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Lipids and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are essential contributors to meat flavor. However, no studies to date have comprehensively explored the lipids and VOCs in raw pork from Ningxiang (NX) pigs and their hybrid breed Berkshire × Ningxiang (BN) pigs. This study aimed to identify the lipids and VOCs and reveal the crucial lipids for characteristic flavor formation. Samples were collected from the longissimus dorsi muscle of six NX and BN 8-month-old pigs each. The intramuscular fat (IMF) content of NX pork was 5.43%, almost twice that of BN pork (p 1, p

Abstract Coiled-coil domain containing 88C (CCDC88C) is a component of non-canonical Wnt signaling, and its dysregulation causes colorectal cancer metastasis. Dysregulated expression of CCDC88C was observed in lymph node metastatic tumor tissues of breast cancer. However, the role of CCDC88C in breast cancer metastasis remains unclear. To address this, the stable BT549 and SKBR3 cell lines with CCDC88C overexpression or knockdown were developed. Loss/gain-of-function experiments suggested that CCDC88C drove breast cancer cell motility in vitro and lung and liver metastasis in vivo. We found that CCDC88C led to c-JUN-induced transcription activation. Overlapping genes were identified from the genes modulated by CCDC88C and c-JUN. CEMIP, one of these overlapping genes, has been confirmed to confer breast cancer metastasis. We found that CCDC88C regulated CEMIP mRNA levels via c-JUN and it exerted pro-metastatic capabilities in a CEMIP-dependent manner. Moreover, we identified the CCDC88C as a substrate of polypeptide N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase 6 (GALNT6). GALNT6 was positively correlated with CCDC88C protein abundance in the normal breast and breast cancer tissues, indicating that GALNT6 might be associated with expression patterns of CCDC88C in breast cancer. Our data demonstrated that GALNT6 maintained CCDC88C stability by promoting its O-linked glycosylation, and the modification was critical for the pro-metastatic potential of CCDC88C. CCDC88C also could mediate the pro-metastatic potential of GALNT6 in breast cancer. Collectively, our findings uncover that CCDC88C may increase the risk of breast cancer metastasis and elucidate the underlying molecular mechanisms.

BackgroundOvarian cancer is the most mortality malignancy in gynecology. N7-methylguanosine (m7G) is one of the most prevalent RNA modifications in the development and progression of cancer. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of m7G-related lncRNA on ovarian cancer in terms of instruction prognosis and immunotherapy.MethodsAfter integrating and processing the RNA expression profiles with the clinical sample information in the TCGA database, we initially screened to the m7G-related lncRNAs by Spearman correlation analysis, and subsequently obtained a prognostic model constructed by five m7G-related lncRNAs with Univariate Cox analysis, LASSO regression analysis, and Multivariate Cox regression analysis, after which we further evaluated and validated the prognostic value of the model using Kaplan-Meier survival analysis, Principal component analysis, Nomogram, and ROC curve. In addition, based on this risk model, we explored the differentially enriched pathways and functions of the high and low risk groups, and characterized the immune cells, immune functions, gene mutations, and drug sensitivity between the two groups.ResultsAfter a series of rigorous filtering, we finally attained a prognostic risk model consisting of KRT7-AS, USP30-AS1, ZFHX4-AS1, ACAP2-IT1, and TWSG1-DT which is excellent in predicting the prognostic survival of ovarian cancer patients as well as existing as an independent prognostic factor. Moreover, the model has certain relevance in the immune cells and functions between high and low risk groups, and simultaneously, the signature has the role of guiding the option of immunotherapy and chemotherapeutic drugs.ConclusionAltogether, our study established a tight connection between m7G-associated lncRNAs and ovarian cancer, with potential that the prognostic patterns contribute to steering the prognosis of ovarian cancer patients, measuring the efficacy of immunotherapeutic approaches, and detecting effective chemotherapeutic agents.

BackgroundSingle nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in DNA repair genes can impair protein function and hinder DNA repair, leading to genetic instability and increased cancer risk. The Excision Repair Cross-Complementation (ERCC) family plays a crucial role in nucleotide excision repair, yet their comprehensive multi-omics characterization and roles in tumor prognosis and immune microenvironment remain unexplored.Methods and materialsWe performed bioinformatics analysis using publicly available data from 33 cancer types to investigate associations between ERCC gene expression, patient prognosis, and clinical features. We also validated the role of ERCC2 in bladder cancer through in vitro assays, including CCK-8, colony formation, wound healing, and Transwell assays.ResultsBy utilizing the most recent database, we have conducted an analysis that reveals associations between variations in ERCC expression across multiple cancer types and both patient prognosis and the tumor microenvironment. To ensure the reliability of our findings, we applied the Benjamini-Hochberg procedure to adjust for multiple testing. After correction, we identified that ERCC expression levels remained significantly correlated with patient prognosis in various cancer types (p < 0.05). In addition, according to the results of drug sensitivity studies of anticancer drugs, there is a large correlation between ERCC expression and the sensitivity of different anticancer drugs. Finally, in vitro cell behavioral assays determined that knockdown of ERCC2 gene expression significantly inhibited the proliferation, migration and invasion of bladder cancer cells.ConclusionThrough in-depth exploration of ERCC differential expression and its correlation with immune-related indicators, the unique microenvironment of tumors, and patient prognosis, we verified the potential role of ERCC2 in the process of bladder cancer genesis and progression. Therefore, we believe that the ERCC family of genes is expected to be a new option for cancer treatment and deserves to be further explored in the future.

