Polymorphic characterization and bioavailability of 20(R)-25-methoxyl-dammarane-3β,12β,20-triol, a novel dammarane triterpenoid saponin, as anticancer agents.

This research, for the first time, obtained and reported three novel Form I, Form II, and Form III of 20(R)-25-methoxyl-dammarane-3β,12β,20-triol polymorphs, which were distinguished by PXRD, IR, DSC, and SEM. This study firstly exploited a rapid and feasible UHPLC-ESI-MS/MS method to determine plasma levels of 20(R)-25-OCH-PPD within 4.5min.

A dual-ion electrochemistry deionization system based on AgCl-NaMnO electrodes.

Novel desalination technologies with high ion removal capacity and low energy consumption are desirable to tackle the water shortage challenge. Herein, we report a dual-ion electrochemistry deionization (DEDI) system with silver chloride as the electrochemical chloride release/capture anode, sodium manganese oxide as the electrochemical sodium release/capture cathode, and flow salt solution as the electrolyte. Sodium and chloride ions are synergistically released to the flow electrolyte feed at an applied positive current.

Comparison of the efficacy and safety of retroperitoneal laparoscopic and open surgery for the correction of retrocaval ureter.

Objective: The aim of this study was to compare the clinical efficacy and safety of retroperitoneal laparoscopic and open surgery for the correction of retrocaval ureter.

Patients And Methods: Clinical data of 14 patients with retrocaval ureter were analyzed retrospectively. Among them, nine were treated by open surgical therapy and five by retroperitoneal laparoscopic surgery.

Synthesis of cytochrome c oxidase 1 (SCO1) inhibits insulin sensitivity by decreasing copper levels in adipocytes.

Dysregulation of insulin signaling leads to type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and other metabolic disorders. Obesity is an important contributor to insulin resistance, and although the understanding of this relationship has improved in recent years, the mechanism of obesity-induced insulin resistance is not completely understood. Disorders of copper metabolism tend to accompany the development of obesity, which increases the risk of insulin resistance.

One-pot hydrothermal synthesis of CdS decorated CuS microflower-like structures for enhanced photocatalytic properties.

CdS decorated CuS structures have been controllably synthesized through a one-pot hydrothermal method. The morphologies and compositions of the as-prepared samples could be concurrently well controlled by simply tuning the amount of CdCl and thiourea. Using this strategy, the morphology of the products experienced from messy to flower-like morphologies with multiple porous densities, together with the phase evolution from pure CuS to the CdS/CuS composites.

Effects of Suspended Moxibustion on Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness: A Randomized Controlled Double-Blind Pilot Study.

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of suspended moxibustion upon tender point on delayed onset muscle soreness. The study was a randomized double-blind controlled trial with 50 subjects in each group. Subjects in moxibustion group received suspended moxibustion upon tender point (by palpation) twice.

Distinct expression profile of HCMV encoded miRNAs in plasma from oral lichen planus patients.

Background: Oral lichen planus (OLP) is a T cell-mediated autoimmune disease. The aetiology and molecular mechanisms of OLP remain unclear. Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection is a causal factor in the development of various diseases, but the clinical relevance of HCMV in OLP has not been thoroughly investigated.

The BMP4-Smad signaling pathway regulates hyperandrogenism development in a female mouse model.

Polycystic ovary syndrome is a common endocrine disorder and a major cause of anovulatory sterility in women at reproductive age. Most patients with polycystic ovary syndrome have hyperandrogenism, caused by excess androgen synthesis. Bone morphogenetic protein 4 (BMP4) is an essential regulator of embryonic development and organ formation, and recent studies have also shown that BMP4 may be involved in female steroidogenesis process.

Acetylation of Cavin-1 Promotes Lipolysis in White Adipose Tissue.

White adipose tissue (WAT) serves as a reversible energy storage depot in the form of lipids in response to nutritional status. Cavin-1, an essential component in the biogenesis of caveolae, is a positive regulator of lipolysis in adipocytes. However, molecular mechanisms of cavin-1 in the modulation of lipolysis remain poorly understood.

NiCo₂O₄-Based Supercapacitor Nanomaterials.

