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Studies have shown that left bundle branch area pacing (LBBaP) is not inferior to biventricular-cardiac resynchronization therapy (BIV-CRT) in the treatment of heart failure with cardiac electromechanical activity asynchrony. The patient in this report was a 72-year-old heart failure patient needing cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT). The LBBaP approach was attempted firstly, but it failed to achieve cardiac electromechanical activity synchronization. Then, the BIV-CRT strategy was selected and performed successfully. The patient’s heart function has greatly improved at the postoperative follow-up. Therefore, BIV-CRT remains an irreplaceable treatment for certain patients.

To date, multicopters have mainly been used in the entertainment and information‐gathering fields, but can potentially be used to transport payloads. Specifically, multicopters are more suited for manoeuvring tough terrains and delivering payloads to areas unaccessible by other means. The authors propose a control method to achieve cooperative transport with a plural multicopter system and address the problem of delivering a payload being suspended via cables from multicopters. In cooperative transport using a multicopter system, disturbance (weight, wind, and inertia force) may cause destabilization. A consensus algorithm is used to coordinate flight of helicopters in a formation and to ensure that the payload follows a virtual leader. Disturbances (such as wind and cable tension) are primary causes of destabilization and, in the multicopter setting, they are suppressed by an adaptive robust control, Robust Integral of Sign of the Error control. It is shown that the proposed control design can achieve not only convergence under the ideal setting but also robust operation under significant disturbances. In addition, additional control objectives such as cable tension, payload attitude, and collision avoidance can be integrated and achieved. As an auxiliary method, cable tension control, maintaining a horizontal payload attitude, and collision avoidance are considered. The usefulness of the proposed method was verified by simulations and laboratory flight testing demonstrations.

Increasing evidence has suggested that special AT-rich sequence-binding protein 2 (SATB2) may be involved in the progression of numerous types of human cancer; however, the biological function of SATB2 in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) occurrence and progression remains relatively unknown. The present study aimed to investigate the potential role of SATB2 in the regulation of biological characteristics of OSSC during hypoxia. The expression of SATB2 in SCC9 cells was knocked down using small interfering RNA. Western blotting was used to determine the protein expression levels of SATB2, autophagy-related proteins microtubule-associated protein light chain (LC)3-I/II and Beclin-1, and stemness markers such as Oct-4 (POU class 5 homeobox 1), Sox-2 (SRY-box 2) and Nanog (nanog homeobox). Transmission electron microscopy and monodansylcadaverine staining were used to detect the presence of autophagosomes. Furthermore, the self-renewal capacity of cells was analyzed using colony forming assays; the cell proliferative, migratory and invasive ability were evaluated using CCK-8, wound healing and Transwell assays, respectively; and the cell cycle distribution and rate of apoptosis were detected using flow cytometry. The expression levels of SATB2, autophagy-related proteins and stemness markers were significantly increased in SCC9 cells following hypoxic treatment. Meanwhile, the genetic knockdown of SATB2 inhibited hypoxia-mediated autophagy by decreasing the expression levels of Beclin-1, and preventing the conversion of LC3-I to LC3-II and the accumulation of autophagosomes. The knockdown of SATB2 also inhibited the hypoxia-induced colony-forming ability and the expression of stemness markers. Functionally, it also inhibited the proliferative, migratory and invasive abilities of SCC9 cells, while inducing apoptosis and cell cycle arrest under hypoxia. In conclusion, the present study suggested that SATB2 may function as an oncogene in OSCC cells, and targeting SATB2 may be a potential therapeutic strategy for the treatment of OSCC.

Numerous studies have divided industrial water use system into stages of industrial water use (IWU) and wastewater treatment (IWT) subsystems, named as the IWUWT system, yet scant studies have examined its dynamic recycling efficiency with non-discretionary variables. This paper proposes a dynamic two-stage recycling model with non-discretionary variables to compare and analyze the basin differences of the efficiency, and further reveal the driving forces of this efficiency in the Yangtze River basin and Yellow River basin. The results are as follows. (1) The average overall efficiency of the IWUWT system for the 30 provinces during 2011-2018 was 0.79 due to the bad performance of the IWT subsystem with an efficiency score of 0.74, especially for Yunnan and Guangxi. (2) The influence of economic policy uncertainty on circulating industrial water use is more significant in the south basin. (3) Economic development and water use intensity were the main drivers of IWUWT efficiency in the Yangtze River basin, while economic development and environmental consciousness were for the Yellow River basin. The results have important implications for Chinese government and different provinces to improve IWUWT efficiency by policy-making.

