An Elaborate Supramolecular Assembly for a Smart Nanodevice for Ratiometric Molecular Recognition and Logic Gates.

Ingenious approaches to supramolecular assembly for fabricating smart nanodevices is one of the more significant topics in nanomaterials research. Herein, by using surface quaternized cationic carbon dots (CDots) as the assembly and fluorescence platform, anionic sulfonatocalix[4]arene with modifiable lower and upper rims as a connector, as well as in situ coordination of Tb(3+) ions, we propose an elaborate supramolecular assembly strategy for the facile fabrication of a multifunctional nanodevice. The dynamic equilibrium characteristics of the supramolecular interaction can eventually endow this nanodevice with functions of fluorescent ratiometric molecular recognition and as a nano-logic gate with two output channels.

[Molecular cloning and characterization of a novel DoSWEET1 gene from Dendrobium officinale].

SWEET (sugars will be eventually exported transporters) constitute a large and conserved gene family of sugar transporters in eukaryotes, which are important in the cellular metabolisms, growth and development, and plant-microbe interaction in plants. In the present study, a full length cDNA of SWEET encoding gene, designed as DoSWEET1 (GenBank accession No. KT957550), was identified in Dendrobium officinale using RT-PCR and RACE approaches. DoSWEET1 was 1 150 bp in length and encoded a 262-aa protein with a molecular weight of 29.18 kD and an isoelectric point of 9.49. The deduced DoSWEET1 protein contained seven transmembrane regions and two conserved MtN3-slv domains (11-94, 130-212）. Multiple sequence alignment revealed that DoSWEET1 had high identities 45%-54.6%） with SWEET proteins from various plants. A neighbor joining phylogenetic analysis suggests that DoSWEET1 belonged to the class Ⅱ subgroup of the SWEET evolutionary tree, and was closely related to rice OsSWEET13, OsSWEET14, and OsSWEET15. qPCR analysis demonstrated that DoSWEET1 gene was differentially expressed in the three included organs of D. officinale, and the expression was most abundant in the roots at 9.88 fold over that of the stems, followed by that of the leaves with 2.85 fold higher. In the 3rd symbiotic germinating seeds infected by Tulasnella sp., the transcipts were dramatically induced by 1 359.06 fold over that in the ungerniamted control seeds, suggesting a vital role of the gene in the D. officinale symbiotic germination process. Molecular cloning and characterization of the novel DoSWEET1 gene provides a foundation for the functional study of the gene in sugar translocation during the D. officinale symbiotic germination process.

Transition-Metal-Free Synthesis of Ynones via Decarboxylative Alkynylation of α-Keto Acids under Mild Conditions.

A transition-metal-free synthetic method of various ynones via decarboxylative alkynylation of α-keto acids is described. The reaction is carried out under mild conditions and exhibits remarkable tolerance of functional groups. The mechanism of a radical process is proposed in the reaction.

A descriptive analysis of injury triage, surge of medical demand, and resource use in an university hospital after 8.12 Tianjin Port Explosion, China.

OBJECTIVE: The 8.12 Tianjin Port Explosion in 2015 caused heavy casualties. Pingjin Hospital, an affiliated college hospital in Tianjin, China participated in the rescue activities. This study aims to analyze the emergency medical response to this event and share experience with trauma physicians to optimize the use of medical resource and reduce mortality of critical patients. METHODS: As a trauma centre at the accident city, our hospital treated 298 patients. We retrospectively analyzed the data of emergency medical response, including injury triage, injury type, ICU patient flow, and medical resource use. RESULTS: There were totally 165 deaths, 8 missing, and 797 non-fatal injuries in this explosion. Our hospital treated 298 casualties in two surges of medical demand. The first one appeared at 1 h after explosion when 147 wounded were received and the second one at 4 h when 31 seriously injured patients were received, among whom 29 were transferred from Tianjin Emergency Center which was responsible for the scene injury triage. After reexamination and triage, only 11 cases were defined as critical ill patients. The over-triage rate reached as high as 62.07%. Seventeen patients underwent surgery and 17 patients were admitted to the intensive care unit. CONCLUSIONS: The present pre-hospital system is incomplete and may induce two surges of medical demand. The first one has a much larger number of casualties than predicted but the injury level is mild; while the second one has less wounded but almost all of them are critical patients. The over-triage rate is high. The hospital emergency response can be improved by an effective re-triage and implementation of a hospital-wide damage control.

[Flavonoids of Echinps latifolius suppress Wnt signaling in adjuvant arthritis rats].

