Predicting the Types of Ion Channel-Targeted Conotoxins Based on AVC-SVM Model.

The conotoxin proteins are disulfide-rich small peptides. Predicting the types of ion channel-targeted conotoxins has great value in the treatment of chronic diseases, epilepsy, and cardiovascular diseases. To solve the problem of information redundancy existing when using current methods, a new model is presented to predict the types of ion channel-targeted conotoxins based on AVC (Analysis of Variance and Correlation) and SVM (Support Vector Machine).

Lhermitte-Duclos Disease (Dysplastic Gangliocytoma of the Cerebellum) and Cowden Syndrome: Clinical Experience From a Single Institution with Long-Term Follow-Up.

Background: Adult-onset Lhermitte-Duclos disease (LDD) and Cowden syndrome (CS) are considered a single phakomatosis that belongs to PTEN hamartoma tumor syndrome (PHTS) now. There is still controversy regarding the diagnosis and treatment. The authors describe the clinical features of LDD and CS with long-term follow up.

Effect of platinum on sintering morphology of porous YSZ ceramics.

Platinum/yttria-stabilized zirconia (Pt/YSZ) porous ceramics were prepared by sintering of the Pt/PMMA/YSZ stripe-like membrane with a porogen of spherical polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) and a precursor of platinum (Pt) of chloroplatinic acid. The microstructure of raw and processed material and Pt/ZrO calcination process at different sintering temperatures were investigated. The results showed that the spherically porous structure of Pt/YSZ was observed at a sintering temperature below 400 °C due to the thermal decomposition of PMMA.

Microfluidic Synthesis of Nanohybrids.

Nanohybrids composed of two or more components exhibit many distinct physicochemical properties and hold great promise for applications in optics, electronics, magnetics, new energy, environment protection, and biomedical engineering. Microfluidic systems exhibit many advantages due to their unique characteristics of narrow channels, variable length, controllable number of channels and multiple integrations. Particularly their spatial-temporarily splitting of the formation stages during nanomaterials formation along the microfluidic channels favors the online control of the reaction kinetic parameters and in situ tuning of the product properties.

Gene Deletion in Barley Mediated by LTR-retrotransposon BARE.

A poly-row branched spike (prbs) barley mutant was obtained from soaking a two-rowed barley inflorescence in a solution of maize genomic DNA. Positional cloning and sequencing demonstrated that the prbs mutant resulted from a 28 kb deletion including the inflorescence architecture gene HvRA2. Sequence annotation revealed that the HvRA2 gene is flanked by two LTR (long terminal repeat) retrotransposons (BARE) sharing 89% sequence identity.

The clinicopathological features of liponeurocytoma.

To discuss the clinicopathological features of liponeurocytoma, we retrospectively reviewed three liponeurocytoma cases and compared their immunophenotypes and genotypes with those of similar tumors. Furthermore, we reviewed the literature and compared the similarities and differences between cerebellar and intraventricular liponeurocytomas. Two cerebellar and one intraventricular liponeurocytomas were included in the present study.

Clinical Features, Radiologic Findings, and Surgical Outcomes of 65 Intracranial Psammomatous Meningiomas.

Objective: Intracranial psammomatous meningiomas (PMs) are rarely reported due to their extremely low incidence. Knowledge about intracranial PMs is therefore poor. This study aimed to analyze the incidence, clinical features, radiologic findings, and surgical outcomes of intracranial PMs.

Surface and interface engineering of FePt/C nanocatalysts for electro-catalytic methanol oxidation: enhanced activity and durability.

A methodology by coupling a microfluidic-batch process with in situ carbon-black mixing, successive annealing and de-alloying post-treatment was developed for engineering surface and interface microstructures of FePt/C nanocomposites. Ultra-small angular FePt nanocrystals rich in vertexes/terraces/steps and with Pt contents gradually increasing from the inner to the outer part can be synthesized at certain Fe/Pt atomic ratios (2/1 or 1.1/1), which can directly grow on carbon-black for enhanced nanocrystal-carbon interface interaction by introducing the in situ carbon-black mixing process.

Mapping and application of the twin-grain1 gene in rice.

The map-based cloning and application of a flower organ number gene twin - grain1 provide great potential for improving seed production in hybrid rice. A new germplasm for high-yield rice breeding, the twin-grain1 (tg1) mutant with more than one grain in a glume, was obtained from the Zhejing 22 rice variety via physical mutagenesis. The mapping results showed that TG1 is allelic to FLORAL ORGAN NUMBER2 (FON2)/FLORAL ORGAN NUMBER4 (FON4), a flower organ number gene located at 88.

Preparation of hollow core/shell FeO@graphene oxide composites as magnetic targeting drug nanocarriers.

A main challenge for anticancer drugs is that the drugs can not arrive the cancer tissue at right time. In this work, a magnetic targeting nanoparticle based on hollow FeO/graphene oxide (FeO/GO) was developed as a potential tumor targeting drug carriers. The morphology results showed the FeO nanoparticles were uniformly wrapped by graphene oxide.

Prognostic Value of a Category Based on Electron Microscopic Features of Clival Chordomas.

Objective: Skull base chordomas are clinically malignant because of the difficulty of total removal and the high recurrence rate. Because the disease-free survival after surgery is currently unpredictable, there is a need for new parameters, obtained from histologic analyses of the resection specimen, that allows a risk stratification of patients with chordoma.

Methods: In recent years, electron microscopic diagnoses were introduced into the clinical practice for the diagnosis of chordoma in our department.

Impact of epidemiological characteristics of supratentorial gliomas in adults brought about by the 2016 world health organization classification of tumors of the central nervous system.

