Search

Woody oil plants are important economic trees which are widely cultivated and distributed throughout China. Surveys conducted during 2020 and 2021 on several woody oil plantations from five regions of Sichuan Province, China, revealed a high diversity of Botryosphaerialean fungi. The identification of 50 botryosphaeriaceous isolates was carried out based on both morphology and multi-gene phylogenetic analysis of internal transcribed spacer region (ITS), translation elongation factor 1-alpha gene (tef1) and β-tubulin gene (tub2). This allowed the identification of twelve previously known Botryosphaeriales species: Aplosporella prunicola, A. ginkgonis, Barriopsis tectonae, Botryosphaeria dothidea, Bo. fabicerciana, Diplodia mutila, Di. seriata, Dothiorella sarmentorum, Neofusicoccum parvum, Sardiniella guizhouensis, Sphaeropsis citrigena, and Sp. guizhouensis, and four novel species belonging to the genera Diplodia and Dothiorella, viz. Di. acerigena, Di. pistaciicola, Do. camelliae and Do. zanthoxyli. The dominant species isolated across the surveyed regions were Botryosphaeria dothidea, Sardiniella guizhouensis and Diplodia mutila, representing 20%, 14% and 12% of the total isolates, respectively. In addition, most isolates were obtained from Pistacia chinensis (14 isolates), followed by Camellia oleifera (10 isolates). The present study enhances the understanding of Botryosphaeriales species diversity on woody oil plants in Sichuan Province, China.

Pores and weak bonding are the inherently drawbacks for thermally sprayed coating. Laser beam is an attractive approach to remelt thermal spray coating for obtaining fully dense coating with metallurgical bonding with substrate. However, defects of holes or cracks are highly inevitable with unmatching remelting processing parameters. In this work, a thermally sprayed Cr3C2-NiCr cermet coating by high velocity oxygen fuel spraying was post-processed by laser remelting with a series of varying beam energy densities from 37.5 J/mm2 to 225 J/mm2. The defect evolution was investigated by both experimental and numerical simulation methods. Large holes and through-thickness cracks were typical defects observed in the remelt coating by optical microscopy. The experimental results show that remelting-induced defects evolve into three stages with laser energy density. The effect of energy density on remelt structure was further verified with the temperature field by numerical simulation with ABAQUS code. The stress field interpreted the crack formation at periodical formation sites. The results on the defect evolution shed light on obtaining functional coatings for industrial applications.

Microbial sulfate reduction is largely associated with anaerobic methane oxidation and alkane degradation in sulfate-methane transition zone (SMTZ) of deep-sea cold seeps. How the sulfur cycling is mediated by microbes near SMTZ has not been fully understood. In this study, we detected a shallow SMTZ in three of eight sediment cores sampled from two cold seep areas in the South China Sea. One hundred ten genomes representing sulfur-oxidizing bacteria (SOB) and sulfur-reducing bacteria (SRB) strains were identified from three SMTZ-bearing cores. In the layers above SMTZ, SOB were mostly constituted by Campylobacterota, Gammaproteobacteria and Alphaproteobacteria that probably depended on nitrogen oxides and/or oxygen for oxidation of sulfide and thiosulfate in near-surface sediment layers. In the layers below the SMTZ, the deltaproteobacterial SRB genomes and metatranscriptomes revealed CO2 fixation by Wood-Ljungdahl pathway, sulfate reduction and nitrogen fixation for syntrophic or fermentative lifestyle. A total of 68% of the metagenome assembled genomes were not adjacent to known species in a phylogenomic tree, indicating a high diversity of bacteria involved in sulfur cycling. With the large number of genomes for SOB and SRB, our study uncovers the microbial populations that potentially mediate sulfur metabolism and associated carbon and nitrogen cycles, which sheds light on complex biogeochemical processes in deep-sea environments.

To explore the effect of moxibustion at Shenque (CV 8) on myocardial structure and function in exercise-induced fatigue rats. A 12-week treadmill running training was performed to create an exercise-induced fatigue rat model. Sixty eligible male specific-pathogen-free grade Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into a blank group, a control group, a model group, a non-meridian non-acupoint group, a Zusanli (ST 36) group and a Shenque (CV 8) group, with 10 rats in each group. Rats in the blank group did not receive treadmill running training or moxibustion. Rats in the control group did not receive treadmill running training but received mild moxibustion at Shenque (CV 8). Rats in the model group received treadmill running training but no moxibustion. Rats in the non-meridian non-acupoint group, the Zusanli (ST 36) group and the Shenque (CV 8) group received moxibustion at the non-meridian non-acupoint points, Zusanli (ST 36) or Shenque (CV 8) immediately after each treadmill running training, 15 min each time, once a day for 5 consecutive days a week at a 2-day interval, 60 times of moxibustion in total. Left ventricular end-diastolic diameter (LVEDd), left ventricular end-systolic diameter (LVESd), left ventricular diastolic volume (LVDv), left ventricular systolic volume (LVSv), ejection fraction (EF), stroke volume (SV), early diastolic peak flow velocity of mitral valve (E) and late diastolic peak flow velocity of mitral valve (A) of each group before and after the last treadmill running training were measured. Blood was collected 6 h after the last treadmill running training, and serum C-reactive protein (CRP), myoglobin (Mb), creatine kinase-myocardial band (CK-MB), cardiac troponin I (cTnI) and cardiac troponin T (cTnT) levels were detected. Finally, the heart was separated, the heart mass (HM) was measured, the cTnT level of the myocardial tissue was detected, the ultrastructural changes of the left ventricular myocardium were observed by transmission electron microscope, the left ventricular fraction shortening (LVFS), E/A and heart mass index (HMI) were calculated. Compared with the same group before treatment, the rat cardiac LVEDd, LVESd, LVDv, LVSv, SV, E and A were significantly increased (all P

Large amounts of detrital organic matter and osmolytes accumulate in the sediments of hadal trenches (>6000 m depth) due to the funnelling effect. It is still unknown whether there are novel active microbes that depend on specific carbon sources in extreme and isolated environments. In this study, we present a novel active bacterial phylum, Candidatus Tianyabacteria in the FCB superphylum, which was enriched in sediments collected from the Challenger Deep. Genome binning resulted in high-quality Ca. Tianyabacteria genomes representing two Ca. Tianyabacteria lineages (L1 and L2) in sediments 0-21 cm below the surface (cmbsf); L1 tends to be abundant in the upper layers (0-9 cmbsf), and L2 seems to be more prevalent in the deeper layers (12-21 cmbsf). Gene annotation and transcriptomics results indicate that the two lineages might import and catalyse amino acids and myo-inositol into central carbon metabolism for a heterotrophic lifestyle. Probably due to differences in environmental oxygen levels, the L2 genomes harbour gene clusters responsible for denitrification and fermentation, while the L1 genomes encode octahaem cytochrome c and multicopper oxidase using unknown substrates. The Ca. Tianyabacteria are thus novel heterotrophic organisms that participate in processes of carbon, nitrogen and organic osmolyte cycling in hadal sediments.

