catena-Poly[[[tetra­aqua­cadmium(II)]-μ-4,4′-bipyridine] fumarate tetra­hydrate]

In the crystal structure of the title compound, [Cd(C10H8N2)(H2O)4](C4H2O4)·4H2O, the CdII atom, on an inversion centre, is six-coordinated by four O atoms from four water mol­ecules and two N atoms from 4,4′-bpy mol­ecules in a distorted octa­hedral coordination geometry. Weak C—H⋯O inter­actions between uncoordinated carboxyl­ate O atoms of fumaric acid and water mol­ecules contribute to the crystal packing stability

The Association of Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor δ

Aims. To examine the association between 4 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors δ (PPARδ) polymorphisms and C-reactive protein (CRP) level and additional gene-gene interaction. Methods. Line regression analysis was performed to verify polymorphism association between SNP and CRP levels. Generalized multifactor dimensionality reduction (GMDR) was employed to analyze the interaction. Results. A total of 1028 subjects (538 men, 490 women) were selected. The carriers of the C allele (TC or CC) of rs2016520 were associated with a significant decreased level of CRP, regression coefficients was −0.338, and standard error was 0.104 (p=0.001). The carriers of the G allele (CG or GG) of rs9794 were also significantly associated with decreased level of CRP, regression coefficients was −0.219, and standard error was 0.114 (p=0.012). We also found a potential gene-gene interaction between rs2016520 and rs9794. Subjects with rs2016520-TC or CC, rs9794-CG or GG genotypes have lowest CRP level, difference (95% CI) = −0.50 (−0.69 to −0.21) (p<0.001), compared to subjects with rs2016520-TT and rs9794-CC genotypes. Conclusions. rs2016520 and rs9794 minor allele of PPARδ and combined effect between the two SNP were associated with decreased CRP level

Razvoj kvantitativnog PCR testa temeljenog na SYBR Green I za identifikaciju cirkovirusa svinja 1, 2 i 3

Porcine Circovirus (PCV) includes Porcine Circovirus 1(PCV1), Porcine Circovirus 2 (PCV2) and Porcine Circovirus 3 (PCV3). In recent years, co-infection exists between PCV1, PCV2 and PCV3 serotypes. Therefore, it is particularly necessary to establish a fast, specific and sensitive SYBR Green I real-time quantitative PCR detection method for PCV1, PCV2 and PCV3. In this experiment, specific primers were selected and the reaction conditions were optimized. A real-time quantitative PCR identification method was established. The results showed the detection limits of this assay were 40.3 copies/μl for PCV1, 25.2 copies/μl for PCV2 and22.4 copies/ μl for PCV3. There was no cross-reactivity with swine fever virus (CSFV), porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV), porcine pseudorabies virus (PRV) and porcine parvovirus (PPV). The intra-assay and inter-assay coefficients of variation were less than 1%. The test results of 100 PCV suspected positive samples revealed that the PCV1, PCV2 and PCV3 singular infection rate was 10% (10/100), 64% (64/100) and 52% (52/100), respectively. The PCV1 and PCV2 co-infection rate was 8% (8/100), the PCV1 and PCV3 co-infection rate was 7% (7/100), the PCV2 and PCV3 co-infection rate was 26% (26/100), and the PCV1, PCV2 and PCV3 co-infection rate was 7% (7/100). This method has good specificity, sensitivity and stability. It provides a promising tool for rapid differential detection of PCV1, PCV2 and PCV3.Među cirkovirusima svinja razlikujemo cirkovirus svinja tipa 1 (PCV1), cirkovirus svinja tipa 2 (PCV2) i cirkovirus svinja tipa 3 (PCV3). Posljednjih se godina pojavljuje koinfekcija ovim trima serotipovima, stoga je potrebno uspostaviti brzu, specifičnu i osjetljivu metodu kako bi se kvantitativnim PCR testom temeljenom na SYBR Green I mogli identificirati PCV1, PCV2 i PCV3. U ovom su istraživanju upotrijebljene specifične početnice te su optimizirani uvjeti rekacije za uspostavljanje kvantitativnog PCR-a u stvarnom vremenu. Rezultati su pokazali da su granice detekcije ovog testa 40,3 kopije/μL za PCV1, 25,2 kopije/μL za PCV2 i 22,4 kopije/μL za PCV3. Nije bilo križne reaktivnosti s virusom svinjske kuge (CSFV), virusom reproduktivnog i respiratornog sindroma svinja (PRRSV), virusom pseudobjesnoće svinja (PRV) i parvovirusom svinja (PPV). Koeficijenti varijacije unutar testa i među testovima bili su manji od 1 %. Rezultati analize 100 uzoraka sa sumnjom na PCV pokazali su da je stopa infekcije serotipom PCV1 bila 10% (10/100), PCV2 64% (64/100), a PCV3 52% (52/100). Stopa koinfekcije serotipovima PCV1 i PCV2 bila je 8% (8/100), PCV1 i PCV3 7% (7/100), a PCV2 i PCV3 26% (26/100). Koinfekcija svim trima serotipovima, PCV1, PCV2 i PCV3, bila je 7% (7/100). Metoda primjenjena u ovom istraživanju ima dobru specifičnost, osjetljivost i postojanost te je obećavajući alat za brzo otkrivanje serotipova PCV1, PCV2 i PCV3

