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Monatomic Zr tuned α-Fe 2 O 3 enable efficient transfer hydrogenation of nitroarenes via a special direct route at room temperature. [Display omitted] • A special direct reduction route - Ph-NO2 → Ph-NHOH → Ph-NH2 - without Ph-NO intermediate. • Compared to inactive α-Fe 2 O 3 , doping monatomic Zr can completely reduce nitroarenes at RT. • Enhanced Lewis acidity leading to the room temperature decomposition of N 2 H 4 ·H 2 O. • Fe(3+α)+-O(2+β)--Zr(4-γ)+ can weaken N O bond to promote the adsorption of nitroarene. • Low-cost, eco-friendly, and facile scaling-up preparation of Zr 0.025 Fe 0.975 O y -350. Determining the route of a heterogeneous catalytic reaction is an important step in studying the reaction mechanism as well as improving reaction activity. As for the widely reported transfer hydrogenation of nitroarenes to aniline, many reported works have made simple judgements about the reaction route based on the "direct route" and "condensation route" proposed by Haber in 1898. Herein, detailed mechanistic experiments and DFT calculations helped us identify a special direct reduction route that goes through Ph-NO 2 → Ph - NHOH → Ph-NH 2 without the widely recognized Ph-NO intermediate for the transfer hydrogenation of nitroarenes to anilines by monatomic Zr tuned α-Fe 2 O 3. In this catalytic system, Zr 0.025 Fe 0.975 O y -350 can achieve complete transfer hydrogenation of nitroarenes at room temperature, where the parent α-Fe 2 O 3 is inactive. Accompanying spectroscopic characterizations and calculations illustrate that the incorporation of Zr into the crystal lattice of α-Fe 2 O 3 can effectively reduce the electron cloud density of surface iron species. The resulting special Fe(3+α)+-O(2+β)--Zr(4-γ)+ structure has greatly enhanced Lewis acidity, that promotes the decomposition of N 2 H 4 ·H 2 O to form active [H] for the reduction of nitroarenes. Moreover, the structure is also beneficial for the adsorption of nitroarene with weakening of the N O bond. The present work can be extended to the application of non-noble metal oxides in the transfer hydrogenation of nitrobenzene under mild condition, and provides a significant method for exploring the reaction process of a heterogeneous catalytic reaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Dysregulation of the epitranscriptome causes abnormal expression of oncogenes in the tumorigenic process. Previous studies have shown that NAT10 can regulate mRNA translation efficiency through RNA acetylation. However, the role of NAT10‐mediated acetylation modification in bladder cancer remains elusive. Methods: The clinical value of NAT10 was estimated according to NAT10 expression pattern based on TCGA data set and the tumor tissue array. Acetylated RNA immunoprecipitation sequencing was utilized to explore the role of NAT10 in mRNA ac4C modification. Translation efficiency and mRNA stability assay were applied to study the effect of NAT10‐deletion on target genes. The nude mouse model and genetically engineered mice were conducted to further verify the characteristics of NAT10 in promoting BLCA progression and regulating downstream targets. Results: NAT10 was essential for the proliferation, migration, invasion, survival and the stem‐cell‐like properties of bladder cancer cell lines. NAT10 was responsible for mRNA ac4C modification in BLCA cells, including BCL9L, SOX4 and AKT1. Deficient NAT10 in both xenograft and transgenic mouse models of bladder cancer reduced the tumor burden. Furthermore, acetylated RNA immunoprecipitation sequencing data and RNA immunoprecipitation qPCR results revealed that NAT10 is responsible for a set of ac4C mRNA modifications in bladder cancer cells. Inhibition of NAT10 led to a loss of ac4C peaks in these transcripts and represses the mRNA's stability and protein expression. Mechanistically, the ac4C reduction modification in specific regions of mRNAs resulting from NAT10 downregulation impaired the translation efficiency of BCL9L, SOX4 and AKT1 as well as the stability of BCL9L, SOX4. Conclusions: In summary, these findings provide new insights into the dynamic characteristics of mRNA's post‐transcriptional modification via NAT10‐dependent acetylation and predict a role for NAT10 as a therapeutic target in bladder cancer. Highlights: NAT10 is highly expressed in BLCA patients and its abnormal level predicts bladder cancer progression and low overall survival rate. NAT10 is necessary and sufficient for BLCA tumourigenic properties.NAT10 is responsible for ac4C modification of target transcripts, including BCL9L, SOX4 and AKT1.NAT10 may serve as an effective and novel therapeutic target for BLCA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The strong excitonic effect is widely prevalent in covalent organic frameworks (COFs)-based catalysts, while the high exciton binding energies (E b) of COFs seriously limit their photocatalytic performance. Herein, theoretical calculations are conducted to evaluate the E b values of potential COFs derived from benzo[1,2-b:3,4-b'-b'']trithiophene-2,5,8-tricarbaldehyde (BTT) and 2,4,6-trihydroxybenzene-1,3,5-tricarbaldehyde (Bp) as aldehyde monomers. Diverse aromatic