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Dietary and symbiotic bacteria can exert powerful influence on metazoan lipid metabolism. Recent studies have emerged that microbiota have a role in animal obesity and related health disorders, but the mechanisms by which bacteria influence lipid storage in their host are unknown. To reduce the complexity of the relationship between gut microbiota and the host, Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) has been chosen as a model organism to study interspecies interaction. Here, we demonstrate that feeding C. elegans with an opportunistic pathogenic bacterium Stenotrophomonas maltophilia (S. maltophilia) retards growth and promotes excessive neutral lipid storage. Gene expression analysis reveals that dietary S. maltophilia induces a lipogenic transcriptional response that includes the SREBP ortholog SBP-1, and fatty acid desaturases FAT-6 and FAT-7. Live imaging and ultrastructural analysis suggest that excess neutral lipid is stored in greatly expanded lipid droplets (LDs), as a result of enhanced endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-LD interaction. We also report that loss of function mutations in dpy-9 in C. elegans confers resistance to S. maltophilia. Dietary S. maltophilia induces supersized LDs by enhancing lipogenesis and ER-LD contacts in C. elegans. This work delineates a new model for understanding microbial regulation of metazoan physiology.

Background Long noncoding RNA NEAT1 has been implicated in glioma progression. However, the effect of NEAT1 on glycolysis of glioma cell and the potential mechanism remain unclear. Methods In vitro experiments, including CCK-8, colony formation, ECAR, and lactate detection assays were performed to evaluate the effect of NEAT1 on proliferation and glycolysis of glioma cell. RNA pulldown and RIP assays were performed to identify the interaction between NEAT1 and PGK1. Truncated mutation of NEAT1 and PGK1 was used to confirm the specific interactive domains between NEAT1 and PGK1. Animal studies were performed to analyze the effect of NEAT1/PGK1 on glioma progression. Results NEAT1 knockdown significantly suppressed the proliferation and glycolysis of glioma cells. NEAT1 could specifically interact with PGK1, which promotes PGK1 stability. Hairpin A of NEAT1 is essential for interaction with M1 domain of PGK1. Depletion of NEAT1 markedly inhibited tumor growth in mice, while PGK1 could reverse this effect. Higher expression of NEAT1 was associated with poor overall survival of GBM patients. Conclusions NEAT1 over expression promotes glioma progression through stabilizing PGK1. NEAT1/PGK1 axis is a candidate therapeutic target for glioma treatment.

The upgrading of tar is a key issue for the sufficient application of biowaste pyrolysis technology. Molten salt, with high migration and diffusion of ions to prevent the deactivation of coke deposition of tar reforming functional metals, is considered as a feasible catalytic reaction medium and heat carrier for the upgrading of tar. The present study investigated the interactions between small molecular pyrolysis gases (including H2, CO, CH4) and main tar model compound in ternary carbonate eutectics (Li2CO3–Na2CO3–K2CO3). The results demonstrated that H2 could be decomposed to produce H radicals, promoting the conversion of toluene into gaseous products. CO32− could consume H radicals required by toluene cracking, making the process toluene polymerized to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons be strengthened. On the other hand, CO would react with OH radicals to produce H radicals and could enhance gas-generating process. In addition, toluene could react with CO to form benzaldehyde and phenylacetaldehyde. With the addition of CH4, more H radicals were supposed to be consumed, and toluene cracking process was further inhibited. Finally, the effect sequence of small molecular gases (H2 > CH4 > CO) on toluene reforming reaction was authenticated by investigating the impacts of introducing any two gases in toluene reforming.

Previous studies have suggested that aggressive hydration with lactated ringer solution are one of the protective factors in preventing post endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (post-ERCP). We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to examine the efficacy aggressive hydration with lactated Ringer solution in preventing PEP. All published and unpublished articles on aggressive hydration with lactated ringer solution in those underwent ERCP procedure for any reasons were screened for eligibility. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines were followed. This paper doesn’t need the IRB approval. Seven RCTs met the inclusion criteria. Meta-analysis indicates that aggressive hydration with lactated Ringer solution were associated with lower PEP rate.[odds ratio (OR) 0.29; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.18–0.48]; lower incidence of hyperamylasemia (OR 0.49; 95% CI 0.35, 0.69) and lower risk of pain (OR 0.28; 95% CI 0.10–0.81). The association between aggressive hydration with lactated Ringer solution and incidence of moderate severity PEP were unclear (OR 0.57; 95% CI 0.22, 1.45). Sensitivity analyses also showed that omitting 1 study from analysis of PEP rate could reduce the heterogeneity but did not change the conclusion of this meta-analysis. A cumulating meta-analysis was performed statistically which showed a stable result of overall incidence of PEP. Aggressive hydration with lactated Ringer solution was a protective factor in reducing the overall incidence of PEP, hyperamylasemia and risk of abdominal pain.

