Potency of teleophthalmology as a detection tool for diabetic retinopathy.

In China, the prevalence of diabetic retinopathy (DR) is increasing, so it is necessary to provide convenient and effective community outreach screening programs for DR, especially in rural and remote areas. The purpose of this study was to use the results of ophthalmologists as the gold standard to evaluate the accuracy of community general practitioners' judgement and grading of DR to find a feasible and convenient DR screening method to reduce the risk of visual impairment and blindness in known diabetes patients. Retinal images of 1646 diabetic patients who underwent DR screening through teleophthalmology at Nanchang First Hospital were collected for 30 months (January 2020 to June 2022). Retinal images were collected without medication for mydriasis, stored by community general practitioner, and diagnosed by both community general practitioner and ophthalmologist of our hospital through teleophthalmology. The grading of ophthalmologist was used as a reference or gold standard for comparison with that of community general practitioner. A total of 1646 patients and 3185 eyes were examined, including 2310 eyes with DR. The evaluation by the community general practitioner had a Kappa value of 0.578, sensitivity of 80.58%, specificity of 89.94%, and accuracy of 83.38%% in 2020; a Kappa value of 0.685, sensitivity of 95.43%, specificity of 78.55%, and accuracy of 90.77% in 2021; and a Kappa value of 0.744, sensitivity of 93.99%, specificity of 88.97%, and accuracy of 92.86% in 2022. Teleophthalmology helped with large-scale screening of DR and made it possible for community general practitioner to grade images with high accuracy after appropriate training. It is possible to solve the current shortage of eye care personnel, promote the early recognition of disease and reduce the impact of diabetes-associated blindness.

Successful treatment of a severe Takotsubo syndrome case complicated by liver abscess.

The main manifestations of Takotsubo syndrome (TTS) are a spherical expansion of the left ventricle or near the apex and decreased systolic function. TTS is mostly thought to be induced by emotional stress, and the induction of TTS by severe infection is not often reported. A 72-year-old female patient with liver abscess reported herein was admitted due to repeated fever with a history of hypertension and impaired glucose tolerance. Her severe infection caused TTS, and her blood pressure dropped to 80/40 mmHg. IABP treatment was performed immediately and continued for 10 days, and comprehensive medication was administered. Based on her disease course and her smooth recovery, general insights and learnings may be: Adding to mental and other pathological stress reaction, serious infections from pathogenic microorganism could be of great important causation of stress reaction leading to TTS, while basic diseases such as coronary heart disease, hypertension, and diabetes were be of promoting factors; In addition to effective drug therapies for TTS, the importance of the timely using of IABP should be emphasized.

EnSite NavX mapping system guided implantation of a dual-chamber permanent pacemaker in a 41-year-old pregnant woman with a 4-year follow-up.

BACKGROUND: X-ray fluoroscopy has been the primary cardiac imaging modality in permanent pacemaker implantation (PPI) operations, but it inevitably results in radiation exposure for both operators and patients. Fluoroscopy is considered a contraindication, especially in certain circumstances, such as gestation, during which the fetus is most sensitive to radiation exposure. Therefore, measures to avoid radiation exposure are necessary, and a more safe and feasible approach is needed for this procedure. Since the EnSite NavX mapping system (ENMS) can create the required geometric contours of those relevant cardiac structures and chambers, it can be used as an alternative to X-ray fluoroscopy in PPI. In addition, because the displacement of atrial leads is a common complication of PPI, lead displacement may occur more readily without fluoroscopic guidance. Therefore, reliable measures are required to prevent leads from displacement. CASE INTRODUCTION: A 41-year-old woman at the 15th week of gestation was referred to our department with recurrent episodes of syncope and amaurosis fugax for 2 years. Holter monitoring showed sinus rhythm, Mobitz Type II atrioventricular block and high-grade atrioventricular block with ventricular arrest up to 4945 ms. A dual-chamber PPI was performed successfully for the patient under the guidance of the ENMS instead of fluoroscopy. Displacement of atrial lead was effectively avoided by bending the top of atrial lead before implantation and making it a U-shape during operation, which left space for possible subsequent external pulling stress. CONCLUSIONS: For PPI, ENMS is a feasible and reliable alternative to traditional X-ray fluoroscopy, especially when performing operations on pregnant patients. By bending the top of the active-fixation atrial lead into a U-shape during operation, the displacement of atrial lead may be avoided.

