Search

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a complex reproductive endocrine disease characterized by polycystic ovary. The aim of the study was to assess microRNA-21 regulates granulosa cell apoptosis and proliferation in polycystic ovary syndrome through target toll-like receptor 8. Granulosa cells were collected from 30 PCOS patients and 30 normal patients with tubal or male factor infertility (control) during in vitro fertilization-Embryo Transfer (IVF-ET) and were flash frozen with liquid nitrogen for storage for subsequent use. PCOS diagnosis was based on the revised standards of the American Society of Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) and the Rotterdam criteria PCOS granulosa cells and control granulosa cells were cultured in DMEM/F12 medium containing 10% fetal bovine serum and 1% antibiotic. After this RT-PCR, Western blot assessment and Detection of apoptosis by flow cytometry were conducted. The results of qPCR showed that the mRNA and protein expression of TLR8 in PCOS granulosa cells were significantly increased compared with the normal group. The results of Western blot also showed that the expression of TLR8, IFN-γ, TNF-α and IL-12 gene protein in the transfected cells was significantly higher than that in the control cells. Here, we show that miR-21 and TLR8 significantly increased in PCOS granulosa cell as compared with normal granulosa cells, and miR-21 enhances the TLR8 mRNA translation and then promotes the IFN-γ, TNF-α, and IL-12 secretion. Our study demonstrates that miR-21/ TLR8 involved in the PCOS inflammation, it provides profound insights into pathogenesis of PCOS.

Inthis investigation, the rare-earth oxide Yb2O3 combined with Al2O3served as sintering additives and SiC and B4C powder were applied to fabricate SiC/B4C multiphase ceramics composites by pressureless sintering. The results proved thatcombination of Al2O3 and Yb2O3 sinter additives were effective fordensification of SiC/B4C composites. The influence of oxidation time onthe phase constitution, micro-structure and oxidation behavior of SiC/B4C composites was investigated.Theformation of eutectic phase Yb2Si2O7 phase waswrapped on the SiC surface and it reduced further oxidation of SiC particles.The oxidation kineticcurves followed a parabolic rule.

The concept of information entropy is applied to evaluation for anti-interference performance of velocity and distance measurement in DS/FH hybrid spread spectrum TT&C (Tracking, Telemetry & Command) system, establishing an evaluation model where the entropy loss degree is used as an index under the rule of information, and analyzing the impact on the index from the changing of interference parameters. The feasibility of using entropy loss degree as an evaluation index was verified by simulation.

The simulation of hydraulic characteristics was carried out with Larger Eddy Simulation (LES) and Volume of Fluid (VOF) method. The numerical results show that the flow condition is smooth, the length of lateral cavity gradually increases with the size of lateral enlargement increases, the maximum pressure value on the lateral wall appears after the bottom cavity, the upper part of the lateral cavity region was longer than the lower part due to gravity and the backwater does not intrude into bottom cavity. The numerical results agree well with the experimental date. The new lateral aerator has good hydraulic characteristics and the LES with VOF method can well predict the hydraulic characteristics after the new lateral aerator.

the striving development of mobile business and the wide use of mobile equipment have enlightened the requirement of high efficient analyst instrument of data stream. Mobile data mining is under the environment of pervasive and finds the knowledge from the continuous data stream. We apply the mining technology of data stream to mobile environment and discuss the algorithm. And we introduce the concrete idea and steps of mobile data mining on the base of improved data stream disposing model. At last, we introduce the application instance that is the application of mobile ERP.

Ca2Co2O5 ceramic powders were synthesized by the coprecipitation method and consolidated by spark plasma sintering (SPS) technique.The observation by the SEM indicated that the ceramics body showed fine and layer microstructure.The density of the body increased with an increase of the fritting temperature.XRD patterns showed that the ceramics sample exhibits inpure phase with increasing the sintering temperayure to 850°C and that the grain was preferentially oriented.The electrical conductivity was reduce and the Seebeck coefficient slightly increased with an increase of the sintering temperature.As a result,the thermoelectric properties of the sample prepared by SPS at 800 °C for 5 min was better than the sample prepared by SPS at 750 °C for 5 min at high temperature.The sample treated by the SPS process under the condition of 800 °C,40 MPa and 5 min showed the maximum power factor (PF) of 3.85×10-4W∙m-1∙K-2 at 923 K.

