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Flotation is a primary method for separating fine particles, and the growing demand for processing these particles has driven recent research efforts towards developing and designing more efficient flotation devices. Among these, the Reflux Flotation Cell (RFC) stands out as an innovative solution specifically tailored for fine particle flotation. Gas parameters are crucial factors influencing flotation and are essential indicators for evaluating flotation equipment. This study primarily investigates the gas characteristics within the RFC, including bubble size, gas holdup, and bubble surface area flux. The experimental results indicate that bubble diameters range from 0.4 to 0.8 mm, gas holdup ranges from 30 % to 50 %, and bubble surface area flux ranges from 120 to 400 s-1. These findings demonstrate that the RFC provides an optimal gas environment, conducive to effective mineral flotation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water-splitting coupled with the hydrazine oxidation reaction (HzOR) is a remarkably important strategy for H2 production, but remains a challenge. Herein, a Fe-doped Ni2P-Co2P-Zn3P2 heterogeneous electrocatalyst with a nanoneedle-assembled nanosphere structure and abundant defects was fabricated on Ni foam (Fe-NiCoZnP/NF). The introduction of Fe can tune the electron structure of NiCoZnP/NF, leading to a modulation of the d-band center towards the Fermi level, hence optimizing the free energy of hydrogen (ΔGH*) and dehydrogenation behavior of hydrazine, and thereby realizing splendid HER and HzOR activities. The fabricated Fe-NiCoZnP/NF catalyst displays outstanding HER and HzOR activity and durability, with potentials of 121 and 13 mV vs. RHE to drive 1000 mA cm-2 and Tafel slopes of 31.2 and 11.9 mV dec-1, respectively, and a long durability of 120 h to achieve 100 mA cm-2. Impressively, overall water-hydrazine electrolysis employing Fe-NiCoZnP/NF as the anodic and cathodic electrodes only requires low voltages of 1.92 and 2.67 V to achieve 100 and 1000 mA cm-2, respectively, with a high stability for 120 h operation time during overall hydrazine splitting (OHzS). This work offers a justification for the design of high-efficiency bifunctional catalysts, and promotes energy-saving industry-level hydrogen generation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context • Heart failure (HF) refers to abnormal changes in the function of the body’s heart pump under the action of a variety of pathogenic factors. Due to the complex etiology and course of HF, current research on its etiology and pathogenesis hasn’t yet reached a clear conclusion. So, there are many manifestations of heart failure in patients, and there are also many changes in the treatment. Objectives • The study intended to evaluate the efficacy of adenovirus-mediated miR-199a nanoparticles (NPs) for heart failure (HF). Design • The research team performed an animal study. Setting • The study took place at Shanghai Pudong Hospital at Fudan University Pudong Medical Center in Shanghai, China. Animals • The animals were 40 healthy, adult, male, Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats. They were specific pathogenfree (SPF) grade SD rats, all weighing about 280 g and aged 7-8 weeks. Intervention • The research team: (1) induced HF using coronary artery ligation and established different HF models and (2) randomly divided the rats into two groups with 20 rats in each group—an experimental group, which received high-dose, microR-199a (miR-199a) NPs, and a control group, which received low-dose miR-199a NPs. The treatments occurred for seven days after the induction of HF. Outcome Measures • At baseline and postintervention, the research team measured the left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), left ventricular end diastolic diameter (LVEDD), left ventricular end systolic diameter (LVESD), diastolic and systolic left ventricular anterior wall (LVAW) thickness, left ventricular posterior wall (LVPW) thickness, and expression of heat shock protein 27 (HSP27), HSP70, soluble glycoprotein 130 (SGP130). The team analyzed and studied the effects of the adenovirus-mediated miR- 199a NP on that expression, based on the above indicators. Results • The miR-199a prepared with NPs had good specificity through observation. The expression of HSP27, SGP130 was significantly downregulated in the experimental group as compared to the control group (P < .05) and HSP70 was upregulated in the experimental group as compared to the control group (P < .05). The expression decreased, or increased, with an increase in the cardiac-function classification, with substantial differences between the control and experimental groups. Expression levels of HSP27, HSP70, and SGP in the experimental group were negatively correlated with those of controls and negatively correlated with the left ventricular end diastolic diameter (LVEDD), left ventricular end systolic diameter (LVESD), and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF). Conclusions • NP had good specificity. The miR-199a NP downregulated levels of HSP, which had a certain protective effect against HF and had a high clinicaladoption and promotion value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mamyshev oscillators (MOs) have attracted significant attention given their potential in yielding ultrafast lasers with high peak power. Based on step-like saturable absorbers and self-similar evolution in the gain fiber, MO technology features an advanced system capable of generating ultrastable femtosecond pulses with ultrahigh peak power. In this review, the principle of MO is presented in terms of their transmission function and tolerance to nonlinear phase shift and recent progress is reported in the advanced output performance of MO, manifested through high peak power, few-cycles, high repetition rate, and supercontinuum generation. MO with various operation wavelengths (1, 1.5, and 2 μm) are examined, and MO starting methods are fully discussed, followed by a detailed account of diverse potential applications in areas such as biomedical imaging and material processing. Based on current progress, the prospective challenges and future directions of MO are highlighted and discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In response to DNA damage, bacterial RecA protein forms filaments with the assistance of DinI protein. The RecA filaments stimulate the autocleavage of LexA, the repressor of more than 50 SOS genes, and activate the SOS response. During the late phase of SOS response, the RecA filaments stimulate the autocleavage of UmuD and λ repressor CI, leading to mutagenic repair and lytic cycle, respectively. Here, we determined the cryo-electron microscopy structures of Escherichia coli RecA filaments in complex with DinI, LexA, UmuD, and λCI by helical reconstruction. The structures reveal that LexA and UmuD dimers bind in the filament groove and cleave in an intramolecular and an intermolecular manner, respectively, while λCI binds deeply in the filament groove as a monomer. Despite their distinct folds and oligomeric states, all RecA filament binders recognize the same conserved protein features in the filament groove. The SOS response in bacteria can lead to mutagenesis and antimicrobial resistance, and our study paves the way for rational drug design targeting the bacterial SOS response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The influence of a GaN layer as a sub-quantum well for an AlGaN/GaN/AlGaN double barrier resonant tunneling diode (RTD) on device performance has been investigated by means of numerical simulation. The introduction of the GaN layer as the sub-quantum well turns the dominant transport mechanism of RTD from the 3D-2D model to the 2D-2D model and increases the energy difference between tunneling energy levels. It can also lower the effective height of the emitter barrier. Consequently, the peak current and peak-to-valley current difference of RTD have been increased. The optimal GaN sub-quantum well parameters are found through analyzing the electrical performance, energy band, and transmission coefficient of RTD with different widths and depths of the GaN sub-quantum well. The most pronounced electrical parameters, a peak current density of 5800 KA/cm2, a peak-to-valley current difference of 1.466 A, and a peak-to-valley current ratio of 6.35, could be achieved by designing RTD with the active region structure of GaN/Al0.2Ga0.8N/GaN/Al0.2Ga0.8N (3 nm/1.5 nm/1.5 nm/1.5 nm). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although lithium--sulfur (Li--S) batteries possess great potential to become the next generation of energy storage technology due to their fivefold higher energy density than commercial lithium-ion batteries, their practical application is still hindered by their poor cycling stability, especially resulting from the disturbing shuttle effect of soluble intermediates. In this study, vanadium dioxide (VO2) nanosheets were successfully grown onto CNTs to form CNTs@VO2 through hydrothermal and calcining processes. The hollow structure of the high conductive CNTs offers internal space and mesopores to accommodate the electrolyte combined with the polar metal oxide VO2 nanosheets providing the chemical anchoring. The hollow binary core--shell host acting as the nanoreactor that serves as the modifier of the separator results in the intensive physical and chemical dual adsorption of lithium polysulfide species (LiPSs), promoting the conversion of long-chain LiPSs to alleviate the shuttle effect significantly and boosting the performance. In addition, the CNTs enhance the electronic conductivity and the electrolyte infiltration of the separator. Notably, the modified separator demonstrates a high initial discharge capacity of 1397 mA h g-1 at 0.2C and retains a stable cycling ability with a reversible capacity of 965 mA h g-1 over 200 cycles at 1C. Even for the high sulfur loading of 7.4 mg cm-2, it can deliver a high areal capacity of 5.4 mA h cm-2 at 0.5C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cluster analysis is a principal approach to discover unknown tumor subtypes. Innovative and effective cluster analysis methods are of great significance for tumor diagnosis and malignant tumor treatment. Existing studies on the cluster analysis of tumor gene data generally have defects in aspects such as unsatisfactory performance in clustering highdimensional and high-noise data, and insufficient accuracy in selecting cluster centers. To overcome these defects, this paper performed cluster analysis on tumor gene data based on an improved Density peaks clustering (DPC) algorithm. At first, this paper elaborated on the composition and storage format of tumor tissue samples used in the experiment, gave the tumor gene expression profile data in the matrix format, and introduced the preprocessing process of gene expression profile data. Then, this paper carried out feature selection of tumor gene expression profile data. At last, this paper innovatively divided the target gene density into two parts of K-nearest neighbor local density and neighborhood density, thereby completing the improvement of conventional DPC algorithm and expanding its application scenarios. Combining with experiment, the clustering results of the algorithm before and after introducing the idea of Approximate Nearest Neighbor (ANN) were given, which had verified the effectiveness of the algorithm proposed in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study proposes a new optimal hybrid renewable energy system (HRES) arrangement, including a photovoltaic system, wind turbine, and fuel cell, for electrifying a remote area in Turkey. The study is based on considering system cost and reliability. To deliver an optimal configuration, system sizing has been designed based on an Amended version of the DragonFly optimizer. The achievements of the method have been then compared with some other published methods, including Particle Swarm Optimizer (PSO)-based algorithm and Firefly (FA)-based method. Simulation results show that the proposed method with 1,888,827.5 USD provides the minimum Net Present Cost value among the others. The main idea is to assess the objective function by lessening the Net Present Cost (NPC) by confirming based on the loss of power supply probability (LPSP). Final simulations indicated that the proposed approach provides lower NPC and LCOE toward the others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energetic ionic liquids (EILs) based on 1-butyl-4-amino-1,2,4-triazolium cation ([BATZ]+) and transition metal complex anions, namely hexanitritocobaltate(III) ([Co(NO2)6]3−), hexacyanocobaltate(III) ([Co(CN)6]3−), tetraisothiocyanatecobalt(II) [Co(NCS)4]2− and ferricyanide ([Fe(CN)6]3−), were synthesized. These EILs were obtained by an environmentally friendly, simple method using precursors of the transition metal complexes. The EILs were fully characterized by 1H NMR, FT-IR, Raman, theoretical IR, and UV-vis spectroscopy, molecular orbital analyses, and the determination of thermal stability, density, viscosity, water content, heat of formation and lattice energy. According to the investigation of their properties, these new EILs have potential as propellants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We theoretically investigate the influence of the phonon bath on photon blockade in a simultaneously driven dot-cavity system. An optimal condition for avoiding two-photon excitation of a cavity field is put forward which can be achieved by modulating the phase difference and the strengths of the driving fields. The second-order correlation function and the mean photon number of the cavity field are discussed. In the absence of phonon effect, the strong photon blockade in a moderate quantum dot (QD)-cavity coupling regime occurs, which can be attributed to the destructive quantum interference arisen from different transition paths induced by simultaneously driving the dressed QD-cavity system. The participation of acoustic-phonon reservoir produces new transition channels for the QD-cavity system, which leads to the damage of destructive interference. As a result, the photon blockade effect is hindered when taking the electron-phonon interaction into account. It is also found that the temperature of the phonon reservoir is disadvantageous for the generation of photon blockade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Formula is an important means of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) to treat diseases and has great research significance. There are many formula databases, but accessing rich information efficiently is difficult due to the small-scale data and lack of intelligent search engine.Methods: We selected 38,000 formulas from a semi-structured database, and then segmented text, extracted information, and standardized terms. After that, we constructed a structured formula database based on ontology and an intelligent retrieval engine by calculating the weight of decoction pieces of formulas.Results: The intelligent retrieval system named AMFormulaS (means Ancient and Modern Formula system) was constructed based on the structured database, ontology, and intelligent retrieval engine, so the retrieval and statistical analysis of formulas and decoction pieces were realized.Conclusions: AMFormulaS is a large-scale intelligent retrieval system which includes a mass of formula data, efficient information extraction system and search engine. AMFormulaS could provide users with efficient retrieval and comprehensive data support. At the same time, the statistical analysis of the system can enlighten scientific research ideas and support patent review as well as new drug research and development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rationale: Iris tectorum Maxim. is a traditional medicinal herb that is commonly used to treat inflammatory conditions. The present study investigated the fragmentation patterns of isoflavone glycosides and their qualitative analysis. In addition, lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced RAW264.7 macrophages were used to evaluate the anti-inflammatory properties of I. tectorum Maxim. samples collected at different time points during the year. Methods: