Search

Purpose: To study the effect of isoquercitrin on cell apoptosis and cycle of HepG2 cells. Materials and Method: Different concentrations of isoquercitrin were used to act on HepG2 cells, and the effect of isoquercitrin on the proliferation of HepG2 cells was detected by CCK8. Cell morphology and growth were observed under inverted microscope. Flow cytometry was used to detect the apoptosis and cycle changes of HepG2 cells. Results: CCK8 found that isoquercitrin inhibited the growth of HepG2 cells, and it was correlated with the concentration and action time of isoquercitrin. Under the inverted microscope, it was observed that the number of cell survival gradually decreased with the increase of concentration or time of isoquercitrin acted on HepG2 cells. Flow cytometry showed that with the increase of isoquercitrin concentration, the number of cells blocked in S phase gradually decreased and the number of cells blocked in G2/M phase gradually increased. Conclusion: Isoquercitrin can induce apoptosis of HepG2 cells and interfere with S phase and G2/M phase in cell cycle.

Purpose: To observe the intervention effect of isoquercitrin on related factors in PERK-eIF2a-ATF4 signaling pathway after it acts on HepG2 cells. Materials and Method: HepG2 cells were tested with different concentrations of isoquercitrin. MTT assay was employed to detect the cell proliferation. Expressions of GRP78, PERK, elF2a, ATF4 and CHOP mRNA and protein were measured by qRT-PCR and Western blot. Results: Cell experiments showed that isoquercitrin inhibited the proliferation of HepG2 cells in a dose-and time-dependent manner. Compared with the control group, the expressions of GRP78, PERK, elF2a, ATF4, CHOP mRNA and the expressions of GRP78, p-PERK, elF2a, ATF4, CHOP protein were significantly increased after isoquercitrin treatment, and the expressions of PERK protein decreased significantly. Conclusion: The present study verified that isoquercitrin induce the apoptosis of HepG2 cells, and its mechanism may be related to the intervention of related factors in PERK-eIF2a-ATF4 signaling pathway.

BackgroundLipid metabolism is associated with glucose metabolism, but whether there are variations between sexes in risk factors and prevalence of abnormal lipid metabolism in major depressive disorder (MDD) patients with glucose metabolism abnormalities remains ambiguous. In the present study, the frequency and risk factors of dyslipidemia in first-episode and drug-naïve (FEDN) MDD patients with dysglycemia were examined according to sex.MethodsOne thousand seven hundred and eighteen FEDN MDD patients were recruited and their demographic data, clinical data, various biochemical indicators and scale assessment scores including 17-item Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAMD-17), 14-item Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAMA-14), and positive subscale of the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) were collected.ResultsThe prevalence of abnormal lipid metabolism in both male and female MDD patients with abnormal glucose metabolism was higher than that in patients without abnormal glucose metabolism. Among male MDD patients with abnormal glucose metabolism, TC was positively correlated with HAMD score, TSH and TgAb levels, but negatively correlated with PANSS positive subscale scores. LDL-C was positively correlated with TSH and BMI, but negatively correlated with PANSS positive subscale scores. HDL-C was negatively correlated with TSH levels. Among females, TC was positively correlated with HAMD score, TSH, and BMI, but negatively correlated with PANSS positive subscale score. LDL-C was positively correlated with HADM score and negatively correlated with FT3 level. HDL-C was negatively correlated with TSH and BMI levels.ConclusionThere are sex differences in the correlated factors of lipid markers in MDD patients with impaired glucose.

Cerebral ischemic stroke causes substantial white matter injury, which is further aggravated by neuroinflammation mediated by microglia/astrocytes. Given the anti-neuroinflammatory action of telmisartan and the enhancing blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeability potential of resuscitation-inducing aromatic herbs, 13 hybrids (3a-m) of telmisartan (or its simplified analogues) with resuscitation-inducing aromatic agents were designed, synthesized, and biologically evaluated. Among them, the optimal compound 3a (the ester hybrid of telmisartan and (+)-borneol) potently inhibited neuroinflammation mediated by microglia/astrocytes and ameliorated ischemic stroke. Particularly, 3a significantly conferred protection for white matter integrity after cerebral ischemic stroke via decreasing abnormally dephosphorylated neurofilament protein, upregulating myelin basic protein, and attenuating oligodendrocyte damage. Further RNA-sequencing data revealed that 3a upregulated expression of transcriptional regulator ATF3 to reduce the expression of CH25H, prevented proinflammatory state of lipid-droplet-accumulating microglia/astrocytes to limit excessive inflammation, and eventually protected neighboring oligodendrocytes to prevent white matter injury. Taken with the desirable pharmacokinetics behavior and improved brain distribution, 3a may be a feasible therapeutic agent for ischemic stroke and other neurological disorders with white matter injury.

BackgroundTo explore the association between soy product consumption and the risk of depression in the community.MethodsIn 2014, a total of 10,901 older people were recruited from Zhejiang province, China, and completed food frequency interviews. Participants were followed up over the next 6 years, and depression was assessed at each visit. Finally, 6,253 participants were included in the present study. Mixed effects models were performed to analyze the association by multivariate adjustments for potential confounders.ResultsOver four-fifths of the eligible participants took soy food at least one day per week. The mixed effects model has shown the adjusted odds ratios (95% CI) of high-frequency consumers (4–7 days per week) were 0.46 (0.39–0.54) for depression with a cut-off score of 5, compared with non-consumers.ConclusionsMore frequent soy product consumption was associated with a lower risk of depression.

