Prognosis of 732 ursodeoxycholic acid-treated patients with primary biliary cholangitis: A single center follow-up study from China.

Background And Aim: The impact of male sex and past hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection on survival of primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) are issues at discussion. The aim of the present study was to identify risk factors for transplant-free survival (TRS) in Chinese PBC patients who received ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA), with special focus on the impact of male sex and past HBV infection.

Methods: We followed up PBC patients who received UDCA at our institute between January 2000 and December 2017 until their death, liver transplantation, or censored on April 1, 2018, by interview and review of medical records.

Apelin-13 Administration Protects Against LPS-Induced Acute Lung Injury by Inhibiting NF-κB Pathway and NLRP3 Inflammasome Activation.

Background/aims: Acute lung injury (ALI) is induced by a variety of external and internal factors and leads to acute progressive respiratory failure. Previous studies have shown that apelin-13 can decrease the acute lung injury induced by LPS, but the specific mechanism is unclear. Therefore, a mouse lung injury model and a cell model were designed to explore the mechanism of how apelin-13 alleviates the acute lung injury caused by LPS.

[Effect of autophagy inhibitor chloroquine on acute alcoholinduced liver disease].

Objectives: To investigate the role of autophagy inhibitor chloroquine (CQ) in acute ethanol-induced liver injury and its mechenism.

Methods: Twenty-one C57BL/6 male mice were randomly divided into three groups:control group, ethanol group, CQ + ethanol group (=7). Mice in ethanol group were administered 33% (v/v) ethanol at a dose of 4.

Role of the tomato TAGL1 gene in regulating fruit metabolites elucidated using RNA sequence and metabolomics analyses.

Fruit ripening is a complex biological process affecting fruit quality. In tomato the fruit ripening process is delicately regulated by transcription factors (TFs). Among these, the TOMATO AGAMOUS-LIKE 1 (TAGL1) gene plays an important role in both the development and ripening of fruit.

Lycopene Is Enriched in Tomato Fruit by CRISPR/Cas9-Mediated Multiplex Genome Editing.

Numerous studies have been focusing on breeding tomato plants with enhanced lycopene accumulation, considering its positive effects of fruits on the visual and functional properties. In this study, we used a bidirectional strategy: promoting the biosynthesis of lycopene, while inhibiting the conversion from lycopene to β- and α-carotene. The accumulation of lycopene was promoted by knocking down some genes associated with the carotenoid metabolic pathway.

[Composition and distribution characteristics of stable carbon isotope in typical riparian grassland ecosystem].

Plant-soil carbon stable isotope characteristics of riparian herbaceous ecosystem were ana-lyzed by measuring the δC value of plant tissues from four typical riparian herbaceous plants, which were Cynodon dactylon, Trifolium repens, Festuca arundinacea and Imperata cylindrical, and that of soil organic carbon (SOC) from different vertical depths along Dongfeng Port River in Qingpu District, Shanghai. The result showed that T. repens and F.

Potential Protective Mechanism in the Cardiac Microvascular Injury.

Cardiac microvascular injury often occurs in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) who develop hyperglycemia and hyperlipidemia. However, besides reported contradictory roles in cardiac diseases, the function of TRPV1 (transient receptor potential vanilloid 1) in cardiac microvessels is not well defined. This study was performed to determine the detailed role of TRPV1 in cardiac microvascular endothelial cells (CMECs) in T2DM.

The earliest Timematids in Burmese amber reveal diverse tarsal pads of stick insects in the mid-Cretaceous.

Many extant insects have developed pad structures, euplantulae or arolia on their tarsi to increase friction or enhance adhesion for better mobility. Many polyneopteran insects with euplantulae, for example, Grylloblattodea, Mantophasmatodea and Orthoptera, have been described from the Mesozoic. However, the origin and evolution of stick insects' euplantulae are poorly understood due to rare fossil records.

Stick insect in Burmese amber reveals an early evolution of lateral lamellae in the Mesozoic.

Extant stick and leaf insects commonly imitate twigs or leaves, with lateral lamellae used to enhance crypsis or achieve mimicry for protection. However, the origin and early evolution of such lateral expansions among Phasmatodea are unknown, because all known Mesozoic phasmatodeans hitherto lack preserved evidence of such structures. We report here the first Mesozoic stick insect, gen.

