Search

Fibroblast activation protein (FAP) is higher expressed on cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) in most malignant epithelial neoplasms, which is lower expressed in normal tissues. As a promising small molecular probe, FAP inhibitor (FAPI) shows the specific binding to FAP. This study aimed to explore a novel molecular probe [99mTc]Tc-HYNIC-FAPI targeting CAFs. The in vitro characteristics of the probe were also evaluated. The FAPI targeting FAP was designed, synthesized and conjugated with the chelator 6-hydrazinylnicotinic acid (HYNIC) for radiolabeling with 99mTc. The radiolabeling yield, radiochemical purity and stability were evaluated by Instant thin-layer chromatography (ITLC) and High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Lipophilicity was performed by the distribution coefficient test. The binding and migration ability of the probe was assessed using the FAP transfected tumor cell line. The radiolabeling yield of [99mTc]Tc-HYNIC-FAPI was (97.29 ± 0.46) %. The radiochemical purity was more than 90% and kept stable until 6 h. The radioligand was shown as lower lipophilicity, of which logD7.4 value was − 2.38 $$\pm$$ ± 0.13. In vitro experiments, the results indicated that the probe showed binding properties, and inhibited the migration of tumor cells. The novel [99mTc]Tc-HYNIC-FAPI probe was successfully radiosynthesized and exhibited good radiochemical purity, stability and in vitro binding ability to tumor cells. The [99mTc]Tc-HYNIC-FAPI will be a promising SPECT/CT imaging probe.

Objectives To explore the causes of sudden unexpected death (SUD) and to search for high-risk people, whole exome sequencing (WES) was performed in families with SUDs. Methods Whole exome sequencing of 25 people from 14 SUD families were screened based on cardiac disease-associated gene variants, and their echocardiograms and electrocardiograms (ECG) were also examined. The protein function of mutated genes was predicted by SIFT, PolyPhen2 and Mutation Assessor. Results In the group of 25 people from 14 SUD families, 49 single nucleotide variants (SNVs) of cardiac disease-associated genes were found and verified by Sanger sequencing. 29 SNVs of 14 cardiac disorder-related genes were predicted as pathogens by software. Among them, 7 SNVs carried by two or more members were found in 5 families, including SCN5A (c.3577C > T), IRX4 (c.230A > G), LDB3 (c.2104 T > G), MYH6 (c.3G > A), MYH6 (c.3928 T > C), TTN (c.80987C > T) and TTN (c.8069C > T). 25 ECGs were collected. In summary, 4 people had J-point elevation, 2 people had long QT syndrome (LQTS), 4 people had prolonged QT interval, 3 people had T-wave changes, 3 people had sinus tachycardia, 4 people had sinus bradycardia, 4 people had left side of QRS electrical axis, and 3 people had P wave broadening. Echocardiographic results showed that 1 person had atrial septal defect, 1 person had tricuspid regurgitation, and 2 people had left ventricular diastolic dysfunction. Conclusions Of the 14 heart disease-associated genes in 14 SUDs families, there are 7 possible pathological SNVS may be associated with SUDs. Our results indicate that people with ECG abnormalities, such as prolonged QT interval, ST segment changes, T-wave change and carrying the above 7 SNVs, should be the focus of prevention of sudden death.

Eastern Himalayan Syntaxis (EHS) is a tectonically active region that undergoes continuous geomorphic changes. Large landslides are predominant in this region. A giant landslide called Jiaobunong landslide on the northwestern flank of the EHS were studied and simulated to investigate the formation mechanism, evolutionary process, and failure mechanism of the landside, so that we could better understand the large complex ancient landslides in this region. Field investigation, geological background analyses, and numerical modeling were conducted to reveal the natural and seismic characteristics, as well as dynamic process of the landslide. The results show that the Jiaobunong landslide was the result of long-term geological and geomorphic evolution. Uplift, river incision, weathering, fault creep, glaciation, and earthquakes play key roles in the formation of landslides. Given the huge landslide volume, strong seismicity of the study area, proximity to an active fault, and the need for extra forces to induce landsliding, the Jiaobunong landslide was triggered by a paleo-earthquake. Using numerical simulation based on the discrete element method, the slope dynamic response of the earthquake as well as the mass movement and accumulation process was reproduced. Simulation results showed that the landslide movement experienced four stages: initiation phase (0–5 s), acceleration phase (5–35 s), deceleration phase (35–95 s), and the compaction and self-stabilization stage (after 95 s). The rock mass was disintegrated and experienced strong collisions during the movement. The dammed lake gradually disappeared because of long-term river incision by the overtopping river water. These processes play a vital role in the evolution of landforms in the region of EHS.