At present, achieving efficient, sustainable, and safe transportation has led to increasing attention on driving behavior recognition and advancements in autonomous driving. Identifying diverse driving styles and corresponding types is crucial for providing targeted training and assistance to drivers, enhancing safety awareness, optimizing driving costs, and improving autonomous driving systems responses. However, current studies mainly focus on specific driving scenarios, such as free driving, car-following, and lane-changing, lacking a comprehensive and systematic framework to identify the diverse driving styles. This study proposes a novel, data-driven approach to driving-style recognition utilizing naturalistic driving data NGSIM. Specifically, the NGSIM dataset is employed to categorize car-following and lane-changing groups according to driving-state extraction conditions. Then, characteristic parameters that fully represent driving styles are optimized through correlation analysis and principal component analysis for dimensionality reduction. The K-means clustering algorithm is applied to categorize the car-following and lane-changing groups into three driving styles: conservative, moderate, and radical. Based on the clustering results, a comprehensive evaluation of the driving styles is conducted. Finally, a comparative evaluation of SVM, Random Forest, and KNN recognition indicates the superiority of the SVM algorithm and highlights the effectiveness of dimensionality reduction in optimizing characteristic parameters. The proposed method achieves over 97% accuracy in identifying car-following and lane-changing behaviors, confirming that the approach based on naturalistic driving data can effectively and intelligently recognize driving styles.

Signage functions as guidance and distribution assistance, directly affecting the operational efficiency of traffic in and around the comprehensive transportation hubs. Among the elements of signage, the visual guidance effect is the key factor affecting the information conveyance, which should be evaluated during the design and optimization process. This study conducted field investigations and developed panoramic videos for multiple transportation hubs in China and designed a survey accordingly. Human subjects were recruited to watch panoramic videos via virtual reality (VR) and respond to the surveys. The results show that the degree of visual attention of travelers significantly affects the evaluation results of guidance signage, with the influence being inversely proportional. Key factors affecting visual attention include accurate legibility, obstruction and defacement rates, informativeness, and whether signage is set up in a hierarchical manner. In unfamiliar environments, travelers focus on the overall context and closely observe the interaction between directional signs and their surroundings. The prominence and visibility of signage are influenced by interactions within the spatial environment. Notably, simple and clear signs are more likely to attract travelers’ attention, and their directional information is more easily comprehended. Moreover, when the destination is clearly defined, visual attention significantly directs pedestrians’ wayfinding behavior.

Social capital is an integral part of farmers’ life, which can be exogenously affected by land recuperation. Based on 1240 farmer field survey data in Gansu Province, this paper used the Logit model to analyse the influencing factors of farmers’ participation in land recuperation, and used the entropy method to measure social capital from the three dimensions of social network, social trust and social norms, and further used the propensity matching score method to measure the effect of land recuperation on farmers, and then compared the effects under different fixed ages and education groups. The following factors significantly affected farmers’ participation in land recuperation: age, years of education, migrant workers’ relationships with family and friends, relationship between migrant workers and friends and colleagues in the workplace, number of migrant workers away from home, cultivated land area, and family living standards. Land recuperation had the greatest promotion effect on farmer’ social network (163.9%), followed by social trust (28.0%) and social norm (11.3%). According to the results of group differences, land recuperation most significantly affected the social capital of farmers aged 45–55 years and household heads educated for 9–12 years compared to other age and education groups.

Fat deposition is an economically important trait in pigs. Ningxiang pig, one of the four famous indigenous breeds in China, is characterized by high fat content. The underlying gene expression pattern in different developmental periods of backfat tissue remains unclear, and the purpose of this investigation is to explore the potential molecular regulators of backfat tissue development in Ningxiang pigs. Backfat tissue (three samples for each stage) was initially collected from different developmental stages (60, 120, 180, 240, 300, and 360 days after birth), and histological analysis and RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) were then conducted. Fragments per kilobase of transcript per million (FPKM) method was used to qualify gene expressions, and differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified. Furthermore, strongly co-expressed genes in modules, which were named by color, were clustered by Weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) based on dynamic tree cutting algorithm. Gene ontology (GO) and kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) enrichment were subsequently implemented, and hub genes were described in each module. Finally, QPCR analysis was employed to validate RNA-seq data. The results showed that adipocyte area increased and adipocyte number decreased with development of backfat tissue. A total of 1,024 DEGs were identified in five comparison groups (120 days vs. 60 days, 180 days vs. 120 days, 240 days vs. 180 days, 300 days vs. 240 days, and 360 days vs. 300 days). The turquoise, red, pink, paleturquoise, darkorange, and darkgreen module had the highest correlation coefficient with 60, 120, 180, 240, 300, and 360 days developmental stage, while the tan, black and turquoise module had strong relationship with backfat thickness, adipocyte area, and adipocyte number, respectively. Thirteen hub genes (ACSL1, ACOX1, FN1, DCN, CHST13, COL1A1, COL1A2, COL6A3, COL5A1, COL14A1, OAZ3, DNM1, and SELP) were recognized. ACSL1 and ACOX1 might perform function in the early developmental stage of backfat tissue (60 days), and FN1, DCN, COL1A1, COL1A2, COL5A1, COL6A3, and COL14A1 have unignorable position in backfat tissue around 120 days developmental stage. Besides, hub genes SELP and DNM1 in modules significantly associated with backfat thickness and adipocyte area might be involved in the process of backfat tissue development. These findings contribute to understand the integrated mechanism underlying backfat tissue development and promote the progress of genetic improvement in Ningxiang pigs.

