Genome analysis of a novel Group I alphabaculovirus obtained from Oxyplax ochracea.

Oxyplax ochracea (Moore) is a pest that causes severe damage to a wide range of crops, forests and fruit trees. The complete genome sequence of Oxyplax ochracea nucleopolyhedrovirus (OxocNPV) was determined using a Roche 454 pyrosequencing system. OxocNPV has a double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) genome of 113,971 bp with a G+C content of 31.

White matter volume loss in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: A meta-analysis of voxel-based morphometry studies.

Structural neuroimaging studies of white matter (WM) volume in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) using voxel-based morphometry (VBM) have yielded inconsistent findings. This study aimed to perform a quantitative voxel-based meta-analysis using effect-size signed differential mapping (ES-SDM) to establish a statistical consensus between published studies for WM volume alterations in ALS. The pooled meta-analysis revealed significant WM volume losses in the bilateral supplementary motor areas (SMAs), bilateral precentral gyri (PGs), left middle cerebellar peduncle and right cerebellum in patients with ALS, involving the corticospinal tract (CST), interhemispheric fibers, subcortical arcuate fibers, projection fibers to the striatum and cortico-ponto-cerebellar tract.

Gene mutations and clinical phenotypes in 15 Chinese children with cryopyrin-associated periodic syndrome (CAPS).

The aim of our study is to explore the features of clinical manifestations and genetic mutations in Chinese CAPS patients. Fifteen confirmed patients with CAPS were enrolled. The onset time ranges from 2 days after birth to 6 years and 1 month.

Putative identification of components in Zengye Decoction and their effects on glucose consumption and lipogenesis in insulin-induced insulin-resistant HepG2 cells.

Zengye Decoction (ZYD) is a well-known traditional medicine in China used for treating diseases associated with "Yin deficiency" such as diabetes. However, little information is available on its components, pharmacological effects and underlying mechanisms. This study was designed to identify its active components and evaluate the effects and mechanisms of ZYD on glucose consumption and lipogenesis in insulin-induced insulin-resistant (IR)-HepG2 cells.

Advanced research on deep brain stimulation in treating mental disorders.

Deep brain stimulation is a method that involves using an electric stimulus on a specific target in the brain with stereotaxis. It is a minimally invasive, safe, adjustable and reversible nerve involvement technology. At present, this technique is widely applied to treat movement disorders and has produced promising effects on mental symptoms, including combined anxiety and depression.

[Gene Analysis for the Sudden Death of Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy by Whole Exome Sequencing.].

Objectives: To analyze the related pathogenicity gene mutations in a sudden death of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy （HCM） on whole exome level.

Methods: Whole exome sequencing （WES） was been performed on a sudden death case sample with pathological features of HCM by Illumina® Hiseq 2500 platform. Using hg19 as the reference sequences, the sequencing data were analyzed.

Assessment of the effect of three-dimensional mantle density heterogeneity on earth rotation in tidal frequencies.

In this paper we report the assessment of the effect of the three-dimensional (3D) density heterogeneity in the mantle on Earth Orientation Parameters (EOP) (i.e., the polar motion, or PM, and the length of day, or LOD) in the tidal frequencies.

Internalized stigma in people with severe mental illness in rural China.

Background: It is unknown whether there are differences in self-stigma among persons with different types of severe mental illness (SMI) in rural communities.

Aim: This study was to examine the differences of self-stigma and its correlates in persons with schizophrenia, major depressive disorder or bipolar disorder in a rural community in China.

Methods: A total of 453 persons with schizophrenia, major depressive disorder or bipolar disorder in a rural community participated in the study.

Dysregulation of the miR-146a-Smad4 axis impairs osteogenesis of bone mesenchymal stem cells under inflammation.

Osteoporosis is a common disease that affects patient quality of life, especially among the elderly population. Although inflammation contributes significantly to osteoporosis, the underlying mechanism is unclear. In this study, we found that tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, an inflammatory environment mimic, inhibits osteogenesis of bone mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs), induces miR-146a and decreases Smad4.

