DNA Vaccines Encoding Toxoplasma gondii Cathepsin C 1 Induce Protection against Toxoplasmosis in Mice.

Toxoplasma gondii cathepsin C proteases (TgCPC1, 2, and 3) are important for the growth and survival of T. gondii. In the present study, B-cell and T-cell epitopes of TgCPC1 were predicted using DNAstar and the Immune Epitope Database.

Plasma miR-124 Is a Promising Candidate Biomarker for Human Intracerebral Hemorrhage Stroke.

Stroke causes death or long-term disabilities and threatens the general health of the population worldwide. Recent studies have suggested that miRNAs are dysregulated and can be used as biomarkers for diagnosis and prognosis in stroke. The intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) accounts for 15% of all the stroke cases.

Identification and expression profiling of microRNAs involved in the stigma exsertion under high-temperature stress in tomato.

Background: Autogamy in cultivated tomato varieties is a derived trait from wild type tomato plants, which are mostly allogamous. However, environmental stresses can cause morphological defects in tomato flowers and hinder autogamy. Under elevated temperatures, tomato plants usually exhibit the phenotype of stigma exsertion, with severely hindered self-pollination and fruit setting, whereas the inherent mechanism of stigma exsertion have been hitherto unknown.

Molecular characterization of a genetically divergent equine pegivirus strain identified in China.

Equine pegivirus (EPgV) is a newly discovered equine virus, which is taxonomically classified in the Pegivirus genus of the Flaviviridae family. Until now, only the complete genome sequence of the first reported EPgV strain, from the USA (strain name: C0035) is available on online databases. Considering this, horse serum samples were collected from horses in China and screened for EPgV RNA by RT-PCR.

[Prospects and Progress on the Mechanisms of Acupuncture Underlying Improvement in Diabetic Gastroparesis].

Diabetic gastroparesis (DGP) is an important complication of diabetes, and seriously impacts the patient's quality of life. In the present paper, the authors summarize national and international research on the mechanism of acupuncture therapy in improving DGP and the pathogenesis of DGP over the past 10 years. The authors illustrate the mechanism of acupuncture underlying the improvement in DGP as follows:1) the effect on autonomic nerves and neurons of the central nervous system; 2) promoting restoration of the enteric nervous system; 3) the effect on Cajal interstitial cells; 4) improving gastrointestinal hormone disorder; 5) improving hyperglycemic state; 6) the effect on gastric smooth muscle.

Ligand-Substrate Dispersion Facilitates the Copper-Catalyzed Hydroamination of Unactivated Olefins.

The current understanding of ligand effects in transition metal catalysis is mostly based on the analysis of catalyst-substrate through-bond and through-space interactions, with the latter commonly considered to be repulsive in nature. The dispersion interaction between the ligand and the substrate, a ubiquitous type of attractive noncovalent interaction, is seldom accounted for in the context of transition-metal-catalyzed transformations. Herein we report a computational model to quantitatively analyze the effects of different types of catalyst-substrate interactions on reactivity.

A Sarcoplasmic Reticulum Localized Protein Phosphatase Regulates Phospholamban Phosphorylation and Promotes Ischemia Reperfusion Injury in the Heart.

Phospholamban (PLN) is a key regulator of sarcolemma calcium uptake in cardiomyocyte, its inhibitory activity to SERCA is regulated by phosphorylation. PLN hypophosphorylation is a common molecular feature in failing heart. The current study provided evidence at molecular, cellular and whole heart levels to implicate a sarcolemma membrane targeted protein phosphatase, PP2Ce, as a specific and potent PLN phosphatase.

Computationally Guided Catalyst Design in the Type I Dynamic Kinetic Asymmetric Pauson-Khand Reaction of Allenyl Acetates.

