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Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women worldwide, with 70% being estrogen receptor-positive (ER+). Although ER-targeted treatment is effective in treating ER + breast cancer, chemoresistance and metastasis still prevail. Outcome-predictable biomarkers can help improve patient prognosis. Through the analysis of the Array Express database, The Cancer Genome Atlas-Breast Cancer datasets, and breast tumor tissue array results, we found that cytochrome c oxidase subunit 5a (COX5A) was related to poor prognosis of ER + breast cancer. Further studies revealed that COX5A was positively associated with metastasis and chemoresistance in ER + breast cancer. In vitro experiments showed that knockdown of COX5A was accompanied by a decrease in ERα expression, cell cycle arrest, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition blockade, resulting in an inhibition of proliferation and invasion. Knockdown of COX5A enhanced the chemosensitivity of breast cancer cells by decreasing adenosine triphosphate and increasing reactive oxygen species levels. We report that miR-204 can target and inhibit the expression of COX5A, thus, reversing the functions of COX5A in ER + breast cancer cells. We found that COX5A may serve as a prognostic biomarker in ER + breast cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A method for measuring the contact angle of the refrigerant falling film evaporation process is proposed. • The contact angle increases as the wall superheat increases in the evaporation process. • The relationship between the contact angle of R134a and the wall superheat is evaluated, and a correlation is developed. Rivulet is a very common form of flow during the refrigerant falling film evaporation process. In this work, a visual refrigeration cycle system is designed to observe the evaporative flow characteristics of R134a. The cross-sectional profile of the liquid film is obtained using a camera equipped with a charge-coupled device (CCD HV1351UM), after which the contact angle is measured by an edge detection technique and circle fitting under superheated conditions (0.2–1.8 °C). In the image fitting process, the pixels with the largest coefficient of determination (R2) are selected for fitting. The data show that the contact angle increases with the wall superheat because the increase in the wall superheat intensifies the evaporation at the contact line. In conclusion, we show that the measured contact angles lie close to the curve, θ = 12. 12 Δ T 0. 343 . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Cancer cachexia is characterized by weight loss, especially ongoing skeletal muscle loss, and is associated with poor patient outcomes. However, the molecular mechanism of skeletal muscle wasting is not fully understood. Objectives We aimed to investigate muscle fiber morphology and proteolysis system activity changes that may account for cancer cachexia and to relate these changes to patients' clinical phenotypes. Methods We divided 39 patients with resectable gastric cancer into 4 groups based on the presence of cachexia (weight loss) and/or sarcopenia (low muscularity), including a noncachexia/nonsarcopenia group (N, n  = 10), a cachexia/sarcopenia group (CS, n  = 13), a cachexia/nonsarcopenia group (C, n  = 9), and a noncachexia/sarcopenia group (S, n  = 7). Rectus abdominis muscle biopsy specimens were obtained intraoperatively. Muscle fiber size, ultrastructural architecture, and the expression of autophagic-lysosomal system (ALS) and ubiquitin proteasome system (UPS) markers were assayed. Results Mean ± SD muscle fiber cross-sectional areas were significantly decreased in the CS (460 ± 120 μm2) and S groups (480 ± 135 μm2) compared with the N (1615 ± 388 μm2, both P  < 0.05) and C groups (1219 ± 302 μm2, both P  < 0.05). In the C, S, and CS groups, the muscle exhibited tissue disorganization and autophagosome formation to different degrees. The levels of ALS and UPS markers were significantly increased in the CS, C, and S groups compared with the N group. Alterations in muscle fiber morphology and increased ALS and UPS activity were related to severe muscle loss, but not weight loss. Conclusions The ALS and UPS are simultaneously activated in cancer cachexia and may play coordinated roles in cachexia-induced muscle loss. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Secondary infection in patients with sepsis triggers a new wave of inflammatory response, which aggravates organ injury and increases mortality. Trained immunity boosts a potent and nonspecific response to the secondary challenge and has been considered beneficial for the host. Here, using a murine model of polymicrobial infection, we find that the primary infection reprograms granulocytes to boost enhanced inflammatory responses to the secondary infection, including the excessive production of inflammatory cytokines, respiratory burst, and augmented phagocytosis capacity. However, these reprogramed granulocytes exhibit "non-classic" characteristics of innate immune memory. Two mechanisms are independently involved in the innate immune memory of granulocytes: a metabolic shift in favor of glycolysis and fatty acid synthesis and chromatin remodeling leading to the transcriptional inactivity of genes encoding inhibitors of TLR4-initiated signaling pathways. Counteracting the deleterious effects of stressed granulocytes on anti-infection immunity might provide a strategy to fight secondary infections during sepsis. [Display omitted] • Sepsis induces innate immune memory in stressed granulocytes • Stressed granulocytes boost fatal inflammatory responses to secondary infections • Chromatin remodeling of the TLR4 