Variations and reduction of plastome are associated with the evolution of parasitism in Convolvulaceae.

Parasitic lifestyle can often relax the constraint on the plastome, leading to gene pseudogenization and loss, and resulting in diverse genomic structures and rampant genome degradation. Although several plastomes of parasitic Cuscuta have  been reported, the evolution of parasitism in the family Convolvulaceae which is linked to structural variations and reduction of plastome has not been well investigated. In this study, we assembled and collected 40 plastid genomes belonging to 23 species representing four subgenera of Cuscuta and ten species of autotrophic Convolvulaceae.

Efficacy and Safety of Jiawei Suanzaoren Decoction Combined with Lorazepam for Chronic Insomnia: A Parallel-Group Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Chronic insomnia is a major public health problem, but there are limited effective therapies. Jiawei Suanzaoren Decoction (JW-SZRD) has been used as an alternative option for treating insomnia. This study aimed to investigate the long-term efficacy and safety of JW-SZRD in combination with lorazepam for chronic insomnia.

Esculentoside A inhibits LPS-induced acute kidney injury by activating PPAR-γ.

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a major clinical problem associated with high morbidity and mortality. Esculentoside A (EsA), a kind of saponin isolated from the root of the Chinese herb Phytolaca esculenta, has been reported to have anti-inflammatory effect. In this study, we aimed to investigate the protective effects of EsA on LPS-induced AKI in mice.

[Particles size distribution and its influence on remote sensing retrieval of turbid Poyang Lake].

The suspended particle size distribution provides crucial information for the study of water environment structure and function. Based on the in-situ data from wet and dry season in 2008-2011, the paper studied suspended particle size distribution of Poyang Lake and its optical features. The suspended particle size distribution showed seasonal variation: the particle size of southern lake was larger than that of northern lake in dry season but showed little variation in wet season.

Early amplitude-integrated EEG monitoring 6 h after birth predicts long-term neurodevelopment of asphyxiated late preterm infants.

Unlabelled: The present study aimed to assess the prognostic value of early amplitude-integrated electroencephalogram (aEEG) in late preterm infants who were born at a gestational age between 34 0/7 and 36 6/7 weeks for the prediction of neurobehavioral development. Late preterm infants (n = 170) with normal, mild, and severe asphyxia underwent continuous recording of aEEG for 4-6 h starting 6-8 h after delivery. The recordings were analyzed for background pattern, sleep-wake cycle (SWC), and seizures.

[Partitioning of the suspended particulate spectral scattering coefficient in Poyang Lake].

A model for partitioning the particulate scattering coefficient into the contributions of suspended mineral particle and organic particle was proposed based on the measured data. The independent variables, i. e.

[Differential expression of proteins in rat mesenchymal stem cells undergoing endothelial differentiation].

Objective: To screen and identify differentially expressed proteins of mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) during endothelial differentiation.

Methods: MSCs were induced to endothelial differentiation with vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and epithelial growth factor (EGF) mixture. The whole cell proteins were extracted and isolated by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis.

[Effects of recombinant human erythropoietin on serum levels of neuron-specific enolase, S-100β protein and myelin basic protein in rats following status epilepticus].

Objective: This study examined the effect of recombinant human erythropoietin (r-HuEPO) on the serum levels of neuron-specific enolase (NSE), S-100β protein and myelin basic protein (MBP) in young rats 24 hrs after lithium-pilocarpine-induced status epilepticus (SE) in order to study the potential role of r-HuEPO in epileptic brain damage.

Methods: Forty 19-21-day-old male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into four groups (n=10): normal control group, SE, r-HuEPO pretreated-SE and r-HuEPO. SE was induced by lithium-pilocarpine.

Unregulated smooth-muscle myosin in human intestinal neoplasia.

A recent study described a recessive ATPase activating germ-line mutation in smooth-muscle myosin (smmhc/myh11) underlying the zebrafish meltdown (mlt) phenotype. The mlt zebrafish develops intestinal abnormalities reminiscent of human Peutz-Jeghers syndrome (PJS) and juvenile polyposis (JP). To examine the role of MYH11 in human intestinal neoplasia, we searched for MYH11 mutations in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC), PJS and JP.

