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Prostate cancer (PCa) is the second most prevalent cancer in men worldwide. The majority of PCa incidences eventually progress to castration-resistant PCa (CRPC), thereby establishing an urgent need for new effective therapeutic strategies. This study aims to examine the effects of morusin, a prenylated flavonoid isolated from Morus alba L., on PCa progression and identify the regulatory mechanism of morusin. Cell growth, cell migration and invasion, and the expression of EMT markers were examined. Cycle progression and cell apoptosis were examined using flow cytometry and a TUNEL assay, while transcriptome analysis was performed using RNA-seq with results being further validated using real-time PCR and western blot. A xenograft PCa model was used to examine tumor growth. Our experimental results indicated that morusin significantly attenuated the growth of PC-3 and 22Rv1 human PCa cells; moreover, morusin significantly suppressed TGF-[Formula: see text]-induced cell migration and invasion and inhibited EMT in PC-3 and 22Rv1 cells. Significantly, morusin treatment caused cell cycle arrest at the G2/M phase and induced cell apoptosis in PC-3 and 22Rv1 cells. Morusin also attenuated tumor growth in a xenograft murine model. The results of RNA-seq indicated that morusin regulated PCa cells through the Akt/mTOR signaling pathway, while our western blot results confirmed that morusin suppressed phosphorylation of AKT, mTOR, p70S6K, and downregulation of the expression of Raptor and Rictor in vitro and in vivo. These results suggest that morusin has antitumor activities on regulating PCa progression, including migration, invasion, and formation of metastasis, and might be a potential drug for CRPC treatment.

Aim: To identify DNA methylation and transcription biomarkers in the psoriatic epidermis. Materials & methods: Gene transcription and DNA methylation datasets of psoriatic epidermal tissue were obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus. Machine learning algorithm analysis and weighted gene coexpression network analysis were carried out to screen hub genes. Results: Differentially methylated and expressed genes were identified in the psoriatic epidermis. Six hub genes were selected – GZMB, CRIP1, S100A12, ISG15, CRABP2 and VNN1 – whose transcript levels showed a significant correlation with Psoriasis Area and Severity Index scores and immune infiltration. Conclusion: Psoriatic epidermis is primarily in a hypermethylated status. Epidermis-specific hub differentially methylated and expressed genes are potential biomarkers to help judge the condition of psoriasis.

Itaconate, produced by aconitate decarboxylase 1 (ACOD1) which is encoded by immune-responsive gene 1 (Irg1), is one of the metabolites derived from the tricarboxylic acid cycle. It has been reported that exogenous itaconate plays an anti-inflammatory role in the progression of multiple diseases, including activated macrophage, ischemia-reperfusion Injury, and acute lung injury. However, the role and specific mechanism of endogenous itaconate in endotoxemia-induced acute lung injury (ALI) remain unclear. The animal model of ALI in WT and Irg1

We synthesized a noninvasive and point-of-care snoring sensor with comparable accuracy to commercial devices. The 1,5-PDAC-based humidity sensor exhibits a time stability up to 28 800 seconds (8 hours) in the working range of 11–95% RH.

Schematic illustration of the elasticity of MONs-HA that regulates in vitro cellular uptake, in vivo blood circulation, and tumor accumulation.

Aerogels of cellulose nanocrystals with balanced thermal and mechanical performance can be fabricated via a 1 nm metal oxide cluster assisted unidirectional freeze-drying processing.

Aflatoxin exposure increases the risk for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in hepatitis B virus (HBV)-infected individuals, particularly males. We investigated sex-based differences in the HCC genome and antitumor immunity.Whole-genome, whole-exome, and RNA sequencing were performed on 101 HCC patient samples (47 males, 54 females) that resulted from HBV infection and aflatoxin exposure from Qidong. Androgen on the expression of aflatoxin metabolism-related genes and nonhomologous DNA end joining (NHEJ) factors were examined in HBV-positive HCC cell lines, and further tested in tumor-bearing syngeneic mice.Qidong HCC differed between males and females in genomic landscape and transcriptional dysfunction pathways. Compared with females, males expressed higher levels of aflatoxin metabolism-related genes, such as AHR and CYP1A1, and lower levels of NHEJ factors, such as XRCC4, LIG4, and MRE11, showed a signature of up-regulated type I interferon signaling/response and repressed antitumor immunity. Treatment with AFBAndrogen signaling in the context of genotoxic stress repressed DNA damage repair. The alteration caused more nuclear DNA leakage into cytosol to activate the cGAS-STING pathway, which increased T-cell infiltration into tumor mass and improved anti-programmed cell death protein 1 immunotherapy in HCCs.

