The combined exposure of polystyrene microplastics and high-fat feeding affects the intestinal pathology damage and microbiome in zebrafish.

The pervasive utilization of plastics and their integration into ecosystems has resulted in significant environmental issues, particularly the pollution of microplastics (MPs). In aquaculture, high-fat feed (HFD) is frequently employed to enhance the energy intake and economic fish production. This study utilized zebrafish as a model organism to investigate the impact of concurrent exposure to HFD and MPs on fish intestinal pathology damage and intestinal microbiome. The experimental design involved the division of zebrafish into two groups: one receiving a normal diet (ND) and the other receiving HFD. The zebrafish were exposed to a control group, as well as polystyrene (PS) MPs of varying sizes (5 and 50 µm). Histopathological examination revealed that the combination of 5 µm MPs and HFD resulted in the most significant damage to the zebrafish intestinal tract. Furthermore, gut microbiome assays indicated that exposure to MPs and HFD altered the composition of the gut microbiome. This study demonstrates that in aquaculture, the issue of HFD must be considered alongside concerns about MPs contamination, as both factors appear to have a combined effect on the intestinal pathology damage and intestinal microbiome. The findings of this research offer valuable insights for the improvement of fish farming practices.

Curcumin-loaded pH-sensitive carboxymethyl chitosan nanoparticles for the treatment of liver cancer.

In this study, the pH-responsive API-CMCS-SA (ACS) polymeric nanoparticles (NPs) based on 1-(3-amino-propyl) imidazole (API), stearic acid (SA), and carboxymethyl chitosan (CMCS) were fabricated for the effective transport of curcumin (CUR) in liver cancer. CUR-ACS-NPs with various degrees of substitution (DS) were employed to prepare through ultrasonic dispersion method. The effect of different DS on NPs formation was discussed. The obtained CUR-ACS-NPs (DSSA=12.4%) had high encapsulation rate (more than 85%) and uniform particle size (186.2 ± 1.42 nm). The CUR-ACS-NPs showed better stability than the other groups. Drug release from the CUR-ACS-NPs was pH-dependent, and more than 90% or 65% of CUR was released in 48 h in weakly acid medium (pH 5.0 or 6.0, respectively). Additionally, the CUR-ACS-NPs increased the intracellular accumulation of CUR and demonstrated high anticancer effect on HepG2 cells compared with the other groups. CUR-ACS-NPs prolonged the retention time of the drug, and the area under the curve (AUC) increased significantly in vivo. The in vivo antitumor study further revealed that the CUR-ACS-NPs exhibited the capability of inhibiting tumor growth and lower systemic toxicity. Meanwhile, CUR, CUR-CS-NPs, and CUR-ACS-NPs could be detected in the evaluated organs, including tumor, liver, spleen, lung, heart, and kidney in distribution studies. Among them, CUR-ACS-NPs reached the maximum concentration at the tumor site, indicating the tumor-targeting properties. In short, the results suggested that CUR-ACS-NPs could act a prospective drug transport system for effective delivery of CUR in cancer treatment.

Toxicity of Polystyrene Nanoplastics in the Liver and Intestine of Normal and High-Fat-Diet Juvenile Zebrafish.

Nanoplastics (NPs) are widely found and threaten environmental and biological safety, because they do not degrade completely. We aimed to preliminarily explore the toxicity of NPs in obese children, because childhood obesity is a growing global health concern. We used zebrafish as a vertebrate toxicological model to examine the hepatic lipid metabolism and gut microbiota in juvenile zebrafish exposed to 1000 µg/L polystyrene NPs and a high-fat diet (HFD) using Raman spectroscopy, pathological examination, transcriptome analysis, and 16S sequencing techniques. Our study showed that polystyrene NPs perturb the lipid metabolism and gut microbiota stability in zebrafish. Furthermore, the combined effects of polystyrene NPs and HFD resulted in gastrointestinal injury. Our study is one of the first to investigate the toxicity of polystyrene NPs to normal-diet and HFD juvenile zebrafish using confocal Raman spectroscopy. Our results show the importance of a healthy diet and a reduction in the use of plasticware. Environ Toxicol Chem 2024;43:147-158. © 2023 SETAC.

