Identification of Constituents and Exploring the Mechanism for Toutongning Capsule in the Treatment of Migraine

Toutongning capsule (TTNC) is an effective and safe traditional Chinese medicine used in the treatment of migraine. In this present study, a multiscale strategy was used to systematically investigate the mechanism of TTNC in treating migraine, which contained UPLC-UESI-Q Exactive Focus network pharmacology and experimental verification. First, 88 compounds were identified by the UPLC-UESI-Q Exactive Focus method for TTNC. Then, the target fishing for these compounds was performed by means of an efficient drug similarity search tool. Third, a series of network pharmacology experiments were performed to predict the key compounds, targets, and pathways. They were protein-protein interaction (PPI), KEGG pathway enrichment analysis, and herbs-compounds-targets-pathways (H-C-T-P) network construction. As a result, 18 potential key compounds, 20 potential key targets, and 6 potential signaling pathways were obtained for TTNC in treatment with migraine. Finally, molecular docking and experimental were carried out to verify the key targets. In short, the results showed that TTNC is able to treat migraine through multiple components, multiple targets, and multiple pathways. This work may provide a theoretical basis for further research on the molecular mechanism of TTNC in the treatment of migraine.

JIP3 links lysosome transport to regulation of multiple components of the axonal cytoskeleton

Lysosome axonal transport is important for the clearance of cargoes sequestered by the endocytic and autophagic pathways. Building on observations that mutations in the JIP3 (MAPK8IP3) gene result in lysosome-filled axonal swellings, we analyzed the impact of JIP3 depletion on the cytoskeleton of human neurons. Dynamic focal lysosome accumulations were accompanied by disruption of the axonal periodic scaffold (spectrin, F-actin and myosin II) throughout each affected axon. Additionally, axonal microtubule organization was locally disrupted at each lysosome-filled swelling. This local axonal microtubule disorganization was accompanied by accumulations of both F-actin and myosin II. These results indicate that transport of axonal lysosomes is functionally interconnected with mechanisms that control the organization and maintenance of the axonal cytoskeleton. They have potential relevance to human neurological disease arising from JIP3 mutations as well as for neurodegenerative diseases associated with the focal accumulations of lysosomes within axonal swellings such as Alzheimer’s disease.

Parasite defensive limb movements enhance signal attraction in male little torrent frogs: insight into the evolution of multimodal signals

Many animals rely on complex sexual signals that target multiple senses to attract mates and repel rivals. These multimodal mating displays can however also attract unintended receivers, which can be an important driver of signal complexity. Despite being taxonomically widespread, we often lack insight into how multimodal signals evolve from unimodal signals and in particular what roles unintended eavesdroppers play. Here we assess whether the physical movements of parasite defense behavior increase the complexity and attractiveness of an acoustic sexual signal in the little torrent frog (Amolops torrentis). Calling males of this species often display limb movements in order to defend against blood sucking parasites such as frog biting midges that eavesdrop on their acoustic signal. Through mate choice tests we show that some of these midge evoked movements influence female preference for acoustic signals. Our data suggest that midge induced movements may be incorporated into a sexual display, targeting both hearing and vision in the intended receiver. Females may play an important role in incorporating these multiple components because they prefer signals which combine multiple programs. Our results thus help to understand the relationship between ecological and sexual selection pressure operating on signalers and how in turn this may influence multimodal signal evolution.

Testing Stereopsis in Children

Stereopsis develops very early in life and is thought to be present in a normally developing child by six months of age. In order to develop stereopsis, multiple components of visual development must be intact including visual acuity and bifoveal fixation. Stereopsis is the most sensitive way to assess sensory fusion but can be unreliable in very young age groups due to difficulty understanding the test or instructions. It is best to choose an option with global stereopsis (high level cortical stereo), as local stereopsis may overestimate ability due to available monocular cues. Global is created using random dot stereograms (RDS) – computer-generated patterns to create a stereoscopic form, while local contains line stereograms which create horizontal retinal image disparity giving the perception of depth. Stereopsis can be affected by strabismus, amblyopia, and other binocular vision dysfunctions that interfere with visual efficiency (especially in school-age children). The chapter discusses the most commonly used clinical tests of global and local stereopsis.

