[Effect of Zhenwu Decoction on electrical remodeling of cardiomyocytes in heart failure via I_(to)/Kv channels].

This study aimed to investigate the underlying mechanism of Zhenwu Decoction in the treatment of heart failure by regulating electrical remodeling through the transient outward potassium current(I_(to))/voltage-gated potassium(Kv) channels. Five normal SD rats were intragastrically administered with Zhenwu Decoction granules to prepare drug-containing serum, and another seven normal SD rats received an equal amount of distilled water to prepare blank serum. H9c2 cardiomyocytes underwent conventional passage and were treated with angiotensin Ⅱ(AngⅡ) for 24 h. Subsequently, 2%, 4%, and 8% drug-containing serum, simvastatin(SIM), and BaCl_2 were used to interfere in H9c2 cardiomyocytes for 24 h. The cells were divided into a control group [N, 10% blank serum + 90% high-glucose DMEM(DMEM-H)], a model group(M, AngⅡ + 10% blank serum + 90% DMEM-H), a low-dose Zhenwu Decoction-containing serum group(Z1, AngⅡ + 2% drug-containing serum of Zhenwu Decoction + 8% blank serum + 90% DMEM-H), a medium-dose Zhenwu Decoction-containing serum group(Z2, AngⅡ + 4% drug-containing serum of Zhenwu Decoc-tion + 6% blank serum + 90% DMEM-H), a high-dose Zhenwu Decoction-containing serum group(Z3, AngⅡ + 8% drug-containing serum of Zhenwu Decoction + 2% blank serum + 90% DMEM-H), an inducer group(YD, AngⅡ + SIM + 10% blank serum + 90% DMEM-H), and an inhibitor group(YZ, AngⅡ + BaCl_2 + 10% blank serum + 90% DMEM-H). The content of ANP in cell extracts of each group was detected by ELISA. The relative mRNA expression levels of ANP, Kv1.4, Kv4.2, Kv4.3, DPP6, and KChIP2 were detected by real-time quantitative PCR. The protein expression of Kv1.4, Kv4.2, Kv4.3, DPP6, and KChIP2 was detected by Western blot. I_(to) was detected by the whole cell patch-clamp technique. The results showed that Zhenwu Decoction at low, medium, and high doses could effectively reduce the surface area of cardiomyocytes. Compared with the M group, the Z1, Z2, Z3, and YD groups showed decreased ANP content and mRNA level, increased protein and mRNA expression of Kv4.2, Kv4.3, DPP6, and KChIP2, and decreased protein and mRNA expression of Kv1.4, and the aforementioned changes were the most notable in the Z3 group. Compared with the N group, the Z1, Z2, and Z3 groups showed significantly increased peak current and current density of I_(to). The results indicate that Zhenwu Decoction can regulate myocardial remodeling and electrical remodeling by improving the expression trend of Kv1.4, Kv4.2, Kv4.3, KChIP2, and DPP6 proteins and inducing I_(to) to regulate Kv channels, which may be one of the mechanisms of Zhenwu Decoction in treating heart failure and related arrhythmias.

QTL mapping and identification of candidate genes for cold tolerance at the germination stage in wild rice.

BACKGROUND: Cold damage stress significantly affects rice growth (germination and seedling) and causes serious losses in yield in temperate and high-altitude areas around the globe. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to explore the cold tolerance (CT) locus of rice and create new cold-tolerant germplasm. We constructed a chromosome segment substitution line (CSSL) with strong CT and fine mapped quantitative trait loci (QTLs) associated with CT by performing the whole-genome resequencing of CSSL with phenotypes under cold treatment. METHODS: A chromosome CSSL, including 271 lines from a cross between the cold-tolerant wild rice Y11 (Oryza rufipogon Griff.) and the cold-sensitive rice variety GH998, was developed to map QTLs conferring CT at the germination stage. The whole-genome resequencing was performed on CSSL for mapping QTLs of associated with CT at the germination stage. RESULTS: A high-density linkage map of the CSSLs was developed using the whole-genome resequencing of 1484 bins. The QTL analysis using 615,466 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) led to the identification of 2 QTLs related to germination rate at low-temperature on chromosome 8 (qCTG-8) and chromosome 11 (qCTG-11). The qCTG-8 and qCTG-11 explained 14.55% and 14.31% of the total phenotypic variation, respectively. We narrowed down qCTG-8 and qCTG-11 to 195.5 and 78.83-kb regions, respectively. The expression patterns of important candidate genes in different tissues, and of RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) in CSSLs, were identified based on gene sequences in qCTG-8 and qCTG-11 cold-induced expression analysis. LOC_Os08g01120 and LOC_Os08g01390 were identified as candidate genes in qCTG-8, and LOC_Os11g32880 was identified as a candidate gene in qCTG-11. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated a general method that could be used to identify useful loci and genes in wild rice and aid in the future cloning of candidate genes of qCTG-8 and qCTG-11. The CSSLs with strong CT were supported for breeding cold-tolerant rice varieties.

