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Black carbon (BC) plays an important role in the climate system due to its strongwarming effect, yet the magnitude of this effect is highly uncertain due to the complex mixingstate of aerosols. Here we build a unified theoretical framework to describe BC’s mixing states,linking dynamic processes to BC coating thickness distribution, and show its self-similarity for sites in diverse environments. The size distribution of BC-containing particles is found to followan exponential pattern and is independent of BC core size. A mixing state module is establishedbased on this finding and successfully applied in global and regional models, which increases theaccuracy of aerosol climate effect estimations. Our theoretical framework can bridge the gap be-tween observation and model simulation in both mixing state description and light absorption quantification

BackgroundPostoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) is one of the common postoperative complications in the elderly. The main clinical manifestation is memory impairment, which can cause permanent damage and even dementia in severe cases. However, the pathogenesis of POCD is still unknown. Age and neuroinflammation are known to be closely related to its occurrence, while DNA methylation is very important for transcriptional silencing and neuroinflammation. Consequently, this study intended to establish a mouse model of POCD to explore the role of DNA methylation in regulating the expression of interleukin-1β which participated POCD in aged mice.MethodsPOCD model was established by exploratory laparotomy and evaluated by new object experiment and Y maze test. In addition, ELISA, RT-PCR, Western blotting, immunofluorescence, microglia isolation and flow cytometry methods were used to detect the inflammatory state of dorsal hippocampal after surgery. Moreover, MSP, MeDIP and IL-1β promoter DNA methylation sequencing were used to explore the regulation of DNA methylation on IL-1β in this model. Finally, Golgi staining and Western blotting were used to further explore the role of IL-1β in POCD and its possible mechanisms. ResultsCognitive impairment was observed in aged but not adult mice at 1 day after surgery. There was a significant correlation between the level of IL-1β in dorsal hippocampus and the performance of cognitive function. The microglia in the dorsal hippocampus was activated and the IL-1β promoter DNA methylation was decreased in the aged mice. The increased expression of IL-1β impaired synaptic plasticity and hippocampus-dependent memory formation. Intracerebroventricular administration of IL-1β receptor antagonist could prevent the cognitive impairment of aged mice after surgery, reverse the decrease of dendritic spine density and synapse-associated protein expression induced by surgery.ConclusionDNA methylation regulation may be an important mechanism for greater susceptibility to POCD in aged mice by regulating the expression of IL-1β. IL-1β inhibiting prevented surgery-induced cognitive decline and synaptic plasticity dysfunction. The research also provided a new target for the clinical prevention of the occurrence of POCD in the elderly.

BackgroundHyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) in combination with interval cytoreductive surgery increases the overall survival of epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) patients with advanced disease. Despite its proven benefits, the mechanism by which HIPEC extends overall survival remains unknown and current strategies to optimize HIPEC are therefore limited. A major challenge is the lack of a robust and streamlined model to investigate the mechanisms underlying HIPEC efficacy.ObjectiveTo introduce a novel murine model that can be used to enhance our understanding of HIPEC therapy.MethodID8-luc, an EOC mouse cell line, is inoculated into immunocompetent C57BL/6J mice intraperitoneally. Once tumor is detected by In Vivo Imaging System (IVIS), cisplatin (5 mg/kg) is injected intraperitoneally and superficial hyperthermia of 40°C is applied to the animal’s abdomen and pelvis using an FDA-approved hyperthermia unit (BSD500) for 20 minutes. To validate the model, four treatment conditions were tested: cisplatin and hyperthermia, cisplatin and normothermia, vehicle and hyperthermia, and vehicle and normothermia. Tumor growth was assessed over the course of treatment using IVIS optical spectrum.ResultsTumor growth in mice treated with hyperthermic cisplatin was significantly suppressed compared to mice treated with normothermic cisplatin (p < 0.05). No significant differences in tumor growth were observed in the hyperthermic vehicle and normothermic vehicle groups.ConclusionsWe developed an innovative noninvasive mouse model of HIPEC. Similar to patients with advanced ovarian cancer who are treated with HIPEC at the time of interval cytoreductive surgery, our model demonstrates that hyperthermia enhances the inhibitory effect of cisplatin on intraperitoneal tumor growth. Development of this murine model provides an opportunity to elucidate the mechanisms underlying HIPEC and offer an opportunity to test adjunct treatments in a pre-clinical setting to enhance the utility of HIPEC.

