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This study aimed to assess the clinicopathological significance of serum levels and endometrium tissue expression of visfatin in polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) patients. A total of 80 PCOS patients and 80 matching controls were included in this study. We analyzed the relationship between the expression of visfatin in endometrium and clinicopathological characteristics in PCOS patients. The correlation between the expression of visfatin and p-Akt, Akt, p-ERK1/2, and ERK1/2 in PCOS tissues was evaluated as well. Visfatin expression in PCOS endometrial tissues were significantly higher than those in controls (p =.001). The expression of phosphorylation of Akt and ERK1/2 were significantly higher in PCOS endometrium tissues compared to controls (p <.05). Moreover, a high expression of tissue visfatin in PCOS tissues was positively correlated with the expression of p-Akt (p =.015), and p-ERK1/2 (p =.013). Western blotting revealed that protein expression of visfatin in PCOS patients with endometrial hyperplasia and cancer was higher than that in patients with normal endometrium tissues, and the difference was statistically significant (p =.027). The expression of p-Akt (p =.018) and p-ERK1/2 (p =.035) in PCOS patients with endometrial hyperplasia and cancer was significantly higher than that in patients with normal endometrium tissues. Visfatin may be a potential biomarker for endometrial malignant transformation in PCOS patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Epigenetic change is a key factor for esophageal cancer progression. This study shows that upon exposure of primary cultures of human esophageal epithelial cells obtained from people of the Kazakh nationality in China toN-methyl-N′-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine at concentrations of 0.75, 1.50, and 3.00 mg/L, (1) cell proliferation was inhibited, the percentages of cells in the G0and G1phases declined, and those in the S and G2+ M phases increased at all concentrations, while apoptosis rates increased at medium and high concentrations; (2) the content of DNA-methyltransferases 3a and 3b and the activities of DNA-methyltransferase 1 and DNA-methyltransferase 3a increased at all concentrations while the content of DNA-methyltransferase 1 and the activity of DNA-methyltransferase 3b were increased only at the high concentration; (3) messenger RNA and protein levels of DNA-methyltransferases 1, 3a, and 3b were increased at all concentrations. Obviously,N-methyl-N′-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine in the low mg/L range can inhibit the proliferation of normal Kazakh esophageal epithelial cells, can cause cell cycle arrest in the S and G2+ M phases, promote apoptosis, and increase the activities of DNA-methyltransferases 1, 3a, and 3b. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The aim of this study was to isolate and purify flavonoids from Jujube (Zizipus jujuba Mill.) fruit and further evaluate antibacterial activities. Semi-preparative high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was used to isolate and purify the flavonoids, while nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) was employed for structural identification. Five flavonoids, including epicatechin, quercetin, rutin, isoquercitrin, and hyperin were identified. Antibacterial activity assays showed quercetin had the greatest inhibitory effect on Escherichia coli, Shigella, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) against Escherichia coli or Pseudomonas aeruginosa was 250 μg/mL and against Shigella was 125 μg/mL. Rutin had the greatest inhibitory effect on Staphylococcus aureus, the MIC of which was 62.5 μg/mL. Hyperin had the greatest inhibitory effect on Bacillus subtilis, the MIC of which against Bacillus subtilis was 250 μg/mL, whereas that against Staphylococcus aureus was 62.5 μg/mL. We found that the antibacterial effects of the flavonoids were strong at a pH less than 6 and that they dropped sharply with increasing pH. Furthermore, the five metal ions Na+, Ca2+, K+, Fe2+, and Mg2+ generally increased the antibacterial activity of quercetin against Escherichia coli, Shigella, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and that of rutin against Staphylococcus aureus. For hyperin, Ca2+ and K+ had the strongest antibacterial effects. The present study suggests that the flavonoids extracted from Jujube (Zizipus jujuba Mill.) fruit were considered a promising candidate for natural and healthy antibacterial agents for the pharmaceutical and food industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ag-modified polyoxometalate [Na(H2O)]2[Ag(bpf)]3[PW12O40] (1) (bpf = 2,4-di(4-pyridyl)furan) was synthesized through a hydrothermal reaction. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis revealed that1consists of a hybrid 3D MOF constructed from Keggin-type polyanionic [PW12O40]3-and cationic Ag-bpf units. Ligand bpf in1wasin situtransferred from 1,3-bis(4-pyridyl)propane under the higher temperature and pressure of hydrothermal conditions. Catalytic performance of1as a heterogeneous catalyst for degradation of organic dye Rhodamine B (RhB) was investigated. Experimental results showed that hybrid1was especially active to catalytically degrade RhB under room temperature and natural light. RhB-containing solution (5.0 mg·L−1) could be quickly bleached in a short time, and the high removal efficiency (97%) could be reached in a mere 30 min. The degradation mechanism of RhB was discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Brombuterol, a new β-adrenergic agonist to enhance animal growth and increase feeding efficiency, is forbidden as an additive in animal feed for livestock production due to its adverse effects on consumers. In this study, a highly specific and sensitive monoclonal antibody was obtained and an indirect competitive monoclonal ELISA was developed to detect brombuterol, with an IC50 value of 0.1 μg/kg (μg/L) and no cross-reactivity to other structurally related β-adrenergic agonists. The average recovery of brombuterol using the icELISA method ranged from 72.9% to 106.4% with the coefficient of variation lower than 18.9%, which was determined by analysing spiked animal feed, swine urine, pork and liver samples (n = 5). Finally, the icELISA gave results having a good correlation with those obtained by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. These results demonstrated that the developed icELISA for the detection of brombuterol is highly specific, sensitive, and reliable, indicating good potential for use in the area of food safety to improve consumer protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]