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Currently, the influence of the tumor microbiome on the effectiveness of immunotherapy remains largely unknown. Intratumoural Fusobacterium nucleatum (Fn) functions as an oncogenic bacterium and can promote tumor progression in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). Our previous study revealed that Fn is a facultative intracellular bacterium and that its virulence factor Fn-Dps facilitates the intracellular survival of Fn. In this study, we find that Fn DNA is enriched in the nonresponder (NR) group among ESCC patients receiving PD-1 inhibitor and that the serum antibody level of Fn is significantly higher in the NR group than in the responder (R) group. In addition, Fn infection has an opposite impact on the efficacy of αPD-L1 treatment in animals. Mechanistically, we confirm that Fn can inhibit the proliferation and cytokine secretion of T cells and that Fn-Dps binds to the PD-L1 gene promoter activating transcription factor-3 (ATF3) to transcriptionally upregulate PD-L1 expression. Our results suggest that it may be an important therapeutic strategy to eradicate intratumoral Fn infection before initiating ESCC immunotherapies. Fusobacterium nucleatum (Fn) is an oncogenic bacterium reported to promote esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). Here the authors show that the virulence factor of Fn, Fn-Dps upregulates PD-L1 and that Fn promotes cell death in T-cells, hence, limiting the efficacy of immunotherapy in ESCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A method using solvent extraction following a preconcentration of iodine by evaporation was developed for separation of iodine in waters associated with coalbed methane (CBM) for the determination of 129I using accelerator mass spectrometry, for exploration of CBM resources. The 129I/127I ratios in water samples collected in a CBM field have been determined using the developed method to be (1.6–2.4) × 10–11, which are 2–3 orders of magnitudes lower than that of environmental samples in Xi'an, but 2 orders of magnitude higher than the procedure blank of (1.5–2.1) × 10–13, confirming no measurable crossover contamination during sample analysis and slightly input of modern water in the CBM water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A rapid analytical method for sequential separation and determination of the most significant α- and β-emitting radionuclidic impurities in 99Tc radiopharmaceutical raw material is presented. Successive HTiO co-precipitation steps were first conducted for effective removal of 99Tc to avoid its spectral interference on the determination of β-emitting nuclides by liquid scintillation counting. A sequential chromatographic method was applied for simultaneous separation and purification of actinide and lanthanide isotopes. A series of K99TcO4 solution spiked with known quantities of 238Pu, 239Pu, 241Pu, 237Np, 241Am, 244Cm and 147Pm were analyzed for method evaluation, demonstrating that the method would meet the analytical requirements for radionuclidic impurity evaluation of K99TcO4 raw material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Gastric cancer (GC) is the fifth most common cancer worldwide, and every year approximately 950,000 individuals are diagnosed worldwide. Our study aimed to establish an effective nomogram to predict the prognosis of GC based on inflammation biomarkers.Methods: We retrospectively analysed GC patients from the Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center. The nomogram was developed with a primary cohort (n = 1067), and 537 patients were included in the validation cohort. The univariate survival analyses included 19 biomarkers.Results: The multivariate analysis showed that tumour stage, metastasis stage and C-reactive protein (CRP), albumin (ALB), carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and carbohydrate antigen-199 (CA199) levels as well as the lymphocyte (LYM) count were independent risk factors for the prognosis of GC patients. The nomogram was based on the above factors. In the primary cohort, the nomogram had a concordance index (C-index) of 0.825 (95% CI 0.796-0.854), which was higher than the C-index of the AJCC TNM stage and that of the other biomarkers (CEA and CA199). The calibration plot suggested good agreement between the actual and nomogram-predicted overall survival (OS) probabilities, and the decision curve analyses showed that the nomogram model had a higher overall net benefit in predicting OS than the AJCC TNM stage. Moreover, we divided the patients into the following three distinct risk groups for OS based on the nomogram points: low, middle and high risk. The differences in OS rates were significant among the subgroups (P < 0.001).Conclusion: A novel nomogram integrated with inflammatory prognostic factors was proposed, which is highly predictive of OS in GC patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sargassum polycystum C. Agardh, a brown alga that is widely distributed in tropical areas, has significant economic value by virtue of its