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Objective: To assess the infiltration characteristics of tumour-associated macrophages (TAMs) in buccal mucosa carcinoma (BMC) and the correlation of these features with clinicopathological factors. Materials and methods: Immunohistochemistry was used to detect the expression of TAM-related markers (CD68, CD163, CD206), CD8+ T cell markers, PD-L1, and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) in 46 patients with mucosal cancer after radical surgery. In addition, the correlation between TAM infiltration and clinical characteristics, PD-L1 expression, and EGFR expression was analysed. Results: A high infiltration level of M2-polarized (CD206+) TAMs and M2-polarized (CD163+) TAMs was more common in stage T3–T4, N+, III–IV patients than in other patient groups (P < 0.05). The infiltration degree of M2-polarized (CD68+) TAMs was positively correlated with the PD-L1 TPS (P = 0.0331). The infiltration level of M2-polarized (CD206+) TAMs was higher in the EGFR high expression group than in the EGFR low expression group (P = 0.040). Conclusion: High infiltration of M2-polarized TAMs is highly associated with advanced disease stage and higher expression of PD-L1 and EGFR in BMCs, suggesting that M2-polarized TAMs infiltration can serve as a potential therapeutic target. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As one of the most common spatial light modulators, linear micromirror arrays (MMAs) based on microelectromechanical system (MEMS) processes are currently utilized in many fields. However, two crucial challenges exist in the fabrication of such devices: the adhesion of silicon microstructures caused by anodic bonding and the destruction of the suspended silicon film due to residual stress. To solve these issues, an innovative processing method assisted by temporary anchors is presented. This approach effectively reduces the span of silicon microstructures and improves the Euler buckling limit of the silicon film. Importantly, these temporary anchors are strategically placed within the primary etching areas, enabling easy removal without additional processing steps. As a result, we successfully achieved wafer-level, high-yield manufacturing of linear MMAs with a filling factor as high as 95.1%. Demonstrating superior capabilities to those of original MMAs, our enhanced version boasts a total of 60 linear micromirror elements, each featuring a length-to-width ratio of 52.6, and the entire optical aperture measures 5 mm × 6 mm. The linear MMA exhibits an optical deflection angle of 20.4° at 110 Vdc while maintaining exceptional deflection flatness and uniformity. This study offers a viable approach for the design and fabrication of thin-film MEMS devices with high yields, and the proposed MMA is promising as a replacement for digital micromirror devices (DMDs, by TI Corp.) in fields such as spectral imaging and optical communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) are common and aggressive malignancies. Immune check point blockade (ICB) therapy using PD-1/PD-L1 antibodies has been approved in several types of advanced SCCs. However, low response rate and treatment resistance are common. Improving the efficacy of ICB therapy requires better understanding of the mechanism of immune evasion. Here, we identify that the SCC-master transcription factor TP63 suppresses interferon-γ (IFNγ) signaling. TP63 inhibition leads to increased CD8+ T cell infiltration and heighten tumor killing in in vivo syngeneic mouse model and ex vivo co-culture system, respectively. Moreover, expression of TP63 is negatively correlated with CD8+ T cell infiltration and activation in patients with SCC. Silencing of TP63 enhances the anti-tumor efficacy of PD-1 blockade by promoting CD8+ T cell infiltration and functionality. Mechanistically, TP63 and STAT1 mutually suppress each other to regulate the IFNγ signaling by co-occupying and co-regulating their own promoters and enhancers. Together, our findings elucidate a tumor-extrinsic function of TP63 in promoting immune evasion of SCC cells. Over-expression of TP63 may serve as a biomarker predicting the outcome of SCC patients treated with ICB therapy, and targeting TP63/STAT/IFNγ axis may enhance the efficacy of ICB therapy for this deadly cancer.TP63 is a master regulator transcription factor in squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs). Here the authors report that TP63 suppresses IFNγ signaling in SCC tumors and that its inhibition is associated with enhanced anti-tumor immunity and response to anti-PD1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vaccinium uliginosum Linn. is an important wild fruit resource in China. It is primarily distributed throughout the forest regions of Da Xing'an, Xiao Xing'an, and Changbai Mountains. However, to the best of our knowledge, its genetic diversity and structure have not been reported yet. In this study, 378 wild V. uliginosum samples from 12 different populations were analyzed for genetic diversity and structure using chloroplast matK and expressed sequence tag-derived simple sequence repeat high-throughput sequencing (EST-SSRseq) molecular markers. The results indicated that the level of genetic diversity in the natural populations of Chinese V. uliginosum was low, genetic variation was noted among the populations, and genetic differentiation among the populations was not apparent. Based on STRUCTURE analysis, the 12 analyzed populations were divided into two subgroups, Da Xing'an and Changbai Mountains, and only a small amount of gene exchange was observed between these subgroups. Geographical isolation and asexual reproduction were the primary reasons for the low genetic diversity. Thus, a combination of in situ protection and artificial domestic cultivation may help protect wild V. uliginosum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLS) play a critical role on the exacerbation and deterioration of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Aberrant activation of FLS pyroptosis signaling is responsible for the hyperplasia of synovium and destruction of cartilage of RA. This study investigated the screened traditional Chinese medicine berberine (BBR), an active alkaloid extracted from the Coptis chinensis plant, that regulates the pyroptosis of FLS and secretion of inflammatory factors in rheumatoid arthritis. Methods: First, BBR was screened using a high-throughput drug screening strategy, and its inhibitory effect on RA-FLS was verified by in vivo and in vitro experiments. Second, BBR was intraperitoneally administrated into the collagen-induced arthritis rat model, and the clinical scores, arthritis index, and joint HE staining were evaluated. Third, synovial tissues of CIA mice were collected, and the expression of NLRP3, cleaved-caspase-1, GSDMD-N, Mst1, and YAP was detected by Western blot. Results: The administration of BBR dramatically alleviated the severity of collagen-induced arthritis rat model with a decreased clinical score and inflammation reduction. In addition, BBR intervention significantly attenuates several pro-inflammatory cytokines (interleukin-1β, interleukin-6, interleukin-17, and interleukin-18). Moreover, BBR can reduce the pyroptosis response (caspase-1, NLR family pyrin domain containing 3, and gasdermin D) of the RA-FLS in vitro, activating the Hippo signaling pathway (Mammalian sterile 20-like kinase 1, yes-associated protein, and transcriptional enhanced associate domains) so as to inhibit the pro-inflammatory effect of RA-FLS. Conclusion: These results support the role of BBR in RA and may have therapeutic implications by directly repressing the activation, migration of RA-FLS, which contributing to the attenuation of the progress of CIA. Therefore, targeting PU.1 might be a potential therapeutic approach for RA. Besides, BBR inhibited RA-FLS pyroptosis by downregulating of NLRP3 inflammasomes (NLRP3, caspase-1) and eased the pro-inflammatory activities via activating the Hippo signaling pathway, thereby improving the symptom of