Berberine for prevention of dementia associated with diabetes and its comorbidities: A systematic review

Background A growing number of epidemiological studies indicate that metabolic syndrome (MetS) and its associated features play a key role in the development of certain degenerative brain disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia. Produced by several different medicinal plants, berberine is a bioactive alkaloid with a wide range of pharmacological effects, including antidiabetic effects. However, it is not clear whether berberine could prevent the development of dementia in association with diabetes. Objective To give an overview of the therapeutic potential of berberine as a treatment for dementia associated with diabetes. Search strategy Database searches A and B were conducted using PubMed and ScienceDirect. In search A, studies on berberine’s antidementia activities were identified using “berberine” and “dementia” as search terms. In search B, recent studies on berberine’s effects on diabetes were surveyed using “berberine” and “diabetes” as search terms. Inclusion criteria Clinical and preclinical studies that investigated berberine’s effects associated with MetS and cognitive dysfunction were included. Data extraction and analysis Data from studies were extracted by one author, and checked by a second; quality assessments were performed independently by two authors. Results In search A, 61 articles were identified, and 22 original research articles were selected. In search B, 458 articles were identified, of which 101 were deemed relevant and selected. Three duplicates were removed, and a total of 120 articles were reviewed for this study. The results demonstrate that berberine exerts beneficial effects directly in the brain: enhancing cholinergic neurotransmission, improving cerebral blood flow, protecting neurons from inflammation, limiting hyperphosphorylation of tau and facilitating β-amyloid peptide clearance. In addition, evidence is growing that berberine is effective against diabetes and associated disorders, such as atherosclerosis, cardiomyopathy, hypertension, hepatic steatosis, diabetic nephropathy, gut dysbiosis, retinopathy and neuropathy, suggesting indirect benefits for the prevention of dementia. Conclusion Berberine could impede the development of dementia via multiple mechanisms: preventing brain damages and enhancing cognition directly in the brain, and indirectly through alleviating risk factors such as metabolic dysfunction, and cardiovascular, kidney and liver diseases. This study provided evidence to support the value of berberine in the prevention of dementia associated with MetS

Rocket investigation of the auroral green line

Dissociative excitation and recombination reactions of atomic oxygen by auroral electrons, related to auroral green lin

Ion composition and ion chemistry in an aurora

Auroral ion distribution and conversion of oxygen protons to nitric oxide proton

Aspects of Feeding, Burrowing, and Distribution of Haploscoloplos elongatus (Polychaeta: Orbiniidae) at Bodega Harbor, California

Haploscoloplos elongatus in Bodega Harbor has an aggregated dispersion ,pattern correlated with sediments of relatively large grain size (0.149-0.42 mm). The association between algal cover and the presence of worms is riot significant. The worm's soft, lobate proboscis is adequate for direct-deposit feeding and is not involved in burrowing. The prostomium is essential in formation of the penetration anchor and is used for enlargement of the burrow. Movement through the substratum is by retrograde waves by which the worm may move forward or backward

Reconceptualising academic development as community development: lessons from working with Syrian academics in exile

This paper focuses on academic development for Syrian academics in exile. Academic development first emerged in resource-rich, global North environments including the UK, the USA, Australia, and Scandinavia nearly 50 years ago as reported by Gosling (International Journal for Academic Development, 14(1):5–18, 2009), and the majority of research studies in this field focus on activities in global North, resource-rich, institutional settings. Yet academics in resource-poor, [post-] conflict and post-colonial contexts face different challenges and circumstances, and have different academic development needs. This paper extends the conceptual and contextual scope of this field by investigating the experiences and academic development needs of Syrian academics in exile, and interrogating the concept of academic development within that context. It establishes the background context of Syrian academia in exile, before summarising the nature and aims of the Council for At Risk Academics (Cara) Syria Programme. It then outlines the study’s methodology, before presenting the findings of a thematic analysis of a multi-level data set. It then interrogates the concept and normative terrain of academic development in light of these findings, and proposes a model for academic community development to support academic communities in exile, and marginalised academic communities more widely

Building solidarity through comparative lived experiences of post-conflict: Reflections on two days of dialogue

Occasions for in-depth dialogue among academics in times of conflict are rare. Drawing upon such a dialogue between Syrian academics and international counterparts from contexts undergoing conflict or grappling with post-conflict legacies, we identity seven dominant themes that emerged from these discussions and reflect on participants’ strategic insights and mutual support, in addition to highlighting the consciousness that was raised around the agency, limitations, complicity and intergenerational legacies borne by academics and the academy in crisis contexts

Excitation of the auroral green line by dissociative recombination of O plus over 2 - Analysis of two rocket experiments

Excitation of auroral green line by dissociative recombination of oxygen ion