Role of in Filamentous Growth and Pathogenicity of .

is a dimorphic fungus that specifically infects , causing stem swelling and the formation of an edible fleshy stem known as jiaobai. The pathogenicity of is closely associated with the development of jiaobai and phenotypic differentiation. Msb2 acts as a key upstream sensor in the MAPK (mitogen-activated protein kinase) signaling pathway, playing critical roles in fungal hyphal growth, osmotic regulation, maintenance of cell wall integrity, temperature adaptation, and pathogenicity.

The use of multicomponent reactions in the development of bis-boronic acids for the detection of β-sialic acid.

Sialic acid (SA) is a naturally occurring monosaccharide found in glycoproteins and glycolipids. Changes in the expression of SA are associated with several diseases; thus, the detection of SA is of great significance for biological research, cancer diagnosis, and treatment. Boronic acid analogs have emerged as a promising tool for detecting sugars such as SA due to its reversible covalent bonding ability.

Intrahospital transport of critically ill patients: A survey of emergency nurses.

Background: Despite the frequency of its occurrence, few Chinese studies examined the status of intrahospital transport (IHT) of critically ill emergency room patients.

Aims And Objectives: To investigate the current status of IHT of critically ill patients and emergency nurses' perception of IHT across China; explore the perceived associations of written protocols with adverse events during IHT; and compare regional differences in IHT of critically ill patients across China.

Design: A self-report questionnaire was conducted among the attendees of a large emergency medicine conference in Beijing in May 2015.

Lipase Immobilization on Macroporous ZIF-8 for Enhanced Enzymatic Biodiesel Production.

Immobilization of enzyme on metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) has drawn increasing interest owing to their many well-recognized characteristics. However, the pore sizes of MOFs (mostly micropores and mesopores) limit their application for enzyme immobilization to a great extent owing to the large size of enzyme molecules. Synthesis of MOFs with macropores would therefore solve this problem, typically encountered with conventional MOFs.

Design of circular-ring film embedded contact lens for improved compatibility and sustained ocular drug delivery.

Contact lenses are ideal medical devices to sustain the release of ophthalmic drugs. However, the incorporation of drug loaded system can cause visual obstruction and poor oxygen/light permeability which restrict the application of contact lens for long-term wearing. Inspired by the physiological structure of our human eyes, we assume a circular-ring type inner layer embedded CLs might be a good solution to address the above-mentioned problems.

Functional Properties of the MAP Kinase UeKpp2 in .

undergoes an endophytic life cycle in . It induces the stem of its host to swell, forming the edible galls called in China, which are the second most commonly cultivated aquatic vegetable in China. raised for can only reproduce asexually because the infection completely inhibits flowering.

Hydrophobic pore space constituted in macroporous ZIF-8 for lipase immobilization greatly improving lipase catalytic performance in biodiesel preparation.

Background: During lipase-mediated biodiesel production, by-product glycerol adsorbing on immobilized lipase is a common trouble that hinders enzymatic catalytic activity in biodiesel production process. In this work, we built a hydrophobic pore space in macroporous ZIF-8 (named as M-ZIF-8) to accommodate lipase so that the generated glycerol would be hard to be adsorbed in such hydrophobic environment. The performance of the immobilized lipase in biodiesel production as well as its characteristics for glycerol adsorption were systematically studied.

Rational synthesis of an exceptionally stable Zn(II) metal-organic framework for the highly selective and sensitive detection of picric acid.

Based on an organic ligand involving both carboxylate and tetrazole groups, a chemically stable Zn(II) metal-organic framework has been rationally synthesized and behaves as a fluorescence chemosensor for the highly selective and sensitive detection of picric acid, an extremely hazardous and strong explosive.

Polar group and defect engineering in a metal-organic framework: synergistic promotion of carbon dioxide sorption and conversion.

A sulfone-functionalized metal-organic framework (MOF), USTC-253, has been synthesized that exhibits a much higher CO2 uptake capacity (168-182 %) than the corresponding unfurnished MOFs. The introduction of trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) during the synthesis of USTC-253 affords defect-containing USTC-253-TFA with exposed metal centers, which has an increased CO2 uptake (167 %) compared to pristine USTC-253. USTC-253-TFA exhibits a very high ideal adsorption solution theory selectivity (S=75) to CO2 over N2 at 298 K.