The present paper considers a fractional-order N species network, in which, the general functions are used for finding general theories. The existence, uniqueness, and non-negativity of the solutions for the considered model are proved. Moreover, the local and global asymptotic stability of the equilibrium point are studied by using eigenvalue method and Lyapunov direct method. Finally, some simple examples and numerical simulations are provided to demonstrate the theoretical results.

Co-pyrolysis of biomass with oxygen-lean polymer waste is a promising way to improve both quantity and quality of the derived oil. However, the release of sulfur contaminants causes serious adverse effects on the utilization of the derived oil. In order to promote the efficient and economic utilization of the derived products, the high-temperature desulfurization was conducted in this study using a ternary molten carbonates (Li2CO3–Na2CO3–K2CO3). And the effects of added Ca2+ or Cl−/SO42− on the desulfurization were estimated. The results demonstrated that the molten carbonates showed high efficiency in the removal of H2S/COS/SO2 at 500 °C. Alkali metals competitively reacted with H2S/COS to form various sulfides and sulfur species in the cooled products were probably determined by the crystallization processes. Besides, H2S removal was stimulated by adding CaCO3 and the formed CaS was precipitated from the molten salts. The addition of Cl−/SO42− changed the ion distribution characteristics of the molten salts and had slightly adverse effects on the removal of H2S. In contrast, SO2 removal was hardly affected while COS removal efficiency was decreased after adding Ca2+ or Cl−/SO42−. Anyway, the added Ca2+ favored the recovery of sulfur as well as the regeneration of spent molten carbonates.

The increasing penetration of renewable energy sources (RESs) brings more power generation fluctuations into power systems, which puts forward higher requirement on the regulation capacities for maintaining the power balance between supply and demand. In addition to traditional generators for providing regulation capacities, the progressed information and communication technologies enable an alternative method by controlling flexible loads, especially thermostatically controlled loads (TCLs) for regulation services. This paper investigates the modeling and control strategies of aggregated TCLs as the virtual energy storage system (VESS) for demand response. First, TCLs are modeled as VESSs and compared with the traditional energy storage system (ESS) to analyze their characteristic differences. Then, the control strategies of VESS are investigated in microgrid and main grid aspects, respectively. It shows that VESS control strategies can play important roles in frequency regulation and voltage regulation for power systems’ stability. Finally, future research directions of VESS are prospected, including the schedulable potential evaluation, modeling of TCLs, hierarchical control strategies of VESS considering ESSs and RESs and reliability and fast response in frequency control for VESS.

Strong near-field scattering enhancement (NFSE) of polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes (POSS) nanoparticles (NPs) aggregates is found through physical simulation. An aggregation of N,N’-di-[3-(isobutyl polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes) propyl] perylene diimide (DPP) which possesses POSS as scatteres experimentally performs strong NFSE, which confirms the physical simulation results. Moreover, coherent random laser is triggered from the DPP aggregates in carbon disulfide. It is the NFSE of POSS NPs connected to both ends of DPP through covalent bonds and the NFSE of their aggregation thanks to DPP’s aggregation that is responsible for the coherent random laser. So, this work develops a method to improve weak scattering of system through construction of molecules, and opens a road to a variety of novel interdisciplinary investigations, involving molecular designing for disordered photonics.Strong near-field scattering enhancement (NFSE) of polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes (POSS) nanoparticles (NPs) aggregates is found through physical simulation. An aggregation of N,N’-di-[3-(isobutyl polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes) propyl] perylene diimide (DPP) which possesses POSS as scatteres experimentally performs strong NFSE, which confirms the physical simulation results. Moreover, coherent random laser is triggered from the DPP aggregates in carbon disulfide. It is the NFSE of POSS NPs connected to both ends of DPP through covalent bonds and the NFSE of their aggregation thanks to DPP’s aggregation that is responsible for the coherent random laser. So, this work develops a method to improve weak scattering of system through construction of molecules, and opens a road to a variety of novel interdisciplinary investigations, involving molecular designing for disordered photonics.

