Objective To observe the effects of acupuncture on synaptic transmission signal molecules in rats with vascular dementia (VD), such as PKC, CaMKⅡ and NR2B, and discuss the molecular mechanism of acupuncture treatment for VD.Methods The multi-infarct dementia model was established by injection of emboli into the internal carotid artery. Experimental rats were randomly divided into normal group, model group, acupuncture group and non-acupoint group. For acupuncture group, acupuncture needles were penetrated into bilateral Zusanli. Non-acupoint group was given acupuncture treatment at the bilateral hypochondrium (10 mm above iliac crest). The rats in normal group and model group were performed to the same amount of capture stimulation as the acupuncture and non-acupoint groups. After treatment, the hippocampal PKC activity was detected by ELISA. Western blot was used to detect CaMKⅡ expression, and the protein expression of NR2B in CA1, CA3 and DG zones was assayed by immunohistochemical staining.Results Compared with normal group, PKC activity and NR2B expression in the hippocampus significantly decreased in the model group (P<0.01). After the acupuncture treatment, PKC activity increased significantly (P<0.05), and the protein expression of NR2B showed a trend to increase. There was no obvious difference in CaMKⅡ expression among all groups.Conclusion Acupuncture at Zusanli can enhance the activity of hippocampal PKC, a synaptic transmission signal molecule, which maybe one of the important molecular targets for the treatment of VD.

Linalool is an important monoterpene, and widely used in food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industry. The low concentration in plants and the difficulties in extraction restrict its large scale production. Saccharomyces cerevisiae can provide the monoterpene precursor, geranyl diphosphate (GPP) through its endogenous isoprenoid pathway. Therefore, it could be used as the host for monoterpene production. However, the weak metabolic flux through the isoprenoid pathway leads to the insufficient supply of GPP, and results in low monoterpene productivity. In order to increase the metabolic flux, we constructed the integrated expression plasmid pRS305-tHMG1 and free expression plasmid pYLIS-IDI1 to enhance the expression levels of isopentenyl diphosphate isomerase (IDI1) and a truncated 3-hydroxyl-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase gene (tHMG1). The two plasmids were separately transformed into S. cerevisiae CEN.PK2-1C, resulting in strains LS01 and LS02. The plasmid pYLIS-IDI1 was further transformed into strain LS01, resulting in strain LS03. GC-MS analysis showed that the linalool concentration was increased by 1.3 times and reached (127.71 +/- 7.68) microg/L. In conclusion, enhancement of the supply of GPP precursors through the regulation of isoprenoid pathway could increase the linalool production in S. cerevisiae.
Biosynthetic Pathways ; genetics ; Butadienes ; metabolism ; Hemiterpenes ; metabolism ; Monoterpenes ; metabolism ; Pentanes ; metabolism ; Saccharomyces cerevisiae ; genetics ; metabolism

Alpha-ketogluratate is one of the key intermediates in the TCA cycle, playing an important role in the connection of carbon and nitrogen metabolism. This article aims at stating recent research progress in the production of alpha-ketoglutarate by microbial fermentation. First, a large group of microbes have been screened to accumulate alpha-ketoglutarate including prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Second, physiological characterization of over-accumulation of alpha-ketoglutarate is caused by thiamine defect and nitrogen starvation. Third, the process of fermentation was controlled and optimized by the manipulation of pH, dissolved oxygen and cofactors. Fourth, many metabolic engineering strategies were also presented for alpha-ketoglutarate production focusing on regeneration of cofactor and manipulation of the pathway. Last, we discussed the limitation of current progress and proposed the future research needs for microbial production of alpha-ketoglutarate.
Bacteria ; growth & development ; metabolism ; Fermentation ; Fungi ; growth & development ; metabolism ; Industrial Microbiology ; methods ; Ketoglutaric Acids ; metabolism ; Metabolic Engineering ; Yarrowia ; growth & development ; metabolism

