Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is responsible for a variety of human life-threatening diseases, which include liver cirrhosis, chronic hepatitis, fibrosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) . Computational study of protein-protein interactions between human and HCV could boost the findings of antiviral drugs in HCV therapy and might optimize the treatment procedures for HCV infections. In this analysis, we constructed a prediction model for protein-protein interactions between HCV and human by incorporating the features generated by pseudo...

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is responsible for a variety of human life-threatening diseases, which include liver cirrhosis, chronic hepatitis, fibrosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) . Computational study of protein-protein interactions between human and HCV could boost the findings of antiviral drugs in HCV therapy and might optimize the treatment procedures for HCV infections. In this analysis, we constructed a prediction model for protein-protein interactions between HCV and human by incorporating the features generated by pseudo...

Selenium (Se) is an essential element for the human body. Humans meet their basic Se requirements primarily through food consumption. The largest Se-rich contiguous area in China is located in the southeast of Guangxi. In this study, the Se accumulation and translocation in the Guangxi rice–soil system was assessed. Organically bound Se (O-Se) was found to be the main type of soil Se (72.5%), and had a good linear relationship with soil total Se (TSe)...

To obtain additional insight into the genetic factors of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). First, we performed a transcriptome-wide association study (TWAS) integrating human cerebellum-specific variant-expression/splicing correlations to identify ADHD susceptibility genes. Then, the associations between expression/splicing quantitative trait loci (eQTLs/sQTLs) of the transcriptome-wide significant genes and ADHD were observed in a case-control study of Han Chinese children. Furthermore, dual luciferase reporter gene assays were performed to validate the regulatory function of ADHD risk variants....

A growing body of evidence suggests the pivotal role of long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) in influenza virus infection. Based on next-generation sequencing, we previously demonstrated that Lnc45 was distinctively stimulated by H5N1 influenza virus in mice. In this study, we systematically investigated the specific role of Lnc45 during influenza A virus (IAV) infection. Through qRT-PCR, we first demonstrated that Lnc45 is highly up-regulated by different subtypes of IAV strains, including H5N1, H7N9, and H1N1 viruses....

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), as one common type of non-coding RNAs, play a critical role in the tumorigenesis and development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In the current study, we aimed to assess the correlation between lncRNAs expression levels and prognosis of HCC patients. A lncRNA-based signature was also developed to predict the prognosis of HCC in this work. The lncRNAs expression profiles in tissues of tumor and para-carcinoma were obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas...

Retinoblastoma is the most common intraocular malignancy during childhood. Currently, there is no effective treatment for metastatic retinoblastoma. We investigated potential biomarkers of retinoblastoma by utilizing three datasets from a public database. Functional enrichment analysis, including gene ontology, Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes, gene set enrichment analysis and variation analysis, suggested that differentially expressed genes in retinoblastoma were enriched in accelerated cell cycle events. Protein-protein interaction analysis constructed a network consisting of six hub...

Growing evidences suggest that autophagy plays a momentous part in the tumorigenesis and development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, there are not many researches to predict the prognosis of HCC using autophagy-related genes. Therefore, based on the clinical information and RNA-Seq data of The Cancer Genome Atlas data portal (TCGA), 13 autophagy‑related gene pairs were screened to build the autophagy‑related signature to predict the prognosis by least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression analysis....

Two new sesquiterpenoid lactone derivatives, linderin A (1) and linderin B (2) comprising a sesquiterpenoid lactone and a methyl geranylhomogentisate moiety together with six known compounds were isolated from the roots of Lindera aggregata. Their chemical structures were elucidated using extensive spectroscopic analysis including 1 D, 2 D NMR, and HR-ESI-MS data and compared with previously reported data. The absolute configurations of 1 and 2 were assigned based on the electronic circular dichroism calculation. Compound...

Abstract Background Thin endometrium negatively impacts the reproductive function. Current treatments for thin endometrium do not always improve endometrial receptivity. Preliminary evidence suggests that electroacupuncture could have potential therapy for thin endometrium in infertile women. Thus, this randomized controlled trial was designed to test whether electroacupuncture can improve endometrial receptivity in infertile women with thin endometrium. Methods This study is a randomized, single-blinded, controlled, clinical trial. A total of 142 eligible patients will be recruited...

Selenium (Se) is an essential element for the human body. Humans meet their basic Se requirements primarily through food consumption. The largest Se-rich contiguous area in China is located in the southeast of Guangxi. In this study, the Se accumulation and translocation in the Guangxi rice–soil system was assessed. Organically bound Se (O-Se) was found to be the main type of soil Se (72.5%), and had a good linear relationship with soil total Se (TSe)...

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are an integral component of the host competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA) network. These noncoding RNAs are characterized by their unique splicing reactions to form covalently closed loop structures and play important RNA regulatory roles in cells. Recent studies showed that circRNA expressions were perturbed in viral infections and circRNAs might serve as potential antiviral targets. We investigated the host ceRNA network changes and biological relevance of circRNAs in human lung adenocarcinoma epithelial...

The IRON-REGULATED TRANSPORTER1 (IRT1) is critical for iron uptake in roots, and its exocytosis to the plasma membrane (PM) is regulated by detergent-resistant membranes. However, studies on IRT1 exocytosis and function in response to iron status are limited. Presently, we found that the histidine-rich motif (HRM) of MxIRT1 could bind to iron directly and HRM determined the delivery of MxIRT1 to the PM, after which the cholesterol recognition amino acid consensus (CRAC) motif-regulated MxIRT1 mediated...

