A Novel Preparation Method for 5-Aminosalicylic Acid Loaded Eudragit S100 Nanoparticles

In this study, solution enhanced dispersion by supercritical fluids (SEDS) technique was applied for the preparation of 5-aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA) loaded Eudragit S100 (EU S100) nanoparticles. The effects of various process variables including pressure, temperature, 5-ASA concentration and solution flow rate on morphology, particle size, 5-ASA loading and entrapment efficiency of nanoparticles were investigated. Under the appropriate conditions, drug-loaded nanoparticles exhibited a spherical shape and small particle size with narrow particle size distribution. In addition, the nanoparticles prepared were characterized by X-ray diffraction, Differential scanning calorimetry and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analyses. The results showed that 5-ASA was imbedded into EU S100 in an amorphous state after SEDS processing and the SEDS process did not induce degradation of 5-ASA

Protease‐Activatable Hybrid Nanoprobe for Tumor Imaging

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/108698/1/adfm201400419.pd

Effect of a booster dose of influenza vaccine in patients with hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis and renal transplant recipients: A systematic literature review and meta-analysis

Booster influenza vaccination has been recommended for patients with chronic renal disease in order to enhance the immune response to the influenza vaccine; however, the efficacy of a booster influenza vaccination is a matter of controversy. Therefore, we made a meta-analysis to determine the efficacy in patients with hemodialysis (HD), peritoneal dialysis (PD) and renal transplant recipient (RT). The sero-protection rate was used as a serologic parameter to describe the immune response to the vaccine. Statistical analysis was performed to calculate the pooled rate difference (RD) and 95% confidence interval (CI). The pooled RD for the H1N1, H3N2 and B influenza vaccines was 0.02 (95% CI: −0.02–0.06), 0.05 (95% CI: −0.01–0.11), 0.04 (95% CI: −0.02–0.10), respectively. We concluded that a booster dose of the influenza vaccine did not effectively enhance immunogenicity. Therefore, a booster dose of vaccine is not recommended for patients with hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis and renal transplant recipients.Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province, Chin

Municipal sewage sludge compost promotes Mangifera persiciforma tree growth with no risk of heavy metal contamination of soil

Application of sewage sludge compost (SSC) as a fertilizer on landscaping provides a potential way for the effective disposal of sludge. However, the response of landscape trees to SSC application and the impacts of heavy metals from SSC on soil are poorly understood. We conducted a pot experiment to investigate the effects of SSC addition on Mangifera persiciforma growth and quantified its uptake of heavy metals from SSC by setting five treatments with mass ratios of SSC to lateritic soil as 0%:100% (CK), 15%:85% (S15), 30%:70% (S30), 60%:40% (S60), and 100%:0% (S100). As expected, the fertility and heavy metal concentrations (Cu, Zn, Pb and Cd) in substrate significantly increased with SSC addition. The best performance in terms of plant height, ground diameter, biomass and N, P, K uptake were found i n S30, implying a reasonable amount of SSC could benefit the growth of M. persiciforma. The concentrations of Cu, Pb and Cd in S30 were insignificantly different from CK after harvest, indicating that M. persiciforma reduced the risk of heavy metal contamination of soil arising from SSC application. This study suggests that a reasonable rate of SSC addition can enhance M. persiciforma growth without causing the contamination of landscaping soil by heavy metals

Rice Hypersensitive Induced Reaction Protein 1 (OsHIR1) associates with plasma membrane and triggers hypersensitive cell death

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In plants, HIR (Hypersensitive Induced Reaction) proteins, members of the PID (Proliferation, Ion and Death) superfamily, have been shown to play a part in the development of spontaneous hypersensitive response lesions in leaves, in reaction to pathogen attacks. The levels of HIR proteins were shown to correlate with localized host cell deaths and defense responses in maize and barley. However, not much was known about the HIR proteins in rice. Since rice is an important cereal crop consumed by more than 50% of the populations in Asia and Africa, it is crucial to understand the mechanisms of disease responses in this plant. We previously identified the rice HIR1 (OsHIR1) as an interacting partner of the OsLRR1 (rice Leucine-Rich Repeat protein 1). Here we show that OsHIR1 triggers hypersensitive cell death and its localization to the plasma membrane is enhanced by OsLRR1.</p> <p>Result</p> <p>Through electron microscopy studies using wild type rice plants, OsHIR1 was found to mainly localize to the plasma membrane, with a minor portion localized to the tonoplast. Moreover, the plasma membrane localization of OsHIR1 was enhanced in transgenic rice plants overexpressing its interacting protein partner, OsLRR1. Co-localization of OsHIR1 and OsLRR1 to the plasma membrane was confirmed by double-labeling electron microscopy. Pathogen inoculation studies using transgenic <it>Arabidopsis thaliana </it>expressing either OsHIR1 or OsLRR1 showed that both transgenic lines exhibited increased resistance toward the bacterial pathogen <it>Pseudomonas syringae </it>pv. <it>tomato </it>DC3000. However, <it>OsHIR1 </it>transgenic plants produced more extensive spontaneous hypersensitive response lesions and contained lower titers of the invading pathogen, when compared to <it>OsLRR1 </it>transgenic plants.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The OsHIR1 protein is mainly localized to the plasma membrane, and its subcellular localization in that compartment is enhanced by OsLRR1. The expression of OsHIR1 may sensitize the plant so that it is more prone to HR and hence can react more promptly to limit the invading pathogens' spread from the infection sites.</p