DNA proficient mismatch repair colon cancer (pMMR CC) is the most common subtype of sporadic CC. We aimed to investigate the role of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) in pMMR CC carcinogenesis. In the present study, we conducted transcriptomic analysis of lncRNAs-mRNAs in five low-grade intraepithelial neoplasia (LGIN), five high-grade intraepithelial neoplasia (HGIN), four pMMR CC, and five normal control (NC) tissues. Gene Ontology (GO), Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment pathway, and coexpression network analyses were performed to elucidate the functions of lncRNAs and mRNAs as well as their interactions. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was used to validate five dysregulated lncRNAs in a large set of colon tissues. Receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curves were employed to evaluate the performance of the candidate lncRNAs. A set of 5783 differentially expressed lncRNAs and 4483 differentially expressed mRNAs were detected among the LGIN, HGIN, pMMR CC, and NC samples. These differentially expressed lncRNAs and mRNAs were assigned to 275 significant GO terms and 179 significant KEGG enriched pathways. qRT-PCR confirmed that the expression of five selected lncRNAs (ENST00000521815, ENST00000603052, ENST00000609220, NR_026543, and ENST00000545920) were consistent with the microarray data. ROC analysis showed that four lncRNAs (ENST00000521815, ENST00000603052, ENST00000609220, and NR_026543) had larger area under the ROC curve (AUC) values compared to serum carcinoembryonic antigens, thereby distinguishing NC from pMMR CC. In conclusion, several lncRNAs play various roles in the adenoma-carcinoma sequence and may serve as potential biomarkers for the early diagnosis of pMMR CC.

BackgroundVascular dementia (VaD) mainly results from cerebral vascular lesions and tissue changes, which contribute to neurodegenerative processes. Effective therapeutic approaches to targeting angiogenesis may reduce mortality of VaD. Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) play a key role in postnatal angiogenesis. Many exosomal microRNAs (exo-miRNAs) have been reported to involve in the development of dementia. The present study was designed to investigate whether the expression profile of the exo-miRNAs is significantly altered in patients with VaD and to reveal the function of differentially expressed miRNAs and the relevant mechanisms in EPC-mediated angiogenesis in VaD rat model.ResultsExosomes isolated from serum of patients with VaD (n = 7) and age-matched control subjects (n = 7), and miRNA sequencing and bioinformatics analysis found that circulating exosome miRNA-155-5p, miRNA-154-5p, miR-132-5p, and miR-1294 were upregulated in patients with VaD. The expression of miRNA-154-5p was further verified to be upregulated in clinical samples (n = 23) and 2-vessel occlusion-induced VaD rat model by reverse transcription quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR). Notably, miRNA-154-5p inhibition in bone marrow-EPCs (BM-EPCs) from VaD rats improved EPC functions, including tube formation, migration, and adhesion, and elevated concentrations of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and stromal cell-derived factor-1α (SDF-1α). The mRNA levels of ICAM-1, VCAM-1, and MCP-1 were reduced in miRNA-154-5p-inhibited EPCs. In addition, miRNA-154-5p inhibition increased the level of superoxide dismutase (SOD), and decreased reactive oxygen species (ROS) in EPCs. PRKAA2 was chosen as a promising target gene of miR-154-5p, and miRNA-154-5p inhibition upregulated the protein expression of AMPKα2. Furthermore, upregulation of miR-154-5p markedly diminished EPC functions and inhibited angiogenesis following EPC transplantation in VaD rats.ConclusionCirculating exo-miR-154-5p was upregulated in patients with VaD, and miR-154-5p upregulation was associated with impaired EPC functions and angiogenesis in VaD rat model. Therefore, miR-154-5p is a promising biomarker and therapeutic strategy for VaD.

Liver cancer stem cells (LCSCs) are responsible for liver cancer recurrence, metastasis, and drug resistance. Previous studies by the authors demonstrated that upregulated expression of connexin 32 (Cx32) reversed doxorubicin resistance and reduced invasion and metastasis of liver cancer cells. However, the role of Cx32 in expansion of LCSCs remains unclear. A total of 85 patients were enrolled in the present study and followed‑up for 5 years. The expression of Cx32 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tissues and corresponding paracancerous tissues were detected by immunohistochemistry (IHC). Cx32 was silenced in HepG2 cells and overexpressed in HCCLM3 cells and the stemness of liver cells was examined by detecting the expression of LCSC markers (EpCAM, CD133, Nanog, Oct4, Sox9, c‑Myc), sphere formation, and xenograft tumorigenesis. Finally, the effect of the phosphoinositide 3‑kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (Akt) pathway on Cx32‑regulated LCSC expansion was investigated. Cx32 was downregulated in LCSCs and HCC tissues, and predicted poor prognosis in patients with HCC. Overexpression of Cx32 in HCCLM3 cells significantly inhibited LCSC expansion, tumorigenesis, and phosphoinositide 3‑kinase/protein kinase B (PI3K/Akt) pathway activity. By contrast, silencing of Cx32 in HepG2 cells upregulated expansion of LCSCs and PI3K/Akt pathway activity. Modulating the activity of the PI3K/Akt pathway by SC‑79 and LY294002 in HepG2 and HCCLM3 cells, respectively, confirmed that Cx32 could affect the expansion of LCSCs through PI3K/Akt signaling. In conclusion, the present study demonstrated that Cx32 regulated the expansion of LCSCs, and increased expression of Cx32 significantly inhibited the expansion of LCSCs, suggesting that Cx32 may be an optimal target for intervention of HCC.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to examine the correlation between polymorphisms in vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene and serum vitamin D, and to determine their role in predicting childhood Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). METHODS: A total of 269 children with ASD and 320 age- and gender- matched healthy controls were recruited from the Chinese Han population. Their serum 25(OH) vitamin D was measured using competitive chemiluminescent immunoassays. The TaqMan probe approach was applied to analyze the common VDR SNPs rs731236 (Taq1), rs11568820 (Cdx2), rs1544410 (BsmI), rs2228570 (FokI) and rs7975232 (API). Both linear and logistic regressions were applied in data analysis.RESULTS: Children with ASD had significantly lower levels of serum vitamin D and a significantly higher rate of vitamin D deficiency (< 20 ng/ml) compared to healthy controls (67.7% vs 34.1%). All these examined VDR SNPs were not correlated with serum vitamin D concentrations or vitamin D deficiency. Logistic regression analysis revealed that rs731236 and serum vitamin D were associated with childhood ASD. The area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was 0.7285 for serum vitamin D. Children with both T/C genotype of rs731236 and vitamin D deficiency had a higher risk of being diagnosed with ASD. CONCLUSION: All examined common VDR SNPs are not correlated with serum vitamin D concentrations or vitamin D deficiency. The combination of T/C phenotype of rs731236 and vitamin D deficiency are associated with a higher risk of childhood ASD. Vitamin D is a promising target in the prevention and treatment of this disease.

