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Background: The aim of this study was to analyze the relationship of the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) to hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) blood concentrations in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients. Method: Patients with SLE who had been taking HCQ for more than 12 months were recruited. All subjects gave written informed consent. Various clinical characteristics and laboratory values were examined. The blood concentration of HCQ was measured by high-performance liquid chromatography, and the relationship of eGFR to HCQ blood concentration was mainly investigated. Result: In total, 115 patients with SLE receiving long-term HCQ therapy were included in the study. The median concentration of HCQ was 1096 ng/ml (range 116–8240 ng/ml). The eGFR was strongly associated with blood concentration of HCQ (P = 0.011, P < 0.05), when adjusted for age, sex, body mass index (BMI), weight-adjusted dose, prednisone use and immunosuppressive drug use. No statistically significant association were found between age, duration, BMI, weight-adjusted HCQ dose, corticosteroid use, immunosuppressant use and blood concentrations of HCQ. Conclusion: We provided novel evidence that impaired renal function influenced the blood concentration of HCQ. Patients with low eGFR need to adjust the HCQ dosage according to the monitoring results of HCQ blood concentrations. Key points • A higher HCQ blood concentration was associated with low eGFR. • This finding reinforces the importance of routine HCQ measurement to maintain normal blood concentrations. • HCQ blood monitoring will be useful for dose modification in patients with renal dysfunction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Frame mold is the key tool for autoclave processing of composite structures. Its stiffness and temperature uniformity have important influences on the quality, particularly the synchronization of curing of the processed composite structures. In this paper, a novel topology optimization method is proposed to design the frame mold for improving the stiffness and the temperature uniformity while reducing the weight. A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model is developed to analyze the temperature field of the frame mold during the curing process and its accuracy is validated by experiment. Furthermore, the original mold and optimized mold covered with the composite panel are introduced to the numerical model to research the evolution process of the degree of cure (DoC) during a curing cycle. The results show that the overall structure weight of the optimized mold is reduced by 16.04%, the stiffness is increased by 27%, and the temperature uniformity is increased by 29%. The synchronization of curing of the composite panel is also improved by 26.7% using the optimized mold. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To detect whether Danlou Tablet (DLT) regulates the hypoxia-induced factor (HIF)-1α-angiopoietin-like 4 (Angptl4) mRNA signaling pathway and explore the role of DLT in treating chronic intermittent hypoxia (CIH)-induced dyslipidemia and arteriosclerosis. Methods: The mature adipocytes were obtained from 3T3-L1 cell culturation and allocated into 8 groups including control groups (Groups 1 and 5, 0.1 mL of cell culture grade water); DLT groups (Groups 2 and 6, 0.1 mL of 1,000 µg/mL DLT submicron powder solution); dimethyloxalylglycine (DMOG) groups (Groups 3 and 7, DMOG and 0.1 mL of cell culture grade water); DMOG plus DLT groups (Groups 4 and 8, DMOG and 0.1 mL of 1,000 µg/mL DLT submicron powder solution). Groups 1–4 used mature adipocytes and groups 5–8 used HIF-1 α-siRNA lentivirus-transfected mature adipocytes. After 24-h treatment, real-time polymerase chain reaction and Western blot were employed to determine the mRNA and protein expression levels of HIF-1 α and Angptl4. In animal experiments, the CIH model in ApoE−/− mice was established. Sixteen mice were complete randomly divided into 4 groups including sham group, CIH model group [intermittent hypoxia and normal saline (2 mL/time) gavage once a day]; Angptl4 Ab group [intermittent hypoxia and Angptl4 antibody (30 mg/kg) intraperitoneally injected every week]; DLT group [intermittent hypoxia and DLT (250 mg/kg) once a day], 4 mice in each group. After 4-week treatment, enzyme linked immunosorbent assay was used to detect the expression levels of serum total cholesterol (TC) and triglyceride (TG). Hematoxylin-eosin and CD68 staining were used to observe the morphological properties of arterial plaques. Results: Angptl4 expression was dependent on HIF-1 α, with a reduction in mRNA expression and no response in protein level to DMOG or DLT treatment in relation to siHIF-1 α -transfected cells. DLT inhibited HIF-1 α and Angptl4 