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Oil spills and industrial wastewater discharge have inflicted severe damage upon the ecological environment and human health. Therefore, the development of an environmentally friendly and pollution-free membrane material for oil-water separation is imperative. This study presents the development of a novel oil-water separation material (PP-PPy-pHR) that is environmentally benign and capable of switching between wetting properties. The material was synthesised by dopamine modification, treatment with a pH-responsive polymer and the use of a high-efficiency photothermal layer composed of self-assembled polypyrrole (PPy), and it not only separates incompatible oil-water mixtures but also efficiently separates oil-water emulsions under different pH conditions. Due to the good photothermal effect of PPy, the evaporation rate of PP-PPy-pHR composite membrane loaded with PPy was 3.95 times higher than that of pure water for oily wastewater. In addition, the PPy-pHR composite membrane exhibited excellent durability and high stability in extremely acidic and alkaline solutions, showing remarkable potential for oil-water separation applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When impaired bones are grafted with bone scaffolds, the behaviors of osteoblast are dependent on the implant materials and surface morphology. To this end, we modulated the surface morphology of scaffolds that promote cell growth. In this study, ice-template and spraying method methods are employed to coat different proportions of PDA and PPy over the PLA/PVA weaving scaffolds, after which HA is Coated over via the electrochemical deposition, forming weaving scaffolds with electrically conductive PDA/PPy/HA coating. The test results indicate that with a PPy/PDA concentration ratio is 30, the PPy particles are more uniformly distributed on the fiber surface. The scaffolds are wrapped in a HA coating layer with a high purity, and calcium and phosphorus elements are evenly dispersed with a Ca/P ratio being 1.69. Owing to the synergistic effect between PDA and PPy coating, the scaffolds demonstrate excellent electrochemical stability and electrochemical activity. The biological activity of the scaffold increased to 274.66% under electrical stimulation. The new thinking proposed by this study extends the worth of applying textile structure to the medical field, the application of which highly increases the prospect of bone tissue engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate clinical outcomes of open and retroperitoneal laparoscopic nephron-sparing surgery in the treatment of complex renal tumours. Methods: A retrospective case study was conducted. Patients with complex renal tumours admitted to our hospital between January 2018 and September 2019 were enrolled; the included patients (n=40) were divided into the observation group (open partial nephrectomy, n=20) and control group (laparoscopic partial nephrectomy, n=20) according to operation modes. The operation time, renal warm ischaemia time, intraoperative blood loss, renal pedicle blocking time, intestinal function recovery time, postoperative hospital stay, and postoperative complications were recorded. Results: Significant differences were noted regarding renal warm ischaemia time, renal pedicle blocking time, intraoperative blood loss, operation time, and postoperative hospital stay between the observation and control groups (P<0.05); however, no significant difference was observed in intestinal function recovery time and postoperative drainage days (P>0.05). Conclusion: Open surgery remains the recommended surgical method for the treatment of few complex tumours in the renal hilus region and has gradually become the renal surgery of choice at present, although laparoscopic surgery has evolved tremendously. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Location-based services has been widely applied in cloud-enabled Internet of vehicles. Within these services, location privacy issues have captured significant attention. Vehicles use the technology of anonymity to implement occultation, the location is not revealed. In this process, large-scale data transmissions can reduce the quality of services. In order to ensure location privacy and high-quality services, the cloud manager customizes virtual machines for vehicles to support location-based services according to the vehicles' demands. To achieve better performance, this article presents a conditional anonymity method that does not use bilinear pairings to address the problem of privacy disclosure by using discrete logarithm problem and Diffie-Hellman problem. Moreover, asymmetric key algorithms are used in the Internet of vehicles environment to reduce the cost. To guarantee secure data transmission in Internet of vehicles, the batch validation technique is used to address data integrity. Our theoretical security analysis and experiments show that the proposed scheme is secure in compared attack models, such as impersonation attacks, replay attacks, the man-in-themiddle attacks, and so on. Our proposed scheme ensures the security requirements such as message authentication, location privacy protection, and traceability, while lowering transmission and computation cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent studies have implied that activation of AMP-dependent protein kinase (AMPK) could protect myocardial cells from oxygen glucose deprivation-re-oxygenation (OGD/R). The aim of the present study is to test whether GSK621, a novel and direct AMPK activator, could exert myocardial cell protection against OGD/R. We show that in AC16 human myocardial cells and primary murine myocardiocytes GSK621 dose-dependently activated AMPK signaling. GSK621 pretreatment potently inhibited OGD/R-induced viability reduction, cell death and apoptosis in AC16 cells and primary myocardiocytes. Furthermore, GSK621 attenuated OGD/R-induced reactive oxygen species production and oxidative injury in the myocardial cells. AMPKα1 knockdown (via targeted shRNA), knockout (via a CRISPR/Cas9 construct) or dominant negative mutation (T172A) not only blocked GSK621-induced AMPK activation, but also nullified GSK621-mediated myocardial cell protection against OGD/R. Further studies demonstrated that GSK621 activated AMPK downstream Nrf2 signaling. Contrarily, Nrf2 silencing by targeted shRNAs almost abolished GSK621-induced anti-OGD/R myocardial cell protection. We conclude that GSK621 protects myocardial cells from OGD/R through activation of AMPK-dependent signaling. • In AC16 cells and primary murine myocardiocytes GSK621 activates AMPK signaling. • GSK621 inhibits OGD/R-induced oxidative stress and cytotoxicity in myocardial cells. • AMPK activation mediates GSK621-induced myocardial cell protection against OGD/R. • GSK621 activates AMPK-dependent Nrf2 signaling in myocardial cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present work proposes a preparation method for core-shell nanoparticles composed of quantum dots (QDs), SiO2, large Au nanoparticles (AuL), and small Au nanoparticles (AuS). The QDs were silica-coated with a sol-gel method using tetraethyl orthosilicate (QD/SiO2). AuL and AuS were fabricated by reducing Au3+ ions with sodium citrate and tetrakis(hydroxymethyl)phosphonium chloride in water, respectively. Amino