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This study was to evaluate the potential mechanism of action of Artemisia annua L. (A. annua) in the treatment of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) using network pharmacology, molecular docking and in vivo experiments. 22 active chemical compounds and 193 drug targets of A. annua were screened using the Traditional Chinese Medicine System Pharmacological (TCMSP) database. 3876 disease targets were also collected. Then 158 intersection targets between AMI and A. annua were obtained using R 4.2.0 software. String database was used to construct the protein–protein interaction (PPI) network and 6 core targets (MAPK1, TP53, HSP90AA1, RELA, AKT1, and MYC) were screened. Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis were performed using the R package. GO enrichment results were mainly related to cell responses to chemical stress and cell membrane microregions. KEGG pathways were mainly involved in lipids, atherosclerosis and fluid shear stress. In addition, molecular docking between A. annua active compounds and core targets showed high binding activity. As for in vivo validation, A. annua extract showed significant effects on improving post-infarction ventricular function, delaying ventricular remodeling, and reducing myocardial fibrosis and apoptosis. This study has revealed the potential components and molecular mechanisms of A. annua in the treatment of AMI. Our work also showed that A. annua has great effect on reducing myocardial fibrosis and scar area after infarction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On July 27, 2023, at approximately 04:00, a debris flow, with an estimated volume of 25,000 m3, struck Lanhua Village in the southern part of Shuicheng District, Guizhou Province, China. This event led to the burial and damage of 15 houses in Lanhua Village. Remarkably, residents successfully observed this debris flow 30 min before its peak arrival, enabling sufficient time for evacuation prior to the onset of this fatal geological disaster. To elucidate the evolutionary process of the Lanhua Village debris flow, a detailed field survey was conducted utilizing unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology. The findings suggest that extreme heavy rainfall served as the primary trigger for the debris flow. Landslides, comprising residual slope deposits at the top of the slope and induced by rainfall, resulted in the obstruction of Highway X244 and the blockage of culverts beneath the road. These blockages contributed to the formation of a peak cross-basin flood, exceeding 7 m3/s, which acted as the driving force initiating the debris flow. The thick layer of colluvial deposits covering the slope surface, with approximately 23,000 m3 of material mobilized by flood erosion, constituted the primary source contributing to the rapid expansion and movement of the debris flow. The topography, characterized by steep upper slopes and gentler lower slopes, was a contributing factor to the debris flow deposits spreading into residential areas, resulting in disaster. The event in Lanhua Village exemplifies a "landslide-blockage-flood diversion-erosion-debris flow" disaster chain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Convection provides the mechanism behind plate tectonics, which allows oceanic lithosphere to be subducted into the mantle as "slabs" and new rock to be generated by volcanism. Stagnation of subducting slabs and deflection of rising plumes in Earth's shallow lower mantle have been suggested to result from a viscosity increase at those depths. However, the mechanism for this increase remains elusive. Here, we examine the melting behavior in the MgO-FeO binary system at high pressures using the laser-heated diamond-anvil cell and show that the liquidus and solidus of (MgxFe1-x)O ferropericlase (x = ~0.52-0.98), exhibit a local maximum at ~40 GPa, likely caused by the spin transition of iron. We calculate the relative viscosity profiles of ferropericlase using homologous temperature scaling and find that viscosity increases 10-100 times from ~750 km to ~1000-1250 km, with a smaller decrease at deeper depths, pointing to a single mechanism for slab stagnation and plume deflection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Earthworms are widely used in all kinds of pollutants as sensitive bio-indicator organisms because of their immediately oxidative stress response under the stress of heavy metal. However, there are a large number of indexes associated with the oxidative stress response. Finding out the key monitoring indexes in the stress process becomes a practical demand of the pollution monitoring and warning process. We studied two groups, the short-term test and the long-term test. The former one is for 10 days, taking out an earthworm every day. The latter test lasted 30 days, taking out an earthworm every 10 days. The Cd concentration