Heat-Stress Impacts on Developing Bovine Oocytes: Unraveling Epigenetic Changes, Oxidative Stress, and Developmental Resilience.

Extreme temperature during summer may lead to heat stress in cattle and compromise their productivity. It also poses detrimental impacts on the developmental capacity of bovine budding oocytes, which halt their fertility. To mitigate the adverse effects of heat stress, it is necessary to investigate the mechanisms through which it affects the developmental capacity of oocytes. The primary goal of this study was to investigate the impact of heat stress on the epigenetic modifications in bovine oocytes and embryos, as well as on oocyte developmental capacity, reactive oxygen species, mitochondrial membrane potential, apoptosis, transzonal projections, and gene expression levels. Our results showed that heat stress significantly reduced the expression levels of the epigenetic modifications from histone H1, histone H2A, histone H2B, histone H4, DNA methylation, and DNA hydroxymethylation at all stages of the oocyte and embryo. Similarly, heat stress significantly reduced cleavage rate, blastocyst rate, oocyte mitochondrial-membrane potential level, adenosine-triphosphate (ATP) level, mitochondrial DNA copy number, and transzonal projection level. It was also found that heat stress affected mitochondrial distribution in oocytes and significantly increased reactive oxygen species, apoptosis levels and mitochondrial autophagy levels. Our findings suggest that heat stress significantly impacts the expression levels of genes related to oocyte developmental ability, the cytoskeleton, mitochondrial function, and epigenetic modification, lowering their competence during the summer season.

Study on the Antitumor Mechanism of Tanshinone IIA In Vivo and In Vitro through the Regulation of PERK-ATF4-HSPA5 Pathway-Mediated Ferroptosis.

As a traditional Chinese medicine, Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge was first recorded in the Shennong Materia Medica Classic and is widely used to treat "the accumulation of symptoms and masses". The main active ingredient of Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge, Tanshinone IIA (TIIA), has shown anti-inflammatory, antitumor, antifibrosis, antibacterial, and antioxidative activities, etc. In this study, the results showed that TIIA could inhibit the proliferation and migration of HepG2 cells and downregulate glutathione (GSH) and Glutathione Peroxidase 4 (GPX4) levels; besides, TIIA induced the production of Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS), and upregulated the total iron content. Based on network pharmacology analysis, the antitumor effect of TIIA was found to be focused on the endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-mediated ferroptosis signaling pathway, with protein kinase R (PKR)-like ER kinase (PERK)-activating transcription factor 4 (ATF4)-heat shock 70 kDa protein 5 (HSPA5) as the main pathway. Herein, TIIA showed typical ferroptosis characteristics, and a ferroptosis inhibitor (ferrostatin-1) was used to verify the effect. The antitumor effects of TIIA, occurring through the inhibition of the PERK-ATF4-HSPA5 pathway, were further observed in vivo as significantly inhibited tumor growth and the improved pathological morphology of tumor tissue in H22-bearing mice. In summary, the antitumor mechanism of TIIA might be related to the downregulation of the activation of PERK-ATF4-HSPA5 pathway-mediated ferroptosis.

Effects of Regulating Hippo and Wnt on the Development and Fate Differentiation of Bovine Embryo.

The improvement of in vitro embryo development is a gateway to enhance the output of assisted reproductive technologies. The Wnt and Hippo signaling pathways are crucial for the early development of bovine embryos. This study investigated the development of bovine embryos under the influence of a Hippo signaling agonist (LPA) and a Wnt signaling inhibitor (DKK1). In this current study, embryos produced in vitro were cultured in media supplemented with LPA and DKK1. We comprehensively analyzed the impact of LPA and DKK1 on various developmental parameters of the bovine embryo, such as blastocyst formation, differential cell counts, YAP fluorescence intensity and apoptosis rate. Furthermore, single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) was employed to elucidate the in vitro embryonic development. Our results revealed that LPA and DKK1 improved the blastocyst developmental potential, total cells, trophectoderm (TE) cells and YAP fluorescence intensity and decreased the apoptosis rate of bovine embryos. A total of 1203 genes exhibited differential expression between the control and LPA/DKK1-treated (LD) groups, with 577 genes upregulated and 626 genes downregulated. KEGG pathway analysis revealed significant enrichment of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) associated with TGF-beta signaling, Wnt signaling, apoptosis, Hippo signaling and other critical developmental pathways. Our study shows the role of LPA and DKK1 in embryonic differentiation and embryo establishment of pregnancy. These findings should be helpful for further unraveling the precise contributions of the Hippo and Wnt pathways in bovine trophoblast formation, thus advancing our comprehension of early bovine embryo development.

