Methyl 4-(4-meth­oxy­phen­yl)-2-methyl-5-oxo-1,4,5,6,7,8-hexa­hydro­quinoline-3-carboxyl­ate

In the title compound, C19H21NO4, the dihydro­pyridine ring adopts a distorted screw-boat conformation. The fused cyclo­hexenone ring forms a slightly distorted envelope conformation. The dihedral angle between the mean planes of the benzene and heterocyclic rings is 86.1 (7)°. An intra­molecular C—H⋯O inter­action occurs. In the crystal, mol­ecules are linked by inter­molecular N—H⋯O hydrogen bonds, forming an infinite chain along the c axis

2,2-Dibromo-1-(4-hydr­oxy-3-methoxy­phen­yl)ethanone

The mol­ecule of the title compound, C9H8Br2O3, is stabilized by an intra­molecular O—H⋯O inter­action. Inter­molecular C—H⋯O inter­actions connect mol­ecules into a two-dimensional array in the bc plane; connections between these are afforded by π–π stacking inter­actions [centroid–centroid distance 3.596 (5) Å]

Changes in the proteomic profiles of mouse brain after infection with cyst-forming Toxoplasma gondii

Background Toxoplasma gondii is an opportunistic pathogenic protozoan parasite, which infects approximately one third of the human population worldwide, causing opportunistic zoonotic toxoplasmosis. The predilection of T. gondii for the central nervous system (CNS) causes behavioral disorders and fatal necrotizing encephalitis and thus constitutes a major threat especially to AIDS patients. Methods In the present study, we explored the proteomic profiles of brain tissues of the specific pathogen-free (SPF) Kunming mice at 7 d, 14 d and 21 d after infection with cysts of the Toxoplasma gondii Prugniaud (PRU) strain (Genotype II), by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE) combined with MALDI-TOF/TOF tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS). Results A total of 60 differentially expressed protein spots were selected. Fifty-six spots were successfully identified, which corresponded to 45 proteins of the mouse. Functional analysis using a Gene Ontology database showed that these proteins were mainly involved in metabolism, cell structure, signal transduction and immune responses, and will be beneficial for the understanding of molecular mechanisms of T. gondii pathogenesis. Conclusions This study identified some mouse brain proteins involved in the response with cyst-forming T. gondii PRU strain. These results provided an insight into the responsive relationship between T. gondii and the host brain tissues, which will shed light on our understanding of the mechanisms of pathogenesis in toxoplasmic encephalitis, and facilitate the discovery of new methods of diagnosis, prevention, control and treatment of toxoplasmic encephalopathy

The complete mitochondrial genomes for three Toxocara species of human and animal health significance

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Studying mitochondrial (mt) genomics has important implications for various fundamental areas, including mt biochemistry, physiology and molecular biology. In addition, mt genome sequences have provided useful markers for investigating population genetic structures, systematics and phylogenetics of organisms. <it>Toxocara canis, Toxocara cati </it>and <it>Toxocara malaysiensis </it>cause significant health problems in animals and humans. Although they are of importance in human and animal health, no information on the mt genomes for any of <it>Toxocara </it>species is available.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The sizes of the entire mt genome are 14,322 bp for <it>T. canis</it>, 14029 bp for <it>T. cati </it>and 14266 bp for <it>T. malaysiensis</it>, respectively. These circular genomes are amongst the largest reported to date for all secernentean nematodes. Their relatively large sizes relate mainly to an increased length in the AT-rich region. The mt genomes of the three <it>Toxocara </it>species all encode 12 proteins, two ribosomal RNAs and 22 transfer RNA genes, but lack the ATP synthetase subunit 8 gene, which is consistent with all other species of Nematode studied to date, with the exception of <it>Trichinella spiralis</it>. All genes are transcribed in the same direction and have a nucleotide composition high in A and T, but low in G and C. The contents of A+T of the complete genomes are 68.57% for <it>T. canis</it>, 69.95% for <it>T. cati </it>and 68.86% for <it>T. malaysiensis</it>, among which the A+T for <it>T. canis </it>is the lowest among all nematodes studied to date. The AT bias had a significant effect on both the codon usage pattern and amino acid composition of proteins. The mt genome structures for three <it>Toxocara </it>species, including genes and non-coding regions, are in the same order as for <it>Ascaris suum </it>and <it>Anisakis simplex</it>, but differ from <it>Ancylostoma duodenale</it>, <it>Necator americanus </it>and <it>Caenorhabditis elegans </it>only in the location of the AT-rich region, whereas there are substantial differences when compared with <it>Onchocerca volvulus</it>,<it>Dirofiliria immitis </it>and <it>Strongyloides stercoralis</it>. Phylogenetic analyses based on concatenated amino acid sequences of 12 protein-coding genes revealed that the newly described species <it>T. malaysiensis </it>was more closely related to <it>T. cati </it>than to <it>T. canis</it>, consistent with results of a previous study using sequences of nuclear internal transcribed spacers as genetic markers.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The present study determined the complete mt genome sequences for three roundworms of human and animal health significance, which provides mtDNA evidence for the validity of <it>T. malaysiensis </it>and also provides a foundation for studying the systematics, population genetics and ecology of these and other nematodes of socio-economic importance.</p

Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii infection in household and stray cats in Lanzhou, northwest China

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Toxoplasma gondii </it>is an important protozoan parasite infecting humans and almost all warm-blooded animals. As the only definitive host, cats play a crucial role in the transmission of <it>T. gondii </it>infection by shedding parasite oocysts in their feces. However, little information on <it>T. gondii </it>infection in cats was available in Lanzhou, northwest China. This study was performed to determine the seroprevalence of <it>T. gondii </it>infection in household and stray cats in Lanzhou, northwest China.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A total of 221 (179 households and 42 strays) blood samples were collected from clinically healthy cats admitted to several pet hospitals located in Lanzhou City, between November 2010 and July 2011 for the serological detection of <it>T. gondii </it>infection. The majority (207) of these cats represented Chinese Lihua cats. 47 of 221 (21.3%) examined cats were seropositive for <it>T. gondii </it>infection using the modified agglutination test (MAT) at the cut-off of 1:25. The seroprevalence in household and stray cats was assessed to be 15.6% and 45.2%, respectively, and the difference was statistically significant (<it>P <</it>0.05). The seroprevalence ranged from 15.1% to 25.8% among different age groups, but the differences were not statistically significant (<it>P ></it>0.05). Studies showed that there was no relationship between seroprevalence and the gender (<it>P ></it>0.05).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The present survey indicated the high seroprevalence of <it>T. gondii </it>in cats in Lanzhou, northwest China, which poses a threat to animal and human health. Therefore, measures should be taken to control and prevent toxoplasmosis of cats in this area.</p

The role of EGFR mutation as a prognostic factor in survival after diagnosis of brain metastasis in non-small cell lung cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract Background The brain is a common site for metastasis in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). This study was designed to evaluate the relationship between the mutational of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and overall survival (OS) in NSCLC patients with brain metastases. Methods Searches were performed in PubMed, EmBase, and the Cochrane Library to identify studies evaluating the association of EGFR mutation with OS in NSCLC patients through September 2017. Results 4373 NSCLC patients with brain metastases in 18 studies were involved. Mutated EGFR associated with significantly improved OS compared with wild type. Subgroup analyses suggested that this relationship persisted in studies conducted in Eastern, with retrospective design, with sample size ≥500, mean age of patients ≥65.0 years, percentage male < 50.0%, percentage of patients receiving tyrosine kinase inhibitor ≥30.0%. Finally, although significant publication bias was observed using the Egger test, the results were not changed after adjustment using the trim and fill method. Conclusions This meta-analysis suggests that EGFR mutation is an important predictive factor linked to improved OS for NSCLC patients with brain metastases. It can serve as a useful index in the prognostic assessment of NSCLC patients with brain metastases

Seroprevalence and Genetic Characterization of Toxoplasma Gondii in Three Species of Pet Birds in China

Background Toxoplasmosis, caused by the protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii, is one of the most common zoonosis worldwide, affecting a wide range of warm-blooded mammals and birds worldwide. However, no information on T. gondii infection in pet birds in China is available. Therefore, this study was performed to determine the prevalence of T. gondii infection in pet birds in Gansu province, China. Methods A total of 687 blood samples were collected from pet birds (Carduelis spinus, Alauda gulgula, Cocothraustes migratorlus) in three representative administrative regions in Gansu province, northwest China between August 2011 and September 2012 T. gondii antibodies were determined using the modified agglutination test (MAT). Genomic DNA was extracted from the brain tissues of seropositive pet birds and T. gondii B1 gene was amplified using a semi-nested PCR.DNA samples giving positive B1 amplification were then genetically characterized using multi-locus PCR-RFLP. Results The overall T. gondii seroprevalence was 11.21% (77/687). C. spinus had the highest T. gondii seroprevalence (11.65%), followed by A. arvensis (11.39%) and C. migratorlus (5.26%), these differences were not statistically significant (P \u3e 0.05). Of 77 DNA samples, 8 were positive for the T. gondii B1 gene, four showed complete genotyping results. Only one genotype (the Type II variant: ToxoDB genotype #3) was identified. Conclusions The results of the present survey indicated the presence of T. gondii infection in pet birds in Gansu province, China. These data provide base-line information for the execution of control strategies against T. gondii infection in pet birds. To our knowledge, this is the first report documenting the occurrence of T. gondii prevalence and genotype in pet birds in China