The role of flavonoids of Echinps latifolius (FELT) in Wnt signaling was investigated in adjuvant arthritis (AA) rats. The therapeutic effects of FELT on AA rats were detected by rat arthritis score and MTT. The effect of FELT gavage treatment on the Wnt signaling key gene ß-catenin, C-myc and cyclin D1 in synovium from AA rats was detected by Real-time qPCR, and the effects of FELT gavage treatment on the upstream negative regulation gene SFRP 1,2,4,5 in synovium from AA rats were detected by Real-time qPCR. The results showed that FELT gavage treatment significantly inhibited arthritis score and MTT values in AA rats, significantly inhibited the expression of the Wnt signaling gene ß-catenin, C-myc and cyclin D1, significantly up-regulated the expression of the up- stream negative regulation gene SFRP 1,2,4. FELT has a better therapeutic effect for AA rats.

A corrugated perfect magnetic conductor surface supporting spoof surface magnon polaritons.

In this paper, we demonstrate that spoof surface magnon polaritons (SSMPs) can propagate along a corrugated perfect magnetic conductor (PMC) surface. From duality theorem, the existence of surface electromagnetic modes on corrugated PMC surfaces are manifest to be transverse electric (TE) mode compared with the transverse magnetic (TM) mode of spoof surface plasmon plaritons (SSPPs) excited on corrugated perfect electric conductor surfaces. Theoretical deduction through modal expansion method and simulation results clearly verify that SSMPs share the same dispersion relationship with the SSPPs. It is worth noting that this metamaterial will have more similar properties and potential applications as the SSPPs in large number of areas.

Involvement of the mitochondrion-dependent and the endoplasmic reticulum stress-signaling pathways in isoliquiritigenin-induced apoptosis of HeLa cell.

OBJECTIVE: Isoliquiritigenin (ISL), a licorice chalconoid, is considered to be a bioactive agent with chemopreventive potential. This study investigates the mechanisms involved in ISL-induced apoptosis in human cervical carcinoma HeLa cells. METHODS: Cell viability was evaluated using a 3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyl-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. Apoptosis was determined by flow cytometry using an Annexin V-FITC Apoptosis Detection Kit. The intracellular ROS levels were assessed using a 2, 7-dichlorofluorescein probe assay. The mitochondrial membrane potential was measured with the dual-emission potential-sensitive probe 5, 5', 6, 6'-tetra-chloro-1, 1', 3, 3'-tetraethyl-imidacarbocyanine iodide (JC-1). The degradation of poly-ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP) protein, the phosphorylation of PKR-like ER kinase (PERK), the phosphorylation of the α-subunit of eukaryotic initiation factor 2 (eIF2α), the expression of the 78 kD glucose-regulated protein (GRP 78), and the activation of caspase-12 were analyzed via western blot analysis. RESULTS: ISL significantly inhibited the proliferation, the increase in ROS levels and apoptotic rates of HeLa cells in a concentration-dependent manner. Moreover, ISL induced mitochondrial dysfunction, caspase activation, and PARP cleavage, which displayed features of mitochondria dependent on apoptotic signals. Besides, exposure of HeLa cells to ISL triggered endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, as indicated by the increase in p-eIF2α and GRP78 expression, ER stress-dependent apoptosis is caused by the activation of ER-specific caspase-12. CONCLUSION: The findings from our study suggest that ISL-induced oxidative stress causes HeLa cell apoptosis via the mitochondrion-dependent and the ER stress-triggered signaling pathways.

Optimizing elicitation strategy of salicylic acid for flavonoid and phenolic production of fed-batch cultured Oplopanax elatus adventitious roots.

Oplopanax elatus is a valuable medicinal plant, but its plant resource is lacking. Adventitious root (AR) culture of O. elatus is an effective way for the production of plant materials. Salicylic acid (SA) exerts enhancement effect on metabolite synthesis in some plant cell/organ culture systems. To clarify the elicitation effect of SA on fed-batch cultured O. elatus ARs, this study investigated the effects of SA concentration, and elicitation time and duration. Results showed that flavonoid and phenolic contents, and antioxidant enzyme activity obviously increased when the fed-batch cultured ARs were treated with 100 µM SA for 4 days starting on day 35. Under this elicitation condition, total flavonoid and phenolic contents reached 387 rutin mg/g DW and 128 gallic acid mg/g DW, respectively, which were significantly (p < 0.05) higher than those in the SA-untreated control. In addition, DPPH scavenging and ABTS+ scavenging rates, and Fe2+ chelating rate also greatly increased after SA treatment, and their EC50 values were 0.0117, 0.61, and 3.34 mg/L, respectively, indicating the high antioxidant activity. The findings of the present study revealed that SA could be used as an elicitor to improve the flavonoid and phenolic production in fed-batch O. elatus AR culture.