This study aimed to further enhance 2-keto-L-gulonic acid (2-KLG) production efficiency. A strategy for enhancing Ketogulonigenium vulgare growth and 2-KLG production by improving B. megaterium growth with sucrose was developed based on the time course of osmolality during 2-KLG industrial scale fermentation and effects of osmolality on cells growth and 2-KLG production. Results showed that the accumulation of 2-KLG and the feeding of alkaline matter led to an osmolality rise of 832 mOsmol/kg in the culture broth. High osmotic stress (1 250 mOsmol/kg) made the growth ofB. megaterium and K. vulgare decreased 15.4% and 31.7%, respectively, and consequently the titer and productivity of 2-KLG reduced 67.5% and 69.3%, respectively. When supplement sucrose under high osmotic condition (1 250 mOsmol/kg), B. megaterium growth was significantly improved, with the result that 2-KLG production was increased 87%. Furthermore, by applying this sucrose addition strategy further to batch fermentation in 3 L fermentor, the productivity of 2-KLG increased 10.4%, and the duration of fermentation declined 10.8%. The results presented here provide a potential strategy for enhancing the target metabolites produced by mixed strains at environmental stress.
Bacillus megaterium ; genetics ; growth & development ; metabolism ; Fermentation ; Industrial Microbiology ; Osmosis ; Rhodobacteraceae ; genetics ; growth & development ; metabolism ; Stress, Physiological ; Sucrose ; pharmacology ; Sugar Acids ; metabolism

The aim of this study was to improve the 2-keto-L-gulonic acid (2-KLG) production efficiency by Ketogulonicigenium vulgare and Bacillus megaterium by using multi-stage pH control strategy. The effect of pH on the cell growths and 2-KLG production showed that the optimum pH for K. vulgare and B. megaterium cell growth were 6.0 and 8.0, respectively, while the optimum pH for 2-KLG production was 7.0. Based on the above results, we developed a three-stage pH control strategy: the pH was kept at 8.0 during the first 8 h, then decreased to 6.0 for the following 12 h, and maintained at 7.0 to the end of fermentation. With this strategy, the titer, productivity of 2-KLG and L-sorbose consumption rate were achieved at 77.3 g/L, 1.38 g/(L x h) and 1.42 g/(L x h), respectively, which were 9.7%, 33.2% and 25.7% higher than the corresponding values of the single pH (pH 7.0) control model.
Bacillus megaterium ; growth & development ; metabolism ; Culture Media ; chemistry ; Fermentation ; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration ; Rhodobacteraceae ; growth & development ; metabolism ; Sorbose ; metabolism ; Sugar Acids ; metabolism

Objective To understand the variation of arsenic concentration in underground water at the endemic arsenic poison disease area of Jianghan Plain so as to better understand the spatial distribution of high arsenic groundwater,hydro-chemical evolution and source of arsenic in this region.Methods Thirty underground water samples were collected respectively around 3 km radius of the two houses where arsenic poisoning patients lived,in Xiantao and Honghu.Sediment cores of three drillings were collected as well.Both paired t-test or paired Wilcoxon Signed Ranking Test were used to compare the arsenic concentration of water.Results The arsenic concentration in 2011-2012 appeared lower than that in 2006-2007 at the Nanhong village of Xiantao (t=4.645 3,P＜0.000 1),but was higher(S=-150,P＜0.000 1) in the Yaohe village of Honghu.The pH value showed weak acidity with Eh as weak oxidated.Positive correlations were observed between arsenic concentration and C1,HCO3-,Fe,Mn.However,negative correlations were found between As and SO42-,NO3-.The range of arsenic content in the sediment was 1.500 mg/kg to 17.289 mg/kg.The maximum arsenic content existed in the soil layer,while the minimum arsenic content existed in the sand layer.Conclusion The concentration of arsenic varied widely with time and space at endemic arsenic poison disease area of Jianghan Plain.Characteristics of these water chemicals showed significant differences,when compared to the groundwater from Datong Basin,Shanxi Shanyin and Hetao Plain of Inner Mongolia,which presented a typical environment with high arsenic contents in the groundwater.The arsenic content in the sediment samples seemed related to the lithologic structure.

Objective:To explore the relationship of anxiety,perceived stress and forbearance in the college students.Methods:Totally 3 056 college students(1 102 males and 1 954 females)in Guangdong Province were re-cruited and assessed with the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item Scale(GAD-7 score of ≥10 indicates positive anxiety symptoms),Perceived Stress Scale(PSS-10),and Forbearance Scale(FS).SPSS Process model 2 was used to test the moderating effect of different types of forbearance.Results:Totally 486(15.9％)college students had anxiety.The PSS-10 scores were positively correlated with the GAD-7 scores(β=0.63),and FS scores of repres-sive forbearance and active forbearance played a moderating role between the PSS-10 scores and the GAD-7 scores respectively(β=0.05,-0.04).Conclusion:It suggests that anxiety and perceived stress are correlated with for-bearance in college students,and repressive forbearance and active forbearance may moderate the relationship be-tween perceived stress and anxiety.

