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In the standard Friedmann-Lemaître-Robertson-Walker (FLRW) cosmological model, the energy conditions provides model-independent bounds on the behavior of the distance modulus. However, this method can not provide us the detailed information about the violation between the energy conditions and the observation. In this paper, we present an extended analysis of the energy conditions based upon the entropy density of the universe. On the one hand, we find that these conditions imply that entropy density s depends on Hubble parameter H(z). On the other hand, we compare the theoretical entropy density from the conservation law of energy–momentum tensor with that from the energy conditions using the observational Hubble parameter. When we consider a FLRW universe, according to the theoretical prediction, OHD, thermodynamics and several independent cosmological probes, show that the dominant energy condition is fitter than other energy conditions.

Background: Metastasis-associated protein 1 (MTA1) has been associated with poor prognosis in several malignant carcinomas. The purpose of this study was to investigate the expression and prognostic value of MTA1 in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Methods: MTA1 expression was assessed using immunohistochemistry in paraffin-embedded tumor specimens from 208 untreated NPC patients. Cox regression analysis was used to calculate the hazard ratio (HR), 95% confidence interval (CI) and identify independent prognostic factors, and recursive partitioning analysis was used to create a decision tree. Results: Nuclear overexpression of MTA1 was observed in 48.6% (101/208) of the NPC tissues. Nuclear overexpression of MTA1 correlated positively with N classification (P = 0.02), clinical stage (P = 0.04), distant metastasis (P<0.01) and death (P = 0.01). Additionally, nuclear overexpression of MTA1 correlated significantly with poorer distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS; P <0.01) and poorer overall survival (OS; P<0.01). MTA1 had prognostic significance in NPC patients with stage II disease, but not stage III or IV disease. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that nuclear overexpression of MTA1 was independently associated with poorer DMFS (HR, 2.05; 95% CI, 1.13-3.72; P = 0.02) and poorer OS (HR, 1.98; 95% CI, 1.09-3.59; P = 0.03). Using recursive partitioning analysis, the NPC patients could be classified with a low, intermediate or high risk of distant metastasis and death, on the basis of clinical stage, age and MTA1 expression. Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that nuclear overexpression of MTA1 correlates significantly with poorer DMFS and poorer OS in NPC. MTA1 has potential as a novel prognostic biomarker in NPC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Feng X-L, Wang F, Zou Y-F, Li W-F, Tian Y-H, Pan F-M, Huang F. Association of FK506 binding protein 5 ( FKBP5) gene rs4713916 polymorphism with mood disorders: a meta-analysis. Several studies have investigated the association of FKBP5 gene polymorphisms with mood disorders, but findings are not always consistent. The aim of our study was to assess the association of FKBP5 gene polymorphisms with mood disorders using a meta-analysis. Data were collected from the following electronic databases: PubMed, Elsevier Science Direct, Cochrane Library, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, China National Knowledge Infrastructure and Wanfang, with the last report up to March 2010. Meta-analysis was performed in a fixed/random effect model. We identified six studies using search, and one study was excluded because of unavailable data. One study contained data on two different ethnicities and we treated them independently. Thus, six separate studies (2655 cases and 3593 controls) were included in the meta-analysis. Meta-analysis was performed for three FKBP5 gene polymorphisms (rs1360780, rs3800373 and rs4713916) in overall and Caucasian populations. We did not detect any association of FKBP5 gene rs1360780 and rs3800373 polymorphisms with mood disorders ( p > 0.05). However, a significant association of FKBP5 gene rs4713916 polymorphism with mood disorders was found, and the heterozygous individual (GA genotype) was more susceptible to mood disorders in comparison to homozygous analogues (GG or AA genotype) [overall: GA vs. GG: OR (odds ratio) = 1.20, 95% CI (confidence interval) = 1.03-1.40, p = 0.02; GA vs. AA: OR = 1.44, 95% CI = 1.09-1.90, p = 0.009; Caucasian: GA vs. GG: OR = 1.22, 95% CI = 1.04-1.44, p = 0.01; GA vs. AA: OR = 1.43, 95% CI = 1.09-1.89, p = 0.01]. This meta-analysis shows that mood disorders are associated with FKBP5 gene rs4713916 polymorphism, but not with rs1360780 and rs3800373. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To isolate and identify the fungal endophytes of Fagopyrum tataricum and assess their antimicrobial activity. Methods: The fungal isolates were identified according to their morphological characters and internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequence analysis. Both broth-dilution-colorimetric assay and spore germination test were employed to assess the antimicrobial activity of fungal mycelia extracts. Results: A total of 72 endophytic fungal isolates were successfully obtained from the healthy tissues of F. tataricum. On the basis of their morphological and molecular characteristics, thirteen distinct fungal isolates were identified, and belonged to Alternaria, Bionectria, Botryosphaeria, Fusarium, Guignardia, Nectria, Neonectria, Phomopsis, Pseudocercospora and Verticillium spp. Of these, Pseudocercospora owned the maximum colonization frequency (15.3 %), next for Alternaria (12.5 %) and Neonectria (11.1 %). Through antimicrobial screening assays, six endophytes (Fataf-4, 6, 9, 11, 12 and 15) were active against Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, Agrobacterium tumefaciens, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas lachrymans, and their minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) ranged from 0.125 to 2.00 mg/mL. Furthermore, the endophytes, Fataf-9 and Fataf-11, also displayed strong inhibitory activity on the spore germination of F. oxysporum f. sp. vasinfectum and F. oxysporum f. sp. cucumerinum, and their median effective inhibitory concentration (IC50) was 0.356, 0.463, 0.451 and 0.489 mg/mL, respectively. Conclusion: The endophytic fungi of F. tataricum appear to be diverse and promising in their antimicrobial activity, and may represent a potential source of antibiotics for agriculture and/or pharmaceutical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]