3,5-Dimeth­oxy-N,N-bis­(2-pyridylmeth­yl)aniline

In the title mol­ecule, C20H21N3O2, the benzene ring forms dihedral angles of 80.8 (1) and 83.5 (1)° with the two terminal pyridine rings. In the crystal structure, weak inter­molecular C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds link the mol­ecules into chains propagating in [001]

MicroRNA-126 regulates the expression of inflammationrelated genes in vascular smooth muscle cells of diabetic rats

Purpose: To investigate the regulatory role of miR-126 in inflammation-associated gene expression in vascular smooth muscle (VSMCs) cells of diabetic rats.Methods: Diabetes was induced in rats by intraperitoneal injection of streptozocin (STZ) at a dose of 50 mg/kg. VSMCs were isolated from the aortic intimal-medial layers of the rats by a standard protocol. Expression of miR-126 was determined by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and western blotting. Transfection was performed with Lipofectamine 2000 reagent.Results: Expression of miR-126 was significantly (p < 0.05) downregulated in the VSMCs of diabetic rats. Similarly, expressions of SOD, APX and CAT were downregulated, while those of COX, LOX and NOS were significantly upregulated in VSMCs. However, transfection-induced miR-126 overexpression in the VSMCs of diabetic rats led to significant (p < 0.05) upregulation of SOD, CAT, APX and downregulation of COX, LOX and NOS. TargetScan analysis revealed that miR-126 exerted these effects by targeting SIRT1 gene. Furthermore, qRT-PCR and western blotting revealed that miR-126 overexpression in diabetic VMSCs caused significant (p < 0.05) upregulation of the expression of SIRT-1.Conclusion: The results indicate that miR-126 regulates the expression of inflammation-related genes by targeting SIRT-1 genes in vascular smooth muscle cells of diabetic rats. Thus, miR-126 may be beneficial in the management of diabetes.Keywords: Diabetes, Inflammation, Genes, microRNA, vascular smooth muscle cell

Nuclei micro-array FISH, a desirable alternative for MCL diagnosis

Mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) is a rare, specific lymphoma subtype. Though the morphologic and immunophenotypic features of MCL have been well described in recent literatures, it is still a diagnostic dilemma because of its frequent confusion with other small B cell lymphomas (SBCLs). In the present study, we primarily focus on establishing a sensitive and specific method for the diagnosis of MCL, which is efficient to distinguish this disease from other SBCLs. We carried out our investigation for MCL and other SBCLs (including SLL, FL, MZL, and MALT) on their feature of morphology, immunophenotype, and t(11;14)(q13;q32) translocation analysis based on polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and interphase nuclei micro-array fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). The morphologic and immunologic analysis showed the positive rate of cyclin D1 was 76.47% in MCL, which was significantly higher than that in other SBCLs. The positive rate of t(11;14) translocation was 25.81% and 35.48%, respectively, tested by general and semi-nested PCR, while 93.10% positive rate was shown with low background and strong signals pattern when tested by Nuclei micro-array FISH. Our research shows that t(11;14) translocation is a special and useful diagnostic marker for MCL, and detection of the marker by nuclei micro-array FISH is convenient and economic, especially more sensitive and specific than other methods for the diagnosis of MCL

Rapid flocculation-sedimentation of microalgae with organosilane-functionalized halloysite

Microalgae is a promising feedstock of biofuel for alternating fossil fuels. The major challenge of microalgal biofuels for commercial applications is in designing an efficient harvesting method with high economic feasibility. In this study, a rapid flocculation-sedimentation harvesting method induced by organosilane-functionalized halloysite flocculant was achieved for Scenedesmus dimorphus harvest. The harvesting efficiency was significantly influenced by the pH of microalgal dispersion and the dosage of flocculant. The optimized harvesting condition was pH 3.0 with flocculant dosage of 1.0 g.g(-1) cell dry mass. Under the optimized harvesting condition, microalgae rapidly reached 93% harvesting efficiency within 0.5 min of settling time, and reached 98% harvesting efficiency within 2 min of settling time. The rapid flocculation was attributed to the charge neutralization of the negatively-charged microalgae cells by the positively-charged organosilane-functionalized halloysite flocculant and to the sweep flocculation by organosilane-functionalized halloysite flocculant. The organosilane-functionalized halloysite flocculant did not affect the lipid extraction of microalgae, and not contaminate the extracted residuals. The organosilane-functionalized halloysite flocculant is of high efficient, cost-effective, and eco-friendly, makes it be of promising application for commercial microalgae harvesting.</p