Background. Changes in the composition and diversity of gut microbiota, which can be altered by autonomic nerve activity, contribute to the development of heart failure (HF). Renal denervation (RDN) can improve cardiac function by reducing sympathetic nerve activity. However, whether the beneficial role of RDN on HF is related to gut microbiota is unknown. Methods. Thirty rats were assigned to a control, HF (with induced transverse aortic constriction (TAC)), RDN (with RDN induced 10 weeks after TAC), Nog (HF rats with Nogo-P4-administered 8 weeks after RDN), and NEP (HF rats with NEP1-40-administered 8 weeks after RDN) group. Then, 16SrRNA amplicon sequencing and analyses of fecal samples were performed. Results. Beta diversity analyses revealed that compared to the HF group, the RDN, Nog, and NEP groups clustered closer to the control group. The Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio was reduced in the HF group (1.59) compared with the control group (3.21) and was significantly decreased compared to the Nog (7.19), RDN (6.20), and NEP (4.42) groups. At the genus level, the HF group showed decreased abundances of Lactobacillus and Alistipes and increased abundances of Bacteroides and Clostridium compared with the control group. The abundances of Lactobacillus and Alistipes were increased, and those of Bacteroides and Clostridium were decreased in the RDN, Nog, and NEP groups compared to the HF group. However, no differences were observed between the three groups that underwent RDN. The microbial function showed the same tendency. Conclusions. RDN reversed the abnormal changes in the gut microbiome in HF rats. Inhibition of reinnervation after RDN did not affect intestinal bacteria.

Melanoma is a common type of cutaneous tumor, but current drug treatments do not satisfy clinical practice requirements. At present, mitochondrial uncoupling is an effective antitumor treatment. Triclosan, a common antimicrobial, also acts as a mitochondrial uncoupler. The aims of the present study were to investigate the effects of triclosan on melanoma cells and the underlying mechanisms. Mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), mitochondrial morphology, mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (mito-ROS), intracellular superoxide anion and [Ca2+]i were measured using confocal microscopy. It was found that triclosan application was associated with decreased A375 cell viability in a dose- and time-dependent manner and these effects may have cell specificity. Furthermore, triclosan induced MMP depolarization, ATP content decrease, mito-ROS and [Ca2+]i level increases, excessive mitochondrial fission, AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) activation and STAT3 inhibition. Moreover, these aforementioned effects were reversed by acetylcysteine treatment. Triclosan acute treatment also induced mitochondrial swelling, which was reversed after AMPK-knockdown associated with [Ca2+]i overload. Cell death was caused by STAT3 inhibition but not AMPK activation. Moreover, triclosan induced autophagy via the ROS/AMPK/p62/microtubule-associated protein 1A/1B-light chain 3 (LC3) signaling pathway, which may serve a role in feedback protection. Collectively, the present results suggested that triclosan increased mito-ROS production in melanoma cells, following induced cell death via the STAT3/Bcl-2 pathway and autophagy via the AMPK/p62/LC3 pathway.

This study was conducted to estimate variance components and genetic parameters for 305 days mature equivalent milk yields (MEM) and calving interval (CAI) of registered Xinjiang Brown cattle. The total records were 3940 including 2579 for 305-day MEM and 1970 for CAI, which were collected from Xinjiang Urumqi Cattle Breeding farm in China with calving records from 1990 to 2008. Genetic parameters were obtained by multiple trait derivative-free restricted maximum likelihood (MTDFREML) using animal model. The model included year, season, parity and calving interval of calving for 305 days MEM, and year, season and parity of birth for CAI as fixed effects. Heritability for 305 days MEM was moderate (0.39) and in the same range of parameters estimated in management systems with medium production levels. Heritability of calving interval was small (0.02) as fertility traits for Xinjiang Brown cattle. Estimates of genetic and environmental correlations between 305 days MEM and CAI were 0.47 and 0.37, respectively. Estimates of genetic variation and heritability indicated that selection would result in genetic improvement of production traits. Estimates of both heritability and genetic variation for CAI were small, which indicates that genetic improvement would be difficult.

This research develops a bootstrapped Malmquist environmental performance indicator for exploring the operating efficiency and variability of productivity estimates in China's coal mining industry, as it is the world's largest coal producer with massive undesirable outputs of degraded mining lands and carbon emissions. Taking these undesirable outputs into account, we set up a new value system, called the coal mining environmental performance indicator (CMEPI), by integrating the DEA-based Malmquist production index with a bootstrap method for the first time. We further investigate the bias-corrected CMEPI estimates and their decompositions in coal provinces during 2012–2017 at the regional, areal, and provincial levels and further reveal the characteristic and dynamic evolution of CMEPI estimates and their decompositions by using the Kernel density estimation. The results are as follows. The bias-corrected CMEPI estimates at the regional level as a whole increased by 5.20% during the period due to inferior technological change effects. Low-yield area with a smaller increase rate of technological change needs to be improved. Thus, decision-makers should urgently enhance efficiency change in places such as Hunan, Chongqing, and Jiangxi. Among the low-yield area, Jiangxi and Hubei must alter their path of technological change. Finally, greater attention should focus on promoting the catch-up effect for better regional synergy development.

