Fluorescent Probe for Investigating the Mitochondrial Viscosity and Hydrogen Peroxide Changes in Cerebral Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury.

Cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury (CIRI), a cause of cerebral dysfunction during cerebral infarction treatment, is closely associated with mitochondrial viscosity and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). However, the accurate measurement of mitochondrial viscosity and H2O2 levels in CIRI is challenging because of the lack of sufficient selectivity and blood-brain barrier (BBB) penetration of existing monitoring tools related to CIRI, hampering the exploration of the role of mitochondrial viscosity and H2O2 in CIRI. To address this issue, we designed an activatable fluorescent probe, mitochondria-targeting styryl-quinolin-ium (Mito-IQS), with excellent properties including high selectivity, mitochondrial targeting, and BBB penetration, for the visualization of mitochondrial viscosity and H2O2 in the brain. Based on the real-time monitoring capabilities of the probe, bursts of mitochondrial viscosity and H2O2 levels were visualized during CIRI. This probe can be used to monitor the therapeutic effects of butylphthalein treatment. More importantly, in vivo experiments further confirmed that CIRI was closely associated with the mitochondrial viscosity and H2O2 levels. This discovery provides new insights and tools for the study of CIRI and is expected to accelerate the process of CIRI diagnosis, treatment, and drug design.

Image and Speech Recognition Technology in the Development of an Elderly Care Robot: Practical Issues Review and Improvement Strategies.

As the world's population is aging and there is a shortage of sufficient caring manpower, the development of intelligent care robots is a feasible solution. At present, plenty of care robots have been developed, but humanized care robots that can suitably respond to the individual behaviors of elderly people, such as pose, expression, gaze, and speech are generally lacking. To achieve the interaction, the main objectives of this study are: (1) conducting a literature review and analyzing the status quo on the following four core tasks of image and speech recognition technology: human pose recognition, human facial expression recognition, eye gazing recognition, and Chinese speech recognition; (2) proposing improvement strategies for these tasks based on the results of the literature review. The results of the study on these improvement strategies will provide the basis for using human facial expression robots in elderly care.

A Research on Online Education Behavior and Strategy in University.

After the reform and opening up in China, through a series of rapid developments in world, online education has grown both socially and economically. This area has become representative of the fast-growing economy. However, Guangfu culture as a crucial component of Cantonese traditional culture is gradually becoming less influential today. It is the college's responsibility and duty to protect, carry forward, and inherit this traditional culture. Especially during this cyber era, where networks have become a powerful source for communication and study, there are diversified methods of adaptive learning and various learning behaviors. This article aims to analyze the plausibility of adapting an online platform into the teaching arena and the needs of students under this teaching mode. A simulation of applying advanced technology and artificial intelligence into Guangfu culture innovation was also conducted. The contribution shows the users in this platform have a longer study time, compared with non-platform users, and are more interested in traditional culture knowledge than non-users; 21.5% higher in the performance's test.

Role of platelet-derived extracellular vesicles in traumatic brain injury-induced coagulopathy and inflammation.

Extracellular vesicles are composed of fragments of exfoliated plasma membrane, organelles or nuclei and are released after cell activation, apoptosis or destruction. Platelet-derived extracellular vesicles are the most abundant type of extracellular vesicle in the blood of patients with traumatic brain injury. Accumulated laboratory and clinical evidence shows that platelet-derived extracellular vesicles play an important role in coagulopathy and inflammation after traumatic brain injury. This review discusses the recent progress of research on platelet-derived extracellular vesicles in coagulopathy and inflammation and the potential of platelet-derived extracellular vesicles as therapeutic targets for traumatic brain injury.

Value of UGT2B7-161 Single Nucleotide Polymorphism in Predicting the Risk of Cardiotoxicity in HER-2 Positive Breast Cancer Patients Who Underwent Pertuzumab Combined with Trastuzumab Therapy by PSL.

