Search

AbstractMagnesium (Mg) alloys have broad applications in aerospace, automotive, and military industries due to their excellent mechanical properties. However, poor plastic formability and susceptibility to brittle fracture limit their application. Therefore, in this study, we investigated the shock properties of polycrystalline Mg (polyMg) and analyzed the deformation mechanisms using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The results showed that the plastic deformation mechanism of polyMg under shock-wave loading was primarily dominated by grain boundary slipping and grain rotation, followed by the formation of dislocations and twins within the grains. The shock stress of polyMg increased with the increasing shock velocity, but the Hugoniot elastic limit (HEL) did not change below a shock velocity of <1.0 km/s. The wavefront surface width decreased as the grain size decreased, but the shock stress and HEL values remained unaffected. These results can contribute to a better understanding of the nanoscopic dynamic response mechanism of polyMg. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Enhancing chemotherapy sensitivity in colorectal cancer (CRC) is critical for improving treatment outcomes. TMEM120A has been reported to interact with coenzyme A (CoA), but its biological significance in CRC is unknown. In this study, we aimed to investigate the functional implications of TMEM120A in CRC and its impact on chemotherapy sensitivity. Methods: Stable knockout of TMEM120A in CRC cell lines was conducted using CRISPR/Cas9 technology. Overexpression of various derivatives of TMEM120A was achieved through lentiviral transduction. Cell fractionation was employed to isolate the nuclear and cytoplasmic fraction. Total histones were isolated by acid extraction and then subjected to determine histone acetylation levels using western blot analysis. Cell viability was evaluated using the MTS assay. Results: We demonstrate that TMEM120A's nuclear localization is crucial for its role in regulating CRC chemosensitivity. Mechanistically, the nuclear subpopulation of TMEM120A plays a key role in sustaining the nuclear CoA levels, which in turn influences the levels of nuclear acetyl-CoA and histone acetylation in CRC cells. Notably, direct inhibition of histone acetylation recapitulated the phenotypic effects observed upon TMEM120A depletion, leading to increased chemosensitivity in CRC cells. Conclusion: Our study provides novel insights into the role of TMEM120A in modulating chemotherapy sensitivity in CRC. Nuclear TMEM120A regulates CoA levels, which in turn modulates nuclear acetyl-CoA levels and histone acetylation, thereby influencing the response of CRC cells to chemotherapy agents. Targeting TMEM120A-mediated pathways may represent a promising strategy for enhancing chemotherapy efficacy in CRC treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractBivalves are nutritious animal protein source for humans, rich in high quality proteins, lipids, and carbohydrates. Many studies have shown that ocean warming has detrimental effects on the nutritional quality of bivalves. Although a number of studies are available on the effect of ocean warming on the nutritional value of bivalves, this information is not well organized. In this context, the current study provides a critical review of the effects of ocean warming on the nutritional quality of commercially important edible marine bivalves. In general, ocean warming has caused a reduction in the total lipid and carbohydrate content of bivalves, especially those bivalves inhabiting temperate regions. As for protein, there is no general trend in the effects of ocean warming on the protein reserves of bivalves. In addition, the specific effects of elevated temperature on the macro-nutrients of bivalves highly depend on the tissues, sex and developmental stages of bivalves, as well as seasonal factors. This review not only fills in the knowledge gap regarding the effects of elevated temperature on the macro-nutrients of commercially important marine bivalves but also provides guidance for the establishment of bivalve aquaculture and fisheries management plans to mitigate the impact of climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the development of efficient methods for precise sequence insertion or replacement in plants, specifically focusing on rice. The researchers utilized prime editing (PE) and two similar strategies, twinPE and GRAND editing, to facilitate longer sequence insertion. They tested these methods on rice varieties with specific genetic mutations related to herbicide resistance. The results showed that GRAND editing had higher efficiency than PE for DNA fragment insertion, and it successfully rescued defective rice varieties. The study demonstrates the technical advancements in genetic research and crop breeding. [Extracted from the article]

A simple, portable and cost-effective paper-based analysis device is developed for quantitative determination of ascorbic acid (AA) based on the UV-induced oxidation of 3,3′,5,5′-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB). The method does not involve the introduction of any enzyme or external oxidants. More importantly, large equipment is not needed and only a 20 μL sample is needed for each analysis which only takes 8 min. The filter paper is pre-treated with TMB and it turns blue upon UV irradiation because TMB is a self-photosensitizer. The phenol hydroxyl groups of AA can inhibit photo-triggered oxidation resulting in a lighter blue color. The color signal is captured using a smartphone and analyzed using color analysis software. A series of factors that affect the performance of the device are investigated, including the concentration of TMB, buffer pH, channel selection, and irradiation time. The analytical performance is evaluated, and the results show that the method has a wide detection range of 0.05–1.0 mmol L−1 as well as a high selectivity and reproducibility. The proposed method is applied for assaying AA in beverage samples and a VC tablet, and the results correspond to those obtained using the UV method. The results of the recovery test of human serum indicate that the proposed method is feasible in biological samples. This device is easy to fabricate, and convenient to store and transport. It is a truly portable device which has great potential in the on-site assay. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Stroke prevention with oral anticoagulant (OAC) therapy, including non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants (NOACs), is recommended in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). This analysis describes the antithrombotic prescription patterns for Chinese patients enrolled post-dabigatran approval during Phase II and III of the Global Registry on Long-Term Oral Antithrombotic Treatment in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation (GLORIA-AF) program in China. Methods: Patients aged ≥ 18 years with newly diagnosed (< 3 months before baseline visit) nonvalvular AF at risk of stroke (CHA2DS2-VASc score ≥ 1) were consecutively enrolled in the GLORIA-AF registry. This cross-sectional analysis provides descriptive comparison of Chinese patients in Phase III (2015–2016) with those enrolled in Phase II (2013–2014). Results: Overall, 1,018 and 1,911 Chinese patients were eligible for analysis in Phase II and III, respectively. Most patients (69.6% and 69.1%, respectively) had high stroke risk (CHA2DS2-VASc score ≥ 2 for males and ≥ 3 for females). High bleeding risk (HAS-BLED score ≥ 3) rates were similar (17.3% for Phase II, 17.6% for Phase III). In Phase II, 5.8%, 15.2%, 36.7% and 42.2% of patients were prescribed NOACs, vitamin K antagonists (VKAs), antiplatelet therapies or no antithrombotic treatment, respectively. The corresponding figures were 17.2%, 23.5%, 37.4% and 21.8% for patients in Phase III, with an overall increase in OAC prescriptions (NOACs or VKAs). In patients with high stroke risk, the prescription patterns in Phase II were 5.6%, 14.4%, 41.0% and 38.9% for NOACs, VKAs, antiplatelets or no antithrombotic treatment, respectively. The respective proportions in Phase III were 15.1%, 23.5%, 40.9% and 20.5%. Conclusions: Since the availability of dabigatran in China, the overall trend of OAC, including NOAC, prescriptions in Chinese patients with nonvalvular AF has increased over time, albeit with VKAs as the most common antithrombotic treatment. Most patients, including those at high stroke risk, remain undertreated according to best practice guidelines. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01468701. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Secondary polycythemia is considered the usual complication of chronic hypoxia. It can theoretically increase the oxygen-carrying capacity, but this adaptive trait has a deleterious effect because the blood viscosity increases, which can induce significant morbidity and mortality, such as stroke and myocardial infarction. Case presentation: A 55-year-old man with a history of a congenitally small main pulmonary artery presented to the emergency department with sustained unsteady walking, dizziness and vertigo. Evaluation revealed elevated hemoglobin and superior posterior circulation cerebral artery thrombosis. The patient was treated with high flux inhalation of oxygen and anti-platelet aggregation. Conclusions: The involvement of cerebral vessels has rarely been reported in chronic hypoxia cases. The present case is the first case of superior posterior circulation cerebral artery thrombosis due to chronic hypoxia in a patient with a congenitally small main pulmonary artery. This case demonstrates the importance of recognizing some chronic diseases that can lead to hypoxia and secondary polycythemia thereby leading to hypercoagulable state and subsequent thrombosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The relationship between the radiological lymph node (rLN) size and survival outcome in node‐negative rectal cancer is still uncertain. In this study, we aimed to explore the role of enlarged rLN in predicting the survival of node‐negative rectal cancers. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the records of 722 node‐negative rectal cancer who underwent curative resection. Factors associated with DFS (disease‐free survival) and CSS (cancer‐specific survival) were assessed with univariate and multivariate analysis. Survival analysis was performed according to presence with or without enlarged rLN. Combining rLN with NLR as a new index‐inflammation immune score (IIS) for predicting survival. Comparing different models to assess the predictive powers. Results: A total of 119 patients had tumor recurrence and 73 patients died due to cancer. Patients with enlarged rLN (≥5 mm) was significantly associated with better DFS (HR:0.517, 95%CI:0.339–0.787, p = 0.002) and CSS (HR:0.43, 95%CI:0.242–0.763, p = 0.004). The risk factors of recurrence were rLN, neutrophil‐lymphocyte ratio (NLR), CEA level, and distance from the anal verge. The risk of recurrence increased by 1.88‐ and 2.83‐fold for the high score in IIS compared with the low and intermediate score group (All p < 0.001). Similarly, the high score in IIS also increased the risk of cancer‐specific death. In the model comparison, the AIC and LR were improved by including the rLN into the NLR model for DFS and CSS prediction (All p < 0.05). Conclusions: Node‐negative rectal cancer patients with enlarged rLN had a better survival outcome. IIS might be a more comprehensive and complete inflammation immune index for survival prediction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: With the increasing morbidity and mortality of preeclampsia (PE), it has posed a huge challenge to public health. Previous studies have reported endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress could contribute to trophoblastic dysfunction which was associated with the N6-methyladenosine (m6A) modification by methyltransferase-like 3 (METTL3), resulting in PE. However, little was known about the relationship between METTL3 and ER stress in PE. Thus, in vitro and in vivo studies were performed to clarify the mechanism about how METTL3 affects the trophoblasts under ER stress in PE and to explore a therapeutic approach for PE. Methods: An ER stress model in HTR-8/SVneo cells and a preeclamptic rat model were used to study the mechanism and explore a therapeutic approach for PE. Western blot, immunohistochemistry, quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), and methylated RNA immunoprecipitation (MeRIP)-qPCR were performed to detect the protein, RNA, and methylated transmembrane BAX inhibitor motif containing 6 (TMBIM6) expression levels. The m6A colorimetric and mRNA stability assays were used to measure the m6A levels and TMBIM6 stability, respectively. Short hairpin RNAs (shRNAs) were used to knockdown METTL3 and YTH N6-methyladenosine RNA binding protein 2 (YTHDF2). Flow cytometry and Transwell assays were performed to evaluate the apoptosis and invasion abilities of trophoblasts. Results: Upregulated METTL3 and m6A levels and downregulated TMBIM6 levels were observed in preeclamptic placentas under ER stress. The ER stress model was successfully constructed, and knockdown of METTL3 had a beneficial effect on HTR-8/SVneo cells under ER stress as it decreased the levels of methylated TMBIM6 mRNA. Moreover, overexpression of TMBIM6 was beneficial to HTR-8/SVneo cells under ER stress as it could neutralize the harmful effects of METTL3 overexpression. Similar to the knockdown of METTL3, downregulation of YTHDF2 expression resulted in the increased expression and mRNA stability of TMBIM6. Finally, improved systemic symptoms as well as protected placentas and fetuses were demonstrated in vivo. Conclusions: METTL3/YTHDF2/TMBIM6 axis exerts a significant role in trophoblast dysfunction resulting in PE while inhibiting METTL3 may provide a novel therapeutic approach for PE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Liquid–liquid extraction technology based on ionic liquids (ILs) is an efficient and environmentally friendly method to recover Au(III). This work aims to separate Au(III) from hydrochloric acid media using a novel IL [DBA-Pyr][NTf2], which is a pyrrolidinium-based IL functionalized with amide groups. Firstly, experiments have been carried out under optimal conditions, including the concentration, acidity and temperature. It turns out that low concentrations of hydrochloric acid help in Au(III) extraction, while the increase of chloride ion concentrations has an adverse effect. Then, through Job's method, extraction complexes with a molar ratio of [DBA-Pyr][NTf2]-to-Au(III) of 1 : 1 were determined. And, the anion exchange extraction mechanism was confirmed by FT-IR, UV-Vis, and 13C NMR spectroscopies and an electrostatic potential energy (ESP). Under the optimal extraction conditions, it has excellent selectivity to Au(III) compared to both base metal ions and platinum group metals (PGMs). Furthermore, Au(III) could also be recovered from the IL phase using an aqueous solution of thiourea in 95.6% with high selectivity. After 4 cycle experiments, an extraction efficiency of more than 90% is still maintained. The results show that [DBA-Pyr][NTf2] has potential application prospects in Au(III) recovery from hydrochloric acid media. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The lack of color information and texture information in the shadow region seriously affect the recognition and interpretation of remote sensing image information. The commonly used methods focus on the restoration of texture information, but it is often easy to overcompensate, resulting in color distortion of the shadow region. However, some methods only ensure accurate correction of color information, and tend to cause texture blurring. In order to not lose the texture information and to accurately compensate the color information in the shadow region of the image, we propose a shadow compensation method from UAV images based on texture-preserving local color transfer in this paper. Firstly, homogeneous regions are extracted from UAV images and homogeneous subregion segmentation is performed on the basis of homogeneous regions using the mean shift method. Secondly, in combination with the shadow mask, each shadow subregion is matched with the corresponding non-shadow subregion based on its texture features and spatial distance. Then, the matched non-shadow subregion is used as the reference region, and the color transfer based on preserving texture is performed on the shadow subregion. Finally, pixel-by-pixel width shadow compensation is applied to the penumbra region. The results of the qualitative and quantitative analysis validate the accuracy and effectiveness of the proposed methodology to compensate for the color and texture details of the shadow regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fishery carbon sink (FCS) is a concept of promoting the absorption of carbon dioxide (CO 2) by ocean through enhancing the biological process in fishery resources, and then removing carbon from water body through harvesting aquatic fishery resources. Among marine organisms, bivalves are one of the seafood with high potential in developing FCS. Although the FCS of China bivalve aquaculture has been estimated, these studies were rough estimation without specified contribution of different bivalve species. In this context, based on 20 years data, this study was conducted to evaluate the FCS performance of oyster, especially Crassostrea hongkongensis (accounted for 30% of oyster production in China) farmed in Guangxi, China. The results of this study revealed that the oyster aquaculture plays an increasing role in FCS, especially in 2010 and onward. The oyster aquaculture industry in Guangxi removed about 0.05 million tons (average) of carbon from the sea every year through FCS, and is expected to remove more than 0.07 million tons of carbon from the sea in future. The results of this study not only can fill in the knowledge gap on the FCS of oyster aquaculture in Guangxi, China, but also can provide a guideline to study the FCS of other bivalve species in different regions. • Guangxi oyster aquaculture plays an increasing role in FCS. • Guangxi oyster aquaculture removed about 0.05 million tons carbon per year. • Oyster shell contributed >97% of the FCS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lead-free zero-dimensional (0D) perovskite nanocrystals (NCs) with isolated octahedral structures have attracted considerable attention due to their unique photoelectric properties, such as highly efficient emissions with broadband features. A series of phosphors composed of Sb3+-doped 0D perovskite crystals Cs3ZnCl5 with wavelength-tunable emission spectra have been obtained using a facile recrystallization method at room temperature in air. By controlling the doping concentration of Sb3+ in Cs3ZnCl5 lattice, bright emissions from red to orange have been achieved under excitation at 320 nm due to the expansion of the crystal lattice, and the emission excited at 275 nm is bluish-white, spanning the full visible region. Inductively coupled plasma emission spectrometry (ICP) demonstrates the Sb3+ substitutes for Zn2+ rather than Cs+ due to the similar charges and ionic radii. The luminescence performance of phosphor Cs3ZnCl5:Sb3+ can be improved obviously by replacing 3 mol% of Cs+ with Rb+ or K+ due to the further distortion of the crystal lattice. The present approach allows the synthesis of large-scale emissive lead-free 0D perovskites activated by Sb3+ with tunable luminescence color. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to imaging and lighting directions, shadows are inevitably formed in unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) images. This causes shadowed regions with missed and occluded information, such as color and texture details. Shadow detection and compensation from remote sensing images is essential for recovering the missed information contained in these images. Current methods are mainly aimed at processing shadows with simple scenes. For UAV remote sensing images with a complex background and multiple shadows, problems inevitably occur, such as color distortion or texture information loss in the shadow compensation result. In this paper, we propose a novel shadow removal algorithm from UAV remote sensing images based on color and texture equalization compensation of local homogeneous regions. Firstly, the UAV imagery is split into blocks by selecting the size of the sliding window. The shadow was enhanced by a new shadow detection index (SDI) and threshold segmentation was applied to obtain the shadow mask. Then, the homogeneous regions are extracted with LiDAR intensity and elevation information. Finally, the information of the non-shadow objects of the homogeneous regions is used to restore the missed information in the shadow objects of the regions. The results revealed that the average overall accuracy of shadow detection is 98.23% and the average F1 score is 95.84%. The average color difference is 1.891, the average shadow standard deviation index is 15.419, and the average gradient similarity is 0.726. The results have shown that the proposed method performs well in both subjective and objective evaluations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a serious disease of the central nervous system, often with irreversible loss of motor or sensory functions. Failure of axon connection and inhibition of the microenvironment after SCI severely hinder the regeneration of damaged tissue and neuron function. Therefore, a new perspective in the treatment of SCI is reconstruction of the neural circuit. Stem cells are a type of cells with differentiation potential. They reconstruct local circulation by differentiating into neurons to replace damaged cells. They also can secrete various factors to regulate the host microenvironment and play a therapeutic role. Biomaterials can fill the cavity at the site of SCI, load therapeutic drugs, provide adsorption sites for transplanted cells, and play a bridging role. In this review, the therapeutic role of stem cells and biomaterials is discussed, together with their properties, advantages, limitations, and future perspectives, providing a reference for basic and clinical research on SCI treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • The structure-extraction performance relationship of ILs was systematically clarified. • ILs with lower solubility exhibited better extraction efficiency for Au(III). • The proposed structure-performance relationship demonstrated high universality. • [EB-IM][NTf 2 ] shows superior capacity (432.84 mg/g) and kinetics (1 min) for Au(III). • [EB-IM][NTf 2 ] possesses great practical application potential to e-waste. Ionic liquids (ILs) are regarded as an ideal candidate for recycling precious metals due to their green and tunable characteristics. However, the lack of understanding of structure-performance relationships still restricts the development and practical application of higher-performance ILs. Here, we aim to investigate the structure-extraction performance relationship, and develop a solvent-free extraction system for extracting gold from e-waste. The results demonstrate that the maximum loading capacity of imidazolium-based ILs follows the order of [EB-IM][NTf 2 ] (432.84 mg·g−1) > [EP-IM][NTf 2 ] (376.57 mg·g−1) > [EA-IM][NTf 2 ] (311.68 mg·g−1). The influence mechanism of substituents on extraction was examined through DFT calculation and quantitative NMR (q NMR). Our findings reveal that an increase in carbon chain length of ILs leads to a decrease in electrostatic potential (ESP) value, weaker binding energy, and reduced solubility. Remarkably, the decrease of solubility has a positive effect on improving extraction efficiency. Importantly, the proposed structure–activity relationship is universal. Moreover, [EB-IM][NTf 2 ] exhibited remarkable selectivity (β Au/Cu = 4.14 × 104, β Au/Ni = 2.46 × 103), recyclability (over 5 cycles) and good economic viability in waste SIM cards, obtaining high-purity gold with 23.78 karat. Overall, this study not only offers valuable guidance for the design of high-performance ILs, but also demonstrates the industrial prospect of ILs for recovering gold from e-waste. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spatial transcriptomics is considered as an important part of spatiotemporal molecular images to bridge molecular information with clinical images. Of those potentials and opportunities, the excellent quality of human sample preparation and handling will ensure the precise and reliable information generated from clinical spatial transcriptome. The present study aims at defining potential factors that might influence the quality of spatial transcriptomics in lung cancer, para‐cancer, or normal tissues, pathological images of sections and the RNA integrity before spatial transcriptome sequencing. We categorised potential influencing factors from clinical aspects, including patient selection, pathological definition, surgical types, sample harvest, temporary preservation conditions and solutions, frozen approaches, transport and storage conditions and duration. We emphasis on the relationship between the combination of histological scores with RNA integrity number (RIN) and the unique molecular identifier (UMI), which is determines the quality of of spatial transcriptomics; however, we did not find significantly relevance between them. Our results showed that isolated times and dry conditions of sample are critical for the UMI and the quality of spatial transcriptomic samples. Thus, clinical procedures of sample preparation should be furthermore optimised and standardised as new standards of operation performance for clinical spatial transcriptome. Our data suggested that the temporary preservation time and condition of samples at operation room should be within 30 min and in 'dry' status. The direct cryo‐preservation within OCT media for human lung sample is recommended. Thus, we believe that clinical spatial transcriptome will be a decisive approach and bridge in the development of spatiotemporal molecular images and provide new insights for understanding molecular mechanisms of diseases at multi‐orientations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Study Question: Does Scribble (SCRIB) contribute to aberrant decidualization of endometrial stromal cells (ESC) in adenomyosis?Summary Answer: SCRIB knockdown impairs decidualization of ESC by decreasing Fork-head box O1A (FOXO1) expression through the protein kinase B (AKT) and atypical protein kinase C (aPKC) activated pathways.What Is Known Already: Stromal SCRIB is required for primary decidual zone formation and pregnancy success in mice. In our previous studies, decidualization was dampened in ESC isolated from adenomyosis patients, yet the underlying molecular mechanisms remain elusive.Study Design, Size, Duration: Eutopic endometrium tissue samples from diffuse adenomyosis and non-adenomyosis patients in proliferative, early-secretory and mid-secretory phase (n = 10 per phase for each group) were explored. In parallel, in vitro decidualization studies were carried out in ESC isolated from non-adenomyosis women (n = 8).Participants/materials, Setting, Methods: The endometrial SCRIB expression was analyzed using immunohistochemistry staining and western blot. Quantitative RT-PCR (qRT-PCR), western blot and immunofluorescence staining were used to explore the expression of SCRIB in ESC during in vitro decidualization. siRNA-mediated SCRIB knockdown followed by decidual markers expression analysis, flow cytometry for cell cycle analysis and phalloidin staining for morphological analysis were performed to examine the function of SCRIB in ESC decidualization. RNA-sequencing was performed to examine the SCRIB-mediated transcriptional changes in decidualized ESC (DSC). Rescue experiments using an AKT inhibitor MK2206 and aPKC inhibitor NSC37044 were used to investigate the signaling pathways through which could mediate SCRIB-regulated FOXO1 protein expression and ESC decidualization.Main Results and the Role Of Chance: We found that the expression of SCRIB in the mid-secretory phase eutopic endometrial stroma of adenomyosis patients was significantly lower than that of non-adenomyosis. SCRIB knockdown reduced the expression