Identification of Proteins of Altered Abundance in Oil Palm Infected with Ganoderma boninense

Basal stem rot is a common disease that affects oil palm, causing loss of yield and finally killing the trees. The disease, caused by fungus Ganoderma boninense, devastates thousands of hectares of oil palm plantings in Southeast Asia every year. In the present study, root proteins of healthy oil palm seedlings, and those infected with G. boninense, were analyzed by 2-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE). When the 2-DE profiles were analyzed for proteins, which exhibit consistent significant change of abundance upon infection with G. boninense, 21 passed our screening criteria. Subsequent analyses by mass spectrometry and database search identified caffeoyl-CoA O-methyltransferase, caffeic acid O-methyltransferase, enolase, fructokinase, cysteine synthase, malate dehydrogenase, and ATP synthase as among proteins of which abundances were markedly altered.     

Immunohistochemical localization of androgen receptors in the urogenital tracts of human embryos

The aim of this study was to investigate androgen receptor (AR) expression in the developing human urogenital tract. The distribution of AR was examined in paraffin-embedded tissue sections of the lower urogenital tract using 55 human embryos of 8-12 weeks of gestation. Immunohistochemistry was performed for AR detection and gender was determined by polymerized chain reaction. There were no differences in the distribution of AR in male and female embryos at any stage of gestation. AR was present only in the mesenchymal tissues of the urogenital sinus at 8 weeks whilst the epithelium was negative, but after 9 weeks the epithelium also showed progressively more positive staining. In the phallus, AR staining was prominent. There was far less staining in the epithelium of the urethral groove from 8 to 10 weeks, whilst the mesenchyme of the urethral folds showed positive staining. At 11 and 12 weeks, both the urethral groove and folds showed uniform staining. The genital tubercle, genital swelling and bulbourethral gland precusors were also positively stained, although paramesonephric ducts were negative. Staining was observed in the mesonephric duct from 9 weeks. There was an absence of staining in the rectum at all stages of gestation. The expression of AR in an epithelium may be dependent upon the mesenchyme. Mesenchymal-epithelial interactions played an important role in development, as has been described in experimental animals. AR expression could play a part in the growth of the genital organs.     

On feedback invariance properties for systems over a principalideal domain

Simple necessary and sufficient conditions for the solvability of many control problems for linear systems over a field are based on the equivalence between the (A, B)-invariance property and the (A+BF)-invariance, or feedback invariance, property. For systems over a ring, this equivalence is no longer true and many results of the geometric control theory cannot be extended. We present new, algorithmically checkable characterizations of the (A+BF)-invariance property for systems defined over a principal ideal domain and a new solvability condition for the disturbance rejection problem     

Intermittent hemodialysis treatment in cefepime‐induced neurotoxicity: Case report,pharmacokinetic modeling,and review of the literature

Cefepime is a broad‐spectrum cephalosporin indicated for in‐hospital treatment of severe infections. Acute neurotoxicity, an increasingly recognized adverse effect of this drug in an overdose, predominantly affects patients with reduced renal function. Although dialytic approaches have been advocated to treat this condition, their role in this indication remains unclear. We report the case of an 88‐year‐old female patient with impaired renal function who developed life‐threatening neurologic symptoms during cefepime therapy. She was treated with two intermittent 3‐hour high‐flux, high‐efficiency hemodialysis sessions. Serial pre‐, post‐, and peridialytic (pre‐ and postfilter) serum cefepime concentrations were measured. Pharmacokinetic modeling showed that this dialytic strategy allowed for serum cefepime concentrations to return to the estimated nontoxic range 15 hours earlier than would have been the case without an intervention. The patient made a full clinical recovery over the next 48 hours. We conclude that at least 1 session of intermittent hemodialysis may shorten the time to return to the nontoxic range in severe clinically patent intoxication. It should be considered early in its clinical course pending chemical confirmation, even in frail elderly patients. Careful dosage adjustment and a high index of suspicion are essential in this population.     

