Astrocytic connexin 43 deletion ameliorates SNI-induced neuropathic pain by reducing microglia activation.

Neuropathic pain (NP) is a chronic disease caused by damage to the peripheral or central nervous system. Connexin 43 (Cx43), the primary connexin expressed by astrocytes, has been reported to be significantly increased in NP. However, the roles and mechanisms of Cx43 in the development and maintenance of NP remain largely unknown, while microglia activation has been commonly regarded as a key factor of NP. In the present study, we found that Cx43 deletion significantly ameliorated spared nerve injury (SNI)-induced NP and suppressed SNI induced c-Fos expression in the spinal cord. Notably, Cx43 deletion led to much less SNI-induced microglia activation in the spinal cord. These results suggest that astrocyte Cx43 may play a significant role in regulating microglial activation and NP.

Synthesis, crystal structure, optical properties and antibacterial evaluation of novel imidazo[1, 5-a]pyridine derivatives bearing a hydrazone moiety.

A series of novel imidazo[1,5-a]pyridine-hydrazone derivatives were synthesized and characterized by infrared spectroscopy (IR), 1H NMR, 13C NMR and high resolution mass spectrometer (HRMS). Typically, the spatial structure of compound 3j was determined using X-ray diffraction analysis. The UV-vis absorption and fluorescence spectral characteristics of the compounds in dichloromethane and acetonitrile were investigated. Absorption peaks could be observed in the wavelength range 290-450 nm. It can also be seen that they display very similar maximum emission. The group attached to hydrazone hardly influenced the maximum emission. Furthermore, all the compounds were evaluated for antibacterial activity and were found to be more effective against Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria monocytogenes, Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhimurium, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Shigella compared with chloramphenicol.

A Retrospective Analysis of the Computed Tomography Findings and Diagnosis of 53 Cases of Elastofibroma in the Infrascapular Region.

OBJECTIVE: In this work, we have used histopathology as the gold standard for the diagnosis, calculated the sensitivity and positive predictive value (PPV) of computed tomography (CT), and analyzed the CT and clinical characteristics of pathologically proven elastofibromas. METHODS: A systematic retrospective analysis was performed on all patients with infrascapular lesions who were treated in the hospital from 2006 to 2018. CT and histopathological examinations were performed for all cases, and the CT sensitivity and PPV for the diagnosis of elastofibroma were calculated. 12 of 53 cases (20 lesions) underwent enhanced CT scan after CT plain scan, and the related clinical and CT features of elastofibromas have been discussed. RESULTS: Of the 54 patients treated during the study, CT diagnosis was consistent with histopathology in 53 cases. One was a false-positive patient. The PPV and sensitivity of the CT in the diagnosis of elastofibroma were 93.3% (95% CI 68.0%-99.8%) and 100%, respectively. The CT values of 12 patients with 20 lesions on plain and enhanced scans were statistically significant (P=0.001). The prevalence of elastofibromas in males and females was statistically significant (P=.000). There was no statistically significant difference in the incidence of left and right elastofibromas (P=0.752). There was no significant difference in the volume of left and right lesions (P=0.209) and the volume of elastofibromas between males and females (P=.474). CONCLUSION: CT is the most practical tool for the evaluation of elastofibromas in the infrascapular region.

Effects of topography and stand spatial structure on the diameter at breast height growth of major pioneer tree species of natural broad-leaved mixed forests in Zhejiang Province, China.

