Survey and genetic variation of Spirometra erinaceieuropaei sparganum in frogs and snakes from Guangxi of southern China

The prevalence of sparganum infection in wild frogs (Rana rugulosa and R. temporaria) and snakes (Enhydris chinensis) was investigated in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of Southern China from June 2013 to August 2013. The results showed that 30.37% (65/214) of the caught wild frogs and 50% (3/6) of examined snakes were found to be infected with plerocercoids (spargana) of the genus Spirometra. To investigate the genetic variation of the collected spargana, three mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) regions, namely cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 and 3 (cox1 and cox3), NADH dehydrogenase subunits 4 (nad4) were amplified, sequenced, and analyzed. The sequences of cox1, cox3 and pnad4 are 444, 387 and 585 bp in length, respectively. The base composition of cox1, cox3 and pnad4 were generally AT rich with a mean of 62.7%, 67.2% and 64.9%, respectively. Phylogenetic analyses using Bayesian inference (BI) and maximum parsimony (MP) indicated that all the Spirometra sparganum isolates in Guangxi represented S. erinaceieuropaei.

Chronic stress causes neuroendocrine-immune disturbances without affecting renal vitamin D metabolism in rats

INTRODUCTION

Vitamin D (VD) insufficiency has been repeatedly observed in the medical conditions associated with inflammation, such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and depression. However, contrasting to the observational evidence, randomized trials of VD supplementation failed to demonstrate such link. Given the recent evidence that the inflammatory process can in turn alter VD metabolism, it has been hypothesized that the insufficient VD status could be the result rather than the cause of chronic inflammation involved in the onset of depression and other disease conditions.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Chronic mild stress (CMS) is a valid animal model of depression that accompanied with neuroendocrine-immune disturbances. In the present research, we assessed serum VD concentrations and renal expression of the cytochromes P450 enzymes involved in VD activation (CYP27B1) and catabolism (CYP24A1) of rats following 8-week exposure to CMS.

RESULTS

While CMS induced the rats to a depression-like state and increased serum levels of the proinflammatory cytokines and corticosterone, and the antidepressant, sertraline, mitigated depression-like behaviors and neuroendocrine-immune disturbances, neither the stress regimen nor sertraline significantly affected endocrine metabolism of VD.

CONCLUSION

Our data suggest that the stress-induced neuroendocrine-immune disturbances may account for the development of depression, but are not responsible for the insufficient VD status that frequently observed in depressed patients.

Constraints on models for the Higgs boson with exotic spin and parity in VH → Vbb final states

We present constraints on models containing non-standard-model values for the spin J and parity P of the Higgs boson H in up to 9.7 fb(-1) of pp collisions at sqrt[s] = 1.96 TeV collected with the D0 detector at the Fermilab Tevatron Collider. These are the first studies of Higgs boson J(P) with fermions in the final state. In the ZH → ℓℓbb, WH → ℓνbb, and ZH → ννbb final states, we compare the standard model (SM) Higgs boson prediction, J(P) = 0(+), with two alternative hypotheses, J(P) = 0(-) and J(P) = 2(+). We use a likelihood ratio to quantify the degree to which our data are incompatible with non-SM J(P) predictions for a range of possible production rates. Assuming that the production rate in the signal models considered is equal to the SM prediction, we reject the J(P) = 0(-) and J(P) = 2(+) hypotheses at the 97.6% CL and at the 99.0% CL, respectively. The expected exclusion sensitivity for a J(P) = 0(-) (J(P) = 2(+)) state is at the 99.86% (99.94%) CL. Under the hypothesis that our data are the result of a combination of the SM-like Higgs boson and either a J(P) = 0(-) or a J(P) = 2(+) signal, we exclude a J(P) = 0(-) fraction above 0.80 and a J(P) = 2(+) fraction above 0.67 at the 95% CL. The expected exclusion covers J(P) = 0(-) (J(P) = 2(+)) fractions above 0.54 (0.47).

In vitro and in vivo anticancer effects of mevalonate pathway modulation on human cancer cells

Background:

The increasing usage of statins (the 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase inhibitors) has revealed a number of unexpected beneficial effects, including a reduction in cancer risk.

Methods:

We investigated the direct anticancer effects of different statins approved for clinical use on human breast and brain cancer cells. We also explored the effects of statins on cancer cells using in silico simulations.

Results:

In vitro studies showed that cerivastatin, pitavastatin, and fluvastatin were the most potent anti-proliferative, autophagy inducing agents in human cancer cells including stem cell-like primary glioblastoma cell lines. Consistently, pitavastatin was more effective than fluvastatin in inhibiting U87 tumour growth in vivo. Intraperitoneal injection was much better than oral administration in delaying glioblastoma growth. Following statin treatment, tumour cells were rescued by adding mevalonate and geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate. Knockdown of geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate synthetase-1 also induced strong cell autophagy and cell death in vitro and reduced U87 tumour growth in vivo. These data demonstrate that statins main effect is via targeting the mevalonate synthesis pathway in tumour cells.

