Exploratory genome-wide analyses of cortical inhibition, facilitation, and plasticity in late-life depression

Late-life depression (LLD) is a heterogenous mood disorder influenced by genetic factors. Cortical physiological processes such as cortical inhibition, facilitation, and plasticity may be markers of illness that are more strongly associated with genetic factors than the clinical phenotype. Thus, exploring the relationship between genetic factors and these physiological processes may help to characterize the biological mechanisms underlying LLD and improve diagnosis and treatment selection. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) combined with electromyography was used to measure short interval intracortical inhibition (SICI), cortical silent period (CSP), intracortical facilitation (ICF), and paired associative stimulation (PAS) in 79 participants with LLD. We used exploratory genome-wide association and gene-based analyses to assess for genetic correlations of these TMS measures. MARK4 (which encodes microtubule affinity-regulating kinase 4) and PPP1R37 (which encodes protein phosphatase 1 regulatory subunit 37) showed genome-wide significant association with SICI. EGFLAM (which encodes EGF-like fibronectin type III and laminin G domain) showed genome-wide significant association with CSP. No genes met genome-wide significant association with ICF or PAS. We observed genetic influences on cortical inhibition in older adults with LLD. Replication with larger sample sizes, exploration of clinical phenotype subgroups, and functional analysis of relevant genotypes is warranted to better characterize genetic influences on cortical physiology in LLD. This work is needed to determine whether cortical inhibition may serve as a biomarker to improve diagnostic precision and guide treatment selection in LLD

Chemiluminescence determination of surfactant Triton X-100 in environmental water with luminol-hydrogen peroxide system

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The rapid, simple determination of surfactants in environmental samples is essential because of the extensive use and its potential as contaminants. We describe a simple, rapid chemiluminescence method for the direct determination of the non-ionic surfactant Triton X-100 (polyethylene glycol tert-octylphenyl ether) in environmental water samples. The optimized experimental conditions were selected, and the mechanism of the Luminol-H₂O₂-Triton X-100 chemiluminesence system was also studied.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The novel chemiluminescence method for the determination of non-ionic surfactant Triton X-100 was based on the phenomenon that Triton X-100 greatly enhanced the CL signal of the luminol-H₂O₂system. The alkaline medium of luminol and the pH value obviously affected the results. Luminol concentration and hydrogen peroxide concentration also affected the results. The optimal conditions were: Na₂CO₃being the medium, pH value 12.5, luminol concentration 1.0 × 10^-4mol L^-1, H₂O₂concentration 0.4 mol L^-1. The possible mechanism was studied and proposed.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Under the optimal conditions, the standard curve was drawn up and quotas were evaluated. The linear range was 2 × 10^-4g·mL^-1-4 × 10^-2g·mL^-1(w/v), and the detection limit was 3.97 × 10^-5g·mL^-1Triton X-100 (w/v). The relative standard deviation was less than 4.73% for 2 × 10^-2g·mL^-1(w/v) Triton X-100 (n = 7). This method has been applied to the determination of Triton X-100 in environmental water samples. The desirable recovery ratio was between 96%–102% and the relative standard deviation was 2.5%–3.3%. The luminescence mechanism was also discussed in detail based on the fluorescence spectrum and the kinetic curve, and demonstrated that Triton X-100-luminol-H₂O₂was a rapid reaction.</p

Antiviral Activity of Luteolin against Pseudorabies Virus In Vitro and In Vivo

Pseudorabies virus (PRV) can cause acute swine disease leading to economic losses worldwide and is a potential causative agent of viral encephalitis in humans. Although effective vaccines are available, an increasing number of variants have emerged in China, and identifying effective antiviral agents against PRV to prevent latent infection is essential. In this study, we assessed the antiviral activity of luteolin against PRV in vitro and in vivo. Luteolin was found to significantly inhibit PRV at a noncytotoxic concentration (70 μM), with an IC50 of 26.24 μM and a selectivity index of 5.64. Luteolin inhibited the virus at the replication stage and decreased the expression of viral mRNA and gB protein. Luteolin reduced the apoptosis of PRV-infected cells, improved the survival rate of mice after lethal challenge, reduced the viral loads in the liver, kidney, heart, lung, and brain, reduced brain lesions, and slowed inflammation and oxidation reactions. Our results showed that luteolin has promise as a new alternative antiviral drug for PRV infection

Study on the Degradation of Residual Omethoate in Farmland Soil by Bacterial Agent PA9

