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In order to solve the problem of data sparseness and cold start of the collaborative filtering model, many methods have been proposed, but most of them ignore the user attribute similarity and the user preference. The accuracy of recommendation needs to be improved. Most of researches stay in simple linear modeling of the relationship between users and items, and does not consider the influence of auxiliary information on the recommendation algorithm. In our real life, users preferences are affected by age, gender, and personality. Environment, social circle, etc.In this work, we design a Top-N recommendation algorithm LNGCF-B (light neural graph collaborative filtering with user basic information). Firstly, different from traditional graph convolutional collaborative filtering algorithm, the simplified version is more explanatory, the training time is shortened. Secondly, this algorithm considers the attributes of the user, experiments show that LNGCF-B is better than the baseline algorithm. In our social life, there are many different types of networks, under different network models, the performance of the recommendation algorithm is also different. However, there are few researches on the performance of recommendation algorithms in different scenarios. We use LNGCF-B on two data sets belonging to different network models. The results show that the list recommended by the algorithm on the Movielens 100K data set belonging to the scale-free network has a higher degree of relevance, and the Facebook friend relationship data set belonging to the small world network has a higher recall rate.

To evaluate whether the results of the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) is associated with the various clinical aspects of intermittent exotropia in children. The HRQOL of children and their parents was evaluated prospectively using the Intermittent Exotropia Questionnaire (IXTQ). The deviation angle, stereo function, sensory fusion, and strabismus control were measured. Two hundred and sixty six children with intermittent exotropia (aged 5–17 years) were included in the study. Child HRQOL was significantly correlated with clinical severity; lower IXTQ scores were associated with a larger deviation (p

Background: miR-142-3p has proved to be involved in tumorigenesis and the development of renal cell carcinoma. The present study aimed to explore the prognostic value of miR-142-3p. Methods: Total RNA was extracted from renal cell carcinoma specimens and the expression level of miR-142-3p was measured. Pearson Chi-square test, Kaplan–Meier analysis, as well as univariate and multivariate regression analysis were performed to determine the correlation between miR-142-3p and the prognosis of renal cell carcinoma patients. Receiver operating characteristic curves were constructed to evaluate the predictive efficiency of miR-142-3p for the prognosis of renal cell carcinoma patients. Data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) were utilized to validate our findings. Results: Our results demonstrated that upregulation of miR-142-3p was correlated with shorter overall survival (P=0.002) and was, in the meantime, an independent prognostic factor for renal cell carcinoma patients (P=0.002). The receiver operating characteristic curve combining miR-142-3p expression with tumor stage showed an area under the curve of 0.633 (95% confidence interval 0.563, 0.702). The result of TCGA data was consistent with our findings. Conclusions: Our results suggest miR-142-3p expression is correlated with poor prognosis of renal cell carcinoma patients and may serve as a prognostic biomarker in the future.

Metal-resistant bacteria can survive exposure to high metal concentrations without any negative impact on their growth. Biosorption is considered to be one of the more effective detoxification mechanisms acting in most bacteria. However, molecular-scale characterization of metal biosorption by wild metal-resistant bacteria has been limited. In this study, the Pb(II) biosorption behavior of Serratia Se1998 isolated from Pb-contaminated soil was investigated through macroscopic and microscopic techniques. A four discrete site non-electrostatic model fit the potentiometric titration data best, suggesting a distribution of phosphodiester, carboxyl, phosphoryl, and amino or hydroxyl groups on the cell surface. The presence of these functional groups was verified by the attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy, which also indicated that carboxyl and phosphoryl sites participated in Pb(II) binding simultaneously. The negative enthalpy (−9.11 kJ mol−1) and large positive entropy (81.52 J mol−1 K−1) of Pb(II) binding with the bacteria suggested the formation of inner-sphere complexes by an exothermic process. X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) analysis further indicated monodentate inner-sphere binding of Pb(II) through formation of C−O−Pb and P−O−Pb bonds. We inferred that C−O−Pb bonds formed on the flagellar surfaces, establishing a self-protective barrier against exterior metal stressors. This study has important implications for an improved understanding of metal-resistance mechanisms in wild bacteria and provides guidance for the construction of genetically engineered bacteria for remediation purposes.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most frequently occurring cancer worldwide and the fifth most common malignancy. The Hippo pathway has been found to play a critical role in cancer development. YAP, a transcriptional coactivator, is the major downstream effector of the Hippo signaling pathway. Hypocrellin A (HA), a natural perylenequinone light-sensitive compound, is usually used for the therapy of eukoplakia of the vulva and keloids in China. Oleanolic acid (OA), a pentacyclic triterpene compound, is prevalent in the treatment of human liver diseases such as viral hepatitis. In this study, we aimed to explore the mechanism by which HA modulates the Hippo/YAP signaling pathway in HCC cells and the anticancer effect of HA combined with OA. Treatment with HA resulted in a decrease in cell viability and migration in HCC cells. Furthermore, we found that HA decreased the YAP and TEAD protein levels of the Hippo pathway. Next we demonstrated that HA could potentiate OA's effect on HCC cells. Our results indicated that HA could inhibit the growth of HCC cells in darkness through Hippo-YAP signaling and HA combined with OA had a better effect than HA or OA alone.Thus, our results provide an alternative combinational inhibitor to combat hepatocellular carcinoma diseases.

Trace metal (loid) contamination in the atmosphere is widely monitored, but there is a gap in understanding its long-term patterns, especially in North China, which is currently a global contamination hotspot mainly caused by heavy industry emissions and coal combustion. Herein, historical trends of atmospheric As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb and Zn contamination in North China over the past ∼500 years are comparatively studied with sediment cores from two subalpine lakes (Gonghai and Muhai). Arsenic, Pb, Cd and Hg were main pollutants according to Pb isotopes and enrichment factors. Mercury contamination has increased continuously since the late 1800s and increasing As, Pb and Cd contamination started in the 1950s in Gonghai. In contrast, the contamination in Muhai lagged two decades for As, Cd and Pb and a half-century for Hg behind that in Gonghai, although the trends were similar. This contamination lag was attributed to the low sensitivity of Muhai sediment to early weak atmospheric metal contamination under 2.1-fold higher detrital sedimentation. As, Pb and Cd contamination has intensified since the 1980s, and the metals showed similar sedimentary fluxes in the cores. However, sedimentary fluxes of Hg contamination were 3.4-fold higher in Gonghai than in Muhai due to combination with organic matter. No obvious Cr, Cu and Ni contamination in the cores was mainly because of the low atmospheric deposition from anthropogenic sources relative to detrital input, although some of their atmospheric emissions were higher than those of As, Cd and Hg. Atmospheric As, Pb and Cd contamination was mainly from domestic sources of coal combustion and nonferrous smelting. Mercury contamination was mainly from global and Asian sources in the first half of the 20th century, and domestic emissions gradually dominated Hg contamination after the mid-1900s.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is characterized by chondrocyte apoptosis and increased degradation of type II collagen. Inflammation is one of the major risk factors involved in the pathophysiology of OA. Neuregulin 4 (Nrg4) plays a protective role in a variety of low-level inflammatory diseases, such as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, inflammatory bowel disease, or type 2 diabetes mellitus. Here we found that (1) Nrg4 deficiency aggravated the destruction and inflammation of articular cartilage and the apoptosis of chondrocytes in vivo. (2) Nrg4 restoration reversed these changes in vivo. (3) Murine recombinant Nrg4 (rNrg4) suppressed inflammation and apoptosis of chondrocytes and decreased the degradation of extracellular matrix in vitro. (4) Mechanistically, the mitogen-activated protein kinase/c-jun N-terminal kinase (MAPK/JNK) signaling pathway may be involved in the regulation of Nrg4 in the pathophysiology of OA. Therefore, we concluded that Nrg4 alleviated the progression of OA by inhibiting the inflammation, protecting against apoptosis of chondrocyte, and decreasing the degradation of extracellular matrix in a manner involving MAPK/JNK signaling.