In melt blowing, high-velocity air impinges upon a polymer stream and attenuates it into micro-fibrous materials. The structure of the melt-blown die controls the airflow field and determines the process of fiber formation. This work focused on exploring the air swirling diffusion in a particular swirl-die melt blowing. The air swirling diffusion was analyzed by measuring the lateral velocity (vr), and the lateral twisting velocity (vs) by using single- and dual-wire probe hot-wire anemometer. Results showed that the vr had a diffusion boundary, while the distribution of the vs located out of the diffusion boundary of vr. The fiber paths in the swirl-die melt blowing, which was captured by high-speed camera, showed that the cone angle of the fiber path was consistent with the cone angle of vr-diffusion boundary. However, most of the twisting velocity (vs) located out of the region of fiber path, resulting in that the fiber helical motion was initiated just at a critical z-position, rather than in the region further away from the die. This work shows that energy-wasting of vs exists during swirl-die melt blowing, and a more optimized structure of this kind of die should be found.

In the present work, approaches of the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulation, the Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) measurement, and the spinning experiment were applied to investigate the phenomenon of air recirculation in blunt-die melt-blown airflow. Firstly, the characteristics of air recirculation were explored by CFD simulation. The simulation results predicted that the air recirculation generated a lateral air velocity along the nose-piece direction. Then, the air circulation was experimental verified by using PIV technique. The PIV results confirmed the predicted conclusions of CFD simulation. Finally, the effect of air recirculation on the microfiber spinning during the melt-blown process was experimentally investigated by a spinning experiment using a blunt die with nose-piece width of 2.56 mm. The spinning results indicated that the air circulation had a tendency of splitting the normal polymeric stream, which played negative effect on the continuity of microfiber spinning. This work is expected to provide some clues to melt-blown die design and the quality control of nonwoven products.

Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) is a persistent organic pollutant that can cause nephrotoxicity. However, the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood and require further investigation. In the present study, we established a PFOS-exposed Sprague-Dawley (SD) rat kidney injury model by intraperitoneal injection of PFOS (1 mg/kg and 10 mg/kg body weight) every alternate day for 15 days and cytotoxicity models of normal rat kidney epithelial (NRK52E) and human renal proximal tubular (HK2) cells exposed to PFOS (20 μM and 60 μM) for 24 h to reveal the mechanisms underlying PFOS-induced nephrotoxicity. Data showed that PFOS increased the kidney index and induced nephrotoxicity in rats. Furthermore, PFOS significantly increased malondialdehyde (MDA) levels, decreased GSH peroxidase (GSH-PX) activity in kidney tissues, and increased intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels in NRK52E and HK2 cells. Following PFOS treatment, mitochondrial damage in the renal tubular epithelial cells of rats was observed and the mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm) was decreased in NRK52E cells. PFOS upregulated apoptosis of tubular epithelial cells and expression of Connexin 43 (Cx43) in vitro and in vivo. The Cx43 inhibitor gap26 attenuated the apoptosis of tubular epithelial cells. In conclusion, our findings reveal that PFOS may trigger renal tubular cell apoptosis through oxidative stress and upregulation of Cx43, resulting in PFOS-induced nephrotoxicity.

To analyze whether face-to-face education before colonoscopy improves the quality of bowel preparation and increases the detection of adenomas.A retrospective cross-sectional study of adult patients with colorectal polyps identified by colonoscopy as outpatients was performed. The patients underwent an added colonoscopy inpatient for resection of colorectal polyps. As outpatients, we gave the patients written bowel preparation instructions; however, when they were inpatients, we supplied face-to-face education. We analyzed the data from the two colonoscopies of the same group of patients out- and in-patients, including the quality of the intestinal preparation, the time to reach the ileocecal region, and the detection of adenomas.A total of 260 patients {age 63 [56, 68] years old, male/female (169/91)} were retrospectively included in our study. Two hundred fifty-two patients with a total of 685 adenomas were detected, 94 patients with 179 adenomas overlooked in the first colonoscopy. The BBPS Score during inpatient was higher than that during outpatient, {9 [8, 9] vs. 7 [6, 9]}, P0.05, the Bubble Score during inpatient was lower than that during outpatient [0 (0.00, 0.00) vs. 0 (0.00, 1.00)], P0.05. The time to reach the ileocecal region during inpatient is shorter than that during outpatient {6 [5, 9] vs. 7.5 [5, 11] min}, P0.05. Poor bowel preparation, flat adenoma morphology, and adenoma diameter lower than 5mm were related adenoma misdiagnoses, P0.05.Face-to-face patient education can improve the quality of bowel preparation, then shorten the time to reach the ileocecal region, and increase detection of colorectal adenomas.