High-performance liquid chromatography/quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC/QTOF-MS/MS) and HPLC with diode-array detection were employed for qualitative and quantitative analysis. The fragmentation patterns of the isoflavones were observed in negative electrospray ionization mode with collision-induced dissociation (CID). Their anti-inflammatory activity was assessed via nitric oxide (NO) production in LPS-treated RAW264.7 macrophages. Results: A total of 15 chemical components were observed and tentatively identified using HPLC/QTOF-MS/MS. At low collision energy, the relative abundances of the aglycone radical anions Y0 -, [Y0 - H]-•, [Y0 - CH3]-• and [Y0 - H- CH2]-• were used for the structural characterization of tectoridin and tectorigenin-40-O-ß-D-glucoside. The radical ions [Y0 - CH3]-• and [Y0 - H - 2CH3]-• were also employed to differentiate between iristectorin A and iristectorin B based upon their high-energy CID spectra. Levels of 9.02 mg/g of tectoridin and 1.04 mg/g of tectorigenin were found in samples collected in June, which exhibited 69.7% NO inhibitory activity. Conclusions: The characteristic fragmentation patterns enabled us to reliably identify isoflavone glycosides. The results of the quantitative determination and NO inhibitory activity offer insight into the optimal I. tectorum Maxim. harvesting time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To construct a glycolysis-related prognostic model to predict individualized survival in patients with glioblastoma (GBM). Methods: Clinical data for patients with GBM, including expression levels of glycolysis-related genes (GRGs), were extracted from The Cancer Genome Atlas. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analyses were then carried out and protein-protein interactions were investigated. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were performed on the GRGs to identify the best prognosis-related genes. We then established and verified a novel prognostic model, based on the expression of differentially expressed GRGs that were significantly associated with overall survival in GBM patients. Results: ALDH3B1, CHPF, FBP1, ISG20 and STC1 were chosen to establish the prognostic risk score model. Patients with high risk scores had significantly poorer overall survival than patients with low risk scores. Conclusion: The glycolysis-related model has significant value in performing individualized survival predictions for GBM patients and could suggest better treatment options for GBM patients. Our results may help to elucidate GBM pathogenesis and contribute to clinical decision-making and individualized treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article provides information on a study which reported ultrastrong low-carbon nanosteel produced by heterostructure and interstitial mediated warm rolling. Topics discussed include unreported mechanisms that enabled the nanosteel consists of thin lamellae, major issues for using severe plastic deformation techniques to produce ultrahigh strength materials, and analysis of microstructures of the steel samples to explore underlying physics of the higher strength obtained under warm rolling.

To explore a prediction method for freak waves, a theoretical derivation is given to calculate the eigenvalue of the nonlinear Schrödinger (NLS) equation from measured wave height time history data based on the inverse scattering transform of the third-order nonlinear Schrödinger equation. The method further predicts the temporal and spatial evolution of the wave envelope. Based on the envelope prediction results, the spatiotemporal information for large wave occurrence can be obtained. The prediction results of this paper are compared with measured wave trains to verify the validity and accuracy of the method. This method gives a new technical approach for providing large-wave warnings for ships or offshore platforms, as well as for finding periods for offshore operations under large wave conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although a coaching leadership style has an inherent advantage in predicting the subordinates’ career success, there is still little known about the linkage and the specific process by which coaching leadership influences career success. We examined the relationship between coaching leadership and subordinates’ career success, especially the mediating role of leader–member exchange (LMX), through a survey conducted with 301 supervisor–subordinate pairs of a large state-owned enterprise in Shanghai, China. Using Hayes’ PROCESS macro, we conducted a Sobel test and bootstrapping to test our hypotheses. As predicted, we found that coaching leadership was positively related to both subjective and objective career success of subordinates. In addition, LMX mediated the influence of coaching leadership on career success of subordinates. Our findings provide a new theoretical perspective for explaining the impact of coaching leadership. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The periosteum, a thin tissue that covers almost the entire bone surface, accounts for more than 80% of human bone mass and is essential for bone regeneration. Its osteogenic and bone regenerative abilities are well studied, but much is unknown about the periosteum. In this study, we found that macrophage-lineage cells recruit periosteum-derived cells (PDCs) for cortical bone formation. Knockout of colony stimulating factor-1 eliminated macrophage-lineage cells and resulted in loss of PDCs with impaired periosteal bone formation. Moreover, macrophage-lineage TRAP+ cells induced transcriptional expression of periostin and recruitment of PDCs to the periosteal surface through secretion of platelet-derived growth factor-BB (PDGF-BB), where the recruited PDCs underwent osteoblast differentiation coupled with type H vessel formation. We also found that subsets of Nestin+ and LepR+ PDCs possess multipotent and self-renewal abilities and contribute to cortical bone formation. Nestin+ PDCs are found primarily during bone development, whereas LepR+ PDCs are essential for bone homeostasis in adult mice. Importantly, conditional knockout of Pdgfrβ (platelet-derived growth factor receptor beta) in LepR+ cells impaired periosteal bone formation and regeneration. These findings uncover the essential role of periosteal macrophage-lineage cells in regulating periosteum homeostasis and regeneration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prof. Kazuhiko Ito of Kyoto Gakuen University (Kameoka, Japan) and colleagues have grown large single crystals of synthetic forsterite, tephroite and other olivine compositions (Ito et al. 2003a, b). THE JOURNAL OF GEMMOLOGY, 37(5), 2021 467 GEM NOTES been subjected to post-growth high-pressure, high-temperature (HPHT) processing (Eaton-Magaña & Shigley 2016). Most HPHT-grown colourless to near-colourless synthetic diamonds are type IIa or IIa+IIb with greenish blue fluorescence, moderate to strong long-lasting phosphorescence and a cuboctahedral growth pattern. [Extracted from the article]

