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This study aimed to characterise post-traumatic growth among parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and the related factors. Participants were 396 parents of children with autism from Guangdong Province, China (female = 65.15 %; mean age = 33.67 years, SD = 2.89 years). Following regression analysis, results indicated that parents of children with ASD were above average in their post-traumatic growth; particularly those with children with milder symptoms and of higher family income levels. First-married parents had significantly higher post-traumatic growth than the Not first-married (i.e., remarried, divorced, widowed). Parents reporting with social support, quiet ego, and psychological capital had higher post-traumatic growth. From these findings, we conclude that post-traumatic growth is a resilience factor in raising children with ASD and that social capital is important for the well-being of parents of children with ASD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the present study was to explore the status, influencing factors and paths on professional identity of special education teachers. The statistical population of the study included 438 special education teachers in Guangdong Province, China. The age of the participants ranged from 22 to 57 years old (M = 32.16, SD = 1.85 years). Of the 438 teachers, 346 were females, 92 were males. The Occupational Stress Questionnaire (He, J. H. 2013. A Study on the Occupational Stress and Work Engagement of Special Education Teacher. Hangzhou: Hangzhou Preschool Normal College of Zhejiang Normal University), School Support Questionnaire (Zhang, Y. 2018. Study on Professional Identity and School Support of Special Education Teachers in Guizhou. Chengdu: Sichuan Normal University), and Professional Identity Questionnaire (Tang, J. R. 2012. Study on Professional Identity of Special School Teachers. Shanghai: East China Normal University) were used. The independent sample t-test, one way ANOVA, correlation analysis, and multiple stepwise regression were used for the data analysis. The results show that: (1) the professional identity of special education teachers is relatively high in the overall and dimensions. (2) There are significant differences in the professional identity in terms of leadership, marriage, education level, teaching years and professional titles. (3) Both occupational stress and school support can significantly predict the professional identity of special education teachers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the perceived stigma and its relationship to self-identity among students with hearing impairment. Students (n = 151) with hearing impairment (female = 49.67%; mean age = 13.87 years, SD = 1.26 years) completed the Individual Perceived Stigma Scale and the Self-Identity Scale. Following regression analysis, the results showed that higher devaluation and social distancing significantly lower self-identity. Furthermore, descriptive statistics showed relatively low levels of perceived stigma and an overall low level of self-identity among hearing-impaired students. The results support the disability identity theory in the Chinese cultural setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Autophagy is an important life phenomenon in eukaryotic cells. Its main role is to remove and degrade its damaged organelles and excess biological macromolecules, and use degradation products to provide energy and rebuild the cell structure, playing an important role in maintaining cell homeostasis and cell life activities. Mitophagy is a form of macroautophagy. It has the beneficial effect of eliminating damaged mitochondria, thereby maintaining the integrity of the mitochondrial pool. Autophagy and mitophagy have a dual role in the development of cancer. On one hand, autophagy and mitophagy can maintain the normal physiological function of cells. On the other hand, excessive autophagy and mitophagy can lead to diseases. The present review introduces the mechanisms of autophagy and mitophagy, and the main related proteins, and introduce the correlation with cancers, providing a basis for the treatment of cancers through the understanding of these proteins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examined the mediating role of proactive personality and self-identity on the relationship between mental health and parenting style among college students. Participants were 406 Chinese college students (female = 61.80%, mean age = 19.56 years, SD = 1.38 years). The students completed the following measures: Short-Egna Minnen av Barndoms Uppfostran, Proactive Personality Scale, Self-identity Status Scale, and General Health Questionnaire. Path analyses results show proactive personality to lower the risk for mental health with parental rejection, and to enhance mental health with parental warmth. A high sense of self-identity predicted good mental health among the college students, although the effect was greater for proactive personality. Moreover, proactive personality and self-identity had a significant mediating effect, enhancing mental health. Improving the mental health of college students may depend on their personality assets and the quality of parenting style they experienced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examined the mediating role of social support and loneliness in self-identity and internet addiction among college students. Participants were 364 Chinese college students (female = 66.50%; mean age = 20.21 years, SD = 1.51 years). The students completed the following measures: Self-identity Status Scale, Social Support Scale, UCLA Loneliness Scale, and Internet Addiction Scale. The results showed two dimensions of self-identity