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Gastric cancer has a high rate of recurrence, and as such, immunotherapy strategies are being investigated as a potential therapeutic strategy. Although the involvement of immune checkpoints in immunotherapy is well studied, biomechanical cues, such as target cell stiffness, have not yet been subject to the same level of investigation. Changes in the cholesterol content of the cell membrane directly influence tumor cell stiffness. Here, we investigated the effect of cholesterol on NK cell‐mediated killing of gastric cancer stem‐like cells. We report that surviving tumor cells with stem‐like properties elevated cholesterol metabolism to evade NK cell cytotoxicity. Inhibition of cholesterol metabolism enhances NK cell‐mediated killing of gastric cancer stem‐like cells, highlighting a potential avenue for improving immunotherapy efficacy. This study suggests a possible effect of cancer cell stiffness on immune evasion and offers insights into enhancing immunotherapeutic strategies against tumors.

Abstract Background Indeterminate pulmonary nodules (IPNs) are common after surgery for esophageal cancer. The paucity of data on postoperative IPNs for esophageal cancer causes a clinical dilemma. Objective The aim of this study was to identify the characteristics and clinical significance of IPNs after radical esophagectomy for metastatic esophageal cancer, determine the risk factors for pulmonary metastasis, and construct a risk score model to standardize the appropriate time to either follow up or treat the patient. Methods All consecutive patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) who underwent radical surgery between 2013 and 2016 were included in this retrospective study. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to identify independent risk factors and develop risk score models. Results A total of 816 patients were enrolled in the study. During a median follow-up period of 45 months, IPNs were detected in 221 (27.1%) patients, of whom 66 (29.9%) were diagnosed with pulmonary metastases. The following five variables maintained prognostic significance after multivariate analyses: the pathologic N category, number of IPNs, shape of IPNs, time of detection of IPNs, and size of IPNs. The Pulmonary Metastasis Prediction Model (PMPM) scale ranges from 0 to 15 points, and patients with higher scores have a higher probability of pulmonary metastases. The Hosmer–Lemeshow test showed a good calibration performance of the clinical prediction model (χ 2 = 8.573, P = 0.380). After validation, the PMPM scale showed good discrimination with an AUC of 0.939. Conclusion A PMPM scale for IPNs in patients who underwent esophagectomy for ESCC may be clinically useful for diagnostic and therapeutic decision-making.

The wild species Thinopyrum intermedium (genome JJJSJSStSt) serves as a valuable germplasm resource providing novel diseases resistance and agronomically important genes for wheat improvement. Two wheat-Th. intermedium partial amphiploids, TAI7045 (2n = 56) and 78784 (2n = 56), exhibit high resistance to stripe rust and powdery mildew, and their chromosome constitutions have been characterized. With the aim to transfer novel resistance genes from Th. intermedium, the crosses of common wheat line MY11 with TAI7045 and 78784 were produced, and their individual F2-F5 progenies were characterized using sequential non-denaturing fluorescence in situ hybridization (ND-FISH) and molecular markers. We identified a set of wheat-Th. intermedium addition lines, involving the chromosomes 1St-JS, 2St, 2St-JS, 3St, 4J, 4St, 5St, 5J.St, 6JS.J, and 7JS. Above all, the stable wheat-Th. intermedium small segmental translocation lines with chromosomes 4DS.4DL-4StL-4DL-4JL and 4DS.4DL-4StL-4DL were selected. Combining data from specific marker amplification and resistance evaluation, we mapped the gene(s) for resistance to powdery mildew and stripe rust in the 233.56–329.88 Mb region of the long arm of the 4St chromosome from the reference Th. intermedium genome. The new wheat-Th. intermedium introgressions will be used as novel germplasm for breeding purposes.

Abstract Background The study aimed to establish a prognostic survival model with 8 pyroptosis-and-cuproptosis-related genes to examine the prognostic effect in patients of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Methods We downloaded gene expression data and clinical information of HCC patients from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC) and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO). The clustering analysis and cox regression with LASSO were used for constructing an 8 PCmRNAs survival model. Using TCGA, ICGC and GEO cohort, the overall survival (OS) between high- and low- risk group was determined. We also evaluated independent prognostic indicators using univariate and multivariate analyses. The relatively bioinformatics analysis, including immune cell infiltration, function enrichment and drug sensitivity analyses, was performed as well. The gene expression of 8 PCmRNAs in vitro were validated in several HCC cell lines by qRT-PCR and Western blot. The relationship between GZMA and Fludarabine were further checked by CCK-8 assay. Results The survival prognostic model was constructed with ATP7A, GLS, CDKN2A, BAK1, CHMP4B, NLRP6, NOD1 and GZMA using data from TCGA cohort. The ICGC and GEO cohort were used for model validation. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves showed a good survival prediction by this model. Risk scores had the highest predictable value for survival among Stage, Age, Gender and Grade. Most Immune cells and immune functions were decreased in high-risk group. Besides, function enrichment analyses showed that steroid metabolic process, hormone metabolic process, collagen − containing extracellular matrix, oxidoreductase activity and pyruvate metabolism were enriched. Potential drugs targeted different PCDEGs like Nelarabine, Dexamethasone and Fludarabine were found as well. ATP7A, GLS, CDKN2A, BAK1, CHMP4B, NOD1 were upregulated while NLRP6 and GZMA were downregulated in most HCC cell lines. The potential therapy of Fludarabine was demonstrated when GZMA was low expressed in Huh7 cell line. Conclusion We constructed a novel 8-gene (ATP7A, GLS, CDKN2A, BAK1, CHMP4B, NLRP6, NOD1 and GZMA) prognostic model and explored potential functional information and microenvironment of HCC, which might be worthy of clinical application. In addition, several potential chemotherapy drugs were screened and Fludarabine might be effective for HCC patients whose GZMA was low expressed.

