Paxillin is a potential prognostic biomarker associated with immune cell infiltration in ovarian cancer.

Objective: To investigate the expression, prognosis, and underlying mechanism of Paxillin (PXN) in ovarian cancer. Materials and methods: By comprehensive use of various bioinformatics tools, we analyzed the expression of PXN and its prognostic value in ovarian cancer. Then, the enrichment analyses were conducted to determine the possible regulatory pathways PXN involved in ovarian cancer. Finally, the associations of PXN expression with immune cell infiltration and immune checkpoints were analyzed. Results: PXN was highly expressed in ovarian cancer and its expression could independently predict the overall survival of ovarian cancer patients. More importantly, PXN had a superior ability in predicting long-term survival than age and tumor residual disease in ovarian cancer patients. In addition, PXN was positively related to adherens junction and tight junction pathways. Significant negative relationships between PXN expression and immune infiltrates were observed, however, PXN was positively connected with immune checkpoint (VSIR) in ovarian cancer. Conclusions: PXN serves as a reliable prognostic biomarker and may be a potent therapeutic target for ovarian cancer. Moreover, high PXN expression may affect ovarian cancer progression via positive regulation of metastasis-related pathways.

Genome-Wide Identification of Hsp90 Gene Family in Perennial Ryegrass and Expression Analysis under Various Abiotic Stresses.

The heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) is a protein produced in plants in response to stress. This study identified and analyzed Hsp90 gene family members in the perennial ryegrass genome. From the results, eight Hsp90 proteins were obtained and their MW, pI and number of amino acid bases varied. The amino acid bases ranged from 526 to 862. The CDS also ranged from 20 (LpHsp0-4) to 1 (LpHsp90-5). The least number of CDS regions was 1 (LpHsp90-5) with 528 kb amino acids, while the highest was 20 (LpHsp90-4) with 862 kb amino acids, which showed diversity among the protein sequences. The phylogenetic tree revealed that Hsp90 genes in Lolium perenne, Arabidopsis thaliana, Oryza sativa and Brachypodium distachyon could be divided into two groups with five paralogous gene pairs and three orthologous gene pairs. The expression analysis after perennial ryegrass was subjected to heat, salt, chromium (Cr), cadmium (Cd), polyethylene glycol (PEG) and abscisic acid (ABA) revealed that LpHsp90 genes were generally highly expressed under heat stress, but only two LpHsp90 proteins were expressed under Cr stresses. Additionally, the expression of the LpHsp90 proteins differed at each time point in all treatments. This study provides the basis for an understanding of the functions of LpHsp90 proteins in abiotic stress studies and in plant breeding.

A novel fluorescein-based "turn-on" probe for the detection of hydrazine and its application in living cells.

We constructed a novel probe for hydrazine detection based on ICT and PET mechanism. Phthalimide and acetyl ester groups were used as the recognition units. Addition of hydrazine produced a turn-on fluorescence at 525nm along with the fluorescent color change from dark to yellow. The probe could selectively detect hydrazine over other related interfering species. The detection limit of the probe for hydrazine was calculated to be 0.057µM which was lower than the EPA standard (0.320µM). Furthermore, the probe could also be applied for the imaging of hydrazine in living cells.

[Composition Characteristics and Sources Apportionment of Lanthanoid in PM2.5 of Quanzhou].

Samples of PM2.5 were collected from 5 sites in Quanzhou in March, April and July, 2014. The concentrations of lanthanoid and other trace metals in the PM2.5 were determined by Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry(ICP-MS). The total lanthanoid concentration (ΣLoid), the ratio of light-lanthanoid(L Loid, including, La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm and Eu) to heavy-lanthanoid(H Loid, including Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb and Lu) in PM2.5 were 2.490-5.708 ng·m-3(65.682-126.529 µg·g-1) and 12.086-14.319, respectively. The distribution pattern of Loid in PM2.5 was also evaluated in this study. All PM2.5 samples showed similar distribution pattern with local topsoil. And positive Ce and negative Eu anomalies were observed in PM2.5. La-Ce-V plots and chemical mass balance(CMB) model were used for source identification and apportionment of PM2.5in Quanzhou. The CMB model was used to identify four main sources:urban fugitive dust, coal combustion, vehicle exhaust and waste incineration emission which had a contribution of 18.9%, 10.9%, 30.6% and 30.2%, respectively.

[Seasonal Variation and Source Apportionment of Water-Soluble Ions in PM2.5 in Quanzhou City].

In this study, the seasonal characteristics of water-soluble ions (WSIs) present in fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in Quanzhou City were investigated. PM2.5 samples were collected at five different sites in the city from March 2014 to January 2015 and the concentrations of Na+, NH4+, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+, F-, Cl-, NO3-, and SO42- were determined by ion-exchange chromatography. In order to identify the sources of these WSIs, the positive matrix factorization (PMF) analysis was applied. The seasonal variations in total WSI concentrations were found to decrease in the order of spring > winter > summer > autumn. The ions SO42-, NO3-, and NH4+ were the major WSIs found in PM2.5, accounting for 90.3%±3.3%, 68.8%±11.7%, 78.9%±7.1%, and 74.0%±18.4% of the total amount of ions found in spring, summer, autumn, and winter, respectively. These results suggested that the level of secondary ions was relatively high in the spring season. The anion-to-cation ratio in each of the four seasons was less than one, which indicated that PM2.5 in Quanzhou City was slightly alkaline. Furthermore, NH4+ ions in PM2.5 mostly existed in the form of (NH4)2SO4, NH4HSO4, and NH4NO3 during spring and winter, while they were primarily found as NH4HSO4 and NH4NO3 in the summer and autumn seasons. PMF analysis revealed that marine salt, secondary sources, fugitive dust from construction, municipal incineration, and biomass burning were the main potential sources of the ionic components of PM2.5.

Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection Fertilization Rate Does Not Depend on the Proportion of Round-headed Sperm, Small-acrosomal Sperm, or Morphologically Normal Sperm in Patients with Partial Globozoospermia.

BACKGROUND: Generally, intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) may be the preferable method to treat partial globozoospermia, but whether there exist some correlations between ICSI fertilization rate and the proportion of round-headed sperm or morphologically normal sperm remains open. This study was to explore the correlation between ICSI fertilization rate and the sperm morphology in patients with partial globozoospermia. METHODS: Thirty-four patients diagnosed with partial globozoospermia accepted the following assisted fertilization treatments - 2 cases accepted in-vitro fertilization (IVF) alone, 26 cases accepted ICSI alone, and 6 accepted split IVF/ICSI. Detailed morphological characteristics were described using Diff-Quik rapid staining. Sixty cases accepting IVF or ICSI treatment in our reproductive center were considered as the control group after being matched by relevant criteria. Fertilization rate, embryo quality, embryo implantation rate and clinical pregnancy rate were calculated. RESULTS: Besides very high proportion of round-headed sperm, partial globozoospermia also showed very high proportion of small-acrosomal sperm and very low proportion of morphologically normal sperm. Fertilization rate of IVF (IVF alone plus split IVF) was very low in partial globozoospermia (25.4% ± 17.4%), but ICSI (ICSI alone plus split ICSI) achieved satisfying fertilization rate compared with the control group (66.2% ± 22.5% vs. 68.8% ± 29.4%, P > 0.05). In patients with partial globozoospermia, there were no correlations between ICSI fertilization rate and the proportion of round-headed sperm, small-acrosomal sperm, or morphologically normal sperm. CONCLUSIONS: There was high proportion of small-acrosomal sperm in partial globozoospermia. For patients with partial globozoospermia, ICSI is more preferable than IVF. ICSI fertilization rate does not depend on the proportion of round-headed sperm, small-acrosomal sperm, or morphologically normal sperm.

Genetic variability and population structure of the potential bioenergy crop Miscanthus sinensis (Poaceae) in Southwest China based on SRAP markers.

The genus Miscanthus has great potential as a biofuel feedstock because of its high biomass, good burning quality, environmental tolerance, and good adaptability to marginal land. In this study, the genetic diversity and the relationship of 24 different natural Miscanthus sinensis populations collected from Southwestern China were analyzed by using 33 pairs of Sequence Related Amplified Polymorphism (SRAP) primers. A total of 688 bands were detected with 646 polymorphic bands, an average of 19.58 polymorphic bands per primer pair. The average percentage of polymorphic loci (P), gene diversity (H), and Shannon's diversity index (I) among the 24 populations are 70.59%, 0.2589, and 0.3836, respectively. The mean value of total gene diversity (HT) was 0.3373±0.0221, while the allelic diversity within populations (HS) was 0.2589±0.0136 and the allelic diversity among populations (DST) was 0.0784. The mean genetic differentiation coefficient (Gst=0.2326) estimated from the detected 688 loci indicated that there was 76.74% genetic differentiation within the populations, which is consistent with the results from Analysis of Molecular Variance (AMOVA) analysis. Based upon population structure and phylogenetic analysis, five groups were formed and a special population with mixed ancestry was inferred indicating that human-mediated dispersal may have had a significant effect on population structure of M. sinensis. Evaluating the genetic structure and genetic diversity at morphological and molecular levels of the wild M. sinensis in Southwest China is critical to further utilize the wild M. sinensis germplasm in the breeding program. The results in this study will facilitate the biofuel feedstock breeding program and germplasm conservation.

Molecular encapsulation of a discrete (H2O)32 cluster with S6 symmetry in an organic crystalline supermolecule.

A discrete S6-symmetrical (H2O)32 cluster was encapsulated in the cavity of an organic co-crystalline supermolecule constructed by the co-crystallization of guanidinium and benzenetribenzoate ions through hydrogen bonds, pi-pi and cation-pi interactions.

Synthesis of benzo[c]xanthones from 2-benzylidene-1-tetralones by the ultraviolet radiation-mediated tandem reaction.

A facile one-pot method to prepare benzo[c]xanthones from readily accessible benzylidene-1-tetralones by the ultraviolet radiation-mediated tandem reaction is reported. The overall transformation presumably involves cis-trans isomerization, oxa-6pi electrocyclization, singlet oxygen ene reaction, dehydration, and aromatization.

An efficient and practical synthesis of bis(indolyl)methanes catalyzed by aminosulfonic acid under ultrasound.

Synthesis of bis(indolyl)methanes via electrophilic substitution reactions of indoles with aromatic aldehydes and ketones catalyzed by aminosulfonic acid was carried out in 23-96% yield at 30-38 degrees C in EtOH aqueous solution under ultrasound irradiation.

Synthesis of 1,1-disubstituted-2,6-diarylcyclohexane-4-ones catalyzed by KF/basic Al2O3 under ultrasound.

1,1-Disubstituted-2,6-diarylcyclohexane-4-ones have been synthesized via double Michael addition of 1,5-diaryl-1,4-pentadien-3-one with various active methylene compounds such as dimethyl malonate, diethyl malonate, methyl cyanoacetate and ethyl cyanoacetate catalyzed by KF/basic alumina under ultrasound irradiation to give good yields within a short time.