Search

Background Erythrina variegata has been widely used as a traditional medicine. Objective The study was designed to evaluate the anxiolytic and anti-depressant effects of an extract from Erythrina variegata. Methods The extract was evaluated for anxiolytic and anti-depressant action using the elevated plus maze, light/dark box, open field, forced swimming and tail suspension tests in mice. The mechanism of action was further elucidated using high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection methods to assay the levels of five neurotransmitters in brain. Results The extract exhibited significant increase in the percentage of the open arms entries and the time spent in the open arms in the elevated plus maze test. The results of the light/dark box test revealed a significant increase in the amount of time spent in the light chamber. Extract- treated mice also produced significant increase in the number of crossings and rearings in the open field test. In the forced swimming and tail suspension tests, the extract was able to promote significant decrease in the immobility time. In addition, the extract significantly altered the levels of five neurotransmitters in the brain tissue. Conclusion These findings suggest that Erythrina variegata presents potential anxiolytic and anti-depressant activity, and the mechanism may be related to the alteration of neurotransmitter levels.

Cordyceps militaris fruiting bodies contain a variety of bioactive components that are beneficial to the human body. However, the low yield of fruiting bodies and the low carotenoid content in C. militaris have seriously hindered the development of the C. militaris industry. To elucidate the developmental mechanism of the fruiting bodies of C. militaris and the biosynthesis mechanism of carotenoids, the function of the flavohemoprotein-like Cmfhp gene of C. militaris was identified for the first time. The Cmfhp gene was knocked out by the split-marker method, and the targeted gene deletion mutant &Delta, Cmfhp was obtained. An increased nitric oxide (NO) content, no fruiting body production, decreased carotenoid content, and reduced conidial production were found in the mutant &Delta, Cmfhp. These characteristics were restored when the Cmfhp gene expression cassette was complemented into the &Delta, Cmfhp strain by the Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation method. Nonetheless, the Cmfhp gene had no significant effect on the mycelial growth rate of C. militaris. These results indicated that the Cmfhp gene regulated the biosynthesis of NO and carotenoids, the development of fruiting bodies, and the formation of conidia. These findings potentially pave the way to reveal the developmental mechanism of fruiting bodies and the biosynthesis mechanism of carotenoids in C. militaris.

The 0.1%C–5%Mn steel is a new type low carbon medium-manganese steel adapted to the requirements of auto light weight, good safety, low energy consumption and low manufacturing cost. Lots of therma...

In this paper, the authors present sharp bounds of the Hubner function M , which is defined by (1.11) and has important applications in the theories of quasiconformal maps and Ramanujan's modular equations, by showing the monotonicity and concavity-convexity properties of certain combinations defined in terms of M and elementary functions. By these results, several well-known results for M including its bounds and logarithmic inequalities, the explicit quasiconformal Schwarz lemma and the estimates of the solutions to Ramanujan's classical modular equations are remarkably improved. A simpler and more concise proof of the series expansion of M ( r ) is given, too.

The improvement effect of nucleation stirred by vibration technology on defect zone of riser and the formation mechanism were investigated using ammonium chloride solution as the simulation medium. On the basis of this, the feasibility and application effect of this technology used for ingot casting production were researched by industrial experiments. The results show that due to the cross growth of coarser equiaxed grains generated in the centre of solidification mould which produced some small closed regions, the defect zone of riser was formed. The fine equiaxed grain would be formed in the ingot riser after treated by the nucleation stirred by vibration technology. Therefore, centre segregation of the ingot was alleviated obviously. Industrial experiments show that the carbon segregation could be decreased from 0.080 wt-%C to 0.006 wt-%C according to the measured results.

