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Ion adsorption and hydrogen bond (HB) network reconstruction in electric double layer (EDL) have a profound impact on the interface properties. The microstructure in the bulk phase of 1.00-21.30 wt.% Na

BackgroundStudies in recent years have shown that the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is associated with the survival and prognosis of patients with malignant tumors.However, the utility of the NLR in predicting outcomes in patients with adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC) of the head and neck remains unclear. Here, we examined the prognostic value of the preoperative NLR in patients with ACC of the head and neck.MethodsThis study retrospectively analyzed 71 patients with a histopathological diagnosis of ACC from August 2005 to November 2020.The optimal cutoff value was obtained by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. The characteristics of the patients were evaluated using chi-squared tests.The value of the NLR used in predicting the outcomes of these patients was analyzed using Kaplan-Meier curves and Cox regression models.ResultsThe cutoff value of the NLR was 2.071. The chi-squared tests showed that a high NLR(>2.071)was associated with tumor stage and lymph node metastasis(LNM). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that the NLR>2.071 group was correlated with a shorter Overall survival(P2.071) and high age (>54 years) were independent risk factors predicting poorer outcomes in patients with ACC.ConclusionsWe suggest that the preoperative NLR is a useful biomarker for the prognosis of patients with ACC.

Objective To explore the repair effects of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) over-expressing miR-21 on chemotherapeutic premature ovarian failure (POF) in rats. Methods The expression vector of lentivirus-mediated miR-21 (LV-miR-21) was constructed, and BMSCs were transfected with LV-miR-21 to construct miR-21-BMSCs. A hundred rats were divided into 5 groups (20 each): normal group, model group, miR-21 group, BMSCs group and miR-21-BMSCs group. The chemotherapeutic POF model was established by intraperitoneal injection of cyclophosphamide (CTX) in rats of the latter 4 groups. Then LV-miR-21, BMSCs and miR-21-BMSCs were injected respectively into the bilateral ovaries of the rats in the latter 3 groups, and physiological saline was injected into the rats of normal group and model group. At 15, 30, 45 and 60 days after injection, the estrus cycle, estradiol (E2) and follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) level, ovarian weight, follicle count at all levels, and apoptotic rate of granulosa cells in each group were detected. Results After injection of CTX, the estrus cycle of rats remained regular in normal group, and fell into disorder in the other four groups, of which the number of rats with recovered estrus cycle in the miR-21-BMSCs group was more than the other three groups; The ovarian weight and follicle count at all levels were significantly higher in miR-21- BMSCs group than in model group, miR-21 group and BMSCs group 30, 45 and 60 days after CTX injection (P

With the combination of two evolutionary algorithms EDA and DE, a new method of initial orbit determination for satellites based on ground-based too-short-arc is established. Compared with other algorithms, the proposed method focuses on the most densely populated region in the solution space rather than the individual with best fitness value. Both the global information and local information are well fused in the search of optimum. In the method ( a , e , M ) are treated as variables of the optimization, and the optimization procedure is carried out as a two-stage hierarchical optimization problem which has three variables for each stage. Kernel density estimation is applied to build the probability distribution model without any assumptions of the specified distribution, accompanied by handling semi-major axis and eccentricity as a pair of dependent variables in the construction of the probability for the correlation between them in the practice. Numerical experiments with real ground-based observations show that the proposed method is applicable to too-short-arc with even 3 s, and the result of bias in several kilometers can be achieved with 5 ″ error added to angular measurements.

Objective To investigate the influence of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell (BMMSCs) overexpressing miR-21 on the apoptosis of ovarian granulosa cells (GCs). Methods The miR-21 lentiviral vector (LV-miR-21) was constructed. BMMSCs were transfected with LV-miR-21 to obtain BMMSCs stably expressing miR-21 (miR-21-BMMSCs). GCs were isolated from Wistar rats. Five groups were set up: normal group, phosphamide nitrogen mustard (PM) group, miR-21 group, BMMSCs group, and miR-21-BMMSCs group. Cells in the normal group were not treated with PM; while in PM group were added with 30μmol/L PM to induce apoptosis; for the cells in miR-21 group, apoptosis was induced by adding PM and then transfected with LV-miR-21; the cells in BMMSCs group and miR-21-BMMSCs group were treated with PM and then transfected respectively with BMMSCs and miR-21-BMMSCs at a 1:1 proportion. The apoptosis of GCs was detected with a flow cytometer 48 hours later. The mRNA expression of miR-21, phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome Ten (PTEN) and programmed cell death factor 4 (PDCD4) was determined using qRT-PCR; the protein expression was determined using Western blotting. Results The apoptotic rate of normal group, PM group, miR-21 group, BMMSCs group and miR-21-BMMSCs group was 10.4%±1.8%, 33.4%±4.2%, 27.0%±2.5%, 28.0%±2.0% and 19.6%±1.5%, respectively; the apoptotic rate of the 5 groups differed significantly (F=59.35, P=0.00). The apoptotic rate of miR-21-BMMSCs group was lower than that of miR-21 group and BMMSCs group, but higher than that of normal group. The miR-21 expression level of miR-21-BMMSCs group (4.0310±0.2314) was upregulated significantly (F=210.062, P=0.000), and the mRNA and protein expression levels of PTEN and PDCD4 were downregulated significantly (P