This paper investigates the trajectory design problem in the scenario of a multiple Sun-synchronous Orbit (SSO) space debris flyby mission from a DRO space station. At first, the characteristics of non-planar transfer from DRO to SSO in the Earth–Moon system are analyzed. The methods of large-scale ergodicity and pruning are utilized to investigate single-impulse and two-impulse DRO–Earth transfers. Using a powered lunar flyby, the two-impulse DRO–Earth transfer is able to fly by SSO debris while satisfying the requirements of the mission. After the local optimization, the optimal result of two-impulse DRO–Earth transfer and flyby is obtained. A multi-objective evolutionary algorithm is used to design the Pareto-optimal trajectories of multiple flybys. The semi-analytical optimization method is developed to provide the estimations of the transfer parameters in order to reduce the computations caused by the evolutionary algorithm. Simulations show that transferring from the 3:2 resonant DRO to a near-coplanar flyby of a SSO target debris using a powered lunar gravity assist needs a 0.47 km/s velocity increment. The mission’s total velocity increment is 1.39 km/s, and the total transfer time is 2.23 years.

Abstract Background Effective treatment is needed for advanced, inoperable, or chemotherapy-resistant cervical cancer patients. Immunotherapy has become a new treatment modality for cervical cancer patients, and there is an urgent need to identify additional targets for cervical cancer immunotherapy. Methods In this study the core gene, RGS1, which affects immune status and the FIGO stage of cervical cancer patients was identified by WGCNA analysis and differential analysis using TCGA database. 10 related genes interacting with RGS1 were identified using PPI network, and the functional and immune correlations were analyzed. Based on the expression of RGS1 and related genes, the consensus clustering method was used to divide CESC patients into two groups (group 1, high expression of RGS1; group 2, low expression of RGS1). Then, the functional enrichment analysis was used to search for the functional differences in differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between group 1 and group 2. Immune infiltration analysis was performed using ESTIMATE, CIBERSORT, and ssGSEA, and the differences in expression of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) targets were assessed between the two groups. We investigated the effect of RGS1 on the clinical relevance of CESC patients, and experimentally verified the differences in RGS1 expression between cervical cancer patient tissues and normal cervical tissues, the role of RGS1 in cell function, and the effect on tumor growth in tumor-bearing mice. Results We found that RGS1 was associated with CD4, GNAI3, RGS2, GNAO1, GNAI2, RGS20, GNAZ, GNAI1, HLA-DRA and HLA-DRB1, especially CD4 and RGS2. Functional enrichment of DEGs was associated with T cell activation. Compared with group 2, group 1 had stronger immune infiltration and higher ICI target expression. RGS1 had higher expression in cervical cancer tissues than normal tissues, especially in HPV-E6 positive cancer tissues. In cervical cancer cell lines, knockdown of RGS1 can inhibited cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and tumor growth in nude mice and promoted apoptosis. Conclusions RGS1, as an oncogenic gene of cervical cancer, affects the immune microenvironment of patients with cervical cancer and may be a target of immunotherapy.

Abstract Solar energy is becoming more popular as it is a clean source of electricity. The design of photovoltaic (PV) cells has therefore captivated experts worldwide. The two key issues are the lack of an excellent model to define solar cells and the lack of data regarding PV cells. This scenario even impacts solar module performance (panels). The behavior of solar cells is described by the current versus voltage. Considering these values, the design challenge entails solving complicated nonlinear multimodal objectives. Different methods to figure out the parameters of the PV cells and panels have been suggested. They do not come up with the best solutions most of the time. Hence, a powerful and reliable optimizer is needed to derive the optimal parameters of these models. To this end, this study has developed an adaptive slime mould algorithm (ASMA) as a robust and precise optimization method. To implement the ASMA, four improvements are proposed: (1) a trigonometric‐based mutation and a double‐based best mutation are introduced to promote the global and local search; (2) a suitable mechanism to adaptively select the control parameters of the SMA; (3) a local escaping strategy; (4) an opposition‐based learning operator to improve the best solution. The ASMA is employed to derive optimal parameters of PV models and assessed utilizing a total number of eight well‐known optimization algorithms. The findings show that the ASMA is very competitive in terms of accuracy and convergence speed and that this is supported by a wealth of evidence. As a result, when assessing the parameters of the PV model, ASMA is a very efficient and robust optimizer. The source codes of the proposed ASMA will be uploaded for the public at http://imanahmadianfar.com and http://aliasgharheidari.com.

Purpose – The presentation of in-vehicle warnings information at risky driving scenarios is aimed to improve the collision avoidance ability of drivers. Existing studies have found that driver’s collision avoidance performance is affected by both warning information and driver’s workload. However, whether moderation and mediation effects exist among warning information, driver’s cognition, behavior and risky avoidance performance is unclear. Design/methodology/approach – This purpose of this study is to examine whether the warning information type modifies the relationship between the forward collision risk and collision avoidance behavior. A driving simulator experiment was conducted with waring and command information. Findings – Results of 30 participants indicated that command information improves collision avoidance behavior more than notification warning under the forward collision risky driving scenario. The primary reason for this is that collision avoidance behavior can be negatively affected by the forward collision risk. At the same time, command information can weaken this negative effect. Moreover, improved collision avoidance behavior can be achieved through increasing drivers’ mental workload. Practical implications – The proposed model provides a comprehensive understanding of the factors influencing collision avoidance behavior, thus contributing to improved in-vehicle information system design. Originality/value – The significant moderation effects evoke the fact that information types and mental workloads are critical in improving drivers’ collision avoidance ability. Through further calibration with larger sample size, the proposed structural model can be used to predict the effect of in-vehicle warnings in different risky driving scenarios.

