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The radioactive pollution caused by the discharge of radioactive wastewater poses a serious threat to public health and ecosystem stability owing to its long-term detriments. Herein, the ion-imprinted honeycomb-like chitosan/kaolin clay (ICK) composite foams were successfully fabricated and applied to the selective biosorption of U(VI) from aqueous solution. It was found that the ICK-2 was the best among various ICK foams owing to its well-developed honeycomb-like structure and the presence of abundant functional groups. As compared to the non-imprinted sorbent (NICK-2), the ion-imprinted sorbent (ICK-2) presents higher sorption and better selectivity since it can smartly recognize the target ions. The sorption isotherms was well-fitted with Langmuir model, and the maximum sorption capacity of ICK-2 was evaluated as 286.85 mg/g for U(VI) at 298 K and pH 5.0. The kinetic data could be described by pseudo-second order model. The FTIR and XPS results suggest that both amine and hydroxyl groups are responsible for U(VI) coordination. The ICK-2 presents high sorption capacity, good selectivity and fast kinetic rate, and thus it has potential application for U(VI) separation from radioactive wastewater.

The content of radionuclide uranium in the water, soil and rice around the decommissioned uranium mine was analyzed, and the radioactive pollution, distribution characteristics, migration pattern and health risks were evaluated. Its radioactive contamination may have potentially harmful biological effects on the ecosystem and food chain. This paper pays more attention to the pollution of radionuclide 238U, 235U around the tailings dam, and makes a comprehensive comparative analysis of the pollution of water, soil and rice at 500 m, 1000 m and even 60 km around the dam. The single factor index method was mainly used to evaluate the pollution degree, and it was found that the water, soil and rice in the area around the uranium field were all polluted to different degrees. Radionuclide uranium pollution is mainly caused by uranium mining, quarry discharge and ecological cycle in the early stage. According to the characteristics of the uranium content in the study area, it is recommended to use the farmland around the tailing dam as a test site to study the radioactivity of different crops, improve wastewater treatment technology, and prevent crops with excessive levels of radioactive elements from entering the market.

The porous chitosan/carboxylated carbon nanotubes composite aerogels (CS-CCN) with different CCN contents were prepared for the efficient removal of U(VI) from aqueous solution. The successful formation of CS-CCN aerogels with highly porous structure was confirmed by different characterizations (such as SEM, TEM, XRD, etc.). The sorption capacity of the aerogels depends on CCN content, which has significant impact on the porous structure and the sorption ability of the aerogels. The CS-CCN aerogels were found to be very effective for U(VI) sorption: the maximum mono-layer sorption capacity for CS-CCN2 aerogel reached 307.5 mg/g at pH 5.0 and 298 K. The chemisorption or surface complexation through sharing of O/N lone pair electrons on the active sites (carboxylic and amine groups) was responsible for U(VI) sorption, which is confirmed by the IR and XPS analysis. Meanwhile, the good-fitting of both sorption kinetics by pseudo-second-order model and sorption isotherms by Langmuir model also indicates chemisorption mechanism. The thermodynamic data suggest that U(VI) sorption on CS-CCN aerogel is endothermic and spontaneous. The unique characteristics such as high sorption capacity, fast kinetic, and easy recovery from solution make CS-CCN aerogels be very efficient sorbents for the treatment of radioactive wastewater.

The polyethylenimine-functionalized magnetic chitosan nanoparticles (MCN-PEI) are synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis, TEM, FT-IR, XRD, etc. The MCN-PEI exhibits a core–shell structure, and had a saturation magnetization of 18.7 emu/g (which is high enough for fast magnetic separation). The maximum U(VI) sorption capacity for MCN-PEI reaches 134.6 mg/g at pH 5.0 and 298 K. The good-fitting of both sorption kinetics by pseudo-second-order model and sorption isotherms by Langmuir model indicates chemisorption mechanism. The thermodynamic parameters indicate the spontaneous and exothermic nature for U(VI) sorption. Finally, the magnetic nano-sorbents can be efficiently desorbed by acidified EDTA solution for regeneration.

