Manual Acupuncture at PC6 Ameliorates Acute Restraint Stress-Induced Anxiety in Rats by Normalizing Amygdaloid Noradrenergic Response

Acupuncture improves ethanol withdrawal-induced anxiety in rats in an acupoint-dependent manner. Thus, the present study investigated the effects of acupuncture on acute restraint stress- (ARS-) induced anxiety. Male rats were exposed to ARS for 3 h followed by acupuncture at either PC6 (Neiguan), HT7 (Shenmen), or a nonacupoint (tail) once a day for three consecutive days. Five minutes after the third acupuncture treatment, anxiety-like behavior was evaluated in an elevated plus maze (EPM). Additionally, plasma corticosterone (CORT) levels were measured by radioimmunoassay and the concentrations of norepinephrine (NE) and 3-methoxy-4-hydroxy-phenylglycol (MHPG) in the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA) were determined using high-performance liquid chromatography. Acupuncture at PC6, but not HT7 or a nonacupoint, attenuated anxiety-like behavior, but this attenuation was abolished by a postacupunctural intra-CeA infusion of NE. Acupuncture at PC6 also reduced the oversecretion of plasma CORT and inhibited increases in amygdaloid NE and MHPG induced by ARS. Further, Western blot analyses and real-time polymerase chain reaction assays revealed that acupuncture at PC6 prevented ARS-induced enhancements in the protein and mRNA expressions of tyrosine hydroxylase in the CeA. These results suggest that acupuncture performed specifically at acupoint PC6 reduces ARS-induced anxiety-like behavior by dampening amygdaloid noradrenergic responses

Helper T Cell (CD4(+)) Targeted Tacrolimus Delivery Mediates Precise Suppression of Allogeneic Humoral Immunity

Antibody-mediated rejection (ABMR) is a major cause of dysfunction and loss of transplanted kidney. The current treatments for ABMR involve nonspecific inhibition and clearance of T/B cells or plasma cells. However, the prognosis of patients following current treatment is poor. T follicular helper cells (Tfh) play an important role in allograft-specific antibodies secreting plasma cell (PC) development. Tfh cells are therefore considered to be important therapeutic targets for the treatment of antibody hypersecretion disorders, such as transplant rejection and autoimmune diseases. Tacrolimus (Tac), the primary immunosuppressant, prevents rejection by reducing T cell activation. However, its administration should be closely monitored to avoid serious side effects. In this study, we investigated whether Tac delivery to helper T (CD4(+)) cells using functionalized mesoporous nanoparticles can block Tfh cell differentiation after alloantigen exposure. Results showed that Tac delivery ameliorated humoral rejection injury in rodent kidney graft by suppressing Tfh cell development, PC, and donor-specific antibody (DSA) generation without causing severe side effects compared with delivery through the drug administration pathway. This study provides a promising therapeutic strategy for preventing humoral rejection in solid organ transplantation. The specific and controllable drug delivery avoids multiple disorder risks and side effects observed in currently used clinical approaches

In Vivo Kidney Allograft Endothelial Specific Scavengers for On-Site Inflammation Reduction under Antibody-Mediated Rejection

Kidney transplantation is the most effective therapy for patients with end-stage renal disease. However, antibody-mediated rejection (ABMR) threatens long-term survival of renal grafts. Although ABMR can be controlled by donor-specific antibody clearance and B- or (and) plasma-cells inhibition, the treatment often causes severe side effects in patients. Therefore, there is need to explore site-specific scavengers. In this study, a nanovehicle carrying an anti-inflammatory drug is developed with complement component 4d targeting, a specific biomarker expressed on allograft endothelium under ABMR. Moreover, the nanovehicle is endowed with photothermal properties to control drug release. Analysis through systematic in vitro and in vivo toxicity, non-invasive targeted imaging, and in situ remote controlled drug release show the nanovehicle specifically targets allograft kidney endothelium, releases an anti-inflammatory drug, methylprednisolone, locally upon laser irradiation, and promotes recovery of injured endothelium, without affecting systemic inflammation or innate immune responses. This strategy has the potential for future clinical application in ABMR treatment

6G Network AI Architecture for Everyone-Centric Customized Services

Mobile communication standards were developed for enhancing transmission and network performance by using more radio resources and improving spectrum and energy efficiency. How to effectively address diverse user requirements and guarantee everyone's Quality of Experience (QoE) remains an open problem. The Sixth Generation (6G) mobile systems will solve this problem by utilizing heterogenous network resources and pervasive intelligence to support everyone-centric customized services anywhere and anytime. In this article, we first coin the concept of Service Requirement Zone (SRZ) on the user side to characterize and visualize the integrated service requirements and preferences of specific tasks of individual users. On the system side, we further introduce the concept of User Satisfaction Ratio (USR) to evaluate the system's overall service ability of satisfying a variety of tasks with different SRZs. Then, we propose a network Artificial Intelligence (AI) architecture with integrated network resources and pervasive AI capabilities for supporting customized services with guaranteed QoEs. Finally, extensive simulations show that the proposed network AI architecture can consistently offer a higher USR performance than the cloud AI and edge AI architectures with respect to different task scheduling algorithms, random service requirements, and dynamic network conditions

Prioritizing multiple therapeutic targets in parallel using automated DNA-encoded library screening

