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Necroptosis plays a double-edged sword role in necroptotic cancer cell death and tumor immune escape. How cancer orchestrates necroptosis with immune escape and tumor progression remains largely unclear. We found that RIP3, the central activator of necroptosis, was methylated by PRMT1 methyltransferase at the amino acid of RIP3 R486 in human and the conserved amino acid R479 in mouse. The methylation of RIP3 by PRMT1 inhibited the interaction of RIP3 with RIP1 to suppress RIP1-RIP3 necrosome complex, thereby blocking RIP3 phosphorylation and necroptosis activation. Moreover, the methylation-deficiency RIP3 mutant promoted necroptosis, immune escape and colon cancer progression due to increasing tumor infiltrated myeloid-derived immune suppressor cells (MDSC), while PRMT1 reverted the immune escape of RIP3 necroptotic colon cancer. Importantly, we generated a RIP3 R486 di-methylation specific antibody (RIP3ADMA). Clinical patient samples analysis revealed that the protein levels of PRMT1 and RIP3ADMA were positively correlated in cancer tissues and both of them predicted the longer patient survival. Our study provides insights into the molecular mechanism of PRMT1-mediated RIP3 methylation in the regulation of necroptosis and colon cancer immunity, as well as reveals PRMT1 and RIP3ADMA as the valuable prognosis markers of colon cancer.

CD47 is a macrophage-specific immune checkpoint protein acting by inhibiting phagocytosis. However, the underlying mechanism maintaining CD47 protein stability in cancer is not clear. Here we show that CD47 undergoes degradation via endocytosis/lysosome pathway. The lysosome protein RAGA interacts with and promotes CD47 lysosome localization and degradation. Disruption of RAGA blocks CD47 degradation, leading to CD47 accumulation, high plasma membrane/intracellular CD47 expression ratio and reduced phagocytic clearance of cancer cells. RAGA deficiency promotes tumor growth due to the accumulation of CD47, which sensitizes the tumor to CD47 blockade. Clinical analysis shows that RAGA and CD47 proteins are negatively correlated in lung adenocarcinoma patient samples. High RAGA protein level is related to longer patient survival. In addition, RAGAhighCD47low patients show the longest overall survival. Our study thereby not only reveals a mechanism by which RAGA regulates CD47 lysosome degradation, but also suggests RAGA is a potential diagnostic biomarker of lung adenocarcinoma.

Discordant abundances of different immune cell subtypes is regarded to be an essential feature of tumour tissue. Direct studies in Prostate cancer (PC) of intratumoral immune heterogeneity characterized by immune cell subtype, are still lacking. Using the single sample gene set enrichment analysis (ssGSEA) algorithm, the abundance of 28 immune cells infiltration (ICI) were determined for PC. A NMF was performed to determine tumour-sample clustering based on the abundance of ICI and PFS information. Hub genes of clusters were identified via weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA). The multivariate dimensionality reduction analysis of hub genes expression matrix was carried out via principal component analysis (PCA) to obtain immune score (IS). We analysed the correlation between clustering, IS and clinical phenotype. We divided the 495 patients into clusterA (n = 193) and clusterB (n = 302) on the basis of ICI and PFS via NMF. The progression-free survival (PFS) were better for clusterA than for clusterB (p 0.001). Each immune cell subtypes was more abundant in clusterA than in clusterB (p 0.001). The expression levels of CTAL-4 and PD-L1 were lower in clusterB than in clusterA (p 0.001 and p = 0.006). We obtained 103 hub genes via WGCNA. In the training and validation cohorts, the prognosis of high IS group was worse than that of the low IS group (p 0.05). IS had good predictive effect on 5-year PFS. The expression of immune checkpoint genes was higher in the low IS group than in the high IS group (p 0.01). Patients with low IS and receiving hormone therapy had better prognosis than other groups. The combination of IS and clinical characteristics including lymph node metastasis and gleason score can better differentiate patient outcomes than using it alone. IS was a practical algorithm to predict the prognosis of patients. Advanced PC patients with low IS may be more sensitive to hormone therapy. CXCL10, CXCL5, MMP1, CXCL12, CXCL11, CXCL2, STAT1, IL-6 and TLR2 were hub genes, which may drive the homing of immune cells in tumours and promote immune cell differentiation.