Decompression has been considered a valuable tool for odontogenic cystic lesions to minimize cyst size with low morbidity and recurrence. However, whether decompression has a role in regulating stem cell properties of orofacial bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) around the cysts has not been fully investigated. The present study compared the stem cell marker profile and osteogenic differentiation potential of orofacial BMSCs prior to and following marsupialization (pre-BMSCs vs. post-BMSCs) in the same individuals. The results demonstrated that post-BMSCs proliferated significantly faster, displayed higher colony-forming unit-fibroblast capacity and demonstrated higher expression of octamer binding protein 4, Nanog and SRY-related HMG box 2 when compared with the pre-BMSCs. Notably, the osteogenic potential was greater in the post-BMSCs compared with in pre-BMSCs, by demonstrating that the protein and mRNA expression levels of osteopontin, runt-related transcription factor 2, osteocalcin, alkaline phosphatase and osterix were upregulated in pre-BMSCs. Furthermore, the phosphorylated levels of extracellular signal-regulated kinase and c-Jun N-terminal kinase were enhanced in post-BMSCs. In conclusion, the study indicated that decompression influences the stem cell properties of orofacial BMSCs, and further studies are needed to verify the findings.

Interspecies nuclear transfer has already achieved success in several species, which shows great potential in recovery and conservation of endangered animals. The study was conducted to establish an efficient system for in vitro argali (Ovis ammon)-sheep embryo reconstruction via interspecies somatic cell nuclear transfer (iSCNT). The competence of domestic sheep cytoplasts to reprogram the adult argali fibroblast nuclei was evaluated, and the effects of enucleation methods and donor cell passage and cell state on the in vitro development of argali-sheep cloned embryos were also examined. Sheep oocytes could support argali and sheep fibroblast cell nuclei transfer and develop to blastocysts in vitro. Oocytes matured for 21–23 h and enucleated by chemically assisted enucleation (CAE) had a higher enucleation rate than blind enucleation (BE), but the development rate of iSCNT embryos was the same (P > 0.05). Moreover, passage numbers of fibroblast cells

The average twin lambing rate of Bayanbulak sheep is 2% to 3%. However, a flock of sheep with a close genetic relationship and an average of 2 to 3 lambs per birth has been found recently. To determine the major genes controlling the prolificacy of the flock in the present study, the flock was designated A while 100 normal Bayanbulak sheep were randomly selected to comprise the control flock B. Ligase detection reaction method was applied to detect and analyze the 10 mutational loci of the 3 candidate prolificacy genes including bone morphogenetic protein type I receptors, bone morphogenetic protein 15, and growth differentiation factor 9. The 10 mutational loci are as follows: FecB locus of the BMPR-IB gene; FecX I , FecX B , FecX L , FecX H , FecX G , and FecX R of the BMP15 gene; and G1, G8, and FecTT of the GDF9 gene. Two mutations including BMPR-IB/FecB and GDF9/G1 were found in Bayanbulak sheep. Independence test results of the two flocks demonstrate that the FecB locus has a significant effect on the lambing number of Bayanbulak sheep. However, the mutation frequency of the G1 locus in GDF9 is very low. Independence test results demonstrate that the GDF9 locus does not have a significant impact on the lambing performance of Bayanbulak sheep. Among the 10 detected loci, BMPR-IB/FecB is the major gene that influences the high lambing rate of Bayanbulak sheep. (Key Words: Bayanbulak Sheep, Fertility, BMPR-IB, GDF9, BMP15)

Neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) has been implicated in peripheral nerve lesions and regeneration. The CAPON adaptor protein interacts with the PDZ domain of nNOS, helping to regulate nNOS activity at post-synaptic sites in neurones, but it is not known whether its expression is altered in sciatic nerves after chronic nerve constriction injury. In the present study, the spatiotemporal expression of CAPON was determined in chronically constricted rat sciatic nerves. Similar to the level of protein expression, CAPON mRNA was significantly up-regulated for almost 5 weeks following sciatic nerve injury. Immunohistochemistry demonstrated that increased CAPON was found mainly in S-100-positive Schwann cells. In addition, co-immunoprecipitation demonstrated an interaction between CAPON and nNOS in Schwann cells and the interaction was enhanced in injured sciatic nerves. CAPON may be involved in peripheral nerve regeneration through regulation of nNOS activity.

