Although pelvic irradiation is effective for the treatment of various cancer types, many patients who receive radiotherapy experience serious complications. Gut microbial dysbiosis was hypothesized ...to be related to the occurrence of radiation-induced complications in cancer patients. Given the lack of clinical or experimental data on the impact of radiation on gut microbiota, a prospective observational study of gut microbiota was performed in gynecological cancer patients receiving pelvic radiotherapy. In the current study, the overall composition and alteration of gut microbiota in cancer patients receiving radiation were investigated by 454 pyrosequencing. Gut microbial composition showed significant differences (P < 0.001) between cancer patients and healthy individuals. The numbers of species-level taxa were severely reduced after radiotherapy (P < 0.045), and the abundance of each community largely changed. In particular, the phyla Firmicutes and Fusobacterium were significantly decreased by 10% and increased by 3% after radiation therapy, respectively. In addition, overall gut microbial composition was gradually remolded after the full treatment course of pelvic radiotherapy. In this set of cancer patients, dysbiosis of the gut microbiota was linked to health status, and the gut microbiota was influenced by pelvic radiotherapy. Although further studies are needed to elucidate the relationship between dysbiosis and complications induced by pelvic radiotherapy, the current study may offer insights into the treatment of cancer patients suffering from complications after radiation therapy.
The current health concern to the entire world is the chronic respiratory disease caused by coronavirus 2 (COVID-19). A specific treatment or proper therapy is still lacking, and the investigations ...from across the world for proper drug/vaccine development towards disease control are in progress. The Coronavirus replication takes place by the conversion of the polypeptide into functional protein and this occurs due to the key enzyme Main protease (Mpro). Therefore, identification of natural and effective Mpro inhibitors could be a safe and promising approach for COVID-19 control.
The present in silico study evaluates the effect of bioactive compounds found in Eucalyptus and Corymbia species essential oil on Mpro by docking. Molecular docking of the major seven compounds of essential oil (citronellol, alpha-terpineol, eucalyptol, d-limonene, 3-carene, o-cymene, and alpha-pinene) with Mpro was studied by AutoDock 4.2, and the properties were analysed by PreADMET and Biovia Discovery Studio visualizer.
The calculated parameters such as binding energy, hydrophobic interactions, and hydrogen bond interactions of 6LU7 (Mpro) with Eucalyptus and Corymbia volatile secondary metabolites represented its scope as an effective therapy option against covid-19. Among the docked compounds, eucalyptol shows the least binding energy without toxicity.
The outcome of this study reported that the essential oil of Eucalyptus and Corymbia species, mainly eucalyptol can be utilized as a potential inhibitor against COVID-19 and also it can be used in its treatment. Hence, further analysis was required to explore its potential application in medicine.
Key message
A gene encoding a laccase responsible for chartreuse onion bulb color was identified. Markers tagging this gene showed perfect linkage with bulb colors among diverse germplasm.
To ...identify a casual gene for the
G
locus determining chartreuse bulb color in onion (
Allium cepa
L.), bulked segregant RNA-Seq (BSR-Seq) was performed using yellow and chartreuse individuals of a segregating population. Through single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and differentially expressed gene (DEG) screening processes, 163 and 143 transcripts were selected, respectively. One transcript encoding a laccase-like protein was commonly identified from SNP and DEG screening. This transcript contained four highly conserved copper-binding domains known to be signature sequences of laccases. This gene was designated
AcLAC12
since it showed high homology with
Arabidopsis AtLAC12
. A 4-bp deletion creating a premature stop codon was identified in exon 5 of the chartreuse allele. Another mutant allele in which an intact LTR-retrotransposon was transposed in exon 5 was identified from other chartreuse breeding lines. Genotypes of molecular markers tagging
AcLAC12
were perfectly matched with bulb color phenotypes in segregating populations and diverse breeding lines. All chartreuse breeding lines contained inactive alleles of
DFR-A
gene determining red bulb color, indicating that chartreuse color appeared when both
DFR-A
and
AcLAC12
genes were inactivated. Linkage maps showed that
AcLAC12
was positioned at the end of chromosome 7. Transcription levels of structural genes encoding enzymes in anthocyanin biosynthesis pathway were generally reduced in chartreuse bulk compared with yellow bulk. Concentrations of total quercetins were also reduced in chartreuse onion. However, significant amounts of quercetins were detected in chartreuse onion, implying that
AcLAC12
might be involved in modification of quercetin derivatives in onion.
