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Purpose: To analyze intravenous administration of anisodamine’s impact on coronary microvasculardysfunction (CMD) in obstructive epicardial coronary artery disease (CAD) patients who had undergone percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).Methods: Enrollment of 210 patients in Shanghai Chest Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University with CMD was done in a randomized-controlled study. They were divided randomly into groups, viz, anisodamine (A) group and nitrate (N) group. A 14-day course of treatment was carried out in each group. 99mTc-MIBI myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI), treadmill exercise test (TET) and two dimensional echocardiography (TDE) were performed, and the symptoms of angina pectoris were recorded before and after treatment according to the classification, frequency, and duration of angina, as defined by Canadian Cardiovascular Society (CCS).Results: After treatment, summed stress score (SSS) and summed rest score (SRS) of MPI in group A significantly decreased after treatment (p < 0.001, respectively) and were remarkably lower than those in group N (p < 0.001, respectively). The CCS class in group A improved after treatment (p < 0.001) and was also better than in group N (p < 0.001). The frequency and duration of angina attack in group A significantly reduced after treatment (p < 0.001, respectively) and were notably lower than in group N (p < 0.001, respectively). Left ventricular ejection fraction in group A after treatment was higher than that before treatment (p = 0.046) and than that in group N (p = 0.048). Furthermore, the side effects of anisodamine were slight and tolerable.Conclusion: Intravenous administration of anisodamine is a potentially suitable optional treatment for CMD in patients with obstructive epicardial CAD who have undergone PCI.

Diseases caused by novel duck reovirus (NDRV) have brought considerable economic losses to the poultry industry. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have an impact on virus replication and antiviral immunity. However, the miRNA profile upon NDRV infection in duck embryo fibroblasts (DEFs) remains to be discovered. In this study, small RNA (sRNA) sequencing was performed to decipher the cellular miRNA response to NDRV infection. Based on 26 differentially expressed miRNAs (19 upregulated and 7 downregulated miRNAs) obtained from sequencing data and their target genes predicted by software, GO and KEGG analyses were performed to elucidate the functions of miRNAs in NDRV invasion, replication, and virus spread. "FoxO signaling pathway", "autophagy", and "Toll-like receptor signaling pathway" might participate in NDRV replication as revealed by KEGG enrichment analysis. The miR-155-1 sequence was found to be identical to rno-miR-155-5p and was sharply increased with the progression of NDRV infection. Moreover, NDRV-induced miR-155-1 could act as a positive factor for virus replication in DEFs, which inhibited type I interferon (IFN-I) production. Luciferase assay confirmed that miR-155-1 disturbed the abundance of suppressor of cytokine signaling (SOCS) 5 by targeting 3'-UTR. SOCS5, which is linked to increased IRF7 expression, restricts IFN expression and promotes NDRV replication in DEFs. Therefore, this study proposed that miR-155-1 was used by NDRV to restrict SOCS5 expression, attenuating the production of IFN-I and creating a favorable environment for virus replication.

A new virus-like particle based vaccine covering 14 types of high-risk and disease-inducing human papillomavirus (HPV) can offer better coverage against HPV-induced diseases, particularly cervical cancers. However, the assessment of immunogenicity of the vaccine is an important task, representing not only its significant clinical characteristics, but also a major challenge, in terms of both the suitability of methods and the clinical sample testing throughput supporting clinical development. This work covers the development and evaluation of a method based on Luminex technology (a coded-bead and flow-cytometric approach) to assess the HPV-type specific total immunoglobulin G (IgG). This method can evaluate the antibodies in sera post immunization against multiple types of HPV simultaneously (i.e., with multiplexing capability), save time and cost, and improve test throughput with higher sensitivity and precision than the classical, plate-based enzyme-linked immunoassay and competitive Luminex-based immunoassays. Using cynomolgus monkeys as model, we demonstrated the good correlation between the results from the pseudovirion-based neutralization assay (PBNA), and the Luminex-based total IgG assay, supporting that the latter method can be considered as a viable, dependable replacement method for the PBNA supporting immunogenicity evaluation of HPV vaccine in preclinical development and clinical investigation.

Additional file 6. Methods: The formula for the calculation of PET/CT, CT, PET radiomics scores

Additional file 5. Table S1: The intra-and interobserver ICCs of the consistency of lesion segmentation

Previous researches have indicated that sleep plays a vital role in cognitive functions. Sleep deprivation (SD) causes learning and memory damage, which is associated with oxidative stress. This study was performed to investigate the neuroprotective effects of an extract of Abelmoschus manihot flower (EAM) against memory deficit induced by SD in mice. The SD model was evoked by multiple platform method for 5 days, successively. The learning and memory-improving effects of EAM were assessed by behavioral trials and the underlying mechanism was investigated by measuring the oxidative stress alteration. Our findings indicated that the SD-induced memory deficit and the EAM treatment improved the cognitive functions of mice in the object location recognition test and passive avoidance task. In addition, EAM effectively improved the activities of the antioxidant enzyme, decreased the content of malondialdehyde (MDA), and restored the protein expression of the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), tyrosine kinase B (TrkB) and glutamate receptor 1 (GluR1) in brain tissues. In conclusion, EAM could improve the SD-evoked learning and memory impairments. The possible underlying mechanisms of EAM may be related to its antioxidant capacity and enhanced BDNF/TrkB/GluR1 levels in the hippocampal memory.

