Four new species and four newly recorded species of Haliday (Hymenoptera, Eulophidae) from China, with a key to Chinese species.

In this paper, four species of Haliday, Li & Li, , Li & Li, , Li & Li, , and Li & Li, , are described as new to science; four species, Szelényi, Graham, Yefremova & Kriskovich, and (Förster) are reported from China for the first time; and the male of is reported for the first time in the world. A key to all known species of the genus in China is provided.

The Effect of Elevation Gradient on Distribution and Body Size of Carabid Beetles in the Changbaishan Nature Reserve in Northeast Asia.

The environment of mountain ecosystems can change greatly in short distances as elevation increases. The effects of elevation change on the distribution and body size of carabid beetles were investigated at elevations of 750-2600 m in the Changbaishan Nature Reserve (Northeast China). The richness and abundance of carabid species decreased significantly as elevation increased.

Forest carbon stocks increase with higher dominance of ectomycorrhizal trees in high latitude forests.

Understanding the mechanisms controlling forest carbon accumulation is crucial for predicting and mitigating future climate change. Yet, it remains unclear whether the dominance of ectomycorrhizal (EcM) trees influences the carbon accumulation of entire forests. In this study, we analyzed forest inventory data from over 4000 forest plots across Northeast China.

[Corrigendum] Neuroprotective effect of emodin against Alzheimer's disease via Nrf2 signaling in U251 cells and APP/PS1 mice.

Subsequently to the publication of this paper, an interested reader drew to the authors' attention that the lower left panel of Fig. 3A of this paper had already featured in the following paper, which featured one of the same authors (Zhiping Li): Zhang Y, Wang J, Wang C, Li Z, Liu X, Zhang J, Lu J and Wang D: Pharmacological basis for the use of evodiamine in Alzheimer's disease: antioxidation and antiapoptosis. Int J Mol Sci 21: 1527, 2018.

Omnivorous Notoxus trinotatus Pic (Coleoptera: Anthicidae) is a newly recognized vector of northern leaf blight in maize.

The adaptations of omnivorous insects to food are manifested in a multifaceted manner, and the availability of food resources directly determines insect feeding tendencies, which contribute to a complex insect-food relationship and impact insect functionality in the environment. Stable isotope analysis was applied to test the feeding preference and further define the functional role of omnivorous beetles in cropland. Our results confirmed that as an omnivorous beetle, the fungivorous nature of Notoxus trinotatus accounted for a prominent proportion food selection at the adult stage, and more importantly, this dietary feature contributed to the dispersal of the northern corn leaf blight in maize (NLB) during the feeding trials.

Neuroprotective effect of emodin against Alzheimer's disease via Nrf2 signaling in U251 cells and APP/PS1 mice.

Emodin is a naturally‑occurring medicinal herbal ingredient that possesses numerous pharmacological properties, including anti‑inflammatory and antioxidant effects. In the present study, potential neuroprotective effects associated with the antioxidant activity of emodin were assessed in U251 cells that were subjected to β‑amyloid peptide (Aβ)‑induced apoptosis and in amyloid precursor protein (APP)/presenilin‑1 (PS1) double‑transgenic mice. U251 is a type of human astroglioma cell line (cat.

Hybrid micelles containing methotrexate-conjugated polymer and co-loaded with microRNA-124 for rheumatoid arthritis therapy.

: Methotrexate (MTX) is a first-line drug for rheumatoid arthritis (RA)therapy. However, MTX monotherapy often results in irreversible joint damage due to its slow onset of action and long duration. microRNA-124 (miR-124) has shown direct bone protection activity against RA.

Multifunctional drug carrier based on PEI derivatives loaded with small interfering RNA for therapy of liver cancer.

