New Sesquiterpene and Polymethoxy-Flavonoids from Artemisia annua L.

Our previous study revealed that the polymethoxy-flavonoids, as main components of Artemisia annua, could improve the antimalarial activity of Artemisinin. Here, we described the isolation, elucidation, constituent analysis, flavonoids enrichment of the extracts of A. annua.

Ultrahigh-resolution and non-contact diameter measurement of metallic wire using eddy current sensor.

This paper proposes a new method using eddy current sensor (ECS) for online non-contact diameter measurement of metallic wires with ultrahigh resolution. A prototype sensor was designed, fabricated, and tested for copper wires with diameters ranging from 1.12 mm to 1.

[Incidence of sudden cardiac death of urban residents in Beijing].

Objective: To explore the incidence of sudden cardiac death (SCD) of urban residents in Beijing.

Methods: A community based epidemiology survey was performed on the residents of 4 communities in the Xicheng and Haidian districts in Beijing from October 2008 to September 2009. Data on the total population, age, gender and vital status were monitored, and incidence of SCD as well as related information were collected from the household administrative workers, the family members of the deceased, the hospital personnel and the witnesses.

Down-regulation of Sp1 suppresses cell proliferation, clonogenicity and the expressions of stem cell markers in nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Background: Transcription factor Sp1 is multifaceted, with the ability to function as an oncogene or a tumor suppressor, depending on the cellular context. We previously reported that Sp1 is required for the transcriptional activation of the key oncogenes in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), including B-lymphoma mouse Moloney leukemia virus insertion region 1 (Bmi1) and centromere protein H (CENPH), but the role of Sp1 and its underlying mechanisms in NPC remained largely unexplored. The objective of this study was to investigate the cellular function of Sp1 and to verify the clinical significance of Sp1 as a potential therapeutic target in NPC.

Assessment of the coronary venous system using 256-slice computed tomography.

Purpose: To investigate the coronary venous system and its relation to adjacent structures using 256-slice computed tomography (CT).

Materials And Methods: The study consisted of 102 patients who underwent coronary CT angiography (CTA) using 256-slice CT. For each patient, the coronary venous system and its relation to adjacent structures were evaluated.

Improved beta-carotene and lycopene production by Blakeslea trispora with ultrasonic treatment in submerged fermentation.

Response surface methodology (RSM) based on Box-Behnken design (BBD) was employed to investigate the effect of ultrasonic treatment on beta-carotene production by Blakeslea trispora. The optimized strategy involved exposing three-day-old mycelial cultures to ultrasonic treatment at a fixed frequency of 20 kHz, power of 491 W, treatment time of 3 min, working time of 3 s, and rest time of 5.8 s, repeated four times at a 24-h interval.

CEACAM5 has different expression patterns in gastric non-neoplastic and neoplastic lesions and cytoplasmic staining is a marker for evaluation of tumor progression in gastric adenocarcinoma.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the expression patterns of CEACAM5 in non-neoplastic and neoplastic gastric lesions, as well as its application in the differential diagnosis and its relationship with tumor progression.

Methods: CEACAM5 expression was detected by immunohistochemical staining in the serial sections of the gastric neoplastic and non-neoplastic lesions. The impacts of CEACAM5 expression patterns on tumor progression were evaluated by statistics, the clinical and pathological data included sex, age, tumor extension, lymph node involvement and tumor staging.

Antidepressant-like activity of adhyperforin, a novel constituent of Hypericum perforatum L.

Adhyperforin is a novel constituent of Hypericum perforatum L., but its antidepressant-like activity remains unclear. To explore that, several well-validated animal models of depression as well as neurotransmitter reuptake and transporter binding assays were conducted.

Management of Liver Cancer Argon-helium Knife Therapy with Functional Computer Tomography Perfusion Imaging.

The objective of this study was to observe the change in blood perfusion of liver cancer following argon-helium knife treatment with functional computer tomography perfusion imaging. Twenty-seven patients with primary liver cancer treated with argon-helium knife and were included in this study. Plain computer tomography (CT) and computer tomography perfusion (CTP) imaging were conducted in all patients before and after treatment.

High-dose corticosterone after fear conditioning selectively suppresses fear renewal by reducing anxiety-like response.

Exposure therapy is widely used to treat anxiety disorders, including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, preventing the return of fear is still a major challenge after this behavioral treatment. An increasing number of studies suggest that high-dose glucocorticoid treatment immediately after trauma can alleviate the symptoms of PTSD in humans.

The pseudoginsenoside F11 ameliorates cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity without compromising its anti-tumor activity in vivo.

The clinical use of cisplatin was severely limited by its associated nephrotoxicity. In this study, we investigated whether the pseudoginsenoside F11 had protective effects against cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity. To clarify it, one in vivo model of cisplatin-induced acute renal failure was performed.

[Effects of light quality on photosynthetic pigment contents and photosynthetic characteristics of peanut seedling leaves].

This study explored the effects of different light quality on photosynthetic pigment contents and photosynthetic characteristics of peanut (Qinhua 6) seedling leaves. The results showed that, compared with natural light, blue light (445-470 nm) could significantly improve the specific leaf area (SLA), chlorophyll a/b value and carotenoid content of peanut seedlings. Meanwhile, the net photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance, and transpiration rate were higher, the intercellular CO2 content was lower, and the photosynthetic efficiency was improved significantly under blue light.

Effects of Graphene Nanopore Geometry on DNA Sequencing.