of future self-involvement desire and present self-involvement to significantly predict internet addiction. Self-identity not only directly influenced college students' internet addiction, but also indirectly impacted their internet addiction through the serial mediating effects of social support and loneliness. Student development and support interventions for preventing and reducing risk for internet addiction should seek to reconstruct their self-identity; thereby increasing their social support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined self-esteem and psychological capital as a mediator of the relationship between Big Five personality traits and creativity. A convenience sample of 732 college students from Guangdong, Jiangsu, and Jiangxi provinces participated (females = 71.7%; mean age = 20.86, SD = 4.26 years). The participants completed measures of self-esteem, psychological capital, Big Five personality, and creativity. We utilised Structural Equation Modelling to determine the direct and indirect effects of self-esteem and psychological capital on Big Five personality traits and creativity. The results show that self-esteem and psychological capital directly mediated the relationship between the Big Five personality traits of neuroticism, openness, extroversion, and conscientiousness and the creativity of college students. When neuroticism is low and openness to experience scores are high, high scores on self-esteem and psychological capital predict high creativity. Self-esteem and psychological capital also mediated the relationship between extroversion and conscientiousness. Specifically, the higher the scores of extroversion and conscientiousness, the higher the level of self-esteem, psychological capital, and creativity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We retrospectively studied 87 patients aged from 55 to 69 years old with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) who received decitabine in combination with G-CSF, low-dose cytarabine and aclarubicin (DCAG) or standard dose chemotherapy as induction therapy. Patients receiving DCAG had a similar overall response rate (ORR) (p = .6105) and complete remission (CR) rate (p = .3615) compared to those undergoing standard induction. The median overall survival (OS) and relapse-free survival (RFS) was also similar between the two groups although more 'older' (aged from 60 to 69 years old) and 'unfit' patients underwent DCAG regimen. Notably, patients in DCAG group experienced significantly fewer infections (75 versus 100%, p = .001). Moreover recovery of platelet count was significantly more rapid in DCAG group. Thus we speculate DCAG is possibly a feasible and safe treatment regimen for the relatively older patients with AML and is as effective as standard induction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Suicide attempters might be sent to the emergency room for urgent medical intervention. Some with more severe physical morbidity may be hospitalised, and psychiatrists might be consulted for suicide evaluation. The aim of our study was to investigate the three-year all-cause mortality rate of hospitalised suicide attempters with regard to the effect of consultation-liaison services, and to identify any risk factors associated with mortality. Methods: Between 2002 and 2006, 196 inpatients from medical or surgical wards in a general hospital who had consulted psychiatrists because of suicide attempts were collected consecutively. We traced their mortality incidence during a three-year period, and calculated the mortality rate and time (days) to death. Results: Three-year all-cause mortality was 20.4%, and there was a higher risk of mortality in the first two years after the index suicide attempt. In the adjusted Cox regression model, associated risks included male gender, older age, diagnosis of depressive disorders and lack of psychiatric follow-up. Conclusions: We found that hospitalised suicide attempters had higher all-cause mortality after discharge, and determined that psychiatric follow-up is helpful. More attention should be paid to those with potential risk factors, and timely intervention is suggested in order to reduce mortality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel hydrophobically modified polyacrylamide p(AM/NaA/OP-10-AC/BOAM) was successfully synthesized via an aqueous micellar copolymerization method from acrylamide (AM), sodium acrylate (NaA), octylphenol polyoxyethylene acrylate (OP-10-AC), and small amounts of N-benzyl-N-octylacrylamide (BOAM), with the aim of investigating the copolymer's rheological behaviors under various conditions such as polymer concentration, shearing, temperature, and salinity. The copolymer was characterized by infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and atomic force microscope. Scanning electron micrographs show large aggregates in solution formed by the association from the hydrophobic groups of the copolymer. Compared with partially hydrolyzed polyacryamide (HPAM), the copolymer shows a much higher thickening capability and a much greater ability to resist shearing, heat, and salts. This good property of the copolymer is attributed to its three-dimensional dimensional network structure. According to the core flooding test, it can be obtained that oil recovery is enhanced about 4.3% by the copolymer flooding contrasted to the HPAM flooding in mid-low permeability cores under conditions of 1500 mg/L of polymers and 45°C. All the results prove that the copolymer has the capability of increasing oil recovery by improving waterflood sweep efficiency in high-salinity reservoirs. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Purpose: The aim was to screen children from Grades 1 to 6 in an urban elementary school in Central Taiwan for visual deficits and associated parameters and, as an extension, to examine the acceptance of cycloplegic therapy as well as the lag in optimal vision correction. Methods: Of 900 students in one school, 731 participated in the study, with parental consent. Data from 694 students, who had also completed a vision correction history were analysed. In addition to body height and weight, the screening included vision, non-cycloplegic autorefraction and distance retinoscopy, axial length and functional testing. Results: There was a decrease in students with vision of 1.0 or better from 55.8 per cent in Grade 1 to 20.0 per cent in Grade 6. The decreases between Grades 2 and 3 and Grades 5 and 6 were significant. These trends were in general agreement with those based on refractive error and axial length. The students had abnormal functional findings including: stereoscopic vision, 9.2 per cent; cover tests, 14.1 per cent; pupillary responses, 13.8 per cent; and less commonly in extraocular muscular functions (3.0 per cent) and colour vision (5.2 per cent). A full 40 per cent of students received cycloplegic therapy with 25 per cent dropping out for various reasons. These cases were generally associated with lower vision and higher myopia. A lag between subnormal vision and optical correction was also observed with 55.1 per cent apparently not optimally corrected. Other parameters, including body height, weight and body mass index were not correlated with vision or refractive error. Conclusions: Age-dependent increase in the prevalence of myopia appears to continue despite the common practice of topical cycloplegic therapy in Taiwan. Timely correction of the refractive error is also lacking. While maintaining a visual acuity of 1.0 or better for all students at all times is not possible, this lag might be shortened by more frequent screening and/or direct provision of optical aids. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: Traditional Herbal Medicine (THM) has many advantages that make it a promising choice for the treatment of ischemic heart disease (IHD). To study the mechanism of IHDs or pharmacological actions of THM, many hypoxia-induced cardiomyocytes injury models have been established. Radix Salvia miltiorrhiza (Danshen) was used as a representative of TCHM. Danshen is a famous medicinal herb widely applied in Asia to relieve ischemic cardiovascular diseases. Objective: To investigate the effects of various hypoxic conditions and discuss a suitable hypoxia model, cell viability, apoptosis, release of myocardial injury markers, and mRNA levels of target genes were tested for the first time. Materials and methods: Radix Salvia miltiorrhiza (Danshen) was purchased from a GMP-compliant producer and both its preparation method and quality control were standardized. Cellular status, such as cell viability, apoptosis, releases of myocardial injury markers, and the mRNA level of target gene were tested by 3-[4,5-diethylthio-2-Hyl]-2,5- diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) method, biochemical analyzer, flow cytometry, Hoechst 33258 staining, and real-time PCR, respectively. Results: Based on our data, we found a treppe response of cardiomyocytes in the hypoxic condition and suggested that 8 h in 2% O2 might be a suitable condition for in vitro pharmacological study of cardiomyocytes. Discussion and conclusions: Our findings outlined more extended and in-depth capability of cardiomyocytes suffering from hypoxia, and might be of particular interest due to the high prevalence of TCHM pharmacological study [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shikonin (β-alkannin), a naphthazarin derivative, has shown a variety of abilities such as anti-inflammatory, antitumoral, cytotoxic, and antimicrobial activities. In the presence of Cu(II), shikonin caused breakage of supercoiled plasmid pBR322 DNA. Other metal ions tested [Mg(II), Ca(II), and Ni(II)] were ineffective and only Fe(II) has the same ability in the DNA breakage reaction. The involvement of active oxygen in the reaction was established by the inhibition of DNA breakage by superoxide dismutase, catalase, thiourea, sodium azide, potassium iodide, and sodium benzoate. Cu(I) was shown to be an essential intermediate using the Cu(I)-specific sequestering reagent neocuproine. Shikonin induced HeLa cell apoptosis involved in the mechanism of increasing intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS). It was suggested that shikonin generated ROS as a pro-oxidant in the presence of Cu(II), and ROS resulted in DNA damage and apoptotic cell death in cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 10B dose in boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) was usually determined by multiplying the thermal neutron flux by the 10B concentration and the dose conversion factor. In this kind of application, the thermal neutron flux was commonly measured using gold foil activation techniques with and without the cadmium cover, assuming that the neutron spectrum has a Maxwellian distribution in the thermal range. This always generated uncertainties because the thermal neutron energy spectrum has no Maxwellian distribution in the body. The potential to determine the 10B dose by using a single LiF thermoluminescent dosimeter (TLD) is studied. The 10B dose in BNCT derives from the reaction of the thermal neutron with the 10B element. It always dominates the irradiation dose if the 10B concentration is higher than 20 ppm. Since the trends of the 10B absorption cross sections are similar to 6Li in the thermal neutron range, the LiF-TLD can be used for 10B dose determination in BNCT if the reaction of the thermal neutron with 6Li dominates the TLD response. The MCNP code is used to simulate