Hierarchical activation of compartmentalized pools of AMPK depends on severity of nutrient or energy stress.

AMPK, a master regulator of metabolic homeostasis, is activated by both AMP-dependent and AMP-independent mechanisms. The conditions under which these different mechanisms operate, and their biological implications are unclear. Here, we show that, depending on the degree of elevation of cellular AMP, distinct compartmentalized pools of AMPK are activated, phosphorylating different sets of targets.

Acid Sphingomyelinase-Ceramide System in Bacterial Infections.

Acid sphingomyelinase hydrolyzes sphingomyelin to ceramide and phosphorylcholine. Ceramide molecules spontaneously interact with each other and generate ceramide-enriched membrane domains. These ceramide-enriched domains further fuse, forming large ceramideenriched platforms that participate in the organization of receptors and in the amplification of signaling molecules.

Design, synthesis and biological evaluation of inhibitors of cathepsin K on dedifferentiated chondrocytes.

Selective proteinase inhibitors have demonstrated utility in the investigation of cartilage degeneration mechanisms and may have clinical use in the management of osteoarthritis. The cysteine protease cathepsin K (CatK) is an attractive target for arthritis therapy. Here we report the synthesis of two cathepsin K inhibitors (CKIs): racemic azanitrile derivatives CKI-E and CKI-F, which have better inhibition properties on CatK than the commercial inhibitor odanacatib (ODN).

Sirtuin 1 alleviates diabetic neuropathic pain by regulating synaptic plasticity of spinal dorsal horn neurons.

Accumulating evidence has demonstrated that the enhanced synaptic plasticity of nociceptive interneurons in the spinal dorsal horn is the basis of central sensitization in neuropathic pain. Our previous results demonstrated that sirtuin 1 (SIRT1), a nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+)-dependent deacetylase, alleviates neuropathic pain in type 2 diabetes mellitus rats. SIRT1 has also been reported to regulate synaptic plasticity in different brain neurons.

Characteristics of nitrogen and phosphorus adsorption by Mg-loaded biochar from different feedstocks.

Herein, biochars from 6 different feedstocks (taro straw, corn straw, cassava straw, Chinese fir straw, banana straw, and Camellia oleifera shell) were produced using magnesium chloride (MgCl) as a modifier due to their sorption behavior toward NH-N and phosphorus in an aqueous solution. The biochar characteristics were evaluated, including pH, pH, biochar magnesium content, and total pore volume (PV). The experimental results in terms of the kinetics and equilibrium isotherms showed that the cassava straw and banana straw biochars exhibited the theoretical maximum saturated adsorption capacities of 24.

Mycobacterial Infection is Promoted by Neutral Sphingomyelinase 2 Regulating a Signaling Cascade Leading to Activation of β1-Integrin.

Background/aims: Mycobacteria-induced diseases, especially tuberculosis, cause more than 1 million deaths each year, which is higher than any other single bacterial pathogen. Neutral sphingomyelinase 2 (Nsm2) has been implied in many physiological processes and diseases, but the role of Nsm2 in pathogen-host interactions and mycobacterial infections has barely been studied.

Methods: We investigated the role of the Nsm2/ceramide system in systemic infection of mice and murine macrophages with Mycobacterium bovis Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) as a model for mycobacterial infection.

Strong red-emitting gold nanoclusters protected by glutathione S-transferase.

Glutathione S-transferase (GST) is distributed widely in tissues and has been proven to be vital in the body. For example, it catalyzes reduced glutathione (GSH) to a variety of electrophilic substances and thus protects cells against many toxic chemicals. Therefore, GST-related investigations have always been significant for medical and/or life sciences.

Rigid and Strong Thermoresponsive Shape Memory Hydrogels Transformed from Poly(vinylpyrrolidone- co-acryloxy acetophenone) Organogels.

Shape memory hydrogels (SMHs) have a wide range of potential practical applications. However, the mechanically weak and soft nature of most SMHs strongly impedes their applications. Here, we report a novel kind of thermal-responsive SMH with high tensile strength and high elastic moduli.

