How did Covid-19 impact US household foods? an analysis six months in.

Using a nationwide survey of primary grocery shoppers conducted in August 2020, we examine household food spending when the economy had partially reopened and consumers had different spending opportunities in comparison to when the Covid-19 lockdown began. We estimate the impact of Covid-19 on household spending using interval and Order Probit regressions. Income levels, age, access to grocery stores and farmers markets, household demographic information, along with other independent variables are controlled in the model.

Ten-eleven translocation 1 regulates methylation of autophagy-related genes in human glioma.

Ten-eleven translocation 1 catalyzes the conversion of 5-methylcytosine (5mC) to 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC), which plays an important role in epigenetics and is related to the malignant biological behavior of tumors. However, its regulatory role in glioma remains unclear. In this study, the levels of 5mC and 5hmC were detected using immunohistochemistry, dot-blot, hMeDIP-chip, and western blot in glioma tissues and normal brain tissues, whereas 5hmC differentially enriched genes were determined and further validated.

Stability Analysis of Printed Liquid Elbows.

In this study, a theoretical model was developed to analyze the stability of liquid elbow patterns and validated by experiments. An exemplar system of ethylene glycol continuously deposited on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) was used to study the effects of printing parameters on bulge formation near the elbow corners. In the elbow region, because of the capillary pressure differences, liquids flowed into the concave elbow corner and formed bulges easily after being printed.

Pluronic-based micelle encapsulation potentiates myricetin-induced cytotoxicity in human glioblastoma cells.

As one of the natural herbal flavonoids, myricetin has attracted much research interest, mainly owing to its remarkable anticancer properties and negligible side effects. It holds great potential to be developed as an ideal anticancer drug through improving its bioavailability. This study was performed to investigate the effects of Pluronic-based micelle encapsulation on myricetin-induced cytotoxicity and the mechanisms underlying its anticancer properties in human glioblastoma cells.

Protective effect of microRNA-138 against cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury in rats.

MicroRNAs (miRs) serve a regulatory function in oxidative radical-mediated inflammation and apoptosis during ischemia/reperfusion (IR) injury. Lipocalin 2 (Lcn-2), a target protein of miR-138, is widely involved in the systemic response to IR injury. The aim of the present study was to investigate the association between miR-138 and Lcn-2 in a rat model of cerebral ischemia/reperfusion (CIR) injury and to verify the interaction between miR-138 and Lcn-2 in a PC12 cell model of hypoxia/reoxygenation injury.

Therapeutic potential of CAR-T cell-derived exosomes: a cell-free modality for targeted cancer therapy.

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-based T-cell adoptive immunotherapy is a distinctively promising therapy for cancer. The engineering of CARs into T cells provides T cells with tumor-targeting capabilities and intensifies their cytotoxic activity through stimulated cell expansion and enhanced cytokine production. As a novel and potent therapeutic modality, there exists some uncontrollable processes which are the potential sources of adverse events.

Comparative Effects of Mercury(II) and Cadmium on MutS Homolog 6(MSH6)-Mediated DNA Mismatch Binding Activities in Zebrafish (Danio rerio) Embryos.

MutS homolog 6 (MSH6) of the MSH2-MSH6 complex binds simple mispairs and small insertion-deletion loops (IDL) then initiates DNA mismatch repair in eukaryotes. We have shown the ability of Cd(2+) to downregulate msh2/msh6 expression in zebrafish embryos via oxidative stress. This study explored the effects of Cd(2+) and Hg(2+) on MSH6-mediated mismatch binding activities.

TRAIL-engineered bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells: TRAIL expression and cytotoxic effects on C6 glioma cells.

Background: TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) is considered as a tumor cell-specific cytotoxic agent. Through the aid of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), TRAIL is capable of inducing apoptosis of tumor cells in tumor sites. The present study was performed to investigate the cytotoxic effects of TRAIL-engineered MSCs on glioblastoma cells (C6) in vitro.

Cadmium(Cd)-induced oxidative stress down-regulates the gene expression of DNA mismatch recognition proteins MutS homolog 2 (MSH2) and MSH6 in zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryos.

DNA mismatch repair (MMR) of simple base mismatches and small insertion-deletion loops in eukaryotes is initiated by the binding of the MutS homolog 2 (MSH2)-MSH6 heterodimer to mismatched DNA. Cadmium (Cd) is a genotoxic heavy metal that has been recognized as a human carcinogen. Oxidant stress and inhibition of DNA repair have been proposed as major factors underlying Cd genotoxicity.

Cryosurgery and rhTNF-α play synergistic effects on a rat cortex C6 glioma model.

Glioma, a type of brain tumor originating from glioma cells, varies widely in aggressiveness and causes serious symptoms, but the treatments are limited. Studies have shown that cryosurgery has multiple effects on tumor treatments, and administration of human tumor necrosis factor-alpha (rhTNF-α) arguments the anti-tumor effect of cryotherapy in breast and prostate cancers. To test the hypothesis that cryosurgery and rhTNF-α play synergistic effects against brain tumors, we established a brain glioma model on rat cortex regions following different treatments: the G1 group was sham-operated; the G2 group was treated with cryosurgery; the G3 group was treated with rhTNF-α; and G4 group received combined treatment with cryosurgery and rhTNF-α.

Sublethal levels of cadmium down-regulate the gene expression of DNA mismatch recognition protein MutS homolog 6 (MSH6) in zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryos.

MutS homolog 6 (MSH6) is the major mismatch contacting component of the MSH2-MSH6 heterodimeric complex (MutSα) that mediates DNA mismatch repair (MMR) of simple mispairs and small insertion-deletion loops in eukaryotes. This study examined the potential of cadmium (Cd) to disturb the gene expression of MSH6 in vertebrates using zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryo as a model organism. Semiquantitative RT-PCR indicated that msh2 and msh6 expressions were suppressed in embryos at 1h post fertilization (hpf), then drastically up-regulated in 2 hpf embryos and actively expressed in 3-25 hpf embryos.

Photoinduced self-assembly of Au-Ag-Hg trimetallic nanoparticles during their synthesis from gold seeds in glycine solution.

This paper describes how irradiation with light influences the preparation of Au-Ag-Hg trimetallic nanoparticles (NPs) from gold nanorods (AuNRs) in glycine solutions (pH 8.5-10.5).

Synthesis and characterization of Au core-Au-Ag shell nanoparticles from gold seeds: impacts of glycine concentration and pH.

This paper describes the preparation of Au core-Au-Ag shell nanoparticles (NPs) in different morphologies by controlling both the pH and the glycine concentration. Using a seed-growth method, we prepared high-quality Au core-Au-Ag shell NPs from a glycine solution under alkaline conditions (pH>8.5).

[Effect of cryotherapy and 5-fluorouracil on apoptosis of G422 glioma cells].

Background & Objective: It was unknown whether the combination of cryotherapy and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) could produce a synergistic effect, though both of them could induce apoptosis of glioma cells. The aim of this study was to observe the effect of cryotherapy and 5-fluorouracil on apoptosis of G422 glioma cells and to investigate the potential mechanism.

Methods: (1)Experimental mice models with G422 glioma were established.