To compare the addition of targeted agents to fulvestrant with fulvestrant alone in hormone-receptor positive advanced breast cancer progressed on previous endocrine therapy; a meta-analysis of all relevant randomized controlled trials was performed. The PubMed, Embase databases and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were searched for relevant publications reporting randomized controlled trials between January 2000 and June 2016. Progression-free survival (PFS), objective response rate (ORR), disease control rate (DCR), and toxicity were assessed. Eight trials with a total of 2,470 patients were included in this meta-analysis. Compared with fulvestrant alone, combination therapy improved PFS (HR = 0.79; 95% CI 0.72-0.87; P = 0.00), increased ORR (RR = 1.70; 95% CI 1.30-2.21; P = 0.00), and showed a trend of increase in DCR (RR = 1.27; 95% CI 0.96-1.69, P = 0.09). In network analysis, only CD4/6 and PI3K/m-TOR inhibitors showed significant treatment effects with a P-score of 0.9999 and 0.7615, respectively. Patients treated with combination therapy developed more grade 3 or greater toxic effects (RR = 1.24; 95% CI 1.13-1.36; P = 0.00). Combining targeted agents with fulvestrant showed benefit but with increased toxicity in patients with advanced breast cancer compared with fulvestrant alone. Biomarkers for treatment optimization are lacking. The CD4/6 and PI3K/m-TOR pathways merit further investigation.

BACKGROUND miR-181a is a small non-coding RNA known to be dysregulated in osteoarthritis (OA), but the role of miR-181a in human OA remains unclear. The aim of this study was to identify its function and molecular target in chondrocytes during OA pathogenesis. MATERIAL AND METHODS The function of miR-181a was assessed by gain-of-function studies in human OA chondrocytes. Potential targets of miR-181a were predicted using series of bioinformatics and intersection analysis, then confirmed by luciferase reporter assay. Gene expression was quantified using quantitative reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR) assays, and protein production was quantified by Western blot analysis. RESULTS The FITC apoptosis assay results indicated that the upregulation of miR-181a led to an increase of apoptosis rate in chondrocytes. Then bioinformatic analysis identified potential target sites of the miR-181a located in the 3' untranslated region of GPD1L. Dual-luciferase reporter assays results showed that GPD1L is a target gene of miR-181a. Furthermore, Western blot and qRT-PCR analysis demonstrated that miR-181a inhibited GPD1L gene expression. Increased GPD1L and decreased miRNA-181a were observed in tissues from osteoarthritis patients. Moreover, we found a highly negative correlation between miRNA-181a and GPD1L. CONCLUSIONS Our results demonstrated that miR-181a may play an important role in the pathogenesis of OA through targeting GPD1L and regulating chondrocyte apoptosis.

To evaluate the efficacy and safety of fibrin sealant for the reduction of postoperative blood loss and transfusion requirements in patients undergoing total hip arthroplasty (THA) and total knee arthroplasty (TKA).Electronic databases including PubMed, Embase, CENTRAL (Cochrane Controlled Trials Register), Web of Science and Google Scholar were searched from database inception to February 2016. All randomized controlled trials evaluating the efficacy and safety of topical administration of fibrin glue during primary THA or TKA were included in our meta-analysis. Transfusion requirements, total blood loss, length of hospital stay and the occurrence of infection were calculated using Stata 12.0 software.A total of nineteen clinical trials with 1489 patients (405 hips and 1084 knees) were finally included for meta-analysis. The results indicated that the topical administration of fibrin sealant can decrease the need for transfusion (RR = 0.33, 95%CI 0.28-0.40, P 0.001), total blood loss (MD = -138.25, 95% CI -203.49 to -75.00), blood loss in drainage (MD -321.44, 95% CI -351.96 to -290.92, P 0.001) and hospital stay length (MD -0.98, 95% CI -1.35 to -0.62, P 0.001) without increasing the occurrence of infection (RR = 0.87, 95% CI 0.33 to 2.27, P = 0.775).The topical use of fibrin sealant can effectively reduce the need for transfusion, total blood loss and the volume of drainage without increasing the rate of infection.

