Bioactive Compounds Isolated from Marine Bacterium and Their Enzyme Inhibitory Activities.

Marine organisms are recognized as a source of compounds with interesting biological activities. has been reported on for its high effectiveness against corrosion in metals but it has been little studied for its chemical and biological activities. In this study, four compounds were isolated from : indole (); 1H-indole-3-carboxaldehyde (); 4-hydroxybenzaldehyde () and Cyclo (-Pro-Tyr) (); using a bioassay-guided method, since in a previous study it was found that the ethyl acetate extract was active on the enzymes acetylcholinesterase (AChE), alpha-glucosidase (AG) and xanthine oxidase (XO).

Association between gene polymorphism and renal function in patients with IgA nephropathy.

Background: Studies have shown that the occurrence and development of IgA nephropathy (IgAN) are genetically susceptible, but the relationship between vitamin D receptor () gene polymorphisms and renal function in IgAN patients is unclear.

Methods: We investigated the relationship between (rs2228570) single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and renal function and related clinicopathologic parameters in IgAN patients. Clinical and pathological data of 282 IgAN patients treated at the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University were collected, and genotypes were determined by PCR and direct sequencing.

Glutaminase Activity of L-Asparaginase Contributes to Durable Preclinical Activity against Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.

We and others have reported that the anticancer activity of L-asparaginase (ASNase) against asparagine synthetase (ASNS)-positive cell types requires ASNase glutaminase activity, whereas anticancer activity against ASNS-negative cell types does not. Here, we attempted to disentangle the relationship between asparagine metabolism, glutamine metabolism, and downstream pathways that modulate cell viability by testing the hypothesis that ASNase anticancer activity is based on asparagine depletion rather than glutamine depletion per se. We tested ASNase wild-type (ASNase) and its glutaminase-deficient Q59L mutant (ASNase) and found that ASNase glutaminase activity contributed to durable anticancer activity against xenografts of the ASNS-negative Sup-B15 leukemia cell line in NOD/SCID gamma mice, whereas asparaginase activity alone yielded a mere growth delay.

Low Muscularity as Assessed by Abdominal Computed Tomography on Intensive Care Unit Admission Is Associated With Mortality in a Critically Ill Asian Population.

Background: Low muscularity (LM) is associated with high mortality in the Caucasian critically ill population. Muscularity can be accurately measured by the skeletal muscle index (SMI; cm /m ) generated by computed tomography (CT). This study aimed to establish the overall and sex-specific cutoff values that predict hospital mortality in an Asian critically ill population.

High α B-crystallin and p53 co-expression is associated with poor prognosis in ovarian cancer.

Objectives: The present study investigated the correlation between α B-crystallin (CRYAB, HSPB5) and p53 expression in ovarian cancer and further analyzed the relationship between their expression and clinicopathology and the prognostic value of their co-expression in ovarian cancer.

Methods: CRYAB and p53 expression was assessed using immunohistochemistry on ovarian cancer tumor tissues from 103 cases and validated in an independent group of 103 ovarian cancer patients.

Results: High CRYAB and p53 expression rates in ovarian cancer tissues were 61.

Limits Muscle Wasting and Cardiac Fibrosis through Exosome-Mediated microRNA Transfer in Chronic Kidney Disease.

Uremic cardiomyopathy and muscle atrophy are associated with insulin resistance and contribute to chronic kidney disease (CKD)-induced morbidity and mortality. We hypothesized that restoration of levels would enhance exosome-mediated microRNA transfer to improve muscle wasting and cardiomyopathy that occur in CKD. Using next generation sequencing and qPCR, we found that CKD mice had a decreased level of in heart and skeletal muscle.

A Novel Noninvasive Program for Staging Liver Fibrosis in Untreated Patients With Chronic Hepatitis B.

Objectives: Chronic hepatitis B (CHB) can progress into liver fibrosis and cirrhosis with poor outcomes. Early and accurate diagnosis of liver fibrosis/cirrhosis is important to guide the preventive strategy of their related complications.

Methods: A Chinese multicenter cross-sectional study was conducted to develop and validate a novel noninvasive program for staging liver fibrosis in untreated patients with CHB.

Infant frontal EEG asymmetry moderates the association between maternal behavior and toddler negative affectivity.

Relatively little work has examined potential interactions between child intrinsic factors and extrinsic environmental factors in the development of negative affect in early life. This work is important because high levels of early negative affectivity have been associated with difficulties in later childhood adjustment. We examined associations between infant frontal electroencephalogram (EEG), maternal parenting behaviors, and children's negative affect across the first two years of life.

