Ferroptosis-related gene signature as a prognostic marker for lower-grade gliomas.

Ferroptosis is a newly discovered form of programmed cell death, which has unique biological effects on metabolism and redox biology. In this study, the prognostic value of ferroptosis-related genes was investigated in lower-grade gliomas (LGG). We downloaded the ferroptosis-related genes from the FerrDb dataset. Univariate Cox and LASSO regression analyses were applied to identify genes correlated with overall survival (OS). Subsequently, 12 ferroptosis-related genes were screened to establish the prognostic signature using stepwise multivariate Cox regression. According to the median value of risk scores, patients were divided into low- and high-risk subgroups. The Kaplan-Meier curves showed the high-risk group had a lower OS. The predictive power of the risk model was validated using the CGGA. Functional analysis revealed that the terms associated with plasma membrane receptor complex, immune response and glutamate metabolic process were primarily related to the risk model. Moreover, we established a nomogram that had a strong forecasting ability for the 1-, 3- and 5-year OS. In addition, we compared the risk scores between different clinical features. We also detected infiltration of macrophages and monocytes in different subgroups. Overall, our study identified the prognostic signature of 12 ferroptosis-related genes, which has the potential to predict the prognosis of LGG.

[Preparation of Au@SiO2 core-shell nanoparticles: controlling the optical properties].

The authros developed a new approach to preparing the Au@SiO2 core-shell nanostructure. The morphology and stability of the composite were characterized by the UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) methods. The stable SERS spectra were obtained from the PMBA-functionalized Au@SiO2 composite. In addition, the authros succeeded in adjusting the thickness of SiO2 layer by controlling the precursor consumption. The stability of Au@SiO2 in basic solution was studied and the results showed that the SiO2 shell was facile to be etched. The present work may provide a reference and gist for research on the preparation, storage and application of Au@SiO2.

Foaming Behavior and Microcellular Morphologies of Incompatible SAN/CPE Blends with Supercritical Carbon Dioxide as a Physical Blowing Agent.

The foaming process and cellular morphologies of poly(styrene-co-acrylonitrile) (SAN)/chlorinated polyethylene (CPE) blends with supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2) as a blowing agent were investigated in this study. As compared to pure SAN foam in the same batch, the foamed blends with various CPE elastomer content had smaller average pore size and larger cell density. This is probably related to the inhibition of bubble growth by elastomer, resulting in poor melt flowability and strong viscoelasticity, and the efficient bubble heterogeneous nucleation caused by numerous phase interfaces inside the incompletely compatible blend system. In addition, many tiny interconnected holes through the pore walls were formed to connect adjacent micropores in foamed blend samples. The formation mechanism of such interconnected pores is probably due to the fracture of stretched melt around the bubble from phase interfaces with weak interactions. These facts suggest an effective path to control pore size, cell density and even interconnected pores of blend foams depends on the compatibility of the blend system and difference in foamability of individual components in supercritical CO2.

[Coexpression of PXRLBD with SRC88 and construction of equilibrium dialysis model of screening PXR ligands].

The aim of this study was to obtain the soluble protein of human pregnane X receptor ligand binding domain (PXRLBD) through the coexpression of PXRLBD and 88 amino acids of steroid receptor coactivator-1 (SRC88) and apply the protein to constructing a new model of screening PXR ligands. Expression plasmid of pETDuet-1-SRC88-PXRLBD was constructed and transformed into Escherichia coli Rosetta (DE3) to coexpress PXRLBD and SRC88 via induction by IPTG at low temperature. Then an equilibrium dialysis model was constructed to study the interaction between PXRLBD and drugs including clotrimazole and dexamethasone, using HPLC as the analysis method. The results showed that the soluble protein of PXRLBD was obtained and the HPLC data indicated that clotrimazole bound to PXRLBD, while dexamethasone did not bind to PXRLBD, which indicated the successful establishment of a new method for studying the interaction between PXR and drugs. The new method may be useful in the screening of PXR ligands in vitro.

Stereoselective glucuronidation of carvedilol by Chinese liver microsomes.

OBJECTIVE: To study the stereoselective glucuronidation of carvedilol (CARV) by three Chinese liver microsomes. METHODS: The metabolites of CARV were identified by a hydrolysis reaction with beta-glucuronidase and HPLC-MS/MS. The enzyme kinetics for CARV enantiomers glucuronidation was determined by a reversed phase-high pressure liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) assay using (S)-propafenone as internal standard after precolumn derivatization with 2,3,4,6-tetra-O-acetyl-beta-D-glucopyranosylisothiocyanate. RESULTS: Two CARV glucuronides were found in three Chinese liver microsomes incubated with CARV. The non-linear regression analysis showed that the values of K(m) and V(max) for (S)-CARV and (R)-CARV enantiomers were (118+/-44) micromol/L, (2 500+/-833) pmol/(min.mg protein) and (24+/-7) micromol/L, (953+/-399) pmol/(min.mg protein), respectively. CONCLUSION: These results suggested that there was a significant (P<0.05) stereoselective glucuronidation of CARV enantiomers in three Chinese liver microsomes, which might partly explain the enantioselective pharmacokinetics of CARV.

[Biodegradation of organic pollutants by thermophiles and their applications: a review].

Persistent organic pollutants have increasingly become a critical environmental concern, while thermophiles have the high potential of degrading various kinds of environmental organic pollutants. At high temperatures, thermophiles have higher metabolic activity, and the competition by mesophiles is reduced, meanwhile, the solubility and bioavailability of some persistent organic pollutants are greatly increased, and thus, the degradation of the pollutants by thermophiles is more rapid and complete. Therefore, thermophils are of great significance for the bio-treatment of organic wastewater and the bioremediation of organic pollutants-contaminated sites. This paper introduced the research progress on the degradation of organic pollutants by thermophiles in terms of the characteristics of thermophiles in degrading organic pollutants, the effects of temperature on the degradation, the degradation pathways, the degradation enzymes, their coding genes, and practical engineering applications. The future research directions including the degradation mechanisms of thermophiles, their resources reserve, related technology strategies and their applications were also prospected.

[Research advances in microbial dechlorination of polychlorinated biphenyls].

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are the typical persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in the environment. As a ubiquitous attenuation course of chlorinated organic compounds in anoxic environment, the microorganism-mediated reductive dechlorination process plays an important role in PCBs transformation, especially the transformation of higher chlorinated PCBs. The higher chlorinated PCBs can be dechlorinated in anaerobic condition, and thus, their persistence and toxicity can be decreased. The resultant lower chlorinated PCBs from the dechlorination can be further degraded and completely mineralized in aerobic condition. This paper summarized the research advances of PCBs microbial reductive dechlorination, introduced the mechanisms and characteristics of the dechlorination and the related specific microorganisms, and approached the affecting factors of PCBs bio-dechlorination, as well as the significances of anaerobic dechlorination coupling with aerobic degradation. The future research directions, including the complex metabolic networks of dechlorinating microbial populations, the screening of novel specific dechlorinators and their practical applications in the remediation of PCBs contaminated sites were also prospected.