Deflection Design of Cold-formed RHS Steel Beams

The moment-deflection results of cold-formed RHS (rectangular hollow section) steel beams are examined. A simple design approach is proposed to account for the effect that material nonlinearity has on deflection. A general expression is also derived to predict the deflection of cold-formed RHS steel beams

Hydrogen sulfide ameliorates isoflurane-induced cognitive impairment in mice: Implication of caspase-3 activation

Purpose: Isoflurane could induce cognitive impairment and activate caspase-3. However, the mechanism of action is unclear and target  interventions are unavailable. The present study examined the potential protective function of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) against isoflurane-induced cognitive impairment.Methods: Effects of NaHS (5 mg/kg) on cognitive impairment induced by isoflurane (1.4% for 2 h) were assessed using a fear-conditioning test in a group of 8-month old mice. H4 human neuroglioma cells, which were transfected with upregulated human amyloid precursor protein were treated for 3 or 6 h with 2% isoflurane, in the presence of 100-μM NaHS in the mice. A group of mice treated with normal saline in place of the NaHS in each case served as control. Western blotting, fluorescence assay, and a mitochondrial swelling assay were employed to observe the results of caspase-3 activation, mitochondrial dysfunction, and ROS and ATP levels.Results: NaHS significantly mitigated isoflurane-induced cognitive impairment in mice. In cultured cells, NaHS reduced caspase-3 activation, ROS, mitochondria membrane reduction, mitochondrial permeability transition pore opening, and cellular ATP level. NaHS could ameliorate cognitiveimpariment induced by isoflurane through inhibiting caspase-3 activation, oxidative stress, and mitochondrial dysfunction.Conclusion: These results indicate that hydrogen sulfide (H2S) has potential protective function against isoflurane-induced cognitive impairment. Further investigation of NaHS as an intervention to attenuate anesthesia-associated neurotoxicity is vital. Keywords: Hydrogen sulfide, isoflurane-cognition，fear conditioning，neurotoxicit

Combination of anti-C1qA08 and anti-mCRP a.a.35-47 antibodies is associated with renal prognosis of patients with lupus nephritis

ObjectiveThe aim of this study is to explore the prevalence and clinicopathological associations between anti-C1qA08 antibodies and anti-monomeric CRP (mCRP) a.a.35-47 antibodies and to explore the interaction between C1q and mCRP.MethodsNinety patients with biopsy-proven lupus nephritis were included from a Chinese cohort. Plasma samples collected on the day of renal biopsy were tested for anti-C1qA08 antibodies and anti-mCRP a.a.35-47 antibodies. The associations between these two autoantibodies and clinicopathologic features and long-term prognosis were analyzed. The interaction between C1q and mCRP was further investigated by ELISA, and the key linear epitopes of the combination of cholesterol binding sequence (CBS; a.a.35-47) and C1qA08 were tested by competitive inhibition assays. The surface plasmon resonance (SPR) was used to further verify the results.ResultsThe prevalence of anti-C1qA08 antibodies and anti-mCRP a.a.35-47 antibodies were 50/90 (61.1%) and 45/90 (50.0%), respectively. Levels of anti-C1qA08 antibodies and anti-mCRP a.a.35-47 antibodies were negatively correlated with serum C3 concentrations ((0.5(0.22-1.19) g/L vs. 0.39(0.15-1.38) g/L, P=0.002) and (0.48(0.44-0.88) g/L vs. 0.41(0.15-1.38) g/L, P=0.028), respectively. Levels of anti-C1qA08 antibodies were correlated with the score of fibrous crescents and tubular atrophy (r=-0.256, P=0.014 and r=-0.25, P=0.016, respectively). The patients with double positive antibodies showed worse renal prognosis than that of the double negative group (HR 0.899 (95% CI: 0.739-1.059), P=0.0336). The binding of mCRP to C1q was confirmed by ELISA. The key linear epitopes of the combination were a.a.35-47 and C1qA08, which were confirmed by competitive inhibition experiments and SPR.ConclusionThe combination of anti-C1qA08 and anti-mCRP a.a.35-47 autoantibodies could predict a poor renal outcome. The key linear epitopes of the combination of C1q and mCRP were C1qA08 and a.a.35-47. A08 was an important epitope for the classical pathway complement activation and a.a.35-47 could inhibit this process

Sequencing and phylogenetic analysis of the wsp gene of Wolbachia in three geographic populations of an oak gall wasp, Andricus mairei (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae), from Hunan, South China