Hepatic fibrosis is a disease of the wound-healing response following chronic liver injury, and activated hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) play a crucial role in the progression of hepatic fibrosis. β-arrestin2 functions as a multiprotein scaffold to coordinate complex signal transduction networks. Although β-arrestin2 transduces diverse signals in cells, little is known about its involvement in the regulation of liver fibrosis. Our current study utilized a porcine serum-induced liver fibrosis model and found increased expression of β-arrestin2 in hepatic tissues with the progression of hepatic fibrosis, which was positively correlated with collagen levels. Furthermore, changes in human fibrotic samples were also observed. We next used β-arrestin2−/− mice to demonstrate that β-arrestin2 deficiency ameliorates CCl4-induced liver fibrosis and decreases collagen deposition. The in vitro depletion and overexpression experiments showed that decreased β-arrestin2 inhibited HSCs collagen production and elevated TβRIII expression, thus downregulating the TGF-β1 pathway components Smad2, Smad3 and Akt. These findings suggest that β-arrestin2 deficiency ameliorates liver fibrosis in mice, and β-arrestin2 may be a potential treatment target in hepatic fibrosis.

Objective To investigate the therapeutic effect of heat shock preconditioned bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) on chemotherapy-induced premature ovarian failure. Methods Rat's BMSCs were isolated, cultured and identified, and then treated with 42℃ water bath for 1 hour. One hundred and twenty-five female Wistar rats were randomly divided into five groups (25 each): normal control group (A group), model group (B group), sham-operation group (C group), BMSCs group (D group) and heat shock BMSCs group (E group). Chemotherapy induced-premature ovarian failure models were established with rats in all groups but A group by intraperitoneal injection of cyclophosphamide. The first day after the model established, each side ovary of rats in D group was injected with 1×106 BMSCs, in E group was injected with 1×106 heat shock pretreated BMSCs, and in C group was injected with equal amount of saline. Five rats were killed in each group at 1, 15, 30, 45 and 60 days after transplantation. The construction of ovary, amount of follicles, estrous cycle, serum estrogen, follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and the apoptosis of ovarian granulosa cells in each group were observed. Results The estrus cycle of rats in A group wasn't changed, while in B and C group was persistent disorder. Normal estrus cycle began to recover in some rats of E and D group 16-30 days after cell transplantation, but no statistical significance was found between the two groups (P1-15d=1.0, P16-30d=0.358, P31-45d=0.325, P46-60d=0.5). The hormone level in A group remained stable and was consistently higher than that in the other four groups (P0.05). The apoptotic index of ovarian granulosa cell declined obviously in D group and E group on day 15, 30, 45 and 60 than on day 1 after cell transplantation (P

Plants respond to diurnal and seasonal changes in temperature by reprogramming vital developmental pathways. Understanding the molecular mechanisms that define environmental modulation of plant growth and reproduction is critical in the context of climate change that threatens crop yield worldwide. Here, we report that elevated temperature accelerates fruit dehiscence in members of the Brassicaceae family including the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana and important crop species. Arabidopsis fruit development is controlled by a network of interacting regulatory genes. Among them, the INDEHISCENT (IND) gene is a key regulator of the valve-margin tissue that mediates fruit opening, hence facilitating fruit dehiscence. We demonstrated that the valve-margin development is accelerated at higher temperature and that IND is targeted for thermosensory control. Our results reveal that IND upregulation is facilitated via temperature-induced chromatin dynamics leading to accelerated valve-margin specification and dispersal of the seed. Specifically, we show that temperature-induced changes in IND expression are associated with thermosensory H2A.Z nucleosome dynamics. These findings establish a molecular framework connecting tissue identity with thermal sensing and set out directions for the production of temperature-resilient crops., Climate change is posing a global threat to crop productivity, and understanding how temperature modulates developmental outputs at the molecular level is becoming increasingly relevant to crop improvement. This study shows that fruit dehiscence (seed dispersal) is enhanced at higher temperatures across diverse species in the Brassicaceae family and reveals the thermosensory control mechanism by which this is controlled.

