Saponins from Panax japonicus attenuate age-related neuroinflammation via regulation of the mitogen-activated protein kinase and nuclear factor kappa B signaling pathways

Neuroinflammation is recognized as an important pathogenic factor for aging and related cognitive disorders. Mitogen-activated protein kinase and nuclear factor kappa B signaling pathways may mediate neuroinflammation. Saponins from Panax japonicus are the most abundant and bioactive members in rhizomes of Panaxjaponicus, and show anti-inflammatory activity. However, it is not known whether saponin from Panaxjaponicus has an anti-inflammatory effect in the aging brain, and likewise its underlying mechanisms. Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into control groups （3-, 9-, 15-, and 24-month-old groups） and saponins from Panaxjaponicus-treated groups. Saponins from Panaxjaponicus-treated groups were orally administrated saponins from Panaxjaponicus at three doses of 10, 30, and 60 mg/kg once daily for 6 months until the rats were 24 months old. Immunohistochemical staining and western blot assay results demonstrated that many microglia were activated in 24-month-old rats compared with 3- and 9-month-old rats. Expression of interleukin-1β, tumor necrosis factor-a, cyclooxygenase-2, and inducible nitric oxide synthase increased. Each dose of saponins from Panaxjaponicus visibly suppressed microglial activation in the aging rat brain, and inhibited expression levels of the above factors. Each dose of saponins from Panax japonicus markedly diminished levels of nuclear factor kappa B, IKBa, extracellular signal-regulated kinase, c-Jun N-terminal kinase, and p38. These results confirm that saponins from Panaxjaponicus can mitigate neuroinflammation in the aging rat brain by inhibition of the mito- gen-activated protein kinase and nuclear factor kappa B signaling pathways.

Changes of Serum Insulin-like Growth Factor-2 Response to Negative Symptom Improvements in Schizophrenia Patients Treated with Atypical Antipsychotics

Accumulating evidence suggests that a disruption of early brain development,in which insulin-like growth factor-2(IGF-2)has a crucial role,may underlie the pathophysiology of schizophrenia.Our previous study has shown that decreased serum IGF-2 was correlated with the severity of psychopathology in patients with schizophrenia.Here we conducted a prospective observation trial to investigate the effects of atypical antipsychotics on serum IGF-2 level and its relationship with clinical improvements in schizophrenia patients.Thirty-one schizophrenia patients with acute exacerbation and 30 healthy individuals were recruited in this study.Psychiatric symptoms were assessed using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale(PANSS)and serum IGF-2 levels were determined using ELISA.We found that schizophrenia patients with acute exacerbation had lower serum IGF-2 levels than control individuals at baseline(P<0.05).After 2 months of atypical antipsychotic treatment,a significant improvement in each PANSS subscore and total score was observed in patients(all P<0.01),and the serum IGF-2 levels of patients were significantly increased compared with those at baseline(203.13±64.62 vs.426.99±124.26 ng/mL;t=−5.044,P<0.001).Correlation analysis revealed that the changes of serum IGF-2 levels in patients were significantly correlated with the improvements of negative symptoms(r=−0.522,P=0.006).Collectively,our findings demonstrated changes of serum IGF-2 response to improvements of negative symptoms in schizophrenia patients treated with atypical antipsychotics,suggesting that serum IGF-2 might be a treatment biomarker for schizophrenia.

Erratum to:Changes of Serum Insulin-like Growth Factor-2 Response to Negative Symptom Improvements in Schizophrenia Patients Treated with Atypical Antipsychotics

The article“Changes of Serum Insulin-like Growth Factor-2 Response to Negative Symptom Improvements in Schizophrenia Patients Treated with Atypical Antipsychotics”,written by Xue-lin CHAO,Shu-zhen JIANG,Jian-wen XIONG,Jin-qiong ZHAN,Bo WEI,Chun-nuan CHEN,Yuan-jian YANG was originally published electronically on the publisher's internet portal on June 2020 without open access.With the author(s)'decision to opt for Open Choice,the copyright of the article is changed to,The Author(s)2020 and the article is forthwith distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0),which permits use,sharing,adaptation,distribution and reproduction in any medium or format,as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s)and the source,provide a link to the Creative Commons license,and indicate if changes were made.

Impacts of Typhoons on the Kuroshio Large Meander:Observation Evidences

The formation of the Kuroshio large meander in summer 2004 was investigated by using the cruise data,Argo profiles data,and satellite remote sensing data.The authors validated the point that cyclonic eddies contrib-uted to the large meander.Besides,.the impacts of ty-phoons on Kuroshio meanders were also studied.From 29 July to 4 August,the typhoons stirred the ocean and up-welled the deep water,which enhanced the existed cyc-lonic eddy,and immediately made a drastic meander of the Kuroshio.Moreover,the unexpected typhoons in June 2004 also contributed to the initial meander at the Tokara Strait.The result suggests an alternative meander mecha-nism of the Kuroshio path via the typhoon-eddy-Kuroshio interactions.It is argued that typhoons accompanied with cyclonic eddies,might play crucial roles in meanders of the Kuroshio.This will provide a more comprehensive understanding of the dynamics of the western boundary flows,like the Kuroshio and the Gulf Stream,and will be useful in eddy-resolution models.

Characteristics of the water-soluble components of aerosol particles in Hefei,China

Size-classified daily aerosol mass concentrations and concentrations of water-soluble inorganic ions were measured in Hefei,China,in four representative months between September 2012 and August 2013.An annual average mass concentration of 169.09μg/m^3 for total suspended particulate（TSP）was measured using an Andersen Mark-II cascade impactor.The seasonal average mass concentration was highest in winter（234.73μg/m^3）and lowest in summer（91.71μg/m^3）.Water-soluble ions accounted for 59.49%,32.90%,48.62%and 37.08%of the aerosol mass concentration in winter,spring,summer,and fall,respectively,which indicated that ionic species were the primary constituents of the atmospheric aerosols.The four most abundant ions were NO3^-,SO4^2-,Ca^2＋ and NH4^＋.With the exception of Ca^2＋,the mass concentrations of water-soluble ions were in an intermediate range compared with the levels for other Chinese cities.Sulfate,nitrate,and ammonium were the dominant fine-particle species,which were bimodally distributed in spring,summer and fall;however,the size distribution became unimodal in winter,with a peak at 1.1–2.1μm.The Ca^2＋ peak occurred at approximately 4.7–5.8μm in all seasons.The cation to anion ratio was close to 1.4,which suggested that the aerosol particles were alkalescent in Hefei.The average NO3^-/SO4^2-mass ratio was 1.10 in Hefei,which indicated that mobile source emissions were predominant.Significant positive correlation coefficients between the concentrations of NH4^＋ and SO4^2-,NH4^＋ and NO3^-,SO4^2-and NO3^-,and Mg^2＋ and Ca^2＋ were also indicated,suggesting that aerosol particles may be present as（NH4）2SO4,NH4HSO4,and NH4NO3.

Convergence Results of Landweber Iterations for Linear Systems

The Landweber scheme is a method for algebraic image reconstructions. The convergence behavior of the Landweber scheme is of both theoretical and practical importance. Using the diagonalization of matrix, we derive a neat iterative representation formula for the Landweber schemes and consequently establish the convergence conditions of Landweber iteration. This work refines our previous convergence results on the Landweber scheme.