We intended to identify the incidence and risk factors (RFs) for Postoperative urinary retention (POUR) after applying a risk-stratified catheterization optimization method in enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS)-total joint arthroplasty (TJA).A total of 381 patients were prospectively monitored for POUR. POUR diagnosis was done by a perioperative specialist. Data on potential risk factors (RFs) for POUR were accumulated. Univariate analysis (UA) was conducted to identify possible indicators of POUR, followed by multivariate analysis (MA) of identified indicators.POUR occurred in 5.5% of cases, including 8 (3.4%) patients underwent total knee arthroplasty and 13 (10.4%) patients underwent total hip arthroplasty. In UA, age, sex, American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score, and the type of operation were significantly different on UA (P = 0.046, P = 0.022, P = 0.000 and P = 0.049, respectively). Other additional predictors, including body mass index (BMI), international prostate symptom score (IPSS) score, preoperative haemoglobin (Hb), duration of operation, estimated intraoperative blood loss, intraoperative fluid volume, fluid infusion volume within 24 h postoperatively were not associated with POUR (P 0.05). MA results demonstrated that age, ASA score, type of operation and standard intraoperative placement of an indwelling bladder catheter (SIP-IBC) were strongly associated with POUR development risk (P 0.05).Overall, we had a low POUR incidence in our study cohort. However, with the shift from non-ERAS TJA to ERAS TJA protocol, it is crucial to closely monitor the male gender, advanced age, THA and SIP-IBC, as these variables can markedly enhance POUR risk.

Asexual morph members of Tetraplosphaeriaceae (Pleosporales, Dothideomycetes) are generally hyphomycetes and usually found as saprobes occurring on various hosts in lentic habitats. Two isolates of a novel species, Tetraploa aquatica sp. nov., was collected from submerged decaying wood in Dulong river and a stream of Gaoligongshan mountain in Yunnan Province, China. The new species is characterized by short-cylindrical conidia, composed of 4-euseptate, short-cylindrical vertical columns which are verrucose at the base and with 4-setose vertical septate appendages. Tetraploa aquatica can be easily distinguished from other Tetraploa species by their columns which are 2–3-septate, aguttulate, vertical, setose appendaged which tend to remain parallel to one another apically. Phylogenetic analyses of combined LSU, ITS and SSU sequence data support its natural placement in Tetraploa. Detailed description and illustrations of this species and comparisons with other morphologically similar taxa in Tetraploa are provided.

Additional file 1: Fig. S1. Profiles of plasmids of E. coli EC1390. E. coli DH5α was used as a negative control. Salmonella OU7526 and E. coli EC974 contained 2 (50 and 90 kbp) and 3 (78, 92, and 105 kbp) plasmids, respectively, were used as plasmid size controls. GeneRuler 1 kb DNA ladder was used as a size marker. The experiment was conducted in duplicate.Fig. S2. (A). Subsystem distribution of E. coli EC1390 chromosome based on the RAST annotation server. Out of 10,738 coding sequences predicted by RAST server, the subsystem coverage is 64% which contributes to a total of 599 subsystems. (B). Subsystem distribution of E. coli pEC1390-1 plasmid based on RAST annotation server. Out of 395 coding sequences predicted by RAST server, the subsystem coverage is 33% which contributes to a total of 13 subsystems. The green bar of the subsystem coverage indicates the percentage of the proteins included in the subsystems while the blue bar refers to the percentage of the proteins that are not included in the subsystems. Fig. S3. Verification of EC1390 transconjugants. (A). Random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) patterns of E. coli recipient C600, EC974, EC1515, and TCGs. EC974 was used as a conjugation positive control. (B). PCR analysis to detect the blaNDM-5 gene. (C). Plasmid profiles of E. coli recipient and transconjugants. E. coli C600 was used as a negative control. Salmonella OU7526, E. coli EC974, and EC1515, contained 2 (50 and 90 kbp), 3 (78, 92, and 105 kbp), and 3 (78, 92, and 105 kbp) plasmids, respectively, were used as plasmid size controls. The experiment was conducted in duplicate. NC, negative control; TGC, transconjugant; Marker, 100-bp DNA ladder. Fig. S4. mCIM and eCIM tests of EC1390 and its derived transconjugants. The inhibition zone diameter (mm) is shown in parentheses. According to the CLSI guidelines, K. pneumoniae ATCC BAA-1706 (carbapenemase negative), K. pneumoniae ATCC BAA-1705 (blaKPC positive), and K. pneumoniae ATCC BAA-2146 (blaNDM positive) were used as internal controls for mCIM and eCIM tests. The mCIM and eCIM tests were replicated by two independent investigators to ensure reproducibility. Table S1. EC1390 CRISPR type IE spacer sequences and their plasmid and/or phage targets. Table S2. Antimicrobial susceptibility of E. coli recipient and transconjugants.

Background Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) play immunosuppressive roles in cancers and some infectious diseases; however, their role in dengue fever (DF) remains unknown. This study evaluated the clinical significance of MDSCs in DF patients. Methods This study comprised 178 non-severe DF patients, 20 non-dengue fever (NDF) controls, and 30 healthy donors. The DF patients were divided into the following five groups based on the fever duration from its onset to the day of sample collection: fever duration of 1–2, 3–4, 5–6, 7–8, and > 9 days. Among these DF patients, 14 were monitored for eight days, and their peripheral blood samples were collected every two days. The mononuclear cells were isolated and analyzed using flow cytometry. The correlation between the MDSCs and clinical and immunological indicators of the DF patients was evaluated using Spearman analysis. Results The count of the peripheral blood MDSCs, especially monocytic MDSCs, of the 178 DF patients were dramatically higher than those of the NDF and healthy controls, and remarkably decreased with the fever duration. Moreover, the MDSC count correlated with some indicators, including the dengue viral load (rho = 0.367, p rho = 0.263, p = .005), prothrombin time (rho = 0.475, p + T cell number (rho = − 0.317, p + T cell number (rho = − 0.361, p rho = − 0.347, p rho = − 0.258, p = .001), interferon-α (IFN-α) (rho = 0.43, p rho = 0.278, p = .019). Furthermore, the level of arginase-1, but not nitric oxide, was higher in the DF patients than in the healthy controls and was closely related to the number of MDSCs (rho = 0.265, p = .024). Conclusions Our study reveals a significant correlation between MDSCs and DF clinical indicators, posing MDSCs as potential target cells for DF treatment.

