Toxoplasma Gondii infection and cardiovascular mortality: sex-specific differences in a United States population-based cohort study.

Background: Although Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) infection has been linked to cardiac injury, the extent to which it increases the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality remains unclear. We aimed to assess the association between T.

Impact of Nutrient Enrichment on Community Structure and Co-Occurrence Networks of Coral Symbiotic Microbiota in : Zooxanthellae, Bacteria, and Archaea.

Symbiotic microorganisms in reef-building corals, including algae, bacteria, archaea, fungi, and viruses, play critical roles in the adaptation of coral hosts to adverse environmental conditions. However, their adaptation and functional relationships in nutrient-rich environments have yet to be fully explored. This study investigated and the surrounding seawater and sediments from protected and non-protected areas in the summer and winter in Dongshan Bay.

Production of Polyhalogenated Carbazoles in Marine Red Alga : A Possible Natural Source.

Polyhalogenated carbazoles (PHCZs) have been increasingly detected in the environment as a result of anthropogenic and natural origin. However, it is unclear how PHCZs are naturally produced. In this study, the formation of PHCZs from bromoperoxidase (BPO)-mediated halogenation of carbazole was investigated.

Effects of linalool on growth and control of tomato gray mold.

We examined the antifungal characteristics of linalool against using plate inhibition assay and spore germination assay, and assessed the capacity of linalool in controlling tomato gray mold disease via tomato pot inoculation assay. The results showed that linalool exhibited strong inhibitive effects on mycelial growth of , with an EC value of 0.581 mL·L.

Improvement of Seed Germination under Salt Stress via Overexpressing Caffeic Acid O-methyltransferase 1 (SlCOMT1) in Solanum lycopersicum L.

Melatonin (MT) is a phytohormone-like substance and is profoundly involved in modulating nearly all aspects of plant development and acclimation to environmental stressors. However, there remain no studies about the effects of MT on tomato seed germination under salt stress. Here we reported that the overexpression of () significantly increased both MT content and salt tolerance in the germinated seeds of a transgenic tomato relative to wild type (WT) samples.

Revealing the Mechanisms for Linalool Antifungal Activity against and Its Efficient Control of Fusarium Wilt in Tomato Plants.

sp. () is a destructive soil-borne phytopathogenic fungus that causes Fusarium crown and root rot (FCRR) of tomato, leading to considerable field yield losses. In this study, we explored the antifungal capability of linalool, a natural plant volatile organic component, against and its role in controlling FCRR symptoms in tomatoes.

Develop an efficient and specific AAV-based labeling system for Muller glia in mice.

Reprogramming Müller glia (MG) into functional cells is considered a promising therapeutic strategy to treat ocular diseases and vision loss. However, current AAV-based system for MG-tracing was reported to have high leakage in recent studies. Here, we focused on reducing the leakage of AAV-based labeling systems and found that different AAV serotypes showed a range of efficiency and specificity in labeling MG, leading us to optimize a human GFAP-Cre reporter system packaged in the AAV9 serotype with the woodchuck hepatitis virus post-transcriptional regulatory element (WPRE) removed.

A metal-free salalen ligand with anti-tumor and synergistic activity in resistant leukemia and solid tumor cells via mitochondrial pathway.

Purpose: Since the discovery of the well-known cis-platin, transition metal complexes are highly recognized as cytostatic agents. However, toxic side effects of the metal ions present in the complexes may pose significant problems for their future development. Therefore, we investigated the metal-free salalen ligand WQF 044.

Disruption of splicing-regulatory elements using CRISPR/Cas9 to rescue spinal muscular atrophy in human iPSCs and mice.

We here report a genome-editing strategy to correct spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). Rather than directly targeting the pathogenic exonic mutations, our strategy employed Cas9 and guide-sgRNA for the targeted disruption of intronic splicing-regulatory elements. We disrupted intronic splicing silencers (ISSs, including ISS-N1 and ISS + 100) of survival motor neuron (SMN) 2, a key modifier gene of SMA, to enhance exon 7 inclusion and full-length SMN expression in SMA iPSCs.

Evaluation about wettability, water absorption or swelling of excipients through various methods and the correlation between these parameters and tablet disintegration.

Objective: To evaluate parameters about wettability, water absorption or swelling of excipients in forms of powders or dosage through various methods systematically and explore its correlation with tablet disintegration.

Material And Methods: The water penetration and swelling of powders with different proportions of excipients including microcrystalline cellulose (MCC), mannitol, low-substituted hydroxypropyl cellulose (L-HPC), crospolyvinylpyrrolidone (PVPP), carboxymethyl starch sodium (CMS-Na), croscarmellose sodium (CCMC-Na) and magnesium stearate (MgSt) were determined by Washburn capillary rise. Both contact angle of water on the excipient compacts and surface swelling volume were measured by sessile drop technique.

Clustering of P-trisaccharides on amphiphilic cyclodextrin reveals unprecedented affinity for the Shiga-like toxin Stx2.

Using amphiphilic cyclodextrin as a scaffold, the first class of P-glycoconjugates capable of high avidity binding to both Stx1 and Stx2 toxins in solid-phase assay formats is reported. The generated glycomicroarray effectively mimics the plasma membrane surface while discriminating binding of the two Stx toxins, with unprecedented affinity to Stx2.

One-step generation of complete gene knockout mice and monkeys by CRISPR/Cas9-mediated gene editing with multiple sgRNAs.