Heterotrimeric GTP-binding proteins, which consist of Galpha, Gbeta, and Ggamma subunits, play important roles in transducing extracellular signals perceived by cell surface receptors into intracellular physiological responses. In addition to a single prototypical Galpha protein (GPA1), Arabidopsis has three unique Galpha-like proteins, known as XLG1, XLG2, and XLG3, that have been found to be localized in nuclei, although their functions and mode of action remain largely unknown. Through a transcriptomic analysis, we found that XLG2 and XLG3 were rapidly induced by infection with the bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas syringae, whereas the XLG1 transcript level was not affected by pathogen infection. A reverse genetic screen revealed that the xlg2 loss-of-function mutation causes enhanced susceptibility to P. syringae. Transcriptome profiling revealed that the xlg2 mutation affects pathogen-triggered induction of a small set of defense-related genes. However, xlg1 and xlg3 mutants showed no difference from wild-type plants in resistance to P. syringae. In addition, the xlg2 xlg3 double mutant and the xlg1 xlg2 xlg3 triple mutant were not significantly different from the xlg2 single mutant in the disease resistance phenotype, suggesting that the roles of XLG1 and XLG3 in defense, if any, are less significant than for XLG2. Constitutive overexpression of XLG2 leads to the accumulation of abnormal transcripts from multiple defense-related genes. Through co-immunoprecipitation assays, XLG2 was found to interact with AGB1, the sole Gbeta subunit in Arabidopsis, which has previously been found to be a positive regulator in resistance to necrotrophic fungal pathogens. However, no significant difference was found between three xlg single mutants, the xlg2 xlg3 double mutant, the xlg triple mutant, and wild-type plants in resistance to the necrotrophic fungal pathogens Botrytis cinerea or Alternaria brassicicola. These results suggest that XLG2 and AGB1 are components of a G-protein complex different from the prototypical heterotrimeric G-protein and may have distinct functions in modulating defense responses.

Inorganic lithium solid state electrolytes have been considered as candidates to substitute the organic liquid electrolytes in lithium batteries. However, their low conductivity is the bottleneck of their practical applications. In this paper, composite ceramic electrolytes based on lithium lanthanum titanium oxides were synthesized by adding SiO 2 . X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy were used to characterize their composition, microstructure and ionic conductivity. The results showed that the total ionic conductivity was enhanced to achieve about 10 − 4 S/cm at 30 °C due to the formation of some amorphous lithium silicate in the grain boundary.

Plants have evolved complicated regulatory systems to control immune responses. Both positive and negative signaling pathways interplay to coordinate development of a resistance response with the appropriate amplitude and duration. AtNUDT7, a Nudix domain-containing protein in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) that hydrolyzes nucleotide derivatives, was found to be a negative regulator of the basal defense response, and its loss-of-function mutation results in enhanced resistance to infection by Pseudomonas syringae. The nudt7 mutation does not cause a strong constitutive disease resistance phenotype, but it leads to a heightened defense response, including accelerated activation of defense-related genes that can be triggered by pathogenic and nonpathogenic microorganisms. The nudt7 mutation enhances two distinct defense response pathways: one independent of and the other dependent on NPR1 and salicylic acid accumulation. In vitro enzymatic assays revealed that ADP-ribose and NADH are preferred substrates of NUDT7, and the hydrolysis activity of NUDT7 is essential for its biological function and is sensitive to inhibition by Ca2+. Further analyses indicate that ADP-ribose is not likely the physiological substrate of NUDT7. However, the nudt7 mutation leads to perturbation of cellular redox homeostasis and a higher level of NADH in pathogen-challenged leaves. The study suggests that the alteration in cellular antioxidant status caused by the nudt7 mutation primes the cells for the amplified defense response and NUDT7 functions to modulate the defense response to prevent excessive stimulation.

During the course of pathogens penetrating the plant cell, besides of chemical secretion, the pathogens may cause mechanical signal by the physical pressure on the plant cell. In the current study, we use the pressure as the stress signal to study the induction in plant resistance and the effect of accumulation of phytoalexin. We found that stress can induce the resistance in cucumber seeding significantly. Peptides contained RGD motif can specific block the adhesion between plant cell wall and plasma membrane. When breaking the plant cell wall and plasma membrane by using RGD peptides, the stress induction effect is almost absolutely eliminated. The results of assay with TLC and HPLC showed that stress stimulation could increase the accumulation of cucumber seeding phytoalexin. So, we can conclude that the accumulation of phytoalexin is one possible reason of improve the stress induced resistance. When block the adhesion between plant cell wall and plasma membrane by RGD, there are only part of accumulation of phytoalexin. The results suggest that stress induced resistance and accumulation of phytoalexin of plant is required for the adhesion of plant cell wall-plasma membrane.