Sordariomycetes is one of the largest classes of Ascomycota that comprises a highly diverse range of fungi mainly characterized by perithecial ascomata and inoperculate unitunicate asci. Freshwater Sordariomycetes play an important role in ecosystems and some of them have the potential to produce bioactive compounds. This study documents and reviews the freshwater Sordariomycetes, which is one of the largest and important groups of fungi in aquatic habitats. Based on evidence from DNA sequence data and morphology, we introduce a new order Distoseptisporales, two new families, viz. Ceratosphaeriaceae and Triadelphiaceae, three new genera, viz.Aquafiliformis,DematiosporiumandNeospadicoides, 47 new species, viz.Acrodictys fluminicola,Aquafiliformis lignicola,Aquapteridospora fusiformis,Arthrinium aquaticum,Ascosacculus fusiformis,Atractospora aquatica,Barbatosphaeria lignicola,Ceratosphaeria aquatica,C. lignicola,Chaetosphaeria aquatica,Ch. catenulata,Ch. guttulata,Ch. submersa,Codinaea yunnanensis,Conioscypha aquatica,C. submersa,Cordana aquatica,C. lignicola,Cosmospora aquatica,Cylindrotrichum submersum,Dematiosporium aquaticum,Dictyochaeta cangshanensis,D. ellipsoidea,D. lignicola,D. submersa,Distoseptispora appendiculata,D. lignicola,D. neorostrata,D. obclavata,Hypoxylon lignicola,Lepteutypa aquatica,Myrmecridium aquaticum,Neospadicoides aquatica,N. lignicola,N. yunnanensis,Ophioceras submersum,Peroneutypa lignicola,Phaeoisaria filiformis,Pseudostanjehughesia lignicola,Rhodoveronaea aquatica,Seiridium aquaticum,Sporidesmiella aquatica,Sporidesmium lageniforme,S. lignicola,Tainosphaeria lunata,T. obclavata,Wongia aquatica, two new combinations, viz.Acrodictys aquatica,Cylindrotrichum aquaticum, and 9 new records, viz.Chaetomium globosum,Chaetosphaeria cubensis,Ch. myriocarpa,Cordana abramovii,Co. terrestris,Cuspidatispora xiphiago,Sporidesmiella hyalosperma,Stachybotrys chartarum,S. chlorohalonata. A comprehensive classification of the freshwater Sordariomycetes is presented based on updated literature. Phylogenetic inferences based on DNA sequence analyses of a combined LSU, SSU, RPB2 and TEF1α dataset comprising species of freshwater Sordariomycetes are provided. Detailed information including their habitats distribution, diversity, holotype, specimens collected and classification are provided.

Myofiber necrosis is a significant pathologic characteristic of idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIMs), and its molecular mechanism is largely unknown. Necroptosis is a recently identified form of regulated necrotic cell death, and its activation might have crucial biologic consequences. The aim of the present study was to investigate the role of necroptosis in IIM muscle damage.Western blot and immunohistochemistry analyses were performed to examine the expression of receptor-interacting protein 3 (RIP-3) and mixed-lineage kinase domain-like (MLKL) proteins in 26 IIM patients and 4 healthy controls, as well as necroptosis-related damage-associated molecular pattern molecules. Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) was used to stimulate cultured C2C12 myoblasts, and the involvement of necroptosis in cell death of C2C12 cells was studied in vitro.The expression of RIP-3 and MLKL proteins and their phosphorylated forms was significantly increased in the muscle tissue of IIM patients compared to that of healthy controls. The expression levels of RIP-3 and MLKL proteins were associated with the severity of muscle damage in patients with IIM. Significant colocalization of MLKL with high mobility group box chromosomal protein 1 in necrotizing myofibers was observed in muscle biopsy tissue from patients with IIM. Stimulation of C2C12 myoblasts with TNF and a pan-caspase inhibitor, Z-VAD, resulted in the overactivation of necroptosis and significantly increased necrotic cell death. Strategies involving either inhibition of necroptosis with necrostatin-1 or knockdown of MLKL expression successfully prevented necroptosis-induced cell death of C2C12 cells.These findings demonstrate that overactivated necroptosis contributes to muscle damage in IIMs and suggest that necroptosis inhibitors could represent a new therapeutic target in the treatment of IIMs.

Distoseptispora is one of the sporidesmium-like taxa with great variation in asexual morphology and delineation of species. Phylogenetic analyses of four gene regions LSU, ITS, TEF1α, and RPB2 revealed the placement of several sporidesmium-like species in Distoseptispora (Distoseptisporaceae, Distoseptisporales, Sordariomycetes), collected on submerged decaying twigs from streams in China and Thailand. Based on morphological examination and molecular DNA data, six new species, Distoseptispora amniculi, D. atroviridis, D. effusa, D. fusiformis, D. hyalina, and D. verrucosa, are proposed. Among them, D.&nbsp, hyalina is the first sexual morph confirmed in the genus. A new geographical record is reported for D. lignicola in China. Conidial length proved to be of less taxonomic significance for some Distoseptispora species, whereas the type of conidial septa is informative at species level.

OBJECTIVE: To construct risk prediction models for bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) in preterm infants on postnatal days 3, 7, and 14. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was performed on the medical data of 414 preterm infants, with a gestational age of

Pestalotiod fungi are associated with a wide variety of plants worldwide and occur as endophytes, pathogens, and saprobes. The present study provides an updated phylogeny for genera Neopestalotiopsis, Pestalotiopsis, and Seiridium using fresh collections from woody oil plants (Camellia oleifera, Olea europaea, Paeonia suffruticosa, Sapium sebiferum, and Vernicia fordii) in Sichuan Province, China. We coupled morphology and combined sequence data analyses of ITS, tub2, and tef1-α for Neopestalotiopsis and Pestalotiopsis, with ITS, LSU, tub2, tef1-α, and rpb2 for Seiridium. Three novel species of Neopestalotiopsis (N. mianyangensis, N. paeonia-suffruticosa, N. terricola) and three of Seiridium (S. guangyuanum, S. vernicola,S. oleae), were found. Three other species, Pestalotiopsis kenyana, Seiridium ceratosporum, and S. rosarum were identified and reported as new records. All isolated species are fully described and illustrated. Additionally, the sexual morph of Pestalotiopsis kenyana is described for the first time. Pathogenicity tests revealed that Neopestalotiopsis mianyangensis, N. paeonia-suffruticosa, N. terricola, Pestalotiopsis kenyana, Seiridium guangyuanum, S. vernicola, and S. oleae are pathogenic on detached olive leaves.

Distoseptispora is one of the sporidesmium-like taxa with great variation in asexual morphology and delineation of species. Phylogenetic analyses of four gene regions LSU, ITS, TEF1α, and RPB2 revealed the placement of several sporidesmium-like species in Distoseptispora (Distoseptisporaceae, Distoseptisporales, Sordariomycetes), collected on submerged decaying twigs from streams in China and Thailand. Based on morphological examination and molecular DNA data, six new species, Distoseptispora amniculi, D. atroviridis, D. effusa, D. fusiformis, D. hyalina, and D. verrucosa, are proposed. Among them, D. hyalina is the first sexual morph confirmed in the genus. A new geographical record is reported for D. lignicola in China. Conidial length proved to be of less taxonomic significance for some Distoseptispora species, whereas the type of conidial septa is informative at species level.

In this study, five aquatic hyphomycetous taxa were collected and isolated from submerged wood in Lancang River located in the northwestern Yunnan Province of China. Phylogenetic analyses based on combined LSU, ITS, tef1α and rpb2 sequence matrix indicated that those five taxa belonging to Distoseptispora (Distoseptisporaceae), and they can be recognized as four species which two are introduced as new species (Distoseptispora euseptatensis and D. yunnanensis) and two are identified as D. aquatica and D. tectonae. Two isolates of the new species Distoseptispora euseptatensis formed a distinct clade among Distoseptispora species (basal to D. suoluoensis and D. bambusae) with good support (ML 100%, MP 100%, BI 1.00 PP). Distoseptispora yunnanensis clustered together with D. euseptatensis, but they are difference in the size of conidiophore and conidia. Corresponding illustrations, descriptions and phylogenetic evidences are provided to justify the placement of our newly collected Distoseptispora taxa.

