Single-molecule spectroscopy and femtosecond transient absorption studies on the excitation energy transfer process in ApcE(1-240) dimers.

ApcE(1-240) dimers with one intrinsic phycocyanobilin (PCB) chromophore in each monomer that is truncated from the core-membrane linker (ApcE) of phycobilisomes (PBS) in Nostoc sp. PCC 7120 show a sharp and significantly red-shifted absorption. Two explanations either conformation-dependent Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) or the strong exciton coupling limit have been proposed for red-shifted absorption.

[Therapeutic effect of hemin on gestational hypertension in rats and the mechanism].

Objective: To investigate the therapeutic effects of hemin, an inducer of heme oxygenase, in a rat model of gestational hypertension and explore the possible mechanism.

Methods: Eighteen pregnant SD rats at day 12 of gestation were randomized equally into gestational hypertension model group, hemin treatment group, and normal pregnancy (control) group. In the former two groups, the rats were subjected to daily nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME, 80 mg/kg) gavage since gestational day 14 for 7 consecutive days to induce gestational hypertension; saline was administered in the same manner in the control rats.

Changes in the regulation of the Notch signaling pathway are temporally correlated with regenerative failure in the mouse cochlea.

Sensorineural hearing loss is most commonly caused by the death of hair cells in the organ of Corti, and once lost, mammalian hair cells do not regenerate. In contrast, other vertebrates such as birds can regenerate hair cells by stimulating division and differentiation of neighboring supporting cells. We currently know little of the genetic networks which become active in supporting cells when hair cells die and that are activated in experimental models of hair cell regeneration.

[Effect of comprehensive prevention and control of soil-transmitted nematodiasis in Runzhou District of Zhenjiang City].

Objective: To evaluate the effect of comprehensive prevention and control of soil-transmitted nematodiasis in Runzhou District, Zhenjiang City, Jiangsu Province from 1997 to 2012.

Methods: The comprehensive prevention and control measures included the helminthicide, health education, improvement of water supplier and harmless toilets, and these measures were implemented continuously. At the same time, the infection rates of soil-transmitted nematodes, the local economic indicators, and the coverage rates of tap water and harmless toilets were surveyed.

Diffusion Tensor Imaging Adds Diagnostic Accuracy in Magnetic Resonance Neurography.

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine whether quantitative diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) adds diagnostic accuracy in magnetic resonance neurography.

Materials And Methods: This prospective study was approved by the institutional review board. We enrolled 16 patients with peripheral polyneuropathy of various etiologies involving the upper arm and 30 healthy controls.

Activity-dependent regulation of prestin expression in mouse outer hair cells.

Prestin is a membrane protein necessary for outer hair cell (OHC) electromotility and normal hearing. Its regulatory mechanisms are unknown. Several mouse models of hearing loss demonstrate increased prestin, inspiring us to investigate how hearing loss might feedback onto OHCs.

[Interaction of E3 ligase HUWE1 and eukaryotic translation initiation factor eIF4E].

To explore the regulation of eIF4E, we screened the protein interacting with eIF4E from human cDNA library by using yeast two-hybrid system. Several clones interacting with eIF4E were identified. One of them was homologous with HUWE1 (HECT, UBA and WWE domain containing 1, also named as ARF-BP1, HECTH9 or HUWE1).

Discovery of Gene Regulation Pattern in Lung Cancer by Gene Expression Profiling Using Human Tissues.

Lung cancer continues to be one the most prevalent and life threatening cancers worldwide. In order to study the gene regulation pattern in lung cancer for new therapeutics discovery, gene expression profiling using human lung cancer tissues was conducted. The gene expression profiles were established using Affymetrix Human Exon 1.

Hydrogen production using amino acids obtained by protein degradation in waste biomass by combined dark- and photo-fermentation.

The biological hydrogen production from amino acids obtained by protein degradation was comprehensively investigated to increase heating value conversion efficiency. The five amino acids (i.e.

USP11 regulates p53 stability by deubiquitinating p53.

The p53 tumor suppressor protein coordinates the cellular responses to a broad range of cellular stresses, leading to DNA repair, cell cycle arrest or apoptosis. The stability of p53 is essential for its tumor suppressor function, which is tightly controlled by ubiquitin-dependent degradation primarily through its negative regulator murine double minute 2 (Mdm2). To better understand the regulation of p53, we tested the interaction between p53 and USP11 using co-immunoprecipitation.

Photoelectric activity of a Bi₂O₃/Bi₂WO₆-xF₂x heterojunction prepared by a simple one-step microwave hydrothermal method.

NH4F/Bi2WO6 powders were prepared by a simple one-step microwave hydrothermal method at different reaction temperatures, using Bi(NO3)3·5H2O and Na2WO4·2H2O as raw materials and NH4F as an additive agent. Their photoelectric activities were also investigated via the degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB). The results indicate that when the reaction temperature increases to 220 and 240 °C, the orthorhombic Bi2WO6 phase with space group Pca21 and cubic Bi2O3 phase with space group Pn3̅m appear.

Identification of Biomarkers in Breast Cancer by Gene Expression Profiling Using Human Tissues.

Breast cancer is the second leading cause of death by cancer in women. To identify biomarkers with potential diagnostic and therapeutic utilities in breast cancer, gene expression profiling from real patient tissues were used to discover significantly deregulated genes out of 50,739 genes of human transcriptome. Total RNAs were extracted, and the gene expression profiles of 32 cancerous and normal tissues were established using Agilent gene expression microarray technology.

Crystal structure and optical properties of the [Ag62S12(SBu(t))32](2+) nanocluster with a complete face-centered cubic kernel.

