Search

Excitons, Coulomb-bound electron-hole pairs, play a fundamental role in both optical excitation and correlated phenomena in solids. When an exciton interacts with other quasi-particles, few- and many-body excited states, such as trions, exciton Fermi-polarons, Mahan excitons can appear. Here, we report a new interaction between exciton and charges enabled by unusual quantum confinement in 2D moir\'e superlattices, which results in novel exciton many-body ground states composed of moir\'e excitons and correlated electron lattices. Unique to H-stacked (or 60o-twisted) WS2/WSe2 heterobilayer, we found that the interlayer atomic registry and moir\'e structural reconstruction leads to an interlayer moir\'e exciton (IME) whose hole in one layer is surrounded by its partner electron's wavefunction spread among three adjacent moir\'e traps in the other layer. This 3D excitonic structure can enable large in-plane electrical quadrupole moments in addition to the vertical dipole. Upon doping, the electric quadrupole facilitates the binding of IME to the charges in neighboring moir\'e cells, forming an intercell charged exciton complex. The exciton complex is unveiled by the IME photoluminescence energy jumps when the electron lattices form at both fractional and integer-filled moir\'e minibands, with replica-like spectral features between successive integer moir\'e fillings. Our work provides the framework in understanding and engineering emergent exciton many-body states in correlated moir\'e charge orders.

About 30% of the world’s primary energy consumption is in friction. The economic losses caused by friction energy dissipation and wear account for about 2%–7% of its gross domestic product (GDP) for different countries every year. The key to reducing energy consumption is to control the way of energy dissipation in the friction process. However, due to many various factors affecting friction and the lack of efficient detection methods, the energy dissipation mechanism in friction is still a challenging problem. Here, we firstly introduce the classical microscopic mechanism of friction energy dissipation, including phonon dissipation, electron dissipation, and non-contact friction energy dissipation. Then, we attempt to summarize the ultrafast friction energy dissipation and introduce the high-resolution friction energy dissipation detection system, since the origin of friction energy dissipation is essentially related to the ultrafast dynamics of excited electrons and phonons. Finally, the application of friction energy dissipation in representative high-end equipment is discussed, and the potential economic saving is predicted.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia with no effective treatment options. A complete elucidation of its underlying molecular mechanisms, including the transcription regulation of genes critically involved in AD, may shed light on new therapeutic development. RPS23RG1 is a newly identified AD-associated gene, whose expression is decreased in AD and restoration can attenuate AD-like phenotypes in animal models. However, the transcription regulation of RPS23RG1 remains unknown. In this study, we explored the promoter of RPS23RG1 and identified its transcription initiation site (TSS) at 1525 bp upstream of the ATG translation start codon. Progressive deletion analysis determined the presence of a negative regulatory region and a positive regulatory region within nucleotide positions +1127 to +1187 and +732 to +1127 relative to the TSS (+1), respectively. We conducted a reporter system to screen for compounds that increase RPS23RG1 expression through antagonizing its negative regulatory elements and identified phenazopyridine. Importantly, we demonstrated that phenazopyridine not only promoted RPS23RG1/Rps23rg1 expression, but also reduced AD-like pathologies and cognitive impairments in the APP/PS1 AD model mice. We also determined a critical negative regulatory domain of RPS23RG1 within nucleotide positions +1177 to +1187 and found that the transcription factor SMAD3 bound to this domain. Inhibition of SMAD3 promoted RPS23RG1 expression. Moreover, phenazopyridine reduced SMAD3 binding to the RPS23RG1 promoter without affecting SMAD3 phosphorylation and nuclear localization. Taken together, our results determine the transcription regulation mechanism of RPS23RG1 and show that phenazopyridine has potential for AD treatment through regulating RPS23RG1 transcription.

Ovarian cancer (OC) is one of the common malignant tumors that seriously threaten women's health, and there is a lack of clinical prognostic predictors, while m5c and lncRNA have been shown to be predictive of multiple cancers, including OC. Therefore, our goal was to construct a risk model for OC based on m5c-related lncRNA.340 m5c-related lncRNA were identified and a novel risk model of OC ground on nine m5C-related lncRNA was constructed using LASSO-COX regression analysis. Kaplan–Meier analysis showed there was a significant difference in prognosis between risk groups. We established a nomogram which was a good predictor of overall survival. In addition, GSEA was enriched in multiple pathways and immune function analysis suggested that immune infiltration varies depending on the risk group. In vitro experiments show that AC005562.1, a key lncRNA of the risk model, is highly expressed in OC cells and promotes OC cell proliferation. Finally, we further explored the potential biological markers of m5c-related lncRNA in OC with WGCNA analysis and established a ceRNA network. In conclusion,we have developed a reliable m5c-related prediction model and performed systematic validation and exploration of various aspects. These results can be used for the assessment of OC prognosis and the discovery of novel biomarkers.

