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In mammals, the production of mature oocytes necessitates rigorous regulation of the discontinuous meiotic cell-cycle progression at both the transcriptional and post- transcriptional levels; however, the factors underlying this sophisticated but explicit process during oocyte development remain largely unclear. Here we characterized the function of N-acetyltransferase 10 (Nat10), which was previously recognized as a “writer” for N4-acetylcytidine (ac4C) deposited on RNA molecules. We generated two germline-specific Nat10 knockout mouse models in the embryonic gonad and in postnatal growing oocytes, and another two tamoxifen-inducible Nat10 deletion models. We provided genetic evidence showing that Nat10 is essential for oocyte meiotic prophase I progression, oocyte growth and maturation in mice. Intriguingly, we discovered that Nat10 is required for sculpting the maternal transcriptome through timely degradation of polyA tail mRNAs during the Maternal-to-Zygotic transition (MZT). Importantly, we developed a novel method that outperformed the conventional methods for examining the polyA tail length (PAT), termed Hairpin Adaptor-polyA tail length (HA-PAT), in terms of the cost, sensitivity and efficiency. In summary, these findings altogether provide solid genetic evidence that unveils the indispensable role of maternal Nat10 in oocyte development, and lay a solid foundation for future mechanistic studies of varied domains of NAT10.

Fabrication of nanofiltration (NF) membranes using interfacial polymerization (IP) continues to receive tremendous interest in research and development due to the broad applications of NF in water ...

Point clouds from 3-D light detection and ranging (LiDAR) are useful for roadside units (RSU) applications in intelligent transportation system (ITS). High-density LiDAR products are restricted by high cost while the low-density and cheap ones are usually insufficient to perceive. Event-based cameras react to the changes in light intensity and output dense event streams consisting of triggered pixels. Unfortunately, there currently lacks depth information for event cameras. In order to address these problems, this article presents an approach to enhance sparse 3-D LiDAR point clouds with event pixels from an event-based camera. In our approach, the depth values of event pixels are estimated based on the distribution models which they belong to. The distribution models of event pixels are determined by the spatial information of the neighboring LiDAR points in a structural manner which we called the physical structure. To verify our approach, we conduct several real-world experiments about RSU applications in ITS. Results demonstrate that our approach can effectively improve 3-D point clouds density. The average accuracy of 3-D and 2-D vehicle detection increase by a factor of 14.6 and 8.8, respectively.

Porous polymeric support membranes with outstanding organic solvent resistance are highly required for fabricating thin-film composite (TFC) organic solvent nanofiltration (OSN) membranes. In this ...

Separating molecules or ions with sub-Angstrom scale precision is important but technically challenging. Achieving such a precise separation using membranes requires Angstrom scale pores with a high level of pore size uniformity. Herein, we demonstrate that precise solute-solute separation can be achieved using polyamide membranes formed via surfactant-assembly regulated interfacial polymerization (SARIP). The dynamic, self-assembled network of surfactants facilitates faster and more homogeneous diffusion of amine monomers across the water/hexane interface during interfacial polymerization, thereby forming a polyamide active layer with more uniform sub-nanometre pores compared to those formed via conventional interfacial polymerization. The polyamide membrane formed by SARIP exhibits highly size-dependent sieving of solutes, yielding a step-wise transition from low rejection to near-perfect rejection over a solute size range smaller than half Angstrom. SARIP represents an approach for the scalable fabrication of ultra-selective membranes with uniform nanopores for precise separation of ions and small solutes., Separating molecules or ions with sub-Angstrom scale precision is important but technically challenging. Here, the authors demonstrate that precise solute-solute separation can be achieved using polyamide membranes formed via surfactant-assembly regulated interfacial polymerization.

