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Objective: The aim of our study is to investigate the relationship between podocyte autophagy and apoptosis induced by Puromycin Aminonucleoside (PAN) and to clarify its mechanism.Methods: Podocyte...

Background and Aims:Rabdosia japonica var. glaucocalyx is a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) for various inflammatory diseases. This present work aimed to investigate the protective effects of R. japonica var. glaucocalyx glycoproteins on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced acute lung injury (ALI) and the potential mechanism.Methods: Glycoproteins (XPS) were isolated from R. japonica var. glaucocalyx, and homogeneous glycoprotein (XPS5-1) was purified from XPS. ANA-1 cells were used to observe the effect of glycoproteins on the secretion of inflammatory mediators by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Flow cytometry assay, immunofluorescence assay, and Western blot analysis were performed to detect macrophage polarization in vitro. The ALI model was induced by LPS via intratracheal instillation, and XPS (20, 40, and 80 mg/kg) was administered intragastrically 2 h later. The mechanisms of XPS against ALI were investigated by Western blot, ELISA, and immunohistochemistry.Results:In vitro, XPS and XPS5-1 downregulated LPS-induced proinflammatory mediators production including tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), IL-6, and nitric oxide (NO) and upregulated LPS-induced IL-10 secretion. The LPS-stimulated macrophage polarization was also modulated from M1 to M2. In vivo, XPS maintained pulmonary histology with significantly reducing protein concentration and numbers of mononuclear cells in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF). The level of IL-10 in BALF was upregulated by XPS treatment. The level of cytokines including TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6 was downregulated. XPS also decreased infiltration of macrophages and polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs) in lung. XPS suppressed the expression of key proteins in the TLR4/NF-κB signal pathway.Conclusion: XPS was demonstrated to be a potential agent for treating ALI. Our findings might provide evidence supporting the traditional application of R. japonica var. glaucocalyx in inflammation-linked diseases.

Background: Myocardial ischemia is the main reason for ischemic heart disease. Baicalin is a plant-derived flavonoid with cardio-protective activity. Herein, we tested the influences of baicalin on cardiomyocytes H9c2 apoptosis aroused by hypoxia stimulation. Methods: Firstly, H9c2 cells were subjected to hypoxia and/or baicalin exposure. Cell viability and apoptosis, along with hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF1α) and Bcl-2/adenovirus E1B 19-KDa interacting protein 3 (BNIP3) expressions were tested respectively. Then, si-HIF1α was transfected into H9c2 cells to probe whether up-regulation of HIF1α attended to the influences of baicalin on hypoxia-stimulated H9c2 cells. Finally, the regulatory effect of nuclear factor E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2)/heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1) pathway on HIF1α expression was analyzed. Results: Hypoxia exposure aroused H9c2 cell viability reduction and apoptosis. Baicalin mitigated H9c2 cell viability reduction and apoptosis aroused by hypoxia. Moreover, HIF1α/BNIP3 pathway was further activated by baicalin in hypoxia-exposed H9c2 cells. Silencing HIF1α lowered the functions of baicalin on hypoxia-exposed H9c2 cells. Besides, baicalin enhanced hypoxia-caused activation of Nrf2/HO-1 pathway. Activation of Nrf2/HO-1 pathway was associated with the up-regulation of HIF1α and protective functions of baicalin on hypoxia-exposed H9c2 cells. Conclusion: Baicalin relieved cardiomyocytes H9c2 apoptosis aroused by hypoxia might be achieved through activating Nrf2/HO-1-mediated HIF1α/BNIP3 pathway. Highlights Baicalin mitigates H9c2 cell viability loss and apoptosis aroused by hypoxia; Baicalin activates HIF1a/BNIP3 pathway in hypoxia-exposed H9c2 cells; Silencing HIF1α weakens the influences of baicalin on hypoxia-exposed H9c2 cells; Baicalin promotes Nrf2/HO-1 pathway in hypoxia-exposed H9c2 cells; Promotion of Nrf2/HO-1 pathway is related to the up-regulation of HIF1α.

Recently, a novel heterozygous missense mutation c.T1421G (p. L474R) in the PODXL gene encoding podocalyxin was identified in an autosomal dominant focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (AD-FSGS) pedigree. However, this PODXL mutation appeared not to impair podocalyxin function, and it is necessary to identify new PODXL mutations and determine their causative role for FSGS. In the present study, we report the identification of a heterozygous nonsense PODXL mutation (c.C976T; p. Arg326X) in a Chinese pedigree featured by proteinuria and renal insufficiency with AD inheritance by whole exome sequencing (WES). Total mRNA and PODXL protein abundance were decreased in available peripheral blood cell samples of two affected patients undergoing hemodialysis, compared with those in healthy controls and hemodialysis controls without PODXL mutation. We identified another novel PODXL heterozygous nonsense mutation (c.C1133G; p.Ser378X) in a British–Indian pedigree of AD-FSGS by WES. In vitro study showed that, human embryonic kidney 293T cells transfected with the pEGFP-PODXL-Arg326X or pEGFP-PODXL-Ser378X plasmid expressed significantly lower mRNA and PODXL protein compared with cells transfected with the wild-type plasmid. Blocking nonsense-mediated mRNA decay (NMD) significantly restored the amount of mutant mRNA and PODXL proteins, which indicated that the pathogenic effect of PODXL nonsense mutations is likely due to NMD, resulting in podocalyxin deficiency. Functional consequences caused by the PODXL nonsense mutations were inferred by siRNA knockdown in cultured podocytes and podocalyxin down-regulation by siRNA resulted in decreased RhoA and ezrin activities, cell migration and stress fiber formation. Our results provided new data implicating heterozygous PODXL nonsense mutations in the development of FSGS.

Aconitum alkaloids are versatile in chemical structures and are well known for their bioactivity and toxicity. Cases of analogs with closely similar structures or positional isomers are widespread in herbs of the Aconitum genus. It is still challenging to rapidly identify unknown compounds via mass spectrometry, especially positional isomers. Herein, to profile the alkaloids of Aconitum stapfianum that possess bioactivity against intoxication by the lateral root of Aconitum carmichaelii (Fuzi), a strategy was developed by carefully determining the fragmentation pathways of authentic standards. A series of rules was summarized and involved charge site effects, hydrogen bonding effects, competitive channels between charge-remote reactions and charge migration reactions, and fragment patterns exhibiting a "diamond shape". Accordingly, a total of 124 alkaloids in A. stapfianum were tentatively characterized, including 85 potential new compounds and 24 sets of isomers. On the other hand, to explore the material basis of detoxification, a chemical constituent comparison was made between A. stapfianum and Fuzi, and principal component analysis (PCA) and orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) were performed to identify markers that were different between the two . In total, 25 characteristic markers were identified to discriminate between these two herbal medicines, of which 14 compounds were specific for A. stapfianum and most of them were characteristic for a para-substituted benzoic acid ester at C-14.

