A DNA Barcode-Based RPA Assay (BAR-RPA) for Rapid Identification of the Dry Root of Ficus hirta (Wuzhimaotao).

Wuzhimaotao (the dry root of ) is used as both medicine and food ingredient by the locals in areas around Nanling Mountains of China. Due to its very similar external morphologies with Duanchangcao (the root of , which contains gelsemine that is extremely neurotoxic) and the associated growth of these two plants, incidents of food poisoning and even death frequently occur, resulting from the misuse of Duanchangcao as Wuzhimaotao. The aim of this study is to develop a fast, even, on-spot approach to identification of Wuzhimaotao.

Bioavailability of Orally Administered Des-Aspartate-Angiotensin I in Human Subjects.

In an earlier single-dose escalation study to evaluate the safety and pharmacokinetics of orally administered des-aspartate-angiotensin I (DAA-I) in healthy subjects, the plasma level of DAA-I could not be determined because DAA-I is rapidly degraded in the circulation. The present study investigated the oral bioavailability of DAA-I by measuring the prostaglandin E metabolite (PGEM) in the plasma samples of the same trial. PGEM is a stable derivative of PGE, which has been shown to be a biomarker of DAA-I.

A Dual Role of P53 in Regulating Colistin-Induced Autophagy in PC-12 Cells.

This study aimed to investigate the mechanism of p53 in regulating colistin-induced autophagy in PC-12 cells. Importantly, cells were treated with 125 μg/ml colistin for 12 and 24 h after transfection with p53 siRNA or recombinant plasmid. The hallmarks of autophagy and apoptosis were examined by real-time PCR and western blot, fluorescence/immunofluorescence microscopy, and electron microscopy.

Colistin-induced autophagy and apoptosis involves the JNK-Bcl2-Bax signaling pathway and JNK-p53-ROS positive feedback loop in PC-12 cells.

Our recent study demonstrated neurotoxicity of colistin-induced autophagy and apoptosis in PC-12 cells, and that autophagy reached peak level at 12 h. In this study, we scrutinized the role of JNK in colistin-induced neurotoxicity and demonstrated the relationship among JNK, p53 and ROS in colistin treated PC-12 cells. Colistin-induced autophagy and apoptosis by JNK inhibition/activation were examined by western blotting, electron microscopy, and immunofluorescence/fluorescence microscopy.

The exploration of monochromatic near-infrared LED improved anoxygenic photosynthetic bacteria Rhodopseudomonas sp. for wastewater treatment.

The future wastewater treatment requires high-efficiency and energy-saving technology. Anoxygenic photosynthetic bacteria (APB) is deemed as an eco-friendly microorganism, which could be employed in wastewater treatment. Here, monochromatic near-infrared (MNIR) light emitting diode (LED) was used, and three key factors (light quality, light intensity and photoperiod) of it were analyzed by a response surface methodology (RSM) in APB wastewater treatment.

Enhanced Energy-Storage Density and High Efficiency of Lead-Free CaTiO-BiScO Linear Dielectric Ceramics.

A novel lead-free (1 - x)CaTiO-xBiScO linear dielectric ceramic with enhanced energy-storage density was fabricated. With the composition of BiScO increasing, the dielectric constant of (1 - x)CaTiO-xBiScO ceramics first increased and then decreased after the composition x > 0.1, while the dielectric loss decreased first and increased.

TLR2 mediates autophagy through ERK signaling pathway in Mycoplasma gallisepticum-infected RAW264.7 cells.

Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) plays a crucial role in early innate immune response of host to various microorganisms. Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG) is one of the major pathogen that can cause chronic respiratory diseases in chickens, but the molecular mechanism of MG infection still remained unclear. In this study, we examined the typical hallmarks of autophagy and multiple signaling pathways by western blot, immunofluorescence microscopy and electron microscopy.

Thermal mismatch strain induced disorder of YMoO and its effect on thermal expansion of YMoO/Al composites.

Fully dense YMoO/Al composites were prepared by squeeze-casting. Relatively mild conditions of 750 °C/20 min/50 MPa were used in order to avoid reaction of the components. SEM, Raman spectroscopy, XRD and dilatometry were used to characterize the microstructures and morphologies of the composites.

A new parameter to simultaneously assess antioxidant activity for multiple phenolic compounds present in food products.

In this work, we established a new methodology to simultaneously assess the relative reaction rates of multiple antioxidant compounds in one experimental set-up. This new methodology hypothesizes that the competition among antioxidant compounds towards limiting amount of free radical (in this article, DPPH) would reflect their relative reaction rates. In contrast with the conventional detection of DPPH decrease at 515nm on a spectrophotometer, depletion of antioxidant compounds treated by a series of DPPH concentrations was monitored instead using liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight (LC-QTOF).

Event-based finite-time state estimation for Markovian jump systems with quantizations and randomly occurring nonlinear perturbations.

This paper is concerned with finite-time state estimation for Markovian jump systems with quantizations and randomly occurring nonlinearities under event-triggered scheme. The event triggered scheme and the quantization effects are used to reduce the data transmission and ease the network bandwidth burden. The randomly occurring nonlinearities are taken into account, which are governed by a Bernoulli distributed stochastic sequence.

Adverse Metaphase Cytogenetics Can Be Overcome by Adding Bortezomib and Thalidomide to Fractionated Melphalan Transplants.

To determine whether a reduction in the intensity of Total Therapy (TT) reduces toxicity and maintains efficacy. A total of 289 patients with gene expression profiling (GEP70)-defined low-risk multiple myeloma were randomized between a standard arm (TT4-S) and a light arm (TT4-L). TT4-L employed one instead of two inductions and consolidations.