Objective: To explore the value of uridine diphosphate-glucuronosyltransferase 2B7 (UGT2B7)-161 single nucleotide polymorphism in predicting the occurrence of cardiotoxicity in Chinese human epidermal growth factor 2 (HER-2) positive breast cancer patients who underwent pertuzumab combined with trastuzumab Therapy. Methods: Fifty patients with HER-2 positive breast cancer who planned to receive trastuzumab and pertuzumab therapy for more than four cycles were enrolled in this study, and blood samples were collected. Thirty healthy volunteers of matching ages were selected as the control group. Myocardial parameters such as global work index, global effective work, and global wasted work were measured before treatment (M0) and at the end of four cycles of treatment month three (M3). Blood samples were collected from patients at the M0 stage, and polymorphisms of the UGT2B7-161 gene were detected to evaluate the predictive ability of different gene phenotypes on the myocardial drug toxicity injury. Results: There were 35 myocardial work decreased events among 50 patients. There were 24 (47.3%), 15 (40.8%), and 11 (11.8%) patients carrying UGT2B7-161 CC, CT, and TT genotypes, respectively. The occurrence of myocardial work decreased was decreased in UGT2B7-161 TT and CT genotypes (12.5%) compared with CC genotype (41.7%) with statistical significance (P < 0.001). Multivariate logistic regression model analysis exhibited that UGT2B7-161 genotypes, body mass index, and cardiac troponin I were independent factors influencing the risk of cardiotoxicity. Conclusion: UGT2B7-161 single nucleotide polymorphism is a potential predictive factor for cardiotoxicity in HER-2 positive breast cancer patients receiving trastuzumab and pertuzumab dual-targeted drug therapy.

[Epidemiological features and mechanism of coronavirus disease 2019 in children].

Compared with adults, children tend to have lower incidence rate, hospitalization rate, and mortality rate of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), while the cause of such age-based differences in disease severity remains unclear. An investigation of pathogenesis in children may help to analyze the therapies for the high-risk population. Human angiotensin-converting enzyme Ⅱ is the main receptor of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 and can limit pulmonary capillary leakage and inflammation mediated by angiotensin 2 and exert a protective effect against acute lung injury. Its expression decreases with age. Regular vaccination and frequent upper respiratory virus infection in children can lead to regular immune activation, and its combination with strong innate immunity can help to achieve virus clearance in the early stage of infection in children with COVID-19. Meanwhile, there are strong regeneration and repair abilities of alveolar epithelial cells in children, which may help with the early recovery of infection. In addition, risk factors, such as underlying cardiopulmonary diseases, obesity, and smoking, are relatively uncommon in children. Social factors, including home quarantine and timely closure of schools, may help to reduce the infection rate in children. However, children with immunodeficiency are a high-risk population and should be closely monitored. Further studies are needed to investigate the immune and protection mechanisms against COVID-19 in children.

Physiological and molecular mechanisms governing the effect of virus-free chewing cane seedlings on yield and quality.

The effects of increasing yield and quality of virus-free chewing cane seedlings and their physiological and molecular basis were studied in this study. Results showed that compared with infected seedlings (the control), the yield of chewing cane stems grown from virus-free seedlings increased by 21.81-29.93%, stem length increased by 28.66-34.49 cm, internode length increased by 2.16-2.68 cm, the single stem weight increased by 20.10-27.68%, the reducing sugar increased by 0.91-1.15% (absolute value), and sucrose increased by - 0.06-1.33% (absolute value). The decrease in sucrose content did not reach significant level, but all other parameters were reached significant level. The chlorophyll content, photosynthetic parameters such as stomatal conductance (Gs), net photosynthetic rate (Pn) and transpiration rate (Tr), the activity of photosynthetic key enzymes ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase (Rubisco) and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPC), and gene (pepc, rbcS, and rbcL) expression levels were all greater in virus-free seedlings than infected seedlings. The content of superoxide anion (O2-) and malondialdehyde (MDA) in virus-free seedlings was lower than infected seedlings at the main growth stage. With increased development, the activities of the antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), and catalase (CAT) were gradually higher in virus-free seedlings than infected seedlings. Our results indicate that virus-free seedlings may improve photosynthesis efficiency and promote photosynthesis by increasing chlorophyll content, photosynthetic key enzyme activity, and the gene expression levels in leaves. By increasing the activity of antioxidant enzymes, reducing the degree of membrane lipid peroxidation, and improving the stress resistance of chewing cane, the virus-free chewing cane seedlings increased yield and quality. Our findings provide a scientific and theoretical basis for the promotion and application of virus-free chewing cane seedlings.