Additional file 1: Table S1. Information of NADPH-dependent alcohol dehydrogenase. Table S2. Information of selected alcohol dehydrogenase. Table S3. The mutation sites of the PROSS mutants. Table S4. Thermal stability of the recombinant LkADH. Table S5. Activity half-life of the recombinant CbADH-6M. Figure S1. Multiple sequence alignment of alcohol dehydrogenases. Figure S2. SDS-PAGE analysis of the protein expression of the alcohol dehydrogenases. Figure S3. SDS-PAGE analysis of the protein expression at different inducing temperatures. Figure S4. SDS-PAGE analysis of the protein expression at different IPTG concentration. Figure S5. CbADH activity of molecular chaperones co-expression strains. Fig S6. SDS-PAGE analysis of protein expression of molecular chaperones co-expression strains. Fig S7. Multiple sequence alignment of CbADH mutant. Fig S8. SDS-PAGE analysis of protein expression of PROSS mutants. Fig S9. Protein purification of PROSS mutants. Fig S10 HPLC spectrum of (S)-1-phenylethanol. Fig S11. HPLC spectrum of (S)-1-(4-methylphenyl)ethanol. Fig S12. HPLC spectrum of (S)-1-(4-fluorophenyl)ethanol. Fig S13. HPLC spectrum of (S)-1-(4-chlorophenyl)ethanol. Fig S14. HPLC spectrum of (S)-1-(3,4,5-trifluorophenyl)ethanol.

ObjectiveEyetronix Flicker Glass (EFG) has been introduced an alternative treatment for amblyopia. It is based on the premise that amblyopia can better be treated by manipulating the visual input that enter both the normal and amblyopic eye. In contrast, only the normal eye gets deprived during the traditional patching therapy. We conducted a randomized clinical trial to compare the efficacy of the therapies using the Eyetronix Flicker Glass and standard adhesive patches in children with anisometropic amblyopia.DesignA prospective, randomized controlled trial Participants: 31 children aged 4-13 years with anisometropic amblyopia Intervention: The patients were assigned two treatment groups and were treated for 12 weeks. Those in the first group were treated with the Eyetronix Flicker Glass for one hour per day, whereas those in the latter group were treated with the standard patches for two hours per day.Main outcome measuresBest-corrected visual acuity and contrast sensitivity of the amblyopic eye, stereopsis and fusion range were measured at both before the treatment and 3, 6 and 12 weeks after the first day of the treatment.ResultsVisual acuity of the amblyopic eye significantly improved in both groups after the treatment (p < 0.05), albeit more so in patients who had undergone the standard patching therapy. A significant improvement in contrast sensitivity of the amblyopic eye at 3, 6 and 12 cpd was also observed in patients who had undergone the standard patching therapy (p < 0.05) but not the EFG therapy (p > 0.05). However, no improvement in stereopsis and fusion range was found in patients from both treatment groups.ConclusionBoth therapies improved monocular visual functions, such as visual acuity and contrast sensitivity. However, the improvement was significantly larger after the standard patching therapy than that of the EFG therapy. However, both therapies did not improve fusion range and stereopsis. Our results indicate that although the EFG therapy deprives visual input in a binocular fashion, it does not improve binocular functions in the amblyopic population.

Screening of CRC continues to show poor compliance of endoscopy examination. The detection of mSEPT9 in peripheral blood is among the safe and simple early screening methods for CRC. The issue of how to elucidate whether detection of mSEPT9 in peripheral blood can effectively improve compliance of endoscopy and increase the early diagnosis rate of CRC and the relationship between levels of mSEPT9 in the peripheral blood and clinical stage, pathological classification, and expression of characteristic molecules in CRC remains unsolved. A total of 7759 individuals participated in the study that was performed using a questionnaire for screening of high-risk CRC. The endoscopic detection compliance of individuals with high-risk CRC who underwent the fecal occult blood test (FOBT) or mSEPT9 test was compared based on the results of the questionnaire. Additionally, correlation of mSEPT9 levels in the peripheral blood with clinicopathological features, mutation status of TP53, mismatch repair deficiency (dMMR), and KRAS/NRAS/BRAF/PIK3CA genotype was analyzed, and association of biomarkers with cancer-specific survival (CSS) and time to recurrence (TTR) was compared. We also detected levels of mSEPT9 in the peripheral blood of patients with CRC 7 days after surgery and compared the prognostic value of mSEPT9 with CEA. Results of our study showed that the mSEPT9 test could improve compliance of endoscopy and indicated a higher percentage of patients with positive mSEPT9 willing to undergo endoscopy detection than in those with positive FOBT. The specificity and sensitivity of mSEPT9 were better than that of FOBT for the detection of CRC. mSEPT9 was associated with the TNM stage, dMMR, and mutations in TP53, BRAF, and PIK3CA. A Ct value of mSEPT9 ≤ 37.5 was significantly related to poor CSS. mSEPT9 could affect association of dMMR and BRAF and PIK3CA mutations with CSS in a specific stage of CRC. The positive rate of mSEPT9 after surgery was found to correlate with poor TTR, and sensitivity was higher than CEA. The combination of mSEPT9 with CEA had a better prognostic value than that of mSEPT9 alone. The level of mSEPT9 was related to dMMR, mutations in TP53, BRAF, and PIK3CA, and was an effective biomarker for the prognosis of patients with CRC.

