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BACKGROUND: Da Vinci surgery is used extensively, but the high costs of the surgical instrument are a serious clinical and management problem. OBJECTIVE: To reduce the cost of the Da Vinci robotic surgical instrument supply chain. METHODS: Patients were selected from the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China. Control group patients underwent Da Vinci robot-assisted surgery between January 2019 and June 2019 (control group). Patients who were operated with the same robot from July 2019 to December 2019 were selected as the experimental group (SCM group). The cost analysis and comparison were carried out to integrate instrument sets, working hours, workforce expenditure, and direct and indirect expenses. RESULTS: Compared with the control group, the number of instrument packages was lower (4.5 ± 1.4 vs. 11.5 ± 1.6, P< 0.001) and the personnel’s awareness of the instruments was higher (92.3 ± 4.2 vs. 83.4 ± 3.7, P< 0.001) in the SCM group. The SCM group showed lower processing time per device (8.1 ± 1.6 vs. 44.2 ± 5.6 min, P< 0.001) and lower costs per surgical instrument (RMB 11.5 ± 2.3 vs. 60.3 ± 10.2, P< 0.001). CONCLUSION: The application of the supply chain management can reduce the costs of robotic surgery, improve work efficiency and decrease the failure rate of instruments.

BACKGROUND: Three-dimensional transvaginal ultrasound (3D-TVUS) has recently been adopted in the gynecological sciences as it provides an accurate illustration of adhesions and the extent of cavity damage, and hence, can be used as an essential tool for the prognosis of intrauterine adhesions (IUA). This study aims to demonstrate whether preoperative 3D-TVUS features are relevant to ongoing pregnancy and live births in patients with IUA following hysteroscopic adhesiolysis (HA). METHODS: From February 22, 2018, to October 31, 2018, a total of 401 patients with moderate to severe IUA and underwent HA were retrospectively enrolled. Preoperative 3D-TVUS diagnosed data and the patients’ basic information were collected, and patients were followed up over 2 years after HA for reproductive outcomes. The correlation between each imaging variable and ongoing pregnancy or live birth was analyzed by binary logistic regression. RESULTS: Among the 401 patients, 143 had live births, 41 patients had abortions, and 217 patients were infertile. Thick endometrium was found to be favorable for ongoing pregnancy (ongoing pregnancy group =5.4±1.95 mm, no-ongoing pregnancy group =4.7±2.24 mm, P=0.0095) and live birth (live birth group=5.6±1.92 mm, no-live birth group =4.7±2.20 mm, P=0.0029). Scar contraction was not conducive for pregnancy, while the lower segmentation was not a risk factor for ongoing pregnancy (P=0.0003). It also was a risk factor for ongoing pregnancy (P

IntroductionThe geriatric nutritional risk index (GNRI), a nutritional screening tool specifically for the aging population, has been proven to be associated with worse outcomes in chronic kidney disease patients, especially in the hemodialysis population. However, the predictive validity of GNRI in critically ill elderly patients with acute kidney injury (AKI) is yet to be determined. This analysis sought to examine the prognostic effects of GNRI on elderly AKI patients in intensive care units (ICUs).MethodsWe collected elderly AKI patient-relevant data from the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care III database. AKI was diagnosed and staged according to the “Kidney Disease Improving Global Outcomes” criteria. In the study, 1-year mortality was considered the primary outcome, whereas in-hospital, ICU, 28-day and 90-day mortality, and prolonged length of stay in ICU and hospital were selected as the secondary outcomes.ResultsIn all, 3,501 elderly patients with AKI were selected for this study, with a 1-year mortality rate of 36.4%. We classified the study population into low (≤98) and high (>98) GNRI groups based on the best cutoff value. The incidence of endpoints was remarkably lower in patients with elevated GNRI (p < 0.001). When stratified by the AKI stage, patients with high GNRI at AKI stages 1, 2, and 3 had markedly lower 1-year mortality than those with low GNRI (all p < 0.05). The multivariable regression analysis identified the independent prognostic ability of GNRI on the research outcomes (all p < 0.05). Restricted cubic spline exhibited a linear correlation between GNRI and 1-year death (p for non-linearity = 0.434). The prognostic implication of GNRI on 1-year mortality was still significant in patients with the most subgroups.ConclusionIn critically ill elderly patients with AKI, elevated GNRI upon admission was strongly correlated with a lower risk of unfavorable outcomes.

