Effect of a poloxamer 407-based thermosensitive gel on minimization of thermal injury to diaphragm during microwave ablation of the liver.

AIM: To assess the insulating effect of a poloxamer 407 (P407)-based gel during microwave ablation of liver adjacent to the diaphragm. METHODS: We prepared serial dilutions of P407, and 22.5% (w/w) concentration was identified as suitable for ablation procedures. Subsequently, microwave ablations were performed on the livers of 24 rabbits (gel, saline, control groups, n = 8 in each). The P407 solution and 0.9% normal saline were injected into the potential space between the diaphragm and liver in experimental groups. No barriers were applied to the controls. After microwave ablations, the frequency, size and degree of thermal injury were compared histologically among the three groups. Subsequently, another 8 rabbits were injected with the P407 solution and microwave ablation was performed. The levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and creatinine (Cr) in serum were tested at 1 d before microwave ablation and 3 and 7 d after operation. RESULTS: In vivo ablation thermal injury to the adjacent diaphragm was evaluated in the control, saline and 22.5% P407 gel groups (P = 0.001-0.040). However, there was no significant difference in the volume of ablation zone among the three groups (P \u3e 0.05). Moreover, there were no statistical differences among the preoperative and postoperative gel groups according to the levels of ALT, AST, BUN and Cr in serum (all P \u3e 0.05). CONCLUSION: Twenty-two point five percent P407 gel could be a more effective choice during microwave ablation of hepatic tumors adjacent to the diaphragm. Further studies for clinical translation are warranted

Application of Improved Collaborative Filtering in the Recommendation of E-commerce Commodities

Problems such as low recommendation precision and efficiency often exist in traditional collaborative filtering because of the huge basic data volume. In order to solve these problems, we proposed a new algorithm which combines collaborative filtering and support vector machine (SVM). Different with traditional collaborative filtering, we used SVM to classify commodities into positive and negative feedbacks. Then we selected the commodities that have positive feedback to calculate the comprehensive grades of marks and comments. After that, we build SVM-based collaborative filtering algorithm. Experiments on Taobao data (a Chinese online shopping website owned by Alibaba) showed that the algorithm has good recommendation precision and recommendation efficiency, thus having certain practical value in the E-commerce industry

Genetic basis of the early heading of high-latitude weedy rice

Japonica rice (Oryza sativa L.) is an important staple food in high-latitude regions and is widely distributed in northern China, Japan, Korea, and Europe. However, the genetic diversity of japonica rice is relatively narrow and poorly adapted. Weedy rice (Oryza sativa f. spontanea) is a semi-domesticated rice. Its headings are earlier than the accompanied japonica rice, making it a potential new genetic resource, which can make up for the defects of wild rice that are difficult to be directly applied to japonica rice improvement caused by reproductive isolation. In this study, we applied a natural population consisting of weedy rice, japonica landrace, and japonica cultivar to conduct a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of the heading date and found four loci that could explain the natural variation of the heading date in this population. At the same time, we developed recombinant inbred lines (RILs) crossed by the early-heading weedy rice WR04-6 and its accompanied japonica cultivar ShenNong 265 (SN265) to carry out a QTL mapping analysis of the heading date and mapped four quantitative trait locus (QTLs) and three epistatic effect gene pairs. The major locus on chromosome 6 overlapped with the GWAS result. Further analysis found that two genes, Hd1 and OsCCT22, on chromosome 6 (Locus 2 and Locus 3) may be the key points of the early-heading character of weedy rice. As minor effect genes, Dth7 and Hd16 also have genetic contributions to the early heading of weedy rice. In the process of developing the RIL population, we introduced fragments of Locus 2 and Locus 3 from the weedy rice into super-high-yielding japonica rice, which successfully promoted its heading date by at least 10 days and expanded the rice suitable cultivation area northward by about 400 km. This study successfully revealed the genetic basis of the early heading of weedy rice and provided a new idea for the genetic improvement of cultivated rice by weedy rice

