Platelet-mediated mesenchymal stem cells homing to the lung reduces monocrotaline-induced rat pulmonary hypertension.

Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell (BM-MSC) transplantation has been suggested to be a promising method for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), a fatal disease currently without effective preventive/therapeutic strategies. However, the detailed mechanisms underlying BM-MSC therapy are largely unknown. We designed the present study to test the hypothesis that circulating platelets facilitate BM-MSC homing to the lung vasculature in a rat model of PAH induced by monocrotalin (MCT).

Relationship between brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity and cardiovascular risk factors: a multi-ethnic study.

Objective: The objective of the present multi-ethnic study was to explore whether an association exists between brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) and cardiovascular risk factors in China.

Methods: Two hundred sixty-four adult subjects (152 subjects were of Han nationality, 70 subjects were from Uygur, 19 subjects were from Kazakh, 15 subjects were from Hui, and 8 subjects were of other nationalities.) aged 30-82 years were enrolled in the present study.

Silencing of the TGF-β1 gene increases the immunogenicity of cells from human ovarian carcinoma.

Cells from many tumors produce transforming growth factor (TGF)-β which facilitates their escape from control by the immune system. We previously reported that nonimmunogenic cells from either of 2 transplantable mouse tumors became effective as therapeutic tumor vaccines after lentivirus-mediated shRNA interference to "silence" the TGF-β1 gene. We now show that cells from in vitro cultured human ovarian carcinomas (OvC) make large amounts of TGF-β1 and that this can be prevented by "silencing" the TGF-β1 gene.

Isolation and identification of antibacterial neo-compounds from the red ants of ChangBai Mountain, Tetramorium sp.

Three novel coumarin compounds along with two known amide alkaloids were isolated from a methanol extract of the red ants of ChangBai Mountain, Tetramorium sp. Their structures were identified on the basis of IR, 2D NMR ((1)H-(1)H COSY, HSQC, HMBC and NOESY) and HRESIMS analysis. Antibacterial activity of all the compounds was evaluated using KB paper diffusion through measurement of inhibiting zone.

Identification of constant-posture EMG-torque relationship about the elbow using nonlinear dynamic models.

The surface electromyogram (EMG) from biceps and triceps muscles of 33 subjects was related to elbow torque, contrasting EMG amplitude (EMGσ) estimation processors, linear/nonlinear model structures, and system identification techniques. Torque estimation was improved by 1) advanced EMGσ processors (i.e.

Stochastic proximity embedding on graphics processing units: taking multidimensional scaling to a new scale.

Stochastic proximity embedding (SPE) was developed as a method for efficiently calculating lower dimensional embeddings of high-dimensional data sets. Rather than using a global minimization scheme, SPE relies upon updating the distances of randomly selected points in an iterative fashion. This was found to generate embeddings of comparable quality to those obtained using classical multidimensional scaling algorithms.

Power keys: a novel class of topological descriptors based on exhaustive subgraph enumeration and their application in substructure searching.

We present a novel class of topological molecular descriptors, which we call power keys. Power keys are computed by enumerating all possible linear, branch, and cyclic subgraphs up to a given size, encoding the connected atoms and bonds into two separate components, and recording the number of occurrences of each subgraph. We have applied these new descriptors for the screening stage of substructure searching on a relational database of about 1 million compounds using a diverse set of reference queries.

Autoantibodies to mesothelin in infertility.

Background: According to extensive epidemiologic data, infertility is associated with increased ovarian cancer risk. Previous studies showed that both women with infertility and those with ovarian cancer have autoantibodies to ovarian antigens. The objective was to determine if women with infertility have antibodies to mesothelin, a well-characterized ovarian cancer antigen.

Accelerating chemical database searching using graphics processing units.

The utility of chemoinformatics systems depends on the accurate computer representation and efficient manipulation of chemical compounds. In such systems, a small molecule is often digitized as a large fingerprint vector, where each element indicates the presence/absence or the number of occurrences of a particular structural feature. Since in theory the number of unique features can be exceedingly large, these fingerprint vectors are usually folded into much shorter ones using hashing and modulo operations, allowing fast "in-memory" manipulation and comparison of molecules.

A general strategy to fabricate simple polyoxometalate nanostructures: electrochemistry-assisted laser ablation in liquid.

Polyoxometalate nanostructures have attracted much attention because of significant technical demands in applications such as catalysts, sensors, and smart windows. Therefore, researchers have recently developed many methods for the synthesis of these nanomaterials. However, these techniques have many visible flaws such as high temperatures or high pressure environments, various templates or additives, demanding and complicated synthesis procedures as well as the presence of impurities in the final products.

Loss of transforming growth factor β adaptor protein β-2 spectrin leads to delayed liver regeneration in mice.

Unlabelled: Liver regeneration, following partial hepatectomy (PHx), occurs through precisely controlled and synchronized cell proliferation, in which quiescent hepatocytes undergo one to two rounds of replication, with restoration of liver mass and function. We previously demonstrated that loss of the Smad3/4 adaptor protein β-2 spectrin (β2SP) is associated with faster entry into S phase, and hepatocellular cancer formation. These observations led us to further pursue the role of β2SP in cell cycle progression in vivo.

Secondary metabolites from the roots of Phlomis umbrosa.

The phytochemical study of the roots of Phlomis umbrosa Turcz afforded a new phenylethanoid glycoside, 3-hydroxy-4-methoxy-β-phenylethoxy-O-[2,3-diacetyl-α-l-rhamnopyranosyl-(1 → 3)]-4-O-cis-feruloyl-[β-d-apiofuranosyl-(1 → 6)]-β-d-glucopyranoside (1), and two new 28-noroleanane-derived spirocyclic triterpenoids, phlomishexaol C (2) and phlomishexaol D (3). Their structures were elucidated on the basis of 1D and 2D NMR analyses, in combination with high-resolution MS experiment.