groups were introduced onto QD/SiO2 surface by using (3-aminopropyl)-triethoxysilane (QD/SiO2/NH2). Both AuL and AuS were immobilized on QD/SiO2/NH2 by successively reacting AuL and AuS with QD/SiO2/NH2 (QD/SiO2/NH2/AuL/AuS). Surface modification of QD/SiO2/NH2/AuL/AuS was performed by using polyethylene glycol (PEG) with a thiol group (QD/SiO2/NH2/AuL/AuS/PEG). The QD/SiO2/NH2/AuL/AuS/PEG colloid solution could be clearly imaged via its fluorescence. Its computed tomography (CT) value per unit concentration of Au (M) was 1.2 × 104 HU/M. The QD/SiO2/NH2/AuL/AuS/PEGs were circulated in amouse through blood vessels, and some of them became trapped and accumulated in the liver and spleen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kiwifruit (Actinidia deliciosa) is a typical climacteric fruit, and its ripening is closely associated with ethylene. In this study, we present evidence that H2S alleviated ethylene-induced ripening and senescence of kiwifruit. Kiwifruit were fumigated with ethylene released from 0.4 g·LL-1 ethephon solution or H2S with 1 mM sodium hydrosulfide (NaHS) as the donor or in combination. Fumigation with ethylene was found to accelerate kiwifruit ripening and H2S treatment effectively alleviated ethylene-induced fruit softening in parallel with attenuated activity of polygalacturonase (PG) and amylase. Ethylene + H2S treatment also maintained higher levels of ascorbic acid, titratable acid, starch, soluble protein, and reducing sugar compared with ethylene group, whereas suppressed the increase in chlorophyll and carotenoid. Kiwifruit ripening and senescence under ethylene treatment was accompanied by elevation in reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels, including H2O2 and superoxide anion and malondialdehyde (MDA), but combined treatment of ethylene plus H2S alleviated oxidative stress in fruit. Furthermore, the activities of antioxidative enzymes catalase (CAT) and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) were increased by ethylene + H2S treatment in comparison with ethylene alone, whereas the activities of lipoxygenase (LOX) and polyphenol oxidase (PPO) were attenuated by H2S treatment. Further investigations showed that H2S repressed the expression of ethylene synthesis-related genes AdSAM, AdACS1, AdACS2, AdACO2, and AdACO3 and cysteine protease genes, such as AdCP1 and AdCP3. Taken together, our findings suggest that H2S alleviates kiwifruit ripening and senescence by antagonizing the effect of ethylene through reduction of oxidative stress and inhibition of ethylene synthesis pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By tuning the reaction temperature, two Anderson- and two [γ-Mo8O26]4--based compounds decorated by pendent organic ligands, [CuII 9(bpz)2(pz)2(H2O)24][ H2(Cr(OH)5Mo6O19)4] · 11H2O (1), [CuII(bpz)2(H2O)2(γ-H4Mo 8O26)] · 2H2O (2), [CuII 2(tea)2(H2O)6(HCr(OH)6Mo6O18)2] · 6H2O (3) and [AgI(bpz)(H2O)(γ-H4Mo8O26)0.5] (4) (bpz = 4-butyl-1H-pyrazole, pz = 1H-pyrazole, tea = 2-[1,2,4] triazol-4-yl-ethylamine), have been hydrothermally synthesized and characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis, IR spectra and elemental analyses. In compound 1, there are two kinds of tri-nuclear CuII clusters induced by bpz and pz ligands, respectively. Four Anderson-type anions are linked by these tri-nuclear clusters to form a "W"-type subunit. In compound 2, the [Cu(bpz)2(H2O)2]2+ subunits connect the γ-Mo8 anions to construct a chain. The remaining two non-coordinated N donors in [Cu(bpz)2(H2O)2]2+ further link two adjacent γ- Mo8 anions through Mo-N bonds. In compound 3, there exists a bi-nuclear CuII cluster [Cu2(tea)2(H2O)6]4+. The discrete bi-nuclear CuII clusters and the CrMo6 anions link each other through abundant hydrogen bonding interactions. In compound 4, the [Ag(bpz)(H2O)]+ subunits connect γ-Mo8 anions to build a zigzag chain. The chains are further fused by other [Ag(bpz)(H2O)]+ cations to form a grid-like layer. There still exist Mo-N bonds in 4. We also have investigated the electrochemical and photocatalytic properties of 1-4. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Significant progress has been made in the prevention, control, and elimination of human parasitic diseases in China in the past 60 years. However, parasitic diseases of poverty remain major causes of morbidity and mortality, and inflict enormous economic costs on societies. In this article, we review the prevalence rates, geographical distributions, epidemic characteristics, risk factors, and clinical manifestations of parasitic diseases of poverty listed in the first issue of the journal Infectious Diseases of Poverty on 25 October 2012. We also address the challenges facing control of parasitic diseases of poverty and provide suggestions for better control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phase structures and transitionsof a series of biphenyl containingside-chain liquid crystalline polyacetylenes (SCLCPAs) with differentlength of spacer and alkyl tail, poly((m + 2)-{[(4′-alkyloxy-4-biphenylyl)carbonyl]oxy}-1-yne)[P-m,7 (m= 4, 5, 8), P-m,5 (m= 9), P-m,5L(m= 3, 9), mis the numberof methylene units in the spacer], were studied by differential scanningcalorimeter, polarized light microscopy, one- and two-dimensionalwide-angle X-ray diffraction. It is revealed that phase structuresof the samples are strongly dependent on the lengths of spacer andalkyl tail. The samples with short spacer (m≤4) render the molecular shape of sheet-like due to the strong couplingbetween the backbone and the biphenyl groups on side-chains. Theyform highly ordered smectic phase with an additional ordering on thesubnanometer scale (SmXo) at low temperatures. For m> 5, P-m,7 exhibits the low-temperaturephase of smectic B (SmB), while P-9,5 and P-9,5Lform smecticE (SmE). As the long spacers adopt more gaucheconformationsto satisfy the ordered packing of biphenyl groups, the coupling ofmain- and side-chain is relieved. Among the samples studied, P-5,7is unique, which can retain the sheet-like shape but form the SmBstructure based on a fully interdigitated packing manner. Therefore,the spacer length of m= 5 sets the boundary betweencoupling and decoupling of the backbone and side-chains. Phase transitionsequences of the SCLCPAs studied are also found to be influenced clearlyby varying the spacer and tail lengths. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although many noble-metal oxide catalysts show high activities and low overpotentials for water oxidation, there remain challenges in the sustainable developments of more inexpensive, efficient, and robust catalysts. Here, we report a heterogeneous copper oxide film toward water oxidation formed upon the oxidative polarization of an acetate electrolyte containing Earth-abundant Cu(II) salts in combination with commercially available triethanolamine (TEOA) as the catalyst precursor. A 1:1 molar ratio of TEOA coordinates to Cu(II) is favored in aqueous solution and the single crystal of the complex was obtained. The film has a modest overpotential of 550 mV and the catalytic performance of the material is demonstrated by long-term electrolysis at 1.3 V vs normal hydrogen electrode, a stable current density persists for at least 3 h, and a Faradaic efficiency of almost 100% is obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electronic coupling across a bridging ligand between a chromophore and a catalyst center has an important influence on biological and synthetic photocatalytic processes. Structural and associated electronic modifications of ligands may improve the efficiency of photocatalytic transformations of organic substrates. Two ruthenium-based supramolecular assemblies based on a chromophore-catalyst dyad containing a Ru-aqua complex and its chloro form as the catalytic components were synthesized and structurally characterized, and their spectroscopic and electrochemical properties were investigated. Under visible light irradiation and in the presence of [Co(NH3)5Cl]Cl2 as a sacrificial electron acceptor, both complexes exhibited good photocatalytic activity toward oxidation of sulfide into the corresponding sulfoxide with high efficiency and >99% product selectivity in neutral aqueous solution. The Ru-aqua complex assembly was more efficient than the chloro complex. Isotopic labeling experiments using 18O-labeled water demonstrated the oxygen atom transfer from the water to the organic substrate, likely through the formation of an active intermediate, Ru(IV)-O. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Myeloperoxidase (MPO) is involved in myocardial ischemia-reperfusion (IR) injury and vascular peroxidase (VPO) is a newly identified isoform of MPO. This study was conducted to explore whether VPO is involved in IR-induced cardiac dysfunction and apoptosis. In a rat Langendorff model of myocardial IR, the cardiac function parameters (left ventricular pressure and the maximum derivatives of left ventricular pressure and coronary flow), creatine kinase (CK) activity, apoptosis, VPO1 activity were measured. In a cell (rat-heart-derived H9c2 cells) model of hypoxia-reoxygenation (HR), apoptosis, VPO activity, and VPO1 mRNA expression were examined. In isolated heart, IR caused a marked decrease in cardiac function and a significant increase in apoptosis, CK, and VPO activity. These effects were attenuated by pharmacologic inhibition of VPO. In vitro, pharmacologic inhibition of VPO activity or silencing of VPO1 expression significantly suppressed HR-induced cellular apoptosis. Our results suggest that increased VPO activity contributes to IR-induced cardiac dysfunction and inhibition of VPO activity may have the potential clinical value in protecting the myocardium against IR injury. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we generated a tkl1 deletion mutant in the Toxoplasma gondii type 1 RH (RHDtkl1) strain and tested the protective efficacies of vaccination using RHDtkl1 tachyzoites against acute, chronic, and congenital T. gondii infections in Kunming mice. Mice vaccinated with RHDtkl1 mounted a strong humoral and cellular response as shown by elevated levels of anti-T. gondii-specific IgG, IL-2, IL-12, IFN-γ, and IL-10. All RHDtkl1-vaccinated mice survived a lethal challenge with 1 3 10³ tachyzoites of type 1 RH or ToxoDB#9 (PYS or TgC7) strain as well as 100 cysts or oocysts of Prugniuad strain. All mock-vaccinated plus infected mice have died. Vaccination also protected against cyst- or oocyst-caused chronic infection, reduced vertical transmission caused by oocysts, increased litter size, and maintained body weight of pups born to dams challenged with 10 oocysts on day 5 of gestation. In contrast, all mock-vaccinated plus oocysts-infected dams had aborted, and no fetus has survived. Vaccinated dams remained healthy postinfection, and their brain cyst burden was significantly reduced compared with mock-vaccinated dams infected with oocysts. In vivo depletion of CD4+ T cells, CD8+ T cells, and B cells revealed that CD8+ T cells are involved in the protection of mice against T. gondii infection. Additionally, adoptive transfer of CD8+ T cells from RHDtkl1-vaccinated mice significantly enhanced the survival of naive mice infected with the pathogenic strain. Together, these data reaffirm the importance of CD8+ T cell responses in future vaccine design for toxoplasmosis and present T. gondii tkl1 gene as a promising vaccine candidate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new synchronization technique of inner and outer couplings is proposed in this work to investigate the synchronization of network group. Some Haken–Lorenz lasers with chaos behaviors are taken as the nodes to construct a few nearest neighbor complex networks and those sub-networks are also connected to form a network group. The effective node controllers are designed based on Lyapunov function and the complete synchronization among the sub-networks is realized perfectly under inner and outer couplings. The work is of potential applications in the cooperation output of lasers and the communication network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: dysphagia is a common complication of stroke, and serum albumin is widely recognized as a strong prognostic marker of health and/or disease status. However, the correlation between dysphagia and serum albumin levels has not been established. Objectives: to observe the correlation between dysphagia and serum albumin levels and prognosis in patients with stroke. Methods: we performed a retrospective study of patients hospitalized between June 1, 2018, and June 1, 2022. A total of 1,370 patients were enrolled. The patients were divided into two groups: dysphagia and non-dysphagia. Binary logistic regression and multiple linear regression models were used to analyze the correlation between dysphagia, albumin, modified Rankin Scale (mRS), activities of daily living (ADL), and length of hospital stay (LOS). Results: after adjusting for confounding factors, the risk of pneumonia in the dysphagia group was 2.417 times higher than that in the non-dysphagia group (OR = 2.417, 95 % CI: 1.902-3.072, p = 0.000). The risk of mRS ≥ 3 and modified Barthel index (MBI) < 60 in patients with dysphagia was 3.272-fold (OR = 3.272, 95 % CI: 2.508-4.269, p < 0.001) and 1.670-fold (OR = 1.670, 95 % CI: 1.230-2.268, p < 0.001), respectively; and the risk of hypoproteinemia was 2.533 times higher (OR = 2.533, 95 % CI: 1.879-3.414, p = 0.000). Stepwise linear regression showed that dysphagia was significantly correlated with lower albumin levels and higher mRS, lower ADL, and longer LOS in patients with stroke (β = -0.220, β = 0.265, β = -0.210, and β = 0.147, respectively; p < 0.001). Conclusions: dysphagia in patients with stroke is associated with decreased albumin levels and has an impact on its prognosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) drives circadian clock coherence through intercellular coupling, which is resistant to environmental perturbations. We report that primary cilia are required for intercellular coupling among SCN neurons to maintain the robustness of the internal clock in mice. Cilia in neuromedin S-producing (NMS) neurons exhibit pronounced circadian rhythmicity in abundance and length. Genetic ablation of ciliogenesis in NMS neurons enabled a rapid phase shift of the internal clock under jet-lag conditions. The circadian rhythms of individual neurons in cilia-deficient SCN slices lost their coherence after external perturbations. Rhythmic cilia changes drive oscillations of Sonic Hedgehog (Shh) signaling and clock gene expression. Inactivation of Shh signaling in NMS neurons phenocopied the effects of cilia ablation. Thus, cilia-Shh signaling in the SCN aids intercellular coupling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is a gaseous signaling molecule reported to play multiple roles in fruit ripening. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying H2S-mediated delay in fruit ripening remain to be established. Here, the gene encoding a WRKY transcription factor, WRKY71, was identified as substantially upregulated in H2S-treated tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) via transcriptome profiling. The expression of WRKY71 was negatively associated with that of CYANOALANINE SYNTHASE1 (CAS1). Transient and stable genetic modification experiments disclosed that WRKY71 acts as a repressor of the tomato ripening process. CAS1 appears to play an opposite role, based on the finding that the ripening process was delayed in the cas1 mutant and accelerated in CAS1-OE tomatoes. Dual-luciferase reporter assay, yeast one-hybrid, electrophoretic mobility shift assay, and transient transformation experiments showed that WRKY71 bound to the CAS1 promoter and suppressed its activation. Moreover, the persulfidation of WRKY71 enhanced its binding ability to the CAS1 promoter. Data from luciferase complementation and Y2H assays confirmed that WRKY71 interacts with a BOI-related E3 ubiquitin-protein ligase 3 (BRG3) and is ubiquitinated in vitro. Further experiments showed that modification of BRG3 via persulfidation at Cys206 and Cys212 led to reduced ubiquitination activity. Our findings support a model whereby BRG3 undergoes persulfidation at Cys206 and Cys212, leading to reduced ubiquitination activity and decreased interactions with the WRKY71 transcript, with a subsequent increase in binding activity of the persulfidated WRKY71 to the CAS1 promoter, resulting in its transcriptional inhibition and thereby delayed ripening of tomatoes. Our collective findings provide insights into a mechanism of H2S-mediated regulation of tomato fruit ripening. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Factories today are equipped with diverse mechanical equipment in response to rapid technological and industrial developments. Industrial areas located near residential neighborhoods cause massive environmental problems. In particular, noise pollution results in physical and psychological discomfort, and is a seen as invisible and inevitable problem. Thus, noise reduction is a critical and urgent matter. In this study, rigid polyurethane (PU) foam plates undergo perforation using a tapping machine. The mechanical and acoustic properties of these perforated plates as related to perforation rate and perforation depth are evaluated in terms of compression strength, drop-weight impact strength, and sound absorption coefficient. Experimental results indicate that applying the perforation process endows the rigid PU foaming plates with greater load absorption and better sound absorption at medium and high frequencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Doxorubicin (DOX) is an effective anthracycline anti-tumor antibiotic. Because of its cardiotoxicity, the clinical application of DOX is limited. Paeoniflorin (PEF), a monoterpene glucoside extracted from the dry root of Paeonia, is reported to exert multiple beneficial effects on the cardiovascular system. The present study was designed to explore the protective effect of PEF against DOX-induced cardiomyocyte apoptosis and the underlying mechanism. In cultured H9c2 cells, PEF (100 μmol/l) was added for 2 h prior to exposure to DOX (5 μmol/l) for 24 h. Cell viability, creatine kinase activity, cardiomyocyte apoptosis, intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels, and the expression of microRNA-1 (miR-1) and B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2) were measured following treatment with PEF and/or DOX. The results showed that treatment with DOX notably induced cardiomyocyte apoptosis, concomitantly with enhanced ROS generation, upregulated miR-1 expression and downregulated Bcl-2 expression. These effects of DOX were significantly inhibited by pretreatment of the cells with PEF. These results suggest that the inhibitory effect of PEF on DOX-induced cardiomyocyte apoptosis may be associated with downregulation of miR-1 expression via a reduction in ROS generation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Both carotid and lower limb atherosclerosis are associated with increased cardiovascular and cerebrovascular risks. However, it is still unclear whether the concomitant presence of carotid and lower extremity atherosclerosis further increases the cardiovascular and cerebrovascular risks. Therefore, our aim is to investigate whether the coexistence of carotid and lower extremity atherosclerosis was associated with higher cardiovascular and cerebrovascular risks in patients with type 2 diabetes. Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed in 2830 hospitalized patients with type 2 diabetes. Based on carotid and lower limb Doppler ultrasound results, the patients were divided into three groups including 711 subjects without atherosclerosis, 999 subjects with either carotid or lower limb atherosclerosis, and 1120 subjects with both carotid and lower limb atherosclerosis. And we compared the clinical characteristics and prevalence of both cardio-cerebrovascular events (CCBVEs) and self-reported cardio- cerebrovascular diseases (CCBVDs) among the three groups. Results: After adjusting for age, sex, and duration of diabetes, there were significant increases in the prevalence of both CCBVEs (3.8 vs. 11.8 vs. 26.4 %, p < 0.001 for trend) and self-reported CCBVDs (6.9 vs. 19.9 vs. 36.5 %, p < 0.001 for trend) across the three groups (diabetics without atherosclerosis, diabetics with either carotid or lower limb atherosclerosis, and diabetics with both carotid and lower extremity atherosclerosis). A fully adjusted logistic regression analysis also revealed that compared with those without atherosclerosis, those with either carotid or lower limb atherosclerosis had higher risk of CCBVEs (OR 1.724, 95 % CI 1.001-2.966) and self-reported CCBVDs (OR 1.705, 95 % CI 1.115-2.605), and those with concomitant presence of carotid and lower extremity atherosclerosis had the highest risk of CCBVEs (OR 2.869, 95 % CI 1.660-4.960) and self-reported CCBVDs (2.147, 95 % CI 1.388-3.320)(p < 0.001 for trend in CCBVEs and p = 0.002 for trend in CCBVDs, respectively). Conclusions: Either carotid or lower limb atherosclerosis was obviously related to increased cardio-cerebrovascular risk in type 2 diabetes. The concomitant presence of carotid and lower extremity atherosclerosis further increased cardio-cerebrovascular risk in patients with type 2 diabetes. The combined application of carotid and lower extremity ultrasonography may help identify type 2 diabetics with higher cardio-cerebrovascular risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Regulation of seed germination is important for plant survival and propagation. ABSCISIC ACID (ABA) INSENSITIVE5 (ABI5), the central transcription factor in the ABA signaling pathway, plays a fundamental role in the regulation of ABA-responsive gene expression during seed germination; however, how ABI5 transcriptional activation activity is regulated remains to be elucidated. Here, we report that C-type Cyclin1;1 (CycC1;1) is an