was set at 50, 100, 125, 250, and 500 mg kg. Post-clitellum segments of earthworms were chosen to determine superoxide enzyme (SOD), peroxidase (POD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), glutathione-S transferase (GST), catalase (CAT), vitamin E (VE), malondialdehyde (MDA), and acetylcholinesterase (AChE). The results showed that the main bio-indicators associating with oxidative stress reaction in short-term group were CAT, SOD, and POD. MDA could be used as a bio-indicator in the early and mid-term. VE was only the bio-indicator in the mid-term stress. While with the long-term test, the main bio-indicators associated with oxidative stress reaction were GSH-Px and MDA. The AChE activity was only suitable for oxidative stress response caused by heavy metal stress more than 30 days. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The flotation characteristics of native ilmenite (IL-N) and beach placer ilmenite (IL-BP) with sodium oleate (NaOL) were investigated through micro-flotation tests, zeta-potential measurements, absorbed amount measurements, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopic (FT-IR) analysis. The results show that IL-N can float well at the pH region of 4.5 to 7.5, whereas IL-BP floats well at pH 4.5 to pH 6. The flotation recovery of IL-N is invariably higher than that of IL-BP in alkaline solution. In the presence of NaOL, the zeta-potentials of both minerals are negative in the pH range. The absorbed amount of NaOL increased rapidly with the increase in the pH value in acid solution and decreased rapidly with the increase in the pH value in alkaline solution. In weak alkaline conditions, the ions of Ca (II) and Mg (II) become important activated sites for the adsorption of NaOL onto the ilmenite surface. The FT-IR analysis and absorbed amount measurements verified that the adsorption of calcium oleate and magnesium oleate on IL-N more than on IL-BP at the same pH value. A larger amount of Ca (II) and Mg (II) in IL-N than IL-BP results in good floatability as exhibited in the flotation tests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modern computer graphics applications usually require high resolution object models for realistic rendering. However, it is expensive and difficult to deform such models in real time. In order to reduce the computational cost during deformations, a dense model is often manipulated through a simplified structure, called cage, which envelops the model. However, cages are usually built interactively by users, which is tedious and time-consuming. In this paper, we introduce a novel method that can build cages automatically for both 2D polygons and 3D triangular meshes. The method consists of two steps: 1) simplifying the input model with quadric error metrics and quadratic programming to build a coarse cage; 2) removing the self-intersections of the coarse cage with Delaunay partitions. With this new method, a user can build a cage to envelop an input model either entirely or partially with the approximate vertex number the user specifies. Experimental results show that, compared to other cage building methods with the same number of vertex, cages built by our method are more similar to the input models. Thus, the dense models can be manipulated with higher accuracy through our cages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ultra-fine fibrous mats with magnolol entrapped have been prepared by electrospinning biodegradable copolymer poly(ethylene glycol) blocked poly(L-lactide). Drug entrapment was perfect which was confirmed by scanning electron microscopy and differential scanning calorimetry. According to in vitro drug release investigation by high performance liquid chromatography, it was found that fibers with 10%, 20% and 30% drug entrapped respect to polymer (mass ratio) presented dramatically different drug release behavior and degradation behavior under the effect of proteinase K. The reason may be that fibers with 10% drug entrapped was more easily affected by enzyme while, to some degree, magnolol in fibers with 20% and 30% entrapped prevented polymer from being degraded by enzyme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel polyomavirus (WU virus) has been identified in pediatric patients with acute respiratory tract infections (ARI), but its role as a respiratory pathogen has not yet been demonstrated. To investigate if WU virus is related to acute respiratory infections in infants and children in Beijing, specimens collected from 674 pediatric patients with ARI from April 2007 to May 2008 and from 202 children without ARI were used for this investigation. Common respiratory viruses were tested by virus isolation and/or antigen detection by indirect immunofluorescent assay followed by RT-PCR or PCR for other viruses associated with respiratory infections in specimens collected from patients with ARI before WU virus DNA was detected. WU virus