Small GTPase Sar1 is crucial for proglutelin and α-globulin export from the endoplasmic reticulum in rice endosperm.

Rice seed storage proteins glutelin and α-globulin are synthesized in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and deposited in protein storage vacuoles (PSVs). Sar1, a small GTPase, acts as a molecular switch to regulate the assembly of coat protein complex II, which exports secretory protein from the ER to the Golgi apparatus. To reveal the route by which glutelin and α-globulin exit the ER, four putative Sar1 genes (OsSar1a/b/c/d) were cloned from rice, and transgenic rice were generated with Sar1 overexpressed or suppressed by RNA interference (RNAi) specifically in the endosperm under the control of the rice glutelin promoter.

Controlled morphology of thin film silicon integrated with environmentally responsive hydrogels.

Environmentally responsive hydrogels hold multiple important applications. However, the functionality of these materials alone is often limited in comparison to other materials like silicon; thus, there is a need to integrate soft and hard materials for the advancement of environmentally sensitive materials. Here we demonstrate the capability of integrating a thermoresponsive hydrogel, poly(N-isopropylacrylamide), with thin film silicon ribbons, enabling the stiff silicon ribbons to become adaptive and drivable by the soft environmentally sensitive substrate.

[Comparison of the effect between procaine and 5-aza-dc on wnt inhibitory factor 1 promoter methylation of HepG2].

Objective: To observe the CpG island methylation status, mRNA and protein expression of the Wnt inhibitory factor-1 (Wif-1) gene with procaine or 5'-Aza-2'-deoxycycytidine (5-aza-dc) on HepG2. And to explore the comparison of the demethylation with 5-aza-dc or procaine.

Methods: HepG2 cells were treated with 5-aza-dc or procaine.

[High-solids anaerobic co-digestion of sludge and kitchen garbage under mesophilic conditions].

At solid retention time (SRT) of 20 days, biogas production, volatile solid (VS) degradation and system stability in co-digestion systems of dewatered sludge (DS) and kitchen garbage (KG) were investigated in semi-continuous completely mixed reactors numbered R1-R5 (the DS/KG of their feeding substrate based on wet mass was 1:0, 4:1, 3:2, 2:3 and 0:1, respectively). The results showed that, with larger proportion of KG in feeding substrate, higher methane yield and biogas yield were obtained with lower methane content. For certain reactor at given SRT, KG addition could significantly improve the organic loading rate (OLR) and volume biogas production.

Assessment of a pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic interaction between simvastatin and Ginkgo biloba extracts in healthy subjects.

1. Ginkgo biloba extract (GBE) is one of the most commonly used herbal remedies worldwide. It is usually concomitantly administrated with statins to treat diseases in geriatric patients.

Exome sequencing identifies SLC24A5 as a candidate gene for nonsyndromic oculocutaneous albinism.

Oculocutaneous albinism (OCA) is a heterogeneous and autosomal recessive disorder with hypopigmentation in the eye, hair, and skin color. Four genes, TYR, OCA2, TYRP1, and SLC45A2, have been identified as causative genes for nonsyndromic OCA1-4, respectively. The genetic identity of OCA5 locus on 4q24 is unknown.

Electronically programmable, reversible shape change in two- and three-dimensional hydrogel structures.

Combining compliant electrode arrays in open-mesh constructs with hydrogels yields a class of soft actuator, capable of complex, programmable changes in shape. The results include materials strategies, integration approaches, and mechanical/thermal analysis of heater meshes embedded in thermoresponsive poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (pNIPAM) hydrogels with forms ranging from 2D sheets to 3D hemispherical shells.

[Relationship between anxiety, depression and asthma control].

Objective: To explore the relationship between psychological status of depression and anxiety and asthma control.

Methods: A total of 144 definite physician-diagnosed asthmatics at First Affiliated Hospital, Zhengzhou University from March 2011 to March 2012 were evaluated with the self-rating anxiety scale (SAS) and self-rating depressive scale (SDS). And 85 healthy subjects were selected as the controls and evaluated by the asthma control test (ACT).

Molecular dynamics studies on the adaptability of an ionic liquid in the extraction of solid nanoparticles.