use as food, traditional medicine, animal fodder, and chemical products in Asian countries. In order to explore suitable conditions for the aquaculture of this alga, we used 9-10 cm long branches of S. polycystum to assess the effects of various environmental factors, including temperature, salinity, and irradiance upon the relative growth rate (RGR), photosynthetic pigment content, and chlorophyll fluorescence characteristics of this species. Data showed that S. polycystum exhibited a relatively broad tolerance to various environmental conditions, and grew well in different conditions of temperature, salinity, and irradiance, ranging from 15 to 25 °C, 20-40 PSU, and 10-80 μmol photons·m−2·s−1. The maximum RGR of S. polycystum occurred at 23 °C, 32 PSU, and 20-80 μmol photons·m−2·s−1 (P < 0.05). Temperature had a significant effect (P < 0.05) upon RGR and the chlorophyll fluorescence characteristics of S. polycystum, and lower temperature (10 °C) led to rapid reductions in the maximal photochemical quantum yield of photosystem II (Fv/Fm) and non-photochemical quenching (NPQ) values. Salinity exhibited a relatively weak effect upon the growth of S. polycystum, and the plant was able to survive at salinities from 16 to 40 PSU; during a two-week cultivation period, significant differences in RGR were not observed among different salinity conditions until 2 weeks of cultivation. Chlorophyll a and carotenoid content of S. polycystum decreased as irradiance increased (P < 0.05), and photo-inhibition occurred under higher levels of irradiance (> 80 μmol photons·m−2·s−1). These physiological data provide valuable data related to the successful cultivation of S. polycystum under controlled conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two new furofuran lignans were isolated from the stems of Acanthopanax senticosus, along with seven known compounds. Their structures were all determined by spectroscopic analyses and chemical methods. All the isolates were evaluated for in vitro inhibitory activity against DGAT1 and DGAT2. Compounds 1 and 2 were found to exhibit selective inhibitory activity on DGAT1 with IC values 89.5 ± 1.5 and 57.5 ± 1.3 µM, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New neo-lignan, (7 S, 8 R)-3-hydroxyl-4-methoxyl-balanophonin ( 1), together with seven known compounds ( 2- 8) were isolated from the EtOAc-soluble extract of Acanthopanax senticosus. The structure of the new neo-lignan was elucidated with spectroscopic and physico-chemical analyses. All the isolates were evaluated for in vitro inhibitory activity against PTP1B, VHR and PP1. Among them, the new compound ( 1) was found to exhibit selective inhibitory activity on PTP1B with IC value 15.2 ± 1.4 µM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

WNT-ß-catenin-TCF pathway is involved in carcinogenesis and foetal development. As a member of the WNT gene family, Wnt8A encodes secreted signalling proteins and responds to many biological processes. However, similar research on the effects of genetic variations of Wnt8A gene on growth traits is lacking. Therefore, in this study, polymorphisms of Wnt8A were detected in 396 animals from Chinese Qinchuan cattle using DNA pool sequencing and PCR-RFLP methods. Four novel single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of Wnt8A gene were identified, including three mutations in introns (g.T-445C, g.G244C and g.G910A) and one in exon (g.T4922C). Additionally, we examined the associations of four SNPs with growth traits. The results revealed that SNP2 (g.G244C) was significantly associated with shoulder height, hip height, body length, hip width, and body weight ( $$P < 0.05$$ ). SNP3 (g.G910A) also displayed notable effects on hip width ( $$P < 0.05$$ ). Meanwhile, the haplotype combination CC-GC-GA-CC was strongly associated with heavier, taller and longer animals ( $$P < 0.05$$ ). These results show that the Wnt8A gene may be a potential candidate gene, and the SNPs could be used as molecular markers in early marker-assisted selection in beef cattle breeding programmes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Speciation analysis of long-lived I in seawater can provide useful information on the source of water masses. This paper presents an improved method for speciation analysis of I based on coprecipitation of iodide as AgI with AgSO and AgCl. By adding a small amount of I carrier, the separation efficiency of iodine species and the accuracy and precision of I measurement are remarkably improved. I species in depth profiles of seawater from the Antarctic were analyzed for investigation of water circulation in the Antarctic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two aerobic, Gram-stain positive actinobacterial strains with nematicidal activity, designated HA11164 and HA12591, were isolated from mangrove sediments in Hainan, China. Phylogenetic analysis based on the 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated that strains HA11164 and HA12591 belong to the genus Pseudonocardia and are closely related to Pseudonocardia carboxydivorans (with the