This Letter presents an optimised cascaded integrator comb (CIC) filter sharpening algorithm embedding a fifth-order finite impulse response filter, which improves the worst-case alias rejection and simultaneously compensates the passband droop. The sharpening filter is designed without multipliers, which reduces hardware complexity. The results of a fourth-order CIC filter design practice show that the proposed algorithm improves the worst-case alias rejection to 128 dB, meanwhile the passband distortion is only 0.015 dB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A 32-year-old male with pantothenate kinase-associated neurodegeneration (PKAN) disease who had two heterozygous mutations in the PANK2 gene presented with dystonic storm. The MRI T2WI showed the "eye of the tiger" sign, which combined the abnormal low signal in the globus pallidus due to accumulation of iron and the longitudinal strip of high signal due to gliosis. The patient underwent bilateral globus pallidus internus deep brain stimulation (GPi-DBS) implantation surgery under general anesthesia with marked improvement. Genetic test showed c.1550T>G and c.377G>C heterozygous mutations in the PANK2 gene. To our knowledge, this is the first report of a PKAN patient with the novel mutations in the PANK2 gene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A difference-equalisation based method is presented to estimate timing skew adaptively in time-interleaved analogue-to-digital converters (ADCs). By digital zero-crossing detection and calculating the mean of the absolute difference between adjacent sub-ADC's outputs, the timing mismatch information for each channel can be identified easily. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed method can estimate timing skew accurately. Furthermore, the proposed method requires far fewer samples to estimation than the previous methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Commercially available passivation methods for white-rust protection of Hot-Dip Galvanized steel have been applied for chromate passivation. However, hexavalent chromium (Cr-VI) is highly toxic and carcinogenic. Therefore, in this paper, we put forth a new means for white-rust protection of Hot-Dip Galvanized steel based on the effects of corrosion inhibitors. In this study, the passivation solution combines the advantages of inorganic salt passivation, silane passivation and resin passivation. The corrosion resistance of the inorganic and organic composite passivation films with corrosion inhibitors was determined by a neutral salt spray test and electrochemical Tafel polarization curves. The surface chemistry of the coatings was monitored by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray Photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Fourier transform infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy (FTIR). And further studying on the formation mechanism of the passivation film was carried out. The SEM indicated that the top surface of the passivation film was transparent, smooth, uniform and compact. The XPS and FTIR results showed that the passivation film consisted mainly of organic functional groups including-(CH2)n-, -OH, N-H, C=O, C-Si, C-O-C, C-N, Si-O-Si, Si-O-C and so on. The corrosion resistance of passivation film with corrosion inhibitors was significantly improved than that of the passivation film without corrosion inhibitor. After 96h of the corrosion test, the corrosion area was found to be less than 5 %, which indicated that the passivation film greatly improved the corrosion resistance of the hot-dip galvanized sheet, and exhibited a very good protective effect so that can met some industrial applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Embryonic morphogenesis of a complex organism requires proper regulation of patterning and directional growth. Planar cell polarity (PCP) signaling is emerging as a crucial evolutionarily conserved mechanism whereby directional information is conveyed. PCP is thought to be established by global cues, and recent studies have revealed an instructive role of a Wnt signaling gradient in epithelial tissues of both invertebrates and vertebrates. However, it remains unclear whether Wnt/PCP signaling is regulated in a coordinated manner with embryonic patterning during morphogenesis. Here, in mouse developing limbs, we find that apical ectoderm ridge-derived Fgfs required for limb patterning regulate PCP along the proximaldistal axis in a Wnt5a-dependent manner. We demonstrate with genetic evidence that the Wnt5a gradient acts as a global cue that is instructive in establishing PCP in the limb mesenchyme, and that Wnt5a also plays a permissive role to allow Fgf signaling to orient PCP. Our results indicate that limb morphogenesis is regulated by coordination of directional growth and patterning through integration of Wnt5a and Fgf signaling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The hoop truss structure is an indispensable structure of communication satellite antennas. Because the hoop truss structure can deform and seriously vibrate, a ground test is essential before application. This paper first introduces an active suspension method of lifting the structure. Voice coil actuators are used to output an Ampére force that balances the gravity of the structure. Under the condition that the two damped frequencies of the suspension structure and no-suspension structure are equal to each other, the active suspension method is available on the ground. Active vibration control is then investigated to suppress vibration responses. According to a proportional-plus-derivative algorithm and fuzzy algorithm, the control force is calculated and generated by another voice coil actuator. Finally, excitation and closed-loop control experiments are conducted to suppress the nod mode vibration under transient excitation and steady-state excitation. Experimental results show that the actuator effectively suppresses the nod mode vibration of the hoop truss structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Degenerative disc disease (DDD) is a common degenerative condition initiated mainly within the nucleus pulposus (NP). To date, the etiopathogenesis of DDD remains unclear, and because no effective therapeutic strategies are available to target its pathological processes, DDD is still treated with symptomatic interventions that are far from adequate. Collagen type II is one of the major matrix components of the NP, and is considered to be essential to NP homeostasis. However, the specific mechanisms by which collagen type II influences NP cells remain unknown. In the present study, collagen type II expression was detected using immunohistochemistry analysis and quantitative polymerase chain reaction, and it was demonstrated to be significantly downregulated in NP tissues from patients with DDD compared with nondegenerative controls. To further explore the mechanism in vitro, interleukin (IL)‑1β stimulation was used to induce degeneration of a human NP cell line. IL‑1β stimulation upregulated both the mRNA and protein levels of the catabolic markers matrix metalloproteinase 13 (MMP13) and a disintegrin and metalloproteinase with thrombospondin motifs 4 (ADAMTS4), while it downregulated the anabolic makers aggrecan and collagen type II. However, addition of purified collagen type II prevented this IL‑1β‑induced metabolic disturbance of the NP cells. Furthermore, IL‑1β stimulation significantly promoted apoptosis in NP cells, while collagen type II treatment decreased the apoptotic rate and the protein levels of cleaved caspase‑3. In conclusion, collagen type II exhibited protective effects in suppressing NP cell degeneration through its anticatabolic, proanabolic and antiapoptotic effects, suggesting that it may be a promising therapeutic agent for the prevention and treatment of DDD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tumor cells may develop multidrug resistance (MDR) to various chemotherapy regimens. Such resistance reduces the sensitivity of cells to chemotherapy drugs, leading to the failure of cervical cancer (CC) treatment and disease progression. The present study aimed to investigate the role of MDR1, lung resistance protein (LRP) and placental glutathione S-transferase p 1 (GSTP1) in CC and MDR, and the prognostic value of these genes. The mRNA expression levels of these resistance-associated genes were determined in 47 CC and 20 healthy cervical tissue samples. Subsequently, the data was analyzed alongside clinicopathological parameters. The mRNA expression levels of MDR1, LRP and GSTP1 in CC were 0.57±0.32, 0.58±0.29 and 0.44±0.24, respectively, whereas those in healthy cervical tissues were 0.19±0.10, 0.17±0.14 and 0.18±0.10, respectively. Therefore, the expression levels of these genes were significantly greater in CC compared with healthy cervical tissue (P<0.05). mRNA expression levels of MRD1 were increased in the well differentiated group (0.68±0.27) compared with the poorly differentiated group (0.38±0.33; P<0.05). No significant differences were observed between LRP and GSTP1 mRNA expression levels and tumor differentiation or clinical stage of the patients (P>0.05). Multivariate logistic regression indicated that the degree of differentiation