rSJYB1 inhibits collagen type I protein expression in hepatic stellate cells via down‐regulating activity of collagen α1 (I) promoter

YB1 is a negative regulator in liver fibrosis. We wondered whether SJYB1, a homologous protein of YB1 from Schistosoma japonicum, has an effect on liver fibrosis in vitro. Recombinant SJYB1 (rSJYB1) protein was expressed in a bacterial system and purified by Ni‐NTA His·Bind Resin. A human hepatic stellate cell line, the LX‐2 cell line, was cultured and treated with rSJYB1. The role of rSJYB1 on LX‐2 cells was then analysed by Western blot and luciferase assay. We succeeded in expressing and purifying SJYB1 in a bacterial system and the purified rSJYB1 could be recognized by S japonicum‐infected rabbit sera. Western bolt analysis showed that rSJYB1 inhibited the expression of collagen type I, but had little effect on α‐smooth muscle actin (α‐SMA). Further analysis revealed that rSJYB1 inhibited the activity of collagen α1 (I) (COL1A1) promoter and functioned at ?1592/?1176 region of COL1A1 promoter. Our data demonstrate that rSJYB1‐mediated anti‐fibrotic activity involves inhibiting the activity of COL1A1 promoter and subsequently suppressing the expression of collagen type I in hepatic stellate cells.     

Berberine attenuates XRCC1‐mediated base excision repair and sensitizes breast cancer cells to the chemotherapeutic drugs

Berberine (BBR) is a natural isoquinoline alkaloid, which is used in traditional medicine for its anti‐microbial, anti‐protozoal, anti‐diarrhoeal activities. Berberine interacts with DNA and displays anti‐cancer activities, yet its effects on cellular DNA repair and on synthetic treatments with chemotherapeutic drugs remain unclear. In this study, we investigated the effects of BBR on DNA repair and on sensitization of breast cancer cells to different types of DNA damage anti‐tumoural drugs. We found BBR arrested cells in the cell cycle S phase and induced DNA breaks. Cell growth analysis showed BBR sensitized MDA‐MB‐231 cells to cisplatin, camptothecin and methyl methanesulfonate; however, BBR had no synergistic effects with hydroxurea and olaparib. These results suggest BBR only affects specific DNA repair pathways. Western blot showed BBR down‐regulated XRCC1 expressions, and the rescued XRCC1 recovered the resistance of cancer cells to BBR. Therefore, we conclude that BBR interferes with XRCC1‐mediated base excision repair to sensitize cancer cells to chemotherapeutic drugs. These finding can contribute to understanding the effects of BBR on cellular DNA repair and the clinical employment of BBR in treatment of breast cancer.     

Phenotypic Characteristics and Fatty Acid Composition of Seeds from Different Herbaceous Peony Species Native to China

Herbaceous peony has been widely cultivated in China due to its substantial ornamental and medicinal value. In the present study, the phenotypic characteristics, total fatty acid (FA) content, and nine FA compositions of herbaceous peony seeds from 14 populations belonging to six species and one subspecies were determined by normal test and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The results showed that the phenotypic characteristics of seeds varied dramatically among species. The concentrations of five major FAs in seed oils were as follows: linoleic acid (173.95–236.51 μg/mg), linolenic acid (227.82–302.71 μg/mg), oleic acid (135.32–208.81 μg/mg), stearic acid (6.52–11.7 μg/mg), and palmitic acid (30.67–47.64 μg/mg). Correlation analysis demonstrated that oleic acid had the highest partial correlation coefficient with total FAs and might be applied to develop a model of phenotypic characteristics. FAs were significantly influenced by the following environmental factors: latitude, elevation, and annual average temperature. Based on the FA levels in the seed oils, clustering analysis divided 14 populations into two clusters. It was found that the average contents of oleic acid, linoleic acid, and total FAs in cluster I (147.16 μg/mg, 200.31 μg/mg, and 671.24 μg/mg, respectively) were significantly lower than those in cluster II (196.65 μg/mg, 220.16 μg/mg, and 741.78 μg/mg, respectively). Cluster I was perfectly consistent with subsect. Foliolatae, while cluster II was in good agreement with subsect. Dissectifoliae. Therefore, the FA composition of wild herbaceous peony seed oil might be used as a chemotaxonomic marker.     