CD147, also known as EMMPRIN or basigin, is a transmembrane glycoprotein receptor that activates matrix metalloproteinases and promotes inflammation. CD147 function is regulated by posttranslational modifications of which glycosylation has attracted the most attention. In this study, we demonstrated that glycosylated CD147 was the dominant form in heart tissue, and its levels were markedly elevated in response to transverse aortic constriction (TAC). Adeno-associated virus 9-mediated, cardiac-specific overexpression of wild-type CD147 in mice significantly promoted pressure overload-induced pathological cardiac remodeling accompanied by augmented oxidative stress and ferroptosis. By contrast, mutations of CD147 glycosylation sites notably weakened these detrimental effects of CD147. Mechanistically, CD147 exacerbated TAC-induced pathological cardiac remodeling via direct binding with the adaptor molecule TRAF2 and subsequent activation of TAK1 signalling, which was dependent on glycosylation of CD147. Collectively, our findings provide the first evidence that CD147 promoted pathological cardiac remodeling and dysfunction in a glycosylation-dependent manner through binding the adaptor protein TRAF2 and activating the downstream TRAF2-TAK1 signalling pathway. Thus, glycosylation of CD147 may be a potent interventional target for heart failure treatment.

In the areas with seasonal drought, water is the key factor affecting plant growth and development. Based on long-term continuous observation data, it is of great significance to explore plant water use patterns for vegetation construction in areas with seasonal drought. Taking在季节性干旱地区,水分是影响植物生长发育的关键核心因子。基于长期连续观测数据探究植物水分利用模式,对于季节性干旱地区植被建设具有重要意义。本研究以北京山区侧柏人工林为对象,利用稳定氢氧同位素技术测定了2012—2017年间土壤、植物枝条和降水同位素组成,通过MixSIAR模型定量分析侧柏对不同土层土壤水分的贡献率。结果表明: 深层(40～100 cm)土壤水较浅层(0～40 cm)土壤水稳定,受蒸发和降水的影响,浅层土壤含水量和水同位素值变化幅度较深层明显;侧柏主要吸收利用稳定的深层土壤水,贡献率为55.7%。在旱季,随着土壤水分含量的降低,植物对土壤水分的吸收深度逐渐向浅层转移;在水量充沛、自然适宜、轻度干旱、中度干旱条件下,深层土壤水的贡献率依次为59.8%、57.9%、54.6%、52.7%。在轻度和中度干旱条件下,雨季侧柏对深层土壤水的依赖程度高于旱季,以维持较大的蒸腾作用;在水量充沛、自然适宜、轻度干旱、中度干旱条件下,深层土壤水贡献率分别为58.9%、57.6%、56.4%、57.1%。侧柏依据土壤水分条件调整吸水深度的自适应特性,对季节性干旱地区生态造林树种的选择和长期管理规划具有重要意义。.

Sixteen metabolites, including seven C

Aldo-keto reductases, known as AKR1C1-AKR1C4 enzymes, are pivotal to NADPH-dependent reduction, and their expression is highly associated with the progression of malignant cancers. However, the expression and distinct prognostic value of the AKR1C family members in liver cancer are not well established. In the current study, the expression of AKR1C isoforms was studied using the Oncomine online databases. In addition, their expression profiles were analyzed in cancer cell lines using data from the Cancer Cell lines Encyclopedia (CCLE) database. Furthermore, the mRNA expression levels of AKR1C family members between liver cancer and normal liver samples were assessed by the Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis (GEPIA) database. The AKR1C1-3 prognostic value was further investigated by the Kaplan-Meier plotter database in liver cancer patients. It was found that the expression levels of AKR1C3 were elevated significantly in liver cancer tissues and cells as demonstrated by the Oncomine, CCLE and GEPIA databases. The expression levels of AKR1C1 and AKR1C2 in liver cancer tissues did not increase significantly in the Oncomine database while expression was significantly high in CCLE and GEPIA databases. However, the expression levels of the AKR1C4 gene as determined by the CCLE, GEPIA and Oncomine databases were not consistent. Therefore, the Kaplan-Meier survival curves of liver cancer patients with the expression of AKR1C1-3 genes were next analyzed. The data indicated that high expression levels of AKR1C1-3 were correlated with lower overall survival in liver cancer patients. Using the co-expression and PPI network, AKR1C1-3 genes were identified that were involved in the same pathway displaying 44 total unique interactors. These results suggested that the increased AKR1C1-3, notably AKR1C3 expression levels served as possible diagnostic biomarkers and essential prognostic factors for liver cancer patients. The roles of AKR1C4 in liver cancer require further examination.

BackgroundDermatomyositis (DM) associated rapidly progressive interstitial lung disease (RP-ILD) has high mortality rate and poor prognosis. Galectin-9 (Gal-9) plays multiple functions in immune regulation. We investigated Gal-9 expression in DM patients and its association with DM-ILD.MethodsA total of 154 idiopathic inflammatory myopathy patients and 30 healthy controls were enrolled in the study. Cross-sectional and longitudinal studies were used to analyze the association between serum Gal-9 levels and clinical features. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and qRT-PCR were used to examine Gal-9 expression in the sera and isolated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from DM patients. Immunohistochemistry was performed to analyze the expression of Gal-9 and its ligand (T-cell immunoglobulin mucin (Tim)-3 and CD44) in lung tissues from anti-melanoma differentiation-associated gene 5 (MDA5)-positive patients. The effect of Gal-9 on human lung fibroblasts (MRC-5) was investigated in vitro.ResultsSerum Gal-9 levels were significantly higher in DM patients than in immune-mediated necrotizing myopathy patients and healthy controls (all p < 0.001). Higher serum Gal-9 levels were observed in anti-MDA5-positive DM patients than in anti-MDA5-negative DM patients [33.8 (21.9–44.7) vs. 16.2 (10.0–26.9) ng/mL, p < 0.001]. Among the anti-MDA5-positive DM patients, serum Gal-9 levels were associated with RP-ILD severity. Serum Gal-9 levels were significantly correlated with disease activity in anti-MDA5-positive DM patients in both cross-sectional and longitudinal studies. PBMCs isolated from anti-MDA5-positive DM patients (3.7 ± 2.3 ng/mL) produced higher levels of Gal-9 than those from immune-mediated necrotizing myopathy patients (1.1 ± 0.3 ng/mL, p = 0.022) and healthy controls (1.4 ± 1.2 ng/mL, p = 0.045). The mRNA levels of Gal-9 were positively correlated with the levels of type-I interferon-inducible genes MX1 (r = 0.659, p = 0.020) and IFIH1 (r = 0.787, p = 0.002) in PBMCs from anti-MDA5-positive DM patients. Immunohistochemistry revealed increased Gal-9 and Tim-3 expression in the lung tissues of patients with DM and RP-ILD. In vitro stimulation with Gal-9 protein increased CCL2 mRNA expression in MRC-5 fibroblasts.ConclusionsAmong anti-MDA5-positive DM patients, Gal-9 could be a promising biomarker for monitoring disease activity, particularly for RP-ILD severity. Aberrant expression of the Gal-9/Tim-3 axis may be involved in the immunopathogenesis of DM-ILD.

