Effects of exercise interventions on negative emotions, cognitive performance and drug craving in methamphetamine addiction.

Introduction: Methamphetamine is currently one of the most commonly used addictive substances with strong addiction and a high relapse rate. This systematic review aims to examine the effectiveness of physical activity in improving negative emotions, cognitive impairment, and drug craving in people with methamphetamine use disorder (MUD). Methods: A total of 17 studies out of 133 found from Embase and PubMed were identified, reporting results from 1836 participants from MUD populations. Original research using clearly described physical activity as interventions and reporting quantifiable outcomes of negative mood, cognitive function and drug craving level in people with MUD were eligible for inclusion. We included prospective studies, randomized controlled trials, or intervention studies, focusing on the neurological effects of physical activity on MUD. Results: Taken together, the available clinical evidence showed that physical activity-based interventions may be effective in managing MUD-related withdrawal symptoms. Discussion: Physical exercise may improve drug rehabilitation efficiency by improving negative emotions, cognitive behaviors, and drug cravings. Systematic review registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/, identifier CRD42024530359.

Progress in the study of intestinal microbiota involved in morphine tolerance.

Morphine is a widely used opioid for treatment of pain. The attendant problems including morphine tolerance and morphine dependence pose a major public health challenge. In recent years, there has been increasing interest in the gastrointestinal microbiota in many physiological and pathophysiological processes. The connectivity network between the gut microbiota and the brain is involved in multiple biological systems, and bidirectional communication between them is critical in gastrointestinal tract homeostasis, the central nervous system, and the microbial system. Many research have previously shown that morphine has a variety of effects on the gastrointestinal tract, but none have determined the function of intestinal microbiota in morphine tolerance. This study reviewed the mechanisms of morphine tolerance from the perspective of dysregulation of microbiota-gut-brain axis homeostasis, by summarizing the possible mechanisms originating from the gut that may affect morphine tolerance and the improvement of morphine tolerance through the gut microbiota.

3D Dirac semimetal supported thermal tunable terahertz hybrid plasmonic waveguides.

By depositing the trapezoidal dielectric stripe on top of the 3D Dirac semimetal (DSM) hybrid plasmonic waveguide, the thermal tunable propagation properties have been systematically investigated in the terahertz regime, taking into account the influences of the structure of the dielectric stripe, temperature and frequency. The results manifest that as the upper side width of the trapezoidal stripe increases, the propagation length and figure of merit (FOM) both decrease. The propagation properties of hybrid modes are closely associated with temperature, in that when the temperature changes in the scope of 3-600 K, the modulation depth of propagation length is more than 96%. Additionally, at the balance point of plasmonic and dielectric modes, the propagation length and FOM manifest strong peaks and indicate an obvious blue shift with the increase of temperature. Furthermore, the propagation properties can be improved significantly with a Si-SiO2 hybrid dielectric stripe structure, e.g., on the condition that the Si layer width is 5 µm, the maximum value of the propagation length reaches more than 6.46 × 105 µm, which is tens of times larger than those pure SiO2 (4.67 × 104 µm) and Si (1.15 × 104 µm) stripe. The results are very helpful for the design of novel plasmonic devices, such as cutting-edge modulator, lasers and filters.

A multifunctional cobalt-organic framework for proton conduction and selective sensing of Fe3+ ions.

Developing multifunctional metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) is a new research trend. MOFs have shown remarkable performances in both proton conduction and fluorescence sensing, but the MOFs integrating the two performances are scarce. Herein, a Co-MOF, [Co6(oba)4(Hatz)(atz)(H2O)2(µ3-OH)2(µ2-OH)]·H2O (1, H2oba = 4,4-oxybis(benzoic acid), Hatz = 5-amino-1H tetrazole), has been assembled by Co2+ ions with H2oba and Hatz ligands, providing a unique example of multifunctional MOFs with both proton conduction and fluorescence sensing performances. The framework of 1 displays a pillar-layer structure built by the oba ligand as a pillar and a layer composed of Co-clusters and atz linkers. Because large-scale single crystals of 1 were successfully synthesized, the proton conduction ability of 1 was investigated using single crystal samples. 1 exhibits highly anisotropic conduction with conductivity values of 1.1 × 10-3 S cm-1 along the [001] direction and 9.1 × 10-6 S cm-1 along the [010] direction at 55 °C and 95% RH, respectively. Meanwhile, the fluorescence sensing of 1 towards metal ions was studied in aqueous solutions. Attractively, 1 may sensitively and selectively detect Fe3+ ions in the presence of other interfering ions by fluorescence quenching.