CIA. Key Points • The administration of berberine (BBR) dramatically alleviated the severity of CIA model with a decreased clinic score and joint inflammation. • BBR inhibited the pyroptosis of RA-FLS by downregulating of NLRP3 inflammasomes and activating the Hippo signaling pathway, contributing to the suppression of RA progress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Physics informed neural network (PINN) has become a promising method for solving partial differential equations (PDEs). The loss function of PINN is a weighted sum of multiple items. This makes it easy to fall into local optima, especially the gradient pathologies when solving high frequency problems. The value of penalty coefficients has a crucial impact on the prediction results. Therefore, a new PINN with adaptive penalty coefficients iteratively optimized by biased multiobjective coevolutionary algorithm (BC-PINN) is presented. In BC-PINN, a two-stage optimization mechanism is used to search for parameters of neural network and penalty coefficients respectively. This method involves constructing the fitness function of penalty coefficients based on the biased dominance ranking by data item and regularization item. Compared with the previous works of others, the accuracy of fitting the initial conditions and boundary conditions is considered to be given priority, which is more conducive to PINN converging to the particular solution of PDE. In addition, the set of penalty coefficients is divided into multiple populations to improve the optimization efficiency through coevolutionary algorithm. The empirical results show that: (1) Our method can improve the gradient pathologies and effectively capture the high-frequency features. (2) Compared to the original PINN, it reduces the MSE by 1–6 orders of magnitude in our benchmark functions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study detection of genuine multipartite entanglement based on one-particle loss operator. We obtain a criterion on detecting genuine pure tripartite entanglement. The results are then generalized to arbitrary pure multipartite states. For mixed states by using the correlation tensors of the Bloch representation of density matrices, we obtain an effective criterion of arbitrary dimensional genuine tripartite entanglement. Detailed examples are given to show that our criterion is able to detect more genuine tripartite entanglement states than some existing criteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This cohort study sought to investigate the effects of phthalates exposure during pregnancy on offspring asthma and its association with placental stress and inflammatory factor mRNA expression levels. A total of 3474 pregnant women from the China Ma'anshan birth cohort participated in this study. Seven phthalate metabolites were detected in urine samples during pregnancy by solid phase extraction–high-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. Placenta stress and inflammation mRNA expression were assessed by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). Early pregnancy may be the critical period when phthalates exposure increases the risk of asthma in infants and young children, and there is a certain gender difference in the risk of asthma in infants and young children. Moreover, through the placenta stress and inflammatory factor associated with infant asthma found anti-inflammatory factor of interleukin-10 (IL-10) mRNA expression will reduce the risk of 36-month-old male infant asthma. The expression of interleukin-4(IL-4) and macrophage (M2) biomarker cluster of differentiation 206(CD206) mRNA reduced the risk of asthma in 18-month-old female infants. Placental stress and inflammatory response were analyzed using mediating effects. Tumor necrosis factor-α (TNFα) showed a complete mediating effect between mono-benzyl phthalate (MBzP) exposure in early pregnancy and asthma in 12-month-old males, and IL-10 also showed a complete mediating effect between mono-n-butyl phthalate (MBP) exposure in early and late pregnancy and asthma in 36-month-old males. In summary, exposure to phthalates during pregnancy may contribute to the development of asthma in infants, which may be associated with placental stress and inflammation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, we propose a new method of particle swarm optimization combined with Monte Carlo simulation (PSO–MC for short) to investigate the magnetic properties of the perovskite LaFeO3 structure described by Ising model. First, we use the particle swarm optimization algorithm to calculate the exchange coupling, and then we use the Monte Carlo method to simulate the effects of the crystal field and the external magnetic field on the magnetization, magnetic susceptibility, entropy, phase transition temperature and internal energy of the perovskite LaFeO3. In addition, the effects of the crystal field and temperature on hysteresis loops of LaFeO3 are studied, and the changes of the coercivity and remanence under different parameters are obtained. This paper also compares the research results with the relevant theoretical and experimental results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purinergic signaling is involved in multiple pain processes. P2X3 receptor is a key target in pain therapeutics, while A1 adenosine receptor signaling plays a role in analgesia. However, it remains unclear whether there is a link between them in pain. The present results showed that the A1 adenosine receptor agonist N6-cyclopentyladenosine (CPA) concentration dependently suppressed P2X3 receptor–mediated and α,β-methylene-ATP (α,β-meATP)–evoked inward currents in rat dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons. CPA significantly decreased the maximal current response to α,β-meATP, as shown a downward shift of the concentration–response curve for α,β-meATP. CPA suppressed ATP currents in a voltage-independent manner. Inhibition of ATP currents by CPA was completely prevented by the A1 adenosine receptor antagonist KW-3902, and disappeared after the intracellular dialysis of either the Gi/o protein inhibitor pertussis toxin, the adenylate cyclase activator forskolin, or the cAMP analog 8-Br-cAMP. Moreover, CPA suppressed the membrane potential depolarization and action potential bursts, which were induced by α,β-meATP in DRG neurons. Finally, CPA relieved α,β-meATP-induced nociceptive behaviors in rats by activating peripheral A1 adenosine receptors. These results indicated that CPA inhibited the activity of P2X3 receptors in rat primary sensory neurons by activating A1 adenosine receptors and its downstream cAMP signaling pathway, revealing a novel peripheral mechanism underlying its analgesic effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cryptic species are prevalent among mammals, and identifying morphological methods or measurements that can effectively distinguish cryptic species has high significance in taxonomy. Three of the white-bellied rats, Niviventer confucianus, N. fulvescens and N. huang (Rodentia: Muridae), have such similar morphological characteristics that taxonomists have not been able to effectively identify them according to their morphologies. Recent studies have determined that the N. fulvescens species complex contains multiple species, indicating that previous morphological comparisons were potentially based on inaccurate species identifications, leading to false conclusions. To clarify whether the morphological differences among these three species can be used for identification, a variety of morphological methods and measurements were combined with molecular species identification to ensure accurate identifications prior to comparing morphological characteristics. The results showed that: (1) only N. confucianus has a white tail tip, distinguishing this species from the other two species but not N. fulvescens from N. huang; and (2) the tail length of N. fulvescens and ear length of N. confucianus are greater than those of the other species. Traditional morphological