BLK positively regulates TLR/IL-1R signaling by catalyzing TOLLIP phosphorylation.

TLR/IL-1R signaling plays a critical role in sensing various harmful foreign pathogens and mounting efficient innate and adaptive immune responses, and it is tightly controlled by intracellular regulators at multiple levels. In particular, TOLLIP forms a constitutive complex with IRAK1 and sequesters it in the cytosol to maintain the kinase in an inactive conformation under unstimulated conditions. However, the underlying mechanisms by which IRAK1 dissociates from TOLLIP to activate TLR/IL-1R signaling remain obscure.

Tyrosine phosphorylation of IRF3 by BLK facilitates its sufficient activation and innate antiviral response.

Viral infection triggers the activation of transcription factor IRF3, and its activity is precisely regulated for robust antiviral immune response and effective pathogen clearance. However, how full activation of IRF3 is achieved has not been well defined. Herein, we identified BLK as a key kinase that positively modulates IRF3-dependent signaling cascades and executes a pre-eminent antiviral effect.

Mechanisms of Cancer-killing by Quercetin; A Review on Cell Death Mechanisms.

Cancer drug resistance has always been a serious issue regarding cancer research and therapy. Different cancers undergo different mutations, which may cause suppression of tumor suppressor genes, inhibition of apoptosis, stimulation of drug resistance mediators, and exhaustion of the immune system. The modulation of pro-death and survival-related mediators is an intriguing strategy for cancer therapy.

Study on the Expression of lncRNA ATB and Nek9 in Breast Cancer Patients Based on Q-PCR Technology and Its Relationship with the Disease.

To reveal the relationship between the expression and disease progression, the expression of long noncoding RNA ATB (lncRNA ATB) and related protein kinase 9 (Nek 9) in serum of breast cancer patients by real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR (Q-PCR) is analyzed. The patients treated in our hospital from April 2021 to February 2022 are selected and grouped into several groups. Among them, 73 patients diagnosed with breast cancer and 44 patients with benign breast disease are divided into groups A and B, respectively.

Magnetic response of Arsenic pollution in a slag covered soil profile close to an abandoned tungsten mine, southern China.

Previous studies indicated serious soil arsenic (As) pollution of large spatial extent related to tungsten mining. We performed systematic analyses of magnetic parameters and As contents of a slag covered soil profile close to the abandoned tungsten mine in southern China, in order to discuss the feasibility of using sensitive, non-destructive, and cost-effective magnetic methods for monitoring the soil arsenic content in such arsenic pollution areas. The results indicate that arsenic sulfide entered from slags into the underlying soil and changed to iron arsenate and moveable arsenic ion.

Potential effects of exploiting the Yunfu pyrite mine (southern China) on soil: evidence from analyzing trace elements in surface soil.

Trace element contamination caused by mining is a serious environmental problem. The potential effects of exploiting the Yunfu pyrite mine (southern China) on soil were investigated by determining trace elements in 56 surface soil samples from the vicinity of the Yunfu pyrite mine. The samples were acid dissolved and measured by an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS).

Hominin occupation of the Chinese Loess Plateau since about 2.1 million years ago.

Considerable attention has been paid to dating the earliest appearance of hominins outside Africa. The earliest skeletal and artefactual evidence for the genus Homo in Asia currently comes from Dmanisi, Georgia, and is dated to approximately 1.77-1.

Screening and identification of the tumor-associated antigen CK10, a novel potential liver cancer marker.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a malignancy that is associated with high mortality rates in Asia. These tumors are highly invasive and their etiology is frequently unknown. Thus, most patients are diagnosed in the middle and late stages of the disease, and thus do not have sufficient time for therapy.

New dating of the Homo erectus cranium from Lantian (Gongwangling), China.

The Homo erectus cranium from Gongwangling, Lantian County, Shaanxi Province is the oldest fossil hominin specimen from North China. It was found in 1964 in a layer below the Jaramillo subchron and was attributed to loess (L) L15 in the Chinese loess-palaeosol sequence, with an estimated age of ca. 1.

Identification of small non-coding RNAs in the planarian Dugesia japonica via deep sequencing.

Freshwater planarian flatworm possesses an extraordinary ability to regenerate lost body parts after amputation; it is perfect organism model in regeneration and stem cell biology. Recently, small RNAs have been an increasing concern and studied in many aspects, including regeneration and stem cell biology, among others. In the current study, the large-scale cloning and sequencing of sRNAs from the intact and regenerative planarian Dugesia japonica are reported.

Differential expression of microRNA patterns in planarian normal and regenerative tissues.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are ~22-nt small non-coding RNAs that regulate the expression of specific target genes in many eukaryotes. miRNAs have been shown to play important roles in stem cell maintenance, cell fate determination, and differentiation. Planarians are capable of regenerating entire body plans from tiny fragments; this regenerative capacity is facilitated by a population of pluripotent stem cells known as neoblasts.

Modular design, expression and characterization of novel bifunctional mutants of fibrolase with combined platelet aggregation-inhibition and fibrinolytic activity.

Fibrolase is a non-hemorrhagic zinc metalloproteinase found in southern copperhead snake (Agkistrodon contortrix contortrix) venom that acts directly on fibrin clots and does not require plasminogen or any other blood-borne intermediate for activity. Chimeras of fibrolase with RGD peptides conferring antiplatelet activity have been synthesized covalently, but we describe a simpler, cheaper and less toxic method, using site-directed mutagensis. Fibrolase variants that constitute the arginine-glycine-aspartic acid (Arg-Gly-Asp, RGD) motif were constructed using site-directed mutagenesis.

Transcriptome profiling and digital gene expression by deep-sequencing in normal/regenerative tissues of planarian Dugesia japonica.

Planarians exhibit an extraordinary ability to regenerate lost body parts which is attributed to an abundance of pluripotent somatic stem cells called neoblasts. In this article, we report a transcriptome sequence of a Planaria subspecies Dugesia japonica derived by high-throughput sequencing. In addition, we researched transcriptome changes during different periods of regeneration by using a tag-based digital gene expression (DGE) system.

A new assessment method for urbanization environmental impact: urban environment entropy model and its application.

The thermodynamic law is one of the most widely used scientific principles. The comparability between the environmental impact of urbanization and the thermodynamic entropy was systematically analyzed. Consequently, the concept "Urban Environment Entropy" was brought forward and the "Urban Environment Entropy" model was established for urbanization environmental impact assessment in this study.

Assessing impact of urbanization on river water quality in the Pearl River Delta Economic Zone, China.

The Pearl River Delta Economic Zone is one of the most developed regions in China. It has been undergoing a rapid urbanization since the reformation and opening of China in 1978. This process plays a significant impact on the urban environment, particularly river water quality.

River water quality and pollution sources in the Pearl River Delta, China.

Some physicochemical parameters were determined for thirty field water samples collected from different water channels in the Pearl River Delta Economic Zone river system. The analytical results were compared with the environmental quality standards for surface water. Using the SPSS software, statistical analyses were performed to determine the main pollutants of the river water.

Water pollution and degradation in Pearl River Delta, South China.

The Pearl River Delta Economic Zone is the most dynamic economic area in South China. One of the major problems in the region is the sustainable utilization of the water resources. On the basis of analysis of the water environment status and pollution sources, it is suggested that domestic sewage is the primary cause of pollution.