Search

Abstract Ultra-thin films of low damping ferromagnetic insulators with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy have been identified as critical to advancing spin-based electronics by significantly reducing the threshold for current-induced magnetization switching while enabling new types of hybrid structures or devices. Here, we have developed a new class of ultra-thin spinel structure Li0.5Al1.0Fe1.5O4 (LAFO) films on MgGa2O4 (MGO) substrates with: 1) perpendicular magnetic anisotropy; 2) low magnetic damping and 3) the absence of degraded or magnetic dead layers. These films have been integrated with epitaxial Pt spin source layers to demonstrate record low magnetization switching currents and high spin-orbit torque efficiencies. These LAFO films on MGO thus combine all of the desirable properties of ferromagnetic insulators with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy, opening new possibilities for spin based electronics.

Spin-hall nano-oscillators have potential for use in neuromorphic computing applications. Normally they are based around combination platinum and permalloy. Here, the authors combine a permalloy ferromagnet with a low magnetic damping ferrimagnet, leading to significantly improved performance.

Abstract Background Allelopathy in rice (Oryza sativa) is a chemically induced response that is elevated by the exogenous application of chemical compounds and barnyard grass root exudates. An in-depth understanding of the response mechanisms of rice to chemical induction is necessary for the identification of target genes for increasing the allelopathic potential of rice. However, no previous studies have evaluated the transcriptomic changes associated with allelopathy in rice in response to barnyard grass exudates treatment. Thus, the aim of the present study was to reveal differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in allelopathic and non-allelopathic rice seedlings treated with barnyard grass exudates to identify target allelopathy genes. Results The inhibitory effect of the culture solutions on the allelopathic rice accession PI312777 (PI) and the non-allelopathic rice accession Lemont (LE) significantly increased (P

Background: Previous research has indicated a vital association between hypertension, intraocular pressure (IOP), and diabetic retinopathy (DR); however, the relationship has not been elucidated. In this study, we aim to investigate the causal association of hypertension, IOP, and DR. Methods: The genome-wide association study (GWAS) IDs for DR, hypertension, and IOP were identified from the Integrative Epidemiology Unit (IEU) Open GWAS database. There were 33,519,037 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and a sample size of 1,030,836 for DR. There were 16,380,466 SNPs and 218,754 participants in the hypertension experiment. There were 9,851,867 SNPs and a sample size of 97,465 for IOP. Univariable, multivariable, and bidirectional Mendelian randomization (MR) studies were conducted to estimate the risk of hypertension and IOP in DR. Moreover, causality was examined using the inverse variance weighted method, and MR results were verified by numerous sensitivity analyses. Results: A total of 62 SNPs at the genome-wide significance level were selected as instrumental variables (IVs) for hypertension-DR. The results of univariable MR analysis suggested a causal relationship between hypertension and DR and regarded hypertension as a risk factor for DR [p = 0.006, odds ratio (OR) = 1.080]. A total of 95 SNPs at the genome-wide significance level were selected as IVs for IOP-DR. Similarly, IOP was causally associated with DR and was a risk factor for DR (p = 0.029, OR = 1.090). The results of reverse MR analysis showed that DR was a risk factor for hypertension (p = 1.27×10-10, OR = 1.119), but there was no causal relationship between DR and IOP (p > 0.05). The results of multivariate MR analysis revealed that hypertension and IOP were risk factors for DR, which exhibited higher risk scores (p = 0.001, OR = 1.121 and p = 0.030, OR = 1.124, respectively) than those in univariable MR analysis. Therefore, hypertension remained a risk factor for DR after excluding the interference of IOP, and IOP was still a risk factor for DR after excluding the interference of hypertension. Conclusion: This study validated the potential causal relationship between hypertension, IOP, and DR using MR analysis, providing a reference for the targeted prevention of DR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims To identify potential risk factors for myopia in children and adolescents and assess the credibility of each evidence, providing reference for the development of myopia prevention strategies. Methods We searched PubMed, Web of Science and Embase databases from inception to April 2022 to find systematic reviews or meta-analyses investigating the relationship between potential risk factors and myopia, and conducted an umbrella review. We recalculated the pooled effect sizes and 95% CIs of each potential risk factor through random-effects model, and reported its 95% prediction interval and between-study heterogeneity. Small-study effect and excess of significance bias were assessed to reveal potential publication bias. Results Twelve publications were included in this umbrella review, including eight meta-analyses and four qualitative systematic reviews. Twenty-two factors were identified, of which 16 were analysed quantitatively. Ten factors showed statistically significant association with myopia. Myopia in one or two parents and per additional hour of time spend outdoors per week were rated as highly suggestive evidence. Near work and gender were evaluated as suggestive evidence. The other five factors are weak evidence. Conclusions We found several risk factors for myopia with different levels of evidence, of which parental myopia presented the strongest association with myopia in children and adolescents. Our findings contribute to a better understanding of the association between potential risk factors and myopia among children and adolescents and are important for informing parenting, education, clinical practice guidelines and public health policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Bupleuri Radix is a common Chinese medicinal material in traditional Chinese medicine. Currently, the therapeutic effect of treating schizophrenia is relatively well understood. However, there are fewer studies examining the underlying mechanisms of its treatment. The objective of the study was to investigate the primary mechanisms of Bupleuri Radix in treating schizophrenia through network pharmacology and clinical validation. Method: Network pharmacology revealed possible molecular mechanisms, followed by clinical verification. Sixty-seven schizophrenia patients undergoing treatment at the Hunan Brain Hospital between October and November 2022 were recruited and randomly divided into the olanzapine group and the olanzapine + Bupleuri Radix group. Additionally, 32 healthy people undergoing physical examinations during the same period were included as the control group. The patient’s positive and negative symptom scale scores were compared. qPCR was used to detect the mRNA expression levels of ESR1, mTOR, EIF4E, and SMAD4 in peripheral blood. Results: Through network pharmacological analysis, it was concluded in this study that Bupleuri Radix might regulate the mTOR, PI3K-Akt, and HIF-1 signaling pathways. Clinical experiments indicated that compared with before treatment, the positive and negative symptom scale scores and total scores of the two treatment groups were significantly decreased after treatment (P < 0.01). In addition, the positive and negative symptom scale scores and total scores in the olanzapine + Bupleuri Radix group were significantly decreased (P < 0.01) compared to the olanzapine group after treatment. Before treatment, ESR1 mRNA expression levels in peripheral blood were significantly higher in the two treatment groups than in the control group, whereas the mRNA expression levels of mTOR, EIF4E, and SMAD4 in peripheral blood were significantly lower (P < 0.01). The mRNA expression levels of mTOR, EIF4E, and SMAD4 in peripheral blood were significantly higher after therapy than before treatment, whereas the mRNA expression levels of ESR1 in peripheral blood were significantly lower (P < 0.01). After therapy, the olanzapine + Bupleuri Radix group’s mRNA expression levels of mTOR, EIF4E, and SMAD4 were significantly higher than those of the olanzapine group, whereas the mRNA expression levels of ESR1 were significantly lower (P < 0.01). Conclusion: The mechanism of Bupleuri Radix’s therapeutic efficacy in schizophrenia may involve the up-regulation of mTOR, EIF4E, and SMAD4 mRNA expression and the down-regulation of ESR1 mRNA expression in peripheral blood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