ABI5-interacting partner affecting the ABA response and seed germination in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). The CycC1;1 loss-of-function mutant is hypersensitive to ABA, and this phenotype was rescued by mutation of ABI5. Moreover, CycC1;1 suppresses ABI5 transcriptional activation activity for ABI5-targeted genes including ABI5 itself by occupying their promoters and disrupting RNA polymerase II recruitment; thus the cycc1;1 mutant shows increased expression of ABI5 and genes downstream of ABI5. Furthermore, ABA reduces the interaction between CycC1;1 and ABI5, while phospho-mimic but not phospho-dead mutation of serine-42 in ABI5 abolishes CycC1;1 interaction with ABI5 and relieves CycC1;1 inhibition of ABI5-mediated transcriptional activation of downstream target genes. Together, our study illustrates that CycC1;1 negatively modulates the ABA response by interacting with and inhibiting ABI5, while ABA relieves the CycC1;1 interaction with and inhibition of ABI5 to activate ABI5 activity for the ABA response, thereby inhibiting seed germination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accumulating evidence suggests that activation of spinal microglia contributes to the development of inflammatory and neuropathic pain. However, the role of spinal microglia in the maintenance of chronic pain remains controversial. Bone cancer pain shares features of inflammatory and neuropathic pain, but the temporal activation of microglia and astrocytes in this model is not well defined. Here, we report an unconventional role of spinal microglia in the maintenance of advanced-phase bone cancer pain in a female rat model. Bone cancer elicited delayed and persistent microglial activation in the spinal dorsal horn on days 14 and 21, but not on day 7. In contrast, bone cancer induced rapid and persistent astrocytic activation on days 7-21. Spinal inhibition of microglia by minocycline at 14 d effectively reduced bone cancer-induced allodynia and hyperalgesia. However, pretreatment of minocycline in the first week did not affect the development of cancer pain. Bone cancer increased ATP levels in CSF, and upregulated P2X7 receptor, phosphorylated p38, and IL-18 in spinal microglia. Spinal inhibition of P2X7/p-38/IL-18 pathway reduced advanced-phase bone cancer pain and suppressed hyperactivity of spinal wide dynamic range (WDR) neurons. IL-18 induced allodynia and hyperalgesia after intrathecal injection, elicited mechanical hyperactivity of WDR neurons in vivo, and increased the frequency of mEPSCs in spinal lamina IIo nociceptive synapses in spinal cord slices. Together, our findings demonstrate a novel role of microglia in maintaining advanced phase cancer pain in females via producing the proinflammatory cytokine IL-18 to enhance synaptic transmission of spinal cord nociceptive neurons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The bisindolylmaleimide GF109203X is a highly selective inhibitor to Protein Kinase C (PKC) and has attracted much attention. However, its reported synthesis required protecting groups. In order to achieve a short and N-protecting-group-free synthesis of GF109203X, an investigation on N-alkylation of arcyriarubin A was carried out using different bases, solvents and equivalents of bromododecane. It is found that mono-N-alkylation and mono-N'-alkylation could be achieved respectively. Thus, a protecting-group-free synthesis of GF109203X was accomplished in 40% overall yield starting from indole. This work will lead to a short synthesis of mono-N'-alkylated arcyriarubins to accelerate drug discovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of sequential embryo transfer in patients with repeated IVF failure. A retrospective matched case-control study was conducted and the outcomes of 213 patients with a history of repeated IVF-embryo transfer failure were analysed, of which 33 women underwent sequential embryo transfer on day 2 and day 3 (D2/D3 group), 66 women on day 3 and day 5 (D3/D5 group), 85 women underwent day-3 embryo transfer only (D3 control group) and 29 women underwent day-5 embryo transfer only (D5 control group) in the assisted reproduction centre of the Sixth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University from August 2010 to December 2011. The results showed that the clinical pregnancy rate of the D2/D3 group was higher than that of the D3 group (48.5% versus 22.4%, P = 0.006) white the clinical pregnancy rates of the D3/D5 and D5 groups were not significantly different (50.9% versus 45.8%). Day-2 and day-3 sequential embryo transfer may improve the clinical outcomes for patients with repeated IVF-embryo transfer failures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To study the relationship between the reliability and validity of VES-13 and the influencing factors of the vulnerable condition of patients with advanced castration-resistant prostate cancer, so as to provide a reference for the health management and nursing of elderly inpatients. Methods: By means of convenience sampling, 150 vulnerable patients with advanced castration-resistant prostate cancer who were admitted to the Department of Oncology of the Affiliated Hospital of Hebei University from April 2019 to March 2020 were selected. General data questionnaire, simple mental state checklist, anxiety self-assessment scale, and the vulnerable elders 13 survey (VES-13) were used in this study. The reliability and validity were tested by SPSS 20.0. Results: For this group of patients, VES-13 Cronbach's α was 0.832, living function was 0.778, body function was 0.846, and the correlation coefficient between items was between 0.401 and 0.823 (P<0.01); the retest reliability was 0.831 (P<0.05), and the correlation coefficient was0.504 (P<0.05). The average time to fill in each scale was 4.53±1.32 Minutes, and general indicators such as economic status and education level were significantly correlated with vulnerability. The clinical indicators of prostate-specific antigen levels, multiple bone metastases, and bone pain were significantly correlated with vulnerability. Conclusion: VES-13 scale had high level of reliability and operability, and was straight forward to understand and use; it can be used as an effective tool for the assessment of vulnerability in patients with advanced prostate cancer. The vulnerability of patients with castration-resistant prostate cancer showed significant correlation with economic status, education level, prostate-specific antigen level, multiple bone metastases, bone pain and other indicators. Nursing staff should pay close attention to the relevant factors of inpatients and give targeted advance intervention measures to facilitate rapid recovery of elderly inpatients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Morchella protein hydrolysate (MPH) and its glycosylated derivative (G-MPH) may possess the potential as natural antioxidants. However, knowledge about the protective effects of MPH and G-MPH on cellular oxidative damage is limited. This study evaluated whether MPH and G-MPH protected Caco-2 cells from H2O2-induced oxidative injury and explored the potential mechanisms of protection. The results showed that, under H2O2 stress, both MPH and G-MPH significantly increased cell viability, suppressed intracellular ROS and MDA production, increased cellular antioxidant