amine linkers including dipyridine diamine (BPy), biphenyl diamine (BPh), and p -phenylenediamine (MPh) with different molecular lengths and N-sites are used as linker models to regulate the excitonic effect. The obtained BTT-BPy-COF with a long BPy linker and the lowest calculated E b value possesses the best photocatalytic performance for benzylamine coupling, with conversion and selectivity up to 99% accompanied by a high oxidation rate, outperforming most of the reported works. Further mechanistic investigation reveals that the bipyridine-N sites in BTT-BPy-COF exhibit strong electron transfer as well as enhanced O 2 adsorption and activation that is beneficial to photocatalytic benzylamine coupling. [Display omitted] • Different aromatic amine linkers are used to regulate the excitonic effect of COFs. • Photocatalytic performance of the obtained COFs closely relates to their E b values. • BTT-BPy-COF with low E b value and pyridine-N linker shows best catalytic activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The tumor microenvironment has been recently reported to play a pivotal role in sustaining tumor cells survival and protecting them from immunotherapy and chemotherapy-induced death. It remains largely unknown how the specific signaling pathway exerts the tumor microenvironment in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma though previous studies have elucidated the regulatory mechanisms involve in tumor immune microenvironment, stromal cells, tumor angiogenesis and cancer stem cell. These components are responsible for tumor progression as well as anti-cancer therapy resistance, leading to rapid tumor growth and treatment failure. In this review, we focus on discussing the interaction between tumor cells and the surrounding components for better understanding of anti-cancer treatment ineffectiveness and its underlying molecular mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The linear transformer driver (LTD) is widely used in the field of pulsed power, especially for generating intense electron beam. The design of an LTD with quasi-rectangular voltage output is presented. The Blumlein pulse-forming network (BPFN) with L-type configuration replaced traditional capacitors to produce a quasi-rectangular voltage waveform; the adding voltage is achieved through a linear transformer (LT) that couples the voltage from multiple primaries to a single secondary. Since the output waveforms of BPFN and LT determine the output waveform of LTD, the effects of the configuration of the BPFN and the parameters of the LT on the output voltage waveform are studied. At the same time, according to the results, the output voltage waveform is improved by optimizing the inductance of the BPFN and selecting the appropriate parameters of the LT. After that, an electron beam generator based on six-stage LTD cavities is developed, and a well-shaped quasi-rectangular waveform is obtained at a planar diode load. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The mechanism involved in prostate cancer (PCa) metastasis is still poorly understood, and several oncogenes are known to regulate this process. However, the role of spalt‐like transcription factor 4 (SALL4) in PCa metastasis remains unclear. Methods: We performed RNA‐sequencing to compare the mRNA expression profiles of seven localized PCa tissues and six metastatic PCa tissues. SALL4 was then identified and compared in the localized PCa and metastatic PCa. Immunohistochemical studies, qRT‐PCR, and Western blot were performed to analyze the expression of SALL4 in PCa patients and cell lines. SALL4 expression and its relevance to clinical traits and prognosis were further explored in the TCGA database and in our 68 clinical samples. Subsequently, we knocked down SALL4 in DU145 and PC3 cells and performed a series of functional assays to explore the effect of SALL4 on PCa progression. Finally, protein levels of SALL4 and core components of the MAPK pathway were measured by Western blot, and cells were treated with PD0325901 to observe proliferation and metastasis. Results: Significantly higher expression of SALL4 was found in metastatic PCa than in localized PCa. In addition, high SALL4 expression was significantly associated with high pathological T stage, N stage, Gleason score, and poor disease‐free survival in TCGA database and in our clinical samples. Functional studies indicated that knockdown of SALL4 in DU145 and PC3 inhibited proliferation, migration, and angiogenesis. Furthermore, the ERK and P38 protein phosphorylation significantly reduced after knockdown of SALL4 in DU145 and PC3, indicating the inactivation of the MAPK signaling pathway. Finally, the proliferation and migration ability of DU145 and PC3 cells were significantly decreased after PD0325901 treatment. Conclusions: SALL4 predicts unfavorable outcome and is closely associated with PCa progression, suggesting that SALL4 may be a promising prognostic marker and potential therapeutic target for PCa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Detection of cysteine (Cys) and homocysteine (Hcy) is very important for the early diagnosis and prevention of related diseases. Herein, we propose a