Soybean balanced the growth and defense in response to SMV infection under different light intensities.

Light is essential for the growth and defense of soybean. It is not clear how soybeans adjust their defenses to different light environments with different cropping patterns. The mechanism of soybean response to (SMV) infection under different light intensities was analyzed by RNA-seq sequencing method.

Terpenoids from stigma maydis (Zea mays L.) alleviate hydrogen peroxide-induced SH-SY5Y cell injury by activating Nrf2.

Five terpenoids (1-5), including three new ent-kaurane diterpenoids (1-3), one new ent-rosane type diterpenoid (4) and one known triterpenoid (5), were isolated from stigma maydis (Zea mays L.). The structures of the compounds were elucidated by comprehensive spectroscopic analyses.

Whether Fire-needle Therapy Benefits Plaque Psoriasis: A Multicenter, Randomized, and Controlled Trial.

Objective: To observe the clinical effectiveness and safety of fire-needle therapy, an external approach of Chinese medicine in treating plaque psoriasis.

Methods: This study was a two-parallel-arm randomized controlled trial. A total of 151 participants with plaque psoriasis were randomly assigned to the fire-needle therapy group (treatment group, 76 cases) or the control group (75 cases) at a 1:1 allocation ratio using SAS software.

Retraction Note to: An assessment of transgenomics as a tool for gene discovery in Populus euphratica Oliv.

This article (Zhou et al. 2018) has been retracted by the authors because the sequence BIBAC 002A111F06 was incorrectly assigned to the wrong bacterial species. The BIBAC 002A111F06 sequence (GenBank Accession KC129717) reported in the paper was attributed to Populus euphratica Oliv.

An assessment of transgenomics as a tool for gene discovery in Populus euphratica Oliv.

Transgenomics for gene discovery in Populus euphratica. Transgenomics, a member of the omics family of methodologies, is characterized as the introduction of DNA from one organism into another on a genome-wide scale followed by the identification of recipients with altered phenotypes. This strategy allows investigators to identify the gene(s) involved in these phenotypic changes.

ent-Kaurane Diterpenoids with Neuroprotective Properties from Corn Silk ( Zea mays).

Thirteen new ent-kaurane diterpenoids, stigmaydenes A-M (1-13), together with two known compounds (14, 15), were isolated from the crude extract of corn silk ( Zea mays). The structures of the compounds were confirmed by comprehensive spectroscopic analyses. The absolute configuration of compound 1 was defined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction.

Autophagy antagonizes apoptosis induced by flavan enantiomers from Daphne giraldii in hepatic carcinoma cells in vitro.

Enantiomers account for quite a large percentage of compounds in natural products. Our team is interested in the separation and biological activity of racemic compounds. In this report, four pairs of prenylated flavan enantiomers [(±)-1-(±)-4], including five new compounds, were isolated from the stem and root bark of Daphne giraldii, and separated successfully by using chiral chromatographic column.

Concurrent Hypermethylation of and Activates the Wnt/β-Catenin Pathway and Is Associated with Poor Prognosis in Patients with Gastric Cancer.

Aberrant hypermethylation of Wnt antagonists has been observed in gastric cancer. A number of studies have focused on the hypermethylation of a single Wnt antagonist and its role in regulating the activation of signaling. However, how the Wnt antagonists interacted to regulate the signaling pathway has not been reported.

Bioactive norditerpenoids and neolignans from the roots of salvia miltiorrhiza.

Two new norditerpenoids, miltiolactones A and B (1a, 1b); seven new neolignans, miltiolignanolides A-G (2a, 2b and 3a, 3b and 4a, 4b, and 5) were obtained from the root extract of Salvia miltiorrhiza. Using HPLC separation with a chiral column, compounds 1-4 were found to exist as four pairs of enantiomers. Compounds 2-5 are novel neolignans with a dibenzocycloheptatriene ring system, which form an unprecedented 6/7/6 carbon skeleton.

[Value of detecting epidermal growth factor receptor mutations in non-small cell lung cancer tissue by TaqMan-amplification refractory mutation system].

Objective: To explore the value of detecting mutations on epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) tissue by TaqMan-amplification refractory mutation system (TaqMan-ARMS).

Methods: TaqMan-ARMS and DNA sequencing were used to detect the EGFR exon 19 and 21 mutations in tumor tissues and the samples collected from 199 patients at 4 different 3A hospitals in Beijing from January 2008 to March 2011.

Results: The rate of mutations in EGFR exon 19 and 21 was 19.

Preventive action of curcumin in experimental acute pancreatitis in mouse.

Background & Objectives: Curcuma longa (turmeric) has a long history of use in Ayurvedic medicine as a treatment for inflammatory conditions. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the preventive effects of curcumin against acute pancreatitis (AP) induced by caerulein in mouse and to elucidate possible mechanism of curcumin action.

Methods: Curcumin (50 mg/kg/day) was intraperitoneally injected to Kun Ming male mice for 6 days, followed by injection of caerulein to induce AP.

Growth inhibition and induction of apoptosis in MCF-7 breast cancer cells by oridonin nanosuspension.

The mechanism for anti-tumor activity of oridonin (ORI) nanosuspension, prepared by the high pressure homogenization method, was studied using MCF-7 human breast carcinoma cells in vitro. MTT assay, observation of morphologic changes, flow cytometric analysis, and western blot analysis indicated that ORI nanosuspension could significantly intensify the in vitro anti-tumor activity to MCF-7 cells, as compared with ORI solution. Furthermore, ORI nanosuspension induced G₂/M stage proliferation arrest and apoptosis in MCF-7 cells depending on its concentration.