Expression of long noncoding RNA is induced by glucocorticoids.

Glucocorticoids (GCs) are potent anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive agents. However, their clinical usage is limited by severe multisystemic side effects. Glucocorticoid induced osteoporosis results in significant morbidity and mortality but the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying GC-induced bone loss are not clear.

The dual beneficial effects of vermiremediation: Reducing soil bioavailability of cadmium (Cd) and improving soil fertility by earthworm (Eisenia fetida) modified by seasonality.

This study aimed to assess earthworm's capability of reducing the bioavailability of cadmium (Cd) in soil and increasing soil fertility with the modification of seasonal variations of ambient temperatures on the efficacy of vermiremediation. Earthworms were exposed in soil fortified with 0, 5, 10, and 20 mg Cd kg, for 7, 14 and 21 days in winter and spring. The bioavailability of Cd in soil, which is represented in the form of diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid-extractable fraction (DTPA-Cd), were significantly reduced, ranging from 7.

A spectrum matching method for accurate frequency estimation of real sinusoids.

It is well-known that incoherent sampling is detrimental for frequency estimation of a real sinusoid, and the estimation errors get worse when the signal lengths are very short. In this paper, a spectrum matching based frequency estimator is proposed as well as evaluated against other four two-step methods developed to suppress the effect of incoherent sampling. The spectral interference introduced by incoherent sampling is eliminated via a spectrum matching process including modulation and spectral analysis.

Systems Study on the Antirheumatic Mechanism of Tibetan Medicated-Bath Therapy Using Wuwei-Ganlu-Yaoyu-Keli.

In clinical practice at Tibetan area of China, Traditional Tibetan Medicine formula Wuwei-Ganlu-Yaoyu-Keli (WGYK) is commonly added in warm water of bath therapy to treat rheumatoid arthritis (RA). However, its mechanism of action is not well interpreted yet. In this paper, we first verify WGYK's anti-RA effect by an animal experiment.

Differentially expressed genes in PPARγ-deficient MSCs.

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) is a key regulator of adipogenesis. It is also a central player in energy metabolism, inflammation and immunity. As an important nuclear transcription factor, PPARγ can regulate the expression and function of genes or biological processes directly or indirectly via association with other factors and thus modulate their activities.

Large eddy simulation and experimental study on vented gasoline-air mixture explosions in a semi-confined obstructed pipe.

In this work, LES simulation coupled with a TFC sub-grid combustion model has been performed in a semi-confined pipe (L/D=10, V=10L) in the presence of four hollow-square obstacles (BR=49.8%) with circular hollow cross-section, in order to study the premixed gasoline-air mixture explosions. The comparisons between simulated results and experimental results have been conducted.

The gene expression profiles in response to 102 traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) components: a general template for research on TCMs.

Traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) have important therapeutic value in long-term clinical practice. However, because TCMs contain diverse ingredients and have complex effects on the human body, the molecular mechanisms of TCMs are poorly understood. In this work, we determined the gene expression profiles of cells in response to TCM components to investigate TCM activities at the molecular and cellular levels.

A network-based method for mechanistic investigation of Shexiang Baoxin Pill's treatment of cardiovascular diseases.

Shexiang Baoxin Pill (SBP), a traditional Chinese medicine formula, is commonly used to treat cardiovascular disease (CVD) in China. However, the complexity of composition and targets has deterred our understanding of its mechanism of action. Using network pharmacology-based approaches, we established the mechanism of action for SBP to treat CVD by analyzing protein-protein interactions and pathways.

The retained templates as "helpers" for the spherical meso-silica in adsorption of heavy metals and impacts of solution chemistry.

The spherical mesoporous silica (meso-silica) MCM-41 and those with different dosage of the retained templates were prepared and characterized. Particularly, effects of the retained template and its dosage on the adsorption of typical heavy metals (Cu and Cd) in the synthesized materials were investigated. The results indicated that the retained templates acted as "helpers" for the adsorption of Cu and Cd in the spherical meso-silica MCM-41, and the maximum adsorption capacities (Q) increased with the increase of the retained template dosage.

Efficient As(III) removal by magnetic CuO-FeO nanoparticles through photo-oxidation and adsorption under light irradiation.

A novel bifunctional CuO-FeO magnetic material was synthesized and characterized, to remove As(III) through photo-oxidation and adsorption. Photo-oxidation of As(III), adsorption characteristics of CuO-FeO nanoparticles, the effect of solution pH, ionic strength and coexisting ions on As(III) removal were investigated. Under light irradiation, As(III) could be completely oxidized to less toxic As(V) by CuO-FeO nanoparticles within 60min in the photo-oxidation reaction.

Effects of matrix types on formation and transformation of energy-accumulating substances in enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR).

Enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) has been widely used in wastewater treatment. In this study, a laboratory investigation of activated sludge in A/O-SBR reactor was conducted to probe the effects of the matrix types on EBPR polyphosphate, intracellular polysaccharide, polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) formation and transformation. There is a decrease in anaerobic condition and an increase in aerobic condition for the intracellular glycogen of sodium propionate matrix and sodium acetate matrix.

The integration of weighted human gene association networks based on link prediction.

Background: Physical and functional interplays between genes or proteins have important biological meaning for cellular functions. Some efforts have been made to construct weighted gene association meta-networks by integrating multiple biological resources, where the weight indicates the confidence of the interaction. However, it is found that these existing human gene association networks share only quite limited overlapped interactions, suggesting their incompleteness and noise.

Effects of concentration, temperature, humidity, and nitrogen inert dilution on the gasoline vapor explosion.

This study aims at providing basic information for the explosion-protecting technology in the gasoline storage and transportation process. Experiments were conducted to investigate the explosion parameters under different gasoline vapor concentrations (0.92-2.

