Systemic similarity analysis of compatibility drug-induced multiple pathway patterns _in vivo_

A major challenge in post-genomic research is to understand how physiological and pathological phenotypes arise from the networks of expressed genes and to develop powerful tools for translating the information exchanged between gene and the organ system networks. Although different expression modules may contribute independently to different phenotypes, it is difficult to interpret microarray experimental results at the level of single gene associations. The global effects and response pathways of small molecules in cells have been investigated, but the quantitative details of the activation mechanisms of multiple pathways _in vivo_ are not well understood. Similar response networks indicate similar modes of action, and gene networks may appear to be similar despite differences in the behaviour of individual gene groups. Here we establish the method for assessing global effect spectra of the complex signaling forms using Global Similarity Index (GSI) in cosines vector included angle. Our approach provides quantitative multidimensional measures of genes expression profile based on drug-dependent phenotypic alteration _in vivo_. These results make a starting point for identifying relationships between GSI at the molecular level and a step toward phenotypic outcomes at a system level to predict action of unknown compounds and any combination therapy

Regularity and analyticity of solutions in a direction for elliptic equations

In this paper, we study the regularity and analyticity of solutions to linear elliptic equations with measurable or continuous coefficients. We prove that if the coefficients and inhomogeneous term are Hölder-continuous in a direction, then the second-order derivative in this direction of the solution is Hölder-continuous, with a different Hölder exponent. We also prove that if the coefficients and the inhomogeneous term are analytic in a direction, then the solution is analytic in that direction

Herbal therapy: a new pathway for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease

It has been a clinical challenge to treat Alzheimer's disease (AD). In the present commentary we discuss whether herbal therapy could be a novel treatment method for AD on the basis of results from clinical trials, and discuss the implications for potential therapy for AD pathophysiology. There is evidence to suggest that single herbs or herbal formulations may offer certain complementary cognitive benefits to the approved drugs. The current evidence supporting their use alone, however, is inconclusive or inadequate owing to many methodological limitations. Herbal mixtures may have advantages with multiple target regulation compared with the single-target antagonist in the view of traditional Chinese medicine. Several clinical trials using herbal mixtures are being conducted in China and will hopefully show promising results for treating AD in the near future

Fingerprinting Sources of the Sediments Deposited in the Riparian Zone of the Ruxi Tributary Channel of the Three Gorges Reservoir (China)

The riparian zone of the Three Gorges Reservoir serves as a critical transitional zone located between the aquatic and surrounding terrestrial environments. The periodic anti-seasonal alternation of wet and dry periods results in an intensive exchange of substance within the riparian zone. The discrimination of the sources of the sediments deposited within the riparian zone is of fundamental importance for the evaluation of the soil pollution and associated environmental impacts and for the protection of the water quality in the reservoir. In this study, a composite fingerprinting technique has been applied to apportion the sediment sources for the riparian zone with different elevations, ranging between 145—155, 155–165, and 165–175 m in a typical tributary channel. From a sediment perspective, the sediments suspended from the Yangtze mainstream represent the primary sources of the riparian deposits. From a contamination perspective, the sediment input from the Ruxi tributary channel represents an important source of pollution for the riparian environment. More effective sediment and sediment-associated contaminant control plans are needed to reduce the potential environmental problems of the riparian zone

To Explore the Brain-Gut Interaction Pathway of Intestinal Flora Based on Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine

To Explore the Brain-Gut Interaction Pathway of Intestinal Flora Based on Traditional Chinese and Western Medicin

Nonlinear Hydroelastic Waves Generated due to a Floating Elastic Plate in a Current