Oily sludge is a hazardous waste due to the enrichment of nitrogen, sulfur, PAHs, and heavy metals. In this work, an oily sludge from oil refining factory was pyrolyzed at various temperatures of 250–850 °C in a fixed bed reactor focusing on product distribution and migration of hazardous compounds of PAHs, sulfur, nitrogen-containing compounds, and heavy metals. The mechanism of PAHs formation and migration of nitrogen, sulfur, heavy metals were elucidated by comprehensive analysis of the solid, liquid, and gas products. The distribution and risk analysis of heavy metals were also conducted. The pyrolytic products distribution was markedly affected by pyrolysis temperatures. A maximum oil yield was observed at 500 °C, which can further crack into gas due to secondary reaction. The pyrolytic gas was enriched in the order of CO2 > CO > CH4 > H2. At lower temperatures, CO2 was largely generated due to the elimination of oxygen-containing functional groups, while H2 was mainly formed above 450 °C due to the recombination reaction. Higher temperatures promoted more N-/S-containing compounds into tar and gas phases. The N-/S-containing compounds mainly included NH3, HCN, H2S, SO2, COS in the gas phase and amines, indoles, pyridines, nitriles, thiophenes in liquid phase. PAHs with 2-ring to 5-ring were mainly generated due to the secondary reaction at higher temperatures. Moreover, Pyrolysis caused the accumulation of heavy metals in chars. Cd presented a high potential risk while the other heavy metals in chars presented a low risk.

In this work, the pyrolysis of natural rubber (NR) under N

Antibiotic resistance has become an important focus of research in the aquaculture environment. However, few studies have evaluated antibiotic resistance during the seedling period in marine fish cage-culture areas. In this study, culture-dependent methods and quantitative polymerase chain reaction were used to identify and detect cultivable heterotrophic antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB) and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), respectively, during the seedling period in a marine fish cage-culture areas of Hainan, China. Bacterial resistance to amoxicillin, erythromycin, and gentamicin was generally high (average on 27.67%, 23.61% and 37.32%, respectively), whereas resistance to furazolidone and nitrofurantoin was generally low (average on 0.14% and 7.425%). Alteromonas (32.72%) and Vibrio (24.77%) were the dominant genus of ARB. Most ARB were opportunistic pathogens, belonging to the phylum Proteobacteria (96.02%). The abundance of sul family genes was higher than that of tet family genes. Overall, the abundance of ARGs and the resistance rates in HW was highest.

Antibiotic resistance represents a global health crisis for humans, animals, and for the environment. Transmission of antibiotic resistance through environmental pathways is a cause of concern. In this study, quantitative PCR and culture-dependent bacteriological methods were used to detect the abundance of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and the quantity of culturable heterotrophic antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB) in marine fish farming areas. The results indicated that sul and tet family genes were widely distributed in marine fish farming areas of Hainan during both rearing and harvesting periods. Specifically, sul1 and tetB were the most dominant ARGs. The total abundance of ARGs increased significantly from the rearing to the harvesting period. A total of 715 ARB strains were classified into 24 genera, within these genera Vibrio, Acinetobacter, Pseudoalteromonas, and Alteromonas are opportunistic pathogens. High bacterial resistance rate to oxytetracycline (OT) was observed. The numbers of OT- and enrofloxacin-resistant bacteria dropped significantly from rearing the period to the harvesting. The co-occurrence pattern showed that Ruegeria and tetB could be indicators of ARB and ARGs, respectively, which were found in the same module. Redundancy analysis indicated that salinity was positively correlated with the most dominant ARB, and was negatively correlated with the most dominant ARGs. These findings demonstrated the prevalence and persistence of ARGs and ARB in marine fish farming areas in China.

Previous researches have indicated that sleep plays a vital role in cognitive functions. Sleep deprivation (SD) causes learning and memory damage, which is associated with oxidative stress. This study was performed to investigate the neuroprotective effects of an extract of Abelmoschus manihot flower (EAM) against memory deficit induced by SD in mice. The SD model was evoked by multiple platform method for 5 days, successively. The learning and memory-improving effects of EAM were assessed by behavioral trials and the underlying mechanism was investigated by measuring the oxidative stress alteration. Our findings indicated that the SD-induced memory deficit and the EAM treatment improved the cognitive functions of mice in the object location recognition test and passive avoidance task. In addition, EAM effectively improved the activities of the antioxidant enzyme, decreased the content of malondialdehyde (MDA), and restored the protein expression of the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), tyrosine kinase B (TrkB) and glutamate receptor 1 (GluR1) in brain tissues. In conclusion, EAM could improve the SD-evoked learning and memory impairments. The possible underlying mechanisms of EAM may be related to its antioxidant capacity and enhanced BDNF/TrkB/GluR1 levels in the hippocampal memory.

