A Raman-scattering Study on the Net Orientation of Biomacromolecules in the Outer Epidermal Walls of Mature Wheat Stems (Triticum aestivum)

• Background and Aims Raman spectroscopy can be used to examine the orientation of biomacromolecules using relatively thick samples of material, whereas more traditional means of analysing molecular structure require prior isolation of the components, which often destroys morphological features. In this study, Raman spectroscopy was used to examine the outer epidermal cell walls of wheat stems

Biosorption of Silver Ions by Biomass: Equilibrium, Kinetics and Thermodynamics

The freeze-dried biomass of Paecilomyces lilacinus was employed as a biosorbent for the removal of silver ions from aqueous solution. The effects of factors such as the solution pH, the initial Ag(I) ion concentration, contact time and temperature were examined. Maximum Ag(I) adsorption was obtained at pH 3.0. The pseudo-first-order, pseudo-second-order and intra-particle diffusion kinetic models were fitted to the experimental data when it was found that such data were best fitted by the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. The equilibrium experimental data were well fitted by the Langmuir model (R 2 > 0.995) and the maximum biosorption capacity at 298 K was 101.0 mmol/g. Thermodynamic parameters such as the Gibbs' free energy, ΔG 0 , the standard enthalpy, ΔH 0 , and the standard entropy, ΔS 0 , were evaluated. The results indicated that the biosorption of Ag(I) ions onto P. lilacinus biomass was spontaneous and endothermic in nature. The FT-IR analysis results indicated that amine, carboxylic and hydroxyl groups were involved in the biosorption process

Structural and Functional Characteristics of Soil Fungal Communities near Decomposing Moso Bamboo Stumps

Background and Objectives: Fungi degrade lignin and other fibers, thus playing an essential role in the decomposition of Phyllostachys edulis (Carrière) J.Houz. (Moso bamboo) stumps. Herein, we characterized key soil fungal communities near different levels of decomposing Moso bamboo stumps (mildly, moderately, and heavily decayed). Materials and Methods: High-throughput sequencing technology was used to analyze the soil fungal communities inside and outside of mild, moderate, and heavy decomposing Moso bamboo stumps. Results: We found nine phyla, 30 classes, 77 orders, 149 families, and 247 genera of soil fungi near the bamboo stumps. Soil fungi OTUs and diversity and richness indices were lower outside than inside the stumps, and decreased with increasing degrees of decay. Inside the bamboo stumps, Soil fungi OTUs and diversity and richness indices were the highest and lowest in moderate and heavy decay bamboo stumps, respectively. Ascomycota dominated inside (from 81% to 46%) and outside (from 69% to 49%) the stumps, and their relative abundance gradually decreased with decomposition, whereas that of Basidiomycota increased outside the stumps (from 17% to 49%). Two-way ANOVA showed that the interaction between the two factors of occurring inside and outside the bamboo stumps and the degree of decay, significantly affected Chytridiomycota and Penicillium (p p < 0.05). The abundance of different genera was significantly correlated with saprotrophic functional groups. Conclusion: Changes in the structure and functional groups of soil fungal communities may play an important role during different levels of decomposition of Moso bamboo stumps. This study provides a scientific basis for screening functional fungal strains that promote the decomposition of Moso bamboo stumps

Preparation and Properties of Zn-Cu Alloy for Potential Stent Material

Among degradable metal cardiac stent materials, zinc has great biocompatibility and corrosion properties, which make it become the most potential stent material. However, the mechanical properties of zinc cannot meet the performance requirements of stent material which severely limit its application. In this paper, Zn-xCu (x = 1, 2 and 3 wt.%) alloys were prepared, and their mechanical properties, corrosion properties and biocompatibility were studied. Tensile testing showed the tensile strength and hardness of Zn-xCu alloys both increased with the addition of copper, but the elongation decreased at first and then upturned. Since the formation of galvanic cell, the corrosion rates of Zn-xCu alloys increased. The main corrosion mechanism of Zn-xCu alloy was pitting corrosion, and the corrosion products mainly included ZnO and Zn(OH)2. The cytotoxicity evaluation showed that Cu2+ and Zn2+ would contribute to cell proliferation, while the concentrations of them reached a suitable range like the concentration of soaking solution of Zn-3Cu alloy was 25%. However, it would inhibit proliferation, while the concentrations of Zn2+ and Cu2+ were too large. In general, Zn-3Cu alloy had the best comprehensive properties

