Ultrafast energy relaxation dynamics of amide I vibrations coupled with protein-bound water molecules.

The influence of hydration water on the vibrational energy relaxation in a protein holds the key to understand ultrafast protein dynamics, but its detection is a major challenge. Here, we report measurements on the ultrafast vibrational dynamics of amide I vibrations of proteins at the lipid membrane/HO interface using femtosecond time-resolved sum frequency generation vibrational spectroscopy. We find that the relaxation time of the amide I mode shows a very strong dependence on the HO exposure, but not on the DO exposure.

Influence of water aging on surface hardness of low-shrinkage light-cured composite resins.

This study evaluated the microhardness of four types of low-shrinkage composite resins and two types of universal composite resins with either 12 or 16 J/cm light power energy. Three disks were made for each group (n = 3) for a total of 36 specimens. The specimens were prepared by condensing the composite resin into a circular copper mold (diameter: 6 mm; height: 2 mm) and polymerizing with 700 mW/cm light power density.

Rules of anti-infection therapy for sepsis and septic shock.

Objective: Sepsis is a deadly infection that causes injury to tissues and organs. Infection and anti-infective treatment are the eternal themes of sepsis. The successful control of infection is a key factor of resuscitation for sepsis and septic shock.

Aldehyde effect and ligand discovery in Ru-catalyzed dehydrogenative cross-coupling of alcohols to esters.

The presence of different aldehydes is found to have a significant influence on the catalytic performance when using PN(H)P type ligands for dehydrogenation of alcohols. Accordingly, hybrid multi-dentate ligands were discovered based on an oxygen-transfer alkylation of PNP ligands by aldehydes. The relevant Ru-PNN(PO) system provided the desired unsymmetrical esters in good yields via acceptorless dehydrogenation of alcohols.

Modeling Gene-Environment Interaction for the Risk of Non-hodgkin Lymphoma.

Non-hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) is one of the most common and deadly cancers. There is limited analysis of gene-environment interactions for the risk of NHL. This study intends to explore the interactions between genetic variants and environmental factors, and how they contribute to NHL risk.

Genome-wide analysis of expression quantitative trait loci identified potential lung cancer susceptibility variants among Asian populations.

Even though genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have identified dozens of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) affecting the susceptibility to lung cancer, only a tiny fraction of heritability can be explained. Regulating the expression of surrounding genes is one of the important mechanisms for SNPs to exert their effect. So it is necessary to systematically evaluate the associations between expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) and lung cancer risk.

Misfolding of a Human Islet Amyloid Polypeptide at the Lipid Membrane Populates through β-Sheet Conformers without Involving α-Helical Intermediates.

Amyloid formation has been implicated in many fatal diseases, but its mechanism remains to be clarified due to a lack of effective methods that can capture the transient intermediates. Here, we experimentally demonstrate that sum frequency generation vibrational spectroscopy can unambiguously discriminate the intermediates during amyloid formation at the lipid membrane in situ and in real time by combining the chiral amide I and achiral amide II and amide III spectral signals of the protein backbone. Such a combination can directly identify the formation of β-hairpin-like monomers and β-sheet oligomers and fibrils.

Tougu Xiaotong capsule exerts a therapeutic effect on knee osteoarthritis by regulating subchondral bone remodeling.

Previous studies have shown that Tougu Xiaotong capsule (TGXTC) has therapeutic effects on knee osteoarthritis (OA) through multiple targets. However, the mechanisms of action underlying its regulation of subchondral bone reconstruction remain unclear. In this study, we investigated the effects of TGXTC on subchondral bone remodeling.

Directly monitoring the active sites of charge transfer in heterocycles in situ and in real time.

Coherent degenerate infrared-infrared-visible sum frequency generation vibrational spectroscopy provides a powerful label-free sensitive probe for charge transfer active sites in heterocyclic molecules in situ and in real time.

Structural Revision of Macropodumine A and Structure of 2-Deoxymacropodumine A, Daphniphyllum Alkaloids with 11-Membered Macrolactone Rings.