Effect of Zhenwu Decoction on electrical remodeling of cardiomyocytes in heart failure via I_(to)/Kv channels / 中国中药杂志

This study aimed to investigate the underlying mechanism of Zhenwu Decoction in the treatment of heart failure by regulating electrical remodeling through the transient outward potassium current(I_(to))/voltage-gated potassium(Kv) channels. Five normal SD rats were intragastrically administered with Zhenwu Decoction granules to prepare drug-containing serum, and another seven normal SD rats received an equal amount of distilled water to prepare blank serum. H9c2 cardiomyocytes underwent conventional passage and were treated with angiotensin Ⅱ(AngⅡ) for 24 h. Subsequently, 2%, 4%, and 8% drug-containing serum, simvastatin(SIM), and BaCl_2 were used to interfere in H9c2 cardiomyocytes for 24 h. The cells were divided into a control group [N, 10% blank serum + 90% high-glucose DMEM(DMEM-H)], a model group(M, AngⅡ + 10% blank serum + 90% DMEM-H), a low-dose Zhenwu Decoction-containing serum group(Z1, AngⅡ + 2% drug-containing serum of Zhenwu Decoction + 8% blank serum + 90% DMEM-H), a medium-dose Zhenwu Decoction-containing serum group(Z2, AngⅡ + 4% drug-containing serum of Zhenwu Decoc-tion + 6% blank serum + 90% DMEM-H), a high-dose Zhenwu Decoction-containing serum group(Z3, AngⅡ + 8% drug-containing serum of Zhenwu Decoction + 2% blank serum + 90% DMEM-H), an inducer group(YD, AngⅡ + SIM + 10% blank serum + 90% DMEM-H), and an inhibitor group(YZ, AngⅡ + BaCl_2 + 10% blank serum + 90% DMEM-H). The content of ANP in cell extracts of each group was detected by ELISA. The relative mRNA expression levels of ANP, Kv1.4, Kv4.2, Kv4.3, DPP6, and KChIP2 were detected by real-time quantitative PCR. The protein expression of Kv1.4, Kv4.2, Kv4.3, DPP6, and KChIP2 was detected by Western blot. I_(to) was detected by the whole cell patch-clamp technique. The results showed that Zhenwu Decoction at low, medium, and high doses could effectively reduce the surface area of cardiomyocytes. Compared with the M group, the Z1, Z2, Z3, and YD groups showed decreased ANP content and mRNA level, increased protein and mRNA expression of Kv4.2, Kv4.3, DPP6, and KChIP2, and decreased protein and mRNA expression of Kv1.4, and the aforementioned changes were the most notable in the Z3 group. Compared with the N group, the Z1, Z2, and Z3 groups showed significantly increased peak current and current density of I_(to). The results indicate that Zhenwu Decoction can regulate myocardial remodeling and electrical remodeling by improving the expression trend of Kv1.4, Kv4.2, Kv4.3, KChIP2, and DPP6 proteins and inducing I_(to) to regulate Kv channels, which may be one of the mechanisms of Zhenwu Decoction in treating heart failure and related arrhythmias.

Comparative Ubiquitome Analysis Reveals Deubiquitinating Effects Induced by Wolbachia Infection in Drosophila melanogaster.

