Magnesium Sulfate Provides Neuroprotection in Eclampsia-Like Seizure Model by Ameliorating Neuroinflammation and Brain Edema.

Eclampsia is a hypertensive disorder of pregnancy that is defined by the new onset of grand mal seizures on the basis of preeclampsia and a leading cause of maternal and fetal mortality worldwide. Presently, magnesium sulfate (MgSO) is the most effective treatment, but the mechanism by which MgSO prevents eclampsia has yet to be fully elucidated. We previously showed that systemic inflammation decreases the seizure threshold in a rat eclampsia-like model, and MgSO treatment can decrease systemic inflammation.

Abnormal Expression of TRAIL Receptors in Decidual Tissue of Chlamydia trachomatis-Infected Rats During Early Pregnancy Loss.

Chlamydia trachomatis is the scientific name of pathogenic bacteria causing infection that has been linked to spontaneous abortion. In this study, the expression pattern of tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL; a cytokine related to cell apoptosis) and its receptors was monitored in the decidua of C trachomatis-infected pregnant rats during early gestation to investigate the potential role of this molecular system in C trachomatis-induced spontaneous abortion. The data showed that C trachomatis infection significantly altered the messenger RNA (mRNA) expression of the receptors; death receptor (DR) 4 and DR5 increased, but decoy receptor (DcR) 1 and DcR2 decreased.

The CEA-/lo colorectal cancer cell population harbors cancer stem cells and metastatic cells.

Serum carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) is the most commonly used tumor marker in a variety of cancers including colorectal cancer (CRC) for tumor diagnosis and monitoring. Recent studies have shown that colonic crypt cells expressing little or no CEA may enrich for stem cells. Numerous studies have clearly shown that there exist CRC patients with normal serum CEA levels during tumor progression or even tumor relapse, although CEA itself is considered to promote metastasis and block cell differentiation.

Comparison of a Virtual Older Driver Assessment with an On-Road Driving Test.

Objectives: To design a low-cost simulator-based driving assessment for older adults and to compare its validity with that of an on-road driving assessment and other measures of older driver risk.

Design: Cross-sectional observational study.

Setting: Canberra, Australia.

KDM4B plays an important role in mitochondrial apoptosis by upregulating HAX1 expression in colorectal cancer.

Histone methyltransferases and demethylases regulate transcription by altering the epigenetic marks on histones in tumorigenesis. Members of the histone lysine(K)-specific demethylase 4 (KDM4) family are dysregulated in several types of cancer. Here, we report a novel role for KDM4B in mitochondrial apoptosis.

Magnetic Solid Phase Extraction Based on Oleic Acid Coated Fe3O4 for the Determination of Benzo[α]pyrene in Cigarette Smoke Coupled with High-Performance Liquid Chromatography.

In this work, a simple and effective method based on magnetic solid-phase extraction combined with high-performance liquid chromatography was developed for the determination of benzo[α]pyrene (BaP) in cigarette smoke. Oleic acid coated Fe3O4 (Fe3O4-OA) was synthesized and directly used as an efficient sorbent for the first time in magnetic solid-phase extraction (MSPE) procedure for the clean-up of BaP in cigarette smoke extracts. The synthesized Fe3O4-OA was characterized by transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy.

Clinical effects of carvedilol and trimetazidine for the treatmentof alcoholic myocardiopathy.

The aim of the study was to compare the clinical effects of carvedilol and trimetazidine for the treatment of alcoholic cardiomyopathy. A total of 60 patients diagnosed with alcoholic cardiomyopathy were enrolled in the study. The patients were randomly divided into the carvedilol (n=20), trimetazidine (n=20) and control (n=20) groups.

Different Effects of sgRNA Length on CRISPR-mediated Gene Knockout Efficiency.

CRISPR-Cas9 is a powerful genome editing technology, yet with off-target effects. Truncated sgRNAs (17nt) have been found to decrease off-target cleavage without affecting on-target disruption in 293T cells. However, the potency of 17nt sgRNAs relative to the full-length 20nt sgRNAs in stem cells, such as human mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), has not been assessed.

Nicotine increases eclampsia-like seizure threshold and attenuates microglial activity in rat hippocampus through the α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor.

Objective: A considerable number of studies have demonstrated that nicotine, a α7-nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (α7-nAChR) agonist, can dampen immune response through the cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway. Evidence suggests that inflammation plays a critical role in eclampsia, which contributes to maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality. In the present study, possible anti-inflammation and neuro-protective effects of nicotine via α7-nAChRs have been investigated after inducing eclampsia-like seizures in rats.

MiR-363-3p inhibits the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition and suppresses metastasis in colorectal cancer by targeting Sox4.

Epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) plays an essential role in cancer invasion and metastasis and is associated with tumor recurrence in colorectal cancer (CRC). However, the mechanism that contributes to EMT have not been fully understood in CRC. In the present study, we showed that miR-363-3p was frequently down-regulated in CRC tissue specimens with lymph node metastasis.

Mild oxidative stress induced by a low dose of cisplatin contributes to the escape of TRAIL-mediated apoptosis in the ovarian cancer SKOV3 cell line.

Tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-related apoptosis‑inducing ligand (TRAIL) is expressed in ovarian tissue and is widely thought to exhibit strong antitumor activity in a variety of tumor cell types. Therefore, we hypothesized that the cisplatin resistance of ovarian cancer is linked to the ability to escape from TRAIL-mediated apoptosis. We demonstrated that cisplatin-resistant ovarian cancer cell line SKOV3/DDP tolerated treatment with TRAIL, in contrast to the cisplatin‑sensitive ovarian cancer cell line SKOV3.