Gallaecimonas mangrovi sp. nov., a novel bacterium isolated from mangrove sediment.

A Gram-stain negative, rod-shaped, non-motile, strictly aerobic bacterium HK-28T was isolated from a mangrove sediment sample in Haikou city, Hainan Province, China. Strain HK-28T was able to grow at 10-45 °C (optimum 25-30 °C), pH 5.0-8.5 (optimum 6.0-7.0) and 0.5-12.0% (w/v) NaCl (optimum 1.0-3.0%, w/v). The major cellular fatty acids were C16:0, Summed Feature 8 (C18:1 ω7c and/or C18:1 ω6c), Summed Feature 3 (C16:1 ω7c and/or C16:1 ω6c), C17:0, C12:0 3-OH and C17:1ω8c. Ubiquinone-8 (Q-8) was the predominant respiratory quinone. The polar lipids consisted of diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, two unidentified aminophospholipids, four unidentified phospholipids, two unidentified glycolipid, an unidentified glycophospholipid, an unidentified aminolipid and an unidentified lipid. The DNA G+C content was 50.2 mol%. Accoroding to 16S rRNA gene sequence similarities, strain HK-28T shared 97.1 and 96.7% sequence similarities to the validly named species Gallaecimonas xiamenensis MCCC 1A01354T and Gallaecimonas pentaromativorans MCCC 1A06435T, respectively, and shared lower sequence similarities (< 92.0%) to all other genera. Phylogenetic analysis showed strain HK-28T was clustered with G. pentaromativorans MCCC 1A06435T and G. xiamenensis MCCC 1A01354T. Strain HK-28T showed low DNA-DNA relatedness with G. xiamenensis MCCC 1A01354T (28.3 ± 1.5%) and G. pentaromativorans MCCC 1A06435T (25.2 ± 2.4%). On the basis of phenotypic, chemotaxonomic and genotypic characteristics, strain HK-28T is considered to represent a novel species in the genus Gallaecimonas, for which the name Gallaecimonas mangrovi sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is HK-28T (= KCTC 62177T = MCCC 1K03441).

Effects of SDF-1/CXCR4 on the Repair of Traumatic Brain Injury in Rats by Mediating Bone Marrow Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells.

Our study aims to investigate the effects of the SDF-1/CXCR4 axis on the repair of traumatic brain injury (TBI) in rats by mediating bone marrow derived from mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs). Healthy male SD rats were collected, their tibiofibulars were removed, cultured, and BMSCs were collected. The expression of cell-surface molecular proteins was examined using flow cytometry. The mRNA and protein expression of CXCR4 in cells were tested using qRT-PCR and western blotting analysis. An electronic brain injury instrument was utilized to build TBI rat models and each rat was assigned into the experiment, positive control and control groups (10 rats in each group). The morris water maze was used to calculate the escape latency and number of times rats in each group crossed the platform. Neurological severity scores (NSS) was calculated to evaluate the recovery of neurological functioning. The distribution of neuronal nuclear antigens was detected using double-labeling immunohistochemistry. The morphological changes in the hippocampal neuronal and the number of BrdU-positive cells were observed through Nissl's staining and high magnification. The mRNA and protein expressions of CXCR4 were gradually increased as SDF-1 concentration increased. NGF and BDNF positive cells were expressed in each group. The distribution of neuronal nuclear antigens in the experiment group was elevated compared to the control and positive control groups. Among the three groups, the experimental group had the shortest escape latency and the highest number platform crossings. The difference in NSS among the three groups was significant. The experimental group had better cell morphology and a higher number of BrdU-positive cells than the other groups. The present study demonstrates that transplanting BMSCs with SDF-1-induced CXCR4 expression can promote the repair of TBI. This is expected to become a new treatment regimen for TBI.