the energy deposition in various LiF-TLDs and to show the suitability of LiF-TLD used for B dose determination in BNCT. The preliminary MCNP simulation shows that the TLD response strongly depends on the 6LiF content in the TLD. Comparing the TLD response, the B reaction, and the thermal neutron flux, they show the same distribution as a function of depth in a phantom irradiated with the BNCT neutron. On the other hand, not only is there a thermal neutron flux depression due to self-shielding within the TLD chip, but also there is significant perturbation around the TLD if the 6LiF content in the TLD is high enough. To balance these two factors, TLD-100 was recommended as a W B dosimeter for BNCT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel compound named as brefeldin A formylate (1), together with two known compounds, brefeldin A (2) and ergosterol (3), was isolated from the Penicillium sp. strain HLKG-44, which was isolated from polluted environment in Fujian Province. Their structures were identified based on the spectral and X-ray crystallographic analyses. The compound 1, brefeldin A formylate, exhibited moderate cytotoxic activity against the human lung cancer cell line A549 with IC50 value of 18.9 μg/ml by the MTT assay protocol. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Activation-induced deaminase (AID) initiates immunoglobulin somatic hypermutation (SHM). Since in vitro AID was shown to deaminate cytosines on single-stranded DNA or the nontranscribed strand, it remained a puzzle how in vivo AID targets both DNA strands equally. Here we investigate the roles of transcription and DNA sequence in cytosine deamination. Strikingly different results are found with different substrates. Depending on the target sequence, the transcribed DNA strand is targeted as well as or better than the nontranscribed strand. The preferential targeting is not related to the frequency of AID hot spots. Comparison of cytosine deamination by AID and bisulfite shows different targeting patterns suggesting that AID may locally unwind the DNA. We conclude that somatic hypermutation on both DNA strands is the natural outcome of AID action on a transcribed gene; furthermore, the DNA sequence or structure and topology play major roles in targeting AID in vitro and in vivo. On the other hand, the lack of mutations in the first ∼ 100 nucleotides and beyond about 1 to 2 kb from the promoter of immunoglobulin genes during SHM must be due to special conditions of transcription and chromatin in vivo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. The urinary bladder has considerable regenerative ability and may enable reconstitution of the urinary bladder if used appropriately. Material and methods. Rat urinary bladders were allotransplanted onto the inner surface of the abdominal wall with the urothelium facing the mesothelial cells. The ureters, urethra and blood supply were left intact. Results. A week after the operation, the mesothelium of the abdominal wall was replaced by the urothelium from the donor urinary bladder and a cyst was formed, the inner surfaces of which were completely covered with the urothelium. After a few months, the submucosal tissue and muscular layer had also moved to cover the wall, forming an almost complete urinary bladder. The mucosal membrane formed complex folds, which was probably due to overgrowth of the epithelial cells and the submucosal connective tissues. The area derived from the abdominal wall showed only minimal shrinkage, whereas the abdominal wall from which the mesothelium had been removed showed significant shrinkage. Conclusion. This method is potentially useful for the reconstruction of urinary bladders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Congenital heart disease is the most common form of human birth defects, yet much remains to be learned about its underlying causes. Here we report that mice lacking functional ADAM19 (mnemonic for a disintegrin and metalloprotease 19) exhibit severe defects in cardiac morphogenesis, including a ventricular septal defect (VSD), abnormal formation of the aortic and pulmonic valves, leading to valvular stenosis, and abnormalities of the cardiac vasculature. During mouse development, ADAM19 is highly expressed in the conotruncus and the endocardial cushion, structures that give rise to the affected heart valves and the membranous ventricular septum. ADAM19 is also highly expressed in osteoblast-like cells in the bone, yet it does not appear to be essential for bone growth and skeletal development. Most adam19[sup -/-] animals die perinatally, likely as a result of their cardiac defects. These findings raise the possibility that mutations in ADAM19 may contribute to human congenital heart valve and septal defects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Molecular abnormalities are frequent in core-binding factor (CBF) AMLs, but their prognostic relevance is controversial. Sixty-two patients were retrospectively analyzed and 47 harbored at least one gene mutation with a next-generation-sequencing assay. The most common molecular mutation was KIT mutation (30.6%), followed by NRAS (24.2%) and ASXL1 (14.5%) mutations, which was associated with a higher number of bone marrow blasts (p =.049) and older age (p =.027). The survival analysis showed KIT mutation adversely affected the overall survival (OS) (p =.046). NRAS mutation was associated with inferior OS (p =.016) and RFS (p =.039). Eight patients carried co-mutations of KIT and NRAS and had worse OS (p =.012) and RFS (p =.034). The multivariate analysis showed age ≥60 years and additional chromosomal abnormalities were significant adverse factors for OS. Thus, co-mutations of KIT and NRAS were significantly associated with a poor prognosis and should be taken into account when assessing for prognostic stratification in patients with CBF-AML. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) often presents with abnormal blood cell counts and gene mutations at diagnosis. But, the correlation between blood cell counts and gene mutations and the clinical effects on AML is unclear. 279 AML patients with FMS-like tyrosine kinase 3(FLT3) mutations were selected. Patients with FLT3 mutations were counted by PCR amplification products direct sequencing and second-generation sequencing (NGS), and blood cell counts at the time of initial diagnosis. The relapse-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS) and the influence of the clinical characteristics of patients on the prognosis in different groups were analyzed. The median of platelet (PLT) count was higher in the TET2 non-mutation group than mutation group and higher in the IDH1/2 mutation group than non-mutation group. The median of white blood cell (WBC) count was reduced in the poor prognosis group. The differences in levels of WBC and PLT count varied among the four groups binding sequence (JM-B), switching sequence (JM-S), zipper sequence (JM-Z), and high chain region (JM-H). The differences in PLT count varied between the insertion length ≥39 bp and <39 bp, and between ≥ 50 bp and <50 bp; The OS and RFS in 10 < WBC (×109/L) < 100 group and in the 30 ≤ PLT (×109/L)<80 group were better. In AML patients with FLT3 mutations, the location of FLT3 mutations and the type of co-mutated genes may be correlated with blood cell counts, and different blood cell counts may have an impact on the prognosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to evaluate the possibility of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) discontinuation in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) patients who obtained sustained deep molecular response (DMR) and to explore the prognostic role of NK cells in treatment-free remission (TFR). Sixty CML patients who discontinued TKI treatment were enrolled, and we also investigated the immune profiles in 27 CML patients after TKI cessation. Of the 60 patients, the estimated TFR rate was 60.8% [95% CI: 49.5–74.8%] at 12 months. Patients who had longer TKI duration, major molecular response, and DMR maintenance time had a significantly higher TFR rate. And a higher percentage of NKG2A+NK cells and NKG2A+CD56brightCD16−NK cells were independent prognostic factors of TFR in multivariate analysis. These results indicate the practicality of the cessation of TKIs and patients with stable NK cell counts accompanied by higher cytotoxicity and increased killing capacity are more inclined to get sustained treatment-free survival. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We prepared and characterised thermo-responsive magnetic liposomes, which were designed to combine features of magnetic targeting and thermo-responsive control release for hyperthermia-triggered local drug delivery. The particle size and zeta-potential of the thermo-responsive magnetic ammonium bicarbonate (MagABC) liposomes were about 210 nm and −14 mV, respectively. The MagABC liposomes showed encapsulation efficiencies of about 15% and 82% for magnetic nanoparticles (mean crystallite size 12 nm) and doxorubicin (DOX), respectively. The morphology of the MagABC liposomes was visualised using transmission electron microscope (TEM). The MagABC liposomes showed desired thermo-responsive release. The MagABC liposomes, when physically targeted to tumour cells in culture by a permanent magnetic field yielded a substantial increase in intracellular accumulation of DOX as compared to non-magnetic ammonium bicarbonate (ABC) liposomes. This resulted in a parallel increase in cytotoxicity for DOX loaded MagABC liposomes over DOX loaded ABC liposomes in tumour cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Complications affect the outcome of patients with cirrhosis. The favorable prognosis of patients with Wilson disease (WD)-related cirrhosis suggests that its complications differ from those of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection-related cirrhosis. We aimed to delineate the differences in complications between WD-related and HBV-related cirrhosis. The electronic-medical data from patients with WD-related and HBV-related cirrhosis were extracted and analyzed. In total, 211 patients with WD-related cirrhosis and 374 patients with HBV-related cirrhosis were enrolled. Most patients with WD progressed to cirrhosis <10 years after disease onset, whereas those with HBV infection often progressed after >10 years. Patients with WD-related cirrhosis had a markedly lower prevalence of ascites (8.5% vs. 38.5%), gastroesophageal varices/variceal bleeding (13.3% vs. 47.6%), renal impairment (0 vs. 7.6%) and primary liver cancer (0 vs. 39.3%; all p <.001) than those with HBV-related cirrhosis. After adjustment for potential confounders, patients with WD-related cirrhosis carried a lower risk of varices/variceal bleeding. Although patients with WD progressed to cirrhosis much faster, the prevalence of complications from WD-related cirrhosis was low. Patients with WD-related cirrhosis were less likely to develop gastroesophageal varices/variceal bleeding than those with HBV-related cirrhosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