3D Dirac semimetals-dielectric elliptical fiber supported tunable terahertz hybrid waveguide.

Based on the proposed elliptical dielectric fiber-polyethylene gap-3D Dirac semimetal (DSM) hybrid plasmonic waveguide structure, the tunable propagation characteristics have been systematically investigated in the terahertz region, taking into account the influences of the structural parameters, the modified dielectric fiber, and the 3D DSM Fermi levels. The results show that as the ratio of the elliptical semi-axis along the y-direction ay and the x-direction ax (ay/ax) increases, the hybrid mode confinement increases. The real part of the effective mode index and propagation length increase with increasing the refractive index of the elliptical fiber. The propagation length and figure of merit of the hybrid modes reach 1.56×104µm and 300, respectively. In addition, by changing the Fermi level of the 3D DSM layer, the propagation properties of the hybrid modes can also be modulated in a wide range, e.g., the modulation depth of the propagation length reaches about 71.53% if the Fermi level varies in the range of 0.03-0.15 eV. The propagation properties of the hybrid modes are enhanced significantly by utilizing the modified three elliptical fiber structures, the real part of the effective mode index, and the propagation length of the modified structure are enhanced simultaneously. The results are very helpful for understanding the tunable mechanism of the 3D DSM devices and aids the design of novel plasmonic devices, e.g., lasers, modulators, and resonators.

A flexible control on electromagnetic behaviors of graphene oligomer by tuning chemical potential.

In this work, we demonstrate that the electromagnetic properties of graphene oligomer can be drastically modified by locally modifications of the chemical potentials. The chemical potential variations of different positions in graphene oligomer have different impacts on both extinction spectra and electromagnetic fields. The flexible tailoring of the localizations of the electromagnetic fields can be achieved by precisely adjusting the chemical potentials of the graphene nanodisks at corresponding positions. The proposed nanostructures in this work lead to the practical applications of graphene-based plasmonic devices such as nanosensing, light trapping and photodetection.

Optimization of the Fano Resonance Lineshape Based on Graphene Plasmonic Hexamer in Mid-Infrared Frequencies.

In this article, the lineshape of Fano-like resonance of graphene plasmonic oligomers is investigated as a function of the parameters of the nanostructures, such as disk size, chemical potential and electron momentum relaxation time in mid-infrared frequencies. Also, the mechanism of the optimization is discussed. Furthermore, the environmental index sensing effect of the proposed structure is revealed, and a figure of merit of 25.58 is achieved with the optimized graphene oligomer. The proposed nanostructure could find applications in the fields of chemical or biochemical sensing.

Lipschitz estimates for commutators of singular integral operators associated with the sections.

Let H be Monge-Ampère singular integral operator, [Formula: see text], and [Formula: see text]. It is proved that the commutator [Formula: see text] is bounded from [Formula: see text] to [Formula: see text] for [Formula: see text] and from [Formula: see text] to [Formula: see text] for [Formula: see text]. For the extreme case [Formula: see text], a weak estimate is given.

An energy harvesting type ultrasonic motor.