Correct decision-making rules are essential to achieve the application of knowledge. The welding procedure document requires a rigorous knowledge rule system. Due to the limitations in representing and extracting practical engineering knowledge, the construction of knowledge rules is complicated. This paper proposed a synergistic approach of fusion model and interpretation analysis. The fused model uses neighborhood rough sets and XGBoost to refine knowledge and constructs implicit relationships. Common logic rules and knowledge are replaced with the model. The model was validated and analyzed based on standardized high-speed train bogie framing engineering data, and the scores obtained were 0.89 for accuracy, 0.92 for Precision, 0.89 for Recall, and 0.89 for F1-score. Based on ensuring the metrics of the model, the interpretable analysis method expresses the implicit knowledge in the decision-making system. The tree model is used to explain the decision process, and the relationships of the attributes involved in the decision can be obtained via SHAP analysis. Moreover, it shows a high degree of consistency between interpretable results and actual engineering knowledge. The experimental results indicate that the proposed method can be effective for intelligent decision-making in welding procedure documentation.

U(VI) was found to form intrinsic colloids in the natural groundwater. Fluorescence spectra, TEM, SEM techniques and thermodynamic calculation were used to identify the species of U(VI) and characterize the intrinsic uranium colloidal particles in the groundwater. The effect of pH on the formation of U(VI) colloidal particles was studied. It was found that under near-neutral and strong alkaline conditions, several elements, mainly Ca, Na and Si were responsible for the formation of intrinsic U(VI) colloid, and under weak alkaline conditions, U(VI) colloidal particles were not formed due to the formation of calcium uranyl carbonate complex.

It is essential to elucidate brain-adipocyte interactions in order to tackle obesity and its comorbidities, as the precise control of brain-adipose tissue cross-talk is crucial for energy and glucose homeostasis. Recent studies show that in the peripheral adipose tissue, adenosine induces adipogenesis through peripheral adenosine A1 receptor (pADORA1) signaling; however, it remains unclear whether systemic and adipose tissue metabolism would also be under the control of central (c) ADORA1 signaling. Here, we use tissue-specific pharmacology and metabolic tools to clarify the roles of cADORA1 signaling in energy and adipocyte physiology. We found that cADORA1 signaling reduces body weight while also inducing adipose tissue lipolysis. cADORA1 signaling also increases adipose tissue sympathetic norepinephrine content. In contrast, pADORA1 signaling facilitates a high-fat diet-induced obesity (DIO). We propose here a novel mechanism in which cADORA1 and pADORA1 signaling hinder and aggravate DIO, respectively.

Papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) is the most common endocrine malignancy in the worlds. Long non-coding RNA X-inactive specific transcript (XIST) was found to upregulate in PTC tissues and cell lines. However, the molecular mechanism underlying PTC metastasis and whether XIST plays regulatory role in PTC are still largely unknown. qRT-PCR was performed to detect the expression of lncRNA XIST and mRNAs. Western blotting was carried out to detect CLDN1, MMP2, and MMP9. Transwell assay was used to detect migration and invasion. Starbase bioinformatics prediction and luciferase assay were used to validate the relationship of miR-101-3p and XIST or CLDN1. LncRNA XIST was upregulated in PTC tissues and cells. XIST knockdown suppressed migration and invasion of PTC cells. XIST could directly bind with miR-101-3p. Overexpression of miR-101-3p suppressed migration and invasion of PTC cells. CLDN1 was the target of miR-101-3p, and overexpression of CLDN1 can reverse the inhibition of cell migration and invasion by miR-101-3p, What's more, miR-101-3p inhibition and CLDN1 overexpression can reverse the affection of sh-XIST on migration and invasion of PTC cells inhibition. XIST promotes migration and invasion of papillary thyroid cancer cell via directly regulating miR-101-3p/CLDN1 axis, which is a novel mechanistic of XIST in the regulation of PTC.

Interest in the development of grid-level energy storage systems has increased over the years. As one of the most popular energy storage technologies currently available, batteries offer a number of high-value opportunities due to their rapid responses, flexible installation, and excellent performances. However, because of the complexity, multifunctionality, and wide deployment of power grids, trade-offs in battery performance exist, especially when considering economics, environmental effects, and safety. Therefore, establishing a comprehensive assessment of battery technologies is an urgent undertaking. In this work, we present an analysis of rough sets to evaluate the integration of battery systems (e.g., lead–acid batteries, lithium-ion batteries, nickel/metal–hydrogen batteries, zinc–air batteries, and Na–S batteries) into a power grid. Specifically, technological properties, economic significance, environmental effects, and safety of these battery systems are evaluated on the basis of rough set theory. In addition, some perspectives are provided to promote the development of battery technologies for grid-level energy storage.