Structural health monitoring (SHM) of civil infrastructure has received significant public attention in recent years. However, there is currently little research on the durability-monitoring technology of high-piled wharfs in coastal ports. The benefits of anode ladder sensors are their small size, good durability and long life. Based on the properties of high-piled wharfs in coastal ports and the benefits of anode ladder sensors, the structural durability monitoring (SDM) system for a high-piled wharf in the Tianjin Port of China is devised and deployed partly using the anode-ladder sensor. The system can monitor the structural durability of reinforced concrete, which provides a state-ofthe- art mean to monitor the steel corrosion conditions for the wharf. In total, 2 anode ladders are installed in the reinforced concrete components of the back platform and front platform. After the installation of some components in the wharf construction site, the good signal that each sensor measures demonstrates the suitability of the sensor setup methods, and it is proper for the full-scale, continuous, autonomous SDM deployment for the high-piled wharf in the costal port. The South 27# Wharf SDM system is a typical engineering application case of wharf structures in costal ports. This deployment demonstrates the strong potential of SDM to monitor the corrosion state of large-scale coastal wharf structures. This study can provide a reference to the long-term durability-monitoring system deployment for high-piled wharf in coastal ports.

Two new pregnane glycosides, 2α, 3β-dihydroxy-5α-pregn-16-en-20-one-3-O-{α-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1→2)-[β-D-glucopyranosyl-(1→4)]-β-D-galactopyranoside} (

Cordyceps militaris, a valuable edible and medicinal fungus, has attracted increasing attention because of its various bioactive ingredients. However, the biosynthetic pathway of C. militaris carotenoids is still unknown due to lack of transcriptome information. To uncover genes related to the biosynthesis of C. militaris carotenoids, the transcriptomes of mycelia CM10_D cultured under dark conditions and mycelia CM10_L cultured under light exposure conditions were sequenced. Compared with mycelia CM10_D, 866 up-regulated genes and 856 down-regulated genes were found in mycelia CM10_L. Gene ontology (GO) analysis of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) indicated that DEGs were mainly classified into the “metabolic process,” “membrane,” and “catalytic activity” terms. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis of DEGs suggested that DEGs were mainly enriched in “metabolic pathways,” “MAPK signaling pathway-yeast,” and “biosynthesis of secondary metabolites.” In addition, the carotenoid content of the Cmtns gene deletion mutant (ΔCmtns) was significantly lower than that of the wild-type C. militaris CM10, while the carotenoid content of the complementary strain (ΔCmtns-c) of the Cmtns gene was not significantly different from that of C. militaris CM10, suggesting that the Cmtns gene significantly affected the biosynthesis of carotenoids in C. militaris. These results potentially pave the way for revealing the biosynthetic pathway of carotenoids and improving carotenoids production in C. militaris.

In the present work, a novel cordycepic pigment was successfully isolated and identified from Cordyceps militaris, as well as named as cordycepene (C14H17N1O4), according to the long unsaturated conjugated polyene structural characteristic. Cordycepene is sensitive to light, high temperature (≥ 60 °C), and acidic condition (pH ≤ 3), but possesses high stability against metal ions, and under alkaline and neutral conditions. Cordycepene shows a comparable DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl) radical-scavenging activity at higher concentration (≥ 2 mg/mL) to vitamin C. Cordycepene promotes the growth of HSF (human skin fibroblast cell) after incubation for 72 h, and has an ability to repair the UV light-treated HSF cells. In addition, cordycepene increases the antioxidant activity (SOD, superoxide dismutase; GSH-Px, glutathione peroxidase; CAT, catalase) and decreases MDA (malondialdehyde) level, indicating that cordycepene inhibits the photochemical senescence of HSF by enhancing the antioxidant defense system. The discovery of cordycepene can provide a basis for research on light incubation and the accumulation of yellow pigment (carotenoids) from C. militaris.

