Magnesium-L-threonate treats Alzheimer's disease by modulating the microbiota-gut-brain axis

Disturbances in the microbiota-gut-brain axis may contribute to the development of Alzheimer's disease. Magnesium-L-threonate has recently been found to have protective effects on learning and memory in aged and Alzheimer's disease model mice. However, the effects of magnesium-L-threonate on the gut microbiota in Alzheimer's disease remain unknown. Previously, we reported that magnesium-L-threonate treatment improved cognition and reduced oxidative stress and inflammation in a double-transgenic line of Alzheimer's disease model mice expressing the amyloid-β precursor protein and mutant human presenilin 1(APP/PS1). Here, we performed 16S r RNA amplicon sequencing and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry to analyze changes in the microbiome and serum metabolome following magnesium-Lthreonate exposure in a similar mouse model. Magnesium-L-threonate modulated the abundance of three genera in the gut microbiota, decreasing Allobaculum and increasing Bifidobacterium and Turicibacter. We also found that differential metabolites in the magnesiumL-threonate-regulated serum were enriched in various pathways associated with neurodegenerative diseases. The western blotting detection on intestinal tight junction proteins(zona occludens 1, occludin, and claudin-5) showed that magnesium-L-threonate repaired the intestinal barrier dysfunction of APP/PS1 mice. These findings suggest that magnesium-L-threonate may reduce the clinical manifestations of Alzheimer's disease through the microbiota-gut-brain axis in model mice, providing an experimental basis for the clinical treatment of Alzheimer's disease.

Optimization of Polysaccharides Extraction from Physalis alkekengi L.Peel and Its Effect on the Expression of Inflammation-Related Proteins in SW620 Cells

Objective:To establish an optimized aqueous extraction process for polysaccharides from Physalis alkekengi L.peel and to preliminarily explore its in vitro anti-inflammatory activity against colorectal cancer SW620 cells.Methods:A single-factor test combined with orthogonal test analysis was used to evaluate the effects of the material-to-liquid ratio,extraction temperature,and extraction time on the yield of polysaccharides from Physalis alkekengi L.peel.The antioxidant activity of the polysaccharides was assessed by analyzing their free radical scavenging ability in vitro,and the anti-inflammatory effect was evaluated using SW620 cells.Results:The optimal extraction conditions were a material-to-liquid ratio of m(g):V(mL)=1:30,an extraction temperature of 100℃,and an extraction time of 40 minutes,with a predicted polysaccharide yield of 25.7%.The polysaccharides from Physalis peruviana peel effectively scavenged DPPH,superoxide anion,and hydroxyl radicals.After treatment with Physalis peruviana polysaccharides,the levels of IL-1β,IL-18,and TNF-αin the cell culture medium were significantly reduced,and the phosphorylation level of P65 protein in SW620 cells was decreased.Conclusion:This extraction method is stable and reliable,and the prepared Physalis alkekengi L.polysaccharides exhibit significant in vitro antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities.This study provides a theoretical basis for developing drugs for the prevention and treatment of colorectal cancer.

First-principles calculations of Ni–(Co)–Mn–Cu–Ti all-d-metal Heusler alloy on martensitic transformation,mechanical and magnetic properties

The martensitic transformation,mechanical,and magnetic properties of the Ni_(2)Mn_(1.5-x)Cu_(x)Ti_(0.5) (x=0.125,0.25,0.375,0.5) and Ni_(2-y)Co_(y)Mn_(1.5-x)Cu_(x)Ti_(0.5)[(x=0.125,y=0.125,0.25,0.375,0.5) and (x=0.125,0.25,0.375,y=0.625)]alloys were systematically studied by the first-principles calculations.For the formation energy,the martensite is smaller than the austenite,the Ni–(Co)–Mn–Cu–Ti alloys studied in this work can undergo martensitic transformation.The austenite and non-modulated (NM) martensite always present antiferromagnetic state in the Ni_(2)Mn_(1.5-x)Cu_(x)Ti_(0.5) and Ni_(2-y)Co_(y)Mn_(1.5-x)Cu_(x)Ti_(0.5) (y<0.625) alloys.When y=0.625 in the Ni_(2-y)Co_(y)Mn_(1.5-x)Cu_(x)Ti_(0.5) series,the austenite presents ferromagnetic state while the NM martensite shows antiferromagnetic state.Cu doping can decrease the thermal hysteresis and anisotropy of the Ni–(Co)–Mn–Ti alloy.Increasing Mn and decreasing Ti content can improve the shear resistance and normal stress resistance,but reduce the toughness in the Ni–Mn–Cu–Ti alloy.And the ductility of the Co–Cu co-doping alloy is inferior to that of the Ni–Mn–Cu–Ti and Ni–Co–Mn–Ti alloys.The electronic density of states was studied to reveal the essence of the mechanical and magnetic properties.