Introduction Xylazine, a type of α2-adrenoceptors, is a commonly used drug in veterinary medicine. Xylazine-induced changes in the content of amino acid neurotransmitters – glycine (Gly) and aspartic acid (Asp), in different brain regions and neurons were studied. Material and Methods Wistar rats were administered 50 mg/kg or 70 mg/kg of xylazine by intraperitoneal injection. In addition, in vitro experiments were conducted, in which neurons were treated with 15 μg/mL, 25 μg/mL, 35μg/mL, and 45 μg/mL of xylazine. Test methods were based on the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA). Results During anaesthesia, Asp levels in each brain area were significantly lower compared to the control group. Except for the cerebrum, levels of Gly in other brain areas were significantly increased during the anaesthesia period. In vitro, xylazine-related neuron secretion of Gly increased significantly compared to the control group at 60 min and 90 min. Moreover, xylazine caused a significant decrease in the levels of Asp secreted by neurons at 20 min, but gradually returned to the level of the control group. Conclusion The data showed that during anaesthesia the overall levels of Asp decreased and overall levels of Gly increased. In addition, the inhibitory effect of xylazine on Asp and the promotion of Gly were dose-dependent. Our data showed that different effects of xylazine on excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitters provided a theoretical basis for the mechanism of xylazine activity in clinical anaesthesia.

The behaviors and kinetics of hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) on pure titanium spontaneously passivated in air (P-Ti), activated by electrochemical method (EA-Ti) and fluoride ion (FA-Ti) were investigated by impedance and scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM). During cathodic polarization, the passive film and proton were simultaneously reduced on P-Ti, only HER current was detected on EA-Ti, while both HER and active/passive transition behavior presented on FA-Ti. Corresponding transfer coefficients and standard rate constants of HER are 0.48/6.00 × 10−12 cm/s, 0.25/7.60 × 10−7 cm/s and 0.24/1.14 × 10−6 cm/s, respectively. These differences originate from the change in electronic structure of passive film by pretreatments.

Objective To explore the therapeutic potential of miR-21 in rat model of chemotherapy-induced premature ovarian failure (POF). Methods Lentivirus-mediated miR-21 (LV-miR-21) was constructed successfully in vitro with molecular biology methods. Rats were divided into 4 groups named control group, model group, blank vector group and miR-21 group. Rat models of chemotherapy-induced POF were established in the latter 3 groups by intraperitoneal injection of cytoxan (CTX). Bilateral ovaries of rats in miR-21 group were injected with LV-miR-21, of rats in blank vector group were injected with lentivirus vector, and rats in model group received no treatment. At 1, 15, 30, 45 and 60 days after the last injection, blood sample was collected, the rats were then sacrificed and the ovaries were removed. The estrous cycle was observed by vaginal smears. The E2 level was detected by chemiluminescent immunoassay, and the follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) level was detected by homologous double antibody radiation immunoassay. Ovary weights were measured, and the follicle count was conducted through observing paraffin section under microscope. The apoptosis of ovarian granulosa cells was analyzed by TUNEL assay. Results During 15–30 days, 30–45 days and 45–60 days after the last injection, regular estrous cycle was recovered respectively in 8, 5 and 3 rats in miR-21 group. At the 15th, 30th, 45th and 60th day after the last injection, the E2 level was higher in miR-21 group than in model group and blank vector group, but the FSH level showed the opposite trend (P=0.000). At the 45th and 60th day after the last injection, the follicle numbers at all stages increased markedly in miR-21 group than in model group and blank vector group (P=0.000). At the 30th, 45th and 60th day after the last injection, the ovary weights were higher in miR-21 group than in model group and blank vector group. At the 15th, 30th, 45th and 60th day after the last injection, the apoptosis rate of ovarian granulosa cell were significantly lower in miR-21 group than in model group and blank vector group (P=0.000). Conclusion Up-regulation of miR-21 expression may partly recover the ovarian structure and function damaged by CTX. DOI: 10.11855/j.issn.0577-7402.2017.09.02

