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The mechanism of imine hydrogenation catalyzed by thiolate complexes of Rh(III) bearing a hydrotris(3,5-dimethylpyrazolyl)borato ligand has been investigated via the density functional theory calculations. The overall catalytic cycle for heterolytic cleavage of H2 and hydrogenation of N-benzylidenemethylamine by the model catalyst [TpRh(bdt)MeCN)] is presented in detail. The results show that the reaction proceeds via an ionic mechanism through three steps: formation of dihydrogen complex, protonation of imine and the hydride transfer process. Protonation of imine occurs after the formation of Rh(H)-S(H) moiety. For the whole catalytic cycle, the heterolytic splitting of dihydrogen is the step with the highest free energy barrier. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The classic role of vitamin D (VD) is to regulate metabolism of calcium, phosphorus and the bone. It is also important in the immune system, cell proliferation and differentiation. The liganding of 1,25(OH)D-VDR triggers tight association between VDR and a retinoid X receptor (RXR). VDR-RXR heterodimer is conformed to recognize vitamin D responsive elements (VDREs) in the DNA sequence of vitamin D-regulated genes. Although the hormone receptor complex acts rapidly via nongenomic mechanisms, 1,25 (OH) D-VDR functions mainly through genomic mechanisms. 1,25 (OH) D-VDR regulates gene transcription. The vitamin D ligand, the DNA sequence of the VDRE, and the recruited coactivator/corepressor are all capable of influencing gene expression. VDREs regulated by 1,25 (OH) D-VDR have important function. By using RANKL gene chromatin loop model, it is suggested that DNA-looping and chromatin architecture play a main role in VD regulation of gene expression. Gene expression regulated by 1,25 (OH) D-VDR may delay chronic disorders of aging such as cancer, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases. A new knowledge about the association between VD and phosphate metabolism and aging is that 1,25 (OH) D-VDR plays an important role in this metabolic pathway through FGF23 in the bone and Klotho in the kidney. Phosphate stability regulated by VD may be the mechanism of age delaying. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vitamin D may contribute to widespread effects in human health, and vitamin D deficiency may lead to the development of osteoporosis, and to falls and fractures; meanwhile, there have been some conflicting guidelines and inconsistent practices about vitamin D in the West. Given these conditions, some specialists from Osteoporosis Committee of China Gerontological Society develop this practical application guideline for vitamin D and bone health in adult Chinese. This guideline includes "Starter Edition" and "Standard Edition" and the evidence of this guideline mainly comes from the guideline of National Osteoporosis Society in the UK (2013), the report of Institute of Medicine in the United States (2011), supported by some domestic literatures. This guideline addresses the management of vitamin D deficiency in adult patients with, or at risk of developing, bone disease. It should be noted that the management of vitamin D deficiency in childhood, in pregnancy or in patients with severe or end-stage chronic kidney disease (CKD Stages 4 5) is beyond the topic of this guideline. Based on the published "Starter Edition" in this journal, this " Standard Edition" goes further; and the contents of this guideline includes the setting up of vitamin D thresholds for adult Chinese, assessment of vitamin D status, interpretation of 250HD measurement, detailed plan of vitamin D treatment and monitoring, and prevention strategy for vitamin D deficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of novel benzo[ f]thiopyrano[3,4- b]quinolin-11(8 H)-one derivatives were synthesized via the reaction of aryl aldehyde, 2 H-thiopyran-3,5(4 H,6 H)-dione, and β-naphthylamine in glacial . This protocol features mild reaction conditions, high yields, and short reaction time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A solvent-free and efficient synthesis of 14-aryl-14 H-dibenzo[ a, j]xanthenes through the one-pot condensation of β-naphthol and aldehydes catalyzed by recyclable and reusable Iron(III) triflate was reported. Notably, the presented method features short reaction time, excellent yield, and simple experimental procedure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT SP600125 (anthrapyrazolone) is a synthetic polyaromatic chemical that inhibits c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) signaling by interfering with phosphorylation of c-Jun. To determine the pharmacological impact of SP600125 on zebrafish development, we incubated embryos in various concentrations of SP600125 from 18 h postfertilization (hpf) to 48 hpf. Embryos treated with 1.25 µ m appeared with occasional