AQP4-DARPin1: A Chimeric Antigen Based on Scaffold Protein DARPin for Efficient Detection of AQP4-IgG in NMOSD.

AQP4-IgG is an autoantibody associated with neuromyelitis optica spectroscopic disorder (NMOSD), a central nervous system inflammatory disease that requires early diagnosis and treatment. We designed two fusion proteins, AQP4-DARPin1 and AQP4-DARPin2, comprising the complete antigenic epitopes of aquaporin-4 (AQP4) and the constant region of the scaffold protein DARPin. These fusion proteins were expressed and purified from Escherichia coli and coated on microplates to develop an efficient method for detecting AQP4-IgG. Molecular dynamics simulation revealed that the fusion of AQP4 extracellular epitopes with DARPin did not alter the main structure of DARPin. The purified AQP4-DARPins bound recombinant antibody rAb-53 (AQP4-IgG) with affinities of 135 and 285 nM, respectively. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and immunoprecipitation demonstrated that AQP4-DARPin1 specifically recognized AQP4-IgG in the NMOSD patient serum. AQP4-DARPin1 as a coated antigen showed higher ELISA signal and end point dilution ratio than full-length AQP4. Our AQP4-DARPin1-coated AQP4-IgG ELISA had 100% specificity and 90% sensitivity. These results indicate that AQP4-DARPin1, compared to existing detection strategies that use full-length or extracellular loop peptides of AQP4, provides a new and more effective approach to the ELISA detection of NMOSD.

Quantitative Characterization of Protein N-Linked Core-Fucosylation by an Efficient Glycan Truncation Strategy.

Dysregulation of protein core-fucosylation plays a pivotal role in the onset, progression, and immunosuppression of cancer. However, analyzing core-fucosylation, especially the accurate determination of the core-fucosylation (CF) site occupancy ratio, remains challenging. To address these problems, we developed a truncation strategy that efficiently converts intact glycopeptides with hundreds of different glycans into two truncated forms, i.e., a monosaccharide HexNAc and a disaccharide HexNAc+core-fucose. Further combination with data-independent analysis to form an integrated platform allowed the measurement of site-specific core-fucosylation abundances and the determination of the CF occupancy ratio with high reproducibility. Notably, three times CF sites were identified using this strategy compared to conventional methods based on intact glycopeptides. Application of this platform to characterize protein core-fucosylation in two breast cancer cell lines, i.e., MDA-MB-231 and MCF7, yields a total of 1615 unique glycosites and about 900 CF sites from one single LC-MS/MS analysis. Differential analysis unraveled the distinct glycosylation pattern for over 201 cell surface drug targets between breast cancer subtypes and provides insights into developing new therapeutic strategies to aid precision medicine. Given the robust performance of this platform, it would have broad application in discovering novel biomarkers based on the CF glycosylation pattern, investigating cancer mechanisms, as well as detecting new intervention targets.

A new strategy of using periphyton to simultaneously promote remediation of PAHs-contaminated soil and production of safer crops.

Contaminated farmland leads to serious problems for human health through biomagnification in the soil-crop-human chain. In this paper, we have established a new soil remediation strategy using periphyton for the production of safer rice. Four representative polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), including phenanthrene (Phe), pyrene (Pyr), benzo[b]fluoranthene (BbF), and benzo[a]pyrene (BaP), were chosen to generate artificially contaminated soil. Pot experiments demonstrated that in comparison with rice cultivation in polluted soil with ΣPAHs (50 mg kg-1) but without periphyton, adding periphyton decreased ΣPAHs contents in both rice roots and shoots by 98.98% and 99.76%, respectively, and soil ΣPAHs removal reached 94.19%. Subsequently, risk assessment of ΣPAHs based on toxic equivalent concentration (TEQ), pollution load index (PLI), hazard index (HI), toxic unit for PAHs mixture (TUm), and incremental lifetime cancer risk (ILCR) indicated that periphyton lowered the ecological and carcinogenicity risks of PAHs. Besides, the role of periphyton in enhancing the rice productivity was revealed. The results indicated that periphyton alleviated the oxidative stress of PAHs on rice by reducing malondialdehyde (MDA) content and increasing total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC). Periphyton reduced the toxic stress of PAHs on the soil by promoting soil carbon cycling and metabolic activities as well. Periphyton also improved the soil's physicochemical properties, such as the percentage of soil aggregate, the contents of humic substances (HSs) and nutrients, which increased rice biomass. These findings confirmed that periphyton could improve rice productivity by enhancing soil quality and health. This study provides a new eco-friendly strategy for soil remediation and simultaneously enables the production of safe crops on contaminated land.

