Agreement of zero-heat-flux thermometry with the oesophageal and tympanic core temperature measurement in patient receiving major surgery.

To identify and prevent perioperative hypothermia, most surgical patients require a non-invasive, accurate, convenient, and continuous core temperature method, especially for patients undergoing major surgery. This study validated the precision and accuracy of a cutaneous zero-heat-flux thermometer and its performance in detecting intraoperative hypothermia. Adults undergoing major non-cardiac surgeries with general anaesthesia were enrolled in the study. Core temperatures were measured with a zero-heat-flux thermometer, infrared tympanic membrane thermometer, and oesophagal monitoring at 15-minute intervals. Taking the average value of temperature measured in the tympanic membrane and oesophagus as a reference, we assessed the agreement using the Bland-Altman analysis and linear regression methods. Sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values of detecting hypothermia were estimated. 103 patients and one thousand sixty-eight sets of paired temperatures were analyzed. The mean difference between zero-heat-flux and the referenced measurements was -0.03 ± 0.25 °C, with 95% limits of agreement (-0.52 °C, 0.47 °C) was narrow, with 94.5% of the differences within 0.5 °C. Lin's concordance correlation coefficient was 0.90 (95%CI 0.89-0.92). The zero-heat-flux thermometry detected hypothermia with a sensitivity of 82% and a specificity of 90%. The zero-heat-flux thermometer is in good agreement with the reference core temperature based on tympanic and oesophagal temperature monitoring in patients undergoing major surgeries, and appears high performance in detecting hypothermia.

[Preparation and characterization of near-infrared responsive sinomenine hydrochloride reservoir microneedles].

The present study designed and prepared near-infrared responsive sinomenine hydrochloride(SIN) reservoir microneedles and evaluated the feasibility of this type of microneedles in increasing the drug loading and transdermal absorption by characterizing their mechanical properties and in vitro release characteristics.SIN was selected as the model drug, and methoxy poly(ethylene glycol) poly(caprolactone)(mPEG-PCL) copolymers and indocyanine green(ICG) were employed as amphiphilic block copolymers and light inductor to prepare near-infrared responsive nanoparticles.Based on the preparation principle of bubble microneedles, near-infrared responsive SIN reservoir microneedles were designed and prepared.The features of the near-infrared responsive SIN reservoir microneedles were characterized by measuring the morphology, length, mechanical properties, and skin penetration of microneedles.Meanwhile, the drug release performance of reservoir microneedles was evaluated by in vitro release assay.The results showed that the prepared SIN microneedles were conical, with an exposed tip height of about 650 µm.Each needle could load about 0.5 mg of drugs per square centi-meter, and this type of microneedle showed good mechanical properties and performance in skin penetration.The results of the in vitro release assay showed that the 24 h cumulative release per unit area and release rate of the microneedle were 825.61 µg·cm~(-2) and 74.3%, respectively, which indicated that its release kinetics was in line with the first-order kinetic model.This study preliminarily proved that the reservoir microneedle could effectively increase the drug loading with good mechanical properties and release perfor-mance.

[Enhancing effect and mechanism of muscone on transdermal penetration of traditional Chinese medicine ingredients with different log P value].

This study aimed to investigate the enhancing effect of muscone on the transdermal penetration of traditional Chinese medicine ingredients and explore its possible mechanism of action. The Franz diffusion cells were employed to investigate the effect of muscone on the transdermal permeation of a series of model drugs with a wide range of log P values. The solubilities at saturation and the stratum corneum(SC)/vehicle partition coefficients of model drugs were measured to evaluate the effect of muscone on drug thermodynamic activities and partition of drugs into SC. Attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy(ATR-FTIR) was employed to explore the effect of muscone on the molecular structure of SC. The results showed that muscone significantly promoted the transdermal penetration of hydrophilic and lipophilic drugs, and the enhancement ratio(ER) increased with the decrease in the log P. Muscone could interact with the SC lipids to increase the disorder and fluidity of lipid bilayer packing, which improved skin permeability and promoted transdermal absorption of drugs. This study provides a scientific basis for the application of muscone in traditional Chinese medicine topical preparations.

