J Agric Food Chem
December 2024
, a highly destructive global pest, infests a wide range of plant species, including crucial food crops and ornamental plants. Effective control methods for this pest remain limited. Chitin synthase (CHS) is a key enzyme in the biosynthesis of chitin, which is essential for the growth and development of arthropods.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To develop an interference-free and rapid method to elucidate Guanxin II (GX II)'s representative vasodilator absorbed bioactive compounds (ABCs) among enormous phytochemicals.
Methods: The contents of ferulic acid, tanshinol, and hydroxysafflor yellow A (FTA) in GX II/rat serum after the oral administration of GX II (30 g/kg) were detected using ultra-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Totally 18 rats were randomly assigned to the control group (0.
Objective: This study evaluated job burnout among primary healthcare workers (PHCWs) in China during the COVID-19 pandemic, explored its influencing factors, and examined PHCWs' preferences for reducing job burnout.
Method: We conducted a multicenter cross-sectional study in Heilongjiang, Sichuan, Anhui, Gansu, and Shandong Provinces. An electronic questionnaire survey was conducted through convenience sampling in communities from May to July 2022.
Chitin, a natural polymer of N-acetylglucosamine chains, is a principal component of the apical extracellular matrix in arthropods. Chitin microfibrils serve as structural components of natural biocomposites present in the extracellular matrix of a variety of invertebrates including sponges, molluscs, nematodes, fungi and arthropods. In this review, we summarize the frontier advances of insect chitin synthesis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFChitin, the most abundant aminopolysaccharide in nature, is an extracellular polymer consisting of N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) units. The key reactions of chitin biosynthesis are catalysed by chitin synthase, a membrane-integrated glycosyltransferase that transfers GlcNAc from UDP-GlcNAc to a growing chitin chain. However, the precise mechanism of this process has yet to be elucidated.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Environ Res Public Health
July 2022
Depression is the most common mental problem among the elderly, especially in long-term care facilities. The purpose of the present study was to examine the effects of group music intervention on depression for elderly people in nursing homes. Methods: A randomized control trial consisting of sixty-three elderly participants randomly and blindly assigned to a music group or control group was utilized.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTh17 cells represent important immune cells. Ursolic acid (UA) can regulate immune cell activities. This study was aimed to explore the effects of UA on Th17 cell differentiation and Schwann cell(SCs)-mediated migration and the potential mechanism.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBoosting transcorneal permeability and pharmacological activity of drug poses a great challenge in the field of ocular drug delivery. In the present study, we propose a drug-peptide supramolecular hydrogel based on anti-inflammatory drug, dexamethasone (Dex), and Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD) motif for boosting transcorneal permeability and pharmacological activity via the ligand-receptor interaction. The drug-peptide (Dex-SA-RGD/RGE) supramolecular hydrogel comprised of uniform nanotube architecture formed spontaneously in phosphate buffered saline (PBS, pH = 7.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNew Findings: What is the central question of this study? What is the mechanism of miR-211 in an Alzheimer's disease cell model? What is the main finding and its importance? miR-211 was upregulated in an Alzheimer's disease cell model. It targeted neurogenin 2, reduced the activation of the phosphoinositide 3-kinase-Akt signalling pathway, inhibited the proliferation of the Alzheimer's disease cell model and promoted apoptosis.
Abstract: MicroRNAs (miRs) are aberrantly expressed in Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients.
In the present study, we fabricated a glycol chitosan/oxidized hyaluronic acid hydrogel film with promising potential for the dual ophthalmic delivery of dexamethasone (Dex) and levofloxacin (Lev). Utilizing different oxidation degrees of oxidized hyaluronic acid (OHA), several blank hydrogel films and Lev-loaded hydrogel films were successfully fabricated. With an increase in the oxidation degree of OHA, the swelling ratio of the hydrogel films decreased accordingly.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNoninfectious (autoimmune and immune-mediated) uveitis is an ocular inflammatory disease which can lead to blindness in severe cases. Due to the potential side effects of first-line drugs for clinical uveitis, novel drugs and targets against uveitis are still urgently needed. In the present study, using rat experimental autoimmune uveitis (EAU) model, we first found that minocycline treatment can substantially inhibit the development of EAU and improve the retinal function by suppressing the retinal microglial activation, and block the infiltration of inflammatory cells, including Th17, into the retina by decreasing the major histocompatibility complex class II (MHC II) expression in resident and infiltrating cells.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTailoring the terminal motif of molecules including drugs might significantly affect their self-assembly tendency in aqueous solution, thus providing a rational strategy to modulate its macroscopic characteristics of supramolecular assembly. A model drug of dexamethasone (Dex) was esterified by different fatty acids [succinic acid (SA), glutaric acid (GA), and adipic acid (AA)] and aromatic acid [phthalic acid (PA)] to generate a series of Dex derivatives. Aqueous solution of Dex-SA, Dex-GA, and Dex-AA turned into hydrogel spontaneously after a period time of incubation (24, 48, and 72 h, respectively) via the auto-hydrolytic strategy, while aqueous solution of Dex-PA did not result in hydrogelation during 3 days of incubation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe Calvin-Benson-Bassham (CBB) cycle is responsible for CO assimilation and carbohydrate production in oxyphototrophs. Phosphoribulokinase (PRK) is an essential enzyme of the CBB cycle in photosynthesis, catalyzing ATP-dependent conversion of ribulose-5-phosphate (Ru5P) to ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate. The oxyphototrophic PRK is redox-regulated and can be further regulated by reversible association with both glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) and oxidized chloroplast protein CP12.