Conclusions:

Our study demonstrates the potent anticancer effects of statins. These safe and well-tolerated drugs need to be further investigated as cancer chemotherapeutics in comprehensive clinical studies.

Precision measurement of the top quark mass in lepton + jets final States

We measure the mass of the top quark in lepton+jets final states using the full sample of pp collision data collected by the D0 experiment in Run II of the Fermilab Tevatron Collider at sqrt[s] = 1.96 TeV, corresponding to 9.7 fb(-1) of integrated luminosity. We use a matrix element technique that calculates the probabilities for each event to result from tt production or background. The overall jet energy scale is constrained in situ by the mass of the W boson. We measure m(t) = 174.98 ± 0.76 GeV. This constitutes the most precise single measurement of the top-quark mass.

Observation of s-channel production of single top quarks at the Tevatron

We report the first observation of single-top-quark production in the s channel through the combination of the CDF and D0 measurements of the cross section in proton-antiproton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 1.96 TeV. The data correspond to total integrated luminosities of up to 9.7 fb(-1) per experiment. The measured cross section is σ(s) = 1.29(-0.24)(+0.26) pb. The probability of observing a statistical fluctuation of the background to a cross section of the observed size or larger is 1.8 × 10(-10), corresponding to a significance of 6.3 standard deviations for the presence of an s-channel contribution to the production of single-top quarks.

Lithological control on phytolith carbon sequestration in moso bamboo forests

Phytolith-occluded carbon (PhytOC) is a stable carbon (C) fraction that has effects on long-term global C balance. Here, we report the phytolith and PhytOC accumulation in moso bamboo leaves developed on four types of parent materials. The results show that PhytOC content of moso bamboo varies with parent material in the order of granodiorite (2.0 g kg(-1)) > granite (1.6 g kg(-1)) > basalt (1.3 g kg(-1)) > shale (0.7 g kg(-1)). PhytOC production flux of moso bamboo on four types of parent materials varies significantly from 1.0 to 64.8 kg CO₂ ha(-1) yr(-1), thus a net 4.7 × 10(6) -310.8 × 10(6) kg CO₂ yr(-1) would be sequestered by moso bamboo phytoliths in China. The phytolith C sequestration rate in moso bamboo of China will continue to increase in the following decades due to nationwide bamboo afforestation/reforestation, demonstrating the potential of bamboo in regulating terrestrial C balance. Management practices such as afforestation of bamboo in granodiorite area and granodiorite powder amendment may further enhance phytolith C sequestration through bamboo plants.

Direct, reagentless electrochemical detection of the BIR3 domain of X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis protein using a peptide-based conducting polymer sensor

In this work, we report a reagentless electrochemical peptide (AVPFAQKG) sensor to directly detect the BIR3 domain of X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis protein (XIAP-BIR3). The bioreceptor was based on a conducting copolymer film electrosynthesized from juglone and a juglone-peptide conjugate (JP) newly designed. The peptide-protein interactions generated an important increase of steric hindrance at the interface and a current decrease (signal off) of the redox reaction from quinone embedded in the polymer backbone as evidenced by Square Wave Voltammetry. This allowed a specific and sensitive detection of XIAP-BIR3 with a detection limit of 1 nM (13 ng mL(-1)). The peptide-protein complex could be then dissociated by adding the free precursor peptide (AVPFAQKG) into solution, causing a shift-back on the signal, i.e. an increase in the current intensity (signal-on). This "off-on" detection sequence was used in this work as a double verification of the specificity and this approach can be employed as a general way to increase the reliability of the results. In general, the approach described in this work may be inspired to develop other direct and reagentless electrochemical protein assays with high specificity and sensitivity.

Measurement of the W boson production charge asymmetry in pp̄→W+X→eν+X events at √s=1.96 TeV

We present a measurement of the W boson production charge asymmetry in pp̄→W+X→eν+X events at a center of mass energy of 1.96 TeV, using 9.7  fb-1 of integrated luminosity collected with the D0 detector at the Fermilab Tevatron Collider. The neutrino longitudinal momentum is determined by using a neutrino weighting method, and the asymmetry is measured as a function of the W boson rapidity. The measurement extends over wider electron pseudorapidity region than previous results and is the most precise to date, allowing for precise determination of proton parton distribution functions in global fits.

Reference-frame-independent quantum-key-distribution server with a telecom tether for an on-chip client

We demonstrate a client-server quantum key distribution (QKD) scheme. Large resources such as laser and detectors are situated at the server side, which is accessible via telecom fiber to a client requiring only an on-chip polarization rotator, which may be integrated into a handheld device. The detrimental effects of unstable fiber birefringence are overcome by employing the reference-frame-independent QKD protocol for polarization qubits in polarization maintaining fiber, where standard QKD protocols fail, as we show for comparison. This opens the way for quantum enhanced secure communications between companies and members of the general public equipped with handheld mobile devices, via telecom-fiber tethering.