The world of marine microbes is still mysterious to us. The study of microbial community structure is limited by sampling analysis tools. Nowadays, popular methods for retrieving microbes are still limited. And the quality of the obtained samples cannot meet higher demands of scientific research. This paper presents an apparatus used for deep-sea in situ nucleic acid collection, which is specially developed to improve samples quality. It is designed for in situ filtration, cell lysis, and nucleic acid collection of deep-sea microbes. It has been fully verified that the apparatus has excellent continuous sampling capability. In recent scientific deployment, many achievements have been obtained. The obtained samples would reveal the changing rules of the microbial community structure in deep sea at different times. By designing multiple in situ nucleic acid collections (MISNAC) apparatus, we aim to provide a new research tool to promote the study of marine microbiology.

To obtain an accurate picture of microbial processes is essential for in-depth understanding of the dynamics of microbial communities and metabolic potentials. In this study, an apparatus for automatic multiple in situ nucleic acid collections (MISNAC) loaded and controlled by a lander was designed and applied for in situ microbial filtration, cell lysis and nucleic acid collection at different time points during three cruises in the South China Sea. The MISNAC apparatus completed 390 L in situ water filtration and collected a total of 1,176 ng DNA with six working units in four deployments at ~1,000 m depth. Microbial community structures in water samples obtained by the MISNAC and in situ microbial filtration and fixation (ISMIFF) apparatus, respectively, were compared by analyzing sequences of 16S rRNA amplicons. The result showed that these communities were largely consistent, regardless of the differences in the communities in the samples from different cruises and time points. In addition, the transcriptomes of the samples collected by the MISANC and a Niskin bottle dramatically differed in abundance and diversity of 16S rRNA gene reads, indicating that more in situ RNA molecules were preserved by the MISNAC, compared to the Niskin. The application of the MISNAC apparatus paved the way to time-series changes of deep-sea microorganisms and their response to various environmental factors.

The rapid aggregation of modern urban population and the rapid growth of car travel lead to traffic congestion, environmental pollution, and other problems. In view of the limited land resources in our country, it is impractical to meet residents’ travel demand by blindly increasing traffic supply. Therefore, addressing the urban road congestion problem for sustainable development of modern cities, the paper makes research on residents’ travel behavior characteristics and travel preference under the condition of multimodal transportation to formulate reasonable traffic demand management strategy for the guide on public traffic demand, bus priority strategy, and congestion management. The operation characteristic of each transportation mode is analyzed by comparing its related traffic and economic characteristics. Multimode traffic choice behavior is discussed by establishing multiple logistic regression models to analyze the main influencing factors to travelers’ social and economic attributes, travel characteristics, and preference based on travel survey data of urban residents. The paper proposes the development of an urban public transportation system and travelling mode shift from cars to public transportation as reasonable travel structure for congestion management and sustainable development of modern cities.

Pleurotremataceae species are saprobes on decaying wood in terrestrial, mangrove, and freshwater habitats. The generic boundary of the family has traditionally been based on morphology. All genera of Pleurotremataceae have a high degree of morphological overlap, of which the generic circumscription of Melomastia and Dyfrolomyces has not been well resolved. Thus, the delimitation of genera has always been challenging. Melomastia traditionally differs from Dyfrolomyces in having 2-septate, oblong, with obtuse-ends ascospores. These main characteristics have been used to distinguish Melomastia from Dyfrolomyces for a long time. However, the above characteristics sometimes overlap among Dyfrolomyces and Melomastia species. Based on the morphology and multigene phylogeny with newly obtained data, we synonymized Dyfrolomyces under Melomastia following up-to-date results. Four novel species (i.e., Melomastia fusispora, M. oleae, M. sichuanensis and M. winteri) collected from the dead branches of Olea europaea L. in Chengdu Olive Base, Sichuan Province in China are introduced based on detailed morphological characterization and phylogenetic analyses of sequences based on nuclear ribosomal (LSU and SSU) and protein-coding gene (tef1-α). The 11 new combinations proposed are Melomastia aquatica (=Dyfrolomyces aquaticus), M. chromolaenae (=D. chromolaenae), M. distoseptata (=D. distoseptatus), M. mangrovei (=D. mangrovei), M. marinospora (=D. marinosporus), M. neothailandica (=D. neothailandicus), M. phetchaburiensis (=D. phetchaburiensis), M. sinensis (=D. sinensis), M. thailandica (=D. thailandica), M. thamplaensis (=D. thamplaensis) and M. tiomanensis (=D. tiomanensis).

The change about molecular chain of viscoelastic material in salt fog environment was tested by FTIR. The effects of salt fog aging on material and damping capacity of the damping layer in the constrained damping structure were researched by macro-mechanical properties and micro-molecular chain movement. The results showed that salt fog could reduce the mechanical properties of the viscoelastic material, the chemical bonds of molecular which were mainly hydrogen bonds had varying degrees of breaking, the composite loss factor of constrained damping structure decreased over time, and the vibration acceleration level increased gradually. The composite loss factors of the viscoelastic material after 90 days salt fog aging were 0.2047 and respectively, which illustrated that the material still had strong energy dissipation capacity.

ZnS:F quantum dots (QDs) capping with and without L-cys were synthesized by a solid-state method at low temperature, and the influence of L-cys on the properties of ZnS:F QDs were investigated. The crystal structure, surface morphology and luminescent properties of the samples were analyzed by X-ray diffractometer (XRD), transmission electron microscope (TEM), fourier transform infrared (FTIR), photoluminescence spectrometer (PL) and ultraviolet-visible spectrometer (UV-Vis). The results showed that all samples had a zinc blende structure with particle size in the range of 2-6 nm. The emission intensity was significantly enhanced after capping with L-cys, and the strongest luminescence was obtained when the ratio of L-cys/ZnS:F was 0.8:1, and was about 2.5 times of that of ZnS:F QDs. The capping of L-cys increased the grain size of ZnS:F QDs and their water solubility.

MicroRNAs are important regulators during human growth and development. Emerging evidence indicates that microRNAs play important roles in colorectal cancer. The aim of this study is to reveal the biological function and direct target gene of miR-483 in colorectal cancer. The biological function of miR-483 on the proliferation and migration of colon cancer cells was then examined by Edu assay and transwell assay, respectively. Our findings revealed that miR-483 mimic could significantly inhibit cell proliferation and migration. The target gene of miR-483 was predicted by target scan software and identified by a dual fluorescence reporter system which showed that TRAF1 was a direct target gene of miR-483 in SW480 cell line. These data suggest that miR-483 is a colorectal cancer suppressor which could inhibit cell proliferation and migration, possibly via targeting TRAF1. The miR-483 could be a potential treatment target for colorectal cancer. Keywords: miR-483, Colon cancer cells, Proliferation, Migration, TRAF1

Current investigations on taxonomy of lignicolous freshwater fungi in northwestern Yunnan, China, have led to the discovery of new fungal species and records that belong to the family Torulaceae. In this paper, 21 fresh collections of Torulaceae from submerged wood in freshwater are characterized based on morphological characters and phylogenetic analyses of combined ITS, LSU, RPB2 and TEF1α sequence data. A new monotypic genus Rostriconidium represented by Rostriconidium aquaticum sp. nov., one new species of Torula (Torula aquatica), and a single new Dendryphion species (Dendryphion fluminicola) are introduced based on their distinct morphological features and evidence from molecular phylogeny. Multigene phylogeny also supports the family Torulaceae as a strongly supported monophyletic lineage with clear intergeneric boundaries basal to Roussoellaceae. Descriptions of Torula ficus and Torula masonii from the new collections are also provided, and they are first records for China.

