Intravenous administration of sodium propionate induces antidepressant or prodepressant effect in a dose dependent manner.

Propionate has been reported to exert antidepressant effects, but high-dose propionate may induce autism-like symptoms in experimental animals through induction of dysbiosis of neurotransmitters. The bi-directional effects of propionate seem to be dose-dependent. However, due to the pathological discrepancies between depression and autism, conclusions drawn from autism may not be simply transferable to depression.

Mitochondrial-targeted near-infrared fluorescence probe for selective detection of fluoride ions in living cells.

Fluoride ions (F), as a strongest electron withdrawing anion of the smallest size, have played an indispensable role in biological systems. Here a mitochondria-targeted near-infrared (NIR) fluorescent probe (Mito-FP) is developed for selective detection of F in living cells. Mito-FP is designed using a NIR hemicyanine as a fluorophore and tert-butyldimethylsilyl (TBDMS) as a recognition site which is linked to the fluorophore via a 4-hydroxylbenzyl alcohol self-immolative linker.

Mitochondrion-Targeting Fluorescence Probe via Reduction Induced Charge Transfer for Fast Methionine Sulfoxide Reductases Imaging.

Methionine sulfoxide reductases (Msrs) play essential roles in maintaining mitochondrial function and are recognized as potential therapeutic targets. However, current probes for Msrs fail to target mitochondria and exhibit a relatively slow response and limited sensitivity. Here we develop a novel turn-on fluorescence probe that facilitates imaging of mitochondrial Msrs in living cells.

Development of large Stokes shift, near-infrared fluorescence probe for rapid and bioorthogonal imaging of nitroxyl (HNO) in living cells.

Nitroxyl (HNO), as an electron reduced and protonated form of nitric oxide, is emerging as a potential diagnostic and therapeutic biomarker. It is still of great interest to develop probes of desirable properties to study its biological functions. Here we develop a near infrared fluorescence probe for detecting and visualizing exogenous and endogenous HNO in living cells.

Microfluidic liquid-air dual-gradient chip for synergic effect bio-evaluation of air pollutant.

In this paper, a novel prototype liquid-air dual gradient chip is introduced, which has paved the way for effective synergic effect bio-evaluation of air pollutant. The chip is composed of an array of the agarose liquid-air interfaces, top air gradient layer and bottom liquid gradient layer. The novel agarose liquid-air interface allows for non-biased exposure of cells to all the substances in the air and diffusive interactions with the liquid phase; while the dual liquid-air gradient provides powerful screening abilities, which well reduced errors, saved time and cost from repeated experiment.

Mitochondrion-Targeting, Environment-Sensitive Red Fluorescent Probe for Highly Sensitive Detection and Imaging of Vicinal Dithiol-Containing Proteins.

Mitochondrial vicinal dithiol-containing proteins (VDPs) are key regulators in cellular redox homeostasis and useful markers for diagnostics of redox-dependent diseases. Current probes fail to target mitochondrial VDPs and show limited sensitivity and response rate. We develop a novel fluorescent probe using an engineered benzoxadiazole fluorophore that allows selective targeting of mitochondria and exhibits highly sensitive environment responsiveness.

Research on the Determination of 10 Industrial Dyes in Foodstuffs.

An efficient method was developed for the simultaneous determination of 10 industrial dyes (basic orange 2, basic orange 21, basic orange 22, acid orange II, auramine, basic rhodamine B and Sudan I-IV) in the foodstuffs using high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with diode array detector. Samples were extracted with acetonitrile and cleaned up on a solid phase extraction cartridge using HLB. The chromatographic separation was achieved on a C18 column using a mobile phase consisting of methanol and 10 mmol/L ammonium acetate with 0.

A ratiometric fluorescent pH probe based on keto-enol tautomerization for imaging of living cells in extreme acidity.