facile, green, room-temperature controllable approach for the synthesis of fluorescent covalent organic frameworks (COFs) with high specific surface areas, high crystallinity, good morphology, excellent chemical and thermal stability by using 2,5-dimethoxyterephthaldehyde and 1,3,5-tris(4-aminophenyl)benzene as precursors. Interestingly, we found that the size and morphology of COFs could be controlled by the amount of acetic acid. With increasing numbers of acetic acid (HAc) molecules, the morphology of COFs gradually changed from spherical to flower-shaped, and the particle size gradually decreased from micrometer to nanometer. Furthermore, we were surprised to find that the reaction time influenced the uniform dispersion and crystallinity of flower-shaped COFs. With increasing the reaction time, the boundary around COFs became blurred, hierarchical flower-shaped COFs gradually appeared, and the flower-shaped gradually became clear and uniform. On this basis, the flower-shaped COFs were further used for highly sensitive determination of Cys and Hcy, with detection limits as low as 11.4 nM and 6.7 nM, respectively. The possible quenching mechanism was deduced by the Dmol3 package provided by Materials Studio and DFT calculations of Gaussian 09 software. This strategy could provide us a new insight into the controllable preparation of flower-shaped fluorescent COFs and broaden the application range of COFs for biomarker detection. • Fluorescent COFs was prepared by a facile, green, room-temperature controllable approach. • The size and morphology of COFs could be controlled by the amount of acetic acid. • Uniform dispersion and crystallinity of flower-shaped COFs can be influenced by reaction time. • Highly sensitive determination of cysteine and homocysteine was obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Radiation-induced lung injury (RILI) is considered one of the most common complications of thoracic radiation. Recent studies have focused on stem cell properties to obtain ideal therapeutic effects, and Sox9 has been reported to be involved in stem cell induction and differentiation. However, whether Sox9-expressing cells play a role in radiation repair and regeneration remains unknown. Methods: We successfully obtained Sox9CreER, RosatdTomato and RosaDTA mice and identified Sox9-expressing cells through lineage tracing. Then, we evaluated the effects of the ablation of Sox9-expressing cells in vivo. Furthermore, we investigated the underlying mechanism of Sox9-expressing cells during lung regeneration via an online single-cell RNA-seq dataset. Results: In our study, we demonstrated that Sox9-expressing cells promote the regeneration of lung tissues and that ablation of Sox9-expressing cells leads to severe phenotypes after radiation damage. In addition, analysis of an online scRNA-Seq dataset revealed that the PI3K/AKT pathway is enriched in Sox9-expressing cells during lung epithelium regeneration. Finally, the AKT inhibitor perifosine suppressed the regenerative effects of Sox9-expressing cells and the AKT pathway agonist promotes proliferation and differentiation. Conclusions: Taken together, the findings of our study suggest that Sox9-expressing cells may serve as a therapeutic target in lung tissue after RILI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is a frequent malignant tumor with low 5-year overall survival. Targeting ESCC tumor-initiating cells (TICs) may provide a new research avenue to achieve better therapeutic effects of ESCC. However, the identity and characteristics of ESCC TICs remain poorly understood. Through genetic lineage tracing approach, we found that a group of Moloney murine leukemia virus insertion site 1- (Bmi1-) expressing cell populations present in the invasive front of the esophageal epithelium, providing a continuous flow of tumor cells for ESCC. Subsequently, we found that ablation of Bmi1+ cells from mice with ESCC led to inhibition of tumor growth. In addition, our results demonstrated that PTC-209, an inhibitor of Bmi1, was able to inhibit ESCC progression when combined with cisplatin. In summary, our data suggest that Bmi1+ cells serve as TICs in ESCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A repetitive electron beam driver based on 6-stage Linear Transformer Driver (LTD) cavities is presented. Each cavity consists of two Blumlein pulse forming networks (BPFNs) sharing a laser trigger switch. Voltage adding is obtained by means of Linear Transformer (LT) technology. The LTD cavity consists of two BPFNs connected in parallel, an LT with a ratio of 1:1, and a laser-triggered spark switch. The energy efficiency of a single LTD was investigated. The results show that the energy efficiency of an L-type BPFN and an LT was 94.3% and 92.8%, respectively. An electron beam driver consisting of 6 such cavities was developed with an output voltage of 740 kV, a current of 12.3 kA, and a power of 9.1 GW. The repetition frequency operation results show that the electron beam driver can operate stably for 20 s at 25 Hz with a jitter of approximately 1.7 ns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The electrode erosion and lifetime performance of a compact and repetitively triggered