Measurement of the direct CP-violating charge asymmetry in Ds ± → ϕ π ± decays

We present a measurement of the direct CP-violating charge asymmetry in Ds+ → ϕ π(±) decays where the ϕ meson decays to K(+)K(-), using the full Run II data set with an integrated luminosity of 10.4  fb-1 of proton-antiproton collisions collected using the D0 detector at the Fermilab Tevatron Collider. The normalized difference A(CP) in the yield of D(s)(+) and D(s)(-) mesons in these decays is measured by fitting the difference between their reconstructed invariant mass distributions. This results in an asymmetry of A(CP) = [-0.38 ± 0.27]%, which is the most precise measurement of this quantity to date. The result is consistent with the standard model prediction of zero CP asymmetry in this decay.

Measurement of associated production of z bosons with charm quark jets in pp collisions at √s=1.96 TeV

We present the first measurements of the ratios of cross sections σ(pp → Z+c jet)/σ(pp → Z+jet) and σ(pp → Z+c jet)/σ(pp → Z+b jet) for the associated production of a Z boson with at least one charm or bottom quark jet. Jets have transverse momentum ​pT(jet)​>20  GeV and pseudorapidity |​η(jet)​|<2.5. These cross section ratios are measured differentially as a function of jet and Z boson transverse momenta, based on 9.7  fb(-1) of pp collisions collected with the D0 detector at the Fermilab Tevatron Collider at √s=1.96  TeV. The measurements show significant deviations from perturbative QCD calculations and predictions from various event generators.

Combination system of full-scale constructed wetlands and wetland paddy fields to remove nitrogen and phosphorus from rural unregulated non-point sources

Constructed wetlands (CWs) have been used effectively to remove nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) from non-point sources. Effluents of some CWs were, however, still with high N and P concentrations and remained to be pollution sources. Widely distributed paddy fields can be exploited to alleviate this concern. We were the first to investigate a combination system of three-level CWs with wetland paddy fields in a full scale to remove N and P from rural unregulated non-point sources. The removal efficiencies (REs) of CWs reached 57.3 % (37.4-75.1 %) for N and 76.3 % (62.0-98.4 %) for P. The CWs retained about 1,278 kg N ha(-1) year(-1) and 121 kg P ha(-1) year(-1). There was a notable seasonal change in REs of N and P, and the REs were different in different processing components of CWs. The removal rates of wetland paddy fields adopt "zero-drainage" water management according to local rainfall forecast and physiological water demand of crop growth reached 93.2 kg N ha(-1) year(-1) and 5.4 kg P ha(-1) year(-1). The rice season had higher potential in removing N and P than that in the wheat season. The whole combined system (0.56 ha CWs and 5.5 ha wetland paddy fields) removed 1,790 kg N year(-1) and 151 kg P year(-1), which were higher than those from CWs functioned alone. However, another 4.7-ha paddy fields were needed to fully remove the N and P in the effluents of CWs. The combination of CWs and paddy fields proved to be a more efficient nutrient removal system.

PA28gamma emerges as a novel functional target of tumour suppressor microRNA-7 in non-small-cell lung cancer

BACKGROUND

MicroRNA-7 (miR-7) has been reported to be a tumour suppressor gene. However, whether it has a role in the growth of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and what is its target involved in the tumour growth is still under investigation.

METHODS

NSCLC tissue sample, NSCLC cell lines and tissue microarray were investigated in this study. Total RNA, miRNA and protein were used for RT-PCR and western blot analysis. Immunohistochemistry was performed in tissues microarray. Cell culture and intervention experiments were performed in vitro and in vivo. Bioinformatics prediction, western blot and luciferase assay were identified the target of miR-7.

RESULTS

In this study, we found that the expression of miR-7 was significantly downregulated not only in NSCLC cell lines, but also in human NSCLC tissues compared with the matched adjacent tissues. Restoration of its expression through miR-7 mimics in A549 and H1299 NSCLC cells inhibited cell proliferation, colony formation, and cell-cycle progression in vitro. More importantly, the tumorigenicity in nude mice was reduced after administration of miR-7 in vivo. In advance, through bioinformatic analysis, luciferase assay and western blot, we identified a novel target of miR-7, PA28gamma (a proteasome activator) to be enrolled in the regulation with tumour. PA28gamma mRNA and protein levels are markedly upregulated in NSCLC cell lines and tumour samples, exhibiting a strong inverse relation with that of miR-7. In addition, knockdown of PA28gamma induced similar effects as overexpression of miR-7 in NSCLC cells. Furthermore, miR-7 overexpression or silencing of PA28gamma reduced the cyclinD1 expression at mRNA and protein level in NSCLC cell lines.

CONCLUSION

All these findings strongly imply that the overexpression of PA28gamma resulted from miR-7 downexpression in NSCLC has an important role in promoting cancer cell progress and consequently results in NSCLC growth. Thus, strategies targeting PA28gamma and/or miR-7 may become promising molecular therapies in NSCLC treatment.