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The main purpose of this paper is to prove difference and q-difference counterparts of the Clunie lemma from the Nevanlinna theory of differential polynomials, where the difference and q-difference polynomials can contain many terms of maximal total degree in f .z/ and its ( q-)shifts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

MicroRNAs (miRNA) are a class of noncoding RNA molecules that regulate gene expression by an RNA-interfering pathway through cleavage or inhibition of the translation of target mRNA. The 254 cattle miRNA candidates found by homology searching frequently clustered at certain chromosomes, and some are possibly expressed from more than one genomic locus. They were partially verified by cloning from a small cattle RNA library, where 31 distinct miRNAs were identified: 18 previously registered in the database of miRBase, 11 novel and homologous to known mammalian miRNAs, and 2 potentially novel without homology to any known miRNAs. Partial miRNA expression was detected by RT-PCR in cattle tissues, such as brain, liver, lung, and heart; some were expressed in all tissues and others in a specific tissue. Sequence alignments revealed that many had end variants, most of which differed in the 3′ end; a small number differed in the 5′ end. This indicates that the same miRNA gene can be individually modified in the process of miRNA biogenesis and could have a different role in regulating target gene expression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main purpose of this paper is to present the properties of the meromorphic solutions of complex difference equations of the form ∑{J} αJ (z) (∏j∈J f (z + cj)) = R (z, f (z)), where {J} is a collection of all subsets of {1,2, ..., n}, cj (j ∈ J) are distinct, nonzero complex numbers, f (z) is a transcendental meromorphic function, αJ (z)'s are small functions relative to f (z), and R (z, f, (z)) is a rational function in f (z) with coefficients which are small functions relative to f (z). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we extend the Wiman-Varilon thoery from entire functions to meromorphic ones of finite iterated order and investigate the growth of solutions of high order linear differential equations with meromorphic coefficients of finite iterated order. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We obtain the representations of the subnormal solutions of nonhomogeneous linear differential equation f" + [P1(ez) + Q1(e-z)]f' + [P2(ez) + Q2(e-z)]f = R1(ez) + R2(e-z), where P1(z), P2(z),Q1(z), Q2(z), R1(z), and R2(z) are polynomials in z such that P1(z), P2(z),Q1(z), and Q2(z) are not all constants, deg P1 > deg P2. We partly resolve the question raised by G. G. Gundersen and E. M. Steinbart in 1994. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

C31H27N7O9Pb, triclinic, P1 (no. 2), a = 7.5465(3) Å, b = 10.8333(4) Å, c = 19.9801(7) Å, α = 95.476(3)°, β = 94.404(3)°, γ = 108.206(3)°, V = 1534.8 Å3, Z = 2, Rgt(F) = 0.0271, wRref(F²) = 0.0480, T = 99 K. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study on the properties of the complex oscillation for higher order periodic differential equations. It discusses the infinity of the convergence exponent of zeros of the product of two linearly independent solutions. Standard notations of value distribution theory of meromorphic functions are also included. Meromorphic function's lower order to denoted the convergence exponent of zeros are also analyzed. The authors present a weaken condition of a theorem and a corollary.

In this paper, we investigate the growth and fixed points of solutions and their 1st, 2nd derivatives, differential polynomial of second order linear differential equations with meromorphic coefficients, and obtain that the exponents of convergence of these fixed points are all equal to the order of growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have investigated the relationships of an entire function f and its linear differential polynomial L(f) = akf(k) + ak-1f(k-1) + ... + a0f, ak ≠ 0 when they share a finite value CM. As a special case of the results is the confirmation of a conjecture of Brück. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of DNA methylation and histone acetylation on the cell cycle progression and expression of tumor suppressor genes in human colon cancer (HCC) cell lines. METHODS: Three HCC cell lines (HT-29, SW1116 and Colo-320) were treated with the DNA methyl­ation inhibitor, 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine (5-aza-dC) or/and histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors, tricho­statin A (TSA) or sodium butyrate. The methylation status of the promoter of the p16 [sup INK4A ] gene was assayed by methylation-specific PCR (MSP). The expression of p16 [sup INK4A ] and p21 [sup WAF1 ] was analyzed by RT-PCR. The cell cycle distribution was determined by flow cytometry. RESULTS: Before treatment, p16 [sup INK4A ] expression was slightly detected in the three cell lines (HT-29, SW1116 and Colo-320) and p21 [sup WAF1 ] expression was not detected in SW1116 and Colo-320 cells. The methylation level of the p16 [sup INK4A ] gene promoter significantly decreased and mRNA expression markedly increased in HT-29 cells after treatment with 1 µmol/L, but not 10 µmol/L, of 5-aza-dC for 24 h. In the SW1116 and Colo-320 cells, the expression of p16 [sup INK4A ] was markedly enhanced at 10 µmol/L or 5 µmol/L of 5-aza-dC for 24 h. However, p21 [sup WAF1 ] gene expression was not detected. Interestingly, after treatment with TSA or sodium butyrate, the transcription of p21 [sup WAF1 ] was significantly upregulated in these two cell lines. Furthermore, 5-aza-dC did not affect cell cycle distribution, but TSA or sodium butyrate blocked the cell cycle, mainly in the G[sub 1] phase. CONCLUSIONS: The expression of the p16 [sup INK4A ] gene is regulated by DNA methylation in three HCC cell lines. The expression of p21 [sup WAF1 ] gene is regulated by histone acetylation in SW1116 and Colo-320. In these two cell lines, histone hyperacetylation causes a G[sub 1] cell cycle arrest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Binding of the fluoride ion triggers aggregation of a pyreneboronic acid-catechol ensemble in acidic aqueous solutions, giving rise to intense excimer emission, allowing for sensitive fluoride ion sensing at ppm levels, with an apparent fluoride binding constant higher than 10³ M-1 which is unprecedented for boronic acid sensors in water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Surface modification of PET substrates using polyvinylpyrrolidone to improve substrate hydrophilicity. • The MXene/AgNW/MXene transparent conductive films with a sandwich structure were prepared by layer-by-layer self-assembly. • The EMI SE of the MAM TCF achieves 27.12 dB, and the transmittance is 85.1 %. • The MAM TCF has a fast thermal response and high electro-thermal conversion at low voltages. With the popularization of 5G technology and the development of science and technology, flexible and transparent conductive films (TCF) are increasingly used in the preparation of optoelectronic devices such as electromagnetic shielding devices, transparent flexible heaters, and solar cells. Silver nanowires (AgNW) are considered the best material for replacing indium tin oxide to prepare TCFs due to their excellent comprehensive properties. However, the loose overlap between AgNWs is a significant reason for the high resistance. This article investigates a sandwich structured conductive network composed of AgNW and Ti 3 C 2 T x MXene for high-performance EMI shielding and transparent electrical heaters. Polyethylene pyrrolidone (PVP) solution was used to hydrophilic modify PET substrate, and then MXene, AgNW, and MXene were assembled layer by