Unveiling community adaptations to extreme heat events using mobile phone location data.

The escalating frequency, duration, and intensity of extreme heat events have posed a significant threat to human society in recent decades. Understanding the dynamic patterns of human mobility under extreme heat will contribute to accurately assessing the risk of extreme heat exposure. This study leverages an emerging geospatial data source, anonymous cell phone location data, to investigate how people in different communities adapt travel behaviors responding to extreme heat events. Taking the Greater Houston Metropolitan Area as an example, we develop two indices, the Mobility Disruption Index (MDI) and the Activity Time Shift Index (ATSI), to quantify diurnal mobility changes and activity time shift patterns at the city and intra-urban scales. The results reveal that human mobility decreases significantly in the daytime of extreme heat events in Houston while the proportion of activity after 8 p.m. is increased, accompanied with a delay in travel time in the evening. Moreover, these mobility-decreasing and activity-delaying effects exhibited substantial spatial heterogeneity across census block groups. Causality analysis using the Geographical Convergent Cross Mapping (GCCM) model combined with correlation analyses indicates that people in areas with a high proportion of minorities and poverty are less able to adopt heat adaptation strategies to avoid the risk of heat exposure. These findings highlight the fact that besides the physical aspect of environmental justice on heat exposure, the inequity lies in the population's capacity and knowledge to adapt to extreme heat. This research is the first of the kind that quantifies multi-level mobility for extreme heat responses, and sheds light on a new facade to plan and implement heat mitigations and adaptation strategies beyond the traditional approaches.

Genome-wide identification of potential odontogenic genes involved in the dental epithelium-mesenchymal interaction during early odontogenesis.

BACKGROUND: Epithelium-mesenchymal interactions are involved in odontogenic processes. Previous studies have focused on the intracellular signalling regulatory network in tooth development, but the functions of extracellular regulatory molecules have remained unclear. This study aims to explore the gene profile of extracellular proteoglycans and their glycosaminoglycan chains potentially involved in dental epithelium-mesenchymal interactions using high-throughput sequencing to provide new understanding of early odontogenesis. RESULTS: Whole transcriptome profiles of the mouse dental epithelium and mesenchyme were investigated by RNA sequencing (RNA-seq). A total of 1,281 and 1,582 differentially expressed genes were identified between the dental epithelium and mesenchyme at E11.5 and E13.5, respectively. Enrichment analysis showed that extracellular regions and ECM-receptor interactions were significantly enriched at both E11.5 and E13.5. Polymerase chain reaction analysis confirmed that the extracellular proteoglycan family exhibited distinct changes during epithelium-mesenchymal interactions. Most proteoglycans showed higher transcript levels in the dental mesenchyme, whereas only a few were upregulated in the epithelium at both stages. In addition, 9 proteoglycans showed dynamic expression changes between these two tissue compartments. Gpc4, Sdc2, Spock2, Dcn and Lum were expressed at higher levels in the dental epithelium at E11.5, whereas their expression was significantly higher in the dental mesenchyme at E13.5, which coincides with the odontogenic potential shift. Moreover, the glycosaminoglycan biosynthetic enzymes Ext1, Hs3st1/5, Hs6st2/3, Ndst3 and Sulf1 also exhibited early upregulation in the epithelium but showed markedly higher expression in the mesenchyme after the odontogenic potential shift. CONCLUSION: This study reveals the dynamic expression profile of extracellular proteoglycans and their biosynthetic enzymes during the dental epithelium-mesenchymal interaction. This study offers new insight into the roles of extracellular proteoglycans and their distinct sulfation underlying early odontogenesis.

Multi-angle lensless ptychographic imaging via adaptive correction and the Nesterov method.

Lensless systems based on ptychographic imaging can simultaneously achieve a large field of view and high resolution while having the advantages of small size, portability, and low cost compared to traditional lensed imaging. However, lensless imaging systems are susceptible to environmental noise and have a lower resolution of individual images than lens-based imaging systems, which means that they require a longer time to obtain a good result. Therefore, in this paper, to improve the convergence rate and robustness of noise in lensless ptychographic imaging, we propose an adaptive correction method, in which we add an adaptive error term and noise correction term in lensless ptychographic algorithms to reach convergence faster and create a better suppression effect on both Gaussian noise and Poisson noise. The Wirtinger flow and the Nesterov algorithms are used in our method to reduce computational complexity and improve the convergence rate. We applied the method to phase reconstruction for lensless imaging and demonstrated the effectiveness of the method by simulation and experiment. The method can be easily applied to other ptychographic iterative algorithms.