A network integration approach for drug-target interaction prediction and computational drug repositioning from heterogeneous information.

The emergence of large-scale genomic, chemical and pharmacological data provides new opportunities for drug discovery and repositioning. In this work, we develop a computational pipeline, called DTINet, to predict novel drug-target interactions from a constructed heterogeneous network, which integrates diverse drug-related information. DTINet focuses on learning a low-dimensional vector representation of features, which accurately explains the topological properties of individual nodes in the heterogeneous network, and then makes prediction based on these representations via a vector space projection scheme.

Three Conserved Regions in Baculovirus Sulfhydryl Oxidase P33 Are Critical for Enzymatic Activity and Function.

Baculoviruses encode a conserved sulfhydryl oxidase, P33, which is necessary for budded virus (BV) production and multinucleocapsid occlusion-derived virus (ODV) formation. Here, the structural and functional relationship of P33 was revealed by X-ray crystallography, site-directed mutagenesis, and functional analysis. Based on crystallographic characterization and structural analysis, a series of P33 mutants within three conserved regions, i.

Effects of Curvilinear Supine Position on Tissue Interface Pressure: A Prospective Before-and-After Study.

Purpose: To determine whether a curvilinear supine position increases the contact area between the subject and the surgical table, reduces interface pressures within contact areas, and improves comfort.

Design: This observational study was completed to establish proof-of-concept to determine differences between 2 positions (supine and curvilinear) on interface pressure of 5 at-risk anatomical locations, overall contact area, and subjects' comfort level.

Subjects And Setting: The study was conducted at the operating theater of a tertiary teaching hospital in Wuhan, China.

Zoledronate dysregulates fatty acid metabolism in renal tubular epithelial cells to induce nephrotoxicity.

Zoledronate is a bisphosphonate that is widely used in the treatment of metabolic bone diseases. However, zoledronate induces significant nephrotoxicity associated with acute tubular necrosis and renal fibrosis when administered intravenously. There is speculation that zoledronate-induced nephrotoxicity may result from its pharmacological activity as an inhibitor of the mevalonate pathway but the molecular mechanisms are not fully understood.

Conjoint and dissociated structural and functional abnormalities in first-episode drug-naive patients with major depressive disorder: a multimodal meta-analysis.

Published MRI evidence of structural and resting-state functional brain abnormalities in MDD has been inconsistent. To eliminate interference by repeated disease episodes and antidepressant treatment, we conducted the first multimodal voxel-wise meta-analysis of studies of voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) in first-episode drug-naive MDD patients, using the Seed-based d Mapping method (SDM). Fifteen VBM data sets and 11 ALFF data sets were included.

Hepatocyte growth factor induces breast cancer cell invasion via the PI3K/Akt and p38 MAPK signaling pathways to up-regulate the expression of COX2.

Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) is a multifunctional growth factor that plays important roles in promoting the invasion and metastasis of various tumor cells. However, there are few reports about the exact mechanisms of HGF involved in the regulation of cell invasion via the induction of COX2. In this study, we found that HGF could activate its receptor c-Met and up-regulate COX2 expression in a dose- and time-dependent manner, which resulted in an increase in MMP-9 expression and subsequent invasiveness of the breast cancer cell lines MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7.

Twisting of DNA Origami from Intercalators.

DNA nanostructures represent the confluence of materials science, computer science, biology, and engineering. As functional assemblies, they are capable of performing mechanical and chemical work. In this study, we demonstrate global twisting of DNA nanorails made from two DNA origami six-helix bundles.

Flavonoids extracted from Linaria vulgaris protect against hyperlipidemia and hepatic steatosis induced by western-type diet in mice.

