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Plasma biomarkers for Parkinson’s disease (PD) diagnosis that carry predictive value for cognitive impairment are valuable. We explored the relationship of Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score with plasma biomarkers in PD patients and compared results to vascular dementia (VaD) and normal controls. The predictive accuracy of an individual biomarker on cognitive impairment was evaluated using area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC), and multivariate logistic regression was applied to evaluate predictive accuracy of biomarkers on cognitive impairment; 178 subjects (41 PD, 31 VaD and 106 normal controls) were included. In multiple linear regression analysis of PD patients, α-synuclein, anti-α-synuclein, α-synuclein/Aβ40 and anti-α-synuclein/Aβ40 were highly predictive of MMSE score in both full model and parsimonious model (R2 = 0.838 and 0.835, respectively) compared to non-significant results in VaD group (R2 = 0.149) and in normal controls (R2 = 0.056). Α-synuclein and anti-α-synuclein/Aβ40 were positively associated with MMSE score, and anti-α-synuclein, α-synuclein/Aβ40 were negatively associated with the MMSE score among PD patients (all Ps

Background Disease situations are more aggressive in patients with childhood-onset systemic lupus erythematosus (cSLE) than in those with adult-onset SLE (aSLE). However, information on pregnant women with cSLE and its association with pregnancy outcomes is limited. This study aimed to compare pregnancies in patients with cSLE vs. aSLE, and further analyse the characteristics of cSLE in pregnant women and explore its association with adverse pregnancy outcomes. Methods Altogether, data of 167 pregnancies from 150 women, including 22 pregnancies with cSLE and 145 pregnancies with aSLE, were retrospectively analysed. Characteristics and disease activity were compared between the cSLE and aSLE groups during pregnancy. Associations between cSLE and the risk of active SLE (SLEPDAI > 4), active lupus nephritis (LN), and adverse pregnancy outcomes were analysed using logistic regression. Results The cSLE group had a higher incidence of active SLE (12/22 vs. 30/145, P = 0.001) and active LN (11/22 vs. 26/145, P = 0.001) than the aSLE group. In the multivariable analysis, cSLE was a risk factor for active SLE and active LN during pregnancy, with ORs of 4.742 (95%CI 1.678–13.405, P = 0.003) and 4.652 (95%CI 1.630–13.279, P = 0.004), respectively. No significant association between cSLE and the risk of composite adverse gestational outcomes was identified after sequentially adjusting pre-pregnancy characteristics and pregnancy factors (P > 0.05). Conclusion Disease activity of women with cSLE in pregnancy was more aggressive than that of women with aSLE, which was similar to the characteristics of non-pregnant women with SLE. cSLE might have indirect effects on the risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes through LN and active disease. Therefore, closely monitoring patients with cSLE during pregnancy is crucial.

Easily accessible and accurate biomarkers can aid Parkinson's disease diagnosis. We investigated whether combining plasma levels of α-synuclein, anti-α-synuclein, and/or their ratios to amyloid beta-40 correlated with clinical diagnosis. The inclusion of amyloid beta-40 (Aβ40) is novel. Plasma levels of biomarkers were quantified with ELISA. Using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis, levels of α-synuclein, anti-α-synuclein, and their ratios with Aβ40 were analyzed in an initial training set of cases and controls. Promising biomarkers were then used to build a diagnostic algorithm. Verification of the results of biomarkers and the algorithm was performed in an independent set. The training set consisted of 50 cases (age 65.2±9.3, range 44-83, female:male=21:29) with 50 age- and gender-matched controls (67.1±10.0, range 45-96 years; female:male=21:29). ROC curve analysis yielded the following area under the curve results: anti-α-synuclein=0.835, α-synuclein=0.738, anti-α-synuclein/Aβ40=0.737, and α-synuclein/Aβ40=0.663. A 2-step diagnostic algorithm was built: either α-synuclein or anti-α-synuclein was ≥2 times the means of controls (step-1), resulting in 74% sensitivity; and adding α-synuclein/Aβ40 or anti-α-synuclein/Aβ40 (step-2) yielded better sensitivity (82%) while using step-2 alone yielded good specificity in controls (98%). The results were verified in an independent sample of 46 cases and 126 controls, with sensitivity reaching 91.3% and specificity 90.5%. The algorithm was equally sensitive in Parkinson's disease of ≤5-year duration with 92.6% correctly identified in the training set and 90% in the verification set. With two independent samples totaling 272 subjects, our study showed that combination of biomarkers of α-synuclein, anti-α-synuclein, and their ratios to Aβ40 showed promising sensitivity and specificity.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a deadly tumor with high heterogeneity. Aerobic glycolysis is a common indicator of tumor growth and plays a key role in tumorigenesis. Heterogeneity in distinct metabolic pathways can be used to stratify HCC into clinically relevant subgroups, but these have not yet been well-established. In this study, we constructed a model called aerobic glycolysis index (AGI) as a marker of aerobic glycolysis using genomic data of hepatocellular carcinoma from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) project. Our results showed that this parameter inferred enhanced aerobic glycolysis activity in tumor tissues. Furthermore, high AGI is associated with poor tumor differentiation and advanced stages and could predict poor prognosis including reduced overall survival and disease-free survival. More importantly, the AGI could accurately predict tumor sensitivity to Sorafenib therapy. Therefore, the AGI may be a promising biomarker that can accurately stratify patients and improve their treatment efficacy.