capacity, and activated Nrf2 signaling pathway. More importantly, MPH and G-MPH significantly inhibited the H2O2-induced apoptosis via restoring the loss of mitochondrial membrane potential and regulating the protein expressions of Bax, Bcl-2, and caspase-3. These data indicate that MPH and G-MPH can protect Caco-2 cells against oxidative injury by improving cellular antioxidant responses and inhibiting apoptosis. Therefore, MPH and G-MPH can have a broad application potential as promising ingredients of nutraceutical products or functional foods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/Aims: Abnormal fatty acid β oxidation has been associated with obesity and type 2 diabetes. Resistin is an adipokine that has been considered as a potential factor in obesity-mediated insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. However, the effect of resistin on fatty acid β oxidation needs to be elucidated. Methods: We detected the effects of resistin on the expression of fatty acid oxidation (FAO) transcriptional regulatory genes, the fatty acid transport gene, and mitochondrial β-oxidation genes using real-time PCR. The rate of FAO was measured using 14C-palmitate. Immunofluorescence assay and western blot analysis were used to explore the underlying molecular mechanisms. Results: Resistin leads to a reduction in expression of the FAO transcriptional regulatory genes ERRα and NOR1, the fatty acid transport gene CD36, and the mitochondrial β-oxidation genes CPT1, MCAD, and ACO. Importantly, treatment with resistin led to a reduction in the rate of cellular fatty acid oxidation. In addition, treatment with resistin reduced phosphorylation of acetyl CoA carboxylase (ACC) (inhibitory). Mechanistically, resistin inhibited the activation of CREB, resulting in suppression of PGC-1α. Importantly, overexpressing PGC-1α can rescue the inhibitory effects of resistin on fatty acid β oxidation. Conclusions: Activating the transcriptional activity of CREB using small molecular chemicals is a potential pharmacological strategy for preventing the inhibitory effects of resistin on fatty acid β oxidation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electrochemical double layer capacitors can store electrical energy by accumulating electrolyte ions on the electrode surface and are playing an important role in renewable energy sources due to their high power density and superior durability. Owing to the excellent electrical, mechanical, and thermal characteristics, three-dimensional multiporous carbon nanomaterials are catching considerable attention which could lead to the high-rate supercapacitor performance. Here, we present a stable 1.7 nm cage-based metal-organic framework (BMM-9, [Zn2(TPO)4/3(dabco)•Solvent]) with high porosity of 62.4%. On the other hand, after the thermal treatment at high temperature, the three-dimensional MOF-derived micro/mesoporous carbon material BMM-9-900 acts as dual-doped active electrode materials and shows a capacitance of 182.8 F g-1 at a current density of 1 A g-1, and a capacity retention of 98.5% over 1000 cycles. Given the well-established structural tunability, these outcomes will shed light on a new generation of MOF-derived supercapacitors whose active materials can be tunable at the molecular level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is a highly lethal cancer, and its underlying molecular mechanisms are poorly understood. Recent large-scale genome-wide association studies in Chinese Han populations have identified an ESCC susceptibility locus within the SLC39A6 gene. Here, we sought to explore the expression and biological function of SLC39A6 in ESCC.Methods: Multiethnic validation of SLC39A6 protein expression was performed in different cohorts of patients from Chinese Han and Kazakh populations in the Xinjiang region by immunohistochemistry. The associations among SLC39A6 expression, clinicopathological parameters, and prognosis outcomes of ESCC were analyzed. And the effects of SLC39A6 silencing by siRNA on cell proliferation, apoptosis, and invasiveness, as well as the proteins involved in epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of esophageal cancer cells, were studied.Results: SLC39A6 protein expression increased progressively from normal esophageal epithelium (NEE) to low-grade intraepithelial neoplasia to ESCC, and finally reached the highest in high-grade intraepithelial neoplasia from Han ethnic. Similarly, SLC39A6 protein was significantly overexpressed in Kazakh ethnic ESCC compared with that in NEE. Increased expression of SLC39A6 was found to be closely correlated with histological grade and early Tumor-Node-Metastasis stage I/II. High tumorous SLC39A6 expression was significantly correlated with shorter overall survival (OS). Cox regression analysis confirmed that SLC39A6 expression was an independent prognostic factor for poor OS in ESCC. Experimentally, the suppression of SLC39A6 expression promoted ESCC cell apoptosis but abrogated proliferation and invasion, and induced an EMT phenotype that included enhanced expression of E-cadherin, loss of vimentin, and morphological changes in ESCC cells in vitro.Conclusions: Combined, our findings highlight a tumor-promoting role for SLC39A6 in ESCC, suggesting that SLC39A6 could serve as an early detector of high-risk subjects and prognostic biomarker. The targeting of SLC39A6 might be a potential therapeutic strategy for blocking ESCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The associations between urine uric acid excretion (UUAE) and chronic kidney disease (CKD)/ atherosclerosis have not been investigated. Our aims were to investigate the relationships between UUAE and CKD and carotid atherosclerotic lesions in hospitalized Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study that was conducted with 2627 Chinese inpatients with type 2 diabetes. UUAE was determined enzymatically using a single 24-h urine collection. The subjects were stratified into quartiles according to their UUAE levels. Carotid atherosclerotic lesions, including carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT), plaque and stenosis, were assessed by Doppler ultrasound. Both CKD and carotid atherosclerotic lesions were compared between the UUAE quartile groups. Results: After adjustment for confounding factors, there was a significant decrease in the prevalence of CKD in the patients with type 2 diabetes across the UUAE quartiles (16.9%, 8.5%, 5.9%, and 4.9%; p < 0.001). Multiple logistic regression analyses revealed that the UUAE quartiles were significantly and inversely associated with the presence of CKD (p < 0.001). Compared with the diabetics in the highest UUAE quartile, those in the lowest quartile exhibited a nearly 4.2-fold increase in the risk of CKD (95% CI: 2.272-7.568; p < 0.001). The CIMT value (0.91 ± 0.22 mm for the diabetics with CKD and 0.82 ± 0.20 mm for the diabetics without CKD, p = 0.001) and the prevalence of carotid plaques (62.1% for the diabetics with CKD and 41.8% for the diabetics without CKD, p = 0.025) were significantly higher in the diabetics with CKD than in those without CKD. However, there was no obvious difference in carotid atherosclerotic lesions across the UUAE quartiles after controlling for the confounding factors. Conclusions: Decreased UUAE was closely associated with the presence of CKD but