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A suspended monolayer graphene has only about 2.3% absorption rate in visible and infrared band, which limits its optoelectronic applications. To significantly increase graphene's absorption efficiency, a tunable dual-band and polarization-insensitive coherent perfect absorber (CPA) is proposed in the mid-infrared regime, which contains the silicon array coupled in double-layers graphene waveguide. Based on the FDTD methods, dual-band perfect absorption peaks are achieved in 9611 nm and 9924 nm, respectively. Moreover, due to its center symmetric feature, the proposed absorber also demonstrates polarization-insensitive. Meanwhile, the coherent absorption peaks can be all-optically modulated by altering the relative phase between two reverse incident lights. Furthermore, by manipulating the Fermi energies of two graphene layers, two coherent absorption peaks can move over a wide spectrum range, and our designed CPA can also be changed from dual-band CPA to narrowband CPA. Thus, our results can find some potential applications in the field of developing nanophotonic devices with excellent performance working at the mid-infrared regime.

A series of new coumarin/1,2,4-oxadiazole hybrids were synthesized and evaluated for cholinesterase inhibitory and neuroprotective activities. Among them, enantiomers 5u and 5v showed potent hBChE inhibitory activity with IC 50 values of 8.17 and 9.56 μM, respectively, and also exhibited good selectivity for hBChE over hAChE by 9.49- and 7.58-fold, respectively. In addition, both compounds could protect SH-SY5Y cells against Aβ 25-35 -induced neurotoxicity. The preliminary bioassay results provided a new chemotype for multifunctional anti-Alzheimer's disease agents and continuing investigation into compounds 5u and 5v is warranted.

In this study, a series of selective butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) inhibitors was designed and synthesized from the structural optimization of hit 1 , a 4-((3,4-dihydroisoquinolin-2(1 H )-yl)methyl)benzoic acid derivative identified by virtual screening our compound library. The in vitro enzyme assay results showed that compounds 9 ((4-((3,4-dihydroisoquinolin-2(1 H )-yl)methyl)phenyl)(pyrrolidin-1-yl)methanone) and 23 ( N -(2-bromophenyl)-4-((3,4-dihydroisoquinolin-2(1 H )-yl)methyl)benzamide) displayed improved BChE inhibitory activity and good selectivity towards BChE versus AChE. Their binding modes were probed by molecular docking and further validated by molecular dynamics simulation. Kinetic analysis together with molecular modeling studies suggested that these derivatives could target both the catalytic active site (CAS) and peripheral anionic site (PAS) of BChE. In addition, the selected compounds 9 and 23 displayed anti-Aβ 1-42 aggregation activity in a dose-dependent manner, and they did not show obvious cytotoxicity towards SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells. Also, both compounds showed significantly protective activity against Aβ 1-42 -induced toxicity in a SH-SY5Y cell model. The present results provided a new valuable chemical template for the development of selective BChE inhibitors.

Although the mechanism of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is still not fully understood, the development of multifunctional AChE inhibitors remains a research focus for AD treatment. In this study, 48 AChE candidate inhibitors were picked out from SPECS database through a pharmacophore- and molecular docking-based virtual screening. The biological evaluation results indicated that four compounds 7, 29, 41 and 48 with different scaffolds exhibited potent and selective AChE inhibitory activity, with the best IC 50 value of 1.62 ± 0.11 μM obtained for 48. Then their mechanism of action, the inhibition on Aβ aggregation, neurotoxicity, and neuroprotective activity against Aβ-induced nerve cell injury were well studied. The binding mode of 48 with AChE was also proposed. The present bioassay results indicated that these multifunctional AChE inhibitors were worth for further structural derivatization to make them the anti-AD lead compounds.

Interleukin-12 receptor β2 (IL-12Rβ2) is a signaling subunit of heterodimeric receptors for IL-12 and IL-35. It plays important regulatory functions in the development of Th1 cells and in the expression of inflammatory cytokines in mammals and other higher vertebrates. However, little is known about IL-12Rβ2 in teleost fish. In this work, we have cloned and characterized IL-12Rβ2 from grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella). The full-length cDNA of grass carp IL-12Rβ2 is 2875 bp, which encodes a mature protein with 741 amino acids. This mature protein contains three fibronectin type III domains, a transmembrane helix, and CXW and WSXWS-like motifs that are characteristic of the type I cytokine receptor family. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that cyprinid fish IL-12Rβ2 formed a single branch, clearly separated from those of other vertebrates. We expressed and purified a recombinant grass carp IL-12Rβ2 protein containing major antigenic regions, which was used to raise a polyclonal antibody. The specificity of the antibody was assessed by Western blotting analysis of whole cell lysates from Escherichia coli cells expressing the recombinant IL-12Rβ2, grass carp intestinal intraepithelial lymphocytes, and cultured C. idella kidney cells. To explore the potential regulatory role of IL-12Rβ2 in inflammation, we generated an intestinal inflammation model by anal intubation of fish with Aeromonas hydrophila. Immunohistochemical staining of the inflamed intestines revealed that IL-12Rβ2 expression is consistent with inflammatory cell recruitment during intestinal inflammation. Real-time quantitative PCR revealed that IL-12Rβ2 is widely expressed in normal tissues and is up-regulated in most tissues after infecting with A. hydrophila. We found that IL-12Rβ2, IL-12p35, and interferon-γ were expressed in similar patterns in the intestines during inflammation. Taken together, our results suggest that IL-12Rβ2 is involved in the regulation of intestinal inflammation., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT) followed by surgery is the standard treatment for locally advanced rectal cancer. Here, we analyzed the impact of local and systemic environments on the tumor response to preoperative chemoradiotherapy in rectal cancer. We recruited 141 patients with rectal cancer treated with nCRT. We evaluated the local tumor environment, including tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), intratumor budding (ITB), and the systemic inflammatory environment, including the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and C-reactive protein (CRP) level. Our finding revealed that tumor regression was significantly associated with the density of CD8+ TILs in the intraepithelial, the presence of ITB, the combination of NLR and CRP (NLR-CRP) value, and the combination of CD8+ intraepithelial TIL (iTIL) density and ITB presence. Moreover, multivariate analysis showed that only the combination of CD8+ iTILs and ITB was an independent predictive factor for the pathological response to nCRT in rectal cancer. Our finding demonstrate that the local tumor environment was a better predictor of the tumor response than the systemic environment and thus provided new insight into screening for patients who are more likely to benefit from cancer treatment., (© 2019 The Author(s).)

