Differential identification of mushrooms sclerotia by IR macro-fingerprint method.

Many macrofungus sclerotia are well-known medicinal herbs, health food and nutritional supplements. However, the prevalent adulterant commercial products are major hindrances to their incorporation into mainstream medical use in many countries. The mushroom sclerotia of Lignosus rhinocerotis, Poria cocos, Polyporus umbellatus, Pleurotus tuber-regium and Omphalia lapidescens are commonly used in traditional Chinese medicine. In this study, IR macro-fingerprint method was used in the identification of these sclerotia. The results showed that the spectrum of L. rhinocerotis (LR) was comparable with P. cocos with 94.4% correlation, except that the peak at 1543cm(-1) of LR appeared in lower intensity. The spectrum of P. umbellatus and P. tuber-regium was also correlated (91.5%), as both spectra could be clearly discriminated in that P. umbellatus spectrum has small base peaks located at the range of 1680-1500cm(-1). O. lapidescens was not comparable with all the other sclerotia as its spectrum was totally different. Its base peak was broad and derivated equally along the range. The first IR has revealed the dissimilarity among five mushrooms sclerotia. The second derivative and 2DIR further enhanced the identification in detail.

TMEM16A overexpression contributes to tumor invasion and poor prognosis of human gastric cancer through TGF-ß signaling.

TMEM16A is a newly identified calcium activated chloride channel, and has been reported to be overexpressed by various solid malignant cancers to promote proliferation and invasion, yet little is known about its role in gastric cancer(GC). Therefore, we investigated the role of TMEM16A in GC and its clinical significance by a retrospective analysis of 367 GC patients, and in vitro study was performed for validation and underlying molecular mechanism.TMEM16A was significantly upregulated and amplified in GC tissues, and its overexpression was positively correlated with disease stage, negatively with patient survival and identified as an independent prognostic factor for patient outcome. A negative correlation between TMEM16A and E-cadherin was found in 367 GC specimens. TMEM16A silencing significantly decreased calcium activated chloride currents, impaired TGF-ß secretion, reduced E-cadherin expression, and inhibited the migration and invasion without affecting proliferation of GC cells (AGS and BGC-823). Supplement of TGF-ß reverted the effects of TMEM16A silencing on E-cadherin expression, cell migration and invasion.In conclusion, TMEM16A promotes invasion and metastasis in GC, and might be a novel prognostic biomarker and potential therapeutic target in the treatment of GC.

Factors affecting quantity of pollen dispersal of spray cut chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum morifolium).

BACKGROUND: Spray cut chrysanthemum is a vital flower with high ornamental value and popularity in the world. However, the excessive quantity of pollen dispersal of most spray cut chrysanthemum is an adverse factor during its flowering stage, and can significantly reduce its ornamental value and quickly shorten its vase life. More seriously, excessive pollen grains in the air are usually harmful to people, especially for those with pollen allergies. Therefore, in order to obtain some valuable information for developing spray cut chrysanthemum with less-dispersed or non-dispersed pollen in the future breeding programs, we here investigated the factors affecting quantity of pollen dispersal of spray cut chrysanthemum with four cultivars, i.e. 'Qx-097', 'Noa', 'Qx-115', and 'Kingfisher', that have different quantity of pollen dispersal. RESULTS: 'Qx-097' with high quantity of pollen dispersal has 819 pollen grains per anther, 196.4 disk florets per inflorescence and over 800,000 pollen grains per inflorescence. The corresponding data for 'Noa' with low quantity of pollen dispersal are 406, 175.4 and over 350,000, respectively; and 219, 144.2 and nearly 160,000 for 'Qx-115' without pollen dispersal, respectively. 'Kingfisher' without pollen dispersal has 202.8 disk florets per inflorescence, but its anther has no pollen grains. In addition, 'Qx-097' has a very high degree of anther cracking that nearly causes a complete dispersal of pollen grains from its anthers. 'Noa' has a moderate degree of anther cracking, and pollen grains in its anthers are not completely dispersed. However, the anthers of 'Qx-115' and 'Kingfisher' do not crack at all. Furthermore, microsporogenesis and pollen development are normal in 'Qx-097', whereas many microspores or pollen degenerate in 'Noa', most of them abort in 'Qx-115', and all of them degrade in 'Kingfisher'. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that quantity of pollen dispersal in spray cut chrysanthemum are mainly determined by pollen quantity per anther, and capacity of pollen dispersal. Abnormality during microsporogenesis and pollen development significantly affects pollen quantity per anther. Capacity of pollen dispersal is closely related to the degree of anther dehiscence. The entire degeneration of microspore or pollen, or the complete failure of anther dehiscence can cause the complete failure of pollen dispersal.

Synthesis and herbicidal activity of isoindoline-1,3-dione substituted benzoxazinone derivatives containing a carboxylic ester group.

