Genetic variations of body weight and GCRV resistance in a random mating population of grass carp.

The grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idellus) is an important species in freshwater aquaculture both in China and on a global scale. Variety degeneration and frequent diseases have limited the further development of grass carp aquaculture. Thus, new and improved varieties are required.

Microbiological Evaluation of Household Drinking Water Treatment in Rural China Shows Benefits of Electric Kettles: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Background: In rural China ~607 million people drink boiled water, yet little is known about prevailing household water treatment (HWT) methods or their effectiveness. Boiling, the most common HWT method globally, is microbiologically effective, but household air pollution (HAP) from burning solid fuels causes cardiovascular and respiratory disease, and black carbon emissions exacerbate climate change. Boiled water is also easily re-contaminated.

Atomic View of Filament Growth in Electrochemical Memristive Elements.

Memristive devices, with a fusion of memory and logic functions, provide good opportunities for configuring new concepts computing. However, progress towards paradigm evolution has been delayed due to the limited understanding of the underlying operating mechanism. The stochastic nature and fast growth of localized conductive filament bring difficulties to capture the detailed information on its growth kinetics.

Mechano growth factor E peptide promotes rat bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cell migration through CXCR4-ERK1/2.

Mechano growth factor (MGF) is a splicing variant of insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1). The unique C-terminal E domain of MGF (MGF-E) makes it distinct from the other variants of IGF-1. Our previous work demonstrated that MGF-25E induces the migration of rat bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (rMSCs) by altering their mechanical properties, which is accompanied by the activation of the extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2) pathway.

A novel glyceryl monoolein-bearing cubosomes for gambogenic acid: Preparation, cytotoxicity and intracellular uptake.

Lyotropic cubic liquid crystalline nanoparticles, also known as 'cubosomes', have been tested as effective carriers for a variety of drugs due to their ability to enhance delivery efficiency and reduced drug side effects. Cubosomes are colloidal carriers composed of biodegradable Glyceryl monooleate and F127. Being composed of well tolerable and physiological materials, these carriers are well tolerated, compatible and non-toxic.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis-Induced Polarization of Human Macrophage Orchestrates the Formation and Development of Tuberculous Granulomas In Vitro.

The tuberculous granuloma is an elaborately organized structure and one of the main histological hallmarks of tuberculosis. Macrophages, which are important immunologic effector and antigen-presenting cells, are the main cell type found in the tuberculous granuloma and have high plasticity. Macrophage polarization during bacterial infection has been elucidated in numerous recent studies; however, macrophage polarization during tuberculous granuloma formation and development has rarely been reported.

[Expression and relationship of pendrin and MUC5AC in patients with chronic rhinosinusitis].

Objective: To explore the expression of pendrin in sinonasal mucosal tissue of patients with chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) and examine its relationship with mucin5AC (MUC5AC).

Methods: Thirty mucosal tissue (located on anterior wall of maxillary sinus ostium and close to uncinate process) of patients with CRS with or without nasal polyps and 10 normal sinonasal mucosal tissue located at the same sites as CRS were collected. Histological changes of sinonasal mucosa were examined by hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining.

Optimal design of river monitoring network in Taizihe River by matter element analysis.

The objective of this study is to optimize the river monitoring network in Taizihe River, Northeast China. The situation of the network and water characteristics were studied in this work. During this study, water samples were collected once a month during January 2009 - December 2010 from seventeen sites.

The de-ubiquitinase UCHL1 promotes gastric cancer metastasis via the Akt and Erk1/2 pathways.

Ubiquitin C-terminal hydrolase-L1 (UCHL1) is a de-ubiquitinating enzyme, which enzymatic activity relies on the C90 site. The function of UCHL1 is controversial in different types of cancer, and its role in gastric cancer progression remains unclear. In this study, immunohistochemistry staining was applied to detect the expression of UCHL1 in primary gastric cancer and liver metastases from gastric cancer.

[Expression of hypoxia inducible factor-1α in chronic rhinosinusitis and the relationship with mucin secretion].

Objective: To investigate the expression of hypoxia inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) in chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) and relationship with mucin MUC5AC, MUC5B secretion.

Methods: The expression of HIF-1α, MUC5AC and MUC5B were measured by immunohistochemistry (IHC), Western Blot and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) in CRS with or without nasal polyps (CRSwNP: twenty-three or CRSsNP:twenty) and fifteen normal sinus mucosa without CRS. The relationship between HIF-1α and MUC5AC,MUC5B were analyzed by SPSS 16.

Body temperature sensitive micelles for MRI enhancement.

A novel thermo-sensitive micelle contrast agent and its enhancement of MRI contrast with temperature are reported. The morphology changes sharply near 37 °C, resulting in a significant amplification of the CEST signal. This enables detection of small changes in body temperature.

Investigation of LRS dependence on the retention of HRS in CBRAM.

The insufficient retention prevents the resistive random access memory from intended application, such as code storage, FPGA, encryption, and others. The retention characteristics of high resistance state (HRS) switching from different low resistance state (LRS) were investigated in a 1-kb array with one transistor and one resistor configuration. The HRS degradation was found strongly dependent on the LRS: the lower the resistance of the LRS (R LRS) is, the worse HRS retention will be.

MGF enhances tenocyte invasion through MMP-2 activity via the FAK-ERK1/2 pathway.