Determination of 44 major components and chemical profiling of saccharide in Chinese medicinal formula Lanqin Oral Liquid.

INTRODUCTION: Lanqin Oral Liquid (LQL) is a traditional Chinese medicine preparation (TCMP) containing five herbal medicines and has been commonly used for the treatment of pharyngitis and hand-foot-and-mouth disease in clinic. The material basis of LQL has been reported in our previous study, but the contents of the major components and the features of saccharide in LQL are still unclear. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to establish accurate and rapid methods for the quantification of the major components and profiling of saccharide in LQL. The quantitative results combined with similarity evaluation were applied to improve the quality control of LQL. METHODOLOGY: An ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled with triple-quadrupole tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-QQQ-MS) method was utilised to determine 44 major components. Cosine similarity was used to evaluate the similarities among 20 batches of LQL based on the quantitative results of 44 major components. The physicochemical properties, structure, composition, and contents of saccharide in LQL were detected by a combination of chemical and instrumental analysis. RESULTS: A total of 44 compounds, including flavonoids, iridoid glycosides, alkaloids, and nucleosides, were accurately determined. The 20 batches of LQL were remarkably similar (> 0.95). In addition, d-glucose, galactose, d-glucuronic acid, arabinose, and d-mannose were detected in saccharide of LQL. The contents of saccharide in LQL were 13.52-21.09 mg/ml. CONCLUSIONS: The established methods can be applied for the comprehensive quality control of LQL, including characterisation of saccharide and quantification of representative components. Our study will provide a robust chemical foundation for disclosing the quality markers of its therapeutic effect.

The diverse life-course cohort (DLCC): protocol of a large-scale prospective study in China.

The Diverse Life-Course Cohort (DLCC) is a large-scale prospective study including around 130,000 participants in mainland China. The primary aims of DLCC include contributing to knowledge on noncommunicable chronic disease determinants, particularly cardiometabolic diseases, and exploring the long-term effect of ambient air pollutants or other environmental risk factors on health among all-age populations. The cohort consists of several sub-populations that cover the whole life-course and diverse resources: from premarital to adolescents, adults from workplace and communities ranged from 18 to 93 years old. Baseline assessment (2017-2021) included face-to-face standardized questionnaire interview and measurements to assess social and biological factors of health. Blood samples were collected from each participant (except for children younger than 6) to establish the biobank. DLCC consists of two visits. Visit 1 was conducted from 2017, and 114850 individuals from one of the world-class urban agglomerations: Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei area were recruited. By the end of 2021, at least one follow-up was carried out, with an overall follow-up rate of 92.33%. In 2021, we initiated Visit 2, newly recruited 9,866 adults from Guangdong province (South China) and Hebei province (Central China), with research focuses on the comparations on ambient pollution hazards and other unique dietary or environmental risks for health. The baseline survey of Visit 2 was finished in July 2021. DLCC is still ongoing with a long-term follow-up design, and not limited by the current funding period. With reliable data and the well-established biobank which consists of over 120,000 individuals' blood samples, DLCC will provide invaluable resources for scientific research.

Efficient multiplexed illumination and imaging approach for Fourier ptychographic microscopy.

A Fourier ptychographic microscope (FPM) can obtain images with high resolution and a wide field of view (FOV). However, the time-consuming process of image acquisition and computation leads to low reconstruction efficiency. Therefore, we propose a state-multiplexed method through an optimized illumination pattern to accelerate FPM. First, to reduce the redundancy of the spectrum and analyze the impact of missing a certain sub-spectrum on overall spectrum reconstruction, we use an image quality evaluation method to obtain the differential expression between missing a certain LED lighting and all LED lighting. Second, we use the difference expression to select the important LEDs and obtain an optimized illumination pattern that lights up only the LEDs in the central area and the edge LEDs. Then, we update the multiplexing method with the new, to the best of our knowledge, illumination pattern and obtain satisfactorily reconstructed images. Finally, we validate the effectiveness and efficiency of our method with both simulation and experiments. Compared with the traditional method, our method accelerates the reconstruction speed of FPM while ensuring a large FOV and high resolution, saving about 73% of time.

Distraction osteogenesis at the proximal third of the ulna for the treatment of Masada type I/IIb deformities in children with hereditary multiple exostoses: a retrospective review of twenty cases.