A carboxylic ester group was introduced to three series of isoindolinedione substituted benzoxazinone derivatives. Some of these analogues exhibited good herbicidal activities, and the injury symptoms against weeds included leaf cupping, crinkling, bronzing, and necrosis, typical of protox inhibitor herbicides. Structurally, they were classified as Chemical Group A (4-carboxylic ester group-6-isoindolinyl-benzoxazinones), B (4-carboxylic ester group-7-isoindolinyl-benzoxazinones), and C (4-carboxylic ester group-6- tetrahydroisoindolinyl-benzoxazinones). All of the tested compounds were structurally confirmed by (1)H NMR, IR, mass spectroscopy, and elemental analysis. Preliminary bioassay data of these three classes of compounds showed that, in general, the order of the herbicidal effectiveness is C > A > B. Several of the lead compounds, for example, C10 (methyl 2-(6-(1,3-dioxo-4,5,6,7-tetrahydro-1H-isoindol-2(3H)-yl)-7-fluoro-2-methyl-3-oxo-2H-benzo[b][1,4] oxazin-4(3H)-yl) propano-ate), C12 (ethyl 2-(6-(1,3-dioxo-4,5,6,7-tetrahydro-1H-isoindol-2(3H)-yl)-7-fluoro-2- methyl-3-oxo-2H-benzo[b][1,4]oxazin-4(3H)-yl) propanoate), and C13 (ethyl 2-(6-(1,3-dioxo-4,5,6,7-tetrahydro-1H-isoindol-2(3H)-yl)-7-fluoro-2-methyl-3-oxo-2H-benzo-[b][1,4]oxazin-4(3H)-yl) butanoate), exhibited greater than 80% control at 75 g a.i./ha in both pre- and postemergence treatments against dicotyledonous weeds, such as Abutilon theophrasti Medic, Chenopodium album L., and Amaranthus ascendens L., and monocotyledon weeds, such as Digitaria sanguinalis L., Echinochloa crus-galli L., and Setaria viridis L. On the basis of advanced screening tests and crop selectivity, compounds C10, C12, and C13 are safer to crops than flumioxazin. Compounds C10, C12, and C13 are potent to develop as pre-emergent herbicides used in peanut, soybean, maize, and cotton fields.

[Primary effects on Isatis indigotica after spaceflight].

Isatis indigotica carried by the Chinese first spaceship "Shenzhou" was studied in order to find the mutation after spaceflight. TLC differentiation experiments showed no distinct discrepancy among the samples of spaceflight and non-space-flight, and the same color spot appeared corresponding to the location of the arginine. Isoenzymes of esterase and peroxidase were studied with PAGE. Isoenzymes of esterase were difference among the samples. To peroxidases, little difference was found with them. The ratio of dry weight and extract contents showed out the mutation has emerged after spaceflight, but some characters were unstable. It is necessary for further study.

A novel dicyclodextrinyl diselenide compound with glutathione peroxidase activity.

A 6A,6A'-dicyclohexylamine-6B,6B'-diselenide-bis-beta-cyclodextrin (6-CySeCD) was designed and synthesized to imitate the antioxidant enzyme glutathione peroxidase (GPX). In this novel GPX model, beta-cyclodextrin provided a hydrophobic environment for substrate binding within its cavity, and a cyclohexylamine group was incorporated into cyclodextrin in proximity to the catalytic selenium in order to increase the stability of the nucleophilic intermediate selenolate. 6-CySeCD exhibits better GPX activity than 6,6'-diselenide-bis-cyclodextrin (6-SeCD) and 2-phenyl-1,2-benzoisoselenazol-3(2H)-one (Ebselen) in the reduction of H(2)O(2), tert-butyl hydroperoxide and cumenyl hydroperoxide by glutathione, respectively. A ping-pong mechanism was observed in steady-state kinetic studies on 6-CySeCD-catalyzed reactions. The enzymatic properties showed that there are two major factors for improving the catalytic efficiency of GPX mimics. First, the substrate-binding site should match the size and shape of the substrate and second, incorporation of an imido-group increases the stability of selenolate in the catalytic cycle. More efficient antioxidant ability compared with 6-SeCD and Ebselen was also seen in the ferrous sulfate/ascorbate-induced mitochondria damage system, and this implies its prospective therapeutic application.

[Effects of pirarubicin chemotherapy combined with hyperthermia on gastric cancer in vitro].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of pirarubicin (THP) in combination with hyperthermia on gastric cancer tissues in vitro and explore the underlying mechanisms. METHODS: In vitro three-dimensional culture models were established with tissue biopsies from 36 patients with pathologically confirmed gastric cancer. The tumor cell viability was measured by MTS-PMS assay, and HE staining was used to study the histomorphological changes of the tissues following chemotherapy and hyperthermia. RESULTS: Synergistic tumor cell-killing effects of cisplatin, THP, and mitomycin with hyperthermia was observed in the tumor tissues (P=0.000), and THP exhibited stronger cytotoxic effects than the other drugs. Histomorphological study suggested strong killing effects of THP on the tumor tissues, which displayed disrupted tissue structure, cellular degradation and necrosis, karyopyknosis and karyolysis, with cytoplasm loss. The anti-tumor effects of THP were associated with clinical staging and pathological grading of the tumors (P=0.000), but not with the patients' gender, age, tumor size and preoperative CEA levels (P>0.05). CONCLUSION: Pirarubicin shows good synergistic effects with hyperthermia, and the cytotoxicity of pirarubicin against gastric cancer tissue is enhanced considerably by mild hyperthermia. THP can be a potential therapeutic drug for intraperitoneal chemohyperthermia.