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CD38 catalyzes the synthesis of two structurally distinct messengers for Ca 2 + -mobilization, cyclic ADP-ribose (cADPR) and nicotinic acid adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NAADP), from cytosolic substrates, NAD and NADP, respectively. CD38 is generally thought of as a type II membrane protein with its catalytic site facing outside. We recently showed that CD38 exists, instead, in two opposite membrane orientations. The determinant for the membrane topology is unknown. Here, specific antibodies against type III CD38 were designed and produced. We show that mutating the positively charged residues in the N-terminal tail of CD38 converted its orientation to type III, with the catalytic domain facing the cytosol and it was fully active in producing intracellular cADPR. Changing the serine residues to aspartate, which is functionally equivalent to phosphorylation, had a similar effect. The mutated CD38 was expressed intracellularly and was un-glycosylated. The membrane topology could also be modulated by changing the highly conserved di-cysteine. The results indicate that the net charge of the N-terminal segment is important in determining the membrane topology of CD38 and that the type III orientation can be a functional form of CD38 for Ca 2 + -signaling. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: 13th European Symposium on Calcium. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Develope a semiquantitative method for the detection of glucose with self-calibration based on bienzyme colorimetry by using tree-shaped paper strip. [•] Provide direct outcomes which can be observed by the naked eye or recorded by a simple camera. [•] Judge the level of glucose concentration in blood serum by using Y-shaped paper strip and directly provide a result of “Yes or No”. [•] Provide an affordable, rapid, equipment-free, deliverable and easy-to-use tool for the detection of glucose in human serum sample. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In traditional SVM based intrusion detection approaches, both core function construction and feature selection use prior knowdege. Due to this, they are not only inefficient but also inaccurate. It is observed that integrating information entropy theory into SVM-based intrusion detection can enhance both the precision and the speed. Concludely speaking, SVM-based entropy intrusion detection algorithms are made up of two aspects; on one hand, setting sample confidence vector as core function's constructor of SVM algorithm can guarantee the mapping relationship between training sample and optimization classification plane. Also, the intrusion detection's maximum interval can be acquired. On the other hand, simplifying feature subset with samples's entropy as metric standard can not only shrink the computing scale but also improve the speed. Experiments prove that the SVM based entropy intrusion detection algoritm outperforms other tradional algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Objective:: The objective was to assess the effectiveness of follicular aspiration in the selection phase of infertile women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) under controlled ovarian hyperstimulation (COH). Study design:: In group A, 13 infertile patients with PCOS failed at previous IVF or intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) treatment due to ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS; a total of 13 cycles). In group B, new IVF cycles with ultrasound-guided transvaginal follicular aspirations during the selection phase (a total of 13 cycles) were conducted using the same patients. No more than ten follicles remained in bilateral ovaries. Parameters monitored included ovarian size, number of dominant follicles, estradiol (E2) level on the day of human chorionic gonadotrophin (HCG) injection, maturation of oocytes, fertilization rate, cleavage rate, embryo implantation rate, pregnancy rate, and level of serum hormone. Results:: In group B, the average number of follicles ≥12mm and average serum E2 level were 15.5±4.0 and 9899±1430pmol/l, respectively, which were significantly lower than 29.1±8.4 (P <0.001) and 15,544±1766pmol/l (P <0.001) in group A. No cycles with moderate or severe OHSS occurred in group B, while nine out of 13 (69.2%) cycles did have this problem in group A. Oocyte maturation rate, fertilization rate and cleavage rate in group B were 80.7%, 76.9%, and 80.3%, respectively; and all of them are significantly higher than 56.4% (P <0.01), 58.7% (P <0.01), and 70.2% (P <0.02) respectively in group A. Conclusion:: Follicular aspiration during the selection phase can prevent severe OHSS and reduce OHSS prevalence in patients with PCOS undergoing COH. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Breast cancer (BC) has become one of the most common malignant tumors in the world, seriously endangering women's health and life. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms of BC remain unclear. Over the past decade, long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) were gradually discovered and appreciated to play pivotal regulatory role in the progression of BC. It has been demonstrated that lncRNAs are implicated in regulating plenty of biological phenomena including cell proliferation, apoptosis, invasion and metastasis by interacting with DNA, RNA or proteins. In addition to these, the function of lncRNAs in tumor resistance has increasingly attracted more attention. In this review, we summarized the emerging impact of lncRNAs on the occurrence and progression of human BC, specifically focusing on the functions and mechanisms of them, with the aim of exploring the potential value of lncRNAs as oncogenic drivers or tumor suppressors. Furthermore, the potential clinical application of lncRNAs as diagnostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets in BC was also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid and efficient removal of organic pollutants in water has become a challenge for human environmental protection. Herein, the adsorption performances of four 3D polyoxometalate-based metal-organic frameworks (POMOFs): H{Ln 4 L 2 (H 2 O) 21 [Zr 3 (OH) 3 (PW 9 O 34) 2 ]}⋅15H 2 O (1−4) (Ln = La (1), Ce (2), Pr (3), Nd (4); L = 3,5-pyridine dicarboxylic acid) on organic dyes were systematically studied. The results revealed that compounds 1−4 exhibited highly sensitive selective adsorption behavior to cationic dye methylene blue (MB), which was attributed to the introduction of oxygen-rich surface POM. Especially, compound 4 showed a high adsorption rate, up to 60 mg g−1 min−1, and the maximum adsorption capacity of 4 was up to 441.5 mg g−1. In addition, the adsorption process well fitted the pseudo-second-order model kinetic model and Langmuir isotherm model. This study provides a new idea for the adsorption and separation of cationic dyes in wastewater, the emphasis of which is on the construction of new materials with a large amount of charge on the surface. Four 3D polyoxometalate-based metal-organic frameworks (POMOFs) materials were adopted as adsorbents for the removal of dyes in an aqueous solution. Ultra-fast and selective adsorption towards methylene blue was observed for them with the fastest adsorption rate of 60 mg g−1 min−1 among the POM materials reported so far. [Display omitted] • POM-based MOFs 1−4 displayed a selective response to MB dye even in the presence of other dyes. • The fastest adsorption rate was observed among the POM materials reported so far. • The maximum adsorption capacity was up to 441.5 mg g−1 for 4 , higher than typical adsorbents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anaplasma capra , an emerging tick-borne pathogen, has caused a lot of concern since initially recognized in goats and patients in China in 2015, and has been reported in a wide range of domestic and wild animals as well as ticks worldwide, posing a threat to public health. In this systematic review, we established a comprehensive database to acquire the distribution and prevalence status of this pathogen, and collected all sequences of A. capra to summarize the details of genetic diversity by phylogenetic analysis. We also predicted the possible global distribution of A. capra by using ecological niche model. A. capra has been known to distribute in 18 countries across Asia, Europe and Africa. A total of 19 species of mammals from seven families have been reported as hosts, and domestic ruminants including goats, sheep and cattle were the major hosts. At least 8 tick species of 4 genera have been reported to carry A. capra , and Haemaphysalis longicornis was most commonly infected. Sheep and Rhipicephalus microplus had the highest positive rates among animals and ticks. Phylogenetic analysis based on gltA and groEL genes revealed that A. capra could primarily be divided into two clusters related to geographic location and animal hosts. The predictive model showed that the most suitable habitats for presence of A. capra were mainly located in Asia and eastern Europe. These cumulative data regarding A. capra of our study lay a foundation for the subsequent exploration of this emerging tick-borne pathogen. • Anaplasma capra is distributed in 18 countries across Asia, Europe and Africa. • A total of 19 species of mammals from seven families have been reported as hosts of Anaplasma capra. • At least 8 tick species of 4 genera have been reported to carry Anaplasma capra , and Haemaphysalis longicornis was most commonly infected. • Phylogenetic analysis based on gltA , groEL and 16S rRNA genes revealed that Anaplasma capra could primarily be divided into two clusters related to geographic location and animal hosts. • The predictive model showed that the most suitable habitats for presence of Anaplasma capra were mainly located in Asia and eastern Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Gradual loss of terminal differentiation markers and gain of stem cell-like properties is a major hall mark of cancer malignant progression. The stem cell pluripotent transcriptional factor SOX family play critical roles in governing tumor plasticity and lineage specification. This study aims to establish a novel SOX signature to monitor the extent of tumor dedifferentiation and predict prognostic significance in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).Methods: The RNA-seq data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) LIHC project were chronologically divided into the training (n = 188) and testing cohort (n = 189). LIRI-JP project from International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC) data portal was used as an independent validation cohort (n = 232). Kaplan-Meier and multivariable Cox analyses were used to examine the clinical significance and prognostic value of the signature genes.Results: The SOX gene family members were found to be aberrantly expressed in clinical HCC patients. A five-gene SOX signature with prognostic value was established in the training cohort. The SOX signature genes were found to be closely associated with tumor grade and tumor stage. Liver cancer dedifferentiation markers (AFP, CD133, EPCAM, and KRT19) were found to be progressively increased while hepatocyte terminal differentiation markers (ALB, G6PC, CYP3A4, and HNF4A) were progressively decreased from HCC patients with low SOX signature scores to patients with high SOX signature scores. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis further indicated that the newly established SOX signature could robustly predict patient overall survival in both training, testing, and independent validation cohort.Conclusions: An oncogenic dedifferentiation SOX signature presents a great potential in predicting prognostic significance in HCC, and might provide novel biomarkers for precision oncology further in the clinic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]