of decidual markers, abrogated the epithelioid-like morphological changes, inhibited the mesenchymal-to-epithelial transitions process and promoted the cell cycle progression of ESC during in vitro decidualization. SCRIB knockdown-induced decidualization defects were attributed to a decrease in expression of transcription factor FOXO1, known to regulate decidualization. Furthermore, we found that SCRIB knockdown induced the aberrant activation of AKT and aPKC, which led to FOXO1 phosphorylation and degradation. Rescue assay confirmed that restoring the expression of FOXO1 effectively reversed the decidualization defects and cell cycle progression caused by SCRIB knockdown.Large Scale Data: N/A.Limitations, Reasons For Caution: In this study, it was demonstrated that SCRIB knockdown mediated the activation of AKT and aPKC, contributing to FOXO1 degradation and aberrant decidualization, however, the molecular link between AKT and aPKC signaling was not determined, and still requires further exploration.Wider Implications Of the Findings: Our findings support the hypothesis that adenomyosis interferes with embryo implantation due to insufficient endometrial receptivity. Abnormal decidualization of the endometrial stroma may clarify the possible association between adenomyosis and infertility. Our findings may be clinically useful for counseling and treatment of infertile adenomyosis patients.Study Funding/competing Interest(s): This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (82001523 and 82171639). The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.Trial Registration Number: N/A. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are being extensively studied as they function as key metabolic regulators which play a role in the heat stress response. However, the role of miRNAs in heat stress remains uncertain and many new miRNAs have not yet been discovered. In a previous study, we performed high‐throughput sequencing of differentially expressed miRNAs identified on exposing rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) to heat stress (18 vs. 24°C), which led to the identification of two novel miRNAs, temporarily named novel miR‐434 and ‐242. The differential expression level of these miRNAs was extremely significant (P < 0.01); we analysed target gene mRNA transcripts by bioinformatics software (miRanda). We found novel miR‐434 and ‐242 were predicted to regulate the transcripts of heat shock 70‐kDa protein 4‐like (HSPA4L) and calreticulin (CRT), respectively, by bioinformatics software. Here our core objective was to validate if HSPA4L and CRT are indeed the target genes of novel miR‐434 and ‐242, respectively, and for this purpose we used the dual‐luciferase reporter assay system. Target gene sequences were synthesized and cloned into a dual‐luciferase vector. To better understand the function of the target genes, we combined the previous sequencing results of Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis. We found that novel miR‐434 regulated HSPA4L expression by binding to a putative binding site in the 3′‐UTR of HSPA4L, and luciferase activity inhibition was observed. In contrast, novel miR‐242 was not involved in regulating CRT expression. To conclude, we believe our results should serve as a foundation for future studies aiming to comprehensively understand the mechanisms used by rainbow trout to cope with heat stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A novel multi-view common subspace learning model is proposed. • The model can obtain a unified common subspace by using the discriminant information within and between views. • The discriminant information within and between views can be adjusted by the weighted coefficient. • Our model adopts the maximize scatter difference criterion as the metric between and within the views after projection. How to use multi-view data effectively has become one of the challenging problems in the computer vision community. The existing multi-view learning methods are mainly based on common subspace learning which aim to explore the discriminative information between multi-view data and find its potential common subspace. Most of the existing multi-view subspace learning methods rely on the within-class scatter matrix and between-class scatter matrix while capturing the discriminative information of multiple views. However, these methods just roughly minimize the within-class distance and maximize the between-class distance, and do not make full use of the intra-view and inter-view information. To address this problem, we propose a weighted common subspace learning method, which can effectively adjust the contribution ratio of between-class and within-class information through a weighted parameter, so that an optimized common subspace can be obtained. And we use the maximum scatter difference criterion as the metric of inter-view and intra-view after projection. Extensive experiments on the public data sets show the superiority of this method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Linear ablation in addition to pulmonary vein antrum isolation (PVAI) has failed to improve the success rate for persistent atrial fibrillation (PeAF), due to incomplete block of ablation lines, especially in the mitral isthmus (MI). Methods and Results: The study enrolled 191 patients (66 in group 1 and 125 in group 2). In group 1, ethanol infusion into the vein of Marshall was first performed, followed by radiofrequency (RF) applications targeting bilateral PVAI and bidirectional block in the roofline, cavotricuspid isthmus, and MI. In group 2, PVAI and the three linear ablations were completed using only RF energy. MI block was achieved in 63 (95.5%) and 101 (80.8%) patients in groups 1 and 2, respectively (p =.006). Patients in group 1 had shorter ablation time for left pulmonary vein antrum (8.15 vs. 12.59 min, p <.001) and MI (7.0 vs. 11.8 min, p <.001) and required less cardioversion (50 [78.5%] vs. 113 [90.4%], p =.007). During the 12‐month follow‐up, 58 (87.9%) patients were free from atrial fibrillation/atrial tachycardia in group 1 compared with 81 (64.8%) in group 2 (p <.001). In multivariate cox regression, the "upgraded 2C3L" procedure is associated with a lower recurrence rate (hazard ratio = 0.27, 95% confidence interval = 0.12–0.59). Conclusion: Compared with the conventional "2C3L" approach, the "upgraded 2C3L" approach has higher effectiveness for ablation of PeAF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Management of brainstem metastatic tumor is challenging. This study aimed to evaluate overall survival and quality-of-life in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) brainstem metastases who were treated with the Cyberknife stereotactic radiosurgery. From August 2007 through August 2016, a total of 32 patients with 34 brainstem metastases of NSCLC were consecutively enrolled and treated with the Cyberknife radiosurgery (CKRS) at The Huashan Hospital. The study was limited to patients with NSCLC, which was confirmed by postoperative pathological examination. Patients were treated by CKRS as an initial treatment or a second treatment after whole-brain radiation therapy (WBRT). Quality of life was assessed by the SF-12 score and neurological examination. Four out of the 32 (12.5%) patients received WBRT before or concurrent with CKRS treatment. The mean survival time after CKRS was 10.0 (95%CI: 6.0–14.0) months. Karnofsky performance score was not the independent predictor of survival after radiosurgery as analyzed by log-rank test (p = 0.392). Age, however, was a significant predictor of improved survival as analyzed by multivariate analysis (p = 0.024). SF-12 physical component scores demonstrated no significant change after treatment. The CKSR is a non-invasive, safe, and effective modality in the treatment of patients with brainstem metastases of NSCLC. Better therapeutic outcomes of CKSR for brainstem metastasis might be achieved in the patients older than 65 years old. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Founded in 2001, Pingyao International Photography Festival (PIPF) has established a platform for photographic shows and academic exchanges. It has been making efforts to promote photography as media of expression, communication, and a form of art. This article seeks to portrait the festival through featured exhibitions and activities, including the group return of the Chinese conceptual photography, the introduction of photographic curatorial notions, the balance between professional and amateur photography, as well as the exchanges among photographic students and educators through exhibitions and forums. It also attempts to propose the main challenges PIPF confronts through the difficulties they encountered in the 2020 version, which happened without the personal presence of the international community because of the Covid-19 epidemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • The low-cost and acid-stable PILs were designed to recover gold from e-waste. • The PILs exhibited excellent adsorption capacity and rapid equilibrium time. • The PILs achieved remarkable selectivity to Au(III) in actual CPUs leachate. • A satisfactory reusability of more than 8 cycles was realized. • An economical and feasible flow chart of gold recovery from e-waste was provided. Recycling gold from e-waste is not only beneficial to environmental protection, but also to resource sustainability. However, it remains a great challenge due to the limitations of high cost, lengthy balance process and the interference of coexisting metals. Herein, a family of low-cost, nitrogen-rich content and acid-stable imidazolium-based poly(ionic liquid)s, designated as P(nDVB-mVBIMCl)s, were synthesized for recovery of gold from e-waste. The obtained P(2DVB-8VBIMCl)s achieves outstanding adsorption capacity (820.5 mg·g−1) and rapid equilibrium time (15 min) and satisfactory reusability (more than 8 cycles). XPS, EDS and ion chromatography revealed that the excellent adsorption performance was attributed to synergistic effect of ion exchange and chemical reduction. In addition, the P(2DVB-8VBIMCl)s showed excellent selectivity for gold in actual e-waste leaching solution, exhibited satisfactory selectivity coefficient for Fe3+ (1.46 × 104) and Ni2+ (1.12 × 104), obtaining 23.4 karat high-purity gold after calcination. In addition, the P(2DVB-8VBIMCl)s shows its good economic feasibility. Overall, this work provides a feasible adsorbent, which becomes a promising candidate for industrial gold recovery from e-waste. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the recent advancement in AI technology, IDSs reinforced by AI have been adopted to ensure system and network security. Unfortunately, computational and storage overheads of such systems prevent them from being deployed in IESs. To overcome the challenges that restrict the applicability of intrusion detection for IESs, we propose a lightweight and intelligent IDS. The proposed system first generates the behavioral specifications that characterize the normal communication of an IES. Based on specifications, Gini index and the generalized system attributes are exploited to detect abnormal communications. To reduce the false positive rate, the data that do not abide the behavioral specifications is passed to a Naive Bayes classifier for further classification. Our experimental results show that the proposed system can achieve 95.84 percent accuracy and thus holds great promise for deployment in IESs as a lightweight and efficient IDS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of methods that can detect telomerase with high selectivity and sensitivity is critical for early diagnosis and treatment of telomerase-related cancers. In this regard, we describe in this work the establishment of a telomerase-initiated and nicking endonuclease-assisted cascade recycling signal amplification approach for non-label and highly sensitive fluorescent detection of telomerase from cancer cells. The target telomerase triggers the elongation of one strand in a partial dsDNA duplex with a pre-designed sequence to induce the release of a ssDNA, which can initiate three cascaded recycling cycles for the generation of many G-quadruplex sequences by cleaving two hairpin signal probes with the assistance of the Nt.AlwI endonuclease. The thioflavin dye further binds these G-quadruplex sequences to exhibit substantial fluorescence enhancement for sensitive detection of telomerase at 8.93 × 10−11 IU. Moreover, this developed method is capable of differentiating telomerase activity among different cancer cells and screening telomerase inhibitors for anticancer drugs. Image 1 • Non-label and highly sensitive detection of telomerase is achieved homogeneously. • Elaborate DNA design leads to simple and convenient significant signal amplification. • Distinct differentiation of telomerase in different cancer cells is demonstrated. • Proof-of-concept anti-cancer drug screening is realized with this method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The detection and quantification of microRNA (miRNA) plays essential roles in clinical and biomedical research. Yet, it is of major challenge to sense miRNA with high degree of selectivity and sensitivity due to its unique characteristics of short length, similarity of sequence among family members and low abundance. Here, with the design of a new hairpin/DNA ring ternary probe, we describe the development of a rolling circle amplification (RCA) method for sensitively and selectively sensing miRNA from cancer cells. The target miRNA binds the hairpin/DNA ring probes through toehold-mediated strand displacement (TSD) to form the ternary structures, in which the bound miRNA and DNA ring are respectively used as the primer and template to realize RCA, leading to the generation of many repeated metal ion-dependent DNAzyme sequences. The fluorescently quenched hairpin signal probes can be cyclically cleaved by these DNAzyme sequences with co-existence of the corresponding metal ions in buffer to show drastically enhanced fluorescence recovery for highly sensitive sensing of miRNA in the range between 10 fM and 10 nM with a detection limit of 1.51 fM. Besides, owing to the high base variation discrimination ability of TSD, selective detection of the target miRNA among the corresponding family members can be achieved by this method. Moreover, such a method can also be employed to differentiate miRNA expression variations in cancer cells for screening potential therapeutic drugs. Image 1 • A new hairpin/DNA ring ternary probe enables ligation-free initiation of RCA. • The coupling of RCA with DNAzyme recycling leads to drastic signal amplification. • This method can achieve highly sensitive and selective discrimination of microRNAs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• SHTB tests were conducted for AZ91D based nanocomposites at elevated temperatures. • AZ91D nanocomposites have a strain rate hardening and temperature softening effect. • Improved dynamic properties were achieved by hybrid CNT and nanosized SiC addition. • A modified constitutive model was fitted to the data and provided reasonable agreement. • A user-defined subroutine based modified constitutive model was developed. The dynamic response and constitutive behavior of magnesium (Mg) based nanocomposites have not been sufficiently investigated. Thus, dynamic tensile stress–strain characteristics of 1.0 mass% hybrid carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and silicon carbide (SiC) nanoparticles reinforced AZ91D matrix composites were studied at high strain rates and elevated temperatures by experiments and simulations in the present work. The dynamic tensile stress-strain curves of the AZ91D matrix nanocomposites at different strain rates and elevated temperatures were experimentally obtained. The experimental results show that the dynamic stress–strain relationship of the AZ91D nanocomposites is strain rate and temperature dependent. By considering the strain rate hardening and the coupled effects of strain rate and temperature, a modified Johnson–Cook (J–C) constitutive model was proposed to predict the dynamic mechanical behavior of the composites at high temperatures and high strain rates. In addition, the modified J–C model is implemented in ABAQUS / Explicit by using the user material subroutine VUMAT. The simulation results using the modified model show a good agreement with the experimental data, proving its capabilty for predicting the dynamic tensile response of the AZ91D nanocomposites well at elevated temperatures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a common malignancy of the gastrointestinal tract with high morbidity and mortality. Our previous studies have demonstrated that indole-chalcone-based compounds targeting tubulin displayed potential cytotoxicity to CRC cells. Herein, three new series of derivatives were systematically designed and synthesized to explore their structure-activity relationship (SAR) against CRC based on prior research. Among them, a representative fluorine-containing analog (FC116) exerted superior efficacy on HCT116 (IC 50 = 4.52 nM) and CT26 (IC 50 = 18.69 nM) cell lines, and HCT116-xenograft mice with tumor growth inhibition rate of 65.96% (3 mg/kg). Of note, FC116 could also suppress the growth of organoid models (IC 50 = 1.8–2.5 nM) and showed adenoma number inhibition rate of 76.25% at the dose of 3 mg/kg in APCmin/+ mice. In terms of mechanism, FC116 could induce endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress to produce excess reactive oxygen species (ROS), leading to mitochondrial damage to promote the apoptosis of CRC cells by targeting microtubules. Our results support that indole-chalcone compounds are promising tubulin inhibitors and highlight the potential of FC116 to combat CRC. [Display omitted] • A series of fluoroindole chalcone analogs targeting colchicine-binding site of tubulin were designed to explore their SAR. • FC116 exhibited potent tubulin polymerization inhibition and potent antiproliferative activity on CRC cell lines. • FC116 possessed remarkable antitumor efficacy in the xenograft tumor model and APCmin/+ mouse model of spontaneous CRC. • FC116 induced endoplasmic reticulum stress to produce excess ROS, leading to mitochondrial damage by targeting microtubules. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evaluation for the feasibility and accuracy of Freestyle Libre Flash Glucose Monitoring System used by COVID-19 patients in intensive care unit We believe that our results potentially have some inspirations for FSL-CGM use in COVID-19 patients. GLO:55QH/01jul21:jdb13181-toc-0001.jpg PHOTO (COLOR): . gl Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a major comorbidity of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). [Extracted from the article]