The endosymbiotic Wolbachia bacteria frequently cause cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI) in their insect hosts, where Wolbachia-infected males cross with uninfected females, leading to no or fewer progenies, indicating a paternal modification by Wolbachia. Recent studies have identified a Wolbachia protein, CidB, containing a DUB (deubiquitylating enzyme) domain, which can be loaded into host sperm nuclei and involved in CI, though the DUB activity is not necessary for CI in Drosophila melanogaster. To investigate whether and how Wolbachia affect protein ubiquitination in testes of male hosts and are thus involved in male fertility, we compared the protein and ubiquitinated protein expressions in D. melanogaster testes with and without Wolbachia. A total of 643 differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) and 309 differentially expressed ubiquitinated proteins (DEUPs) were identified to have at least a 1.5-fold change with a p-value of <0.05. Many DEPs were enriched in metabolic pathway, ribosome, RNA transport, and post-translational protein modification pathways. Many DEUPs were involved in metabolism, ribosome, and proteasome pathways. Notably, 98.1% DEUPs were downregulated in the presence of Wolbachia. Four genes coding for DEUPs in ubiquitin proteasome pathways were knocked down, respectively, in Wolbachia-free fly testes. Among them, Rpn6 and Rpn7 knockdown caused male sterility, with no mature sperm in seminal vesicles. These results reveal deubiquitylating effects induced by Wolbachia infection, suggesting that Wolbachia can widely deubiquitinate proteins that have crucial functions in male fertility of their hosts, but are not involved in CI. Our data provide new insights into the regulatory mechanisms of endosymbiont/host interactions and male fertility.

Knockdown of RpL36 in testes impairs spermatogenesis in Drosophila melanogaster.

Many ribosomal proteins (RPs) not only play essential roles in ribosome biogenesis, but also have "extraribosomal" functions in various cellular processes. RpL36 encodes ribosomal protein L36, a component of the 60S subunit of ribosomes in Drosophila melanogaster. We report here that RpL36 is required for spermatogenesis in D. melanogaster. After showing the evolutionary conservation of RpL36 sequences in animals, we revealed that the RpL36 expression level in fly testes was significantly higher than in ovaries. Knockdown RpL36 in fly testes resulted in a significantly decreased egg hatch rate when these males mated with wild-type females. Furthermore, 76.67% of the RpL36 knockdown fly testes were much smaller in comparison to controls. Immunofluorescence staining exhibited that in the RpL36 knockdown testis hub cell cluster was enlarged, while the number of germ cells, including germ stem cells, was reduced. Knockdown of RpL36 in fly testis caused much fewer or no mature sperms in seminal vesicles. The terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) signal was stronger in RpL36 knockdown fly testes than in the control testes, but the TUNEL-positive cells could not be stained by Vasa antibody, indicating that apoptotic cells are not germ cells. The percentage of pH3-positive cells among the Vasa-positive cells was significantly reduced. The expression of genes involved in cell death, cell cycle progression, and JAK/STAT signaling pathway was significantly changed by RpL36 knockdown in fly testes. These results suggest that RpL36 plays an important role in spermatogenesis, likely through JAK/STAT pathway, thus resulting in defects in cell-cycle progression and cell death in D. melanogaster testes.

Radiomics study for differentiating gastric cancer from gastric stromal tumor based on contrast-enhanced CT images.

PURPOSE: To test the feasibility of differentiate gastric cancer from gastric stromal tumor using a radiomics study based on contrast-enhanced CT images. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The contrast-enhanced CT image data of 60 patients with gastric cancer and 40 patients with gastric stromal tumor confirmed by postoperative pathology were retrospectively analyzed. First, CT images were read by two senior radiologists to acquire subjective CT signs model, including perigastric fatty infiltration, perigastric enlarged lymph nodes, the enhancement and growth modes of gastric tumors. Second, the manual segmentation of gastric tumors from the CT images was performed by the two radiologists to extract radiomics features via ITK-SNAP software, and to construct radiomics signature model. Finally, a diagnostic model integrated with subjective CT signs and radiomics signatures was constructed. The diagnostic efficacy of three models in differentiating gastric cancer from gastric stromal tumor was compared by using receiver operating characteristic curves (ROC). RESULTS: There are statistically significant differences between the gastric cancer and gastric stromal tumor in the perigastric enlarged lymph nodes, growth mode and radiomics signature (p < 0.05). The area under ROC curve (AUC), sensitivity and accuracy of subjective CT signs model were the lowest among the three models. While the combined model yields the highest AUC value (0.903), specificity (93.33%) and accuracy (86.00%) among the three models (p = 0.03). CONCLUSION: The diagnostic model integrating subjective CT signs and radiomics signature can improve the diagnostic accuracy of gastric tumors.