Effect of Direct Current on Solid-Liquid Interfacial Tension and Wetting Behavior of Ga–In–Sn Alloy Melt on Cu Substrate

The effect of direct current (DC) on the wetting behavior of Cu substrate by liquid Ga–25In–13Sn alloy at room temperature is investigated using a sessile drop method. It is found that there is a critical value for current intensity, below which the decrease of contact angle with increasing current intensity is approximately linear and above which contact angle tends to a stable value from drop shape. Current polarity is a negligible factor in the observed trend. Additionally, the observed change in contact angles is translated into the corresponding change in solid-liquid interfacial tension using the equation of state for liquid interfacial tensions. The solid-liquid interfacial tension decreases under DC. DC-induced promotion of solute diffusion coefficient is likely to play an important role in determining the wettability and solid-liquid interfacial tension under DC

Prevalence of Sarcoptes scabiei

Little is known about the prevalence of Sarcoptes scabiei infection in pet dogs in China. In the present study, the prevalence of S. scabiei infection in pet dogs in Guangzhou, southern China, was investigated between January and December, 2009. A total of 3,977 pet dogs admitted to animal hospitals were examined for the presence of S. scabiei using a parasitological approach. The average prevalence of S. scabiei infection in pet dogs is 1.18% (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.85–1.52%). The prevalence of S. scabiei was higher in winter (1.42%; 95% CI: 0.29–2.55%), summer (1.39%; 95% CI: 0.83–1.96%), and autumn (1.1%; 95% CI: 0.53–1.68%) than in spring (0.63%; 95% CI: 0.02–1.25%). Furthermore, the prevalence of S. scabiei was the highest in Pekingese (21.88%; 95% CI: 7.55–36.2%), followed by Papillon (5.26%; 95% CI: 0–11.06%) and Bichon Frise (3.19%; 95% CI: 0–6.75%). The results of the present investigation indicate that S. scabiei infection is prevalent in pet dogs in Guangzhou, China, which provides relevant “baseline” data for conducting control strategies and measures against scabies in this region and elsewhere in China. To our knowledge, this is the first comprehensive report of S. scabiei prevalence in pet dogs in China

Spinal toll like receptor 3 is involved in chronic pancreatitis-induced mechanical allodynia of rat

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Mechanisms underlying pain in chronic pancreatitis (CP) are incompletely understood. Our previous data showed that astrocytes were actively involved. However, it was unclear how astrocytic activation was induced in CP conditions. In the present study, we hypothesized that toll-like receptors (TLRs) were involved in astrocytic activation and pain behavior in CP-induced pain.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>To test our hypothesis, we first investigated the changes of TLR2-4 in the rat CP model induced by intrapancreatic infusion of trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS). Western blot showed that after TNBS infusion, TLR3, but not TLR2 or TLR4, was increased gradually and maintained at a very high level for up to 5 w, which correlated with the changing course of mechanical allodynia. Double immunostaining suggested that TLR3 was highly expressed on astrocytes. Infusion with TLR3 antisense oligodeoxynucleotide (ASO) dose-dependently attenuated CP-induced allodynia. CP-induced astrocytic activation in the spinal cord was also significantly suppressed by TLR3 ASO. Furthermore, real-time PCR showed that IL-1β, TNF-α, IL-6 and monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1) were significantly increased in spinal cord of pancreatic rats. In addition, TLR3 ASO significantly attenuated CP-induced up-regulation of IL-1β and MCP-1.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>These results suggest a probable "TLR3-astrocytes-IL-1β/MCP-1" pathway as a positive feedback loop in the spinal dorsal horn in CP conditions. TLR3-mediated neuroimmune interactions could be new targets for treating persistent pain in CP patients.</p