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VP35 of Ebola viruses (EBOVs) is an attractive potential target because of its multifunction. All-atom molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and Molecular Mechanics Generalized Born surface area (MM/GBSA) energy calculations are performed to investigate the single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) as an inhibitor in wild-type (WT) VP35 as well as in three primary mutants (K248A, I295A, and K248A/I295A) through docking the SWCNT in the first basic patch (FBP) of VP35. The SWCNTs of all the four systems effectively bind to the FBP. Interestingly, the sites and orientations of the SWCNT binding to the I295A mutant and K248A/I295A double mutants change significantly to accommodate the variation of the VP35 conformation. Moreover, the VDW can provide the major forces for affinity binding in all four systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lecanicillium lecanii has been developed as biopesticides and widely used in the biological control of several insects in agricultural practice. However, the poor efficacy has blocked its application. The genetic manipulation has been proved as a useful tool to improve the virulence of entomopathogenic fungus. In this study, a scorpion toxin gene ( BmKit) from Buthus martensi was cloned and transferred into L. lecanii and then its resulting activity against cotton aphids ( Aphis gossypii) was assessed. The results showed that the engineered strain BmKit-12 grew significantly quicker than WT in host insects. The median lethal concentration (LC) for BmKit-12 was 7.1-fold lower than that for WT, and the median survival time (LT) for BmKit-12 was reduced by 26.5 % compared with that for WT. Although the conidial yield was reduced by 31.4 % on insect cadavers, the mycelia growth, sporulation, and conidia germination of BmKit-12 on plates were not significantly different from WT. Considering the lower amount of mycelia for BmKit-12 in host insects in late growth stage (fungal sporulation stage), we think the expression of BmKit may not affect the capability of sporulation. In conclusion, the expression of BmKit gene can significantly enhance the pathogenicity of L. lecanii against cotton aphids in a relatively cost-effective way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We describe the phylogenetic analysis and expression pattern of the Xenopus radial spoke protein 3 ( RSP3) gene during early development. The Xenopus RSP3 protein presents characteristic features of the RSP3 family. It contains a radial spoke domain, which is 75 and 72 % identical to the corresponding region of human and Chlamydomonas RSP3 proteins, respectively. Examination of the phylogenetic relationship between the Xenopus RSP3 protein and its known homologues from different deuterostomes indicates that the RSP3 proteins are highly conserved among deuterostomes. Whole-mount in situ hybridization analyses show that Xenopus RSP3 is a maternal mRNA enriched in the animal hemisphere during cleavage stages. The expression is detected in the dorsal region of the embryo during gastrulation, then in the presumptive neuroectoderm at the end of gastrulation. During neurulation and at the subsequent stages, the expression of RSP3 mRNA is detected in the entire multiciliated cells of epidermis. At tail-bud stages, it is progressively expressed in the otic vesicles and sequentially expressed in the nephrostomes. Expression could be also detected in the floor plate of the neural tube. This expression pattern persists until at least late tail-bud stages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heparan sulfate proteoglycans (HSPGs) are involved in the regulation of cell growth, apoptosis and lipid metabolism in vitro. Syndecans are the primary form of HSPGs. Syndecan-1 is involved in the processes of cell growth, differentiation, adhesion, wound healing and inflammation. Additionally, as a sinusoidal transmembrane HSPG facing the plasma compartment, syndecan-1 is a promising target to be involved in lipoprotein physiology. We aimed to examine the possible correlation of syndecan-1 and lipid profile in type 2 diabetes mellitus. In this study, serum syndecan-1 was detected by ELISA, and potential correlations between syndecan-1 and triglyceride, cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, lipoprotein a, apolipoprotein (apo) B, apoA1 and apoB/apoA1 were analyzed. Forty-one patients with type 2 diabetes and 31 age-matched, non-diabetic healthy subjects (controls) were enrolled. Syndecan-1 in patients with diabetes (26.15 ± 2.42 ng/ml) was significantly higher than that of the controls (16.85 ± 1.98 ng/ml, t = −2.98, P = 0.005). Serum syndecan-1 level correlated negatively with apoA1 ( r = −0.46, P = 0.003). Multiple regression analysis showed that apoA1 ( b = −0.43, P = 0.003) was a predictor of serum syndecan-1 levels in subjects with type 2 diabetes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The peripheral neutrophils are one of the main inflammatory cells and significantly influence the damage of endothelium. Type 2 diabetes is a manifestation of an ongoing low-grade inflammation. In diabetes, impairment of neutrophil adhesion to the endothelium and migration to the site of inflammation were detected, which associated closely with adhesion molecules expressed on neutrophils and endothelial cells. To detect the expression of syndecan-1 on neutrophils in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus, we recruited 29 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus without any diabetic complication