Thermoresponsive polymer gels are a type of intelligent material that can react to changes in temperature. These materials possess excellent innovative properties and find use in various fields. This paper systematically analyzes the methods for testing and regulating phase transition temperatures of thermo-responsive polymer gels based on their response mechanism. The report thoroughly introduces the latest research on thermo-responsive polymer gels in oil and gas extraction, discussing their advantages and challenges across various environments. Additionally, it elucidates how the application limitations of high-temperature and high-salt conditions can be resolved through process optimization and material innovation, ultimately broadening the scope of application of thermo-responsive polymer gels in oil and gas extraction. The article discusses the technological development and potential applications of thermo-responsive polymer gels in oil-based drilling fluids. This analysis aims to offer researchers in the oil and gas industry detailed insights into future possibilities for thermo-responsive polymer gels and to provide helpful guidance for their practical use in oil-based drilling fluids.

Abstract Background As an immune enhancer, Nocardia rubra cell‐wall skeleton (Nr‐CWS) has been used to treat persistent human papillomavirus infection and cervical precancerous lesions. However, it is still unclear whether it can be used to treat cervical carcinoma. Methods In our study, the aim was to determine whether Nr‐CWS affects the apoptosis of cervical carcinoma cells by enhancing the antitumor effect of dendritic cells and macrophages in vivo and in vitro. Results The experimental results showed that Nr‐CWS can promote the activity of dendritic cells and macrophages and reduce their apoptosis. It also increased the cytokines IL‐6, IL‐12, TNF‐ɑ, and IL‐1β secreted by dendritic cells and macrophages and reduced their PD‐L1 expression. In vitro, Nr‐CWS inhibited the proliferation, colony forming ability of HeLa and SiHa cervical carcinoma cell lines cultured with macrophages, and more cells were blocked in G2/M phase. Nr‐CWS promoted TNF‐ɑ/TNFR1/caspase‐8‐mediated apoptosis by increasing macrophages secretion of TNF‐ɑ and inhibited cell migration and invasion regulated by the WNT/β‐catenin‐EMT pathway. Nr‐CWS also reduced the expression of the cervical carcinoma genes E6 and E7 thereby increasing expression of p53 gene and decreasing expression of PD‐L1 gene. In vivo, Nr‐CWS inhibited tumor growth and decreased the expression of E6, E7, PD‐L1, P16, Ki67, and PCNA in tumors. Conclusions Therefore, our results suggest that Nr‐CWS can promote apoptosis of cervical carcinoma cells by enhancing the antitumor effect of dendritic cells and macrophages.

By embedding a nonlinear nonequilibrium adsorption model considering the adsorption history (i.e., Bai model), a governing equation for the three-dimensional model is extended, which discussed the influence of varying seepage velocity and injection concentration. Compared with the previous linear adsorption model, the concentration peak value of the nonlinear nonequilibrium adsorption history model is higher than that of the linear model, and the time to reach the peak concentration is slightly earlier. In the case of horizontal seepage water, a pollution point source tends to migrate along the direction of water flow and has less ability to diffuse in the vertical direction. Compared with the adsorption history model, the linear model has a stronger blocking ability for pollutant migration, and the longer the time, the greater the gap between the two models. The longer the decay period, the wider the spread of contaminants, and the longer it takes for them to migrate out of the model completely. The more significant the head difference, the larger the diffusion area of pollutants in the main seepage direction, but it has no promotion effect on the lateral diffusion. The pollutant concentration is higher than that of the point source case, and the diffusion range in each section is wider. The closer it is to the center of the pollution source, the weaker the dispersion effect on the diffusion of pollutants in the main seepage direction, and the pollutants will spread in the countercurrent direction, causing pollution upstream.

Fallow is an important institutional guarantee for green agricultural development and an important measure to promote rural revitalization. Asset specificity is a crucial factor that affects farmers’ willingness to participate in fallow. In order to improve farmers’ willingness of to fallow and promote the long-term promotion of fallow system, based on the perspective of farmer differentiation, a total of 1,240 micro survey data in four cities of Gansu province was used to quantify the asset specificity by the entropy method. A multivariate ordered Logit model and a double-hurdle model were established to explore the effects of asset specificity on the willingness of farmers with different degrees of differentiation. The results show that: 1) There are differences in fallow willingness among different types of farmers. The fallow willingness of non-farmers and II part-time farmers is generally stronger than that of pure farmers and I part-time farmers. 2) Geographical location specificity has a significant negative impact on the fallow willingness of the four types of non-fallow farmers, and has significant negative impacts on the subsequent fallow willingness and fallow degree of the four types of fallow farmers. 3) Physical asset specificity has a significant negative effect on the fallow willingness of pure farmers, I part-time and II part-time farmers among non-fallow farmers, but has little effect on the subsequent fallow willingness of fallow farmers. 4) Human capital specificity has a significant negative impact on the fallow willingness of the four types of non-fallow farmers, and has a significant negative impact on the subsequent fallow willingness and fallow degree of the four types of fallow farmers.

