An in situ hydrogel based on carboxymethyl chitosan and sodium alginate dialdehyde for corneal wound healing after alkali burn.

There is currently no optimal scaffold for the transplantation of limbal stem cells (LSCs) to induce corneal reconstruction after corneal alkali burns. This study attempts to fabricate a novel in situ Alginate-Chitosan hydrogel (ACH) for LSCs transplantation. Sodium alginate dialdehyde (SAD), a biological crosslinker, was prepared by periodate-mediated sodium alginate oxidization.

Pharmacokinetics of S-EPA, and its inhibition on indoleamine 2,3-dioxgenase: a case of sulfur-substitution affecting distributions in blood cells.

1. S-EPA is a sulfur-substitution analog of epacadostat (EPA), an effective small molecule indoleamine 2,3-dioxgenase1 (IDO) inhibitor. By in vitro and in vivo experiments, pharmacokinetic differences of two closely related analogs, S-EPA and EPA was investigated in this study.

A chromosome-scale assembly of the sorghum genome using nanopore sequencing and optical mapping.

Long-read sequencing technologies have greatly facilitated assemblies of large eukaryotic genomes. In this paper, Oxford Nanopore sequences generated on a MinION sequencer are combined with Bionano Genomics Direct Label and Stain (DLS) optical maps to generate a chromosome-scale de novo assembly of the repeat-rich Sorghum bicolor Tx430 genome. The final assembly consists of 29 scaffolds, encompassing in most cases entire chromosome arms.

The elevated glutaminolysis of bladder cancer and T cells in a simulated tumor microenvironment contributes to the up-regulation of PD-L1 expression by interferon-γ.

Background: Metabolic reprogramming occurs in the tumor microenvironment and influences the survival and function of tumor and immune cells. Interferon-γ (IFN-γ) produced by T cells up-regulates PD-L1 expression in tumors. However, reports regarding the relationship between nutrient metabolism and the up-regulation of PD-L1 expression are lacking.

Rapid masculinization and effects on the liver of female western mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis) by norethindrone.

Natural and synthetic progestins in receiving streams can disrupt the normal endocrine systems of fish. Norethindrone (NET) is a widely used synthetic progestin that often appears in wastewater effluents. For this research, adult female western mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis) were exposed to NET at three concentrations.

Toxicity effects of a novel potent triple reuptake inhibitor, LPM570065, on the fertility and early embryonic development in Sprague-Dawley rats.

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) have developed as novel antidepressants and have been determined to possess higher efficacy and less adverse effects compared to other antidepressants. Our previous studies have showed that LPM570065, a new potent TRI, is relatively nontoxic in acute, subchronic toxicity and genotoxicity evaluations. In the current study, toxicity of LPM570065 was further evaluated on the fertility and early embryonic development in Sprague-Dawley rats.

Porous Nanoparticles With Self-Adjuvanting M2e-Fusion Protein and Recombinant Hemagglutinin Provide Strong and Broadly Protective Immunity Against Influenza Virus Infections.

Due to the high risk of an outbreak of pandemic influenza, the development of a broadly protective universal influenza vaccine is highly warranted. The design of such a vaccine has attracted attention and much focus has been given to nanoparticle-based influenza vaccines which can be administered intranasally. This is particularly interesting since, contrary to injectable vaccines, mucosal vaccines elicit local IgA and lung resident T cell immunity, which have been found to correlate with stronger protection in experimental models of influenza virus infections.

Precision medicine and bladder cancer heterogeneity.

Bladder cancer is a widespread and highly heterogeneous malignancy. Moreover, bladder cancer recurrence and treatment failure are common, making this disease a challenge for genito-urinary surgeons. Precision medicine represents a new medical concept and model.

Passively transferred M2e-specific monoclonal antibody reduces influenza A virus transmission in mice.

Influenza represents a global public health threat. Currently available influenza vaccines are effective against strain-matched influenza A and B viruses but do not protect against novel pandemic viruses. Vaccine candidates that target conserved B or T cell epitopes of influenza viruses could circumvent this shortcoming.

An EEG Study of a Confusing State Induced by Information Insufficiency during Mathematical Problem-Solving and Reasoning.

Confusion is a complex cognitive state that is prevalent during learning and problem-solving. The aim of this study is to explore the brain activity reflected by electroencephalography (EEG) during a confusing state induced by two kinds of information insufficiencies during mathematical problem-solving, namely, an explicit situation that clearly lacked information and an implicit situation in which the missing information was hidden in the problem itself, and whether there is an EEG difference between these two situations. Two experimental tasks and three control tasks were created.

Determination of kynurnine and tryptophan, biomarkers of indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase by LC-MS/MS in plasma and tumor.

Aim: Tryptophan (Trp) and kynurnine (Kyn) are a pair of biomarkers for indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase which closely related to the tumor immune escape. To evaluate the effect of drugs on the indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase activity, the specific and accurate LC-MS/MS methods were developed and validated for simultaneous determination Kyn and Trp in mouse plasma and tumor tissues using surrogate analytes Kyn-d4 and Trp-d5 calibrators.

Results: Plasma and tumor homogenates samples were pretreated with the solid phase extraction which assured the method having high recovery (>90% in plasma and >80% in tumor) and no matrix effect.

Time-Frequency Energy Sensing of Communication Signals and Its Application in Co-Channel Interference Suppression.

As the number of mobile users and video traffics grow explosively, the data rate demands increase tremendously. To improve the spectral efficiency, the spectrum are reused inter cell or intra cell, such as the ultra dense network with multi-cell or the cellular network with Device-to-Device communications, where the co-channel interferences are brought and needs to be suppressed. According to the time-frequency energy sensing to the communication signals, the desired signal and the interference signal have different energy concentration areas on the time frequency plane, which provide opportunities to suppress the co-channel interference with time varying filter.

