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Abstract Objective The aim of this study is to evaluate an AAV vector that can selectively target breast cancer cells and to investigate its specificity and anti-tumor effects on breast cancer cells both in vitro and in vivo, offering a new therapeutic approach for the treatment of EpCAM-positive breast cancer. Methods In this study, a modified AAV2 viral vector was used, in which EpCAM-specific DARPin EC1 was fused to the VP2 protein of AAV2, creating a viral vector that can target breast cancer cells. The targeting ability and anti-tumor effects of this viral vector were evaluated through in vitro and in vivo experiments. Results The experimental results showed that the AAV2MEC1 virus could specifically infect EpCAM-positive breast cancer cells and accurately deliver the suicide gene HSV-TK to tumor tissue in mice, significantly inhibiting tumor growth. Compared to the traditional AAV2 viral vector, the AAV2MEC1 virus exhibited reduced accumulation in liver tissue and had no impact on tumor growth. Conclusion This study demonstrates that AAV2MEC1 is a gene delivery vector capable of targeting breast cancer cells and achieving selective targeting in mice. The findings offer a potential gene delivery system and strategies for gene therapy targeting EpCAM-positive breast cancer and other tumor types.

Background: Ginkgo biloba extract (GBE), a complementary and alternative medicine, has been widely used for disorders such as brain infarction, dementia, and coronary heart disease, in recent decades. Given its widespread clinical use, GBE has always been a vital research topic. However, there are no bibliometric analyses on this topic; furthermore, published reviews of GBE focus only on a specific research field or lack scientific and systematic evaluation. This study combined bibliometrics with thematic reviews by visual analysis to identify the current status of GBE research and to better identify research hotspots and trends in the past 40 years to understand future developments in basic and clinical research. Methods: Articles and reviews on GBE were retrieved by topic from the Web of Science Core Collection from inception to 2022.12.01. Countries, institutions, authors, journals, references, and keywords in the field were visually analyzed using CiteSpace, Scimago Graphica, and VOSviewer software; then, these visualization results for references and keywords were clarified in detail by thematic reviews in subdivisions of the fields. Results: In total, 2015 publications were included. The GBE-related literature has high volumes of publications and citations. The majority of literature is from China, and the USA cooperates most closely with other countries. In GBE research, Christen Yves is the most cited author, Phytotherapy Research is the most prolific journal, and the Journal of Ethnopharmacology is the most co-cited journal. Through a comprehensive analysis of keywords, references, and reviews, the quality of the meta-analysis of randomized controlled clinical trials of GBE in treating dementia was evaluated by the Risk of Bias in Systematic Reviews scale (ROBIS). Current research on GBE focuses on its pharmacological mechanisms, and neuroprotective application in diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, and glaucoma. Randomized controlled trials are the current research hotspot. Conclusion: Research on GBE is flourishing; using bibliometric and thematic analysis, we identified its hotspots and trends. The pharmacological mechanisms and clinical applications of GBE are the focus of present and likely future research.

Virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) showed several advantages to identify gene functions such as short experimental cycle, more broad hosts, etc. In this study, the feasibility and efficiency of employing Barley stripe mosaic virus (BSMV)-based VIGS system to evaluate Fusarium head blight (FHB) resistance were explored in wheat. With variable conditions tested, it showed that the maximal silencing efficiency 78% on spike was obtained when the recombinant BSMV was inoculated on flag leaf at flagging stage. However, the plant may reduce its own immunity to FHB when inoculated with BSMV. To induce this impact, different Fusarium graminearum strains were tested and SF06-1 strain was selected for FHB resistance evaluation. Using this system, TaAOC, TaAOS, and TaOPR3 involved in jasmonic acid (JA) signaling pathway were identified to positively regulate FHB resistance, which was underpinned by the results when silencing TaAOS in wheat by stable transgenic plants.

