Bacillus solisilvae sp. nov., isolated from forest soil.

A novel Gram-stain-positive, motile, endospore-forming, rod-shaped bacterial strain, NEAU-cbsb5, was isolated from forest soil from Changbai Mountain, Heilongjiang Province, China. The isolate grew at 15-40 °C (optimum 30 °C), at pH 6.0-8.

Preclinical pharmacokinetic studies of 3-deazaneplanocin A, a potent epigenetic anticancer agent, and its human pharmacokinetic prediction using GastroPlus™.

DZNep is a potential epigenetic drug, and exerts potent anti-proliferative and pro-apoptotic effects on broad-spectrum carcinomas via disruption of the EZH2 pathway. Antitumor studies on DZNep have been stuck in the preclinical phase because of the lack of information about its integral pharmacokinetic (PK) properties. To circumvent this problem, we extensively investigated the disposition characteristics of the DZNep in rats.

Effects of contact lens solution disinfectants against filamentous fungi.

Purpose: To assess and compare the antifungal activity of polyhexamethylene biguanide (PHMB), thimerosal, cetylpyridinium chloride, and chlorhexidine, which are disinfectants used in multipurpose disinfectant solutions (MPDSs) against ocular pathogenic Fusarium solani and Aspergillus flavus isolates in vitro.

Methods: The in vitro activity of PHMB, thimerosal, cetylpyridinium chloride, and chlorhexidine was assessed against 40 isolates of ocular pathogenic fungi that included 24 F. solani and 16 A.

Phytoplankton blooms: an overlooked marine source of natural endocrine disrupting chemicals.

Background: We had previously reported high androgenic and estrogenic activities in seawaters in confined clusters close to Singapore. Further investigations revealed a hitherto unsuspected link between estrogenic/androgenic activity and net phytoplankton count.

Objective: The primary objective of this study was to investigate the cause of a correlation between net phytoplankton and endocrine activity, and corroborate this observation, and rule out other possible confounding factors.

Selective estrogen receptor modulator effects of epimedium extracts on breast cancer and uterine growth in nude mice.

Epimedium is popularly used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat sexual dysfunction, menstrual irregularity, and osteoporosis. The estrogenic effects of the prenylated flavonoids of Epimedium make it an attractive alternative for hormone replacement therapy. Here, we examined the therapeutic potential of the estrogenic herb extract of Epimedium brevicornum as an alternative to hormone replacement therapy in a breast cancer mouse model.

Prevention of murine acute graft-versus-host disease by recipient-derived paired immunoglobulin-like receptor B lentivirus-transfected dendritic cells.

Direct interaction between T-suppressor and dendritic cells (DCs) results in DC tolerance by inducing upregulation of immunoglobulin-like transcript (ILT) 3 and ILT4. DCs were treated with a lentiviral vector containing paired immunoglobulin-like B gene (PIR-B) DCs and the effect of PIR-B-DCs on graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) was analyzed after allogeneic bone marrow (BM) transplantation (BMT). Therefore, 1 × 10⁶ recipient-derived PIR-B-DCs were injected into BALB/c (H-2k(d)) mice using BM-splenocyte grafts from major histocompatibility complex-disparate C57BL/6 (H-2k(b)).

Determination of breviflavone A and B in Epimedium herbs with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

Two new types of minor flavonoids, breviflavone A and B, have been recently isolated and identified from Epimedium brevicornu in our previous research. Breviflavone B is a novel flavonoid with potent and specific estrogen receptor (ER) bioactivity. Its positional isomer, breviflavone A, is not ER active.