High doses of radiation can cause serious side effects and efficient radiosensitizers are urgently needed. To overcome this problem, we developed a biomimetic nanozyme system (CF) by coating pyrite (FeS2) into tumor-derived exosomes for enhanced low-dose radiotherapy (RT). CF system give FeS2 with immune escape and homologous targeting abilities. After administration, CF with both glutathione oxidase (GSH-OXD) and peroxidase (POD) activities can significantly lower the content of GSH in tumor tissues and catalyze intracellular hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) to produce a large amount of ·OH for intracellular redox homeostasis disruption and mitochondria destruction, thus reducing RT resistance. Experiments in vivo and in vitro showed that combining CF with RT (2 Gy) can provide a substantial suppression of tumor proliferation. This is the first attempt to use exosomes bionic FeS2 nanozyme for realizing low-dose RT, which broaden the prospects of nanozymes. Graphical Abstract

Background Surgery remains the major treatment for early breast cancer (BC), but surgery itself is also a trauma which might induce alterations in lipid metabolism. The aim of this study was to investigate the changes in lipid profiles and to explore factors associated with lipid changes pre- and postoperation. Methods We retrospectively analyzed the pre- and postoperative serum lipid profiles of 1934 BC patients. Results The levels of triglycerides (TG) (p p p p = 0.041). Additionally, patients with BMI > 24 (34.92%) had a higher incidence of dyslipidemia than patients with BMI ≤ 24 (24.84%; p = 0.001). Moreover, the magnitudes of the TG increase (p Conclusions Serum lipid profiles of BC patients may increase after surgery, especially premenopausal patients. Additionally, postmenopausal and overweight patients may have a higher risk of being diagnosed with dyslipidemia after surgery. Therefore, lipid monitoring, dyslipidemia prevention and corresponding interventions should be taken into consideration during the perioperative period.

This paper focuses on compliance error calibration. Because kinematic parameter error is the main error of a robot, we should first compensate for it. And because the compliance errors of some joints are too small, not all joints should be compensated for he compliance errors. We rotate the single joint along its axis locked other joints to obtain the statistical properties of all joints. The compliance errors are induced by gravity and elastostatic. This paper presents a mapping from the compliance error onto the joint variable vector; on the other hand, it utilized a method to transform the robot compliance error from the laser tracker system frame to the robot frame. The main attention is paid to analyze each joint compliance error using a single axis rotating by laser tracking system. To compensate the compliance error, we divided this problem into three sequential subtasks: identifying the robot compliance matrix, computing the compliance error of gravity without external loading, compensating compliance errors of elastostatic error on external loading.

Lignification and suberization of Casparian strips occurred simultaneously during the development of Cunninghamia lanceolata primary roots. The Casparian strips in the cell walls of vascular plant root endodermis and exodermis cells are vital for the exclusion of salts and pathogens, selective nutrient uptake, and other processes related to the transport and assimilates of water. Despite the importance of Casparian strips, their chemical composition and its relevance to their diffusion barrier functions remain a matter of debate, especially in woody plants. Here, we describe the cytological features revealed by fluorescent staining of developing Casparian strips in the primary root endodermis of Chinese fir (Cunninghamia lanceolata), one of the most important timber species native to China. Using apoplastic permeability tests, we revealed that the Casparian strips provide their barrier function from the secondary stage of endodermis development, after lignin and suberin are deposited onto the surface of the protoplast next to tangential cell walls. Furthermore, we enzymatically isolated Casparian strips from the primary root endodermis and analyzed their chemical composition using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, revealing that they consist largely of lignin and suberin. Using confocal Raman microscopy for label-free, in situ, structural and biochemical analysis, we showed that lignin and suberin accumulated simultaneously in the developing Casparian strips. Taken together, these results elucidated Casparian strip development and characterized the lignification and suberization processes in situ in the primary roots of Chinese fir. Since this species shows broad adaptability to varying environmental conditions, our findings may facilitate work to understand the barrier function of Casparian strips in relationship to environmental stresses.

To analyze the stability of non-uniform crane structures with stepped and tapered columns, equivalent element stiffness derived from hybrid of the transfer matrix method (TMM) and the finite element method (FEM) is proposed. The second-order theory is applied to establish the differential equations of the stepped column with any number of sections, and the exact slope-deflection equations of the equivalent element are derived by TMM. Furthermore, the slope-deflection equations are formulated into the exact symmetric tangent stiffness matrix in FEM. Based on the FEM buckling criterion, the critical forces of stepped columns can be obtained precisely in Bernoulli–Euler sense. Buckling criterion equations of the stepped column with three widely used constraints in crane structures are given as the application of the proposed stiffness. Meanwhile, the proposed stiffness matrix of the stepped column is extended to analyze the buckling of the tapered column, which can be simulated by the four-section stepped column with the selective equivalent inertia moment. Finally, verification examples demonstrate that the proposed method can be used to accurately and efficiently evaluate the critical load of the non-uniform crane structures.