layer using spin coating method to form a TCF with a sandwich structure. One-dimensional AgNW is used to provide electron transfer channels and improve light penetration, while two-dimensional MXene nanosheets are used for welding AgNWs and adding additional conductive channels. The flexible TCF has excellent transmittance (85.1 % at 550 nm) and EMI shielding efficiency (27.1 dB). At the voltage of 5 V, the TCF used as a heater can reach 85.6 °C. This work offers an innovative approach to creating TCFs for the future generation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We hypothesize that acculturation of young adult Mexican American grandchildren disrupts their relationships with more culturally traditional grandparents. To test our hypotheses, we use the Study of Three-Generation Mexican American Families, a longitudinal survey of Mexican American adults in linked generations from 375 family lineages. Regression analysis performed on 353 grandchild-grandparent dyads reveals that when adult grandchildren are more acculturated than their grandparents, they report less frequent interaction with them at baseline and declines in affection toward them over time. These patterns are not found when grandparents report their relations with grandchildren. These results provide evidence that differential rates of acculturation across generations in Mexican American families socially and affectually distance grandchildren from their grandparents but not grandparents from their grandchildren. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the impact of intergenerational social support for the psychological well-being of older parents. Excessive support received from family members may increase distress by inducing dependence and eroding the autonomy of the older recipient and that excessive support provided to family members may increase distress by being burden--some to the older provider. The theory of social breakdown provides a social-psychological perspective on the potential negative consequences of social support. It tested the hypothesis using a sample of 539 older participants in the University of Southern California Longitudinal Study of Generations. Lagged regression models are estimated to predict nonlinear change in positive and negative mood over 3 years. Support form adult children are psychologically beneficial at moderate levels and psychologically harmful at high levels. Receiving support enhances positive mood up to a threshold point, beyond which greater involvement reduces well-being. It is demonstrated that the nonlinear effect of social support is most pronounced among older parents who have the lowest expectations of their adult children for support.

Sedimentary tuffs comprise important tight oil reservoirs in the Middle Permian Tiaohu Formation in the Santanghu Basin. This paper describes three research advances made on these reservoirs. (1) There are many sets of sedimentary tuff in the second member of the Tiaohu Formation and they are the "sweet section" for tight oil exploration. Vitric, crystal-vitric, and argillaceous tuffs are the main reservoir types, of which the first two are more favorable. (2) A model was established to show how the volcanic edifice controls the type and distribution of the volcanic lacustrine tuff deposition. The crystal-vitric tuff is distributed in the lacustrine deposits nearest to the volcanic crater, and the vitric tuff is distributed on both sides of the active volcanic belt a certain distance from the crater, and this is the most favorable distribution area for sedimentary tuff. Later devitrification resulted in formation of a large number of micro-pores, and this is the main reason for the presence of favorable reservoirs. (3) The sedimentary tuff reservoir has undergone successive geological processes from formation of secondary dissolution pores, then hydrocarbon charge and accumulation, to compaction. The tight oil accumulation is the result of the coupling of the diagenetic evolution of the tuff in the Tiaohu Formation and the hydrocarbon generation and charging from the shale in the Lucaogou Formation. • The most typical and famous sedimentary tuff tight oil reservoir in China. • A model showing how volcanic edifice controlling the type and distribution of the volcanic lacustrine tuff deposition. • The coupling effect of the diagenetic evolution of the tuff and the hydrocarbon generation and charging from the shale. • Vitric tuff and crystal-vitric tuff are two types of favorable reservoirs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) targets are full of coherent speckle noise, the traditional deep learning models are difficult to effectively extract key features of the targets and share high computational complexity. To solve the problem, an effective lightweight Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) model incorporating transfer learning is proposed for better handling SAR targets recognition tasks. In this work, firstly we propose the Atrous-Inception module, which combines both atrous convolution and inception module to obtain rich global receptive fields, while strictly controlling the parameter amount and realizing lightweight network architecture. Secondly, the transfer learning strategy is used to effectively transfer the prior knowledge of the optical, non-optical, hybrid optical and non-optical domains to the SAR target recognition tasks, thereby improving the model's recognition performance on small sample SAR target datasets. Finally, the model constructed in this paper is verified to be 97.97% on ten types of MSTAR datasets under standard operating conditions, reaching a mainstream target recognition rate. Meanwhile, the method presented in this paper shows strong robustness and generalization performance on a small number of randomly sampled SAR target datasets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Liver fibrosis develops from various chronic liver diseases, and there is currently a lack of specific treatment strategies. Yiqi Rougan decoction (YQRG) is a traditional Chinese medicine that has shown durative effects in the treatment of liver fibrosis; however, the mechanism associated with YQRG-related improvements in liver fibrosis remains to be experimentally determined. This study evaluated the therapeutic effect of YQRG on carbon tetrachloride (CCl4)-induced liver fibrosis in rats and its molecular mechanism. Methods: We used low-, medium-, and high-dose YQRG to treat CCl4-induced liver fibrosis in rats, followed by assessment of liver injury and fibrosis according to liver appearance, body weight, liver mass index, histopathologic examination, and serum testing. Additionally, we performed transcriptome analysis using RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) technology, including cluster, Gene Ontology (GO), and pathway analyses, to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs), and protein and gene expression were detected by immunofluorescence (IFC), western blot and real-time quantitative PCR. Results: The results showed that YQRG effectively alleviated CCl4-induced liver injury and fibrosis in rats, including observations of improved liver function, decreased activity of hepatic stellate cells (HSCs), and decreased extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition. Moreover, we identified downregulated and upregulated DEGs in the model group relative to the control and YQRG-treated groups, with GO analysis revealing their enrichment in biological processes, such as endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS), apoptosis, and autophagy. Furthermore, pathway analysis showed that YQRG treatment downregulated the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and phosphoinositide 3-kinase/Akt (PI3K/AKT) signalling pathways and upregulated other signalling