Looking Time Predicts Choice but Not Aesthetic Value

Although visual fixations are commonly used to index stimulus-driven or internally-determined preference, recent evidence suggests that visual fixations can also be a source of decisional bias that moves selection toward the fixated object. These contrasting results raise the question of whether visual fixations always index comparative processes during choice-based tasks, or whether they might better reflect internal preferences when the decision does not carry any economic or corporeal consequences. In two experiments, participants chose which of two objects were more aesthetically pleasing (Exp.1) or appeared more organic (Exp.2), and provided independent aesthetic ratings of the stimuli. Our results demonstrated that fixation parameters were a better index of choice in both decisional domains than of aesthetic preference. The data support models in which visual fixations are specifically related to the evolution of decision processes even when the decision has no tangible consequences.     

P16 and P53 Play Distinct Roles in Different Subtypes of Breast Cancer

Breast cancers are heterogeneous and complex diseases, and subtypes of breast cancers may involve unique molecular mechanisms. The p16^INK4a and p53 pathways are two of the major pathways involved in control of the cell cycle. They also play key roles in tumorigenesis. However, whether the roles of these pathways differ in the subtypes of breast cancer is unclear. Therefore, p16 and p53 expression were investigated in different breast cancer subtypes to ascertain their contributions to these cancers. A total of 400 cases of non-invasive ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) and invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC), including the major molecular subtypes luminal-A, luminal-B, Her-2, and triple-negative subtypes, and 50 cases of normal controls were compared. Luminal-A cancers expressed the lowest level of p16 among the subtypes in DCIS, and the level of p16 expression was up-regulated in the luminal-A of IDC (P<0.008). Triple-negative breast cancers were characterized by a correlation of p53 overexpression with a high level of p16 expression. Luminal lesion types with high p16 expression in DCIS were found to be more likely to develop into aggressive breast cancers, possibly promoted by p53 dysfunction. Taken together, the present study suggest that p16 expression in luminal-A breast cancers is associated with their progression from DCIS to IDC, and both p53 and p16 expressions are important for the development of triple-negative breast cancers in DCIS and IDC.     

Silencing of Long Noncoding RNA AK139328 Attenuates Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury in Mouse Livers

Recently, increasing evidences had suggested that long noncoding RNAs (LncRNAs) are involved in a wide range of physiological and pathophysiological processes. Here we determined the LncRNA expression profile using microarray technology in mouse livers after ischemia/reperfusion treatment. Seventy one LncRNAs were upregulated, and 27 LncRNAs were downregulated in ischemia/reperfusion-treated mouse livers. Eleven of the most significantly deregulated LncRNAs were further validated by quantitative PCR assays. Among the upregulated LncRNAs confirmed by quantitative PCR assays, AK139328 exhibited the highest expression level in normal mouse livers. siRNA-mediated knockdown of hepatic AK139328 decreased plasma aminotransferase activities, and reduced necrosis area in the livers with a decrease in caspase-3 activation after ischemia/reperfusion treatment. In ischemia/reperfusion liver, knockdown of AK139328 increased survival signaling proteins including phosphorylated Akt (pAkt), glycogen synthase kinase 3 (pGSK3) and endothelial nitric oxide synthase (peNOS). Furthermore, knockdown of AK139328 also reduced macrophage infitration and inhibited NF-κB activity and inflammatory cytokines expression. In conclusion, these findings revealed that deregulated LncRNAs are involved in liver ischemia/reperfusion injury. Silencing of AK139328 ameliorated ischemia/reperfusion injury in the liver with the activation of Akt signaling pathway and inhibition of NF-κB activity. LncRNA AK139328 might be a novel target for diagnosis and treatment of liver surgery or transplantation.     