pathway and metabolic shift work independently • Stressed granulocytes specifically target lungs by the CXCL2-CXCR2 axis In septic mice, Wang et al. identify stressed granulocytes with innate immune memory. These stressed granulocytes pose an amplified immune response, specifically causing lung injuries and increasing mortality during secondary infections. The study explains how stressed granulocytes determine host fate in secondary infections after sepsis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Ureaplasma spp. are known to be associated with human genitourinary tract diseases and perinatal diseases and Ureaplasma spp. Lipid-associated membrane proteins (LAMPs) play important roles in their related diseases. However, the exact mechanism underlying pathogenesis of Ureaplasma spp. LAMPs is largely unknown. In this study, we explored the pathogenic mechanisms of Ureaplasma spp. LAMPs by elucidating their role in modulating the cell cycle and related signaling pathways in human monocytic cell U937, which is highly related to the inflammatory and protective effect in infectious diseases. We utilized the two ATCC reference strains (Ureaplasma parvum serovar 3 str. ATCC 27,815 (UPA3) and Ureaplasma urealyticum serovar 8 str. ATCC 27,618 (UUR8)) and nine clinical isolates which including both UPA and UUR to study the effects of Ureaplasma spp. LAMPs on U937 in vitro. We found that LAMPs derived from UUR8 and both UPA and UUR of clinical strains markedly inhibited the cell proliferation, while UPA3 LAMPs suppressed slightly. Besides, the result of flow cytometry analysis indicated all the Ureaplasma spp. LAMPs could arrest U937 cells in G1 phase. Next, we found that the cell cycle arrest was associated with increased levels of p53 and p21, and a concomitant decrease in the levels of CDK2, CDK4, CDK6 and cyclin E1 at both transcriptional and translational levels after treatment with LAMPs derived from UUR8 or clinical strains, while only cyclin E1 was down-regulated after treatment with UPA3 LAMPs. Further study showed that p53 down-regulation had almost no effect on the distribution of cell cycle and the expression of p21. In conclusion, this study demonstrated that LAMPs derived from UUR8 and clinical strains could inhibit the proliferation of U937 cells by inducing G1 cell cycle arrest through increasing the p21 expression in a p53-independent manner, while UPA3 LAMPs could induce the cell cycle arrest slightly. Our study could contribute to the understanding of Ureaplasma spp. pathogenesis, which has potential value for the treatment of Ureaplasma spp. infections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acute ischemic stroke (AIS) is highly prevalent in patients with infective endocarditis (IE) and associated with high rates of death and disability. IE presenting as an acute ischemic stroke, especially recurrent concurrence of acute anterior and posterior circulation infarct, has rarely been reported. Herein, we report a case study of a 60-year-old man with a history of aortic valve replacement and was under warfarin, presented with recurrent acute ischemic stroke which was found to have no vegetation secondary to infective endocarditis caused by Streptococcus constellatus as the embolic source. This is the first case report of recurrent ischemic stroke secondary to IE without vegetation caused by Streptococcus constellatus involving concurrence of acute anterior and posterior circulation. We also then systematically analyze the cases with IE initially presenting as AIS reported in the literature to establish possible demographic, clinical, laboratory patterns, and prognostic features of these cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The prognosis of unresectable locally advanced gastric cancer is poor. We applied preoperative chemotherapy via intra-arterial and intravenous administration to convert an initially unresectable gastric cancer to a resectable cancer.Methods: From January 2005 to December 2010, 105 patients with unresectable locally advanced gastric cancer (T3-4N1-3M0) were selected for preoperative chemotherapy with 5-FU + leucovorin + etoposide + oxaliplatin + epirubicin (FLEEOX) regimen. 5-Fu (370 mg/m(2)) and leucovorin (200 mg/m(2)) were administered by intravenous infusion on days 1-5. Intra-arterial administration of etoposide (80 mg/m(2)), oxaliplatin (80 mg/m(2)), and epirubicin (30 mg/m(2)) was performed by Seldinger method on days 6 and 20, repeated two cycles. Patients who achieved partial response (PR) or complete response (CR) underwent D2 dissection, followed by four to six cycles of XELOX chemotherapy. The response rate, 1- and 3-year survival rate, and R0 resection rate were evaluated.Results: The response rate of preoperative chemotherapy was 78.1 % (82 of 105 patients), with 7 cases of CR and 75 cases of PR, respectively. After chemotherapy, a total of 78 patients (74.3 %) underwent surgery, and 67 cases achieved R0 resection (85.9 %). The 1- and 3-year overall survival (OS) rate of all 105 patients was 71.9 and 31.7 % (median survival time, 18 months). The 1- and 3-year OS rate among the 78 patients treated with chemotherapy plus surgery was 84.5 and 40 % (median survival time, 30 months). Patients treated with chemotherapy plus surgery had significantly longer OS times than patients who underwent chemotherapy alone (P < 0.01).Conclusions: Patients with unresectable gastric cancer may obtain a survival benefit from preoperative chemotherapy via intra-arterial and intravenous administration and subsequent surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Pyriproxyfen decreased the abundance and diversity of silkworm's intestinal flora. • Changes of the intestinal flora structure disturbed immune