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With an estimated incidence of only 1-2 cases in every 1 million people, hepatic epithelioid hemangioendothelioma (HEHE) is a rare vascular endothelial cell tumor occurring in the liver and consisting of epithelioid and histiocyte-like vascular endothelial cells in mucus or a fibrotic matrix. HEHE is characterized as a low-to-moderate grade malignant tumor and is classified into three types: solitary, multiple, and diffuse. Both the etiology and characteristic clinical manifestations of HEHE are unclear. However, HEHE has a characteristic appearance on imaging including ultrasound, magnetic resonance imaging, and positron emission tomography/computerized tomography. Still, its diagnosis depends mainly on pathological findings, with immunohistochemical detection of endothelial markers cluster of differentiation 31 (CD31), CD34, CD10, vimentin, and factor VIII antigen as the basis of diagnosis. Hepatectomy and/or liver transplantation are the first choice for treatment, but various chemotherapeutic drugs are reportedly effective, providing a promising treatment option. In this review, we summarize the literature related to the diagnosis and treatment of HEHE, which provides future perspectives for the clinical management of HEHE.

Highlights • Lymphopenia and eosinopenia might be predictors of disease severity in COVID-19. • Lymphopenia and eosinopenia might be predictors of disease progression in COVID-19. • Clinical classification-severe type is the dependently risk factor for alteration of PBICs. • PBICs might be a sentinel, and it deserves attention during COVID-19 management., Background The underlying changes of peripheral blood inflammatory cells (PBICs) in COVID-19 patients are little known. Moreover, the risk factors for the underlying changes of PBICs and their predicting role in severe COVID-19 patients remain uncertain. Material and Methods This retrospective study including two cohorts: the main cohort enrolling 45 patients of severe type serving as study group, and the secondary cohort enrolling 12 patients of no-severe type serving as control group. The PBICs analysis was based on blood routine and lymphocyte subsets. The inflammatory cell levels were compared among patients according to clinical classifications, disease-associated phases, as well as one-month outcomes. Results Compared with patients of non-severe type, the patients of severe type suffered from significantly decreased counts of lymphocytes, eosinophils, basophils, but increased counts of neutrophils. These PBICs alterations got improved in recovery phase, but persisted or got worse in aggravated phase. Compared with patients in discharged group, the patients in un-discharged/died group suffered from decreased counts of total T lymphocytes, CD4+T lymphocytes, CD8+T lymphocytes, as well as NK cells at 2 weeks after treatment. Clinical classification-critically severe was the independently risk factor for lymphopenia (OR=7.701, 95%CI:1.265-46.893, P=0.027), eosinopenia (OR=5.595, 95%CI:1.008-31.054, P=0.049) and worse one-month outcome (OR=8.984; 95%CI:1.021-79.061, P=0.048). Conclusion Lymphopenia and eosinopenia may serve as predictors of disease severity and disease progression in COVID-19 patients, and enhancing the cellular immunity may contribute to COVID-19 treatment. Thus, PBICs might become a sentinel of COVID-19, and it deserves attention during COVID-19 treatment.

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), a class of long RNAs, are longer than 200 nucleotides in length but lack protein-coding capacity. LncRNAs, as critical genomic regulators, are involved in genomic imprinting regulation, histone modification and gene expression regulation as well as tumor initiation and progression. However, it is also found that lncRNAs are associated with drug resistance in several types of cancer. Drug resistance is an important reason for clinical chemotherapy failure, and the molecular mechanism of tumor resistance is complex, which is a process of multi-cause, multi-gene and multi-signal transduction pathway interaction. Then comprehending the mechanisms of chemoresistance will help find ways to control the tumor progression effectively. Therefore, in this review, we will construct lncRNAs /drug resistance interaction network and shed light on the role of lncRNAs in drug resistance.

In order to achieve broadband and efficient optical absorption, the multiple silver nanolayer was introduced into the photonic crystals to form a one-dimensional ternary periodic symmetric structure. The effects of thickness of each layer on the band range, absorption bandwidth, absorbance and absorption energy field distribution of the solar spectrum high absorption band were studied by the transfer matrix method. The absorption band with wavelength range from 724 ran to 1 188 nm, spectral width of 464 nm, and average absorbance of 0.78 was obtained by structural adjustment. The absorbed energy is mainly distributed in the first half of the symmetrical structure of the photonic crystal. When the thickness of the silver layer decreased from 30 nm to 15 nm, the local energy in each period increased significantly. At the same time, the distribution and transfer of energy in silicon and MgF2 layers can be controlled. The results of this paper can be used to improve the absorption of solar radiation, and provide an important basis for the design of photonic crystal and their application in solar energy utilization.

Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) with stone extraction is a common and preferred choice for gallstone disease. Laparoscopic common bile duct exploration (LCBDE) and laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) are being increasingly used for managing choledocholithiasis and cholecystolithiasis. We report a case of a Hem-o-lok clip that was dropped into the common bile duct (CBD) after LC and surgical common bile duct exploration (CBDE). An 84-year-old man presented with right upper quadrant pain and jaundice for 2 months, and chills and hyperpyrexia for 1 day. The patient had received ERCP and surgical CBDE at a local hospital 3 years previously. The patient first received ERCP and endoscopic nasobiliary drainage (ENBD). When laboratory tests were normal, the patient then received LCBDE. During exploration, stones and a Hem-o-lok clip in the CBD were removed. The patient made good progress after LCBDE + T-tube placement and was discharged from hospital. The findings from this case suggest the following: 1) an appropriate therapy method should be considered for certain gallstone diseases, especially for choledocholithiasis and cholecystolithiasis; and 2) a Hem-o-lok clip should be carefully used during laparoscopic or robot-assisted surgery and the Hem-o-lok clip should not be in close proximity to the incision on the CBD.

Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer‑related mortality in females worldwide. Therefore, identifying alternative strategies to combat the disease mortality is important. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of tanshinone I (Tan I) on the tumorigenicity of estrogen‑responsive MCF‑7 and estrogen‑independent MDA‑MB‑453 human breast cancer cells. The cytotoxicity of Tan I was evaluated using a Cell Counting Kit‑8 assay, the apoptosis and cell cycle distribution were detected using flow cytometry and the cell morphology was observed using a fluorescence microscope. In addition, the cell cycle regulatory proteins and apoptosis‑associated proteins involved in the phosphatidylinositide 3‑kinase (PI3K)/Akt/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway were detected using western blot analysis using specific protein antibodies. The MCF‑7 and MDA‑MB‑453 cells were equally sensitive to Tan I regardless of their responsiveness to estrogen. Tan I exerted similar antiproliferative activities and induction of apoptosis, resulting in S phase arrest accompanied by decreases in cyclin B and increases in cyclin E and cyclin A proteins, which may have been associated with the upregulation of cyclin‑dependent kinase inhibitors p21Cip1 and p27Kip1. In addition, Tan I was found to downregulate anti‑apoptotic and upregulate associated apoptotic components of the PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway. Notably, treatment with the PI3K inhibitor, LY294002, decreased the levels of phosphorylated (p)‑PI3K, p‑Akt and p‑mTOR. These results clearly indicated that the mechanism of action of Tan I involved, at least partially, an effect on the PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway, providing new information for anticancer drug design and development.

Background The impact of albumin-to-alkaline phosphatase ratio (AAPR) on prognosis in cancer patients remains uncertain, despite having multiple relevant studies in publication. Methods We systemically compiled literatures from 3 databases (Cochrane Library, PubMed, and Web of Science) updated to May 24th, 2020. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were computed and synthesized using STATA 14, values were then pooled and utilized in order to assess the overall impact of AAPR on patient’s prognosis. Results In total, 18 studies involving 25 cohorts with 7019 cases were incorporated. Pooled results originated from both univariate and multivariate analyses (HR = 2.14, 95%CI:1.83–2.51, random-effects model; HR = 1.93, 95%CI:1.75–2.12, fixed-effects model; respectively) suggested that decreased AAPR had adverse effect on overall survival (OS). Similarly, pooled results from both univariate and multivariate analysis of fixed-effects model, evinced that decreased AAPR also had adverse effect on disease-free survival (DFS) (HR = 1.81, 95%CI:1.60–2.04, I2 = 29.5%, P = 0.174; HR = 1.69, 95%CI:1.45–1.97, I2 = 13.0%, P = 0.330; respectively), progression-free survival (PFS) (HR = 1.71, 95%CI:1.31–2.22, I2 = 0.0%, P = 0.754; HR = 1.90, 95%CI:1.16–3.12, I2 = 0.0%, P = 0.339; respectively), and cancer-specific survival (CSS) (HR = 2.22, 95%CI:1.67–2.95, I2 = 5.6%, P = 0.347; HR = 1.88, 95%CI:1.38–2.57, I2 = 26.4%, P = 0.244; respectively). Admittedly, heterogeneity and publication bias existed, but stratification of univariate meta-analytic results, as well as adjusted meta-analytic results via trim and fill method, all showed that AAPR still significantly correlated with poor OS despite of confounding factors. Conclusions In summary, decreased AAPR had adverse effect on prognosis in cancer patients. As an inexpensive and convenient ratio derived from liver function test, AAPR might become a promising indicator of prognosis in human cancers.

