Integrated Karyotyping of Woodland Strawberry (Fragaria vesca) with Oligopaint FISH Probes.

Chromosome identification is critical for many aspects of cytogenetic research. However, for Fragaria vesca, definite identification of individual chromosomes is almost impossible because of their small size and high similarity. Here, we demonstrate that bulked oligonucleotide (oligo) probes can be used as chromosome-specific DNA markers for chromosome identification in F. vesca. Oligos specific to entire pseudochromosomes in the draft genome of F. vesca were identified and synthesized as libraries. In all, we synthesized 6 oligo libraries corresponding to 6 pseudochromosomes of F. vesca. These libraries were amplified and labeled as probes for fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). Two rounds of multicolor FISH analysis were sequentially conducted on the same metaphase cells with each round including 3 probe libraries, which permitted simultaneous identification of all chromosomes of F. vesca. Moreover, 45S and 5S rDNA were mapped to chromosomes 1, 2, and 7, respectively. A karyotype of metaphase chromosomes was constructed, representing the first FISH-based molecular cytogenetic karyotype of F. vesca. Our study can serve as a basis for future comparative cytogenetic research through cross-species chromosome painting using bulked oligo probes and will facilitate the application of breeding technologies that rely on the identification of chromosomes in the genus Fragaria.

Effects of five types of exercise on vascular function in postmenopausal women: a network meta-analysis and systematic review of 32 randomized controlled trials.

Background: As women age, especially after menopause, cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevalence rises, posing a significant global health concern. Regular exercise can mitigate CVD risks by improving blood pressure and lipid levels in postmenopausal women. Yet, the optimal exercise modality for enhancing vascular structure and function in this demographic remains uncertain. This study aims to compare five exercise forms to discern the most effective interventions for reducing cardiovascular risk in postmenopausal women. Methods: The study searched PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane, EBSCO, and Embase databases. It conducted a network meta-analysis (NMA) of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on five exercise interventions: continuous endurance training (CET), interval training (INT), resistance training (RT), aerobic combined with resistance training (CT), and hybrid-type training (HYB). Outcome measures included carotid artery intima-media thickness (IMT), nitric oxide (NO), augmentation index (AIx), pulse wave velocity (PWV), and flow-mediated dilatation (FMD) of the brachial artery. Eligible studies were assessed for bias using the Cochrane tool. A frequentist random-effects NMA was employed to rank exercise effects, calculating standardized mean differences (SMDs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results: The analysis of 32 studies (n = 1,427) indicates significant increases in FMD with CET, INT, RT, and HYB in postmenopausal women. Reductions in PWV were significant with CET, INT, RT, CT, and HYB. AIx decreased significantly with INT and HYB. CET, INT, and CT significantly increased NO levels. However, no significant reduction in IMT was observed. SUCRA probabilities show INT as most effective for increasing FMD, CT for reducing PWV, INT for decreasing AIx, CT for lowering IMT, and INT for increasing NO in postmenopausal women. Conclusion: The study demonstrates that CET, INT, RT, and HYB have a significant positive impact on FMD in postmenopausal women. Furthermore, all five forms of exercise significantly enhance PWV in this population. INT and HYB were found to have a significant positive effect on AIx in postmenopausal women, while CET, INT, and CT were found to significantly improve NO levels. For improving vascular function in postmenopausal women, it is recommended to prioritize INT and CT exercise modalities. On the other hand, as CET and RT were not ranked at the top of the Sucra value ranking in this study and were less effective than INT and CT as exercise interventions to improve vascular function in postmenopausal women, it is not recommended that CET and RT be considered the preferred exercise modality.

ZFP57 promotes ovarian cancer progression by transcriptionally regulating BRCA1 and managing G1 checkpoint.

