The description of Myxobolus meijiangensis n. sp. (Myxozoa: Myxobolidae) and its pathogenicity to the gills of goldfish.

Myxobolus Bütschli, 1882 is the most speciose myxozoan genus, although some species have only been described according to the morphological characteristics of spores. In the present study, a new Myxobolus species infecting the gill lamellae of goldfish from Chongqing, China, was described using a comprehensive analysis of morphological, molecular, and histological data. Mature spores were flat-pear in valvular view with tapering anterior and rounded posterior ends, measuring 11.0 ± 0.4 (10.4-11.6) µm in length and 10.3 ± 0.3 (9.6-11.0) µm in width. Two equal-sized elongate pyriform polar capsules were 5.6 ± 0.6 (4.5-6.4) µm long and 3.5 ± 0.5 (2.4-4.1) µm wide. Polar tubules were coiled with 8 or 9 turns. The small-subunit ribosomal DNA gene sequence length of the present species was 1951 nt, and the highest similarity was 97.99% with M. pyramidis. Comparative analysis of the morphological and molecular data revealed that the present species was distinct from other known myxosporeans. Plasmodia were located at the interlamellar troughs nearing the top of the primary gills. Infection by the present species destroyed the original structure of gill lamellae and caused an inflammatory response, eventually leading to fish dyspnea. The morphological, molecular, and pathological data from the present study can be used for aquaculture since they provide guidance for easy detection and future control of this myxosporidiosis.

Circ_CHMP5 aggravates oxidized low-density lipoprotein-induced damage to human umbilical vein endothelial cells through miR-516b-5p/TGFßR2 axis.

BACKGROUND: Atherosclerosis (AS) was one of the main causes of death in the elderly, and lesions in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) could lead to AS. CircRNA-charged multivesicular body protein 5 (circ_CHMP5) was reported to participate in the progression of AS. METHODS: Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was used to analyze the levels of circ_CHMP5, miR-516b-5p, and transforming growth factor beta receptor 2 (TGFßR2) in AS patients or ox-LDL-induced HUVECs. 5-Ethynyl-2'-deoxyuridine and cell counting kit-8 assays were performed to detect cell proliferation. Proteins expression was assessed by western blot assay. Cell apoptosis was examined by flow cytometry. Tube formation assay was utilized to measure the tube formation ability of HUVCEs. The targeting relationships between miR-516b-5p and circ_CHMP5 or TGFßR2 were confirmed by dual-luciferase reporter assay and RNA-pull down assay. RESULTS: Circ_CHMP5 was enhanced in the serum of AS patients and ox-LDL-exposure HUVECs. Ox-LDL blocked proliferation and tube formation of HUVECs and induced cell apoptosis, and circ_CHMP5 knockdown reversed these effects. In addition, circ_CHMP5 regulated the growth of ox-LDL-induced HUVECs through miR-516b-5p and TGFßR2. Moreover, the effects of circ_CHMP5 knockdown on ox-LDL-induced HUVECs were obviously recovered by downregulation of miR-516b-5p, and overexpression of TGFßR2 restored the effects of miR-516b-5p upregulation on ox-LDL-stimulated HUVECs. CONCLUSION: Silence of circ_CHMP5 overturned ox-LDL-treated inhibition of HUVECs proliferation and angiogenesis by miR-516b-5p and TGFßR2. These results provided new solutions for the treatment of AS.

Improving the Yield of Feruloyl Oligosaccharides from Rice Bran through Enzymatic Extrusion and Its Mechanism.

Rice bran, rich in feruloyl arabinoxylan, is a good source of feruloyl oligosaccharides (FOs). To prepare FOs, bran was often hydrolyzed by amylase and protease to remove starch and protein and then hydrolyzed by xylanase, which was time-consuming and had a low yield. To solve the above problems, enzymatic extrusion was used to treat rice bran, and the effects of traditional hydrolysis, a combination of traditional extrusion and hydrolysis (extrusion-hydrolysis) and enzymatic extrusion on the yield of FOs were investigated and compared in this study. It was found that traditional extrusion and enzymatic extrusion significantly increased the yield of FOs. Particularly, the yield of FOs resulting from enzymatic extrusion was increased to 5.78%, while the yield from traditional hydrolysis was 4.23%. Microscopy analysis showed that extrusion damaged the cell wall of bran, which might increase the accessibility of xylanase to arabinoxylan and the yield of FOs. Spectroscopy analysis suggested that FOs obtained by different pretreatments had similar structures. It was obvious that enzymatic extrusion saved the time for removal of starch and protein and increased the yield of FOs. In addition, the highest yield of FOs was found at the moisture content of 30% and the screw speed of 50 rpm. This study provided an efficient method for the preparation of FOs that is suitable for industrial production.

