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Aeschynanthus wangii Y.H.Tan & H.B.Ding, a new species of Gesneriaceae from Yunnan Province, China, is described and illustrated here. The new species morphologically resembles A. angustioblongus W.T. Wang and A. stenosepalus J.Anthony, but is significantly different from them by having lanceolate leaves with long caudate apex, brownish yellow corolla with five dark red lines from the middle of corolla tube to the top of the lobes, and calyx lobes slightly fused into calyx tube (2-4 mm) at the base. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lentinula edodes is the second largest edible mushroom in the world and is widely used as food and medicine. Modern research shows that lentinan ( LNT) is the main active component of L. edodes. It has anti-cancer, treatment of diabetes, intestinal protection, anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidation, anti-aging, hepatoprotective, immune-regulating effects. In this review, the biological activity, action mechanism and structure-activity relationship of LNT in recent years are reviewed. On this basis, the existing problems were discussed, and the future research and application of LNT were prospected. Finally, it is hoped that this review will promote the in-depth study of LNT and provide a reference for its development as a drug and functional food. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The imbalanced carrier mobility remains a bottleneck for performance breakthrough in even those organic solar cells (OSCs) with recorded power conversion efficiencies (PCEs). Herein, a counter electrode doping strategy is proposed to reshape the internal potential distribution, which targets to extract the low mobility carriers at far end. Device simulations reveal that the key of this strategy is to partially dope the active layer with a certain depth, therefore it strengthens the electric field for low mobility carriers near counter electrode region while avoids zeroing the electric field near collection electrode region. Taking advantage of these, PCE enhancements are obtained from 15.4% to 16.2% and from 16.9% to 18.0%, respectively, via cathode p-doping and anode n-doping. Extending its application from opaque to semitransparent devices, the PCE of dilute cell rises from 10.5% to 12.1%, with a high light utilization efficiency (LUE) of 3.5%. The findings provide practical solutions to the core device physical problem in OSCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report on a nonenzymatic electrochemical sensor for wearable glucose monitoring in interstitial fluid. The sensor exhibited acceptable selectivity and reliability for continuous glucose detection for up to 30 days. The sensor tip is coated with polyurethane, and the biocompatibility of the tip is investigated by tissue staining. A fully integrated wearable glucose monitoring system is developed with a wireless connection with a smartphone. The test results are in agreement with reference methods. So, we believe the sensor is promising for the development of a continuous glucose monitoring system and diabetes management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Volatile components in Russula rubra (Krombh.) Bres. were determined with the use of a solid-phase microextraction (SPME)/gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) method. The compounds were identified by the automatic mass spectral deconvolution and identification system (AMDIS) and Kováts retention index (RI). Under the optimized conditions of GC-MS, 52 volatile components were identified in Russula rubra, with the relative percentage accounting for 80.2% of the total ion peak. Notably, aristolone (20.4%), benzaldehyde (20.2%), geranyl acetone (11.0%), and 3-octanone (10.7%) were all at higher levels in samples. The main identified compounds were aldehydes, ketones, alcohols, ethers, and alkanes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cooking aerosol treatment was a significant part of the ventilation system in the commercial kitchen, for reducing the emission of particulate matter (PM) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in cities. This study was comprehensively reviewed the research progress, the standards and policy of major global regions and the recent development of purifying methods, which was included: (1) wet method, (2) photolysis oxidation method, (3) physical interception method, (4) electrostatic adsorption method and (5) integrated purifying practice. Based on an extensive test of purifying devices, it analyzed the performance parameters of this method, and introduced the mechanisms, the individual characters, the merits and demerits of these purifying methods. According to the data statistics of test reports, it was found that the integrated purifying devices which was based on the electrostatic adsorption method received considerable attention because it had the high and stable purifying capacity and more straightforward installation. The suggestions and prospects for future researches were finally proposed. This review might be used for inspiration in developing novel technologies for cooking aerosol treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mitochondrial DNA is a useful molecular marker for phylogenetic and evolutionary analysis. In the current study, we determined the complete mitochondrial genome of Eophona personata, the Japanese Grosbeak, and the phylogenetic relationships of E. personata and 16 other species of the family Fringillidae based on the sequences of 12 mitochondrial protein-coding genes. The mitochondrial genome of E. personata consists of 16,771 base pairs, and contains 13 protein-coding genes, 22 transfer RNA (tRNA) genes, 2 ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes, and one control region. Analysis of the base composition revealed an A+T bias, a positive AT skew and a negative GC skew. The mitochondrial gene order and arrangement in E. personata was similar to the typical avian mitochondrial gene arrangement. Phylogenetic analysis of 17 species of Fringillidae, based on Bayesian inference and Maximum Likelihood (ML) estimation, showed that the genera Coccothraustes and Hesperiphona are closely related to the genus Eophona, and further showed a sister-group relationship of E. personata and E. migratoria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of utilizing near-infrared spectroscopy to determine the water content of corn stover silage across a wide range. The water contents of 208 samples were measured, and their corresponding near-infrared spectra were simultaneously collected. The effects of different preprocessing methods, such as derivation, standard normal variety (SNV), multiplicative scatter correction (MSC), and non-preprocessing methods for the obtained near-infrared spectra on the performance of calibration models were compared. The calibration models were established by modified partial least squares (MPLS) regression. The results showed that the calibration model developed from the successive preprocessing of MSC and first-order derivation (1-D) achieved the optimal performance. The correlation coefficients of the calibration and validation subset were 0.974 and 0.949, respectively, and the standard errors of the calibration and cross validation were 4.249% and 4.256%, respectively. External validation was performed on 60 samples. The correlation coefficient between the measured and predicted values of the calibration model was 0.973 and the prediction model's relative percent deviation was 4.317. This indicated that the mathematical model of near-infrared