An Emotional Skills Intervention for Elementary Children with Autism in China: A Pilot Study

The purpose of this pilot study was to examine the effects of an emotional skills intervention on behavioral and emotional competence, as well as on communication for children with autism in China. Eight children (seven boys and one girl), aged 7 to 8, participated in this study. We used a pre and posttest group design. The intervention consisted of 10 group sessions and four individual sessions. Each group session had two or three children. The intervention curriculum consisted of emotion recognition, emotion recognition within context, self-expression of emotions, seeking help when encountering problems, and techniques for emotion regulation. Results indicated that the intervention significantly improved children’s emotional skills, behavioral and emotional competence, and communication. The potential implications of this study for elementary children with autism in China are also discussed

Inhibition of Proliferation of Esophageal Cancer Cells by Fucoidan Based on Nrf2/ROS Signaling Pathway

Objective: To explore the effect of fucoidan on esophageal cancer and analyze its mechanism. Methods: MTT assay was used to analyze the inhibition rate of cell proliferation, Hoechst33258 staining and flow cytometry were used to detect cell apoptosis, and DCFH-DA probe was used to detect ROS level, and Western blot was used to analyze levels of Nrf2, HO-1, NQO-1, Bcl-2, Bax and caspase-3, which were used to observe its effects on fucoidan-regulated cell proliferation and Nrf2/ROS signaling pathway. The tumor formation experiment in nude mice verified the effects of fucoidan on tumor weight, tumor volume and levels of Nrf2, HO-1 and NQO-1 in nude mice. Results: The proliferation of ECA109 cells was significantly inhibited by fucoidan from 1 to 16 µg/mL, and the IC50 was 3.26 µg/mL at 48 h. Compared with the control group (0.1%DMSO), ECA109 cells treated with 1, 2, and 4 µg/mL fucoidan showed obvious apoptotic characteristics, such as nuclear condensation, irregular chromatin contraction and apoptotic bodies, which (extremely) significantly promoted the apoptosis of ECA109 cells and significantly down-regulated the expression level of Bcl-2.The expression levels of Bax and Cleaved-caspase-3 were significantly increased, ROS levels were significantly increased, and Nrf2, HO-1, and NQO-1 protein levels were significantly decreased (P<0.05, P<0.01). Nrf2 overexpression could significantly down-regulate the inhibitory effect of fucoidan on ECA109 cell proliferation, significantly down-regulate ROS levels, and significantly up-regulate Nrf2, HO-1, NQO-1 protein levels (P<0.05). In vivo experiments showed that 50 mg/kg and 100 mg/kg of fucoidan significantly inhibited tumor volume and mass, and down-regulated the levels of Nrf2, HO-1 and NQO-1 in tumors (P<0.05). Conclusion: Fucoidan inhibits the proliferation of ECA109 cells and has significant anti-tumor effect on transplanted tumor in vivo, and its mechanism is related to the regulation of Nrf2/ROS signal pathway

Phosphomolybdic acid-responsive Pickering emulsions stabilized by ionic liquid functionalized Janus nanosheets

<p><b>A</b> Representative photomicrographs of Caspase-3 immunofluorescence staining (400×). <b>B</b> Quantification of Caspase-3 fluorescence intensity in different groups. <b>C</b> Representative Western blot band of Caspase-3 activation in the ischemic cortex at 24 h after reperfusion. <b>D</b> Effect of LBP (40 mg/kg) on the Caspase-3 activation in MCAO mice cortex at 24 h after reperfusion. Data are expressed as mean±SEM (n = 6). ^##P<0.01 vs. sham-operated group; **P<0.01 vs. vehicle group.</p

Comparison of genes involved in brain development: insights into the organization and evolution of the telencephalic pallium

Abstract The mechanisms underlying the organization and evolution of the telencephalic pallium are not yet clear.. To address this issue, we first performed comparative analysis of genes critical for the development of the pallium (Emx1/2 and Pax6) and subpallium (Dlx2 and Nkx1/2) among 500 vertebrate species. We found that these genes have no obvious variations in chromosomal duplication/loss, gene locus synteny or Darwinian selection. However, there is an additional fragment of approximately 20 amino acids in mammalian Emx1 and a poly-(Ala)6–7 in Emx2. Lentiviruses expressing mouse or chick Emx2 (m-Emx2 or c-Emx2 Lv) were injected into the ventricle of the chick telencephalon at embryonic Day 3 (E3), and the embryos were allowed to develop to E12–14 or to posthatchling. After transfection with m-Emx2 Lv, the cells expressing Reelin, Vimentin or GABA increased, and neurogenesis of calbindin cells changed towards the mammalian inside-out pattern in the dorsal pallium and mesopallium. In addition, a behavior test for posthatched chicks indicated that the passive avoidance ratio increased significantly. The study suggests that the acquisition of an additional fragment in mammalian Emx2 is associated with the organization and evolution of the mammalian pallium

Protective effect of LBP against cerebral ischemic injury in MCAO mice brains.

<p><b>A</b> TTC staining of representative coronal sections at 24<b>B</b> Quantitative analysis of infarct volumes at 24 h after reperfusion. <b>C</b> Quantification of neurologic scores at 24 h after reperfusion. Data are expressed as mean±SEM (n = 6). ^##P<0.01, vs. sham-operated group, * P<0.05, **P<0.01 vs. vehicle group.</p

LBP reduces the number of Tunel positive neurons after focal cerebral ischemic injury.

<p><b>A</b> TUNEL staining of representative sections in mice ischemic penumbra of the cortex at 24<b>B</b> Quantitative analysis of apoptosis cells in cortex in different groups at 24 h after reperfusion. Data are expressed as mean±SEM (n = 6). ^##P<0.01 vs. sham-operated group; *P<0.05, **P<0.01 vs. vehicle group.</p

Effect of LBP treatment on morphological changes in ischemic penumbra of the cortex at 24-eosin staining (400×).

<p>A Sham-operated group. B Vehicle group. C LBP 10 mg/kg group. D LBP 20mg/kg group. E LBP 40mg/kg group. F Nimodipine 0.4mg/kg group.</p