Gallic acid ameliorates dextran sulfate sodium-induced ulcerative colitis in mice via inhibiting NLRP3 inflammasome

Background: Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic recurrent inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The conventional drugs for UC may induce severe side effects. Herbal medicine is considered as a complementary and alternative choice for UC.Purpose: This study aims to estimate the effect of natural polyphenol gallic acid (GA) on the NLRP3 inflammasome with dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis in mice.Study design: The body weights and symptoms of BALB/c mice were recorded. Histological evaluation, ELISA, q-PCR, immunohistochemistry, and western blotting were carried out to observe the morphology, cytokine contents, mRNA expressions, and protein expressions, respectively. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced RAW264.7 macrophage was used to probe GA’s effect on relative protein expression.Results: GA attenuated weight loss (p < 0.05), relieved symptoms, and ameliorated colonic morphological injury (p < 0.05) in mice with colitis induced by DSS. GA also lowered the contents of TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-18, IL-33, and IFN-γ in the serum and colon of mice, which were elevated by DSS, downregulated protein, and mRNA expressions of the NLRP3 pathway in the colon tissue. Furthermore, GA downregulated the expressions of NLRP3 (p < 0.05), iNOS (p < 0.01), COX2 (p < 0.01), and P-p65 (p < 0.05), and suppressed NO release (p < 0.001) in LPS-induced RAW264.7 cells.Conclusion: GA ameliorated DSS-induced UC in mice via inhibiting the NLRP3 inflammasome. These findings furnish evidence for the anti-inflammatory effect of herbal medicines containing GA on UC

Genome-wide identification of a MADS-box transcription factor family and their expression during floral development in Coptis teeta wall

© 2024 The Authors. Published by BMC. This is an open access article available under a Creative Commons licence. The published version can be accessed at the following link on the publisher’s website: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12870-024-05714-0Background MADS-box transcription factors have been shown to be involved in multiple developmental processes, including the regulation of floral organ formation and pollen maturation. However, the role of the MADS-box gene family in floral development of the alpine plant species Coptis teeta Wall, which is widely used in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), is unknown. Results Sixty-six MADS-box genes were identified in the C. teeta genome. These genes were shown to be unevenly distributed throughout the genome of C. teeta. The majority of which (49) were classified as type I MADS-box genes and were further subdivided into four groups (Mα, Mβ, Mγ and Mδ). The remainder were identified as belonging to the type II MADS-box gene category. It was observed that four pairs of segmental and tandem duplication had occurred in the C. teeta MADS-box gene family, and that the ratios of Ka/Ks were less than 1, suggesting that these genes may have experienced purifying selection during evolution. Gene expression profiling analysis revealed that 38 MADS-box genes displayed differential expression patterns between the M and F floral phenotypes. Sixteen of these MADS-box genes were further verified by RT-qPCR. The 3D structure of each subfamily gene was predicted, further indicating that MADS-box genes of the same type possess structural similarities to the known template. Conclusions These data provide new insights into the molecular mechanism of dichogamy and herkogamy formation in C. teeta and establish a solid foundation for future studies of the MADS-box genes family in this medicinal plant species.This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (project grant no: 31971543), Major Special Projects of Yunnan Province (Biomedicine) (project numbers: 202102AA310045), Yunnan Provincial Science and Technology Department Agriculture Joint Special Project (project numbers: 202101BD070001-008).Published onlin

Genome-wide identification and expression analysis of the C2H2-zinc finger transcription factor gene family and screening of candidate genes involved in floral development in Coptis teeta Wall. (Ranunculaceae)

