Isolation and characterization of microsatellite loci in an endemic species Styrax odoratissimus (Styracaceae) in subtropical forests

Styrax odoratissimus, a small tree with limited distribution range, has been seriously threatened due to human activities. The information on population ecology and genetic diversity are in need for the conservation of the species and its relatives. Here, we developed ten polymorphic microsatellite markers and test them on two distant populations. The total number of alleles per locus ranged from 5 to 15. The observed and unbiased expected heterozygosities ranged from 0.190 to 0.921 and 0.191 to 0.850, respectively. Cross-species amplification was successfully tested in five loci for Styrax dasyanthus.     

Establishing a Nurse-Led Central Venous Catheter Insertion Service

Background: Health care systems promote care models that deliver both safety and quality. Nurse-led vascular access teams show promise as a model to achieve hospital efficiencies and improve patient outcomes.Objectives: The aim of this paper is to discuss the process of establishing a nurse-led central venous catheter (CVC) insertion service in a university affiliated hospital using a process evaluation method.Method: Archival information, including reports, communications and minutes of departmental meetings were reviewed. Key stakeholders involved in establishing this nurse-led service at the time were interviewed.Results: A nurse-led CVC insertion service was first established in 1996 and has increased in service provision over 13 years. Initially there was scepticism from some medical practitioners about the feasibility of a nurse performing a traditional medical procedure. The service currently provides central venous access across the hospital including critical care areas. The service places up to 500 catheters per annum.Conclusions: Establishing a nurse-led CVC insertion service has increased organizational efficiencies and provided an infrastructure for support of best practice. The support of senior management and medical practitioners was crucial to the successful implementation of this model of care.     

Recent advances in research on Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever

Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is an expanding tick-borne hemorrhagic disease with increasing human and animal health impact. Immense knowledge was gained over the past 10 years mainly due to advances in molecular biology, but also driven by an increased global interest in CCHFV as an emerging/re-emerging zoonotic pathogen. In the present article, we discuss the advances in research with focus on CCHF ecology, epidemiology, pathogenesis, diagnostics, prophylaxis and treatment. Despite tremendous achievements, future activities have to concentrate on the development of vaccines and antivirals/therapeutics to combat CCHF. Vector studies need to continue for better public and animal health preparedness and response. We conclude with a roadmap for future research priorities.     

Nestin+ kidney resident mesenchymal stem cells for the treatment of acute kidney ischemia injury

Renal resident mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are important regulators of kidney homeostasis, repair or regeneration. However, natural distribution and the starting population properties of these cells remain elusive because of the lack of specific markers. Here, we identified post-natal kidney derived Nestin⁺ cells that fulfilled all of the criteria as a mesenchymal stem cell. These isolated Nestin⁺ cells expressed the typical cell-surface marker of MSC, including Sca-1, CD44, CD106, NG2 and PDGFR-α. They were capable of self-renewal, possessed high clonogenic potential and extensive proliferation for more than 30 passages. Under appropriate differentiation conditions, these cells could differentiate into adipocytes, osteocytes, chondrocytes and podocytes. After intravenous injection into acute kidney injury mice, Nestin⁺ cells contributed to functional improvement by significantly decreasing the peak level of serum creatinine and BUN, and reducing the damaged cell apoptosis. Furthermore, conditioned medium from Nestin⁺ cells could protect against ischemic acute renal failure partially through paracrine factor VEGF. Taken together, our findings indicate that renal resident Nestin⁺ MSCs can be derived, propagated, differentiated, and repair the acute kidney injury, which may shed new light on understanding MSCs biology and developing cell replacement therapies for kidney disease.     

Accelerated idioventricular rhythm degenerating into bidirectional ventricular tachycardia following acute myocardial infarction

Bidirectional ventricular tachycardia (BVT) is a rare ventricular tachyarrhythmia. It is usually regular, demonstrating a beat-to-beat alternation in the QRS frontal axis that varies between ?20° to ?30° and +110°. The tachycardia rate is typically between 140 and 180?beats/min and the QRS is relatively narrow, with a duration of 120 to 150?ms. The etiology of published BVT cases is most commonly digitalis toxicity and, rarely, herbal aconitine poisoning, hypokalemic periodic paralysis, catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (CPVT), myocarditis, and Andersen-Tawil syndrome. We report a case of accelerated idioventricular rhythm (AIVR) degenerating into BVT following acute myocardial infarction, and briefly discuss the proposed mechanisms underlying BVT.     