The correlation between pregnancy-related low back pain and physical fitness evaluated by an index system of maternal physical fitness test.

To investigate incidence of pregnancy-related low back pain (LBP), evaluate physical fitness objectively during pregnancy and analyze the correlation between LBP and physical fitness of pregnant women, 180 pregnant women including 101 in mid-gestation (14-28 gestational weeks) and 79 in late-gestation (28-37 gestational weeks) were recruited and self-reported their LBP. The aerobic ability such as cardiorespiratory fitness and anaerobic ability including strength, endurance, speed, flexibility, and balance were evaluated by a novel materal physical fitness test system. The correlation between LBP and each component in physical fitness test system was analyzed in SPSS. As the results, 135 out of 180 participants (75% of total) had pregnancy-related LBP. Physical fitness of participants in late-gestation was significantly weaker including weaker back strength (p<0.05), less resistance band pullbacks in 30s (p<0.01), less stretching in sit-and-reach test (p<0.001), shorter duration in left legged blind balance test (p<0.05) and weaker bird dog balance(p<0.05) than those in mid-gestation. Correlation analysis indicated that LBP was negatively associated with standing heel raises in 20s (p<0.01) and standing glute kickbacks in 30s (left p<0.01, right p<0.05). Thus, it is concluded that LBP is in high prevalence throughout the entire pregnant course. The pregnant women are prone to have weakened strength of core muscle groups and poorer flexibility and balance along the pregnancy. In addition, their LBP was negatively correlated to strength of back muscle groups of lower limbs.

Distinct ACC Neural Mechanisms Underlie Authentic and Transmitted Anxiety Induced by Maternal Separation in Mice.

It is known that humans and rodents are capable of transmitting stress to their naive partners via social interaction. However, a comprehensive understanding of transmitted stress, which may differ from authentic stress, thus revealing unique neural mechanisms of social interaction resulting from transmitted stress and the associated anxiety, is missing. We used, in the present study, maternal separation (MS) as a stress model to investigate whether MS causes abnormal behavior in adolescence. A key concern in the analysis of stress transmission is whether the littermates of MS mice who only witness MS stress ("Partners") exhibit behavioral abnormalities similar to those of MS mice themselves. Of special interest is the establishment of the neural mechanisms underlying transmitted stress and authentic stress. The results show that Partners, similar to MS mice, exhibit anxiety-like behavior and hyperalgesia after witnessing littermates being subjected to early-life repetitive MS. Electrophysiological analysis revealed that mice subjected to MS demonstrate a reduction in both the excitatory and inhibitory synaptic activities of parvalbumin interneurons (PVINs) in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). However, Partners differed from MS mice in showing an increase in the number and excitability of GABAergic PVINs in the ACC and in the ability of chemogenetic PVIN inactivation to eliminate abnormal behavior. Furthermore, the social transfer of anxiety-like behavior required intact olfactory, but not visual, perception. This study suggests a functional involvement of ACC PVINs in mediating the distinct neural basis of transmitted anxiety.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is a critical brain area in physical and social pain and contributes to the exhibition of abnormal behavior. ACC glutamatergic neurons have been shown to encode transmitted stress, but it remains unclear whether inhibitory ACC neurons also play a role. We evaluate, in this study, ACC neuronal, synaptic and network activities and uncover a critical role of parvalbumin interneurons (PVINs) in the expression of transmitted stress in adolescent mice who had witnessed MS of littermates in infancy. Furthermore, inactivation of ACC PVINs blocks transmitted stress. The results suggest that emotional contagion has a severe effect on brain function, and identify a potential target for the treatment of transmitted anxiety.

Effects of Shenling Baizhu powder on intestinal microflora metabolites and liver mitochondrial energy metabolism in nonalcoholic fatty liver mice.