Oxidized cysteine residues are highly reactive and can form functional covalent conjugates, of which the allosteric redox switch formed by the lysine-cysteine NOS bridge is an example. Here, we report a noncanonical FAD-dependent enzyme Orf1 that adds a glycine-derived N-formimidoyl group to glycinothricin to form the antibiotic BD-12. X-ray crystallography was used to investigate this complex enzymatic process, which showed Orf1 has two substrate-binding sites that sit 13.5 Å apart unlike canonical FAD-dependent oxidoreductases. One site could accommodate glycine and the other glycinothricin or glycylthricin. Moreover, an intermediate-enzyme adduct with a NOS-covalent linkage was observed in the later site, where it acts as a two-scissile-bond linkage facilitating nucleophilic addition and cofactor-free decarboxylation. The chain length of nucleophilic acceptors vies with bond cleavage sites at either N–O or O–S accounting for N-formimidoylation or N-iminoacetylation. The resultant product is no longer sensitive to aminoglycoside-modifying enzymes, a strategy that antibiotic-producing species employ to counter drug resistance in competing species.

To investigate the effect of pentoxifylline (PTX) on Chlorine (Cl2)-induced acute lung injury (ALI) by single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq). Female BALB/c mice were exposed to Cl2 at 400 ppm for 15 min. H&E staining was used to observe the degree of lung injury. scRNA-seq was conducted to analysis of normal and Cl2-exposed mice lung tissues. Immunofluorescence was used to observe genes of interest. Thirty-two mice were randomly divided into four groups: Control, Cl2, Cl2+Fer-1, Cl2+PTX. TEM, WB and ELISA were used to detect ferroptosis-related indicators. The 5, 8, 10, 12, 16, 20 clusters were epithelial cells and 4, 15, 18, 19, 21 clusters were endothelial cells. Pseudo-time analysis revealed the differentiation trajectory of epithelial cells and key regulatory genes (Gclc, Bpifa1, Dnah5 and Dnah9) during the process of injury. Cell–cell communication analysis identified several important receptor–ligand complexes (Nrp1-Vegfa, Nrp2-Vegfa, Flt1-Vegfa and Flt4-Vegfa). Ferroptosis were found up-regulated in epithelial and endothelial cells by GSVA analysis. Highly expressed genes to which closely related ferroptosis were found by SCENIC analysis. PTX could significantly decrease the levels of MDA and abnormal high expression of solute carrier family 7 member 11 (SLC7A11, the key transporter of cystine) as well as increase the expression of GSH/GSSG and glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4) (p 2-induced ALI. PTX may be a potential specific drug by inhibiting the process of ferroptosis in epithelial and endothelial cells.

Background Cavernous malformations of the spinal cord are a rare type of vascular malformation, comprising approximately 5 to 16% of all vascular lesions in the spinal cord. Depending on their origin position, these malformations can be distributed in different locations within the spinal canal. Although intramedullary cavernous malformations have been reported in the literature, they are exceedingly rare. Furthermore, highly calcified or ossified intramedullary cavernous spinal malformations are even rarer. Case presentation Here, we present a case report of a 28-year-old woman diagnosed with a thoracic intramedullary cavernous malformation. The patient had been experiencing progressive numbness in her distal limbs for a period of 2 months. During routine lung computed tomography screening for COVID-19, a hyperdense mass was noted in the patient’s spinal canal. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed a mulberry-shaped intramedullary mass at the T1-2 level. The patient underwent surgical treatment, during which the entire lesion was successfully removed, resulting in a gradual improvement of her symptoms. Histological examination confirmed the presence of cavernous malformations with calcification. Conclusions Intramedullary cavernous malformations with calcification are rare and special type that should be treated surgically in the early stage without significant neurological impairment before rebleeding or enlargement of the lesion can occur.