An energy harvesting type ultrasonic motor is presented in this work. The novel motor not only can drive and/or position the motion mechanism, but also can harvest and convert the vibration-induced energy of the stator into electric energy to power small electronic devices. In the new motor, the stator is a sandwich structure of two PZT rings and an elastic metal body. The PZT ring bonded on the bottom surface is used to excite the stator metal body to generate a traveling wave with converse piezoelectric effect, and the other PZT ring bonded on top surface is used to harvest and convert the vibration-induced energy of the stator into electric energy with direct piezoelectric effect. Finite element method is adopted to analyze the vibration characteristics and the energetic characteristic. After the fabrication of a prototype, the mechanical output and electric energy output abilities are measured. The maximum no-load speed and maximum output torque of the prototype are 117rpm and 0.65Nm at an exciting voltage with amplitude of 134 Vp-p and frequency of 40kHz, and the maximum harvesting output power of per sector area of the harvesting PZT is 327mW under an optimal equivalent load resistance of 6.9kΩ.

Overexpression of Hypo-Phosphorylated IκBß at Ser313 Protects the Heart against Sepsis.

IκBßis an inhibitor of nuclear factor kappa B(NF-κB) and participates in the cardiac response to sepsis. However, the role of the hypo-phosphorylated form of IκBß at Ser313, which can be detected during sepsis, is unknown. Here, we examined the effects of IκBß with a mutation at Ser313→Ala313 on cardiac damage induced by sepsis. Transgenic (Tg) mice were generated to overexpress IκBß, in which Ser-313 is replaced with alanine ubiquitously, in order to mimic the hypo-phosphorylated form of IκBß. Survival analysis showed that Tg mice exhibited decreased inflammatory cytokine levels and decreased rates of mortality in comparison to wild type (WT) mice, after sepsis in a cecal-ligation and puncture model (CLP). Compared to WT septic mice, sepsis in Tg mice resulted in improved cardiac functions, lower levels of troponin I and decreased rates of cardiomyocyte apoptosis, compared to WT mice. The increased formation of autophagicvacuoles detected with electron microscopy demonstrated the enhancement of cardiac autophagy. This phenomenon was further confirmed by the differential expression of genes related to autophagy, such as LC3, Atg5, Beclin-1, and p62. The increased expression of Cathepsin L(Ctsl), a specific marker for mitochondrial stress response, may be associated with the beneficial effects of the hypo-phosphorylated form of IκBß. Our observations suggest that the hypo-phosphorylated form of IκBß at Ser313 is beneficial to the heart in sepsis through inhibition of apoptosisand enhancement of autophagy in mutated IκBß transgenic mice.

[Debridement of burn wounds using a hydrosurgery system].

The healing process of burn wounds is strongly associated with the depth of wounds, and the depth of wounds is dependent to initial temperature and duration of contact with source of heat, infection, and secondary damage in the debridement process. On this basis, some experts present a concept of accurate debridement, which denotes removal of all necrotic tissue and at the same time protecting viable tissue for repair of raw wounds in order to maximally maintain patients' appearance and functions. A new technology of burn wound debridement--hydrosurgery system has been applied clinically. This paper summarizes the characteristics of hydrosurgery in the aspects of its technology, suitable wounds, bacterial load, amount of blood loss, and degree of pain produced during operation, and also the author's opinions regarding its efficacy to realize an accurate debridement for burn injury.

Monocyte subsets and their differentiation tendency after burn injury.

Monocytes are critical effectors and regulators of immune response. Studying the nomenclature of monocyte subsets may be beneficial for understanding the complex function of monocytes in steady and inflammatory states. A monocyte has the potential to differentiate into dendritic cells or macrophages, and this behavior significantly changes in severely burned patients and mice. The findings in the present study may help enhance understanding on the perturbation of the immune system after severe burn injury.

Mechanism and cellular kinetic studies of the enhancement of antioxidant activity by using surface-functionalized gold nanoparticles.

