This study further evaluated the
and
anti-
activities and potential underlying mechanism of patchouli alcohol (PA), a tricyclic sesquiterpene. In the
assay, the capacities of PA to inhibit and kill
...were tested on three standard strains at different pH values and on 12 clinical isolates. The effects of PA on
adhesion (and its
,
, and
genes), motility (and its
and
genes), ultrastructure, and flagellation were investigated. Moreover, the
resistance to and postantibiotic effect (PAE) of PA were determined. Furthermore, the
effects of PA on
eradication and gastritis were examined. Results showed that MICs of PA against three standard strains (pH 5.3 to 9) and 12 clinical isolates were 25 to 75 and 12.5 to 50 μg/ml, respectively. The killing kinetics of PA were time and concentration dependent, and its minimal bactericidal concentrations (MBCs) were 25 to 75 μg/ml. In addition,
adhesion, motility, ultrastructure, and flagellation were significantly suppressed. PA also remarkably inhibited the expression of adhesion genes (
and
) and motility genes (
and
). Furthermore, PA treatment caused a longer PAE and less bacterial resistance than clarithromycin and metronidazole. The
study showed that PA can effectively eradicate
, inhibit gastritis, and suppress the expression of inflammatory mediators (COX-2, interleukin 1β, tumor necrosis factor alpha, and inducible nitric oxide synthase iNOS). In conclusion, PA can efficiently kill
, interfere with its infection process, and attenuate gastritis with less bacterial resistance, making it a potential candidate for new drug development.
Glioblastoma (GBM) is a common and malignant tumor with a poor prognosis. Glioblastoma stem cells (GSCs) have been reported to be involved in tumorigenesis, tumor maintenance and therapeutic ...resistance. Thus, to discover novel candidate therapeutic drugs for anti-GBM and anti-GSCs is an urgent need. We hypothesized that if treatment with a drug could reverse, at least in part, the gene expression signature of GBM and GSCs, this drug may have the potential to inhibit pathways essential in the formation of GBM and thereby treat GBM. Here, we collected 356 GBM gene signatures from public databases and queried the Connectivity Map. We systematically evaluated the in vitro antitumor effects of 79 drugs in GBM cell lines. Of the drugs screened, thioridazine was selected for further characterization because it has potent anti-GBM and anti-GSCs properties. When investigating the mechanisms underlying the cytocidal effects of thioridazine, we found that thioridazine induces autophagy in GBM cell lines, and upregulates AMPK activity. Moreover, LC3-II was upregulated in U87MG sphere cells treated with thioridazine. In addition, thioridazine suppressed GBM tumorigenesis and induced autophagy in vivo. We not only repurposed the antipsychotic drug thioridazine as a potent anti-GBM and anti-GSCs agent, but also provided a new strategy to search for drugs with anticancer and anticancer stem cell properties.
There have been few recent studies demonstrating a definitive association between the transmission of airborne infections and the ventilation of buildings. The severe acute respiratory syndrome ...(SARS) epidemic in 2003 and current concerns about the risk of an avian influenza (H5N1) pandemic, have made a review of this area timely. We searched the major literature databases between 1960 and 2005, and then screened titles and abstracts, and finally selected 40 original studies based on a set of criteria. We established a review panel comprising medical and engineering experts in the fields of microbiology, medicine, epidemiology, indoor air quality, building ventilation, etc. Most panel members had experience with research into the 2003 SARS epidemic. The panel systematically assessed 40 original studies through both individual assessment and a 2-day face-to-face consensus meeting. Ten of 40 studies reviewed were considered to be conclusive with regard to the association between building ventilation and the transmission of airborne infection. There is strong and sufficient evidence to demonstrate the association between ventilation, air movements in buildings and the transmission/spread of infectious diseases such as measles, tuberculosis, chickenpox, influenza, smallpox and SARS. There is insufficient data to specify and quantify the minimum ventilation requirements in hospitals, schools, offices, homes and isolation rooms in relation to spread of infectious diseases via the airborne route. PRACTICAL IMPLICATION: The strong and sufficient evidence of the association between ventilation, the control of airflow direction in buildings, and the transmission and spread of infectious diseases supports the use of negatively pressurized isolation rooms for patients with these diseases in hospitals, in addition to the use of other engineering control methods. However, the lack of sufficient data on the specification and quantification of the minimum ventilation requirements in hospitals, schools and offices in relation to the spread of airborne infectious diseases, suggest the existence of a knowledge gap. Our study reveals a strong need for a multidisciplinary study in investigating disease outbreaks, and the impact of indoor air environments on the spread of airborne infectious diseases.
In the last two decades, a significant number of innovative sensing systems based on optical fiber sensors have been exploited in the engineering community due to their inherent distinctive ...advantages such as small size, light weight, immunity to electromagnetic interference (EMI) and corrosion, and embedding capability. A lot of optical fiber sensor-based monitoring systems have been developed for continuous measurement and real-time assessment of diversified engineering structures such as bridges, buildings, tunnels, pipelines, wind turbines, railway infrastructure, and geotechnical structures. The purpose of this review article is devoted to presenting a summary of the basic principles of various optical fiber sensors, innovation in sensing and computational methodologies, development of novel optical fiber sensors, and the practical application status of the optical fiber sensing technology in structural health monitoring (SHM) of civil infrastructure.
