A narrative review on inflammaging and late-onset hypogonadism

The increasing life expectancy observed in recent years has resulted in a higher prevalence of late-onset hypogonadism (LOH) in older men. LOH is characterized by the decline in testosterone levels and can have significant impacts on physical and mental health. While the underlying causes of LOH are not fully understood, there is a growing interest in exploring the role of inflammaging in its development. Inflammaging is a concept that describes the chronic, low-grade, systemic inflammation that occurs as a result of aging. This inflammatory state has been implicated in the development of various age-related diseases. Several cellular and molecular mechanisms have been identified as contributors to inflammaging, including immune senescence, cellular senescence, autophagy defects, and mitochondrial dysfunction. Despite the extensive research on inflammaging, its relationship with LOH has not yet been thoroughly reviewed in the literature. To address this gap, we aim to review the latest findings related to inflammaging and its impact on the development of LOH. Additionally, we will explore interventions that target inflammaging as potential treatments for LOH

Yangjing capsule attenuates cyclophosphamide-induced deficiency of testicular microcirculation in mice

Purpose: To explore the protective effects of Yangjing capsule (YC) on testicular microcirculation in a mouse model of deficiency of testicular microcirculation. Methods: Immunohistochemistry was applied to determine the effects of YC on microvascular density of mice. The protein level of CD34 and vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGF A) was measured by western blot. The viability of Testicular cell line (TM4 cells) was examined by CCK-8 assay. Results: Histopathological changes demonstrated that CP-induced decrease of microvascular density of the mice was rescued by YC dose-dependently (p < 0.5). Western blot data showed that the protein levels of CD34 and VEGF A in CP group were significantly decreased, but dose-dependently increased by YC, respectively, following co-administration of CP + YC, compared with those in CP group (p < 0.5). The results from CCK-8 assay showed that the cell viability of TM4 cells increased with the amount of YC administered, and that high concentrations of YC (0.1 and 1 mg/mL) showed significant effects (p < 0.5). Moreover, YC showed little effect on VEGF A mRNA and protein expression in TM4 cells. Conclusion: YC may be considered an alternative therapeutic agent for the management of testicular microcirculation disease. However, further studies are required to ascertain this. Keywords: Yangjing Capsule, Testicular microcirculation, Cyclophosphamide, Vascular endothelial growth factor

Millisecond optical phase modulation using multipass configurations with liquid-crystal devices

We present two configurations for analog 0 to 2π optical phase modulation using liquid crystals (LCs), each of which achieve switching times that are 1 ms or less. One configuration is based on the switching behavior of a so-called nematic pi cell, and the other is based on the flexoelectro-optic effect in chiral nematic LCs when operated in the uniform lying helix geometry. Both configurations exploit a multipass optical arrangement to enhance the available optical phase range, while maintaining a fast switching speed. Moreover, these devices can be operated at or close to room temperature. Experimental data are found to be in good agreement with results predicted from theory for these multipass phase-modulation configurations

Context-consistent generation of indoor virtual environments based on geometry constraints

In this paper, we propose a system that can automatically generate immersive and interactive virtual reality (VR) scenes by taking real-world geometric constraints into account. Our system can not only help users avoid real-world obstacles in virtual reality experiences, but also provide context-consistent contents to preserve their sense of presence. To do so, our system first identifies the positions and bounding boxes of scene objects as well as a set of interactive planes from 3D scans. Then context-compatible virtual objects that have similar geometric properties to the real ones can be automatically selected and placed into the virtual scene, based on learned object association relations and layout patterns from large amounts of indoor scene configurations. We regard virtual object replacement as a combinatorial optimization problem, considering both geometric and contextual consistency constraints. Quantitative and qualitative results show that our system can generate plausible interactive virtual scenes that highly resemble real environments, and have the ability to keep the sense of presence for users in their VR experiences

Pre‐symptomatic transmission of novel coronavirus in community settings

We used contact tracing to document how COVID‐19 was transmitted across 5 generations involving 10 cases, starting with an individual who became ill on January 27. We calculated the incubation period of the cases as the interval between infection and development of symptoms. The median incubation period was 6.0 days (interquartile range, 3.5‐9.5 days). The last two generations were infected in public places, 3 and 4 days prior to the onset of illness in their infectors. Both had certain underlying conditions and comorbidity. Further identification of how individuals transmit prior to being symptomatic will have important consequences.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/163478/2/irv12773.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/163478/1/irv12773_am.pd

Ursolic acid reduces oxidative stress injury to ameliorate experimental autoimmune myocarditis by activating Nrf2/HO-1 signaling pathway

Background: Oxidative stress is crucial in experimental autoimmune myocarditis (EAM)-induced inflammatory myocardial injury. Ursolic acid (UA) is an antioxidant-enriched traditional Chinese medicine formula. The present study aimed to investigate whether UA could alleviate inflammatory cardiac injury and determine the underlying mechanisms.Methods: Six-week-old male BALB/c mice were randomly assigned to one of the three groups: Sham, EAM group, or UA intervention group (UA group) by gavage for 2 weeks. An EAM model was developed by subcutaneous injection of α-myosin heavy chain derived polypeptide (α-MyHC peptide) into lymph nodes on days 0 and 7. Echocardiography was used to assess cardiac function on day 21. The inflammation level in the myocardial tissue of each group was compared using hematoxylin and eosin staining (HE) of heart sections and Interleukin-6 (IL-6) immunohistochemical staining. Masson staining revealed the degree of cardiac fibrosis. Furthermore, Dihydroethidium staining, Western blot, immunohistochemistry, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) were used to determine the mechanism of cardioprotective effects of UA on EAM-induced cardiac injury, and the level of IL-6, Nrf2, and HO-1.Results: In EAM mice, UA intervention significantly reduced the degree of inflammatory infiltration and myocardial fibrosis while improving cardiac function. Mechanistically, UA reduced myocardial injury by inhibiting oxidative stress (as demonstrated by a decrease of superoxide and normalization of pro- and antioxidant enzyme levels). Interestingly, UA intervention upregulated the expression of antioxidant factors such as Nrf2 and HO-1. In vitro experiments, specific Nrf2 inhibitors reversed the antioxidant and antiapoptotic effects of ursolic acid, which further suggested that the amelioration of EAM by UA was in a Nrf2/HO-1 pathway-dependent manner.Conclusion: These findings indicate that UA is a cardioprotective traditional Chinese medicine formula that reduces EAM-induced cardiac injury by up-regulating Nrf2/HO-1 expression and suppressing oxidative stress, making it a promising therapeutic strategy for the treatment of EAM