Ovarian cancer (OC) which is one of the frequently-occurring gynecologic malignant tumors, endangers the health of women. The zinc finger protein 57 (ZFP57) plays crucial functions during the progression of cancer and is reported as a prognostic and therapeutic candidate in a variety of cancer. However, the biological function as well as the underlying mechanism of ZFP57 during OC progression remains unknown. Here, ZFP57 expression was found prominently increased in OC tissues and correlated with the prognosis of OC patients. Knock down of ZFP57 in OC cells inhibited the cell proliferation and migration, and also arrested the cells at G1 phase as well as accelerated the apoptosis. Additionally, ZFP57 transcriptionally regulated BRCA1 expression in OC, indicating that ZFP57 may affect BRCA1 mediated G1 checkpoint to regulate the cell cycle of OC cells and further influence the progression of OC. Taken together, our present study discovered a novel function of ZFP57 in OC, suggesting that ZFP57 could be potentially treated as a prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target for OC patients.

Evaluation of changes of cardiac morphology and function in fetuses with ductus arteriosus constriction by Speckle-tracking echocardiography.

Background: Premature ductus arteriosus constriction (DA Con) can result in right ventricular enlargement, right ventricular hypertrophy, and tricuspid regurgitation. Method: This study retrospectively analyzed 34 singleton fetuses that underwent fetal echocardiography with a diagnosis of DA Con (16 cases with mild to moderate, and 18 cases with moderate to severe) and 45 healthy fetuses. The morphology and function parameters of cardiac, as well as the 24-Segment of ventricles, were compared between the DA Con group and controls, and between the mild to moderate and moderate to severe groups, using the fetal heart quantification (FHQ) technology. Results: There were no significant difference in left ventricular parameters in DA Con group when compared to controls. Moreover, fetal 4CV-GSI was significantly reduced, as well as the sphericity index (SI), fractional shortening (FS), global longitudinal strain (GS) and fractional area change (FAC) of right ventricle, especially in the basal-middle segments. Compared with the mild to moderate group, LV-FS increased and RV-FS decreased in moderate to severe group. Conclusion: The results showed that the fetal heart in the DA Con group was different from the controls in morphology and function. FHQ technology provides a comprehensive assessment for the evaluation of cardiac morphological and functional changes in DA Con fetuses.

Study on Risk Factors for Death from Cardiomyopathy and Effectiveness of Health Information Management.

Objective: To explore risk factors for death from cardiomyopathy and the effectiveness of health information management (HIM). Methods: A total of 80 patients with cardiomyopathy admitted in ICU of our hospital (January 2016-January 2020) were selected as study subjects, and the clinical data of the patients were retrospectively analyzed. The patients were divided into the survival group (n = 72) and the death group (n = 14) according to the treatment outcome. Then, according to the management mode, the survival group was further equally divided into the conventional group and the HIM group to investigate the influence of risk factors on prognosis of patients with cardiomyopathy and the effectiveness of HIM. Results: No significant difference was found in baseline body mass, myocardial enzymes, troponin, infection factors, history of heart disease, and gender between the survival group and the death group (P > 0.05). Compared with the survival group, the patients of the death group were older (P < 0.05), LVEF of the death group was obviously lower (P < 0.05), and the scores of APACHE II and SOFA of the death group were obviously higher (P < 0.05). Further logistic regression analysis of the univariate factors influencing the risk of death from cardiomyopathy led to the conclusion that LVEF was an independent risk factor for death in patients with cardiomyopathy. LVEF below 24.69% examined by echocardiography had a high predictive value, with a sensitivity of 98.6% and a specificity of 78.6%. No obvious difference was found in general data between the conventional group and the HIM group (P > 0.05). Compared with the conventional group, the disease remission rate, complication rate, awareness rate of health knowledge, ICU length of stay, and scores of self-management efficacy of the HIM group were obviously better (P < 0.05). No significant difference was found in 5-year mean survival rate between the conventional group and the HIM group (P > 0.05). Conclusion: Older age, lower LVEF, and higher scores of APACHE II and SOFA are all risk factors for death from cardiomyopathy. Lower LVEF is an independent risk factor, and LVEF below 24.69% is an important indicator of increased risk of death. Moreover, HIM can effectively improve short-term treatment efficacy but has little effect on the long-term survival rate.

