Human Mesenchymal Stem Cell-Treated Regulatory CD23CD43 B Cells Alleviate Intestinal Inflammation.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been demonstrated to ameliorate inflammatory bowel disease by their actions on multiple immune cells, especially on regulatory B cells (Breg cells). However, the phenotypes and functions of human MSCs (hMSCs)-treated Breg cell subsets are not yet clear. Purified B cells were cocultured with MSCs and the phenotypes and immunomodulatory functions of the B cells were analyzed by FACS and proliferation assays .

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy for locally invasive cervical cancer in pregnancy: two case reports.

Although cervical cancer is the most common gynecological cancer, it is rare in pregnant women. Treatment of locally invasive cervical cancer during pregnancy is often complex and challenging. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) is a possible treatment option.

A chitinase with antifungal activity from naked oat (Avena chinensis) seeds.

A chitinase was purified from naked oat (Avena chinensis) seeds using simple chromatographic techniques. Its molecular weight and isoelectric point were determined as 35 kDa and 8.9, respectively.

Identification of prognostic signatures associated with long-term overall survival of thyroid cancer patients based on a competing endogenous RNA network.

Competing endogenous RNAs (ceRNAs) are considered as transcripts that can regulate each other at post-transcription level by competing for shared miRNAs. Considering the key roles of lncRNAs acting as ceRNAs in progression of solid tumors, to develop prognostic signatures in thyroid cancer (THCA), patients with corresponding clinical data were selected and two ceRNA networks were constructed using online databases. Two prognostic signatures (Lnc5m4 and Lnc2mi1m2) were found to be more efficient in predicting long-term survival of THCA patients.

Effect of buckwheat extracts on acrylamide formation and the quality of bread.

Background: The presence of acrylamide in food has attracted wide attention and has raised concerns due to its potential toxic and carcinogenic effects. The phenolic compounds in buckwheat display strong antioxidant activity, which may affect the acrylamide levels. The aims of this study were to evaluate the effect of buckwheat extracts on acrylamide formation and the quality of the bread, and to investigate possible inhibitory mechanisms.

Spontaneous mutations in FgSAD1 suppress the growth defect of the Fgprp4 mutant by affecting tri-snRNP stability and its docking in Fusarium graminearum.

FgPrp4, the only kinase in the spliceosome, is not essential for viability, but is important for splicing efficiency in Fusarium graminearum. The Fgprp4 deletion mutant had severe growth defects but often produced spontaneous suppressors with faster growth rate. To better understand the suppression mechanism, we identified and characterized spontaneous mutations in the tri-snRNP-specific protein, FgSad1, which suppressed the growth defects of Fgprp4.

Pollution Assessment and Source Apportionment of Trace Metals in Urban Topsoil of Xi'an City in Northwest China.

Sixty-two topsoil samples were collected within the third ring road of Xi'an City in Northwest China and analyzed by X-ray fluorescence spectrometry for the concentrations of As, Ba, Co, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, V, and Zn. The pollution levels of trace metals were assessed by pollution index (PI) and Nemerow pollution index (NPI). Meanwhile, the sources of trace metals were apportioned by receptor models, including positive matrix factorization (PMF), UNMIX, and principal component analysis-multiple linear regression (PCA-MLR).

Compositional and functional features of the female premenopausal and postmenopausal gut microbiota.

Endogenous estrogen deficiency accelerates many diseases in postmenopausal women, and gut microbes contribute to estrogen level modulation. However, the compositional alterations and influences of the gut microbiota in postmenopausal women remain uncertain. A metagenome-wide association study was performed to compare the gut microbiota of 24 premenopausal and 24 postmenopausal women.

Effect of kansui addition on dough rheology and quality characteristics of chickpea-wheat composite flour-based noodles and the underlying mechanism.

The impact of kansui on the dough rheology and quality characteristics of chickpea-wheat composite flour-based noodles was investigated. For noodle dough, both the relative crystallinity and degree of order obtained from X-ray diffraction and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy increased with the low level of kansui addition (0.5-1.

Efficient base editing for multiple genes and loci in pigs using base editors.

Cytosine base editors (CBEs) enable programmable C-to-T conversion without DNA double-stranded breaks and homology-directed repair in a variety of organisms, which exhibit great potential for agricultural and biomedical applications. However, all reported cases only involved C-to-T substitution at a single targeted genomic site. Whether C-to-T substitution is effective in multiple sites/loci has not been verified in large animals.

Effect of natural fermentation on the structure and physicochemical properties of wheat starch.

In this study, the effects of natural fermentation on the multi-scale structure and physicochemical properties of wheat starch were investigated. The results showed that fermentation reduced weight-average molecular weight (M) and slightly eroded the starch granule surface. An obvious increase in relative crystallinity from X-ray diffraction was observed in all fermented starch (39.

Enantioselective Synthesis of Benzofuran-Fused N-Heterocycles via Chiral Squaramide Catalyzed [4 + 2] Cyclization of Azadienes with Azlactones.

An asymmetric cyclization reaction of azadienes and azlactones was investigated by employing a Cinchona squaramide catalyst, which could afford a series of benzofuran-fused six-membered heterocycles containing a α,α-disubstituted amino acid unit in a highly diastereoselective (>20:1 dr) and enantioselective (up to 99% ee) manner with good to excellent yields (up to 92%). A plausible pathway was proposed to explain the reaction process.

The interaction-induced dipole of H-H: New ab initio results and spherical tensor analysis.