Introduction The review aims to conduct the first network meta-analysis to comprehensively evaluate the application of multiple acupuncture techniques in patients with postmenopausal osteoporosis, ranking the best acupuncture treatment and providing a reference for clinical treatment extensively.Methods and analysis Randomised controlled trials of different acupuncture-related therapies for postmenopausal osteoporosis will be searched in the following databases from 1 January 2002 to 31 December 2022, including PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, VIP Database, Wanfang Database and China Biomedical Literature Database. Overall, clinical efficacy rate, bone mineral density and a Visual Analogue Scale score are used as the primary outcome indicators. In addition, the secondary outcome indicator is adverse reactions. The entire screening process will be conducted by two independent investigators; meanwhile, Stata (V.14.0) and RevMan (V.5.4) will be used to conduct the network meta-analysis. If the data are permissible and feasible, we will also perform meta-regression and subgroup analyses to address the underlying causes of data inconsistency and heterogeneity in the statistical analyses. Besides, to improve the credibility of this network meta-analysis, we will evaluate the quality of evidence in this research according to the GRADE assessment.Ethics and dissemination Ethics approval is not required for network meta-analyses, which do not involve animals’ or people’s welfare. The results of this network meta-analysis will be submitted to a recognised journal for publication.PROSPERO registration number CRD42023401003.

Abstract More than half of non‐muscle‐invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) patients eventually relapse even if treated with surgery and BCG without optional bladder‐preserving therapy. This study aims to investigate the antitumor activity and safety of a HER2‐targeted antibody‐drug conjugate, RC48‐ADC, intravesical instillation for NMIBC treatment. In this preclinical study, it is revealed that human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) expression scores of 1+, 2+, and 3+ are recorded for 16.7%, 56.2%, and 14.6% of NMIBC cases. The antitumor effect of RC48‐ADC is positively correlated with HER2 expression in bladder cancer (BCa) cell lines and organoid models. Furthermore, RC48‐ADC is revealed to exert its antitumor effect by inducing G2/M arrest and caspase‐dependent apoptosis. In an orthotopic BCa model, tumor growth is significantly inhibited by intravesical instillation of RC48‐ADC versus disitamab, monomethyl auristatin E, epirubicin, or phosphate‐buffered saline control. The potential toxicity of intravesical RC48‐ADC is also assessed by dose escalation in normal nude mice and revealed that administration of RC48‐ADC by intravesical instillation is safe within the range of effective therapeutic doses. Taken together, RC48‐ADC demonstrates promising antitumor effects and safety with intravesical administration in multiple preclinical models. These findings provide a rational for clinical trials of intravesical RC48‐ADC in NMIBC patients.

Abstract Background To compare the diagnostic positive rate and complication rate between the electromagnetic navigation bronchoscopy (ENB) technique and computed tomography (CT)‐guided lung puncture for the biopsy of lung nodules located in the middle of an anatomic lung segment. Methods Electronic medical records of 114 patients who underwent lung nodule biopsy between June 2021 and June 2022 were retrospectively evaluated. In all patients, the nodules were located in the middle third lung segment. To compare the diagnostic positive and complication rates between the two biopsy modalities performed in this lung region, clinical data, complication rates, nodule pathology, and imaging results were reviewed based on nodule characteristics retrieved from the electronic medical records. Results Ninety‐three patients underwent CT‐guided lung puncture, while the remaining 21 patients underwent the ENB technique. No significant difference was observed in the diagnostic positive rate between the two groups (73.6 and 76.1%, respectively). In the CT‐guided lung puncture group, pneumothorax incidence, tube placement, postoperative hemorrhage, and symptomatic hemorrhage rates were 16.1, 6.5, 6.5, and 1.1%, respectively. In contrast, no complications occurred in the ENB group. Conclusions The ENB technique is a safe and effective method for performing biopsies of pulmonary nodules with a diagnostic positive rate comparable to that of CT‐guided lung puncture and with a lower postoperative complication rate.

Interfacial reaction and morphology are investigated between pure iron sheet and aluminum alloy with different silicon additions in hot-dip aluminizing (HDA) at 700 °C. The width of intermetallic reaction layer hot-dipped in a pure aluminum bath is mainly governed by the diffusion controlled growth of the η-Al5Fe2 phase. Al atoms can diffuse rapidly in a preferred [001] direction, resulting in the continuous growth of η phase with a tongue-like morphology. The addition of Si into aluminum baths reduces the growth rate of the reaction layer and eliminates the rough interface. The effect of Si inhibiting the growth of η phase can be attributed to the segregation of Si atoms at the Fe/Al interface and lead to the structural vacancy obstruction. The investigation reveals that the diffusion of Si at the interface will control the phase transformation of θ phase with a low Si content to higher Si containing τ1-Al2Fe3Si3 and τ5-Al8Fe2Si phase. The continuous τ1-Al2Fe3Si3 phase layer will be formed as the segregation concentration of the Si atoms reach 5 at.% at the interface between Al alloy and θ phase. And the continuous τ5-Al8Fe2Si layer is observed in the reaction layer of Al-6Si and Al-10Si, which will reduce the growth rate of η phase as a diffusion barrier.

