Hepatic deficiency of COP9 signalosome subunit 8 induces ubiquitin-proteasome system impairment and Bim-mediated apoptosis in murine livers.

The COP9 signalosome (CSN), an evolutionally highly conserved protein complex composed of 8 unique subunits (CSN1 through CSN8) in higher eukaryotes, is purported to modulate protein degradation mediated by the ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS) but this has not been demonstrated in a critical mitotic parenchymal organ of vertebrates. Hepatocyte-specific knockout of the Cops8 gene (HS-Csn8KO) was shown to cause massive hepatocyte apoptosis and liver malfunction but the underlying mechanism remains unclear. Here, we report that Csn8/CSN exerts profound impacts on hepatic UPS function and is critical to the stability of the pro-apoptotic protein Bim.

Room-temperature large magnetic-dielectric coupling in new phase anatase VTiO(4).

The synthetic new-phase VTiO4, as a new solid solution structure of anatase type, brings a large magnetodielectric ratio (Δε/ε0) of 7.2% at 300 K, representing a new simple-oxide structural catalogue exhibiting a room-temperature large magnetic-dielectric effect.

Knockdown of PU.1 AS lncRNA inhibits adipogenesis through enhancing PU.1 mRNA translation.

PU.1 is an Ets family transcription factor involved in the myelo-lymphoid differentiation. We have previously demonstrated that PU.

The involvement of autophagy pathway in exaggerated ischemic brain damage in diabetic mice.

Background: Patients with Diabetes are at greater risk for ischemic stroke and usually suffer more severe ischemic brain damage than nondiabetic patients. However, the underlying mechanism of the exaggerated injury is not well defined.

Aims: Macroautophagy (hereafter called autophagy in this report) plays a key role in cellular homeostasis and may contribute to cell death as well.

COP9 signalosome subunit Csn8 is involved in maintaining proper duration of the G1 phase.

The COP9 signalosome (CSN) is a conserved protein complex known to be involved in developmental processes of eukaryotic organisms. Genetic disruption of a CSN gene causes arrest during early embryonic development in mice. The Csn8 subunit is the smallest and the least conserved subunit, being absent from the CSN complex of several fungal species.

Knockdown of both FoxO1 and C/EBPβ promotes adipogenesis in porcine preadipocytes through feedback regulation.

FoxO1 and C/EBPβ are important transcription factors during adipogenic differentiation; however, the potential mechanisms of their inter-regulation in adipogenesis remain unknown. We found that FoxO1 and C/EBPβ are abundant in adipose tissues of 3- and 180-day pigs at the mRNA and protein levels. During porcine preadipocyte differentiation, C/EBPβ expression increases to the peak at Day 2 and then decreases.

A randomized, 12-week study of the effects of extended-release paliperidone (paliperidone ER) and olanzapine on metabolic profile, weight, insulin resistance, and β-cell function in schizophrenic patients.

Objective: To compare matched paliperidone-ER- and olanzapine-treated schizophrenic patients on measures of glucose and lipid metabolism.

Methods: Eighty hospitalized patients with schizophrenia (DSM-IV) were randomly assigned to treatment with paliperidone ER or olanzapine for a period of 12 weeks. At baseline and every 4 weeks, we assessed weight, subcutaneous fat, waist and hip circumferences, fasting glucose, insulin, glycohemoglobin A1, cholesterol, triglycerides, high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, and prolactin.

Association of cerebral networks in resting state with sexual preference of homosexual men: a study of regional homogeneity and functional connectivity.

Recent imaging studies have shown that brain morphology and neural activity during sexual arousal differ between homosexual and heterosexual men. However, functional differences in neural networks at the resting state is unknown. The study is to characterize the association of homosexual preference with measures of regional homogeneity and functional connectivity in the resting state.

One-dimensional weak antilocalization in single-crystal Bi2Te3 nanowires.