Objective To construct and validate a clinical prediction model for delayed extubation undergoing non-emergency major surgery based on the random forest algorithm.Methods Clinical data of 7 528 patients undergoing non-emergency major surgery under general anesthesia from January 2018 to De-cember 2022 were retrospectively collected.The patients were divided into two groups according to whether extubation was performed within 2 hours after surgery:non-delayed extubation group(≤2 hours)and de-layed extubation group(＞2 hours).All the patients were randomly divided into a training set and a valida-tion set in a ratio of 7 ∶ 3.The predictive factors for delayed extubation after surgery were screened through LASSO regression and Logistic regression.The random forest model was established and verified by random forest algorithm.Results There were 123 patients(1.6%)experienced delayed extubation after surgery.ASA physical status,department,intraoperative use of flurbiprofen ester,dexmedetomidine,glucocorticoid,hypocalcemia,severe anemia,intraoperative blood transfusion,and airway spasm were identified as inde-pendent predictive factors for delayed extubation.The area under curve(AUC)value of the random forest prediction model in the validation set was0.751(95%CI0.742-0.778),and the sensitivity was98.1%,and the specificity was 41.9%.Conclusion The predictive model of delayed extubation undergoing non-e-mergency major surgery based on random forest algorithm has a good predictive value,which may be helpful to prevent delayed extubation undergoing non-emergency major surgery.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the psychometric properties and applicability of the 6-item University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) Loneliness Scale (ULS-6) in adults. METHODS: We conducted 2 surveys to assess the validity of different measurement scales and questionnaires. In Survey 1, a total of 1480 adults were measured using the UCLA Loneliness Scale (ULS), Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) and Perceived Social Support Scale (PSSS), and the data were used for item analysis and assessment of the reliability, validity and measurement invariance. In Survey 2, UCLA Loneliness Scale was used for measurement in 652 college students, and the data were used for analysis of the criterion validity of ULS-6; 3 weeks later, 300 of the students were retested using ULS-6 to assess the retest reliability of the scale. RESULTS: Item analysis suggested that the items in ULS-6 all had good discrimination power with discrimination indexes all above 0.775 (r=0.775-0.820, P < 0.001). Measuring only one dimension, ULS-6 had an internal consistency reliability of 0.891, a split-half reliability of 0.875, and a retest reliability of 0.726. The correlation coefficients of ULS-6 with ULS, ULS-8, PHQ-9 and PSSS were 0.882, 0.967, 0.528 and -0.532, respectively. The measurement invariances of ULS-6 across genders and age groups were all acceptable. Among the adult participants, the mean total score of ULS-6 was 12.97 ± 3.96; While only 20% of the adults had no loneliness, 80% of them exhibited varying degrees of loneliness, ranging from mild (39.6%) and moderate (25.7%) to intense (14.7%) feelings of loneliness. CONCLUSION The ULS-6 has good reliability, validity and applicability for measurement of loneliness in Chinese adults.
Adult ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Asian People ; Emotions ; Reproducibility of Results ; Students ; Loneliness

Objective To assess the safety and feasibility of video electroencephalographic (VEEG) monitoring in preterm infants and critically ill neonates in neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Method From December 2017 to June 2018, high risk infants were prospectively enrolled and received VEEG monitoring in our NICU. Their basic information, adverse events and disturbances of any procedure during VEEG monitoring were collected by specially-trained nurses. Result A total of 245 times of VEEG were recorded. The average gestational age (GA) was (32.1 ± 3.6) weeks, the birth weight (BW) was (1879 ± 757) g, the corrected GA (cGA) at VEEG monitoring was (33.8±3.3) weeks, and the average weight at VEEG monitoring was (2008±716) g. The earliest cGA at VEEG monitoring was 25+5 weeks, and the lowest weight at VEEG monitoring was 520 g. The average monitoring duration was (4.9±2.4) h, ranging from 3 to 20 hours. During VEEG monitoring, 80 cases (32.7％) received noninvasive ventilation, 43 cases (17.6％) mechanical ventilation. The adverse events during electrodes placement were oxygen desaturation in 8(3.3％) cases. During VEEG monitoring, local skin erythema were found in 4 cases (1.6％), and electrodes displacement in 2(0.8％) cases. The disturbances of any clinical procedures were reported in 18(7.3％) cases. No severe adverse events such as displacement of endotracheal tube nor events requiring cardiopulmonary resuscitation occurred during VEEG monitoring. Conclusion It is feasible and safe for trained NICU nurses to place electrodes for high risk neonates.