Background: Obstructed defecation syndrome (ODS) is a widespread disease in the world. Rectocele is the most common cause of ODS in females. Multiple procedures have been performed to treat rectocele and no procedure has been accepted as the gold-standard procedure. Stapled transanal rectal resection (STARR) has been widely used. However, there are still some disadvantages in this procedure and its effectiveness in anterior wall repair is doubtful. Therefore, new procedures are expected to further improve the treatment of rectocele., Aim: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of a novel rectocele repair combining Khubchandani's procedure with stapled posterior rectal wall resection., Methods: A cohort of 93 patients were recruited in our randomized clinical trial and were divided into two different groups in a randomized manner. Forty-two patients (group A) underwent Khubchandani's procedure with stapled posterior rectal wall resection and 51 patients (group B) underwent the STARR procedure. Follow-up was performed at 1, 3, 6, and 12 mo after the operation. Preoperative and postoperative ODS scores and depth of rectocele, postoperative complications, blood loss, and hospital stay of each patient were documented. All data were analyzed statistically to evaluate the efficiency and safety of our procedure., Results: In group A, 42 patients underwent Khubchandani's procedure with stapled posterior rectal wall resection and 34 were followed until the final analysis. In group B, 51 patients underwent the STARR procedure and 37 were followed until the final analysis. Mean operative duration was 41.47 ± 6.43 min (group A) vs 39.24 ± 6.53 min (group B). Mean hospital stay was 3.15 ± 0.70 d (group A) vs 3.14 ± 0.54 d (group B). Mean blood loss was 10.91 ± 2.52 mL (group A) vs 10.14 ± 1.86 mL (group B). Mean ODS score in group A declined from 16.50 ± 2.06 before operation to 5.06 ± 1.07 one year after the operation, whereas in group B it was 17.11 ± 2.57 before operation and 6.03 ± 2.63 one year after the operation. Mean depth of rectocele decreased from 4.32 ± 0.96 cm (group A) vs 4.18 ± 0.95 cm (group B) preoperatively to 1.19 ± 0.43 cm (group A) vs 1.54 ± 0.82 cm (group B) one year after operation. No other serious complications, such as rectovaginal fistula, perianal sepsis, or deaths, were recorded. After 12 mo of follow-up, 30 patients' (30/34, 88.2%) final outcomes were judged as effective and 4 (4/34, 11.8%) as moderate in group A, whereas in group B, 30 (30/37, 81.1%) patients' outcomes were judged as effective, 5 (5/37, 13.5%) as moderate, and 2 (2/37, 5.4%) as poor., Conclusion: Khubchandani's procedure combined with stapled posterior rectal wall resection is an effective, feasible, and safe procedure with minor trauma to rectocele., Competing Interests: Conflict-of-interest statement: No authors of this paper have conflicting interests.

Highly branched metallic nanostructures, which possess a large amount of catalyst active sites and surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) hot spots owing to their large surface areas, multi-level branches, corners, and edges, have shown potential in various applications including catalysis and SERS. In this study, well-defined dendritic silver (Ag) nanostructures were prepared by a facile and controllable electrochemical deposition strategy. The morphology of Ag nanostructures is controlled by regulating electrodeposition time and concentration of AgNO 3 in the electrolyte solution. Compared to conventional Ag nanoparticle films, dendritic Ag nanostructures exhibited larger SERS enhancement ascribed to the numerous hot spots exist in the nanogaps of parallel and vertically stacked multilayer Ag dendrites. In addition, the prepared dendritic Ag nanostructures show 3.2-fold higher catalytic activity towards the reduction of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) by NaBH 4 than the Ag nanoparticle films. The results indicate that the dendritic Ag nanostructures represent a unique bifunctional nanostructure that serves as both efficient catalysts and excellent SERS substrates, which may be further employed as a nanoreactor for in situ investigation and real-time monitoring of catalytic reactions by SERS technique.

A series of new indole-3-acetic acid (IAA)-tacrine hybrids as dual acetylcholinesterase (AChE)/butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) inhibitors were designed and prepared based on the molecular docking mode of AChE with an IAA derivative (1a), a moderate AChE inhibitor identified by screening our compound library for anti-Alzheimer's disease (AD) drug leads. The enzyme assay results revealed that some hybrids, e.g. 5d and 5e, displayed potent dual in vitro inhibitory activities against AChE/BChE with IC 50 values in low nanomolar range. Molecular modeling studies in tandem with kinetic analysis suggest that these hybrids target both catalytic active site and peripheral anionic site of cholinesterase (ChE). Molecular dynamic simulations and Molecular Mechanics/Poisson-Boltzmann Surface Area (MM-PBSA) calculations indicate that 5e has more potent binding affinity than hit 1a, which may explain the stronger inhibitory effect of 5e on AChE. Furthermore, their predicted pharmacokinetic properties and in vitro influences on mouse brain neural network electrical activity were discussed. Taken together, compound 5e can be highlighted as a lead compound worthy of further optimization for designing new anti-AD drugs., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Uncontrolled proliferation and defective apoptosis are two major factors responsible for maintaining the malignant properties of melanoma cells. Our previous study demonstrated that induced expression of four reprogramming factors remodeled the phenotype of B16‑F10 mouse melanoma cells into melanoma stem cells. The present study was conducted to investigate the effect of the four Yamanaka reprogramming factors, namely Oct4, Sox2, Klf4 and c‑Myc (OSKM), on the proliferation and apoptosis of melanoma cells, and to identify the responsible molecular signals. The results identified that expression of the four reprogramming factors was highly induced by doxycycline treatment in the stable melanoma cell clone that was transfected with a plasmid expressing these factors, driven by the Tet‑On element. It was further confirmed that induced expression of these factors enhanced the proliferation and suppressed the apoptosis of the melanoma cells. In addition, induced OSKM expression increased cell proliferation, accelerated the progression of the cell cycle, and upregulated the mRNA expression levels of Janus kinase 2 (JAK2) and Cyclin‑B1. Induced expression of these factors also decreased the apoptosis, as well as upregulated B‑cell lymphoma 2 (BCL‑2) and downregulated BCL‑2‑associated X (BAX) mRNA expression levels. Taken together, the results suggested that upregulated JAK2 and Cyclin‑B1 may be responsible for the enhanced proliferation of melanoma cells, and that BCL‑2 upregulation and BAX downregulation may account for the suppressed apoptosis of these cells.

Protein arginine methyltransferase 5 (PRMT5) is an epigenetics related enzyme that has been validated as a promising therapeutic target for human cancer. Up to now, two small molecule PRMT5 inhibitors has been put into phase I clinical trial. In the present study, a series of candidate molecules were designed by combining key pharmacophores of formerly reported PRMT5 inhibitors. The in vitro PRMT5 inhibitory testing of compound 4b14 revealed an IC 50 of 2.71 μM, exhibiting high selectivity over PRMT1 and PRMT4 (>70-fold selective). As expected, 4b14 exhibited potent anti-proliferative activity against a panel of leukemia and lymphoma cells, including MV4-11, Pfeiffer, SU-DHL-4 and KARPAS-422. Besides, 4b14 showed significant cell cycle arrest and apoptosis-inducing effects, as well as reduced the cellular symmetric arginine dimethylation level of SmD3 protein. Finally, affinity profiling analysis indicated that hydrophobic interactions, π-π stacking and cation-π actions made the major contributions to the overall binding affinity. This scaffold provides a new chemical template for further development of better lead compounds targeting PRMT5., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Neuropathy can contribute to low back pain (LBP) in the region of the back. Our study investigated the proportion of neuropathic pain (NP) in low back region in chronic LBP patients from multicenter and clinics in China and identified associated factors. Assessment was made using a questionnaire and the Leeds Assessment of Neuropathic Symptoms and Signs (LANSS, only tested in low back region), as well as Quantitative Sensory Testing (QST, merely applied to the low back region), the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI). Our questionnaire collected demographic information, behavioral habits and medical records. 2116 outpatients over 18 years old complaining of LBP lasting more than 3 months were enrolled in this study. The NP proportion in low back region in chronic LBP patients was 2.8%. Multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that histories of lumbar surgery, abdominal or pelvic surgery, and drinking alcohol were independent positive predictors for LBP of predominantly neuropathic origin (LBNPO), while history of low back sprain and frequently carrying weight as independent negative predictor. Using these parameters may help the identification of patients with chronic LBP likely to develop NP leading to improved treatment outcomes.