methods cannot differentiate these species well, with the discrimination rate reaching more than 90%; therefore, they can only be used as auxiliary methods for morphological identification. Additionally: (3) the geometric morphological results of the four skull views can be combined to distinguish the three species, among which the discrimination rate of lateral view of mandible reaches 98%, making it effective for differentiating these species; and (4) the phallic morphologies of the three species differed significantly in the presence of a dorsal groove, thickness of the distal baculum, and the positional relationship between the distal and proximal baccula; thus, this approach can completely distinguish these species. This study examines the applicability of various morphological measurements for the identification of highly morphologically similar species, provides a reference for distinguishing cryptic species produced by convergent evolution or incomplete differentiation by morphology, and suggests that phallic morphology should be the primary characteristic for differentiating such species in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Antibody–drug conjugates (ADCs) represent a crucial component of targeted therapies in gastric cancer, potentially altering traditional treatment paradigms. Many ADCs have entered rigorous clinical trials based on biological theories and preclinical experiments. Modality trials have also been conducted in combination with monoclonal antibody therapies, chemotherapies, immunotherapies, and other treatments to enhance the efficacy of drug coordination effects. However, ADCs exhibit limitations in treating gastric cancer, including resistance triggered by their structure or other factors. Ongoing intensive researches and preclinical experiments are yielding improvements, while enhancements in drug development processes and concomitant diagnostics during the therapeutic period actively boost ADC efficacy. The optimal treatment strategy for gastric cancer patients is continually evolving. This review summarizes the clinical progress of ADCs in treating gastric cancer, analyzes the mechanisms of ADC combination therapies, discusses resistance patterns, and offers a promising outlook for future applications in ADC drug development and companion diagnostics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to analyze the non-linear and uncertain relationships among the student-related features, curriculum-related features as well as the environment-related features, and then quantify the corresponding impacts on students' final MOOC performance in a valid way, we first construct a Students' performance Prediction Bayesian Network (SPBN) via the hill-climbing and maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) method. With SPBN, we can predict the students' MOOC performance and then quantify the uncertain dependencies of all the relevant features. Furthermore, with the prediction results of SPBN, we further apply the genetic algorithm (GA) to offer the personal performance improvement suggestions for those who are about to fail the courses according to different students' background and their current engagement behaviors, so as to avoid the MOOC exam failures in advance. The experiments conducted on the Open University Learning Analytics Dataset (OULAD) have shown that the SPBN can predict students' performance in MOOC accurately, and the GA-based method can offer the reasonable performance improvement suggestions effectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Nucleic acid testing is a reliable method for diagnosing viral infection in clinical samples. However, when the number of cases is huge and there are individual differences in the virus itself, the probability of false-negative results increases. With the advancement in research on the new coronavirus, new detection technologies that use serum-specific antibodies as detection targets have been developed. These detection technologies have high efficiency and shorter turnaround time, which ultimately shortens the time required for diagnosis. This article summarizes the methods that have been reported to date for the detection of the new coronavirus and discusses their principles and technical characteristics. Aims: Compare the advantages and disadvantages of various SARS-CoV-2 detection methods and analyze their principles. Methods: Searched reports on SARS-CoV-2 detection methods published so far, extracted the data and analyzed them. Use the primer blast function of NCBI to analyze the primers used in qRT-PCR detection. Results: The detection sensitivity was the highest when nucleocapsid protein gene was used as the target, reaching 96.6%. The detection efficiency of the remaining targets ranged from 66.7% to 96.0%. Various new detection methods, like Serum specific antibody detection, can speed up the test time. However, due to the complexity of the method and higher testing requirements, it seems that it cannot be used as a complete replacement for qRT-PRC testing. Conclusions: With the advancement of technology and the improvement of methods, the detection methods of SARSCoV-2 have become more mature. These advances provided great help to the detection of SARS-CoV-2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the cloud-edge collaborative environment, the edge server manager will divide the physical resources based on virtualization technology, so as to deploy multiple applications on the same server. However, due to the imperfect virtualization technology and the complexity and dynamics of the applications deployed on virtual machines (VMs), it is difficult for cloud service providers to evaluate the performance of VMs and thus cannot implement dynamic resource management effectively. To address this problem, this paper proposes an adaptive resource allocation approach. Firstly, we use the profiling tools to collect hardware counters and corresponding performance that reflect the resource usage in real time. Then, we select the data instances that contribute more to the performance prediction based on Gradient-based One Side Sampling (GOSS) to build a VM performance prediction model. When the prediction results indicate the performance cannot meet users’ requirements, we further apply one of the reinforcement learning framework-Deep Deterministic Policy Gradient (DDPG) to optimize the allocation of fine-grained resources. Our proposed method enables adaptive allocation of fine-grained resources in cloud environment, and the extensive experiments demonstrate that the average accuracy of performance prediction by our proposed method surpasses 95%, whereas the metrics derived from the others ranges only between 75 and 97.5%. Furthermore, the average accuracy by our proposed method on the several benchmark applications is 88.4%, gaining a performance improvement of 9.1% compared to the suboptimal baseline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study is to investigate the mediating effect of placental inflammatory biomarkers on the relationship between prenatal phthalate coexposure and cognitive development in preschoolers. A subgroup of 1660 mother-child pairs from the Ma'anshan Birth Cohort study were included. We measured the levels of phthalate metabolites of dibutyl phthalate (DBP), butyl benzyl phthalate (BBzP), and di (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) in all the women included in the study from three urine samples collected in each of the trimesters. A potency-weighted sum of coexposure to DBP, BBzP, and DEHP (indicator: ∑PAE) was calculated. The mRNA of the proinflammatory cytokine IL-6 and the classically activated macrophage (M1) biomarker CD68 was analyzed using placental tissues. The Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence-Fourth Edition-Chinese was used to evaluate the full-scale intelligence quotient (FSIQ) of children aged 2.5–6 years. Average ∑PAEs and ∑PAEs in each trimester were associated with IL-6 and CD68. ∑PAE in the first trimester was positively associated