Reduction-Activatable Fluorogenic Nanobody for Targeted and Low-Background Bioimaging.

Environment-sensitive fluorogenic antibodies enable target-specific bioimaging with reduced unspecific background signal and improved spatiotemporal resolution. However, current strategies for the construction of fluorogenic antibodies are hard to handle due to challenges that lie in the prior design of fluorogenic probes and subsequent antibody labeling. Here, we report a simple strategy to generate a fluorogenic nanobody, which we term D-body, by in situ incorporation of a reduction-responsive Nile blue foldamer which is self-quenched via a dimerization-caused quenching mechanism. The D-body can be efficiently internalized by cells with high epidermal growth factor receptor expression levels and is highly fluorogenic upon lysosomal activation, allowing wash-free cell imaging with exquisite specificity and fast in vivo imaging with a high tumor-to-background ratio. The modular D-body is readily available and easy to handle, offering a platform that is highly tunable for bioimaging applications.

One-Step Assembly of Versatile Multifunctional Coatings Based on Host-Guest and Polyphenol Chemistry.

Developing a facile, efficient, and versatile polyphenol coating strategy and exploring its novel applications are of great significance in the fields of material surfaces and interfaces. Herein, a one-step assembly strategy for constructing novel tannic acid (TA) coatings via a solvent evaporation method is reported using TA and polycyclodextrin (PCD) particles (TPP). TPP with a high phenolic group activity of 88% integrates the advantages of host-guest and polyphenol chemistry. The former can drive TPP dynamically assemble into a large and collective aggregation activated by high temperature or density, and the latter provides excellent adhesion properties to substrates (0.9 mg cm-2 ). TPP can assemble into a coating (TPC) rapidly on various substrates within 1 h at 37 °C while with a high availability of feed TPP (≈90%). The resulting TPC is not only high-temperature steam-sensitive for use as an anti-fake mask but also pH-sensitive for transforming into a free-standing film under physiological conditions. Moreover, various metal ions and functional particles can incorporate into TPC to extend its versatile properties including antibacterial activity, enhanced stability, and conductivity. This work expands the polyphenol coating strategy and builds up a one-step and efficient preparation platform of polyphenol coating for multiapplication prospects in various fields.

Effects of plaque characteristics and artery hemodynamics on the residual stenosis after carotid artery stenting.

OBJECTIVE: Carotid artery stenting (CAS) has become an alternative strategy to carotid endarterectomy for carotid artery stenosis. Residual stenosis was an independent risk factor for restenosis, with the latter affecting the long-term outcomes of CAS. This multicenter study aimed to evaluate the echogenicity of plaques and hemodynamic alteration by color duplex ultrasound (CDU) examination and investigate their effects on the residual stenosis after CAS. METHODS: From June 2018 to June 2020, 454 patients (386 males and 68 females) with a mean age of 67.2 ± 7.9 years, who underwent CAS from 11 advanced stroke centers in China were enrolled. One week before recanalization, CDU was used to evaluate the responsible plaques, including the morphology (regular or irregular), echogenicity of the plaques (iso-, hypo-, or hyperechoic) and calcification characteristics (without calcification, superficial calcification, inner calcification, and basal calcification). One week after CAS, the alteration of diameter and hemodynamic parameters were evaluated by CDU, and the occurrence and degree of residual stenosis were determined. In addition, magnetic resonance imaging was performed before and during the 30-day postprocedural period to identify new ischemic cerebral lesions. RESULTS: The rate of composite complications, including cerebral hemorrhage, symptomatic new ischemic cerebral lesions, and death after CAS, was 1.54% (7/454 cases). The rate of residual stenosis after CAS was 16.3% (74/454 cases). After CAS, both the diameter and peak systolic velocity (PSV) improved in the preprocedural 50% to 69% and 70% to 99% stenosis groups (P < .05). Compared with the groups without residual stenosis and with <50% residual stenosis, the PSV of all three segments of stent in the 50% to 69% residual stenosis group were the highest, and the difference in the midsegment of stent PSV was the largest (P < .05). Logistic regression analysis showed that preprocedural severe (70% to 99%) stenosis (odds ratio [OR], 9.421; P = .032), hyperechoic plaques (OR, 3.060; P = .006) and plaques with basal calcification (OR, 1.885; P = .049) were independent risk factors for residual stenosis after CAS. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with hyperechoic and calcified plaques of the carotid stenosis are at a high risk of residual stenosis after CAS. CDU is an optimal, simple and noninvasive imaging method to evaluate plaque echogenicity and hemodynamic alterations during the perioperative period of CAS, which can help surgeons to select the optimal strategies and prevent the occurrence of residual stenosis.

