A simple method for deriving functional MSCs and applied for osteogenesis in 3D scaffolds.

We describe a simple method for bone engineering using biodegradable scaffolds with mesenchymal stem cells derived from human induced-pluripotent stem cells (hiPS-MSCs). The hiPS-MSCs expressed mesenchymal markers (CD90, CD73, and CD105), possessed multipotency characterized by tri-lineages differentiation: osteogenic, adipogenic, and chondrogenic, and lost pluripotency - as seen with the loss of markers OCT3/4 and TRA-1-81 - and tumorigenicity. However, these iPS-MSCs are still positive for marker NANOG.

Investigation on the influence of a didactic course in psychiatry on attitudes of mental illness in Chinese college students.

Introduction: With the modernization of Chinese society and increased general levels of education, the stigmatization of mental illness may have declined, especially among advanced students. However, misunderstandings about mental illness may remain and adversely affect service delivery to this population. Educational initiatives in psychiatry may support a more accepting and scientific understanding of these illnesses among college students.

The mysterious origins of coronary vessels.

The origin of the coronary vessels remains a mystery. Here we discuss recent studies that address this puzzle, including new work by Tian et al. recently published in Cell Research.

[Acceleration of the formation of aerobic granules in SBR by inoculating different proportions and different diameters of mature aerobic granules].

In the SBR reactor, the mixed traditional activated sludge and aerobic granules were used as seed sludge to cultivate aerobic granular sludge. The whole research can be divided into two phases. In the first stage, different proportions of aerobic granules (ten, fifteen and twenty percent) were added to three SBR reactors, respectively.

[Rapid cultivation of aerobic nitrifying granular sludge with alternate loading method].

The nitrifying granular sludge was cultivated in three Sequencing Batch Reactors (SBR), R1, R2 and R3, respectively. There were two new cultivating methods applied in R1 and R2, which alternately changed the influent nitrogen loading and the influent carbon and nitrogen loading, respectively. The traditional method of step-increasing nitrogen loading was adopted in R3.

Copper-catalyzed annulation of amidines for quinazoline synthesis.

An efficient Cu-catalyzed synthesis of quinazolines via the C-N bond formation reactions between N-H bonds of amidines and C(sp(3))-H bonds adjacent to sulfur or nitrogen atoms in the commonly used solvents, such as DMSO, DMF, DMA, NMP or TMEDA, followed by intramolecular C-C bond formation reactions was developed for the first time.

Timing of myocardial trpm7 deletion during cardiogenesis variably disrupts adult ventricular function, conduction, and repolarization.

Background: Transient receptor potential (TRP) channels are a superfamily of broadly expressed ion channels with diverse physiological roles. TRPC1, TRPC3, and TRPC6 are believed to contribute to cardiac hypertrophy in mouse models. Human mutations in TRPM4 have been linked to progressive familial heart block.

A dynamic H3K27ac signature identifies VEGFA-stimulated endothelial enhancers and requires EP300 activity.

Histone modifications are now well-established mediators of transcriptional programs that distinguish cell states. However, the kinetics of histone modification and their role in mediating rapid, signal-responsive gene expression changes has been little studied on a genome-wide scale. Vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA), a major regulator of angiogenesis, triggers changes in transcriptional activity of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs).

Pharmacokinetic evaluation of novel oral fluorouracil antitumor drug S-1 in Chinese cancer patients.

Aim: S-1 is an oral anticancer fluoropyrimidine formulation consisting of tegafur, 5-chloro-2,4-dihydroxypyridine and potassium oxonate. The aim of this study was to evaluate the pharmacokinetics and bioequivalence of a newly developed generic formulation of S-1 in Chinese cancer patients in comparison with the branded reference formulation of S-1.

Methods: A single-dose, randomized-sequence, open-label, two-way self-crossover study was conducted in 30 Chinese cancer patients.

Visual detection of arginine based on the unique guanidino group-induced aggregation of gold nanoparticles.

A simple, cost-effective and rapid method for visual detection of arginine based on the citrate-capped gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) aggregation has been developed in this paper. Arginine is the only amino acid with guanidino group, and has the highest isoelectric point (pI) at about 10.8.

Copper-catalyzed intermolecular aminocyanation and diamination of alkenes.

'N' front and center: The facile construction of C-N bonds by the generation of nitrogen-centred radicals from N-fluorobenzenesulfonimide results in the aminative difuctionalization of alkenes. The first copper-catalyzed intermolecular aminocyanation of alkenes and diamination of styrenes were realized. Si-F and B-F interactions play a significant role in the reaction.