Aim: To investigate the vascular anatomy of inferior mesenteric artery (IMA) in laparoscopic radical resection with the preservation of left colic artery (LCA) for rectal cancer., Methods: A total of 110 patients with rectal cancer who underwent laparoscopic surgical resection with preservation of the LCA were retrospectively reviewed. A 3D vascular reconstruction was performed before each surgical procedure to assess the branches of the IMA. During surgery, the relationship among the IMA, LCA, sigmoid artery (SA) and superior rectal artery (SRA) was evaluated, and the length from the origin of the IMA to the point of branching into the LCA or common trunk of LCA and SA was measured. The relationship between inferior mesenteric vein (IMV) and LCA was also evaluated., Results: Three vascular types were identified in this study. In type A, LCA arose independently from IMA (46.4%, n = 51); in type B, LCA and SA branched from a common trunk of the IMA (23.6%, n = 26); and in type C, LCA, SA, and SRA branched at the same location (30.0%, n = 33). The difference in the length from the origin of IMA to LCA was not statistically significant among the three types. LCA was located under the IMV in 61 cases and above the IMV in 49 cases., Conclusion: The vascular anatomy of the IMA and IMV is essential for laparoscopic radical resection with preservation of the LCA for rectal cancer. To recognize different branches of the IMA is necessary for the resection of lymph nodes and dissection of vessels., Competing Interests: Conflict-of-interest statement: All authors declare there are no competing interests in this study.

A marine natural product, pulmonarin B ( 1 ), and a series of related tacrine hybrid analogues were synthesized and evaluated as cholinesterase (ChE) inhibitors. The in vitro ChE assay results revealed that 1 showed moderate dual acetylcholinesterase (AChE)/ butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) inhibitory activity, while the hybrid 12j proved to be the most potent dual inhibitor among the designed derivatives, being almost as active as tacrine. Molecular modeling studies together with kinetic analysis suggested that 12j interacted with both the catalytic active site and peripheral anionic site of AChE. Compounds 1 and 12j could also inhibit self-induced and AChE-induced Aβ aggregation. In addition, the cell-based assay against the human hepatoma cell line (HepG2) revealed that 1 and 12j did not show significant hepatotoxicity compared with tacrine and donepezil. Taken together, the present study confirmed that compound 1 was a potential anti-Alzheimer's disease (AD) hit, and 12j could be highlighted as a multifunctional lead compound for anti-AD drug development.

Five new chromone derivatives, arthones A⁻E ( 1 ⁻ 5 ), together with eight known biogenetically related cometabolites ( 6 ⁻ 13 ), were isolated from a deep-sea-derived fungus Arthrinium sp. UJNMF0008. Their structures were assigned by detailed analyses of spectroscopic data, while the absolute configurations of 1 and 5 were established by electronic circular dichroism (ECD) calculations and that of 2 was determined by modified Mosher ester method. Compounds 3 and 8 exhibited potent antioxidant property with DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging activities, with IC 50 values ranging from 16.9 to 18.7 μM. Meanwhile, no compounds indicated obvious bioactivity in our antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory assays at 50.0 μM.

In this study, 19 octadecanoid derivatives-four pairs of enantiomers ( 1 ⁻ 8 ), two racemic/scalemic mixtures ( 9 ⁻ 10 ), and nine biosynthetically related analogues-were obtained from the ethanolic extract of a Chinese medicinal plant, Plantago depressa Willd. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of detailed spectroscopic analyses, with the absolute configurations of the new compounds assigned by time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT)-based electronic circular dichroism (ECD) calculations. Six of them ( 1 , 3 ⁻ 6, and 9 ) were reported for the first time, while 2 , 7, and 8 have been previously described as derivatives and are currently obtained as natural products. Our bioassays have established that selective compounds show in vitro anti-inflammatory activity by inhibiting lipopolysaccharide-induced nitric oxide (NO) production in mouse macrophage RAW 264.7 cells., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

The use of photodynamic therapy (PDT) and development of novel photosensitizers (PSs) for cancer treatment have received more and more attention nowadays. In the present work, five benzo[ a ]phenoxazinium derivatives have been prepared and evaluated for their in vitro anticancer photodynamic activity for the first time. They are red light absorbers and show low fluorescence quantum yield. Of these compounds, PS4 exhibited a higher quantum yield for reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation. The assays with cells in vitro showed that PS1 and PS4 were not significantly toxic in the dark, but was robustly toxic against the murine breast adenocarcinoma cells 4T1 and normal murine fibroblast cells NIH-3T3 upon photoactivation. More interestingly, PS5 was particularly selective towards 4T1 cancer cells and nearly non-phototoxic to non-cancerous NIH-3T3 cells. The results described in this report suggest that these new benzo[ a ]phenoxazinium derivatives are potential candidates as PSs for anticancer PDT. Further investigation of benzo[ a ]phenoxaziniums for anticancer PDT is warranted.

Cyathula capitate is the main adulterant of C.offinalis. According to the literature reported, there are obvious differences in properties, taste and pharmacological activity between C. capitate and C.offinalis. Therefore, C. capitate can only be used as a local conventional medicine and can't be a substitute for C. offinalis. Since the appearance of C.capitata is very similar to the C.offinalis and the content of cyasterone also can reach the limit of the current pharmacopoeia standard, the C.capitata is mostly sold in the form of impersonation oradmixture, which seriously affected the safety of the clinical medication and the development of the genuine crude drugs. In view of this, HPLC characteristic fingerprint was used to reveal the difference of multi-ingredients of C. offinalis, C. capitata and their admixture. According to the HPLC chromatogram of C.offinalis, C. capitata. and their admixture, 65 different components were obtained to set up a peak area data matrix of 26×65, which was applied to perform the characteristic peak difference analysis, similarity analysis, hierarchical clustering analysis HCA and principal component analysis (PCA). Characteristic peak difference analysis showed that the characteristic peaks of C. capitata and their admixture are more and higher respond than those of C. offinalis. The 9 characteristic peaks were used to distinguish C. capitata, 2 of which were used to distinguish C. offinalis mixed with 5% C. capitata. UV spectra of 9 characteristic peaks are mostly similar to the end absorption spectra of saponins, indicating that C. capitata may contain a large amount of saponins. By the reference fingerprint of C.offinalis established, the similarity analysis showed that the similarity degree of C. offinalis are higher than 0.942, while the similarity degree of C. capitata, C.offinalis mixed with 5% C. capitata are less than 0.383 and 0.399. C.offinalis, C. capitata, C.offinalis mixed with 5% C. capitata could be obviously divided into 3 classes by HCA and PCA. These results showed that there are obvious difference in the chemical composition of C. offinalis, C. capitata and their admixture, which could provide evidence for their identification., Competing Interests: The authors of this article and the planning committee members and staff have no relevant financial relationships with commercial interests to disclose., (Copyright© by the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association.)

