years), categorized them into Problematic Mobile Gaming (PMG) and non-problematic Mobile Gaming (nPMG) groups based on Problematic Mobile Gaming Questionnaire (PMGQ) scores. The PMGQ is a 12-item scale developed in Taiwan to assess symptoms of problematic mobile gaming. The research delved into heart rate variability (HRV) alterations during real-time mobile gaming and self-gaming video viewing.Results: Results showed that the PMG group significantly presents a lower root mean square of successive differences (RMSSD), and High Frequency (lnHF) than does the nPMG group (F=4.73, p=0.03; F=10.65, p=0.002, respectively) at the baseline. In addition, the PMG group significantly displayed elevated HF and low-frequency to high-frequency (LF/HF) in the mobile-gaming (F=7.59, p=0.007; F=9.31, p=0.003) condition as well as in the watching self-gaming videos (F=9.75, p=0.002; F=9.02, p=0.003) than did the nPMG.Conclusion: The study suggests targeted interventions to mitigate autonomic arousal, offering a potential avenue to address adverse effects associated with problematic mobile gaming behavior. The PMG group displayed increased craving scores after real-time mobile gaming and watching self-gaming video excerpts, unlike the nPMG group. Elevated LF/HF ratios in frequent gaming cases heightened autonomic arousal, presenting challenges in relaxation after mobile gaming. These findings contribute to a nuanced understanding of the complex interplay between mobile gaming activities, physiological responses, and potential intervention strategies.Keywords: addictive behaviors, video games, internet addiction, autonomic nervous system, craving, heart rate variability, self-regulatio

Molecular Dynamics Simulations of the Roller Nanoimprint Process: Adhesion and Other Mechanical Characteristics

Molecular dynamics simulations using tight-binding many body potential are carried out to study the roller imprint process of a gold single crystal. The effect of the roller tooth’s taper angle, imprint depth, imprint temperature, and imprint direction on the imprint force, adhesion, stress distribution, and strain are investigated. A two-stage roller imprint process was obtained from an imprint force curve. The two-stage imprint process included the imprint forming with a rapid increase of imprint force and the unloading stage combined with the adhesion stage. The results show that the imprint force and adhesion rapidly increase with decreasing taper angle and increasing imprint depth. The magnitude of the maximum imprint force and the time at which this maximum occurs are proportional to the imprint depth, but independent of the taper angle. In a comparison of the imprint mechanisms with a vertical imprint case, while high stress and strain regions are concentrated below the mold for vertical imprint, they also occur around the mold in the case of roller imprint. The regions were only concentrated on the substrate atoms underneath the mold in vertical imprint. Plastic flow increased with increasing imprint temperature

Quantitative test of the barrier nucleosome model for statistical positioning of nucleosomes up- and downstream of transcription start sites

The positions of nucleosomes in eukaryotic genomes determine which parts of the DNA sequence are readily accessible for regulatory proteins and which are not. Genome-wide maps of nucleosome positions have revealed a salient pattern around transcription start sites, involving a nucleosome-free region (NFR) flanked by a pronounced periodic pattern in the average nucleosome density. While the periodic pattern clearly reflects well-positioned nucleosomes, the positioning mechanism is less clear. A recent experimental study by Mavrich et al. argued that the pattern observed in S. cerevisiae is qualitatively consistent with a `barrier nucleosome model', in which the oscillatory pattern is created by the statistical positioning mechanism of Kornberg and Stryer. On the other hand, there is clear evidence for intrinsic sequence preferences of nucleosomes, and it is unclear to what extent these sequence preferences affect the observed pattern. To test the barrier nucleosome model, we quantitatively analyze yeast nucleosome positioning data both up- and downstream from NFRs. Our analysis is based on the Tonks model of statistical physics which quantifies the interplay between the excluded-volume interaction of nucleosomes and their positional entropy. We find that although the typical patterns on the two sides of the NFR are different, they are both quantitatively described by the same physical model, with the same parameters, but different boundary conditions. The inferred boundary conditions suggest that the first nucleosome downstream from the NFR (the +1 nucleosome) is typically directly positioned while the first nucleosome upstream is statistically positioned via a nucleosome-repelling DNA region. These boundary conditions, which can be locally encoded into the genome sequence, significantly shape the statistical distribution of nucleosomes over a range of up to ~1000 bp to each side.Comment: includes supporting materia

