Quarterly Biology Report, 1956, Vol. 8 no. 4

Reporting on fishing to waterfowl of the state of Iowa is in this quarter biology report. Reports include census of fish in lakes, ponds, streams in Iowa. Also a count of upland birds, raccoons and waterfowl is included in this report

Pregnane X Receptor Polymorphisms and Risk of Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Meta-Analysis

<p><b>Background</b>: Pregnane X receptor (PXR) gene polymorphisms have been widely studied in terms of the association with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), with inconsistent results.</p> <p><b>Objective</b>: The present meta-analysis was performed to assess the association between PXR gene polymorphisms and the susceptibility of IBD, Crohn’s disease (CD), and ulcerative colitis (UC).</p> <p><b>Methods</b>: PubMed, Wanfang, and CNKI databases were searched for eligible studies before November 1, 2016. Pooled odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were used to calculate the various genetic models using either a fixed-effect or a random-effect model. The heterogeneity of the included studies was examined with Cochran Q and I² statistics. Begg’s rank correlation test and Egger’s linear regression test were used to assess the publication bias.</p> <p><b>Results</b>: A total of six studies with 4248 cases and 3853 controls were included in this meta-analysis. Three PXR gene polymorphisms were evaluated: rs1523127, rs2276707, and rs6785049. Our analyses of rs1523127, rs2276707, and rs6785049 suggested that PXR gene polymorphism had no obvious influence on the risk of IBD in Caucasians. Subgroup analyses based on disease type showed similar results.</p> <p><b>Conclusion</b>: Our meta-analysis revealed that PXR gene polymorphism may not be significantly associated with IBD susceptibility. However, the number of original studies was limited and further studies with large samples are needed to verify the results.</p> <p><b>Abbreviations</b>: PXR = pregnane X receptor, IBD = inflammatory bowel disease, CD = Crohn’s disease, UC = ulcerative colitis, ORs = pooled odds ratios, 95% CIs = 95% confidence intervals, NOS = Newcastle–Ottawa scale, HWE = Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium.</p

Additional file 1 of Saikosaponin D alleviates inflammatory response of osteoarthritis and mediates autophagy via elevating microRNA-199-3p to target transcription Factor-4

Additional file 1: Figure S1. Effects of SSD and miR-199-3p on anabolic activity and catabolic activity of chondrocytes. A-D. Western blot detected Col2a1 and MMP-13. Col2a1 protein decreased and MMP-13 protein increased in OA chondrocytes. SSD treatment inhibited the expression of Col2a1 protein and promoted the expression of MMP-13 protein. Downregulation of miR-199-3p decreased the effect of SSD on the expression of Col2a1 and MMP-13 proteins. After upregulation of miR-199-3p alone, the expression of Col2a1 protein was increased, and the expression of MMP-13 protein was decreased; while, upregulation of TCF4 could reduce the influence of upregulation of miR-199-3p on the expression of Col2a1 and MMP-13 protein. * P < 0.05, ** P < 0.01. N = 3

11-Step Total Synthesis of Araiosamines

A concise route to a small family of exotic marine alkaloids known as the araiosamines has been developed, and their absolute configuration has been assigned. The dense array of functionality, high polarity, and rich stereochemistry coupled with equilibrating topologies present an unusual challenge for chemical synthesis and an opportunity for innovation. Key steps involve the use of a new reagent for guanidine installation, a remarkably selective C–H functionalization, and a surprisingly simple final step that intersects a presumed biosynthetic intermediate. Synthetic araiosamines were shown to exhibit potency against Gram-positive and -negative bacteria despite a contrary report of no activity

Mean ± standard error (SE) of the salt tolerance for each trait of <i>Solidago canadensis</i> and nonparametric correlations with soil salinity levels.

<p>Mean ± standard error (SE) of the salt tolerance for each trait of <i>Solidago canadensis</i> and nonparametric correlations with soil salinity levels.</p

A systematic evaluation for the potential translation of CD166-related expression as a cancer biomarker

<p><b>Introduction</b>: Many basic studies have provided some evidences for the correlations of CD166 to cancer. However, along with the growing studies on the clinical values of CD166 in cancer areas, some controversial and inconclusive results were obtained.</p> <p><b>Areas covered</b>: An appropriate query and collection of the published articles was conducted through search in PubMed and EMBASE database. A subsequent systematical and quantitative summary of CD166 related expression and cancer was conducted with meta-analysis to clarify its clinical significance for potential translation as cancer biomarkers.</p> <p><b>Expert commentary</b>: The overall results suggested total CD166 correlated to cancer risk, membrane CD166 correlated to nodal metastasis and cytoplasmic CD166 correlated to TNM stage, and disease-free survival. The membrane CD166, cytoplasmic CD166 and soluble CD166 showed great potential to be used as a panel of markers for predicting cancer overall survival. We might conclude that CD166 functions as a risk factor for cancers, and the alterations of its different functional isoforms were observed to correlate with specific or interplayed clinical outcomes.</p

Mean ± standard error (SE) of each physiological trait under the control and salt treatment and the mean ± SD and differentiation coefficient (<i>V</i>st) of the phenotypic plasticity index (PPI) for each physiological trait of <i>Solidago canadensis</i>.

<p>Different small letters on the same line indicate that the difference between the control and salt treatment was significant. The results of two-way ANOVA and the population differentiation coefficient are listed.</p

Pearson’s correlation between the plasticity index of physiological traits and the salt tolerance index.

<p>The <i>p</i> values are listed in parentheses. The figures in bold indicate significant correlations.</p

Geographical information, types of land use and soil salinity of <i>Solidago canadensis</i> populations.

<p>Geographical information, types of land use and soil salinity of <i>Solidago canadensis</i> populations.</p

Biomimetic Dual-Layer Imprinted UiO-66-Based Basswood Membranes for Ibuprofen Recognition and Separation

MOF/basswood-based nanocomposite molecularly imprinted membranes had been smoothly compounded on the surface of three-dimensional (3D) basswood materials. Metal–organic framework (MOF) UiO-66-based particles were uniformly encapsulated onto the 3D basswood membranes (BMs) by pretreating basswood with sodium hydroxide (NaOH). The polydopamine (PDA)-based imprinting structure was initially prepared on the as-obtained UiO-66-modified basswood at the first time. A sol–gel imprinting course was then implemented to gain the biomimetic double-layer imprinting based on MOFs grown in situ on BMs (BD-MOF/BMs). Importantly, ibuprofen (IBP) was used as the template molecule throughout the whole dual-imprinted process. Therefore, the sandwich-like double-imprinted layers of IBP could be finally constructed in the BD-MOF/BMs. Abundant IBP-imprinted sites had been obtained in BD-MOF/BMs based on the in situ growth of UiO-66 and dual-imprinted processes, in which the as-prepared BD-MOF/BMs showed particularly high rebinding capacity (120.6 mg g–1) and fast adsorption kinetics. Moreover, the as-prepared PDA-modified surface was not only employed for the first IBP-imprinted layers but also applied to the further construction of the subsequent imprinting sites of IBP; the as-obtained permselectivity coefficients of BD-MOF/BMs were all more than 4.8 based on the selective separation experiments. The stability of the membrane was continuously assessed using dynamic permeation. Finally, the aforementioned experimental results and the approach to environmental protection synthesis demonstrate that our method of BD-MOF/BM synthesis holds significant promise for use in a variety of fields, including selective separation, the chemical industry, the environment, and others