Accurate prediction of the environmental fate of Pb depends on the understanding of Pb coordination to mineral surfaces. Here, the proton and Pb adsorption and speciation on hematite nanocrystals with different exposed crystallographic facets were investigated. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy images revealed that hematite nanoplates (HNP) were of 75.3 ± 9.5% (001) facets and 24.6 ± 9.3% (012) facets, while hematite nanocubes (HNC) were of 76.0 ± 11.1% (012) facets and 24.0 ± 3.2% (110) facets. Our modeling results revealed that the proton affinity constant (log K

Background To investigate the relationship among neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR),platelet to lymphocyte ratio (PLR) of patients with perforated acute appendicitis and its clinical significance༎ Methods The present study selected 243 patients who underwent appendectomy presented with acute appendicitis from January 2013 and December 2015༎All patients were confirmed by pathology༎AA patients were divided into Perforated acute appendicitis(PAA)group and Non-perforated acute appendicitis༈NPAA༉ group༎The routine blood test results were collected pre-operation and calculated the NLR and PLR༎To analyze the relationship among the NLR,PLR, Age, Gender, WBC count, Operation approach in PAA group and NPAA group. Results The NLR and PLR of PAA group were significantly higher than that of the NPAA group (P

Background The Rapid Assessment of Hearing Loss (RAHL) survey protocol aims to measure the prevalence and causes of hearing loss in a low cost and rapid manner, to inform planning of ear and hearing services. This paper reports on the first field-test of the RAHL in Gao’an County, Jiangxi Province, China. This study aimed to 1) To report on the feasibility of RAHL; 2) report on the estimated prevalence and causes of hearing loss in Gao’an. Methods A cross-sectional population-based survey was conducted in September–October 2018. Forty-seven clusters in Gao’an County were selected using probability-proportionate-to-size sampling. Within clusters, compact segment sampling was conducted to select 30 people aged 50+. A questionnaire was completed covering sociodemographics, hearing health, and risk factors. Automated pure-tone audiometry was completed for all participants, using smartphone-based audiometry (hearTest), at 0.5, 1, 2, 4 kHz (kHz). All participants had their ears examined by an Ear Nose and Throat (ENT) doctor, using otoscopy, and probable causes of hearing loss assigned. Prevalence estimates were age and sex standardised to the Jiangxi population. Feasibility of a cluster size of 30 was examined by assessing the response rate, and the proportion of clusters completed in 1 day. Results 1344 of 1421 eligible participants completed the survey (94.6%). 100% of clusters were completed in 1 day. The survey was completed in 4.5 weeks. The prevalence of moderate or greater hearing loss (pure-tone average of 0.5, 1, 2, 4 kHz of > = 41dBHL in the better ear) was 16.3% (95% CI = 14.3, 18.5) and for any level of hearing loss (pure-tone average of > = 26dBHL in the better ear) the prevalence was 53.2% (95% CI = 49.2, 57.1). The majority of hearing loss was due to acquired sensorineural causes (91.7% left; 92.1% right). Overall 54.0% of the population aged 50+ (108,000 people) are in need of diagnostic audiology services, 3.4% were in need of wax removal (7000 people), and 4.8% were in need of surgical services (9500 people). Hearing aid coverage was 0.4%. Conclusion The RAHL survey protocol is feasible, demonstrated through the number of people examined per day, and the high response rate. The survey was completed in a much shorter period than previous all-age surveys in China. Some remaining challenges included assignment of causes of probable sensorineural loss. The data obtained from this survey can be used to scale-up hearing services in Gao’an.

Background To determine whether a sense of deviation remains in adults with successful motor alignment who fulfil diplopia criteria after surgery and to examine the factors associated with this judgement. Methods This was a retrospective study. Adult patients defined as having a successful outcome based on more than 1 year of post-operative follow-up visits were included in the study. The sense of deviation was determined at the last visit. Pre- and post-operative deviation and characteristics including age, gender, education level, occupation, diagnosis, size of deviation, extraocular movement (EOM), binocular function, and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) were recorded. Results In total, 22 (24%) of the 91 adults with successful surgical outcomes reported a sense of deviation. No significant differences were noted between subjects with and without a sense of deviation regarding patient demographics, pre- and post-operative deviation, changes in deviation, sensory fusion or EOM. Subjects with a sense of deviation had an increased prevalence of and larger post-operative vertical deviation, poorer stereo function, and lower HRQOL scores than those with no sense of deviation. The presence of post-operative vertical deviation was associated with a sense of deviation. Conclusions Approximately one-fourth (24%) of adults defined as having successful surgical outcomes who still had a sense of deviation exhibited worse stereo function, higher vertical deviation size and lower HRQOL scores. The presence of 3 to 5 prism dioptres(pd) of vertical deviation would be the main factor associated with a sense of deviation post-operatively.

Inorganic P is adsorbed by a variety of soil minerals. For acidic subtropical Alfisols with high contents of both (hydr)oxides and clay minerals, there is an underappreciated understanding of the importance of clay minerals to P species and availability varying with soil pH and P concentration. In this study, the rate and equilibrium of P adsorption in a subtropical Alfisol were investigated by combining soil incubation with three types of P fertilizer with multi-surface modelling. Phosphorus species analysis revealed that most of the P was present in the forms of Al-P and Fe-P in the subtropical Alfisol. The multi-surface model calculation showed that goethite, kaolinite, and illite were the most important soil constituents responsible for the immobilization of P. Clay minerals were as important as Al/Fe (hydr)oxides for P adsorption in the subtropical Alfisol. In addition, there was a highly positive linear correlation between P adsorbed by illite and Olsen P, with a slope of approximately to 1. The model analysis also showed that >99% of the P adsorbed by illite was in the form of - S O 2 P O 2 2 - . These results suggest the important role of illite in controlling P availability and that P adsorption by illite may serve as an indicator of P availability in the subtropical Alfisol.

Background MicroRNA(miRNA) plays a key regulatory role in various stages of tumorigenesis, including cell growth, cell cycle control, apoptosis avoidance, tissue invasion, and metastasis. Several microRNAs are involved in the development of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and the malignant transformation process. However, the effects of miR-663a on RCC have rarely been reported. Methods In the present study, the expression of miR-663a was examined in RCC using matched normal kidney tissues and four cell lines (786-O, Caki-1, ACHN and HK-2). MicroRNA mimics were transiently transfected into RCC cells and the effects of over expression on proliferation, migration, invasion, and apoptosis was observed. In addition, the relationship between miR-663a expression in 42 formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) clear cell renal carcinoma (ccRCC) samples and clinical pathological variables and overall survival was investigated. We evaluated the prognostic value of miR-663a expression in ccRCC by experimental results. Results The results showed that the expression of miR-663a was up-regulated in RCC cells and tissues and miR-663a was associated with proliferation, migration, invasion, and apoptosis of RCC. Cox proportional hazard regression analysis showed that a high expression of miR-663a patients had a significantly shorter overall survival in univariate and multivariate analysis. Kaplan-Meier survival curves showed that a high expression of miR-663a patients had a significantly shorter overall survival. Conclusions These results indicate that miR-663a can be used as an independent marker for the poor prognosis of ccRCC, and may also play an important role as a tumor oncogene in the occurrence and development of RCC.