function of silkworm. • Trace pyriproxyfen triggered the silkworm's Toll and IMD signaling pathways. Silkworm (Bombyx mori) is a widely used lepidopteran model insect. Pyriproxyfen is an insect growth regulator (IGR) that can be used to control pests such as lepidoptera and diptera, and there is no research about its influence on the intestinal bacterial diversity and immune signal pathway of non-target lepidopteran insect larvae. In this study, we treated fifth-instar silkworms with trace pyriproxyfen (10−4 mg/L). The results showed that the abundance and diversity of silkworm larvae intestinal flora at the level of phylum, class, order, family and genus were all changed. The function prediction result showed that the functional changes mainly focused on transcription, amino acid transport and metabolism, carbohydrate transport and metabolism, signal transduction mechanisms, energy production and conversion et al. after exposure to trace pyriproxyfen. Furthermore, qRT-PCR results showed that trace pyriproxyfen exposure activated the transcriptions of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) genes regulated by Toll and IMD pathways. This research can lay the foundation for the study on the resistance of lepidopteran insects to pyriproxyfen and other juvenile hormone pesticides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary Rapid and comprehensive detection of drug-resistance is essential for the control of tuberculosis, which has facilitated the development of molecular assays for the detection of drug-resistant mutations in Mycobacterium tuberculosis . We hereby assessed the analytical and clinical performance of an assay for streptomycin-resistant mutations. MeltPro TB/STR is a closed-tube, dual-color, melting curve analysis-based, real-time PCR test designed to detect 15 streptomycin-resistant mutations in rpsL 43, rpsL 88, rrs 513, rrs 514, rrs 517, and rrs 905–908 of M . tuberculosis . Analytical studies showed that the accuracy was 100%, the limit of detection was 50–500 bacilli per reaction, the reproducibility in the form of T m variation was within 1.0 °C, and we could detect 20% STR resistance in mixed bacterial samples. The cross-platform study demonstrated that the assay could be performed on six models of real-time PCR instruments. A multicenter clinical study was conducted using 1056 clinical isolates, which were collected from three geographically different healthcare units, including 709 STR-susceptible and 347 STR-resistant isolates characterized on Löwenstein–Jensen solid medium by traditional drug susceptibility testing. The results showed that the clinical sensitivity and specificity of the MeltPro TB/STR was 88.8% and 95.8%, respectively. Sequencing analysis confirmed the accuracy of the mutation types. Among all the 8 mutation types detected, rpsL K43R (AAG → AGG), rpsL K88R (AAG → AGG) and rrs 514 A → C accounted for more than 90%. We concluded that MeltPro TB/STR represents a rapid and reliable assay for the detection of STR resistance in clinical isolates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the operation principle of thin-film gated SOI lateral PIN photodetectors, and an analytical model of depletion voltage is presented and validated by two-dimensional Atlas simulations. With gate voltage applied to achieve fully depleted (FD) condition in intrinsic region, the variation of intrinsic length ( L i ) on photocurrent and dark current characteristics, sensitivity, and speed is addressed. With L i between 1 and 10 μm, the simulated results predict internal quantum efficiency (QI) in excess of 95% even near 100% at a 400 nm wavelength. Also, QI can yield over 87% for the long channels. Under FD condition, the total −3 dB frequency value can achieve 16 GHz (19 GHz) for L i = 1 and 4.1 GHz (6.2 GHz) for L i = 2 μm with V K = 1.0 V (2.0 V). And a high ratio of more than 10 7 between illuminated and dark currents can be yielded for all detectors realized in 0.18 μm SOI CMOS technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human p53 is a transcription factor regulating the transcription of a variety of target genes. Under various stresses, its tumor suppressor function was activated by the phosphorylation of p53. In this study, we found that full-length wild-type p53 could form phase-separated condensates with the aggregation tendency in vitro and in vivo. The LLPS of p53 was regulated by multiple functional domains. Specific DNA could promote the formation of p53 condensates. Fluorescence recovery data after photobleaching revealed that the Ser392 phosphorylation enhanced the fluidity of p53 condensates. Fluorescence analysis suggested that Ser392 phosphorylation increased the p53 concentration in condensates involved in transcription initiation and the stability of p53-mediated transcriptional condensates. The experiments in cells showed that p53 was evenly dispersed in the nucleus, it formed the dynamic condensates under the UV radiation-induced DNA damage, and the Ser392 nonphosphorylatable mutant S392A p53 formed condensates with significantly reduced number and size. These findings revealed that p53 phosphorylation modified its LLPS behavior, and suggested a mechanism that phosphorylation regulated condensate preference. • Specific DNA mediated the formation of p53 droplets. • The p53 droplet was regulated by cooperation interactions of multiple domains. • Ser392 phosphorylation altered the condensate-partitioning behavior of p53. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Based on the semiconductor-device structure and equations, we analyze the operation principles of thin-film gated silicon-on insulator (SOI) Lateral PIN (LPIN) photodetectors, and obtain current–voltage models. With 800nm film thickness and 8μm channel length, we validate these models by two-dimensional (2D) Atlas numerical measurements and electrical simulations, including carriers distributions and current–voltage characteristics. In fully-depleted condition, our results predict the internal quantum efficiency as high as 97% at 400nm wavelength, a very low dark current around 1pA and a high ratio of more than 107 between illuminated to dark current with low-voltage operation. Optimizing the performances of photodetectors, our models have highly potential applications in optical storage systems. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

