Development of a bioavailable Hg(II) sensing system based on MerR-regulated visual pigment biosynthesis.

Engineered microorganisms have proven to be a highly effective and robust tool to specifically detect heavy metals in the environment. In this study, a highly specific pigment-based whole-cell biosensor has been investigated for the detection of bioavailable Hg(II) based on an artificial heavy metal resistance operon. The basic working principle of biosensors is based on the violacein biosynthesis under the control of mercury resistance (mer) promoter and mercury resistance regulator (MerR).

Comparative physiological and transcriptomic analyses of photosynthesis in Sphagneticola calendulacea (L.) Pruski and Sphagneticola trilobata (L.) Pruski.

Sphagneticola trilobata (L.) Pruski is one of the fast-growing malignant weeds in South China. It has severely influenced local biodiversity and native plant habitat.

[Characteristics and Sources of Water-soluble Organic Carbon/Nitrogen in PM During Spring in Changzhou].

To understand the characteristics and sources of water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC) and organic nitrogen (WSON) in atmospheric aerosols during spring in Changzhou, 84 fine particle (PM) samples were collected from March 1 to May 30, 2017, in Changzhou. The water-soluble components, including water-soluble organic carbon, water-soluble total nitrogen (WSTN), water-soluble ions, and carbonaceous components (OC and EC), were analyzed. The levels of WSOC and WSON and their source characteristics were discussed.

Synthesis and in vivo fungicidal activity of some new quinoline derivatives against rice blast.

Background: Quinoline derivatives possess excellent fungicidal activity against rice blast, but quinoline derivatives have not been thoroughly explored as fungicides. In the process of designing new fungicides, the 1,1,1,2,3,3,3-heptafluoropropan-2-yl group was introduced in order to find new structure quinoline derivatives.

Results: Seventeen new quinoline derivatives containing 1,1,1,2,3,3,3-heptafluoropropan-2-yl moiety were designed and synthesised.

[Degradation Characteristics of Spectral Analysis of Straw Nursery Containers in Situ Soil Culture].

This paper aimed to reveal the degradation behavior of a new type of biodegradable containers. The biodegradable containers, which was made of modified soybean adhesive and straw, was processed in situ biodegradation under natural condition. The physicochemical property and microstructure of straw nursery containers treated and untreated were characterized with Cellulose Tester, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Scanning Electron Microscope - Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), and Thermo-gravimetry Analysis (TGA), respectively.

[Inhibitory Effect of the Excretory/Scretory Proteins of Trichinella spiralis on Proliferation of Human Hepatocellular Carcinoma HepG2 Cell line].

Human hepatocellular carcinoma HepG2 Cell line were cultured with different concentrations of excretory/secretory proteins from Trichinella spiralis, and MTT assay was used to evaluate the cell inhibition rate. After co-cultured with 300 µg/ml excretory/secretory proteins for 24 h, the HepG2 cells were observed under a fluorescence microscope with AO and EB staining. When co-cultured with 75 µg/ml excretory/secretory proteins for 24 h, the HepG2 cells were quantified by flow cytometry using Annexin V-FITC/PI stain, and the expression of cleaved-caspase 9 was detected by immunofluorescence assay.

Decomposition of dimethylamine gas with dielectric barrier discharge.

The decomposition of dimethylamine (DMA) with gas under high flow rate was investigated with dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) technology. Different parameters including removal efficiency, energy yield, carbon balance and CO2 selectivity, secondary products, as well as pathways and mechanisms of DMA degradation were studied. The experimental results showed that removal efficiency of DMA depended on applied voltage and gas flow rate, but had no obvious correlation with initial concentration.

Functionalization of dendritic polyethylene with cationic poly(p-phenylene ethynylene) enables efficient siRNA delivery for gene silencing.

A novel system based on a dendritic polyethylene-cationic poly(p-phenylene ethynylene) polyvalent nanocarrier was developed for siRNA delivery. By using the combination of a molecular wire and a "dendritic effects" strategy, this design provides the nanocarrier system with low cytotoxicity, cellular imaging and high siRNA delivery efficiency, allowing it to exhibit remarkable gene knockdown abilities as well as real-time monitoring of the siRNA delivery process.