Supplemental Figure S1. The over-expression of CBX4, but not of other CBX members, suppresses the migration of DLD1 cells. Supplementary Figure S2. The knockdown of CBX4 enhances migration and invasion of CRC cells. Supplementary Figure S3. The over-expression of CBX4 inhibits the cell migration and invasion of CRC cells. Supplementary Figure S4. CBX4 represses the liver metastasis of HCT116 cells. Supplementary Figure S5. CBX4 is negatively related to the Runx2 expression in CRC cell lines. Supplementary Figure S6. The knockdown of Runx2 decreases the expression of Slug. Supplementary Figure S7. The promotion of cell migration and invasion after CBX4 knockdown primarily depends on Runx2. Supplementary Figure S8. The knockdown of Slug also reverses the promotion of cell migration and invasion after CBX4 knockdown. Supplementary Figure S9. IHC antibodies specifically recognized CBX4 or Runx2 protein. Supplementary Figure S10. The ΔSIM1/2 and CDM mutations marginally affect the functions of CBX4 in CRC. Supplementary Figure S11. CBX4 strongly binds with HDAC1, HDAC2, HDAC3 and HDAC9. Supplementary Figure S12. HDAC1, HDAC2, and HDAC3, but not HDAC9, are expressed in the tested CRC cell lines. Supplementary Figure S13. The ΔSIM1/2 and CDM mutations marginally affect the interaction of CBX4 with HDAC3. Supplementary Figure S14. The binding affinity of HDAC3 with the Runx2 promoter was dependent on CBX4. Supplementary Figure S15. The knockdown of HDAC3 abrogates the functions of CBX4 in CRC. Supplementary Figure S16. Determination of CBX4 fragments interacting with HDAC3. Supplementary Figure S17. The C-terminal 10 amino acids of CBX4 are responsible for its interaction with Bmi1. Supplementary Figure S18. The ΔDM1-CBX4 and ΔTM-CBX4 mutations, but not the deltaC-CBX4 mutation, abolish the inhibition of cell migration and invasion by CBX4.

The transcriptome analysis of HCT116 cells transfected with scrambled or CBX4 shRNA.

Table S1 is the correlation between CBX4 expression and Runx2 expression of CRC patients, Table S2 is correlation between CBX4 expression and clinicopathologic characteristics of CRC patients, and Table S3 is univariate and multivariate analysis for overall survival.

Polycomb chromobox (CBX) proteins participate in the polycomb repressive complex (PRC1) that mediates epigenetic gene silencing and endows PRC1 with distinct oncogenic or tumor suppressor functions in a cell-type–dependent manner. In this study, we report that inhibition of cell migration, invasion, and metastasis in colorectal carcinoma requires CBX4-mediated repression of Runx2, a key transcription factor that promotes colorectal carcinoma metastasis. CBX4 inversely correlated with Runx2 expression in colorectal carcinoma tissues, and the combination of high CBX4 expression and low Runx2 expression significantly correlated with overall survival, more so than either CBX4 or Runx2 expression alone. Mechanistically, CBX4 maintained recruited histone deacetylase 3 (HDAC3) to the Runx2 promoter, which maintained a deacetylated histone H3K27 state to suppress Runx2 expression. This function of CBX4 was dependent on its interaction with HDAC3, but not on its SUMO E3 ligase, its chromodomain, or the PRC1 complex. Disrupting the CBX4–HDAC3 interaction abolished Runx2 inhibition as well as the inhibition of cell migration and invasion. Collectively, our data show that CBX4 may act as a tumor suppressor in colorectal carcinoma, and strategies that stabilize the interaction of CBX4 with HDAC3 may benefit the colorectal carcinoma patients with metastases. Cancer Res; 76(24); 7277–89. ©2016 AACR.

