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Schima superba (Theaceae) is widely distributed in subtropical China, and is the main timber and ecological afforestation tree species. This study aimed to provide a practical basis for the genetic improvement of wood traits of Schima superba. Herein, 10-year-old, half-sib families S. superba trees were used to reveal the genetic variation and control of growth traits and wood traits, as well as the correlation between them. The results revealed significant differences in tree height, DBH, and wood basic density among families. Furthermore, the differences in wood anatomical traits between families increased with age. The order of phenotype and genetic variation among families from large to small was DBH, tree height, vessel, fiber, and wood basic density. The phenotype variation and genetic variation of wood anatomical traits also increased with age. Heritability estimates revealed that wood basic density, DBH, and tree height were under stronger genetic control; fiber and vessel were under moderate genetic control. The correlation results showed that tree height, DBH, and wood basic density could be selected independently. Wood basic density and wood anatomical traits together could be improved. Moreover, based on the selection traits of DBH and WBD, families with excellent growth and wood traits were selected using breeding values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As an important heterogeneous catalyst, ferrierite (FER) zeolite has attracted extensive interest in various catalytic reactions, such as the isomerization of 1-butene. However, the knowledge about the active site of Brønsted acid is still relatively scarce. In this work, the structure, texture and acid properties of four different zeolite samples were well characterized by XRD, SEM, N2-BET, NH3-TPD, and Py-IR spectroscopy, and the relationship between framework Al and acid site distribution was clarified by DR UV–Vis spectroscopy. The results show that Brønsted acid sites tend to be distributed in the intersection cavity of FER zeolite, and the number of acid sites is not directly proportional to the stability of the catalyst. Only Lab-FER showed good stability, which was attributed to the moderate active sites. In addition, research shows that excessive acid sites will lead to a large amount of carbon deposition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The flow, solidification, and solute transport behaviors in the 380 × 280 mm2 bloom center under the effect of final electromagnetic stirring (F-EMS) were investigated using a mathematical model. The results of nail shooting tests and infrared carbon-sulfur analyses are in good agreement with the simulated solidification and carbon concentration results. When F-EMS was installed 13.6 m below the meniscus with a frequency of 8.0 Hz, the maximum tangential velocity at the solidification front increased from 0.013 m/s to 0.023 m/s, and the liquid fraction at the computational outlet decreased from 0.7827 to 0.7256 as the current intensity increased from 300 A to 600 A. For each 100 A increase in the current intensity, the temperature of the mushy steel in the bloom center decreased by an additional 2.4 K. When the current intensity was maintained between 300 A and 400 A, the negative segregation band in the newly solidified shell was eliminated, the uniformity of the carbon distribution around the bloom center was enhanced, and the centerline segregation was noticeably improved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A strategy has been developed for the synthesis of ferrierite (FER) zeolites possessing strong acid sites (SAS) with different strength by using silica sol modified by different amounts of hydrochloric acid (HCl) as silicon source. The effect of HCl-modified silica sol on FER zeolite was investigated by XRD, ICP-AES, SEM, N2 adsorption–desorption, NH3-TPD and Py-IR. Moreover, some typical samples were evaluated in the reaction of 1-butene skeletal isomerization and the coke properties of the deactivated samples were analyzed by TG-MS and Raman spectroscopy. The results revealed that FER zeolite possessing weak SAS has excellent catalytic performance in the reaction of skeletal isomerization of 1-butene. Whereas FER zeolite with moderate SAS exhibits poor stability. By contrast, FER zeolite exhibiting SAS with high strength is easy to promote oligomerization-cracking reaction and reduce isobutene selectivity. Conversely, these findings also confirmed the effectiveness of the strategy for controlling the strength of SAS of FER zeolite. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ubiquitination is a critical post-translational modification machinery that governs a wide range of cellular functions by regulating protein homeostasis. Identification of ubiquitinated proteins and lysine residues can help researchers better understand the physiological roles of ubiquitin modification in different biological systems. In this study, we report the first comprehensive analysis of the peach ubiquitome by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry-based diglycine remnant affinity proteomics. Our systematic profiling revealed a total of 544 ubiquitination sites on a total of 352 protein substrates. Protein annotation and functional analysis suggested that ubiquitination is involved in modulating a variety of essential cellular and physiological processes in peach, including but not limited to carbon metabolism, histone assembly, translation and vesicular trafficking. Our results could facilitate future studies on how ubiquitination regulates the agricultural traits of different peach cultivars and other crop species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oxymatrine (OMT), one of the main active components of extracts from the dry roots of Sophora flavescens, has been reported to possess many pharmacological properties including cancer-preventive and anti-cancer effects. The aim of the present study is to explore the efficiency of combination therapy with OMT and oxaliplatin (OXA) and identify the in vitro and in vivo cytotoxicity on colon cancer lines (HT29 and SW480) and mice model. Cells were treated with OMT and/or OXA and subjected to cell viability, colony formation, apoptosis, cell cycle, western blotting, xenograft tumorigenicity assay and immunohistochemistry. The results demonstrated that OMT and OXA inhibited the proliferation of colon cancer cells, and combination therapy of OMT and OXA resulted in a combination index < 1, indicating a synergistic effect. Co-treatment with OMT and OXA caused G0/G1 phase arrest by upregulating P21, P27 and downregulating cyclin D, and induced apoptosis through decreasing the expression of p-PI3K, p-AKT, p-mTOR, p-p70S6K. In addition, pretreatment with a specific PI3K/AKT activator (IGF-1) significantly neutralized the pro-apoptotic activity of OXA + OMT, demonstrating the important role of PI3K/AKT in this process. Moreover, in nude mice model, co-treatment displayed more efficient inhibition of tumor weight and volume on SW480 xenograft mouse model than single-agent treatment with OXA or OMT. Immunohistochemistry analysis suggests the combinations greatly suppressed tumor proliferation, which consistent with our in vitro results. In conclusion, our findings highlight that the combination therapy with OMT and OXA exerted synergistic antitumor effects in colon cancer cells through PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway and combination treatment with OMT and OXA would be a promising therapeutic strategy for colon carcinoma treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quercetin (Q), a flavonoid compound, which is obtained in variety of fruits, seeds, and vegetables, has been reported to possess many pharmacological properties including cancer-preventive and anticancer effects. However, studies on the anticancer effects and underlying mechanisms of Q in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are still limited. The present study is conducted to investigate the anticancer efficacy and adjuvant chemotherapy action of Q in HCC. HCC cell lines HepG2 and SMCC-7721 were treated with different concentrations of Q. The antiproliferative effects of Q were measured by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT), and the apoptosis and cell cycle dynamics were assessed by flow cytometry; the expression of apoptosis-associated proteins were evaluated by Western blot and immunohistochemistry staining; the tumor growth in vivo was evaluated in a xenograft mouse model. Our results showed that Q effectively inhibited human HCC cell proliferation and induced apoptosis by upregulating the expression of Bad and Bax and downregulating the expression of Bcl-2 and Survivin in vitro. Furthermore, Q obviously inhibited the tumor growth and enhanced the 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) therapeutic efficacy in vitro and in vivo. Taken together, our findings highlight that Q effectively inhibited the growth of tumor and enhanced the sensitivity to thermotherapy, indicating Q is a potential treatment option for HCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Retraction Note to: Cytotechnology (2016) 68:123-133 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10616-014-9763-... The Editors-in-Chief have retracted this article at the request of the first author. The Editors-in-Chief therefore no longer have confidence in the reliability of the data reported in the article. [Extracted from the article]