This study evaluates the effect of a sequential culture system on the follicular development of sheep lamb ovaries, aiming to establish an available in vitro culture system for ovarian culture.Lamb ovarian cortical fragments were cultured on a steel mesh with a nitrocellulose membrane pre-coated by type 1 collagen. Several culture media were used for the determinations, specifically, a control medium (alpha-MEM), a constant medium (control medium supplemented with 75 ng/mL human recombinant EGF, 200 mIU/mL sheep FSH, 100 ng/mL human recombinant GDF-9, and 100 ng/mL human recombinant bFGF), and a sequential medium (control medium supplemented with sequential growth factors added on different days). Ovarian tissues, both fresh and cultured, were processed for histological and apoptotic assays, while spent culture media were processed for hormone assays.It was found that the growth of lamb primordial follicles can be initiated during culture in vitro. Compared to the control medium, sequential culture medium significantly increased the percentage of secondary follicles in cultures, while the follicle and oocyte diameters of primary and secondary follicles were also observed to increase in this medium. The constant medium was found to increase the number and diameter of secondary follicles only 18 days after culture. After this same period of time, some normal antral follicles were found in the sequential medium, while a few abnormal antral-like follicles were found in the control medium. Moreover, sequential medium appeared to significantly increase estradiol and inhibin production, especially 10-18 days after culture. The highest percentage of normal follicles and the lowest apoptotic cell rates were observed in the sequential medium, suggesting that a sequential addition style of culture can improve follicle and tissue viability.The sequential addition of FSH, EGF, GDF-9,and bFGF can stimulate primordial follicle transmittal into the later development stages, even as far as the antral stage, improve the survival rate of follicles, and maintain follicular viability.

Astrocytes play a key role in regulating aspects of inflammation in the central nervous system. It was observed that nNOS had located in the nucleus of cultured cerebral cortical astrocytes of 7 days. In the present study, we found that carboxy-terminal PDZ ligand of nNOS (CAPON) mainly located in the nucleus of astrocytes stimulated with NO donor sodium nitroprusside (SNP) or GSNO or N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor agonist-NMDA. However, originally, it was localized mostly in the cytoplasm of normal astrocytes. Immunocytochemistry showed that nNOS was co-localized with CAPON in the nucleus of astrocytes stimulated with SNP. In addition to the nuclear localization, treatment with SNP increased the mRNA and protein expression of CAPON. When SNP was removed from media, CAPON accumulated in nucleus transported back to cytoplasm. MK801, an inhibitor of NMDA receptor, was able to reverse the nuclear localization of CAPON resulted from SNP, suggesting that there is a functional relationship of NO with NMDA receptor in the regulation of the nuclear localization of CAPON. These findings provide a new insight in the understanding of the physical and pathological significances of CAPON/nNOS/NMDA receptor.

Aims: Postsynaptic density (PSD)-95 is a scaffolding protein linking the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor with neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS), which contributes to many physiological and pathological actions. We here investigated whether PSD-9 5 was involved in the secondary response following spinal cord injury (SCI). Methods: Spinal cord contusion (SCC) and spinal cord transection (SCT) models at thoracic (T) segment 9 (T 9 ) were established in adults rats. Real-time polymerase chain reaction, Western blot, immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence were used to detect the temporal profile and spatial distribution of PSD-95 after SCI. The association between PSD-9 5 and nNOS in the injured cords was also assessed by coimmmunoprecipation and double immunofluorescent staining. Results: The mRNA and protein for PSD-95 expression were significantly increased at 2 h or 8 h, and then gradually declined to the baseline level, ultimately up-regulated again from 5 days to 7 days for its mRNA level and at 7 days or 14 days for its protein level after either SCC or SCT. PSD-95 immunoreactivity was found in neurones, oligodendrocytes and synaptic puncta of spinal cord tissues within 5 mm from the lesion site. Importantly, injury-induced expression of PSD-95 was colabelled by active caspase-3 (apoptotic marker), Tau-1 (the marker for pathological oligodendrocytes) and nNOS. Conclusions: Accompanied by the spatio-temporal changes for PSD-95 expression, the association between PSD-9 5 and nNOS undergoes substantial alteration after SCI. These two molecules are likely to form a complex on apoptotic neurones and pathological oligodendrocytes, which may in turn be involved in the secondary response after SCI.

