The first direct detection of spotted fever group Rickettsia spp. diversity in ticks from Ningxia, northwestern China.

Background: Tick-borne infectious diseases caused by the spotted fever group Rickettsia (SFGR) have continuously emerging, with many previously unidentified SFGR species reported. The prevalence of SFGRs in northwestern China remains unclear. This study aimed to examine the prevalence of SFGRs and Anaplasma species by analyzing tick samples collected from the Ningxia region.

A chromosome-level genome assembly of the forestry pest Coronaproctus castanopsis.

As an important forestry pest, Coronaproctus castanopsis (Monophlebidae) has caused serious damage to the globally valuable Gutianshan ecosystem, China. In this study, we assembled the first chromosome-level genome of the female specimen of C. castanopsis by merging BGI reads, HiFi long reads and Hi-C data.

[Development of handshape -cupping instrument based on pulsating airflow technology].

A new type of handshape -cupping instrument is developed to overcome the shortcomings of traditional cupping therapy, such as indentation and pain, and simulates the manipulation, so as to realize the combination of cupping therapy and manipulation. The handshape -cupping instrument has a trumpet-shaped, silica gel edge. At the same time, the finger-belly shape is added at the cupping edge to simulate the shape of fingers during .

Functional bias of morphine and oliceridine under conditions of minor injury.

Recent reports suggest pain from surgical injury may influence the risks associated with exposure to opioids. In mice, hind-paw incision attenuates morphine-primed reinstatement due to kappa opioid receptor activation by dynorphin. In this focused group of studies, we examined the hypotheses that kappa-opioid receptor activation in the nucleus accumbens mediates attenuated drug- primed reinstatement after incisional surgery, and the G-protein biased mu-opioid agonist, oliceridine, leads to less priming of the dynorphin effect in comparison to morphine.

[Effects of exercises with different durations and intensities on mitochondrial autophagy and FUNDC1 expression in rat skeletal muscles].

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of exercises with different durations and intensities on mitochondrial autophagy and FUNDC1 in rat skeletal muscles. Sixty male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into 2- and 4-week control groups (Con), moderate-intensity exercise groups (M-ex groups, treadmill exercise, 16 m/min, 1 h/d, 6 d/week), and high-intensity exercise groups (Hi-ex groups, treadmill exercise, 35 m/min, 20 min/d, 6 d/week). The bilateral soleus muscles were separated after the intervention, and paraffin sections were prepared for transmission electron microscopy.

Kinetics for Cu(2+) induced Sepia pharaonis arginine kinase inactivation and aggregation.

Arginine kinase plays an important role in cellular energy metabolism and is closely related to the environmental stress response in marine invertebrates. We studied the Cu(2+)-mediated inhibition and aggregation of Sepia pharaonis arginine kinase (SPAK) and found that Cu(2+) markedly inhibited the SPAK activity along with mixed-type inhibition against the arginine substrate and noncompetitive inhibition against the ATP cofactor. Spectrofluorimetry results showed that Cu(2+) induced a tertiary structure change in SPAK, resulting in exposure of the hydrophobic surface and increased aggregation.

IKKβ/NFκBp65 activated by interleukin-13 targets the autophagy-related genes LC3B and beclin 1 in fibroblasts co-cultured with breast cancer cells.

Interleukin-13 (IL-13), a Th2 cytokine, plays an important role in fibrosis, inflammation, tissue hyperresponsiveness and tumor development. Although studies have demonstrated that IL-13 exerts its roles through signal transducer and activator of transcription 6 (STAT6) signaling pathway, recent studies have revealed that I kappa B kinase (IKK)/nuclear factor kappa B (NFκB) pathway may also be involved in. The aim of this study was to investigate whether IL-13 delivers signals to IKKβ/NFκBp65 and whether autophagy genes are IL-13-induced the activation of NFκBp65 transcriptional targets in fibroblasts of breast tumor stroma.