De novo transcriptome assembly for the five major organs of Zanthoxylum armatum and the identification of genes involved in terpenoid compound and fatty acid metabolism.

BACKGROUND: Zanthoxylum armatum (Z. armatum) is a highly economically important tree that presents a special numbing taste. However, the underlying regulatory mechanism of the numbing taste remains poorly understood. Thus, the elucidation of the key genes associated with numbing taste biosynthesis pathways is critical for providing genetic information on Z. armatumand the breeding of high-quality germplasms of this species. RESULTS: Here, de novo transcriptome assembly was performed for the five major organs of Z. armatum, including the roots, stems, leaf buds, mature leaves and fruits. A total of 111,318 unigenes were generated with an average length of 1014 bp. Additionally, a large number of SSRs were obtained to improve our understanding of the phylogeny and genetics of Z. armatum. The organ-specific unigenes of the five major samples were screened and annotated via GO and KEGG enrichment analysis. A total of 53 and 34 unigenes that were exclusively upregulated in fruit samples were identified as candidate unigenes for terpenoid biosynthesis or fatty acid biosynthesis, elongation and degradation pathways, respectively. Moreover, 40 days after fertilization (Fr4 stage) could be an important period for the accumulation of terpenoid compounds during the fruit development and maturation of Z. armatum. The Fr4 stage could be a key point at which the first few steps of the fatty acid biosynthesis process are promoted, and the catalysis of subsequent reactions could be significantly induced at 62 days after fertilization (Fr6 stage). CONCLUSIONS: The present study realized de novo transcriptome assembly for the five major organs of Z. armatum. To the best of our knowledge, this study provides the first comprehensive analysis revealing the genes underlying the special numbing taste of Z. armatum. The assembled transcriptome profiles expand the available genetic information on this species and will contribute to gene functional studies, which will aid in the engineering of high-quality cultivars of Z. armatum.

Evaluation of the Combination of Azithromycin and Naphthoquine in Animal Malaria Models.

Combination therapy using drugs with different mechanisms of action is the current state of the art in antimalarial treatment. However, except for artemisinin-based combination therapies, only a few other combinations are now available. Increasing concern regarding the emergence and spread of artemisinin resistance in Plasmodium falciparum has led to a need for the development of new antimalarials. Moreover, the efficacy of current available chemoprophylaxis is compromised by drug resistance and noncompliance due to intolerable adverse effects or complicated dosing regimens. Therefore, new antimalarials that are more effective, safer, and more convenient are also urgently needed for malaria chemoprophylaxis. In this study, we assessed the combination of azithromycin and naphthoquine in animal malaria models. A dose-dependent interaction was observed in Peters' 4-day suppressive test on P. berghei K173-infected mice. Moreover, at inhibition levels of ≥90%, synergistic effects were found for combinations at various ratios. At an optimal dose ratio of 1:1, the combination of azithromycin and naphthoquine acted synergistically even by 4 weeks after the first dose and provided a more effective and sustained prophylaxis than did naphthoquine alone in blood-stage P. berghei K173 and P. cynomolgibastianelli L challenge models. The ability of the combination to delay and slow down resistance development in P. berghei K173 was also shown. These results showed clear evidence for the benefit of the combination therapy with azithromycin and naphthoquine in animal malaria models, providing some insight for further development of this therapy for malaria treatment and prophylaxis.

Comparative analysis of the diffusion kurtosis imaging and diffusion tensor imaging in grading gliomas, predicting tumour cell proliferation and IDH-1 gene mutation status.