and 24 healthy subjects (controls). Expression of syndecan-1 was determined by flow cytometry, and potential correlations between syndecan-1 and clinical characteristics were analyzed. On neutrophils, percentage of positive syndecan-1 cells was significantly higher in subjects with diabetes (10.363 ± 1.689%) than that of the controls (3.775 ± 0.634%, P = 0.001). An association between body mass index (BMI) and percentage of positive syndecan-1 neutrophils was detected ( r = 0.415, P = 0.025). When BMI was categorized into subgroups of ≤25 kg/m ( n = 10) and >25 kg/m ( n = 19), the average percentages of positive syndecan-1 neutrophils in patients with diabetes were 5.733 ± 1.842% and 12.642 ± 2.251%, respectively ( t = −2.137, P = 0.042). A multiple regression analysis showed that BMI (β = 0.783, P < 0.000) was a significant predictor of positive syndecan-1 neutrophils in subjects with type 2 diabetes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Topography is a crucial characteristic reflecting the stability status of a landslide dam. The methods for measuring landslide dam topography in a laboratory-scale test study are currently operator dependent, time-consuming, or only applicable to the measurement of the two-dimensional section. In this paper, a laboratory-scale photogrammetric method based on the structure from motion (SfM) technique was proposed to measure the three-dimensional (3D) topography of a landslide dam. The SfM technique, which is a revolutionary, low-cost, user-friendly computer vision technique, was employed for reconstructing a landslide dam 3D computer model. A scientific method to determine the topography parameters of a landslide dam was put forward. Meanwhile, two materials with different particle sizes were used to simulate the formation process of the landslide dam in the laboratory-scale. Then, the measurement results of the two materials were compared. Five parameters of a landslide dam topography with 100 parallel measurement results for each parameter were obtained. The results show that the SfM technique could build a high-quality 3D point cloud in a laboratory scale. The proposed method of determining the topography parameters of a landslide dam was useful and has low measurement uncertainty. The material type affected the sparse density of the point cloud and then affected the measurement uncertainty of landslide dam topography parameters. The measurement uncertainty of the gravel-type landslide dam was significantly higher than that of the sand-type landslide dam. This research contributes to promoting the application of a photogrammetric method based on the SfM technique in geotechnical engineering laboratory-scale tests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, the effect of mechanical damage on the thermal conductivity of granite was experimentally investigated. Granite samples were artificially damaged through cyclic loading and unloading tests, with the strain evolution and acoustic emission activity monitored simultaneously. P-Wave velocity of the damaged samples was tested to evaluate the damage effect. Thermal conductivity of the undamaged and damaged granite samples was tested using optical scanning method. The influence of mechanical damage on thermal conductivity was analyzed. Thermal conductivity difference in different testing directions was analyzed based on the experiment results in six scanning lines on the two surfaces of each disk sample. The results indicate that thermal conductivity of damaged samples reduced compared with that of the undamaged samples, while the thermal inhomogeneity factor increased. Thermal conductivity increased in water-saturated condition for both undamaged and damaged samples. The increased rate of damaged samples was bigger than that of the undamaged samples. The mechanical damage treatment caused the increase in the thermal conductivity difference in different testing directions. The difference decreased when samples were water saturated. Research results in this work can provide better knowledge to the evolution mechanism of thermal conductivity of engineering rock masses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Despite the fact that thyroid surgery has evolved towards minimal incisions and endoscopic approaches, the role of total endoscopic thyroidectomy (TET) in thyroid cancer has been highly disputed. We performed a systematic review and meta-analyses of peer reviewed studies in order to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of TET compared with conventional open thyroidectomy (COT) in papillary thyroid cancer (PTC).Method: Medical literature databases such as PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library, and Web of science were systematically searched for articles that compared TET and COT in PTC treatment from database inception until March 2019. The quality of the studies included in the review was evaluated using the Downs and Black scale using Review Manager software Stata V.13.0 for the meta-analysis.Results: The systematic review and meta-analysis were based on 5664 cases selected from twenty publications. Criteria used to determine surgical completeness included postoperative thyroglobulin (TG) levels, recurrence of the tumor after long-term follow-up. Adverse event and complication rate scores included transient recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) palsy, permanent RLN palsy, transient hypocalcaemia, permanent hypocalcaemia, operative time, number of removed lymph nodes, length of hospital stay and patient cosmetic satisfaction. TET was found to be generally