Coupled oscillators have been used to study synchronization in a wide range of social, biological, and physical systems, including pedestrian-induced bridge resonances, coordinated lighting up of firefly swarms, and enhanced output peak intensity in synchronizing laser arrays. Here we advance this subject by studying a variant of the Kuramoto model, where the coupling between the phase oscillators is heterogeneous and nonlinear. In particular, the quenched disorder in the coupling strength and the intrinsic frequencies are correlated, and the coupling itself depends on the amplitude of the mean-field of the system. We show that the interplay of these factors leads to a fascinatingly rich collective dynamics, including explosive synchronization transitions, hybrid transitions with hysteresis absence, abrupt irreversible desynchronization transitions, and tiered phase transitions with or without a vanishing onset. We develop an analytical treatment that enables us to determine the observed equilibrium states of the system, as well as to explore their asymptotic stability at various levels. Our research thus provides theoretical foundations for a number of self-organized phenomena that may be responsible for the emergence of collective rhythms in complex systems., 13 pages, 2 figures; accepted for publication in Physical Review Research

Gastric cancer (GC) is the third most common cause of cancer-related death worldwide. Advanced diagnosis and high rates of relapse and metastasis are associated with the poor prognosis of this disease. GC has a complex etiopathogenesis of which the underlying mechanisms remain to be explored. Studies on circular RNAs (circRNAs), noncoding RNAs that may be potential targets in GC, have made substantial progress over the past few years. CircRNAs exert important effects on the onset and progression of GC. Hence, this article aims to summarize the findings of recent studies of circRNAs related to GC and to describe the underlying mechanisms and potential applications. The findings indicate that circRNAs participate in GC regulation, proliferation, invasion, and metastasis through regulating microRNAs, proteins, genes, and signaling pathways. In addition, dysregulated circRNAs may be used as novel diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers or therapeutic targets. This review is expected to facilitate a better understanding of GC, and it suggests novel circRNA-based methods to inhibit or prevent GC.

The Warburg effect in tumor cells involves the uptake of high levels of glucose, enhanced glycolysis, and the metabolism of pyruvate to lactic acid rather than oxidative phos-phorylation to generate energy under aerobic conditions. This effect is closely related to the occurrence, invasion, metastasis, drug resistance, and poor prognosis of gastric cancer (GC). Current research has further demonstrated that the Warburg effect in GC cells is not only mediated by the glycolysis pathway, but also includes roles for mitochondria, noncoding RNAs, and other proteins that do not directly regulate metabolism. As a result, changes in the glycolysis pathway not only lead to abnormal glucose metabolism, but they also affect mitochondrial functions, cellular processes such as apoptosis and cell cycle regulation, and the metabolism of lipids and amino acids. In this review, we discuss metabolic reprogramming in GC based on glycolysis, a possible link between glucose metabolism, lipid metabolism, and amino acid metabolism, and we clarify the role of mitochondria. We also examine recent studies of metabolic inhibitors in GC.

Background Interferon-induced transmembrane proteins (IFITMs) are a family of proteins which functions mainly include controlling cell proliferation, promoting homotypic cell adhesion, and preventing viral infection. This research study attempts to elucidate the association between IFITM10 expression level and gastric cancer (GC). Methods Transcriptome sequencing and clinical information on GC and normal tissues was obtained from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. R and related statistical packages were used to analyze the relationship between IFITM10 and survival in GC patients based on available clinical information. Receiver operating characteristic curves (ROC) were constructed using the SPSS software package. IFITM10 expression levels in patients tissue samples were examined by qPCR and association between IFITM10 expression and clinic characteristics was analyzed using SPSS. The signaling pathway associated with IFITM10 was analyzed using gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA). Results In the TCGA database, IFITM10 was highly expressed in GC tissues (P

The radioactive pollution attributed to the discharge of uranium-containing wastewater is considered as a long-term threat to the ecological environment. Herein the nanoarchitectonics of poly (vinyl alcohol)/graphene oxide composite (PVA/GO) electrodes were performed for the efficient U(VI) electrosorption from aqueous solution. The cyclic voltammetry (CV) measurements were conducted to evaluate the capacitive characteristics of the PVA/GO electrodes. The electrosorption capability of U(VI) was significantly enhanced by electrosorption using PVA/GO electrodes. The PVA: GO mass ratios for the PVA/GO composite electrodes were optimized according to their electrosorption performance, which showed PVA/GO-4 was the best among them owing to its excellent conductivity and well-developed mesoporous structure. The electrosorption data were simulated by different models, suggesting the good-fitting of Langmuir model for the isotherms and the first-order model for the kinetics. The electrosorption capacity of U(VI) reaches 333.0 mg/g at 0.9 V. The U(VI) electrosorption mechanism related to electrical double-layer attraction and complexation was clarified by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Moreover, the electrosorption-desorption cycles suggested excellent regeneration This works highlights the promising application of PVA/GO electrodes for the efficient electrosorptive removal/separation of U(VI) from radioactive wastewater.