Ovarian cancer is one of the most lethal gynecologic malignancies in women. Isoflurane is one of the volatile anesthetics used extensively for inhalational anesthesia and gynecological surgery. However, the effects of isoflurane on ovarian cancer have not been fully elucidated. It is widely studied that one of the biochemical fingerprints of cancer cells is the altered energy metabolism which is characterized by preferential dependence on glycolysis for energy production in an oxygen-independent manner. In the present study, we explored the roles of isoflurane in the regulation of cellular metabolism of ovarian cancer cells. We observed the glucose uptake, lactate production and extracellular acidification of two ovarian cancer cell lines, SKOV3 and TOV21G were significantly stimulated by isoflurane treatments at 1 and 2 h. The glycolysis enzymes, HK2, PKM2, and LDHA were up-regulated by isoflurane. We report that miR-21 was induced by isoflurane treatments in ovarian cancer cells, leading to the elevated AKT phosphorylation and up-regulation of glycolysis enzymes. In contrast, the mitochondrial functions were suppressed by isoflurane treatments: the oxygen consumption, mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), and activities of complex I, II, and IV on the electron transport chain were significantly decreased under isoflurane treatments. Importantly, ovarian cancer cells become hypersensitive to glycolysis inhibitors with isoflurane pretreatments. The present study demonstrates that isoflurane treatments drive a metabolic switch of ovarian cancer cells and contributes to the discovery and development of clinical therapeutic agents against ovarian cancer.

Ovarian cancer is one of the most lethal gynecologic malignancies in women. Isoflurane is one of the volatile anesthetics used extensively for inhalational anesthesia and gynecological surgery. However, the effects of isoflurane on ovarian cancer have not been fully elucidated. It is widely studied that one of the biochemical fingerprints of cancer cells is the altered energy metabolism which is characterized by preferential dependence on glycolysis for energy production in an oxygen-independent manner. In the present study, we explored the roles of isoflurane in the regulation of cellular metabolism of ovarian cancer cells. We observed the glucose uptake, lactate production and extracellular acidification of two ovarian cancer cell lines, SKOV3 and TOV21G were significantly stimulated by isoflurane treatments at 1 and 2 h. The glycolysis enzymes, HK2, PKM2, and LDHA were up-regulated by isoflurane. We report that miR-21 was induced by isoflurane treatments in ovarian cancer cells, leading to the elevated AKT phosphorylation and up-regulation of glycolysis enzymes. In contrast, the mitochondrial functions were suppressed by isoflurane treatments: the oxygen consumption, mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), and activities of complex I, II, and IV on the electron transport chain were significantly decreased under isoflurane treatments. Importantly, ovarian cancer cells become hypersensitive to glycolysis inhibitors with isoflurane pretreatments. The present study demonstrates that isoflurane treatments drive a metabolic switch of ovarian cancer cells and contributes to the discovery and development of clinical therapeutic agents against ovarian cancer.

Roughened TiO2 film electrodes were prepared by anodic oxidation method in 1.0 M sulfuric acid solution. The prepared electrode and the electrode after electrolysis were characterized by XPS and SEM. It was observed that the roughened surface disappeared and 0.5–1 μm holes formed after electrolysis. While TiO2 film always existed on the surface of the anodized electrode. The adsorption and reduction of oxalic acid at the prepared electrode likely benefited from this porous structure. The electrocatalytic properties of the roughened TiO2 film electrode towards the electrocatalytic reduction of oxalic acid to glyoxylic acid were evaluated by CV, in situ FTIR and preparative electrolysis experiments. Experimental evidence was presented that the roughened TiO2 film electrode exhibited higher electrocatalytic activity for the reduction of oxalic acid. In addition, a new mechanism of the electrocatalytic reduction of oxalic acid was proposed, in which TiO2/Ti(OH)3 redox couple plays an important role in the reduction of oxalic acid.

