Extraction and Characterization of Bioactive Fish By-Product Collagen as Promising for Potential Wound Healing Agent in Pharmaceutical Applications: Current Trend and Future Perspective.

Collagen is a structural protein naturally found in mammals. Vertebrates and other connective tissues comprise about 30% of an animal's overall protein. Collagen is used in a variety of applications including cosmetics, biomedical, biomaterials, food, and pharmaceuticals.

Convolutional neural network assistance significantly improves dermatologists' diagnosis of cutaneous tumours using clinical images.

Background: Convolutional neural networks (CNNs) have demonstrated expert-level performance in cutaneous tumour classification using clinical images, but most previous studies have focused on dermatologist-versus-CNN comparisons rather than their combination. The objective of our study was to evaluate the potential impact of CNN assistance on dermatologists for clinical image interpretation.

Methods: A multi-class CNN was trained and validated using a dataset of 25,773 clinical images comprising 10 categories of cutaneous tumours.

[Effects of environmental factors on the distribution of amphibians in agricultural landscape].

We analyzed the relationship between the distribution of amphibians and the environmental variables at the habitat level and landscape level in Fengqiu County of Henan Province, a typical region of the lower reaches of the Yellow River, with the support of geographic information system (GIS) and R software. At the habitat level, dissolved oxygen (DO), conductivity (COND), turbidity (TURB), NH-N, pond-interior vegetation cover (VEG), emergent vegetation cover (EMER), pond-edge vegetation cover (VEG), benthic fauna predators (PRE), and pond area (AREA) were selected as habitat variables. At the landscape level, total area of ponds (AP), distance to the nearest road (DR), total area of farmlands (AF), total area of woodlands (AW), Shannon’s diversity index (SHDI), and contagion index (CONTAG) were selected as explanatory variables, calculated within a buffer of 250, 500, 1000 and 2000 m around the centroid of each pond.

[Effects of landscape heterogeneity on the availability of amphibians' habitats in agricultural region on the lower reaches of the Yellow River, China.].

SelectingFengqiu County in Henan Province, a typical region of the lower Yellow River, as the study area, adopting the analysis method of graph theory, with the support of geographic information systems (GIS) and R software, we analyzed the effects of landscape composition and landscape configuration, the mean pond size (MS), the number of ponds (NP), and distance to the nearest roads (DR), on habitat availability of amphibian species under different levels of dispersal ability (250, 500, 1000 and 2000 m), by referring the probability index of connectivity (PC) and the important value of patches (percentage of the variation in PC, dPC) to the degree of availability of ponds for amphibians' breeding. The results indicated that the ponds availability for amphibians' breeding was closely related to MS, NP, and DR. Therein, MS and NP were the key factors determining the availability of ponds under the dispersal ability of 250 m, and then MS and DR were the most significant influencing factors on pond availability under the dispersal ability of 500 m.

Fungal communities in sediments of subtropical Chinese seas as estimated by DNA metabarcoding.

Ribosomal RNA internal transcribed spacer-1 (ITS1) metabarcoding was used to investigate the distribution patterns of fungal communities and the factors influencing these patterns in subtropical Chinese seas, including the southern and northern Yellow Sea and the Bohai Sea. These seas were found to harbor high levels of fungal diversity, with 816 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) that span 130 known genera, 36 orders, 14 classes and 5 phyla. Ascomycota was the most abundant phylum, containing 72.

Differential Pattern of Interhemispheric Connections Between Homotopic Layer V Regions in the Forelimb Representation in Rat Barrel Field Cortex.

Layer V neurons in forelimb and shoulder representations in rat first somatosensory cortex (SI) project to the contralateral SI. However, few studies have addressed whether projections from specific subregions of the forelimb representation, namely forepaw, wrist, or forearm, terminate at homotopic sites in the contralateral SI. Neuroanatomical retrograde (cholera toxin B subunit [CT-B]) or anterograde (biodextran amine [BDA]) tracers were injected into physiologically identified sites in layer V in specific forelimb and/or shoulder representations in SI to examine the projection to contralateral SI in young adult rats (N = 17).

Forelimb amputation-induced reorganization in the ventral posterior lateral nucleus (VPL) provides a substrate for large-scale cortical reorganization in rat forepaw barrel subfield (FBS).