High valence state metal-ion doped Fe-Ni layered double hydroxide for oxygen evolution electrocatalyst and asymmetric supercapacitors

Delicate design of nanostructures consisting of multiple components is an important strategy for energy storage materials. In this work, cobalt-doped nickel-iron layered double hydroxide (Fe-Ni3Co2 LDH) assembling from one-dimensional (1D)...

The mitochondrial calcium uniporter regulates mitochondrial mass and dendritic localization in distinct hippocampal circuits

CA2 is an understudied subregion of the hippocampus that is critical for social memory. Previous studies identified multiple components of the mitochondrial calcium uniporter (MCU) complex as selectively enriched in CA2, however the functional significance of this enrichment remains unclear. The MCU complex regulates calcium entry into mitochondria, which in turn regulates mitochondrial transport and localization to active synapses. We found that MCU is strikingly enriched in CA2 distal apical dendrites, precisely where CA2 neurons receive entorhinal cortical input carrying social information. Further, MCU-enriched mitochondria in CA2 distal dendrites are larger compared to mitochondria in CA2 proximal apical dendrites and neighboring CA1 apical dendrites. Genetic knockdown of MCU in CA2 resulted in smaller mitochondria in CA2 distal dendrites, indicating that MCU expression plays a role in regulating mitochondrial mass in CA2. MCU overexpression in neighboring CA1 led to larger mitochondria preferentially in proximal dendrites compared to distal dendrites and GFP controls. Our findings demonstrate that mitochondria are molecularly and structurally diverse across hippocampal cell types and circuits, and that MCU expression cell-autonomously regulates mitochondrial mass, but layer-specific dendritic localization depends on cell type. Our data support the idea that CA2 mitochondria are functionally distinct from CA1 mitochondria, which may confer unique synaptic and circuit properties underlying CA2 function in social memory.

A Correlation Analysis of Geomagnetic Field Characteristics in Geomagnetic Perceiving Navigation

It is well-known that geomagnetic fields have multiple components or parameters, and that these geomagnetic parameters are related to each other. In this paper, a parameter selection method is proposed, and this paper mainly discusses the correlation of geomagnetic field parameters for geomagnetic navigation technology. For the correlation analysis between geomagnetic parameters, the similarity calculation of the correlation coefficient is firstly introduced for geomagnetic navigation technology, and the grouped results are obtained by data analysis. At the same time, the search algorithm (Hex-path algorithm) is used to verify the correlation analysis results. The results show the same convergent state for the approximate correlation coefficient. In other words, the simulation results are in agreement with the similarity calculation results.

Direct growth of copper(I) oxide nanocubes on graphitic carbon nitrides enhancing aqueous carbon dioxide photoreduction

Semiconductor hybrid structures containing multiple components have been considered an ideal photocatalyst design to generate long-lived charge-separated states. Particularly for the reactions requiring high activation energies, such as a CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR), the reaction activity is highly susceptible to the catalyst component and morphology. In this study, we selected g-C3N4 and Cu2O as photocatalytic components having bandgaps suitable for CO2RR. Then, we tried to form good electric junctions between two domains by direct growth of Cu on g-C3N4 using a polyol process. The resulting g-C3N4/Cu2O hybrid was employed as photocatalysts in an aqueous medium without hole acceptors. The catalyst exhibited a noticeable activity (5.4 mmol gcat-1h-1) and quantum yield (3.7%) with a nearly quantitative selectivity for CH4 production, superior to any other photocatalysts for CO2RR. The strong coordination of g-C3N4 to the Cu2O surface could form a conductive junction and induce effective electron transfer enforcing the Z-scheme process for CO2RR in high activity and selectivity. This result ensured the importance of junctions and interfaces in the hybrid catalyst structure to exhibit excellent photocatalytic CO2RR performances.