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Rhamnolipids, simply divided into mono‐rhamnolipids and di‐rhamnolipids, their physicochemical properties are structure‐dependent. This study explored to increase the proportion of di‐rhamnolipids biosynthesized from Pseudomonas aeruginosa and evaluate the relationship between activity and di‐rhamnolipids proportions. P. aeruginosa SGrhlC was constructed by increasing the rhlC gene in P. aeruginosa SG. HPLC‐MS results indicated that SGrhlC produced more di‐rhamnolipids (62.32%) than that of the wild‐type strain SG (45.24%). Both the species and proportion of di‐rhamnolipids were increased, mainly Rha‐Rha‐C8‐C10 and Rha‐Rha‐C10‐C10. The rhamnolipids produced by SGrhlC was thermostable and salt‐tolerant. The SGrhlC rhamnolipids decreased surface tension of water to 27.0 mN/m with a critical micelle concentration (CMC) of 50 mg/L and emulsified crude oil with an emulsification index of 66.9 ± 1.5%. The SGrhlC rhamnolipids exhibited antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Cladosporium sp. with IC50 (half maximal inhibitory concentration) values less than 15 mg/L, and washed 73.02% ± 1.77% of oil from petroleum‐contaminated soil. Physicochemical activities of three bacterial rhamnolipids varied with their di‐rhamnolipids proportions. Results indicated that the higher proportions of di‐rhamnolipids were, the lower CMC, better surface activity and higher washing oil rate were, while the weaker emulsifying activity and lower antimicrobial activity were. The SGrhlC rhamnolipids showed better surface activity and a lower critical micelle concentration, which was superior for wetting, foaming, desorbing and dispersing. This study revealed that P. aeruginosa can be genetically regulated to biosynthesize rhamnolipids with specific structure. Perspectives of the customized biosynthesis and applications of rhamnolipids were also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: The present study aimed to investigate the effects of tremella polysaccharides on the gel properties and antioxidant activity of yak skin gelatin with a view to improving the quality of collagen jellies. The preparation of composite gels were performed by yak skin gelatin (66.7 mg mL−1) and tremella polysaccharides with different concentrations (0, 2, 4, 6, 8 mg mL−1), and finally the collagen jelly was prepared by composite gel (yak skin gelatin: 66.7 mg mL−1; tremella polysaccharides:6 mg mL−1) with the best performance. RESULTS: Tremella polysaccharides not only improved the hardness, springiness, gel strength, water holding capacity and melting temperature of yak skin gelatin, but also enhanced the composite gel's scavenging activity against ABTS radicals, DPPH radicals, O2 and OH radicals. The filling of tremella polysaccharides into the gelatin network increased the number of crosslinking sites inside the gel, which resulted in the gel network structure becoming dense and orderly. The gel particles became finer and more uniform, and the thermal stability was improved. Furthermore, the sensory score of commercially available gelatin jelly decreased more rapidly during storage compared to the composite gel jelly. CONCLUSION: The gel properties and antioxidant activity of yak skin gelatin were improved by adding tremella polysaccharides, and then the quality and storage properties of the jelly were improved, which also provided technical reference for the development of functional gel food. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the findings of a study on moyamoya disease (MMD), a condition characterized by the occlusion of the intracranial internal carotid artery and the formation of collateral vessels. The study focuses on the differential protein metabolism among different subtypes of MMD and the role of WNT4 (wingless‐type MMTV integration site family member 4) in causing cellular impairments by reducing microtubule stability. The researchers used proteomic profiling and in vitro experiments to identify the differences in protein metabolism and explore the potential mechanisms of haemorrhagic MMD. The study suggests that overexpression of WNT4 may lead to decreased stability of cellular microtubules, which could contribute to the rupture and hemorrhage of moyamoya vessels. These findings provide new insights into the biomarkers and mechanisms of haemorrhagic MMD. [Extracted from the article]