Circ_0093887 regulated ox-LDL induced human aortic endothelial cells viability, apoptosis, and inflammation through modulating miR-758-3p/BAMBI axis in atherosclerosis.

BACKGROUND: Compelling evidence demonstrated that circular RNAs (circRNAs) were involved in the progression of atherosclerosis (AS). However, the role of circ_0093887 in the progression of AS is unclear. The purpose of this study was to explore the role and mechanism of circ_0093887 in oxidized-low density lipoprotein (ox-LDL)-induced human aortic endothelial cells (HAECs). METHODS: HAECs were stimulated by ox-LDL to simulate AS-like injury in vitro. Circ_0093887, microRNA-758-3p (miR-758-3p), and BMP And Activin Membrane-Bound Inhibitor (BAMBI) levels were detected by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). PCNA, Bax, Bcl-2, and BAMBI protein levels were detected by western blot. Cell viability and apoptosis were examined by Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assay and flow cytometry. Tube formation assay was used to assess tube formation. The levels of inflammatory factors TNF-α and IL-1ß were detected by corresponding ELISA kits. The relationship between miR-758-3p and circ_0093887 or BAMBI was tested via dual-luciferase reporter analysis and RNA immunoprecipitation. Oxidative stress related indexes (ROS and MDA) were detected by corresponding kits. RESULTS: The expression levels of circ_0093887 and BAMBI were prominently downregulated in ox-LDL-induced HAECs compared with control, whereas the expression of miR-758-3p was upregulated. Overexpression of circ_0093887 promoted HAECs viability and tube formation, and restrained cell apoptosis in ox-LDL-induced HAECs compared with untreated HAECs. Mechanistically, circ_0093887 regulated the expression of BAMBI through miR-758-3p. Further experiments showed that upregulation of miR-758-3p reversed changes in cell function induced by circ_0093887. In addition, reduced BAMBI salvaged miR-758-3p knockdown mediated effects on cell function. CONCLUSION: Circ_0093887 demonstrated its diagnostic and therapeutic value in AS by promoting the role of the miR-758-3p/BAMBI axis in the ox-LDL-induced endothelial injury of HAECs.

Impact of rutin on the foaming properties of soybean protein: Formation and characterization of flavonoid-protein complexes.

The aims of present study were to determine the impact of rutin complexation on the ability of soybean protein isolates (SPI) to form and stabilize foams and its mechanism. At pH 7.0, the foaming capacity and foaming stability of the rutin-SPI complexes (28.33% and 14.22%) was appreciably changed when compared with that of SPI alone (19.64% and 32.95%). The improvement in foaming properties was mainly attributed to decrease gas bubble size and increase interfacial thickness as suggested by light microscopy analysis. UV-visible spectroscopy showed that the absorption peak of the SPI was increased and red shifted after complexation with rutin. ITC confirmed that there was an interaction between rutin and SPI. This interaction was hydrophobic interaction and the binding process was entropy driven. This study shows that the foaming properties of plant-based proteins can be improved by forming complexes with flavonoids, which may be useful for foaming agents in foods.

True Grit in Learning Math: The Math Anxiety-Achievement Link Is Mediated by Math-Specific Grit.

