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Pogostone, isolated fromPogostemon cablin, has many biological activities such as potential antibacterial, anticandida, and antifungal. Traditional extraction leads to low output of PO about 17.6 mg/kg from Herba Pogostemonis. The previous literature had reported a synthetic study and the yield had reached 4.48% with strictly controlled reaction conditions. The two methods above cannot meet the large demand of PO; we report a new synthesis method. 4-hydroxy-6-methyl-2-pyrone (1) was added in toluene, with the existence of acylation catalyst 4-dimethylaminopyridine (DMAP), 4-methylvaleric acid (2), and condensing agent dicyclohexylcarbodiimide (DCC), PO was synthesized after the combination of 3-carbon of (1) with 1-OH of (2) in the acylation reaction. The purity had reached 98%, determined by HPLC. The structure was confirmed by spectroscopic methods including infrared, electron ionization mass spectrometry, and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. PO was totally synthesized in one step including cyclization, with total yield of 27.2%. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Bleomycin (BLM), a family of anti-tumor drugs, was reported to exhibit severe side effects limiting its usage in clinical treatment. Therefore, finding adjuvants that enhance the anti-tumor effect and reduce the detrimental effect of BLM is a prerequisite. Chrysanthemum indicum, an edible flower, possesses abundant bioactivities; the supercritical-carbon dioxide fluid extract from flowers and buds of C. indicum (CISCFE) have strong anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, and lung protective effects. However, the role of CISCFE combined with BLM treatment on tumor-bearing mice remains unclear. The present study aimed to investigate the potential synergistic effect and the underlying mechanism of CISCFE combined with BLM in the treatment of hepatoma 22 (H22) tumor-bearing mice. The results suggested that the oral administration of CISCFE combined with BLM could markedly prolong the life span, attenuate the BLM-induced pulmonary fibrosis, suppress the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines (interleukin-6), tumor necrosis factor-α, activities of myeloperoxidase, and malondiadehyde. Moreover, CISCFE combined with BLM promoted the ascites cell apoptosis, the activities of caspases 3 and 8, and up-regulated the protein expression of p53 and down-regulated the transforming growth factor-β1 by activating the gene expression of miR-29b. Taken together, these results indicated that CISCFE could enhance the anti-cancer activity of BLM and reduce the BLM-induced pulmonary injury in H22 tumor-bearing mice, rendering it as a potential adjuvant drug with chemotherapy after further investigation in the future.

Abstract: Transparent conducting ZnO thin films co-doped with aluminium and fluorine (AZO:F) were produced on glass substrates by RF magnetron sputtering at room temperature. The chemical AlF3 was selected as a dopant, which allowed Al and F elements to be simultaneously substituted into sub-lattices sites of Zn and O, respectively. The microstructure, electrical and optical properties of ZnO thin films as a function of AlF3 concentration were evaluated and compared to the films doped with Al2O3. From XRD analysis, it was revealed that the favoured orientation of ZnO films shifted from (002) to (103) as the amount of AlF3 increased from 1 to 7wt%. The film doped with 2wt% AlF3 showed improved crystallinity and a microstructure with larger, pyramid-like grains that were 120nm long and 50nm wide. As a result, the electrical resistivity of the AZO:F films had a minimum of 5.2×10−4 Ωcm. The improvement in the electrical resistivity of AZO:F films was due to the increase in carrier concentration from 7.0×1020 to 1.25×1021 cm−3 and the mobility from 4.7 to 9.3cm2 V−1 s−1. Meanwhile, the electrical resistivity of the ZnO film doped with AlF3 was found to be lower than that of the Al2O3-doped film. This was mainly attributed to the increase in carrier concentration by substituting Al and F atoms into the Zn and O sub-lattice sites, respectively, despite the slight decrease in the mobility. This increase in carrier concentration was also found to affect the optical property of the films due to the Moss–Burstein shift. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Senescence is activated in response to gemcitabine to prevent the propagation of cancer cells. However, there is little evidence on whether senescence is involved in gemcitabine resistance in pancreatic cancer. Increasing evidence has demonstrated that microRNAs (miRs) are potential regulators of cellular senescence. The present study aimed to investigate whether aberrant miR-7 expression modulated senescence to influence pancreatic cancer resistance to chemotherapy. In the present study, cell senescence assay, ALDEFLUOR™ assay, luciferase reporter assay, flow cytometry, quantitative PCR, immunohistochemistry and western blot analysis were performed to explore the association between senescence and gemcitabine therapy response, and to clarify the underlying mechanisms. The present study revealed that gemcitabine-induced chronically existing senescent pancreatic cells possessed stemness markers. Therapy-induced senescence led to gemcitabine resistance. Additionally, it was found that miR-7 expression was decreased in gemcitabine-resistant pancreatic cancer cells, and that miR-7 acted as an important regulator of cellular senescence by targeting poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase 1 (PARP1)/NF-κB signaling. When miR-7 expression was restored, it was able to sensitize pancreatic cancer cells to gemcitabine. In conclusion, the present study demonstrated that miR-7 regulated cellular senescence and relieved gemcitabine resistance by targeting the PARP1/NF-κB axis in pancreatic cancer cells., (Copyright: © Ye et al.)

