sp. nov., a moderately halophilic bacterium isolated from sea tidal flat environment.

Two moderately halotolerant bacterium strains, designated PJ-16 and PJ-38, were isolated from a tidal flat of the red beach in Panjin City, Liaoning Province, PR China. Cells were found to be Gram-stain-negative, aerobic, motile, rod-shaped with a single polar flagellum. Optimum growth of strain PJ-16 occurred at 30 °C, pH 7.

[Characteristic fingerprint and multi-components quantitative determination for Fuke Qianjin Capsules by HPLC].

To establish an HPLC characteristic fingerprint method of Fuke Qianjin Capsules,and determine the contents of its main components. The analysis was carried out on a Kromasil 100-5-C18 analytical column(4. 6 mm ×250 mm,5 μm) with gradient elution by acetonitrile(A)-0.

Field evaluation of two commercial RT-rtPCR assays for porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus detection using sera from ill and healthy pigs, China.

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) is a highly contagious respiratory virus causing severe morbidity in pigs worldwide. Control strategies for PRRSV often rely on detecting PRRSV, culling or isolating sick pigs, disinfecting pig barns, vaccination, and monitoring for virus spread. Given the high economic impact of PRRSV on pig farms, there is a great need for rapid and reliable PRRSV detection assays.

[Chemical constituents from Fukeqianjin formula].

Fukeqianjin formula, a traditional Chinese medicine compound, consists of eight Chinese medicinal materials including roots of Moghania macrophylla, roots of Rosa laevigata, aerial parts of Andrographis paniculata, caulis of Mahonia fortunei, roots of Zanthoxylum dissitum, roots of Angelica sinensis, caulis of Spatholobus suberectus, and roots of Codonopsis pilosula. The chemical constituents from Fukeqianjin formula were studied in this paper. The compounds were separated and purified by repeated column chromatographic methods including silica gel, Sephadex LH-20, macroporous adsorptive resin, and reverse phase high performance liquid chromatography.

Multi-Target Anti-Alzheimer Activities of Four Prenylated Compounds from Psoralea Fructus.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is an age-related neurodegenerative disease that is mediated by multiple signaling pathways. In recent years, the components of (PF) have demonstrated some anti-Alzheimer effects both in vitro and in vivo. To further reveal the active compounds of PF and their mechanisms regulating key targets of AD, in this study, we identified four prenylated compounds from the 70% ethanolic aqueous extract of PF, namely bavachin, bavachinin, bavachalcone, and isobavachalcone.

Plasma pharmacokinetics and cerebral nuclei distribution of major constituents of Psoraleae fructus in rats after oral administration.

Background: The fruit of Psoralea corylifolia L., Psoraleae fructus (PF), is widely used in traditional Chinese medicine as a well-known herbal tonic. Previous studies have shown that PF and its major constituents may have potential values in the treatment of Parkinson and Alzheimer diseases, though their pharmacokinetics and brain distribution were largely unknown.

Dietary Total Prenylflavonoids from the Fruits of Psoralea corylifolia L. Prevents Age-Related Cognitive Deficits and Down-Regulates Alzheimer's Markers in SAMP8 Mice.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a serious threat for the aging society. In this study, we examined the preventive effect of the total prenylflavonoids (TPFB) prepared from the dried fruits of L., using an age-related AD mouse model SAMP8.

Cloning, expression, and characterization of a four-component O-demethylase from human intestinal bacterium Eubacterium limosum ZL-II.

Eubacterium limosum ZL-II was described to convert secoisolariciresinol (SECO) to its demethylating product 4,4'-dihydroxyenterodiol (DHEND) under anoxic conditions. However, the reaction cascade remains unclear. Here, the O-demethylase being responsible for the conversion was identified and characterized.

Josephson current through a quantum dot coupled to a Majorana zero mode.

Employing the Green's function method, we investigate the Josephson current through a quantum dot side coupled to a topological superconducting nanowire sustaining a pair of Majorana zero modes. It is found that the Josephson current is blocked when the quantum dot is side coupled to a superconducting nanowire in a topologically trivial phase. However, when the topological superconducting nanowire transitions from a topologically trivial to a topologically non-trivial phase, an Andreev bound state arises at the zero Fermi energy of the quantum dot due to leakage of the Majorana zero mode.