A pilot study of radiomics technology based on X-ray mammography in patients with triple-negative breast cancer.

PURPOSE: To explore the radiomics features of triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) and non-triple negative breast cancer (non-TNBC) based on X-ray mammography, and to differentiate the two groups of cases. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Preoperative mammograms of 120 patients with breast ductal carcinoma confirmed by surgical pathology were retrospectively analyzed, which include 30 TNBC and 90 non-TNBC patients. The manual segmentation of breast lesions was performed by ITK-SNAP software and 12 radiomics features were extracted by Omni-Kinetics software. The differences of these radiomics features between TNBC and non-TNBC groups were compared, and the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to determine the optimal cutoff value of each radiomics parameter for differentiating TNBC from non-TNBC, and the corresponding area under the curve (AUC), sensitivity and specificity were obtained. RESULTS: There were statistically significant differences for 4 radiomics features between TNBC and non-TNBC datasets (P < 0.05). They were the roundness, concavity, gray average and skewness of breast lesions. Compared with non-TNBC, TNBC cases have following characteristics of (1) more round with the roundness of 0.621 vs. 0.413 (P < 0.001), (2) more regular with the concavity of 0.087 vs. 0.141 (P < 0.01), (3) higher density or gray average (67.261 vs. 56.842, P < 0.05), and (4) lower skewness (- 0.837 vs.- 0.671, P = 0.034). AUCs of ROC curves computed using features of the roundness and concavity were both larger than 0.70. CONCLUSION: Radiomics features based on X-ray mammography may be helpful to distinguish between TNBC and non-TNBC, which were associated with breast tumor histology.

Supramolecular steric hindrance effect on morphologies and photophysical behaviors of spirocyclic aromatic hydrocarbon nanocrystals.

Three pyrene-based spirocyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (Py-SAHs) were prepared to clarify the roles of molecular segments in regulating the morphologies and photophysical properties of organic microcrystals. Due to the different supramolecular steric hindrance (SSH) effect between bulky groups and pyrene rings, distinct nanocrystal morphologies with unique photoluminescence properties were realized.

A pilot study of low-dose CT perfusion imaging (LDCTPI) technology in patients with triple-negative breast cancer.

PURPOSE: To investigate associations between the clinicopathologic features and CT perfusion parameters of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) and non-TNBC using low-dose computed tomography perfusion imaging (LDCTPI), and to find potential clinical applications in the prognosis assessment of TNBC. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 60 patients with breast cancer confirmed by pathological examination were studied prospectively using LDCTPI on a 64-slice spiral CT scanner. The acquired volume data were used for calculations, mapping, and analysis by using a tumor perfusion protocol in the CT perfusion software package to measure 2 parameters namely, blood flow (BF), and permeability surface (PS) area product. Patients were grouped into TNBC (n = 27) and non-TNBC (n = 33) subtypes. Associations between these two subtypes and clinicopathologic characteristics were evaluated by both univariate and multivariate logistic regression. CT perfusion parameters values were compared for clinicopathologic characteristics using independent 2-sample t test. RESULTS: TNBC displayed higher CT perfusion parameters values (BF: 57.56±10.94 vs 52.70±7.79 mL/100 g/min, p = 0.006; PS: 38.98±9.46 vs 33.39±8.07 mL/100 g/min, p = 0.001) than non-TNBC. In addition, breast cancer with poorly histologic grade or positive Ki-67 expression showed higher BF and PS values than those with well and moderately histologic grade or negative Ki-67 expression (p < 0.05). TNBC had poorer histologic grade (P = 0.032) and higher Ki-67 expression (P = 0.013) than non-TNBC. CONCLUSION: LDCTPI is a functional imaging technology from the perspective of hemodynamics with potential of clinical applications. The BF and PS values were higher in TNBC patient group than non-TNBC group. TNBC patients also have poorer clinicopathologic outcome.