spectroscopy predicted the water content in corn stover silage with high accuracy. The study showed that the near-infrared spectroscopy technology can be used for rapid and non-destructive testing across a wide range of water contents in the corn stover silage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chinese forest frog ovum oil is a medicinal food high in cholesterol. In the current study, we evaluated the relative efficiency of β-cyclodextrin, crosslinked β-cyclodextrin, and silica gel adsorption on cholesterol removal from Rana chensinensis ovum oil. Beta-cyclodextrin had the highest cholesterol reduction rate (60.84 ± 4.45%) among the three methods. We further evaluated the efficiency of cholesterol removal by beta-cyclodextrin in the presence of ethanol and higher (55°C) temperature. This resulted into cholesterol removal rate of as high as 76%. Interestingly, monounsaturated fatty acids increased from 4.96% to 29.12% after cholesterol removal. We conclude that beta-cyclodextrin is an excellent adsorbent for removing cholesterol from ovum oil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the continuous exposure of environmental pollutants in organisms, determination of abundance variation and spatial distribution of lipids might expand our understanding of toxicological mechanisms occurring in the kidney. Herein, an integrated method involving mass spectrometry (MS)-based lipidomics and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-MS imaging (MALDI-MSI) was developed for the study of nephrotoxicity in mice exposed to 10 and 100 μg bisphenol S (BPS)/kg body weight/day. The BPS exposure remarkable perturbed abundances of 91 potential markers that mainly involved in five metabolic pathways. We elucidated the lipids spatial heterogeneity by using morphological analysis, probabilistic latent semantic analysis, and coregistered multimodal three-dimensional (3D)-MSI. In morphological analysis, both 10 and 100 μg BPS induced significant nephrotoxicity to mice, including glomerular necrosis in renal cortex, cloudy swelling in renal medulla, and interstitial collapsing in renal pelvis. Significant differential signaling lipids such as sphingomyelin (SM) (d22:0/20:4), ceramide (Cer) (d18:2/24:1), and sphingosine (d18:0) related to inflammation were found to be up-regulated and colocalized in the renal cortex, medulla, and pelvis, respectively. Also, seven significant differential lipids, which are considered to be involved in membrane homeostasis and cellular function, were found to be colocalized in the renal cortex. The observed significant variations of morphology, lipid accumulation, and metabolism in the renal cortex implicated that lipids in the renal cortex were more sensitive to BPS exposure than those in the renal medulla and pelvis. Moreover, we reconstructed a 3D-MSI model of kidney and identified two heterogeneous-related substructures in the renal cortex and pelvis upon 100 μg BPS exposure. It might be used in novel specificity evaluation and early diagnosis for environmental pollutant-induced kidney diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The synthesis of soluble, conjugated poly(Zn-salphen)-alt-(p-phenyleneethynylene)s with a coilable structure and bearing acetylated sugar substituents is described, and their photophysical properties and conformational behavior have been investigated. Their CD spectra confirm that these systems are chiral, and signify ordered (helical) coiling of the polymer backbone arising from chirality transfer from the β-d-glucopyranosyl groups. The consequences of varying side-chain substituents as well as the extent of inter- and intrachain [p-stacking and Zn···O(salphen)] interactions have been studied, and comparisons with the corresponding linear-rod and Pt-based congeners have been made. Analysis of the effects of different solvents on these systems by UV-vis absorption, emission, and CD spectroscopy indicates that low-polarity solvents give a tighter, more compressed helical structure with increased CD intensities, while coordinating solvents can perturb the folded conformation to afford a more extended coiled structure with decreased Cotton effects. These observations, together with variable-temperature CD experiments, point to the flexibility and dynamic nature of the helical conformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of Ti addition on the microstructure and mechanical properties of Cu-15Ni-8Sn alloys was investigated. Optical microscopy (OM), scanning electronic microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were used to determine grain size and distribution of the second phases in the alloys. The results indicate that the tensile properties of Cu-15Ni-8Sn alloys are improved significantly with Ti addition. Tensile elongation increased from 2.7% for the alloy without Ti to 17.9% for the alloy with 0.3% Ti, while tensile strength was maintained and even increased from 935 MPa to 1024 MPa. The improvement of the mechanical properties of Cu-15Ni-8Sn alloys by the addition of Ti is attributed to the grain refinement and suppression of discontinuous precipitation during heat treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two new species of fungivorous Phlaeothripinae, Mystrothrips levis sp. n. and Urothrips lancangensis sp. n., are described from China. Pentagonothrips antennalis Haga & Okajima and Plectrothrips bicolor Okajima are newly recorded in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, designing high-performance structured catalysts is full of significance for economic and sustainable production of chemicals due to the catalysts easy separation and recovery and excellent heat/mass transfer characteristics. Herein, we reported the synthesis of a ternary Co-Ni-Al mixed-metal oxide (CoNiAl-MMO) film with surface intercrossed and vertically aligned nanoplatelets via an in situ growth route. CoNiAl-MMO film exhibited greatly enhanced catalytic performance in the oxidation of benzyl alcohol, compared with binary MAl-MMO films (M = Co or Ni) and pristine CoNiAl-MMO powder. The improved catalytic efficiency was attributable to a synergistic effect between highly dispersed active Co and Ni species, as well as the presence of more surface oxygen vacancies. Moreover, the film possessed extremely high structural stability stemming from the strong interaction between the CoNiAl-MMO layer and the substrate. Such type of structured non-noble-metal film catalyst may have potential industrial applications in a broad range of heterogeneous catalysis systems in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Type VI secretion system (T6SS) is a versatile protein export machinery widely distributed in Gram-negative bacteria. Known to translocate protein substrates to eukaryotic and prokaryotic target cells to cause cellular damage, the T6SS has been primarily recognized as a contact-dependent bacterial weapon for microbe-host and microbial interspecies competition. Here we report contact-independent functions of the T6SS for metal acquisition, bacteria competition, and resistance to oxidative stress. We demonstrate that the T6SS-4 in Burkholderia thailandensis is critical for survival under oxidative stress and is regulated by OxyR, a conserved oxidative stress regulator. The T6SS-4 is important for intracellular accumulation of manganese (Mn2+) under oxidative stress. Next, we identified a T6SS-4- dependent Mn2+-binding effector TseM, and its interacting partner MnoT, a Mn2+-specific TonB-dependent outer membrane transporter. Similar to the T6SS-4 genes, expression of mnoT is regulated by OxyR and is induced under oxidative