Skewed X-chromosome inactivation in patients with esophageal carcinoma

ABSTRACT: Skewed X-chromosome inactivation (SXCI) was found in some apparently healthy females mainly from Western countries. It has been linked to development of ovarian, breast and pulmonary carcinomas. The present study aimed to observe the SXCI frequencies in apparently healthy Chinese females and patients with esophageal carcinoma. DNA was extracted from the peripheral blood cells from 401 Chinese females without a detectable tumor and 143 female patients with esophageal carcinoma. Exon 1 of androgen receptor (AR) gene was amplified, and the products of different CAG alleles were resolved on denaturing polyacrylamide gels and visualized after silver staining. The corrected ratios (CR) of the products before and after HpaII digestion were calculated. As to the healthy females, when CR ≥ 3 was used as a criterion, SXCI was found in two (4.3%) of the 46 neonates, 13 (7.8%) of the 166 younger adults (16–50 years) and 37 (25.7%) of the 144 elderly females (51–96 years), with the frequency higher in the elderly subjects than in the two former groups (P < 0.05). When a more stringent criterion (CR ≥ 10) was used, SXCI was found in one (2.2%), two (1.2%) and 16 (11.1%) of the subjects in the three age groups, respectively, itsfrequency being higher in the elderly than in the younger age groups (P < 0.05). Occurrence of SXCI was detected in both the patients and controls at similar frequencies. However, the phenomenon, as defined as CR ≥ 3, was more frequent in the patients aging <40 years (35.7%) compared to the corresponding reference group (7.6%, P = 0.006). When CR ≥ 10 was adopted, the frequencies were 7.1% and 1.2%, respectively. Their difference did not attain statistical significance (P = 0. 217). SXCI also occurs in apparently healthy Chinese females, and is associated with age. It may be considered as a predisposing factor for the early development of esophageal carcinoma. VIRTUAL SLIDES: The virtual slide(s) for this article can be found here http://www.diagnosticpathology.diagnomx.eu/vs/154236433792765

The implication of land-use/land-cover change for the declining soil erosion risk in the Three Gorges Reservoir region, China

The Three Gorges Reservoir Region (TGRR) in China is an ecologically and politically important region experiencing rapid land use/cover changes and prone to many environment hazards related to soil erosion. In the present study, we: (1) estimated recent changes in the risk pattern of soil erosion in the TGRR, (2) analysed how the changes in soil erosion risks could be associated with land use and land cover change, and (3) examined whether the interactions between urbanisation and natural resource management practices may exert impacts on the risks. Our results indicated a declining trend of soil erosion risk from 14.7 × 106 t in 2000 to 1.10 × 106 t in 2015, with the most risky areas being in the central and north TGRR. Increase in the water surface of the Yangtze River (by 61.8%, as a consequence of water level rise following the construction of the Three Gorges Dam), was found to be negatively associated with soil erosion risk. Afforestation (with measured increase in forest extent by 690 km2 and improvement of NDVI by 8.2%) in the TGRR was associated with positive soil erosion risk mitigation. An interaction between urbanisation (urban extant increased by 300 km2) and vegetation diversification (decreased by 0.01) was identified, through which the effect of vegetation diversification on soil erosion risk was negative in areas having lower urbanisation rates only. Our results highlight the importance of prioritising cross-sectoral policies on soil conservation to balance the trade-offs between urbanisation and natural resource management