Background The traction table is generally used in femoral intramedullary nailing surgery. Recently, some published studies have shown that the same or better treatment effects can be gotten without a traction table. It remains no consensus on this issue. Methods The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses guideline was applied in this study. We searched PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library databases for eligible studies. The random-effect model was used to calculate the standardized mean difference (SMD) and risk ratios with 95% CIs. Trial sequential analysis (TSA) was performed to verify the results. Results The pooled estimates of seven studies, including 266 cases each in the manual traction group and traction table group, indicated that manual traction could shorten operative time [SMD, − 0.77; 95% CI (− 0.98, − 0.55); P P = 0.002], but it would not reduce intraoperative blood loss volume and fluoroscopy time. No statistical difference was found in their fracture healing time, postoperative Harris scores, and malunion rate. The use of a Traction repositor could reduce the set-up time [SMD, − 2.48; 95% CI (− 4.91, − 0.05); P Conclusions Compared with manual traction, the traction table in femoral intramedullary nailing surgery lengthened operative time and preoperative set-up time. At the same time, it did not show significant advantages in reducing blood loss volume and fluoroscopy time, or improving prognosis. In clinical practice, the optimal surgical plan must be made on a case-by-case basis to avoid unnecessary traction table use.

Background In network meta-analysis, estimation of a comparative effect can be performed for treatments that are connected either directly or indirectly. However, disconnected trial networks may arise, which poses a challenge to comparing all available treatments of interest. Several modeling approaches attempt to compare treatments from disconnected networks but not without strong assumptions and limitations. Conducting a new trial to connect a disconnected network can enable calculation of all treatment comparisons and help researchers maximize the value of the existing networks. Here, we develop an approach to finding the best connecting trial given a specific comparison of interest. Methods We present formulas to quantify the variation in the estimation of a particular comparative effect of interest for any possible connecting two-arm trial. We propose a procedure to identify the optimal connecting trial that minimizes this variation in effect estimation. Results We show that connecting two treatments indirectly might be preferred to direct connection through a new trial, by leveraging information from the existing disconnected networks. Using a real network of studies on the use of vaccines in the treatment of bovine respiratory disease (BRD), we illustrate a procedure to identify the best connecting trial and confirm our findings via simulation. Conclusion Researchers wishing to conduct a connecting two-arm study can use the procedure provided here to identify the best connecting trial. The choice of trial that minimizes the variance of a comparison of interest is network dependent and it is possible that connecting treatments indirectly may be preferred to direct connection.

Purpose The purpose of this study was to describe and evaluate the use of a specially designed hollow trephine to create the entry point through the femoral condyle during retrograde interlocking intramedullary nailing for femoral fractures. Methods From June 2019 to December 2021, we treated 11 patients (5 men, 6 women; mean age, 64 years; age range 40–77 years) with mid-distal femoral fractures by retrograde intramedullary femoral nailing using a self-designed hollow trephine for femoral condyle reaming and cancellous bone harvesting. The mode of all the nails is static. Patients were followed up at 1, 4, 8, and 12 weeks and for at least 6 months after surgery. The healing process and heterotopic ossification were evaluated by imaging. Partial weight bearing was permitted during the recovery period and complete weight bearing was permitted after clinical healing of the fracture displayed by X-ray. Results The operation was successful in all patients. Over mean follow-up of 9.3 months (range, 6.0–12.0 months), all patients achieved clinical healing within three months. There were no complications such as knee joint infection, heterotopic ossification, knee joint adhesion and wedge effect. Conclusion The use of the hollow trephine during femoral retrograde intramedullary nailing helps avoid postoperative complications such as heterotopic ossification, knee joint adhesions, and wedge effect. It also facilitates bone graft harvesting.