Background: Early acute kidney injury (AKI) predicts a high mortality rate in severely burned patients. However, the pathophysiology of early AKI induced by severe burn has not been well-defined. This study was designed to examine the protective effects of calcium dobesilate (CaD) against severe burn-induced early AKI in mice and explore the mechanism. Methods: The shaved backs of mice were immersed in 100°C water for 10 s to make severe burn (40% of the total body surface area). CD-57 male mice were randomly divided into sham, burn, burn + vehicle, and burn + CaD groups. Renal function, reactive oxygen species generation, tubular necrosis, and phosphorylation of mitogen-activated protein kinase, protein kinase B (Akt), and nuclear factor (NF)-κB were measured at 24 and 48 h after the burn. Renal histology, ELISA, qRT-PCR, and Western blotting were performed on the renal tissue of mice to examine the effects and mechanisms at 24 and 48 h after the burn. Results: Tubular damage, cast formation, and elevations of serum creatinine, BUN, and renal tissue kidney injury molecule 1 levels were all observed in the burned mice, and these were all alleviated in the mice with CaD treatment. In addition, the levels of oxidation-reduction potential and malondialdehyde were decreased, while the activities of the endogenous antioxidative enzymes were increased in the kidney tissues from the mice after CaD treatment. Furthermore, the activities of Akt, p38, extracellular sign-regulated kinase, Jun N-terminal kinase, and NF-κB signaling were increased in the kidney of burned mice and normalized after CaD treatment. Conclusion: This study has established, for the first time, the protective effect of CaD against early AKI in severely burned mice. CaD may exert its protective effect through alleviating oxidative stress, apoptosis, and inflammation, as well as modulating some signaling pathways in the kidney.

A novel polymeric monolith using N,N-dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate as the monomer and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate as the crosslinker was successfully synthesized in a syringe and applied for direct solid-phase extraction of four benzodiazepines (bromazepam, triazolam, midazolam and diazepam) from undiluted urine samples prior to high performance liquid chromatography. The monolith was characterized by scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and nitrogen adsorption-desorption experiments. Moreover, extraction parameters, including loading, washing and eluting conditions were optimized. Under the optimized conditions, the proposed method obtained linear ranges of 2.0-500 ng mL-1 with correlation coefficients (r) higher than 0.9997. The limits of detection (S/N = 3) and limits of quantification (S/N = 10) were 0.4-0.6 ng mL-1 and 1.4-2.0 ng mL-1, respectively. The recoveries at three spiked levels ranged from 83.7% to 103% with the intra- and inter-day precisions from 0.6-7.6% to 2.7-9.8%. The present monolith allowed direct loading of crude urine samples without any filtration or dilution step. Besides, the sorbent offered an enhancement factor of 16.7-20.6 and was stable enough for ten replicate cycles of extraction/desorption of urine samples. The developed method presented an alternative strategy for the accurate and convenient determination of benzodiazepines in urine samples.

High selectivity and sensitivity detection of fluoride anions (F−) in an organic solution by the naked eye has always been a challenge. In this investigation, a simple compound based on aminobenzodifuranone (ABDF) was designed and synthesized. Deprotonation of the amino moiety caused by F− is responsible for a color change from dark blue to various colors (colorless, yellow, orange, and red) in different common organic solvents due to a blue shift over 200 nm in the UV/Vis spectrum. The color change is quite visible to the naked eye under ambient light. The detection limit for F− can reach a concentration of as low as 5.0 × 10−7 M with high selectivity, even in a solution containing multiple anions.

Huatan Jiangzhuo decoction (HJD) is a combination of six traditional Chinese medicines that were used for lipid metabolism-related disorders, but its efficacy and underlying mechanisms have not been explored by modern research strategies. This study aimed to investigate the therapeutic role of HJD in determining the transcriptome level. Hyperlipidemia model was established by feeding Sprague-Dawley rats with high-fat diet. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were detected by high-through transcriptome sequencing, followed by gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis. The total cholesterol (TC) and triglyceride (TG) levels in hyperlipidemia model rats were significantly increased, whereas high-density lipoprotein (HDL) concentration decreased when compared to normal rats, and HJD significantly downregulated TC concentrations and liver coefficient in the hyperlipidemia rats. Histology staining showed that HDJ greatly recovered the lipid accumulation in rat hepatic stellate cells and aortic arch vascular wall thickness of hyperlipidemia rats. One thousand nine hundred and thirty-six DEGs were identified in the HJD-treated hyperlipidemia rats, which were associated with various biological processes and signaling pathways such as peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors, AMP-activated Protein Kinase , and insulin signaling pathways. Quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction further confirmed the downregulated expression of cholesterol 7-α-hydroxylase(CYP7A1), liver orphan receptor(LXRα),peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma(PPARγ),andSterol Response Element-Binding Protein 1c(SREBP1c) genes in hyperlipidemia rats treated with HJD. Our data first elucidated the gene expression profile of high-fat diet-induced hyperlipidemia in rats after HJD treatment, and lipid metabolism-related genes (CYP7A1, LXRα, PPARγ, and SREBP1c) may be potentially biomarkers for HJD-alleviated hyperlipidemia.

