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The increasing demand for monitoring the glucose concentration in the blood of diabetic patients has aroused the attention of researchers to prepare high-performance glucose biosensors. After decades of development, enzyme-based biosensors have gradually matured and commercialized, but they still suffer from insufficient stability due to the inherent defects of the enzyme. Non-enzymatic glucose sensor was proposed to address this issue. The introduction of nanotechnology has provided more possibilities for the preparation of highly efficient catalytic materials. Among the synthesized electrocatalysts, metal oxides are one of the most important components owing to their outstanding properties. Recent studies have integrated metal oxides with other materials to further improve sensor performance. This review focuses on the application of metal oxide-based hybrid structure in the glucose sensor, mainly including metal oxide/metal oxide, metal/metal oxide, and carbon material/metal oxide. The preparation method, electrochemical properties, and catalytic mechanism of the sensors are discussed in detail. Finally, we present some of the existing challenges and make personal predictions for the future development of non-enzymatic glucose sensors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exploiting high-performance and cost-effective non-noble metal catalysts for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is still greatly important for energy storage devices such as metal-air batteries and fuel cells. In this work, CeO2, NiCo2O4, and NiCo2O4/CeO2 were synthetized by facile hydrothermal method and used as an ORR catalyst. The as-prepared CeO2, NiCo2O4, and NiCo2O4/CeO2 samples were measured by XRD, XPS, SEM, and TEM. Electrochemical characterization tests exhibit that the ORR activity of NiCo2O4 is evidently enhanced by blending with CeO2 nanoparticles. The NiCo2O4/CeO2 composite exhibits more superior electrocatalytic performances and stability in alkaline solution as compared to the pure CeO2 and NiCo2O4. The electrochemical performance of composite is very near to that of 20 wt% Pt/C. Owing to the synergistic interactions, NiCo2O4/CeO2 favors a four-electron pathway in ORR and exhibits a higher ORR activity than CeO2 and NiCo2O4. The outstanding performance confirms the NiCo2O4/CeO2 composite as a promising efficient ORR catalyst in metal-air batteries and fuel cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polylactide (PLA), poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-4-hydroxybutyrate) (P(3HB-co-4HB)), and poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT) ternary blends were prepared by extrusion blending. The biodegradable PLA/P(3HB-co-4HB)/PBAT films were successfully obtained by using blown films technique. Excellent stiffness-toughness balance was achieved for 55/10/35 PLA/P(3HB-co-4HB)/PBAT film. The tensile strength reached 33.0 MPa (MD) and 23.5 MPa (TD), the elongation at break exceeded 130 %, and tear strength exceeded 110 kN/m. The Young's modulus as low as about 1800 MPa also met packaging applications. SEM observations revealed rough and long ligaments, indicating that the tear specimens were broken yieldingly. The addition of PBAT elastomers was the main reason for the improved toughness of the film. From DMA and SEM analysis, it was demonstrated that PLA, P(3HB-co-4HB), and PBAT were partially compatible. With increasing P(3HB-co-4HB) content, the melt and cold crystallization of PLA was promoted. The enzymatic degradation experiments indicated that the films had good biodegradability. These findings gave important implications for designing and manufacturing biodegradation package of high biological carbon content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to its high performance, good sensitivity, fast response and recovery time, p-n heterojunction layer-like nanostructure consisting of two kinds of semiconducting metal oxide materials can be regarded as one of the most promising sensor materials for humidity detection at room temperature. In this study, NiO–CeO p-n heterojunction-based 2D nanosheet self-assembled architectures have been developed for constructing high-performance humidity sensors. Morphology and structure characterizations reveal that the novel heterostructures are composed of 3D flower-like porous microspheres self-assembled by 2D layered nanosheets with high surface area and abundant active sites, in which the amorphous n-type CeO nanocrystalline with only several nanometers homogeneously distributes into the p-type NiO nanosheet matrix. The sensors presented excellent humidity sensing performance with high sensitivity and a pseudo-linear response to water gas in the relative wide humidity (RH) range of 11–95% at room temperature with excellent stability, reproducibility and fast response speed. These improved properties can be greatly attributed to the unique 3D flower-like architectures with a large specific surface area and the NiO–CeO heterojunction interface and synergistic effect. Such a high performances of NiO–CeO p-n heterojunction humidity sensor can have great potential applications in highly sensitive humidity sensors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The phylogeny and systematics of cordycipitoid fungi have been extensively studied in the last two decades. However, systematic positions of some taxa in the family Cordycipitaceae have not yet been thoroughly resolved. In this study, a new phylogenetic framework of Cordycipitaceae is reconstructed using multigene (nrSSU, nrLSU, tef-1α, rpb1 and rpb2) sequence data with large-scale taxon sampling. In addition, ITS sequence data of species belonging to the Lecanicillium lineage in the family Cordycipitaceae are used to further determine their phylogenetic placements. Based on molecular phylogenetic data together with morphological evidence, two new genera (Flavocillium and Liangia), 16 new species and four new combinations are introduced. In the new genus Flavocillium, one new species F. bifurcatum and three new combinations previously described as Lecanicillium, namely F. acerosium, F. primulinium and F. subprimulinium, are proposed. The genus Liangia is built by the new species Lia. sinensis with Lecanicillium-like asexual morph, isolated from an entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria yunnanensis. Due to the absence of Paecilomyces hepiali, an economically and medically significant fungus, in the earlier phylogenetic analyses, its systematic position has been puzzling in both business and academic communities for a long time. Here, P. hepiali is recharacterized