not with carotid atherosclerotic lesions in hospitalized Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes. Our results suggest that UUAE is an independent risk factor for CKD in type 2 diabetes. In selected populations, such as patient with type 2 diabetes, the role of uric acid in atherosclerosis might be the result of other concomitant atherosclerotic risk factors, such as CKD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Elucidating the influence mechanism of surrounding environmental conditions on the adsorption process is essential in application of adsorption method for heavy metal removal from wastewater. In the present work, the magnetic graphene oxide-supported ß-cyclodextrin (MGO/ß-CD) was synthesized and characterized by FESEM, TEM, TG-DSC, FT-IR, and zeta potential. The effects of pH, ionic strength, background electrolytes, and citric acid on the adsorption behavior of Cu(II) by MGO/ß-CD were investigated. The results showed that Cu(II) adsorption was strongly dependent on solution pH and could be affected by ionic strength, background electrolytes and citric acid. The Cu(II) adsorption was increased as the NaN03 concentration increased from 0 to 0.1 M at pH< 8. The presence of LiN03, NaN03, KNO3, NaCl, and NaC104 enhanced the Cu(II) removal slightly. The Cu(II) adsorption was also improved by citric acid. Adsorption kinetics of Cu(II) was found to follow pseudo-second-order rate equation, and the adsorption rate was controlled by film diffusion. The adsorption data showed good correlation with the Freundlich and Temkin isotherm models. The results of this work are of great significance for the application of MGO/ß-CD as a promising adsorbent material for Cu(II) removal from aqueous solution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: BRCA mutations are the main known hereditary factor for ovarian cancer. Notably, emerging evidence indicates that the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) has drawn considerable interest in ovarian cancer development. However, dynamic cross-talk between BRCA1 and GR signaling pathways are poorly understood. Methods: The regulatory effects of BRCA on GR were assessed in 146 serous ovarian cancer patients (28 pairs of BRCA1-mutated or not, 23 pairs of BRCA2-mutated or not, and 22 pairs with hypermethylated BRCA1 promoter or not). BRCA1 promoter methylation was analyzed by bisulfite sequencing using primers flanking the core promoter region. Expression levels of BRCA1 and GR were assessed by immunohistochemistry and real-time PCR. Regression analysis was used to examine the possible relationship between BRCA1 and GR expression levels. The knockdown and overexpression of BRCA1 were achieved using a lentiviral vector in 293 T cells, SKOV3 ovarian cancer cells, and primary non-mutated and BRCA1-mutated ovarian cancer cells. Results: GR expression levels were unchanged in non-BRCA1-mutated, non-BRCA2-mutated and BRCA2-mutated ovarian cancer compared to their normal tissues; BRCA1 repression (BRCA1 mutation or BRCA1 promoter hypermethylation) ovarian cancer showed decreased GR levels compared to normal tissue; there was a positive correlation between BRCA1 and GR expression in human ovarian cancer specimens; BRCA1 knockdown was effective at inhibiting GR expression, and overexpression of BRCA1 induces an increase in GR levels in ovarian cancer cells. Conclusions: These results suggest that GR may be a potential target for BRCA1 in ovarian cancer progression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: BRCA mutations are the main known hereditary factor for ovarian cancer. Notably, emerging evidence indicates that the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) has drawn considerable interest in ovarian cancer development. However, dynamic cross-talk between BRCA1 and GR signaling pathways are poorly understood. Methods: The regulatory effects of BRCA on GR were assessed in 146 serous ovarian cancer patients (28 pairs of BRCA1-mutated or not, 23 pairs of BRCA2-mutated or not, and 22 pairs with hypermethylated BRCA1 promoter or not). BRCA1 promoter methylation was analyzed by bisulfite sequencing using primers flanking the core promoter region. Expression levels of BRCA1 and GR were assessed by immunohistochemistry and real-time PCR. Regression analysis was used to examine the possible relationship between BRCA1 and GR expression levels. The knockdown and overexpression of BRCA1 were achieved using a lentiviral vector in 293 T cells, SKOV3 ovarian cancer cells, and primary non-mutated and BRCA1-mutated ovarian cancer cells. Results: GR expression levels were unchanged in non-BRCA1-mutated, non-BRCA2-mutated and BRCA2-mutated ovarian cancer compared to their normal tissues; BRCA1 repression (BRCA1 mutation or BRCA1 promoter hypermethylation) ovarian cancer showed decreased GR levels compared to normal tissue; there was a positive correlation between BRCA1 and GR expression in human ovarian cancer specimens; BRCA1 knockdown was effective at inhibiting GR expression, and overexpression of BRCA1 induces an increase in GR levels in ovarian cancer cells. Conclusions: These results suggest that GR may be a potential target for BRCA1 in ovarian cancer progression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Src-associated in mitosis (Sam68; 68 kDa) has been implicated in the oncogenesis and progression of several human cancers. The aim of this study was to investigate the clinicopathologic significance of Sam68 expression and its subcellular localization in colorectal cancer (CRC).Methods: Sam68 expression was examined in CRC cell lines, nine matched CRC tissues and adjacent noncancerous tissues using reverse transcription (RT)-PCR, quantitative RT-PCR and Western blotting. Sam68 protein expression and localization were determined in 224 paraffin-embedded archived CRC samples using immunohistochemistry. Statistical analyses were applied to evaluate the clinicopathologic significance.Results: Sam68 was upregulated in CRC cell lines and CRC, as compared with normal tissues; high Sam68 expression was detected in 120/224 (53.6%) of the CRC tissues. High Sam68 expression correlated significantly with poor differentiation (P = 0.033), advanced T stage (P < 0.001), N stage (P = 0.023) and distant metastasis (P = 0.033). Sam68 nuclear localization correlated significantly with poor differentiation (P = 0.002) and T stage (P =0.021). Patients with high Sam68 expression or Sam68 nuclear localization had poorer overall survival than patients with low Sam68 expression or Sam68 cytoplasmic localization. Patients with high Sam68 expression had a higher risk of recurrence than those with low Sam68 expression.Conclusions: Overexpression of Sam68 correlated highly with cancer progression and poor differentiation in CRC. High Sam68 expression and Sam68 nuclear localization were associated with poorer overall survival. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Better understanding of the mechanism is important for exploring the potentials of a preconcentration method. In this work, we show for the first time that the HF etched porous junction on a fused silica capillary behaves not only as a filter but also as an integrated nanofluidic interface. This junction exhibits an obvious ion concentration polarization (CP) effect, with which highly efficient electrokinetic stacking (ES) inside the capillary can be achieved without molecular size or charge type limitation. Two major types of CP based ES were proposed, and an autostop etching principle was presented for avoiding overetching. The ES can be performed in a broad range of pH and buffer concentration. Over a billion times of concentration was demonstrated by a fluorescein probe with laser induced fluorescent (LIF) detection. ES of fluorescently labeled and native DNA and protein were characterized by charge-coupled device (CCD) imaging and online capillary gel electrophoresis (CGE) with ultraviolet (UV) absorption detections, respectively. With this junction, highly efficient ES can be performed easily by voltage manipulation without any mechanical operation. We may foresee that the performance of capillary-based conventional and chip electrophoresis could be greatly enhanced with this junction in the analysis of low abundance biomolecules. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The tumor suppressor p53 controls multiple cellular functions including DNA repair, cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. MDM2- mediated p53 ubiquitination affects both degradation and cytoplasmic localization of p53. Several cofactors are known to modulate MDM2-mediated p53 ubiquitination and proteasomal degradation. Here we show that IRTKS, a novel IRSp53-like protein inhibited p53-induced apoptosis and depressed its transcription activity. IRTKS bound directly to p53 and increased p53 ubiquitination and cytoplasmic localization. Further studies revealed that IRTKS interacted with MDM2 and promoted low levels of MDM2-mediated p53 ubiquitination in vitro and in vivo. In unstressed cells with low levels of MDM2, IRTKS was found to stabilize the interaction of p53 and MDM2. In stressed cells, IRTKS dissociated from p53, and high levels of MDM2 induced by p53 activation mediate IRTKS poly-ubiquitination and subsequent proteasomal degradation. These data suggest that IRTKS is a novel regulator of p53, modulating low level of MDM2-mediated p53 ubiquitination in unstressed cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reactions of CoIIor ZnIInitrate with mixed ligands norfloxacin (H-Norf) and 1,4-benzenedicarboxylic acid (H2bdc) under hydrothermal conditions afford two isostructural compounds [Co3(bdc)2(Hbdc)2(H-Norf)2(H2O)4] (1) and [Zn3(bdc)2(Hbdc)2(H-Norf)2(H2O)4] (2). An eye-catching structure feature of these two compounds is that each rhombic window within the sheet is threaded by two dangling H-Norf ligands belonging to the sheet itself, showing the self-threading feature. Equally interesting is that the packing of these layers gives rise to a 3D self-threading network if interlayer H-bonds are taken into account. Thermal stability analyses of these two compounds and the magnetic property of complex 1were also studied in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is implicated in the affective response to noxious stimuli. However, little is known about the molecular mechanisms involved. The present study demonstrated that extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) activation in the ACC plays a crucial role in pain-related negative emotion. Intraplantar formalin injection produced a transient ERK activation in laminae V-VI and a persistent ERK activation in laminae II-III of the rostral ACC (rACC) bilaterally. Using formalin-induced conditioned place avoidance (F-CPA) in rats, which is believed to reflect the pain-related negative emotion, we found that blockade of ERK activation in the rACC with MEK inhibitors prevented the induction of F-CPA. Interestingly, this blockade did not affect formalin-induced two-phase spontaneous nociceptive responses and CPA acquisition induced by electric foot-shock or U69,593, an innocuous aversive agent. Upstream, NMDA receptor, adenylyl cyclase (AC) and phosphokinase A (PKA) activators activated ERK in rACC slices. Consistently, intra-rACC microinjection of AC or PKA inhibitors prevented F-CPA induction. Downstream, phosphorylation of cAMP response element binding protein (CREB) was induced in the rACC by formalin injection and by NMDA, AC and PKA activators in brain slices, which was suppressed by MEK inhibitors. Furthermore, ERK also contributed to the expression of pain-related negative emotion. Thus, when rats were re-exposed to the conditioning context for retrieval of pain experience, ERK and CREB were reactivated in the rACC, and inhibiting ERK activation blocked the expression of F-CPA. All together, our results demonstrate that ERK activation in the rACC is required for the induction and expression of pain-related negative affect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An isolate of a new tospovirus species, causing concentric zoned ringspots on fruits and necrotic lesions on leaves of infected plants, was characterised based on particle morphology, host range and serological properties. The complete nucleotide sequences of large (L), medium (M), and small (S) RNAs of this virus were found to contain 8919, 4945, and 3279 nts respectively. The L RNA encoded the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) (2885 aa, 332.7 kDa). The M RNA encoded a non-structural (NSm) protein (309 aa, 34.4 kDa) and a viral glycoprotein precursor (Gn/Gc) (1122 aa, 127.4 kDa). The S RNA encoded a non-structural protein (NSs) (459 aa, 51.9 kDa) and the nucleocapsid (N) protein (278 aa, 30.6 kDa). This N protein shared amino acid identities of 80.9% with those of calla lily chlorotic spot virus. Our results suggest that the virus studied here belongs to a new tospovirus species, for which the name tomato zonate spot virus is proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Fractalkine, a chemokine binding to only one known receptor CX3CR1, has recently been proposed to be a neuron-to-glia signal in the spinal cord leading to microglial activation and glially dependent pain facilitation. The previous studies explored that blockade of endogenous fractalkine, using anti-CX3CR1 neutralizing antibody, dose-dependently attenuated neuropathic pain. The present study examined the role of endogenous fractalkine in inflammatory pain. Intra-articular injection of complete Freund’s adjuvant (CFA)-induced rat ankle joint monoarthritis (MA) model was used. Western blot analysis revealed that CX3CR1 expression in the spinal cord was significantly increased following CFA-induced MA. Intrathecal injection of anti-CX3CR1 neutralizing antibody both delayed the development of mechanical allodynia and thermal hyperalgesia, and reversed established pain facilitation. Furthermore, blockade of CX3CR1 significantly suppressed activation of spinal glia, especially microglia, evoked by MA. These data provided new evidence for the contribution of endogenous fractalkine to the initiation and early maintenance of inflammatory pain facilitation via activating spinal microglia. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The first binodal (6,10)-connected metal–organic network, based on an octahedral binuclear zinc cluster as a six-connected node and a dodecahedral pentanuclear zinc cluster as a ten-connected node, defines a new topology for three-periodic nets that is not only unobserved in crystal structures, but also unenumerated in electronic topological databases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]