We have demonstrated the realization of a coherent vesicle random lasing (VRL) from the dye doped azobenzene polymer vesicles self-assembled in the tetrahydrofuran-water system, which contains a double-walled structure: a hydrophilic and hydrophobic part. The effect of the dye and azobenzene polymer concentration on the threshold of random laser has been researched. The threshold of random laser decreases with an increase in the concentration of the pyrromethene 597 (PM597) laser and azobenzene polymer. Moreover, the scattering of small size group vesicles is attributed to providing a loop to boost the coherent random laser through the Fourier transform analysis. Due to the vesicles having the similar structure with the cell, the generation of coherent random lasers from vesicles expand random lasers to the biomedicine filed.

Chitin is found in the exoskeleton and peritrophic matrix of arthropods, but recent studies have also identified chitin in the spinning duct of silk-spinning arthropods. Here, we report the presence and function of chitin and cuticle proteins ASSCP1 and ASSCP2 in the spinning duct of silkworms. We show that chitin and these proteins are co-located in the cuticular layer of the spinning duct. Ultrastructural analysis indicates that the cuticular layer has a multilayer structure by layered stacking of the chitin laminae. After knocking down ASSCP1 and ASSCP2, the fine structure of this layer was disrupted, which had negative impacts on the mechanical properties of silk. This work clarifies the function of chitin in the spinning duct of silk-spinning arthropods. Chitin and cuticle proteins are the main components of the hard and rigid cuticular layer, providing the shearing stress during silk fibrillogenesis and regulating the final mechanical properties of silk.

Sorafenib is the important first-standard drug for patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). A major obstacle to successful treatment is sorafenib resistance. However, the mechanism of sorafenib resistance is unclear. The present study aimed to determine the involvement of dipeptidyl peptidase-8 (DPP8) in sorafenib resistance. DPP8 expression was detected using quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) and western blot analysis. The effect of DPP8 on sorafenib resistance was examined using terminal deoxynulceotidyl transferase nick-end-labeling (TUNEL), colony formation, flow cytometry, luciferase reporter, immunofluorescence, and immunoprecipitation (IP) assays. We found that DPP8 mRNA and protein levels were dramatically upregulated in HCC. Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) illustrated that DPP8 might be involved in apoptosis regulation. Downregulation of DPP8 substantially promoted the sensitivity of HCC cells to sorafenib. Further analysis showed that DPP8 might regulate nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) signaling, which was confirmed using a luciferase reporter assay. Downregulation of DPP8 decreased the expression levels of downstream genes of the NF-κB pathway. IP showed that DPP8 can interact with NF-κB subunit c-Rel, an important protein of NF-κB signaling. Finally, a drug combination of sorafenib and Val-boroPro induced higher mortality of HCC cells than sorafenib alone in DPP8-upregulated cells. Our findings indicated that using the inhibitor Val-boroPro might be a promising method to enhance sorafenib sensitivity in advanced HCC.

Melatonin (MLT), a pineal neurohormone with multiple neuroprotective, is often used for peripheral nerve recovery and regenerated nerve proliferation. In this study, Polycaprolactone/Gelatin (PG) fibrous electrospun scaffolds with various percentages of MLT (0, 1, 2, and 4%wt) were fabricated for nerve cell growth, the effects of different concentrations of MLT within PG fibers (PG, PGMLT1, PGMLT2, and PGMLT4) on the proliferation and differentiation for PC12 cells were quantitatively evaluated. The microstructures and morphologies of these scaffolds were analyzed by FE-SEM and digital camera. Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and Water Contact Angle (WCA) were used to study the composition, ratio and properties of MLT functionalized PG scaffolds. MTT and CLSM analysis showed that appropriate amount of MLT was beneficial to the proliferation of PC12 cell. MLT can also promote cell differentiation, neurite germination, the expression levels of MAP2 mRNA and protein were dramatically increased on the composite scaffolds with the increase of MLT content, moderate addition of MLT (PGMLT2, 2%) had a prominent enhancement for neurite length. This work would provide a more comprehensive reference for further researches on MLT functionalized composite scaffolds and suggest that high-performance PGMLT fibrous scaffolds could be a promising alternative for nerve repair.