AbstractThe identification and prioritization of chemically tractable therapeutic targets is a significant challenge in the discovery of new medicines. We have developed a novel method that rapidly screens multiple proteins in parallel using DNA-encoded library technology (ELT). Initial efforts were focused on the efficient discovery of antibacterial leads against 119 targets from Acinetobacter baumannii and Staphylococcus aureus. The success of this effort led to the hypothesis that the relative number of ELT binders alone could be used to assess the ligandability of large sets of proteins. This concept was further explored by screening 42 targets from Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Active chemical series for six targets from our initial effort as well as three chemotypes for DHFR from M. tuberculosis are reported. The findings demonstrate that parallel ELT selections can be used to assess ligandability and highlight opportunities for successful lead and tool discovery.</jats:p

Employee Stock Ownership Plans and Corporate Environmental Performance: Evidence from China

In the context of corporate sustainability, studies on the role that managerial incentives play in improving corporate environmental performance have so far focused on incentives provided either to executives and senior managers or to plant managers. However, few studies have considered the role of employee incentives. Drawing on the opportunity provided by the China Securities Regulatory Commission in restarting employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) in 2014, this paper investigates the impact of employee incentives on environmental performance of high-polluting enterprises. The results indicate that ESOPs are significantly positively related to corporate environmental performance. The positive effect is particularly pronounced in subsamples with weak free-riding problems, high human capital quality, and non-state-owned enterprises (non-SOEs). Further analysis reveals that ESOPs improve corporate environmental performance through enhancing productivity and green technology. Overall, this paper reveals the micro-mechanisms behind the actual effects of employee incentives on corporate environmental management, thus providing timely implications for high-polluting enterprises to improve environmental performance

Faster scalar multiplication on ordinary Weierstrass elliptic curves over fields of characteristic three

This paper proposes new explicit formulae for the point doubling, tripling and addition on ordinary Weierstrass elliptic curves with a point of order 3 over finite fields of characteristic three. The cost of basic point operations is lower than that of all previously proposed ones. The new doubling, mixed addition and tripling formulae in projective coordinates require 3M + 2C, 8M + 1C + 1D and 4M + 4C + 1D respectively, where M, C and D is the cost of a field multiplication, a cubing and a multiplication by a constant. We also provide the unified and complete group laws. Finally, we present several examples of ordinary elliptic curves in characteristic three for high security levels

Corporate Charitable Donations, Earnings Performance and Tax Avoidance

Under the traditional research framework of corporate social responsibility and tax avoidance, there is no agreement on whether charitable donations constitutes an altruistic behavior or a management tool. Using a sample of Chinese firms, this paper examines the relationship between corporate charitable donations, earnings performance and tax avoidance. The evidence shows that there is a significant negative relationship between corporate charitable donations and tax avoidance. Furthermore, we found that the negative relationship between charitable donations and tax avoidance only exists in enterprises with a good earnings performance, while it is positively correlated with tax avoidance in enterprises with a poor earnings performance. This shows that earnings performance can affect the motivation for corporate charitable donations, as the charitable donations of enterprises with a good performance are mainly an altruistic behavior, while the charitable donations of enterprises with a poor performance are more of a management tool. This conclusion not only enriches and expands the research framework of corporate social responsibility and tax avoidance but also helps to clarify the disputes in the existing literature

Corporate Charitable Donations, Earnings Performance and Tax Avoidance

Under the traditional research framework of corporate social responsibility and tax avoidance, there is no agreement on whether charitable donations constitutes an altruistic behavior or a management tool. Using a sample of Chinese firms, this paper examines the relationship between corporate charitable donations, earnings performance and tax avoidance. The evidence shows that there is a significant negative relationship between corporate charitable donations and tax avoidance. Furthermore, we found that the negative relationship between charitable donations and tax avoidance only exists in enterprises with a good earnings performance, while it is positively correlated with tax avoidance in enterprises with a poor earnings performance. This shows that earnings performance can affect the motivation for corporate charitable donations, as the charitable donations of enterprises with a good performance are mainly an altruistic behavior, while the charitable donations of enterprises with a poor performance are more of a management tool. This conclusion not only enriches and expands the research framework of corporate social responsibility and tax avoidance but also helps to clarify the disputes in the existing literature

Mapping Asia Plants: Current status of floristic information for Northeast Asia

As part of the Mapping Asia Plants (MAP) project, floristic works for Northeast Asia (i.e., China, Japan, the Korean Peninsula, and Mongolia) have been surveyed and compared. From the 18th century to the beginning of the 20th century, most floristic research in Northeast Asia was performed by European nations. Since then, local botanists have directed the course of floristic research. Although a Flora of Northeast Asia has yet to be published, several materials covering more than one country have published, from Maximowicz's Primitiae Florae Amurensis (1895) to Ma's A Checklist of Woody Plants from Eastern Asia (2017). However, the status of floristic information in Northeast Asia varies widely by country. China, Japan, and the North Korea published the latest editions of their floras in 2020, 2013, and 2000, respectively. Both Mongolia and South Korea have published several volumes of their latest floras and plan to complete them in the next few years. Together, these works give an overall picture of the flora of Northeast Asia. While every country in Northeast Asia has at least one plant species checklist, the availability of digital specimen records varies from 1.3 per species to 387.1 per species. Factors that currently hinder research include variation among works in how terms are used, in writing style, and taxonomic treatments, in addition to a lack of specimens for Mongolia and the Korean Peninsula. Some floras are written in their native languages and may be difficult to access for general researchers. In a few years, after the completion of the Flora of Mongolia, the Flora of Korea, and a local flora for Northeast China, floristic research in Northeast Asia will enter a new stage. Using floristic information currently available, a total of 336 families, 3506 genera, and nearly 40,000 species of vascular plants were identified in Northeast Asia. (C) 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license