Regulating Block Copolymer Assembly Structures in Emulsion Droplets through Metal Ion Coordination.

In this report, we demonstrate the metal ion coordination-induced morphological transition of block copolymer assemblies under three-dimensional (3D) confinement. Polystyrene- block-poly(4-vinyl pyridine) (PS- b-P4VP) aggregates with various morphologies can be obtained by emulsion-solvent evaporation in the presence of metal ions (e.g.

Protective Effect of Celecoxib on Early Postoperative Cognitive Dysfunction in Geriatric Patients.

Inflammation plays a key role in the etiology and pathology of postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD). Cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 inhibitor celecoxib is used for the treatment of acute pain due to its potent anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects. Herein, we evaluated the effects of celecoxib on POCD in geriatric patients.

A two-stage assembly with PEI induced emission enhancement of Au-AgNCs@AMP and the intrinsic mechanism.

Recently, aggregation-induced emission (AIE) properties have been revealed for some metal nanoclusters (NCs), providing a new approach to improve the quantum yields (QY). In the present study, a two-stage assembly was carried out between adenosine monophosphate capped bimetallic nanoclusters of gold and silver (Au-AgNCs@AMP) and polyethylenimine (PEI), in which the QY was improved from 8.64% to 25.

Epigallocatechin gallate improves insulin resistance in HepG2 cells through alleviating inflammation and lipotoxicity.

Aims: High levels of circulating free fatty acids (FFAs), inflammation and oxidative stress are important causes for insulin resistance (IR) and type 2 diabetes mellitus. The aim of this study was to investigate the mechanisms of EGCG in alleviating IR in HepG2 cells.

Methods: HepG2 cells were treated with 25 mM glucose, 0.

The function of sphingomyelinases in mycobacterial infections.

Tuberculosis (TB), caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, is one of the deadliest and most important infectious diseases worldwide. The sphingomyelinase/ceramide system, which has been shown several times to be a crucial factor in the internalization, processing and killing of diverse pathogens, also modulates the pro-inflammatory response and the state of mycobacteria in macrophages. Both acid and neutral sphingomyelinases are important in this activity.

WEGO 2.0: a web tool for analyzing and plotting GO annotations, 2018 update.

WEGO (Web Gene Ontology Annotation Plot), created in 2006, is a simple but useful tool for visualizing, comparing and plotting GO (Gene Ontology) annotation results. Owing largely to the rapid development of high-throughput sequencing and the increasing acceptance of GO, WEGO has benefitted from outstanding performance regarding the number of users and citations in recent years, which motivated us to update to version 2.0.

E3 ubiquitin ligase Hakai regulates cell growth and invasion, and increases the chemosensitivity to cisplatin in non‑small‑cell lung cancer cells.

Hakai was originally identified as an E3 ubiquitin ligase of the E‑cadherin complex implicated in cell adhesion and invasion. Recently, emerging evidence has strongly suggested that Hakai serves a pivotal role in the tumorigenesis of certain tumors. However, the role of Hakai in non‑small‑cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and its underlying molecular mechanism have not been clarified.

Circumferential-scanning endoscopic optical coherence tomography probe based on a circular array of six 2-axis MEMS mirrors.

We present a novel circumferential-scan endoscopic optical coherence tomography (OCT) probe by using a circular array of six electrothermal microelectromechanical (MEMS) mirrors and six C-lenses. The MEMS mirrors have a 0.5 mm × 0.

Polyethyleneimine capped bimetallic Au/Pt nanoclusters are a viable fluorescent probe for specific recognition of chlortetracycline among other tetracycline antibiotics.

A highly selective method has been developed for the fluorometric determination of chlortetracycline (CTC) among other tetracycline antibiotics (TCs). It is making use of fluorescent Au/Pt nanoclusters (NCs) capped with polyethyleneimine (Au/PtNCs@PEI). The nanoprobe, with a green emission peaking at 512 nm, was synthesized by an environmentally friendly hydrothermal method.

Evaluating variability in foot to pedal movements using functional principal components analysis.