pathways, including those related to peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors(PPAR) and AMP-activated protein kinase(AMPK), with these findings subsequently verified experimentally. Conclusion: These findings showed that YQRG improved CCl4-induced liver fibrosis through multiple mechanisms and pathways, offering critical insight into the YQRG-related therapeutic mechanism and promoting further research into its potential application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many insect pests, including the brown planthopper (BPH), undergo windborne migration that is challenging to observe and track. It remains controversial about their migration patterns and largely unknown regarding the underlying genetic basis. By analyzing 360 whole genomes from around the globe, we clarify the genetic sources of worldwide BPHs and illuminate a landscape of BPH migration showing that East Asian populations perform closed-circuit journeys between Indochina and the Far East, while populations of Malay Archipelago and South Asia undergo one-way migration to Indochina. We further find round-trip migration accelerates population differentiation, with highly diverged regions enriching in a gene desert chromosome that is simultaneously the speciation hotspot between BPH and related species. This study not only shows the power of applying genomic approaches to demystify the migration in windborne migrants but also enhances our understanding of how seasonal movements affect speciation and evolution in insects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For clear-cell renal cell carcinoma patients, we want to identify a convenient and noninvasive diagnostic method for earlier diagnosis with use of serum miRNAs. • 108 ccRCC patients and 112 normal controls were enrolled as research objects for profiling of serum miRNAs. • A diagnostic 3-miRNA panel (miR-429, miR-10a-5p and miR-27a-3p) was established [area under the curve (AUC) = 0.897, sensitivity = 85.0%, specificity = 83.3%, P < .01]. • The serum 3-miRNA panel with excellent sensitivity and specificity could be used for screening and early diagnosing clear-cell renal cell carcinoma. Background: Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) carries significant morbidity and mortality globally with an increasing incidence per year predominantly represented by clear-cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) which accounts for 70-80% of all RCC cases. MicroRNAs(miRNAs) implicate tumor development and progression in epigenetic mechanisms and available profiling of serum miRNAs potentiate them as diagnostic markers for various cancers. Materials and Methods: A total of 108 ccRCC patients and 112 normal controls were enrolled. A 3-stage experiment was conducted to identify differentially expressed serum miRNAs in ccRCC and establish a diagnostic miRNAs panel. Additionally, bioinformatic analysis was employed to predict selected miRNAs' target genes, preform functional annotation and explore the roles in ccRCC. Results: MiR-429, miR-10a-5p, miR-154-5p were found to be up-regulated miRNAs. Inversely, miR-27a-3p and miR-221-3p were found to be down-regulated miRNAs. These 5 miRNAs were selected to construct diagnostic panel by backward stepwise logistic regression analysis and ultimately a 3-miRNA panel (miR-429, miR-10a-5p and miR-27a-3p) was established [area under the curve (AUC) = 0.897, sensitivity = 85.0%, specificity = 83.3%]. Conclusion: The panel of 3-miRNA holds promise as a novel, convenient, and noninvasive diagnostic method for early detection of ccRCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Many hormones display distinct circadian rhythms, driven by ce ntral regulators, hormonal bioavailability, and half-life. A set of 11-oxygenated C19 steroids (11-oxyandrogens) and pregnenolone sulfate (PregS) ar e elevated in congenital adrenal hyperplasia and other disorders, but their c ircadian patterns have not been characterized. Participants and methods: Peripheral blood was collected every 2 h over 24 h from health y volunteer men (10 young, 18-30 years, and 10 older, 60-80 years). We used mas s spectrometry to quantify 15 steroids, including androstenedione (A4), testosterone (T), 11ß-hydroxy- and 11-ketotestosterone (11OHT, 11KT),11ß-hydroxy- and 11-ketoandrostenedione (11OHA4, 11KA4), and 4 Δ5-steroid sulfates. Diurnal models including mesor (rhythm adjus ted median), peak, and nadir concentrations, acrophase, and amplitu de were computed. Results: 11OHA4 followed a rhythm similar to cortisol: acrophase 8:00 h, nadir 21:00 h and were similar in young and old men. 11KT had similar diurnal patterns, but the peak was lo wer in older than in young men, as was the case for A4. All four steroid sulfates were higher in young vs older men. Pr egS and 17-hydroxypregnenolone sulfate (17OHPregS) showed sustained elevations between 8:00 and 18:00 h, and nadir s around midnight, while DHEAS and AdiolS displayed minimal diurnal variations. All 4 11-oxyandrogens cor related tightly with cortisol (r from 0.54 for 11OHT to 0.81 for 11OHA4, P < 0.0001 for all), but very weakly with T, supporting their adre nal origin and ACTH governance. Conclusions: 11-Oxyandrogens, PregS, and 17OHPregS display distinct circadi an and age variations, which should be accounted for when used as clinical biomarkers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) is a universally used solvent in various synthetic reactions, and trace amounts of DMSO residual are often seen on the surface of chemical product. It is difficult to quickly determine whether the residual DMSO is washed completely. This work reports a CdII metal–organic framework (MOF) SXU‐4 which can detect trace amounts of DMSO in various solvents. Fluorescence experiments reveal its turn‐on fluorescence effect toward DMSO with high selectivity and sensitivity, indicating that it can be used as an effective luminescent probe for rapid chemical product purity detection by testing the washing solution. Crystallographically characterized DMSO loaded SXU‐4 (DMSO@SXU‐4), in combination with computational results uncover that the enhanced DMSO–MOF conjugation through multiple DMSO–MOF supramolecule interactions and charge rearrangement are the main causes of fluorescence intensification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The overactivation of NF-1B signaling is a key hallmark for the pathogenesis of extranodal natural killer/T cell lymphoma (ENKTL), a very aggressive subtype of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma yet with rather limited control strategies. Previously, we found that the dysregulated exportin-1 (also known as CRM1) is mainly responsible for tumor cells to evade apoptosis and promote tumor-associated pathways such as NF-B signaling. Methods: Herein we reported the discovery and biological evaluation of a potent small molecule CRM1 inhibitor, LFS-1107. We validated that CRM1 is a major cellular target of LFS-1107 by biolayer interferometry assay (BLI) and the knockdown of CRM1 conferred tumor cells with resistance to LFS-1107. Results: We found that LFS-1107 can strongly suppresses the growth of ENKTL cells at low-range nanomolar concentration yet with minimal effects on human platelets and healthy peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Treatment of ENKTL cells with LFS-1107 resulted in the nuclear retention of IkBa and consequent strong suppression of NF-B transcriptional activities, NF-B target genes downregulation and attenuated tumor cell growth and proliferation. Furthermore, LFS-1107 exhibited potent activities when administered to immunodeficient mice engrafted with human ENKTL cells. Conclusions: Therefore, LFS-1107 holds great promise for the treatment of ENKTL and may warrant translation for use in clinical trials. Funding: Yang's laboratory was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant: 81874301), the Fundamental Research Funds for Central University (Grant: DUT22YG122) and the Key Research project of 'be Recruited and be in Command' in Liaoning Province (Personal Target Discovery for Metabolic Diseases). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An accurate evaluation of structural damage is essential to performance-based seismic design for the structure across the earth fissure. By comparing the calculation results from three commonly used damage models and the experimental results, a weighted combination method using Chen model was selected in this paper as the seismic damage evaluation. A numerical model considering the soil-structure interaction (SSI) was proposed using ABAQUS software. The model was calibrated by comparing with the experimental results. The results from the analysis indicated that, for the structure across the earth fissure, the existence of earth fissure changed the damage distribution of the structural members. The damage of structural members in the hanging wall was greater than that in the foot wall. Besides, the earth fissure enlarged the damage degree of the structural members at the same location and changed the position of the weak story. Moreover, the damage degree of the structure across the earth fissure was greater than that of the structure without the earth fissure under the same excitation. It is expected that the results from this research would enhance the understanding of the performance-based seismic design for the structure across the earth fissure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • A methamphetamine-related virtual social environment (METH-VSE) was developed. • Patients with METH dependence showed a greater HRV under METH-VSE. • Normal controls showed a smaller HRV under METH-VSE. • HRV features predicted patients with METH dependence accurately. Abstract In the present study, we developed a methamphetamine (METH)-related virtual social environment to elicit subjective craving and physiological reactivity. Sixty-one male patients who were abstinent from METH use and 45 age-matched healthy males (i.e., normal controls) were recruited. The physiological electrocardiogram (ECG) signals were recorded before (resting-state condition) and during viewing of a METH-cue video in the virtual environment (cue-induced condition). The cue-induced subjective craving was measured with a visual analogue scale (VAS) for patients with METH dependence. The results indicated that the cue-induced condition elicited significant differences in heart rate variability (HRV) between patients with METH dependence and normal controls. The changes of HRV indexes on time domain and non-linear domain from the resting-state condition to the cue-induced condition were positively correlated with the score on VAS of METH craving. Using a supervised machine learning algorithm with the features extracted from HRV changes, our results showed that the discriminant model provided a high predictive power for distinguishing patients with METH dependence from normal controls. Our findings support that immersing subjects with METH dependence in a METH-related virtual social environment can successfully induce physiological reactivity, and cue-induced physiological signal changes may have a potential implication in clinical practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) radar system, timely array diagnosis method is needed for transmit and receive arrays. To avoid using extra probes or measurements, a novel signal subspace clustering-based array diagnosis method is proposed. By exploiting the relationship between the signal subspace extracted from the covariance matrix and the steering matrix in MIMO radar, the feature of the anomalous data points in signal subspace caused by faulty elements is examined. Consequently, the anomalies are grouped into one cluster by density peaks clustering algorithm, and the faulty antennas in transmit and receive arrays can be identified based on the clustering results. Numerical simulation results demonstrate the superiority of the proposed approach in array diagnosis problem for MIMO radar. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/Aims: Long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) cancer susceptibility candidate 2 (CASC2) is downregulated in various cancers and involved in both tumorigenesis and progression. The aim of this study was to assess the prognostic value of lncRNA CASC2 in cancer patients. Methods: We searched the Web of Science, PubMed, EMBASE, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), and the Wanfang database to identify studies evaluating the prognostic value of lncRNA CASC2 in cancer patients. Pooled hazard ratios (HRs) or odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using fixed-effects/random-effects models. Results: A total of eight studies were included. The combined results showed that lncRNA CASC2 was significantly associated with decreased overall survival (OS) (HR = 0.37, 95% CI, 0.27-0.46, P <0.001). Subgroup analyses further indicated that low expression of lncRNA CASC2 predicted decreased OS in cancer patients. Additionally, low CASC2 expression levels in cancer tissues appeared to be correlated with advanced clinical staging (OR = 3.32, 95% CI, 2.29-4.80, P <0.001). Conclusions: Low CASC2 expression appears to be predictive of poor OS and advanced tumor stage in multiple cancers. CASC2 expression may serve as unfavorable prognostic factor for clinical outcomes in cancer patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In conjunction with lift-off patterning and thermal annealing, we have fabricated hexagonal arrays of epitaxial ZnAl 2 O 4 buffer layers on sapphire substrates. Taking advantage of the small lattice mismatch between ZnO (0001) and ZnAl 2 O 4 (111), site-controlled epitaxial growth of ZnO prisms occurred on the pre-patterned, lattice-matched buffer layers. Subsequently, using a continuous flow reactor, long-duration maskless lateral epitaxial overgrowth (LEO) of ZnO prisms led to coalescence into continuous, thick layers within aqueous solutions at low temperature. X-ray diffraction (XRD) confirmed that LEO on the hexagonally patterned buffer layers facilitated the fabrication of strain-relieved, wing-tilt-free, thick ZnO layers. The dislocation density at the coalesced LEO-grown ZnO layer was approximately 10 8 cm −2 . The spatial variation in the micro-photoluminescence characteristics of the LEO-grown layer suggested that the improvement in crystalline quality occurred in the overgrown wings, originating from the decrease in dislocation in the ZnO layer during the LEO process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (DLLME), coupled with high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), was developed and introduced for simultaneous extraction and determination of the trace level matrine alkaloids (oxymatrine, matrine, sophoridine and oxysophocarpine) in Composite Kushen Injection and Sophorae Flavescentis Radix. Several factors affecting performance were investigated and optimized, including type and volume of extraction solvent, type and volume of disperser solvent, sample phase pH, shaking time, centrifugation time and rate, and salt concentration in the sample solution. Under optimized conditions, the enrichment factors of DLLME for four matrine alkaloids ranged from 0.17 to 83.5; the good linearities were obtained for all analytes with the coefficient of determination of between 0.9924 and 0.9989; the limits of detection were between 0.2 and 275 ng mL-1; the satisfactory recoveries (86.6-104.5%) and the precision (relative standard deviation (RSD) 2.0-12.2%)were also achieved. The average content of sophoridine, oxymatrine, matrine and oxysophocarpine in Composite