In this study, we examined the role of the ventral posterior lateral nucleus (VPL) as a possible substrate for large-scale cortical reorganization in the forepaw barrel subfield (FBS) of primary somatosensory cortex (SI) that follows forelimb amputation. Previously, we reported that, 6 weeks after forelimb amputation in young adult rats, new input from the shoulder becomes expressed throughout the FBS that quite likely has a subcortical origin. Subsequent examination of the cuneate nucleus (CN) 1 to 30 weeks following forelimb amputation showed that CN played an insignificant role in cortical reorganization and led to the present investigation of VPL.

Forelimb amputation-induced reorganization in the cuneate nucleus (CN) is not reflected in large-scale reorganization in rat forepaw barrel subfield cortex (FBS).

We examined reorganization in cuneate nucleus (CN) in juvenile rat following forelimb amputation (n=34) and in intact controls (n=5) to determine whether CN forms a substrate for large-scale reorganization in forepaw barrel subfield (FBS) cortex. New input from the shoulder first appears in the FBS 4 weeks after amputation, and by 6 weeks, the new shoulder input comes to occupy most of the FBS. Electrophysiological recording was used to map CN in controls and in forelimb amputees during the first 12 weeks following deafferentation and at 26 and 30 weeks post-amputation.

Functional and structural organization of the forelimb representation in cuneate nucleus in rat.

We examined the physiological representation of the forelimb in the cuneate nucleus (CN) of forelimb-intact young adult rats (n=38) as the first part in a series of studies aimed at understanding the possible role that CN plays in delayed cortical reorganization that follows forelimb amputation. Metabolic labeling with cytochrome oxidase (CO) and electrophysiological mapping were used to examine the relationship between the structural and functional organization of CN. CN is a cylinder-shaped structure that lies bilaterally in the brainstem and extends nearly 4mm in the rostrocaudal direction.

Anti-fungal efficacy of polybutylcyanoacrylate nanoparticles of allicin and comparison with pure allicin.

Although garlic has been used in Chinese traditional medicine for its medical properties for thousands of years, investigations into its mode of action are relatively recent. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the in vitro anti-fungal efficacy of the active principle of garlic, pure allicin and polybutylcyanoacrylate (PBCA) nanoparticles (NPs) loaded with allicin. Pure allicin was prepared by reacting synthetic alliin with a stabilized process of the garlic enzyme alliinase.

Association study of NFKB1 and SUMO4 polymorphisms in Chinese patients with psoriasis vulgaris.

Nuclear factor kappa-beta (NF-kappaB) is a critical transcription factor modulating the expression of many genes involved in the pathogenesis of psoriasis. SUMO4 is a negative regulator of NF-kappaB in the cell-signaling pathway. Two functional polymorphisms of the NFKB1 and SUMO4 genes have been found to be associated with the risks of some autoimmune-related diseases, but no published study has investigated the role of these polymorphisms in the etiology of psoriasis in the Chinese population.

Early postnatal alcohol exposure reduced the size of vibrissal barrel field in rat somatosensory cortex (SI) but did not disrupt barrel field organization.

Prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) has been shown to alter the somatosensory cortex in both human and animal studies. In rodents, PAE reduced the size, but not the pattern of the posteromedial barrel subfield (PMBSF) associated with the representation of the whiskers, in newborn, juvenile, and adult rats. However, the PMBSF is not present at birth, but rather first appears in the middle of the first postnatal week during the brain-growth spurt period.

Long-term effects of prenatal alcohol exposure on the size of the whisker representation in juvenile and adult rat barrel cortex.

Children of mothers who abused alcohol during pregnancy are often reported to suffer from growth retardation and central nervous system (CNS) abnormalities. The use of prenatal alcohol exposed (PAE) animal models has revealed reductions in body and brain weights as well as regional specific brain deficits in neonatal pups. Recently, we and others reported reductions in the size of the posteromedial barrel subfield (PMBSF) in first somatosensory cortex (SI) associated with the representation of the large mystacial vibrissae in neonatal rats and mice that were exposed to alcohol at various times during gestation.

Hydrogen bonding and pi-pi stacking in methylaminium 4',7-dihydroxyisoflavone-3'-sulfonate dihydrate and hexaaquairon(II) bis(4',7-diethoxyisoflavone-3'-sulfonate) tetrahydrate.

In methylaminium 4',7-dihydroxyisoflavone-3'-sulfonate dihydrate, CH6N+.C15H9O7S-.2H2O, 11 hydrogen bonds exist between the methylaminium cations, the isoflavone-3'-sulfonate anions and the solvent water molecules.