Recently, a number of publications have suggested that ionic liquids (ILs) can absorb solid particles. This development may have implications in fields like oil sand processing, oil spill beach cleanup, and water treatment. In this Article, we provide a computational investigation of this phenomenon via molecular dynamics simulations.

MTHFR C667T polymorphism association with lung cancer risk in Henan province: a case-control study.

The current study was performed to assess any association between the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) C677T polymorphism and risk of lung cancer in Henan province. This case-control study involved94 patients with newly histological confirmed lung cancer and 78 healthy controls. Genotyping was achieved with peripheral blood lymphocytes DNA and association of the polymorphism with risk of lung cancer was estimated by unconditional logistic regression analysis.

Understanding droplet bridging in ionic liquid-based Pickering emulsions.

We have studied the unique bridging behavior of solid-stabilized oil-in-ionic liquid (IL) and water-in-ionic liquid emulsions with respect to particle concentration, particle size, and droplet phase using a confocal laser scanning microscope. The emulsions exhibited three morphology regimes: (1) single, sparingly covered droplets, (2) bridged clusters of droplets, and (3) fully covered droplets. The degree of bridging was directly proportional to the total potential bridging area which can be determined from the particle size and concentration.

(Z)-1,3-Bis(4-chloro-phen-yl)-2-(1H-1,2,4-triazol-1-yl)prop-2-en-1-one.

In the title mol-ecule, C(17)H(11)Cl(2)N(3)O, the C=C bond connecting the triazole and 4-chloro-phenyl groups adopts a Z geometry. The dihedral angles formed by the triazole ring and the 4-chloro substituted benzene rings are 67.3 (1) and 59.

Molecular dynamics simulations of charged nanoparticle self-assembly at ionic liquid-water and ionic liquid-oil interfaces.

Nanoparticle self-assembly at liquid-liquid interfaces can be significantly affected by the individual nanoparticle charges. This is particularly true at ionic liquid (IL) based interfaces, where Coulombic forces play a major role. Employing 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([BMIM][PF(6)]) as a model IL, we have studied the self-assembly of hydrophobic nanoparticles with different surface charges at the IL/water and IL/oil (hexane) interfaces using molecular dynamics simulations.

[Levels of HMGB1 in induced sputum from patients with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease].

Objective: To explore the relationship between the sputum levels of high mobility group protein B1 (HMGB1) and airway inflammation in bronchial asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients.

Methods: A total of 57 patients with persistent asthma [per Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) guidelines], 30 patients with stable COPD [stratified by Global Initiative for COPD (GOLD) status] and 20 control subjects were recruited. After completing an asthma control questionnaire, spirometry was performed before sputum induction.

Liver injury in HIV-1-infected patients receiving non-nucleosides reverse transcriptase inhibitors-based antiretroviral therapy.

Background: Liver injury is one of the most important adverse effects of antiretroviral therapy, leading to therapy changing or discontinuation. Data on liver injury in human immunodeficiency virus-1-infected patients receiving antiretroviral therapy are limited in China. The purpose of this study was to investigate the features of liver injury in human immunodeficiency virus type 1-infected patients receiving non-nucleosides reverse transcriptase inhibitors-based antiretroviral therapy in China.

[Regulating action of iron regulatory protein-2 in iron metabolism of lung cancer].

Objective: To discuss the regulating mechanism of iron regulatory protein-2 (IRP2) in the iron metabolism of lung cancer.

Methods: The cultured A549 cells were divided into 3 groups: liposome group (including liposomes 20 mg/L), random oligonucleotide group (SCODN group) and antisense oligonucleotide group (ASODN group). And the liposome-mediated transfection was employed with the liposome and SCODN groups as controls.

[Changes of HMGB1 and RAGE in induced sputum from patients with bronchial asthma].

Objective: To explore the relationship between HMGB1 (high mobility group box-1) protein and receptor for advanced glycosylation end products (RAGE) and the nosogenesis and severity of bronchial asthma.

Methods: Based on the criteria, the asthma group included 64 acute-onset asthma patients while the control group had 20 healthy cases. The asthma group received a 4-week combination inhalation therapy of budesonide and formoterol.

Evaluation of seed storage protein gene 3'-untranslated regions in enhancing gene expression in transgenic rice seed.