Abstract Textile materials have been enriched in function at the composite level with continuous developments in the textile industry. Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles (ZnO‐NPs) are strongly influenced by ultraviolet (UV) filter, antifungal, high catalysis, and semiconductor/piezoelectric coupling characteristics. Therefore, the antibacterial property and UV resistance of ZnO‐NP materials are zcomprehensively analysed to provide a basis for applying ZnO‐NP in the textile industry. In addition, the textile preparation and application of ZnO‐NP in piezoelectric power generation is discussed. Based on relevant documents for ZnO‐textile industry applications, scanning electron microscopy analysis, biological activity analysis, and UV transmittance analysis of textiles containing composite materials prove that textiles based on ZnO‐based composite materials (ZnO‐NP materials) have antibacterial properties and UV resistance. The antibacterial property and UV resistance of ZnO‐NP materials are analysed comprehensively to provide a basis for applying ZnO‐NP in the textile industry. After the photocatalytic reaction, its practical application as slurry type suspensions is limited because of the difficulty of separating the catalyst particles. In terms of its piezoelectric power generation characteristics, intensity of current voltage analysis and X‐ray diffraction analysis reveal that textiles based on ZnO‐NP materials have obvious semiconductor characteristic and obvious current enhancement signals locally, indicating that the textiles can achieve better piezoelectric properties.

Abstract Background Plenty of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play vital roles in the progression of atherosclerosis. Small nucleolar RNA host gene 6 (SNHG6) is a well known lncRNA that is aberrantly high expressed in atherosclerosis patients. However, its function and basic mechanism in atherosclerosis events have not been well clarified. Methods The expression patterns of SNHG6, miR-135a-5p, ROCK1 and ROCK2 in clinical samples and cells were detected by RT-qPCR assays. Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8), flow cytometry assays, ELISA and reactive oxygen species (ROS) and malondialdehyde (MDA) detection, were performed to assess cell viability, apoptosis, inflammation and oxidative stress, respectively. Western blot analysis was carried out to examine the protein levels of Bax, Bcl-2, and SNHG6. Luciferase reporter and RIP assays were used to confirm the true interaction between SNHG6 and miR-135a-5p, or miR-135a-5p and ROCK. Results The levels of SNHG6, ROCK1 and ROCK2 were notably increased and miR-135a-5p was decreased in atherosclerosis patients and oxidized low-density lipoprotein (ox-LDL)-treated HUVECs. Knockdown of SNHG6 alleviated ox-LDL-induced injury of HUVECs, while this effect was partly reversed by miR-135a-5p inhibitor. Moreover, overexpression of ROCKs aggravated miR-135a-5p-alleviated atherosclerosis cell injury. SNHG6 contributed to ROCK expression through sequestering miR-135a-5p as a molecular sponge. Conclusion SNHG6 functions as a promoter in atherosclerosis events by targeting miR-135a-5p/ROCK axis in ox-LDL-stimulated HUVECs. This finding will help to develop a novel therapeutic strategy for atherosclerosis.

Patients diagnosed with prostate cancer often have a poor prognosis and limited treatment options, as the specific pathogenesis remains to be elucidated. Circular RNA (circRNA) is a type of non-coding RNA that interacts with microRNA (miRNA/miR) and transcription factors to regulate gene expression. However, little is known about specific circRNAs that serve roles in the pathogenesis of prostate cancer. Findings of the present study confirmed that circRNA G protein subunit γ 4 (circGNG4) was upregulated in prostate cancer tissues and cell lines. Knockdown of circGNG4 inhibited the malignant behavior of prostate cancer cells. Furthermore, bioinformatics were used to predict targeting interactions between circGNG4 or miR-223 and EYA transcriptional coactivator and phosphatase 3 (EYA3)/c-Myc mRNA. miR-223 inhibited the malignant behavior of prostate cancer cells, while EYA3/c-Myc had the opposite effect. circGNG4 enhanced the expression of EYA3/c-Myc by sponging miR-223 to promote the growth of prostate cancer tumors in vivo. In conclusion, the circGNG4/miR-223/EYA3/c-Myc regulatory pathway promoted the malignant progression of prostate cancer. The results of the present study may provide potential new targets for the diagnosis or treatment of prostate cancer.

Background Studies have shown that E3 ubiquitin ligase CBLL1 plays multiple roles in development and tumorigenesis. CBLL1 is over‐expressed in colon cancer and associated with cancer cell proliferation. While, the overexpression of CBLL1 inhibited the estrogenic dependent cell proliferation and migration in ER alpha dependent breast cancer cell MCF‐7. Methods We used an immunohistochemical method to detect CBLL1 expression in human NSCLC and corresponding normal lung tissues and analyzed its relationship with clinicopathological parameters. Moreover, we investigated the role of CBLL1 in NSCLC cell behavior by inhibiting its expression in A549 and H1299 cells. Results In this study, we found that CBLL1 was frequently upregulated in non‐small lung cancer (NSCLC) tissues compared to the adjacent nontumor tissues. We found that the high expression of CBLL1 was associated with the tumor size in NSCLC tissues. It has been recently reported that CBLL1 promotes cell proliferation and invasion in A549 and H460 cells. Our results confirmed that CBLL1 promoted the proliferation by promoting G1/S cell cycle transition in NSCLCs cells. Moreover, CBLL1 knockdown inhibited cell invasion via increased E‐cadherin protein expression, and decreased expression of MMP2 and MMP9 in NSCLC cell lines. The protein expression of E‐cadherin was increased after CBLL1 depletion while the E‐cadherin mRNA was not affected after knockdown of the endogenous CBLL1. Conclusion These results provide important insights for using CBLL1 as an oncogenic marker gene in the development and progression of non‐small cell lung cancer.