Downregulation of caveolin‑1 upregulates the expression of growth factors and regulators in co‑culture of fibroblasts with cancer cells.

Reduced expression levels of caveolin‑1 (Cav‑1) in tumor stromal fibroblasts influences the occurrence and progression of tumors, particularly in breast cancer, but the relevant molecular mechanism is unclear. The present study aimed to clarify the potential mechanism underlying the promotion of tumor growth by reduced Cav‑1 expression levels, by investigating Cav‑1‑targeted molecules in fibroblasts and breast cancer cells. The expression of growth factors in the ESF fibroblast cell line transfected with Cav‑1 small interfering RNA (siRNA) was examined.

Advanced colorectal adenoma related gene expression signature may predict prognostic for colorectal cancer patients with adenoma-carcinoma sequence.

Background: There are still no absolute parameters predicting progression of adenoma into cancer. The present study aimed to characterize functional differences on the multistep carcinogenetic process from the adenoma-carcinoma sequence.

Methods: All samples were collected and mRNA expression profiling was performed by using Agilent Microarray high-throughput gene-chip technology.

Molecular identification and antifungal susceptibility of 186 Candida isolates from vulvovaginal candidiasis in southern China.

There is limited information regarding the molecular epidemiology and antifungal susceptibilities of Candida isolates using the Neo-Sensitabs method in patients with vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC). From August 2012 to March 2013, 301 non-pregnant patients aged 18-50 years with suspected VVC were prospectively screened at a teaching hospital in southern China. The vaginal isolates were identified by DNA sequencing of internal transcribed spacer and the D1/D2 domain.

Bisphenol A and hormone-associated cancers: current progress and perspectives.

Bisphenol A (BPA), a carbon-based synthetic compound, exhibits hormone-like properties and is present ubiquitously in the environment and in human tissues due to its widespread use and biological accumulation. BPA can mimic estrogen to interact with estrogen receptors α and β, leading to changes in cell proliferation, apoptosis, or migration and thereby, contributing to cancer development and progression. At the genetic level, BPA has been shown to be involved in multiple oncogenic signaling pathways, such as the STAT3, MAPK, and PI3K/AKT pathways.

Colorimetric and ratiometric pH responses by the protonation of phenolate within hemicyanine.

Compared to the nitrogen-reaction based pH optical responsive compounds, oxygen-reaction related pH sensors have attracted less attention. In this paper, hemicyanine based pH probes are designed by establishing the equilibrium between phenolate and phenol, and their reversible absorption and emission responses towards pH are evaluated. The indolium-phenol based tetramethylene hemicyanine (1a) has colorimetric responses at 455 and 578 nm due to the protonating and deprotonating processes; its emission spectra shows ratiometric changes at 594 and 654 nm with large Stokes shifts under acidic (139 nm) and basic conditions (76 nm).

[Effects of IL-13 and alcohol on collagen expression of human lung fibrolasts].

Aim: To investigate the effect of alcohol and/or IL-13 on the expression of collagen type I alpha 1 chain gene (COL1A1, COL3A1) mRNA and collagen production of human lung fibroblast(HFL-1).

Methods: HFL-1 was cultured and real time RT-PCR was used to determine the expression of IL-13 receptor (IL-13Rα1, IL-13Rα2, IL-4Rα) mRNA, COL1A1 mRNA and COL3A1 mRNA. ELISA was used to determine the production of collagen type I.

[Tyrosine kinases inhibitor A77 1726 inhibits upregulation of collagen generation in fibroblasts induced by IL-13].

Aim: To observe the inhibitory effects of tyrosine kinases inhibitor A77 1726 on collagen generation induced by IL-13 in fibroblasts.

Methods: The inhibition rate of fibroblast proliferation with different concentration of A77 1726 was observed by MTT method. The fibroblasts were divided into the experimental group (A77 1726 50 micromol/L and IL-13 100 microg/L) and the control group (IL-13 100 microg/L).