The crystal structure of the [Ag62S12(SBu(t))32](2+) nanocluster (denoted as NC-I) has been successfully determined, and it shows a complete face-centered-cubic (FCC) Ag14 core structure with a Ag48(SBu(t))32 shell configuration interconnected by 12 sulfide ions, which is similar to the [Ag62S13(SBu(t))32](4+) structure (denoted as NC-II for short) reported by Wang. Interestingly, NC-I exhibits prominent differences in the optical properties in comparison with the case of the NC-II nanocluster. We employed femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy to further identify the differences between the two nanoclusters.

Hypoxic trophoblast HMGB1 induces endothelial cell hyperpermeability via the TRL-4/caveolin-1 pathway.

High mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) plays an important role in the pathologic processes of endothelial permeability under oxidative stress. Trophoblast oxidative stress has been implicated in the pathophysiology of preeclampsia (PE). HMGB1 serum levels are increased in PE.

Polypeptide-functionalized NaYF4:Yb(3+),Er(3+) nanoparticles: red-emission biomarkers for high quality bioimaging using a 915 nm laser.

We prepared poly-L-aspartic acid (PASP) functionalized NaYF4:Yb(3+),Er(3+) upconversion nanoparticles (UCNP-PASP). These nanoparticles can give red upconversion emission under excitation at 915 nm, whose wavelength of emission and excitation is located in the optical window of biological tissue. Dynamic laser scatting and zeta potentials of UCNP-PASP were used to study their stabilities in different aqueous solution.

A standard cytogenetic map for Anopheles sinensis and chromosome arm homology between the subgenera Anopheles and Cellia.

Anopheles sinensis (Diptera: Culicidae) is an important vector of Plasmodium vivax in Southeast Asia. To facilitate population genetic and genomic studies of An. sinensis, we developed a standard cytogenetic photomap for this species.

Enhanced dual contrast agent, Co(2+)-doped NaYF4:Yb(3+),Tm(3+) nanorods, for near infrared-to-near infrared upconversion luminescence and magnetic resonance imaging.

Dual-modality imaging with magnetic resonance (MR) and upconversion luminescence (UCL) is a promising technique for molecular imaging in biomedical research. Multifunctional lanthanide-based nanoparticles have been widely investigated as agents for contrast enhanced MR and fluorescence imaging. However, the use of rare earth fluoride nanoparticles for dual-modality imaging of T2-weighted MR and UCL is rarely reported.

Ultrafast relaxation dynamics of phosphine-protected, rod-shaped Au20 clusters: interplay between solvation and surface trapping.

The exact interaction between Au cores and surface ligands remains largely unknown because of the complexity of the structure and chemistry of ligand/Au-core interfaces in ligand-protected Au nanoclusters (AuNCs), which are commonly found in many organic-inorganic complexes. Here, femtosecond transient absorption measurement of the excited-state dynamics of a newly synthesized phosphine-protected cluster [Au20(PPhpy2)10Cl4]Cl2 (1) is reported. Intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) from the Au core to the peripheral ligands was identified.

[Study on distribution and countermeasures of Oncomelania snails in beach wetlands of Runzhou section of lower reaches of Yangtze River].

Objective: To understand the distribution of the river beach wetlands and Oncomelania snails in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, and explore the countermeasures of snail control.

Methods: The river beach wetlands outside the Yangtze River levee were investigated and classified according to the hierarchical and classification system of wetlands of China. The snail survey was carried out in the beach wetlands of Runzhou section of lower reaches of the Yangtze River from 2004 to 2013.

Cardioprotective effect of betulinic Acid on myocardial ischemia reperfusion injury in rats.

Objectives. This study aims to investigate the effect of betulinic acid (BA) on myocardial ischemia reperfusion/injury in an open-chest anesthetized rat model. Methods.

Roles of MAPKAPK-2 and HSP27 in the reduction of renal ischemia-reperfusion injury by ischemic postconditioning in rats.

Purpose: Ischemic postconditioning is a procedure during which intermittent reperfusions are performed in the early phase of reperfusion to protect organs from ischemia/reperfusion injury. And in this study, we mainly investigated the injury-alleviative role of mitogen-activated protein kinase-activating protein kinase-2 (MAPKAPK-2) and heat shock protein 27 (HSP27) in renal ischemic reperfusion injury during the procedure of ischemic postconditioning.

Methods: Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into four groups.

Histopathological characterization and fluorescence in situ hybridization of Cyprinid herpesvirus 2 in cultured Prussian carp, Carassius auratus gibelio in China.

Cyprinid herpesvirus 2 (CyHV-2) is an emerging pathogen in the commercially exploited fish, Prussian carp (Carassius auratus gibelio), which has caused huge economic loss in China and appears to be spreading worldwide. In this article, CyHV-2 infection of Prussian carp was confirmed for the first time by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), which gave positive results from the tissue samples dissected from moribund fish including kidney, spleen, liver, and gill. Histological examination showed systemic inflammatory reactions in the infected tissues, with infiltration of hemocytes, hypertrophied nuclei, marginal chromatin and karyorrhexis, epithelial cell shedding, vacuolar degeneration and focal necrosis.

2-[1-(4-Bromo-phen-yl)-2-nitro-eth-yl]hexa-noic acid.

In the crystal structure of the title compoud, C14H18BrNO4, mol-ecules are linked by a strong O-H⋯O hydrogen bond and weaker C-H⋯O inter-actions. The benzene ring makes dihedral angles of 3.67 (3) and 72.

Plasma exchange in small intestinal transplantation between ABO-incompatible individuals: A case report.

The aim of this study was to investigate the application of plasma exchange in small intestinal transplantation between ABO blood type-incompatible patients. A small intestinal transplantation case between ABO-incompatible individuals is hereby presented and analyzed. The main treatment included plasma exchange, splenectomy and immunosuppression.