In this study, we report the emergence of two-dimensional (2D) branching fractal structures (BFS) in the nanoconfinement between the active and the support layer of a thin-film-composite polyamide (TFC-PA) nanofiltration membrane. These BFS are crystal dendrites of NaCl formed when salts are either added to the piperazine solution during the interfacial polymerization process or introduced to the nascently formed TFC-PA membrane before drying. The NaCl dosing concentration and the curing temperature have an impact on the size of the BFS but not on the fractal dimension (∼1.76). The BFS can be removed from the TFC-PA membranes by simply dissolving the crystal dendrites in deionized water, and the resulting TFC-PA membranes have substantially higher water fluxes (three- to fourfold) without compromised solute rejection. The flux enhancement is believed to be attributable to the distributed reduction in physical binding between the PA active layer and the support layer, caused by the exertion of crystallization pressure when the BFS formed. This reduced physical binding leads to an increase in the effective area for water transport, which, in turn, results in higher water flux. The BFS-templating method, which includes the interesting characteristics of 2D crystal dendrites, represents a facile, low-cost, and highly practical method of enhancing the performance of the TFC-PA nanofiltration membrane without having to alter the existing infrastructure of membrane fabrication.

Objective: To investigate the prognostic significance of the platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) for newborn patients in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).Design: A retrospective cohort study.Setting and participants: Data on 5240 newborn patients in the NICU extracted from the Multiparameter Intelligent Monitoring in Intensive Care III (MIMIC III) database.Methods: Spearman correlation was used to analyze the association of PLR with length of hospital and ICU stays. The chi-square test was used to analyze the association of PLR with mortality rate. Multivariable logistic regression was used to determine whether the PLR was an independent prognostic factor of mortality. The area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to assess the predictive ability of models combining PLR with other variables.Results: PLR was negatively associated with length of hospital stay and ICU stay (hospital stay: Spearman’s rho=-0.416, PPPP=0.005) and 90-day mortality (OR=0.85, 95% CI=0.76-0.96, P=0.010). The prognostic predictive ability of models combining PLR with other variables for hospital mortality was moderately good (AUC for Model 1=0.804; AUC for Model 2=0.964).Conclusion: PLR is a novel independent risk factor for newborn patients in the NICU.

Thyroid cancer (TC) is the most common endocrine malignant disease with a rising morbidity year by year. Accumulating studies have shown that microRNAs (miRNAs) play a regulatory role in the progression of various tumors, but the molecular regulatory mechanism of miR-196a-2 in TC is still unknown. qRT-PCR was employed to measure the expression of miR-196a-2 and NRXN1 mRNA in TC cells, while western blot was used to detect the protein expression of NRXN1. CCK-8, colony formation and flow cytometry assays were used to measure cell proliferation and apoptosis of TC cells. Dual-luciferase reporter gene assay was used to predict and verify the targeted binding relationship between miR-196a-2 and NRXN1. Our study results manifested that miR-196a-2 was dramatically overexpressed in cells of TC, while NRXN1 was lowly expressed. miR-196a-2 could promote cell proliferation and inhibit cell apoptosis of TC. Additionally, miR-196a-2 could also target and inhibit the expression of NRXN1. Silencing NRXN1 could reverse the inhibitory effect of miR-196a-2 downregulation on cell proliferation of TC, as well as the promoting effect on cell apoptosis. In a conclusion, we found that miR-196a-2 could promote cell proliferation and inhibit cell apoptosis of TC by targeting NRXN1. Therefore, miR-196a-2/NRXN1 is potential to be a molecular therapeutic target for TC.

