Novel hepacivirus in Asian house shrew,China

<正>Dear Editor,Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a leading global cause of various liver diseases, including chronic hepatitis, liver cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma. The genome of HCV is monopartite, single-stranded, positive RNA, about 10 kb in size.HCV is the prototype species of the Hepacivirus genus,which contains 14 species according to the update from the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (Smith et al., 2016). Prior to 2005, humans were thought to be the only     

Vascular progenitor cell senescence in patients with Marfan syndrome

Vascular progenitor cells (VPCs) present in the adventitia of the vessel wall play a critical role in the regulation of vascular repair following injury. This study aimed to assess the function of VPCs isolated from patients with Marfan syndrome (MFS). VPCs were isolated from control and MFS donors and characterized. Compared with control‐VPCs, MFS‐VPCs exhibited cellular senescence as demonstrated by increased cell size, higher SA‐β‐gal activity and elevated levels of p53 and p21. RNA sequencing showed that several cellular process‐related pathways including cell cycle and cellular senescence were significantly enriched in MFP‐VPCs. Notably, the expression level of TGF‐β1 was much higher in MFS‐VPCs than control‐VPCs. Treatment of control‐VPCs with TGF‐β1 significantly enhanced mitochondrial reactive oxidative species (ROS) and induced cellular senescence whereas inhibition of ROS reversed these effects. MFS‐VPCs displayed increased mitochondrial fusion and decreased mitochondrial fission. Treatment of control‐VPCs with TGF‐β1 increased mitochondrial fusion and reduced mitochondrial fission. Nonetheless, treatment of mitofusin2 (Mfn2)‐siRNA inhibited TGF‐β1‐induced mitochondrial fusion and cellular senescence. Furthermore, TGF‐β1‐induced mitochondrial fusion was mediated by the AMPK signalling pathway. Our study shows that TGF‐β1 induces VPC senescence in patients with MFS by mediating mitochondrial dynamics via the AMPK signalling pathway.     

Inter‐α‐inhibitor deficiency in the mouse is associated with alterations in anxiety‐like behavior,exploration and social approach

In recent years, several genome‐wide association studies have identified candidate regions for genetic susceptibility in major mood disorders. Most notable are regions in a locus in chromosome 3p21, encompassing the genes NEK4‐ITIH1‐ITIH3‐ITIH4. Three of these genes represent heavy chains of the composite protein inter‐α‐inhibitor (IαI). In order to further establish associations of these genes with mood disorders, we evaluated behavioral phenotypes in mice deficient in either Ambp/bikunin, which is necessary for functional ITIH1 and ITIH3 complexes, or in Itih4, the gene encoding the heavy chain Itih4. We found that loss of Itih4 had no effect on the behaviors tested, but loss of Ambp/bikunin led to increased anxiety‐like behavior in the light/dark and open field tests and reduced exploratory activity in the elevated plus maze, light/dark preference and open field tests. Ambp/bikunin knockout mice also exhibited a sex‐dependent exaggeration of acoustic startle responses, alterations in social approach during a three‐chamber choice test, and an elevated fear conditioning response. These results provide experimental support for the role of ITIH1/ITIH3 in the development of mood disorders.     

Synthesis and Antitumor Evaluation in Vitro of NO‐Donating Ursolic Acid‐Benzylidene Derivatives

Antitumor activity of triterpenoid and its derivatives has attracted great attention recently. Our previous efforts led to the discovery of a series of NO‐donor betulin derivatives with potent antitumor activity. Herein, we prepared eight compounds derived from ursolic acid (UA). All the compounds were evaluated for their in vitro cytotoxicity against four human cancer cell lines (HepG‐2, MCF‐7, HT‐29 and A549). Among the compounds tested, compound 4a was found to be most active against HT‐29 (IC₅₀=4.28 μm ). Further biological assays demonstrated that compound 4a could induce cell cycle arrest at G1 phase and apoptosis in a dose‐dependent manner. In addition, compound 4a was found to upregulate pro‐apoptotic Bax, p53 and downregulate anti‐apoptotic Bcl‐2. All these results suggested that compound 4a is a potential candidate drug for the therapy of colon cancer.     