Abstract Background Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a rapidly progressive and fatal respiratory failure disease that often occurs in critically ill patients. Since ARDS is associated with immune dysregulation and coagulation abnormalities, it is necessary to identify an appropriate predictor that can accurately predict ARDS mortality based on its pathophysiology. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the clinical value of neutrophils to lymphocytes and platelets ratio (N/LPR) in predicting 28-day mortality in ARDS patients. Methods From July 2018 to October 2021, the medical records of ARDS patients were retrospective reviewed. Neutrophil count, lymphocyte count, and platelet count were collected, and the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and N/LPR were calculated. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to identify independent predictors of 28-day mortality in ARDS. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve with the area under curve (AUC) was used to evaluate optimal cut-off values for 28-day mortality in ARDS. Kaplan–Meier analysis was used to estimate the 28-day survival probabilities stratified by optimal cut-off values of N/LPR and NLR. Results A total of 136 ARDS patients were included in this study and were further divided into survivors (n = 69) and non-survivors (n = 67) groups according to their survival status on day 28. There were no significant differences between the two groups in age, sex, history of smoking and drinking, comorbidities, and reasons of admission (P > 0.05). Non-survivors had significantly higher neutrophil counts, NLR and N/LPR and had significantly lower platelet counts than survivors (P

IntroductionFemales in the perimenopausal period are susceptible to mood disorders. Perimenopausal panic disorder (PPD) is characterized by repeated and unpredictable panic attacks during perimenopause, and it impacts the patient's physical and mental health and social function. Pharmacotherapy is limited in the clinic, and its pathological mechanism is unclear. Recent studies have demonstrated that gut microbiota is strongly linked to emotion; however, the relation between PPD and microbiota is limitedly known.MethodsThis study aimed to discover specific microbiota in PPD patients and the intrinsic connection between them. Gut microbiota was analyzed in PPD patients (n = 40) and healthy controls (n = 40) by 16S rRNA sequencing.ResultsThe results showed reduced α-diversity (richness) in the gut microbiota of PPD patients. β-diversity indicated that PPD and healthy controls had different intestinal microbiota compositions. At the genus level, 30 species of microbiota abundance had significantly different between the PPD and healthy controls. In addition, HAMA, PDSS, and PASS scales were collected in two groups. It was found that Bacteroides and Alistipes were positively correlated with PASS, PDSS, and HAMA.DiscussionBacteroides and Alistipes dysbiosis dominate imbalanced microbiota in PPD patients. This microbial alteration may be a potential pathogenesis and physio-pathological feature of PPD. The distinct gut microbiota can be a potential diagnostic marker and a new therapeutic target for PPD.

Abstract As a key step of tumor lymphatic metastasis, lymphangiogenesis is regulated by VEGFC‐VEGFR3 signaling pathway mediated by immune cells, mainly macrophages, in the tumor microenvironment. However, little is known whether tumor associated neutrophils are involved in lymphangiogenesis. Here, it is found that TANs infiltration is increased in LN‐metastatic BCa and is associated with poor prognosis. Neutrophil depletion results in significant reduction in popliteal LN metastasis and lymphangiogenesis. Mechanistically, transcription factor ETV4 enhances BCa cells‐derived CXCL1/8 to recruit TANs, leading to the increase of VEGFA and MMP9 from TANs, and then facilitating lymphangiogenesis and LN metastasis of BCa. Moreover, phosphorylation of ETV4 at tyrosine 392 by tyrosine kinase PTK6 increases nuclear translocation of ETV4 and is essential for its function in BCa. Overall, the findings reveal a novel mechanism of how tumor cells regulate TANs‐induced lymphangiogenesis and LN metastasis and identify ETV4 as a therapeutic target of LN metastasis in BCa.

Data-driven methods based on samples from a supervisory control and data acquisition system have been widely applied in water-supply-network burst detection to save unexpected economic and labor costs. However, the class imbalance problem in actual on-site monitoring needs to be revised to improve the performance of data-driven methods. In this study, we proposed a domain adaptation method to generate minor-category samples (pipeline-burst samples in general) of arbitrary pipe networks utilizing theoretical hydraulic models. The proposed method transferred pipeline-burst data generated from a random water supply network with theoretical hydraulic models to an actual imbalanced dataset. Accordingly, we established a machine learning model exploring a mapping matrix between two domains for minority-category data transfer. The experimental validation first verified the effectiveness and reliability of the proposed method between two customized water supply networks in terms of their bust recognition accuracy, model parameter sensitivity and time efficiency. Then, an actual monitoring dataset from a working water supply network was used to prove the suitability and compatibility of the proposed method. A bust-point location method was also provided based on the detection results of pipeline-bursting events. The validations show the superiority of our proposed approach for the imbalance data problem in pipe burst detection.