Creative tools on content platforms significantly increase content quantity by reducing entry barriers. However, tools such as TikTok video templates primarily facilitate the production of relatively lower‐quality content, negatively impacting content quality due to creative limitations and style uniformity. Why do some platforms develop these tools while others do not? We develop a game‐theoretic model with monopoly and duopoly scenarios to investigate platform investment decisions concerning these special tools. We find that a platform is only incentivized to invest in facilitating low‐quality content production when the entry barrier is low. Additionally, the investment level may not decrease as users increasingly value high‐quality content. In the duopoly case, platforms may adopt differentiated strategies to mitigate direct competition, especially when users substantially value high‐quality content compared with low‐quality content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses a study on moyamoya disease (MMD), a rare cerebrovascular condition characterized by narrowing of the intracranial internal carotid arteries. The study aims to identify specific metabolomic changes and biomarkers that can distinguish between different subtypes of MMD for clinical diagnosis. The researchers used metabolomics analysis to identify differential metabolite features in patients with MMD compared to healthy controls. They found that LPC 16:1-2, a type of lipid, was significantly lower in patients with ischaemic MMD and could potentially serve as a biomarker for this subtype. Additionally, the study explored the effects of LPC supplementation on cell viability and angiogenesis in MMD. The findings suggest that LPC supplementation may have therapeutic potential for managing MMD. [Extracted from the article]

The effects of aging degradation on the safety performance of typical 2,4‐dinitroanisole (DNAN)‐based melt‐cast explosives (MCEs) were studied. An in‐house‐designed low‐velocity impact device and a closed bomb were used to study the effects of aging on the fragmentation and reactivity of DNAN‐based MCEs under impact damage. The test results showed that after artificially accelerated aging of the bare grain, the mass decreased, volume increased, and compressive strength increased, resulting in physical defects such as cracks and debonding occurring inside the explosive. The degree of damage to the DNAN‐based melt‐cast explosive increased with an increase in the impact velocity. Artificial aging increases the degree of damage and impact sensitivity of explosives. The relationship between the degree of fragmentation and the impact velocity under different aging times was revealed through the frangibility factor (FFE) and dynamic activity (L). The microcracks formed by DNAN sublimation and aging significantly affected the sample reaction violence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Dual modification of collagen was performed using ionic liquid (IL) and ultrasound (US) to modulate the activity of collagen hydrolyzed peptides and reveal the production mechanism of cowhide‐derived dipeptidyl peptidase (DPP‐IV) inhibitory peptides. RESULTS: The results revealed that dual modification (IL + US) significantly improved the hydrolytic degree of collagen (P < 0.05). Meanwhile, IL and US tended to promote the break of hydrogen bonds, but inhibit the crosslinking between collagens. The double modification reduced the thermal stability and accelerated the exposure of tyrosine and phenylalanine of collagen, and improved the proportion of small molecular (< 1 kDa) peptides in collagen hydrolysates. Interestingly, the hydrophobic amino acid residues and DPP‐IV inhibitory activity of collagen peptides with small molecular weight (< 1 kDa) was increased further under the combination of IL and US. CONCLUSION: Enhanced hypoglycemic activity of collagen peptides can be attained through the dual modification of IL and US. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: The antioxidant peptide was produced from hydrolysis with Bacillus subtilis proteases supplemented with different duration of ultrasound, and the hydrolysis and structural characteristics of yak skin gelatin (YSG) were characterised. Compared with the excessive ultrasonic treatment (10–40 min), the YSG produced by moderate ultrasonic treatment (5 min) had a higher degree of hydrolysis and the DPPH free radical scavenging ability, and ABTS free radical scavenging activity of the hydrolysate was increased. The results showed that ultrasound for 5 min significantly weakened hydrogen bonds and promoted the exposure of hydrophobic groups, resulting in the loosening of collagen structure. Appropriate ultrasonic treatment obviously changed the gelatin structure, as the changes in the decrease of glass transition temperature, the reduction of particle size and the destruction of the surface morphology. These findings showed that moderate ultrasound (5 min) could modify the structure of YSG and, therefore, has great potential in the production of antioxidant peptides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of macrocycles that contain two quinoline oligoamide foldamers (QOFs) using various length of alkyl chains as linkers (2, 3, 6, 8 or 12 hydrocarbons) were synthesized. The two QOFs interact with each other through the linkers and the intramolecular helix chiral communications between the two QOFs were studied by 1H NMR spectroscopy and crystal structures. Investigations show that the intensity of the intramolecular helix chiral communications between the two QOFs is dependent on the length of the linkers, and the interaction between the two QOFs