pericardium edema. Treatment with 12.5 µ m resulted in complete mortality by 120 hpf, preventing an assessment of physiological defects. Embryos treated with 5 µ m exhibited slowed overall growth, a delay in hatching and numerous morphological defects such as pericardium edema, yolk sac edema, swim bladder deflation, bent vertebrae and eye and jaw malformations. Whole-mount immunohistochemical studies using an anti-acetylated β-tubulin antibody confirmed developmental defects in the nervous system. Within the retina, fish treated with 1.25 µ m showed a mild reduction of immunoreactivity. Immunoreactivity in the retina was further reduced in fish treated with 5 µ m of SP600125. In these fish, eyes and olfactory organs were half the size compared with other groups. Multiple lenses were observed in 67% of these fish. A second experiment with a shorter exposure period of SP600125 (6 h) presented significantly fewer morphological defects. The treatment led to a delay in hatching, and increased incidences of swim bladder deflation and pericardium edema with increasing concentrations. In summary, SP600125 caused developmental abnormalities during zebrafish organogenesis starting at 1.25 µ m and the defects were exacerbated with increasing concentrations. Our study suggests that SP600125 at 1.25 µ m and beyond has devastating consequences for zebrafish development. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Theoretical calculation has been carried out for the nucleophilic displacement reaction of 1,2-dichloroethane catalyzed by haloalkane dehalogenase. The results indicate that different hydrogen bond patterns of the oxyanion hole and the halide-stabilizing residues play an important role in the dehalogenation reaction. They cause concertedly an earlier transition state (TS) with the activation barrier of 16.60 kcal/mol. The stabilization effect of Trp125 and Trp175 on chlorine atom in the TS is larger than that of the reactant complex by 15.67 kcal/mol so that, they make contribution to the stabilization of the TS. Moreover, the reaction shows the enzymatic action can be attributed to a combination of reactant-state destabilization and transition-state electrostatic stabilization. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2011 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The disproportionation of superoxide radical anions catalyzed by copper-zinc superoxide dismutase was investigated in detail using density functional theory. The structures of each stationary point and the transition states were located so that the reaction pathways were determined. The results indicate that the reactions proceed by two steps both for the oxidized process of superoxide radical anion and the reduced one. The rate for the determining step of the reaction (2) is in very good agreement with the experimental value. The solvation effect on the reaction was also discussed. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2010 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This study identified a autophagy receptor NBR1 in S. sclerotiorum and confirmed that SsNBR1 physically interact with SsATG8 both in vivo and in vitro. • This study experimentally characterized the biological roles of SsATG8 and its receptor SsNBR1 in S. sclerotiorum , and provided evidences that SsATG8- and SsNBR1-dependent autophagy is critical for the fungal development and pathogenesis. • This study revealed that SsATG8- and SsNBR1-mediate autophagy regulate proteasomal stress responses. • This study identified two docking sites, LDS and UDS of ATG8, which may responsible for binding to various autophagic adaptors and receptors, required for autophagy and pathogenesis S. sclerotiorum. Autophagy plays vital roles in the interaction between the necrotrophic fungal pathogen Sclerotinia sclerotiorum and its hosts. However, so far, only little is known about the impacts of autophagy machinery in S. sclerotiorum per se on the fungal morphogenesis and pathogenesis. Here, through functional genomic approaches, we showed that SsATG8, one of the core components of the autophagy machinery, and its interactor SsNBR1, an autophagy cargo receptor, are important for vegetative growth, sclerotial formation, oxalic acid (OA) production, compound appressoria development, and virulence of S. sclerotiorum. Complementation assays with chimeric fusion constructs revealed that both LDS [AIM (ATG8 interacting motif) / LIR (LC3-interacting region) docking site] and UDS [UIM (ubiquitin-interacting motif) docking site] sites of the SsATG8 are required for its functions in autophagy and pathogenesis. Importantly, Δ Ssatg8 and Δ Ssnbr1 mutants showed enhanced sensitivity to the exogenous treatment with the proteasome inhibitors bortezomib and carfilzomib, and Δ Ssnbr1 mutant had decreased expression of SsATG8 under the proteasomal stress conditions, suggesting that a cross-talk exists between ubiquitin–proteasome