Gut microbiota, microbiota-derived metabolites, and graft-versus-host disease.

Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is one of the most effective treatment strategies for leukemia, lymphoma, and other hematologic malignancies. However, graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) can significantly reduce the survival rate and quality of life of patients after transplantation, and is therefore the greatest obstacle to transplantation. The recent development of new technologies, including high-throughput sequencing, metabolomics, and others, has facilitated great progress in understanding the complex interactions between gut microbiota, microbiota-derived metabolites, and the host.

A substructure-based screening approach to uncover N-nitrosamines in drug substances.

Drug substances are at risk of contamination with N-nitrosamines (NAs), well-known carcinogenic agents, during synthesis processes and/or long-term storage. Therefore, in this study, we developed an efficient data-based screening approach to systemically assess marketed products and investigated its scalability for benefiting both regulatory agencies and pharmaceutical industries. A substructure-based screening method employing DataWarrior, an open-source software, was established to evaluate the risks of NA impurities in drug substances.

Genome-wide identification and expression analysis of the GSK gene family in Solanum tuberosum L. under abiotic stress and phytohormone treatments and functional characterization of StSK21 involvement in salt stress.

Plant Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 (GSK3)/SHAGGY-like kinase (GSK) proteins play important roles in modulating growth, development, and stress responses in several plant species. However, little is known about the members of the potato GSK (StGSK) family. Here, nine StGSK genes were identified and phylogenetically grouped into four clades.

Role of the overexpression of TRAF4 in predicting the prognosis of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma.

The incidence of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) is progressively increasing worldwide, and its prognosis remains poor. Accumulating evidence has demonstrated that tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated factor 4 (TRAF4), an adaptor protein, is involved in the carcinogenesis and progression of several tumor types. However, the function of TRAF4 in predicting prognosis, and mediating migration and invasion of ICC remains to be elucidated.

LPS Pretreatment Provides Neuroprotective Roles in Rats with Subarachnoid Hemorrhage by Downregulating MMP9 and Caspase3 Associated with TLR4 Signaling Activation.

Subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), as a severe brain disease, has high morbidity and mortality. SAH usually induced neurological dysfunction or death and the treatment is far from satisfaction. Here, we investigated the effect of low dose of LPS pretreatment and underlying molecular mechanism in rat SAH model.

Bone marrow stromal cells promote neuroplasticity of cerebral ischemic rats via a phosphorylated CRMP2-mediated mechanism.

Collapsin response mediator protein 2 (CRMP2), an important protein involved in axonal growth and the maintenance of neuronal membrane integrity, has proved to be altered in nervous system diseases. This study was aimed to investigate the role of CRMP2 in bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) treating rats with cerebral ischemia. BMSCs were isolated from shaft of the femurs, tibiae, and humeri and were intra-carotid administrated immediately after middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO).

[The Effect of Structured Group Reminiscence Therapy on the Life Satisfaction of Institutionalized Elderly].

Background: Long-term care institutions have become an option for older people who are dependent in daily living. However, insufficient attention has been focused on assessing the life satisfaction of those currently residing in these institutions in Taiwan. Previous research indicates that group reminiscence may improve the life satisfaction of older adults.

BDNF Overexpression Exhibited Bilateral Effect on Neural Behavior in SCT Mice Associated with AKT Signal Pathway.

Spinal cord injury (SCI), a severe health problem in worldwide, was commonly associated with functional disability and reduced quality of life. As the expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) was substantial event in injured spinal cord, we hypothesized whether BDNF-overexpression could be in favor of the recovery of both sensory function and hindlimb function after SCI. By using BDNF-overexpression transgene mice [CMV-BDNF 26 (CB26) mice] we assessed the role of BDNF on the recovery of neurological behavior in spinal cord transection (SCT) model.

[Expression of LRG-1 in clinical specimens and Tca8113 cell line of tongue carcinoma].

Objective: To investigate the expression of LRG-1 in clinical specimens and Tca8113 cell line of tongue carcinoma and analyze the relationship between LRG-1 expression and the clinicopathological parameters.

Methods: LRG-1 expression was detected in 40 tongue squamous cell carcinoma (TSCC) tissues and paired normal adjacent tissues, 20 atypical hyperplasia tissues of the tongue, and 20 tissues of tongue cancer in situ using immunohistochemical method. The expression of LRG-1 in Tca8113 cell line was detected using flow cytometry.

