38 research outputs found

    Is exponential gravity a viable description for the whole cosmological history?

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    Here we analysed a particular type of F(R)F(R) gravity, the so-called exponential gravity which includes an exponential function of the Ricci scalar in the action. Such term represents a correction to the usual Hilbert-Einstein action. By using Supernovae Ia, Barionic Acoustic Oscillations, Cosmic Microwave Background and H(z)H(z) data, the free parameters of the model are well constrained. The results show that such corrections to General Relativity become important at cosmological scales and at late-times, providing an alternative to the dark energy problem. In addition, the fits do not determine any significant difference statistically with respect to the Λ\LambdaCDM model. Finally, such model is extended to include the inflationary epoch in the same gravitational Lagrangian. As shown in the paper, the additional terms can reproduce the inflationary epoch and satisfy the constraints from Planck data.Comment: 20 pages, 6 figures, analysis extended, version published in EPJ

    Synergies of urushiol and its pechmann derivative compatible with paclitaxel anti-HepG2 activity

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    <p>The paper investigated the synergistic inhibitory effects of <b>1</b> (triene urushiol), <b>2</b> (monoene urushiol), <b>3</b> (urushiol pechmann derivative) and paclitaxel on proliferation of human hepatocellular carcinoma cell line HepG2. The inhibitory rate of cell proliferation was detected by MTT assay after HepG2 cells were separately treated with compounds <b>1</b>, <b>2</b> and <b>3</b> combined with paclitaxel at different concentrations for 72 h. The joint index analysis was used to examine whether those compatible drugs had synergistic effect. The results showed that compounds <b>1</b>, <b>2</b> and <b>3</b> had significant inhibitory effect on the proliferation of HepG2 cells in a dose-dependent manner, and their half inhibitory concentrations IC<sub>50</sub> were 29.3, 55.5 and 27.1 μM respectively. The synergistic effect of compounds <b>1</b>, <b>2</b> and <b>3</b> combined with paclitaxel significantly inhibited the proliferation of HepG2 cells <i>in vitro</i>.</p

    Image1_A novel necroptosis-related lncRNA signature predicts the prognosis and immune microenvironment of hepatocellular carcinoma.TIF

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    Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the malignant tumors with high mortality and a worse prognosis globally. Necroptosis is a programmed death mediated by receptor-interacting Protein 1 (RIP1), receptor-interacting Protein 1 (RIP3), and Mixed Lineage Kinase Domain-Like (MLKL). Our study aimed to create a new Necroptosis-related lncRNAs (NRlncRNAs) risk model that can predict survival and tumor immunity in HCC patients. The RNA expression and clinical data originated from the TCGA database. Pearson correlation analysis was applied to identify the NRlncRNAs. The LASSO-Cox regression analysis was employed to build the risk model. Next, the ROC curve and the area under the Kaplan-Meier curve were utilized to evaluate the accuracy of the risk model. In addition, based on the two groups of risk model, we performed the following analysis: clinical correlation, differential expression, PCA, TMB, GSEA analysis, immune cells infiltration, and clinical drug prediction analysis. Plus, qRT-PCR was applied to test the expression of genes in the risk model. Finally, a prognosis model covering six necroptosis-related lncRNAs was constructed to predict the survival of HCC patients. The ROC curve results showed that the risk model possesses better accuracy. The 1, 3, and 5-years AUC values were 0.746, 0.712, and 0.670, respectively. Of course, we also observed that significant differences exist in the following analysis, such as functional signaling pathways, immunological state, mutation profiles, and medication sensitivity between high-risk and low-risk groups of HCC patients. The result of qRT-PCR confirmed that three NRlncRNAs were more highly expressed in HCC cell lines than in the normal cell line. In conclusion, based on the bioinformatics analysis, we constructed an NRlncRNAs associated risk model, which predicts the prognosis of HCC patients. Although our study has some limitations, it may greatly contribute to the treatment of HCC and medical progression.</p

    Forest plots of ORs for the association between the <i>MTHFD1</i> G1958A polymorphism and susceptibility to NTDs (A: A allele vs. G allele; B: AA vs. AG+GG; C: AA vs. GG; D: AA vs. AG).

