The Preparation and Performance of a New Polyurethane Vascular Prosthesis

We investigated the performance of small-caliber polyurethane (PU) small-diameter vascular prosthesis generated using the electrospinning technique. PU was electrospun into small-diameter, small-caliber tubular scaffolds for potential application as vascular grafts. We investigated the effects of electrospinning conditions (solution concentration, mandrel rotation speed) on the microstructure and porosity of the scaffolds for the purpose of preparing scaffolds with optimum microstructures and properties. We evaluated the mechanical properties of the scaffolds by tensile tests and the cytotoxicity of the PU small-diameter, small-caliber PU synthetic vascular graft by the MTT assay. The adhesion of endothelial cells to the PU scaffold was characterized by Hoechst staining and fluorescence microscopy, and we measured endothelial cell proliferation on the PU scaffold by the CCK-8 assay. We analyzed the prosthesis microstructure and endothelial cell morphology using scanning electron microscopy. With increasing PU concentration in the electrospinning solution, the fiber diameter of the vascular graft increased and the porosity decreased. In addition, with increasing electrospinning time, the wall thickness increased and the porosity decreased. We found that regular fiber orientation can be obtained by adjusting the rotation speed of the mandrel. Cell proliferation was not inhibited as the small-caliber PU synthetic vascular grafts showed little cytotoxicity. The endothelial cells had faster adherence to the PU scaffolds than to the PTFE surface during the initial contact. After prolonged cell culture, significantly higher endothelial cell proliferation rate was observed in the PU scaffold groups than the PTFE group. We obtained small-caliber PU vascular grafts with optimal fiber arrangement, excellent mechanical properties, and optimal biocompatibility by optimizing the electrospinning conditions. This study provides in vitro biocompatibility data that is helpful for the clinical application of the PU small-diameter, small-caliber PU vascular grafts.     

Prognostic significance of X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis protein in solid tumors: A systematic review and meta-analysis

X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis protein (XIAP) is aberrantly expressed in solid tumors. Considering conflicting data, we conducted this meta-analysis to investigate its prognostic role. Electronic databases were searched to collect studies about associations between XIAP expressions and survival outcomes. Hazard ratio (HR), odds ratio (OR), and 95% confidence interval (CI) were utilized as effect size estimates. A total of 3,794 patients from 21 published studies were included. The results revealed that high XIAP expressions correlated with age (OR = 2.02; 95% CI, 1.07–3.84), lymph node metastasis (OR = 1.69; 95% CI, 1.02–2.77), histological grade (OR = 2.04; 95% CI, 1.01–4.11), and tumor stage (OR = 2.18; 95% CI, 1.20–3.96). The combined HR revealed that high XIAP expressions associated with poor overall survival (OS) (HR = 1.60; 95% CI, 1.22–2.10). Our study suggested high XIAP expressions may be indicative of poor prognosis in solid tumors.     

Developmental expression of P2X5 receptors in the mouse prenatal central and peripheral nervous systems

The functions of P2X purinoceptors (P2X1-7) in the nervous system of adults have been widely studied. However, little is known about their roles during embryonic development. Our previous work has reported an extensive expression of P2X5 receptors in the adult mouse central nervous system. In the present study, we have examined the expression pattern of P2X5 receptor mRNA and protein during prenatal development of the mouse nervous system (from embryonic day E8 to E17). P2X5 receptors appeared in the neural tube as early as E8 and were gradually confined to new-born neurons in the cortical plate and ventral horn of the spinal cord. Heavy signals for P2X5 receptors were also found in dorsal root ganglia (DRG), retina, olfactory epithelium, and nerve fibers in skeletal muscles. In conclusion, P2X5 receptors were strongly represented in the developing mouse nervous system. The transient high expression pattern of P2X5 receptors in epithelium-like structures suggests a role during early neurogenesis.     

Microbial Electricity Generation Enhances Decabromodiphenyl Ether (BDE-209) Degradation

Due to environmental persistence and biotoxicity of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), it is urgent to develop potential technologies to remediate PBDEs. Introducing electrodes for microbial electricity generation to stimulate the anaerobic degradation of organic pollutants is highly promising for bioremediation. However, it is still not clear whether the degradation of PBDEs could be promoted by this strategy. In this study, we hypothesized that the degradation of PBDEs (e.g., BDE-209) would be enhanced under microbial electricity generation condition. The functional compositions and structures of microbial communities in closed-circuit microbial fuel cell (c-MFC) and open-circuit microbial fuel cell (o-MFC) systems for BDE-209 degradation were detected by a comprehensive functional gene array, GeoChip 4.0, and linked with PBDE degradations. The results indicated that distinctly different microbial community structures were formed between c-MFCs and o-MFCs, and that lower concentrations of BDE-209 and the resulting lower brominated PBDE products were detected in c-MFCs after 70-day performance. The diversity and abundance of a variety of functional genes in c-MFCs were significantly higher than those in o-MFCs. Most genes involved in chlorinated solvent reductive dechlorination, hydroxylation, methoxylation and aromatic hydrocarbon degradation were highly enriched in c-MFCs and significantly positively correlated with the removal of PBDEs. Various other microbial functional genes for carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus and sulfur cycling, as well as energy transformation process, were also significantly increased in c-MFCs. Together, these results suggest that PBDE degradation could be enhanced by introducing the electrodes for microbial electricity generation and by specifically stimulating microbial functional genes.     

