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Background and aims. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common causes of cancer-related deaths worldwide. The role of leucine-rich repeats containing G protein-coupled receptor 4 (LGR4) in HCC remains unclear. Metformin can prevent and control the development of a variety of cancers, especially in HCC. Alternative splicing (AS) can produce many cancer-driving genes. We aim to uncover that metformin regulates HCC development through alternative splicing of LGR4. Methods. First, the expression of LGR4 in HCC tumor tissues and cell lines was detected by western blotting and immunofluorescence. The ability of cell proliferation, migration, and invasion was detected with CCK8, wound-healing, and transwell assays when overexpressing LGR4 or treating with metformin. The β-catenin expression was detected by immunofluorescence. In order to investigate novel AS-associated LGR4, we discarded LGR4 isoforms from GSO databases. We used siRNA to knock down the specific isoform to check the cell proliferation, migration, and invasion when treated with metformin. Results. The level of LGR4 expression was higher in HCC cell lines and tumor tissues. The HCC cell proliferation, migration, and invasion were increased when overexpressing LGR4, which could be reduced by metformin treatment. The GEO database (GSE190076) showed that LGR4 had switching properties in HCC cell lines treated with metformin. We used siRNA to knock down the specific isoform, and the result showed that the specific isoform siRNA could promote the inhibition of cell invasion caused by metformin treatment. Conclusions. LGR4 could promote the ability of cell proliferation, migration, and invasion in HCC, which could be reduced by metformin through alternative splicing.

N6-methyladenosine (m6A) is the most abundant form of methylation modification in eukaryotic cell messenger RNA (mRNA). However, the role of m6A in gastric cancer (GC), which is one of the most common gastrointestinal malignancies, is unclear. In this study, m6A-relevant mRNA signatures and risk scores were determined to predict the prognosis of GC.The expression profiles and clinical information of 367 patients were downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). Cluster analysis and univariate Cox analysis were performed to identify the regulatory factors of RNA methylation associated with GC prognosis. A co-expression network was constructed using the WGCNA package in R. The correlations between module eigengenes and clinical traits were then calculated to identify the relevant modules. We used univariate Cox analysis to screen for genes that are significantly associated with prognosis in the module. We identified hub genes by least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) and multivariate analysis and developed a Cox prognostic model. Finally, the hub gene expression values weighted by the coefficients from the LASSO regression were applied to generate a risk score for each patient, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) and Kaplan-Meier curves were used to assess the prognostic capacity of the risk scores. The asporin (Our results indicated thatOur findings indicated that

As an important source of vegetable oil, peanut (Arachis hypogea L.) with both adequate tolerance and high-oleate could be a profitable choice in saline-alkali soil. In our study, two high-oleic peanut lines derived from the same cross and differing in saline-alkali response were initially identified from our previous field evaluation. In this study they were subjected to saline-alkali stress in pot culture, and their transcriptomes were analyzed. 16L1 possessed multiple characteristics related to saline-alkali stress tolerant, including well-developed green leaves, more pods, elevated proline, high levels of superoxide dismutase, catalase, peroxidase and strong photosynthetic capacity. According to the correlation of various indicators, we have established high-oleic peanut biological saline-alkali tolerance and physiological saline-alkali evaluation system. Ten differentially expressed genes (DEGs) responding to saline-alkali stress were characterized and confirmed by quantitative realtime reverse transcription PCR. A series of analyses of DEGs revealed the importance of secondary metabolites, osmotic adjustment substances, plant hormone signal transduction, and protein kinase in peanut saline-alkali tolerance. The output of this study will help to understand the saline-alkali tolerant mechanism and provide a reference for peanut saline-alkali tolerance.

