RETINAL MICROVASCULATURE ALTERATION IN ACTIVE THYROID-ASSOCIATED OPHTHALMOPATHY.

OBJECTIVE: It is uncertain whether there is an increased retinal vessel density in patients with thyroid-associated ophthalmology (TAO), or if ocular hemodynamic changes are associated with their vision. Many techniques have been applied to analyze ocular hemodynamic changes in TAO patients; however, they suffer from limitations. Optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) is more sensitive to hemodynamic changes. We performed OCTA to determine whether there is an increased retinal vessel density in TAO patients, and investigate associations with their vision. METHODS: Twenty TAO patients (right eye) and 20 normal controls (right eye) were recruited for the study. Three-dimensional OCTA images were generated with 6 × 6-mm angiographic OCT scans of the superficial retinal layer (SRL) and deeper retinal layer (DRL) of the macular retina for each eye. We calculated the microvascular (MIR) and macrovascular (MAR) densities and compared MIR, MAR, and total MIR (TMI) density in the healthy control and TAO groups separately. We used the annular partition (C1-C6) and quadrant partition method to analyze retinal vessel density alterations. Correlation analyses were used to examine the association of MIR density and visual acuity. RESULTS: In the SRL, STMI (superficial TMI) and SMIR (superficial MIR) density increased in the macular area of TAO patients ( P<.05). For the DRL, the density of DMIR (deeper MIR) increased in macular area only ( P<.05). However, with the annular partition method, TAO patients showed significantly increased SMIR density in the C1 and C2 regions ( P<.05), and increased DMIR density only in the C1 region ( P<.05). In the SRL, the correlation coefficient of the STMI/SMIR density in the TAO group was -0.538 ( r = -0.538, P = .032), and visual acuity was -0.624 ( r = -0.624, P = .010). CONCLUSION: OCTA findings suggest that active TAO patients present with an increased retinal MIR density. Moreover, increased macular STMI and SMIR density might affect visual acuity. ABBREVIATIONS: CDI = color Doppler imaging; DMIR = deeper MIR; DRL = deeper retinal layer; EDV = end diastolic velocity; FAZ = foveal avascular zone; GO = Graves ophthalmopathy; MAR = macrovascular; MIR = microvascular; OCT = optical coherence tomography; OCTA = optical coherence tomography angiography; RI = resistance index; ROC = receiver operating characteristic; SMIR = superficial MIR; SOV = superior ophthalmic vein; SRL = superficial retinal layer; SSADA = split-spectrum amplitude-decor-relation angiography; STMI = superficial TMI; TAO = thyroid-associated ophthalmology; TMI = total MIR.

Wnt/ß-catenin signaling induces the aging of mesenchymal stem cells through promoting the ROS production.

Recent studies have demonstrated that the Wnt/ß-catenin signaling plays an important role in stem cell aging. However, the mechanisms of cell senescence induced by Wnt/ß-catenin signaling are still poorly understood. Our preliminary study has indicated that activated Wnt/ß-catenin signaling can induce MSC aging. In this study, we reported that the Wnt/ß-catenin signaling was a potent activator of reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation in MSCs. After scavenging ROS with N-acetylcysteine, Wnt/ß-catenin signaling-induced MSC aging was significantly attenuated and the DNA damage and the expression of p16(INK4A), p53, and p21 were reduced in MSCs. These results indicated that the Wnt/ß-catenin signaling could induce MSC aging through promoting the intracellular production of ROS, and ROS may be the main mediators of MSC aging induced by excessive activation of Wnt/ß-catenin signaling.

In vitro anti-cancer activity of chamaejasmenin B and neochamaejasmin C isolated from the root of Stellera chamaejasme L.