Peripheral nerve transection has been implicated to cause a production of neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS), which may influence a range of post-axotomy processes necessary for neuronal survival and nerve regeneration. Carboxy-terminal post synaptic density protein/Drosophila disc large tumor suppressor/zonula occuldens-1 protein (PDZ) ligand of neuronal nitric oxide synthase (CAPON), as an adaptor, interacts with nNOS via the PDZ domain helping regulate nNOS activity at postsynaptic sites in neurons. And Dexras1, a small G protein mediating multiple signal transductions, has been reported to form a complex with CAPON and nNOS. A role for the physiologic linkage by CAPON of nNOS to Dexras1 has suggested that NO-mediated activation of Dexras1 is markedly enhanced by CAPON. We investigated the changes in mRNA for CAPON, Dexras1 and nNOS in the sciatic nerve, dorsal root ganglia and lumbar spinal cord of adult rat following sciatic axotomy by TaqMan quantitative real-time PCR and in situ hybridization combined with immunofluorescence. Signals of mRNA for CAPON and Dexras1 were initially expressed in these neural tissues mentioned, transiently increased at certain time periods after sciatic axotomy and finally recovered to the basal level. It was also found that nNOS mRNA underwent a similar change pattern during this process. These results suggest that CAPON as well as Dexras1 may be involved in the different pathological conditions including nerve regeneration, neuron loss or survival and even pain process, possibly via regulating the nNOS activity or through the downstream targets of Dexras1.

Neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) has been implicated to influence peripheral nerve lesion and regeneration. Post-synaptic density-95 (PSD-95) is one of nNOS-anchoring proteins and plays an important role in specifying the sites of reaction of NO in nervous system. Here we established a rat sciatic nerve crush (SNC) model to examine the spatiotemporal expression of PSD-95 and nNOS. At gene levels, PSD-95 mRNA diminished shortly after crush, and significantly elevated from 2 days to 2 weeks, whereas nNOS decreased progressively post-operation, reached the valley at 1 day, and markedly up-regulated from 1 to 2 weeks after SNC. The expression of both molecules returned to the control level at 4 weeks post-injury. At protein levels, PSD-95 and nNOS underwent the similar changes as their gene expression except for a time lag during up-regulating. At their peak expression, PSD-95 co-labeled with nNOS in Schwann cells (SCs) of sciatic nerve within 0.5 mm from the lesion site, but had few colocalization in axons. In addition, the interaction between PSD-95 and nNOS enhanced significantly at 2 weeks after SNC. These results suggest a correlation of PSD-95 up-regulation with nNOS in reactive SCs of crushed sciatic nerve, which may lead to understanding the function of PSD-95 during peripheral nerve regeneration.

The adaptor protein, carboxy-terminal PDZ ligand of nNOS (CAPON), regulates the distribution of neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) that increased after spinal cord injury (SCI) and produces the key signaling molecule nitric oxide (NO). But little is known about the role of CAPON in the pathological process of SCI. The main objective of the present study was to investigate expression of CAPON and nNOS in a spinal cord contusion model in adult rats. Real time-polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and Western blot analysis revealed that mRNA and protein for CAPON increased at 2 h after SCI and reached the peak at 8 h, gradually recovered to the baseline level at 14 days. The expression of nNOS mRNA and protein was similar to that of CAPON. During the peak expression, CAPON mRNA was found in the ventral horn, mediate zone, dorsal horn, and white matter by in situ hybridization. Immunofluorescence showed that CAPON was colocalized with nNOS in neurons, oligodendrocytes, and some astrocytes of spinal cord tissues within 5 mm from the epicenter. Interaction between CAPON and nNOS was also detected by co-immunoprecipitation. Thus, the transient expression of high levels of CAPON may provide new insight into the secondary response after SCI.

Nitric oxide and nitric oxide synthases are key players in synaptic plasticity events in spinal cord (SC), which underlies the chronic pain states. To date, little is known about the molecular mechanisms regulating the activity of nitric oxide synthases in nociceptive systems. The present study was aimed at the determination of the gene expression of nNOS-interacting DHHC domain-containing protein with dendritic mRNA (NIDD), a recently identified protein regulating nNOS enzyme activity, in rat SC and dorsal root ganglia (DRG) and studying its regulation in states of nociceptive hypersensitivity in a rat model of neuropathic or inflammatory pain. It was found that NIDD mRNA was predominantly expressed in nociceptive primary neurons and in neurons of the spinal dorsal horn (DH) and the number of NIDD-positive neurons in the corresponding DRG or SC increased significantly following induction of chronic hyperalgesia. Meanwhile, remarkable changes of nNOS were detected under such pain conditions. Our data suggest a potential role for NIDD in the maintenance of thermal pain hypersensitivity possibly via regulating the nNOS activity.