increases with decreasing length of the linkers. When the length of the linkers decreased to C2 linkers, only one conformer is present in solution. Moreover, increasing the length of the foldamers would enhance the intramolecular helix chiral communication if the linkers are short, indicating that the length of the foldamers also has significant impact on intramolecular helix chiral communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To explore the effects of patellectomy on the bony and cartilaginous morphology of the trochlear groove in growing rabbits. Methods: Forty‐eight 4‐week‐old New Zealand white rabbits were randomly assigned to two groups. The control group underwent a sham surgical procedure, whereas the patellectomy group underwent patella excision surgery. Half of the rabbits in each group were sacrificed 3 months postoperatively; the rest were sacrificed 6 months postoperatively. Hematoxylin and eosin staining was performed on collected samples. Measurements included the bony and cartilaginous sulcus angles of the trochlear groove. In addition, the thickness of the articular cartilage at the deepest sulcus position (central thickness) and at the mid‐position of the medial and lateral facets was measured and compared between groups. Results: Three months after surgery, histological images revealed significant differences between the control group and the patellectomy group in cartilaginous sulcus angle (144.2° ± 1.5° vs 151.9° ± 2.4°, respectively; P < 0.001). No obvious difference in bony sulcus angle was found between the groups. Six months after surgery, significant between‐group differences were observed in cartilaginous sulcus angle (136.3° ± 2.5° in control group vs 160.7° ± 3.0° in patellectomy group, P < 0.001) and bony sulcus angle (136.2° ± 2.2° in control group vs 160.4° ± 2.6° in patellectomy group, P < 0.001). However, there were no significant intra‐group differences between cartilaginous and bony sulcus angles in either group. Three months after surgery, significant between‐group differences were detected in articular cartilage thickness at the three different positions (medial facet: 324.3 ± 14.0 μm in control group vs 391.7 ± 98.8 μm in patellectomy group, P = 0.029; central position: 362.1 ± 13.6 μm in control group vs 730.3 ± 76.8 μm in patellectomy group, P < 0.001; lateral facet: 324.6 ± 12.7 μm in control group vs 358.5 ± 38.7 μm in patellectomy group, P = 0.009). No between‐group differences in cartilage thickness were found at 6 months. Conclusions: Abnormal mechanical stress (patellectomy) during a rabbit's development can cause flattening of the femoral trochlear cartilage, followed by changes in the subchondral osseous layer. Abnormal mechanical stress is a crucial factor in the development of trochlear groove dysplasia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The toll‐like receptor (TLR) signaling pathway plays an important role in the innate immune responses and antigen‐specific acquired immunity. Aberrant activation of the TLR pathway has a significant impact on carcinogenesis or tumor progression. Therefore, we hypothesize that genetic variants in the TLR signaling pathway genes are associated with overall survival (OS) of patients with non‐small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). To test this hypothesis, we first performed Cox proportional hazards regression analysis to evaluate associations between genetic variants of 165 TLR signaling pathway genes and NSCLC OS using the genome‐wide association study (GWAS) dataset from the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial (PLCO). The results were further validated by the Harvard Lung Cancer Susceptibility GWAS dataset. Specifically, we identified IRAK2 rs779901 C > T as a predictor of NSCLC OS, with a variant‐allele (T) attributed hazards ratio (HR) of 0.78 [95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.67–0.91, P = 0.001] in the PLCO dataset, 0.84 (0.72–0.98, 0.031) in the Harvard dataset, and 0.81 (0.73–0.90, 1.08x10−4) in the meta‐analysis of these two GWAS datasets. In addition, the T allele was significantly associated with an increased mRNA expression level of IRAK2. Our findings suggest that IRAK2 rs779901 C > T may be a promising prognostic biomarker for NSCLC OS. What's new? Abnormal signaling by the toll‐like receptor (TLR) pathway, normally a crucial mediator of innate and antigen‐specific acquired immune responses, potentially favors tumor progression. Little is known, however, about associations between TLR signaling and patient outcome. In the present study, re‐analysis of existing genome‐wide association study datasets for patients with non‐small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) uncovered a prognostic variant in IRAK2 (rs779901 C > T), a gene encoding a receptor‐associated kinase in the TLR pathway. IRAK2 rs779901 C > T specifically predicted overall survival in NSCLC patients. While mechanistic study is needed, the findings suggest that the variant is a promising prognostic biomarker in