The diversity of lignicolous freshwater fungi of the Greater Mekong Subregion are currently being studied. In this paper, 18 fresh collections of Pleurotheciaceae from submerged wood in freshwater are characterized based on morphological characters and analyses of ITS, LSU, SSU and RPB2 sequence data. Six new species of Pleurotheciella (P. aquatica, P. fusiformis, P. guttulata, P. lunata, P. saprophytica, P. submersa), one new Phaeoisaria species (Ph. aquatica) and one new Pleurothecium species (Pl. aquaticum) are introduced based on their distinct morphology and evidence from molecular phylogeny. Pleurotheciella uniseptata, Phaeoisaria clematidis and Pleurothecium pulneyense are also redescribed and phylogenetic relationships assessed herein, these species are the first records for China.

Aim: Dengue hemorrhagic fever is a devastating disease. This study aimed to investigate the role of A20 in dengue fever infection. Materials & methods: DENV2-infected human umbilical vein endothelial cells were transfected with shRNA-A20/CD14 and A20/CD14-mimics, respectively. The expressions of inflammatory and anti-inflammatory factors, A20 and downstream proteins of the NF-κB signaling pathway were detected. Results: A20 knockdown increased the expression of IL-6, IL-10, IL-8 and CD14 during dengue virus infection, whereas overexpression of A20 had the opposite effect. FACS revealed that A20 negatively regulated the expression of CD14. Conclusion: In DENV2-infected human umbilical vein endothelial cells overexpressing A20, TNF-α stimulation inhibited NF-κB-mediated inflammatory response by negative feedback. Furthermore, A20 could affect the release of inflammatory factors via negative regulation of CD14, thus affecting the entire inflammatory response.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the pathogen composition and clinical features of preterm infants with sepsis, and to provide a basis for early identification and treatment of sepsis in preterm infants. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was performed for the clinical data of 371 preterm infants with sepsis who had a positive blood culture between January 2014 and May 2018. According to the time of onset, the preterm infants were divided into an early-onset group (an age of onset of < 7 days) with 73 preterm infants and a late-onset group (an age of onset of ≥ 7 days) with 298 preterm infants. The two groups were compared in terms of pathogen composition and clinical features (initial symptoms, laboratory examination results at the time of onset, comorbidities, and prognosis). RESULTS: There was a higher proportion of infants with Klebsiella pneumoniae infection in the late-onset group (P < 0.05), while there was a higher proportion of infants with Escherichia coli, Streptococcus agalactiae or Listeria infection in the early-onset group (P < 0.05). The early-onset group had a significantly higher proportion of infants with dyspnea than the late-onset group (P < 0.05). Compared with the late-onset group, the early-onset group had significantly shorter time to negative conversion of blood culture, duration of antibiotic use before infection, and indwelling time of deep venous catheterization (P < 0.05), and the late-onset group had a significantly higher incidence rate of neonatal necrotizing enterocolitis than the early-onset group (P < 0.05). The early-onset group had a significantly higher rate of treatment withdrawal than the late-onset group (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Preterm infants with sepsis lack typical clinical manifestations and laboratory examination results at the time of onset. There are certain differences in pathogen composition and clinical features between preterm infants with early-and late-onset sepsis. Possible pathogens for sepsis should be considered based on age in days at the time of onset and related clinical features.

In subduction zones, serpentinization and biological processes may release alkanes to the deep waters, which would probably result in the rapid spread of Alcanivorax. However, the timing and area of the alkane distribution and associated enrichment of alkane-degrading microbes in the dark world of the deep ocean have not been explored. In this study, we report the richness (up to 17.8%) of alkane-degrading bacteria, represented by Alcanivorax jadensis, in deep water samples obtained at 3,000 to 6,000 m in the Mariana Trench in two cruises. The relative abundance of A. jadensis correlated with copy numbers of functional almA and alkB genes, which are involved in alkane degradation. In these water samples, we detected a high flux of alkanes, which probably resulted in the prevalence of A. jadensis in the deep waters. Contigs of A. jadensis were binned from the metagenomes for examination of alkane degradation pathways and deep sea-specific pathways, which revealed a lack of nitrate and nitrite dissimilatory reduction in our A. jadensis strains. Comparing the results for the two cruises conducted close to each other, we suggest periodic release of alkanes that may spread widely but periodically in the trench. Distribution of alkane-degrading bacteria in the world’s oceans suggests the periodic and remarkable contributions of Alcanivorax to the deep sea organic carbon and nitrogen sources. IMPORTANCE In the oligotrophic environment of the Mariana Trench, alkanes as carbohydrates are important for the ecosystem, but their spatial and periodic spreading in deep waters has never been reported. Alkane-degrading bacteria such as Alcanivorax spp. are biological signals of the alkane distribution. In the present study, Alcanivorax was abundant in some waters, at depths of up to 6,000 m, in the Mariana Trench. Genomic, transcriptomic, and chemical analyses provide evidence for the presence and activities of Alcanivorax jadensis in deep sea zones. The periodic spreading of alkanes, probably from the subductive plates, might have fundamentally modified the local microbial communities, as well as perhaps the deep sea microenvironment.

The low temperature and elevated hydrostatic pressure in hadal trenches at water depths below 6000 m render sample collection difficult. Here, in situ hadal water microbial samples were collected from the Mariana Trench and analysed. The hadal microbial communities at different depths were revealed to be consistent and were dominated by heterotrophic Marinimicrobia. Thirty high-quality metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) were retrieved to represent the major hadal microbes affiliated with 12 prokaryotic phyla. Most of the MAGs were newly reported and probably derived from novel hadal inhabitants as exemplified by a potentially new candidate archaeal phylum in the DPANN superphylum. Metabolic reconstruction indicated that a great number of the MAGs participated in nitrogen and sulfur cycling, in which the nitrification process was driven sequentially by Thaumarchaeota and Nitrospirae and sulfur oxidization by Rhodospirillales in the Alphaproteobacteria class. Moreover, several groups of hadal microbes were revealed to be potential carbon monoxide oxidizers. Metatranscriptomic result highlighted the contribution of Chloroflexi in degrading recalcitrant dissolved organic matter and Marinimicrobia in extracellular protein decomposition. The present work provides an in-depth view on the hadal microbial communities regarding their endemism and element cycles.

Asgard archaea, believed to be the ancestor of eukaryotes, constitute a new superphylum prevalent in diverse sediment environments. Their distribution and metabolic potentials are diversified and elusive. In the present study, the distribution and genomic characteristics of Asgard archaea in the Haima cold seep of the South China Sea (SCS) were investigated. In total, we obtained 48 high-quality metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs), which fell into 7 separated lineages affiliated with the phyla Lokiarchaeota, Thorarchaeota, Heimdallarchaeota and Gerdarchaeota. These Asgard archaea were mainly distributed in the cold seep but rarely detected in the control marine sediments. We found that Asgard might encode complex CRISPR-Cas systems, which likely protected the archaea against abundant viruses in cold seep sediments. Phylogenomic tree indicated the novelty of cold-seep Asgard archaea, and highlighted that MAG HM7_B34 was affiliated with the newly proposed Gerdarchaeota phylum. Metabolic reconstruction indicated that Gerdarchaeota in the Haima cold seep were obligate anaerobic archaea and might undergo autotrophic lifestyle using the Wood-Ljungdahl pathway. Moreover, Gerdarchaeota might metabolize formaldehyde and likely had the ability to hydrolyze oligosaccharides including chitin. Altogether, our study expands the cognition of Asgard archaea in terms of spatial distribution, biodiversity and carbon cycle in cold seep ecosystems.