Urothelial tumor initiation requires deregulation of multiple signaling pathways: implications in target-based therapies.

Although formation of urothelial carcinoma of the bladder (UCB) requires multiple steps and proceeds along divergent pathways, the underlying genetic and molecular determinants for each step and pathway remain undefined. By developing transgenic mice expressing single or combinatorial genetic alterations in urothelium, we demonstrated here that overcoming oncogene-induced compensatory tumor barriers was critical for urothelial tumor initiation. Constitutively active Ha-ras (Ras*) elicited urothelial hyperplasia that was persistent and did not progress to tumors over a 10 months period.

The genetic profiling of preferentially expressed genes in murine splenic CD8α+ dendritic cells.

In the murine splenocytes, CD8α+ dendritic cells (abbreviated as 8+DC) and CD8α- dendritic cells (abbreviated as 8-DC) are identified with some vague features for each of them. 8+DCs but not 8-DCs cross-prime cytotoxic T cells in vivo. We aim to distinguish the two subtypes of DC based on gene expression profiling.

A novel agonistic anti-human death receptor 5 monoclonal antibody with tumoricidal activity induces caspase- and mitochondrial-dependent apoptosis in human leukemia Jurkat cells.

An agonistic antibody against TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand death receptor 5 (DR5) is a practicable candidate drug for antitumor therapy. In this study, a novel murine anti-human DR5 monoclonal antibody, mDRA-6(IgG1-κ), has been generated. This study aimed to explore the caspase-dependent and mitochondrial mechanisms of mDRA-6 in inducing apoptosis in human leukemia Jurkat cells.

[Responses of Jatropha curcas L. seedlings to drought stress].

By adding different concentrations (5%-25%) of polyethylene glycol (PEG) into Hoagland solution to simulate a gradient of drought stress, the photosynthetic characteristics and drought resistance of Jatropha curcas L. seedlings were investigated. The results showed that when treated with lower concentrations (< or = 15%) of PEG, the photosynthetic rate (Pn), stomatal conductance (Gs), and intercellular carbon dioxide concentration (Ci) of the seedlings decreased with increasing PEG concentration, while the chlorophyll fluorescence parameters optimal/maximal quantum yield of PS II (Fv/Fm) decreased slightly and minimal fluorescence (Fo) was almost unaltered.

[Clinical observation on treatment of cerebral infarction-induced broca aphasia by Tiaoshen Fuyin acupuncture therapy combined with language training].

Objective: To observe therapeutic effect of Tiaoshen Fuyin acupuncture therapy on cerebral infarction-induced Broca aphasia.

Methods: Sixty cases were randomly divided into an observation group and a control group, 30 cases in each group. The observation group were treated with Tiaoshen Fuyin acupuncture therapy and language training, and the control group with simple language training.

[Comparative study of the resistance of bacteriophageT4, PhiX174D, MS2 and f2 to gamma radiation].

Objective: To screen the suitable bacteriophage as virus indicator in irradiation sterilization.

Methods: Suspensions of bacteriophage T4, phiX174D, MS2, and f2, Escherichia coli 8099, and Bacillus subtilis var.niger.

Transcriptional regulation of the androgen receptor cofactor androgen receptor trapped clone-27.

Cofactors modulate nuclear receptor activity and impact human health and disease, yet surprisingly little is known about their transcriptional regulation. Androgen receptor trapped clone-27 (ART-27) is a cofactor that binds to androgen receptor (AR) amino terminus and modulates AR-dependent transcription. Interestingly, ART-27 displays both a cell type- and developmental stage-specific expression pattern.

Persistent uroplakin expression in advanced urothelial carcinomas: implications in urothelial tumor progression and clinical outcome.

As the terminal differentiation products of human urothelium, uroplakins (UPs) would be expected to diminish during urothelial tumorigenesis. Surprisingly, recent studies found UPs to be retained even by well-advanced urothelial carcinomas, suggesting that the loss of UPs does not strictly parallel urothelial transformation. Little is known, however, about whether the status of UPs is associated with a particular pathologic parameter, the tumor's biological behavior, or patient outcome.