NSCLC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Exploring the regulatory mechanism played by endogenous rice miRNAs in defense responses against the blast disease is of great significance in both resistant variety breeding and disease control management. We identified rice defense‐related miRNAs by comparing rice miRNA expression patterns before and after Magnaporthe oryzae strain Guy11 infection. We discovered that osa‐miR164a expression reduced upon Guy11 infection at both early and late stages, which was perfectly associated with the induced expression of its target gene, OsNAC60. OsNAC60 encodes a transcription factor, over‐expression of which enhanced defense responses, such as increased programmed cell death, greater ion leakage, more reactive oxygen species accumulation and callose deposition, and upregulation of defense‐related genes. By using transgenic rice over‐expressing osa‐miR164a, and a transposon insertion mutant of OsNAC60, we showed that when the miR164a/OsNAC60 regulatory module was dysfunctional, rice developed significant susceptibility to Guy11 infection. The co‐expression of OsNAC60 and osa‐miR164a abolished the OsNAC60 activity, but not its synonymous mutant. We further validated that this regulatory module is conserved in plant resistance to multiple plant diseases, such as the rice sheath blight, tomato late blight, and soybean root and stem rot diseases. Our results demonstrate that the miR164a/OsNAC60 regulatory module manipulates rice defense responses to M. oryzae infection. This discovery is of great potential for resistant variety breeding and disease control to a broad spectrum of pathogens in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The influences of corrosion and the strain rate on the mechanical performance of corroded steel fibers were assessed in this paper. The steel fibers were corroded to different corrosion degrees by drying‐wetting cycling in a 5% sodium chloride solution and a 50° centigrade oven. The static and dynamic tensile tests of corroded steel fibers were investigated by using a static and dynamic test system. The results showed that the mechanical properties of the corroded steel fibers were strain‐rate dependent. With an increase in strain rate, the ultimate load increased, whereas, the strain‐rate effect decreased with an increase in the corrosion degree. However, variations in Young's modulus with strain rate and corrosion degree were not obvious. With an increase in the corrosion degree, both the nominal tensile strength and elongation of the corroded steel fibers decreased. However, the ultimate strength based on the minimum cross‐sectional area did not decrease. The strength could be attributed to the uneven distribution of the cross‐sectional area along the bar. Based on the experimental results, a time‐dependent assessment method for the mechanical behavior of corroded steel fibers under the static and dynamic loading conditions was proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cutaneous melanoma (CM) is considered as a steroid hormone‐related malignancy. However, few studies have evaluated the roles of genetic variants encoding steroid hormone receptor genes and their related regulators (SHR‐related genes) in CM‐specific survival (CMSS). Here, we performed a pathway‐based analysis to evaluate genetic variants of 191 SHR‐related genes in 858 CMSS patients using a dataset from a genome‐wide association study (GWAS) from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (MDACC), and then validated the results in an additional dataset of 409 patients from the Harvard GWAS. Using multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression analysis, we identified three‐independent SNPs (RORA rs782917 G > A, RORA rs17204952 C > T and DNMT1 rs7253062 G > A) as predictors of CMSS, with a variant‐allele attributed hazards ratio (HR) and 95% confidence interval of 1.62 (1.25–2.09), 1.60 (1.20–2.13) and 1.52 (1.20–1.94), respectively. Combined analysis of risk genotypes of these three SNPs revealed a decreased CMSS in a dose–response manner as the number of risk genotypes increased (ptrend < 0.001); however, no improvement in the prediction model was observed (area under the curve [AUC] = 79.6–80.8%, p = 0.656), when these risk genotypes were added to the model containing clinical variables. Our findings suggest that genetic variants of RORA and DNMT1 may be promising biomarkers for CMSS, but these results needed to be validated in future larger studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The platelet‐derived growth factor (PDGF) signaling pathway plays important roles in development and progression of human cancers. In our study, we aimed to identify genetic variants of the PDGF pathway genes associated with pancreatic cancer (PC) risk in European populations using three published genome‐wide association study datasets, which consisted of 9,381 cases and 7,719 controls. The expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) analysis was also performed using data from the 1000 