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The Kadsura coccinea fruit is a wild fruit that may be eaten and used medicinally. Its seeds are rich in nutrients but are typically thrown away without processing.The physicochemical characterization, volatiles, fatty acids, lipids and concomitants of cold-processed seed oils from four kinds of K. coccinea were evaluated. The average kernel yield and oil yield of K. coccinea seeds were 68.21 % and 30.44 %, respectively. The seed oil contains a moderate level of total phenolics (368.99–503.99 mgGAE/100 g), total flavonoids (95.01–126.18 mg RE/100 g), and β-sitosterol (1498.8–1712.7 mg/kg) with higher iodine value, lower acid value, saponification value and shorter induction time. GC analysis reveals appreciable amounts of linoleic acid (64.91–68.05 %) and squalene in seed oil. GC–MS analysis showed that the major volatile compounds were γ-muurolene (27.25–31.7 %), β-himachalene (19.51–20.37 %) and β-curcumene (15.78–16.78 %). Moreover, 16 terpenoids, 14 phenolics were identified by UPLC-QTOF-MS/MS. These results suggest that K. coccinea seed seems an promising alternative oilseed with biological ingredients for food, cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries.

Flavone is widely found in plants and plays an important role in plant defense against pests. Many pests, such as Helicoverpa armigera, use flavone as a cue to upregulate counter-defense genes for detoxification of flavone. Yet the spectrum of the flavone-inducible genes and their linked cis-regulatory elements remains unclear. In this study, 48 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were found by RNA-seq. These DEGs were mainly concentrated in the retinol metabolism and drug metabolism-cytochrome P450 pathways. Further in silico analysis of the promoter regions of 24 upregulated genes predicted two motifs through MEME and five previously characterized cis-elements including CRE, TRE, EcRE, XRE-AhR and ARE. Functional analysis of the two predicted motifs and two different versions of ARE (named ARE1 and ARE2) in the promoter region of the flavone-inducible carboxylesterase gene CCE001j verified that the two motifs and ARE2 are not responsible for flavone induction of H. armigera counter-defense genes, whereas ARE1 is a new xenobiotic response element to flavone (XRE-Fla) and plays a decisive role in flavone induction of CCE001j. This study is of great significance for further understanding the antagonistic interaction between plants and herbivorous insects.

During the messenger RNA (mRNA) maturation process, RNA polyadenylation is a key step, and is coupled to the termination of transcription. Various cis-acting elements near the cleavage site and their binding factors would affect the process of polyadenylation, and AAUAAA, a highly conserved hexamer, was the most important polyadenylation signal (PAS). PAS usage is one of the critical modification determinants targeted at mRNA post-transcription. The full-length transcriptome has recently generated a massive amount of sequencing data, revealing poly(A) variation and alternative polyadenylation (APA) in Spodoptera frugiperda. We identified 50,616 polyadenylation signals in Spodoptera frugiperda via analysis of full-length transcriptome combined with expression Sequence Tags Technology (EST). The polyadenylation signal usage in Spodoptera frugiperda is conserved, and it is similar to that of flies and other animals. AAUAAA and AUUAAA are the most highly conserved polyadenylation signals of all polyadenylation signals we identified. Additionally, we found the U/GU-rich downstream sequence element (DSE) in the cleavage site. These results demonstrate that APA in Spodoptera frugiperda plays a significant role in root growth and development. This is the first polyadenylation signal usage analysis in agricultural pests, which can deepen our understanding of Spodoptera frugiperda and provide a theoretical basis for pest control.

First-generation epithelial growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR‑TKIs) have markedly improved the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (non‑SCLC) with EGFR‑sensitive mutations. However, acquired resistance to these drugs was inevitable. The transformation of lung adenocarcinoma to SCLC following treatment with EGFR‑TKIs is a rare phenomenon that contributes to resistance to EGFR‑TKIs. The present case concerns a 74‑year‑old man previously diagnosed with and treated for pneumonia; however, this was later pathologically confirmed as lung adenocarcinoma by transbronchial lung biopsy. Deletion of exon 19 of EGFR was identified by next‑generation sequencing technology. The patient improved markedly when treated with gefitinib, but relapsed after 1 year, with markedly increased serum levels of neuron-specific enolase (NSE). Transformation to SCLC was detected by endobronchial ultrasound transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS‑TBNA) re‑biopsy, which was negative for the deletion of exon 19 of EGFR. The patient was positive for vimentin expression and refractory to etoposide and cisplatin chemotherapy, and succumbed to the disease 18 months after diagnosis. Transformation of the disease from adenocarcinoma to SCLC may have been due to cancer heterogeneity. Re‑biopsy is therefore important in EGFR‑TKI‑resistant patients for genetic and histological re‑evaluation. NSE serum levels may also be useful for detecting early SCLC transformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Monotherapy and sequential combination therapy have been widely used in the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). There is limited evidence for initial combination therapy in patients with PAH, particularly those with World Health Organization (WHO) functional class III or IV. METHODS: Twenty-seven consecutive treatment-naive PAH subjects with WHO functional class III or IV PAH were randomized into 3 groups with a 1:1:1 ratio: a combination therapy group with 125 mg of bosentan twice daily plus 10 µg of iloprost 4-6 times/d; a bosentan monotherapy group with 125 mg of bosentan twice daily; and a iloprost monotherapy group with 10 µg of iloprost 4-6 times/d. Clinical and hemodynamic data were collected at baseline, 6 weeks, and 3 months. The primary end point was the change in the 6-min walk distance (6MWD) from baseline values. RESULTS: At baseline, there were no differences in demographics, WHO classification, hemodynamics, classification of PAH, or 6MWD among the 3 groups. The 6MWD significantly improved in the combination therapy group compared with the bosentan monotherapy and iloprost monotherapy groups at week 6 (P = .001) and after 3 months (P < .001), respectively. Secondary end points significantly improved in the combination therapy group for mean pulmonary artery pressure, cardiac index, and WHO functional classification after 3 months of treatment and for N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide, Minnesota Living with Heart Failure questionnaire scores, and PaO2 after 6 weeks and 3 months of treatment, compared with the monotherapy groups. CONCLUSIONS: Initial combination therapy in treatment-naive PAH subjects with WHO functional class III or IV can significantly improve 6MWD, hemodynamics, and quality of life compared with monotherapy. Further studies with large samples and placebo controls are required to assess the tolerability and efficacy of initial combination therapy in patients with PAH. (ClinicalTrials.gov registration NCT01712997). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spatial clustering is an important method for spatial data mining and knowledge discovery. According to the deficiency existing in density-based clustering algorithm DBSCAN ,such as the I/O overhead, memory consumption etc. This paper improves the DBSCAN algorithm ,which proposed directional density algorithm, the algorithm reduces lots of points which need to be queried. By taking Geographic Information System for the application background, we successfully applied to forecast the distribution of urban water points. Compared with the traditional DBSCAN algorithm, the results conformed to the actual situation, and efficiency increased by 20%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]