Isoliquiritigenin treatment induces apoptosis by increasing intracellular ROS levels in HeLa cells.

This study focuses on the relationship between the apoptosis induced by isoliquiritigenin (ISL) and the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Cell viability was evaluated using sulforhodamine B assay. The apoptotic rate was determined via flow cytometry. Intracellular ROS level was assessed using the 2,7-dichlorofluorescein probe assay. Poly-ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP) protein expression was examined using Western blot analysis. The results showed that ISL treatment inhibited cell proliferation by inducing apoptosis. The increased apoptotic rate and ROS production induced by ISL were inhibited by the co-treatment of ISL and free radical scavenger N-acetyl-cysteine (NAC), catalase (CAT), and 4,5-dihydroxyl-1,3-benzededisulfonic acid (Tiron). On the contrary, the increased apoptotic rate and the ROS production were compensated by the co-treatment of ISL and l-buthionine-(S,R)-sulfoximine (BSO). ISL treatment increased the degradation of PARP, which was counteracted by antioxidants (NAC or CAT), whereas the combination treatment of ISL and pro-oxidant (BSO) enhanced the PARP degradation induced by ISL. Our findings suggested that ISL treatment induced apoptosis by increasing intracellular ROS levels in HeLa cells.

[The mechanism of alteronol inhibiting the proliferation of human promyelocytic leukemia HL-60 cells].

This study is to investigate the mechanism of human promyelocytic leukemia HL-60 cells proliferation induced by alteronol in vitro. Human promyelocytic leukemia HL-60 cells cultured in vitro were treated with different concentrations of alteronol. Inhibition rate was detected by SRB assay. Cellular morphological changes were observed by Hoechst and AO/EB (acridine orange/ethidium bromide dye) staining. The apoptosis rate was determined by Annexin V-FITC/PI assay. Cell cycle distribution was determined by flow cytometry. Western blotting analysis was carried out to determine the cell cycle related proteins. The proliferation of HL-60 cells treated with alteronol was inhibited in a concentration-dependent manner. Based on cell viability assay, observation on cell morphology and apoptosis rate, it confirmed that alteronol played an obvious role in proliferation inhibition of human promyelocytic leukemia HL-60 cells, but it did not induce apoptosis in human promyelocytic leukemia HL-60 cells in different concentrations groups. Alteronol could effectively inhibit the proliferation of human promyelocytic leukemia HL-60 cells inducing cell cycle arrest at G1 phase, as well as, alteration expression of cell cycle proteins level of CyclinD1 and pRb.

Selection of initial culture medium in fed-batch bioreactor culture of Rhodiola sachalinensis cells.

In fed-batch culture, numerous factors, such as initial culture conditions and feeding strategies, affect the culture efficiency. Among the factors, the effect of initial culture medium is rarely investigated. In this work, Rhodiola sachalinensis cells were cultured in the fed-batch bioreactor system and the effects of volume, medium strength, and sucrose concentration of initial culture medium on biomass and accumulation of salidroside, polysaccharides, flavonoids, and phenolics were investigated. The results showed that an initial medium volume of 3 L significantly (p < 0.05) increased biomass and the four bioactive compound contents. The maximum biomass and the highest contents of different bioactive compounds were determined at various MS medium strengths. Therefore, analytic hierarchy process (AHP) - technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) was implemented and half-strength MS medium was selected. Furthermore, the effect of sucrose concentration was examined and 30 g/L sucrose in the initial medium was optimal, at which concentration, 39.45 mg/g DW of salidroside, 531.25 mg/g DW of total polysaccharides, 3.89 mg/g DW of total flavonoids, and 10.84 mg/g DW of total phenolics were produced. The findings of the present study provided a reference for further establishing the fed-batch culture system of R. sachalinensis cells.

Phytochemical differences of hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) leaves from different germplasms and their regulatory effects on lipopolysaccharide-induced inflammation in Matin-Darby canine kidney cell lines.

