73 research outputs found

    Autophagy Inhibition Enhances Daunorubicin-Induced Apoptosis in K562 Cells

    Get PDF
    Anthracycline daunorubicin (DNR) is one of the major antitumor agents widely used in the treatment of myeloid leukemia. Unfortunately, the clinical efficacy of DNR was limited because of its cytotoxity at high dosage. As a novel cytoprotective mechanism for tumor cell to survive under unfavorable conditions, autophagy has been proposed to play a role in drug resistance of tumor cells. Whether DNR can activate to impair the sensitivity of cancer cells remains unknown. Here, we first report that DNR can induce a high level of autophagy, which was associated with the activation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2). Moreover, cell death induced by DNR was greatly enhanced after autophagy inhibition by the pharmacological inhibitor chloroquine (CQ) and siRNAs targeting Atg5 and Atg7, the most important components for the formation of autophagosome. In conclusion, we found that DNR can induce cytoprotective autophagy by activation of ERK in myeloid leukemia cells. Autophagy inhibition thus represents a promising approach to improve the efficacy of DNR in the treatment of patients with myeloid leukemia

    Clinical efficacy of the combined use of levofloxacin and different courses of isoniazid and rifampicin in the treatment of mild spinal tuberculosis

    Get PDF
    Purpose: To investigate the clinical effectiveness of the combined use of levofloxacin and different courses of isoniazid and rifampicin in the treatment of mild spinal tuberculosis (TB). Methods: The clinic data of 100 patients with light spinal TB were retrospectively reviewed. A double-blind technique was used to divide the patients into 6-month treatment group (M6 group, n = 32), 12-month treatment group (M12 group, n = 34) and 18-month treatment group (M18 group, n = 34). All patients were given isoniazid and rifampicin, in combination with levofloxacin. The effects of the different treatment courses on mild spinal TB were determined. Results: There were significantly higher post-treatment levels of inflammatory factors in M6 group than in M12 and M18 groups (p < 0.001). Moreover, there were significantly higher Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) score and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), and larger focus size in M6 group than in M12 and M18 groups (p < 0.05). However, after treatment, M18 group had significantly higher total incidence of adverse reactions than M6 and M12 groups (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Compared with the short-course treatment, long-course treatment with isoniazid and rifampicin in combination with levofloxacin is more effective in reducing the levels of inflammatory factors and decreasing focus size in patients with mild spinal TB. However, patients given the 18-month treatment tend to develop more adverse reactions. Therefore, 12-month treatment with the combined therapy is a better therapeutic option

    Robust estimation of bacterial cell count from optical density

    Get PDF
    Optical density (OD) is widely used to estimate the density of cells in liquid culture, but cannot be compared between instruments without a standardized calibration protocol and is challenging to relate to actual cell count. We address this with an interlaboratory study comparing three simple, low-cost, and highly accessible OD calibration protocols across 244 laboratories, applied to eight strains of constitutive GFP-expressing E. coli. Based on our results, we recommend calibrating OD to estimated cell count using serial dilution of silica microspheres, which produces highly precise calibration (95.5% of residuals <1.2-fold), is easily assessed for quality control, also assesses instrument effective linear range, and can be combined with fluorescence calibration to obtain units of Molecules of Equivalent Fluorescein (MEFL) per cell, allowing direct comparison and data fusion with flow cytometry measurements: in our study, fluorescence per cell measurements showed only a 1.07-fold mean difference between plate reader and flow cytometry data

    Coupling Coordination of China’s Agricultural Environment and Economy under the New Economic Background

    No full text
    On the basis of the panel data of 31 provinces in China from 2011 to 2020, this paper first constructs an index system through the Pressure-State-Response (PSR) model and conducts a comprehensive evaluation of China’s agricultural environment according to the entropy weight TOPSIS model. Second, a coupling coordination degree model is established to calculate the degree of coupling coordination between the agricultural economy and the environment in each province. Finally, a spatial Durbin model is established to analyze the influencing factors of China’s agricultural economy. Results show that: ① the overall environment in the eastern region has little change, and the overall level is relatively backward; the agricultural environment in the central region is uneven; the agricultural environment in the western region is quite different from north to south. ② The regions with a high level of coupling coordination are mainly concentrated in the central and southern regions, and the performance is relatively intensive. The agricultural economy and the environment in the western region are extremely uncoordinated, and as is the overall coupling coordination between the agricultural economy and the environment in the eastern region in general. Further improvement is also needed. ③ Fixed asset investment, total power of agricultural machinery, rural electricity consumption, rural population, and rural per capita disposable income all have important influences on China’s agricultural economy. ④ The rural population size has a positive and the largest effect on the agricultural economy, whereas rural per capita disposable income has a negative effect on the agricultural economy. Moreover, improving farmers’ enthusiasm for farming is one of the key issues to be solved urgently