The actin cytoskeleton is extremely dynamic and supports diverse cellular functions in many physiological and pathological processes, including tumorigenesis. However, the mechanisms that regulate the actin-related protein 2/3 (ARP2/3) complex and thereby promote actin polymerization and organization in cancer cells are not well-understood. We previously implicated the proline-rich 11 (PRR11) protein in lung cancer development. In this study, using immunofluorescence staining, actin polymerization assays, and siRNA-mediated gene silencing, we uncovered that cytoplasmic PRR11 is involved in F-actin polymerization and organization. We found that dysregulation of PRR11 expression results in F-actin rearrangement and nuclear instability in non-small cell lung cancer cells. Results from molecular mechanistic experiments indicated that PRR11 associates with and recruits the ARP2/3 complex, facilitates F-actin polymerization, and thereby disrupts the F-actin cytoskeleton, leading to abnormal nuclear lamina assembly and chromatin reorganization. Inhibition of the ARP2/3 complex activity abolished irregular F-actin polymerization, lamina assembly, and chromatin reorganization due to PRR11 overexpression. Notably, experiments with truncated PRR11 variants revealed that PRR11 regulates F-actin through different regions. We found that deletion of either the N or C terminus of PRR11 abrogates its effects on F-actin polymerization and nuclear instability and that deletion of amino acid residues 100–184 or 100–200 strongly induces an F-actin structure called the actin comet tail, not observed with WT PRR11. Our findings indicate that cytoplasmic PRR11 plays an essential role in regulating F-actin assembly and nuclear stability by recruiting the ARP2/3 complex in human non-small cell lung carcinoma cells.

Identifying highly efficient catalysts for direct CO2 hydrogenation to liquid hydrocarbons is crucial for CO2 utilization via chemical conversion using renewable resources, the so-called Power-to-Liquids. In this study, well-defined mesoporous carbon (MPC) of 6.9 nm pore size was synthesized as a support material for Fe oxycarbide nanoparticles, which serve as active sites for the CO2 hydrogenation reaction, combining reverse water-gas shift and Fischer-Tropsch reactions. The unique physicochemical properties of MPC favored the formation of an active carbidic Fe phase and the rapid diffusion of produced hydrocarbons which resulted in an enhanced CO2 conversion and long-chain hydrocarbon selectivity. As a result, the MPC supported Fe catalyst showed C5+ hydrocarbon selectivity of 44.5% with a CO2 conversion rate of 50.6% (300 °C, 2.5 MPa, H2/CO2 = 3).

Active phase and reaction mechanism identification is imperative when designing catalysts for target reactions. Although computational analysis often suggests effective methods, the complexity and computational cost can be problematic, especially for Fe-based catalysts with various oxidation numbers. Herein, we elucidated the Fe phase involved in CO2 hydrogenation through a density-functional-theory-based energetics study and suggested promoters by performing microkinetic analysis. Our theoretical model suggested that (1) Fe3O4 is a major active phase for the reverse water–gas shift (RWGS) reaction; (2) direct dissociation of CO2 is preferred over hydrogenation; and (3) surface oxygen removal determines the overall reaction rate over most Fe surfaces. Using CO2 and OH binding energies as activity descriptors to screen promoters, Cu and Zn were found to accelerate the RWGS rate by facilitating OH removal. The proposed microkinetic modelling approach will aid in predicting complex heterogeneous catalysis processes involving diverse intermediates and surface phase transitions.

In the process of auto body parts processing, machining surface at the junction will produce burrs or flares. The existence of burr will have a bad effect on the machining accuracy, assembly accuracy and appearance quality of parts. In industrial production, the cost of removing these burrs is enormous. In automotive parts, the cost of deburring body parts can account for machining costs15% - 20%. Industry practice has shown that the actual cost of deburring systems increases as the complexity and accuracy of parts increase. Precision parts such as automobile valve body require high precision, and burr is usually removed by grinding. In grinding process, different types of burr will adopt different grinding process to purify, frequent adjustment process will affect the production efficiency, so the combination with the characteristics of grinding, the grinding grain edge radius, equivalent negative rake Angle and other factors into consideration, burr types can be divided into three categories, respectively on the three types of burr mathematical modeling, The removal mechanism of different kinds of burr is explained theoretically, which lays a theoretical foundation for improving efficiency in production practice.

Extractive distillation has great significance for the separation of ethylbenzene from C8 aromatic hydrocarbons. Herein, a distillation process for the separation of ethylbenzene was designed using methyl phenylacetate as an extractant. A genetic algorithm (GA) was used to evaluate the economic and environmental factors of the process, and Aspen Dynamic was used to assess the dynamic performance. The sequential optimization method was used to obtain the initial process parameters. Then, the total annual cost and CO2 emissions were minimized by NSGA-III to increase the economic and environmental benefits. To enhance the search performance of GA, the mutation probability and crossover probability were studied and adjusted. The optimal total annual cost and CO2 emissions were 11.7% and 23.7% lower than those of the initial process. Based on a steady process, two control strategies, which were the flow rate of the recycling solvent controlled by entrainer makeup flow rate (CS1) and the bottom flow rate of the extractant recovery column (CS2), were designed. The results showed that the temperature deviation of CS2 was smaller than that of CS1, and the temperature of the process was more stable under the control of CS2.

