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SMAD-specific E3 ubiquitin proten ligase 1 (SMURF1) is involved in transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1/Smad pathway-mediated tissue fibrosis. However, its role in pulmonary fibrosis and the related molecular mechanisms are still unclear. This study aims to investigate whether SMURF1 inhibits autophagy and promotes pulmonary fibrosis via SMAD family member 7 (SMAD7) and TGF-β1/SMAD signal pathway. MRC-5 cells were treated with TGF-β1 followed by MURF1-interference. The rate of cell migration was assessed using the cell scratch test. Autophagosomes were analyzed using a transmission electron microscope. mRNA levels of SMURF1, SMAD7, TGF-β1, phosphorylated (p)-SMAD1, p-SMAD3, α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), matrix metallopeptidase 7 (MMP7), microtubule-associated protein light chain 3 (LC3) and Beclin1 were evaluated by quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR), Western blotting, and immunofluorescence. The interaction between SMURF1 and SMAD7 was investigated in a co-immunoprecipitation (Co-IP) experiment. We found that after TGF-β1 treatment, the mRNA levels of SMURF1, α-SMA, MMP7, and p-Smad1/3 were increased, and the levels of Beclin1 and LC3 were decreased. Apart from these, cell autophagy was decreased, while the migration ability was increased. After SMURF1-interference, SMURF1, α-SMA and MMP7 mRNA levels were significantly decreased, p-SMAD1 was slightly reduced, and p-Smad3 was not changed. As for Beclin1 and LC3, their transcription increased, cell autophagy increased, and migratory ability decreased. The interaction between SMURF1 and Smad7 was confirmed by Co-IP. In conclusion, SMURF1 may inhibit autophagy and promote lung fibrosis by downregulating SMAD7 and activating the TGF-β1/SMAD pathway. These results may serve as a basis for the development of new therapeutic targets in the pulmonary fibrosis clinic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A method is proposed to control the transverse motion and x-ray emission of electrons accelerated in a wakefield driven by a laser pulse with transverse chirp. The dispersion of the laser and the nonuniform refractive index of the plasma channel result in transverse laser oscillations, which leads to transverse oscillations of the wake. Electrons accelerated inside the wake also undergo oscillations generating a wiggler like motion. Both the oscillation period and amplitude can be controlled by tuning the laser spatial chirp and the plasma channel width. As a result, the far field spectral distribution of the x-ray emission can be flexibly manipulated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key message: WSL8 encoding a deoxyribonucleoside kinase (dNK) that catalyzes the first step in the salvage pathway of nucleotide synthesis plays an important role in early chloroplast development in rice. The chloroplast is an organelle that converts light energy into chemical energy; therefore, the normal differentiation and development of chloroplast are pivotal for plant survival. Deoxyribonucleoside kinases (dNKs) play an important role in the salvage pathway of nucleotides. However, the relationship between dNKs and chloroplast development remains elusive. Here, we identified a white stripe leaf 8 (wsl8) mutant that exhibited a white stripe leaf phenotype at seedling stage (before the four-leaf stage). The mutant showed a significantly lower chlorophyll content and defective chloroplast morphology, whereas higher reactive oxygen species than the wild type. As the leaf developed, the chlorotic mutant plants gradually turned green, accompanied by the restoration in chlorophyll accumulation and chloroplast ultrastructure. Map-based cloning revealed that WSL8 encodes a dNK on chromosome 5. Compared with the wild type, a C-to-G single base substitution occurred in the wsl8 mutant, which caused a missense mutation (Leu 349 Val) and significantly reduced dNK enzyme activity. A subcellular localization experiment showed the WSL8 protein was targeted in the chloroplast and its transcripts were expressed in various tissues, with more abundance in young leaves and nodes. Ribosome and RNA-sequencing analysis indicated that some components and genes related to ribosome biosynthesis were down-regulated in the mutant. An exogenous feeding experiment suggested that the WSL8 performed the enzymic activity of thymidine kinase, especially functioning in the salvage synthesis of thymidine monophosphate. Our results highlight that the salvage pathway mediated by the dNK is essential for early chloroplast development in rice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Transcranial focused ultrasound (FUS) is increasingly being explored to modulate neuronal activity. To target neuromodulation, researchers often localize the FUS beam onto the brain region(s) of interest using spatially tracked tools overlaid on pre-acquired images. Here, we quantify the accuracy of optically tracked