BACKGROUND: Ulna distraction by monolateral external fixator (MEFix) is a good option for the treatment of Masada type I and IIb deformities in children with hereditary multiple exostoses (HMEs). However, there is no consensus regarding where to perform ulnar osteotomy. Our hypothesis is that osteotomy at the proximal third of the ulna and progressive distraction with MEFix can simultaneously correct elbow and wrist deformities in patients with HME. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed patients with HME who underwent ulna distraction osteogenesis from June 2014 to March 2019. The carrying angle (CA), radial articular angle (RAA), ulnar variance (UV), radial variance (RV) and range of motion (ROM) of the affected forearm and elbow were clinically assessed before lengthening and at the last follow-up visit. The total ulna lengthening distance (LD) and radiographic outcome were also recorded. RESULTS: Nineteen patients (20 forearms) with HME aged 9.1 ± 2.4 years at the time of surgery were retrospectively reviewed. The mean follow-up period was 26.1 ± 5.6 months. There were 11 patients (12 forearms) with Masada type I deformities and eight patients (8 forearms) with Masada type IIb deformities. Patients with type IIb deformity had higher RV, lower CA values, less elbow flexion and forearm pronosupination than those with type I deformity (p < 0.05); RV was an independent risk factor for radial head dislocation, with the cut off at RV > 15.5 mm. The mean LDs in patients with type I and type IIb deformities were 33.6 ± 6.6 mm and 41.4 ± 5.4 mm, respectively. The mean CA, UV, RV, forearm pronation and ulna deviation at the wrist improved significantly following surgery in all patients. In particular, five of eight patients (62.5%) with type IIb deformities had concentric reduction of the radiocapitellar joint, while no radial head subluxation was detected in patients with type I deformities at the last follow-up. Three complications were recorded: two pin-track infections and one delayed union. CONCLUSIONS: Distraction osteogenesis at the proximal third of the ulna provides satisfactory clinical and radiological outcomes in patients with Masada type I and IIb deformities. Early treatment of Masada type I deformities is indicated before progression to more complex type IIb deformities.

Mangrovimonas spongiae sp. nov., a novel member of the genus Mangrovimonas isolated from marine sponge.

A taxonomic study was carried out on strain HN-E26T, which was isolated from sponge collected from Yangpu Bay, Hainan, PR China. Cells of strain HN-E26T were Gram-stain-negative, motile by gliding, yellow-pigmented and rod-shaped. The strain could grow at 10-40 °C (optimum, 25 °C), at pH 6.0-9.0 (optimum, pH 7.0) and in 0.5-12 % (w/v) NaCl (optimum, 4-7 %). This isolate was positive for oxidase, catalase, and the hydrolysis of starch, xylan, aesculin and gelatin, but negative for indole production and the reduction of nitrate. Strain HN-E26T shared the highest 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity with Mangrovimonas yunxiaonensis LYYY01T (95.5 %), followed by Formosa spongicola A2T (94.4 %), Meridianimaribacter flavus NH57NT (94.3 %) and Winogradskyella exilis 022-2-26T (94.3 %). The phylogenetic tree based on 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that strain HN-E26T formed a distinct phylogenetic lineage within the cluster comprising Mangrovimonas yunxiaonensis LYYY01T and 'Mangrovimonas xylaniphaga' ST2L12T. The dominant fatty acids were iso-C15 : 0 and iso-C15 : 1 G. The major polar lipids comprised phosphatidylethanolamine, three unidentified aminolipids and six unidentified lipids. The respiratory lipoquinone was identified as MK-6. The G+C content of the genomic DNA was 33.9 mol%. Based on the phenotypic and phylogenetic data, strain HN-E26T represents a novel species of the genus Mangrovimonas, for which the name Mangrovimonas spongiae sp. nov. is proposed, with the type strain HN-E26T (=MCCC 1K03326T=LMG 30458T).

Pathotype Grouping of Cercospora sojina Isolates on Soybean and Sensitivity to QoI Fungicides.