SAR202 in Chloroflexi phylum plays an important role in degradation of organic compounds in the oligotrophic deep ocean. Due to lack of high-quality genomes from across all depths of the water column, the metabolic capacities of the SAR202 subclusters in the marine environment were still largely unknown. In this study, we discovered the dynamics of the SAR202 subclusters in vertical layers of global ocean. A total of 11 metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) in various sizes were obtained from two SAR202 subclusters in the Mariana Trench. Genomic comparison revealed that vitamin B12 (VB12) synthesis was restricted to the subcluster III. In addition, the presence of a large number of genes encoding the oxidase and degradation pathways indicates that the SAR202 bacteria are probably capable of metabolizing chitin, aromatic compounds, dimethyl sulfoxide and osmolytes in the environment. With the predicted genes responsible for sulfite oxidation and export, SAR202 could potentially play important roles in biogeochemical cycles. This study highlights the genetic plasticity and ecological role of SAR202 in deep-sea zones.

The specific heat capacity (C p) of ivermectin (IVM) was measured by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and expressed as a function of temperature. Moreover, the standard molar combustion enthalpy of IVM was determined to be −26963.6 kJ mol−1 by XRY-1C calorimeter. The standard molar enthalpy of formation was calculated to be −862866.3 kJ mol−1 based on the standard molar combustion enthalpy. The thermodynamic basic data obtained are available for exploiting new synthesis methodology, engineering design and industry production of IVM.

Various lineages of ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) are present in deep waters, but the mechanisms that determine ecotype formation are obscure. We studied 18 high-quality genomes of the marine group I AOA lineages (alpha, gamma and delta) from the Mariana and Ogasawara trenches. The genomes of alpha AOA resembled each other, while those of gamma and delta lineages were more divergent and had even undergone insertion of some phage genes. The instability of the gamma and delta AOA genomes could be partially due to the loss of DNA polymerase B (polB) and methyladenine DNA glycosylase (tag) genes responsible for the repair of point mutations. The alpha AOA genomes harbour genes encoding a thrombospondin-like outer membrane structure that probably serves as a barrier to gene flow. Moreover, the gamma and alpha AOA lineages rely on vitamin B12 -independent MetE and B12 -dependent MetH, respectively, for methionine synthesis. The delta AOA genome contains genes involved in uptake of sugar and peptide perhaps for heterotrophic lifestyle. Our study provides insights into co-occurrence of cladogenesis and anagenesis in the formation of AOA ecotypes that perform differently in nitrogen and carbon cycling in dark oceans.

In the oligotrophic environment of the Mariana Trench, alkanes as carbohydrates are important for the ecosystem, but their spatial and periodic spreading in deep waters has never been reported. Alkane-degrading bacteria such as Alcanivorax spp. are biological signals of the alkane distribution. In the present study, Alcanivorax was abundant in some waters, at depths of up to 6,000 m, in the Mariana Trench. Genomic, transcriptomic, and chemical analyses provide evidence for the presence and activities of Alcanivorax jadensis in deep sea zones. The periodic spreading of alkanes, probably from the subductive plates, might have fundamentally modified the local microbial communities, as well as perhaps the deep sea microenvironment., In subduction zones, serpentinization and biological processes may release alkanes to the deep waters, which would probably result in the rapid spread of Alcanivorax. However, the timing and area of the alkane distribution and associated enrichment of alkane-degrading microbes in the dark world of the deep ocean have not been explored. In this study, we report the richness (up to 17.8%) of alkane-degrading bacteria, represented by Alcanivorax jadensis, in deep water samples obtained at 3,000 to 6,000 m in the Mariana Trench in two cruises. The relative abundance of A. jadensis correlated with copy numbers of functional almA and alkB genes, which are involved in alkane degradation. In these water samples, we detected a high flux of alkanes, which probably resulted in the prevalence of A. jadensis in the deep waters. Contigs of A. jadensis were binned from the metagenomes for examination of alkane degradation pathways and deep sea-specific pathways, which revealed a lack of nitrate and nitrite dissimilatory reduction in our A. jadensis strains. Comparing the results for the two cruises conducted close to each other, we suggest periodic release of alkanes that may spread widely but periodically in the trench. Distribution of alkane-degrading bacteria in the world’s oceans suggests the periodic and remarkable contributions of Alcanivorax to the deep sea organic carbon and nitrogen sources. IMPORTANCE In the oligotrophic environment of the Mariana Trench, alkanes as carbohydrates are important for the ecosystem, but their spatial and periodic spreading in deep waters has never been reported. Alkane-degrading bacteria such as Alcanivorax spp. are biological signals of the alkane distribution. In the present study, Alcanivorax was abundant in some waters, at depths of up to 6,000 m, in the Mariana Trench. Genomic, transcriptomic, and chemical analyses provide evidence for the presence and activities of Alcanivorax jadensis in deep sea zones. The periodic spreading of alkanes, probably from the subductive plates, might have fundamentally modified the local microbial communities, as well as perhaps the deep sea microenvironment.

Varacin C is a promising anticancer agent and possesses acid-promoted and photo-induced DNA-damaging activities. In this study, we synthesized an analog varacin-1 (VCA-1) and examined its anticancer potentials. The results demonstrated that VCA-1 caused dose-dependent apoptotic cell death in cancer cells. Note that this action is independent of p53 status, because VCA-1 induced similar levels of apoptosis in two different panels of cell lines (HCT116 p53- wild-type vs. HCT116 p53-knockout colon cancer cells, and p53-expressing U2OS vs. p53-deficient saos2 osteosarcoma cancer cells). VCA-1-induced apoptosis was found to be mainly via the extrinsic apoptosis pathway involving caspase-8 activation and XIAP reduction. Forced over-expression of XIAP markedly prevented apoptosis, indicating its essential role in VCA-1 induced apoptosis. On the other hand, VCA-1 treatment enhanced intracellular ROS (reactive oxygen species) generation also in a p53-independent manner, and consequently promoted caspase activation. Pretreatment of N-acetyl cysteine (an antioxidant), rather than z-VAD (specific caspase inhibitor), markedly prevented XIAP reduction, suggesting that XIAP reduction may be resulted from oxidative stress. In conclusion, data from this study reveal the essential roles of ROS generation and XIAP reduction in VCA-1-induced apoptosis in cancer cells. VCA-1 may be a novel cancer therapeutic agent, especially in p53-mutant human cancers.