Pedigree‐based analysis of derivation of genome segments of an elite rice reveals key regions during its breeding

Analyses of genome variations with high‐throughput assays have improved our understanding of genetic basis of crop domestication and identified the selected genome regions, but little is known about that of modern breeding, which has limited the usefulness of massive elite cultivars in further breeding. Here we deploy pedigree‐based analysis of an elite rice, Huanghuazhan, to exploit key genome regions during its breeding. The cultivars in the pedigree were resequenced with 7.6× depth on average, and 2.1 million high‐quality single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were obtained. Tracing the derivation of genome blocks with pedigree and information on SNPs revealed the chromosomal recombination during breeding, which showed that 26.22% of Huanghuazhan genome are strictly conserved key regions. These major effect regions were further supported by a QTL mapping of 260 recombinant inbred lines derived from the cross of Huanghuazhan and a very dissimilar cultivar, Shuanggui 36, and by the genome profile of eight cultivars and 36 elite lines derived from Huanghuazhan. Hitting these regions with the cloned genes revealed they include numbers of key genes, which were then applied to demonstrate how Huanghuazhan were bred after 30 years of effort and to dissect the deficiency of artificial selection. We concluded the regions are helpful to the further breeding based on this pedigree and performing breeding by design. Our study provides genetic dissection of modern rice breeding and sheds new light on how to perform genomewide breeding by design.     

Proteome alteration of U251 human astrocytoma cell after inhibiting retinoic acid synthesis

Retinoic acid (Ra) is crucial for the patterning and neuronal differentiation in the central nervous system (CNS). Ra deficiency in animals disrupts the motor activities and memory abilities. The molecular mechanisms underlying these behavior abnormalities remain largely unknown. In the current study, we treated the astrocytoma cells with citral, an inhibitor of Ra synthesis. We analyzed the differences in the protein concentrations between the treated and untreated astrocytoma cells by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE), Imagemaster software, and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS). In total, 39 of 46 altered protein spots with significant mascot scores were identified representing 36 proteins, that were involved in significantly altered glutamate metabolism, lipid metabolism, mitochrondrial function, and oxidative stress response by Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA). Altered 3-phosphoglycerate dehydrogenase (PHGDH) was also observed in western blot. These data provide some clues for explaining the behavioral changes caused by Ra deficiency, and support the hypothesis that Ra signaling is associated with some symptoms of neurodegenerative disorders and schizophrenia.     

不同产地苍术药材化学成分的比较

江苏、安徽及湖北５个产地苍术（Ａｔｒａｃｔｙｌｏｄｅｓｌａｎｃｅａ（Ｔｈｕｎｂ．）ＤＣ．）商品药材的化学分析结果表明：它们在某些药材性状、一些常规化学成分、挥发油成分和含量上存在显著差异。江苏茅苍术根茎挥发油的化学成分复杂,由此探讨了它作为地道药材的特殊性。同时对苍术的“断面暴露稍久可析出结晶”的性状和《药典》（１９９０年版）规定的“层析谱上应显有苍术素斑点”的鉴别实验进行讨论。     

An oncolytic adenovirus delivering TSLC1 inhibits Wnt signaling pathway and tumor growth in SMMC-7721 xenograft mice model

Tumor suppressor in lung cancer-1(TSLC1)was first identified as a tumor suppressor for lung cancer,and frequently downregulated in various types of cancers incl...     

The protein kinase C orthologue PkcA plays a role in cell wall integrity and polarized growth in Aspergillus nidulans

The calC2 mutation in Aspergillus nidulans causes hypersensitivity to Calcofluor White, along with other drug sensitivities that indicate a defect in cell wall integrity. We have cloned CalC by complementation, isolating the A. nidulans orthologue of protein kinase C (PkcA). The pkcA allele of the calC2 strain contains a mutation predicted to introduce a charged arginine residue in place of neutral glycine at a conserved site located immediately beside the C1B regulatory domain. Both PkcA and calC2 map to the same region of chromosome VIII. A PkcA::GFP chimera localizes to hyphal apices and growing septa, as well as to the conidiogenous apices of phialides, indicating a role for PkcA in polarized cell wall growth. These observations support the hypothesis that the role of PkcA in A. nidulans, is comparable to that played by Pkc1p in the Saccharomyces cerevisiae cell wall integrity pathway.     

Negative HBcAg in immunohistochemistry assay of liver biopsy is a predictive factor for the treatment of patients with nucleos(t)ide analogue therapy

The hepatitis B core antigen (HBcAg) is an important target for antiviral response in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients. However, the correlation between HBcAg in the hepatocyte nucleus and nucleos(t)ide analogue (NA) therapeutic response is unclear. We sought to evaluate the role of HBcAg by analysing liver biopsies for viral response in NA‐naïve hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) positive (+) CHB patients via immunohistochemistry (IHC). A total of 48 HBcAg‐negative (?) patients and 48 HBcAg (+) patients with matching baseline characteristics were retrospectively analysed for up to 288 weeks. Virological response (VR) rates of patients in the HBcAg (?) group were significantly higher at week 48 and 96 than the HBcAg (+) group (77.1% versus 45.8% at week 48, respectively, P = 0.002 and 95.3% versus 83.3% at week 96, respectively, P = 0.045). The serological negative conversion rate of HBeAg was significantly higher in the HBcAg (?) than in the HBcAg (+) group from week 96 to 288 (35.4 % versus 14.6% at week 96, respectively, P = 0.018; 60.4% versus 14.6%, respectively, P < 0.001 at week 144; 72.9% versus 35.4%, respectively, P < 0.001 at week 288). The cumulative frequencies of VR and lack of HBeAg were higher in the HBcAg (?) group (both P < 0.05). Binary logistic regression analysis showed that HBcAg (?) was the predictor for the lack of HBeAg (OR 4.482, 95% CI: 1.58–12.68). In summary, the absence of HBcAg in the hepatocyte nucleus could be an independent predictor for HBeAg seroconversion rates during NA‐naïve treatment in HBeAg (+) CHB patients.