DNA was detected by initial screening and secondary confirmation PCR for all specimens. The region encoding the VP2 gene of the virus was amplified from 17 WU-virus-positive clinical specimens, and sequence analysis was performed. Thirty-eight of 674 (5.6%) specimens from patients with ARI and 3 of 202 (1.5%) specimens from children without ARI yielded PCR products with the predicted molecular weight, using either screening or confirmation primer sets, indicating that these specimens were WU virus positive. However, more than 60% of the 38 WU-virus-positive specimens from patients with ARI were also positive for one or more respiratory viruses. The nucleotide and deduced amino acid sequences of the region encoding the VP2 gene from 17 Beijing WU viruses shared high homology (>98.5%) with sequences from GenBank and among themselves. The data indicated that WU virus in Beijing occurred 3.7 times more frequently in pediatric patients with ARI than in those without ARI ( p < 0.05). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human metapneumovirus (hMPV) is associated with respiratory infections in both adults and children. Recombinant nucleocapsid (N) proteins of hMPV from two major groups of hMPV in Beijing with a 6× His-tag at the C terminus were constructed in a baculovirus and expressed in transfected Sf21 insect cells. The antigenicity and specificity of the expressed recombinant proteins were examined by immunofluorescence assay and western blotting. Preliminary use of the expressed proteins for antibody detection in 187 serum specimens collected from different age groups in Beijing, China, indicated that the purified recombinant N-His proteins were of good antigenicity and specificity and could be a potential antigen for further seroprevalence study of hMPV, especially in the Chinese population. The positive rate for antibody detection suggested that hMPV from two clusters was co-circulating in Beijing and that most of the people in Beijing have been exposed to the virus by age 60. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We developed a digital RNA allelotyping method for quantitatively interrogating allele-specific gene expression. This method involves ultra-deep sequencing of padlock-captured single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from the transcriptome. We characterized four cell lines established from two human subjects in the Personal Genome Project. Approximately 11–22% of the heterozygous mRNA-associated SNPs showed allele-specific expression in each cell line and 4.3–8.5% were tissue-specific, suggesting the presence of tissue-specific cis regulation. When we applied allelotyping to two pairs of sibling human embryonic stem cell lines, the sibling lines were more similar in allele-specific expression than were the genetically unrelated lines. We found that the variation of allelic ratios in gene expression among different cell lines was primarily explained by genetic variations, much more so than by specific tissue types or growth conditions. Comparison of expressed SNPs on the sense and antisense transcripts suggested that allelic ratios are primarily determined by cis-regulatory mechanisms on the sense transcripts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose To report the usage of PGD for α-thalassaemia with the --SEA genotype. Method A PGD protocol using fluorescent gap PCR was performed for 51 cycles on 43 couples with the --SEA genotype. Allele drop-out and amplification failure rates were retrospectively analyzed. Results A total of 472 embryos were biopsied. Amplification was achieved in 390 blastomeres, accounting for an amplification rate of 82.6%. In total, 120 wild-type, 94 heterozygotes and 140 homozygous mutant embryos were diagnosed. The successful diagnosis rate was 75.0%. The ADO rate in 49 blastomeres from six donated embryos was 16.4%. One hundred and fifty four embryos were transferred, resulting in 25 clinica pregnancies with an implantation rate of 24.0%. Conclusions Single-round fluorescent gap PCR is a feasible and effective strategy in the PGD for α-thalassaemia with the --SEA genotype. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary.??New selenidogermanates [Mn(en)3]2Ge2Se6(en= ethylenediamine) and [Fe(dien)2]2Ge2Se6(dien= diethylenetriamine) were synthesized by the reaction of germanium dioxide, elemental selenium, and transition metal chlorides in respectivelyenanddien. Both compounds crystallize in the monoclinic space groupP21/nwith two formula units in the unit cell, and consist of discrete [Ge2Se6]4?anions with transition metal complex cations as counter ions. The [Ge2Se6]4?anion is formed by two GeSe4tetrahedra sharing a common edge to form a planar Ge2Se2four-membered ring. The [Mn(en)3]2+and [Ni(dien)2]2+complex cations are in distorted octahedral geometry. In both selenidogermanates extensive N?H???Se hydrogen bonding contacts lead to 3-dimensional network