Kushen Injection and Sophorae Flavescentis Radix are 0.60, 40.3, 0.17, 0.39 mg mL-1 with the RSD of 5.3-9.0% (n = 3), and 0.13, 26.7, 1.20, 0.40 mg g-1 with the RSD of 3.5-9.2% (n = 3). The experimental results showed that the methodwas a simple, sensitive and practical for simultaneous extracting, enriching and quantifying of the different concentrations level matrine alkaloids in TCM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chiral metamaterials with artificially engineered subwavelength structures can effectively couple incident waves and lead diverse electromagnetic responses to various circular polarizations. Here, we designed and fabricated an origami-inspired reconfigurable three-dimensional (3D) chiral metamaterial, whose circular dichroism can be dynamically controlled by simple mechanical stretch of its bonded elastomer substrate. The chiral metamaterial was obtained from a patterned planar achiral metasurface through mechanically guided 3D assembly based on the prestrain approach, which ensures deterministic and uniform deformations for each building block during stretching. Numerical simulations and experimental observations were carried out to illustrate the deformation mechanism and the electromagnetic response of the metamaterials under the applied strain. It is shown that the transmissions and chiroptical activities can be continuously tuned from complete spin selectivity to partial spin selectivity when the applied strain increases. The maximum circular dichroism was experimentally measured as high as 0.98, which can be even adjusted to near zero by mechanical stretching. Our work demonstrated an easily operated and promising way to control the chirality of origami-inspired metamaterial in the microwave region, which can be further extended to the terahertz frequency biosensing, imaging, and spectroscope. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rhizosphere of grown tea (Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze) becomes acidic, and aluminium (Al) toxicity has been identified as a key constraint on plant development in acidic soils. The current study investigated the composition and functions of rhizosphere bacteria as well as soil enzyme activity under different Al stress conditions. The effect of soil pH, soil enzyme activities, the diversity and structure of the rhizosphere bacterial population under various Al concentrations were studied by the pot experiment. All analyses demonstrated that substantial alterations in the activity of soil enzymes and the composition of the bacterial communities in the rhizosphere could only be seen under conditions of extreme Al stress. Soil enzymes were more concentrated in Al concentrations of 100, 150 and 250 µM, respectively. More than 82,000 valid reads were obtained for each replicate, and the abundance of certain genera in the aluminium treated groups were greater than the control group. Lower Al stress attracted Al-tolerant bacteria such as Burkholderia to increase Al stress resistance. These findings revealed that soil enzyme activities and the structure of the rhizosphere bacterial population in tea orchard soil provided tolerance or resistance capability to tea plants for their development under Al stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently found substantial discoveries in the Lower Jurassic Sangonghe Formation in Taibei Sag, Turpan-Hami Basin was made possible through exploration wells Qintan1 and Ji7H. The two wells represented a major breakthrough in lithologic oil and gas reservoir exploration in the depression area and offered promising results for the investigation of the “lower depression source” in the Turpan-Hami Basin. The two favorable conditions of lithologic reservoir formation in the sag area are systematically summarized based on the two wells, and specific suggestions for further exploration are specified. The results show that: (1)Three sets of source rocks, namely Badaowan Formation, Sangonghe Formation, and Xishanyao Formation, are developed in Shuixigou Group of Jurassic in Taipei Sag. The new drillings reveal that Sangonghe Formation serves as both a regional caprock and a high-quality source rock. According to the source rock re-evaluation, the Shuixigou Group in Taipei Sag has excellent hydrocarbon generation potential. (2)Sangonghe Formation of Lower Jurassic is the main target layer for exploration in the depression area. Braided river delta sediments are developed. Sandbodies are developed in the depression area. At a depth of more than 5000 m, effective reservoirs are still developed as a result of secondary dissolution and structural fractures. (3)There are five favorable zones of rock reservoirs in the Lower Jurassic of Taibei Sag, namely, Pudong, Hongbei, Lingbei, Qiudong, and Gebei. These zones have excellent exploration potential and represent an important direction for future exploration in the Turpan-Hami Basin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Within the past 2 decades, three highly pathogenic human coronaviruses have emerged, namely, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV), Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The health threats and economic burden posed by these tremendously severe coronaviruses have paved the way for research on their etiology, pathogenesis, and treatment. Compared to SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2, MERS-CoV genome encoded fewer accessory proteins, among which the ORF4b protein had anti-immunity ability in both the cytoplasm and nucleus. Our work for the first time revealed that ORF4b protein was unstable in the host cells and could be degraded by the ubiquitin proteasome system. After extensive screenings, it was found that UBR5 (ubiquitin protein ligase E3 component N-recognin 5), a member of the HECT E3 ubiquitin ligases, specifically regulated the ubiquitination and degradation of ORF4b. Similar to ORF4b, UBR5 can also translocate into the nucleus through its nuclear localization signal, enabling it to regulate ORF4b stability in both the cytoplasm and nucleus. Through further experiments, lysine 36 was identified as the ubiquitination site on the ORF4b protein, and this residue was highly conserved in various MERS-CoV strains isolated from different regions. When UBR5 was knocked down, the ability of ORF4b to suppress innate immunity was enhanced and MERS-CoV replication was stronger. As an anti-MERS-CoV host protein, UBR5 targets and degrades ORF4b protein through the ubiquitin proteasome system, thereby attenuating the anti-immunity ability of ORF4b and ultimately inhibiting MERS-CoV immune escape, which is a novel antagonistic mechanism of the host against MERS-CoV infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Rhein is the main extract of Rheum palmatum L., which has been proved to improve the renal function of chronic kidney disease, but its mechanism is not clear. Therefore, this experiment explored the potential pharmacological effect of rhein on renal interstitial fibrosis rats. Methods. This study explores the potential pharmacological action of rhein. In this work, we investigate the potential pharmacological action of rhein in unilateral urethral obstruction (UUO) rats. Thirty Sprague Dawley rats were randomly divided into three groups: sham, UUO, and rhein (rhein-treated UUO rats) groups. The left ureters of the UUO group rats were exposed and bluntly dissected. The rhein group rats were administered an intragastric gavage of rhein (2 mg·kg−1·d−1) for 14 d. Kidney function-related indicators were monitored in these rats, while indexes of pathologic aspects were determined histologically. The expression of α-SMA, TGF-β1, SHH, Gli1, and Snail was quantified using real-time polymerase chain reaction and western blotting. The NRK-49F cells were incubated with and without SHH (100 ng·ml−1) for 48 hours. The SHH-activated NRK-49F cells were incubated with cyclopamine (CNP, 20 umol L−1) or rhein (1 ng·ml−1). The Gli1 and Snail mRNA and protein level were detected. Results. In the in vivo experiment, the results exhibited that UUO caused renal pathological damages. However, these changes could be significantly reversed by the administration of rhein. Compared with the untreated UUO group, the rhein group showed reduced kidney tubular atrophy and necrosis, interstitial fibrosis, hyperplasia, and abnormal deposition of extracellular matrix. Rhein reduced the RNA and protein expression of SHH, Gli1, and Snail of the UUO rats. In the in vitro experiment, CNP or rhein treatment decreased the expression of Gli1 and Snail on mRNA and protein levels in SHH-induced NRK-49F cells, suggesting that CNP or rhein suppresses SHH-induced NRK-49F activation. Taken together, these results demonstrated that rhein suppresses SHH-Gli1-Snail signal pathway activation, with potential implications for the treatment of renal fibrosis. Conclusions. Treatment with rhein remarkably ameliorated renal interstitial fibrosis in UUO rats by regulating the SHH-Gli1-Snail signal pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inhibition of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) results in antitumor activity in leukemia cells, and may be a potential therapeutic strategy for the treatment of leukemia. However, a significant limitation of NF-κB inhibition in the treatment of leukemia is the low efficiency of this technique. NF-κB inhibitor treatment induces apoptosis in leukemia cells; however, it additionally causes inflammatory molecules to induce increased sensitivity of healthy hematopoietic cells to cell death signals, therefore limiting its clinical applications. Tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) is a key regulator of inflammation, and induces a variety of actions in leukemic and healthy hematopoietic cells. TNF-α induces NF-κB-dependent and -independent survival signals, promoting the proliferation of leukemia cells. However, in healthy hematopoietic cells, TNF-α induces death signaling, an effect which is enhanced by the inhibition of NF-κB. Based on these observations, the present study hypothesized that inhibition of TNF-α signaling may be able to protect healthy hematopoietic cells and other tissue cells, while increasing the anti-leukemia effects of NF-κB inhibition on leukemia cells. The role and underlying molecular mechanisms of TNF-α inhibition in the regulation of NF-κB inhibition-induced apoptosis in leukemia cells was therefore investigated in the present study. The results indicated that inhibition of TNF-α enhanced NF-κB inhibition-induced apoptosis in leukemia cells. It was also revealed that protein kinase B was significant in the regulation of TNF-α and NF-κB inhibition-induced apoptosis. During this process, intrinsic apoptotic pathways were activated. A combination of NF-κB and TNF-α inhibition may be a potential specific and effective novel therapeutic strategy for the treatment of leukemia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new method of uniform sampling is evaluated in this paper. The items and indexes were adopted to evaluate the rationality of the uniform sampling. The evaluation items included convenience of operation, uniformity of sampling site distribution, and accuracy and precision of measured results. The evaluation indexes included operational complexity, occupation rate of sampling site in a row and column, relative accuracy of pill weight, and relative deviation of pill weight. They were obtained from three kinds of drugs with different shape and size by four kinds of sampling methods. Gray correlation analysis was adopted to make the comprehensive evaluation by comparing it with the standard method. The experimental results showed that the convenience of uniform sampling method was 1 (100%), odds ratio of occupation rate in a row and column was infinity, relative accuracy was 99.50-99.89%, reproducibility RSD was 0.45-0.89%, and weighted incidence degree exceeded the standard method. Hence, the uniform sampling method was easy to operate, and the selected samples were distributed uniformly. The experimental results demonstrated that the uniform sampling method has good accuracy and reproducibility, which can be put into use in drugs analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explored the inhibiting effect and mechanism of myricanol on lung adenocarcinoma A549 xenografts in nude mice. Forty nude mice with subcutaneous A549 xenografts were randomly divided into five groups: high-dose myricanol (40 mg/kg body weight) group; middle-dose myricanol (20 mg/kg body weight) group; low-dose myricanol (10 mg/kg body weight) group; polyethylene glycol 400 vehicle group (1 mL/kg); and tumor model group. Nude mice were sacrificed after 14 days of treatment and the tumor inhibition rate (TIR, %) was then calculated. The relative mRNA expression levels of Bax, Bcl-2, VEGF, HIF-1α, and survivin in the tumor tissues were determined by real-time PCR. TUNEL assay was applied to determine cellular apoptosis, while IHC test was performed to detect the protein expression levels of Bax, Bcl-2, VEGF, HIF-1α, and survivin. The TIR of the three myricanol-treated groups ranged from 14.9% to 38.5%. The IHC results showed that the protein expression of Bcl-2, VEGF, HIF-1α, and survivin were consistently downregulated, whereas that of Bax was upregulated after myricanol treatment. Myricanol also significantly upregulated the mRNA expression of Bax and downregulated that of Bcl-2, VEGF, HIF-1á, and survivin in a dose-dependent manner (p < 0.05 to 0.001). These results are consistent with those of IHC. The TUNEL assay results indicated that apoptotic-positive cells significantly increased in the myricanol-treated tumor tissues compared with the cells of the vehicle control group (p < 0.01 to 0.001). These data suggest that myricanol could significantly decelerate tumor growth in vivo by inducing apoptosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are approximately 19 ~ 21 nucleotide noncoding RNAs produced by Dicer-catalyzed excision from stem-loop precursors. Many plant miRNAs have critical functions in development, nutrient homeostasis, abiotic stress responses, and pathogen responses via interaction with specific target mRNAs. Camellia sinensis is one of the most important commercial beverage crops in the world. However, miRNAs associated with cold stress tolerance in C. sinensis remains unexplored. The use of high-throughput sequencing can provide a much deeper understanding of miRNAs. To obtain more insight into the function of miRNAs in cold stress tolerance, Illumina sequencing of C. sinensis sRNA was conducted. Result Solexa sequencing technology was used for high-throughput sequencing of the small RNA library from the cold treatment of tea leaves. To align the sequencing data with known plant miRNAs, we characterized 106 conserved C. sinensis miRNAs. In addition, 215 potential candidate miRNAs were found, among, which 98 candidates with star sequences were chosen as novel miRNAs. Both congruously and differentially regulated miRNAs were obtained, and cultivar-specific miRNAs were identified by microarray-based hybridization in response to cold stress. The results were also confirmed by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. To confirm the targets of miRNAs, two degradome libraries from two treatments were constructed. According to degradome sequencing, 455 and 591 genes were identified as cleavage targets of miRNAs from cold treatments and control libraries, respectively, and 283 targets were present in both libraries. Functional analysis of these miRNA targets indicated their involvement in important activities, such as