Previous studies have shown that flavonoids (Fs) present in Linaria vulgaris inhibit lipid accumulation in vitro. This study was designed to evaluate the effects of Fs extracted from Linaria vulgaris ssp. sinensis (Bebeaux) Hong, on hyperlipidemia and hepatic steatosis induced by a western-type diet in mice.

IL-12 induces autophagy in human breast cancer cells through AMPK and the PI3K/Akt pathway.

Interleukin-12 (IL-12) serves an important role in immune responses and antitumor activity. The study of the association between autophagy and cancer cells remains controversial. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of IL‑12 on autophagy in the human breast cancer cell lines MDA‑MB‑231 and MCF‑7, and the possible molecular mechanism.

Dendritic cells maturated by co-culturing with HIV-1 latently infected Jurkat T cells or stimulating with AIDS-associated pathogens secrete TNF-α to reactivate HIV-1 from latency.

Elucidation of mechanisms underlying the establishment, maintenance of and reactivation from HIV-1 latency is essential for the development of therapeutic strategies aimed at eliminating HIV-1 reservoirs. Microbial translocation, as a consequence of HIV-1-induced deterioration of host immune system, is known to result in a systemic immune activation and transient outbursts of HIV-1 viremia in chronic HIV-1 infection. How these microbes cause the robust HIV-1 reactivation remains elusive.

Ligustrazine modulates renal cysteine biosynthesis in rats exposed to cadmium.

The objective of this study was to determine the effect of ligustrazine (TMP) on cadmium (Cd)-induced nephrotoxicity and its relevant mechanism. TMP (50mg/kg) was injected intraperitoneally (i.p.

Glioma cells enhance angiogenesis and inhibit endothelial cell apoptosis through the release of exosomes that contain long non-coding RNA CCAT2.

Angiogenesis is a key event in the progression of gliomas. Exosomes, as signaling extracellular organelles, modulate the tumor microenvironment and promote angiogenesis and tumor progression. We previously demonstrated that long intergenic non-coding RNA CCAT2 (linc-CCAT2) was overexpressed in glioma tissues and functioned to promote glioma progression.

Gene mutations and clinical phenotypes in Chinese children with Blau syndrome.

The mutations of CARD15 gene and clinical features of Chinese patients with Blau syndrome were analyzed. We identified 10 missense mutations, out of which five were new: R334L, E383D, R471C, C495R and D512F. The rest of them, R334W, R334Q, G481D, M513T and R587C, have been reported previously.

Gray Matter Abnormalities in Non-comorbid Medication-naive Patients with Major Depressive Disorder or Social Anxiety Disorder.

Background: An overlap of clinical symptoms between major depressive disorder (MDD) and social anxiety disorder (SAD) suggests that the two disorders exhibit similar brain mechanisms. However, few studies have directly compared the brain structures of the two disorders. The aim of this study was to assess the gray matter volume (GMV) and cortical thickness alterations between non-comorbid medication-naive MDD patients and SAD patients.

Differences in below-ground bud bank density and composition along a climatic gradient in the temperate steppe of northern China.

Background And Aims: Understanding the changes in below-ground bud bank density and composition along a climatic gradient is essential for the exploration of species distribution pattern and vegetation composition in response to climatic changes. Nevertheless, investigations on bud banks along climatic gradients are still scarce. The below-ground bud bank is expected to be reduced in size in arid conditions, and costly, bud-bearing organs with long spacers would be replaced by more compact forms with buds that are better protected than those found in moist conditions.

Amino acids at positions 3, 168, and 169 are associated with the ability of Nef proteins from HIV-1 CRF01_AE to downmodulate CD4.

Several HIV-1 subtypes are co-circulating among various high-risk groups in China, and an increasing prevalence of CRF01_AE was observed among MSM (men who have sex with men) within recent years. Patients infected with CRF01_AE may experience a more rapid disease progression than patients infected with non-CRF01_AE; however, the underlying mechanisms remains elusive. HIV-1 Nef is a multifunctional protein and plays critical roles in viral pathogenesis.