To explore the association of Jab1 (c-Jun activation domain binding protein 1) expression during carcinogenesis and clinicopathological characteristics of colorectal carcinoma (CRC) .Tissue specimens were obtained from 80 cases of CRC from January 2007 to December 2008. And the expression of Jab1 protein for each specimen was detected by immunohistochemistry (EnVision). Six representative paired samples of cancerous and paired adjacent normal tissues were collected for Western blot. The relationships between the expression level of Jab1 protein and the clinicopathological characteristics of primary CRC were retrospectively analyzed.A high-level expression of Jab1 was present in cancerous tissues but not in paired adjacent normal tissues. The positive expression rate of Jab1 protein was as high as 96.3% (77/80) . And its high expression rate was 82.5% (66/80) , low expression rate 17.5% (14/80) and 8.8% (7/80) in cancerous and paired adjacent normal tissues respectively (P0.05) . Its expression was correlated with differentiation, invasion depth, TNM stage and lymph node metastasis (all P0.05) . Jab1 was significantly correlated with Ki-67 (r = 0.548, P0.01) and inversely with p27(kip1) (r = -0.461, P0.01).An over-expression of Jab1 protein might play an important role in the pathogenesis of CRC. Thus it may become a novel diagnostic marker and a therapeutic target in patients with CRC.

Plants of the genus Elsholtzia (Lamiaceae) have a long history of medicinal use in folk. The phytochemical investigations revealed the presence of flavonoids, phenylpropanoids, terpenoids, and other compounds. Abundant volatile components are also identified. Pure compounds, volatile constituents and crude extracts from the genus exhibited a wide spectrum of in vitro and in vivo pharmacological activities. The aims of this review hopefully provide comprehensive information on the distribution, phytochemistry, volatile components, and pharmacological research of Elsholtzia for exploring the potential and advance researches.

Ethnopharmacological relevance Species of the genus Cynomorium (Cynomoriaceae), including C. songaricum Rupr. and C. coccineum L., have a long history of use in traditional medicine to treat various ailments such as impotence, premature ejaculation, kidney- yang deficiency, spermatorrhea, colic, and stomach ulcers. In addition, these species are used in health foods, tea, and cosmetics. Aim of the review The aim of this review is to provide comprehensive information on the botany, traditional uses, phytochemistry, pharmacological research, and toxicology of C. songaricum and C. coccineum and to explore the therapeutic potential and future research opportunities of these species. Materials and methods All available information on C. songaricum and C. coccineum was collected via electronic search (using PubMed, ACS, CNKI, Google Scholar, Baidu Scholar, and Web of Science). Results The ethnomedical uses of C. songaricum and C. coccineum in Saudi Arabia, China, Afghanistan, Mongolia, and Iran for several types of ailments were recorded. A phytochemical investigation revealed the presence of flavonoids, terpenoids, phloroglucinol adducts, saccharides, phenylpropanoids, steroids, organic acids, and other compounds. The crude extracts and pure compounds from C. songaricum and C. coccineum exhibited a wide spectrum of in vitro and in vivo pharmacological activity, including anti-fatigue, anti-hypoxia, anti-oxidation, anti-diabetic, immune system modulating, and antiviral activity. Conclusions Cynomorium species have emerged as a source of traditional medicine. Many studies have provided evidence for the therapeutic efficacy of these species in treating various conditions and possible mechanisms. However, further research is required for the development of new drugs and therapies for the treatment of various diseases, especially cancer and diabetes. Therefore, this review on the ethnopharmacology, phytochemistry, and toxicity of Cynomorium species will provide helpful data for further studies and commercial exploitation of the species.

The average twin lambing rate of Bayanbulak sheep is 2% to 3%. However, a flock of sheep with a close genetic relationship and an average of 2 to 3 lambs per birth has been found recently. To determine the major genes controlling the prolificacy of the flock in the present study, the flock was designated A while 100 normal Bayanbulak sheep were randomly selected to comprise the control flock B. Ligase detection reaction method was applied to detect and analyze the 10 mutational loci of the 3 candidate prolificacy genes including bone morphogenetic protein type I receptors, bone morphogenetic protein 15, and growth differentiation factor 9. The 10 mutational loci are as follows: FecB locus of the BMPR-IB gene; FecX(I) , FecX(B) , FecX(L) , FecX(H) , FecX(G) , and FecX(R) of the BMP15 gene; and G1, G8, and FecTT of the GDF9 gene. Two mutations including BMPR-IB/FecB and GDF9/G1 were found in Bayanbulak sheep. Independence test results of the two flocks demonstrate that the FecB locus has a significant effect on the lambing number of Bayanbulak sheep. However, the mutation frequency of the G1 locus in GDF9 is very low. Independence test results demonstrate that the GDF9 locus does not have a significant impact on the lambing performance of Bayanbulak sheep. Among the 10 detected loci, BMPR-IB/FecB is the major gene that influences the high lambing rate of Bayanbulak sheep.