Objective Acute Exacerbation Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (AECOPD) is associated with an acute worsening of respiratory symptoms that have effects on lung function, quality of life and health economic burden. In addition, the development of pulmonary infections is a common complication of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). In the pathophysiology of AECOPD, interleukin (IL)-6 is a pleiotropic cytokine that can be produced by inflammatory and primary lung epithelial cells in response to a variety of different stimuli. We aim to investigate the correlation between serum cytokine levels and AECOPD with pulmonary infection. Methods 37 AECOPD patients diagnosed with pulmonary infection and 33 patients diagnosed with AECOPD only were selected. All COPD patients were diagnosed according to the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) criteria. Serum samples for C-reactive protein (CRP) and cytokines were obtained from the patients immediately after admission. Serum concentrations of cytokines were measured using a fluorescent bead immunoassay on a flow cytometer. Logistic regression was used to identify risk factors for AECOPD co-infection of the lungs. Results Serum characterization of our cohort showed patients with AECOPD and pulmonary infection had higher levels of IL-6 and IL-10 compared with the AECOPD group, and IL-6 was independently associated with AECOPD with pulmonary infection. ROC curve analysis showed that IL-6 was a useful predictor of the incidence of pulmonary infection in AECOPD patients. Conclusions Our findings highlight the role of IL-6 in the pathogenesis of AECOPD with pulmonary infection.

Developing superabsorbents for efficiently separating immiscible oil-water mixtures and oil-water emulsions are highly desirable for addressing oily wastewater pollution problems, but it remains a challenge. Ultralight nanofibrous aerogels (NFAs) with unique wetting properties show great potential in oily wastewater treatment. In this study, a facile and efficient method for producing hierarchical porous structured NFAs with hydrophobicity for high efficiency oil-water separation was developed. The synthesis included three steps: wet electrospinning, freeze drying, and in situ polymerization. The obtained NFA demonstrated outstanding oil absorption capacity toward numerous oils and organic solvents, as well as efficient surfactant-stabilized water-in-oil emulsion separation with high separation flux and excellent separation efficiency. Furthermore, these NFAs displayed excellent corrosion resistance and outstanding recoverability. We assume that the resultant NFAs fabricated by this facile strategy are highly promising as ideal oil absorbents for practical oily wastewater treatment under harsh conditions.

Unreasonable human activities may cause the accumulation of heavy metals (HMs) in the agricultural soil, which will ultimately threaten the quality of soil environment, the safety of agricultural products, and human health. Therefore, the accumulation characteristics, potential sources, and health risks of HMs in agricultural soils in China’s subtropical regions were investigated. The mean Hg, Cu, Zn, Pb, and Cd concentrations of agricultural soil in Jinhua City have exceeded the corresponding background values of Zhejiang Province, while the mean concentrations of determined 8 HMs were less than their corresponding risk-screening values for soil contamination of agricultural land in China. The spatial distribution of As, Cr, Ni, Cu, and Pb were generally distributed in large patches, and Hg, Zn, and Cd were generally sporadically distributed. A positive definite matrix factor analysis (PMF) model had better performance than an absolute principal component–multiple linear regression (APCS-MLR) model in the identification of major sources of soil HMs, as it revealed higher R2 value (0.81–0.99) and lower prediction error (−0.93–0.25%). The noncarcinogenic risks (HI) of the 8 HMs to adults and children were within the acceptable range, while the carcinogenic risk (RI) of children has exceeded the safety threshold, which needs to be addressed by relevant departments. The PMF based human health risk assessment model indicated that industrial sources contributed the highest risk to HI (32.92% and 30.47%) and RI (60.74% and 61.5%) for adults and children, followed by agricultural sources (21.34%, 29.31% and 32.94% 33.19%). Therefore, integrated environmental management should be implemented to control and reduce the accumulation of soil HMs from agricultural and industrial sources.

Purpose The paper aims to provide a facile approach to the synthesis of polyurethane–silica nanocomposites by introducing self-made aqueous silica sols with different particle sizes into polyurethane materials. This paper investigates the effects of the silica nanoparticles on the polyester polyol, as well as the physical properties and transmittance of the hybrid polyurethane coatings. Design/methodology/approach Colloidal silica particles of different sizes were obtained using a sol–gel process and were then embedded into polyester polyol by in-situ polymerization. These polyester polyol–silica resins were synthesized using an azeotrope process, using xylene to remove the water generated in the system and present in the dispersion medium for the colloidal silica. The polyester polyol–silica resins were further cured using isocyanate trimers to form polyurethane–silica hybrid films. Findings The paper observed that the viscosity of the polyester polyol–silica nanocomposite resins increased and their appearance changed from transparent to ivory white as the particle size of the added silica was increased. It was found that increasing the hydroxyl content of the silica improved the film transmittance in the visible light region. However, the transmittance decreased sharply once the diameter of the silica particles reached 100 nm. Research limitations/implications Because of the limitation of experimental conditions, some performances have not been tested. Therefore, researchers are encouraged to conduct further tests. Practical implications The paper provides a method of preparing hybrid polyurethane film by using silica; the results indicate that the introduction of nano-silica can improve the wear resistance and glass transition temperature of polyurethane coatings. Originality/value The results obtained in this study will be extremely useful to enhance the understanding of organic–inorganic hybrid materials.