and the MDR1 gene expression levels were predictors of CC prognosis (P<0.05). The survival rate of patients in the MDR1-negative group was significantly greater compared with the MDR1-positive group (P<0.05). The results of the present study therefore suggested that MDR1 gene expression is a predictor of poor survival in CC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electromagnetic metamaterials are constructed with sub-wavelength structures that exhibit particular electromagnetic properties under a certain frequency range. Because the form-factor of the substructures has to be comparable to the wavelength of the operating frequency, few papers have discussed the metamaterials under GHz frequency. In this paper, we developed an innovative method to reduce the resonant frequency of metamaterals. By integrating the meta-structures with ferrite materials of higher permeability, the cell size of the meta-structure can be scaled down. This paper describes the methodology, design, and development of low-profile GHz ferrite loaded metamaterials. A ferrite film with a permeability of 20 could reduce the resonant frequency of metamaterials by up to 50%. A prototype has been fabricated and the measurement data align well with the simulation results. Because of the lowered operational frequency, the proposed ferrite loaded metamaterials offer more flexibility for various sub-GHz microwave applications, such as cloaks, absorbers, and frequency selective surfaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives: Lack of professional and accurate diagnosis of malnutrition led to a reduction in Diagnosis Related Group (DRG) payment and a decrease in Case-Mix Index (CMI). The aim of this study was to explore the effects of adding a proper nutritional diagnosis and modifying complication groups on DRG payment and CMI. Methods and Study Design: Retrospective analysis was performed on patients admitted to the hospital from January to June 2022 who had received a nutritional assessment. Patients were diagnosed as wellnourished, mild malnutrition, moderate malnutrition or severe malnutrition according to patient-generated subjective global assessment (PG-SGA) scores within 24 hours of admission. CMI and DRG hospital internal control standards were recalculated and compared with the original values. Results: A total of 254 patients were enrolled, including 40 patients with mild malnutrition, 74 patients with moderate malnutrition and 122 patients with severe malnutrition. Of all subjects, 111 changed complication groups. The median of the DRG hospital internal control standard (12006.09 vs. 13797.19, p=0.01) and the median of CMI (0.91 vs. 1.04, p=0.026) were significantly higher than those before the diagnostic change. In patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), the CMI value, hospital control standard of DRG, and the classification of DRG were significantly different from those before diagnosis revision (p<0.001). Conclusions: Fully identification and correct coding of malnutrition cases are conducive for hospitals to receive appropriate DRG compensation, and further contribute to the improvement of medical quality and the economic sustainability of hospitals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hematological abnormalities are frequently observed in patients with liver cirrhosis (LC). A previous study demonstrated that the apoptosis and damage of endothelial cells could cause the hematological abnormalities in LC. Protein kinases are one of the most important factors that regulate cell behavior, and are potential therapeutic targets for the treatment of a number of diseases. In a previous study, whole genome profiling was used to identify differentially expressed genes in human bone marrow endothelial cells treated with serum from 26 patients with LC. From this data set, the present study identified 14 differentially expressed kinase genes in human bone marrow endothelial cells in LC from the microarray data, including p38a, AKT1 and PDK1. Pathway analysis revealed that these kinase genes were enriched in certain important LC-associated pathways (e.g. MAPK and WNT signaling pathway). Literature mining revealed that p38a was associated with bone marrow apoptosis; therefore, p38a and its inhibitor, SB203580, were selected as potential therapeutic targets in the present study. The results of hematoxylin-eosin and Masson's trichrome staining of livers from a rat model of liver fibrosis (LF) that underwent ligation of the bile duct demonstrated that SB203580 reduced the degree of LF. In addition, SB203580-treated rats with LF demonstrated a significantly higher number of platelets when compared with the untreated group. Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) analysis indicated that apoptosis of bone marrow tissue in rats with LF was inhibited by SB203580. In addition, the results from the immunohistochemical analysis demonstrated that SB203580 reduced the expression of von Willebrand factor and caspase 3 in the bone marrow of rats with LF. In conclusion, the results from the present study indicate that the p38a kinase inhibitor, SB203580, may exhibit a protective effect on bone marrow tissues in rats with LF. This suggests that protein kinases and their inhibitors may present novel therapeutic strategies for the treatment of hematological abnormalities in patients with LC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Clouds usually cause invalid observations for sensors aboard satellites, which corrupts the spatio-temporal continuity of land surface parameters retrieved from remote sensing data (e.g., MODerate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data) and prevents the fusing of multi-source remote sensing data in the field of quantitative remote sensing. Based on the requirements of spatio-temporal continuity and the necessity of methods to restore bad pixels, primarily resulting from image processing, this study developed a novel method to derive the spectral reflectance for MODIS band of cloudy pixels in the visual-near infrared (VIS-NIR) spectral channel based on the Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function (BRDF) and multi-spatio-temporal observations. The proposed method first constructs the spatial distribution of land surface reflectance based on the corresponding BRDF and the solar-viewing geometry; then, a geographically weighted regression (GWR) is introduced to individually derive the spectral surface reflectance for MODIS band of cloudy pixels. A validation of the proposed method shows that a total root-mean-square error (RMSE) of less than 6% and a total R² of more than 90% are detected, which indicates considerably better precision than those exhibited by other existing methods. Further validation of the retrieved white-sky albedo based on the spectral reflectance for MODIS band of cloudy pixels confirms an RMSE of 3.6% and a bias of 2.2%, demonstrating very high accuracy of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: DNA-binding proteins (DBPs) play fundamental roles in many biological processes. Therefore, the developing of effective computational tools for identifying DBPs is becoming highly desirable. Results: In this study, we proposed an accurate method for the prediction of DBPs. Firstly, we focused on the challenge of improving DBP prediction accuracy with information solely from the sequence. Secondly, we used multiple informative features to encode the protein. These features included evolutionary conservation profile, secondary structure motifs, and physicochemical properties. Thirdly, we introduced a novel improved Binary Firefly Algorithm (BFA) to remove redundant or noisy features as well as select optimal parameters for the classifier. The experimental results of our predictor on two benchmark datasets outperformed many state-ofthe- art predictors, which revealed the effectiveness of our method. The promising prediction performance on a new-compiled independent testing dataset from PDB and a large-scale dataset from UniProt proved the good generalization ability of our method. In addition, the BFA forged in this research would be of great potential in