The Rh(I)-catalyzed allenic Pauson-Khand reaction (APKR) is an efficient, redox-neutral method of synthesizing α-acyloxy cyclopentenones. An enantioselective APKR could provide access to chiral, nonracemic α-acyloxy and α-hydroxy cyclopentenones and their corresponding redox derivatives, such as thapsigargin, a cytotoxic natural product with potent antitumor activity. Rapid scrambling of axial chirality of allenyl acetates in the presence of Rh(I) catalysts enables the conversion of racemic allene to enantiopure cyclopentenone product in a dynamic kinetic asymmetric transformation (DyKAT).

Tridentate Directing Groups Stabilize 6-Membered Palladacycles in Catalytic Alkene Hydrofunctionalization.

Removable tridentate directing groups inspired by pincer ligands have been designed to stabilize otherwise kinetically and thermodynamically disfavored 6-membered alkyl palladacycle intermediates. This family of directing groups enables regioselective remote hydrocarbofunctionalization of several synthetically useful alkene-containing substrate classes, including 4-pentenoic acids, allylic alcohols, homoallyl amines, and bis-homoallylamines, under Pd(II) catalysis. In conjunction with previous findings, we demonstrate regiodivergent hydrofunctionalization of 3-butenoic acid derivatives to afford either Markovnikov or anti-Markovnikov addition products depending on directing group choice.

Phase I/II randomized controlled trial of autologous bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cell therapy for chronic stroke.

Aim: To examine the safety and efficacy of mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) therapy for intracerebral haemorrhage with neurological dysfunctions for a year.

Methods: MSC were expanded from 29 mL (17-42 mL) autologous bone marrow. Patients were randomized to have two intravenous injections of autologous MSC or placebos in four weeks apart.

Midterm outcomes of intracranial aneurysms with bleb formation with densely coiling of the aneurismal neck or entire aneurysm.

To evaluate whether the efficacy and safety of embolization of the aneurysmal neck were better than those of embolization of the entire aneurysm. Previous studies found that embolization of the aneurysmal neck can be used for treating ruptured intracranial aneurysm with bleb formation.In all, 163 patients with ruptured aneurysms with bleb formation who underwent endovascular embolization at the Shanghai Municipal Jing'an District Central Hospital from January 2014 to August 2015 were divided into the embolization of aneurysmal neck group (neck group; 87 cases) and embolization of entire aneurysm group (aneurysm group; 76 cases).

Facet-Dependent Diol-Induced Density of States of Anatase TiO Crystal Surface.

Owing to their fundamental importance and practical applications, anatase TiO crystals with well-defined {001} and {101} facets attracted intensive research interests. In this study, we systematically investigated solvent dependence of the photoreaction of the different coexposed crystal facets during noble metal photodeposition. By examining the deposition position in each solvent, we revealed that solvents play a pivotal role on the facet selectivity.

Correlation of Aggressive Intracranial Lesions and Venous Reflux Patterns in Dural Arteriovenous Fistulas.

Background: The association between venous reflux patterns with aggressive intracranial lesions (AILs), including intracranial edema (IE), intraparenphymal hemorrhage (IPH), and subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), has not been well established in cranial dural arteriovenous fistulas (DAVFs). We propose an updated classification system based on venous drainage.

Methods: We retrospectively assessed the catheter angiography findings of venous drainage patterns.

Identification of reference genes for qRT-PCR in granulosa cells of healthy women and polycystic ovarian syndrome patients.

Comparative gene expression analysis by qRT-PCR is commonly used to detect differentially expressed genes in studies of PCOS pathology. Impaired GC function is strongly associated with PCOS pathogenesis, and a growing body of studies has been dedicated to identifying differentially expressed genes in GCs in PCOS patients and healthy women by qRT-PCR. It is necessary to validate the expression stability of the selected reference genes across the tested samples for target gene expression normalization.

Correlation of tenascin-C concentrations in serum with outcome of traumatic brain injury in humans.

Background: Tenascin-C, a matricellular protein, is involved in brain injury. However, change of tenascin-C concentrations in peripheral blood remains unknown after traumatic brain injury (TBI).