Hydrogenation of CO2 to value-added chemicals and fuels not only effectively alleviates climate change but also reduces over-dependence on fossil fuels. Therefore, much attention has been paid to the chemical conversion of CO2 to value-added products, such as liquid fuels and aromatics. Recently, efficient catalysts have been developed to face the challenge of the chemical inertness of CO2 and the difficulty of C–C coupling. Considering the lack of a detailed summary on hydrogenation of CO2 to liquid fuels and aromatics via the Fischer–Tropsch synthesis (FTS) route, we conducted a comprehensive and systematic review of the research progress on the development of efficient catalysts for hydrogenation of CO2 to liquid fuels and aromatics. In this work, we summarized the factors influencing the catalytic activity and stability of various catalysts, the strategies for optimizing catalytic performance and product distribution, the effects of reaction conditions on catalytic performance, and possible reaction mechanisms for CO2 hydrogenation via the FTS route. Furthermore, we also provided an overview of the challenges and opportunities for future research associated with hydrogenation of CO2 to liquid fuels and aromatics.

Background: It remains controversial as to which pathological classification is most valuable in predicting overall survival (OS) in patients with gastric cancer (GC). We assessed the prognostic performances of three pathological classifications in GC and developed a novel prognostic nomogram individually predicting OS. Methods: Patients were identified from the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results program. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to identify the independent prognostic factors. Model discrimination and model-fitting were evaluated by receiver operating characteristic curves and Akaike information criteria. Decision curve analysis was performed to assess clinical usefulness. The independent prognostic factors identified by multivariate analysis were further applied to develop a novel prognostic nomogram. Results: A total of 2,718 eligible GC patients were identified. The modified Lauren classification was identified as one of the independent prognostic factors of OS. It showed superior model discriminative ability and model-fitting performance over the other pathological classifications, and similar results were obtained in various patient settings. In addition, it showed superior net benefits over the Lauren classification and tumor differentiation grade in predicting 3- and 5-year OS. A novel prognostic nomogram incorporating the modified Lauren classification showed superior model discriminative ability, model-fitting performance, and net benefits over the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) 8th Edition TNM classification. Conclusion: The modified Lauren classification showed superior net benefits over the Lauren classification and tumor differentiation grade in predicting OS. A novel prognostic nomogram incorporating the modified Lauren classification showed good model discriminative ability, model-fitting performance, and net benefits.

A series of Zn modified hierarchical ZSM-5 catalysts with Si/Al ratios of 25 and 40, and Zn loading amounts of 0, 0.5, 1, and 2 wt% was designed to pursue a highly efficient catalyst with excellent catalytic activity and stability toward BTEX formation in the aromatization of light hydrocarbons. The Zn modified hierarchical ZSM-5 catalysts with intracrystalline mesopores were prepared by alkali treatment and Zn impregnation. The effects of the alkali treatment and Zn modification on the textural property, acidity, catalytic performance, and coke formation were investigated in detail via various characterization techniques. It was found that the catalytic stability of the alkali-treated catalysts notably improved. This can be mainly attributed to the fact that the alkali treatment of the pre-synthesized ZSM-5 generated a large amount of mesopores, which could alleviate the diffusion limitations. Moreover, the Zn modification remarkably improved the initial BTEX yield, which was due to the improved Lewis/Bronsted (L/B) ratio in the prepared catalysts. However, as the Zn loading amount increased from 0 to 2 wt%, the catalyst stability dramatically decreased, especially for the 2 wt% case. It seems that the balance between the Lewis and Bronsted acid sites (i.e., the suitable L/B ratio) is the key to obtaining both high BTEX yield and catalyst stability, and the optimum Zn loading amount is determined to be 0.5 wt% with an L/B ratio of around 1.

Three HZSM-5 zeolites with initial Si/Al ratios of 15, 25, and 40 were treated using an alkali solution to establish a hierarchical micropore-mesopore interconnected structure in alkali-treated zeolite samples Z15-AT, Z25-AT, and Z40-AT, respectively. The aim of the present work is to improve the catalytic stability in the aromatization of ethylene, a model compound representing the light hydrocarbons produced by the high-temperature Fischer‒Tropsch synthesis. By using characterization techniques, such as XRD, ICP, N2 adsorption/desorption, TEM, 27Al and 29Si MAS/NMR, NH3-TPD, Pyridine-IR, and TGA, we analyzed the textural property and acidity of the fresh catalysts, as well as the coke formation rate of the spent catalysts. The catalytic stability was shown to be successfully enhanced in the light hydrocarbon aromatization and the initial Si/Al ratio is a crucial factor for the mesopore formation and the catalytic performance. Among the prepared zeolite samples, the Z25-AT sample seemed to be the most suitable catalyst owing to its significant enhancement in the catalytic stability. The main reason for the improved stability by alkali treatment seems to be that the hierarchical pore structure facilitates the mass transfer and provides the additional space for carbon deposition as well, thus weakening the pore blocking and prolongs the lifetime of the catalyst.