Mesenchymal stem cell-derived exosomes inhibit the VEGF-A expression in human retinal vascular endothelial cells induced by high glucose.

AIM: To determine the effect of exosomes derived from human umbilical cord blood mesenchymal stem cells (hUCMSCs) on the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGF-A) in human retinal vascular endothelial cells (HRECs). METHODS: Exosomes were isolated from hUCMSCs using cryogenic ultracentrifugation and characterized by transmission electron microscopy, Western blotting and nanoparticle tracking analysis. HRECs were randomly divided into a normal control group (group A), a high glucose model group (group B), a high glucose group with 25 µg/mL (group C), 50 µg/mL (group D), and 100 µg/mL exosomes (group E). Twenty-four hours after coculture, the cell proliferation rate was detected using flow cytometry, and the VEGF-A level was detected using immunofluorescence. After coculture 8, 16, and 24h, the expression levels of VEGF-A in each group were detected using PCR and Western blots. RESULTS: The characteristic morphology (membrane structured vesicles) and size (diameter between 50 and 200 nm) were observed under transmission electron microscopy. The average diameter of 122.7 nm was discovered by nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA). The exosomal markers CD9, CD63, and HSP70 were strongly detected. The proliferation rate of the cells in group B increased after 24h of coculture. Immunofluorescence analyses revealed that the upregulation of VEGF-A expression in HRECs stimulated by high glucose could be downregulated by cocultured hUCMSC-derived exosomes (F=39.03, P<0.01). The upregulation of VEGF-A protein (group C: F=7.96; group D: F=17.29; group E: F=11.89; 8h: F=9.45; 16h: F=12.86; 24h: F=42.28, P<0.05) and mRNA (group C: F=4.137; group D: F=13.64; group E: F=22.19; 8h: F=7.253; 16h: F=16.98; 24h: F=22.62, P<0.05) in HRECs stimulated by high glucose was downregulated by cocultured hUCMSC-derived exosomes (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: hUCMSC-derived exosomes downregulate VEGF-A expression in HRECs stimulated by high glucose in time and concentration dependent manner.

Protective effect of LIF-huMSCs on the retina of diabetic model rats.

AIM: To investigate the protective effect of human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (hUCMSCs) modified by the LIF gene on the retinal function of diabetic model rats and preliminarily explore the possible mechanism. METHODS: A stably transfected cell line of hUCMSCs overexpressing leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) was constructed. Overexpression was verified by fluorescent quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Forty-eight adult Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into a normal control group (group A), streptozotocin-induced diabetic control group (group B), diabetic rats at 3mo injected with empty vector-transfected hUCMSCs (group C) or injected with LIF-hUCMSCs (group D). Four weeks after the intravitreal injection, analyses in all groups included retinal function using flash electroretinogram (F-ERG), retinal blood vessel examination of retinal flat mounts perfused with fluorescein isothiocyanate-dextran (FITC-dextran), and retinal structure examination of sections using hematoxylin and eosin staining. Expression levels of adiponectin (APN), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), and neurotrophin-4 (NT-4) in each group was detected using immunohistochemistry, PCR, Western blotting, and ELISA, respectively. RESULTS: A stable transgenic cell line of LIF-hUCMSCs was constructed. F-ERG and FITC-dextran examinations revealed no abnormalities of retinal structure and function in group A, severe damage of the retinal blood vessels and function in group B, and improved retinal structure and function in group C and especially group D. qPCR, ELISA, and Western blot analyses revealed progressively higher APN and NT-4 expression levels in groups B, C, and D than in group A. hs-CRP expression was significantly higher in group B than in groups A, C, and D, and was significantly higher in group C than in group D (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: LIF-hUCMSCs protect the retina of diabetic rats by upregulating APN and NT-4 expression and downregulating hs-CRP expression in the retina.

Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography Predicts Visual Outcomes for Craniopharyngioma in Children by Quantifying Choroidal Capillaries.

Purpose: To predict the prognosis of craniopharyngioma in children by optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA). Methods: We evaluated if the relationship between preoperative OCTA of the choroidal capillary density (CCD) and visual outcome continued over long-term visual recovery in 38 patients undergoing craniopharyngioma resection. Patients were evaluated 3 times: 1 week before surgery (Visit1), followed-up at 6-10 weeks (Visit2), and 9-15 months (Visit3) after surgery. Results: In total 38 patients (70 eyes) with craniopharyngiomas, which included 20 (52.6%) boys and 18 (47.4%)girls, the mean age was 11.8 ± 2.7 years (range: 6-18 years). The age (p = 0.71), gender (p = 1.00), mean refractive error (p = 0.55), and axial length (p = 0.23) of 38 normal volunteers (76 eyes) were matched. After surgery, the cross-compression of patients was relieved. The average visual acuity change in the normal CCD group was 0.07 ± 0.02; the average visual acuity change in the low CCD group was 0.01 ± 0.01, p < 0.001. Preoperative CCD value is related to the preoperative BCVA (p < 0.001), and the visual function after the long-term follow-up (9-15 months) (p < 0.001). The prognosis of CCD has the same trend as the BCVA. Further correlation analysis shows that CCD and BCVA are significantly correlated (r = 0.878; p < 0.001). CCD has a weak but significant correlation both with MD (r = 0.19; p < 0.001) and PSD (r = -0.21; p <0.001). A natural cutoff of CCD is approximately 38%. With the normal CCD group the maximum improvement of BCVA exceeds 0.3 post-operatively, compared to eyes in the low CCD group that improve by <0.03, and worse after surgery. Conclusions: Long-term vision recovery after surgical decompression of craniopharyngiomas in children can be predicted by preoperative by OCTA. Patients with normal CCD before surgery showed a tendency to improve vision; this trend of improvement persisted in subsequent follow-ups. The CCD baseline natural cutoff value for predicting visual prognosis before and after surgery is about 38%.

Governor Vessel Electro-Acupuncture Promotes the Intrinsic Growth Ability of Spinal Neurons through Activating Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide/α-Calcium/Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinase/Neurotrophin-3 Pathway after Spinal Cord Injury.

Spinal cord injury (SCI) invariably results in neuronal death and failure of axonal regeneration. This is attributed mainly to the hostile microenvironment and the poor intrinsic regrowth capacity of the injured spinal neurons. We have reported previously that electro-acupuncture on Governor Vessel acupoints (GV-EA) can promote neuronal survival and axonal regeneration of injured spinal cord. However, the underlying mechanism for this has remained uncertain. The present study aimed to explore the neural afferent pathway of GV-EA stimulation and the possible mechanism by which GV-EA can activate the intrinsic growth ability of injured spinal neurons. By cholera toxin B (CTB) retrograde labeling, immunostaining, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), we showed here that GV-EA could stimulate the spinal nerve branches of the dorsal root ganglion cells. This would then increase the release of calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) from the afferent terminals in the spinal cord. It is of note that the effect was abrogated after dorsal rhizotomy. Additionally, both in vivo and in vitro results showed that CGRP would act on the post-synaptic spinal cord neurons and triggered the synthesis and secretion of neurotrophin-3 (NT-3) by activating the calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP)/ receptor activity-modifying protein (RAMP)1/calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase (αCaMKII) pathway. Remarkably, the observed effect was prevented by the dorsal rhizotomy and the blockers of the CGRP/RAMP1/αCaMKII pathway. More importantly, increase in NT-3 promoted the survival, axonal regrowth, and synaptic maintenance of spinal cord neurons in the injured spinal cord. Therefore, it is concluded that increase in NT-3 production is one of the mechanisms by which GV-EA can activate the intrinsic growth ability of spinal neurons after SCI. The experimental results have reinforced the theoretical basis of GV-EA for its clinical efficacy in patients with SCI.

Decellularization optimizes the inhibitory microenvironment of the optic nerve to support neurite growth.

