Scutellarin regulates microglia-mediated TNC1 astrocytic reaction and astrogliosis in cerebral ischemia in the adult rats

Additional file 1: (A). Scutellarin at 0.54 mM did not elicit a noticeable reaction of GFAP/iNOS in TNC1. (B). iNOS mRNA expression in TNC1 astrocytes remained relatively unchanged at all time-points following treatment with BM, BM + L and CM; however, when incubated with CM + L for various time points, TNC1 showed a remarkable increase in iNOS peaking at 24 h. (C). Confocal images showing iNOS (C1-3) expression in TNC1 astrocytes incubated with different medium for 24 h. Compared with cells incubated in BM (C1) and BM + L (C2), TNC1 astrocytes incubated with CM + L (C3) were hypertrophic and showed a marked increase in iNOS immunofluorescence. Scale bars: 20 μm. DAPI—blue

Optimizing glycerosome formulations via an orthogonal experimental design to enhance transdermal triptolide delivery

Triptolide exerts strong anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory effects; however, its oral administration might be associated with side effects. Transdermal administration can improve the safety of triptolide. In this study, glycerosomes were prepared as the transdermal vehicle to enhance the transdermal delivery of triptolide. With entrapment efficiency and drug loading as dependent variables, the glycerosome formulation was optimized using an orthogonal experimental design. Phospholipid-to-cholesterol and phospholipid-to-triptolide mass ratios of 30:1 and 5:1, respectively and a glycerol concentration of 20 % (v/v) were used in the optimization. The glycerosomes prepared with the optimized formulation showed good stability, with an average particle size of 153.10 ± 2.69 nm, a zeta potential of –45.73 ± 0.60 mV and an entrapment greater than 75 %. Glycerosomes significantly increased the transdermal delivery of triptolide compared to conventional liposomes. As efficient carriers for the transdermal delivery of drugs, glycerosomes can potentially be used as an alternative to oral triptolide administration

Expression of 2′,3′-cyclic nucleotide 3′-phosphodiesterase (CNPase) and its roles in activated microglia in vivo and in vitro

BACKGROUND: We reported previously that amoeboid microglial cells in the postnatal rat brain expressed 2′,3′-cyclic nucleotide 3′-phosphodiesterase (CNPase) both in vivo and in vitro; however, the functional role of CNPase in microglia has remained uncertain. This study extended the investigation to determine CNPase expression in activated microglia derived from cell culture and animal models of brain injury with the objective to clarify its putative functions. METHODS: Three-day-old Wistar rats were given an intraperitoneal injection of lipopolysaccharide to induce microglial activation, and the rats were killed at different time points. Along with this, primary cultured microglial cells were subjected to lipopolysaccharide treatment, and expression of CNPase was analyzed by real-time reverse transcription PCR and immunofluorescence. Additionally, siRNA transfection was employed to downregulate CNPase in BV-2 cells. Following this, inducible nitric oxide synthase, IL-1β and TNF-α were determined at mRNA and protein levels. Reactive oxygen species and nitric oxide were also assessed by flow cytometry and colorimetric assay, respectively. In parallel to this, CNPase expression in activated microglia was also investigated in adult rats subjected to fluid percussion injury as well as middle cerebral artery occlusion. RESULTS: In vivo, CNPase immunofluorescence in activated microglia was markedly enhanced after lipopolysaccharide treatment. A similar feature was observed in the rat brain after fluid percussion injury and middle cerebral artery occlusion. In vitro, CNPase protein and mRNA expression was increased in primary microglia with lipopolysaccharide stimulation. Remarkably, inducible nitric oxide synthase, IL-1β, TNF-α, reactive oxygen species and nitric oxide were significantly upregulated in activated BV-2 cells with CNPase knockdown. siRNA knockdown of CNPase increased microglia migration; on the other hand, microglial cells appeared to be arrested at G1 phase. CONCLUSIONS: The present results have provided the first morphological and molecular evidence that CNPase expression is increased in activated microglia. CNPase knockdown resulted in increased expression of various inflammatory mediators. It is concluded that CNPase may play an important role as a putative anti-inflammatory gene both in normal and injured brain. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12974-014-0148-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