A facile and general coating approach to moisture/water-resistant metal-organic frameworks with intact porosity.

The moisture sensitivity of many metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) poses a critical issue for their large-scale real application. One of the most effective methods to solve this problem is to convert the surface of MOFs from hydrophilic to hydrophobic. Herein, we develop a general strategy to modify hydrophobic polydimethysiloxane (PDMS) on the surface of MOF materials to significantly enhance their moisture or water resistance by a facile vapor deposition technique.

RhoA and membrane fluidity mediates the spatially polarized Src/FAK activation in response to shear stress.

While Src plays crucial roles in shear stress-induced cellular processes, little is known on the spatiotemporal pattern of high shear stress (HSS)-induced Src activation. HSS (65 dyn/cm(2)) was applied on bovine aortic endothelial cells to visualize the dynamic Src activation at subcellular levels utilizing a membrane-targeted Src biosensor (Kras-Src) based on fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET). A polarized Src activation was observed with higher activity at the side facing the flow, which was enhanced by a cytochalasin D-mediated disruption of actin filaments but inhibited by a benzyl alcohol-mediated enhancement of membrane fluidity.

MIL-101-SO3H: a highly efficient Brønsted acid catalyst for heterogeneous alcoholysis of epoxides under ambient conditions.

For the first time, a ∼100% sulfonic acid functionalized metal-organic framework (MOF), MIL-101-SO3H, with giant pores has been prepared by a hydrothermal process followed by a facile postsynthetic HCl treatment strategy. The replete readily accessible Lewis acidic and especially Brønsted acidic sites distributed throughout the framework as well as high stability endow the resultant MOF exceptionally high efficiency and recyclability, which surpass all other MOF-based catalysts, for the ring opening of epoxides with alcohols (especially, methanol) as nucleophiles under ambient conditions.

Hollow metal-organic framework nanospheres via emulsion-based interfacial synthesis and their application in size-selective catalysis.

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) represent an emerging class of crystalline materials with well-defined pore structures and hold great potentials in a wide range of important applications. The functionality of MOFs can be further extended by integration with other functional materials, e.g.

FAK and paxillin dynamics at focal adhesions in the protrusions of migrating cells.

Cell migration requires the fine spatiotemporal integration of many proteins that regulate the fundamental processes that drive cell movement. Focal adhesion (FA) dynamics is a continuous process involving coordination between FA and actin cytoskeleton, which is essential for cell migration. We studied the spatiotemporal relationship between the dynamics of focal adhesion kinase (FAK) and paxillin at FAs in the protrusion of living endothelial cells.

Integration of an inorganic semiconductor with a metal-organic framework: a platform for enhanced gaseous photocatalytic reactions.

Ultrafast spectroscopy demonstrates that charge transfer can occur between photoexcited inorganic semiconductors and metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), supplying long-lifetime electrons for the reduction of gas molecules adsorbed on the MOF. As a proof of concept, a unique method is developed for synthesizing Cu3 (BTC)2 @TiO2 core-shell structures with macroporous semiconductor shells that allow gas molecules to be captured in the cores.

Alkylamine-tethered stable metal-organic framework for CO(2) capture from flue gas.

Different alkylamine molecules were post-synthetically tethered to the unsaturated Cr(III) centers in the metal-organic framework MIL-101. The resultant metal-organic frameworks show almost no N2 adsorption with significantly enhanced CO2 capture under ambient conditions as a result of the interaction between amine groups and CO2 molecules. Given the extraordinary stability, high CO2 uptake, ultrahigh CO2 /N2 selectivity, and mild regeneration energy, MIL-101-diethylenetriamine holds exceptional promise for post-combustion CO2 capture and CO2 /N2 separation.

Dynamic motion of paxillin on actin filaments in living endothelial cells.

