Photophysics of a Nucleoside Analogue: 4-Cyanoindole-2'-deoxyribonucleoside.

It has been shown that 4-cyanoindole-2'-deoxyribonucleoside (4CNI-NS) is a versatile spectroscopic probe of DNA structure and dynamics, as it can pair with all four natural DNA bases. However, its photophysics have not been examined in detail. Herein, we employed multiple techniques, including static fluorescence spectroscopy, time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy, transient infrared spectroscopy, and theoretical calculations, to assess the photophysical properties of this nucleoside analogue in a series of solvents.

Value of a combined magnetic resonance-enhanced and diffusion-weighted imaging dual-sequence radiomics model in predicting the efficacy of high-intensity focused ultrasound ablation for uterine fibroids.

Objective: To establish a joint radiomics model based on T1 contrast-enhanced (T1C) imaging and diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI), and investigate its value in predicting the efficacy of high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) in ablating uterine fibroids.

Methods: This multicenter retrospective study included 195 patients with uterine fibroids. Their data were divided into training (n = 120), internal test (n = 30), and external test (n = 45) sets.

A machine learning-based immune response signature to facilitate prognosis prediction in patients with endometrial cancer.

Endometrial cancer is the most prevalent form of gynecologic malignancy, with a significant surge in incidence among youngsters. Although the advent of the immunotherapy era has profoundly improved patient outcomes, not all patients benefit from immunotherapy; some patients experience hyperprogression while on immunotherapy. Hence, there is a pressing need to further delineate the distinct immune response profiles in patients with endometrial cancer to enhance prognosis prediction and facilitate the prediction of immunotherapeutic responses.

The value of multi-parameter radiomics combined with imaging features in predicting the therapeutic efficacy of HIFU treatment for uterine fibroids.

Objectives: To evaluate the effectiveness of high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) therapy for treating uterine fibroids by utilizing multi-sequence magnetic resonance imaging radiomic models.

Methods: One hundred and fifty patients in our hospital were randomly divided into a training cohort (n=120) and an internal test cohort (n=30), and forty-five patients from another hospital serving as an external test cohort. Radiomics features of uterine fibroids were extracted and selected based on preoperative T2-weighted imaging fat suppression(T2WI-FS)and contrast-enhanced T1WI(CE-T1WI)images, and logistic regression was used to develop the T2WI-FS, CE-T1WI, and combined T2WI-FS + CE-T1WI models, along with the radiomics-clinical model integrating radiomics features with imaging characteristics.

PI3K/AKT signaling pathway associates with pyroptosis and inflammation in patients with endometriosis.

Endometriosis (EMS) is known to be closely associated with inflammation. We evaluate the possible mechanism linking the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway with pyroptosis and inflammation in EMS. We collected 30 patients undergoing laparoscopic for endometriosis as the EMS group and those undergoing surgery for uterine fibroids as the control group, from whom we collected serum, normal endometrium, eutopic endometrium and ectopic endometrium.

Fine root dynamics and its contribution to soil organic carbon stocks with plantation development in alpine sandy land.

Shrubs are the main species in desert ecosystems. Better understanding shrubs fine root dynamics and its contribution to soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks can improve the accuracy of carbon sequestration estimation and provide basic data for the calculation of carbon sequestration potential. The ingrowth core method was used to investigate the fine root (< 1 mm in diameter) dynamics of Kuang et H.

Bushen Wenyang Huayu Decoction inhibits autophagy by regulating the SIRT1-FoXO-1 pathway in endometriosis rats.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Bushen Wenyang Huayu Decoction (BWHD) is a traditional Chinese medicine for tonifying kidney and warming Yang, thereby resolving blood stasis and relieving pain. BWHD can significantly improve the clinical symptoms of patients with endometriosis (EMs), but its mechanism is still unclear.

Aim Of The Study: We evaluated the expression and role of the SIRT1-FoxO-1 pathway and autophagy levels in EMs rats.

Bushen Wenyang Huayu Decoction Targets TLR4/NF-B Mediated Autophagy to Treat Endometriosis Effectively.

Endometriosis has been found to be closely related to autophagy. This study aimed to elucidate the possible mechanism of Bushen Wenyang Huayu Decoction (BWHD) in treating endometriosis (EMs) by targeting TLR4/NF-B-mediated autophagy. Autologous grafting was used to generate the EMs model in rats.

Involvement of bradykinin and bradykinin B1 receptor in patients with endometriosis.

Endometriosis (EM), a benign aseptic inflammatory disease, is associated with the presence of endometrial foci. Pain, one of its typical symptoms, has been reported as a constant stressor, but the etiology and pathogenesis of EM-associated pain are unclear. In the present study, eutopic and ectopic endometrium samples from women with EM (n=50) and normal endometrium samples from control subjects (n=20) were collected.

Nectin-1 Is an Entry Mediator for Varicella-Zoster Virus Infection of Human Neurons.

Varicella-zoster virus (VZV) maintains lifelong latency in neurons following initial infection and can subsequently be reactivated to result in herpes zoster or severe neurological manifestations such as encephalitis. Mechanisms of VZV neuropathogenesis have been challenging to study due to the strict human tropism of the virus. Although neuronal entry mediators of other herpesviruses, including herpes simplex virus, have been identified, little is known regarding how VZV enters neurons.

[Effects of precipitation on water use characteristics of plantations with different stand ages in alpine sandy land].

To clarify the changes of water sources for plantations at different ages (4, 9, 17 and 31 years) in response to rainfall in the Gonghe Basin of Qinghai Province, China, we used the stable isotope technique to identify δH and δO compositions of soil water, xylem water, groundwater, and rain water before and after rainfalls. The proportions of different water sources were calculated by the Iso-Source model. The results showed that the δH and δO compositions of the shallow soil layer (0-40 cm) of all plantations responded significantly to the precipitation.