Based on the continuous inventory data of forest resources in Zhejiang Province in 2019 and 2021, we used statistical methods such as polynomial regression to analyze the impacts of topography and forest spatial structure on average annual diameter at breast height (DBH) growth of main pioneer tree species in natural broad-leaved mixed forests. The results showed that DBH of Schima superba, Quercus glauca, Quercus fabri, Lithocarpus glaber, Castanopsis eyrei, and Castanopsis sclerophylla were between 5-50.8, 5-41.5, 5-50.8, 5-43.9, 5-55.5, and 5-46.1 cm, respectively. We classified all the trees into three classes based on DBH: small (6-12 cm), medium (12-14 cm), and large (>26 cm). The average annual DBH growth of S. superba and Q. glauca was the highest on semi-shady slope and shady slope, with increases of 2.9%-15.7% and 1.1%-41.2%, respectively. The average annual DBH growth of large-diameter S. superba, L. glaber, C. eyrei and C. sclerophylla decreased with the increase of slope, with a maximum decrease of 27.0% for S. superba, with no significant difference among small- and medium-diameter trees as a whole. The slope position did not affect the annual DBH growth of small-diameter trees, while that of medium- and large-diameter S. superba, Q. glauca, and large-diameter Q. fabri, L. glaber decreased with the change of slope position from downhill, mesoslope, uphill to ridge, with a maximum decrease of 28.1% for L. glabe, and the major-diameter C. eyrei was on the contrary. Appropriate increase in the mingling was beneficial to the average annual DBH growth of medium- and large-diameter trees. Moderate mixing was suitable for S. superba, while low degree mixing and moderate mixing was suitable for Q. glauca, Q. fabri and L. glaber, and intensive mixing was suitable for C. eyrei and C. sclerophylla. No significant difference was observed for minor-diameter trees under the mingling. The neighborhood comparison only had a significant effect on the average annual DBH growth of large-diameter Q. glauca, Q. fabri, and L. glaber, which was significantly higher under subdominance-moderation than moderation-inferiority. The average annual DBH growth in the study area was mainly affected by aspect and mixing degree.

Molecular cloning and characterization of a Brassica juncea yellow stripe-like gene, BjYSL7, whose overexpression increases heavy metal tolerance of tobacco.

KEY MESSAGE: BjYSL7 encodes a plasma-localized metal-NA transporter and has transport Fe(II)-NA complexes activity. BjYSL7 is involved in the transport of Cd and Ni from roots to shoots. Heavy metal transporters play a key role in regulating metal accumulation and transport in plants. In this study, we isolated a novel member of the yellow stripe-like (YSL) gene family BjYSL7 from the hyperaccumulator Brassica juncea. BjYSL7 is composed of 688 amino acids with 12 putative transmembrane domains and is over 90 % identical to TcYSL7 and AtYSL7. Real-time PCR analysis revealed that BjYSL7 mRNA was mainly expressed in the stem under normal condition. The expression of BjYSL7 was found to be up-regulated by 127.1-, 12.7-, and 3.4-fold in roots and 6.5-, 4.3-, and 2.8-fold in shoots under FeSO4, NiCl2, and CdCl2 stresses, respectively. We have demonstrated that BjYSL7 is a Fe(II)-NA influx transporter by yeast functional complementation. Moreover, a BjYSL7::enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) fusion localized to the plasma membrane of onion epidermal cells. The BjYSL7-overexpressing transgenic tobacco plants exhibited longer root lengths, lower relative inhibition rate of lengths and superior root hair development compared to that of wild-type (WT) plants in the presence of CdCl2 and NiCl2. Furthermore, the concentrations of Cd and Ni in shoots of BjYSL7-overexpressing plants are significantly higher than that of WT plants. Compared with WT plants, BjYSL7-overexpressing plants exhibited Fe concentrations that were higher in the shoots and seeds and lower in the roots. Taken together, these results suggest that BjYSL7 might be involved in the transport of Fe, Cd and Ni to the shoot and improving heavy metal resistance in plants.

Physiological responses of typical subtropical landscape shrubs to artificial light at night.