image-guided FUS with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) thermometry, evaluate sources of error and demonstrate feasibility of these procedures to target the macaque somatosensory region. Methods: We developed an optically tracked FUS system capable of projecting the transducer focus onto a pre-acquired MRI volume. To measure the target registration error (TRE), we aimed the transducer focus at a desired target in a phantom under image guidance, heated the target while imaging with MR thermometry and then calculated the TRE as the difference between the targeted and heated locations. Multiple targets were measured using either an unbiased or bias-corrected calibration. We then targeted the macaque S1 brain region, where displacement induced by the acoustic radiation force was measured using MR acoustic radiation force imaging (MR-ARFI). Results: All calibration methods enabled registration with TRE on the order of 3 mm. Unbiased calibration resulted in an average TRE of 3.26 mm (min–max: 2.80–4.53 mm), which was not significantly changed by prospective bias correction (TRE of 3.05 mm; 2.06–3.81 mm, p = 0.55). Restricting motion between the transducer and target and increasing the distance between tracked markers reduced the TRE to 2.43 mm (min–max: 0.79–3.88 mm). MR-ARFI images showed qualitatively similar shape and extent as projected beam profiles in a living non-human primate. Conclusions: Our study describes methods for image guidance of FUS neuromodulation and quantifies errors associated with this method in a large animal. The workflow is efficient enough for in vivo use, and we demonstrate transcranial MR-ARFI in vivo in macaques for the first time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cereal grains treated with organic acids were proved to increase ruminal resistant starch and can relieve the risk of ruminal acidosis. However, previous study mainly focussed on acid-treated barley, the effects of organic acid-treated corn is still unknown. The objectives of this study were to evaluate whether feeding ground corn steeped in citric acid (CA) would affect ruminal pH and fermentation patterns, milk production and innate immunity responses in dairy goats. Eight ruminally cannulated Saanen dairy goats were used in a crossover designed experiment. Each experimental period was 21 day long including 14 days for adaption to new diet and 7 days for sampling and data collection. The goats were fed high-grain diet contained 30% hay and 70% corn-based concentrate. The corn was steeped either in water (control) or in 0.5% (wt/vol) CA solution for 48 h. Goats fed CA diet showed improved ruminal pH status with greater mean and minimum ruminal pH, and shorter (P< 0.05) duration of ruminal pH<5.6 and less area of ruminal pH<5.6, 5.8 and 6.0. Concentration of total volatile fatty acid and molar proportion of propionate were less but the molar proportion of acetate was greater (P< 0.05) in goats fed the CA diet than the control diet. Concentration of ruminal lipopolysaccharide (LPS) was lower (P< 0.05) and that of lactic acid also tended (P< 0.10) to be lower in goats fed CA than the control. Although dry matter intake, actual milk yield, yield and content of milk protein and lactose were not affected, the milk fat content and 4% fat-corrected milk tended (P< 0.10) to be greater in goats fed CA diet. For the inflammatory responses, peripheral LPS did not differ, whereas the concentration of LPS binding protein and serum amyloid A tended (P< 0.10) to be less in goats fed CA diet. Similarly, goats fed CA diet had less (P< 0.05) concentration of haptoglobin and tumour necrosis factor. These results indicated that feeding ground corn treated with CA effectively improved ruminal pH status, thus alleviated the risk of ruminal acidosis, reduced inflammatory response, and tend to improve milk yield and milk fat test. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Proton emissions from vacuum-gapped cascaded-ultrathin-foil targets irradiated with low-contrast intense picosecond laser pulses were measured. The maximum energy of the proton beam and the laser-to-proton energy conversion efficiency were both increased in comparison with those from the single-layer reference targets. A transition from plateau to exponential profile in proton energy spectral shape was found for the target with a front-foil thickness of above 500 nm. The measured annular x-ray emissions from both target front and rear sides indicate that the proton enhancement could be attributed to the modified preplasma distribution. A simple model and hydrodynamic simulations further show that the optimal acceleration occurs when the front shutter foil is right swelled onto the front surface of the rear source foil by the prepulses at the arrival of the main laser pulse. This cascaded thin-foil target design can be popularized in improving laser-driven proton beams for wide applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A cell line ZBE3 isolated from a