Study region Upper Yangtze River Basin, China. Study focus The intensification of climate change and human activities leads to non-stationarity of hydrological processes. Previous studies mainly focus on monthly hydrological or Budyko models. However, it is a challenge that catchment hydrological responses to human activities for daily hydrological models. This study aims to evaluate anthropogenic impacts on water yield of the upper Yangtze River Basin by representing the Xinanjiang model parameters as functions of socio-economic factors. New hydrological insights The hydrological parameters WM (soil water storage capacity) and KE (ratio of potential evaporation to pan evaporation) increased in 1976–2000, while the parameter B (non-homogeneity of the soil water storage capacity) declined. It is further demonstrated that the population and the drainage area of reservoirs have the greatest impact on B and WM, respectively. Their linear functional form is validated to be effective for improving streamflow simulation. These findings can help understand the non-stationarity of the rainfall-runoff relationship due to increasing human development and contribute to adaptive development strategies for future water resource management.

We propose and demonstrate a sensitive vector twist sensor based on a small period long period fiber grating (SP-LPFG) fabricated with a femtosecond (fs) laser. The fabricated SP-LPFG is compact in size (2.8 mm) and shows strong polarization dependent peaks in its transmission spectrum due to the vectorial behavior of high-order cladding modes. Twist sensing is realized by monitoring the polarization dependent peaks, since the polarization of input light changes with fiber twist. The proposed sensor can be interrogated by the peak intensity and wavelength, with high twist sensitivity that reaches 0.257 dB/deg and 0.115 nm/deg, respectively.

Sacubitril/valsartan (Sac/Val) is a recently approved drug that is commonly used for treatment of heart failure. Several studies indicated that Sac/Val also regulated the secretion of inflammatory factors. However, the effect and mechanism of this drug modulation of inflammatory immune responses are uncertain. In this study, an experimental autoimmune myocarditis (EAM) mouse model was established by injection of α-myosin-heavy chain peptides. The effect of oral Sac/Val on EAM was evaluated by histological staining of heart tissues, measurements of cardiac troponin T and inflammatory markers (IL-6 and hsCRP). The effects of Sac/Val on NLRP3 inflammasome activation and Th1/Th17 cell differentiation were also determined. To further explore the signaling pathways, the expressions of cardiac soluble guanylyl cyclase (sGC) and NF-κB p65 were investigated. The results showed that Sac/Val downregulated the inflammatory response and attenuated the severity of EAM, but did not influence NLRP3 inflammasomes activation. Moreover, Sac/Val treatment inhibited cardiac Th17 cell differentiation, and this might be associated with sGC/NF-κB p65 signaling pathway. These findings indicate the potential use of Sac/Val for treatment of myocarditis.

Small period long period fiber grating is fabricated by femtosecond laser line by line technique. High order Bragg resonances, which are useful for dual-/multi- parameter sensing, are significantly enhanced (from ~0.6 dB to ~11 dB).

This study aims to investigate the enhanced low temperature denitration activity and promotional mechanism of a cerium-based catalyst through copper modification. In this paper, copper and cerium oxides were supported on TiO

With the development of the refining industry, the treatment of refinery wastewater has become an urgent problem. In this study, a ceramic membrane (CM) was combined with Fenton-activated carbon (AC) adsorption to dispose of refinery wastewater. The effect of the combined process was analyzed using excitation–emission matrix (EEM), ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopies (FTIR). Compared with direct filtration, the combined process could significantly improve the removal of organic pollution, where the removal rate of the COD and TOC could be 70% and the turbidity removal rate was above 97%. It was found that the effluent could meet the local standards. In this study, the membrane fouling was analyzed for the impact of the pretreatment on the membrane direction. The results showed that Fenton-AC absorption could effectively alleviate membrane fouling. The optimal critical flux of the combined process was increased from 60 to 82 L/(m2·h) compared with direct filtration. After running for about 20 d, the flux remained at about 55 L/(m2·h) and the membrane-fouling resistance was only 1.2 × 1012 m−1. The Hermia model revealed that cake filtration was present in the early stages of the combined process. These results could be of great use in improving the treatment efficiency and operation cycle of refinery wastewater.