This study explores the mechanism of histone acetylation under the effect of oxidative stress in rat liver injury induced by isoniazid (INH). Fifty-six adult SD rats were selected and divided randomly into INH groups (48) and control (8). Rats in INH groups were intragastrically injected with 55 mg kg-1 day-1 for 3, 7, 10, 14, 21, and 28 days, and control rats were given an equal volume of distilled water. Pathological changes in liver tissues were observed by HE staining. Western blot analysis was conducted to measure the expression levels of H3k14ac and H4k8ac. The activities of HAT, HDAC and IL-1β, and TNF-α were detected by ELISA in liver tissues. Real-time RT-PCR analysis was performed to determine the protein expression levels of HAT, HDAC, and IL-1β and the mRNA expression of TNF-α. The levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and malondialdehyde (MDA) were assayed by biochemical methods in liver tissues. At different time points, the SOD activity decreased, whereas the MDA content significantly increased after 14 days (FSOD = 11.15, FMDA = 7.42, P < 0.01). During this period, the expression of histone acetylated H3K14 and H4K8 acetylation decreased compared with the control group (FH3K14 = 4.18, FH4K8 = 3.87, P < 0.05); by contrast, HDAC1 and HDAC2 showed a high expression level compared with those in the control group (FHDAC1 = 29.13, FHDAC2 = 58.34, P < 0.01). Moreover, the expression of CBP/P300 was lower than that in the control group (FCBP/P300 = 12.18, P = 0.001), and the protein contents of IL-1β and TNF-α in rat liver tissues were up-regulated (FIL-1β = 44.88, FTNF-α = 41.56, P < 0.01). These results suggest that histone acetylation is involved in INH-induced rat liver injury. Furthermore, the hypoacetylation of histones H3K14 and H4K8 is negatively correlated with oxidative stress-mediated rat liver injury.

Anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) process exhibits advantages in treating high-ammonium livestock wastewater, while the anammox bacteria is vulnerable to heavy metal and antibiotics. Arsenic and sulfonamides extensively existed in livestock wastewater; unfortunately, their effects on the anammox process have not yet been investigated. This work comprehensively evaluated the single and joint effects of As(III) and sulfamethoxazole (SMX) on the anammox process and revealed the related inhibitory mechanism. Anammox had extraordinary resistance to As(III) stress (0–50 mg L−1), while nitrogen removal sharply deteriorated under the stress from 50 mg L−1 As(III) and 3 mg L−1 SMX. Exogenous As(III) damaged the protection of extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) and aggravated the inhibition of SMX. As(III) had direct toxic effects on anammox bacteria, while enhanced denitrifying capacity was the reason for inhibition of anammox by SMX. Moreover, the host arsenic resistance genes were changed under SMX inhibition. The findings of this study enrich our knowledge of the anammox response to various pollutants, and provide the operational guidance for anammox process to treat wastewater containing antibiotic and heavy metal.

Two-dimensional inorganic salt films have increasing potential in laboratory and industrial applications. However, the methods for fabricating these films are complicated and not appliable under ambient conditions, which extremely limits their applications. Here, we report a novel ultrathin NaNO3 flake with a thickness of less than 1.0 nm on a highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) surface mediated by water. We note that neither molten salt nor water is affinitive to the aged carbon-based surface so that they form droplets on the HOPG surfaces. Interestingly, the solution formed by the mixture of salt and water develops an affinity toward the HOPG. Further, the flakes had adjustable electric conductivity. Density functional computation showed that water substantially increased the ionic bond length between NO3- to Na+, enhancing the interaction between the NaNO3 cluster and graphene via cation-π interaction, and rendering the mixture of water and NaNO3 graphene-philic toward the graphitic surface. The findings provide a brand-new way to obtain thin films of inorganic salts.

This study investigated the diagnostic value of 5-methylcytosine (5-mC) and 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5-hmC) contents of human leucocyte antigen (HLA)-B and HLA-DQB1 in anti-tuberculosis drug-induced liver injury (ADLI). In total, 110 ADLI patients and 120 patients without ADLI controls were enrolled. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to detect the 5-mC and 5-hmC content in DNA from peripheral blood leucocytes. The univariate analysis showed that smoking, drinking, and 5-mC and 5-hmC content of HLA-B and HLA-DQB1 were significantly associated with ADLI. After adjusting for drinking and smoking, we found that 5-mC content of HLA-B and HLA-DQB1 were associated with ADLI (odds ratio [OR] = 0.251 and 0.347, respectively) and 5-hmC contents of HLA-B and HLA-DQB1 were also associated with ADLI (OR = 1.848 and 4.705, respectively). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis indicated that the 5-hmC contents of both HLA-B and HLA-DQB1 were more clinically significant than the 5-mC contents were. The combined 5-hmC level of HLA-B and HLA-DQB1 was the best diagnostic biomarker for ADLI, with the highest areas under the curve (AUC) for 0.953, sensitivity for 0.900 and specificity for 0.875. Therefore, combined 5-hmC levels of HLA-B and HLA-DQB1 could be significant evidence for diagnosis of ADLI.

Background: Cardiomyocytes loss is the predominant pathogenic characteristic in the hypoxia-induced injury. Meanwhile, it has been corroborated that Bcl-2 E1B 19-KDa interacting protein 3 (BNIP3) p...

The aim of the present study was to investigate the oxidative damage of liver mitochondria as an adverse effect of the anti-tuberculosis drug isonicotinic acid hydrazide (INH). The human hepatoblastoma cell line (HepG2) was exposed to INH at concentrations of 0, 1, 2 or 4 mg/ml for 24, 48, 72 or 96 h, and the levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and 8-hydroxy-2-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) in mitochondria were detected. Changes in the mitochondrial ultrastructure were observed by electron microscopy. Along with the increase of incubation time and dose of INH, activities of mitochondrial SOD and GSH-Px decreased, MDA and 8-OHdG content increased, and the mitochondrial ultrastructure displayed varying degrees of pathological changes. In conclusion, INH was found to cause liver cell injury by inducing mitochondrial DNA damage.

The denitrification desulfurization system can be used to remediate wastewater containing carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur. However, the relationship between autotrophic and heterotrophic bacteria remains poorly understood. To better understand the roles and relations of core bacteria, an expanded granular sludge bed (EGSB) reactor was continuously operated under autotrophic (stage I), heterotrophic (stage II) and mixotrophic (stages III–VII) conditions with a 490-day period. Stage IV represented the excellent S0 recovery rate (69.5%). The different trophic conditions caused the obvious succession of dominant bacterial genera. Autotrophic environment (stage I) enriched mostly Thiobacillus, and heterotrophic environment (stage II) was dominated with Azoarcus and Pseudomonas. Thauera, Arcobacter and Azoarcus became the predominant genera under mixotrophic conditions (stage III-VII). Strains belonged to these core genera were further isolated, and all seven isolates were confirmed with denitrifying sulfur oxidation capacity. Heterotrophic strain HDD1 (genus of Thauera) possessed both the highest sulfide degradation and S0 recovery rates. Expression levels of cbbM and gltA genes were positively related with the autotrophic and heterotrophic conditions, respectively. NirK gene was highly expressed between log 3.7–log 4.3 during the entire run. Expression of both sqr and soxB genes were closely related with sulfur conversion. More than 57.5% of S0 recovery rate could be obtained as sqr gene expression was greater than log 3.2, and while, sulfate was the primary form as soxB gene expression higher than log 3.9. The correlation between core microbial genera was very low from network, indicating a complex and non-specific mutualistic network between bacterial functional groups under each nutrient condition, and a stable coexistence state was possibly formed through utilizing each the secondary or waste metabolites in the mixotrophic conditions. This relationship was beneficial to the stability of the microbial community structure in the denitrification desulfurization system.

