Immunological Behavior Analysis of Muscle Cells under IFN-γ Stimulation in Vitro and in Vivo.

Muscle cells could serve as antigen-presenting cells, and participate in the activation of immune response. Immunological characteristics of muscle cells, and their capacities to equip themselves with immunorelevant molecules, remain to be elucidated. In this study, we investigated the immunological properties of myoblasts and differentiated myotubes in vitro and in vivo, under the IFN-γ induced inflammatory condition.

Excellent Activity and Selectivity of One-Pot Synthesized Cu-SSZ-13 Catalyst in the Selective Catalytic Oxidation of Ammonia to Nitrogen.

One-pot synthesized Cu-SSZ-13 catalyst treated with dilute HNO achieved superior activity and selectivity in the selective catalytic oxidation (SCO) of NH to nitrogen, in comparison with other zeolite-based catalysts and most of metal-oxide catalysts. Furthermore, the catalyst showed the similar or even higher catalytic activity than the partial noble-metal catalysts, and meanwhile its N selectivity was superior to most noble-metal catalysts. The characterization results demonstrated that more Cu ions existing in Cu-SSZ-13 catalyst were advantageous to its NH-SCO activity.

Semi-Automated Biomarker Discovery from Pharmacodynamic Effects on EEG in ADHD Rodent Models.

We propose a novel semi-automatic approach to design biomarkers for capturing pharmacodynamic effects induced by pharmacological agents on the spectral power of electroencephalography (EEG) recordings. We apply this methodology to investigate the pharmacodynamic effects of methylphenidate (MPH) and atomoxetine (ATX) on attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), using rodent models. We inject the two agents into the spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR) model of ADHD, the Wistar-Kyoto rat (WKY), and the Wistar rat (WIS), and record their EEG patterns.

The significance of meibomian gland changes in asymptomatic children.

Purpose: To evaluate meibomian gland morphology and function in children without ocular discomfort.

Method: A total of 266 eyes of 266 children without signs or symptoms of ocular surface dysfunction were enrolled. Morphology of meibomian glands (MG) and non-invasive break-up time (BUT) was assessed by noncontact meibography.

Tumor-associated macrophages-derived exosomes promote the migration of gastric cancer cells by transfer of functional Apolipoprotein E.

Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) are a major component of the tumor microenvironment and have been shown to contribute to tumor aggressiveness. However, the detailed mechanisms underlying the pro-metastatic effect of TAMs on gastric cancer are not clearly defined. Here, we show that TAMs are enriched in gastric cancer.

A novel affordable reagent for room temperature storage and transport of fecal samples for metagenomic analyses.

Background: The number of large-scale studies on the gut microbiota in human cohorts is rapidly increasing. However, the few and expensive options for storage of fecal samples at room temperature have been an obstacle for large-scale metagenomic studies and the development of clinical/commercial personal metagenomic sequencing.

Results: In this study, we systematically tested a novel N-octylpyridinium bromide-based fecal sample preservation method and compared it with other currently used storage methods.

Combination effects of NaOH and NaCl on the rheology and gel characteristics of hen egg white proteins.

The effects of NaOH and NaCl on the rheology and gel properties of hen egg white were investigated. As the concentration of NaOH increased, egg white gel exhibited lower opacity and particle turbidity with coincidental increase in zeta potential, while the addition of NaCl resulted in the formation of opaque egg white gel and increase of surface hydrophobicity, particle turbidity and zeta potential. Rheological tests showed that alkali treatment will affect the unfolding state of egg white proteins during the heat stage while NaCl addition can inhibit the unfolding of egg white proteins.

Combining behavior and EEG analysis for exploration of dynamic effects of ADHD treatment in animal models.

Background: We analyze the dynamics of rodent EEG amplitude in an experiment accompanied by video recordings. Brain activity of animals is commonly acquired together with a video of behavior, but recordings are rarely combined in analysis. The data acquired is most commonly analyzed separately.

Carbon Dioxide Promotes Dehydrogenation in the Equimolar C H -CO Reaction to Synthesize Carbon Nanotubes.