Self-organization facilitates the formation of specific structures as a result of constituent interactions. In this study, the bottom of a 600 nm hole array photoresist template, which was deposited with a hydrophobic atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) initiator, was wetted by treatment with oxygen plasma. After the removal of the photoresist template, ring patterns of the ATRP initiator were formed at the interface between the hydrophobic and wetting regions. Poly[2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate] (PDMAEMA) was grafted from the ring array of the initiator to immobilize gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) as a uniform ring array on a silicon substrate via repeated swelling/shrinking cycles. The localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) peak of the PDMAEMA-AuNP hybrid ring (PAHR) red-shifted after 12 swelling/shrinking cycles. In comparison to gold nanoparticles, scalable gold nanorings can effectively develop a variety of nanostructures to design LSPR-based sensors and optimize the sensing accuracy and stability. To detect epithelial cell adhesion molecules (EpCAM) during the structural change from a ring to a disk, antiEpCAM was anchored onto the PAHR as a biosensor during swelling/shrinking. The coupling of antiEpCAM and EpCAM led to asymptotical convergence from rings to disks as well as blue shifts of the LSPR peaks. Linear correlation between the blue shift and EpCAM concentration showed a limit of detection of ∼27 pg mL

Non-coherent (NC) schemes combined with massive antenna arrays are proposed to replace traditional coherent schemes in scenarios which require an excessive number of reference signals, since NC approaches avoid channel estimation and equalization. Differential M-ary phase shift keying is one of the most appealing NC schemes due to its implementation simplicity in realistic scenarios. However, the analytical constellation design for multiuser scenarios is intractable, as discussed in this paper. We propose to solve this problem by using optimization techniques relying on evolutionary computation. We design two approaches, namely Gaussian-approximated optimization and Monte-Carlo based optimization. They can provide both individual constellations for each user equipment and a bit mapping policy to minimize the bit error rate. We perform a complexity analysis and propose strategies for its reduction. We propose a set of constellations for different number of users and constellation sizes, and evaluate the link-level performance of some illustrative examples to verify that our solutions outperforms the existing ones. Finally, we show via simulations that NC outperforms the coherent schemes in high mobility and/or low signal-to-noise ratio scenarios. This work has received funding from the European Union Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie ETN TeamUp5G, grant agreement No.813391, and from Spanish National Project IRENE-EARTH (PID2020-115323RB-C33) (MINECO/AEI/FEDER, UE). The work of O. A. Dobre has been supported in part by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), through its Discovery program.

A numerical study adopting the 2D δ-SPH model is performed to compare the hydrodynamic characteristics of a single pontoon floating breakwater and a double pontoon floating breakwater. Numerical simulations are performed using the δ-SPH model and experimental tests are conducted to validate the numerical model. The numerical results of both the free surface elevations and motions of the floating breakwater are in good agreement with the experimental results. Numerical results show that when the pontoon drafts are larger, the double pontoon floating breakwater performs better in wave attenuations compared with the single pontoon floating breakwater, and for all the drafts, the amplitudes of motions including sway, heave and roll of the double pontoon floating breakwater is always smaller. In addition, increasing the spacing between the two pontoons can further reduce the amplitudes of pontoon motions and improve the wave attenuation ability of the double pontoon floating breakwater.

