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Background: This study aimed to establish predictive models based on features of Conventional Ultrasound (CUS) and elastography in a multi-center study to determine appropriate preoperative diagnosis of malignancy in thyroid nodules with different risk stratification based on 2017 Thyroid Imaging Reporting and Data System by the American College of Radiology (ACR TI-RADS) guidelines.Methods: Five hundred forty-eight thyroid nodules from three centers pathologically confirmed by the cytology or histology were retrospectively enrolled in the study, which were examined by CUS and elastography before fine needle aspiration (FNA) and surgery. Characteristics of CUS of thyroid nodules were reviewed according to 2017 ACR TI-RADS. Binary logistic regression analysis was used to develop the prediction models based on the different risk stratification of CUS features and elastography which were statistically significant. Values of predictive models were evaluated regarding the discrimination and calibration.Results: Binary logistic regression showed that patients’ age, taller-than-wider, lobulated or irregular boundary, extra-thyroid extension, microcalcification and the elastic parameter of Virtual touch tissue imaging quantification (VTIQ) max were independent predictors for thyroid malignancy (p0.05).Conclusions: Predictive models combined CUS and elastography features would aid clinicians to make appropriate preoperative diagnosis of thyroid nodules among different risk stratification. The elastography parameter of VTIQ max has the priority in distinguishing thyroid malignancy with moderately suspicious (ACR TR4).

BACKGROUND: Gastric cancer is one of the most lethal cancers. Aberrant expression levels of genes are frequently associated with cell immortalization and the occurrence of tumors. In this study, we aimed to investigate the role of tankyrase 1 (TANK1) in gastric adenocarcinoma and clarify the underlying mechanism. METHODS: The messenger RNA (mRNA) levels of TANK1, human telomerase reverse transcriptase (h-TERT), and telomeric repeat binding factor 1 (TRF1) in clinical specimens and SGC-7901 cells were measured via real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) and immunohistochemistry (IHC) assays were utilized to observe the cell apoptosis as well as Ki67 and h-TERT expression in tumor-bearing models. The effects of TANK1 antisense oligonucleotides (TANK1 ASODN) on viability and apoptosis of SGC 7901 cells were evaluated by cell counting kit-8 and flow cytometry analysis. RESULTS: We found that TANK1 and h-TERT were both increased in gastric adenocarcinoma, while TRF1 was decreased. Tumor-bearing models demonstrated that TANK1 ASODN appeared to be effective in inhibiting tumor growth and decreasing the expression of h-TERT. Additionally, TANK1 ASODN inhibited the viability and promoted apoptosis of SGC-7901 cells. Moreover, the mRNA levels of h-TERT and TRF1 were modulated by TANK1 ASODN. CONCLUSIONS: This study revealed that TANK1 ASODN inhibits the proliferation and induced the apoptosis of gastric adenocarcinoma cells via manipulating the expression levels of h-TERT and TRF1.

Three new sesquiterpene dimers 1–3 were isolated from Resina commiphora and possessed the 10/6/5/3 framework, which reduce cellular lipid accumulation in metabolism of fatty acids by regulating the AMPK/ACC pathway in hepatocytes.

Populusene A (1), an unprecedented carbon skeleton featuring a bicyclo[8.4.1]pentadecane nucleus and a bridgehead double bond (anti-Bredt system), and populusin A (2), a cembrane-type diterpenoid possessing an uncommon dioxatricyclo[6.6.1.12,5]hexadecane scaffold, were isolated from the exudates of Populus euphratica. Their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic, computational, and crystallographic methods. A plausible biosynthetic route for 1 and 2 was proposed. Compounds 1 and 2 were found to significantly inhibit the production of TNF-α and IL-6 and the expression of iNOS, COX-2, and p-NF-κB at 125 nM in RAW264.7 cells.

The purpose of this study was to analyze the value of transrectal shear-wave elastography (SWE) in combination with multivariable tools for predicting adverse pathological features before radical prostatectomy (RP). Preoperative clinicopathological variables, multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (mp-MRI) manifestations, and the maximum elastic value of the prostate (Emax) on SWE were retrospectively collected. The accuracy of SWE for predicting adverse pathological features was evaluated based on postoperative pathology, and parameters with statistical significance were selected. The diagnostic performance of various models, including preoperative clinicopathological variables (model 1), preoperative clinicopathological variables + mp-MRI (model 2), and preoperative clinicopathological variables + mp-MRI + SWE (model 3), was evaluated with area under the receiver operator characteristic curve (AUC) analysis. Emax was significantly higher in prostate cancer with extracapsular extension (ECE) or seminal vesicle invasion (SVI) with both P0.001. The optimal cutoff Emax values for ECE and SVI were 60.45 kPa and 81.55 kPa, respectively. Inclusion of mp-MRI and SWE improved discrimination by clinical models for ECE (model 2 vs model 1, P = 0.031; model 3 vs model 1, P = 0.002; model 3 vs model 2, P = 0.018) and SVI (model 2 vs model 1, P = 0.147; model 3 vs model 1, P = 0.037; model 3 vs model 2, P = 0.134). SWE is valuable for identifying patients at high risk of adverse pathology.