To predict the fractured rock failure under deep triaxial stress in advance, the true triaxial tests were carried out using thermal infrared monitoring and acoustic emission (AE). This paper proposes “infrared temperature jumping rate (ITJR)” to reflect the “jumpiness” of the temperature field matrix, and establishes an infrared advance prediction method. The results show that the high temperature area will converge and expand gradually, and cracks propagate along a certain direction. In the sudden temperature reduction area, the rock stripping is easy to occur. At the boundary between high-low temperature areas, it is easy to produce breakage cracks and form rock spalling. In the short quiet period, the rock gradually gathers strain energy, which will be released in the fracture period. By comparing the time of AE sudden increase with the time of ITJR mutation, it shows that the method has a good advance prediction effect for rock fracture.

Supplemental material, sj-docx-1-jdr-10.1177_00220345211040459 for Toward Clinically Applicable 3-Dimensional Tooth Segmentation via Deep Learning by J. Hao, W. Liao, Y.L. Zhang, J. Peng, Z. Zhao, Z. Chen, B.W. Zhou, Y. Feng, B. Fang, Z.Z. Liu and Z.H. Zhao in Journal of Dental Research

Monolayers of a prototypical cuprate high transition-temperature ($T_C$) superconductor $Bi_2Sr_2CaCu_2O_{8+��}$ (Bi2212) was recently found to show $T_C$ and other electronic properties similar to those of the bulk. The robustness of superconductivity in an ideal two-dimensional (2D) system was an intriguing fact that defied the Mermin-Wagner theorem. Here, we took advantage of the high sensitivity of scanning SQUID susceptometry to image the phase stiffness throughout the phase transition of Bi2212 in the 2D limit. We found susceptibility oscillated with flux between diamagnetism and paramagnetism in a Fraunhofer-like pattern up till $T_C$. The temperature and sample size-dependence of the modulation period agreed well with our Coulomb gas analogy of a finite 2D system based on Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless (BKT) transition. In the multilayers, the susceptibility oscillation differed in a small temperature regime below $T_C$ in consistent with a dimensional-crossover led by interlayer coupling. Serving as strong evidence of BKT transition in the bulk, there appeared a sharp superfluid density jump at zero-field and paramagnetism at small fields just below $T_C$. These results unified the phase transitions from the monolayer Bi2212 to the bulk as BKT transition with finite interlayer coupling. This elucidating picture favored the pre-formed pairs scenario for the underdoped cuprates regardless of lattice dimensionality.

Supplemental material, sj-docx-1-jdr-10.1177_00220345211040459 for Toward Clinically Applicable 3-Dimensional Tooth Segmentation via Deep Learning by J. Hao, W. Liao, Y.L. Zhang, J. Peng, Z. Zhao, Z. Chen, B.W. Zhou, Y. Feng, B. Fang, Z.Z. Liu and Z.H. Zhao in Journal of Dental Research

Background: Glioma is the most common intracranial tumor, with glioblastoma being the most malignant. However, its treatment is very few, and targeted therapy is an important breakthrough in treatment. Methods: Numerous genes are differentially expressed during the progression of glioma, some of which may play a key role. To find key genes, we analyzed three multi-sample microarrays (GSE4290, GSE54004, and GSE29796) in the GEO database to obtain intersection differential genes among them. We entered all DEGs into the STRING database and characterized the protein interactions of these DEGs as visual PPI networks by Cytoscape software. Also, we used the GEPIA2 and CGGAdatabase to predict the relationship between key genes and the prognosis of glioma patients.Results: A total of 222 up-regulated genes and 127 down-regulated genes were identified. Four genes(FN1, LAMB1, FAM20C, and COL6A1) were significantly negatively correlated with malignant glioma survival. Expression levels of four genes increased with the glioma grade. All gene expression is more common in IDH wild glioma and are enriched in the Mesenchymal subtype(AUC>0.8). In addition,they can be defined as hazard factors for glioma. We found that these genes were co-expressed and jointly involved in the infiltration of immune cells in tumors. Conclusion: In conclusion, FN1, LAMB1, FAM20C, and COL6A1 is associated with poor prognosis in glioma patients. These genes might be clinical targets of glioma immunotherapy.

