Physiological and Metabolomic Alterations in Macrocystis pyrifera upon Exposure to Chromium(VI)

1593-1599In order to comprehensively characterize the effects of chromium (VI) on physiological and metabonomic performance of Macrocystis pyrifera, the sporophytes were exposed to 2 mg L-1 potassium dichromate for 3 days. M. pyrifera sporophytes showed decreased pigment content and Chla fuloresecnece parameters with the accumulation of Cr(VI). The carbon content was clearly increased, while the content of nitrogen, hydrogen and sulfur were little changed. Moreover, an untargeted metabolomic analysis was carried out in order to investigate the metabolic effects and to obtain a comprehensive profiling of induced metabolites during Cr stress. Absolute quantification of 14 different metabolites was obtained through GC-MS methods. The principal component analysis showed a clear separation between control and Cr treated samples. Some pathways including carbon fixation, sulfur metabolism, taurine and hypotaurine metabolism were affected by Cr (VI) stress. These findings provided valuable information to elucidate the mechanism of M. pyrifera upon Cr (VI) stress

Sialylation of vasorin by ST3Gal1 facilitates TGF-β1-mediated tumor angiogenesis and progression.

ST3Gal1 is a key sialyltransferase which adds α2,3-linked sialic acid to substrates and generates core 1 O-glycan structure. Upregulation of ST3Gal1 has been associated with worse prognosis of breast cancer patients. However, the protein substrates of ST3Gal1 implicated in tumor progression remain elusive. In our study, we demonstrated that ST3GAL1-silencing significantly reduced tumor growth along with a notable decrease in vascularity of MCF7 xenograft tumors. We identified vasorin (VASN) which was shown to bind TGF-β1, as a potential candidate that links ST3Gal1 to angiogenesis. LC-MS/MS analysis of VASN secreted from MCF7, revealed that more than 80% of its O-glycans are sialyl-3T and disialyl-T. ST3GAL1-silencing or desialylation of VASN by neuraminidase enhanced its binding to TGF-β1 by 2- to 3-fold and thereby dampening TGF-β1 signaling and angiogenesis, as indicated by impaired tube formation of HUVECs, suppressed angiogenesis gene expression and reduced activation of Smad2 and Smad3 in HUVEC cells. Examination of 114 fresh primary breast cancer and their adjacent normal tissues showed that the expression levels of ST3Gal1 and TGFB1 were high in tumor part and the expression of two genes was positively correlated. Kaplan Meier survival analysis showed a significantly shorter relapse-free survival for those with lower expression VASN, notably, the combination of low VASN with high ST3GAL1 yielded even higher risk of recurrence (p = 0.025, HR = 2.967, 95% CI = 1.14-7.67). Since TGF-β1 is known to transcriptionally activate ST3Gal1, our findings illustrated a feedback regulatory loop in which TGF-β1 upregulates ST3Gal1 to circumvent the negative impact of VASN

Structural and cognitive deficits in chronic carbon monoxide intoxication: a voxel-based morphometry study

BACKGROUND: Patients with carbon monoxide (CO) intoxication may develop ongoing neurological and psychiatric symptoms that ebb and flow, a condition often called delayed encephalopathy (DE). The association between morphologic changes in the brain and neuropsychological deficits in DE is poorly understood. METHODS: Magnetic resonance imaging and neuropsychological tests were conducted on 11 CO patients with DE, 11 patients without DE, and 15 age-, sex-, and education-matched healthy subjects. Differences in gray matter volume (GMV) between the subgroups were assessed and further correlated with diminished cognitive functioning. RESULTS: As a group, the patients had lower regional GMV compared to controls in the following regions: basal ganglia, left claustrum, right amygdala, left hippocampus, parietal lobes, and left frontal lobe. The reduced GMV in the bilateral basal ganglia, left post-central gyrus, and left hippocampus correlated with decreased perceptual organization and processing speed function. Those CO patients characterized by DE patients had a lower GMV in the left anterior cingulate and right amygdala, as well as lower levels of cognitive function, than the non-DE patients. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with CO intoxication in the chronic stage showed a worse cognitive and morphologic outcome, especially those with DE. This study provides additional evidence of gray matter structural abnormalities in the pathophysiology of DE in chronic CO intoxicated patients

The management of a duodenal fistula involving the right hepatic duct: a rare case report

The formation of an internal fistula between the biliary system and the gastrointestinal tract is a rare condition with various etiologies, predominantly associated with recurrent chronic inflammation of the biliary system and tumors. Patients with this condition may lack specific clinical manifestations, presenting with symptoms such as abdominal pain, fever, jaundice, or may show no clinical signs at all. Common types of internal fistulas include cholecystoduodenal fistula, cholecystocolonic fistula, and choledochoduodenal fistula. Among these, the right hepaticoduodenal fistula is extremely rare and seldom reported in clinical literature. We herein report a case of right hepaticoduodenal fistula and analyze its mechanism, treatment principles, and preventive measures through a literature review