In this study, we tested a possible mechanism of the association between math anxiety and math achievement: the mediating role of math-specific grit (i.e., sustaining effort in the face of adversity when learning math). In Study 1, a sample of 10th grade students (N = 222) completed a battery of personality and attitude questionnaires, and math achievement was indexed by curriculum-based examination scores. Mediation analyses indicated that math-specific grit, but not domain-general grit, mediated the relationship between math anxiety and math achievement. In Study 2, we replicated and extended the above findings with another sample of 11th grade students (N = 465). Mediation analyses indicated that math-specific grit and math-specific procrastination played sequential mediating roles in the relationship between math anxiety and math achievement. That is, individuals with higher math anxiety were less gritty in math learning, possibly further leading them to be more procrastinated in performing math work, which may finally result in worse math achievement. In summary, the current study provides the first evidence that math-specific grit may mediate the relationship between math anxiety and math achievement. Furthermore, it also demonstrated the value of math-specific grit over domain-general grit in predicting math success, which invites a broader investigation on subject-specific grit.

Effect of adiponectin on macrophage reverse cholesterol transport in adiponectin-/- mice and its mechanism.

The objective of the present study was to investigate the effect of adiponectin (APN) on macrophage reverse cholesterol transport (RCT) in adiponectin-/- knockout mice (APN-/-mice) and its possible anti-atherosclerotic mechanism. A total of 30 male APN-/-mice were randomly divided into the control group and four intervention groups. The intervention groups were treated with intraperitoneal injections of APN, at doses of 50, 150, 200 and 250 µg/(kg/day), respectively, for 4 weeks. The control group received normal saline. After 4 weeks, serum lipid levels were measured, the degree of severity of atherosclerotic lesions was observed by light microscopy, the 3H-TC (APN-/-mice treated with intraperitoneal injections of 3H-TC-labeled macrophages) radioactivity in serum, liver, and feces, and the expression of ABCA1 mRNA and protein in liver were determined. Compared with the control group, serum triglycerides, total cholesterol, and low-density lipoproteins levels in the intervention groups were significantly decreased, while high-density lipoprotein was increased. The severity of aortic atherosclerotic lesions in the intervention groups was milder than in the control group, which had obvious aortic atherosclerotic lesions, large lipid deposition on vessel walls, and the formation of atheromatous plaques. In the intervention groups, serum 3H-TC content was significantly decreased (P<0.05), but the 3H-TC content in liver and feces was significantly increased (P<0.05). The levels of ABCA1 mRNA in liver of the intervention groups were significantly increased in a dose-dependent manner. In conclusion, APN can promote RCT and intracellular cholesterol efflux by upregulating the expression of ABCA1, to delay the occurrence and development of atherosclerosis.

JAK2 inhibitor combined with DC-activated AFP-specific T-cells enhances antitumor function in a Fas/FasL signal-independent pathway.

OBJECTIVE: Combination therapy for cancer is more effective than using only standard chemo- or radiotherapy. Our previous results showed that dendritic cell-activated α-fetoprotein (AFP)-specific T-cells inhibit tumor in vitro and in vivo. In this study, we focused on antitumor function of CD8(+) T-cells combined with or without JAK2 inhibitor. METHODS: Proliferation and cell cycle were analyzed by CCK-8 and flow cytometry. Western blot was used to analyze the expression level of related protein and signaling pathway. RESULTS: We demonstrated reduced viability and induction of apoptosis of tumor cells with combination treatment. Intriguingly, cell cycle was blocked at the G1 phase by using AFP-specific CD8(+) T-cells combined with JAK2 inhibitor (AG490). Furthermore, an enhanced expression of BAX but no influence on Fas/FasL was detected from the tumor cells. CONCLUSION: These results indicate a Fas/FasL-independent pathway for cellular apoptosis in cancer therapies with the treatment of AFP-specific CD8(+) T-cells combined with JAK2 inhibitor.

Globular adiponectin reduces vascular calcification via inhibition of ER-stress-mediated smooth muscle cell apoptosis.

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to explore the mechanism of globular adiponectin inhibiting vascular calcification. METHODS: We established drug-induced rat vascular calcification model, globular adiponectin was given to observe the effect of globular Adiponectin on the degree of calcification. The markers of vascular calcification and apoptosis were also investigated. Meanwhile, the in vitro effect of globular Adiponectin on vascular calcification was also evaluated using primary cultured rat vascular smooth muscle cells. RESULTS: We found that globular adiponectin could inhibit drug-induced rat vascular calcification significantly in vivo. The apoptosis of vascular smooth muscle cells was also reduced. The possible mechanism could be the down-regulation of endoplasmic reticulum stress by globular adiponectin. Experiments in primary cultured vascular smooth muscle cells also confirmed that globular adiponectin could reduce cell apoptosis to suppress vascular calcification via inhibition of endoplasmic reticulum stress. CONCLUSIONS: This study confirmed that globular adiponectin could suppress vascular calcification; one of the mechanisms could be inhibition of endoplasmic reticulum stress to reduce cell apoptosis. It could provide an effective method in the therapy of vascular calcification-associated diseases.