To investigate sex hormone and androgen receptor (AR) levels and to evaluate their relationship with diabetes mellitus (DM) in senile men.The cross-sectional study included 492 elderly men comprising 104 healthy subjects (mean age 71.4 ± 5.2 years), 259 subjects without DM (71.5 ± 5.0 years) and 129 DM patients (73.0 ± 6.3 years). Plasma concentrations of total testosterone (TT), free testosterone (FT), dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate, sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG), estradiol (E(2)), luteinising hormone) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) were determined. AR-positive cells were measured by flow cytometry.TT concentrations were significantly lower in the DM group (13.8 ± 4.7 nmol/l) than in the healthy (17.1 ± 6.1 nmol/l) and non-diabetes groups (15.8 ± 6.0 nmol/l; all P0.01). FT, SHBG, AR-positive proportion (AR%) and AR fluorescence intensity showed a decreasing trend among the healthy, non-DM and DM groups, but the differences were not significant. TT, E(2), E(2)/testosterone and SHBG were negatively correlated with blood glucose. SHBG was positively correlated and TT and AR% were negatively correlated with the course of DM. Logistic multiple regression analysis revealed that age, waist/hip ratio, FSH, SHBG and AR% are potential risk factors for DM.Low levels of TT, SHBG and AR may be potential risk factors for DM in elderly men.

In this study, we evaluated the effects of ascorbic acid (VC), epidermal growth factor (EGF) and follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) on in vitro culture of sheep ovarian cortical tissue. Using 2 x 2 x 2 factor experimental design, we cultured sheep ovarian cortex fragments in 8 media with MEM (control), MEM+VC (50 microg/mL), MEM +EGF (100 ng/mL), MEM+FSH (50 ng/mL), MEM+VC+EGF, MEM+VC+FSH, MEM+EGF+FSH, MEM+VC+EGF+FSH. After 0 (non-cultured control), 2, 6, 12 days of culture, the pieces of ovarian cortex were proceed to histological and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) examination, or observed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The percentages of developing follicles were increased (P0.05) and the percentages of healthy follicles were reduced (P0.05). When compared to the MEM group, the addition of FSH with VC or EGF promoted a significant increase of follicles diameter and follicles survival rate (P0.05), and stimulated the proliferation of granulosa cells. After 12 days of culture, medium supplemented with MEM+VC+EGF resulted the lowest proportion of developing follicles (49.3% +/- 3.2%), follicles diameter((32.3 +/- 2.3) microm), follicles survival rate (41.6% +/- 3.1%) and the proportion of PCNA stained follicles (26.4% +/- 1.2%, P0.05). In contrast, MEM+VC+EGF+FSH resulted the highest follicles diameter ((42.5 +/- 5.1) microm), follicles survival rate (59.7% +/- 6.1%) and proportion of PCNA stained follicles (43.5% +/- 4.1%, P0.05). Ultrastructural analysis confirmed the integrity of follicles cultured in VC+EGF+FSH group, while follicles cultured in MEM+VC+EGF groups showed more degeneration characters. In conclusion, the addition of VC and EGF to culture medium inhibited follicular development, VC+EGF+FSH was the most effective treatment to maintain follicular integrity and promote sheep primordial follicular activation and growth during in vitro culture.

In order to enhance the efficiency of sheep somatic cell nuclear transfer, we used a chemically assisted enucleation with colchicine to study the effects of the concentration of colchicine, the incubation time of oocytes in colchicine and the maturation time of oocytes on the enucleation rates and the development of reconstructed embryos. The results showed that 1) there were no significant differences in the rates of cytoplast protrusion and enucleation between oocytes that were incubated in colchicine (0.4 microg/mL) for 0.5 h and oocytes that were incubated in colchicine (0.4 microg/mL) for 1 h, and the rate of cytoplast protrusion can be 85.4% while the rate of cytoplast enucleation is 100%. 2) There was no significant difference in oocyte enucleation between oocytes treated with medium containing 0.2 microg/mL colchicine for 0.5 h and oocytes treated with medium containing 0.4 microg/mL colchicine for 0.5 h. 3) A maturation time of 18-23 h did not affect the rates of cytoplast protrusion and enucleation by chemically assisted enucleation, whereas the rate of enucleation of oocytes by blind enucleation was found to decrease with a prolonged incubation time. 4) The development rates of reconstructed embryos could not be influenced by these two enucleation methods, increased from oocytes matured for 21-23 h. These results demonstrate that sheep oocytes can be enucleated fast and effectively by optimized colcholine chemically assisted enucleation, which can enhance the enucleation rate of sheep oocytes and the early development of reconstructed embryos in vitro.

