The genome and transcriptome of Phalaenopsis yield insights into floral organ development and flowering regulation.

The Phalaenopsis orchid is an important potted flower of high economic value around the world. We report the 3.1 Gb draft genome assembly of an important winter flowering Phalaenopsis 'KHM190' cultivar.

Bioprinting: an assessment based on manufacturing readiness levels.

Over the last decade, bioprinting has emerged as a promising technology in the fields of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. With recent advances in additive manufacturing, bioprinting is poised to provide patient-specific therapies and new approaches for tissue and organ studies, drug discoveries and even food manufacturing. Manufacturing Readiness Level (MRL) is a method that has been applied to assess manufacturing maturity and to identify risks and gaps in technology-manufacturing transitions.

Interplay between myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) and Th17 cells: foe or friend?

Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) and Th17 cells were first discovered in the fields of cancer and autoimmunity, respectively. In recent years, their activities have been explored in other biological and pathological conditions, such as infective diseases and solid organ transplantation. However, the interplay between MDSCs and Th17 cells and the mechanism of their interaction remain obscure.

Integrative analyses reveal a long noncoding RNA-mediated sponge regulatory network in prostate cancer.

Mounting evidence suggests that long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) can function as microRNA sponges and compete for microRNA binding to protein-coding transcripts. However, the prevalence, functional significance and targets of lncRNA-mediated sponge regulation of cancer are mostly unknown. Here we identify a lncRNA-mediated sponge regulatory network that affects the expression of many protein-coding prostate cancer driver genes, by integrating analysis of sequence features and gene expression profiles of both lncRNAs and protein-coding genes in tumours.

The Emerging Function and Mechanism of ceRNAs in Cancer.

Complex diseases, such as cancer, are often associated with aberrant gene expression at both the transcriptional and post-transcriptional level. Over the past several years, competing endogenous RNAs (ceRNAs) have emerged as an important class of post-transcriptional regulators that alter gene expression through a miRNA-mediated mechanism. Recent studies in both solid tumors and hematopoietic malignancies showed that ceRNAs have significant roles in cancer pathogenesis by altering the expression of key tumorigenic or tumor-suppressive genes.

Systematic Analysis of Intracellular-targeting Antimicrobial Peptides, Bactenecin 7, Hybrid of Pleurocidin and Dermaseptin, Proline-Arginine-rich Peptide, and Lactoferricin B, by Using Escherichia coli Proteome Microarrays.

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) act either through membrane lysis or by attacking intracellular targets. Intracellular targeting AMPs are a resource for antimicrobial agent development. Several AMPs have been identified as intracellular targeting peptides; however, the intracellular targets of many of these peptides remain unknown.

Endurance Exercise Improves Molecular Pathways of Aerobic Metabolism in Patients With Myositis.

Objective: Endurance exercise demonstrates beneficial effects in polymyositis/dermatomyositis (PM/DM); however, the molecular effects of exercise on skeletal muscle are incompletely understood. We undertook this controlled pilot study to investigate the effects of a 12-week endurance exercise training program on the molecular profile of skeletal muscle in patients with established PM/DM compared to a nonexercised control group of patients with established PM/DM.

Methods: Fifteen patients (7 in the exercise group and 8 in the control group) with paired baseline and 12-week follow-up muscle biopsy samples were included.

Controlled-release of tetracycline and lovastatin by poly(D,L-lactide-co-glycolide acid)-chitosan nanoparticles enhances periodontal regeneration in dogs.

Chronic periodontitis is characterized by inflammation of periodontal tissues, leading to bone resorption and tooth loss. The goal of treatment is to regenerate periodontal tissues including bone and cementum lost as a consequence of disease. The local delivery of tetracycline was proven to be effective in controlling localized periodontal infection without apparent side effects.

