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Brassinosteroids (BRs) play vital roles in the plant life cycle and synthetic BRs are widely used to increase crop yield and plant stress tolerance. Among them are 24R-methyl-epibrassinolide (24-EBL) and 24S-ethyl-28-homobrassinolide (28-HBL), which differ from brassinolide (BL, the most active BR) at the C-24 position. Although it is well known that 24-EBL is 10% active as BL, there is no consensus on the bioactivity of 28-HBL. A recent outpouring of research interest in 28-HBL on major crops accompanied with a surge of industrial-scale synthesis that produces mixtures of active (22R,23R)-28-HBL and inactive (22S,23S)-28HBL, demands a standardized assay system capable of analyzing different synthetic "28-HBL" products. In this study, the relative bioactivity of 28-HBL to BL and 24-EBL, including its capacity to induce the well-established BR responses at molecular, biochemical, and physiological levels, was systematically analyzed using the whole seedlings of the wild-type and BR-deficient mutant of Arabidopsis thaliana. These multi-level bioassays consistently showed that 28-HBL exhibits a much stronger bioactivity than 24-EBL and is almost as active as BL in rescuing the short hypocotyl phenotype of the dark-grown det2 mutant. These results are consistent with the previously established structure–activity relationship of BRs, proving that this multi-level whole seedling bioassay system could be used to analyze different batches of industrially produced 28-HBL or other BL analogs to ensure the full potential of BRs in modern agriculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with a nucleophosmin 1 (NPM1) mutation is a unique subtype of adult leukemia. Recent studies show that NPM1-mutated AML has high autophagy activity. However, the mechanism for upholding the high autophagic level is still not fully elucidated. In this study, we first identified that tumor protein p53 inducible nuclear protein 2 (TP53INP2) was highly expressed and cytoplasmically localized in NPM1-mutated AML cells. Subsequent data showed that the expression of TP53INP2 was upregulated by fat mass and obesity-associated protein (FTO)-mediated m6A modification. Meanwhile, TP53INP2 was delocalized to the cytoplasm by interacting with NPM1 mutants. Functionally, cytoplasmic TP53INP2 enhanced autophagy activity by promoting the interaction of microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3 (LC3) - autophagy-related 7 (ATG7) and further facilitated the survival of leukemia cells. Taken together, our study indicates that TP53INP2 plays an oncogenic role in maintaining the high autophagy activity of NPM1-mutated AML and provides further insight into autophagy-targeted therapy of this leukemia subtype. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to meet the requirements of the development of educational informatization, combined with data mining technology, this article studies the architecture of the college psychological teaching management system. To experience the benefits brought by the Internet age, in order to further improve performance and meet the needs of the Internet information age, many colleges and universities have begun to strengthen the development of teaching management. Based on this background, this article proposes a standardized mode of mental health management in colleges and universities based on information technology. With the help of data warehouse and data mining technology, the ID3 algorithm, organizational rules, and other algorithms are used to develop a psychology subject evaluation system. Based on the improvement of grades and the behavioral characteristics of college students, this article formulates cross-platform operation rules, determines the B/S type as the normal state, and solves the best problem through comparison and selection. Then, a more specific system architecture design is carried out. The architecture of the software system selects the classic three-tier structure, which makes the client independent of the use platform and meets the requirements of user diversity and system portability. The design of functional modules such as the system fully meets the requirements of the ideological education management system for college students in the above analysis, with reasonable structure and clear logic. Finally, the advantages of the designed system architecture are summarized, including clarifying the grading idea of ideological education and training. It expands the transplantation ability of the system in a cross-platform way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA) and β-hydroxybutyrate (BHBA) are the metabolites of fat mobilization initiated by negative energy balance (NEB) during the perinatal period in dairy cows, which have an adverse effect on cell physiology of various bovine cell types. The aim of this study was to explore the biological roles of NEFA and BHBA on provoking oxidative stress and inflammatory responses in bovine mammary epithelial cells (BMECs). RNA sequencing analysis showed that there are 1343, 48, and 1725 significantly differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in BMECs treated with NEFA, BHBA and their combination. GO functional analysis revealed that the DEGs were significantly enriched in "response to oxidative stress" and "inflammatory response". Further study demonstrated that NEFA and BHBA elevated the malondialdehyde (MDA) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation and reduced the total superoxide dismutase (T-SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activity to cause oxidative stress. In addition, expression of inflammatory markers (NO, TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-1β) were increased after NEFA and BHBA stimulation. Mechanistically, our data showed that NEFA and BHBA activated the MAPK signaling pathway. Collectively, our results indicate that NEFA and BHBA induce oxidative stress and inflammatory response probably via the MAPK signaling pathway in BMECs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Container transportation is an important mode of international trade logistics in the world today, and its changes will seriously affect the development of the international market. For example, the COVID-19 pandemic has added a huge drag to global container logistics. Therefore, the accurate forecasting of container throughput can make a significant contribution to stakeholders who want to develop more accurate operational strategies and reduce costs. However, the current research on port container throughput forecasting mainly focuses on proposing more innovative forecasting methods on a single time series, but lacks the comparison of the performance of different basic models in the same time series and different time series. This study uses nine methods to forecast the historical throughput of the world's top 20 container ports and compares the results within and between methods. The main findings of this study are as follows. First, GRU is a method that can produce more accurate results (0.54–2.27 MAPE and 7.62–112.48 RMSE) with higher probability (85% for MAPE and 75% for RMSE) when constructing container throughput forecasting models. Secondly, NM can be used for rapid and simple container throughput estimation when computing equipment and services are not available. Thirdly, the average accuracy of machine learning forecasting methods is higher than that of traditional methods, but the accuracy of individual machine learning forecasting methods may not be higher than that of the best conventional traditional methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Biomarker research in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is constantly revealing promising findings. An enhancer of polycomb homolog 1 (EPC1) was found to play a procancer role in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), but its role in HNSCC with strong heterogeneity is still unclear. Herein, we investigated the prognostic significance and related mechanisms of EPC1 in HNSCC. Methods. The Kaplan-Meier plotter was used to evaluate the prognostic significance of EPC1. Based on a range of published public databases, the multiomics expression of EPC1 in HNSCC was explored to investigate the mechanisms affecting prognosis. Results. According to the clinical data, high EPC1 expression in HNSCC was a predictor of patient prognosis (hazard ratio HR = 0.64 ; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.49-0.83; P < 0.01). EPC1 expression varied among clinical subtypes and was related to key factors, such as TP53 and human papillomavirus (HPV) (P < 0.05). At the genetic level, EPC1 expression level may be associated with protein phosphorylation, cell adhesion, cancer-related pathways, etc. For the noncoding region, a competing endogenous RNA network was constructed, and 6 microRNAs and 12 long noncoding RNAs were identified. At the protein level, a protein-protein interaction (PPI) network related to EPC1 expression was constructed and found to be involved in HPV infection, endocrine resistance, and multiple cancer pathways. At the immune level, EPC1 expression was correlated with a variety of immune cells and immune molecules, which together constituted the immune microenvironments of tumors. Conclusion. High EPC1 expression may predict a better prognosis in HNSCC, as it is more frequently found in HNSCC with HPV infection. EPC1 may participate in the genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and immunomics of HNSCC, and the results can provide a reference for the development of targeted drugs and evaluation of patient prognosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Elevated concentrations of non-esterified fatty acid (NEFA) induced by negative energy balance (NEB) during the transition period of dairy cows is known to be toxic for multiple bovine cell types. However, the effect of NEFA in bovine mammary epithelial cells (BMECs) remains unclear. The present study aimed to explore the role and molecular mechanism of NEFA in endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and the subsequent apoptosis in BMECs. The results showed that NEFA increased ER stress and activated the three unfolded protein response (UPR) signaling sub-pathways by upregulating the expression of GRP78, HSP70, XBP1, ATF6, phosphor-PERK, and phosphor-IRE1α. We also found that NEFA dose-dependently induced apoptosis in BMECs, as indicated by flow cytometry analysis and increased apoptotic gene expression. RNA-seq analysis revealed that NEFA induced apoptosis in BMECs, probably via the ATF4-CHOP axis. Mechanistically, our data showed that NEFA increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels, resulting in the activation of the MAPK signaling pathway. Moreover, quercetin, a well-known antioxidant, was found to alleviate ER stress-mediated apoptosis in NEFA-treated BMECs. Collectively, our results suggest that NEFA induces ER stress-mediated apoptosis, probably via the ROS/MAPK signaling pathway, as quercetin has been shown to alleviate ER