A clinical application of dynamic contrast-enhanced CT (DCE-CT) in patients with variously differentiated breast ductal carcinoma.

PURPOSE: To explore the hemodynamic characteristics of variously differentiated breast ductal carcinoma (BDC) using the dynamic contrast-enhanced CT (DCE-CT) based CT perfusion imaging (CTPI), including the specific perfusion parameter values, and to identify potential clinical applications in the cell differentiation degree of BDC. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Forty patients with breast ductal carcinoma confirmed by needle puncture biopsy were studied prospectively using CTPI on a 64-slice spiral CT scanner. The acquired volume data were used for calculations, mapping, and analysis by using a tumor perfusion protocol in the CT perfusion software package to measure 4 parameters namely, blood flow (BF), blood volume (BV), mean transit time (MTT), and the permeability surface (PS) area product. The different differentiated BDC with CT perfusion parameters were divided into 3 groups of high, moderate and poor differentiation. The comparison among these groups were then made using statistical data analysis software. RESULTS: The patients were categorized into three groups of 12, 13, and 15 highly, moderately and poorly differentiated ductal carcinoma cases, respectively. Comparing the perfusion parameters values of the three groups, BF, BV, and PS values increased from highly to poorly differentiated BDC cases. Differences between the highly and moderately or poorly differentiated groups were all statistically significant for BF, BV, and PS values (p < 0.05), while MTT value showed no statistical difference among the three groups (p > 0.05). CONCLUSION: CTPI is a functional imaging technology from the perspective of hemodynamics with potential clinical applications. Three parameters of BF, BV and PS values have potential to serve as indicators of the cell differentiation degree of the breast ductal carcinoma.

An application study of low-dose computed tomography perfusion imaging (LDCTPI) in breast cancer and breast fibroadenoma.

PURPOSE: To explore the characteristics of breast cancer and breast fibroadenoma using low-dose computed tomography perfusion imaging (LDCTPI) including specific perfusion parameter values, and seek the potential clinical applications in cancer prognosis assessment. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifty patients including 30 diagnosed with breast cancer and 20 with breast fibroadenoma, as well as 15 control subjects with normal breasts were studied prospectively using LDCTPI examinations. The acquired volumetric imaging data were used for calculation, mapping and analysis by using a body tumor perfusion protocol in the CT perfusion software to measure 4 parameters: blood flow (BF), blood volume (BV), mean transit time (MTT), and the permeability surface (PS) area product. Statistical data analysis was then performed to distinguish the difference of the 4 parameter values among normal control, breast cancer and breast fibroadenoma cases. RESULTS: The mean perfusion values of 15 normal controls were as follows: BF, 20.03±4.08 mL/100 g/min; BV, 4.53±0.95 mL/100 g; MTT, 5.90±0.82 s; and PS, 9.25±1.18 mL/100 g/min. The mean perfusion values of 30 cancer patients were as follows: BF, 56.67±6.59 mL/100 g/min; BV, 5.82±0.68 mL/100 g; MTT, 6.01±0.82 s; and PS, 24.95±5.05 mL/100 g/min. The mean perfusion values of 20 patients with breast fibroadenoma were as follows: BF, 46.24±6.65 mL/100 g/min; BV, 5.07±0.73 mL/100 g; MTT, 7.51±0.62 s; and PS, 16.73±6.48 mL/100 g/min. Comparing the 3 groups, differences were all statistically significant for BF, BV, MTT and PS values (p < 0.05, respectively); The BF, BV, PS values were highest in group of cancer patients, while the MTT value was highest in group of patients diagnosed with breast fibroadenoma. CONCLUSION: Breast CT perfusion imaging is a promising functional imaging technology in breast cancer diagnosis, which can provide valuable quantitative imaging markers to assist evaluation of breast tumors.

SMART Design of a Bulk-Capped Supramolecular Segment for the Assembly into Organic Interdigital Lipid Bilayer-Like (ILB) Nanosheets.