The self-assembling camptothecin-tocopherol prodrug: An effective approach for formulating camptothecin

Camptothecin (CPT) is a potent antitumor agent and functions via inhibiting the activity of topoisomerase I during DNA replication. However, the clinical application of CPT has been greatly hindered by its extremely poor solubility, the instability of its active lactone ring in blood stream, as well as the non-specific toxicity to normal tissues. In addition, most of the formulations developed so far are not applicable for formulating CPT. In this study, two novel CPT prodrugs were developed by conjugating CPT to α-tocopherol via a carbonate ester bond (CPT-VE) or disulfide linkage (CPT-S-S-VE). Both CPT prodrugs were able to self-assemble into nanofibers with the facilitation of a PEG_5K-Fmoc-VE₂-based nanomicellar carrier. Both prodrug nanoassemblies exhibited excellent stability. Fluorescence quenching, UV absorbance, and FT-IR studies demonstrated strong interactions between carrier and prodrugs, including hydrophobic interaction, π–π stacking, as well as hydrogen bonding. NMR studies suggested that prodrugs were successfully incorporated into PEG_5K-Fmoc-VE₂ during self-assembly process. In vitro, PEG_5K-Fmoc-VE₂/CPT-S-S-VE presented significantly higher level of cytotoxicity on tumor cells compared to PEG_5K-Fmoc-VE₂/CPT-VE. Biodistribution study showed that CPT-S-S-VE formulated in PEG_5K-Fmoc-VE₂ micelles was effectively converted to parent CPT following delivery to tumor tissues. Finally, PEG_5K-Fmoc-VE₂/CPT-S-S-VE nanofibers showed superior tumor growth inhibition in an aggressive murine breast cancer model (4T1.2).     

Comparative and evolutionary analysis of an adapter molecule MyD88 in invertebrate metazoans

The myeloid differentiation factor 88 (MyD88) is an essential adapter in Toll-like receptor (TLR) signalling pathways, with TLR the first pattern-recognition receptor (PRR) that was discovered in Drosophila. In the present study, a MyD88 gene was identified and characterized from a commercially important shellfish, Scapharca subcrenata, including a DEATH domain and TIR domain conserved within other molluscs. Furthermore, comparative genomic evidence revealed that MyD88 was of different lengths and contained quantitative exon and intron regions, which might be involved in specific mechanisms. To further explore the phylogenetic relationships of invertebrate metazoan MyD88, we applied MrBayes and PhyML software to construct phylogenetic trees using Bayesian and maximum likelihood approaches, respectively, which suggested that the MyD88 of Arthropoda was closely related to lower invertebrates, in contrast to morphological taxonomy. Finally, we investigated the evolutionary patterns and location of positive selection sites (PSSs) in the MyD88 gene from Arthropoda, Mollusca and Insecta using PAML software with the maximum likelihood method. The data showed that positive selection sites were detected in these groups, and partial sites were located in the TIR domain but were not found in the DEATH domain. To summarize, in this study, we report on the diversification of MyD88 in invertebrate metazoans, the specific evolutionary position of Arthropoda MyD88, and the positive selection pressures on MyD88 of Arthropoda, Mollusca and Insecta. These results are a valuable contribution to understand and clarify the evolutionary pattern of TLR/MyD88 signalling pathways in invertebrate and vertebrate taxa.     

The origin and evolution of Basigin(BSG) gene: A comparative genomic and phylogenetic analysis

Basigin (BSG), also known as extracellular matrix metalloproteinase inducer (EMMPRIN) or cluster of differentiation 147 (CD147), plays various fundamental roles in the intercellular recognition involved in immunologic phenomena, differentiation, and development. In this study, we aimed to compare the similarities and differences of BSG among organisms and explore possible evolutionary relationships based on the comparison result. We used the extensive BLAST tool to search the metazoan genomes, N-glycosylation sites, the transmembrane region and other functional sites. We then identified BSG homologs from genomic sequences and analyzed their phylogenetic relationships. We identified that BSG genes exist not only in the vertebrate metazoans but also in the invertebrate metazoans such as Amphioxus B. floridae, D. melanogaster, A. mellifera, S. japonicum, C. gigas, and T. patagoniensis. After sequence analysis, we confirmed that only vertebrate metazoans and Cephalochordate (amphioxus B. floridae) have the classic structure (a signal peptide, two Ig-like domains (IgC2 and IgI), a transmembrane region, and an intracellular domain). The invertebrate metazoans (excluding amphioxus B. floridae) lack the N-terminal signal peptides and IgC2 domain. We then generated a phylogenetic tree, genome organization comparison, and chromosomal disposition analysis based on the biological information obtained from the NCBI and Ensembl databases. Finally, we established the possible evolutionary scenario of the BSG gene, which showed the restricted exon rearrangement that has occurred during evolution, forming the present-day BSG gene.