Search

Fermi's golden rule (FGR) offers an empirical framework for understanding the dynamics of spin–lattice relaxation in magnetic molecules, encompassing mechanisms like direct (one-phonon) and Raman (two-phonon) processes. These principles effectively model experimental longitudinal relaxation rates, denoted as T 1 − 1 . However, under scenarios of increased coupling strength and nonlinear spin–lattice interactions, FGR's applicability may diminish. This paper numerically evaluates the exact spin–lattice relaxation rate kernels, employing the extended dissipaton equation of motion formalism. Our calculations reveal that when quadratic spin–lattice coupling is considered, the rate kernels exhibit a free induction decay-like feature, and the damping rates depend on the interaction strength. We observe that the temperature dependence predicted by FGR significantly deviates from the exact results since FGR ignores the higher order effects and the non-Markovian nature of spin–lattice relaxation. Our methods can be easily extended to study other systems with nonlinear spin–lattice interactions and provide valuable insights into the temperature dependence of T1 in molecular qubits when the coupling is strong. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The molecular dynamics with electronic friction (MDEF) approach can accurately describe nonadiabatic effects at metal surfaces in the weakly nonadiabatic limit. That being said, the MDEF approach treats nuclear motion classically such that the nuclear quantum effects are completely missing in the approach. To address this limitation, we combine Electronic Friction with Ring Polymer Molecular Dynamics (EF-RPMD). In particular, we apply the averaged electronic friction from the metal surface to the centroid mode of the ring polymer. We benchmark our approach against quantum dynamics to show that EF-RPMD can accurately capture zero-point energy as well as transition dynamics. In addition, we show that EF-RPMD can correctly predict the electronic transfer rate near metal surfaces in the tunneling limit as well as the barrier crossing limit. We expect that our approach will be very useful to study nonadiabatic dynamics near metal surfaces when nuclear quantum effects become essential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aqueous rutile TiO2(110) is the most widely studied water–oxide interface, and yet questions about water dissociation are still controversial. Theoretical studies have systematically investigated the influence of the slab thickness on water dissociation energy (Ediss) at 1 monolayer coverage using static density functional theory calculation and found that Ediss exhibits odd–even oscillation with respect to the TiO2 slab thickness. However, less studies have accounted for the full solvation of an aqueous phase using ab initio molecular dynamics due to high computational costs in which only three, four, and five trilayer models of rutile(110)–water interfaces have been simulated. Here, we report Machine Learning accelerated Molecular Dynamics (MLMD) simulations of defect-free rutile(110)–water interfaces, which allows for a systematic study of the slab thickness ranging from 3 to 17 trilayers with much lower costs while keeping ab initio accuracy. Our MLMD simulations show that the dissociation degree of surface water (α) oscillates with the slab thickness and converges to ∼2% as the TiO2 slab becomes thicker. Converting α into dissociation free energy (ΔAdiss) and comparing with dissociation total energy Ediss calculated with a single monolayer of water, we find that the full solvation of the interfaces suppresses surface water from dissociating. It is interesting to note that the machine learning potential trained from the dataset containing exclusively the five trilayer TiO2 model exhibits excellent transferability to other slab thicknesses and further captures the oscillating behavior of surface water dissociation. Detailed analyses indicate that the central plane in odd trilayer slabs modulates the interaction between double trilayers and, thus, the bonding strength between terminal Ti and water, which affects pKa of surface water and water dissociation degree. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To evaluate 3D condylar displacement and long-term remodeling following the correction of bimaxillary protrusion by anterior segment osteotomy (ASO) with and without Le Fort I surgery. Materials and method: This retrospective study included 32 adults with bimaxillary protrusion who underwent ASO alone (group 1) or with concomitant Le Fort I osteotomy (group 2). Subject's computed tomography scans at basic (T0), immediate postoperatively (T1), and at 1 year or more follow-up (T2) were collected. The condyle displacement was measured at superior-inferior, lateromedially, and anteroposterior surfaces, while condyle remodeling was measured at the superior, lateral, anterior, medial, and posterior surfaces. All 3D analyses were performed using 3D Slicer software (4.11.2). Results: At T1, 52.7%, 86.7%, and 94.4% of condyles in group 1 were displaced inferiorly, laterally, and posteriorly, respectively, as well as 75%, 89.2%, and 53.5% of condyles in group 2, which had not fully returned to the original preoperative positions at T2. Condylar remodeling was observed in both groups at T2, and no significant difference was found in the overall condylar volume between T1 and T2 in both groups. Patients in group 2 exhibited significant bone resorption at both lateral and anterior surfaces compared to group 1 (P = 0.000 and 0.01, respectively). Conclusion: This study's results demonstrated that ASO is associated with a degree of condylar changes even if the posterior mandible is not osteomized. The positional changes vary between bimaxillary ASO alone and those with simultaneous Le Fort I osteotomy. However, both groups' condyle volume remained stable at the long-term follow-up. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Photoreduction of highly toxic U(VI) to less toxic U(IV) is crucial for mitigating radioactive contamination. Herein, a CoWO 4 /TpDD p-n heterojunction is synthesized, with TpDD serving as the n-type semiconductor substrate and CoWO 4 as the p-type semiconductor grown in situ on its surface. The Fermi energy difference between TpDD and CoWO 4 provides the electrochemical potential for charge-hole separation. Moreover, the Coulombic forces from the distinct carrier types between the two materials synergistically facilitate the transfer of electrons and holes. Hence, an internal electric field directed from TpDD to CoWO 4 is established. Under photoexcitation conditions, charges and holes migrate efficiently along the curved band and internal electric field, further enhancing charge-hole separation. As a result, the removal capacity of CoWO 4 /TpDD increases from 515.2 mg/g in the dark to 1754.6 mg/g under light conditions. Thus, constructing a p-n heterojunction proves to be an effective strategy for remediating uranium-contaminated environments. [Display omitted] • CoWO 4 /TpDD heterojunction was formed by CoWO 4 in situ grown on the TpDD surface. • The differences in energy levels and carrier types facilitate carrier separation. • The electric field and energy band facilitate the photogenerated carrier separation. • Photogenerated electrons moving to TpDD contribute to the photoreduction of U(VI). • DFT and in-situ XPS confirm the mechanism of carrier transfer in heterojunction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The strength and strain characteristics of rock equivalent material specimens with various multi-blocks in biaxial compression tests were studied. • The block type effects on crack propagation, crack area ratio, crack type, and fractal characteristics of macro-cracks were revealed. • Considering support conditions, the space–time failure evolution properties of surrounding rocks with different types of blocks were analyzed. In most rock engineering, the rock mass was cut into different blocks by natural structural planes, and the stability of underground openings was affected by the type, number, position and mechanical properties of rock blocks. In this study, the biaxial compression tests were conducted using rock-like material specimens with prefabricated arch-shaped holes and different types of blocks, and the failure and crack propagation properties of surrounding rocks were studied. Firstly, the location and danger degree of blocks in rock mass were classified, and the rock block danger analysis (BDA) method was proposed. Secondly, the support effect on the stability of surrounding rocks with different blocks was studied. Then, the deformation, strength, crack area ratio, and debris distribution characteristics of specimens were analyzed. Finally, the reasonable support schemes were proposed for surrounding rocks with different types and sizes of blocks. The test results showed that the σ - ε curve of holed rocks was similar to that of intact rocks, and the micro-cracks evolved into macro-cracks at crack destabilization expansion stage, followed by large deformation of whole specimens and spalling. Under support condition, as the block size increased, the crack area ratio decreased and the stability of holed specimens improved. Furthermore, the biaxial compressive strength of the surrounding rock and the stability of the holed specimens decreased as the block danger coefficients increased. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Ti-MOF@DATp was developed by using Ti-MOF as core and in-situ growing DATp shells on its surface. • A Z-Scheme heterojunction was created through covalent bonds between Ti-MOF and DATp. • The Ti-MOF@DATp enables tetracycline passing through the DATp shell while selectively capturing U(VI). • Ti-MOF serves as the site for photooxidation tetracycline, while DATp serves as the site for photoreduction U(VI). Uranium and antibiotics coexisting in natural water bodies pose a significant threat to the environment and human health. Herein, Ti-MOF@DATp was developed by using a metal–organic framework (Ti-MOF) as the core and in-situ growing covalent organic framework (DATp) shells on its surface for simultaneous photocatalytic reduction U(VI) and oxidation tetracycline. The staggered energy levels between Ti-MOF and DATp create a Z-Scheme heterojunction through covalent bonds between them, promoting the charge and holes transfer with enhancing the photocatalytic performance. The Ti-MOF@DATp enables tetracycline passing through the DATp shell while selectively capturing U(VI), then Ti-MOF functions as the site for photooxidation tetracycline, while DATp serves as the site for photoreduction U(VI). The oxidation and reduction of sites can be effectively separated, improving the utilization efficiency of photogenerated electrons and holes. Hence, Ti-MOF@DATp can effectively accomplish the simultaneous photocatalytic removal of 96% U(VI) and 90% tetracycline of their mixture. In comparison to the removal efficiency of 89% for U(VI) and 77% for tetracycline when removal alone, a notable enhancement in performance is observed. Particularly, the removal rate constant of the U(VI) and tetracycline mixture is 55 times higher than that of U(VI) alone and 4 times higher than that of tetracycline alone. Therefore, bifunctional photocatalysts offer an effective approach to tackling complex environmental challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• TFHH-POM was developed by using amino-modified polyoxometalates embedded in covalent organic framework pores. • The covalent bond connection between TFHH and POM improves the stability of POM. • Covalent bonding and internal confined improve the mass transfer from TFHH to POM. • TFHH-POM exhibits a notably elevated photoreduction capacity of U(VI). To achieve sustainable nuclear energy and environmental protection, capturing uranium from mining wastewater is imperative. Herein, as an extraction composite of U(VI), TFHH-POM was developed by using a highly conjugated polyaromatic ether-based covalent organic framework (TFHH) as the carrier with amino-modified polyoxometalates (POM) embedded in its pores through amide bonds. The highly conjugated structure of TFHH facilitates charge transport, and in combination with the charge density contrast between POM and TFHH, along with the constraining effect of POM within TFHH channels, jointly enhances charge separation efficiency. As a result, the photoreduction efficiency of U(VI) is substantially increased. Simultaneously, the oxygen-containing groups in POM and carboxyl groups in TFHH could selectively adsorb U(VI), while Mo(V) in POM effectively reduces U(VI) to U(IV), synergistically promoting U(VI) capture. Hence, TFHH-POM exhibits remarkable U(VI) extraction efficiency through enhanced mass transfer, improved diffusion, and introduced chemical reduction. The U(VI) extraction capacity of TFHH-POM reaches 489.2 mg/g, surpassing those of POM and TFHH by 3.2 and 1.6 times, respectively. The reduced U(IV) remains stable after 30 days of storage with no reoxidation observed. Moreover, TFHH-POM demonstrates selective U(VI) capture from mining wastewater, highlighting its vast potential for environmentally sustainable uranium mining. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), an aggressive and heterogenic malignant entity, is still a challenging clinical problem, since around one-third of patients are not cured with primary treatment. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies have revealed common genetic mutations in DLBCL. We devised an NGS multi-gene panel to discover genetic features of Chinese nodal DLBCL patients and provide reference information for panel-based NGS detection in clinical laboratories. Methods: A panel of 116 DLBCL genes was designed based on the literature and related databases. We analyzed 96 Chinese nodal DLBCL biopsy specimens through targeted sequencing. Results: The most frequently mutated genes were KMT2D (30%), PIM1 (26%), SOCS1 (24%), MYD88 (21%), BTG1 (20%), HIST1H1E (18%), CD79B (18%), SPEN (17%), and KMT2C (16%). SPEN (17%) and DDX3X (6%) mutations were highly prevalent in our study than in Western studies. Thirty-three patients (34%) were assigned as genetic classification by the LymphGen algorithm, including 12 cases MCD, five BN2, seven EZB, seven ST2, and two EZB/ST2 complex. MYD88 L265P mutation, TP53 and BCL2 pathogenic mutations were unfavorable prognostic biomarkers in DLBCL. Conclusions: This study presents the mutation landscape in Chinese nodal DLBCL, highlights the genetic heterogeneity of DLBCL and shows the role of panel-based NGS to prediction of prognosis and potential molecular targeted therapy in DLBCL. More precise genetic classification needs further investigations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Micro (mi)RNAs are small, non-coding RNAs and have been reported to have important roles in the epigenetic control of bone development. miRNAs markedly regulate osteoblast differentiation through stages of maturation as well as the activities of osteogenic signaling pathways. Dicer is an important endoribonuclease that regulates miRNA maturation. Previous studies have demonstrated that Dicer deletion decreases fetal survival and bone formation, while excision in differentiated osteoblasts increases bone mass. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms remain unclear. In the present study, whether the deletion of Dicer affects Wnt signaling, which exhibits important roles during osteogenesis, was investigated. Bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) were used as an osteogenic model. Dynamic changes of seven Wnt genes and downstream T-cell factor 1 (Tcf-1)/lymphoid enhancing binding factor were observed during the osteogenic differentiation of BMSCs, which revealed different roles at early and late differentiation stages. Following the stable knockdown of Dicer in BMSCs using lentiviral short hairpin RNA, osteogenic differentiation was blocked, and the levels of important osteogenic differentiation markers (runt related transcription factor 2 and alkaline phosphatase) were markedly inhibited. Furthermore, stage specific regulation of Wnt genes in Dicer-deficient BMSCs was investigated in the present study. At the early differentiation stage (days 5–7), knockdown of Dicer led to the inhibition of Wnt1, Wnt7 and Wnt10b, as well as the upregulation of Wnt4, Wnt10a and Tcf-1. At the late stage of differentiation (days 14–21), knockdown of Dicer significantly suppressed the expression levels of all of the included Wnt genes as well as Tcf-1, with the exception of Wnt10a. The upregulation of Wnt10a following the deletion of Dicer was maintained throughout all stages of differentiation. In addition, differential regulation of Wnt genes and Tcf-1 were revealed to be associated with dynamic changes in their expression levels during osteogenic differentiation. Furthermore, the four putative Wnt10a-targeting miRNAs were investigated in the present study, and the results demonstrated that they were upregulated during osteogenic differentiation, which suggested that inhibition of Wnt10a may be an important factor associated with osteogenic differentiation. In conclusion, the present study investigated the mechanism underlying the regulation of Wnt signalling by Dicer during osteogenesis, and identified potential miRNAs targeting the components of Wnt signalling influenced by Dicer. Collectively, the present study identified the association between Dicer and Wnt signalling during bone development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: The protein expression of programmed death‐ligand 1 (PD‐L1) has been recognised as being a biomarker for poor prognosis in diffuse large B‐cell lymphoma (DLBCL). The aims of this study were to determine PD‐L1 DNA status and mRNA status, and to explore whether they contribute to protein expression and their clinicopathological correlation in DLBCL. Methods and results: In this study, we used fluorescence in‐situ hybridisation, RNA in‐situ hybridisation and immunohistochemistry to determine PD‐L1 status at three different levels in 287 DLBCL samples with follow‐up. Their correlation and clinical pathological relevance were also analysed. Our results showed that 1.7% (3/175) of patients had PD‐L1 DNA amplification, 19.9% (57/287) had high PD‐L1 mRNA expression, and 11.8% (34/287) had high PD‐L1 protein expression. Both mRNA and protein expression of PD‐L1 were significantly higher in non‐germinal centre B‐cell‐like (GCB) DLBCL than in GCB DLBCL (P < 0.05). In addition, the patients with high PD‐L1 mRNA or high PD‐L1 protein expression but no PD‐L1 DNA amplification had significantly poorer overall survival (OS) than those with low PD‐L1 expression (P < 0.05). Furthermore, we found that PD‐L1 mRNA and PD‐L1 protein expression were highly correlated (P = 0.012), which was observed in all three samples with DNA amplification. Conclusions: PD‐L1 DNA amplification is a rare event, PD‐L1 mRNA is the main contributor to the high PD‐L1 protein expression, and the latter two will serve as important biomarkers for predicting the prognosis of DLBCL patients and selecting them for immunotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Pure mucinous carcinoma (PMC) of the breast is a low‐grade cancer. In this study, we aimed to elucidate the prognostic significance of micropapillary structures in breast PMC. Methods and results: Seventy‐five patients with breast PMC were recruited. All haematoxylin and eosin (H&)‐stained slides were reviewed, and clinicopathological features including age, tumour size, growth pattern, nuclear grade, histological grade, lymph node (LN) status, immunohistochemistry (IHC) staining