ABSTRACT Limnichidae are currently a moderately diverse beetle family with a sparse fossil record. Here we describe a new limnichid genus and species, Anomocephalobus liuhaoi Li, Jäch & Cai gen. et sp. nov., from the mid-Cretaceous amber from northern Myanmar. Anomocephalobus gen. nov. is tentatively assigned to the extant subfamily Cephalobyrrhinae, based on its transverse metacoxae, 5-segmented protarsi, and absence of grooves on the ventral surface for reception of legs, though its oval body shape is somewhat deviating from extant Cephalobyrrhinae. The generic placement of the recently described Erichia cretacea Yu, Ślipiński, Ren & Pang, 2018 is also discussed.

Abstract For high recoveries and purities of L-proline (L-Pro) and L-hydroxyproline (L-Hyp) from the low-value sea cucumber Acaudina leucoprocta, the extraction process was systematically investigated and optimized. The results indicated that, in decoloration of A. leucoprocta hydrolysate, activated carbon powdered W660 was more suitable due to the low addition amount and short treatment time compared with macroporous resin HZ816 offering comparable decoloration ratio and imino acids recovery yields. For oxidative deamination, HCl-HNO3 exhibited better performance than NaNO2 with complete primary amino acids broken-down and fewer imino acids loss. After decoloration and oxidative deamination under their optimized conditions, an extraction solution was obtained with L-Pro and L-Hyp recovery yields of 76.3% and 78.8% from A. leucoprocta hydrolysate, which was directly used for separation of L-Pro and L-Hyp with ion-exchange chromatograph. This work may be referenced for the large-scale L-Pro and L-Hyp production from other low-value materials.

Many compounds of ginsenosides show anti-inflammatory properties. However, their anti-inflammatory effects in intervertebral chondrocytes in the presence of inflammatory factors have never been shown. Increased levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines are generally associated with the degradation and death of chondrocytes; therefore, finding an effective and nontoxic substance that attenuates the inflammation is worthwhile. In this study, chondrocytes were isolated from the nucleus pulposus tissues, and the cells were treated with ginsenoside compounds and IL-1β, alone and in combination. Cell viability and death rate were assessed by CCK-8 and flow cytometry methods, respectively. PCR, western blot, and immunoprecipitation assays were performed to determine the mRNA and protein expression, and the interactions between proteins, respectively. Monomeric component of ginsenoside Rd had no toxicity at the tested range of concentrations. Furthermore, Rd suppressed the inflammatory response of chondrocytes to interleukin (IL)-1β by suppressing the increase in IL-1β, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, IL-6, COX-2, and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) expression, and retarding IL-1β-induced degradation of chondrocytes by improving cell proliferation characteristics and expression of aggrecan and COL2A1. These protective effects of Rd were associated with ubiquitination of IL-1 receptor accessory protein (IL1RAP), blocking the stimulation of IL-1β to NF-κB. Bioinformatics analysis showed that NEDD4, CBL, CBLB, CBLC, and ITCH most likely target IL1RAP. Rd increased intracellular ITCH level and the amount of ITCH attaching to IL1RAP. Thus, IL1RAP ubiquitination promoted by Rd is likely to occur by up-regulation of ITCH. In summary, Rd inhibited IL-1β-induced inflammation and degradation of intervertebral disc chondrocytes by increasing IL1RAP ubiquitination.

SUMMARY Resistance to thyroid hormone (RTH) coexisting with ectopic thyroid is rare. Here we report a case of RTH with ectopic thyroid. A ten-year-old girl had been misdiagnosed as congenital hypothyroidism and treated with levothyroxine since she was born. Ten-year follow-up showed that the elevated thyrotropin was never suppressed by levothyroxine and no signs indicating hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism despite elevated FT3 and FT4 levels. Therefore the girl developed no defects in physical and cognitive development. Pituitary adenoma was excluded by magnetic resonance imaging. Ultrasonography did not find the thyroid gland in the normal place, while the thyroid scan found a large lingual thyroid gland. The octreotide inhibition test showed a reduction in thyrotropin by 41.98%. No mutation was detected in the thyroid hormone receptor (THR) β, THRα, thyrotropin receptor (TSHR), and GNAS1 genes. To our knowledge, it is an interesting RTH case coexisting with lingual thyroid.

Electrospinning is a simple method for producing ultrafine fibers, and has attracted much recent interest. The classical approach was either polymer solutions or polymer melts. Bubbfil spinning (e.g. bubble-electrospinning) is a facile method to fabricate nanofibers with high surface area to volume ratio and high porosity. Polyether sulfone (PES) dissolved in N,N-Dimethylacetamide (DMAC) was used in this study to compare fiber morphologies of two technologies at the same spinning conditions. Effects of solution concentration, applied voltage and tip-to-collector distance on the morphology of the fibers were experimentally studied. It revealed that the Bubbfil spinning process is a better candidate for mass-production of nanofiber with controllable morphology.