development, regulation of transcription, and stress response. Conclusions We discovered 31 up-regulated miRNAs and 43 down-regulated miRNAs in 'Yingshuang', and 46 up-regulated miRNA and 45 down-regulated miRNAs in 'Baiye 1' in response to cold stress, respectively. A total of 763 related target genes were detected by degradome sequencing. The RLM-5'RACE procedure was successfully used to map the cleavage sites in six target genes of C. sinensis. These findings reveal important information about the regulatory mechanism of miRNAs in C. sinensis, and promote the understanding of miRNA functions during the cold response. The miRNA genotype-specific expression model might explain the distinct cold sensitivities between tea lines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel hollow fiber cell fishing procedure with high-performance liquid chromatography (HFCF-HPLC) was developed and used for rapid screening, fishing, and analysis of bioactive compounds from traditional Chinese medicines. Human breast cancer cell MCF7, mouse breast cancer cell MADB106, and gastric cancer cell SGC7901 were seeded on the internal surface of hollow fibers that were used to screen, fish, and analyze an antitumor-active protoberberine alkaloid group from Coptis chinensis decoction. The main variables that affect the HFCF-HPLC process were investigated and optimized. The surface properties of the hollow fiber-seeded cells, cell survival rate, non-specific binding between active centers in the hollow fiber and the target compounds, repeatability, reliability, and recovery of HFCF-HPLC were investigated in detail. Several active compounds structures that were screened from Coptis chinensis by using HFCF-HPLC were identified by comparing the retention time of the reference substances. The cell membrane and cell organelle were separated from MCF7 cells for a preliminary study of the target effect of active compounds on MCF7 cells. The living cell, cell membrane, and cell organelle fishing factors of the active compound, as the indexes of drug binding ability in HFCF-HPLC, were defined and discussed. In addition, tamoxifen as positive control substance and indomethacin as negative control substance were screened by using HFCF-HPLC to further verify the method's reliability. The results demonstrated that HFCF-HPLC is an effective, rapid, stable, and reliable method to screen and analyze bioactive compounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is one of the most common metabolic diseases occurring during pregnancy. MiR-182- 3p participates in a variety of physiological processes such as cell proliferation, apoptosis, differentiation, and migration5, but its role in GDM is largely unknown. Aims: To investigate the relationship between miRNA-182-3p and GDM and explore a potential therapeutic strategy for GDM. Study Design: Animal experimentation Methods: To evaluate the effect of miRNA182-3p in GDM, mice were separated as negative control (NC), miRNA-182-3p mimic or miRNA-182-3p inhibitor, and miRNAs were administered intraperitoneally. Additionally, miRNA-182-3p mimic or miRNA-182-3p inhibitor was transfected into C2C12 cells to evaluate glucose metabolism and insulin-related pathways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), coronaviruses have begun to attract great attention across the world. Of the known human coronaviruses, however, Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) is the most lethal. Coronavirus proteins can be divided into three groups: nonstructural proteins, structural proteins, and accessory proteins. While the number of each of these proteins varies greatly among different coronaviruses, accessory proteins are most closely related to the pathogenicity of the virus. We found for the first time that the ORF3 accessory protein of MERS-CoV, which closely resembles the ORF3a proteins of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus and SARS-CoV-2, has the ability to induce apoptosis in cells in a dose-dependent manner. Through bioinformatics analysis and validation, we revealed that ORF3 is an unstable protein and has a shorter half-life in cells compared to that of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus and SARS-CoV-2 ORF3a proteins. After screening, we identified a host E3 ligase, HUWE1, that specifically induces MERS-CoV ORF3 protein ubiquitination and degradation through the ubiquitin-proteasome system. This results in the diminished ability of ORF3 to induce apoptosis, which might partially explain the lower spread of MERS-CoV compared to other coronaviruses. In summary, this study reveals a pathological function of MERS-CoV ORF3 protein and identifies a potential host antiviral protein, HUWE1, with an ability to antagonize MERS-CoV pathogenesis by inducing ORF3 degradation, thus enriching our knowledge of the pathogenesis of MERS-CoV and suggesting new targets and strategies for clinical development of drugs for MERS-CoV treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Notch signaling, which is driven by the Notch1 receptor, plays an essential role in the pathogenesis and stroma-mediated drug resistance of T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL). However, little is known about the roles of Notch ligands in the survival or drug resistance of T-ALL cells. In the present study, isolated mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) from human umbilical cord (hUC) samples, termed hUC-MSCs, were used as stromal cells for the Jurkat T-ALL cell line. The role of the Notch ligand, Jagged1, was assessed in the survival of Jurkat T-ALL cells using this co-culture system. hUC-MSCs and Jurkat cells were observed to express Jagged1. Furthermore, co-culture with hUC-MSCs led to a significant upregulation of Jagged1 and a more significant overexpression of its receptor, Notch1, in the Jurkat cells, indicating that the receptor and ligand pair may play a role in the reciprocal or autonomous activation of the Notch pathway. In addition, a higher level of CD28 expression was observed in the Jurkat cells that were co-cultured with hUC-MSCs. Blocking Jagged1 expression using neutralizing antibodies restored drug-induced apoptosis in the Jurkat cells that were co-cultured with hUC-MSCs, and also increased the drug sensitivity of the Jurkat cells that were cultured alone. By contrast, direct incubation with exogenously recombinant Jagged1 produced the same protective effects in Jurkat cells as those induced by hUC-MSCs. These results indicate a significant role for Jagged1 in hUC-MSC-induced survival and the self-maintenance of the Jurkat T-ALL cell line, making it a potential target for the treatment of human T-ALL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To evaluate the effect of different endodontic sealers (epoxy resin-based and bioceramic-based) and the time of post-cementation on the bond strength of a fiber post cemented with resin cement. Methods: Forty human premolars were instrumented and divided into 4 groups. According to the type of sealer and the time of post-cementation: AH-IM (AH Plus, post-cemented immediately after root canal treatment), SP-IM (iRoot SP, post-cemented immediately after root canal treatment), AH-OW (AH Plus, post-cementation after one week), and SP-OW (iRoot SP, post-cementation after one week). In each group, the samples were submitted to push-out test, and failure mode was assessed. Levene's test, one-way ANOVA, and Kruskal-Wallis analysis were applied for statistical analysis (α = 5%). Results: The highest mean push-out bond strength was obtained from the SP-IM group in the apical part (10.45 ± 5.15MPa), while the lowest was observed in samples from the AH-OW group in the middle part (2.63 ± 1.54 MPa). One-way ANOVA showed that within the same root region, the time of post-cementation had a negative influence on the bonding strength