Background & purpose: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is characterised by the excessive accumulation of triglycerides in the liver. Shenling Baizhu powder (SLBZP) is formulated from various natural medicinal plants that protect the liver and are used to treat intestinal diseases. SLBZP improves the symptoms of NAFLD. However, its mechanism of action remains unclear. Herein, we investigated the ameliorative effect of SLBZP on model mice with high-fat-diet (HFD)-induced NAFLD. Additionally, we evaluated the impact of SLBZP on the intestinal flora and its metabolites and mitochondrial energy metabolism in NAFLD. Methods: We used HFD to establish a mouse model of NAFLD. Different drug interventions were administered. We measured serum biochemical indices. Liver sections were visualised with hematoxylin-eosin and oil red O staining. 16S rDNA amplicon sequencing technology was used to analyse the diversity and abundance of the intestinal flora. Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) in the intestinal contents were detected using GC-MS. Liver tissue was sampled to detect mitochondrial membrane functional indices. Western blotting was used to determine the levels of mitochondrial pathway-related proteins, namely, uncoupling protein 2 (UCP2), adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and inhibitory factor 1 (IF1) of F1Fo ATP synthesis/hydrolase, in the liver. Results: The spleen-invigorating classic recipe of SLBZP reduced liver lipid deposition in mice with HFD-induced NAFLD. Additionally, SCFAs produced by intestinal flora metabolism regulated the UCP2/AMPK/IF1 signalling pathway involved in liver mitochondrial energy metabolism to improve the liver mitochondrial membrane permeability, respiratory state and oxidative phosphorylation efficiency of mice with NAFLD. Finally, SLBZP increased the liver ATP level. Conclusion: Our results suggest that the therapeutic effect of SLBZP on NAFLD is related to the regulation of hepatic mitochondrial energy metabolism by intestinal flora and its metabolites and is possibly associated with the UCP2/AMPK/IF1 signalling pathway.

Temporal-spatial binary encoding method based on dynamic threshold optimization for 3D shape measurement.

The binary encoding method has been widely used for three-dimensional (3D) shape measurement due to the high-speed projection characteristics of its digital mirror device (DMD)-based projector. However, traditional binary encoding methods require a larger defocus to achieve a good sinusoidality, leading to a reduction in the measurement depth of field and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of captured images, which can adversely affect the accuracy of phase extraction, particularly high-frequency fringes for 3D reconstruction. This paper proposes a spatial-temporal binary encoding method based on dynamic threshold optimization for 3D shape measurement. The proposed method decomposes an 8-bit sinusoidal fringe pattern into multiple(K) binary patterns, which can be outlined into two steps: determining the dynamic threshold and then performing temporal-spatial error diffusion encoding. By using an integral imaging strategy, approximate sinusoidal patterns can be obtained under nearly focused projection, which can then be subjected to absolute phase unwrapping and 3D reconstruction. The experiments show that compared to the three comparative algorithms under the same experimental conditions, this proposed method improves the reconstruction error of measuring a plane and an object by at least 13.66% and 12.57% when K=2. The dynamic experimental result on the palm confirms that the proposed method can reliably reconstruct the 3D shape of the moving object.

Prognostic Value of Neutrophil to Lymphocyte Ratio for Predicting 90-Day Poor Outcomes in Hospitalized Patients with Acute Exacerbation of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the predictive value of neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) for poor outcomes within 90-day in hospitalized patients with acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD). Methods: A retrospective study including 503 AECOPD patients was performed, and the subjects' clinical characteristics were collected. Binary logistic regression analysis was used to identify risk factors for 90-day poor outcomes in patients with AECOPD. Receiver-operating characteristic curves (ROC) and areas under the curves (AUC) were used to assess the ability of different biomarkers to predict the risk of 90-day mortality, readmission and re-exacerbation in patients with AECOPD. Results: During the follow-up, 188 patients (38.4%) redeveloped exacerbations, 112 patients (22.9%) were readmitted, and 20 patients (4.1%) died directly resulted from COPD or COPD-related causes. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that age>72 years (OR: 14.817, 95% CI: 1.561-140.647), NLR>14.17 (OR: 9.611, 95% CI: 2.303-40.113), EOS<0.15% (OR: 8.621, 95% CI: 3.465-34.913) and BNP>2840ng/L (OR: 5.291, 95% CI: 1.367-20.474) at discharge were independent risk factors for 90-day mortality in AECOPD patients. NLR was the optimal biomarker for predicting 90-day mortality with an AUC of 0.802 (95% CI: 0.631-0.973). Using 14.17 as the critical value of NLR, the sensitivity was 76.7%, and the specificity was 88.9%. Compared with mortality, NLR had no significant advantage in predicting risk of short-term re-exacerbation (AUC=0.580, 95% CI:0.529-0.632, p=0.001) and readmission (AUC=0.555, 95% CI:0.497-0.614, p=0.045), with AUCs less than 0.6. In contrast, the predictive value of EOS (AUC=0.561, 95% CI:0.502-0.621, p=0.038) was slightly better than NLR in terms of readmission within 90 days. CRP did not serve as a well predictive biomarker for the risk of readmission and re-deterioration (p>0.05). Conclusion: NLR is of great value in predicting the risk of poor outcomes, especially COPD associated mortality, in hospitalized patients with AECOPD within 90 days after discharge.

