In the title compound, C(16)H(16)ClNO(2)S, the benzene and thio-phene rings make a dihedral angle of 72.60 (4)°. In the crystal, weak C-H⋯O inter-actions are observed.

L-Tryptophan (L-Trp) is an essential amino acid. It is widely used in medical, health and food products, so a low-cost supply is needed. There are 4 methods for L-Trp production: chemical synthesis, extraction, enzymatic synthesis, and fermentation. In this study, we produced a recombinant bacterial strain pET-tnaA of Escherichia coli which has the L-tryptophanase gene. Using the pET-tnaA E. coli and the strain TS1138 of Pseudomonas sp., a one-pot enzymatic synthesis of L-Trp was developed. Pseudomonas sp. TS1138 was added to a solution of D,L-2-amino-delta2-thiazoline-4-carboxylic acid (DL-ATC) to convert it to L-cysteine (L-Cys). After concentration, E. coli BL21 (DE 3) cells including plasmid pET-tnaA, indole, and pyridoxal 5'-phosphate were added. At the optimum conditions, the conversion rates of DL-ATC and L-Cys were 95.4% and 92.1%, respectively. After purifying using macroporous resin S8 and NKA-II, 10.32 g of L-Trp of 98.3% purity was obtained. This study established methods for one-pot enzymatic synthesis and separation of L-Trp. This method of producing L-Trp is more environmentally sound than methods using chemical synthesis, and it lays the foundations for industrial production of L-Trp from DL-ATC and indole.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: The female-specific W chromosomes and male-specific Y chromosomes have proven difficult to assemble with whole-genome shotgun methods, creating a demand for new approaches to identify sequence contigs specific to these sex chromosomes. Here, we develop and apply a novel method for identifying sequences that are W-specific. RESULTS: Using the Illumina Genome Analyzer, we generated sequence reads from a male domestic chicken (ZZ) and mapped them to the existing female (ZW) genome sequence. This method allowed us to identify segments of the female genome that are underrepresented in the male genome and are therefore likely to be female specific. We developed a Bayesian classifier to automate the calling of W-linked contigs and successfully identified more than 60 novel W-specific sequences. CONCLUSIONS: Our classifier can be applied to improve heterogametic whole-genome shotgun assemblies of the W or Y chromosome of any organism. This study greatly improves our knowledge of the W chromosome and will enhance future studies of avian sex determination and sex chromosome evolution.

JXA1-P170 is an overattenuated highly pathogenic porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (HP-PRRSV) that has been passaged in vitro 170 times. Vaccination with JXA1-P170 cannot protect pigs against JXA1 challenge. Compared with the parental virus JXA1, JXA1-P170 contains 1 nucleotide (nt) deletion and 113 nt mutations leading to 59 amino acid substitutions. Here we announce the first complete genome sequence of the overattenuated HP-PRRSV.

A highly pathogenic strain of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV), characterized by a discontinuous 30-amino-acid deletion in its Nsp2-coding region, has been emerging in China since 2006. Here, we report the complete genomic sequence of two novel Chinese virulent PRRSV variants with additional NSP2-gene deletions, which will help us understand the molecular and evolutionary characteristics of PRRSV in Asia.

We examined the link between household chaos (i.e., noise, clutter, disarray, lack of routines) and maternal executive function (i.e., effortful regulation of attention and memory), and whether it varied as a function of socioeconomic risk (i.e., single parenthood, lower mother and father educational attainment, housing situation, and father unemployment). We hypothesized that: 1) higher levels of household chaos would be linked with poorer maternal executive function, even when controlling for other measures of cognitive functioning (e.g., verbal ability), and 2) this link would be strongest in the most socioeconomically distressed or lowest-socioeconomic status households. The diverse sample included 153 mothers from urban and rural areas who completed a questionnaire and a battery of cognitive executive function tasks and a verbal ability task in the laboratory. Results were mixed for Hypothesis 1, and consistent with Hypothesis 2. Two-thirds of the variance overlapped between household chaos and maternal executive function, but only in families with high levels of socioeconomic risk. This pattern was not found for chaos and maternal verbal ability, suggesting that the potentially deleterious effects of household chaos may be specific to maternal executive function. The findings implicate household chaos as a powerful statistical predictor of maternal executive function in socioeconomically distressed contexts.(PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).

