The inoculation of Bacillus paralicheniformis and Streptomyces thermoviolaceus enhances the lignocellulose degradation and microbial communities during spent mushroom substrate composting.

The burgeoning global mushroom industry has precipitated challenges related to the efficient and sustainable utilization of spent mushroom substrate (SMS). Composting is regarded as an efficient way for the ecological utilization of SMS. The addition of microbial inoculants can promote the composting process and improve the quality of compost products.

, a new species of Gesneriaceae endemic to Guizhou, China.

A new species of Gesneriaceae from Guizhou, China, , is described and illustrated. We investigated its phylogenetic position and relationships with 13 other species of C.B.

A potential biomarker of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma WTAP promotes the proliferation and migration of ESCC.

This study focuses on the function of WTAP in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) samples and cell lines. The results showed that WTAP expression in ESCC tissues was significantly upregulated in 78.1% (57 of 73) of the ESCC tissues at the protein level compared with adjacent non-cancerous tissues via immunohistochemical staining.

Proteomic analysis of tree peony (Paeonia ostii 'Feng Dan') seed germination affected by low temperature.

Seed germination is a critical process that is influenced by various factors. In the present study, the effect of low temperature (4 °C) on tree peony seed germination was investigated. Compared to seeds maintained at 25 °C, germination was inhibited when seeds were kept at 4 °C.

Regulation of intrinsic apoptosis in cycloheximide-treated macrophages by the Sichuan human strain of Chinese Leishmania isolates.

Leishmania spp. are able to survive and proliferate inside mammals' mononuclear phagocytes, causing Leishmaniasis. Previous studies have noted that the regulation of apoptosis in host cells by these parasites may contribute to their ability to evade the immune system.

[Acidity and temperature effect on the fluorescence characteristics of hydraulic oils and lubricants].

By analyzing HyJet V phosphate ester hydraulic oil environmental impacts (oil, etc.) and confounding factors (pH, temperature, etc.), the feasibility was studied for the fluorescence detection of aircraft hydraulic oil leaks.

S-rich single-layered MoS2 nanoplates embedded in N-doped carbon nanofibers: efficient co-electrocatalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction.

S-rich MoS2-NCNF hybrid nanomaterials exhibiting extraordinary HER activity, with a very low onset potential of 30 mV and a small Tafel slope of 38 mV per decade, were successfully fabricated by combining N-doped carbon nanofibers and single-layered MoS2 nanostructures with abundant edge active sites.

[Swimming training enhances muscle growth and potentiates p70s6k, rpS6 protein expression in rat skeletal muscle].

Objective: To illustrate the molecular mechanism of skeletal muscle growth by examining the effect of swimming training on skeletal muscle growth and p70s6k, rpS6 protein expression.

Methods: Twenty four male SD rats were used to establish swimming training models with a 15% body mass load. The training protocol adopted interval swimming training (every other day with 8 weeks).

Wheat drought-responsive grain proteome analysis by linear and nonlinear 2-DE and MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry.

A comparative proteomic analysis of drought-responsive proteins during grain development of two wheat varieties Kauz (strong resistance to drought stress) and Janz (sensitive to drought stress) was performed by using linear and nonlinear 2-DE and MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry technologies. Results revealed that the nonlinear 2-DE had much higher resolution than the linear 2-DE. A total of 153 differentially expressed protein spots were detected by both 2-DE maps, of which 122 protein spots were identified by MALDI-TOF and MALDI-TOF/TOF mass spectrometry.

Advances in simultaneous DSC-FTIR microspectroscopy for rapid solid-state chemical stability studies: some dipeptide drugs as examples.

The solid-state chemistry of drugs has seen growing importance in the pharmaceutical industry for the development of useful API (active pharmaceutical ingredients) of drugs and stable dosage forms. The stability of drugs in various solid dosage forms is an important issue because solid dosage forms are the most common pharmaceutical formulation in clinical use. In solid-state stability studies of drugs, an ideal accelerated method must not only be selected by different complicated methods, but must also detect the formation of degraded product.