Seven new phenolic bisabolane sesquiterpenoids, (7R,10S)-7,10-epoxysydonic acid (1), (7S,10S)-7,10-epoxysydonic acid (2), (7R,11S)-7,12-epoxysydonic acid (3), (7S,11S)-7,12-epoxysydonic acid (4), 7-deoxy-7,14-didehydro-12-hydroxysydonic acid (5), (Z)-7-deoxy-7,8-didehydro-12-hydroxysydonic acid (6), and (E)-7-deoxy-7,8-didehydro-12-hydroxysydonic acid (7), along with five known analogues (8-12), were obtained from the culture of an endophytic fungus Aspergillus sp. xy02 isolated from the leaves of a Thai mangrove Xylocarpus moluccensis. All structures were assigned on the basis of detailed spectroscopic analyses. The absolute configurations of 1-4, being two pairs of epimers, were established by TDDFT-ECD calculations. Compound 12 showed mild antioxidative activity to scavenge DPPH radical with an IC 50 of 72.1 μM, whereas 2, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, and 12 displayed moderate inhibitory activities against Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923 with IC 50 values ranging from 31.5 to 41.9 μM., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: To explore the clinical characteristics of neurocutaneous melanosis (NCM) in adult patients to help improve diagnosis and treatment of this disease, we present a rare case of an adult patient suffering from NCM with malignant melanoma, as well as a review of the relevant Chinese and English literature., Case Description: The patient reported here plus the patients identified in our literature review total 30 adults with NCM (20 males [66.7%] and 10 females [33.3%]), age 19-65 years (average, 27.9 years). These include 24 cases of malignant melanoma (80.0%), 3 cases of melanocytoma (10.0%), 2 cases of diffuse melanocytosis (6.7%), and 1 case of unknown pathology (3.3%). Satellite nevi were reported in 25 cases (83.3%) and in 5 cases their presence was unknown (16.7%). Intracranial lesions were present in 28 cases (93.3%), and intraspinal lesions were present in 2 cases (6.7%). There are 4 cases of combined hydrocephalus (13.3%), and 2 cases of combined Dandy-Walker deformity (6.7%)., Conclusions: NCM is a rare disease, especially in adults. With the onset of symptoms, the diagnosis is generally confirmed. In children with congenital giant nevus, regular periodic surveys of the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) with magnetic resonance imaging or cerebrospinal fluid analysis should be performed to diagnose NCM. Active treatment should be undertaken to improve the prognosis., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Superinfection of Marek's disease virus (MDV) and avian leukosis virus subgroup J (ALV-J) causes lethal neoplasia and death in chickens. However, whether there is synergism between the two viruses in viral replication and pathogenicity has remained elusive. In this study, we found that the superinfection of MDV and ALV-J increased the viral replication of the two viruses in RNA and protein level, and synergistically promoted the expression of IL-10, IL-6, and TGF-β in chicken embryo fibroblasts (CEF). Moreover, MDV and ALV-J protein expression in dual-infected cells detected by confocal laser scanning microscope appeared earlier in the cytoplasm and the nucleus, and caused more severe cytopathy than single infection, suggesting that synergistically increased MDV and ALV-J viral-protein biosynthesis is responsible for the severe cytopathy. In vivo, compared to the single virus infected chickens, the mortality and tumor formation rates increased significantly in MDV and ALV-J dual-infected chickens. Viral loads of MDV and ALV-J in tissues of dual-infected chickens were significantly higher than those of single-infected chickens. Histopathology observation showed that more severe inflammation and tumor cells metastases were present in dual-infected chickens. In the present study, we concluded that synergistic viral replication of MDV and ALV-J is responsible for the enhanced pathogenicity in superinfection of chickens.

In this work, 20( S )-protopanaxadiol (PPD)-loaded polycaprolactone (PCL) nanofibres were successfully fabricated by the electrospinning technique using Tween 80 as a solubilizer. Firstly, smooth and continuous nanofibres were collected using suitable solvents and appropriate spinning conditions. Secondly, nanofibre mats were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, thermogravimetric (TG) analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and mechanical testing. Finally, nanofibrous membranes were evaluated using water contact angle, in vitro drug release, biodegradation test, in vitro and in vivo anti-tumour activity and cell apoptosis assay. Scanning electron microscopic observations indicated that the diameter of the drug-loaded nanofibres increased with the increase of drug concentration. TG analysis and mechanical test showed that nanofibres were equipped with great thermal and mechanical properties. Biodegradation test exhibited that the structure of fabricated nanofibres had a certain degree of change after 15 days. An in vitro release study showed that PPD from drug-loaded nanofibres could be released in a sustained and prolonged mode. The cytotoxic effect of drug-loaded nanofibre mats examined on human laryngeal carcinoma cells (Hep-2 cells) demonstrated that the prepared nanofibres had a remarkable anti-tumour effect. Meanwhile, the drug-loaded fibre mats showed a super anti-tumour effect in an in vivo anti-tumour study. All in all, PCL nanofibres could be a potential carrier of PPD for cancer treatment., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

Recently, most of evidence shows that caloric restriction could induce antidepressant-like effects in animal model of depression. Based on studies of the brain-gut axis, some signal pathways were common between the control of caloric restriction and depression. However, the specific mechanism of the antidepressant-like effects induced by caloric restriction remains unclear. Therefore, in this article, we summarized clinical and experimental studies of caloric restriction on depression. This review may provide a new therapeutic strategy for depression., (© 2018 The Authors. Journal of Cellular and Molecular Medicine published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd and Foundation for Cellular and Molecular Medicine.)

The present study was designed to elucidate whether the mechanism by which osthole decreases collagenI/III contents and their ratio is regulating the TGF-β/Smad signaling pathway in TGF-β1-overexpressed mouse cardiac fibroblasts (CFs). These CFs were cultured and treated with different concentrations of osthole. Our results showed that the TGF-β1 expression in the CFs transfected with that the recombinant expression plasmids pcDNA3.1(+)-TGF-β1 was significantly enhanced. After the CFs were treated with 1.25-5 μg·mL -1 of osthole for 24 h, the mRNA and protein expression levels of collagensIand III were reduced. The collagen I/III ratio was also reduced. The mRNA and protein expression levels of TGF-β1, TβRI, Smad2/3, P-Smad2/3, Smad4, and α-SMA were decreased, whereas the expression level of Smad7 was increased. These effects suggested that osthole could inhibit collagen I and III expression and reduce their ratio via the TGF-β/Smad signaling pathway in TGF-β1 overexpressed CFs. These effects of osthole may play beneficial roles in the prevention and treatment of myocardial fibrosis., (Copyright © 2018 China Pharmaceutical University. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Investigation of the 95% EtOH extract of stems of Dendrobium findlayanum afforded four new seco-dendrobines, findlayines A-D (1-4); two known dendrobines, dendrobine (5) and 2-hydroxydendrobine (6); and four new phenolic compounds, dendrofindlaphenols A-C (7, 9, and 10) and 6″-de-O-methyldendrofindlaphenol A (8). Compounds 1 and 2 are the first seco-dendrobines possessing a seven-membered lactam moiety, with 3 and 4 derived from the oxidative cleavage of the C-2-C-3 bond of dendrobine. The structures were established using spectroscopic methods and by comparison with literature data. The absolute configurations of 1-4 were confirmed via single-crystal X-ray diffraction data. Cytotoxic activity assays against HL-60, SMMC-7721, A-549, MCF-7, and SW480 human cancer cell lines revealed IC 50 values ranging from 2.3 to 5.3 μM for compound 7, from 19.4 to 34.4 μM for 8, and from 49.4 to 96.8 μg/mL for the EtOAc extract. An assay of the inhibition of NO production with RAW 264.7 cells indicated that 8 had an IC 50 value of 21.4 μM, and the EtOAc extract, 10.5 μg/mL. The EtOAc extract possessed DPPH radical scavenging activity of 69.93% at 100 μg/mL.