For a polarization sensitive array (PSA) composed of electromagnetic vector sensors (EMVSs), all component-antennas of an EMVS are spatially collocated at a same location in the PSA, and mutual coupling introduced has an adverse effect on parameter estimation. The mutual coupling is not only among antennas in adjacent elements, namely, inter-element coupling (IEC), but also among component-antennas which are collocated to give an EMVS [namely inter-polarization coupling (IPC)]. In existing array design, component-antennas of each EMVS are spatially separated into different elements for IPC reduction, and then the spacing between EMVSs is increased for IEC reduction. However, such designed arrays are usually implemented as 2-D arrays which are large compared with linear arrays, and provide only ${O}({N})$ degrees of freedom (DOFs) with ${N}$ antennas. To overcome such problems, this paper proposes two kinds of spatially separated augmented nested vector-sensor arrays (SS-ANVSAs), which are linear arrays, can reduce both IEC and IPC, and provide ${O}({N}^{2})$ DOFs with ${N}$ antennas. Specifically, we introduce a scalar-sensor array and propose a sparse scalar-sensor array for IEC reduction, and then propose the SS-ANVSAs by restricting physical space and EMVSs’ number for IPC reduction. Theoretical analysis and simulation results are given to illustrate the superior performance of the SS-ANVSAs.

Chrysotile asbestos has excellent physical and chemical properties, but its high biotoxicity is very damaging to human health, due to its durability, high aspect ratio, and the exist of iron. By simple chemical treatment of chrysotile asbestos, silicon oxide nanofibers rich in hydroxyl groups on the surface can be prepared. In this study, we synthesized a series of polyurethane/silicon oxide nano-composite coatings with special performance following a blending method that introduced silicon oxide nanofibers into polyurethane. Measurement results revealed that, silicon oxide nanofibers can be used as reinforcing filler to increase the hardness, shear strength, wear resistance, thermal stability and chemical resistance of polyurethane coatings. And the optical performance test results indicate that the transmittance of the polyurethane coating decreased with increasing of silicon oxide nanofibers contents. However, the ultraviolet shielding effect of the polyurethane coating was improved to a certain extent with the addition of silicon oxide nanofibers.

The coarray techniques, e.g., nested and coprime arrays, can significantly improve degrees of freedom (DOFs) via constructing a so-called difference coarray, which enables underdetermined direction-of-arrival (DOA) estimation within reach in the presence of unknown nonuniform noise. There are repeated lags in the difference coarray, which also contain useful statistical information. In this paper, the repeated lags are properly used for DOA estimation algorithm design in unknown nonuniform noise environments. Specifically, the number of repeated lags in the difference coarray is rigorously given. Then these repeated lags and unique lags are judiciously rearranged to form a pseudo data set, which is composed of linearly independent vectors. Based on the pseudo data set, we propose two algorithms for DOA estimation in the presence of unknown nonuniform noise. One is a searching algorithm without source number knowledge (SASNK), and the other is a multi-snapshot compressive sensing method (MSCS) with better DOA estimation performance. The MSCS also does not require source number information. Numerical results are included to showcase the effectiveness of the proposed algorithms.

Free surface electrospinning is a continuous electrospinning method for low-cost, massive production of nanofibers. The interjet distanceλis a critical parameter in free surface electrospinning, which directly determines the nanofiber production efficiency. In this investigation, we studied the interjet distance during free surface electrospinning based on electrohydrodynamic instability theoretically and experimentally, with special interest focused on the effect of surface tension and electric field intensity on the interjet distance. The experimental results indicated that the critical parameters affecting the interjet distance were the surface tension and applied voltage, which was in good compliance with the theoretical prediction. The relationship between interjet distanceλand surface tension followed an allometric law with positive exponential function, and the relationship between interjet distanceλand applied voltage followed an allometric law with negative exponential function. The present results can be used to understand the basic parameters which determine the interjet distance in free surface electrospinning.

This paper presents a new polarization sensitive array composed of a two-level nested subarray and an optimally nested subarray with orthogonal oriented antennas, and then proposes a correlation matrix reconstruction based estimation method for direction of arrival (DOA) and polarization state. The optimally nested array with N antennas can provide maximum degrees of freedom (DOF) of difference co-array (i.e., (N - 1)N + 1), which increases the aperture of the proposed array. However, both the difference co-arrays of the optimally nested subarray and between subarrays are nonuniform linear arrays (i.e., holes appear), and hence most existing methods fall to use all information received from the proposed array, resulting in estimation performance loss. Depending on the oblique projection (OP) operator constructed by initial DOAs from the two-level nested subarray, the proposed method first fills the holes to generate the virtual correlation matrix with increased DOF. Then the DOA and polarization state are estimated efficiently. The resulting DOAs can be regarded as the new initial angles for OP operator construction, to iterate aforesaid steps for estimation performance enhancement. The Cramér-Rao bound (CRB) and the computational complexity of the proposed method are provided. Simulation results are given to validate the effectiveness of the proposed array and the proposed method.