Rational molecular design for the organic nanocrystal morphology still remains a challenge due to the structural diversity and complicated weak intermolecular interactions. In this work, a typical attractor-repulsor molecule N,N-diphenyl-4-(9-phenyl-fluoren-9-yl) phenylamine (TPA-PF) is designed to explore a general assembly strategy for 2D nanocrystals. Via an interdigital lipid bilayer-like (ILB) molecular packing mode, large-sized lamellar 2D nanosheets are obtained with a length:width:thickness ratio as ≈2500:1000:1. The d-spacing of the largest (001) plane is 1.32 nm, which equals to the thickness of a single interdigital stacking layer. The synergetic effect of the attractive supramolecular segment (TPA) and the repulsive bulky group (PF) is supposed to be the critical factor for the ILB packing that leads to the 2D structures. The attractor-repulsor molecule design is expected to be an effective strategy for the growth of 2D nanocrystals based on small organic molecules.

Can low-dose CT perfusion imaging accurately assess response of advanced gastric cancer with neoadjuvant chemotherapy?

PURPOSE: To explore the value of low-dose CT perfusion imaging (LDCTPI) technology and its perfusion parameters in assessing response of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) in patients with advanced gastric cancer (AGC). METHODS: Thirty patients with AGC were studied prospectively by LDCTPI to measure two parameters including blood flow (BF) and blood volume (BV) of tumor area before and after chemotherapy, respectively. All of the patients received two courses of NAC and surgical resection of gastric tumor within one week after chemotherapy, and then obtained the result of postoperative pathology response for chemotherapy. The comparisons of BF and BV values of AGC before and after chemotherapy were analyzed by paired-samples t-test, respectively; and the correlations between BF as well as BV decrease rates after NAC and the pathology response grade were analyzed by Spearman statistical test. Thirty patients were divided into effective and ineffective groups according to different pathology response grade. Comparisons of BF as well as BV decrease rates between effective and ineffective groups were analyzed by independent-samples t-test, respectively. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to determine the cutoff values of BF and BV decrease rates as evaluation indicators of AGC after NAC and calculate area under the curve (AUC). RESULTS: There were significant differences in BF and BV values of AGC between before and after NAC (p < 0.001), respectively, and there were obvious correlations between BF as well as BV decrease rates and pathology response grade (r = 0.660, p < 0.001; r = 0.706, p < 0.001), respectively. There were also significant differences in BF and BV decrease rates of AGC between effective and ineffective groups (P = 0.001), respectively. If BF decrease rate of 12.1% (AUC was 0.816, P = 0.005) was used as the cutoff value for chemotherapy effectiveness of AGC, the sensitivity of 82% and specificity of 84% were achieved, and if BV decrease rate of 32.8% (AUC was 0.844, P = 0.002) was used as the cutoff value for chemotherapy effectiveness of AGC, the sensitivity of 82% and specificity of 89% were achieved. CONCLUSIONS: BF and BV decrease rates have potential to be used as effective indicators to assess chemotherapy efficacy of AGC from the hemodynamics.

The feasibility of low-dose CT perfusion imaging in gastric cancer.

PURPOSE: To investigate feasibility of applying low-dose CT perfusion imaging (CTPI) to diagnose gastric cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty patients with gastric cancer confirmed by endoscopic biopsy were undergone routine dose (120 kV, 100 mA) and low-dose (120 kV, 50 mA) CTPI examination, respectively. The original data were processed by body perfusion software, and the perfusion parameters values including blood flow (BF), blood volume (BV) and permeability surface (PS) of gastric cancer were measured. Statistical data analyses including paired-samples t test, Pearson correlation analysis and Bland-Altman consistency test were used to compare the perfusion parameters values between the routine dose and low-dose CTPI examinations. Radiation dosage, which the patients received during two CTPI examinations, was also calculated and compared. RESULTS: There were no statistical differences in the BF, BV and PS values between routine dose group and low-dose group (P > 0.05), and there were significant correlation in the BF, BV and PS values between two groups (P <  0.01). The consistency of BF and BV values between the two groups was preferable to that of PS value. The radiation dosage of the low-dose group was much less than that of routine dose group, and the CTDIvol and DLP values of low-dose CTPI were decreased by 50%, respectively. CONCLUSION: The parameters BF and BV values may play a valuable role in the diagnosis and assessment of gastric cancer in low-dose CTPI examination.

