Blockade of MDM2 with inactive Cas9 prevents epithelial to mesenchymal transition in retinal pigment epithelial cells.

Epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) plays an important role in the pathogenesis of proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR). We aimed to demonstrate the role of mouse double minute 2 (MDM2) in transforming growth factor-beta 2 (TGF-β2)-induced EMT in human retinal pigment epithelial cells (RPEs). Immunofluorescence was used to assess MDM2 expression in epiretinal membranes (ERMs) from patients with PVR.

Decreased Gray-Matter Volume in Insular Cortex as a Correlate of Singers' Enhanced Sensorimotor Control of Vocal Production.

Accumulating evidence has shown enhanced sensorimotor control of vocal production as a consequence of extensive singing experience. The neural basis of this ability, however, is poorly understood. Given that the insula mediates motor aspects of vocal production, the present study investigated structural plasticity in insula induced by singing experience and its link to auditory feedback control of vocal production.

Identify the Alteration of Balance Control and Risk of Falling in Stroke Survivors During Obstacle Crossing Based on Kinematic Analysis.

This study aims to compare the differences in the kinematic characteristics of crossing obstacles of different heights between stroke survivors and age-matched healthy controls and to identify the changes of balance control strategy and risk of falling. Twelve stroke survivors and twelve aged-matched healthy controls were recruited. A three-dimensional motion analysis system and two force plates were used to measure the kinematic and kinetic data during crossing obstacles with heights of 10, 20, and 30% leg length.

The study of ultrasound and iontophoresis on oxaprozin transdermal penetration using surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy.

The potential for physicochemical driving forces facilitating topical transport of the lipid-soluble drug oxaprozin (OXA) was investigated using surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) in this study. Azone, iontophoresis (IP), and sonophoresis (SP) were combined and performed on mouse skin for the OXA transdermal penetration, and the synergistic effect was analyzed using Raman spectroscopy. The data of characteristic peak intensity were processed with overlapping peak resolving and standard normalization.

Rice husk-based solid acid for efficient hydrolysis and saccharification of corncob.

This work studied preparation of rice husk-based solid acid and its application for efficient hydrolysis and saccharification of corncob. Rice husk-based solid acid (RH-SOH) was prepared by one-step carbonization and sulfonation method. Analysis demonstrated that RH-SOH exhibited aromatic carbon sheets structure bearing -SOH, -COOH and -OH groups.

Coactivations of barrel and piriform cortices induce their mutual synapse innervations and recruit associative memory cells.

After associative learning, a signal induces the recall of its associated signal, or the other way around. This reciprocal retrieval of associated signals is essential for associative thinking and logical reasoning. For the cellular mechanism underlying this associative memory, we hypothesized that the formation of synapse innervations among coactivated sensory cortices and the recruitment of associative memory cells were involved in the integrative storage and reciprocal retrieval of associated signals.

STAT6 phosphorylation upregulates microRNA-155 expression and subsequently enhances the pathogenesis of chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), a clonal expansion of CD5 B cells, is the most common form of adult leukemia; however, the molecular mechanisms underlying its pathogenesis remain undetermined. It has been previously suggested that numerous biological factors, including cytokines, may be involved in the proliferation of malignant cells. For example, interleukin (IL)-4, IL-2, interferon-γ and tumor necrosis factor serve roles as inhibitors of cellular apoptosis; whereas IL-5 and IL-10 are inducers of cellular apoptosis.

Providing Aging Adults Social Robots' Companionship in Home-Based Elder Care.

Population aging is increasingly serious. The application of social robots for home-based elder care is an important way to solve this problem. Aging adults' demands for social robots' companionship affect robotic designs.

Inactive Cas9 blocks vitreous-induced expression of Mdm2 and proliferation and survival of retinal pigment epithelial cells.

Mouse double minute (MDM)2 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) 309G allele in the second promoter of MDM2 enhances vitreous-induced expression of Mdm2 and degradation of the tumor suppressor protein p53. This MDM2 contributes to certain cancer development and experimental proliferative vitreoretinopathy. The goal of this study is to discover a novel strategy to only block vitreous-induced expression of Mdm2 for preventing vitreous-induced cell proliferation and survival and thus find a potential novel strategy to treat proliferation-related diseases.