We present numerical results for the dipole induced by interactions between a hydrogen molecule and a hydrogen atom, obtained from finite-field calculations in an aug-cc-pV5Z basis at the unrestricted coupled-cluster level including all single and double excitations in the exponential operator applied to a restricted Hartree-Fock reference state, with the triple excitations treated perturbatively, i.e., UCCSD(T) level.

The retrogradation characteristics of pullulanase debranched field pea starch: Effects of storage time and temperature.

The structural changes and retrogradation behavior of the processed pea starch stored at 4 °C and 25 °C for different length of time (6, 12, 24, 48, and 72 h) was investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), solid-state C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (CNMR), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), their corresponded physicochemical properties were studied by rapid visco-analyzer (RVA). A mixture of B- and V-type crystalline polymorph was observed by XRD for all processed and retrograded pea starch. A continuous increase in the following parameters was observed during the initial retrogradation of pea starch for 6-48 h at 4 °C and for 6-24 h at 25 °C, followed by a decreased trend during the subsequent storage time from 48 h to 72 h at 4 °C, and from 24 h to 72 h at 25 °C, including the values of relative crystallinity, degree of order, and degree of double helix measured by XRD, CNMR, and FT-IR, respectively.

The Roles of Post-translational Modifications on α-Synuclein in the Pathogenesis of Parkinson's Diseases.

Parkinson's disease is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder. Although the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease is not entirely clear, the aberrant aggregation of α-synuclein has long been considered as an important risk factor. Elucidating the mechanisms that influence the aggregation of α-synuclein is essential for developing an effective diagnostic, preventative and therapeutic strategy to treat this devastating disease.

Characterization and Therapeutic Application of Mesenchymal Stem Cells with Neuromesodermal Origin from Human Pluripotent Stem Cells.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) hold great promise in the treatment of various diseases including autoimmune diseases, inflammatory diseases, etc., due to their pleiotropic properties. However, largely incongruent data were obtained from different MSC-based clinical trials, which may be partially due to functional heterogeneity among MSC.

Inhibiting effects of flue gas desulfurization gypsum on soil phosphorus loss in Chongming Dongtan, southeastern China.

To explore the possibility of using flue gas desulfurization gypsum (FGDG) for inhibiting phosphorus (P) loss due to agricultural runoff, a 3-year study was performed in the farmlands of Chongming Dongtan between 2012 and 2015. Five different quantities of FGDG were used to treat the soil, and the effects of different treatments on the characteristics of soil P and crop growth were investigated. The results showed that 2 years after application of FGDG, the soil density at a depth of 0-10 cm decreased by 4.

TET2 Function in Hematopoietic Malignancies, Immune Regulation, and DNA Repair.

Over the last decade, investigation of () gene function and mutation have become of increasing interest in the field of hematology. This heightened interest was sparked by the seminal discoveries that (1) mutation is associated with development of hematological malignancies and that (2) the TET family of proteins is critical in promoting DNA demethylation and immune homeostasis. Since then, additional studies have begun to unravel the question "Does TET2 have additional biological functions in the regulation of hematopoiesis?" Here, we present a mini-review focused on the current understanding of TET2 in hematopoiesis, hematological malignancies, and immune regulation.

Bactericidal effects and accelerated wound healing using TbO nanoparticles with intrinsic oxidase-like activity.

Background: Nanomaterials that exhibit intrinsic enzyme-like characteristics have shown great promise as potential antibacterial agents. However, many of them exhibit inefficient antibacterial activity and biosafety problems that limit their usefulness. The development of new nanomaterials with good biocompatibility and rapid bactericidal effects is therefore highly desirable.

Understanding the multi-scale structural changes in starch and its physicochemical properties during the processing of chickpea, navy bean, and yellow field pea seeds.

This study aimed to isolate starch from three types of untreated and autoclaved pulse seeds including chickpea, navy bean, and yellow field pea and to characterize their multi-scale structure and the associated physicochemical properties. Autoclaving of pulse seeds tended to significantly decrease the relative crystallinity, the M value, and degree of order of starch samples measured by X-ray diffraction, size exclusion chromatography, and FT-IR. Simultaneously, double helix content, and degree of double helix obtained from solid-state CNMR and FT-IR were relatively higher (P < 0.

Enantioselective synthesis of pyrano[2,3-c]pyrrole via an organocatalytic [4 + 2] cyclization reaction of dioxopyrrolidines and azlactones.

An enantioselective [4 + 2] cyclization reaction of dioxopyrrolidines and azlactones has been successfully developed through a squaramide catalysis strategy. This protocol provides an efficient and mild access to obtain pyrano[2,3-c]pyrrole scaffolds containing contiguous quaternary and tertiary stereogenic centers in excellent yields (up to 99%) with high levels of diastereo- and enantioselectivities (up to 99% ee). Two possible pathways were proposed to explain the observed stereoselectivity.

Identification of new fusion genes and their clinical significance in endometrial cancer.

Background: Fusion genes may play an important role in tumorigenesis, prognosis, and drug resistance; however, studies on fusion genes in endometrial cancer (EC) are rare. This study aimed to identify new fusion genes and to explore their clinical significance in EC.

Methods: A total of 28 patients diagnosed with EC were enrolled in this study.

Multi-polarization, polarization-independent, wide-angle RCS reduction metasurface based on random phase gradients.

A novel metasurface based on random phase gradients is proposed for radar cross-section (RCS) reduction. In this work, wideband, polarization-independent, wide-angle RCS reduction is realized for both circularly polarized (CP) waves and linearly polarized (LP) waves, respectively. Thus, true polarization-independent RCS reduction is realized by the proposed metasurface.