with IL-6 (β = 0.11, 95% CIs = 0.03–0.19) and CD68 (β = 0.16, 95% CIs = 0.04–0.28), and negatively associated with FSIQ (β =−0.06, 95% CIs = −0.11 to −0.02), verbal comprehension (β =−0.06, 95% CIs = −0.11 to −0.01), and processing speed (β =−0.07, 95% CIs = −0.12 to −0.01). Additionally, sex discrepancies were observed for the mediating effects of placental inflammation on the relationships between ∑PAE and children's cognitive development. For instance, the association between ∑PAE in early pregnancy and FSIQ was partially mediated by IL-6 (estimated proportion mediated: 21.85%) and CD68 (estimated proportion mediated: 16.2%). Gender-specific associations and trimester-specific relationships of prenatal multiple phthalate coexposure were revealed. ∑PAE in the first trimester of pregnancy was associated with increased of placental inflammation, and a decrease in preschoolers' cognitive development. In boys, placental IL-6 and CD68 elevation resulting from phthalates might be potential mechanisms of poor cognitive development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: We want to investigate the effect of aquaporin-4 (AQP4) on cerebral edema induced by ischemic stroke in rats and explore whether inhibiting the expression of AQP4 through acetazolamide (AZA) could attenuate brain edema and protect cerebral function. Methods: The Sprague Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into four groups: sham + saline group, sham + AZA group, AZA intervention group, and nonintervention group. Each group was divided into five subgroups according to the time of cerebral ischemia (6 h, 1 day, 3 days, 5 days, and 7 days). The model of cerebral infarction in rats was adopted by means of the bilateral carotid arteries ligation (2-VO) method. The rats in intervention group were given intraperitoneal injection of AZA (35 mg/kg/day). Hematoxylin–eosin staining was performed for pathological analysis of the infarcted area. The brain water content was calculated to evaluate the degree of brain edema. The messenger RNA (mRNA) and protein expressions of AQP4 in the brain were measured by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and immunohistochemistry, respectively. Results: Significant cerebral pathological damages were found in ischemic stroke rats. The brain water content, protein, and mRNA expression of AQP4 of the intervention and nonintervention groups were markedly higher than those of the sham groups. By contrast, AZA administration reduced the brain water content, whereas improved cerebral dysfunction was induced by ischemic stroke. Moreover, AZA obviously reduced the protein and mRNA expression of AQP4 after ischemic stroke in rats' brains. Conclusions: The expression of AQP4 was closely related to cerebral edema induced by ischemic stroke. Decreasing the expression of AQP4 mRNA by AZA administration can effectively relieve cerebral edema and decrease cerebral pathological damage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Quality of Service (QoS) of virtual machines (VMs) are ensured through the Service Level Agreements (SLAs) signed between the consumers and the cloud providers. A main way to avoid the SLAs violation is to analyze the relationships among the multiple VM-related features and then measure the QoS of VMs accurately. Therefore, we first propose to construct a QoS Bayesian Network (QBN), so as to quantify the uncertain dependencies among the VM-related features and then measure the QoS of VMs effectively. Moreover, we show that the dynamical changes of hardware\software setting or the different types of loads will affect the measurement decisions of QBN. Thus, we further resort to the instance-based transfer learning and then propose a novel QBN updating method (QBNtransfer). QBNtransfer re-weights the constantly updated data instances, and then combine the Maximum Likelihood Estimation and the hill-climbing methods to revise the parameters and structures of QBN accordingly. The experiments conducted on the Alibaba published datasets and the benchmark running results on our simulated platform have shown that the QBN can measure the QoS of VMs accurately and QBNtransfer can update the QBN effectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this manuscript, the polymerizable emulsifiers AEC13-P10 and AEASC13-P10 were synthesized and successfully used to prepare acrylic emulsion for architectural coating through emulsion polymerization. The critical micelle concentration, emulsifying performance, emulsifying power, wettability, and other properties of emulsifiers with different polyether chain lengths, alkyl chain lengths, and emulsions were carefully investigated. The result discloses that AESAC13-P10 features superior performance among these emulsifiers. The color performance and water resistance of the paint prepared with AEASC13-P10 were obviously better than nonreactive emulsifier E-1310SA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Numerous studies had focused on the association between air pollution and health outcomes in recent years. However, little evidence is available on associations between air pollutants and premature rupture of membranes (PROM). Therefore, we performed time-series analysis to evaluate the association between PROM and air pollution. The daily average concentrations of PM2.5, SO2 and NO2 were 54.58 μg/m3, 13.06 μg/m3 and 46.09 μg/m3, respectively, and daily maximum 8-h average O3 concentration was 95.67 μg/m3. The strongest effects of SO2, NO2 and O3 were found in lag4, lag06 and lag09, and an increase of 10 μg/m3 in SO2, NO2 and O3 was corresponding to increase in incidence of PROM of 8.74% (95% CI 2.12–15.79%), 3.09% (95% CI 0.64–5.59%) and 1.68% (95% CI 0.28–3.09%), respectively. There were no significant effects of PM2.5 on PROM. Season-specific analyses found that the effects of PM2.5, SO2 and O3 on PROM were more obvious in cold season, but the statistically significant effect of NO2 was observed in warm season. We also found the modifying effects by maternal age on PROM, and we found that the effects of SO2 and NO2 on PROM were higher among younger mothers (< 35 years) than advanced age mothers (≥ 35 years); however, ≥ 35 years group were more vulnerable to O3 than < 35 years group. This study indicates that air pollution exposure is an important risk factor for PROM and we wish this study could provide evidence to local government to take rigid approaches to control emissions of air pollutants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quality of Service (QoS) of virtual machines (VMs) is guaranteed by the Service Level Agreements (SLAs) signed between users and service providers during the renting of VMs. A typical idea to ensure the SLAs being reached is to predict the QoS of VMs accurately and then take the appropriate measures according to the prediction results timely. However, the QoS is affected by multiple VM-related features, among which the uncertain and non-linear relationships are challenging to represent and analyze. Thus, in this paper, we construct a class parameter augmented Bayesian Network (CBN) to overcome the difficulties and then predict the QoS of VMs accurately. Specifically, we first cluster multiple VM-related features based on the Euclidean distance, and then use XGboost to classify the different VM configurations within each cluster. Then, we construct the CBN based on the classification results as well as the corresponding QoS values. Consequently, we predict the QoS of VMs via the variable elimination (VE) with CBN. Experimental results show the efficiency and effectiveness of our proposed method on predicting the QoS of VMs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Maternal selenium (Se) deficiency is associated with some adverse pregnant outcomes. However, it remains controversial whether maternal Se deficiency during gestation enhances the risks for low-birth-weight (LBW) and small-for-gestational-age (SGA) newborns.Methods: For our cohort study, total 3133 mother-and-infant pairs were selected. Maternal serum Se