Circular RNAs are a class of RNAs with a covalently closed configuration, and several members of them have been reported to be capable of regulating various biological processes and predicting the outcome of disease. Among them, circular RNA circ-ITCH has been identified to be aberrantly expressed and associated with disease progression in diverse cancers. However, the correlation of circ-ITCH expression with clinicopathological features, as well as the prognosis of cancers, remains inconclusive. Therefore, a meta-analysis was performed to investigate the clinical significance of circ-ITCH in cancers by systematically summarizing all eligible literatures. Up to August 31, 2020, relevant articles were searched in PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane library, Embase, CNKI, and Wanfang databases. Pooled hazard ratios (HRs) and odds ratios (ORs) with corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated. A total of 1604 patients from 14 studies were included in this meta-analysis. The results showed that cancer patients with low circ-ITCH expression were more susceptible to develop lymph node metastasis ( OR = 2.25 , 95% CI: 1.67-3.02, p ≤ 0.01 ), larger tumor size ( OR = 3.01 , 95% CI: 2.01-4.52, p ≤ 0.01 ), advanced TNM stage ( OR = 2.82 , 95% CI: 1.92-4.14, p ≤ 0.01 ), and poor overall survival (OS) ( HR = 2.45 , 95% CI: 2.07–2.90, p ≤ 0.01 , univariate analysis; HR = 2.69 , 95% CI: 1.82-3.96, p ≤ 0.01 , multivariate analysis). Thus, low circ-ITCH expression was significantly associated with aggressive clinicopathological features and unfavorable outcome in various cancers. Therefore, circ-ITCH may serve as a molecular therapy target and a prognostic marker in human cancers.

Objectives Accumulating evidence has been reported that circular RNAs (circRNAs) are a class of relatively stable, non-coding RNAs, which are involved in the progression of many types of diseases. However, the mechanism of hsa_circ_0052112 in breast cancer cells is not entirely clear. Hsa_circ_0052112, generated from the ZNF83 gene, is selected by analyzing circRNA expression profiles of breast cancer cell by using microarray assay. In this study, we will show the role of hsa_circ_0052112 in regulating cell invasion and migration in breast cancer. Methods The expression level of hsa_circ_0052112 in MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cells was detected by RT-qPCR; we performed transwell assay to evaluate breast cancer cells’ migration and invasion; predicated circRNA/miRNAs interaction using the miRanda and RNAhybrid software; identified the relationship between hsa_circ_0052112 and miR-125a-5p by luciferase activity assay and show the localization of hsa_circ_0052112 by FISH assay and show the significance of ZNF83 in clinical prognosis by Kaplan-Meier survival analysis. Results Hsa_circ_0052112 expression was significantly higher in MDA-MB-231 cells than that in MCF-7 cells. Overexpression of hsa_circ_0052112 promoted cell migration and invasion in breast cancer. Inversely, down-regulation of hsa_circ_0052112 suppressed breast cancer cells migration and invasion. Hsa_circ_0052112 was mostly located in cytoplasm. Hsa_circ_0052112 could directly sponge to miR-125a-5p; overexpression of miR-125a-5p significantly inhibited breast cancer cells migration and invasion. However, high or low expression of miR-125a-5p was not correlated with relapse free survival (RFS) by TCGA database validation, but high expression of ZNF83 was closely correlated with poor RFS by Kaplan–Meier plotter. Conclusions These data suggest that hsa_circ_0052112 may be a potent biomarker for breast cancer, and may provide a new perspective on treatment of breast cancer.

C–S–H-PCE nanocomposites (CPNs) serving as nucleation sites are a promising material to accelerate the cement hydration and gain high early strength for cementitious materials. This study aimed to investigate the effects of CPNs on the properties and hydration of cement mortar under different water-to-cement (w/c) ratios. CPNs were prepared via the co-precipitation method in MAPEG-PCE solution and characterized by means of XRD, FT-IR, DLS, TEM , TGA, and TOC . The mechanism and effect of CPNs on the early hydration of cement mortar with w/c ratios of 0.50, 0.40, and 0.35 were assessed in terms of mechanical properties, isothermal calorimetry, setting time XRD, TGA, SEM, and MIP. The results showed that CPNs significantly promoted the early strength development of mortar and a higher enhancement ratio was brought at a lower w/c ratio. Calorimetry and setting results also showed a greater hydration acceleration of samples dosed CPNs with lower w/c ratio. From the analysis of XRD and TGA, the content of CH and C–S–H in the samples dosed CPNs increased with the decrease of w/c ratio in 6 h, while exhibited an opposite trend in 12 h and 3 d. MIP and SEM results showed that CPNs led to a refinement of pore structure and dense morphology, especially at a low w/c ratio. Moreover, the underlying acceleration mechanism of cement hydration versus w/c ratio was that the seeding ability was enhanced for the low distance between cement and CPNs at a low w/c ratio. According to this research, the use of CPNs may be more practical in high-strength concrete.