ObjectiveBecause metabolic syndrome is a significant risk factor for cardio-cerebrovascular diseases and the relationship between metabolic syndrome (including its components) and the prognosis of stroke is controversial, this study was conducted to evaluate whether metabolic syndrome is associated with a high recurrence and mortality of stroke.MethodsThis study was registered in the PROSPERO database (CRD42020177118). We searched for relevant observational cohort studies published from inception to April 23, 2020, using PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library. Effect estimates with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were pooled using the random-effects model. The primary and secondary outcomes were stroke recurrence and all-cause mortality, respectively. Leave-one-out sensitivity analyses and nonparametric trim-and-fill method were used to identify the stability of the results.ResultsThirteen cohort studies comprising 59,919 participants >60 years of age were included for analysis. Overall, metabolic syndrome was significantly associated with stroke recurrence (relative risk [RR] 1.46, 95% CI 1.07–1.97, p = 0.02). Among the metabolic syndrome components, low levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) (RR 1.32, 95% CI 1.11–1.57, p = 0.002) and ≥2 metabolic syndrome components (RR 1.68, 95% CI 1.44–1.94, p < 0.001) significantly predicted stroke recurrence, whereas elevated triglycerides, elevated waist circumference, hyperglycemia, and hypertension failed to account for risk factors for stroke recurrence. Moreover, metabolic syndrome, not its components, was significantly associated with all-cause mortality (RR 1.27, 95% CI 1.18–1.36, p < 0.001). The stability of these results was further confirmed by the leave-one-out sensitivity analyses and nonparametric trim-and-fill method.ConclusionsThe present study indicates that metabolic syndrome and some of its components (low HDL-C and number of metabolic syndrome components) seem to be risk factors for stroke recurrence. Although metabolic syndrome is also associated with all-cause mortality, the role of its components in predicting all-cause mortality deserves further study.

BackgroundThe prognostic stratification of colon cancer using only the tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) stage has some limitations. We sought to increase the accuracy of stratifying patients with stage III colon cancer by constructing a prognostic model combining carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) with TNM.MethodsWe retrospectively analyzed the data generated from stage III colon cancer patients who had early postoperative CEA measurement from 21 to 100 days after surgery from 2006 to 2017. CEA value was processed using restricted cubic splines (RCS) method. The prognostic model was developed using cox proportional hazards regression.ResultsThe time later than 20 days after surgery was optimal for measuring CEA, which was determined by comparing the prognostic value for preoperative and postoperative CEA (N = 2,049), and by evaluating the relationship between the hazard ratio (HR) and postoperative CEA measuring time. Postoperative CEA, T stage and N stage were selected into the final model, and the mean integrated-AUC (iAUC) was 0.78 with 1,000 × bootstrap resampling, which was higher than the model using only T and N stages (TN model; mean iAUC, 0.66). The net reclassification improvement (NRI) was 15% when compared with TN model. Patients could be divided into high and low risk groups by the model, and 3-year disease-free survival (DFS) were 53.7% and 87.0%, respectively (HR, 4.30; 95% CI, 2.65 to 6.96; P < 0.001). Similar results were found in the validation set.ConclusionsStage III colon cancer could be stratified more accurately using the new prognostic model combining postoperative CEA with T and N stage.

Tumor metastasis is the main contributor to high recurrence and mortality in colorectal cancer (CRC). In a previous study, we found that DJ-1 plays an important role in CRC metastasis, and is the main target in Ciclopirox olamine (CPX)-treated CRC. However, the mechanism underlying DJ-1-induced CRC metastasis remains elusive. In the present study, our results showed that DJ-1 could activate Wnt signaling resulting in enhanced invasive potential and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in CRC cells. RNA-seq and bioinformatics analysis reveals that the DJ-1/Wnt signaling pathway may promote CRC cells’ EMT by regulating fibroblast growth factor 9 (FGF9) expression. Molecular validation showed that expression of FGF9 was upregulated by the DJ-1/Wnt signaling pathway and decreasing FGF9-expression impeded DJ-1-induced CRC invasive ability and EMT, suggesting that FGF9 is involved in DJ-1-enhanced CRC metastasis. In addition, we show that FGF9 was overexpressed in CRC human specimens and was significantly associated with tumor differentiation. High FGF9 expression was correlated with worse overall survival, and a correlation exhibited between FGF9 and EMT markers (E-cadherin and Vimentin) in CRC samples. Together, our results determined that FGF9 was involved in DJ-1-induced invasion and EMT in CRC cells, and may represent a promising therapeutic candidate for CRC anti-metastatic strategies., Summary: DJ-1 could activate Wnt signaling to enhance FGF9 expression, resulting in enhanced invasive potential and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in CRC cells. FGF9 predicts poor survival in patients with CRC.