Angle-dependent magnetoconductance was measured on an individual surface-curved Bi2Te3 single-crystal nanowire fabricated by electrochemical deposition, where the evolution of surface conduction with wire diameters was investigated. It was found that the magnetoconductance of these nanowires in low field regime can be well described by one-dimensional (1D) weak antilocalization (WAL) model, where the dephasing length of the electrons follows T(-1/3) dependence but insensitive to the wire diameter. Meanwhile, such a 1D surface WAL was found to be enhanced significantly with the decrease of the wire diameter.

Icariside II reduces testosterone production by inducing necrosis in rat Leydig cells.

The present study demonstrates that Icariside II (10, 20, and 40 µM) reduced Leydig cell testosterone production and cell viability in a concentration- and time-dependent manner. Hoechst 33342/propidium iodide staining indicated that no morphological changes in Leydig cell nuclear chromatin occurred, caspase-3 expression also showed no significant change, but cell death was caused by the 10-µM Icariside II treatment. Furthermore, a significant reduction in NAD(+) levels was observed following Icariside II exposure (10, 20, and 40 µM).

The mechanical properties of three types of carbon allotropes.

The mechanical properties of supergraphene, cyclicgraphene and graphyne are studied using molecular dynamics simulations based on the AIREBO potential. In particular, we present the chirality-dependence of their mechanical properties, including Young's moduli, shear moduli, Poisson's ratios, ultimate strength and ultimate strains. The relationship of their Young moduli, shear moduli and Poisson ratios is in the order of Y(su) (super) < Y(cy) (cyclic) < Y(gy) (graphyne) < Y(ge) (graphene), G(su) < G(cy) < G(gy) < G(ge) and v(su) > v(cy) > v(gy) > v(ge) in corresponding zigzag and armchair sheets, respectively.

Dual evidence of surface Dirac states in thin cylindrical topological insulator Bi₂Te₃ nanowires.

How the surface state (SS) develops and how the spin transport in a curved cylindrical topological insulator nanowire have attracted theoretical attention recently. However, experimental confirmation for the SS in such a real modeling system still remains insufficient. Here we carried out a systematic comparative study on the cylindrical single-crystal Bi₂Te₃ nanowires of various diameters, and report unambiguously dual evidence for the Dirac SS.

[Association of variants in chromosome 9p21.3 and chronic periodontitis in the Han Chinese population].

Purpose: To investigate the association of the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in chromosome 9p21.3 and chronic periodontitis in the Han Chinese population.

Methods: rs2891168,rs1333048 and rs1333042 genotypes of randomly grouped 172 healthy control subjects and 221 patients with chronic periodontitis(CP) were genotyped by TaqMan probe real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR.

Tumor suppressor function of the plasma glutathione peroxidase gpx3 in colitis-associated carcinoma.

The glutathione peroxidases, a family of selenocysteine-containing redox enzymes, play pivotal roles in balancing the signaling, immunomodulatory, and deleterious effects of reactive oxygen species (ROS). The glutathione peroxidase GPX3 is the only extracellular member of this family, suggesting it may defend cells against ROS in the extracellular environment. Notably, GPX3 hypermethylation and underexpression occur commonly in prostate, gastric, cervical, thyroid, and colon cancers.

Cullin-RING ubiquitin ligase family in plant abiotic stress pathways(F).

The ubiquitin-proteasome system is a key mechanism that plants use to generate adaptive responses in coping with various environmental stresses. Cullin-RING (CRL) complexes represent a predominant group of ubiquitin E3 ligases in this system. In this review, we focus on the CRL E3s that have been implicated in abiotic stress signaling pathways in Arabidopsis.

[Achene morphology cluster analysis of Taraxacum F. H. Wigg. from northeast China and molecule systematics evidence determined by SRAP].

The achenes morphological and micro-morphological characteristics of six species of genus Taraxacum from northeastern China as well as SRAP cluster analysis were observed for their classification evidences. The achenes were observed by microscope and EPMA. Cluster analysis was given on the basis of the size, shape, cone proportion, color and surface sculpture of achenes.

Lentivirus-mediated Sirt1 shRNA and resveratrol independently induce porcine preadipocyte apoptosis by canonical apoptotic pathway.