Artificial light at night is rapidly spreading and has become an important component of global change. Although numerous studies have focused on its potential ecological impacts, the physiological response mechanisms of landscape plants to artificial light at night have rarely been quantified. With common landscape shrubs in subtropical regions of China, Hydrangea paniculata, Photinia fraseri and Ligustrum japonicum, as test materials, we exa-mined the responses of antioxidant enzyme system and biomass in the light environment at night under different light quality (yellow light, white light) with different light intensities (20, 40, 60 lx) . The results showed that artificial light at night significantly increased the membrane peroxidation, stimulated plant antioxidant protection systems and raised the antioxidant enzyme activities of the three species. The effects of light quality on plant antioxidant enzymes varied across dspecies. The peroxidase (POD) and catalase (CAT) activities of H. paniculata under white light were 1.5 and 1.3 times as that under yellow light, respectively. Both enzyme activities of P. fraseri were 1.1 times as that under white light than under yellow light. The activities of two enzymes in L. japonicum under white light were 88.6% and 99.5% of those under yellow light, respectively. The antioxidant enzyme activities of the three species increased with increasing light intensity at night, whereas the contents of malondialdehyde increased rapidly and the antioxidant enzyme activities decreased when beyond a certain light intensity threshold (at 120 d, the threshold was about 40 lx). The protective enzymes that played the major role under nighttime light stress were different among the three species. For H. paniculata, POD and CAT complemented each other to resist stress-induced oxidative damage, while the main enzyme of L. japonicum was POD. The biomass of the three species increased significantly under artificial light at night. H. paniculata was the most sensitive to nighttime light stress, while L. japonicum had the strongest resistance to the stress. The deciduous shrub H. paniculata could tolerate the white night light lower than 40 lx, while the evergreen shrubs P. fraseri and L. japonicum could tolerate the yellow night light lower than 40 lx.

Synthesis, characterization, optical properties and theoretical studies of novel substituted imidazo[1,5-a]pyridinyl 1,3,4-oxadiazole derivatives.

Novel imidazo[1,5-a]pyridinyl 1,3,4-Oxadiazole derivatives were synthesized and characterised by IR, (1)H NMR and HRMS.UV-vis absorption and fluorescence properties of these compounds in different solutions showed that the maximal emission wavelength was not significantly changed in different solvents; however, maximum absorption wavelength was blue-shifted with the increase of solvent polarity. Absorption λ(max) and emission λ(max) was less correlated with substituent groups on benzene rings. The calculated molecular orbital correlates well with their absorption.

Ethyl 1-(2-bromo-eth-yl)-3-(4-meth-oxy-phen-yl)-1H-pyrazole-5-carboxyl-ate.

In the title compound, C(15)H(17)BrN(2)O(3), the dihedral angle between the benzene and pyrazole rings is 5.63 (2)°. The crystal packing is stabilized by weak π-π stacking inter-actions [centroid-centroid distance = 3.927 (5) Å] and inter-molecular C-H⋯O and C-H⋯Br hydrogen bonds.

A 90-day safety study in Sprague-Dawley rats fed milk powder containing recombinant human lactoferrin (rhLF) derived from transgenic cloned cattle.

Transgenic cloned animals expressing beneficial human nutritional traits offer a new strategy for large-scale production of some kinds of functional substances. In some cases, the required safety testing for genetically modified (GM) foods do not seem appropriate for human food safety, though regulations do not seem to provide alternatives. A 90-day rat feeding study is the core study for the safety assessment of GM foods. The test material in this 90-day study was prepared nonfat milk powder containing recombinant human lactoferrin (rhLF), which was expressed in transgenic cloned cattle. Groups of 10 male and female Sprague-Dawley rats were given a nutritionally balanced purified diet containing 7.5, 15, or 30% transgenic or conventional milk powder for 90 days. A commercial AIN93G diet was used as an additional control group. Clinical, biological, and pathological parameters were compared between groups. The only significant effect of treatment was higher mean ferritin and Fe(+) concentrations for both male and female rats fed the transgenic milk powder diets, as compared to rats fed nontransgenic milk diets or the commercial diet. The results of the present study are consistent with previous research, which indicates that milk powder containing rhLF derived from healthy transgenic cloned cattle is as safe as conventional milk powder.

Ethyl 1-benzyl-3-(4-bromo-phen-yl)-1H-pyrazole-5-carboxyl-ate.

In the title compound, C(19)H(17)BrN(2)O(2), the pyrazole ring makes dihedral angles of 88.00 (16) and 5.78 (13)° with the phenyl and bromo-phenyl rings, respectively. In the crystal, mol-ecules are linked by weak inter-molecular C-H⋯O hydrogen bonds.

The near-infrared dye IR-61 restores erectile function in a streptozotocin-induced diabetes model via mitochondrial protection.