Objectives. Breast cancer is the most common malignant tumor among females, and miRNAs have been reported to play an important regulatory role in breast cancer progression. This study aimed to explore the function and underlying molecular mechanism of miR-301b-3p in breast cancer. Methods. Differential analysis and survival analysis were performed based on the data accessed from the TCGA-BRCA dataset for identification of the target miRNA. Bioinformatics analysis was conducted to predict the downstream target gene of the miRNA. Real-time quantitative PCR was carried out to detect the expression of miR-301b-3p and nuclear receptor subfamily 3 group C member 2 (NR3C2). Western blot was used to assess the protein expression of NR3C2. Cell counting kit-8 assay was performed to evaluate the proliferation of breast cancer cells. Transwell assay was conducted to determine the migratory and invasive abilities of breast cancer cells. Dual-luciferase reporter assay was employed to verify the targeting relationship between miR-301b-3p and NR3C2. Results. miR-301b-3p was elevated in breast cancer cell lines and promoted cell proliferation, migration, and invasion in terms of its biological function in breast cancer. NR3C2 was validated as a direct target of miR-301b-3p via bioinformatics analysis and dual-luciferase reporter assay, and NR3C2 was downregulated in breast cancer cell lines. The rescue experiment indicated that NR3C2 was involved in the mechanism by which miR-301b-3p regulated the malignant phenotype of breast cancer cells. Conclusion. The present study revealed for the first time that miR-301b-3p could foster breast cancer cell proliferation, migration, and invasion by targeting NR3C2, unveiling that miR-301b-3p is a novel carcinogen in breast cancer.

Summary It is of great importance and practical value to develop a facile and operable surface treatment method of materials with excellent antipollution and antiadhesion property, but still a huge challenge. In this work, a series of pseudo-zwitterions are prepared from electrostatic assembly of cationic polyethyleneimine and anionic phosphonic clusters. These pseudo-zwitterionic assemblies provide a strong hydration through electrostatic interaction with water and in turn create a barrier against oil foulants, leading to a nearly zero crude oil adhesion force. The pseudo-zwitterions-decorated surfaces exhibit exceptional water-cleanable oil-repellent property, even when they are completely dried and without prehydration before fouled by crude oil. While using these pseudo-zwitterions-modified polymeric membranes for separating surfactant stabilized oil-in-water emulsion, less than 10% decline of permeating flux is observed throughout a 2-h continuous separation experiment, showing excellent emulsion separation ability and antipollution performance for high viscous oil., Graphical abstract, Highlights • The ion pairs called pseudo-zwitterions were constructed by electrostatic self-assembly • The pseudo-zwitterions-modified surfaces can repel crude oil without prehydration • Pseudo-zwitterionic membrane shows exceptional antioil fouling performance • The strategy gives a new way to endow the surfaces with excellent antiadhesion property, Materials science; Materials chemistry; Materials synthesis; Materials property

Background/Aims: Vibrio vulnificus (V. vulnificus) is a Gram-negative marine bacterium that can cause life-threatening primary septicemia, especially in the innate immune system. But how V. vulnificus affects and acts on dendritic cells (DC) is not well understood. The aim of the present study is to investigate [Ca2+]i change and the expression of the mTor-STAT3-Bcl-2 signaling pathway in V. vulnificus B2-induced DC apoptosis, and explore the protective effect of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) against DC apoptosis in a V. vulnificus B2 and DC2.4 cell coculture infection model, using EDTA as an intervenient. Methods: The apoptosis rate, [Ca2+]i, and the expression of STAT3, m-Tor and Bcl-2 were detected by cytometry, Fluo-8-AM and Western blotting respectively. Results: The results demonstrated that EDTA inhibited the increase of [Ca2+]i, upregulated the expression of m-Tor-STAT3-Bcl-2 signaling pathway, and protected DC against V. vulnificus B2-induced apoptosis. Conclusions: EDTA inhibits V. Vulnificus-induced DC apoptosis by lowering [Ca2+]i via m-Tor-STAT3-Bcl-2 signaling pathway.