A phase III trial was conducted to compare the safety and efficacy of erlotinib with that of gefitinib in advanced non-small cell lung cancer harbouring epidermal growth factor receptor mutations in ...exon 19 or 21.
Eligible patients were randomised to receive erlotinib (150 mg per day) or gefitinib (250 mg per day) orally until disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. We aimed to determine whether erlotinib is superior to gefitinib in efficacy. The primary end point was progression-free survival.
A total of 256 patients were randomised to receive erlotinib (N=128) or gefitinib (N=128). Median progression-free survival was not better with erlotinib than with gefitinib (13.0 vs 10.4 months, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.62-1.05, P=0.108). The corresponding response rates and median overall survival were 56.3% vs 52.3% (P=0.530) and 22.9 vs 20.1 months (95% CI 0.63-1.13, P=0.250), respectively. There were no significant differences in grade 3/4 toxicities between the two arms (P=0.172).
The primary end point was not met. Erlotinib was not significantly superior to gefitinib in terms of efficacy in advanced non-small cell lung cancer with epidermal growth factor receptor mutations in exon 19 or 21, and the two treatments had similar toxicities.
The aim of our study was to systematically review studies which had compared self‐concept in left‐behind children with the general population of children in China. Relevant studies about self‐concept ...of left‐behind children in China published from 2004 to 2014 were sought by searching online databases including Chinese Biological Medicine Database (CBM), Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang Database, Vip Database, PubMed Database, Google Scholar and Web of Science. The methodological quality of the articles was assessed by using Newcastle‐Ottawa Scale (NOS). Poled effect size and associated 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated using the random effects model. Cochrane's Q was used to test for heterogeneity and I2 index was used to determine the degree of heterogeneity. Nineteen studies involving 7758 left‐behind children met the inclusion criteria and 15 studies were included in a meta‐analysis. The results indicated that left‐behind group had a lower score of self‐concept and more psychological problems than the control group. The factors associated with self‐concept in left‐behind children were gender, age, grade and the relationships with parents, guardians and teachers. Left‐behind children had lower self‐concept and more mental health problems compared with the general population of children. The development of self‐concept may be an important channel for promoting mental health of left‐behind children.
We present Data Releases 4 and 5 of the quasar catalog from the quasar survey by the Large Sky Area Multi-object Fiber Spectroscopic Telescope (LAMOST), which includes quasars observed between 2015 ...September and 2017 June. There are a total of 19,253 quasars identified by visual inspections of the spectra. Among them, 11,458 were independently discovered by LAMOST, in which 3296 were reported by the SDSS DR12 and DR14 quasar catalog after our survey began, while the remaining 8162 are new discoveries of LAMOST. We provide the emission line measurements for H , Hβ, Mg ii, and/or C iv for 18,100 quasars. Since LAMOST does not have absolute flux calibration information, we obtain the monochromatic continuum luminosities by fitting the SDSS photometric data using the quasar spectra, and then estimate the black hole masses. The catalog and spectra for these quasars are available online. This is the third installment in the series of LAMOST quasar surveys that has released spectra for ∼43,000 quasars to date. There are 24,772 independently discovered quasars, 17,128 of which are newly discovered. In addition to this great supplement to the new quasar discoveries, LAMOST has also provided a large database (overlapped with SDSS) for investigating quasar spectral variability and discovering unusual quasars, including changing-look quasars, with ongoing and upcoming large surveys.
Chemical loss of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) is more important than the observed VOCs, which is the real actor of the chemical process in the atmosphere. The chemical loss of VOCs might impact ...on the identification of VOCs sources in ambient. For this reason, VOCs with 56 species were continuously measured in the urban area of Shanghai from 2009 to 2010, and based on the measurement the chemical loss of VOCs was calculated. According to the result, the initial VOCs in Shanghai urban was (34.8 ± 20.7) ppbv, higher than the observed one by ∼35%, including alkanes (∼38%), aromatics (∼36%), alkenes (∼17%), and acetylene (∼8%). The chemical reactivity of VOCs would be underestimated by ∼60% if the chemical loss were ignored. The chemical loss of VOCs showed a good agreement with Ox (O3 + NO2). C7–C8 aromatics and C3–C5 alkenes contributed ∼60% of consumed VOCs. Seven sources were identified and quantified from positive matrix factorization (PMF) analysis. Vehicular emissions were the largest anthropogenic source of VOCs in Shanghai urban, accounting for 27.6% of VOCs, followed by solvent usage (19.4%), chemical industry (13.2%), petrochemical industry (9.1%), and coal burning (∼5%). The contribution of biogenic emissions to total VOCs was 5.8%. Besides the five local anthropogenic sources and one biogenic source, the regional transportation was identified as one important source, contributing about 20% of VOCs in Shanghai urban. Sources apportionment results from PMF analysis based on the initial VOCs showed some differences from those based on observed data and might be more appropriate to be applied into the formulation of air pollution control measures.
•35% initial VOCs had been consumed during the transport from sources to the receptor.•Reactivity of VOCs was underestimated over 60% if the removal of VOCs was ignored.•C3–C5 alkenes and C8 aromatics contributed over 60% of the chemical loss of VOCs.•Seven sources of VOCs were identified and quantified in Shanghai urban.•The regional transportation contributed ∼20% of VOCs in Shanghai urban from PMF.
PDF