The age-related functional exhaustion limits potential efficacy of mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) in treating cardiovascular disease. Therefore, rejuvenation of aged MSC in the elderly population is of great interest. We have previously reported that Erb-B2 receptor tyrosine kinase 4 ( ERBB4) plays a critical role in regulating MSC survival under hypoxia. The aim of this study was to investigate whether ERBB4 rejuvenates aged MSC and how ERBB4 enhances therapeutic efficacy of aged MSC in treating myocardial infarction (MI). Compared with vector aged MSC (aged-MSC), ERBB4-engineered aged MSC (ER4-aged-MSC) conferred resistance to oxidative stress-induced cell death and ameliorated the senescent phenotype in vitro. Four weeks after MI, the ER4-aged-MSC group exhibited enhanced blood vessel density, reduced cardiac remodeling and apoptosis with improved heart function compared with the aged-MSC group. Overexpression of ERBB4 caused an increase in phosphorylated v-akt murine thymoma viral oncogene homolog 1 (AKT), and phosphorylated ERK expression under hypoxia. ER4-aged-MSC secreted higher levels of angiopoietin, epithelial neutrophil activating peptide 78, VEGF, and fibroblast growth factor 2, and enhanced tube formation in HUVEC. The impact of ERBB4 on protein expression, proangiogenesis, cell behavior, and cytokine secretion was abolished by inhibiting PI3K/AKT and MAPK/ERK signaling pathway.-Liang, X., Ding, Y., Lin, F., Zhang, Y., Zhou, X., Meng, Q., Lu, X., Jiang, G., Zhu, H., Chen, Y., Lian, Q., Fan, H., Liu, Z. Overexpression of ERBB4 rejuvenates aged mesenchymal stem cells and enhances angiogenesis via PI3K/AKT and MAPK/ERK pathways.

Heavy metal (HM) accumulation in farmland soil can be transferred to the human body through the food chain, posing a serious threat to human health. Exploring the environmental risk and safe utilization zoning of soil HMs in farmland can provide the basis for the formulation of effective control strategies. Soil samples from typical subtropical farmland were collected in Jinhua City and analyzed for HMs (As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb, and Zn). The objective of this study was to explore the spatial distribution and environmental risk of soil HMs, and then divide the safe utilization area of soil HMs of farmland in Jinhua City. The results showed that the mean concentrations of soil HMs were, in descending order: Zn (76.05 mg kg−1) &gt, Cr (36.73 mg kg−1) &gt, Pb (32.48 mg kg−1) &gt, Cu (18.60 mg kg−1) &gt, Ni (11.95 mg kg−1) &gt, As (6.37 mg kg−1) &gt, Cd (0.18 mg kg−1) &gt, Hg (0.11 mg kg−1), and all determined soil HMs did not exceed the risk screening values for soil contamination of agricultural land of China. The fitted semi-variogram showed that the spatial autocorrelation of Cd, Hg, Pb, and Zn was weak, with island-shaped distribution, while As, Cr, Cu, and Ni had medium spatial autocorrelation, with strip-shaped and island-shaped distribution. The hot spot analysis and environmental risk probability showed that the environmental risks of As, Cd, Cu, Pb, Zn, and Cu were relatively high, whereas those of Cr, Hg, and Ni were relatively low. Safe utilization zones and basic safe utilization zones accounted for 89.35% and 8.58% of the total farmland area in Jinhua, respectively, and only a small part of the farmland soil was at risk of use.

The protective effects of mesenchymal stem cell (MSC)-based therapy for myocardial infarction (MI) are largely hampered as they age. Apelin is an endogenous ligand of its receptor APJ and plays an essential role in regulating multiple biological activities including MSC proliferation and survival. In this study, we investigated whether Apelin regulates MSC senescence and whether its overexpression could rejuvenate aged MSCs (AMSCs) to improve cardiac protection following infarction in mice. MSC senescence was evaluated by senescence-associated β-galactosidase assays. Apelin level was examined by western blotting. Autophagy was determined by transmission electron microscopy. The cardioprotective effect of AMSCs with Apelin overexpression (Apelin-AMSCs) was assessed in a mouse MI model. Apelin expression was dramatically reduced in AMSCs. Interestingly, knockdown of Apelin induced young MSCs (YMSC) senescence, whereas overexpression rescued AMSC senescence. Apelin overexpression also increased AMSC angiogenic capacity. Mechanistically, Apelin overexpression upregulated the autophagy level of AMSCs by activating AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) signaling, thereby rejuvenating AMSCs. Compared with AMSCs, transplantation of Apelin-AMSCs achieved better therapeutic efficacy for MI by enhancing cell survival and angiogenesis. In conclusion, our results reveal that Apelin activates AMPK to rejuvenate AMSCs by increasing autophagy and promotes cardioprotection following infarction in mice. This study identified a novel target to rejuvenate AMSCs and enhance their therapeutic efficacy.

Objective: To investigate the sexual activity of older adults, to understand their knowledge attitude and practice(KAP) regarding sexually transmitted diseases (STD) and to perform correlation analyses of STD symptoms in this population.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 585 subjects from counties in eastern China. Data was collected from unified questionnaires; descriptive statistics were used for demographic characteristics and sexual activity, which used student t test, to compare the different groups, and multivariate logistic regression analysis to identify the dependence of influential factors.Results: 24.62% of participants were reported as sexually active. The subjects still work and the main income from personal salary was higher than other individuals . Furthermore, when participants monthly income or expenses was more than 1000 RMB, they seemed to have a higher sexual activity. Gender and monthly income were dependent on influential factors related to sexual activity. 54.7% showed good awareness of STD, but only 7.96% of them consistently and correctly used condoms; moreover, 21.03% report to have previously suffered from any STD symptoms. Sexual behavior, use of condoms and commercial sexual behavior were dependent on influential factors of sexual activity.Conclusions: Sexual needs and sexual health of older adults should not be neglected, effective strategies should be drafted for such population.