stress and low Mn2+ conditions. Both TseM and MnoT are required for efficient uptake of Mn2+ across the outermembrane underMn2+-limited and -oxidative stress conditions. The TseM-MnoT-mediated active Mn2+ transport system is also involved in contact-independent bacteria-bacteria competition and bacterial virulence. This finding provides a perspective for understanding the mechanisms of metal ion uptake and the roles of T6SS in bacteria-bacteria competition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study aims to investigate the effects of (-)-Linarinic acid (LA) and one of its derivatives (LAd) on brain injury induced by ischemia. Malonaldehyde (MDA) is determined as an index for lipid peroxidation both in vitro and vivo. Mice were pre-treated with LA and LAd for 3 d. Thereafter, they were induced to have incomplete cerebral ischemia with both bilateral carotid artery occlusion and hypotension (BCAOH). In the first part of the in vivo experiment, mice were divided into four groups: sham (control), ischemia, ischemia + LA (200 mg/kg, i.g.) and ischemia + LAd (200 mg/kg, i.g.). In the second part, the dose-response of LAd was investigated at 100, 200 and 400 mg/kg i.g., respectively. A modified neurological severity score was developed for evaluating behavioral deficits of the mice with ischemia. Brains of the mice were excised in order to determinate MDA after ischemia for 6 h. Survival time, survival rate, neurological injury score and MDA level in brains were observed. Results were: 1) The data in vitro showed that both LA and LAd could inhibit the generation of MDA. IC50 values obtained by Probit analysis were 2.9 mM for LAd and 4.88 mM for LA; 2) BCAOH could significantly shorten the survival span, reduce the survival rate and cause neurological deficits, which were associated with high level of lipid hydroperoxide production in cerebral tissues; 3) LAd decreased lipid peroxidation and improved the neurological outcome more than LA. It is concluded that LAd offers a better neuroprotection than LA against brain damage caused by cerebral ischemia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To investigate the structure and function of the complex rumen microbial community in a biogas reactor by 16S rRNA gene analysis, which was fed with Pennisetum sinese Roxb as the monosubstrate. Methods: Two 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) clone libraries of bacteria and archaea were established by polymerase chain reaction. Community structure was determined by phylogenetic analyses of 119 and 100 16S rRNA gene clones from the bacterial and archaeal libraries, respectively. Results: In the bacterial library, 13.4 % of clones were affiliated with Treponema porcinum, 5.9 % with Eubacterium limosum, 5 % with Clostridium, 5 % with Bacteroidetes, 4.2 % with Firmicutes, 2.5 % with Anaerofilum and a total of 64 % clones belonged to unclassified or uncultured bacteria. In the archaeal library, Methanobacterium curvum made up 12 % of known clones, Methanosarcina barkeri represented 8 %, Methanobacterium bryantii represented 4 % and Methanofollis ethanolicus represented 2 %, respectively; the remaining 74 % of the clones were unclassified archaebacteria. Conclusion: T. porcinum and M. curvum are the most predominant bacteria and archaea in a biogas reactor fed with P. sinese as the sole substrate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new urothripine species, Baenothrips cuneatus sp. n., is described from China. This is distinguished from its congeners by the following combination of characteristics: dorsal surface of head having a wedgeshaped reticulation extending from median to the posterior margin; antennal segments VII-VIII is closely joined with a complete suture; the mesoacrotergite strongly constricted in the middle; abdominal tergite I divided into 5 plates; width of membranous gap between ovispan on abdominal sternite IX approximately 1/3 of the apical width of segment IX. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Human epidermal growth factor receptor (HER)-2 is a driver gene in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The present study evaluated the mutation rate of HER-2 within the wild-type epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) lung adenocarcinoma population in China. Methods: Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded samples from 456 patients with wild-type EGFR lung adenocarcinoma were analyzed for HER-2 mutations by amplification-refractory mutation system (ARMS), and HER-2 protein expression was evaluated by immunohistochemistry. All samples positive for HER-2 mutation underwent direct sequencing for further verification. Results: HER-2 mutation was detected in 22/456 cases (4.8 %); the rate was 6.7 % among 331 triple-negative samples (i.e., wild-type EGFR, anaplastic lymphoma kinase, and ROS proto-oncogene 1). Direct sequencing confirmed that the results were consistent with those obtained by ARMS analysis in 19 cases. The positive rate was 15.4 % by immunohistochemical analysis of HER-2 expression; this was not correlated with mutation rate. HER-2 mutation and positivity were not correlated with gender, age, smoking status, disease stage, or histological subtype. The 22 cases of HER-2 mutations occurred only in acinar (36.4 %), papillary (36.4 %), minimally invasive (13.6 %), solid (9.2 %), and invasive mucinous (4.5 %) subtypes. Disease-free and overall survival were not associated with HER-2 mutation or HER-2 protein overexpression. Conclusion: The HER-2 mutation rate was 4.8 % among EGFR wild-type lung adenocarcinoma patients in China, and 6.7 % among driver genes, triple-negative lung adenocarcinoma. The incidence of HER-2 mutation varied among different lung adenocarcinoma subtypes, occurring mainly in acinar and papillary predominant subtypes. 15.4 % of EGFR wild-type lung adenocarcinoma patients showed HER-2 protein overexpression, but this was not correlated to HER-2 mutation. Existing follow-up data did not show a correlation between HER-2 mutation with DFS or OS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A droop-free nitride light-emitting diode (LED) with the capacity to operate beyond the "green gap" has been a subject of intense scientific and engineering interest. While several properties of nanowires on silicon make them promising for use in LED development, the high aspect ratio of individual nanowires and their laterally discontinuous features limit phonon transport and device performance. Here, we report on the monolithic integration of metal heat-sink and droop-free InGaN/GaN quantum-disks-in-nanowire LEDs emitting at ∼710 nm. The reliable operation of our uncooled nanowire-LEDs (NW-LEDs) epitaxially grown on molybdenum was evident in the constant-current soft burn-in performed on a 380 μm × 380 μm LED. The square LED sustained 600 mA electrical stress over an 8 h period, providing stable light output at maturity without catastrophic failure. The absence of carrier and phonon transport barriers in NW-LEDs was further inferred from current-dependent Raman measurements (up to 700 mA), which revealed the low self-heating. The radiative recombination rates of NW-LEDs between room temperature and 40 °C was not limited by Shockley-Read-Hall recombination, Auger recombination, or carrier leakage mechanisms, thus realizing droop-free operation. The discovery of reliable, droop-free devices constitutes significant progress toward the development of nanowires for practical applications. Our monolithic approach realized a high-performance device that will revolutionize the way high power, low-junction-temperature LED