mRNA expression (P<0.05 or P<0.01) and reduced HIF-1 α and Angptl4 protein expressions with DMOG in mature adipocytes (all P<0.01), as the effect on HIF-1 α protein also existed in the presence of siHIF-1 α (P<0.01). ApoE−/− mice treated with CIH had increased TG and TC levels (all P<0.01) and atherosclerotic plaque. Angptl4 antibody and DLT both reduce TG and TC levels (all P<0.01), as well as reducing atherosclerotic plaque areas, narrowing arterial wall thickness and alleviating atherosclerotic lesion symptoms to some extent. Conclusion: DLT had positive effects in improving dyslipidemia and arteriosclerosis by inhibiting Angptl4 protein level through HIF-1 α-Angptl4 mRNA signaling pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

COVID-19 restrictions have necessitated child/youth mental health providers to shift towards virtually delivering services to patients' homes rather than hospitals and community mental health clinics. There is scant guidance available for clinicians on how to address unique considerations for the virtual mental healthcare of children and youth as clinicians rapidly shift their practices away from in-person care in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, we bridge this gap by discussing a six-pillar framework developed at Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, for delivering direct to patient virtual mental healthcare to children, youth and their families. We also offer a discussion of the advantages, disadvantages, and future implications of such services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Waste organic solvents are considered as hazardous waste in many countries. However, the generation of waste organic solvents in China has been ambiguous in recent years. In this study, the pollutant generation coefficient is first used as the estimation method of waste organic solvent generation in China. Then, the pollutant generation coefficient is combined with linear regression model used to predict the generation. Results show that the generation of waste organic solvents in China was almost 2.99 million tons in 2017. The largest generation was from the integrated circuit (IC) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) fiber industries. The two industries contributed 84.1% to the total generation. East China was the region with the largest generation where 57.8% of the total was produced. The generation of waste organic solvents was closely correlated to the economic level. The generation of waste organic solvents is predicted to be 4.15 million tons and the average annual growth rate of the generation was approximately 3.5% until 2025. Therefore, reducing the pollutant generation coefficient is important in controlling the total generation of waste organic solvents in the future. The IC and PVA fiber industries and the region of east China should be paid attention by environmental management authorities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, we fabricated NiFe2O4/C composite with a coral-like structure through co-precipitation approach followed by thermal decomposition. The composite with a large surface area of 162.1 m2 g−1 and an average pore size of 11.8 nm was obtained. The porous structure in the composite derived from oxalate can effectively accommodate the volume changes of NiFe2O4 during the cycling processes. When used as anode materials, the initial charge and discharge capacities of the composite were 926.7 and 1277.7 mAh g−1 at 100 mA g−1. After 50 cycles, the reversible capacity of NiFe2O4/C could still remain at 892.4 mAh g−1. Even at a current density of 2000 mA g−1, the reversible capacity still reached 523.3 mAh g−1. The results showed that the synergy between NiFe2O4 and carbon improved the electrochemical performance, and the porous composite could stabilize the structure of the electrode. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Haze scatters light transmitted in the air and reduces the visibility of images. Dealing with haze is still a challenge for image processing applications nowadays. For the purpose of haze removal, we propose an accelerated dehazing method based on single pixels. Unlike other methods based on regions, our method estimates the transmission map and atmospheric light for each pixel independently, so that all parameters can be evaluated in one traverse, which is a key to acceleration. Then, the transmission map is bilaterally filtered to restore the relationship between pixels. After restoration via the linear hazy model, the restored images are tuned to improve the contrast, value, and saturation, in particular to offset the intensity errors in different channels caused by the corresponding wavelengths. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed dehazing method outperforms the state-of-the-art dehazing methods in terms of processing speed. Comparisons with other dehazing methods and quantitative criteria (peak signal-to-noise ratio, detectable marginal rate, and information entropy difference) are introduced to verify its performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the study, a new kind of tetrad cathode lithium-ion battery material (LiNi0.6Co0.2-xMn0.2VxO2 (x = 0, 0.06, 0.08, 0.10)) was synthesized and then characterized by XRD, XPS, SEM, EDS, electrochemical measurements, CV, and EIS. The homogenous distribution of vanadium element on the materials was verified and the layer crystal structure was not changed when x = 0.08. XPS results indicated that suitable vanadium substitution reduced cation mixing on the surface due to the lower content of Ni2+. Electrochemical measurements confirmed that LiNi0.6Co0.12Mn0.2V0.08O2 had the highest initial coulombic efficiency (80 % at 0.05 C), rate capacity (129.4 mAh/g at 5 C), and cycling performance (92.6% at 1 C) at the cutoff voltage of 4.6 V, which were much better than those of LiNi0.6Co0.2Mn0.2O2. LiNi0.6Co0.12Mn0.2V0.08O2 showed good dynamic properties in CV and EIS tests. The results of XRD and SEM for cycled electrodes showed that the introduction of vanadium could significantly relieve structural damages of LiNi0.6Co0.2Mn0.2O2 during charge/discharge processes. This study indicated that controlled vanadium introduction could effectively improve the electrochemical performance of LiNi0.6Co0.2Mn0.2O2 for developing the high-voltage cathodes for high-energy lithium-ion batteries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Open dumping adversely affects the environment and remains the most widely used method for waste disposal in many developing rural areas in China. Information regarding the impact of rural solid waste (RSW) on the environment remains limited. The objectives of this study are to investigate the characteristics of RSW and the impact of different precipitation rates, and to evaluate the contamination potential of RSW using a leachate pollution index (LPI). The study showed that leachate concentration was significantly influenced by precipitation rates at the initial precipitation stages. Precipitation rates of 42.00 mm/day appeared to have the largest dilution effects. In contrast, the concentrations of leachate at rainfall rates of 24.00 mm/day and soaking were steady, and no similar trends were observed. The highest amounts of pollutants in leachate were the result of soaking. In the first week of our experiment, the LPI value for each rural area waste sample rapidly increased with rising precipitation rates from soaking to 42.00 mm/day. However, no significant change in LPI was observed thereafter (after 5 weeks) even with increasing precipitation rates. The values of chemical oxygen demand, biochemical oxygen demand, total nitrogen, and NH3-N in the leachate after 10 weeks were 4.00, 7.34, 1.87, and 2.21 times higher, respectively, than those of the prescribed leachate quality standards in China. The results of our study suggest the following course of action for the three dump sites investigated: in Banqiao, given the size of the population and the size of the waste amount, landfill might be a suitable way for disposing of RSW. In Machen, building a standardized waste collection site would be an economical solution for reducing potential pollution risks. In Jiuduhe, increasing the transportation rate of solid waste might be an effective solution. The results of this study can help to improve the understanding of leachate pollution in Chinese rural areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the study, the (Ni0.6Co0.1Mn0.2Fe0.1)C2O4 precursor was synthesized according to the oxalate co-precipitation method under different pH values and then layered Ni-rich LiNi0.6Co0.1Mn0.2Fe0.1O2 (6121) materials were prepared by calcinating the mixture of oxalate precursor and LiOH·H2O in an oxygen atmosphere. The crystal structure, morphology, chemical compositions, and electrochemical behaviors of the tetrad cathode materials were explored respectively by XRD, SEM, HRTEM, EDS, and electrochemical charge-discharge tests. The XRD results revealed that the ratios of c/a and I(003)/I(104) respectively increased from 4.989 to 1.47 to 5.000 and 1.61 after Fe substituted Co in LiNi0.6Co0.2Mn0.2O2 (622). SEM images showed that spherical particles were more uniform and that the particle diameter decreased from 15 µm to 10 µm after the introduction of Fe. The results of charge/discharge tests indicated that the LiNi0.6Co0.1Mn0.2Fe0.1O2 sample had the lower polarization (10% at 0.1 C), the higher cycling retention (86% after 100 cycles at 1 C), and the enhanced rate performance. The LiNi0.6Co0.1Mn0.2Fe0.1O2 sample showed the better reversibility, smaller impedance parameters and a larger Li+ diffusion coefficient in CV and EIS analyses. This study provides