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We study the generalized higher order Choquard-Pekar equation (⁎) (− Δ) m u = (∫ R N Ψ (| x − y |) u p (y) d y) u q in R N , where N , m ≥ 1 are integers, p , q > 0. Under suitable assumption on Ψ, when N > 2 m the Liouville theorems in the ranges (i) (p ≥ 1 or p + q ≥ 2) and ∫ | y | > 1 | y | − p (N − 2 m) Ψ (| y |) d y = ∞ ; or (ii) p + q ≥ 2 and lim sup r → ∞ r 2 N − (N − 2 m) (p + q) Ψ (r) > 0 for nonnegative classical solutions of (⁎) were got in previous studies. By using "Bootstrap" iteration procedure, we extend the above results by establishing the Liouville theorems for nonnegative classical solutions of (⁎) with N > 2 m in the ranges p ≥ 1 and p + q < N N − 2 m. Moreover, we also consider the higher order Choquard-Pekar equation, i.e., the problem (⁎) with Ψ (r) = r − σ and 0 < σ < N. By using the method of scaling sphere we also establish the Liouville theorems for nonnegative classical solutions with N > 2 m in the ranges 1 ≤ p ≤ 2 N − σ N − 2 m , 0 < q ≤ N + 2 m − σ N − 2 m , and p + q < 3 N + 2 m − 2 σ N − 2 m , which also extend the recent studies on higher order Choquard-Pekar equation. Extensions to the integral representation of (⁎) with more general assumption p > 0 are also included. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Layered Ni-Fe double hydroxide was annealed to form P-doped NiFe 2 O 4 sheet array. • Exceptionally high ammonia yield rate was up to 34788.51 µg h−1 cm−2 with a Faradaic efficiency of 95.39%. • Catalyst has an ammonia yield rate of 22303.54 µg h−1 cm−2 and a Faradaic efficiency of 85.34% even after 16 cycles. The nitrite reduction reaction (NO 2 −RR) is an important process for eliminating toxic nitrites from water while simultaneously producing high-value ammonia under ambient conditions. For the aim to improve the NO 2 −RR efficiency, we designed a new synthetic strategy to prepare a phosphorus-doped three-dimensional NiFe 2 O 4 catalyst loaded onto a nickel foam in-situ and evaluated its performance for the reduction of NO 2 − to NH 3. The catalyst achieved a high Faradaic efficiency (FE) of 95.39%, and an ammonia (NH 3) yield rate of 34788.51 µg h−1 cm−2 at − 0.45 V vs. RHE. A high NH 3 yield rate and FE were maintained after 16 cycles at − 0.35 V vs. RHE in an alkaline electrolyte. This study provides a new direction for the rational design of highly stable electrocatalysts for the conversion of NO 2 − to NH 3. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Programed responsive carrier-free multidrug delivery system (ICG, DOX and INFa1b) was produced successfully for trimodal combination therapy of immunotherapy, photothermal therapy, and chemotherapy with programmed response against the tumor acid microenvironment and near infrared light. [Display omitted] Programmed response, carrier-free, and multimodal therapy drug delivery systems (DDS) are promising solutions to multidirectional cytotoxic effects, inefficient antitumor, and severe side effects for cancer therapy. Here, three widely used clinical drugs, interferon α1b (IFNα1b), indocyanine green (ICG), and doxorubicin (DOX), were prepared into carrier-free DDS IFNα1b-ICG-DOX (IID) by a simple one-step method without additional any reagents. IID can achieve smart and programmed DDS by combining low pH and near-infrared (NIR) light stimuli-responsive controlled release. In pH = 7.4 environments, our IID is about 380 nm in size with negative charge rounded particles; while they enter into the acid environment (pH < 7), hydrogen ions (H+) trigger DOX release, their size becomes larger and the surface charge turns positive. These larger particles are rapidly disintegrated after exposure to NIR light and then the remaining DOX, IFNα1b, and ICG are released. In vivo, the IID with larger size and positive charge resulting from low pH is is easy to accumulate in tumor tissue. Tumors can be exposed to NIR light when needed to control the release of these three drugs. Hence, DOX, ICG, and IFNα1b can be enriched in the tumor to the high efficiency of combined chemotherapy, photothermal therapy, and immunotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional tuned mass damper (TMD) devices requires heavier masses and additional dampers to improve their vibration control performance. In this paper, a novel tuned hydrodynamic mass damper (THMD) is proposed for vibration control employing added mass and damping from the interaction between heave plate and fluids. The added mass can reduce the weight of the mass block and improve the performance of conventional TMD devices. Moreover, the added damping can replace fluid or eddy current dampers in the traditional TMD system and result in lower costs. The equations of motion of the THMD-single-degree-of-freedom (SDOF) system is established with the help of the Morison equation. The corresponding semi-analytical solutions are obtained using the harmonic balance method, and the approximate analytical solutions of optimal parameters are also derived based on the H ∞ criterion. The control performance and robustness of THMD are compared with the conventional TMD and the heave plate cases by numerical analysis. Moreover, the parametric identification of the Morison equation is performed by a forced experiment in water and the accuracy is verified through Computational Fluid Dynamics(CFD) analysis. Finally, a controlled structure and a THMD are manufactured in the laboratory where the THMD is designed by the analytically optimal solutions. The results show that the semi-analytical solutions of motion equations derived by the harmonic balance method agree well with the numerical optimization solution, and analytical solutions of optimal parameters of THMD are highly accurate. The THMD outperforms the conventional TMD and heave plate under broadband harmonic loads according to the numerical and experimental analysis. the THMD outperforms the conventional TMD and heave plate under broadband harmonic loads. When the ratio of mass μ is set to 0.045, a THMD with a added mass ratio β of 0.031 has a 32.7% reduction in peak value of DMF compared to a conventional TMD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we study existence and asymptotic behaviors of solutions for mixed-type functional differential equation with state-dependence x ˙ (t) = f (t , x (T 1 (t , x (t))) ,... , x (T n (t , x (t)))). Because of complexity of state-dependent terms, it is so difficult to discuss its stability by Lyapunov direct method. Through an order-preserving transformation, we generalize Gronwall inequality to obtain boundedness and asymptotics of solutions. It can be regarded as an extension to Lyapunov indirect method. Moreover, we indicate that Krasnoselskii fixed point theorem also can be used to study existence of sign-changing solutions. Finally, we apply our method to iterative functional differential equations and provide two concrete examples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A facile and high-throughput resonance scattering imaging method for monitoring orientation-independent reaction activity of plasmonic nanorods was developed. Single-particle analysis is the most powerful method to obtain accurate local information for understanding and monitoring chemical reactions. However, investigations about obtaining comprehensive information at the single-particle level to overcome individual errors and sampling randomness have not been reported to date. Plasmonic nanorods, which have excellent anisotropic optical and chemical properties, make us in situ acquisition of conformation and dynamics of the biological information. On the basis of their anisotropic optical properties of the plasmonic nanorods such as Au nanorods (AuNRs) and data analytics, herein we developed a high-throughput resonance scattering imaging method of AuNRs under dark-field microscopy (DFM) to monitor orientation-independent reaction activity of AuNRs. Data analytics are introduced to determine a large number of AuNRs orientation obtained from a series of polarized