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Abstract The DNA enzyme Dz13, targeted against the oncogene c-Jun, is capable of inhibiting various model tumours in mice albeit in ectopic models of neoplasia. In previous studies using orthotopic models of disease, the inhibitory effects of Dz13 on secondary growth was a direct result of growth inhibition at the primary lesion site. Thus, the direct and genuine effects on metastasis were not gauged. In this study, Dz13 was able to inhibit both locoregional and distal metastasis of tumour cells in mice, in studies where the primary tumours were unaffected due to the late and clinically-mimicking nature of treatment commencement. In addition, the effect of Dz13 against tumours has now been extended to encompass breast and prostate cancer. Dz13 upregulated the matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2 and MMP-9, and decreased expression of MT1-MMP (MMP-14) in cultured tumour cells. However, in sections of ectopic tumours treated with Dz13, both MMP-2 and MMP-9 were downregulated. Thus, not only is Dz13 able to inhibit tumour growth at the primary site, but also able to decrease the ability of neoplastic cells to metastasise. These findings further highlight the growing potential of Dz13 as an antineoplastic agent.

Objectives: We aimed to determine susceptibilities of Elizabethkingia spp. to 25 commonly tested and 8 novel antibiotics, and to compare the performance of different susceptibility testing methods.Methods: Clinical isolates of Elizabethkingia spp., Chryseobacterium spp. and Flavobacterium spp. collected during 2002-18 (n = 210) in a nationwide surveillance programme in Taiwan were speciated by 16S rRNA sequencing. MICs were determined by broth microdilution. The broth microdilution results of 18 common antibiotics were compared with those obtained by the VITEK 2 automated system.Results: Among the Elizabethkingia spp. identified (n = 108), Elizabethkingia anophelis was the most prevalent (n = 90), followed by Elizabethkingia meningoseptica (n = 7) and Elizabethkingia miricola cluster [E. miricola (n = 6), Elizabethkingia bruuniana (n = 3) and Elizabethkingia ursingii (n = 2)]. Most isolates were recovered from respiratory or blood specimens from hospitalized, elderly patients. PFGE showed two major and several minor E. anophelis clones. All isolates were resistant to nearly all the tested β-lactams. Doxycycline, minocycline and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole inhibited >90% of Elizabethkingia spp. Rifampin inhibited E. meningoseptica (100%) and E. anophelis (81.1%). Fluoroquinolones and tigecycline were active against E. meningoseptica and E. miricola cluster isolates. Novel antibiotics, including imipenem/relebactam, meropenem/vaborbactam, ceftazidime/avibactam, cefepime/zidebactam, delafloxacin, eravacycline and omadacycline were ineffective but lascufloxacin inhibited half of Elizabethkingia spp. The very major discrepancy rates of VITEK 2 were >1.5% for ciprofloxacin, moxifloxacin and vancomycin. Major discrepancy rates were >3% for amikacin, tigecycline, piperacillin/tazobactam and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole.Conclusions: MDR, absence of standard interpretation criteria and poor intermethod concordance necessitate working guidelines to facilitate future research of emerging Elizabethkingia spp. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

CuInSe2 quantum dots (QDs) are one of the most important Cd-free fluorescent probes; they usually exhibited low fluorescence intensity, suggesting that a considerable amount of absorbed photon energy was lost as heat. In this study we aimed to improve the fluorescence intensity of CuInSe2 QDs and investigate their photoacoustic (PA) signal resulting from the heat dissipation, which was previously rarely reported. Cu–In–Zn–Se/ZnSe QDs were synthesized by adopting two strategies of Zn doping and ZnSe shell growth. It was found that there was an upper limit for Zn concentration beyond which the fluorescence intensity began to decrease. In addition, a blue shift of the emission peak of Cu–In–Zn–Se/ZnSe QDs was observed at high concentrations of ZnSe precursor due to the diffusion of excessive Zn. To prepare the dual-modal fluorescence and PA imaging probe, poly(maleic anhydride-alt-1-octadecene) (PMAO) modified with polyethylene glycol (PEG) was coated on the QDs, which led to a slight reduction in fluorescence. Cellular labeling on HeLa cells was performed to demonstrate the utility of these probes for fluorescence imaging. We further studied the in vitro PA imaging capabilities of the Cu–In–Zn–Se/ZnSe/PMAO-g-PEG nanoparticles, which showed a distinct PA signal beyond 1.0 mg ml−1. The current work demonstrated that a moderate amount of Zn doping is necessary for enhancing fluorescence and there is a limit beyond which the fluorescence will be diminished. We also demonstrated the proof of concept that Cu–In–Zn–Se/ZnSe QDs are able to serve as a potential PA imaging contrast agent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current work had two objectives: to compare the total