Allogeneic or homologous tissue transplantation is an effective strategy to repair tissue injury. However, the central nervous tissues like the brain, spinal cord, and optic nerve are not ideal materials for nervous tissue regeneration due to the excessive axonal inhibitor cues in their microenvironments. In the present study, we found that decellularization optimizes the function of the adult optic nerve in supporting the oriented outgrowth of dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurites. The neurites growing on the decellularized optic nerve (DON) showed longer extension distances than those growing on the normal optic nerve (ON). Neurite branching was also significantly increased on the DON compared to on the ON. Decellularization selectively removed some axon-inhibitory molecules such as myelin-associated glycoprotein (basically not detected in DON) and chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans (detected in DON at a level less than 0.3 fold that in ON) and preserved some axon-promoted extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins, including collagen IV and laminin (detected at levels 6.0-fold higher in DON than in ON). Furthermore, collagen IV and laminin were shown to be preserved in DON, and their binding activities with integrin α1 were retained to promote the extension of DRG neurites. Together, the findings provide a feasible way to optimize the axon-inhibited microenvironment of central nervous tissues and establish a theoretical basis for the application of DON scaffolds in repairing central nervous injury.

Histone demethylase JHDM2A regulates H3K9 dimethylation in response to arsenic-induced DNA damage and repair in normal human liver cells.

Long-term arsenic exposure is a worldwide public health problem that causes serious harm to human health. The liver is the main target organ of arsenic toxicity; arsenic induces disruption of the DNA damage repair pathway, but its mechanisms remain unclear. In recent years, studies have found that epigenetic mechanisms play an important role in arsenic-induced lesions. In this study, we conducted experiments in vitro using normal human liver cells (L-02) to explore the mechanism by which the histone demethylase JHDM2A regulates H3K9 dimethylation (me2) in response to arsenic-induced DNA damage. Our results indicated that arsenic exposure upregulated the expression of JHDM2A, downregulated global H3K9me2 modification levels, increased the H3K9me2 levels at the promoters of base excision repair (BER) genes (N-methylpurine-DNA glycosylase [MPG], XRCC1 and poly(ADP-ribose)polymerase 1) and inhibited their expression levels, causing DNA damage in cells. In addition, we studied the effects of overexpression and inhibition of JHDM2A and found that JHDM2A can participate in the molecular mechanism of arsenic-induced DNA damage via the BER pathway, which may not be involved in the BER process because H3K9me2 levels at the promoter region of the BER genes were unchanged following JHDM2A interference. These results suggest a potential mechanism by which JHDM2A can regulate the MPG and XRCC1 genes in the process of responding to DNA damage induced by arsenic exposure and can participate in the process of DNA damage repair, which provides a scientific basis for understanding the epigenetic mechanisms and treatments for endemic arsenic poisoning.

[Post-stroke hand spasm treated with penetrating acupuncture combined with kinesiotherapy: a randomized controlled trial].