Effect of anterior communicating artery patency on the flow velocity in bilateral carotid artery stenosis after carotid endarterectomy.

BACKGROUND: The effect of anterior communicating artery (ACoA) patency on the flow velocity of the extracranial carotid arteries is unclear. METHODS: A total of 285 patients with carotid artery stenosis were included between January 2019 and January 2021. All patients received unilateral carotid endarterectomy (CEA). The patients were classified into ACoA-patent (161) and ACoA-nonpatent (124) groups using digital subtraction angiography (DSA) and/or computed tomography angiography (CTA). The peak systolic velocity (PSV) and end-diastolic velocity (EDV) measured by carotid duplex ultrasonography (CDU) were compared between both groups, pre- and post-CEA. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in the risk factors for cerebrovascular disease between the two groups. Within 1 week after CEA, the PSV and EDV on operative and nonoperative carotid (contralateral carotid in the same patient) arteries decreased significantly (both p < 0.01). Comparison of nonoperative carotid artery pre- and post-CEA between the two groups showed that post-CEA PSV and EDV in the ACoA-patent group were significantly lower than that of pre-CEA (PSV and EDV, t = 11.507 and 6.716, respectively, both p < 0.001) (according to the Society of Radiologists in Ultrasound Consensus Conference [SRUCC] PSV standard). There was no significant difference in the ACoA-nonpatent group (PSV: t = 1.924, p = 0.057; EDV: t = 1.237, p = 0.218). In the nonoperative carotid artery of the ACoA-patent group, the degree of stenosis assessed by CDU was inconsistent with that of DSA/CTA (κ = 0.294), whereas that in the ACoA-nonpatent group had a high consistency (κ = 0.982). Among 161 ACoA-patent cases, 68 showed overestimated stenosis. CONCLUSIONS: The patent ACoA increases PSV and EDV, causing an overestimation of carotid artery stenosis.

The involvement of extracellular ATP in regulating the stunted growth of Arabidopsis plants by repeated wounding.

BACKGROUND: Extracellular ATP (exATP) has been shown to act as a signal molecule for regulating growth, development, and responses of plants to the external environment. RESULTS: In this study, we investigated the possible involvement of exATP in regulating the stunted growth caused by repeated wounding. The present work showed that the repeated wounding caused the decreases in leaf area, fresh weight, dry weight, and root length of Arabidopsis seedlings, while the exATP level was enhanced by the repeated wounding. Repeated application of exogenous ATP had similar effects on the plant growth, as the repeated wounding. Through the comparison of p2k1-3 mutant (in which T-DNA disrupted the gene coding P2K1, as exATP receptor) and wide type (WT) plants, it was found that the mutation in P2K1 decreased the sensitivity of plant growth to the repeated wounding and exogenous ATP application. Further works showed that the ibuprofen (IBU, an inhibitor of jasmonate biosynthesis) partially rescued the wound-induced growth degradation. In comparison, the P2K1 mutation partly rescued the wound-induced growth degradation, whereas this mutation failed to do so in the wounded seedlings treated with IBU, indicating that the role of exATP in regulating the growth degradation by repeated wounding could be linked to the JA signaling pathway. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, these results indicate that exATP could be a regulator for the stunted growth of plants by repeated wounding.

Extracellular ATP is involved in regulating Arabidopsis seed germination.