Abstract Background Damage-regulated autophagy modulator 2(DRAM2) is associated with autophagy processes. However, the role of DRAM2 in the progression of human neoplasms is still unknown. Here, we show that DRAM2 may act as an oncogenic regulator in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods Tumor specimens from 259 NSCLC patients were collected and analyzed. Transwell migration, cell cycle analysis, MTT and colony formation assays were performed to determine the effect of DRAM2 overexpression and knockdown on NSCLC-cell migration and proliferation. Western blotting confirmed the expression of DRAM2, p53, and the other involved proteins. Results DRAM2 was preferentially upregulated in NSCLC tissues and higher expression of DRAM2 in NSCLC correlated with tumor node metastases stage and lymph node metastasis. Additionally, DRAM2 overexpression promoted cell metastasis and proliferation in vitro, while knockdown of DRAM2 expression yielded opposite result. Furthermore, DRAM2 overexpression increased the expression of proteins RAC1, RHOA, RHOC, ROCK1, and decreased RHOB expression, all of which are cell migration factors. DRAM2 overexpression also increased proteins CDK4, CyclinD3, and decreased p27 expression, all of which are cell cycle-related factors. Consistently knocked down DRAM2 had the opposite effect. We also found that DRAM2 expression was negatively correlated to p53 expression. Knockdown of DRAM2 caused an increase of p53 and p21 expression, and overexpression of p53 caused a decrease of DRAM2 expression. Finally, absence of p53 did not influence the function of DRAM2 in NSCLC, but overexpression of p53 repressed its function. Conclusions DRAM2 plays an oncogenic role in NSCLC via regulating p53 expression. Therefore, DRAM2 may act as an oncogene in NSCLC and could serve as a prognostic factor and potential target for NSCLC treatment.

With the rapid development of information technology, the name ambiguity problem has become one of the primary issues in the fields of information retrieval, data mining, and scientific measurement. Name disambiguation is used to promote computer technology and big data information, which maps virtual relational networks to real social networks to solve the problem that the same name points to multiple entities. At present many literature search platforms launched their respective scholar system, name ambiguity problem will inevitably affect the precision of other information calculations, reduce the credibility of the system, and affect the information quality and content quality. Most work deals with this issue by using graph theory and clustering. However, the name disambiguation problem is still not well resolved. In this paper, we propose a multi-level name disambiguation algorithm. This algorithm is mainly based on the unsupervised algorithm, which combines hierarchical agglomerative clustering (HAC) and graph theory for disambiguating. The experimental results show that the proposed solution achieves clearly better performance (+17 ~ 25% in terms of F1-Measure) than several methods, including HAC and Graph.

In this work, the highly efficient and low-cost Ag-AgBr/AlOOH plasmonic photocatalyst is successfully prepared via a simple and mild wet-chemical process and used for degrading high concentration methylene blue (MB) and tetracycline hydrochloride (TCH). The optimized 6-Ag-AgBr/AlOOH sample showed a 79% decomposition of TCH in 2 h, which is almost two times higher than that of bare AgBr (37%). For degrading MB, the photocatalytic activity of 6-Ag-AgBr/AlOOH (decomposing 84% in 2 h) showed a large enhancement as compared to bare AgBr (only 57%). The TEM, HRTEM, XRD, DRS, and XPS characterization results confirm that Ag-AgBr is a composite catalyst formed by loading Ag nanoparticles onto AgBr surfaces and then loaded on to AlOOH. The possible mechanism proposed is that •O2- and •OH radicals produced under sun light are the main active species for degrading MB and TCH. It is hoped that this work will open a new gateway to the synthesis of highly efficient and low-cost Ag-AgBr/AlOOH plasmonic photocatalysts for degrading organic pollutants.

The dragonfly algorithm is a swarm intelligence optimization algorithm based on simulating the swarming behavior of dragonfly individuals. An efficient algorithm must have a symmetry of information between the participating entities. An improved dragonfly algorithm is proposed in this paper to further improve the global searching ability and the convergence speed of DA. The improved DA is named GGBDA, which adds Gaussian mutation and Gaussian barebone on the basis of DA. Gaussian mutation can randomly update the individual positions to avoid the algorithm falling into a local optimal solution. Gaussian barebone can quicken the convergent speed and strengthen local exploitation capacities. Enhancing algorithm efficiency relative to the symmetric concept is a critical challenge in the field of engineering design. To verify the superiorities of GGBDA, this paper sets 30 benchmark functions, which are taken from CEC2014 and 4 engineering design problems to compare GGBDA with other algorithms. The experimental result show that the Gaussian mutation and Gaussian barebone can effectively improve the performance of DA. The proposed GGBDA, similar to the DA, presents improvements in global optimization competence, search accuracy, and convergence performance.