High-Efficiency Cooper-Pair Splitter in Quantum Anomalous Hall Insulator Proximity-Coupled with Superconductor.

The quantum entanglement between two qubits is crucial for applications in the quantum communication. After the entanglement of photons was experimentally realized, much effort has been taken to exploit the entangled electrons in solid-state systems. Here, we propose a Cooper-pair splitter, which can generate spatially-separated but entangled electrons, in a quantum anomalous Hall insulator proximity-coupled with a superconductor.

Usefulness of the heart-rate variability complex for predicting cardiac mortality after acute myocardial infarction.

Background: Previous studies indicate that decreased heart-rate variability (HRV) is related to the risk of death in patients after acute myocardial infarction (AMI). However, the conventional indices of HRV have poor predictive value for mortality. Our aim was to develop novel predictive models based on support vector machine (SVM) to study the integrated features of HRV for improving risk stratification after AMI.

The effect of dephasing on edge state transport through p-n junctions in HgTe/CdTe quantum wells.

Using the Landauer-Büttiker formula, we study the effect of dephasing on the transport properties of the HgTe/CdTe p-n junction. It is found that in the HgTe/CdTe p-n junction the topologically protected gapless helical edge states manifest a quantized 2e²/h plateau robust against dephasing, in sharp contrast to the case for the normal HgTe/CdTe quantum well. This robustness of the transport properties of the edge states against dephasing should be attributed to the special construction of the HgTe/CdTe p-n junction, which limits the gapless helical edge states to a very narrow region and thus weakens the influence of the dephasing on the gapless edge states to a large extent.

A computer-aided diagnostic algorithm improves the accuracy of transesophageal echocardiography for left atrial thrombi: a single-center prospective study.

Objectives: We investigated whether transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) assisted with a computer-aided diagnostic (CAD) algorithm was superior to TEE in diagnosing left atrial (LA)/left atrial appendage (LAA) thrombi in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) in a single prospective study.

Methods: Transesophageal echocardiography was performed in patients with AF, and images were reconstructed. Gray level co-occurrence matrix-based features were calculated and then classified using an artificial neural network.

Biotransformation on the flavonolignan constituents of Silybi Fructus by an intestinal bacterial strain Eubacterium limosum ZL-II.

Eubacterium limosum ZL-II is an anaerobic bacterium with demethylated activity, which was isolated from human intestinal bacteria in our previous work. In this study, the flavonolignan constituents of Silybi Fructus were biotransformed by E. limosum(1) ZL-II, producing four new transformation products - demethylisosilybin B (T1), demethylisosilybin A (T2), demethylsilybin B (T3) and demethylsilybin A (T4), among which T1 and T2 were new compounds.

[Inhibitory effects of Rhodiola plants and their oligomeric proanthocyanidins on tyrosinase and Abeta42 aggregation].

Tyrosinase is a key enzyme related to skin pigmentation disorders of elderly people, while self-aggregation of the amyloid-beta peptide, Abeta42, has been considered as a key event in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The present study was undertaken to investigate the inhibitory effects of 20 samples from Rhodiola species on tyrosinase and Abeta42 aggregation, and to isolate their corresponding bioactive components. The results demonstrated that the oligomeric proanthocyanidins (OPCs) commonly found in Rhodiola species were the major bioactive components corresponding to their anti-tyrosinase and anti-Abeta42 aggregation bioactivities.

A valley-filtering switch based on strained graphene.

We investigate valley-dependent transport through a graphene sheet modulated by both the substrate strain and the fringe field of two parallel ferromagnetic metal (FM) stripes. When the magnetizations of the two FM stripes are switched from the parallel to the antiparallel alignment, the total conductance, valley polarization and valley conductance excess change greatly over a wide range of Fermi energy, which results from the dependence of the valley-related transmission suppression on the polarity configuration of inhomogeneous magnetic fields. Thus the proposed structure exhibits the significant features of a valley-filtering switch and a magnetoresistance device.