[Pretreatment of high-concentration acrylic acid wastewater by the multi-stage microaerobic biological fluidized bed reactor].

A multi-stage microaerobic biological fluidized bed reactor was used for the pretreatment of synthetic wastewater containing high concentration of acrylic acid (AA). The effect of influent load was investigated and the intermediate products of acrylic acid degradation were analyzed. It indicated that the removal rate of AA was above 95% with effluent acrylic acid less than 150 mg x L(-1) and COD removal rate of 15%-30%, under the following conditions: hydraulic retention time of 12 h, waste water temperature of 25 degrees C, influent acrylic acid concentration of 3 000-9 000 mg x L(-1), volume load of 6.

Simulation of the performance of aerobic granular sludge SBR using modified ASM3 model.

The activated sludge model No. 3 (ASM3) was modified to describe the biological reactions in aerobic granular sludge SBR. The simultaneous storage and growth, nitrification and denitrification were all accounted for in modified model.

Genetic Cre-loxP assessment of epicardial cell fate using Wt1-driven Cre alleles.

Rationale: Wt1-Cre-based tools are important reagents for studying epicardial cell fate and gene function.

Objective: To better describe the properties of Wt1-Cre-based tools to enhance their use in Cre-loxP-based experiments.

Methods And Results: In contrast to recently reported results, we show that constitutive Wt1(GFPCre) in combination with certain Cre-activated reporters can be used to trace (pro) epicardial cell fate.

Myocardial regeneration: expanding the repertoire of thymosin β4 in the ischemic heart.

Efficient cardiac regeneration postinfarction (MI) requires the replacement of lost cardiomyocytes, formation of new coronary vessels and appropriate modulation of the inflammatory response. However, insight into how to stimulate repair of the human heart is currently limited. Using the embryonic paradigm of regeneration, we demonstrated that the actin-binding peptide thymosin β4 (Tβ4), required for epicardium-derived coronary vasculogenesis, can recapitulate its embryonic role and activate quiescent adult epicardial cells (EPDCs).

Comparison of first-episode and chronic patients diagnosed with schizophrenia: symptoms and childhood trauma.

Aim: There has been considerable interest in identifying and addressing the specific needs of early-episode patients diagnosed with schizophrenia in the hope that by addressing such needs early, chronic disabilities can be avoided.

Methods: One hundred twenty-eight early-episode and 571 chronic patients were compared on socio-demographic characteristics, clinical symptoms and history of childhood trauma. Symptoms were measured with the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), and trauma with the short version of the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire.

[Influence of non-ionic surfactants on sludge dewaterability].

The water content of dewatered sludge cake decreases to about 80% by current sludge dewatering technologies, which hardly satisfies the stricter standards of sludge disposal. In order to evaluate the effects of non-ionic surfactants on sludge dewaterability, two kinds of non-ionic surfactants (OPEO and APG) were studied by using two evaluation indexes, i. e.

Morphological and functional abnormalities of salience network in the early-stage of paranoid schizophrenia.

A salience network (SN), mainly composed of the anterior insula (AI) and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), has been suggested to play an important role in salience attribution which has been proposed as central to the pathology of paranoid schizophrenia. The role of this SN in the pathophysiology of paranoid schizophrenia, however, still remains unclear. In the present study, voxel-based morphometry and resting-state functional connectivity analyses were combined to identify morphological and functional abnormalities in the proposed SN in the early-stage of paranoid schizophrenia (ESPS).

Genetic and environmental risk factors in congenital heart disease functionally converge in protein networks driving heart development.

Congenital heart disease (CHD) occurs in ∼1% of newborns. CHD arises from many distinct etiologies, ranging from genetic or genomic variation to exposure to teratogens, which elicit diverse cell and molecular responses during cardiac development. To systematically explore the relationships between CHD risk factors and responses, we compiled and integrated comprehensive datasets from studies of CHD in humans and model organisms.

Stable aerobic granules in continuous-flow bioreactor with self-forming dynamic membrane.

A novel continuous-flow bioreactor with aerobic granular sludge and self-forming dynamic membrane (CGSFDMBR) was developed for efficient wastewater treatment. Under continuous-flow operation, aerobic granular sludge was successfully cultivated and characterized with small particle size of about 0.1-1.

Sensitive and selective detection of mercury (II) based on the aggregation of gold nanoparticles stabilized by riboflavin.

Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) can be stabilized by riboflavin against tris buffer-induced aggregation. However, in the presence of mercury (II) (Hg2+), riboflavin can be released from the AuNPs surface and the riboflavin-Hg2+ complex formed, leading to the aggregation of AuNPs in tris buffer. The aggregation extent depends on the concentration of Hg2+.