IJMS, Vol. 18, Pages 389: Vanillin Protects Dopaminergic Neurons against Inflammation-Mediated Cell Death by Inhibiting ERK1/2, P38 and the NF-κB Signaling Pathway

Neuroinflammation plays a very important role in the pathogenesis of Parkinson’s disease (PD). After activation, microglia produce pro-inflammatory mediators that damage surrounding neurons. Consequently, the inhibition of microglial activation might represent a new therapeutic approach of PD. Vanillin has been shown to protect dopaminergic neurons, but the mechanism is still unclear. Herein, we further study the underlying mechanisms in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced PD models. In vivo, we firstly established rat models of PD by unilateral injection of LPS into substantia nigra (SN), and then examined the role of vanillin in motor dysfunction, microglial activation and degeneration of dopaminergic neurons. In vitro, murine microglial BV-2 cells were treated with vanillin prior to the incubation of LPS, and then the inflammatory responses and the related signaling pathways were analyzed. The in vivo results showed that vanillin markedly improved the motor dysfunction, suppressed degeneration of dopaminergic neurons and inhibited microglial over-activation induced by LPS intranigral injection. The in vitro studies demonstrated that vanillin reduces LPS-induced expression of inducible nitric oxide (iNOS), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), IL-1β, and IL-6 through regulating ERK1/2, p38 and NF-κB signaling. Collectively, these data indicated that vanillin has a role in protecting dopaminergic neurons via inhibiting inflammatory activation.

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IJERPH, Vol. 14, Pages 179: The Effects of Floods on the Incidence of Bacillary Dysentery in Baise (Guangxi Province, China) from 2004 to 2012

Research shows potential effects of floods on intestinal infections. Baise, a city in Guangxi Province (China) had experienced several floods between 2004 and 2012 due to heavy and constant precipitation. This study aimed to examine the relationship between floods and the incidence of bacillary dysentery in Baise. A mixed generalized additive model and Spearman correlation were applied to analyze the relationship between monthly incidence of bacillary dysentery and 14 flood events with two severity levels. Data collected from 2004 to 2010 were utilized to estimate the parameters, whereas data from 2011 to 2012 were used to validate the model. There were in total 9255 cases of bacillary dysentery included in our analyses. According to the mixed generalized additive model, the relative risks (RR) of moderate and severe floods on the incidence of bacillary dysentery were 1.40 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.16–1.69) and 1.78 (95% CI: 1.61–1.97), respectively. The regression analysis also indicated that the flood duration was negatively associated with the incidence of bacillary dysentery (with RR: 0.57, 95% CI: 0.40–0.86). Therfore, this research suggests that floods exert a significant part in enhancing the risk of bacillary dysentery in Baise. Moreover, severe floods have a higher proportional contribution to the incidence of bacillary dysentery than moderate floods. In addition, short-term floods may contribute more to the incidence of bacillary dysentery than a long-term flood. The findings from this research will provide more evidence to reduce health risks related to floods.

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A Method for Consensus Reaching in Product Kansei Evaluation Using Advanced Particle Swarm Optimization

Consumers’ opinions toward product design alternatives are often subjective and perceptual, which reflect their perception about a product and can be described using Kansei adjectives. Therefore, Kansei evaluation is often employed to determine consumers’ preference. However, how to identify and improve the reliability of consumers’ Kansei evaluation opinions toward design alternatives has an important role in adding additional insurance and reducing uncertainty to successful product design. To solve this problem, this study employs a consensus model to measure consistence among consumers’ opinions, and an advanced particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm combined with Linearly Decreasing Inertia Weight (LDW) method is proposed for consensus reaching by minimizing adjustment of consumers’ opinions. Furthermore, the process of the proposed method is presented and the details are illustrated using an example of electronic scooter design evaluation. The case study reveals that the proposed method is promising for reaching a consensus through searching optimal solutions by PSO and improving the reliability of consumers’ evaluation opinions toward design alternatives according to Kansei indexes.

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Relationship between Angiotensin Converting Enzyme, Apelin, and New-Onset Atrial Fibrillation after Off-Pump Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting

It has been shown that inflammation and oxidative stress are important factors in postoperative atrial fibrillation (POAF). Angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) and apelin have a close relationship with inflammation and oxidative stress. The effect of ACE and apelin on POAF after off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting (OPCABG) remains a question. The concentrations of serum ACE, angiotensin II (Ang II), apelin, bradykinin (BK), malondialdehyde (MDA), and C reactive protein (CRP) were measured in the perioperative period of OPCABG. The levels of serum ACE in the POAF group were higher than in the no POAF group both preoperatively and postoperatively. Apelin in the POAF group was lower than in the no POAF group. There was a correlation between serum ACE and apelin. Postoperatively, CRP and MDA in the POAF group were higher than in the no POAF group; however, there was no difference before the operation. Preoperative ACE and apelin were both significant and independent risk factors for POAF. In conclusion, the high ACE and low apelin preoperatively led to CRP and MDA being increased postoperatively, which was probably associated with POAF after OPCABG. Apelin may be a new predictor for POAF.

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Ultrasonographic Validation of Anatomical Landmarks for Localization of the Tendon of the Long Head of Biceps Brachii

Objectives. To establish anatomical landmarks for biceps tendon groove localization based on intrinsic anatomical relations and to validate the localization with ultrasonographic measurement. Design. Perspective, observational, single-blinded pilot study. Participants. 25 healthy male and female volunteers ages 24–50 years. Methods. We used two anatomical landmarks, the medial epicondyle vertical line related landmark and the coracoid process landmark. The distance from the groove skin mark to the medial epicondyle vertical line and the coracoid process was measured horizontally and was measured at 0° and 45° of shoulder external rotation, respectively. Results. Medial epicondyle vertical lines were 9.3 mm/21.5 mm medial to the groove at 0°/45° of shoulder external rotation, respectively. Correlation coefficients were 0.04/0.10, 0.32/0.42, and 0.26/0.37 for weight, height, and BMI in 0°/45° of shoulder external rotation, respectively. The distance between the coracoid process and the groove was 44.0 mm/62.2 mm in 0°/45° of shoulder external rotation, respectively. Correlation coefficients were 0.36/0.41, 0.36/0.54, and 0.18/0.12 for weight, height, and BMI in 0°/45° of shoulder external rotation, respectively. Conclusions. The medial epicondyle vertical line and the coracoid process landmark are both useful anatomical landmarks to localize the biceps groove. The anatomical landmark based localization is essentially not correlated with subject’s weight, height, or BMI.

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Dynamic Projection Mapping with a Single IR Camera

We propose a dynamic projection mapping system with effective machine-learning and high-speed edge-based object tracking using a single IR camera. The machine-learning techniques are used for precise 3D initial posture estimation from 2D IR images, as a detection process. After the detection, we apply an edge-based tracking process for real-time image projection. In this paper, we implement our proposal and actually achieve dynamic projection mapping. In addition, we evaluate the performance of our proposal through the comparison with a Kinect-based tracking system.

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Find romance on Valentine’s Day with a digital treasure hunt

Lacking inspiration for a Valentine’s treat? Here's how to create a treasure hunt using QR codes

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