Ethyl 3-[2-(p-toluene­sulfonamido)phen­yl]acrylate

In the title compound, C18H19NO4S, the two benzene rings form a dihedral angle of 52.2 (7)°. The crystal struture is stabilized by N—H⋯O hydrogen bonds, which link the molecules into dimers

catena-Poly[[[triaqua­(4,5-diaza­fluorene-9-one)cadmium]-μ-benzene-1,3-dicarboxyl­ato] dihydrate]

In the title compound, {[Cd(C8H4O4)(C11H6N2O)(H2O)3]·2H2O}n, the CdII atom is seven-coordinated by two N atoms from the phenanthroline-derived 4,5-diaza­fluorene-9-one ligand, two O atoms from one bidentate benzene-1,3-dicarboxyl­ate ligand and three O atoms from the three water mol­ecules in a distorted penta­gonal-bipyramidal arrangement. Moreover, there are two dissociative water mol­ecules in each unit. Neighbouring units inter­act through π–π inter­actions [centroid–centroid distances = 3.325 (3) and 3.358 (4) Å] and O—H⋯O hydrogen-bonding, resulting in a two-dimensional network extending parallel to (001)

Zinc/CaMK II Associated-Mitophagy Signaling Contributed to Hippocampal Mossy Fiber Sprouting and Cognitive Deficits Following Neonatal Seizures and Its Regulation by Chronic Leptin Treatment

The role of leptin in the pathogenesis of epilepsy is getting more and more attention in clinical and basic research. Although there are data indicating neuroprotective effects of elevated serum/brain leptin levels following acute seizures, no study to date has dealt with the impact of chronic leptin treatment on long-term brain injury following developmental seizures. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether chronic leptin treatment may have neuroprotective effects on cognitive and hippocampal mossy fiber sprouting following flurothyl-induced recurrent neonatal seizures and whether these effects are mediated by the zinc/CaMKII-associated mitophagy signaling pathway. Forty Sprague-Dawley rats (postnatal day 6, P6) were randomly assigned into two groups: neonatal seizure group and control group. At P13, they were further divided into control group, seizure group (RS), control + leptin (leptin, i.p., 2 mg/kg/day for 10 days), seizure+leptin group (RS+Leptin, 2mg/kg/day, i.p., for 10 consecutive days). Morris water maze test was performed during P27-P32. Subsequently, Timm staining and Western blotting were used to detect the mossy fiber sprouting and protein levels in hippocampus. Flurothyl-induced seizures (RS group) significantly down-regulated mitophagy markers PINK, Drp1, PHB, and memory marker CaMK II alpha while up-regulating zinc transporters ZnT3, ZnT4, ZIP7, and autophagy execution molecular cathepsin-E, which were paralleled with hippocampal aberrant mossy fiber sprouting and cognitive dysfunction. However, these changes were restored by chronic leptin treatment (RS+Leptin group). The results showed that leptin had neuroprotective effect on hippocampal pathological damage and cognitive deficits induced by neonatal seizures and suggested that Zinc/CaMK II associated-mitophagy signaling pathway in hippocampus may be a new target of leptin's neuroprotection, with potential value of translational medicine

An miR-200 Cluster on Chromosome 23 Regulates Sperm Motility in Zebrafish

Besides its well-documented roles in cell proliferation, apoptosis, and carcinogenesis, the function of the p53-microRNA axis has been recently revealed in the reproductive system. Recent studies indicated that miR-200 family members are dysregulated in nonobstructive azoospermia patients, whereas their functions remain poorly documented. The aim of this study was to investigate the function of the miR-200 family on zebrafish testis development and sperm activity. There was no substantial difference in testis morphology and histology between wild-type (WT) and knockout zebrafish with deletion of miR-200 cluster on chromosome 6 (chr6-miR-200-KO) or on chromosome 23 (chr23-miR-200-KO). Interestingly, compared with WT zebrafish, the chr6-miR-200-KO zebrafish had no difference on sperm motility, whereas chr23-miR-200-KO zebrafish showed significantly improved sperm motility. Consistently, ectopic expression of miR-429a, miR-200a, and miR-200b, which are located in the miR-200 cluster on chromosome 23, significantly reduced motility traits of sperm. Several sperm motility-related genes, such as amh, wt1a, and srd5a2b have been confirmed as direct targets of miR-200s on chr23. 17a-ethynylestradiol (EE2) exposure resulted in upregulated expression of p53 and miR-429a in testis and impairment of sperm motility. Strikingly, in p53 mutant zebrafish testis, the expression levels of miR-200s on chr23 were significantly reduced and accompanied by a stimulation of sperm motility. Moreover, the upregulation of miR-429a associated with EE2 treatment was abolished in testis with p53 mutation. And the impairment of sperm activity by EE2 treatment was also eliminated when p53 was mutated. Together, our results reveal that miR-200 cluster on chromosome 23 controls sperm motility in a p53-dependent manner.</p