phenolic content (TPC) and antioxidant activity via two different extraction methods ultrasound‐assisted extraction (UAE) and conventional orbital shaker (COS) extraction. Second, parameters (solvent concentration, acidity, and sample‐to‐solvent ratio) influence the extraction of phenolic compounds. For each respective solvent, the sample‐to‐solvent ratio compared were 1:5, 1:10, and 1:20. The TPC of the pulp was extracted most effectively by UAE (38.69 mg). Total mean of extraction yield across all parameters showed that UAE (561.7 mg) was statistically more effective in DPPH radical scavenging activity than the COS extraction (499.8 mg). However, the COS results from FRAP and ABTS yielded higher antioxidant activity. For all the tested assays, it was observed that the absolute methanol solvent and solvent‐to‐sample ratio of 1:20 were the most effective for extracting bioactive compounds from watermelon while solvent acidity had negligible effect. Novelty Impact Statement: Current work demonstrated how individual extraction characteristics (concentration, acidity, sample‐to‐solvent ratio, and method used for extraction) of watermelon "New Dragon A‐117" variety is located in the phenolics and antioxidant characteristic map. Thus, providing information that can practically assist future product developers for their product formulation as a nutraceutical in a more sustainable and environment friendly manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What is known and objective: The blood concentration of tacrolimus can be affected by co‐administrated drugs. The objective is to draw more attention to herb‐drug interactions in China, where herbal medicines are commonly used. Case description: The blood concentration of tacrolimus in a girl with refractory nephrotic syndrome decreased nearly a half despite no change in dose. Nebulizer therapy, cyclophosphamide and a compound Chinese herbal medicine were the only additional treatments than usual. What is new and conclusion: The most possible cause of the decrease in tacrolimus concentration was the administration of Radix Astragali among compound Chinese herbal medicine granules. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hazelnut oil is a valuable product which can be used in various applications not limited to food processing, cosmetic product, and pharmaceutical industry. Traditionally, heating process is used to remove the moisture in various nuts and seeds prior to oil extraction stage in the industry which is relatively energy consuming. In this study, osmotic dehydration which is normally used as a pretreatment in fruit dehydration process was applied as a low-energy moisture removal method during the ultrasound-assisted extraction of oil from hazelnut. The effects of ultrasound amplitude, concentration of osmotic solution, and dehydration time on the yield and characteristics of hazelnut oil obtained were investigated in this study. Concentration of osmotic solution and dehydration time showed more significant effects on water removal as compared with ultrasound amplitude. Higher oil yield of 93% was achieved with the introduction of osmotic dehydration as pretreatment without negative impacts on quality of oil as compared with 88% oil yield in extraction without dehydration aid. The values for quality of oil obtained were in the range of 25–40 g/100 g oil, 0.5–1.1 g/100 g oil, and 2–6 mEq/kg for iodine, free fatty acid, and peroxide values, respectively. All the values were in the range of edible oil standard. Therefore, osmotic dehydration is a promising pretreatment method to enhance oil yield during extraction process in food industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study made explicit the discourses of 10 teachers working as university-based teacher educators in Singapore to understand their enacted identities. It framed identity as discursive, constructed through language and talk. Interview data were analyzed using descriptive discourse analysis tools, with critical discourse analysis influencing the process. The discourses are as follows: (a) The value of seconded teachers is located firmly within schools, with practice and practitioner elevated above theory and academics; (b) teaching is the core role of seconded teachers, and discourses about learning, development, and research are weak; and (c) an individualistic framing situates the locus of change on teacher-practitioners. Hybrid spaces that bring theory and practice together are discursive spaces. Both the strengths and limitations of existing discursive identities need to be acknowledged, and multifaceted and complex practitioner identities explored. This article contributes to the integration of practitioners into the wider community of teacher educators in the university. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, most of the researches focus on enhancing the oil yield by adjusting the various process parameters or searching for alternative techniques. There is only limited information on investigating the effects of various extraction parameters on kinetic mechanism during oil extraction. The mechanism data can provide additional information to the industry when optimization is needed. Previous work had investigated the effect of ultrasound in extraction process. The main purposes of this study are to apply osmotic dehydration as pretreatment and to investigate the effects of ultrasound amplitude, concentration of osmotic dehydration, and dehydration time on extraction mechanism of hazelnut oil. The kinetic modeling showed that So and Macdonald model was more suitable to describe the mechanism of hazelnut oil extraction with higher R2 values ranged from 0.944 to 0.987 as compared with Perez et al. model. The results showed that applying 30% ultrasound amplitude in dehydration stage could increase the mass transfer coefficient for diffusion step (kd) from 0.019 to 0.044 min−1 due to cavitation effect. Besides, 15% concentration of osmotic solution could limit the diffusion step with lowest kd value of 0.055 min−1 as compared with 5 and 10% concentrations due to blocking of surface by solute in higher concentration of osmotic solution. Lastly, increasing the dehydration time from 45 to 150 min could enhance the oil diffusion process with kd values increased from 0.058 to 0.075 min−1 due to lower moisture content in sample. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Orphans and vulnerable children affected by HIV/AIDS (HIV OVC) are at risk for cognitive difficulties and lack of access to education. Interventions addressing cognitive or educational outcomes for HIV OVC worldwide were examined through systematic searches conducted from October 2016 to 2019. We examined the summative effectiveness of interventions and the specific effects of participant age and intervention length. Interventions targeting cognitive outcomes had a small, significant effect, with no effect of moderating variables. Interventions targeting educational outcomes had significant effects. Educational interventions over 1 year were effective, but effects of intervention length were not significant. Overall, this review provides support for the effectiveness of interventions targeting cognitive and educational outcomes for OVC and highlights the need for more research on such interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Diabetic macular edema (DME) is a major cause of vision loss. Diabetes patients with mild macular edema and good visual acuity are often observed carefully so that treatment can be instituted when central vision is threatened. Optimal frequency of monitoring of these patients is unknown. Our study aimed to gather more information to determine a safe interval for monitoring of patients with eyes that were not undergoing active treatment for DME and to correlate outcomes with clinical risk factors. Methods: Study population: Ninety-seven eyes with optical coherence tomography (OCT) evidence of DME of 97 patients with diabetes. Study procedures: Retrospective review of medical records and macular OCT scans at a 6–12-month interval. Primary outcomes: Change in visual acuity and change in central subfield thickness (CSFT) between the initial and follow-up OCT scans. Results: There was no significant change from median baseline visual acuity 6/9 (inter-quartile range 6/6–6/12) or from median baseline CSFT (290 μm, inter-quartile range 270–312 μm) over a median duration of 8 months (inter-quartile range 7–10 months). The numbers of eyes where CSFT had increased ≥ 25 μm, reduced ≥ 25 μm, or remained unchanged were 16 (16%), 6 (6%), and 74 (76%), respectively. Patients with hemoglobin A1c ≥ 8.5% were 5.7 times more likely to develop central subfield thickening (95% CI 1.1–30.1, P = 0.038). Conclusions: Majority of eyes with DME on OCT had stable CSFT without treatment over a median duration of 8 months. Hemoglobin A1c may be useful for risk stratification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For rapid and high throughput prediction of the quality of sunflower seeds, calibration equations were established on 154 materials of sunflower husked seeds. Combination methods included near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) scanning and chemical detecting with chemometrics method to determine the optimal calibration models. Results showed that the model of modified partial least-squares method was appropriate. The determination coefficient of NIRS model for crude fat, crude protein, oleic acid, linoleic acid, saturated fatty acid and unsaturated fatty acid were 0.975, 0.950, 0.973, 0.951 and 0.913 respectively. Their cross-validation correlation coefficients were 0.969, 0.939, 0.915, 0.927 and 0.711 correspondingly. Validation testing results showed that the external validation correlation coefficient for crude fat, crude protein, oleic acid, linoleic acid, saturated fatty acid and unsaturated fatty acid were 0.959, 0.950, 0.937, 0.906 and 0.930 respectively. The results indicated that the established NIRS model could be used as a tool for rapid prediction of qualitative characteristics in sunflower husked seed for large-scale screening of sunflower quality breeding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]