The effect of the Fe/Co ratio on the catalytic performance of Fe–Co/alumina catalysts has been investigated in the production of high-calorific synthetic natural gas (SNG) from syngas. Fe–Co/alumina catalysts with different Fe/Co molar ratios were synthesized by the co-precipitation method and characterized using XRD, BET, H2-TPR, Raman, XAS, and XPS. At higher Fe/Co ratios (≥2), the calcined Fe–Co/alumina catalysts were mainly composed of α-Fe2O3 and CoFe2O4. The presence of Co improved the dispersion of iron oxides and the catalyst reducibility under H2 atmosphere. The Fe–Co/alumina catalysts partially formed FeCo alloys when they were reduced at 350 °C under H2. The formation of FeCo alloy destabilized the iron carbide phase and suppressed the carbon chain growth. These Fe–Co/alumina catalysts were efficient in producing high calorific SNG with a heating value of over 60 MJ/Nm3.

To explore the microcirculation formation mechanism of contrast-enhanced (CE) ultrasonography imaging performance in rabbits with limb muscle crush injury. Seventy-two New Zealand white rabbits were randomly divided into two groups. A limb muscle crush injury model was created by airing a balloon cuff device with a force of 40 kpa. CE ultrasonography parameters were detected in the first group. In vivo microcirculation parameters were detected in the second group. Fine blood vessel diameter and blood flow velocity were calculated before extrusion and 0.5, 2, 6, 24 h, and 3 days after decompression. Compared with the uninjured muscle, reperfusion of the injured muscles showed early and high enhancement in CE ultrasonography images. The time-intensity curve showed a trend of rapid elevation and gradual drop. Compared with the control group, fine artery and vein diameters in the experimental group were wider and the blood flow velocity was slower, especially in the fine veins. In vivo microcirculation detection can reflect changes in muscle microvascular diameter and blood flow velocity, which have a correlation with quantitative ultrasound imaging parameters.

In recent years, significant attention has been paid to the CO2 mitigation via the power-to-liquids (PTL) and power-to-gas (PTG) processes because they can efficiently transform CO2 into high-value products such as liquid hydrocarbons and synthetic natural gas (SNG), and provide a promising solution for the storage of the intermittent renewable energy. Herein, we suggested a PTL process and a PTL/PTG process combined with the reverse-water-gas-shift (RWGS) and Co-based Fischer-Tropsch synthesis (FTS), which respectively produce liquid hydrocarbons only and the combination of liquid hydrocarbons and high-calorie SNG, based on the previous study regarding the PTL and PTL/PTG processes composed of Fe-based FTS. We conducted the process modelling and comparative techno-economic analysis to determine the key performance of the proposed PTL and PTL/PTG processes including the CO2 mitigation rate, energy efficiency, total product cost and CO2 mitigation cost. The proposed PTL and PTL/PTG processes can be regarded as feasible technical solutions to convert wasted CO2 into high-value liquid hydrocarbons and SNG. Additionally, the indirect PTL and PTL/PTG processes were helpful for improving the production of liquid hydrocarbons. Meanwhile, the direct PTL/PTG processes and indirect PTL processes favor the energy efficiency and CO2 mitigation.

The power-to-liquids (P2L) and power-to-gas (P2G) processes which utilize renewable power to convert carbon dioxide and water into value-added syncrude and synthetic natural gas have recently gained much attention as an efficient way for CO2 mitigation. Based on our previously proposed direct P2L and P2L/P2G hybrid processes in the absence of the reverse-water–gas-shift unit, in this work, we developed the indirect P2L and P2L/P2G hybrid processes combined with the reverse-water–gas-shift unit, which produce solely syncrude and the combination of syncrude and synthetic natural gas, respectively. A comparative study of the indirect and direct P2L and P2L/P2G hybrid processes via the process modelling and techno-economic analysis was implemented to quantitatively evaluate their process performance differences, and it was indicated that the indirect P2L and P2L/P2G hybrid processes were also able to be considered as suitable technologies for the transformation of CO2 into high-value hydrocarbons, and the indirect P2L/P2G hybrid process seemed to be more competitive than the indirect P2L process from both technical and economic aspects. Moreover, compared to the direct P2L and P2L/P2G hybrid processes, the indirect P2L and P2L/P2G hybrid processes produce more syncrude, however, they are less efficient in aspects of energy efficiency and net CO2 reduction.