continuous cell culture derived from zebrafish Danio rerio blastomeres by clonal growth was characterized. ZBE3 cells had been subcultured for >120 passages since the initial primary culture of the blastomeres. The ZBE3 cells grow stably at temperature from 20 to 32° C with an optimum temperature of 28° C in ESM2 or ESM4 medium with 15% foetal bovine serum (FBS). The optimum FBS concentration for ZBE3 cell growth ranged from 15 to 20%. Cytogenetical analysis indicated that the modal chromosome number of ZBE3 cells was 50, the same as the diploid chromosome number of D. rerio. Significant cytopathic effect was observed in ZBE3 cells after infection with redspotted grouper nervous necrosis virus, Singapore grouper iridovirus and grass carp reovirus, and the viral replication in the cells was confirmed by real-time quantitative PCR and transmission electron microscopy, indicating the susceptibility of ZBE3 cells to the three fish viruses. After transfected with pEGFP-N3 plasmid, ZBE3 cells showed a transfection efficiency of about 40% which was indicated by the percentage of cells expressing green fluorescence protein. The stable growth, susceptibility to fish viruses as well as high transfection efficiency make ZBE3 cells be a useful tool in transgenic manipulation, fish virus-host cell interaction and immune response in fish. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The permafrost region of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is widely distributed with the freeze/thaw processes that cause surface structural damage. The differential interferometry synthetic aperture radar (DInSAR) can detect large scale surface deformation with high precision, thus can be used to monitor the freeze/thaw processes of frozen soil area. In this paper, the surface deformation pattern of Qinghai-Tibet railway was analyzed by using the PALSAR 1.0 raw data of the ALOS satellite (L band) and 90m resolution SRTM DEM data, with the help of two-pass DInSAR method in GAMMA software, and the differential interferograms and deformation maps were obtained accordingly. Besides, the influence of temperature, topography and other factors on deformation of frozen soil were also studied. The following conclusions were obtained: there is a negative correlation between deformation and temperature, and there is a delay between the deformation change and that of temperature; deformation and elevation are positively correlated; the permafrost deformation is also affected by solar radiation that could form variable amplitude variation [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some oncology outpatients experience a higher number of and more severe symptoms during chemotherapy ( CTX). However, little is known about whether this high risk phenotype persists over time. Latent transition analysis ( LTA) was used to examine the probability that patients remained in the same symptom class when assessed prior to the administration of and following their next dose of CTX. For the patients whose class membership remained consistent, differences in demographic and clinical characteristics, and quality of life ( QOL) were evaluated. The Memorial Symptom Assessment Scale ( MSAS) was used to evaluate symptom burden. LTA was used to identify subgroups of patients with distinct symptom experiences based on the occurrence of the MSAS symptoms. Of the 906 patients evaluated, 83.9% were classified in the same symptom occurrence class at both assessments. Of these 760 patients, 25.0% were classified as Low-Low, 44.1% as Moderate-Moderate and 30.9% as High-High. Compared to the Low-Low class, the other two classes were younger, more likely to be women and to report child care responsibilities, and had a lower functional status and a higher comorbidity scores. The two higher classes reported lower QOL scores. The use of LTA could assist clinicians to identify higher risk patients and initiate more aggressive interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

(LWFA) with a charge of 620 pC and a maximum energy up to 0.6 GeV by irradiating 80 TW laser pulses at a 3 mm Helium gas jet. The charge of injected electrons is much larger than the normal scaling laws of LWFA in bubble regime. We also got a quasi-monoenergetic electron beam with energy peaked at 249 MeV and a charge of 68 pC with the similar laser conditions but lower plasma density. As confirmed by 2D particle-in-cell simulations, the boosted bunch charge is due to the continuous injection caused by the self-steepening and self-compression of a laser pulse. During the nonlinear evolution of the laser pulse, the bubble structure broadens and stretches, leading to a longer dephasing length and larger beam charge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of growth hormone ( GH) and insulin-like growth factor-I ( IGF-I) on protein synthesis and gene expression of κ-casein in bovine mammary epithelial cell in vitro were studied. The treatments were designed as follows: the growth medium without serum was set