The aim of the current study was to explore the whole-brain dynamic functional connectivity patterns in acute ischemic stroke (AIS) patients and their relation to short and long-term stroke severity. We investigated resting-state functional MRI-based dynamic functional connectivity of 41 AIS patients two to five days after symptom onset. Re-occurring dynamic connectivity configurations were obtained using a sliding window approach and k-means clustering. We evaluated differences in dynamic patterns between three NIHSS-stroke severity defined groups (mildly, moderately, and severely affected patients). selleckchem Furthermore, we built Bayesian hierarchical models to evaluate the predictive capacity of dynamic connectivity and examine the interrelation with clinical measures, such as white matter hyperintensity lesions. Finally, we established correlation analyses between dynamic connectivity and AIS severity as well as 90-day neurological recovery (ΔNIHSS). We identified three distinct dynamic connectivity configurations acutely post-stroke. More severely affected patients spent significantly more time in a configuration that was characterized by particularly strong connectivity and isolated processing of functional brain domains (three-level ANOVA p  less then  .05, post hoc t tests p  less then  .05, FDR-corrected). Configuration-specific time estimates possessed predictive capacity of stroke severity in addition to the one of clinical measures. Recovery, as indexed by the realized change of the NIHSS over time, was significantly linked to the dynamic connectivity between bilateral intraparietal lobule and left angular gyrus (Pearson’s r = -.68, p = .003, FDR-corrected). Our findings demonstrate transiently increased isolated information processing in multiple functional domains in case of severe AIS. Dynamic connectivity involving default mode network components significantly correlated with recovery in the first 3 months poststroke.Accumulation of white adipose tissue (WAT) underlies the obesity epidemic, leading to current therapeutic techniques that are being investigated for their ability to activate/”beige” this tissue. Adipose tissue (AT) beiging has been reported through intermittent cold exposure (CE), exercise, and β3-Adrenergic Receptor (β3AR) agonists. But how AT beiging can help in the treatment of metabolic disorders like obesity and type 2 diabetes (T2D) remains largely unexplored. This review summarizes recent research on the use of β3AR agonist, mirabegron (Myrbetriq®), in stimulating beiging in AT. Researchers have only recently been able to determine the optimal therapeutic dose of mirabegron for inducing beiging in subcutaneous/ inguinal WAT, where the benefits of AT activation are evident without the undesired cardiovascular side effects. To determine whether the effects that mirabegron elicits are metabolically beneficial, a comparison of the undisputed findings resulting from intermittent CE-induced beiging and the disputed findings from exercise-induced beiging was conducted. Given the recent in vivo animal and clinical studies, the understanding of how mirabegron can be metabolically beneficial for both lean and obese individuals is more clearly understood. These studies have demonstrated that circulating adipokines, glucose metabolism, and lipid droplet (LD) size are all positively affected by mirabegron administration. Recent studies have also demonstrated that mirabegron has similar outcomes to intermittent CE and displays more direct evidence for beiging than those produced with exercise. With these current findings, mirabegron is considered the most promising and safest β3AR agonist currently available that has the potential to be used in the therapeutic treatment of metabolic disorders, and future studies into its interaction with different conditions may prove to be useful as part of a treatment plan in combination with a healthy diet and exercise.Chromium (Cr) compounds are markedly toxic and carcinogenic. Previously, we found that Cr (VI) induced autophagy in A549 cells. Here, the effect of mitochondrial dysfunction and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress on inducing mitophagy was investigated in both A549 and H1299 cells. Exposure to Cr (VI) for 6 h significantly enhanced reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and reduced mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP). Transmission electron microscopy showed that Cr (VI) induced mitochondrial morphological changes, such as, mitochondrial swelling and vacuolization. The elevated expression of GRP78 and p-PERK suggested that Cr (VI) resulted in ER stress. Both mitochondrial dysfunction and ER stress played an important role in Cr (VI)-induced mitophagy, as the mitochondrial function inhibitor, carbonyl cyanide 3-chlorophenylhydrazone (CCCP) induced PINK1 and PARK2 and increased the expression of GRP78 and p-PERK while the levels of Cr (VI)-induced PINK1, PARK2, LC3-II were reduced after ER stress inhibitor, phenylbutyric acid (4PBA) pretreatment. When A549 cells were treated with CCCP and 4-PBA simultaneously, CCCP-induced expressions of PINK1, PARK2 and LC3-II decreased significantly compared with that of only CCCP-treated cells, indicating that there was a crosstalk between mitochondria and ER in inducing mitophagy. Additionally, the crosstalk between mitochondrial dysfunction and ER stress modulated the expression of Cr (VI)-induced ATF4, which resulted in mitophagy. Collectively, our data demonstrated that Cr (VI)-induced mitophagy mediated by ATF4 via the crosstalk between ER stress and mitochondrial dysfunction.Among the known aromatic nitrogen heterocycles, pyrrole represents a privileged aromatic heterocycle ranging its occurrence in the key component of “pigments of life” to biologically active natural products to active pharmaceuticals. Pyrrole being an electron-rich heteroaromatic compound, its predominant functionalization is legendary to aromatic electrophilic substitution reactions. Although a few excellent reviews on the functionalization of pyrroles including the reports by Baltazzi in 1963, Casiraghi and Rassu in 1995, and Banwell in 2006 are available, they are fragmentary and over fifteen years old, and do not cover the modern aspects of catalysis. A review covering a comprehensive package of direct functionalization on pyrroles via catalytic and non-catalytic methods including their translational potential is described. Subsequent to statutory yet concise introduction, the classical functionalization on pyrroles using Lewis acids largely following an ionic mechanism is discussed. The subsequent discussion follows the various metal-catalyzed C-H functionalization on pyrroles, which are otherwise difficult to implement by Lewis acids.