In order to recapitulate the best available evidence of milk consumption and multiple health-related outcomes, we performed an umbrella review of meta-analyses and systematic reviews in humans. Totally, 41 meta-analyses with 45 unique health outcomes were included. Milk consumption was more often related to benefits than harm to a sequence of health-related outcomes. Dose–response analyses indicated that an increment of 200 ml (approximately 1 cup) milk intake per day was associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke, hypertension, colorectal cancer, metabolic syndrome, obesity and osteoporosis. Beneficial associations were also found for type 2 diabetes mellitus and Alzheimer's disease. Conversely, milk intake might be associated with higher risk of prostate cancer, Parkinson’s disease, acne and Fe-deficiency anaemia in infancy. Potential allergy or lactose intolerance need for caution. Milk consumption does more good than harm for human health in this umbrella review. Our results support milk consumption as part of a healthy diet. More well-designed randomized controlled trials are warranted.

Plutonium is one of the key radionuclides in nuclear decommission. In this study, a rapid method was developed to analyze Pu for concrete samples using total digestion, CaF2/LaF3 coprecipitation, extraction chromatography using TEVA and DGA resins, and ICP-MS measurement. The whole analytical process can be achieved within 2 days, with sufficiently high decontamination factors of interfering elements and high Pu chemical recovery (57–93%). The high throughput (22 samples/2 days) and low LODs (0.008 mBq g−1 for 239Pu and 0.02 mBq g−1 for 240Pu) allow this method to effectively detect low level Pu contamination in concrete samples.

Smoking is one of the most impactful lifestyle-related risk factors in many cancer types including esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). As the major component of tobacco and e-cigarettes, nicotine is not only responsible for addiction to smoking but also a carcinogen. Here we report that nicotine enhances ESCC cancer malignancy and tumor-initiating capacity by interacting with cholinergic receptor nicotinic alpha 7 subunit (CHRNA7) and subsequently activating the JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway. We found that aberrant CHRNA7 expression can serve as an independent prognostic factor for ESCC patients. In multiple ESCC mouse models, dextromethorphan and metformin synergistically repressed nicotine-enhanced cancer-initiating cells (CIC) properties and inhibited ESCC progression. Mechanistically, dextromethorphan non-competitively inhibited nicotine binding to CHRNA7 while metformin downregulated CHRNA7 expression by antagonizing nicotine-induced promoter DNA hypomethylation of CHRNA7. Since dextromethorphan and metformin are two safe FDA-approved drugs with minimal undesirable side-effects, the combination of these drugs has a high potential as either a preventive and/or a therapeutic strategy against nicotine-promoted ESCC and perhaps other nicotine-sensitive cancer types as well.

Earthquake-induced landslides can seriously aggravate the earthquake’s destructive consequences and have caused widespread concern in recent decades. The Xianshuihe fault is a large active left-lateral strike-slip fault in the southeast margin of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, Southwest China, where the frequent strong earthquakes have brought abundant geo-hazards. This study focuses mainly on exploring and predicting the landslide scenes induced by the potential earthquakes. Firstly, the sophisticated Newmark model is improved through landslide cases induced by the Ms7.9 Luhuo earthquake in 1973 to adapt the field seismotectonics of the Xianshuihe fault zone. Then, it is used to predict the landslide scenes under one speculated potential earthquake scenario with the similar focal mechanism with the Luhuo earthquake. The preliminary results show that the slope displacement resulted from Newmark model can reflect spatial distribution characteristics of earthquake-induced landslides. The predicted potential earthquake-induced landslide scenes present an obvious extending trend along the Xianshuihe fault. The landslide hazard is greater in the northeast regions than southwest regions of the Xianshuihe fault, where there are more complex topographic conditions. The study procedure will be a helpful demonstration for exploration and prediction of landslide scenes under potential earthquakes in the regions with high seismic activity.

Artemisinin and its derivatives have now become essential antimalarial drugs for increasingly widespread drug-resistant malaria strains. Although artemisinin was first used for the treatment of malarial ailments, lots of subsequent studies have demonstrated it possesses other multiple pharmacological functions such as antitumor, antiarrhythmic, anti-fibrosis, as well as the activity against schistosomiasis. A wide array of the molecular mechanisms based on above-mentioned functions of artemisinin and its derivatives have also been explored. Experimental evidences suggest that artemisinin compounds may exert its functions via mechanisms like regulating key factors such as apoptosis-related BAX, FASL and caspase-3, multi-drug resistence genes, cytokines such as CD4+ and CD8+, inflammation-related NF-κB and COX2, telomerase, oxidative stress molecules, and so on. In this article, the proposed mechanisms of action of artemisinins are reviewed with the hope of gaining more insight into the multiple actions of these potent drugs and how they work.