stress-mediated apoptosis in NEFA-treated BMECs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The trajectory-planning method for a novel 4-degree-of-freedom high-speed parallel robot is studied herein. The robot's motion mechanism adopts RR(SS)2 as branch chains and has a single moving platform structure. Compared with a double moving platform structure, the proposed parallel robot has better acceleration and deceleration performance since the mass of its moving platform is lighter. An inverse kinematics model of the mechanism is established, and the corresponding relationship between the motion parameters of the end-moving platform and the active arm with three end-motion laws is obtained, followed by the optimization of the motion laws by considering the motion laws' duration and stability. A Lamé curve is used to transition the right-angled part of the traditional gate trajectory, and the parameters of the Lamé curve are optimized to achieve the shortest movement time and minimum acceleration peak. A method for solving Lamé curve trajectory interpolation points based on deduplication optimization is proposed, and a grasping frequency experiment is conducted on a robot prototype. Results show that the grasping frequency of the optimized Lamé curve prototype can be increased to 147 times/min, and its work efficiency is 54.7% higher than that obtained using the traditional Adept gate-shaped trajectory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Featured Application: This work provides references for the selection and application of relevant solar utilization technologies on building roofs. Considering the vast areas of building rooftops and the fast development of solar utilization technologies, this paper aims to analyze the regional adaptability of solar roof utilization technologies for buildings in China. All provinces and cities in China are divided into 13 zones based on their economic development, thermal climate division, and availability of solar energy resources. Over 100 buildings are investigated, and the information of 28 buildings is analyzed to finally identify 18 typical building types. A new evaluation method is developed for both solar heating systems and solar PV. An adaptability index is developed considering the energy conservation, environment effect, and economy benefit of the systems. The developed method is used to evaluate the solar utilization technologies applied on the 18 buildings across 13 zones. The result show that the average adaptability index values for solar thermal technology and solar PV technology are 2.54 and 1.63, respectively. The solar heating system has a shorter payback time than the solar PV system for most regions of China and therefore is more favored. Recommendations on supporting policies and measures are given for policy makers with an aim to promote the utilization efficiency of building roofs. This paper provides references for the selection and application of relevant solar utilization technologies on building roofs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Landslides frequently occur along the eastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau, which poses a risk to the construction, maintenance, and transportation of the proposed Dujiangyan city to Siguniang Mountain (DS) railway, China. Therefore, four advanced machine learning models, namely, the Bayesian network (BN), decision table (DTable), radial basis function network (RBFN), and stochastic gradient descent (SGD), are proposed in this study to delineate landslide susceptibility zones. First, a landslide inventory map was randomly divided into 828 (75%) samples and 276 (25%) samples for training and validation, respectively. Second, the One-R technique was utilized to analyze the importance of 14 variables. Then, the prediction capability of the four models was validated and compared in terms of different statistical indices (accuracy (ACC) and Cohen's kappa coefficient (k)) and the areas under the curve (AUC) in the receiver operating characteristic curve. The results showed that the SGD model performed best (AUC = 0.897, ACC = 80.98%, and k = 0.62), followed by the BN (AUC = 0.863, ACC = 78.80%, and k = 0.58), RBFN (AUC = 0.846, ACC = 77.36%, and k = 0.55), and DTable (AUC = 0.843, ACC = 76.45%, and k = 0.53) models. The susceptibility maps revealed that the DS railway segments from Puyang town to Dengsheng village are in high and very high-susceptibility zones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with nucleophosmin 1 (NPM1) mutations exhibits distinct biological and clinical features, accounting for approximately one-third of AML. Recently, the N 6-methyladenosine (m6A) RNA modification has emerged as a new epigenetic modification to contribute to tumorigenesis and development. However, there is limited knowledge on the role of m6A modifications in NPM1-mutated AML. In this study, the decreased m6A level was first detected and high expression of fat mass and obesity-associated protein (FTO) was responsible for the m6A suppression in NPM1-mutated AML. FTO upregulation was partially induced by NPM1 mutation type A (NPM1-mA) through impeding the proteasome pathway. Importantly, FTO promoted leukemic cell survival by facilitating cell cycle and inhibiting cell apoptosis. Mechanistic investigations demonstrated that FTO depended on its m6A RNA demethylase activity to activate PDGFRB/ERK signaling axis. Our findings indicate that FTO-mediated m6A demethylation plays an oncogenic role in NPM1-mutated AML and provide a new layer of epigenetic