MAIN CONCLUSION: Extracellular ATP level induced a transient increase during germination of Arabidopsis seeds, and extracellular ATP could negatively regulate the seed germination by its receptor, DORN1. Extracellular ATP (exATP) acts as a signal molecule for regulating growth, development, and responses of plants to external environments. In this study, we investigated the possible involvement of exATP in regulating the seed germination of Arabidopsis thaliana. Treatments of Arabidopsis seeds with exogenous ATP delayed seed germination, suggesting that exATP could be a repressor for seed germination. During the germination of Arabidopsis seeds, the exATP level of the seeds presented a transient increase. When exogenous application of the glucose-hexokinase system effectively decreased the exATP level of the Arabidopsis seeds during germination, the percentage of germination was significantly enhanced, while the products of ATP hydrolysis had no effects on the germination. Further studies showed that the seeds of dorn 1-3 mutant plants (mutation in exATP receptor) showed a higher germination percentage, compared to the seeds of wide type (WT) plants. In addition, the dorn 1-3 mutant seeds were less sensitive to the delay-effect of exogenous ATP on seed germination than the WT seeds. The dorn 1-3 mutant seeds presented a higher GA (gibberellin) content, lower ABA (abscisic acid) content, and lower ratio of ABA/GA contents before the imbibition, compared to the WT seeds. The regulation of seed germination by exATP was dependent on the external temperature. These data suggest that exATP is involved in regulating Arabidopsis seed germination.

SnoopLigase Enables Highly Efficient Generation of C-C-Linked Bispecific Nanobodies Targeting TNF-α and IL-17A.

Bispecific antibodies (bis-Nbs) have been extensively developed since the concept was devised over the decades. Taking advantage of the superior characteristics of nanobodies, bis-Nbs exhibit an emerging tendency to become the new generation of research and diagnostic tools. Traditional strategies to connect the homo- or heterogeneous monomers are commonly applied, but there are still technical issues to generate the bispecific molecules as efficiently as designed. Here, we utilize SnoopLigase to directly tether the C terminus (C-C) of the tagged nanobodies against tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-17A (IL-17A). Under optimal conditions, the yield of C-C-linked bis-Nbs can reach as high as 70% due to the existence of SnoopLigase. The prepared bis-Nbs possessed similar or even higher affinity as the monomers and significantly inhibited the proliferation and migration of rheumatoid arthritis fibroblast-like synoviocytes (RA-FLS) induced by TNF-α and IL-17A. This study provides an innovative route for using SnoopLigase to realize a highly efficient generation of C-C-linked bis-Nbs. The approach can be applied to different and multicomponent systems for their potential applications in disease diagnosis and treatment.

Tyrosine-Based Dual-Functional Interface for Trapping and On-Site Photo-Induced Covalent Immobilization of Proteins.

Tyrosine, a simple and well-available natural amino acid, is featured by the small size of the compound that contains multiple reactive groups. This study developed an efficient bioconjugation strategy using tyrosine-based dual-functional interfaces. When tyrosine molecules are immobilized on the surface of a supporting material through amino groups, their carboxyl groups can function as an attracting trap due to their anionic nature at neutral pH and ability to chelate nickel(II) ions (Ni2+), allowing the capture and enrichment of cationic proteins and histidine (His)-tagged proteins on the surface. The trapped proteins can be further covalently immobilized on site through ruthenium-mediated photochemical cross-linking, which has been found to be highly efficient and can be completed within minutes. This strategy was successfully applied to two different material systems. We found that tyrosine-modified agarose beads had a binding capacity of the His-tagged enhanced green fluorescent protein comparable to that of commonly used nitrilotriacetic acid-based resins, and further covalent coupling via dityrosine cross-linking achieved a yield of 85% within 5 min, without compromising much on its fluorescence activity. On the surface of tyrosine-modified 316L stainless steel, lysozyme was captured through electrostatic interaction and further immobilized. The resultant surface exhibited remarkable antibacterial activity against both Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. Such a tyrosine-based capture-then-coupling method is featured by its simplicity, high coupling efficiency, and high utilization rate of target molecules, making it particularly suitable for the proteins that are highly priced or vulnerable to general immobilization chemistry.

Analysis of endophyte diversity of Rheum palmatum among different tissues and ages.

Rheum palmatum, a well-known Traditional Chinese Medicines (TCM), has been used for medical purposes for thousand years in China. However, endophyte diversity of R. palmatum among different tissues and ages is still not revealed. In this study, we used 16S and ITS amplicon sequencing and combined with PICRUSt and FUNGuild to compare endophyte diversity and ecological function among different tissues and ages of R. palmatum. The results showed that the diversity and OTUs (Operational taxonomic units) abundance of endophytic fungi and bacteria of R. palmatum differed among different tissues and ages. The predictive function analysis showed that metabolism was main function of endophytic bacteria in different tissue and year samples, while saprotroph was dominant trophic mode of endophytic fungi in different year samples. The dominant trophic modes of endophytic fungi were saprotroph, pathotroph-symbiotroph and symbiotroph, and relative abundances differed in the different tissue samples. Our results elucidated the comprehensive diversity and composition profiles of endophytes in different tissues and year of R. palmatum. Our data offered pivotal information to clarify the role of endophytes in the production of R. palmatum and its important metabolites.