NPM1 mutation is the most common molecular abnormality in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), especially normal karyotype AML (NK-AML), and is associated with a favorable prognosis in the absence of concomitant FLT3-ITD. Like other molecular abnormalities such as FLT3-ITD, C/EBPα and c-Kit mutation, NPM1 mutation normally presents as a recurrent molecular abnormality. The NPM1 mutation is generally used as a molecular marker in the prognosis evaluation of a patient with AML. Here, we report a different case. He was first diagnosed with NPM1 mutation-positive acute monocytic leukemia. However, he achieved no remission, but the NPM1 mutation dramatically became negative after induction chemotherapy. Finally, he achieved complete remission after salvage chemotherapy and the NPM1 mutation was still negative. To our knowledge, this is a rare case according to the worldwide published literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the complete mitogenome sequence of the Zebra moray,Gymnomuraena zebra(Anguilliformes: Muraenidae) has been sequenced by the next-generation sequencing method. The assembled mitogenome consisting of 16,576 bp includes 13 protein coding genes, 22 transfer RNAs, and two ribosomal RNAs genes. The overall base composition of Zebra moray is 30.2% for A, 26.8% for C, 17.2% for G, and 25.8% for T and show 80% identities to Kidako moray,Gymnothorax kidako.The complete mitogenome of the Zebra moray provides an essential and important DNA molecular data for further phylogeography and evolutionary analysis for moray eel phylogeny. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The immune system plays an essential role in eradicating cancer in concert with various treatment modalities. In the absence of autologous tumor material, no standardized method exists to assess T cell responses against the many antigens that may serve as cancer rejection antigens. Thus, development of methods to screen for therapy-induced anti-tumor responses is a high priority that could help tailor therapy. Here we tested whether a tumor-derived antigen source called DRibbles®, which contain a pool of defective ribosomal products (DRiPs), long-lived and short-lived proteins (SLiPs) and danger-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs), can be used to identify tumor-associated antigen (TAA)-specific responses in patients before or after immunotherapy treatment. Protein content, gene expression and non-synonymous - single nucleotide variants (ns-SNVs) present in UbiLT3 DRibbles were compared with prostate adenocarcinomas and the prostate GVAX vaccine cell lines (PC3/LNCaP). UbiLT3 DRibbles were found to share proteins, as well as match tumor sequences for ns-SNVs with prostate adenocarcinomas and with the cell lines PC3 and LNCaP. UbiLT3 DRibbles were used to monitor anti-tumor responses in patients vaccinated with allogeneic prostate GVAX. UbiLT3-DRibble-reactive CD8+ T-cell responses were detected in post-vaccine PBMC of 6/12 patients (range 0.85-22% of CD8+ cells) after 1 week in vitro stimulation (p = 0.007 vs. pre-vaccine). In conclusion, a cancer-derived autophagosome-enriched preparation, packaging over 100 proteins over-expressed in prostate cancer into microvesicles containing DAMPs, could be used to identify CD8+ T cells in peripheral blood from patients after prostate GVAX vaccination and may represent a general method to monitor anti-cancer T cell responses following immunotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the complete mitogenome sequence of the longfang moray,Enchelynassa canina(Anguilliformes: Muraenidae) has been sequenced by the next-generation sequencing method. The length of the assembled mitogenome is 16,592 bp, which includes 13 protein coding genes, 22 transfer RNAs, and 2 ribosomal RNAs genes. The overall base composition of longfang moray is 28.4% for A, 28.0% for C, 18.4% for G, 25.1% for T, and show 82% identities to Kidako moray,Gymnothorax kidako.The complete mitogenome of the longfang moray provides an essential and important DNA molecular data for further phylogeography and evolutionary analysis for moray eel phylogeny. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The inconsistent parameters of different lead-acid batteries in the same battery pack will result in the reduction of battery pack capacity and life. It is difficult to fundamentally solve the inconsistent parameters problem of lead-acid batteries. Battery grouping is a simple and effective approach for solving the performance inconsistency problem by packing batteries with close characteristic parameters. The traditional manual grouping method is labor intensive and prone to errors in measurement that will result in wrong grouping. In this article, a novel lead-acid battery automatic grouping system is developed based on graph cuts. This system consists of a PC server end, a wireless router, and several portable grouping devices. Based on embedded real-time operating, the proposed system realizes battery parameters characterization, data uploading, and automatic grouping processes. Using this battery automatic grouping system, batteries with close charge and discharge characteristics will be grouped into the same battery pack. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed approach can provide superior performance over traditional manual methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Loss of cylindromatosis gene ( CYLD) expression has been observed in various cancers, including chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). As a deubiquitination enzyme, CYLD regulates the proliferation, development and activation of lymphoid cells. Here we determined the CYLD mRNA expression by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in 125 patients with CLL. CYLD was considerably down-regulated in CLL cells compared to normal B cells. Low CYLD expression was associated with unmutated status of the immunoglobulin heavy-chain variable-region ( IGHV) gene ( p = 0.0018) and CD38 positivity ( p = 0.0499). Patients with high CYLD expression showed a trend toward improved overall survival (OS) (10-year OS: CYLD high: 94.74%, CYLD low: 52.71%; p = 0.0534). For patients with