6-(Diethylamino)-2,3-dihydro-1H-xanthene-4-carbaldehyde (DDXC), a reported synthetic intermediate for near-infrared fluorescent dyes, was developed into a fluorescent pH probe for extreme acidity. The unique sensing mechanism of DDXC for pH is based on the reversible protonation of the carbonyl oxygen followed by keto-enol tautomerization. The probe displays a linear ratiometric fluorescence response (I/I) to H over the extremely acidic range of pH 2.

A novel off-on fluorescent probe for sensitive imaging of mitochondria-specific nitroreductase activity in living tumor cells.

Sensitive and selective detection and imaging of nitroreductase (NTR) in cancer cells is of great importance for better understanding their biological functions. Since there are a few fluorescent probes concerning NTR activity specifically located in mitochondria, we developed a novel fluorescent benzoindocyanine probe (BICP) for mitochondrial NTR activity monitoring and imaging via extending a benzoindole moiety into a benzoindocyanine based fluorophore (BICF) with a strong intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) effect and incorporating 4-nitrobenzyl as a fluorescence-quenching and enzyme-responsive moiety. Live cell imaging of HeLa and A549 demonstrates that the developed BICP is able to realize sensitive and selective mitochondrial NTR activity probing with high-contrast "off-on" fluorescence.

polysaccharides-induced intestinal tight junction injury alleviation inhibition of NF-κB/MLCK pathway in a mouse endotoxemia model.

Aim: To examine the effects of polysaccharides (ASPS) on intestinal tight junction (TJ) disruption and nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB)/myosin light chain kinase (MLCK) activation in endotoxemia.

Methods: BALB/C mice (6-8-weeks-old) received continuous intragastric gavage of ASPS for 7 d before injection of lipopolysaccharide (LPS), or received ASPS once after LPS injection. Blood and intestinal mucosal samples were collected 6 h after LPS challenge.

A novel mitochondria-targeted near-infrared fluorescence probe for ultrafast and ratiometric detection of SO derivatives in live cells.

A novel mitochondria-targeted ratiometric near-infrared fluorescence probe NDMBT for Sulfur dioxide (SO) derivatives was constructed based on the SO derivatives-triggered Michael addition reaction. It displayed ultrafast response time (within 10s), large hypsochromic shift (260nm), high photostability, excellent selectivity and high sensitivity in aqueous media with a detection limit of 43nM. More importantly, it was successfully applied to imaging of the enzymatically generated SO derivatives in mitochondria of live cells.

A novel fluorescent probe for sensitive detection and imaging of hydrazine in living cells.

A turn-on fluorescent probe (Naphsulf-O) for hydrazine was developed by protecting the hydroxy group of the fluorophore 6-acetyl-2-hydroxynaphthalene via O-4-nitrobenzenesulfonylation, where 4-nitrobenzene was used as a fluorescence quenching moiety as well as an electrophile. Upon nucleophilic aromatic substitution (NAS) reaction of hydrazine toward the probe, the protecting group was removed and fluorophore was released. The probe exhibits a large Stokes shift, excellent selectivity and high sensitivity for hydrazine detection in aqueous solution with a detection limit of 0.

Design, synthesis and pharmacological evaluation of chalcone derivatives as acetylcholinesterase inhibitors.

A novel series of chalcone derivatives (4a-8d) were designed, synthesized, and evaluated for the inhibition activity against acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE). The logP values of the compounds were shown to range from 1.49 to 2.

Synthesis and acetylcholinesterase inhibitory activity of Mannich base derivatives flavokawain B.

A novel series of flavokawain B derivatives, chalcone Mannich bases (4-10) were designed, synthesized, characterized, and evaluated for the inhibition activity against acetylcholinesterase (AChE). Biological results revealed that four compounds displayed potent activities against AChE with IC50 values below 20μM. Moreover, the most promising compound 8 was 2-fold more active than rivastigmine, a well-known AChE inhibitor.