Introduction Increasing evidence has revealed the key activity of protein disulfide isomerase A4 (PDIA4) in the endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS) response. However, the role of PDIA4 in regulating glioblastoma (GBM)-specific pro-angiogenesis is still unknown. Methods The expression and prognostic role of PDIA4 were analyzed using a bioinformatics approach and were validated in 32 clinical samples and follow-up data. RNA-sequencing was used to search for PDIA4-associated biological processes in GBM cells, and proteomic mass spectrum (MS) analysis was used to screen for potential PDIA4 substrates. Western blotting, real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR), and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) were used to measure the levels of the involved factors. Cell migration and tube formation assays determined the pro-angiogenesis activity of PDIA4 in vitro. An intracranial U87 xenograft GBM animal model was constructed to evaluate the pro-angiogenesis role of PDIA4 in vivo. Results Aberrant overexpression of PDIA4 was associated with a poor prognosis in patients with GBM, although PDIA4 could also functionally regulate intrinsic GBM secretion of vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF-A) through its active domains of Cys-X-X-Cys (CXXC) oxidoreductase. Functionally, PDIA4 exhibits pro-angiogenesis activity both in vitro and in vivo, and can be upregulated by ERS through transcriptional regulation of X-box binding protein 1 (XBP1). The XBP1/PDIA4/VEGFA axis partially supports the mechanism underlying GBM cell survival under ER stress. Further, GBM cells with higher expression of PDIA4 showed resistance to antiangiogenic therapy in vivo. Conclusions Our findings revealed the pro-angiogenesis role of PDIA4 in GBM progression and its potential impact on GBM survival under a harsh microenvironment. Targeting PDIA4 might help to improve the efficacy of antiangiogenic therapy in patients with GBM.

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) immortalization of resting B lymphocytes (RBLs) to lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCLs) models human DNA tumor virus oncogenesis. RBL and LCL chromatin interaction maps are compared to identify the spatial and temporal genome architectural changes during EBV B cell transformation. EBV induces global genome reorganization where contact domains frequently merge or subdivide during transformation. Repressed B compartments in RBLs frequently switch to active A compartments in LCLs. LCLs gain 40% new contact domain boundaries. Newly gained LCL boundaries have strong CTCF binding at their borders while in RBLs, the same sites have much less CTCF binding. Some LCL CTCF sites also have EBV nuclear antigen (EBNA) leader protein EBNALP binding. LCLs have more local interactions than RBLs at LCL dependency factors and super-enhancer targets. RNA Pol II HiChIP and FISH of RBL and LCL further validate the Hi-C results. EBNA3A inactivation globally alters LCL genome interactions. EBNA3A inactivation reduces CTCF and RAD21 DNA binding. EBNA3C inactivation rewires the looping at the CDKN2A/B and AICDA loci. Disruption of a CTCF site at AICDA locus increases AICDA expression. These data suggest that EBV controls lymphocyte growth by globally reorganizing host genome architecture to facilitate the expression of key oncogenes.

Nanomedicine has been developed for cancer therapy over several decades, while rapid clearance from blood circulation by reticuloendothelial system (RES) severely limits nanomedicine antitumour efficacy. We design a series of nanogels with distinctive stiffness and investigate how nanogel mechanical properties could be leveraged to overcome RES. Stiff nanogels are injected preferentially to abrogate uptake capacity of macrophages and temporarily block RES, relying on inhibition of clathrin and prolonged liver retention. Afterwards, soft nanogels deliver doxorubicin (DOX) with excellent efficiency, reflected in high tumour accumulation, deep tumour penetration and outstanding antitumour efficacy. In this work, we combine the advantage of stiff nanogels in RES-blockade with the superiority of soft nanogels in drug delivery leads to the optimum tumour inhibition effect, which is defined as mechano-boosting antitumour strategy. Clinical implications of stiffness-dependent RES-blockade are also confirmed by promoting antitumour efficacy of commercialized nanomedicines, such as Doxil and Abraxane.

Precancerous lesions of the oral mucosa, especially those accompanied by moderate to severe dysplasia, contribute to the initiation of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). However, the cellular compositions and spatial organization of the precancerous stage and how these factors promote human OSCC initiation remain unclear. Here, we built a single-cell transcriptome atlas and a spatial transcriptome map after obtaining data from pairwise human oral mucosal biopsies of 9 individuals consisting of very early-stage OSCC, adjacent precancerous lesions with moderate to severe dysplasia, as well as a matched normal region. An altered epithelial gene-expression profile was identified which favored OSCC initiation. This observation was coupled with distinct fibroblast, monocytic, and regulatory T-cell subclusters involved in reshaping the microenvironment. In particular, a unique immune-inhibitory monocyte subtype and spatial-switching regulation of VEGF signaling were observed surrounding precancerous lesions, concertedly strengthening activities in promoting cancer initiation. Collectively, our work elucidated the cellular landscapes and roles of precancerous lesions underlying OSCC initiation, which is essential for understanding the entire OSCC initiation process and helps inform therapeutic strategies for cancer intervention.