Background/Aims: Apocynin, a nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidase inhibitor, has been identified as a potential neuroprotectant. In this study, we aimed to investigate the protective effect of apocynin against cobalt chloride (CoCl2)-induced pheochromocytoma (PC12) cell apoptosis. Methods: The PC12 cell culture was pretreated with apocynin and/or SB203580 (p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase [p38-MAPK] inhibitor) at different time points prior to CoCl2 incubation. The cell viability, apoptosis rate, DAN damage, and antioxidant activity were detected using cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8), flow cytometry, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and comet assay respectively. The protein and mRNA expressions of p38-MAPK and caspase-3 in the cells were measured by qRT-PCR and Western blotting. Results: Apocynin inhibited CoCl2-mediated apoptosis, reduced oxidative stress, and down-regulated the expression of p38-MAPK and caspase-3. Conclusions: Our findings show that apocynin attenuated CoCl2-induced apoptosis by potently restraining p38-MAPK-caspase-3 signaling pathway in PC12 cells, suggesting that apocynin may be a potent prophylactic reagent against CoCl2-mediated PC12 cell apoptosis.

Fabricating membranes with homogenous pore size at sub-nanometer scale is highly demanded for precise separation but remains a challenge. Herein, we propose a new strategy for preparing polyamide (PA) nanofiltration membranes with high solute-solute selectivity via a pre-diffusion interfacial polymerization (PDIP) process. The enrichment of amine monomers on the organic phase side of the oil-water interface facilitates a stoichiometric interfacial polymerization reaction with acyl chloride and endows the PA active layer more uniform pores with sub-Angstrom separation precision. The nanofiltration membrane prepared by PDIP strategy has lower surface roughness and higher degree of polymerization reaction inside the PA active layer compared with the membrane prepared by the traditional method. The pre-diffusion process enables PA nanofiltration membranes to have a 99.7% rejection rate of Na2SO4 and 98.7% of MgCl2 with no loss of flux while the rejection of that is 96.7% and 62.4% for traditional IP. Most importantly, the membrane exhibits fairly high mono/divalent salt selectivity of both cations and anions (e.g. 246 for NaCl/Na2SO4 and 51 for NaCl/MgCl2), which is one of the highest mono/divalent salt selectivity among all the reported polymer membranes. The PDIP process with improved ion selectivity is expected to change the traditional manufacturing mode of PA thin film composite (TFC) membranes, including nanofiltration and reverse osmosis membranes those are the most important members in the family of filtration membranes for water purification.

Accurately monitoring blood glucose in real-time is highly required for diabetes. Utilizing membrane to realize fast separation of a trace of blood is significant for accurately testing blood glucose. In this work, we designed a Janus membrane with thin film composite structure by electrospinning polyurethane (PU) on Ca3(PO4)2-coated nylon mesh. This Janus membrane exhibited directional liquid transport performance and liquid wastage reduction during separation through optimizing the surface wettability, pore parameters and asymmetric structures of membrane. When a trace of water with volume as small as 3 μL was dipped on the hydrophobic side with pore size of around 1.1 μm, this water droplet could easily penetrate through the Janus membrane within 2.9 s under only gravity and liquid wastage reduction was achieved at the same time (D2/D1 = 1.27), suggesting an excellent liquid transportation performance. The blood glucose meter integrated with this Janus membrane could efficiently remove red blood cells from 10 μL blood within 7.2 s. As a result, the sensitivity of the blood glucose meter increased by 4.5%.

The wide application of lithium batteries in consumer electronics and electric vehicles bring about ever-rising demand of lithium resources globally. Nanofiltration (NF) membranes with high Mg2+/Li+ selectivity could achieve highly efficient separation of lithium from natural brines, which provides a good alternative for steady lithium supply. In this work, we developed a dual-skin layer nanofiltration membrane comprised of a polyethylene-imine (PEI) layer grafted on a polyamide layer. The polyamide layer was prepared via interfacial polymerization to endow the NF membrane with sub-nm pores, while the PEI layer was grafted on the polyamide surface via amidation reaction to further equip the membrane with enhanced positive charge. With the synergistic effect of size sieving from the polyamide layer and electrostatic exclusion from the PEI layer, the dual-skin layer NF membrane exhibits a high rejection of 98.5% to MgCl2 and a low rejection of 46.2% to LiCl, suggesting a high Mg2+/Li+ selectivity. As using this dual-skin layer NF membrane for separating Li+ from a simulated brine, a high Mg2+/Li+ separation factor (SMg,Li) up to 33.4 was achieved, which is the highest value among the pressure-driven polymeric nanofiltration membranes reported so far.