The unique insert at the end of the myosin VI motor is the sole determinant of directionality.

Myosin VI moves toward the pointed (minus) end of actin filaments, the reverse direction of other myosin classes. The myosin VI structure demonstrates that a unique insert at the end of the motor repositions its lever arm and is at least in part responsible for the reversal of directionality. However, it has been proposed that there must be additional modifications within the motor that contribute to its large step size and to the reversal of directionality.

Full-length myosin VI dimerizes and moves processively along actin filaments upon monomer clustering.

Myosin VI is a reverse direction actin-based motor capable of taking large steps (30-36 nm) when dimerized. However, all dimeric myosin VI molecules so far examined have included non-native coiled-coil sequences, and reports on full-length myosin VI have failed to demonstrate the existence of dimers. Herein, we demonstrate that full-length myosin VI is capable of forming stable, processive dimers when monomers are clustered, which move up to 1-2 mum in approximately 30 nm, hand-over-hand steps.

[Anti-arrhythmic effect of starfish sterol].

Aim: To study the effect of modified starfish sterol [C03, succinic acid (5-epiandroene-17-one-3beta-ol) diester] on experimental arrhythmias.

Methods: Arrhythmias were induced by drugs (Aco, Oua, BaCl2 and adrenalin) i.v.

Myosin VI steps via a hand-over-hand mechanism with its lever arm undergoing fluctuations when attached to actin.

Myosin VI is a reverse direction myosin motor that, as a dimer, moves processively on actin with an average center-of-mass movement of approximately 30 nm for each step. We labeled myosin VI with a single fluorophore on either its motor domain or on the distal of two calmodulins (CaMs) located on its putative lever arm. Using a technique called FIONA (fluorescence imaging with one nanometer accuracy), step size was observed with a standard deviation of <1.

The unique insert in myosin VI is a structural calcium-calmodulin binding site.

Myosin VI contains an inserted sequence that is unique among myosin superfamily members and has been suggested to be a determinant of the reverse directionality and unusual motility of the motor. It is thought that each head of a two-headed myosin VI molecule binds one calmodulin (CaM) by means of a single "IQ motif". Using truncations of the myosin VI protein and electrospray ionization(ESI)-MS, we demonstrate that in fact each myosin VI head binds two CaMs.

Does the S2 rod of myosin II uncoil upon two-headed binding to actin? A leucine-zippered HMM study.

Myosin II, like many molecular motors, is a two-headed dimer held together by a coiled-coil rod. The stability of the (S2) rod has implications for head-head interactions, force generation, and possibly regulation. Whether S2 uncoils has been controversial.

Myosin IIb is unconventionally conventional.

Members of the myosin II class of molecular motors have been referred to as "conventional," a term used to describe their ability to form thick filaments, their low duty ratio, the ability of individual motor-containing "heads" to operate independently of each other, and their rate-limiting phosphate release. These features ensure that those motors that have completed their power stroke dissociate rapidly enough to prevent them from interfering with those motors that are beginning theirs. However, in this study, we demonstrate that myosin IIB, a cytoplasmic myosin II particularly enriched in the central nervous system and cardiac tissue, has a number of features that it shares instead with "unconventional" myosin isoforms, including myosins V and VI.

Calcium functionally uncouples the heads of myosin VI.

This study examines the steady state activity and in vitro motility of single-headed (S1) and double-headed (HMM) myosin VI constructs within the context of two putative modes of regulation. Phosphorylation of threonine 406 does not alter either the rate of actin filament sliding or the maximal actin-activated ATPase rate of S1 or HMM constructs. Thus, we do not observe any regulation of myosin VI by phosphorylation within the motor domain.

An actin-dependent conformational change in myosin.

Conformational changes within myosin lead to its movement relative to an actin filament. Several crystal structures exist for myosin bound to various nucleotides, but none with bound actin. Therefore, the effect of actin on the structure of myosin is poorly understood.