A headspace gas chromatography (HS-GC) method was developed for the rapid determination of multimixture of 15 residual volatile organic compounds in cosmetics. The experimental conditions of HS-GC such as headspace temperature, headspace time and the analytical conditions of GC were optimized. Cosmetic samples were extracted and cleaned-up by headspace at 60 degrees C for 30 min, determined by GC-flame ionization detector (FID) and quantified by external standard method. The 15 poisonous volatile organic compounds were separated efficiently from impurities with high sensitivity and reproducibility. The relative standard deviations (RSDs) were less than 5%, the recoveries were from 62.8%-116%, the linear range was 0.002-2.0 mg/L with a good linear correlation coefficient (r > 0.999) and the limits of detection were 0.09-0.68 mg/kg. By means of the above developed HS-GC method, 15 residual volatile organic compounds in cosmetics were detected accurately and simultaneously in a single sample injection. The method is accurate, simple, rapid, and is suitable for the trace analysis of multimixture of residual volatile organic compounds in various cosmetics.

The electrocatalytic properties of Ag towards the dehalogenation of a variety of polychloro- and polybromo-phenols in basic aqueous solution have been evaluated. Experimental evidence is presented that Ag exhibited powerful electrocatalytic activity for dehalogenation of polyhalogenated phenols to less, or non-halogenated phenols.

To evaluate the effects of mechanical stress on the formation and expression of core binding factor alpha1 (Cbfalpha1) in MG-63 cells cultured on titanium in vitro.MG-63 cells cultured on the titanium were subjected to a centrifugal force (2.205 N) 15 min per 4 hours and collected after 4, 8 and 12 hours. The formation and expression of Cbfalpha1 were examined by immunofluorescence staining and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).Both the cells with or without centrifugal force created the fluorescence in the nucleus and the immunofluorescence intensity of Cbfalpha1 in MG-63 cells with centrifugal force were higher than those without centrifugal force (P0.05). Meanwhile, both the cells with or without centrifugal force expressed the mRNA of Cbfalpha1 and the relative mRNA level of Cbfalpha1 in MG-63 cells with centrifugal force were higher than those without centrifugal force, and the differences were great significant (P0.05).Mechanical stress are beneficial to the formation and expression of Cbfalpha1.

To study the effect of GMCSF-absence on the rate of wound healing and neovascularization during wound repair.30 wild type (WT) mice and 30 GMCSF- absence mice (GMCSF-KO) were obtained. They were received full thickness skin wound (0.8 cm x 0.8 cm) in each side of midline after deeply anesthesia. In the different post-injury time points, the wound sites were digitally photographed to calculate the percentage of wound closure by using computer image analyses software. The wound specimens were also obtained dynamically for immunohistological analysis of CD31 at wound site.The analysis of the wound closure showed that wound healing in GMCSF-KO mice was delayed significantly comparing with that in WT mice from the day 3 post-wounding. At days 7 and 10 after wounding significantly more numbers of blood vessels were formed in the WT controls compared to the GMCSF-KO mice.GMCSF-absence inhibits neovascularization during wound repair and leads to the delay of wound healing.

To establish a method of purge and trap in combination with gas chromatograph/mass spectrometry(P and T-GC/MS) for the rapid determination of minimum multi-mixture of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in drinking water simultaneously.The experimental conditions of P and T, such as desorption temperature, desorption time, the type of the trap and the analytical conditions of GC were optimized. 54 VOCs in drinking water were determined by P and T-GC/MS.The method enjoyed a wide linear range and good precision, the method detection limit(MDL) was 0.01 - 0.5 microg/L, the average recoveries of the method was 90% - 110% and the relative standard deviation (RSD) was 1.24%-7.79%.The results showed that the method was accurate and high sensitivity and might be good for application and suitable for trace analysis of VOCs in drinking water.

The title compound, C22H22O3, was synthesized by a reaction of ethyl acetoacetate and diphenylmethylenecyclopropane. The five-membered dihydrofuran ring adopts an envelope conformation.

The title compound, C23H25N3, is an important pyrrolotriazole compound. The two phenyl rings are nearly perpendicular, with a dihedral angle between them of 85.88 (8)°. The five-membered pyrrolidine ring adopts an envelope conformation.