Addtional information on shRNA sequences, qRT-PCR primers, promoter cloning primers, antibodies and ChIP-qPCR primers used in this study.

Purpose: Aspirin has recently been reported to reduce both the incidence and the risk of metastasis in colon cancer. However, there is no evidence at the cellular levels or in the animal models for such an effect of aspirin on cancer metastasis.Experimental Design: MTT assay, colony formation assay, and apoptosis assay were employed to analyze the effects of aspirin on the osteosarcoma cell viability in vitro. The NF-κB activity was measured by the NF-κB p65 luciferase reporter. Western blotting was used to analyze the proteins in cells. The migration and invasion abilities of osteosarcoma cells in vitro were measured by the Transwell assay. Xenograft-bearing mice were used to assess the roles of aspirin in both tumor growth and metastasis of osteosarcoma in vivo (n = 5–8 mice/group). An unpaired Student t test or ANOVA with the Bonferroni post hoc test were used for the statistical comparisons.Results: Aspirin reduced cell viability in a dose- and time-dependent manner in osteosarcoma cell lines, and aspirin synergistically sensitized osteosarcoma cells to cisplatin (DDP) in vitro and in vivo (P < 0.001). Moreover, aspirin markedly repressed the migration and invasion of osteosarcoma cells in vitro (P < 0.001), and dramatically diminished the occurrence of osteosarcoma xenograft metastases to the lungs in vivo (P < 0.001). Mechanistically, aspirin diminishes osteosarcoma migration, invasion, and metastasis through the NF-κB pathway.Conclusions: Aspirin suppresses both the growth and metastasis of osteosarcoma through the NF-κB pathway at the cellular level and in the animal models. Clin Cancer Res; 21(23); 5349–59. ©2015 AACR.

Supplementary Figures S1-6. Figure S1. Aspirin enhances chemosensitivity to DDP in both U2OS and ZOS cells using the clone formation assay; Figure S2. Aspirin promotes the DDP-induced apoptosis in osteosarcoma cell lines; Figure S3. Aspirin inhibits the migration and invasion of OS cells; Figure S4. The orthotopic model of osteosarcoma in vivo; Figure S5. Aspirin has no effect on the migration and invasion in both U2OS and ZOS cells knockdown of p65; Figure S6. The impairment of Aspirin on migration and invasion are rescued in both U2OS and ZOS cells stably overexpressing p65.

To explore the changes in the expression of hypoxia inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in the process of choroidal neovascularization (CNV) in the macular area of cases with form deprivation myopia (FDM), in this study, 36 healthy mice were selected as research subjects for analysis. Specifically, they were randomly divided into test group (n = 18) and control group (n = 18). The right eye of the test group mice underwent form deprivation for 6 weeks to induce FDM, also known as FDM group. Five mice were randomly selected from FDM group and control group at 6 time points (before photocoagulation, at 7 d, 14 d, 21 d, 28 d, and 35 d after photocoagulation), respectively, for fluorescein angiography and hematoxylin-eosin staining (HE) staining to observe differences in the retina. It was found that the retina of Control group mice was well-structured with clear stratification, while that of the test group mice was severely damaged with a disordered structure, manifested as edema and swelling and damaged Bruch membrane and retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) layer. Furthermore, macrophages and RPE cells were observed in the photocoagulation area, and there was a high-fluorescence area with a blurred margin in the fundus, indicating the formation of new blood vessels. The immunohistochemical experiment revealed that within three weeks after the surgery, HIF-1α was highly expressed in the test group, and the expression level was obviously higher than the Control group. The real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) results showed that the expression level of VEGF and HIF-α in the test group was obviously higher than the Control group within three weeks after the surgery. The Western blot experiment was performed 1 week after the surgery, and it was noted that the expression level of VEGF and HIF-1α were higher in the test group versus the Control group. In summary, HIF-1α is instrumental in ocular CNV, which is also associated with VEGF.