Even frequently used in wheat breeding, we still have an insufficient understanding of the biology of the products via distant hybridization. In this study, a transcriptomic analysis was performed for six Triticum aestivum-Thinopyrum elongatum substitution lines in comparison with the host plants. All the six disomic substitution lines showed much stronger “transcriptomic-shock” occurred on alien genomes with 57.43–69.22% genes changed expression level but less on the recipient genome (2.19–8.97%). Genome-wide suppression of alien genes along chromosomes was observed with a high proportion of downregulated genes (39.69–48.21%). Oppositely, the wheat recipient showed genome-wide compensation with more upregulated genes, occurring on all chromosomes but not limited to the homeologous groups. Moreover, strong co-upregulation of the orthologs between wheat and Thinopyrum sub-genomes was enriched in photosynthesis with predicted chloroplastic localization, which indicates that the compensation happened not only on wheat host genomes but also on alien genomes.

MoSi _2 is one of the most promising refractory metal silicide materials, but its further use as a structural material is limited by its drawbacks such as poor room-temperature toughness and low high-temperature strength. The work performed a comprehensive investigation combining first-principles calculations and arc cladding experiments to explore the effects of Nb and W doping on the mechanical properties and electronic structure of MoSi _2 coatings. The first-principles calculations revealed that Nb addition improved the B/G value and Poisson’s ratio of MoSi _2 , indicating enhanced ductility. W addition yields the opposite effect and led to a higher elastic modulus and improved hardness. Experimental results demonstrated that the arc-cladding MoSi _2 coating mainly consisted of MoSi _2 and Mo _5 Si _3 phases with a dendritic microstructure. Upon doping with Nb and W, additional t-(Mo,Nb)Si _2 and t-(Mo,W)Si _2 phases were formed, which resulted in a denser and finer microstructure. Nb addition contributed to the solid-solution toughening of the coating, while W addition enhanced hardness but reduced toughness. Remarkably, the synergistic alloying of Nb and W significantly increased the hardness and fracture toughness of the coating by 30.7 and 70.7%, respectively, compared to pure MoSi _2 . The strengthening mechanism of the coating was attributed to solid-solution softening and fine-grain strengthening, while the crack extension mechanism involved the crack deflection and bridging. Furthermore, the coatings doped with 2% Nb and 4% W exhibited the lowest wear weight loss and superior wear resistance. The dominant wear mechanisms were oxidation wear and abrasive wear.

Glioma is one of the most deadly types of brain cancer. As it is highly invasive, the prognosis for glioma patients remains dismal, with median survival rarely exceeding 16 months. Thus, developing a new prognostic biomarker for glioma and investigating its molecular mechanisms is necessary for the development of an efficient treatment strategy. In this study, we analyzed a cohort of 1,131 glioma patients using RNA-seq data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA project) and Gene Expression Omnibus (GSE4290 and GSE16011 datasets), and validated the results using the RNA-seq data of 1,018 gliomas from the Chinese Glioma Genome Atlas (CGGA project). We used the R language as the main tool for statistical analysis and data visualization. We found that NCAPG, a mitosis-associated chromosomal condensing protein, is highly expressed in glioma tissues. Furthermore, the expression of NCAPG increased significantly with the increase in tumor grade, and high NCAPG expression was found to be a predictor of poor overall survival in glioma patients (P < 0.001). This result shows that NCAPG expression could be an independent prognostic factor. Importantly, when the expression of NCAPG was knocked down, the CCK-8 assay revealed that the proliferation of glioma cells (LN-229 and T98G cell lines) decreased significantly compared with the control group. In addition, the healing rates of these cells were significantly lower in the si-NCAPG group than in the control group (P < 0.001). We then used the CIBERSORT algorithm to analyze the expression levels of 22 subpopulations of immune cells and found that NCAPG was significantly negatively correlated with natural killer cell activation. In addition, it was positively correlated with MHC-I molecules and ADAM17. Our study is first in comprehensively describing the high expression of NCAPG in glioma. It also shows that NCAPG can function as an independent prognostic predictor of glioma, and that targeting NCAPG can be a new strategy for the treatment of glioma patients.

Background: Although low-grade glioma (LGG) has a good prognosis, it is prone to malignant transformation into high-grade glioma. It has been confirmed that the characteristics of inflammatory factors and immune microenvironment are closely related to the occurrence and development of tumors. It is necessary to clarify the role of inflammatory genes and immune infiltration in LGG.Methods: We downloaded the transcriptome gene expression data and corresponding clinical data of LGG patients from the TCGA and GTEX databases to screen prognosis-related differentially expressed inflammatory genes with the difference analysis and single-factor Cox regression analysis. The prognostic risk model was constructed by LASSO Cox regression analysis, which enables us to compare the overall survival rate of high- and low-risk groups in the model by Kaplan–Meier analysis and subsequently draw the risk curve and survival status diagram. We analyzed the accuracy of the prediction model via ROC curves and performed GSEA enrichment analysis. The ssGSEA algorithm was used to calculate the score of immune cell infiltration and the activity of immune-related pathways. The CellMiner database was used to study drug sensitivity.Results: In this study, 3 genes (CALCRL, MMP14, and SELL) were selected from 9 prognosis-related differential inflammation genes through LASSO Cox regression analysis to construct a prognostic risk model. Further analysis showed that the risk score was negatively correlated with the prognosis, and the ROC curve showed that the accuracy of the model was better. The age, grade, and risk score can be used as independent prognostic factors (p < 0.001). GSEA analysis confirmed that 6 immune-related pathways were enriched in the high-risk group. We found that the degree of infiltration of 12 immune cell subpopulations and the scores of 13 immune functions and pathways in the high-risk group were significantly increased by applying the ssGSEA method (p < 0.05). Finally, we explored the relationship between the genes in the model and the susceptibility of drugs.Conclusion: This study analyzed the correlation between the inflammation-related risk model and the immune microenvironment. It is expected to provide a reference for the screening of LGG prognostic markers and the evaluation of immune response.

