(S)-N-Phenyl-tert-butanesulfinamide
The asymmetric unit of the title compound, C10H15NOS, contains two independent molecules with similar conformations. In the crystal, molecules are linked in a head-to-tail fashion by N—H⋯O hydrogen bonds into chains running along the b axis. The absolute configuration was assigned on the basis of known chirality of the parent compound.

title: Kruppel-like factor 5 (KLF5) is critical for conferring uterine receptivity to implantation
abstract: A blastocyst will implant only when the uterus becomes receptive. Following attachment, luminal epithelial cells undergo degeneration at the site of the blastocyst. Although many genes critical for uterine receptivity are primarily regulated by ovarian hormones, Kruppel-like factor 5 (KLF5), a zinc finger-containing transcription factor, is persistently expressed in epithelial cells independently of ovarian hormones. Loss of uterine Klf5 causes female infertility due to defective implantation. Cox2 is normally expressed in the luminal epithelium and stroma at the site of blastocyst attachment, but luminal epithelial COX2 expression is absent with loss of Klf5. This is associated with the retention of the epithelium around the implantation chamber with arrested embryonic growth. These results suggest that Klf5 is indispensable for normal implantation.

title: Preparation and evaluation of Zr-beta-FeOOH for efficient arsenic removal.
abstract: A Zr-beta-FeOOH adsorbent for both As(V) and As(III) removal was prepared by a chemical co-precipitation method. Compared with beta-FeOOH, the addition of Zr enhanced the adsorption capacities for As(V) and As(III), especially As(III). The maximum adsorption capacities for As(III) and As(V) were 120 and 60 mg/g respectively at pH 7.0, much higher than for many reported adsorbents. The adsorption data accorded with Freundlich isotherms. At neutral pH, for As(V), adsorption equilibrium was approached after 3 hr, while for As(III), adsorption equilibrium was approached after 5 hr. Kinetic data fitted well to the pseudo second-order reaction model. As(V) elimination was favored at acidic pH, whereas the adsorption of As(III) by Zr-beta-FeOOH was found to be effective over a wide pH range of 4-10. Competitive anions hindered the adsorption according to the sequence: phosphate > silicate > bicarbonate > sulfate > nitrate, while Ca2+ and Mg2+ increased the removal of As(III) and As(V) slightly. The high adsorption capability and good performance in other aspects make Zr-beta-FeOOH a potentially attractive adsorbent for the removal of both As(III) and As(V) from water.

title: [Isolation of a metsulfuron-methyl-resistant bacteria and cloning and expression of the acetohydroxyacid synthase genes ilvlH].
abstract: Acetohydroxyacid synthase (EC 4.1.3.18) is the enzyme that catalyses the first step in the synthesis of the branched-chain amino acids valine, leucine and isoleucine in plant, fungi and bacteria, and also is target of the sulfonylurea, imidazolinone, triazolopyrimidine and other acetohydroxyacid synthase inhibitor herbicides.



The purpose of this study is to get the resistant gene, prepare a functional bacteria with acetohydroxyacid synthase, and investigate the relationship between the mutation sites of the acetohydroxyacid synthase and the herbicides-resistant.



A metsulfuron-methyl-resistant bacterium Lm10 was isolated from metsulfuron-methyl contaminated soil. Acetohydroxyacid synthase genes ilvIH was amplified from the genome DNA of strains Lm10 by PCR. The ilvI and ilvH were cloned into the bacterial expression vector pET29a(+) respectively.



Strain Lm10 was identified preliminarily as Pseudomonas sp.. It can endure 14000 micromol/L metsulfuron-methyl and showed cross resistance to diffenent acetohydroxyacid synthase inhibitor herbicids, such as chlorsulfuron, imazethapyr, flumetsulam and penoxsulam. The alignment result of the ilvIH amino acid sequence showed that ilvI of strains Lm10 differed from that of strain KT2440 by 6 sites, While the ilvH of the two strains were the same. The gene ilvI and ilvH were functional expressed in the Escherichia coli strain BL21(DE3) respectively. The expressed production pET-I displayed acetohydroxyacid synthase activity and showed resistance to high concentration of metsulfuron-methyl.