Reduction of Cu and nitrate leaching risk associated with EDDS-enhanced phytoextraction process by exogenous inoculation of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria

Biodegradable chelant (S,S)-N,N '-ethylenediaminedisuccinic acid (EDDS) has the more advantages of enhanced metal mobility, rapid degradation, environmental friendliness, and ammonium release. However, the risk of metal and/or nitrate residues and leaching within EDDS biodegradation remains as the bottleneck for the widespread application of EDDS-induced phytoremediation. This study aims to explore if the inoculation of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPRs) can eliminate the risk associated with the short-term application of EDDS by investigating Cu phytoextraction and soil nitrate content. Results showed that EDDS application significantly increased the copper (Cu) concentration in shoots, soil total Cu, NH4+-N and NO3--N content, but decreased plant biomass. The inoculation of PGPRs in the soil showed a strong ability to increase plant biomass, Cu phytoextraction and soil NH4+-N content, and decrease soil Cu and NO3--N content. Moreover, bacterial dominant taxa were found to be the largest contributors to soil NH4+-N and NO3--N variation, and the abundance of denitrifying bacteria (Bacteroidetes and Stenotrophomonas) decreased in the treatment with PGPRs. The risk of residual Cu and nitrate leaching was reduced by the inoculation of PGPRs without significantly changing the stability of the bacterial community. These new findings indicate that the exogenous application of beneficial rhizobacteria can provide an effective strategy to reduce the risk in metal-contaminated soils of chelant-assisted phytoextraction.</p

Universal Neonatal Hearing Screening Program in Shanghai, China: An Inter-Regional and International Comparison

Objective: By comparing the Universal Neonatal Hearing Screening (UNHS) program as implemented in Shanghai and other regions in China and countries around the world, this study makes an assessment of the Shanghai model and summarizes the experiences implementing the UNHS program, so as to provide a valuable reference for other countries or regions to carry out UNHS more effectively. Since Shanghai is one of the most developed regions in China, we also examined the relationship between economic development and the UNHS starting year and coverage rate. Methods: The study conducted a systematic review of published studies in Chinese and English on the program status of neonatal hearing screening to compare and analyze the implementation of the UNHS program in 20 cities or provinces in China and 24 regions or countries around the world. The literature search in Chinese was conducted in the three most authoritative publication databases, CNKI (China National Knowledge Infrastructure), WANFANGDATA, and CQVIP (http://www.cqvip.com/). We searched all publications in those databases with the keywords “neonatal hearing screening” (in Chinese) between 2005 and 2014. English literature was searched using the same keywords (in English). The publication database included Medline and Web of Science, and the search time period was 2000–2014. Results: Shanghai was one of the first regions in China to implement UNHS, and its coverage rate was among the top regions by international comparison. The starting time of the UNHS program had no relationship with the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita in the same year. Economic level serves as a threshold for carrying out UNHS but is not a linear contributor to the exact starting time of such a program. The screening coverage rate generally showed a rising trend with the increasing GDP per capita in China, but it had no relationship with the area\u27s GDP per capita in selected regions and countries around the world. The system design of UNHS is the key factor influencing screening coverage. Policy makers, program administrators, and cost-sharing structures are important factors that influence the coverage rates of UNHS. Conclusion: When to carry out a UNHS program is determined by the willingness and preference of the local government, which is influenced by the area\u27s social, political and cultural conditions. Mandatory hearing screening and minimal-cost to no-cost intervention are two pillars for a good coverage rate of UNHS. In terms of system design, decision-making, implementation, funding and the concrete implementation plan are all important factors affecting the implementation of the UNHS