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are a class of long, non-coding RNAs molecules that shape a covalently closed continuous loop which have no 5'-3' polarity and contain no polyA tail. CircRNAs also possess relatively jarless framework and are highly tissue-specific expressed in the eukaryotic transcriptome. Emerging evidences have discovered that thousands of endogenous circRNAs are present in mammalian cells and they mediate gene expression at the transcriptional or post-transcriptional level by binding to microRNAs or other molecules and then inhibit their function. Similarly, increasing evidence indicates that circRNAs may play a role in the development of several types of diseases, including atherosclerotic vascular disease risk, neurological disorders, prion diseases, osteoarthritis and diabetes. Furthermore, circRNAs exhibit aberrant expression in multiform types of cancer, including colorectal cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma and pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. And based on the function of circRNAs in cancer, we believe that circRNAs may serve as diagnostic or tumor promising biomarkers. Moreover, it will provide a new therapeutic target for the treatment of cancer.

A new fatty acid, (2E,4E,6S)-6-hydroxydeca-2,4-dienoic acid (1), along with six known compounds (2–7), were isolated from the gorgonian-derived fungus Xylaria sp. C-2, collected from the South China Sea. The structure of 1 was elucidated by 1D, 2D NMR, and MS spectrometry. The absolute configuration of 1 was determined by using the modified Mosher’s method. All of the isolated compounds were evaluated for their cytotoxic and antibacterial activities.

A new hexahydrobenzopyran derivative cytosporin L (1), and another eight known compounds were isolated from the gorgonian-derived fungus Eutypella sp. collected from the South China Sea. The structure of 1 was elucidated by comprehensive spectroscopic data. The absolute configuration of 1 was determined by a chemical reaction and the modified Mosher’s method. The isolated secondary metabolites were evaluated for their antibacterial activities. Compound 1 showed antibacterial activity towards Micrococcus lysodeikticus and Enterobacter aerogenes with the same MIC values of 3.12 μM. Compounds 1–3 were evaluated for antiviral activities. Compounds 1 and 2 obviously inhibited the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) with the IC50 values of 72.01 and 30.25 μM, respectively.

To explore the specific molecular mechanisms of Danshensu (DSS) in the treatment of ischemia reperfusion injury (IRI). IRI model was established with isolated rat hearts by performing global ischaemia for 30 min, and then followed by 60 min reperfusion. Also, H9C2 cells were subjected to 4-h hypoxia followed by 3-h reoxygenation. Then 10 μmol/L DSS were added in the reperfusion/reoxygenation step to intervene IRI. Cardiac function, structural change and apoptosis were respectively tested by Langendorff System, hematoxylin and eosin (HE) and terminal-deoxynucleotidyl transferase mediated nick endabeling (TUNEL) stainings. Then lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), reactive oxygen species (ROS), superoxide gasification enzyme (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-PX) were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Sirt1/FoxO1/Rab7 Signal Pathway was monitored at both protein and mRNA levels. The results showed that IRI not only greatly attenuated cardiac function (LVDP and ±dp/dtmax, P

Transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) signaling pathway is a key regulator of various cancer biologies, including cancer cell migration, invasion, angiogenesis, proliferation, as well as apoptosis, and it is one of indispensable signaling pathways during cancer metastasis. TGF-β signaling pathway can regulate and be regulated by a series of molecular and signaling pathways where microRNAs (miRNAs) seem to play important roles. miRNAs are small non-coding RNAs that can regulate expressions of their target genes. Emerging evidence suggest that miRNAs participate in various biological and pathologic processes such as cancer cells apoptosis, proliferation, invasion, migration, and metastasis by influencing multiple signaling pathways. In this article, we focus on the interaction between miRNAs and TGF-β in breast cancer (BC) metastasis through modulating invasion-metastasis-related factors, including epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), cancer stem cells (CSCs), matrix metalloproteinase (MMP), tissue inhibitors of MMPs (TIMPs), cell adhesion molecules (CAMs), and tumor microenvironment (TME). Through a clear understanding of the complicated links between TGF-β pathway and miRNAs, it may provide a novel and safer therapeutic target to prevent BC metastasis.

Ultrafast dynamics of the excited state of 2,9,16,23-phenoxy-phthalocyanine (Pc1) and 2,9,16,23-phenoxy-phthalocyanine-zinc (Pc2) has been investigated using femtosecond transient absorption (TA) and time-resolved fluorescence (TRFL) techniques. The observed dynamics of femtosecond TA and TRFL experiments are similar, which demonstrated the intrinsic properties of the excitation and the relaxation processes in both kinds of phthalocyanines with two decay components. A multi level model has been proposed to explain the photophysical processes after Soret-band excitation. The results show that the fast decay component dynamics comes from the intramolecular vibrational relaxation, the slower ones from the internal conversion. The samples are expected to be a potential candidate for optical applications and photodynamic therapy.

