Objective: To investigate gene mutations associated with three different types of corneal dystrophies (CDs), and to establish a phenotype-genotype correlation. Methods: Two patients with Avellino corneal dystrophy (ACD), four patients with lattice corneal dystrophy type I (LCD I) from one family, and three patients with macular corneal dystrophy type I (MCD I) were subjected to both clinical and genetic examinations. Slit lamp examination was performed for all the subjects to assess their corneal phenotypes. Genomic DNA was extracted from peripheral blood leukocytes. The coding regions of the human transforming growth factor β-induced (TGFBI) gene and carbohydrate sulfotransferase 6 (CHST6) gene were amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and subjected to direct sequencing. DNA samples from 50 healthy volunteers were used as controls. Results: Clinical examination showed three different phenotypes of CDs. Genetic examination identified that two ACD subjects were associated with homozygous R124H mutation of TGFBI, and four LCD I subjects were all associated with R124C heterozygous mutation. One MCD I subject was associated with a novel S51X homozygous mutation in CHST6, while the other two MCD I subjects harbored a previously reported W232X homozygous mutation. Conclusions: Our study highlights the prevalence of codon 124 mutations in the TGFBI gene among the Chinese ACD and LCD I patients. Moreover, we found a novel mutation among MCD I patients.

The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical heterogeneity of Parkinson’s disease (PD) among a cohort of Chinese patients in early stages. Clinical data on demographics, motor variables, motor phenotypes, disease progression, global cognitive function, depression, apathy, sleep quality, constipation, fatigue, and L-dopa complications were collected from 138 Chinese PD subjects in early stages (Hoehn and Yahr stages 1–3). The PD subject subtypes were classified using k-means cluster analysis according to the clinical data from five- to three-cluster consecutively. Kappa statistical analysis was performed to evaluate the consistency among different subtype solutions. The cluster analysis indicated four main subtypes: the non-tremor dominant subtype (NTD, n=28, 20.3%), rapid disease progression subtype (RDP, n=7, 5.1%), young-onset subtype (YO, n=50, 36.2%), and tremor dominant subtype (TD, n=53, 38.4%). Overall, 78.3% (108/138) of subjects were always classified between the same three groups (52 always in TD, 7 in RDP, and 49 in NTD), and 98.6% (136/138) between five- and four-cluster solutions. However, subjects classified as NTD in the four-cluster analysis were dispersed into different subtypes in the three-cluster analysis, with low concordance between four- and three-cluster solutions (kappa value=−0.139, P=0.001). This study defines clinical heterogeneity of PD patients in early stages using a data-driven approach. The subtypes generated by the four-cluster solution appear to exhibit ideal internal cohesion and external isolation.

Dysfunction of inhibitory synaptic transmission can destroy the balance between excitatory and inhibitory synaptic inputs in neurons, thereby inducing epileptic activity. The aim of the paper is to investigate the effects of successive excitatory inputs on the epileptic activity induced in the absence of inhibitions. Paired-pulse orthodromic and antidromic stimulations were used to test the changes in the evoked responses in the hippocampus. Picrotoxin (PTX), γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) type A (GABA_A) receptor antagonist, was added to block the inhibitory synaptic transmission and to establish the epileptic model. Extracellular evoked population spike (PS) was recorded in the CA1 region of the hippocampus. The results showed that the application of PTX induced a biphasic change in the paired-pulse ratio of PS amplitude. A short latency increase of the second PS (PS2) was later followed by a reappearance of PS2 depression. This type of depression was observed in both orthodromic and antidromic paired-pulse responses, whereas the GABAergic PS2 depression [called paired-pulse depression (PPD)] during baseline recordings only appeared in orthodromic-evoked responses. In addition, the depression duration at approximately 100 ms was consistent with a relative silent period observed within spontaneous burst discharges induced by prolonged application of PTX. In conclusion, the neurons may ignore the excitatory inputs and intrinsically generate bursts during epileptic activity. The depolarization block could be the mechanisms underlying the PPD in the absence of GABA_A inhibitions. The distinct neuronal responses to stimulations during different epileptic stages may implicate the different antiepileptic effects of electrical stimulation.