Exosomes are cup-shaped vesicles that are secreted by cells and are involved in the intercellular transport of a variety of substances, including proteins, RNA, and liposomes. Studies have shown that pathogenic microorganisms are contained in exosomes extracted from pathogenic micro-infected cells. The Seneca Valley virus (SVV) is a non-encapsulated single-stranded positive-strand RNA virus that causes ulceration in the pig’s nose, the appearance of blisters, and other clinical symptoms similar to foot-and-mouth disease (FMD). Whether exosomes from SVV-infected cells can mediate SVV intercellular transmission is of great significance. There have been no studies showing whether exosomes can carry SVV in susceptible and non-susceptible cells. Here, we first extracted and identified exosomes from SVV-infected IBRS-2 cells. It was confirmed that replication of SVV can be inhibited when IBRS-2 cells treated with exosomes inbihitor GW4869. Furthermore, laser confocal microscopy and qRT-PCR experiments were performed to investigate whether exosomes can carry SVV and enable the virus to proliferate in susceptible and non-susceptible cells. Finally, exosome-mediated intercellular transmission can not be completely blocked by SVV-specific neutralizing antibodies. Taken together, this study showed that exosomes extracted from the SVV-infected IBRS-2 cells can carry SVV and transmit productive SVV infection between SVV susceptible and non-susceptible cells, this transmit infection is resistant to SVV specific neutralization antibody.IMPORTANCEExosomes participate in intercellular communnication between cells. Exosomes derived from virus-infected cells can mediate virus transmission or/and regulate immune response. However, the function of exosomes that from SVV-infected host cells during SVV transmission is unclear. Here, we demonstrate SVV can utilize host exosomes to establish productive infection in intercellular transmission. Furthermore, exosome-mediated SVV transmission is resistant to SVVV-specific neutralizing antibodies. This discovery sheds light on neutralizing antibodies resistant to SVVV transmission by exosomes as a potential immune evasion mechanism.

© 2017 Elsevier Ltd Mn3O4 is an electrochemically inactive in alkaline Zn–MnO2 battery. Here, we show that Mn3O4 shows superior electrochemical performance in mild aqueous zinc sulfate electrolytes. Mn3O4 can be a new cathode material for neutral aqueous rechargeable zinc battery. Results reveal that spinel Mn3O4 transforms to intermediate Mn5O8 and finally to Zn-birnessite. The initial charge cycle proceeds without participation of zinc ions, while zinc ions participate in the subsequent reaction. The intercalation of zinc ions into the interlamination of birnessite leads to the generation of Zn-birnessite in discharge process, accompanied by the reduction of Mn4+ to Mn3+. Our results demonstrate a new manganese oxide cathode with average Mn valence state lower than four for rechargeable zinc batteries.

© 2017, Springer Science+Business Media New York. With the fast development of portable and wearable devices, flexible supercapacitor electrodes are widely researched. Here, comprehensive approaches were designed to introduce carbon nanotube (CNT) and/or MnO2 into activated carbon fiber felt (ACFF) using “dipping and drying” method. Differences on micro-morphologies and electrochemical characteristics for prepared textiles were compared. High-performance flexible MnO2/CNT/ACFF composite electrodes were synthesized by introducing CNT and MnO2/CNT fillers successively. Compared with original ACFF textiles, significant improvements in electrochemical performance were achieved. Areal capacitance, energy density and power density of the composite textiles reached as high as 4148 mF cm−2, 141 μWh cm−2 and 4466 μW cm−2, respectively. Furthermore, flexible supercapacitors were fabricated based on the composite textile electrodes and gel electrolytes. When being bent at different angles or suffering deformations such as bending for 100 cycles, the flexible supercapacitors preserve almost all the capacitance, which indicates the excellent flexibility of the composite textile electrode. This work provides various approaches to design composite textiles, and the prepared MnO2/CNT/ACFF composite textile may be a promising electrode material for high-performance flexible supercapacitors.

