Taken together, the above results showed that cucurbitacin B could significantly suppress releases of inflammatory cytokines and improve liver fibrosis induced by concanavalin A in mice, and those may be achieved through SIRT1/IGFBPrP1/TGF β1 axis.In circulation, cancer cells induce platelet activation, leading to the formation of a cancer cell-encircling platelet cloak which facilitates each step of the metastatic cascade. Since cancer patients treated with the anticoagulant heparin showed reduced metastasis rates and improved survival, it is supposed that heparin suppresses the cloak’s formation by inhibiting the interaction between platelet’s adhesion molecule P-selectin with its ligands on cancer cells. To quantify this heparin effect, we developed a single-cell force spectroscopy approach and quantified the adhesion (maximum adhesion force [FA ] and detachment work [WD ]) between platelets and human non-small cell lung cancer cells (A549). A configuration was used in which A549 cells were glued to tipless cantilevers and force-distance (F-D) curves were recorded on a layer of activated platelets. The concentration-response relationship was determined for heparin at concentrations between 1 and 100 U/mL. Sigmoid dose-response fit revealed half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50 ) values of 8.01 U/mL (FA ) and 6.46 U/mL (WD ) and a maximum decrease of the adhesion by 37.5% (FA ) and 38.42% (WD ). The effect of heparin on P-selectin was tested using anti-P-selectin antibodies alone and in combination with heparin. Adding heparin after antibody treatment resulted in an additional reduction of 9.52% (FA ) and 7.12% (WD ). Together, we quantified heparin’s antimetastatic effect and proved that it predominantly is related to the blockage of P-selectin. Our approach represents a valuable method to investigate the adhesion of platelets to cancer cells and the efficiency of substances to block this interaction.Depicting a taxonomic group’s evolutionary trajectory as a function of changes in the geographical landscape and its historical distribution is critical for constructing informed conservation strategies. Based on fossil sites from the Pliocene to the Holocene, and historical records since 1175 AD, we established macaques’ dispersal pathways into and through China. These routes include internal pathways starting from the southeast corner of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and Mts. Hengduan in western China, and the routes through the estuaries of the three major rivers (Yangtze, Yellow, and Pearl). Our results indicate that macaques used the three rivers and avoided the higher elevation of the plateaus to promote their radiation. They occupied the whole mainland and islands in the Pleistocene and experienced shrunken distribution in the Holocene due to climate changes and human-induced activities. A prominent China-wide reduction occurred between 1817 and 1917; and a remarkable retraction from central China happened between 1918 and 2018 following further eco-social development and human expansion in central China, particularly since the second half of the last century. Starting in 1175 there was a restriction of range to higher altitudes, so that macaques have contracted their range to the west, and the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and Mts. Hengduan have become an important sanctuary. We predict that if the current climate and human-induced changes are not reversed by decisive conservation actions, macaques in east and central China will likely be extinct in the near future.The last decade has witnessed a burgeoning of new methods for the enantioselective vicinal difunctionalization of alkenes initiated by electrophilic sulfenyl group transfer. The addition of sulfenium ions to alkenes results in the generation of chiral, non-racemic thiiranium ions. These highly reactive intermediates are susceptible to attack by a myriad of nucleophiles in a stereospecific ring-opening event to afford anti 1,2-sulfenofunctionalized products. The practical application of sulfenium ion transfer has been enabled by advances in the field of Lewis base catalysis. This Review will chronicle the initial discovery and characterization of thiiranium ion intermediates followed by the determination of their configurational stability and the challenges of developing enantioselective variants. Once the framework for the reactivity and stability of thiiranium ions has been established, a critical analysis of pioneering studies will be presented. Finally, a comprehensive discussion of modern synthetic applications will be categorized around the type of nucleophile employed for sulfenofunctionalization.This paper presents the design of a resonant system for in vitro studies to emulate the exposure of a monolayer of cells to a wireless power transfer system operating at 13.56 MHz. The design procedure targets a system, which maximizes the specific absorption rate (SAR) uniformity on the plane where the layer is cultured, as well as SAR efficiency (defined as SAR over the input power), within the size constraints of a standard incubator. Three resonant wireless power transfer systems with different commonly used loop/coil geometries (cylindrical with circular and square cross-sections and annular) were compared with assess the configuration maximizing the considered design criteria. The system performance in terms of reflection and transmission coefficients, as well as generated E- and H-fields, was characterized numerically and experimentally inside the incubator. Moreover, SAR was computed at the monolayer level. The system equipped with cylindrical coils with square cross-sections led to a high electromagnetic field uniformity in in vitro biological samples. In particular, the uniformities in E and SAR at the layer level were within 7.9% and 5.5%, respectively. This was achieved with the variation in H below the usually considered ±5% limit. © 2020 Bioelectromagnetics Society.Aim Contemporary survival trends in dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) are largely unknown. The aim of this study is to investigate clinical descriptors, survival trends and the prognostic impact of aetiological characterization in DCM patients. Methods and results Dilated cardiomyopathy patients were consecutively enrolled and divided into four groups according to the period of enrolment (1978-1984; 1985-1994; 1995-2004; and 2005-2015). A subset of patients with DCM of specific aetiology, enrolled from 2005 to 2015, was also analysed. Over a mean follow-up of 12 ± 8 years, 1284 DCM patients (52 in the 1978-1984 group, 326 in the 1985-1994 group, 379 in the 1995-2004 group, and 527 in the 2005-2015 group) were evaluated. Despite older age (mean age 51 ± 15, 43 ± 15, 45 ± 14, and 52 ± 15 years for the 1978-1984, 1985-1994, 1995-2004, and 2005-2015 groups, respectively; P less then 0.001), most of the baseline clinical characteristics improved in the 2005-2015 group, suggesting a less advanced disease stage at diagnosis. Similarly, at competing risk analysis, the annual incidence of all outcome parameters progressively decreased over time (global P less then 0.001). At multivariable analysis, the last period of enrolment emerged as independently associated with a reduction in all-cause mortality/heart transplantation (HTx)/ventricular assist device (VAD) implantation (1.46 events/100 patients/year), cardiovascular death/HTx/VAD implantation (0.82 events/100 patients/year) and sudden cardiac death (0.15 events/100 patients/year). Lastly, in 287 patients with DCM of specific aetiology, patients with environmental, toxic, or removable factors appeared to have different phenotypes and prognosis compared to those with genetic, post-myocarditis, or idiopathic DCM (P less then 0.001). Conclusions Contemporary survival trends in DCM significantly improved, mainly due to a reduction of cardiovascular events. Appropriate aetiological characterization might help in prognostication of DCM patients.Prenatal midgut volvulus is difficult to diagnose, and it is particularly difficult to evaluate the degree of rotation, which may be related to prognosis. We present a rare case of prenatal midgut volvulus with a 720° rotation around the superior mesenteric artery diagnosed based on ultrasonography, and jejunal atresia was noted at the same time. This condition was supported by prenatal magnetic resonance imaging and the subsequent postnatal operation. To the best of our knowledge, there is no previous literature describing similar ultrasound findings in the prenatal period. Recognition of the color Doppler ultrasound imaging findings can help elucidate the relationship among the twisted vessels of midgut volvulus during the prenatal examination.The relevance of preserving microorganisms has been well accepted for several decades. Interest is now shifting towards investigating adequate preservation methods to improve microbial survival rates and to preserve new taxa of previously considered unculturable microorganisms. In addition, a growing interest in preserving fragile microbial consortia or communities with biotechnological interest motivates the improvement of preservation methods. In the present study, we reviewed the effect of water availability in microbial diversity shift. We describe the effect of drought on microorganisms at the molecular level and their molecular responses to this life-threatening challenge focusing on the production of xeroprotectants. We also review the interspecies interactions of those drought-tolerant microorganisms with other sensitive organisms including neighbouring prokaryotes and eukaryotes such as plants, and the potential role of these microorganisms at determining the ecological composition of stressed environments. We emphasize the importance of applying the knowledge derived from the molecular mechanisms used by desiccation-tolerant microorganisms for the improvement of the preservation techniques. An overview of the current and newer techniques for preserving microorganisms and microbial communities is provided. The biotechnological interest in preserving pure cultures, microbial consortia and communities is also discussed.The deep seafloor serves as a reservoir of biodiversity in the global ocean, with >80% of invertebrates at abyssal depths still undescribed. These diverse and remote deep-sea communities are critically under-sampled and increasingly threatened by anthropogenic impacts, including future polymetallic nodule mining. Using a multigene environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding approach, we characterized metazoan communities sampled from sediments, polymetallic nodules and seawater in the western Clarion Clipperton Zone (CCZ) to test the hypotheses that deep seamounts (a) are species richness hotspots in the abyss, (b) have structurally distinct communities in comparison to other deep-sea habitats, and (c) that seafloor particulate organic carbon (POC) flux and polymetallic nodule density are positively correlated with metazoan diversity. eDNA metabarcoding was effective at characterizing distinct biotas known to occur in association with different abyssal substrate types (e.g., nodule- and sediment-specific fauna), with distinct community composition and few taxa shared across substrates. Seamount faunas had higher overall taxonomic richness, and different community composition and biogeography than adjacent abyssal plains, with seamount communities displaying less connectivity between regions than comparable assemblages on the abyssal plains. Across an estimated gradient of low to moderate POC flux, we find lowest taxon richness at the lowest POC flux, as well as an effect of nodule size on community composition. Our results suggest that while abyssal seamounts are important reservoirs of metazoan diversity in the CCZ, given limited taxonomic overlap between seamount and plains fauna, conservation of seamount assemblages will be insufficient to protect biodiversity and ecosystem function in regions targeted for mining.