and selective autophagy pathways, which enables downstream protein degradation to proceed properly during diverse biological processes. Collectively, our data indicate that SsATG8- and SsNBR1-mediated autophagy is crucial for S. sclerotiorum development, proteasomal stress response and virulence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brittle spalling is a crucial problem for hard ceramic coatings under high-angle sand erosion, especially for traditional binary nitride coatings such as ZrN. Here, we deposited the ZrAlSiN coating by co-doping Al and Si into the ZrN coating to improve the toughness and erosion resistance. ZrN coating was also prepared on Ti6Al4V substrates by magnetic filtration cathode vacuum arc technology (FCVA) under the same process for contrast. The microstructure, mechanical properties, and sand erosion resistance of ZrN and ZrAlSiN coatings were studied. The ZrAlSiN coating contains nanocrystalline ZrAlN and amorphous Si 3 N 4. The results show that the ZrAlSiN coating exhibits the highest H, H/E, H3/E2, and W elastic /W plastic among as-deposited coatings with the value of ~30.8Gpa, ~0.12, ~0.43Gpa, and 2.19, respectively. The erosion rate of the ZrAlSiN coating is about half that of the ZrN coating. The dopping of Si element is conducive to inhibition of the grain growth. The enhanced toughness while maintaining high hardness is one of the main reasons for the better anti-sand erosion performance of ZrAlSiN coatings. The research helps promote the application of ZrN-based coatings in the field of anti-sand erosion. • The co-doping of Al and Si elements resulted in a decrease in grain size. • The ZrAlSiN coating exhibited better mechanical properties with the highest H/E, H3/E2, and Welastic/Wplastic. • The co-doping of Al and Si enhances the toughness and erosion resistance of the ZrAlSiN coating. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Microstructure of TiN/Ti multilayer films transformed from TiN/Ti x N y /Ti to TiN/Ti x N y. • Evolution of impact damage mechanisms of TiN/Ti multilayer films was explored. • Crack growth mode changed from lateral along interface to vertical across multilayers. The evolution of cyclic impact damage mechanisms of TiN/Ti multilayer films were investigated in terms of microstructural transformation as the modulation period decreased sharp from micron-scale (1000 nm) to nano-scale (60 nm). It was found that the ductile Ti phases reduced with decreasing modulation period, and the microstructures of films transformed from TiN/Ti x N y /Ti to TiN/Ti x N y (x > y). The cyclic impact results showed that both impact resistance and damage mechanisms of TiN/Ti multilayer films were strongly associated with modulation period. In the cyclic nano-impact conditions, the smaller modulation period of TiN/Ti film, the lower critical fracture load and higher fracture probability, thus worse impact resistance. Furthermore, the evolution of cyclic impact damage mechanisms of TiN/Ti multilayer films were revealed that in T1000 film, only few cracks were observed and the Ti interlayers could prevent cracks from extending deeper into film, resulting in slight fracture with small chippings. While there were many more cracks in T60 film and these cracks could easily across multilayers, leading to severe brittle spalling with multiple layers. It was demonstrated that with the microstructural transformation from TiN/ Ti x N y /Ti to TiN/ Ti x N y , a higher cracking probability was found in TiN/Ti films, and the crack propagation mode changed from horizontal along interface to vertical across multilayers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• 1.36 wt% Au/α-Fe 2 O 3 nanosheets exhibit excellent catalytic performance. • Acetone selectivity and yield is as high as 99 % and 95 % at 220 °C, respectively. • Acidic and redox properties affect isopropanol selective catalytic oxidation. • Acetone and other various compounds are generated from different reactions. • Selective catalytic oxidation provides an alternative method for VOCs control. We prepare α-Fe 2 O 3 nanosheet supported 0.38, 0.81, and 1.36 wt% Au (average particle size = 4.0 nm) nanocatalysts, and investigate their performance and mechanism for the selective catalytic oxidation of isopropanol to acetone. In the presence of 1.2 vol% isopropanol and 40 vol% O 2 , 1.36 wt% Au/α-Fe 2 O 3 exhibits excellent catalytic performance, due to its moderate acidic sites and better redox properties, with acetone selectivity and yield being as high as 99% and 95% at 220 oC, respectively. In addition to acetone, little propylene, acetic acid, acetaldehyde, methyl vinyl ketone, 2-butanone, isopropyl ether, isopropyl acetate, 3-penten-2-one, isopropyl acrylate, isopropyl propionate, and 2, 4-dimethylfuran are detected. The possible reaction mechanism is proposed for the selective catalytic oxidation of isopropanol to acetone over the