Platelet distribution width (PDW) is a simple and inexpensive parameter, which could predict activation of coagulation efficiently. And it has been confirmed to have a significant role in many diseases. We aimed to explore the association between PDW and hyperuricemia in a large Chinese cohort. This cross‐sectional study recruited 61,091 ostensible healthy participants (29,259 males and 31,832 females) after implementing exclusion criteria. Clinical data of the enrolled population included anthropometric measurements and serum parameters. Database was sorted by gender, and the association between PDW and hyperuricemia was analyzed after dividing PDW into quartiles. Crude and adjusted odds ratios of PDW for hyperuricemia with 95% confidence intervals were analyzed using binary logistic regression models. We found no significant difference in PDW values between the genders. Males showed significantly higher incidence of hyperuricemia than females. From binary logistic regression models, significant hyperuricemia risks only were demonstrated in PDW quartiles 2 and 3 in males (P < 0.05). This study displayed close association between PDW and hyperuricemia as a risk factor. It is meaningful to use PDW as a clinical risk predictor for hyperuricemia in males. © 2019 BioFactors, 45(3):326–334, 2019 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cellular processes are typically carried out by protein complexes rather than individual proteins. Identifying protein complexes is one of the keys to understanding principles of cellular organization and function. Also, protein complexes are a group of interacting genes underlying similar diseases, which points out the therapeutic importance of protein complexes. With the development of life science and computing science, an increasing amount of protein-protein interaction (PPI) data becomes available, which makes it possible to predict protein complexes from PPI networks. However, most PPI data produced by high-throughput experiments often has many false positive interactions and false negative edge loss, which makes it difficult to predict complexes accurately. In this paper, we present a new method, named as MEMO (Multiple network Embedding for coMplex detectiOn), to detect protein complexes. MEMO integrates multiple PPI datasets from different species into a single PPI network by using functional orthology information across multiple species and then uses a graph embedding technology to embed protein nodes of the network into continuous vector spaces, so as to quantify the relationships between nodes and better guild the protein complex detection process. Finally, it utilizes a seed-and-extend strategy to identify protein complexes from multiple PPI networks based on the similarities of their corresponding protein representations. As part of our approach, we also define a new quality measure which combines the cluster cohesiveness and cluster density to measure the likelihood of a detected protein complex being a real protein complex. Extensive experimental results demonstrate the proposed method outperforms state-of-the-art complex detection techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphical abstract Highlights • The hydrophobic surface of natural biomaterials was simply constructed with organic soluble carbon dots (OCDs). • The adsorption for I 2 in aqueous was enhanced greatly after the modification of OCDs. • The constructed hydrophobic natural biomaterials exhibit excellent stability practicability for I 2 adsorption in water. Abstract For the pollution of radioactive materials, it is of great importance to develop efficient adsorbents for radioactive iodine adsorption in aqueous solution. In this work, a simple and green strategy was developed to construct hydrophobic surface on natural cotton fibers (n-CF) based on organic-soluble carbon dots (OCDs) for the first time. The results demonstrated the successful constructed hydrophobic n-CF@OCDs expressed excellent stability and selectivity for iodine (I 2) adsorption in water. The maximum adsorption capacity for I 2 on n-CF@OCDs is calculated to be 190.1 mg g−1, which is about 6.8 times higher than that of n-CF (28.1 mg g−1), this highly I 2 adsorption efficiency should be attributed to the hydrophobic properties of adsorbent. The adsorption mechanism was also discussed in this work. In addition, the adsorbed I 2 could be desorbed easily with a simple reductive process at ambient conditions, which can lead to not only the restore of I 2 but also the recycling of adsorbent, illustrating their good practicability. Furthermore, this universal strategy can also be used for construction of hydrophobic surface on various natural biomaterials, demonstrating its potential application in constructing of hydrophobic surface and used for the adsorption and removal of nonpolar pollutions or radioactive waste in aqueous solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we propose the diffusion sparse sign algorithm with variable step-size for distributed estimation in sparse and impulsive interference environments. Firstly, we address the problem of in-network distributed estimation for sparse vectors under the impulsive noise environment. In order to exploit the sparsity of the vector of interest, we incorporate the sparse norms (l1-norm and RWl1-norm) into the cost function of the standard diffusion sign algorithm, which accelerates the convergence speed of zero or near-zero components. In addition, we propose the adaptive variable step-size to further improve the convergence rate of the proposed algorithm. The variable step-size is derived by the correlation entropy, which contains a modified Gaussian kernel function and is robust to impulsive noise. In this paper, every node combines its correlation entropy function with the information of its neighborhood to drive the variable step-size at each iteration. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm outperforms the standard diffusion SA in the sparse and impulsive system and the convergence rate of the proposed algorithm is faster than constant step-size algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: We aimed to seek the crucial genes or microRNAs (miRNA) correlated with the cervical cancer development.Methods: The miRNA profiling GSE30656 and gene expression profiling GSE63514 were obtained from Gene Expression Omnibus database. Differentially expressed microRNAs (DEMiRs) and differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were screened. Then target genes of DEMiRs were obtained and matched with DEGs to obtain interaction pairs between DEMiRs and DEGs. Gene Ontology-biological process and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analyses were conducted for DEGs and DEMiRs in the DEMiRs-DEGs pairs. The DEMiRs-DEGs regulatory network, protein-protein interaction network and transcription factor (TF)-target regulatory network were constructed. Ultimately, long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) associated with DEMiRs were obtained, and then lncRNA-miRNA-target ceRNA network was established.Results: Total 18 DEMiRs and 620 DEGs were identified. DEMiRs were enriched in 35 KEGG pathways, such as PI3K-Akt signaling pathway (involving miR-451a). DEGs were enriched in various functions, such as DNA replication (involving E2F7) and angiogenesis (involving EREG). There were 120 nodes and 216 interaction pairs in the DEMIR-DEG regulatory network, and miR-106b-5p has the greatest degree. EREG and E2F7 were regulated by miR-451a and miR-148a-3p, respectively. Besides, E2F7 was identified in the TF-target regulatory network, regulating CDC6. There were 15 lncRNAs, 11 miRNAs and 90 DEGs in the ceRNA network. Specially, miR-148a-3p was interacted with lncRNA HOTAIR in the ceRNA network.Conclusion: E2F7, EREG, miR-451a and miR-106b-5p were likely to be related to the cervical cancer development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An efficient, sensitive, and low-cost method has been developed for turn-on fluorescence sensing of dopamine (DA). The method relies on the rapid reaction of DA and 3-Hydroxyphenylboronic acid (3-HPBA) via specific recognition between boronic acids and cis-diol of DA in alkaline solution. The reaction product shows an excitation wavelength of 417 nm and the maximum emission peak at 470 nm. The proposed method allows the determination of DA in the range of 50 nM–25 μM, and the whole detection can be completed within 5 minutes. Furthermore, the presented approach has good selectivity and has been successfully applied to DA sensing in human serum samples, showing great potential in clinical diagnosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crizotinib, a drug for anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) positive and c‐ros oncogene 1 receptor tyrosine kinase (ROS1) positive non‐small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), was structurally optimized via a strategy of structure‐based fragment replacing. Computational study showed it was beneficial for interaction of crizotinib and ALK to increase the distance between pyridyl ring and phenyl ring in crizotinib, and thus, a series of novel glycol diaryl ethers were synthesized. The in vitro anti‐tumor activity of synthesized compounds was studied in NSCLC cell line H2228 and neurobalstoma cell line SH‐SY5Y. Among the synthesized compounds, 9e exhibits stronger anti‐cancer activity than crizotinib toward H2228 cell line with an IC50 value of 0.22 μM. Molecular docking indicated that a longer chain between pyridyl ring and phenyl ring enabled molecule to have new interaction with a neighboring small hydrophobic pocket. Computational study showed it was beneficial for interaction of crizotinib and ALK to increase the distance between pyridyl ring and phenyl ring in crizotinib, and thus, a series of novel glycol diaryl ethers were synthesized. 