Circulating Hepatocellular Cells are a Bad Prognostic Factor for HCC Patients.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Circulating hepatocellular carcinoma cells (CHCCs) may be detected by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). We investigated the relationship between CHCCs and hepatoma patients' survival period after different managements. METHODOLOGY: Peripheral blood (5 ml) samples were obtained from 93 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and from 33 control subjects (9 with liver cirrhosis after hepatitis B, 14 with chronic hepatitis B, 10 with healthy people) between January 1st, 2009 and December 31, 2012. To detect CHCCs in peripheral blood, alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) messenger RNA (mRNA) was amplified from total RNA extracted from whole blood by RT-PCR. RESULTS: AFPmRNA was detected in 49 blood samples from the HCC patients (49/93, 53.0%). In contrast, there were no clinical control subjects whose samples showed detectable AFPmRNA. The presence of AFPmRNA in blood seemed to be correlated with the tumor stage (by TNM classification) of HCC, the serum AFP value, and the presence of intrahepatic metastasis, portal vein thrombosis, tumor diameter and/or distant metastasis. CONCLUSIONS: The presence of AFP mRNA in peripheral blood may be an indicator of CHCCs, which might predict hematogenous spreading metastasis in patients with HCC and may be as a bad prognostic factor for HCC patients.

Significance of detecting circulating hepatocellular carcinoma cells in peripheral blood of hepatocellular carcinoma patients by nested reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and its clinical value: a retrospective study.

AIMS AND BACKGROUND: Circulating hepatocellular carcinoma cells may be detected by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. We investigated the relationship between circulating hepatocellular carcinoma cells and hepatoma patient survival after different managements and survival periods. METHODS AND STUDY DESIGN: Peripheral vein blood (5 ml) samples were obtained from 113 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma and from 33 control subjects (9 with liver cirrhosis after hepatitis B, 14 with chronic hepatitis B, 10 healthy individuals) between January 1, 2009, and December 31, 2013. To detect circulating hepatocellular carcinoma cells in peripheral blood, alpha-fetoprotein messenger RNA was amplified from total RNA extracted from whole blood by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS: Alpha-fetoprotein messenger RNA was detected in 59 blood samples from the hepatocellular carcinoma patients (59/113, 52.2%). In contrast, there were no clinical control subjects whose samples showed detectable alpha-fetoprotein messenger RNA. The presence of alpha-fetoprotein messenger RNA in blood seemed to be correlated with the stage (by TNM classification) of hepatocellular carcinoma, serum alpha-fetoprotein value, and the presence of intrahepatic metastasis, portal vein thrombosis, tumor diameter and/or distant metastasis. In addition, alpha-fetoprotein messenger RNA was detected in the blood of 25 patients showing distant metastasis at extrahepatic organs (100%), in contrast to 32 of 88 cases without metastasis (36.4%). All the patients with hepatocellular carcinoma were followed. Seventeen patients with resection of a T 2 stage hepatocellular carcinoma had a survival of 3.2 years after surgical management, 38 cases with resection of a T3 stage hepatocellular carcinoma had a 1.3-year survival, and only 37 cases with T4 stage disease after different treatments except surgery survived for 0.6 years (P <0.01). CONCLUSIONS: The presence of alpha-fetoprotein messenger RNA in peripheral blood may be an indicator of circulating hepatocellular carcinoma cells, which might predict hematogenous spreading metastasis in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma and may be a poor prognostic factor for hepatocellular carcinoma patients.

[Feature extraction of motor imagery electroencephalography based on time-frequency-space domains].