Methods: Serum tenascin-C concentrations were measured in 100 healthy controls, 108 severe TBI patients, 79 moderate TBI patients and 32 mild TBI patients.

miR-181d regulates human dendritic cell maturation through NF-κB pathway.

Objectives: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are considered as the cellular regulators which post-transcriptionally modulate gene expression in diverse biological processes including cell development and immunity. In this study, we investigated functions of miR-181d in dendritic cells (DCs) maturation, and the underlying mechanisms were also explored.

Materials And Methods: Here we did the miRNA screening in human DCs in response to lipopolysaccharides (LPS) by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR).

High-throughput electrophysiological assays for voltage gated ion channels using SyncroPatch 768PE.

Ion channels regulate a variety of physiological processes and represent an important class of drug target. Among the many methods of studying ion channel function, patch clamp electrophysiology is considered the gold standard by providing the ultimate precision and flexibility. However, its utility in ion channel drug discovery is impeded by low throughput.

Structuraland antigenic analysis of a new Rhoptry Pseudokinase Gene (ROP54) in Toxoplasma gondii.

Toxoplasma gondii is defined as an obligate intracellular apicomplexan parasite and influences approximatelyone-third of the human all over the world. ROP54 protein is expressed in the rhoptry of Toxoplasma gondii. In the present study, we used SMART software to analyzethe secondary structure of ROP54.

Generation of a Bag1 homozygous knockout mouse embryonic stem cell line using CRISPR/Cas9.

Bag1 transcribes a multifunctional protein that participates in many important biological processes such as cell apoptosis, proliferation, differentiation and embryo development. Despite numerous published studies, the role of Bag1 in the context of embryonic stem (ES) cells, has not been explored. To investigate the function of Bag1 in ES cells, we generated mutant Bag1 ES cells using the CRISPR/Cas9 system.

NHC Ligands Tailored for Simultaneous Regio- and Enantiocontrol in Nickel-Catalyzed Reductive Couplings.

An exceptionally hindered class of enantiopure NHC ligands has been developed. While racemic forms had previously been utilized, a scalable and practical route to the enantiopure form of this ligand class is described utilizing a Buchwald-Hartwig N,N-diarylation in a highly sterically demanding environment. Using this newly accessible ligand class, nickel-catalyzed enantioselective reductive coupling reactions of aldehydes and alkynes have been developed.

SAG5B and SAG5C combined vaccine protects mice against Toxoplasma gondii infection.

Infections with the protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii, which are common around the world, can lead to congenital infections in humans. T. gondii surface antigen protein 5B (SAG5B) and SAG5C are potential stimulators of humoral and cellular immune responses.

Erratum: Lkb1 inactivation drives lung cancer lineage switching governed by Polycomb Repressive Complex 2.

This corrects the article DOI: 10.1038/ncomms14922.

Plasmon-Mediated Surface Engineering of Silver Nanowires for Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering.

We reveal nanoscale morphological changes on the surface of a silver nanowire (AgNW) in the conventional surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) measurement condition. The surface morphology changes are due to the surface plasmon-mediated photochemical etching of silver in the presence of certain Raman probes, resulting in a dramatic increase of Raman scattering intensity. This observation indicates that the measured SERS enhancement does not always originate from the as-designed/fabricated structures themselves, but sometimes with contribution from the morphological changes by plasmon-mediated photochemical reactions.

Chronic Ketamine Exposure Causes White Matter Microstructural Abnormalities in Adolescent Cynomolgus Monkeys.

Acute and repeated exposures to ketamine mimic aspects of positive, negative, and cognitive symptoms of schizophrenia in humans. Recent studies by our group and others have shown that chronicity of ketamine use may be a key element for establishing a more valid model of cognitive symptoms of schizophrenia. However, current understanding on the long-term consequences of ketamine exposure on brain circuits has remained incomplete, particularly with regard to microstructural changes of white matter tracts that underpin the neuropathology of schizophrenia.