High expression of ZNF93 promotes proliferation and migration of ovarian cancer cells and relates to poor prognosis.

Ovarian cancer (OC) is most common type of gynecologic cancer and is frequently lethal. It is important to determine the pathologic mechanisms underlying OC. ZNF93 is a member of the zinc finger protein family. Abnormal expression of ZNF93 has been observed in various tumor cells. However, its clinical significance and biologic function in ovarian cancer remain unclear. In the present study, we established that ZNF93 expression was highly up-regulated in OC samples and was closely correlated with clinical stage, indicating poor prognosis. We then established that ZNF93 promoted OC cell proliferation and migration. The results of our study may provide insight into the use of ZNF93 as a marker of clinical outcome and as a potential therapeutic target in OC.

Mechanistic Insights into the Ni-Catalyzed Reductive Carboxylation of C-O Bonds in Aromatic Esters with CO2 : Understanding Remarkable Ligand and Traceless-Directing-Group Effects.

The mechanism of the Ni0 -catalyzed reductive carboxylation reaction of C(sp2 )-O and C(sp3 )-O bonds in aromatic esters with CO2 to access valuable carboxylic acids was comprehensively studied by using DFT calculations. Computational results revealed that this transformation was composed of several key steps: C-O bond cleavage, reductive elimination, and/or CO2 insertion. Of these steps, C-O bond cleavage was found to be rate-determining, and it occurred through either oxidative addition to form a NiII intermediate, or a radical pathway that involved a bimetallic species to generate two NiI species through homolytic dissociation of the C-O bond. DFT calculations revealed that the oxidative addition step was preferred in the reductive carboxylation reactions of C(sp2 )-O and C(sp3 )-O bonds in substrates with extended π systems. In contrast, oxidative addition was highly disfavored when traceless directing groups were involved in the reductive coupling of substrates without extended π systems. In such cases, the presence of traceless directing groups allowed for docking of a second Ni0 catalyst, and the reactions proceed through a bimetallic radical pathway, rather than through concerted oxidative addition, to afford two NiI species both kinetically and thermodynamically. These theoretical mechanistic insights into the reductive carboxylation reactions of C-O bonds were also employed to investigate several experimentally observed phenomena, including ligand-dependent reactivity and site-selectivity.

Do two oxidants (ferric-peroxo and ferryl-oxo species) act in the biosynthesis of estrogens? A DFT calculation.

Density functional theory calculations were performed in order to reveal the mysterious catalytic step of the biosynthesis of estrogens. The results indicated two reactive oxidants, ferric-peroxo and ferryl-oxo (compound I) species, to participate in the conversion of androgens to estrogens. The ferric-peroxo species was determined, according to our derived mechanism, to act in the oxidation of 19-OH androgen to yield the 19,19-gem-diol intermediate and generate the ferryl-oxo (compound I) species. This species was then modeled to effect, in the final step, an abstraction of H from an O-H group of 19,19-gem-diol to give the experimentally observed products. We considered our new mechanistic scenario to reasonably explain the latest experimental observations and to provide deep insight complementing the newly accepted compound I (Cpd I) mechanism.