Fine root dynamic characteristics and effect on plantation's carbon sequestration of three shrub plantations in Tibetan Plateau alpine sandy land.

Desertification land in Gonghe Basin of Tibetan Plateau, China accounts for 91.9% of the total land area. Vegetation restoration and reconstruction with desert shrubs in degraded ecosystem are effective ways to prevent and control desertification.

FOXD3‑AS1/miR‑128‑3p/LIMK1 axis regulates cervical cancer progression.

Long non‑coding RNA forkhead box D3 antisense RNA 1 (FOXD3‑AS1) functions as an oncogenic regulator in several types of cancer, including breast cancer, glioma and cervical cancer. However, the effects and mechanisms underlying FOXD3‑AS1 in cervical cancer (CC) are not completely understood. The present study aimed to investigate the biological functions and potential molecular mechanisms underlying FOXD3‑AS1 in CC progression.

Epstein-Barr Virus and the Human Leukocyte Antigen Complex.

Purpose: While most adults are infected Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), 3-5% remain uninfected. The human leukocyte antigen (HLA) complex, which controls many pathogens, may influence infection and disease associated with EBV.

Recent Findings: Numerous EBV proteins and miRNAs down-regulate HLA class I and II expression on the cell surface.

Occurrence, source and ecotoxicological risk assessment of pesticides in surface water of Wujin District (northwest of Taihu Lake), China.

This study investigated the occurrence and distribution of pesticides in surface water (lakes, major rivers and tributaries) and potential discharge sources (fish ponds, livestock and poultry farms, and sewage treatment plants) in Wujin District (northwest of Taihu Lake), Jiangsu province, China. An analytical liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method was developed for 38 pesticides, which was applied in the monitoring of 240 surface water samples and 76 potential discharge source samples. Eleven insecticides and five fungicides with temporal and spatial variation were detected in surface water.

Correction: Spatial Heterogeneity of Soil Nutrients after the Establishment of Caragana intermedia Plantation on Sand Dunes in Alpine Sandy Land of the Tibet Plateau.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.

Metformin-induced autophagy and irisin improves INS-1 cell function and survival in high-glucose environment via AMPK/SIRT1/PGC-1α signal pathway.

In order to explore the protective function of metformin on pancreatic β cells to alleviate insulin resistance and underlying mechanisms, INS-1 cells were cultured into normal control (N), high glucose (H), high glucose and metformin (H + Met), high glucose and chloroquine (H + CQ), and high glucose and Ex527 (H + Ex527) groups, respectively. Upon 24-hr cultivation, the proliferation and glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS) of INS-1 cells were determined, and the expression of irisin and other proteins associated with AMPK/SIRT1/PGC-1α signal pathway, autophagy, and apoptosis was evaluated. Compared with the N group, the cells from the H group revealed lower proliferation, GSIS, and expression of irisin and proteins associated with AMPK/SIRT1/PGC-1α signal pathway and autophagy, but higher expression of proteins associated with apoptosis; in contrast, metformin could significantly rescue lower cell proliferation, GSIS, and expression of proteins associated with AMPK/SIRT1/PGC-1α signal pathway and autophagy, as well as irisin, and suppress apoptosis in high-glucose environment.

Fine-root decomposition characteristics of four typical shrubs in sandy areas of an arid and semiarid alpine region in western China.

Background And Aims: Research into the variability of fine-root decomposition and nutrient cycling processes in arid and semiarid ecosystems is highly significant not only for investigations of regional and global carbon and nitrogen cycling but also for offering a theoretical basis for vegetation restoration and reconstruction. In particular, information is limited on fine-root decomposition processes and nutrient releasing characteristics in the high-altitude Qinghai Gonghe basin, which has different tree species and variable fine-root diameters.

Materials And Methods: Four types of Salicaceae and Caragana shrubs were selected at the Qinghai Gonghe desert ecosystem research station.

Dynamics of biomass and carbon sequestration across a chronosequence of Caragana intermedia plantations on alpine sandy land.

Considering the variations in carbon concentrations among different plant components can significantly improve carbon storage estimates. The aim of this study was to estimate the biomass and carbon storage and sequestration in Caragana intermedia Kuang et H. C.

Ultrarapid Measurement of Diagnostic Antibodies by Magnetic Capture of Immune Complexes.

Rapid point-of-care, antibody-based testing is not currently available for the diagnosis of most autoimmune and infectious diseases. Here we report a simple, robust and ultrafast fluid-phase immunocapture method for clinical measurements of antibody levels. This method employs neodymium magnetic sticks that capture protein A/G-coated paramagnetic beads bound to antibody-luciferase-labeled antigen complexes.

HLA-DQ 1 alleles associated with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infectivity and EBV gp42 binding to cells.

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infects B cells and ~95% of adults are infected. EBV glycoprotein gp42 is essential for entry of virus into B cells. EBV gp42 binds to the β1 chain of HLA-DQ, -DR, and -DP on B cells, and uses these molecules for infection.

The dynamic monitoring of aeolian desertification land distribution and its response to climate change in northern China.

Aeolian desertification is poorly understood despite its importance for indicating environment change. Here we exploit Gaofen-1(GF-1) and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data to develop a quick and efficient method for large scale aeolian desertification dynamic monitoring in northern China. This method, which is based on Normalized Difference Desertification Index (NDDI) calculated by band1 &band2 of MODIS reflectance data (MODIS09A1).