Branch migration based selective PCR for DNA mutation enrichment and detection.

We presented a branch migration based PCR in which a branch migration blocker was introduced to selectively reduce the amplification efficiency of the wild-type target and enrich the mutant-type target. The low-abundance mutations could be enriched and then detected by high resolution melting, Sanger sequencing or fluorescent DNA probe.

The Role of the Sodium-taurocholate Co-transporting Polypeptide (NTCP) and Bile Salt Export Pump (BSEP) in Related Liver Disease.

Background: Sodium Taurocholate Co-transporting Polypeptide (NTCP) and Bile Salt Export Pump (BSEP) play significant roles as membrane transporters because of their presence in the enterohepatic circulation of bile salts. They have emerged as promising drug targets in related liver disease.

Methods: We reviewed the literature published over the last 20 years with a focus on NTCP and BSEP.

Utilization willingness of institutional care between disabled and non-disabled seniors: evidence from Jiangsu, China.

Background: Due to rapidly growing number of old adults and diminishing supportive functions of family in China, the issue of willingness to use institutional care is of high priority, especially for disabled seniors. The objective of this study is to compare the willingness of institutional care and its determinants between disabled and non-disabled seniors in China.

Methods: 2493 seniors (60+) were randomly selected from a cross-sectional study conducted in three urban districts and three rural counties in Jiangsu Province.

Inactivation of Poliovirus by Ozone and the Impact of Ozone on the Viral Genome.

Objective: To investigate the mechanisms underlying ozone-induced inactivation of poliovirus type 1 (PV1).

Methods: We used cell culture, long-overlapping RT-PCR, and spot hybridization assays to verify and accurately locate the sites of action of ozone that cause PV1 inactivation. We also employed recombinant viral genome RNA infection models to confirm our observations.

Discovery of 6-(2-(dimethylamino)ethyl)-N-(5-fluoro-4-(4-fluoro-1-isopropyl-2-methyl-1H-benzo[d]imidazole-6-yl)pyrimidin-2-yl)-5,6,7,8-tetrahydro-1,6-naphthyridin-2-amine as a highly potent cyclin-dependent kinase 4/6 inhibitor for treatment of cancer.

Targeting CDK4/6 has been identified as an effective therapeutics for treatment of cancer. We herein reported the discovery of a series of 6-(2-(methylamino)ethyl)-5,6,7,8-tetrahydro-1,6-naphthyridin-2-amine derivatives as CDK4/6 inhibitors against cancer. Compound 3c, which displayed high potency and selectivity on CDK4/6 (IC = 0.

Eliminating the secondary structure of targeting strands for enhancement of DNA probe based low-abundance point mutation detection.

Nucleic acid probes are very useful tools in biological and medical science. However, the essential sensing mechanism of nucleic acid probes was prone to the interference of surrounding sequences. Especially when the target sequences formed secondary structures such as hairpin or quadruplex, the nucleic acid probes were hindered from hybridizing with target strands, greatly disabled the function of probes.

SOHLHs Might Be Gametogenesis-Specific bHLH Transcriptional Regulation Factors in .

The self-renewal and differentiation of germ cells are essential for gametogenesis and reproduction. In mammals, the transcription factors SOHLH1 and SOHLH2, two members of the bHLH family, are specifically expressed in the gonads, and play an important role in spermatocyte and oocyte differentiation. In our previous study, we performed a phylogenetic analysis of the Lophotrochozoa bHLH genes, and two were identified in the Pacific oyster .

Transcriptional regulation of Bcl-2 gene by the PR/SET domain family member PRDM10.

Bcl-2 (B-cell lymphoma 2) protein is localized in the outer membrane of mitochondria, where it plays an important role in promoting cellular survival and inhibiting the actions of pro-apoptotic proteins. PRDM10 is a member of the PR/SET family of epigenetic regulators and may play a role in development and cell differentiation. Here we show that human PRDM10 contributes to the transcriptional regulation of human Bcl-2 gene.

