Atherosclerotic cerebrovascular disease is one of the major causes of death in China, with associated serious risk of disability and burden on society and families. Therefore, the development of ...active and effective therapeutic drugs for this disease is of great significance. Proanthocyanidins are a class of naturally occurring active substances, rich in hydroxyl groups and from a wide range of sources. Studies have suggested that they have a strong potential for anti-atherosclerosis activity. In this paper, we review published evidence regarding anti-atherosclerotic effects of proanthocyanidins in different atherosclerotic research models.
Arachidonic Acid (AA) is the precursor of cerebrovascular active substances in the human body, and its metabolites are closely associated with the pathogenesis of cerebrovascular diseases. In recent ...years, the cytochrome P450 (CYP) metabolic pathway of AA has become a research hotspot. Furthermore, the CYP metabolic pathway of AA is regulated by soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH). 1-trifluoromethoxyphenyl-3(1-propionylpiperidin-4-yl) urea (TPPU) is a novel sEH inhibitor that exerts cerebrovascular protective activity. This article reviews the mechanism of TPPU's protective effect on ischemic stroke disease.
Water and electricity shortages constitute a global energy crisis that cannot be ignored. The sun is an unlimited source of energy, and oceans provide abundant water and renewable energy resources. ...In this study, poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF)/graphene solar evaporator membranes are fabricated for simultaneous freshwater production and power generation. Graphene addition transformed the PVDF crystal from the α‐phase to the piezoelectric self‐assembly β‐phase. The resulting membrane is used to convert the mechanical energy of waves to electrical energy. The membrane has an output voltage of 2.6 V (±1.3 V) and an energy density of 2.11 Wm−2 for 1 Hz simulated waves, which are higher than values reported in the literature. The stacked graphene and polymer formed a wood‐lumens‐like mesoporous structure with a photothermal effect. Under one sun illumination, the water production rate is 1.2 kg m−2 h−1, and the solar‐thermal energy conversion efficiency is 84%. Finally, a prototype is built to prove a single evaporator's feasibility that can simultaneously obtain freshwater and generate electricity. Thus, this membrane serves as an ocean wave power generation device that can provide all‐weather energy generation, convert stored electrical energy into thermal energy at night and on cloudy days, and continuously provide safe drinking water.
Here, a PVDF/graphene composite solar evaporator is proposed that could simultaneously obtain water and electricity. The membrane can be driven by ocean waves to convert mechanical energy into electrical energy. The energy density can reach up to 2.11 Wm−2. It can convert the accumulated electric energy even at night and on cloudy days into heat energy and continue to retrieve safe drinking water. This work provides the possibility of obtaining both water and electricity from a single solar evaporator.
Potassium (K) is essential for plant growth and development. Here, we show that the KUP/HAK/KT K+ transporter KUP9 controls primary root growth in Arabidopsis thaliana. Under low‐K+ conditions, kup9 ...mutants displayed a short‐root phenotype that resulted from reduced numbers of root cells. KUP9 was highly expressed in roots and specifically expressed in quiescent center (QC) cells in root tips. The QC acts to maintain root meristem activity, and low‐K+ conditions induced QC cell division in kup9 mutants, resulting in impaired root meristem activity. The short‐root phenotype and enhanced QC cell division in kup9 mutants could be rescued by exogenous auxin treatment or by specifically increasing auxin levels in QC cells, suggesting that KUP9 affects auxin homeostasis in QC cells. Further studies showed that KUP9 mainly localized to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), where it mediated K+ and auxin efflux from the ER lumen to the cytoplasm in QC cells under low‐K+ conditions. These results demonstrate that KUP9 maintains Arabidopsis root meristem activity and root growth by regulating K+ and auxin homeostasis in response to low‐K+ stress.
Synopsis
The ER‐localized transporter KUP9 regulates K+ and auxin homeostasis in Arabidopsis quiescent center (QC) cells in response to low‐K+ stress, thus regulating meristem activity and primary root growth.
The K+ transporter KUP9 maintains root meristem activity and primary root growth in Arabidopsis under conditions of low‐K+ stress by regulating auxin homeostasis in root tips.
KUP9 is highly expressed in roots, and specifically expressed in quiescent center (QC) cells in root tips.
KUP9 targets to the ER membrane and mediates auxin and K+ transport from the ER lumen to the cytoplasm in the QC cells under low‐K+ conditions.
The ER‐localized transporter KUP9 regulates K+ and auxin homeostasis in Arabidopsis quiescent center (QC) cells in response to low‐K+ stress, thus regulating meristem activity and primary root growth.
Species‐level diversity and the underlying mechanisms that lead to the formation of new species, that is, speciation, have often been confounded with intraspecific diversity and population ...subdivision. The delineation between intraspecific and interspecific divergence processes has received much less attention than species delimitation. The ramifications of confounding speciation and population subdivision are that the term speciation has been used to describe many different biological divergence processes, rendering the results, or inferences, between studies incomparable. Phylogeographic studies have advanced our understanding of how spatial variation in the pattern of biodiversity can begin, become structured, and persist through time. Studies of species delimitation have further provided statistical and model‐based approaches to determine the phylogeographic entities that merit species status. However, without a proper understanding and delineation between the processes that generate and maintain intraspecific and interspecific diversity in a study system, the delimitation of species may still not be biologically and evolutionarily relevant. I argue that variation in the continuity of the divergence process among biological systems could be a key factor leading to the enduring contention in delineating divergence patterns, or species delimitation, meriting future comparative studies to help us better understand the nature of biological species.