Effects of Short-term Feeding Magnesium before Slaughter on Blood Metabolites and Postmortem Muscle Traits of Halothane-carrier Pigs.

Fifty-four, mixed-sex, halothane-carrier crossbred (Yorkshire×Landrace) pigs with an average initial BW of 108.2±0.8 kg were randomly allotted to one of three dietary treatments for 5 d before slaughter: i) a control corn-soybean meal finisher diet devoid of supplemental magnesium; ii) a diet supplemented with 1.

Fangchinoline inhibits cell proliferation via Akt/GSK-3beta/ cyclin D1 signaling and induces apoptosis in MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells.

Fangchinoline (Fan) inhibits cell proliferation and induces apoptosis in several cancer cell lines. The effects of Fan on cell growth and proliferation in breast cancer cells remain to be elucidated. Here, we show that Fan inhibited cell proliferation in the MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cell line through suppression of the AKT/Gsk- 3beta/cyclin D1 signaling pathway.

[Emergent retention of organic liquid by modified bentonites: property and mechanism].

In this study, the property and mechanism of modified bentonites synthesized by long chain quaternary ammonium compounds which would be used in the emergent retention of typical organic liquid (benzene, chlorobenzene, nitrobenzene and diesel) were investigated and a pilot-scale simulation experiment was conducted. The unit retention capacity of modified bentonites for organic liquid (2.83-9.

[Measurement study of disease differentiation treatment based on standard syndrome differentiation].

The basic premise of syndrome essence discussion is the standardization of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) syndrome type. However, there still exists confusion regarding the standardization of TCM syndrome differentiation treatment, and the guidelines for TCM syndrome differentiation could not really be used for guiding clinical treatment. This is mainly due to the inappropriate use of research ideas and methods.

[Significance of MUC5B antibody in differential diagnosis between Aspergillus species and Mucorales of fungal sinusitis].

Objective: To differentiate between Aspergillus species and Mucorales of fungal sinusitis by immunohistochemistry.

Methods: Formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue blocks of 66 cases of fungal sinusitis were retrieved from the archival files of Department of Pathology of Beijing Tongren Hospital during the period from 2001 to 2006. The samples included 29 cases of fungal balls, 12 cases of allergic fungal sinusitis, 24 cases of chronic invasive fungal sinusitis and 1 case of acute invasive fungal sinusitis.

[Genetic diversity analysis of the developed Qingke (hulless barley) varieties from the plateau regions of Sichuan Province in China revealed by SRAP markers].

Genetic diversity of 25 accessions of Qingke (hulless barley) varieties from the plateau regions of Sichuan Province, China, was analyzed by using SRAP (Sequence-related Amplified Polymorphism) markers. The results showed that 64 pairs of primer combinations produced 999 clear bands, of which 62 primer pairs (96.9%) amplified 225 polymorphic bands (22.

Genetic diversity analysis of Tibetan wild barley using SSR markers.

One hundred and six accessions of wild barley collected from Tibet, China, including 50 entries of the two-rowed wild barley Hordeum vulgare ssp. spontaneum (HS), 29 entries of the six-rowed wild barley Hordeum vulgare ssp. agriocrithon (HA), and 27 entries of the six-rowed wild barley Hordeum vulgare ssp.

[Effects of adenoviral vector containing human angiotensin II type 1 receptor antisense cDNA on biological action of human pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells].

Objective: To investigate the effect of human angiotensin II (AngII) type 1 receptor (AT(1)R) antisense cDNA (ahAT(1)) on migration, proliferation, and apoptosis of cultured human pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (PASMC).

Methods: Two recombinant adenoviral vectors, AdCMVahAT(1) containing full length antisense cDNA targeting to human AT(1)R mRNA, and AdCMVLacZ containing LacZ, were constructed by orientation clone technology and homologous recombination. The PASMC was divided into 3 groups (DMEM, AdCMVLacZ, AdCMVahAT(1)) and different interventions were given to different groups.