A sensitive, rapid and homogeneous reaction measurement method for quantitation of human epididymis protein 4 (HE4) in human serum by amplified luminescent proximity homogeneous immunoassay (AlphaLISA) was described. Built on a sandwich-type immunoassay format, analytes in samples were captured by one biotinylated monoclonal antibody combining on the surface of streptavidin coated donor beads, and "sandwiched" by another monoclonal antibody coated on acceptor beads. The coefficient variations of the method were lower than 10%, and the recoveries were in the range of 90-110% for serum samples. A value of 0.88pmol/l was identified as the minimum detectable dose of the present method for HE4. Compared with the results from electrochemiluminescence immunoassay kit (Roche) in 170 serum samples, there was a satisfied correlation coefficient of 0.984. The present assay demonstrated high sensitivity, wider effective detection range and excellent reproducibility for quantitation of HE4 can be useful for early screening and prognosis evaluation of patients with ovarian cancer.

To reuse rice straw and decrease the environmental pollution and resource waste that are caused by burning rice straw in China, this agricultural resource is increasingly being used to make pots with added formaldehyde and other chemicals for cultivating vegetables. A study was conducted to investigate the effects of rice straw-based pot powder on the growth and antioxidase activity of Chinese green cabbage seedlings and the soil microbial community using a molecular analysis. The results showed that there was no negative effect from the powder on cabbage growth, given that the cabbage plants that were treated with powder (1.2–3.2 g kg−1 rice straw pot powder) exhibited 1.8 to 2.5 times higher fresh biomass than the control (0 g kg−1 powder). Minor differences were found among key reactive oxygen system enzyme activities, but the superoxide dismutase activity decreased by 33–55% (1.2–3.2 g kg−1 powder). The phenylalanine ammonia-lyase activity of green Chinese cabbage that was treated with powder ...

Microscale fabric influences the elastic properties of rock formations. The complexity of the microscale fabric of shale results from composition, platy clay minerals, kerogen, and their preferred orientation patterns. This microscale fabric is also the likely cause of the elastic anisotropy of the rock. In this paper, we have developed a comprehensive three-step rock-physics approach to model the anisotropic elastic properties of the Upper Eagle Ford Shale. We started with anisotropic differential effective medium modeling, followed by an orientation correction, and then a pressure adjustment. This method accounts for the microscale fabric of the rock in terms of the complex composition, shape, and alignment of clay minerals, pore space, and kerogen. In addition, we accounted for different pressure-dependent behaviors of P- and S-waves. Our modeling provides anisotropic stiffnesses and pseudologs of anisotropy parameters. The modeling results match the log measurements relatively well. The clay content, kerogen content, and porosity decreased the rock stiffness. The anisotropy increases with kerogen content, but the influence of clay content was more complex. Comparing the anisotropy parameter pseudologs with clay content shows that clay content increases anisotropy at small concentrations; however, the anisotropy stays constant, or even slightly decreases, as the clay content continues to increase. This result suggests that the preferred orientation of clay clusters is preserved at low clay concentration but vanishes at high clay concentration. This method could also be applied to other shales with carefully chosen parameters to model anisotropic elastic properties.

A new centrosymmetric dinuclear oxovanadium(V) complex, [V2O2(μ-O)2L2], was prepared by the reaction of [VO(acac)2] (where acac = acetylacetonate) with the Schiff base ligand 2-bromo-4-chloro-6-((2-(ethylamino)ethylimino)methyl)phenol (HL) in methanol. Crystal and molecular structure of the complex were determined by elemental analysis, infrared and 1H NMR spectra and single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The V···V distance is 3.105(1) A. The V atoms in the complex are in octahedral coordination, with the phenolate oxygen, imino nitrogen, and amino oxygen of the Schiff base ligand, and one bridging oxo oxygen in the equatorial plane, and with one oxo oxygen and one bridging oxo oxygen in the two axial positions. Thermal stability of the complex was studied.

Two similar oxovanadium(V) complexes, [VOL1L′] (1) and [VOL2L′] (2), were prepared by the reaction of [VO(acac)2] (where acac = acetylacetonate), 8-hydroxyquinoline (HL′) with N′-(5-fluoro-2-hydroxybenzylidene)nicotinohydrazide (H2L1) and N′-(3-bromo-5-chloro-2-hydroxybenzylidene)nicotinohyrazide (H2L2), respectively, in methanol. Crystal and molecular structures of the complexes were determined by elemental analysis, infrared, and UV-vis spectra and single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The nicotinohydrazone ligands coordinate to the V atoms through the phenolate oxygen, imino nitrogen, and enolate oxygen. The 8-hydroxyquinoline ligand coordinates to the V atom through the phenolate oxygen and pyridine nitrogen. The V atoms in both complexes are in octahedral coordination.

The origin of an injected charge and its temperature dependence in ferroelectric Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3 (PZT) thin films is studied by multimode scanning probe microscopy. During the poling process in scanning probe microscope (SPM) measurement, which is a local bias applied by using a conductive tip on a film’s surface to induce polarization orientation, a strong charge injection is always observed in oxide ferroelectric films; therefore, the surface potential is dominated by injection charge rather than polarization and screening charge. The surface potential shows an increase with the increase in the applied bias and saturation at a higher bias, which is much higher than the coercive field in PZT films. The positive surface potential shows a clear increase after oxygen plasma treatment, suggesting that the injection behavior is significantly enhanced. Subsequent heating could recover the surface condition to the initial state. Charge injection could be weakened but could not be completely eliminated by heat treatment. The current results suggest that charge injection behavior could not be easily relaxed, and a careful control of the localized poling process using an SPM conductive tip is required especially for studying the charge state on the surfaces of ferroelectric thin films.

