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This study is performed to elucidate the role of long non-coding RNA myocardial infarction associated transcript (lncRNA MIAT) in vulnerable plaque formation in rats with atherosclerosis (AS) through the regulation of the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway. The mice model of AS was established, and the successful modeled AS mice were treated with overexpressed MIAT and silenced MIAT. The levels of blood lipids, atherosclerotic plaques (AP) formation, the lipid content, collagen content, apoptosis of aortic cells, angiogenesis as well as the expression of inflammatory factors, such as tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), and interleukin-6 (IL-6) were determined through a series of experiments. MIAT was found to be upregulated in AS. Additionally, MIAT up-regulated the levels of blood lipids, promoted AP formation, increased the lipid content and decreased the collagen content of AP, promoted the apoptosis of aortic cells in AS mice by activating the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway. Meanwhile, MIAT was determined to promote angiogenesis as well as the expression of inflammatory factors (IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α) in AS mice through the activation of the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway. Furthermore, MIAT activated the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway to participate in AS progression. Our study suggests that upregulation of MIAT can aggravate AS injury in AS mice via the activation of the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway, which could provide a novel target for the treatment of AS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Active deicing and snow melting technologies, such as conductive asphalt concrete and heating cable, have got extensively concerned, however they are not applicable to the existing roads. Therefore, the conductive ultrathin bonded wearing course (CUBWC) is proposed, which mainly consists of the conductive functional layer (CFL) and gravel wearing course. The CFL is prepared by blending the graphite, carbon fibre (CF) and epoxy resin adhesive. To get the optimal electrical characteristics of CUBWC, the effects of CF length, CF content and graphite content on the resistivity of CFL were measured. The temperature sensitivity test and the temperature cycling test were further conducted to evaluate the temperature sensitive property and stability of CUBWC. Finally, the optimal contents of the graphite (25% by mass) and CF (4% by mass) were determined by considering the effective electrical conductivity and temperature stability of CUBWC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A 36-year-old gravida-2-para-1 mother underwent amniocentesis at 20 weeks of gestation only because of advanced maternal age. She gave birth to a normal healthy baby boy 2 years ago. Her husband was 40 years old. There was no family history of birth defects or genetic diseases. aCGH analysis on the uncultured amniocytes revealed a 5.5 Mb chromosomal deletion in the region of 9q21.13q21.32 (78,645,382–84,115,555) (Figure 1). Conventional karyotyping showed normal karyotype.