117 research outputs found
Light Harvesting Mechanism of Photosystem II in Photosynthesis:
As one of the most important chemical reactions on the earth, the photosynthetic reaction has gained much attention. For example, foliage and algae possess superior abilities to harvest luminous energy from sunlight in photosynthetic reactions by capturing lights with the light-harvesting complex (LHC) and transferring the energy from LHC to the reaction center (RC) in Photosystem II (PSII), to realize the continuous and efficient transformation from luminous energy to chemistry energy. In this article, the progresses in the studies on the crystal structure of PSII, the energy and electron transfer mechanism, and artificial simulation on photo-induced electron transfer are reviewed. Additionally, the initiating mechanism of hydrogen-abstraction photoinitiators, and the inspiration of the principles and mechanisms of photo-induced electron transfer in macromolecular photoinitiators were also discussed. It is believed that properly choosing covalent chains of appropriate types and length as the bridge between electron donor and electron acceptor is crucial for improving the initiating efficiency of photoinitiators. Keywords: photosynthesis; photosystem; light harvesting; photoinitiator; electron transfe
Recent advances in research on aspartate β-hydroxylase (ASPH) in pancreatic cancer: A brief update
Pancreatic cancer (PC) is a highly aggressive tumor, often difficult to diagnose and treat. Aspartate β-hydroxylase (ASPH) is a type II transmembrane protein and the member of α-ketoglutarate-dependent dioxygenase family, found to be overexpressed in different cancer types, including PC. ASPH appears to be involved in the regulation of proliferation, invasion and metastasis of PC cells through multiple signaling pathways, suggesting its role as a tumor biomarker and therapeutic target. In this review, we briefly summarize the possible mechanisms of action of ASPH in PC and recent progress in the therapeutic approaches targeting ASPH
An Updated Search of Steady TeV Ray Point Sources in Northern Hemisphere Using the Tibet Air Shower Array
Using the data taken from Tibet II High Density (HD) Array (1997
February-1999 September) and Tibet-III array (1999 November-2005 November), our
previous northern sky survey for TeV ray point sources has now been
updated by a factor of 2.8 improved statistics. From to
in declination (Dec) range, no new TeV ray point
sources with sufficiently high significance were identified while the
well-known Crab Nebula and Mrk421 remain to be the brightest TeV ray
sources within the field of view of the Tibet air shower array. Based on the
currently available data and at the 90% confidence level (C.L.), the flux upper
limits for different power law index assumption are re-derived, which are
approximately improved by 1.7 times as compared with our previous reported
limits.Comment: This paper has been accepted by hepn
Atorvastatin Therapy during the Peri-Infarct Period Attenuates Left Ventricular Dysfunction and Remodeling after Myocardial Infarction
Although statins impart a number of cardiovascular benefits, whether statin therapy during the peri-infarct period improves subsequent myocardial structure and function remains unclear. Thus, we evaluated the effects of atorvastatin on cardiac function, remodeling, fibrosis, and apoptosis after myocardial infarction (MI). Two groups of rats were subjected to permanent coronary occlusion. Group II (n = 14) received oral atorvastatin (10 mg/kg/d) daily for 3 wk before and 4 wk after MI, while group I (n = 12) received equivalent doses of vehicle. Infarct size (Masson's trichrome-stained sections) was similar in both groups. Compared with group I, echocardiographic left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and fractional area change (FAC) were higher while LV end-diastolic volume (LVEDV) and LV end-systolic and end-diastolic diameters (LVESD and LVEDD) were lower in treated rats. Hemodynamically, atorvastatin-treated rats exhibited significantly higher dP/dtmax, end-systolic elastance (Ees), and preload recruitable stroke work (PRSW) and lower LV end-diastolic pressure (LVEDP). Morphometrically, infarct wall thickness was greater in treated rats. The improvement of LV function by atorvastatin was associated with a decrease in hydroxyproline content and in the number of apoptotic cardiomyocyte nuclei. We conclude that atorvastatin therapy during the peri-infarct period significantly improves LV function and limits adverse LV remodeling following MI independent of a reduction in infarct size. These salubrious effects may be due in part to a decrease in myocardial fibrosis and apoptosis
Pan-cancer analysis of whole genomes
Cancer is driven by genetic change, and the advent of massively parallel sequencing has enabled systematic documentation of this variation at the whole-genome scale(1-3). Here we report the integrative analysis of 2,658 whole-cancer genomes and their matching normal tissues across 38 tumour types from the Pan-Cancer Analysis of Whole Genomes (PCAWG) Consortium of the International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC) and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). We describe the generation of the PCAWG resource, facilitated by international data sharing using compute clouds. On average, cancer genomes contained 4-5 driver mutations when combining coding and non-coding genomic elements; however, in around 5% of cases no drivers were identified, suggesting that cancer driver discovery is not yet complete. Chromothripsis, in which many clustered structural variants arise in a single catastrophic event, is frequently an early event in tumour evolution; in acral melanoma, for example, these events precede most somatic point mutations and affect several cancer-associated genes simultaneously. Cancers with abnormal telomere maintenance often originate from tissues with low replicative activity and show several mechanisms of preventing telomere attrition to critical levels. Common and rare germline variants affect patterns of somatic mutation, including point mutations, structural variants and somatic retrotransposition. A collection of papers from the PCAWG Consortium describes non-coding mutations that drive cancer beyond those in the TERT promoter(4); identifies new signatures of mutational processes that cause base substitutions, small insertions and deletions and structural variation(5,6); analyses timings and patterns of tumour evolution(7); describes the diverse transcriptional consequences of somatic mutation on splicing, expression levels, fusion genes and promoter activity(8,9); and evaluates a range of more-specialized features of cancer genomes(8,10-18).Peer reviewe
Expansive open-door laminoplasty secured with titanium miniplates is a good surgical method for multiple-level cervical stenosis
Xenobiotic-metabolizing enzymes in the skin of rat, mouse, pig, guinea pig, man, and in human skin models
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