Maleic acid polymer scale inhibitor is a new domestic seawater desalination scale inhibitor. This study tested the acute oral toxicity, sub-chronic toxicity and genotoxicity of this new inhibitor. The LD50 obtained from the acute oral toxicity test was 6810 and 9260 mg/kg·BW for male and female rats, as well as 1/5, 1/10 and 1/20 LD50 were as the dose for sub-chronic toxicity test. It showed the weight of male rats with high dose was significantly lower than the control group during the exposure period (p p_week1 = 0.0261, p_week4 = 0.00222). The blood biochemical results showed the UREA in the medium- and high-dose groups were significantly higher than the control group (p_ female medium = 0.0047, p_high = 0.0037; p_male medium = 0.0026, p_high 50 and 1/10 LD50, respectively (males: 340.5 and 681 mg/kg·BW, females: 436 and 926 mg/kg·BW). Comet assay in vitro and Mammalian Erythrocyte Micronucleus Test were jointly to judge genotoxicity. This inhibitor did not cause chromosome aberrations in mouse bone marrow cells. However, the tail moment of CHO cell in all groups (p 50 and IC50 groups were higher than the negative control (p 50 and the NOAEL and LOAEL obtained in this study provides a theoretical basis for further toxicity research and risk assessment. Graphical Abstract

Many-body interactions between carriers lie at the heart of correlated physics. The ability to tune such interactions would open the possibility to access and control complex electronic phase diagrams on demand. Recently, moir\'e superlattices formed by two-dimensional materials have emerged as a promising platform for quantum engineering such phenomena. The power of the moir\'e system lies in the high tunability of its physical parameters by tweaking layer twist angle, electrical field, moir\'e carrier filling, and interlayer coupling. Here, we report that optical excitation can drastically tune the spin-spin interactions between moir\'e trapped carriers, resulting in ferromagnetic order in WS2/WSe2 moir\'e superlattices over a small range of doping at elevated temperatures. Near the filling factor v = -1/3 (i.e., one hole per three moir\'e unit cells), as the excitation power at the exciton resonance increases, a well-developed hysteresis loop emerges in the reflective magnetic circular dichroism (RMCD) signal as a function of magnetic field, a hallmark of ferromagnetism. The hysteresis loop persists down to charge neutrality, and its shape evolves as the moir\'e superlattice is gradually filled, indicating changes of magnetic ground state properties. The observed phenomenon points to a mechanism in which itinerant photo-excited excitons mediate exchange coupling between moir\'e trapped holes. This exciton-mediated interaction can be of longer range than direct coupling between moir\'e trapped holes, and thus magnetic order can arise even in the dilute hole regime under optical excitation. This discovery adds a new and dynamic tuning knob to the rich many-body Hamiltonian of moir\'e quantum matter.

Soil enzyme activities and microbial communities have a good response to the remediation effect of heavy metal-contaminated soils. To evaluate the effect of three commonly used washing agents, ferric chloride (FC), ethylenediamine-tetra- methylenephosphonic acid (EDTMP) and ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA) on soil enzyme activities and microbial community in cadmium (Cd)- contaminated agricultural soil collected around the mining area. The soil enzyme activities, microbial community, chemical forms of Cd and some physicochemical properties of the soil washed with different washing solutions were determined after two months incubation. The results showed that the three washing solutions had moderate removal efficiencies (22.83%-37.56%) for Cd in the tested soil and the breakdown product of EDTMP has a certain stabilizing effect on Cd. The geometric mean and the integrated total enzyme activity index showed that soil washing with FC and EDTA were more beneficial to the restoration of biochemical functions than that with EDTMP. The relative abundance of Gemmatimonadetes in the soil washed with EDTA was significantly higher than that with FC and EDTMP. The relative abundance of Firmicutes in the soil washed with EDTMP was significantly increased, and the relative abundance of Bacteroidetes in the soil washed with FC was significantly decreased. Pearson correlation analysis and redundancy analysis (RDA) indicated that the three washing solutions affected soil enzyme activities and microbial community by altering soil nutrient, total Cd concentration and Cd fractions in soils.

Drug resistance is the main reason for the failure of Bortezomib (Bort) in the treatment of multiple myeloma (MM), which seriously affects the efficacy of Bort. Therefore, the exploration of Bort resistance to treat MM will be very beneficial. Thus, this study aims to study the function and mechanism of Fat mass and obesity associated (FTO) on the Bort resistance of MM. In the present study, we demonstrated that FTO promotes Bort resistance via m6A-dependent destabilization of SOD2 expression in MM. These findings may provide a substantial evidence for the Bort resistance in MM.