Background Bladder cancer, the ninth-most-common malignancy worldwide with an estimated 356,000 new cases and 145,000 deaths annually, has a propensity to relapse, requiring lifelong monitoring after diagnosis. 75% patients diagnosed with BC are non-muscle invasive BC and over 50% of them experience recurrences within 6–12 years of initial diagnosis. miRNA are small, noncoding RNA and shown to be oncogenes or anti-oncogenes in bladder cancer, contributing to numerous BC cell processes, including cell proliferation, differentiation, migration and apoptosis. Methods RT-qPCR were performed to detect the expression of miR-187-5p in tissues and cell lines, After which, clinicopathological variables and the prognostic value of altered miR-187-5p expression in BC was analyzed with the 48 formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded BC samples. Moreover, Cell functional assays (wound healing assay, CCK-8 assay, transwell assay and flow cytometry assay) were performed to explore the relationship between miR-187-5p expression and cell proliferation, migration, invasion and apoptosis in BC. Results Up-regulation of miR-187-5p was observed in BC tissues and BC cell lines. Cox proportional hazard regression analysis demonstrated that the patients with low expression of miR-187-5p experience lower risks of recurrence in the univariate and multivariate analysis. The Kaplan-Meier recurrence-free curves suggested that the patients with low expression of miR-187-5p experience lower risks of recurrence. Up-regulation of miR-187-5p promotes cell proliferation and mobility and inhibits the apoptosis of 5637 and UM-UC-3 cell, while down-regulation of miR-187-5p reverses these effects. Conclusions The results of our study demonstrated that oncogene miR-187-5p is associated with cellular proliferation, migration, invasion, apoptosis and an increased risk of recurrence in bladder cancer.

A neuromodulatory role for dopamine has been reported for magnocellular neuroendocrine cells in the mammalian hypothalamus. We examined its potential role as a local intercellular messenger in the neuroendocrine Dahlgren cell population of the caudal neurosecretory system (CNSS) of the euryhaline flounder Paralichthys olivaceus . In vitro application of dopamine (DA) caused an increase in electrical activity (firing frequency, recorded extracellularly) of Dahlgren cells, recruitment of previously silent cells, together with a greater proportion of cells showing phasic (irregular) activity. The dopamine precursor, levodopa (L-DOPA), also increased firing frequency, cell recruitment and enhanced bursting and tonic activity. The effect of dopamine was blocked by the D1, D5 receptor antagonist SCH23390, but not by the D2, D3, D4 receptor antagonist amisulpride. Transcriptome sequencing revealed that all DA receptors (D1, D2, D3, D4, and D5) were present in the flounder CNSS. However, quantitative RT-PCR revealed that D5 receptor mRNA expression was significantly increased in the CNSS following dopamine superfusion. These findings suggest that dopamine may modulate CNSS activity in vivo , and therefore neurosecretory output, through D5 receptors.

Metal–organic framework-based supercapacitors have been widely recognized as the best energy storage devices for future portable electronic equipment. Herein, CoP-T (T = 300, 350, and 400 °C) microcubes with a solid and hollow microstructure were successfully synthesized by low-temperature phosphorization of [CH3NH3][Co(HCOO)3] precursor at desired temperatures. The morphology, structure, and composition of the prepared CoP-350 °C samples were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Hollow CoP-350 °C microcube has a larger specific surface area (25.9 m2 g–1) than that of solid ones (16.1 m2 g–1). When the two samples were used as electrode raw materials for supercapacitors, the hollow CoP-350 °C electrode exhibits better electrochemical performance (560 F g–1) than that of the solid one (427.6 F g–1) at a current density of 1 A g–1. The enhanced supercapacitor properties may be attributed to the large surface area and the unique hol...

To develop non-precious metal catalysts with superior activity and stability for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) remains challenging for application of full cells. Herein, we designed a strategy to prepare N-doped porous carbon-encapsulated Fe nanoparticles (Fe@N/C) catalysts by simply annealing glucose, melamine and Fe-based formate frameworks [NH4][Fe(HCOO)3]. Remarkably, the as-prepared Fe@N/C-800 showed excellent ORR activity with a half-wave potential of 0.810 V vs RHE, which was more positive 40 mV than commercial Pt/C in 0.1 M KOH. Besides, it also displayed strong methanol tolerance and enhanced long-term durability. Even in acidic solution, Fe@N/C-800 also exhibited good catalytic activity compared with other non-precious metal catalysts (NPMCs). The excellent electrocatalytic performance could be attributed to large surface area, good conductivity of N-doped porous carbon layer and synergistic effect of predominant pyridinic N together with Fe-relative active sites encapsulated in N-doped porous carbon layer.

Transition metal sulfide compounds with carbon materials are promising for high-performance supercapacitors. Carbon nanofibers (CNFs) wrapped with NiS nanoparticles were herein obtained through electrospinning and calcination. NiS nanoparticles in composite nanofibers are covered by a layer of graphitic carbon, which not only increase the conductivity but also provide active regions for nanoparticle growth to prevent aggregation. The CNFs-NiS electrode has high specific capacity of 177.1 mAh g −1 at 1 A g −1 (0.41 mAh cm −2 at a current density of 2.3 mA cm −2 ) and long-term cycling stability, with 88.7% capacitance retention after 5000 cycles. The excellent electrochemical activity may be attributed to the accessible specific surface, unique porous structure of CNFs and high specific capacitance of NiS. In addition, the asymmetric supercapacitor has an enhanced volumetric energy density of 13.32 mWh cm −3 at a volumetric power density of 180 mW cm −3 and high cycling stability, with 89.5% capacitance retention after 5000 cycles. It also successfully lights up a light-emitting diode. The CNFs-NiS composite has significant potential applications in supercapacitor.

Hollow and core–shell particles are currently attracting global attention because of their special properties. We herein proposed a facile self-sacrificial template strategy for the synthesis of cobalt tetraoxide (Co3O4) with hollow and core–shell nanostructures. Starting with metal formate framework (MFF) template [CH3NH3][Co(HCOO)3], a series of core–shell nanostructure MFF@Co(OH)2 microboxes and hollow Co(OH)2-H were successfully obtained through a reaction between the MFF template and sodium hydroxide (NaOH) combined with different washing processes. Finally, hollow and core–shell nanostructure Co3O4 products were obtained after calcination, which inherited the structures from corresponding precursors. In addition, the formation processes of hollow and core–shell nanostructures were studied. Moreover, the catalytic activity of the as-obtained Co3O4 for carbon monoxide (CO) oxidation was investigated. Such hollow and core–shell nanostructures gave different physiochemical properties. Hollow structure C...

RF (Radio Frequency) connector has been extensively applied in the field of communication for it is a key device of transmitting microwave signals. If he RF connector end is designed improperly in dimension, a clearance will be observed after inserting, resulting in an abnormal phenomenon in the voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR) of the RF connector. This paper studied the influence of the inserting clearance of RF connector on the voltage standing wave ratio through theoretical analysis and performance simulation. Moreover, the solution to the abnormal voltage standing wave ratio was also proposed. At last, the abnormal phenomenon of voltage standing wave ratio of the connector in the inserting process was handled by means of carrying out optimization design and test validation on the RF connector.