Aegilops sharonensis, a wild relative of wheat, harbors diverse disease and insect resistance genes, making it a potentially excellent gene source for wheat improvement. In this study, we characterized and evaluated six wheat-A. sharonensis derivatives, which included three disomic additions, one disomic substitution + monotelosomic addition and two disomic substitution + disomic additions. A total of 51 PLUG markers were developed and used to allocate the A. sharonensis chromosomes in each of the six derivatives to Triticeae homoeologous groups. A set of cytogenetic markers specific for A. sharonensis chromosomes was established based on FISH using oligonucleotides as probes. Molecular cytogenetic marker analysis confirmed that these lines were a CS-A. sharonensis 2Ssh disomic addition, a 4Ssh disomic addition, a 4Ssh (4D) substitution + 5SshL monotelosomic addition, a 6Ssh disomic addition, a 4Ssh (4D) substitution + 6Ssh disomic addition and a 4Ssh (4D) substitution + 7Ssh disomic addition line, respectively. Disease resistance investigations showed that chromosome 7Ssh of A. sharonensis might harbor a new powdery mildew resistance gene, and therefore it has potential for use as resistance source for wheat breeding.

Thinopyrum intermedium possesses many desirable agronomic traits that make it a valuable genetic source for wheat improvement. The precise identification of individual chromosomes of allohexaploid Th. intermedium is a challenge due to its three sub-genomic constitutions with complex evolutionary ancestries. The non-denaturing fluorescent in situ hybridization (ND-FISH) using tandem-repeat oligos, including Oligo-B11 and Oligo-pDb12H, effectively distinguished the St, J and JS genomes, while Oligo-FISH painting, based on seven oligonucleotide pools derived from collinear regions between barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) and wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), was able to identify each linkage group of the Th. intermedium chromosomes. We subsequently established the first karyotype of Th. intermedium with individual chromosome recognition using sequential ND-FISH and Oligo-FISH painting. The chromosome constitutions of 14 wheat–Th. intermedium partial amphiploids and addition lines were characterized. Distinct intergenomic chromosome rearrangements were revealed among Th. intermedium chromosomes in these amphiploids and addition lines. The precisely defined karyotypes of these wheat–Th. intermedium derived lines may be helpful for further study on chromosome evolution, chromatin introgression and wheat breeding programs.

The construction of the 28-chromosome karyotype of Dasypyrum breviaristatum was undertaken using multicolor non-denaturing fluorescent in situ hybridization (ND-FISH) and Oligo-FISH painting protocols. A novel wheat-D. breviaristatum line D2138 contained 44 chromosomes including a pair of D. breviaristatum 6VbS.2VbL translocation chromosomes. Individual F2 and F3 progenies of a cross between D2138 with wheat lines CM62, MY11 and JM22, respectively, were characterized using ND-FISH and molecular markers. A relatively high chromosome alteration rate within wheat and D. breviaristatum 6VbS and 2VbL was observed in the three progeny populations, suggesting that chromosome 6VbS.2VbL has a gametocidal-like gene. The different types of translocation and deletion lines allowed localization of D. breviaristatum-specific gliadin coding genes on sub-telomeric regions of 6VbS by PCR and acid polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis analysis. The positive effect of the D. breviaristatum 6VbS on agronomic and quality characters was also demonstrated. The new wheat-D. breviaristatum 6VbS and 2VbL translocation lines will be useful as novel germplasm for breeding purposes.

Aquaporin 4 (AQP4) is an ubiquitously expressed membrane protein channel found in the central nervous system and mainly on astrocytes. Recent studies on AQP4 has implicated it in tumorigenesis. It is of interest to determine the potential value of AQP4 in identifying, guiding treatment and prognosticating various types of CNS cancers. This investigation systematically investigated the oncogenic role of AQP4 across 33 CNS tumors found in GEO and TCGA datasets. We found that CNS tumors strongly expressed AQP4. There appeared to be a strong link between the prognosis of patients with a CNS malignancy and degree of AQP4 expression. AQP4 expression influences the degree of CD8+ T-cell infiltration level as well as cancer-associated fibroblast infiltration in CNS tumors. Moreover, synaptic vesicle cycle and phosphatidylinositol signaling system-associated functions were also found to be related to AQP4 functional mechanisms. Furthermore, potential AQP4 inhibitors have also been explored by using Specs data base and virtual screening technique. This study contributes toward current knowledge regarding the role of AQP4 in CNS tumors.