OBJECTIVE Schisandrin B (Sch B) is the most abundant, active dibenzocyclooctadiene derivative isolated from the fruit of Schisandra chinensis (Turcz) Baillon (Schisandraceae).(-)Sch B was found to be the most potent stereoisomer of Sch B in producing cytoprotective action in H9c2 cardiomyocytes. The elucidation of biochemical mechanism underlying the cytoprotection of (-)Sch B has attracted much interest in the area of preventive medicine. Here, we examined whether the (-)Sch B-induced enhancement of glutathione antioxidant and heat shock responses and the associated cytoprotection against hypoxia/reoxygenation-induced apoptosis are mediated by reactive oxygen species (ROS) arising from cytochrome P-450 (CYP)-catalyzed metabolism of (-)Sch B in H9c2 cardiomyocytes. MATERIALS AND METHODS The effects of CYP inhibitor (1-aminobenzotriazole, ABT) and antioxidant (dimethylthiouracil, DMTU) on (-)Sch B-induced ROS production and associated increases in cellular-reduced glutathione (GSH) level as well as heat shock protein (Hsp) 25/70 production were investigated in H9c2 cardiomyocytes. The (-)Sch B-induced ROS generation was monitored with or without ABT/DMTU for 6 h in situ, while (-)Sch B-induced cellular GSH level and Hsp 25/70 production, as well as cytoprotection were measured at 16 h post-(-)Sch B exposure. RESULTS The results indicated that (-)Sch B caused a dose-dependent increase in ROS production in H9c2 cardiomyocytes, which was completely suppressed by pre- and co-treatment with ABT or DTMU. The incubation with (-)Sch B for 6 h caused dose-dependent increases in cellular GSH level and Hsp 25/70 production, as well as protection against hypoxia/reoxygenation-induced apoptosis at 16-h post-drug exposure in H9c2 cardiomyocytes. All these cellular responses were abrogated by treatment with ABT or DMTU. CONCLUSION The results suggest that ROS arising from the CYP-catalyzed metabolism of (-)Sch B elicit glutathione antioxidant and heat shock responses, thereby protecting against oxidant-induced apoptosis in H9c2 cardiomyocytes.

Various operative methods have been devised to create a neovagina for patients with Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser (MRKH) syndrome. Sigmoid vaginoplasty, a common modality for vaginal reconstruction, is believed to have satisfactory long-term anatomical and functional results. We herein report a patient with MRKH syndrome and vault prolapse of a sigmoid neovagina 26 years after vaginoplasty. Biopsies from the neovagina revealed colonic mucosa. Bilateral iliococcygeus fascia fixation of the neovaginal vault was performed vaginally. The patient had a low Pelvic Organ Prolapse/Urinary Incontinence Sexual Questionnaire-12 (PISQ-12) score preoperatively, which further decreased postoperatively. Therefore, the surgery failed to achieve a good functional result. No recurrence of the prolapse was observed 2 years postoperatively.

Oroxylin A is a flavonoid found in the roots of Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi, a herbal medicine commonly used as an antipyretic, analgesic, antitumor, and anti-inflammatory agent. It has recently been investigated for its anticancer activities in hepatoma, gastric, and breast tumors. Here, we investigated the antitumor effects of oroxylin A in human colon carcinoma HCT-116 cells in vitro and in vivo. We characterized the proapoptotic effect of oroxylin A using diamidino-phenyl-indole (DAPI) and annexin V/PI staining. We then found that both caspase-3 and caspase-9 were activated, the expression of Bcl-2 protein decreased, and the expression of Bax protein increased after treatment with oroxylin A. In addition, oroxylin A increased nuclear transcription factor erythroid-related factor 2 (Nrf2) expression and induced Nrf2 translocation into the nucleus. Furthermore, we found that oroxylin A treatment elevated intracellular reactive oxygen species levels and increased the protein expression level of two of the Nrf2 target genes heme oxygenase-1 and NADP(H):quinone oxidoreductase-1 in HCT-116 cells. Finally, our study demonstrated that oral administration of oroxylin A significantly decreased tumor volume and weight in immunodeficient mice that were inoculated with HCT-116 cells. The in-vivo chemopreventive efficacy of oroxylin A against HCT-116 human colon cancer was accompanied by its proapoptotic and Nrf2-inducing activities, which correlates with the in-vitro study. This is the first demonstration of oroxylin A-dependent chemoprevention in colon cancer and may offer a potential mechanism for its anticancer action in vivo.

Highly pathogenic porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (HP-PRRS) initially emerged in China and currently prevails in other Asian countries as well, resulting in immense economic losses. HP-PRRS virus (HP-PRRSV) has undergone rapid evolution since its first recognition in 2006. To analyze the genomic and pathogenic characteristics of 2010 HP-PRRSV, we tested 919 clinical samples collected from China, Laos and Vietnam, sequenced 29 complete genomes of HP-PRRSV isolates, and determined the pathogenicity of seven HP-PRRS viruses isolated from 2006 to 2010. HP-PRRSV was detected from 45.2%(415/919) samples, while only 0.1%(1/919) was classical PRRSV, indicating that HP-PRRSV isolates with a unique discontinuous deletion of 30 amino acids (aa) in non-structural protein 2 (Nsp2) are still the predominant viruses. 2010 HP-PRRSV together with 2009 HP-PRRSV isolates form a new evolutionary branch based on phylogenetic analyses. The numbers of potential N-glycosylation sites are variable in major glycoprotein GP5 but are conserved in minor glycoproteins GP2, GP3 and GP4. Pathogenicity studies showed that HP-PRRS viruses isolated from 2006 to 2010 maintain similar level of high pathogenicity, which caused high fever (>41°C for at least four days), 100% morbidity, and 40-100% mortality in 4-10 weeks old pigs. Real time monitoring information from this study could help to understand the genetic and pathogenic evolution of HP-PRRSV and assist in the control of HP-PRRS in Asia.