Length–weight relationships for 14 fish species of the Suer River estuary in southern Korea

Length–weight relationships were estimated for 14 species belonging to 13 fish families from the Suer River estuary, Korea. These 14 species are: Callionymus valenciennei, Konosirus punctatus, Conger myriaster, Cynoglossus joyneri, Tribolodon hakonensis, Thryssa hamiltonii, Acanthogobius flavimanus, Paratrypauchen microcephalus, Hexagrammos agrammus, Nuchequula nuchalis, Pseudopleuronectes yokohamae, Pennahia argentata, Sillago japonica and Takifugu niphobles. Between April 2009 and January 2010, samples were caught by commercial trawl net at depths of <20 m. Estimates for parameter b of the length–weight relationship (W = aL^b) ranged between 2.510 and 3.149.     

IL-35 over-expression increases apoptosis sensitivity and suppresses cell growth in human cancer cells

Interleukin (IL)-35 is a novel heterodimeric cytokine in the IL-12 family and is composed of two subunits: Epstein-Barr virus-induced gene 3 (EBI3) and IL-12p35. IL-35 is expressed in T regulatory (Treg) cells and contributes to the immune suppression function of these cells. In contrast, we found that both IL-35 subunits were expressed concurrently in most human cancer cell lines compared to normal cell lines. In addition, we found that TNF-α and IFN-γ stimulation led to increased IL-35 expression in human cancer cells. Furthermore, over-expression of IL-35 in human cancer cells suppressed cell growth in vitro, induced cell cycle arrest at the G1 phase, and mediated robust apoptosis induced by serum starvation, TNF-α, and IFN-γ stimulation through the up-regulation of Fas and concurrent down-regulation of cyclinD1, survivin, and Bcl-2 expression. In conclusion, our results reveal a novel functional role for IL-35 in suppressing cancer activity, inhibiting cancer cell growth, and increasing the apoptosis sensitivity of human cancer cells through the regulation of genes related to the cell cycle and apoptosis. Thus, this research provides new insights into IL-35 function and presents a possible target for the development of novel cancer therapies.     

Semicontinuous Registration of Airborne Bacteria at an Inland and a Coastal Station in Sweden

Semicontinuous registration of the normal airborne bacteria flora during a one-year period was carried out at an inland and a coastal station near Stockholm. The sampling apparatus were FOA-slitsamplers that work on the impaction principle with a moving solid agar medium as collecting surface. At both localities meteorological variables were also recorded. The concentration of airborne bacteria ranged for the inland station from 0-500 bacteria/m³ with an average of 51 bacteria/m³ and for the coastal station from 0-250 bacteria/m³ with an average of 16 bacteria/m³. The diurnal pattern of variation varies with the time of year but there is a statistical difference between the day-average and night-average for the inland station but not for the coastal station. In the material studied the relative humidity followed by the wind velocity were factors of importance for the variation in the number of viable airborne bacteria.     

Synthesis and antibacterial activity of 9-oxime ether non-ketolides,and novel binding mode of alkylides with bacterial rRNA

We report a series of new 9-oxime ether non-ketolides, including 3-hydroxyl, 3-O-acyl and 3-O-alkyl clarithromycin derivatives, and thiophene-containing ketolides 1b–1d. Unlike previously reported ketolide 1a, none of them is comparable to telithromycin. A molecular modeling study was performed to gain insight into the binding mode of alkylides 17–20 with bacterial rRNA and to rationalize the great disparity of their SAR. The 3-O-sidechains of 19 and 20 point to the so-called hydrophilic side of the macrolide ring, as seen in clarithromycin. In contrast, the 3-O-sidechains of 17 and 18 bend to the backside, the so-called hydrophobic side of the macrolide ring. The results clearly indicated the alkylides with improved antibacterial activity might possess a novel binding mode, which is different from clarithromycin and the alkylides with poor activity.     

Design,synthesis, quantum chemical studies and biological activity evaluation of pyrazole–benzimidazole derivatives as potent Aurora A/B kinase inhibitors

Novel pyrazole–benzimidazole derivatives have been designed and synthesized. The entire target compounds were determined against cancer cell lines U937, K562, A549, LoVo and HT29 and were screened for Aurora A/B kinase inhibitory activity in vitro. The compounds 7a, 7b, 7i, 7k and 7l demonstrated significant cancer cell lines and Aurora A/B kinase inhibitory activities. Molecular modeling studies suggested the derivatives have bound in the active site of Aurora A kinase through the formation of four hydrogen bonds. Quantum chemical studies were carried out on these compounds to understand the structural features essential for activity. The cellular activity of 7k was also tested by immunofluorescence.     

Selected furanochalcones as inhibitors of monoamine oxidase

The validity of the chalcone scaffold for the design of inhibitors of monoamine oxidase has previously been illustrated. In a systematic attempt to investigate the effect of heterocyclic substitution on the monoamine oxidase inhibitory properties of this versatile scaffold, a series of furanochalcones were synthesized. The results demonstrate that these furan substituted phenylpropenones exhibited moderate to good inhibitory activities towards MAO-B, but showed weak or no inhibition of the MAO-A enzyme. The most active compound, 2E-3-(5-chlorofuran-2-yl)-1-(3-chlorophenyl)prop-2-en-1-one, exhibited an IC₅₀ value of 0.174 μM for the inhibition of MAO-B and 28.6 μM for the inhibition of MAO-A. Interestingly, contrary to data previously reported for chalcones, these furan substituted derivatives acted as reversible inhibitors, while kinetic analysis revealed a competitive mode of binding.