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Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) have made great successes in clinical diagnosis, medical research, and neurological science. MRI provides high resolution anatomical images of tissues/organs, and MRS provides information of the functional molecules related to a specific tissue/organ. However, it is difficult for classic MRI/MRS to selectively image/probe a specific metabolite molecule other than the water or fat in tissues/organs. This greatly limits their applications on the study of the molecular mechanism(s) of metabolism and disease. Herein, we report a series of molecularly targeted MRI/MRS methods to target specific molecules. The optimal control method was used to efficiently prepare the singlet spin orders of varied multi-spin systems and in turn greatly expand the choice of the targeted molecules in the molecularly targeted MRI/MRS. Several molecules, such as N-acetyl-l-aspartic acid (NAA), dopamine (DA), and a tripeptide (alanine-glycine-glycine, AGG), have been used as targeted molecules for molecularly targeted MRI and MRS. We show in vivo NAA-targeted 1H MRS spectrum of a human brain. The high-resolution signal of NAA suggests a promising way to study important issues in molecular biology at the molecular level, e.g., measuring the local pH value of tissue in vivo, demonstrating the high potential of such methods in medicine.

We aimed to examine whether the efficacy of the risk of poor prognosis in patients with coronary artery disease is jointly affected by total cholesterol and baseline serum albumin in a secondary analysis of previous study. We analyzed the data of 204 patients from October 2014 to October 2017 for newly diagnosed stable CAD. The outcome was major adverse cardiac events (MACE; defined as all cause mortality, non fatal myocardial infarction, and non fatal stroke). The median duration of follow-up was 783 days. Multivariable COX model was performed to revalidate the relationship between the sALB and MACE and interaction tests were conducted to find the effects of total cholesterol on their association. A total of 28 MACE occurred among the 204 participants. The risk of MACE varied by baseline serum albumin and total cholesterol. Specifically, lower serum albumin indicated higher risk of MACE (HR 3.52, 95% CI 1.30–9.54), and a test for interaction between baseline serum albumin and total cholesterol on MACE was significant (P = 0.0005). We suggested that baseline serum albumin and total cholesterol could interactively affect the risk of poor prognosis of patients with coronary artery diseases. Our findings need to be confirmed by further randomized trials.

A surface Ag nano-network pattern is formed by first depositing Ag nanoparticles (NPs) on a conductive template, which has a certain defect structure, and then illuminating the Ag NPs with ultraviolet (UV) light in a moist environment. Such an Ag nano-network pattern consists of multiple connected Brownian trees (BTs), which are produced through the diffusion-limited aggregation (DLA) process. In the DLA process, diffuse Ag+ ions, which are generated by UV light illumination and dissolved by a thin adsorbed water layer on the surfaces of the Ag NPs and used GaN template, settle to form a BT through the combination with excited hot electrons migrating into the template from the Ag NPs. The lateral transport of hot electrons in the template is regulated by the distributions of threading dislocation and point defect cluster in the template, which eventually become the centers of BTs. The structure of a surface Ag nano-network can potentially serve as a transparent conductor.

Polycephalomyces (Ophiocordycipitaceae) species are found in subtropical regions and are parasitic or hyperparasitic on insects. Two new species, P. aurantiacus and P. marginaliradians, parasitic on Ophiocordyceps barnesii and larva of Cossidae respectively, are introduced in this paper. Morphological comparison with extant species and DNA based phylogenies from analyses of a multigene dataset support the establishment of the new taxa. Polycephalomyces aurantiacus, exhibiting a hyperparasitic lifestyle on Ophiocordyceps barnesii, differs from other species in producing orange conidia in mass and have longer β-phialides in culture. Polycephalomyces marginaliradians differs from other Ophiocordyceps species by producing single stromata with a stipe, smaller perithecia and branched α-phialides and catenate α-conidia and is parasitic on Cossidae. A combined nrSSU, nrLSU, ITS, tef-1a, rpb1 and rpb2 sequence data was analysed phylogenetically including Ophiocordyceps and Polycephalomyces taxa. The new species described herein are clearly distinct from other species in Polycephalomyces. We provide a key to the species of Polycephalomyces and discuss relevant interspecies relationships.

The aim of this study was to determine the associations between cardiovascular health and the waist circumference (WC) and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR). A cross-sectional study was performed recruiting 26701 middle-aged Chinese men. Of the seven ideal cardiovascular health metrics, body mass index (BMI), total cholesterol (TC), blood pressure (BP), and fasting blood glucose (FBG) were found to increase with an elevation of the mean WC and WHtR. The mean WC and WHtR were significantly lower in the subjects with intermediate or ideal cardiovascular health than those with poor or intermediate health. After adjustment for age, the mean WC and WHtR decreased by 1.486 cm and 0.009 per 1-point increase in the cardiovascular health score, and 2.242 cm and 0.013 per 1-point increase in the number of ideal cardiovascular health metrics, respectively. The cardiovascular health score was negatively correlated with the WC (r = −0.387) and WHtR (r = −0.400), while the number of ideal cardiovascular health metrics was negatively associated with the WC (r = −0.384) and WHtR (r = −0.395). The cardiovascular health is correlated negatively with the WC and WHtR, and a stronger correlation existed between the cardiovascular health and WHtR than WC.