In this paper, the problem of robust stability analysis for a class of uncertain systems with interval time-varying delay and nonlinear perturbations is studied. In order to develop a less conservative stability condition, a Lyapunov-Krasovskii functional (LKF) comprising quadruple-integral term is introduced. A novel delay dependent stability criterion in terms of linear matrix inequalities (LMIs) is given by using a new delay-partitioning approach and reciprocally convex combination technique, which is derived by integral inequality approach (IIA). Compared with the existing literature, this criterion can greatly reduce the complexity of theoretical derivation and computation. Finally, three well-known numerical comparative examples are given to verify the superiority of the proposed approach in reducing the conservation of conclusion.

In this paper, the problem of delay dependent robust stability for a class of interval time-varying delay systems with nonlinear perturbations is studied. Based on the idea of delay-partitioning method (DPM), the whole delay interval is divided into two unequal subintervals at appropriate point and a new Lyapunov-Krasovskii functional (LKF) which contains some quadruple-integral terms and augment terms is introduced on each interval. Then, a new bounding technique based on a novel integral inequality approach together with reciprocally convex combination technique is used to deal with the cross term of the derivative. Hence, an enhanced delay-dependent stability criterion is derived in terms of linear matrix inequality (LMI). Finally, the numerical simulation results show that the proposed method is effective and less conservative.

The prognostic value of (18)F-deoxyglucose positron emission tomography ((18)F-FDG PET) on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains inconclusive. This study aims to investigate the prognostic role of pretreatment (18)F-FDG PET on HCC patients by meta-analysis.PubMed, Embase, Cochrane library, and Wanfang databases were searched until June 2015. Hazard ratios (HRs) with corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were synthesized by Stata 10.0, and the combined results were used as effective values.Twenty-two studies containing a total of 1721 patients were identified. According to random-effect model, meta-analysis results showed that high Tumor SUV/Liver SUV (Tsuv/Lsuv) ratio was significantly associated with poorer overall survival (OS) (HR = 2.04; 95% CI 1.50-2.79; P = 0.000) and poorer disease-free survival (HR = 7.17; 95% CI 3.58-14.36; P = 0.000); and high Tumor SUV (Tsuv) value was also correlated with poor OS (HR = 1.53; 95% CI 1.26-1.87; P = 0.000). Meanwhile, subgroup analysis results showed that the significant association above was not altered by study sample size, parameter cutoff value, analytic method, and follow-up period, but there was no significant association between Tsuv/Lsuv ratio and OS in patients who underwent resection (HR = 1.71; 95% CI 1.00-2.92; P = 0.052).Both high Tsuv/Lsuv ratio and high Tsuv value are associated with poor prognosis in HCC patients. Therefore, pretreatment (18)F-FDG PET is a useful tool in predicting the prognosis of HCC patients. More studies with explicit treatment modalities are required to investigate the prognostic value of pretreatment (18)F-FDG PET on HCC patients.

Objectives MiRNA-139 is located at 11q13.4 and it has anti-oncogenic and antimetastatic activity in humans. However, its role in controlling apoptosis, invasion and metastasis and the development of chemosensitivity to docetaxel in breast cancer cells are not fully understood. The aim of this study was to research the biological function of miR-139-5p and the efficacy of chemosensitivity to docetaxel. Methods MiR-139-5p expression in MCF-7, MCF-7/Doc cells and in selected breast cancer tissue samples was confirmed by real-time PCR; cell viability was analyzed by Cell Counting Kit-8 assay; apoptosis and cell cycle were analyzed by flow cytometry; control of metastasis and invasion of breast cancer cells was measured by transwell assay; expression of Notch1 was measured by western blot; a luciferase reporter vector was constructed to identify the miR-139-5p target gene. Results MiR-139-5p was significantly down-regulated in breast cancer cells. MiR-139-5p inhibits the viability of breast cancer cells. MiR-139-5p induces apoptosis, causes cell cycle arrest in S phase, inhibits migration and invasion in breast cancer cells, however, MiR-139-5p play the opposite role in docetaxel-induced breast cancer cells. Conclusions MiR-139-5p not only attenuated the development of breast cancer cells but also mediated drug-resistance by regulating the expression of the downstream target gene Notch1.

This paper introduces the application of IOT technology in the communication room monitoring and asset management in Hubei electric power company, consists of the design of general construction, hierarchical structure and functions. Target for the effective management of communication room power and environment monitoring, communication resources and site operation, applying monitoring and communication features of IOT, to make fast and reasonable configuration of communication resources at benefit maximization, support for the information level of communication room operational & maintenance.