// Xuefei Feng 1, * , Chundong Zhang 2, * , Ling Zhu 1 , Lian Zhang 2 , Hongxia Li 1 , Longxia He 1 , Yan Mi 1 , Yitao Wang 2 , Jiang Zhu 1 and Youquan Bu 2 1 Department of Otolaryngology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400016, China 2 Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400016, China * These authors have contributed equally to this work Correspondence to: Jiang Zhu, email: zhujiang163mail@163.com Youquan Bu, email: buyqcn@cqmu.edu.cn , buyqcn@aliyun.com Keywords: DEPDC1, cell cycle, mitosis, nasopharyngeal carcinoma Received: January 09, 2017 Accepted: June 02, 2017 Published: June 29, 2017 ABSTRACT DEP domain containing 1 (DEPDC1) is a newly identified cancer-related and cell cycle related gene and has been demonstrated as a novel therapeutic target for bladder cancer. However, the functional involvement and therapeutic potential of DEPDC1 in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) remains unclear. Our results showed that DEPDC1 was overexpressed at both mRNA and protein levels in NPC tissues compared with normal or non-tumor tissues. The siRNA-mediated DEPDC1 depletion resulted in significant inhibition of proliferation and delay in cell cycle progression in both NPC cell lines, CNE-1 and HNE-1. Detailed analysis with indirect immunofluorescence assays revealed that DEPDC1 depletion caused significant mitotic arrest accompanied with mitotic defects such as multipolar spindles and multiple nuclei followed by apoptotic cell death. Notably, DEPDC1 depletion also reduces migration and invasion ability in both cell lines. Consistent with its regulatory role in NF-κB pathway, knockdown of DEPDC1 caused significant upregulation of A20 and downregulation of mutiple NF-κB downstream target genes implicated in proliferation and tumorigenesis (c-Myc, BCL2, CCND1, CCNB1 and CCNB2), and metastasis (MMP2, MMP9, ICAM1, vimentin, Twist1). Moreover, in vivo study demonstrated that DEPDC1 knockdown also caused significant inhibition of tumor growth in the NPC xenograft nude mouse model. Taken together, our present study demonstrated that DEPDC1 is essentially required for the accelerated cell cycle progression and motility in NPC cells, and strongly suggested that DEPDC1 may serve as a novel therapeutic target in NPC.

The effect of temperature, pressure, space velocity and feed-stream water content in the synthesis of dimethyl ether from methanol over a K-HZSM-5 catalyst was evaluated with respect to the activity, physicochemical properties and deactivation of the catalyst. Increasing the water content in the feed stream allowed to proceed the reaction over a wider temperature range. Despite a decrease in the methanol conversion at low temperatures (

Conceptual design for two options of carbon-dioxide-utilized gas-to-methanol process (CGTM) was implemented by using process simulation software Aspen Plus. The overall mass and energy stream results as well as the thermal and carbon efficiency were obtained from the developed process models. Before the following economic evaluation and sensitivity analysis, total capital investment (TCI) and total product cost (TPC) of both CGTM options were determined. Then, economic evaluation were conducted to assess the economic profitability of the base cases for both CGTM options, using the economic evaluation indicators such as net present value (NPV), internal rate of return (IRR), and discounted payback period (DPBP). Furthermore, sensitivity analysis as well as break-even analysis were also applied to investigate the economic performance of both CGTM options under different circumstances, by changing parameters such as methanol and NG prices, plant scale, and carbon tax. It was shown that the methanol price, CAPEX, and NG price are the most sensitive factors, and the two CGTM options were economically feasible in the plant scale range of 2500–5000 ton per day, according to the economic evaluation indicators NPV, IRR, and DPBP, and were more economically competitive in the case of higher plant scale and carbon tax.

Redox imbalance is resulted from the destruction of balance between oxidants and antioxidants. The dominant oxidants are reactive oxygen species (ROS), which are involved in multiple cellular processes by physiologically transporting signal as a second messenger or pathologically oxidizing DNA, lipids, and proteins. Generally speaking, low concentration of ROS is indispensable for cell survival and proliferation. However, high concentration of ROS is cytotoxic. Additionally, ROS are now known to induce the oxidative modification of macromolecules especially proteins. The redox modification of proteins is involved in numerous biological processes related to diseases including CRC. Herein, we attempt to afford an overview that highlights the crosstalk between redox imbalance and CRC.

Two process models for a carbon-dioxide-utilized gas-to-methanol (GTM) process (CGTM) that primarily produces methanol were developed using the process simulation software Aspen Plus. Both models comprised a reforming unit, a methanol synthesis unit and a recycling unit, with the feeding point of the fresh feed CO2 as the principal configurational difference. In the reforming unit, CO2/Steam–mixed reforming was performed to generate the targeted syngas in flexible compositions. Meanwhile, CO2 hydrogenation was conducted over a Cu-based catalysts in the methanol synthesis unit to directly produce the targeted product, methanol. After methanol synthesis, the unreacted syngas was recycled to the methanol synthesis and reforming units to enhance energy efficiency. The simulation results revealed that both CGTM options can favorably improve the energy efficiency and significantly reduce the total CO2 emissions, compared to a conventional GTM process. The energy efficiency was shown to be highly affected by the recycle ratio and a higher recycle ratio seemed to favorably improve CO2 conversion, enhance energy efficiency, and reduce CO2 emissions. However, the split ratio (recycle-to-reforming unit/total recycle) seems to have little effect on the energy efficiency, and the optimum recycle to the reforming unit was determined to be none.