Background Chemotherapy resistance remains a major challenge in cancer treatment. COX-2 (cyclooxygenase 2) is involved in drug resistance and poor prognosis of many neoplastic diseases or cancers. However, investigations identifying new modulators of COX-2 pathway and searching for new chemicals targeting these valid resistant biomarkers are still greatly needed. Methods HCT15, HCT-116, HT-29, COLO205, FHC, IMCE, SW480 cell lines were used to detect the expression of YAP and COX-2. Site-directed mutagenesis, luciferase reporter analysis and ChIP assay were used to test whether YAP activated COX-2 transcription through interaction with TEAD binding sites in the promoter of COX-2. Cell line models exhibiting overexpression or knockdown of some genes were generated using transfection agents. Coimmunoprecipitation was used to detect protein mutual interaction. mRNA and protein levels were measured by qRT-PCR and western blot respectively. Results Here, we reported that both YAP and COX-2 were overexpressed in colorectal cancer cells. YAP increased COX-2 expression at the level of transcription requiring intact TEAD binding sites in the COX-2 promoter. YAP conferred drug resistance through COX-2 and its related effectors such as MCL, MDR, Survivin. GCCSysm-4 (G-4), a YAP and COX-2 inhibitor, effectively inhibited both YAP and COX-2 activation, induced apoptosis and decreased viability in Taxol-resistant cells. Inhibition of YAP and COX-2 acted synergistically and more efficiently reduced the resistance of CRC cells than either of them alone. Conclusions Our data provide new mechanisms that YAP is a new upstream regulator of COX-2 pathway and plays an important role in conferring resistance in CRC cells. G-4, targeting YAP-COX-2, may be a novel valuable strategy to combat resistance in CRC. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s13046-017-0612-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Many inconsistent findings are reported on the correlation between circulating betatrophin and insulin resistance in the different population. The aim of this analysis was to explore the correlation between the level of betatrophin and insulin resistance in the general population. The databases of PubMed, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library (inception to October 26, 2016) were searched without language restrictions for publications that reported studies on associations between betatrophin and insulin resistance in adults. Subgroup analyses were performed to investigate potential sources of heterogeneity. The pooled effect size was calculated using a random-effects model. Twenty-five studies were included in this meta-analysis. Meta-analysis showed that betatrophin was positively and significantly correlated with insulin resistance (r=0.16, 95% CI: 0.08–0.25). When all participants were divided into DM, GDM, and Non-DM groups, this association was also significant in T2DM, GDM, and Non-DM participants (T2DM: r=0.09, 95% CI: 0.01–0.17; I 2=45.1%; GDM: r=0.39, 95% CI: 0.24–0.55; I 2=0.0%; non-DM: r=0.15, 95% CI: 0.04–0.26; I 2=89.3%), and it was obvious that heterogeneity existed in Non-DM group (I 2=89.3%, p

Summary Long-term application of fertilizers has a considerable effect on the accumulation of soil organic carbon (SOC), but the underlying processes remain unclear. We have examined the effects in the soil of two long-term (> 20 years) field experiments of a double-cropped maize (Zea mays L.)–wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) rotation on a Calcaric Fluvisol and paddy rice (Oryza sativa L) on a Hydragric Anthrosol. The chemical structures of the SOC were characterized with multiple cross-polarization magic-angle spinning 13C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The treatments included organic fertilizer (OF) only, combined NPK (nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium) fertilizer with OF (NPKOF), mineral fertilizer pairings of NPK, NP and NK, and an unamended control. The continuous fertilizer treatments did not change the chemical composition of the Anthrosol SOC greatly except that the NPKOF treatment slightly enriched aromatic C and depleted O–alkyl C compared with the Control. All the treatments on the Anthrosol soil resulted in SOC accumulation, but to different extents. Principal component analysis of the Anthrosol and Fluvisol showed different relationships between the soil properties and functional groups. The Fluvisol SOC decreased in the order balanced fertilizer treatments (OF, NPKOF and NPK), NP, Control and NK treatments. The main structural changes of the Fluvisol SOC followed the same order with a decrease in the abundance of aromatic CO, aromatic C, anomeric C, O–alkyl C and OCH3/NCH, and an increase in COO/NCO and alkyl C, which led to an increase in alkyl–C/O–alkyl–C ratios and a decrease in aromaticity values. These results suggest that SOC accumulation with balanced fertilization on the Fluvisol can be attributed to less decomposition and more humification of the organic materials, whereas the smallest SOC content associated with P omission can be ascribed to more complete decomposition to gaseous end products. We consider that the chemical compositions of SOC may be altered by long-term fertilizer treatments, depending on the soil type. Highlights How does soil organic carbon (SOC) change in response to long-term fertilizer management? Improved understanding of SOC accumulation in Fluvisol and Anthrosol agricultural soils. Phosphorus omission in the Fluvisol retarded the accumulation and stimulated the decomposition of SOC. Fertilizer treatments affected chemical composition of SOC of the Fluvisol, but not the Anthrosol.

Biochar can act as an adsorbent for phosphate removal from water sources, which can be highly beneficial in limiting eutrophication and recycling elemental phosphorus (P). However, it is difficult to use a single biochar material to overcome problems such as low adsorption efficiency, difficulty in reuse, and secondary pollution. This study addresses these challenges using a novel core-shell structure γ-Al

Background Cryptosporidium spp. and Giardia duodenalis are major intestinal pathogens that can cause diarrheal diseases in humans, especially children. Enterocytozoon bieneusi is another parasite which can cause gastrointestinal tract disorders, with diarrhea being the main clinical symptom. However, few genetic studies of these parasites in pediatric inpatients in China have been published. Methods To assess the genetic characteristics and epidemiological status of these parasites, a total of 2284 fecal samples were collected from children in the pediatric departments of three hospitals in Zhengzhou, central China, and screened for these protozoans with PCR, based on the small subunit ribosomal RNA (SSU rRNA) genes of Cryptosporidium spp. and G. duodenalis and the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) of E. bieneusi. Results Six (0.26%), 14 (0.61%), and 27 (1.18%) of the samples were positive for Cryptosporidium spp., G. duodenalis and E. bieneusi, respectively. Of the 12 successfully sequenced G. duodenalis isolates, four were identified as assemblage A and eight as assemblage B. In subtype and multilocus genotype (MLG) analyses, C. parvum IIdA19G1 (n = 4) and two novel G. duodenalis MLGs belonging to subassemblage AII (n = 3) and BIV (n = 5) were successfully identified. The E. bieneusi isolates included genotypes D (n = 17), J (n = 2), PigEBITS7 (n = 1), BEB6 (n = 1), and CM8 (n = 1). This is the first report of C. parvum subtype IIdA19G1 in HIV-negative children and E. bieneusi genotype CM8 in humans. Conclusions The dominance of zoonotic C. parvum subtype IIdA19G1 indicates that this parasite is turning into zoonotic origin from human-to-human transmission. The phylogenetic analysis also revealed the zoonotic origins and anthroponotic transmission potential of G. duodenalis and E. bieneusi, suggesting more efforts must be made to minimize the threat these pathogens pose to public health.