Our three-dimensional (3-D) images showed that paxillin co-localized on actin filaments as fibrous structures, as well as clusters, in endothelial cells (ECs). In living ECs under flow condition, we monitored concurrently the intracellular dynamics of DsRed2-paxillin and GFP-actin by time-lapse video recording and dual-color fluorescence imaging. The results showed that the dynamic motion of paxillin as fibrous structures was associated with actin filaments, but not with microtubules.

Roles of microfilaments and microtubules in paxillin dynamics.

We investigated the roles of microfilaments and microtubules in the localization and tyrosine phosphorylation of paxillin, a focal adhesion-associated signaling molecule, in bovine aortic endothelial cells (BAECs). Paxillin tyrosine phosphorylation is inhibited by cytochalasin D (CD), but slightly increased by colchicine and paclitaxol (taxol). CD also caused an overall disassembly of paxillin-containing focal adhesions (paxillin-FAs) and translocation of paxillin to the cytoplasm and perinuclear region with a diffuse distribution.

Shear stress regulation of Krüppel-like factor 2 expression is flow pattern-specific.

Flow patterns in blood vessels contribute to focal distribution of atherosclerosis; the underlying mechanotransduction pathways remain to be investigated. We demonstrate that different flow patterns elicit distinct responses of Krüppel-like factor-2 (KLF2) in endothelial cells (ECs) in vitro and in vivo. While pulsatile flow with a significant forward direction induced sustained expression of KLF2 in cultured ECs, oscillatory flow with little forward direction caused prolonged suppression after a transient induction.

Effects of flow patterns on the localization and expression of VE-cadherin at vascular endothelial cell junctions: in vivo and in vitro investigations.

Atherosclerosis occurs preferentially at vascular curvature and branch sites where the vessel walls are exposed to fluctuating shear stress and have high endothelial permeability. Endothelial permeability is modulated by intercellular adhesion molecules such as VE-cadherin. This study was designed to elucidate the effects of different flow patterns on the localization and expression of VE-cadherin in endothelial cells (ECs) both in vivo and in vitro.

Signal transduction in matrix contraction and the migration of vascular smooth muscle cells in three-dimensional matrix.

The interaction of vascular smooth muscle cells (SMCs) and extracellular matrix plays important roles in vascular remodeling. We investigated the signaling pathways involved in SMC-induced matrix contraction and SMC migration in three-dimensional (3D) collagen matrix. Matrix contraction is inhibited by the disruption of actin filaments but not microtubules.

Roles of microtubule dynamics and small GTPase Rac in endothelial cell migration and lamellipodium formation under flow.

Endothelial cell (EC) migration is required for vascular development and wound healing. We investigated the roles of microtubule (MT) dynamics and the small GTPase Rac in the fluid shear stress-induced protrusion of lamellipodia and enhancement of migration of bovine aortic ECs (BAECs). Shear stress increased lamellipodial protrusion and cell migration.

Improved significance test for DNA microarray data: temporal effects of shear stress on endothelial genes.

Statistical methods for identifying differentially expressed genes from microarray data are evolving. We developed a test for the statistical significance of differential expression as a function of time. When applied to microarray data obtained from endothelial cells exposed to shearing for different durations, the new multi-group test (G-test) identified three times as many genes as the one-way ANOVA at the same significance level.

Differential regulation of Rho GTPases by beta1 and beta3 integrins: the role of an extracellular domain of integrin in intracellular signaling.

Integrins mediate cell adhesion and signal transduction at focal adhesions. Here we investigate the roles of integrin beta subunits in the regulation of actin cytoskeletal structure and the activities of Rho and Rac. The overexpression of beta3 integrin in Chinese hamster ovary cells enhances Rho activity and stress fiber formation, whereas the overexpression of beta1 integrin increases Rac activity and lamellipodia formation.

The role of the dynamics of focal adhesion kinase in the mechanotaxis of endothelial cells.

The migration of vascular endothelial cells (ECs) is critical in vascular remodeling. We showed that fluid shear stress enhanced EC migration in flow direction and called this "mechanotaxis." To visualize the molecular dynamics of focal adhesion kinase (FAK) at focal adhesions (FAs), FAK tagged with green fluorescence protein (GFP) was expressed in ECs.