BackgroundPRR14 (Proline rich protein 14) was firstly identified for its ability to specify and localize heterochromatin during cell cycle progression. Aberrant expression of PRR14 is associated with the tumorigenesis and progression of lung cancer. However, its involvement in colon cancer remains unknown. Herein, we report the role of PRR14 in colon cancer.MethodsColon cancer tissue microarray was used to analyze and compare the expression of PRR14 among some clinicopathological characteristics of colon cancer. HCT116 and RKO cells were transfected with siRNA to downregulate PRR14 expression. The roles of PRR14 in proliferation, migration and invasion of the cell lines were determined using cell counting kit-8, colony formation assay, wound healing assay and transwell assays respectively. The expression of PRR14 was measured by using immunofluorescence, qRT- PCR and western blot.ResultsPRR14 was highly expressed in colon cancer tissues, and the expression level was correlated with tumor size, distant metastasis and Tumor Node Metastasis stages. Functional study revealed that downregulation of PRR14 inhibited colon cancer cells growth, migration and invasion. Furthermore, knockdown of PRR14 inhibited epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) process, cell cycle-associated proteins expression and p-AKT level.ConclusionPRR14 may promote the progression and metastasis of colon cancer, and may be a novel prognostic and therapeutic marker for the disease.

This study proposed a novel chemical looping coupling system for coproducing syngas and hydrogen with in situ CO2 utilization. It integrates chemical looping combustion, chemical looping reforming, CO2-H2O co-splitting, hydrogen production and air oxidation using CH4 as fuel and iron oxide as oxygen carrier. In this process, syngas and H2 purification, in addition to CO2 capture and storage are no longer necessary. It not only produces high-purity hydrogen and syngas without pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions, but realizes the sufficient utilization of feed and oxygen carriers. A detailed thermodynamic analysis of the proposed chemical looping coupling process was conducted by Aspen Plus. The effects of key parameters, such as feed ratio, temperature, and pressure in each reactor on the process performance were investigated in terms of the utilization of CH4, the yield and purity of syngas and hydrogen, and the oxygen carrier coupling. In addition, the energy balance was analyzed for the coupling system with heat exchanger network. Based on the established process model, we concluded that the preferable feed ratios in combustion, reforming, co-splitting, steam and air reactors were 4, 1, 0.4, 1.1 and 1.5, respectively. The preferable temperatures in the five reactors mentioned above were 900, 900, 850, 500 and 500 °C in sequence, and the preferable pressure was 1 atm in each reactor. Under these conditions, high-purity hydrogen (100%) and syngas (99% and 93% purity) with ideal H2/CO ratio (~2) could be obtained. The energy efficiency and exergy efficiency of this coupling system reached up to 90.54% and 72.04%, respectively.

We previously demonstrated that proline-rich protein 11 (PRR11) and spindle and kinetochore associated 2 (SKA2) constituted a head-to-head gene pair driven by a prototypical bidirectional promoter. This gene pair synergistically promoted the development of non-small cell lung cancer. However, the signaling pathways leading to the ectopic expression of this gene pair remains obscure. In the present study, we first analyzed the lung squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) relevant RNA sequencing data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database using the correlation analysis of gene expression and gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA), which revealed that the PRR11-SKA2 correlated gene list highly resembled the Hedgehog (Hh) pathway activation-related gene set. Subsequently, GLI1/2 inhibitor GANT-61 or GLI1/2-siRNA inhibited the Hh pathway of LSCC cells, concomitantly decreasing the expression levels of PRR11 and SKA2. Furthermore, the mRNA expression profile of LSCC cells treated with GANT-61 was detected using RNA sequencing, displaying 397 differentially expressed genes (203 upregulated genes and 194 downregulated genes). Out of them, one gene set, including BIRC5, NCAPG, CCNB2, and BUB1, was involved in cell division and interacted with both PRR11 and SKA2. These genes were verified as the downregulated genes via RT-PCR and their high expression significantly correlated with the shorter overall survival of LSCC patients. Taken together, our results indicate that GLI1/2 mediates the expression of the PRR11-SKA2-centric gene set that serves as an unfavorable prognostic indicator for LSCC patients, potentializing new combinatorial diagnostic and therapeutic strategies in LSCC.