This article reports microstructural characterization of as-cast and as-extruded Zn-Fe alloys and their mechanical and corrosion properties. Specifically, 1 wt.%, 2 wt.% and 3 wt.% Fe was added into the Zn matrix to form respective Zn-Fe alloys using casting and indirect hot extrusion processes. As the Fe content increased within the range of 1–3 wt.%, the mechanical properties of as-cast and as-extruded Zn-Fe alloys improved. The as-extruded Zn-Fe alloys showed superior mechanical properties of hardness, ultimate tensile strength (UTS) and elongation to failure (EL) to the as-cast Zn-Fe alloys of the same composition. Specifically, the UTS for as-extruded Zn-Fe alloys was 138–170 MPa, whereas the UTS for as-cast Zn-Fe alloys was 89–125 MPa. The corrosion properties of the as-extruded Zn-Fe alloys were investigated using the electrochemical and immersion methods. The corrosion rate of the as-extruded Zn-Fe alloys ranged from 0.015 mm/year to 0.210 mm/year.

Perovskite light-emitting diodes (PeLEDs) employing CH3NH3PbBr3 as the emission layer (EML) and graphene oxide (GO) doped PEDOT:PSS as the hole transport layer (HTL) were prepared and characterized. GO doped in PEDOT:PSS can lead to the increased work function of HTL and lower the hole injection barrier at the HTL/CH3NH3PbBr3 interface, which facilitates the hole injection. Meanwhile, the optimized GO amount in PEDOT:PSS can help to reduce the quenching of luminescence occurring at the interface between HTL and perovskite. The luminance and current efficiency reach the maximum values of 3302 cd m−2 and 1.92 cd A−1 in PeLED with an optimized GO ratio (0.3), which increase by 43.3% and 73.0% in comparison with the undoped device, respectively. The enhanced luminescence of PeLEDs was caused by the combined effects of enhanced hole injection efficiency and the suppressed exciton quenching occurring at the HTL/EML interface. These results indicate that the introduction of traditional two-dimensional materials is a reasonable method for designing the structure of PeLEDs.

Introduction: N6-methyladenosine (m6A) is the most abundant form of methylation modification in eukaryotic cell mRNA. However, the role of m6A in gastric cancer is unclear, which is one of the most common gastrointestinal malignancies. The m6A-relevant mRNA signatures and risk scores are determined to predict the prognosis of gastric cancer in this study.Methods: The expression profiles and clinical information of 367 patients were downloaded from the Cancer Genome. Cluster analysis and univariate Cox analysis were used to identify the regulatory factors of RNA methylation associated with gastric cancer prognosis. The co-expression network was constructed by the WGCNA package in R. Then, the correlations between module eigengenes and clinical traits were calculated to identify the relevant modules. We used univariate Cox analysis to screen for genes that were significantly associated with prognosis in the module (P < 0.01 was considered significant). We identified hub genes by LASSO and multivariate analysis, and developed a Cox prognostic model. Finally, the hub gene expression values weighted by the coefficients from the LASSO regression generated a risk score for each patient, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) and Kaplan-Meier curves were used to assess the prognostic capacity of the risk scores.Results: HNRNPC was shown as P1 in the TCGA gastric cancer data set, which might be a pathogenic factor affecting the prognosis of gastric cancer. The results indicated that AARD, ASPN, SLAMF9, MIR3117 and DUSP1 were hub genes affecting the prognosis of gastric cancer patients, and the m6A methylation of these mRNAs might be regulated by HNRNPC. The risk score = − (0.166195281×AARD + 0.016850602×ASPN + 0.591607997×SLAMF9 + 0.591607997×MIR3117 + 0.00276337×DUSP1), and our results indicated a bad performance of the five-gene signature for survival prediction (P < 0.05).Conclusion: HNRNPC (a m6A RNA methylation regulator) can participate in the serious progression of gastric cancer by regulating the m6A of AARD, ASPN, SLAMF9, MIR3117 and DUSP1, which may be used for prognosis stratification and treatment strategy formulation.

The rapid progress of the combination of medicine and engineering provides better chances for the clinical treatment and healthcare engineering. Traumatic brain injury (TBI) and its related symptoms have become a major global health problem. At present, these techniques has been widely used in the rehabilitation of TBI. In this review article, we summarizes the progress of the combination of medicine and industry in the rehabilitation of traumatic brain injury in recent years, mainly from the following aspects: artificial intelligence (AI), brain-computer interfaces (BCI), noninvasive brain stimulation (NIBS), and wearable-assisted devices. We believe the summary of this article can improve insight into the combination of medicine and industry in the rehabilitation of traumatic brain injury.