lamps are manufactured for solid-state lighting and for applications in high-temperature harsh environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-quality nitride materials grown on scalable and low-cost metallic substrates are considerably attractive for high-power light-emitters. We demonstrate here, for the first time, the high-power red (705 nm) InGaN/GaN quantum-disks (Qdisks)-in-nanowire light-emitting diodes (LEDs) self-assembled directly on metal-substrates. The LEDs exhibited a low turn-on voltage of ~2 V without efficiency droop up to injection current of 500 mA (1.6 kA/cm²) at ~5 V. This is achieved through the direct growth and optimization of high-quality nanowires on titanium (Ti) coated bulk polycrystalline-molybdenum (Mo) substrates. We performed extensive studies on the growth mechanisms, obtained high-crystal-quality nanowires, and confirmed the epitaxial relationship between the cubic titanium nitride (TiN) transition layer and the hexagonal nanowires. The growth of nanowires on all-metal stack of TiN/Ti/Mo enables simultaneous implementation of n-metal contact, reflector, and heat sink, which greatly simplifies the fabrication process of high-power light-emitters. Our work ushers in a practical platform for high-power nanowires light-emitters, providing versatile solutions for multiple cross-disciplinary applications that are greatly enhanced by leveraging on the chemical stability of nitride materials, large specific surface of nanowires, chemical lift-off ready layer structures, and reusable Mo substrates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The microstructure evolution and tensile properties of the Fe-10Mn-10Al-0.7C low-density steel annealed at the temperature range from 700 °C to 1200 °C for 1 h were investigated in the present study. The phases in the annealed specimens mainly included ferrite (a), austenite (β) and κ-carbide (κ). The dissolution temperature for κ-carbide is between 850 °C and 900 °C. At the annealing temperature of 700 °C, all the β phase transformed to a phase and κ-carbide by eutectoid reaction. As the annealing temperature rose from 700 °C to 900 °C, a phase and κ-carbide fraction decreased and β phase fraction increased, and ultimate elongation increased, while ultimate strength and yield strength had a decreasing trend. The β phase fraction in the specimen dominated the ultimate elongation, and the κ-carbide strengthened the specimen and weakened ductility. As the annealing temperature rose from 900 °C to 1200 °C, the phase fraction change was small but the grain size increased greatly. The rapid growth of the grains was the main reason why ultimate tensile strength and ultimate elongation decreased with the increase of annealing temperature over 900 °C. The steel designed here possessed a density of 6.80 g/cm3, which is about 13% lower than pure iron. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study aimed to establish an effective method for the in vitro culture of guinea pig airway smooth muscle (ASM) cells, and also investigate the suppressive effect of mabuterol hydrochloride (Mab) on the increased level of intracellular Ca2+ in ASM cells induced with acetylcholine (Ach). Two different methods, i.e. with or without collagenase to pretreat tracheal tissues, were applied to the manufacture of ASM cells. Cell viability was determined with the 3-(4,5-dimethylthinazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay. Immunocytochemistry and immunofluorescence were used for the identification of ASM cells. Different concentration levels (10-3, 10-4, 10-5, 10-6 and 10-7 mmol/l) of Mab were administered 5 min before Ach (10-4 M) treatment, respectively. The Ca2+ fluorescent probe, Fura-2/AM or Fluo-3/AM were applied to the inspection of Ca2+ fluorescent intensity with Varioskan Flash, immunocytometry systems and an inverted system microscope, respectively. The results showed that the fresh method, in which isolated tracheal tissues were previously treated with collagenase for 20 min, was more advantageous for the preparation of guinea pig ASM cells compared to when the enzyme was not used. The time for the ASM cells to initially migrate out of the 'tissue blocks' and the culture having to be generated due to the thick cell density was significantly less. On identification with immunocytochemistry or immunofluorescent staining, >95% of the cells were ASM cells. Mab (10-3-10-7 mmol/l) significantly suppressed the elevation of intracellular Ca2+ induced by Ach in a concentration-dependent manner. The inhibitory rates of intracellular Ca2+ by different concentrations of Mab, from low to high, were 14.93, 24.73, 40.06, 48.54 and 57.13%, respectively, when Varioskan Flash was used for determination. In conclusion, this novel method has a shorter harvesting period for ASM cells. Mab can suppress the increasing level of intracellular Ca2+ induced by Ach in guinea pig ASM cells. Further investigation into the precise mechanisms of action is required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Sox family of transcription factors have been widely studied in the context of oligodendrocyte development. However, comparatively little is known about the role of Sox2, especially during CNS remyelination. Here we show that the expression of Sox2 occurs in oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs) in rodent models during myelination and in activated adult OPCs responding to demyelination, and is also detected in multiple sclerosis lesions. In normal adult white matter of both mice and rats, it is neither expressed by adult OPCs nor by oligodendrocytes (although it is expressed by a subpopulation of adult astrocytes). Overexpression of Sox2 in rat OPCs in vitro maintains the cells in a proliferative state and inhibits differentiation, while Sox2 knockout results in decreased OPC proliferation and survival, suggesting that Sox2 contributes to the expansion of OPCs during the recruitment phase of remyelination. Loss of function in cultured mouse OPCs also results in an impaired ability to undergo normal differentiation in response to differentiation signals, suggesting that Sox2 expression in activated OPCs also primes these cells to eventually undergo differentiation. In vivo studies on remyelination following experimental toxin-induced demyelination in mice with inducible loss of Sox2 revealed impaired remyelination, which was largely due to a profound attenuation of OPC recruitment and likely also due to impaired differentiation. Our results reveal a key role of Sox2 expression in OPCs responding to demyelination, enabling them to effectively contribute to remyelination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To investigate the effects of Ganoderma lucidum hot water extract (HWE) from spent mushroom substrate on milk and serum immunoglobulin levels and serum antioxidant capacity. Methods: Forty cows within the same parity and stage of lactation and with similar body weight were randomly divided into four groups of 10 cows each. The daily dietary dosage of HWE was 0, 33, 67, and 100 g for control and the three experimental groups EG1, EG2, and EG3, respectively. Serum antioxidant activity as well as milk and serum immunoglobulin levels were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results: After administration for 60 days, no significant differences in milk IgG, IgA, or IgM concentrations were detected among the experimental groups, but serum IgA concentration was significantly higher in EG1, EG2, and EG3 groups compared with control group (p < 0.01). Additionally, significant differences were detected in serum