Abstract Malignant glioma is one of the most challenging central nervous system diseases to treat and has high rates of recurrence and mortality. Current therapies often fail to control tumor progression or improve patient survival. Marinobufagenin (MBG) is an endogenous mammalian cardiotonic steroid involved in sodium pump inhibition. Currently, various studies have indicated the potential of MBG in cancer treatments; however, the precise mechanisms are poorly understood. The functions of MBG were examined using colony formation, migration, cell cycle, and apoptosis assays in glioma cells. A mitochondrial membrane potential assay was performed to determine the mitochondrial transmembrane potential change, and cytochrome c release from mitochondria was assayed by fluorescence microscopy. An immunofluorescence assay was performed, and the nuclear translocation of NF‐κB in glioma cells was confirmed by confocal microscopy. Western blotting and RT‐qPCR were used to detect the protein and gene expression levels, respectively. In addition, transfection experiment of ATP1A1‐siRNA was further carried out to confirm the role of sodium pump α1 subunit in the anticancer effect of MBG in human glioma. The apoptosis‐promoting and anti‐inflammatory effects of MBG were further investigated, and the sodium pump α1 subunit and the ERK signaling pathway were found to be involved in the anticancer effect of MBG. The in vivo anticancer efficacy of MBG was also tested in xenografts in nude mice. Thus, therapies targeting the ERK signaling‐mediated mitochondrial apoptotic pathways regulated by MBG might represent potential treatments for human glioma, and this study could accelerate the finding of newer therapeutic approaches for malignant glioma treatment.

Drift compensation is an important issue in an electronic nose (E-nose) that hinders the development of E-nose’s model robustness and recognition stability. The model-based drift compensation is a typical and popular countermeasure solving the drift problem. However, traditional model-based drift compensation methods have faced “label dilemma” owing to high costs of obtaining kinds of prepared drift-calibration samples. In this study, we have proposed a calibration model for classification utilizing a single category of drift correction samples for more convenient and feasible operations. We constructed a multi-task learning model to achieve a calibrated classifier considering several demands. Accordingly, an associated solution process has been presented to gain a closed-form classifier representation. Moreover, two E-nose drift datasets have been introduced for method evaluation. From the experimental results, the proposed methodology reaches the highest recognition rate in most cases. On the other hand, the proposed methodology demonstrates excellent and steady performance in a wide range of adjustable parameters. Generally, the proposed method can conduct drift compensation with limited one-class calibration samples, accessing the top accuracy among all presented reference methods. It is a new choice for E-nose to counteract drift effect under cost-sensitive conditions.

Gas sensor drift is an important issue of electronic nose (E-nose) systems. This study follows this concern under the condition that requires an instant drift compensation with massive online E-nose responses. Recently, an active learning paradigm has been introduced to such condition. However, it does not consider the “noisy label” problem caused by the unreliability of its labeling process in real applications. Thus, we have proposed a class-label appraisal methodology and associated active learning framework to assess and correct the noisy labels. To evaluate the performance of the proposed methodologies, we used the datasets from two E-nose systems. The experimental results show that the proposed methodology helps the E-noses achieve higher accuracy with lower computation than the reference methods do. Finally, we can conclude that the proposed class-label appraisal mechanism is an effective means of enhancing the robustness of active learning-based E-nose drift compensation.

Different proportions of Al and Cr alloying MoSi _2 were prepared by arc cladding with different mass fractions of MoSi _2 , Al, and Cr as raw materials. The work studied the effects about of Al and Cr on the phase, high-temperature oxidation morphology, products, and high-temperature oxidation property of MoSi _2 . The results confirmed that the volume expansion coefficient of Al _2 O _3 generated by material oxidation was low which could reduce the degree of mismatch and the cracks in the oxide film. Cr element had a poor effect on enhancing the continuity and compactness of the oxide film, however, it could improve the stability of t-MoSi _2 formation after arc cladding. MoO _3 was not formed in the MoSi _2 material added with Al and Cr show the surface oxidation. A dense and continuous Al _2 O _3 –SiO _2 oxide film was formed, and no cracks holes were found in the oxide film. After oxidation at 800 °C–1200 °C for 120 h, the sample still maintained good oxidation protection. According to the calculation of oxidation kinetics, the MoSi _2 material added with Al and Cr had good oxidation resistance. 3% Al + 9% Cr + 88% MoSi _2 had the optimal high-temperature oxidation resistance about four times than pure MoSi _2 .

As an important relative of wheat (Triticum aestivum L), Dasypyrum breviaristatum contains novel high molecular weight glutenin subunits (HMW-GSs) encoded by Glu-1Vb genes. We identified new wheat—D. breviaristatum chromosome introgression lines including chromosomes 1Vb and 1VbL.5VbL by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) combined with molecular markers. We found that chromosome changes occurred in the wheat—D. breviaristatum introgression lines and particularly induced the deletion of 5BS terminal repeats and formation of a new type of 5B-7B reciprocal translocation. The results imply that the D. breviaristatum chromosome 1Vb may contain genes which induce chromosomal recombination in wheat background. Ten putative high molecular weight glutenin subunit (HMW-GS) genes from D. breviaristatum and wheat—D. breviaristatum introgression lines were isolated. The lengths of the HMW-GS genes in Dasypyrum were significantly shorter than typical HMW-GS of common wheat. A new y-type HMW-GS gene, named Glu-Vb1y, was characterized in wheat—D. breviaristatum 1Vb introgression lines. The new wheat—D. breviaristatum germplasm displayed reduced plant height, increased tillers and superior grain protein and gluten contents, improved gluten performance index. The results showed considerable potential for utilization of D. breviaristatum chromosome 1Vb segments in future wheat improvement.

