Search

This experiment established a relative quantitative detection method for bovine derived components in milk powder based on Real time PCR. The specificity, sensitivity, and stability of cattle-specific primers and probes were tested. By simulating mixed samples of cow’s milk powder and horse’s milk powder with different concentrations, linear fitting was performed based on the functional relationship of their △Ct values, and a standard curve was drawn to establish a relative quantitative detection of bovine derived components in milk powder. The results showed that the minimum detection limit of this method was 0.000 01 mg/mL. The recovery rate was 91.11%~119.2%, with an inter group coefficient of variation of ≤0.58% and an intra group coefficient of variation of ≤1.44%. This method is suitable for detecting the adulteration of bovine derived components and content in milk powder in terms of specificity and stability.

To evaluate the effect of family psychosocial intervention on the mental health and family function of caregivers of children with cancer.

The basic structure, working principle, and the development process and research status of resistive random access memory (RRAM) were outlined. Material systems, including dielectric materials, electrode materials, and substrate materials, as well as broad trends and recent researches of flexible RRAM were summarized; the performance characteristics of flexible RRAM, including storage performance and mechanics performance, were analyzed. The significance and challenge of developing flexible RRAM were explicated. Problems existing in this area and possible approaches to the problems were also put forward. It was concluded that the highly conductive stretchable electrode and the steadily stored stretchable dielectric are primary direction in the future.

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.

Background: Schistosomiasis is a relatively neglected parasitic disease that afflicts more than 250 million people worldwide, for which the control strategy relies mainly on mass treatment with the only available drug, praziquantel (PZQ). This approach is not sustainable and is a priority for developing novel drug candidates for the treatment and control of schistosomiasis. Methodologys/Principal findings: In our previous study, we found that DW-3-15, a kind of PZQ derivative, could significantly downregulate the expression of the histone acetyltransferase of Schistosoma japonicum (SjHAT). In this study, several commercially available HAT inhibitors, A485, C646 and curcumin were screened in vitro to verify their antischistosomal activities against S. japonicum juveniles and adults. Parasitological studies and scanning electron microscopy were used to study the primary action characteristics of HAT inhibitors in vitro. Quantitative real-time PCR was employed to detect the mRNA level of SjHAT after treatment with different HAT inhibitors. Our results demonstrated that curcumin was the most effective inhibitor against both juveniles and adults of S. japonicum, and its schistosomicidal effects were time- and dose dependent. However, A485 and C646 had limited antischistosomal activity. Scanning electron microscopy demonstrated that in comparison with DW-3-15, curcumin caused similar tegumental changes in male adult worms. Furthermore, both curcumin and DW-3-15 significantly decreased the SjHAT mRNA level, and curcumin dose-dependently reduced the SjHAT expression level in female, male and juvenile worms. Conclusions: Among the three commercially available HATs, curcumin was the most potent against schistosomes. Both curcumin and our patent compound DW-3-15 markedly downregulated the expression of SjHAT, indicating that SjHAT may be a potential therapeutic target for developing novel antischistosomal drug candidates. Author summary: Schistosomiasis is a zoonotic parasitic disease caused by Schistosoma spp. infection. Due to the lack of effective vaccines for schistosomiasis, PZQ is the only available drug chosen for the treatment and control of schistosomiasis in most developing countries. Drug resistance due to long-term, large-scale and single-agent use has been a great concern. Therefore, there is an urgent need for new therapies. In our previous study, we developed the patented compound DW-3-15 (patent no. ZL201110142538.2), which has significant and stable antiparasitic activity, and can significantly decrease the expression of S. japonicum histone acetyltransferase (SjHAT). As we known, HATs are a class of epigenetic enzymes that are crucial for chromatin restructuring and transcriptional regulation in mammals and in parasitic development, and are thus promising targets for antischistosomal therapeutic development. In this study, we assessed three commercial HATs, including two selective p300/CBP inhibitors A485 and C646, and one natural compound, curcumin. Our results demonstrated that curcumin had the most potent worm-killing efficacy against S. japonicum juveniles and adults. In contrast, A485 and C646 displayed no effects on adult worms or mild effects on juveniles. Moreover, curcumin caused severe damage to the tegument of male worms, and the damage was similar to that of DW-3-15. Coincidentally, both curcumin and DW-3-15 significantly downregulated the expression of SjHAT, indicating that SjHAT might be an effective target for the development of novel therapeutic drugs. The screening and identification of selective HAT inhibitors may be a promising strategy for developing novel antischistosomal agents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the Jacobian matrix rank reduction near singularities, applying numerical methods to study PMs' motion stability at singularities is quite difficult. As a result, there is a scarcity of literature on the investigation of PMs' dynamic behaviors near singularities and the influence of kinematic parameters on the motion stability of PMs. To address the research gap related to the above issues, based on the Gerschgorin perturbation method, Hurwitz exact approach, and the Lyapunov dynamic stability theory, the influence of kinematic parameters and external loads on a PM's motion stability at singularities is studied for the first time. The theoretical analysis results reported in this paper reveal many previously undiscovered features beyond those derived from previous numerical methods, and indicate the limitations of some widely accepted statements. For example, increasing the angular speed of the movable platform can expand the range of the external loads that meet the motion stability at singular configurations. The prevailing notion in prior research that PMs are unable to support external loads in the direction of the gained DoF at singular configurations is only partially accurate. This pioneering research establishes a theoretical foundation for exploring a new real-time approach to avoid dynamic singularities by fully exploiting the influence mechanisms of kinematic parameters on PMs' dynamic stability at singularities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recombinase-aided polymerase chain reaction (RAP) is a sensitive, single-tube, two-stage nucleic acid amplification method. This study aimed to develop an assay that can be used for the early diagnosis of three types of bacteremia caused by Staphylococcus aureus (SA), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA), and Acinetobacter baumannii (AB) in the bloodstream based on recombinant human mannan-binding lectin protein (M1 protein)-conjugated magnetic bead (M1 bead) enrichment of pathogens combined with RAP. Recombinant plasmids were used to evaluate the assay sensitivity. Common blood influenza bacteria were used for the specific detection. Simulated and clinical plasma samples were enriched with M1 beads and then subjected to multiple recombinase-aided PCR (M-RAP) and quantitative PCR (qPCR) assays. Kappa analysis was used to evaluate the consistency between the two assays. The M-RAP method had sensitivity rates of 1, 10, and 1 copies/μL for the detection of SA, PA, and AB plasmids, respectively, without cross-reaction to other bacterial species. The M-RAP assay obtained results for < 10 CFU/mL pathogens in the blood within 4 h, with higher sensitivity than qPCR. M-RAP and qPCR for SA, PA, and AB yielded Kappa values of 0.839, 0.815, and 0.856, respectively (P < 0.05). An M-RAP assay for SA, PA, and AB in blood samples utilizing M1 bead enrichment has been developed and can be potentially used for the early detection of bacteremia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]