Development and application of loop-mediated isothermal amplification assays based on ITS-1 for rapid detection of Toxoplasma gondii in pork.

The loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay is a novel method that rapidly amplifies DNA with high specificity and sensitivity under isothermal conditions. In this study, we established a LAMP assay with six primers targeting a highly conserved region of Toxoplasma gondii ITS-1 sequence. The amplification protocol completes within 30 min under isothermal condition in a 65°C water bath while specificity tests confirmed no cross-reactivity with DNA templates of Neospora caninum, Eimeria tenella, Cryptosporidium parvum, Listeria monocytogenes and Streptococcus suis.

Stakeholder engagement analysis - a bioethics dilemma in patient-targeted intervention: patients with temporomandibular joint disorders.

Modern health care in the field of Medicine, Dentistry and Nursing is grounded in fundamental philosophy and epistemology of translational science. Recently in the U.S major national initiatives have been implemented in the hope of closing the gaps that sometimes exist between the two fundamental components of translational science, the translational research and translational effectiveness.

Ebola: translational science considerations.

We are currently in the midst of the most aggressive and fulminating outbreak of Ebola-related disease, commonly referred to as "Ebola", ever recorded. In less than a year, the Ebola virus (EBOV, Zaire ebolavirus species) has infected over 10,000 people, indiscriminately of gender or age, with a fatality rate of about 50%. Whereas at its onset this Ebola outbreak was limited to three countries in West Africa (Guinea, where it was first reported in late March 2014, Liberia, where it has been most rampant in its capital city, Monrovia and other metropolitan cities, and Sierra Leone), cases were later reported in Nigeria, Mali and Senegal, as well as in Western Europe (i.

A novel role for synaptic acetylcholinesterase as an apoptotic deoxyribonuclease.

In addition to terminating neurotransmission by hydrolyzing acetylcholine, synaptic acetylcholinesterase (AChES) has been found to have a pro-apoptotic role. However, the underlying mechanism has rarely been investigated. Here, we report a nuclear translocation-dependent role for AChES as an apoptotic deoxyribonuclease (DNase).

Cardioprotective effect of resveratrol on atherogenic diet-fed rats.

Atherogenic or high fat diets were known to induce cardiovascular diseases, and several active compounds were tested to protect/prevent the risk of cardiovascular diseases. We aimed to investigate the cardio protective effect of resveratrol against atherogenic diet fed rats. Male Wistar rats were administered atherogenic diet for 30 days and further continued for 15 days with or with resveratrol in the diet.

Inter- and Intra-individual Variability in the Pharmacokinetics of Agomelatine Tablets in Chinese Healthy Male Subjects.

Agomelatine is an antidepressant with a unique action mechanism differing from conventional antidepressants. The high inter- and intra-individual variability of agomelatine was previously reported, but no exact data values about the inter- and intra-individual variability in AUC and Cmax were mentioned. The current study aimed to determine and evaluate the inter- and intra-individual variability in AUC and Cmax of agomelatine tablets in Chinese healthy male subjects, providing useful information for designing bioequivalence studies of agomelatine.

Damage of hippocampal neurons in rats with chronic alcoholism.

Chronic alcoholism can damage the cytoskeleton and aggravate neurological deficits. However, the effect of chronic alcoholism on hippocampal neurons remains unclear. In this study, a model of chronic alcoholism was established in rats that were fed with 6% alcohol for 42 days.

Pharmacokinetics of peramivir after single intravenous doses in healthy Chinese subjects.

1.The aim of the study was to evaluate the pharmacokinetics of peramivir after single intravenous (i.v.

Regulation of lovastatin on a key inflammation-related microRNA in myocardial cells.

Background: Advances in the understanding of cardiovascular pathogenesis have highlighted that inflammation plays a central role in atherosclerotic coronary heart disease. Therefore, exploring pharmacologically based anti-inflammatory treatments to be used in cardiovascular therapeutics is worthwhile to promote the discovery of novel ways of treating cardiovascular disorders.