OBJECTIVE: To compare the differences in the clinical effect on post-stroke hand spasm among the combined treatment of penetrating acupuncture and kinesiotherapy, the simple application of penetrating acupuncture and the simple application of kinesiotherapy. METHODS: A total of 105 patients with post-stroke hand spasm were randomized into a penetrating acupuncture group, a kinesiotherapy group and a combined treatment group, 35 cases in each one, of which, 2 cases were dropped out in either the combined treatment group and the penetrating acupuncture group, and 1 case dropped out in the kinesiotherapy group. The routine rehabilitation training, e.g. occupational therapy and Bobath exercise and medication were adopted in all of the three groups. In the penetrating acupuncture group, the penetrating needling technique was exerted from Hegu (LI 4) to Houxi (SI 3) and from Waiguan (TE 5) to Sidu (TE 9) on the affected side. In the kinesiotherapy group, the persistent movement or passive movement was exerted on the wrist joint, the metacarpophalangeal joints and the interphalangeal joints. In the combined treatment group, the penetrating acupuncture (the same as the penetrating acupuncture group) was exerted combined with kinesiotherapy (the same as the kinesiotherapy group). In each group, the treatment was given once a day, 30 min in each time, 6 treatments a week in total, with the interval of 1 day between the courses. The treatment for 2 weeks was as one course and 2 courses were required totally. Before and after treatment, the scores of hand spasm index, hand-wrist motor function and the activity of daily living (ADL) were compared in each group. RESULTS: After treatment, the scores of hand spasm index were reduced as compared with those before treatment in each group (P<0.05) and the scores of hand-wrist motor function and ADL were increased significantly as compared with those before treatment in each group (P<0.05). After treatment, the reducing degree of the score of hand spasm index in the combined treatment group was greater than the penetrating acupuncture group and the kinesiotherapy group (P<0.01), and the increasing degree of the scores of hand-wrist motor function and ADL were higher than either the penetrating acupuncture group or the kinesiotherapy group (P<0.01). The improvements in each index were not different statistically between the kinesiotherapy group and the penetrating acupuncture group (P>0.05). CONCLUSION: Compared with the simple application of either penetrating acupuncture or kinesiotherapy, the combined treatment of them achieves the significant improvements in hand spasm degree, hand wrist motor function and ADL in patients with stroke.

Ubiquitylomes Analysis of the Whole blood in Postmenopausal Osteoporosis Patients and healthy Postmenopausal Women.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the mechanisms of ubiquitination in postmenopausal osteoporosis and investigate the ubiquitinated spectrum of novel targets between healthy postmenopausal women and postmenopausal osteoporosis patients, we performed ubiquitylome analysis of the whole blood of postmenopausal women and postmenopausal osteoporosis patients. METHODS: To obtain a more comprehensive understanding of the postmenopausal osteoporosis mechanism, we performed a quantitative assessment of the ubiquitylome in whole blood from seven healthy postmenopausal women and seven postmenopausal osteoporosis patients using high-performance liquid chromatography fractionation, affinity enrichment, and liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). To examine the ubiquitylome data, we performed enrichment analysis using an ubiquitylated amino acid motif, Gene Ontology (GO) and the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway. RESULTS: Altogether, 133 ubiquitinated sites and 102 proteins were quantified. A difference of more than 1.2 times is considered significant upregulation and less than 0.83 significant downregulation; 32 ubiquitinated sites on 25 proteins were upregulated and 101 ubiquitinated sites on 77 proteins were downregulated. These quantified proteins, both with differently ubiquitinated sites, participated in various cellular processes, such as cellular processes, biological regulation processes, response to stimulus processes, single-organism and metabolic processes. Ubiquitin conjugating enzyme activity and ubiquitin-like protein conjugating enzyme activity were the most highly enriched in molecular function of upregulated sites with corresponding proteins, but they were not enriched in downregulated in sites with corresponding proteins. The KEGG pathways analysis of quantified proteins with differentiated ubiquitinated sites found 13 kinds of molecular interactions and functional pathways, such as glyoxylate and decarboxylate metabolism, dopaminergic synapse, ubiquitin-mediated proteolysis, salivary secretion, coagulation and complement cascades, Parkinson's disease, and hippo signaling pathway. In addition, hsa04120 ubiquitin-mediated proteolysis was the most highly enriched in proteins with upregulated sites, hsa04610 complement and coagulation cascades was the most highly enriched in proteins with downregulated ubiquitinated sites, and hsa04114 Oocyte meiosis was the most highly enriched among all differential proteins. CONCLUSION: Our study expands the understanding of the spectrum of novel targets that are differentially ubiquitinated in whole blood from healthy postmenopausal women and postmenopausal osteoporosis patients. The findings will contribute toward our understanding of the underlying proteostasis pathways in postmenopausal osteoporosis and the potential identification of diagnostic biomarkers in whole blood.

Electroacupuncture Facilitates the Integration of Neural Stem Cell-Derived Neural Network with Transected Rat Spinal Cord.

