The solubilities of triphenylphosphine in the organic solvents ethanol, 2-propanol, acetone, benzene, and toluene were measured by a gravimetrical method from (303.2 to 333.2) K. The logarithm of the solubility data was correlated against temperature with the average absolute error less than 2 %. The solubility of triphenylphosphine in ethanol was compared with the literature data and agreed with the literature data within 1.7 %. Although ethanol is often used for recrystallization of triphenylphosphine, the solubility of triphenylphosphine in acetone was higher compared with other solvents. Knowledge of the solubility data in the organic solvents is useful in the study of the crystallization of triphenylphosphine.

The solubilities of 2-carboxyethylphenylphosphinic acid (CEPPA) and a potential reactive flame retardant, 4-carboxyphenylphenylphosphinic acid (CPPPA), in water were measured. The concentration of the solution was determined by sodium hydroxide titration with phenolphthalein as the indicator. The solubilities of CEPPA were measured from 25.10 °C to 76.32 °C with an uncertainty of 2.2%, and the solubilities of CPPPA were measured from 26.70 °C to 94.52 °C with an uncertainty of 2.1%.

Background: Our previous study revealed that the combination of Saikosaponin-d (SSd) and radiation is more effective in the treatment of liver cancer than the application of either of these monotherapeutic methods. However, the molecular mechanisms of the radiosensitizing effect of SSd on liver cancer remained ill defined. Methods: Cells were treated with different interventions; afterward, cell viability, apoptosis, and cell survival of SMMC-7721 and HepG2 hepatoma cells were examined. Xenograft tumor models were established by subcutaneously injecting SMMC-7721 cells. The molecular mechanism was assessed by western blot. Results: SSd dose-dependently increased radiosensitivity of hepatoma cells under hypoxic condition. The growth inhibitory effect of the combined treatment was correlated with cell apoptosis. Further mechanistic analysis indicated that SSd induced the upregulation of p53 and Bax as well as the downregulation of Bcl-2 by attenuating HIF-1α expression under hypoxic condition. These effects were enhanced when the HIF-1α inhibitor PX-478 was introduced. In vivo data also presented a more significant suppression of tumor xenograft growth from the combined therapy than from either of the monotherapeutic methods. Conclusions: Our study provides evidence for a radiosensitizing effect of SSd on hepatoma cells under hypoxic conditions by inhibiting HIF-1α expression. Thus, SSd can be used as a potential sensitizer in hepatoma radiotherapy.

Abbreviations: DSBs, DNA double-strand breaks; GVBD, germinal vesicle breakdown; SAC, spindle assembly checkpoint; PB1, first polar body; IVM, in vitro maturation; MII, the second metaphase; MI, the first metaphase; DDR, DNA damage response; ICL, interstrand crosslinks; PBE, PB1 extrusion.In female mice, despite the presence of slight DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs), fully grown oocytes are able to undergo meiosis resumption as indicated by germinal vesicle breakdown (GVBD); however, severe DNA DSBs do reduce and delay entry into M phase through activation of the DNA damage checkpoint. But little is known about the effect of severe DNA DSBs on the spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC) during oocyte maturation. We showed that nearly no first polar body (PB1) was extruded at 12 h of in vitro maturation (IVM) in severe DNA DSBs oocytes, and the limited number of oocytes with PB1 were actually at telophase. However, about 60% of the severe DNA DSBs oocytes which underwent GVBD at 2 h of IVM released a PB1 at 18 h of IVM and these oocytes did reach the second metaphase (MII) stage. Chromosome spread at MI and MII stages showed that chromosomes fragmented after GVBD in severe DNA DSBs oocytes. The delayed PB1 extrusion was due to the disrupted attachment of microtubules to kinetochores and activation of the SAC. At the same time, misaligned chromosome fragments became obvious at the first metaphase (MI) in severe DNA DSBs oocytes. These data implied that the inactivation of SAC during the metaphase-anaphase transition of first meiosis was independent of chromosome integrity. Next, we induced DNA DSBs in vivo, and found that the number of superovulated oocytes per mouse was significantly reduced; moreover, this treatment increased the percentage of apoptotic oocytes. These results suggest that DNA DSBs oocytes undergo apoptosis in vivo.

SummaryTo understand the molecular mechanisms of rice aerial organ development, we identified a mutant gene that caused a significant decrease in the width of aerial organs, termed ABNORMAL VASCULAR BUNDLES (AVB).Histological analysis showed that the slender aerial organs were caused by cell number reduction. In avb, the number of vascular bundles in aerial organs was reduced, whereas the area of the vascular bundles was increased.Ploidy analysis and the in situ expression patterns of histone H4 confirmed that cell proliferation was impaired during lateral primordia development, whereas procambium cells showed a greater ability to undergo cell division in avb. RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) showed that the development process was affected in avb. Map-based cloning and genetic complementation demonstrated that AVB encodes a land plant conserved protein with unknown functions.Our research shows that AVB is involved in the maintenance of the normal cell division pattern in lateral primordia development and that the AVB gene is required for procambium establishment following auxin signaling.