3' untranslated regions (UTRs) are important sequence elements that modulate the expression of genes. We evaluated the potential of the 3'-UTRs of 9 seed storage protein (SSP) genes as terminators in enhancing the expression of the β-glucuronidase (gus A) reporter gene driven by the glutelin GluB-3 promoter in stable transgenic rice lines. Six of the 3'-UTRs significantly enhanced the activity of the GluB-3 promoter without changing its tissue specificity but altered its expression pattern in endosperm.

Particle self-assembly in oil-in-ionic liquid Pickering emulsions.

We have studied polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)-in-1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([BMIM][PF(6)]) Pickering emulsions stabilized by polystyrene microparticles with different surface chemistry. Surprisingly, in contrast to the consensus originating from oil/water Pickering emulsions in which the solid particles equilibrate at the oil-water droplet interfaces and provide effective stabilization, here the polystyrene microparticles treated with sulfate, aldehyde sulfate, or carboxylate dissociable groups mostly formed monolayer bridges among the oil droplets rather than residing at the oil-ionic liquid interfaces. The bridge formation inhibited individual droplet-droplet coalescence; however, due to low density and large volume (thus the buoyant effect), the aggregated oil droplets actually promoted oil/ionic liquid phase separation and distressed emulsion stability.

Molecular dynamics simulations of nanoparticle self-assembly at ionic liquid-water and ionic liquid-oil interfaces.

We have studied the self-assembly of hydrophobic nanoparticles at ionic liquid (IL)-water and IL-oil (hexane) interfaces using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. For the 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([BMIM][PF(6)])/water system, the nanoparticles rapidly approached the IL-water interface and equilibrated more into the IL phase although they were initially in the water phase. In contrast, when the nanoparticles were dispersed in the hexane phase, they slowly approached the IL-hexane interface but remained primarily in the hexane phase.

Formation and dynamics of capillary-flow-induced colloidal rings.

We have directly observed the ring formation of colloidal particles of 1 μm diameter at the contact lines of air, water, and oil using a laser scanning confocal microscope. Colloidal rings form and grow through the transport of particles induced by capillary flow due to water evaporation. In addition, we observe the sudden "jump in" of particles into the ring and the "depletion" of particles in the ring.

Particle self-assembly in ionic liquid-in-water Pickering emulsions.

We report the self-assembly of a single species or a binary mixture of microparticles in ionic liquid-in-water Pickering emulsions, with emphases on the interfacial self-assembled particle structure and the partitioning preference of free particles in the dispersed and continuous phases. The particles form monolayers at ionic liquid-water interfaces and are close-packed on fully covered emulsion droplets or aggregated on partially covered droplets. In contrast to those at oil-water interfaces, no long-range-ordered colloidal lattices are observed.

Two-particle interfacial microrheology at polymer-polymer interfaces.

We continue to develop two-particle interfacial microrheology and have applied the technique to study the interfacial viscoelastic properties of immiscible poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS)-poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) interfaces. The interfacial storage and loss moduli are measured over a wide frequency range: at low frequencies, the interfaces are dominated by viscous responses whereas elasticity dominates at high frequencies. The zero-shear interfacial viscosity, estimated following the Cox-Merz rule and Cross model, falls between the bulk viscosities of the two individual polymers.

Genetic evolution of equine influenza viruses isolated in China.

China experienced an outbreak of equine influenza during 2007-2008. Meanwhile, its neighbor countries, such as Mongolia, India and Japan, have also been affected by various influenza virus strains in each country. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the newly emerging Chinese strains belong to Florida sublineage clade 2, as well as the Indian strain Jammu-Katra/6/08 and the Mongolian strain Mongolia/1/08.

Effect of glycyrrhizin on CYP2C19 and CYP3A4 activity in healthy volunteers with different CYP2C19 genotypes.

The objective of this study was to investigate the interaction between glycyrrhizin and omeprazole and observe the effects of glycyrrhizin on CYP2C19 and CYP3A4 activities in healthy Chinese male volunteers with different CYP2C19 genotypes. Eighteen healthy subjects (six CYP2C19*1/*1, five CYP2C19*1/*2, one CYP2C19*1/*3, five CYP2C19*2/*2 and one CYP2C19*2/*3) were enrolled in a two-phase randomized crossover trial. In each phase, all subjects received placebo or glycyrrhizin salt tablet 150 mg twice daily for 14 consecutive days.