The CRISPR/Cas9 system is an efficient gene-editing method, but the majority of gene-edited animals showed mosaicism, with editing occurring only in a portion of cells. Here we show that single gene or multiple genes can be completely knocked out in mouse and monkey embryos by zygotic injection of Cas9 mRNA and multiple adjacent single-guide RNAs (spaced 10-200 bp apart) that target only a single key exon of each gene. Phenotypic analysis of F0 mice following targeted deletion of eight genes on the Y chromosome individually demonstrated the robustness of this approach in generating knockout mice.

Homology-mediated end joining-based targeted integration using CRISPR/Cas9.

Targeted integration of transgenes can be achieved by strategies based on homologous recombination (HR), microhomology-mediated end joining (MMEJ) or non-homologous end joining (NHEJ). The more generally used HR is inefficient for achieving gene integration in animal embryos and tissues, because it occurs only during cell division, although MMEJ and NHEJ can elevate the efficiency in some systems. Here we devise a homology-mediated end joining (HMEJ)-based strategy, using CRISPR/Cas9-mediated cleavage of both transgene donor vector that contains guide RNA target sites and ∼800 bp of homology arms, and the targeted genome.

Efficient regioselective O3-monodesilylation by hydrochloric acid in cyclodextrins.

An efficient O3-monodesilylation method has been developed for the derivatization of per-3-O-silylated cyclodextrin (CD) derivatives. Using hydrochloric acid as a reagent, the O3-monodesilylation was found to be regioselective, mild, practical and general as it can be applied to all α-, β- and γ-CDs. The advantage of the methodology is that the acid-catalyzed O3-desilylation can be carried out in a stepwise manner so that different types of functional groups can be introduced to a CD molecule at different stage of the O3-desilylations.

Titanium cis-1,2-diaminocyclohexane (cis-DACH) salalen catalysts for the asymmetric epoxidation of terminal non-conjugated olefins with hydrogen peroxide.

Chiral Ti salalen complexes catalyze the asymmetric epoxidation of terminal non-conjugated olefins with hydrogen peroxide. Modular ligands based on cis-1,2-diamino-cyclohexane (cis-DACH) were developed, giving high yields and enantiomeric excesses (ee, up to 96 %) at catalyst loadings as low as 0.1-0.

[The rheology properties of common hydrophilic gel excipients].

To investigate theological properties of common hydrophilic gel excipients such as Carbopol based on viscosity, the viscosity was determined by rotation method and falling-ball method. Linear regression was made between ln(eta) and concentration, the slope of which was used to explore the relation between viscosity and concentration of different excipients. The viscosity flow active energy (E(eta)) was calculated according to Arrhenius equation and was used to investigate the relation between viscosity and temperature of different excipients.

The load and release characteristics on a strong cationic ion-exchange fiber: kinetics, thermodynamics, and influences.

Ion-exchange fibers were different from conventional ion-exchange resins in their non-cross-linked structure. The exchange was located on the surface of the framework, and the transport resistance reduced significantly, which might mean that the exchange is controlled by an ionic reaction instead of diffusion. Therefore, this work aimed to investigate the load and release characteristics of five model drugs with the strong cationic ion-exchange fiber ZB-1.

Oral sustained-release suspension based on a novel taste-masked and mucoadhesive carrier-ion-exchange fiber.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of ion-exchange fiber ZB-1 as a novel carrier in oral taste-masked mucoadhesive sustained-release suspensions. Propranolol (PPN) hydrochloride was selected as a model drug with good water solubility, short half life and bitter taste. The PPN-fiber complexes (PF) were prepared by a batch process and coated with Eudragit(®) RS100.

Biomimetic synthesized nanoporous silica@poly(ethyleneimine)s xerogel as drug carrier: characteristics and controlled release effect.

The purpose of this study was to prepare and characterize nanoporous silica@poly(ethyleneimine)s (NS@P) xerogel and methanol modified NS@P xerogel synthesized with biomimetic method, and investigate controlled release behavior of propranolol hydrochloride (PNH) loaded carrier materials in vitro and in vivo. Preparation was conducted at ambient conditions, and NS@P xerogel as well as PNH loaded NS@P xerogel were characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and differential scanning calorimeter (DSC). Investigations on morphology and porous characteristics of NS@P xerogel and methanol modified NS@P xerogel were evaluated with scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and nitrogen adsorption.

Protein-bearing cubosomes prepared by liquid precursor dilution: inner ear delivery and pharmacokinetic study following intratympanic administration.

This study aims to design self-assembled cubic liquid crystalline nanoparticles (cubosomes) to enhance inner ear bioavailability of earthworm fibrinolytic enzyme (EFE). The cubosomes were prepared using a liquid precursor mixture containing glyceryl monooleate, hydrotrope propylene glycol, and F127 as stabilizer. Submicron-size particles (100 nm to 200 nm) with slight negative charge formed spontaneouly upon dilution of the liquid precursors.

Biological artificial fluid-induced non-lamellar phases in glyceryl monooleate: the kinetics pathway and its digestive process by bile salts.

Background: The cubic (Q(II)) phase is a promising sustained-release system. However, its rigid gel-like propensity is highly viscous, which makes it difficult to handle in pharmaceutical applications. To circumvent this problem, a less viscous lamellar (L(α)) phase that could spontaneously transform to Q(II) phase by the introduction of water or biological artificial fluid can be used.

To enhance the efficiency of nefopam transdermal iontophoresis by using a novel method based on ion-exchange fiber.

Background: In the system of the iontophoresis, the external electric field made the ions in the system moving directly, then, the current was generated. Because the current was contributed by all ions in the system, and the small ions with large amount often had higher conductibility than the drug ions, the fraction of the total current contributed by the drug ions was often low. It was the main reason for the generally low efficiency of the transdermal iontophoretic drug delivery.