To efficiently recover the waste heat from a diesel engine exhaust, a regenerative organic Rankine cycle (RORC) system was employed, and butane, R124, R416A, and R134a were used as the working fluids. The resulting diesel engine-RORC combined system was defined and the relevant evaluation indexes were proposed. First, the variation tendency of the exhaust energy rate under various diesel engine operating conditions was analyzed using experimental data. The thermodynamic model of the RORC system was established based on the first and second laws of thermodynamics, and the net power output and exergy destruction rate of the RORC system were selected as the objective functions. A particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm was used to optimize the operating parameters of the RORC system, including evaporating pressure, intermediate pressure, and degree of superheat. The operating performances of the RORC system and diesel engine-RORC combined system were studied for the four selected working fluids under various operating conditions of the diesel engine. The results show that the operating performances of the RORC system and the combined system using butane are optimal on the basis of optimizing the operating parameters; when the engine speed is 2200 r/min and engine torque is 1215 N·m, the net power output of the RORC system using butane is 36.57 kW, and the power output increasing ratio (POIR) of the combined system using butane is 11.56%.

The main purpose of this research is to analyze the performance of an evaporator for the organic Rankine cycle (ORC) system and discuss the influence of the evaporator on the operating characteristics of diesel engine. A simulation model of fin-and-tube evaporator of the ORC system is established by using Fluent software. Then, the flow and heat transfer characteristics of the exhaust at the evaporator shell side are obtained, and then the performance of the fin-and-tube evaporator of the ORC system is analyzed based on the field synergy principle. The field synergy angle (β) is the intersection angle between the velocity vector and the temperature gradient. When the absolute values of velocity and temperature gradient are constant and β < 90°, heat transfer enhancement can be achieved with the decrease of the β. When the absolute values of velocity and temperature gradient are constant and β >90°, heat transfer enhancement can be achieved with the increase of the β. Subsequently, the influence of the evaporator of the ORC system on diesel engine performance is studied. A simulation model of the diesel engine is built by using GT–Power software under various operating conditions, and the variation tendency of engine power, torque, and brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC) are obtained. The variation tendency of the power output and BSFC of diesel engine–ORC combined system are obtained when the evaporation pressure ranges from 1.0 MPa to 3.5 MPa. Results show that the field synergy effect for the areas among the tube bundles of the evaporator main body and the field synergy effect for the areas among the fins on the windward side are satisfactory. However, the field synergy effect in the areas among the fins on the leeward side is weak. As a result of the pressure drop caused by the evaporator of the ORC system, the diesel engine power and torque decreases slightly, whereas the BSFC increases slightly with the increase of exhaust back pressure. With the increase of engine speed, power loss, torque loss, and BSFC increment increase gradually, where the most significant change is less than 1%. Compared with the diesel engine itself, the maximum increase of power output of the diesel engine–ORC combined system is 6.5% and the maximum decrease of BSFC is 6.1%.

One way to increase the thermal efficiency of vehicle diesel engines is to recover waste heat by using an organic Rankine cycle (ORC) system. Tests were conducted to study the running performances of diesel engines in the whole operating range. The law of variation of the exhaust energy rate under various engine operating conditions was also analyzed. A diesel engine-ORC combined system was designed, and relevant evaluation indexes proposed. The variation of the running performances of the combined system under various engine operating conditions was investigated. R245fa and R152a were selected as the components of the mixed working fluid. Thereafter, six kinds of mixed working fluids with different compositions were presented. The effects of mixed working fluids with different compositions on the running performances of the combined system were revealed. Results show that the running performances of the combined system can be improved effectively when mass fraction R152a in the mixed working fluid is high and the engine operates with high power. For the mixed working fluid M1 (R245fa/R152a, 0.1/0.9, by mass fraction), the net power output of the combined system reaches the maximum of 34.61 kW. Output energy density of working fluid (OEDWF), waste heat recovery efficiency (WHRE), and engine thermal efficiency increasing ratio (ETEIR) all reach their maximum values at 42.7 kJ/kg, 10.90%, and 11.29%, respectively.

To conduct real-time and accurate positioning of the forklifts (people) and goods in the warehouse is an effective means for improving warehouse management efficiency. To this end, this article puts forward the active positioning system with the forklift installed with RFID reader and the ground passageway embedded with RFID tag. In the running process, the position of forklift can be determined through recognition of the reference tags which are embedded at both sides of the passageway based on the three-side layout at right angle principle and their RSSI value. The positional accuracy can be improved by adjusting the layout distance of those reference tags. The experimental results show that this system can realize the positioning function of forklift, and it can be used in practical situations.