OBJECTIVE: To study the clinical features and prognosis of preterm infants with varying degrees of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). METHODS: The clinical data of 144 preterm infants with a gestational age of < 32 weeks who were admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit from March 2014 to March 2016 and were diagnosed with BPD were collected. According to the severity of BPD, these preterm infants were divided into mild group with 81 infants and moderate/severe group with 63 infants. The two groups were compared in terms of perinatal risk factors, treatment, comorbidities, complications, and prognosis of the respiratory system. RESULTS: Compared with the mild BPD group, the moderate/severe BPD group had a significantly higher gestational age and rate of small-for-gestational-age (SGA) infants (P < 0.05), as well as a significantly higher rate of severe preeclampsia and a significantly lower rate of threatened preterm labor (P < 0.05). Compared with the mild BPD group, the moderate/severe BPD group had a significantly higher percentage of infants who needed mechanical ventilation at 2 weeks after birth, longer duration of mechanical ventilation, total time of oxygen therapy, and length of hospital stay, and higher incidence rates of pneumonia and cholestasis (P < 0.05), as well as a significantly lower application rate of caffeine citrate (P < 0.05). The multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that SGA birth (OR=5.974, P < 0.05), pneumonia (OR=2.590, P < 0.05), and mechanical ventilation required at 2 weeks after birth (OR=4.632, P < 0.05) were risk factors for increased severity of BPD. The pulmonary function test performed at the corrected gestational age of 40 weeks showed that compared with the mild BPD group, the moderate/severe BPD group had significantly lower ratio of time to peak tidal expiratory flow to total expiratory time, ratio of volume to peak tidal expiratory flow to total expiratory volume, and tidal expiratory flow at 25% remaining expiration (P < 0.05). The infants were followed up to the corrected gestational age of 1 year, and the moderate/severe BPD group had significantly higher incidence rates of recurrent hospital admission for pneumonia and recurrent wheezing (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: SGA birth, pneumonia, and prolonged mechanical ventilation are associated with increased severity of BPD. Infants with moderate or severe BPD have poor pulmonary function and may experience recurrent infection and wheezing.

In this paper, we deal with and improve one of the uniqueness results on two difference products of entire functions sharing one value by considering that the functions share the value zero, counting multiplicities. The research findings also include some IM-analogues of the theorems that we obtain, i.e. the nonzero value is allowed to be shared ignoring multiplicities. Meanwhile, we investigate the situation where the difference products share a nonzero polynomial instead, by confining its degree and generalize the previous concerning results. Moreover, we show by illustrating examples and a number of remarks that our results are best possible in certain senses.

The thermal stability properties and the thermal decomposition kinetics of Ivermectin (IVM) were studied at different heating rates by the thermal gravimetric analysis. The kinetic parameters were calculated by F–W–O, Kissinger and Satava–Sestak methods, respectively. The results show that the thermal decomposition of IVM under nitrogen atmosphere mainly was consisted of three stages. The thermal decomposition reaction happens mainly in the second and third stages. For the second and third stages, their activation energies (E) and pre-exponential factors (A) were obtained to be 115.18 kJ mol−1, 152.46 kJ mol−1 and 7.171 × 1017 min−1, 2.410 × 1015 min−1, respectively. For the second stage, the thermal decomposition mechanism and integral forms for IVM may be the reaction series, chemical reaction, (1 − α)−1 − 1, and for the third stage, an Avrami–Erofeev equation of random nuclear producing and growing process which reaction order n is 4, [−ln(1 − α)]4. The thermodynamic basic data obtained are available for the exploiting new synthesis method, engineering design and industry production of IVM.

Through the different rolling and normalizing methods to study the variation of microstructure and mechanical properties of eight groups of steels ,based on the low carbon micro alloy steel as the research object, The results show that, the main structure of steel are ferrite, bainite and a small amount of M-A island group, and granular bainite is helpful to improve the test fire resistance steel; with the increasing of normalizing temperature, the ratio of YS increased gradually, the test steel has high good fire resistance at 790 °C; the faster the cooling speed after rolling, has better fire-resistant .

AIM:To investigate the formation of rats' choroidal neovascularization(CNV)induced by acrolein. METHODS:Twelve Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into three groups. Acrolein 200μL(2.5 mg/kg/d)was poured into the rats' stomach for 4wk as acrolein 4wk and for 8wk as acrolein 8wk group. The same volume of fresh water was also done to the rats as the control group. Remove all eye balls and embed into paraffin with HE staining.RESLUTS:The RPE-Bruch membrane was intact with no obvious abnormality in the control group and acrolein 4wk group. Lost in the continuity of RPE and the movement of choroidal neovascularization were found in the acrolein 8wk. CONCLUSION:The long time use of acrolein can induce the formation of choroial neovascularization in rats.

Through a highway asphalt pavement condition survey and analysis of the main causes of disease, through material selection and grading design, the design of the treatment structure, class structure using the drainage layer, exclude the internal structure of the water surface; focused on solving the asphalt pavement water damage issues, effectively extending the life of the highway.

Marine-derived Bacillus strains have been proved to be a very promising source for natural product leads. However, transformation of environmental strains is much more difficult than that of domesticated strains. Here, we report the development of an efficient and robust electroporation-based transformation system for marine-derived Bacillus marinus B-9987, which is a macrolactin antibiotics producer and a very promising biological control agent against fungal plant diseases. The transformation efficiency was greatly enhanced 10(3)-fold by using unmethylated plasmid to bypass modification-restriction barrier, and using glycine betaine to protect cells from electrical damages during electroporation. Addition of HEPES and 2 mmol L(-1) MgCl2 further improved the efficiency by additional 2-fold, with a maximum value of 7.1×10(4) cfu/μg pHT3101. To demonstrate the feasibility and efficiency of the protocol, a green fluorescent protein reporter system was constructed; furthermore, phosphopantetheinyl transferase gene sfp, which is essential to the biosynthesis of polyketides and nonribosomal peptides, was overexpressed in B-9987, leading to increased production of macrolactin A by about 1.6-fold. In addition, this protocol is also applicable to marine-derived Bacillus licheniforms EI-34-6, indicating it could be a reference for other undomesticated Bacillus strains. To our knowledge, this is the first report regarding the transformation of marine-derived Bacillus strain.

Rice is one of the most important staple crops. It has been the major focus in breeding program to improve grain yield. A unique feature of tetraploid rice is the increased grain size and weight compared to diploid. Therefore, investigating the effects of genome doubling on expression of genes regulating grain size is important for yield improvement in rice breeding program. In this study, we analyzed differential expression of six genes regulating grain size in young panicles of various developmental stages between diploid and tetraploid rice. Transgenic approaches were employed to explore the dosage effects on gene expression and grain size. The results showed that genome duplications did not influence the developmental patterns of rice growth, but enhanced plant height, leaf width and grain size. The grain length and width in Indica tetraploid increased significantly, but the grain length showed more obvious change than width in Japonica tetraploid. The expression levels were affected not only by the developmental stages, but also by genetic background. Upon genome doubling, the positive regulation gene GS5 and HGW expression levels were generally higher in tetraploid than the corresponding diploid. Negative regulation gene GS3 in Indica tetraploid tended to be down-regulated or silenced, but increased in Japonica tetraploid. Another negative regulation GW2 was up-regulated in Indica tetraploid and silenced in Japonica tetraploid. The extra copies of GW2 in diploid transgenic lines exerted a gene dosage effect that resulted in the higher expression level than that of wild type diploid and tetraploid, which causes small grain formation in transgenic lines. Our results will help to understand the function of genes regulating the grain size in the diploid and tetraploid, and provide a theoretical basis for yield improvement.