mutated IGHV gene, high CYLD was also associated with better OS (10-year OS: CYLD high: 100%, CYLD low: 66.67%; p = 0.0547). In conclusion, low CYLD expression identifies a subgroup of patients with CLL with inferior outcome, indicating the role of CYLD as a tumor suppressor in the pathogenesis of CLL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Hypoxia-inducible factor-1αα (HIF-1αα) plays a pivotal role in the reaction of a tumour to hypoxia. In this study, we examined the inhibitory effect of a natural compound, honokiol, on HIF-1αα activity and tumour growth in combination with radiation. Methods: The inhibitory effect of honokiol on hypoxia-responsive element (HRE) controlled luciferase activity and HIF-1αα accumulations stimulated by CoCl2, or hypoxia was examined. Effect of honokiol on HIF-1αα levels within hypoxic tumour microenvironment was investigated by immunohistochemical and in  vivo bioluminescent studies. The in  vivo radiosensitising activity of honokiol was evaluated with subcutaneous murine colon carcinoma, CT26, xenografts of BALB/c mice treated with honokiol, radiation, or both. Results: Suppression of luciferase (luc) activity in HRE-luc stable cells by honokiol was in agreement with the results of decreased HIF-1αα accumulation. In CT26-HRE-luc tumour-bearing mice, the inhibitory effect of intraperitoneally injected honokiol on HIF-1αα-regulated luciferase activities induced by either CoCl2 or radiation could be monitored non-invasively. Lastly, honokiol in combination with irradiation produced synergistic delay of CT26 tumour growth. Conclusions: Our data suggest that honokiol can exert its anticancer activity as a HIF-1αα inhibitor by reducing HIF-1αα protein level and suppressing the hypoxia-related signaling pathway. The animal experiment indicates that honokiol improves the therapeutic efficacy of radiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The human multidrug resistance (MDR1, ABCB1) gene encodes P-glycoprotein (P-gp), which affects the pharmacokinetics of many drugs. Here, we investigated whether common MDR1 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) (C1236T, C3435T, and G2677T/A) affect predisposition to chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Genotyping was performed in 150 patients with CLL and 117 controls using polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based assays. Haplotypes were inferred using the PHASE algorithm. We found comparable allele and genotype frequencies among patients with CLL and controls. Moreover, patient and control groups did not differ regarding MDR1 haplotype distribution ( p == 0.97). Furthermore, no correlation was shown between the MDR1 1236, 3435, or 2677 genotypes and Binet stage, unmutated immunoglobulin heavy-chain variable region (IGHV) status, CD38 expression, ZAP-70 expression, and p53 deletion. In conclusion, our results do not support a major influence of MDR1 variants on the risk of CLL, and these genomic polymorphisms are not associated with clinical prognostic factors in Chinese patients with CLL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The complete mitochondrial genome of Temminck’s minnowNipponocypris temminckii(Temminck & Schlegel, 1846) which is endemic to Japan and Korean Peninsula has been amplified and sequenced in this study. The complete mitochondrial genome is 16,618 base pairs (bp) in total length, had the typical vertebrate mitochondrial gene arrangement, including 13 protein-coding genes, 2 rRNAs, 22 tRNAs, 1 control region (CR) and 1 light-strand replication origin (OL). The overall base composition ofN. temminckiiis 30.5% for A, 26.5% for T, 26.4% for C, 16.6% for G, with higher AT content 57.0%. This study will be rather beneficial for understanding the phylogenetic approach ofNipponocyprisspecies and other related genera of cyprinid fishes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to measure the neutron flux distribution over the cross section of the boron neutron capture therapy epithermal neutron beam at the Tsing Hua Open-pool Reactor (THOR) by using indirect neutron radiography. It is successfully performed using an aluminum plate coupled with an imaging plate (IP). The developed high-resolution image represents the relative distribution of the neutron flux across the aluminum plate. The horizontal profiles of 28Al activity, according to the measurement using IP and calculations using MCNP with different angular source distributions, were given. In addition, horizontal profiles of 56Mn and 198Au activities measured using AuAl and MnNi foils, respectively, were provided. From the comparison between the measurements and calculations, source angular characteristics of the beam were inferred. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Periostin was originally identified as an osteoblast-specific factor and is highly expressed in the embryonic periosteum, cardiac valves, placenta, and periodontal ligament as well as in many adult cancerous tissues. To investigate its role during development, we generated mice that lack the periostin gene and replaced the translation start site and first exon with a lacZ reporter gene. Surprisingly, although periostin is widely expressed in many developing organs, periostin-deficient (perilacZ) embryos are grossly normal. Postnatally, however, ∼14% of the nulls die before weaning and all of the remaining perilacZ nulls are severely growth retarded. Skeletal analysis revealed that trabecular bone in adult homozygous skeletons was sparse, but overall bone growth was unaffected. Furthermore, by 3 months, the nulls develop an early-onset periodontal disease-like phenotype. Unexpectedly, these mice also show a severe incisor enamel defect, although there is no apparent change in ameloblast