Analysis of the genetic contribution to thoracic aortic aneurysm or dissection in a prospective cohort of patients with familial and sporadic cases in East China.

BACKGROUND: Thoracic aortic aneurysm or dissections (TAADs) represent a group of life-threatening diseases. Genetic aetiology can affect the age of onset, clinical phenotype, and timing of intervention. We conducted a prospective trial to determine the prevalence of pathogenic variants in TAAD patients and to elucidate the traits related to harbouring the pathogenic variants. One hundred and one unrelated TAAD patients underwent genetic sequencing and analysis for 23 TAAD-associated genes using a targeted PCR and next-generation sequencing-based panel. RESULTS: A total of 47 variants were identified in 52 TAAD patients (51.5%), including 5 pathogenic, 1 likely pathogenic and 41 variants of uncertain significance. The pathogenic or likely pathogenic (P/LP) variants in 4 disease-causing genes were carried by 1 patient with familial and 5 patients with sporadic TAAD (5.9%). In addition to harbouring one variant causing familial TAAD, the FBN1 gene harboured half of the P/LP variants causing sporadic TAAD. Individuals with an age of onset less than 50 years or normotension had a significantly increased genetic risk. CONCLUSIONS: TAAD patients with a younger age at diagnosis or normotension were more likely to carry a P/LP variant; thus, routine genetic testing will be beneficial to a better prognosis through genetically personalized care prior to acute rupture or dissection.

Rapid and non-invasive diagnostic techniques for embryonic developmental potential: a metabolomic analysis based on Raman spectroscopy to identify the pregnancy outcomes of IVF-ET.

The non-invasive and rapid assessment of the developmental potential of embryos is of great clinical importance in assisted reproductive technology (ART). In this retrospective study, we analyzed the metabolomics of 107 samples provided by volunteers and utilized Raman spectroscopy to detect the substance composition in the discarded culture medium of 53 embryos resulting in successful pregnancies and 54 embryos that did not result in pregnancy after implantation. The culture medium from D3 cleavage-stage embryos was collected after transplantation and a total of 535 (107 × 5) original Raman spectra were obtained. By combining several machine learning methods, we predicted the developmental potential of embryos, and the principal component analysis-convolutional neural network (PCA-CNN) model achieved an accuracy rate of 71.5%. Furthermore, the chemometric algorithm was used to analyze seven amino acid metabolites in the culture medium, and the data showed significant differences in tyrosine, tryptophan, and serine between the pregnancy and non-pregnancy groups. The results suggest that Raman spectroscopy, as a non-invasive and rapid molecular fingerprint detection technology, shows potential for clinical application in assisted reproduction.

march2 negatively regulates antiviral immune response by targeting tbk1 in grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella).

Grass carp is one of the most economically important fish species. Hemorrhagic diseases caused by grass carp reovirus (GCRV) can seriously damage the economic yield of grass carp. Therefore, antiviral research on grass carp is urgently needed. Membrane-associated RING-CH2 (MARCH2) negatively regulates the innate immune response in mice. However, little is known about the role of march2 in the antiviral innate immune response in teleost fish. Our present study showed that march2 has high homology in grass carp, its orthologs, and mammals, and has the same amino acid sequence in grass carp and crucian carp. Overexpression of Cimarch2 (Ctenopharyngodon idella march2) significantly inhibited interferon (IFN) activation induced by Polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid (poly I: C), spring viremia of carp virus (SVCV), and GCRV. However, knocking down Cimarch2 enhanced the activation of IFN induced by poly I: C, SVCV, and GCRV. Overexpression of Cimarch2 can promotes viral replication. Mechanistically, Cimarch2 tightly bound to TANK-binding kinase 1 (tbk1) and downregulated tbk1 through the proteasome pathway. Our results demonstrated the potential role of Cimarch2 in the antiviral breeding of grass carp.

Identification and characterization of a new variation in DPM2 gene in two Chinese siblings with mild intellectual impairment.

