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Background Computed tomography (CT)-guided percutaneous implantation of 125Iodine radioactive seeds requires the precise arrangement of seeds by tumor shape. We tested whether selecting target areas, including subclinical areas around tumors, can influence locoregional recurrence in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Method We divided 82 patients with NSCLC into two groups. Target areas in group 1 (n = 40) were defined along tumor margins based on lung-window CT. Target areas in group 2 (n = 42) were extended by 0.5 cm in all dimensions outside tumor margins. Preoperative plans for both groups were based on a treatment plan system, which guided 125 I seed implantation. Six months later, patients underwent chest CT to evaluate treatment efficacy (per Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors version 1). We compared locoregional recurrences between the groups after a year of follow-up. We then used the treatment plan system to extend target areas for group 1 patients by 0.5 cm (defined as group 3 data) and compared these hypothetical group 3 planned seeds with the actual seed numbers used in group 1 patients. Results All patients successfully underwent implantation; none died during the follow-up period. Recurrence was significantly lower in group 2 than in group 1 ( P < 0.05). Group 1 patients and group 3 data significantly differed in seed numbers ( P < 0.01). Conclusion Our results imply that extending the implantation area for 125 I seeds can decrease recurrence risk by eradicating cancerous lymph-duct blockades within the extended areas.

In view of the lack of applicability of the existing equivalent evaporation duct feature calculation scheme in China's sea area and the requirement of the evaporation duct model test, this study used the actual sounding data in China's coastal areas and studied the applicability of the three computational schemes proposed by J.F. Howell, S.P. Oncley, and G.J. Steeneveld in different sea areas and different seasons by comparing the error and standard deviation. The applicability of the sea area shows that the best calculation scheme for the equivalent evaporating duct feature in the South China Sea is the scheme proposed by G.J. Steeneveld et al., while the optimal calculation method for the East China Sea is the scheme proposed by S.P. Oncley et al.; the seasonal applicability shows that the scheme proposed by G.J. Steeneveld et al. has the best-fitting results in the spring, while in the summer and winter, the scheme proposed by S.P. Oncley et al. fits best. These results provide a theoretical basis for the follow-up study.

The sustainability of ever more sophisticated artificial intelligence relies on the continual development of highly energy‐efficient and compact computing hardware that mimics the biological neural networks. Recently, the neural firing properties have been widely explored in various spiking neuron devices, which could emerge as the fundamental building blocks of future neuromorphic/in‐memory computing hardware. By leveraging the intrinsic device characteristics, the device‐based spiking neuron has the potential advantage of a compact circuit area for implementing neural networks with high density and high parallelism. However, a comprehensive benchmark that considers not only the device but also the peripheral circuit necessary for realizing complete neural functions is still lacking. Herein, the recent progress of emerging spiking neuron devices and circuits is reviewed. By implementing peripheral analog circuits for supporting various spiking neuron devices in the in‐memory computing architecture, the advantages and challenges in area and energy efficiency are discussed by benchmarking various technologies. A small or even no membrane capacitor, a self‐reset property, and a high spiking frequency are highly desirable.

The relationship of Cr content to microstructure and impact toughness in the simulated coarse-grained heat-affected zone of high-strength low-alloy steels subjected to varying heat input welding thermal cycles is investigated. Results show that the microstructures of the simulated coarse-grain heat-affected zone in steels with different Cr contents and welding heat inputs consist of predominantly bainite, a small proportion of acicular ferrite, and martensite–austenite constituents. With the Cr content increasing from 0.33 to 0.65% and 1.02%, the fraction of acicular ferrite is decreased and martensite–austenite constituents are increased. Meanwhile, when the heat input increased from 20 to 100 and 200 kJ cm−1, martensite–austenite constituents increase in amount and coarsen remarkably. The impact toughness of simulated coarse-grain heat-affected zone at −20 °C decreases obviously with increasing Cr content, especially subjected to high-heat input welding.

In S. exigua, ingestion of Cry1Ac reduces larval growth, shortens lifespan, and decreases copulation and oviposition of the adults. Cadherin-like protein SeCad1b in S. exigua has recently been published. Here, we tested whether SeCad1b mediates the negative effects of Cry1Ac. We identified three potential Cry toxin binding regions in SeCad1b, i.e., (879) EIAIQITDTNN(889) , (1357) SLLTVTI(1363) , and (1436) GVISLNFQ(1443) . We expressed and purified a truncated cadherin, rSeCad1bp, and its interspecific homologue, rHaBtRp, from H. armigera that contain the putative toxin binding regions. Using a toxin overlay assay, we found that rSeCad1bp specifically binds to biotinylated Cry1Ac in a dose-dependent manner. We also discovered that an addition of rSeCad1bp and rHaBtRp enhances the suppression of larval growth by Cry1Ac, although rSeCad1bp is less suppressive than rHaBtRp. Finally, RNA interference-mediated knockdown of SeCad1b reduced approximately 80% of the target gene and significantly alleviated the negative effect of CrylAc on larval growth. We infer that the S. exigua SeCad1b is a functional receptor of Cry1Ac.