Objective: To explore the mechanism of miR-622 in regulating the proliferation, migration and invasion of cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) cells., Materials and Methods: Quantitative real-time PCR was conducted to measure the expression of miR-622 and c-Myc in CCA tissues and cell lines. Protein level of c-Myc was measured by Western blot. The effect of miR-622 on cell proliferation, migration and invasion was analyzed by MTT assay and Transwell chamber migration assay. Luciferase reporter assay was performed to measure the effect of miR-622 on c-Myc., Results: miR-622 expression was downregulated in both CCA tissues and cell lines, while c-Myc expression was uregulated. Overexpression of miR-622 in CCA cells was statistically correlated with a decrease of cell proliferation, migration and invasion, while inhibition of miR-622 made an inverse result. We also proved c-Myc was identified as a target gene of miR-622 in CCA. Moreover, we found overexpression of c-Myc can strengthen the effects of miR-622 on the proliferation, migration and invasion of CCA cells., Conclusion: Decrease of miR-622 promotes the proliferation, migration and invasion of CCA cells by directly targeting c-Myc., (Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.)

Background: Diaphanous-related formins (DRFs), actin necleator, have been known to participate in the progression of cancer cells. We previously reported that FMNL2 (Formin-like2), a member of DRFs, was a positive regulator in colorectal cancer (CRC) metastasis, yet proteins and pathways required for the function of this pro-invasive DRFs remain to be identified., Methods: The relationship between FMNL2 and COMMD10 was examined using Co-IP, GST pull-down, immunofluorescence and in vitro ubiquitination assay. The in vitro and in vivo function of COMMD10 in CRC was evaluated using CCK-8 proliferation assay, plate colony formation, cell cycle, apoptosis and animal models. The inhibition of NF-κB signalling by COMMD10 was detected using dual-luciferase reporter assay and western blotting. Co-IP, GST pull-down and nuclear protein extraction assay were performed to evaluate the effect on p65 by COMMD10. Real-time PCR and western blotting were performed to detect expressions of FMNL2, COMMD10 and p65 in paired tissues., Results: FMNL2 targets COMMD10 for ubiquitin-mediated proteasome degradation in CRC cells. COMMD10 targets p65 NF-κB (nuclear factor-κB) subunit and reduces its nuclear translocation, thereby leading to the inactivation of NF-κB pathway and suppression of CRC invasion and metastasis. Inhibition of NF-κB signalling by COMMD10 is necessary for FMNL2-mediated CRC cell behaviours. Downregulation of COMMD10 predicts poor prognosis of CRC patients. The expressions of FMNL2, COMMD10 and p65 are highly linked in CRC tissues., Conclusions: These data demonstrate that the FMNL2/COMMD10/p65 axis acts as a critical regulator in the maintenance of metastatic phenotypes and is strongly associated with negative clinical outcomes.

The prefrontal cortex (PFC) is the most frequently targeted brain region by non-invasive brain stimulation (NBS) studies. Non-invasively stimulating the PFC has been shown to both modulate affective processing and improve the clinical symptoms of several psychiatric disorders, such as depression and schizophrenia. The magnitude of the modulation depends on several factors, including the stimulation frequency, the number of stimulation sessions, and the specific sub-region of the PFC that is stimulated. Although some of the potential underlying mechanisms have been identified, the exact mechanisms that underlie these cognitive and affective changes remain unclear. The present review aims to summarize recent advances in the study of affective processing using NBS over the PFC. We will provide a theoretical framework for better understanding how affective processing changes are induced by NBS, with the goal of providing testable hypotheses for future studies.

Three component hybrid (MoS 2 -TiO 2 )/Au substrate is fabricated by loading plasmonic Au nanorods on the MoS 2 nanosheets coated TiO 2 nanorod arrays. It is used for photoelectrochemical (PEC) cell and photocatalyst for hydrogen generation. Owing to the charge transfer between the MoS 2 -TiO 2 hetero-structure, the PEC current density and hydrogen generation of TiO 2 nanoarrays are enhanced 2.8 and 2.6 times. The broadband photochemical properties are further enhanced after Au nanorods loading. The plasmon resonance of Au nanorods provides more effective light-harvesting, induces hot-electron injection, and accelerates photo-excited charges separation. The results have suggested a route to construct nanohybrid by combining one-dimensional arrays and two-dimensional nanosheets, meanwhile have successfully utilized plasmonic nanorods as a sensitizer to improve the photochemical properties of the semiconductor nanocomposite.

Directional migration is a cost-effective movement allowing invasion and metastatic spread of cancer cells. Although migration related to cytoskeletal assembly and microenvironmental chemotaxis has been elucidated, little is known about interaction between extracellular and intracellular molecules for controlling the migrational directionality. A polarized expression of prohibitin (PHB) in the front ends of CRC cells favors metastasis and is correlated with poor prognosis for 545 CRC patients. A high level of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in the interstitial tissue of CRC patients is associated with metastasis. VEGF bound to its receptor, neuropilin-1, can stimulate the activation of cell division cycle 42, which recruits intra-mitochondrial PHB to the front end of a CRC cell. This intracellular relocation of PHB results in the polymerization and reorganization of filament actin extending to the front end of the cell. As a result, the migration directionality of CRC cells is targeted towards VEGF. Together, these findings identify PHB as a key modulator of directional migration of CRC cells and a target for metastasis., Competing Interests: CONFLICTS OF INTEREST No potential conflicts of interest are disclosed.

We report a plasmon-assisted growth of metal and semiconductor onto the tips of Ag nanotriangles (AgNTs) under light irradiation. The site-selective growth of Ag onto AgNTs are firstly demonstrated on the copper grids and amine-coated glass slides. As the irradiation time increases, microscopic images indicate that AgNTs gradually touch with each other and finally "weld" tip-to-tip together into the branched chains. Meanwhile, the redshift of plasmon band is observed in the extinction spectra, which agrees well the growth at the tips of AgNTs and the decrease of the gaps between the adjacent nanotriangles. We also synthesize AgNT-Cu 2 O nanocomposites by using a photochemical method and find that the Cu 2 O nanoparticles preferably grow on the tips of AgNTs. The site-selective growth of Ag and Cu 2 O is interpreted by the local field concentration at the tips of AgNTs induced by surface plasmon resonance under light excitation.

Background: Intrathecal analgesia is more effective than conservative delivery methods such as drugs administered orally or intravenously. Programmable devices such as Medtronic's SynchroMed systems have often been applied for long-term intrathecal analgesia. However, the totally implanted systems are very expensive in China. Considering cost-effectiveness, a reliable transmission protocol for a ZigBee-Based wireless analgesia pump system was used for long-term intrathecal analgesia in the home care of patients., Methods: We retrospectively investigated the efficacy, side effects, and complications of long-term intrathecal analgesia in the home care of patients via the wireless analgesia pump system. Follow-up visits occurred monthly for the initial 3 months after implantation and then every 3 months until patient death, withdrawal from the study, or removal of the device by a designated staff. At each follow-up visit, daily average pain score, pain frequency, satisfaction level, Spitzer Quality of Life Index, and side effects for every patient were recorded., Results: Pain intensity and frequency were significantly decreased by intrathecal analgesia via a wireless analgesia pump system. There were no significant differences in the satisfaction levels between hospitalization and each follow-up visit. The Spitzer Quality of Life Indexes were improved compared with patients who were hospitalized. No serious side effects were observed in this study., Conclusion: Intrathecal analgesia is an effective and safe method for control of refractory cancer pain, and wireless analgesia pump systems can be safely and effectively used for long-term intrathecal analgesia management in the home care of patients with advanced cancer.