Overexpressed MALAT1 promotes invasion and metastasis of gastric cancer cells via increasing EGFL7 expression.

OBJECTIVE: Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been demonstrated to participate in various cancers. Here, the role and its potential mechanism of MALAT1 in invasion and migration of gastric cancer (GC) were investigated. METHODS: Gastric adenocarcinoma tissues and matched normal adjacent tissues were isolated from 25 patients with GC. The expression of epidermal growth factor-like domain-containing protein 7 (EGFL7) was detected in the normal gastric mucosa epithelial GES-1 cell line and three different differentiation GC cell lines, including MKN28 (well-differentiated adenocarcinoma), SGC7901 (moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma) and BGC823 (poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma). Tumor xenotransplant mouse model was established with the injection of cell line pretreated with lentiviral vectors for si-MALAT1 or si-control. RESULTS: The expression of MALAT1 was up-regulated in GC tissues and three cell lines. Si-MALAT1/pcDNA-MALAT1 induced the decrease of cell invasion and migration, while the effects were reversed by the transfection of pcDNA-EGFL7/si-EGFL7. ChIP assay showed that MALAT1 regulated EGFL7 expression by altering the level of H3 histone acetylation in EGFL7 promoter. In tumor xenotransplant mice, down-regulated MALAT1 contributed to the inhibition of tumor metastasis. CONCLUSIONS: Up-regulated MALAT1 promoted the invasion and metastasis of GC, and the increase of EGFL7 expression was a potential mechanism via altering its H3 histone acetylation level.

Hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus stimulation reduces intestinal injury in rats with ulcerative colitis.

AIM: To investigate the effect and mechanism of stimulation of the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus with glutamate acid in rats with ulcerative colitis (UC). METHODS: The rats were anesthetized with 10% chloral hydrate via abdominal injection and treated with an equal volume of TNBS + 50% ethanol enema, injected into the upper section of the anus with the tail facing up. Colonic damage scores were calculated after injecting a certain dose of glutamic acid into the paraventricular nucleus (PVN), and the effect of the nucleus tractus solitarius (NTS) and vagus nerve in alleviating UC injury through chemical stimulation of the PVN was observed in rats. Expression changes of C-myc, Apaf-1, caspase-3, interleukin (IL)-6, and IL-17 during the protection against UC injury through chemical stimulation of the PVN in rats were detected by Western blot. Malondialdehyde (MDA) content and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity in colon tissues of rats were measured by colorimetric methods. RESULTS: Chemical stimulation of the PVN significantly reduced UC in rats in a dose-dependent manner. The protective effects of the chemical stimulation of the PVN on rats with UC were eliminated after chemical damage to the PVN. After glutamate receptor antagonist kynurenic acid was injected into the PVN, the protective effects of the chemical stimulation of the PVN were eliminated in rats with UC. After AVP-Vl receptor antagonist ([Deamino-penl, val4, D-Arg8]-vasopressin) was injected into NTS or bilateral chemical damage to NTS, the protective effect of the chemical stimulation of PVN on UC was also eliminated. After chemical stimulation of the PVN, SOD activity increased, MDA content decreased, C-myc protein expression significantly increased, caspase-3 and Apaf-1 protein expression significantly decreased, and IL-6 and IL-17 expression decreased in colon tissues in rats with UC. CONCLUSION: Chemical stimulation of the hypothalamic PVN provides a protective effect against UC injury in rats. Hypothalamic PVN, NTS and vagus nerve play key roles in this process.

[Comparative Analysis of the Bacterial Community on Anodic Biofilms in Sediment Microbial Fuel Cell Under Open and Closed Circuits].