Since anthrax spores are highly lethal to human beings and animals, and also potential biological warfare agents, it is highly desirable to develop simple, robust and easy-device sensors that are rapid and sensitive, and can selectively detect the Bacillus anthrax biomarker dipicolinic acid (DPA) quantitatively. Herein, we report a ratiometric luminescent “turn-on” sensor via mixing Eu3+ ions, sodium polyacrylate and internal luminescence reference in water, which can identify the Bacillus anthrax biomarker dipicolinic acid (DPA) quantitatively with outstanding selectivity over aromatic ligands and amino acids, even including all of the 5 DPA isomers.

Two new pregnane glycosides, 2α, 3β-dihydroxy-5α-pregn-16-en-20-one-3-O-{α-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1→2)-[β-D-glucopyranosyl-(1→4)]-β-D-galactopyranoside} (1) and 2α, 3β-dihydroxy-5α-pregn-16-en-20-one-3-O-{β-D-glucopyranosyl-(1→2)-[β-D-xylopyranosyl-(1→3)]-β-D-glucopyranosyl-(1→4)-β-D-galactopyranoside}(2), have been isolated along with two known spirostanol saponins from the underground parts of Hosta ventricosa. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of chemical and spectral evidence. The anti-inflammatory activities of these steroidal glycosides were evaluated using a xylene-induced ear edema model. Our results indicated that the compounds exhibited promising anti-inflammatory activities.

The push-pull molecules with an intramolecular charge transfer from donor to acceptor sides upon excitation exhibit a wide variety of biological and electronic activities, as exemplified by the in vivo fluorescence imaging probes for amyloid fibrils in the diagnosis and treatment of amyloid diseases. Interestingly, the structurally much simpler bis(4,8-disulfonato-1,5-naphtho)-32-crown-8 (DNC), in keen contrast to the conventional macrocyclic receptors, was found to dramatically enhance the fluorescence of twisted intramolecular charge-transfer molecules possessing various benzothiazolium and stilbazolium fluorophores upon complexation. Spectroscopic and microcalorimetric titrations jointly demonstrated the complex structures and the interactions that promote the extremely strong complexation, revealing that the binding affinity in these artificial host-guest pairs could reach up to a nearly 10(7) M(-1) order of magnitude in water, and the sandwich-type complexation is driven by electrostatic, hydrophobic, π-stacking, and hydrogen-bonding interactions. Quantum chemical calculations on free molecules and their DNC-bound species in both the ground and excited states elucidated that the encapsulation by DNC could greatly deter the central single and double chemical bonds from free intramolecular rotation in the singlet excited state, thus leading to the unique and unprecedented fluorescence enhancement upon sandwich-type complexation. This complexation-induced structural reorganization mechanism may also apply to the binding of other small-molecule ligands by functional receptors and contribute to the molecular-level understanding of the receptor-ligand interactions in many biology-related systems.

Background There is inconsistent information about the clinical usefulness of circulating cell-free DNA (cfDNA) in plasma from clear cell renal cell cancer (RCC) patients. This is attributed to preanalytical, analytical, and clinical factors that were considered as far as possible in this study. Methods cfDNA was extracted from EDTA plasma of healthy people (n = 40), non-metastatic (n = 145) and metastatic (n = 84) RCC patients using the QIAamp Circulating Nucleic Acid Kit. Genomic and mitochondrial cfDNA concentrations were determined using qPCR of different cfDNA fragments (67–306 bp). Their diagnostic and prognostic potential was estimated using receiver operating characteristics (ROC) and Cox regression analyses. Results The 67 bp and 180 bp genomic cfDNA fragments did not differ between the three study groups while the 306 bp fragment was lower in RCC patients than in controls. The mitochondrial cfDNA was higher in metastatic than in non-metastatic patients and controls. The cfDNA integrity indices decreased from controls to metastatic patients. Models built by logistic regression and Cox regression resulted in area under the ROC curves > 0.75 and concordance indices of > 0.800 in predicting recurrence-free survival and overall survival. Conclusion The study suggests that combinations of cfDNA markers have promising diagnostic and prognostic potential in RCC patients and are worth for further validation in future prospective multicenter studies.