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSelf-assembly of drug-polysacrrides conjugates forming nanostructures provides a simple and promising strategy for the extension of precorneal retention and enhancement of corneal permeability. In the present study, a series of dexamethasone-glycol chitosan (Dex-GCS) conjugates were synthesized and thoroughly characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy. The resulting Dex-GCS conjugates were able to self-assemble into nanoparticles spontaneously with particle sizes in the range of 277-289 nm and a positive charge of approximately +15 mV.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn the present study, we developed and evaluated an in situ gelling system based on hexanoyl glycol chitosan (H-GCS) for enhanced ocular bioavailability. An aqueous solution of H-GCS exhibited a typical sol-gel transition at 32 °C. The formed H-GCS hydrogel was characterized by rheology and scanning electron microscopy (SEM).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAn unpredictable ghost peak was intermittently observed during the impurity separation of cefaclor and formulation by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with a content from below the reported threshold to approximately 0.3% in different laboratories. Through a series of investigations, the ghost peak was identified as an unusual on-column degradant of cefaclor formed under elevated column temperature but was not an actual sample impurity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHow leaf traits vary with environmental and climatic variables in cold and arid environments is an essential issue in environmental ecology. Here, we analyzed the variations in leaf nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) stoichiometry and leaf dry matter content (LDMC) in Qilian juniper (Juniperus przewalskii Kom.) growing in 14 environmentally different plots on the northeastern Tibetan Plateau.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe comorbidity of coronary heart disease (CHD) and depression in patients is extremely prevalent, with a rate from 20 to 50%, while depression-like behaviors exist in a larger percentage of patients. Therefore, the study of comorbidities is particularly urgent. Chaihu-Shugan-San (CSS), a classical traditional Chinese medicine formula, has been used to treat CHD with depression for hundreds of years.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFChronic cerebral hypoperfusion (CCH) has become a crucial factor contributing to neurological disorders and cognitive deficits. Olfactory ensheathing cells (OECs) transplantation has been widely used to repair central nerve systems (CNS) injury, however, whether this intervention has therapeutic effects on CCH-induced cognitive dysfunction and brain damages is still unknown. In this study, we sought to determine the potential therapeutic effects of OECs transplantation on CCH.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFExploiting highly active oxygen evolution reaction electrocatalysts is of great importance in the cost-effective generation of clean fuels. Herein, the preparation of NiMn-layered double hydroxide with selenization is adopted to reduce the charge transfer resistance of the electrocatalytic oxygen evolution reaction and enhance electrocatalytic performance. As a result, this selenization product of NiMn-layered double hydroxide can reach a current density of 10 mA cm-2 at a low overpotential of 280 mV on glassy carbon electrode in 1.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Stroke Cerebrovasc Dis
August 2018
Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the correlation between cerebral microbleeds and carotid atherosclerosis in patients with ischemic stroke.
Subjects And Methods: Patients with ischemic stroke treated in a hospital in China from 2016 to 2017 were enrolled in the study. Based on the results from susceptibility-weighted imaging, the patients were divided into cerebral microbleed and noncerebral microbleed groups.
Phospholipid transfer protein is expressed in various cell types and secreted into plasma, where it transfers phospholipids between lipoproteins and modulates the composition of high-density lipoprotein particles. Phospholipid transfer protein deficiency in vivo can lower high-density lipoprotein cholesterol level significantly and impact the biological quality of high-density lipoprotein. Considering high-density lipoprotein was a critical determinant for reverse cholesterol transport, we investigated the role of systemic phospholipid transfer protein deficiency in macrophage reverse cholesterol transport in vivo After the littermate phospholipid transfer protein KO and WT mice were fed high-fat diet for one month, they were injected intraperitoneally with (3)H-cholesterol-labeled and acLDL-loaded macrophages.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe eyestalk of Eriocheir sinensis has significant biological functions with many nerve peptide hormones expressed in the X-organ which exists in the eyestalk. A metabolic network model is an effective tool for the systematic study of E. sinensis eyestalks.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: To investigate the accuracy of the soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase-1(sFlt-1)/placental growth factor (PlGF) ratio to predict preeclampsia (PE).
Methods: A search in the PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library was conducted for human studies without language restriction. We included the studies reported sufficient data to reconstruct the diagnostic 2 × 2 table of sFlt-1/PlGF with testing of PlGF and sFlt-1 in serum or plasma.