To investigate the differences in microbial community of anodic biofilms under open and closed circuits, sediment microbial fuel cell (SMFCs) reactors connecting with a 5 kΩ external resistance and open circuit during the start-up period were operated individually. Anodic biofilms were collected and analyzed using Solexa high-throughput sequencing technology. A total of 3936 and 3930 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were obtained from the anodic biofilms under open and closed circuits, respectively. After 97% similarity merging, 1581 and 1551 OTUs were finally determined from open and close circuit biofilms, respectively. The analysis of α diversity showed that bacterial diversity of anodic biofilm under open circuit was higher than that under closed circuit. The dominant bacterial were Proteobacteria, Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes for both open and closed circuits. They accounted for 59.79%, 12.54% and 9.02% under open circuit biofilm respectively; and these values were 63.02%, 10.01% and 3.60% in the closed circuit biofilm respectively, and Geobacter accounted for 16.55% in the closed circuit biofilm. The present study demonstrated that the electron transfer process during start-up period affected the microbial community structure of the anodic biofilms.

MicroRNA-107 promotes proliferation of gastric cancer cells by targeting cyclin dependent kinase 8.

BACKGROUND: The biological processes and molecular mechanisms underlying miR-107 remain unclear in gastric cancer(GC). In this study, we aimed to investigate the expression, biological functions and mechanisms of miR-107 in GC. METHODS: Quantitative real-time RT-PCR was used to test miR-107 expression. MTT and colony formation assays were conducted to explore the potential function of miR-107 in human GC cell line SGC7901. The target gene was determined by bioinformatic algorithms, dual luciferase reporter assay, RT-PCR and Western blot. RESULTS: Expression of miR-107 was significantly elevated in GC cell line than that in gastric epithelial cell line(p = 0.012). We found that miR-107 inhibitor transfection significantly decreased the proliferation of GC cell line, and clone formation rate of miR-107 inhibitor transfected group was significantly lower than that of control group. Luciferase assays using a reporter carrying a putative miR-107 target site in the 3'untranslated region (3'-UTR) of cyclin dependent kinase 8 (CDK8) revealed that miR-107 directly targets CDK8. The expression level of CDK8 mRNA and protein in miR-107 inhibitor transfected GC cell line was significantly decreased compared with control group. CONCLUSION: Our findings indicate that miR-107 is upregulated in GC and affects the proliferation of GC cells, partially through the regulation of CDK8. VIRTUAL SLIDES: The virtual slide(s) for this article can be found here: http://www.diagnosticpathology.diagnomx.eu/vs/13000_2014_164.

Microwave-assisted fabrication of nanoparticulate TiO(2) microspheres for synergistic photocatalytic removal of Cr(VI) and methyl orange.

High yield production of micro/nanostructured nanoparticulate TiO2 microspheres (NTMs) via a facile microwave-assisted hydrothermal approach was investigated. The rapid and uniform microwave heating could reduce the reaction time to 30 min, an order of magnitude shorter than that of conventional hydrothermal methods. The characterization data confirmed that the resultant NTMs were highly uniform in size, having an average diameter of ∼0.5 µm. The obtained NTMs were found to be constructed by well-crystallized anatase phase nanoparticles ranging from 5 to 10 nm that can be readily controlled by the microwave radiation temperature. Nitrogen sorption isotherm analysis revealed that the obtained NTMs possessed abundant mesoporous structures with a high specific surface area of 124 m(2) g(-1). An in situ self-aggregation formation process under controllable pH in presence of urea was proposed. The results obtained from the application of NTMs for simultaneous photocatalytic decontamination of Cr(VI) and methyl orange (MO) demonstrated a strong synergistic effect that dramatically enhanced both Cr(VI) reduction and MO oxidation removal efficiencies. This work not only enriched the synthesis methods of the micro/nanostructured TiO2, but also provided a new means to improve the photocatalytic efficiency via structural-induced synergistic effect, applicable to the other catalysis systems.

Tinea infection with scutula-like lesions caused by Microsporum gypseum in a SLE patient: case report and literature review.