Seashore paspalum is an indigenous, warm-season turfgrass that is often used on golf courses, sport fields, and other recreational sites, especially where salt is an issue (Guo et al. 2016). One hundred forty-six accessions or cultivars collected from south China and the United States currently are planted in the Danzhou campus of Hainan University. In 2017, there was an outbreak of typical tar-spot symptoms on leaves of 94 accessions or cultivars of seashore paspalum. The tar spots, 0.3 to 1.5 mm in diameter, were composed of irregular brown spots surrounded by yellowish halos on the infected leaves. Pseudostromata were subglobose with 0.3 to 1.5 mm diameter, slightly papillate, epiphyllous, shiny black, and immersed in the host leaves. Perithecia (268 to 320 μm in diameter) had paraphyses and asci (80 to 110 × 11 to 17 μm) with eight ascospores (5.5 to 8.5 × 8 to 13 μm). Ascospores were ellipsoid, single celled, hyaline, with a central concave depression present or absent. Morphologically, the pathogen was a member of Phyllachorales (Dayarathne et al. 2017). Total DNA from leaf spots was extracted from three seashore paspalum accessions: SP17, SP40, and SP64. The rDNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequences were amplified with the primer pair ITS1f (5′-CTTGGTCATTTAGACGAAGTAA-3′) and ITS4 (5′-TCCTCCGCTTATTGATATGC-3′). The results showed that three ITS sequences, 511 bp, were totally identical, and the ITS sequence was deposited in NCBI (MG897306). BLAST analysis revealed that the ITS sequence displayed no high similarity with known Phyllachora species and showed 89% identity with Phyllachora sp. (MG881848.1) and 88% identity with Phyllachora sp. (MG881846.1), confirming that the pathogen was Phyllachora sp. To verify the pathogenicity of the pathogen, healthy stolons of three accessions (SP17, SP40, and SP64) were planted in sterilized sand in an incubation box, which was kept for 2 weeks to confirm that the plants were healthy and without disease. Leaves were then inoculated by a sterilized toothpick with ascospores from mature stromata of infected seashore paspalum planted in the Danzhou campus of Hainan University. Two weeks after inoculation, 80% of inoculated plants showed symptoms of disease, and the fungus from the inoculated leaves was morphologically and molecularly identical to the samples collected in the field. Controls remained without tar-spot symptoms. Tar spot has been reported on several plant species (McCoy et al. 2018); however, this is the first report of Phyllachora sp. on seashore paspalum in south China.

© 2016 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim. 2D van der Waals crystals, possessing excellent electronic and physical properties, have been intriguing building blocks for organic optoelectronic devices. Most of the 2D materials are served as hole transport layers in organic devices. Here,it is reported that solution exfoliated few layers black phosphorus (BP) can be served as an effective electron transport layer (ETL) in organic photovoltaics (OPVs) for the first time. The power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) of the BP-incorporated OPVs can be improved to 8.18% in average with the relative enhancement of 11%. The incorporation of BP flakes with the optimum thickness of ≈10 nm can form cascaded band structure in OPVs, which can facilitate electron transport and enhance the PCEs of the devices. This study opens an avenue in using solution exfoliated BP as a highly efficient ETL for organic optoelectronics.

© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016. There is currently an urgent need to develop sustainable and therapeutically relevant advanced drug delivery systems to treat the prevalence of ongoing human diseases and ailments. The effectiveness of such system will depend primarily on the properties and characteristics of the carrier material. In this chapter, marine materials are investigated as potential drug delivery carriers for bone tissue engineering and in the treatment of osteoporosis. This chapter will explore the unique structures of marine materials that set it apart from its synthetic counterparts and the conversion to biocompatible calcium phosphates combined with synthetic modifications, and case studies will demonstrate the potential clinical applications.

© 2015 American Chemical Society. The biguanide metformin is widely used as first-line therapy for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. Predominately a cation at physiological pH's, metformin is transported by membrane transporters, which play major roles in its absorption and disposition. Recently, our laboratory demonstrated that organic cation transporter 1, OCT1, the major hepatic uptake transporter for metformin, was also the primary hepatic uptake transporter for thiamine, vitamin B1. In this study, we tested the reverse, i.e., that metformin is a substrate of thiamine transporters (THTR-1, SLC19A2, and THTR-2, SLC19A3). Our study demonstrated that human THTR-2 (hTHTR-2), SLC19A3, which is highly expressed in the small intestine, but not hTHTR-1, transports metformin (Km= 1.15 ± 0.2 mM) and other cationic compounds (MPP+and famotidine). The uptake mechanism for hTHTR-2 was pH and electrochemical gradient sensitive. Furthermore, metformin as well as other drugs including phenformin, chloroquine, verapamil, famotidine, and amprolium inhibited hTHTR-2 mediated uptake of both thiamine and metformin. Species differences in the substrate specificity of THTR-2 between human and mouse orthologues were observed. Taken together, our data suggest that hTHTR-2 may play a role in the intestinal absorption and tissue distribution of metformin and other organic cations and that the transporter may be a target for drug-drug and drug-nutrient interactions.