The radioactive pollution owing to the discharge of effluents containing radionuclides brings serious toxicological effects on the ecological environment. In this work, the chitosan (CS) and biomass-resourced porous activated carbons (BC) composite membranes (CS/BC) were used as the electrodes for the electrosorption of U(VI) from aqueous solutions. The capacitive characteristic and electrosorption performance of the composite electrodes was systematically investigated. The CV curves of the CS/BC membrane showed normal dependency of scan-rate and U(VI) concentration, reflecting good removal capacity and kinetic rate for U(VI) electrosorption. The CS: BC mass ratios had significant effects on U(VI) electrosorption performance, and the CS/BC-2 is the best among various CS/BC electrodes owing to its good match of functional groups and mesoporous structure. The CS/BC-2 presented high removal capability of for U(VI) electrosorption (207.6 mg/g at the voltage of 0.9 V and pH 4.0, based on Langmuir model). The electrosorption involves in electrical double-layer formation, ion-exchange, complexation and physisorption. The cyclic electrosorption-desorption results and the XPS characterization further clarified this mechanism. The CS/BC-2 could also selectively adsorbed U(VI) from other co-existed metal ions in electrosorption. The results revealed the potential application of electrosorption process by using CS/BC electrodes in U(VI) solution for the cleanup of environmental pollution.

LncRNA RP11-363E7.4 has been shown to be downregulated in gastric cancer (GC), while the effect of lncRNA RP11-363E7.4 on GC and its potential molecular mechanisms is unclear. The purpose of this study was to explore the functional role and underlying molecular mechanisms of lncRNA RP11-363E7.4 involved in GC progress.To address the question, quantitative real-time PCR assay was performed to confirm lncRNA RP11-363E7.4 expression levels in GC tissues and cell lines. Cell proliferation, apoptosis, migration and invasion were estimated using Cell Counting Kit-8, colony formation, scratch wound healing and Transwell assays. Potential molecular mechanisms were evaluated using western blot assay. The results showed that lncRNA RP11-363E7.4 was significantly downregulated in GC cell lines and 82 paired tissues. The correlation between expression and clinicopathological features indicated that low expression of lncRNA RP11-363E7.4 was associated with T stage (P = .010). Functional experiments showed that overexpression of lncRNA RP11-363E7.4 prevented proliferation, migration, and invasion and induced apoptosis of GC cells. Western blot assay revealed that lncRNA RP11-363E7.4 functioned via the p53, Bax/Bcl-2, β-catenin pathway. In summary, this study revealed that lncRNA RP11-363E7.4 functioned as a tumour suppressor by inhibiting proliferation, migration, and invasion and inducing apoptosis of GC cells. Significance of the study:LncRNA RP11-363E7.4 has been shown to be downregulated in GC, while the effect of lncRNA RP11-363E7.4 on GC and its potential molecular mechanism is unclear. We revealed that lncRNA RP11-363E7.4 functioned as a tumour suppressor by inhibiting proliferation, migration, and invasion and inducing apoptosis of GC cells. LncRNA RP11-363E7.4 might become an attractive diagnostic and prognostic biomarker of GC and a promising target for GC treatment.

Gastric cancer (GC) is one of the most prevalent and malignant types of cancer worldwide. In China, it is the second most common type of cancer and the malignancy with the highest incidence and mortality rate. Chemotherapy for GC is not always effective due to the development of drug resistance. Drug resistance, which is frequently observed in GC, undermines the success rate of chemotherapy and the survival of patients with GC. The dysregulation of non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs), primarily microRNAs (miRNAs or miRs) and long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), is involved in the development of GC drug resistance via numerous mechanisms. These mechanisms contribute to the involvement of a large and complex network of ncRNAs in drug resistance. In this review, we focus on and summarize the latest research on the specific mechanisms of action of miRNAs and lncRNAs that modulate drug resistance in GC. In addition, we discuss future prospects and clinical applications of ncRNAs as potential targeted therapies against the chemoresistance of GC.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second most common cause of cancer-related death worldwide, and its high rates of relapse and metastasis are associated with a poor prognosis. Despite extensive research, the underlying regulatory mechanisms of CRC remain unclear. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are a major type of noncoding RNAs that have received increasing attention in the past few years, and studies have shown that they play a role in many biological processes in CRC. Here, we summarize recent studies on lncRNAs associated with CRC and the signaling pathways and mechanisms underlying this association. We show that dysregulated lncRNAs may be new prognostic and diagnostic biomarkers or therapeutic targets for clinical application. This review contributes not only to our understanding of CRC, but also suggests novel signaling pathways associated with lncRNAs that can be targeted to block or eradicate CRC.