Spatiotemporal expression of regulatory kinases directs the transition from mitosis to cellular morphogenesis in Drosophila.

Embryogenesis depends on a tightly regulated balance between mitosis, differentiation, and morphogenesis. Understanding how the embryo uses a relatively small number of proteins to transition between growth and morphogenesis is a central question of developmental biology, but the mechanisms controlling mitosis and differentiation are considered to be fundamentally distinct. Here we show the mitotic kinase Polo, which regulates all steps of mitosis in Drosophila, also directs cellular morphogenesis after cell cycle exit.

FGF signaling directs myotube guidance by regulating Rac activity.

Nascent myotubes undergo a dramatic morphological transformation during myogenesis, in which the myotubes elongate over several cell diameters and are directed to the correct muscle attachment sites. Although this process of myotube guidance is essential to pattern the musculoskeletal system, the mechanisms that control myotube guidance remain poorly understood. Using transcriptomics, we found that components of the Fibroblast Growth Factor (FGF) signaling pathway were enriched in nascent myotubes in embryos.

Mouse Embryonic Fibroblasts Protect ob/ob Mice From Obesity and Metabolic Complications.

The global obesity epidemic is fueling alarming rates of diabetes, associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer. Leptin is a hormone secreted by adipose tissue that is a key regulator of body weight (BW) and energy expenditure. Leptin-deficient humans and mice are obese, diabetic, and infertile and have hepatic steatosis.

Bioaccessible trace metals in lip cosmetics and their health risks to female consumers.

Females can be exposed to toxic elements in lip cosmetics following ingestion. The bioaccessibility of Cr, Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, Cd, Sb and Pb in lip cosmetics (n = 32) were assessed via the dilute HCl extraction method, In Vitro Gastrointestinal protocol (IVG) and the United States Pharmacopeia Methodology (USPM), and then health risks were characterized. The total concentrations of trace metals (TMs) in lip cosmetics were in the range of 15.

Identifying the key factors that affect the formation of humic substance during different materials composting.

The aim of this work was to identify the factors which can affect humic substance (HS) formation. Composting periods, HS precursors, bacteria communities and environment factors were recognized as the key factors and few studies explored the potential relationships among them. During composting, HS precursors were mainly formed in the heating and thermophilic phases, but HS were polymerized in the cooling and mature phases.

A new model of multi-visceral and bone metastatic prostate cancer with perivascular niche targeting by a novel endothelial specific adenoviral vector.

While modern therapies for metastatic prostate cancer (PCa) have improved survival they are associated with an increasingly prevalent entity, aggressive variant PCa (AVPCa), lacking androgen receptor (AR) expression, enriched for cancer stem cells (CSCs), and evidencing epithelial-mesenchymal plasticity with a varying extent of neuroendocrine transdifferentiation. Parallel work revealed that endothelial cells (ECs) create a perivascular CSC niche mediated by juxtacrine and membrane tethered signaling. There is increasing interest in pharmacological metastatic niche targeting, however, targeted access has been impossible.

Exposure and health risk assessment of PM-bound trace metals during winter in university campus in Northeast China.

In order to better understand the risk to students' health caused by pollution derived from fine particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter <2.5mm (PM), this study collected 189 samples in one outdoor and four different functional indoor environments of a research center in a university campus. Trace metals (TMs) bound to PM in outdoor and indoor environments were measured using X-ray fluorescence spectrometry.

The myeloid-binding peptide adenoviral vector enables multi-organ vascular endothelial gene targeting.

Vascular endothelial cells (ECs) are ideal gene therapy targets as they provide widespread tissue access and are the first contact surfaces following intravenous vector administration. Human recombinant adenovirus serotype 5 (Ad5) is the most frequently used gene transfer system because of its appreciable transgene payload capacity and lack of somatic mutation risk. However, standard Ad5 vectors predominantly transduce liver but not the vasculature following intravenous administration.

[Study on the method of nanometer-size zirconium dioxide enrichment separation and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry determination of trace barium(II) in water].

Monoclinic fusiform zirconium dioxide (ZrO2) nanoparticles were synthesized by hydrothermal method, a method was established based on monoclinic fusiform nanometer-sized ZrO2 enrichment separation, and trace barium in water was determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The detection limit for Ba(II) was 0.007 ng x mL(-1), and the relative standard deviation was 0.

[Method study on calcium and phosphorus simultaneous determination by microwave-digestion and ICP-MS].

As a pre-digestion method of breast milk microwave-digestion was adopted in this method, and the contents of calcium and phosphorus were determined by ICP-MS at the same time. By optimizing conditions of digestion and ICP-MS, appropriate internal elements and the isotope mass number and EPA200.8 interference calibration equation were chosen.