total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and mean serum TAC concentration among control, EG1, EG2, and EG3 groups (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The results suggest that when utilized as a feed additive, HWE may enhance immunity and antioxidant capacity in dairy cows, and subsequently improve milk quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To better understand the sugarcane bagasse (SCB) degradation process and obtain thermostable cellulase from terrestrial hot spring. Methods: Molecular community structure of the newly selected thermophilic bacterial consortium XM70 was determined using the method of the full-length 16S rRNA library-based analysis. The thermostable CMCase was purified with ion-exchange and gel filtration chromatography. Results: Sequence-based identification of species belonging to the genera, Geobacillus, Desulfotomaculum, Bacillus, Exiguobacterium, Paenibacillus and Enterobacter were identified. The maximal activities of carboxymethyl cellulase (CMCase), filter paper cellulase and β-glucosidase of the consortium XM70 were obtained after incubation at 60 ℃ and pH 6.0 (4 days), 80 ℃ and pH 7.0 (2 days) and 70 ℃ and pH 8.0 (4 days), respectively. The yield of reducing sugars in the culture broth achieved 0.11 g.g-1 dry SCB. An extracellular CMCase from consortium XM70 (XM70-CMCase) was purified 7.9-fold to apparent homogeneity with a recovery of 65.41% and its molecular mass was about 31.0 kDa. Maximum CMCase activity of the purified XM70-CMCase was 3.77 U/mg at 70 ℃ and pH 7.0. CMCase activity maintained about its maximal value of 70% after incubation at 80 ℃ for 60 min. Conclusion: Due to its high temperature stability, the purified XM70-CMCase may be useful for industrial application such as biofuel, animal feed industry, paper industry and clarification of fruit juices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cyclin H is an important cell protein that plays a crucial role in cell division. In the present study, the cDNA of cyclin H (designated as Pmcyclin H) was identified from black tiger shrimp (Penaeus monodon) by expressed sequence tag (EST) analysis, and RACE techniques. The full length cDNA of Pmcyclin H is 1280bp, including a 5'-terminal un-translated region (5'UTR) of 63 bp, a 3'UTR of 218 bp with a poly (A) tail, and an open reading frame (ORF) of 999 bp encoding a polypeptide of 332 amino acids with a predicted molecular weight of 39 kDa, predicted pI of 6.39. Both Blast, and phylogenetic analysis, confirmed that Pmcyclin H is a new member of the shrimp cyclin H family. Using real-time PCR the mRNA expression of Pmcyclin H in eight tissues was examined, and mRNA transcript of Pmcyclin H was predominantly detectable in ovarian tissue, and to a lesser degree in the tissues of intestine, testis, stomach, and heart, but almost undetectable in the tissues of liver (hepar), brain, and muscle. The temporal expression of Pmcyclin H in different developmental stages of the ovaries was investigated by real-time PCR. During the six stages of ovarian development, one peak expression of Pmcyclin H was detected in stage II. All these results indicated that Pmcyclin H might be involved in the regulation of cell cycle and ovarian development of P. monodon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Objective]This study aimed to screen broad-spectrum antibacterial substance-producing Lactobacillus strains and provide scientific reference for food preservation. [Method] Using homemade pickles as experimental materials, Lactobacillus strains were preliminarily isolated with BCP culture medium containing bromocresol purple; Lactobacillus supernatant was prepared using MRS medium containing CaCO3; subsequently, Lactobacillus strains with antibacterial activity against four indicator bacteria were obtained; after eliminating the interference of acid and hydrogen peroxide, antibacterial active strains were re-screened by thermal stability test and activity persistence test. [Result] After preliminary screening and re-screening, five Lactobacillus strains with antibacterial effects against Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, Staphyloccocus aureus and Saccharomyces cerevisiae were obtained. To be specific,LP-6 strain exhibited significant antibacterial activity after eliminating the interference of acid and hydrogen peroxide. Results of thermal stability test and activity persistence test indicates that the fermentation supernatant of LP-6 strain still had significant antibacterial activity after heating at 121 °C for 15 min and after preservation for three months. [Conclusion] LP-6strain can produce bacteriocin-like antibacterial substances with wide application value in food industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Several reports have revealed that cancer stem cells (CSCs) exist in many types of solid tumors. Some studies have demonstrated that side population (SP) cells isolated from diverse cancer lines harbor cancer stem-like properties, but there are few reports examining the characteristic of SP cells in human cervical cancer. The aim of this study is 1)to find out a feasible way to detect the tumor stem-like cells in cervical cancer, and 2)to analyze the properties of the SP cells being sorted. Methods Isolated SP and non-SP cells from human cervical cancer cell line Hela by Hoechst33342 dying method and flow cytometry analysis. Observing morphology of SP and non-SP cells. The expression of various biomarkers putatively related to cancer stem cells were investigated by immucytochemistry of SP and non-SP cells. We also analyzed cell cycle and cell apoptosis for sorted cells. The oncogenicity of the SP and non-SP cells were analyzed by tumor formation in nonobesediabeti- c/severe combined immune- deficient (NOD/SCID) mice. The drug-resistant and radiation-resistant index between SP, non-SP and Hela cells was estimated by MTS assay. Results The fraction of SP cells in Hela was approximately 1.07 ± 0.32%. SP cells were smaller and rounder in shape than non-SP cells, and mostly showed colony-like growth. Immunocytochemistry showed that stem cell makers (Oct3/4, CD133, BCRP) were highly expressed in SP cells. Moreover, the number of apoptotic cells among non-SP cells (17.6 ± 3.7%) was significantly higher compared with that among SP cells (4.4 ± 1.2%). The HE staining of in vivo grown tumors result from SP cells showed more poor differentiation, though no significant differences were shown between SP and non-SP cells in NOD/SCID mice tumorigenicity. Furthermore, SP cells demonstrated a higher degree of drug resistance against trichostatin A (TSA) compared with that of non-SP and Hela cells. SP cells were also found to be more resistant against radiotherapy. Conclusions SP cells possess some characteristics of CSCs, namely high proliferation ability, chemoresistance and radioresistance, which may be helpful to elucidate novel targets for effective clinical treatments of cervical cancer in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] The polysaccharides were extracted from Lycium barbarum L. using USWE. [•] A Box–Behnken design (BBD) was used to optimize the USWE conditions. [•] The USWE method was compared with three conventional methods. [•] The antioxidant activities against superoxides, hydroxyl radicals and DPPH were investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The influence of Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) and Exendin-4 on development of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) is evaluated in the study. In vitro tests, including acute toxicity test, cell colony formation assays, cells