The enhanced antioxidant activity of surface-functionalized gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) synthesized by self-assembly has attracted great attention, but little is known about the mechanism behind the enhanced activity. To address this challenge, the antioxidant activity of Au@PEG3SA (i.e., surface-functionalization of spherical AuNPs with the antioxidant salvianic acid A) was used as an example to illustrate the mechanism of the enhanced activity. Evaluation of the antioxidant activity was performed in a radical-scavenging reaction between Au@PEG3SA and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical. As expected, the rate constant for the reaction of Au@PEG3SA with DPPH was about nine times greater than that for the salvianic acid A monomer. A comparative analysis of the spectral characteristics of Au@PEG3SA and the salvianic acid A monomer further imply that the enhancement of the antioxidative reaction kinetics may be ascribed to the variation in the transition state for the DPPH-radical scavenging reaction through π-π stacking interactions between and among adjacent groups on the surface of Au@PEG3SA. On the other hand, the kinetic enhancement of Au@PEG3SA on reactive-oxygen-species (ROS) scavenging can be observed in living cells and in vivo, which possibly provides new insight for the bioapplication of self-assembly of surface-functionalized AuNPs.

Pathogenic alteration in severe burn wounds.

The present study aims to define the trend of time related changes with local bacterial alteration of bacterial resistance in severe burns in our burn center during a 12-year period. Retrospective analysis of microbiological results on severely burned wounds between 1998 and 2009 was carried out. A study of 3615 microbial isolates was performed. Staphylococcus aureus was the most commonly isolated pathogen (38.2%) followed by A. baumannii (16.2%), Streptococcus viridans (11.4%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (10.4%), coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS, 9.2%). The species ratios of S. aureus and A. baumannii increased significantly from 1st to 8th week of hospitalization, while those of Streptococcus viridans, P. aeruginosa and coagulase-negative staphylococci decreased during the same period. Bacterial resistance rates were compared between the periods 1998-2003 and 2004-2009. Vancomycin remained as the most sensitive antibiotic in S. aureus including methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA). It was very likely that the majority of infections caused by Streptococcus viridans, P. aeruginosa and coagulase-negative staphylococci occurred in the early stage of burn course and the majority of infections caused by A. baumannii occurred 4 weeks after admission. The use of different antibiotics was probably the major contributor to these trends.

Successful treatment of a patient with an extraordinarily large deep burn.

BACKGROUND: Treatment of extraordinarily large deep burns remains a huge clinical challenge. CASE REPORT: This article is a summary of our experience with the treatment of a patient with an extraordinarily large deep burn (99.5% TBSA and 23% fourth degree burn) by using the "microskin autografting and alloskin repeated grafting" method to close the deep burn wound because of scarcity of skin sources of the patient. CONCLUSIONS: The patient has been observed for 2 years, and is able to face the reality of life peacefully with the support of his family.

Reduction of CD47 on monocytes correlates with MODS in burn patients.

Alternation of surface markers on monocytes is associated with the development of inflammation. The goals of the present study were to detect CD47 expression on monocytes by flow cytometry and explore its relationship with disease severity and MODS in burned patients. The results show CD47 expression on monocytes from all burned patients (n = 21) was lower than that from the healthy population (n = 21) for 24 days after burn. There was a significant difference in CD47 expression on monocytes between the patients with differing burn severity in the first 7 days after injury (P < 0.05). Considering the relationship between CD47 expression and MODS, we found the CD47 expression on monocytes from patients with MODS was lower (P < 0.05) in the first 3 days after injury than that from patients without MODS. In conclusion, diminished CD47 expression on monocytes is associated with burn severity and the occurrence of MODS in burn patients.

Risk factors and prognosis of lower digestive tract haemorrhage in severe burns: a 12-year retrospective analysis.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the risk factors relating to lower digestive tract haemorrhage in severe burns and summarise the experience in clinical diagnosis and treatment. METHOD: General data of 103 patients with severe extensive burns (EBs) admitted to our burn centre in Shanghai between 1997 and 2009 were reviewed retrospectively. The risk factors relating to EB-complicated lower digestive tract haemorrhage were analysed systematically with respect to the clinical features and experiences in treatment, and prognosis. RESULTS: Of the 103 severe EBs, five developed lower digestive tract haemorrhage with an occurrence of 4.9%. Four of them were proved to have multiple mucosal erosions in caecum, colon and rectum, and the remaining one was proved rectal ulcerative haemorrhage. In comparison with upper digestive tract haemorrhage, lower digestive tract haemorrhage in the present group was characterised by a longer duration (median 4.0 days, interquartile range (IQR) 1.5-14.5 days vs. median 2.0 days (IQR 1.0-3.0 days), P < 0.05). Deep burns, especially fourth-degree burns, with complications of severe systemic infection, formed the main risk factors relating to lower digestive tract haemorrhage in severe EB patients. CONCLUSION: Severe EB-complicated lower digestive tract haemorrhage is a critical condition in burns, which usually have deep wounds with severe infection surfaces that are difficult to deal with. Enteroscopic haemostasis in controlling lower digestive tract haemorrhage is usually ineffective. Clinical experiences indicate that early management of the wound with effective preventive and therapeutive measures for infection control may be a good choice in the prevention and treatment of lower digestive tract haemorrhage leading to improvement in its prognosis.