Profile analysis reveals transfer RNA fragments involved in mesangial cells proliferation.

Mesangial cell (MCs) proliferation is an essential component of glomerulonephritis. To find some bio-markers of mesangial cell proliferation, we investigate the relationship between transfer RNA fragments (tRFs) and proliferating mesangial cells. The model of proliferating mesangial cells was built by using transforming growth factor-1(TGF-β1) treated mesangial cells.

Application of three-dimensional reconstruction and printing as an elective course for undergraduate medical students: an exploratory trial.

Background: Medical three-dimensional (3D) digital reconstruction and printing have become common tools in medicine, but few undergraduate medical students understand its whole process and teaching and clinical application. Therefore, we designed an elective course of 3D reconstruction and printing for students and studied its significance and practicability.

Methods: Thirty undergraduate medical students in their second-year of study volunteered to participate in the course.

Relationship of serum Wnt1-inducible signaling pathway protein 1 levels with coronary artery disease and its severity.

Objective: To investigate the association of Wnt1-inducible signaling pathway protein 1 (WISP1) concentrations in circulation with the presence and severity of coronary artery disease (CAD).

Participants And Methods: A total of 120 consecutive participants who underwent coronary angiography between May 2017 and July 2018 at our center were enrolled. Participants were divided into two groups based on the presence of CAD.

Yb- and Mn-Doped Lead-Free Double Perovskite CsAgBiX (X = Cl, Br) Nanocrystals.

Lead-free double perovskite nanocrystals (NCs) have emerged as a new category of materials that hold the potential for overcoming the instability and toxicity issues of lead-based counterparts. Doping chemistry represents a unique avenue toward tuning and optimizing the intrinsic optical and electronic properties of semiconductor materials. In this study, we report the first example of doping Yb ions into lead-free double perovskite CsAgBiX (X = Cl, Br) NCs via a hot injection method.

In vivo characteristics of human and mouse breast tumor cell lines.

Although two- and three-dimensional in vitro studies of breast tumor cell lines have increased our knowledge on tumor growth and metastasis formation, the complex in vivo microenvironment is not taken into consideration. The goal of our study was to illustrate the in vivo morphology and motility of widely used breast tumor cell lines. Intravital microscopy allows real-time visualization of individual cells inside tissues of living animals.

A 17 gene panel for non-small-cell lung cancer prognosis identified through integrative epigenomic-transcriptomic analyses of hypoxia-induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition.

As a critical feature of the tumor microenvironment, hypoxia is known to be a potent inducer of tumor metastasis, and it has been proposed that the initial steps in metastasis involve epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). The strong correlation among hypoxia, EMT, and metastasis suggests that integrative assessment of gene expression and the DNA modification program of hypoxia-induced EMT via high-throughput sequencing technologies may increase our understanding of the molecular basis of tumor invasion and metastasis. Here, we present the genomewide transcriptional and epigenetic profiles of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells under normoxic and hypoxic conditions.

Biomimetic preparation of core-shell structured surface-enhanced Raman scattering substrate with antifouling ability, good stability, and reliable quantitative capability.

The fouling and stability are two most critical limiting factors for practical applications of surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS)-based microfluidic electrophoresis device. Herein, we present a novel biomimetic nanoengineering strategy to achieve a SERS substrate featuring antifouling ability, good stability, and reliable quantitative capability. Typically, by employing tea polyphenol as the reducing agent, the substrate made of silver core-gold shell nanostructures in situ grown on silicon wafer surface is fabricated.

Temporal expression and functional analysis of long non-coding RNAs in colorectal cancer initiation.

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have potential applications in clinical diagnosis and targeted cancer therapies. However, the expression profile of lncRNAs in colorectal cancer (CRC) initiation is still unclear. In this study, the expression profiles of lncRNAs and mRNAs were determined by microarray at specific tumour stages in an AOM/DSS-induced primary colon cancer model.