Objective To investigate the correlation between miR-21 and chemotherapy-induced premature ovarian failure (CIPOF) by measuring the serum miR-21 level in animal models and patients. Methods CIPOF animal model was established by intraperitoneal injection of cyclophosphamide. Caudal vein blood samples were collected at the first and the 15th day after the models established. Serum miR-21 level was detected by QT-PCR. The correlations between miR-21 level with estradiol (E2) level, follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) level and ovary structure were analyzed. From Jan. 2014 to Jun. 2015, 30 patients with CIPOF and 30 normal women of child-bearing age were enrolled in the study. Serum miR-21 levels of all cases were detected and the correlations between serum miR-21 levels and other laboratory indexes [luteinizing hormone (LH), E2, FSH and prolactin (PRL)] were analyzed. Results Compared to control group, the serum miR-21 levels in CIPOF animal models and patients were obviously lower with statistical significances (t=15.467, P=0.000; t=10.197, P=0.000). Positive correlations existed in animal models between miR-21 and E2, primordial, primary, secondary and antrum follicle numbers (r=0.750, P=0.000; r=0.403, P=0.006; r=0.704, P=0.000; r=0.783, P=0.000; r=0.849, P=0.000, respectively), and a negative correlation existed between miR-21 and FSH (r=–0.801, P=0.000). A positive correlation existed in patients between miR-21 and E2 (r=0.817, P=0.000), and negative correlations existed between miR-21 and FSH (r=–0.771, P=0.000) and miR-21 and LH (r=–0.784, P=0.000). No correlation existed between miR21 and PRL (r=0.204, P=0.207). Conclusion The evident decrease of serum miR-21 level in CIPOF animal models and patients suggests that miR-21 may play an important role in the process of CIPOF, and the miR-21 may be a potential prevention and therapeutic option for CIPOF. DOI: 10.11855/j.issn.0577-7402.2016.11.07

Piccolo is a lightweight block cipher proposed at CHES 2011. This paper firstly gives the zero-correlation linear approximations over 7-round Piccolo and studies the security of Piccolo-128 against multidimensional zero-correlation linear cryptanalysis. Based on the statistic used in multidimensional linear cryptanalysis to detect the right key and wrong keys, this paper gives the data complexity when using this statistic in multidimensional zero-correlation linear cryptanalysis. Finally, with partial sum technique and the relation between the round keys in Piccolo-128, the first known-plaintexts attacks on round 0-12/round, 15-28/round, and 14-28 of Piccolo-128 are proposed; the data complexities of those attacks are 256.8/252.43/255.6 known plaintexts, respectively; and the time complexities are 2117.2,2123.09,2126.55, respectively. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The phytohormone auxin is implied in steering various developmental decisions during plant morphogenesis in a concentration-dependent manner. Auxin maxima have been shown to maintain meristematic activity, for example, of the root apical meristem, and position new sites of outgrowth, such as during lateral root initiation and phyllotaxis. More recently, it has been demonstrated that sites of auxin minima also provide positional information. In the developing Arabidopsis fruit, auxin minima are required for correct differentiation of the valve margin. It remains unclear, however, how this auxin minimum is generated and maintained. Here, we employ a systems biology approach to model auxin transport based on experimental observations. This allows us to determine the minimal requirements for its establishment. Our simulations reveal that two alternative processes—which we coin “flux-barrier” and “flux-passage”—are both able to generate an auxin minimum, but under different parameter settings. Both models are in principle able to yield similar auxin profiles but present qualitatively distinct patterns of auxin flux. The models were tested by tissue-specific inducible ablation, revealing that the auxin minimum in the fruit is most likely generated by a flux-passage process. Model predictions were further supported through 3D PIN localization imaging and implementing experimentally observed transporter localization. Through such an experimental–modeling cycle, we predict how the auxin minimum gradually matures during fruit development to ensure timely fruit opening and seed dispersal.

Protein tyrosine kinases belonging to the Janus kinase (JAK) family are associated with many cytokine receptors, which, on ligand binding, regulate important cellular functions such as proliferation, apoptosis and differentiation. The protective effects of JAK inhibitors on fibrotic diseases such as myelofibrosis and bone marrow fibrosis have been demonstrated in previous studies. The JAK inhibitor SHR0302 is a synthetic molecule that potently inhibits all members of the JAK family, particularly JAK1. However, its effect on hepatic fibrosis has not been investigated to date, to the best of our knowledge. In the present study, the effects of SHR0302 on the activation, proliferation, migration and apoptosis of hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) as well as HSC collagen production were investigated. Our data demonstrated that treatment with SHR0302 (10-9-10-5 mol/l) exerted an inhibitory effect on the activation, proliferation and migration of HSCs. In addition, the expression of collagen I and collagen III were significantly decreased following treatment with SHR0302. Furthermore, SHR0302 induced the apoptosis of HSCs, which was demonstrated by Annexin V/PI staining. SHR0302 significantly increased the activation of caspase-3 and Bax in HSCs whereas it decreased the expression of Bcl-2. SHR0302 also inhibited the activation of Akt signaling pathway. The pharmacological inhibition of the JAK1/signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT)3 pathway led to the disruption of functions essential for HSC growth. Taken together, these findings provide evidence that SHR0302 may have the potential to alleviate hepatic fibrosis by targeting HSC functions.