Astragalus polysaccharide (APS) has been widely reported to play an important role in inflammatory response. In this study, we aimed to explore the effects and underlying mechanisms of APS on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammation injury in H9c2 cardiomyoblasts. H9c2 cells were treated with different concentrations of APS, and cell viability was detected by the Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assay. Then, the effect of APS on cell viability and apoptosis induced by LPS was determined by CCK-8, flow cytometry, and western blot. The expression and release of inflammatory cytokines were evaluated by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), western blot, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Furthermore, expression of miR-127 in H9c2 cells was analyzed by qRT-PCR, and knocked down by transfection with miR-127 inhibitor. Western blot was used to analyze signaling pathway molecules. APS had no effect on H9c2 cells viability. However, APS could alleviate LPS-induced inflammation injury by increasing cell viability, reducing apoptosis, and inhibiting release of inflammatory cytokines in H9c2 cells ( P < 0.05). Additionally, we found that APS increased toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) expressions in LPS-treated H9c2 cells. Mechanistically, we found that APS exerted the protective effect by down-regulating LPS-increased expression of miR-127 ( P < 0.05), inhibiting nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB), JNK and promoting phosphoinositide 3-kinase/protein kinase B (PI3K/AKT) signaling pathways in LPS-treated H9c2 cells. The results demonstrated that APS could protect H9c2 cells against LPS-induced inflammation injury, which might be partially due to miR-127 down-regulation and regulation of NF-κB, JNK, and PI3K/AKT signaling pathways. These findings indicated that APS might be a potential therapeutic drug for treatment of myocarditis.

Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), a primary marker for many diseases including various cancers, is important in clinical tumor diagnosis and antenatal screening. Most immunoassays provide high sensitivity and accuracy for determining AFP, but they are expensive, often complex, time-consuming procedures. A simple and rapid point-of-care system that integrates Eu (III) chelate microparticles with lateral flow immunoassay (LFIA) has been developed to determine AFP in serum with an assay time of 15 min. The approach is based on a sandwich immunoassay performed on lateral flow test strips. A fluorescence strip reader was used to measure the fluorescence peak heights of the test line (HT) and the control line (HC); the HT/HC ratio was used for quantitation. The Eu (III) chelate microparticles-based LFIA assay exhibited a wide linear range (1.0-1000 IU mL(-1)) for AFP with a low limit of detection (0.1 IU mL(-1)) based on 5ul of serum. Satisfactory specificity and accuracy were demonstrated and the intra- and inter-assay coefficients of variation (CV) for AFP were both

Three new oxovanadium(V) complexes with the general formula [VO(L)n(HQ)] (n = 1–3) were prepared by the reaction of [VO(Acac)2] (Acac = acetylacetonate) and 8-hydroxyquinoline with similar benzohydrazide ligands in methanol. Crystal and molecular structures of the complexes were determined by elemental analysis, infrared and UV-Vis spectra and single crystal X-ray diffraction (CIF file CCDC nos. 1004087 (I), 1004088 (II), and 1004089 (III)). The V atoms are in octahedral coordination. Thermal stability of the complexes were studied.

Objectives Diabetes mellitus is a chronic disease affecting millions of people globally and resulting in significant death rates each year. A fast, inexpensive alternative to traditional testing and monitoring techniques is desirable, since secretion of insulin and C-peptide is impaired in diabetes mellitus. Design and methods A highly sensitive immunoassay was developed for the simultaneous measurement of C-peptide and insulin levels in human serum, utilizing dual-label time-resolved fluoroimmunoassay (TRFIA) and magnetic particle technologies. This assay was characteristic for a single-step sandwich-type immunoassay, wherein antibody-coated magnetic particles were used as the solid phase and Eu 3 + and Sm 3 + chelate labels were used for detection. Results Antibody-coated magnetic particles in a TRFIA format performed well in addressing a number of quantitative needs. Conclusions The results of this assay correlated well with commercial chemiluminescence assays and provided a number a advantages, including reduced sample volume, reduced reagent and personnel costs and reduced assay time, while maintaining the required clinical sensitivity.

A highly sensitive, rapid and novel simultaneous measurement method for cytokeratin 19 fragment (CYFRA 21-1) and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) in human serum by magnetic nanoparticle-based dual-label time-resolved fluoroimmunoassay was developed. On the basis of a sandwich-type immunoassay format, analytes in the samples were captured by antibodies coated onto the surface of the magnetic beads and sandwiched by other antibodies labeled with europium and samarium chelates. The lower limit of quantitation of the present method for CYFRA 21-1 was 0.77 ng mL−1 and CEA was 0.85 ng mL−1. The coefficient variations of the method were less than 7%, and the recoveries were in the range of 90–110% for serum samples. The concentrations of CYFRA 21-1 and CEA serum samples determined by the present method were compared with those obtained by the chemiluminescence immunoassay. A good correlation was obtained with the correlation coefficients of 0.961 for CYFRA 21-1 and 0.938 for CEA. This novel method demonstrated high sensitivity, wide effective detection range and excellent reproducibility for the simultaneous determination of CYFRA 21-1 and CEA, which can be useful for the early screening and prognosis evaluation of patients with lung cancer.

Two new structurally similar mononuclear Schiff base zinc(II) complexes, [ZnBr(ClMP)] (I) and [ZnCl(NMP)] (II) (ClMP = 4-chloro-2-[(3-morpholin-4-ylpropylimino)methyl]phenolate; NMP = 4-nitro-2-[(3-morpholin-4-ylpropylimino)methyl]phenolate), and two new dinuclear Schiff base zinc(II) complexes, [Zn2(EMP)2I2] (III), and [Zn2(MPA)(CH3OH)2(N3)2] (IV) (EMP = 5-diethylamino-2-[(2-dimethylaminoethylimino)methyl]phenolate; MPA = N,N′-bis(3-methoxysalicylidene)propane-1,3-diamine), have been prepared and characterized mainly by single-cyrstal X-ray diffraction. Complex I crystallizes in the monoclinic space group P21/n with unit cell dimensions: a = 15.116(3), b = 9.465(1), c = 23.714(4) A, β = 104.358(2)°, V = 3286.9(8) A3, Z = 8, R 1 = 0.0439, and wR 2 = 0.0736. Complex II crystallizes in the monoclinic space group P21/c with unit cell dimensions: a = 7.253(2), b = 16.652(4), c = 13.568(3) A, β = 96.600(2)°, V = 1627.8(6) A3, Z = 4, R 1 = 0.0417, and wR 2 = 0.0809. Complex III crystallizes in the monoclinic space group C2/c with unit cell dimensions: a = 27.962(2), b = 8.246(2), c = 31.605(3) A, β = 90.343(2)°, V = 7287.4(15) A3, Z = 8, R 1 = 0.0721, and wR 2 = 0.1709. Complex IV crystallizes in the monoclinic space group C2/c with unit cell dimensions: a = 20.483(3), b = 11.344(2), c = 14.909(3) A, β = 131.650(1)°, V = 2588.6(7) A3, Z = 4, R 1 = 0.0343, and wR 2 = 0.0792. Each Zn atom in I and II are four-coordinated in a tetrahedral geometry by the NNO donor set of the Schiff base ligand and one halide atom. The Zn atoms in III are in square pyramidal coordination, and those in IV are in octahedral and tetrahedral coordination. Thermal stability and fluorescence properties of the complexes I and II have also been determined.