Hyperhaploidy is a novel high-risk cytogenetic subgroup in multiple myeloma.

Hyperhaploid clones (24-34 chromosomes) were identified in 33 patients with multiple myeloma (MM), demonstrating a novel numerical cytogenetic subgroup. Strikingly, all hyperhaploid karyotypes were found to harbor monosomy 17p, the single most important risk stratification lesion in MM. A catastrophic loss of nearly a haploid set of chromosomes results in disomies of chromosomes 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 15, 18, 19 and 21, the same basic set of odd-numbered chromosomes found in trisomy in hyperdiploid myeloma.

Delay-distribution-dependent H state estimation for delayed neural networks with (x,v)-dependent noises and fading channels.

This paper deals with the H state estimation problem for a class of discrete-time neural networks with stochastic delays subject to state- and disturbance-dependent noises (also called (x,v)-dependent noises) and fading channels. The time-varying stochastic delay takes values on certain intervals with known probability distributions. The system measurement is transmitted through fading channels described by the Rice fading model.

Event-triggered reliable H filter design for networked systems with multiple sensor distortions: A probabilistic partition approach.

In this paper, the problem of event-triggered reliable H filtering for networked systems with multiple sensor distortions is investigated. The interval of sensor distortion in each channel is partitioned several segments. By introducing a set of rand variables, the model of multiple sensor distortions with their information of probability distribution in each segment is established, which is more general than the one in open results.

Erythropoietin (EPO)-receptor signaling induces cell death of primary myeloma cells in vitro.

Background: Multiple myeloma is an incurable complex disease characterized by clonal proliferation of malignant plasma cells in a hypoxic bone marrow environment. Hypoxia-dependent erythropoietin (EPO)-receptor (EPOR) signaling is central in various cancers, but the relevance of EPOR signaling in multiple myeloma cells has not yet been thoroughly investigated.

Methods: Myeloma cell lines and malignant plasma cells isolated from bone marrow of myeloma patients were used in this study.

[Identification of Original Species of Fish Maw by DNA Barcoding].

Objective: To identify the original species of fish maw sold in Guangzhou market by DNA barcoding technology.

Methods: Mitochondrial cytochrome C subunit I (CO I) gene fragment of eleven fish maw samples were amplified and sequenced with the self-designed primers. UPGMA phylogenetic tree were constructed for clustering analysis.

Clonal selection and double-hit events involving tumor suppressor genes underlie relapse in myeloma.

To elucidate the mechanisms underlying relapse from chemotherapy in multiple myeloma, we performed a longitudinal study of 33 patients entered into Total Therapy protocols investigating them using gene expression profiling, high-resolution copy number arrays, and whole-exome sequencing. The study illustrates the mechanistic importance of acquired mutations in known myeloma driver genes and the critical nature of biallelic inactivation events affecting tumor suppressor genes, especially TP53, the end result being resistance to apoptosis and increased proliferation rates, which drive relapse by Darwinian-type clonal evolution. The number of copy number aberration changes and biallelic inactivation of tumor suppressor genes was increased in GEP70 high risk, consistent with genomic instability being a key feature of high risk.

Dose-dense and less dose-intense Total Therapy 5 for gene expression profiling-defined high-risk multiple myeloma.

Multiple myeloma (MM) is a heterogeneous disease with high-risk patients progressing rapidly despite treatment. Various definitions of high-risk MM are used and we reported that gene expression profile (GEP)-defined high risk was a major predictor of relapse. In spite of our best efforts, the majority of GEP70 high-risk patients relapse and we have noted higher relapse rates during drug-free intervals.

Halichoblelide D, a New Elaiophylin Derivative with Potent Cytotoxic Activity from Mangrove-Derived Streptomyces sp. 219807.

During our search for interesting bioactive secondary metabolites from mangrove actinomycetes, the strain Streptomyces sp. 219807 which produced a high elaiophylin yield of 4486 mg/L was obtained. A new elaiophylin derivative, halichoblelide D (1), along with seven known analogues 2-8 was isolated and identified from the culture broth.

Small-Molecule-Based Lineage Reprogramming Creates Functional Astrocytes.

Growing evidence indicates important roles for astrocytes in neurodevelopment and diseases. However, astrocytes and their roles in these processes remain poorly understood. Despite recent progress in reprogramming somatic cells into different types of neural cells, reprogramming to astrocytes has lagged.

VOLIN and KJON-Two novel hyperdiploid myeloma cell lines.

Multiple myeloma can be divided into two distinct genetic subgroups: hyperdiploid (HRD) or nonhyperdiploid (NHRD) myeloma. Myeloma cell lines are important tools to study myeloma cell biology and are commonly used for preclinical screening and testing of new drugs. With few exceptions human myeloma cell lines are derived from NHRD patients, even though about half of the patients have HRD myeloma.

Systematic tracking of altered modules identifies disrupted pathways in teratozoospermia.

The objective of this study was to identify disrupted pathways in teratozoospermia by systematically tracking dysregulated modules in reweighted protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks. We inferred and reweighted the PPI networks of normal and teratozoospermia groups based on Spearman correlation coefficients. Modules in the PPI networks were explored via a clique-merging algorithm and altered modules were identified based on maximum weight bipartite matching.

Topical calcineurin inhibitors in eczema and cancer association: A cohort study.

Introduction: Cancer risk associated with topical calcineurin inhibitors (TCIs) remains unclear.

Objective: To evaluate the association between TCIs and cancer among patients with atopic and endogenous eczema.

Methods: Incident cancers were identified from the National Cancer Registry.