Zebrafish Foxl2l functions in proliferating germ cells for female meiotic entry.

Zebrafish sex differentiation is a complicated process and the detailed mechanism has not been fully understood. Here we characterized a transcription factor, Foxl2l, which participates in female oogenesis. We show that it is expressed specifically in proliferating germ cells in juvenile gonads and mature ovaries.

Case series of ovarian neuroendocrine carcinoma: overview of clinicopathological features.

Background: Ovarian neuroendocrine carcinoma (O-NEC) is a relatively uncommon neoplasm, and the current knowledge regarding its diagnosis and management is limited. In this series, our objective was to provide an overview of the clinicopathological characteristics of the disease by analyzing clinical case data to establish a theoretical foundation for the diagnosis and management of O-NEC.

Case Presentation: We included three patients in the present case series, all of whom were diagnosed with primary O-NEC based on pathomorphological observation and immunohistochemistry.

E prostanoid receptor-3 promotes oxidized low-density lipoprotein-induced human aortic smooth muscle cells inflammation.

Aim: The progression of atherosclerosis can lead to the occurrence of multiple cardiovascular diseases (coronary heart disease, etc.). E prostanoid receptor-3 (EP3) is known to participate in the progression of atherosclerosis.

Differentiation Between Solitary Pulmonary Inflammatory Lesions and Solitary Cancer Using Gemstone Spectral Imaging.

Background: The distinction between solitary inflammatory lesion and solitary lung cancer remains a challenge because of their considerable overlapping computed tomography (CT) imaging features.

Purpose: This study aimed to verify whether spectral CT parameters can differentiate solitary lung cancer from solitary inflammatory lesions and to find their correlations with lesion size.

Methods: A total of 78 patients with solitary lung lesions were included in our study.

PEGylation and antioxidant effects of a human glutathione peroxidase 1 mutant.

Human glutathione peroxidase1 (hGPx1) is a good antioxidant and potential drug, but the limited availability and poor stability of hGPx1 have affected its development and application. To solve this problem, we prepared a hGPx1 mutant (GPx1M) with high activity in an BL21(DE3)cys auxotrophic strain using a single protein production (SPP) system. In this study, the GPx1M was conjugated with methoxypolyethylene glycol-succinimidyl succinate (SS-mPEG, = 5 kDa) chains to enhance its stability.

Bioenergy production in Pakistan: Potential, progress, and prospect.

Pakistan is a developing country with a rapidly growing population. It is currently facing serious economic and energy challenges. Pakistan's energy demand is increasing by the day, and it now stands at 84 MTOE.

Bioenergy from dairy manure: technologies, challenges and opportunities.

Dairy manure (DM) is a kind of cheap cellulosic biomass resource which includes lignocellulose and mineral nutrients. Random stacks not only leads damage to the environment, but also results in waste of natural resources. The traditional ways to use DM include returning it to the soil or acting as a fertilizer, which could reduce environmental pollution to some extent.

Patient-controlled subcutaneous analgesia using sufentainil or morphine in home care treatment in patients with stage III-IV cancer: A multi-center randomized controlled clinical trial.

Purpose: Patient-controlled subcutaneous analgesia (PCSA) with sufentanil is an alternative analgesia strategy in patients with stage III-IV cancer; however, its efficacy and safety have not been fully investigated.

Methods: From May 10, 2017 to November 10, 2017, 120 patients with stage III-IV cancer suffering from moderate to severe pain were prospectively enrolled from six hospitals and randomized to receive PCSA with morphine (control group) or sufentanil (intervention group). Before the PCSA and on days 1, 3, 7, 14, 28, and 56 after treatment, the numeric rating scale (NRS) and 36-item Short Form health survey (SF-36) were completed for each patient and the side effects were also recorded.

MicroRNA-455-5p exerts inhibitory effect in cervical carcinoma through targeting S1PR1 and blocking mTOR pathway.

Background: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been increasingly exploited in human malignancies. The regulation of microRNA-455-5p (miR-455-5p) has been shown in several cancers, except for cervical carcinoma. Therefore, the role of miR-455-5p was exploited in cervical carcinoma.

Pararcticibacter amylolyticus gen. nov., sp. nov., Isolated from a Rotten Hemp Rope, and Reclassification of Pedobacter tournemirensis as Pararcticibacter tournemirensis comb. nov.

A Gram-stain-negative, rod-shaped, non-motile, facultatively anaerobic bacterium, designated FJ4-8, was isolated from a rotten hemp rope in Chongqing City, PR China. Phylogenetic analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated that the isolate was closely related to members of the family Sphingobacteriaceae, with the highest similarity to Pedobacter tournemirensis TF5-37.2-LB10 (95.

Chemoresistance in gastric cancer is attributed to the overexpression of excision repair cross-complementing 1 (ERCC1) caused by microRNA-122 dysregulation.

MicroRNAs are deemed as key regulators of gene expression. In particular, the elevated expression of excision repair cross-complementing 1 (ERCC1) significantly reduced the effectiveness of gastric cancer treatment by cisplatin (CDDP)-based therapies. In this paper, qRT-PCR and western blot were adopted to measure miR-122 and ERCC1 messenger RNA (mRNA) expression in all samples.

Laboratory Screening of 26 Essential Oils Against Cacopsylla chinensis (Hemiptera: Psyllidae) and Field Confirmation of the Top Performer, Perilla frutescens (Lamiales: Lamiaceae).