Summary
Scomber spp. are fast‐moving migratory fish found in the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic Oceans. Scomber spp. contain proteins, lipids, minerals and vitamins. However, recent studies on Scomber ...spp. have focused on improving the quality of products (S. colias), describing their morphology (S. indicus), as well as the exploration and application of their enzymes (S. australasicus) and bioactive compounds for health benefits (S. japonicus and S. scombrus). Bioactive compounds from Scomber spp. have been reported to exhibit antibacterial, antioxidant and antiproliferative activities, but there has been no review of this topic to date. Totally, 36 articles were reviewed after the duplicates were removed. Muscle protein hydrolysates, peptides, lipids, collagen, amino acids, lecithin and glycolipids are known as bioactive compounds from Scomber spp. that exhibit beneficial health effects, including antioxidant, antibacterial, antiproliferative, tyrosinase inhibition, hypoglycaemic and anti‐lipoxygenase properties. However, these have been tested only in vitro, and there is still a lack of studies on bioactive compounds from S. australasicus, S. colias and S. indicus. Therefore, further studies are needed to test bioactive compounds from Scomber spp. at the in vivo and clinical stages, as well as to explore the presence of bioactive compounds from S. australasicus, S. colias and S. indicus.
Scomber spp. have high economical value and contain bioactive compounds. This review summarizes the chemical, nutritional, and bioactive compounds of Scomber spp. The mechanisms of these compounds are presented and discussed.
Recently emerging severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) Omicron variants are generally less pathogenic than previous strains. However, elucidating the molecular basis for ...pulmonary immune response alterations is challenging owing to the virus's heterogeneous distribution within complex tissue structure. Here, we revealed the spatial transcriptomic profiles of pulmonary microstructures at the SARS‐CoV‐2 infection site in the nine cynomolgus macaques upon inoculation with the Delta and Omicron variants. Delta‐ and Omicron‐infected lungs had upregulation of genes involved in inflammation, cytokine response, complement, cell damage, proliferation, and differentiation pathways. Depending on the tissue microstructures (alveoli, bronchioles, and blood vessels), there were differences in the types of significantly upregulated genes in each pathway. Notably, a limited number of genes involved in cytokine and cell damage response were differentially expressed between bronchioles of the Delta‐ and Omicron‐infection groups. These results indicated that despite a significant antigenic shift in SARS‐CoV‐2, the host immune response mechanisms induced by the variants were relatively consistent, with limited transcriptional alterations observed only in large airways. This study may aid in understanding the pathogenesis of SARS‐CoV‐2 and developing a clinical strategy for addressing immune dysregulation by identifying potential transcriptional biomarkers within pulmonary microstructures during infection with emerging variants.
We investigated the biological roles of the Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) GROWTH-REGULATING FACTOR (GRF) and GRF-INTERACTING FACTOR (GIF) transcriptional complex in the development of gynoecia ...and anthers. There are nine GRFs and three GIFs in Arabidopsis, and seven GRFs are posttranscriptionally silenced by microRNA396 (miR396). We found that overexpression of MIR396 in the gif1 gif2 double mutant background (gif1 gif2 35S:MIR396) resulted in neither ovary nor pollen. Histological and molecular marker-based analyses revealed that the mutant gynoecial primordia failed to develop carpel margin meristems and mature flowers lacked the ovary, consisting only of the stigma, style, and replum-like tissues. The mutant anther primordia were not able to form the pluripotent archesporial cells that produce pollen mother cells and microsporangia. Multiple combinations of GRF mutations also displayed the same phenotypes, indicating that the GRF-GIF duo is required for the formation of those meristematic and pluripotent cells. Most GRF proteins are localized and abundant in those cells. We also found that the weak gynoecial defects of pinoid-3 (pid-3) mutants were remarkably exacerbated by gif1 gif2 double mutations and 35S:MIR396, so that none of the gynoecia produced by gif1 gif2 pid-3 and 35S:MIR396 pid-3 developed ovaries at all. Moreover, gif1 gif2 double mutations and 35S:MIR396 also acted synergistically with 1-N-naphthylphthalamic acid in forming aberrant gynoecia. The results altogether suggest that the GRF-GIF duo regulates the meristematic and pluripotent competence of carpel margin meristems and the archesporial cell lineage and that this regulation is implemented in association with auxin action, ultimately conferring reproductive competence on Arabidopsis.