Introduction: Congenital disorders of glycosylation (CDGs) are a genetically heterogeneous group of metabolic disorders caused by abnormal protein or lpid glycosylation. DPM2 is one subunit of a heterotrimeric complex for dolichol-phosphatemannose synthase (DPMS), a key enzyme in glycosylation, and only four patients with DPM2-CDG have been reported. Methods: Whole-exome sequencing (WES) was performed in a Chinese family having two siblings with a mild form of DPM2-CDG with developmental delay, mild intellectual disability, hypotonia, and increased serum creatine kinase. Sanger sequencing was used to validate the variants identified in the siblings and their parents. In vitro functional study was performed. Results: A homozygous mutation, c.197G>A (p.Gly66Glu) in exon 4 of DPM2 (NM_003863) was identified by whole exome sequencing (WES). In vitro functional analysis demonstrated that this variant increased the expression level of DPM2 protein and western blot revealed a significant decrease in ICAM1, a universal biomarker for hypoglycosylation in patients with CDG, suggesting abnormal N-linked glycosylation. We also reviewed the 4 previously reported patients carrying homozygous or compound heterozygous variants of DMP2 gene, and found that patients with variants within the region encoding the first domain had more severe clinical symptoms than those with variants within the second domain. However, the actual genotype-phenotype relationship needs more study. Discussion: Overall, our study broadens the variant spectrum of DPM2 gene, attempts to explain the different phenotypes in patients with different DPM2 variants, and emphasizes the need of further functional studies to understand the underlying pathophysiology of the phenotypic heterogeneity.

Combined effects of high-fat diet and polystyrene microplastic exposure on microplastic bioaccumulation and lipid metabolism in zebrafish.

Extensive use of microplastics (MPs) threatens the safety of aquatic environments and hydrobionts. Increasing the weight of economic fish through high-fat diet (HFD) to increase production is common in aquaculture. However, little is known about the combined effects of MPs and HFD in fish. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between adiposity and MP bioaccumulation in fish. Using zebrafish as a vertebrate model, the content of polystyrene (PS) MPs in zebrafish tissues exposed to 5 and 50 µm of 1000 µg/L PS MPs was detected via confocal Raman spectroscopy in normal diet (ND) and HFD. The content of PS MPs in HFD group was significantly higher than that in ND group. The levels of hepatic lipids were significantly elevated in zebrafish subjected to HFD treatment, and this effect was aggravated by exposure to 5 µm PS MPs, and even caused liver injury. Transcriptomic analysis revealed that exposure to PS MPs interferes with hepatic lipid metabolism and energy homeostasis in zebrafish. These results suggests that in addition to controlling the use and performing proper recycling of plastic products in our daily life, we should not blindly increase the weight of fish through HFD. This aids protect the quality of economic fish and prevent MPs from being consumed by humans through the food chain. This study explored the interaction between fish feed culture and environmental pollutants to provide important reference for fish culture.

[Taxonomic and Functional Diversity of Soil Microbial Communities in Subalpine Meadow with Different Degradation Degrees in Mount Wutai].

Although soil microbes play a key role in grassland ecosystem functioning, the response of their diversity to grassland degradation has not been fully investigated. Here, we used shotgun metagenomic sequencing to analyze the characteristics and influencing factors of soil microbial taxonomic and functional diversity at four different degradation stages[i.e., non-degraded (ND), lightly degraded (LD), moderately degraded (MD), and heavily degraded (HD)]of subalpine meadow in the Mount Wutai. The results showed that there were significant differences in the relative abundances of Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Nitrospirae, and Parcubacteria among the four subalpine grasslands with different degradation degrees (P<0.05).Compared with that in ND, the degraded meadows increased the proportion of genes related to carbon metabolism, biosynthesis of amino acids, pyruvate metabolism, citric acid cycle, propanoate metabolism, butanoate metabolism, and fatty acid metabolism (P<0.05), indicating that the degradation of subalpine grassland changed the metabolic potential of energy metabolism and the nutrient cycle of the soil microbial community. Grassland degradation changed soil microbial taxonomic and functional α diversity, especially in MD and HD.Grassland degradation resulted in significant changes in the taxonomic and functional compositions of the microbial communities. The total nitrogen, pH, and soil organic carbon significantly affected the taxonomic and functional compositions of the microbial communities.The ß diversity of the plant community was significantly correlated with the taxonomic and functional ß diversity of the microbial community (P<0.05), indicating strong coupling. The results of this study revealed the changes and driving mechanisms of subsurface microbial taxonomic and functional diversity during grassland degradation, which can provide a theoretical basis for subalpine meadow protection and ecological restoration.