Integrin-mediated substrate adhesion of endothelial cells leads to dynamic rearrangement of the actin cytoskeleton. Protein kinase C (PKC) stimulates reorganization of microfilaments and adhesion, while the responses of Schwann cells during adhesion and migration are unknown, so we examined the expression changes of SSeCKS and F-actin in Schwann cells after exposure to fibronectin. Src (sarcoma) suppressed C kinase substrate (SSeCKS) is a PKC substrate that may play an important role in regulating actin cytoskeleton. We found that SSeCKS was localized to focal adhesion sites soon after Schwann cells adhesion and that SSeCKS increased during the process of cell spreading. Using small interfering RNAs specific to SSeCKS, we showed that Schwann cells in which SSeCKS expression was inhibited reduced cellular adhesion, spreading and promoted cellular migration on fibronectin through reorganization of actin stress fibers and blocking formation of focal adhesions. These results demonstrated SSeCKS modulate Schwann cells adhesion, spreading and migration by reorganization of the actin cytoskeleton.

To investigate the association between catecholamine-beta-adrenoceptor (beta-AR)-adenosine 3', 5'-monophosphate (cAMP) system and long-term prognosis in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF).The study population comprised 73 patients with CHF (EF: 23% +/- 10%) with a mean follow-up of 3.8 +/- 1.9 years. Plasma levels of norepinephrine (NE) were measured using high performance lipid chromatography, beta-adrenergic receptor density (Bmax) and the content of cAMP in peripheral lymphocytes were calculated using 3H-dihydroalpneolo as ligand and competitive immunoassay, respectively. Deaths due to cardiovascular events within the follow-up period were registered.The total mortality was 64.7%, 57.4% of which was for cardiogenic (worsening heart failure: 32.4%; sudden death: 25.0%). In the cardiogenic death group, plasma levels of NE and epinephrine (E) (3.74 nmol/L +/- 0.09 nmol/L and 3.17 nmol/L +/- 1.0 nmol/L) and the contents of peripheral lymphocyte cAMP (3.64 pmol/mg protein +/- 1.4 pmol/mg protein) were significantly increased as compared with the survival group (2.68 nmol/L +/- 0.07 nmol/L, 2.41 nmol/L +/- 0.24 nmol/L and 2.73 pmol/mg protein +/- 0.9 pmol/mg protein, respectively, all P0.01). In the sudden death group, plasma levels of NE and E (5.01 nmol/L +/- 0.06 nmol/L and 4.13 nmol/L +/- 0.08 nmol/L) were significantly increased as compared with the worsening heart failure group (2.49 nmol/L +/- 0.07 nmol/L and 2.33 nmol/L +/- 0.8 nmol/L, all P0.001) and to the survival group (2.68 nmol/L +/- 0.07 nmol/L and 2.41 nmol/L +/- 0.14 nmol/L, all P0.01). The incidences of sudden death were 0%, 75%, and 100% (chi(2) = 16.018, P0.01) in patients with plasma NE2.5 nmol/L, NE 2.5 nmol/L - 4.5 nmol/L, and NE4.5 nmol/L, respectively. In the worsening heart failure group, the content of peripheral lymphocyte cAMP (4.46 pmol/mg protein +/- 0.18 pmol/mg protein) was significantly increased compared with the sudden death group (2.39 pmol/mg protein +/- 0.9 pmol/mg protein, P0.001) and to the survival group (2.73 pmol/mg protein +/- 1.1 pmol/mg protein, P0.001). The worsening heart failure death occurences were 5.0%, 72.2%, and 100% (chi(2) = 14.26, P0.01) in patients with a content of peripheral lymphocyte cAMP2.5 nmol/L, cAMP 2.5 nmol/L - 4.5 nmol/L, and cAMP4.5 nmol/L, respectively. Bmax in peripheral lymphocyte was not significantly different (P0.05) among the sudden death, worsening heart failure, and survival groups in CHF patients.Plasma levels of catecholamine increase significantly, and Bmax and the contents of cAMP in peripheral lymphocytes decrease significantly in patients with CHF. High plasma catecholamine levels may be associated with sudden death, and high intralymphocyte cAMP content may be associated with worsening heart failure in CHF patients.