Living and Conducting: Coating Individual Bacterial Cells with In†Situ Formed Polypyrrole.

Coating individual bacterial cells with conjugated polymers to endow them with more functionalities is highly desirable. Here, we developed an in situ polymerization method to coat polypyrrole on the surface of individual Shewanella oneidensis MR-1, Escherichia coli, Ochrobacterium anthropic or Streptococcus thermophilus. All of these as-coated cells from different bacterial species displayed enhanced conductivities without affecting viability, suggesting the generality of our coating method. Because of their excellent conductivity, we employed polypyrrole-coated Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 as an anode in microbial fuel cells (MFCs) and found that not only direct contact-based extracellular electron transfer is dramatically enhanced, but also the viability of bacterial cells in MFCs is improved. Our results indicate that coating individual bacteria with conjugated polymers could be a promising strategy to enhance their performance or enrich them with more functionalities.

Knockdown of Dynamitin in testes significantly decreased male fertility in Drosophila melanogaster.

Dynamitin (Dmn) is a major component of dynactin, a multiprotein complex playing important roles in a variety of intracellular motile events. We previously found that Wolbachia bacterial infection resulted in a reduction of Dmn protein. As Wolbachia may modify sperm in male hosts, we speculate that Dmn may have a function in male fertility. Here we used nosGal4 to drive Dmn knock down in testes of Drosophila melanogaster to investigate the functions of Dmn in spermatogenesis. We found that knockdown of Dmn in testes dramatically decreased male fertility, overexpression of Dmn in Wolbachia-infected males significantly rescued male fertility, indicating an important role of Dmn in inducing male fertility defects following Wolbachia infection. Some scattered immature sperm with late canoe-shaped head distributed in the end of Dmn knockdown testis and only about half mature sperm were observed in the Dmn knockdown testis relative to those in the control. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) exhibited fused spermatids in cysts and abnormal mitochondrial derivatives. Immunofluorescence staining showed significantly less abundance of tubulin around the nucleus of spermatid and scattered F-actin cones to different extents in the individualization complex (IC) during spermiogenesis in Dmn knockdown testes, which may disrupt the nuclear condensation and sperm individualization. Since dynein-dynactin complex has been shown to mediate transport of many cellular components, including mRNAs and organelles, these results suggest that Dmn may play an important role in Drosophila spermiogenesis by affecting transport of many important cytoplasmic materials.

Nanostructured Conjugated Polymers for Energy-Related Applications beyond Solar Cells.

To meet the ever-increasing requirements for the next generation of sustainable and versatile energy-related devices, conjugated polymers, which have potential advantages over small molecules and inorganic materials, are among the most promising types of green candidates. The properties of conjugated polymers can be tuned through modification of the structure and incorporation of different functional moieties. In addition, superior performances can be achieved as a result of the advantages of nanostructures, such as their large surface areas and the shortened pathways for charge transfer. Therefore, nanostructured conjugated polymers with different properties can be obtained to be applied in different energy-related organic devices. This review focuses on the application and performance of the recently reported nanostructured conjugated polymers for high-performance devices, including rechargeable lithium batteries, microbial fuel cells (MFCs), thermoelectric generators, and photocatalytic systems. The design strategies, reaction mechanisms, advantages, and limitations of nanostructured conjugated polymers are further discussed in each section. Finally, possible routes to improve the performances of the current systems are also included in the conclusion.

Quantitative Proteomic Analyses of Molecular Mechanisms Associated with Cytoplasmic Incompatibility in Drosophila melanogaster Induced by Wolbachia.