The cytostatic drug from fruits and other plant derived products have acted as a chemotherapeutic agent used in treatment of a wide variety of cancers. Lupeol, a dietary triterpene, present in many fruits and medicinal plants, has been shown to possess many pharmacological properties including anti-cancer effect in both in vitro and in vivo assay systems. However, the cancer proliferative and invasive inhibitory effects and molecular mechanisms on gallbladder carcinoma GBC-SD cells have not been studied. In the present study, GBC-SD cells were treated by lupeol and subjected to methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium analysis, Hoechst 33342 staining, annexin V/propidium iodide double-staining, transwell chamber assay and Western blot analysis. In addition, GBC-SD xenograft tumors were established in male nude BALB/c mice, and lupeol was intravenously administered to evaluate the anti-cancer capacity in vivo. Our results showed that lupeol inhibited the proliferation, migration, invasion and induced apoptosis of GBC-SD cells in a dose-dependent manner in vitro. Furthermore, the expression of p-EGFR, p-AKT and MMP-9 levels were significantly down-regulated. These protein interactions may play a pivotal role in the regulation of apoptosis and invasion. More importantly, our in vivo studies showed that administration of lupeol decreased tumor growth in a dose-dependent manner. Immunohistochemistry analysis demonstrated the down-regulation of p-EGFR and MMP-9 in tumor tissues following lupeol treatment, consistent with the in vitro results. Taken together, our findings indicated that lupeol can induce apoptotic cell death and inhibit the migration as well as invasion of GBC-SD cells. The mechanism may be associated with the suppression of EGFR/MMP-9 signaling. These results might offer a therapeutic potential advantage for human gallbladder carcinoma chemoprevention or chemotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lupeol, a dietary triterpene, present in many fruits and medicinal plants, has been reported to possess many pharmacological properties including anti-cancer activities both in vitro and in vivo. However, the precise mechanism involved remains largely unknown. The present study is conducted to investigate the anti-cancer activity and the underlying mechanisms of lupeol on human pancreatic cancer proliferating cell nuclear antigen 1 (PCNA-1) cells in vitro and in vivo. Lupeol significantly inhibited the proliferation of the cells in dose- and time-dependent manners and induced apoptosis as well as cell cycle arrest in G0/G1 phase by upregulating P21 and P27 and downregulating cyclin D1. The expression of apoptosis-related proteins in cells was evaluated by western blot analysis, and we found that lupeol induced cell apoptosis by decreasing the levels of p-AKT and p-ERK. In addition, pretreatment with a specific PI3K/AKT activator (IGF-1) significantly neutralized the pro-apoptotic activity of lupeol in PCNA-1 cells, demonstrating the important role of AKT in this process. More importantly, our in vivo studies showed that administration of lupeol decreased tumor growth in a dose-dependent manner. Immunohistochemistry analysis demonstrated the downregulation of p-AKT and p-ERK in tumor tissues following lupeol treatment, consistent with the in vitro results. Therefore, these findings indicate that lupeol can inhibit cell proliferation and induce apoptosis as well as cell cycle arrest of PCNA-1 cells and might offer a therapeutic potential advantage for human pancreatic cancer chemoprevention or chemotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three-dimensional (3D) reconstructed images have been increasingly applied for medical education. Although many studies have described the benefits of such applications, the best time to introduce 3D technology into surgical training has not been determined. Therefore, we conducted a randomized study to determine a suitable period for the introduction of this technology. Seventy-one surgical residents were randomized into 2 groups (two-dimensional computed tomography (CT) group and 3D image group), and they completed a test on anatomy and imaging as well as a questionnaire. Post-graduate year 1 (PGY1) residents in the 3D group performed significantly better than those in the CT group, although the third-year residents did not present significant differences in either the score or the time spent answering the questions. Although residents in different years of training held different attitudes toward the difficulty of anatomy and imaging learning, they all showed a high level of acceptance of the 3D training. This study revealed that 3D images improved the junior residents' performance in imaging reasoning. Thus, systematically introducing 3D images early in a surgical resident training program may help produce a better anatomy-imaging-surgery system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]