INTRODUCTION: Few studies have applied diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI) and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) for the comprehensive assessment of gliomas [tumour grade, isocitrate dehydrogenase-1 (IDH-1) mutation status and tumour proliferation rate (Ki-67)]. This study describes the efficacy of DKI and DTI to comprehensively evaluate gliomas, compares their results. METHODS: Fifty-two patients (18 females; median age, 47.5 years) with pathologically proved gliomas were prospectively included. All cases underwent DKI examination. DKI (mean kurtosis: MK, axial kurtosis: Ka, radial kurtosis: Kr) and DTI (mean diffusivity: MD, fractional anisotropy: FA) maps of each metric was derived. Three ROIs were manually drawn. RESULTS: MK, Ka, Kr and FA were significantly higher in HGGs than in LGGs, whereas MD was significantly lower in HGGs than in LGGs (P < 0.01). ROC analysis demonstrated that MK (specificity: 100% sensitivity: 79%) and Ka (specificity: 96% sensitivity: 82%) had the same and highest (AUC: 0.93) diagnostic value. Moreover, MK, Ka, and Kr were significantly higher in grade III than II gliomas (P ≦ 0.01). Further, DKI and DTI can significantly identify IDH-1 mutation status (P ≦ 0.03). Ka (sensitivity: 74%, specificity: 75%, AUC: 0.72) showed the highest diagnostic value. In addition, DKI metrics and MD showed significant correlations with Ki-67 (P ≦ 0.01) and Ka had the highest correlation coefficient (rs = 0.72). CONCLUSIONS: Compared with DTI, DKI has great advantages for the comprehensive assessment of gliomas. Ka might serve as a promising imaging index in predicting glioma grading, tumour cell proliferation rate and IDH-1 gene mutation status.

A study of neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging in wilson's disease.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have indicated that neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging (NODDI) could be used as a biomarker for detecting microstructural changes of brain. PURPOSE: To quantitatively evaluate the changes in basal ganglia (BG) and thalamus in Wilson's disease (WD) by NODDI and assess the correlation between parameters and disease severity. STUDY TYPE: Prospective case-control study. POPULATION: In total, 24 WD patients and 25 age- and sex-matched normal controls were involved in this study. FIELD STRENGTH/SEQUENCE: EPI diffusion-weighted MR images (b-values = 0, 1000, and 2000 with 30 diffusion gradient directions) were acquired on a 3T scanner. ASSESSMENT: Diffusion data were analyzed using voxel-based analysis. NODDI indices including intracellular volume fraction (Vic), orientation dispersion index (ODI), and isotropic volume fraction (Viso) were estimated from the BG and thalamus. The disease severity was assessed by two experienced neurologists based on the Global Assessment Scale (GAS). The relative importance of NODDI indices in diagnosing WD and predictive accuracy were also analyzed. STATISTICAL TESTING: The Shapiro-Wilk test, Student's t-test, χ2 test, Mann-Whitney-Wilcoxon test, Spearman rank correlation coefficient analysis and random-forest analysis were used for statistical analyses. RESULTS: The Vic and ODI in the BG and thalamus were significantly lower in WD patients than normal controls, while the Viso in the BG and thalamus were significantly higher (P < 0.01). The Vic in the putamen and ODI in the globus pallidus were negatively correlated with clinical severity (rvic = -0.727, P < 0.001; rodi = -0.705, P < 0.001). The Vic in the putamen was the most valuable predictor for diagnosing WD and the prediction accuracy of NODDI was 95.92%. DATA CONCLUSION: NODDI can effectively evaluate the changes of microstructure and metabolism during copper deposition in WD, and thus, it is likely to be useful in detecting the changes in the brain of this disease and assessing its progression. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 2 Technical Efficacy Stage 2 J. MAGN. RESON. IMAGING 2018;48:423-430.

[Comparison of essential oil from Mentha haplocalyx and menthol used as penetration enhancers].