Populusene A (

Five new terpenoids including one new abietane diterpenoid (1), one new aromadendrane diterpenoid (6), two new norsesquiterpenoids (8 and 9), and a new cembrane-derived diterpenoid (12), together with seven known compounds were isolated from Populus euphratica resins. The structures of these new compounds, including their absolute configurations, were characterized by spectroscopic and computational methods. All the compounds except 8 were test for their neuroprotective activities. The result revealed that compounds 1, 7, and 10-12 display neuroprotective activities in glutamate-induced SH-SY5Y cells in a concentration-dependent manner.

Two new octanorlanostane-type triterpenes, euphraticanoids A and B (1 and 2), two new trinorsesquiterpenoids, euphraticanoids C and D (3 and 4), and eight known triterpenoids (5, 6, 8–13) along with one steroid (7) were isolated from Populus euphratica resins. The structures of these new compounds, including their absolute configurations, were characterized by spectrocsopic, chemical, and computational methods. Biological evaluation revealed that compounds 4, 7–9, 12, and 13 display neuroprotective activities in H2O2-induced HT-22 cells with 4, 8, and 9 occurring in a concentration-dependent manner and 7, 12, and 13 reaching the maximum effects at 20 μM. Meanwhile, the neuroprotective properties of all isolates were accessed using glutamate-induced SH-SY5Y cells and disclosed that compounds 3, 4, 8, and 9 could dose-dependently protect neural cell injury in a concentration range of 10–40 μM. Finally, a brief structure–activity relationship was briefly discussed.

(Pb0.985-xBi2x/3La0.01)(Nb0.95Ti0.0625)2O6 with 2 wt% excess PbO (x = 0, 0.01, 0.04, 0.06, 0.1) piezoelectric ceramics with high Curie temperature were fabricated via a conventional solid-state reaction method. Dielectric and piezoelectric properties of the ceramics were studied. The Curie temperatures of the ceramics decrease with the increase in the Bi3+ amount. The values of dielectric constant remain nearly unchanged from room temperature up to about 400 °C for the ceramics with x = 0, 0.01, 0.04 and 0.06. The ceramic with x = 0.04 possesses high piezoelectric charge constant (87 pC/N), low mechanical quality factor (22.60), low dielectric loss (0.024), and high Curie temperature (494 °C).

In this work, we studied anionic alpha-oxygen nucleophiles in which there was an atom of with one or more unshared lone-pair electrons from groups 15–17 and periods 2–4 of the periodic table positioned adjacent to the negative attacking-oxygen (i.e., H n XO−; X = N, P, As, O, S, Se, F, Cl, Br; n = 0–2); these nucleophiles were termed “alpha-agents.” Specifically, we investigated the gas-phase simple alkyl cation affinities (ACAs) and the simple N-alkylamino cation affinities (NAAMCAs) of these alpha-agents theoretically via the modified G2(+)M method. Our calculations indicate that the O–C bond of CH3OXH n is somewhat similar to that of iPrOXH n (n = 0, 1, 2; X = N, P, As, O, S, Se, F, Cl, Br). Also, steric repulsion is an important influence on these cation affinities. It appears that the kinetic gas-phase alpha effect in the SN2 reactions of interest cannot be explained by the thermodynamic proton affinity or the affinity (SuA) of the anionic or neutral nucleophile (Nu) for the substrate cation, as the gas-phase ACA (NAAMCA) was found to be linearly correlated with the PA for the alpha-agents, similar to the previously reported linear correlation of the gas-phase ACA (NAAMCA) with the PA for normal nucleophiles.

(Pb0.945Bi0.027La0.01)(Nb0.95Ti0.0625)2O6 piezoelectric ceramic composition with high Curie temperature was synthesized via a conventional solid-state reaction method. The ceramics were sintered in the atmospheres of nitrogen (N2) and oxygen (O2). Effects of the sintering atmospheres on phase structure, microstructure, dielectric and piezoelectric properties of the ceramics were studied in detail. Ceramics sintered at the optimum sintering temperatures have the single orthorhombic ferroelectric phase. The atmosphere of O2 facilitates decreasing the sintering temperatures of the ceramics. The lattice parameters of the ceramics are related to the sintering atmospheres. Microstructures of the ceramics were studied via a scanning electron microscope. The values of dielectric constant remain almost unchanged at temperatures between room temperature and about 400 °C for all ceramics. Dielectric behavior was studied via the Curie–Weiss law and modified Curie–Weiss law. Compared with the ceramics sintered in N2, the Curie temperature of the ceramics sintered in O2 decreases slightly to 498 °C, while the piezoelectric charge constant of the ceramics sintered in O2 increases to 80 pC/N. For the ceramics sintered in O2, the d 33 value does not show an obvious decrease as the annealing temperature increases up to 450 °C, showing a high potential to be used in high-temperature applications as piezoelectric transducers.