concentration was detected by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry. According to international references for maternal serum Se concentration, subjects were divided into Se deficiency (<45.0 μg/L), Se insufficiency (45.0-94.9 μg/L) and Se sufficiency (≥95.0 μg/L).Results: There was a positive relation of maternal serum Se concentration in gestation and neonatal birth weight. Further analysis showed that the risks for LBW and SGA in SD group were significantly higher than that in SI and SS group, the adjusted ORs for LBW and SGA newborns were 1.87 (95%CI: 1.02, 3.45; P = 0.04) and 1.47 (95%CI: 1.07, 2.02; P = 0.02) in SI group, and 3.92 (95%CI: 2.03, 7.57; P < 0.001) and 2.77 (95%CI: 1.92, 4.02; P < 0.001) in SD group compared to SS group. In different gender subgroup, positive relations were observed between maternal Se deficiency and the risk for LBW girls, as well as the risks for both SGA girls and boys.Conclusion: Maternal Se deficiency in gestation was positively associated with the risk for LBW girls, as well as the risks for both SGA girls and boys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The design of micropolarizer array (MPA) patterns in Fourier domain provides an efficient approach to reconstruct and investigate the polarization information. Inspired by Alenin's works, in this paper, we propose an improved design model to cover both 2 × N MPAs and other original MPAs, by which an entirely new class of MPA patterns is suggested. The performance of the new patterns is evaluated through Fourier domain analysis and numerical simulations compared with the existing MPAs. Particularly, we analyze the reconstruction accuracy of the first three Stokes parameters and degree of linear polarization (DoLP) in detail. The experimental results confirm that the 2 × 2 × 2 MPA provides the highest reconstruction quality of s0, s1, s2 and DoLP in terms of quantitative measures and visual quality, while the 3 × 3 diagonal MPA achieves the state-of-the-art best results in case of single-snapshot systems. The guidance of this extended model and new diagonal MPAs show its massive potential for the division of focal plane (DoFP) polarization imaging applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Surrogate models have been widely studied for optimization tasks in the domain of engineering design. However, the expensive and time-consuming simulation cycles needed for complex products always result in limited simulation data, which brings a challenge for building high accuracy surrogate models because of the incomplete information contained in the limited simulation data. Therefore, a method that builds a surrogate model and conducts design optimization by integrating limited simulation data and engineering knowledge through Bayesian optimization (BO-DK4DO) is presented. In this method, the shape engineering knowledge is considered and used as derivative information which is integrated with the limited simulation data with a Gaussian process (GP). Then the GP is updated sequentially by sampling new simulation data and the optimal design solutions are found by maximizing the GP. The aim of BO-DK4DO is to significantly reduce the required number of computer simulations for finding optimal design solutions. The BO-DK4DO is verified by using benchmark functions and an engineering design problem: hot rod rolling. In all scenarios, the BO-DK4DO shows faster convergence rate than the general Bayesian optimization without integrating engineering knowledge, which means the required amount of data is decreased. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to explore the impact of prenatal Al and Mg on placental oxidative stress and inflammatory mRNA expression. A total of 2519 pregnant women from the China Ma'anshan birth cohort participated in this study. Al and Mg levels were measured by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Placental stress and inflammatory mRNA expression were assessed by RT-PCR. The median Al levels in the first and second trimesters of pregnancy and in cord blood were higher than the corresponding median Mg levels. Predictors of lower Al and Mg levels included Han ethnicity and high education according to a mixed linear model. Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that Al and Al/Mg levels had a positive association with inflammatory mRNA expression and placental oxidative stress in the second trimester of pregnancy. A negative association existed between Al and Al/Mg levels and inflammatory mRNA expression and placenta oxidative stress in the cord blood, with the exception of IL-1β expression. In conclusion, prenatal Al and Mg status was associated with placental oxidative stress and inflammatory mRNA expression. More preclinical studies are needed to confirm the relevant mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drilling performance of carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) aggravates significantly with serious tool wear caused by highly abrasive fibers. Because of the anisotropy of CFRP, the angle between fiber orientation and cutting direction, namely, fiber cutting angle, also plays a crucial part in the drilling performance. To enhance drilling performance, this paper initially conducts a comprehensive experimental study on the effects of tool wear on thrust force, exit temperature, and hole wall defect in different fiber cutting angles in the drilling of unidirectional CFRP. The results demonstrate that the profile of worn cutting edge is an approximate elliptical arc and the half axis lengths of the elliptical arc are utilized to evaluate cutting edge wear. Tool wear on the cutting edge, flank face, and rake face all deteriorates with the number of drilled holes. Tool wear has a more significant influence on thrust force in the fiber cutting angle region of 0~90° than in the fiber cutting angle region of 90~180°. With increasing tool wear, the exit temperature distribution can still be approximate to an ellipse. The variation of exit temperature caused by tool wear in the major axis direction is still no less than that in other directions. In addition, on hole wall, tool wear causes severe crack defects in the fiber cutting angle region of 0~90° and cavity defects in the fiber cutting angle region of 90~180°. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reconfigurable machine tools (RMTs) are important equipment for enterprises to cope with ever-changing markets because of their flexibility. In design of such equipment, selection of appropriate modules is a very critical decision factor to effectively and efficiently satisfy manufacturing requirements. However, the selection of appropriate modules is a challenging task because it is a multi-domain mapping process relying heavily on experts' domain knowledge, which is usually unstructured and implicit. To effectively support RMT designers, an ontology-based RMT module selection method is proposed. First, a knowledge base is built by development of an ontology to formally represent the taxonomy, properties, and causal relationships of/among three domain core concepts, namely, machining feature, machining operation, and RMT module involved in RMT design. Second, a four-step sequential procedure is established to facilitate the utilization of encoded knowledge from a knowledge base to aid in the selection of appropriate RMT modules. The procedure takes a given part family as the input, automatically infers the required machining operations as well as the RMT modules through rule-based reasoning, and eventually forms a set of RMT configurations that are capable of machining the part family as the output. Finally, the efficacy of the ontology-based RMT module selection method is demonstrated using a plate family manufacturing example. Results show that the approach is effective to support designers by appropriately and rapidly selecting modules and generating configurations in RMT design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