DFM images, allowing us to real-time monitor reaction activity of AuNRs at all orientations, and also makes it possible to study the global and local reaction processes of AuNRs at single-particle level. Our method is expected to provide a new strategy for analytical study and single-particle sensing in chemistry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nanopolystyrene (NP) and phoxim (PHO) are common environmental pollutants in aquatic systems. We evaluated the toxic effects of exposure to ambient concentrations of NP and/or PHO in the intestines of the Chinese mitten crab (Eriocheir sinensis). Our study showed that histopathological changes were observed in the intestines. Specifically, NP and/or PHO exposure increased intraepithelial lymphocytes. Furthermore, NP and/or PHO exposure induced oxidative stress, as evidenced by a significant decrease in superoxide dismutase activity (SOD), peroxidase activity (POD), and total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC). Pro-inflammatory gene expression and transcriptome analysis demonstrated that NP and/or PHO exposure induced the intestinal inflammatory response. Transcriptome results showed that NP and/or PHO exposure upregulated the NF-κB signaling pathway, which is considered a key pathway in the inflammatory response. Additionally, the expression of pro-inflammatory genes significantly increased after a single exposure to NP or PHO, but it exhibited a significant decrease after the co-exposure. The downregulation of these genes in the co-exposure group likely suggested that the co-exposure mitigated intestinal inflammation response in E. sinensis. Collectively, our findings mainly showed that NP and/or PHO exposure at ambient concentrations induces oxidative stress and inflammatory response in the intestines of E. sinensis. [Display omitted] • Nanopolystyrene and/or phoxim exposure increased intraepithelial lymphocytes. • Nanopolystyrene and/or phoxim exposure caused intestinal oxidative stress. • Nanopolystyrene and/or phoxim exposure caused intestinal inflammatory response. • Co-exposure mitigated intestinal inflammation response in E. sinensis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• New Martini force field can better model the self-aggregation of single/binary surfactant system. • Synergistic effects in morphology transitions of SDS/CAPB have been successfully reproduced through MD simulations. • Martini 3b force field fails to simulate the viscosity changes of binary surfactant system induced by the evolution of micellar morphologies. Hypothesis: Structure and self-assembly of surfactants in the solution shows a fundamental influence on its viscosity. Through molecular simulations using Martini force field, synergistic effects in aggregation as well as the viscosity changes of a binary ionic surfactant system can be modelled. Simulations: Coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations are performed to model the SDS/CAPB binary surfactant solution, and both equilibrium and non-equilibrium methods are used to calculate the viscosity of the equilibrated micellar systems. Findings: Our simulation results indicate that the new version of the Martini force field can provide more reasonable self-assembly of surfactant, both single and binary system. Synergistic effects in micelle formation for SDS/CAPB have been successfully reproduced, that is, the formation of cylindrical micelles or even wormlike micelles at a lower concentration when compared with the pure system. Meanwhile, both equilibrium and non-equilibrium methods provide quantitatively comparable viscosity for each system. For pure micellar system, the viscosity linearly increases with the total concentration. Nevertheless, our simulation fails to capture the viscosity enhancement of the solution in corresponding with the formation of rodlike or wormlike micelles, and a full parameter optimization of force field is still necessary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By using a multi-model co-localization approach of DFM, LSPR scattering spectra and SEM, the novel LSPR effect of plasmon line shape with two distinct peaks is observed on single no. 3 (110.32 ± 14.63 nm) silver nanocube, and no. 2 (75.70 ± 9.05 nm) silver nanocubes are found to be more suitable as the light scattering probes due to the strong regularity and higher sensitivity. Insightful understanding of size-dependent optical signatures and precise regularity of nanosensors is critical for developing applications of plasmonic sensing. This work presents a systematic study on localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR)-based nanosensors of plasmonic silver nanocubes (AgNCs) with the edge lengths of 59.84 ± 7.97 nm (no. 1 AgNCs), 75.70 ± 9.05 nm (no. 2 AgNCs) and 110.32 ± 14.63 nm (no. 3 AgNCs), respectively. The effects of different sizes on the scattering signatures and refractive index (RI) sensitivities of AgNCs were in situ determined using the multi-model co-localization approach of single AgNC by dark-field microscope (DFM), LSPR spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The scattering light colour of single AgNC took place bathochromic shift from monocolour to multicolour with the growth of edge length of single AgNC. The LSPR scattering spectra of no. 1 and 2 AgNCs exhibited singlet and singlet with the shoulder peak from quadrupolar resonance mode, respectively. Compared with the scattering signatures of no. 1 and 2 AgNCs, the interesting LSPR effect of plasmon line shape with two distinct peaks was observed on single no. 3 AgNC. In situ studies on the scattering spectral response of single AgNC to the ambient solvents and probing the small-molecule adsorbates on the surface of single silver nanocube reveal that no. 2 AgNC is more suitable as nanosensor due to strong regularity and higher sensitivity. The mechanism involved in optical signatures was elaborated clearly by combining with the experiments and theoretical simulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The prognosis of patients with papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) who have undergone surgery is usually good. But surgery is risky for elderly patients. The outcomes of surgery or nonsurgery for the very elderly PTC patients have not been reported. Here, we investigated the effect of surgery or not on prognosis in very elderly PTC patients (aged ≥85 y). A retrospective study was performed based on data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results program. The outcomes of surgery and nonsurgery in very elderly PTC patients were compared using different statistical methods, including propensity score matching. A total of 1196 very elderly patients with PTC were enrolled in the study. Patients who underwent surgery (n = 871) had a much better prognosis than those who did not (n = 325) in both overall survival and cancer-specific survival (P < 0.001). In the multivariate analysis, nonsurgery was an independent predictor for both overall survival (hazard ratio = 2.066; P < 0.001) and cancer-specific survival (hazard ratio = 2.768; P < 0.001). Surgery is positively associated with an improved prognosis of PTC patients aged ≥85 y and is still suggested for these patients after appropriate risk assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