present catalysts. We believe the present selective catalytic oxidation method, rather than the traditional complete catalytic oxidation method, provides an alternative and economic method for VOCs emissions control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To improve the wide-temperature applicability of amorphous carbon-based films, a novel a-C/(WC/a-C) film compositing of a-C nano-layers and super-latticed WC/a-C nano-multilayers was proposed and successfully fabricated on M50NiL substrate by an unbalanced magnetron sputtering system. For comparison, a monolayer a-C film and a super-latticed WC/a-C film were also prepared on the same substrates. The microstructures, mechanical properties and thermal stability of the as-deposited films were investigated. Particularly, the tribological behaviors of films against M50 counterpart were evaluated at the temperatures ranging from 25 °C to 350 °C. The results showed that because of the excellent thermal stability of super-latticed WC/a-C sublayers, the a-C/(WC/a-C) film has effectively overcome the poor tribological performance of a-C film at high temperatures (≥200 °C). While benefiting from the good toughness of a-C sublayers, the a-C/(WC/a-C) film showed significant better wear resistance than the WC/a-C film at the temperatures of 25–200 °C. The best wide-temperature applicability of the novel a-C/(WC/a-C) film should be attributed to the favorable mechanical properties, together with the formations of carbon-rich transfer film at 25–150 °C and WO 3 -rich transfer film at 200–350 °C. • A novel a-C/(WC/a-C) film compositing of a-C nano-layers and super-latticed WC/a-C nano-multilayers was proposed. • The a-C/(WC/a-C) film combined the excellent thermal stability of WC/a-C film and the good toughness of a-C film. • The tribological behaviors of a-C, WC/a-C and a-C/(WC/a-C) films against M50 counterparts were investigated at 25–350 °C. • Compared with a-C and WC/a-C films, the a-C/(WC/a-C) film exhibited the best wide-temperature applicability at 25–350 °C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mechanism of aromatic sulfur compounds oxidized on Ti-MWW zeolite with H 2 O 2 was studied by density functional theory. The results show that the adsorption capacity of solvents on Ti-η2-OOH decreases in the order of CH 3 COCH 3 > CH 3 OH > CH 3 CN > H 2 O. The energy barriers of thiophene on different active centers are in the order of Ti-η2-OOH-CH 3 CN < Ti-η2-OOH-CH 3 COCH 3 < Ti-η2-OOH-CH 3 OH < Ti-η2-OOH-H 2 O < Ti-η2-OOH < Ti-η1-OOH, showing a linear correlation with the Hirshfeld charge of O α. The interaction energy calculations indicate that the polar solvent not only participates in the reaction but also plays a critical role in timely removing products. Moreover, the oxidative activation energies of four aromatic sulfur compounds follow the order: thiophene > benzothiophene > dibenzothiophene >4, 6-dimethyldibenzothiophene, confirming that Ti-MWW could provide sufficient space for the aromatic sulfur compounds with relatively large molecular size and has an excellent oxidation desulfurization performance. Our results address the controversy over the oxidation desulfurization reactivity of aromatic sulfur compounds by Ti-MWW in experimental studies and provide insights to further studies. Image 1 • Oxidative desulfurization mechanism of aromatic sulfur compounds over Ti-MWW was revealed. • Independent gradient model method was used to study the weak interactions in Ti-MWW. • There is a linear correlation between energy barrier and Hirshfeld charge of O α. • The dual roles of solvents in oxidative desulfurization were put forward. • The controversy regarding the ODS reactivity of aromatic sulfur compounds was resolved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the purpose of optimizing the anti-impact performance of TiN film, a series of TiN films with different N/Ti ratios were investigated. The phase evolution and mechanical properties of TiN films were explored. In particular, the cyclic nano-impact tests with impact energy ranging from 0.1 μJ to 0.9 μJ were conducted to evaluate the anti-impact performance of TiN films. It was found that the non-stoichiometric phases of TiN 0.30 , Ti 2 N and TiN 0.61 reduced with increasing N/Ti ratio in TiN films. The hardness of film increased with increasing stoichiometric TiN phase in films, while as an indicator of toughness, the H3/E2 ratio decreased. The anti-impact performance of TiN films displayed a close relationship with both hardness and H3/E2 ratio, in which a high enough hardness was the prerequisite of outstanding impact resistance, and H3/E2 ratio was an important factor affecting the damage mechanism. As the H3/E2 ratio decreased, the damage mechanism of TiN film transformed gradually from plastic fatigue damage to brittle fracture failure. Especially, the TiN film featuring N/Ti ratio of 0.780 (TiN-16) was not only