Increased clearance of indoxyl sulphate in renal failure rats with the addition of water-soluble poly-ß-cyclodextrin to the dialysate.

AIM: Indoxyl sulphate (IS), a protein-bound uremic toxin that dramatically increases in the sera of patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD), is poorly removed by conventional haemodialysis (HD). The purpose of this study was to explore whether the addition of water-soluble sorbent poly-ß-cyclodextrins (PCDs) to dialysate can increase the clearance of IS in uremic rats in vivo. METHODS: Male SD rats (450-550 g, n = 18) with nephrectomy plus IS injection (10-mg/kg) were randomly divided into three groups: 1. The HD group (n = 6): conventional HD for 4 h; 2. the 2% PCD group: 2% PCD added to the dialysate, HD for 4 h; and 3. the 4% PCD group: 4% PCD added to the dialysate, HD for 4 h. The serum IS levels in model rats were similar to those of ESRD patients. A stable and safe rat HD treatment mode was established by adjusting the vascular access, blood flow rate, dialysate flow rate, dialysis pipe, dialysate configuration, temperature, treatment environment, and other aspects. RESULTS: Our study found that adding 2% PCD to dialysate significantly improved the clearance of IS approximately twofold compared with conventional HD. Further increasing the PCD concentration to 4% did not increase IS clearance. CONCLUSION: Therefore, our study showed that adding water-soluble sorbent PCDs to dialysate significantly improved the clearance of IS in uremic rats in vivo.

Pre-procedural color duplex ultrasound evaluation predicts restenosis after long-segment superficial femoral artery stenting.

OBJECTIVES: Restenosis after stenting for superficial femoral artery atherosclerotic disease remains a significant clinical problem, especially for long-segment lesions. We assessed predictors of in-stent restenosis in patients with long-segment superficial femoral artery disease and hypothesized that pre-procedural ultrasound assessment would predict in-stent restenosis. METHODS: This single-center study retrospectively analyzed 283 limbs in 243 patients who treated with superficial femoral artery nitinol stent placement for long-segment (≥15 cm) lesions between 2015 and 2018. Color duplex ultrasound was performed pre-procedure and post-procedure at 3, 6, 12, 24, and 36 months. The endpoint was ≥50% in-stent restenosis in the superficial femoral artery. Primary patency rates were analyzed with Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and compared using the log-rank test. A multivariable Cox proportional hazards model was used to evaluate the risk factors for in-stent restenosis. RESULTS: The median length of lesions was 25.8 ± 8.1 cm. The cumulative freedom from ≥50% in-stent restenosis at 3, 6, 12, 24, and 36 months was 95.3%, 78.3%, 56.0%, 30.6%, and 15.9%, respectively. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that cumulative lesion length ≥ 25 cm (hazard ratio 1.681; p = 0.003), calcified plaque (hazard ratio 1.549, p = 0.006), poor runoff scores >10 (hazard ratio 1.870, p = 0.003), and chronic renal failure (hazard ratio 2.075, p = 0.009) were independent risk factors for in-stent restenosis. The agreement rate between ultrasound and angiography was 92.6% for cumulative lesion length (κ 0.851) and 91.9% for runoff score (κ 0.872). CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate that pre-procedural color duplex ultrasound evaluation is helpful for the selection of appropriate candidates for superficial femoral artery stent placement. Cumulative lesion length ≥25 cm, plaque calcification, poor distal runoff, and chronic renal failure independently predicted in-stent restenosis.

Molecular Traits Underlying the Growth Promotion and Metabolite Accumulation in Rheum palmatum Inoculated with Endophytic Trichoderma citrinoviride HT-1.