We hypothesized whether systemic administration of high-molecular-weight hyaluronic acid (HMW HA) could rescue trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS)-induced colitis through Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) signal. C3H/HeN mice and C3H/HeJ mice were used. Mice were divided into four groups: control, 50% ethanol treatment group, TNBS treatment group, and TNBS plus HA treatment group. The weight changes, clinical scores, macroscopic scores, and histological scores were recorded. Cyclooxygenase 2 (Cox-2) and prostaglandin E₂ (PGE₂) expressions were measured both in colons and peritoneal macrophages from these mice. HA was a rescue therapy for the colitis induced by TNBS only in C3H/HeN mice. The clinical score, macroscopic score, and histological score were much lower in C3H/HeN mice receiving TNBS plus HA treatment. Cox-2 and PGE₂ expressions only increased in C3H/HeN mice. These Cox-2 expressing cells were macrophages. HA can also promote the production of Cox-2 and PGE₂ in peritoneal macrophages from C3H/HeN mice. Our data demonstrated that HMW HA can rescue TNBS-induced colitis through inducing Cox-2 and PGE₂ expressions in a TLR4-dependent way. Macrophages may be the effector cells of HMW HA.

Polyethylenimine-cyclodextrin-tegafur (PEI-CyD-tegafur) conjugate was synthesized as a novel multifunctional prodrug of tegafur for co-delivery of chemotherapeutic agent tegafur and enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) reporter plasmid DNA. Conjugation of tegafur to PEI-CyD via chemical linkage was characterized by ¹H NMR spectrometry and ultraviolet (UV) spectrometry. PEI-CyD-tegafur was able to condense plasmid DNA into complexes of around 150 nm with positive charge at the N/P ratio of 25, in accordance with electron microscopy observation of compact and monodisperse nanoparticles. The results of in vitro experiments showed enhanced cytotoxicity and considerable transfection efficiency in B16F10 cell line. Therefore, PEI-CyD-tegafur may have great potential as a co-delivery system with anti-cancer activity and potential for gene delivery.

The O subfamily of forkhead box (FoxO) proteins is the downstream effector of the insulin-like growth factor-1/phosphoinositide 3-kinase/protein kinase B (IGF-1/PI3K/PKB) signal pathway. The objective of the present study was to examine the expressions of three members of FoxO proteins, FoxO1, FoxO3a, and FoxO4 in the duodenum of Sprague-Dawley rats at different ages. The result demonstrated that the expression of FoxO4 in rat duodenum showed an age-dependent manner. At Day 21, there were no detectable localization and expression of FoxO4 in the duodenum, while, at Months 2 and 6, localization and expression of FoxO4 were distinct. In addition, FoxO4 staining was primarily concentrated in the cell nuclei of the lamina propria around the intestinal gland of the duodenum in 2-month-old rats, but was not detectable in the same area in 6-month-old rats. Our results showed also that although FoxO3a existed in the cytoplasm of the lamina propria at a low level at the 2- and 6-month marks, it was still not detectable at Day 21. Besides, FoxO1 was not detectable in all parts and stages. Taken together, our findings suggested that the cell-specific and age-dependent expressional patterns of FoxO4 and FoxO3a proteins in the duodenum play some roles in the development and growth performance of the rat duodenum.

The effects of different fatty acid (FA) contents in diet on serum parameters, FA compositions of eggs and meat, and liver morphological changes were studied in Shaoxing laying ducks. A total of 264 ducks at 17 weeks were fed a control diet or a diet containing 30 g/kg fish oil (FO), 25 g/kg sunflower oil (SO), or 30 g/kg palm oil with 20 g/kg beef tallow (PBO). Malondialdehyde (MDA) content in the liver and the serum of ducks fed the PBO diet was significantly (P<0.05) higher than that of ducks fed the other diets. Triglyceride (TG) and total cholesterol (TC) levels were significantly lower (P<0.05) in ducks fed the FO diet. Serum TC also was lower in ducks fed the SO diet. Superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity was also affected by diets. The contents of polyunsaturated FAs (PUFAs) in eggs and meat were significantly higher (P<0.001) in ducks fed the FO and SO diets than in ducks fed the control diet. The level of C22:6 (n-3) FA in ducks fed the FO diet was significantly higher than that in ducks fed the other diets. However, the conversion efficiency of the longer-chain C20:5 (n-3) FA was higher than that of C22:6 (n-3). Ducks fed the PBO diet exhibited lipid droplet accumulation in the liver. These results demonstrate that a diet enriched with different FAs has strong effects on serum lipid levels and the deposition of PUFAs into tissue lipids.