Effects of ß-Nicotinamide Mononucleotide, Berberine, and Cordycepin on Lipid Droplet Content and Developmental Ability of Vitrified Bovine Oocytes.

Oocyte vitrification is crucial for livestock reproduction, germplasm conservation, and human-assisted reproduction, but the overabundance of lipids is highly detrimental to oocyte development. It is necessary to reduce the lipid droplet content of oocytes before cryopreservation. This study analyzed the impact of ß-nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN), berberine (BER), or cordycepin (COR) on various aspects of bovine oocytes, including lipid droplet content and the expression levels of genes related to lipid synthesis in bovine oocytes, development ability, reactive oxygen species (ROS), apoptosis, and the expression levels of genes associated with endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, and mitochondrial function in vitrified bovine oocytes. The results of our study indicated that 1 µM NMN, 2.5 µM BER, and 1 µM COR were effective in reducing the lipid droplet content and suppressing the expression levels of genes involved in lipid synthesis in bovine oocytes. Our findings showed that the vitrified bovine oocytes treated with 1 µM of NMN had a significantly higher survival rate and better development ability compared to the other vitrified groups. Additionally, 1 µM NMN, 2.5 µM BER, and 1 µM COR decreased the levels of ROS and apoptosis, decreased the mRNA expression levels of genes involved in ER stress and mitochondrial fission but increased the mRNA expression levels of genes associated with mitochondrial fusion in the vitrified bovine oocytes. Our study results suggested that 1 µM NMN, 2.5 µM BER, and 1 µM COR effectively decreased the lipid droplet content and enhanced the development ability of vitrified bovine oocytes by lowering ROS levels, reducing ER stress, regulating mitochondrial function, and inhibiting apoptosis. Furthermore, the results showed that 1 µM NMN was more effective than 2.5 µM BER and 1 µM COR.

High-density frustrated Lewis pairs based on Lamellar Nb2O5 for photocatalytic non-oxidative methane coupling.

Photocatalytic methane conversion requires a strong polarization environment composed of abundant activation sites with the robust stretching ability for C-H scissoring. High-density frustrated Lewis pairs consisting of low-valence Lewis acid Nb and Lewis base Nb-OH are fabricated on lamellar Nb2O5 through a thermal-reduction promoted phase-transition process. Benefitting from the planar atomic arrangement of lamellar Nb2O5, the frustrated Lewis pairs sites are highly exposed and accessible to reactants, which results in a superior methane conversion rate of 1456 µmol g-1 h-1 for photocatalytic non-oxidative methane coupling without the assistance of noble metals. The time-dependent DFT calculation demonstrates the photo-induced electron transfer from LA to LB sites enhances their intensities in a concerted way, promoting the C-H cleavage through the coupling of LA and LB. This work provides in-depth insight into designing and constructing a polarization micro-environment for photocatalytic C-H activation of methane without the assistance of noble metals.

Combination of CNP, MT and FLI during IVM Significantly Improved the Quality and Development Abilities of Bovine Oocytes and IVF-Derived Embryos.

Oocyte maturation is a critical step in the completion of female gametogenesis in the ovary; thus, for subsequent fertilization and embryogenesis. Vitrification of embryo also has been shown to be closely associated with oocyte maturation. To improve the quality and developmental potential of bovine oocytes derived from in vitro maturation (IVM), Pre-IVM with C-type natriuretic peptide (CNP), melatonin (MT) and in combination, IGF1, FGF2, LIF (FLI) were supplemented in the IVM medium. In this current study, we cultured bovine oocytes in Pre-IVM with CNP for 6 h before transferring them to the IVM medium supplemented with MT and FLI. The developmental potential of bovine oocytes was then investigated by measuring the reactive oxygen species (ROS), the intracellular glutathione (GSH) and ATP levels, the transzonal projections (TZP), the mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm), cacline-AM, and the expression of related genes (cumulus cells (CCs), oocytes, blastocysts). The results revealed that oocytes treated with a combination of CNP, MT, and FLI had dramatically improved the percentage of oocytes developed to blastocyst, ATP content, GSH levels, TZP intensity, the ΔΨm, cacline-AM fluorescence intensity, and considerably reduced ROS levels of oocytes. Furthermore, the survival rate and the hatched rate after vitrification of the CNP+MT+FLI group were significantly higher than those other groups. Thus, we speculated that CNP+MT+FLI increases the IVM of bovine oocytes. In conclusion, our findings deepen our understanding and provide new perspectives on targeting the combination of CNP, MT and FLI to enhance the quality and developmental potential of bovine oocytes.