Over the last two decades, in-person interviewing costs continued to increase while the data quality advantages traditionally identified with this data collection mode have faded. Consequently, some longitudinal surveys have begun transitioning from in-person to web data collection despite risks to data quality and longitudinal comparability. This paper addresses the major issues involved in the transition process and proposes a multi-sample, multi-phase responsive design that attempts to minimize the data quality risks while preserving the considerable cost savings promised by the transition. The paper describes the design as it was applied to the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health)—a nationally representative panel survey of around 20,000 adolescents selected from grades 7 to 12 (typically 13 to 18 years of age) in the 1994–95 school year. Also described are key results from several experiments embedded within the design and the analysis of mode effects. Also presented are some lessons learned and recommendations for other in-person panel surveys that may be contemplating a similar transition to web or mixed-mode data collection.

In this paper, a new preconditioned iterative method is presented to solve a class of nonsymmetric nonsingular or singular saddle point problems. The implementation of the proposed preconditioned Krylov subspace method avoids solving inverse of Schur complement and only needs to solve one linear sub-system at each step, which implies that it may save considerable costs. Theoretical convergence analysis, including the bounds of eigenvalues and eigenvectors, the degree of the minimal polynomial of the preconditioned matrix, are discussed in details. Moreover, a novel algebraic estimation technique for finding a practical iteration parameter is presented, which is very effective and practical even for large scale problems. At last, some numerical examples are carried, showing that the theoretical results are valid and convincing.

Rab22a-NeoF fusion protein has recently been reported as a promising target for osteosarcoma lung metastasis. However, how this fusion protein is regulated in cells remains unknown. Here, using multiple screenings, it is reported that Rab22a-NeoF1 fusion protein is degraded by an E3 ligase STUB1 via the autophagy receptor NDP52-mediated lysosome pathway, which is facilitated by PINK1 kinase. Mechanistically, STUB1 catalyzes the K63-linked ubiquitin chains on lysine112 of Rab22a-NeoF1, which is responsible for the binding of Rab22a-NeoF1 to NDP52, resulting in lysosomal degradation of Rab22a-NeoF1. PINK1 is able to phosphorylate Rab22a-NeoF1 at serine120, which promotes ubiquitination and degradation of Rab22a-NeoF1. Consistently, by upregulating PINK1, Sorafenib and Regorafenib can inhibit osteosarcoma lung metastasis induced by Rab22a-NeoF1. These findings reveal that the lysosomal degradation of Rab22a-NeoF1 fusion protein is targetable for osteosarcoma lung metastasis, proposing that Sorafenib and Regorafenib may benefit cancer patients who are positive for the RAB22A-NeoF1 fusion gene.

The existing research on the Internet of Vehicles (IoV) based on blockchain adopts the single chain mode. However, in the face of large-scale data environment, it is difficult to ensure the security and efficiency of large-scale data storage by using single chain. Thus, this paper is devoted to the research on the master-slave multi-chain IoV architecture. In the proposed architecture, there are two major innovations: 1) By defining three different data structures, micro-block, key-block and verification-block, the master-slave multi-chain model based on hash anchoring is designed to break through the data of the whole network. It ensures the consistency and integrity of IoV data, and solves the problem of privacy disclosure caused by insecure data storage; 2) A data upload and access mechanism based on attribute encryption is designed between users and RSU nodes. It solves the problem of privacy disclosure caused by insecure transmission outside the data chain. Finally, we verify that the proposed architecture is more suitable for large-scale data scenario by simulation analysis of system response time and encryption/decryption overhead.