Current clinically assays, such as enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and chemiluminescence immunoassay, for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) are inferior in terms of either sensitivity and accuracy or rapid and high-throughput analysis. A novel assay based on magnetic beads and time-resolved fluoroimmunoassay was developed for the quantitative determination of HBsAg in human serum. HBsAg was captured using two types of anti-HBsAg monoclonal antibodies (B028, S015) immobilized on to magnetic beads and detected using europium-labeled anti-HBsAg polyclonal detection antibody. Finally, the assay yielded a high sensitivity (0.02 IU/mL) and a wide dynamic range (0.02-700 IU/mL) for HBsAg when performed under optimal conditions. Satisfactory accuracy, recovery and specificity were also demonstrated. The intra- and interassay coefficients of variation were 4.7-8.7% and 3.8-7.5%, respectively. The performance of this assay was further assessed against a well-established commercial chemiluminescence immunoassay kit with 399 clinical serum samples. It was revealed that the test results for the two methods were in good correlation (Y = 1.182X - 0.017, R = 0.989). In the current study, we demonstrated that this novel time-resolved fluoroimmunoassay could be used: as a highly sensitive, automated and high-throughput immunoassay for the diagnosis of acute or chronic hepatitis B virus infection; for the screening of blood or organ donors; and for the surveillance of persons at risk of acquiring or transmitting hepatitis B virus.

Background Cytokeratin 19 fragment antigen (CYFRA 21–1) is used to diagnose and monitor neoplasms. However, the main disadvantages of the currently available CYFRA 21–1 assays include heterogenous technology, being time-consuming, and having low through-put with low insensitivity. This study investigated the use of amplified luminescent proximity homogeneous immunoassay (AlphaLISA) for the quantization of CYFRA 21–1 in human serum. Methods The AlphaLISA kit was developed based on AlphaScreen detection technology with two different anti-CYFRA 21–1 monoclonal antibodies. One was coated on AlphaLISA acceptor beads and the other was biotinylated. Donor beads were coated with streptavidin. The test conditions were optimized and analytical performance was studied. Results The measurement range of AlphaLISA CYFRA 21–1 kit was 0.08–500 ng/ml. Assay detection limit was 0.08 ng/ml. The intra- and interassay coefficients of variation were 3.00–9.00% and 4.00–10.00%, respectively. There was no cross-reaction to alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), neuron-specific enolase (NSE), cancer antigen 19–9 (CA19–9), cytokeratins 8 (CK8), and cytokeratins 18 (CK18). The correlation coefficient of blood samples involved was 0.974 between CYFRA 21–1-AlphaLISA assay and a commercial electrochemiluminescence immunoassay (ECLIA) CYFRA 21–1 kit (Roche). Conclusions The AlphaLISA CYFRA 21–1 kit developed in this study had favorable performance characteristics for clinical application with acceptable analytical sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy.

The regulatory mechanisms of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) mainly include detoxification and antioxidation in the progress of isonicotinic acid hydrazide (INH)-induced liver injury. The interaction and protective effects of these two injury mechanisms have not been reported. In this study, eight Kunming mice were administered with INH via gavage at a dose of 90 mg/kg.d. The mice were then killed for 1 d, 3 d, 5 d, 7 d, 2 w, 3 w, and 4 w, and the control groups received gavage of the same volume of distilled water. The pathological changes of liver tissues and location of Nrf2 in liver cell were observed. The superoxide dismutase (SOD) and malondialdehyde (MDA), as well as the expressions of Nrf2, glutathione S-transferase (GST), and SOD mRNAs and proteins were examined. After drug administration for 1–2 weeks, the SOD (total SOD, Cu-ZnSOD, and MnSOD), GST (GSTA1 and GSTM1), and Nrf2 exhibited trough levels, whereas the MDA content reached the peak. These results suggest that Nrf2 nucleocytoplasmic transport occurred in the experimental groups on the seventh day after administration, and then the expressions of mRNAs and proteins of GSTA1, GSTM1, Cu-ZnSOD, and MnSOD were all upregulated with the activation of the Nrf2-antioxidant responsive element (ARE) pathway.

Total synthesis of the proposed structure (II) results in differences concerning the NMR spectra of the natural product.

Amorphous Sn2P2O7 thin film electrodes have been successfully fabricated by radio frequency (r.f.) magnetron sputtering. Reversible lithiation and delithiation processes occurring at 1.47 V and 2.01 V versus lithium are observed in both discharge/charge curves and cyclic voltammograms of the amorphous Sn2P2O7 thin film electrodes for the first time. Large reversible capacity around 887 mAh g−1 is achieved when the cell is cycled between 0.01 V and 4.0 V, corresponding to 9.2 Li per Sn2P2O7 unit. Based on X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and selected area electron diffraction (SAED) evidences, the reaction mechanism involving the reversible decomposition and regeneration of amorphous Sn2P2O7 as well as alloying and de-alloying of tin with lithium is proposed.

Objective: To observe the clinical efficacy and safety of low dose tacrolimus (TAC) combined with tripterygium (TW) in treatment of steroid resistant nephritic syndrome (SRNS). Method: The patients, who were diagnosed with mesangial proliferative glomerulonephritis (MesPGN) and focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) by biopsy and failed to respond to a 3-month treatment with prednisone (1 mg/kg·d), were randomly divided into 2 groups (TAC + TW Group and TW Group). Initially TAC + TW group took TAC 0.05mg/(kg·d) 2 h after meal at 12 h interval. The plasma TAC level was examined after 3 days and was kept at 1.5 - 4 ng·ml; meanwhile, TW was given at 60 mg/d before meal. TW group only took TW (60 mg/d). The efficacy, adverse reactions and plasma TAC levels were observed in each group. Results: 1) Totally 20 SRNS patients completed the trial, 11 of TAC + TW Group and 9 of TW Group. There is no statistical difference between the two groups in terms of age, gender, duration since onset of the disease, blood pressure, 24 h UPQ, serum albumin, creatinine, cholesterol, triglyceride, FBG, kidney pathological categories, time of taking prednisone etc.; 2) Urine protein started to decrease after 1 month treatment in both of TAC + TW and TW groups. By the 12th month of treatment, TAC + TW group showed 8 cases of complete remission (72.7%), 2 cases of partial remission (18.2%) and 1 case of no improvement (9.1%), while those of TW groups were 2 (22.2%), 4 (44.5%) and 3 (33.3%), respectively; 3) With treatment, the TAC + TW Group patients’ plasma protein was significantly higher than that of pretreatment stage and recovered to normal level after 6 month of treatment. However, there was no significant plasma protein increase in TW Group. No obvious changes were observed on serum creatinine level of patients of both the two groups; 4) The incidence of adverse reactions was not significantly different between the two groups. Conclusion: TAC + TW reduced proteinuria of SRNS patients, increased clinical remission rate and was tolerant to SRNS patients. We conclude that TAC + TW treatment is an effective way to treat patients with SRNS.