Flubendazole (FBZ) is a benzimidazole anthelmintic drug widely used for treating parasitic infections by disrupting microtubule formation and function through tubulin binding. Recently, its use has ...extended to include anticancer applications, leading to increased environmental exposure to benzimidazole drugs. However, the impact of FBZ on neural development in aquatic organisms, particularly in aquatic vertebrates, remains poorly understood. This study aimed to investigate the potential developmental toxicity of FBZ during neural development using zebrafish model. Various assessments, including analysis of overall developmental changes, morphological abnormalities, apoptosis, gene expression alterations, axon length measurements, and electrophysiological neural function, were performed. FBZ exposure resulted in concentration-dependent effects on survival rate, hatching rate, heartbeat, and the occurrence of developmental abnormalities. Notably, FBZ-induced changes included reductions in body length, head size, and eye size, as well as the detection of apoptotic cells in the central nervous system. Gene expression analysis revealed upregulation of apoptosis-related genes (p53, casp3, and casp8), downregulation of neural differentiation-related genes (shha, nrd, ngn1, and elavl3), and alterations in neural maturation and axon growth-related genes (gap43, mbp, and syn2a). Additionally, shortened motor neuron axon length and impaired electrophysiological neural function were observed. These findings provide novel insights into the potential risks of FBZ on the neural development of zebrafish embryos, emphasizing the need for risk prevention strategies and therapeutic approaches to address the environmental toxicity of benzimidazole anthelmintics.
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•FBZ affects overall developmental processes and morphogenesis in zebrafish embryo.•FBZ induces apoptosis in the brain region and spinal motor neuron axonopathy.•FBZ alters the expression of genes related to apoptosis and neural development.•FBZ impairs electrophysiological neural function of zebrafish embryos.•This is the first study to confirm the developmental neurotoxicity of FBZ.
With the strengthening of international environmental regulations, many studies on the integrated electric propulsion systems applicable to eco-friendly ship are being conducted. However, few studies ...have been performed to establish a guide line for the overall pure electric propulsion ship design. Therefore, this paper introduces the comprehensive design of DC shipboard power system for pure electric propulsion ship based on battery energy storage system (BESS). To design and configure the pure electric propulsion ship, 2 MW propulsion car ferry was assumed and adopted to be the target vessel in this paper. In order to design the overall system, a series of design processes, such as the decision of the ship operation profile, BESS capacity selection, configuration of the power conversion systems for propulsion, battery charging/discharging procedures, classification of system operation modes, and analysis of the efficiency, were considered. The proposed efficient design and analysis of the pure electric propulsion ship was qualitatively and quantitatively validated by MATLAB Simulink tool. The methodology presented in this paper can help design real ships before the system commissioning.
To determine current practice patterns with regard to gynecologic high-dose-rate (HDR) brachytherapy among international members of the Gynecologic Cancer Intergroup (GCIG) in Japan/Korea (Asia), ...Australia/New Zealand (ANZ), Europe (E), and North America (NAm).
A 32-item survey was developed requesting information on brachytherapy practice patterns and standard management for Stage IB-IVA cervical cancer. The chair of each GCIG member cooperative group selected radiation oncology members to receive the survey.
A total of 72 responses were analyzed; 61 respondents (85%) used HDR. The three most common HDR brachytherapy fractionation regimens for Stage IB-IIA patients were 6 Gy for five fractions (18%), 6 Gy for four fractions (15%), and 7 Gy for three fractions (11%); for Stage IIB-IVA patients they were 6 Gy for five fractions (19%), 7 Gy for four fractions (8%), and 7 Gy for three fractions (8%). Overall, the mean combined external-beam and brachytherapy equivalent dose (EQD2) was 81.1 (standard deviation SD 10.16). The mean EQD2 recommended for Stage IB-IIA patients was 78.9 Gy (SD 10.7) and for Stage IIB-IVA was 83.3 Gy (SD 11.2) (p = 0.02). By region, the mean combined EQD2 was as follows: Asia, 71.2 Gy (SD 12.65); ANZ, 81.18 (SD 4.96); E, 83.24 (SD 10.75); and NAm, 81.66 (SD, 6.05; p = 0.02 for Asia vs. other regions).The ratio of brachytherapy to total prescribed dose was significantly higher for Japan (p = 0.0002).
Although fractionation patterns may vary, the overall mean doses administered for cervical cancer are similar in Australia/New Zealand, Europe, and North America, with practitioners in Japan administering a significantly lower external-beam dose but higher brachytherapy dose to the cervix. Given common goals, standardization should be possible in future clinical trials.
Catechins in green tea are well‐known to be effective in reducing the risk of obesity. The purpose of this study was to elucidate the effects of catechins present in green tea on adipocyte ...differentiation and mature adipocyte metabolism. Treatment of 3T3‐L1 mouse adipocyte during differentiation adipocytes with (−)‐epigallocatechin (EGC) and gallic acid (GA) resulted in dose‐dependent inhibition of adipogenesis. Specifically, EGC increased adiponectin and uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1) transcription in mature adipocytes. Transcription levels of adipose triglyceride lipase (ATGL) and hormone‐sensitive lipase (HSL) were not significantly impacted by either of the compounds. These results suggest that the EGC is the most effective catechin having anti‐obesity activity. Finally, EGC is an attractive candidate component for remodeling obesity.
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