Bioactive C21 Steroidal Glycosides from Euphorbia kansui Promoted HepG2 Cell Apoptosis via the Degradation of ATP1A1 and Inhibited Macrophage Polarization under Co-Cultivation.

Euphorbia kansui is clinically used for the treatment of esophageal cancer, lung cancer, cancerous melanoma, asthma, pleural disorders, ascites, and pertussis, among other conditions. In this study, 12 steroids were obtained and identified from E. kansui, and cynsaccatol L (5), which showed the best effects in terms of inhibiting the proliferation of HepG2 cells and the immune regulation of macrophages. Furthermore, 5 induced typical apoptotic characteristics in HepG2 cells, such as morphological changes and the caspase cascade, as well as inducing autophagy-dependent apoptosis via mitochondrial dysfunction and reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation. The antitumor mechanism of 5 might be related to promoting the endocytosis and degradation of ATP1A1 protein and then down-regulating the downstream AKT and ERK signaling pathways. Furthermore, the antiproliferation effect of 5 in co-cultivation with macrophages was investigated, which showed that 5 promoted the apoptosis of HepG2 cells by modulating the release of inflammatory cytokines, such as TNF-α and IFN-γ; regulating the M2-subtype polarization of macrophages; promoting the phagocytosis of macrophages. In conclusion, 5 exerted anti-proliferative effects by promoting the degradation of ATP1A1 and inhibiting the ATP1A1-AKT/ERK signaling pathway in HepG2. Furthermore, it regulated macrophage function in co-cultivation, thereby further exerting adjuvant anti-HepG2 activity.

The Impact of Lung Cancer in Patients with Combined Pulmonary Fibrosis and Emphysema (CPFE).

Given the high risk of lung cancer (LC) in patients with combined pulmonary fibrosis and emphysema (CPFE), and the difficulty of early diagnosis, it is important to understand the impact of LC in these patients. The effect of LC on the development of acute exacerbation (AE) as a natural course of CPFE is still unknown. We retrospectively reviewed medical records of patients at the West China Hospital and enrolled 59 patients with CPFE combined with LC and 68 CPFE patients without LC for initial diagnosis matched in the same period. We compared the clinical characteristics and imaging features of CPFE patients with LC and without LC, and analyzed the associated factors for the prevalence of LC using binary logistic regression. Cox proportional hazards regression analysis was performed to explore risk factors of AE as a natural course of CPFE. Patients with CPFE combined with LC were more common among elderly male smokers. The most common pathological type of tumor was adenocarcinoma (24/59, 40.7%) and squamous cell carcinoma (18/59, 30.5%). Compared with those in the without LC group, the proportions of men, and ex- or current smokers, and the levels of smoking pack-years, serum CRP, IL-6, fibrinogen, complement C3 and C4 in patients with LC were significantly higher (p < 0.05). There was no significant difference in the proportion of natural-course-related AE (10.2% vs. 16.2%, p > 0.05) between the two groups. Logistic regression analysis demonstrated that pack-years ≥ 20 (OR: 3.672, 95% CI: 1.165-11.579), family history of cancer (OR: 8.353, 95% CI: 2.368-10.417), the level of fibrinogen > 4.81 g/L (OR: 3.628, 95% CI: 1.403-9.385) and serum C3 > 1.00 g/L (OR: 5.299, 95% CI: 1.727-16.263) were independently associated with LC in patients with CPFE. Compared to those without AE, CPFE patients with AE had significantly higher levels of PLR and serum CRP, with obviously lower DLCO and VC. The obviously increased PLR (HR: 3.731, 95% CI: 1.288-10.813), and decreased DLCO%pred (HR: 0.919, 95% CI: 0.863-0.979) and VC%pred (HR: 0.577, 95% CI: 0.137-0.918) rather than the presence of LC independently contributed to the development of natural-course-related AE in patients with CPFE. Pack-years, family history of cancer, the levels of fibrinogen and serum C3 were independently associated with LC in patients with CPFE. The presence of LC did not significantly increase the risk of AE as a natural course of CPFE. Clinicians should give high priority to CPFE patients, especially those with more severe fibrosis and systemic inflammation, in order to be alert for the occurrence of AE.