a promising tetrad cathode material with the better crystal structure, higher columbic efficiency and better cycle performance. The new tetrad cathode material is expected to become part and parcel of cathode materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heat shock protein 60 (HSP60) is a highly conserved chaperone molecule that plays important roles in mediating some physiological and pathological functions. However, researchers have not yet determined whether HSP60 is expressed in the mammalian cochlea. This study constitutes the first investigation of the expression of HSP60 in the postnatal rat cochlea. We also examined the expression of HSP60 in rats with drug-induced hearing loss. Auditory thresholds were assessed by monitoring the auditory brainstem response (ABR) prior to and after drug injection. Expression levels of the HSP60 gene (Hsp60) and HSP60 protein in the rat cochlea were detected by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and Western blotting, respectively. The distribution of HSP60 in the rat cochlea was further examined by immunofluorescence staining. We have demonstrated that HSP60 was expressed in the postnatal rat cochlea in an age-dependent and cell-specific manner. In addition, after drug exposure, the average hearing threshold of rats in the experimental group was significantly higher than that in the control group, with increased HSP60 expression level in response to kanamycin and furosemide treatments. HSP60 expression was observed in the supporting cells (SCs) within the organ of Corti in both the uninjured and the injured cochlea, but it was undetectable in the mechanosensory hair cells (HCs) and spiral ganglion neurons. Therefore, our research suggests that HSP60 may play an important role in auditory function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite governmental efforts toward the development of policies, funds, and technologies, the inherent characteristics of rural solid waste (RSW) discharge have led to great difficulties in RSW pollution control. However, establishing a realistic management strategy requires greater knowledge of RSW generation. Therefore, the RSW of 72 typical towns and villages from 12 provinces of China was analyzed for physicochemical characteristics, as well as its spatiotemporal distribution. The largest proportion of kitchen waste, coal ash, plastic, and paper of RSW was 33.70% ± 17.87%, 26.50% ± 17.61%, 13.48% ± 5.68%, and 10.75% ± 5.75%, respectively, in 2015. Although RSW had the potential for composting, it was still necessary to pay special attention to heavy metals pollution of RSW. The spatiotemporal distributions of RSW components were extremely non-homogenous, and significant variations existed in the kitchen residue, coal ash, plastic, and paper because of differences in economic growth, climatic changes, dietary habits, energy consumption structure, and consumer preferences. No obvious differences in RSW components were observed between villages and market towns. Overall, RSW treatment and management approaches should be considered based on local conditions of RSW generation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Porous carbon nanosheets (PCNSs), porous carbon nanofibers (PCNFs), and flowerlike porous carbon microspheres (FPCMs) were successfully synthesized through a carbonization method combined with a simple acid pickling treatment using calcium citrate as the precursor. The as-prepared products show uniform morphologies, in which the FPCMs are self-assembled from PCNSs. As anodes of lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries, these carbon materials deliver a stable reversible capacity above 515 mAh g after 50 cycles at 100 mA g. Compared with PCNSs and PCNFs, FPCMs demonstrate preferable rate capability (378 mAh g at 1 A g) and cyclability (643 mAh g at 100 mA g). These results suggest that an appropriate select of morphology and structure will significantly improve the lithium storage capacity. The study also indicates that the novel shape-controlled porous carbon materials have potential applications as electrode materials in electronic devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The removal efficiencies of two horizontal subsurface flow constructed wetlands (HSSF CWs, down-flow (F1) and up-flow (F2)) filled with the zeolite-slag hybrid substrate for the rural landfill leachate treatment were investigated. The adsorption experiment was conducted to evaluate the potential of zeolite and slag as the wetland substrate. The effects of distance variations along the longitudinal profile of wetland bed on pollutant removal were assessed by sampling at four locations (inlet, outlet, 0.55 m, and 1.10 m from the inlet). During the operation time, the influent and effluent concentrations of chemical oxygen demand (COD), ammonia nitrogen (NH-N), total nitrogen (TN), heavy metals, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) were measured. The results showed that the constructed wetlands were capable of removing COD, 20.5-48.2% (F1) and 18.6-61.2% (F2); NH-N, 84.0-99.9% (F1) and 93.5-99.2% (F2); TN, 80.3-92.1% (F1) and 80.3-91.2% (F2); and heavy metals, about 90% (F1 and F2). The zeolite-slag hybrid substrate performed excellent removal efficiency for the nitrogen and heavy metals. The inlet area was the most active region of leachate removal. The up-flow constructed wetland (F2) has a higher removal efficiency for the PAH compounds. The significant removal efficiency illustrated that the rural landfill leachate can be treated using the horizontal subsurface flow constructed wetland filled with the zeolite-slag hybrid substrate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A total of 47 passive air samples and 25 soil samples were collected to study the temporal trend, distribution, and air-soil exchange of polychlorinated naphthalenes (PCNs) in Shanghai, China. Atmospheric PCNs ranged from 3.44 to 44.1 pg/m (average of 21.9 pg/m) in summer and 13.6 to 153 pg/m (average of 40.0 pg/m) in winter. In the soil samples, PCN concentrations were 54.7-1382 pg/g dry weight (average of 319 pg/g). Tri-CNs and tetra-CNs were two dominant homolog groups in air samples, while di-CNs were also found at comparable proportions to tri-CNs and tetra-CNs in soil samples. Most air and soil samples from the industrial and urban areas showed higher PCN concentrations than those from suburban areas. However, some soil samples in urban centers presented higher PCN concentrations than industrial areas. Analysis of PCN sources indicated that both industrial thermal process and historical usage of commercial PCN mixtures contributed to the PCN burden in most areas. The fugacity fraction results indicated a strong tendency of volatilization for lighter PCNs (tri- to hexa-CNs) in both seasons, and air-soil deposition for octa-CNs. Moreover, air-soil exchange fluxes indicate that soil was an important source of atmospheric PCNs in some areas. The results of this study provide information for use in the evaluation of the potential impact and human health risk of PCNs around the study areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental factors play an important role in the development of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Among these factors, smoking is generally considered to be an established risk factor for RA. Data regarding the impact of diet on risk of RA development is limited. This study assessed the impact of dietary patterns on RA susceptibility in Chinese populations. This was a large scale, case-control study composed of 968 patients with RA and 1037 matched healthy controls. Subjects were recruited from 18 teaching hospitals. Socio-demographic characteristics and dietary intakes 5 years prior to the onset of RA were reported by a self-administered questionnaire. Differences in quantity of consumption between cases and controls were analyzed by Student's t test. Multiple logistic regression analysis was applied to identify independent dietary risk factor(s) responsible for RA susceptibility. Compared to healthy individuals, RA patients had decreased consumption of mushrooms ( P = 0.000), beans ( P = 0.006), citrus ( P = 0.000), poultry ( P = 0.000), fish ( P = 0.000), edible viscera ( P = 0.018), and dairy products ( P = 0.005). Multivariate analyses revealed that several dietary items may have protective effects on RA development, such as mushrooms (aOR = 0.669; 95%CI = 0.518-0.864, P = 0.002), citrus fruits (aOR = 0.990; 95%CI = 0.981-0.999, P = 0.04), and dairy products (aOR = 0.921; 95%CI 0.867-0.977, P = 0.006). Several dietary factors had independent effects on RA susceptibility. Dietary interventions may reduce the risk of RA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In China, sparerib is one of the most valuable parts of the pork carcass. As a result, candidate gene mining for number of ribs has become an interesting study focus. To examine the genetic basis for this major trait, we genotyped 596 individuals from an F Large White × Minzhu intercross pig population using the PorcineSNP60 Genotyping BeadChip. The genome-wide association study identified a locus for number of ribs in a 2.38-Mb region on Sus scrofa chromosome 7 (SSC7 of Sus scrofa genome assembly, Sscrofa10.2). We identified the top significant SNP ASGA0035536, which explained 16.51 % of the phenotypic variance. A previously reported candidate causal mutation (g.19034 A>C) in vertebrae development-associated gene VRTN explained 8.79 % of the phenotypic variation on number of ribs and had a much lower effect than ASGA0035536. Haplotype sharing analysis in F boars localized the rib number QTL to a 951-kb interval on SSC7. This interval encompassed 17 