Effect of Type of Protein‐Based Microcapsules and Storage at Various Ambient Temperatures on the Survival and Heat Tolerance of Spray Dried Lactobacillus acidophilus

The aims of this study were to evaluate the effect of types of protein‐based microcapsules and storage at various ambient temperatures on the survival of Lactobacillus acidophilus during exposure to simulated gastrointestinal tract and on the change in thermo‐tolerance during heating treatment. The encapsulating materials were prepared using emulsions of protein (sodium caseinate, soy protein isolate, or pea protein), vegetable oil, and glucose, with maltodextrin was used as a wall material. The formulations were heated at 90 °C for 30 min to develop Maillard substances prior to being incorporated with L. acidophilus. The mixtures were then spray dried. The microspheres were stored at 25, 30, and 35 °C for 8 wk and examined every 4 wk. The addition of proteins as encapsulating materials demonstrated a significant protective effect (P < 0.05) as compared to the control sample. Sodium caseinate and soy protein isolate appeared more effective than pea protein in protecting the bacteria after spray drying and during the storage at different room temperatures. Storage at 35 °C resulted in a significant decrease in survival at end of storage period regardless the type of encapsulating materials. The addition of protein‐based materials also enhanced the survival of L. acidophilus during exposure to simulated gastrointestinal condition as compared to the control. After spray drying and after 0th wk storage, casein, soy protein isolate, and pea protein‐based formulations protected the bacteria during heat treatment. In fact, a significant decrease in thermal tolerance was inevitable after 2 wk of storage at 25 °C.     

Classification of stomach infections: A paradigm of convolutional neural network along with classical features fusion and selection

Automated detection and classification of gastric infections (i.e., ulcer, polyp, esophagitis, and bleeding) through wireless capsule endoscopy (WCE) is still a key challenge. Doctors can identify these endoscopic diseases by using the computer‐aided diagnostic (CAD) systems. In this article, a new fully automated system is proposed for the recognition of gastric infections through multi‐type features extraction, fusion, and robust features selection. Five key steps are performed—database creation, handcrafted and convolutional neural network (CNN) deep features extraction, a fusion of extracted features, selection of best features using a genetic algorithm (GA), and recognition. In the features extraction step, discrete cosine transform, discrete wavelet transform strong color feature, and VGG16‐based CNN features are extracted. Later, these features are fused by simple array concatenation and GA is performed through which best features are selected based on K‐Nearest Neighbor fitness function. In the last, best selected features are provided to Ensemble classifier for recognition of gastric diseases. A database is prepared using four datasets—Kvasir, CVC‐ClinicDB, Private, and ETIS‐LaribPolypDB with four types of gastric infections such as ulcer, polyp, esophagitis, and bleeding. Using this database, proposed technique performs better as compared to existing methods and achieves an accuracy of 96.5%.     

Rosavin Ameliorates Hepatic Inflammation and Fibrosis in the NASH Rat Model via Targeting Hepatic Cell Death

Background: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) represents the most common form of chronic liver disease that urgently needs effective therapy. Rosavin, a major constituent of the Rhodiola Rosea plant of the family Crassulaceae, is believed to exhibit multiple pharmacological effects on diverse diseases. However, its effect on non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), the progressive form of NAFLD, and the underlying mechanisms are not fully illustrated. Aim: Investigate the pharmacological activity and potential mechanism of rosavin treatment on NASH management via targeting hepatic cell death-related (HSPD1/TNF/MMP14/ITGB1) mRNAs and their upstream noncoding RNA regulators (miRNA-6881-5P and lnc-SPARCL1-1:2) in NASH rats. Results: High sucrose high fat (HSHF) diet-induced NASH rats were treated with different concentrations of rosavin (10, 20, and 30 mg/kg/day) for the last four weeks of dietary manipulation. The data revealed that rosavin had the ability to modulate the expression of the hepatic cell death-related RNA panel through the upregulation of both (HSPD1/TNF/MMP14/ITGB1) mRNAs and their epigenetic regulators (miRNA-6881-5P and lnc-SPARCL1-1:2). Moreover, rosavin ameliorated the deterioration in both liver functions and lipid profile, and thereby improved the hepatic inflammation, fibrosis, and apoptosis, as evidenced by the decreased protein levels of IL6, TNF-α, and caspase-3 in liver sections of treated animals compared to the untreated NASH rats. Conclusion: Rosavin has demonstrated a potential ability to attenuate disease progression and inhibit hepatic cell death in the NASH animal model. The produced effect was correlated with upregulation of the hepatic cell death-related (HSPD1, TNF, MMP14, and ITGB1) mRNAs—(miRNA-6881-5P—(lnc-SPARCL1-1:2) RNA panel.     