The aim of this paper was to investigate and compare the penetration-enhancing characteristics of menthol and essential oil from Mentha haplocalyx(M.haplocalyx oil) on the transdermal absorption of the complex traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) components. A series of TCM components were selected as model drugs based on their lipophilicity (logP value), namely osthole(OT, logP=3.85), tetramethylpyrazine(TMP, logP=2.34), ferulic acid(FA, logP=1.26), puerarin(PR, logP=-0.35) and geniposide(GP, logP=-1.01), in order to simply and characterize the TCM complex components system. Transdermal experiment in vitro was employed to investigate and compare the penetration-enhancing characteristics of menthol and M.haplocalyx oil on the transdermal absorption of these model drugs. Meanwhile, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy(FTIR) was used to further compare the effect of menthol and M. haplocalyx oil on the molecular structure of stratum corneum(SC). The results showed that both of menthol and M.haplocalyx oil at proper concentration could promote the transdermal absorption of the selected model drugs. After application of menthol, the drug logP values gradually tended to have negative linear relationship with the logarithm of penetration enhancement ratio(ER); while after application of M.haplocalyx oil, the logP values tended to have parabolic relationship with the logarithm of ER. However, both menthol and M.haplocalyx oil exhibited higher efficiency for the drugs with relative low lgP value(ie hydrophilic drugs), with similar penetration-enhancing characteristics between these two. Infrared spectroscopy results showed that menthol and M.haplocalyx oil could affect the skin barrier functions mainly via stratum corneum lipids, with similar effect intensity, and this was consistent with the results of transdermal experiment in vitro. Thus, Menthol had similar penetration-enhancing characteristics with M.haplocalyx oil, and had same effect on the SC molecular structure. Therefore, as transdermal penetration enhancer, the menthol with single composition could be considered to replace M.haplocalyx oil with complex compositions.

[Matrix formulation of chaizhi cataplasma optimized by D-optimal mixture design combined with multiple mechanical indicators and its in vitro evaluation].

To optimize the matrix formulation of Chaizhi cataplasma (CC) and investigate its release and transdermal absorption properties in vitro. The optimized matrix formulation of cataplasma containing liquid herbal extract is determined by using D-optimal mixture design, with initial bonding strength, endurance bonding strength and gel strength as the evaluating indicators. Modified Franz diffusion cells were used to study the in vitro release and transdermal absorption of geniposide in CC. The optimized matrix formulation of CC contained NP700, aluminum glycinate, tartaric acid, glycerin, PVPK90 and water (9∶0.7∶0.8∶30∶5∶30.5). Cumulative release rate of geniposide in CC was (77.02±3.73)% in 24 h. The percutaneous penetration rate of geniposide was 7.25 µg•cm⁻²â€¢h⁻¹ and the 24 h permeated amount was (156.22±4.90) µg•cm⁻². The optimized CC prepared by the D-optimal mixture design showed a good adhesion and formability. The in vitro release of the geniposide in CC was in accordance with the first order equation, while its in vitro transdermal absorption was close to the zero order equation.

[Effect of terpene penetration enhancer and its mechanisms on membrane fluidity and potential of HaCaT keratinocytes].

The aim of this paper was to investigate the effect of terpene penetration enhancers on membrane fluidity and membrane potential using HaCaT keratinocytes, and study the potential mechanisms of these terpene compounds using as natural transdermal penetration enhancer. Six terpene compounds, namely menthol, limonene, 1,8-cineole, menthone, terpinen-4-ol and pulegone, were chosen in this study on account of their good penetration-enhancement activities. The cytotoxicity of these terpene compounds was measured using an MTT assay. The fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) technique was employed to measure the change of membrane fluidity of HaCaT cells. The flow cytometer was used to study the alteration of membrane fluidity of HaCaT cells, and investigate the effect of terpene compounds on intracellular Ca2+. It was found that 6 terpene compounds possessed low cytotoxicity in comparison to the well-established and standard penetration enhancer azone. Those terpene compounds could significantly enhance HaCaT cells membrane fluidity and decrease HaCaT cells membrane potentials. Meanwhile, after treated with various terpene compounds, the Ca2(+)-ATPase activity and intracellular Ca2+ of HaCaT cells was decreased significantly. Terpene penetration enhancers perhaps changed the membrane fluidity and potentials of HaCaT cells by altering the Ca2+ balance of the cell inside and outside, resulting in the low skin permeability to increase the drug transdermal absorption.