Gene therapy strategies for liver cancer have broad application prospects but still lack a stable and efficient delivery vehicle. To overcome this obstacle, we designed a multifunctional gene delivery vector, sTPssOLP, which was based on oleylamine (OA)-modified disulfide-containing polyethylenimine (PEI) and incorporated into lipids to prepare a lipid nanoparticle. sTPssOLP consisted of the core of PEI derivative and cationic lipids bound to siRNA.

Targeted and Efficient Delivery of siRNA Using Tunable Polymeric Hybrid Micelles for Tumor Therapy.

Background/aim: Effective and targeted delivery of siRNA to tumor cells is a prerequisite to achieving their therapeutic effects. Survivin is up-regulated in tumor cells and is associated with resistance to therapy. Therefore, siRNA-mediated silencing of survivin is a potential therapeutic strategy for cancer.

Targeted Co-Delivery of siRNA and Methotrexate for Tumor Therapy via Mixed Micelles.

A combination of chemotherapeutic drugs and siRNA is emerging as a new modality for cancer therapy. A safe and effective carrier platform is needed for combination drug delivery. Here, a functionalized mixed micelle-based delivery system was developed for targeted co-delivery of methotrexate (MTX) and survivin siRNA.

Microfluidic hydrodynamic focusing synthesis of polymer-lipid nanoparticles for siRNA delivery.

Small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) are promising as therapeutics for intractable diseases such as cancer. However, efficient and safe delivery of siRNAs remains a challenge. Polymer-lipid hybrid nanoparticles (P/LNPs) have been evaluated for therapeutic delivery of siRNA.

Transferrin-conjugated liposomes loaded with novel dihydroquinoline derivatives as potential anticancer agents.

A series of 1,2-dihydroquinoline derivatives were synthesized and evaluated for cytotoxicity in HeLa, Hep G2 and 6HEK-293T cell lines. EEDQ2 was identified as a promising anti-cancer agent with low IC50 in HeLa (18.55μg/ml) and Hep G2 (14.

Pharmacokinetics of a liposomal formulation of doxorubicin in rats.

Measuring free drug concentration following systemic administration of a liposomal drug is a crucial aspect of the assessment of its behavior. Therefore we require an efficient method to separate free drug in the plasma from encapsulated drug. To study the pharmacokinetics of free doxorubicin (DOX) released from liposomal doxorubicin (L-DOX) in rats.

Synthesis of Polymer-Lipid Nanoparticles by Microfluidic Focusing for siRNA Delivery.

Polyethylenimine (PEI) as a cationic polymer is commonly used as a carrier for gene delivery. PEI-800 is less toxic than PEI-25K but it is also less efficient. A novel nanocarrier was developed by combining PEI-800 with a pH-sensitive lipid to form polymer-lipid hybrid nanoparticles (P/LNPs).

Single-step microfluidic synthesis of transferrin-conjugated lipid nanoparticles for siRNA delivery.

Microfluidic systems can accelerate clinical translation of nanoparticles due to their ability to generate nanoparticles in a well-controlled and reproducible manner. In this study, a single-step process based on microfluidic focusing (MF) was employed to synthesize transferrin-conjugated lipid nanoparticles (Tf-LNPs) and the method was compared with a multi-steps bulk mixing (BM) method. The results indicate that this single-step MF process enables rapid and efficient synthesis of Tf-LNPs, which were named Tf-LNPs-MF.

Cabazitaxel-loaded human serum albumin nanoparticles as a therapeutic agent against prostate cancer.

Cabazitaxel-loaded human serum albumin nanoparticles (Cbz-NPs) were synthesized to overcome vehicle-related toxicity of current clinical formulation of the drug based on Tween-80 (Cbz-Tween). A salting-out method was used for NP synthesis that avoids the use of chlorinated organic solvent and is simpler compared to the methods based on emulsion-solvent evaporation. Cbz-NPs had a narrow particle size distribution, suitable drug loading content (4.

Cordycepin Affects Multiple Apoptotic Pathways to Mediate Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cell Death.

Background: Cordycepin possesses anti-inflammatory, anti-metastatic and anti-tumor properties.