To investigate the molecular mechanisms of cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI) induced by Wolbachia bacteria in Drosophila melanogaster, we applied an isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantitation (iTRAQ)-based quantitative proteomic assay to identify differentially expressed proteins extracted from spermathecae and seminal receptacles (SSR) of uninfected females mated with either 1-day-old Wolbachia-uninfected (1T) or infected males (1W) or 5-day-old infected males (5W). In total, 1317 proteins were quantified; 83 proteins were identified as having at least a 1.5-fold change in expression when 1W was compared with 1T. Differentially expressed proteins were related to metabolism, immunity, and reproduction. Wolbachia changed the expression of seminal fluid proteins (Sfps). Wolbachia may disrupt the abundance of proteins in SSR by affecting ubiquitin-proteasome-mediated proteolysis. Knocking down two Sfp genes (CG9334 and CG2668) in Wolbachia-free males resulted in significantly lower embryonic hatch rates with a phenotype of chromatin bridges. Wolbachia-infected females may rescue the hatch rates. This suggests that the changed expression of some Sfps may be one of the mechanisms of CI induced by Wolbachia. This study provides a panel of candidate proteins that may be involved in the interaction between Wolbachia and their insect hosts and, through future functional studies, may help to elucidate the underlying mechanisms of Wolbachia-induced CI.

Role of CT perfusion imaging in patients with variously differentiated gastric adenocarcinoma.

PURPOSE: To explore the characteristics of variously differentiated gastric cancers on computed tomography (CT) perfusion imaging, including specific perfusion parameter values, and potential clinical applications in the prognosis assessment of gastric cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifty patients with gastric cancer confirmed by gastroscope pathology were studied prospectively using CT perfusion imaging examinations on a 64-slice spiral CT scanner. The acquired volume data were used for calculations, mapping, and analysis by using an abdominal tumor perfusion protocol (deconvolution method) in the CT perfusion software package to measure 4 parameters: blood flow (BF), blood volume (BV), mean transit time (MTT), and the permeability surface (PS) area product. The different differentiated Gastric cancers with CT perfusion values were divided into 3 groups: well-differentiated, moderately differentiated and poorly differentiated gastric adenocarcinoma, and compared statistically with one another by statistical software. RESULTS: The mean perfusion values of 10 patients with well-differentiated gastric adenocarcinoma were as follows: BF, 75.28 ± 6.81 mL/100 g/min; BV, 9.01 ± 0.94 mL/100 g; MTT, 9.89 ± 1.65 s; and PS, 10.05 ± 0.71 mL/100 g/min. The mean perfusion values of 24 patients with moderately differentiated gastric adenocarcinoma were as follows: BF, 110.01 ± 31.90 mL/100 g/min; BV, 18.18 ± 5.62 mL/100 g; MTT, 9.81 ± 3.69 s; and PS, 40.08 ± 15.82 mL/100 g/min. The mean perfusion values of 16 patients with poorly differentiated gastric adenocarcinoma were as follows: BF, 138.59 ± 38.09 mL/100 g/min; BV, 21.08 ± 4.11 mL/100 g; MTT, 9.47 ± 1.80 s; and PS, 57.50 ± 13.28 mL/100 g/min. Comparing the 3 groups, differences between the well-differentiated group and the moderate differentiation group were all statistically significant for BF, BV, and PS (p < 0.05, respectively), differences between the well-differentiated group and the poor differentiation group were all statistically significant for BF, BV, and PS (p < 0.05,respectively) as well; While MTT value showed no statistical difference among the 3 groups (p > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Stomach CT perfusion imaging is a functional imaging technology from the perspective of hemodynamics with potential clinical applications. The BF, BV and PS values could serve as indicators of the degree of malignancy and aid in prognostic assessment of gastric cancer.

Spirocyclic aromatic hydrocarbon-based organic nanosheets for eco-friendly aqueous processed thin-film non-volatile memory devices.

Supramolecular steric hindrance designs make pyrene-functionalized spiro[fluorene-9,7'-dibenzo[c,h]acridine]-5'-one (Py-SFDBAO) assemble into 2D nanostructures that facilitate aqueous phase large-area synthesis of high-quality and uniform crystalline thin films. Thin-film diodes using aqueous nanosheets as active layers exhibit a non-volatile bistable electrical switching feature with ON/OFF ratios of 6.0 × 10(4) and photoswitching with conductive gains of 10(2) -10(3). Organic nanosheets are potentially key components for eco-friendly aqueous dispersed organic nano-inks in the application of printed and flexible electronics.