Aiming at achieving the large-scale CO2-equivalent reduction in the landfill industry, conceptual design of two sustainable landfill gas-to-methanol process options without the pre-treatment and methanol upgrading sections were implemented via using Aspen Plus simulator. In both proposed options, the optimum syngas ratio (H2/(2CO + 3CO2) = 1) is fulfilled by either supplying additional H2 (option 1) or pre-separating the surplus CO2 in LFG using membrane (option 2). A comparative techno-economic analysis was carried out to determine the energy efficiency and the CO2-equivalent reduction rate, as well as the net present value (NPV), the internal rate of return (IRR), and the discounted payback period (DPBP) of both proposed options. It is shown that both options 1 and 2 can be regarded as alternative processes for converting landfill gas to methanol, and option 1 is more energy efficient and eco-friendly, while, option 2 is more economically competitive. Moreover, a sensitivity analysis indicates that the CAPEX, the prices of methanol, CO2 allowance, and H2 are the most sensitive factors, and option 1 can be economically comparable with option 2 given that the H2 price can be lowered down to around 1000 $/Mt. This work provides two candidate process routes for efficient conversion of landfill gas to value-added methanol, which makes the landfill industry become more sustainable and profitable, especially in the event of a future high carbon tax and low H2 price.

Two process models for modular gas-to-liquids (GTL) process mainly producing Fischer–Tropsch (F–T) synthetic oils were developed by Aspen Plus software. Both models mainly comprised a reforming unit, an F–T synthesis unit, and a recycle unit, with the syngas generation and syngas ratio conditioning methods as the main difference. In the reforming unit, either steam reforming or CO 2 /Steam-mixed reforming was selected to generate the desired syngas. Co-based microchannel F–T synthesis was applied to convert the obtained syngas to synthetic oils. After F–T synthesis, a portion of the unreacted syngas was recycled to improve energy efficiency, and reduce CO 2 emissions. Technical and economic analyses were both employed to investigate the two modular GTL options. For the technical aspect, effects of recycling and splitting ratios on the performance of both options were investigated. Sensitivity analysis and break-even analysis were applied to the economic analysis. It was found that the increased energy efficiency and reduced CO 2 emissions could be achieved by recycling a portion of the unreacted syngas. Both options were economically viable at the plant scale of 2500 BPD, and were more competitive in the event of high carbon tax.

Aiming at achieving large-scale CO2 mitigation in the iron & steel industries via efficient utilization of the by-product gases such as the coke oven gas (COG) and Linz-Donawitz converter gas (LDG) in the iron & steel works, conceptual design of a LDG-to-methanol process (option 1) and two LDG/COG-to-methanol processes (options 2 and 3 without or with H2 purification, respectively) was implemented using the process simulator Aspen Plus. Both the process development and economic analysis for all the three proposed options were conducted to determine the technical performance via indicators such as the energy efficiency and CO2 reduction rate, and the profitability via indicators such as the total capital investment and the net methanol production cost. Meanwhile, six case studies under different recycle ratios (0.5–0.95) were conducted for each proposed option to investigate the effects of recycle ratio on the technical and economic performance. The techno-economic analysis results clearly show that all the three proposed options are highly efficient for CO2 mitigation via methanol production using the by-product gases LDG and COG. More specifically, options 1 and 3 seem to be more energy efficient and eco-friendly than option 2, in terms of energy efficiency and CO2 reduction rate. Whereas, options 2 and 3 seem to be more economically feasible than option 1, considering the net methanol production cost. From the aspects of both technical and economic performance, option 3 is considered as the most competitive process. This work provides candidate process routes for the iron & steel industries to become more sustainable and profitable, especially in the event of a high carbon tax and a low H2 price in the future.

Correction for ‘Identification of active sites for CO2 hydrogenation in Fe catalysts by first-principles microkinetic modelling’ by Seung Ju Han et al., J. Mater. Chem. A, 2020, 8, 13014–13023, DOI: 10.1039/D0TA01634A.

Metastasis remains a big barrier for the clinical treatment of colorectal cancer (CRC). Our previous proteomics analysis identified DJ-1 as a potential metastasis biomarker of CRC. In this study, we found that DJ-1 was upregulated in CRC. The levels of DJ-1 were closely correlated with the depths of invasion and predicted patient outcome. Enforced expression of DJ-1 could enhance CRC proliferation and metastasis in vitro and in vivo by stimulating Wnt-β-catenin signaling. Specifically, DJ-1-induced β-catenin nuclear translocation stimulated TCF transcription activity, which promoted BMP4 expression for CRC cell migration and invasion, and elevated CCND1 expression for CRC cell proliferation, respectively. Furthermore, DJ-1-induced Wnt signaling activation was dependent on PLAGL2 expression. In conclusion, our study demonstrates that DJ-1 can promote CRC metastasis by activating PLAGL2–Wnt–BMP4 axis, suggesting novel therapeutic opportunities for postoperative adjuvant therapy in CRC patients.