Neutrino Mass, Sneutrino Dark Matter and Signals of Lepton Flavor Violation in the MRSSM

We study the phenomenology of mixed-sneutrino dark matter in the Minimal R-Symmetric Supersymmetric Standard Model (MRSSM). Mixed sneutrinos fit naturally within the MRSSM, as the smallness (or absence) of neutrino Yukawa couplings singles out sneutrino A-terms as the only ones not automatically forbidden by R-symmetry. We perform a study of randomly generated sneutrino mass matrices and find that (i) the measured value of $\Omega_{DM}$ is well within the range of typical values obtained for the relic abundance of the lightest sneutrino, (ii) with small lepton-number-violating mass terms $m_{nn}^{2} {\tilde n} {\tilde n}$ for the right-handed sneutrinos, random matrices satisfying the $\Omega_{DM}$ constraint have a decent probability of satisfying direct detection constraints, and much of the remaining parameter space will be probed by upcoming experiments, (iii) the $m_{nn}^{2} {\tilde n} {\tilde n}$ terms radiatively generate appropriately small Majorana neutrino masses, with neutrino oscillation data favoring a mostly sterile lightest sneutrino with a dominantly mu/tau-flavored active component, and (iv) a sneutrino LSP with a significant mu component can lead to striking signals of e-mu flavor violation in dilepton invariant-mass distributions at the LHC.Comment: Revised collider analysis in Sec. 5 after fixing error in particle spectrum, References adde

Deterioration of Parkinson's disease during hospitalization: survey of 684 patients

Abstract Background A substantial fraction of Parkinson's disease patients deteriorate during hospitalisation, but the precise proportion and the reasons why have not been studied systematically and the focus has been on surgical wards and on Accident & Emergency departments. We assessed the prevalence and risk factors of deterioration of Parkinson's disease symptoms during hospitalization, including all wards. Methods We invited Parkinson's disease patients from three neurology departments in The Netherlands to answer a standardised questionnaire on general, disease and hospital related issues. Patients who had been hospitalized in the previous year were included and analysed. Possible risk factors for Parkinson's disease deterioration were identified. Proportions were analysed using the Chi-Square test and a logistic regression analysis was performed. Results Eighteen percent of 684 Parkinson's disease patients had been hospitalized at least once in the last year. Twenty-one percent experienced deterioration of motor symptoms, 33% did have one or more complications and 26% had received incorrect anti-Parkinson's medication. There were no statistically significant differences for these variables between admissions on neurologic or non-neurologic wards and between having surgery or not. Incorrect medication during hospitalization was significantly associated with higher risk (OR 5.8, CI 2.5-13.7) of deterioration, as were having infections (OR 6.7 CI 1.8-24.7). A higher levodopa equivalent dose per day was a significant risk factor for deterioration. When adjusting for different variables, wrong medication distribution was the most important risk factor for deterioration. Conclusions Incorrect medication and infections are the important risk factors for deterioration of Parkinson's disease patients both for admissions with and without surgery and both for admissions on neurologic and non-neurologic wards. Measures should be taken to improve care and incorporated in guidelines.</p

Effects of Fu&rsquo;s Subcutaneous Needling on Postoperative Pain in Patients Receiving Surgery for Degenerative Lumbar Spinal Disorders: A Single-Blind, Randomized Controlled Trial