Effects of underlying uniform current on the nonlinear hydroelastic waves generated due to an infinite floating plate are studied analytically, under the hypotheses that the fluid is homogeneous, incompressible, and inviscid. For the case of irrotational motion, the Laplace equation is the governing equation, with the boundary conditions expressing a balance among the hydrodynamics, the uniform current, and elastic force. It is found that the convergent series solutions, obtained by the homotopy analysis method (HAM), consist of the nonlinear hydroelastic wave profile and the velocity potential. The impacts of important physical parameters are discussed in detail. With the increment of the following current intensity, we find that the amplitudes of the hydroelastic waves decrease very slightly, while the opposing current produces the opposite effect on the hydroelastic waves. Furthermore, the amplitudes of waves increase very obviously for higher opposing current speed but reduce very slightly for higher following current speed. A larger amplitude of the incident wave increases the hydroelastic wave deflections for both opposing and following current, while for Young’s modulus of the plate there is the opposite effect

The \u3ci\u3eAPOA5\u3c/i\u3e rs662799 polymorphism is associated with dyslipidemia and the severity of coronary heart disease in Chinese women

Background: The APOA5 rs662799 polymorphism has been widely reported regarding its associations with the plasma lipid levels and the occurrence of coronary heart disease (CHD), whereas its relationship with the severity of CHD has not yet been explored. Methods: Four hundred and seventy-eight angiografically defined subjects (325 CHD patients and 153 CHD-free controls) were enrolled in this study. The rs662799 polymorphism was genotyped, and the fasting lipid data were collected for all participants. The severity of CHD was evaluated for the CHD patients by using Gensini scores. Results: The variant C allele of the rs662799 polymorphism was associated with lower levels of HDL-C in CHD-free women, and higher levels of TG and TG/HDL-C in women with CHD (P \u3c 0.05 for all). The C allele was associated with higher prevalence of dyslipidemia and higher levels of Gensini scores only in women (P \u3c 0.05 for both), but not in men. Multivariate linear regression analysis showed that the rs662799 polymorphism was independently associated with the Gensini scores in women after adjustment for other potential CHD risk factors (Beta = 0.157, 95 % CI: 0.017–0.298, P = 0.028). Conclusion: Our data indicate that the rs662799 polymorphism is associated with dyslipidemia and the severity of CHD in Chinese women

The Making of Leaves: How Small RNA Networks Modulate Leaf Development

Leaf development is a sequential process that involves initiation, determination, transition, expansion and maturation. Many coding genes and a few non-coding small RNAs (sRNAs) have been identified as being involved in leaf development. sRNAs and their interactions not only determine gene expression and regulation, but also play critical roles in leaf development through their coordination with other genetic networks and physiological pathways. In this review, we first introduce the biogenesis pathways of sRNAs, mainly microRNAs (miRNAs) and trans-acting small interfering RNAs (ta-siRNAs), and then describe the function of miRNA-transcription factors in leaf development, focusing on guidance by interactive sRNA regulatory networks

The interaction between miR160 and miR165/166 in the control of leaf development and drought tolerance in Arabidopsis

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of non-coding RNAs that play important roles in plant development and abiotic stresses. To date, studies have mainly focused on the roles of individual miRNAs, however, a few have addressed the interactions among multiple miRNAs. In this study, we investigated the interplay and regulatory circuit between miR160 and miR165/166 and its effect on leaf development and drought tolerance in Arabidopsis using Short Tandem Target Mimic (STTM). By crossing STTM160 Arabidopsis with STTM165/166, we successfully generated a double mutant of miR160 and miR165/166. The double mutant plants exhibited a series of compromised phenotypes in leaf development and drought tolerance in comparison to phenotypic alterations in the single STTM lines. RNA-seq and qRT-PCR analyses suggested that the expression levels of auxin and ABA signaling genes in the STTM-directed double mutant were compromised compared to the two single mutants. Our results also suggested that miR160-directed regulation of auxin response factors (ARFs) contribute to leaf development via auxin signaling genes, whereas miR165/166- mediated HD-ZIP IIIs regulation confers drought tolerance through ABA signaling. Our studies further indicated that ARFs and HD-ZIP IIIs may play opposite roles in the regulation of leaf development and drought tolerance that can be further applied to other crops for agronomic traits improvement