Vascular function in the aging human brain during muscle exertion

: To determine how brain oxygenation is stably maintained during advancing age, cerebral oxygenation and hemoglobin were measured real-time at 10 Hz using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) at rest (30 seconds) and during a 10-repeated handgrip strength test (30 seconds) for 834 adults (M/F = 45/55%) aged 20-88 y. The amplitude of cerebral hemodynamic fluctuation was reflected by converting 300 values of % oxygen saturation and hemoglobin of each 30-second phase to standard deviation as indicatives of brain oxygenation variability (BOV) and brain hemodynamic variability (BHV) for each participant. Both BOV (+21-72%) and BHV (+94-158%) increased during the maximal voluntary muscle exertions for all age levels (α < 0.05), suggesting an increased vascular recruitment to maintain oxygen homeostasis in the brain. Intriguingly, BHV was >100 folds for both resting and challenged conditions (α < 0.001) in >80% of adults aged above 50 y despite similar BOV compared with young age counterparts, indicating a huge cost of amplifying hemodynamic oscillation to maintain a stable oxygenation in the aging brain. Since vascular endothelial cells are short-lived, our results implicate a hemodynamic compensation to emergence of daily deficits in replacing senescent endothelial cells after age 50 y

Activation Mode Effects on the Shear Bond Strength of Dual-cured Resin Cements

Objectives: This study evaluated the immediate (10-minute) and delayed (24-hour) bond strength of dual-cured resin cements that are light-activated either immediately or delayed (after five minutes) or chemically-activated only. Materials and Methods: Three dual-cured resin cements were evaluated: RelyX ARC, Panavia F and Enforce. Cylinders of resin cement were built up over resin composite blocks following the manufacturers’ instructions for each luting agent. The cements were mixed, inserted into the molds and light-activated either immediately or after five minutes (delayed light activation). When no light activation was performed, the materials were protected from light exposure until testing. Half of the samples were tested at 10 minutes; the remaining samples were stored at 100% relative humidity for 4 hours when they were then test ed (n=10). Data were submitted to three-way ANOVA and post-hoc Tukey’s tests (α=0.05). The failure mode was evaluated under SEM. Results: RelyX ARC presented the highest values of shear bond strength, followed by Enforce. Panavia F showed the lowest values. Both immediate and delayed light activation caused the cements to present the highest means of shear bond strength. There was an improvement in bond strength after 24 hours of storage. Conclusions: RelyX ARC produced the highest bond strength, which was improved by light activation and storage for 24 hours

Satellite testing of a gravitationally induced quantum decoherence model

Quantum mechanics and the general theory of relativity are two pillars of modern physics. However, a coherent unified framework of the two theories still remains an open problem. Attempts to quantize general relativity have led to many rival models of quantum gravity, which, however, generally lack experimental foundations. We report a quantum optical experimental test of event formalism of quantum fields, a theory which attempts to present a coherent description of quantum fields in exotic spacetimes containing closed timelike curves and ordinary spacetime. We experimentally test a prediction of the theory with the quantum satellite Micius that a pair of time-energy entangled particles probabilistically decorrelate passing through different regions of the gravitational potential of Earth. Our measurement results are consistent with the standard quantum theory and hence do not support the prediction of event formalism