9e exhibits stronger anti‐cancer activity than crizotinib against H2228 cell line with an IC50 value of 0.22 μM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • LINC00460 expression was upregulated in EOC tissues and cell lines. • Higher LINC00460 levels were correlated with poor overall survival. • LINC00460 promotes EOC progression. • LINC00460 acts as a ceRNA in EOC via sponging miR-338-3p. Abstract Background The long non-coding RNA LINC00460 was reported to be involved in the regulation of the malignant phenotype of multiple cancers, and to be a novel diagnostic and therapeutic target. However, its function and mechanisms of action have not yet been fully elucidated in epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). The aims of this study were to investigate the biological function and underlying mechanism of LINC00460 in EOC progression. Materials and methods LINC00460 expression was measured in EOC tissues and paired adjacent tissues obtained from 98 patients with EOC by quantitative real time PCR (qRT-PCR). The effect of LINC00460 on cell proliferation, apoptosis, migration and invasion was analyzed by CCK8 assay, flow cytometry, wound healing assay, and Matrigel invasion assay, respectively. Targeting miRNAs of LINC00460 in EOC cells was determined by luciferase reporter assay and qRT-PCR. Protein expression was measured by western blot analysis. Results LINC00460 expression was upregulated in EOC tissues compared with that in paired adjacent tissues, and higher LINC00460 levels were correlated with advanced International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stage, lymph node metastasis, and shorter overall survival in EOC patients. Knockdown of LINC00460 significantly suppressed cell proliferation, migration, and invasion, and induced apoptosis in EOC cells. A rescue experiment and luciferase reporter assay showed that LINC00460 exerted its oncogenic functions in EOC, at least in part, through binding miR-338-3p. Conclusion LINC00460 may play a crucial role in EOC progression, and may be a promising therapeutic strategy against EOC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Protein complexes are one of the keys to deciphering the behavior of a cell system. During the past decade, most computational approaches used to identify protein complexes have been based on discovering densely connected subgraphs in protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks. However, many true complexes are not dense subgraphs and these approaches show limited performances for detecting protein complexes from PPI networks. Results: To solve these problems, in this paper we propose a supervised learning method based on network node embeddings which utilizes the informative properties of known complexes to guide the search process for new protein complexes. First, node embeddings are obtained from human protein interaction network. Then the protein interactions are weighted through the similarities between node embeddings. After that, the supervised learning method is used to detect protein complexes. Then the random forest model is used to filter the candidate complexes in order to obtain the final predicted complexes. Experimental results on real human and yeast protein interaction networks show that our method effectively improves the performance for protein complex detection. Conclusions: We provided a new method for identifying protein complexes from human and yeast protein interaction networks, which has great potential to benefit the field of protein complex detection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Novel 4-O-substituted phenyl indole-chalcones were designed via a structure-based design strategy. • FC11619 is an amino-containing indole-chalcone derivative with an improved water solubility. • FC11619 maintained the in vitro cytotoxicity against HCT-116 CRC in a low nanomolar range. • FC11619 significantly suppressed tumor growth, achieving 73.4 % at a dose of 10 mg/kg/d (i.v., 21 d). Advanced metastatic colorectal cancers (CRCs) are regarded as a challenge in clinical cancer therapy. Our previous studies have demonstrated that a representative fluoro-substituted indole-chalcone (FC116), was obtained to display highly potent activity against CRC using multiple in vitro and in vivo mouse models by targeting microtubules. However, several problems, such as low dose tolerance and highly toxic to the brain and colon, low solubility unsuitable for intravenous (i.v.) administration, are still existed and limit further development. Herein, we developed two series of FC116 derivatives on the 4-methoxyphenyl group by a structure-based design strategy. Among them, FC11619 with an amino terminus maintained the in vitro cytotoxicity against HCT-116 CRC in a low nanomolar range. This compound could induce G2/M phase arrest via regulating cyclin B1 expression, produce excess reactive oxygen species (ROS), and target tubulin in CRC cells. In vivo, FC11619 significantly suppressed tumor growth, achieving 65.3 and 73.4 % at doses of 5 and 10 mg/kg/d (i.v., 21 d), which were much better than 54.1% of Taxol at 7 mg/kg. In addition, this compound showed better in vivo tolerance compared to that of FC116 (only 3 mg/kg tolerance, intraperitoneal, i.p.), and no major organ-related toxicity, especially no apparent degenerated neurons, intestinal obstruction in clinical Taxol standard therapy. Taken together, the 4-amino-substitutedphenyl indole-chalcones represent lead compounds as chemotherapy of CRC for further drug development in this field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tumors usually display fetal‐like characteristics, and many oncofetal proteins have been identified. However, fetal‐like reprogramming of RNA splicing in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is poorly understood. Here, it is demonstrated that the expression of epithelial splicing regulatory protein 2 (ESRP2), an RNA splicing factor, is suppressed in fetal hepatocytes and HCC, in parallel with tumor progression. By combining RNA‐Seq with splicing analysis, it is identified that ESRP2 controls the fetal‐to‐adult switch of multiple splice isoforms in HCC. Functionally, ESRP2 suppressed cell proliferation and migration by specifically switching the alternative splicing (AS) of the TAK1 gene and restraining the expression of the fetal and oncogenic isoform, TAK1_ΔE12. Notably, aberrant TAK1 splicing led to the activation of p38MAPK signaling and predicted poor prognosis in HCC patients. Further investigation revealed that TAK1_ΔE12 protein interacted closely with TAB3 and formed liquid condensation in HCC cells, resulting in p38MAPK activation, enhanced cell migration, and accelerated tumorigenesis. Loss of ESRP2 sensitized HCC cells to TAK1 kinase inhibitor (TAK1i), promoting pyroptotic cell death and CD8+ T cell infiltration. Combining TAK1i with immune checkpoint therapy achieved potent tumor regression in mice. Overall, the findings reveal a previously unexplored onco‐fetal reprogramming of RNA splicing and provide novel therapeutic avenues for HCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to their diverse bioactive effects, prodigiosin and its analogues (prodiginines) have attracted a great deal of attention. In this study, a prodigiosin synthetase PigC catalyzing a condensation reaction to produce prodigiosin was cloned from Serratia marcescens jx-1 and overexpressed in Escherichia coli with a putative polypeptide of 888 amino acids. Its biochemical properties and applications in prodiginines synthesis were investigated. The purified enzyme had a specific activity of 6.96 U/mg and exhibited optimal activity at 10 °C and pH 7.5. The recombinant PigC performed good stability below 30 °C and at pH ranging from 6.0 to 8.5. This enzyme was activated by Ca 2+ , while inhibited by Cu 2+ . The kinetic analysis with 4-methoxy-2,2′-bipyrrole-5-carboxyaldehyde (MBC) and 2,4-dimethyl-3-ethylpyrrole (DMEP) as substrates yielded apparent K m of 23.4 and 4.2 μmol/L, respectively. The enzymatic catalysis using whole cells of recombinant E. coli harboring the PigC as catalyst in an aqueous organic solvent system resulted in 59.4% yield of prodigiosin analogues, which exhibited excellent antimicrobial properties against Staphylococcus aureus , Bacillus subtilis and E. coli . The results obtain here demonstrated the great potential of PigC for the biosynthesis of prodigiosin and its analogues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose Aberrant expression of angiogenic factors has been anecdotally documented in brain arteriovenous malformation (AVM) nidus vessels; however, no data is available on the effect of radiosurgery on the levels of angiogenic factors in AVM patients. We sought to determine the plasma contents of VEGF, TGF-β, Ang-2 and bFGF in 28 brain AVM patients at baseline and post radiosurgery and further analyzed the relationship between plasma contents of these angiogenic factors with clinicopathologic variables of these patients. Methods We enrolled brain AVM patients who underwent Cyberknife radiosurgery at our hospital between January 2014 and December 2015. Brain AVM was confirmed by cerebral angiography and radiosurgery was