Tendon regeneration and healing requires tenocytes to move to the repair site followed by proliferation and synthesis of the extracellular matrix. A novel synthetic growth factor, mechano-growth factor (MGF), has been discovered to have positive roles in tissue repair through the improvement of cell proliferation and migration and the protection of cells against injury-induced apoptosis. However, it remains unclear whether MGF has the potential to accelerate tendon repair.

Rapid diagnosis of pleural tuberculosis by Xpert MTB/RIF assay using pleural biopsy and pleural fluid specimens.

Background: Early pleural tuberculosis (TB) diagnosis is particularly difficult. The aim of this study was to investigate the diagnostic accuracy of the Xpert MTB/RIF (Xpert) (Cepheid, Sunnyvale, CA) assay using pleural biopsy and pleural fluid specimens in patients with suspected pleural TB but who had a negative sputum acid-fast bacilli (AFB) smear.

Materials And Methods: In this study, 134 sputum smear-negative suspected pleural TB patients were selected.

Expression and Regulation of Transcription Factor FoxA2 in Chronic Rhinosinusitis With and Without Nasal Polyps.

Purpose: Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is characterized by the excessive production of mucus. However, the molecular mechanism underlying mucin overproduction in CRS with or without nasal polyps (CRSwNP and CRSsNP, respectively) is poorly understood. This study was conducted to assess the importance of the transcription factor FoxA2 in mucin production and to investigate the targeting of FoxA2 as a potential therapeutic strategy for mucus hypersecretion in CRS patients.

Cyclic mechanical stretching promotes migration but inhibits invasion of rat bone marrow stromal cells.

Bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs, also broadly known as bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells) are multipotent stem cells that have a self-renewal capacity and multilineage differentiation potential. Mechanical stretching plays a vital role in regulating the proliferation and differentiation of BMSCs. However, little is known about the effects of cyclic stretching on BMSC migration and invasion.

The variation of root exudates from the hyperaccumulator Sedum alfredii under cadmium stress: metabonomics analysis.

Hydroponic experiments were conducted to investigate the variation of root exudates from the hyperaccumulator Sedum alfredii under the stress of cadmium (Cd). S. alfredii was cultured for 4 days in the nutrient solution spiked with CdCl2 at concentrations of 0, 5, 10, 40, and 400 µM Cd after the pre-culture.

NAIF1 inhibits gastric cancer cells migration and invasion via the MAPK pathways.

Purpose: Nuclear apoptosis-inducing factor 1 (NAIF1) could induce apoptosis in gastric cancer cells. Previously, we have reported that the expression of NAIF1 protein is down-regulated in gastric cancer tissues compared with the adjacent normal tissues. However, the role of NAIF1 in gastric cancer cells is not fully understood.

Conditioned medium from mesenchymal stem cells enhances the migration of hepatoma cells through CXCR4 up-regulation and F-actin remodeling.

Interactions between tumors and mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) can regulate cancer cell behavior and cancer progression. Rat bone marrow-derived MSCs (rMSCs) were isolated and purified by Percoll density gradient centrifugation. Conditioned media from rMSCs (MSC-CM) was prepared, and its role in cancer cell migration and the underlying molecular mechanism were investigated.

Evaluation of the microscopic observation drug susceptibility assay for the rapid detection of MDR-TB and XDR-TB in China: a prospective multicentre study.

Objectives: To perform a multicentre study evaluating the performance of the microscopic observation drug susceptibility (MODS) assay for the detection of MDR-TB and XDR-TB in high-burden resource-limited settings.

Methods: We performed a prospective diagnostic accuracy study of drug-resistant TB suspects from outpatient and inpatient settings in five laboratories in China. Sputum was tested by smear microscopy, liquid [mycobacterial growth indicator tube (MGIT)] culture and the MODS assay at each site.

Role of the new rural cooperative medical system in alleviating catastrophic medical payments for hypertension, stroke and coronary heart disease in poor rural areas of China.

Background: Hypertension, stroke and coronary heart disease (CHD) are common diseases that impose a heavy burden on patients and their families, particularly on those living in poor areas. This study examined catastrophic medical payments faced by patients with these diseases and the effectiveness of the new rural cooperative medical system (NRCMS) at alleviating the impact of the said diseases in fourth-class rural areas (i.e.

Evaluation of MODS assay for rapid detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis resistance to second-line drugs in a tertiary care tuberculosis hospital in China.

In this study we evaluated the performance of microscopic observation drug susceptibility (MODS) assay for rapid detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis resistance to second-line drugs. 246 multidrug-resistant M. tuberculosis clinical isolates were used to compare MODS with the agar proportion method for rapid detection of resistance to 8 second-line drugs: ofloxacin, amikacin, kanamycin, capreomycin, ethionamide, cycloserine, ciprofloxacin and para-aminosalicylic acid.

PEGylated nanostructured lipid carriers (PEG-NLC) as a novel drug delivery system for biochanin A.

With the aim to develop a lipid nanoparticle for biochanin A (BCA) by emulsion-evaporation and low temperature-solidification technique. The results revealed that BCA-PEG-NLC not only have small mean particle (148.5 ± 2.

Cyclosporine A combined with medium/low dose prednisone in progressive IgA nephropathy.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy of cyclosporine A (CsA) combined with medium/low dose prednisone in the treatment of progressive immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN). Ninety-six patients who satisfied the inclusion criteria were enrolled in a prospective controlled clinical study. They were assigned into two groups and initially given either 0.