A Study of Russia’s Soft Power in the Putin Era: The Case of Creative Industry

因應時代的改變，構成國家實力的資源也跟著改變。不同於自然資源、軍事力量、經濟或科技實力等有形的力量，文化資源以價值觀念為核心，是經濟發展的要素之一，也是柔性權力發展的重要基礎。創意產業，是目前全球新興的產業，透過創意產業對於外交上的幫助能強化國家的柔性力量，為國家塑造良好形象，並促進國家經濟利益。 本文以「創意產業作為俄國一項柔性權力」的角度為出發點，思考電影與文化觀光中所體現出的俄國價值與俄國文化，結合文化創意產業創新的概念，如何提升並發揮作用影響國家品牌形象。 透過國家品牌指數及相關國際指標可以得知，俄國成功藉由電影與文化觀光對外國公眾展現文化吸引力，傳達文化精神並提升國家品牌形象。因此，本文研究發現有以下幾點：第一，俄國創意產業作為一種柔性權力，以俄羅斯文化為因子散播並影響著世界。第二，文化吸引力為俄羅斯重要資產。俄羅斯的電影及文化觀光的文化吸引力使得外國公眾能受到吸引而心生嚮往，產生認同感；第三，國家扮演創意產業發展的關鍵推手。藉由俄國政府的主導，使得俄國創意產業能順利與國際接軌，發揮柔性力量；第四，柔性權力可建構出國家品牌形象，讓外國公眾對於俄國的印象不再只有軍事與核武等剛性力量，俄羅斯文化在國際上也具有不容小覷的影響力。In respond to the era of changes, the resources that constitute a nation's strength change accordingly. Unlike tangible forces such as natural resources, military power, economic or scientific technological strength, etc., cultural resources have sense of value as its core, and is one of the elements in economic development and also the important basis for the development of soft power. The creative industry is currently an emerging industry around the globe. Through the creative industry, the diplomatic assistance can help strengthen the country's soft power by adding a good image of the country and promoting national economic interests. This paper uses the perspective of "Creative industry as one of Russia’s soft power" as the starting point to reflect on how Russian values and culture expressed in film and cultural tourism, combined with the concepts of the innovation in cultural creative industry, can enhance and influence its national brand image. Through Nation Brands Index and the relevant international indexes we can have learned that Russia successfully exhibits its cultural attraction to the foreign public through cinema and culture, conveys its cultural spirit and enhances its national brand image. Therefore, this paper is meant to study and discover the following: First, Russia’s creative industry is used as a soft power to spread Russian culture as a factor and influence the world; Secondly, cultural attraction is an important asset for Russian. The cultural attraction of Russian films and culture tourism can attract the foreign public and create a sense of longing and a sense of identity; Thirdly, the country plays a key force behind the development of the creative industry. Being led by the Russian government, the Russian creative industry can thereby successfully connect with its international counterparts and bring soft power into play; Fourthly, the soft power can construct a nation’s brand image. It gives the foreign public an impression of Russia not only about hard power like military and nuclear weapon etc.; Russian culture also has influences, which are not to be underestimated internationally

Comparison of the effect of reduced-fluence photodynamic therapy with intravitreal bevacizumab and standard-fluence alone for polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy

Background: Photodynamic therapy (PDT) has previously been reported to be effective in treating polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV), with satisfactory polyp regression. However, the optimum treatment protocol remains controversial. This study compared the effect of reduced-fluence PDT combined with intravitreal bevacizumab (rPDT/IVB) and standard-fluence PDT (sPDT) alone for treating symptomatic PCV in Chinese patients. Methods: A retrospective review was carried out of the medical records of patients with PCV who were treated with rPDT/IVB (14 eyes of 13 patients) or sPDT (12 eyes of 12 patients) with at least 6 months of follow-up. Results: The mean best-corrected visual acuity of the rPDT/IVB group improved significantly at the 6-month follow-up (p = 0.041). Only one eye (7.1%) in the rPDT/IVB group showed a decrease in visual acuity, compared with four eyes (33.3%) in the sPDT group. A total of 40.0% of eyes in the sPDT group showed increased lipid exudate at follow-up 1 month after treatment, whereas no increase in lipid exudate was observed in the rPDT/IVB group (p = 0.015). The mean maximum area of post-treatment hemorrhage in the rPDT/IVB group was smaller than that in the sPDT group (2.57 ± 2.74 mm2 vs. 12.69 ± 10.28 mm2, p = 0.042). Conclusion: Combination therapy with rPDT/IVB for patients with PCV showed encouraging results in vision improvement, a lower decrease in visual acuity, significantly less post-treatment lipid exudate and a smaller area of post-treatment hemorrhage at the 6-month follow-up than patients treated with sPDT

Effects of Food Variation on the Feeding Behavior of the Steppe Polecat Mustela eversmanni

The aim of this paper was to investigate the sensitivity of steppe polecats to starvation risk by comparing their selection to constant and variable food patches under different starvation conditions through the two-choice test in the laboratory. The results showed that food ingestion and frequency of the polecat in constant food patches were higher than that in the variable food patches and time of the polecat was the same between two patches during the training period. Only the frequency of the polecat in constant food patches was higher than that in variable food patches when the polecat was starved for 1 day. Its foraging pattern between the two patches was the same as that during the training period when the polecat was starved for 2 days. Meanwhile, the food ingestion amount in the two patches was not affected by starvation, but the time and frequency of the polecat using the two patches significantly decreased when starvation increased. There was no difference between the polecat's selections at the constant or variable food patches and the food variation had no influence on the feeding behavior of the polecats. The polecats were not sensitive to variable food under starvation conditions. This was due to the fact that the polecats had low levels of energy metabolism and they conserved energy by decreasing their activity to increase their survival under starvation conditions