Trichoderma spp. are an important plant-growth-promoting fungi. Trichoderma citrinoviride HT-1 was isolated from Rheum palmatum root, which has beneficial effects on growth and metabolite accumulation. However, the improvement mechanisms for growth and metabolite accumulation of T. citrinoviride HT-1 are unclear. In this study, RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) were used to measure the effect of different concentrations of conidial suspension of the HT-1 strain on the growth promotion and metabolite accumulation of R. palmatum seedlings. The results showed that the highest biomass and metabolites of R. palmatum seedlings were obtained through treatment with the HT-1 strain at a final spore concentration of 107 spores/mL. RNA sequencing indicated that 1662 genes were upregulated and 2155 genes were downregulated after inoculation with 107 spores/mL of the HT-1 strain. This strain induced significant upregulation of related genes in the phenylpropanoid biosynthesis pathway, plant hormone signal transduction pathway, biosynthesis of secondary metabolites pathway, and plant-pathogen interaction pathway in R. palmatum. The gene expression trends were revealed through quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and were consistent with those determined by RNA-seq. Our results will help us to understand the growth-promoting mechanisms of the HT-1 strain on R. palmatum and provide a theoretical basis for the application of T. citrinoviride HT-1 as a biological fertilizer.

Biocontrol potential of endophytic Trichoderma citrinoviride HT-1 against root rot of Rheum palmatum through both antagonistic effects and induced systemic resistance.

Some Trichoderma species have been used as biocontrol agents in agriculture. The effectiveness of T. citrinoviride HT-1, a beneficial endophyte isolated from Rheum palmatum root was explored for control of root rot and its mechanisms of induced systemic resistance. The results showed that the inhibition rate of F. oxysporum was 71.85% in dual culture. The fermentation metabolites (FM) of the T. citrinoviride HT-1 strain suppressed mycelial growth of F. oxysporum, recording an inhibition rate of 79.07%. Conidial suspensions of T. citrinoviride HT-1(1 × 107 spores/mL) can suppress the root rot of R. palmatum caused by F. oxysporum to a low disease index (17.60) and had significant control effects on root rot (72.53%). The activities of induced defense-related enzymes in R. palmatum plants were significantly increased following T. citrinoviride HT-1 treatment. The RT-PCR analysis of the defense-related genes showed that T. citrinoviride HT-1 can increase the defense response-related gene expression. This study has contributed to our understanding of the biocontrol potential of T. citrinoviride HT-1 and provided a theoretical basis for the application as a bio-fungicide.

A systemic review into carotid plaque features as predictors of restenosis after carotid endarterectomy.

OBJECTIVE: Restenosis after carotid endarterectomy (CEA) limits its long-term efficacy for stroke prevention. Thus, it is of utmost importance to identify the factors that predispose a patient to restenosis after CEA. This systemic review aims to survey the current literature regarding restenosis after CEA and discuss the predictive value of carotid plaque features. METHODS: A systemic review of studies on the predictive value of carotid plaque features for restenosis after CEA was conducted according to the PRISMA guidelines. PubMed/MEDLINE and Embase databases were searched up to March 20, 2020. Two authors independently extracted the data and assessed the risk of bias with the Quality in Prognosis Studies tool. Given the heterogeneity in the measurement of prognostic factors, types of CEA, and clinical outcomes, a qualitative synthesis was performed. RESULTS: Twenty-one articles with a sample size that ranged from 11 to 1203 were included in this systematic review. Based on the presence of calcification in original carotid plaques, two progression patterns of restenosis were hypothesized: patients with calcified plaques may experience a temporary increase in the intima-media thickness (IMT) followed by a decrease in IMT after CEA, whereas patients with noncalcified plaques may experience a gradual increase in IMT after CEA. Accordingly, patients with a high calcium score may have a high restenosis rate within 6 months after CEA and a low restenosis rate thereafter. Thus, the late restenosis rate in patients with uniformly echogenic plaques was lower than that in patients with uniformly echolucent plaques. Pathologically, a lipid-rich, inflammatory carotid plaque is associated with a decreased risk of restenosis within 1 year after CEA, mainly owing to the relatively mild reactive intimal hyperplasia at the surgical site and active inflammation in the remaining media and adventitia. Molecular predictors for restenosis included a Mannose-binding lectin 2 genotype, preoperative C-reactive protein, serum homocysteine, apolipoprotein J, vitamin C, and telomere length of carotid plaques. CONCLUSIONS: This review demonstrated that carotid plaque features, including imaging features, cellular composition, and molecular features, are correlated with the risk of restenosis after CEA. A comprehensive evaluation of plaque characteristics may help to stratify the risk of restenosis after CEA.

Insecticidal and acetylcholine esterase inhibition activity of Rhododendron thymifolium essential oil and its main constituent against two stored product insects.