Highly efficient high-performance liquid chromatographic separation of xylene isomers and phthalate acid esters on a homemade DUT-67(Zr) packed column.

In this study, the baseline separations of xylene isomers and phthalate acid esters on a homemade DUT-67(Zr) packed column were achieved, respectively. The high selectivity for xylene isomers and phthalate acid esters was obtained with the increase in temperature and decrease in the retention time. The hydrophobicity of xylene isomers and phthalate acid esters resulted in the different separation time on the DUT-67(Zr) packed column.

Pre-exposure to 50 Hz-electromagnetic fields enhanced the antiproliferative efficacy of 5-fluorouracil in breast cancer MCF-7 cells.

Resistance to 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and its induced immune suppression have prevented its extensive application in the clinical treatment of breast cancer. In this study, the combined effect of 50 Hz-EMFs and 5-FU in the treatment of breast cancer was explored. MCF-7 and MCF10A cells were pre-exposed to 50 Hz-EMFs for 0, 2, 4, 8 and 12 h and then treated with different concentrations of 5-FU for 24 h; cell viability was analyzed by MTT assay and flow cytometry.

Additive Benefits of Twice Forest Bathing Trips in Elderly Patients with Chronic Heart Failure.

Chronic heart failure (CHF), a clinical syndrome resulting from the consequences of various cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), is increasingly becoming a global cause of morbidity and mortality. We had earlier demonstrated that a 4-day forest bathing trip can provide an adjunctive therapeutic influence on patients with CHF. To further investigate the duration of the impact and the optimal frequency of forest bathing trips in patients with CHF, we recruited those subjects who had experienced the first forest bathing trip again after 4 weeks and randomly categorized them into two groups, namely, the urban control group (city) and the forest bathing group (forest).

Working memory, age and education: A lifespan fMRI study.

Ageing is associated with grey matter atrophy and changes in task-related neural activations. This study investigated the effects of age and education on neural activation during a spatial working memory task in 189 participants aged between 20-80 years old, whilst controlling for grey matter density. Age was related to linear decreases in neural activation in task activated areas, and this effect was no longer significant when adjusting for education or accuracy.

Effects of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells transfected with Ang-1 gene on hyperoxia-induced optic nerve injury in neonatal mice.

Optic nerve injury triggered retinal ganglion cell (RGC) death and optic nerve atrophy lead to visual loss. Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) are stromal cells, capable of proliferating and differentiating into different types of tissues. This aims of this study is to investigate the role of BMSCs transfected with angiopoietin-1 (Ang-1) in optic nerve injury induced by hyperoxia in a neonatal mice model.

Triterpenoid Saponins from the Seeds of Aesculus chinensis and Their Cytotoxicities.

Six new triterpenoid saponins, aesculusosides A-F (1-6), together with 19 known ones, were isolated from the seeds of Aesculus chinensis. The new structures were elucidated through extensive spectroscopic analyses and by comparison with previously reported data. Some of the isolates were evaluated for their cytotoxic activities against MCF-7 cell line by an MTT assay, and compounds 15, 16, 19, and 23-25 exhibited inhibitory activities against MCF-7 with IC values ranging from 7.

An Optimized and Sensitive Pharmacokinetic Quantitative Method of Investigating Gastrodin, Parishin, and Parishin B, C and E in Beagle Dog Plasma using LC-MS/MS after Intragastric Administration of Tall Gastrodia Capsules.

Blume, called Tianma in China, has been widely used to treat headaches, convulsions and epilepsy for thousands of years. In the present study, a series of optimizations were employed to develop a rapid, sensitive, and reliable high-performance liquid chromatography-triple quadrupole mass spectrometry method, which was then used for the simultaneous determination of gastrodin, parishin, parishin B, parishin C and parishin E in beagle dog plasma after intragastric administration of tall capsules (Tianma brand). The chromatographic separation was achieved on a C column with gradient elution by using a mixture of 0.

[Grades evaluation of Scutellariae Radix slices based on quality constant].