Bailongjiang watershed in southern Gansu province, China, is one of the most landslide-prone regions in China, characterized by very high frequency of landslide occurrence. In order to predict the landslide occurrence, a comprehensive map of landslide susceptibility is required which may be significantly helpful in reducing loss of property and human life. In this study, an integrated model of information value method and logistic regression is proposed by using their merits at maximum and overcoming their weaknesses, which may enhance precision and accuracy of landslide susceptibility assessment. A detailed and reliable landslide inventory with 1587 landslides was prepared and randomly divided into two groups, (i) training dataset and (ii) testing dataset. Eight distinct landslide conditioning factors including lithology, slope gradient, aspect, elevation, distance to drainages, distance to faults, distance to roads and vegetation coverage were selected for landslide susceptibility mapping. The produced landslide susceptibility maps were validated by the success rate and prediction rate curves. The validation results show that the success rate and the prediction rate of the integrated model are 81.7 % and 84.6 %, respectively, which indicate that the proposed integrated method is reliable to produce an accurate landslide susceptibility map and the results may be used for landslides management and mitigation.

The association between global and segmental myocardial strain impairment and fibrosis extent in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is widely verified. The aim of this study was to investigate the contribution of high T2-weighted signal intensity (HighT2) to myocardial deformation in HCM. We prospectively recruited 57 patients with HCM examined by a 3.0 Tesla magnetic resonance scanner with cine, T2-weighted imaging with fat saturation and phase-sensitive inversion recovery. Global and segmental radial, circumferential and longitudinal strains were included for analysis. The extent of HighT2 was negatively correlated with global radial strain (ρ = −0.275, p = 0.038) and positively correlated with global circumferential strain (ρ = 0.308, p = 0.02) and global longitudinal strain (ρ = 0.422, p = 0.001). Radial, circumferential and longitudinal strains were all significantly associated with segment thickness. Regarding circumferential strain, segments at the mid-ventricular level with LGE and HighT2 showed more impairment than segments with only LGE. For longitudinal strain, the influence of HighT2 appeared only at the mid-ventricular level. The HighT2 extent in HCM was observed to contribute to global and segmental strain parameters. At the segmental level, HighT2 indeed affects left ventricular deformation, and follow-up studies are still warranted.

Background Barbed sutures can avoid knot tying and speed the suture placement in the PN(partial nephrectomy). On account of the impact on clinical outcomes are ambiguous, this study is determined to identify the application of barbed suture during PN. Methods ClinicalTrials.gov, Cochrane Register of Clinical Studies, PubMed and EMBASE were searched for RCTs(randomized controlled trials) and cohort studies focusing on the comparison of barbed and traditional sutures in PN(last updated on Feb in 2015). According to Cochrane Library’s suggestion, quality assessment was performed. Review Manager was applied to analyze all the data and sensitivity analyses were performed through omitting each study sequentially. Results Eight cohort studies and none of RCTs proved eligible (risk of bias: moderate to low,431 patients). Warm ischemia time(MD = − 6.55,95% CI -8.86 to − 4.24, P

In this paper, TEM-EDX, FTIR, XPS, PIXE, and EPBS were employed to identify the uranium biosorption behavior and the potential mechanism on cells of Geotrichum sp. dwc-1, isolated from soils. These results displayed that the biosorption behavior was greatly dependent on pH and uranium was absorbed by bounding to amino, phosphate as well as carboxyl functional groups. Uranium biosorption behavior on Geotrichum sp. dwc-1 involves bioaccumulation, electrostatic interaction and ion exchange process. This work throws further light on potential fungal roles these mechanisms for elemental recovery and bioremediation.

The sorption and desorption of uranium(VI) on GMZ bentonite was investigated as functions of contact time, pH, ionic strength, foreign ions, HSs and initial U(VI) using batch experiments. It is revealed that the sorption strongly depended on pH, cations (Li+, Na+ and K+) and anions (CO3 2−, SO4 2− and PO4 3−). HA benefits the sorption at pH

The adsorption and desorption behaviors of uranium(VI) by a synthetic Fe/Mn (mass ratio of 57:1) binary oxide (FMBO) has been investigated. The pseudo-second-order kinetic and the Dubinin–Radushkevich isotherm models showed.that the adsorption process involved chemical adsorption. The calculated thermodynamic parameters (ΔH°, ΔS°, ΔG°) indicated that the adsorption process of uranium(VI) onto FMBO was spontaneous and endothermic. The desorption experiments indicated that the high desorption rate of uranium(VI) from FMBO by organic acids would increase the total solubility of uranium (in the exchangeable form), which would in turn enhance bio-absorption of uranium from soil via phytoremediation.

This investigation is intended to develop a computer procedure for the integration of NURBS geometry and the rational absolute nodal coordinate formulation (RANCF) finite element analysis. A linear transformation is given that can be used to convert the NURBS curve to RANCF cable element mesh retaining the same geometry and the same degree of continuity, including the discussion of continuity control and mesh refinement. The green strain tensor is used to establish the nonlinear dynamic equations with numerical examples to demonstrate the use of the procedure in the dynamic analysis of flexible bodies.