Genomes, TCGA and GTEx projects. As a result, we identified two potential susceptibility loci (rs5757573 and rs6001516) of PDGFB associated with PC risk [odds ratio (OR) = 1.10, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.05–1.16, and p = 4.70 × 10−5 for the rs5757573 C allele and 1.21, 1.11–1.32, and 2.01 × 10−5 for the rs6001516 T allele]. Haplotype analysis revealed that the C‐T haplotype carriers had a significantly increased risk of PC than those carrying the T‐C haplotype (OR = 1.23, 95% CI = 1.12–1.34, p =5.00 × 10−6). The multivariate regression model incorporating the number of unfavorable genotypes (NUGs) with age and sex showed that carriers with 1–2 NUGs, particularly among 60–70 age group or males, had an increased risk of PC, compared to those without NUG. Furthermore, the eQTL analysis revealed that both loci were correlated with a decreased mRNA expression level of PDGFB in lymphoblastoid cell lines and pancreatic tumor tissues (p = 0.015 and 0.071, respectively). Our results suggest that genetic variants in PDGFB may play a role in susceptibility to PC. Further population and functional validations of our findings are warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rho GTPases control cell division, motility, adhesion, vesicular trafficking and phagocytosis, which may affect progression and/or prognosis of cancers. Here, we investigated associations between genetic variants of Rho GTPases-related genes and cutaneous melanoma-specific survival (CMSS) by re-analyzing a published melanoma genome-wide association study (GWAS) and validating the results in another melanoma GWAS. In the single-locus analysis of 36,018 SNPs in 129 Rho-related genes, 427 SNPs were significantly associated with CMSS ( p < 0.050 and false-positive report probability <0.2) in the discovery dataset, and five SNPs were replicated in the validation dataset. Among these, four SNPs ( i.e., RHOU rs10916352 G > C, ARHGAP22 rs3851552 T > C, ARHGAP44 rs72635537 C > T and ARHGEF10 rs7826362 A > T) were independently predictive of CMSS (a meta-analysis derived p = 9.04 × 10−4, 9.58 × 10−4, 1.21 × 10−4 and 8.47 × 10−4, respectively). Additionally, patients with an increasing number of unfavorable genotypes (NUGs) of these loci had markedly reduced CMSS in both discovery dataset and validation dataset ( ptrend=1.47 × 10−7 and 3.12 × 10−5). The model including the NUGs and clinical variables demonstrated a significant improvement in predicting the five-year CMSS. Moreover, rs10916352C and rs3851552C alleles were significantly associated with an increased mRNA expression levels of RHOU ( p = 1.8 × 10−6) and ARHGAP22 ( p = 5.0 × 10−6), respectively. These results may provide promising prognostic biomarkers for CM personalized management and treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evidence suggests that cells with a stemness phenotype play a pivotal role in oncogenesis, and prostate cells exhibiting this phenotype have been identified. We used two genome-wide association study (GWAS) datasets of African descendants, from the Multiethnic/Minority Cohort Study of Diet and Cancer (MEC) and the Ghana Prostate Study, and two GWAS datasets of non-Hispanic whites, from the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian (PLCO) Cancer Screening Trial and the Breast and Prostate Cancer Cohort Consortium (BPC3), to analyze the associations between genetic variants of stemness-related genes and racial disparities in susceptibility to prostate cancer. We evaluated associations of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 25 stemness-related genes with prostate cancer risk in 1,609 cases and 2,550 controls of non-Hispanic whites (4,934 SNPs) and 1,144 cases and 1,116 controls of African descendants (5,448 SNPs) with correction by false discovery rate ≤0.2. We identified 32 SNPs in five genes ( TP63, ALDH1A1, WNT1, MET and EGFR) that were significantly associated with prostate cancer risk, of which six SNPs in three genes ( TP63, ALDH1A1 and WNT1) and eight EGFR SNPs showed heterogeneity in susceptibility between these two racial groups. In addition, 13 SNPs in MET and one in ALDH1A1 were found only in African descendants. The in silico bioinformatics analyses revealed that EGFR rs2072454 and SNPs in linkage with the identified SNPs in MET and ALDH1A1 ( r2 > 0.6) were predicted to regulate RNA splicing. These variants may serve as novel biomarkers for racial disparities in prostate cancer risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND Seeking efficient phosphorus (P) removal methods is of great significance in both aspects of environmental protection and resource conservation. Silicon (Si) is always present in marine sediments and it contributes significantly to P removal by iron (Fe( III)) oxides. Marine microbes play the major role in marine biomineralization. The aim of this study was to investigate P removal performance by marine bacterium enhanced with Fe ( III) in the presence of Si and the role Si played in the system. RESULTS The optimal Fe/Si/P molar ratio for P removal was 1:1.5:1. P removal efficiency was 47.79%, 96.02%, and 97.87% in systems of pure bacterial cultures, bacteria with Fe ( III), and bacteria with Fe ( III) and Si, respectively, at P of 30 mg L−1. Flocs and micro-precipitates were formed around cells in P removal systems containing Fe ( III) or Si. Moreover, the amount and size of flocs in systems containing Si were larger than those without Si. CONCLUSION P removal by marine bacterium enhanced with Fe ( III) had good performance through precipitation and adsorption. Si was able to strengthen P removal ability and sludge settleability. This study can provide us with new insights into bacterial induced metal phosphate precipitate and into the marine P cycle. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To identify genetic variants involved in prognosis of cutaneous melanoma (CM), we investigated associations of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of genes in the integrin signaling pathway with CM survival by re-analyzing a published genome-wide association study (GWAS) from The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center (MDACC) and then validated significant SNPs in another GWAS from Harvard University. In the MDACC study, 1,148 SNPs were significantly associated with CM-specific survival (CMSS) ( p ≤ 0.050 and false-positive report probability ≤ 0.20), and nine SNPs were validated in the Harvard study ( p ≤ 0.050). Among these, three independent SNPs (i.e., DOCK1 rs11018104 T > A, rs35748949 C > T and PAK2 rs1718404 C > T) showed a predictive role in CMSS, with an effect-allele attributed adjusted hazards ratio [adjHR of 1.50 (95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.18-1.90, p = 7.46E-04), 1.53 (1.18-1.97, 1.18E-03) and 0.58 (0.45-0.76, 5.60E-05), respectively]. Haplotype analysis revealed that a haplotype carrying two risk alleles A-T in DOCK1 was associated with the poorest survival in both MDACC (adjHR = 1.73, 95% CI = 1.19-2.50, p = 0.004) and Harvard (adjHR = 1.95, 95% CI = 1.14-3.33, p = 0.010) studies. In addition, patients with an increasing number of unfavorable genotypes (NUGs) for these three SNPs had a poorer survival. Incorporating NUGs with clinical variables showed a significantly improved ability to classify CMSS (AUC increased from 86.8% to 88.6%, p = 0.031). Genetic variants in the integrin signaling pathway may independently or jointly modulate the survival of CM patients. Further large, prospective studies are needed to validate these findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mass production and commercial availability are prerequisites for the viability and wide application of MoS2. Here, we demonstrate enhanced grindstone chemistry for a one-step synthesis of biofunctionalized MoS2. By adding a SiO2 auxiliary agent the exfoliation efficiency increases from 16.23% to 58.59% and a rapid and high-yield exfoliation of MoS2 is seen. SiO2 exhibits a fragmentation effect, which reduces the lateral size and facilitates the exfoliation of MoS2, thus inducing a high-efficient paradigm in the top-down fabrication of biofunctionalized MoS2 nanosheets. The as-prepared MoS2-chitosan (MoS2-CS) nanosheets display complete disaggregation and homogeneous dispersion, as well as a high content of chitosan (ca. 20 wt%). As a proof-of-concept application, the MoS2-CS nanosheets act as a biosorbent for PbII removal, exhibiting a good adsorption capacity and recyclability. This green and facile enhanced grindstone chemistry with minimal use of organic solvents and high-throughput efficiency can be extended to the fabrication of other biocompatible inorganic 2D analogues for a variety of applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new regulatory class of small endogenous RNAs called circular RNAs (circRNAs) has been described as miRNA sponges in animals. Using 16 Arabidopsis thaliana RNA-Seq data sets, we identified 803 circRNAs in RNase R-/non-RNase R-treated samples. The results revealed the following features: Canonical and noncanonical splicing can generate circRNAs; chloroplasts are a hotspot for circRNA generation; furthermore, limited complementary sequences exist not only in introns, but also in the sequences flanking splice sites. The latter finding suggests that multiple combinations between complementary sequences may facilitate the formation of the circular structure. Our results contribute to a better understanding of this novel class of plant circRNAs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cell membrane transporters and metabolic enzymes play a crucial role in the transportation of a wide variety of substrates that maintain homeostasis in biological processes. We explored associations between genetic variants in these genes and survival of nonsmall-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients by reanalyzing two datasets from published genome-wide association studies (GWASs). In the discovery by using the GWAS dataset of the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian (PLCO) Cancer Screening Trial, we evaluated associations of 1,245 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in genes of four transporter families and two metabolic enzyme families with survival of 1,185 NSCLC patients. We then performed a replication analysis in the Harvard University Lung Cancer study (LCS) with 984 NSCLC patients. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression and false discovery rate (FDR) corrections were performed to evaluate the associations. We identified that 21 genotyped SNPs in eight gene regions were significantly associated with survival with FDR ≤0.1 in the discovery dataset. Subsequently, we confirmed six SNPs, which were putative functional, in ABCG1 of the ATP-binding cassette transporter family in the replication dataset. In the pooled analysis, two tagging (at r² > 0.8 for linkage disequilibrium with other replicated SNPs)/functional SNPs were independently associated with survival: rs225388 G > A [adjusted hazards ratio (HR)51.12, 95% confidence interval (CI)51.03-1.20, Ptrend = 4.6 3 10-3] and rs225390 A > G (adjusted HR51.16, 95% CI51.07-1.25, Ptrend = 3.8 3 10-4). Our results indicated that genetic variants of ABCG1 may be predictors of survival of NSCLC patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our previous study indicated that lapatinib induces p27-dependent G1 arrest through both transcriptional and post-translational mechanisms. Using miRNA microarray technology and quantitative RT-PCR, we further investigated the potential miRNAs that involved in p27 upregulation and Her-2 signaling pathway alteration with lapatinib treatment. A subset of 7 miRNAs was significantly affected in both 0.5 µM and 2.0 µM and 24 h and 48 h lapatinib treatment. Among them, only miR-1470, miR-126, and miR-1208 were identified in the Her-2 pathway after KEGG pathway analysis. However, luciferase reporter assay confirmed that miR-1470 directly recognized the 3′-untranslated region of c-jun transcripts, which was consistent with TargetScan analysis. miR-1470 significantly decreased c-jun expression, thus miR-1470 may repressc-jun activation of cyclinD1 expression, and consequently promoted the upregulation of p27, a key molecule in the cell cycle arrest. Taken together, the present study provided the first evidences that miR-1470 mediated lapatinib induced p27 upregulation by targeting c-jun. J. Cell. Physiol. 230: 1630-1639, 2015. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., A Wiley Company [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

MicroRNAs (miRNA) are a class of small, noncoding RNA molecules involved in a diversity of cellular functions. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in miRNA biosynthesis genes may affect the biogenesis of miRNAs and consequently affect the miRNAs regulation. In this study, we systematically selected 24 functional SNPs located in eight key biosynthesis genes of miRNA ( DROSHA, DGCR8, RAN, DICER, AGO2, GEMIN3, GEMIN4 and HIWI) and investigated the association between these SNPs and the risk of breast cancer in a Chinese population. All 24 SNPs were firstly genotyped in stage 1 (878 cases and 900 controls) and three promising SNPs ( DROSHA rs2291109, RAN rs7301722 and DGCR8 rs417309) were selected for further validation in stage 2 (914 cases and 967 controls). We found that only one SNP (rs417309) located in the 3′-UTR of DGCR8 was consistently associated with an increased breast cancer risk in two stages with a combined odds ratio (OR) of 1.50 [95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.16-1.93]. Based on the bioinformatics prediction, rs417309 is located at the binding sites of miR-106b and miR-579 in the 3′-UTR of DGCR8. To evaluate whether rs417309 variant affects the binding capacity of miRNAs, we cotransfected luciferase reporter plasmids of DGCR8 3′-UTR and miR-106b/miR-579 in three cell lines. Luciferase activity assay showed a higher expression level with rs417309 A allele compared with G allele in MCF-7 cell lines ( p = 3.31 × 10-7, 9.29 × 10-7 for miR-106b and miR-579, respectively). Our findings suggested that DGCR8 rs417309 G > A might affect breast cancer risk through the interruption of miRNA binding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

PTGS2 genetic 3' untranslated region (3'UTR) miRNA binding sites variants are significantly associated with cancer risk; however, the roles of genetic variants in PTGS2 gene 3'UTR and post-transcriptional regulation have not been elucidated. We report that rs689470 and rs5275 in the PTGS2 3'UTR have potential miRNA-binding sites by using bioinformatics analysis. However, only the rs689470 was significantly associated with PTGS2 mRNA expression in lymphoblastoid cell lines (P = 0.026), but not for rs5275 (P = 0.626). rs689470 might be putative variants mediating the post-transcriptional regulation of target PTGS2 gene. Better understanding of how 3'UTR variants regulate PTGS2 activity will pave the way to targeting the PTGS2 pathway in cancer therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]