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Objective·To analyze the relationship between the expression level of interferon regulatory factor 3 (IRF3) in colorectal cancer and its clinicopathological features and prognosis, and to observe the effects of IRF3 overexpression on the proliferation and invasion ability of colorectal cancer cells and the related protein molecular pathways.MethodsThe Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) data were downloaded and used to analyze the correlation between expression levels of IRF3 and the prognosis of patients (including renal cell carcinoma, colorectal cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma, and prostate cancer). Immunohistochemistry was used to detect the differences in the expression levels of IRF3 between cancerous tissue and adjacent normal tissues of 10 patients with colorectal/renal cancer. The C-terminal residue sites of the IRF3 protein were modified to construct HEK-293T cells overexpressing the phosphorylated IRF3-5D (396/398/402/404/405-D). At 12 and 24 h of cell culture, treatment with TANK-binding kinase 1 (TBK1) inhibitor was performed, and Western blotting was used to detect the expression levels of IRF3 and p-IRF3 (Ser386) in the cells. RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) was employed to explore the correlation between high expression of IRF3-5D and the expression levels of tumor-related proteins. Colorectal cancer cells CT26 and COLON26 overexpressing wild-type IRF3 (IRF3-WT) and IRF3-5D were construct, and cell proliferation and migration ability were assessed by using cell counting, scratch assay, and clonogenic assay.Results·Analysis of TCGA data suggested that the expression level of IRF3 protein in cancer tissues was positively correlated with poor prognosis in patients. Immunohistochemical analysis of pathological tissues from patients with cancer showed that the expression level of IRF3 was significantly upregulated in colorectal cancer tissues and renal cancer tissues, with protein expression concentrated in the cell nucleus. After treatment with TBK1 inhibitors for 12 and 24 h in cell culture, the expression of p-IRF3 (Ser386) protein in HEK-293T cells decreased. The results of RNA-seq and Western blotting showed that the expression levels of multiple proteins associated with poor prognosis [such as IRF9, programmed cell death 1-ligand 1 (PD-L1), etc.] were significantly upregulated under conditions of high expression of IRF3-5D. Overexpression of IRF3-5D in colorectal cancer cells could significantly enhance the proliferation and migration capabilities of cancer cells.Conclusion·The expression level of IRF3 in colorectal cancer is positively correlated with poor patient prognosis. High expression of IRF3-5D protein in colorectal cancer cells can promote malignant biological behavior of cancer cells. Additionally, IRF3-5D is dependent on the TBK1-mediated activation of the IRF3 activation pathway and upregulates the expression levels of multiple tumor-related proteins.

Background Telerehabilitation (TR) is an emerging model of rehabilitation service delivery based on communication technology, remote sensing and control technology, virtual reality technology and computer technology to to achieve cross-regional rehabilitation medical services. However, the effectiveness of TR in functional rehabilitation after stroke is still unclear, the methodological quality of related studies is uneven, and few researchers have systematically evaluated it. Objective To re-evaluate the systematic reviews/meta-analyses on the effectiveness of TR for functional rehabilitation after stroke. Methods In August 2021, PubMed, Web of science, the Cochrane Library, VIP, WanFang Data, CNKI and CBM were retrieved by computer for systematic reviews/meta-analyses on the effectiveness of TR applied to functional rehabilitation after stroke from the establishment of the database to August 2021. After the literature screen and data extract by two researchers independently, the methodological quality of the included literature was evaluated by AMSTAR 2 scale, and the evidence quality of the outcome index was graded by GRADE system. Descriptive analysis was used to analyze the effectiveness of TR in functional rehabilitation after stroke. Results A total of 10 systematic reviews/meta-analyses were included, and the results of the AMSTAR 2 review showed that 2 systematic reviews were of high quality, 3 were of low quality, and 5 were of very low quality. The main reasons for the low methodological quality were the failure to report the preliminary study protocol, the list and reasons for excluded studies, the publication bias of the original study and the funding sources. The GRADE evidence quality assessment resulted in 10 systematic reviews addressing seven outcome measures, 41 bodies of evidence, with eight grade graded as intermediate, 23 grade graded as low, and 10 grade graded as very low. TR promoted the improvement of activities of daily living, motor function, quality of life, depressive symptoms and speech function of stroke patients to a certain extent, and had the same curative effect as face-to-face rehabilitation therapy or routine treatment, and even some TR rehabilitation effects were better than traditional rehabilitation therapy. Conclusion TR can promote the functional rehabilitation of stroke patients, but considering that the methodological quality and reliability of outcome measures of current systematic reviews/meta-analyses on the effectiveness of TR applied to functional recovery after stroke are mostly low, strict, standardized and comprehensive high-quality randomized controlled trials are still needed to provide evidence support; The results of this study can provide reference for the topic selection, research design and results report of future TR research.

