The Constituents of Michelia compressa var. formosana and Their Bioactivities

Phytochemical investigation of the heartwood of Michelia compressa afforded forty-four compounds, which were identified by comparison of experimental and literature analytical and spectroscopic data. Some compounds were evaluated for their anti-inflammatory and anticancer bioactivities. The result showed that soemerine (1) and cyathisterol (2) exhibited significant nitric oxide (NO) inhibition, with IC50 values of 8.5 ± 0.3 and 9.6 ± 0.5 µg/mL, respectively. In addition, liriodenine (3) and oliveroline (4) exhibited cytotoxicity to human nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC-TW01), non-small cell lung carcinoma (NCI-H226), T cell leukemia (Jurkat), renal carcinoma (A498), lung carcinoma (A549) and fibrosarcoma (HT1080) cell lines with IC50 values in the range of 15.7–3.68 μM

Correction: Chan, Y.-Y., et al. The Constituents of Michelia compressa var. formosana and Their Bioactivities. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2014, 15, 10926–10935

The authors wish to make two changes to their published paper [1]. [...

Predictors for Depression, Sleep Disturbance, and Subjective Pain among Inpatients with Depressive Disorders during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic can have a negative impact on patients with mood disorders. The aim of this study is to explore the societal influence of COVID-19 and associated impacts on levels of depression, sleep disturbance, and subjective pain among patients with mood disorders. This cross-sectional study recruited inpatients with depression and bipolar disorder. Levels of depression, sleep disturbance, subjective pain, and related demographic variables were collected through self-reported questionnaires. Potential factors associated with levels of depression, sleep disturbance, and subjective pain were identified using univariate linear regression and further entered into a stepwise multivariate linear regression model to identify the independent predictors. A total of 119 participants were included in the analysis, of whom 50.42% had bipolar disorder and 49.58% had unipolar depression. Multivariate analysis showed that a higher level of depression was associated with female subjects, subjects with partners, present history of psychological trauma, and drinking alcohol. Sleep disturbance was associated with subjects with partners and drinking alcohol. A higher level of subjective pain was associated with a higher level of social anxiety and a history of psychological trauma. The current study identified several predictors of psychological burden and subjective pain among inpatients with depression during the COVID-19 pandemic. Further investigations are warranted to extend the application and generalizability of our results

Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy

In 2008 we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, research on this topic has continued to accelerate, and many new scientists have entered the field. Our knowledge base and relevant new technologies have also been expanding. Accordingly, it is important to update these guidelines for monitoring autophagy in different organisms. Various reviews have described the range of assays that have been used for this purpose. Nevertheless, there continues to be confusion regarding acceptable methods to measure autophagy, especially in multicellular eukaryotes. A key point that needs to be emphasized is that there is a difference between measurements that monitor the numbers or volume of autophagic elements (e.g., autophagosomes or autolysosomes) at any stage of the autophagic process vs. those that measure flux through the autophagy pathway (i.e., the complete process); thus, a block in macroautophagy that results in autophagosome accumulation needs to be differentiated from stimuli that result in increased autophagic activity, defined as increased autophagy induction coupled with increased delivery to, and degradation within, lysosomes (in most higher eukaryotes and some protists such as Dictyostelium) or the vacuole (in plants and fungi). In other words, it is especially important that investigators new to the field understand that the appearance of more autophagosomes does not necessarily equate with more autophagy. In fact, in many cases, autophagosomes accumulate because of a block in trafficking to lysosomes without a concomitant change in autophagosome biogenesis, whereas an increase in autolysosomes may reflect a reduction in degradative activity. Here, we present a set of guidelines for the selection and interpretation of methods for use by investigators who aim to examine macroautophagy and related processes, as well as for reviewers who need to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of papers that are focused on these processes. These guidelines are not meant to be a formulaic set of rules, because the appropriate assays depend in part on the question being asked and the system being used. In addition, we emphasize that no individual assay is guaranteed to be the most appropriate one in every situation, and we strongly recommend the use of multiple assays to monitor autophagy. In these guidelines, we consider these various methods of assessing autophagy and what information can, or cannot, be obtained from them. Finally, by discussing the merits and limits of particular autophagy assays, we hope to encourage technical innovation in the field