The mutation of the gene encoding a stearoyl-acyl carrier protein fatty acid desaturase (ssi2) has been proved to enhance pathogen resistance in several plants, while it's potential to regulate biotic and abiotic stresses in wheat is still unclear. In this study, we cloned TaSSI2 gene in wheat and provided several evidences of its involvement in multiple biological functions. By using barley stripe mosaic virus (BSMV)-induced gene silencing (VIGS) in wheat, it was found that TaSSI2 negatively regulated both powdery mildew and Fusarium head blight (FHB) resistance, which was consistent with the phenotype observed in knock-out mutants of Kronos. The expression of TaSSI2 was down-regulated by in vitro treatments of methyl jasmonate (MeJA), but positively regulated by salicylic acid (SA) and abscisic acid (ABA), implying the cross-talk between different hormone signaling pathways involved in wheat to regulate biotic stresses is still to be elucidated. Furthermore, the up-regulated expression of PR4 and PR5 indicated that TaSSI2 probably regulated FHB resistance by depressing the SA signaling pathway in wheat. In addition, the over-expression of TaSSI2 increased the content of linolenic acid (18:3) and subsequently enhanced drought tolerance of transgenic Brachypodium. This phenomenon might be associated with its subcellular localization in the whole cytosol, partly overlapping with Golgi apparatus and the secreted vesicles. As a stearoyl-acyl carrier protein fatty acid desaturase, TaSSI2 was proposed to be involved in cell lipid metabolism and carried targets out of the cell from membrane or wax synthesis, resulting in enhanced drought tolerance in plant.

Flowering time and branching type are important agronomic traits related to the adaptability and yield of soybean. Molecular bases for major flowering time or maturity loci, E1 to E4, have been identified. However, more flowering time genes in cultivars with different genetic backgrounds are needed to be mapped and cloned for a better understanding of flowering time regulation in soybean. In this study, we developed a population of Japanese cultivar (Toyomusume)×Chinese cultivar (Suinong 10) to map novel quantitative trait locus (QTL) for flowering time and branch number. A genetic linkage map of a F2 population was constructed using 1 306 polymorphic single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers using Illumina SoySNP8k iSelect BeadChip containing 7 189 (SNPs). Two major QTLs at E1 and E9, and two minor QTLs at a novel locus, qFT2_1 and at E3 region were mapped. Using other sets of F2 populations and their derived progenies, the existence of a novel QTL of qFT2_1 was verified. qBR6_1, the major QTL for branch number was mapped to the proximate to the E1 gene, inferring that E1 gene or neighboring genetic factor is significantly contributing to the branch number.

The pleiotropic drug resistance (PDR) sub-family of adenosine triphosphate (ATP)-binding cassette (ABC) transporter had been reported to participate in diverse biological processes of plant. In this study, we cloned three novel PDR genes in Fusarium head blight (FHB) resistant wheat cultivar Ning 7840, which were located on wheat chromosomes 6A, 6B and 6D. In phylogeny, these genes were members of cluster I together with AePDR7 and BdPDR7. Subcellular localization analysis showed that TaPDR7 was expressed on the plasmalemma. The quantitative real time PCR (RT-PCR) analysis showed that this gene and its probable orthologues in chromosomes 6B and 6D were both up-regulated sharply at 48 h after infected by Fusarium graminearum and trichothecene deoxynivalenol (DON) in spike. When knocking down the transcripts of all TaPDR7 members by barely stripe mosaic virus-induced gene silencing (BSMV-VIGS) system, it could promote the F. graminearum hyphae growth and made larger pathogen inoculation points in Ning 7840, which suggested that TaPDR7 might play an important role in response to F. graminearum. Although salicylic acid (SA), methyl jasmonate (MeJA) and abscisic acid (ABA) had been reported to possibly regulate wheat FHB resistance, here, we found that the three members of TaPDR7 were negatively regulated by these three hormones but positively regulated by indoleacetic acid (IAA).

Soybean was domesticated about 5,000 to 6,000 years ago in China. Although genotyping technologies such as genotyping by sequencing (GBS) and high-density array are available, it is convenient and economical to genotype cultivars or populations using medium-density SNP array in genetic study as well as in molecular breeding. In this study, 235 cultivars, collected from China, Japan, USA, Canada and some other countries, were genotyped using SoySNP8k iSelect BeadChip with 7,189 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). In total, 4,471 polymorphic SNP markers were used to analyze population structure and perform genome-wide association study (GWAS). The most likely K value was 7, indicating this population can be divided into 7 subpopulations, which is well in accordance with the geographic origins of cultivars or accession studied. The LD decay rate was estimated at 184 kb, where r2 dropped to half of its maximum value (0.205). GWAS using FarmCPU detected a stable quantitative trait nucleotide (QTN) for hilum color and seed color, which is consistent with the known loci or genes. Although no universal QTNs for flowering time and maturity were identified across all environments, a total of 30 consistent QTNs were detected for flowering time (R1) or maturity (R7 and R8) on 16 chromosomes, most of them were corresponding to known E1 to E4 genes or QTL region reported in SoyBase (soybase.org). Of 16 consistent QTNs for protein and oil contents, 11 QTNs were detected having antagonistic effects on protein and oil content, while 4 QTNs soly for oil content, and one QTN soly for protein content. The information gained in this study demonstrated that the usefulness of the medium-density SNP array in genotyping for genetic study and molecular breeding.