This study aimed to evaluate the therapeutic effect of IR-61, a novel mitochondrial heptamethine cyanine dye with antioxidant effects, on diabetes mellitus-induced erectile dysfunction (DMED). Eight-week-old male Sprague-Dawley rats were intraperitoneally injected with streptozotocin (STZ) to induce type 1 diabetes. Eight weeks after STZ injection, all rats were divided into three groups: the control group, DM group, and DM + IR-61 group. In the DM + IR-61 group, the rats were administered IR-61 (1.6 mg kg-1) twice a week by intravenous injection. At week 13, erectile function was evaluated by determining the ratio of the maximal intracavernous pressure to mean arterial pressure, and the penises were then harvested for fluorescent imaging, transmission electron microscopy, histological examinations, and Western blot analysis. Whole-body imaging suggested that IR-61 was highly accumulated in the penis after intravenous injection. IR-61 treatment significantly improved the maximal ICP of diabetic rats. Additionally, IR-61 ameliorated diabetes-induced inflammation, apoptosis, and phenotypic transition of corpus cavernosum smooth muscle cells (CCSMCs) in penile tissue. IR-61 also attenuated mitochondrial damage, reduced reactive oxygen species production in the corpus cavernosum and upregulated sirtuin1 (SIRT1), sirtuin3 (SIRT3), nuclear factor (erythroid-derived 2)-like 2 (Nrf2), and heme oxygenase expression in penile tissue. In conclusion, IR-61 represents a potential therapeutic option for DMED by protecting the mitochondria of CCSMCs, which may be mediated by activation of the SIRT1, SIRT3, and Nrf2 pathways.

5-(4-Ethoxy-benzyl)-1H-tetra-zole.

In the title mol-ecule, C(10)H(12)N(4)O, the tetra-zole and benzene rings form a dihedral angle of 67.52 (2)°. In the crystal, inter-molecular N-H⋯N hydrogen bonds link the mol-ecules into chains along the a axis. The relatively short distance of 3.760 (3) Šbetween the centroids of the tetra-zole rings suggests the existence of π-π inter-actions.

(3-Phenyl-isoxazol-5-yl)methanol.

In the title compound, C(10)H(9)NO(2), the isoxazole and phenyl rings form a dihedral angle of 25.82 (3)°. In the crystal, inter-molecular O-H⋯O hydrogen bonds link the mol-ecules into ribbons propagating along [001]. The crystal packing is further stabilized by weak C-H⋯O and C-H⋯N inter-actions.

Ethyl 3-{5-[(diethyl-amino)meth-yl]isoxazol-3-yl}-2-phenyl-pyrazolo[1,5-a]pyridine-5-carboxyl-ate.

In the title compound, C(24)H(26)N(4)O(3), the pyrazolo[1,5-a]pyridine ring system makes dihedral angles of 38.130 (3) and 30.120 (3)°, respectively, with the isoxazole and phenyl rings. In the crystal, two mol-ecules are linked by a pair of C-H⋯N hydrogen bonds, forming a centrosymmetric dimer. A weak intra-molecular C-H⋯O inter-action is also present.

1-(3-tert-Butyl-4-hy-droxy-phen-yl)ethanone.

The title compound, C(12)H(16)O(2), is approximately planar (r.m.s. deviation = 0.030 Å), apart from two methyl groups of the tert-butyl unit [deviations of the C atoms = 1.140 (2) and -1.367 (1) Å]. In the crystal, inter-molecular O-H⋯O hydrogen bonds link the mol-ecules into hexa-meric rings with R(6) (6)(48) graph-set motifs.

[Review on the effects of heavy metal pollution on herbivorous insects]. / é‡é‡‘å±žæ±¡æŸ“å½±å“æ¤é£Ÿæ€§æ˜†è™«çš„ç ”ç©¶è¿›å±•.

