Different activated methyl cycle pathways affect the pathogenicity of avian pathogenic Escherichia coli.

The activated methyl cycle (AMC) regulates the cellular levels of S-adenosyl-l-homocysteine (SAH) in bacteria, which plays a crucial role in bacterial pathogenicity. There are two AMC pathways in bacteria: one is a two-step reaction pathway (named the LuxS/Pfs pathway) in which LuxS and Pfs catalyze the conversion of SAH to l-homocysteine and autoinducer-2 (AI-2), and the other is a one-step reaction (named the SahH pathway) mediated by S-adenosyl-l-homocysteine hydrolase (SahH), which completes this cycle without producing AI-2. In this study, we evaluated the effects of different AMC pathways on the pathogenicity of avian pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC).

Capillary-Force-Assisted Clean-Stamp Transfer of Two-Dimensional Materials.

A simple and clean method of transferring two-dimensional (2D) materials plays a critical role in the fabrication of 2D electronics, particularly the heterostructure devices based on the artificial vertical stacking of various 2D crystals. Currently, clean transfer techniques rely on sacrificial layers or bulky crystal flakes (e.g.

Continuous-variable geometric phase and its manipulation for quantum computation in a superconducting circuit.

Geometric phase, associated with holonomy transformation in quantum state space, is an important quantum-mechanical effect. Besides fundamental interest, this effect has practical applications, among which geometric quantum computation is a paradigm, where quantum logic operations are realized through geometric phase manipulation that has some intrinsic noise-resilient advantages and may enable simplified implementation of multi-qubit gates compared to the dynamical approach. Here we report observation of a continuous-variable geometric phase and demonstrate a quantum gate protocol based on this phase in a superconducting circuit, where five qubits are controllably coupled to a resonator.

Ginsenoside Rg3 inhibits the senescence of prostate stromal cells through down-regulation of interleukin 8 expression.

Senescent stromal cells support the development of prostate cancer and are considered potential therapeutic targets. This research evaluated the regulatory effects of ginsenoside Rg3 on the senescence of prostatic stromal cells pre-incubated in medium supplemented with 0.5% fetal bovine serum.

Characteristics of ambient ozone (O) pollution and health risks in Zhejiang Province.

Troposphere ozone, which is from secondary formation processes, has been increasing dramatically during the last decades in China, inducing high health risks. In this study, temporal and spatial distribution of O was studied among 13 sites of three cities during 2014-2016. The objectives were to clarify the characteristics of the ambient pollution of O under the influence from other pollutants and meteorological parameters and the health outcomes from exposure to O.

Newer antiepileptic drugs compared to levetiracetam as adjunctive treatments for uncontrolled focal epilepsy: An indirect comparison.

Purpose: Newer antiepileptic drugs (AEDs), such as Eslicarbazepine (ESL), Lacosamide (LAC), Perampanel (PER) and Brivaracetam (BRV), have been marketed as adjunctive treatments for partial-onset seizures. Our aim was to compare the efficacy and tolerability of newer AEDs with Levetiracetam (LEV), when used as add-on treatments for uncontrolled focal epilepsy.

Method: We conducted an online database search on PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Online Library and Clinicaltrials.

Population pharmacokinetics and Bayesian estimation of mycophenolic acid concentrations in Chinese adult renal transplant recipients.

Mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) is an important immunosuppressant used in renal transplantation, and mycophenolic acid (MPA) is the active component released from the ester prodrug MMF. The objective of this study was to investigate the population pharmacokinetics of mycophenolic acid (MPA) following oral administration of MMF in Chinese adult renal transplant recipients and to identify factors that explain MPA pharmacokinetic variability. Pharmacokinetic data for MPA and covariate information were retrospectively collected from 118 patients (79 patients were assigned to the group for building the population pharmacokinetic model, while 39 patients were assigned to the validation group).

Mesencephalic astrocyte-derived neurotrophic factor and its role in nervous system disease.

Mesencephalic astrocyte-derived neurotrophic factor (MANF) is a member of the novel evolutionary conserved neurotrophic factor (NTF) family. MANF has a unique structure and an unparalleled dual mode of action that differs from other known NTFs. Recent studies have shown that MANF protects cells from endoplasmic reticulum stress.

Significant role of the cardiopostural interaction in blood pressure regulation during standing.

Cardiovascular and postural control systems have been studied independently despite the increasing evidence showing the importance of cardiopostural interaction in blood pressure regulation. In this study, we aimed to assess the role of the cardiopostural interaction in relation to cardiac baroreflex in blood pressure regulation under orthostatic stress before and after mild exercise. Physiological variables representing cardiovascular control (heart rate and systolic blood pressure), lower limb muscle activation (electromyography), and postural sway (center of pressure derived from force and moment data during sway) were measured from 17 healthy participants (25 ± 2 yr, 9 men and 8 women) during a sit-to-stand test before and after submaximal exercise.

Joint analysis of interval-censored failure time data and panel count data.

Interval-censored failure time data and panel count data are two types of incomplete data that commonly occur in event history studies and many methods have been developed for their analysis separately (Sun in The statistical analysis of interval-censored failure time data. Springer, New York, 2006; Sun and Zhao in The statistical analysis of panel count data. Springer, New York, 2013).

Solving Systems of Linear Equations with a Superconducting Quantum Processor.

Superconducting quantum circuits are a promising candidate for building scalable quantum computers. Here, we use a four-qubit superconducting quantum processor to solve a two-dimensional system of linear equations based on a quantum algorithm proposed by Harrow, Hassidim, and Lloyd [Phys. Rev.

PKC/Nedd4-2 Signaling Pathway Regulates the Cell Surface Expression of Drug Transporter hOAT1.