The purpose of using brain-computer interface (BCI) is to build a bridge between brain and computer for the disable persons, in order to help them to communicate with the outside world. Electroencephalography (EEG) has low signal to noise ratio (SNR), and there exist some problems in the traditional methods for the feature extraction of EEG, such as low classification accuracy, lack of spatial information and huge amounts of features. To solve these problems, we proposed a new method based on time domain, frequency domain and space domain. In this study, independent component analysis (ICA) and wavelet transform were used to extract the temporal, spectral and spatial features from the original EEG signals, and then the extracted features were classified with the method combined support vector machine (SVM) with genetic algorithm (GA). The proposed method displayed a better classification performance, and made the mean accuracy of the Graz datasets in the BCI Competitions of 2003 reach 96%. The classification results showed that the proposed method with the three domains could effectively overcome the drawbacks of the traditional methods based solely on time-frequency domain when the EEG signals were used to describe the characteristics of the brain electrical signals.

Characterization and expression of glutamate dehydrogenase in response to acute salinity stress in the Chinese mitten crab, Eriocheir sinensis.

BACKGROUND: Glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) is a key enzyme for the synthesis and catabolism of glutamic acid, proline and alanine, which are important osmolytes in aquatic animals. However, the response of GDH gene expression to salinity alterations has not yet been determined in macro-crustacean species. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: GDH cDNA was isolated from Eriocheir sinensis. Then, GDH gene expression was analyzed in different tissues from normal crabs and the muscle of crabs following transfer from freshwater (control) directly to water with salinities of 16‰ and 30‰, respectively. Full-length GDH cDNA is 2,349 bp, consisting of a 76 bp 5'- untranslated region, a 1,695 bp open reading frame encoding 564 amino acids and a 578 bp 3'- untranslated region. E. sinensis GDH showed 64-90% identity with protein sequences of mammalian and crustacean species. Muscle was the dominant expression source among all tissues tested. Compared with the control, GDH expression significantly increased at 6 h in crabs transferred to 16‰ and 30‰ salinity, and GDH expression peaked at 48 h and 12 h, respectively, with levels approximately 7.9 and 8.5 fold higher than the control. The free amino acid (FAA) changes in muscle, under acute salinity stress (16‰ and 30‰ salinities), correlated with GDH expression levels. Total FAA content in the muscle, which was based on specific changes in arginine, proline, glycine, alanine, taurine, serine and glutamic acid, tended to increase in crabs following transfer to salt water. Among these, arginine, proline and alanine increased significantly during salinity acclimation and accounted for the highest proportion of total FAA. CONCLUSIONS: E. sinensis GDH is a conserved protein that serves important functions in controlling osmoregulation. We observed that higher GDH expression after ambient salinity increase led to higher FAA metabolism, especially the synthesis of glutamic acid, which increased the synthesis of proline and alanine to meet the demand of osmoregulation at hyperosmotic conditions.

[Application of the quality evaluation of traditional Chinese herbal medicines using chromatography of fingerprints].

Chromatography of fingerprint as an important tool has been used in identification and quality control of herbal medicines, and it is gaining more and more attention. Among the various methods, chromatography gradually becomes the mainstream for its characteristics. This paper describes the techniques of chromatography of fingerprint including pretreatments for sample data set, the establishment of chromatographic fingerprint and fingerprint visualization. It emphasizes several analysis methods and their scope of application. Visualization technology combined with fingerprint makes analysis more intuitive. Finally, existing key problems and future works were also discussed.

[Empirical mode of combination of the wavelet threshold filtering and empirical mode decomposition (EMD) based on energy estimate].

According to the frequency overlapping of intrinsic mode function (IMF) based on the temporal and spatial filtering of empirical mode decomposition (EMD), which will lead to the question of useful signals and noises filtered together, we proposed a method that numbers of IMF is determined by energy estimate, temporal and spatial filtering combing wavelet threshold and EMD integrating wavelet local signal characteristics of time and scale domain. This method not only used multi-resolution wavelet transform features, but also combined the EMD and Hilbert decomposition of the adaptive spectral analysis of instantaneous frequency and significance of the relationship between energy, so as to solve the problem of useful signal being weakened. With MIT/BIH ECG database standard data subjects, experimental results showed it was an effective method of data processing for handling this type of physiological signals under strong noise.