Post-stroke cognitive impairment is one of the common complications of stroke, seriously affecting patients' ability to perform activities of daily living. Recent studies about microbiota-gut-brain axis have found that gut microbiota and their metabolites play an important role in the development of neurological diseases. Short-chain fatty acids, the main metabolites of gut microbiota, are key transmitters of gut-brain communication, which have a neuroprotective effect in stroke, yet the mechanism of action is not fully clear. This paper presents a review of the neuroprotective mechanism of short-chain fatty acids in stroke, and its relation with post-stroke cognitive impairment, providing evidence for studying the pathogenesis and treatment of stroke.

Solid-state electrolytes are promising to replace the traditional organic liquid electrolytes for high safety and high energy density lithium batteries. However, the poor electrode/electrolyte interfacial wettability and stability limit their practical applications. Herein, we developed a gradient poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO)-based composited electrolyte with Li6.4La3Zr1.4Ta0.6O12 (LLZTO) as ceramic fillers. The PEO-rich side contacting Li metal ensures dendrite-free Li deposition and a reduction in the interfacial resistance while the LLZTO-rich side contacting LiFePO4 provides fast Li+ transport pathways along the grain boundaries of LLZTO with a high oxidation tolerance (5.3 V vs. Li+/Li) over a stable cycling. The gradient composited solid-state electrolyte achieves an ionic conductivity of up to 3.75 × 10−4 S cm−1 coupled with a high Li-ion transference number of 0.66, resulting in a low-voltage hysteresis potential of 84 mV and a longer lifetime of 3700 h. Simultaneously, the all-solid-state full cell delivers a noteworthy capacity of 162.6 mA h g−1 at 0.1C and an excellent cycling stability with 85% capacity retention after 200 cycles. This unique structure design of gradient electrolytes, featuring enhanced interfacial wettability and stability, provides a novel pathway to construct various high-energy density storage devices beyond Li batteries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SUMMARY: Understanding and optimizing the process of grain filling helps the quest to maximize rice (Oryza sativa L.) seed yield and quality, yet the intricate mechanisms at play remain fragmented. Transcription factors (TFs) are major players in the gene networks underlying the grain filling process. Here, we employed grain incomplete filling (OsGIF1)/cell wall invertase 2, a key gene involved in grain filling, to explore its upstream TFs and identified a bZIP family TF, OsbZIP10, to be a transcriptional activator of OsGIF1. Rice grains of the knockouts of OsbZIP10 showed increased white‐core rates but lower amylose content (AC), leading to better eating and cooking qualities in all genetic backgrounds investigated, though the impact of mutations in OsbZIP10 on grain weight depended on genetic background. Multi‐omics analyses suggested that, in addition to OsGIF1, multiple genes involved in different biological processes contributing to grain filling were targeted by OsbZIP10, including OsAGPS1, a gene encoding the ADP‐Glc pyrophosphorylase (AGPase) small subunit, and genes contributing to homeostasis of reactive oxygen species. Distinct genetic make‐up was observed in OsbZIP10 between japonica and indica rice varieties, with the majority varieties of each subspecies belonging to two different haplotypes that were closely associated with AC. Overexpressing the haplotype linked to high‐AC in the low‐AC genetic background increased AC. Overall, this study sheds crucial light on the significance of the OsbZIP10–OsGIF1 module in the determination of rice grain quality, offering a potential avenue for genetic engineering of rice to produce seeds with tailored attributes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The utilization of high‐sulfur coal, especially high‐organic coal, has always been a difficult hot spot in the energy field. To study the influence of sulfur in coal on coal‐based graphite products, a series of coal samples with different sulfur content and different degrees of coalification