Heavy metal pollution is one of the thorniest issues in the world, which is a serious threat to ecosystems and food security. As an important link of food chain and food web in the ecosystem, herbivorous insects play important role in the transfer and accumulation of heavy metals. Consequently, more and more attentions have been paid on the potential effects of heavy metal pollution on herbivorous insects. Here, we reviewed the effects of heavy metal pollution on herbivorous insects with literature publshied during 2007 to 2018. Herbivorous insects were exposed to heavy metals pollution via four ways, including insect diets or food added with inorganic heavy metals, field exposure with heavy metals, "soil/substrate-plants-herbivorous insect" food chain and in vitro injection. Excessive accumulation of heavy metals in insect body results in decreased survival rate, reproductive capacity and population growth, the retarded growth and development. Physiological and biochemical toxicity of heavy metal pollution to herbivorous insects included cell ultra-structure destruction and DNA damage, decreased amount of energy materials, and changes in enzymes acti-vity and gene expression levels. However, herbivorous insects can resist heavy metal stress by producing metallothionein and enhancing activity of detoxification enzymes etc., which probably results in their adaptive evolution to heavy metal stress at low intensity or long-term and even improve their tolerance to other stresses (e.g., pesticides).

2-[2-Hydr-oxy-4-(pyrrolidin-1-yl)benzo-yl]benzoic acid.

The title compound, C(18)H(17)NO(4), crystallizes with two indepen-dent mol-ecules in the asymmetric unit. The pyrrolidine ring in one mol-ecule is disordered over two positions, with refined site-occupancy factors of 0.853 (5) and 0.147 (5). The dihedral angles between the planes of the benzene rings in the two independent mol-ecules are 56.8 (2) and 68.2 (5)°. The mol-ecular conformations are stabilized by intra-molecular O-H⋯O hydrogen bonds. In the crystal structure, mol-ecules are linked by inter-molecular O-H⋯O hydrogen bonds, forming dimers and generating rings of graph-set motif R(2) (2)(8).

Ethyl 6-methyl-sulfanyl-2-phenyl-1H-imidazo[1,2-b]pyrazole-7-carboxyl-ate monohydrate.

The title compound, C(15)H(15)N(3)O(2)S·H(2)O, has been obtained in a search for new imidazo[1,2-b]pyrazole derivatives with better biological activity. The 1H-imidazo[1,2-b]pyrazole plane forms a dihedral angle of 16.90 (3)° with the benzene ring. π-π inter-actions are indicated by the short distance of 3.643 (2) Šbetween the centroids of the benzene and imidazole rings. The crystal structure also involves inter-molecular O-H⋯N hydrogen bonds.

Ethyl 6-methyl-2-p-tolyl-pyrazolo[1,5-a]pyridine-5-carboxyl-ate.

In the title mol-ecule, C(18)H(18)N(2)O(2), the bicyclic ring system and the benzene ring form a dihedral angle of 13.45 (3)°. In the crystal structure, weak inter-molecular C-H⋯O hydrogen bonds link mol-ecules into chains propagated along [201].

High-Risk Indicators of Renal Involvement in Primary Sjogren's Syndrome: A Clinical Study of 1002 Cases.

OBJECTIVE: A retrospective analysis of clinical characteristics and immunological manifestations of primary Sjogren's syndrome (pSS) patients with or without renal involvement was conducted in order to elucidate the potential risk factors of renal damage in pSS and evaluate the condition. METHODS: A total of 1002 patients, who fulfilled the 2002 classification criteria for pSS from the Second Affiliated Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, were enrolled in the cross-sectional study. Clinical, immunological, and histological characteristics were compared between pSS patients with and without renal involvement, and potential risk factors of renal involvements in pSS patients were examined by multivariate analysis. RESULTS: Among these pSS patients, there were 162 cases (16.17%) with and 840 cases (83.83%) without renal damage. Serious edema of both lower limbs, interstitial nephritis, and renal tubular acidosis were found in the pSS with renal damage group. Compared with simple pSS patients, the levels of creatinine, cystatin C, and alpha-1-microglobulin (α 1-MG) in the pSS with renal damage group were significantly increased. The difference between the two groups was statistically significant (P < 0.05). The AUC of the combination of creatinine and α 1-MG and creatinine, α 1-MG, and creatinine was statistically larger than that of creatinine, and the biomarker of the biggest AUC is the combination of creatinine and α 1-MG. CONCLUSION: The main clinical manifestations of pSS with renal damage were edema of the lower limbs, interstitial nephritis, and renal tubular acidosis. Creatinine and α 1-MG are effective indicators for renal function in pSS, which may provide a better understanding for clinical decision-making.