Mental health literacy (MHL) is rarely reported in the Chinese elderly. This study explored the pattern of MHL in the Chinese elderly in relation to depression, anxiety and poor sleep quality.A cross-sectional study was conducted among older adults in Guangzhou, south China. Participants were investigated face-to-face using the Chinese National Mental Health Literacy Scale, the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 item (PHQ-9), the 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Mental Health Literacy Scale contains three dimensions: mental health knowledge, mental health skills (such as social support, cognitive reappraisal and attentional distraction) and mental health awareness. Multivariate logistic regression was used for examining the association between MHL and mental health.A total of 506 older adults were recruited. The percentage of depression, anxiety, and poor sleep quality were 16.6%, 7.9% and 40.9%, respectively. MHL dimensions independently associated with depression included cognitive reappraisal (OR = 1.95, p .001), attentional distraction (OR = 0.61, p = 0.044) and awareness (OR = 0.56, p = 0.027). MHL dimensions independently associated with anxiety symptoms included cognitive reappraisal (OR = 1.90, p = 0.011) and attentional distraction (OR = 0.44, p = 0.016). MHL dimensions independently associated with poor sleep quality included social support (OR = 0.75, p = 0.022), cognitive reappraisal (OR = 1.55, p = 0.003) and attentional distraction (OR = 0.65, p = 0.016).Given the low MHL and its association with poor mental health in the Chinese elderly, policymakers and health professionals should improve the older adults' MHL, which could be conducive to the prevention and control of their mental health problems.

Background Leukemogenesis is proposed to be a multistep process by which normal hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells are transformed into full-blown leukemic cells, the details of which are not fully understood. Methods We performed serial single-cell transcriptome analyses(10X genomics) of preleukemic and leukemic cells (PLCs) and constructed the cellular and molecular transformation trajectory in a Myc-driven AML model in mice, which represented the transformation course in patients. Another single-cell approach, Smart Seq2, was used to analyze alternative splicing events in leukemic cell. Results We found that the Myc targets were gradually upregulated along the trajectory. Among them were splicing factors, which showed stage-specific prognosis for AML patients. Furthermore, we dissected the detailed gene network of a tipping point for HSPCs to generate initiating PLCs, which was characterized by dramatically increased splicing factors and unusual RNA velocity. In the late stage, PLCs acquired explosive heterogeneity through RNA alternative splicing. Among them, the Hsp90aahi subpopulation was conserved in both human and mouse AML and associated with poor prognosis. Exon 6 skipping of Tmem134 was identified in these cells. While the exon skipping product Tmem134β promoted the cell cycle, full-length Tmem134α delayed tumorigenesis. Conclusion Our study emphasized the critical roles of RNA splicing in the full process of leukemogenesis and identified the role of a novel tumor specific alternative splicing event, Exon 6 skipping of Tmem134, during the occurrence and maintenance of leukemia.

Background: Glioma is the most common primary tumor of the central nervous system with a high lethality rate. This study aims to mine fibroblast-related genes with prognostic value and construct a corresponding prognostic model. Methods: A glioma-related TCGA (The Cancer Genome Atlas) cohort and a CGGA (Chinese Glioma Genome Atlas) cohort were incorporated into this study. Variance expression profiling was executed via the “limma” R package. The “clusterProfiler” R package was applied to perform a GO (Gene Ontology) analysis. The Kaplan–Meier (K–M) curve, LASSO regression analysis, and Cox analyses were implemented to determine the prognostic genes. A fibroblast-related risk model was created and affirmed by independent cohorts. We derived enriched pathways between the fibroblast-related high- and low-risk subgroups using gene set variation analysis (GSEA). The immune infiltration cell and the stromal cell were calculated using the microenvironment cell populations-counter (MCP-counter) method, and the immunotherapy response was assessed with the SubMap algorithm. The chemotherapy sensitivity was estimated using the “pRRophetic” R package. Results: A total of 93 differentially expressed fibroblast-related genes (DEFRGs) were uncovered in glioma. Seven prognostic genes were filtered out to create a fibroblast-related gene signature in the TCGA-glioma cohort training set. We then affirmed the fibroblast-related risk model via TCGA-glioma cohort and CGGA-glioma cohort testing sets. The Cox regression analysis proved that the fibroblast-related risk score was an independent prognostic predictor in prediction of the overall survival of glioma patients. The fibroblast-related gene signature revealed by the GSEA was applicable to the immune-relevant pathways. The MCP-counter algorithm results pointed to significant distinctions in the tumor microenvironment between fibroblast-related high- and low-risk subgroups. The SubMap analysis proved that the fibroblast-related risk score could predict the clinical sensitivity of immunotherapy. The chemotherapy sensitivity analysis indicated that low-risk patients were more sensitive to multiple chemotherapeutic drugs. Conclusion: Our study identified prognostic fibroblast-related genes and generated a novel risk signature that could evaluate the prognosis of glioma and offer a theoretical basis for clinical glioma therapy.