When many cities need quantitative forecasts of air quality to adjust industrial production plans and urbanization development, how to build an efficient forecast model remain a challenge. Methodology for quantitative prediction of air quality can no longer rely on single‐site observations, and thus approaches that require fewer input data and are more efficient and more reliable need to be explored. This paper proposes the principles and steps of a new model using the empirical orthogonal function (EOF) and principal component regression (PCR), which is a hybrid EOF‐PCR approach that decomposes the panel data of PM2.5 and predictors into spatial structures (EOFs) and time expansion coefficients (ECs) by EOF analysis, establishes the PCR of the ECs of PM2.5, and simulates the PM2.5 concentrations in each city by projecting the fitted ECs through EOFs. The very heart of the new model is the PCR modeling and projection. The results are presented for PM2.5 concentrations over Jiangsu Province in eastern China. The results show that this EOF‐PCR model, which is based on EC1s with a cumulative variance contribution rate above 90%, has an average prediction accuracy of 65%. The model performs best in spring and autumn, better in summer and worst in winter. Most predictors have a maximum lag of a week, and they are quite different among seasons. Considering the influence of the spatial distributions of predictors, rather than covariates at a single site, this model can reflect regional influences and effectively improve the simulation effect.

In this paper, by analyzing the characteristics of the news reports of the COVID-19 epidemic events, we extract the event ancestor pairs from the text, extract the relationship between the events through attention-based bidirectional LSTM, and display them in the form of EEG model, which is conducive to the analysis of the evolution of epidemic events. The method proposed in this paper provides a new idea for the evolution of network events. The constructed event map can clearly show the evolution path of network events, monitor key nodes of network events, assist relevant management departments to formulate corresponding measures, and lead the events forward in a positive way.

BACKGROUND: Thrombospondins (THBSs) are glycoproteins expressed in the extracellular matrix (ECM) and have critical roles in tumor development and metastasis. However, the diverse expression patterns and prognostic roles of distinct THBS genes in gastric cancer have not been fully elucidated. In the current study, we aimed to investigate the expression patterns of THBSs in gastric cancer (GC) and determine whether they are prognostic markers for this malignancy. METHODS: mRNA expression status and genetic mutations of THBS family members were performed by using ONCOMINE, UCSC Xena browser, GEPIA, and cBioPortal databases. Prognostic values and function enrichment analysis of the members were assessed via Kaplan-Meier plotter and Metascape. RESULTS: we found that the mRNA expression of THBS1, THBS2, THBS4, and COMP were higher in patients with GC tissues than those in normal gastric mucosa and there was no difference in the mRNA expression of THBS3 between GC and normal tissue. Survival analysis revealed that mRNA levels of THBSs were strongly related to worse OS in GC patients (P

Complexes 1-3, C34H36X4CuN2O2 (X = Cl, Br, I), were synthesized with copper chloride dihydrate and three new Schiff base ligands derived from amantadine and 3,5-dihalosalicylaldehydes. They were characterized by IR, UV–VIS, elemental analysis, molar conductance, and single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis reveals that 1 and 2 crystallize in the triclinic system, Pī space group. Each asymmetric unit consists of one copper(II) ion, two corresponding deprotonated Schiff base ligands and one lattice dichloromethane molecule. 3 crystallizes in the monoclinic system, P21/n space group. Each asymmetric unit consists of one copper(II) ion and two deprotonated iodo- Schiff base ligands. The tetra-coordination of the central copper(II) ion in 1-3 is constructed by two nitrogen atoms and two oxygen atoms from the corresponding Schiff base ligands, forming a distorted tetrahedral geometry. Electrochemical properties of the complexes were determined by cyclic voltammetry.