Frogeye leaf spot (FLS), caused by Cercospora sojina, is a common disease of soybean in the southern and northern United States and causes significant yield loss. The use of the current race scheme for classification for C. sojina does not take into account the range of disease severity reactions within each differential. The objective of this research was to better understand the diversity among C. sojina isolates through the development and use of pathogenicity groups. In this study, 83 isolates acquired from 2006 to 2009 were screened using 12 soybean (Glycine max) differentials. Disease severity on the 12 differentials ranged from 0 to 9, where 0 is immune and 9 is very susceptible. The average severity for each isolate across differentials ranged from 1 to 7. The 83 isolates were grouped into five pathogenicity groups (PG): PG1, PG2, PG3, PG4, and PG5, reflecting the severity grouping. Using the 12 differentials, PG1 isolates were differentiated by the lack of infection on Davis, Peking, Kent, Palmetto, Hood, CNS, Tracy, and Richland. PG2 had a range of infections on a scale of 1 to 2 on all differentials except on Davis; PG3 isolates had severity ranging from 3 to 4 except on Davis. PG4 isolates caused no infection on Davis, a maximum disease severity of 5 on Peking, while the rest of differentials had severities from 5 to 6. PG5 isolates caused no infection on Davis, severity of 7 on CNS, and severity of 8 on Kent, Hood, and Palmetto. The remaining seven differentials had severities of 9. Across the geographical locations, the predominant pathotypes were PG3 and PG4 and represented 84% of the tested isolates. Azoxystrobin fungicide sensitivity tests showed that 88% of the isolates were sensitive and dominated the population, while only 6% had a high level of fungicide resistance, suggesting that FLS resistance to the QoI fungicide group was not yet completely developed and had not spread to other areas at the time when these isolates were acquired. The overall virulence profile of the isolates indicated that there was variation in disease severity, suggesting that selection of resistance for each PG may produce lines with more precisely defined interactions to specific pathotypes of C. sojina. This may improve the screening and selection of useful resistance genes that could be pyramided for resistance to each pathogenicity group.

Gut microbiota regulates neuropathic pain: potential mechanisms and therapeutic strategy.

Neuropathic pain (NP) is a sustained and nonreversible condition characterized by long-term devastating physical and psychological damage. Therefore, it is urgent to identify an effective treatment for NP. Unfortunately, the precise pathogenesis of NP has not been elucidated. Currently, the microbiota-gut-brain axis has drawn increasing attention, and the emerging role of gut microbiota is investigated in numerous diseases including NP. Gut microbiota is considered as a pivotal regulator in immune, neural, endocrine, and metabolic signaling pathways, which participates in forming a complex network to affect the development of NP directly or indirectly. In this review, we conclude the current understanding of preclinical and clinical findings regarding the role of gut microbiota in NP and provide a novel therapeutic method for pain relief by medication and dietary interventions.

Decreases in Blood Pressure During Thrombectomy Are Associated With Larger Infarct Volumes and Worse Functional Outcome.

Background and Purpose- After large-vessel intracranial occlusion, the fate of the ischemic penumbra, and ultimately final infarct volume, largely depends on tissue perfusion. In this study, we evaluated whether blood pressure reduction and sustained relative hypotension during endovascular thrombectomy are associated with infarct progression and functional outcome. Methods- We identified consecutive patients with large-vessel intracranial occlusion ischemic stroke who underwent mechanical thrombectomy at 2 comprehensive stroke centers. Intraprocedural mean arterial pressure (MAP) was monitored throughout the procedure. ΔMAP was calculated as the difference between admission MAP and lowest MAP during endovascular thrombectomy until recanalization. Sustained hypotension was measured as the area between admission MAP and continuous measurements of intraprocedural MAP (aMAP). Final infarct volume was measured using magnetic resonance imaging at 24 hours, and functional outcome was assessed using the modified Rankin Scale at discharge and 90 days. Associations with outcome were analyzed using linear and ordinal multivariable logistic regression. Results- Three hundred ninety patients (mean age 71±14 years, mean National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score of 17) were included in the study; of these, 280 (72%) achieved Thrombolysis in Cerebral Infarction 2B/3 reperfusion. Eighty-seven percent of patients experienced MAP reductions during endovascular thrombectomy (mean 31±20 mm Hg). ΔMAP was associated with greater infarct growth ( P=0.036) and final infarct volume ( P=0.035). Mean ΔMAP among patients with favorable outcomes (modified Rankin Scale score, 0-2) was 20±21 mm Hg compared with 30±24 mm Hg among patients with poor outcome ( P=0.002). In the multivariable analysis, ΔMAP was independently associated with higher (worse) modified Rankin Scale scores at discharge (adjusted odds ratio per 10 mm Hg, 1.17; 95% CI, 1.04-1.32; P=0.009) and at 90 days (adjusted odds ratio per 10 mm Hg, 1.22; 95% CI, 1.07-1.38; P=0.003). The association between aMAP and outcome was also significant at discharge ( P=0.002) and 90 days ( P=0.001). Conclusions- Blood pressure reduction before recanalization is associated with larger infarct volumes and worse functional outcomes for patients affected by large-vessel intracranial occlusion stroke. These results underscore the importance of BP management during endovascular thrombectomy and highlight the need for further investigation of blood pressure management after large-vessel intracranial occlusion stroke.