Altered keratin 17 peptide ligands inhibit in vitro proliferation of keratinocytes and T cells isolated from patients with psoriasis.

Background: Identification of critical autoantigenic T-cell epitopes is key to developing antigen-based therapies for autoimmune diseases, including psoriasis. Our previous work demonstrated that 3 peptides on keratin 17 are able to stimulate peripheral blood lymphocytes of HLA-DRB1*07-positive patients with psoriasis and to serve as immunodominant T-cell epitopes.

Objective: We sought to determine antagonistic altered peptide ligands to psoriatic T cells with a down-modulatory effect in inhibiting keratinocyte proliferation.

Prenatal alcohol exposure delays the development of the cortical barrel field in neonatal rats.

In-utero alcohol exposure produces sensorimotor developmental abnormalities that often persist into adulthood. The rodent cortical barrel field associated with the representation of the body surface was used as our model system to examine the effect of prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) on early somatosensory cortical development. In this study, pregnant female rats were intragastrically gavaged daily with high doses of alcohol (6 gm/kg body weight) throughout the first 20 days of pregnancy.

Prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) reduces the size of the forepaw representation in forepaw barrel subfield (FBS) cortex in neonatal rats: relationship between periphery and central representation.

Prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) alters limb development that may lead to structural and functional abnormalities of the limb reported in children diagnosed with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder. To determine whether PAE alters the central representation of the forelimb we used the rodent barrel cortex as our model system where it was possible to visualize and quantitatively measure the size of the forepaw representation in the forepaw barrel subfield (FBS) in first somatosensory cortex. In the present study, we examined the effects of PAE on pattern and size of the forepaw and forepaw representation in FBS in neonatal rats at gestational day 32 that corresponds to postnatal day 9.

Genetic analysis of barrel field size in the first somatosensory area (SI) in inbred and recombinant inbred strains of mice.

We measured the combined area of posterior medial barrel subfield (PMBSF) and anterior lateral barrel subfield (ALBSF) areas in four common inbred strains (C3H/HeJ, A /J, C57BL /6J, DBA/2J), B6D2F1, and ten recombinant inbred (RI) strains generated from C57BL/6J and DBA/2J progenitors (BXD) as an initial attempt to examine the genetic influences underlying natural variation in barrel field size in adult mice. These two subfields are associated with the representation of the whisker pad and sinus hairs on the contralateral face. Using cytochrome oxidase labeling to visualize the barrel field, we measured the size of the combined subfields in each mouse strain.

Prenatal alcohol exposure alters the size, but not the pattern, of the whisker representation in neonatal rat barrel cortex.

Maternal alcohol exposure results in a variety of neurodevelopmental abnormalities that include cognitive and sensorimotor dysfunctions that often persist into adulthood. Many reports of central nervous system disturbances associated within a clinical diagnosis of fetal alcohol syndrome point toward disturbances in central information processing. In this study, we used the rat barrel field cortex as a model system to examine the effects of prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) on the organization and size of the large whisker representation in layer IV of the posteromedial barrel subfield (PMBSF) in somatosensory cortex.

Delayed reorganization of the shoulder representation in forepaw barrel subfield (FBS) in first somatosensory cortex (SI) following forelimb deafferentation in adult rats.

We previously reported that 6-16 weeks after forelimb amputation in adult rats, neurons in layer IV of rat first somatosensory cortex (SI) in the forepaw barrel subfield (FBS) associated with the representation of the forepaw became responsive to new input from the shoulder (Pearson et al. 1999). These new shoulder-responsive sites in deafferented FBS had longer evoked response latencies than did sites in the shoulder representation located in the posterior part of the trunk subfield, hereafter referred to as the original shoulder representation.

Removal of GABAergic inhibition alters subthreshold input in neurons in forepaw barrel subfield (FBS) in rat first somatosensory cortex (SI) after digit stimulation.

Our objective was to test the hypothesis that suppression of GABAergic inhibition results in an enhancement of responses to stimulation of the surround receptive field. Neurons in the forepaw barrel subfield (FBS) in rat first somatosensory cortex (SI) receive short latency suprathreshold input from a principal location on the forepaw and longer latency subthreshold input from surrounding forepaw skin regions. Input from principal and surround receptive field sites was examined before, during, and after administration of the GABA(A) receptor blocker bicuculline methiodide (BMI) (in 165 mM NaCl at pH 3.