Physicochemical, functional and emulsion properties of edible protein from avocado (Persea americana Mill.) oil processing by-products.

Avocado (Persea americana) is a tropical fruit that has drawn great interest its oil for foods and cosmetic industries; however, avocado oil processing by-product is a potential source of edible protein. Herein, edible protein was prepared from defatted avocado meal, and it's physicochemical, functional and emulsion properties were investigated. The avocado protein showed U-shaped exhibiting strong effect of pH, and a minimum solubility being observed at pH 4.

Genome-Wide Assessment of Avocado Germplasm Determined from Specific Length Amplified Fragment Sequencing and Transcriptomes: Population Structure, Genetic Diversity, Identification, and Application of Race-Specific Markers.

Genomic data is a powerful tool. However, the phylogenetic relationships among different ecological races of avocado remain unclear. Here, we used the results from specific length amplified fragment sequencing (SLAF-seq) and transcriptome data to infer the population structure and genetic diversity of 21 avocado cultivars and reconstructed the phylogeny of three ecological races and two interracial hybrids.

Response envelope analysis for quantitative evaluation of drug combinations.

Motivation: The concept of synergy between two agents, over a century old, is important to the fields of biology, chemistry, pharmacology and medicine. A key step in drug combination analysis is the selection of an additivity model to identify combination effects including synergy, additivity and antagonism. Existing methods for identifying and interpreting those combination effects have limitations.

ElemCor: accurate data analysis and enrichment calculation for high-resolution LC-MS stable isotope labeling experiments.

Background: The investigation of intracellular metabolism is the mainstay in the biotechnology and physiology settings. Intracellular metabolic rates are commonly evaluated using labeling pattern of the identified metabolites obtained from stable isotope labeling experiments. The labeling pattern or mass distribution vector describes the fractional abundances of all isotopologs with different masses as a result of isotopic labeling, which are typically resolved using mass spectrometry.

Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor-D (VEGF-D) is Elevated in Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid of Patients with Lung Squamous Carcinoma.

Background: Previous studies have found that vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is associated with lung cancer, yet little is known about vascular endothelial growth factor-D (VEGF-D) in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) of lung cancer patients. In this study, we aim to investigate the expression and evaluation of VEGF-D in BALF for lung cancer diagnosis.

Methods: BALF samples were acquired from 81 patients: 40 with benign diseases and 41 with lung cancer.

Assessment of l-Asparaginase Pharmacodynamics in Mouse Models of Cancer.

l-asparaginase (ASNase) is a metabolism-targeted anti-neoplastic agent used to treat acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). ASNase's anticancer activity results from the enzymatic depletion of asparagine (Asn) and glutamine (Gln), which are converted to aspartic acid (Asp) and glutamic acid (Glu), respectively, in the blood. Unfortunately, accurate assessment of the in vivo pharmacodynamics (PD) of ASNase is challenging because of the following reasons: (i) ASNase is resilient to deactivation; (ii) ASNase catalytic efficiency is very high; and (iii) the PD markers Asn and Gln are depleted ex vivo in blood samples containing ASNase.

Association Between Serum Aluminum Level and Uremic Pruritus in Hemodialysis Patients.

Uremic pruritus (UP) is a common symptom in patients undergoing hemodialysis (HD). The pathogenesis of UP is complex. Aluminum (Al) is a common metal and is toxic to patients undergoing HD.

Eicosapentaenoic acid in combination with EPHA2 inhibition shows efficacy in preclinical models of triple-negative breast cancer by disrupting cellular cholesterol efflux.

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), the most aggressive breast cancer subtype, currently lacks effective targeted therapy options. Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), an omega-3 fatty acid and constituent of fish oil, is a common supplement with anti-inflammatory properties. Although it is not a mainstream treatment, several preclinical studies have demonstrated that EPA exerts anti-tumor activity in breast cancer.

Biochemical and Functional Characterization of Anthocyanidin Reductase (ANR) from L.

Mango ( L.) is abundant in proanthocyanidins (PAs) that are important for human health and plant response to abiotic stresses. However, the molecular mechanisms involved in PA biosynthesis still need to be elucidated.

Comparison of physicochemical properties and in vitro digestibility of starches from seven banana cultivars in China.

Lots of bananas were wasted before commercialization. It is necessary to search potential industrial applications of banana. In the present study, starches from seven banana cultivars (labeled as A-G) were isolated and then characterized.