Is population subdivision a speciation process? The answer to the question impacts how we delineate intraspecific and interspecific diversities and may differ across biological systems. Understanding the continuity of divergence processes in different biological systems can be a key to answer the question.
A self‐photocatalyzed sulfonylation/cyclization of quinazolinones containing unactivated alkenes with various sulfonyl chlorides was developed. The protocol provides access to sulfonyl radicals via ...energy transfer from the quinazolinone skeleton to the sulfonyl chloride. Notably, the transformations proceeded without any external photocatalysts, additives, or oxidants, providing an alternative method for fabricating sulfonylated compounds.
Background
The aim of this study was to simultaneously and quantitatively assess the expression levels of 20 periodontal disease‐related proteins in gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) from normal ...controls (NOR) and severe periodontitis (SP) patients with an antibody array.
Methods
Antibodies against 20 periodontal disease‐related proteins were spotted onto a glass slide to create a periodontal disease antibody array (PDD). The array was then incubated with GCF samples collected from 25 NOR and 25 SP patients. Differentially expressed proteins between NOR and SP patients were then used to build receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curves and compare five classification models, including support vector machine, random forest, k nearest neighbor, linear discriminant analysis, and Classification and Regression Trees.
Results
Seven proteins (C‐reactive protein, interleukin IL‐1α, interleukin‐1β, interleukin‐8, matrix metalloproteinase‐13, osteoprotegerin, and osteoactivin) were significantly upregulated in SP patients compared with NOR, while receptor activator of nuclear factor‐kappa was significantly downregulated. The highest diagnostic accuracy using a ROC curve was observed for IL‐1β with an area under the curve of 0.984. Five of the proteins (IL‐1β, IL‐8, MMP‐13, osteoprotegerin, and osteoactivin) were identified as important features for classification. Linear discriminant analysis had the highest classification accuracy across the five classification models that were tested.
Conclusion
This study highlights the potential of antibody arrays to diagnose periodontal disease.
A novel photo-triggered self-catalyzed fluoroalkylation/cyclization of quinazolinones containing unactivated alkenes with various fluoroalkyl bromides has been developed. This transformation exhibits ...excellent substrate generality with respect to both the coupling partners. Of note is that this is the first example describing the Csp3–Br bond homolysis of alkyl bromides via a substrate (quinazolinones) induced energy transfer process. Additionally, the mild conditions, tolerance to a wide range of functional groups and operational simplicity make this protocol practical for the synthesis of fluorine-containing ring-fused quinazolinones.
With the recent attention and focus on quantitative methods for species delimitation, an overlooked but equally important issue regards what has actually been delimited. This study investigates the ...apparent arbitrariness of some taxonomic distinctions, and in particular how species and subspecies are assigned. Specifically, we use a recently developed Bayesian model-based approach to show that in the Hercules beetles (genus Dynastes) there is no statistical difference in the probability that putative taxa represent different species, irrespective of whether they were given species or subspecies designations. By considering multiple data types, as opposed to relying exclusively on genetic data alone, we also show that both previously recognized species and subspecies represent a variety of points along the speciation spectrum (i.e., previously recognized species are not systematically further along the continuum than subspecies). For example, based on evolutionary models of divergence, some taxa are statistically distinguishable on more than one axis of differentiation (e.g., along both phenotypic and genetic dimensions), whereas other taxa can only be delimited statistically from a single data type. Because both phenotypic and genetic data are analyzed in a common Bayesian framework, our study provides a framework for investigating whether disagreements in species boundaries among data types reflect (i) actual discordance with the actual history of lineage splitting, or instead (ii) differences among data types in the amount of time required for differentiation to become apparent among the delimited taxa. We discuss what the answers to these questions imply about what characters are used to delimit species, as well as the diverse processes involved in the origin and maintenance of species boundaries. With this in mind, we then reflect more generally on how quantitative methods for species delimitation are used to assign taxonomic status.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
BFBNIB, DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NMLJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Until recently, the intrinsically high level of cross-talk between immune cells, the complexity of immune cell development, and the pleiotropic nature of cytokine signaling have hampered progress in ...understanding the mechanisms of immunosuppression by which tumor cells circumvent native and adaptive immune responses. One technology that has helped to shed light on this complex signaling network is the cytokine antibody array, which facilitates simultaneous screening of dozens to hundreds of secreted signal proteins in complex biological samples. The combined applications of traditional methods of molecular and cell biology with the high-content, high-throughput screening capabilities of cytokine antibody arrays and other multiplexed immunoassays have revealed a complex mechanism that involves multiple cytokine signals contributed not just by tumor cells but by stromal cells and a wide spectrum of immune cell types. This review will summarize the interactions among cancerous and immune cell types, as well as the key cytokine signals that are required for tumors to survive immunoediting in a dormant state or to grow and spread by escaping it. Additionally, it will present examples of how probing secreted cell–cell signal networks in the tumor microenvironment (TME) with cytokine screens have contributed to our current understanding of these processes and discuss the implications of this understanding to antitumor therapies.
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