Advanced application of collagen-based biomaterials in tissue repair and restoration

AbstractIn tissue engineering, bioactive materials play an important role, providing structural support, cell regulation and establishing a suitable microenvironment to promote tissue regeneration. As the main component of extracellular matrix, collagen is an important natural bioactive material and it has been widely used in scientific research and clinical applications. Collagen is available from a wide range of animal origin, it can be produced by synthesis or through recombinant protein production systems. The use of pure collagen has inherent disadvantages in terms of physico-chemical properties. For this reason, a processed collagen in different ways can better match the specific requirements as biomaterial for tissue repair. Here, collagen may be used in bone/cartilage regeneration, skin regeneration, cardiovascular repair and other fields, by following different processing methods, including cross-linked collagen, complex, structured collagen, mineralized collagen, carrier and other forms, promoting the development of tissue engineering. This review summarizes a wide range of applications of collagen-based biomaterials and their recent progress in several tissue regeneration fields. Furthermore, the application prospect of bioactive materials based on collagen was outlooked, aiming at inspiring more new progress and advancements in tissue engineering research. Graphical Abstrac

RF-PSSM: A Combination of Rotation Forest Algorithm and Position-Specific Scoring Matrix for Improved Prediction of Protein-Protein Interactions Between Hepatitis C Virus and Human

The identification of hepatitis C virus (HCV) virus-human protein interactions will not only help us understand the molecular mechanisms of related diseases but also be conductive to discovering new drug targets. An increasing number of clinically and experimentally validated interactions between HCV and human proteins have been documented in public databases, facilitating studies based on computational methods. In this study, we proposed a new computational approach, rotation forest position-specific scoring matrix (RF-PSSM), to predict the interactions among HCV and human proteins. In particular, PSSM was used to characterize each protein, two-dimensional principal component analysis (2DPCA) was then adopted for feature extraction of PSSM. Finally, rotation forest (RF) was used to implement classification. The results of various ablation experiments show that on independent datasets, the accuracy and area under curve (AUC) value of RF-PSSM can reach 93.74% and 94.29%, respectively, outperforming almost all cutting-edge research. In addition, we used RF-PSSM to predict 9 human proteins that may interact with HCV protein E1, which can provide theoretical guidance for future experimental studies

Neutralization of IL- 10 produced by B cells promotes protective immunity during persistent HCV infection in humanized mice

Chronic HCV infection can lead to cirrhosis and is associated with increased mortality. Interleukin (IL)- 10- producing B cells (B10 cells) are regulatory cells that suppress cellular immune responses. Here, we aimed to determine whether HCV induces B10 cells and assess the roles of the B10 cells during HCV infection. HCV- induced B10 cells were enriched in CD19hi and CD1dhiCD5+ cell populations. HCV predominantly triggered the TLR2- MyD88- NF- κB and AP- 1 signaling pathways to drive IL- 10 production by B cells. In a humanized murine model of persistent HCV infection, to neutralize IL- 10 produced by B10 cells, mice were treated with pcCD19scFv- IL- 10R, which contains the genes coding the anti- CD19 single- chain variable fragment (CD19scFv) and the extracellular domain of IL- 10 receptor alpha chain (sIL- 10Ra). This treatment resulted in significant reduction of B10 cells in spleen and liver, increase of cytotoxic CD8+ T- cell responses against HCV, and low viral loads in infected humanized mice. Our results indicate that targeting B10 cells via neutralization of IL- 10 may offer a novel strategy to enhance anti- HCV immunotherapy.HCV predominantly triggers the TLR2- MyD88- NF- κB and AP- 1 signaling pathways to drive IL- 10 production by B cells. Neutralization of IL- 10 produced by B10 cells promotes anti- HCV immunity in a humanized murine model of persistent HCV infection. These results provide insight into a novel immunotherapy strategy for HCV treatment.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/162732/2/eji4736.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/162732/1/eji4736_am.pd