Effect of excluded volume on the force-extension of wormlike chains in slit confinement.

We use pruned-enriched Rosenbluth method simulations to develop a quantitative phase diagram for the stretching of a real wormlike chain confined in a slit. Our simulations confirm the existence of a "confined Pincus" regime in slit confinement, analogous to the Pincus regime in free solution, where excluded volume effects are sensible. The lower bound for the confined Pincus regime in the force-molecular weight plane, as well as the scaling of the extension with force and slit size, agree with an existing scaling theory for this regime.

[Research on the digit ratio of fixed partner and the multi-partner men who have sex with men].

Objective: To investigate the digit ratio of men who have sex with men (MSM), and the relationship between digit ratio and the partner types of MSM.

Methods: Participants were required from Yunnan Rainbow Sky, a community organization that specialized in HIV testing, intervention and counseling services for MSM between December 2014 and April 2015. Inclusion criteria of MSM as the following: more than 18 years old; men who have had sex with men; HIV test was negative.

Chlorogenic acid ameliorates intestinal mitochondrial injury by increasing antioxidant effects and activity of respiratory complexes.

Dietary polyphenols are thought to be beneficial for human health by acting as antioxidants. Chlorogenic acid (CGA) is abundant in plant-based foods as an ester of caffeic acid and quinic acid. In this study, we investigated the effects of CGA on mitochondrial protection.

Absence of DAB2IP promotes cancer stem cell like signatures and indicates poor survival outcome in colorectal cancer.

Metastasis is a critical factor for the high mortality of colorectal cancer (CRC), but its mechanism is not completely understood. Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is thought to play a key role in metastasis and also increases the cancer stem cell (CSC) feature that facilitates metastatic colonization. In this study, we investigated the biological roles of DAB2IP regulating EMT and stem cell-like features in human CRC.

PRIMA-1met (APR-246) inhibits growth of colorectal cancer cells with different p53 status through distinct mechanisms.

PRIMA-1met (APR-246) is a methylated derivative and structural analog of PRIMA-1 (p53 re-activation and induction of massive apoptosis). PRIMA-1met has been reported to restore both the wild type (wt) structure and function of mutant p53. Here, we show that PRIMA-1met is highly effective at limiting the growth of CRC cells regardless of p53 status.

Modeling the stretching of wormlike chains in the presence of excluded volume.

We propose an interpolation formula (the EV-WLC relation) for the force-extension behavior of wormlike chains in the presence of hard-core excluded volume interactions, analogous to the classic interpolation formula from Marko and Siggia for ideal wormlike chains. Using pruned-enriched Rosenbluth method (PERM) simulations of asymptotically long, discrete wormlike chains in an external force, we show that the error in the EV-WLC interpolation formula to describe discrete wormlike chains is systematically smaller than the error in the Marko-Siggia interpolation formula, except for the saturation region in which both formulas have the same limiting behavior. We anticipate that the EV-WLC interpolation formula will prove useful in the coarse-graining of wormlike chain models for dynamic simulations.

Expression of HAX-1 in colorectal cancer and its role in cancer cell growth.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common types of cancer worldwide. Hematopoietic cell‑specific protein 1‑associated protein X‑1 (HAX‑1) has been found to be involved in several types of cancer. However, the role of HAX‑1 in CRC remains to be elucidated.

[Determination of three isothiazolinone biocides in water-borne adhesives by high performance liquid chromatography].

A rapid high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method was developed for the quantitative analysis of three isothiazolinone biocides (2-methyl-4-isothiazolin-3-one (MI), 5-chloro-2-methyl-4-isothiazolin-3-one (CMI) and 1, 2-benzylisothiazolin-3-one (BIT)) in water-borne adhesives. The sample was extracted with methanol-water (1:1, v/v), and purified by centrifugation and filtration. The isothiazolones were separated on a C18 column with methanol-water as mobile phases under gradient elution and detected with a diode array detector (DAD).

Fibroblast-Derived Exosomes Contribute to Chemoresistance through Priming Cancer Stem Cells in Colorectal Cancer.

Chemotherapy resistance observed in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) may be related to the presence of cancer stem cells (CSCs), but the underlying mechanism(s) remain unclear. Carcinoma-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are intimately involved in tumor recurrence, and targeting them increases chemo-sensitivity. We investigated whether fibroblasts might increase CSCs thus mediating chemotherapy resistance.

Mitofusin-2-mediated tethering of mitochondria and endoplasmic reticulum promotes cell cycle arrest of vascular smooth muscle cells in G0/G1 phase.

Mitofusin-2 (Mfn-2) is a hyperplasia suppressor. Changes in Mfn-2 expression are thought to reflect mitochondrial remodeling during cell proliferation. However, it is unclear how the participation of Mfn-2 in mitochondrial remodeling prevents cellular proliferation.

P53 mutations in colorectal cancer - molecular pathogenesis and pharmacological reactivation.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common malignancies with high prevalence and low 5-year survival. CRC is a heterogeneous disease with a complex, genetic and biochemical background. It is now generally accepted that a few important intracellular signaling pathways, including Wnt/β-catenin signaling, Ras signaling, and p53 signaling are frequently dysregulated in CRC.

GSK-3β inhibition attenuates CLP-induced liver injury by reducing inflammation and hepatic cell apoptosis.

Liver dysfunction has been known to occur frequently in cases of sepsis. Excessive inflammation and apoptosis are pathological features of acute liver failure. Recent studies suggest that activation of glycogen synthase kinase- (GSK-) 3β is involved in inflammation and apoptosis.