Broadband Bioimpedance Spectroscopy Based on a Multifrequency Mixed Excitation and Nuttall Windowed FFT Algorithm

Bioimpedance spectroscopy (BIS) has become an important clinical indicator for monitoring the pathological status of biological tissues, and multifrequency simultaneous measurement of BIS may provide more accurate diagnostic information compared with the traditional frequency-sweep measurement technology. This paper proposes a BIS multifrequency simultaneous measurement method based on multifrequency mixed (MFM) signal excitation and a Nuttall windowed interpolation FFT algorithm. Firstly, the excitation source adopts the nine-frequency MFM signal f(9,t), which has excellent spectral characteristic and is very suitable for BIS measurement. On this basis, a Nuttall window is adopted to truncate sample data, and an interpolation FFT algorithm based on Nuttall window is built to perform spectral analysis, in which the parameter correction formula is provided based on polynomial approximation. A BIS measurement simulation experiment is performed on an RC three-element equivalent circuit, and results on the 9 primary harmonic frequencies ranging from 3.9 kHz to 1 MHz show a high accuracy with the impedance amplitude relative error |Ez|<0.3%, and the phase absolute error |Ep|<0.1°. This paper validates the feasibility of BIS multifrequency simultaneous measurement method and establishes an algorithm foundation for the development of practical broadband BIS measurement system

CSF1R Regulates Schizophrenia-Related Stress Response and Vascular Association of Microglia/Macrophages

BACKGROUND: Microglia are known to regulate stress and anxiety in both humans and animal models. Psychosocial stress is the most common risk factor for the development of schizophrenia. However, how microglia/brain macrophages contribute to schizophrenia is not well established. We hypothesized that effector molecules expressed in microglia/macrophages were involved in schizophrenia via regulating stress susceptibility. METHODS: We recruited a cohort of first episode schizophrenia (FES) patients (n = 51) and age- and sex-paired healthy controls (HCs) (n = 46) with evaluated stress perception. We performed blood RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) and brain magnetic resonance imaging, and measured plasma level of colony stimulating factor 1 receptor (CSF1R). Furthermore, we studied a mouse model of chronic unpredictable stress (CUS) combined with a CSF1R inhibitor (CSF1Ri) (n = 9 ~ 10/group) on anxiety behaviours and microglial biology. RESULTS: FES patients showed higher scores of perceived stress scale (PSS, p \u3c 0.05), lower blood CSF1R mRNA (FDR = 0.003) and protein (p \u3c 0.05) levels, and smaller volumes of the superior frontal gyrus and parahippocampal gyrus (both FDR \u3c 0.05) than HCs. In blood RNA-seq, CSF1R-associated differentially expressed blood genes were related to brain development. Importantly, CSF1R facilitated a negative association of the superior frontal gyrus with PSS (p \u3c 0.01) in HCs but not FES patients. In mouse CUS+CSF1Ri model, similarly as CUS, CSF1Ri enhanced anxiety (both p \u3c 0.001). Genes for brain angiogenesis and intensity of CD31 CONCLUSION: Microglial/macrophagic CSF1R regulated schizophrenia-associated stress and brain angiogenesis

Exosomal circEZH2_005, an intestinal injury biomarker, alleviates intestinal ischemia/reperfusion injury by mediating Gprc5a signaling

Abstract Intestinal ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury is a severe clinical condition without optimal diagnostic markers nor clear molecular etiological insights. Plasma exosomal circular RNAs (circRNAs) are valuable biomarkers and therapeutic targets for various diseases, but their role in intestinal I/R injury remains unknown. Here we screen the expression profile of circRNAs in intestinal tissue exosomes collected from intestinal I/R mice and identify circEZH2_005 as a significantly downregulated exosomal circRNA. In parallel, circEZH2_005 is also reduced in the plasma of clinical cardiac surgery patients who developed postoperative intestinal I/R injury. Exosomal circEZH2_005 displays a significant diagnostic value for intestinal injury induced by I/R. Mechanistically, circEZH2_005 is highly expressed in intestinal crypt cells. CircEZH2_005 upregulation promotes the proliferation of Lgr5+ stem cells by direct interaction with hnRNPA1, and enhanced Gprc5a stability, thereby alleviating I/R-induced intestinal mucosal damage. Hence, exosomal circEZH2_005 may serve as a biomarker for intestinal I/R injury and targeting the circEZH2_005/hnRNPA1/Gprc5a axis may be a potential therapeutic strategy for intestinal I/R injury

Fluorescent/Colorimetric Dual-Mode Discriminating Gln and Val Enantiomers Based on Carbon Dots

Discrimination and quantification of amino acid (AA) enantiomers are particularly important for diagnosing and treating diseases. Recently, dual-mode probes have gained a lot of research interest because they can catch more detecting information compared with the single-mode probes. Thus, it is of great significance to develop a dual-mode sensor realizing AA enantiomer discrimination conveniently and efficiently. In this work, carbon dot L-TCDs were prepared by N-methyl-1,2-benzenediamine dihydrochloride (OTD) and l-tryptophan. With the assistance of H2O2, L-TCDs show an excellent discrimination performance for enantiomers of glutamine (Gln) and valine (Val) in both fluorescent and colorimetric modes. The fluorescence enantioselectivity of Gln (FD/FL) and Val (FL/FD) is 5.29 and 4.13, respectively, and the colorimetric enantioselectivity of Gln (ID/IL) and Val (IL/ID) is 13.26 and 3.42, individually. The chiral recognition mechanism of L-TCDs was systematically studied. L-TCDs can be etched by H2O2, and the participation of AA enantiomers results in different amounts of the released OTD, which provides fluorescent and colorimetric signals for identifying and quantifying the enantiomers of Gln and Val. This work provides a more convenient and flexible dual-mode sensing strategy for discriminating AA enantiomers, which is expected to be of great value in facile and high-throughput chiral recognition

Human Olfactory Bulb Neural Stem Cells Expressing hNGF Restore Cognitive Deficit in Alzheimer's Disease Rat Model

In this study, we aim to demonstrate the fate of allogenic adult human olfactory bulb neural stem/progenitor cells (OBNSC/NPCs) transplanted into the rat hippocampus treated with ibotenic acid (IBO), a neurotoxicant specific to hippocampal cholinergic neurons that are lost in Alzheimer’s disease. We assessed their possible ability to survive, integrate, proliferate, and differentiate into different neuronal and glial elements: we also evaluate their possible therapeutic potential, and the mechanism(s) relevant to neuroprotection following their engraftment into the CNS milieu. OBNSC/NPCs were isolated from adult human olfactory bulb patients, genetically engineered to express GFP and human nerve growth factor (hNGF) by lentivirus-mediated infection, and stereotaxically transplanted into the hippocampus of IBO-treated animals and controls. Stereological analysis of engrafted OBNSCs eight weeks post transplantation revealed a 1.89 fold increase with respect to the initial cell population, indicating a marked ability for survival and proliferation. In addition, 54.71 11.38%, 30.18 6.00%, and 15.09 5.38% of engrafted OBNSCs were identified by morphological criteria suggestive of mature neurons, oligodendrocytes and astrocytes respectively. Taken together, this work demonstrated that human OBNSCs expressing NGF ameliorate the cognitive deficiencies associated with IBO-induced lesions in AD model rats, and the improvement can probably be attributed primarily to neuronal and glial cell replacement as well as the trophic influence exerted by the secreted NGF.STDF, Egypt and ATENA Onlus (Italy