Background Cocoon abdomen is a relatively rare abdominal disease characterized by the total or partial encasement of the small intestinal by a dense fibro-collagenous membrane. Case presentation We reported an unusual case of idiopathic cocoon abdomen with congenital colon malrotation. Laparotomy and sac release were performed on the patient. The patient was no recurrence 6 months after operation. A literature review was also performed. Conclusion Preoperative diagnosis of abdominal cocoon is difficult. A careful history, physical examination and appropriate radiology may be helpful in making a definitive diagnosis. If conservative treatment can’t relieve symptoms effectively, surgery is currently considered to be important in the management of this disease.

Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is a common malignancy, yet, the mechanisms underlying tumorigenesis remain unclear. Several miRNAs have been implicated in the development of RCC previously via regulation of target gene expression. As miR-625-3p has recently been identified to play a role in development of other malignancies and is reportedly upregulated in ccRCC, we sought to investigate the role of this miRNA in the progression of ccRCC. Analysis of 30 paired fresh ccRCC tissues and adjacent normal renal tissues revealed that the expression of miR-625-3p was increased in ccRCC tissues compared to normal tissues. Subsequently, in 136 formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded ccRCC tissues, the increased miR-625-3p expression was correlated with poor prognosis for ccRCC patients. The diagnostic value of miR-625-3p was identified in 50 ccRCC patients and 74 healthy controls by ROC curve. miR-625-3p was decreased in serum of ccRCC patients compared to healthy individuals. miR-625-3p could serve as a promising serum biomarker for yielding an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.792 with 70.3% sensitivity and 80.0% specificity in discriminating ccRCC from healthy individuals. Using in vitro functional assays, we found that overexpression of miR-625-3p promoted migration and invasion of ccRCC cells but reduced ccRCC cell apoptosis. Inhibition of miR-625-3p, on the other hand, exerted the opposite effects. Bioinformatic analyses indicated that predicted gene targets of miR-625-3p are correlated with lower overall survival of ccRCC patients. Together, these findings demonstrate that miR-625-3p promotes ccRCC migration and invasion and reduces apoptosis, providing a prognostic marker for survival and a potential diagnostic and therapeutic target against ccRCC.

Background Upregulation of staphylococcal nuclease domain-containing protein 1 (SND1) is a common phenomenon in different human malignant tissues. However, little information is available on the underlying mechanisms through which SND1 affects glioma cell proliferation and invasion. Methods SND1, Ras homolog family member A (RhoA), and marker of proliferation Ki-67 (MKI67) were analyzed in 187 gliomas by immunostaining. The correlation between those markers and patients' prognoses was assessed using the Kaplan-Meier estimator. Gene Ontology, chromatin immunoprecipitation, electrophoretic mobility shift assay, and chromosome conformation capture were applied to identify SND1-activated target genes. We also used MTT, colony formation, transwell and orthotopic implantation assays to investigate SND1 function in glioma cell proliferative and invasive activity. Results We identified SND1 and RhoA as independent predictors of poor prognosis in glioma patients. SND1 knockdown significantly suppressed the proliferation and invasion of glioma cells. Mechanistically, we discovered that SND1 facilitated malignant glioma phenotypes by epigenetically inducing chromatin topological interaction, which activated downstream RhoA transcription. RhoA sequentially regulated expression of CCND1, CCNE1, CDK4, and CDKN1B and accelerated G1/S phase transition in glioma cell proliferation. Conclusions Our findings identify SND1 as a novel chromatin architectural modifier and promising prognostic indicator for glioma classification and treatment.

Objective Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is one of the most common genitourinary cancers, and advanced RCC usually leads to poor prognosis. Therefore, identifying novel biomarkers for predicting the progression and prognosis of RCC is essential. The present study aims to evaluate the clinical value of miR-183-5p in RCC development and prognosis after surgery. Materials and methods We enrolled a total of 284 patients who received partial or radical nephrectomy from April 2003 to May 2013 at a single institution. The clinical and pathological characteristics of the patients were collected, including age, gender, tumor size, tumor stage, as well as follow-up information. The expression levels of miR-183-5p of all the patients were calculated from FFPE specimens. Cox regression analyses were performed to approve the effect of miR-183-5p expression on patient survival. Kaplan-Meier method was used to analyze the patient survival curves. Results After controlling for gender, age, tumor size and tumor stage in the multivariate analysis, we found that high expression of miR-183-5p was independently associated lower overall survival (HR = 0.550, 95% CI = 0.364-0.832, p= 0.005). The Kaplan-Meier analysis also showed that patients with high expression of miR-183-5p had a significantly poor prognosis (p= 0.006). These results was verified by analyzing the data of 506 cases from The Cancer Genome Atlas database (TCGA). Conclusion Our results indicated that the high miR-183-5p expression is an independent factor for predicting RCC's worse prognosis.

Natural goethite commonly encounters Al substitution for Fe, which alters the surface reactivity of goethite. Whether and how Al substitution affects the surface speciation of phosphate remain poorly understood. Therefore, the phosphate adsorption and speciation of Al-substituted (6 and 9 mol%) goethite were investigated by combining attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) and CD-MUSIC modeling. Al substitution caused a decrease in the crystal length-to-width ratio of goethite and the ratio of (110)/(021) faces was estimated to be 90/10, 85/10 and 81/19 for goethite with about 0, 6 and 9 mol% Al, respectively. The decreasing (110)/(021) face ratio and increasing surface roughness with increasing Al substitution enhanced the surface charge density and phosphate adsorption capacity of goethite. Two-dimensional correlation spectroscopy (2D-COS) analysis showed that three types of phosphate complexes were formed on both pure and Al-substituted goethites. CD-MUSIC modeling, based on electron microscopy and ATR-FTIR results to arrive at some of the parameters, could describe both the proton and the phosphate adsorption well with optimized remaining parameters. The model parameters indicated that Al substitution in goethite led to larger affinity constants for bidentate phosphate complexes and smaller values for monodentate complexes. Therefore, a larger percentage of bidentate phosphate complexes were formed on Al-substituted goethite than on pure goethite. Monodentate phosphate complexes were hardly formed on the Al sites of Al-substituted goethite. The results improve our insight regarding phosphate binding to Al-substituted goethite and phosphorus availability and mobility in iron-rich soils.