practical applications in optimization fields, especially in feature selection problems. Conclusions: A highly accurate method was proposed for the identification of DBPs. A user-friendly web-server named iDbP (identification of DNA-binding Proteins) was constructed and provided for academic use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In an attempt to improve the mechanical properties of carbon fiber composites, propagation of poly(amidoamine) (PAMAM) dendrimers by in situ polymerization on a carbon fiber surface was performed. During polymerization processes, PAMAM was grafted on carbon fiber by repeated Michael addition and amidation reactions. The changes in surface microstructure and the chemical composition of carbon fibers before and after modification were investigated by atomic force microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and Raman spectroscopy. All the results indicated that PAMAM was successfully grown on the carbon fiber surface. Such propagation could significantly increase the surface roughness and introduce sufficient polar groups onto the carbon fiber surface, enhancing the surface wettability of carbon fiber. The fractured surface of carbon fiber-reinforced composites showed a great enhancement of interfacial adhesion. Compared with those of desized fiber composites, the interlaminar shear strength and interfacial shear strength of PAMAM/fiber-reinforced composites showed increases of 55.49 and 110.94%, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose an interactive modeling framework to create 3D furniture models with interactive parts from a single image. Given a real furniture image, we first infer the potential structure of the furniture based on the labeled bounding box of each part. Then a novel interaction guided modeling algorithm is employed to make each part to be movable. With the interaction graph and user labeling, our algorithm automatically infers the assembly structure and the link relations of the model in part level. Moreover, the user can also utilize our interactive modeling tool to further design the inner structure of the furniture. We show furniture modeling results on numerous examples to demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of our approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acute pancreatitis (AP) is a common acute digestive tract disease, with increased morbidity and mortality, and an unclear pathogenesis. Trypsinogen activation in pancreatic acinar cells may be the primary mechanism underlying the development of AP. Previous studies reported that autophagy participates in the formation of acinar cell vacuoles in AP and in the process of trypsinogen activation as an important cause of AP. Furthermore, microRNAs (miRNAs) maintain the autophagy process by regulating the expression of autophagy-associated genes. In the present study, an in vitro pancreatic acinar cell autophagy model was established using the AR42J starvation-induced pancreatic acinar cell line. Twenty differentially expressed microRNAs were identified using miRNA microarray. Bioinformatics analysis was used to predict the target genes of miRNAs and analyze the functions of differentially expressed miRNAs. The results demonstrated that only the downregulated miRNA rno-miR-148b-3p predicted 593 target genes with a statistical significance (P<0.05), from which 10 genes were autophagy-associated. The results of gene ontology and pathway analyses demonstrated that the target genes of miRNAs were enriched in the Response to insulin stimulus, Regulation of cell death and the Insulin signaling pathways (P<0.05, FDR<0.05). In addition, protein-protein interaction network analysis demonstrated a widespread interaction among the 593 target genes. The results of the present study may provide novel targets for research on the mechanisms of autophagy-promoted AP and AP treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Arsenic trioxide (As2O3; ATO), a compound which is characterized by its ability to function as a potent anticancer agent, has been investigated in a variety of carcinomas. B7-H4, a transmembrane protein, may inhibit the function of the T cell effector, and therefore, may be useful in investigating different types of tumor therapies. However, few studies have been published previously associated with the roles of ATO and B7-H4 in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The aim of the present study was to investigate the anti-invasive role of ATO in HCC, to determine the effect of ATO treatment on the expression of B7-H4 and to further assess the possible underlying mechanisms. Following treatment of the cells with 2, 4 and 8 μM ATO for 48 h, cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8), Transwell and western blot assays were used to determine the extent of human MHCC97-H HCC cell proliferation, apoptosis, invasion and B7-H4 expression, respectively. The results revealed that 1 μM ATO markedly decreased cellular proliferation, and ATO administered at concentrations of 0.1, 0.2 and 0.5 μM markedly inhibited the migration and invasion of the human MHCC97-H HCC cell line. The expression of B7-H4 in the treatment groups was markedly reduced. Signal transduction mediated via the Janus kinase 2/signal transducers and activators of transcription 3 pathway was inhibited upon treatment with 0.1, 0.2 and 0.5 μM ATO. Additionally, the protein expression levels of matrix metalloproteinase 2 and vascular endothelial growth factor were markedly reduced in HCC cells upon treatment with ATO. In conclusion, ATO may reduce the protein expression levels of B7-H4 in MHCC97-H HCC cells, and further affected HCC tumorigenesis and progression. ATO may be a putative agent for the development of therapeutic strategies against human liver cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Teleosts are unique among vertebrates, with a wide range of haploid genome sizes in very close lineages, varying from less than 400 mega base pairs (Mb) for pufferfish to over 3000 Mb for salmon. The cause of the difference in genome size remains largely unexplained. Results: In this study, we reveal that the differential success of transposable elements (TEs) correlates with the variation of genome size across four representative teleost species (zebrafish, medaka, stickleback, and tetraodon). The larger genomes represent a higher diversity within each clade (superfamily) and family and a greater abundance of TEs compared with the smaller genomes; zebrafish, representing the largest genome, shows the highest diversity and abundance of TEs in its genome, followed by medaka and stickleback; while the tetraodon, representing the most compact genome, displays the lowest diversity and density of TEs in its genome. Both of Class I (retrotransposons) and Class II TEs (DNA transposons) contribute to the difference of TE accumulation of teleost genomes, however, Class II TEs are the major component of the larger teleost genomes analyzed and the most important contributors to genome size variation across teleost lineages. The hAT and Tc1/Mariner superfamilies are the major DNA transposons of all four investigated teleosts. Divergence distribution revealed contrasting proliferation dynamics both between clades of retrotransposons and between species. The TEs within the larger genomes of the zebrafish and medaka represent relatively stronger activity with an extended time period during the evolution history, in contrast with the very young activity in the smaller stickleback genome, or the very low level of activity in the tetraodon genome. Conclusion: Overall, our data shows that teleosts represent contrasting profiles of mobilomes with a differential density, diversity and activity of TEs. The differences in TE accumulation, dominated by DNA transposons, explain the main size variations of genomes across the investigated teleost species, and the species differences in both diversity and activity of TEs contributed to the variations of TE accumulations across the four teleost species. TEs play major roles in teleost genome evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fabrication of grating structures on surfaces of wide-bandgap semiconductors, namely silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN), was achieved using a femtosecond laser and a phase mask. The phase mask was used to produce stable interference patterns from the focused femtosecond laser to form the grating structures on the bulk materials. The effects of the irradiation power and time on the Bragg grating morphology that was formed on the SiC surface were studied. By optimizing the fabrication parameters, we successfully produced grating structures with uniform periods of 1.07 µm on SiC and GaN. The threshold powers necessary for grating structure formation on wide-bandgap semiconductors were investigated. It was found that the threshold powers for SiC and GaN were much smaller than those for silica glass. The reason for this difference is that the absorption of the incident laser light in SiC and GaN is a lower-order nonlinear absorption process compared to that in silica glass. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To validate the feasibility of using the parameters of spectral CT and CT perfusion and the dynamic features of real-time contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) to evaluate the vascularization of VX2 hepatic tumours. Methods: Spectral CT imaging, CT perfusion and CEUS analysis were performed on rabbits implanted with VX2 hepatic tumours, 7 and 14 days after implantation. The perfusion parameters of CT, normalized iodine concentration (NIC) and dynamic features of CEUS were measured in the rim of the tumour (TR) and the normal liver region. The expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2) was also determined. Results: Increased perfusion parameters of CT were found in the TR. In addition, the NIC was elevated in TR during the arterial phase, and the peak intensity of the CEUS of the TR was reached significantly earlier than that on normal liver region. At 14 days, the perfusion parameters of CT (blood volume, permeability surface and hepatic arterial fraction) offered higher accuracy and stability in differentiating the TR from the normal liver region. Furthermore, CEUS was more accurate in diagnosing tumours <1.0 cm in diameter. In addition, VEGF and FGF2 expression was higher in the TR and were positively correlated with CT and CEUS parameters, except mean transit time, rise time, washout time and peak time. Conclusion: Use of spectral CT with perfusion techniques, iodine-based material-decomposition analysis and dynamic CEUS changes may reflect the angiogenesis and haemodynamic information of hepatic tumours. Advances in knowledge: It is feasible to assess vascularization in hepatic cancer using CT or CEUS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Land surface albedo data with high spatio-temporal resolution are increasingly important for scientific studies addressing spatially and/or temporally small-scale phenomena, such as urban heat islands and urban land surface energy balance. Our previous study derived albedo data with 2-4-day and 30-m temporal and spatial resolution that have better spatio-temporal resolution than existing albedo data, but do not completely satisfy the requirements for monitoring high-frequency land surface changes at the small scale. Downscaling technology provides a chance to further improve the albedo data spatio-temporal resolution and accuracy. This paper introduces a method that combines downscaling technology for land surface reflectance with an empirical method of deriving land surface albedo. Firstly, downscaling daily MODIS land surface reflectance data (MOD09GA) from 500 m to 30 m on the basis of HJ-1A/B BRDF data with 2-4-day and 30-m temporal and spatial resolution is performed: this is the key step in the improved method. Subsequently, the daily 30-m land surface albedo data are derived by an empirical method combining prior knowledge of the MODIS BRDF product and the downscaled daily 30-m reflectance. Validation of albedo data obtained using the proposed method shows that the new method has both improved spatio-temporal resolution and good accuracy (a total absolute accuracy of 0.022 and a total root mean squared error at six sites of 0.028). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Viral myocarditis, which is most prevalently caused by coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3) infection, is a serious clinical condition characterized by cardiac inflammation. Inflammasome plays an essential role in the regulation of diverse inflammatory responses by serving as a platform for caspase-1 activation and caspase-1-dependent proteolytic maturation and secretion of IL-1β. Although inflammasome has been reported to be crucial for the development of many inflammatory diseases, its role in the pathogenesis of viral myocarditis is still elusive. The present study aims to investigate whether CVB3 infection activates inflammasome and whether the activation of inflammasome contributes to CVB3-induced myocarditis. Our results showed that CVB3 infection induced inflammasome activation both in vitro and in vivo. With the inhibition of inflammasome activation, the severity of CVB3-induced myocarditis was significantly alleviated as evidenced by less weight loss, decreased serological indexes of creatine kinase and creatine kinase-MB activities, as well as less severe myocardial injury. Of importance, echocardiography results showed that inhibition of inflammasome activation also efficiently improved cardiac function as revealed by enhanced left ventricular ejection fraction and left ventricular fractional shortening. Despite that CVB3 infection significantly increased the expression of both retinoic acid-inducible gene 1 and NOD-like receptor family, pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) in cardiac myocytes, CVB3-induced inflammasome activation was NLRP3-, but not retinoic acid-inducible gene 1, dependent. Further study showed that reactive oxygen species production and K+ efflux were critical for the activation of NLRP3 inflammasome upon CVB3 infection. Collectively, our study demonstrated a crucial role of the NLRP3 inflammasome in the pathogenesis of CVB3-induced myocarditis, and modulation of inflammasome activation might represent a promising therapeutic strategy for viral myocarditis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ability to assemble multiple nanobuilding blocks into organized heterostructures is critical for the fabrication of functional nanomaterials and devices. Here we demonstrate the co-assembly of a binary mixture of polymer-grafted metal nanoparticles with different sizes, shapes, and compositions. Our method takes advantage of nano-particles that possess different diffusion rates within polymer matrices to produce chains of heterogeneous nanoparticles with controlled morphologies that can be tuned by controlling ratios of nanoparticle loading densities, relative nanoparticle sizes, and polymer graft miscibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An iterative algorithm has been successfully used to process data from the three-flat test. On the basis of the iterative algorithm proposed by Vannoni, which is much faster and more effective than the Zernike polynomial fitting method, an improved algorithm is presented. By optimizing the iterative steps and removing the scaling factors, the surface shape can be easily computed in a few iterations. The validity of the method is proved by computer simulation, and the interpolation error and principle error are analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Land surface albedo is an essential parameter for monitoring global/regional climate and land surface energy balance. Although many studies have been conducted on global or regional land surface albedo using various remote sensing data over the past few decades, land surface albedo product with a high spatio-temporal resolution is currently very scarce. This paper proposes a method for deriving land surface albedo with a high spatio-temporal resolution (space: 30 m and time: 2-4 days). The proposed method works by combining the land surface reflectance data at 30 m spatial resolution obtained from the charge-coupled