Preliminary study on the immunology pathogenesis of ocular myasthenia gravis in children

AIM: To discuss the role of humoral immunity and cellular immunity in the development of ocular myasthenia gravis in children by analyzing the clinical value of the indices including immunoglobulin, complement and T cell subgroup in peripheral blood. <p>METHODS: The concentrations of serum IgG, IgA, IgM, C3 and C4 in the myasthenia gravis group and the control group were detected by immune compare turbid. The contents of CD3⁺T cell, CD4⁺T cell and CD8⁺T cell were detected by flow cytometry. Data was analyzed by Independent-Sample Test.<p>RESULTS: There were no significant differences in contents of IgA, IgM, CD3⁺T cell, CD8⁺T cell between ocular myasthenia gravis group in children and the control group(<i>P</i>>0.05). The concentrations of serum IgG, C3 and C4 for myasthenia gravis group were lower than those of the control group(<i>P</i><0.05). The content of CD4⁺T cell were higher than those of the control group(<i>P</i><0.05).<p>CONCLUSION: Complement C3, C4 and CD4⁺T cell played an important role in immunology pathogenesis mechanism for ocular myasthenia gravis in children

Spatio-temporal expression of a novel neuron-derived neurotrophic factor (NDNF) in mouse brains during development

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Neuron-derived neurotrophic factor (NDNF) is evolutionarily well conserved, being present in invertebrate animals such as the nematode, <it>Caenorhabditis elegans</it>, as well as in the fruit fly, <it>Drosophila melanogaster</it>. Multiple cysteines are conserved between species and secondary structure prediction shows that NDNF is mainly composed of beta-strands. In this study, we aimed to investigate the function of NDNF.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>NDNF is a glycosylated, disulfide-bonded secretory protein that contains a fibronectin type III domain. NDNF promoted migration and growth and elicited neurite outgrowth of mouse hippocampal neurons in culture. NDNF also protected cultured hippocamal neurons against excitotoxicity and amyloid beta-peptide toxicity. Western blotting showed that NDNF was exclusively expressed in the brain and spinal cord. Immunostaining indicated that NDNF was expressed by neurons and not by astrocytes. Cajal-Retzius cells, cortex neurons, hippocampus neurons, olfactory mitral cells, cerebellar purkinje cells, cerebellar granular cells and spinal neurons were found to be NDNF-positive. NDNF expression was observed in the neurons during development.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The results of this study indicated that NDNF is a novel neurotrophic factor derived from neurons that may be useful in the treatment of neuronal degeneration diseases and nerve injuries.</p

Combination therapy strategies against multiple-resistant streptococcus suis

<p>Streptococcus suis is a major swine pathogen, an emerging zoonotic agent responsible for meningitis, endocarditis and septicaemia followed by deafness in humans. The development of antimicrobial resistance in S. suis increases the risk for therapeutic failure in both animals and humans. In this study, we report the synergism of combination therapy against multi-resistant S. suis isolates from swine. Twelve antibiotic profiles were determined against 11 S. suis strains. To investigate their synergistic/antagonistic activity, checkerboard assay was performed for all the possible combinations. In-vitro killing curves and in-vivo treatment trials were used to confirm the synergistic activity of special combinations against S. suis dominant clones. In this study, 11 S. suis isolates were highly resistant to erythromycin, clindamycin, trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole, and tetracycline with ratios of 80–100%, and the resistance percentages to enrofloxacin, florfenicol, and spectinomycin were ~50%. The checkerboard data identified two combination regimens, ampicillin plus apramycin and tiamulin plus spectinomycin which gave the greatest level of synergism against the S. suis strains. In-vitro kill-curves showed a bacterial reduction of over 3-logCFU with the use of combination treatments, whilst the application of mono-therapies achieve less than a 2-logCFU cell killing. In-vivo models confirm that administration of these two combinations significantly reduced the number of bacterial cells after 24 h of treatment. In conclusions, the combinations of ampicillin plus apramycin and tiamulin plus spectinomycin showed the greatest synergism and may be potential strategies for treatment of multi-resistant S. suis in animal.</p