~ AIM： To study the effects of curcumin on the secretion of interleukin （IL） -6 and IL-8 by corneal limbus epithelial cells. METHODS： Human corneal Iimbus epithelial cells were isolated and cultured from donor ey...~ AIM： To study the effects of curcumin on the secretion of interleukin （IL） -6 and IL-8 by corneal limbus epithelial cells. METHODS： Human corneal Iimbus epithelial cells were isolated and cultured from donor eyes and irradiated by UVB at different dosages with or without curcumin. MTT test was used for studying the effects of UVB and curcumin on the cell viability. The role of mitogen-activated protein kinase （MAPK） and nuclear factor-kappa B （NF-KB） pathways on the UVB-induced secretion of IL.6 and IL-8 were tested by addition of their inhibitors to the culture with or without UVB-radiation. Levels of various signal pathways, IL-6 and IL-8 in the cells and in the conditioned culture medium were measured by ELISA analysis. RESULTS： UVB at 20 mJ/cm2 or less and curcumin at 20 IJmol/L or less did not affect the cell viability of culturedlimbus epithelial cells （P〉0.05）. UVB irradiation at 10 and 20 mJ/cm2 induced a significant increase of secretion of IL-6 and IL-8 and upregulated NF-KB and phosphorylated MAPK pathways of cultured limbus epithelial cells （P〈0.05）. Various signal pathway inhibitors, including SP600125 （JNK inhibitor）, SB203580 （p38 MAPK inhibitor） and BAY11-7082 （NF-KB inhibitor） significantly decreased the UVB-induced secretion of IL-6 and IL-8 secretion （P〈0.05）. Curcumin at 5-20 pmol/L significantly inhibited UVB- induced secretion of IL-6 and IL-8 by limbus epithelial cells in a dose-dependent manner; while curcumin alone did not affect the secretion of IL-6 and IL-8. The upregulation of NF-KB and MAPK pathways induced by UVB treatment was significantly inhibited by curcumin, suggesting that NF-KB and MAPK pathways are involved in the inhibitory effect of curcumin on UVB-induced production of IL-6 and IL-8.展开更多
动脉型肺动脉高压(pulmonary arterial hypertension,PAH)是以肺血管病理性重塑和肺动脉压升高为特征的进行性心肺疾病。骨形态发生蛋白受体2(bone morphogenetic protein receptor type 2,BMPR2)信号通路功能异常是驱动PAH发生发展的...动脉型肺动脉高压(pulmonary arterial hypertension,PAH)是以肺血管病理性重塑和肺动脉压升高为特征的进行性心肺疾病。骨形态发生蛋白受体2(bone morphogenetic protein receptor type 2,BMPR2)信号通路功能异常是驱动PAH发生发展的关键分子机制。作为PAH的主要遗传易感因素,约70%的遗传性PAH(heritable PAH,HPAH)和20%的特发性PAH(idiopathic PAH,IPAH)患者携带BMPR2突变。传统观点认为BMPR2通过Smad依赖的经典信号通路调控血管稳态,但近年研究显示其非经典信号通路(如TAK1-MAPK、PI3K-AKT、RhoAROCK等)的异常激活也是驱动PAH进展的关键因素。本文阐述BMPR2非经典信号通路的分子机制及其在PAH中的作用,并介绍靶向这些通路的治疗潜力。展开更多
Long COVID is characterized by a group of persistent symptoms following the acute SARS-COV2 infection, which presented a multifaceted challenge to the healthcare systems all over the globe. The long COVID symptoms spa...Long COVID is characterized by a group of persistent symptoms following the acute SARS-COV2 infection, which presented a multifaceted challenge to the healthcare systems all over the globe. The long COVID symptoms span various organ systems including the respiratory, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, and neurological manifestations. Mitochondrial dysfunction and immune dysregulation play crucial roles in the long COVID pathophysiology. Recently nutritional intervention gained much attention in managing post-viral syndromes. Effective interventions like supplementation of omega-3 fatty acid, macro and micro nutrients, and vitamins help to reduce systemic inflammation and counteract muscle wasting. Other approaches like nutritional recovery, dietetic interventions, continuous nutritional care post-hospital discharge, nutritional rehabilitation programs,whole-diet approaches like Mediterranean diet, plant-based diet, and caloric optimization, improve overall functional recovery. Physical activity and exercise regimes have been shown to improve fatigue, dyspnea, and cognitive function. Tailored exercise regimes may promote safe rehabilitation. Certain ineffective interventions,such as non-personalized approaches, high dose of antioxidants, use of herbal products that are not clinically validated need to be addressed. Dietary interventions such as personalized nutritional counseling have been demonstrated to improve physical performance in long COVID patients. Further research is needed to refine protocols and identify optimal combinations of dietary and movement-based therapies to support the recovery of long-COVID patients. This narrative review focuses on the ongoing researches that reveals the intricate relationship between nutrition and long COVID recovery and also establishes effective protocols for nutritional care.展开更多