The reliability of data-nodes and the reliability of relevant network links were analyzed,and then the reliability model of replica service of cloud storage systems was constructed.According to the relationships among access reliability,the number of replicas and the number of user’s accesses,the reliability of data service and the trigger mechanism of replica generation were presented,and the storage node selection was aptly checked,then the replica distribution algorithm and replica deletion algorithm were proposed.Finally a series of experiments were conducted in the cloud storage system,named ERS-Cloud,and the results indicate that the approach can ensure the reliability of data service,and further decrease the number of replicas of the redundant storage.

Vibrio parahaemolyticus isolated from seafood is a pathogenic microorganism that leads to several acute diseases that are harmful to our health and is frequently transmitted by food. Therefore, there is an urgent need for the control and suppression of this pathogen. In this paper, transcriptional analysis was used to determine the effect of treatment with benzyl isothiocyanate (BITC) extracted from cruciferous vegetables on V. parahaemolyticus and to elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying the response to BITC. Treatment with BITC resulted in 332 differentially expressed genes, among which 137 genes were downregulated, while 195 genes were upregulated. Moreover, six differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in RNA sequencing studies were further verified by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Genes found to regulate virulence encoded an l-threonine 3-dehydrogenase, a GGDEF family protein, the outer membrane protein OmpV, a flagellum-specific adenosine triphosphate synthase, TolQ protein and VirK protein. Hence, the results allow us to speculate that BITC may be an effective control strategy for inhibiting microorganisms growing in foods.

The significant increase in demand for molybdenum (Mo) resources has led to excessive molybdate (Mo(VI)) content in water, posing a challenge to the innovation of Mo(VI) removal technology in water bodies. Nanoscale iron sulfide (FeS) has an important effect on the environmental behavior of Mo(VI) in aquatic solutions. To address the issue of easy agglomeration and poor stability of FeS, zirconia sol-modified nanoscale iron sulfide (Zr-FeS) was synthesized, and the adsorption behavior of Zr-FeS on Mo(VI) from diverse aquatic solutions was also investigated in this study. The results showed that the removal rate of Mo(VI) was increased from 28.60% to 78.32% within pH value of 7.0 when Zr/Fe molar ratio was elevated from 0 to 0.5. Moreover, the Mo(VI) adsorption efficiency by Zr-FeS was closely related to pH values, and acid conditions were beneficial for Mo(VI) adsorption. The pseudo-second-order model demonstrated a better fit to the data compared to other models. The maximum adsorption capacity of Zr-FeS towards Mo(VI) value calculated by Langmuir isotherm model was 118.48 mg/g at 298 K. The thermodynamic analysis revealed that the adsorption process of Mo(VI) was endothermic, entropically favorable, and spontaneous in nature. Competing anions (e.g., PO4 3-, HCO3 -, and SO4 2-) partially inhibited the adsorption process of Mo(VI) by Zr-FeS. While the process was less affected by dissolved oxygen and aging. The results of Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and density functional theory (DFT) calculations revealed that the main mechanisms for Mo(VI) removal were hydrogen bonding, electrostatic interaction and surface complexation. The high stability and fast adsorption rate indicated that Zr-FeS was a promising material to remove Mo(VI) from the aquatic solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The influence of 11 kinds of oxygen-containing sulfur flavor molecules was examined on β-carotene stability under UVA irradiation in ethanol system. Both the effects of sulfides on dynamic degradation of β-carotene and the relation between structure and effect were investigated. The oxidation products of β-carotene accelerated by sulfides under UVA irradiation were also identified. The results indicated that the disulfides had more obvious accelerative effects on the photodegradation of β-carotene than mono sulfides. The degradation of β-carotene after methyl (2-methyl-3-furyl) disulfide (MMFDS), methyl furfuryl disulfide (MFDS) and bis(2-methyl-3-furyl) disulfide (BMFDS) exposure followed first-order kinetics. Furan-containing sulfides such as MMFDS and BMFDS showed more pronounced accelerative effects than their corresponding isomers. The oxidation products were identified as 13-cis-β-carotene, 9,13-di-cis-β-carotene and all-trans-5,6-epoxy-β-carotene. These results suggest that both the sulfur atom numbers and the furan group in oxygen-containing sulfides play a critical role in the photooxidation of β-carotene.