To achieve energy saving and emission reduction for vehicle diesel engines, the organic Rankine cycle (ORC) was employed to recover waste heat from vehicle diesel engines, R245fa was used as ORC working fluid, and the resulting vehicle diesel engine-ORC combined system was presented. The variation law of engine exhaust energy rate under various operating conditions was obtained, and the running performances of the screw expander were introduced. Based on thermodynamic models and theoretical calculations, the running performance of the vehicle diesel engine-ORC combined system was analyzed under various engine operating condition scenarios. Four evaluation indexes were defined: engine thermal efficiency increasing ratio (ETEIR), waste heat recovery efficiency (WHRE), brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC) of the combined system, and improvement ratio of BSFC (IRBSFC). Results showed that when the diesel engine speed is 2200 r/min and diesel engine torque is 1200 N·m, the power output of the combined system reaches its maximum of approximately 308.6 kW, which is 28.6 kW higher than that of the diesel engine. ETEIR, WHRE, and IRBSFC all reach their maxima at 10.25%, 9.90%, and 9.30%, respectively. Compared with that of the diesel engine, the BSFC of the combined system is obviously improved under various engine operating conditions.

To determine the composition of chromosome aberrations in a wheat‒Dasypyrum breviaristatum substitution line with seeds treated by a dose of gamma-rays (200 Gy), sequential non-denaturing fluorescence in situ hybridization (ND-FISH) with multiple oligonucleotide probes was used to screen individual plants of the mutagenized progenies. We identified 122 types of chromosome rearrangements, including centromeric, telomeric, and intercalary chromosome translocations from a total of 772 M1 and 872 M2 plants. The frequency of reciprocal translocations between B- and D-chromosomes was higher than that between A- and D-chromosomes. Eight translocations between D. breviaristatum and wheat chromosomes were also detected. The 13 stable plants with multiple chromosome translocations displayed novel agronomic traits. The newly developed materials will enhance wheat breeding programs through wheat‒Dasypyrum introgression and also facilitate future studies on the genetic and epigenetic effects of translocations in wheat genomics.

The wild species, Thinopyrum intermedium. (Genome StStJSJSJJ), serves as a valuable germplasm resource providing novel genes for wheat improvement. In the current study, non-denaturing fluorescence in situ hybridization (ND-FISH) with multiple probes and comparative molecular markers were applied to characterize two wheat-Th. intermedium chromosome additions. Sequential ND-FISH with new labeled Th. intermedium specific oligo-probes were used to precisely determine the chromosomal constitution of Th. intermedium, wheat—Th. intermedium partial amphiploids and addition lines Hy36 and Hy37. The ND-FISH results showed that the added JS-St translocated chromosomes in Hy36 had minor Oligo-5S ribosomal DNA (rDNA) signals at the short arm, while a pair of J-St chromosomes in Hy37 had major Oligo-pTa71 and minor Oligo-5S rDNA signals. The 90K SNP array and PCR-based molecular markers that mapped on wheat linkage group 5 and 3 facilitated the identification of Thinopyrum chromosome introgressions in the addition lines, and confirmed that added chromosomes in Hy36 and Hy37 were 5JSS.3StS and 5JS.3StS, respectively. Complete coding sequences at the paralogous puroindoline-a (Pina) loci from Th. intermedium were cloned and localized on the short arm of chromosome 5JS of Hy36. Line Hy36 showed a reduction in the hardness index, which suggested that Th. intermedium-specific Pina gene sequences may be associated with the softness trait in wheat background. The molecular cytogenetic identification of novel wheat—Th. intermedium derivatives indicated that the frequent chromosome rearrangement occurred in the progenies of wheat-Thinopyrum hybridization. The new wheat-Thinopyrum derived lines may increase the genetic diversity for wheat breeding.

Lipopolysaccaride (LPS) directly or indirectly injures brain microvascular endothelial cells (BMECs) and damages the intercellular tight junction that gives rise to altered blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeability. Catalpol plays a protective role in LPS-induced injury, but whether catalpol protects against LPS-caused damage of BBB permeability and the underlying mechanism remain to be delineated. Prophylactic protection with catalpol (5 mg/kg, i.v.) consecutively for three days reversed the LPS-induced damage of BBB by decreased Evans Blue (EB) leakage and restored tight junctions in C57 mice. Besides, catalpol co-administrated with LPS increased BMECs survival, decreased their endothelin-1, TNF-Α and IL-6 secretion, improved transmembrane electrical resistance in a time-dependent manner, and in addition increased the fluorescein sodium permeability coefficient of BMECs. Also, transmission electron microscopy showed catalpol protective effects on tight junctions. Fluorescence staining displayed that catalpol reversed the rearrangement of the cytoskeleton protein F-actin and upregulated the tight junction protein of claudin-5 and ZO-1, which have been further demonstrated by the mRNA and protein expression levels of ZO-1, ZO-2, ZO-3, claudin-5, and occludin. Moreover, catalpol concurrently downregulated the mRNA and protein levels of RhoA, and ROCK2, the critical proteins in the RhoA/ROCK2 signaling pathway. This study thus indicated that catalpol, via inhibition of the RhoA/ROCK2 signaling pathway, reverses the disaggregation of cytoskeleton actin in BMECs and prevents down-regulation of junctional proteins, such as claudin-5, occludin, and ZO-1, and decreases endothelin-1 and inflammatory cytokine secretion, eventually alleviating the increase in LPS-induced BBB permeability.