Superparamagnetic poly(styrene)-co-poly(2-acrylanmido-2-methyl propanesulfonic acid) (PSt-co-PAMPS) and poly(methylmethacrylate)-co-poly(glycidyl methacrylate) (PMMA-co-PGMA) microspheres with mean size of 170 nm were prepared by emulsion polymerization in the presence of oleic acid-coated Fe3O4 nanoparticles. The structures, morphologies, diameter and diameter distribution of the as-prepared microspheres were identified by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The saturation magnetizations of PSt-co-PAMPS and PMMA-co-PGMA microspheres are 21.94 and 25.07 emu/g, respectively. The as-synthesized magnetic microspheres were used for immobilization of Bovine serum albumin (BSA) by physical interaction and covalent interaction respectively. The equilibrium amount of BSA immobilized onto PMMA-co-PGMA microspheres was 86.48 mg/g microspheres in 90 min, while on PSt-co-PAMPS microspheres was 59.62 mg/g microspheres in 120 min.

The stereocontrolled total synthesis of largazole was accomplished, unambiguously confirming its structure. Key steps included the use of the Nagao thiazolidinethione auxiliary for a diastereoselective acetate aldol reaction, thiazoline-thiazole formation, and macrolactamization by use of the Mukaiyama reagent.

The objective of this work was to prepare and evaluate a new delayed-onset sustained-release system, comprising a sustained-release core tablet with hydroxypropyl methylcellulose as polymer matrix and an ethylcellulose/Eudragit L coating capable of delaying the drug release. The sustained core containing propranolol hydrochloride as the model drug was prepared by granulate tableting and the polymer coating was applied in a computer-controlled coating pan. The dissolution tests demonstrated that the in-vitro drug release was pH-dependent with sufficient gastric resistance, and the lag time (t10%) could be controlled by adjusting the coating level. Three dosage forms including commercial tablet, sustained-release tablet and the delayed-onset sustained-release tablet were administrated to six beagle dogs and the plasma levels of propranolol hydrochloride were measured with high-performance liquid chromatography. The delayed-onset sustained-release tablet had a lag time of 3.0 h in-vitro and 3.5 h in-vivo, and a tmax of 7.0 h. The relative bioavailability for delayed-onset sustained-release tablet was 96.98% compared with commercial tablets. The results indicate that the new propranolol delayed-onset sustained-release system could achieve a relatively constant drug release followed by a programmed lag time, and this may provide a promising drug delivery form for chronopharmacotherapy of certain cardiovascular diseases.

A high-throughput, simple and rapid chemiluminescence enzyme immunoassay (CLEIA) was developed for the clinical determination of progesterone in human serum, using luminol-hydrogen peroxide as chemiluminescence system catalyzed by horseradish peroxidase (HRP). The solid phase of anti-progesterone antibody was prepared by immunoreaction between anti-progesterone polyclonal antibody and donkey anti-rabbit IgG, i.e. second antibody, which had been physically absorbed on the wells of polystyrene microplate and was used as a universal solid phase. The effect of various factors, such as the dilution of immunoreagents, chemiluminescence substrate, chemiluminescence reaction time and incubation condition were examined and optimized. The optimal dilutions of anti-progesterone antibody and HRP-progesterone conjugate were 1:10000 and 1:15000, respectively. The II substrate was chosen and the luminescence was determined after 10 min incubation. The immunoreacted sample was incubated in water bath at 37°C for 1 h. The assay was evaluated with sensitivity as low as 0.08 μg l −1 . The relative standard deviation (RSD) was less than 15% for both intra- and inter-assay precision. The recoveries of three different spiked concentration samples were 101%, 101% and 94.4%, respectively. This proposed method has been successfully applied to the clinical evaluation of progesterone in 36 human sera. The results showed a good correlation with the accredited radioimmunoassay (RIA) with a correlative coefficient of 0.9502.

The methodology based on chemiluminescent enzyme immunoassay was established for the determination of free Triiodothyronine (FT3). The HRP-luminol-H2O2 chemiluminescent system with high sensitivity was chosen as the detection system. The linear range was 0.90–80 pg ml−1. Under the selected conditions, the CVs of intra- and inter- assays were less than 15%. When the method was applied to detect free triiodothyronine in human serum, the diagnostic accordance rate of the method for hyperthyroidism was 83.3%. Compared with the commercial kit, the correlation coefficient was 0.9005. All the conditions chosen were to maintain the equilibrium between the free and the bound hormones to improve the validity of the experimental result.

Four low-lying electronic states of the BBr molecule, including Σ+ symmetry and Π symmetry with singlet and triplet spin multiplicities, have been studied using the complete active space self-consistent-field method followed by multi-reference single and double excitation configuration interaction calculation. For the ground state, four isotopes (11B79Br, 11B81, 10B79Br, 10B81Br) of the BBr molecule have been studied, since their experimental spectroscopic constants and ro-vibrational energy levels are abundant. For the three excited states, just the most natural abundance isotope–11B79Br–is investigated. The spin–orbital coupling effect for the a3Π state is also considered. Finally, the analytical potential energy functions of these states are fitted except for the 3Σ+ state because its potential well is too shallow to be fitted with available functions. These results have been compared in detail with those of the investigations reported in the literature.