The incorrect generic name Perisphaeria Burmeister, 1838 results from a mistake by Princis (1947). Perisphaeria is an incorrect spelling by Burmeister referring to Perisphaerus Serville, 1831. Princis (1947) incorrectly regarded Perisphaeria as proposed by Burmeister and as the senior synonym of Hyposphaeria Lucas, 1863, which is valid. The subfamilial name Perisphaeriinae based on Perisphaeria should be corrected to Perisphaerinae Brunner von Wattenwyl, 1865 based on Perisphaerus; but note Princis’ Perisphaeriinae is based on his Perisphaeria Burmeister. The taxa involved are listed.

Complex I is the first enzyme in the mitochondrial respiratory chain. It extracts energy from NADH, which is produced by the oxidation of sugars and fats, and traps the energy by virtue of a potential difference or voltage across the mitochondrial inner membrane. Herein, the genomic sequence and four splice variants encoding the complex I 19-kD subunit were isolated from Dunaliella salina. There were four transcripts coding for the complex I 19-kD subunit due to alternative splicing in algae, and the four transcripts were translated to two protein isoforms with varying C-terminals. We report the splicing pattern in the 3'-region of the D. salina 19-kD subunit, in which three of the exons (5, 6, and 7) could be alternatively spliced. Moreover, we found that four alternatively spliced variants were subject to coordinated transcription in response to different stresses by real-time quantitative PCR.

Morphogenesis requires the coordination of cell growth, division, and cell differentiation. Female gametogenesis in flowering plants, where a single haploid spore undergoes continuous growth and nuclear division without cytokinesis to form an eight-nucleate coenocytic embryo sac before cellularization, provides a good system to study the genetic control of such processes in multicellular organisms. Here, we report the characterization of an Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) female gametophyte mutant, slow walker2 (swa2), in which the progression of the mitotic cycles and the synchrony of female gametophyte development were impaired, causing an arrest of female gametophytes at the two-, four-, or eight-nucleate stage. Delayed pollination test showed that a portion of the mutant ovules were able to develop into functional embryo sacs and could be fertilized. SWA2 encodes a nucleolar protein homologous to yeast NUCLEOLAR COMPLEX ASSOCIATED PROTEIN1 (NOC1)/MAINTENANCE OF KILLER21 that, together with NOC2, is involved in preribosome export from the nucleus to the cytoplasm. Similarly, SWA2 can physically interact with a putative Arabidopsis NOC2 homologue. SWA2 is expressed ubiquitously throughout the plant, at high levels in actively dividing tissues and gametophytes. Therefore, we conclude that SWA2 most likely plays a role in ribosome biogenesis that is essential for the coordinated mitotic progression of the female gametophyte.

Pollen undergo a maturation process to sustain pollen viability and prepare them for germination. Molecular mechanisms controlling these processes remain largely unknown. Here, we report an Arabidopsis thaliana mutant, dayu (dau), which impairs pollen maturation and in vivo germination. Molecular analysis indicated that DAU encodes the peroxisomal membrane protein ABERRANT PEROXISOME MORPHOLOGY9 (APEM9). DAU is transiently expressed from bicellular pollen to mature pollen during male gametogenesis. DAU interacts with peroxisomal membrane proteins PEROXIN13 (PEX13) and PEX16 in planta. Consistently, both peroxisome biogenesis and peroxisome protein import are impaired in dau pollen. In addition, the jasmonic acid (JA) level is significantly decreased in dau pollen, and the dau mutant phenotype is partially rescued by exogenous application of JA, indicating that the male sterility is mainly due to JA deficiency. In addition, the phenotypic survey of peroxin mutants indicates that the PEXs most likely play different roles in pollen germination. Taken together, these data indicate that DAU/APEM9 plays critical roles in peroxisome biogenesis and function, which is essential for JA production and pollen maturation and germination.