Several clinical trials have investigated the effects of Melissa officinalis (lemon balm) on cardiovascular risk factors, but have yielded conflicting results and had only modest sample sizes. The aim of this pool analysis was to summarize the evidence of the effects of Melissa officinalis supplementation on plasma lipid profiles, body weight, blood pressure and glucose levels. Original randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that assessed the clinical effects of Melissa officinalis consumption in human participants and published before June 2020 were identified by searching online databases, including PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science and Google Scholar databases. The quality of trials was assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool. Quantitative data analysis was performed using weighed mean difference (WMD) and 95% confidence interval (CI) as summary statistics. Standard methods for assessing statistical heterogeneity and publication bias were used, respectively. Four trials with 244 participants were included in the final analysis. Pooling of results showed that Melissa officinalis significantly lowered total cholesterol (TC) (WMD, -7.55 mg/dL; 95% CI -14.99, -0.12; P=0.045), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) (WMD, -11.33 mg/dL; 95% CI -19.46, -3.21; P=0.006), glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) (WMD, -0.35 %; 95% CI -0.64, -0.07; P=0.01), and Systolic blood pressure (SBP) (WMD, -0.89 mmHg; 95% CI-1.69, -0.09; P=0.03). The use of Melissa officinalis did not appear to significantly alter any other study endpoints. The present findings showed that supplementation with Melissa officinalis extract were associated with a significant reduction in TC, LDL-C, HbA1c, and SBP in humans.

Understanding how soil phosphorus (P) fractions change is critical to achieve more efficient soil P use in a highly P-sorbing calcareous soil. The fields were managed without or with annual P fertilizer (40 kg P ha− 1), continuously growing sole cropping or intercropping of maize and faba bean. Soil samples (0–200 mm) were collected at the start of the experiment and eight years later, and we evaluated P fractions using sequential fractionation. Maize/faba bean intercropping had an average land equivalent ratio (LER) of 1.2, a similar P content as sole maize, while both acquired more P than sole faba bean. Compared with the original soil P fractions in 2009, three cropping systems, regardless of P fertilization, depleted the labile P pool (Resin-P and NaHCO3-Pi), while Residual-P and NaHCO3-Po accumulated. Eight years of no P input showed sole maize mainly depleted NaOH-Pi and conc. HCl-Pi, sole faba bean depleting NaOH-Po, while intercropping depleted the most abundant P fraction, 1 M HCl-Pi, in addition to NaOH-Pi. However, long-term P application caused the cropping systems to accumulate 1 M HCl-Pi while depleting the conc. HCl-Po fraction; both sole faba bean and intercropping showed accumulation of NaOH-Pi, while depleting NaOH-Po. Long-term appropriate P input enhanced the mineralization of mod-labile and non-labile organic P and accumulation of mod-labile inorganic P. Sole maize consistently depleted inorganic P and sole faba bean without P input depleted organic P, while intercropping accessed P pools varying with P input.

Guided, programmable, and target-activated nucleases, exemplified by Cas in the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated protein (Cas) system and Argonaute (Ago), are emerging as a new generation of nucleic acid tests (NATs). A specific approach for comparison of these two nucleases side by side in terms of similarities, differences, and complementarities is instrumental for the sensible design of novel NATs.