lncUCA1 is abundantly expressed in the heart, indicating it may be important in maintaining normal myocardial function. However, the underlying mechanism of lncUCA1 in heart disease, particularly myocardial infarction (MI), is still in its infancy. LncUCA1 and miR-143 expression were measured in hearts of MI models. Overexpression and knockdown of lncUCA1 in neonatal rat cardiomyocytes were performed to confirm the effects of lncUCA1 in hypoxia-induced apoptosis. The expression of lncUCA1 decreased but miR-143 increased inversely in MI heart. Overexpressing lncUCA1 protected cardiomyocytes from H/R induced apoptosis via inhibiting miR-143, which regulates apoptosis by targeting MDM2/p53 pathway. While silencing lncUCA1 caused miR-143 upregulation and H/R-induced apoptosis increase. Moreover, miR-143 was proved to be a competitive target of lncUCA1. lncUCA1 might protect cardiomyocyte against H/R induced apoptosis by suppressing miR-143 and modulated the following downstream MDM2/p53 signaling pathway, indicating the therapeutic potential of targeting lncUCA1 for MI. • UCA1 was downregulated and miR-143 was upregulated in MIRI, which promoted cell apoptosis. • UCA1 reciprocal interacted with miR-143 by direct binding to each other. • UCA1 protects cardiomyocytes against H/R-induced apoptosis by targeting miR-143/MDM2/p53 signaling axis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we study an initial-boundary value problem for the following mixed pseudo-parabolic p -Laplacian type equation with logarithmic nonlinearity in a bounded domain Ω ⊂ R n : u t − Δ u t − div (| ∇ u | p − 2 ∇ u) = | u | q − 2 u log ⁡ | u | , 1 < p ≤ q { < ∞ , if n ≤ p ; < n p n − p , if n > p , which is referred to as Showalter equation [1]. We focus on the initial conditions, which ensure the solutions of the model exist global, blow up in finite time and blow up at infinite time. Explicitly, we classify the ranges of p , q into two cases: (0.1) 1 < p ≤ q { ≤ 2 , if n ≤ p , ≤ 2 , if 2 n n + 2 < p < n , < n p n − p , if p ≤ 2 n n + 2 , and (0.2) 1 < p ≤ q and 2 < q < { ∞ , if n ≤ p , n p n − p , if 2 n n + 2 < p < n. Let J (u 0) be the initial energy (see (2.1) for the definition of J), I (u 0) be the vale of Nehari functional at u 0 (see (2.2) for the definition of I), d > 0 be the mountain-pass level given in (2.4) , and M ∈ [ 0 , d ] be the constant given in (2.6) , we get (i) If J (u 0) ≤ d and I (u 0) ≥ 0 , then the solution exists globally; (ii) If J (u 0) ≤ d , I (u 0) < 0 and p , q satisfies (0.1) , then the solution blows up at infinite time. Moreover, if in addition J (u 0) { ≤ M , if M < d , < M , if M = d , the growth rate of the solution is got; (iii) If J (u 0) ≤ M , I (u 0) < 0 and p , q satisfies (0.2) , then the solution blows up in finite time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is of great value to develop general, low-cost and even household methods for colorectal cancer detection. Here, a portable detection strategy based on a personal glucose meter (PGM) was designed for meeting this purpose. In this strategy, the anti -EpCAM coated magnet beads (MBs) were used as capture probes for enriching cancer cells and the aptamer modified and invertase loaded graphene oxides (GO) were used as report probes for producing glucose signal. This method is sensitive with detection limit as low as 560 cells, and demonstrates excellent detection specificity. Meanwhile, we succeeded in the specific detection of target cells in 20% human serum samples, indicating this method has great prospect in clinical diagnosis. Moreover, this method presents favourable universality for detecting different colorectal cancer cells by just using different recognition aptamers. Importantly, this method can be implemented for the target cell detection at room temperature without any expensive and large-scale instruments but a portable PGM. Therefore, this portable detection method possesses great potential in point-of-care detection of colorectal cancer cells. A portable detection method for colorectal cancer SW620 cells was successfully constructed by using a personal glucose meter. Image 1 • The aptamer and invertase modified graphene oxides were used as report probes. • A personal glucose meter was used for portable detection of target cells. • This detection method possesses great potential in point-of-care detection of cancer cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Non-ferrous smelting releases lots of heavy metals to the environment. Although numerous studies have focused on pollution in the environment, fewer have studied the adverse health effects. In the current study, samples of food, hair and urine were collected and analyzed for zinc (Zn), iron (Fe), chromium (Cr), nickel (Ni), lead (Pb) and copper (Cu) from residents of 3 villages near the largest copper smelter in China. The estimated daily intake (EDI), target hazard quotient (THQ), and Hazard Index (HI) were used to estimate and analyze the health risks to local residents (children, adults, and seniors). The Zn, Cr, Ni, Fe, Pb and Cu concentrations in food ranged from 16.02 to 61.48 mg kg−1, 0.23–13.64 mg kg−1, 0.10–5.90 mg kg−1, 19.16–170.05 mg kg−1, 0.15–3.62 mg kg−1, and 0.53–2.74 mg kg−1, respectively. Zn, Cr, Ni and Pb concentrations in all vegetables were above the national tolerance limits. Children had higher EDIs of heavy metals than that of adults and seniors. The THQ of single elements and the HI of combined elements indicated that the EDI of Pb and Cu showed the highest potential health risks, followed by the EDI of Zn and Fe, and Ni, Cr. High EDI of heavy metals resulted in much higher concentrations of heavy metals in hair and urine samples than those of normal Chinese residents, showing that residents around the smelter have potential health risks through daily food intake. The main sources of these heavy metals were from the consumption of rice and vegetables and it is imperative that measures should be taken to control this urgent problem. Graphical abstract fx1 Highlights • Health risks of food intake were studied in residents near a copper smelter. • Rice and vegetables were the two major pathways of the dietary intake of heavy metals. • Target hazard quotient and Hazard index showed heavy metal exposure was highest to children. • Smelter even pose adverse health effects to residents lived 7 km away. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract We previously confirmed that Nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor-2 (Nrf2) and heme oxygenase (HO-1) play synergistic roles in the pathogenesis of preeclampsia. To further explore the function of HO-1 in the pathogenesis of preeclampsia, we established oxidative stress models respectively with human first-trimester trophoblast/simian virus (HTR8/SVneo) and human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and then assessed the effect of HO-1 on the two cell lines in oxidative stress conditions. The cell oxidative stress models were incubated with Hemin (an inducer of HO-1), then, the HTR8/SVneo cells were transfected by ZO-1 small interfering RNA (siRNA). The HTR-8/SVneo invasive abilities were detected, and the tube formation abilities of HUVECs were measured. HO-1 and tight junction proteins zonula occludens-1 (ZO-1) and occludin in the cells were detected. In both the trophoblastic and HUVEC oxidative stress models, HO-1、ZO-1 and occludin were increased incubated with Hemin. Meanwhile, HTR-8/SVneo cells incubated with Hemin showed increased invasion function against the destruction of hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2). Similarly, the tube formation ability of HUVECs incubated with Hemin was increased. The above-mentioned effects were disappeared after HTR-8/SVneo cells were transfected by ZO-1 siRNA. These results suggest that HO-1 protects the function of placental cells in oxidative stress via regulating ZO-1/occludin. Highlights • We established HTR8/SVneo cells and HUVECs oxidative stress models. • An inducer of HO-1 regulated on ZO-1 and occludin in the two type of cells on oxidative stress. • Treated by Hemin, HTR8 cells invasion and tube formation of HUVECs enhanced in oxidative stress. • The above effects were disappeared after HTR8/SVneo cells were transfected by ZO-1 siRNA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Both Von Hippel-Lindau tumor suppressor (VHL) and Never-in-mitosis A (NIMA)-related kinase 1 (NEK1) are involved in primary cilium formation, but whether VHL could regulate NEK1 is unknown. Here, we demonstrated that renal cancer cells Caki-1 and ACHN with wild-type VHL expressed lower level of NEK1 than that of VHL-defective cells including 786-O, 769-P and A498 cells. VHL-overexpression down-regulated NEK1 in 769-P cells, while VHL-knockdown