using the holotype material along with seven additional samples. It is assigned to the genus Samsoniella (Cordycipitaceae, Hypocreales) possessing Cordyceps-like sexual morph and Isaria-like asexual morph, and thus a new combination, namely S. hepiali is proposed. An additional nine new species in Samsoniella are described: S. alpina, S. antleroides, S. cardinalis, S. cristata, S. lanmaoa, S. kunmingensis, S. ramosa, S. tortricidae and S. yunnanensis. Four new species in Cordyceps are described: C. chaetoclavata, C. cocoonihabita, C. shuifuensis and C. subtenuipes. Simplicillium yunnanense, isolated from synnemata of Akanthomyces waltergamsii, is described as a new species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: To investigate the correlation of impairment in skeletal muscle and heart in spontaneous type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) rhesus monkeys using magnetic resonance image (MRI). Methods: Fifteen T2DM monkeys and fourteen healthy control (HC) monkeys were included. The microcirculation of skeletal muscle [skeletal muscle blood flow (SMBF), skeletal muscle oxygen extraction fraction (SMOEF)] and the function and strain of heart were evaluated by MRI. Three regions of interests were chosen on the soleus muscle (SOL), gastrocnemius muscle (GAS) and tibialis anterior muscle (TA) for image analysis. Results: Eight T2DM monkeys and eight HC monkeys were obtained the full data. The SMBF reserves and SMOEF reserves were found significantly decreased in T2DM during inflation in SOL, GAS and TA muscles (all p < 0.05), and the SMBF reserves decreased during hyperemia in GAS and TA muscles (all p < 0.05). In these monkeys, the global peak longitudinal strain (longitudinal PS), peak systolic longitudinal strain rate (longitudinal PSSR) and peak diastolic longitudinal strain rate (longitudinal PDSR) were seen significantly different in T2DM compared to HC monkeys (all p < 0.05). The longitudinal PSSR was found negatively correlated with SMBF reserves in SOL, GAS and TA during inflation in all monkeys. Conclusions: The impaired microcirculation of skeletal muscle and the myocardial deformation were found in T2DM monkeys with normal ejection fraction. And a negative correlation was existed in the longitudinal PSSR and the SMBF reserves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quality of life (QoL) is an important factor which influences local economic development (LED). The study aims to evaluate the quality of life in large Chinese cities and explore the relationship between life quality and local economic development. By constructing the index system of QoL of large cities, this study analyses the spatial pattern of QoL in 39 largest cities across China and then introduces the spatial mismatch method to analyse the relationship between QoL and LED. The results point to the significant differences in QoL among large Chinese cities and unlock the spatial mismatch between QoL and LED in these cities. The quality of life is generally better than local economic development in large cities across Western China and different cities display various spatial mismatch features. This study also shows that local economic development can promote quality of life, though they do not merely stand in a quantitative relation. Quality of life is related more to the economic structure. It is suggested that future urban development focus on high value-added and environmental-friendly industries, which can improve both local economic development and quality of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to investigate the roles and possible molecular mechanisms of long non-coding RNA HOTAIR in regulating resistance to trastuzumab in breast cancer. Trastuzumab-resistant breast cancer cell line SK-BR-3-TR was assayed for the expression of HOX antisense intergenic RNA (HOTAIR), epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-related proteins or genes. Methylation levels of TGF- β, PTEN and cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 1B (or P27) were determined. In trastuzumab-resistant cell line, the mRNA level of HOTAIR was significantly up-regulated; in addition, the expression of TGF-β, Snail and Vimentin was also up-regulated, E-cadherin was down-regulated while the expression of HER2, PI3K, AKT, mTOR and MAPK in the HER2 receptor pathway and phosphorylation level of HER2 receptor remained unchanged, the methylation levels of the PTEN gene and TGF-β were increased and decreased, respectively. RNA interference downregulated the HOTAIR level and sensitized the cells to trastuzumab. It also resulted in down-regulation of TGF-β, Snail, Vimentin, p-AKT, p-APK and CyclinD1 and up-regulation of E-cadherin, PTEN and P27. Besides, the methylation levels of the PTEN gene and TGF-β were reduced and increased, respectively. Mouse models grafted with SK-BR-3-TR grew faster than with SK-BR-3-TS and siHOTAIR-SK-BR-3-TR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key message: Metabolic module, gene expression pattern and PLS modeling were integrated to precisely identify the terpene synthase responsible for sesquiterpene formation. Functional characterization confirmed the feasibility and sensitivity of this strategy. Plant secondary metabolite biosynthetic pathway elucidation is crucial for the production of these compounds with metabolic engineering. In this study, an integrated strategy was employed to predict the gene function of sesquiterpene synthase (STS) genes using turmeric as a model. Parallel analysis of gene expression patterns and metabolite modules narrowed the candidates into an STS group in which the STSs showed a similar expression pattern. The projections to latent structures by means of partial least squares model was further employed to establish a clear relationship between the candidate STS genes and metabolites and to predict three STSs (ClTPS16, ClTPS15 and ClTPS14) involved in the biosynthesis of several sesquiterpene skeletons. Functional characterization revealed that zingiberene and β-sesquiphellandrene were the major products of ClTPS16, and β-eudesmol was produced by ClTPS15, both of which indicated the accuracy of the prediction. Functional characterization of a control STS, ClTPS1, produced a small amount of β-sesquiphellandrene, as predicted, which confirmed the sensitivity of metabolite module analysis. This integrated strategy provides a methodology for gene function predictions, which represents a substantial improvement in the elucidation of biosynthetic pathways in nonmodel plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To detect diffuse myocardial fibrosis in different severity levels of left ventricular diastolic dysfunction (DD) in spontaneous type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) rhesus monkeys.Methods: Eighteen spontaneous T2DM and nine healthy monkeys were studied. Echocardiography was performed for diastolic function classification. Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging was performed to obtain extracellular volume fraction (ECV) maps and T1ρ maps at two different spin-locking frequencies. ECV values, T1ρ values, and myocardial fibrosis index (mFI) values which are based on the dispersion of T1ρ, were calculated. Global peak diastolic longitudinal strain rates (GSrL) were also obtained.Results: Echocardiography results showed mild DD in nine T2DM monkeys and moderate DD in the other nine. The global ECV values were significantly different among healthy animals as compared with animals with mild DD or moderate DD, and the ECV values of animals with moderate DD were significantly higher as compared with those of mild DD. The mFI values increased progressively from healthy animals to those with mild DD and then to those with moderate DD. Diastolic function indicators (e.g., early diastolic mitral annulus velocity, GSrL) correlated well with ECV and mFI.Conclusions: Monkeys with T2DM exhibit increased ECV, T1ρ, and mFI values, which may be indicative of the expansion of extracellular volume and the deposition of excessive collagen. T1ρ mapping may have the potential to be used for diffuse myocardial fibrosis assessment.Key Points: • Monkeys with T2DM exhibit increased ECV, T1ρ, and mFI values, which may be indicative of the expansion of extracellular volume and the deposition of excessive collagen. • The relationship between diastolic dysfunction and diffuse myocardial fibrosis may be demonstrated by imaging markers. • Non-contrast T1ρ mapping may have the potential to be used for diffuse myocardial assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In our work, the novel sparsely and compactly MoO3 nanoflowers were synthesized by a hydrothermal method assisted with polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) and without any template, respectively. Through X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy, we can confirm that we have prepared high purity MoO3 and can observe that both nanoflowers are formed by self-assembly of thin nanosheets. They have similar morphology, size and formation mechanism, but differ from pore size and quantity. Because of the above differences, sparsely MoO3 nanoflowers have a larger specific surface area and form more enclosed micro-reaction chambers that make it difficult for ethanol to escape. Allowing gas molecules to be more widely distributed among the sparsely sample surface and obtained fully reaction time. Thus, the gas sensor based on compactly MoO3 nanoflowers exhibits a better response and recovery characteristic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We successfully synthesized three kinds of NiO microspheres with solid, porous and hollow nanostructure via one-step hydrothermal method. The results indicated that the gas sensing performances of the porous sphere and hollow sphere are better than that of the solid sphere, which was attributed to the high specific surface area and the small size of Debye length. We find that the ethanol molecules can enter the interior of the NiO hollow sphere to have completed gas-sensing reactions because of enough response time, which lead to abundant effective gas diffusion and sufficient contact between with NiO, and it means more atoms can directly react with the gas to increase sensitivity. In this way, this article provides some suggestions and ideas for the development of gas sensor in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The complex geological and hydrogological conditions under the unconsolidated and confined aquifer in the Qidong coal mine have resulted in serious water-inrush hazards. Multi-information superposition was used to predict water inrush areas. Six controlling factors (the specific yield, the effective thickness and load transfer coefficient of the aquifer, the fractal dimensional value of bedrock faults, the effective thickness of the protective bedrock layer, and the distance between the key hard stratum and the primary mineable coal seam) were selected, and a multi-information superposition model was established. Relatively safe areas and medium and higher risk areas were identified using a geographic information system (GIS) and the analytic hierarchy process (AHP). Using the no. 71 primary coal seam in the northern portion of the Qidong mine as an example, the water-inrush areas predicted by the model aligned with observed conditions, which validates the multi-information superposition model. Potential inrush areas of the no. 61, 82, and 9 primary coal seams in the southern portion of the Qidong mine were subsequently identified using this method, which will aid future mining operation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The self-heterodyne detection Brillouin optical time domain reflectometer (BOTDR) system using broad-band laser is proposed to reduce coherent Rayleigh noise and improve the system performance. Compared with the system with narrow-band laser, the stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) threshold can be improved by about 3 dB. The experimental results of the narrow-band laser measurements for three times independently and the broad-band laser measurement for one time are compared. The root-mean-square (RMS) errors of Brillouin linewidth for two systems with narrow-band laser and broad-band laser are 6.9 MHz and 2.7 MHz, respectively, and the RMS errors of temperature for the heated fiber are about 1.3 °C and 0.7 °C. With the broad-band laser, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the unheated fiber is approximately equivalent to that of the integrated three independent Brillouin signals for the narrowband laser, and the results are believed to be beneficial for performance improvement and measurement time reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increasing number of cases diagnosed in HIV-negative individuals may be associated with the better clinical recognition of talaromycosis among HIV-negative individuals, the advances in genetic testing and immunological diagnostics, and the discovery of new forms of immunodeficiency, such as primary immunodeficiency and adult-onset immunodeficiency syndrome due to AIGAs. AIGA-associated immunodeficiency, called adult-onset immunodeficiency syndrome, was closely related to intracellular pathogen infection, especially nontuberculous mycobacteria [[3]]. In this study, adult-onset immunodeficiency syndrome was due to AIGAs and autoimmune disease, which were the most common underlying immunodeficiencies. [Extracted from the article]