Accurate identification of myocardial viability after myocardial infarction with novel manganese chelate-based MR imaging.

We developed a novel manganese (Mn2+ ) chelate for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) assessment of myocardial viability in acute and chronic myocardial infarct (MI) models, and compared it with Gadolinium-based delay enhancement MRI (Gd3+ -DEMRI) and histology. MI was induced in 14 rabbits by permanent occlusion of the left circumflex coronary artery. Gd3+ -DEMRI and Mn2+ chelate-based delayed enhancement MRI (Mn2+ chelate-DEMRI) were performed at 7 days (acute MI, n = 8) or 8 weeks (chronic MI, n = 6) after surgery with sequential injection of 0.15 mmol/kg Gd3+ and Mn2+ chelate. The biodistribution of Mn2+ in tissues and blood was measured at 1.5 and 24 h. Blood pressure, heart rate (HR), left ventricular (LV) function, and infarct fraction (IF) were analyzed, and IF was compared with the histology. The Mn2+ chelate group maintained a stable hemodynamic status during experiment. For acute and chronic MI, all rabbits survived without significant differences in HR or LV function before and after injection of Mn2+ chelate or Gd3+ (p > 0.05). Mn2+ chelate mainly accumulated in the kidney, liver, spleen, and heart at 1.5 h, with low tissue uptake and urine residue at 24 h after injection. In the acute MI group, there was no significant difference in IF between Mn2+ chelate-DEMRI and histology (22.92 ± 2.21% vs. 21.79 ± 2.25%, respectively, p = 0.87), while Gd3+ -DEMRI overestimated IF, as compared with histology (24.54 ± 1.73%, p = 0.04). In the chronic MI group, there was no significant difference in IF between the Mn2+ chelate-DEMRI, Gd3+ -DEMRI, and histology (29.50 ± 11.39%, 29.95 ± 9.40%, and 29.00 ± 10.44%, respectively, p > 0.05), and all three were well correlated (r = 0.92-0.96, p < 0.01). We conclude that the use of Mn2+ chelate-DEMRI is reliable for MI visualization and identifies acute MI more accurately than Gd3+ -DEMRI.

Altererythrobacter spongiae sp. nov., a novel member of the genus Altererythrobacter isolated from marine sponge.

A taxonomic study was carried out on strain HN-Y73T, which was isolated from sponge collected from Yangpu Bay, Hainan, PR China. Strain HN-Y73T was Gram-stain-negative, non-motile, ovoid- to rod-shaped, yellow-pigmented and could grow at 10-42 °C (optimum, 28 °C), at pH 5.0-9.0 (pH 8.0) and in 0.5-16 % (w/v) NaCl (3-4 %). This isolate was positive for oxidase, catalase and the hydrolysis of aesculin and xylan, but negative for the hydrolysis of casein and gelatin. Strain HN-Y73T shared the highest 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity with Altererythrobacter endophyticus BR75T (96.9 %), followed by Altererythrobacter estronivorus MH-B5T (96.0 %), Altererythrobacter indicus MSSRF26T (95.9 %) and Altererythrobacter mangrovi C9-11T (95.7 %). The phylogenetic tree showed that strain HN-Y73T forms a clade with A. endophyticus BR75T, A. indicus MSSRF26T and A. estronivorus MH-B5T within the genus Altererythrobacter. The dominant fatty acids were summed feature 8 (C18 : 1ω7c/ω6c) and C19 : 0cyclo ω8c. The major polar lipids comprised phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol, diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylcholine, sphingoglycolipid phosphatidyldimethylethanolamine, phosphatidylmonomethylethanolamine, one unidentified glycolipid, two unidentified phospholipids and four unidentified lipids. The respiratory lipoquinone was identified as Q-10. The G+C content of the genomic DNA was 57.6 mol%. Based on the phenotypic and phylogenetic data, strain HN-Y73T represents a novel species of the genus Altererythrobacter, for which the name Altererythrobacter spongiae sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is HN-Y73T (=MCCC 1K03324T=LMG 30461T).