The equimolar C H -CO reaction has shown promise for carbon nanotube (CNT) production at low temperatures and on diverse functional substrate materials; however, the electron-pushing mechanism of this reaction is not well demonstrated. Here, the role of CO is explored experimentally and theoretically. In particular, C labeling of CO demonstrates that CO is not an important C source in CNT growth by thermal catalytic chemical vapor deposition.

In vivo immuno-reactivity analysis of the porous three-dimensional chitosan/SiO and chitosan/SiO /hydroxyapatite hybrids.

Inorganic/organic hybrid silica-chitosan (CS) scaffolds have promising potential for bone defect repair, due to the controllable mechanical properties, degradation behavior, and scaffold morphology. However, the precise in vivo immuno-reactivity of silica-CS hybrids with various compositions is still poorly defined. In this study, we fabricated the three-dimensional (3D) interconnected porous chitosan-silica (CS/SiO ) and chitosan-silica-hydroxyapatite (CS/SiO /HA) hybrids, through sol-gel process and 3D plotting skill, followed by the naturally or freeze drying separately.

Assessment of the cPAS-based BGISEQ-500 platform for metagenomic sequencing.

Background: More extensive use of metagenomic shotgun sequencing in microbiome research relies on the development of high-throughput, cost-effective sequencing. Here we present a comprehensive evaluation of the performance of the new high-throughput sequencing platform BGISEQ-500 for metagenomic shotgun sequencing and compare its performance with that of 2 Illumina platforms.

Findings: Using fecal samples from 20 healthy individuals, we evaluated the intra-platform reproducibility for metagenomic sequencing on the BGISEQ-500 platform in a setup comprising 8 library replicates and 8 sequencing replicates.

Detection, isolation, and characterization of chikungunya viruses associated with the Pakistan outbreak of 2016-2017.

The chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is a mosquito-transmitted alphavirus, which has infected millions of people in Africa, Asia, Americas, and Europe since it reemerged in India and Indian Ocean regions in 2005-2006. Starting in the middle of November 2016, CHIKV has been widely spread, and more than 4,000 cases of infections in humans were confirmed in Pakistan. Here, we report the first isolation and characterization of CHIKV from the Pakistan outbreak.

OsMAPK3 Phosphorylates OsbHLH002/OsICE1 and Inhibits Its Ubiquitination to Activate OsTPP1 and Enhances Rice Chilling Tolerance.

Improvement of chilling tolerance is a major target in rice breeding. The signaling pathways regulating chilling consist of complex networks, including key transcription factors and their targets. However, it remains largely unknown how transcription factors are activated by chilling stress.

Asymmetry of Hemispheric Network Topology Reveals Dissociable Processes between Functional and Structural Brain Connectome in Community-Living Elders.

Human brain is structurally and functionally asymmetrical and the asymmetries of brain phenotypes have been shown to change in normal aging. Recent advances in graph theoretical analysis have showed topological lateralization between hemispheric networks in the human brain throughout the lifespan. Nevertheless, apparent discrepancies of hemispheric asymmetry were reported between the structural and functional brain networks, indicating the potentially complex asymmetry patterns between structural and functional networks in aging population.

Association of Interleukin-1 gene clusters polymorphisms with primary open-angle glaucoma: a meta-analysis.

Background: Previous studies have associated the Interleukin-1 (IL-1) gene clusters polymorphisms with the risk of primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG). However, the results were not consistent. Here, we performed a meta-analysis to evaluate the role of IL-1 gene clusters polymorphisms in POAG susceptibility.

Analyses of gut microbiota and plasma bile acids enable stratification of patients for antidiabetic treatment.

Antidiabetic medication may modulate the gut microbiota and thereby alter plasma and faecal bile acid (BA) composition, which may improve metabolic health. Here we show that treatment with Acarbose, but not Glipizide, increases the ratio between primary BAs and secondary BAs and plasma levels of unconjugated BAs in treatment-naive type 2 diabetes (T2D) patients, which may beneficially affect metabolism. Acarbose increases the relative abundances of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium in the gut microbiota and depletes Bacteroides, thereby changing the relative abundance of microbial genes involved in BA metabolism.