Ophiocordyceps unituberculata, a new insect pathogenic fungus from southwestern China, is described using molecular phylogenetic and morphological data. This fungus differs from other Ophiocordyceps species by its enormously long monophialidic conidiogenous cells and a large periclinal protuberance often growing near the apex of conidiogenous cells, single conidia (lanceolate to fusiform) embedded in mucous sheath, and much larger conidial dimensions. Four-locus (nrSSU, nrLSU, tef-1α and rpb1) and ITS data phylogenetic analyses show that O. unituberculata belongs to the Hirsutella nodulosa clade within the genus Ophiocordyceps of Ophiocordycipitaceae and is a separate clade from other allied species. Molecular phylogeny and morphology both strongly support the distinctiveness of this taxon. The interspecific relationships in the H. nodulosa clade are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, we report on the use of bubbles as a template, can adopt a slight hydrothermal method and subsequent calcination synthesized NiO hollow sphere successfully, and then control the reaction time and temperature conditions to form two different NiO surface. It was found that the fluffy structure with pores and the flower-like structure with nanometer plate. The results show that NiO with hollow sphere has excellent performance in gas sensing test and its special surface has high specific surface area, which has good response sensitivity to 400 ppm C2H5OH. So, it is a promising sensing material for detection of C2H5OH. In addition, based on the experimental results, we also proposed that the evolution mechanism about NiO hollow spheres and the gas sensitive mechanism on the surface of microspheres. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the mechanism of the interaction between Yes-associated protein (YAP) and transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β)/Smad signaling pathways in the development of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).Methods: Serum samples of monkeys with biopsy-proven NAFLD and healthy normal monkeys were used to measure fasting plasma glucose (FPG), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), high-density lipoprotein (HDL), triglyceride (TG) and albumin (ALB) with the BECKMAN CX5 PRO. Hematoxylin-eosin staining (H&E) was used for pathologic analysis, Masson trichrome staining was used to assess for fibrosis staging, and Oil Red O staining was used to detect lipid droplet deposition. According to an NAFLD activity score of < 4 points and > 4 points, the samples were divided into groups: the steatosis group and fibrosing NASH group. Furthermore, monkeys with a fibrosis stage < 2 were assigned to the mild fibrosis group, while monkeys with fibrosis stage ≥ 2 were assigned to the significant fibrosis group. Moreover, the fibrosis stage was subdivided as follows: stages 1a, 1c and 2–3. Immunohistochemistry and real-time quantitative PCR were used to quantify protein and gene expression, respectively.Results: In the present study, 54 monkeys with NAFLD and 23 normal monkeys were recruited. Serum FPG and TG levels were higher in fibrosing NASH monkeys compared with simple steatosis and normal monkeys, and differences between simple steatosis and normal monkeys were not statistically significant (p > 0.05). YAP increased in NAFLD, which mainly localized in the nuclei of hepatocytes, perivascular cells and bile duct cells; the accumulation of YAP correlated with the severity of hepatocyte injury. Compared with normal monkeys, the expression of TGF-β, α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), Drosophila mothers against decapentaplegic protein 3 (Smad3) and connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) in the liver of simple steatosis monkeys significantly increased (p < 0.01). Compared with simple steatosis monkeys, the expression of TGF-β, α-SMA, Smad3 and CTGF in fibrosing NASH significantly increased (p < 0.01). However, the expression of Drosophila mothers against decapentaplegic protein 7 (Smad7) in the liver of fibrosing NASH monkeys significantly decreased (p < 0.01). With the severity of liver fibrosis, the expression of TGF-β, α-SMA, Smad3 and CTGF gradually increased, and the difference was statistically significant (p < 0.01). However, there was no significant difference in the expression of Smad3 between fibrosis stage 1a and 1c. Compared with normal monkeys, the expression of Smad7 in the liver of monkeys with fibrosis significantly decreased (p < 0.01), but was significantly higher at fibrosis stage 1c than at fibrosis stage 1a and 2.Conclusion: The YAP and TGF-β signaling pathways and the interaction between them promote the development and progression of NAFLD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nanomaterials with three dimensional architectures frequently exhibit novel functional properties. In current work, a novel rutile TiO 3D nanoflowers with the powder partly agglomerating have been successfully synthesized via a facile hydrothermal route in the saturated sodium chloride solution. In addition, the effect of the solvent in hydrothermal process was preliminarily discussed on the basis of comparative experiments. Such an unexpected morphology provides a non-trivial behavior driven by the properties of partly agglomerating TiO nanoflowers in gas sensing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By selecting metal powders with comparable particle size class, similar shape and material and almost the same void ratio but different particle densities, the influence of different gravity on the trafficability of soil under different states of gravitational fields is found to be equivalent to the change in particle density. This method is named particle density substitution. The shearing and bearing characteristics of simulated soil were studied. An influence of different factors on the experimental results was achieved, and a minimal influence of factors other than particle density on experimental results was obtained. Regression of shearing and bearing characteristics of the simulated soil was designed. The relationship between particle density and mechanical parameters of soil was fitted with curves. The formulation between particle density and maximal static thrust was established. By analyzing these data, the maximal static thrust slowly decreased with increasing particle density, reached the minimum when particle density was 3 g/cm, and then sharply increased. This trend is consistent with the theoretical result. It can also certify that