Erythrobacter spongiae sp. nov., isolated from marine sponge.

A taxonomic study was carried out on strain HN-E23T, which was isolated from sponge collected from Yangpu Bay, Hainan, China. Cells of strain HN-E23T were Gram-stain-negative, non-motile, orange-yellow-pigmented, short rods, that could grow at 10-40 °C (optimum, 28 °C), at pH 5-11 (optimun, pH 7) and in 0.5-12 % (w/v) NaCl (optimum, 3 %). This isolate was positive for oxidase, catalase, and the hydrolysis of aesculin, but negative for indole production and the reduction of nitrate. The phylogenetic tree based on 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that strain HN-E23T formed a distinct phylogenetic lineage within the cluster comprising Erythrobacter strains. Strain HN-E23T shared the highest 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity to Erythrobacter aquimixticola JSSK-14T (97.2 %), followed by Erythrobacter atlanticus s21-N3T (96.6 %), Erythrobacter luteus KA37T (96.5 %) and Erythrobacter citreus RE35F/1T (96.4 %). The digital DNA-DNA hybridization (dDDH) and the average nucleotide identity (ANI) values between strain HN-E23T and JSSK-14T were 18.8 and 74.9 %, respectively. The dDDH and ANI values are below the standard cut-off criteria for delineation of bacterial species. The dominant fatty acids were summed feature 8 (C18 : 1ω7c/ω6c), C16 : 0 and summed feature 3 (C16 : 1ω7c/ω6c). The major polar lipids comprised phosphatidylethanolamine, diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylcholine, sphingoglycolipid, an unidentified glycolipid and six unidentified lipids. The respiratory lipoquinone was identified as Q-10. The G+C content of the genomic DNA was 65.5 mol%. Based on the phenotypic and phylogenetic data, strain HN-E23T represents a novel species of the genus Erythrobacter, for which the name Erythrobacter spongiae sp. nov. is proposed, with the type strain HN-E23T (=MCCC 1K03331T=LMG 30457T).

Zhouia spongiae sp. nov., isolated from a marine sponge.

A taxonomic study was carried out on strain HN-Y44T, which was isolated from sponge collected from Yangpu Bay, Hainan, China. Cells of strain HN-Y44T were Gram-stain-negative, non-motile, rod-shaped, yellow-pigmented and grew at 10-40 °C (optimum, 28 °C), at pH 6-10 (optimum, 7-8) and in 0-8 % (w/v) NaCl (optimum, 2-5 %). This isolate was positive for nitrate reduction, denitrification, oxidase, catalase and aesculin hydrolysis, but negative for indole production and urease. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that strain HN-Y44T belongs to the genus Zhouia and is clearly distinct from the other described species of this genus, Zhouia amylolytica, with a 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity of 96.85 %. The dominant fatty acids were iso-C15 : 0, iso-C15 : 1 G and iso-C17 : 0 3-OH. The major polar lipids comprised phosphatidylethanolamine, four unidentified aminolipids, four unidentified phospholipids and one unidentified lipid. The respiratory lipoquinone was identified as MK-6. The G+C content of the genomic DNA was 32.9 mol%. On the basis of the phenotypic and phylogenetic data, strain HN-Y44T represents a novel species of the genus Zhouia, for which the name Zhouia spongiae sp. nov. is proposed, with the type strain HN-Y44T (=MCCC 1K03329T=LMG 30460T).

Alpha-fetoprotein level as a biomarker of liver fibrosis status: a cross-sectional study of 619 consecutive patients with chronic hepatitis B.