Exogenous metabolites from microbial and dietary origins have profound effects on host metabolism. Here, we report that a sub-population of lipid droplets (LDs), which are conserved organelles for fat storage, is defined by metabolite-modulated targeting of the C. elegans seipin ortholog, SEIP-1. Loss of SEIP-1 function reduces the size of a subset of LDs while over-expression of SEIP-1 has the opposite effect. Ultrastructural analysis reveals SEIP-1 enrichment in an endoplasmic reticulum (ER) subdomain, which co-purifies with LDs. Analyses of C. elegans and bacterial genetic mutants indicate a requirement of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) and microbial cyclopropane fatty acids (CFAs) for SEIP-1 enrichment, as confirmed by dietary supplementation experiments. In mammalian cells, heterologously expressed SEIP-1 engages nascent lipid droplets and promotes their subsequent expansion in a conserved manner. Our results suggest that microbial and polyunsaturated fatty acids serve unexpected roles in regulating cellular fat storage by promoting LD diversity., Lipid droplets (LDs) are fat storage organelles that are initiated and expanded by seipins at ER contact sites. Here the authors show that the C. elegans seipin ortholog SEIP-1 is recruited to these sites by certain dietary fatty acids to support the expansion of a subset of LDs.

Wolbachia and Spiroplasma are intracellular bacteria that are of great interest to entomologists, because of their ability to alter insect host biology in multiple ways. In the spider mite Tetranychus truncatus, co‐infection of Wolbachia and Spiroplasma can induce cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI) and fitness costs; however, little is known about the effect of co‐infection at the genetic level and the molecular mechanisms underlying CI. In this study, we explored the influence of the two symbionts on male mite host fitness and used RNA sequencing to generate the transcriptomes of T. truncatus with four different types of infection. In total, we found symbiont‐infected lines had a higher hatch proportion than the uninfected line, and the development time of the uninfected line was longer than that of the other lines. Co‐infection changed the expression of many genes related to digestion detoxification, reproduction, immunity and oxidation reduction. Our results indicate that co‐infection of Wolbachia and Spiroplasma confers multiple effects on their hosts, and helps illuminate the complex interactions between endosymbionts and arthropods.

We develop a new reassembly pipeline that automatically restores an image from its rips. First, we develop an image fragment descriptor called Bundle-of-Superpixel, which can more effectively support the detection of correlated (adjacent) image fragments and the computation of local pairwise partial matching. We also develop a hierarchical global composition algorithm that iteratively performs the reassembly through a bottom-up manner. We also build a data benchmark for fragmented images and propose a set of quantitative recomposition assessment measures. Through extensive experiments and comparisons, we demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed algorithms.

The catalytic subunit p110δ of phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) encoded by PIK3CD has been implicated in some human solid tumors. However, its roles in colorectal cancer (CRC) remain largely unknown. Here we found that PIK3CD was overexpressed in colon cancer tissues and CRC cell lines and was an independent predictor for overall survival (OS) of patients with colon cancer. The ectopic overexpression of PIK3CD significantly promoted CRC cell growth, migration and invasion in vitro and tumor growth in vivo. In contrast, inhibition of PIK3CD by specific small-interfering RNA or idelalisib dramatically suppressed CRC cell growth, migration and invasion in vitro and tumor growth in vivo. Moreover, PIK3CD overexpression increased AKT activity, nuclear translocation of β-catenin and T-cell factor/lymphoid enhancer factor (TCF/LEF) transcriptional activity and decreased glycogen synthase kinase 3β (GSK-3β) activity, whereas PIK3CD inhibition exhibited the opposite effects. Furthermore, PIK3CD-mediated cell growth, migration and invasion were reversed by blockade of AKT signaling or depletion of β-catenin. In addition, PIK3CD expression in colon cancer tissues positively correlated with β-catenin abnormal expression, which was an independent predictor for OS of colon cancer patients. Taken together, our findings demonstrate that PIK3CD is an independent prognostic factor in CRC and that PIK3CD induces CRC cell growth, migration and invasion by activating AKT/GSK-3β/β-catenin signaling, suggesting that PIK3CD might be a novel prognostic biomarker and a potential therapeutic target for CRC.