To evaluate the prevalence and the risk factors of erectile dysfunction in a Chinese cohort of hemodialysis (HD) patients.63 male hemodialysis patients were assigned to HD group and 47 health volunteers were recruited as controls. The International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF-5) was used to assess erectile dysfunction (ED). All data were obtained by patient interviews and medical chart review. We measured the blood sex hormone of all the patients and volunteers. We divided those under 50 years HD patients into two groups according to erectile function (EF) score, Group A: EF score=12, no ED or mild ED; Group B: EF score12, moderate or severe ED.The incidence of ED was significantly higher and the erectile function score was significantly lower in the HD group than that in the control group. The level of follicle stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone, prolactin, estradiol, progesterone were significantly higher and the level of testosterone was significantly lower in the HD group than that in the control group. Patients in Group A were younger and duration of dialysis were shorter than patients in Group B. The level of high density lipoprotein was higher and FSH was lower in Group A than that in Group B. A significant negative correlation was found between the EF score and the age, duration of dialysis, the level of FSH and PRL in the HD group. There was a positive correlation trend between EF score and T level, but this did not reach statistical significance (p0.05). More patients had hypertension in the HD group.The age, duration of dialysis, hypertension, lipid disorder, the abnormality of hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis were risk factors for ED in HD patients.

Feature weighting in supervised learning concerns the development of methods for quantifying the capability of features to discriminate instances from different classes. A popular method for this task, called RELIEF, generates a feature weight vector from a given training set, one weight for each feature. This is achieved by maximizing in a greedy way the sample margin defined on the nearest neighbor classifier. The contribution from each class to the sample margin maximization defines a set of class dependent feature weight vectors, one for each class. This provides a tool to unravel interesting properties of features relevant to a single class of interest. In this paper we analyze such class dependent feature weight vectors. For instance, we show that in a machine learning dataset describing instances of recurrence and non-recurrence events in breast cancer, the features have different relevance in the two types of events, with size of the tumor estimated to be highly relevant in the recurrence class but not in the non-recurrence one. Furthermore, results of experiments show that a high correlation between feature weights of one class and those generated by RELIEF corresponds to an easier classification task. In general, results of this investigation indicate that class dependent feature weights are useful to unravel interesting properties of features with respect to a class of interest, and they provide information on the relative difficulty of classification tasks.

E-Cadherin (CDH1) genetic variations may be involved in invasion and metastasis of various cancers by altering gene transcriptional activity of epithelial cells. However, published studies on the association of CDH1 gene polymorphisms and prostate cancer (PCA)risk remain contradictory, owing to differences in living habits and genetic backgrounds.To derive a more better and comprehensive conclusion, the present meta-analysis was performed.Electronic searches of several databases were conducted for all publications on the association between the CDH1 −160 C/A polymorphism and prostate cancer before Oct 2014. The odds ratio (OR) and its 95% confidence interval (CI) were used for statistical analysis.A total of 7 eligible studies including 1294 cases and 1782 controls were involved in this meta-analysis.Overall, meta-analysis indicated that the -160A allele carriers (AA, CA, AA+CA and A allele) had an increased risk of PCA compared with the homozygotes (CC). In the subgroup analyses by ethnicity, a positive association was found in Asians with A allele, AA, CA, AA+CA genotype and Caucasian descendants with AA genotype, dominant and recessive models. On the contrary, a decreased prostate cancer risk was found in Africans with heterozygous,dominant and allele models.Taken together,this meta-analysis showed that the CDH1 -160A allele might be a risk factor for prostate cancer in Asians and Caucasians. However, this result should be verified by additional population-based studies with large sample sizes.