Thermal FT-IR microspectroscopy for rapid detection of solid-state ion-exchange reaction between metoclopramide HCl monohydrate and potassium bromide.

The combination of Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) microspectroscopy with a thermal analyzer was applied to quickly investigate the solid-state ion-exchange reaction of metoclopramide HCl monohydrate (MCP H(2)O) by clipping MCP H(2)O powder between two KBr or KCl pellets. The physical and ground mixtures of MCP H(2)O or 150 °C-preheated MCP powder and KBr or KCl powders with a weight ratio of 1 : 100 were also prepared and determined by FT-IR microspectroscopy. The samples of MCP H(2)O or 150 °C-preheated MCP were identified by using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric (TG) analysis.

Tracking in high-frame-rate imaging.

Speckle tracking has been used for motion estimation in ultrasound imaging. Unlike conventional Doppler techniques, which are angle-dependent, speckle tracking can be utilized to estimate velocity vectors. However, the accuracy of speckle-tracking methods is limited by speckle decorrelation, which is related to the displacement between two consecutive images, and, hence, combining high-frame-rate imaging and speckle tracking could potentially increase the accuracy of motion estimation.

MVDR-based coherence weighting for high-frame-rate adaptive imaging.

Some success has been demonstrated in the extensive studies of adaptive imaging, but these approaches are generally not suitable for high-frame-rate (HFR) imaging where broad transmit beams are required. In this study, we propose an effective adaptive imaging method suitable for HFR imaging based on coherence-factor (CF) weighting and the minimum-variance-distortionless-response (MVDR) method. The CF is an index of focusing quality estimated from receive-channel data in which the amplitude of each image pixel is weighted by the corresponding CF so as to reduce the unwanted sidelobes.

Differential scanning calorimetry with curve-fitting program used to quantitatively analyze the polymorphic transformation of famotidine in the compressed compact.

Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) combined with a curve-fitting program was utilized to quantitatively determine the polymorphic composition of famotidine in the compacts prepared by different compression treatments. Two types of famotidine compacts (compact I or II) were prepared by compressing a conical shape or a flattened shape of powder bed of famotidine form B. The compact I was constructed by a transparent region in the center with an opaque region surrounded outside, but the compact II was formed by a whole opaque region only.

Performance evaluation of coherence-based adaptive imaging using clinical breast data.

Sound-velocity inhomogeneities degrade both the spatial resolution and the contrast in diagnostic ultrasound. We previously proposed an adaptive imaging approach based on the coherence of the data received in the channels of a transducer array, and we tested it on phantom data. In this study, the approach was tested on clinical breast data and compared with a correlation-based method that has been widely reported in the literature.

Preliminary identification of Beta-carotene in the vitreous asteroid bodies by micro-Raman spectroscopy and HPLC analysis.

beta-carotene was first identified from the vitreous asteroid bodies (ABs) excised from one patient with asteroid hyalosis (AH) by confocal Raman microspectroscopy and was also verified by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Two patients had been diagnosed with AH and intervened by surgical vitrectomy due to blurred vision. The morphology and components of both AB specimens were observed by optical microscopy and determined by using confocal Raman microspectroscopy and HPLC analysis, respectively.

Mechanisms of antiprostate cancer by gum mastic: NF-kappaB signal as target.

Aim: To study the effect of gum mastic, a natural resin, on the proliferation of androgen-independent prostate cancer PC-3 cells, and further investigate the mechanisms involved in this regulatory system, taking nuclear factor kappaB (NF-kappaB) signal as the target.

Methods: 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay and a flow cytometer were used to detect the effect of gum mastic on the proliferation of PC-3 cells. Then, reporter gene assay, RT-PCR, and Western blotting were carried out to study the effects of gum mastic on the NF-kappaB protein level and the NF-kappaB signal pathway.

Estimating the blood velocity vector using aperture domain data.

Most conventional blood flow estimation methods measure only the axial component of the blood velocity vector. In this study, we developed a new method for two-dimensional (2-D) velocity vector estimation in which time shifts resulting from blood motion are calculated for the individual channels using aperture domain data. This allows the construction of a time-shift profile along the array direction as a function of channel index, which is approximated by a first-order polynomial whose zeroth-order and first-order terms can be used to determine the axial and lateral velocity components, respectively.