Enhanced therapeutic efficacy of combined use of sorafenib and transcatheter arterial chemoembolization for treatment of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma.

OBJECTIVE: Clinical trials suggest that combining transcatheter arterial chemoembolization with sorafenib in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma shows a superior safety and tolerability profile. Our study aimed to retrospectively analyze the utility and prognostic factors of this combined therapy in these patients. METHODS: Patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma, treated by transcatheter arterial chemoembolization and sorafenib subsequently, between February 2010 and September 2012 in our hospital, were retrospectively analyzed. After sorafenib treatment for 12 weeks, abdominal enhanced computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging was used to evaluate short-term outcomes and clinical benefit rate. Overall survival and adverse events were recorded during follow-up. Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to identify relationships between baseline characteristics and overall survival. RESULTS: Fifty-one advanced hepatocellular carcinoma patients were included. Common adverse events for sorafenib were hand-foot skin reaction, alopecia, diarrhea, anorexia and fatigue. The clinical benefit rate was 64% and the median survival time was 7.5 months. Median survival of patients with and without portal vein tumor thrombi was 6.0 months and 10.3 months (P < 0.001), respectively. Median survival of patients with cholinesterase ≥5000 U/l and < 5000 U/l was 10.6 months and 6.1 months (P < 0.001), respectively. Multivariate analysis identified the presence of portal vein tumor thrombi and low cholinesterase level as independent negative predictors of survival. CONCLUSIONS: Combining sorafenib and transcatheter arterial chemoembolization was safe and effective for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma patients with extrahepatic spread but without portal vein tumor thrombi. Portal vein tumor thrombi and cholinesterase level are independent predictors of prognosis following this combined therapy.

Urinary oxygen tension and its role in predicting acute kidney injury: A narrative review.

Acute kidney injury occurs frequently in the perioperative setting. The renal medulla often endures hypoxia or hypoperfusion and is susceptible to the imbalance between oxygen supply and demand due to the nature of renal blood flow distribution and metabolic rate in the kidney. The current available evidence demonstrated that the urine oxygen pressure is proportional to the variations of renal medullary tissue oxygen pressure. Thus, urine oxygenation can be a candidate for reflecting the change of oxygen in the renal medulla. In this review, we discuss the basic physiology of acute kidney injury, as well as techniques for monitoring urine oxygen tension, confounding factors affecting the reliable measurement of urine oxygen tension, and its clinical use, highlighting its potential role in early detection and prevention of acute kidney injury.

Role of IL-1 Family Cytokines IL-36, IL-37, IL-38 in Osteoarthritis and Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Comprehensive Review.

Inflammatory cytokines, interleukin-36 (IL-36), IL-37, IL-38 belong to IL-1 family. The IL-36 subfamily obtains pro- and anti-inflammatory effects on various immune responses. Cytokine IL-37, has anti-inflammatory functions in immunity, and the recently identified IL-38 negatively associated with disease pathogenesis. To date, expression of IL-36, IL-37, IL-38 is reported dysregulated in osteoarthritis (OA) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and may be disease markers for arthritis-related diseases. Interestingly, expression of IL-38 was different either in OA patients or animal models, and expression of IL-36Ra in synovium was different in OA and RA patients. Moreover, functional studies have demonstrated significant role of these cytokines in OA and RA progress. These processes were related to immune cells and non-immune cells, where the cytokines IL-36, IL-37, IL-38 may regulate downstream signalings in the cells, and then involve in OA, RA development. In this review, we comprehensively discuss recent advancements in cytokines and the development of OA, RA. We hope that targeting these cytokines will become a potential treatment option for OA and RA in the future.