Scutula are characteristic lesions of tinea favosa or favus; the most frequently identified causative organism is Trichophyton schoenleinii. Although scutula-like lesions were described in Microsporum gypseum infection, their presence on glabrous skin in a patient with SLE has not been reported previously. We report a case of tinea infection with scutula-like lesions caused by Microsporum gypseum in a SLE patient, who was treated with topical terbinafine cream, and the lesions resolved completely. In addition, we reviewed the reported cases about this rare clinical manifestation caused by Microsporum gypseum in the medical literature.

Tau expression correlated with breast cancer sensitivity to taxanes-based neoadjuvant chemotherapy.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the correlation between tau expression in primary breast cancer and sensitivity to taxanes during neoadjuvant chemotherapy in patients with breast cancer. We used immunohistochemistry to examine tau expression in breast cancer biopsies from 113 primary breast cancer patients and evaluated the correlation between tau expression and taxane sensitivity. Twenty-eight (24.78 %, 28/113) patients were positive for tau expression. After taxanes-based neoadjuvant chemotherapy, 40 patients achieved pathological complete response (pCR) (35.4 %). Among the 40 patients with pCR, five (12.5 %) were positive for tau expression. In univariate analysis, estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), and tau were found to be significantly predictive of a pCR (P = 0.001, 0.030, 0.002, and 0.025, respectively). Tau, ER, and HER2 status were significant for pCR on multivariate analysis (P = 0.025, 0.005, and 0.043, respectively). Tau expression was positively related to ER (P = 0.007) and progestin receptor (P = 0.008). In conclusion, tau protein expression correlated with breast cancer sensitivity to taxanes-based neoadjuvant chemotherapy; patients negative for tau expression were more likely to achieve pCR.

A MODEL FOR THE TEAR FILM AND OCULAR SURFACE TEMPERATURE FOR PARTIAL BLINKS.

In this paper, we investigate the dynamics of tear film and the associated temperature variation for partial blinks. We investigate the mechanism of fluid supply during partial blink cycles, and compare the film thickness with observation in vivo. We find that varying the thickness of the fluid layer beneath the moving upper lid improves the agreement for the in vivo measurement of tear film thickness after a half blink. By examining the flux of the fluid, we provide an explanation of this assumption. We also investigate the temperature dynamics both at the ocular surface and inside the simulated anterior chamber. Our simulation results suggest that the ocular surface temperature readjusts rapidly to normal temperature distribution after partial blinks.

Ag nanoparticle decorated nanoporous ZnO microrods and their enhanced photocatalytic activities.

Nanostructured Ag nanoparticles (Ag-NPs)/nanoporous ZnO micrometer-rods (n-ZnO MRs) have been synthesized by a two-step method. The n-ZnO MRs was initially prepared by solvothermal-assisted heat treatment. The rods had the diameter ranged from 90 to 150 nm and length between 0.5 and 3 µm. They were found to be porous and were composited of ZnO nanopartiles with size of about 20 nm. In the second stage, Ag-NPs with a diameter of 20-50 nm were anchored onto the surface of the as-prepared n-ZnO MRs by a photoreduction method. The Ag-NPs/n-ZnO MRs were evaluated for their ability to degrade methylene blue (MB) solution under visible to ultraviolet (UV) light irradiation. The rate of degradation of the as-prepared Ag-NPs/n-ZnO MRs was more than twice and nearly 5.6 times faster than that of using bare n-ZnO MRs under the UV and solar light irradiation, respectively. The formation of Schottky barriers in the regions between the Ag-NPs and n-ZnO MRs had improved the charge separation and consequently enhanced the efficiency of the degradation process. Moreover, the as-prepared hybrid structure exhibited high photostability, and 98% of degradation efficiency could be maintained even after being used five times. This endurance was attributed to the retardation of photocorrosion of ZnO as a result of the low concentration of surface defects in the as-prepared n-ZnO MRs. It also minimized the surface defects of the as-prepared n-ZnO MRs and consequently further inhibited the photocorrosion of ZnO when the deposited Ag-NPs were much more inclined to combine with the chemisorbed oxygen.