insight for future treatments of this distinctly leukemic entity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) carrying nucleophosmin (NPM1) mutations has been defined as a distinct entity of acute leukaemia. Despite remarkable improvements in diagnosis and treatment, the long‐term outcomes for this entity remain unsatisfactory. Emerging evidence suggests that leukaemia, similar to other malignant diseases, employs various mechanisms to evade killing by immune cells. However, the mechanism of immune escape in NPM1‐mutated AML remains unknown. In this study, both serum and leukemic cells from patients with NPM1‐mutated AML impaired the immune function of CD8+ T cells in a co‐culture system. Mechanistically, leukemic cells secreted miR‐19a‐3p into the tumour microenvironment (TME) via small extracellular vesicles (sEVs), which was controlled by the NPM1‐mutated protein/CCCTC‐binding factor (CTCF)/poly (A)‐binding protein cytoplasmic 1 (PABPC1) signalling axis. sEV‐related miR‐19a‐3p was internalized by CD8+ T cells and directly repressed the expression of solute‐carrier family 6 member 8 (SLC6A8; a creatine‐specific transporter) to inhibit creatine import. Decreased creatine levels can reduce ATP production and impair CD8+ T cell immune function, leading to immune escape by leukemic cells. In summary, leukemic cell‐derived sEV‐related miR‐19a‐3p confers immunosuppression to CD8+ T cells by targeting SLC6A8‐mediated creatine import, indicating that sEV‐related miR‐19a‐3p might be a promising therapeutic target for NPM1‐mutated AML. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with mutated nucleophosmin (NPM1), which displays a distinct long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) expression profile, has been defined as a unique subgroup in the new classification of myeloid neoplasms. However, the biological roles of key lncRNAs in the development of NPM1-mutated AML are currently unclear. Here, we aimed to investigate the functional and mechanistic roles of the lncRNA HOTAIRM1 in NPM1-mutated AML. Methods: The expression of HOTAIRM1 was analyzed with a public database and further determined by qRT-PCR in NPM1-mutated AML samples and cell lines. The cause of upregulated HOTAIRM1 expression was investigated by luciferase reporter, chromatin immunoprecipitation and ubiquitination assays. The functional role of HOTAIRM1 in autophagy and proliferation was evaluated using western blot analysis, immunofluorescence staining, a Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assay, a 5-ethynyl-2′-deoxyuridine (EdU) incorporation assay, flow cytometric analyses and animal studies. The action mechanism of HOTAIRM1 was explored through RNA fluorescence in situ hybridization, RNA pulldown and RNA immunoprecipitation assays. Results: HOTAIRM1 was highly expressed in NPM1-mutated AML. High HOTAIRM1 expression was induced in part by mutant NPM1 via KLF5-dependent transcriptional regulation. Importantly, HOTAIRM1 promoted autophagy and proliferation both in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistic investigations demonstrated that nuclear HOTAIRM1 promoted EGR1 degradation by serving as a scaffold to facilitate MDM2-EGR1 complex formation, while cytoplasmic HOTAIRM1 acted as a sponge for miR-152-3p to increase ULK3 expression. Conclusions: Taken together, our findings identify two oncogenic regulatory axes in NPM1-mutated AML centered on HOTAIRM1: one involving EGR1 and MDM2 in the nucleus and the other involving the miR-152-3p/ULK3 axis in the cytoplasm. Our study indicates that HOTAIRM1 may be a promising therapeutic target for this distinct leukemia subtype. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. We aim to investigate the correlation between FCGR2A mRNA level and prognosis of head and neck squamous cancer (HNSC) in public databases. In addition, we investigated the correlation between FCGR2A expression and clinicopathological characteristics and tumor-infiltrating immune cells in HNSC patients. Methods. FCGR2A mRNA expression in multiple cancers was analyzed based on Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis. A protein-protein interaction network was obtained based on the STRING database. The 10 proteins most closely related to FCGR2A (i.e., CD3G, PLCG2, LAT, LYN, SYK, FCGR3A, PIK3R1, HCK, ITGAM, and ITGB2) were screened, followed by establishing the protein-protein interaction network. The correlation between FCGR2A expression and immunocytes was investigated, together with the effects of FCGR2A on the metastasis, recurrence, and survival of HNSC. Results. FCGR2A expression in several carcinoma tissues was significantly higher than that of adjacent tissues. Significant differences were noticed in the HNSC samples and the adjacent tissue samples except the seven samples of grade 4. There were statistical differences between the FCGR2A expression in tissues of grade 1, grade 2, and grade 3 (P < 0.05). In the tissues of grade 4, the expression of FCGR2A was the lowest. The FCGR2A protein was a type of II-a receptor in γFc of the low-affinity immunoglobulin, which could bind with the Fc region of the immunoglobulin γ. There was a correlation between the FCGR2A gene and the distal HNSC metastasis. FCGR2A gene expression was correlated with the survival and prognosis. The GSE65858 dataset was selected for the validation. The FCGR2A expression was significantly correlated with total survival (P = 0.0107) and progression-free survival (P = 0.0362). Conclusions. Our findings shed light on the importance of FCGR2A in HNSC and