annotated genes in Sscrofa10.2, including the previously reported VRTN candidate gene. Of the 17 candidate genes, LTBP2, which encodes a latent transforming growth factor beta binding protein, was previously reported to indirectly regulate the activity of growth differentiation factor Gdf11, which has been shown to increase the number of ribs in knock-out mice. Thus, we propose LTBP2 as a good new candidate gene for number of ribs in the pig population. This finding advances our understanding of the genetic architecture of rib number in pigs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polychlorinated dibenzo- p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (dioxins) are pollutants of significant global concern, and China is one of the main dioxin-emitting countries in the world. Facing increasing dioxin concentrations in the environment, the Chinese government set a mandatory goal of 10 % reduction in the rate of emission intensity by 2015 in an attempt to reduce dioxin emissions. In the study presented here, we estimated the outputs (or waste disposal capacities) of the four key dioxin-emitting industries in China in 2015. We then estimated that the total amount of dioxins released from these four industries was approximately 8.0 kg toxic equivalent (TEQ)/year. These results indicate that dioxin emissions in China have not decreased under the current plan, and the plan needs to be adjusted. A goal for a decrease in the total dioxin emissions in China is proposed, and several policies and measures aimed at allowing the target dioxin emission decrease to be achieved are recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the accurate description of aerodynamic characteristics for aircraft, a wavelet neural network (WNN) aerodynamic modeling method from flight data, based on improved particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm with information sharing strategy and velocity disturbance operator, is proposed. In improved PSO algorithm, an information sharing strategy is used to avoid the premature convergence as much as possible; the velocity disturbance operator is adopted to jump out of this position once falling into the premature convergence. Simulations on lateral and longitudinal aerodynamic modeling for ATTAS (advanced technologies testing aircraft system) indicate that the proposed method can achieve the accuracy improvement of an order of magnitude compared with SPSO-WNN, and can converge to a satisfactory precision by only 60-120 iterations in contrast to SPSO-WNN with 6 times precocities in 200 times repetitive experiments using Morlet and Mexican hat wavelet functions. Furthermore, it is proved that the proposed method is feasible and effective for aerodynamic modeling from flight data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to accurately describe the dynamic characteristics of flight vehicles through aerodynamic modeling, an adaptive wavelet neural network (AWNN) aerodynamic modeling method is proposed, based on subset kernel principal components analysis (SKPCA) feature extraction. Firstly, by fuzzy C-means clustering, some samples are selected from the training sample set to constitute a sample subset. Then, the obtained samples subset is used to execute SKPCA for extracting basic features of the training samples. Finally, using the extracted basic features, the AWNN aerodynamic model is established. The experimental results show that, in 50 times repetitive modeling, the modeling ability of the method proposed is better than that of other six methods. It only needs about half the modeling time of KPCA-AWNN under a close prediction accuracy, and can easily determine the model parameters. This enables it to be effective and feasible to construct the aerodynamic modeling for flight vehicles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prior studies in different tumor models have shown that, under conditions of PTEN deficiency, the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway appear to play a major role in the tumor cell’s proliferative and survival pathway, and that pharmacological inhibition of this pathway results in tumor growth inhibition. This study aimed to explore whether sensitivity to p38MAPK inhibitors are specifically due to status of PTEN in endometrial cancer cells. We developed a series of endometrial cancer cell lines with different PTEN expressions (Ishikawa, RL-952, HEC-1B and HEC-1A cells) or introduced the wild-type PTEN and PTEN-siRNA in four endometrial cancer cells to change its PTEN expression with a p38MAPK inhibitor, SB203580 for 2 days. Cell proliferation, cell apoptosis, and cell cycle distribution were studied, and activation of AKT, ATF-2, and p38MAPK was examined by Western blotting. In cultivated PTEN-deficient endometrial cancer cells, in addition to an activation of AKT, a phosphorylation of p38MAPK