Background/Aims: This study aims to investigate the effect of Luteolin on breast cancer in vitro and in vivo and the interaction between miRNAs and Notch signaling after Luteolin intervention, and illustrates the possible underlying mechanism and regulation loop. Methods: Cell growth/survival assays and cell cycle analyses were performed to evaluate cell survival in vitro. Scratch tests, cell invasion assays and tube formation assays were carried out to analyze cell viability and identify the impact of Luteolin on angiogenesis. Critical components in the Notch pathway including proteins and mRNAs were detected by Western blotting analyses, ELISA assays and real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. Matrix metalloproteinases activity was evaluated by gelatin zymography analyses. MiRNAs were analyzed by miRNA expression assays. After MDA-MB-231 cells were separately transfected with Notch-1 siRNA/cDNA and miRNA mimics, the above assays were also carried out to examine potential tumor cell changes. Xenograft models were applied to evaluate the treatment potency of Luteolin in breast cancer. Results: Luteolin significantly inhibited breast cancer cell survival, cell cycle, tube formation and the expression of Notch signaling-related proteins and mRNAs, and regulated miRNAs. After introducing Notch-1 siRNA and miRNA mimics, MDA-MB-231 cells presented with changes in miRNA levels, reduced Notch signaling-related proteins, and decreased tumor survival, invasion and angiogenesis. Conclusion: Luteolin inhibits Notch signaling by regulating miRNAs. However, the effect of miRNAs on the Notch pathway could be either Luteolin-dependent or Luteolin-independent. Furthermore, Notch-1 alteration may inversely change miRNAs levels. Our data demonstrates that Luteolin, miRNAs and the Notch pathway are critical in breast cancer development and prognosis.

Purpose Our meta-analysis aims to investigate the prognostic role of pretreatment albumin to globulin ratio (AGR) in human cancers. Methods Available databases were searched up to Sept 25th, 2017. Pooled hazard ratios (HRs) and risk ratio (RRs) with their corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to assess the prognostic impact of AGR on overall survival (OS)/disease-free survival (DFS)/progression-free survival (PFS) and 5-year mortality respectively. Results Totally, 28 studies with 15 356 cancer patients were included. Our results demonstrated that low pretreatment AGR is associated with poor OS (HR = 2.08, 95%CI:1.78–2.44, univariate results; HR = 1.75, 95%CI:1.56–1.97, multivariate results), poor DFS (HR = 1.96, 95%CI:1.48–2.59, univariate results; HR = 1.64, 95%CI:1.26–2.14, multivariate results) and poor PFS (HR = 1.89, 95%CI:1.61–2.22, univariate results; HR = 1.66, 95%CI:1.32–2.0, multivariate results). Meanwhile, low pretreatment AGR is also associated with increased 5-year mortality (RR = 2.12, 95%CI:1.48–3.03). Moreover, this significant correlation was not altered by stratified analysis according to publication times, sample sizes, patient origins, AGR cutoff values, cancer systems, treatment methods or HR sources. Conclusion Low pretreatment AGR is associated with poor prognosis in human cancers, and AGR should be used as a prognostic marker during cancer therapy.

MicroRNAs (miRs) are short and highly conserved non-coding RNAs molecules consisting of 18–25 nucleotides that regulate gene expression at post-transcriptional level by direct binding to complementary binding sites within the 3′untranslated region (3′UTR) of target mRNAs. New evidences have demonstrated that miRNAs play an important role in diverse physiological processes, including regulating cell growth, apoptosis, metastasis, drug resistance, and invasion. In chromosomes 11 and 22 of the miR-130 family, paralogous miRNA sequences, miR-130a and miR-130b are situated, respectively. MiR-130a has participated in different pathogenesis, including hepatocellular carcinoma, cervical cancer, ovarian cancer, glioblastoma, prostate carcinoma, leukemia, etc. Most important of all, more and more evidences indicate that miR-130a is associated with drug resistance and acts as an intermediate in PI3 K/Akt/PTEN/mTOR, Wnt/β-catenin and NF-kB/PTEN drug resistance signaling pathways. Drug resistance has emerged as a major obstacle to successful treatment of cancer nowadays and in this review, we will reveal the function of miR-130a in cancer, especially in drug resistance. Therefore, it will provide a new therapeutic target for the treatment of cancer, especially in chemotherapy.

As the high concrete faced rockfill dams construction, grain breakage gradually become the factors that influence the high dam construction which can not be ignored. This text based on the master of rockfill of shuibuya dam as the experimental material, getting and analyzing the particle breakage data under different confining pressure through the large-scale triaxial test, and the results show that the particle breakage index increases with the increase of confining pressures. The relationship between particle breakage index and confining pressure can be expressed by formula;Particle breakage increase leading to reduced internal friction angle and the shear strength of rockfill, and the author newly introduced two broken variable to describe the relationship which can be expressed by the formula between the particle breakage and internal friction angle, it has certain reference value for establishing constitutive model considering particle breakage.