illustrated a potential relationship between FCGR2A and tumor-immune interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Occupational and environmental inhalation exposure to hexavalent chromium [Cr(VI)] compounds has been confirmed to cause respiratory system injury and cancer. The molecular mechanisms of chromium carcinogenesis still require further study. We established Cr(VI)-transformed cells (BEAS-2B-Cr) after chronic exposure of immortalized normal human bronchial epithelial BEAS-2B cells to low doses of Cr(VI), which obtained the ability of anchorage-independent growth. BEAS-2B-Cr cells not only exhibited stronger proliferation, migration, invasion and tumorigenesis capabilities but also acquired an altered and distinct Gli2 gene expression pattern compared with untreated parental BEAS-2B cells (P-NC) and the control BEAS-2B cells (NC). Interestingly, we found that activation of Gli2 by Cr(VI) treatment prevented the induction of autophagy. Using a gene silencing approach, we showed that Gli2 plays an important role in the malignant properties of BEAS-2B-Cr cells. Downregulation of Gli2 induced autophagy and inhibited cell proliferation and colony forming abilities, which are both upregulated in BEAS-2B-Cr cells compared to NC cells. In addition, inhibition of autophagy by 3-methyladenine (3-MA) partially suppressed the cytotoxicity induced by GANT61-induced inhibition of Gli2. These results demonstrate that hexavalent chromium Cr(VI) activates Gli2 to promote the proliferation of BEAS-2B-Cr cells by inhibition of autophagy, which contributes to human bronchial epithelial cell carcinogenesis. Gli2 may not only play an important role in lung cancer pathogenesis, but also be a promising early indicator in monitoring exposure to chromium. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel adhesion-enhancing polyhydrosiloxane containing acrylate groups (MPMS-PHMS) was prepared via the hydrolysis of 3-methacryloyloxypropylmethyldimethoxysilane and the ring-opening polymerization of octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane and tetramethylcyclotetrasiloxane, and was used as cross-linker for addition-cure silicone encapsulant (ASE) with a large amount of alumina as thermally conductive fillers. The chemical structure of MPMS-PHMS was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, silicon nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and gel permeation chromatography. The effect of MPMS-PHMS on the properties of ASE was investigated. The results indicated that when using MPMS-PHMS as cross-linker, the cross-linking density of ASE was much higher than that of ASE using commercial poly(hydromethylsiloxane) cross-linker. It was also found that MPMS-PHMS not only markedly improved the adhesion strength of ASE to aluminum substrate but also significantly enhanced the mechanical properties of ASE. Appropriately increasing cure temperature and prolonging cure time were favorable to improve the adhesion strength of ASE. The optimal content of MPMS-PHMS was 10 phr, and the suitable cure temperature and time were approximately between 130 and 150°C and 2 h, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We aim to identify the potential genes and signaling pathways associated with the nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) prognosis using Weighted Gene Co-Expression Network Analysis (WGCNA). Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) query was utilized to download two NPC mRNA microarray data. WGCNA was conducted on differentially expressed genes (DEGs) to obtain tumor-associated gene modules. Genes in core modules were intersected with DEGs for gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) functional enrichment analysis. GSE102349 dataset was devoted to identifying prognostic hub genes by survival analysis and the results were confirmed by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Co-expression networks were built, and we detected 12 gene modules. The Brown module and Magenta module were extremely associated with NPC samples. GO functional analysis and KEGG pathway analysis was carried out to the genes in the Brown and Magenta modules. Our data indicated that DEGs in Brown module and Magenta module were correlated with the biological regulation, metabolic process, reproduction, and cellular proliferation. Twenty-six hub genes were obtained and were considered to be closely related to NPC. GSE102349 dataset was devoted to identifying prognostic hub genes by survival analysis. The expression of IL33, MPP3 and SLC16A7 in GSE102349 dataset was significantly correlated with the progression-free survival (PFS). The results of qPCR indicated a strong correlation between SLC16A7 expression and the overall survival (OS). WGCNA contributed to the detection of gene modules and identification of hub genes and crucial genes. These crucial genes might be potential targets for pharmaceutic therapies with potential clinical significance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-rise buildings have a significant impact on the surrounding environment. Building-integrated solar water heating (SWH) systems are effective ways to use renewable energy in buildings. Impediments, such as security concerns, aesthetics and functionality, make it difficult to apply SWH systems in high-rise buildings. At present, only China uses SWH systems on a large scale in such buildings. What are China's experiences and lessons learned in applying SWH systems in high-rises? Are these experiences scalable to other countries? This study