DNA methylation is one of the most important events in epigenetics and significantly influences plant growth and development. In the present study, we established and optimized a high-performance liquid chromatography method for detecting the base composition in DNA in tea plant (Camellia sinensis L.) tissues by using saline buffers-free mobile phases. The DNA methylation level varied with tea plant tissue, cultivar, and growth stage. A relatively higher DNA methylation level was observed in tender leaf (38.34%) and pistil (38.19%) tissues, while a relatively low level was detected in capillary root (19.45%), stamen (19.61%), and old leaf (20.70%) tissues. The pattern of the methylation level formed a saddle curve during the growth of dormant buds in spring; the lowest point appeared at the stage of one leaf and a bud. The methylation level in the adventitious buds regenerated from the branch after pruning seemed to decrease with an increase in the degree of pruning. These DNA methylation levels might be associated with the development of tea plant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Product design is an important part of the manufacturing system from a macro point of view. In the design process, creative design is one of the important factors to survive the fierce competition. During creative design process, designers are the most critical component. However, design fixation often negatively influences the design outcomes. Many researches from cognitive science and design science reveal that the presentation of outer information can alleviate design fixation effectively. Among different kinds of outer information, language terms are proved to be effective. This work presents a method of automatically generating language terms as design inspirations based on 500,000 granted patents. This method adopts evolutionary computation as the fundamental algorithm to retrieve language terms from a vocabulary base. To implement the algorithm, the vocabulary is first encoded by high dimensional vectors through word embedding, which is a three layers neural network. Further, two metrics for measuring the inspiration potential of language terms are defined in a computable manner. This work also conducts experiments to validate the method, and the experimental results show that (1) the algorithm is efficient and has the potential to be extended to larger vocabulary; (2) the generated design inspirations have a positive influence on the design outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Both polo-like kinase 1 (PLK1) and mammalian/mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) are attractive therapeutic targets for cancer therapy. However, the efficacy of the combined inhibition of both pathways for treating esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), an aggressive malignancy with poor prognosis, remains unknown. In this study, we found that suppression of PLK1 by specific siRNA or inhibitor attenuated mTOR activity in ESCC cells. Phosphorylated S6, a downstream effector of mTOR signaling, was significantly correlated with overexpression of PLK1 in a subset of ESCC. These data suggest that PLK1 activates mTOR signaling in vitro and in vivo. More importantly, the mTOR inhibitor rapamycin synergized with PLK1 inhibitor BI 2536 to inhibit ESCC cell proliferation in culture and in mice. Notably, combined treatment with BI 2536 and rapamycin produced more potent inhibitory effects on the activation of S6 and AKT than either alone. Further analysis reveals that PLK1 modulates both mTOR complex 1 (mTORC1) and mTOR complex 2 (mTORC2) cascades. Therefore, dual inhibition of PLK1 and mTOR yields stronger antitumor effects, at least partially due to synergistic abrogated the activation of S6, eukaryotic initiation factor 4E-binding protein 1 (4E-BP1), and AKT by cooperatively blocking mTORC1 and mTORC2 cascades. These results provide evidence that the mTOR inhibitor rapamycin synergistically enhances the antitumor effect of PLK1 inhibitor BI 2536 in ESCC cells. Simultaneous targeting of PLK1 and mTOR may thus be a novel and promising therapeutic strategy for ESCC.Key messages: PLK1 potentiates both mTORC1 and mTORC2 activities in ESCC cells.PLK1 expression positively correlated with mTOR activity in a subset of ESCC.Co-targeting of PLK1 and mTOR produced stronger antitumor effects partially due to synergistic inhibition of AKT, 4E-BP1 and S6 through cooperatively blocking mTORC2 and mTORC1 cascades.Combination targeting of PLK1 and mTOR may be a novel and promising therapeutic strategy for ESCC treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: We aim to investigate associations of maternal serum anti-thyroperoxidase autoantibody (TPOAb) with duration of gestation. We aim to investigate whether maternal TPOAb positivity is associated with the risk of premature or early term birth.Methods: This was a prospective birth cohort study performed in an iodine sufficient area of China. Serum samples were collected from 2931 women at both the first and second trimesters of pregnancy. Thyrotropin (TSH), free thyroxine (FT4), and TPOAb levels were measured. Data on gestational age at birth was obtained from delivery records.Results: The prevalence of early term birth was 23.8%, while the prevalence of premature birth was 4.2%. The prevalence of TPOAb positivity was 12.1% in the first trimester and was 7.2% in the second trimester. Gestational age at birth was inversely associated with lgTPOAb both in the first trimester (β, −0.283, 95% CI −0.408, −0.158; P < 0.001) and in the second trimester (β, −0.174, 95% CI −0.319, −0.030; P = 0.018), after adjustment for potential confounding factors. There was a positive association of TPOAb positivity with the risk of early term birth both in the first (OR = 1.691, 95% CI 1.302, 2.197) and second trimesters (OR = 1.644, 95% CI 1.193, 2.264), after adjustment for potential confounding factors. TPOAb positivity in the second trimester was associated with a 1.863-fold higher risk of premature birth (OR = 1.863, 95% CI 1.009, 3.441), after adjustment for potential confounding factors.Conclusions: Our results show that TPOAb is associated with shorter duration of gestation and with higher risk of premature and early term birth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We show that the asymptotics of solutions to stationary Navier Stokes equations in 4, 5 or 6 dimensions in the whole space with a smooth compactly supported forcing are given by the linear Stokes equation. We do not need to assume any smallness condition. The result is in contrast to three dimensions, where the asymptotics for steady states are different from the linear Stokes equation, even for small data, while the large data case presents an open problem. The case of dimension n = 2 is still harder. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is increasing evidence that prenatal stressful life events (SLEs) may be a potential risk factor for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), but the sex-specific and time-dependent effects of prenatal stress on ADHD are less clear. In this prospective longitudinal study, data on prenatal SLEs during different stages of gestation and indicators of buffers against stress, including maternal social support and avoidance coping, were obtained from 1765 pregnant women at 32 weeks of gestation. The behavioral symptoms of ADHD in children aged 48-54 months were evaluated by reports from the parents. There were 226 children (12.8 %) above the clinically significant cutoff for ADHD. After adjusting for potential confounders, boys whose mother experienced severe SLEs in the second trimester had a significantly increased risk (OR = 2.41, 95 % CI: 1.03-5.66) of developing ADHD symptoms compared with boys whose mothers did not experience severe SLEs at this time. However, no significantly increased risk of ADHD symptoms was observed in girls born to mothers experienced prenatal severe SLEs. Additionally, significant interaction effects of prenatal SLEs, social support and coping style on ADHD symptoms were found in males. Boys