BACKGROUND:Liver X receptor alpha (LXRα) and endoglin have been postulated to play roles in trophoblast invasion and lipid metabolic disturbances. However, the relationship between LXRα and endoglin levels in serum and placenta of patients with preeclampsia remains poorly understood. The objective of this study was to identify correlations between LXRα, endoglin and preeclampsia and provide new feasible methods of clinical prediction and treatment for preeclampsia. METHODS:We enrolled 45 patients with preeclampsia (24 with moderate preeclampsia and 21 with severe preeclampsia) and 15 normal pregnant women (control group) who were admitted to the Department of Obstetrics of the General Hospital of Beijing Command between October 2012 and July 2013 in this study. Serum and placental LXRα and endoglin levels were analyzed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, real-time quantitative PCR, tissue microarray and immunohistochemistry. RESULTS:Serum and placental LXRα and endoglin levels were significantly higher in patients with preeclampsia than those in control group (P

The evolutionarily conserved C-terminal binding protein (CtBP) has been well characterized as a transcriptional co-repressor. Herein, we report a previously unreported function for CtBP, showing that lowering CtBP dosage genetically suppresses Polycomb group (PcG) loss-of-function phenotypes while enhancing that of trithorax group (trxG) in Drosophila, suggesting that the role of CtBP in gene activation is more pronounced in fly development than previously thought. In fly cells, we show that CtBP is required for the derepression of the most direct PcG target genes, which are highly enriched by homeobox transcription factors, including Hox genes. Using ChIP and co-IP assays, we demonstrate that CtBP is directly required for the molecular switch between H3K27me3 and H3K27ac in the derepressed Hox loci. In addition, CtBP physically interacts with many proteins, such as UTX, CBP, Fs(1)h and RNA Pol II, that have activation roles, potentially assisting in their recruitment to promoters and Polycomb response elements that control Hox gene expression. Therefore, we reveal a prominent activation function for CtBP that confers a major role for the epigenetic program of fly segmentation and development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Industria Textila is the property of Institutul National de Cercetare-Dezvoltare pentru Textile si Pielarie and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Industria Textila is the property of Institutul National de Cercetare-Dezvoltare pentru Textile si Pielarie and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Objectives: To assess the prevalence of psychological symptoms (depression, anxiety) among Chinese medical students and to find the possible relationships between psychological symptoms and social relationships. Methods: A sample of 10,140 medical students was investigated with a structured questionnaire, that included the Beck Depression Inventory, Beck Anxiety Inventory, Social Support Rating Scale, and Family APGAR Index (adaptability, partnership, growth, affection, resolve). Results: The present study revealed that 16.8% of the medical students suffered from depressive symptoms and 14.1% from anxiety symptoms. Female students were more likely to have anxiety, the second-year students had higher levels of psychological symptoms than the first-year students. Likewise, significant differences were found among college, satisfaction of specialty, and economic condition of the family in anxiety and depression symptoms. Social support, family function, and all dimensions were significantly negatively associated with depression and anxiety symptoms. Multivariable ordinal logistic regression showed that less social support, poor family function, the second-year students, and unsatisfactory specialty were associated with more psychological symptoms, after adjusting the effects of sex, age, and college. Conclusions: Medical students have a relatively high level of depression and anxiety symptoms. These findings support the hypothesis that if medical students are better supported and cared for, negative psychosocial consequences might be prevented or at least reduced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lgr5 is a member of the G protein receptor super-family and was shown recently to be a stem cell marker for cells with intestinal differentiation. Its over-expression has been demonstrated in hepatocellular, basal cell carcinoma, and ovarian cancers but the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. The aim of this study was to investigate if Lgr5 over-expression was correlated with human colorectal carcinogenesis and its potential correlation with β-catenin. The study was carried out on a tissue microarray that consisted of 102 colorectal carcinomas (CRC; M:F = 55:47), 18 colon adenoma, and 12 colon normal mucosa cases. Immunostains were performed with the standard EnVision method with primary antibodies against Lgr5, β-catenin, and p53 antigens. Immunoreactivity of neoplastic cells to each antibody was double-blindly semi-quantified by two pathologists and the data were analyzed