© 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Background The purpose of this study was to evaluate the vertical new bone formation induced by sputtered HA-coated titanium implants (HA-coated) compared with sandblasted acid-etched titanium implants (noncoated) in a rabbit calvarial model. Materials and method Twenty HA-coated and 20 noncoated titanium implants were divided equally into four groups as HA-coated implant (HA); noncoated implant (NC); HA-coated implant with membrane (HA/M); noncoated implant with membrane (NC/M). All implants were placed 5 mm above the original bone (OB). Collagen membranes were placed over the implants in HA/M and NC/M groups. The animals were sacrificed at 4 weeks (n = 5) and 8 weeks (n = 5). Vertical bone height above OB (VBH, mm) and augmented bone area (ABA, mm2) were analyzed histologically and radiographically. Results At 4 weeks, VBH reached significantly higher level in HA/M group compared with other three groups (p < 0.05). At 8 weeks, significant difference was detected between HA/M and NC groups (p < 0.05). At 4 and 8 weeks, ABA in HA/M group was significantly larger compared with other three groups (p < 0.05). Conclusion The present results indicated that sputtered HA-coated titanium implant together with collagen membrane could be a novel and effective approach for vertical bone augmentation.

© 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Several studies have shown the effectiveness of zinc-tricalcium phosphate (Zn-TCP) for bone tissue engineering. In this study, marine calcareous foraminifera possessing uniform pore size distribution were hydrothermally converted to Zn-TCP. The ability of a scaffold to combine effectively with mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) is a key tissue-engineering aim. In order to demonstrate the osteogenic ability of MSCs with Zn-TCP, the scaffolds were cultured in an osteogenic induction medium to elicit an osteoblastic response. The physicochemical properties of Zn-TCP were characterized by XRD, FT-IR and ICP-MS. MSCs were aspirated from rat femurs and cultured for 3 days before indirectly placing four samples into each respective well. After culture for 7, 10 and 14 days, osteoblastic differentiation was evaluated using alizarin red S stain, measurement of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) levels, cell numbers and cell viability. XRD and FT-IR patterns both showed the replacement of CO32- with PO43-. Chemical analysis showed zinc incorporation of 5 mol%. Significant increases in cell numbers were observed at 10 and 14 days in the Zn-TCP group, while maintaining high levels of cell viability (> 90%). ALP activity in the Zn-TCP group was statistically higher at 10 days. Alizarin red S staining also showed significantly higher levels of calcium mineralization in Zn-TCP compared with the control groups. This study showed that MSCs in the presence of biomimetically derived Zn-TCP can accelerate their differentiation to osteoblasts and could potentially be useful as a scaffold for bone tissue engineering.

With the global rise in aging of populations, the occurrence of osteoporosis will continue to increase. Biomaterial and pharmaceutical scientists continue to develop innovative strategies and materials to address this disease. In this article, we describe a new perspective and approach into the use of coral exoskeletons as a precursor material to synthesize a calcium phosphate-based drug delivery system. Studies detailing the methodology of the conversion methods and the strategies and approach for the development of these novel drug delivery systems are described. Furthermore, in vivo studies in osteoporotic mice using a drug loaded and chemically modified version of the biomimetic delivery system showed significant cortical and cancellous bone increases. These studies support the notion and the rationale for future research and development of the use of coral exoskeletons as materials for drug delivery applications. © 2013 The Pharmaceutical Society of Japan.

Cervical cancer remains an important public health problem worldwide. New and effective therapeutic strategies targeting cervical cancer are urgently needed. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are newly identified regulators in tumorigenesis and tumor progression. To investigate the role of lncRNA MEG3 in the development of cervical cancer, we examined MEG3 expression in 18 pairs of cervical cancer and matched adjacent non-neoplastic tissues. Real-time quantitative RT-PCR (qRT-PCR) results showed high expression levels of MEG3 in non-neoplastic tissues, but markedly lower levels in cancer tissues. We further investigated whether the restoration of MEG3 expression might affect the proliferation of cervical carcinoma cells. Ectopic expression of MEG3 inhibited the proliferation of human cervical carcinoma cells HeLa and C-33A in vitro. On the other hand, knockdown of MEG3 promoted the growth of well-differentiated cervical carcinoma HCC94 cells. Further investigation into the mechanisms responsible for the growth inhibitory effects revealed that overexpression of MEG3 resulted in the induction of G2/M cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. These results identified an important role of MEG3 in the molecular etiology of cervical cancer and implicated the potential application of MEG3 in cervical cancer therapy.