whose mothers experienced severe SLEs during the second trimester accompanied by a higher score for avoidance coping (OR = 3.31, 95 % CI: 1.13-9.70) or a lower score for social support (OR = 4.39, 95 % CI: 1.05-18.31) were likely to be at a higher risk for ADHD symptoms. The epidemiological evidence in this prospective follow-up study suggests that the effect of prenatal SLEs on ADHD symptoms in offspring may depend on the timing of prenatal stress and may vary according to the sex of the offspring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is a common cancer type in China. In this study, we aimed to develop aneuploidy markers for diagnosis and prognosis of ESCC. Methods: Chromosomal aneuploidies were detected in 493 primary tumors and 61 precancerous lesions by fluorescence in situ hybridization with chromosome enumeration probes (CEP), and cut-off values were set by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. Results: According to the cut-off values, chromosomes 3, 8, 10, 12, 17 and 20 presented frequent gains, with rates of 70.1, 69.7, 58.9, 66.9, 67.5 and 77.2 % in tumors and of 32.1, 26.8, 33.9, 41.2, 44.0 and 42.0 % in precancerous lesions. Loss of chromosome Y was detected in 72.0 % of male patients. An optimal four-probe panel CEP3/12/17/20 was established for detecting ESCC (sensitivity: 86.1 %), and CEP3/10/12/20 for precancerous lesions (sensitivity: 48.0 %). Gain of CEP8 was significantly correlated with lymph node metastasis (LNM) and late stages ( P = 0.002 and 0.001), and loss of CEPY with age ( P = 0.002, male). Kaplan-Meier survival curves indicated that patients with positive CEP10/17 (pT1 + T2, P = 0.041) and CEP8/17 (stages IIb + III + IV, P = 0.002) had poor overall survival. Combinations of LNM/stage and CEP panels could divide patients into more subgroups, including LNM + CEP3/17, LNM + CEP10/17, LNM + CEP3/10/17, stage + CEP3/17, stage + CEP10/17 and stage + CEP3/10/17 ( P = 0.0004, 0.0003, 0.0001, 0.005, 0.001 and 0.0008, respectively). Multivariate Cox regression analysis confirmed that the above combinational models were independent prognostic factors. Conclusions: Our data suggest that the combinational probe sets may have potential for detection and prognostic prediction of ESCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, aerobic decolorization and degradation of azo dye Acid Orange G (AOG) by both suspended growing cells and immobilized cells of a yeast strain Candida tropicalis TL-F1 were studied. The effects of different parameters on decolorization of AOG by both growing suspended and immobilized strain TL-F1 were investigated. Furthermore, a possible decolorization mechanism of AOG was proposed through analyzing metabolic intermediates using UV-vis and high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS) methods. Strain TL-F1 could decolorize AOG in both liquid and solid mediums through degradation. The optimal conditions for decolorization with suspended growing cells of strain TL-F1 were as follows: 6-10 g/L sucrose, 5-7 g/L urea, ≥6 % ( v/ v) inoculation size, ≥160 rpm, 35-40 °C, and pH 5.0-6.0; and those for immobilized cells, the conditions were as follows: 4-6 g/L glucose, 0.2-0.4 g/L urea, 6-10 g/L (wet cell pellets) inoculation size, ≥160 rpm, 35-40 °C, and pH 5.0-7.0. Results of UV-vis scanning spectra suggested that AOG was decolorized through biodegradation, and the possible pathway was proposed through the results of HPLC-MS analysis and related literature. This is a systematic research on aerobic decolorization and degradation of AOG by both suspended and immobilized cells of a C. tropicalis strain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to screen out differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and explore small molecule drugs for Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF). The gene expression profile of TOF GSE26125 was downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus database, including 16 idiopathic TOF samples and five healthy controls. The DEGs were identified by the Limma package in R language and underwent functional enrichment analysis via Database for Annotation, Visualization and Integrated Discovery tools. A protein-protein interaction (PPI) network of DEGs was then constructed and the significant clusters were selected for functional analysis. In addition, the DEGs were mapped to the connectivity map (CMap) database to identify potential small-molecule drugs. As a result, a total of 499 DEGs were selected between TOF and healthy controls. Meanwhile, the functional changes of DEGs related to TOF were mainly associated with cellular respiration and energy metabolism. Furthermore, in the PPI network, two clusters were identified via cluster 1 analysis. And only cluster 1 was significantly enriched into gene ontology terms, including respiratory chain, electron transport chain, and oxidation reduction. The hub gene of cluster 1 was NDUFAB1. Additionally, small molecules, such as harmine, solanine, and testosterone, may have the potential to repair the disordered metabolic pathways of TOF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is prevalent worldwide and particularly common in certain regions of Asia. Here we report the whole-exome or targeted deep sequencing of 139 paired ESCC cases, and analysis of somatic copy number variations (SCNV) of over 180 ESCCs. We identified previously uncharacterized mutated genes such as FAT1, FAT2, ZNF750 and KMT2D, in addition to those already known (TP53, PIK3CA and NOTCH1). Further SCNV evaluation, immunohistochemistry and biological analysis suggested their functional relevance in ESCC. Notably, RTK-MAPK-PI3K pathways, cell cycle and epigenetic regulation are frequently dysregulated by multiple molecular mechanisms in this cancer. Our approaches also uncovered many druggable candidates, and XPO1 was further explored as a therapeutic target because it showed both gene mutation and protein overexpression. Our integrated study unmasks a number of novel genetic lesions in ESCC and provides an important molecular foundation for understanding esophageal tumors and developing therapeutic targets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: We aimed to investigate whether the negative effects of maternal depressive symptoms on Small for gestational age (SGA) was moderated by pre-pregnancy body mass index. Methods: A total of 9,851 women provided self-reported height and pre-pregnancy weight at their first prenatal visit. Pre-pregnancy BMI was categorized according to the BMI cut point ranges for Chinese adults. Depression during pregnancy was assessed by using standardized questionnaires. Demographic characteristics and birth outcomes, including gestational age at birth and birth weight, were collected through the interviews and case history. Multiple regression analysis was used to estimate the relationship between depressive symptoms and SGA among various pre-pregnancy BMI groups. Results: The relationship between depressive symptoms and SGA was inconsistent among three pre-pregnancy BMI groups. The incidence of SGA was positively related with depressive symptoms only among women with pre-pregnancy underweight [odds ratio (OR) 1.89, 95 % confidence interval (CI) 1.12-3.21]. Conclusions: The negative effect of depressive symptoms during pregnancy on SGA depends on pre-pregnancy BMI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim:Cancer stem cells have the capacity to initiate and sustain tumor growth. In this study, we established a CD44+ colorectal cancer stem cell line with particular emphasis on its self-renewal capacity, enhanced tumor initiation and drug resistance.Methods:Fresh colon cancer and paired normal colon tissues were collected from 13 patients who had not received chemotherapy or radiotherapy prior to surgery. Among the 6 single-cell derived clones, only the P6C cell line was cultured for more than 20 passages in serial culture and formed holoclones with high efficiency, and then the stemness gene expression, colony formation, tumorigenicity and