Decreased DOC-2/DAB2 expression in urothelial carcinoma of the bladder.

Purpose: DOC-2/DAB2 (differentially expressed in ovarian carcinoma-2/disabled-2), a potential tumor suppressor gene, is underexpressed in several cancers. Little is known about the expression of this gene in urothelial carcinoma of the bladder (UCB). We profiled DOC-2/DAB2 expression in mouse and human normal and neoplastic urothelia.

Hyperactivation of Ha-ras oncogene, but not Ink4a/Arf deficiency, triggers bladder tumorigenesis.

Although ras is a potent mitogenic oncogene, its tumorigenicity depends on cellular context and cooperative events. Here we show that low-level expression of a constitutively active Ha-ras in mouse urothelium induces simple urothelial hyperplasia that is resistant to progression to full-fledged bladder tumors even in the absence of Ink4a/Arf. In stark contrast, doubling of the gene dosage of the activated Ha-ras triggered early-onset, rapidly growing, and 100% penetrant tumors throughout the urinary tract.

Cell-specific regulation of androgen receptor phosphorylation in vivo.

The biological ramifications of phosphorylation of the androgen receptor (AR) are largely unknown. To examine the phosphorylation of AR at serine 213, a putative substrate for Akt, a phosphorylation site-specific antibody was generated. The use of this antibody indicated that AR Ser-213 is phosphorylated in vivo and that phosphorylation is tightly regulated in a cell type-specific manner.

Tamm-Horsfall protein is a critical renal defense factor protecting against calcium oxalate crystal formation.

Background: The tubular fluid of the mammalian kidney is often supersaturated with mineral salts, but crystallization rarely occurs under normal conditions. The unique ability of the kidney to avoid harmful crystal formation has long been attributed to the inhibitory activity of the urinary macromolecules, although few in vivo studies have been carried out to examine this hypothesis. Here we examined the role of Tamm-Horsfall protein (THP), the principal urinary protein, in urinary defense against renal calcium crystal formation, using a THP knockout model that we recently developed.

p53 deficiency provokes urothelial proliferation and synergizes with activated Ha-ras in promoting urothelial tumorigenesis.

Mutation and deletion of the p53 tumor suppressor gene are arguably the most prevalent among the multiple genetic alterations found in human bladder cancer, but these p53 defects are primarily associated with the advanced diseases, and their roles in bladder tumor initiation and in synergizing with oncogenes in tumor progression have yet to be defined. Using the mouse uroplakin II gene promoter, we have targeted into urothelium of transgenic mice a dominant-negative mutant of p53 that lacks the DNA-binding domain but retains the tetramerization domain. Urothelium-expressed p53 mutant binds to and stabilizes the endogenous wild-type p53, induces nuclear abnormality, hyperplasia and occasionally dysplasia, without eliciting frank carcinomas.

ART-27, an androgen receptor coactivator regulated in prostate development and cancer.

Androgen receptor trapped clone-27 (ART-27) is a newly described transcriptional coactivator that binds to the N terminus of the androgen receptor (AR). Given the vital importance of AR signaling in prostate growth and differentiation, we investigated the role of ART-27 in these processes. Immunohistochemical studies indicate that ART-27 protein is expressed in differentiated epithelial cells of adult human prostate and breast tissue.

Ablation of the Tamm-Horsfall protein gene increases susceptibility of mice to bladder colonization by type 1-fimbriated Escherichia coli.

The adhesion of uropathogenic Escherichia coli to the urothelial surface of the bladder is a prerequisite for the establishment of bladder infections. This adhesion process relies on E. coli adhesins and their cognate urothelial receptors, and it also is influenced by an intricate array of defense mechanisms of the urinary system.

The human prostate expresses sonic hedgehog during fetal development.

Purpose: The keynote event of prostate ductal development is the formation of epithelial buds that invade the urogenital sinus mesenchyma. Studies in mice have shown that budding requires the signaling peptide, which is expressed in the epithelium of the prostatic anlagen. We report our characterization of (SHH) expression in the human fetal prostate.