and ATF-2 was evident, while PTEN-positive endometrial cancer cells lacked AKT activation but revealed a reduced expression of p-p38MAPK and p-ATF-2. These PTEN-deficient endometrial cancer cells demonstrated an increased sensitivity to the anti-proliferative effects induced by SB203580 compared with the PTEN-positive endometrial cancer cells, which corresponded to alterations in cell cycle response and cell apoptosis. PTEN-deficient endometrial cancer cells exhibit higher p38MAPK activity, and genetic studies demonstrate that p38MAPK functions dependently of AKT. Furthermore, PTEN loss sensitizes cells to p38MAPK inhibition in endometrial carcinoma cells. These findings indicate that inhibitors of p38MAPK have the potential to be effective in the treatment of endometrial cancer patients with PTEN-deficient tumors and should be evaluated in this setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel blue-emitting phosphor NaBa0.98Eu0.02PO4 was synthesized by conventional solid state reaction, and it exhibits efficient blue emission under near-ultraviolet (n-UV) excitation. The emission spectrum shows a single band centered at about 440 nm, which corresponds to the 4f65d1-4f7 transition of Eu2+. The excitation spectrum is a broad band in the wavelength range between 200 and 450 nm, which can match the emission of white light emitting diodes (LEDs) by the method of n-UV conversion. The Ca2+, Sr2+ and Mg2+ were co-doped into NaBa0.98Eu0.02PO4 respectively. Special attention was paid to the sample co-doped with Ca2+ that could possess a higher luminous efficacy than the analogs co-doped with Sr2+ and Mg2+. With the co-doping of Ca2+, the enhanced intensity of the excitation and emission band appears. The optimum co-doping concentration of Ca2+ is 7 mol.%. The emission intensity of NaBa0.91Ca0.07Eu0.02PO4 phosphoris about 1.68 times than that of NaBa0.98Eu0.02PO4 phosphor. The as-prepared phosphors are the potential blue phosphors for application in white LEDs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To investigate the apoptosis-inducing effect of oridonin, a diterpenoid isolated from Rabdosia rubescens, in the human cervical carcinoma HeLa cell line. Methods: A morphological analysis, nuclear condensation, and fragmentation of chromatin were monitored using Hoechst 33342 staining. Cell viability was assessed using the 3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazol-(2)-yl)-2, 5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. Cell apoptosis and the apoptosis-related activation in the HeLa cell line were evaluated by flow cytometry and Western blotting. Results: Oridonin suppressed the proliferation of the HeLa cell line in a dose- and time-dependent fashion. Oridonin treatment downregulated the activation of protein kinase B (Akt), the expression of forkhead box class O (FOXO) transcription factor, and glycogen synthase kinase 3 (GSK3). Oridonin also induced the release of cytochrome c accompanied by the activation of caspase-3 and poly-adenosine diphosphate-ribose polymerase cleavage. In addition, Z-D(OMe)-E(OMe)-V-D(OMe)-FMK (z-DEVD-fmk), an inhibitor of caspases, prevented caspase-3 activation and abrogated oridonin-induced cell death. Finally, oridonin treatment of the HeLa cell line downregulated the expression of the inhibitor of the apoptosis protein. Conclusion: Our results showed that oridonin-induced apoptosis involved several molecular pathways. Oridonin may suppress constitutively activated targets of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (Akt, FOXO, and GSK3) in the HeLa cell line, inhibiting the proliferation and induction of caspase-dependent apoptosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The formation of covalently linked composites of multi–walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) and glucose oxidase (GOD) with high-function density for use as a biosensing interface is described. The reaction intermediates and the final product were characterized by using FT–IR spectroscopy, and the MWCNT-coated GOD nanocomposites were examined by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Interestingly, it was found that the GOD–MWCNT composites are highly water soluble. Electrochemical characterization of the GOD–MWCNT composites that were modified on a glassy carbon electrode shows that the covalently linked GOD retains its bioactivity and can specifically catalyze the oxidation of glucose. The oxidation current shows a linear dependence on the glucose concentration in the solution in the range of 0.5–40 mM with a detection limit of 30 μM and a detection sensitivity of 11.3 μA/mMcm2. The present method may provide a way to synthesize MWCNT related composites with other biomolecules and for the construction of enzymatic reaction-based biofuel cells and biosensors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]