Study on g-C3N4/BiVO4 Binary Composite Photocatalytic Materials.

Recent studies have shown that the composite of semiconductor photocatalytic materials and g-C3N4 can effectively inhibit photocatalytic carrier recombination and enhance the adsorption performance of the composite photocatalytic materials, so that the composite photocatalyst has stronger photocatalytic activity. In this paper, three kinds of graphitic carbon nitride photocatalyst g-C3N4 with different morphologies were prepared using the same precursor system by the chemical cracking method. After characterization and application, the sample with the most significant photocatalytic activity was selected and the g-C3N4/BiVO4 heterostructure was synthesized by the simple solvent evaporation method, then the photocatalytic experiment was carried out. The results show that, when the content of BiVO4 in the composite sample is 1%, the photocatalytic activity of RhB was the highest, and the degradation rate could reach 90.4%. The kinetic results showed that the degradation of RhB was consistent with the quasi-primary degradation kinetic model. The results of the photocatalytic cycle experiment show that the photocatalytic performance remains unchanged and stable after four photocatalytic cycles. The existence of a g-C3N4/BiVO4 binary heterojunction was confirmed by UV/Visible diffuse reflection (UV-DRS) and photoluminescence (PL) experiments. Owing to the Z-type charge process between BiVO4 and g-C3N4, efficient carrier separation was achieved, thus enhancing the photocatalytic capacity. This work provides a new idea for the study of heterojunction photocatalytic materials based on g-C3N4.

Corrigendum: Identification of the first congenital ichthyosis case caused by a homozygous deletion in the ALOX12B gene due to chromosome 17 mixed uniparental disomy.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2022.931833.].

A novel CARD11 germline mutation in a Chinese patient of B cell expansion with NF-κB and T cell anergy (BENTA) and literature review.

Germline gain-of-function (GOF) mutations in the CARD11 gene lead to a rare primary immunodeficiency disease known as B cell expansion with NF-κB and T cell anergy (BENTA). Affected patients present with a polyclonal expansion of B cells, lymphadenopathy, and splenomegaly. Herein, we report a novel germline in-frame three base-pair deletion (c.1030_1032del, p.K344del) in the CARD11 gene in a patient with atypical BENTA, presenting with a recurrent fever and B cell lymphocytosis. This mutation was inherited from his mother, who is clinically asymptomatic and had a recurrent respiratory tract infection in her childhood. In vitro functional analysis demonstrated that this variant decreased the expression level of the CARD11 protein and activated the NF-κB signal pathway, leading to a higher expression of several NF-κB target gene transcripts in HCT116 cells transfected with mutant CARD11 (K344del-CARD11) as revealed by RNA sequencing analysis. To our knowledge, only 23 BENTA patients have been identified and carried seven distinct GOF mutations in CARD11. The clinical manifestations of patients are highly heterogeneous and there was no significant correlation between genotype and phenotype. In summary, we identified a novel in-frame three base-pair deletion that may be responsible for the pathogenesis of atypical BENTA in a Chinese family. Our study expands the mutational spectrum of the CARD11 gene and may be helpful in the understanding of diseases caused by CARD11 mutations and the clinical management of BENTA.

A novel variant in the HX repeat motif of ATN1 in a Chinese patient with CHEDDA syndrome and literature review.