Reconstruction of LDPC code sparse check matrix based on modified LBP decoding

In order to reconstruct the sparse check matrix of LDPC code, a sparse check matrix reconstruction algorithm for LDPC code at high BER was proposed based on modified LBP decoding. Firstly, some bits were selected randomly from the codeword matrix to construct the codeword analysis matrix, and Gaussian elimination on it was performed to find the dual space. Secondly, by determining whether the pairwise space vectors were sparse or not, it improved the efficiency of the subsequent suspected check vectors determination. Finally, in the case of insufficient received codes, the known check vectors were combined with the modified LBP decoding method to correct the wrong codes, so as to speed up the reconstruction of the sparse check matrix of LDPC code and improve the reconstruction performance. The simulation results show that the reconstruction rate of sparse check matrix of (648,324) LDPC codes in IEEE 802.11n protocol is improved by 52.16% compared with the existing algorithms, and can reach 92.28% at high BER of 0.004 5

Morning vs. evening: the role of exercise timing in enhancing fat oxidation in young men

ObjectiveThis study aimed to investigate the acute effects of exercise timing (morning vs. evening) on fat oxidation and energy expenditure in young men, with a focus on interactions between exercise and meal timing.MethodsEighteen male college students (23.47 ± 2.11 years) completed a randomized crossover trial under five conditions: sedentary control (SC), exercise before breakfast (EBB), exercise after breakfast (EAB), exercise before dinner (EBD), and exercise after dinner (EAD). Indirect calorimetry (COSMED K5) measured substrate utilization during exercise, post-exercise recovery (0–4 h), and the following morning. Total exercise volume (running distance) was standardized, and energy expenditure was normalized to body weight (kcal/kg).ResultsDuring the sedentary control test, participants showed similar trends in total energy expenditure. Dring exercise, the EBB group demonstrated significantly higher fat expenditure compared to EAB (P < 0.05), EBD (P < 0.01), and EAD (P < 0.01). Morning exercise overall exhibited superior fat oxidation (P < 0.01). Post-exercise (0–4 h), EBB sustained elevated fat utilization (P < 0.01 vs. EBD/EAD), while EAD showed enhanced fat oxidation the following morning (P < 0.01 vs. EAB).ConclusionThe findings suggest that exercise timing may influence temporal patterns of fat oxidation, with morning fasting potentially favoring acute lipid utilization, while evening exercise appears to correlate with delayed metabolic adjustments. Although total energy expenditure remained comparable across conditions, the observed shifts in substrate allocation imply a possible circadian-sensitive modulation of energy partitioning. These preliminary observations underscore the need for further investigation to clarify the long-term physiological relevance of such timing-dependent metabolic responses

From Algorithm to Hardware: A Survey on Efficient and Safe Deployment of Deep Neural Networks

Deep neural networks (DNNs) have been widely used in many artificial intelligence (AI) tasks. However, deploying them brings significant challenges due to the huge cost of memory, energy, and computation. To address these challenges, researchers have developed various model compression techniques such as model quantization and model pruning. Recently, there has been a surge in research of compression methods to achieve model efficiency while retaining the performance. Furthermore, more and more works focus on customizing the DNN hardware accelerators to better leverage the model compression techniques. In addition to efficiency, preserving security and privacy is critical for deploying DNNs. However, the vast and diverse body of related works can be overwhelming. This inspires us to conduct a comprehensive survey on recent research toward the goal of high-performance, cost-efficient, and safe deployment of DNNs. Our survey first covers the mainstream model compression techniques such as model quantization, model pruning, knowledge distillation, and optimizations of non-linear operations. We then introduce recent advances in designing hardware accelerators that can adapt to efficient model compression approaches. Additionally, we discuss how homomorphic encryption can be integrated to secure DNN deployment. Finally, we discuss several issues, such as hardware evaluation, generalization, and integration of various compression approaches. Overall, we aim to provide a big picture of efficient DNNs, from algorithm to hardware accelerators and security perspectives.Comment: This manuscript is the accepted version for TNNLS(IEEE Transactions on Neural Networks and Learning Systems

Current situation and related factors of occupational stress of employees of a petrochemical enterprise