with the Chi-square and Spearman rank correlation tests. Subsequently, expression of Lgr5 in tissue sections of tumor centre and invasive margins of 21 cases of CRC certified to be immunoreactive of Lgr5 in TMA were evaluated and possible differences of Lgr5 expression between them were analyzed. Lgr5 immunoreactivity was observed only in single cells in the base of normal colon mucosal crypts but high in 28% (five out of 18) adenomas, and significantly higher in 54% (55/102, p = 0.016) CRC cases. In normal mucosa, adenoma, and CRC, β-catenin expression was seen in 25% (three out of 12), 27% (five out of 18), and 81% (83/102) cases, respectively, in contrast to 0, 0, and 40% (41/102) for p53 expression, respectively. In CRC, Lgr5 expression was more intense in women than men ( p < 0.0001), and positively correlated with β-catenin expression ( p < 0.001), but not with patients’ ages, tumor sizes, nodal status, TNM stages, and p53 expression. Different expression of Lgr5 between tumor centre and invasive margins was not found ( p > 0.05). The results suggest that up-regulation of Lgr5 expression, especially in female patients, may play an important role in colorectal carcinogenesis, probably through the WNT/β-catenin pathway, but not involve the progression of the CRC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MS) has been increasing in China in recent years. The aim of this study is to estimate and compare the prevalence of MS among Chinese adults in Shanghai, one of the most economic developed areas in China, using definitions proposed by World Health Organization (WHO), National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel (modified ATP III) and International Diabetes Federation (IDF).Methods: This cross-sectional study included 5,584 adults at age 20-79 randomly selected from Pudong New Area of Shanghai, China, through a three-stage sampling. All participants were interviewed in-person between April and July of 2008 to collect information on demographic and lifestyle characteristics. At the interview, anthropometry and blood pressure were measured and bio-specimens were collected.Results: The prevalence estimates for the MS increased with age for each definition in men and women, but the estimates varied greatly between the definitions and by sex. The prevalence of the MS was higher in men (20.2%) than in women (18.7%) using WHO definition but this sex difference was reversed when using the modified ATP III (28.4% for men vs. 35.1% for women) and the IDF (15.9% for men vs. 26.7% for women) criteria. The most common metabolic disorder in this population was dyslipidaemia, regardless of the definition used. Substantial agreement, estimated using the kappa statistic, was found between the modified ATP III and IDF definition, whereas the lowest agreement was observed between the WHO and ATP III criteria.Conclusions: The MS is highly prevalent among Chinese adults in Pudong New Area of Shanghai and the most prevalent component was dyslipidemia. These findings underscore the importance of prevention and control efforts for the MS in this area and the need for a unified predictive definition for the syndrome for use by clinical practitioners and public health agencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract  Two new blue luminescent Zn(II) complexes, [ZnL2(H2O)]Cl2 · H2O (1) and [ZnL2Cl][ZnLCl2] · NO3 (2) (L = 2-aminomethylbenzimidazole) have been synthesized and characterized spectroscopically and crystallographically. The structure of complex (1) can be described as a square pyramid. In the complex (2), there are two units [ZnLCl2] (a), and [ZnL2Cl] (b), which have a distorted tetrahedral geometry and a slightly distorted trigonal bipyramidal coordination geometry, respectively. In these complexes, significant multiple inter- and intra-molecular hydrogen bonding and π–π stacking interactions are shown. These contacts lead to aggregation and supramolecular assembly of complexes (1) and (2) into 3D and 2D frameworks, respectively. Fluorescent analysis in the dilute DMF solution and solid state shows that both complexes exhibit intense emission in blue region. They display high blue luminescence quantum efficiency due to a metal-to-ligand charge transfer (MLCT) and have a bathochromic shift of the emission energy compared with the free ligand L. The emission intensity of complex (2) is higher than that of complex (1). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, a dislocation-related tunneling leakage current model is developed to explain the temperature-dependent reverse current–voltage (I–V–T) characteristics of a Schottky barrier diode fabricated on free-standing GaN substrate for reverse-bias voltages up to −150 V. The model suggests that the reverse leakage current is dominated by the direct tunneling of electrons from Schottky contact metal into a continuum of states associated with conductive dislocations in GaN epilayer. A reverse leakage current ideality factor, which originates from the scattering effect at metal/GaN interface, is introduced into the model. Good agreement between the experimental data and the simulated I–V curves is obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]