To understand the effects of Wolbachia in Andricus mairei Kieffer , an oak gall wasp ( Cynipini, Cynipidae) that forms clusters of up to 30 monothalamous galls in the catkins of Quercus glandulifera var. brevipetiolata Nakai, we examined the presence and infection frequency of Wolbachia in three widely separated geographic populations of A. mairei in Hunan Province, South China, using polymerase chain reaction and sequence determination of the wsp gene of Wolbachia from the three populations. Our survey results showed that Wolbachia infection rates were unusually high in the three test populations : 100% for the male wasps from all populations , while 100% , 100% and 80% for the Yueyang, Changsha and Shaoyang populations of the female wasps, respectively. The sequencing results showed that the gene from all the three populations is 561 bp in length. Comparison with the wsp gene sequences in A. mairei and Neuroterus macropterus , Biorhiza pallida , Andricus solitarius ( strain 1 ) and Synergus crassicornis revealed a 95% identity. The phylogenie relationship of Wolbachia strains in Cynipidae with the known wsp sequences indicated that the Wolbachia strain of A. mairei is closely related to that of N. macropterus , B. pallida, A. solitarius ( strain 1 ) , and S. crassicornis , and belongs to the A group. We also discovered strikingly male-biased sex ratios in all the test populations: females only accounted for 15.3%, 12. 1%, and 19. 8% of the Yueyang, Changsha, and Shaoyang populations, respectively, indicating the extremely male-biased sex ratios. These results suggest that the symbiosis of Wolbachia with A. mairei does not induce parthenogenesis in A. mairei, which can not be properly explained and is worth further investigation

Overexpression of ribosomal protein L15 is associated with cell proliferation in gastric cancer

BACKGROUND: Ribosomal proteins are the components of ribosome, which also exhibit various secondary functions in DNA repair, apoptosis, drug resistance and proliferation. In our previous study of microarray, ribosomal protein L15 (RPL15) was identified as an upregulated gene in gastric cancer. METHODS: We investigated the expression of ribosomal protein L15 in gastric cancer and the effect of RPL15 on proliferation of gastric cancer. RESULTS: It was found that the expression of RPL15 was markedly up-regulated in gastric cancer tissues. RPL15 was also highly expressed in gastric cancer cell lines AGS, MKN45, MKN28, SGC7901 and KATOIII. Inhibition of RPL15 expression by siRNA vector transfection suppressed the growth of SGC7901 cells significantly, which was independent of the expression of Cyclin D1 and B1. Down-regulation of RPL15 expression inhibited SGC7901 cell growth in soft agar and its tumorigenicity in nude mice. CONCLUSION: RPL15 promotes cell proliferation and may be a potential target for anticancer therapy of gastric cancer

1-(4-tert-Butyl­benz­yl)-3-phenyl-1H-pyrazole-5-carboxylic acid

In the title compound, C21H22N2O2, the mean plane of the pyrazole ring makes dihedral angles of 18.80 (12) and 77.13 (5)°, respectively, with the mean planes of the phenyl and tert-butyl­benzyl rings. The carboxylate group is inclined at 8.51 (14)° with respect to the pyrazole ring. The crystal structure displays inter­molecular O—H⋯O hydrogen bonding, generating centrosymmetric dimers

catena-Poly[[{2-[(2-hy­droxy­eth­yl)imino­meth­yl]-6-meth­oxy­phenolato}copper(II)]-μ-thio­cyanato]

In the title thio­cyanate-bridged polynuclear copper(II) complex, [Cu(C10H12NO3)(NCS)]n, the Cu atom is five-coordinated in a square-pyramidal geometry, with one phenolato O, one imino N and one hy­droxy O atom of a Schiff base ligand and one thio­cyanato N atom defining the basal plane, and with one thio­cyanato S atom occupying the apical position. In the crystal structure, pairs of adjacent complex mol­ecules are linked through inter­molecular O—H⋯O hydrogen bonds into dimers. The dimers are further linked via Cu⋯S inter­actions, forming two-dimensional layers parallel to the bc plane

2-Eth­oxy-6-[(3-methyl­pyridin-2-yl)­imino­meth­yl]phenol

The title Schiff base compound, C15H16N2O2, was prepared by the condensation reaction of equimolar quanti­ties of 3-eth­oxy­salicyl­aldehyde with 2-amino-3-methyl­pyridine in methanol. The dihedral angle between the benzene ring and the pyridine ring is 2.6 (2)° and an intra­molecular O—H⋯N hydrogen bond generates an S(6) ring