The hostile environment of an injured spinal cord makes it challenging to achieve higher viability in a grafted tissue-engineered neural network used to reconstruct the spinal cord circuit. Here, we investigate whether cell survival and synaptic transmission within an NT-3 and TRKC gene-overexpressing neural stem cell-derived neural network scaffold (NN) transplanted into transected spinal cord could be promoted by electroacupuncture (EA) through improving the microenvironment. Our results showed that EA facilitated the cell survival, neuronal differentiation, and synapse formation of a transplanted NN. Pseudorabies virus tracing demonstrated that EA strengthened synaptic integration of the transplanted NN with the host neural circuit. The combination therapy also promoted axonal regeneration, spinal conductivity, and functional recovery. The findings highlight EA as a potential and safe supplementary therapeutic strategy to reinforce the survival and synaptogenesis of a transplanted NN as a neuronal relay to bridge the two severed ends of an injured spinal cord.

[Characteristics of CO2 Flux in a Mature Apple (Malus demestica) Orchard Ecosystem on the Loess Plateau].

Apples (Malus demestica) in the Loess Plateau region are grown in the largest apple orchards in the world and China, playing an important role in the improvement of the ecological environment. However, there is little research on the scale of the ecological system of the apple orchard in the Loess Plateau region. In this study, the CO2 flux of a mature apple orchard in the Loess Plateau region was observed using an eddy covariance technique in the Shannxi Province. Based on the observation data sets observed from January 2016 to December 2016, a quantitative analysis of the apple orchard net ecosystem exchange (NEE), ecosystem respiration (Reco), total ecosystem primary productivity (GPP) changes at different time scales, changes in main meteorological factors, the effects of soil temperature (Ts) and air temperature (Ta) at different levels, and PAR on NEE were discussed. The results showed that during the study period, the apple orchard ecosystem NEE monthly totals were positive (as a carbon source) in the non-growing season in December, January, February and March, were negative (a carbon sink) in the growing season from April to November, and functioned as a strong carbon sink year round. The maximum peak NEE (absolute value) monthly average daily change appeared in August[-17.08 µmol ·(m2 ·s)-1], and the smallest peak appeared in November[-4.47 µmol ·(m2 ·s)-1] during the growing season. The NEE monthly average daily change value during the non-growing season is very weak, though the change is not obvious. GPP, Reco, and NEE maximum daily total values were 11.12, 5.04, and -7.34 g ·(m2 ·d)-1, respectively. GPP, Reco, and NEE maximum monthly total values were 238.97, 105.38, and -144.44 g ·(m2 ·month)-1, respectively, as GPP and NEE maintained high cumulative values that were relatively stable from May through August. The annual GPP, Reco, and NEE were 1223.2, 525.2, and -698.0 g ·(m2 ·a)-1. The observations show that the mature apple orchard ecosystem in the Chinese Loess Plateau has a relatively high carbon sequestration capacity. Nighttime ecosystem respiration Reco.n was positively correlated with the soil temperature and air temperature at different levels, and the correlation coefficients were Ts-5 cm > Ts-10 cm > Ta-4 m > Ta-8 m, The photosynthetic active radiation (PAR) can explain more than 80% of the daytime NEE changes.

Tail Nerve Electrical Stimulation and Electro-Acupuncture Can Protect Spinal Motor Neurons and Alleviate Muscle Atrophy after Spinal Cord Transection in Rats.

Spinal cord injury (SCI) often results in death of spinal neurons and atrophy of muscles which they govern. Thus, following SCI, reorganizing the lumbar spinal sensorimotor pathways is crucial to alleviate muscle atrophy. Tail nerve electrical stimulation (TANES) has been shown to activate the central pattern generator (CPG) and improve the locomotion recovery of spinal contused rats. Electroacupuncture (EA) is a traditional Chinese medical practice which has been proven to have a neural protective effect. Here, we examined the effects of TANES and EA on lumbar motor neurons and hindlimb muscle in spinal transected rats, respectively. From the third day postsurgery, rats in the TANES group were treated 5 times a week and those in the EA group were treated once every other day. Four weeks later, both TANES and EA showed a significant impact in promoting survival of lumbar motor neurons and expression of choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) and ameliorating atrophy of hindlimb muscle after SCI. Meanwhile, the expression of neurotrophin-3 (NT-3) in the same spinal cord segment was significantly increased. These findings suggest that TANES and EA can augment the expression of NT-3 in the lumbar spinal cord that appears to protect the motor neurons as well as alleviate muscle atrophy.