of hormone receptor, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) expression and Ki‐67 proliferation index were analysed. Fluorescence in‐situ hybridisation (FISH) was used to verify the amplification of the HER2 gene in IHC 2+ cases. Seventy‐one cases of PMC were followed‐up from 18 to 110 months (median = 68 months). All PMC patients were female, aged 31–83 years (median = 57 years). All PMCs were nuclear grades 1 or 2. Oestrogen receptor was positive in all cases (100%) and progesterone receptor was positive in 68 cases (90.7%). There was no 3+ staining or gene amplification of HER2. Four patients had axillary LN metastasis (5.7%). Micropapillae were observed in 60 cases (80%) with varied percentages, and divided into five groups: 0%, <20%, 20–49%, 50–89% and ≥90%, with 15 (20%), 15 (20%), 17 (22.7%), 17 (22.7%) and 11 (14.7%) cases in each. Follow‐up results showed that neither recurrence nor distant metastasis occurred in all PMCs. Statistical analysis revealed that only larger tumour size was correlated significantly with LN metastasis (P < 0.05). Conclusions: The presence of nuclear grades 1 or 2 micropapillae, irrespective of the percentage, had no significant relationship with LN metastasis and patients' survival of PMC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pathogenic germline variants in ataxia-telangiectasia mutated (ATM), a gene that plays a role in DNA damage response and cell cycle checkpoints, confer an increased breast cancer (BC) risk. Here, we investigated the phenotypic characteristics and landscape of somatic genetic alterations in 24 BCs from ATM germline mutation carriers by whole-exome and targeted sequencing. ATM-associated BCs were consistently hormone receptor positive and largely displayed minimal immune infiltrate. Although 79.2% of these tumors exhibited loss of heterozygosity of the ATM wild-type allele, none displayed high activity of mutational signature 3 associated with defective homologous recombination DNA (HRD) repair. No TP53 mutations were found in the ATM-associated BCs. Analysis of an independent data set confirmed that germline ATM variants and TP53 somatic mutations are mutually exclusive. Our findings indicate that ATM-associated BCs often harbor bi-allelic inactivation of ATM, are phenotypically distinct from BRCA1/2-associated BCs, lack HRD-related mutational signatures, and that TP53 and ATM genetic alterations are likely epistatic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plasmonic photocatalysis is an effective strategy to solve radioactive uranium hazards in wastewater. A plasmonic photocatalyst Bi/Bi 2 O 3−x @COFs was synthesized by in-situ growth of covalent organic frameworks (COFs) on Bi/Bi 2 O 3−x surface for the U(VI) adsorption and plasmonic photoreduction in rare earth tailings wastewater. The presence of oxygen vacancy in Bi/Bi 2 O 3−x and Schottky potential well formed by Bi and Bi 2 O 3−x interface increased the number of free electrons, which induced localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) and enhanced the light absorption performance of composites. In addition, oxygen vacancy improved the Fermi level of Bi/Bi 2 O 3−x , leading to another potential well between Bi 2 O 3−x and COFs interface. The electron transport direction was reversed, thus increasing the electron density of COFs layer. COFs was an N-type semiconductor with specific binding U(VI) groups and suitable band structure, which could be used as an active reaction site. Bi/Bi 2 O 3−x @COFs had 1411.5 mg g−1 removal capacity and high separation coefficient for U(VI) due to the synergistic action of photogenerated electrons and hot electrons. Moreover, the removal rate of uranium from rare earth tailings wastewater by regenerated Bi/Bi 2 O 3−x @COFs was over 93.9%. The scheme of introducing LSPR and Schottky potential well provides another way to improve the photocatalytic effect. [Display omitted] • Bi/Bi 2 O 3−x @COFs with core-shell structure was synthesized in-situ. • Oxygen vacancies in Bi 2 O 3−x induced LSPR and increased light absorption. • The double Schottky potential well increased the electron density of COFs. • U(VI) was reduced by the synergistic action of photogenerated and hot electrons. • Regenerated Bi/Bi 2 O 3−x @COFs had high cyclic stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Photocatalytic reduction of UVI to UIV can help remove U from the environment and thus reduce the harmful impacts of radiation emitted by uranium isotopes. Herein, we first synthesized Bi 4 Ti 3 O 12 (B1) particles, then B1 was crosslinked with 6-chloro-1,3,5-triazine-diamine (DCT) to afford B2. Finally, B3 was formed using B2 and 4-formylbenzaldehyde (BA-CHO) to investigate the utility of the D-π-A array structure for photocatalytic UVI removal from rare earth tailings wastewater. B1 lacked adsorption sites and displayed a wide band gap. The grafted triazine moiety in B2 introduced active sites and narrowed the band gap. Notably, B3, a Bi 4 Ti 3 O 12 (donor)-triazine unit (π-electron bridge)-aldehyde benzene (acceptor) molecule, effectively formed the D-π-A array structure, which formed multiple polarization fields and further narrowed the band gap. Therefore, UVI was more likely to capture electrons at the adsorption site of B3 and be reduced to UIV due to energy level matching effects. UVI removal capacity of B3 under simulated sunlight was 684.9 mg g−1, 2.5 times greater than B1 and 1.8 times greater than B2. B3 was still active after multiple reaction cycles, and UVI removal from tailings wastewater reached 90.8%. Overall, B3 provides an alternative design scheme for enhancing photocatalytic performance. [Display omitted] Photocatalytic UVI reduction is one of the most promising methods to reduce radioactive uranium contamination in tailings wastewater. Herein, a Bi 4 Ti 3 O 12 (donor)-triazine (π-electron bridge)-aldehyde benzene (acceptor) crosslinked molecule, named B3, was formed D-π-A array structure for significantly improving photocatalytic UVI removal performance from tailings wastewater. The improved performance of B3 is due to the increased adsorption sites on the triazine and the increased electron push-pull effect of aldehyde group benzene as a weak acceptor for extended electron delocalization, resulting in the formation of multiple polarization fields. The modulation of D-π-A array structure provides an alternative means to improve photocatalytic performance. • Bi 4 Ti 3 O 12 -triazine unit-aldehyde benzene molecule formed D-π-A array structure. • The D-π-A array structure can form multiple polarization fields. • The D-π-A array structure can regulate band gap width and charge transfer. • The modulation of D-π-A structure can improve photocatalytic performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • The SnS 2 -covalent organic framework van der Waals heterojunction (SnS 2 COF) was constructed. • With good photoelectric properties, SnS 2 COF can realize separation and transfer of electron-hole. • The electron flow path of heterojunction conforms to Z-scheme by experimental study and theoretical calculation. • SnS 2 COF can effectively reduce and remove U (VI) from rare earth tailings wastewater under UV/Vis light. Uranium removal by photocatalytic reduction is one of the most promising methods to reduce radioactive contamination in wastewater. Herein, a Z-scheme van der Waals heterojunction photocatalyst (SnS 2 COF) was synthesized in situ by combining covalent organic frameworks (COF) with semiconductor (SnS 2) for U (VI) reduction in rare earth tailings wastewater. The synthesis method of van der Waals heterojunction is simple and solves the problem of no hanging bond in composite components. In this heterojunction, large areas of van der Waals interaction form high-speed electron transport channels. In addition, it is deduced that SnS 2 COF fits the Z-scheme heterojunction electron transport mode through the theoretical calculation of the ground state and excited state electron density difference and the related band structure. Under the photoexcitation, the direction of electron flow is reversed, which further promotes the separation of the photogenerated electron (e−)-hole (h+) under the action of the built-in electric field, maintains the high reducibility of the conduction band, and avoids the photocorrosion of SnS 2. Compared with inorganic-inorganic heterojunction, SnS 2 COF has a wider light absorption range, more active sites, and higher e−-h+ separation and transfer efficiency. Therefore, it had a higher U (VI) reduction removal capacity, up to 1123.3 mg g−1, far surpassing the SnS 2 and COF counterparts under ultraviolet/visible light. And the U (VI) removal rate reached 98.5 % in rare earth tailings wastewater. The design concept of organic–inorganic heterojunction materials provides an alternative strategy for improving the photocatalytic performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Genome-wide association studies have identified dozens of genetic risk loci for Alzheimer's disease (AD), yet the underlying causal variants and biological mechanisms remain elusive, especially for loci with complex linkage disequilibrium and regulation. To fully untangle the causal signal at a single locus, we performed a functional genomic study of 11p11.2 (the CELF 1 / SPI1 locus). Genome-wide association study signals at 11p11.2 were integrated with datasets of histone modification, open chromatin, and transcription factor binding to distill potentially functional variants (fVars). Their allelic regulatory activities were confirmed by allele imbalance, reporter assays, and base editing. Expressional quantitative trait loci and chromatin interaction data were incorporated to assign target genes to fVars. The relevance of these genes to AD was assessed by convergent functional genomics using bulk brain and single-cell transcriptomic, epigenomic, and