Traditional polymer membranes prepared by phase inversion process have the problems of low flux and serious fouling when they were used for oil/water separation. In this work, an alkaline-induced phase inversion process is developed for the superhydrophilic/underwater superoleophobic polyacrylonitrile (PAN) ultrafiltration membrane. The as-prepared PAN ultrafiltration membrane could effectively separate oil-in-H2O emulsions with a high flux up to 2270 L/m2 h bar and an extremely high rejection while the oil residual in filtrate after one-time separation is lower than 10 ppm. Also, the PAN membrane showed ultralow oil adhesion and antifouling properties and can be easily recycled with flux recovery ratio of 85%. This new PAN membrane has a great potential for treating oily wastewater.

Flux decline of filtration membranes caused by oil pollutants is one of the most serious challenges for oil/water separation. Aiming at improving the anti-fouling property as well as the cyclic stability, a mineralized membrane was fabricated by growing cupric phosphate [Cu3(PO4)2] nanoparticles onto polyacrylic acid-grafted-poly (vinylidene fluoride) (PAA-g-PVDF) microfiltration membrane via soaking mineralization process for oil-in-water emulsion separation. The uniform distribution of Cu3(PO4)2 nanoparticles on both the membrane surface and the inner pores endows the membrane with rigid structure and superhydrophilic property, and thus outstanding anti-oil-fouling performance. The Cu3(PO4)2/PAA-g-PVDF mineralized membranes exhibit low decay rate of permeating flux during 2 h continuous test and a nearly 100% recovery ratio for the separation of various oil-in-water emulsions. Moreover, the membranes possess good mechanical and chemical stability toward ultrasonic, salts and wide pH range, which is promising for treating practical oily wastewater.

Hydrophilically-modified mesh filter membranes have been widely researched for oil/water separation due to their high permeating flux and excellent separation efficiency. However, the low oil pressure resistance of mesh membrane is a major drawback limiting its practical oil/water separation applications. In this work, we report an ultrathin microporous membrane developed via the decoration of a stainless steel mesh filter with electrospun poly(acrylic acid) grafted poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PAA-g-PVDF) nanofibers. The network structure of the nanofiber layer reduces the pore size of the stainless steel mesh to improve its oil pressure resistance, and simultaneously maintains a high active separation area to preserve the highly permeable feature of the mesh filter membrane. Therefore, this composite membrane exhibits high permeating flux (up to 53574 L m−2 h−1 under gravity) and high oil intrusion pressure (>6000 Pa) at the same time. Satisfactory permeating flux and separation efficiency are achieved in various oil/water separation experiments and multiple operating cycles, which demonstrate the great potential of the membrane for practical oily wastewater treatment applications.

Membranes with excellent water permeance and high dye removal efficiency are highly desired for textile industry wastewater treatment. However, the high acidity and salinity in such wastewater impose great challenges in dye removal efficiency for conventional polyamide-based membranes. This study presents a type of acid-tolerant polyarylate (PAR) nanofiltration (NF) membrane that tackles such challenges. The PAR active layer is produced via interfacial polymerization using 5,5′,6,6′-tetrahydroxy-3,3,3′,3′-tetramethyl-1,1′-spirobisindane (TTSBI) and isophthaloyl dichloride (IPC) as monomers, and formed on top of a single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) nanofilm. The supporting SWCNT layer contributes to the ultrathin thickness of the PAR active layer and the extremely high membrane permeating flux of ~210 L m−2 h−1 bar−1, while the inclusion of TTSBI monomer grants the PAR active layer surface negatively charged that makes a high dye rejection of >99% at a wide range of feed solution pH and salinity possible. Furthermore, a high selectivity for dye and NaCl was observed with a stable NaCl retention of ~10%, when the membrane is tested at a pH ranging from 2 to 9 and feed NaCl concentration ranging from 1000 to 5000 ppm. The PAR NF membrane is therefore a promising tool for the highly efficient treatment of acidic and high salinity textile dye wastewaters.