三叶崖爬藤中的新黄酮碳甙

从三叶崖爬藤(Tetrastigma hemsleyanum Diels et Gilg.)的95%乙醇提取物中分离得到3个黄酮碳甙,经化学方法和光谱分析鉴定为:5,7,4′-三羟基黄酮-6-α-L-吡喃鼠李糖(1-4)-α-L-吡喃阿拉伯糖甙(1),5,7,4′-三羟基黄酮-8-α-L-吡喃鼠李糖(1-4)-α-L-吡喃阿拉伯糖甙(2),5,7,4′-三羟基黄酮-6,8-二-C-β-D-吡喃葡萄糖甙(3),1和2为新化合物,分别命名为崖爬藤甙和异崖爬藤甙.     

Neutrophil recognition requires a Ca(2+)-induced conformational change in the lectin domain of GMP-140.

GMP-140, a receptor for myeloid cells that is expressed on surfaces of thrombin-activated platelets and endothelial cells, is a member of the selectin family of adhesion molecules that regulate leukocyte interactions with the blood vessel wall. Each selectin contains an N-terminal domain homologous to Ca(2+)-dependent lectins and mediates cell-cell contact by binding to oligosaccharide ligands in a Ca(2+)-dependent manner. The mechanisms by which Ca2+ promotes selectin-dependent cellular interactions have not been defined. We demonstrate that purified GMP-140 contains two high affinity binding sites for Ca2+ as measured by equilibrium dialysis (Kd = 22 +/- 2 microM). Occupancy of these sites by Ca2+ alters the conformation of the protein as detected by a reduction in intrinsic fluorescence emission intensity (Kd = 4.8 +/- 0.2 microM). This Ca(2+)-dependent conformational change exposes an epitope spanning residues 19-34 of the lectin domain that is recognized by a monoclonal antibody capable of blocking neutrophil adhesion to GMP-140 (half-maximal antibody binding at approximately 20 microM Ca2+). Furthermore, a synthetic peptide encoding this epitope, CQNRYTDLVAIQNKNE, inhibits neutrophil binding to GMP-140. Mg2+ also alters the conformation of the protein, but not in a manner that will support leukocyte recognition in the absence of Ca2+. There is a strong correlation between the Ca2+ levels required for neutrophil adhesion to GMP-140, for occupancy of the two Ca(2+)-binding sites, for the fluorescence-detected conformational change, and for exposure of the antibody epitope in the lectin domain. We conclude that binding of Ca2+ to high affinity sites on GMP-140 modulates the conformation of the lectin domain in a manner that is essential for leukocyte recognition.     

Length‐length and length‐weight relationships for four fish species from Naolihe National Nature Reserve,Heilongjiang, China

In this study the length‐length and length‐weight relationships for four fish species from Naolihe National Nature Reserve in China belonging to three families and four genera were analyzed. They are Perccottus glenii Dybowski, 1877; Rhodeus sericeus Pallas, 1776; Cobitis lutheri Rendahl, 1935; and Misgurnus mohoity Dybowski, 1869. Fish samples were collected in May 2017 from Naolihe National Nature Reserve by fish catching cage (31*41 cm caliber, 16 m length, 3–5 mm mesh diameter), and identified as to species in the laboratory according to S. Q. Zhu (Synopsis of freshwater fishes of China, Jiangsu Science and Technology Publishing House, Nanjing, China, 1995).     

Preparation of lignosulfonate‐based nanofiltration membranes with improved water desalination performance

Pulping and papermaking generate large amounts of waste in the form of lignosulfonates which have limited valorized applications so far. Herein, we report a novel lignosulfonate‐based nanofiltration membrane, prepared by using polyethylenimine (PEI) and sodium lignosulfonate (SL) via a layer‐by‐layer (LbL) self‐assembly. As a low‐cost and renewable natural polyelectrolyte, SL is selected to replace the synthetic polyelectrolyte commonly used in the conventional LbL fabrication for composite membranes. The prepared LbL (PEI/SL)₇ membranes were crosslinked by glutaraldehyde (GA) to obtain (PEI/SL)₇‐GA membranes with compact selective layer. We characterized (PEI/SL)₇ and (PEI/SL)₇‐GA membranes to study the chemical compositions, morphologies, and surface hydrophilicity. To improve the nanofiltration performances of the (PEI/SL)₇‐GA membranes for water desalination, we investigated the effects of the crosslinking time, GA concentration and the NaCl supporting electrolyte on membrane structure and performance. The optimized (PEI/SL)₇‐GA membrane exhibited a permeating flux up to 39.6 L/(m²·h) and a rejection of 91.7% for the MgSO₄ aqueous solution 2.0 g/L concentration, showing its promising potential for water desalination. This study provides a new approach to applying the underdeveloped lignin‐based biomass as green membrane materials for water treatment.     