Atlantoaxial segments have not been discussed in existing studies on prevertebral soft tissue (PVST) swelling after cervical operations. This study aimed to investigate the characteristics of PVST swelling after anterior cervical internal fixation at different segments. This retrospective study included patients who underwent transoral atlantoaxial reduction plate (TARP) internal fixation (Group I, n=73), C3/C4 anterior decompression and vertebral fixation (Group II, n=77), or C5/C6 anterior decompression and vertebral fixation (Group III, n=75) at our Hospital. The PVST thickness at C2, C3, and C4 segments was measured before and 3 days after the operation. Time of extubation, number of patients with postoperative re-intubation and dysphagia were collected. Results show that all patients had significant postoperative PVST thickening (all P

There are few nomograms for the prognosis of Chinese patients with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC).To construct and validate a nomogram for overall survival (OS) of Chinese TNBC patients after surgery.This study used the data of SEER*stat 8.3.5 and selected Chinese patients with TNBC operated on between 2010 and 2015. Univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazard regression models were used. The identified variables were integrated to form a predictive nomogram and risk stratification model; it was assessed with C-indexes and calibration curves.The median and maximal OS of the 336 patients was 39 and 83 mo, respectively. The multivariate analysis showed that age (The nomogram provided prognostic superiority over the traditional tumor, node and metastasis system. It could help clinicians make individual OS or risk predictions for Chinese TNBC patients after surgery.

A hydrogel strain sensor can successfully transform its deformation into resistance changes, offering novel options for the Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI). However, it remains challenging to prepare hydrogel sensors with superior performance (e.g., high conductivity). Here, we produced a conductive hydrogel (named PPC hydrogel) utilizing only three components, PVA (poly(vinyl alcohol)), PAAS (polyacrylate sodium), and CaCl

In recent years, the resurgence of pertussis has posed a public health challenge in many countries. This study aimed to evaluate the immunity levels against pertussis among populations of different ages in China.We conducted a cross-sectional serological survey in Zhejiang Province, China in 2020. Serum IgG antibodies against pertussis toxin (anti-PT), filamentous hemagglutinin (anti-FHA), and pertactin (anti-PRN) were quantitatively measured. The geometric mean concentration (GMC) of three antibodies was calculated. An anti-PT level 5 IU/mL was considered undetectable, ≥20 IU/mL as seropositive and ≥80 IU/mL as an indicator of recent infection. Mathematical models were fitted for anti-PT concentrations over time in children after four doses of the pertussis vaccination.A total of 4459 participants aged 0-59 years were included in the analyses. The overall positivity rate of anti-PT was 29.80% with the highest (81.44%) rate in the 1-2 years old and the lowest (4.72%) in 10-14 years old. The GMCs of anti-PT, anti-FHA and anti-PRN for the whole participants were 9.67 (95%CI: 9.25-10.10),18.93 (18.24-19.67), and 8.99 (8.61-9.38) IU/mL, respectively. Over 50% of subjects aged ≥ 7 years had undetectable anti-PT IgG antibodies (5IU/mL). The proportions of the populations with anti-PT IgG ≥ 80 IU/mL were approximately 0.9%, 0.3% and 1.1% among the 10-14, 15-29, and 40-59 years old groups, respectively. The power regression equation of the attenuation model after last dose of pertussis vaccine was y = 41.088xThe prevalence of pertussis decreased during the study period in the COVID-19 pandemic; however, there was still a certain proportion of adolescents and adults with evidence of recent infection. The decline in antibody levels after pertussis vaccination was observed, and booster doses are in urgent need in China.

Loess owns the characteristics of collapsibility, disintegration and solubility, which pose a challenge to engineering construction. To examine the shear strength of basalt fiber-reinforced (BFR) loess, consolidated undrained (CU) triaxial tests were conducted to explore the impacts of water content (w), fiber length (FL), fiber content (FC) and cell pressure (σ3) on the shear strength. The microstructure of reinforced loess was constructed using SEM measurements to reveal the reinforcing mechanism of basalt fibers. According to the results, the shear strength model was established taken into account the impacts of FL, FC, and fiber diameter (d) using the regression analysis method. The results showed that the peak strength of BFR soils enhanced as FL, FC, and σ3 increasing, whereas it decreased with increasing of w. The reinforcing mechanism of fibers was divided into a single tensile effect and spatial mesh effect, and the bridging effect transformed the force, which improved the overall ability of composites to resist deformation and damage. The experimental and calculated results agreed well, which suggested the model is suitable for predicting the shear strength of BFR loess. The research results can offer a guideline for the application of BFR loess in the subgrade and slope engineering.