Background Application of controlled low central venous pressure (LCVP) in liver resection growing in popularity, but its efficacy and safety are still controversial. Our objectives were to assess and compare the efficacy, feasibility, and safety of controlled LCVP in patients undergoing liver resection. Methods The PubMed, Cochrane library, and EMBASE databases were systematically searched for all the relevant studies regardless of study design. We evaluated the methodological quality of the included studies and excluded studies of poor quality. Moreover, we applied a systematic review and meta-analysis by using RevMan 5.3 software to compare the efficacy and safety of LCVP vs. standard CVP for liver resection. Outcomes included operation time, blood loss, blood infusion, fluid infusion, urinary volume, postoperative complication rates, and hospital stay. Results In total, 10 studies, involving 324 patients undergoing liver resection with controlled LCVP, were identified. Meta-analysis displayed that blood loss in the LCVP group was dramatically less than that in the control group (standard CVP group, mean difference (MD): -581.68; 95% CI: -886.32 to -277.05; P=0.0002). Moreover, blood transfusion in the LCVP group was also markedly less than that in the control group (MD: -179.16; 95% CI: -282.00 to -76.33; P=0.0006). However, there was no difference between LCVP group and control group in operation time (MD: -16.24; 95% CI: -39.56 to 7.09; P=0.17), fluid infusion (MD: -287.89; 95% CI: -1,054.47 to 478.69; P=0.46), urinary volume (MD: -26.88; 95% CI: -87.14 to 33.37; P=0.38), ALT (MD: -58.66; 95% CI: -153.81 to 36.50; P=0.23), TBIL (MD: -0.32; 95% CI: -3.93 to 3.28; P=0.86), BUN (MD: -0.13; 95% CI: -0.73 to 0.47; P=0.67), CR (MD: 1.87; 95% CI: -4.90 to 8.63; P=0.59), postoperative complication rates (MD: 0.62; 95% CI: 0.44 to 0.90; P=0.01) and hospital stay (MD: -0.61; 95% CI: -1.68 to 0.46; P=0.26). Conclusions Compared with the control, controlled LCVP showed comparable efficacy and safety for the treatment during liver resection.

Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are considered to be the most promising energy-saving technology for future lighting and display. Two-dimensional (2D) materials, a class of materials comprised of monolayer or few layers of atoms (or unit cells), have attracted much attention in recent years, due to their unique physical and chemical properties. Here, we summarize the recent advances on the applications of 2D materials for improving the performance of LEDs, including organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs), quantum dot light emitting diodes (QLEDs) and perovskite light emitting diodes (PeLEDs), using organic films, quantum dots and perovskite films as emission layers (EMLs), respectively. Two dimensional materials, including graphene and its derivatives and transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), can be employed as interlayers and dopant in composite functional layers for high-efficiency LEDs, suggesting the extensive application in LEDs. The functions of 2D materials used in LEDs include the improved work function, effective electron blocking, suppressed exciton quenching and reduced surface roughness. The potential application of 2D materials in PeLEDs is also presented and analyzed.

