Circadian rhythm disruption in a mouse model of Rett syndrome circadian disruption in RTT.

Disturbances in the sleep/wake cycle are prevalent in patients with Rett syndrome (RTT). We sought to determine whether the circadian system is disrupted in a RTT model, Mecp2(-/y) mice. We found that MeCP2 mutants showed decreased strength and precision of daily rhythms of activity coupled with extremely fragmented sleep.

Binding of the monoclonal antibody RP215 to immunoglobulin G in metastatic lung adenocarcinomas is correlated with poor prognosis.

Aims: Cancer cell-derived immunoglobulin (Ig)G (cancer-IgG) has been found to be involved in the pathogenesis and progression of many cancers, including lung cancer. The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between cancer-IgG expression in lung adenocarcinoma (ADC) and clinicopathological characteristics and clinical outcome.

Methods And Results: Immunohistochemical analysis was performed using an RP215 monoclonal antibody to determine cancer-IgG expression in 140 lung ADC patients.

MicroRNA-29s could target AKT2 to inhibit gastric cancer cells invasion ability.

AKT2 is a crucial mediator in the tumorigenesis and thought to be an ideal target for the treatment of malignancies. Increasing evidence has also shown that microRNAs (miRNAs) could regulate or be regulated by mRNAs and they also might serve as therapeutic agencies or targets. MiR-29s (miR-29a, miR-29b and miR-29c) had been approved that they decreased in gastric cancers (GC) by targeting CCND2, MMP2 and p42.

[Research advances in epithelial-mesenchymal transition in thyroid carcinoma].

Increasing evidences have demonstrated the roles of epithelial-mesenchymal transition in tumor invasion and metastasis. In the invasive front of papillary thyroid carcinoma, the expressions of adhesion molecules are often lost. In anaplastic thyroid carcinoma, tumor cells showing cancer stem cell characteristics have been identified.

Highly thermal conductive copper nanowire composites with ultralow loading: toward applications as thermal interface materials.

Thermal interface materials (TIMs) are of ever-rising importance with the development of modern microelectronic devices. However, traditional TIMs exhibit low thermal conductivity even at high loading fractions. The use of high-aspect-ratio material is beneficial to achieve low percolation threshold for nanocomposites.

Direct three-dimensional imaging of polymer-water interfaces by nanoscale hard X-ray phase tomography.

We report three-dimensional (3D) direct imaging of complex surface-liquid interfaces by hard X-ray phase contrast tomography as a non-destructive approach for the morphological characterization of surfaces at the micro- and nanoscale in contact with water. Specifically, we apply this method to study the solid-air-water interface in hydrophobic macroporous polymethacrylate surfaces, and the solid-oil-water interface in slippery liquid-infused porous surfaces (SLIPS). Varying the isotropic spatial resolution allows the 3D quantitative characterization of individual polymer globules, globular clusters (porosity) as well as the infused lubricant layer on SLIPS.

Retinoic acid inhibits pancreatic cancer cell migration and EMT through the downregulation of IL-6 in cancer associated fibroblast cells.

Retinoic acid (RA) is a small molecular derivative of vitamin A that is stored in quiescent stellate cells in pancreas stroma. Cancer associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are activated fibroblast cells in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma tumor microenvironment. We treated CAFs with RA and found that these cells became static due to the low expression of α-SMA, FAP, and IL-6 and decreased production of extracellular matrix (ECM).

Ultrahigh-order mode-assisted determination of enantiomeric excess in chiral liquids.

A chiral liquid, whose constituent molecules lack mirror symmetry, exhibits a minor differential refractive index (RI) between the two circular polarization components. Theoretical analysis shows that the ultrahigh-order modes excited in a symmetrical metal-cladding waveguide (SMCW) are polarization-independent and have a highly sensitive response to the RI variation. We report the observation of circular differential reflectivity in a chiral liquid-filled SMCW and propose an alternative simple technique capable of determining enantiomeric excess with high sensitivity.

Optical-assembly periodic structure of ferrofluids in a liquid core/metal cladding optical waveguide.

We present a novel and simple mechanism for the fabrication of periodic microstructure based on a ferrofluids core/metal cladding optical waveguide chip. The ultrahigh-order modes excited in the millimeter scale guiding layer lead to the ordered particle aggregates in ferrofluids without applying a magnetic field. Since the absorption of photons by the extremely dilute ferrofluids is extremely small and the Soret effect is not noticeable, a tentative explanation in terms of the optical trapping effect is proposed.

Hydrophobic liquid-infused porous polymer surfaces for antibacterial applications.

Biofilms represent a fundamental problem in environmental biology, water technology, food hygiene as well as in medical and technical systems. Recently introduced slippery liquid-infused porous surface (SLIPS) showed great promise for preventing biofilm formation owing to the low surface energy of such surface in combination with its self-cleaning properties. In this study we demonstrated a novel hydrophobic liquid-infused porous poly(butyl methacrylate-co-ethylene dimethacrylate) surface (slippery BMA-EDMA) with bacteria-resistance in BM2 mineral medium and long-term stability in aqueous environments.

High-sensitivity temperature sensor using the ultrahigh order mode-enhanced Goos-Hänchen effect.

A high-sensitivity temperature sensor based on the enhanced Goos-Hänchen effect in a symmetrical metal-cladding waveguide is theoretically proposed and experimentally demonstrated. Owing to the high sensitivity of the ultrahigh-order modes, any minute variation of the refractive index and thickness in the guiding layer induced by the thermo-optic and thermal expansion effects will easily give rise to a dramatic change in the position of the reflected light. In our experiment, a series of Goos-Hänchen shifts are measured at temperatures varying from 50.

Sinomenine reduces iNOS expression via inhibiting the T-bet IFN-γ pathway in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis in rats.