similarities of 98.30 and 98.24 %, respectively), Pseudonocardia alni (98.23 and 98.16 %, respectively) and Pseudonocardia antimicrobica (98.10 and 98.03 %, respectively). The major polar lipids of the strain HA11164, as a representative strain of the two strains, were found to consist of phosphatidylmethylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol, diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylinositol, five unidentified glycolipids and four unidentified polar lipids. The predominant menaquinone of strain HA11164 was identified as MK-8 (H), and the major fatty acids were identified as iso-C, C ω10, C and C ω9. The G+C content of strain HA11164 was determined to be 74.9 mol%. The DNA-DNA relatedness values between strains HA11164 and P. alni, Pseudonocardia tropica, Pseudonocardia antarctica, P. carboxydivorans and Pseudonocardia parietis were 58.3, 56.2, 50.0, 57.1 and 46.0 %, respectively. Based on the results of this polyphasic study, strains HA11164 and HA12591 are considered to represent a novel species of the genus Pseudonocardia, for which the name Pseudonocardia nematodicida sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is HA11164 (=CGMCC 4.7118 = DSM 45940). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two Gram-positive actinobacterial strains, designated HA11166 and HA12420, were isolated from mangrove sediments in Hainan, China. The bacterial cells grew with 0-9 % (w/v) NaCl, at 15-40 °C and pH 5.0-10.0, with the optimum growth at 1 % NaCl, 30-37 °C and pH 7.0. The organisms had a range of chemical and morphological properties consistent with their classification in the genus Nocardiopsis. Phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated that strains HA11166 and HA12420 can be affiliated to the genus Nocardiopsis and most closely related to Nocardiopsis trehalosi VKM Ac-942 (with the similarity of 97.2 and 97.5 %, respectively). The value of DNA-DNA relatedness between type strain HA11166, selected as the representative strain, and N. trehalosi VKM Ac-942 was 38.8 %. The DNA G+C content of strain HA11166 was 73.7 %. On the basis of these phenotypic and genotypic data, strains HA11166 and HA12420 are proposed to represent a novel species of the genus Nocardiopsis, for which the name Nocardiopsis mangrovei sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is HA11166 (=CGMCC 4.7119=DSM 46665). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the study was to explore the effect of birdpecking and revolving moxibustion on twelve back shenshu points on the bone metabolism and bone histomorphometry of osteoporosis rats. The 50 female rats of 8 months old that did not pregnant were collected and randomly divided into sham-operation group, model group, moxibustion group, moxibustion and estrogen group, and estrogen group. All the rats, except for the rats in the sham-operation group, received ovarian surgery to establish the models. After 10 days postoperatively (healing), the rats received moxibustion and estrogen therapy. According to the different groups, the rats received rat femur in vivo bone mineral density assessment at 90 days after surgery. After that, the rats were sacrificed, and then the left femoral bones were collected for bone histomorphometry test; blood was taken for bone alkaline phosphatase (BALP) testing, and urine was collected for hydroxyproline testing. The urine hydroxyproline was tested once at 24 h after ovarian surgery. At 24 h after ovarian surgery, the urine hydroxyproline in the ovariectomy group was significantly higher than that in the sham-operation group ( P < 0.05), indicating that after ovarian surgery, the collagen broke down which accelerated the process of osteoporosis. After the intervention therapy with moxibustion and estrogen, the BALP, urinary hydroxyproline and femoral bone histomorphometry were comparatively analyzed, and the results showed that the intervention groups were higher than the model group ( P < 0.05). But when compared with the sham-operation group, the indexes in the intervention groups were decreased, and the differences were significant ( P < 0.05), indicating that intervention could only delay the incidence of osteoporosis. The Chinese traditional measure of 'birdpecking and revolving moxibustion on twelve back-shu points' can effectively prevent the recession of bone metabolism of osteoporosis rats, and slow down the degeneration of bone morphology, which can be used to delay the incidence of osteoporosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The low-thrust trajectory optimization with complicated constraints must be considered in practical engineering. In most literature, this problem is simplified into a two-body model in which the spacecraft is subject to the gravitational force at the center of mass and the spacecraft's own electric propulsion only, and the gravity assist (GA) is modeled as an instantaneous velocity increment. This paper presents a method to solve the fuel-optimal problem of low-thrust trajectory with complicated constraints in a full ephemeris model, which is closer to