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    <p>Forest plots of ORs for the association between the <i>MTHFD1</i> G1958A polymorphism and susceptibility to NTDs (A: A allele vs. G allele; B: AA vs. AG+GG; C: AA vs. GG; D: AA vs. AG).</p

    Association between <i>MTHFD1</i> G1958A Polymorphism and Neural Tube Defects Susceptibility: A Meta-Analysis

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    <div><p>Objectives</p><p>The methylenetetrahydrofolate dehydrogenase (<i>MTHFD1</i>) gene, as one of the key genes involved in the folate pathway, has been reported to play a critical role in the pathogenesis of neural tube defects (NTDs). However, the results of published studies are contradictory and inconclusive. Thus, this meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the effect of the common polymorphism in the <i>MTHFD1</i> gene, the G1958A (R653Q, dbSNP ID: rs2236225) variant, on the risk of NTDs in all eligible studies.</p><p>Methods</p><p>Relevant literature published before January 3, 2014 was retrieved from the MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, and CBM databases. Pooled crude odds ratios (ORs) and their corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated to evaluate the association between the <i>MTHFD1</i> G1958A polymorphism and NTDs risk.</p><p>Results</p><p>We performed a meta-analysis of nine studies with a total of 4,302 NTDs patients and 4,238 healthy controls. Our results demonstrated a significant correlation between the <i>MTHFD1</i> G1958A polymorphism and NTDs in an overall meta-analysis. For family-based studies, the study subjects were classified as NTD cases, mothers with NTDs offspring, and fathers with NTDs offspring. We found no association between any of the fathers’ genotypes and NTDs, whereas there was a clear excess of the 1958A allele in the mothers of children with NTDs compared with controls individuals.</p><p>Conclusions</p><p>In summary, our meta-analysis strongly suggests that the <i>MTHFD1</i> G1958A polymorphism might be associated with maternal risk for NTDs in Caucasian populations. However, the evidence of this association should be interpreted with caution due to the selective nature of publication of genetic association studies.</p></div

    Main characteristics of the studies included in the meta-analysis.

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    <p>PCR-RFLP, Polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism; PCR-SSCP, PCR-single strand conformation polymorphism; NOS, Newcastle-Ottawa scale.</p

    Forest plots of ORs for the association between the <i>MTHFD1</i> G1958A polymorphism and susceptibility to NTDs in family-based studies for each subgroup under (A: A allele vs. G allele; B: AA vs. AG+GG; C: AA vs. GG; D: AA vs. AG).

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    <p>Forest plots of ORs for the association between the <i>MTHFD1</i> G1958A polymorphism and susceptibility to NTDs in family-based studies for each subgroup under (A: A allele vs. G allele; B: AA vs. AG+GG; C: AA vs. GG; D: AA vs. AG).</p

    Synthesis and Herbicidal Activities of <i>p</i>‑Menth-3-en-1-amine and Its Schiff Base Derivatives

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    <i>p</i>-Menth-3-en-1-amine, <b>4</b>, and its Schiff base derivatives, <b>5a</b>–<b>l</b>, were designed and synthesized. They were characterized by FT-IR, ESI<sup>+</sup>-MS, HRMS, <sup>1</sup>H NMR, and <sup>13</sup>C NMR spectral analyses, and their pre-emergence herbicidal activities against ryegrass were evaluated. All of the compounds showed excellent herbicidal activity. The Schiff bases showed stronger herbicidal activities than the original amine <b>4</b>. These compounds showed herbicidal activities comparable to that of glyphosate. The herbicidal activities of <b>5k</b> and <b>5l</b> against ryegrass shoot growth were 78.3 and 355.6% higher than that of glyphosate, respectively. Furthermore, the introduction of a chlorine or bromine atom into the Schiff base derivatives containing a furan or benzene ring was beneficial to increase the activity. However, the herbicidal activities were not clearly affected when the heteroatom of the five-membered heterocyclic Schiff base or the position of the substituent on pyridine Schiff base was altered

    Flow diagram of studies with specific reasons for inclusion/exclusion in the present meta-analysis.

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    <p>Flow diagram of studies with specific reasons for inclusion/exclusion in the present meta-analysis.</p
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