BACKGROUND: CHEDDA syndrome is a rare neurodevelopmental syndrome caused by heterozygous missense or indel variants in the HX repeat motif of ATN1 gene. To date, CHEDDA has been identified in a few ethnic groups, and only 17 patients have been reported in literature, and no case has been reported in any country or region in Asia. METHODS: Trio-exome sequencing (Trio-ES) examination was conducted in a Chinese girl with global developmental delay and in her parents. Sanger sequencing was performed to confirm the candidate variant. RESULTS: This patient presented with mental and motor developmental delay, speech delay, and mild dysmorphic facial features, and had no epilepsy and visual impairment. Brain MRI did not show obvious structural abnormality. Through ES we identified a novel and de novo variant, c.3176_c.3177insGCACCT (p.Ser1059_His1060insHisLeu), within the HX motif of ATN1. No other pathogenic variant in another gene was found to support an alternative clinical and molecular diagnosis. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first described case of CHEDDA from China. Together with the available literature data, we found that either disruption of HX motif or alteration of the HX repeat number would lead to ATN1-associated CHEDDA. We also noted that CHEDDA is a clinical heterogenous syndrome, and patients carrying the same or similar variant might have different clinical manifestations and prognosis.

Identification of the first congenital ichthyosis case caused by a homozygous deletion in the ALOX12B gene due to chromosome 17 mixed uniparental disomy.

Uniparental disomy (UPD) is a rare genetic event caused by errors during gametogenesis and fertilization leading to two copies of a chromosome or chromosomal region inherited from one parent. MixUPD is one type of UPD that contains isodisomic and heterodisomic parts because of meiotic recombination. Using whole-exome sequencing (WES), we identified the first case of ichthyosis due to a maternal mixUPD on chromosome 17, which results in a homozygous deletion of partial intron 8 to exon 10 in ALOX12B, being predicted to lead to an internal protein deletion of 97 amino acids. We also performed a retrospective analysis of 198 patients with ALOX12B mutations. The results suggested that the exon 9 and 10 are located in the mutational hotspots of ALOX12B. In addition, our patient has microtia and congenital stenosis of the external auditory canals, which is very rare in patients with ALOX12B mutations. Our study reports the first case of autosomal recessive congenital ichthyosis (ARCI) due to a mixUPD of chromosome 17 and expands the spectrum of clinical manifestations of ARCI caused by mutations in the ALOX12B gene.

[Responses of Soil Fungal Communities to Subalpine Meadow Degradation in Mount Wutai].

Grassland degradation has become a worldwide ecological problem. Although soil microorganisms, as the main participants in the process of grassland degradation, play a key role in maintaining ecosystem function and improving soil productivity, little is known about the changes in microbial communities caused by grassland degradation and their relationship with soil properties and plant communities. In this study, we used Illumina MiSeq sequencing to analyze the soil fungal communities of subalpine meadow soil at four different degradation stages[i.e., non-degraded (ND), lightly degraded (LD), moderately degraded (MD), and heavily degraded (HD)] on Mount Wutai. The results showed that Ascomycota, Basidiomycota, and Zygomycota were the dominant phyla of soil fungi in the subalpine meadow, regardless of degradation stage. LEfSe showed that the subalpine meadows with different degradation degrees were enriched with different biomarkers. Compared with ND, MD and HD were enriched with more pathogenic fungi. Moreover, HD apparently decreased the richness and Shannon indexes of soil fungal communities compared with those of ND. Non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) and similarity analysis (ANOSIM) indicated that the compositions and structures of fungal communities were significantly different among meadows with different degradation degrees (P<0.05). Redundancy analysis (RDA) showed that soil water content, total nitrogen, plant richness, and ammonium nitrogen were significantly correlated with the compositions and structures of fungal communities (P<0.05). There were significant correlations between α diversity and ß diversity between plant and fungal communities (P<0.05), indicating strong coupling. The results of our study provide a theoretical basis for further research on the changes in soil fungal communities and their driving mechanism in different degradation stages of subalpine meadows.

Sorbitol accumulation decreases oocyte quality in aged mice by altering the intracellular redox balance.