Design and Synthesis of Novel Thiazolo[5,4‐d]pyrimidine Derivatives as Potential Angiogenesis Inhibitors

Vascular endothelial growth factor receptor‐2 (VEGFR‐2) plays an important role in both vasculogenesis and angiogenesis. Inhibition of VEGFR‐2 has been demonstrated as a key method against tumor‐associated angiogenesis. Thiazolopyrimidine is an important analog of the purine ring, and we choose the thiazolopyrimidine scaffold as the mother nucleus. Two series of thiazolo[5,4‐d]pyrimidine derivatives were synthesized and evaluated for their antiproliferative activity. In HUVEC inhibition assay, compounds 3l (=1‐(5‐{[2‐(4‐chlorophenyl)‐5‐methyl[1,3]thiazolo[5,4‐d]pyrimidin‐7‐yl]amino}pyridin‐2‐yl)‐3‐(3,4‐dimethylphenyl)urea) and 3m (=1‐(5‐{[2‐(4‐chlorophenyl)‐5‐methyl[1,3]thiazolo[5,4‐d]pyrimidin‐7‐yl]amino}pyridin‐2‐yl)‐3‐(4‐methoxyphenyl)urea) exhibited the most potent inhibitory effect (IC₅₀=1.65 and 3.52 μm , respectively). Compound 3l also showed the best potency against VEGFR‐2 at 50 μm (98.5 %). These results suggest that further investigation of compound 3l might provide potential angiogenesis inhibitors.     

Twist and Degrade—Impact of Molecular Structure on the Photostability of Nonfullerene Acceptors and Their Photovoltaic Blends

Nonfullerene acceptors (NFAs) dominate organic photovoltaic (OPV) research due to their promising efficiencies and stabilities. However, there is very little investigation into the molecular processes of degradation, which is critical to guiding design of novel NFAs for long‐lived, commercially viable OPVs. Here, the important role of molecular structure and conformation in NFA photostability in air is investigated by comparing structurally similar but conformationally different promising NFAs: planar O‐IDTBR and nonplanar O‐IDFBR. A three‐phase degradation process is identified: i) initial photoinduced conformational change (i.e., torsion about the core–benzothiadiazole dihedral), induced by noncovalent interactions with environmental molecules, ii) followed by photo‐oxidation and fragmentation, leading to chromophore bleaching and degradation product formation, and iii) finally complete chromophore bleaching. Initial conformational change is a critical prerequisite for further degradation, providing fundamental understanding of the relative stability of IDTBR and IDFBR, where the already twisted IDFBR is more prone to degradation. When blended with the donor polymer poly(3‐hexylthiophene), both NFAs exhibit improved photostability while the photostability of the polymer itself is significantly reduced by the more miscible twisted NFA. The findings elucidate the important role of NFA molecular structure in photostability of OPV systems, and provide vital insights into molecular design rules for intrinsically photostable NFAs.     

Hydrated Intercalation for High‐Performance Aqueous Zinc Ion Batteries

Aqueous zinc ion batteries (AZIBs) are steadily gaining attention based on their attractive merits regarding cost and safety. However, there are many obstacles to overcome, especially in terms of finding suitable cathode materials and elucidating their reaction mechanisms. Here, a mixed‐valence vanadium oxide, V₆O₁₃, that functions as a stable cathode material in mildly acidic aqueous electrolytes is reported. Paired with a zinc metal anode, this material exhibits performance metrics of 360 mAh g^?1 at 0.2 A g^?1, 92% capacity retention after 2000 cycles, and 145 mAh g^?1 at a current density of 24.0 A g^?1. A combination of experiments and density functional theory calculations suggests that hydrated intercalation, where water molecules are cointercalated with Zn ions upon discharge, accounts for the aforementioned electrochemical performance. This intercalation mechanism facilitates Zn ion diffusion throughout the host lattice and electrode–electrolyte interface via electrostatic shielding and concurrent structural stabilization. Through a correlation of experimental data and theoretical calculations, the promise of utilizing hydrated intercalation as a means to achieve high‐performance AZIBs is demonstrated.     