Anaphase Promoting Complex or Cyclosome (APC/C) is a representative E3 ubiquitin ligase, triggering the transition of metaphase to anaphase by regulating degradation and ensures the exit from mitosis. Cell division cycle 20 (CDC20) and Cell division cycle 20 related protein 1 (CDH1), as co-activators of APC/C, play significant roles in the spindle assembly checkpoint, guiding ubiquitin-mediated degradation, together with CDC23. During the embryonic development of the brine shrimp, Artemia sinica, CDC20, CDH1 and CDC23 participate in cell cycle regulation, but the specific mechanisms of their activities remain unknown. Herein, the full-length cDNAs of cdc20 and cdc23 from A. sinica were cloned. Real-time PCR analyzed the expression levels of As-cdc20 and As-cdc23. The locations of CDH1, CDC20 and CDC23 showed no tissue or organ specificity. Furthermore, western blotting showed that the levels of As-CDC20, securin, cyclin B, CDK1, CDH1, CDC14B, CDC23 and geminin proteins conformed to their complicated degradation relationships during different embryo stages. Our research revealed that As-CDC20, As-CDH1 and APC mediate the mitotic progression, downstream proteins degradation and cellular differentiation in the process of embryonic development in A. sinica.

The aim is to analyse the clinical presentation, treatment and outcomes in patients with Paget’s disease with invasive ductal carcinoma (PD-IDC), with special emphasis on the role of surgical treatment. Using data obtained by the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program from 2010–2013, we investigated the differences in characteristics, overall survival (OS), and breast cancer-specific mortality (BCSM) between patients with PD-IDC and those with invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC). Compared with IDC group, patients with PD-IDC had a better prognosis and lower mortality in adjusted analyses. In the multivariate analysis of cases with PD-IDC, history of ALND was significantly associated with OS while Her2 status were associated with BCSM. Further, subgroup analysis demonstrated no difference between surgical treatment subgroups for either OS or BCSM. The results demonstrated that PD-IDC appears to alter the association between prognosis and Her2 status. Meanwhile, breast-conserving surgery with radiotherapy may be a feasible treatment alternative and sentinel lymph node biopsy should be considered as an appropriate treatment for patients with PD-IDC.

The regulation of chromosomal replication is critical and the activation of DnaA by ATP binding is a key step in replication initiation. However, it remains unclear whether and how the process of ATP-binding to DnaA is regulated. Here, we show that DnaA can be acetylated and its acetylation level varies with cell growth and correlates with DNA replication initiation frequencies in E. coli. Specifically, the conserved K178 in Walker A motif of DnaA can be acetylated and its acetylation level reaches the summit at the stationary phase, which prevents DnaA from binding to ATP or oriC and leads to inhibition of DNA replication initiation. The deacetylation process of DnaA is catalyzed by deacetylase CobB. The acetylation process of DnaA is mediated by acetyltransferase YfiQ and nonenzymatically by acetyl-phosphate. These findings suggest that the reversible acetylation of DnaA ensures cells to respond promptly to environmental changes. Since Walker A motif is universally distributed across organisms, acetylation of Walker A motif may present a novel regulatory mechanism conserved from bacteria to eukaryotes.

Anaphase Promoting Complex or Cyclosome (APC/C) is a representative E3 ubiquitin ligase, triggering the transition of metaphase to anaphase by regulating degradation and ensures the exit from mitosis. Cell division cycle 20 (CDC20) and Cell division cycle 20 related protein 1 (CDH1), as co-activators of APC/C, play significant roles in the spindle assembly checkpoint, guiding ubiquitin-mediated degradation, together with CDC23. During the embryonic development of the brine shrimp, Artemia sinica, CDC20, CDH1 and CDC23 participate in cell cycle regulation, but the specific mechanisms of their activities remain unknown. Herein, the full-length cDNAs of cdc20 and cdc23 from A. sinica were cloned. Real-time PCR analyzed the expression levels of As-cdc20 and As-cdc23. The locations of CDH1, CDC20 and CDC23 showed no tissue or organ specificity. Furthermore, western blotting showed that the levels of As-CDC20, securin, cyclin B, CDK1, CDH1, CDC14B, CDC23 and geminin proteins conformed to their complicated degradation relationships during different embryo stages. Our research revealed that As-CDC20, As-CDH1 and APC mediate the mitotic progression, downstream proteins degradation and cellular differentiation in the process of embryonic development in A. sinica.

It is increasingly attractive to engineer cyanobacteria for bulk production of chemicals from CO2. However, cofactor bias of cyanobacteria is different from bacteria that prefer NADH, which hampers cyanobacterial strain engineering. In this study, the key enzyme d-lactate dehydrogenase (LdhD) from Lactobacillus bulgaricus ATCC11842 was engineered to reverse its favored cofactor from NADH to NADPH. Then, the engineered enzyme was introduced into Synechococcus elongatus PCC7942 to construct an efficient light-driven system that produces d-lactic acid from CO2. Mutation of LdhD drove a fundamental shift in cofactor preference towards NADPH and increased d-lactate productivity by over 3.6-fold. We further demonstrated that introduction of a lactic acid transporter and bubbling CO2-enriched air also enhanced d-lactate productivity. Using this combinational strategy, increased d-lactate concentration and productivity were achieved. The present strategy may also be used to engineer cyanobacteria for producing other useful chemicals.

Luzhoulaojiao liquor is a type of Chinese liquor that dates back hundreds of years, but whose precise chemical composition remains unknown. This paper describes the screening of the liquor and the identification of its compounds using comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography/time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC × GC/TOF-MS). Samples were prepared by both liquid-liquid extraction and solid-phase microextraction, which facilitated the detection of thousands of compounds in the liquor, thus demonstrating the superior performance of the proposed method over those reported in previous studies. A total of 320 compounds were common to all 18 types of Luzhoulaojiao liquor studied here and 13 abundant and potentially bioactive compounds were further quantified. The results indicated that the high-performance method presented here is well suited for the detection and identification of compounds in liquors. This study also contributes to enriching our knowledge of the contents of Chinese liquors.