BACKGROUND: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a serious public health problem worldwide. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) levels and pathological stages of liver biopsy in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB). METHODS: The study included 619 patients who were diagnosed with CHB from March 2005 to December 2011. AFP levels were measured by electrochemiluminescence. Liver biopsy samples were classified into five levels of inflammation (G) and fibrosis (S) stages, according to the Chinese guidelines for prevention and treatment of viral hepatitis. Two multivariable ordinal regression models were performed to determine associations between AFP, GGT, and APRI (AST/PLT ratio) and stages of inflammation and fibrosis. RESULTS: Significant positive and moderate correlations were shown between AFP levels and inflammation stages and between AFP levels and fibrosis stages (ρ = 0.436 and 0.404, p < 0.001). Median values of AFP at liver fibrosis stages S0-1, S2, S3, and S4 were 3.0, 3.4, 5.4, and 11.3 ng/ml, respectively, and median APRI (AST/PLT ratio) was 0.41. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses revealed that the areas under the curves (AUCs) were 0.685, 0.727, and 0.755 (all p <0.001) for judging inflammation stages of G ≥ 2, G ≥ 3, G = 4 by AFP; and 0.691, 0.717, and 0.718 (all p <0.001) for judging fibrosis stages of S ≥ 2, S ≥ 3, and S = 4 by AFP. APRI levels showed significant positive and moderate correlations with inflammation stages (ρ = 0.445, p < 0.001). AST, GGT, and APRI levels showed significant positive but very weak to weak correlations with fibrosis stages (ρ = 0.137, 0.237, 0.281, p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Serum AFP levels increased as pathological levels of inflammation and fibrosis increased in CHB patients. Our data showed the clinical significance of serum AFP levels in diagnosing liver inflammation and fibrosis. Assessment of liver pathology may be improved by creating a predictive mathematical model by which AFP levels with other biomarkers.

Myokine IL-15 regulates the crosstalk of co-cultured porcine skeletal muscle satellite cells and preadipocytes.

The present study was carried out to preliminarily reveal the underlying mechanisms of the co-culture system between porcine muscle satellite cells (SCs) and stromal-vascular cells (SVs). The two cell types were co-cultured to assess both proliferation and differentiation. Desmin and Pref-1 immunofluorescence staining technique were taken to identify the two types of isolated cells. The expression of specific marker genes Myogenin was up-regulated in SCs (P < 0.05) and the differentiation of SCs could be promoted when co-cultured with preadipocytes compared with the single-cultured control, while expression of c/EBPß in SVs was down-regulated (P < 0.05) and the differentiation of preadipocytes could be inhibited. Furthermore, secretion of myokine IL-15 was markedly increased, as well as its gene and protein expression levels in co-culture supernatants. However, the secretion of adipokine leptin was significantly decreased. These findings demonstrate that myokines like IL-15 could facilitate the SCs' differentiation while inhibit the SVs differentiation, and act as an important regulator of co-culture between muscle cells and adipocytes.

Protective effect of myokine IL-15 against H2O2-mediated oxidative stress in skeletal muscle cells.

The production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) during oxidative stress may cause cellular injury. Interleukin-15 (IL-15) is one of the skeletal muscle secreted myokines, and there is no information that reported its anti-oxidative capability in skeletal muscle. The aim of this study therefore is to investigate the protective effects of myokine IL-15 against H2O2-mediated oxidative stress in C2C12 myoblasts. The results showed that IL-15 pre-incubation reduced the intracellular creatine kinase and lactate dehydrogenase activities, decreased the ROS overload, and protect the mitochondrial network via up-regulated mRNA expression levels of IL-15 and uncoupling protein 3. It also down-regulated the levels of IL-6 and p21 of the myoblasts compared to the cells treated only with H2O2. Meanwhile, apurinic/aprimidinic endonuclease 1 expression and the Akt signaling pathway were stimulated. These effects could contribute to the resumption of cell viability and act as protective mechanism. In conclusion, myokine IL-15 could be a novel endogenous regulator to control intracellular ROS production and attenuate oxidative stress in skeletal muscle cells.

[Study on chemical constituents from leaf of Bombax ceiba (II)].

OBJECTIVE: To study the chemical constituents from the leaf of Bombax ceiba. METHODS: The compounds were isolated and purified with silica gel and Sephadex LH-20 column chromatography. Their structures were determined on the basis of physicochemical properties and spectroscopic analysis. RESULTS: Eleven compounds were isolated and identified as taraxeryl acetate (1), squalene (2), taraxerone (3), beta-sitosterol palmitate (4), taraxerol (5), 4-methyl stigmast-7-en-3-ol (6), 1H-indole-3-carboxylic acid (7), 6-O-palmitoylsitosteryl-D-glucoside (8), 12beta-hydroxyl-pregnane-4, 16-diene-3, 20-dione (9), loliolide (10) and 5-(hydroxymethyl) furfural (11). CONCLUSION: All the compounds are isolated from this genus for the first time.