Functional Role of AsAP in the Reproduction of Adelphocoris suturalis (Hemiptera: Miridae).

Adelphocoris suturalis Jakovlev (Hemiptera: Miridae) is an omnivorous agricultural pest that has severe economic impacts on a diverse range of agricultural crops. Although the targeted disruption of reproductive development among insects has been proposed as a novel control strategy for pest species, the current understanding of the physiology and molecular mechanisms of A. suturalis reproduction is very limited. In this study, we isolated a putative A. suturalisaspartic protease (AsAP) gene that is highly expressed in the fat body and ovaries of sexually mature females. The double-stranded RNA (dsRNA)-mediated knockdown of AsAP suppressed ovarian development and negatively impacted female fertility, which suggested that it plays an essential role in A. suturalis reproduction. The results of this study could help to expand our understanding of A. suturalis reproductive development and have the potential to facilitate the development of effective strategies for the better control of this pest species.

Diet, Sports, and Psychological Stress as Modulators of Breast Cancer Risk: Focus on OPRM1 Methylation.

Background: DNA methylation is influenced by environmental factors and contributes to adverse modification of cancer risk and clinicopathological features. Methods: A case-control study (402 newly diagnosed cases, 470 controls) was conducted to evaluate the effect of environmental factors and OPRM1 methylation in peripheral blood leukocyte (PBL) DNA on the risk of breast cancer. A case-only study (373 cases) was designed to evaluate the effects of environmental factors on OPRM1 methylation in tumor tissue and the relationship of methylation with clinicopathological features. Results: We found a significant association between hypermethylation of OPRM1 and the risk of breast cancer (OR = 1.914, 95%CI = 1.357-2.777). OPRM1 hypermethylation in PBL DNA combined with low intake of vegetable, garlic, soybean, poultry, and milk; high pork intake; less regular sports and a high psychological stress index significantly increased the risk of breast cancer. Soybean intake (OR = 0.425, 95%CI: 0.231-0.781) and regular sports (OR = 0.624, 95%CI: 0.399-0.976) were associated with OPRM1 hypermethylation in tumor DNA. OPRM1 hypermethylation in tumor tissue was correlated with estrogen receptor (ER) (OR = 1.945, 95%CI: 1.262-2.996) and progesterone receptor (PR) (OR = 1.611, 95%CI: 1.069-2.427) negative status; in addition, OPRM1 hypermethylation in PBL DNA was associated with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER-2) negative status (OR = 3.673, 95%CI: 1.411-9.564). Conclusion: A healthy diet, psychosocial adaptability, and regular sports are very beneficial for breast cancer prevention and progress, especially for OPRM1 hypermethylation carriers. Personalized treatment considering the correlation between OPRM1 hypermethylation and ER and PR status may provide a novel benefit for breast cancer patients.

An anti-HBV anthraquinone from aciduric fungus Penicillium sp. OUCMDZ-4736 under low pH stress.

To obtain new bioactive natural products, the effect of acidic stress on the metabolites of an aciduric fungus was investigated. This fungus, Penicillium sp. OUCMDZ-4736, which was isolated from the sediment around roots of mangrove (Acanthus ilicifolius), produced different compounds and higher yields under pH 2.5 than under neutral conditions. Using spectroscopic analyses and calculations, three new anthraquinone derivatives (1-3) were isolated and identified from the acidic fermentation broth (pH 2.5) of OUCMDZ-4736. Compound 1 showed much stronger anti-hepatitis B virus activity than that of the positive control, lamivudine, strongly inhibiting HBsAg and HBeAg secretion from HepG2.2.15 cells. These results show that extremophiles are a valuable resource of bioactive compounds, and that pH regulation is an effective strategy to induce metabolite production in aciduric fungi.

Photodecolorization of Rhodamine B on tungsten-doped TiO2/activated carbon under visible-light irradiation.

Tungsten-doped TiO(2)/activated carbon catalysts have been prepared by a supercritical-pretreatment-assisted sol-gel process. The structural features of the photocatalysts have been investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), UV/Vis diffuse-reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), electron dispersive X-ray (EDX), photoluminescence spectroscopy, and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) analysis. The results revealed that a W-TiO(2) layer was coated on the AC surface, and had higher surface area and smaller crystallite size than TiO(2)/AC obtained by a similar route. The W dopant was responsible for narrowing the band gap of TiO(2) and shifting its optical response from the ultraviolet (UV) to the visible-light region. The photocatalytic performances of the supported catalysts have been evaluated for the degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) solution under visible-light irradiation. Compared with bulk W-TiO(2), the photoactivity was obviously enhanced when it was coated onto AC. In addition, it was found that the reactivity showed a significant relationship with the amount of W dopant, and the photoactivity order of the catalysts from weak to strong showed good agreement with their PL intensities. The effects of TiO(2) content, tungsten ion content, catalyst amount, pH, and initial RhB concentration have been examined as operational parameters. The photocatalytic reactions followed pseudo-first-order kinetics and are discussed in terms of the Langmuir-Hinshelwood model.

2-(4-Bromo-phen-yl)-N-(2-methoxy-phen-yl)acetamide.

In the title compound, C(15)H(14)BrNO(2), the 4-bromo-phenyl fragment makes a dihedral angle of 76.55 (17)° with the acetamide unit and the dihedral angle between the two benzene rings is 50.88 (14)°. In the crystal structure, inter-molecular N-H⋯O hydrogen bonds and C-H⋯π contacts connect the mol-ecules, forming chains propagating in [100].

Bis[1,1-dimethylbiguanide(1-)-kappa2N2,N5]copper(II) monohydrate.

The crystal structure of the title compound, [Cu(C(4)H(10)N(5))(2)].H(2)O, contains two independent copper N,N-dimethylbiguanide complex units, each with square-planar coordination of the Cu atom by four N atoms. The two complexes have different symmetry, with one Cu atom lying on an inversion centre and the other on a twofold rotation axis. The Cu-N bond lengths are 1.923 (2) and 1.950 (2) A in the centrosymmetric complex, and 1.928 (2) and 1.938 (2) A in the non-centrosymmetric complex. The crystal structure is stabilized by N-H...O, O-H...N and N-H...N hydrogen bonds; each water molecule forms four hydrogen bonds involving three different Cu complexes.