Magnetoresistance in Thin Permalloy Film (10nm-thick and 30-200nm-wide) Nanocontacts Fabricated by e-Beam Lithography

In this paper we show spin dependent transport experiments in nanoconstrictions ranging from 30 to 200nm. These nanoconstrictions were fabricated combining electron beam lithography and thin film deposition techniques. Two types of geometries have been fabricated and investigated. We compare the experimental results with the theoretical estimation of the electrical resistance. Finally we show that the magnetoresistance for the different geometries does not scale with the resistance of the structure and obtain drops in voltage of 20mV at 20Oe.Comment: 15 pages, 4 figures. Accepted by AP

The role of anti-aquaporin 4 antibody in the conversion of acute brainstem syndrome to neuromyelitis optica

Background: Acute brainstem syndrome (ABS) may herald multiple sclerosis (MS), neuromyelitis optica (NMO), or occur as an isolated syndrome. The aquaporin 4 (AQP4)-specific serum autoantibody, NMO-IgG, is a biomarker for NMO. However, the role of anti-AQP4 antibody in the conversion of ABS to NMO is unclear.Methods: Thirty-one patients with first-event ABS were divided into two groups according to the presence of anti-AQP4 antibodies, their clinical features and outcomes were retrospectively analyzed.Results: Fourteen of 31 patients (45.16 %) were seropositive for NMO-IgG. The 71.43 % of anti-AQP4 (+) ABS patients converted to NMO, while only 11.76 % of anti-AQP4 (-) ABS patients progressed to NMO. Anti-AQP4 (+) ABS patients demonstrated a higher IgG index (0.68 ± 0.43 vs 0.42 ± 0.13, p

Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography Reveals Distinct Retinal Structural and Microvascular Abnormalities in Cerebrovascular Disease.

Cerebrovascular disease (CeVD) is one of the leading global causes of death and severe disability. To date, retinal microangiopathy has become a reflection of cerebral microangiopathy, mirroring the vascular pathological modifications in vivo. To evaluate the retinal structure and microvasculature in patients with CeVD, we conducted a cross-sectional study in Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center and Department of Neurology of Third Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University using optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA). CeVD patients (n = 121; 238 eyes) and healthy controls (n = 44; 57 eyes) were included in the analysis. The CeVD group showed significant thinning of the peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (pRNFL) thickness in the temporal and nasal quadrants, and thinning of the macular ganglion cell-inner plexiform layer (GC-IPL) in the inferior quadrant, while macular microvasculature reduction was prominent in all nine quadrants. There were significant correlations between OCTA parameters, visual acuity, and transcranial doppler parameters in the CeVD group. The specific structural parameters combining microvasculature indices showed the best diagnostic accuracies (AUC = 0.918) to discriminate CeVD group from healthy controls. To conclude, we proved that OCTA reveals specific patterns of retinal structural changes and extensive macular microvascular changes in CeVD. Additionally, these retinal abnormalities could prove useful disease biomarkers in the management of individuals at high risk of debilitating complications from a cerebrovascular event

A 3-Year Longitudinal Study of Effects of Parental Feeding Practices on Child Weight Status: The Childhood Obesity Study in China Mega-Cities

This study examined the longitudinal associations between parental feeding practices and child weight status, and their potential modification effects by child sex, age, and maternal and paternal educations among children. Data were collected from 2015 to 2017 of 2139 children aged 6–17 years and their parents in five Chinese mega-cities. Parental feeding practices were assessed using 11-items from Child Feeding Questionnaire. Waist-to-height ratio (WHtR), body mass index (BMI), and general and central obesity were measured and analyzed using a mixed-effects model. Three parental feeding patterns were identified by factor analysis including “concern”, “pressure to eat”, and “control”. Concern was associated with higher BMI z-score, WHtR (βs ranged from 0.01 to 0.16), and general obesity (ORs ranged from 1.29 to 6.41) among children aged ≤12 years and >12 years, regardless of child sex and parental educations. Pressure to eat was associated with lower BMI z-score (β = −0.08, p < 0.001), WHtR (β = −0.004, p < 0.01), and general (OR = 0.53, 95% CI = 0.42, 0.66) and central obesity (OR = 0.72, 95% CI = 0.58, 0.90) among children aged ≤12 years. Further analyses showed that significant associations were found for children with maternal or paternal education of college and above. Control was associated with increased risk of general and central obesity among children with maternal education of college and above, regardless of age. Our study indicates that higher concern and lower pressure to eat were associated with increased risk of obesity among children. Control was associated with increased risk of obesity among children with maternal education of college and above. Future childhood obesity preventions may optimize parental feeding practices.This work was supported by China Medical Board (grant number: 16-262), National Institutes of Health (grant number: U54 HD070725), United Nations Children’s Fund (grant number: UNICEF 2018-Nutrition-2.1.2.3), the Chinese National Key Research and Development Program (grant number: 2017YFC0907200 and 2017YFC0907201), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (8210120946), Natural Science Basic Research Program of Shaanxi (2020JQ-094), China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2019M653669), Young Talent Fund of Association for Science and Technology in Shaanxi, China (20220301)