BackgroundReports indicate that saffron originated from Iran then introduced into mainland China through the earlier established trans-Tibet trade routes in ancient China. Based to the theory of traditional Chinese medicine, saffron functions by promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis, cooling blood and detoxification, as well as relieving depression for tranquilization. Modern medical research has demonstrated several properties of saffron including antitumor, antidepressant, enhancement of immunity, cardioprotection. Notably, recent studies introduce that saffron has a neuroprotective effect, specifically in the treatment of Parkinson's disease in recent years. Nevertheless, the underlying molecular mechanism remains elusive so far. As such, this study aims to predict the underlying mechanism of saffron on Parkinson's disease through network pharmacology and molecular docking.MethodsA functional-based network pharmacology and molecular docking model was constructed for dissecting the underlying mechanism of saffron on Parkinson's disease. Based on the Traditional Chinese Medicine System Pharmacology database (TCMSP) and the literature reviews, the putative targets of Saffron were collected. Further, the interaction networks of Drug- candidate compounds targets-Therapeutic targets-Disease were mined using the Cytoscape software. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analyses were conducted and the String database was used to analyze the protein interaction network. Finally, Molecular docking was used to predict the interaction between the components in Saffron and key targets by MOE 2014.09 software.ResultsA total of 9 candidate compounds from saffron corresponding to 52 therapeutic targets of Parkinson's disease were identified. The neuroprotective effect of saffron in the treatment of PD was attributed to the strong binding between crocin (including crocin I and crocin II) as well as key targets including CASP3, IL6, and MAPK8. Additionally, the auxiliary neuroprotective effects might have originated from quercetin, kaempferol, isorhamnetin, crocetin, safranal, and picrocrocin because of their slightly weaker binding capacity to the key targets.ConclusionSaffron exhibits a synergistic effect via multiple targets and pathways in the treatment of Parkinson's disease and our systemic pharmacological analysis provides a basis for the clinical application and in-depth study of saffron.

The alternations in soil physicochemical properties caused by the reclamation of coastal tidal land can strongly affect the activities of soil extracellular enzymes. Soil extracellular enzymes are one of the most active organic components in soil ecosystem, which is involved in almost all the biochemical reactions. Determining the importance of potential influencing factors of soil extracellular enzymes and thus estimating their activities are important for clarifying the biological mechanism of soil carbon and nitrogen cycling. In this study, the multiple linear regressions (MLR) and random forest (RF) models were conducted to estimate the activities of soil amylase and urease activities using covariates, such as soil water content (SWC), electrical conductivity (EC), total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), and soil organic carbon (SOC) as well as the soil bulk density (BD) and pH. The results reveals that the amylase activity of fishpond was significantly higher than that of other land use types, while the urease activity of rape land, broad bean land, and fishpond were notably higher than that of bare flat, Spartina alterniflora, and uncultivated land. The RF model indicated that the SWC and TN is the main variable affecting amylase and urease activity, respectively. The RF model performed much better than MLR model in estimating the soil amylase and urease activity as it revealed much lower error indices (MAE and RMSE) and higher R2 value. The superiority of RF model in estimating amylase and urease activity is due to its advantages to handle the nonlinear and hierarchical relationships between enzyme activities and covariates, and insensitivity to overfitting and the presence of noise in the data.

Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) play an important role in diabetic vascular complications. A large number of studies have revealed that some clinical antihyperglycemics can improve the complications of diabetes by regulating the function of EPCs. Metformin can improve EPCs function in diabetic patients by regulating oxidative stress level or downstream signaling pathway of adenosine monophosphate activated protein kinase; Pioglitazone can delay the aging of EPCs by regulating telomerase activity; acarbose, sitagliptin and insulin can promote the proliferation, migration and adhesion of EPCs. In addition to lowering blood glucose, the effects of antihyperglycemics on EPCs may also be one of the mechanisms to improve the complications of diabetes. This article reviews the research progress on the regulation of EPC proliferation and function by antihyperglycemics.

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of functional modulation of gap junctions (GJ) on the antitumor effect of adriamycin in breast cancer cells positive for estrogen receptor (ER). METHODS: The inhibitory effect of 0 to 24.0 μmol/L adriamycin on the surviving fraction of ER-positive human breast cancer MCF-7 cells and ER-negative MDA-MB-231 cells was assessed with MTT assay; Western blotting and immunofluorescence assay were used to detect the expressions of Cx43 total protein and membrane protein in the cells. A parachute assay was used to evaluate the function of the GJ in MCF-7 cells. The cytotoxic effect of adriamycin was observed in the cells treated with retinoic acid (RA) for enhancing GJ function, in cells treated with oleamide and 18-α- glycyrrhizic acid (18-α-ga) for inhibiting GJ function, and also in cells transfected with Cx43siRNA for Cx43 knockdown. RESULTS: ER-positive MCF-7 cells expressed a significantly higher level of Cx43 with stronger GJ function than ER-negative MDA- MB-231 cells. Adriamycin significantly inhibited the proliferation of MCF-7 cells (P < 0.01), and RA treatment further increased the cytotoxicity of adriamycin (P < 0.01) while oleamide and 18-α-GA obviously attenuated the cytotoxicity of adriamycin (P < 0.01). In the cells with Cx43 knockdown, the expressions of total Cx43 protein and Cx43 on the membrane were significantly reduced, the function of GJ was attenuated, and the cytotoxicity of adriamycin was significantly decreased (P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: ER-positive breast cancer cells have stronger Cx43 expressions and GJ function than the ERnegative cells. The cytotoxicity of adriamycin against the breast cancer cells can be strengthened by enhancing GJ function and attenuated by inhibiting GJ function. Cx43 silencing inhibits the function of GJ to lower the cytotoxicity of adriamycin in human breast cancer MCF-7 cells.