Small datasets are often challenging due to their limited sample size.This research introduces a novel solution to these problems:average linkage virtual sample generation(ALVSG).ALVSG leverages the underlying data st...Small datasets are often challenging due to their limited sample size.This research introduces a novel solution to these problems:average linkage virtual sample generation(ALVSG).ALVSG leverages the underlying data structure to create virtual samples,which can be used to augment the original dataset.The ALVSG process consists of two steps.First,an average-linkage clustering technique is applied to the dataset to create a dendrogram.The dendrogram represents the hierarchical structure of the dataset,with each merging operation regarded as a linkage.Next,the linkages are combined into an average-based dataset,which serves as a new representation of the dataset.The second step in the ALVSG process involves generating virtual samples using the average-based dataset.The research project generates a set of 100 virtual samples by uniformly distributing them within the provided boundary.These virtual samples are then added to the original dataset,creating a more extensive dataset with improved generalization performance.The efficacy of the ALVSG approach is validated through resampling experiments and t-tests conducted on two small real-world datasets.The experiments are conducted on three forecasting models:the support vector machine for regression(SVR),the deep learning model(DL),and XGBoost.The results show that the ALVSG approach outperforms the baseline methods in terms of mean square error(MSE),root mean square error(RMSE),and mean absolute error(MAE).展开更多
More than 12,000 plant species(ca.10%of flowering plants)exude latex when their tissues are injured.Latex is produced and stored in specialized cells named“laticifers”.Laticifers form a tubing system composed of row...More than 12,000 plant species(ca.10%of flowering plants)exude latex when their tissues are injured.Latex is produced and stored in specialized cells named“laticifers”.Laticifers form a tubing system composed of rows of elongated cells that branch and create an internal network encompassing the entire plant.Laticifers constitute a recent evolutionary achievement in ecophysiological adaptation to specific natural environments;however,their fitness benefit to the plant still remains to be proven.The identification of Euphorbia lathyris mutants(pil mutants)deficient in laticifer cells or latex metabolism,and therefore compromised in latex production,allowed us to test the importance of laticifers in pest resistance.We provided genetic evidence indicating that laticifers represent a cellular adaptation for an essential defense strategy to fend off arthropod herbivores with different feeding habits,such as Spodoptera exigua and Tetranychus urticae.In marked contrast,we also discovered that a lack of laticifer cells causes complete resistance to the fungal pathogen Botrytis cinerea.Thereafter,a latex-derived factor required for conidia germination on the leaf surface was identified.This factor promoted disease susceptibility enhancement even in the non-latex-bearing plant Arabidopsis.We speculate on the role of laticifers in the coevolutionary arms race between plants and their enemies.展开更多
文摘~ AIM： To study the effects of curcumin on the secretion of interleukin （IL） -6 and IL-8 by corneal limbus epithelial cells. METHODS： Human corneal Iimbus epithelial cells were isolated and cultured from donor eyes and irradiated by UVB at different dosages with or without curcumin. MTT test was used for studying the effects of UVB and curcumin on the cell viability. The role of mitogen-activated protein kinase （MAPK） and nuclear factor-kappa B （NF-KB） pathways on the UVB-induced secretion of IL.6 and IL-8 were tested by addition of their inhibitors to the culture with or without UVB-radiation. Levels of various signal pathways, IL-6 and IL-8 in the cells and in the conditioned culture medium were measured by ELISA analysis. RESULTS： UVB at 20 mJ/cm2 or less and curcumin at 20 IJmol/L or less did not affect the cell viability of culturedlimbus epithelial cells （P〉0.05）. UVB irradiation at 10 and 20 mJ/cm2 induced a significant increase of secretion of IL-6 and IL-8 and upregulated NF-KB and phosphorylated MAPK pathways of cultured limbus epithelial cells （P〈0.05）. Various signal pathway inhibitors, including SP600125 （JNK inhibitor）, SB203580 （p38 MAPK inhibitor） and BAY11-7082 （NF-KB inhibitor） significantly decreased the UVB-induced secretion of IL-6 and IL-8 secretion （P〈0.05）. Curcumin at 5-20 pmol/L significantly inhibited UVB- induced secretion of IL-6 and IL-8 by limbus epithelial cells in a dose-dependent manner; while curcumin alone did not affect the secretion of IL-6 and IL-8. The upregulation of NF-KB and MAPK pathways induced by UVB treatment was significantly inhibited by curcumin, suggesting that NF-KB and MAPK pathways are involved in the inhibitory effect of curcumin on UVB-induced production of IL-6 and IL-8.