γ-Aminobutyric acid (GABA) is a major inhibitory neurotransmitter in the central nervous system. We investigated its potential role as a neurotransmitter in the neuroendocrine Dahlgren cell population of the caudal neurosecretory system (CNSS) of the flounder Paralichthys olivaceus. The application of GABA in vitro resulted in a decrease in electrical activity of Dahlgren cells, followed by an increase of the number of silent cells, together with a decreased firing frequency of all three activity patterns (tonic, phasic, bursting). GABAA receptor agonist etomidate decreased Dahlgren cell firing activity, in a similar way to GABA. The response to GABA was blocked by the GABAA receptor antagonist bicuculline. GABAA receptor gamma2 subunit (Gabrg2) and chloride channel (Clcn2) mRNA expression were significantly upregulated in the CNSS after GABA superfusion. These data suggest that GABA may modulate CNSS activity in vivo mediated by GABAA receptors.

Accurate prediction of the environmental fate of Pb depends on the understanding of Pb coordination to mineral surfaces. Here, the proton and Pb adsorption and speciation on hematite nanocrystals with different exposed crystallographic facets were investigated. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy images revealed that hematite nanoplates (HNP) were of 75.3 ± 9.5% (001) facets and 24.6 ± 9.3% (012) facets, while hematite nanocubes (HNC) were of 76.0 ± 11.1% (012) facets and 24.0 ± 3.2% (110) facets. Our modeling results revealed that the proton affinity constant (log KH) of ≡FeOH−0.5 and ≡Fe3O−0.5 was 7.8 and 10.8 on hematite (012) facets, and changed to 7.7 and 11.7 on (110) facets, respectively. Owing to the different atomic arrangements, (012) facets not only have higher adsorption performance for Pb, but also present a greater dependence on pH than (110) facets. Additionally, our modeling further indicated that (012) facets bind Pb via both bidentate and tridentate complexes, while (110) facets bind Pb only through bidentate complexes at pH 3.0–6.5. These results facilitate a more detailed understanding of the complex species of Pb on hematite surface while also provide new insight into the reactivity mechanism of individual hematite facets.

Binding of Cu(II) to soil fulvic acid (JGFA), soil humic acids (JGHA, JLHA), and lignite-based humic acid (PAHA) was investigated through NICA-Donnan modeling and conditional affinity spectrum (CAS). It is to extend the knowledge of copper binding by soil humic substances (HS) both in respect of enlarging the database of metal ion binding to HS and obtaining a good insight into Cu binding to the functional groups of FA and HA by using the NICA-Donnan model to unravel the intrinsic and conditional affinity spectra. Results showed that Cu binding to HS increased with increasing pH and decreasing ionic strength. The amount of Cu bound to the HAs was larger than the amount bound to JGFA. Milne's generic parameters did not provide satisfactory predictions for the present soil HS samples, while material-specific NICA-Donnan model parameters described and predicted Cu binding to the HS well. Both the 'low' and 'high' concentration fitting procedures indicated a substantial bidentate structure of the Cu complexes with HS. By means of CAS underlying NICA isotherm, which was scarcely used, the nature of the binding at different solution conditions for a given sample and the differences in binding mode were illustrated. It was indicated that carboxylic group played an indispensable role in Cu binding to HS in that the carboxylic CAS had stronger conditional affinity than the phenolic distribution due to its large degree of proton dissociation. The fact was especially true for JGFA and JLHA which contain much larger amount of carboxylic groups, and the occupation of phenolic sites by Cu was negligible. Comparable amounts of carboxylic and phenolic groups on PAHA and JGHA, increased the occupation of phenolic type sites by Cu. The binding strength of PAHA-Cu and JGHA-Cu was stronger than that of JGFA-Cu and JLHA-Cu. The presence of phenolic groups increased the chance of forming more stable complexes, such as the salicylate-Cu or catechol-Cu type structures.

PURPOSE To compare personalized near addition values for myopic children that induce a reasonable phoria (Ph) (meeting Sheard's criterion) and induce a null lag of accommodation at near and to evaluate changes in these metrics after lens adaptation. METHODS Fifty-three myopic children participated in this study. Accommodative response, Ph, and fusional amplitudes (FAs) were measured at 33 cm through multiple addition lenses (0D, +1.00D, +1.50D, +2.00D, +2.50D, +3.00D). The adaptation effect on measured parameters was evaluated after 6 min of near work with each addition. The FA/Ph ratios were calculated for each addition and fitted using a rational function to obtain the optimal addition value satisfying Sheard's criterion (FA/Ph ≥ 2). Lag of accommodation change in association with addition value was assessed using linear regressions to obtain the addition values inducing a null lag. RESULTS Lag of accommodation (r = -0.987, p < 0.001) and Ph (r = -0.999, p < 0.001) decreased linearly with addition value. The 6-min adaptation induced a small but significant increase in accommodative lag and an exophoric shift (p < 0.05). Three FA/Ph patterns with respect to addition lenses were observed based on the near Ph: orthophoria/exophoria, low esophoria, and large esophoria. Addition values based on Sheard's criterion (mean ± SD, +2.16 ± 0.79D) were significantly lower than those based on null lag (+2.83 ± 0.44D, t = 19.86, p < 0.001). The FA/Ph ratio was less than 2.0 in 75.5% of subjects with additions determined through null accommodative lag. Additions determined through FA/Ph ≥ 2 induced a lag of accommodation of 0.38 ± 0.42D. CONCLUSIONS Personalized near addition values using Sheard's criterion were lower than those obtained through null lag of accommodation. These values should allow a better binocular balance especially for exophoric children.

Biochar can act as an adsorbent for phosphate removal from water sources, which can be highly beneficial in limiting eutrophication and recycling elemental phosphorus (P). However, it is difficult to use a single biochar material to overcome problems such as low adsorption efficiency, difficulty in reuse, and secondary pollution. This study addresses these challenges using a novel core-shell structure γ-Al2O3/Fe3O4 biochar adsorbent (AFBC) with significant P uptake capabilities in terms of its high adsorption capacity (205.7 mg g−1), magnetic properties (saturation magnetization 24.70 emu g−1), and high reuse stability (91.0% removal efficiency after five adsorption-desorption cycles). The highest partition coefficient 1.04 mg g−1 μM−1, was obtained at a concentration of 322.89 μM. Furthermore, AFBC exhibited strong regeneration ability in multiple cycle trials, making it extremely viable for sustainable resource management. P removal mechanisms, i.e., electrostatic attraction and inner-sphere complexation, were explained using Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectra and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) measurements. A surface complexation model was established by considering the formation of monodentate mononuclear and bidentate binuclear surface complexes of P to illustrate the adsorption process. Owing to its high adsorption efficiency, easy separation from water, and environmental friendliness, AFBC is a potential adsorbent for P recovery from polluted waters.