[Inhibition of pulmonary nuclear factor -ΚB and tumor necrosis factor -α expression by diallyl sulfide in rats with paraquat poisoning].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the mechanism of anti-inflammatory effect of diallyl sulfide (DAS) in protection against acute lung injury (ALI) in rats with paraquat poisoning. METHODS: Eighty male Wistar rats were randomly divided into four groups, namely: control group, model group, dexamethasone (DXM) treatment group, and DAS treatment group, with 20 rats in each group. The model of paraquat poisoning was reproduced by single does of 70 mg/kg given by gavage, while the same volume of normal saline (NS) was given in same manner in control group. 100 mg/kg of DAS, the same volume of NS, or 1 mg/kg DXM injection were given respectively in DAS treatment group, model group, or DXM treatment group intraperitoneally after exposure to paraquat, once a day for 14 days. Five rats in each group were sacrificed at 1, 3, 7, 14 days, respectively. The inferior lobe of right lung was harvested, and the degree of lung injury was observed with hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining under optical microscope; the upper lobe of right lung was used to determine the lung wet/dry weight (W/D) ratio and for evaluation of the degree of pulmonary edema. The expression of nuclear factor -ΚB (NF-ΚB) in the middle lobe of right lung was assessed with immunohistochemistry. The expression of tumor necrosis factor -α ( TNF-α ) mRNA in the left lung was determined with the reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). RESULTS: (1) The pulmonary structure in control group was found to be intact. However, in the model group there were progressive pathological changes in lung, including marked edema and thickening of alveolar walls, collapse of alveoli, infiltration of inflammatory cells, alveolar wall, and obvious bleeding in the local lung tissue, and formation of transparent membrane in alveolar space. Less infiltration of inflammatory cells and no obvious destruction were found in alveolar structure in the DAS and DXM treatment groups. (2) Lung W/D ratio: lung W/D ratio of model group was apparently higher than that in control group at every time point, and peaking on the 3rd day ( 6.15 ± 0.54 vs. 4.15 ± 2.10, P < 0.05 ), and the ratio of lung W/D of DAS and DXM treatment groups was obviously lower than that in model group at every time point, especially on the 3rd day (3.99 ± 1.26, 4.30 ± 0.70 vs. 6.15 ± 0.54, both P < 0.05), but there was no significant difference between DAS and DXM treatment groups in this regard. (3) The immunocytochemistry analysis revealed minimal NF-ΚBp65 expression in the cell nuclei of the control group, while extensive NF-ΚBp65 expression was found in model group. Minimal NF-ΚBp65 positive expression in the cytoplasm and even less positive expression in the nucleus was found in the DAS and DXM treatment groups, and integral A value was significantly lower in the DAS and DXM treatment groups than that of the model group, especially on the 3rd day [(17.98 ± 0.06 )× 107, (18.53 ± 0.04) × 107 vs. (28.85 ± 0.61) × 107, both P < 0.01], but there was no significant difference between DAS and DXM treatment groups. (4) It was shown by RT-PCR that the expression of TNF-α mRNA in lung tissue of the model group was significantly higher than that in the control group on the 3rd day (gray value: 3.63 ± 0.62 vs. 0.51 ± 0.13, P < 0.05 ). The expression of TNF-α mRNA in lung tissue was significantly decreased in DAS and DXM treatment groups compared with model group ( gray value: 2.49 ± 0.57, 2.02 ± 0.26 vs. 3.63 ± 0.62, both P < 0.05 ), but there was no significant difference between DAS and DXM treated groups. CONCLUSIONS: Treatment with an intraperitoneally injection of DAS is capable of attenuate the extent of PQ-induced ALI in rats by alleviating pulmonary edema, inhibiting the expression of NF-ΚB and TNF-α in lung tissue, and ameliorating pathological changes in lung tissue.

On-column labeling technique and chiral CE of amino acids with mixed chiral selectors and UV detection.