System-level thermal modelling of electric drive systems requires simple thermal models coupled with each other by the operation parameters of the drive systems. This paper presents a simple parameterized power loss model for insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) inverters, in which variables are relevant to the powertrain operation conditions and are routinely monitored. Combined with a two-impedance thermal model of the inverter with parameters fitted to the results of computation fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations, the resulted real-time model can provide accurate estimations of the junction temperature. The present power loss model combined with the simple two-impedance thermal model is very suitable to be used in system-level real-time thermal monitoring of an integrated electric drive system. • Simple analytical power loss model is proposed for IGBT module under SVPWM modulation. • Its representation in terms of electric drive operation parameters makes it suitable for integrated drive system modelling. • Temperature-dependent parameters of the power loss model are obtained from the module datasheet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: It has been demonstrated that colon operation combined with fast-track (FT) surgery and laparoscopic technique can shorten the length of hospital stay, accelerate recovery of intestinal function, and reduce the occurrence of post-operative complications. However, there are no reports regarding the combined effects of FT colon operation and laparoscopic technique on humoral inflammatory cellular immunity. Methods: This was a prospective, controlled study. One hundred sixty-three colon cancer patients underwent the traditional protocol and open operation (traditional open group, n = 42), the traditional protocol and laparoscopic operation (traditional laparoscopic group, n = 40), the FT protocol and open operation (FT open group, n = 41), or the FT protocol and laparoscopic operation (FT laparoscopic group, n = 40). Blood samples were taken prior to operation as well as on days 1, 3, and 5 after operation. The number of lymphocyte subpopulations was determined by flow cytometry, and serum interleukin-6 and C-reactive protein levels were measured. Post-operative hospital stay, post-operative morbidity, readmission rate, and in-hospital mortality were recorded. Results: Compared with open operation, laparoscopic colon operation effectively inhibited the release of post-operative inflammatory factors and yielded good protection via post-operative cell immunity. FT surgery had a better protective role with respect to the post-operative immune system compared with traditional peri-operative care. Inflammatory reactions, based on interleukin-6 and C-reactive protein levels, were less intense following FT laparoscopic operation compared to FT open operation; however, there were no differences in specific immunity (CD3+ and CD4+ counts, and the CD4+/CD8+ ratio) during these two types of surgical procedures. Post-operative hospital stay in patients randomized to the FT laparoscopic group was significantly shorter than in the other three treatment groups ( P < 0.01). Post-operative complications in patients who underwent FT laparoscopic treatment were less than in the other three treatment groups ( P < 0.05). There were no significant differences between the four treatment groups regarding readmission rate and in-hospital mortality. Conclusions: The laparoscopic technique and FT surgery rehabilitation program effectively inhibited release of post-operative inflammatory factors with a reduction in peri-operative trauma and stress, which together played a protective role on the post-operative immune system. Combining two treatment measures during colon operation produced better protective effects via the immune system. The beneficial clinical effects support that the better-preserved post-operative immune system may also contribute to the improvement of post-operative results in FT laparoscopic patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Overexpression of the Eph receptor tyrosine kinases in cancers is related to malignant transformation, metastasis, tumor differentiation, and prognosis. Down-regulation of EphA7 secondary to hypermethylation has been reported in colorectal cancer. In the present study, expression of EphA7 in gastric cancer cell lines and gastric carcinoma specimens was determined by quantitative real-time reverse transcriptase–polymerase chain reaction. The expression of EphA7 was reduced in all tested gastric cancer cell lines; however, there is marked variability in expression among gastric carcinoma specimens. Overexpression was observed more often in younger patients (aged ≤65 years) (P = .03) and in patients with advanced cancer (P = .031). Hypermethylation of the EphA7 promoter–associated CpG island was found using methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction. Down-regulation of EphA7 was significantly related to hypermethylation (P = .001), and the level of hypermethylation was greater in moderately differentiated tumors than in poorly differentiated ones (P = .03). We also performed immunohistochemical staining for EphA7 in 52 gastric carcinoma specimens and found that expression of the protein was consistent with its transcript expression, with the protein being significantly overexpressed in younger patients (P = .016) and in patients with advanced tumors (P = .033). Our data indicate that EphA7 may have roles in the pathogenesis and development of gastric carcinomas. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Tuberculosis recurrence after an initial successful treatment episode can occur from either reinfection or relapse. In a population-based sample and whole genome sequencing in eastern China, we aimed to evaluate risk factors for tuberculosis recurrence and assess the proportion of recurrence because of either reinfection or relapse. Successfully treated pulmonary tuberculosis patients with sputum culture positive results were recruited from five cities in Jiangsu Province from 2013 to 2015 and followed for 2 years for tuberculosis recurrence. Among patients developing a second tuberculosis episode, whole genome sequencing was performed to distinguish relapse or reinfection through a distance threshold of 6-single-nucleotide polymorphisms. We analyzed risk factors for recurrence and epidemiological characteristics of different types of recurrent patients. Of 1897 successfully treated tuberculosis patients, 7.4% (141/1879) developed recurrent tuberculosis. Compared with nonrecurrent tuberculosis, patients were at higher risk of recurrence in older age (adjusted odds ratio, 1.02 for each additional year; 95% CI, 1.01 to 1.03, p = 0.003), patients previously treated for tuberculosis (adjusted odds ratio = 2.22; 95% CI, 1.52 to 3.26, p < 0.001), or with bilateral cavities (adjusted odds ratio, 1.56; 95% CI, 1.05 to 2.32, p = 0.029). Among 27.0% (38/141) recurrent tuberculosis patients with successfully sequenced pairs, relapse was substantially more common than reinfection (71.1% vs 28.9%, p = 0.014). Endogenous relapse was significantly more common than exogenous reinfection in the first 2 years after treatment in eastern China. Prioritization of high-risk groups for recurrence, such as the elderly, with a previous tuberculosis diagnosis, or with bilateral cavities, may provide opportunities to reduce post-tuberculosis morbidity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Mg-adsorbed C 3 B system exhibits metallic behavior. • The electron depletion on the adsorbed Mg indicates a charge transfer from the Mg to the C 3 B. • All the gas molecules are chemisorbed on the Mg-C 3 B monolayers. In this paper, the adsorption behaviors of nitrogen based gas molecules (NO, N 2 O, NH 3 and NO 2) on the Mg-adsorbed C 3 B monolayers were investigated using the density functional theory computations. Firstly, the adsorption of Mg metal on the C 3 B nanosheet was considered. Our results suggested that the adsorption of Mg atom on the surface of C 3 B monolayer is a suitable strategy to enhance the sensitivity of C 3 B based sensors towards aforementioned gas molecules. The semiconductor to metal phase change occurred upon the adsorption of metal dopant on the C 3 B monolayer. The considered gas molecules were adsorbed on the Mg site of Mg-C 3 B sheets via chemical bonds, which indicates the superior media for gas sensing and adsorption. Besides, all the gas adsorbed Mg-C 3 B nanosheets exhibited metallic behavior. Thus, our findings indicated that Mg-adsorbed C 3 B nanosheet is an outstanding candidate for sensing nitrogen based gas molecules. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Monitoring and predicting the dam displacement of concrete dams has attracted increasing attention for ensuring the long-term health conditions. Most existing models focus on just temporal features and ignore the spatial features relations of monitoring data. To address these problems, a dam displacement prediction model based on multi-expert network is developed. In the proposed model, the long short-term memory network is employed to extract the temporal features of each monitoring sensor. Then the multi-head attention network is employed to obtain the spatial features and the adjacency values. The multi-expert graph is employed to describe the spatial relations between different monitoring sensors. The graph convolutional network is employed to integrate the spatio-temporal features and predict the long-term dam displacement. Through a real-world comparative study against eight prediction models, the proposed model performs better than other models in both cyclical and non-cyclical time series. Therefore, the proposed model is suitable for evaluating the dam health condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A new analytical modeling method for SPRM without curve fitting and parameter assumptions is proposed. • This model fully considers the nonlinearity of flux linkage, and the calculation process is simple. • Compared with the existing analytical models, this new analytical model has higher accuracy and good versatility. This paper proposes a new analytical method based on a small amount of measured flux linkage for a spherical reluctance motor (SPRM). This method is mainly divided into two steps, namely, measurement and calculation. In the measurement step, a measurement device is adopted to measure the flux linkage at four special positions. In the calculation step, the flux linkage-rotor angle curve is divided into three different stages, and the analytical expressions of the three different stages are established based on the measured results. This method only needs a few coefficients without curve fitting and parameter