An unusual Daphniphyllum alkaloid, 2-deoxymacropodumine A (1), possessing an 11-membered macrolactone ring, was obtained from an extract of the stems of Daphniphyllum angustifolium. The structure of 1 was elucidated by 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopic methods and chemical calculations. Based on a comparison of the experimental and calculated NMR data, the structure of macropodumine A (2'), an analogue of 1, was also revised.

A quantitative trait locus, qSE3, promotes seed germination and seedling establishment under salinity stress in rice.

Seed germination is a complex trait determined by both quantitative trait loci (QTLs) and environmental factors and also their interactions. In this study, we mapped one major QTLqSE3 for seed germination and seedling establishment under salinity stress in rice. To understand the molecular basis of this QTL, we isolated qSE3 by map-based cloning and found that it encodes a K transporter gene, OsHAK21.

Ecosystem Traits Linking Functional Traits to Macroecology.

As the range of studies on macroecology and functional traits expands, integration of traits into higher-level approaches offers new opportunities to improve clarification of larger-scale patterns and their mechanisms and predictions using models. Here, we propose a framework for quantifying 'ecosystem traits' and means to address the challenges of broadening the applicability of functional traits to macroecology. Ecosystem traits are traits or quantitative characteristics of organisms (plants, animals, and microbes) at the community level expressed as the intensity (or density) normalized per unit land area.

Prospective evaluation of lymphocyte subtyping for the diagnosis of invasive candidiasis in non-neutropenic critically ill patients.

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the distinguishing ability of lymphocyte subtyping for Invasive candidiasis (IC) diagnosis and prognosis in non-neutropenic critically ill patients.

Methods: We assessed the quantitative changes in key parameters of lymphocyte subtyping at the onset of clinical signs of infection in non-neutropenic critically ill patients and their potential influence on diagnosis and outcome of IC. The primary outcome was 28-day mortality.

Identification of genes with universally upregulated or downregulated expressions in colorectal cancer.

Background And Aim: Differentially expressed (DE) genes detected at the population-level through case-control comparison provide no information on the dysregulation frequencies of DE genes in a cancer. In this work, we aimed to identify the genes with universally upregulated or downregulated expressions in colorectal cancer (CRC).

Methods: We firstly clarified that DE genes in an individual cancer tissue should be the disease-relevant genes, which are dysregulated in the cancer tissue in comparison with its own previously normal state.

IDO1 impairs NK cell cytotoxicity by decreasing NKG2D/NKG2DLs via promoting miR-18a.

Background: Indoleamine-2,3-dioxygenase 1 (IDO1) is an important enzyme for altering the tumour microenvironment and assisting tumour cells to escape the immune system.

Results: In this study, a significant reduction in NK cell cytotoxicity that was associated with a high expression of IDO1 in a reconstructed tumour microenvironment was observed. In a co-culture system of tumour cell culture supernatant (TSN) and murine NK cell, IDO1 was substantially increased, while NKG2D was markedly downregulated in NK cells.

The effects of EGCG on the mechanical, bioactivities, cross-linking and release properties of gelatin film.

The effects of (-)-epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) on the mechanical, antioxidative, antimicrobial, cross-linking and release properties of gelatin film were evaluated. The biofilm exhibited excellent antioxidant and antibacterial activities against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli in the presence of EGCG at more than 3%. With the increasing content of EGCG (1%-5%), higher denaturation temperature (66.

Invasive Fungal Disease in Critically Ill Patients at High Risk: Usefulness of Lymphocyte Subtyping.

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the distinguishing ability of lymphocyte subtyping for diagnosis and prognosis of invasive fungal disease (IFD).

Methods: We assessed lymphocyte subtyping and evaluated the quantitative changes in key immunological parameters at intensive care unit (ICU) admission in critically ill patients at high risk and their potential influence on diagnosis and outcome of IFD. The primary outcome was 28-day mortality.

[Determination of 3-methylquinoxaline-2-carboxylic acid of olaquindox marker residue in chicken muscles by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry].