Our previous microarray data showed that microRNA-224 (miR-224) was downregulated in human prostate cancer (PCa) tissues compared with adjacent benign tissues. However, the underlying mechanisms by which miR-224 is involved in PCa remain unclear. In this study, we identified TRIB1 as a target gene of miR-224. Forced expression of miR-224 suppressed PCa cell proliferation, invasion and migration, and promoted cell apoptosis by downregulating TRIB1. Moreover, the expression level of miR-224 in PCa tissues was negatively correlated with that of TRIB1. miR-224 downregulation was frequently found in PCa tissues with metastasis, higher PSA level and clinical stage, whereas TRIB1 upregulation was significantly associated with metastasis. Both miR-224 downregulation and TRIB1 upregulation were significantly associated with poor biochemical recurrence-free survival of patients with PCa. In conclusion, these findings reveal that the aberrant expression of miR-224 and TRIB1 may promote PCa progression and have potentials to serve as novel biomarkers for PCa prognosis.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common type of liver cancer. HDAC6 is a transcriptional regulator of the histone deacetylase family, subfamily 2. Previous studies have shown that HDAC6 plays critical roles in transcription regulation, cell cycle progression and developmental events. However, its biological roles in the development of HCC remain largely unexplored. In the present study, we found that mRNA and protein levels of HDAC6 were up-regulated in HCC tissues and cell lines. The proinflammatory cytokines, which were up-regulated in the human HCC microenvironment, increased HDAC6 expression through a proximal NF-kappaB binding site on the HDAC6 gene promoter. Furthermore, overexpression of HDAC6 could promote cell proliferation in HCC cell lines. In contrast, HDAC6 knockdown using small interfering RNA inhibited cell proliferation. At the molecular level, we demonstrated that HDAC6 could interact with p53 and attenuate its transcriptional activity through promotion of its degradation. Therefore, our results suggest a previously unknown HDAC6-p53 molecular network controlling HCC development.

Genetic polymorphisms in DNA repair genes may influence individual variation in DNA repair capacity, which may be associated with risk of gastric antrum adenocarcinoma (GAA) related to Helicobacter pylori infection. This study, including 361 GAAs and 616 controls without any evidence of tumors, was designed to evaluate the association between the polymorphisms of DNA repair genes XPC Ala499Val (RS#2228000) and Lys939Gln (RS#2228001), XPD Lys751Gln (RS#13181), and XRCC4 Ala247Ser (RS#3734091) and Ser298Asn (RS#1805377), and GAA risk for Guangxi population by means of TaqMan-PCR analysis. Increased risks of GAA were found for individuals with H. pylori positive [odds ratio (OR), 2.48; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.84–3.33] or cagA positive (OR, 7.34; 95% CI, 5.46–9.87). No differences were observed among the studied groups with regard to the genotype distribution of XPC codons 499 and 939 and of XRCC4 codon 247; but XPD codon 751 genotypes with Gln [ORs (95% CI) were 2.67 (1.98–3.58) and 3.97 (2.64–5.99) for Lys/Gln and Gln/Gln, respectively] and XRCC4 codon 298 genotypes with Asn [ORs (95% CI) were 3.01 (2.21–4.10) and 4.78 (3.24–7.05) for Ser/Asn and Asn/Asn, respectively] increased the risk of GAA. Interestingly, there was an interactive effect between the risk genotypes of these two genes and cagA-positive status in the GAA risk (ORinteract = 2.05 and 2.08, respectively). However, we did not find the gene–H. pylori-status interaction effects on the risk of GAA (Pinteract > 0.05). The results suggested that the polymorphisms of XPD codon 751 and XRCC4 codon 298 are associated with an increased risk of developing H. pylori-related GAA among Guangxi population. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Microorganisms can utilize different sugars as energy and carbon sources and the genes involved in sugar metabolism often exhibit highly regulated expression. To study cis-acting elements controlling arabinose-responsive expression in archaea, the promoter of the Sulfolobus solfataricus araS gene encoding an arabinose binding protein was characterized using an Sulfolobus islandicus reporter gene system. The minimal active araS promoter (P(araS)) was found to be 59 nucleotides long and harboured four promoter elements: an ara-box, an upstream transcription factor B-responsive element (BRE), a TATA-box and a proximal promoter element, each of which contained important nucleotides that either greatly decreased or completely abolished promoter activity upon mutagenesis. The basal araS promoter was virtually inactive due to intrinsically weak BRE element, and the upstream activating sequence (UAS) ara-box activated the basal promoter by recruiting transcription factor B to its BRE. While this UAS ensured a general expression from an inactive or weak basal promoter in the presence of other tested carbon resources, it exhibited a strong arabinose-responsive transcriptional activation. To our knowledge, this represents the first example of an archaeal UAS that exhibits differential activation to the expression on the same promoter in the presence of different carbon sources.