Computation of maximal pre-controllability submodules over a Noetherian ring

For dynamical systems with coefficient in a ring it is not always possible to compute by a finite procedure the maximal (A,B)-invariant submodule contained in the kernel of the output map C, namely . This difficulty prevents one from checking necessary and sufficient geometric conditions for the solvability of noninteracting control problems. In this paper we will prove that, for dynamical systems with coefficients in a Noetherian ring, it is always possible to compute by a finite procedure the maximal pre-controllability submodule contained in the kernel of the output map C, namely . This result is useful in dealing with the block decoupling problem or the disturbance rejection problem.     

New cis-configured aziridine-2-carboxylates as aspartic acid protease inhibitors

A series of 52 cis‐configured 1‐alkyl‐3‐phenylaziridine‐2‐carboxylates were synthesized as new pseudo‐irreversible inhibitors of Candida albicans secreted aspartic acid protease 1 (SAP1), SAP2, SAP3, and SAP8. Some of the compounds, which were obtained as diastereomers with S,S‐ and R,R‐configured aziridine rings by Cromwell synthesis of racemic (2R,3S+2S,3R)‐dibromophenylpropionic acid ester with amines, followed by ester hydrolysis and coupling to hydrophobic amino acid esters, were separated by preparative HPLC. The absolute configuration of the aziridine ring was assigned by a combination of experimental circular dichroism (CD) investigations and quantum chemical CD calculations. In agreement with previous docking studies, the diastereomers all exhibit similar activity. The compounds were found to be more active against the related mammalian enzyme cathepsin D, presumably due to productive interactions of the N‐alkyl substituent with the highly lipophilic S2 pocket. The most active inhibitors ( 5 , 9 , 10 , 21 , and 28 ), characterized by benzyl, cyclohexylmethyl, tert‐butyl, or 1,4‐dimethylpentyl moieties at the aziridine nitrogen atom, exhibit k_2nd values between 500 and 900×10³ M ^?1 min^?1 and K_i values near or below 1 μM for cathepsin D.     

喜来芝石中提取的腐植酸与阿司匹林的分子络合物及其表征

阿司匹林具有退热、消炎、止痛和抗血小板凝集的作用。乙酰水杨酸分子含一个羧基和一个酯基。酯基容易被水解,导致其药效降低,并会对人体产生副作用。本研究的目的是用冻干技术和溶剂挥发技术,以原料的物质的量比为1∶1和1∶2,制备阿司匹林和腐植酸固态络合物。阿司匹林和腐植酸分子间相互作用通过差示扫描量热法(DSC)、X射线衍射(XRD)、傅里叶变换红外光谱学法(FT-IR)和扫描电子显微镜法(SEM)进行研究。用这些技术能清晰表明固态包合络合物的结构。对物质的量比为1∶2冻干络合物研究表明,阿司匹林的稳定性和溶出率显著提高。优选的冻干阿司匹林与腐植酸(1∶2)络合物对抑制鼠爪水肿和抗溃疡作用测得的最低值(0.63±0.10)与单纯的阿司匹林相比,有明显的降低,证明用其治疗具有非常显著的抗炎作用(P0.05)。