Identification of Key Modules and Hub Genes Involved in Regulating the Color of Chicken Breast Meat Using WGCNA.

Meat color is one of the most important economic traits in chickens. However, the gene network and regulatory mechanisms contributing to meat color traits in chickens remain largely unknown. In the present study, we performed weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) based on RNA-Seq datasets of 16 pectoralis major muscle samples from two yellow-feather chicken breeds to identify the modules and hub genes related to meat color in chickens.

Color Doppler ultrasound and contrast-enhanced ultrasound in the diagnosis of lacrimal apparatus tumors.

Color Doppler ultrasound and contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) in the diagnosis of lacrimal apparatus tumors were investigated. In total, 48 patients undergoing preoperative two-dimensional and color Doppler ultrasound and CEUS examinations were included in this study. Conventional ultrasound and CEUS characteristics of 48 patients pathologically and clinically diagnosed with lacrimal apparatus tumors were retrospectively analyzed.

PLD4 promotes M1 macrophages to perform antitumor effects in colon cancer cells.

Phospholipase D4 (PLD4) is a newly identified protein expressed in microglia. However, the function of PLD4 in tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) is unknown. In the present study, we revealed that the expression of PLD4 was located in macrophages in the colon cancer mesenchymal and lymph nodes as shown by immunohistochemical analysis.

LOW SERUM BRAIN-DERIVED NEUROTROPHIC FACTOR BUT NOT BRAIN-DERIVED NEUROTROPHIC FACTOR GENE VAL66MET POLYMORPHISM IS ASSOCIATED WITH DIABETIC RETINOPATHY IN CHINESE TYPE 2 DIABETIC PATIENTS.

Background/purpose: The aim of our research was to investigate the potential role of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in diabetic retinopathy (DR). Measurement of serum circulating levels of BDNF and analysis of polymorphism of BDNF gene (Val66Met) were applied and compared with diabetic patients without DR.

Methods: From February 2014 and March 2015, all eligible patients with Type 2 diabetic mellitus at our hospital were consecutively recruited (N = 404).

Stromal interaction molecule 1 plays an important role in gastric cancer progression.

Studies have shown that stromal interaction molecule 1 (STIM1) is expressed in a variety of cancers and is related to tumor growth. The present study aimed to investigate the expression and roles of STIM1 in gastric carcinoma. Immunohistochemistry and western blotting revealed that STIM1 was expressed at higher levels in gastric cancer tissues (82%) than these levels in normal gastric tissues (42%).

Genetic polymorphisms in the PDZK1 gene and susceptibility to gout in male Han Chinese: a case-control study.

PDZK1 acts as a scaffolding protein for a large variety of transporter and regulatory proteins, and has been identified in the kidney. The PDZK1 locus has been determined to be associated with the serum urate concentration. However, the evidence supporting this protein's association with gout is equivocal.

Histopathology of melanosis coli and determination of its associated genes by comparative analysis of expression microarrays.

Melanosis coli (MC) refers to the condition characterized by abnormal brown or black pigmentation deposits on the colonic mucosa. However, the histopathological findings and genes associated with the pathogenesis of melanosis coli remain to be fully elucidated. The present study aimed to examine the histopathological features and differentially expressed genes of MC.

Human mesenchymal stem cells improve the neurodegeneration of femoral nerve in a diabetic foot ulceration rats.

Neuropathy is observed in 50% of diabetic patients with diabetic foot. This study attempted to explore the potential role of human mesenchymal stem cells-umbilical cord blood (hMSCs-UC) in femoral nerve (FN) neuropathy. The model rats were established by one time administration of streptozotocin and empyrosis on the dorsal hind foot.

Metformin may produce antidepressant effects through improvement of cognitive function among depressed patients with diabetes mellitus.

Diabetes mellitus and depressive disorders are both common chronic diseases that increase functional disability and social burden. Cognitive impairment is a potentially debilitating feature of depression. Previous evidence indicates that the antidiabetic drug metformin could be suitable for diabetic patients with cognitive impairment.

Synthesis and preliminary biological evaluation of 1,2,3-triazole-Jaspine B hybrids as potential cytotoxic agents.

Two series of more available novel 1,2,3-triazole-Jaspine B hybrids were efficiently synthesized employing click chemistry approach and evaluated for their cytotoxic activities against three human cancer cell lines (EC-9706, MGC-803 and MCF-7). Among them, compound 14h showed excellent inhibition against MCF-7 (IC50 = 1.93 μM) and was more potent than 5-Fu and Jaspine B against all three cancer cell lines.

[Development of a software standardizing optical density with operation settings related to several limitations].

Objective: To develop a software that can be used to standardize optical density to normalize the procedures and results of standardization in order to effectively solve several problems generated during standardization of in-direct ELISA results.

Methods: The software was designed based on the I-STOD method with operation settings to solve the problems that one might encounter during the standardization. Matlab GUI was used as a tool for the development.

A cellular automaton model of Schistosoma japonicum infection.