Human organic anion transporter-1 (hOAT1) regulates the absorption, distribution, and excretion of a wide range of clinically important drugs. Our previous work demonstrated that hOAT1 is a dynamic membrane transporter, constitutively internalizing from and recycling back to the cell plasma membrane. Short-term activation (<30 minutes) of protein kinase C (PKC) promotes the attachment of a lysine 48-linked polyubiquitin chain to hOAT1, a process catalyzed by ubiquitin ligase neural precursor cell expressed developmentally down-regulated 4-2 (Nedd4-2).

Aberrant expression of MICO1 and MICO1OS in deceased somatic cell nuclear transfer calves.

Incomplete reprogramming of a donor nucleus following somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) results in aberrant expression of developmentally important genes, and is the primary source of the phenotypic abnormalities observed in cloned animals. Expression of non-coding RNAs in the murine Dlk1-Dio3 imprinted domain was previously shown to correlate with the pluripotency of mouse induced pluripotent stem cells. In this study, we examined the transcription of the bovine orthologs from this locus, MICO1 (Maternal intergenic circadian oscillating 1) and MICO1OS (MICO1 opposite strand), in tissues from artificially inseminated and SCNT calves that died during the perinatal period.

Poststroke alterations in heart rate variability during orthostatic challenge.

Older adults following recovery from ischemic stroke have a higher incidence of orthostatic hypotension, syncope, and fall risk, which may be related to impaired autonomic responses limiting the ability to maintain cerebral blood flow. Thus, we investigated cerebrovascular and cardiovascular regulation in 23 adults ≥55 years of age, 10 diagnosed with ischemic stroke, and 13 age-matched healthy controls when sitting at rest and upon standing to compare differences of autonomic variables at ∼7 months (218 ± 41 days) poststroke.Arterial blood pressure via finger plethysmography, muscle-pump baroreflex via electromyography, heart rate variability via 3-lead ECG, and cerebral blood flow velocity via transcranial Doppler were analyzed while sitting for 5 minutes and then during quiet standing for 5 minutes.

Robust Object Tracking With Discrete Graph-Based Multiple Experts.

Variations of target appearances due to illumination changes, heavy occlusions, and target deformations are the major factors for tracking drift. In this paper, we show that the tracking drift can be effectively corrected by exploiting the relationship between the current tracker and its historical tracker snapshots. Here, a multi-expert framework is established by the current tracker and its historical trained tracker snapshots.

Skeletal Muscle Pump Drives Control of Cardiovascular and Postural Systems.

The causal interaction between cardio-postural-musculoskeletal systems is critical in maintaining postural stability under orthostatic challenge. The absence or reduction of such interactions could lead to fainting and falls often experienced by elderly individuals. The causal relationship between systolic blood pressure (SBP), calf electromyography (EMG), and resultant center of pressure (COPr) can quantify the behavior of cardio-postural control loop.

[Effect of application of cow manure and green manure on corn yield and soil physical-chemical properties in land restoration area].

The effects of cow manure and green manure on maize yield, soil respiration and soil physical-chemical properties in land restoration area was evaluated through field experiments. The results indicated that the maize yield and thousand-grain mass with cow manure were increased by 7.2%-29.

Human U Three Protein 14a Expression is Increased in Hepatocellular Carcinoma and Associated with Poor Prognosis.

Background: Human U three protein 14a (hUTP14a) promotes p53 degradation. Moreover, hUTP14a expression is upregulated in several types of tumors. However, the expression pattern of hUTP14a in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains unknown.

microRNA-802 inhibits epithelial-mesenchymal transition through targeting flotillin-2 in human prostate cancer.

miRNAs are a class of non-coding RNAs that exert critical roles in various biological processes. The aim of the present study was to identify the functional roles of in regulating epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in prostate cancer (PCa). expression was detected in 73 pairs of PCa samples and PCa cell lines (PC3 and DU145 cells) by qRT-PCR.

The adverse event profile of brivaracetam: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Purpose: To comprehensively evaluate the adverse events (AEs) significantly associated with brivaracetam (BRV) treatment in a large selection of randomized control trials.

Methods: We conducted an online database search using Pubmed, Embase, Cochrane Online Library, and Clinicaltrial.gov for all available randomized control trials (RCTs) that investigated the therapeutic effects of brivaracetam.

X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis-associated factor 1 regulates TNF receptor 1 complex stability.

X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis (XIAP)-associated factor 1 (XAF1) is a cytokine-regulated, tumor necrosis factor (TNF) receptor-associated factor (TRAF) domain-containing protein that has a poorly defined cellular function. Here, we show that ectopically expressed XAF1 inhibits TNF-ɑ-induced NF-κB activation, whereas shRNA silencing of endogenous XAF1 augments it. Our data suggest that XAF1 may inhibit TNF-ɑ-induced NF-κB activation by disrupting the assembly of the TRADD/TRAF2/RIP1 complex (complex I) downstream of TNF receptor activation.

Highly expressed lncRNA CRNDE promotes cell proliferation through Wnt/β-catenin signaling in renal cell carcinoma.

Recently, numerous studies revealed that long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play complex roles in the field of tumor biology, while the functions of lncRNA in renal cell carcinoma (RCC) remain largely unknown. In the current study, we retrieved Oncomine database and found a lncRNA colorectal neoplasia differentially expressed (CRNDE) which is highly expressed in different cohorts of RCC patients; this clue reminds us that CRNDE might exert its functions in RCC tumorigenesis. We then detected the level of CRNDE in fresh RCC tissues and found that CRNDE is significantly up-regulated compared with adjacent tissues.