Band structures and transport properties of zigzag graphene nanoribbons with antidot arrays.

We study the band and transport features of zigzag graphene nanoribbon with an antidot lattice. It is found that an antidot lattice could turn semi-metal graphene into a semiconductor. The size of the band gap can be tuned by the position of the antidots and the distance D between the two nearest antidots.

Analysis of chemical constituents and taxonomic similarity of Salvia species in China using LC/MS.

Salvia species have an extensive distribution and a long history of medical use in China. In this study, chemical differences between different Salvia species were thoroughly investigated, and 86 constituents were characterized through a sensitive HPLC-DAD-ESI-MS (n) method. In total, 19 Salvia species were screened.

[Preliminary exploration of inhibitory activities of Salvia species on PTP1B].

An in vitro screening model was applied to test the inhibitory activities of 17 Salvia species on protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B). Root methanol extracts from wild-collected Salvia species were analyzed using this model. Most of the samples tested showed positive activities on human PTP1B.

[Identification of metastasis-associated proteins of ovarian cancer by proteomics].

Objective: To investigate the differenal protein expression profiles of ovarian tumor cell lines with distinct metastatic abilities.

Methods: The ovarian cancer cell line HO8910 and HO8910pm, derived from same parental cells but exhibited different metastatic ability, were investigated by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE)-MALDI-TOF-MS proteomic approach.

Results: Thirty-nine proteins were detected by 2-DE to have expression disparity levels over 2 folds between two cell lines.

[Analysis of ITS sequences of some medicinal plants and their related species in Salvia].

Molecular systematic techniques were applied to reveal the genetic diversity of medicinal plants and their related species in Salvia. The internal transcribed spacer (ITS) as well as 5.8S rDNA sequences of 27 samples of Salvia were amplified using PCR method and sequenced.

[Construction of prophylactic recombinant HPV58-attenuated Shigella vector live vaccine and evaluation of its protective efficacy and immunogenicity in the guinea pig keratoconjunctivitis model].

Aim: To construct the prophylactic recombinant HPV58-attenuated Shigella vector live vaccine and evaluate its protective efficacy and immunogenicity in the Guinea pig Keratoconjunctivitis model.

Methods: The HPV58 L1 gene was cloned into PUCMT, and the recombinant plasmid HPV58 L1-pCVD442 was constructed and introduced into attenuated Shigella (Sf301: deltavirG) with helper plasmid PRK2013 by filter mating. After homologous recombination, the positive colonies in Sf301: deltavirG strains contained HPV58L1 gene were selected and verified by PCR.

Computerized-aid diagnosis of breast mass using ultrasound image.

This paper presents a comparative study of the diagnostic results of the ultrasologists with/without using a novel enhancement algorithm for breast ultrasonic images based on fuzzy entropy principle and textural information. Totally, 350 ultrasound images of 115 cases were analyzed including 59 benign and 56 malignant lesions. The original breast images were fuzzified, the edge and textural information were extracted, and the images were enhanced.

Bacterial expression of a Trichosanthes kirilowii defensin (TDEF1) and its antifungal activity on Fusarium oxysporum.

The gene encoding Trichosanthes kirilowii defensin (TDEF1) was cloned by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The newly discovered TDEF1 cDNA contains 231 bp (Genbank accession number DQ526373) and encodes a 76-amino acid protein, which consists of a 29-amino acid signal peptide and a 47-amino acid mature peptide. The partial cDNA, corresponding to the mature peptide coding region of TDEF1, was inserted into bacterial expression vector pET32a(+).

Proteomics-based analysis of a pair of glioma cell lines with different tumor forming characteristics.

Glioma is the most common malignant disease in the brain, and recurrence is the main cause of death from this disease. Tumor recurrence involves multiple steps, and requires the accumulation of the altered expression of many different proteins. Identification of the recurrence associated protein profile in glioma cell lines will be helpful in clarifying the molecular mechanisms underlying glioma recurrence.