BackgroundOccupational stress has become one of the main factors affecting people's physical and mental health, and there are many sources of occupational stress in petrochemical enterprises. ObjectiveTo evaluate the current situation of occupational stress and its related factors among employees in a petrochemical enterprise, and to provide a scientific basis for reduing the risk of occupational stress among employees in petrochemical enterprises. MethodsIn June 2022, a cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted in a petrochemical enterprise in Hainan, including a general information questionnaire for basic information, the Effort-Reward Imbalance (ERI) for occupational stress, and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) for sleep quality. Chi-square test was used to compare differences in positive occupational stress by demographic characteristics, occupational characteristics, behavior, and occupational disease hazards. Logistic regression was employed to evaluate factors associated with occupational stress. ResultsOf the 1129 questionnaire distributed, a total of 999 valid questionnaire were returned,with a valid recovery rate of 88.5%. The positive rate of occupational stress among employees in the petrochemical enterprise was 29.5%. There were statistically significant differences in the positive rate of occupational stress among the employees grouped by gender, age, marital status, body mass index (BMI), monthly income, length of service, smoking, weekly working hours, type of work, working mode, sleep quality, noise exposure, and high temperature exposure (P<0.05). In terms of positive occupational stress among subcategories: workers being male (vs. female), working ＞40 h per week (vs. ≤40 h per week), regular day shift (vs. shift work), smoking (vs. not smoking), with exposure to noise and heat (vs. without such exposure), and having poor sleep quality (vs. good sleep quality) reported higher positive occupational stress rates (P＜0.05). The results of pairwise comparison showed that the positive rate of occupational stress in divorced (50.0%) or married (32.0%) workers was higher than that in single (27.1%) workers, and higher in operation workers (30.6%) than in other types of work (20.5%) (P＜0.05). The trend chi-square results showed that the positive rate of occupational stress increased linearly with the increase of age, length of service, BMI, or monthly income (P＜0.05). The results of logistic regression analysis after adjustment showed that workers who worked ＞40 h a week had a higher risk of occupational stress than those who worked ≤40 h a week, and the OR (95%CI) was 1.909 (1.135, 3.211); the workers of other types of work had a lower risk of reporting occupational stress than operation workers, and the OR (95%CI) was 0.513 (0.272, 0.968); the workers with noise exposure had a higher risk of occupational stress than the workers without, and the OR (95%CI) was 2.457 (1.070, 5.642). ConclusionThe positive rate of occupational stress among employees in this petrochemical enterprise is high. Among them, operators, working hours per week＞40 h, and noise exposure may increase the incidence of occupational stress. The enterprise should actively take measures to reduce the occurrence of occupational stress among employees

Effect of low-concentration benzene, toluene, and xylene exposure on blood pressure of workers in a petroleum refining enterprise

BackgroundWorkers engaged in benzene-exposed or benzene-containing solvent-exposed operations in China are predominantly subjected to a low concentration of benzene series compounds, and prolonged exposure to low concentrations of benzene, toluene, and xylene (BTX) may have implications for blood pressure. ObjectiveTo investigate the influence of low-concentration BTX exposure on the blood pressure of workers, aiming to provide a basis for enterprises to devise associated health management strategies to mitigate the occurrence of hypertension among workers exposed to low concentrations of BTX. MethodsUsing a cross-sectional design, 884 workers from a petroleum refining enterprise in Hainan who participated in an occupational health examination in 2022 were selected as the study population, and were divided into an exposure group of 649 workers and a control group of 235 workers based on their reporting of BTX exposure or not. Data on workplace BTX concentrations and health examinations of the study subjects were collected and questionnaires were administered. In addition, S-phenylmercapturic acid (S-PMA), hippuric acid (HA), and methyl hippuric acid (MHA, including the three isomers 2-MHA, 3-MHA, and 4-MHA) were measured in the urine of the workers using high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem triple quadrupole mass spectrometry to assess internal BTX burden. The effects of low-concentration BTX exposure on blood pressure were analyzed. ResultsIn 2022, the concentrations of benzene, toluene, and xylene of all monitoring points did not exceeded the national limits by either time-weighted average (TWA) or short-term exposure limit (STEL), indicating low-concentration BTX exposure. Regarding the internal burden of BTX, the concentrations of benzene metabolite S-PMA, toluene metabolite HA, and xylene metabolites 3-MHA and 4-MHA in the urine samples in the exposure group were higher than those in the control group (P 35 years, male, overweight and obese workers was significantly higher than that of age ≤ 35 years, female, and underweight workers, and the diastolic blood pressure of age > 35 years, work years > 5 years, and obese workers was higher than age ≤35 years, ≤5 years of service, and underweight workers. Low-concentration BTX exposure was one of the main influencing factors for elevated diastolic blood pressure, and the exposed workers showed a 1.337 mmHg increase in diastolic blood pressure compared to the control group (P 5 years, and obesity may elevate blood pressure among petroleum refininig workers. Regular blood pressure monitoring and enhanced health interventions for this occupational group are warranted