© 2023 The authors. This is an open access article available under a Creative Commons licence. The published version can be accessed at the following link on the publisher’s website: https://doi.org/10.3389/fgene.2024.1349673Background: C2H2-zinc finger transcription factors comprise one of the largest and most diverse gene superfamilies and are involved in the transcriptional regulation of flowering. Although a large number of C2H2 zinc-finger proteins (C2H2-ZFPs) have been well characterized in a number of model plant species, little is known about their expression and function in Coptis teeta. C. teeta displays two floral phenotypes (herkogamy phenotypes). It has been proposed that the C2H2-zinc finger transcription factor family may play a crucial role in the formation of floral development and herkogamy observed in C. teeta. As such, we performed a genome-wide analysis of the C2H2-ZFP gene family in C. teeta. Results: The complexity and diversity of C. teeta C2H2 zinc finger proteins were established by evaluation of their physicochemical properties, phylogenetic relationships, exon-intron structure, and conserved motifs. Chromosome localization showed that 95 members of the C2H2 zinc-finger genes were unevenly distributed across the nine chromosomes of C. teeta, and that these genes were replicated in tandem and segmentally and had undergone purifying selection. Analysis of cis-acting regulatory elements revealed a possible involvement of C2H2 zinc-finger proteins in the regulation of phytohormones. Transcriptome data was then used to compare the expression levels of these genes during the growth and development of the two floral phenotypes (F-type and M-type). These data demonstrate that in groups A and B, the expression levels of 23 genes were higher in F-type flowers, while 15 genes showed higher expressions in M-type flowers. qRT-PCR analysis further revealed that the relative expression was highly consistent with the transcriptome data. Conclusion: These data provide a solid basis for further in-depth studies of the C2H2 zinc finger transcription factor gene family in this species and provide preliminary information on which to base further research into the role of the C2H2 ZFPs gene family in floral development in C. teeta.This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (project grant no: 31971543), Major Special Projects of Yunnan Province (Biomedicine) (project number: 202102AA310045), Yunnan Provincial Science and Technology Department Agriculture Joint Special Project (projectnumber:202101BD070001-008)

An Interferon-Driven Oxysterol-Based Defense against Tumor-Derived Extracellular Vesicles

Tumor-derived extracellular vesicles (TEV) “educate” healthy cells to promote metastases. We found that melanoma TEV downregulated type I interferon (IFN) receptor and expression of IFN-inducible cholesterol 25-hydroxylase (CH25H). CH25H produces 25-hydroxycholesterol, which inhibited TEV uptake. Low CH25H levels in leukocytes from melanoma patients correlated with poor prognosis. Mice incapable of downregulating the IFN receptor and Ch25h were resistant to TEV uptake, TEV-induced pre-metastatic niche, and melanoma lung metastases; however, ablation of Ch25h reversed these phenotypes. An anti-hypertensive drug, reserpine, suppressed TEV uptake and disrupted TEV-induced formation of the pre-metastatic niche and melanoma lung metastases. These results suggest the importance of CH25H in defense against education of normal cells by TEV and argue for the use of reserpine in adjuvant melanoma therapy

EVALUATION OF THE ACUTE AND SUBCHRONIC TOXICITY OF ZIWAN BAIBU TANG

Background: Ziwan Baibu Tang (ZBT) is used as a traditional Chinese prescription used in the clinic to cure a variety of respiratory diseases. The objective of this study was to evaluate the acute and subacute toxicity of ZBT. Materials and Methods: Fifty Kunming mice were assigned to 5 groups, and ZBT was administered at different concentrations. Symptoms, mortality and behavioural changes were recorded. Eighty Wistar rats were randomly allocated to 4 treatment groups or a control group for 4 weeks of treatment (half male and half female); general observations and weekly body weight (BW) gain were recorded. At the end of the 4-week experiment, the rats were sacrificed, and blood was collected for haematological and serum biochemical analyses. Samples from the primary organs were fixed in 10% buffered formalin for histopathological studies. Results: The calculated LD50 of acute oral toxicity was 319.16 g/kg BW. After the 4-week treatment, BW did not significantly differ in any of the dose groups, compared with the control group (P>0.05), and the rat blood red blood cell (RBC) and haemoglobin (HGB) levels in each dose group did not significantly differ (P>0.05). In addition, serum urea and creatine levels in each dose group did not significantly differ from those in the control group (P>0.05). Conclusion: These results indicate that ZBT does not possess toxic potential and that both the acute and subchronic toxicity in animals are very low