Role of hydrogels in osteoarthritis: A comprehensive review.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a chronic, degenerative, and age-related disease. It is characterized by chronic inflammation, progressive articular cartilage destruction, and subchondral bone sclerosis. The current effective treatment for OA is limited. Hydrogel is a kind of unique carrier with well-known biocompatibility, softness, and high water content among various biomaterials. Hydrogels are developed for different biomedical applications, for instance, drug delivery, and tissue engineering. To date, a variety of hydrogels-based therapies have been used in OA patients or animal models. In this review, we comprehensively summarized the potential role of hydrogels in chondrocytes proliferation, apoptosis, and inflammatory component production and discussed the impact of hydrogels on OA development. The collection of this information will help better understand the present progress of hydrogels in OA.

How Does Mitochondrial Protein-Coding Gene Expression in Fejervarya kawamurai (Anura: Dicroglossidae) Respond to Extreme Temperatures?

Unusual climates can lead to extreme temperatures. Fejervarya kawamurai, one of the most prevalent anurans in the paddy fields of tropical and subtropical regions in Asia, is sensitive to climate change. The present study focuses primarily on a single question: how do the 13 mitochondrial protein-coding genes (PCGs) respond to extreme temperature change compared with 25 °C controls? Thirty-eight genes including an extra tRNA-Met gene were identified and sequenced from the mitochondrial genome of F. kawamurai. Evolutionary relationships were assessed within the Dicroglossidae and showed that Dicroglossinae is monophyletic and F. kawamurai is a sister group to the clade of (F. multistriata + F. limnocharis). Transcript levels of mitochondrial genes in liver were also evaluated to assess responses to 24 h exposure to low (2 °C and 4 °C) or high (40 °C) temperatures. Under 2 °C, seven genes showed significant changes in liver transcript levels, among which transcript levels of ATP8, ND1, ND2, ND3, ND4, and Cytb increased, respectively, and ND5 decreased. However, exposure to 4 °C for 24 h was very different in that the expressions of ten mitochondrial protein-coding genes, except ND1, ND3, and Cytb, were significantly downregulated. Among them, the transcript level of ND5 was most significantly downregulated, decreasing by 0.28-fold. Exposure to a hot environment at 40 °C for 24 h resulted in a marked difference in transcript responses with strong upregulation of eight genes, ranging from a 1.52-fold increase in ND4L to a 2.18-fold rise in Cytb transcript levels, although COI and ND5 were reduced to 0.56 and 0.67, respectively, compared with the controls. Overall, these results suggest that at 4 °C, F. kawamurai appears to have entered a hypometabolic state of hibernation, whereas its mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation was affected at both 2 °C and 40 °C. The majority of mitochondrial PCGs exhibited substantial changes at all three temperatures, indicating that frogs such as F. kawamurai that inhabit tropical or subtropical regions are susceptible to ambient temperature changes and can quickly employ compensating adjustments to proteins involved in the mitochondrial electron transport chain.

Two-Fold ND5 Genes, Three-Fold Control Regions, lncRNA, and the "Missing" ATP8 Found in the Mitogenomes of Polypedates megacephalus (Rhacophridae: Polypedates).

In prior research on the mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) of Polypedates megacephalus, the one copy of ND5 gene was translocated to the control region (CR) and the ATP8 gene was not found. Gene loss is uncommon among vertebrates. However, in this study, we resequenced the mitogenomes of P. megacephalus from different regions using a "primer bridging" approach with Sanger sequencing technologies, which revealed the "missing" ATP8 gene in P. megacephalus as well as three other previously published Polypedates. The mitogenome of this species was found to contain two copies of the ND5 genes and three copies of the control regions. Furthermore, multiple tandem repeats were identified in the control regions. Notably, we observed that there was no correlation between genetic divergence and geographic distance. However, using the mitogenome, gene expression analysis was performed via RT-qPCR of liver samples and it was thus determined that COIII, ND2, ND4, and ND6 were reduced to 0.64 ± 0.24, 0.55 ± 0.34, 0.44 ± 0.21 and 0.65 ± 0.17, respectively, under low-temperature stress (8 °C) as compared with controls (p < 0.05). Remarkably, the transcript of long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) between positions 8029 and 8612 decreased significantly with exposure to low-temperature stress (8 °C). Antisense ND6 gene expression showed a downward trend, but this was not significant. These results reveal that modulations of protein-coding mitochondrial genes and lncRNAs of P. megacephalus play a crucial role in the molecular response to cold stress.