Audio-Visual Kinship Verification: A New Dataset and a Unified Adaptive Adversarial Multimodal Learning Approach.

Facial kinship verification refers to automatically determining whether two people have a kin relation from their faces. It has become a popular research topic due to potential practical applications. Over the past decade, many efforts have been devoted to improving the verification performance from human faces only while lacking other biometric information, for example, speaking voice. In this article, to interpret and benefit from multiple modalities, we propose for the first time to combine human faces and voices to verify kinship, which we refer it as the audio-visual kinship verification study. We first establish a comprehensive audio-visual kinship dataset that consists of familial talking facial videos under various scenarios, called TALKIN-Family. Based on the dataset, we present the extensive evaluation of kinship verification from faces and voices. In particular, we propose a deep-learning-based fusion method, called unified adaptive adversarial multimodal learning (UAAML). It consists of the adversarial network and the attention module on the basis of unified multimodal features. Experiments show that audio (voice) information is complementary to facial features and useful for the kinship verification problem. Furthermore, the proposed fusion method outperforms baseline methods. In addition, we also evaluate the human verification ability on a subset of TALKIN-Family. It indicates that humans have higher accuracy when they have access to both faces and voices. The machine-learning methods could effectively and efficiently outperform the human ability. Finally, we include the future work and research opportunities with the TALKIN-Family dataset.

Optimal frequency selection for accuracy improvement in binary defocusing fringe projection profilometry.

The binary defocusing fringe projection profilometry (FPP) technique has demonstrated various advantages for high-speed and high-accuracy three-dimensional (3D) surface measurement. However, higher fringe frequency does not necessarily give better measurements in binary defocusing FPP. To improve the 3D geometry measurement accuracy, this paper proposes an optimal frequency selection approach by analyzing the phase error distribution under different defocusing degrees. The phase error is analyzed theoretically based on the multi-frequency temporal phase unwrapping process, and the associated relationship with fringe frequency, system defocusing degree, noise, and other influencing factors is established. Meanwhile, optimal fringe frequency in a specific system is selected by the theoretical model combined with the validation of simulation experiments. Finally, the measurement accuracy could be effectively enhanced by the generated binary fringe patterns of optimal frequency. Both simulations and experiments verify the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed method.

Triterpenoids, steroids and other constituents from Euphorbia kansui and their anti-inflammatory and anti-tumor properties.

Six undescribed triterpenoids (euphokanols A-F), two undescribed C21-steroidal glycosides (euphokanosides A and B), together with fifty-four known compounds were isolated from the roots of Euphorbia kansui. Their structures were demonstrated by extensive spectroscopic data (1D, 2D NMR and HR-ESI-MS), and the absolute configuration of euphokanol A was elucidated based on electronic circular dichroism (ECD) calculation. Among them, euphokanol A was a tetracyclic triterpenoid with a 5,10-epoxy moiety and concurrent rearrangement of Me-19(10 â†’ 9) and Me-30 (14 â†’ 8), while euphokanols B and C were rare 19(10 â†’ 9) abeo-tirucallane-type triterpenoids with Δ5(10) double bonds and 7,8-epoxy moieties. In addition, ten C21-steroidal glycosides were isolated from Euphorbia plants for the first time. Moreover, cynotophylloside B, caudatin, 5α,8α-epidioxy-22E-ergosta-6,22-diene-3ß-ol, 6ß,7ß-epoxy-3ß,4ß,5ß-trihydroxyl-20-deoxyingenol, 13-hydroxyingenol-3-(2,3- dimethylbutanoate)-13-dodecanoate, ingenol, 3-O-benzoyl-13-O-dodecanoateingenol, 3-O-(2'E,4'Z-decadienoyl)-20-O-acetylingenol, 20-O-acetylingenol and 20- deoxyingenol exhibited significant inhibition on NO production with IC50 values of 9.10, 17.38, 1.71, 0.55, 0.57, 12.22, 0.56, 0.30, 11.21 and 2.98 µM, respectively. Furthermore, wilfoside KIN, cynsaccatol L, kanesulone A, and 3ß,7ß,15ß-triacetyloxy-5α-benzoyloxy-2α,8α-dihydroxyjatropha-6(17),11E-diene-9, 14-dione showed cytotoxicity against HepG2 cell line, with IC50 values of 12.55, 12.61, 18.24 and 18.26 µM, respectively. 13-Hydroxyingenol-3-(2,3-dimethylbutanoate)-13- dodecanoate exhibited anti-proliferation activity on MCF-7 cell line with an IC50 value of 17.12 µM. Specifically, euphol selectively inhibited the growth of human glioma stem cells (GSC-3# and GSC-12#), with IC50 values of 8.89 and 13.00 µM, respectively.