A simple, sensitive, scientific and reproducible liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometric method was developed to determine 3-methylquinoxaline-2-carboxylic acid (MQCA) of olaquindox marker residue in chicken muscle tissues. The chickens were administered orally with olaquindox and used as positive samples. The approaches, enzyme, acid, and base hydrolysis, were adopted to digest MQCA in the medicated chicken muscles.

Tunable absorption as multi-wavelength at infrared on graphene/hBN/Al grating structure.

This work designs a graphene/hBN/Al grating anisotropic hybrid structure. Formed by strong coupling between plasmonic Magnetic polaritons (MPs) in the metal grating and phonon-plasmon polaritons, hybrid hyperbolic phonon-plasmon polaritons in the graphene/hBN film have been excited, resulting in three sharp, high absorption peaks, which are 0.75, 0.

Downregulation of MCT4 for lactate exchange promotes the cytotoxicity of NK cells in breast carcinoma.

Monocarboxylate transporter-4 (MCT4), a monocarboxylic acid transporter, demonstrates significantly increased expression in the majority of malignancies. We performed an experiment using BALB/C mice, and our results showed that ShMCT4 transfection or the pharmaceutic inhibition of MCT4 with 7acc1 strengthens the activity of NK cells. The results of a calcein assay revealed that the cytotoxicity of NK cells was strengthened via inhibition of MCT4.

Personalized prediction model for seizure-free epilepsy with levetiracetam therapy: a retrospective data analysis using support vector machine.

Aims: To predict the probability of a seizure-free (SF) state in patients with epilepsy (PWEs) after treatment with levetiracetam and to identify the clinical and electroencephalographic (EEG) factors that affect outcomes.

Methods: Retrospective analysis of PWEs treated with levetiracetam for 3 years identified 22 patients who were SF and 24 who were not. Before starting levetiracetam, 11 clinical factors and four EEG features (sample entropy of α, β, θ, δ) were identified.

Spinal cellular schwannoma: An analysis of imaging manifestation and clinicopathological findings.

Objectives: Cellular schwannoma that occurs in the spine is relatively rare. Herein, we retrospectively analyzed the clinical and imaging data from nine cases of spinal cellular schwannoma.

Materials And Methods: The clinical, imaging data and pathological manifestations were retrospectively analyzed from nine cases of pathologically confirmed spinal cellular schwannoma.

Unified Mathematical Model for Multilayer-Multiframe Compressive Light Field Displays Using LCDs.

We propose a unified mathematical model for multilayer-multiframe compressive light field displays that supports both attenuation-based and polarization-based architectures. We show that the light field decomposition of such a display can be cast as a bound constrained nonlinear matrix optimization problem. Efficient light field decomposition algorithms are developed using the limited-memory BFGS (L-BFGS) method for automultiscopic displays with high resolution and high image fidelity.

Synthesis-dependent repair of Cpf1-induced double strand DNA breaks enables targeted gene replacement in rice.

The recently developed CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats)/Cpf1 system expands the range of genome editing and is emerging as an alternative powerful tool for both plant functional genomics and crop improvement. Cpf1-CRISPR RNA (crRNA) produces double strand DNA breaks (DSBs) with long 5'-protruding ends, which may facilitate the pairing and insertion of repair templates through homology-directed repair (HDR) for targeted gene replacement and introduction of the desired DNA elements at specific gene loci for crop improvement. However, the potential mechanism underlying HDR of DSBs generated by Cpf1-crRNA remains to be investigated, and the inherent low efficiency of HDR and poor availability of exogenous donor DNA as repair templates strongly impede the use of HDR for precise genome editing in crop plants.

Dyslipidaemia was correlated to the posterior circulation infarction in non-diabetic populations.

Background: Diabetes mellitus (DM) was prone to happening in posterior circulation infarction (POCI) and DM also has the impact on the lipids, our study was to investigate the correlation between lipid compositions and POCI.

Methods: Data was collected from the patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS) hospitalization in Affiliated Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School from October 2008 to May 2012. Lipids and other risk factors in the different populations were investigated in relation to occurrence of POCI based on the infarction location.