hard enough to resist penetration, but also tough enough to prevent the film from fracturing, thus it exhibited the best comprehensive anti-impact performance. • By adjusting the phase constituents, the variation of N/Ti ratios modified the hardness and toughness of TiN films. • Damage mechanism of TiN films transformed from plastic fatigue to brittle fracture with decreasing H3/E2 ratio. • TiN-16 film featuring a high hardness and an optimal H3/E2 ratio exhibited the best anti-impact performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A detailed study on the reaction mechanism of CH3SH with O2 was carried out using quantum chemical methods. Eleven singlet pathways and four triplet pathways were found based on CCSD(T)//M06‐2x calculations. The nature of chemical bonding evolution was also studied using electron localization function and atoms in molecules analysis. Moreover, reaction rate constants were calculated between 200 and 800 K at the level of the transition state theory by Wigner tunneling correction. The results suggest that the main products should be CH2SO, H2O, CH3OH, SO, CH4, and SO2, respectively, basically coinciding with the experimental results. The corresponding feasible pathways are channels R7, R8, and R9, respectively, with an effective energy barrier of 56.21 kJ/mol. Obviously, given the low energy barrier similar to the main paths mentioned above, the products CH2SH and HO2 should assume a definite proportion in all possible products, although such species were not yet detected in experiment. Sulfur compounds have important influences on the atmospheric environment and living organisms. The mechanism of the reaction of CH3SH with O2 is explored by density functional theory calculations both on the singlet and triplet potential energy surfaces (PESs). This study suggests that the CH3SH + O2 reaction is more favorable for the singlet PES, and the corresponding feasible product species include CH3OH, SO, CH2SO, H2O, CH4, and SO2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• TiN coatings deposited on Ti6Al4V substrate by filtered cathodic vacuum arc. • Impact erosion wear performance of TiN coatings studied using impact erosion tests. • Energy absorption rate increases rapidly before and slowly after 5000 impacts. • Alternative testing configuration of the ball impact test and erosion test. Depositing TiN coating is an effective way to improve the erosion resistance of titanium alloy. However, few studies have been carried out to analyze the damage process of TiN coated specimens. In this study, a TiN coating was prepared on the Ti6Al4V by employing a filtered cathodic vacuum arc. The erosion performance and damage evolution of TiN coating were investigated, accompanied by varying the impact cycles from 500 to 10,000. The change of peak impact force and energy absorption rate with increasing impact numbers were analyzed. A white-light interferometer was used to characterize the 3D surface topographies of the damaged surface. Scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectrometer were used to observe the state of the eroded surface. The results show that the sand is embedded in the substrate with the increase of impact numbers. With decreasing the number of impacts, the energy absorption rate of the TiN coating increased rapidly, while the peak impact force decreases rapidly. The formation of impact pits, plow grooves, micro-cutting, brittle spalling, and cracks can be regarded as the wear mechanisms of the samples under sand erosion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To expand the lubricating temperature range of a-C based film in air atmosphere, a novel Si and WC co-doping Si/WC/a-C film was proposed. The Si/WC/a-C film with different Si contents were prepared by an unbalanced magnetron sputtering system. The effects of Si on the microstructure, thermal stability and mechanical properties of WC/a-C films were explored, and its wide-temperature tribological behaviors against M50 steel were researched at temperatures ranging from 25 °C to 500 °C in air atmosphere. The Si-doping inhibited the crystallization of WC in films, leading to the microstructural transformation from nanocrystalline-amorphous to amorphous. The introduction of Si significantly improved the nanohardness, thermal stability and wide-temperature lubrication properties of WC/a-C film. Therein, the Si/WC/a-C film with 18.85 at.% Si exhibited the best tribological performance featuring the average friction coefficients less than 0.25 at 25–500 °C. Its prominent wide-temperature lubrication performance can be attributed to the successive generation and their combined effect of the self-lubricating phases of sp2-rich carbon, Si–O–C and WO 3 in different temperature ranges. Remarkably, appropriate Si-doping can effectively inhibit the oxidation of sp2-rich carbon in tribological layers, thus it is the dominant lubrication phase throughout the wide temperature range of 25–500 °C. • A novel Si/WC/a-C film with 18.85 at.