Ultrasound irritation enhanced heterogeneous activation of peroxymonosulfate with FeO for degradation of azo dye.

Magnetic FeO nanoparticles were synthesized and used as peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activator in the presence of ultrasound (US) irritation for azo dye degradation in this study. At pH 7.0 and temperature 298K, FeO nanoparticles were able to activate PMS under ultrasound irritation to produce sulfate radicals for acid orange 7 (AO7) removal in 30min.

Enhanced adsorption of the cationic dyes in the spherical CuO/meso-silica nano composite and impact of solution chemistry.

In this study, the spherical mesoporous silica (meso-silica MCM-41) and that inorganically modified with CuO (CuO/MCM-41 nano composite) were synthesized and characterized. It was demonstrated that CuO were successfully loaded in the synthesized nano composite CuO/MCM-41. Importantly, the loaded CuO had a significant enhancement effect on the adsorption of Crystal violet and Methylene blue.

Membrane fouling of forward osmosis (FO) membrane for municipal wastewater treatment: A comparison between direct FO and OMBR.

In this work, membrane fouling behavior in a direct forward osmosis (FO) and an osmotic membrane bioreactor (OMBR) for municipal wastewater treatment was systematically investigated and compared. During the long-term operation, much severer flux decline was observed for the direct FO than that for the OMBR. The cake layer was found to be much thicker, together with large amounts of microorganisms growing on the membrane surface in direct FO.

Compound K Attenuates the Development of Atherosclerosis in ApoE(-/-) Mice via LXRα Activation.

Background: Atherosclerosis is a fundamental pathological process responded to some serious cardiovascular events. Although the cholesterol-lowering drugs are widely prescribed for atherosclerosis therapy, it is still the leading cause of death in the developed world. Here we measured the effects of compound K in atherosclerosis formation and investigated the probably mechanisms of the anti-antherosclerosis roles of compound K.

[Effects of Pyrene on Low Molecule Weight Organic Compounds in the Root Exudates of Five Species of ].

Phytoremediation is an important measure to remove organic pollutants from contaminated soil, and the root secretion of plant is considered to be closely related to the mechanisms of phytoremediation of organic pollutants. It is in favor of revealing the mechanisms of remediation by studying the characteristics of root exudates of plants with phytoremediation potential under the stress of pollutants. In the present research, pyrene and five species of which have been testified to be tolerant to pyrene stress were selected as studied objects.

Adsorption characteristics of Pb(II) from aqueous solutions onto a natural biosorbent, fallen arborvitae leaves.

In this study, the potential of the oriental arborvitae leaves for the adsorption of Pb(II) from aqueous solutions was evaluated. Brunauer-Emmett-Teller analysis showed that the surface area of arborvitae leaves was 29.52 m(2)/g with pore diameter ranging from 2 to 50 nm.

Bacopaside I ameliorates cognitive impairment in APP/PS1 mice via immune-mediated clearance of β-amyloid.

Standardized extracts of Bacopa monniera (BME) have been shown to exert a neuroprotective effect against mental diseases, such as depression, anxiety and Alzheimer's disease (AD), in chronic administration studies. However, its mechanism of action has remained unclear. In this study, we evaluated the therapeutic effect of Bacopaside I (BS-I), a major triterpenoid saponin of BME, on the cognitive impairment and neuropathology in APP/PS1 transgenic mice and explored the possible mechanism from a biological systems perspective.

Adsorption of quinolone antibiotics in spherical mesoporous silica: Effects of the retained template and its alkyl chain length.

In this study, mesoporous silica (meso-silica) MCM-41 and those with the templates retained were synthesized and characterized. Adsorption capacities of the synthesized materials towards typical quinolone antibiotic pollutants, enrofloxacin and norfloxacin as representative, were investigated, and effects of the alkyl chain length of the templates on the adsorption capacity were evaluated. The results of this study indicated that the retained templates enhanced the adsorption capacities (Qmax) of the meso-silica MCM-41 toward hydrophobic enrofloxacin, but had an inhibitory effect on that towards hydrophilic norfloxacin, which were attributed to the hydrophobic inter-environment created by the long alkyl chains of the retained templates.

Prediction of Links and Weights in Networks by Reliable Routes.

Link prediction aims to uncover missing links or predict the emergence of future relationships from the current network structure. Plenty of algorithms have been developed for link prediction in unweighted networks, but only a few have been extended to weighted networks. In this paper, we present what we call a "reliable-route method" to extend unweighted local similarity indices to weighted ones.

Astragaloside IV Attenuates Glutamate-Induced Neurotoxicity in PC12 Cells through Raf-MEK-ERK Pathway.

Astragaloside IV (AGS-IV) is a main active ingredient of Astragalus membranaceus Bunge, a medicinal herb prescribed as an immunostimulant, hepatoprotective, antiperspirant, a diuretic or a tonic as documented in Chinese Materia Medica. In the present study, we employed a high-throughput comparative proteomic approach based on 2D-nano-LC-MS/MS to investigate the possible mechanism of action involved in the neuroprotective effect of AGS-IV against glutamate-induced neurotoxicity in PC12 cells. Differential proteins were identified, among which 13 proteins survived the stringent filter criteria and were further included for functional discussion.

Analysis of Cynandione A's Anti-Ischemic Stroke Effects from Pathways and Protein-Protein Interactome.

Ischemic stroke is the third leading cause of death in the world. Our previous study found that cynandione A (CYNA), the main component from the root of Cynanchum bungei, exhibits anti-ischemic stroke activity. In this work, we investigated the therapeutic mechanisms of CYNA to ischemic stroke at protein network level.