In this work, the pyrolysis of natural rubber (NR) under N2 and H2S atmosphere was performed to illustrate the possible effect of H2S on NR decomposition with and without catalysts. A molecular dynamics simulation based on reactive force field (ReaxFF) was also conducted to understand the interaction mechanism between H2S and intermediates from NR decomposition. Furthermore, the catalytic decomposition of NR under H2S atmosphere and the adsorption characteristics of H2S by zeolites alone were also carried out to investigate the effect of catalysts on sulfur behavior and the reversed effect of H2S on catalyst activity. This work revealed that the introduction of H2S can influence the yields of pyrolytic oil and gas, as well as composition of the oil. Combining experimental and simulation studies, H2S can interact with intermediates from NR decomposition forming sulfur-containing substances in pyrolytic oil. The H2S adsorption experiments by various catalysts revealed that catalysts can chemically adsorb H2S. The introduction of Zn can promote the adsorption ability by reacting with sulfur-containing substances to generate ZnS, with the desulfurization effect following the order of 3Zn/ZSM5 > ZSM5 > 3ZnO/ZSM5.

Liu Liu1,*, Bei Lei1,*, Lihua Wang,1 Cheng Chang,1 Hao Yang,2 Jianjun Liu,3 Gang Huang,1–3 Wenhui Xie11Department of Nuclear Medicine, Shanghai Chest Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China; 2Shanghai Key Laboratory for Molecular Imaging, Shanghai University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Nuclear Medicine, Renji Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workPurpose: To determine whether protein kinase C-iota (PKC-iota) is associated with glucose metabolism in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and whether its regulatory effect on metabolic and biological changes observed in NSCLC can be mediated by glucose transporter 1 (GLUT1).Patients and methods: Forty-five NSCLC patients underwent combined 18F-fludeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) positron emission tomography and computed tomography (PET/CT) before surgery, and another eighty-one NSCLC patients were followed-up for 1–91months after tumor resection. The rate of glucose metabolism in NSCLC was quantified by measuring the maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) by 18F-FDG PET/CT. PKC-iota and GLUT1 in NSCLC were detected by immunostaining. In vitro, PKC-iota was knocked down, whereas GLUT1 was silenced with or without PKC-iota overexpression to identify the role of PKC-iota in glycolysis. Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient was used in the correlation analysis. Kaplan-Meier analysis was used to assess survival duration.Results: There was a positive relationship between PKC-iota expression and SUVmax in NSCLC (r=0.649, P

Vibrio alginolyticus is an opportunistic pathogen that is a threat to the aquaculture industry. Evidence has revealed critical roles for small RNAs (sRNAs) in bacterial physiology and pathology by modulating gene expression post transcription. However, little information about sRNA-mediated regulation in V. alginolyticus is available. We experimentally verified the existence and characterized the function of sRNA srvg17985 in V. alginolyticus ZJ-T. We identified a 179 nt and growth-phase-dependent transcript with a σ70 promoter and a ρ-independent terminator. The transcript consisted of five stem-loops and was conserved in Vibrio spp. Phenotype microarray assays showed that deletion of srvg17985 led to less use of Gly-Glu as a carbon source but a gain in ability to use l -phenylalanine as a nitrogen source. Srvg17985 regulated the osmotic stress response with stronger tolerance to NaCl but weaker tolerance to urea. In addition, srvg17985 inhibited the deamination of l -serine at pH 9.5 and promoted the hydrolysis of X-beta- d -glucuronide, thus affecting the pH stress response. Bioinformatics by IntaRNA and TargetRNA2 identified 45 common target mRNAs, some of which probably contributed to the observed phenotypes. These results indicated that srvg17985 regulated environmental adaptation. The results provide valuable information for in-depth studies of sRNA-mediated regulation mechanisms of the complex physiological processes of V alginolyticus and provide new targets for antibacterial therapeutics or attenuated vaccines for Vibrio spp.

The study aimed at investigating the addition effects of P, K, and micronutrient fertilizers on the permeability of N-nutrient fertilizer urea through a representative polymer membrane, which is of great importance in polymer-coated compound fertilizer. Specifically, the permeability of urea through polystyrene membrane was determined experimentally at the nominal temperature of 298 K using the Ussing chamber method for fertilizer solutions of urea–water, urea–NaH2PO4–water, urea–Ca(H2PO4)2–water, urea–KCl–water, and urea–NaCl–water. The experimental data showed that the addition effects of NaH2PO4, KCl, and NaCl on urea permeability were pronounced and could be promotion or suppression depending on the amounts added. The variation of urea permeability with additive concentration could be explained by the ‘solution–diffusion’ model, suggesting that the specific intermolecular and interionic interactions in the permeation solution were an important factor determining the permeability. Using the saturated urea–water solution as basis, the addition of saturated KCl increased the urea permeability by 2.5 times, while the addition of saturated Ca(H2PO4)2 and NaH2PO4 decreased the permeability by 41% and 76%, respectively. © 2016 Curtin University of Technology and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.