Vessel segmentation is an important problem in medical image analysis and is often challenging due to large variations in vessel appearance and profiles, as well as image noises. To address these challenges, we propose a solution by combining heterogeneous context-aware features with a discriminative learning framework. Our solution is characterized by three key ingredients: First, we design a hybrid feature pool containing recently invented descriptors including the stroke width transform (SWT) and Weber's local descriptors (WLD), as well as classical local features including intensity values, Gabor responses and vesselness measurements. Second, we encode context information by sampling the hybrid features from an orientation invariant local context. Third, we treat pixel-level vessel segmentation as a discriminative classification problem, and use a random forest to fuse the rich information encoded in the hybrid context-aware features. For evaluation, the proposed method is applied to retinal vessel segmentation using three publicly available benchmark datasets. On the DRIVE and STARE datasets, our approach achieves average classification accuracies of 0.9474 and 0.9633, respectively. On the high-resolution dataset HRFID, our approach achieves average classification accuracies of 0.9647, 0.9561 and 0.9634 on three different categories, respectively. Experiments are also conducted to validate the superiority of hybrid feature fusion over each individual component.

The impact of a mixture of low-molecular-weight organic acids (LMWOAs) composed of CA/MA/OA/LA with a molar ratio of 2.5:2.31:1.15:0.044 on uranium (U) accumulation and distribution in mustard (Brassica juncea var. tumida) was studied in this paper in order to understand the mechanism of rhizosphere-exudation assisted phytoremediation by hydroponic and pot culture experiments. The impact of the mixture of LWMOAs (Mix) on U accumulation showed that in hydroponic conditions Mix could enhance U translocation from root-to-shoot in mustard, but inhibit U uptake in root. In pot experiments, Mix enhanced both root and shoot U accumulation in mustard. The time-dependent kinetics of U uptake in mustard on Mix treatment showed that U content in plant shoots and roots increased with time increasing, and the steady state conditions were obtained at the 8th and 5th day with the U content of 1,528 and 2,300 mg/kg, respectively. Transmission electron microscope and energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry analysis for mustard roots showed that U was mainly observed on cell membrane of mustard roots on Mix treatment. This study would provide new insights for the mixture of LWMOAs-assisted phytoremediation of U-contaminated soil.

AZI1 (AZELAIC ACID INDUCED 1) of Arabidopsis thaliana encodes a 16.76 kDa protein with multiple functions, including resistances to low temperature and fungal infection. In the present work, the influences of AZI1 on lignin biosynthesis were investigated with overexpressing, T-DNA knockout and RNA interference lines. Western blotting coupled with immunolocalization exhibited that AZI1 and its paralog EARLI1 were expressed mainly in vascular tissues of inflorescence stems and leaves, but not in roots. Biochemical analyses and microscopic observation showed that knockdown and knockout of AZI1 led to decrease of the lignin content, reduction of the thickness of secondary wall, deformation of xylem cells and increase of the degradability by cellulase. In contrast to this, overexpression of AZI1 resulted in thicker cell wall and enhanced deposition of lignin in the lignified tissues. In comparison to wild-type plants and AZI1 overexpressing lines, the secondary wall of interfascicular fibers and xylem cells in AZI1 mutants showed yellowish-brown coloration after staining with Maule reagent, indicating the deposition of syringyl unit in lignin was reduced and the ratio of guaiacyl/syringyl monolignol units was increased when AZI1 was disrupted. RT-PCR analyses revealed that the transcription of CCR1 and CCOAOMT1, two genes associated with lignin synthesis, were repressed in T-DNA knockout lines. It has been shown that AZI1 probably modulates production and/or translocation of a long-distance signal during systemic acquired resistance. Our results suggested that AZI1 might be involved in regulation of lignin biosynthesis by influencing the expression of cinnamoyl-CoA reductase and caffeoyl-CoA O-methyltransferase.

This study aimed at influence of europium speciation on its accumulation in Brassica napus (CK) and over-expressing BnTR1 lines (OE), and the kinetics of Eu uptake were investigated. These results indicated that the uptake in the roots of OE was higher than that of CK at high concentrations of europium and even the enrichment in the roots of OE was as high as 20,000 mg/kg at 328.9 μΜ Eu, this suggested that OE might have better resistance to uranium than CK. The time kinetics in plants showed that there had the similar trend between CK and OE. The formation of Eu3+at pH 5 in deionized water was beneficial to plants enrichment Eu and carbonate could reduce the adsorption of Eu in two group and phosphate almost completely impress the adsorption of Eu in two group, but citric acid could enhance europium root-to-shoot translocation in two group. These results would help understanding the mechanism of Eu uptake in Brassica napus (CK) and over-expressing BnTR1 lines (OE), therefore properly developing efficient europium/americium phytoremediation.