assumptions. The simulation and experimental results show that the proposed analytical method has higher accuracy and efficiency than finite element analysis (FEA) and the existing methods on flux linkage and torque calculation. Moreover, the discussion shows that this method has a good versatility for SPRM with different structure parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The measurement system of contact spherical actuator has the disadvantages of large friction resistance and poor rotor positioning accuracy. The structure or calculation of non-contact attitude measurement system is complicated. In order to solve the above problems, a multi-to-one wireless power transmission (WPT) spherical actuator attitude measurement method is proposed. The model of mutual inductance(MI) is built. This method effectively shortens the time of finite element analysis(FEA). Three motion states (spin, yaw and tilt) of actuator rotor are analyzed by using this measurement method. Compared with the micro electro mechanical system (MEMS) and fast complementary filter (FCF), the initial attitude error of this method is about 50% of that of the other two methods. Compared with MEMS method, the average angle error of WPT method is reduced by 35%. Experimental results show that this method has good real-time performance and repeatability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• First high-quality, chromosome-scale genome assembly and first complete chloroplast genome of water spinach. • Water spinach and the lineage (Ipomoea nil, I. trifida and I. triloba) diverged around 7.1 million years ago. • Synteny analysis revealed obvious one-to-one collinearity for all 15 pseudo-chromosomes between the genomes of water spinach and I. triloba , with small-scale interchromosomal rearrangements. • Species-specific genome expansion of Gypsy in water spinach. • Heavy metal associated genes were expanded in the water spinach genome. Water spinach (Ipomoea aquatica) is one of the most popular green leafy vegetables in Asia, with both aquatic and terrestrial characteristics. We report here its high-quality, chromosome-scale genome assembly through a combination of PacBio sequencing, short-read sequencing, 10 × Genomics and a high-density genetic map. This assembly contains 1,392 scaffolds (N50 = 2.75 Mb) covering 93.3% of the estimated genome (550.03 Mb). Of the assembly, 90% was anchored to 15 pseudo-chromosomes containing 162 scaffolds (415.77 Mb). We also assembled a complete chloroplast genome of 165, 294 bp with 111 genes, encoding 84 proteins, 8 rRNA, and 19 tRNA. This species includes 30, 693 predicted protein-coding genes. By clustering results of the genomes, there are 3,431 gene families specific to the four Ipomoea species and 34 gene families in common of O. sativa, U. gibba and I. aquatica. These genes from the 34 gene familes may be related to the aquatic characteristics of plants. Phylogenetic analysis reveals that I. aquatica and the lineage (I. nil, I. trifida and I. triloba) diverged around 7.1 million years ago. Synteny analysis revealed obvious one-to-one collinearity for all 15 pseudo-chromosomes between the genomes of water spinach and I. triloba , with small-scale interchromosomal rearrangements. Compared with Copia, there are more Gypsies in the genome of water spinach suggesting species-specific genome expansion of Gypsy in water spinach. The 4DTv analysis confirmed the WGD event in the ancestor of the Ipomoea lineage and Cuscuta lineage. Transcriptome analysis reveals that there are 23,828 genes co-expressed in roots, flowers, leaves and stems. We also found that heavy metal associated genes were expanded in the genome. The genome sequence is a valuable resource for functional genomics and the genome assisted breeding of water spinach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: To investigate the immunomodulating activity of Radix Angelica sinensis, three different Radix A. sinensis polysaccharide fractions (APFs, namely APF1, APF2 and APF3) were isolated by fractionation using gel filtration and were identified as the immunomodulators of murine peritoneal macrophages. In the present study, it was found that various APFs induced a significant increase in cellular lysosomal enzyme activity, nitric oxide (NO) formation, reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) secretion in macrophages in vitro. Furthermore, APFs dose-dependently stimulated macrophages to produce NO through the up-regulation of inducible NO synthase (iNOS) activity and the maximal effect occurred at a concentration of 500μg/ml by APF2, followed by APF3 and APF1 in decreasing order. Moreover, the predominant sugars in various APFs were identified as rhamnose, arabonose, glucose, galactose and the ratio of these monosaccharides differed from one polysaccharide fraction to another, which also affected the cellular effector molecule production in macrophages. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background: The optimal perioperative chemotherapeutic regimen for locally advanced gastric cancer remains undefined. We evaluated the efficacy and safety of perioperative and postoperative S-1 and oxaliplatin (SOX) compared with postoperative capecitabine and oxaliplatin (CapOx) in patients with locally advanced gastric cancer undergoing D2 gastrectomy.Methods: We did this open-label, phase 3, superiority and non-inferiority, randomised trial at 27 hospitals in China. We recruited antitumour treatment-naive patients aged 18 years or older with historically confirmed cT4a N+ M0 or cT4b Nany M0 gastric or gastro-oesophageal junction adenocarcinoma, with Karnofsky performance score of 70 or more. Patients undergoing D2 gastrectomy were randomly assigned (1:1:1) via an interactive web response system, stratified by participating centres and Lauren classification, to receive adjuvant CapOx (eight postoperative cycles of intravenous oxaliplatin 130 mg/m2 on day one of each 21 day cycle plus oral capecitabine 1000 mg/m2 twice a day), adjuvant SOX (eight postoperative cycles of intravenous oxaliplatin 130 mg/m2 on day one of each 21 day cycle plus oral S-1 40-60 mg twice a day), or perioperative SOX (intravenous oxaliplatin 130 mg/m2 on day one of each 21 day plus oral S-1 40-60 mg twice a day for three cycles preoperatively and five cycles postoperatively followed by three cycles of S-1 monotherapy). The primary endpoint, assessed in the modified intention-to-treat population, 3-year disease-free survival to assess the superiority of perioperative-SOX compared with adjuvant-SOX and the non-inferiority (hazard ratio non-inferiority margin of 1·33) of adjuvant-SOX compared with adjuvant-CapOx. Safety analysis were done in patients who received at least one dose of the assigned treatment. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT01534546.Findings: Between Aug 15, 2012, and Feb 28, 2017, 1094 patients were screened and 1022 (93%) were included in the modified intention-to-treat population, of whom 345 (34%) patients were assigned to the adjuvant-CapOx, 340 (33%) patients to the adjuvant-SOX group, and 337 (33%) patients to the perioperative-SOX group. 3-year disease-free survival was 51·1% (95% CI 45·5-56·3) in the adjuvant-CapOx group, 56·5% (51·0-61·7) in the adjuvant-SOX group, and 59·4% (53·8-64·6) in the perioperative-SOX group. The hazard ratio (HR) was 0·77 (95% CI 0·61-0·97; Wald p=0·028) for the perioperative-SOX group compared with the adjuvant-CapOx group and 0·86 (0·68-1·07; Wald p=0·17) for the adjuvant-SOX group compared with the adjuvant-CapOx group. The most common grade 3-4 adverse events was neutropenia (32 [12%] of 258 patients in the adjuvant-CapOx group, 21 [8%] of 249 patients in the adjuvant-SOX group, and 30 [10%] of 310 patients in the perioperative-SOX group). Serious adverse events were reported in seven (3%) of 258 patients in adjuvant-CapOx group, two of which were related to treatment; eight (3%) of 249 patients in adjuvant-SOX group, two of which were related to treatment; and seven (2%) of 310 patients in perioperative-SOX group, four of which were related to treatment. No treatment-related deaths were reported.Interpretation: Perioperative-SOX showed a clinically meaningful improvement compared with adjuvant-CapOx in patients with locally advanced gastric cancer who had D2 gastrectomy; adjuvant-SOX was non-inferior to adjuvant-CapOx in these patients. Perioperative-SOX could be considered a new treatment option for patients with locally advanced gastric cancer.Funding: National Key Research and Development Program of China, Beijing Scholars Program 2018-2024, Peking University Clinical Scientist Program, Taiho, Sanofi-Aventis, and Hengrui Pharmaceutical.Translation: For the Chinese translation of the abstract see Supplementary Materials section. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Low-level viremia (LLV) and virological failure (VF) led to immune activation. • LLV and VF patients showed comparable levels of thymic output and Treg subsets to virological suppression (VS) patients. • LLV did not impair the conversion of naïve to memory T cells among school-age children. Given the improvements in antiretroviral therapy (ART) in recent years, more pediatric HIV patients receiving ART are reaching adolescence and adulthood. This study investigated the influence of poor virological response (low-level viremia (LLV) and virological failure (VF)) on the immune system of these patients. HIV-infected, ART-experienced pediatric patients (n = 206) were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. The patients were subdivided into school-age children/early adolescents, middle adolescents, and late adolescents/young adults according to their age, and further classified into virological suppression (VS), LLV, and VF groups according to plasma viral load (pVL) measurement. Thymic output, T cells subsets, and immune activation were analyzed by flow cytometry. Compared with VS patients, VF patients displayed decreased CD4+ T cell counts, while LLV and VS patients had comparable CD4+ T cell counts regardless of age. Compared with VS patients, LLV and VF patients had higher percentages of CD8+HLA-DR+ and CD8+CD38high T cells, and the immune activation was positively correlated with pVL in VF and LLV patients. Thymic output levels (CD31+) and regulatory T cell subpopulations in LLV and VF patients were comparable to those in VS patients. LLV patients showed comparable percentages of T cell subsets (T N , T CM , T EMRA , and T EM) as VS patients in all age groups. LLV causes excessive immune activation although it does not impair T cell recovery or naïve-to-memory T cell conversion in pediatric patients living with HIV. Therefore, T cell immune activation should be monitored at the management of LLV during ART. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mutations in pncA gene contributing to PZA resistance was not clearly elucidated in China. To reveal the correlated mutations of pncA gene on pyrazinamide (PZA) resistance. 148 Mycobacterium tuberculosis clinical isolates were included from multi-drug resistant tuberculosis suspects. The MGIT 960 test and microscopic observation drug susceptibility (MODS) assay were adopted for PZA phenotype drug susceptibility test. 120 isolates with consistent MGIT 960 and MODS results were selected for pncA gene sequencing. 