In recent years, the research on supercapacitors has ushered in an explosive growth, which mainly focuses on seeking nano-/micro-materials with high energy and power densities. Herein, this review will be arranged from three aspects. We will summarize the controllable architectures of spinel NiCo₂O₄ fabricated by various approaches.

Alkaloids from the mangrove endophytic fungus Diaporthe phaseolorum SKS019.

Six new alkaloids including four new chromeno[3,2-c]pyridines, diaporphasines A-D (1-4), and two new isoindolinones, meyeroguillines C and D (6-7), as well as three known compounds meyeroguilline A (5), 5-deoxybostrycoidin (8), and fusaristatin A (9), were isolated from an endophytic fungus Diaporthe phaseolorum SKS019. Their structures were determined by analysis of 1D and 2D NMR and mass spectroscopic data. Compounds 1-9 are alkaloid components reported for the first time from the Diaporthe sp.

Oncolytic adenovirus expressing interleukin-18 improves antitumor activity of dacarbazine for malignant melanoma.

Conditionally replicating adenoviruses have emerged as novel therapeutic agents for cancer. This study aimed to evaluate synergistic antitumor activity of replication-competent adenovirus armed with interleukin (IL)-18 (ZD55-IL-18) and dacarbazine (DTIC) against melanoma. Melanoma A375 cells or nude mouse tumor xenografts were treated with ZD55-IL-18 alone or together with DTIC.

Arabidopsis seed germination speed is controlled by SNL histone deacetylase-binding factor-mediated regulation of AUX1.

Histone acetylation is known to affect the speed of seed germination, but the molecular regulatory basis of this remains ambiguous. Here we report that loss of function of two histone deacetylase-binding factors, SWI-INDEPENDENT3 (SIN3)-LIKE1 (SNL1) and SNL2, results in accelerated radicle protrusion and growth during seed germination. AUXIN RESISTANT 1 (AUX1) is identified as a key factor in this process, enhancing germination speed downstream of SNL1 and SNL2.

Photothermal effects in phase shifted FBG with varied light wavelength and intensity.

The intensity enhancement effect of a phase-shifted fiber Bragg grating (PSFBG) is investigated theoretically and experimentally in this paper. Due to the effect, both of the FBG reflection bands and the transmission peak show red-shift with the increase of pump light wavelength from the shorter side to the longer side of the Bragg wavelength. The transmission peak shifts in pace with the pump's wavelength, which is much faster than the reflection band.

miR-28-5p acts as a tumor suppressor in renal cell carcinoma for multiple antitumor effects by targeting RAP1B.

The incidence and mortality rate of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) have been significantly increasing; however, the mechanisms involved in RCC development and progression are unclear. In this study, we found that miR-28-5p was decreased in RCC tumor specimens and several renal carcinoma cell lines. By using a combination of luciferase reporter assays and western blotting, we identified RAP1B, a Ras-related small GTP-binding oncoprotein implicated in a variety of tumors, as a direct target of miR-28-5p in RCC.

Reduced interfacial recombination in dye-sensitized solar cells assisted with NiO:Eu(3+),Tb(3+) coated TiO2 film.

Eu(3+),Tb(3+) doped and undoped NiO films were deposited on TiO2 by a sol-gel spin-coating method as the photoanodes of dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). A comparative study with different structures including TiO2, TiO2/NiO and TiO2/NiO:Eu(3+),Tb(3+) as the photoanodes was carried out to illustrate the photovoltaic performance of solar cells. NiO could enhance the performance of DSSCs ascribed to acting as a barrier for the charge recombination from the fluorine doped tin oxide (FTO) to electrolyte and forming a p-n junction (NiO/TiO2).

Subkilohertz linewidth reduction of a DFB diode laser using self-injection locking with a fiber Bragg grating Fabry-Perot cavity.

A simple and low-cost 1550 nm semiconductor laser with subkilohertz intrinsic linewidth is experimentally demonstrated. A commercial distributed feedback diode laser is self-injection locked to the resonance transmission peaks of a fiber Bragg grating Fabry-Perot cavity through a polarization-maintaining fiber ring with the optical path length of 4 m, with the laser frequency noise suppressed by over 70 dB in the Fourier frequency band from 5 Hz and 1 kHz. The laser features an intrinsic Lorentzian linewidth of 125 Hz as well as a relative intensity noise of <-142 dBc/Hz above 2 MHz, and provides over 0.