    Corrosion-Fatigue Evaluation of Uncoated Weathering Steel Bridges

    No full text
    Uncoated weathering steel (UWS) bridges have been extensively used to reduce the lifecycle cost since they are maintenance-free and eco-friendly. However, the fatigue issue becomes significant in UWS bridges due to the intended corrosion process utilized to form the corrodent-proof rust layer instead of the coating process. In this paper, an innovative model is proposed to simulate the corrosion-fatigue (C-F) process in UWS bridges. Generally, the C-F process could be considered as two relatively independent stages in a time series, including the pitting process of flaw-initiation and the fatigue crack propagation of the critical pitting flaw. In the proposed C-F model, Faraday’s law has been employed at the critical flaw-initiation stage to describe the pitting process, in which the pitting current is applied to reflect the pitting rate in different corrosive environments. At the crack propagation stage, the influence of pitting corrosion is so small that it can be safely ignored. In simulating the crack propagation stage, the advanced NASGRO equation proposed by the NASA is employed instead of the classic Paris’ law, in which a modified fatigue limit is adopted. The fatigue limit is then used to determine the critical size of pitting flaws, above which the fatigue effect joins as a parallel driving force in crack propagation. The model is then validated through the experimental data from published articles at the initiation stage as well as the whole C-F process. Two types of structural steel, i.e., HPS 70W and 14MnNbq steel, have been selected to carry out a case study. The result shows that the C-F life can be notably prolonged in the HPS 70W due to the enhancement in fatigue strength and corrosion resistance. Besides, a sensitivity analysis has been made on the crucial parameters, including the stress range, stress ratio, corrosive environment and average daily truck traffic (ADTT). The result has revealed the different influence of the above parameters on the initiation life and propagation life

    Effects of Starvation and Refeeding on Growth, Digestion, Nonspecific Immunity and Lipid-Metabolism-Related Genes in <i>Onychostoma macrolepis</i>

    No full text
    The present research was conducted to assess the influences of starvation and refeeding on growth, nonspecific immunity and lipid metabolic adaptation in Onychostoma macrolepis. To date, there have been no similar reports in O. macrolepis. The fish were randomly assigned into two groups: control group (continuous feeding for six weeks) and starved–refed group (starvation for three weeks and then refeeding for three weeks). After three weeks of starvation, the results showed that the body weight (BW, 1.44 g), condition factor (CF, 1.17%), visceral index (VSI, 3.96%), hepatopancreas index (HSI, 0.93%) and intraperitoneal fat index (IPFI, 0.70%) of fish were significantly lower compared to the control group (BW, 5.72 g; CF, 1.85%; VSI, 6.35%; HSI, 2.04%; IPFI, 1.92%) (p p p p p p O. macrolepis and their reversibility or irreversibility to supplementary feeding response could provide valuable reference for the adaptability of O. macrolepis in large-scale culturing, proliferation and release

    Analysis of Green Total Factor Productivity of Grain and Its Dynamic Distribution: Evidence from Poyang Lake Basin, China

    No full text
    Based on the grain production data of the counties (cities, districts) in Poyang Lake Basin, this paper uses the productivity index of Epsilon Based Measure of Malmquist Luenberger (EBM-ML Index) to analyse the green total factor productivity (GTFP) of grain in Poyang Lake Basin. Kernel density function and Markov analysis are used to discuss the dynamic evolution process of the distribution of GTFP of grain. The results show the following: (1) From the time dimension, the GTFP of grain is on the rise and fluctuates more frequently from 2001 to 2017, and its trend of change is determined by the combination of technical efficiency and technological progress. Moreover, from a spatial dimension, the number of counties (cities, districts) with GTFP of grain greater than 1.0 has shown an overall increase, indicating that the overall level of GTFP of grain is increasing. (2) According to the kernel density estimation results, the crest of the main peak of the kernel density curve corresponding to the GTFP of grain in Poyang Lake Basin shifts to the right, and the area formed by the right part of the GTFP of grain corresponding to the crest of the main peak of its kernel density curve gradually increases. The peak of the kernel density curve changes from “multi-peak mode” to “single-peak mode,” and the height of the main peak of the kernel density curve of GTFP of grain shows an overall decrease. Meanwhile, the right tail of the kernel density curve shows an overall extending trend. (3) According to the estimation results of the Markov chain, the GTFP of grain in Poyang Lake Basin is highly mobile from 2001 to 2017, and the counties (cities, districts) have a certain degree of agglomeration in the low, medium-low, medium-high and high levels. In other words, the long-term equilibrium state of growth of GTFP of grain remains dispersed in the state space of four level types, indicating that the divergence state of GTFP of grain in counties (cities, districts) of Poyang Lake Basin will continue for a long time in the future. The study reveals the evolution and dynamic change of GTFP of grain in Poyang Lake Basin, which has important theoretical significance and practical value for optimizing the spatial pattern and realizing the balanced development of GTFP among counties (cities, districts) of Poyang Lake Basin and consolidating China’s food security strategy
    corecore