were collected for proximate analysis, ultimate analysis, and sulfur species analysis. The structural characteristics of coal‐based graphite products were analyzed by X‐ray diffraction (XRD). The relationships between the sulfur in coal and the yield (Y), graphitization degree (G), cell diameter (La), and stacking height (Lc) of coal‐based graphite products were explored. The yield of coal‐based graphite ranges from 8.92 % to 64.45 %, and it was found that the yield of coal‐based graphite is not only affected by the degree of coalification, fixed carbon content, and volatile matter content of coal but also significantly inhibited by organic sulfur in coal when the reflectance is less than 2.00 %. The graphitization degree (G) of coal‐based graphite is distributed between 76.02 % and 91.02 %, and positively related to the degree of coalification, and negatively related to the content of volatile matter. Organic sulfur in coal is an unfavorable factor for the graphitization degree (G) of coal‐based graphite. Both the cell diameter (La) and stacking height (Lc) of coal‐based graphite are positively correlated with the degree of coalification and negatively correlated with the volatile matter content in coal. Organic sulfur in coal plays an important inhibitory role on the cell diameter (La) of coal‐based graphite. Still, it has almost no effect on the stacking height (Lc) of coal‐based graphite, resulting in a low ratio of horizontal‐to‐vertical (La/Lc), which is not conducive to the horizontal development of coal‐based graphite cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solid‐state lithium batteries (SSLBs) with high safety have emerged to meet the increasing energy density demands of electric vehicles, hybrid electric vehicles, and portable electronic devices. However, the dendrite formation, high interfacial resistance, and deleterious interfacial reactions caused by solid–solid contact between electrode and electrolyte have hindered the commercialization of SSLBs. Thus, in this review, the state‐of‐the‐art developments in the rational design of solid‐state electrolyte and their progression toward practical applications are reviewed. First, the origin of interface instability and the sluggish charge carrier transportation in solid–solid interface are presented. Second, various strategies toward stabilizing interfacial stability (reducing interfacial resistance, suppressing lithium dendrites, and side reactions) are summarized from the physical and chemical perspective, including building protective layer, constructing 3D and gradient structures, etc. Finally, the remaining challenges and future development trends of solid‐state electrolyte are prospected. This review provides a deep insight into solving the interfacial instability issues and promising solutions to enable practical high‐energy‐density lithium metal batteries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High‐energy ultrasound has the effect of purifying the aluminum (Al) melt and improving the uniformity of temperature and flow field distribution. In this article, a finite‐element numerical model of ultrasonic‐assisted casting of 7085 Al alloy melt is established, and the changes of acoustic pressure field, temperature field, and flow field in the solidification process of alloy melt with different ultrasonic power are investigated. In the numerical simulation results, it is shown that the thickness of the 7085 Al melt mushy zone decreases by 89, 97, 108, 114, and 99 mm, respectively, compared without ultrasonic (WNU) when the ultrasonic power is 150, 350, 550, 750, and 950 W. The area of the alloy mushy zone increases by 38.1%, 43.5%, 61.0%, 206.5%, and 45.6%, respectively. According to numerical simulation results, when the ultrasonic power is 750 W, it has the best effect on improving the macroscopic physical field, increasing the mass and heat‐transfer rate in the center of the Al melt. Meanwhile, the experimental results of industrial melting and casting of 7085 large‐scale Al alloy ingots are basically consistent with the numerical simulation, which provide technical support for ultrasonic‐assisted fabrication of large‐scale 7085 Al alloy ingots. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]