Abstract Background Hashimoto’s thyroiditis is a complex autoimmune thyroid disease, the onset of which is associated with environmental exposures and specific susceptibility genes. Its incidence in females is higher than its incidence in males. Thus far, although some susceptibility loci have been elaborated, including PTPN22, FOXP3, and CD25, the aetiology and pathogenesis of Hashimoto’s thyroiditis remains unclear. Methods Four affected members from a Chinese family with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis were selected for whole-exome sequencing. Missense, nonsense, frameshift, or splicing-site variants shared by all affected members were identified after frequency filtering against public and internal exome databases. Segregation analysis was performed by Sanger sequencing among all members with available DNA. Results We identified a missense mutation in PTPN22 (NM_015967.5; c. 77A > G; p.Asn26Ser) using whole-exome sequencing. PTPN22 is a known susceptibility gene associated with increased risks of multiple autoimmune diseases. Cosegregation analysis confirmed that all patients in this family, all of whom were female, carried the mutation. All public and private databases showed that the missense mutation was extremely rare. Conclusions We found a missense mutation in PTPN22 in a Chinese HT pedigree using whole-exome sequencing. Our study, for the first time, linked a rare variant of PTPN22 to Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, providing further evidence of the disease-causing or susceptibility role of PTPN22 in autoimmune thyroid disease. Functional studies regarding the effects of this variant on thyroid autoimmunity and thyroid function are warranted.

Land recuperation is an important institutional guarantee for green agricultural development and an important measure to promote rural revitalization. Asset specificity is a crucial factor that affects farmers’ subsequent willingness to participate in land recuperation. Based on the perspective of farmer differentiation, this study uses survey data of 605 farmers in four counties of Gansu Province and employs the entropy method and the double-hurdle model to measure asset specificity and how it affects the subsequent willingness of different types of farmers to participate in land recuperation. The results show that: (1) farmers’ willingness to participate in land recuperation increases with the degree of their part-time occupations; (2) geographical location specificity has a significant negative effect on farmers’ intention and degree of subsequent land recuperations, and the impacts on non-farmers and II part-time farmers are significantly smaller than that on pure farmers and part-time farmers; (3) physical asset specificity has the most negligible influence on farmers’ subsequent willingness to participate; (4) human capital specificity has a significant negative impact on the intention and degree of land recuperation by farmers, and the effect is more significant for pure farmers than non-farmers; (5) factors such as land recuperation compensation satisfaction, land recuperation policy trust, social connection, and off-farm employment willingness promote the subsequent land recuperation willingness and degree of land recuperation of farmers, while the cultivated land area reduces the subsequent degree of participation in land recuperation.

Background and objective Lung cancer is a common malignant tumor all over the world, and Ca2+ is a critical regulator for apoptosis of cancer cells. The monitoring of cytoplastic Ca2+ level in real-time will contribute to further investigate the molecular mechanisms of apoptosis mediated by Ca2+ in lung cancer cells. To evaluate the Ca2+ indicator fluo-3 and fluo-4 in the process of H2O2 induced the apoptosis of lung adenocarcinoma A549 cells. The cytoplastic Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) was determined in real-time, and the correlations between [Ca2+]i and cell apoptosis were investigated. The differences in fluorescence intensity and measured value were compared between the two Ca2+ indicators. Methods Cells were loaded with the Ca2+ indicator fluo-3 or fluo-4 for 1 h, and then stimulated with 50 mM H2O2. Laser scanning confocal microscope was applied to perform real-time monitoring on the variation of [Ca2+]i in selected cells. DAPI staining was used to observe apoptosis in H2O2 treated cells. Results Our results showed that the fluorescence intensity of fluo-4 was stronger than that of fluo-3 in the same condition of dye concentration, loading time and image acquisition parameters before or after H2O2 stimulation. The cytoplastic [Ca2+]i was rapidly elevated in H2O2 stimulated A549 cells. The range of [Ca2+]i in selected cells loaded with fluo-3 was 112.2 nM-1,069.6 nM, and that in selected cells loaded with fluo-4 was 7.6 nM-505.4 nM. Moreover, the apoptotic rate was significantly increased in H2O2 treated cells, compared with untreated ones (P

Background and objective The positive regulatory domain proteins (PRDM) are family of transcriptional regulation related to the formation of human tumor factor and play key roles in the cell differentiation and malignant transformation. PRDM14 is a member of the PRDM family. The aim of this study is to detect the expression of PRDM14 in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) tissues, and analyze its relationship with clinicopathologic characteristics of NSCLC. Methods PRDM14 expression was detected in 70 NSCLC specimens and 7 paracancerous tissues using the immunohistochemistry (SP method). The PRDM14 protein expression was determined in 42 NSCLC specimens and 42 paracancerous tissues by Western blot. Results Among 70 NSCLC specimens, 8 specimens showed weak expression of PRDM14 (11.43%, 8/70), 62 specimens showed moderate to strong staining of PRDM14 (88.57%, 62/70), whereas 7 paracancerous specimens showed weak staining extent. PRDM14 expression level was positively correlated with differentiation (P=0.046) and histological type (P=0.047). The positive cytoplasmic expression of PRDM14 in highly differentiated NSCLC, the low expression of PRDM14 in poorly differentiated NSCLC. The results of Western blot showed that there were significant difference between the two groups (P < 0.001); expression of PRDM14 was conspicuous in NSCLC specimens but low in paracancerous tissues. PRDM14 expression level was positively correlated with differentiation (P=0.017). The positive cytoplasmic expression of PRDM14 in highly differentiated NSCLC, the low expression of PRDM14 in poorly differentiated NSCLC. Conclusion The high expression of PRDM14 in NSCLC is associated with differentiation and histological type. The PRDM14 may play an important role in the development of NSCLC.