the particle density substitution method established here is reasonable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Experimental studies were performed to investigate the effects of methane addition on the combustion characteristics of Chinese RP-3 kerosene/air mixture. Experiments were in a combustion vessel and the influences of methane addition on the flame propagation characteristic, Markstein length and laminar burning velocity of CH4/RP-3/air mixture at initial temperature of 420 K, initial pressure of 0.1 MPa, equivalence ratios of 0.8-1.3 and methane additions of 0.0-0.8 were investigated. Results show that with the increase of equivalence ratio, the flame front of RP-3/air mixture becomes unstable and a cellular flame structure is observed when the equivalence ratio increases to 1.3, but at the equivalence ratio of 1.3, the increased methane addition can make the flame front stable significantly. With the increase of equivalence ratio from 0.8 to 1.3, laminar burning velocities of CH4/RP-3/air mixture first increase and then decrease; the effect of methane addition on laminar burning velocity is not evident at the equivalence ratios of 0.9-1.1, but when the equivalence ratio is larger than 1.1, laminar burning velocities with methane addition of 0.8 are always the slowest. The Markstein length decreases with the increase of equivalence rati; at equivalence ratio of 0.8 the Markstein length decreases with the increase of methane addition, and with the increase of equivalence ratio the influence of methane addition on Markstein length becomes less significant and irregular. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report a preparation of titanium dioxide regular nano-polyhedron with reactive (001) facets by simple yet efficient hydrothermal synthesis process. It has been found that the (001) surfaces are terminated with F atoms, and the F-terminated surfaces, which reduce the surface energy of anatase titanium dioxide, provide a stable condition for the existence of (001) facets. Ni doping, additionally, restrict the growth of particle, making the morphology of anatase titanium dioxide regular plus uniform. Besides, the as prepared titanium dioxide with high reactive (001) facets exhibit far better gas sensing performance over ethanol than those mainly having exposed (101) facets. Such a facile method and interpretation mechanisms could be applicable to many other nanomaterials for a wide range of study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The assembly design of nanostructures has taken a dominated position in improving gas sensing properties. In our work, multi-hierarchical (nanoneedles assembled and nanosheets assembled) SnO nanostructures with size-controllable blocking units were synthesized via facile hydrothermal method. As is recorded, the addition of PVP led to the transformation from nanoneedles assembled nanostructures into nanosheets assembled nanostructures, which can be ascribed to linear molecule structures. While the sizes of the blocking units can be controlled by the temperature due to the Ostwald ripening. And seeing from the gas sensing measurement, the thinner ones had higher gas response and quicker gas response and recovery judging from the sizes of blocking units, at the same time, nanoneedles assembled hierarchical structures possessed higher gas response while nanosheets assembled hierarchical structures had shorter gas response and recovery time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Long non-coding RNA (LncRNA) urothelial carcinoma-associated 1 (UCA1) is reported to be dysregulated in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) progression. However, the functions of UCA1 in HCC still need further study. The aim is to detect the role of UCA1 involving in HCC cells proliferation and invasion, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Methods: The quantitative real-time PCR was used to detect the UCA1 and miR-203 expression levels in 60 cases' HCC tissues and adjacent normal tissues. Western blotting analysis was performed to detect the EMT markers E-cadherin, Vimentin and transcription factor Snail1, Snail2 expression. Luciferase reporter assay, RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) and pull-down assays were used to evaluate whether miR-203 was a target of UCA1. Results: Our results showed that UCA1 was markedly upregulated in HCC tissues and higher UCA1 expression in HCC was positively associated with tumor size, vascular invasion and American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) stage ( P < 0.05). Furthermore, gain-of-function and loss-of-function analysis showed that UCA1 knockdown inhibited HCC cells proliferation and invasion in vitro and xenograft tumour growth in vivo. Moreover, UCA1 overexpression promoted cell epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in HCC via effectively sponging to miR-203 and thereby activating the expression of transcription factor Snail2. Conclusions: Our results identified that UCA1/miR-203/Snail2 pathway might involve in HCC progression. Inhibition of UCA1 acted as a promising therapeutic target for HCC patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rhododendron is universally known for its showy flower, and Rhododendron latoucheae Franch. is an adaptable and wide altitude range species of Rhododendron, with beautiful fragrant flowers and medicinal functions. However, genetic studies of Rhododendron have been hindered by limited genomic resources and genetic markers. In this study, a large dataset composed of 80,660 unigenes derived from the R. latoucheae transcriptome was assembled. Among these unigenes, 34,867 unigenes (43.22%) were annotated against public protein databases. In addition, a total of 14,415 EST-SSRs were identified from 16,019 unigene sequences with an average of one SSR per 2.87 kb. Di-nucleotide SSRs were the most abundant motif (80.03%), followed by tri- (18.82%), tetra- (0.91%), penta- (0.13%), and hexa-nucleotide (0.11%) repeats. Further, 200 primer pairs with more than six tandem repeats were selected, out of which 58 primer pairs amplified successfully and revealed polymorphism among six Rhododendron species. Among these 58 primer pairs, 37 primer pairs were polymorphic in 37 Rhododendron species and 30 R. latoucheae individuals from two national Chinese populations. A total of 382 alleles were identified, with an average of 10.3 alleles per locus. The phylogenetic tree, genetic structure analysis, and principal coordinate analysis demonstrated that major clusters corresponded to known phylogenetic trees and geographic distribution. These transcriptome data will facilitate gene discovery and functional genomic studies in Rhododendron, and the newly developed EST-SSR markers can be applied across multiple Rhododendron species and used for the evaluation of genetic relationships in Rhododendron. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In recent years, predictive models based on machine learning techniques have proven to be feasible and effective in drug discovery. However, to develop such a model, researchers usually have to combine multiple tools and undergo several different steps (e.g., RDKit or ChemoPy package for molecular descriptor calculation, ChemAxon Standardizer for structure preprocessing, scikit- learn package for model building, and ggplot2 package for statistical analysis and visualization, etc.). In addition, it may require strong programming skills to accomplish these jobs, which poses severe challenges for users without advanced training in computer programming. Therefore, an online pipelining platform that integrates a number of selected tools is a valuable and efficient solution that can meet the needs of related researchers. Results: This work presents a web-based pipelining platform, called ChemSAR, for generating SAR classification models of small molecules. The capabilities of ChemSAR include the validation and standardization of chemical structure representation, the computation of 783 1D/2D molecular descriptors and ten types of widely-used fingerprints for small molecules, the filtering methods for feature selection, the generation of predictive models via a step-by-step job submission process, model interpretation in terms of feature importance and tree visualization, as well as a helpful report generation system. The results can be visualized as high-quality plots and downloaded as local files. Conclusion: ChemSAR provides an integrated web-based platform for generating SAR classification models that will benefit cheminformatics and other biomedical users. It is freely available at: . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Polyploids have great breeding value as they could have higher vegetative yields, higher qualities and greater tolerances against biotic and abiotic stresses. This research is focusing on in vitro colchicine-induced tetraploids in cassava. The survival rate of explants decreased with the increase of colchicine concentrations. Based on the survival rate, the treatment with 0.05 g l colchicine for 2 days was the best protocol for tetraploid induction in the cassava variety 'Xinxuan 048'. The determination of ploidy levels showed that 28 autotetraploidy and 12 mixoploidy plantlets were obtained from 44 plantlets. Thus, 90.9% of the plants were variants. Significant differences in morphology and anatomy were found between the diploid and tetraploid plants. Tetraploid plants showed better photosynthetic capacities than the original diploid plants. The tetraploid cassava regenerated herein will enrich the germplasm spectrum and open a new arena for breeding novel triploids with elite cultivars by interploid crossing in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report a successful fabrication of a thin nanosheet assembled flower-like NiO-ZnO composite with PN heterojunction for gas-sensing application. We find that the obtained novel composites show excellent sensing performances, which are attributed to the depletion layer induced by the existence of PN heterojunction and also to the establishment of potential barriers. Moreover, the thin thickness of the nanosheet in comparison to the electron depletion layer is also found to account for the improved gas-sensing properties. The findings demonstrate advance of the hierarchical nanostructures in further enhancing gas-sensing properties, and such facile method could be applied to produce many other gas-sensing materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Postmenopausal osteoporosis is a common bone disease and characterized by low bone mineral density. Aim: This study aimed to reveal key genes associated with postmenopausal osteoporosis (PMO), and provide a theoretical basis for subsequent experiments. Methods: The dataset GSE7429 was obtained from Gene Expression Omnibus. A total of 20 B cell samples (ten ones, respectively from postmenopausal women with low or high bone mineral density (BMD) were included in this dataset. Following screening of differentially expressed genes (DEGs), coexpression analysis of all genes was performed, and key genes in the coexpression network were screened using the random walk algorithm. Afterwards, functional and pathway analyses were conducted. Additionally, protein-protein interactions (PPIs) between DEGs and key genes were analyzed. Results: A set of 308 DEGs (170 up-regulated ones and 138 down-regulated ones) between low BMD and high BMD samples were identified, and 101 key genes in the coexpression network were screened out. In the coexpression network, some genes had a higher score and degree, such as CSTA. The key genes in the coexpression network were mainly enriched in GO terms of the defense response (e.g., SERPINA1 and CST3), immune response (e.g., IL32 and CLEC7A); while, the DEGs were mainly enriched in structural constituent of cytoskeleton (e.g., CYLC2 and TUBA1B) and membrane-enclosed lumen (e.g., CCNE1 and INTS5). In the PPI network, CCNE1 interacted with REL; and TUBA1B interacted with ESR1. Conclusions: A series of interactions, such as CSTA/ TYROBP, CCNE1/ REL and TUBA1B/ ESR1 might play pivotal roles in the occurrence and development of PMO. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel hierarchical flower-like MoO assembled by uniform nanosheets was reported. We propose a possible nucleation-growth mechanism of nanoflower and formation mechanism of MoO. Moreover, a systematic gas sensing measurement reveals that the flower-like MoO shows excellent gas sensing performances toward ethanol. The result shows an advance of hierarchical flower-like nanostructures in further enhancing the functionality of gas sensors, and this facile method could be applicable to many sensing materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Monodisperse NiO with hierarchical nanostructures has been successfully synthesized via a surfactant-assisted hydrothermal process followed by subsequent calcination treatment. It is notable that the NiO nanoflowers are self-assembled by abundant ultrathin nanosheets, and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) plays a key role on the constructions of flower-like architectures. In addition, gas sensors based on NiO nanoflowers were developed and demonstrated outstanding functionalities, owing to the open and well-defined structure as well as abundant micro reaction rooms built by nanosheets. Moreover, a feasible formation mechanism was put forward in detail to illuminate the morphology evolution and the interactions between PVP and Ni ions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a sequence-tag-based search engine, Open-pFind, to identify peptides in an ultra-large search space that includes coeluting peptides, unexpected modifications and digestions. Our method detects peptides with higher precision and speed than seven other search engines. Open-pFind identified 70–85% of the tandem mass spectra in four large-scale datasets and 14,064 proteins, each supported by at least two protein-unique peptides, in a human proteome dataset. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a regulator of coagulation, abnormal Protein Z (PZ) expression may lead to the formation of blood clots in humans. While previous studies have shown that PZ protein is altered in several types of cancer, however, additional observations are needed to understand the complex biology involved. Herein, we investigated local alterations in PZ expression in lung adenocarcinomas by measuring gene and protein expression in both cancerous and normal lung tissues. Twenty-two (22) specimens of lung adenocarcinoma and 22 specimens of normal lung tissues from human patients were compared for the expression of PZ. In addition, A549 adenocarcinoma cells were compared to a normal epithelial cell line, 16-HBE, for in vitro PZ expression. In tissues and cells, PZ protein and gene expression were determined using western blot, immunohistochemistry and PCR. Lung adenocarcinoma tissues showed elevated expression of both PZ mRNA and protein compared with healthy tissue. Only protein expression was increased in cultured cell lines, which holds implications for the dominant source of PZ in tissues, as well as protein modifications necessary for PZ function. Protein Z appears to be associated with the presence of lung adenocarcinoma and may be a viable prognostic biomarker for lung cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The manner how nano building blocks assemble into hierarchical architectures exerts a tremendous influence on gas-sensing property of the metal oxides. Herein, we focus on tuning the 1D SnO rectangular nanorods into 3D hierarchical nanoflowers by manipulating the concentration of surfactant (citric acid) as well as the period of hydrothermal process, and then investigate their gas-sensing performance. Nanostructures assembled by short, unordered and well-ordered rectangular nanorods were successfully fabricated, corresponding to infant, abnormal and blooming SnO nanoflowers, respectively. In comparison, sensor based on blooming SnO nanoflowers exhibited significantly enhanced gas response to ethanol than the other two, not only in terms of the sensitivity but also the response/recovery time, which may be mainly attributed to the sufficient diffusion channel and exposed surface provided by finely dispersed nanorods in the blooming nanoflowers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: More and more evidences from network biology indicate that most cellular components exert their functions through interactions with other cellular components, such as proteins, DNAs, RNAs and small molecules. The rapidly increasing amount of publicly available data in biology and chemistry enables researchers to revisit interaction problems by systematic integration and analysis of heterogeneous data. Currently, some tools have been developed to represent these components. However, they have some limitations and only focus on the analysis of either small molecules or proteins or DNAs/RNAs. To the best of our knowledge, there is still a lack of freely-available, easy-to-use and integrated platforms for generating molecular descriptors of DNAs/RNAs, proteins, small molecules and their interactions. Results: Herein, we developed a comprehensive molecular representation platform, called BioTriangle, to emphasize the integration of cheminformatics and bioinformatics into a molecular informatics platform for computational biology study. It contains a feature-rich toolkit used for the characterization of various biological molecules and complex interaction samples including chemicals, proteins, DNAs/RNAs and even their interactions. By using BioTriangle, users are able to start a full pipelining from getting molecular data, molecular representation to constructing machine learning models conveniently. Conclusion: BioTriangle provides a user-friendly interface to calculate various features of biological molecules and complex interaction samples conveniently. The computing tasks can be submitted and performed simply in a browser without any sophisticated installation and configuration process. BioTriangle is freely available at .[Figure not available: see fulltext.] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The hierarchical walnut-like nickel-doped MnO nanostructure was successfully synthesized via a simple hydrothermal method without using any template or surfactant. The samples are characterized by XRD, EDS, SEM, and TEM for its composition, structure/morphology. The results show that the novel walnut-like MnO nanoflowers are composed of many interleaving thin nanosheets. Meanwhile, the samples present ideal electrochemical behavior, such as high specific capacitance (153.6 F g at 1 A g) and outstanding cycling stability (the capacitance even shows a retention of 103 % after 1000 cycles). These remarkable and excellent results prove the walnut-like MnO nanomaterial has a great potential of application in the future energy storage device. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SnO semiconductor gas sensor as the most commonly sensors are used to check the main fault characteristic of dissolved gases in transformer oil. In current study, SnO rods and spheres were synthesized by the hydrothermal routes with tin salts under different conditions. We investigated the intermediate reaction on the formation of SnO with different morphologies and proposed their possible formation mechanisms. The structures and morphologies of this hierarchical architecture were characterized in detail by means of powder X-ray diffraction, field-emission scanning electron microscopy. Moreover, the obtained SnO rods are found to show the better sensing performances than the other structure with higher gas response during the response-recovery time, lower working temperature, and more sensitive response in the same concentration to carbon monoxide. Our results also illustrate that gas sensing properties of SnO can be significantly improved by varying the morphologies