According to the GC-MS analysis, compositional variation was observed between samples of patchouli oil, of which an unknown compound identified as patchoulene epoxide (PAO) was found only in the long-stored oil, whose biological activity still remains unknown. Therefore, the present study aimed to evaluate the potential anti-inflammatory activity with three in vivo inflammatory models: xylene-induced ear edema, acetic acid-induced vascular permeability, and carrageenan-induced paw edema. Further investigation into its underlying mechanism on carrageenan-induced paw edema was conducted. Results demonstrated that PAO significantly inhibited the ear edema induced by xylene, lowered vascular permeability induced by acetic acid and decreased the paw edema induced by carrageenan. Moreover, PAO markedly decreased levels of tumor necrosis factor- α (TNF- α ), interleukin-1 β (IL-1 β ), interleukin-6 (IL-6), prostaglandin E2 (PGE 2 ), and nitric oxide (NO), but increased levels of interleukin-4 (IL-4) and interleukin-10 (IL-10). PAO was also shown to significantly downregulate the protein and mRNA expressions of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and inducible nitric-oxide synthase (iNOS). Western blot analysis revealed that PAO remarkably inhibited p50 and p65 translocation from the cytosol to the nucleus by suppressing IKK β and I κ B α phosphorylation. In conclusion, PAO exhibited potent anti-inflammatory activity probably by suppressing the activation of iNOS, COX-2 and NF- κ B signaling pathways.

Objective: To investigate the effects and mechanisms of diethylhexylphthalate (DEHP) on morphology and function of progenitor Leydig cells (PLC) in rats., Methods: Twenty pregnant SD rats were randomly divided into 4 groups ( n = 5): normal control group, DEHP low dose group , middle dose group, and high dose group, which were treated from postnatal day (PND) 1 to PND 21 of the pubs with DEHP at the doses of 0, 10, 100, 750 mg/(kg · d) in 0.5 ml of corn oil by gavage respectively. At the end of the treatment, the male pups were killed and blood samples were collected for determination of serum testosterone concentration by chemiluminescence method. The body weight, testis weight and anogenital distance (AGD) were measured. The morphology of PLC was observed by light and transmission electron microscopy. The protein expression of steroidogenic acute regulatory protein(StAR) in PLC was determined by immunohistochemistry. The mRNA expression of insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) in the testis was assayed by real-time PCR., Results: Compared with normal control group, the serum testosterone and AGD of male pubs from the middle and high dose groups were declined significantly (P < 0.01), the testis weight and body weight from high dose group were decreased significantly (P < 0.01), while the testis weight increased in the low dose group (P < 0.05). Under light microscope, PLC showed hyperplasia and cluster aggregation in the low dose group and focal hyperplasia in the middle and high dose group. The spermatogenic cells in seminiferous tubules showed decrease, apoptosis and unfix in the high dose group. Under transmission electron microscope, the PLC showed decreased lipid droplets, smooth endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondriae in the treated group. The mRNA expression of IGF-I increased in the low dose group, and the protein expression of StAR decreased in the middle and high dose group., Conclusion: Lactating exposure to DEHP may interfere with the synthesis of testosterone of PLC in male pubs, the decrease of StAR and the damage of PLC may be involved in it.