The microbiota continuum along the female reproductive tract and its relation to uterine-related diseases.

Reports on bacteria detected in maternal fluids during pregnancy are typically associated with adverse consequences, and whether the female reproductive tract harbours distinct microbial communities beyond the vagina has been a matter of debate. Here we systematically sample the microbiota within the female reproductive tract in 110 women of reproductive age, and examine the nature of colonisation by 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing and cultivation. We find distinct microbial communities in cervical canal, uterus, fallopian tubes and peritoneal fluid, differing from that of the vagina.

The gut microbiome in atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.

The gut microbiota has been linked to cardiovascular diseases. However, the composition and functional capacity of the gut microbiome in relation to cardiovascular diseases have not been systematically examined. Here, we perform a metagenome-wide association study on stools from 218 individuals with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ACVD) and 187 healthy controls.

Impacts of Pb and SO Poisoning on CeO-WO/TiO-SiO SCR Catalyst.

A CeO-WO/TiO-SiO catalyst was employed to investigate the poisoning mechanisms of Pb and SO during selective catalytic reduction (SCR). The introduction of Pb and SO suppressed the catalytic performance by decreasing the numbers of surface acid and redox sites. Specifically, Pb preferentially bonded with amorphous WO species rather than with CeO, decreasing the numbers of both Lewis and Brønsted acid sites but exerting less influence on the reducibility.

Rational design of conformationally constrained oxazolidinone-fused 1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinoline derivatives as potential PDE4 inhibitors.

Improvement of subtype selectivity of an inhibitor's binding activity using the conformational restriction approach has become an effective strategy in drug discovery. In this study, we applied this approach to PDE4 inhibitors and designed a series of novel oxazolidinone-fused 1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinoline derivatives as conformationally restricted analogues of rolipram. The bioassay results demonstrated the oxazolidinone-fused tetrahydroisoquinoline derivatives exhibited moderate to good inhibitory activity against PDE4B and high selectivity for PDE4B/PDE4D.

Connections between the human gut microbiome and gestational diabetes mellitus.

The human gut microbiome can modulate metabolic health and affect insulin resistance, and it may play an important role in the etiology of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). Here, we compared the gut microbial composition of 43 GDM patients and 81 healthy pregnant women via whole-metagenome shotgun sequencing of their fecal samples, collected at 21-29 weeks, to explore associations between GDM and the composition of microbial taxonomic units and functional genes. A metagenome-wide association study identified 154 837 genes, which clustered into 129 metagenome linkage groups (MLGs) for species description, with significant relative abundance differences between the 2 cohorts.

Facile synthesis of MnO-embedded flower-like hierarchical porous carbon microspheres as an enhanced electrocatalyst for sensitive detection of caffeic acid.

Tailored designs/fabrications of hierarchical porous advanced electrode materials are of great importance for developing high-performance electrochemical sensors. Herein, we demonstrate a simple and low-cost in situ chemical approach for the facile synthesis of MnO-embedded hierarchical porous carbon microspheres (MnO/CM). By the characterizations of scanning electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray powder diffraction and energy dispersive spectroscopy, we evidenced that the synthesized product were flower-like carbon microspheres (CM) assembled by the bent flakes with thickness of about several nanometers and MnO nanorods were highly dispersed and successfully decorated on the CM layers, resulting in a rough surface and three-dimensional microstructure.

The effect of α-cyclodextrin on poly(pseudo)rotaxane nanoparticles self-assembled by protoporphyrin modified poly(ethylene glycol) for anticancer drug delivery.

Poly(pseudo)rotaxane (PPR) nanoparticles was facilely prepared using poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) modified with protoporphyrin (PpIX) and α-cyclodextrin (α-CD) via host-guest interaction, the effect of α-CD number on the nanoparticle properties was investigated. The PEG with protoporphyrin (PEG-PpIX) end capping was synthesized via coupling reaction and the poly(pseudo)rotaxane nanoparticles with different amount of α-CD were fabricated by host-guest interaction between mPEG-PpIX and α-CDs. The final product was characterized by nuclear magnetic spectrum (H NMR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscope (AFM) and dynamic light scattering (DLS).