The ilvI displayed acetohydroxyacid synthase activity. The 6 different sites in ilvI of strains Lml0 probably led to herbicids resistance.

title: Uterine deletion of Gp130 or Stat3 shows implantation failure with increased estrogenic responses.
abstract: Leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF), a downstream target of estrogen, is essential for implantation in mice. LIF function is thought to be mediated by its binding to LIF receptor (LIFR) and recruitment of coreceptor GP130 (glycoprotein 130), and this receptor complex then activates signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT)1/3. However, the importance of LIFR and GP130 acting via STAT3 in implantation remains uncertain, because constitutive inactivation of Lifr, Gp130, or Stat3 shows embryonic lethality in mice. To address this issue, we generated mice with conditional deletion of uterine Gp130 or Stat3 and show that both GP130 and STAT3 are critical for uterine receptivity and implantation. Implantation failure in these deleted mice is associated with higher uterine estrogenic responses prior to the time of implantation. These heightened estrogenic responses are not due to changes in ovarian hormone levels or expression of their nuclear receptors. In the deleted mice, estrogen-responsive gene, Lactoferrin (Ltf), and Mucin 1 protein, were up-regulated in the uterus. In addition, progesterone-responsive genes, Hoxa10 and Indian hedgehog (Ihh), were markedly down-regulated in STAT3-inactivated uteri. These changes in uteri of deleted mice were reflected by the failure of differentiation of the luminal epithelium, which is essential for blastocyst attachment.

title: Cannabinoid/Endocannabinoid signaling impact on early pregnancy events.
abstract: It has been known for decades that marijuana and its major psychoactive component Δ⁹-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) alter both male and female reproductive functions in humans and laboratory animals. The discovery of cannabinoid-like molecules (endocannabinoids), anandamide (AEA) and 2-arachidonylglycerol (2AG), as well as G-protein-coupled cannabinoid/endocannabinoid receptors CB₁ and CB₂, created an opportunity to study the adverse and beneficial effects of cannabinoids/endocannabinoids on fertility using molecular, physiological and genetic approaches. In fact, studies to explore the significance of cannabinoid/endocannabinoid signaling in reproduction have revealed some intriguing physiological roles in early pregnant events. This review summarizes some aspects of these signaling molecules in preimplantation and implantation biology utilizing genetically engineered mouse models.

title: Methodological issues in cost-effectiveness studies: a brief overview.
abstract: This article discussed two methodological issues around cost-effectiveness studies, including validity and transferability of results. In an economic analysis study, methods to costing, health utility measurement, and economic modeling represent three important sources that may threaten the validity. Variations in health systems and clinical practice, and differential resource use and unit prices across regions and countries may have potentially large influence on transferability. The limitations of piggybacked design may also have implications for transferability. Caution is warranted in the design, conduct, and interpretation of cost-effectiveness studies regarding their validity and transferability.

title: The effect of telomerase activity on vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation in type 2 diabetes in vivo and in vitro.
abstract: Serious complications as a result of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) are becoming a major health concern. In the present study, it was hypothesized that telomerase activity is upregulated in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) during proliferation in T2DM and that the application of telomerase inhibitors impedes the proliferation of VSMCs in vitro. Male Wistar rats were randomly allocated into the normal control (NC) or diabetic (DM) group. Diabetes was induced by high‑fat feeding and a low dose of streptozotocin (STZ; 30 mg/kg). Primary VSMC cultures were exposed to normal (5.5 mM) or high (25 mM) glucose and insulin (100 nM) in the presence and absence of various concentrations of antisense oligoribonucleotides (ASODNs) for varying lengths of time. Telomerase activity and the proliferation of VSMCs were measured. Results showed that there was a significant increase in the levels of fasting glucose, insulin, triglycerides (TG) and free fatty acids (FFAs) in the diabetic group. Telomerase activity and the proliferation of VSMCs were significantly higher in the diabetic group in vivo and in the high glucose and insulin (HGI)-treated group in vitro (P<0.01). ASODNs significantly inhibited the proliferation of VSMCs in a concentration- and time‑dependent manner (P<0.01). In conclusion, hyperglycemia and hyperinsulinemia stimulate telomerase activity and the proliferation of VSMCs, while the inhibition of telomerase activity reduces the proliferation of VSMCs, indicating that telomerase may be involved in the pathological process of diabetic vascular disease.