proliferation and apoptosis, transwell assay, were performed. An ICC in situ tumor animal model was established. Then, animals were randomly divided into four groups (n = 6): control, Exendin-4 treatment, oxaliplatin treatment and Exendin-4-oxaliplatin treatment. Animals in the Exendin-4 treatment and Exendin-4-oxaliplatin treatment groups received a subcutaneous injection of Exendin-4 (100 µg/kg/day) for 1 week, and then received oxaliplatin (10 mg/kg/week) by tail vein injection. Animals in the control group received PBS. Immunohistochemistry tests were used for PCNA, Ki67, Caspase 3 expression in tumor tissue. Results show that that, after incubation of human cholangiocarcinoma cell lines, HuCCTI and GLP-1, or HuCCTI and Exendin-4, colony formation number was sharply decreased. However, GLP-1, HuCCTI or Exendin-4 did not affect the colony of normal cells. Combination treatment with oxaliplatin and Exendin-4 can significantly inhibit tumor cells' proliferation and promote apoptosis. The combined effect is stronger than that of oxaliplatin or Exendin-4. Combination treatment with oxaliplatin and Exendin4 can significantly decrease Ki67 and PCNA proteins' expression in subcutaneous tumors of nude mice. The inhibitory effect of Combination treatment with oxaliplatin and Exendin4 is clearly stronger than that of oxaliplatin. In addition, Combination treatment with oxaliplatin and Exendin4 can significantly increase Caspase3 protein positive expression. In short, these results show that combination treatment with oxaliplatin and Exendin4 can inhibit tumor cells' proliferation, and promote apoptosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Signal peptide-CUB-EGF-like domain-containing protein 3 (SCUBE3) is highly expressed in invasive lung cancers. In vitro investigation indicated that SCUBE3 may play a critical role in lung cancer invasion and metastasis. The current study immunohistochemically investigated the expression of SCUBE3 in 119 cases of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) tumors and this study evaluated its clinical-pathological and prognostic significance. SCUBE3 was found to be up-regulated in NSCLC tissue samples compared to adjacent normal tissue. High SCUBE3 expression was noted in 84/119 (70.6%) of NSCLC tissue samples and was positively correlated with lymph node involvement (p = 0.001) and advanced stages of tumor/lymph node metastasis (TNM) (p = 0.014). Furthermore, high SCUBE3 expression was significantly associated with loss of the epithelial marker E-cadherin (p = 0.0015) and acquisition of expression of the mesenchymal marker vimentin (p = 0.005). Patients with high SCUBE3 expression had significantly a shorter survival time compared to patients with low SCUBE3 expression (p = 0.001), and SCUBE3 expression served as an independent prognostic factor for NSCLC patients. Results indicated that SCUBE3 might be involved in regulating the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and malignant progression in NSCLC. Results also indicated that SCUBE3d may be a potential therapeutic target for lung cancers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: The aim of the study was to validate the expression of protein tyrosine kinase 6 (PTK6) in nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and to evaluate its clinicopathological and prognostic significance. Methods: We first conducted a meta-analysis on the mRNA profiling data sets of NSCLC in the Oncomine database. Then, one of the most significantly upregulated tyrosine kinase targets, PTK6, was further validated by immunohistochemistry in 104 primary NSCLC tumors. Furthermore the association between PTK6 expression, the clinical parameters, and overall survival was further analyzed. Results: Using the Oncomine database, we identified a list of tyrosine kinase genes related to NSCLC, among which PTK6 was the second most overexpressed gene (median rank = 915, P = 2.9 x 105). We further confirmed that NSCLC tumors had a higher expression level of PTK6 than normal pulmonary tissues. Moreover, high PTK6 expression correlated positively with shorter overall survival time, but not with other clinicopathological characteristics. In the multivariate Cox regression model, high PTK6 expression was demonstrated to be an independent prognostic factor for NSCLC patients. Conclusion: Our results validated that PTK6 was found to be overexpressed in a proportion of NSCLC samples, and was associated with a poor prognosis, suggesting that this subgroup of NSCLC patients might benefit from PTK6 inhibitors in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Iterative regularization methods are efficient regularization tools for image restoration problems. The IDR(s) and LSMR methods are state-of-the-arts iterative methods for solving large linear systems. Recently, they have attracted considerable attention. Little is known of them as iterative regularization methods for image restoration. In this paper, we study the regularization properties of the IDR(s) and LSMR methods for image restoration problems. Comparative numerical experiments show that IDR(s) can give a satisfactory solution with much less computational cost in some situations than the classic method LSQR when the discrepancy principle is used as a stopping criterion. Compared to LSQR, LSMR usually produces amore accurate solution by using the L-curve method to choose the regularization parameter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We show that a short mercury-specific aptamer (MSA) along with gold nanoparticles (Au-NPs) can be used to determine Hg(II) ion by a combination of a QCM-based sensor and a flow system. The MSA binds specifically to Hg(II), and the Au-NPs can amplify the signal to enhance sensitivity. Specifically, the short thiolated MSAs are immobilized on the surface of the QCM as the capture probe, and the MSAs are linked to the Au-NPs as the linking probe. The two components can form a sandwich structure of the T-Hg(II)-T type in the presence of Hg(II) ions. This leads to change in the mass on the QCM and a change in the resonance frequency. Hg(II) can be determined with a detection limit of 0.24 ± 0.06 nM which is better by three orders of magnitude than previous methods. The sensor can be regenerated by disrupting the T-Hg(II)-T base pairs with a solution of cysteine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A capillary monolithic bioreactor of snake venom phosphodiesterase (SVP) was constructed to generate different single-nucleotide mass ladders of oligodeoxynucleotides for mass spectrometry (MS)-based sequencing by immobilization. The immobilization of SVP in the porous silica monolith significantly enhances its stability for prolonged and repeated applications. The constructed capillary bioreactor has the advantages of handling (sub)microliter DNA samples and having good permeability. Benefiting from its good permeability, DNA solutions can be directly injected into the sequential digestion bioreactor simply by hand pushing or a low-pressure microinjection pump. Moreover, the immobilization of SVP facilitates the elimination or repression of the metal adducts of oligodeoxynucleotides, improving the analytical performance of MS sequencing. By the application of capillary bioreactor of immobilized SVP, the sequence-specific modification of single-stranded oligodeoxynucleotide induced by a ubiquitous pollutant acrolein (Acr) was identified, demonstrating its promising applications in identification of sequence-specific damage, which may further our understanding of DNA damage caused mutagenesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Platinum nanoparticles were electrodeposited on graphene modified glassy carbon electrode to form a modified electrode, and the electrode was characterized with scanning electron microscopy (SEM). At the modified electrode, rutin, a natural flavonoid, shows a couple of well-defined redox peaks, which is corresponded to the reduction and reoxidation of rutin. The electrochemical behaviors of rutin at the electrode were investigated, and the results indicated that the electrode reaction is controlled by adsorption process. Under the optimal conditions, the peak currents of differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) increased linearly with the rutin concentration in the range from 2.0 × 10-8 to 8.0 × 10-5M with a limit of detection of 6.7 × 10-9 M. The as-prepared electrode was successfully used for the selective determination of rutin in tablet, displaying a potential application of graphene composite modified electrode. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