Acute, subchronic oral toxicity, and genotoxicity evaluations of LPM570065, a new potent triple reuptake inhibitor.

In the current study, to support the safety of LPM570065 as a new potent triple reuptake inhibitors (TRIs), LPM570065 was investigated through a single- and 13-week repeated-dose oral toxicity evaluation and mutagenicity assays. In an acute toxicity evaluation, Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were single administration at dose of 500, 1000 and 2000 mg/kg. The results suggested that two (2/20) and seven (7/20) animals were died in the 1000 and 2000 mg/kg group, respectively.

The progestin norethindrone affects sex differentiation and alters transcriptional profiles of genes along the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axes in juvenile zebrafish Dario renio.

Natural and synthetic progestins may pose a threat to wild fish populations living in receiving waters. In this study, the effects of norethindrone (NET) on the sex differentiation of zebrafish (Dario renio) and the mechanisms underlying these effects were investigated. Juvenile zebrafish (20 days post fertilization, pdf) were exposed to environmentally relevant concentrations (5, 50, 500, and 1000 ng L) for 45 d.

Carboxymethyl chitosan/gelatin/hyaluronic acid blended-membranes as epithelia transplanting scaffold for corneal wound healing.

There is an unmet need for an optimal scaffold as cell transplantation carrier to induce corneal reconstruction. In this study, a blend membrane was prepared with carboxymethyl chitosan (CMCTS), gelatin, and hyaluronic acid. To investigate its cytocompatibility, primary rabbit corneal epithelial cells (CEpCs) were seeded on it and growth and proliferation were evaluated.

IFN-λ prevents influenza virus spread from the upper airways to the lungs and limits virus transmission.

Host factors restricting the transmission of respiratory viruses are poorly characterized. We analyzed the contribution of type I and type III interferon (IFN) using a mouse model in which the virus is selectively administered to the upper airways, mimicking a natural respiratory virus infection. Mice lacking functional IFN-λ receptors () no longer restricted virus dissemination from the upper airways to the lungs.

Alterations of secondary sex characteristics, reproductive histology and behaviors by norgestrel in the western mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis).

Synthetic hormones in wastewater effluents released into the aquatic environments may interfere with the normal endocrine systems of fish in receiving streams. Norgestrel (NGT) is a synthetic progestin widely used in oral contraceptives and frequently detected in wastewater effluents. In this study, adult female mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis) were exposed to three environmentally relevant concentrations of norgestrel (NGT) (i.

Genetic Deletion of Fbw7 in the mouse intestinal epithelium aggravated dextran sodium sulfate-induced colitis by modulating the inflammatory response of NF-κB pathway.

Fbw7 is a type of E3 ubiquitin ligase that targets various proteins for degradation and has been found to have a high expression level in progenitor cells. Deletion of Fbw7 in the intestine results in the accumulation of progenitor cells. Moreover, Fbw7 loss increases the susceptibility of colorectal cancer.

N-Acetyl-Glucosamine Sensitizes Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Cells to TRAIL-Induced Apoptosis by Activating Death Receptor 5.

Background/aims: Tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) is a potential anti-cancer agent due to its selective toxicity. However, many human non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells are partially resistant to TRAIL, thereby limiting its clinical application. Therefore, there is a need for the development of novel adjuvant therapeutic agents to be used in combination with TRAIL.

Advances in Sequencing and Resequencing in Crop Plants.

DNA sequencing technologies have changed the face of biological research over the last 20 years. From reference genomes to population level resequencing studies, these technologies have made significant contributions to our understanding of plant biology and evolution. As the technologies have increased in power, the breadth and complexity of the questions that can be asked has increased.

Bayesian nonparametric inference for panel count data with an informative observation process.

In this paper, the panel count data analysis for recurrent events is considered. Such analysis is useful for studying tumor or infection recurrences in both clinical trial and observational studies. A bivariate Gaussian Cox process model is proposed to jointly model the observation process and the recurrent event process.

Circulating Tumor Cells Were Associated with the Number of T Lymphocyte Subsets and NK Cells in Peripheral Blood in Advanced Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer.

In this study, we aim to investigate the correlation between circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and the T lymphocyte subsets and NK cells in peripheral blood in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The peripheral blood CTCs were determined by SET-iFISH. Flow cytometry was used to determine the distribution of T lymphocyte subsets and NK cells.

Overexpression of geranylgeranyl diphosphate synthase contributes to tumour metastasis and correlates with poor prognosis of lung adenocarcinoma.

This study aimed to evaluate the biological role of geranylgeranyl diphosphate synthase (GGPPS) in the progression of lung adenocarcinoma. GGPPS expression was detected in lung adenocarcinoma tissues by qRT-PCR, tissue microarray (TMA) and western blotting. The relationships between GGPPS expression and the clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis of lung adenocarcinoma patients were assessed.

Combined SEP and anti-PD-L1 antibody produces a synergistic antitumor effect in B16-F10 melanoma-bearing mice.

The increased PD-L1 induces poorer prognosis in melanoma. The treatment with PD-1/PD-L1 antibodies have a low response rate. The combination immunotherapies are the encouraging drug development strategy to receive maximal therapeutic benefit.

Serum Romo1 is significantly associated with disease severity in patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome.

Purpose: We aim to evaluate reactive oxygen species modulator 1 (Romo1) levels in obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) and analyze its possible relationships to OSAS severity, reactive oxygen species (ROS), and C-reactive protein (CRP). Additionally, we also investigated the effects of nasal continuous positive airway pressure (nCPAP) on serum Romo1.

Methods: One hundred and five patients diagnosed with OSAS were classified into the OSAS group, and 41 subjects without OSAS were recruited for the control group.