In this work, ultrasmall metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) nanoparticles, UIO-66-NH2 nanoparticles were synthesized and embedded in an ultrathin polyamide (PA) active layer via the interfacial polymerization reaction on a polydopamine-wrapped single-walled carbon nanotube film. A thin-film nanocomposite nanofiltration (TFN NF) membrane with a PA/UIO-66-NH2 active layer as thin as 20 ± 3 nm was thus fabricated. The loading mass of the nanoparticles in the TFN NF membrane could be tuned by controlling the nanoparticles concentration in aqueous phase. Benefiting from the ultrathin thickness of active layer and the high loading mass of the MOFs nanoparticles, water permeability up to 46 L m−2 h−1 bar−1 along with a Na2SO4 rejection of 97.1% was achieved, which is 53% increase of the TFC NF membrane without the addition of UIO-66-NH2 nanoparticles. Our membrane owns the thinnest active layer in the category of TFN NF membranes reported so far and exhibits outstanding desalination performance.

Membrane technology has been considered as one of the most efficient methods to treat oil contaminated water. However, due to serious fouling caused by oil droplets absorption, the development of membrane technology is impeded in treating oily wastewater. We report in this work the fabrication of a pH-induced non-fouling membrane by grafting hyperbranched poly (ethylene imine) (PEI) onto PVDF/polyacrylic acid grafted PVDF blend membrane for effectively separating viscous soybean oil-in-water emulsion. The membrane exhibits an ultralow oil-adhesion and thus displays a superior antifouling performance in acidic condition so that it maintains a stable flux for long-time permeating. Meanwhile, the PEl grafted blend membrane behaves an excellent permeating performance with high flux and high separation efficiency It shows a promising potential for treating oil-contaminated wastewater produced by various industrial processes, especially for acidic oily wastewater treatment. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Background/Aims: Hyperuricemia is part of the metabolic-syndrome cluster of abdominal obesity, impaired glucose tolerance, insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, and hypertension. Monocytes/macrophages are critical in the development of metabolic syndrome, including gout, obesity and atherosclerosis. However, how high uric acid (HUA) exposure affects monocyte/macrophage function remains unclear. In this study, we investigated the molecular mechanism of HUA exposure in monocytes/macrophages and its impact on oxidized low-density lipoprotein (oxLDL)-induced foam-cell formation in a human monocytic cell line, THP-1. Methods: We primed THP-1 cells with phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate (PMA) for differentiation, then exposed cells to HUA and detected the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and analyzed the level of phospho-AMPKα. THP-1 cells were pre-incubated with Compound C, an AMPK inhibitor, or N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC), a ROS scavenger, or HUA before PMA, to assess CD68 expression and phospho-AMPKα level. PMA-primed THP-1 cells were pre-treated with oxLDL before Compound C and HUA treatment. Western blot analysis was used to examine the levels of phospho-AMPKα, CD68, ABCG1, ABCA1, cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and NF-κB (p65). Flow cytometry was used to assess ROS production and CD68 expression in live cells. Oil-red O staining was used to observe oxLDL uptake in cells. Results: HUA treatment increased ROS production in PMA-primed THP-1 cells; NAC blocked HUA-induced oxidative stress. HUA treatment time-dependently increased phospho-AMPKα level in PMA-primed THP-1 cells. The HUA-induced oxidative stress increased phospho-AMPKα levels, which was blocked by NAC. HUA treatment impaired CD68 expression during cell differentiation by activating the AMPK pathway, which was reversed by Compound C treatment. Finally, HUA treatment inhibited oxLDL uptake in the formation of foam cells in THP-1 cells, which was blocked by Compound C treatment. HUA treatment significantly increased the expression of ABCG1 and reversed the oxLDL-reduced ABCG1 expression but did not affect the expression of ABCA1, NF-κB (p65) or COX-2. Conclusions: HUA exposure activated the ROS-AMPK pathway, impaired CD68 expression, and inhibited oxLDL-induced foam-cell formation in a human monocytic cell line, THP-1.