proteomic datasets of patients with AD and control individuals, followed by cellular assays. We found that 24 potential fVars, rather than a single variant, were responsible for the risk of 11p11.2. These fVars modulated transcription factor binding and regulated multiple genes by long-range chromatin interactions. Besides SPI1 , convergent evidence indicated that 6 target genes (MTCH2 , ACP2 , NDUFS3 , PSMC3 , C1QTNF4 , and MADD) of fVars were likely to be involved in AD development. Disruption of each gene led to cellular amyloid-β and phosphorylated tau changes, supporting the existence of multiple likely causal genes at 11p11.2. Multiple variants and genes at 11p11.2 may contribute to AD risk. This finding provides new insights into the mechanistic and therapeutic challenges of AD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Temporomandibular disorders (TMDs) have the highest prevalence in women of reproductive age. The role of estrogen in TMDs and especially in TMDs related pain is not fully elucidated. Voltage-gated sodium channel 1.7 (Nav1.7) plays a prominent role in pain perception and Nav1.7 in trigeminal ganglion (TG) is involved in the hyperalgesia of inflamed Temporomandibular joint (TMJ). Whether estrogen could upregulate trigeminal ganglionic Nav1.7 expression to enhance hyperalgesia of inflamed TMJ remains to be explored. Methods: Estrous cycle and plasma levels of 17β-estradiol in female rats were evaluated with vaginal smear and enzyme linked immunosorbent assay, respectively. Female rats were ovariectomized and treated with 17β-estradiol at 0 μg, 20 μg and 80 μg, respectively, for 10 days. TMJ inflammation was induced using complete Freund’s adjuvant. Head withdrawal thresholds and food intake were measured to evaluate the TMJ nociceptive responses. The expression of Nav1.7 in TG was examined using real-time PCR and western blot. The activity of Nav1.7 promoter was examined using luciferase reporter assay. The locations of estrogen receptors (ERα and ERβ), the G protein coupled estrogen receptor (GPR30), and Nav1.7 in TG were examined using immunohistofluorescence. Results: Upregulation of Nav1.7 in TG and decrease in head withdrawal threshold were observed with the highest plasma 17β-estradiol in the proestrus of female rats. Ovariectomized rats treated with 80 μg 17β-estradiol showed upregulation of Nav1.7 in TG and decrease in head withdrawal threshold as compared with that of the control or ovariectomized rats treated with 0 μg or 20 μg. Moreover, 17β-estradiol dose-dependently potentiated TMJ inflammation-induced upregulation of Nav1.7 in TG and also enhanced TMJ inflammation-induced decrease of head withdrawal threshold in ovariectomized rats. In addition, the estrogen receptor antagonist, ICI 182,780, partially blocked the 17β-estradiol effect on Nav1.7 expression and head withdrawal threshold in ovariectomized rats. ERα and ERβ, but not GPR30, were mostly co-localized with Nav1.7 in neurons in TG. In the nerve growth factor-induced and ERα-transfected PC12 cells, 17β-estradiol dose-dependently enhanced Nav1.7 promoter activity, whereas mutations of the estrogen response element at -1269/-1282 and -1214/-1227 in the promoter completely abolished its effect on the promoter activity. Conclusion: Estradiol could upregulate trigeminal ganglionic Nav1.7 expression to contribute to hyperalgesia of inflamed TMJ. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abnormal proliferation and migration of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC) is a common feature of disease progression in atherosclerosis. Here, we investigated the potential role of miR-503 in platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF)-induced proliferation and migration of human aortic smooth muscle cells and the underlying mechanisms of action. miR-503 expression was significantly downregulated in a dose- and time-dependent manner following PDGF treatment. Introduction of miR-503 mimics into cultured SMCs significantly attenuated cell proliferation and migration induced by PDGF. Bioinformatics analyses revealed that the insulin receptor (INSR) is a target candidate of miR-503. miR-503 suppressed luciferase activity driven by a vector containing the 3′-untranslated region of INSR in a sequence-specific manner. Downregulation of INSR appeared critical for miR-503-mediated inhibitory effects on PDGF-induced cell proliferation and migration in human aortic SMCs. Based on the collective data, we suggest a novel role of miR-503 as a regulator of VSMC proliferation and migration through modulating INSR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) variants and schizophrenia has been strongly debated. To test whether mtDNA variants are involved in schizophrenia in Han Chinese patients, we sequenced the entire mitochondrial genomes of probands from 11 families with a family history and maternal inheritance pattern of schizophrenia. Besides the haplogroup-specific variants, we found 11 nonsynonymous private variants, one rRNA variant, and one tRNA variant in 5 of 11 probands. Among the nonsynonymous private variants, mutations m.15395 A>G and m.8536 A>G were predicted to be deleterious after web-based searches and in silico program affiliated analysis. Functional characterization further supported the potential pathogenicity of the two variants m.15395 A>G and m.8536 A>G to cause mitochondrial dysfunction at the cellular level. Our results showed that mtDNA variants were actively involved in schizophrenia in some families with maternal inheritance of this disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Ki67 labeling index (LI) is critical for treatment options and prognosis evaluation in breast cancer. Visual assessment (VA) is widely used to assess Ki67 LI, but has some limitations. In this study, we compared the consistency between VA and automated digital image analysis (DIA) of Ki67 LI in breast cancer, and to evaluate the application value of DIA in Ki67 LI assessment. Methods: Ki67 immunostained slides of 155 cases of primary invasive breast cancer were eyeballing assessed by five breast pathologists and automated digital image analyzed by one breast pathologist respectively. Two score methods, hot-spot score and average score, were used to choose score areas. The intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) was used to analyze the consistency between VA and DIA, and Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used to compare the median of paired-difference between VA and DIA values. Results: (1) A perfect agreement was demonstrated between VA and DIA of Ki67 LI by ICC analysis (P<0.0001) in the whole cohort. A perfect agreement between VA and DIA of Ki67 LI was also showed in G2-G3, ER positive/HER2 negative cases. Average score and hot-spot score methods both demonstrated a perfect concordance between VA and DIA of Ki67 LI. (2) All cases were classified into three groups by VA values (≤10%, 11%-30% and >30% Ki67 LI). The concordance was relatively lower in intermediate Ki67 LI group (11%-30%) compared with high (>30%) Ki67 LI groups according to both methods. (3) All cases were classified into three groups by paired-difference (d) between VA values of hot-spot score and average score (d<5, 5≤d<10, d≥10) to evaluate the correlation between Ki67 staining distribution (heterogeneous or homogenous) and reproducibility of assessment. A perfect agreement was all demonstrated in three groups, and a slightly better Ki67 LI agreement between VA and DIA was indicated in homogenous staining slides than in heterogeneous staining ones. (4) VA values were relatively smaller than DIA values (average score: median of paired-difference -3.72; hot-spot score: median of paired-difference -9.12). Conclusions: An excellent agreement between VA and DIA of Ki67 LI in breast cancer was demonstrated in the whole mixed cohort, suggesting that VA and DIA both could be used to assess Ki67 LI in clinical practice. Average score and hot-spot score methods both demonstrated a perfect concordance between VA and DIA of Ki67 LI. The almost perfect agreement between VA and DIA was observed in high Ki67 LI cases, displaying a homogenous staining pattern. The consistency between VA and DIA was relatively low in intermediate Ki67 LI group. The heterogeneity of tumors may slightly affect the concordance between VA and DIA of Ki67 LI. Assessment of VA provides lower Ki67 values than DIA, the biological importance of these values are not known at the moment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: To analyse the clinicopathological, immunohistochemical and β-catenin (CTNNB1) mutation characteristics of six cases of microcystic stromal tumour of the ovary (MCST). Methods and results: Six Chinese patients with MCST who ranged in age from 29 to 69 years (mean 50 years) were included in the study. Five patients were detected with a pelvic mass during routine health examinations and one patient presented initially with opsomenorrhoea. All tumours involved the left ovary, with solid-cystic cut surface in five cases and cystic cut surface in one case. Microscopically, microcysts, solid nests and hyaline degenerated fibrous stroma were variably mixed. Immunohistochemically, the tumour cells in all cases were diffusely positive for CD10, vimentin and WT-1 and negative for α-inhibin and calretinin. β-catenin expression was observed in both the nucleus and the cytoplasm in five cases and only in the cytoplasm in one case. The results of CTNNB1 mutation analysis revealed four missense point mutations in four cases, which were c.97T>C, c.101G>A, c.110C>G and c.122C>T. Conclusions: MCST shows a unique morphology with characteristic immunophenotype. β-catenin expression in the nucleus and b-catenin mutations were identified in the majority of cases, which suggests that the Wnt/β-catenin pathway may play a crucial role in the tumorigenesis of MCST. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pulmonary artery endothelial dysfunction is associated with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Based on recent studies showing that microRNA (miR)-27b is aberrantly expressed in PAH, we hypothesized that miR-27b may contribute to pulmonary endothelial dysfunction and vascular remodeling in PAH. The effect of miR-27b on pulmonary endothelial dysfunction and the underlying mechanism were investigated in human pulmonary artery endothelial cells (HPAECs) in vitro and in a monocrotaline (MCT)-induced model of PAH in vivo . miR-27b expression was upregulated in MCT-induced PAH and inversely correlated with the levels of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)-γ, and miR-27b inhibition attenuated MCT-induced endothelial dysfunction and remodeling and prevented PAH associated right ventricular hypertrophy and systolic pressure in rats. PPARγ was confirmed as a direct target of miR-27b in HPAECs and shown to mediate the effect of miR-27b on the disruption of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) coupling to Hsp90 and the suppression of NO production associated with the PAH phenotype. We showed that miR-27b plays a role endothelial function and NO release and elucidated a potential mechanism by which miR-27b regulates Hsp90-eNOS and NO signaling by modulating PPARγ expression, providing potential therapeutic targets for the treatment of PAH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Growth factors (GFs) are important in the development of Alzheimer's disease (AD). • We screened 23 GFs in 6324 individuals using targeted sequencing. • The burden test showed an enrichment of rare missense variants of GFs in AD patients. • EGF showed the strongest signal with an enrichment of rare damaging variants. • A common variant of EGF was also significantly associated with AD risk. Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common neurodegenerative disease with high heritability. Growth factors (GFs) might contribute to the development of AD due to their broad effects on neuronal system. We herein aimed to investigate the role of rare and common variants of GFs in genetic susceptibility of AD. We screened 23 GFs in 6324 individuals using targeted sequencing. A rare-variant-based burden test and common-variant-based single-site association analyses were performed to identify AD-associated GF genes and variants. The burden test showed an enrichment of rare missense variants (p = 6.08 × 10−4) in GF gene-set in AD patients. Among the GFs, EGF showed the strongest signal of enrichment, especially for loss-of-function variants (p = 0.0019). A common variant rs4698800 of EGF showed significant associations with AD risk (p = 3.24 × 10−5, OR = 1.26). The risk allele of rs4698800 was associated with an increased EGF expression, whereas EGF was indeed upregulated in AD brain. These findings suggested EGF as a novel risk gene for AD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aiming at the low power factor and the pollution of power grid of conventional AC/DC converter, a Boost circuit, of which AC/DC converter was based on MSP430 was designed. The design, adopting monitors voltage and current signal, through the implementation of double closed loop operation MSP430, using the active power factor correction (APFC) technology to produce PWM wave, controlled on-off conversion circuit MOSFET, and at the same time realized the active power factor correction. The test data showed that this conversion circuit could output the stability voltage of 36 V. Load adjustment rate could reach 0. 334%,the lowest power factor adjustment could reach above 0. 96. It could meet the requirements of the performance index and had higher control precision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Light oxygenates, such as methyl lactate (MLA), methyl levulinate (MLE), methyl formate (MFO), methyl acetate (MAC), dimethoxymethane (DMM), and methoxyacetaldehyde dimethyl acetal (MADA) were synthesized from cellulose in the presence of promoted SnX2 (X=Cl−, Br−, and I−) salt catalysts in methanol. The presence of halides in SnX2-MLn (MLn is metal salt) catalysts was found crucial for methyl lactate formation from sugar. The investigation shows that ZnCl2 is an efficient promoter for SnX2 catalyst in converting cellulose to light oxygenates. Up to 52.2% of total one-pass oxygenate yield was obtained in the presence of SnCl2–ZnCl2 catalyst. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background: Neuroinflammatory factors, especially chemokines, have been widely reported to be involved in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). It is unclear how chemokines are altered in AD, and whether dysregulation of chemokines is the cause, or the consequence, of the disease. Methods: We initially screened the transcriptomic profiles of chemokines from publicly available datasets of brain tissues of AD patients and mouse models. Expression alteration of chemokines in the blood from AD patients was also measured to explore whether any chemokine might be used as a potential biomarker for AD. We further analyzed the association between the coding variants of chemokine genes and genetic susceptibility of AD by targeted sequencing of a Han Chinese case–control cohort. Mendelian randomization (MR) was performed to infer the causal association of chemokine dysregulation with AD development. Results: Three chemokine genes (CCL5, CXCL1, and CXCL16) were consistently upregulated in brain tissues from AD patients and the mouse models and were positively correlated with Aβ and tau pathology in AD mice. Peripheral blood mRNA expression of CXCL16 was upregulated in mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and AD patients, indicating the potential of CXCL16 as a biomarker for AD development. None of the coding variants within any chemokine gene conferred a genetic risk to AD. MR analysis confirmed a causal role of CCL5 dysregulation in AD mediated by trans-regulatory variants. Conclusions: In summary, we have provided transcriptomic and genomic evidence supporting an active role of dysregulated CXCL16 and CCL5 during AD development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are a novel technology for landform investigations, monitoring, as well as evolution analyses of long−term repeated observation. However, impacted by the sophisticated topographic environment, fluctuating terrain and incomplete field observations, significant differences have been found between 3D measurement accuracy and the Digital Surface Model (DSM). In this study, the DJI Phantom 4 RTK UAV was adopted to capture images of complex pit-rim landforms with significant elevation undulations. A repeated observation data acquisition scheme was proposed for a small amount of oblique-view imaging, while an ortho-view observation was conducted. Subsequently, the 3D scenes and DSMs were formed by employing Structure from Motion (SfM) and Multi-View Stereo (MVS) algorithms. Moreover, a comparison and 3D measurement accuracy analysis were conducted based on the internal and external precision by exploiting checkpoint and DSM of Difference (DoD) error analysis methods. As indicated by the results, the 3D scene plane for two imaging types could reach an accuracy of centimeters, whereas the elevation accuracy of the orthophoto dataset alone could only reach the decimeters (0.3049 m). However, only 6.30% of the total image number of oblique images was required to improve the elevation accuracy by one order of magnitude (0.0942 m). (2) An insignificant variation in internal accuracy was reported in oblique imaging-assisted datasets. In particular, SfM-MVS technology exhibited high reproducibility for repeated observations. By changing the number and position of oblique images, the external precision was able to increase effectively, the elevation error distribution was improved to become more concentrated and stable. Accordingly, a repeated observation method only including a few oblique images has been proposed and demonstrated in this study, which could optimize the elevation and improve the accuracy. The research results could provide practical and effective technology reference strategies for geomorphological surveys and repeated observation analyses in sophisticated mountain environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Matrix-producing carcinoma (MPC) of the breast is an extremely rare variant of metaplastic carcinoma. The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinicopathological features and immunohistochemical expression profile of this rare tumor in Chinese population. Thirteen cases of MPC were evaluated using morphology observation and immunohistochemistry. All tumors had invasive carcinoma with an abrupt transition to chondromyxoid matrix without an intervening spindle cell sarcomatoid component. The distribution of tumor cells was diffuse in eight cases and peripheral in five cases. Matrix distribution was diffuse or multifocal. Necrosis was present in 11 cases. An overt invasive ductal carcinoma was observed in 11 cases and the other two tumors were consistent with MPC arising in microglandular adenosis. Ten of 13 cases were triple negative (ER-, PR-, Her2/neu-). Eight of 10 triple negative cases were cytokeratin 5/6, cytokeratin 14 or epidermal growth factor receptor positive, consistent with the basal-like phenotype. S-100 protein was positive in all cases. At the time of initial diagnosis, one of 13 patients had lung metastasis and axillary lymph nodes metastasis. Follow-up time ranged from 6 to 30 months. All patients remained alive. One patient developed a soft tissue metastasis 24 months after surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) somatic mutations have been identified in nearly all kinds of cancer during the past decade. Normally one need to determine the complete mtDNA sequences from both cancerous and normal tissues of the same patient to score the somatic mutation in cancer. In this study, we intended to explore a strategy to quickly identify somatic mutations in the entire mtDNA genome based on its phylogeny. The principal assumption for this strategy is that somatic mutations, as recently accumulated in cancerous tissue, have younger age and will be located in the terminal branches of mtDNA phylogenetic tree. In contrast, the haplogroup-specific variants, which appear as germline variants and have ancient age, will be located in the basal or intermediate-node branches of the tree, depending on their relative age. When the complete mtDNA sequence of the cancerous tissue is determined and is classified relative to the available mtDNA phylogeny, we only need to screen the variants that are located in the terminal branch in the paracancerous tissue or other normal tissue from the same patient to identify somatic mutations in cancer. We validated this strategy by using paired gastric cancer tissue and paracancerous tissue or blood from 10 Chinese patients (including one with gastric stromal tumor). A total of seven somatic mutations were identified in the cancerous tissues from four patients. Our result suggests that employing mtDNA phylogenetic knowledge facilitates rapid identification of mitochondrial genome somatic mutations in cancer. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Background: Leber hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON) is one of the most common mitochondrial diseases, which is mainly caused by three mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutations (m.3460G> A, m.11778G> A and m.14484T> C). Incomplete penetrance suggests that there might be asymptomatic carriers in general populations. These asymptomatic carriers are clinically important as they are potential future patients and the female carriers could transfer the pathogenic mutations to their offspring. Thus, screening the three LHON primary mutations in general populations is important for genetic counseling. Methods: We optimized a multiplex allele-specific PCR method based on previous studies, and the sensitivity was evaluated. The three LHON primary mutations were screened by using this MAS-PCR method in 1571 subjects from general Chinese populations that are without symptoms or family history of optic neuropathy. Results: The optimized MAS-PCR approach can detect a heteroplasmy level at 5%, 5%, and 20% for m.3460G> A, m.11778G> A and m.14484T> C, respectively. None of the three LHON primary mutations was detected in the 1571 subjects. Conclusion: The three LHON primary mutations are rare in general Chinese populations. The optimized MAS-PCR assay provides an easier, faster and more cost-effective method for detection of the three LHON primary mutations, making it practical for clinical diagnosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cowpea trypsin inhibitor gene ( CpTI) and neomycin phosphotransferase gene ( nptII) were introduced into the embryonic callus cells of immature embryos of wheat elite line Shannong 995604 using Agrobacterium-mediated gene transfer. Independent plantlets were regenerated from kanamycin-resistant calli. PCR and real time PCR analysis, PCR-Southern and Southern blot hybridization indicated that there were three independently-dervied transgenic plants viz. transformed-I, II and III (T-I, T-II and T-III). The segregation of CpTI in the transgenic wheat progenies of T-Iand T-III were consistent with Mendelian inheritance. Resistance to the storage insect pest of wheat viz. the grain moth ( Sitotroga cerealella Olivier) was improved significantly in seeds of the three transgenic wheat T2 lines obtained from T1 PCR-positive plants. The frequency of moth-eaten seed from T-I, T-IIand T-III was reduced 66.76%, 62.48% and 43.59% respectively. The investigation of agronomic traits of the three transgenic wheat T1 PCR-positive plants revealed that the three transgenic lines had excellent agronomic traits. They provide good germplasm resource for wheat genetic improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: In 2017, a subset of cellular variants of myofibroma and myopericytoma with a smooth muscle‐like immunophenotype and harbouring recurrent SRF::RELA gene fusions was reported. Although the anatomical distribution was found to be quite broad, no tumours with these gene fusions in the female reproductive system have been illustrated to date. Methods and results: Herein, we report the histological and immunophenotypical features of three uterine tumours with SRF::RELA gene fusions. Microscopically, all three tumours were composed of cellular oval to spindle cells arranged in intersecting fascicles with variable amounts of collagen and a rich capillary network. Mitotic figures were scant. Regarding immunohistochemistry, diffuse staining for desmin, oestrogen receptor and progesterone receptor was observed in all three cases. The first case exhibited focal staining for h‐caldesmon, whereas the latter two cases had diffuse staining. Furthermore, SRF::RELA rearrangement was observed in all three cases by using next‐generation sequencing (NGS). Follow‐up, ranging from 11 to 15 months, was available for these three patients, all of whom were well without evidence of disease. Conclusions: In conclusion, we reported a special group of uterine neoplasms with myogenic differentiation harbouring SRF::RELA rearrangement. Although the follow‐up time was limited, morphological characteristics and other studies with follow‐up data supported that this type of uterine neoplasm appeared to behave in a benign manner. Further studies with longer follow‐up are needed to clarify the biological nature of this particular type of uterine tumour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel bimetallic sulfide catalyst, Zn x Cd (1-x) S, synthesized via a one-step hydrothermal process, has demonstrated exceptional efficiency in the efficient oxidation of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) to 2, 5-dimethylacylfuran (DFF). This transformation is achieved under environmentally benign conditions: without any external oxidant at room temperature and atmospheric pressure, with water as the solvent and visible light. The unique 3D flower-like nanosphere structure of Zn 0.4 Cd 0.6 S, characterized by a synergistic composition of ZnS and CdS, facilitates the simultaneous photocatalytic oxidation of water and HMF. The synergistic action of superoxide (∙O 2 -) and single-linear state oxygen (1O 2) served as the main active radicals generated in situ from water photolysis. Remarkably, Zn 0.4 Cd 0.6 S exhibited an excellent performance, achieving a remarkable product yield over 50 % and 75 % selectivity after only 3 h. This work presents a sustainable approach to the valorization of HMF and advances the field of photocatalysis without reliance on additional oxidants. • 3D flower-like Zn x Cd (1-x) S architecture catalysts were fabricated by one-step hydrothermal method. • Zn x Cd (1-x) S shows enhanced visible-light photocatalytic activity without any oxidant. • Zn x Cd (1-x) S can achieve high conversion and DFF yield at room temperature and atmospheric pressure. • The synergistic action of superoxide (•O 2 -) and single-linear state oxygen (1O 2) served as the main active radicals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Accumulation studies found that tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) are a predominant cell in tumor microenvironment (TME), which function essentially during tumor progression. By releasing bioactive molecules, including circRNA, small extracellular vesicles (sEV) modulate immune cell functions in the TME, thereby affecting non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) progression. Nevertheless, biology functions and molecular mechanisms of M2 macrophage-derived sEV circRNAs in NSCLC are unclear. Methods: Cellular experiments were conducted to verify the M2 macrophage-derived sEV (M2-EV) roles in NSCLC. Differential circRNA expression in M0 and M2-EV was validated by RNA sequencing. circFTO expression in NSCLC patients and cells was investigated via real-time PCR and FISH. The biological mechanism of circFTO in NSCLC was validated by experiments. Our team isolated sEV from M2 macrophages (M2Ms) and found that M2-EV treatment promoted NSCLC CP, migration, and glycolysis. Results: High-throughput sequencing found that circFTO was highly enriched in M2-EV. FISH and RT-qPCR confirmed that circFTO expression incremented in NSCLC tissues and cell lines. Clinical studies confirmed that high circFTO expression correlated negatively with NSCLC patient survival. Luciferase reporter analysis confirmed that miR-148a-3p and PDK4 were downstream targets of circFTO. circFTO knockdown inhibited NSCLC cell growth and metastasis in in vivo experiments. Downregulating miR-148a-3p or overexpressing PDK4 restored the malignancy of NSCLC, including proliferation, migration, and aerobic glycolysis after circFTO silencing. Conclusion: The study found that circFTO from M2-EV promoted NSCLC cell progression and glycolysis through miR-148a-3p/PDK4 axis. circFTO is a promising prognostic and diagnostic NSCLC biomarker and has the potential to be a candidate NSCLC therapy target. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To solve point cloud registration, a novel solution to planar feature-based registration of point clouds was proposed in this study according to dual quaternion description based on the constraint of planar feature. The normal vector of the homologous feature plane should be kept parallel according to the registration, and the points on the plane should satisfy the planar equation. Moreover, the modified Levenberg-Marquardt method was adopted to complete the registration model, so as to avoid inappropriate initial values from causing non-convergence of the iteration. Lastly, the robustness and accuracy exhibited by the method were verified using simulated and measured data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Ovarian metastatic tumors from lung adenocarcinoma are rare, and a serial study of these tumors is lacking to date. Additionally, a better understanding of the clinicopathological and molecular characteristics of metastatic tumors is needed. Methods: Seven cases of ovarian metastasis from lung adenocarcinoma from 2013 to 2017 at our institute were investigated. The results were combined with those found in literature review. A total of 16 cases were analyzed in the present study. We examined clinicopathological and immunohistochemical characteristics, further detected ALK rearrangement by FISH (fluorescence in situ hybridization), and assessed EGFR and KRAS mutations using Sanger sequencing or the amplification refractory mutation system (ARMS). Results: The mean age of the patients was 44.6 years (range, 33–56 years). Eleven of sixteen patients developed ovarian tumors within a mean time of 18.5 months (range, 5–48 months) from the initial diagnosis of lung adenocarcinoma; 5 patients had lung tumors and ovarian masses simultaneously. Five tumors (5/16, 31%) occurred in the bilateral ovaries, and the others were unilateral ovarian tumors (11/16, 69%). All seven cases from our institute were positive for TTF-1 and Napsin A but negative for PAX8. In four cases, ALK (D5F3) was diffusely and strongly expressed, with ALK rearrangements (4/7, 57%). Overall, ALK rearrangement was found by FISH or immunohistochemistry in 11/16 (69%) cases. In two cases, EGFR mutations in exons 19 and 21, respectively, were found. One patient did not detected EGFR or ALK mutation in the metastatic tumor, but the primary lung adenocarcinoma did harbor an EGFR mutation. Two cases had no alterations in three genes above. Although the mean survival time of the patients with ALK rearrangement was longer than those without (mean survival time 25 m vs. 20 m), no statistical significance of the difference was found. Conclusions: As the largest case series of ovarian metastasis from lung adenocarcinoma, our findings indicate that ALK rearrangement is the most common molecular alteration. Although patients with ALK rearrangement appear to have a better prognosis than do those without ALK rearrangement, more cases with longer follow-up and multivariant analysis are needed to clarify this point. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to translate the Perspectives on Caring for Older Patients scale into Chinese, both the full and the shortened versions, and test its psychometric properties among Chinese nursing students. In this methodological research, the scale were translated and administered to 307 nursing students recruited from two universities in mainland China. The psychometric testing mainly included internal consistency reliability using Cronbachʼs alphas, 2‐week test–retest reliability using the intraclass correlation coefficient, convergent validity with Koganʼs Attitude toward Older People scale, and factorial validity using exploratory factor analysis. Cronbachʼs alphas for the full and the shortened version scales were 0.77 and 0.75, respectively. The intraclass correlation coefficient values of both versions exceeded 0.70 and their scores were moderately correlated with the Koganʼs Attitude toward Older People scaleʼs scores. While exploratory factor analyses revealed a six‐factor structure for the full version with factor loadings of five items below 0.3, the shortened version identified two factors with all factor loadings above 0.3. This study concluded that the psychometric properties of the full version scale were adequate and similar to those of the shortened version except for factorial validity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The proinflammatory cytokine interleukin-1β (IL-1β) drives pain by inducing the expression of inflammatory mediators; however, its ability to regulate sodium channel 1.7 (Nav1.7), a key driver of temporomandibular joint (TMJ) hypernociception, remains unknown. IL-1β induces cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2). We previously showed that PGE2 upregulated trigeminal ganglionic Nav1.7 expression. Satellite glial cells (SGCs) involve in inflammatory pain through glial cytokines. Therefore, we explored here in the trigeminal ganglion (TG) whether IL-1β upregulated Nav1.7 expression and whether the IL-1β located in the SGCs upregulated Nav1.7 expression in the neurons contributing to TMJ inflammatory hypernociception.Methods: We treated rat TG explants with IL-1β with or without inhibitors, including NS398 for COX-2, PF-04418948 for EP2, and H89 and PKI-(6-22)-amide for protein kinase A (PKA), or with adenylate cyclase agonist forskolin, and used real-time PCR, Western blot, and immunohistofluorescence to determine the expressions or locations of Nav1.7, COX-2, cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB) phosphorylation, and IL-1β. We used chromatin immunoprecipitation to examine CREB binding to the Nav1.7 promoter. Finally, we microinjected IL-1β into the TGs or injected complete Freund's adjuvant into TMJs with or without previous microinjection of fluorocitrate, an inhibitor of SGCs activation, into the TGs, and evaluated nociception and gene expressions. Differences between groups were examined by one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) or independent samples t test.Results: IL-1β upregulated Nav1.7 mRNA and protein expressions in the TG explants, whereas NS398, PF-04418948, H89, or PKI-(6-22)-amide could all block this upregulation, and forskolin could also upregulate Nav1.7 mRNA and protein expressions. IL-1β enhanced CREB binding to the Nav1.7 promoter. Microinjection of IL-1β into the TGs or TMJ inflammation both induced hypernociception of TMJ region and correspondingly upregulated COX-2, phospho-CREB, and Nav1.7 expressions in the TGs. Moreover, microinjection of fluorocitrate into the TGs completely blocked TMJ inflammation-induced activation of SGCs and the upregulation of IL-1β and COX-2 in the SGCs, and phospho-CREB and Nav1.7 in the neurons and alleviated inflammation-induced TMJ hypernociception.Conclusions: Glial IL-1β upregulated neuronal Nav1.7 expression via the crosstalk between signaling pathways of the glial IL-1β/COX-2/PGE2 and the neuronal EP2/PKA/CREB/Nav1.7 in TG contributing to TMJ inflammatory hypernociception. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common neurodegenerative disease influenced by genetic and environmental factors. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor ( BDNF ) plays an important role in the progression of AD, but the genetic association between BDNF and AD remains controversial. In this study, we aimed to explore the potential association between genetic variants in BDNF and AD in Han Chinese and to investigate whether the association is affected by gender. A 3-stage study was conducted to evaluate the genetic association between BDNF and AD. Data mining of the reported expression data, brain-imaging data, and biomarker data in AD patients was also performed to further validate the results. We found a female-specific genetic association of rs6265 with AD and a gender-related messenger RNA expression of BDNF in brain tissues of AD patients. In addition, we observed a clear female-specific risk trend for the effect of rs6265 on AD endophenotypes. Our results clarified the available controversies regarding the role of rs6265 in AD and indicated that BDNF may be a female-specific risk gene for AD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Triptolide (TPL) is an active extract from a Chinese herb, which has been used for centuries in China. TPL exhibits numerous bioactivities and pharmacological effects, including antitumor, anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive activities. However, previous studies have further revealed a multi-target toxicity of TPL, including reproductive toxicity, hepatotoxicity and renal cytotoxicity. To validate the clinical benefit and reduce the risk of TPL application, studies have investigated the combination of TPL with other reagents to allow lower doses and decrease toxicity. The present study reported that TPL and the insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor (IGF1R) inhibitor AG1024synergistically inhibited cell proliferation and induced apoptosis in triple-negative breast cancer cells. Overexpression of B-cell lymphoma 2 partially reversed the TPL and AG1024-induced increase in apoptosis. A similar synergistic effect was observed with a combination of AG1024 and cisplatin, a DNA damage inducer, in MDA-MB-231 cells. These results suggested that inhibition of IGF1R may sensitize triple-negative breast cancer cells to DNA damage inducers. Using publicly available data from The Cancer Genome Atlas, an amplification and gain of copy number of IGF1R was observed in 38% of triple-negative breast tumors (n=82), 26% of estrogen receptor (ER)-negative tumors (n=174) and 10% of ER-positive tumors (n=594). Similarly, a higher alteration frequency of IGF1R was identified in basal-like breast tumors compared with luminal A/B-like breast tumors. Overexpressed proteins associated with these alterations were revealed to be significantly enriched in multiple oncogenic signaling pathways, key transcription factor networks and DNA repair pathways. In summary, the present study suggested that inhibition of IGFR signaling and induction of DNA damage may exhibit synergistic effects for the treatment of triple-negative and ER-negative breast cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wavelet transformation has been widely used in geophysical and geochemical exploration, and the fractal feature of wavelet coefficients has recently stood out from many wavelet threshold methods. We introduced the wavelet–fractal method to analyze the polarizability and resistivity of graphite deposits. Due to the unique nature of graphite-bearing gneiss, characterized by high polarizability and low resistivity, we concluded that the polarizability background mode is better suited to depict the morphology of the graphite-bearing formation, with the resistivity background mode serving as complementary information for verification. Symlets5 is regarded as the optimal mother wavelet to indicate the characteristics of graphite ore by means of comparison and analysis. The polarizability anomalies showed two different linear forms: the direction of the measuring line and the strike of the ore bodies. According to the data of drill holes on the profile, we inferred that the high values of the anomaly mode can be used to delineate the target area where the graphite is enriched. Combining the application of both modes, we used the wavelet–fractal method for the quantitative prediction and effective selection of a potential area with a high grade. The approach used in this current study can be extended to the prospecting of other graphite deposits or sedimentary–metamorphic deposits containing conductive minerals, where geochemical and geophysical data are available. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mitochondrial dysfunction has been widely reported in psychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases. We aimed to investigate the association between matrilineal structures of Han Chinese populations and Alzheimer's disease (AD) by a 2-stage case-control study: A total of 341 AD patients and 435 normal individuals from Southwest China were analyzed for mitochondrial DNA sequence variations and were classified into respective haplogroups. A total of 371 AD patients and 470 normal individuals from East China, as validation samples, were genotyped for the variants defining the risk haplogroup. Haplogroup B5 had a significantly higher frequency in AD patients (7.33%) than in control subjects (3.68%) from Southwest China, and we found a similar pattern of higher frequency of B5 in patients in the case-control sample from East China. In the combined population, association of haplogroup B5 with AD risk was strengthened ( p = 0.02; odds ratio = 1.74; 95% confidence interval = 1.10–2.76). In lymphoblastoid cell lines belonging to haplogroup B5a, we observed significantly increased reactive oxygen species and decreased mitochondrial mass. Hela cells with stable expression of the MT-ATP6 gene with B5-defining variant m.8584G>A also showed a significantly decreased mitochondrial function. Taken together, our results indicated that haplogroup B5 conferred genetic susceptibility to AD in Han Chinese, and this effect was most likely mediated by ancient variant m.8584G>A. The predisposing effect of B5 to AD is consistent with the ancestral-susceptibility model of complex diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Homologous Recombination Deficiency (HRD) is a predictive biomarker for ovarian cancer treated with PARP inhibitors or for breast cancer treated with first-line platinum-based chemotherapy. However, limited research is documented on platinum-based treatment prediction with HRD as a biomarker in ovarian cancer patients, especially in the Chinese population. Methods: We investigated the association between HRD status and the response of platinum-based chemotherapy in 240 Chinese HGSOC patients. Results: The Pt-sensitive patients showed higher HRD scores than Pt-resistant ones, but this was not significant(median: 42.6 vs. 31.6, p = 0.086). (Pt)-sensitive rate was higher in HRD + BRCAm tumors and in HRD + BRCAwt tumors (HRD + BRCAm: 97%, p = 0.004 and HRD + BRCAwt: 90%, p = 0.04) compared with 74% in the HRD-BRCAwt tumors. We also found Pt-sensitive patients tend to be enriched in patients with BRCA mutations or non-BRCA HRR pathway gene mutations (BRCA: 93.6% vs 75.4%, p < 0.001; non-BRCA HRR: 88.6% vs 75.4%, p = 0.062). Patients with HRD status positive had significantly improved PFS compared with those with HRD status negative (median PFS: 30.5 months vs. 16.8 months, Log-rank p = 0.001). Even for BRCAwt patients, positive HRD was also associated with better PFS than the HRD-negative group (median: 27.5 months vs 16.8 months, Log-rank p = 0.010). Further, we found patients with pathogenic mutations located in the DNA-binding domain (DBD) of BRCA1 had improved FPS, compared to those with mutations in other domains. (p = 0.03). Conclusions: The HRD status can be identified as an independent significance in Chinese HGSOC patients treated with first-line platinum-based chemotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This study aimed to find out the correlation between different anatomical parameters of the mandible and the occurrence of a bad split in patients who had undergone bilateral split sagittal ramus osteotomy (BSSRO). Materials and method: At both the distal roots of the first molar (1) and the retromolar area (2), we measured the distance from the buccal margin of the inferior dental canal (IDC) to the buccal margin of the cortical bone (MCBC), the thickness of both buccal cortical (WBCB) and cancellous bone (WBCA), distance from the superior border of IDC to the alveolar crest (MCAC), buccolingual thickness (BLT), and thickness of cancellous bone (WCA). At the ramus, the distances between the sigmoid notch to the upper part of the lingula (SL) and the inferior border of the mandible (SIBM), the thickness of the ramus at the level of the lingula (BLTR), and the anteroposterior width of the ramus (APWR) were measured. The paired and independent t-tests were used when applicable, and a P-value < 0.05 was considered significant. Results: MCBC1 showed a significant difference between bad and non-bad split sides (P = 0.037). Both WBCA1 and WBCA2 show the same significant difference (P = 0.023, 0.024). Similarly, WCA1 and WCA2 showed a statistical difference between the bad and non-bad split sides (P = 0.027, 0.036). There were no statistically significant differences between the compared sides of WBCB1, WBCB2, MCAC1, MCAC2, SIBM, APWR, SL, and BLTR. Conclusion: Narrow space between IDC and the buccal cortical margin, along with the decrease in the thickness of both buccal cancellous bone and total cancellous bone at the inferior border of the mandible along the course of SSRO, has been implicated in the occurrence of bad split intraoperatively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the massive production of renewable energy, negative power flows occur in many areas due to the input of a high proportion of renewable power into medium- and lower-voltage systems. These negative power flows alter the traditional radiative pattern of power distribution and cause operational safety problems such as overvoltage and massive transmission losses. Exploiting the reverse flow within certain areas as well as the different outwarding power characteristics of different substations with the aim of ensuring power supply quality would reduce the need to install energy storage systems. Here, a grid partitioning method is proposed that considers the complementary characteristics as well as electrical distances of different substations. A planning model is proposed considering the potential profitability of installing renewable power generation and clustering outwarding power and transmission losses. The uncertainty of renewable power generation and load is considered using worst-case scenarios to form a robust optimization model. The effectiveness of cluster planning is confirmed, and the robustness of the planning schemes is evaluated by applying the proposed model to a real-world 35–110 KV distribution network in Anhui Province, China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The leucine-rich repeat kinase–2 (LRRK2) gene has been regarded as 1 of the most common genetic causes of Parkinson's disease (PD). We hypothesized that LRRK2-susceptible allele(s) for PD might pose a risk for Alzheimer's disease (AD). In this study, we screened 12 LRRK2 gene variants in 2 independent cohorts from southwestern China (341 AD patients and 435 normal individuals) and eastern China (297 AD patients and 384 normal individuals), to discern the potential association between this gene and AD. No variant was identified to be associated with AD in either case-control sample. As both of the cohorts were of Han Chinese origin, we combined the LRRK2 variant data for the 2 sample sets together (a total of 638 AD patients and 819 normal individuals) and still found no association between the LRRK2 gene and AD, suggesting that LRRK2 gene variants may not affect the development of AD in Han Chinese individuals. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Essential hypertension (EH) is a common complex disorder with high heritability. Maternal inherited pattern was observed in some families with EH, which was known as maternally inherited essential hypertension (MIEH). Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutations were identified to account for some MIEH in previous studies. In the present study, we characterized clinical manifestations and the complete mitochondrial genome of a Chinese family with MIEH. Through analyzing the whole mtDNA genome of the proband, we identified a mutation m.5512A > G in the MT-TW gene that changed a highly conserved nucleotide and could potentially affect the function of tRNA Trp . Furthermore, significantly exercise intolerance, left ventricular remodeling and increased arterial stiffness were observed in carriers with mutation m.5512A > G, which further supported the potentially pathogenic effect of m.5512A > G in MIEH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]