[Co2(HL1)2(H2O)2](NO3) (1), [Cu2(H2L1)(HL1) (CH3COO)]·H2O (2), [Cu4(HL1)4(C2H5OH)]·C2H5OH·H2O (3), and [Mn3(HL2)2(CH3OH)2(CH3COO)4]·2(CH3OH)·H2O (4) {H3L1 = 2-ethyl-2-(2-hydroxybenzylideneamino)propane-1,3-diol, H3L2 = 2-ethyl-2-[(2-hydroxynaphthalene-1-yl)methyleneamino]propane-1,3-diol} have been synthesized and characterized by IR spectra, elemental analyses, single-crystal X-ray diffraction, TGA, XRD, and magnetic measurements. Compound 1 possesses mixed-valence dinuclear {Co2(μ2-O)2} with Co(II) and Co(III) ions linked through μ2-hydroxyl of Schiff base ligands. Compound 2 displays a binuclear structure with {Cu2(μ2-O)(η2-COO)} containing one μ2-hydroxyl and a single syn–syn acetate bridge. Compound 3 is tetranuclear with a cube-shaped {Cu4(μ3-O)4} core constructed by four Cu(II) centers and four μ3-hydroxyls of Schiff base ligands. Compound 4 displays a linear trinuclear {Mn3(μ2-O)2(η2-COO)2} structure in which the terminal Mn(III) and the central Mn(II) ions are linked by a μ2-hydroxyl of Schiff ba...

Background: Multidrug resistance (MDR) directly contributes to the clinical failure of chemotherapy in breast cancer (BCA). β-elemene is a natural antitumor drug from plants. We previously confirmed that MDR could be reversed by β-elemene. In this study, we intended to investigate the reversal effect of β-elemene on MDR in human BCA adriacin (Adr) -resistant MCF-7 cells (MCF-7/Adr) and docetaxel (Doc) - resistant MCF-7 cells (MCF-7/Doc) through the gene regulatory network. Methods: MTT-cytotoxic, miRNA microarray, Real-time quantitative PCR, Dual Luciferase Activity Assay, Western blot analysis were performed to investigate the impact of β-elemene on chemo-resistant BCA cell suvival, and its impact on the expression of chemo-resistance specific miRNA and the downstream target genes PTEN and Pgp. Results: Compared with the miRNAs expression profiles of MCF-7/Adr and MCF-7/Doc cell lines from our previous studies, there were 322 differentially expressed miRNAs in MCF-7/Adr and MCF-7/Doc breast cancer cells with β-elemene intervention (50μM/L) for 30h, and 6 miRNAs were significantly up-regulated and 12 miRNAs were significantly down-regulated in both MCF-7/Adr and MCF-7/Doc. We have testified that 5 miRNA is related to MDR before, in this study, the expression of miR-34a, miR-222, miR-452 and miR-29a can lead to changes of the characteristics of chemo-resistant MCF-7/Adr and MCF-7/Doc. The PTEN expression under intervention of β-elemene was significantly increased and Pgp expression under β-elemene intervention was significantly decreased in both cell lines. Conclusions: β-elemene could influence MDR related miRNA expression and subsequently regulate the expression of the target genes PTEN and Pgp, which may lead to reduction of the viability of the chemo-resistant breast cancer cells.

This paper studies the periodic solutions to a superquadratic second-oder discrete type Hamiltonian system in the n dimensional Euclide space. By the variational methods and some discrete computional techniques, this paper proves the existence of solution to a new type discrete Hamiltonian system.

This paper studies the Hamiltonian flow of the brake Hamiltonian dynamical system on the symmetrical symplectic manifold. By using the transformation law of Hamiltonian diffeomorphisms and the Hamiltonian vectors, this paper describes the characteristics of the Hamiltonian flows and proves that the Hamiltonian flows are invariant under some transformations.

This paper studies the Hamiltonian flows and functions of the brake Hamiltonian dynamical system. By the properties of the brake Hamiltonian system and the transformation law of Hamiltonian diffeomorphisms, this paper proves the correspondence of the Hamiltonian flows and the symmetrical Hamiltonian functions under some conditions.

A novel one-dimensional helical mixed-valence cobalt coordination polymer (1) {[CoIICoIII(HL)2(OAc)]·CH3OH·H2O}n, (H3L = 2-ethyl-2-((2-hydroxynaphthalen-1-yl)methyleneamino)propane-1,3-diol) has been synthesized and characterized. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction analyses reveal that complex 1 crystallizes in the tetragonal I4(1)/a space group. It consists of a bimetallic CoIICoIII(μ2-O)2 core, and the adjacent CoII(2) centers are sequentially bridged by carboxylate groups in the syn–anti fashion, affording to a one-dimensional infinite helical chain along the c-axis. Adjacent chains are stacked via C H···π interactions to form the overall three-dimensional supramolecular networks. Magnetic and in vitro anticancer activities of the complex have been investigated in detail.