Background DNA mismatch repair proficient colon cancer (pMMR CC) is the most common subtype of sporadic CC. However, the role of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in pMMR CC carcinogenesis has not been fully elucidated. Methods In the present study, we conducted transcriptomic analysis of lncRNAs-mRNAs in five low-grade intraepithelial neoplasia (LGIN), five high-grade intraepithelial neoplasia (HGIN), four pMMR CC, and five normal control (NC) tissues. Gene Ontology (GO), Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment pathway, and Co-Expression Network analyses were performed to elucidate the functions of lncRNAs and mRNAs as well as their interactions. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was used to validate five dysregulated lncRNAs in a large set of colon tissues. Receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curves were employed to evaluate the performance of the candidate lncRNAs. Results A set of 5783 differentially expressed lncRNAs and 4483 differentially expressed mRNAs were detected among the LGIN, HGIN, pMMR CC, and NC samples. These differentially expressed lncRNAs and mRNAs were assigned to 275 significant GO terms and 179 significant KEGG enriched pathways. qRT-PCR confirmed that the expression of five selected lncRNAs (ENST00000521815, ENST00000603052, ENST00000609220, NR_026543, and ENST00000545920) were consistent with the microarray data. ROC analysis showed that four lncRNAs (ENST00000521815, ENST00000603052, ENST00000609220, and NR_026543) had larger area under the ROC curve (AUC) values than serum carcinoembryonic antigens, thereby distinguishing NC from pMMR CC. Conclusions Several lncRNAs play various roles in the adenoma–carcinoma sequence and may serve as potential biomarkers for the early diagnosis of pMMR CC.

Aging impairs the functions of human mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), thereby severely reducing their beneficial effects on myocardial infarction (MI). MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play crucial roles in regulating the senescence of MSCs; however, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Here, we investigated the significance of miR‐155‐5p in regulating MSC senescence and whether inhibition of miR‐155‐5p could rejuvenate aged MSCs (AMSCs) to enhance their therapeutic efficacy for MI. Young MSCs (YMSCs) and AMSCs were isolated from young and aged donors, respectively. The cellular senescence of MSCs was evaluated by senescence‐associated β‐galactosidase (SA‐β‐gal) staining. Compared with YMSCs, AMSCs exhibited increased cellular senescence as evidenced by increased SA‐β‐gal activity and decreased proliferative capacity and paracrine effects. The expression of miR‐155‐5p was much higher in both serum and MSCs from aged donors than young donors. Upregulation of miR‐155‐5p in YMSCs led to increased cellular senescence, whereas downregulation of miR‐155‐5p decreased AMSC senescence. Mechanistically, miR‐155‐5p inhibited mitochondrial fission and increased mitochondrial fusion in MSCs via the AMPK signaling pathway, thereby resulting in cellular senescence by repressing the expression of Cab39. These effects were partially reversed by treatment with AMPK activator or mitofusin2‐specific siRNA (Mfn2‐siRNA). By enhancing angiogenesis and promoting cell survival, transplantation of anti‐miR‐155‐5p‐AMSCs led to improved cardiac function in an aged mouse model of MI compared with transplantation of AMSCs. In summary, our study shows that miR‐155‐5p mediates MSC senescence by regulating the Cab39/AMPK signaling pathway and miR‐155‐5p is a novel target to rejuvenate AMSCs and enhance their cardioprotective effects., Inhibition of miR‐155‐5p, via the Cab39/AMPK signaling pathway, rejuvenates aged MSCs by regulating mitochondrial dynamics. Inhibition of miR‐155‐5p rejuvenated AMSCs and increased cell survival and angiogenesis in infarcted mouse hearts, thereby promoting the cardioprotective effects of AMSCs.

In order to explore the forming mechanism of the fiber whipping motion in slot-die melt blowing, the turbulent airflow in slot-die melt blowing was measured online with the approach of the Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) technique. The PIV results visualized the structure of the turbulent airflow and provided the distributions of air velocity components (vx, vy, and vz). Moreover, the PIV results also demonstrated the evolutive process of turbulent airflow at successive time instants. By comparing the characteristics of the turbulent airflow with the fiber whipping path, the PIV results provide a preliminary explanation for the specific fiber whipping motion in slot-die melt blowing.

Cisplatin (CDDP) is the most effective chemotherapeutic drug against lung carcinoma. However, the emergence of resistant clones has severely limited its clinical application. We found that the cisplatin-resistant lung carcinoma cell line A549/CDDP had increased levels of the phosphorylated gap junction protein Cx43 and SRC tyrosine kinase, and low levels of total Cx43 protein and reduced gap junction formation. The SRC kinase inhibitor PP2 increased the expression of total Cx43 protein and enhanced cisplatin sensitivity, indicating that activated SRC kinase induces chemoresistance by decrease total Cx43 level. Furthermore, Cx43 gene silencing in the drug-resistant cell lines abrogated the sensitizing effect of PP2. Taken together, targeting SRC kinase by PP2 reverses cisplatin resistance by upregulating Cx43 protein levels, indicating a novel pathway of cisplatin resistance that may be amenable to therapeutic intervention.