Methods: The myocardial cell line H9c2(2-1) was exposed to lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in culture and resulted in a cellular pro-inflammation status.

Expression of Caenorhabditis elegans-expressed Trans-HPS, partial aminopeptidase H11 from Haemonchus contortus.

Aminopeptidase H11 present in the surface of intestine microvilli in Haemonchus contortus was identified as the most effective antigen candidate. However, its recombinant forms produced in Escherichiacoli, insect cells and yeast could not provide promising protection against H. contortus challenge, probably due to the inappropriate glycosylation and/or conformational folding.

Cryptosporidiosis in broiler chickens in Zhejiang Province, China: molecular characterization of oocysts detected in fecal samples.

Cryptosporidium is one of the most important parasites in poultry, and this pathogen can infect more than 30 avian species. The present study investigated the infection rate of Cryptosporidium among broiler chicken flocks. A total of 385 fecal samples from broiler chickens in 7 regions of Zhejiang Province collected from November 2010 to January 2012 were examined by microscopy.

Hc-fau, a novel gene regulating diapause in the nematode parasite Haemonchus contortus.

Diapause induced in the early fourth stage of Haemonchus contortus is a strategy to adapt this nematode to hostile environmental conditions. In this study, we identified a new gene, Hc-fau, a homologue of human fau and Caenorhabditis elegans Ce-rps30. Hc-fau encodes two proteins through alternative RNA splicing, Hc-FAUA and Hc-FAUB, consisting of 130 and 107 amino acids, respectively.

Islet-1 Is essential for pancreatic β-cell function.

Islet-1 (Isl-1) is essential for the survival and ensuing differentiation of pancreatic endocrine progenitors. Isl-1 remains expressed in all adult pancreatic endocrine lineages; however, its specific function in the postnatal pancreas is unclear. Here we determine whether Isl-1 plays a distinct role in the postnatal β-cell by performing physiological and morphometric analyses of a tamoxifen-inducible, β-cell-specific Isl-1 loss-of-function mouse: Isl-1(L/L); Pdx1-CreER(Tm).

Surface plasmon-enhanced zeolite catalysis under light irradiation and its correlation with molecular polarity of reactants.

Enhanced catalytic performance of zeolites via the plasmonic effect of gold nanoparticles has been discovered to be closely correlated with the molecular polarity of reactants. The intensified polarised electrostatic field of Na(+) in NaY plays a critical role in stretching the C=O bond of aldehydes to improve the reaction rate.

Human monoclonal antibodies derived from a patient infected with 2009 pandemic influenza A virus broadly cross-neutralize group 1 influenza viruses.

Influenza viruses are a continuous threat to human public health because of their ability to evolve rapidly through genetic drift and reassortment. Three human monoclonal antibodies (HuMAbs) were generated in this study, 1H11, 2H5 and 5G2, and they cross-neutralize a diverse range of group 1 influenza A viruses, including seasonal H1N1, 2009 pandemic H1N1 (H1N1pdm) and avian H5N1 and H9N2. The three HuMAbs were prepared by fusing peripheral blood lymphocytes from an H1N1pdm-infected patient with a newly developed fusion partner cell line, SPYMEG.

Inhibition of retinopathy of prematurity in rat by intravitreal injection of sorafenib.

Aim: To investigate the effect of intravitreal injection administered sorafenib, a multikinase inhibitor, in a rat model of oxygen-induced retinopathy (OIR).

Methods: Seven-day-old Sprague-Dawley rats (n=144) were randomly assigned to six groups. Group A received normal partial oxygen pressure and groups B, C, D, E and F were exposed to hyperoxia (75±2)% from postnatal 7d (P7) to P12 to induce retinopathy of prematurity.

Neutral and charged boron-doped fullerenes for CO2 adsorption.

Recently, the capture and storage of CO2 have attracted research interest as a strategy to reduce the global emissions of greenhouse gases. It is crucial to find suitable materials to achieve an efficient CO2 capture. Here we report our study of CO2 adsorption on boron-doped C60 fullerene in the neutral state and in the 1e (-)-charged state.