High efficiency blue fluorescent organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), based on 1,3-bis(carbazol-9-yl)benzene (mCP) doped with 4,4&rsquo, bis(9-ethyl-3-carbazovinylene)-1,1&rsquo, biphenyl (BCzVBi), were fabricated using four different hole transport layers (HTLs) and two different electron transport layers (ETLs). Fixing the electron transport material TPBi, four hole transport materials, including 1,1-Bis[(di-4-tolylamino)phenyl]cyclohexane (TAPC), N,N&rsquo, Di(1-naphthyl)-N,N&rsquo, diphenyl-(1,1&rsquo, biphenyl)-4&rsquo, diamine(NPB), 4,4&rsquo, Bis(N-carbazolyl)-1,1,-biphenyl (CBP) and molybdenum trioxide (MoO3), were selected to be HTLs, and the blue OLED with TAPC HTL exhibited a maximum luminance of 2955 cd/m2 and current efficiency (CE) of 5.75 cd/A at 50 mA/cm2, which are 68% and 62% higher, respectively, than those of the minimum values found in the device with MoO3 HTL. Fixing the hole transport material TAPC, the replacement of TPBi ETL with Bphen ETL can further improve the performance of the device, in which the maximum luminance can reach 3640 cd/m2 at 50 mA/cm2, which is 23% higher than that of the TPBi device. Furthermore, the lifetime of the device is also optimized by the change of ETL. These results indicate that the carrier mobility of transport materials and energy level alignment of different functional layers play important roles in the performance of the blue OLEDs. The findings suggest that selecting well-matched electron and hole transport materials is essential and beneficial for the device engineering of high-efficiency blue OLEDs.

In recent years, taking advantages of high light absorption coefficients, long charge carrier diffusion lengths and intense photoluminescence, halide perovskites have attracted a great deal of interest in developing high-performance optoelectronic devices including solar cells, light-emitting diodes, photodetectors, transistors, lasers, and so on. Especially, the excellent combination of effective light absorption with tailorable absorption spectrum and high charge carrier mobility in a broadband range makes perovskite-based photodetectors different from traditional photodetectors made of inorganic semiconductors such as GaN, Si, and InGaAs. According to the recent reports, perovskites are promising to greatly improve responsivity, detectivity, noise equivalent power, linear dynamic range, and response speed of photodetectors. Here, we summarize the recent advancements in organic–inorganic hybrid perovskite-based photodetectors in terms of the progress in various low-dimension perovskites, and the recent effective approaches to enhance the performance of perovskite photodetector based on the interfacial engineering in perovskite heterostructures. Besides, two kinds of perovskite photodetectors, namely vertical structure and lateral structure, are analyzed, and the challenges to achieve practical applications in photodetectors are also discussed.

Organic–inorganic hybrid perovskites have attracted widespread attention in relation to light-emitting diodes (LEDs) due to their excellent properties. However, the imperfect energy band alignment between the perovskite and poly(3,4 ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) limits the device’s performance. Here, we have investigated the effect of blending MoS2 in PEDOT:PSS and the resulting performance of perovskite LEDs (PeLEDs). We found that the doping of MoS2 can optimize the energy barrier and promote hole injection, significantly improving the current efficiency (CE) of PeLEDs, which can be attributed to the distinguished electrical conductivity and improved charge injection balance. At the same time, the local surface plasmon resonance effect with Au nanoparticles (NPs) is also introduced to reduce the nonradiative recombination and effectively promote light emission to further improve the performance of PeLED devices. Compared to the control PeLEDs device with undoped PEDOT:PSS as the hole transport layer, a 223% enhancement in maximum CE and a 130% enhancement in maximum luminance are achieved, with an optimal volume ratio for the PEDOT:PSS:MoS2 of 1:0.4 and Au NPs of 10%. Thus, the optimization combination of MoS2 and Au NPs is an excellent approach to improve the performance of PeLEDs, thereby increasing the potential applications of PeLED devices.

In this paper, we proposed a novel active contour model based on Gaussian function and adaptive-scale local correntropy-based K-means clustering (Gaussian-ASLCK) that is applicable to images with severe intensity inhomogeneity. Firstly, Gaussian function is used to capture the global intensity of images, which boosts the robustness to the initialization. Subsequently, by employing the adaptive scale operator, the scale of the proposed model can be adjusted automatically according to the degree of intensity inhomogeneity. In addition, the regularized term is approximated by a non-local energy, which is constructed based on characteristic functions in the field of heat kernel convolution. Finally, the iterative convolution-thresholding method is designed for minimizing the energy function. This method is simple, efficient and has the optimal complexity of O(Nlog N) per iteration. The experimental results comprehensively validate that the proposed Gaussian-ASLCK model enjoys greater success in images with severe intensity inhomogeneity and complex noise over other state-of-the-art models.