used a combination of field investigation, literature review and case study to summarize 36 systems that had been in operation for 1–14 years. System types, collector types, installation methods, types of auxiliary heat sources, economic performance and various basic principles were summarized. The economic performance of SWH systems in high-rise buildings was analyzed and verified by a case study in Shanghai. The results show that the installation of SWH systems in high-rise buildings is feasible and reliable. Individual household systems (61%) were more popular than centralized systems (25%) and hybrid systems account (14%). The average area of solar collectors per household was 2.17 m2/household, the average design solar fraction was 52%. Flat plate solar collectors (53%) was the most commonly used collector, while electric heating elements (89%) were the most common auxiliary heat sources for SWH systems, followed by gas water heaters and air source heat pumps. The cost of SWH systems per m2 of a building area was between 22 CNY/m2 to 75 CNY/m2. China's unique practical experience gives a reference for other countries in their efforts to make high-rise buildings more sustainable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oxidative stress is the downstream of various adverse stresses which impairs meat quality of broiler chickens. Yet, the specific molecular mechanisms of oxidative stress in meat quality of broiler thigh muscle remains unclear. This study investigated the effects and mechanisms of H 2 O 2 -induced oxidative stress on meat quality of broiler thigh muscle, with particular emphasis on apoptosis and autophagy and the ROS/NF-κB signaling pathway. The results showed that 10%H 2 O 2 -treated broilers exhibited significantly higher drip loss and shear force and lower pH 24h and muscle weight. Moreover, the ROS formation, the contents of oxidation products, the expressions of caspases (3, 6, 8, 9), Beclin1, and LC3-II/LC3-I were significantly increased, whereas the levels of antioxidation products and the expression of phosphorylation of NF-κBp65 were significantly decreased. These findings from the present study indicating that H 2 O 2 -induced oxidative stress significantly impaired the meat quality by inducing apoptosis and abnormal autophagy via ROS/NF-κB signaling pathway in the broiler thigh muscle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A silica fiber surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) probe provides a practical way for remote SERS detection of analytes, but it faces the major bottleneck that the relatively large Raman background of silica fiber itself greatly limits the remote detection sensitivity and distance. In this article, we developed a convolutional neural network (CNN)-based deep learning algorithm to effectively remove the Raman background of silica fiber itself and thus significantly improved the remote detection capability of the silica fiber SERS probes. The CNN model was constructed based on a U-Net architecture and instead of concatenating, the residual connection was adopted to fully leverage the features of both the shallow and deep layers. After training, this CNN model presented an excellent background removal capacity and thus improved the detection sensitivity by an order of magnitude compared with the conventional reference spectrum method (RSM). By combining the CNN algorithm and the highly sensitive fiber SERS probes fabricated by the laser-induced evaporation self-assembly method, a limit of detection (LOD) as low as 10 -8 M for Rh6G solution was achieved with a long detection distance of 10 m. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of remote SERS detection at a 10-m scale with fiber SERS probes. As the proposed remote detection system with silica fiber SERS probes was very simple and low cost, this work may find important applications in hazardous detection, contaminant monitoring, and other remote spectroscopic detection in biomedicine and environmental sciences.

Exosomal long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have emerged as a cell-free biomarker for clinical evaluation of cancers. However, the potential clinical applications of exosomal lncRNAs in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) remain unclear. Herein, we attempted to identify plasma exosomal lncRNAs as prospective biomarkers for AML. In this study, plasma exosomes were first successfully extracted from AML patients and healthy donors (HD). Subsequently, the downregulated plasma exosomal lncRNAs (LINC00265, LINC00467, and UCA1) and the upregulated plasma exosomal lncRNA (SNHG1) were identified in AML patients (n=65) compared to HD (n=20). Notably, individual exosomal LINC00265, LINC00467, UCA1, or SNHG1 had a capability for discriminating AML patients from HD, and their combination displayed better efficiency. Furthermore, exosomal LINC00265 and LINC00467 were increased expressed in patients achieving complete remission after chemotherapy. Importantly, there was upregulation of exosomal LINC00265 and downregulation of exosomal SNHG1 upon allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Additionally, these lncRNAs were high stability in plasma exosomes. Exosomal LINC00265, LINC00467, UCA1, and SNHG1 may act as promising cell-free biomarkers for AML diagnosis and treatment monitoring and provide a new frontier of liquid biopsy for this type of cancer., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Xiao, Lin, Peng, Ren, Jing, Lei, Tao, Huang, Yang, Sun, Wu, Yang, Yang and Zhang.)