Objetivo O objetivo desta metanálise foi investigar a associação entre os níveis de leptina e o risco patogenético de doença arterial coronariana e acidente vascular cerebral. Materiais e métodos Foram identificados estudos nas bases de dados PubMed, Embase e Springer Link sem restrição quanto à língua. A razão de chances (OR) e os intervalos de confiança de 95% correspondentes (95% CI) foram usados como índices de efeitos. A associação entre os níveis de leptina e o risco patogenético de doença arterial coronariana e acidente vascular cerebral com cada unidade adicional na concentração de leptina foi analisada por meio de metanálise. O viés da publicação foi avaliado por meio do teste de regressão linear de Egger. Resultados Oito estudos com caso controle aninhado envolvendo 1.980 pacientes e 11.567 controles foram incluídos na metanálise. As ORs (95% CIs) da associação entre as concentrações de leptina e a doença arterial coronariana e o acidente vascular cerebral foram de 1,90 (1,06; 3,43) e 2,14 (1,48; 3,08), respectivamente. Além disso, foram obtidos resultados significativos com a variação de risco para a doença arterial coronariana a cada unidade adicional na concentração de leptina (OR =1,04; 95% CI =1,00‐1,08; P=0,044). Não houve viés de publicação significativo sugerido pelos desfechos no teste de Egger. Conclusão Há associação significativa entre a leptina e o risco patogenético de doença arterial coronariana e acidente vascular cerebral, e concentrações aumentadas de leptina podem elevar significativamente o risco patogenético de doença arterial coronariana.

Objective This meta-analysis aimed to investigate the association of leptin levels with pathogenetic risk of CHD and stroke. Materials and methods Studies were identified in the PubMed, Embase, and Springer link database without language restriction. Odds ratios (ORs) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were used as effect indexes. The association of leptin levels with pathogenetic risk of CHD and stroke, as well as the risk variation of CHD with each additional one unit of leptin level were examined via meta-analysis. The publication bias was assessed via Egger’s linear regression test. Results Eight nested case-control studies consisting of 1,980 patients and 11,567 controls were included for current meta-analysis. ORs (95% CIs) of association of leptin levels with CHD and stroke was 1.90 (1.06, 3.43), and 2.14 (1.48, 3.08), respectively. In addition, significant result was obtained regarding the risk variation of CHD with each additional one unit of leptin level (OR =1.04, 95% CI =1.00‐1.08, P=0.044). There was no significant publication bias as suggested by Egger test outcomes. Conclusion There was a significant association of leptin with pathogenetic risk of CHD and stroke, and raised leptin levels could significantly increase the pathogenetic risk of CHD.

Disturbances of the microcirculation and abnormal hemorheological properties are important factors that play an important role in disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) and result in organ dysfunction or failure. In the present study, we established an animal model of DIC using intravenous Dextran 500 in rats, and used exogenous normal lymph corresponding to 1/15 of whole blood volume for injection through the left jugular vein. We found that normal lymph could improve the blood pressure and survival time of rats with DIC. The results regarding the mesenteric microcirculation showed that the abnormality of the diameter of mesenteric microvessels and micro-blood flow speed in the DIC+lymph group was significantly less than in the DIC+saline group. Whole blood viscosity, relative viscosity, plasma viscosity, hematocrit (Hct), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), and electrophoresis time of erythrocytes were significantly increased in the DIC+saline group compared to the control group. The electrophoretic length and migration of erythrocytes from the DIC+saline and DIC+lymph groups were significantly slower than the control group. Blood relative viscosity, Hct, ESR, and electrophoretic time of erythrocytes were significantly increased in the DIC+lymph group compared to the control group. Whole blood viscosity, relative viscosity and reduced viscosity were significantly lower in the DIC+lymph group than in the DIC+saline group, and erythrocyte deformability index was also significantly higher than in the DIC+saline and control groups. These results suggest that exogenous normal lymph could markedly improve the acute microcirculation disturbance and the abnormal hemorheological properties in rats with DIC induced by Dextran 500.

Neonatal Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into normal control, mild hypoxia-ischemia (HI), and severe HI groups (N = 10 in each group at each time) on postnatal day 7 (P7) to study the effect of mild and severe HI on anxiety-like behavior and the expression of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) in the substantia nigra (SN). The mild and severe HI groups were exposed to hypoxia (8% O2/92% N2) for 90 and 150 min, respectively. The elevated plus-maze (EPM) test was performed to assess anxiety-like behavior by measuring time spent in the open arms (OAT) and OAT%, and immunohistochemistry was used to determine the expression of TH in the SN at P14, P21, and P28. OAT and OAT% in the EPM were significantly increased in both the mild (1.88-, 1.99-, and 2.04-fold, and 1.94-, 1.51-, and 1.46-fold) and severe HI groups (1.69-, 1.68-, and 1.87-fold, and 1.83-, 1.43-, and 1.39-fold, respectively; P < 0.05). The percent of TH-positive cells occupying the SN area was significantly and similarly decreased in both the mild (17.7, 40.2, and 47.2%) and severe HI groups (16.3, 32.2, and 43.8%, respectively; P < 0.05). The decrease in the number of TH-positive cells in the SN and the level of protein expression were closely associated (Pearson correlation analysis: r = 0.991, P = 0.000 in the mild HI group and r = 0.974, P = 0.000 in the severe HI group) with the impaired anxiety-like behaviors. We conclude that neonatal HI results in decreased anxiety-like behavior during the juvenile period of Sprague-Dawley rats, which is associated with the decreased activity of TH in the SN. The impairment of anxiety and the expression of TH are not likely to be dependent on the severity of HI.