Background: Osthole, a natural coumarin and bioactive compound isolated from the fruit of Cnidium monnieri (L.) Cusson, was reported to prevent isoprenaline-induced myocardial fibrosis in mice by inhibiting the transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) expression, but the underlying mechanism is still unclear. The aim of this study is to illuminate whether the mechanism of osthole inhibiting collagen I and III expressions is associated with Smad signaling pathway in mouse cardiac fibroblasts (CFs) treated with TGF-β1., Methods: The mouse CFs stimulated with TGF-β1 were cultured and treated with osthole 1.25-5μg/ml for 24h. The expressions of α-SMA, collagen I, collagen III, TGF-β receptor I (TβRI), Smad2/3, phospho-Smad2/3 (P-Smad2/3), Smad4 and Smad7 were detected by real-time PCR method and western blot method, respectively., Results: After treatment with TGF-β1 and osthole in CFs, the levels of α-SMA expression and collagen I and III were reduced by osthole treatment. Accordingly, the ratio of collagen I/III had a similar changing trend. Besides, the levels of TβRI, Smad2/3, P-Smad2/3 and Smad4 expressions were decreased, while the level of Smad7 expression was increased after treatment with osthole., Conclusion: The present results demonstrated that osthole could inhibit the collagen I and III expressions and their ratio in CFs treated with TGF-β1 via Smad signaling pathway, which might be one of its anti-fibrotic action mechanisms., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: The development of lactic acidemia (LA) in septic shock (SS) is associated with an ominous prognosis. We previously showed that the mechanism of LA in SS may relate to impaired hepatic uptake of lactate, but the mechanism was not clear. Uptake of lactate by the liver occurs by a membrane-associated, pH-dependent, antiport system known as the monocarboxylate transporter. In the hepatocyte, lactate can then be metabolized by oxidative phosphorylation or converted to glucose in the cytosol. In the present study, we examined (1) whether hepatic mitochondrial dysfunction accounted for decreased uptake of lactate in a canine model of Pseudomonas aeruginosa SS, (2) whether norepinephrine (NE) treatment by increasing mean arterial pressure (MAP) could improve mitochondrial dysfunction and LA in this model, and (3) whether gentisic acid sodium salt (GSS), a novel phenolic compound, was superior to NE in these effects., Methods: In anesthetized/ventilated dogs, we infused the bacteria over ~10 h and measured hemodynamics in various treatment groups (see below). We then euthanized the animal and isolated the hepatic mitochondria. We measured hepatic mitochondrial oxygen consumption rates using the novel Seahorse XF24 analyzer under conditions that included: basal respiration, after the addition of adenosine- diphosphate to produce coupled respiration, and after the addition of a protonophore to produce maximal respiration., Results: We found that in the septic control group, mean arterial pressure decreased over the course of the study, and that mitochondrial dysfunction developed in which there was a reduction in maximal respiration. Whereas both NE and GSS treatments reversed the reduction in mean arterial pressure and increased maximal respiration to similar extents in respective groups, only in the GSS group was there a reduction in LA., Conclusions: Hepatic mitochondrial dysfunction occurs in SS, but does not appear to be required for the development of LA in SS, since NE improved mitochondrial dysfunction without reversing LA. GSS, a phenolic compound restored mean arterial pressure, mitochondrial dysfunction, and LA in SS. This reduction in LA may be independent of its effect on improving hepatic mitochondrial function.

Rice bacterial blight (BB), caused by Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo), is one of the devastating diseases of rice. It is well established that the wild rice Oryza meyeriana is immune to BB. In this study, the transcriptomic analysis was carried out by RNA sequencing of O. meyeriana leaves, inoculated with Xoo to understand the transcriptional responses and interaction between the host and pathogen. Totally, 57,313 unitranscripts were de novo assembled from 58.7 Gb clean reads and 14,143 unitranscripts were identified after Xoo inoculation. The significant metabolic pathways related to the disease resistance enriched by KEGG, were revealed to plant-pathogen interaction, phytohormone signaling, ubiquitin mediated proteolysis, and phenylpropanoid biosynthesis. Further, many disease resistance genes were also identified to be differentially expressed in response to Xoo infection. Conclusively, the present study indicated that the induced innate immunity comprise the basal defence frontier of O. meyeriana against Xoo infection. And then, the resistance genes are activated. Simultaneously, the other signaling transduction pathways like phytohormones and ubiquitin mediated proteolysis may contribute to the disease defence through modulation of the disease-related genes or pathways. This could be an useful information for further investigating the molecular mechanism associated with disease resistance in O. meyeriana.

Plasmon-mediated energy transfer is highly desirable in photo-electronic nanodevices, but the direct injection efficiency of "hot electrons" in plasmonic photo-detectors and plasmon-sensitized solar cells (plasmon-SSCs) is poor. On another front, Fano resonance induced by strong plasmon-exciton coupling provides an efficient channel of coherent energy transfer from metallic plasmons to molecular excitons, and organic dye molecules have a much better injection efficiency in exciton-SSCs than "hot electrons". Here, we investigate enhanced light-harvesting of chlorophyll-a molecules strongly coupled to Au nanostructured films via Fano resonance. The enhanced local field and plasmon resonance energy transfer are experimentally revealed by monitoring the ultrafast dynamical processes of the plexcitons and the photocurrent flows of the assembled plexciton-SSCs. By tuning the Fano factor and anti-resonance wavelengths, we find that the local field is largely enhanced and the efficiency of plexciton-SSCs consisting of ultrathin TiO2 films is significantly improved. Most strikingly, the output power of the plexciton-SSCs is much larger than the sum of those of the individual plasmon- and exciton-SSCs. Our observations provide a practical approach to monitor energy and electron transfer in plasmon-exciton hybrids at a strong coupling regime and also offer a new strategy to design photovoltaic nanodevices.

Purpose: The management of intraparotid facial nerve schwannoma (IFNS) is challenging because it is extremely rare and often misdiagnosed as pleomorphic adenoma or another parotid tumor. The purpose of this study was to report on the authors' experience in the treatment of IFNS and to review the literature regarding the diagnosis and management of IFNS., Materials and Methods: From January 1997 through October 2015, 916 consecutive parotidectomies were performed at Shenzhen People's Hospital (Shenzhen, China). Of 916 parotid tumors samples, 9 cases of IFNS confirmed by histopathology were identified and analyzed retrospectively. In addition, 161 published cases from 1956 through 2015 were systematically reviewed., Results: Nine cases of IFNS were identified from 916 parotid tumors samples and accounted for 0.98% of all parotid tumors. All these patients with IFNS underwent tumor removal and parotidectomy with preservation of facial nerve (FN) continuity. The mean follow-up period was 6.2 years (range, 1 to 16 yr). Facial function improved gradually from House-Brackmann grade (HBG) II to III immediately postoperatively to HBG I during the subsequent 3 to 9 months in all cases. Tumor recurrence with stylomastoid foramen involvement was observed in 1 case 3 years after surgery. The others remained free of recurrence. Of 161 IFNS cases reported in the literature, 17 cases with facial paresis were found to have intra-temporal involvement, but no facial paresis was found in patients with intraparotid involvement only., Conclusions: An IFNS is easily misdiagnosed as pleomorphic adenoma or Warthin tumor preoperatively; the correct diagnosis for IFNS depends mainly on intraoperative observation of the gross relation between the tumor and the FN or excision frozen biopsy examination. The integrity of the FN should be preserved for patients with IFNS and without facial paresis, whenever possible., (Copyright © 2016 American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

We present a method for realtime reconstruction of an animating human body,which produces a sequence of deforming meshes representing a given performance captured by a single commodity depth camera. We achieve realtime single-view mesh completion by enhancing the parameterized SCAPE model.Our method, which we call Realtime SCAPE, performs full-body reconstruction without the use of markers.In Realtime SCAPE, estimations of body shape parameters and pose parameters, needed for reconstruction, are decoupled. Intrinsic body shape is first precomputed for a given subject, by determining shape parameters with the aid of a body shape database. Subsequently, per-frame pose parameter estimation is performed by means of linear blending skinning (LBS); the problem is decomposed into separately finding skinning weights and transformations. The skinning weights are also determined offline from the body shape database,reducing online reconstruction to simply finding the transformations in LBS. Doing so is formulated as a linear variational problem;carefully designed constraints are used to impose temporal coherence and alleviate artifacts. Experiments demonstrate that our method can produce full-body mesh sequences with high fidelity.