drug sensitivities of the P6C cell line were examined.Results:Stemness proteins, including c-Myc, Oct3/4, Nanog, Lgr5, and SOX2, were highly expressed in the P6C cell line. Oct3/4-positive P6C cells mostly generated holoclones through symmetric division, while a small number of P6C cells generated meroclones through asymmetric division. P6C cells stably expressed CD44 and possessed a high capacity to form tumor spheres. A single cell-derived sphere was capable of generating xenograft tumors in nude mice. Compared to SW480 and HCT116 colorectal cancer cells, P6C cells were highly resistant to Camptothecin and 5-fluorouracil, the commonly used chemotherapeutic agents to treat colorectal cancers.Conclusion:We established a colorectal cancer stem cell line P6C with a high tumorigenic capacity and the characteristics of normal stem cells. It will benefit the mechanistic studies on cancer stem cells and the development of drugs that specifically target the cancer stem cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a glutathione S-transferase pull-down liquid chromatography-coupled tandem mass spectrometry approach and immunoprecipitation/immunoblot analysis, we found that heat shock cognate protein 70 (Hsc70) was involved in the complex formed by atypical protein kinase Cι (PKCι) and LC3 in the esophageal cancer cell line KYSE30. Further study indicated that Hsc70 was targeted by autophagic degradation, and knockdown of PKCι down-regulated Hsc70 by promoting autophagy. PKCι knockdown sensitized cells to oxidative stress-induced apoptosis, whereas forced PKCι expression counteracted the oxidative stress-induced apoptosis via Hsc70. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

S100A11, one secreted protein, is overexpressed in certain cancers. We investigated S100A11 expression in various subtypes of lung cancer and explored its role in cell proliferation. S100A11 mRNA level was examined in 45 pairs of frozen lung cancer tissues by reverse transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR). The specific expression and subcellular distribution of S100A11 were examined in 78 paraffin-embedded lung cancers, 2 benign lung diseases as well as 22 healthy lung tissues by immunohistochemistry. S100A11 protein level was further analyzed in the sera of 86 lung cancer patients and 50 healthy individuals by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. We found that both mRNA and protein levels of S100A11 were overexpressed in adenocarcinomas (ADC) and squamous cell carcinomas (SCC) compared with paired non-cancerous lung tissues, while S100A11 was detected downregulated in small cell lung cancers (SCLC). Further immunohistochemistry staining was positive for S100A11 only in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) (ADC, SCC, large cell carcinomas, et al.), but not SCLC. Conclusively, we found S100A11 protein level increased in the sera of NSCLC patients. Furthermore, when S100A11 expression was knocked down in lung adenocarcinoma cells A549 and LTEP-a-2, the cell proliferation was significantly inhibited in vitro and in vivo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper was to describe the prevalence of deliberate self-harm (DSH) and to determine the socio-demographic, behavioral, and psychological correlates of DSH behaviors in Chinese adolescents and young adults in a representative sample of the general population. The data were obtained from an epidemiologic study involving adolescents and young adults from junior and senior schools and colleges located in eight provinces of China. A total of 17,622 cases were retained for analysis. The relationship between the explanatory variables with self-harm was analyzed using a Pearson χ test and a multinomial logistic regression model. A total of 3,001 (17.0%) students reported that they had harmed themselves deliberately in the past 12 months. The act of DSH occurring 1 and >2 times accounted for 4.2% (742) and 12.8% (2,259) of all respondents, respectively. The most frequently reported form of DSH was self-hitting. If the reference category was No DSH, the findings indicated that family composition, father's education, perceived family economic status, cigarette use, perceived body image, and higher scores in depression scales were important concomitants of repeat-incidents of DSH. The students, in western areas, who were younger, reported that having unhealthy weight control behaviors, and alcohol use had a higher risk for both types of DSH. Regarding students of age 15-18 years perceived body image (too fat), having unhealthy weight control behaviors or a high level of depression symptoms demonstrated an elevated risk for repeat-incident DSH when single-incident DSH was used as the reference category, whereas the students in middle area reported family composition (both parents), education of the father (less than college) or alcohol use had a decreased risk for repeat-incident DSH. The results of this study suggest that both types of DSH are associated with other wide-ranging problems in the students' lives. Despite their common features, these phenomena also differed from each other. It is necessary to investigate the possible neurobiologic underpinnings of DSH within a longitudinal study to enhance the knowledge of this behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate the contribution of genetic polymorphisms of vitamin K epoxide reductase complex subunit 1 gene VKORC1-1639G>A, cytochrome P450 2C9 gene ( CYP2C9), EPHXI, and clinical factors to warfarin sensitivity in southwest Chinese Han patients with mechanical heart valve prostheses. Methods: A total of 127 patients with mechanical heart valve prostheses who have been followed up at our department during the past 23 years were enrolled in this study and compared to a control group that consisted of 133 randomly selected healthy blood donors. These Chinese patients met stable warfarin dosage requirements and had reached the target international normalized ratio (INR) of 1.5-2.0. PCR and direct sequencing were carried out to identify the polymorphisms of VKORC1-1639G>A (rs9923231), CYP2C9*3 (rs1057910), CYP2C9 IVS3-65G>C (rs9332127), and EPHX1691A>G (rs4653436). In addition, total and free (non-protein-bound) warfarin concentrations were analyzed. Results and conclusions: There were great interindividual differences in warfarin maintenance dosage (ranging from 0.6 to 8.4 mg/day) among the 127 patients with mechanical heart valve prostheses. VKORC1-1639G>A, CYP2C9, EPHX1691A>G polymorphism, body weight, and age were found to affect the dose demands. Multiple linear regression models incorporating genetic polymorphisms of VKORC1, CYP2C9, EPHX1691A>G, and the nongenetic factors of age and body weight were developed, and explained up to 76.8% of the total variation (adjusted R of 0.743) in warfarin maintenance doses in southwest Chinese patients with mechanical heart valve prostheses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polarization is an important characteristic of electromagnetic (EM) waves, and efficient manipulations over EM wave polarizations are always desirable in practical applications. Here, we review the recent efforts in controlling light polarizations with metamaterials, at frequencies ranged from microwave to visible. We first presented a 4 × 4 version transfer matrix method (TMM) to study the scatterings by an anisotropic metamaterial of EM waves with arbitrary propagating directions and polarizations. With the 4 × 4 TMM, we discovered several amazing polarization manipulation phenomena based on the reflection geometry and proposed corresponding model metamaterial systems to realize such effects. Metamaterial samples were fabricated with the help of finite-difference-time-domain (FDTD) simulations, and experiments were performed to successfully realize these ideas at both microwave and visible frequencies. Efforts in employing metamaterials to manipulate light polarizations based on the transmission geometry are also reviewed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]