Ethanol Extract of the Flower Chrysanthemum morifolium Augments Pentobarbital-Induced Sleep Behaviors: Involvement of Cl− Channel Activation

Dried Chrysanthemum morifolium flowers have traditionally been used in Korea for the treatment of insomnia. This study was performed to investigate whether the ethanol extract of Chrysanthemum morifolium flowers (EFC) enhances pentobarbital-induced sleep behaviors. EFC prolonged sleep time induced by pentobarbital similar to muscimol, a GABAA receptors agonist. EFC also increased sleep rate and sleep time when administrated with pentobarbital at a subhypnotic dosage. Both EFC and pentobarbital increased chloride (Cl−) influx in primary cultured cerebellar granule cells. EFC increased glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD) expression levels, but had no effect on the expression of α1-, β2-, and γ2-subunits of the GABAA receptor in the hippocampus of a mouse brain. This is in contrast to treatment with pentobarbital, which showed decreased α1-subunit expression and no change in GAD expression. In conclusion, EFC augments pentobarbital-induced sleep behaviors; these effects may result from Cl− channel activation

Temporal and Sex-Linked Protein Expression Dynamics in a Familial Model of Alzheimer\u27s Disease

Mouse models of Alzheimer\u27s disease (AD) show progression through stages reflective of human pathology. Proteomics identification of temporal and sex-linked factors driving AD-related pathways can be used to dissect initiating and propagating events of AD stages to develop biomarkers or design interventions. In the present study, we conducted label-free proteome measurements of mouse hippocampus tissue with variables of time (3, 6, and 9 months), genetic background (5XFAD versus WT), and sex (equal males and females). These time points are associated with well-defined phenotypes with respect to the following: Aβ42 plaque deposition, memory deficits, and neuronal loss, allowing correlation of proteome-based molecular signatures with the mouse model stages. Our data show 5XFAD mice exhibit increases in known human AD biomarkers as amyloid-beta peptide, APOE, GFAP, and ITM2B are upregulated across all time points/stages. At the same time, 23 proteins are here newly associated with Alzheimer\u27s pathology as they are also dysregulated in 5XFAD mice. At a pathways level, the 5XFAD-specific upregulated proteins are significantly enriched for DNA damage and stress-induced senescence at 3-month only, while at 6-month, the AD-specific proteome signature is altered and significantly enriched for membrane trafficking and vesicle-mediated transport protein annotations. By 9-month, AD-specific dysregulation is also characterized by significant neuroinflammation with innate immune system, platelet activation, and hyperreactive astrocyte-related enrichments. Aside from these temporal changes, analysis of sex-linked differences in proteome signatures uncovered novel sex and ADassociated proteins. Pathway analysis revealed sexlinked differences in the 5XFAD model to be involved in the regulation of well-known human AD-related processes of amyloid fibril formation, wound healing, lysosome biogenesis, and DNA damage. Verification of the discovery results by Western blot and parallel reaction monitoring confirm the fundamental conclusions of the study and poise the 5XFAD model for further use as a molecular tool for understanding AD

Physical activity and weight loss among adults with type 2 diabetes and overweight or obesity: a post hoc analysis of the Look AHEAD trial

Importance: Prior findings from the Look AHEAD trial showed no significant reduction in the risk of cardiovascular events by lifestyle-induced weight loss among individuals with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and overweight or obesity. However, physical activity (PA) may modify the changes in cardiovascular risk associated with weight loss. Objective: To examine the joint association of weight loss and PA with the risk of adverse cardiovascular events in patients with T2D and overweight or obesity. Design, Setting, and Participants: This cohort study was a post hoc analysis of the Look AHEAD randomized clinical trial, which compared the cardiovascular effects of weight loss by intensive lifestyle intervention vs diabetes support and education among individuals with T2D and overweight or obesity. The study was conducted from June 2001 to September 2012, and participants were patients in the substudy of accelerometry-measured PA from 8 locations in the United States. Data were analyzed from June to August 2023. Exposures: Body weight change and accelerometer-derived PA volume across the first 4 years. Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary outcome was a composite cardiovascular outcome including cardiovascular death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, nonfatal stroke, or hospitalization for angina. Results: Among a total of 1229 participants (mean [SD] age, 60 [7] years; 533 male [43%]), 333 (27%) achieved and maintained weight loss for the first 4 years. Among the individuals who maintained weight loss, 105 (32%) maintained high PA volume. During a median of 9.5 years of follow-up, 198 participants (16.1%) experienced the primary outcome. Compared with those with low PA volume and no weight loss (105 [15.8%]), maintaining high PA volume and weight loss was associated with a 61% lower risk of the primary end point (hazard ratio, 0.39; 95% CI, 0.19-0.81; P = .01). However, there was no significant difference in the risk of the primary end point among those with either weight loss only or high PA only. The multiplicative interaction between weight loss and PA for the risk of cardiovascular events was also significant (P for interaction = .01). Conclusions and Relevance: In this cohort study, maintaining weight loss and higher PA volume was associated with a lower risk of the composite cardiovascular outcome. The findings suggest that the cardiovascular benefits of PA may vary and be enhanced by weight loss among individuals with T2D and overweight or obesity

Studying in North America: A Potential Antidote to Test Anxiety in Chinese Students

As a considerable number of Chinese students suffer from test anxiety, we aimed to find a solution to test anxiety in Chinese students. We conducted an empirical study, in which we replicated the experiment in Min et al. (2022)’s study [1], to examine predictors of test anxiety and whether studying in North America could alleviate test anxiety with N = 85 participants. As predicted, Chinese students studying in North America had less test anxiety than studying in other countries. In addition, older Chinese students were more likely to have high test anxiety

A damage and recovery study for lead tungstate crystal samples from BTCP and SIC

This paper presents an in depth study on radiation damage and recovery in lead tungstate crystals produced at BTCP and SIC. Correlations were observed between initial light output and initial longitudinal transmittance at 360 nm, between the loss of longitudinal transmittance at 440 nm and the amplitude of radiation damage, and between radiation damage levels at different dose rates. Excellent linearity was observed between the variations of crystal's light output and its longitudinal transmittance at 440 nm in repeated cycles of irradiation at a dose rate up to 400 rad/h followed by recovery, indicating these PWO crystals can be monitored in situ at LHC

Major flavonoid constituents and short-term effects of Chun Mee tea in rats

Chun Mee tea is a kind of green tea produced in China mainly for export purposes. Foam quantity is usually used as an index for evaluating the quality of Chun Mee tea. In the current study, we compared the concentrations of total saponin and flavonoids between foamy and low-foam Chun Mee tea. Our research confirmed that the total saponin and O-glycosylated flavonoid concentrations were related to the foam quantity of Chun Mee teas. We also studied the short-term safety effects of extract supplementation with foamy and low-foam Chun Mee tea in rats by routine blood tests and analysis of liver and kidney function, and blood lipids. Our results showed that both types of tea extract supplementations did not cause any observable adverse effects or impair either liver or kidney function. Additionally, this study confirmed the beneficial effects of Chun Mee tea extract supplementation on the decrease of total plasma cholesterol