Chengrefsgaard5877

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the anti-photoaging effect of neferine upon exposure of mice to ultraviolet (UV) radiation. An in vivo photoaging model was established by repeatedly exposing mouse dorsal skin to UV-A and UV-B radiation for 12 weeks. Through skin photographs, hematoxylin and eosin staining, Masson's trichrome staining, and scanning and transmission electron microscopy, skin wrinkles, epidermal thickness and dermal collagen were analyzed in the UV-irradiated mouse skin. Furthermore, the levels of endogenous antioxidants, namely superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx), were measured to determine the extent of UV-induced oxidative stress that was associated with photoaging. The results demonstrated that the topical application of neferine following UV irradiation reduced oxidative stress by increasing SOD and GPx activities, and attenuated the photoaging process. Histological and ultrastructural examination revealed that neferine delayed skin wrinkle formation by inhibiting epidermal hypertrophy and collagen loss and degradation. In conclusion, the results of the present study indicated that neferine effectively prevents UV-induced skin photoaging and photodamage. Copyright © Khan et al.The underlying mechanism of the myocardial protective effect of fisetin was studied in a rat ischemia/reperfusion injury model. Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned to seven groups and pretreated with different solutions by gavage administration. A rat model of cardiac ischemia/reperfusion injury was established. Plasma levels of Von Willebrand factor (vWF) were determined by ELISA, flow cytometry was used to determine the level of cardiomyocyte apoptosis and 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium staining was used to determine the size of myocardial infarcts. Hematoxylin and eosin-stained sections of myocardial tissues were examined for pathological changes. this website Expressions of nuclear factor (NF)-κB and matrix metallopeptidase 9 (MMP-9) were measured by immunohistochemistry. Compared with the model group, rats pretreated with fisetin, quercetin and aspirin showed significant prolongation of clotting time, prothrombin time, thrombin time and activated partial thromboplastin time. Fisetin treatment better maintained the integrity of myocardial fibers and nuclear integrity, reduced the percentage of apoptotic myocardial cells, inhibited expression of NF-κB, decreased the loss of MMP-9 and reduced nuclear translocation of NF-kB. Rats pretreated with fisetin also demonstrated a significant decrease in plasma levels of vWF. In addition, the protective effect of fisetin on myocardial cells was found to be dose dependent. Copyright © Long et al.Background Nearly half the human genome consists of repeat elements, most of which are retrotransposons, and many of which play important biological roles. However repeat elements pose several unique challenges to current bioinformatic analyses and visualization tools, as short repeat sequences can map to multiple genomic loci resulting in their misclassification and misinterpretation. In fact, sequence data mapping to repeat elements are often discarded from analysis pipelines. Therefore, there is a continued need for standardized tools and techniques to interpret genomic data of repeats. Results We present the UCSC Repeat Browser, which consists of a complete set of human repeat reference sequences derived from annotations made by the commonly used program RepeatMasker. The UCSC Repeat Browser also provides an alignment from the human genome to these references, uses it to map the standard human genome annotation tracks, and presents all of them as a comprehensive interface to facilitate work with repetitivtracks can easily be overlaid to reveal complex evolutionary histories of repeats in a single interactive window. Specifically, we use this approach to retrace the history of several primate specific LINE-1 families across apes, and discover several species-specific routes of evolution that correlate with the emergence and binding of KZNFs. © The Author(s) 2020.Background This study aimed to assess the agreement and efficacy of the Ipswich Touch Test compared to the monofilament test in individuals with type 2 diabetes. Materials and methods A cross-sectional and analytical study was conducted. The inclusion criteria were patients with type II diabetes (n = 250) who did not present ulcers or amputation in either foot. The exclusion criteria were as follows patients who presented sequelae of cerebrovascular disease or other neurological pathologies, as well as diagnoses of malignancy, alcohol abuse, liver cirrhosis, hepatitis B, AIDS, hypothyroidism, chronic kidney disease or lupus erythaematosus, as these clinical conditions could influence or bias the results (Won and Park in Endocrinol Metab 31230-238, 2016). Sensitivity, specificity, predictive values, likelihood ratios, and Kappa index were calculated. Other factors assessed were glycated haemoglobin and body mass index. Results Most of the participants were female (71.2%), and glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) was greater than 7% in 54.4% of the patients. The mean age was 59.43 years, and the mean time since diagnosis was 12.38 years. The Kappa index was 0.819 (p  less then  0.001), and the Ipswich Touch Test had a sensitivity of 83.33%, a specificity of 97.66%, a positive predictive value of 85.71%, a negative predictive value of 97.21%, a positive likelihood ratio of 30.19%, and a negative likelihood ratio of 0.17%. The level of significance was 5% in this study. link2 Conclusion The Ipswich Touch Test resented good agreement and efficacy compared to the gold standard-the 10 g monofilament test. © The Author(s) 2020.Background Spinal anesthesia-induced maternal hypotension is the most frequent complication associated with maternal morbidity and mortality during Cesarean section. The aim of this study was to compare the incidence and magnitude of hemodynamic changes in preeclamptic and non-preeclamptic parturients