The release of arsenic vapors (As3+) during high-arsenic coal combustion not only raises serious environmental concerns, but also causes catalyst deactivation in selective catalytic reduction (SCR) systems. To illuminate the mechanisms involved in the transformation of arsenic vapors towards less troublesome arsenates (As5+) during coal combustion, the accessory minerals in the high-arsenic coal were identified and the association relationship of these compounds with arsenic in fly ash was estimated. The results showed that Si/Al were the main inorganic elements in high-arsenic coal while the content of Ca was quite low. Ca was mostly transformed into sulfates during coal combustion and the effect of Ca on the arsenic transformation was limited. Al/Fe played a more significant role in arsenic speciation transformation and arsenic in the fly ash was predominantly bound with Al/Fe-oxides as arsenates. It was further confirmed that Al in kaolin/metakaolin showed good capacity on arsenic capture. In addition, few arsenic vapors were captured through the physical adsorption mechanism and the large fraction of As3+ in some fine particles was mostly attributed to the chemical reactions between arsenic vapors and Al-compounds. Meanwhile, a certain amount of arsenic vapors were converted into As2O5(s) under the influence of SCR catalyst and then carried by flue gas to participate in fly ash. Besides, part of arsenic distributed in the fly ash was through the stabilization of ash matrix in high temperature conditions. The transformation of arsenic from vapors towards particulate arsenic favored arsenic emission control by particulate matter control devices.

Transforming brick-and-mortar businesses into integrated online–offline models poses significant challenges for firms operationally and strategically. We conduct a comparative case study to investigate strategic renewals that result in the convergence of offline and online operations and strategies driven by information technology based innovations. We explore two strategic renewal paths used by our case firms: incremental resource-complementing renewal and discontinuous resource-substituting transformation. We illuminate the role of resource endowment in strategic renewal and its impact on the renewal path and explore the role of IT as operand or operant resource in strategic renewals and its impact on their success.

A dearomative remote activation strategy for the asymmetric functionalization of benzylic C-H bonds of heteroaryl aldehydes under bifunctional Brønsted base catalysis has been developed. The in situ generated o-QDMs-type dienolate intermediates were efficiently and stereoselectively trapped by nitroolefins through an asymmetric Michael/nitro-aldol cascade reaction. Using this strategy, a wide variety of synthetically significant tetrahydrodibenzothiophene and tetrahydrodibenzofuran derivatives were synthesized in good yields with high enantioselectivities.

FAS-associated protein with death domain (FADD) is the pivotal adaptor protein, which transmits apoptotic signals mediated by the death receptors. Here we report that high FADD protein level predicts poor prognosis of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients and its protein level is mainly regulated by the 26S proteasome. We also found that ubiquitin ligase SPOP (speckle-type POZ protein) binds to FADD and mediates its degradation, which can be blocked by MG132 treatment. Notably, SPOP inhibits NF-κB (nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells) activity and its target genes expression via FADD. These results reveal the function of SPOP-FADDNFκB axis in NSCLC cells, which is associated with prognosis of NSCLC patients.

Objective To investigate whether serum levels of fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) and fatty acid-binding protein-4 (FABP4) are associated with missed abortion (MA) in humans. Design Cross-sectional study. Setting University-affiliated hospital. Patient(s) Patients with MA at 8–12 weeks of gestation. Intervention(s) None. Main Outcome Measures(s) Serum levels of FGF21 and FABP4 were tested by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Placental samples were collected during dilation and curettage surgery, and the expression of FGF21 and its related genes were measured using quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Result(s) In the discovery cohort, 78 patients with MA and 79 healthy pregnant women matched for maternal age and body mass index were nested from a prospective cohort. Circulating levels of FGF21 and FABP4 were significantly and independently elevated in patients with MA relative to the levels in the healthy controls. A single measurement of FGF21 serum level effectively discriminated MA with an area under the receiver operating characteristics curve of 0.80 (95% confidence interval: 0.73–0.87). Importantly, in our external validation cohort that comprised subjects with MA (n = 34) or induced abortion (n = 27), the FGF21 serum levels achieved an area under the receiver operating characteristics curve of 0.85 (95% confidence interval: 0.75–0.96) when identifying those with MA. Nevertheless, expression of FGF21 in the placenta was not associated with its serum concentration. Placental tissues from patients with MA exhibited impaired FGF21 signaling. Conclusion(s) Our results suggested that serum levels of FGF21 and FABP4 were associated with MA. Circulating FGF21 may serve as a potential biomarker for the recognition of MA.