Due to the life cycle complexity of Schistosoma japonicum and the characteristics of schistosomias is immuno-epidemiology, it is very challenging to give a group of certain rules and thus describe the transmission dynamics of S. japonicum with modelling approaches. Most existing epidemiological models for schistosomias is based on differential equations only track average worm burden without taking into account the individual variations, thus bear limitations on individual infection status monitoring and interpretation.

Schistosoma japonicum soluble egg antigens attenuate IFN-γ-induced MHC class II expression in RAW 264.7 macrophages.

Innate immune response plays the key role in initiating and guiding the immune response. Elucidating the innate immune related molecular events involved in the interaction between the parasite and the host will aid in the development of an effective vaccine and anti-schistosome pharmaceuticals. In this study, we examined the regulatory effect of Schistosoma japonicum soluble egg antigen (SEA) on MHC class II expression in macrophage cell line RAW 264.

[Multi-dimensional evaluation system for schistosomiasis japonica transmission dynamic model].

Objective: To evaluate the simulation effect of Schistosoma japonicum Cellular Automata (SjCA) model by using the multi-dimensional evaluation system.

Methods: Several selected indicators, including the Youden index, sensitivity, specificity, accuracy rate and prevalence distance were applied to assess the validity of the SjCA model. The effectiveness of each indicator for model evaluation was compared.

Seroprevalence of cysticercosis in children and young adults living in a helminth endemic community in leyte, the Philippines.

Cysticercosis is a significant public health problem in countries where pigs are raised for consumption and remains an important cause of neurological disease worldwide. The Philippines is considered an endemic area for cysticercosis because cases in both humans and pigs have been reported; however, epidemiologic information stays limited. We conducted a pilot survey of the seroprevalence of human cysticercosis in a village in Leyte, the Philippines, by measuring antibody specific for Taenia solium cyst-fluid antigen.

Simultaneous detection of serum immunoglobulin G antibodies to Cryptosporidium parvum by multiplex microbead immunoassay using 3 recognized specific recombinant C. parvum antigens.

Cryptosporidiosis is a significant diarrheal disease in both humans and other mammals worldwide. In the present study, we established and validated a multiplex microbead immunoassay (MIA) for surveillance of Cryptosporidium parvum infections. In the multiplex MIA, 3 specific recombinant proteins, CP23, SA35, and SA40, were used as the capture antigens simultaneously.

Evaluation of Kato-Katz examination method in three areas with low-level endemicity of schistosomiasis japonica in China: A Bayesian modeling approach.

The Kato-Katz technique is widely used to determine faecal egg counts of intestinal schistosomiasis. Although numerous studies have reported considerable underestimation of the 'true' infection prevalence while using this method, little is known regarding how many infections are missed as a function of the overall endemicity of intestinal schistosomiasis. In the present study, we used a Bayesian modeling approach to assess how much the Kato-Katz technique underestimates the prevalence of Schistosoma japonicum in three low endemic areas, characterized by different levels of infection.

Evaluation of IgG-ELISA for the diagnosis of Schistosoma japonicum in a high prevalence, low intensity endemic area of China.

Antibody-based diagnostic methods for detecting infection with Schistosoma japonicum have been developed and integrated into the national control program in China; however, the utility of these methods compared with conventional coprological methods remains unclear. In two consecutive years, we compared the performance characteristics of Kato-Katz with a commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) that detects anti-egg antigen IgG antibodies in a high prevalence, low intensity village in China (1025 subjects in 2005 and 652 subjects in 2006). In comparison with Kato-Katz based on duplicate stool specimens, each read in triplicate, the sensitivity of IgG-ELISA was high, ranging from 79.

Routine Kato-Katz technique underestimates the prevalence of Schistosoma japonicum: a case study in an endemic area of the People's Republic of China.

There is an evidence that the Kato-Katz technique lacks sensitivity and may hence be an unsuitable method for the assessment of the 'real infection status' in community with low-intensity infections. In this study, six Kato-Katz thick smears (examination of two stool samples with three thick smears each) were used as the diagnostic 'gold' standard for estimating the prevalence of Schistosoma japonicum infection and the results were compared with results based on fewer Kato-Katz thick smear readings. A total of 1055 individuals in 2005 and 725 in 2006 from an endemic village were recruited for the study.

[Expression of CD21 in peripheral blood B lymphocytes of neonates].

Objective: To study the cause of low immunologic function and insufficiency of immunoglobulin synthesis in neonates by detecting CD21 expression in B lymphocytes in different age group children.

Methods: This study consisted of three age group children: 2-26 days (n=18), 6 months-2 years (n=12) and 3-12 years (n=17). CD21 expression in B lymphocytes was detected with flow cytometry.

[Ion-conducting mechanism of composite polymer electrolyte: an emission FTIR spectroscopy study].

Solvent-free, composite electrolytes based on poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) were prepared by using mesoporous silica SBA-15 with surface modification of (trimethylchlorosilane) as the filler. The samples were explored by emission FTIR spectroscopy at elevated temperatures. The results of emission FTIR spectra illustrated the dependence of crystalline PEO phase on temperature.