title: Surface-emitting circular DFB, disk- and ring- Bragg resonator lasers with chirped gratings: a unified theory and comparative study.
abstract: We have developed a theory that unifies the analysis of the modal properties of surface-emitting chirped circular grating lasers. This theory is based on solving the resonance conditions which involve two types of reflectivities of chirped circular gratings. This approach is shown to be in agreement with previous derivations which use the characteristic equations. Utilizing this unified analysis, we obtain the modal properties of circular DFB, disk-, and ring- Bragg resonator lasers. We also compare the threshold gain, single mode range, quality factor, emission efficiency, and modal area of these types of circular grating lasers. It is demonstrated that, under similar conditions, disk Bragg resonator lasers have the highest quality factor, the highest emission efficiency, and the smallest modal area, indicating their suitability in low-threshold, high-efficiency, ultracompact laser design, while ring Bragg resonator lasers have a large single mode range, high emission efficiency, and large modal area, indicating their suitability for high-efficiency, large-area, high-power applications.

title: Anti-angiogenic therapy subsequent to adeno-associated-virus-mediated immunotherapy eradicates lymphomas that disseminate to the liver.
abstract: Liver cancer has a very poor prognosis and lacks effective therapy. We have previously demonstrated that intraportal injection of adeno-associated-viral (AAV) particles that express angiostatin lead to long-term expression of angiostatin capable of suppressing the outgrowth of EL-4 tumors in the liver. Here we combine AAV-mediated angiostatin therapy with immunotherapy by employing an AAV vector encoding the T-cell costimulator B7.1. Incubation of EL-4 cells with AAV-B7.1 viruses resulted in the rapid expression of B7.1 on the surface of 80% of EL-4 cells. Mice that were vaccinated with B7.1-engineered tumor cells rejected the tumor cells and resisted a secondary challenge with unmodified parental cells. Splenocytes from the vaccinated mice were highly cytotoxic towards parental EL-4 cells in vitro. However, the vaccinated mice failed to resist the challenge of a heavy burden of EL-4 cells. Intraportal injection of AAV particles that express angiostatin into mice that had been vaccinated 1 month earlier with B7.1-engineered tumor cells protected mice against the challenge of a heavy burden of EL-4 cells and eradicated tumors that had disseminated to the liver. The combinational therapy increased the survival rate of mice with advanced liver cancer. These encouraging results warrant investigation of the employment of anti-angiogenic therapy subsequent to cancer immunotherapy for targeting unresectable disseminated liver metastases.

title: N-terminal domains of DELLA proteins are intrinsically unstructured in the absence of interaction with GID1/gibberellic acid receptors.
abstract: The plant growth-repressing DELLA proteins (DELLAs) are known to represent a convergence point in integration of multiple developmental and environmental signals in planta, one of which is hormone gibberellic acid (GA). Binding of the liganded GA receptor (GID1/GA) to the N-terminal domain of DELLAs is required for GA-induced degradation of DELLAs via the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway, thus derepressing plant growth. However, the conformational changes of DELLAs upon binding to GID1/GA, which are the key to understanding the precise mechanism of GID1/GA-mediated degradation of DELLAs, remain unclear. Using biophysical, biochemical, and bioinformatics approaches, we demonstrated for the first time that the unbound N-terminal domains of DELLAs are intrinsically unstructured proteins under physiological conditions. Within the intrinsically disordered N-terminal domain of DELLAs, we have identified several molecular recognition features, sequences known to undergo disorder-to-order transitions upon binding to interacting proteins in intrinsically unstructured proteins. In accordance with the molecular recognition feature analyses, we have observed the binding-induced folding of N-terminal domains of DELLAs upon interaction with AtGID1/GA. Our results also indicate that DELLA proteins can be divided into two subgroups in terms of their molecular compactness and their interactions with monoclonal antibodies.