Metformin is an oral biguanide commonly used for treating type II diabetes and has recently been reported to possess antiproliferative properties that can be exploited for the prevention and treatment of a variety of cancers. The mechanisms underlying this effect have not been fully elucidated. Our study shows a marked loss of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) phosphorylation and nuclear human Forkhead box O1 (FOXO1) protein in estrogen-dependent endometrial cancer (EC) tumors compared to normal control endometrium. Metformin treatment suppressed EC cell growth in a time-dependent manner in vitro; this effect was cancelled by cotreatment with an AMPK inhibitor, compound C. Metformin decreased FOXO1 phosphorylation and increased FOXO1 nuclear localization in Ishikawa and HEC-1B cells, with non-significant increase in FOXO1 mRNA expression. Moreover, compound C blocked the metformin-induced changes of FOXO1 and its phosphorylation protein, suggesting that metformin upregulated FOXO1 activity by AMPK activation. Similar results were obtained after treatment with insulin. In addition, transfection with siRNA for FOXO1 cancelled metformin-inhibited cell growth, indicating that FOXO1 mediated metformin to inhibit EC cell proliferation. A xenograft mouse model further revealed that metformin suppressed HEC-1B tumor growth, accompanied by downregulated ki-67 and upregulated AMPK phosphorylation and nuclear FOXO1 protein. Taken together, these data provide a novel mechanism of antineoplastic effect for metformin through the regulation of FOXO1, and suggest that the AMPK-FOXO1 pathway may be a therapeutic target to the development of new antineoplastic drugs.

1Department of Psychiatry, First Affiliated Hospital, China Medical University, Nanjing North Street, Shenyang 110001, People’s Republic of China 2Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Whenhua Road, Shenyang 110001, People’s Republic of China 3BenXi Mental Hospital, Digong Road, Benxi 117000, People’s Republic of China 4Dalian Seventh People’s Hospital, Lingshui Road, Dalian 116000, People’s Republic of China 5FuShun Coal-Mine Brain Hospital, Gaowan Road, FuShun 113000, People’s Republic of China

Background A number of clinical features potentially reflect an individual's familial vulnerability to major depression (MD), including early age at onset, recurrence, impairment, episode duration, and the number and pattern of depressive symptoms. However, these results are drawn from studies that have exclusively examined individuals from a European ethnic background. We investigated which clinical features of depressive illness index familial vulnerability in Han Chinese females with MD. Methods We used lifetime MD and associated clinical features assessed at personal interview in 1,970 Han Chinese women with DSM-IV MD between 30–60 years of age. Odds Ratios were calculated by logistic regression. Results Individuals with a high familial risk for MD are characterized by severe episodes of MD without known precipitants (such as stress life events) and are less likely to feel irritable/angry or anxious/nervous. Conclusions The association between family history of MD and the lack of a precipitating stressor, traditionally a characteristic of endogenous or biological depression, may reflect the association seen in other samples between recurrent MD and a positive family history. The symptomatic associations we have seen may reflect a familial predisposition to other dimensions of psychopathology, such as externalizing disorders or anxiety states. Depression and Anxiety 0:1–6, 2011. © 2011 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

A new heapsort algorithm is given in this paper. Its practical value is that the efficiency of it is two times as high as that of the original algorithm in Horowitz and Sahni (1978). Also, its theoretical significance lies in the order and the main term coefficient of the complexity has optimal performance.

Heapsort algorithm HEAPSORT runs in a higher efficiency way. It has been improved to reduce the constant factor of the complexity. An asymptotic optimal heapsort algorithm is given in this paper. When the efficiency becomes the lowest, the constant factor of its complexity will not be more than 4 3 .