Theaflavins (TFs) are the dimers of a couple of epimerized catechins, which are specially formed during black tea fermentation. To explore the differences among four main TF derivatives (theaflavin (TF₁), theaflavin-3-gallate (TF₂A), theaflavin-3′-gallate (TF₂B), and theaflavin-3,3′-digallate (TF₃)) in scavenging reactive oxygen species (ROS) in vitro, their properties of inhibiting superoxide, singlet oxygen, hydrogen peroxide, and the hydroxyl radical, and their effects on hydroxyl radical-induced DNA oxidative damage were systematically analyzed in the present study. The results show that, compared with (−)-epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), TF derivatives were good antioxidants for scavenging ROS and preventing the hydroxyl radical-induced DNA damage in vitro. TF₃ was the most positive in scavenging hydrogen peroxide and hydroxyl radical, and TF₁ suppressed superoxide. Positive antioxidant capacities of TF₂B on singlet oxygen, hydrogen peroxide, hydroxyl radical, and the hydroxyl radical-induced DNA damage in vitro were found. The differences between the antioxidant capacities of four main TF derivatives in relation to their chemical structures were also discussed. We suggest that these activity differences among TF derivatives would be beneficial to scavenge different ROS with therapeutic potential.

Three cooking methods, namely boiling, steaming, and stir-frying for 5 to 10 min, were used to evaluate the effect on nutrient components, free amino acids, L-ascorbic acid, total phenolic contents, and antioxidant capacities of bamboo shoots (Phyllostachys praecox). Results showed that boiling and stir-frying had a great effect on the nutrient components and they decreased the contents of protein, soluble sugar, and ash, and caused a great loss in the total free amino acids (decreased by 38.35% and 34.86%, respectively). Significant differences (P<0.05) in free amino acids were observed in the samples cooked by different methods. Stir-fried bamboo shoots had a high fat content which increased by 528.57% because of the addition of edible oil. After boiling, the L-ascorbic acid and total phenolic contents were significantly reduced, while steaming increased total phenolic content by 3.98% and stir-frying well-preserved L-ascorbic acid (78.87% of its previous content). Results of the antioxidative property study showed that stir-frying could increase antioxidant capacities of bamboo shoots. It is concluded that stir-frying is more suitable for bamboo shoots because it could obtain the maximum retention of antioxidant capacities.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are common contaminants in a municipal solid waste (MSW) composting site. Knowledge of changes in microbial structure is useful to identify particular PAH degraders. However, the microbial community in the MSW composting soil and its change associated with prolonged exposure to PAHs and subsequent biodegradation remain largely unknown. In this study, anthracene was selected as a model compound. The bacterial community structure was investigated using terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (TRFLP) and 16S rRNA gene clone library analysis. The two bimolecular tools revealed a large shift of bacterial community structure after anthracene amendment and subsequent biodegradation. Genera Methylophilus, Mesorhizobium, and Terrimonas had potential links to anthracene biodegradation, suggesting a consortium playing an active role.

Mandibular defect occurs more frequently in recent years, and clinical repair operations via bone transplantation are difficult to be further improved due to some intrinsic flaws. Tissue engineering, which is a hot research field of biomedical engineering, provides a new direction for mandibular defect repair. As the basis and key part of tissue engineering, scaffolds have been widely and deeply studied in regards to the basic theory, as well as the principle of biomaterial, structure, design, and fabrication method. However, little research is targeted at tissue regeneration for clinic repair operations. Since mandibular bone has a special structure, rather than uniform and regular structure in existing studies, a methodology based on tissue engineering is proposed for mandibular defect repair in this paper. Key steps regarding scaffold digital design, such as external shape design and internal microstructure design directly based on triangular meshes are discussed in detail. By analyzing the theoretical model and the measured data from the test parts fabricated by rapid prototyping, the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed methodology are properly verified. More works about mechanical and biological improvements need to be done to promote its clinical application in future.

The tasseled cap transformation of remote sensing data has been widely used in agriculture, forest, ecology, and landscape. In this paper, tasseled cap transformation coefficients appropriate for data from a new sensor (China & Brazil Earth Resource Satellite (CBERS-02B)) are presented. The first three components after transformation captured 98% of the four-band variance, and represent the physical characteristics of brightness (coefficients: 0.509, 0.431, 0.330, and 0.668), greenness (coefficients: −0.494, −0.318, −0.324, and 0.741), and blueness (coefficients: 0.581, −0.070, −0.811, and 0.003), respectively. We hope these results will enhance the application of CBERS-02B charge-coupled device (CCD) data in the areas of agriculture, forest, ecology, and landscape.