Insights into the binding mode and functional components of the analgesic-antitumour peptide from Karsch to human voltage-gated sodium channel 1.7 based on dynamic simulation analysis.

Voltage-gated sodium (Na) channels are transmembrane proteins composed of four homologous domains (DI-DIV) that play important roles in membrane excitability in neurons and muscles. Analgesic-antitumour peptide (AGAP) is a neurotoxin from the scorpion Karsch, and has been shown to exert analgesic effect by binding on site 4 of human Na1.7 (hNa1.

TUDCA Ameliorates Liver Injury Via Activation of SIRT1-FXR Signaling in a Rat Hemorrhagic Shock Model.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the changes of bile acids in the liver during hemorrhagic shock (HS) and their potential to attenuate liver injury via activation of SIRT1 (sirtuin 1)-FXR (farnesoid X receptor) signaling.

Methods: A Sprague-Dawley (SD) rat HS model was established, whereas HepG2 cells were hypoxically cultured to simulate HS in vitro. Liver bile acids (BA) were profiled with ultraperformance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS).

Distribution of Cs in the Bohai Sea, Yellow Sea and East China Sea: Sources, budgets and environmental implications.

The transport processes and fate of Cs in eastern Chinese seas (ECSs) that consists of the Bohai, Yellow, and East China Seas, have not been well established. In this study, we measured the concentrations of Cs in the ECSs water and surface sediments during 2013-2014. Combined with a number of published Cs inventory data from drainage basins and sediment accumulation rates in the ECSs, the distribution, sources and budgets of Cs in the ECSs were investigated.

Inorganic coagulant induced gypsum scaling in nanofiltration process: Effects of coagulant concentration, coagulant conditioning time and fouling strategies.

Nanofiltration is routinely applied as an advanced water treatment technology after conventional water treatment. However, the residual coagulant after coagulation process may affect the nanofiltration process and to our best of knowledge, few studies focused on this phenomenon. To address such issues, ferric and aluminum ions were adopted as the model coagulant, and the influences of coagulant concentrations, coagulant conditioning time and fouling strategies on gypsum scaling were systematically investigated.

Historical changes in the major and trace elements in the sedimentary records of Lake Qinghai, Qinghai-Tibet Plateau: implications for anthropogenic activities.

Sediment sequences in Lake Qinghai spanning the past 100 years were explored to assess the effects of changes in local land desertification, dust input and agriculture on sediment deposition in different parts of Lake Qinghai. Three short sediment cores (QH01, QH02, QH07) were collected from the main lake and one sediment core (Z04) from a sublake (Lake Gahai) of Lake Qinghai, China, during 2012 and 2013. The concentrations of Fe, Mn, Al, Rb, Ti, Ca, and Sr were analysed to determine the effects of historical and regional anthropogenic activities in the Lake Qinghai catchment from 1910 to 2010.

Litter species diversity is more important than genotypic diversity of dominant grass species Stipa grandis in influencing litter decomposition in a bare field.

Studies have indicated that plant litter diversity can affect litter decomposition at both species diversity and genotypic diversity level within a species. However, the essence and relative importance of these two diversity levels on litter decomposition remain unknown. Here, two independent one-factor experiments, litter species diversity and litter genotypic diversity of the dominant species-Stipa grandis, were carried out to explore the effects of initial litter quality, litter composition and diversity on decomposition of mass, nitrogen (N), carbon (C) and phosphorus (P) simultaneously.

Long noncoding RNA OIP5-AS1 acts as a competing endogenous RNA to promote glutamine catabolism and malignant melanoma growth by sponging miR-217.

The long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) OIP5-AS1 has been considered to promote the growth and metastasis of many human tumors. However, the role of OIP5-AS1 in melanoma has not been reported. In this study, we found that OIP5-AS1 levels were significantly elevated in melanoma tissue and that high OIP5-AS1 expression was an independent risk factor for the poor survival of patients with melanoma.

Mass Production of Nanowire-Nylon Flexible Transparent Smart Windows for PM Capture.