In this Letter we assess the effect of graphene nanopore geometries on DNA sequencing by considering DNA fragments including A, T, C, G, and 5-methylcytosine (MC) pulled out of graphene nanopores of different geometries with diameters down to ∼1 nm. Using steered molecular dynamics simulations it is demonstrated that the bases (A, T, C, G, and MC) can be indentified at single-base resolution through the characteristic peaks on the force profile in a circular graphene nanopore but not in nanopores with other asymmetric geometries. Our study suggests that the graphene nanopore surface should be modified as symmetrically as possible in order to sequence DNA by atomic force microscopy or optical tweezers.

Protection of pyruvate against glutamate excitotoxicity is mediated by regulating DAPK1 protein complex.

The neuroprotective activity of pyruvate has been confirmed in previous in vivo and in vitro studies. Here, we report a novel mechanism that pyruvate prevents SH-SY5Y cells from glutamate excitotoxicity by regulating death-associated protein kinase 1 (DAPK1) protein complex. Our results showed pyruvate regulated DAPK1 protein complex to protect cells by two ways.

Novel pH-sensitive biodegradable polymeric drug delivery systems based on ketal polymers.

This article reviews the recent developments on novel pH-sensitive ketal-based biodegradable polymeric drug delivery systems. Due to the degradation of ketal derivatives, neutral alcohols and ketones, ketal derivatives can be used to fabricate pH-degradable polymer with pH-degradable ketal linkages in new drug delivery systems by avoiding inflammatory problems. Due to the novelty of ketal polymers, there were few reports about ketal polymers.

[Urban heat island effect based on urban heat island source and sink indices in Shenyang, Northeast China].

Based on the remote images in 2001 and 2010, the source and sink areas of urban heat island (UHI) in Shenyang City, Northeast China were determined by GIS technique. The effect of urban regional landscape pattern on UHI effect was assessed with land surface temperature (LST), area rate index (CI) of the source and sink areas and intensity index (LI) of heat island. The results indicated that the land use type changed significantly from 2001 to 2010, which significantly changed the source and sink areas of UHI, especially in the second and third circle regions.

Ammonia as a case study for the spontaneous ionization of a simple hydrogen-bonded compound.

Modern ab initio calculations predict ionic and superionic states in highly compressed water and ammonia. The prediction apparently contradicts state-of-the-art experimentally established phase diagrams overwhelmingly dominated by molecular phases. Here we present experimental evidence that the threshold pressure of ~120 GPa induces in molecular ammonia the process of autoionization to yet experimentally unknown ionic compound--ammonium amide.

A novel approach to medical countermeasures against organophosphorus compound toxicity.

The toxicity of organophosphorus compounds (OPs) results primarily from the irreversible inhibition of acetylcholinesterase (AChE). Huperzine A (HupA) is a reversible inhibitor of AChE and HupA sustained-release microspheres (HSMs) steadily release HupA, resulting in the continual inhibition of AChE activity for 14 days in mice. The present study aimed to investigate the preventive effects of HSMs on the toxicity of methyl parathion (MP).

The activating transcription factor 3 protein suppresses the oncogenic function of mutant p53 proteins.

Mutant p53 proteins (mutp53) often acquire oncogenic activities, conferring drug resistance and/or promoting cancer cell migration and invasion. Although it has been well established that such a gain of function is mainly achieved through interaction with transcriptional regulators, thereby modulating cancer-associated gene expression, how the mutp53 function is regulated remains elusive. Here we report that activating transcription factor 3 (ATF3) bound common mutp53 (e.

Oxidative stress response of Blakeslea trispora induced by H₂O₂ during β-carotene biosynthesis.

The cellular response of Blakeslea trispora to oxidative stress induced by H₂O₂ in shake flask culture was investigated in this study. A mild oxidative stress was created by adding 40 μm of H₂O₂ into the medium after 3 days of the fermentation. The production of β-carotene increased nearly 38 % after a 6-day culture.

Correlation between TSP-1, TGF-β and PPAR-γ expression levels and glioma microvascular density.

Gliomas are the most common type of primary tumor in the central nervous system and are characterized by abundant capillary angiogenesis. It is important to study the underlying molecular mechanisms of angiogenesis in order to aid the identification of potential therapeutic targets. The aim of the current study was to investigate the expression levels of thrombospondin-1 (TSP-1), transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPAR-γ) in gliomas, and determine their relationships with angiogenesis.

Luminal epithelium in endometrial fragments affects their vascularization, growth and morphological development into endometriosis-like lesions in mice.

In endometriosis research, endometriosis-like lesions are usually induced in rodents by transplantation of isolated endometrial tissue fragments to ectopic sites. In the present study, we investigated whether this approach is affected by the cellular composition of the grafts. For this purpose, endometrial tissue fragments covered with luminal epithelium (LE(+)) and without luminal epithelium (LE(-)) were transplanted from transgenic green-fluorescent-protein-positive (GFP(+)) donor mice into the dorsal skinfold chamber of GFP(-) wild-type recipient animals to analyze their vascularization, growth and morphology by means of repetitive intravital fluorescence microscopy, histology and immunohistochemistry during a 14-day observation period.

An aqueous red emitting fluorescent fluoride sensing probe exhibiting a large Stokes shift and its application in cell imaging.

A novel red emitting fluorescent probe exhibiting a 143 nm Stokes shift for the detection of fluoride ions in an aqueous solution was developed. The probe displays a rapid response, high selectivity and good sensitivity towards F(-). Application of the probe for the selective detection of intracellular F(-) has been successfully demonstrated in living cells.