Hydrogen evolution by a metal-free electrocatalyst.

Electrocatalytic reduction of water to molecular hydrogen via the hydrogen evolution reaction may provide a sustainable energy supply for the future, but its commercial application is hampered by the use of precious platinum catalysts. All alternatives to platinum thus far are based on nonprecious metals, and, to our knowledge, there is no report about a catalyst for electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution beyond metals. Here we couple graphitic-carbon nitride with nitrogen-doped graphene to produce a metal-free hybrid catalyst, which shows an unexpected hydrogen evolution reaction activity with comparable overpotential and Tafel slope to some of well-developed metallic catalysts.

Thymine DNA glycosylase promotes transactivation of β-catenin/TCFs by cooperating with CBP.

Thymine DNA glycosylase (TDG), an enzyme that initiates the repair of G/T and G/U mismatches, has been lately found crucial in embryonic development to maintain epigenetic stability and facilitate the active DNA demethylation. Here we report a novel role of TDG in Wnt signaling as a transcriptional coactivator of β-catenin/TCFs complex. Our data show that TDG binds to the transcriptional factor family LEF1/TCFs and potentiates β-catenin/TCFs transactivation, while TDG depletion suppresses Wnt3a-stimulated reporter activity or target gene transcription.

Strain engineering of selective chemical adsorption on monolayer MoS2.

Nanomaterials are prone to influence by chemical adsorption because of their large surface to volume ratios. This enables sensitive detection of adsorbed chemical species which, in turn, can tune the properties of the host material. Recent studies discovered that single and multi-layer molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) films are ultra-sensitive to several important environmental molecules.

Drug carriers for the delivery of therapeutic peptides.

Peptides take on an increasingly important role as therapeutics in areas including diabetes, oncology, and metabolic, cardiovascular, and infectious diseases. In addition, many peptides such as insulin have been employed for many years. A challenge in the administration of peptide drugs is their often low hydrolytic stability, as well as other problems that are common to any drug treatment such as systemic distribution.

Effects of inorganic anions on cadmium sorption behaviours on titanate nanotube surfaces.

This manuscript describes the characterization of as-synthesized titanate nanotube (TNT) and its sorption behaviours on cadmium with the interactions of inorganic anions. The X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy found that the nanotube is in sodium titanate crystal phase (Na2Ti3O7) and the pores of TNT are bimodally distributed with nominal pore sizes of 3 and 15 nm. In the binary systems between TNT and anions, the binding affinity is fluoride > phosphate > sulphate with sulphate being the least preferred.

A computational study of carbon dioxide adsorption on solid boron.

Capturing and sequestering carbon dioxide (CO2) can provide a route to partial mitigation of climate change associated with anthropogenic CO2 emissions. Here we report a comprehensive theoretical study of CO2 adsorption on two phases of boron, α-B12 and γ-B28. The theoretical results demonstrate that the electron deficient boron materials, such as α-B12 and γ-B28, can bond strongly with CO2 due to Lewis acid-base interactions because the electron density is higher on their surfaces.

Electrocatalytically switchable CO2 capture: first principle computational exploration of carbon nanotubes with pyridinic nitrogen.

Carbon nanotubes with specific nitrogen doping are proposed for controllable, highly selective, and reversible CO2 capture. Using density functional theory incorporating long-range dispersion corrections, we investigated the adsorption behavior of CO2 on (7,7) single-walled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) with several nitrogen doping configurations and varying charge states. Pyridinic-nitrogen incorporation in CNTs is found to induce an increasing CO2 adsorption strength with electron injecting, leading to a highly selective CO2 adsorption in comparison with N2 .

Electrocatalytically switchable CO2 capture: first principle computational exploration of carbon nanotubes with pyridinic nitrogen.

The front cover artwork for issue 12/2013 is provided by the group of Prof. Zhonghua Zhu, in collaboration with Prof. Sean C.