There are reasons why the driver's foot may not be applied to the correct pedal while driving and this can lead to unintended consequences. In this study, we seek to capture common and unique patterns of variations in drivers' foot movements using functional principal components analysis (FPCA). This analysis technique was used to analyze three categories of pedal response types (direct hits, corrected trajectories, and pedal errors) based on the various foot to pedal trajectories.

Advancements of two dimensional correlation spectroscopy in protein researches.

The developments of two-dimensional correlation spectroscopy (2DCOS) applications in protein studies are discussed, especially for the past two decades. The powerful utilities of 2DCOS combined with various analytical techniques in protein studies are summarized. The emphasis is on the vibration spectroscopic techniques including IR, NIR, Raman and optical activity (ROA), as well as vibration circular dichroism (VCD) and fluorescence spectroscopy.

An azo-coupling reaction-based surface enhanced resonance Raman scattering approach for ultrasensitive detection of salbutamol.

To date, great achievements with GC-MS, HPLC-MS, and fluorescence biosensing techniques have been made to detect illegal additives of salbutamol (SAL) in swine meat. However, these methods are not suitable for rapid on-site screening due to either costly instruments or rather complicated and/or time consuming sample pretreatments. Herein, a simple, rapid and ultrasensitive approach based on an azo-coupling reaction and surface-enhanced resonance Raman scattering (SERRS) is presented.

Hybrid Assembly toward Enhanced Thermal Stability of Virus-like Particles and Antibacterial Activity of Polyoxometalates.

In an effort to improve both the stability of virus-like particles (VLPs) and the medical activity of polyoxometalates (POMs), a new hybrid assembly system between human papillomavirus (HPV) capsid protein L1 and a europium-containing POM (EuW) has been constructed, for the first time, via the electrostatic interactions between them. The co-assembly of EuW and HPV 16 L1-pentamer (L1-p) in buffer solution resulted in the encapsulation of POMs in the cavity of VLPs, which was further confirmed by cesium chloride (CsCl) gradient ultracentrifugation, SDS-PAGE, dynamic light scattering, and transmission electron microscopy, whereas the post-assembly of EuW with the as-prepared VLPs leads to the adsorption of POMs only on the external surface of particles, and both cases improved the thermal and storage stabilities of VLPs obviously. Particularly, the encapsulation of POMs in VLPs largely improved the antibacterial activity of EuW, and thereby, the present study will be significant for both the stability improvement of protein vaccines and the development of POM medicine.

Combination of a graphene SERS substrate and magnetic solid phase micro-extraction used for the rapid detection of trace illegal additives.

Surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) is an ultra-sensitive spectroscopy technique, which can provide rich structural information for a great number of molecules, while solid phase micro-extraction (SPME) is an efficient method for sample pretreatment in analytical chemistry, particularly in a micro-system. In the present report, a silver-loaded and graphene-based magnetic composite (FeO@GO@Ag) was fabricated for use as both a SERS-active substrate and SPME material. The π-π stacking and fluorescence quenching abilities of GO make the composite a perfect candidate for SERS in analyzing real-world samples.

miR‑186, a serum microRNA, induces endothelial cell apoptosis by targeting SMAD6 in Kawasaki disease.

Kawasaki disease (KD) is an acute, self‑limited vasculitis that predominantly affects medium‑sized arteries, particularly the coronary arteries. Recent studies have indicated that microRNAs are involved in many diseases, including KD. However, the detailed mechanism remains unclear.

Cell receptor screening for human papillomavirus invasion by using a polyoxometalate-peptide assembly as a probe.

The present study constructed a competitive recognition system using cell receptor screening for human papillomavirus (HPV) invasion by using the hybrid-assembly of polyoxometalates (POMs) and cationic peptides as a platform. The fine tuning both of the surface charge of POMs and peptide sequence were precisely performed to develop a luminescence switch of POMs, leading to the establishment of a ternary system to identify which types of glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) are potential cell receptors for HPV infection. In addition, the method was successfully applied to construct a hybrid-assembly with the recombined HPV 16 L1 pentamers from Escherichia coli and perform GAGs screening, which validated the system's potential for practical applications.