Characterization of cyclophilin D in freshwater pearl mussel (Hyriopsis schlegelii).

Cyclophilin D (referred to as HsCypD) was obtained from the freshwater pearl mussel (Hyriopsis schlegelii). The full-length cDNA was 2 671 bp, encoding a protein consisting of 367 amino acids. HsCypD was determined to be a hydrophilic intracellular protein with 10 phosphorylation sites and four tetratricopeptide repeat (TPR) domains, but no signal peptide. The core sequence region YKGCIFHRIIKDFMVQGG is highly conserved in vertebrates and invertebrates. Phylogenetic tree analysis indicated that CypD from all species had a common origin, and HsCypD had the closest phylogenetic relationship with CypD from Lottia gigantea. The constitutive mRNA expression levels of HsCypD exhibited tissue-specific patterns, with the highest level detected in the intestines, followed by the gonads, and the lowest expression found in the hemocytes.

Activin pathway enhances colorectal cancer stem cell self-renew and tumor progression.

Activin belongs to transforming growth factor (TGF)-ß super family of growth and differentiation factors and activin pathway participated in broad range of cell process. Studies elaborated activin pathway maintain pluripotency in human stem cells and suggest that the function of activin/nodal signaling in self-renew would be conserved across embryonic and adult stem cells. In this study, we tried to determine the effect of activin signaling pathway in regulation of cancer stem cells as a potential target for cancer therapy in clinical trials. A population of colorectal cancer cells was selected by the treatment of activin A. This population of cell possessed stem cell character with sphere formation ability. We demonstrated activin pathway enhanced the colorectal cancer stem cells self-renew and contribute to colorectal cancer progression in vivo. Targeting activin pathway potentially provide effective strategy for colorectal cancer therapy.

Na2B10O17·H2en: a three-dimensional open-framework layered borate co-templated by inorganic cations and organic amines.

A layered borate Na2B10O17·H2en (1, en = ethylenediamine) with three-dimensional microporosity within the layers has been synthesized under solvothermal conditions by using organic amines and inorganic cations as the templates. Its framework displays a unique 5-connected net constructed by B5O11 cluster and emits blue luminescence.

Brain­derived neurotrophic factor gene polymorphisms are associated with coronary artery disease­related depression and antidepressant response.

Depression is a well­established risk factor for cardiac morbidity and mortality in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). Previous studies have demonstrated that the level of brain­derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is decreased in depressed patients and this depletion may be reversed by antidepressants. Several recent studies have suggested that BDNF is involved in the pathogenesis of CAD. The aim of the present study was to investigate the possible association between seven single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the BDNF gene (SNPs; rs16917204, rs6265, rs7103873, rs16917237, rs56164415, rs13306221 and rs10767664) and coronary artery disease­related depression (CAD­D). In the present study, 616 CAD patients without depression (CAD­nD) and 155 patients with CAD­D were recruited, and the response to an eight week sertraline antidepressant treatment regimen was also evaluated. The results demonstrated that a significant association existed between the SNP rs6265, located in exon 4 of the BDNF gene, and CAD­D [χ2=9.634, P=0.002, odds ratio (OR)=1.486, 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.156­1.910]. Another potential association was observed for rs13306221 (χ2=5.194, P=0.023, OR=2.139, 95% CI=1.096­4.175) in the promoter region of the BDNF gene. Strong linkage disequilibrium was observed in block 1 (rs16917204, rs6265; D'>0.9). However, there was no evidence of a significant linkage disequilibrium between the seven SNPs in our sample population. Additionally, carriers of the A allele of rs6265 exhibited improved responses to the sertraline treatment (χ2=8.942, P=0.003, OR=2.136, 95% CI=1.293­3.528). To the best of our knowledge, these results demonstrate, for the first time, the presence of a significant association between BDNF rs6265 and CAD­D, the identification of which may facilitate early diagnosis of CAD­D in the future.