The latest World Health Organization (WHO) classification of tumors of the central nervous system (CNS) integrates both histological and molecular features in the definition of diagnostic entities. This new approach enrolls novel entities of gliomas. In this study, we aimed to reveal the epidemiological characteristics, including age at diagnosis, gender ratio, tumor distribution and survival, of these new entities.

A clinicopathologic study of extraventricular neurocytoma.

In 2007, extraventricular neurocytoma was classified as a separate entity among glioneuronal tumors. However, extraventricular neurocytoma is not fully understood and may be misdiagnosed. Here, we describe the clinical and pathological features, prognoses, and treatments of 13 extraventricular neurocytoma cases, and compare their immunophenotypes with those of oligodendroglioma, diffuse astrocytoma, and ependymoma.

High-resolution crystal structure of the human CB1 cannabinoid receptor.

The human cannabinoid G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) CB1 and CB2 mediate the functional responses to the endocannabinoids anandamide and 2-arachidonyl glycerol (2-AG) and to the widely consumed plant phytocannabinoid Δ-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). The cannabinoid receptors have been the targets of intensive drug discovery efforts, because modulation of these receptors has therapeutic potential to control pain, epilepsy, obesity, and other disorders. Although much progress in understanding the biophysical properties of GPCRs has recently been made, investigations of the molecular mechanisms of the cannabinoids and their receptors have lacked high-resolution structural data.

Marker development using SLAF-seq and whole-genome shotgun strategy to fine-map the semi-dwarf gene ari-e in barley.

Background: Barley semi-dwarf genes have been extensively explored and widely used in barley breeding programs. The semi-dwarf gene ari-e from Golden Promise is an important gene associated with some agronomic traits and salt tolerance. While ari-e has been mapped on barley chromosome 5H using traditional markers and next-generation sequencing technologies, it has not yet been finely located on this chromosome.

Development of mediastinal lymphoma after radiotherapy for concurrent medulloblastoma and PNET in a patient with Gorlin syndrome.

Background: Very young children with Gorlin syndrome are at risk for developing medulloblastoma. Patients with Gorlin syndrome may have multiple system abnormalities, including basal cell carcinomas, jaw cysts, desmoplastic medulloblastoma, palmar/plantar pits, rib abnormalities, and intracranial falx calcification. The early diagnosis of Gorlin syndrome in desmoplastic medulloblastoma patients is very important because these patients should receive chemotherapy as a first-line treatment and should avoid radiotherapy as much as possible.

Atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumors with multilayered rosettes in the pineal region.

Atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumor (AT/RT) is a rare, highly malignant tumor of the central nervous system (CNS) that typically occurs during infancy. These tumors exhibit morphologic heterogeneity and differentiate along multiple lineages, thus posing a diagnostic challenge. Here, we present two cases of AT/RT with a primitive neuroectodermal component and histological pattern resembling an embryonal tumor with multilayered rosettes (ETMR), a rare but distinctive embryonal entity with different therapeutic implications.

Dihydrostreptomycin Directly Binds to, Modulates, and Passes through the MscL Channel Pore.

The primary mechanism of action of the antibiotic dihydrostreptomycin is binding to and modifying the function of the bacterial ribosome, thus leading to decreased and aberrant translation of proteins; however, the routes by which it enters the bacterial cell are largely unknown. The mechanosensitive channel of large conductance, MscL, is found in the vast majority of bacterial species, where it serves as an emergency release valve rescuing the cell from sudden decreases in external osmolarity. While it is known that MscL expression increases the potency of dihydrostreptomycin, it has remained unclear if this effect is due to a direct interaction.

Calprotectin is a potential prognostic marker for polycystic ovary syndrome.

Background Calprotectin is an antimicrobial, calcium and zinc-binding heterocomplex protein and has been proposed as a marker to rule out inflammatory conditions. The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of calprotectin in the diagnosis of polycystic ovary syndrome and to investigate the association between calprotectin and insulin resistance. Methods A total of 41 females with polycystic ovary syndrome and 54 age-matched without polycystic ovary syndrome were eligible for the study.

Crystal structure of the human sterol transporter ABCG5/ABCG8.

ATP binding cassette (ABC) transporters play critical roles in maintaining sterol balance in higher eukaryotes. The ABCG5/ABCG8 heterodimer (G5G8) mediates excretion of neutral sterols in liver and intestines. Mutations disrupting G5G8 cause sitosterolaemia, a disorder characterized by sterol accumulation and premature atherosclerosis.

Impact of tumor location and fourth ventricle infiltration in medulloblastoma.

Background: Medulloblastoma is the most common intracranial malignancy in children; with comprehensive treatment the 5-year overall survival (OS) is now greater than 80 %. Only few studies have addressed the relation of tumor location with patient's prognosis. Based on experiences in our institution, we further classified the tumor location.

Identification and Fine Mapping of a White Husk Gene in Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.).

Barley is the only crop in the Poaceae family with adhering husks at maturity. The color of husk at barely development stage could influence the agronomic traits and malting qualities of grains. A barley mutant with a white husk was discovered from the malting barley cultivar Supi 3 and designated wh (white husk).

The clinicopathological features of pituicytoma and the differential diagnosis of sellar glioma.

Pituicytoma is rare and difficult to diagnose. This study explored the clinicopathological features, immunophenotype and differential diagnosis of pituicytoma. We compared 11 cases of pituicytoma and 26 cases of sellar glioma (16 pilocytic astrocytomas, four diffuse astrocytomas, three pilomyxoid astrocytomas, and three third ventricle chordoid gliomas).

[Clinicopathologic features of embryonal tumor with multilayered rosettes and gene analysis on chromosome 19q13.42].

Objective: To investigate the clinicopathologic features and 19q13.42 gene changes in embryonal tumors with multilayered rosettes (ETMR).

Methods: Immunohistochemistry and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) were performed in three ETMRs.