Similar to other pear psylla species in Europe and America, Cacopsylla chinensis (Yang and Li) is one of the most important pests that causes yield loss in commercial pear orchards in China. To investigate effective essential oils as alternatives to conventional pesticides against C. chinensis, 26 essential oils derived from commonly used Chinese spices and medicinal herbs were screened for insecticidal activity.

Identification of Cuticular Protein Genes in the Colorado Potato Beetle Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae).

Structural cuticular proteins (CPs) are the primary components of insect cuticle, linings of salivary gland, foregut, hindgut and tracheae, and midgut peritrophic membrane. Variation of CPs in insect cuticle can cause penetration resistance to insecticides. Moreover, depletion of specific CP by RNA interference may be a suitable way for the development of potential pest control traits.

Changes in the morphology and gene expression of developing zebrafish gonads.

Zebrafish gonadal sexual differentiation is an important but poorly understood subject. The difficulty in investigating zebrafish sexual development lies in its sex determination plasticity, the lack of morphological tools to distinguish juvenile females from males, and the lack of sex chromosomes in laboratory strains. Zebrafish sexual differentiation starts at around 8 days post-fertilization when germ cells start to proliferate.

Effect of a Novel Intracycle Motion Correction Algorithm on Dual-Energy Spectral Coronary CT Angiography: A Study with Pulsating Coronary Artery Phantom at High Heart Rates.

Objective: Using a pulsating coronary artery phantom at high heart rate settings, we investigated the efficacy of a motion correction algorithm (MCA) to improve the image quality in dual-energy spectral coronary CT angiography (CCTA).

Materials And Methods: Coronary flow phantoms were scanned at heart rates of 60-100 beats/min at 10-beats/min increments, using dual-energy spectral CT mode. Virtual monochromatic images were reconstructed from 50 to 90 keV at 10-keV increments.

Replacing process water and nitrogen sources with biogas slurry during cellulosic ethanol production.

Background: Environmental issues, such as the fossil energy crisis, have resulted in increased public attention to use bioethanol as an alternative renewable energy. For ethanol production, water and nutrient consumption has become increasingly important factors being considered by the bioethanol industry as reducing the consumption of these resources would decrease the overall cost of ethanol production. Biogas slurry contains not only large amounts of wastewater, but also the nutrients required for microbial growth, e.

Chitinophaga salinisoli sp. nov., isolated from saline soil.

A novel aerobic bacterium, designated strain LAM9153, was isolated from a saline soil sample collected from Lingxian County, Shandong Province, China. Cells of strain LAM9153 were observed to be Gram-stain negative, non-motile, non-spore-forming and rod-shaped. The new isolate grew optimally at 30-35 °C, pH 7.

Optimization of Surfactant-Mediated, Ultrasonic-assisted Extraction of Antioxidant Polyphenols from Rattan Tea () Using Response Surface Methodology.

Background: Rattan tea is a medicinal plant that has been used for many years for the treatment of inflammation, fatty liver, tumor, diabetes, and hyperlipidemia.

Objective: A green and novel approach based on surfactant-mediated, ultrasonic-assisted extraction (SM-UAE) was developed for the extraction of antioxidant polyphenols from Rattan tea. A nonionic surfactant Tween-80 was selected as extraction solvent.

Tetrandrine cardioprotection in ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury via JAK3/STAT3/Hexokinase II.

Tetrandrine (TET), a bisbenzylisoquinoline alkaloid has been used for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases and hypertension. This study was to investigate whether tetrandrine exerts cardioprotection in ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury and the mechanisms involved. The cardioprotection effect and mechanisms of tetrandrine was evaluated by I/R injury cardiac cell model.

Arenimonas alkanexedens sp. nov., isolated from a frozen soil sample.

A novel facultatively anaerobic bacterium, designated strain LAM-WHM-D11, was isolated from a frozen soil sample of China. Cells of strain LAM-WHM-D11 were observed to be Gram-stain negative, non-motile and rod-shaped. Colonies were yellowish, and circular with convex shape.

[Discrimination of Plum Browning with Near Infrared Spectroscopy].

Flesh browning mostly happens in plum fruit during the post-harvest storage period, which is an important factor affecting the storage quality of plum fruits. Traditional methods used to discriminate plum browning involve the destruction of the intact fruit, which are highly subjective and error-prone. Therefore, the near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy technique was applied to achieve rapid and non-destructive identification of plum browning and non-browning in this paper.

Engineered Zymomonas mobilis for salt tolerance using EZ-Tn5-based transposon insertion mutagenesis system.

Background: The cell growth and ethanol yield of Zymomonas mobilis may be detrimentally affected by salt stress frequently present in some biomass-based fermentation systems, leading to a decrease in the rate of sugar conversion to ethanol or other bioproducts. To address this problem, improving the salt tolerance of Z. mobilis is a desirable way.

[Teaching design and practice of human blood type traits in genetics comprehensive laboratory course].

Comprehensive laboratory courses, which enable students to aptly apply theoretic knowledge and master experiment skills, play an important role in the present educational reform of laboratory courses. We utilized human ABO blood type as the experimental subject, and designed the experiment--"Molecular Genotyping of Human ABO Blood Type and Analysis of Population Genetic Equilibrium". In the experiment, DNA in mucosal cells is extracted from students' saliva, and each student's genotype is identified using a series of molecular genetics technologies, including PCR amplification of target fragments, enzymatic digestion, and electrophoretic separation.