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with nucleophosmin 1 (NPM1) mutations exhibits distinct biological and clinical features, accounting for approximately one-third of AML. Recently, the N 6 -methyladenosine (m 6 A) RNA modification has emerged as a new epigenetic modification to contribute to tumorigenesis and development. However, there is limited knowledge on the role of m 6 A modifications in NPM1-mutated AML. In this study, the decreased m 6 A level was first detected and high expression of fat mass and obesity-associated protein (FTO) was responsible for the m 6 A suppression in NPM1-mutated AML. FTO upregulation was partially induced by NPM1 mutation type A (NPM1-mA) through impeding the proteasome pathway. Importantly, FTO promoted leukemic cell survival by facilitating cell cycle and inhibiting cell apoptosis. Mechanistic investigations demonstrated that FTO depended on its m 6 A RNA demethylase activity to activate PDGFRB/ERK signaling axis. Our findings indicate that FTO-mediated m 6 A demethylation plays an oncogenic role in NPM1-mutated AML and provide a new layer of epigenetic insight for future treatments of this distinctly leukemic entity., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Xiao, Lei, Ren, Peng, Jing, Jiang, Huang, Tao, Lin, Yang, Sun, Tang, Wei, Yang and Zhang.)

Background: Comb homolog enhancer 1 (EPC1) gene is one of the important members of epigenetic inhibitor PCG family. It shows carcinogenic potential in a variety of malignant tumors, but the expression and role of EPC1 in nasopharyngeal carcinoma are unclear. The aim of this study was to explore the expression and function of enhancer of polycomb homolog 1 (EPC1) in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC)., Methods: The differential expression of EPC1 in the cancer tissues and cell lines of NPC was examined by quantitative real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). EPC1 expression, cell proliferation, and apoptosis were detected in NPC cell lines after EPC1 silencing, and the levels of the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-related proteins E-cadherin and vimentin were detected in NPC cells after EPC1 silencing. The study was performed at Fujian Provincial Hospital, Fujian, China, from 2018 to 2019., Results: We found that EPC1 was significantly upregulated in the cancer tissues and cell lines of NPC ( P <0.001). Furthermore, knockdown of EPC1 inhibited the growth and metastasis of NPC cells. E-cadherin and vimentin were detected in NPC cells after EPC1 was knocked out. It was confirmed that inhibition of EPC1 resulted in increased E-cadherin expression ( P <0.001) and decreased vimentin expression ( P <0.001), suggesting that inhibition of EPC1 could inhibit the EMT in NPC cells., Conclusion: EPC1 expression was upregulated in NPC tissues and cell lines. Knockout of EPC1 effectively inhibited the growth of NPC cells, induced apoptosis, and inhibited invasion and metastasis. Inhibition of EPC1 could inhibit the EMT in NPC cells. All of the above findings support the viewpoint that EPC1 plays a pro-cancer role in NPC., (© 2021 The Author(s). This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.)