Sinomenine is a bioactive alkaloid isolated from the Chinese medicinal plant Sinomenium acutum. It is widely used as an immunosuppressive drug for treating rheumatic and arthritic diseases. In our previous studies, we found that sinomenine reduced cellular infiltration within the spinal cord and alleviated experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) in rats.

CRMP-2 is involved in axon growth inhibition induced by RGMa in vitro and in vivo.

Repulsive guidance molecule-a (RGMa) is associated with axon growth inhibition in different central nervous system (CNS) injuries, but its signaling pathways remain unclear. We examined the involvement of collapsin response mediator protein-2 (CRMP-2), a common downstream target of Rho-kinase and GSK-3β, in vitro by culturing neonatal rat primary cortical neurons with RGMa protein, Rho-kinase inhibitor (Y-27632), and GSK-3β inhibitor. We examined CRMP-2 in vivo by suppressing RGMa expression using recombinant adenovirus (rAd-shRGMa) in a rat MCAO/reperfusion model.

Ultrasound facilitates identification of combined spinal-epidural puncture in obese parturients.

Background: The palpation method is widely used in clinical practice to identify the puncture site of combined spinal-epidural (CSE) blocks, but it is usually difficult to accurately locate the puncture site in obese parturients. Accurate identification of the puncture site is crucial for successful CSE block. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of ultrasound imaging on the success rate of CSE puncture in obese parturients.

The relationship between rebleeding after spontaneous SAH and APOE polymorphisms in a Chinese population.

Rebleeding leads to lots of patients' disability and mortality after spontaneous subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), but the risk factors of rebleeding have not been fully understood. More evidence showed apolipoprotein E (apoE protein, APOE gene) influenced the outcome of spontaneous SAH. In this study, we aimed to investigate the relationship of APOE polymorphisms with rebleeding after spontaneous SAH.

Mechanical injured neurons stimulate astrocytes to express apolipoprotein E through ERK pathway.

To explore the possible cellular source and mechanism of apolipoprotein E (apoE) expression in mechanical injured neuronal cultures. Primary cultured mouse cortical neurons were subjected into mechanical injury by needle scratching. The conditioned medium of wild type (WT) primary mouse astrocytes was collected and added into cultured injured apoE knockout (KO) neurons.

Different quantitative EEG alterations induced by TBI among patients with different APOE genotypes.

Although several studies have revealed the EEG alterations in AD and TBI patients, the influence of APOE (apolipoprotein E) genotype in EEG at the early stage of TBI has not been reported yet. We have previously studied EEG alterations caused by TBI among different APOE genotype carriers. In this study, we firstly investigated the relationship between APOE polymorphisms and quantitative EEG (QEEG) changes after TBI.

An antisense CAG repeat transcript at JPH3 locus mediates expanded polyglutamine protein toxicity in Huntington's disease-like 2 mice.

Huntington's disease-like-2 (HDL2) is a phenocopy of Huntington's disease caused by CTG/CAG repeat expansion at the Junctophilin-3 (JPH3) locus. The mechanisms underlying HDL2 pathogenesis remain unclear. Here we developed a BAC transgenic mouse model of HDL2 (BAC-HDL2) that exhibits progressive motor deficits, selective neurodegenerative pathology, and ubiquitin-positive nuclear inclusions (NIs).

Down-regulation of Nogo receptor promotes functional recovery by enhancing axonal connectivity after experimental stroke in rats.

The inability of axons in central nervous system (CNS) to regenerate after injury is related partly to multiple endogenous axon growth inhibitors including Nogo receptor (NgR). This study tested the hypothesis that silencing NgR expression by adenovirus-mediated RNA interference (RNAi) (AD-NgR) may permit axonal connectivity after focal cerebral ischemia in rats. Male Sprague-Dawley rats (250-280g, n=97) were assigned into seven groups: sham, MCAO (24h and 2 weeks), MCAO plus AD-NgR (24h and 2 weeks), and MCAO plus AD-HK (control oligonucleotides) (24h and 2 weeks).

Identification of novel SNPs by next-generation sequencing of the genomic region containing the APC gene in colorectal cancer patients in China.

We described an approach of identifying single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in complete genomic regions of key genes including promoters, exons, introns, and downstream sequences by combining long-range polymerase chain reaction (PCR) or NimbleGen sequence capture with next-generation sequencing. Using the adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) gene as an example, we identified 210 highly reliable SNPs by next-generation sequencing analysis program MAQ and Samtools, of which 69 were novel ones, in the 123-kb APC genomic region in 27 pair of colorectal cancers and normal adjacent tissues. We confirmed all of the eight randomly selected high-quality SNPs by allele-specific PCR, suggesting that our false discovery rate is negligible.

Determination of effective complex refractive index of a turbid liquid with surface plasmon resonance phase detection.

The dependence of the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) phase difference curve on the complex refractive index of a sample in Kretschmann configuration is discussed comprehensively, based on which a new method is proposed to measure the complex refractive index of turbid liquid. A corresponding experiment setup was constructed to measure the SPR phase difference curve, and the complex refractive index of turbid liquid was determined. By using the setup, the complex refractive indices of Intralipid solutions with concentrations of 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20% are obtained to be 1.

[Study on the measurement of the atmospheric extinction of fog and rain by forward-scattering near infrared spectroscopy].

In the visible and near IR, absorption is negligible so that the atmospheric extinction can be derived by atmospheric scattering which is mainly contributed by fog droplet, rain droplet, another types of droplet and small articles. The forward-scattering visibility meter (FVM) works by illuminating with near IR light a small sample volume of about 100 mL of air and measuring the intensity scattered in the angular range of 30 to 36 degrees. The scattered intensity is proportional to the extinction coefficient regardless of the article size distribution and after wavelength calibration.