% Si realizes continuous lubricating at 25–500 °C in air ambient. • Si-doping inhibits the oxidation of sp2-rich carbon in tribological layers. • Wide-temperature lubrication mechanism is the combined effects of sp2-rich carbon, Si–O–C and WO 3. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Synaptic abnormalities in synaptic proteins are the initial hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The higher level of palmitoylation of synaptic proteins was closely associated with amyloid-β (Aβ) in AD. Cattle encephalon glycoside and ignotin (CEGI) have been shown to act as multitarget neurotrophic agents in APPswe/PS1dE9 (APP/PS1) transgenic AD mice. However, it is not clear whether CEGI can influence Aβ deposition or whether it does so by the regulation of protein palmitoylation and expression of synaptic proteins in transgenic AD mice.Objective: In this study, we investigated the roles of CEGI in modulating postsynaptic density protein 95 (PSD-95) palmitoylation, Aβ pathologies, and expression of synaptic-associated proteins in APP/PS1 mice.Methods: Five-month-old APP/PS1 mice were treated intraperitoneally with 6.6 mL/kg of CEGI for 6 weeks. At the end of the treatment period, APP/PS1 mice were subjected to Morris water maze to test their cognitive functions. Acyl-biotinyl exchange (ABE) for PSD-95 palmitoylation, immunofluorescent staining for expression of PSD-95, N-methyl-D-aspartic acid receptor subunit 2B (NR2B), and synaptotagmin 1 (SYT1) were assessed in mouse brain sections.Results: CEGI treatment in APP/PS1 mice significantly reduced Aβ deposition, relieved memory deficits, and decreased PSD-95 palmitoylation while markedly increasing the expression of PSD-95, NR2B, and SYT1 in the frontal cortex. There was a significant correlation between Aβ expression and PSD-95 palmitoylation in APP/PS1 mice.Conclusion: Our findings demonstrate that CEGI improved AD-like neuropathology, possibly by inhibiting PSD-95 palmitoylation, improving learning memory, and enhancing expression of synaptic-associated proteins, representing a potential therapy for AD treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hyperuricemia, an independent risk factor for ensuing chronic kidney disease (CKD), contributed to tubulointerstitial fibrosis and insufficiency of renal fatty acid oxidation. Many studies have shown that renal fatty acid oxidation dysfunction is related to the TGF-β1/Smad3 signaling pathway. We experimented the effects of Zishen Qingre Tongluo Formula (ZQTF) on the adenine/yeast-induced HN rats and uric acid-induced renal mouse tubular epithelial cells (mTECs), determined whether this effect was related to the TGF-β1/Smad3 signaling pathway, and further investigated the relationship between this effect and renal fatty acid oxidation. Rats were given intraperitoneally with adenine (100 mg/kg) and feed chow with 10% yeast for 18 days and then received ZQTF (12.04 g/kg/day) via intragastric gavage for eight weeks. The TGF-β1/Smad3 signaling pathway and renal fatty acid oxidation protein were detected by using western blotting, real-time PCR, and immunohistochemistry staining. mTECs induced by UA were used to investigate the relationship between the TGF-β1/Smad3 signaling pathway and renal fatty acid oxidation. After treatment with ZQTF, levels of UA, 24 h UTP, BUN, and Scr were significantly decreased and histologic injuries were visibly ameliorated in HN rats. Western blotting, real-time PCR, and immunohistochemistry staining revealed that PGC-1α, PPARγ, and PPARα significantly increased, and fibronectin, collagen 1, and P-Smad3 significantly decreased in HN rats and UA-induced mTECs after ZQTF treatment. SIS3 (a specific inhibitor of Smad3) treatment significantly increased the expressions of PGC-1α, PPARγ, and PPARα and decreased the expressions of fibronectin, collagen 1, and P-Smad3 in UA-induced mTECs. Our study demonstrated that ZQTF exhibited renoprotective effects by promoting renal fatty acid oxidation via the regulation of the TGF-β1/Smad3 signaling pathway. Thus, the present results indicated that ZQTF was a novel antifibrotic strategy for hyperuricemic nephropathy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a common malignancy in human. CD44 is a transmembrane glycoprotein which is frequently overexpressed in cancer of various origins. The function and mechanism of CD44 in HCC remains elusive. In this study, we reported that CD44 was overexpressed in HCC to promote the proliferation and migration of HCC cells via oncogenic YAP, which is the key downstream regulator in Hippo pathway. These findings suggest that CD44-YAP is a probable important axis in pathogenesis of HCC, providing an insight in to HCC pathogenesis as well as potential targets for the intervention of HCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]