MicroRNAs are consistently reported to regulate gene expression in all cancer cell types by modulating a wide range of biological processes, including cell proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis, which are associated with tumor development and progression. Previous studies have revealed that miR-490-3p regulates cell proliferation and apoptosis in cancers, such as hepatocellular carcinoma, lung cancer, bladder cancer, and ovarian carcinoma. In this study, we explored the hitherto unrevealed role of miR-490-3p in breast cancer. We tested miR- 490-3p expression in breast cancer tissue and paracarcinoma tissue using reverse transcription- polymerase chain reaction. We also transfected the human breast cancer cell lines MCF-7 and T47D with miR-490-3p; subsequently, we determined the cell phenotype and the expression of Ras homolog gene family member A (RhoA), Bcl-xL, matrix metalloproteinase-9, and P70S6K (P70S6 kinase). Dual-luciferase reporter assay and a xenograft mouse model were used to reveal the roles of miR-490-3p and its target gene RHOA. We found that the levels of miR-490-3p were lower in the breast cancer tissue than in the paracarcinoma tissues. The overexpression of miR-490-3p suppressed breast cancer cell proliferation and promoted early stage apoptosis. Western blotting results revealed that the miR-490-3p overexpression reduced RhoA, Bcl-XL, matrix metalloproteinase-9, and P70S6K protein expression. The dual-luciferase reporter assay confirmed that RhoA is a target of miR-490-3p. The xenograft mouse model confirmed that miR-490-3p overexpression suppressed tumor growth and reduced RhoA expression. Our results indicate that miR-490-3p acts as oncosuppressive microRNA to inhibit breast cancer tumorigenesis and progression by targeting RhoA directly. It may contribute to breast cancer diagnosis and treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Prostate cancer (PCa) patients with lymph node involvement (LNI) constitute a single-risk group with varied prognoses. Existing studies on this group have focused solely on those who underwent prostatectomy (RP), using statistical models to predict prognosis. This study aimed to develop an easily accessible individual survival prediction tool based on multiple machine learning (ML) algorithms to predict survival probability for PCa patients with LNI. A total of 3280 PCa patients with LNI were identified from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database, covering the years 2000–2019. The primary endpoint was overall survival (OS). Gradient Boosting Survival Analysis (GBSA), Random Survival Forest (RSF), and Extra Survival Trees (EST) were used to develop prognosis models, which were compared to Cox regression. Discrimination was evaluated using the time-dependent areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve (time-dependent AUC) and the concordance index (c-index). Calibration was assessed using the time-dependent Brier score (time-dependent BS) and the integrated Brier score (IBS). Moreover, the beeswarm summary plot in SHAP (SHapley Additive exPlanations) was used to display the contribution of variables to the results. The 3280 patients were randomly split into a training cohort (n = 2624) and a validation cohort (n = 656). Nine variables including age at diagnosis, race, marital status, clinical T stage, prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level at diagnosis, Gleason Score (GS), number of positive lymph nodes, radical prostatectomy (RP), and radiotherapy (RT) were used to develop models. The mean time-dependent AUC for GBSA, RSF, and EST was 0.782 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.779–0.783), 0.779 (95% CI 0.776–0.780), and 0.781 (95% CI 0.778–0.782), respectively, which were higher than the Cox regression model of 0.770 (95% CI 0.769–0.773). Additionally, all models demonstrated almost similar calibration, with low IBS. A web-based prediction tool was developed using the best-performing GBSA, which is accessible at https://pengzihexjtu-pca-n1.streamlit.app/ . ML algorithms showed better performance compared with Cox regression and we developed a web-based tool, which may help to guide patient treatment and follow-up.