The role of anti-aquaporin 4 antibody in the conversion of acute brainstem syndrome to neuromyelitis optica

Background: Acute brainstem syndrome (ABS) may herald multiple sclerosis (MS), neuromyelitis optica (NMO), or occur as an isolated syndrome. The aquaporin 4 (AQP4)-specific serum autoantibody, NMO-IgG, is a biomarker for NMO. However, the role of anti-AQP4 antibody in the conversion of ABS to NMO is unclear. Methods: Thirty-one patients with first-event ABS were divided into two groups according to the presence of anti-AQP4 antibodies, their clinical features and outcomes were retrospectively analyzed. Results: Fourteen of 31 patients (45.16 %) were seropositive for NMO-IgG. The 71.43 % of anti-AQP4 (+) ABS patients converted to NMO, while only 11.76 % of anti-AQP4 (-) ABS patients progressed to NMO. Anti-AQP4 (+) ABS patients demonstrated a higher IgG index (0.68 ± 0.43 vs 0.42 ± 0.13, p < 0.01) and Kurtzke Expanded Disability Status Scale (4.64 ± 0.93 vs 2.56 ± 0.81, p < 0.01) than anti-AQP4 (-) ABS patients. Area postrema clinical brainstem symptoms occurred more frequently in anti-AQP4 (+) ABS patients than those in anti-AQP4 (-) ABS patients (71.43 % vs 17.65 %, p = 0.004). In examination of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), the 78.57 % of anti-AQP4 (+) ABS patients had medulla-predominant involvements in the sagittal view and dorsal-predominant involvements in the axial view. Conclusions: ABS represents an inaugural or limited form of NMO in a high proportion of anti-AQP4 (+) patients

Novel Quinazolinone MJ-29 Triggers Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress and Intrinsic Apoptosis in Murine Leukemia WEHI-3 Cells and Inhibits Leukemic Mice

The present study was to explore the biological responses of the newly compound, MJ-29 in murine myelomonocytic leukemia WEHI-3 cells in vitro and in vivo fates. We focused on the in vitro effects of MJ-29 on ER stress and mitochondria-dependent apoptotic death in WEHI-3 cells, and to hypothesize that MJ-29 might fully impair the orthotopic leukemic mice. Our results indicated that a concentration-dependent decrease of cell viability was shown in MJ-29-treated cells. DNA content was examined utilizing flow cytometry, whereas apoptotic populations were determined using annexin V/PI, DAPI staining and TUNEL assay. Increasing vital factors of mitochondrial dysfunction by MJ-29 were further investigated. Thus, MJ-29-provaked apoptosis of WEHI-3 cells is mediated through the intrinsic pathway. Importantly, intracellular Ca2+ release and ER stress-associated signaling also contributed to MJ-29-triggered cell apoptosis. We found that MJ-29 stimulated the protein levels of calpain 1, CHOP and p-eIF2α pathways in WEHI-3 cells. In in vivo experiments, intraperitoneal administration of MJ-29 significantly improved the total survival rate, enhanced body weight and attenuated enlarged spleen and liver tissues in leukemic mice. The infiltration of immature myeloblastic cells into splenic red pulp was reduced in MJ-29-treated leukemic mice. Moreover, MJ-29 increased the differentiations of T and B cells but decreased that of macrophages and monocytes. Additionally, MJ-29-stimulated immune responses might be involved in anti-leukemic activity in vivo. Based on these observations, MJ-29 suppresses WEHI-3 cells in vitro and in vivo, and it is proposed that this potent and selective agent could be a new chemotherapeutic candidate for anti-leukemia in the future