We focus on constructing a generic representation of Y(so(3)) based on the Lie algebraic basis of so(3) basis, and further developing transition of Yangian operator \(\hat {\mathbf {Y}}\). As an application of Y(so(3)), we calculate all the matrix elements of unit vector operators \(\hat {\mathbf {n}}\) in angular momentum basis. It is also discovered that the Yangian operator \(\hat {\mathbf {Y}}\) may work in quantum vector space. In addition, some shift operators \(\hat {O}^{(\pm )}_{\mu }\) are naturally built on the basis of the representation of Y(so(3)). As an another application of Y(so(3)), we can derive the CG cofficients of two coupled angular momenta from the down-shift operator \(\hat {O}^{(-)}_{-1}\) acting on a so(3)-coupled tensor basis. This not only explores that Yangian algebras can work in quantum tensor space, but also provides a novel approach to solve CG coefficients for two coupled angular momenta.

In order to make the pump as turbine (PAT) run efficiently and safely, a multidisciplinary optimization design method for PAT blade, which gives consideration to both the hydraulic and intensity performances, is proposed based on multidisciplinary feasibility (MDF) optimization strategy. This method includes blade parametric design, Latin Hypercube Sampling (LHS) experimental design, CFD technology, FEA technology, GA-BP neural network and NSGA-II algorithm. Specifically, a parameterized PAT blade with cubic non-uniform B-spline curve is adopted, and the control point of blade geometry is taken as the design variable. The LHS experimental design method obtains the sample points of training GA-BP neural network in the design space of variables. The hydraulic performance of each sample point (including the hydraulic pressure load on the blade surface) and the strength performance analysis of blades are completed by CFD and FEA technology respectively. In order to save calculation time of the whole optimization design, the multi-disciplinary performance analysis of each sample in the optimization process is completed by single-coupling method. Then, GA-BP neural network is trained. Finally, the multi-disciplinary optimization design problem of PAT blade is solved by the optimization technology combining GA-BP neural network and NSGA-II algorithm. Based on this optimization method, the PAT blade is optimized and improved. The efficiency of the optimized PAT is improved by 1.71% and the maximum static stress on the blade is reduced by 7.98%, which shows that this method is feasible.

The electrochemical redox behavior of gallium (Ga) in alkaline solution was investigated using the combination of electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance (EQCM) and cyclic voltammetry (CV). The electrodeposition morphology and elemental composition were observed using the scanning electron microscope (SEM) and energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS). The results indicate that during the reduction process, the reduction of gallium anion (GaO2−) begins at high negative values of the potential (−1.42 V, vs. Hg/HgO), and the reduction product (Ga2O) is transformed into Ga2O3 and Ga via the disproportionation reaction; the electrodeposition potential of Ga is −1.76 V (vs. Hg/HgO). The oxidation process of Ga can be divided into four stages with the increasing of potential: (i) the oxidation of Ga to form Ga2O, (ii) the electrodissolution of Ga to form GaO2−, (iii) the formation of passivation films (GaO(OH)) on the Ga surface, and (iv) the destruction of passivation films and the continuous dissolution of Ga.

Achievement-oriented leaders let their followers know their expectations. They regularly set clear goals with potential high-performance standards, they trust in the capabilities of their subordinates, and they encourage the continued performance improvement of their subordinates. This investigation studied the effects of private secondary school principals&rsquo, leadership styles on teachers&rsquo, job performance. Four leadership styles outlined in the path&ndash, goal theory and five key performance indicators (KPIs) of teacher job performance were chosen for the present research. Numerous prior studies have documented this subject. However, they reported on teacher job performance as a single unit. Therefore, a concerted effort was required to examine the effects of adopted principal leadership styles on each of the five key performance indicators of teacher job performance. A total of 253 middle management personnel took part in this empirical study. The correlation findings from the structural equation modeling revealed that the directive leadership style had a significant effect on teacher job performance in the studied schools, followed by the supportive and achievement-oriented leadership styles. Conversely, although participative leadership was identified as a significant predictor, it was not considered a promising predictor of teacher job performance. This research was conducted in a non-Western culture, where directive leadership is beneficial for encouraging teacher job performance, this claim is greatly supported by the available rigorous literature.