Thermal behavior and thermal decarboxylation of 10-hydroxycamptothecin in the solid state.

In order to investigate the thermal-related properties and thermal stability of 10-hydroxycamptothecin (10-HCPT) in the solid state, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) microspectroscopy were used. A novel combination of FT-IR microspectroscopy with thermal analyzer was applied simultaneously to monitor the dehydration and rehydration processes of the 10-HCPT sample. The thermal-induced decomposition of the 10-HCPT sample was also determined by using electrospray-ion trap mass spectrometry (ES-ITMS).

Thermodynamic and kinetic characterization of polymorphic transformation of famotidine during grinding.

Two polymorphs of famotidine were prepared by recrystallization from acetonitrile for form A and methanol for form B, respectively. The effect of grinding process on the polymorphic transformation of famotidine was investigated. Each famotidine sample ground for various grinding times in a ceramic mortar was determined by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), conventional and thermal Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) microspectroscopy.

Temperature effect on the structural stability, similarity, and reversibility of human serum albumin in different states.

In order to investigate the thermal stability of human serum albumin (HAS) in three different states (aqueous solution, cast film, and solid powder), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy was applied to determine the protein secondary structural changes of these HSA samples under non-isothermal or isothermal condition. The structural similarity of HSA before and after thermal treatment was also studied to estimate the thermo-reversible property of the HSA in these different states. The results indicate that with the increase of temperature, the maximum peaks at 1652 and 1547 cm(-1) (alpha-helix) shifted to 1647 and 1542 cm(-1) (random coil), respectively.

Eudragit E accelerated the diketopiperazine formation of enalapril maleate determined by thermal FTIR microspectroscopic technique.

Purpose: Enalapril may undergo the thermal-induced intramolecular interaction to cause an enalapril diketopiperazine (DKP) formation. It is interesting to study the influence of Eudragit E, as a coating polymer, on the stability of enalapril maleate. The reaction kinetics of the solid-state degradation process of pure enalapril maleate and Eudragit E/enalapril maleate mixture with different weight ratios were examined.

Evidence of octacalcium phosphate and Type-B carbonated apatites deposited on the surface of explanted acrylic hydrogel intraocular lens.

Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) microspectroscopy combining with attenuated total reflection (ATR) microsampling technique and micro-Raman spectrophotometer were used to detect the deposited materials on the surface of acrylic hydrogel intraocular lens (IOL) with or without ocular implantation. Surface morphology and the interface of this IOL were further examined by a confocal laser scanning microscope. The brand-new IOL exhibited a very smooth, transparent and featureless surface, but the explanted IOL had an irregular cerebriform-like opaque appearance.

Effect of ethanol or/and captopril on the secondary structure of human serum albumin before and after protein binding.

The attenuated total reflection/Fourier transform infrared technique has been utilized to characterize secondary structural changes in human serum albumin (HSA) before and after protein binding via incubation of HSA in different concentrations of ethanol, captopril or ethanol/captopril mixture. The results indicate that ethanol induced a transition from beta-sheet to an alpha-helical structure and promoted conversion of intramolecular hydrogen-bonded beta-sheet to intermolecular hydrogen-bonded beta-sheet. In contrast, captopril or captopril/ethanol mixture induced conversion of intramolecular hydrogen-bonded beta-sheet to intermolecular hydrogen-bonded beta-sheet and resulted in exposure of the aromatic side-chain groups in the unfolding conformation of HSA.

Factors determining pressure perturbation calorimetry measurements: evidence for the formation of metastable states at lipid phase transitions.

The factors that influence the application of pressure perturbation calorimetry in studying the volume change of the phase transition of lipids are discussed. These factors include a correction for the temperature-shift induced by perturbation, the kinetic irreversibility of the phase transition and the magnitude of the pressure perturbation. We take into account the fact that the dependence of the phase transition temperature on pressure will affect the temperature-shift induced by pressure.