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Acremoniumterricola milleretal mycelium (AMM) exerts numerous protective effects on organs, and has been used in Chinese herb prescriptions to treat refractory diseases. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of AMM on immunological hepatic fibrosis induced by porcine serum (PS) in rats. Male Sprague Dawley rats were administered 0.5 ml sterile PS by intraperitoneal injections twice a week for 18 weeks. AMM (175, 350 or 700 mg/kg) and colchicine (0.1 mg/kg) were administered intragastrically each day until the rats were sacrificed. PS administration resulted in marked hepatic fibrosis, as assessed by increased oxidative stress and hepatic collagen content, as well as a-smooth muscle actin (a-SMA) expression. AMM significantly reduced liver damage and fibrosis. In addition, AMM decreased the elevation in hydroxyproline, hyaluronic acid, laminin and procollagen type III; increased the activity of superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase; decreased a-SMA expression; and eliminated hepatic collagen deposits. Furthermore, AMM inhibited Smad2/3 phosphorylation and Smad7 expression. These results indicate that AMM is able to reduce oxidative stress, inhibit collagen synthesis and block the transforming growth factor-β/Smad signaling pathway in a dose-dependent manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Optimal sensor placement is an important part in the structural health monitoring of bridge structures. However, some defects are present in the existing methods, such as the focus on a single optimal index, the selection of modal order and sensor number based on experience, and the long computation time. A hybrid optimization strategy named MSE-AGA is proposed in this study to address these problems. The approach firstly selects modal order using modal participation factor. Then, the modal strain energy method is adopted to conduct the initial sensor placement. Finally, the adaptive genetic algorithm (AGA) is utilized to determine the optimal number and locations of the sensors, which uses the root mean square of off-diagonal elements in the modal assurance criterion matrix as the fitness function. A case study of sensor placement on a numerically simulated bridge structure is provided to verify the effectiveness of the MSE-AGA strategy, and the AGA method without initial placement is used as a contrast experiment. A comparison of these strategies shows that the optimal results obtained by the MSE-AGA method have a high modal strain energy index, a short computation time, and small off-diagonal elements in the modal assurance criterion matrix. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Meiosis and mitosis of six Chinese Actinidiaceae were studied:Saurauia tristylaDC.,S. miniataC. F. Liang&Y. S. Wang,Actinidia chinensisPlach.,A. deliciosa(Cheval.) C. F. Liang&A. R. Ferguson,A. indochinensisMerr. andClematoclethra lasiocladaMaxim. The chromosome numbers ofSaurauia tristylaandS. miniatawere 2n = 6x = 78, establishing a base chromosome number ofx = 13 in the genus, differing from the previous report ofx = 15. The chromosome number ofClematoclethrawas first reported to be 2n = 4x = 48 (x = 12), while that ofActinidiawasx = 29, consistent with previous reports. The base chromosome number ofClematoclethra(x = 12) was derived from an aneuploid decrease fromSaurauia(x = 13).Actinidia (x = 29) was derived from the palaeotetraploid (x = 14), which was formed through the increase of the basic chromosome numberx = 13 tox = 14 by aneuploidy and through the breakage of a centromere to add one more new chromosome. The chromosome data inActinidiawere consistent with the geographical and morphological evidence for the evolution of the three genera. The tropical American and Asian disjunct distribution pattern and the diversity of base chromosome numbers ofSaurauiafurther support the probability that the genus was an early divergent from a common ancestor ofActinidiaandClematoclethra. © 2005 The Linnean Society of London,Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 2005,147, 369–374. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cervical cancer is the third leading cause of cancer death among women in less-developed regions. Because of the poor survivorship of patients with advanced disease, finding new biomarkers for prognostic prediction is of great importance. In the current study, mRNA datasets (GSE9750 and GSE63514) were retrieved from Gene Expression Omnibus and was used to identify differentially expressed genes. The underlying molecular mechanisms associated with high-mobility group box 1 protein (HMGB1) were investigated using bioinformatics analysis. Immunohistochemical analysis of HMGB1 was performed on 239 cases of cervical cancer samples to investigate its possible correlation with clinicopathological characteristics and outcomes. A preliminary validation has been made to explore the possible correlation factors with HMGB1 that promotemigration of cervical cancer cells. Bioinformatics analysis showed that adherens junction was significant for both P-value and enrichment scores, which was consistent with the clinical study. The underlying molecular mechanisms might be the interaction among HMGB1, RAC1, and CDC42. HMGB1 expression was significantly associated with tumor size, parametrial infiltration, the depth of cervical stromal invasion, and FIGO stage (P=0.003, 0.019, 0.013, and 0.003, respectively). FIGO stage, lymph mode metastasis, and HMGB1 expression were independent predictors of a poorer prognosis of patients with cervical cancer. Knockdown of HMGB1 inhibits migration of Siha and C33A cells in vitro. Western blot and quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) showed that the expression of RAC1 and CDC42 was positively correlated with HMGB1. HMGB1 is a useful prognostic indicator and a potential biomarker of cervical cancer. RAC1 and CDC42 may be involved in the progression of cervical cancer migration induced by HMGB1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A mercury(II) ion-selective electrode with an ionic liquid (IL), 1-methyl-2-butylthioimidazolium bis(trifluoromethanesulphonyl)imide ([C1C4Sim]NTf2) as active material was constructed. Parameters affecting the performance of the electrodes such as the dosages of the IL and carbon nanotubes and the aqueous pH values were investigated. Experimental results indicated that the optimal composition of the electrode filling material was 47.6% [C1C4Sim]NTf2, 47.6% tetrabutylphosphonium bis(trifluoromethanesulphonyl)imide (TBPNTf2) and 4.8% carboxylic multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs-COOH). Under the selected conditions, the proposed electrodes showed a good linear response in the concentration range of 10-10-10-5 mol L-1 and had a detection limit of 4.1 × 10-11 mol L-1. No great interference from common metal ions was found. The proposed electrodes were applied to determine Hg2+ in seafood samples; the results were comparable to those of the direct mercury analyzer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Optimal sensor placement is a key issue in the structural health monitoring of large-scale structures. However, some aspects in existing approaches require improvement, such as the empirical and unreliable selection of mode and sensor numbers and time consuming computation. A novel improved particle swarm optimization (IPSO) algorithm is proposed to address these problems. The approach firstly employs the cumulative effective modal mass participation ratio to select mode number. Three strategies are then adopted to improve the PSO algorithm. Finally, the IPSO algorithm is utilized to determine the optimal sensors number and configurations. A case study of a latticed shell model is implemented to verify the feasibility of the proposed algorithm and four different PSO algorithms. The effective independence method is also taken as a contrast experiment. The comparison results show that the optimal placement schemes obtained by the PSO algorithms are valid, and the proposed IPSO algorithm has better enhancement in convergence speed and precision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]