In this article, based on the actual monitored temperature data from mold copper plate with a dense thermocouple layout and the measured magnetic flux density values in a CSP thin-slab mold, the local heat flux and thin-slab solidification features in the funnel-type mold with electromagnetic braking are analyzed. The differences of local heat flux, fluid flow and solidified shell growth features between two steel grades of Q235B with carbon content of 0.19%C and DC01 of 0.03%C under varying operation conditions are discussed. The results show the maximum transverse local heat flux is near the meniscus region of over 0.3 m away from the center of the wide face, which corresponds to the upper flow circulation and the large turbulent kinetic energy in a CSP funnel-type mold. The increased slab width and low casting speed can reduce the fluctuation of the transverse local heat flux near the meniscus. There is a decreased transverse local heat flux in the center of the wide face after the solidified shell is pulled through the transition zone from the funnel-curve to the parallel-cure zone. In order to achieve similar metallurgical effects, the braking strength should increase with the increase of casting speed and slab width. Using the strong EMBr field in a lower casting speed might reverse the desired effects. There exist some differences of solidified shell thinning features for different steel grades in the range of the funnel opening region under the measured operating conditions, which may affect the optimization of the casting process in a CSP caster.

ZnAl-LDHs and ZnLaAl-LDHs films were fabricated on the surface of 6061 aluminum alloys using in-situ growth method. The microstructures of LDHs films were investigated through the X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electronic microscope (SEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The results indicate that ZnAl-LDHs and ZnLaAl-LDHs nanosheets grow up perpendicular to the surface of the aluminum substrate. It is noteworthy that, the nanosheet of ZnLaAl-LDHs is more fine and dense than that of ZnAl-LDHs under the same growth condition. On the other hand, addition of lanthanum ions inhibit the growth rate of the ZnAl-LDHs nanosheet. The corrosion performance of the ZnAl-LDHs and ZnLaAl-LDHs films were analyzed through the polarization curves and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). LDHs films enhance the corrosion resistance of 6061 aluminum alloys, and the corrosion protection performance of LDHs films are improved as the growth time increase. Furthermore, lanthanum addition enhances the anti-corrosion performance of the ZnAl-LDHs film. Comparison of the corrosion resistance properties of both films; it was found that ZnLaAl-LDH film has high ratio than ZnAl-LDHs by 24%, 42%, 160% and 210% for the growth time 15 min, 1 h, 4 h and 8 h, respectively. Finally, the formation and corrosion mechanism of ZnLaAl-LDHs film on 6061 aluminum alloys are discussed in detail.

This work is intended to simulate and analyze the diffusion process and the diffusion mechanism of nano-ZnO cluster in low density polyethylene (LDPE) using the molecular dynamics (MD) simulation method. MD simulations were carried out at three different temperatures (293 K, 313 K and 343 K) in two models including single cell of ZnO-LDPE chain (ZL cell) and two-phase of ZnO-LDPE/water molecular (ZL-W cell). The diffusion coefficient of nano-ZnO (DM) is obtained by calculating the slope of mean square displacement according to the Einstein relationship. DM of ZL cell and ZL-W cell were 0.17×10-8~3.5×10-8 cm2 s-1 and 6.33×10-8~2.38×10-6 cm2 s-1 respectively. This result implied that DM could be increased by the presence of water molecular phase. Moreover, the fractional free volume (FFV) and the movement trajectories of ZnO cluster were discussed. It demonstrated that the FFV was enlarged with the temperatures and the oscillation of nano-ZnO cluster was wider in ZL-W cell than ZL cell. The relationship between DM and temperature satisfied the Arrhenius equation.