Bacterial N-Acyl-L-homoserine lactones (AHLs)-mediated quorum sensing is involved in the regulation of diverse biological functions. As the bacterial pathogen population density increases, AHLs concentration secreted by pathogen reaches a threshold and then interacts with their intercellular receptor and triggers expression of virulence genes. It is a promising approach to biologically control bacterial disease in plants and animals by manipulating bacterial AHL-quorum sensing with AHLs-degrading enzyme and AHL analogue.

In order to improve tensile property of vascular scaffold, we blended silk fibroin with novel human-like collagen with the mass ratio of 9:1, 7:3 and 5:5 (W/W), and then fabricated blood vessel tubular graft by freeze-drying process. We studied microstructure, mechanical properties, elements composites, degradability and biocompatibility of vascular scaffolds. These results showed that tubular scaffold with mass ratio 7:3 exhibited interconnected porous structure with pore size at (60 +/- 5) microm and porosity of 85%; achieved the desirable mechanical property (strain of 50% +/- 5% and stress of 332 +/- 16 kPa); had relatively slow degradation rate; could enhance cell adhesion and proliferation and had superior biocompatibility.
Biocompatible Materials ; chemistry ; Biomechanical Phenomena ; Blood Vessels ; physiology ; Collagen ; chemistry ; Fibroins ; chemistry ; Humans ; Materials Testing ; Porosity ; Tissue Engineering ; methods ; Tissue Scaffolds

Objective To investigate the predictive value of neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) in peripheral blood for the outcomes in patients with acute intracerebral hemorrhage.Methods Consecutive inpatients with intracerebral hemorrhage diagnosed with the head CT were entolled.The modified Rankin Scale (mRS) was used to evaluate the functional outcomes at 90 d,0-2 wvas defined as good outcome,3-6 were defined as poor outcome,and 6 was defined as death.Univariate analysis was used to compare the demographic characteristics,baseline data,imaging,and laboratory findings between the groups.Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to determine the independent correlation between NLR and the outcomes,and receiver operating characteristics (ROC) analysis was performed to assess the predictive value of NLR for the outcomes.Results A total of 205 patients with acute intracerebral hemorrhage were enrolled in the study,107 (52.2％) had poor outcome and 57 (27.8％) died.There were significant differences in age (P=0.038),Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) scores (P=0.001),National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) scores (P =0.001),neutrophil count (P =0.005),lymphocyte count (P =0.002),NLR (P =0.001),fasting blood glucose (P =0.012),hypersensitivity C-reactive protein (P=0.002),hematoma volume (P =0.005),and proportion of bleeding into the ventricles (P =0.002) between the poor outcome group and the good outcome group.There were significant differences in age (P =0.002),previous stroke (P =0.018),GCS scores (P =0.001),NIHSS scores (P =0.001),neutrophil count (P=0.008),lymphocyte count (P=0.001),NLR (P=0.001),fasting blood glucose (P=0.016),hematoma volume (P=0.001),and proportion of bleeding into ventricle (P=0.002) between the death group and the survival group.Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that NLR was an independent predictive factor for poor outcome (odds ratio [OR] 2.405,95％ confidence interval [CI] 1.613-3.587;P=0.001) and death (OR 2.268,95％ CI 1.532-3.358;P =0.001) after adjusting for confounders.The ROC curve analysis showed that NLR had a higher predictive value for poor outcome at 90 d (area under the ROC curve 0.703,95％ CI 0.632-0.774;P ＜ 0.001).When the cutoff value was 2.3,the sensitivity and specificity were 61.7％ and 72.4％,respectively.NLR also had a predictive value for death within 90 d (area under the ROC curve 0.706,95％ CI 0.629-0.786;P =0.003).When the cutoff value was 2.2,the sensitivity and specificity were 63.2％ and 72.6％,respectively.Conclusion NLR may have certain predict value for outcomes in patients with acute intracerebral hemorrhage.

cFos is one of the most widely-studied genes in the field of neuroscience. Currently, there is no systematic database focusing on cFos in neuroscience. We developed a curated database-cFos-ANAB-a cFos-based web tool for exploring activated neurons and associated behaviors in rats and mice, comprising 398 brain nuclei and sub-nuclei, and five associated behaviors: pain, fear, feeding, aggression, and sexual behavior. Direct relationships among behaviors and nuclei (even cell types) under specific stimulating conditions were constructed based on cFos expression profiles extracted from original publications. Moreover, overlapping nuclei and sub-nuclei with potentially complex functions among different associated behaviors were emphasized, leading to results serving as important clues to the development of valid hypotheses for exploring as yet unknown circuits. Using the analysis function of cFos-ANAB, multi-layered pictures of networks and their relationships can quickly be explored depending on users' purposes. These features provide a useful tool and good reference for early exploration in neuroscience. The cFos-ANAB database is available at www.cfos-db.net .
Animals ; Fear ; Mice ; Neurons ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos ; Rats

cFos is one of the most widely-studied genes in the field of neuroscience. Currently, there is no systematic database focusing on cFos in neuroscience. We developed a curated database—cFos-ANAB—a cFos-based web tool for exploring activated neurons and associated behaviors in rats and mice, comprising 398 brain nuclei and sub-nuclei, and five associated behaviors: pain, fear, feeding, aggression, and sexual behavior. Direct relationships among behaviors and nuclei (even cell types) under specific stimulating conditions were constructed based on cFos expression profiles extracted from original publications. Moreover, overlapping nuclei and sub-nuclei with potentially complex functions among different associated behaviors were emphasized, leading to results serving as important clues to the development of valid hypotheses for exploring as yet unknown circuits. Using the analysis function of cFos-ANAB, multi-layered pictures of networks and their relationships can quickly be explored depending on users’ purposes. These features provide a useful tool and good reference for early exploration in neuroscience. The cFos-ANAB database is available at www.cfos-db.net.