Scutellarin Alleviates Behavioral Deficits in a Mouse Model of Multiple Sclerosis, Possibly Through Protecting Neural Stem Cells.

Scutellarin, a flavonoid extracted from an herbal medication (Erigeron breviscapus Hand-Mazz), has been shown to protect neurons against damage and to promote neurogenesis, and thus has therapeutic potential in the treatment of a variety of neurodegenerative diseases. Since neural stem cells (NSCs) could differentiate into myelin-producing oligodendrocytes, we speculate that scutellarin could also be used to treat multiple sclerosis (MS). In the current study, we examined potential effects of scutellarin using a mouse model of MS.

Chiral Inhibition of Rivaroxaban Derivatives Towards UDP-Glucuronosyltransferase (UGT) Isoforms.

Rivaroxaban is an oral direct factor Xa (FXa) inhibitor clinically used to prevent and treat thromboembolic disorders. Drug-drug interaction (DDI) exist for rivaroxaban and the inhibitors of CYP3A4/5. This study aims to investigate the inhibition of rivaroxaban and its derivatives with a chiral center towards UDP-glucuronosyltransferases (UGTs).

Deletion of TRIM32 protects mice from anxiety- and depression-like behaviors under mild stress.

Chronic stress causes a variety of psychiatric disorders such as anxiety and depression, but its mechanism is not well understood. Tripartite motif-containing protein 32 (TRIM32) was strongly associated with autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety and obsessive compulsive disorder based on a study of copy number variation, and deletion of TRIM32 increased neural proliferation and reduced apoptosis. Here, we propose that TRIM32 is involved in chronic stress-induced affective behaviors.

[Determination of salidroside and p-tyrosol in Hongjingtian for injection(freezing-dry) by SPE-HPLC].

Objective: To assay salidroside and p-tyrosol in Hongjingtian for injection (freezing-dry).

Method: Samples were purified by Sep-Pak C18 column and salidroside and p-tyrosol were determined by HPLC with Irregular-H C18 (4.6 mm x 250 mm, 5 microm), and eluted with a mobile phase of methanol-acenitonitrile -0.

Solution-phase synthesis of spherical zinc sulfide nanostructures.

A facile solution-phase method has been developed to synthesize specially hollow and solid ZnS nanospheres. High-resolution TEM images on the nanospheres suggest their formation via the oriented aggregation of the primary ZnS nanocrystals. The morphology and size of the ZnS nanospheres can also be tuned easily by controlling the experimental conditions.

Sonochemical synthesis of hollow PbS nanospheres.

PbS hollow nanospheres with diameters of 80-250 nm have been synthesized by a surfactant-assisted sonochemical route. The nanostructures were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), (high-resolution) transmission electron microscopy [(HR)TEM], and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images. Structural characterization indicates that shells of the hollow spheres are composed of PbS nanoparticles with diameters of about 12 nm.

A case of bow hunter's stroke caused by non-dominant vertebral artery.

Rotational movements in the territory of vertebrobasilar artery of the head and neck can induce vertebrobasilar insufficiency (VBI) or infarction. The term "bow hunter's stroke" or "rotational VBI" has been used to describe this clinical syndrome. In most cases, symptoms were provoked because of involvement of a dominant vertebral artery (VA) with hypoplasia or occlusion of the contralateral VA.

Structure evaluation and highly enhanced luminescence of Dy3+ -doped ZnO nanocrystals by Li+ doping via combustion method.

In this paper, Dy3+ -doped ZnO nanocrystals have been synthesized via a simple combustion method. The as-prepared cuboid-like ZnO nanocrystals appear to be single hexagonal crystalline phase with an average diameter of 20 nm. The characteristic luminescence of doped Dy3+ ions has been evaluated, and the highly enhanced photoluminescence of Dy3+ ions can be obtained by Li+ doping.

5-Aminolevulinic acid synthase: mechanism, mutations and medicine.

5-Aminolevulinic acid synthase (ALAS), the first enzyme of the heme biosynthesis pathway, catalyses the pyridoxal 5'-phosphate-dependent condensation between glycine and succinyl-CoA to yield 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-amino-4-oxopentanoate). A three-dimensional structural model of Rhodobacter spheroides ALAS has been constructed and used to identify amino acid residues at the active site that are likely to be important for the recognition of glycine, the only amino acid substrate. Several residues have been investigated by site-directed mutagenesis and enzyme variants have been generated that are able to use alanine, serine or threonine.