The IRON-REGULATED TRANSPORTER1 (IRT1) is critical for iron uptake in roots, and its exocytosis to the plasma membrane (PM) is regulated by detergent-resistant membranes. However, studies on IRT1 exocytosis and function in response to iron status are limited. Presently, we found that the histidine-rich motif (HRM) of MxIRT1 could bind to iron directly and HRM determined the delivery of MxIRT1 to the PM, after which the cholesterol recognition amino acid consensus (CRAC) motif-regulated MxIRT1 mediated...

To determine whether abnormal cardiac shape and ventricular global, transverse, and longitudinal contractility are present in fetuses of women with well-controlled GDM. A prospective observational study was performed on 80 fetuses of women with well-controlled GDM and 90 control fetuses. Using Fetal HQ, a new speckle-tracking technique, cardiac shape, global contractility, transverse contractility, and longitudinal contractility were calculated. The number and percentage of fetuses with z score values below 5th or above 95th were computed....

Intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP) is a pregnancy-specific liver disease associated with a significant risk of fetal complications including pre-term delivery and fetal death. Typically, it was diagnosed in the third trimester of pregnancy. This study utilized characteristics from routine maternal examinations in the first 20 weeks’ gestation to predict ICP in pregnant women. This is a retrospective case-control study. 13,329 medical records were collected on pregnant women presenting to the West China Second University...

Our previous studies indicated that Yiguanjian decoction (YGJ) has an anti-hepatic-fibrosis effect and could regulate macrophage status. To elucidate the mechanism of YGJ in regulating macrophages. Liver cirrhosis was induced by CCl4 for 12 weeks combined with 2-acetylaminofluorene (2-AAF) for the last 4 weeks in male Wistar rats. YGJ (3.56 mg/kg) orally administered in the last 4 weeks, and SORA (1 mg/kg) as control. In vitro, RAW264.7 cells were treated with lipopolysaccharides (LPSs) to induce...

Osteoporosis (OP) is a metabolic disease. We have previously demonstrated that aucubin (AU) has anti-OP effects that are due to its promotion of the formation of osteoblasts. To investigate the mechanisms of anti-OP effects of AU. C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into control group, 30 mg/kg Dex-induced OP group (OP model group, 15 μg/kg oestradiol-treated positive control group, 5 or 45 mg/kg AU-treated group), and 45 mg/kg AU-alone-treated group. The administration lasted for 7 weeks....

Background: Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a severe and fatal clinical syndrome characterized by high blood pressure and vascular remodeling in the pulmonary arterioles, which is also a rapidly progressing disease of the lung vasculature with a poor prognosis. Although PAH medication made great advances in recent years, the efficacy and safety of the medication are unsatisfactory. Therefore, we aimed to update and expand previous studies to explore the efficacy and safety of PAH-targeted medications....

Background: Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a severe and fatal clinical syndrome characterized by high blood pressure and vascular remodeling in the pulmonary arterioles, which is also a rapidly progressing disease of the lung vasculature with a poor prognosis. Although PAH medication made great advances in recent years, the efficacy and safety of the medication are unsatisfactory. Therefore, we aimed to update and expand previous studies to explore the efficacy and safety of PAH-targeted medications....

Two new sesquiterpenoid lactone derivatives, linderin A (1) and linderin B (2) comprising a sesquiterpenoid lactone and a methyl geranylhomogentisate moiety together with six known compounds were isolated from the roots of Lindera aggregata. Their chemical structures were elucidated using extensive spectroscopic analysis including 1 D, 2 D NMR, and HR-ESI-MS data and compared with previously reported data. The absolute configurations of 1 and 2 were assigned based on the electronic circular dichroism calculation. Compound...

Lake surface water temperature (LSWT) monitoring is significant as it provides valuable information on climate changes and resultant changes in lakes. Here, monthly moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer LSWT data of 364 lakes during 2001–2015 were analysed to determine spatiotemporal patterns of daytime (LSWTd), nighttime (LSWTn), daily LSWT (LSWTm) and their drivers in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau at monthly, seasonal and annual timescales. We focused on spatiotemporal heterogeneity of LSWT trends. Results showed climatological LSWT presented a...

Dysfunction of macroautophagy/autophagy in macrophages contributes to atherosclerosis. Impaired autophagy-lysosomal degradation system leads to lipid accumulation, facilitating atherosclerotic plaque. ATG14 is an essential regulator for the fusion of autophagosomes with lysosomes. Whether ATG14 plays a role in macrophage autophagy dysfunction in atherosclerosis is unknown. To investigate the effects of ATG14 on macrophage autophagy, human atherosclerotic plaque, apoe−/- mice and cultured mouse macrophages were evaluated. Overexpression of ATG14 by adenovirus was used to reveal its function...

Dysfunction of macroautophagy/autophagy in macrophages contributes to atherosclerosis. Impaired autophagy-lysosomal degradation system leads to lipid accumulation, facilitating atherosclerotic plaque. ATG14 is an essential regulator for the fusion of autophagosomes with lysosomes. Whether ATG14 plays a role in macrophage autophagy dysfunction in atherosclerosis is unknown. To investigate the effects of ATG14 on macrophage autophagy, human atherosclerotic plaque, apoe−/- mice and cultured mouse macrophages were evaluated. Overexpression of ATG14 by adenovirus was used to reveal its function...

Beta-actin (ACTB), a highly conserved cytoskeleton structural protein, has been regarded as a common housekeep gene and used as a reference gene for years. However, accumulating evidence indicates that ACTB is abnormally expressed in multiple cancers and hence changes the cytoskeleton to affect the invasiveness and metastasis of tumors. This study aimed to investigate the function and clinical significance of ACTB in pan-cancer. The role of ACTB for prognosis and immune regulation across 33 tumors...