The increasing demand of hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) has attracted more interest in exploring its phytochemical profile and bioactivities, such as anti-inflammatory effect. In this study, the phytochemicals of different hemp leaves were investigated, with the content order: total saponins content (TSC) > total alkaloids content (TAC) > total phenolics content (TPC) > total flavonoids content (TFC) > cannabinoids. Hemp leaves from Shanxi accumulated higher flavonoids and cannabinoids (i.e., THC, CBD, and CBN), while phenolics were more abundant in those from Hunan. A lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammatory Matin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cell model was established to evaluate the anti-inflammatory effects of hemp leaf extracts. Hemp leaf extracts, especially the D129 and c7, significantly increased cell viability of LPS-induced inflammatory MDCK cells, and D132 significantly decreased the secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α and IL-6) and the lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity. Except for c12, other hemp leaf extracts obviously decreased the cell morphological damage of LPS-induced inflammatory MDCK cells. The correlation analysis revealed that cannabinol (CBN) and TPC showed the strongest correlation with anti-inflammatory activities, and hierarchical clustering analysis also showed that hemp germplasms from Shanxi might be good alternatives to the common cultivar Ym7 due to their better anti-inflammatory activities. These results indicated that hemp leaves were effective in LPS-induced inflammatory MDCK cells, and flavonoids and cannabinoids were potential geographical markers for distinguishing them, which can provide new insights into the anti-inflammatory effect of hemp leaves and facilitate the application of hemp leaves as functional ingredients against inflammatory-related disorders.

[Effects of reductive soil disinfestation during low-temperature stubble free period on the control of watermelon Fusarium wilt]. / ä½Žæ¸©èŒ¬å£ç©ºé—²æœŸåœŸå£¤å¼ºè¿˜åŽŸæ¶ˆæ¯’å¯¹è¥¿ç“œæž¯èŽç— çš„å½±å“.

In order to clarify the controlling effect of reductive soil disinfestation (RSD) during low-temperature stubble idle period on watermelon Fusarium wilt, we conducted a pot experiment, containing control (CK), flooded control (FCK), and RSD treatments incorporated with 2% (w/w) alfalfa meal (AL), 0.25% acetic acid (AC), and AL+AC. Real time PCR and Illumian Miseq sequencing were used to determine the abundances of fungi and Fusarium oxysporum as well as fungal community composition. The disease incidence and yield of watermelon were measured. Results showed that the abundance of Fusarium oxysporum and the ratio of Fusarium oxysporum to fungi significantly decreased in the FCK and three RSD treatments, and the disinfestation effects of these treatments ranged from 86.1% to 94.6%. The yield and disease incidence of watermelon significantly increased and decreased in all of the RSD treatments, respectively. There was no significant diffe-rence between FCK and CK treatments. The control efficiencies of Fusarium wilt in AL, AC, and AL+AC were 63.2%, 73.7%, and 94.7%, respectively. The compositions of fungal community in the AL and AC treatments were significantly changed, whereas FCK did not affect fungal community. The relative abundances of dominant fungal genera, such as Zopfiella, Pseudeurotium, Geotrichum, Ascobolus, Westerdykella, and Guehomyces, increased in the RSD treatments. Most of those genera were significantly and negatively correlated with the abundance of Fusarium oxysporum, the ratio of Fusarium oxysporum to fungi, and the disease incidence. In conclusion, RSD treated in the low-temperature stubble free period could effectively control watermelon Fusarium wilt by reshaping fungal community composition.

Methylation profile of bovine Oct4 gene coding region in relation to three germ layers.

Previous studies have shown that octamer-binding transcription factor 4 (Oct4) plays a significant role in early embryonic development of mammalian animals, and different Oct4 expression levels induce multi-lineage differentiation which are regulated by DNA methylation. To explore the relationship between the methylation pattern of Oct4 gene exon 1 and embryonic development, in this work, five different tissues (heart, liver, lung, cerebrum and cerebellum) from three germ layers were chosen from low age (50-60 d) and advanced age (60-70 d) of fetal cattle and the differences between tissues or ages were analyzed, respectively. The result showed that the DNA methylation level of Oct4 gene exon 1 was significant different (P<0.01) between any two of three germ layers in low age (<60 d), but kept steady of advanced age (P>0.05) (>60 d), suggesting that 60-d post coital was an important boundary for embryonic development. In addition, in ectoderm (cerebrum and cerebellum), there was no significant methylation difference of Oct4 gene exon 1 between low age and advanced age (P>0.05), but the result of endoderm (liver and lung) and mesoderm (heart) were on the contrary (P<0.01), which indicated the development of ectoderm was earlier than endoderm and mesoderm. The methylation differences from the 3rd, 5th and 9th CpG-dinucleotide loci of Oct4 gene exon 1 were significantly different between each two of three germ layers (P<0.05), indicating that these three loci may have important influence on bovine embryonic development. This study showed that bovine germ layers differentiation was significantly related to the DNA methylation status of Oct4 gene exon 1. This work firstly identified the DNA methylation profile of bovine Oct4 gene exon 1 and its association with germ layers development in fetus and adult of cattle. Moreover, the work also provided epigenetic information for further studying bovine embryonic development and cellular reprogramming.