Cancer cell membrane (CCM) derived nanotechnology functionalizes nanoparticles (NPs) to recognize homologous cells, exhibiting translational potential in accurate tumor therapy. However, these nanoplatforms are majorly generated from fixed cell lines and are typically evaluated in cell line-derived subcutaneous-xenografts (CDX), ignoring the tumor heterogeneity and differentiation from inter- and intra- individuals and microenvironments between heterotopic- and orthotopic-tumors, limiting the therapeutic efficiency of such nanoplatforms. Herein, various biomimetic nanoplatforms (CCM-modified gold@Carbon, i.e., Au@C-CCM) were fabricated by coating CCMs of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) cell lines and patient-derived cells on the surface of Au@C NP. The generated Au@C-CCMs were evaluated on corresponding CDX, tongue orthotopic xenograft (TOX), immune-competent primary and distant tumor models, and patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models. The Au@C-CCM generates a photothermal conversion efficiency up to 44.2% for primary HNSCC therapy and induced immunotherapy to inhibit metastasis via photothermal therapy-induced immunogenic cell death. The homologous CCM endowed the nanoplatforms with optimal targeting properties for the highest therapeutic efficiency, far above those with mismatched CCMs, resulting in distinct tumor ablation and tumor growth inhibition in all four models. This work reinforces the feasibility of biomimetic NPs combining modular designed CMs and functional cores for customized treatment of HNSCC, can be further extended to other malignant tumors therapy.

Accurate and efficient methods for identifying and tracking each animal in a group are needed to study complex behaviors and social interactions. Traditional tracking methods (e.g., marking each animal with dye or surgically implanting microchips) can be invasive and may have an impact on the social behavior being measured. To overcome these shortcomings, video-based methods for tracking unmarked animals, such as fruit flies and zebrafish, have been developed. However, tracking individual mice in a group remains a challenging problem because of their flexible body and complicated interaction patterns. In this study, we report the development of a multi-object tracker for mice that uses the Faster region-based convolutional neural network (R-CNN) deep learning algorithm with geometric transformations in combination with multi-camera/multi-image fusion technology. The system successfully tracked every individual in groups of unmarked mice and was applied to investigate chasing behavior. The proposed system constitutes a step forward in the noninvasive tracking of individual mice engaged in social behavior.

Background Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients with normal karyotype (NK-AML) have significant variabilities in outcomes. The European Leukemia Net stratification system and some prognostic models have been used to evaluate risk stratification. However, these common standards still have some limitations. The biological functions and mechanisms of Small Integral Membrane Protein 3 (SMIM3) have seldomly been investigated. To this date, the prognostic value of SMIM3 in AML has not been reported. This study aimed to explore the clinical significance, biological effects and molecular mechanisms of SMIM3 in AML. Methods RT-qPCR was applied to detect the expression level of SMIM3 in bone marrow specimens from 236 newly diagnosed adult AML patients and 23 healthy volunteers. AML cell lines, Kasumi-1 and THP-1, were used for lentiviral transfection. CCK8 and colony formation assays were used to detect cell proliferation. Cell cycle and apoptosis were analyzed by flow cytometry. Western blot was performed to explore relevant signaling pathways. The biological functions of SMIM3 in vivo were validated by xenograft tumor mouse model. Survival rate was evaluated by Log-Rank test and Kaplan–Meier. Cox regression model was used to analyze multivariate analysis. The correlations between SMIM3 and drug resistance were also explored. Results Through multiple datasets and our clinical group, SMIM3 was shown to be significantly upregulated in adult AML compared to healthy subjects. SMIM3 overexpression conferred a worse prognosis and was identified as an independent prognostic factor in 95 adult NK-AML patients. Knockdown of SMIM3 inhibited cell proliferation and cell cycle progression, and induced cell apoptosis in AML cells. The reduced SMIM3 expression significantly suppressed tumor growth in the xenograft mouse model. Western blot analysis showed downregulation of p-PI3K and p-AKT in SMIM3-knockdown AML cell lines. SMIM3 may also be associated with some PI3K-AKT and first-line targeted drugs. Conclusions SMIM3 was highly expressed in adult AML, and such high-level expression of SMIM3 was associated with a poor prognosis in adult AML. Knockdown of SMIM3 inhibited the proliferation of AML through regulation of the PI3K-AKT signaling pathway. SMIM3 may serve as a potential prognostic marker and a therapeutic target for AML in the future.