【Objective】The study aims to verify the application effect of bacterial agent PA9 degrading omethoate which residual in the soil. Soil physical and chemical properties, tomato growth and soil microbial diversity affect by bacterial agent PA9 were researched at the same time.【Method】Bacterial agent PA9 was made from bacteria strain ZZY-C13-1-9, when omethoate artificial add into the soil about 100 mg/kg, the bacterial agent PA9 were applied 0.1%. The period of remediation lasted for 50 days. Soil samples were taken every 10 days. The content of omethoate in soil were measured by HPLC. A selective culture medium is used to isolate strain ZZY-C13-1-9. The microbial diversity were measured by illumina miSeq high-throughput sequencing. Soil physical and chemical indexes were determined by national standard method. Tomato growth index were monitored.【Result】Initial content of omethoate in soil was 100 mg/kg at 0 days. After 40 days, the omethoate content in soil decrease to 5.3 mg/kg at remediation experimental group, which was significantly different with control group (48.79 mg/kg). Microbial strain ZZY-C13-1-9 could colonize in the soil and the proportion of soil microorganisms in omethoate soil increased after 10 - 20 days of remediation. The residual omethoate content in the soil was significantly reduced, which indicated that the functional strain could play a role in degrading omethoate in contaminated soil. The results of high-throughput sequencing showed that the proportion of Pseudomonas sp. in soil microbial flora decreased with the decrease of omethoate content, indicating that the bacterial agent PA9 would not permanently change the distribution of soil microbial diversity, and the restored soil could effectively restore the diversity of bacterial flora. The contents of total nitrogen, microbial nitrogen, available phosphorus and MWD in soil aggregates increased significantly compared with the control, and the use of microbial agent PA9 had no negative effect on the growth of tomato.【Conclusion】The bacterial agent PA9 can colonize and accelerate the degradation of omethoate in omethoate-contaminated soil in a short period of time, improve the microbial diversity of contaminated soil and have no adverse effects on the physical and chemical properties of the soil and the planting of tomatoes

Aggregation model-based optimization for electric vehicle charging strategy

This paper presents an aggregation charging model for large numbers of electric vehicles (EVs). A genetic algorithm (GA) is employed to obtain the stochastic feature parameters of the aggregation model, and a charging strategy based on the aggregation model is developed to reduce the power fluctuation level caused by EV charging. In addition, an updatable optimization method is proposed to track the variation of the EV charging characteristics. The proposed charging strategy and optimization method are validated by the simulation results

The Effect of Chlorine Modification of Precipitated Iron Catalysts on Their Fischer&ndash;Tropsch Synthesis Properties

Precipitated iron Fischer&ndash;Tropsch synthesis catalysts impregnated with chlorine were prepared and their Fischer&ndash;Tropsch synthesis performances were tested in a 1 L stirred tank reactor. The results showed that the chlorine modification had a significant influence on the Fischer&ndash;Tropsch synthesis performance of the precipitated iron catalyst. Compared with the catalyst without the chlorine modification, the catalyst containing about 0.1 wt% chlorine was deactivated by about 40% and the catalyst containing about 1 wt% chlorine was deactivated by about 65%. The textural properties, phase, reduction properties, and chlorine adsorption state of the catalysts before and after the Fischer&ndash;Tropsch synthesis were characterized. The strong interaction between chlorine and iron in the catalyst hindered the reduction and carbonization of the catalyst, which was the reason for the deactivation of the catalyst caused by the chlorine modification

Stick-like mesoporous titania loaded Pd as highly active and cost effective catalysts for hydrodebenzylation of hexabenzylhexaazaisowurtzitane (HBIW)

Hydrodebenzylation of hexabenzylhexaazaisowurtzitane (HBIW) is one key step for the synthesis of High Energy Density Compound CL-20 (hexanitrohexaazaisowurtzitane). Design of a "high atom economy" debenzylation catalyst to promote the industry production and massive use in the fields of aerospace and military has attracted great attentions. Herein, we designed a catalyst of stick-like mesoporous titania supported ultrafine Pd nanoparticles with low loading 2 wt.% using a hydrothermal and then deposition-precipitation method. The supports and catalysts were thoroughly characterized by N-2 physisorption, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), Raman, ultraviolet-visible absorption (UV-vis), in situ diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform (DRIFT), H-2 chemisorption to determine their physical and chemical properties. The results revealed that stick-like titania (ST) treated at low temperature showed rutile crystalline structure, large interplanar spacing (3.2394 angstrom) and surface area (53 m(2)/g), small average crystallite size (63 nm) with mesoporous. The Pd can deposit into the interstices and lattice of ST and displayed ultrafine and even sub-nanometer sizes (average value 1.2 nm), and high dispersion. The Pd/ST-2 exhibited particularly high activity for hydrodebenzylation of HBIW. The product TADBIW was obtained in a high turnover number (TON) 107, which is 2 (similar to) 5 times higher than those of conventional Pd/C catalysts. This work paves a promising way to develop highly efficient catalysts with low loading of Pd and high atomic utilization for cost-effective synthesis of CL-20