The Glu298Asp polymorphism in the NOS3 gene has been implicated as a risk factor for prostate cancer. To date, several studies have evaluated the associations between the Glu298Asp polymorphism and prostate cancer risk; however, the results were inconclusive. The aim of the current study was to perform a meta-analysis to investigate the association between the polymorphism and the risk of prostate cancer. A total of 3,206 cases and 3,880 controls from eight case-control studies were included for data synthesis. The overall results suggested no significant association between the polymorphism and the risk of prostate cancer (OR=1.01, 95 % CI=0.92–1.11, p = 0.83 for Asp/Asp+Glu/Asp vs. Glu/Glu). In the stratified analysis according to ethnicity, no significant associations were observed in Asians and Europeans. The current meta-analysis suggested that the Glu298Asp polymorphism of the NOS3 gene might not contribute to the risk of prostate cancer.

To solve the cross-sensitivity to temperature of fiber Bragg grating (FBG) strain sensor, an effective method is firstly proposed for the discrimination of strain and temperature by using a single FBG adopting a special compensated structure, which is based on the thermal stress. The relationship of strain and temperature responses of FBG is analyzed theoretically. The experimental results are in agreement with the obtained theoretical analyses. This sensor structure has excellent characteristics, such as simple structure, easy manufacture and higher strain sensitivity.

The Thr241Met polymorphism in XRCC3 gene may affect the DNA repair pathways and be associated with the risk of cancer. However, the results of previous studies are inconsistent in Chinese mainland populations. The objective of this study is to investigate the association between the Thr241Met polymorphism in XRCC3 gene and risk of cancer for the Chinese Mainland populations by meta-analysis. We searched PubMed database, Embase database, CNKI database, and Wanfang database, and the last search was updated on July 24, 2013. Statistical analysis was performed using RevMan4.2 and Stata10.0 software. Finally, a total of 23 case-control studies in 23 articles were included. The results suggested a significant association between the Thr241Met polymorphism in XRCC3 gene and cancer risk in Chinese mainland populations (Met/Met + Thr/Met vs. Thr/Thr: OR = 1.25, 95 % CI = 1.02-1.54, P = 0.04). In the subgroup analyses by cancer types, significant associations were found in cervical cancer and nasopharyngeal cancer. The current meta-analysis suggested that the Thr241Met polymorphism in the XRCC3 gene may be a risk factor for cancer in Chinese mainland populations. In the future, more case-control studies are needed to validate these results.

To explore the pathological mechanisms of Guizhi Decoction () syndrome and the therapeutic molecular mechanisms of the Guizhi Decoction, Mahuang Decoction (), Sangju Decoction ( ) and Yinqiao Powder (), as well as the potentially biological basis that Guizhi Decoction is most effective only for the patients with Guizhi Decoction syndrome in clinical practice.We first got serum samples from the patients suffering from both upper respiratory tract infection and Guizhi Decoction syndrome identified by the doctors of Chinese medicine (CM) in the clinic. Four formulas with therapeutic actions of pungent warmth or pungent coolness for superficial syndromes were chosen and four kinds of rat serum samples each containing one of the above-mentioned herbal formulas were collected, then the effects of Guizhi Decoction syndromes' patient serum as well as the effects of sera containing the formulas after being stimulated by the patient serum samples on both the mRNA expression of certain toll-like receptor (TLR) subtypes and the release of some inflammatory cytokines in RAW264.7 cells were tested and analyzed in vitro.The expression of TLR-3, TLR-4 and TLR-9 mRNA among the 9 tested TLR subforms were up-regulated in the macrophages stimulated by the sera from untreated upper respiratory infection patients with the Guizhi Decoction syndrome (symptomcomplex). The products such as interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and interferon (IFN)-β from stimulated macrophages through TLR signaling pathways were also increased correspondingly. Interestingly, the changes induced by the Guizhi Decoction syndrome patients' sera were masked significantly after the macrophages were incubated with the sera from donors treated with Guizhi Decoction. Similarly, the three other exterior-releasing formulas were all effective in reversing the up-regulated changes of certain TLR subforms to different degrees, but both the number of targeted TLRs and efficacy of them seemed to be inferior to that of Guizhi Decoction.Evidence from these experiments might contribute to the scientific explanation of both the pharmacological mechanisms of Guizhi Decoction and also the CM theory that Guizhi Decoction is specifically prescribed for the treatment of Guizhi Decoction syndrome (The gearing formula to the symptom-complex).