up-regulated NEK1 in Caki-1 cells. In addition, we found the hypoxia response element (HRE) in the promoter sequence of NEK1 and hypoxia induced NEK1 expression both in vitro and in vivo. HIF-2α knockdown blocked hypoxia induced NEK1 upregulation instead of HIF-1α, which indicates that NEK1 may be a new target of HIF-2α. Moreover, we confirmed the association between VHL and NEK1 in Caki-1 cell, then showed VHL promoted NEK1 protein degradation and ubiquitination. In conclusion, our findings showed VHL regulates NEK1 via both HIF-2α pathway and ubiquitin-proteasome pathway in renal cancer cells. Highlights • Identification of NEK1 as a new target for HIF-2α. • VHL can also regulate NEK1 via ubiquitin-proteasome pathway. • NEK1 has the potential of being a novel anticancer target under VHL/HIF pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract This paper deals with a fourth order parabolic PDE arising in the theory of epitaxial growth of crystal. We focalize the study on one open question proposed by Escudero et al. (2015) [4] , that is, L p -norm blow-up. For the initial energy J (u 0) < λ 1 6 ‖ u 0 ‖ 2 2 , we prove the solution blows up in finite time with L 2 -norm, where λ 1 is the least Dirichlet eigenvalue of the biharmonic operator. Moreover, the lifespan of the solution is got, and the results of this paper also generalize the results got by Xu and Zhou (2017) [12]. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • We propose a novel hypergraph matching algorithm based on tensor refining. • Our algorithm is accompanied with an alternative adjustment method to accelerate the convergence. • Demonstration of superior performances on benchmark datasets. Abstract Hypergraph matching utilizes high order constraints rather than unary or pairwise ones, which aims to establish a more reliable correspondence between two sets of image features. Although many hypergraph matching methods have been put forward over the past decade, it remains a challenging problem to be solved due to its combinatorial nature. Most of these methods are based on tensor marginalization, where tensor entries representing joint probabilities of the assignment are fixed during the iterations meanwhile the individual assignment probabilities evolving. This will cause some incomplete information which may hurt the matching performance. Addressing this issue, we propose a novel hypergraph matching algorithm based on tensor refining, accompanied with an alternative adjustment method to accelerate the convergence. We make a comparison between the proposed approach and several outstanding matching algorithms on three commonly used benchmarks. The experimental results validate the superiority of our method on both matching accuracy and robustness against noise and deformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Owing to their potential adverse health effects, global contamination by microplastics (MPs) has attracted increased scientific and societal concerns. However, in vivo studies on MP toxicity, along with its effects and underlying mechanisms, remain limited. We recently found that non-coding RNA (ncRNAs) contribute to MP-mediated vascular toxicity. Moreover, previous studies have identified N6-methyladenosine (m6A) modifications in ncRNAs as influencing factors in cardiovascular disease. However, whether and how m6A modifications in ncRNAs are affected by MP-induced cardiotoxicity remain unknown. Herein, we profiled differentially expressed ncRNAs and their related m6A modification profiles in MP-exposed myocardial tissue using RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) and methylated RNA immunoprecipitation sequencing (MeRIP-seq). First, we observed that MPs accumulated in different organs and upregulated apoptosis in the heart, liver, spleen, and kidney cells. Furthermore, total m6A and METTL3 levels increased in the myocardium after exposure to MPs. RNA-seq results revealed that 392 lncRNAs and 302 circRNAs were differentially expressed in MP-treated mouse myocardium compared to the control group. Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes enrichment analyses showed that these altered lncRNAs and circRNAs were closely associated with endocytosis, cellular senescence, and cell cycle signaling pathways, which may cause cardiotoxicity. Furthermore, MeRIP-seq data showed different distributions and abundances of m6A modifications in lncRNAs and circRNAs. Additionally, we identified differentially m6A methylated lncRNAs and circRNAs through conjoint analysis of the two high-throughput sequencing datasets and found that both m6A modifications and the expression of circ-Arfgef2 and lncG3bp2 were upregulated after exposure to MPs. This suggests that MP-induced m6A modifications in ncRNAs are involved in cardiotoxicity. Our findings contribute to a better understanding of MP-induced cardiotoxicity and new molecular targets for treating cardiac injury. [Display omitted] • Microplastics exposure induces m6A modifications of ncRNAs are involved in cardiotoxicity. • METTL3 induces total m6A levels, which may have a key role in MPs induced myocardial damage. • The circ-Arfgef2 and lncG3bp2 were selected for showing a higher m6A methylation level and expression in the MPs-exposed group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we study a nonlocal parabolic equation with singular potential on a bounded smooth domain with homogeneous Neumann boundary condition. Firstly, we find a threshold of global existence and blow-up to the solutions of the problem when the initial data is at the low energy level, i.e., J ( u 0 ) ≤ d , where J ( u 0 ) is the initial energy and d is the mountain-pass level. Moreover, when J ( u 0 ) < d , the vacuum isolating behavior of the solutions is also discussed. Secondly, we prove that there exist solutions of the problem with arbitrary initial energy that blow up in finite time. We also obtain the upper bounds of the blow-up time for blow-up solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We consider a thin-film equation. By exploiting the boundary condition and the variational structure of the equation, we consider the global existence and blow-up of the solutions. For the global solutions, we study the asymptotic behavior, and for the blow-up solutions, we study the upper and lower bounds of the blow-up time. Especially, we have derived the necessary and sufficient conditions for the solution blowing up in finite time when the initial energy J ( u 0 ) ≤ d , where d is the mountain-pass level. For J ( u 0 ) > d , we also study the conditions for the solution exists globally and blows up in finite time, and we also obtain some necessary and sufficient conditions for the solution blowing up in finite time when the initial energy at arbitrary level. Furthermore, we study the decay behavior of both the global solutions and its corresponding energy functional, and the decay ratios are given specially. The results generalize the former studies on this equation, such as the papers: Li et al. (2016) [16] , Dong and J. Zhou (2017) [4] and Sun et al. (2018) [23] . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fragile structure of the tomato fruit body leads to susceptibility to bruising caused by the aggressiveness of harvest and postharvest processes. Thus, grasping without damaging the tomato fruits is a key barrier to the replacement of manual labour by robotic harvesting. In this study, a four-element Burger model was used to express reversible viscoelastic behaviour and deformation characteristics of tomatoes at early and middle red-ripening stages. Additionally, creep tests were conducted to obtain the viscoelastic parameters of the Burger model. The model for plastic deformation of tomato during grasping was finally developed based on input force, contact time, and viscoelastic parameters. In order to explore the least damaging grasping pattern, plastic deformation caused by three grasping patterns (denoted as Pattern I, Pattern II, and Pattern III) were investigated and compared in our study. A linear function, a Butterworth amplitude square function, and an exponential function were used to represent the velocity variations in the three grasping patterns during the robot grasping operation. This was used to solve the model of plastic deformation of tomato, and the changing rules of tomato plastic deformations under different grasping patterns were analysed under constant grasping time. The results indicate that grasping Pattern III is the optimal grasping strategy, the lowest plastic deformation of tomatoes is obtained with grasping time t 0 = 1 s and grasping velocity v 0 = 1 mm s − 1 and the plastic deformations correspond to 0.0026 mm and 0.0098 mm for tomatoes at early and middle red-ripening stages, respectively. A grasping control experiment was also conducted under grasping Pattern III, and the correlation coefficient of 0.99 for the simulation and measured results indicated the rationality and feasibility of grasping Pattern III as the optimal grasping strategy. Our study provides a theoretical basis to optimise agricultural robot grasping. Highlights • Viscoelastic characteristics of tomatoes were studied. • Mathematical model for tomato plastic deformation during grasping was established. • Influences of three grasping patterns were comparatively studied. • Grasping control experiment was also conducted to determine the best strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fly ash (FA), a product of municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI), has been classified as a kind of hazardous waste due to its high content of heavy metals. FA may be reused in the construction industry or disposed of at landfill sites, and thus poses threats to both the environment and human health. This study sought to establish a scientific basis for accurate selection of suitable pH storage conditions for the FA. We evaluated the potential of MSWI FA sample from the Xinghuo waste incineration power plant, Wuhan, to solidify/stabilize the heavy metal (Cu, Pb, Zn, Cr, Cd, As and Mn) contents, when leached under different pH conditions. The concentration of a heavy metal in the leachate was assumed to inversely reflect the extent of its solidification/stabilization (S/S). The study findings showed that the raw FA contained higher levels of the heavy metals, which were above the acceptable limits. Extremely acidic conditions favoured heavy metal leaching compared to extremely alkaline conditions. The extent of S/S of heavy metals was generally very low under highly acidic conditions (pH ≤ 4), but increased with increasing pH. All the metals solidified/stabilized in pH media of 5–11, except Zn which was detected in the entire pH range. We conclude that changing landfill conditions which can affect the pH environment, will increase heavy metal leaching when the pH ≤ 4. As a result, waste which was initially classified as non-hazardous may later pose harmful risks to both humans and the environment alike. We propose pH of 5–11 as the optimum pH range for the treatment, reuse, and disposal of the ash sample. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is devoted to the study of a thin-film equation, which was considered extensively in recent years. We obtain the conditions for global existence and finite time blow-up of solution for the high initial energy case, i.e., J ( u 0 ) > d , while the previous works only considered the case J ( u 0 ) ≤ d , here d is the mountain pass level. Moreover, for the blow-up solution with J ( u 0 ) < d , we obtain the lower bound estimate of the blow-up time and blow-up rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing evidences indicated that Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) played pivotal roles during tumorigenesis in multiple types of cancers, including breast cancer. This study aimed to investigate the role and function of long noncoding RNA PVT1 in the progression of breast cancer and explore the transcription factor which contributes to the regulation of PVT1 in breast cancer. Our results indicated that the expression of PVT1 was significantly upregulated in breast cancer tissues, compared with adjacent normal tissues (ANTs). And the increasing expression of PVT1 was associated with clinical stage, lymph nodes metastasis, and overall survival in breast cancer patients. Using computational screening, a transcriptional factor binding site was found between SOX2 and PVT1 promoter and the interaction between each other was further verified by chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) analysis. In addition, ectopically overexpression of SOX2 can enhance breast cancer cell proliferation and invasion, while knockdown of SOX2 or PVT1 can severely attenuate this effect both in epithelial and mesenchymal types of breast cancer cells. Further evidences confirmed that overexpression of SOX2 can promote breast cancer cell EMT process; while silencing SOX2 or PVT1 expression can undermine this effect. These data suggest that elevated expression of SOX2 can activate lncRNA PVT1 expression promoted breast cancer tumorigenesis and progression. PVT1 may be a prognostic predictive biomarker for breast cancer, and the interaction of PVT1-SOX2 could be a therapeutic target in breast cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pulmonary fibrosis is a progressive and often fatal lung disease characterized by fibroblast proliferation and excessive deposition of extracellular matrix. Both TGF-β and Wnt signaling have been implicated in the regulation of organ fibrosis. However little is known about whether TGF-β-induced gene expression changes in Wnt signaling pathway could predict disease progression. In the study, we investigated the interaction between TGF-β and Wnt signaling in mediating pulmonary fibrosis by big data analysis, in vitro and in vivo experimental studies and clinical data analysis. We found that TGF-β1 treatment induces a marked upregulation of Frizzled-7 (FZD7) in human lung fibroblasts. FZD7 expression is also increased in animal models of TGF-β1-induced pulmonary fibrosis. TGF-β1 upregulated FZD7 expression in a Smad3-dependent manner. Functionally, knockdown of FZD7 inhibits TGF-β1-induced expression of α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), collagen I (Col I), fibronectin and connective tissue growth factor (CTGF). FZD7 inhibition further attenuates TGF-β1-induced pulmonary fibrosis in vivo . Finally our data demonstrated that FZD7 transmits non-canonical Wnt signaling by interacting Wnt5A in the regulation of ECM expression. Conclusion These results suggest that FZD7-targeted therapeutic strategies may be applicable for treating an array of fibrotic diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is aimed at giving a new blow-up condition of the following parabolic problem with singular potential | x | − s u t − Δ u = | u | p − 2 u , which was studied extensively in recent years. By constructing a new functional, we obtain some blow-up conditions which include the possibility of the initial energy J ( u 0 ) ≥ d , where d is a positive constant which will be given in the main part of this paper. The results of this paper extend previous results where only the case J ( u 0 ) < d was considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The structural and electrochemical properties of the layered perovskite oxides LaSrCo 1−x Sb x O 4 (0≤x≤0.20) were investigated to study the effects of substituting Sb for Co for application as cathode materials in intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cells (IT-SOFCs). The results of crystal structure analyses show the maximum content of Sb in LaSrCo 1−x Sb x O 4 to be 0.05 as a pure single phase. XPS shows that Co and Sb in LaSrCo 0.95 Sb 0.05 O 4 may possess mixed-oxidation states. The electrical conductivity increased greatly after Sb substitution. An improvement in the cathode polarization ( R p ) values is observed from the Sb-doped sample with respect to the undoped samples. For example, R p of LaSrCo 0.95 Sb 0.05 O 4 on LSGM was observed to be 0.16 Ω cm 2 at 800 °C in air. The main rate-limiting step for LaSrCo 0.95 Sb 0.05 O 4 cathode is charge transfer of oxygen atoms. These results indicate that Sb can be incorporated into LaSrCo 1−x Sb x O 4 based materials and can have a beneficial effect on the performance, making them potentially suitable for use as cathode materials in IT-SOFCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we consider a thin-film equation with nonlocal source, which was studied by Qu and Zhou (2016) [11] , where the authors derived the conditions for global existence, blow-up and extinction. We consider the case that the initial energy is positive and establish a blow-up result for this case. Furthermore, the upper bound of the blow-up time is derived. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biochar has been widely applied to remediate heavy metal-contaminated soils, but the environmental risk of the endogenous pollutants in biochar remains unclear. Two biochars with different endogenous cadmium (Cd) concentrations were prepared from background soil (BCB) and contaminated soil (BCC), respectively. We studied the effects of simulated acid rain (SAR) on the activation mechanism of endogenous Cd in biochar and Cd uptake of Cd by lettuce from the biochar-amended soils. SAR aging significantly increased Cd bioavailability by 27.5 % and 53.9 % in BCB and BCC, respectively. The activation of Cd from biochar may be due to the decrease of biochar pH and persistent free radicals (PFRs) and the increase of specific surface area (SSA) and O-contained functional groups in biochars. Two biochars at dosages of 2 % and 5 % rates did not change soil pore water Cd, but BCB and BCC at 10 % increased pore water Cd by 17.3 % and 219 %, respectively after SAR aging. SAR aging significantly increased the bioavailability of Cd in BCB and BCC treated soils than those before SAR aging. BCB application enhanced the biomass of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) and decreased the uptake of Cd. However, BCC addition at 10 % decreased the biomass of lettuce and increased the accumulation of Cd. In summary, endogenous Cd in biochar from contaminated soils has a potential environmental risk to plants and human health and the negative effects of endogenous pollutants from the biochars should be further investigated. [Display omitted] • SAR aging decreased biochar pH and PRFs, but increased O-containing functional groups and SSA. • SAR aging significantly increased endogenous Cd bioavailability for two biochars. • SAR aging increased the bioavailability of Cd in biochar-amended soils. • Lettuce biomass was decreased and Cd uptake increased with the dosages of BCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

T helper cells 17 (Th17) are recognized as key participants in the pathogenesis of chronic autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS). Regulation of Th17 differentiation is a valuable strategy for diagnosis and treatment of these complicated immune disorders. Here, by genome-wide expression profiling of microRNAs (miRs), we screened miR-30a, whose level was greatly decreased during Th17 differentiation and the process of demyelination disease, both in MS patients and experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) mice. Enforced constitutive expression of miR-30a in naïve T cells inhibited their differentiation into Th17, and in vivo overexpression of miR-30a resulted in fewer Th17 and alleviative EAE. Moreover, target prediction analysis and dual luciferase report assay revealed that interleukin-21 receptor (IL-21R) was a direct target of miR-30a, a finding consistent with the results that miR-30a downregulated the expression of IL-21R, while overexpression of IL-21R alleviated the inhibitory effect of miR-30a on Th17 differentiation. Taken together, our findings imply that miR-30a inhibits Th17 differentiation and the pathogenesis of MS by targeting IL-21R. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we consider a producer–scrounger model proposed in [6] . We prove that when the trivial steady state solution or the semi-trivial steady state solution to the system is stable, then the system admits no positive steady state solution, while if both the trial steady state solution and the semi-trivial steady state solution are unstable, then the system admits at least one positive steady state solution. Furthermore, in the one dimension case, we prove that the positive steady state solution, if exists, is unique. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

microRNAs (miRNAs) have been demonstrated to contribute to tumor progression and metastasis and proposed to be key regulators of diverse biological processes. In this study, we report that miR-1182 is deregulated in bladder cancer tissues and cell lines. To characterize the role of miR-1182 in bladder cancer cells, we performed functional assays. The overexpression of miR-1182 significantly inhibits bladder cancer cell proliferation, colony formation, and invasion. Moreover, its up-regulation induced cell cycle arrest and apoptosis and mediated chemosensitivity to cisplatin in bladder cancer. Furthermore, a luciferase reporter assay and a rescue experiment indicated that miR-1182 directly targets hTERT by binding its 3′UTR. In conclusion, these results demonstrate that miR-1182 acts as a tumor suppressor and may be a potential biomarker for bladder cancer diagnosis and treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent evidence suggests a potential pro-diabetic effect of selenite treatment in type 2 diabetics; however, the underlying mechanisms remain elusive. Here we investigated the effects and the underlying mechanisms of selenite treatment in a nongenetic mouse model of type 2 diabetes. High-fat diet (HFD)/streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic mice were orally gavaged with selenite at 0.5 or 2.0 mg/kg body weight/day or vehicle for 4 weeks. High-dose selenite treatment significantly elevated fasting plasma insulin levels and insulin resistance index, in parallel with impaired glucose tolerance, insulin tolerance and pyruvate tolerance. High-dose selenite treatment also attenuated hepatic IRS1/Akt/FoxO1 signaling and pyruvate kinase gene expressions, but elevated the gene expressions of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxyl kinase (PEPCK), glucose 6-phosphatase (G6Pase), peroxisomal proliferator-activated receptor-γ coactivator 1α (PGC-1α) and selenoprotein P (SelP) in the liver. Furthermore, high-dose selenite treatment caused significant increases in MDA contents, protein carbonyl contents, and a decrease in GSH/GSSG ratio in the liver, concurrent with enhanced ASK1/MKK4/JNK signaling. Taken together, these findings suggest that high-dose selenite treatment exacerbates hepatic insulin resistance in mouse model of type 2 diabetes, at least in part through oxidative stress-mediated JNK pathway, providing new mechanistic insights into the pro-diabetic effect of selenite in type 2 diabetes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Catalpol, a bioactive component from the root of Rehmannia glutinosa , has been shown to possess hypoglycemic effects in type 2 diabetic animal models, however, the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. Here we investigated the effect of catalpol on high-fat diet (HFD)-induced insulin resistance and adipose tissue inflammation in mice. Oral administration of catalpol at 100 mg/kg for 4 weeks had no effect on body weight of HFD-induced obese mice, but it significantly improved fasting glucose and insulin levels, glucose tolerance and insulin tolerance. Moreover, macrophage infiltration into adipose tissue was markedly reduced by catalpol. Intriguingly, catalpol also significantly reduced mRNA expressions of M1 pro-inflammatory cytokines, but increased M2 anti-inflammatory gene expressions in adipose tissue. Concurrently, catalpol significantly suppressed the c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase (JNK) and nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) signaling pathways in adipose tissue. Collectively, these results suggest that catalpol may ameliorate HFD-induced insulin resistance in mice by attenuating adipose tissue inflammation and suppressing the JNK and NF-κB pathways, and thus provide important new insights into the underlying mechanisms of the antidiabetic effect of catalpol. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Three types of g-C 3 N 4 (hollow nanotube, nanosheet and hollow nanosphere) were fabricated. • Morphology-induced piezoelectric property was revealed. • Nano-hollow tubular g-C 3 N 4 has advantages in absorbing stress to improve catalytic performance. • Various factors affecting the performance of piezocatalytic H 2 O 2 production were explored. • Active species were verified and new insight about the piezocatalytic mechanism was proposed. Piezocatalytic H 2 O 2 production has attracted significant attention as a green alternative to traditional anthraquinone methods with heavy environmental pollution and high energy consumption. However, since the efficiency of piezocatalyst in producing H 2 O 2 is poor, searching for a suitable method to improve the yield of H 2 O 2 is of great interest. Herein, a series of graphitic carbon nitride (g-C 3 N 4) with different morphologies (hollow nanotube, nanosheet and hollow nanosphere) are applied to enhance the piezocatalytic performance in yielding H 2 O 2. The hollow nanotube g-C 3 N 4 exhibited an outstanding H 2 O 2 generation rate of 262 umol·g−1·h−1 without any co-catalyst, which is 1.5 and 6.2 times higher than nanosheets and hollow nanospheres, respectively. Piezoelectric response force microscopy, piezoelectrochemical tests, and Finite Element Simulation results revealed that the excellent piezocatalytic property of hollow nanotube g-C 3 N 4 is mainly attributed to its larger piezoelectric coefficient, higher intrinsic carrier density, and stronger external stress absorption conversion. Furthermore, mechanism analysis indicated that piezocatalytic H 2 O 2 production follows a two-step single-electro pathway, and the discovery of 1O 2 furnishes a new insight into explore this mechanism. This study offers a new strategy for the eco-friendly manufacturing of H 2 O 2 and a valuable guide for future research on morphological modulation in piezocatalysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Time-averaged energy flow and energy density are of significance in vibration analysis. The wave decomposition method is more fruitful and global in physical sense than the state variables depicted point by point. By wave approach, the Timoshenko beam vibration field is decomposed into two distinct modes: travelling and evanescent waves. Consequently, the power and energy functions defined on these waves’ amplitude and phase need to be established. However, such formulas on Timoshenko beam are hardly found in literatures. Furthermore, the incoherence between these two modes is of theoretical and practical significance. This characteristic guarantees that the resultant power or energy of a superposed wave field is equal to the sum of the power or energy that each wave mode would generate individually. Unlike Euler–Bernoulli beam, such incoherence in the Timoshenko beam case has not been theoretically proved so far. Initially, the power and energy formulas based on wave approach and the corresponding incoherence proof are achieved by present work, both in theoretical and numerical ways. Fortunately, the theoretical and numerical results show that the travelling and evanescent wave modes are incoherent with each other both on power and energy functions. Notably, the energy function is unconventional and self-defined in order to obtain the incoherence. Some remarkable power transmission characteristics of the evanescent wave are also illustrated meanwhile. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Maintaining tissue homeostasis is a critical process during infection and inflammation. Tissues with a high intrinsic turnover, such as the intestinal epithelium, must launch a rapid response to infections while simultaneously coordinating cell proliferation and differentiation decisions. In this study, we searched for genes required for regeneration of the Drosophila intestine, and thereby affecting overall organism survival after infection with pathogenic bacteria. We found that Dpp/Gbb (BMP) signaling is essential for normal midgut regeneration, and that infection induces the BMP signaling ligands Dpp and Gbb. We demonstrate that Dpp is induced in visceral muscle and required for signaling activation. Subsequently, Gbb is induced in enterocytes after oral infection. Loss-of Dpp signaling in ISCs and transient committed progenitors called enteroblasts (EBs), or in EBs alone, led to a blockage in EC differentiation or maturation. Furthermore, our data show that down-regulation of Dpp signaling in the precursor cells including EBs also resulted in an increased number of abnormally small Pdm1-positive cells, suggesting a role of Dpp/Gbb signaling in EC growth. In addition, we show that Dpp/Gbb signaling acted downstream or in parallel to the Notch pathway to promote EC differentiation and growth. Our results suggest that Dpp/BMP signaling plays an important role in EBs to maintain tissue integrity and homeostasis during pathogenic infections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In this review, we introduce the biophysical and biochemical methods currently used to investigate the structures and stabilities of tetramolecular DNA G-quadruplexes containing chemical modifications. We hope this paper will guide others as they perform similar experiments leading to more information about the effects of chemical modifications on G-quadruplex formation. The structures of tetramolecular quadruplexes and some higher order structures based on tetramolecular quadruplexes are also described. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Highlights: [•] MTA2 is acetylated at K152. [•] Histone acetyltransferase p300 binds to and acetylates MTA2. [•] Mutation of the MTA2 acetylation site inhibits the growth of colorectal cancer cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] MsrB1 gene silencing increased disassembly of F-actin in hLE cells. [•] MsrB1 gene silencing induced inactivation of ERK in hLE cells. [•] MsrB1 gene silencing aggravate disassembly of F-actin induced by peroxynitrite. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In this paper, we revisit a diffusive Leslie–Gower predator–prey model with Holling-type II functional responses and Dirichlet boundary condition. It is shown that multiple positive steady state solutions exist under certain conditions on the parameters, while for another parameter region, the positive steady state solution is unique and locally asymptotically stable. Results are proved by using bifurcation theory, fixed point index theory, energy estimates and asymptotic behavior analysis. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Objective: The deregulation of E-cadherin is associated with Src/FAK signaling axis and histone deacetylase (HDAC)/EZH2 activity. However, the association between EZH2 and FAK and its clinical significance in endometrial carcinoma has not been reported. Methods: 202 archived cases of endometrial carcinoma (1996–2000) were reviewed and divided into two subtypes. TMAs were developed as per established procedures. EZH2, FAK, and pFAK immunohistochemical stains were performed and the expression was scored as negative (0), low (1) and high (2). Proper statistical analysis was used to assess the correlation between the expression profiles and the clinicopathological parameters and clinical outcome. Results: A total of 141 (69.8%) type-1 tumors and 61 (30.2%) type-2 tumors were identified. EZH2 overexpression was identified in 7.6% of type-1 tumors vs. 63% of type-2 tumors (p<0.001). FAK and pFAK overexpression was only seen in 24.8% and 1.7% of Type-1 tumors as compared to 72% and 58.8% of type-2 tumors, respectively (p<0.001). A positive correlation between the expression of EZH2, FAK, pFAK and PTEN (p<0.0001) was found. The overexpression of EZH2, FAK, and pFAK were significantly associated with high histologic grade, angiolymphatic invasion, lymph node metastasis, myometrial invasion and cervical involvement (p<0.01). Kaplan–Meier analysis demonstrates that the overexpression of EZH2 (p=0.0024), FAK and pFAK (p=0.0001) was significantly associated with decreased overall survival. Conclusion: The overexpression of EZH2, FAK and pFAK correlates with well established pathologic risk factors and may predict a more aggressive biologic behavior in endometrial carcinoma, transforming these proteins into potential therapeutic targets for treatment of endometrial cancer. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Background: Sepsis is associated with high morbidity and mortality, and survivors can present with cognitive dysfunction. The present study was performed to investigate the effects of hydrogen-rich saline (HRS) on oxidative stress in the brain, cognitive dysfunction, and mortality in a rat model of sepsis. Methods: A rat model of sepsis was induced by cecal ligation and puncture. Physiologic saline or HRS was administered intraperitoneally (2.5 mL/kg or 10 mL/kg) 10 min before the operation. The survival rate was recorded, and cognitive function was tested using the Morris water maze. The reactive oxygen species and malondialdehyde levels and superoxide dismutase activity in the hippocampus were observed to evaluate the oxidative stress levels. The caspase 3 levels were measured to detect apoptosis. The histopathologic changes in the hippocampus were evaluated by hematoxylin-eosin staining and the terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated deoxyuridine triphosphate nick end labeling assay. Results: Cecal ligation and puncture resulted in a poor survival rate, evidence of brain injury, and cognitive dysfunction. The hippocampal reactive oxygen species and malondialdehyde levels increased significantly, and superoxide dismutase activity decreased significantly. HRS reversed these changes in a dose-dependent manner. Conclusions: These findings indicate that HRS could attenuate the consequences of sepsis induced by cecal ligation and puncture in rats, at least in part, by the inhibition of oxidative stress. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common malignant tumors worldwide. The mechanisms by which hepatoma cells resist apoptosis induced by doxorubicin are largely unknown. MAPKAPK5 (MK5), also named as p38-regulated/activated protein kinase (PRAK), has been identified as a crucial mediator of skin tumorigenesis in mouse and colon cancerogenesis in human. Here, we describe a novel role of MK5 in doxorubicin-induced apoptosis in human hepatoma cells. Expression of MK5 was highly upregulated in hepatoma cell lines. Doxorubicin rather than other chemotherapeutic drugs reduced MK5 protein level in a time- and concentration-dependent manner in hepatoma cells (HepG2 and Hep3B). We further showed that MK5 degradation induced by doxorubicin was via the 26S proteasome. Remarkably, stable overexpression of MK5 led to decreased cleavage of caspase-3 and PARP and attenuated doxorubicin-induced apoptosis, while stable knockdown of endogenous MK5 sensitized hepatoma cells to doxorubicin, which was coupled with increased cleavage of caspase-3 and PARP. Taken together, our results firstly demonstrate that MK5 is degraded in response to doxorubicin and negatively regulates doxorubicin-induced apoptosis, providing novel insights into the molecular mechanism of doxorubicin resistance in hepatoma cells. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Brain-specific kinase 2 (BRSK2) was classified as an AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK)-related kinase and one of the substrates of LKB1. Studies on homologs of BRSK2 in mice, SADA and SADB, implied that it might be involved in the regulation of cell polarity and cell cycle. However, physiological functions and molecular regulatory mechanisms of BRSK2 are incompletely understood. In this study, we isolated a novel BRSK2-interacting protein, c-Jun activation domain-binding protein-1 (Jab1), which was reported to mediate degradation of multiple proteins and positively regulate cell cycle progression. GST pull-down and immunoprecipitation assays revealed the direct interaction between BRSK2 and Jab1 in vitro and in vivo, respectively. The co-localization between Jab1 and BRSK2 in the perinuclear region was observed. Intriguingly, Jab1 promoted the ubiquitination and proteasome-dependent degradation of BRSK2. Silencing of endogenous Jab1 increased the cellular BRSK2 protein level. Consistent with this, BRSK2-mediated cell cycle arrest at the G2/M phase in mammalian cells was reversed by exogenous Jab1. Taken together, our findings provide a novel regulatory mechanism of BRSK2 through direct interaction with Jab1. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In this paper, we investigate the existence, multiplicity and stability of positive solutions to a prey–predator model with modified Leslie–Gower and Holling-type II schemes where () is a bounded domain with a smooth boundary ∂Ω, the parameters , b, , () are positive numbers, u and v are the respective populations of prey and predator. Here, we say with is a positive solution of problem (P) if is a solution of (P) and in Ω. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Some of the most serious diseases are characterized by the presence of a specific secondary structure within DNA or RNA, often in the promoter or the coding region of the responsible gene, that enhances or disrupts expression of the protein. Structural elements that impact cellular function may also be formed in other genomic regions such as telomeres. Compounds that interact with such structural elements may be useful in diagnosis or treatment of patients. In this report, we present a FRET melting assay that allows testing of libraries of compounds against four different nucleic acid structures. Compounds are tested to determine whether they stabilize preformed secondary structures (i.e., whether they cause an increase in melting temperature (Tm )). This property is described by the ΔTm parameter, which is the difference between the Tm of the compound-stabilized structure and the Tm of the unbound structure. Model oligonucleotides are labeled with FAM as a fluorescent donor and TAMRA as an acceptor. The intensity of FAM fluorescence is recorded as a function of temperature. Melting temperatures are determined by the FRET method in 96-well plates; this assay could easily be converted into 384-well format. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Unmodified Fe3O4 nanoparticles do not stabilize Pickering emulsions of a polar oil like butyl butyrate. In order to obtain stable emulsions, the Fe3O4 nanoparticles were modified by either carboxylic acid (RCOOH) or silane coupling agents (RSi(OC2H5)3) to increase their hydrophobicity. The influence of such surface modification on the stability of the resultant Pickering emulsions was investigated in detail for both a non-polar oil (dodecane) and butyl butyrate in mixtures with water. The stability of dodecane-in-water emulsions in the presence of carboxylic acid-coated particles decreases as the length of the alkyl group (R) and the coating extent increase. However, such particles are incapable of stabilizing butyl butyrate-water emulsions even when the carboxylic acid length is decreased to two. However, the silane-coated Fe3O4 nanoparticles can stabilize butyl butyrate-in-water emulsions, and they also increase the stability of dodecane-in-water emulsions. Thermal gravimetric analysis indicates that the molar quantity of silane reagent is much higher than that of carboxylic acid on nanoparticle surfaces after modification, raising their hydrophobicity and enabling enhanced stability of the resultant polar oil–water emulsions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]