In this study, a new block-type rail bearing beam is presented, which consists of a cast-in-place base and prefabricated blocks. The finite element analysis is conducted to assess the proposed new rail bearing beam structure. The performed finite element method (FEM) simulation focused on the dynamic stress at the bottom of the rail bearing beam and structural internal force and deformation under the case of train loading, etc. Besides, the relationship between first-order natural frequency and activation frequency in the new support rail beam structure is analyzed and the beneficial effects on the internode connection structure are quantified. The results show that the increase in driving speed has the most significant effect on the vertical acceleration of the structure, and the self-vibration frequency of the structure is relatively large, which means the structure is safe. Since previous research seldom focuses on this block-type rail bearing beam, this study lays a valuable foundation for the construction of a rail bearing beam for the mid-low-speed maglev train.

Diabetes mellitus (type 1 and type 2) and its various complications continue to place a huge burden on global medical resources, despite the availability of numerous drugs that successfully lower blood glucose levels. The major challenging issue in diabetes management is the prevention of various complications that remain the leading cause of diabetes-related mortality. Moreover, the limited long-term durability of monotherapy and undesirable side effects of currently used anti-diabetic drugs underlie the urgent need for novel therapeutic approaches. Phytochemicals represent a rich source of plant-derived molecules that are of pivotal importance to the identification of compounds with therapeutic potential. In this review, we aim to discuss recent advances in the identification of a large array of phytochemicals with immense potential in the management of diabetes and its complications. Given that metabolic inflammation has been established as a key pathophysiological event that drives the progression of diabetes, we focus on the protective effects of representative phytochemicals in metabolic inflammation. This paper also discusses the potential of phytochemicals in the development of new drugs that target the inflammation in the management of diabetes and its complications.

The behavior of root-soil system has raised more and more attention in both ecological and geotechnical fields. In this study, a two-dimensional discrete element method is employed using PFC2D to simulate the root-reinforced soil. The root system is mimicked by chains of bonded discs, while the soil is modeled by granular particles. The tensile strength of the root is modeled by interdiscs’ bonding strength. Three laboratory tests were studied to calibrate the micromechanical parameters of DEM. Finally, direct shear tests on rooted soil are simulated to investigate the influence of different root characteristics on the root reinforcement effect.

The northeast cold vortex (NECV) is one of the major synoptic systems affecting Northeast China. The activity of NECV is an important reason for severe convective storms. However, research on extreme precipitation over Northeast China and their associations with the northeast cold vortex index (NECVI) is limited. Based on nonstationary generalized extreme value models, we analyze and quantify the contribution of the NECVI and the multiscale synergistic indices. Then, we verify the necessity of the NECVI by the likelihood ratio test and the blank control experiment, and further verify the impact of the NECVI on the extreme precipitation over Northeast China in combination with the climate index atmospheric circulation analysis. Results suggest that the models established with East Asian summer monsoon index, Southern Oscillation Index, and NINO3.4 index as covariates the most common. The NECVI and the synergies also make significant contribution and have passed the likelihood ratio test at 80% confidence. Especially in late summer, accounting for 18.69% of the 10 selected best models and 29.41% of the nine selected best nonstationary models. Based on the blank experiments, the models with the NECVI have a maximum reduction of 4.72% than those without the NECVI in the Akaike information criterion values in late summer. In early summer and late summer, the center of the high values of the water vapor anomaly is mainly located in southwestern in the strong NECVI years. These findings help to understand the genetic mechanism of extreme precipitation over Northeast China and provide reference for risk management.

To explore the genetic basis for a Chinese pedigree affected with N-acetylglutamate synthase deficiency.Trio whole exome sequencing (WES) was carried out for the pedigree. Pathogenicity of the identified variant was predicted based on the latest recommendation of the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG). Prenatal diagnosis was provided for subsequent pregnancy through Sanger sequencing.Trio WES showed that the proband has carried compound heterozygous c.68delG and c.796GC variants of NAGS gene, for which the mother and father were respectively heterozygous carriers. Neither variant was reported previously. Based on the ACMG guidelines, the c.68delG variant was classified as "likely pathogenic" (PVS1+PM2), while the c.796GC variant was classified as with "uncertain significance" (PM2+BP4). Sanger sequencing validated the above findings, and only detected the heterozygous c.796GC variant in the amniotic fluid sample. The fetus was followed up till 6 month after birth with no obvious abnormality.The compound heterozygous c.68delG and c.796GC variants of the NAGS gene probably underlay the disorder in this pedigree, and the resulth asenabled genetic counseling and prenatal diagnosis for this pedigree.