In this work, we investigated the bioactivities of the essential oil (EO) extracted from the Rhododendron thymifolium and its principal germacrone against Lasioderma serricorne and Tribolium castaneum. The EO was obtained by steam distillation. Germacrone was obtained by cryogenic crystallization. The bioactivity of EO and germacrone was tested via contact and repellent activity assays. The results showed that EO and germacrone possessed contact and repellent activities against two species of insects. EO exhibited obvious contact activity against the L. serricorn adults, larvae and T. castaneum larvae with LD50 values of 29.15 µg/adult, 42.73 µg/larva, 19.65 µg/larva respectively. Germacrone exhibited excellent contact activity against the L. serricorne adults, larvae and the T. castaneum larvae with LD50 values of 17.18 µg/adult, 20.94 µg/larva, 20.93 µg/larva respectively. And at the highest testing concentrations (78.63 and 15.73 nL/cm2), the repellent activity of EO and germacrone on two target insects was comparable to that of the positive control (DEET) after 30 h exposure. In especially, in the treatment of the 120 h after the repellent activity of EO and germacrone against T.castaneum adults and larvae were still very significant and showed the same level percentage repellency as DEET. Meanwhile, germacrone exhibited inhibition of acetylcholinesterase activity with IC50 values of 3%. The results indicated that the EO of R. thymifolium and germacrone had the potential to be developed as natural insecticides and repellents for the control of T. castaneum and L. serricorne.

Screening of an Endophyte Transforming Polydatin to Resveratrol from Reynoutria Japonica Houtt and the Optimization of Its Transformation Parameters.

Resveratrol showed various kinds of bioactivities, such as antioxidant, antimicrobial, anticancer effects and, therefore, has been used widely as an important ingredient in medication, healthy foods and cosmetics. However, in nature, resveratrol usually exists at low content and more often exists as polydatin. Therefore, it becomes important to find the cost-effective and environmental-friendly way to transform polydatin to resveratrol. In this study, endophytes were isolated from the rhizome tissue of Reynoutria japonica and screened for transforming polydatin to resveratrol using reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) and confirmed by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. A bacterium identified as Bacillus aryabhattai using 16S rRNA phylogenetic tree analysis showed highest transformation rate. The transforming conditions were optimized including substrate concentration, substrate addition time, culture temperature and inoculation ratio. Our results demonstrated that the bacteria isolated from R. japonica rhizome tissue showed high activity in transforming polydatin into resveratrol. Crude extract of R. japonica root and rhizome (RJE) was also tested as substrate and it was found that the transformation was significantly inhibited at 10.0 mg/mL RJE. Emodin at equivalent concentration of 10.0 mg/mL RJE showed no inhibition activity, and glucose content in RJE was trace and far from enough to exhibit the inhibitory activity. Successive solvent partition followed by an inhibition activity assay revealed that the ethyl acetate fraction showed the main inhibition activity. However, due to the coexistence of polydatin and compounds with inhibitory activity, the concentration of RJE can only be used at limited concentration as substrate.

Anisotropic Nano-/Microparticles from Diversified Copolymers by Solvent-Mediated Self-Assembly.

Effective synthesis of anisotropic nano-/microparticles (APs) by the copolymers is of great significance in nanomaterials and nanotechnology. However, achieving regulation of the morphology, composition, property, and particle size of anisotropic nano-/microparticles (APs) with diversified copolymers is difficult due to complex mechanism and formation conditions. In this work, a versatile one-pot solvent-mediated self-assembly (SmSa) strategy had been proposed for the facile one-pot synthesis of shape-tunable anisotropic nano-/microparticles (StAPs). In addition, the formation mechanism of StAPs was determined through numerous characterization methods related to morphology and element distribution. The results revealed that the anisotropic architectures of StAPs were closely related to the nature of poly(methylacrylic acid-methyl methacrylate-butyl acrylate) (L1) and poly(butyl acrylate-styrene) (L2) polymer chains imparted by polymer blocks of different domains. Therefore, the ordered assembly of the rigid and hydrophobic L2 polymer chains in micelles consisting of the flexible and amphiphilic L1 and solvent could be successfully carried out under the mediation of increasing solvent polarity and the strong adsorption of poly(vinylpyrrolidone) for L2. Furthermore, the developed versatile SmSa strategy and the obtained StAPs play an essential role in the development of nanoscience and nanotechnology. Particularly given its adjustable emulsifying properties at different pH values, as well as numerous sites for further modification by fluorescent or other components, it can be employed to synthesize a wide range of functional materials.