performed with Cyberknife irradiation. Plasma contents of VEGF, TGF-β, Ang-2 and bFGF were analyzed using commercially available enzyme-linked immunoassay (ELISA) kits. Results The baseline plasma VEGF content was 222.63 pg/mL (range 43.25–431.25 pg/mL). At three months post surgery, there was a significant −34.29% decline in plasma VEGF content versus baseline ( P   =  0.000). Furthermore, the median baseline plasma VEGF levels were higher in brain AVM with a nidus volume ≥ 10 cm 3 ) than those with a nidus volume < 10 cm 3 [median(IQR) 293.5 (186.5,359.25) vs. 202 (59.75, 270.75) pg/mL, P  = 0.057]. The baseline plasma TGF-β content was 556.17 pg/mL (range 44.44–1486.11 pg/mL) and there was a significant −27.47% decline in plasma TGF-β content at 3 months post radiosurgery versus baseline ( P   =  0.015). Moreover, the baseline plasma ANG-2 content was 214.27 pg/mL (range 77.14–453.76 pg/mL). There was an immediate and significant −12.47% decline in plasma ANG-2 content post surgery versus baseline ( P   =  0.002). At three months post surgery, the plasma ANG-2 content still remained significantly depressed versus baseline ( P   =  0.002). In addition, the baseline plasma bFGF content was 9.17 pg/mL (range 3.67–36.78 pg/mL). No significant difference in plasma bFGF content was observed immediately post surgery and 3 months post surgery versus baseline ( P   =  0.05). Conclusions Radiosurgery for brain AVM patients significantly reduced the plasma levels of angiogenic factors. The plasma angiogenic factors may be candidate markers for aberrant agniogenesis of brain AVM and patient response to radiosurgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Protein complexes of physically interacting proteins play an important role in organizing various biological processes in the cell. Therefore, correctly identifying complexes is useful for deciphering the cellular mechanisms underlying many biological processes. Since the existing high-throughput techniques have produced a large amount of protein interactions, computational methods are useful complements to the experimental methods for detecting protein complexes. In this paper, we analyze six protein interaction networks widely used for protein complex detection, and compare the performance of six classic computational methods on them in order to find the impacts of network characteristics on the performances of these complex detection methods. Furthermore, we change topological characteristics of six protein interaction networks, and verify the findings by testing performances of six methods on new ones. We hope our study will not only help recognize the relations between characteristics of protein interaction networks and computational complex detection methods, but also provide valuable insight to improve the performance in protein complex detection area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A green and convenient anhydrous method was developed to synthesize hydrophilic carbon dots (H-CDs) on large-scale in this work. During the whole process of preparation, toxicity materials and high pressure conditions were not used, and H-CDs can be formed in several minutes by directly putting glucose powder into hot edible oil, which can be used again. Therefore, it is a green method and very suitable for the industrial preparation of CDs on large-scale. Characterizations demonstrate the H-CDs possess excellent optical properties, higher photostability and very low cytotoxicty. Noticeably, the H-CDs exhibit a distinct pH-sensitive feature, and have been used to construct fluorescent pH sensor with a nice linear relationship in the pH range of 3.0–13.0. To the best of our knowledge, this is the broadest reported pH range based on carbon dots without heteroatom doped. The mechanism of pH-sensitive response was also discussed. The proposed pH sensor has been successfully used for the pH monitoring of environmental water samples and living cells, which demonstrates their applicability in complex matrixes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A microfluidic-based synthesis of an inorganic upconversion nano film has been developed with a large area of dense-distributed NaYF 4 crystal grains in a silica glass micro-reactor and the film exhibits high transparence, strong upconversion luminescence and robust adhesion with the substrate. The spatial heights of micro-reactors are tuned between 31 and 227 mm, which can regulate flow regimes. The synergistic effect of spatial height and fluid regime is put forward, which influences diffusion paths and assembly ways of different precursor molecules and consequently directs final distributions and morphologies of crystal grains, as well as optical properties due to diversity of surface and thickness of films. The spatial height of 110 mm is advantageous for high transmittance of upconversion film due to the flat surface and appropriate film thickness of 67 nm. The height of 150 mm is in favor of uniform distribution of upconversion fluorescence and achieving the strongest fluorescence due to minimized optical loss. Such a transparent upconversion film with a large area of uniform distribution is promising to promote the application of upconversion materials and spatial height directed microfluidic regime have a certain significance on many microfluidic synthesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Novel photonic crystal materials (PCMs) with adjustable fluorescence were fabricated by distributing organic fluorescent powders of Yb 0.2 Er 0.4 Tm 0.4 (TTA) 3 Phen into the opal structures of self-assembled silica photonic crystals (PCs). Via removing the silica solution in a constant speed, PCs with controllable thicknesses and different periodic sizes were obtained on glass slides. Yb 0.2 Er 0.4 Tm 0.4 (TTA) 3 Phen powders were subsequently distributed into the opal structures. The structures and optical properties of the prepared PCMs were investigated. Finite-difference-time-domain (FDTD) calculation was used to further analyze the electric field distributions in PCs with different periodic sizes while the relation between periodic sizes and fluorescent spectra of PCMs was discussed. The results showed that the emission color of the PCMs under irradiation of 980 nm laser can be easily adjusted from green to blue by increasing the periodic size from 250 to 450 nm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/Aims: Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is a microangiopathic disease characterized by excessive urinary albumin excretion, which occurs in 30% of patients with diabetes mellitus. It is the second leading cause of end-stage renal diseases in China. Nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) is reported to be closely correlated with the inflammation underlying diabetesassociated renal damage. Crocin, a plant-derived compound, has antioxidant properties that may inhibit NF-κB. Methods: In the present study, we used a conditionally immortalized mouse podocyte cell line to explore whether crocin could effectively block albuminuria. Cells were incubated with 15 or 25 mM D-glucose to mimic diabetic conditions. The expression of Wilms tumor 1 (WT-1) and synaptopodin was evaluated to identify differentiated podocytes, and the expression of nephrin, podocin, and CD2ap was measured as markers of slit diaphragms, the main structures within the glomerular filtration barrier. Results: The high-glucose conditions led to reduced nephrin, podocin, and CD2ap expression, which was prevented by pretreatment with crocin. The oxidative stress and pro-inflammatory response of podocytes associated with DN induced by high glucose were also reduced by crocin pretreatment. Phosphorylated IκBα (p-IκBα) expression induced by high glucose was also significantly decreased by crocin pretreatment. Moreover, pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate, a NF-κB inhibitor, pyrrolidine dithio carbamate, augmented the protective effects of crocin. Conclusion: Our results demonstrate a protective role of crocin against damage to podocytes and slit diaphragms under highglucose conditions via inhibition of NF-κB. This study presents a potential therapy for DN and contributes to the understanding of the mechanism underlying DN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A green and efficient anhydrous strategy was developed for one-step synthesis of nitrogen-doped carbon dots (N-CDs) using sucrose and urea as carbon and nitrogen source, respectively. The reaction was carried out at ambient pressure by directly adding the mixture of sucrose and urea powder into heated edible oil. N-CDs could be generated in several minutes and were obtained by facile separation of the edible oil, which could be reused. This is therefore a green method and suitable for the synthesis of N-CDs on a large-scale. The as synthesized N-CDs possessed higher photostability, excellent optical properties and ultra-low cytotoxicity. Noticeably, the N-CDs exhibited a distinct pH-sensitive feature, and their fluorescent intensity increased linearly in the pH range from 6.75 to 11.0. Therefore, the as synthesized N-CDs can be used to construct pH fluorescent sensor, and the successful pH monitoring of environmental water samples demonstrates their applicability in complex matrixes. Our work would open up a new avenue for the green and convenient synthesis of high-performance heteroatom-doped materials on a large-scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]