undergone Cesarean section under spinal anesthesia. Method A prospective cohort study was conducted from 01 February to 28 May 2019 in preeclamptic and non-preeclamptic parturients. We hypothesized preeclamptic parturients are at high risk of spinal anesthesia induced hypotension than non preeclamptics. A total of 122 ASA II and ASA III parturients were recruited consecutively and assigned to two groups (81non-preeclamptics, and 41 preeclamptics). Parturients with cardiac disease, twin pregnancy, chronic hypertension, gestational hypertension, superimposed hypertension, renal disease, diabetes mellitus, coagulopathy (platelet count less then  80 × 109/L), active labor, eclampsia, abruptio placentae, placenta pr patients, unless there is a contra indication based on preeclampsia. © The Author(s) 2020.Background Energy demand by mankind has become one of the most important aspects of our society. A promising technology that seeks to provide part of the energy demand and to obtain high-value products is the thermochemical conversion of microalgae biomass. Inorganic species presented in microalgae biomass may act as catalysts for thermochemical reactions and are responsible for notorious ash-related issues during thermochemical decomposition. Results In this study, the freeze-dried biomass of Scenedesmus sp. was used to evaluate the lipid extraction methodology regarding a sonication bath as pretreatment technique for cell disruption followed by vortex mixing and n-hexane as solvent. It is also presented the lipid and amino acid profiles for Scenedesmus sp. The freeze-dried biomass was pyrolysed through a TGA (thermogravimetric analysis), with heating rates of 20 °C/min, from 100 to 650 °C. The ash and sulfated ash contents were accurately determined by combustion of biomass in a muffle furnace. link3 The element component of ashes of the freeze-dried, defatted, pyrolysed and sulfated biomasses was determined by means of scanning electron microscope (SEM) fitted with energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). The lipid content obtained for Scenedesmus sp. dry biomass was 16.72% (± 0.03). The content of the sulfated ash obtained was 17.81 ± 0.15%. The SEM-EDS technique identified different mineral compounds in ashes, allowing to quantify Mg, P, S, K, Ca, Fe, Co and Br, as well as oxides. Conclusion The results suggest a possible strategy to evaluate in a semi-quantitative manner the ash composition of freeze-dryed, defatted, sulfated and pyrolysed biomass of Scenedesmus sp. and its feasibility in using Scenedesmus sp. biomass in different thermochemical conversion strategies to achieve processes with positive energy ratio, representing potential use both environmental and energetically. © The Author(s) 2020.Background The filamentous fungus Trichoderma reesei is a major workhorse employed to produce cellulase, which hydrolyzes lignocellulosic biomass for the production of cellulosic ethanol and bio-based products. However, the economic efficiency of biorefineries is still low. Results In this study, the truncation of cellulase activator ACE3 was identified and characterized in T. reesei classical mutant NG14 and its direct descendants for the first time. We demonstrated that the truncated ACE3 is the crucial cause of cellulase hyper-production in T. reesei NG14 branch. Replacing the native ACE3 with truncated ACE3 in other T. reesei strains remarkably improves cellulase production. By truncating ACE3, we engineered a T. reesei mutant, PC-3-7-A723, capable of producing more cellulase than other strains. In a 30-L fermenter, fed-batch fermentation with PC-3-7-A723 drastically increased the maximum cellulase titer (FPase) to 102.63 IU/mL at 240 h, which constitutes a 20-30% improvement to that of the parental strain PC-3-7. Conclusions This work characterized the function of truncated ACE3 and demonstrated that analysis of classical mutants allows rational engineering of mutant strains with improved cellulase production necessary to process lignocellulosic biomass. Our rational engineering strategy might be useful for enhancing the production of other bio-based products. © The Author(s) 2020.Background Keratin is the primary constituent of the vertebrate epidermis and epidermal appendages, as well as the main waste product generated during poultry processing from feathers, hair, scales, nails, etc. Keratin is generally hard, stubborn and difficult to hydrolyze; however, it is also inexpensive and contains more than 85% protein. Currently, tens of millions of tons of keratin waste are produced each year worldwide; however, no effective methods for the recovery of keratin waste have been reported thus far, making such research urgent. Keratinase has been reported to be useful for keratin waste recovery; however, nearly all keratinases are unable to hydrolyze keratin after they are detached from living cell systems. This may be due to low keratinase activity and lack of synergistic factors. Results Herein, the keratinase gene from Bacillus licheniformis BBE11-1 was successfully expressed in Bacillus subtilis WB600, allowing for improved activity of the recombinant keratinase KerZ1 to 45.14 KU/mL via promoter substitution and screening of the ribosome-binding sites. Further, real-time control of temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, and feed strategy allowed the activity of KerZ1 to reach 426.60 KU/mL in a 15-L fermenter, accounting for a 3552-fold increase compared to the wild-type keratinase (120.1 U/mL). Most importantly, we proposed a method based on the synergistic action of keratinase KerZ1 and sodium sulfite, to hydrolyze feathers into amino acids. In specific, 100 g/L of feather waste can be successfully converted into 56.6% amino acids within 12 h, while supporting the production of dozens of bioactive peptides. Conclusions The activity of recombinant keratinase can be greatly enhanced via transcription and translational regulation in Bacillus subtilis. The synergistic action of keratinase and sulfite can rapidly degrade feather waste and produce amino acids and polypeptides. © The Author(s) 2020.