Designing large-area flexible transparent smart windows for high-efficiency indoor fine particulate matter (PM) capture is important to guarantee safe indoor environments. In this article, we demonstrate that large-area fabrication of flexible transparent Ag-nylon mesh can be performed not only to turn the indoor light illumination intensity as thermochromic smart windows after uniformly coating with thermochromic dye but also to purify indoor air as high-efficiency PM filter. It takes only about $15.

Pharmacokinetics study of 16 representative components from Baoyuan Decoction in rat plasma by LC-MS/MS with a large-volume direct injection method.

Background: Baoyuan decoction (BYD), a well-known traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) formula, is clinically used for the treatment of aplastic anemia, chronic renal failure, coronary heart disease, etc. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to develop a large-volume direct injection liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) method for simultaneous determination of 16 representative flavonoids and saponins in rat plasma after oral administration of BYD.

Methods: The rat plasma sample was injected directly into a pre-column, which was eluted firstly by 0.

Fluid resuscitation via the rectum ameliorates hemodynamic disorders through adjusting aquaporin expression in an experimental severe acute pancreatitis model.

Acute pancreatitis is an acute abdominal disease, with 10-20% of the cases deteriorating rapidly, accompanied by persistent organ failure and further development into severe acute pancreatitis (SAP). The aim of the present study was to investigate the mechanism of fluid resuscitation via the rectum in the early stages of SAP and the role of aquaporins (AQPs). An SAP model was constructed by injection of 5% sterile sodium taurocholate into the biliopancreatic duct of Sprague Dawley rats, and the mean arterial pressure (MAP) was continuously monitored via femoral artery catheterization.

iTRAQ-Based Comparative Proteomic Analysis Provides Insights into Molecular Mechanisms of Salt Tolerance in Sugar Beet ( L.).

Salinity is one of the major abiotic stress factors that limit plant growth and crop yield worldwide. To understand the molecular mechanisms and screen the key proteins in response of sugar beet ( L.) to salt, in the present study, the proteomics of roots and shoots in three-week-old sugar beet plants exposed to 50 mM NaCl for 72 h was investigated by isobaric Tags for Relative and Absolute Quantitation (iTRAQ) technology.

[Transurethral resection of the prostate for BPH in native Tibetans with different prostate volumes: A single-center retrospective analysis].

Objective: To investigate the perioperative parameters and postoperative sexual function and complications in native Tibetans undergoing transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) for BPH with different prostate volumes.

Methods: From June 2015 to February 2017, 325 native Tibetans with BPH underwent TURP in the People's Hospital of Tibet Autonomous Region. The patients were aged 59－88 years, with a median oxygen saturation level of 84% in the normal status, 24% with hydronephrosis, 40.

GROF: Indoor Localization Using a Multiple-Bandwidth General Regression Neural Network and Outlier Filter.

In recent years, a variety of methods have been developed for indoor localization utilizing fingerprints of received signal strength (RSS) that are location dependent. Nevertheless, the RSS is sensitive to environmental variations, in that the resulting fluctuation severely degrades the localization accuracy. Furthermore, the fingerprints survey course is time-consuming and labor-intensive.

Spatial and vertical distribution of I and I in the East China Sea: Inventory, source and transportation.

Iodirne-129 is useful for tracking water mass movement in the ocean. In this study, the concentration of iodine isotopes in seawater of the East China Sea (ECS) in October 2013 were analyzed to investigate the spatial and vertical distribution of I and I to understand water mass exchange. Results showed that the I/I atomic ratios varied with the water mass, with higher values of (10-20) × 10 in the coastal regions and lower values of <8 × 10 offshore.

Nanowire Assemblies for Flexible Electronic Devices: Recent Advances and Perspectives.

The fabrication of nanowire (NW)-based flexible electronics including wearable energy storage devices, flexible displays, electrical sensors, and health monitors has received great attention both in fundamental research and market requirements in our daily lives. Other than a disordered state after synthesis, NWs with designed and hierarchical structures would not only optimize the intrinsic performance, but also create new physical and chemical properties, and integration of individual NWs into well-defined structures over large areas is one of the most promising strategies to optimize the performance of NW-based flexible electronics. Here, the recent developments and achievements made in the field of flexible electronics composed of integrated NW structures are presented.