Understanding the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem stability is a central goal of ecologists. Recent studies have concluded that biodiversity increases community temporal stability by increasing the asynchrony between the dynamics of different species. Theoretically, this enhancement can occur through either increased between-species compensatory dynamics, a fundamentally biological mechanism; or through an averaging effect, primarily a statistical mechanism. Yet it remains unclear which mechanism is dominant in explaining the diversity-stability relationship. We address this issue by mathematically decomposing asynchrony into components separately quantifying the compensatory and statistical-averaging effects. We applied the new decomposition approach to plant survey and experimental data from North American grasslands. We show that statistical averaging, rather than compensatory dynamics, was the principal mediator of biodiversity effects on community stability. Our simple decomposition approach helps integrate concepts of stability, asynchrony, statistical averaging, and compensatory dynamics, and suggests that statistical averaging, rather than compensatory dynamics, is the primary means by which biodiversity confers ecological stability.

In fractal structures, the box-counting dimension is used to characterize the un-evenness of geometric objects or spaces. In architecture it can be used as a measurement to investigate the complexity of a building’s geometric form or pattern. This study presents a developed approach using intersection testing on triangles and the octree structure, to calculate a fractal parameter for a building surface, derived from the geometric theory of the 3D box-counting fractal dimension. Using this method, we present a fractal parameter of the characteristic surface of a building, which can reflect the different space-filling capacity of the building due to the diversity of its geometric characteristics.

The present paper is devoted to identifying the space-dependent source term and initial value simultaneously for a time-fractional diffusion equation. This inverse problem is reformulated on the basis of Fourier method as operator equations of the first kind. The construction of the solution to the inverse problem is derived by using the Landweber iteration method for the solution of the corresponding conjugate operator equation. In this paper, we also present error estimates between the exact solution and the regularized solution by the a priori and the a posteriori parameter choice rules. Numerical verification on the efficiency and accuracy of the proposed algorithm is performed by solving three numerical examples in one-dimensional and two-dimensional cases.

In this paper, the authors define the homology of sets, which comes from and contains the ideas of path homology and embedded homology. Moreover, A Kunneth formula for sets associated to the homology of sets is given.

High density and uniform distribution of the gold nanoparticles functionalized single-stranded DNA modified reduced graphene oxide nanocomposites were obtained by non-covalent interaction. The positive gold nanoparticles prepared by phase inversion method exhibited good dimensional homogeneity and dispersibility, which could readily combine with single-stranded DNA modified reduced graphene oxide nanocomposites by electrostatic interactions. The modification of single-stranded DNA endowed the reduced graphene oxide with favorable biocompatibility and provided the preferable surface with negative charge for further assembling of gold nanoparticles to obtain gold nanoparticles/single-stranded DNA modified reduced graphene oxide nanocomposites with better conductivity, larger specific surface area, biocompatibility and electrocatalytic characteristics. The as-prepared nanocomposites were applied as substrates for the construction of cholesterol oxidase modified electrode and well realized the direct electron transfer between the enzyme and electrode. The modified gold nanoparticles could further catalyze the products of cholesterol oxidation catalyzed by cholesterol oxidase, which was beneficial to the enzyme-catalyzed reaction. The as-fabricated bioelectrode exhibited excellent electrocatalytic performance for the cholesterol with a linear range of 7.5–280.5 µmol·L−1, a low detection limit of 2.1 µmol·L−1, good stability and reproducibility. Moreover, the electrochemical biosensor showed good selectivity and acceptable accuracy for the detection of cholesterol in human serum samples.

Tannin acyl hydrolase referred commonly as tannase catalyzes the hydrolysis of the galloyl ester bond of tannin to release gallic acid. The tannase TanBLp which cloned from Lactobacillus plantarum ATCC14917(T) has high activity in the pH range (7.0–9.0) at 40 °C, it would be detrimental to the utilization at acidic environment. The catalytic sites and stability of TanBLp were analyzed using bioinformatics and site-specific mutagenesis. The results reiterated that the amino acid residues Ala164, Lys343, Glu357, Asp421 and His451 had played an important role in maintaining the activity. The optimum pH of mutants V75A, G77A, N94A, A164S and F243A were shifted from 8.0 to 6.0, and mutant V75A has the highest pH stability and activity at acidic conditions than other mutants, which was more suitable for industrial application to manufacture gallic acid. This study was of great significance to promote the industrialization and efficient utilization of tannase TanBLp.