Licorice zinc suppresses melanogenesis via inhibiting the activation of P38MAPK and JNK signaling pathway in C57BL/6J mice skin.

PURPOSE: The active melanocytes in the skin were affected by hormones and ultraviolet (UV) irradiation. Licorice zinc has a whitening effect, which may have a prominent potential in the treatment of pigmented skin disease. METHODS: Modeling chloasma C57BL/6J mice by daily progesterone injection (15 mg/kg) and ultraviolet B (UVB) irradiation (λ = 312 nm, 2 h/day) for 30 days. Then, mice were given 0.65, 1.3, and 2.6 (g/kg) of licorice zinc and tranexamic acid 250 mg daily by oral administration for 14 days, respectively. Hematoxylin and eosin and Fontana-Masson staining, and Western blotting (WB) were performed to test the inhibitory of melanogenesis and activation of c-Jun-N-terminal (JNK)/p38 mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK) for licorice zinc. Melanogenesis was induced by α-melanocyte-stimulating hormone in vitro. Cell counting kit-8, melanin content determination, and WB were performed to verify the inhibitory effect of licorice zinc on melanogenesis. RESULTS: The present study showed that licorice zinc decreased melanin formation, cutaneous tissue injury, and the phosphorylation of JNK and P38MAPK, which was caused by UVB irradiation in vivo. In vitro, licorice zinc showed opposite effects from JNK/p38 activator. Meanwhile, tyrosinase-related protein-1, tyrosinase, and microphthalmia-associated transcription factor were decreased too. CONCLUSIONS: Licorice zinc induced a decrease in melanin synthesis by inhibiting the JNK and the P38MAPK signaling pathway, suggesting licorice zinc is a potential agent of anti-chloasma.

Plasmodium berghei K173: selection of resistance to naphthoquine in a mouse model.

Naphthoquine (NQ), as a component of ARCO® which composed of NQ and artemisinin, is a new 4-aminoquinoline antimalarial synthesized by our institute. Here, a naphthoquine-resistant line of rodent malaria parasite was selected through exposing Plasmodium berghei Keyberg 173 strain to progressively increased drug pressure. The selected strain showed a more than 200-fold decreased susceptibility to NQ with a stable resistance phenotype after 10 serial passages without drug pressure or when cryopreserved over a period of 12 months. In a cross-resistance assay, the susceptibility of NQ-resistant parasites to chloroquine was decreased by 14.5-fold. These findings imply NQ-resistant parasites might be selected by long-term usage of NQ in epidemic areas and the efficacy of NQ or ARCO® in chloroquine-resistant Plasmodium falciparum epidemic areas should be monitored closely.

Ectopic expression of an AGAMOUS homologue gene in Jatropha curcas causes early flowering and heterostylous phenotypes.

Jatropha curcasseeds are abundant in biodiesel, and low seed yields are linked to poor quality female flowers, which creates a bottleneck for Jatropha seed utilization. Therefore, identifying the genes associated with flowering is crucial for the genetic enrichment of seed yields. Here, we identified an AGAMOUS homologue gene (JcAG) from J. curcas. We found that reproductive organs had higher JcAG expression than vegetative organs, particularly the carpel. Rosette leaves were small and misshapen in 35S:JcAG transgenic lines in comparison with those in wild-type plants. JcAG overexpression caused an extremely early flowering, delayed perianth and stamen filament development, small flowers, and significantly shorter Arabidopsis plants with little fruit. In the JcAG-overexpressing line, the homeotic transformation of sepals into pistillate organs was observed, and floral meristem and organ identity genes were regulated. This study provides insights into the JcAG's function and benefits to our knowledge of the underlying the genetic mechanisms related to floral sex differentiation in Jatropha.