of the structures. The results may hold substantial promise in power system gas-sensing applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The evolution of ZnO nanostructures was achieved successfully. At the initial stage, bud-shaped ZnO nanorods were prepared using sodium acetate, and then assembly of nanorods was aggregated into bulbous nanostructures.. Finally, the oval-like bulbous nanostructures were turned into ZnO nanorods and nanoflowers under the same hydrothermal reaction conditions. The as-prepared nanostructures were characterized by XRD, SEM, and HRTEM. The gas-sensing properties of both bulbous nanostructures were accounted for formaldehyde, acetone, ethanol methanol, ammonia and benzene at different concentrations and temperatures. A higher response (82, 70) and greater selectivity toward formaldehyde than other gases was observed at 75 ppm. A sharp response with the best recovery time was achieved at an optimum temperature of 200 °C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cr-doped MnO nanostructure has been fabricated via a facile hydrothermal method and its morphology and electrochemical properties was discussed systematically. In this process, flower-like MnO transforms into the self-assembled orchid structure under the influence of Cr-doped. Moreover, electrochemical behaviors of the Cr-doped MnO nanostructure electrode were clarified by cyclic voltammograms, galvanostatic charge/discharge tests and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, which shows a high specific capacitance of 202.5 F g and superior cycling stability (6.8 % capacitance decay after 1000 cycling test). These remarkable and excellent results prove it has a great potential of application in future energy storage device. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In current study, SnO spheres, corals, sheets and octahedrons were synthesized by the hydrothermal routes with tin salts under different conditions. We investigated the intermediate reaction on the formation of SnO with different morphologies and proposed their possible formation mechanisms. Moreover, the obtained SnO sheets are found to show the better sensing performances than that of other structures. Our results also illustrate that gas sensing properties of SnO can be significantly improved by varying the morphologies of the structures. The results may hold substantial promise in multidimensional gas-sensing applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report on the preparation of novel ZnO microcakes via a simple yet efficient hydrothermal approach. Three different ZnO microcakes are obtained by varying the amount of sodium hydroxide, and the influence of the sodium hydroxide on the growth of microcakes are discussed in order to elucidate growth mechanism of the microcakes. We also find that the microcakes are assembled by octahedrons and that the morphology is critical to tailoring the gas-sensing performance. Such octahedron-assembled ZnO microcakes show good gas-sensing properties to ethanol gas even at a low concentration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

YMnFeO ceramics were annealed in oxygen and nitrogen atmosphere, respectively, and the magnetic and dielectric properties were investigated. The structures of the annealed ceramics were maintained in hexagonal P6cm space group. The magnetic structures of the annealed ceramics were not uniform, and predominantly antiferromagnetic with weak ferromagnetic properties at low temperature was detected. Cluster glass state behavior was observed in the O-annealed ceramics and absent in the N-annealed ceramics, which indicated the weakened ferromagnetic interaction in the latter. This was related to the decreased oxygen content in the N-annealed ceramics. Because of the varied valence distribution of Mn and Fe ions in the ceramics annealed in different atmosphere, the dielectric properties were obviously modified. The dielectric permittivity and dielectric loss were smaller in the O-annealed ceramics, which should be related to the lower content of Mn ions in the mixed-valence structure of Mn ions. These results indicated that the magnetic and dielectric properties of YMnFeO ceramics were strongly dependent on the oxygen vacancy content and the mixed-valence structure of magnetic ions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Here we report a simple hydrothermal route for the preparation of CuO nano-flower which has been proved to exhibit good performances in gas-sensing. We concentrate on the microstructure and morphology of CuO by adjusting the reaction time length. Four different morphologies that formed a flower-like shape with a diameter of 1-3 µm were obtained. The CuO nanostructures were characterized in detail by means of X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy and were apparently seen that they were composed of abundant aggregative nanobelts. The prepared CuO properties in gas-sensing were also measured in our experiments. In addition, a proper growth mechanism was proposed based on the results. Moreover, the CuO nano-flowers may resolve the difficulties in low-dimensional gas-sensing applications after more research having been conducted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hollow and filled, well-aligned electrospun SnO nanofibers as HS gas-sensing materials have been controllably synthesized with the adding of PVP and/or PAN, respectively. It seems that the use of sacrificial polymeric precursor (PAN) results in hollow nanofiber while PVP leads to pores in both cases. A comparison study reveals that an absolute enhancement in HS gas-sensing performance for the sensor made of hollow SnO nanofibers occurs over that of the filled counterpart. The improved gas sensing properties are mainly attributed to not only the sufficient diffusion channels for gas spreading but also a significant fraction of the atoms from both the inner and outer walls, as well as granular interfaces, participating in gas-sensing reaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Self assembly of one-dimensional nanoscale particle into functional 2D or 3D complex structures has stimulated a great deal of interest. In current work, using the hydrothermal method and adjust the molar ratio of HCO to NaWO·2HO, uniform WO·HO nanoplates and 3D hierarchical nanostructures were synthesized successfully. Furthermore, a novel growth mechanism is proposed in detail. In addition, the gas sensing of different morphologies were tested and comparised systematically. These investigations could be useful in helping assemble tungsten oxide nanoplates to complex structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]