When Ti transformed Salvia miltiorrhiza cells werecultured in a MS-NH4 medium (MS without ammonium nitrate, containing30 g/L sucrose) at 25 °C in darkness for 18d, the total tanshinone (cryptotanshinone and tashinone IIA)contents in cultures were 12.23 mg/L and 15.07 mg/Lfor yeast elicitor (4 g/L), and yeast elicitor plus 200μmol/L salicylic acid (SA) treated cultures, respectively,whereas only trace amounts of tanshinone were detected in the control or SAtreated cells. To explore the hormonal background concerning these phenomena,endogenous phytohormones were determined using ELISA kits. We found that ABA andiPAs contents in yeast elicitor plus SA treated cell cultures were increased 2.8to 9.8-fold and 3.6 to 5.8-fold respectively, while contents of GA1and IAA were decreased by 13.2%–56.9% and 34.8%–74.6% respectively.This suggests that higher levels of ABA and iPAs combined with lower levels ofGA1 and IAA inhibit the growth of cells, then probably stimulate thetanshinone production.

This letter investigates the scattering characteristic of the rivets on aircraft. The Electric Field Integral Equation (EFIE) is used with the moment method to calculate the current distribution on the surface of the rivet. With the application of Gaussian integral corresponding triangular cell, the time to fill the Z matrix is greatly reduced. Finally, the RCS of a type of rivet on aircraft is analyzed.

A mouse monoclonal antibody (McAb) against salicylic acid (SA) was produced and characterized for the first time. The McAb, based on the study of immuno-response of rabbit to immunogens conjugated SA to carrier proteins through different methods, and effect of changing conjugation bridge between hapten and carrier proteins on the specialty of salicylate polyclonal antibodies (PAbs), was derived from an immunogen in which 5-aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA) was conjugated to KLH (hemocyanin from keyhole limpet) through its (C 5 )-NH 2 group. The antibody shows high specificity to SA and even more high specificity to 5-ASA (the cross-reaction is 144.8%), but show very little cross-reactivity with 5-sulfosalicylic acid (0.9%) and 4-aminosalicylic acid (0.3%). Other compounds structurally similar to SA, such as 4-hydroxybenzoic acid, 4-aminobenzoic acid and salicylaldoxime, were not found to exhibit any cross-reactivity. Based on this antibody, a direct enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) with high sensitivity and precision was developed which displays a linear range from 0.0195 to 20 nmol of SA. Using this ELISA, the fluctuation of endogenous SA levels of cucumber after infected with Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae were examined.

Plants challenged by pathogens, especially necrotrophic fungi such as Botrytis cinerea, produce high levels of ethylene. At present, the signaling pathways underlying the induction of ethylene after pathogen infection are largely unknown. MPK6, an Arabidopsis stress-responsive mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) was previously shown to regulate the stability of ACS2 and ACS6, two type I ACS isozymes (1-amino-cyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid synthase). Phosphorylation of ACS2 and ACS6 by MPK6 prevents rapid degradation of ACS2/ACS6 by the 26S proteasome pathway, resulting in an increase in cellular ACS activity and ethylene biosynthesis. Here, we show that MPK3, which shares high homology and common upstream MAPK kinases with MPK6, is also capable of phosphorylating ACS2 and ACS6. In the mpk3 mutant background, ethylene production in gain-of-function GVG-NtMEK2(DD) transgenic plants was compromised, suggesting that MPK6 and MPK3 function together to stabilize ACS2 and ACS6. Using a liquid-cultured seedling system, we found that B. cinerea-induced ethylene biosynthesis was greatly compromised in mpk3/mpk6 double mutant seedlings. In contrast, ethylene production decreased only slightly in the mpk6 single mutant and not at all in the mpk3 single mutant, demonstrating overlapping roles for these two highly homologous MAPKs in pathogen-induced ethylene induction. Consistent with the role of MPK3/MPK6 in the process, mutation of ACS2 and ACS6, two genes encoding downstream substrates of MPK3/MPK6, also reduced B. cinerea-induced ethylene production. The residual levels of ethylene induction in the acs2/acs6 double mutant suggest the involvement of additional ACS isoforms, possibly regulated by MAPK-independent pathway(s).

Textured Bi-substituted Ca2Co2O5 ceramics have been prepared using a coprecipitation method combined with spark plasma sintering. The Bi substitution is effective in increasing the grain orientation of the Ca2Co2O5-based ceramics (from 0.46 to 0.85). Electrical conductivity increases obviously with partial substitution of Bi3+ for Ca2+ (from 113.9 to 142.4 S/cm at 973 K). The Ca1.92Bi0.08Co2O5 sample exhibits higher power factor (4.4×10−4 W m−1 K−2) than that of pure Ca2Co2O5 (3.2×10−4 W m−1 K−2) at 973 K, indicating that the Ca2Co2O5 system is another promising p-type material for high-temperature thermoelectric applications.