Characterization of the mechanical properties for cranial bones of 8-week-old piglets: the effect of strain rate and region

Biomechanics and Modeling in Mechanobiology - Due to ethical reasons, piglets have often been employed as surrogates for children in biomechanics studies. To our knowledge, no public data detailing...     

A leaf shape mutant provides insight into PINOID Serine/Threonine Kinase function in cucumber(Cucumis sativus L.)

Optimizing leaf shape is a major challenge in efforts to develop an ideal plant type. Cucumber leaf shapes are diverse; however, the molecular regulatory mechanisms underlying leaf shape formation are unknown. In this study, we obtained a round leaf mutant(rl) from an ethyl methanesulfonate-induced mutagenesis population. Genetic analysis revealed that a single recessive gene, rl, is responsible for this mutation. A modified Mut Map analysis combined linkage mapping identified a single nucleotide polymorphism within a candidate gene,Csa1 M537400, as the mutation underlying the trait.Csa1 M537400 encodes a PINOID kinase protein involved in auxin transport. Expression of Csa1 M537400 was significantly lower in the rl mutant than in wild type, and it displayed higher levels of IAA(indole-3-acetic acid) in several tissues. Treatment of wild-type plants with an auxin transport inhibitor induced the formation of round leaves,similar to those in the rl mutant. Altered expression patterns of several auxin-related genes in the rl mutant suggest that rl plays a key role in auxin biosynthesis,transport, and response in cucumber. These findings provide insight into the molecular mechanism underlying the regulation of auxin signaling pathways in cucumber,and will be valuable in the development of an ideal plant type.     

两种内镜手术对消化道神经内分泌肿瘤的切除效果及安全性评价

目的:探讨内镜下两种手术方法对消化道神经内分泌肿瘤的切除效果和安全性。方法:选取64例消化道神经内分泌肿瘤患者,随机分为A组和B组,每组各32例。A组接受内镜下黏膜切除术,B组接受内镜下黏膜剥离术。分析和比较两组所切除组织的病理学检查结果、手术时间、切除肿瘤的直径和厚度、治疗费用、住院时间、肿瘤完全切除率、垂直切缘阴性率以及并发症的发生率。结果:A组的手术时间为(8.95±1.63) min,治疗费用为(2127.70±468.31)元,均显著少于B组(P0.05);两组患者切除肿瘤直径和厚度、住院时间、垂直切缘阴性率对比差异均没有统计学意义(P0.05);B组的肿瘤完全切除率为93.75%,显著高于A组(P0.05);A组并发症发生率为3.13%,显著低于B组(P0.05)。结论:两种内镜下手术方式均可有效清除消化道神经内分泌肿瘤病灶。内镜下黏膜切除术的手术时间、费用及并发症的发生率更少低,而内镜下黏膜剥离术能够更彻底地清除肿瘤组织。     

The use of quantitative imaging to investigate regulators of membrane trafficking in Arabidopsis stomatal closure

Expansion of gene families facilitates robustness and evolvability of biological processes but impedes functional genetic dissection of signalling pathways. To address this, quantitative analysis of single cell responses can help characterize the redundancy within gene families. We developed high‐throughput quantitative imaging of stomatal closure, a response of plant guard cells, and performed a reverse genetic screen in a group of Arabidopsis mutants to five stimuli. Focussing on the intersection between guard cell signalling and the endomembrane system, we identified eight clusters based on the mutant stomatal responses. Mutants generally affected in stomatal closure were mostly in genes encoding SNARE and SCAMP membrane regulators. By contrast, mutants in RAB5 GTPase genes played specific roles in stomatal closure to microbial but not drought stress. Together with timed quantitative imaging of endosomes revealing sequential patterns in FLS2 trafficking, our imaging pipeline can resolve non‐redundant functions of the RAB5 GTPase gene family. Finally, we provide a valuable image‐based tool to dissect guard cell responses and outline a genetic framework of stomatal closure.