Dopaminergic Therapy Modulates Cortical Perfusion in Parkinson Disease With and Without Dementia According to Arterial Spin Labeled Perfusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

Arterial spin labeling (ASL) magnetic resonance imaging analyses allow for the quantification of altered cerebral blood flow, and provide a novel means of examining the impact of dopaminergic treatments. The authors examined the cerebral perfusion differences among 17 Parkinson disease (PD) patients, 17 PD with dementia (PDD) patients, and 17 healthy controls and used ASL-MRI to assess the effects of dopaminergic therapies on perfusion in the patients. The authors demonstrated progressive widespread cortical hypoperfusion in PD and PDD and robust effects for the dopaminergic therapies.

Preparation of the fast setting and degrading Ca-Si-Mg cement with both odontogenesis and angiogenesis differentiation of human periodontal ligament cells.

Develop a fast setting and controllable degrading magnesium-calcium silicate cement (Mg-CS) by sol-gel, and establish a mechanism using Mg ions to stimulate human periodontal ligament cells (hPDLs) are two purposes of this study. We have used the diametral tensile strength measurement to obtain the mechanical strength and stability of Mg-CS cement; in addition, the cement degradation properties is realized by measuring the releasing amount of Si and Mg ions in the simulated body fluid. The other cell characteristics of hPDLs, such as proliferation, differentiation and mineralization were examined while hPDLs were cultured on specimen surfaces.

Association between ischemic stroke and carbon monoxide poisoning: A population-based retrospective cohort analysis.

Background: The long-term consequence of cardiovascular health has not been evaluated for patients with carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning. This study evaluated the risk of ischemic stroke using population-based data.

Methods: We identified 8705 inpatients with CO intoxication diagnosed from 2000 to 2011 from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database.

Integrative Analysis Reveals the Transcriptional Collaboration between EZH2 and E2F1 in the Regulation of Cancer-Related Gene Expression.

Unlabelled: Overexpression of EZH2 is frequently linked to the advanced and metastatic stage of cancers. The mechanisms of its oncogenic function can be context specific, and may vary depending on the protein complexes that EZH2 interacts with. To identify novel transcriptional collaborators of EZH2 in cancers, a computational approach was developed that integrates protein-DNA binding data, cell perturbation gene expression data, and compendiums of tumor expression profiles.

Using the Activity-based Anorexia Rodent Model to Study the Neurobiological Basis of Anorexia Nervosa.

Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a psychiatric illness characterized by excessively restricted caloric intake and abnormally high levels of physical activity. A challenging illness to treat, due to the lack of understanding of the underlying neurobiology, AN has the highest mortality rate among psychiatric illnesses. To address this need, neuroscientists are using an animal model to study how neural circuits may contribute toward vulnerability to AN and may be affected by AN.

Macrophage-mediated osteogenesis activation in co-culture with osteoblast on calcium silicate cement.

The use of calcium silicate (CS) cement holds great promise for bone substitute biomaterials. However, the effects of CS on osteoblast and macrophage cells are not fully understood. This study examines cell proliferation and differentiation of mono- or co-cultured MC3T3-E1 and Raw 264.

Traumatic brain injury and epilepsy: Underlying mechanisms leading to seizure.

Post-traumatic epilepsy continues to be a major concern for those experiencing traumatic brain injury. Post-traumatic epilepsy accounts for 10-20% of epilepsy cases in the general population. While seizure prophylaxis can prevent early onset seizures, no available treatments effectively prevent late-onset seizure.

Stimulatory effects of the fast setting and suitable degrading Ca-Si-Mg cement on both cementogenesis and angiogenesis differentiation of human periodontal ligament cells.

The purpose of this study is to develop a fast setting and suitable degrading Mg-calcium silicate cement (Mg-CS) and a mechanism using Mg ions to stimulate human periodontal ligament cells (hPDLCs). Mechanical strength and stability have been determined by testing the diametral tensile strength; the degradation of cements has been measured by ascertaining the number of ions released in simulated body fluid. Other cell characteristics such as proliferation, differentiation and mineralization, and hPDLCs when cultured on cement surfaces were also examined.