Hydrogen sulphide reduces hyperhomocysteinaemia-induced endothelial ER stress by sulfhydrating protein disulphide isomerase to attenuate atherosclerosis

Hyperhomocysteinaemia (HHcy)-impaired endothelial dysfunction including endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress plays a crucial role in atherogenesis. Hydrogen sulphide (H₂S), a metabolic production of Hcy and gasotransmitter, exhibits preventing cardiovascular damages induced by HHcy by reducing ER stress, but the underlying mechanism is unclear. Here, we made an atherosclerosis with HHcy mice model by ApoE knockout mice and feeding Pagien diet and drinking L-methionine water. H₂S donors NaHS and GYY4137 treatment lowered plaque area and ER stress in this model. Protein disulphide isomerase (PDI), a modulation protein folding key enzyme, was up-regulated in plaque and reduced by H₂S treatment. In cultured human aortic endothelial cells, Hcy dose and time dependently elevated PDI expression, but inhibited its activity, and which were rescued by H₂S. H₂S and its endogenous generation key enzyme-cystathionine γ lyase induced a new post-translational modification-sulfhydration of PDI. Sulfhydrated PDI enhanced its activity, and two cysteine-terminal CXXC domain of PDI was identified by site mutation. HHcy lowered PDI sulfhydration association ER stress, and H₂S rescued it but this effect was blocked by cysteine site mutation. Conclusively, we demonstrated that H₂S sulfhydrated PDI and enhanced its activity, reducing HHcy-induced endothelial ER stress to attenuate atherosclerosis development.     

The interaction between viral protein and host actin facilitates the virus infection to host

Although the virus-host interaction has attracted extensive studies, the host proteins essential for virus infection remain largely unknown. To address this issue, the shrimp Penaeus stylirostris densovirus (PstDNV), belonging to the family Parvoviridae, was characterized. PstDNV, a single-stranded DNA virus with a 3.9-kb genome, encoded only three open reading frames (ORFs). Among the three viral proteins, the PstDNV ORF2-encoded protein was discovered to interact with the shrimp actin, suggesting that the host actin played a very important role in virus infection. The RNAi assays revealed that the ORF2-encoded protein was required for the PstDNV infection. The confocal evidence demonstrated that the interaction between the ORF2-encoded protein and actin was essential for the virus infection. Therefore our study indicated that the manipulation of the host actin cytoskeleton was a necessary strategy for viral pathogens to invade host cells.     

抗HIV-1 gp160独特型阳性抗体的序列分析及表达

为了确定从噬菌体抗体文库中筛选出的抗体的属性和方便目的基因的表达及其产物的纯化,对两株具有“１Ｆ７”独特型的抗ＨＩＶ－１ｇｐ１６０抗体基因进行了序列分析并构建了可溶性表达载体．发现３Ｂ株含有完整的Ｆａｂ段,１Ｄ株只有重链Ｆｄ段．序列测定表明两株克隆的Ｆｄ段基因完全相同,其可变区ＶＨ属于ＶＨⅠ亚群,而３Ｂ株的“轻链”序列与已知的人的κ和λ轻链无同源性．用从另外的Ｆａｂ抗体文库中筛选出来的３株抗乙肝表面抗原抗体的轻链与３Ｂ的重链重组,并选择一个ＨＩＶ－１ｇｐ１６０特异性较好的重组抗体株,命名为３Ｂｓ．构建了１Ｄ株与３Ｂｓ株的可溶性表达载体,免疫印迹实验证实了具有“１Ｆ７”独特型的抗ｇｐ１６０独特型阳性抗体的表达．