The Cdx-2 polymorphism in VDR gene has been extensively investigated for association with cancer risk, however, results of different studies have been inconsistent. The objective of this study is to assess the relationship of the Cdx-2 polymorphism in VDR and cancer risk by meta-analysis. All eligible case-control studies were searched in Pubmed, Embase, CNKI and Wanfang databases. Odds ratios (OR) with the 95 % confidence intervals (CI) were used to assess the association. A total of 12,906 cases and 13,700 controls in 18 case-control studies were included. The results indicated that the AA homozygote carriers had a 16 % increased risk of cancer, when compared with the homozygote GG and heterozygote AG (OR = 1.16, 95 % CI 1.05-1.29 for AA vs. GG+AG). In the subgroup analysis by ethnicity, significant elevated risks were associated with AA homozygote carriers in Caucasians (OR = 1.16, 95 % CI 1.01-1.33, and P = 0.04) and African Americans (OR = 1.31, 95 % CI 1.07-1.61, and P = 0.01). In the subgroup analysis by cancer types, the polymorphism was associated with increased risk of breast cancer (OR = 1.23, 95 % CI 1.04-1.46, and P = 0.02). This meta-analysis suggested that the Cdx-2 polymorphism of VDR gene would be a risk factor for cancer. To further evaluate gene-to-gene and gene-to-environmental interactions between polymorphisms of VDR gene and cancer risk, more studies with large groups of patients are required.

A new series of organic/inorganic composite Langmuir–Blodgett (LB) films consisting of 2-aminofluorene (Fl–NH2) as the π-conjugated organic molecule, an europium-substituted polyoxometalate (POM, POM = Na9EuW10O36, K13[Eu(SiW11O39)2] and K5[Eu(SiW11O39)(H2O)2], which are denoted by EuW10, EuW22 and EuW11, respectively) as the inorganic component, were prepared. Structural and photophysical characterization of these LB films were achieved by π–A isotherms, UV–Vis absorption and photoluminescence spectra, atomic force microscopy imaging, scanning tunneling microscopy, and surface photovoltage spectroscopy. Our experimental results indicate that stable Langmuir and LB films are formed in pure water and POM sub-phases. Luminescence spectra of the prepared hybrid LB films show that tunable emission color can be obtained due to the dual-emissive nature of the mixed Fl–NH2/POM blends. These 2-aminofluorene-based LB films displayed interesting electrical conductivity behavior. Among them, Fl–NH2/EuW11 3-layer films showed a good electrical response with the a tunneling current up to ± 100 nA when the voltage was monitored at −0.8 to 1.5 V. These LB composites show good photovoltage responses and a photovoltage of 2.7 μV can be obtained for the Fl–NH2/EuW22 system when it is excited by light.

The knotless barbed suture is an innovative type of suture that can accelerate the placement of sutures and eliminate knot tying. However, the outcomes of previous studies are still confounding. This study reviewed the application of different types of barbed sutures in different surgeries. We searched PubMed, EMBASE, CENTRAL and ClinicalTrials.gov to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) addressing the application of barbed sutures up to Feb. 2015. Two reviewers independently screened the literature and assessed the risk of bias of included studies. Then meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.3 software. Sensitivity analysis and subgroup analysis was performed. Seventeen RCTs (low to moderate risk of bias) involving 1992 patients were included. Compared with conventional sutures, the barbed suture could reduce suture time (SMD=−0.95, 95%CI −1.43 to −0.46, P = 0.0001) and the operative time (SMD=−0.28, 95%CI −0.46 to −0.10, P = 0.003), not significantly increase the estimated blood loss (SMD=−0.09, 95%CI −0.52 to 0.35, P = 0.70), but could lead to more postoperative complications (OR = 1.43, 95%CI 1.05 to 1.96, P = 0.03), These results varied in subgroups. Thus, barbed sutures are effective in reducing the suture and operative time, but the safety evidences are still not sufficient. It need be evaluated based on special surgeries and suture types before put into clinical practice.

A new family of organometallic/inorganic hybrid Langmuir–Blodgett (LB) films, consisting of rigid-rod alkynylplatinum(II)–zinc(II) porphyrinate complex (OMA) as the π-conjugated donor–acceptor-type molecule, molybdophosphoric heteropolyacid and heteropolyacid salt (POM = H3PMo12O40, Na5IMo6O24, abbreviated as HPMo12 and NaIMo6, respectively) of the Keggin and Anderson structures as the inorganic composite, were prepared and characterized by π-A isotherms, UV–vis absorption and luminescence spectra, scanning tunneling microscopy and surface photovoltage spectroscopy. Our experimental results indicate that stable, well-defined and well-organized Langmuir and LB films have been formed in pure water and POM subphase. Luminescence spectra of these hybrid LB films show that HPMo12 can increase the emission intensity of OMA to some extent. These LB composites show good photovoltage responses and a photovoltage of 11.1 μV can be obtained for the OMA/HPMo12 system when it is excited by light. The 3-layer LB films on ITO wafer can also display intriguing electrical conductivity behavior and the tunneling current amounts to ±100 nA when the voltage is set at −0.7–2.5 and −1.3–0.8 V for OMA/HPMo12 and OMA/NaIMo6 hybrid LB films, respectively.