The interplay between a multitude of electronic, spin, and lattice degrees of freedom underlies the complex phase diagrams of quantum materials. Layer stacking in van der Waals (vdW) heterostructures is responsible for exotic electronic and magnetic properties, which inspires stacking control of two-dimensional magnetism. Beyond the interplay between stacking order and interlayer magnetism, we discover a spin-shear coupling mechanism in which a subtle shear of the atomic layers can have a profound effect on the intralayer magnetic order in a family of vdW antiferromagnets. Using time-resolved X-ray diffraction and optical linear dichroism measurements, interlayer shear is identified as the primary structural degree of freedom that couples with magnetic order. The recovery times of both shear and magnetic order upon optical excitation diverge at the magnetic ordering temperature with the same critical exponent. The time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau theory shows that this concurrent critical slowing down arises from a linear coupling of the interlayer shear to the magnetic order, which is dictated by the broken mirror symmetry intrinsic to the monoclinic stacking. Our results highlight the importance of interlayer shear in ultrafast control of magnetic order via spin-mechanical coupling.

Given that the items and bins have random sizes, the optimization of pipe cutting in offshore platform construction can be described as a variant of the variable-sized bin-packing problem. In this study, we propose a hybrid algorithm (HCHACO) that embeds a constructive heuristic based on the combined approach in the modified ant colony optimization (ACO) scheme to solve this problem. The combined approach solves the subset sum problem by the combination of the greedy operation and dynamic programming. Study and mutation operations are introduced to the modified ACO to improve local search ability. Performance comparisons between the proposed and existing algorithms are carried out through experiments on several sets of instances. Results show that the proposed algorithm is competitive with the existing state-of-the-art algorithms.

This study aimed to construct a nomogram to quantitatively predict pneumonectomy complication risks for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. Data from 1052 NSCLC patients who underwent pneumonectomy were retrospectively retrieved from the databases of three thoracic centers. Multivariable logistic regression was used to investigate postoperative morbidity predictors. Clinical parameters and operative features were analyzed using univariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses, and a nomogram to predict the risk of postoperative complications was constructed using bootstrap resampling. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to estimate the discrimination power for the nomogram. A total of 212 patients (20.2%) had major complications. After regression analysis, forced expiratory volume in 1 s, Charlson Comorbidity Index score, male sex, and right-sided pneumonectomy were identified and entered into the nomogram. The nomogram showed a robust discrimination, with an area under the ROC curve of 0.753 (95% confidence interval 0.604–0.818). The calibration curves for the probability of postoperative complications showed optimal agreement between the nomogram and the actual probability. Based on preoperative data, we developed a nomogram for predicting complication risks after pneumonectomy. This model may be helpful for thoracic surgeons in selecting appropriate patients for adopting prophylactic measures after surgery.

Frontal ring-opening metathesis polymerization was used to in situ prepare polydicyclopentadiene (PDCPD)/carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and PDCPD/CNT-NH2 composites with high glass transition temperature. Compared with PDCPD/CNT composites, PDCPD/CNT-NH2 composites have similar dielectric constants, but their loss tangent significantly reduces. The uniform dispersion of CNT-NH2 leads to the formation of dielectric interfacial polarization. The results of dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) showed that the glass transition temperature (Tg) of the composites increased with the increase of filler. With the increase of the filler, the elongation at break of the PDCPD/CNT composites decreased, while the elongation at break of PDCPD/CNT-NH2 composites increased, reaching up to 17% because of the stronger interfacial affinity. The PDCPD/CNT-NH2 composites exhibited high dielectric permittivity (47.5 at a frequency of 100 Hz) that originates from the interfacial polarization between PDCPD and CNT-NH2, and the nonconducting –NH2 groups can prevent the conductive path of CNTs and support a low loss tangent (0.096). High Tg PDCPD/CNT-NH2 composite with enhanced dielectric properties was prepared by a simple and quick one-step reaction method of FROMP. Keywords: Polydicyclopentadiene; Composites; Carbon nanotubes; Dielectric properties, Interfacial polarization