To investigate the alterations of topological organization of the whole brain functional networks in hypertension patients with cognitive impairment (HTN-CI) and characterize its relationship with cognitive scores.Fifty-seven hypertension patients with cognitive impairment and 59 hypertension patients with normal cognition (HTN-NC), and 49 healthy controls (HCs) underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging. Graph theoretical analysis was used to investigate the altered topological organization of the functional brain networks. The global topological properties and nodal metrics were compared among the three groups. Network-based statistic (NBS) analysis was used to determine the connected subnetwork. The relationships between network metrics and cognitive scores were also characterized.HTN-CI patients exhibited significantly decreased global efficiency, lambda, and increased shortest path length when compared with HCs. In addition, both HTN-CI and HTN-NC groups exhibited altered nodal degree centrality and nodal efficiency in the right precentral gyrus. The disruptions of global network metrics (lambda, Lp) and the nodal metrics (degree centrality and nodal efficiency) in the right precentral gyrus were positively correlated with the MoCA scores in HTN-CI. NBS analysis demonstrated that decreased subnetwork connectivity was present both in the HTN-CI and HTN-NC groups, which were mainly involved in the default mode network, frontoparietal network, and cingulo-opercular network.This study demonstrated the alterations of topographical organization and subnetwork connectivity of functional brain networks in HTN-CI. In addition, the global and nodal network properties were correlated with cognitive scores, which may provide useful insights for the understanding of neuropsychological mechanisms underlying HTN-CI.

Background: Recently, several studies have shown that circRNAs play critical roles in renal cell carcinoma (RCC) oncogenesis and development. However, whether the level of circRNA expression in RCC is correlated with prognosis remains unclear. Hence, we conducted a meta-analysis to explore the association between circRNA expression levels and the prognosis of RCC patients.Methods: We systematically searched Ovid, Embase, PubMed, and Web of Science from January 1950 to June 2021 for the literature published in English. According to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines, we conducted a meta-analysis of 21 selected studies to confirm the association between the circRNA expression level and prognosis of RCC.Results: This meta-analysis included 20 articles and 1,559 RCC patients. The results showed that the high expression of oncogenic circRNAs (OS: HR = 2.04, 95% CI: 1.63–2.56, p = 0.20; PFS: HR = 2.82, 95% CI: 0.82–9.72, p = 0.03) and low expression of tumor-suppressor circRNAs (OS: HR: 1.92, 95% CI: 1.61–2.30, p < 0.05; PFS: HR: 2.40, 95% CI: 1.76–3.28, p = 0.36) were closely related to poor survival outcomes.Conclusion: The meta-analysis verifies that circRNAs can be potential prognostic biomarkers of RCC.

Background Gastric cancer is the second leading cancer-related mortality worldwide and more effective treatment strategies are urgently needed to combat the disease. Using lipoteichoic acid (LTA) and miR-27b-3p agomir, we aimed to assess the efficacy of this combination of therapies in treating gastric cancer. Methods The RNA levels of miR-27b-3p, FOXO3, MET, KRAS, vascular endothelial growth factor C (VEGFC), TSC1, and P65 were analyzed by quantified-PCR (Q-PCR) and the cell viability of AGS cells was analyzed by MTT. Confirm Luciferase reporter assays were used to explore the putative miR-27b-3p binding sites and Western blot analyzed the protein level of GAPDH, VEGFC, P65, AKT, and phosphorylated-AKT (p-AKT). The level of P65 in both the cytoplasm and nucleus of AGS cells was visualized by immunofluorescence assay. Subcutaneous xenograft models of gastric cancer were established, and mice were treated with miR-27b-3p agomir, LTA, or both. Hematoxylin-eosin staining and Ki-67 immunohistochemistry analysis of tumor tissues were then performed. Results The results showed that the decreased expression of miR-27b-3p in gastric cancer cell lines inhibited the viability of AGS cells, and VEGFC was confirmed as the target of miR-27b-3p. In addition, ectopic expression of miR-27b-3p significantly inhibited the AKT pathway in AGS and N87 cells, and LTA suppressed the proliferation of gastric cancer cells by inhibiting the NF-κB pathway. In an established xenograft model, both miR-27b-3p agomir alone and LTA treatment alone inhibited tumor growth and treatment which combined the two showed an even stronger inhibitory effect. Conclusions Taken together, the combined use of LTA and miR-27b-3p agomir exhibited a synergistic effect in the treatment of gastric cancer.