The effects of Sirt1 gene and resveratrol on porcine preadipocyte apoptosis have not been characterized. Here, we investigated the apoptotic effects of Sirt1 and resveratrol on porcine preadipocytes, finding that resveratrol-induced preadipocyte apoptosis and up-regulated protein levels of Sirt1. Intriguingly, Sirt1 knockdown by RNAi also resulted in preadipocyte apoptosis.

Delayed intranasal delivery of hypoxic-preconditioned bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells enhanced cell homing and therapeutic benefits after ischemic stroke in mice.

Stem cell transplantation therapy has emerged as a potential treatment for ischemic stroke and other neurodegenerative diseases. Effective delivery of exogenous cells and homing of these cells to the lesion region, however, have been challenging issues that hinder the efficacy and efficiency of cell-based therapy. In the present investigation, we tested a delayed treatment of noninvasive and brain-targeted intranasal delivery of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) in a mouse focal cerebral ischemia model.

The minimal deneddylase core of the COP9 signalosome excludes the Csn6 MPN- domain.

The COP9 signalosome (CSN) is a eukaryotic protein complex, which regulates a wide range of biological processes mainly through modulating the cullin ubiquitin E3 ligases in the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway. The CSN possesses a highly conserved deneddylase activity that centers at the JAMM motif of the Csn5 subunit but requires other subunits in a complex assembly. The classic CSN is composed of 8 subunits (Csn1-8), yet in several Ascomycota, the complex is smaller and lacks orthologs for a few CSN subunits, but nevertheless contains a conserved Csn5.

[Chloroplast ultrastructure and photosynthetic characteristics of five kinds of dandelion (Taraxacum) leaves in northeast China].

The paper adopted the JEM-100CX II transmission electron microscope to observe chloroplast ultrastructure of five kinds of dandelion (Taraxacum) leaves in northeast, and the LI-6400 portable photosynthesis system was used to compare the chlorophyll fluorescence and the photosynthesis characteristics of five kinds of dandelions in Northeast China. Chloroplast ultrastructure showed: in the five kinds of dandelion, larger chloroplast, grana with more layers, regular thylakoid, without starch grains and so on, these chloroplasts characteristics decided to bigger photosynthetic rate. The five kinds of dandelion P(n) exhibited a "double peak" diurnal curve: stomatal limitation is the main adjustment factors for the midday depression phenomenon.

Application of the capture-recapture method in estimating the size of the active homosexual male population in Hangzhou city of China.

The homosexual population is particularly susceptible to sexually transmitted disease because of various high-risk sexual behaviors among them. The authors explored the application of capture-recapture methods in estimating the size of the sexually active homosexual male population in Hangzhou. Homosexual men at 9 activity sites were investigated in Hangzhou, Zhejiang.

[Karyomorphology research in seven kinds of dandelion in Northeast].

Objective: To determine cytology chromosome numbers, doubling, type, karyotype formulae of seven kinds of Taraxacum.

Method: Seven kinds of dandelion in Northeast China were karyomorphologically studied by conventional pressed slice method.

Result: The interphase nuclei and prophase chromosomes of all species were found to be of the complex chromocenter type and the interstitial type respectively.

Cross-cultural difference and validation of the Chinese version of Montreal Cognitive Assessment in older adults residing in Eastern China: preliminary findings.

To evaluate the psychometric properties of the Chinese Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA-C) and assess cross-cultural differences in a community-based cohort residing in the Eastern China. The study included 72 patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD), 84 patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and 146 cognitively normal controls. Sensitivities and specificities were calculated using the recommended cut-off scores.

Experimental study of crossover from capillary to viscous fingering for supercritical CO2-water displacement in a homogeneous pore network.

Carbon sequestration in saline aquifers involves displacing brine from the pore space by supercritical CO(2) (scCO(2)). The displacement process is considered unstable due to the unfavorable viscosity ratio between the invading scCO(2) and the resident brine. The mechanisms that affect scCO(2)-water displacement under reservoir conditions (41 °C, 9 MPa) were investigated in a homogeneous micromodel.