Lentivirus-mediated RNA interference targeting the H19 gene inhibits cell proliferation and apoptosis in human choriocarcinoma cell line JAR

BACKGROUND: H19 is a paternally imprinted gene that has been shown to be highly expressed in the trophoblast tissue. Results from previous studies have initiated a debate as to whether noncoding RNA H19 acts as a tumor suppressor or as a tumor promotor in trophoblast tissue. In the present study, we developed lentiviral vectors expressing H19-specific small interfering RNA (siRNA) to specifically block the expression of H19 in the human choriocarcinoma cell line JAR. Using this approach, we investigated the impact of the H19 gene on the proliferation, invasion and apoptosis of JAR cells. Moreover, we examined the effect of H19 knockdown on the expression of insulin-like growth factor 2 (IGF2), hairy and enhancer of split homologue-1 (HES-1) and dual-specific phosphatase 5 (DUSP5) genes. RESULTS: H19 knockdown inhibited apoptosis and proliferation of JAR cells, but had no significant impact on cell invasion. In addition, H19 knockdown resulted in significant upregulation of HES-1 and DUSP5 expression, but not IGF2 expression in JAR cells. CONCLUSIONS: The finding that H19 downregulation could simultaneously inhibit proliferation and apoptosis of JAR cells highlights a putative dual function for H19 in choriocarcinoma and may explain the debate on whether H19 acts as a tumor suppressor or a tumor promotor in trophoblast tissue. Furthermore, upregulation of HES-1 and DUSP5 may mediate H19 downregulation-induced suppression of proliferation and apoptosis of JAR cells

Modeling Hidden Nodes Collisions in Wireless Sensor Networks: Analysis Approach

This paper studied both types of collisions. In this paper, we show that advocated solutions for coping with hidden node collisions are unsuitable for sensor networks. We model both types of collisions and derive closed-form formula giving the probability of hidden and visible node collisions. To reduce these collisions, we propose two solutions. The first one based on tuning the carrier sense threshold saves a substantial amount of collisions by reducing the number of hidden nodes. The second one based on adjusting the contention window size is complementary to the first one. It reduces the probability of overlapping transmissions, which reduces both collisions due to hidden and visible nodes. We validate and evaluate the performance of these solutions through simulations

Arginine starvation impairs mitochondrial respiratory function in ASS1-deficient breast cancer cells.

Autophagy is the principal catabolic response to nutrient starvation and is necessary to clear dysfunctional or damaged organelles, but excessive autophagy can be cytotoxic or cytostatic and contributes to cell death. Depending on the abundance of enzymes involved in molecule biosynthesis, cells can be dependent on uptake of exogenous nutrients to provide these molecules. Argininosuccinate synthetase 1 (ASS1) is a key enzyme in arginine biosynthesis, and its abundance is reduced in many solid tumors, making them sensitive to external arginine depletion. We demonstrated that prolonged arginine starvation by exposure to ADI-PEG20 (pegylated arginine deiminase) induced autophagy-dependent death of ASS1-deficient breast cancer cells, because these cells are arginine auxotrophs (dependent on uptake of extracellular arginine). Indeed, these breast cancer cells died in culture when exposed to ADI-PEG20 or cultured in the absence of arginine. Arginine starvation induced mitochondrial oxidative stress, which impaired mitochondrial bioenergetics and integrity. Furthermore, arginine starvation killed breast cancer cells in vivo and in vitro only if they were autophagy-competent. Thus, a key mechanism underlying the lethality induced by prolonged arginine starvation was the cytotoxic autophagy that occurred in response to mitochondrial damage. Last, ASS1 was either low in abundance or absent in more than 60% of 149 random breast cancer biosamples, suggesting that patients with such tumors could be candidates for arginine starvation therapy