In this work, we studied anionic alpha-oxygen nucleophiles in which there was an atom of with one or more unshared lone-pair electrons from groups 15-17 and periods 2-4 of the periodic table positioned adjacent to the negative attacking-oxygen (i.e., H

Recent evidence suggests that nitric oxide (NO) signaling plays an important role in plant–pathogen interactions and that aconitase is a major target of NO. In the present study on the signaling role of NO in the elicitation of defense responses in peach fruit against Monilinia fructicola and subsequent effect on brown rot disease, 15 μM NO solution induced disease resistance in harvested peaches. As a potentiated elicitor, NO induced high levels of endogenous NO and superoxide (O2 −), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), and NADPH oxidase and Ca2+-ATPase activity in the fruit. Aconitase activity in peach fruit was inhibited by NO. Activity of partially purified aconitase was inhibited in vitro by sodium nitroprusside (SNP) and H2O2; however, the inhibition could be relieved by carboxy-2-phenyl-4,4,5,5-tetramethylimidazoline-1-oxyl 3-oxide (cPTIO) or catalase (CAT), indicating that the defense response and signals induced by NO transduction depend on aconitase and conditions leading to elevated levels of NO; otherwise, H2O2 would inactivate aconitase directly in fruit. Treatment with NO resulted in salicylic acid (SA) accumulating during storage. Higher levels of jasmonic acid (JA) were detected in NO-treated fruit 48 h after the treatment. But after NO was removed, the level of SA and JA were lower than in the control. The results suggest that exogenous NO enhances resistance of harvested peach fruit against the fungus by inducing signals such as endogenous NO, reactive oxygen species (ROS), SA and JA and by inhibiting aconitase activity.

General harmonic detecting scheme is using the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) for detection of all the harmonics (such as 1 to 50 times). While power units often do not care about the specific values of all the harmonics, but is only concerned with some key harmonics or several overall indicators. For the above reason, a new harmonic detecting scheme based on the algorithm of BP neural network is presented in this paper. It does not need to calculate all the harmonics, when the detection of individual indicators or overall indicators which are concerned by users can be achieved,and to achieve the above-mentioned detection target, by the analysis of computation of BP, DFT and FFT algorithm, the superiority of the scheme in terms of computation is proved. After the simulation of the scheme using a set of measured harmonic data, the results validate that the above scheme is simple and feasible, and its detecting accuracy is close to which of FFT.

Using the satellite altimetric sea level data during 1992 to 2009 from AVISO, analyzed seasonal, annual variations of vortexes in northeast Taiwan (24°N ~ 27°N, 120°E ~ 124°E). The result shows that: (1) Cyclonic and anti-cyclonic eddies are found in research area and had significant seasonal variation; (2) Cyclonic eddies had five-years cycle in winter; (3) Cyclonic eddies and anti-cyclonic eddies often appeared in pairs and swing in the east-west direction simultaneously; (4) Changes in spatial distribution of the eddies are the result from the Kuroshio’s period oscillation and the topography at northeast of Taiwan.

Silver (Ag) nanoparticles loading temperature responsive hybrid microgels were readily prepared by in situ reduction of Ag+ ions coordinated into poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) microgels. The weight percentage content of the entrapped Ag nanoparticles measured by thermogravity analysis tops 25%, and their average particle sizes determined by transmission electron microscopy are within the range from 8 to 11 nm. The results obtained by X-ray diffraction exhibit that the Ag nanoparticles are of face-centered cubic single crystal structure. The particle sizes of the hybrid microgels decrease sharply with environmental temperature increasing from 30 to 35 °C, and their surface plasmon resonance absorption wavelengths are pronouncedly red-shifted within the same temperature range. The catalytic reactivity of the Ag nanoparticles loading hybrid microgels can be tunable with four stages of change versus temperature from 20 to 45 °C.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the expression and function of metastasis-associated in colon cancer 1 (MACC1) in tongue squamous cell carcinoma (TSCC) and its relationship with the expression of extracellular matrix metalloproteinase inducer (EMMPRIN) (CD147). Levels of MACC1 and EMMPRIN expression were analyzed in 65 paraffin‑embedded tissue specimens of TSCC and in the adjacent non-cancerous tissues using immunohistochemistry (IHC). MACC1 expression was highly associated with lymphatic metastasis and EMMPRIN expression. Overexpression of MACC1 was significantly correlated with poor overall patient survival. A small interfering RNA (siRNA) was delivered into TSCCA cells to downregulate MACC1 expression. The CCK-8 assay showed that TSCCA cell proliferation was markedly reduced and that cisplatin resistance was attenuated. The suppression of MACC1 promoted the apoptosis of the TSCCA cell line. A Transwell experiment demonstrated that the migration and invasion abilities of the TSCCA cells were extremely downregulated. An ELISA experiment and western blotting revealed that the secretion of urokinase-type plasminogen activator system (uPA) in the supernatant of the culture medium and uPA expression were significantly reduced. Experiments revealed that the secretion of metalloproteinase 2 (MMP2) in the supernatant of the culture medium and MMP2 expression were not affected. MACC1 may serve as a novel biomarker and therapeutic target for TSCC.