as the control group, while the treatments were medium supplemented with GH (100 ng/ml), IGF-I (100 ng/ml), and GH (100 ng/ml) + IGF-I (100 ng/ml). The quantity of κ-casein protein was measured by ELISA, and the κ-casein gene ( CSN3) expression was examined by real-time quantitative PCR ( RT- qPCR). Compared with the control group, all the experimental groups had greater (p < 0.05) expression of CSN3. The concentration of κ-casein followed a similar response as CSN3, but the difference between the treatments and the control was not statistically significant (p > 0.05). Furthermore, no synergistic effect of GH and IGF-I was observed for both the κ-casein concentration and CSN3 expression. It is therefore concluded that GH or IGF-I can independently promote the expression of CSN3 in bovine mammary epithelial cells in vitro. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective:To evaluate the effects of gestational subclinical hypothyroidism (SCH) on early neurodevelopment of offspring.Study Design:A prospective study included 106 infants born to mothers with gestational SCH and 106 infants born to mothers who were euthyroid during pregnancy. The neurodevelopment of 12 to 24-month-old infants was assessed and compared using the Gesell developmental test (revised version).Results:Infants born to mothers with gestational SCH and those born to euthyroid mothers had similar scores on the Gesell development test. No correlations were observed between maternal TSH concentration and Gesell developmental test scores of offspring. Infants born to mothers who had gestational SCH during the first trimester specifically and those born to euthyroid mothers had similar scores on the Gesell development test. No significant correlations were detected between maternal TSH concentration during the first trimester and offspring neurodevelopment.Conclusions:No detectable neurodevelopment deficit was observed in offspring up to 24 months old from mothers who had gestational SCH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study was to understand the rates and controlling factors of magnetic depletion and enhancement during anthropogenic soil evolution. To this end, the study compared the dynamic changes in magnetic properties as well as iron oxide species of paddy and non-paddy soil chronosequences with the same parent materials. A two-way analysis of variance ( anova) showed that paddy management resulted in significant ( P < 0.01) decreases in magnetic susceptibility (χ) and other magnetic properties. Paddy management-induced χ losses increased gradually from 24 to 55% as the cultivation history increased from 50 to 700 years. The rates of χ decrease were most rapid within the first 50 years of paddy cultivation, after which the rate slowed. The rapid decline in χ is probably caused by accelerated depletion of fine-grained maghemite and ultrafine magnetite by iron-reducing bacteria during soil waterlogging and consequent reducing conditions. By contrast, a significant decrease in hard isothermal remanent magnetization ( HIRM) occurred only after 700 years of paddy cultivation, which matches the time taken to leach CaCO3 from the profile. In contrast, although magnetic enhancement was observed in the non-paddy surface horizon, there was no increasing trend at the millennium time-scale, probably because of the large CaCO3 content of the soil. We show that magnetic properties of paddy and non-paddy soil derived from calcareous sediments are mainly controlled by the changing soil moisture regime and soil carbonate status along different paths of soil development. Our study suggests that differences in soil moisture regime caused by land use are substantially more important than the period of cultivation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By adjusting the focus geometry of a spatially structured laser pulse, single, double, and treble quasi-monoenergetic electron beams were generated, respectively, in laser-wakefield acceleration. Single electron beam was produced as focusing the laser pulse to a single spot. While focusing the laser pulse to two spots that are approximately equal in energy and size and intense enough to form their own filaments, two electron beams were produced. Moreover, with a proper distance between those two focal spots, three electron beams emerged with a certain probability owing to the superposition of the diffractions of those two spots. The energy spectra of the multiple electron beams are quasi-monoenergetic, which are different from that of the large energy spread beams produced due to the longitudinal multiple-injection in the single bubble. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Optimized-quality monoenergetic target surface electron beams at MeV level with low normalized emittance (0.03p mm mrad) and high charge (30 pC) per shot have been obtained from 3 TW lasersolid interactions at a grazing incidence. The 2-Dimension particle-in-cell simulations suggest that electrons are wake-field accelerated in a large-scale, near-critical-density preplasma. It reveals that a bubble-like structure as an accelerating cavity appears in the near-critical-density plasma region and travels along the target surface. A bunch of electrons are pinched transversely and accelerated longitudinally by the wake field in the bubble. The outstanding normalized emittance and monochromaticity of such highly collimated surface electron beams could make it an ideal beam for fast ignition or may serve as an injector in traditional accelerators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aluminium (Al) toxicity is the major factor-limiting crop productivity in acid soils. In the present study, physiological and transcriptional responses of broad bean leaves to Al stress were investigated. Malondialdehyde (MDA) content, H2O2 content and protein carbonyls (PC) level in leaves were increased after 100 μm AlCl3 stress treatment, whereas the total protein content was decreased, compared with the plants without Al treatment. Stomatal closure in leaves of broad bean was increased after Al stress, suggesting that the photosynthesis rate might be affected by Al stress. The relative citrate secretion in leaves was decreased after Al treatment for 24 h according to the 13C-NMR analysis, indicating that citrate in leaves might be transported to the root to chelate Al3+. To investigate the molecular mechanisms of Al toxicity in leaves of broad bean, a suppression subtractive hybridization (SSH) library was constructed to identify up-regulated genes: cDNA from leaves subjected to 12, 24, 48 and 72 h of 50 and 100 μm AlCl3 stress were used as testers and cDNA from leaves subjected to 0 μm AlCl3 treatment for the same lengths of time as above were used as a driver. The SSH analysis identified 156 non-redundant putative Al stress-responsive expressed sequence tags (ESTs) out of 960 clones. The ESTs were categorized into ten functional groups, which were involved in metabolism (0·21), protein synthesis and protein fate (0·10), photosynthesis and chloroplast structure (0·09), transporter (0·08), cell wall related (0·06), signal transduction (0·05), defence, stress and cell death (0·05), energy (0·03), transcription factor (0·03) and unknown proteins (0·30). The effect of Al treatment on expression of 15 selected genes was investigated by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT–PCR), confirming induction by Al stress. The results indicated that genes involved in organic acid metabolism, transport, photosynthesis and chloroplast structure, defence, stress and cell death might play important roles under Al stress. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Upon the interaction of 60 TW Ti: sapphire laser pulses with 4 mm long supersonic nitrogen gas jet, a directional x-ray emission was generated along with the generation of stable quasi-monoenergetic electron beams having a peak energy of 130 MeV and a relative energy spread of ~ 20%. The betatron x-ray emission had a small divergence of 7.5 mrad and a critical energy of 4keV. The laser wakefield acceleration process was stimulated in a background plasma density of merely 5.4 x 1017cm-3 utilizing ionization injection. The non-self-focusing and stable propagation of the laser pulse in the pure nitrogen gaseous plasma should be responsible for the simultaneous generation of the high-quality X-ray and electron beams. Those ultra-short and naturally-synchronized beams could be applicable to ultrafast pump-probe experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report an efficient Mo Kα x-ray source produced by interaction of femtosecond Ti: sapphire laser pulses with a solid Molybdenum target working at 1 kHz repetition rate. The generated Mo Kα x-ray intensity reaches to 4.7 x 1010 photons sr-1 s-1, corresponding to an average power of 0.8 mW into 2π solid angle. The spatial resolution of this x-ray source is measured to be 26 lp/mm. With the high flux and high spatial resolution characteristics, high resolving in-line x-ray radiography was realized on test objects and large size biological samples within merely half a minute. This experiment shows the possibility of laser plasma hard x-ray source as a new low cost and high resolution system for radiography and its ability of ultrafast x-ray pump-probe study of matter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present an indirect method to diagnose the electron beam behaviors and bubble dynamic evolution in a laser-wakefield accelerator. Four kinds of typical bubble dynamic evolution and, hence, electron beam behaviors observed in Particle-In-Cell simulations are identified correspondingly by simultaneous measurement of distinct angular distributions of the betatron radiation and electron beam energy spectra in experiment. The reconstruction of the bubble evolution may shed light on finding an effective way to better generate high-quality electron beams and enhanced betatron X-rays. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the involvement of insulin-like signaling in cancer has been well documented in various types of cancers, the association between the genetic variants in the insulin-like signaling and the development of hepatitis B virus ( HBV)-related hepatocellular carcinoma ( HCC) remains unclear. In this study, a total of 498 individuals including 173 HBV related cirrhosis patients, 171 HBV-related HCC patients, and 154 healthy controls were enrolled. Sixteen single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in IGF1, IGF2, IGF1R and IGF2R have been genotyped by employing SNaPshot assays. We found A/A genotype at rs3743251 of IGF1R was negatively associated with HBV related HCC [odds ratio ( OR) = 0.38, 95% confidence interval ( CI) = 0.20-0.72, P = 0.037]; A/G genotype decreased the risk of portal vein thrombosis ( OR = 0.38, 95% CI = 0.18-0.82, P = 0.01). These results indicate that rs3743251 polymorphism in IGF1R is associated with the susceptibility of HBV-related HCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Proton acceleration from 4 im thick aluminum foils irradiated by 30-TW Ti:sapphire laser pulses is investigated using an angle-resolved proton energy spectrometer. We find that a modulated spectral peak at ~0.82 MeV is presented at 2.5° off the target normal direction. The divergence angle of the modulated zone is 3.8°. Two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations reveal that self-generated toroidal magnetic field at the rear surface of the target foil is responsible for the modulated spectral feature. The field deflects the low energy protons, resulting in the modulated energy spectrum with certain peaks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The lateral transport patterns of energetic electrons in thin foil targets irradiated with relativistically intense, picosecond laser pulses with different peak-to-pedestal intensity contrast ratios are reported. For ‘low contrast’ pulses, a large current of energetic electrons is found to be transported along the target front surface, due to the formation of strong quasi-static electric and magnetic fields. This is distinctly different from the case with ‘high contrast’ pulses, where energetic electrons are spatially confined. Although this lateral transport reduces the efficiency of the laser energy coupling into ion and radiation production in the region of the laser focus, it can play an important role in directing energy transport in advanced fast ignition schemes involving hollow cone targets and also in heating the target (to generate states of warm dense matter) in regions far from the drive laser focus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims EphB2 is a member of receptor tyrosine kinases ( RTKs) family that is essential for the cell adhesion, neural crest migration, axon guidance and synaptogenesis in the nervous system. Recent studies show that preservation of EphB2 in a transgenic mouse model of Alzheimer's disease ( AD) rescues the cognitive deficit, suggesting a crucial role of EphB2 in AD. However, the expression and distribution profiles of EphB2 in the early stage of AD have not been reported. Methods Immunohistochemistry, immunoblot and immunofluorescence were used to analyse the level of EphB2 in Tg2576 mice at different ages and in cultured neurones with Aβ treatment at different times. Results EphB2 was reduced in an age-dependent manner in the olfactory bulb and the hippocampus of Tg2576 mice. The decrease of EphB2 appeared earlier in the olfactory bulb than the hippocampus, and reduction of EphB2 appeared earlier than that of MAP2, a dendritic cytoskeleton marker. In the cortex, EphB2 displayed a significant translocation from the neuronal processes to the cell bodies with ageing. In primary hippocampal neuronal cultures, Aβ42 treatment also induced the decrement of EphB2 that was prior to the decline of MAP2. Conclusions Our findings provide the first evidence for an age- and region-dependent reduction and intracellular translocation of EphB2 in Tg2576 mice, and the foremost decrement of EphB2 in the olfactory bulb may represent an early sign of AD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated the effects of prophylactic nucleoside analogue treatment on HBV activation in patients with antibodies against core antigen ( HBc Ab+) patients undergoing immunosuppressive therapy. Patients (113), who were HBc Ab+, with various autoimmune diseases, undergoing immunosuppressive therapy, were divided into two groups. The control group, not treated with antivirals, and the prophylactic group, treated with antiviral drugs. The two groups were evaluated for changes in serum biochemical marker (alanine aminotransferase ALT), virological marker ( HBV DNA) and for seroconversion. In the control group, the number of patients with an increase in ALT in patients with isolated HBc Ab and HBc Ab and antibodies against HBs Ag ( HBs Ab +) were five (20.0%) and one (2.8%), respectively ( P < 0.05). There were six cases (24.0%) with an increase in HBV DNA in