differentiation. Significantly, placing the perilacZ nulls on a soft diet that alleviated mechanical strain on the periodontal ligament resulted in a partial rescue of both the enamel and periodontal disease-like phenotypes. Combined, these data suggest that a healthy periodontal ligament is required for normal amelogenesis and that periostin is critically required for maintenance of the integrity of the periodontal ligament in response to mechanical stresses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was performed to pursue the optimal condition for the cryopreservation of mouse morulae by a two-step OPS method and to investigate the feasibility of the optimal condition for vitrification of embryos at other developmental stages. First, the mouse morulae were vitrified in OPS using one-step procedure—that is, embryos were vitrified after direct exposure to EDFS30 (15% ethylene glycol (EG), 15% dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), Ficoll and sucrose), or two-step method—that is, embryos were first pretreated in 10%E + 10%D (10% EG and 10% DMSO in mPBS) for 30 sec, then exposed to EDFS30 for 15 to 60 sec, respectively. After vitrification and warming, the embryos were morphologically evaluated and assessed by their development to blastocysts, expanded/hatched blastocysts, or to term after transfer. The result showed that all the vitrified-warmed morulae had similar blastocyst rate compared to that of control (91.7% vs. 100%), and the highest developmental rate to expanded blastocysts (100%) or hatched blastocysts (62.3%) was observed when the morulae were pretreated with 10%E + 10%D for 0.5 min, exposed to EDFS30 for 25 sec before vitrification and warming in 0.5 M sucrose for 5 min. After transfer, the survival rate (33.1%) in vivo of the vitrified morulae was higher ( P > 0.05) than that of the fresh embryos (24.6%). Secondly, embryos at different stages were cryopreserved and thawed following the above program. Most (93.4 to 100%) of the embryos recovered after vitrification were morphologically normal at all the developmental stages. The blastocyst rates of the vitrified one-cell (52.5 to 66.7%) and the two-cell (63.3 to 68.9%) embryos were lower ( P [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the complete mitogenome sequence of two moray eels ofGymnothorax formosusandScuticaria tigrina(Anguilliformes: Muraenidae) has been sequenced by the next-generation sequencing method. The assembled mitogenome, with the length of 16,558 bp forG. formosusand 16,521 bp forS. tigrina, shows 78% identity to each other. Both mitogenomes follow the typical vertebrate arrangement, including 13 protein coding genes, 22 transfer RNAs, two ribosomal RNAs genes, and a non-coding control region of D-loop. The length of D-loop is 927 bp (G. formosus) and 850 bp (S. tigrina), which is located between tRNA-Pro and tRNA-Phe. The overall GC content is 45.5% forG. formosusand 47.9% forS. tigrina. Complete mitogenomes ofG. formosusandS. tigrinaprovide essential and important DNA molecular data for further phylogenetic and evolutionary analysis for moray eel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our previous studies have confirmed that tumor cell-released autophagosomes (TRAP) could induce the differentiation of B cells into IL-10+ regulatory B cells (Bregs) with suppressive activities on T lymphocytes. However, the mechanism of TRAP-mediated immune suppression is still largely unclear. Herein, we sought to assess the immunomodulatory effect of TRAPs on human neutrophils, a major immune cell type that infiltrates human tumor tissues. We found that TRAPs enriched from malignant effusions or ascites of cancer patients and tumor cell lines were rapidly and effectively phagocytized by neutrophils through macropinocytosis and promoted neutrophil apoptosis via reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and caspase-3 activation. Moreover, the apoptotic neutrophils that have phagocytized TRAPs inhibited the proliferation and activation of CD4+ T and CD8+ T cells in a cell contact- and ROS-dependent manner. These findings define a novel TRAP-mediated mechanism in neutrophils that potentially suppresses the anti-tumor T cell immunity and highlight TRAPs as an important target for future tumor immunotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent studies have shown that tumor cells can release autophagosomes, which transport a broad array of biologically active molecules with potential modulatory effects on immune cell functions. In this study, we aimed to investigate the role of tumor cells-released autophagosomes (i.e. TRAP) in regulating B cell differentiation and function. TRAPs from murine tumor cell lines were found to induce splenic B cells to differentiate into IL-10-producing regulatory B cells (Bregs) with a distinct phenotype of CD1d+CD5+, which could potently inhibit CD8+and CD4+T cell responses in IL-10-depedent manner bothin vitroandin vivo. Notably, adoptive transfer of TRAP-induced Bregs abrogated the immune response and antitumor effect induced by OVA-loaded DC vaccinations in E.G7-OVA-bearing mouse model. Mechanistic studies revealed that membrane-bound high-mobility group B1 (HMGB1) on the intact TRAPs was crucial for inducing Breg differentiation via the activation of TLR2-MyD88-NF-κB signal pathway in B cells. Moreover, TRAPs enriched from malignant effusions of cancer patients could induce human B cells to differentiate into IL-10-producing B cells with immunoregulatory functions, the frequency of which were positively correlated with the HMGB1 levels on TRAPs. Together, our findings have demonstrated that TRAPs promote the generation of IL-10+Bregs, which may contribute to the suppression of antitumor immunity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]