Sorbitol is a product of glucose metabolism through the polyol pathway. Many studies have demonstrated that excessive sorbitol can disrupt the intracellular redox balance. However, we still know very little about the impact of excessive intracellular sorbitol on oocyte quality, oocyte maturation, and embryo developmental potential. This study explored whether intracellular sorbitol accumulates in the oocytes of aged mice during in vitro maturation (IVM) and what roles sorbitol plays in oocyte development and maturation. Our results showed that sorbitol levels were significantly higher in in vitro-matured oocytes from aged mice than in oocytes from young mice (14.08 ± 3.78 vs. 0.23 ± 0.04 ng/oocyte). The expression of aldose reductase (AR) mRNA was significantly higher in the in vitro-cultured oocytes from 9-month-old mice than prior to culture. To decrease the excessive intracellular sorbitol in oocytes from aged mice, sorbinil, a specific inhibitor of aldose reductase, was supplemented in IVM medium, and the sorbitol level was significantly decreased (14.08 ± 3.78 vs. 0.48 ± 0.19 ng/oocyte). Our results indicated that the percentage of oocytes with first polar body extrusion (PBE) was significantly higher in the sorbinil group than in the aged group (82.4% ± 7.2% vs. 66.1% ± 6.9%), and the content of sorbitol was drastically increased in the aged group. The ROS fluorescence intensity in the sorbinil group was drastically lower than that in the aged group, while the GSH fluorescence intensity was significantly higher. Interestingly, SOD1 was upregulated in the sorbinil group. The present study suggests that excessive sorbitol accumulation is induced during IVM in aged mouse oocytes, which negatively influences oocyte quality by altering the intracellular redox balance. Inhibition of sorbitol accumulation may be a potential method to improve the nuclear maturation of aged oocytes.

Metal- and Solvent-Free Transesterification and Aldol Condensation Reactions by a Homogenous Recyclable Basic Ionic Liquid Based on the 1,3,5-Triazine Framework.

A new recyclable basic ionic liquid was introduced as an efficient catalyst for aldol condensation and transesterification reactions under environmentally friendly conditions. The catalyst was prepared based on methyl imidazolium moieties bearing hydroxide counter anions via the Hofmann elimination on a 1,3,5-triazine framework. The ionic liquid with two functionalities including anion stabilizer and high basicity, was used as an efficient catalyst for aldol condensation as well as transesterification reaction of a variety of alkyl benzoates. All reactions were performed in the absence of any external reagent, co-catalyst, or solvent, in line with environmental protection. The kinetics isotope effect (KIE) was conducted for the transesterification reaction to elucidate the mechanism and rate determining step (RDS). It worth noted that, the homogeneous catalyst could be recycled from the reaction mixture and reused for several consecutive runs with insignificant drop of basicity and conversion.

Effect of resveratrol on mouse ovarian vitrification and transplantation.

BACKGROUND: After ovarian tissue transplantation, ischemia-reperfusion injury and free radicals cause follicle depletion and apoptosis. Therefore, the use of antioxidants to reduce the production of free radicals is an important method to address the consequences of ischemia-reperfusion injury. Resveratrol is a natural active polyphenol compound with anti-inflammatory, antitumor, strong antioxidant and anti-free radical properties. The aim of this study was to investigate whether resveratrol could improve the effect of autologous ovarian transplantation after cryopreserve-thawn mouse ovarian tissue. METHODS: Whole-ovary vitrification and autotransplantation models were used to investigate the effects of resveratrol. Six-week-old female mice from the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) were subjected to vitrification. All ovaries were preserved in liquid nitrogen for 1 week before being thawed. After thawing, ovarian tissues were autotransplanted in the bilateral kidney capsules. Mice (n = 72) were randomly divided into four groups to determine the optimal concentration of resveratrol (experiment I). Treatments were given as follows: saline, 5 mg/kg resveratrol, 15 mg/kg resveratrol and 45 mg/kg resveratrol, which were administered orally for one week. Grafted ovaries were collected for analysis on days 3, 7, and 21 after transplantation. Ovarian follicle morphology was assessed by hematoxylin and eosin staining. Serum FSH and E2 levels were measured to estimate the transplanted ovarian reserve and endocrine function. Other mice were randomly divided into two groups-saline and 45 mg/kg resveratrol to further evaluate the effect of resveratrol and explore the mechanisms underlying this effect (experiment II). Ovarian follicle apoptosis was assessed by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL) assays. Immunohistochemistry, qRT-PCR and western blotting (MDA, SOD, NF-κB, IL-6 and SIRT1) were used to explore the mechanisms of resveratrol. Moreover, oocytes derived from autotransplanted ovaries at 21 days were cultured and fertilized in vitro. RESULTS: The proportions of morphologically normal (G1) follicles at 3, 7 and 21 days were significantly higher in the 45 mg/kg resveratrol group than in the saline group. The TUNEL-stained follicles (%) at 7 days were significantly decreased in the 45 mg/kg resveratrol group compared with the saline group. Western blot analysis revealed that SOD2 and SIRT1 levels were significantly higher in the 45 mg/kg resveratrol group than in the saline group at day 7 and that MDA and NF-κB levels were lower in the saline group on day 3. Likewise, IL-6 was lower in the saline group on day 7. These results are basically consistent with the qRT-PCR results. In addition, the mean number of retrieved oocytes and fertilization and cleavage were significantly increased in the 45 mg/kg resveratrol group compared with the saline group. CONCLUSIONS: Administration of resveratrol could improve the quality of cryopreserved mouse ovarian tissue after transplantation and the embryo outcome, through anti-inflammatory and antioxidative mechanisms.