This paper describes a facile method for the synthesis of Au/AuAg/Ag2S/PbS core-multishell nanorods with double trapping layers. The synthesis, in sequence, involved deposition of Ag shells onto the surfaces of Au nanorod seeds, formation of AuAg shells by a galvanic replacement reaction, and overgrowth of the Ag2S shells and PbS shells. The resulting core-multishell nanorod possesses an air gap between the Au core and the AuAg shell. Together with the Ag2S shell, the air gap can efficiently trap light, causing strong field confinement and nonlinear enhancement. The as-prepared Au/AuAg/Ag2S/PbS core-multishell nanorods display distinct localized surface plasmon resonance and nonlinear optical properties, demonstrating an effective pathway for maneuvering the optical properties of nanocavities.

Background: The purpose of this survey was to confirm the prevalence and adverse profiles of fatty liver disease among different ethnic public servants in Urumqi of Xinjiang., Methods: The cross-sectional study were implemented among serving and retired public servants who participated in the annual physical check-up including abdominal ultrasonography from April 2012 to April 2013 at the health promotion center of the First Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University in Urumqi. The information including questionnaires, anthropometric indexes and biochemical profiles were collected to analyze., Results: There were 46612 individuals ranging from 20 to 93 years of age included in the analysis. There were 39120 of Han, 4148 of Uygur, 877 of Kazakh, 2098 of Hui, and 369 of other ethnic groups. The prevalence of FLD in total, Han, Hui, Uygur, Kazakh and other ethnic group were 32.0%, 31.2%, 31.5%, 39.3%, 36.4% and 32.8%. Uygur was significantly higher than the other ethnic groups both male and female (P < 0.01) and male was higher than female regardless of ethnicity (P < 0.01). FLD co-exiting with DM, hypertension, obesity, overweight and dysliplidemia (especially for hypertriglyceridemia) were common and distribution of these diseases were significantly different among various ethnicity (P < 0.01). Multiple logistic regression analysis indicated that there were different in adverse factors including age, gender, DM, obesity, dyslipidemia and hypertension of FLD among ethnicity and obesity having higher OR value in each ethnic group can be as predictive index of FLD., Conclusions: The high prevalence of FLD is present among public servants in Urumqi of Xinjiang, China. The prevalence of FLD is significantly different in different ethnic groups and genders. Distributions of adverse factors are disparate in different ethnicity. Comprehensive strategies for the prevention and treatment of FLD should be explored basing on the ethnic differences.

Introduction: Chronic rejection (CR) is the leading cause of late renal transplant failure and is characterized by a relatively slow but progressive loss of renal function in combination with proteinuria and hypertension >3 months after transplantation. To identify and quantify the protein profiles in renal tissues of CR patients, we used isotope tagging for relative and absolute quantification (iTRAQ)-based proteomic technology to perform global protein expression analyses in CR patients and control subjects., Materials and Methods: After protein extraction, quantitation, and digestion, samples were labeled with iTRAQ reagents and then separated by strong cation exchange and high-performance liquid chromatography. The fractions were further analyzed by tandem mass spectrometry. ProteinPilot version 4.0 software and the Swiss-Prot human database were applied for statistical analysis and database searching, respectively. Differentially expressed proteins were subjected to bioinformatic analysis by using the Gene Ontology database and the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes database to further characterize their potential functional roles and related pathways in CR., Results: In total, 1857 distinct proteins (confidence >95%, ρ < .05) were identified and quantified. Using a strict cutoff value of 1.5-fold for expressed variation, 87 proteins showed significant differences in expression between the CR and control groups; 53 were up-regulated and 34 were down-regulated. The differentially expressed proteins were mainly involved in protein binding, structural molecule activity, and extracellular matrix structural constituent. Several proteins, such as the alpha-1 chain of collagen type IV and integrin alpha-1, may play roles in the pathogenesis of CR and were implicated in the extracellular matrix-receptor interaction pathway., Conclusions: This study is the first to focus on iTRAQ-based quantitative proteomic characterization of renal tissue in CR. These insights may broaden our understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying CR and provide potential biomarker candidates for future diagnostics., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Seeking plasmonic nanostructures with large field confinement and enhancement is significant for photonic and electronic nanodevices with high sensitivity, reproducibility, and tunability. Here, we report the synthesis of plasmonic arrays composed of two-segment dimer nanorods and coaxial cable nanorods with ∼1 nm gap insulated by a self-assembled Raman molecule monolayer. The gap-induced plasmon coupling generates an intense field in the gap region of the dimer junction and the cable interlayer. As a result, the longitudinal plasmon resonance of nanorod arrays with high tunability is obviously enhanced. Most interestingly, the field enhancement of dimer nanorod arrays can be tuned by the length ratio L1/L2 of the two segments, and the maximal enhancement appears at L1/L2 = 1. In that case, the two-photon luminescence (TPL) of dimer nanorod arrays and the Raman intensity in the dimer junction is enhanced by 27 and 30 times, respectively, under resonant excitation. In the same way, the Raman intensity in the gap region is enhanced 16 times for the coaxial cable nanorod arrays. The plasmonic nanorod arrays synthesized by the facile method, having tunable plasmon properties and large field enhancement, indicate an attractive pathway to the photonic nanodevices.