For bone and cartilage regeneration, a direct dose of growth factors or the viral or non-viral vector-mediated delivery of growth factor genes to the site of osteal or chondral wounds has disadvantages. These limitations include the short half-life and instability of the proteins, resulting in low efficacy with the repeated administration of the therapy, and the nonspecific targeting of the therapy that elevates general toxicity and systemic immunogenicity. To address these challenges, the focus of gene therapy for bone and cartilage repair has shifted in recent years to the use of autologous cells, typically osteocytes or chondrocytes, or their progenitors, transfected with therapeutic genes; the cells are cultivated in vitro before in vivo transplantation. These gene-enhanced therapeutic cells provide sustained autocrine/paracrine stimulation and localized gene expression. An important advantage of the cell-based approach is that factors contributing to off-target toxicity and immunogenicity are metabolically cleared during the in vitro incubation of the transfected cells prior to being administered to the transplant recipients. This review focuses on gene therapy approaches for treating bone and joint disorders, and specifically discusses the development of cell-based delivery approaches.

A series of aggressive measures was launched by the Chinese government to reduce pollutant emissions from Beijing and surrounding areas during the Olympic Games. Observations at Miyun, a rural site 100 km downwind of the Beijing urban center, show significant decreases in concentrations of O3, CO, NOy, and SO2 during August 2008, relative to August 2006–2007. The mean daytime mixing ratio of O3 was lower by about 15 ppbv, reduced to 50 ppbv, in August 2008. The relative reductions in daytime SO2, CO, and NOy were 61%, 25%, and 21%, respectively. Changes in SO2 and in species correlations from 2007 to 2008 indicate that emissions of SO2, CO, and NOx were reduced at least by 60%, 32%, and 36%, respectively, during the Olympics. Analysis of meteorological conditions and interpretation of observations using a chemical transport model suggest that although the day-to-day variability in ozone is driven mostly by meteorology, the reduction in emissions of ozone precursors associated with the Olympic Games had a significant contribution to the observed decrease in O3 during August 2008, accounting for 80% of the O3 reduction for the month as a whole and 45% during the Olympics Period (8–24 August). The model predicts that emission restrictions such as those implemented during the Olympics can affect O3 far beyond the Beijing urban area, resulting in reductions in boundary layer O3 of 2–10 ppbv over a large region of the North China Plain and Northeastern China.

In the framework of Relativistic MOND theory (TeVeS), we show that a late time background $��$CDM cosmology can be attained by choosing a specific $F(��)$ that also meets the requirement for the existence of Newtonian and MOND limits. We investigate the dynamics of the scalar field $��$ under our chosen $F(��)$ and show that the "slow roll" regime of $��$ corresponds to a dynamical attractor, where the whole system reduces to $��$CDM cosmology., Major revisions made; Matching the version to be published in IJMPD

Laminin 5 is an extracellular matrix protein integral to the formation of the hemidesmosomes that attach normal basal cells to the underlying basal lamina. We have shown that these hemidesmosomal complexes are lost in prostate carcinoma, possibly allowing malignant cells to detach from the anchoring structures and then to invade and migrate through the adjacent tissue. Our previous immunohistochemical studies of normal and malignant human prostate tissue demonstrated that the laminin subchains alpha 1, alpha 2, beta 1, beta 2, gamma 1, and gamma 2 were all expressed as normal components of the basal lamina surrounding prostate glands. Although most of these subchains were also expressed by the de novo basal lamina synthesized by prostate carcinoma, the gamma 2 subchain of laminin 5 was not detected. In an effort to investigate the role laminin 5 plays in the tumorigenesis of prostate carcinoma, the protein expression of the three subchains of laminin 5 (alpha 3, beta 3, and gamma 2) was compared in normal prostate, prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia, and invasive carcinoma using immunohistochemistry. The results showed that the protein for the alpha 3 subchain of laminin 5 is retained by both normal prostate epithelium and prostate carcinoma, but the beta 3 and the gamma 2 subchains were not detected in invasive carcinoma. Despite the absence of the gamma 2 protein, however, the carcinoma cells continued to express substantial amounts of the gamma 2 mRNA. Although it is unclear how the gene for the gamma 2 subchain of laminin 5 is regulated, results of this study suggest that there is a post-transcriptional defect in the expression of the gamma 2 subchain that occurs during the progression from a premalignant lesion to invasive carcinoma. As laminin 5 is a component of the anchoring filaments, the failure to express the gamma 2 subchain may contribute to the failure to form anchoring filaments and hemidesmosomes. This failure of hemidesmosome formation results in a less stable epithelial-stromal junction, which may allow malignant cells more potential to invade and spread through adjacent structures.

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