Facial Kinship Verification: A Comprehensive Review and Outlook.

The goal of Facial Kinship Verification (FKV) is to automatically determine whether two individuals have a kin relationship or not from their given facial images or videos. It is an emerging and challenging problem that has attracted increasing attention due to its practical applications. Over the past decade, significant progress has been achieved in this new field. Handcrafted features and deep learning techniques have been widely studied in FKV. The goal of this paper is to conduct a comprehensive review of the problem of FKV. We cover different aspects of the research, including problem definition, challenges, applications, benchmark datasets, a taxonomy of existing methods, and state-of-the-art performance. In retrospect of what has been achieved so far, we identify gaps in current research and discuss potential future research directions.

Two-dimensional colloidal crystal of soft microgel spheres: Development, preparation and applications.

Two-dimensional (2D) colloidal crystals are ordered monolayer arrays of colloidal sphere particles assembled on the substrates or at phase interfaces. Owing to their unique periodic structure and fascinating properties, 2D colloidal crystals have aroused considerable interest because of their potential applications. Among them, 2D colloidal crystals self-assembled from soft microgel spheres stand out particularly. The 2D colloidal crystals of soft microgel spheres combine the advantages of monolayer colloidal crystals and sensitive microgels, which have a good application prospect in biomedical area. In this article, we provide a systematic overview of 2D colloidal crystals of soft microgel spheres related to their development, preparation and applications. First, various preparation methods of 2D colloidal crystal of microgels are introduced, including dip-coating, drop-coating, spin-coating, interface assembly, surface reaction-assisted assembly, and so forth. Second, representative biomedical applications consisting of optical sensor, drug delivery, antibacterial coating, cell culture, and colloidal template are also exemplified to show the high performance of 2D colloidal crystals of soft microgel spheres. In addition, we also present prospects of future developments of 2D microgel colloidal crystals.

Mitochondrial Deficits With Neural and Social Damage in Early-Stage Alzheimer's Disease Model Mice.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common neurodegenerative disorder worldwide. Mitochondrial dysfunction is thought to be an early event in the onset and progression of AD; however, the precise underlying mechanisms remain unclear. In this study, we investigated mitochondrial proteins involved in organelle dynamics, morphology and energy production in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and hippocampus (HIPP) of young (1∼2 months), adult (4∼5 months) and aged (9∼10, 12∼18 months) APP/PS1 mice. We observed increased levels of mitochondrial fission protein, Drp1, and decreased levels of ATP synthase subunit, ATP5A, leading to abnormal mitochondrial morphology, increased oxidative stress, glial activation, apoptosis, and altered neuronal morphology as early as 4∼5 months of age in APP/PS1 mice. Electrophysiological recordings revealed abnormal miniature excitatory postsynaptic current in the mPFC together with a minor connectivity change between the mPFC and HIPP, correlating with social deficits. These results suggest that abnormal mitochondrial dynamics, which worsen with disease progression, could be a biomarker of early-stage AD. Therapeutic interventions that improve mitochondrial function thus represent a promising approach for slowing the progression or delaying the onset of AD.

Exploring the slow-light effect of Pt/TiO2-SiO2 inverse opal on photocatalytic nonoxidative coupling of methane.

The slow-photon effect of Pt/TiO2-SiO2 inverse opal on photocatalytic nonoxidative coupling of methane was explored regarding the cavity size and filming treatment. The ethane production rate was maximized to 72 µmol g-1 h-1 on a filmed microarray with a macroporous diameter of 170 nm, demonstrating the significance of enhancing light-matter interaction for methane conversion.