文摘动脉型肺动脉高压(pulmonary arterial hypertension,PAH)是以肺血管病理性重塑和肺动脉压升高为特征的进行性心肺疾病。骨形态发生蛋白受体2(bone morphogenetic protein receptor type 2,BMPR2)信号通路功能异常是驱动PAH发生发展的关键分子机制。作为PAH的主要遗传易感因素,约70%的遗传性PAH(heritable PAH,HPAH)和20%的特发性PAH(idiopathic PAH,IPAH)患者携带BMPR2突变。传统观点认为BMPR2通过Smad依赖的经典信号通路调控血管稳态,但近年研究显示其非经典信号通路(如TAK1-MAPK、PI3K-AKT、RhoAROCK等)的异常激活也是驱动PAH进展的关键因素。本文阐述BMPR2非经典信号通路的分子机制及其在PAH中的作用,并介绍靶向这些通路的治疗潜力。
基金Chung Shan Medical University, Taichung city, Taiwan China, for its support。
文摘Long COVID is characterized by a group of persistent symptoms following the acute SARS-COV2 infection, which presented a multifaceted challenge to the healthcare systems all over the globe. The long COVID symptoms span various organ systems including the respiratory, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, and neurological manifestations. Mitochondrial dysfunction and immune dysregulation play crucial roles in the long COVID pathophysiology. Recently nutritional intervention gained much attention in managing post-viral syndromes. Effective interventions like supplementation of omega-3 fatty acid, macro and micro nutrients, and vitamins help to reduce systemic inflammation and counteract muscle wasting. Other approaches like nutritional recovery, dietetic interventions, continuous nutritional care post-hospital discharge, nutritional rehabilitation programs,whole-diet approaches like Mediterranean diet, plant-based diet, and caloric optimization, improve overall functional recovery. Physical activity and exercise regimes have been shown to improve fatigue, dyspnea, and cognitive function. Tailored exercise regimes may promote safe rehabilitation. Certain ineffective interventions,such as non-personalized approaches, high dose of antioxidants, use of herbal products that are not clinically validated need to be addressed. Dietary interventions such as personalized nutritional counseling have been demonstrated to improve physical performance in long COVID patients. Further research is needed to refine protocols and identify optimal combinations of dietary and movement-based therapies to support the recovery of long-COVID patients. This narrative review focuses on the ongoing researches that reveals the intricate relationship between nutrition and long COVID recovery and also establishes effective protocols for nutritional care.
基金funding support from the National Science and Technology Council(NSTC),under Grant No.114-2410-H-011-026-MY3.
文摘Small datasets are often challenging due to their limited sample size.This research introduces a novel solution to these problems:average linkage virtual sample generation(ALVSG).ALVSG leverages the underlying data structure to create virtual samples,which can be used to augment the original dataset.The ALVSG process consists of two steps.First,an average-linkage clustering technique is applied to the dataset to create a dendrogram.The dendrogram represents the hierarchical structure of the dataset,with each merging operation regarded as a linkage.Next,the linkages are combined into an average-based dataset,which serves as a new representation of the dataset.The second step in the ALVSG process involves generating virtual samples using the average-based dataset.The research project generates a set of 100 virtual samples by uniformly distributing them within the provided boundary.These virtual samples are then added to the original dataset,creating a more extensive dataset with improved generalization performance.The efficacy of the ALVSG approach is validated through resampling experiments and t-tests conducted on two small real-world datasets.The experiments are conducted on three forecasting models:the support vector machine for regression(SVR),the deep learning model(DL),and XGBoost.The results show that the ALVSG approach outperforms the baseline methods in terms of mean square error(MSE),root mean square error(RMSE),and mean absolute error(MAE).
基金supported by a grant from the Agencia Estatal de Investigaciòn(AEI),Spain(RTI2018-098501-B-I00).
文摘More than 12,000 plant species(ca.10%of flowering plants)exude latex when their tissues are injured.Latex is produced and stored in specialized cells named“laticifers”.Laticifers form a tubing system composed of rows of elongated cells that branch and create an internal network encompassing the entire plant.Laticifers constitute a recent evolutionary achievement in ecophysiological adaptation to specific natural environments;however,their fitness benefit to the plant still remains to be proven.The identification of Euphorbia lathyris mutants(pil mutants)deficient in laticifer cells or latex metabolism,and therefore compromised in latex production,allowed us to test the importance of laticifers in pest resistance.We provided genetic evidence indicating that laticifers represent a cellular adaptation for an essential defense strategy to fend off arthropod herbivores with different feeding habits,such as Spodoptera exigua and Tetranychus urticae.In marked contrast,we also discovered that a lack of laticifer cells causes complete resistance to the fungal pathogen Botrytis cinerea.Thereafter,a latex-derived factor required for conidia germination on the leaf surface was identified.This factor promoted disease susceptibility enhancement even in the non-latex-bearing plant Arabidopsis.We speculate on the role of laticifers in the coevolutionary arms race between plants and their enemies.