Security in Internet of Things (IoT) remains a significant concern within academia and industry. With the great potential of IoT data, the traditional centralized architecture of IoT system is limited and cannot afford security solutions. In this paper, to address the issue of IoT data security, we propose a blockchain-based data acquisition and processing architecture. The proposed architecture ensures IoT data security through data consistency. It supports distributed IoT nodes to negotiate consensus on the processed data, and decides to write the consensus data to blockchain ledger. Since distributed nodes are non-peer and have different voting weights in the proposed architecture, traditional consensus algorithms are not applicable. Therefore, we design a novel consensus algorithm for data consistency between non-peer nodes: Byzantine Fault-Tolerant consensus algorithm based on Dynamic Permission Adjustment (DPA-PBFT) algorithm. The DPA-PBFT algorithm works in the consensus domain of different weight nodes with the ability of self-optimize. It improves consensus efficiency and reduces communication overhead for data consistency. Finally, we conduct numerous experiments to evaluate the performance improvement of the DPA-PBFT algorithm under the proposed distributed architecture.

Affective materials have always been an important factor in improving the efficiency of affect related research for their ecological validity. In order to achieve high ecological validity in emotion elicitation, this paper proposed a novel Affective Virtual Reality System (AVRS) by utilizing the immersion, privacy and design flexibility of virtual reality. Design elements including subject features, sound features, motion features and color features were extracted by referring to the referenced emotion materials, art works and the existing VR scenes. Affective VR scenes were then designed by Unreal Engine 4.12 and their effectiveness was validated by Self-Assessment Manikin (SAM). Furthermore, arousal was used as an indicator to compare the difference of ecological validity between VR and video emotional materials with an intergroup experiment through Electroencephalography (EEG), Heart Rate (HR), Galvanic Skin Response (GSR), and SAM. Results proved that VR scenes could achieve the same emotion elicitation as video. Especially, there was significant difference in measures of Fearful in SAM evaluation, indicating that VR emotion materials were expected to deliver a good effect on negative emotional scenes. The proposed AVRS as well as the multimodal physiological signal database with valence, arousal and dominance (VAD) labels could help the development of emotion related studies.

Constructing Z-scheme photocatalysts is one of the most effective technologies to enhance the photocatalytic reduction or oxidation ability in artificial photosynthesis. For the BiVO4 photocatalyst, it usually shows limited photocatalytic ability because of the severe bulk recombination of photogenerated carriers and the poor reduction reaction of photogenerated electrons. In this paper, a novel plasmonic Z-scheme Pt-Au/BiVO4 single-crystal photocatalyst was constructed to solve the above issues. Here, Au nanoparticles are selectively deposited on the electron-rich (0 1 0) facet of BiVO4, while Pt nanoparticles are selectively modified on the Au surface. Photocatalytic results indicated that the resultant Pt-Au/BiVO4 Z-scheme photocatalyst exhibits an obviously higher photocatalytic performance than pure BiVO4, Au/BiVO4, randomly deposited BiVO4(Pt-Au/BiVO4(R)) and conventional Pt-Au/BiVO4. More importantly, compared with the well-known Pt/BiVO4(2.0 wt%), the Pt-Au/BiVO4 not only exhibits a higher photocatalytic performance, but also loads a lower amount of high-cost Pt cocatalyst. The excellent photocatalytic activity of the plasmonic Z-scheme Pt-Au/BiVO4 photocatalyst can be attributed to the synergistic effect of crystal-facet engineering and selective loading of Pt-Au, which results in the orientation transfer of photogenerated carriers in the single-crystal BiVO4, the enhanced reduction power of photogenerated electrons, and the rapid oxygen-reduction reaction on Pt cocatalyst.