The product rotational polarization of the ion-molecule reactions of D − + H 2 → H − + HD and H − + D 2 → D − + HD has been calculated by means of the quasi-classical trajectory method on a potential energy surface (PES) constructed by Panda and Sathyamurthy [J. Chem. Phys. 121, 9343 (2004)]. Comparing the dynamics of D − + H 2 → H − + HD with H − + D 2 → D − + HD, four polarization dependent generalized differential cross-sections (2π/ σ )(d σ 00 /d ω t ), (2π/ σ )(d σ 20 /d ω t ), (2π/ σ )(d σ 22+ /d ω t ), (2π/ σ )(d σ 21− /d ω t ) have been presented in the center of mass frame, respectively. The distribution of dihedral angle p ( ϕ r ), the distribution of angle between k and j ′, p ( θ r ), and the angular distribution of product rotational vectors in the form of polar plots in θ r and ϕ r are calculated as well. A pronounced isotopic effect is also revealed. It may be ascribed to the significant difference of the effective potential barrier height or the difference of the mass factor in the two reactions.

The multi-reference configuration interaction (MRCI) method and effective-core-potential (ECP) basis set have been used to calculate the equilibrium geometries, dissociation energies and potential energy curves (PECs) of nine states of Lu 2 dimer. The analytical potential energy functions (APEFs) of these states have been fitted using Murrell–Sorbie (MS) function and least square fitting method. Based on this, the spectroscopic parameters of each state are calculated and are compared with the theoretical and the experimental values available at present. The ground state of this dimer is determined by considering both the total energy and the spectroscopic parameters. The vibrational levels for each state of Lu 2 are determined by solving Schrodinger equation of nuclear motion.

The potential energy curves (PECs) of the ground and five low-lying excited states of CaF have been calculated using the internally contracted multireference configuration interaction method (MRCI) with a large contracted basis set cc-pvNz (N = t, q, 5) for atoms Ca and F and extrapolate to complete basis set (CBS). Based on the PECs, the spectroscopic terms, spectroscopic parameters have been determined. The present results are in good agreement with the experimental data available at present, and better than the theoretical results in the literature, although the present equilibrium positions are a little larger. We also calculate the vibrational levels for each state, and they are in excellent agreement with the experimental data. It implies that the method to determine the molecular properties through calculating PECs and solving the Schrodinger equation of nuclear motion is effective for CaF molecule.

Biotreatment process is widely used to treat high-strength sulfate-laden organic wastewater. By applying molasses wastewater as the sole organic carbon source and sodium sulfate as the electron acceptor in an acidogenic sulfate-reducing reactor, the electron flows of sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB), the physiological metabolic pathways and products of SRB, the population dynamics of SRB, and the effect of sulfide production on hydrogen production were examined under different chemical oxygen demand/sulfate (COD/SO42-) ratios. The results showed that the number of electrons flowing to SRB was reduced when the COD/SO42- ratio increased and, hence, improved the sulfate removal rate. SRB was also the consumer of hydrogen and volatile fatty acids (VFAs) produced by acidogenic bacteria. The metabolic activities of SRB resulted in 45%−82% acetic acid in the terminal liquid products in the acidogenic reactor. The SRB also maintained a low-level hydrogen partial pressure by transferring hydrogen among microbial po...

Anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) process plays a significant role in the marine nitrogen cycle. However, the quantitative importance of this process in nitrogen removal in wetland systems, particularly in natural freshwater wetlands, is still not determined. In the present study, we provided the evidence of the distribution and activity of anammox bacteria in a natural freshwater wetland, located in southeastern China, by using (15)N stable isotope measurements, quantitative PCR assays and 16S rRNA gene clone library analysis. The potential anammox rates measured in this wetland system ranged between 2.5 and 25.5 nmol N2 g(-1) soil day(-1), and up to 20% soil dinitrogen gas production could be attributed to the anammox process. Phylogenetic analysis of 16S rRNA genes showed that anammox bacteria related to Candidatus Brocadia, Candidatus Kuenenia, Candidatus Anammoxoglobus and two novel anammox clusters coexisted in the collected soil cores, with Candidatus Brocadia and Candidatus Kuenenia being the dominant anammox genera. Quantitative PCR of hydrazine synthase genes showed that the abundance of anammox bacteria varied from 2.3 × 10(5) to 2.2 × 10(6) copies g(-1) soil in the examined soil cores. Correlation analyses suggested that the soil ammonium concentration had significant influence on the activity of anammox bacteria. On the basis of (15)N tracing technology, it is estimated that a total loss of 31.1 g N m(-2) per year could be linked the anammox process in the examined wetland.

The purpose of this work is to model the anisotropic elastic properties of the upper Eagle Ford Shale by accounting for the micro-scale fabric. The micro-scale fabric significantly influences the elastic properties and anisotropy of the rock. In the shale, the complex micro-scale fabric comes from the platy clay minerals, non-spherically shaped kerogen, and their preferred orientation patterns. The method presented in this work include three steps: anisotropic DEM modeling to construct an effective VTI medium; an orientation correction to account for the orientation patterns of clay minerals; and a pressure correction to account for the different pressure-dependent behaviors between Pand Swaves. This work shows that the stiffness decreases with clay volume, kerogen volume and porosity. The anisotropy increases with porosity and kerogen volume, but the influence of clay volume on anisotropy is more complex. Specifically, the anisotropy increases with clay volume at relatively low clay concentrations; however, the anisotropy is nearly constant, or even slightly decreases, as clay content continues to increase. This result suggests that the preferred orientations of clay clusters are preserved at relatively low clay concentrations at the core scale, but they vanish at high clay concentration at the same scale in the Upper Eagle Ford Shale.

The monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) plays an important role in the pathogenesis of progression of renal failure. This is based on the observations done both in various animal models of renal damage and in different types of human renal disease. During the development of non-infectious kidney stones, crystals are formed and deposited on the kidneys and the kidneys are surrounded by monocytes/macrophages. We have proposed that in response to crystal exposure, renal epithelial cells produce chemokines, which attract the monocytes/macrophages to the sites of crystal deposition. In this study, we investigated the expression of MCP-1 protein by SD rats exposed to oxonic acid (OA). Our study showed that hyperuricemia accelerates renal progression via a mechanism linked to high MCP-1 which may mediate the inflammation reaction of renal diseases induced by hyperuricemia. Losartan may retard the progression of advanced renal dysfunction, and the mechanism was partly due to blocking of renal inflammation induced by the uric acid. Because the number of experiments performed here is very few, results must be confirmed by more extensive studies with a larger sample size.

The first total synthesis of four possible isomers of a molecule possessing the stereochemistry proposed for banyasin A is described. The structure synthesized appears to be different from that of the natural product.