By measuring the morphological indexes and the marker components content of 22 batches of Scutellariae Radix slices as well as calculating the quality constant, this research was aimed to establish a new method of evaluating the specifications and grades of Scutellariae Radix slices. The quality constants of these samples were in the range of 0.04-0.

Characterization of the complete genome of euonymus yellow vein associated virus, a distinct member of the genus Potexvirus, family Alphaflexiviridae, isolated from Euonymus bungeanus Maxim in Liaoning, Northern China.

In August 2016, a yellow vein disease was observed on leaves of Euonymus bungeanus Maxim (Euonymus, Celastraceae) in Liaoning, China. Virions measuring 750 × 13 nm were observed in a sample from the diseased plant. A potexvirus was detected in the sample by small-RNA deep sequencing analysis and recovered by traditional cloning.

The role of regional heterogeneity in age-related differences in functional hemispheric asymmetry: an fMRI study.

Neuroimaging literature has documented age-related hemispheric asymmetry reduction in frontal regions during task performances. As most studies employed working memory paradigms, it is therefore less clear if this pattern of neural reorganization is constrained by working memory processes or it would also emerge in other cognitive domains which are predominantly lateralized. Using blocked functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), the present study used a homophone judgment task and a line judgment task to investigate age-related differences in functional hemispheric asymmetry in language and visuospatial processing respectively.

Effects of neutral phytase on growth performance and phosphorus utilization in crucian carp (Carassius auratus).

A feeding trial was conducted for nine weeks to investigate the effects of partially replacing Ca(HPO) with neutral phytase on the growth performance, phosphorus utilization, nutrient digestibility, serum biochemical parameters, bone and carcass mineral composition, and digestive-enzyme-specific activity in crucian carp (Carassius auratus). The diets prepared with 0.8%, 0%, and 1.

[Explore a method for formulation of limit standard of toxic components in traditional Chinese medicine:aristolochic acid as a case study].

It is urgent to establish the limit standard of toxic components of Chinese herbal medicine, since the safety of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has attracted more and more attention.This paper analyzes the present situation and problems in the study of the limit standard of toxic components of Chinese herbal medicine. In addition, the current methods for setting the limit standards of toxic ingredients of TCM are reviewed in this paper, and we also propose a theoretical calculation method for setting the limit standards of toxic ingredients of TCM.

Hydrogen fluoride (HF) substance flow analysis for safe and sustainable chemical industry.

In this study, the chemical substance flow of hydrogen fluoride (hydrofluoric acid, HF) in domestic chemical industries in 2014 was analyzed in order to provide a basic material and information for the establishment of organized management system to ensure safety during HF applications. A total of 44,751 tons of HF was made by four domestic companies (in 2014); import amount was 95,984 tons in 2014 while 21,579 tons of HF was imported in 2005. The export amount of HF was 2180 tons, of which 2074 ton (China, 1422 tons, U.

A brief review on prognostic models of primary biliary cholangitis.

Primary biliary cholangitis (PBC), previously known as primary biliary cirrhosis, is an autoimmune liver disease characterized by progressive destruction of small intrahepatic bile ducts. If left untreated, PBC may eventually result in end-stage liver disease. For better management of PBC and optimal allocation of medical resources, it is pivotal to accurately estimate the prognosis of patients with PBC.

3D faces are recognized more accurately and faster than 2D faces, but with similar inversion effects.

Recognition of faces typically occurs via holistic processing where individual features are combined to provide an overall facial representation. However, when faces are inverted, there is greater reliance on featural processing where faces are recognized based on their individual features. These findings are based on a substantial number of studies using 2-dimensional (2D) faces and it is unknown whether these results can be extended to 3-dimensional (3D) faces, which have more depth information that is absent in the typical 2D stimuli used in face recognition literature.

Downregulation of ATG5-dependent macroautophagy by chaperone-mediated autophagy promotes breast cancer cell metastasis.

Recent data have shown that the expression of lysosome-associated membrane protein type 2 A (LAMP2A), the key protein in the chaperone-mediated autophagy (CMA) pathway, is elevated in breast tumor tissues. However, the exact effects and mechanisms of CMA during breast cancer metastasis remain largely unknown. In this study, we found that the LAMP2A protein level was significantly elevated in human breast cancer tissues, particularly in metastatic carcinoma.