One new phenanthrene, aphyllone A (1) and four new bibenzyl derivatives, aphyllone B (2) and aphyllals C-D (3-5), together with nine known compounds (6-14), were isolated from the stems of Dendrobium aphyllum (Roxb.) C. E. Fischer. The structures of these new compounds were elucidated by means of extensive spectroscopic analyses, and the absolute configuration of compound 1 was determined by single crystal X-ray diffraction and quantum calculations. Compounds 6, 8 and 14 inhibited NO production at the concentration of 25 μM in LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 cells with the inhibition (%) of 32.48, 35.68, and 38.50. Compound 2 possessed significant DPPH radical scavenging activity with scavenging percentage of 87.97% at the concentration of 100 μg/mL., (Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Purpose: To describe the differential diagnosis between solitary cystic metastatic carcinoma from branchial cleft cyst and provide references for clinicians to treat cystic metastases from primary sites of the head and neck region., Materials and Methods: Two cases of cystic metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) are presented and a review of the relevant English literature on cystic metastasis from head and neck cancer was performed., Results: Two adult patients with a lateral cystic neck mass were initially clinically diagnosed as branchial cleft cysts. Based on the postoperative histopathologic examination and nasopharyngeal blind biopsy, they were finally diagnosed as cystic metastases from occult nasopharyngeal carcinoma. After a review of the literature, diagnostic strategies, histopathologic features, and therapeutic options for cervical cystic metastases were discussed., Conclusion: Cervical cystic metastasis of NPC in adults may mimic branchial cleft cyst in clinical, radiological, and even histological features. Surgeons should bear in mind that when lateral neck cysts with characteristics of suspected malignancy are confronted, nasopharynx examination, including blind or random biopsy, is highly recommended before surgery. Metastatic disease should always be considered as a potential differential diagnosis in adult patients with a cystic neck lesion. Correct diagnosis is important so that appropriate surgical and radiotherapeutic treatment can be delivered., (Copyright © 2014 American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Using nanomaterials to develop multimodal systems has generated cutting-edge biomedical functions. Herein, we develop a simple chemical-vapor-deposition method to fabricate graphene-isolated-Au-nanocrystal (GIAN) nanostructures. A thin layer of graphene is precisely deposited on the surfaces of gold nanocrystals to enable unique capabilities. First, as surface-enhanced-Raman-scattering substrates, GIANs quench background fluorescence and reduce photocarbonization or photobleaching of analytes. Second, GIANs can be used for multimodal cell imaging by both Raman scattering and near-infrared (NIR) two-photon luminescence. Third, GIANs provide a platform for loading anticancer drugs such as doxorubicin (DOX) for therapy. Finally, their NIR absorption properties give GIANs photothermal therapeutic capability in combination with chemotherapy. Controlled release of DOX molecules from GIANs is achieved through NIR heating, significantly reducing the possibility of side effects in chemotherapy. The GIANs have high surface areas and stable thin shells, as well as unique optical and photothermal properties, making them promising nanostructures for biomedical applications.

Aim: To construct a quantitative pharmacophore model of tubulin inhibitors and to discovery new leads with potent antitumor activities., Methods: Ligand-based pharmacophore modeling was used to identify the chemical features responsible for inhibiting tubulin polymerization. A set of 26 training compounds was used to generate hypothetical pharmacophores using the HypoGen algorithm. The structures were further validated using the test set, Fischer randomization method, leave-one-out method and a decoy set, and the best model was chosen to screen the Specs database. Hit compounds were subjected to molecular docking study using a Molecular Operating Environment (MOE) software and to biological evaluation in vitro., Results: Hypo1 was demonstrated to be the best pharmacophore model that exhibited the highest correlation coefficient (0.9582), largest cost difference (70.905) and lowest RMSD value (0.6977). Hypo1 consisted of one hydrogen-bond acceptor, a hydrogen-bond donor, a hydrophobic feature, a ring aromatic feature and three excluded volumes. Hypo1 was validated with four different methods and had a goodness-of-hit score of 0.81. When Hypo1 was used in virtual screening of the Specs database, 952 drug-like compounds were revealed. After docking into the colchicine-binding site of tubulin, 5 drug-like compounds with the required interaction with the critical amino acid residues and the binding free energies < -4 kcal/mol were selected as representative leads. Compounds 1 and 3 exhibited inhibitory activity against MCF-7 human breast cancer cells in vitro., Conclusion: Hypo1 is a quantitative pharmacophore model for tubulin inhibitors, which not only provides a better understanding of their interaction with tubulin, but also assists in discovering new potential leads with antitumor activities.

Colloidal semiconductor quantum dots have three-dimensional confined excitons with large optical oscillator strength and gain. The surface plasmons of metallic nanostructures offer an efficient tool to enhance exciton-exciton coupling and excitation energy transfer at appropriate geometric arrangement. Here, we report plasmon-mediated cooperative emissions of approximately one monolayer of ensemble CdSe/ZnS quantum dots coupled with silver nanorod complex cavities at room temperature. Power-dependent spectral shifting, narrowing, modulation, and amplification are demonstrated by adjusting longitudinal surface plasmon resonance of silver nanorods, reflectivity and phase shift of silver nanostructured film, and mode spacing of the complex cavity. The underlying physical mechanism of the nonlinear excitation energy transfer and nonlinear emissions are further investigated and discussed by using time-resolved photoluminescence and finite-difference time-domain numerical simulations. Our results suggest effective strategies to design active plasmonic complex cavities for cooperative emission nanodevices based on semiconductor quantum dots.

In septic shock (SS), dysfunction of many organ systems develops during the course of the illness, although the mechanisms are not clear. In earlier studies, we reported that lysozyme-c (Lzm-S), a protein that is released from leukocytes and macrophages, was a mediator of the myocardial depression and vasodilation that develop in a canine model of Pseudomonas aeruginosa SS. Whereas both of these effects of Lzm-S are dependent on its ability to intrinsically generate hydrogen peroxide, we subsequently showed that Lzm-S can also deposit within the vascular smooth muscle layer of the systemic arteries in this model. In the present study, we extend our previous findings. We used a canine carotid artery organ bath preparation to study the time course and dose dependence of Lzm-S deposition within the vascular smooth muscle layer. We used a human aortic vascular smooth muscle cell preparation to determine whether Lzm-S can persistently inhibit contraction in this preparation. We also used a canine P. aeruginosa model to determine whether Lzm-S deposition might occur in other organs such as the kidney, liver, and small intestine. The results showed that, in the carotid artery organ bath preparation, Lzm-S deposition occurred within minutes of instillation and there was a dose-response effect. In the human aortic vascular smooth muscle cell preparation, Lzm-S inhibited contraction during a 4-day period. In the in vivo model, Lzm-S accumulated in the kidney and the superior mesenteric artery. In a canine renal epithelial preparation, we further showed that Lzm-S can be taken up by the renal tubules to activate inflammatory pathways. We conclude that Lzm-S can deposit in the systemic vasculature and kidneys in SS, where this deposition could lead to acute organ dysfunction.

Abstract: Four land use types of cropland, abandoned cropland, 10-year-old and 43-year-old Robinia psedudoacia plantations in the Grain-for-Green Program in hilly area of North China were studied to investigate the effects of returning cropland to forestland on soil quality by using integrated soil quality index. The results showed that the nutrients of topsoil increased significantly with increasing tree age, and soil properties in 0-5 cm soil layer improved. Compared with the cropland, soil physical and chemical properties of the two R. psedudoacia plantations improved, and the soil microbial biomass C and N increased significantly. The integrated soil quality index decreased in order of 43-year-old R. psedudoacia plantation (0.542) > 10-year-old R. psedudoacia plantation (0. 536)> the abandoned cropland (0.499) > the cropland (0.498), suggesting the soil quality was improved during the conversion from cropland to forestland.

Feature matching is a challenging problem at the heart of numerous computer graphics and computer vision applications. We present the SuperMatching algorithm for finding correspondences between two sets of features. It does so by considering triples or higher order tuples of points, going beyond the pointwise and pairwise approaches typically used. SuperMatching is formulated using a supersymmetric tensor representing an affinity metric that takes into account feature similarity and geometric constraints between features: Feature matching is cast as a higher order graph matching problem. SuperMatching takes advantage of supersymmetry to devise an efficient sampling strategy to estimate the affinity tensor, as well as to store the estimated tensor compactly. Matching is performed by an efficient higher order power iteration approach that takes advantage of this compact representation. Experiments on both synthetic and real data show that SuperMatching provides more accurate feature matching than other state-of-the-art approaches for a wide range of 2D and 3D features, with competitive computational cost.