“功能主义”和“建构主义”视角下集体记忆与档案价值挖掘和应用研究

集体记忆作为一个跨学科的概念,近年来受到档案学界的广泛关注和研究。文章引入功能主义和建构主义的研究视角,试图探究档案与集体记忆的互动关联。功能主义视角下,档案积极发挥其作为资源、媒介和权力的价值,在集体记忆的形成、保存、传承等过程中发挥着不可替代的重要作用;建构主义视角下,档案工作者和社会公众同为集体记忆的积极建构者,在档案馆所构筑的"记忆之场"中,不断推进集体记忆的运行。

N-alkyl chain modification in dithienobenzotriazole unit enabled efficient polymer donor for high-performance non-fullerene solar cells

Molecular design of either polymer donors or acceptors is a promising strategy to tune the morphology of the active layer of organic solar cells,enabling a high-performance device.Thereinto,developing novel polymer donors is an alternative method to obtain high photovoltaic performance.Herein,we present a facile side-chain engineering on the dithiophenobenzotriazole(DTBTz)unit of newly-designed polymer donors(named p BDT-DTBTz-EH and p BDT-DTBTz-Me)to boost the performance of non-fullerene solar cells.Compared with p BDT-DTBTz-EH with long N-alkyl side chains,p BDT-DTBTz-Me with a short methyl exhibits stronger molecular aggregation,higher absorption coefficient,and preferred face-on orientation packing.As a consequence,p BDT-DTBTz-Me based devices achieve an optimal power conversion efficiency of 15.31%when donors are paired with the narrow bandgap acceptor Y6,which is superior to that of p BDT-DTBTz-EH based devices(9.17%).Additionally,the p BDT-DTBTz-Me based devices manifest more effective charge separation and transfer than p BDT-DTBTz-EH based devices.These results indicate that fine-tuning side chains of polymer donors provide new insights for the design of high-performance polymer donors in non-fullerene solar cells.

Linearized microwave downconversion link based on fast and intelligent impairment equalization for noncooperative systems

We experimentally demonstrated the use of intelligent impairment equalization(IIE)for microwave downconversion link linearization in noncooperative systems.Such an equalizer is realized based on an artificial neural network(ANN).Once the training process is completed,the inverse link transfer function can be determined.With the inverse transformation for the detected signal after transmission,the third-order intermodulation distortion components are suppressed significantly without requiring any prior information from an input RF signal.Furthermore,fast training speed is achieved,since the configuration of ANN-based equalizer is simple.Experimental results show that the spurious-free dynamic range of the proposed link is improved to 106.5 dB·Hz^(2/3),which is 11.3 dB higher than that of a link without IIE.Meanwhile,the training epochs reduce to only five,which has the potential to meet the practical engineering requirement.

Adversarial attacks and defenses in physiological computing:a systematic review

Physiological computing uses human physiological data as system inputs in real time.It includes,or significantly overlaps with,brain-computer interfaces,affective computing,adaptive automation,health informatics,and physiological signal based biometrics.Physiological computing increases the communication bandwidth from the user to the computer,but is also subject to various types of adversarial attacks,in which the attacker deliberately manipulates the training and/or test examples to hijack the machine learning algorithm output,leading to possible user confusion,frustration,injury,or even death.However,the vulnerability of physiological computing systems has not been paid enough attention to,and there does not exist a comprehensive review on adversarial attacks to them.This study fills this gap,by providing a systematic review on the main research areas of physiological computing,different types of adversarial attacks and their applications to physiological computing,and the corresponding defense strategies.We hope this review will attract more research interests on the vulnerability of physiological computing systems,and more importantly,defense strategies to make them more secure.