Enhanced Photocatalytic Performance Using One Dimensional Ordered TiO2 Nanorods Modified by Graphene Oxide.

A new architecture of one dimensional ordered TiO2 nanorods modified by graphene oxide (GO) was assembled. The GO as the higher carrier mobility can reduce the recombination of carriers, which is more favourable for the methy orange (MO) degradation. Incorporating GO with the unblocked passageway for carrier transportation of the TiO2 nanorods can separate the transport pathway of electron and hole effectively.

MicroRNA-224 aggrevates tumor growth and progression by targeting mTOR in gastric cancer.

Growing evidence suggests that microRNA plays an essential role in the development and metastasis of many tumors, including gastric cancer. Aberrant miR-224 expression has been indicated in tumor growth, the mechanism of miR-224 promoting the proliferation and metastatic ability for gastric cancer remains unclear. Accumulating evidence reports that mTOR signal pathway plays an important role in the cellular process, such as apoptosis, cell growth and proliferation.

Tracing haematopoietic stem cell formation at single-cell resolution.

Haematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) are derived early from embryonic precursors, such as haemogenic endothelial cells and pre-haematopoietic stem cells (pre-HSCs), the molecular identity of which still remains elusive. Here we use potent surface markers to capture the nascent pre-HSCs at high purity, as rigorously validated by single-cell-initiated serial transplantation. Then we apply single-cell RNA sequencing to analyse endothelial cells, CD45(-) and CD45(+) pre-HSCs in the aorta-gonad-mesonephros region, and HSCs in fetal liver.

Determination of 25-OCH3-PPD and the related substances by UPLC-MS/MS and their cytotoxic activity.

20(R)-25-methoxyl-dammarane-3β,12β,20-triol (25-OCH3-PPD) is a promising antitumor compound belonging to triterpenoid saponins isolated from radix notoginseng. A systematic research on the related impurities in raw material of 25-OCH3-PPD has not been conducted. In this study, three impurities obtained by HPLC-ELSD and characterized by (13)C NMR and MS were observed in the raw material of 25-OCH3-PPD.

ZnO@CdS Core-Shell Heterostructures: Fabrication, Enhanced Photocatalytic, and Photoelectrochemical Performance.

ZnO nanorods and ZnO@CdS heterostructures have been fabricated on carbon fiber cloth substrates via hydrothermal and electrochemical deposition. Their photocatalytic properties were investigated by measuring the degradation of methylene blue under ultraviolet light irradiation. The result illustrated that the photodegradation efficiency of ZnO@CdS heterostructures was better than that of pure ZnO nanorods, in which the rate constants were about 0.

Three-dimensional protein model similarity analysis based on salient shape index.

Background: Proteins play a special role in bioinformatics. The surface shape of a protein, which is an important characteristic of the protein, defines a geometric and biochemical domain where the protein interacts with other proteins. The similarity analysis among protein models has become an important topic of protein analysis, by which it can reveal the structure and the function of proteins.

shRNA-armed conditionally replicative adenoviruses: a promising approach for cancer therapy.

The small-interfering RNAs (siRNAs) have been employed to knockdown the expression of cancer-associated genes and shown some promise in cancer therapy. However, synthetic siRNA duplexes or plasmid mediated delivery of siRNAs have several problems, such as short half-life, low transfection efficiency and cytotoxicity associated with transfection. Conditionally replicating adenovirus (CRAds) as the delivery vector for short hairpin RNAs (shRNAs) could overcome these limitations and have shown augmented anti-tumor effects in experimental studies and preclinical trials.

One-Step Solvothermal Method to Prepare Ag/Cu2O Composite With Enhanced Photocatalytic Properties.

Ag/Cu2O microstructures with diverse morphologies have been successfully synthesized with different initial reagents of silver nitrate (AgNO3) by a facile one-step solvothermal method. Their structural and morphological characteristics were carefully investigated by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and the experimental results showed that the morphologies transformed from microcubes for pure Cu2O to microspheres with rough surfaces for Ag/Cu2O. The photocatalytic activities were evaluated by measuring the degradation of methyl orange (MO) aqueous solution under visible light irradiation.