Background and objective Heparanase has been thought to be a good molecular marker of tumor, and the heparanase expression level was correlated closely with tumor metastasis. In this study, we investigate the effects of heparanase on angiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis of lung cancer and the relationship between heparanase expression and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), vascular endothelial growth factor-C (VEGF-C). Methods Immunohistochemistry was used to detect the expression of heparanase, VEGF, VEGF-C protein and microvascular density (MVD), lymphatic vessel density (LVD) in 115 cases of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and 45 cases of adjacent normal tissue samples. Results Our results showed that heparanase expression was significantly increased in 91 (79.13%) of the 115 cases and correlated with lymph node metastasis (node positive rate 87.0%; node negative rate 36.8%; P=0.003). Heparanase positive expression cases have significantly higher concentration of microvascular density (MVD) and lymphatic vessel density (LVD) as compared with heparanase negative expression cases (P

Background and objective It has been proven that suppressor of cytokine signaling 3 (SOCS3) contributes to inhibition of cell overgrowth, induction of apoptosis and stabilization. In the present study, we addressed the SOCS3 expression in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and explored the relationship between SOCS3 expression and lymph node metastases as well as clinicopathological characteristics in lung cancer patients. Methods Western blotting analysis was used to examine the expression of SOCS3 in 30 NSCLCs and non-tumor tissues. The methylated status of SOCS3 gene was determined by methylation-specific PCR (MSP) assay in the same 30 samples. Immunohistochemical staining was applied to determine SOCS3 expression in 90 NSCLC sections and the correlation of SOCS3 expression with lymph node metastases and clinicopathological characteristics was also analyzed. Results SOCS3 expression was much lower in 30 NSCLCs than tnat in non-tumorous counterparts of the same case (optical density were 26.3±12.3 and 78.4±14.5 respectively, P=0.000) by western blotting analysis. MSP showed that the methylated rate of SOCS3 gene was (20/30) 66.7% in NSCLCs, and (4/30) 13.3% in non-tumors, and SOCS3 expression was negatively correlated with methylation (r=-0.454, P=0.012). Furthermore, SOCS3 expression was observed in non-tumorous epithelial cells by immunohistochemiscal analysis, and the positive rate of SOCS3 expression in 90 NSCLC samples was (41/90) 45.6%. SOCS3 expression rate was lower in NSCLCs with lymph node metastases (35.4%) compared with non-metastatic NSCLCs (57.1%, P=0.039), and in NSCLCs of stage Ⅲ (36.4%) than in stage Ⅰ+Ⅱ (60.0%, P=0.028). SOCS3 expression was not correlated with histological type or differentiation (P>0.05). Conclusion The results of this study suggest that Down-regulation of SOCS3 expression in NSCLC associated with methylation might be correlated with lymph node metastases as well as clinicopathological stage of NSCLCs.

Wnt and Notch signaling pathways both play essential roles and interact closely in development and carcinogenesis, but their interaction in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is poorly unknown. Here we investigated the effects of CHIR99021, a Wnt signaling agonist, or Notch3-shRNA, or the combined application of CHIR99021 and Notch3-shRNA on cell proliferation and apoptosis, as well as the expressions of Notch3, its downstream genes, cyclinA and caspase-3. Our results showed that CHIR99021 up-regulated the expression of Notch3 protein and HES1 and HEYL mRNA. CHIR99021 promoted cell proliferation and the expression of cyclinA, which were inhibited by Notch3-shRNA in these three cell lines. Moreover, Notch3-shRNA significantly attenuated the positive effects of CHIR99021 on cell proliferation and cyclinA in H460 and H157. As for apoptosis, Notch3-shRNA induced cell apoptosis and increased the expression of caspase-3, whereas CHIR99021 showed the different effects in these three cell lines. The inhibitory effect of CHIR99021 on apoptosis was significantly weakened by Notch3-shRNA only in H460. Overall, although the effects of CHIR99021 and the combined application of CHIR99021 and Notch3-shRNA on the cell proliferation and apoptosis aren't completely similar in the three cell lines, our findings still indicate that Notch3 signaling can be activated by canonical Wnt signaling and a functional link between Wnt and Notch signaling pathways exists in NSCLC, at least, which partially is associated with their regulations on the expressions of cyclinA and caspase-3.

Metastasis is the most common cause of disease failure and mortality for non-small cell lung cancer after surgical resection. Twist has been recently identified as a putative oncogene and a key regulator of carcinoma metastasis. N-cadherin is associated with a more aggressive behavior of cell lines and tumors. The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical relevance of Twist and N-cadherin expression in NSCLC, and the effects of Twist1 knockdown on lung cancer cells.We examined the expressions of Twist and N-cadherin by immunohistochemistry in 120 cases of non-small cell lung cancer (including 68 cases with follow-up records). We also analyzed Twist1 and N-cadherin mRNA expression in 30 non-small cell lung cancer tissues using quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. The functional roles of Twist1 in lung cancer cell lines were evaluated by small interfering RNA-mediated depletion of the protein followed by analyses of cell apoptosis and invasion.In lung cancer tissues, the overexpression rate of Twist was 38.3% in lung cancer tissues. Overexpression of N-cadherin was shown in 40.83% of primary tumors. Moreover, Twist1 mRNA expression levels correlated with N-cadherin mRNA levels. Furthermore, overexpression of Twist1 or N-cadherin in primary non-small cell lung cancers was associated with a shorter overall survival (P