practical engineering conditions. First, it introduces various perturbations, including a third body's gravity, the nonspherical perturbation and the solar radiation pressure in a dynamic equation. Second, it builds two types of equivalent inner constraints to describe the GA. At the same time, the present paper applies a series of techniques, such as a homotopic approach, to enhance the possibility of convergence of the global optimal solution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Cardiovascular disease is the largest single cause of death among women in the US. The American Heart Association guidelines recommend aspirin use in women ≥65 years of age if blood pressure is controlled and the benefits of cardiovascular risk reduction likely outweigh the risk of bleeding. The objective of this study is to determine the prevalence of aspirin use in elderly women and factors associated with use. Methods: This retrospective study evaluated aspirin use in women aged ≥65 years based on cardiovascular and gastrointestinal bleeding risk using a medication therapy management database within a large mid-Atlantic managed care organization. Logistic regression was used to analyze patient-related variables associated with aspirin use. Variables included clinical coronary heart disease (CHD), number of CHD risk factors, diabetes diagnosis, number of chronic medications and presence of contraindications to aspirin. Results: Aspirin use was reported in 50% of patients: 68.0% in the secondary prevention group and 46.3% in the primary prevention group. The percentage of patients using aspirin or with relative aspirin contraindications increased to 84% for the secondary prevention group and 65.9% for the primary prevention group. Patients with clinical CHD and those with diabetes and without clinical CHD were 5.88 ( P=0.008) and 7.54 ( P=0.012) times more likely to utilize aspirin, respectively, than patients with only one CHD risk factor of age. Patients with relative contraindications to aspirin were less likely to use aspirin ( P<0.001). Conclusion: The high use of aspirin in patients at higher CHD risk supports national recommendations. Clinical practitioners need to carefully assess the value of aspirin in patients at low CHD risk and those 80 years of age and beyond where evidence of benefit should be weighed against risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract??In previous studies we showed a marked increase in secretion of inflammatory cytokines TNF? and interleukin (IL)-1? by mouse macrophages in response to different doses of ionizing radiation (IR). Here we show the stimulation of IL-12 and IL-18 secretion by mouse peritoneal macrophages after whole-body irradiation with exploration of the possible mechanisms and implications in cancer radiotherapy. Both low (0.075?Gy) and high (2?Gy) doses of IR were found to cause sustained stimulation of IL-12 and IL-18 secretion by mouse macrophages; this paralleled the activation of NF-?B as well as up-regulated expression of CD14 and TLR4?MD2 on the macrophage surface and MyD88 in the cytoplasm. The expression of CD14, TLR4?MD2 and MyD88 increased in a dose-dependent manner from radiation doses between 0.05 and 2 Gy. The secretion of IL-12 and IL-18 showed a dose-dependent increase from doses between 0.05 and 4?Gy. It is concluded that IR can stimulate the secretion of IL-12 and IL-18 presumably via activation of the Toll signaling pathway in macrophages. The potential harmful effect of repeated doses of radiation used in radiotherapy for certain cancers is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The leaves of many plants are red during particular stages of their lives, but the adaptive significance of leaf colouration is not yet clearly understood. In order to reveal whether anthocyanins play a similar role (i.e. antioxidants) in different seasonal contexts, this study investigated species with red young leaves in the subtropical forest of Dinghushan biosphere reserve (South China) during summer and winter and compared group leaf characteristics between the two seasons. Of 62 total species, 33 exhibited red young leaves in summer only, 6 in winter only, and 23 in both seasons. The anthocyanins extracted from most of these species had an absorption peak at ~530 nm. Frequency distribution analysis showed that the species containing anthocyanins at levels ranging from 0.02 to 0.04 μmol cm−2 occurred most frequently in summer or winter. Based on conditional grouping of the species, no significant variation was observed in the average anthocyanin contents and antioxidant abilities between summer and winter; the flavonoid content in summer was 2-fold that in winter, whereas the anthocyanin:flavonoid ratio in summer was only half that in winter. Moreover, a positive correlation between anthocyanins and flavonoids was found in summer. Therefore, it is less likely for anthocyanins to serve as antioxidants in summer than winter, because such a function in summer leaves is readily replaced by other flavonoids. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]