field distortion spark gap switch were studied at a repetitive frequency rate of 30 Hz, a peak current of 8.5 kA, and a working voltage of ±35 kV when the switch was filled with a gas mixture of 30% SF6 and 70% N2 at a pressure of 0.3 MPa. The variations of the time-delay jitter and the self-breakdown voltage were both studied for the whole service lifetime of the spark gap switch. The morphology of both the electrodes and the plate insulator, before and after the service lifetime tests, is also analyzed. The results show that during these tests, the time-delay jitter is basically synchronized with the self-breakdown voltage jitter, and both undergo firstly a process of rapidly decreasing their values, then remaining stable, and finally and gradually increasing after 70 000 pulses. The change in the electrode surface roughness (i.e., surface profile) is caused by erosion and chemical deposits in the switch cavity, which are mainly the two factors that affect the time-delay jitter of the switch. Tip protrusions on the electrode surface, due to electrode erosion, contribute to reducing the time-delay jitter. However, due to chemical reactions, fluorides and sulfides are deposited on the switch components, as well as metal particles caused by electrode erosion sputtering. Slowly, after a large number of shots, all these phenomena affect the self-breakdown performance resulting in an increased self-breakdown voltage jitter, which also causes the time-delay jitter to increase. Although there are a number of reasons that contribute to the deterioration of the performance of the switch, it is fortunate that if a switch suffering a degraded performance is reassembled, with the electrodes mechanically polished and all the components cleaned, the optimal performance of the switch can be restored. If maintenance work is carried out regularly to preserve the condition of the switch’s inner components, the service lifetime of the switch can be prolonged. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work was stimulated by the assumption that for a gas-filled spark gap closing switch operating at a high repetition frequency, there is an optimal frequency range in which the time-delay jitter reaches a minimum value. The experiments to test this assumption use an electrically triggered, field-distortion spark gap filled with the SF6/N2 gas mixture. The results show that indeed, the time-delay jitter decreases for a range of frequencies for which the filling gas can substantially restore the interelectrode insulation before increasing at a higher operation frequency. The experimental results demonstrate the correctness of the abovepresented assumption: the time-delay jitter of the field-distortion spark gap has its minimum when the unit operates in the repetition frequency range between 20 and 30 Hz. Since the recovery time depends on the gas species and the gap distance, the optimum operation frequency range should also vary depending on the spark–gap distance and the filling gas properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A compact electron beam driver based on an annular parallel-plate pulse forming line (APPPFL) was presented in this paper. Compared with the traditional system, the characteristics of compactness and flat-top waveform output have been achieved by using APPPFLs, which can generate a high voltage quasirectangular pulse up to 20 kV with a width of 60 ns, a rising edge of 10 ns at a lower matched load with an impedance of 1.25 Ω. The key part of the driver is the Marx generator, which consists of 37 stages, each of the stages consisting of an APPPFL, a gas spark switch, two charging inductors, and a nylon insulator that provides insulation between two stages as well as mechanical support. The generator is charged synchronously with positive and negative voltages to reduce the difficulty of the insulation design. When the APPPFL of each stage was charged up to ±20 kV, the output voltage and current of the electron beam driver are 680 kV and 15 kA at a 46 Ω planar diode load, respectively, and the power of the output electron beam is 10 GW. The repetition frequency operation of the electron beam driver has also been investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Patients with myasthenia gravis (MG) often benefit from thymectomy, but the optimal timing of extubation following thymectomy in these patients remains unknown. This study of MG patients compared the effect of early and late extubation following thymectomy on clinical outcome.Methods: We performed a study of data from 96 patients with MG who received thymectomy procedures, followed by early (< 6 h) or late (> 6 h) extubation, at our institution between October 2011 and November 2017. Patient clinical and demographic characteristics, preoperative data, and postoperative clinical outcomes were analyzed. Data sharing is not applicable to this article as no datasets were generated or analyzed during the current study.Results: The patients in the early extubation group (n = 53) and late extubation group (n = 43) had similar preoperative clinical and demographic characteristics. However, the early extubation group had a significantly longer duration of MG (24 months vs. 12 months, P < 0.013) and a lower incidence of reintubation (11.3% vs. 37.2%, P = 0.003). Postoperative pulmonary infection was significantly more common in the late extubation group (39.5% vs. 11.3%, P = 0.001; adjusted odds ratio = 6.94, 95% CI 1.24-38.97). Also, patients in the late extubation group had a longer duration of ICU stay (6.4 ± 4.0 h vs. 4.3 ± 1.8 h; P = 0.003) and had a longer adjusted duration of ICU stay by 0.93 days (95% CI 0.02-1.85).Conclusions: Our analysis of patients with MG who received thymectomy procedures indicated that early extubation was associated with improved clinical outcomes, in particular with reduced risk of postoperative pulmonary infection and reduced ICU stay. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the development of a small field-distortion spark gap switch. Comprehensive experimental studies made with the switch revealed its self-breakdown characteristics, voltage operating range, time delay and jitter, repetition frequency, and finally the electrode erosion processes and duration of its service lifetime. A series of design improvements were required to be implemented in the switch design. For example, to reduce the structural inductance of the switch and to improve its working characteristics, the main electrode was designed as a circular track structure. Similarly, to increase the operation stability and reduce the self-breakdown probability, the trigger electrode was designed as a disk-like structure. Moreover, to balance the gas pressure in the discharge region and increase the stability during closure, a circular hole was added at the center of the trigger electrode. The compact switch has a small size of only 150 mm $\times42$ mm, a weight of 1.5 kg, and can be successfully operated at a voltage over 110 kV, at a repetition rate between 1 and 50 Hz and having a jitter of less than 4 ns. It was experimentally demonstrated that during normal operation conditions, the switch lifetime exceeds 100 000 shots. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives. Driving pressure (DP) has recently become a promising mediator for the identification of the effects of mechanical ventilation on outcomes in acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). The aim of this study was to systematically and quantitatively update and assess the association between DP and mortality among ventilated patients with ARDS. Methods. PubMed, the Cochrane Library, ISI Web of Knowledge, and Embase were systematically searched from inception to June 2018. Two investigators conducted the literature search study selection, data extraction, and quality evaluation independently. RevMan 5.3 software was used for all statistical analyses. Results. A total of seven studies comprising 8010 patients were included in this meta-analysis. Higher DP showed a significant association with higher mortality (pooled risk ratio, 1.10; 95% [CI], 1.05–1.16; I2 =58%). Sensitivity analysis indicated that one study significantly affected the stability of pooled results. One of the subgroups investigated, ARDS severity, could account for the heterogeneity. An exploratory post hoc subgroup analysis and higher DP significantly increased mortality in the mild to severe ARDS subgroup (RR 1.28; 95% [CI], 1.14–1.43; I2 =0), but not in the moderate to severe ARDS subgroup (RR 1.18; 95% [CI], 0.95–1.46;  I2 =52%). Conclusion. Higher DP was significantly associated with an increased risk of death among ventilated patients with ARDS. But it did not seem to predict prognosis to moderate to severe ARDS. Future prospective randomized clinical trials are needed to verify the results of this meta-analysis and address the unresolved questions about optimum cutoff values for DP. Trial Registration. This trial is registered with PROSPERO (CRD42018102146), on 11 August 2018. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prussian blue (PB) type material, a historical metal coordination material, is widely used in batteries, catalyst, and for energy storage. However, the scarcity of active sites and its immutable structure limit further applications. Herein, we propose a ligand substitution strategy to tune the electronic structure and hydrophilicity of the PB-type material, involving Fe(CN) 5 as a cyanide precursor, to catalyze epoxidation of olefins. The catalytic performance can be significantly promoted for styrene oxide in the presence of a CoFe PB analog that includes decylpyrazinium bromide (named CoFe-10). Kinetic studies on styrene epoxidation with CoFe-10 show a low activation energy of 27.2 kJ/mol. In addition, mechanistic investigation, coupled to electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) measurements, suggests that the CoOOC(CH 3) 3 adduct is the reactive species for epoxidation of styrene. This study provides an effective strategy to synthesize unprecedented PB-type material and extend its application. [Display omitted] • The symmetry and hydrophobicity of CoFe Prussian blue analogues were altered significantly by ligand substitution. • The reaction order of epoxidation of styrene were determined. • A competitive apparent activation energy (E a) for CoFe-10, 27.2 kJ/mol, was obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND Nuclear factor κB (NFκB) signaling is strongly associated with tumor progression, and studies have shown that SHANK-associated RH domain interacting protein (SHARPIN) is crucial for NFκB pathway activation. However, the expression and functions of SHARPIN in prostate cancer (PCa) have not yet been defined. METHODS The expression of SHARPIN in PCa cell lines and tissues was evaluated with western blotting, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction, and immunohistochemistry. After SHARPIN was silenced in the PCa cell lines, western blots were used to confirm that SHARPIN physically associated with components of the NFκB pathway and the downstream targets (survivin and livin). The functions of SHARPIN in cell proliferation, migration, and invasion in vitro were measured with 5-(3-carboxymethoxyphenyl)-2-(4,5-dimenthylthiazoly)-3-(4-sulfophenyl)tetrazolium, inner salt (MTS), Transwell, and invasion assays, respectively. Flow cytometry was employed to evaluate cell apoptosis. Furthermore, tumorigenesis in vivo was examined with tumorigenicity assays. RESULTS SHARPIN expression was upregulated in PCa cell lines and tissues. The knockdown of SHARPIN or incubation with Bay 11-7082 (an NFκB inhibitor) led to dramatically decreased levels of phosphorylated IκBα and phosphorylated p65 in comparison with the control group. Downregulation of survivin and livin due to SHARPIN inhibition was attributable to transcriptional repression ( P < .05). Decreases in cell viability, migration, invasion, and survival with a higher sensitivity to docetaxel in vitro and with repressed tumorigenesis in vivo were observed upon SHARPIN silencing, and this was consistent with the results from inhibition of the NFκB pathway and its downstream targets. CONCLUSION The current study demonstrates that overexpression of SHARPIN promotes activation of the NFκB pathway and downstream targets survivin and livin, which potentially contributes to PCa development. Cancer 2014;120:3208-3218. © 2014 American Cancer Society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Nuclear factor κB (NFκB) signaling is strongly associated with tumor progression, and studies have shown that SHANK-associated RH domain interacting protein (SHARPIN) is crucial for NFκB pathway activation. However, the expression and functions of SHARPIN in prostate cancer (PCa) have not yet been defined.Methods: The expression of SHARPIN in PCa cell lines and tissues was evaluated with western blotting, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction, and immunohistochemistry. After SHARPIN was silenced in the PCa cell lines, western blots were used to confirm that SHARPIN physically associated with components of the NFκB pathway and the downstream targets (survivin and livin). The functions of SHARPIN in cell proliferation, migration, and invasion in vitro were measured with 5-(3-carboxymethoxyphenyl)-2-(4,5-dimenthylthiazoly)-3-(4-sulfophenyl)tetrazolium, inner salt (MTS), Transwell, and invasion assays, respectively. Flow cytometry was employed to evaluate cell apoptosis. Furthermore, tumorigenesis in vivo was examined with tumorigenicity assays.Results: SHARPIN expression was upregulated in PCa cell lines and tissues. The knockdown of SHARPIN or incubation with Bay 11-7082 (an NFκB inhibitor) led to dramatically decreased levels of phosphorylated IκBα and phosphorylated p65 in comparison with the control group. Downregulation of survivin and livin due to SHARPIN inhibition was attributable to transcriptional repression (P < .05). Decreases in cell viability, migration, invasion, and survival with a higher sensitivity to docetaxel in vitro and with repressed tumorigenesis in vivo were observed upon SHARPIN silencing, and this was consistent with the results from inhibition of the NFκB pathway and its downstream targets.Conclusion: The current study demonstrates that overexpression of SHARPIN promotes activation of the NFκB pathway and downstream targets survivin and livin, which potentially contributes to PCa development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diffuse discharge excited by nanosecond-pulse discharge in atmospheric air has a promising application. Unipolar repetitive pulses with 25-ns rise time and 40-ns duration are used to produce the diffuse discharge in a point-to-plane gap in atmospheric air. The effect of pulse repetition frequency (PRF) on the discharge is investigated under two gap spacings. The discharge images show that both the PRF and air gap spacing are responsible for the diffuse discharge mode and the transition to a filamentary discharge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Atmospheric-pressure plasma jet provides an effective mode for many potential applications. Unipolar repetitive pulses of 25-ns rise time and 40-ns duration are used to drive a single electrode plasma jet in open air. He, Ar, \N2, and air are chosen as the feed gases. Kinds of images of the observed plasma jets are presented under different experimental conditions. The diffusive appearances with \N2 or air flow are different from the needle-like mode with He or Ar flow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]