Objective: To investigate risk factors for locoregional recurrence (LRR) of pathologic stage IIIA-N2 non-small cell lung cancer (pIIIA-N2 NSCLC) and construct a prediction model for risk score to determine a patient's risk for LRR and guide the selection of postoperative radiotherapy (PORT)., Methods: The clinical, pathologic, and biological data of 107 patients with pIIIA-N2 NSCLC treated at Fujian Provincial Hospital between May 2012 and December 2018 were analyzed retrospectively. None of the patients had positive surgical margins, and none received preoperative treatment or PORT. The Kaplan-Meier method was used for a univariate analysis of possible factors for locoregional recurrence-free survival (LRFS). The Cox regression model was used in a multivariate analysis to identify independent risk factors for LRFS, which were used to construct a prediction model for risk score. The concordance index was calculated to evaluate discrimination., Results: The median follow-up time was 31.2 months. During the follow-up, 69 (64.5%) patients had LRR and/or distant metastasis (DM). Among them, 46 (43%) patients had LRR (with or without DM), and 56 (52.3%) patients had DM (with or without LRR). The 1-year LRFS, distant metastasis-free survival, disease-free survival, and overall survival rates were 78.2%, 78%, 69.8%, and 90.2%, respectively; the 3-year rates were 50.6%, 41.2%, 31.2%, and 66.3%, respectively. Multivariate analysis showed that surgical approach (hazard ratio [HR], 0.348; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.175-0.693; P = 0.003), metastatic N2 lymph node ratio (HR, 3.597; 95% CI, 1.832-7.062; P = 0.000), epidermal growth factor receptor status (HR, 3.666; 95% CI, 1.724-7.797; P = 0.001), and lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio (HR, 2.364; 95% CI, 1.221-4.574; P = 0.011) were independent risk factors for LRFS. These independent risk factors were used to construct a prediction model for risk score and stratify patients into the low-risk group (risk score: 0-2), medium-risk group (risk score: 3-5), and high-risk group (risk score: 6-13). The 1-year LRFS rates of these groups were 91.9%, 85.3%, and 54.6%, respectively; the 3-year LRFS rates were 71.4%, 57.3%, and 13.6%, respectively. These between-group differences were significant (P = 0.000). The prediction model showed good discrimination (concordance index = 0.747, 95% CI, 0.678-0.816)., Conclusion: Our prediction model for risk score based on characteristics of pIIIA-N2 NSCLC patients may help clinicians predict a patient's risk for LRR. Further investigations of PORT with patients in different risk groups are warranted., Competing Interests: None., (IJCEP Copyright © 2020.)

Fibronectin 1 (FN1) is a member of the glycoprotein family located on chromosome 2q35. It has been reported that FN1 is upregulated in many tumors, and its expression is negatively related to the prognosis and survival of cancer patients. Through data analysis, we found that FN1 is upregulated in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). This study aimed to investigate how FN1 expression affects NPC cell behavior. In this study, we downregulated FN1 in two NPC cell lines, 5-8F (EBV-) and C666-1 (EBV+), and evaluated invasion, migration and apoptosis. FN1 promoted migration and invasion by upregulating MMP9 and MMP2 expression; the NF-κB/P65 signaling pathway was also affected by FN1. FN1 suppressed apoptosis in NPC cells by upregulating BCL2 and increasing the nuclear localization of P65, both by inducing cytosolic accumulation and nuclear translocation, but FN1 expression was not reduced when the NF-κB/P65 pathway was inhibited in the negative control (NC) group. Compared with NC cells, shFN1 cells showed little change in apoptosis when the NF-κB/P65 pathway was activated by LPS. These results suggest that FN1 regulates apoptosis though P65 in the NF-κB pathway. Our results show that FN1 plays an important role in NPC cells and is a potential target for NPC treatment., Competing Interests: None.

Protein is important to the human body, and different sources of protein may have different effects on the risk of breast cancer. Thus, we conducted a meta-analysis to investigate the association between different dietary protein sources and breast cancer risk. PubMed and several databases were searched until December 2015. Relevant articles were retrieved according to specific searching criteria. Forty-six prospective studies were included. The summary relative risk (RR) for highest versus lowest intake was 1.07 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.01-1.14, I ² = 34.6%) for processed meat, 0.92 (95% CI 0.84-1.00, I ² = 0%) for soy food, 0.93 (95% CI 0.85-1.00, I ² = 40.1%) for skim milk, and 0.90 (95% CI 0.82-1.00, I ² = 0%) for yogurt. Similar conclusions were obtained in dose-response association for each serving increase: total red meat (RR: 1.07; 95% CI 1.01-1.14, I ² = 7.1%), fresh red meat (RR: 1.13; 95% CI 1.01-1.26, I ² = 56.4%), processed meat (RR: 1.09; 95% CI 1.02-1.17, I ² = 11.8%), soy food (RR: 0.91; 95% CI 0.84-1.00, I ² = 0%), and skim milk (RR: 0.96; 95% CI 0.92-1.00, I ² = 11.9%). There was a null association between poultry, fish, egg, nuts, total milk, and whole milk intake and breast cancer risk. Higher total red meat, fresh red meat, and processed meat intake may be risk factors for breast cancer, whereas higher soy food and skim milk intake may reduce the risk of breast cancer., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.