Purpose. Urothelial carcinoma-associated 1 (UCA1) has been reported to be overexpressed and correlated with progression in various cancers. However, the association between UCA1 expression and some clinicopathological features of digestive system malignancies, such as metastasis and survival, remains inconclusive. Therefore, a meta-analysis was performed to investigate the clinical significance of UCA1 in digestive system malignancies.Methods. Relevant literatures were searched in PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and Embase databases updated to May 2016.Results. A total of 1089 patients from 10 studies were included in this meta-analysis. Meta-analysis results showed that digestive system malignancy patients with UCA1 overexpression were significantly more susceptible to developing lymph node metastasis (LNM) (OR = 1.85, 95% CI: 1.28–2.67) and distant metastasis (DM) (OR = 3.14, 95% CI: 1.77–5.58) and suffer from poor overall survival (OS) (HR = 2.31, 95% CI: 1.89–2.82, univariate analysis; HR = 2.24, 95% CI: 1.69–2.98, multivariate analysis) and poor disease-free survival (DFS) (HR = 2.65, 95% CI: 1.59–4.43, univariate analysis; HR = 2.50, 95% CI: 1.62–3.86, multivariate analysis).Conclusion. UCA1 overexpression was correlated with LNM, DM, poor OS, and poor DFS. UCA1 may serve as an indicator for metastasis and poor prognosis in digestive system malignancies.

miR-30a is situated on chromosome 6q.13 and is produced by an intronic transcriptional unit. However, its role in regulating the apoptosis, invasion and metastasis of breast cancer cells is not yet fully understood. The aim of this study was to research the biological function of miR‑30a and its direct target gene in breast cancer. The biological function of miR‑30a was determined by examining breast cancer cell growth, apoptosis, metastasis and invasion. In addition, Notch1 expression was measured by western blot analysis, and a luciferase reporter vector was constructed to identify the miR‑30a target gene. miR‑30a was found to be significantly downregulated in breast cancer cells. We also found that miR‑30a inhibited breast cancer cell viability, migration and invasion, and induced cell apoptosis. On the whole, our data indicate that miR‑30a attenuates the development of breast cancer by regulating the expression of the downstream target gene, Notch1.

Six transition metal compounds [Cu(H2L)(CH3COO)]·H2O (1), [Cu(H2L)(CH3COO)] (2), [Cu(H2L)](ClO4)·CH3OH (3), 2[Cu(H2L)2] (4), [Co(H2L)2](NO3)·2CH3OH (5), and [Ni(H2L)](NO3) (6) were synthesized by reactions of the Schiff base ligand H3L (1-{[2-(2-hydroxyethyl amino)ethylimino]methyl}naphthalen-2-ol) with the corresponding metal salts and characterized by single crystal X-ray diffraction, elemental analysis, IR and UV/Vis spectroscopy and TG analysis. All compounds are mononuclear molecules, in which the Schiff base ligand exhibits diverse coordination modes and conformations. The N–H···O, O–H···O, and C–H···O inter- and intramolecular hydrogen bonding interactions link these molecules into multidimensional network supramolecular structures.

With the large-scale continuous development of economic, mass concrete structure plays an important role in the architecture construction field. This paper simulates the mechanism of temperature crack which is caused by temperature stress due to the change of temperature, introduces the generative principle of temperature crack simply and could provide references for control the temperature crack effectively.

A novel transition region extraction and thresholding method based on both frequency and degree of gray level changes is proposed by analyzing properties of transition region. Frequent gray level based transition region extraction methods are greatly affected by noise. To eliminate the algorithm limitation, a modified descriptor taking both degree and frequency of gray level changes into account is developed. The proposed algorithm can accurately extract transition region of an image and get ideal segmentation result. The experimental results show its superiority and feasibility.

In this paper, we present a new approach by local gray level difference based competitive fuzzy edge detection. In the light of human visual perception, a preprocessing step is proposed to simplify original images and further enhance the performance of edge extraction. Then we define the feature vector of each pixel in four directions and six edge prototype. Finally, BP neural network is used to classify the type of edge, and the competitive rule is adopted to thin the thick edge image. From the experimental result, it can be seen that the edge detection method proposed in this paper is superior to Canny method and Log method under the noisy condition.

This paper studies the reductions and properties of strictly contact diffeomorphisms in contact dynamical system. By constructing new norms and using some estimate techniques, this paper proves that the induced homeomorphism of contact homeomorphism is Hamiltonian, and computes the norm of such homeomorphism under reduction in contact dynamical system.

This paper studies the nontrivial positive solutions to a semilinear elliptic system in the n dimensional Euclide space. By constructing new variational space, using the linking theorems and some embedding theorems, this paper proves the existence of positive solution to a semilinear elliptic system, and improves the results of Li and Wang.