Biphasic effects of selective inhibition of transforming growth factor beta1 activin receptor-like kinase on LPS-induced lung injury.

The present study was designed to find out whether SB431542, an inhibitor of transforming growth factor beta1 activin receptor-like kinase, could protect the lung from LPS-induced injury. Inflammatory lung injury model was induced by intratracheal administration of LPS. C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into the sham control group (S group), the LPS stimulation group (L group), the LPS + early SB431542 treatment group (Ie group), and the LPS + delayed SB431542 treatment group (Id group). SB431542 was admitted intraperitoneally on study days 1, 2, and 3 to the mice in Ie group, whereas those in Id group received the same dose of SB431542 on study days 4, 5, and 6. Pulmonary TNF-alpha and IL- 1beta mRNA expressions were tested. Pathological evaluations of pulmonary alveolitis and collagen deposition and fibrosis were performed on study days 7 and 28, along with the determination of pulmonary hydroxyproline, matrix metalloproteinase 9, and tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinase 1 on study day 28. As a result, LPS stimulation resulted in significant increases of the pulmonary TNF-alpha and IL-1beta mRNA expressions as well as pathological scores for alveolitis on day 7 and increased collagen deposition, hydroxyproline content, and pathological scores for fibrosis on day 28, with a decrease of matrix metalloproteinase 9 activity. Those parameters were further aggravated in the Ie group whereas relieved significantly in the Id group. These data suggest that SB431542 therapy for inflammatory lung injury could be harmful if performed during early-phase inflammatory response. However, the therapy would prevent lung from inflammatory injury and fibrosis if it was initiated late.

Tec kinase mediating IL-8 transcription in monocytes stimulated with LPS.

The purpose of present study was to explore the possibility of Tec kinase as a mediator for IL-8 transcription in monocytes stimulated with LPS. Plasmids of mouse Tec kinase IV or Tec kinase IV with inactivating point mutations generated with QuikChange site-directed mutagenesis were co-transfected with IL-8 promoter driven luciferase construct into RAW264.7 cells, then luciferase activity was measured with a luminometer. The results shown Tec kinase could significantly enhance IL-8 transcription. Furthermore, point inactivating mutation in SH2, PH or PTK domain almost completely abolish the effects of Tec kinase on the transcription of IL-8. In the transfection experiment, PD98059, a MEK1 inhibitor, decreased the transcription of IL-8 in a dose dependent pattern. When siRNA for Tec kinase was transfected into THP-1 cells, it could efficiently block the production of IL-8 from THP-1 cells (p < 0.01) stimulated with LPS. In conclusion, Tec kinase may mediate the transcription of IL-8 in monocyte stimulated with LPS.

Transplantation of epidermis of scar tissue on acellular dermal matrix.

This study enrolled 22 participants with hypertrophic scarring after burn who received treatment with co-transplantation of acellular dermal matrix and epidermis of either normal skin or scar tissue. Scar thickness was evaluated with high frequency ultrasonography and the distribution of keratinocyte stem cells was detected by immunostaining. The results showed p63-positive keratinocyte stem cells throughout the epidermis of scar tissue. However, if co-transplanted on acellular dermal matrix, this effectively inhibited scar formation and pruritus, providing an alternative method to treat hypertrophic scarring.