Decay Constants of Pseudoscalar DD-mesons in Lattice QCD with Domain-Wall Fermion

We present the first study of the masses and decay constants of the pseudoscalar $D$ mesons in two flavors lattice QCD with domain-wall fermion. The gauge ensembles are generated on the $24^3 \times 48$ lattice with the extent $N_s = 16$ in the fifth dimension, and the plaquette gauge action at $\beta = 6.10$, for three sea-quark masses with corresponding pion masses in the range $260-475$ MeV. We compute the point-to-point quark propagators, and measure the time-correlation functions of the pseudoscalar and vector mesons. The inverse lattice spacing is determined by the Wilson flow, while the strange and the charm quark masses by the masses of the vector mesons $\phi(1020)$ and $J/\psi(3097)$ respectively. Using heavy meson chiral perturbation theory (HMChPT) to extrapolate to the physical pion mass, we obtain $f_D = 202.3(2.2)(2.6)$ MeV and $f_{D_s} = 258.7(1.1)(2.9)$ MeV.Comment: 15 pages, 3 figures. v2: the statistics of ensemble (A) with m_sea = 0.005 has been increased, more details on the systematic error, to appear in Phys. Lett.

Development and Validation of the Parents\u27 Perceived Self-Efficacy to Manage Children\u27s Internet Use Scale for Parents of Adolescents with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

Background and aims: This study developed and validated the Parents’ Perceived Self-Efficacy to Manage Children’s Internet Use Scale (PSMIS) in the parents of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Methods: In total, 231 parents of children with ADHD were invited to complete the PSMIS, followed by the Chen Internet Addiction Scale and the short version of Swanson, Nolan, and Pelham, Version IV Scale – Chinese version for analyzing Internet addiction severity and ADHD symptoms, respectively. Results: The results of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses confirmed the four-factor structure of the 18-item PSMIS. The significant difference in the levels of parents’ perceived self-efficacy between the parents of children with and without Internet addiction supported the criterion-related validity of the PSMIS. The internal consistency and 1-month test–retest reliability were acceptable. Conclusion: The results indicate that the PSMIS has acceptable validity and reliability and can be used for measuring parents’ perceived self-efficacy to manage children’s Internet use among parents of children with ADHD

A novel method to identify cooperative functional modules: study of module coordination in the Saccharomyces cerevisiae cell cycle

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Identifying key components in biological processes and their associations is critical for deciphering cellular functions. Recently, numerous gene expression and molecular interaction experiments have been reported in <it>Saccharomyces cerevisiae</it>, and these have enabled systematic studies. Although a number of approaches have been used to predict gene functions and interactions, tools that analyze the essential coordination of functional components in cellular processes still need to be developed.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In this work, we present a new approach to study the cooperation of functional modules (sets of functionally related genes) in a specific cellular process. A cooperative module pair is defined as two modules that significantly cooperate with certain functional genes in a cellular process. This method identifies cooperative module pairs that significantly influence a cellular process and the correlated genes and interactions that are essential to that process. Using the yeast cell cycle as an example, we identified 101 cooperative module associations among 82 modules, and importantly, we established a cell cycle-specific cooperative module network. Most of the identified module pairs cover cooperative pathways and components essential to the cell cycle. We found that 14, 36, 18, 15, and 20 cooperative module pairs significantly cooperate with genes regulated in early G1, late G1, S, G2, and M phase, respectively. Fifty-nine module pairs that correlate with Cdc28 and other essential regulators were also identified. These results are consistent with previous studies and demonstrate that our methodology is effective for studying cooperative mechanisms in the cell cycle.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>In this work, we propose a new approach to identifying condition-related cooperative interactions, and importantly, we establish a cell cycle-specific cooperation module network. These results provide a global view of the cell cycle and the method can be used to discover the dynamic coordination properties of functional components in other cellular processes.</p

Paeoniflorin has anti-inflammation and neurogenesis functions through nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury rats

Objective(s): Paeoniflorin (PF) has anti-oxidation, anti-inflammation, anti-apoptosis, and neuroprotection pharmacological effects against ischemic injury. The aim of the present study was to investigate the neuroprotection mechanisms of PF in cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury rats.Materials and Methods: We established an animal model of cerebral infarct by occlusion of the middle cerebral artery for 15 min, followed by reperfusion, and PF was administered 24 hr later (20 mg/kg, intraperitoneally for 6 days) after reperfusionResults: Treatment with PF reduced the neurological deficit score, improved motor function, decreased cell counts of nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) α4β2 immunoreactive cells, and increased cell counts of nAChR α7. Furthermore, PF administration suppressed neuronal apoptosis and promoted neurogenesis.Conclusion: PF rescued neurological deficit and underlying mechanisms were inhibition of neurological apoptosis and inflammation by nAChRs