Hybrid Application of Nanoparticles and Polymer in Enhanced Oil Recovery Processes.

Nowadays, the addition of nanoparticles to polymer solutions would be of interest; however, the feasible property of nanoparticles and their impact on oil recovery has not been investigated in more detail. This study investigates the rheology and capillary forces (interfacial tension and contact angle) of nanoparticles in the polymer performances during oil recovery processes. Thereby, a sequential injection of water, polymer, and nanoparticles; Nanosilica (SiO2) and nano-aluminium oxide (Al2O3) was performed to measure the oil recovery factor. Retention decrease, capillary forces reduction, and polymer viscoelastic behavior increase have caused improved oil recovery due to the feasible mobility ratio of polymer-nanoparticle in fluid loss. The oil recovery factor for polymer flooding, polymer-Al2O3, and polymer-SiO2 is 58%, 63%, and 67%, respectively. Thereby, polymer-SiO2 flooding would provide better oil recovery than other scenarios that reduce the capillary force due to the structural disjoining pressure. According to the relative permeability curves, residual oil saturation (Sor) and water relative permeability (Krw) are 29% and 0.3%, respectively, for polymer solution; however, for the polymer-nanoparticle solution, Sor and Krw are 12% and 0.005%, respectively. Polymer treatment caused a dramatic decrease, rather than the water treatment effect on the contact angle. The minimum contact angle for water and polymer treatment are about 21 and 29, respectively. The contact angle decrease for polymer treatment in the presence of nanoparticles related to the surface hydrophilicity increase. Therefore, after 2000 mg L-1 of SiO2 concentration, there are no significant changes in contact angle.

Discovery of promising FtsZ inhibitors by E-pharmacophore, 3D-QSAR, molecular docking study, and molecular dynamics simulation.

Asbtract Filamentous temperature-sensitive protein Z (FtsZ), playing a key role in bacterial cell division, is regarded as a promising target for the design of antimicrobial agent. This study is looking for potential high-efficiency FtsZ inhibitors. Ligand-based pharmacophore and E-pharmacophore, virtual screening and molecular docking were used to detect promising FtsZ inhibitors, and molecular dynamics simulation was used to study the stability of protein-ligand complexes in this paper. Sixty-three inhibitors from published literatures with pIC50 ranging from 2.483 to 5.678 were collected to develop ligand-based pharmacophore model. 4DXD bound with 9PC was selected to develop the E-pharmacophore model. The pharmacophore models validated by test set method and decoy set were employed for virtual screening to exclude inactive compounds against ZINC database. After molecular docking, ADME analysis, IFD docking and MM-GBSA, 8 hits were identified as potent FtsZ inhibitors. A 50 ns molecular dynamics simulation was implemented on the compounds to assess the stability between potent inhibitors and FtsZ. The results indicated that the candidate compounds had a high docking score and were strongly combined with FtsZ by forming hydrogen bonding interactions with key amino acid residues, and van der Waals forces and hydrophobic interactions had significant contribution to the stability of the binding. Molecular dynamics simulation results showed that the protein-ligand compounds performed well in both the stability and flexibility of the simulation process.