in the SP groups in the middle and apical portion (P<0.05), however, when comparing the effect of type of sealers on bonding strength between the OW groups or IM groups within the same root region, no significant difference was observed regardless of the post cementation time (P>0.05). Conclusions: The bond strength of the fiber post was higher when the post was cemented immediately after root canal treatment when the bioceramic sealer was applied. Clinical relevance: The correct choice of an endodontic sealer and the proper time of post-cementation may help to obtain the best quality of post-and-core restoration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose a dielectric sample model to investigate the threshold field for charge injection at electrode/dielectric interfaces by space charge observation. The model sample consists of a dielectric layer and two thin charge blocking layers, respectively, placed at the inside and one side of the dielectric layer. The method has been applied to investigate the threshold field for charge injection from Al, Au, or semiconductive electrode into polyethylene. Experimental results show that charge injection occurs so long as the interface electric field is nonzero, i.e., there is no indication of a threshold field for the charge injection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polyethylene (PE) samples were surface fluorinated by the F2/N2 mixture for 30, 60, 120 or 240 min to investigate the influence of the fluorinated layer characteristics on space charge accumulation. After polarization at 50 kVmm-1 dc electrical field and 40 &DEG;C for 240 min, the charge amounts of the samples fluorinated for the different times, normalized to the charge amount of the original sample, are 1.17, 0.51, 0.49 and 0.22, respectively, showing significant suppression of the charge accumulation by the longer treatments, especially for the 240 min treatment. Infrared analyses and SEM cross-section images of the fluorinated samples indicate the increases in degree of fluorination and thicknesses of the fluorinated layer with the treatment time, and the fluorinated layer thicknesses were determined to be 0.39, 0.45, 0.65 and 0.80µm. Surface energy calculations show that the polar component increased from 2.9 to 14.7 mJm-2 after the 30 min treatment, and subsequently decreased to 11.8, 11.5 and 9.5 mJm-2 for the longer treatments of 60, 120 and 240 min. This suggests a similar change in surface layer permittivity with the treatment time. The fluorinations led to the shift of thermally stimulated discharge current peak from 156 &DEG;C of the original sample to 145, 142, 144 and 149 &DEG;C of the fluorinated samples, and thus reduced the trap depth of the surface layer. But, the longer treatments of 60, 120 and 240 min significantly improved the barrier properties of the surface layer to the diffusion of the chemical species from the semi-conductive electrode to the PE by the decrease in free volume of the surface layer. The chemical species diffused into the sample surface layer reduced the depth of surface traps. The decrease in free volume is more important in suppressing the charge accumulation than the increase in surface layer permittivity and the change in surface trap, because it would reduce the charge transport in the surface layer and the charge direct injection at both electrodes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

C25H27CuN5O7, triclinic, P1 (no. 2), a = 9.3812(6) Å, b = 11.3399(6) Å, c = 13.0957(8) Å, α = 81.654(8)°, β = 71.623(6)°, γ = 69.745(6)°, V = 1239.3 Å3, Z = 2, Rgt(F) = 0.0361, wRref(F²) = 0.0830, T = 99 K. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Persistent eruption occurs in a subset of patients with adult-onset Still's disease. In our experience, a considerable proportion of these patients present with peripheral eosinophilia. The aims of this study were to summarize the clinical and histological features of patients with adult-onset Still's disease with persistent eruption in the current study cohort, and to assess the association between peripheral eosinophil levels and disease characteristics. A total of 21 patients with adult-onset Still's disease with persistent eruption were included in this retrospective study. Koebner signs, an important diagnostic clue, were found in 85.7% of patients. The proportion of patients presenting with eosinophilia within the disease course was 57.1%. Skin histology revealed infiltration of eosinophils in 90.5% of patients. Peripheral eosinophil levels were positively associated with involved body surface area. Patients with normal peripheral eosinophil counts were more likely to achieve complete remission than those with abnormal peripheral eosinophil counts. Eosinophils may be involved in the pathogenesis of skin eruption. Abnormal peripheral eosinophil counts in these patients may indicate a more refractory disease course. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We describe MIP-1 and MIP-2, novel paralogous C. elegans germ granule components that interact with the intrinsically disordered MEG-3 protein. These proteins promote P granule condensation, form granules independently of MEG-3 in the postembryonic germ line, and balance each other in regulating P granule growth and localization. MIP-1 and MIP-2 each contain two LOTUS domains and intrinsically disordered regions and form homo- and heterodimers. They bind and anchor the Vasa homolog GLH-1 within P granules and are jointly required for coalescence of MEG-3, GLH-1, and PGL proteins. Animals lacking MIP-1 and MIP-2 show temperature-sensitive embryonic lethality, sterility, and mortal germ lines. Germline phenotypes include defects in stem cell self-renewal, meiotic progression, and gamete differentiation. We propose that these proteins serve as scaffolds and organizing centers for ribonucleoprotein networks within P granules that help recruit and balance essential RNA processing machinery to regulate key developmental transitions in the germ line. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aspergillus flavus and its main secondary metabolite AFB1 pose a serious threat to several important crops worldwide. Recently, it has been reported that some PHD family transcription factors are involved in the morphogenesis and AFB1 biological synthesis in A. flavus, but the role of Cti6, a PHD domain containing protein in A. flavus, is totally unknown. The study was designed to reveal the biological function of Cti6 in the fungus by deletion of cti6, and its two domains (PHD and Atrophin-1) through homologous recombination, respectively. The results showed that Cti6 might up-regulate the mycelium growth, conidiation, sclerotia formation and AFB1 biological synthesis of A. flavus by its PHD domain, while Atrophin-1 also improved the conidiation of the fungus. The qRT-PCR analysis showed that Cti6 increased the conidiation of the fungus through AbaA and BrlA mediated conidiation pathway, triggered the formation of sclerotia by orthodox sclerotia formation pathway, and improved the production of AFB1 by orthodox AFB1 synthesis pathway. Crops models analysis showed that A. flavus Cti6 plays vital role in colonization and the production of AFB1 on the host grains mainly via PHD domain. Bioinformatics analysis showed Cti6 is conservative in Aspergillus spp., and mCherry mediated subcellular localization showed that most Cti6 accumulated in the nuclei, which reflected that Cti6 performed its important biological function in the nuclei in Aspergillus spp.. The results of the current study elucidate the roles of PHD domain containing proteins in the mechanism of the infection of crops by A. flavus, and provided a novel target for effectively controlling the contamination of Aspergillus spp. to crops. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]