Rational design of Bi-doped rGO/Co3O4 nanohybrids for ethanol sensing

Gas sensors based on metal oxide semiconductors (MOSCs) and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) for sensing of organic volatile compounds often suffer from high operation temperature, low responses, poor selectivity, or narrow detection range. Herein, we design and fabricate Bi-doped rGO/Co3O4 (BGCO) nanohybrids with a flower morphology, which have been applied as a sensing layer for an ethanol sensor. This BGCO sensor exhibits a maximum p-type response of 178.1 towards 500 ppm ethanol at an optimum working temperature of 120 °C. The sensor’s detection range for the ethanol concentration is from 500 ppb to 500 ppm, and the sensor has an excellent selectivity to ethanol compared to other types of organic volatile gases and oxidizing gas such as NO2. The enhanced ethanol sensing mechanism is attributed to the increased conductivity of Bi doped rGO/Co3O4 material. Additionally, incorporation of Bi dopant can promote the redox reaction, and the rGO/Co3O4 act as the catalyst

The LAMOST Survey of Background Quasars in the Vicinity of the Andromeda and Triangulum Galaxies -- II. Results from the Commissioning Observations and the Pilot Surveys

We present new quasars discovered in the vicinity of the Andromeda and Triangulum galaxies with the LAMOST during the 2010 and 2011 observational seasons. Quasar candidates are selected based on the available SDSS, KPNO 4 m telescope, XSTPS optical, and WISE near infrared photometric data. We present 509 new quasars discovered in a stripe of ~135 sq. deg from M31 to M33 along the Giant Stellar Stream in the 2011 pilot survey datasets, and also 17 new quasars discovered in an area of ~100 sq. deg that covers the central region and the southeastern halo of M31 in the 2010 commissioning datasets. These 526 new quasars have i magnitudes ranging from 15.5 to 20.0, redshifts from 0.1 to 3.2. They represent a significant increase of the number of identified quasars in the vicinity of M31 and M33. There are now 26, 62 and 139 known quasars in this region of the sky with i magnitudes brighter than 17.0, 17.5 and 18.0 respectively, of which 5, 20 and 75 are newly-discovered. These bright quasars provide an invaluable collection with which to probe the kinematics and chemistry of the ISM/IGM in the Local Group of galaxies. A total of 93 quasars are now known with locations within 2.5 deg of M31, of which 73 are newly discovered. Tens of quasars are now known to be located behind the Giant Stellar Stream, and hundreds behind the extended halo and its associated substructures of M31. The much enlarged sample of known quasars in the vicinity of M31 and M33 can potentially be utilized to construct a perfect astrometric reference frame to measure the minute PMs of M31 and M33, along with the PMs of substructures associated with the Local Group of galaxies. Those PMs are some of the most fundamental properties of the Local Group.Comment: 26 pages, 6 figures, AJ accepte

China–Africa cooperation initiatives in malaria control and elimination

Malaria has affected human health globally with a significant burden of disease, and also has impeded social and economic development in the areas where it is present. In Africa, many countries have faced serious challenges in controlling malaria, in part due to major limitations in public health systems and primary health care infrastructure. Although China is a developing country, a set of control strategies and measures in different local settings have been implemented successfully by the National Malaria Control Programme over the last 60 years, with a low cost of investment. It is expected that Chinese experience may benefit malaria control in Africa. This review will address the importance and possibility of China–Africa collaboration in control of malaria in targeted African countries, as well as how to proceed toward the goal of elimination where this is technically feasible.China UK Global Health Support Programme (grant no.GHSP-CS-OP1, OP2, OP3).http://www.elsevier.com/books/book-series/advances-in-parasitologyhb201

Amyloid-Beta (Aβ) D7H Mutation Increases Oligomeric Aβ42 and Alters Properties of Aβ-Zinc/Copper Assemblies

Amyloid precursor protein (APP) mutations associated with familial Alzheimer's disease (AD) usually lead to increases in amyloid β-protein (Aβ) levels or aggregation. Here, we identified a novel APP mutation, located within the Aβ sequence (AβD7H), in a Taiwanese family with early onset AD and explored the pathogenicity of this mutation. Cellular and biochemical analysis reveal that this mutation increased Aβ production, Aβ42/40 ratio and prolonged Aβ42 oligomer state with higher neurotoxicity. Because the D7H mutant Aβ has an additional metal ion-coordinating residue, histidine, we speculate that this mutation may promote susceptibility of Aβ to ion. When co-incubated with Zn2+ or Cu2+, AβD7H aggregated into low molecular weight oligomers. Together, the D7H mutation could contribute to AD pathology through a “double punch” effect on elevating both Aβ production and oligomerization. Although the pathogenic nature of this mutation needs further confirmation, our findings suggest that the Aβ N-terminal region potentially modulates APP processing and Aβ aggregation, and further provides a genetic indication of the importance of Zn2+ and Cu2+ in the etiology of AD