structures. The band gaps of 2.36 and 2.25?eV were derived from optical absorption spectra. Thermogravimetric analysis shows that the first compound decomposes in two steps under the nitrogen stream, while the second exhibits a one-step decomposition process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pollen germination on the surface of compatible stigmatic tissues is an essential step for plant fertilization. Here we report that the Arabidopsis mutant bcl1 is male sterile as a result of the failure of pollen germination. We show that the bcl1 mutant allele cannot be transmitted by male gametophytes and no homozygous bcl1 mutants were obtained. Analysis of pollen developmental stages indicates that the bcl1 mutation affects pollen germination but not pollen maturation. Molecular analysis demonstrates that the failure of pollen germination was caused by the disruption of AtBECLIN 1. AtBECLIN 1 is expressed predominantly in mature pollen and encodes a protein with significant homology to Beclin1/Atg6/Vps30 required for the processes of autophagy and vacuolar protein sorting (VPS) in yeast. We also show that AtBECLIN 1 is required for normal plant development, and that genes related to autophagy, VPS and the glycosylphosphatidylinositol anchor system, were affected by the deficiency of AtBECLIN 1.Cell Research (2007) 17: 249–263. doi: 10.1038/cr.2007.7; published online 6 March 2007 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of stochastic fiber process is used in conjunction with the method of dislocation dynamics simulation to compute the pair correlations in three-dimensional dislocation systems. The results show that the pair correlations exhibit oscillatory behavior as a function of the radial distance and that the correlations are highly anisotropic in the crystal and dislocation line orientation spaces. The correlation oscillations are found to have smaller magnitude at higher strain levels and to decay as a function of distance to unity or to asymptotic values slightly below unity in some cases, which indicates that dislocations can be uncorrelated or anti-correlated at long range. The results suggest that incorporating the dislocation pair correlations in density-based kinetic dislocation models is not an easy task because of the need to represent the correlations as functions of three spatial coordinates and two line-orientation coordinates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose a priority-pricing scheme for zonal access to the electric power grid that is uniform across all buses in a zone. The independent system operator (ISO) charges bulk power traders a per unit ax ante transmission access let The zonal access fee serves as an access insurance premium that entitles a bulk power trader to either physical injection of one unit of energy or a compensation payment. The access fee per MWh depends on the injection zone and a self-selected strike price that serves as an insurance "deductible" that determines the scheduling priority of the insured transaction and the compensation level in case of curtailment. Inter-zonal transactions are charged (or credited) with an additional ex post congestion lee equal to the differences in zonal spot prices. The compensation for curtailed transactions equals the difference between the realized zonal spot price and the selected strike price (deductible level). The ISO manages congestion so as to minimize net compensation payments and thus, curtailment probabilities increase with strike price and for any particular strike price may vary from bus to bus. We calculate the rational expectations equilibrium for three-, four- and six-node systems and demonstrate that the efficiency losses of the proposed second best scheme relative to the efficient dispatch solutions are modest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of 3, 4-DHAP on hypoxic vasoconstriction response in pulmonary (PA) and basilar arterial (BA) rings of rabbits and their mechanism were compared in vitro. 3,4-DHAP in different concentration (2. 64 × 10,7. 92 × 10,2. 376 × 10 mol/L) decreased the basal tone of PA rings by 32. 39 ± 9. 4 mg, 68. 96± 26. 54 mg and 145. 60 ± 58. 07 mg respectively, while the tension of the BA rings was decreased by 13. 80 ±5. 08 mg, 17.18 ± 3. 36 mg and 25. 00 ± 4. 02 mg respectively. In PA rings it also decreased the percentage increase in tension induced by hypoxia (TIH%) from the control value 48.82 ± 5.75% to 10.02 ± 3.62%, 2. 14 ± 0.96%, and 0. 00 % respectively, while in BA rings from 27. 27 ± 5.78% to 11. 23 ± 2.71%, 7.49 ± 1.62%, and 1.45 ± 1.13% respectively. The effects of 3, 4-DHAP on TIH% were partially blocked by indomethacin 10 M and L-NAME 10 M. The results showed that 3, 4-DHAP can decrease the hypoxic pulmonary and basilar vasoconstriction in vitro, which can be partially inhibited by cyclooxygenase inhibitor and NO/EDRF inhibitor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]