Chih-Ying Wu,1– 3 Li-Wei Chou,4– 6 Shih-Wei Huang,7 Wen-Ling Liao,1,8 Shiaw-Meng Chang,9 Han-Chung Lee,10 Cheng-Di Chiu,3,11– 14 Chih-Hsin Tang,13,15– 18 Ching-Liang Hsieh16,19,20 1Graduate Institute of Integrated Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan; 2Department of Neurosurgery, China Medical University Hsinchu Hospital, China Medical University, Hsinchu, Taiwan; 3Department of Neurosurgery, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan; 4Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan; 5Department of Physical Therapy and Graduate Institute of Rehabilitation Science, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan; 6Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Asia University Hospital, Asia University, Taichung, Taiwan; 7Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, China Medical University Hsinchu Hospital, China Medical University, Hsinchu, Taiwan; 8Center for Personalized Medicine, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan; 9Department of Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan; 10Neuroscience center, Everan Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan; 11Spine Center, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan; 12School of Medicine, College of Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan; 13Graduate Institute of Biomedical Science, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan; 14Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan; 15Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan; 16Chinese Medicine Research Center, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan; 17Department of Medical Laboratory Science and Biotechnology, College of Health Science, Asia University, Taichung, Taiwan; 18Department of Medical Research, China Medical University Hsinchu Hospital, Hsinchu, Taiwan; 19Department of Chinese Medicine, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan; 20Graduate Institute of Acupuncture Science, China Medical University, Taichung, TaiwanCorrespondence: Chih-Hsin Tang, Graduate Institute of Biomedical Science, College of Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung, 40402, Taiwan, Email [email protected] Ching-Liang Hsieh, Graduate Institute of Acupuncture Science, China Medical University, 91 Hsueh-Shih Road, Taichung, 40402, Taiwan, Tel +886-4-22053366, Fax +886-4-22037690, Email [email protected]: Fu’s subcutaneous needling (FSN) is a novel acupuncture technique for pain treatment. This study investigated the effects of postsurgical FSN on postoperative pain in patients receiving surgery for degenerative spinal disorders.Methods: This single-center, single-blind, randomized-controlled study involved patients undergoing surgery for degenerative spinal disorders. Participants were randomized into either an FSN group or a control group that received sham FSN. The primary outcomes were scores on the Brief Pain Inventory Taiwan version (BPI-T) and Oswestry Disability Index before and at 1, 24, and 48 hours after surgery. Secondary outcomes were muscle hardness, pethidine use, and inflammatory biomarker presence.Results: Initially, 51 patients met the inclusion criteria and were allocated (26 in the FSN group and 25 in the control group). Two patients were lost to follow-up, and finally, 49 patients (25 in the FSN group and 24 in the control group) who completed the study were analyzed. The FSN group had significantly lower pain intensity measured on the BPI-T compared with the control group at 1, 24, 48, and 72 hours after surgical treatment (all p 0.05).Conclusion: FSN treatment can reduce postoperative pain in patients receiving surgery for degenerative spinal disorders. However, larger sample sizes and multicenter clinical trials are required to verify these findings.Keywords: Fu’s subcutaneous needling, degenerative spinal disorders, postoperative pain, surgical treatment, clinical tria

Gene expression changes induced by the tumorigenic pyrrolizidine alkaloid riddelliine in liver of Big Blue rats

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) are probably the most common plant constituents that poison livestock, wildlife, and humans worldwide. Riddelliine is isolated from plants grown in the western United States and is a prototype of genotoxic PAs. Riddelliine was used to investigate the genotoxic effects of PAs via analysis of gene expression in the target tissue of rats in this study. Previously we observed that the mutant frequency in the liver of rats gavaged with riddelliine was 3-fold higher than that in the control group. Molecular analysis of the mutants indicated that there was a statistically significant difference between the mutational spectra from riddelliine-treated and control rats.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Riddelliine-induced gene expression profiles in livers of Big Blue transgenic rats were determined. The female rats were gavaged with riddelliine at a dose of 1 mg/kg body weight 5 days a week for 12 weeks. Rat whole genome microarray was used to perform genome-wide gene expression studies. When a cutoff value of a two-fold change and a <it>P</it>-value less than 0.01 were used as gene selection criteria, 919 genes were identified as differentially expressed in riddelliine-treated rats compared to the control animals. By analysis with the Ingenuity Pathway Analysis Network, we found that these significantly changed genes were mainly involved in cancer, cell death, tissue development, cellular movement, tissue morphology, cell-to-cell signaling and interaction, and cellular growth and proliferation. We further analyzed the genes involved in metabolism, injury of endothelial cells, liver abnormalities, and cancer development in detail.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The alterations in gene expression were directly related to the pathological outcomes reported previously. These results provided further insight into the mechanisms involved in toxicity and carcinogenesis after exposure to riddelliine, and permitted us to investigate the interaction of gene products inside the signaling networks.</p