new composite electrode has been prepared with doping graphene into the paste consisting graphite and ionic liquid, n-octyl-pyridinum hexafluorophosphate (OPFP). This electrode shows an excellent electrochemical activity for the redox of hydroquinone (HQ), catechol (CC), and resorcinol (RS). In comparison with bare paste electrode, the redox peaks of three isomers of dihydroxybenzene can be obviously, simultaneously observed at graphene doping paste electrode. Under the optimized condition, the simultaneous determination of HQ, CC, and RS in their ternary mixture can be carried out with a differential pulse voltammetric technique. The peak currents are linear to the concentration of HQ, CC, and RS in the range form 1 × 10-5 to 4 × 10-4, 1 × 10-5 to 3 × 10-4, and 1 × 10-6 to 1.7 × 10-4 mol L-1, respectively. The limits of detection are 1.8 × 10-6 mol L-1 for HQ, 7.4 × 10-7 mol L-1 for CC, and 3.6 × 10-7 M for RS, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Development of biomaterials with long-term biocompatibility,durability,and stability remains a critical challenge for biomedical devices.Here, we synthesize, characterize, and graft poly(N-(2-hydroxyethyl)acrylamide) (polyHEAA) onto both gold surfaces andgold nanoparticles (AuNPs) via surface-initiated atom transfer radicalpolymerization (SI-ATRP) to form a stable antifouling coating to resistnonspecific protein adsorption and bacterial attachment. Surface plasmonresonance (SPR) results demonstrate that all of polyHEAA brushes coatedon the gold substrate at a wide range of film thickness of ∼10–40nm can achieve almost zero protein adsorption from undiluted bloodplasma and serum for 1 h, while static bacteria assay results showthat polyHEAA brushes prohibit long-term bacterial colonization by Staphylococcus epidermidisand Escherichia coliRP437up to 3 days. Moreover, the polyHEAA-coated AuNPs withdifferent diameters remain their hydrodynamic sizes unchanged in humanblood plasma and serum for up to 7 days. All these data indicate thatpolyHEAA can serve as promising biomaterials with long-term biocompatibilityand durability suitable for applications in complex biological media. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We demonstrated the synthesis of five kinds of microporous organic polymers based on aldol self-condensation of di- and multiacetyl-containing building blocks catalyzed by thionyl chloride. The α,β-unsaturated ketone (dimerization) and 1,3,5-trisubstituted benzene (cyclotrimerization) can be observed in the resulting polymers by Fourier transform infrared and solid-state 13C CP/MAS NMR spectroscopy. The regular spheres and nanometer-scaled cavities were also seen from scanning electron microscopy and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy images. The highest Brunauer–Emmet–Teller specific surface area up to 832 m2g–1was obtained for the resulting polymers with a pore volume of 0.48 cm3g–1. The polymers show great hydrogen storage capacities (up to 1.56 wt %) at 77 K and 1 bar. These excellent characteristics would make them become promising candidates for heterogeneous catalysis, separation, and gas storage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of nonfouling biomaterials to prevent nonspecific protein adsorption and cell/bacterial adhesion is critical for many biomedical applications, such as antithrombogenic implants and biosensors. In this work, we polymerize two types of hydroxy-functional methacrylates monomers of 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) and hydroxypropyl methacrylate (HPMA) into polymer brushes on the gold substrate via surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (SI-ATRP). We systematically examine the effect of the film thickness of polyHEMA and polyHPMA brushes on their antifouling performance in a wide range of biological media including single-protein solution, both diluted and undiluted human blood serum and plasma, and bacteria culture. Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) results show a strong correlation between antifouling property and film thickness. Too thin or too thick polymer brushes lead to large protein adsorption. Surfaces with the appropriate film thickness of ∼25−45 nm for polyHPMA and ∼20−45 nm for polyHEMA can achieve almost zero protein adsorption (<0.3 ng/cm2) from single-protein solution and diluted human blood plasma and serum. For undiluted human blood serum and plasma, polyHEMA brushes at a film thickness of ∼20−30 nm adsorb only ∼3.0 and ∼3.5 ng/cm2proteins, respectively, while polyHPMA brushes at a film thickness of ∼30 nm adsorb more proteins of ∼13.5 and ∼50.0 ng/cm2, respectively. Moreover, both polyHEMA and polyHPMA brushes with optimal film thickness exhibit very low bacteria adhesion. The excellent antifouling ability and long-term stability of polyHEMA and polyHPMA brushes make them, especially for polyHEMA, effective and stable antifouling materials for usage in blood-contacting devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Manganese polysulfide cations, MnSx+(x= 1–10), were studied with mass-selected photodissociation experiments and density functional calculations. We found that MnS+, MnS2+and MnS3+undergo dissociation at 355 nm by loss of S, S2and S3, respectively. The dissociation of larger clusters is relatively complex because of the existence of multiple isomers and multiple dissociation channels. The geometric structures of the low-lying isomers found by theoretical calculations are consistent with the dissociation channels observed in the experiments. The dissociation of MnSx+clusters occurs mainly by breaking of the Mn–S bonds since they are weaker than the S–S bonds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphene-modified electrode was prepared through electrochemically reducing graphene oxide on the surface of a glassy carbon electrode in PBS solution. The as-prepared electrode owns higher stability and stronger catalytic activity towards the oxidation of nitric oxide (NO). At the electrode, an oxidation peak of NO can be observed at about 1.05V (versus Ag/AgCl), and the electrode reaction of NO is controlled by diffusion process. Under the optimum conditions, the peak currents are dependent linearly on NO concentrations in the range from 7.2 × 10-7 to 7.84 × 10-5M with a limit of detection of 2.0 × 10-7M. The response time of the as-prepared electrode to NO is less than 3 s, and the sensitivity is about 299.1 μA/mM, revealing that the electrode can be used as an excellent sensor for the determination of NO. With further modification of Nafion, the determination is free from the interference of nitrite and some other biological substances. This investigation provides an alternate way for the determination of NO. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human blood plasma and serum pose significant challenges to implanted devices because of highly unfavorable nonspecific protein adsorption on the surface. In this work, we introduce an improved two-step method to immobilize initiator thiols on a gold substrate for the surface-initiated atom-transfer radical polymerization (SI-ATRP) of hydroxypropyl methacrylate (HPMA). We investigate protein adsorption from a single-protein solution, diluted (10%) and undiluted (100%) human blood plasma, and serum on the poly(HPMA) brushes with different film thicknesses using surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensors. SPR results show a correlation between antifouling properties and film thickness; that is, the poly(HPMA) brushes exhibit high protein resistance at medium film thicknesses of ∼25−40 nm (e.g. <0.3 ng/cm2for single-protein adsorption and 10% human blood plasma and serum, ∼24.5 ng/cm2for 100% human serum, and ∼52.8 ng/cm2for 100% human plasma at a thickness of ∼29 nm). With an optimal film thickness and surface roughness, the poly(HPMA) brush also demonstrates its high resistance to fibroblast adhesion. This work provides an alternative surface polymerization approach to preparing effective antifouling poly(HPMA) materials for potential applications in blood-contacting medical devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel luminescent Eu3+complex functionalized single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT) was constructed by covalent linkage through a diaminotriethylene glycol linker. TGA, FT-IR, and SEM demonstrated successful attachment of the Eu3+complex onto the SWNT surface. Spectroscopic methods showed that the SWNT-Eu3犉ꦕ is highly luminescent and DNA can further enhance the red luminescence, and the enhancement depends on DNA sequence and form. The order of the enhancement follows: AT alternative dsDNA > nonalternative AT dsDNA > GC dsDNA > ssDNA dA > ssDNA dT > ssDNA (GT)20. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Chronic pelvic pain syndrome is a common and serious health problem affecting the quality of life of men. We evaluated the prevalence of premature ejaculation (PE) in Chinese men with chronic pelvic pain syndrome and studied its correlation to chronic prostatitis. Methods: A total of 15 000 men (aged 15-60 years) were randomly recruited to take part in a survey to provide questionnaire-elicited information for sociodemographics, sexual function, National Institutes of Health-Chronic Prostatitis Symptom Index, and International Index of Erectile Function 5-item questionnaire. The eligible subjects of the present investigation were married with sexual activity. Results: Responses were collected from 12 743 men (84.95%). Of these men, 1071 (8.4%) reported having prostatitis-like symptoms. The incidence of chronic prostatitis was 4.5% (n = 571) for the entire group. Of the 7372 eligible men, the incidence of prostatitis-like symptoms, chronic prostatitis, and PE was 10.5% (n = 771), 5.0% (n = 370), and 15.3% (n = 1127), respectively. The group with PE had worse National Institutes of Health-Chronic Prostatitis Symptom Index scores (P < .05) and lower International Index of Erectile Function 5-item questionnaire scores (P < .05) than the patients without PE. Also, the percentage of prostatitis-like symptoms in the PE group was greater than that in the non-PE group (P < .05). The prevalence of PE was 64.1% and 36.9% in the prostatitis-like symptom and chronic prostatitis group, respectively, of the 7372 eligible men. Conclusions: The results of our study showed a high prevalence of PE in patients with chronic prostatitis. An examination of the prostate, physically and microbiologically, should be considered during the assessment of patients with PE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cyclophilin A (CypA), predominantly located intracellularly, is a multifunctional protein. We previously reported decreased CypA levels in hepatocytes of transgenic mice expressing hepatitis B virus (HBV) surface antigen (HBsAg). In this study, we found that expression of HBV small surface protein (SHBs) in human hepatoma cell lines specifically triggered CypA secretion, whereas SHBs added extracellularly to culture medium did not. Moreover, CypA secretion was not promoted by the expression of a secretion deficient SHBs mutant, suggesting a close association between secretion of CypA and SHBs. Interaction between CypA and SHBs was observed by using coimmunoprecipitation and glutathione S-transferase pull-down assays. Hydrodynamic injection of the SHBs expression construct into C57BL/6J mice resulted in increased serum CypA levels and ALT/AST levels, as well as the infiltration of inflammatory cells surrounding SHBs-positive hepatocytes. The inflammatory response and serum ALT/AST level were reduced when the chemotactic effect of CypA was inhibited by cyclosporine and anti-CD147 antibody. Furthermore, higher serum CypA levels were detected in chronic hepatitis B patients than in healthy individuals. In HBV patients who had received liver transplantation, serum CypA levels declined dramatically after the loss of HBsAg as a consequence of liver transplantation. Taken together, these results indicate that expression and secretion of SHBs can promote CypA secretion, which may contribute to the pathogenesis of HBV infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intracranial infectious (mycotic) aneurysms are very rare, but continue to be challenging and technically demanding, which need careful diagnosis and therapy. We present an 18-year-old man with an intracranial infectious aneurysm located on the left posterior cerebral artery who was successfully treated with endovascular embolization by a liquid embolic agent (onyx) and who recovered well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Growing evidence suggests a close relationship between gut microbiota and infectious diseases. However, the specific role of gut microbiota in host-pathogen interactions during aquaculture-related infections remains poorly understood. This study investigated the diversity and composition of gut microbiota communities in Aeromonas veronii-infected Lateolabrax maculatus using high-throughput sequencing. The results revealed significant changes in the structure and composition of L. maculatus gut microbiota after A. veronii infection. Over time, Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes decreased significantly, while Proteobacteria increased significantly after A. veronii infection. Most intestinal bacteria showed a decline in abundance over time, with probiotics (such as Lactobacillus) experiencing a significant decrease and pathogens (such as Aeromonas) showing a significant increase. Conversely, no differences were observed in the structure and composition of gut microbiota between healthy L. maculatus and those infected with A. veronii after treatment with Lactobacillus plantarum; no changes in relative abundances of other bacterial phyla or genera except for Aeromonas. Furthermore, intestinal flora's structural diversity and composition differed significantly from untreated L. maculatus infected with A. veronii. These findings suggest alterations in the structure and composition of gut microbiota following A. veronii infection. L. plantarum can maintain a dynamic balance within the intestinal flora, reducing the potential risk of pathogen infections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]