A novel method has been developed for the on-column labeling of amino acid enantiomers with 9-fluoroenylmethyl chloroformate (FMOC), followed by chiral CE with a binary chiral selector system and UV detection. Efficient labeling was achieved by sequential injection of amino acids, borate buffer, and FMOC labeling solution at 0.2 psi for 6 s. After injection, the sandwich sections were electrically mixed at 250 V/cm for 6 s and allowed to react (electric field-free) at room temperature for 2 min. With this procedure, successful online-labeling and chiral CE separation of 19 pairs of amino acids (AA) have been conducted, giving 17 pairs fully enantioresolved (R(s) = 1.73-5.79) and two pairs partially resolved (Ala, R(s) = 0.39 and Arg, R(s) = 1.15) using a running buffer of 150 mM borate containing 30 mM beta-CD, 30 mM sodium taurodeoxycholate (STDC), and 15% isopropanol (IPA) at pH 9.0. Chiral CE of some mixed pairs was also demonstrated, much the same as using precolumn labeling. Surprisingly, Met, Asp, Asn, Gln, and His gained even higher enantioresolution (up to 2.5%) compared with the case of precolumn labeling. As validated by both artificially prepared solutions and serum samples, the method was applicable to the quantitative determination of AA, with LODs down to 4.0 microM. The method allowed the determination of D-AA at the ratio of 1:100 (D:L).

Chiral CE of aromatic amino acids by ligand-exchange with zinc(II)-L-lysine complex.

A novel method of chiral ligand-exchange CE was developed with either L- or D-lysine (Lys) as a chiral ligand and zinc(II) as a central ion. This type of chiral complexes was explored for the first time to efficiently separate either individual pairs of or mixed aromatic amino acid enantiomers. Using a running buffer of 5 mM ammonium acetate, 100 mM boric acid, 3 mM ZnSO(4) x 7H(2)O and 6 mM L-Lys at pH 7.6, unlabeled D,L-tryptophan, D,L-phenylalanine, and D,L-tyrosine were well separated, giving a chiral resolution of up to 7.09. The best separation was obtained at a Lys-to-zinc ratio of 2:1, zinc concentration of 2-4 mM and running buffer pH 7.6. The buffer pH was determined to have a strong influence on resolution, while buffer composition and concentration impacted on both the resolution and peak shape. Boric acid with some ammonium acetate was an adoptable buffer system, and some additives like ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid capable of destroying the complex should be avoided. Fine-tuning of the chiral resolution and elution order was achieved by regulating the ratio of L-Lys to D-Lys; i.e. the resolution increased from zero to its highest value as the ratio ascended from 1:0 to 1:infinitive, and L-isomers eluted before or after D-isomers in excessive D- or L-Lys, respectively.

Online acid barrage stacking anti-salt injection for capillary electrophoresis of 9-fluorenylmethylchloroformate-derivatized amino acids in high ionic strength solutions by UV detection.

An acid barrage stacking (ABS) method has been shown to be feasible for online anti-salt injection in CE of 9-fluorenylmethyl chloroformate (FMOC)-labeled amino acids (AAs) detected by common UV absorption. The operation was performed on normal polar CE by sucking in an extra plug of acid following a sample zone, serving as a selective acid barrage to block the backward migration of weak anionic analytes due to a sudden mobility reduction via acid-base reaction which does not affect strong co-ions such as Cl(-) to penetrate the barrage freely. By CE-UV of FMOC-AAs in various NaCl solutions, the effectiveness of ABS was firmly validated, able to stand up to 500 mM NaCl and to stack analytes by 10(3)-fold calculated from the UV detection limits, that is 0.01 microM for ABS and 10 microM for non-stacking injection. The method was also validated by determining trace Glu and Asp in real samples of rat brain microdialysate, rat serum and human saliva. The intraday RSDs were 0.33-4.9% for migration time and 1.8-9.6% for peak area. The recoveries measured by spiking technique were 82-115% for Glu and 86-116% for Asp. Working equations were obtained by plotting peak height vs. concentration at 0.1-50 microM, with correlation coefficients of >0.999. The contents of Glu and Asp were thus found at 0.26-0.83 microM and 0.24-0.64 microM respectively, in rat brain microdialyste; 37-40 microM and 8.4-10 microM, respectively, in rat serum; and 3.5-5.8 microM and 1.0-4.1 microM, respectively in human saliva. They were consistent with the data from other methods.