Downregulation of CENPF Remodels Prostate Cancer Cells and Alters Cellular Metabolism

Metabolic alterations in prostate cancer (PC) are associated with progression and aggressiveness. However, the underlying mechanisms behind PC metabolic functions are unknown. The authors’ group recently reported on the important role of centromere protein F (CENPF), a protein associated with the centromere–kinetochore complex and chromosomal segregation during mitosis, in PC MRI visibility. This study focuses on discerning the role of CENPF in metabolic perturbation in human PC3 cells. A series of bioinformatics analyses shows that CENPF is one gene that is strongly associated with aggressive PC and that its expression is positively correlated with metastasis. By identifying and reconstructing the CENPF network, additional associations with lipid regulation are found. Further untargeted metabolomics analysis using gas chromatography‐time‐of‐flight‐mass spectrometry reveals that silencing of CENPF alters the global metabolic profiles of PC cells and inhibits cell proliferation, which suggests that CENPF may be a critical regulator of PC metabolism. These findings provide useful scientific insights that can be applied in future studies investigating potential targets for PC treatment.     

Determination of oxytetracycline hydrochloride in milk and egg white samples using Ru(bipy)32+–Ce(SO4)2 chemiluminescence

A novel, rapid and sensitive chemiluminescence (CL) method for the determination of oxytetracycline hydrochloride (OTCH) is described in this paper. The presented method was based on the fact that OTCH could immensely enhance the CL of the reaction of cerium sulfate and tris(2,2‐bipyridyl) ruthenium (II) in acidic medium. Under optimal experimental conditions, CL intensity was favorably linear for OTCH in the range 5.0 × 10^?7 to 5.0 × 10^?5 g/ml, with a detection limit of 1.5 × 10^?7 g/ml (S/N = 3). The relative standard detection was 4.76% for 5.0 × 10^?6 g/ml (n = 11). This method was successfully applied to the analysis of OTCH in milk and egg white samples. According to the results of the kinetic curves for OTCH in the Ru(bipy)₃²⁺–Ce(SO₄)₂ CL system, together with CL and ultraviolet (UV)–visible spectra, the possible mechanism of the CL reaction is discussed briefly.     

Slot‐Die and Roll‐to‐Roll Processed Single Junction Organic Photovoltaic Cells with the Highest Efficiency

The record efficiency of the state‐of‐the‐art polymer solar cells (PSCs) is rapidly increasing, due to the discovery of high‐performance photoactive donor and acceptor materials. However, strong questions remain as to whether such high‐efficiency PSCs can be produced by scalable processes. This paper reports a high power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 13.5% achieved with single‐junction ternary PSCs based on PTB7‐Th, PC₇₁BM, and COi8DFIC fabricated by slot‐die coating, which shows the highest PCE ever reported in PSCs fabricated by a scalable process. To understand the origin of the high performance of the slot‐die coated device, slot‐die coated photoactive films and devices are systematically investigated. These results indicate that the good performance of the slot‐die PSCs can be due to a favorable molecule‐structure and film‐morphology change by introducing 1,8‐diiodooctane and heat treatment, which can lead to improved charge transport with reduced carrier recombination. The optimized condition is then used for the fabrication of large‐area modules and also for roll‐to‐roll fabrication. The slot‐die coated module with 30 cm² active‐area and roll‐to‐roll produced flexible PSC has shown 8.6% and 9.6%, respectively. These efficiencies are the highest in each category and demonstrate the strong potential of the slot‐die coated ternary system for commercial applications.     

Preliminary analysis of geographical distribution based on cold hardiness for Evergestis extimalis (Scopoli) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) on Qinghai–Tibet Plateau

Evergestis extimalis  (Scopoli) is a pest insect present in spring rape fields of the Qinghai–Tibet plateau. A survey of its distribution and analysis of its physiological and biochemical variances of its overwintering larvae were conducted in this study. Prior to 2006, Evergestis extimalis Scopli appeared only sporadically at the east agricultural district of Qinghai Province at 2,100 m elevation; after 2006, there have been frequent outbreaks at 2,200 m or so height. The insect's distribution has extended continuously toward higher altitudes yearly, and the scope of its damage reached 2,800 m height in 2010. These changes indicate that the cold hardiness of E. extimalis is on the rise. Physiological and biochemical analyses were performed for the insect's overwintering larvae from November 2011 to March 2012. The supercooling point (SCP) and freezing point (FP) ranged from ?6.85°C to ?12.49°C and from ?6.23°C to ?8.17°C, respectively, and both were at their respective lowest points in January 2012; the lowest points of water and fat contents (which did not vary to any extreme degree throughout the test period) were also observed in January 2012. Glycogen content varied from 2.42 mg/g to 4.56 mg/g. Protein content increased gradually at the first two months and reached its peak in January 2012 before dropping slightly. The activity of protective enzymes POD, CAT, and SOD varied with changes in environmental temperature, and each was at its lowest point in January 2012. With the exception of protein and glycerol content, other physiological and biochemical variances were generally parallel with environmental temperature, strongly indicating that E. extimalis has indeed developed cold hardiness.