the isolated HBc Ab+ subgroup and one case (2.8%) in HBs Ab+/ HBc Ab+ subgroup ( P < 0.05). In the HBc Ab+ only population, six patients (24.0%) in the control group had an increase in HBV DNA compared with none in the antiviral prophylactic group ( P < 0.05). One patient (4.0%) with HBc Ab+ in the control group underwent an HBs Ag seroconversion when receiving immunosuppressive therapy for 18 months, while none in the antiviral prophylactic group underwent reversion to HBs Ag positivity ( P = 0.4949). Under immunosuppressive condition, the risk of HBV activation was much higher in patients with HBc Ab than in patients with both HBc Ab and antibodies to HBs Ab group. Antiviral prophylactic therapy could significantly reduce the risk of HBV reactivation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For centuries, Berberine has been used in the treatment of enteritis in China, and it is also known to have anti-hyperglycemic effects in type 2 diabetic patients. However, as Berberine is insoluble and rarely absorbed in gastrointestinal tract, the mechanism by which it works is unclear. We hypothesized that it may act locally by ameliorating intestinal barrier abnormalities and endotoxemia. A high-fat diet combined with low-dose streptozotocin was used to induce type 2 diabetes in male Sprague Dawley rats. Berberine (100 mg/kg) was administered by lavage to diabetic rats for 2 weeks and saline was given to controls. Hyperinsulinemia and insulin resistance improved in the Berberine group, although there was no significant decrease in blood glucose. Berberine treatment also led to a notable restoration of intestinal villi/mucosa structure and less infiltration of inflammatory cells, along with a decrease in plasma lipopolysaccharide (LPS) level. Tight junction protein zonula occludens 1 (ZO1) was also decreased in diabetic rats but was restored by Berberine treatment. Glutamine-induced glucagon-like peptide 2 (GLP2) secretion from ileal tissue decreased dramatically in the diabetic group but was restored by Berberine treatment. Fasting insulin, insulin resistance index, plasma LPS level, and ZO1 expression were significantly correlated with GLP2 level. In type 2 diabetic rats, Berberine treatment not only augments GLP2 secretion and improves diabetes but is also effective in repairing the damaged intestinal mucosa, restoring intestinal permeability, and improving endotoxemia. Whether these effects are mechanistically related will require further studies, but they certainly support the hypothesis that Berberine acts via modulation of intestinal function [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Terahertz (THz) radiation can be produced from a laser wakefield driven in underdense plasmas in the presence of a transverse DC magnetic field. It is shown that the radiation usually contains a component at the electron plasma frequency and its harmonics when the wakefield is excited at high amplitudes. In the highly nonlinear bubble/blowout regime, the radiation contains a smooth component peaked at the reduced electron plasma frequency and an irregular spectrum extending to tens of the electron plasma frequency. The latter is due to the broken-wave structure behind the bubble. A theoretical model is presented and validated via two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations. The measurement of such THz emission may provide a diagnostic of the laser wakefield structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) is the optimum method for investigation of early esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). However, it is difficult to substage early ESCC as T1a or T1b. The aim of this study was to improve the staging accuracy of early ESCC by using EUS combined with submucosal saline injection (SSI). The study enrolled 15 patients with suspected early ESCC who were examined by EUS and subsequently by SSI combined with EUS.The patients then underwent endoscopic or surgical resection within 10 days. The accuracy of EUS staging (alone or following SSI) was evaluated and compared with the pathological results postoperatively. No severe complications of the SSI arose. EUS plus SSI easily distinguished the mucosa from the lesion and the submucosa because of the low-echoic saline- filled cushion in the submucosa. The accuracy of SSI combined with EUS for staging T1a or T1b was 86.7 %, which was better than that using EUS alone (60.0 %). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A short review of our experimental studies on generation of photon and particle beams in submicron clusters irradiated by intense, high-contrast (∼ 108-1010) femtosecond laser pulses is presented. It is shown that highlyefficient laser-cluster interaction allows creating bright sources of X-ray, high-energy electron and ion beams. The examples of applications of femtosecond-laser-produced cluster plasmas (FLPCP) for X-ray and ion beams radiography are presented. (© 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Medicago sativa is an excellent pasture legume, but it is very sensitive to aluminium (Al) toxicity. To better understand the mechanism of M. sativa sensitivity to Al, a forward suppression subtractive hybridization (SSH) cDNA library for an Al-sensitive cultivar, M. sativa L. cv. Yumu No. 1 (YM1), under 5 μm Al stress over a 24 h period was constructed to analyse changes in its gene expression in response to Al stress. Sequence analysis for the SSH cDNA library generated 291 high-quantity expression sequence tags (ESTs). Of these, 229 were known as functional ESTs, 137 of which have already been reported as Al response genes, whereas the other 92 were potentially novel Al-associated genes. The up-regulation of known Al resistance-associated genes encoding the transcription factor sensitive to proton rhizotoxicity 1 (STOP1) and malate transporter MsALMT1 (Al-activated malate transporter) as well as genes for antioxidant enzymes was observed. Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction analysis validated the reliability of the SSH data and confirmed the up-regulated expression of STOP1 and MsALMT1 under 5 μm Al stress. The analysis of physiological changes indicated that hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and malondialdehyde levels were elevated rapidly under 5 μm Al stress, suggesting that severe oxidative stress occurred in the YM1 roots. The up-regulation of antioxidant-related genes might be an important protective mechanism for YM1 in response to the oxidative stress induced by 5 μm Al toxicity. Al-induced malate exudation was increased drastically during the early period after Al treatment, which might have been due to the up-regulation and function of MsALMT and STOP1. However, malate exudation from the YM1 roots declined quickly during the subsequent period, and a gradual decrease in malate content was simultaneously observed in the YM1 roots. This result is in agreement with the observation that organic acid metabolism-associated enzymes such as phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase, citrate synthase and malate dehydrogenase were not present in the SSH library. This might be a major reason for the YM1 sensitivity to Al. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The interaction between two counter-streaming laser-produced plasmas is investigated using the high-power Shenguang II laser facility. The shockwaves observed in our experiment are believed to be excited by collisionless mechanisms. The dimensionless parameters calculated with the results suggest that it is possible to scale the observation to the supernova remnants using transformation and similarity criteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study which employs immunohistochemical staining to evaluate the potential of three cancer biomarkers for differentiating between smooth muscle tumors of uncertain malignant potential (STUMP), leiomyoma and leiomyosarcomas. It analyzes the correlation of phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome 10 (PTEN), tau-AP-3 and thymidylate synthase (TS) expression patterns with uterine smooth muscle neoplasms. It discusses the immunohistochemistry (IHC) technique.

Slight non-parallelism of the gratings in the compressor of a chirped-pulse amplification laser system produces angular chirp which results in a significant reduction of the focused intensity due to elongation of the pulse duration and enlargement of the focal spot. The effect of three-dimensional relative misalignment angles between two gratings on the far-field pattern of the pulses propagating through them is investigated by ray tracing. The far-field pattern provides two-dimensional information of the uncompensated angular dispersion directly. A simple and intuitive alignment procedure to achieve parallelism of the compression gratings by far-field monitoring is demonstrated experimentally, while the alignment precision is found to be the same as the methods proposed previously. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study was to investigate the correlation between the concentrations of vascular endothelial cell growth factor (VEGF), nitric oxide (NO), or endothelin-1 (ET-1) in follicular fluid with antral follicle counts (AFCs) or ovarian volume in order to predict the outcome of in vitro fertilization (IVF). One hundred and thirty-one patients were enrolled in this study, and the pregnancy rate was 37.4%. The concentration of VEGF or NO was significantly increased, while the concentration of ET-1 in follicular fluid was decreased in the group who became pregnant ( P < 0.05). The ovarian volume or AFC was significantly higher in groups that became pregnant ( P < 0.05). In addition, the ovarian volume or AFC was positively correlated with the concentration of VEGF or NO and negatively correlated with the concentration of ET-1 in follicular fluid. Our data suggest that these correlations may be associated with the successful pregnancies through IVF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]