The effect of Tai Chi on four chronic conditions-cancer, osteoarthritis, heart failure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a systematic review and meta-analyses.

Background: Many middle-aged and older persons have more than one chronic condition. Thus, it is important to synthesise the effectiveness of interventions across several comorbidities. The aim of this systematic review was to summarise current evidence regarding the effectiveness of Tai Chi in individuals with four common chronic conditions-cancer, osteoarthritis (OA), heart failure (HF) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Tyrosine 705 Phosphorylation of STAT3 Is Associated with Phenotype Severity in TGFβ1 Transgenic Mice.

Transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGFβ1) is a key player in skeletal muscle degenerative and regenerative processes. We previously showed that conditionally overexpressing TGFβ1 in skeletal muscles caused myofiber atrophy and endomysial fibrosis in mice. However, the disease severity varied significantly among individual mice.

Transcriptional Pathways Associated with Skeletal Muscle Changes after Spinal Cord Injury and Treadmill Locomotor Training.

The genetic and molecular events associated with changes in muscle mass and function after SCI and after the implementation of candidate therapeutic approaches are still not completely known. The overall objective of this study was to identify key molecular pathways activated with muscle remodeling after SCI and locomotor training. We implemented treadmill training in a well-characterized rat model of moderate SCI and performed genome wide expression profiling on soleus muscles at multiple time points: 3, 8, and 14 days after SCI.

The effects of injectable calcium silicate-based composites with the Chinese herb on an osteogenic accelerator in vitro.

We aimed to investigate the physicochemical and biological effects of calcium silicate (CS)-based cements together with the Chinese medicine Xu Duan (XD) after seeding with human adipose-derived stem cells (hADSCs). Here, we fabricated CS-based substrates with different ratios of XD (0%, 5% and 10%) as bioactive and biodegradable biocomposites, subsequent to examining their respective effectiveness for bone repair. The setting time, the injectability, the mechanical properties measured by diametral tensile strength (DTS), the in vitro degradation determined by changes in the weight loss of the composites, the characteristic formation of bone-like apatite, and cell growth as well as osteogenesis protein and bone mineralization were comprehensively evaluated before and after immersion in simulated body fluid (SBF), respectively.

Elevated S100A9 expression in tumor stroma functions as an early recurrence marker for early-stage oral cancer patients through increased tumor cell invasion, angiogenesis, macrophage recruitment and interleukin-6 production.

S100A9 is a calcium-binding protein with two EF-hands and frequently deregulated in several cancer types, however, with no clear role in oral cancer. In this report, the expression of S100A9 in cancer and adjacent tissues from 79 early-stage oral cancer patients was detected by immunohistochemical staining. Although S100A9 protein was present in both tumor and stromal cells, only the early-stage oral cancer patients with high stromal expression had reduced recurrence-free survival.

Analysis of TTSuV1b antibody in porcine serum and its correlation with four antibodies against common viral infectious diseases.

Background: The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the correlation between Torque teno sus virus 1b (TTSuV1b) infection and other viral infections or vaccine immunization in conventional pigs.

Methods: With overexpressed and purified viral protein TTSuV1b as antigen, an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method for detecting TTSuV1b antibody was established, which demonstrated great specificity and reproducibility. Porcine serum samples (n = 212) were tested using ELISA.

Poly(dopamine) coating of 3D printed poly(lactic acid) scaffolds for bone tissue engineering.

3D printing is a versatile technique to generate large quantities of a wide variety of shapes and sizes of polymer. The aim of this study is to develop functionalized 3D printed poly(lactic acid) (PLA) scaffolds and use a mussel-inspired surface coating to regulate cell adhesion, proliferation and differentiation of human adipose-derived stem cells (hADSCs). We prepared PLA 3D scaffolds coated with polydopamine (PDA).