devices in the Huanjing-1A and -1B (HJ-1A/B) satellites with the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) land surface bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) parameters product (MCD43A1), which is at a spatial resolution of 500 m. First, the land surface BRDF parameters for HJ-1A/B land surface reflectance with a spatial-temporal resolutions of 30 m and 2-4 day are calculated on the basis of the prior knowledge from the MODIS BRDF product; then, the calculated high resolution BRDF parameters are integrated over the illuminating/viewing hemisphere to produce the white- and black-sky albedos at 30 m resolution. These results form the basis for the final land surface albedo derivation by accounting for the proportion of direct and diffuse solar radiation arriving at the ground. The albedo retrieved by this novel method is compared with MODIS land surface albedo products, as well as with ground measurements. The results show that the derived land surface albedo during the growing season of 2012 generally achieved a mean absolute accuracy of ±0.044, and a root mean square error of 0.039, confirming the effectiveness of the newly proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High plasma proenkephalin A levels have been associated with poor clinical outcome of aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage. This prospective observatory study was designed to investigate the relationship between plasma proenkephalin A levels and 1-week mortality, 6-month mortality and 6-month unfavorable outcome (defined as Glasgow Outcome Scale score of 1-3) in patients with severe traumatic brain injury. This study recruited 128 patients and 128 sex- and age-matched healthy controls. Plasma proenkephalin A levels, as measured by chemoluminescence sandwich immunoassay, were statistically significantly higher in patients than in healthy controls (239.1 ± 93.0 pmol/L vs.81.3 ± 22.1 pmol/L; P < 0.001) and were correlated with Glasgow Coma Scale scores (r = -0.540, P < 0.001). It was identified as an independent prognostic predictor of 1-week mortality [odds ratio (OR), 1.214; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.103-1.425; P < 0.001], 6-month mortality (OR, 1.162; 95% CI, 1.101-1.372; P < 0.001) and 6-month unfavorable outcome (OR, 1.116; 95% CI, 1.097-1.281; P < 0.001). Moreover, it had high predictive value for 1-week mortality [area under curve (AUC), 0.852; 95% CI, 0.778-0.908], 6-month mortality (AUC, 0.841; 95% CI, 0.766-0.899) and 6-month unfavorable outcome (AUC, 0.830; 95% CI, 0.754-0.891). Furthermore, its predictive value was similar to Glasgow Coma Scale score's (all P > 0.05). Yet, a combined logistic-regression model did not show that it statistically significantly improved the predictive value of Glasgow Coma Scale score (all P > 0.05). Thus, it was proposed that enhanced plasma proenkephalin A could be a useful, complementary tool to predict short- or long-term clinical outcome after severe traumatic brain injury. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims This study aims to investigate the effect and the mechanisms of notoginsenoside Ft1, a natural compound exclusively found in P. notoginseng, on the proliferation and apoptosis of human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells. Main methods CCK-8 assay was used to assess the cell proliferation. Flow cytometry was performed to measure the cell cycle distribution and cell apoptosis. Hoechst 33258 staining was conducted to confirm the morphological changes of apoptotic cells. Protein expression was detected by western blot analysis and caspase 3 activity was measured by colorimetric assay kit. Key findings Among the saponins examined, Ft1 showed the best inhibitory effect on cell proliferation of SH-SY5Y cells with IC50 of 45 μM. Ft1 not only arrested the cell cycle at S, G2/M stages, but also promoted cell apoptosis, which was confirmed by Hoechst 33258 staining. Further studies demonstrated that Ft1 up-regulated the protein expressions of cleaved caspase 3, phospho-p53, p21, and cyclin B1, but down-regulated that of Bcl-2. Moreover, Ft1 enhanced the phosphorylation of ERK1/2, JNK and p38 MAPK. However, the phosphorylation of Jak2 and p85 PI3K was reduced by Ft1. Inhibitors of p38 MAPK and ERK1/2 but not JNK abrogated the up-regulated protein expressions of cleaved caspase 3, p21 and down-regulated protein expression of Bcl-2 as well as elevated caspase 3 activity induced by Ft1. Significance Ft1 arrested the proliferation and elicited the apoptosis of SH-SY5Y cells possibly via p38 MAPK and ERK1/2 pathways, which indicates the potential therapeutic effect of it on human neuroblastoma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters play various roles in cancer biology and drug resistance, but their association with outcomes in serous epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) is unknown. Methods The relationship between clinical outcomes and ABC transporter gene expression in two independent cohorts of high-grade serous EOC tumors was assessed with real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction, analysis of expression microarray data, and immunohistochemistry. Associations between clinical outcomes and ABCA transporter gene single nucleotide polymorphisms were tested in a genome-wide association study. Impact of short interfering RNA-mediated gene suppression was determined by colony forming and migration assays. Association with survival was assessed with Kaplan-Meier analysis and log-rank tests. All statistical tests were two-sided. Results Associations with outcome were observed with ABC transporters of the "A" subfamily, but not with multidrug transporters. High-level expression of ABCA1, ABCA6, ABCA8, and ABCA9 in primary tumors was statistically significantly associated with reduced survival in serous ovarian cancer patients. Low levels of ABCA5 and the C-allele of rs536009 were associated with shorter overall survival (hazard ratio for death = 1.50; 95% confidence interval [Cl] =1.26 to 1.79; P = 6.5e-6).The combined expression pattern of ABCA1, ABCA5, and either ABCA8 or ABCA9 was associated with particularly poor outcome (mean overall survival in group with adverse ABCA1, ABCA5 and ABCA9 gene expression = 33.2 months, 95% Cl = 26.4 to 40.1; vs 55.3 months in the group with favorable ABCA gene expression, 95% Cl = 49.8 to 60.8; P= .001), independently of tumor stage or surgical debulking status. Suppression of cholesterol transporter ABCA1 inhibited ovarian cancer cell growth and migration in vitro, and statin treatment reduced ovarian cancer cell migration. Conclusions Expression of ABCA transporters was associated with poor outcome in serous ovarian cancer, implicating lipid trafficking as a potentially important process in EOC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABCB1 (adenosine triphosphate-binding cassette transporter B1) mediates cellular elimination of many chemotherapeutic agents including paclitaxel, which is commonly used to treat ovarian cancer.Asignificant association between common single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in ABCB1 and progression-free survival has been reported in patients with ovarian cancer. Variable paclitaxel clearance due to genotype specific differences in ABCB1 activity in cancer cells and/or normal tissues may underlie the association. Using cell-based models, we evaluated the correlations between ABCB1 expression, polymorphisms, transporter activity and paclitaxel sensitivity in ovarian cancer (n = 10) and lymphoblastoid (n = 19) cell lines. Close associations between ABCB1 expression, transporter function and paclitaxel sensitivity were found in lymphoblastoid cell lines, although we could not demonstrate an association with common SNPs. In ovarian cancer cell lines,ABCB1 expression was low and the association between expression and function was lost. These results suggest that ABCB1 related survival difference in ovarian cancer patients is more likely to be due to differential whole body paclitaxel clearance mediated by normal cells rather than a direct effect on cancer cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]