equivalent to COT in terms of surgical completeness and adverse event rate, although TET resulted in lower levels of transient hypocalcemia (OR 1.66; p < 0.05), a smaller number of the retrieved lymph nodes (WMD 0.46; p < 0.05), and better cosmetic satisfaction (WMD 1.73; p < 0.05). COT was associated with a shorter operation time (WMD - 50.28; p < 0.05) and lower rates of transient RLN palsy (OR 0.41; p < 0.05).Conclusions: The results show that in terms of safety and efficacy, TET was similar to COT for the treatment of thyroid cancer. Indeed, the tumor recurrence rates and the level of surgical completeness in TET are similar to those obtained for COT. TET was associated with significantly lower levels of transient hypocalcemia and better cosmetic satisfaction, and thus is the better option for patients with cosmetic concerns. Overall, randomized clinical trials and studies with larger patient cohorts and long-term follow-up data are required to further demonstrate the value of the TET. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pathogenesis-related (PR) proteins encoded by plant defense genes play key roles in plant disease-resistance responses, specialized in systemic-acquired resistance. However, their roles in the response of wheat to fungal infection are still not well known. Our earlier studies have reported that a full-length TcLr19PR1 gene (818 bp) was isolated from wheat infected by leaf rust ( Puccinia triticina). Here, we showed that TcLr19PR1 was induced earlier and its expression level was higher in the incompatible interaction between seedling stage of wheat and P. triticina than in compatible interactions. TcLr19PR1 was strongly induced after P. triticina inoculation and ABA and SA treatments, in which the expression level of TcLr19PR1 significantly increased and reached the maximum at 12 and 72 h, respectively. Furthermore, the transgenic T-stable TcLr19PR1 lines generated in the susceptible wheat cultivar Zhengzhou 5389 background exhibited certain extent disease resistance against P. triticina infection by preventing disease development. In addition, Western blotting was conducted to confirm that TcLr19PR1 protein was induced by P. triticina infection in positive transgenic plants at the protein expression level. These findings suggest that TcLr19PR1 gene plays an important role in wheat development and resistance to leaf rust pathogen attack. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This review aims to compare the clinical results of bone-patellar tendon-bone (BPTB) autograft and BPTB allograft in primary anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction. Methods: PubMed Medline, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library were systematically searched for prospective or retrospective cohort studies that compared BPTB autograft with BPTB allograft in ACL reconstruction. The results of the eligible studies were independently extracted and analyzed according to the following: one-leg test, range of motion (ROM), overall International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC), Lachman test, pivot shift test, Lysholm scores, Tegner scores, KT-1000 test, anterior knee pain, crepitus, and clinical failure. Random-effect and fixed-effect models were adopted to calculate the weight mean difference and the odds ratio for continuous and dichotomous variables with 95 % confidence interval. Results: Thirteen studies met the inclusion criteria, resulting in 1,046 (484 autografts and 562 allografts) patients available for the present study. A meta-analysis showed no significant differences between the two treatment groups in terms of the following: one-leg test ( p = 0.21), ROM ( p = 0.41), overall IKDC ( p = 0.25), Lysholm scores ( p = 0.25), Tegner scores ( p = 0.09), KT-1000 ( p = 0.69), Lachman test ( p = 0.89), positive pivot shift test ( p = 0.18), anterior knee pain ( p = 0.93), and crepitus (p = 0.96). However, a significant difference in clinical failure ( p = 0.01) in favor of autograft was observed. In the fresh-frozen subgroup, no difference in the evaluations, except for Tegner scores, were found between autograft and allograft. Conclusions: Therefore, BPTB autograft shows potential as an optimal choice for ACL reconstruction on the basis of earlier functional recovery and fewer graft failure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The aims of this study were to examine the effects of genetic and clinical factors on the maintenance dose of tacrolimus in patients following renal transplantation and to develop a tacrolimus-dosing model that could be combined with associated factors. Patients and methods: This study included 142 renal transplant recipients who received tacrolimus as immunosuppressive agent. CYP3A5, MDR1 and NR1I2 gene polymorphisms were identified based on the SNaPshot assay. The relationship between the genetic and clinical factors and tacrolimus maintenance dose as well as between dose-corrected tacrolimus concentration was examined. Results: CYP3A5 genotype, body weight, haematocrit, haemoglobin and total bilirubin significantly influenced the maintenance tacrolimus dose. The tacrolimus-dosing model derived from linear regression model accounted for 40.5% of total variations in the tacrolimus maintenance dose. Conclusions: A pharmacogenetics-based dosing model has been developed for the prediction of the tacrolimus maintenance dose in renal transplant recipients. This model may be useful in helping clinicians prescribe the initial tacrolimus dose with greater safety and effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]