AIM: To examine the anti-cancer effects of chamaejasmenin B and neochamaejasmin C, two biflavonones isolated from the root of Stellera chamaejasme L (known as the traditional Chinese herb Rui Xiang Lang Du) in vitro. METHODS: Human liver carcinoma cell lines (HepG2 and SMMC-7721), a human non-small cell lung cancer cell line (A549), human osteosarcoma cell lines (MG63, U2OS, and KHOS), a human colon cancer cell line (HCT-116) and a human cervical cancer cell line (HeLa) were used. The anti-proliferative effects of the compounds were measured using SRB cytotoxicity assay. DNA damage was detected by immunofluorescence and Western blotting. Apoptosis and cell cycle distribution were assessed using flow cytometry analysis. The expression of the related proteins was examined with Western blotting analysis. RESULTS: Both chamaejasmenin B and neochamaejasmin C exerted potent anti-proliferative effects in the 8 human solid tumor cell lines. Chamaejasmenin B (the IC(50) values ranged from 1.08 to 10.8 µmol/L) was slightly more potent than neochamaejasmin C (the IC(50) values ranged from 3.07 to 15.97 µmol/L). In the most sensitive A549 and KHOS cells, the mechanisms underlying the anti-proliferative effects were characterized. The two compounds induced prominent expression of the DNA damage marker γ-H2AX as well as apoptosis. Furthermore, treatment of the cells with the two compounds caused prominent G(0)/G(1) phase arrest. CONCLUSION: Chamaejasmenin B and neochamaejasmin C are potential anti-proliferative agents in 8 human solid tumor cell lines in vitro via inducing cell cycle arrest, apoptosis and DNA damage.

Numerical Analysis of Thermal Radiative Maxwell Nanofluid Flow Over-Stretching Porous Rotating Disk.

The fluid flow over a rotating disk is critically important due to its application in a broad spectrum of industries and engineering and scientific fields. In this article, the traditional swirling flow of Von Karman is optimized for Maxwell fluid over a porous spinning disc with a consistent suction/injection effect. Buongiorno's model, which incorporates the effect of both thermophoresis and Brownian motion, describes the Maxwell nanofluid nature. The dimensionless system of ordinary differential equations (ODEs) has been diminished from the system of modeled equations through a proper transformation framework. Which is numerically computed with the bvp4c method and for validity purposes, the results are compared with the RK4 technique. The effect of mathematical abstractions on velocity, energy, concentration, and magnetic power is sketched and debated. It is perceived that the mass transmission significantly rises with the thermophoresis parameter, while the velocities in angular and radial directions are reducing with enlarging of the viscosity parameter. Further, the influences of thermal radiation Rd and Brownian motion parameters are particularly more valuable to enhance fluid temperature. The fluid velocity is reduced by the action of suction effects. The suction effect grips the fluid particles towards the pores of the disk, which causes the momentum boundary layer reduction.

Analysis of chemosensory gene families in the beetle Monochamus alternatus and its parasitoid Dastarcus helophoroides.

We assembled antennal transcriptomes of pest Monochamus alternatus and its parasitoid Dastarcus helophoroides to identify the members of the major chemosensory multi-gene families. Gene ontology (GO) annotation indicated that the relative abundance of transcripts associated with specific GO terms was highly similar in the two species. In chemosensory gene families, we identified 52 transcripts encoding putative odorant-binding proteins (OBPs), 19 chemosensory proteins (CSPs), 10 olfactory receptors (ORs), 8 ionotropic receptors (IRs), 2 gustatory receptors (GRs), and 5 sensory neuron membrane proteins (SNMPs) in these two transcriptomes. Predicted protein sequences were compared with Dendroctonus ponderosae, Tribolium castaneum and Drosophila melanogaster. The results of phylogenetic trees showed that some clusters included only OBPs or CSPs from D. helophoroides, some clusters included only OBPs or CSPs from M. alternatus, while some clusters included OBPs or CSPs from both M. alternatus and D. helophoroides. The identification of the chemosensory genes and the phylogenetic relationship of these genes between two species might provide new ideas for controlling M. alternatus and improving current strategies for biological control.

De novo analysis of the Nilaparvata lugens (Stål) antenna transcriptome and expression patterns of olfactory genes.