Transforming growth factor-β1 signaling promotes epithelial-mesenchymal transition-like phenomena, cell motility, and cell invasion in synovial sarcoma cells

The epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and the reverse process (the mesenchymal-to-epithelial transition [MET]) have been shown to be associated with tumor cell invasion and metastasis in different carcinomas. The EMT and MET have recently been shown to play a key role in the pathogenic processes of sarcomas, which are completely different from those of carcinomas. However, the definitive roles of the EMT in the tumorigenesis of synovial sarcomas remain unknown. Here, we explored whether transforming growth factor (TGF)-β signaling, an important oncogenic event in synovial sarcoma, modulates tumor cell characteristics related to the EMT, such as cell adhesion, migration, invasion, and proliferation. Interestingly, we found that TGF-β1 induced tumor cell activation, resulting in a tendency to aggregate and biphasic-like features. TGF-β1 also caused downregulation of E-cadherin and subsequent upregulation of N-cadherin, Snail, and Slug, which are responsible for EMT-like phenomena and increased cell motility and invasion. To further investigate the roles of TGF-β1 in the EMT, we established a SW982 cell line with stable TGF-β1 inhibition viaSB431542.These cells exhibited significantly decreased motility, migration, and proliferation (P = 0.001). Taken together, our data demonstrated that alterations in the TGF-β1/ Smad signaling pathway could regulate the expression of EMT-related factors and the EMT process, resulting in changes in tumor cell invasion, migration, and proliferation in synovial sarcoma cells. These results may provide a important insights into therapeutic interventions and contribute to the present understanding of tumor progression in patients

Prognostic role of upregulated P300 expression in human cancers: a clinical study of synovial sarcoma and a meta-analysis

E1A binding protein p300 (P300) is a member of the histone acetyltransferase family of transcriptional co-activators, which are associated with various types of cancer. Numerous studies have evaluated the diagnostic value of P300, but their results are not consistent. Therefore, a clinical study and a meta-analysis were performed in the present study to investigate the prognostic value of P300 expression in human malignant neoplasms. Immunohistochemical (IHC) analysis was used to assess P300 expression in 43 paraffin-embedded primary synovial sarcoma (SS) samples. For the meta-analysis, eligible studies published until January 21, 2018 were identified by searching the PubMed, EMBASE and Web of Science databases. The IHC analysis indicated a high P300 expression rate in 33.3% (10/30) of biphasic SS (BSSs) and in 60% (6/10) of monophasic fibrous SS tissues. In BSS, the expression rate was significantly higher in the epithelial component (80.0%, 24/30) than that in the spindle-cell component (30.0%, 9/30;

TGF-β1 induced the expression of EMT-related genes.

<p>A. Immunofluorescence staining showing E-cadherin expression following treatment with 10 ng/mL TGF-β1 for 36 h. B. RT-qPCR was used to evaluate changes in the levels of Snail, Slug, N-cadherin, and E-cadherin mRNA after TGF-β1 treatment. C. Western blot analysis of the targets in B, evaluated with and without TGF-β1 treatment. D. Western blot analysis of the targets in B, evaluated with and without SB431542 treatment (20μM)for 36h. E, F, effects of SB431542 treatment on the mRNA and protein levels of Snail, Slug, and N-cadherin.</p

Morphological changes in SW982 cells after TGF-β1 or SB4315425 treatment.

<p>A, E. Untreated SW982 cells, 100×; B–D. SW982 cells treated with 10 ng/mL TGF-β1 for 12, 24, or 36 h, 100×; F–H. SW982 cells were treated with the inhibitors SB4315425 (5 mM) for 12, 24, or 36 h, 100×.</p

Effects of TGF-β on cell migration.

<p>A–E. Effects of TGF-β1 on the invasion of tumor cells (A-D: 0, 1, 5, 10ng/ml, respectively). F–K. Effects ofSB4315425 on the invasion of tumor cells. Similar results were observed in three independent experiments (F-J: 0, 1, 5, 10, 20μM, respectively).</p