New species and new records of dictyostelids from Ukraine.

Three species of dictyostelid cellular slime molds were isolated from forest soil, meadow soil and leaf litter collected from Yalta, Crimea, Ukraine. Dictyostelium globisporum is new to science; D. crassicaule and D.

Stochastic Proximity Embedding: Methods and Applications.

Since its inception in 1996, the stochastic proximity embedding (SPE) algorithm and its variants have been applied to a wide range of problems in computational chemistry and biology with notable success. At its core, SPE attempts to generate Euclidean coordinates for a set of points so that they satisfy a prescribed set of geometric constraints. The algorithm's appeal rests on three factors: 1) its conceptual and programmatic simplicity; 2) its superior speed and scaling properties; and 3) its broad applicability.

Efficient in vivo doxycycline and cre recombinase-mediated inducible transgene activation in the murine trabecular meshwork.

Purpose: To generate new mouse lines that facilitate inducible gene activation in the murine trabecular meshwork in vivo.

Methods: Two expression cassettes were knocked into the 3'-UTR of the Myocilin (Myoc) locus, an abundantly expressed extracellular matrix protein produced by cells of the trabecular meshwork. The first cassette directs expression of an inducible form of Cre recombinase, CreER(T2), which is activated by tamoxifen administration under the control of endogenous Myoc regulatory elements.

Efficient Multistate Reactive Molecular Dynamics Approach Based on Short-Range Effective Potentials.

Nonbonded interactions between molecules usually include the van der Waals force and computationally expensive long-range electrostatic interactions. This article develops a more efficient approach: the effective-interaction multistate empirical-valence-bond (EI-MS-EVB) model. The EI-MS-EVB method relies on a mapping of all interactions onto a short-range and thus, computationally efficient effective potential.

Acquired antibody responses against Plasmodium vivax infection vary with host genotype for duffy antigen receptor for chemokines (DARC).

Background: Polymorphism of the Duffy Antigen Receptor for Chemokines (DARC) is associated with susceptibility to and the severity of Plasmodium vivax malaria in humans. P. vivax uses DARC to invade erythrocytes.

Synthesis and characterization of diethoxy phosphoryl chitosan.

A novel diethoxy phosphoryl chitosan was successfully synthesized via Atherton-Todd reaction of chitosan with diethyl phosphite, and the characterization was carried out by FT IR, NMR, ICP, XRD, TG and SEM, respectively. The FT IR, (13)C NMR and (31)P NMR results showed that diethoxy phosphoryl group was grafted onto the amino group of chitosan. XRD indicated that the incorporation of diethoxy phosphoryl group into chitosan increased the crystalline structure of the polymer.

Lmx1b is required for murine trabecular meshwork formation and for maintenance of corneal transparency.

Studies of Lmx1b have shown that it is required for anterior segment formation during embryonic development and that reduction of Lmx1b may contribute to elevated intraocular pressure in the adult. However, whether Lmx1b is required for formation of anterior segment tissues that are associated with regulation of intraocular pressure has not been addressed due to the perinatal lethality of Lmx1b null allele. Here we use conditional deletion strategies to circumvent perinatal lethality.

Local release of highly loaded antibodies from functionalized nanoporous support for cancer immunotherapy.

We report that antibodies can be spontaneously loaded in functionalized mesoporous silica (FMS) with superhigh density (0.4-0.8 mg of antibody/mg of FMS) due to their comprehensive noncovalent interaction.

Detection of the HE4 protein in urine as a biomarker for ovarian neoplasms.

The HE4 protein is overexpressed in ovarian carcinomas and can be detected in serum by an ELISA with sensitivity similar to CA125 and higher specificity for malignant disease. We now demonstrate that HE4 can also be detected in the urine at a specificity level of 94.4%, including 13/15 (86.

Farnesol induces apoptosis and oxidative stress in the fungal pathogen Penicillium expansum.

This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of farnesol (FOH) on the growth of P. expansum. The viability of P.

Hippo signaling is a potent in vivo growth and tumor suppressor pathway in the mammalian liver.

How organ size is controlled in mammals is not currently understood. In Drosophila the Hippo signaling pathway functions to suppress growth in imaginal discs and has been suggested to control organ size. To investigate the role of hippo signaling in regulation of mammalian organ size we have generated conditional alleles of Sav1, mst1, and mst2, orthologs of Drosophila Salvador and hippo, respectively.

Spore-to-spore agar culture of the myxomycete Physarum globuliferum.

The ontogeny of the myxomycete Physarum globuliferum was observed on corn meal agar and hanging drop cultures without adding sterile oat flakes, bacteria or other microorganisms. Its complete life cycle including spore germination, myxamoebae, swarm cells, plasmodial development, and maturity of fructifications was demonstrated. Details of spore-to-spore development are described and illustrated.

Fast determination of the optimal rotational matrix for macromolecular superpositions.

Finding the rotational matrix that minimizes the sum of squared deviations between two vectors is an important problem in bioinformatics and crystallography. Traditional algorithms involve the inversion or decomposition of a 3 x 3 or 4 x 4 matrix, which can be computationally expensive and numerically unstable in certain cases. Here, we present a simple and robust algorithm to rapidly determine the optimal rotation using a Newton-Raphson quaternion-based method and an adjoint matrix.