We sequenced the antenna transcriptome of the brown planthopper (BPH), Nilaparvata lugens (Stål), a global rice pest, and performed transcriptome analysis on BPH antenna. We obtained about 40million 90bp reads that were assembled into 75,874 unigenes with a mean size of 456bp. Among the antenna transcripts, 32,856 (43%) showed significant similarity (E-value <1e(-5)) to known proteins in the NCBI database. Gene ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analyses were used to classify functions of BPH antenna genes. We identified 10 odorant-binding proteins (OBPs), including 7 previously unidentified, and 11 chemosensory proteins (CSPs), including two new members. The expression profiles of 4 OBPs and 2 CSPs were determined by q-PCR for antenna, abdomen, leg and wing of insects of different age, gender, and mating status including two BPH adult wing-morphology types. NlugCSP10 and 4 OBPs appeared to be antenna-specific because they were highly and differentially expressed in male and female antennae. NlugCSP11 was expressed ubiquitously, with particularly high expression in wings. The transcript levels of several olfactory genes depended on adult wing form, age, gender, and mating status, although no clear expression patterns were determined.

Transgenic Bt rice does not challenge host preference of the target pest of rice leaffolder, Cnaphalocrocis medinalis (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae).

BACKGROUND: Transgenic Bt rice line T2A-1 expresses a synthesized cry2A gene that shows high resistance to Lepidoptera pests, including Cnaphalocrocis medinalis (Guenée) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae). Plant volatile orientation cues and the physical characteristics of the leaf surface play key roles in host location or host-plant acceptance of phytophagous insects. These volatile compounds and physical traits may become altered in Bt rice and it is not known whether this influences the behavior of C. medinalis when searching for oviposition sites. RESULTS: The results of electronic nose analysis showed that the Radar map of Bt rice cultivars was analogous to the non- Bt rice cultivars at each growing stage. PCA analysis was able to partly discriminate between some of the Bt vs. non-Bt rice sensors, but could not to separate Bt cultivars from non-Bt cultivars. The total ion chromatogram between Bt and non-Bt rice cultivars at the seedling, booting and tillering stages were similar and 25 main compounds were identified by GC-MS. For most compounds, there was no significant difference in compound quantities between Bt and non-Bt rice cultivars at equivalent growth stages. The densities of the tubercle papicles and the trichomes on the upper and lower surfaces were statistically equal in Bt and non-Bt rice. The target pest, C. medinalis, was attracted to host rice plants, but it could not distinguish between the transgenic and the isogenic rice lines. CONCLUSIONS: There were no significant differences between the Bt rice line, T2A-1 and the non-Bt rice for volatiles produced or in its physical characteristics and there were no negative impacts on C. medinalis oviposition behavior. These results add to the mounting evidence that Bt rice has no negative impact on the target insect oviposition behavior.

Enhanced antitumor activity by the combination of dasatinib and combretastatin A-4 in vitro and in vivo.

The present study showed that the combination of dasatinib and combretastatin A-4 (CA-4) exhibited synergistic cytotoxicity in multiple types of cancer, including ovarian, hepatocellular, lung and prostate carcinoma. The enhanced apoptosis induced by dasatinib plus CA-4 was accompanied by a greater extent of mitochondrial depolarization, caspase-3 activation and PARP cleavage in HO-8910 cells. Furthermore, elevated expression of Mcl-1 led to a reduced apoptosis induced by dasatinib plus CA-4, highlighting that downregulated Mcl-1 was necessary for the potentiating effect of dasatinib to CA-4-triggered apoptosis. A clear increase in γ-H2AX expression was observed in the dasatinib+CA-4 group compared with the mono-treatment groups, indicating that dasatinib plus CA-4 may induce double-strand breaks (DSBs) in HO-8910 cells. Moreover, the increased anticancer efficacy of dasatinib combined with CA-4 was further validated in a human HO-8910 ovarian cancer xenograft model in nude mice. Our study is the first to show that the combination of dasatinib with CA-4 could be a novel and promising therapeutic approach for the treatment of cancer.