68 samples (56.7%) were resistant to PZA while leaving 52 PZA susceptible samples. Out of the 68 PZA resistant isolates, 49 (72.1%) harbored mutations of pncA , and 4 (7.7%) of the 52 PZA susceptible samples harbored mutations of pncA as well. Compared to the phenotype drug resistant pattern of PZA, the mutations of pncA gene reached a sensitivity of 0.72 to report PZA resistance and a specificity of 0.92 to predict PZA susceptibility. Those mutations, Gln10Pro, Asp12Ala, Tyr41Stop, Gly97Asp, Val128Gly and FSC131(ins) exceeding 5% of the total PZA resistant isolates of each, might be helpful but not adequate in PZA molecular susceptibility test design and development. • Mutations of pncA gene greatly contributed to PZA resistance for MTBC. • The mutations of pncA reached a sensitivity of 0.72 to report PZA resistance. • The mutations of pncA reached a specificity of 0.92 to predict PZA susceptibility. • Nearly 30% PZA resistant strains containing wildtype pncA gene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ultraconserved elements (UCEs) encoding noncoding RNAs serve as important regulators in cancer biology. Until now, the role of the UCE uc.189 in human cancers remains undefined and the clinical significance of uc.189 in esophageal cancers remains unknown. This study was to identify the prognostic value of uc.189 expression in esophageal squamous cell carcinomas (ESCC). Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was used to detect the expression level of uc.189 in matched cancerous tissues and adjacent noncancerous tissues from 152 patients with ESCC. The correlation of uc.189 with clinicopathological features and prognosis were also analyzed. The expression of uc.189 was significantly higher in human ESCC compared with the adjacent noncancerous tissues (122/152, 80.3%, p < 0.01), and the high level of uc.189 expression was significantly correlated with invasion of the tumor (p = 0.009), advanced clinical stage (p = 0.000), lymph node metastasis (p = 0.000), and poor prognosis. High expression of uc.189 might reflect poor prognosis of ESCC and indicate a potential diagnostic target in ESCC patients. Uc.189 might be considered as a novel molecule involved in ESCC progression, which provides a potential prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Longer-term deterioration in saliva secretion has been observed to occur in response to aging. The functional deterioration of the salivary gland damages swallowing and chewing abilities and consequently reduces life quality of the elderly. There are, however, only a few proven effective treatments for aging salivary secretion disorders. Ganoderma lucidum polysaccharide (GLP) has been applied to treat various diseases because of its safety, efficacy, and low cost. We investigated the protective effect of GLP on the submandibular gland (SMG) during aging. D-galactose (D-gal) was used to treat the aging mice, and the body weight, water consumption, saliva secretion, and flow rate were measured after 6 weeks of modeling. Micromorphological changes of the SMG were assessed by hematoxylin-eosin staining and transmission electron microscopy. RT-qPCR and Western blot were used to detect the expression of apoptotic proteins and inflammatory cytokines. Aquaporins (AQPs) and rhythmic protein expression were analyzed by immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence. The results showed that GLP effectively promoted the expression of AQP5, AQP4, and AQP1, inhibited the release of TNF-α, IL-6, and Bax, and reduced inflammation and apoptosis. Further experiments showed that GLP promoted the up-regulation of core clock genes and proteins and restored the co-localized expression of CLOCK and AQP5 that were weakened during aging, helping to attenuate aging-induced weight loss, decreased salivation, and structural and functional damage. The findings of this work contribute to understanding the nature of age-related modifications in SMG by identifying changes in AQP5 expression and regulatory mechanisms linked to SMG dysfunction during aging. GLP is a potential drug for maintaining healthy salivary gland (SG) status and preventing SG deficiency in the elderly. • Key aquaporins are decreased in D-gal-induced aging SMG. • GLP improved SMG secretion function, up-regulated aquaporins, and alleviated inflammation and apoptosis. • Circadian rhythm genes and proteins are decreased in D-gal-induced aging SMG. • GLP played a protective role in the SMG by stabilizing and upregulating the co-expression of AQP5 and clock protein. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Elucidating the mechanism for high metastasis capacity of triple negative breast cancers (TNBC) is crucial to improve treatment outcomes of TNBC. We have recently reported that nicotinamide N-methyltransferase (NNMT) is overexpressed in breast cancer, especially in TNBC, and predicts poor survival of patients undergoing chemotherapy. Here, we aimed to determine the function and mechanism of NNMT on metastasis of TNBC. Additionally, analysis of public datasets indicated that NNMT is involved in cholesterol metabolism. In vitro, NNMT overexpression promoted migration and invasion of TNBCs by reducing cholesterol levels in the cytoplasm and cell membrane. Mechanistically, NNMT activated MEK/ERK/c-Jun/ABCA1 pathway by repressing protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) activity leading to cholesterol efflux and membrane fluidity enhancement, thereby promoting the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of TNBCs. In vivo, the metastasis capacity of TNBCs was weakened by targeting NNMT. Collectively, our findings suggest a new molecular mechanism involving NNMT in metastasis and poor survival of TNBC mediated by PP2A and affecting cholesterol metabolism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]