Postoperative survival analysis and prognostic nomogram model for patients with portal hypertension.

Aim: To analyse the postoperative survival of patients with portal hypertension and determine the factors that influence survival and construct nomograms.

Methods: We retrospectively followed 1045 patients who underwent splenectomy plus pericardial devascularisation (SPD) between January 2002 and December 2017. Two SPD types are used in our department: splenectomy plus simplified pericardial devascularisation (SSPD) and splenectomy plus traditional pericardial devascularisation (STPD).

H NMR-based dynamic metabolomics delineates the therapeutic effects of Baoyuan decoction on isoproterenol-induced cardiac hypertrophy.

Cardiac hypertrophy (CH) is a major risk factor for many serious heart diseases. Sustained CH is catastrophic, resulting in cardiac dysfunction that eventually leads to heart failure (HF). Baoyuan decoction (BYD) is a famous traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) formula for supplementing and reinforcing Qi, clinically used for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs).

A novel fluorescent aptasensor for ultrasensitive and selective detection of acetamiprid pesticide based on the inner filter effect between gold nanoparticles and carbon dots.

This paper reports a novel fluorescent aptasensor for the detection of acetamiprid pesticide with high sensitivity and selectivity based on the inner filter effect (IFE) of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) toward fluorescent carbon dots (CDs). The aptasensor employs S-18 aptamer as the specific target recognition molecule and CDs as the signal transmission element. Free S-18 aptamer sequences can wrap the surfaces of AuNPs and enable their dispersion state even in the presence of high amounts of Tris-HCl salt, which can effectively quench the fluorescence of the CDs through the IFE.

Activation of the Oxidative Pentose Phosphate Pathway is Critical for Photomixotrophic Growth of a hik33-Deletion Mutant of Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803.

The histidine kinase Hik33 plays a central role in acclimation to changing environments in cyanobacteria. Deletion of hik33 induces a strong stress-like response in Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 (Synechocystis) as represented by repressed photoautotrophic growth and photosynthesis, and differential expression of stress-responsive proteins.

Anomalously Faster Deterioration of LiNiCoAlO/Graphite High-Energy 18650 Cells at 1.5 C than 2.0 C.

Discharge rate is a key parameter affecting the cycle life of lithium-ion batteries (LIB). Normally, lithium-ion batteries deteriorate more severely at a higher discharge rate. In this paper, we report that the cycle performance of LiNiCoAlO/graphite high-energy 2.

Ultra-low pressure membrane-based bio-purification process for decentralized drinking water supply: Improved permeability and removal performance.

Ultra-low pressure gravity-driven membrane (GDM) filtration has been proposed as a cost-efficiency alternative for the decentralized drinking water supply in terms of its simple operation and low energy consumptions, whereas its undesirable removals of dissolved organic compounds (DOC) and relatively low flux impede its widespread application. In order to improve its filtration performance, filter media (granular activated carbon (GAC), zeolite and bio-ceramsite) was directly coated on the membrane surface to engineer an integrated GDM system. The coating filter layer and bio-cake layer on the membrane surface could engineer a highly porous "multifunctional double layer" structure, which facilitated improvements of stabilized flux by 30%-120% relative to GDM control.

Effects of Baoyuan decoction, a traditional Chinese medicine formula, on the activities and mRNA expression of seven CYP isozymes in rats.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Baoyuan decoction (BYD), a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) formula, is composed of four herbs and widely used with western drugs to treat coronary heart disease, aplastic anemia and chronic renal failure in clinic. However, no study of the effect of BYD on the cytochrome P450 (CYP) activities has been reported.

Aim Of The Study: The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the potential influences of BYD on the activities of seven CYP isozymes (CYP1A2, 2B6, 2C9, 2C19, 2D6, 2E1, and 3A4) in rats.

The dynamic role of pH in microbial reduction of uranium(VI) in the presence of bicarbonate.

The negative effect of carbonate on the rate and extent of bioreduction of aqueous U(VI) has been commonly reported. The solution pH is a key chemical factor controlling U(VI) species and the Gibbs free energy of reaction. Therefore, it is interesting to study whether the negative effect can be diminished under specific pH conditions.