Objective: The present study investigates the anti-hepatocellular carcinoma activities of cordycepin in in vitro and in vivo models.

Method: Cell viability, apoptosis rate, intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) level and mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) were determined by 3-(4,5)-dimethylthiahiazo(-z-y1)-3,5-di-phenytetrazoliumromide bromide assay, annexin V/propidium iodide double staining, 2',7'-dichlorfluorescein-diacetate and 5,5',6,6'-tetrachloro-1,1',3,3' tetraethylbenzimidazolylcarbocyanine iodide (JC-1) staining respectively.

Cordycepin, a Natural Antineoplastic Agent, Induces Apoptosis of Breast Cancer Cells via Caspase-dependent Pathways.

Cordycepin, a major compound separated from Cordyceps sinensis, is known as a potential novel candidate for cancer therapy. Breast cancer, the most typical cancer diagnosed among women, remains a global health problem. In this study, the anti-breast cancer property of cordycepin and its underlying mechanisms was investigated.

The optimization of Marasmius androsaceus submerged fermentation conditions in five-liter fermentor.

Using desirability function, four indexes including mycelium dry weight, intracellular polysaccharide, adenosine and mannitol yield were uniformed into one expected value (Da) which further served as the assessment criteria. In our present study, Plackett-Burman design was applied to evaluate the effects of eight variables including initial pH, rotating speed, culture temperature, inoculum size, ventilation volume, culture time, inoculum age and loading volume on Da value during Marasmius androsaceus submerged fermentation via a five-liter fermentor. Culture time, initial pH and rotating speed were found to influence Da value significantly and were further optimized by Box-Behnken design.

Measurement of filter paper activities of cellulase with microplate-based assay.

It is always a challenge to determine the total cellulase activity efficiently without reducing accuracy. The most common total cellulase activity assay is the filter paper assay (FPA) established by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC). A new procedure to measure the FPA with microplate-based assay was studied in this work, which followed the main idea of IUPAC to dilute cellulase preparation to get fixed glucose release.

Near infrared spectroscopy coupled with radial basis function neural network for at-line monitoring of Lactococcus lactis subsp. fermentation.

In our previous work, partial least squares (PLSs) were employed to develop the near infrared spectroscopy (NIRs) models for at-line (fast off-line) monitoring key parameters of Lactococcus lactis subsp. fermentation. In this study, radial basis function neural network (RBFNN) as a non-linear modeling method was investigated to develop NIRs models instead of PLS.

Anti-diabetic activities of Paecilomyces tenuipes N45 extract in alloxan-induced diabetic mice.

Due to the limitations of existing anti-diabetic drugs, the treatment of diabetes mellitus remains a significant challenge. The present study aimed to investigate the hypoglycemic, hypolipidemic and antioxidant effects of Paecilomyces tenuipes N45 extracts on alloxan-induced type I diabetes mellitus in mice. Diabetic Kunming mice were orally administered with water extract (WE) at doses of 2.

The anti-membranous glomerulonephritic activity of purified polysaccharides from Irpex lacteus Fr.

The present study aims to identify the major active component from mutant Irpex lacteus, which protects against cationic bovine serum albumin (C-BSA)-induced membranous glomerulonephropathy (MGN). The candidate component ILN3A (MW: 2264 kDa) was purified from mutant Irpex lacteus water extract. The backbone of ILN3A comprises (1→2) and (1→4) linkages, and (1)H NMR spectrum suggests the existence of α- and β-glycosidic anomeric carbon.

Near Infrared Spectroscopic Combined with Partial Least Squares and Radial Basis Function Neural Network to Analyze Paclitaxel Concentration in Rat Plasma.

Paclitaxel is known as one of the most effective anticancer drugs. Near Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS), a rapid, precise and non-destructive approach of analysis, has been widely used for qualitative and quantitative detection. The present study aims to analyze the plasma paclitaxel concentration with NIRS.