Objective: To investigate the morphological characters of the central nervous system in mature larvae, mature pupae and newly emerged adults of Simulium (Wilhelmia) xingyiense., Methods: From August to November 2009, the blackfly larvae were collected from the rivulets nearby Niujiao Island in Huaxi of Guiyang City. The mature larvae of S. (Wi.) xingyiense were confirmed based on the diagnostic characteristics of gill spots, postgenal cleft, and rectal gill. The mature pupae were obtained from the rivulets of Da'ao Town and Qingyan Town in Guiyang in March 2011, which were selected according to the characteristics of cocoon and respiratory filaments. Nervous system of the larvae, pupae and newly emerged adults was observed under the light microscope with HE-stained paraffin sections., Results: The central nervous system was composed of brain, subesophageal ganglion and ventral nerve cord. The brain of the larva was divided into two narrowly interconnected egg-shaped lobes. Ventral nerve-cord of the larva consisted of three pairs of thoracic ganglia and eight pairs of abdominal ganglia. The brain of the pupa and adult was composed of protocerebuim, deutocerebrum, and tritocerebrum. The ventral nerve cord of the pupa and adult was similar to that of larva. From outside to inside, the structure characters of the brain and ganglia were similar with nerve sheath, neurocyte and neuropile. The neuropile of protocerebrum contained a pair of mushroom bodies, a central complex and a pair of accessory lobes. The optic lobe was composed of medulla interna, medulla externa and lamina ganglionaris. The deutocerebrum consisted of the antennal lobe and the dorsal lobe. The tritocerebrum connected to the subesophageal ganglion by perioperative esophageal nerve., Conclusion: The central nervous system of S. (Wi.) xingyiense is similar to other simuliid blackilies. There is a difference in the number of abdominal ganglion of the mature larva.

The salivary gland polytene chromosomes of Simulium qianense was observed with wild larvae collected from Guiyang, Guizhou Province. Using an upgraded method of preparation, the polytene chromosomes of the larval salivary glands of S. qianense were observed and analysed. The results showed three pairs of chromosomes (2n = 6) arranged from the longest to the shortest. Chromosome I was metacentric while chromosomes II and III were submetacentric. The centromeric regions distinctly expanded and were easily recognized. The nucleolar organizer situated near the centromeric band of the short arm of chromosome II. The Balbiani ring and double bubble all located near the tip of the short arm of chromosome II. There were inversions in some individuals, with an inversion frequency of 33% (32/97). The study revealed constant localization and morphology of the principal landmarks (namey, centromere, nucleolar organizer, Balbiani ring, double bulge, band and puff) which can be considered as distinguishable features of S. qianense.

The histology of alimentary canal of Simulium (Wilhelmia) xingyiense mature larva (with gill spots) was investigated by using paraffin serial section. The alimentary canal is composed of foregut, midgut and hindgut. The foregut includes pharynx, esophagus and proventriculus. The up-inside of buccal cavity invaginates to form the labral gland with irregular shape. Ossified cibarium exist in anterior pharynx. Canular proventriculus forms by the invagination of esophagus. The midgut begins with four big gastric caeca, and divides into three regions according to the epithelium cell shape. The hindgut consists of pylorus, ileum and rectal. The structure of the ileum is different from rectal. Four malpighian tubules diverge from the boundary between midgut and hindgut. The structure of silk duct is special

The genomic DNA was extracted from Simulium quinquestriatum (Sq) and its CO I gene was amplified by PCR. The PCR product was purified and cloned into plasmid pMD18-T vector. The recombinant plasmid was transformed into Escherichia coli DH5alpha and then identified by digestion with restriction enzyme and PCR amplification. The amplified fractions (1 621 bp) included complete CO I gene (1 542 bp, GenBank accession number: DQ534949), 5' tRNA-Tyr and 3' tRNA-Leu partial fraction. The CO I gene sequence had a high identity (99%) with that of S. quinquestriatum (GenBank accession number: AY251520). Bioinformatics analysis showed that the Sq-CO I open reading frame encoded a 513-amino acid protein with M(r) 5565, pI5.84. Structural prediction showed this protein possessed a conservative domain of CO I gene.