Background Several studies have evaluated the effects of oolong tea extracts on obesity. However, only few studies focused on the anti-obesity effect of specific components of oolong tea. Objective This study investigated the specific anti-obesity capabilities of oolong tea polysaccharide (TPS) and tea polyphenols (TPP) in high-fat diet-induced Sprague-Dawley rats. Methods Oolong tea water extract, TPS, TPP, and polysaccharide mixed with polyphenol (TPSM) given at doses of 400 or 800 mg/kg were administered to rats fed with high-fat diet for 6 weeks to explore the anti-obesity effects of the treatments. Results TPS and TPP were responsible for the suppressive effect on body fat accumulation. TPSM exhibited the highest effect on body weight reduction, and TPS and TPP effectively reduced serum leptin levels and significantly improved blood lipid and antioxidant levels. Moreover, microarray analysis of hepatic and adipose gene expression profiles revealed that TPP and TPS inhibited obesity through effects on the pathways of fatty acid biosynthesis, steroid hormone biosynthesis, unsaturated fatty acid biosynthesis, fatty acid elongation, glycerolipid metabolism, and glycerophospholipid metabolism. Conclusions TPSM might be a potential therapy for the treatment of obesity.

Objective The present study aims to determine the association of microRNA-106b-5p (miR-106b-5p) expression with the clinicopathological features and prognosis of renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Patents and methods The formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded(FFPE) Tumor tissues were collected from 284 RCC patients. The expression of miR-106b-5p was examined by Reverse Transcription Real-time Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-qPCR), followed by correlation analysis with clinicopathological features and prognosis. Patient survival analysis was determined by the Kaplan-Meier method using the log-rank test was used for patient survival analysis, and the univariate and multivariate analysis was determined by a Cox’s regression model. Results Kaplan-Meier analysis indicated that patients with high miR-106b-5p expression showed a significantly shorter overall survival, compared with patients with low miR-106b-5p expression (p = 0.001). Univariate and multivariate analysis considered miR-106b-5p expression as an independent risk factor for predicting the prognosis of RCC patients. No significant evident showed that the expression level of miR-106b was related to gender, age, tumor size or tumor stage. Also, the results above were verified by analyzing the data of 506 cases from The Cancer Genome Atlas database (TCGA). Conclusions The results pointed out that the high expression of miR-106b-5p serves as an independent factor for predicting the worse prognosis of RCC patients.

Background Bladder cancer is the most common urogenital tumor with substantial morbidity, high recurrence rate and mortality. miRNAs, a class of endogenous noncoding RNA, were found to involve in the genesis, maintenance and metastasis of cancer. Genomic profiling revealed that miR-302b is down-regulated in bladder cancer while its functions in bladder cancer remain to be ascertained. Methods Cell functional assays including wound healing assay, CCK-8 assay, Transwell assay and flow cytometry assay were performed to clarify the functions of miR-302b expression in cell proliferation, migration, invasion and apoptosis in BC. Furthermore, RT-qPCR was performed to study the expression of miR-302b in bladder cancer tissues and the prognostic value of altered miR-302b expression with 48 formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded bladder urothelial carcinoma samples. Results The results of RT-qPCR demonstrated that expression level of miR-302b was significantly reduced in bladder cancer tissues and cell lines. The cells after transfected with miR-302b mimic showed lower mobility, lower proliferation and increased apoptosis, while opposite results were obtained after inhibiting the expression of miR-302b. The prognosis analysis demonstrated that the patients with low expression of miR-302b experienced high risks of recurrence. Conclusions The results of our study demonstrate that miR-302b regulates cell functions and acts as a potential biomarker to predict recurrence in bladder cancer.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the role of microRNA (miR)‑222‑3p in renal cell carcinoma (RCC). The expression level of miR‑222‑3p was detected in RCC tissues and cell lines (ACHN, 786‑O, Caki‑1 and 769‑P) and was identified to be significantly upregulated compared with the level in adjacent normal renal tissues and HK‑2 cells. Further in vitro experiments demonstrated that the over-expression of miR‑222‑3p promoted the migration and invasion, and attenuated the apoptosis of 786‑O cells, whereas the knockdown of miR‑222‑3p suppressed the migration and invasion and induced the apoptosis of 786‑O cells. Similar results were observed in the ACHN cell line in terms of migration, invasion and apoptosis. Furthermore, the expression level of miR‑222‑3p was measured in 42 RCC formaldehyde‑fixed paraffin‑embedded samples, and the association between the expression of miR‑222‑3p and the pathological characteristics and overall survival rate of patients with RCC was analyzed. The results demonstrated that patients with a higher expression of miR‑222‑3p had a significantly lower overall survival rate, compared with those with a lower expression of miR‑222‑3p [hazard ratio (HR)=5.120; P=0.036]. Multivariate analysis identified that patients with a higher expression of miR‑222‑3p retained the statistically significant decrease in overall survival rate compared with patients with a lower expression of miR‑222‑3p (HR=5.636; P=0.030). Furthermore, Kaplan‑Meier survival curves indicated that patients with higher miR‑222‑3p had significantly lower overall survival rates compared with patients with lower miR‑222‑3p (P=0.020). Taken together, these results suggested that miR‑222‑3p serves as an onco‑miR in RCC and may be a potential prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target in patients with RCC.

Aims In adult population, the renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is one of the most common urological malignancies. It is meaningful to research for the molecular markers which are involved in the occurrence and development of RCC. Therefore, we concentrate on illuminating the role of microRNA-154-5p in progression of RCC and explore its prognostic values. Main methods The real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) was applied to determine expression level of miR-154-5p in tissues. Afterwards, the transfected cell lines ACHN and 786-O were used for the CCK-8 assay, MTT assay, wound healing assay, transwell assay and flow cytometric assay to explore the role of miR-154-5p in regulating cellular function. In addition, formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) renal cancer samples were used for detecting the relationship between expression level of miR-154-5p and clinical information. Furthermore, univariate and multivariate Cox proportional-hazards regression analyses, and the Kaplan-Meier survival curves were performed to evaluate the prognostic value of miR-154-5p in RCC. Key findings The RT-qPCR indicated that miR-154-5p is up-regulated in RCC pathologic specimens and cell lines. Results of study also demonstrated that upregulation of miR-154-5p reduced cell apoptosis and promoted cell proliferation, viability, migration as well as invasion in RCC cells. The prognosis analyses indicated that the expression level of miR-154-5p is associated with the prognosis of renal cancer, and the overall survival of patients with low expression is longer. Significance The present study revealed that the oncogene miR-154-5p regulates cellular function and acts as a molecular marker with poor prognosis in renal cell carcinoma.

MiR-216a-5p has been acknowledged as an oncogene and is known to be involved in the progression and metastasis of numerous cancer subtypes. However, the potential role of miR-216a-5p in renal cell carcinoma (RCC) remains to be elucidated. In the present study, reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction was performed to detect the expression levels of miR-216a-5p in RCC tissues. Cell counting kit-8, MTT, wound scratch, Transwell and flow cytometric assays were performed to establish the biological functions of miR-216a-5p in RCC. Functional experiments demonstrated that the expression of miR-216a-5p was upregulated in RCC (P

MicroRNAs (miRs) are involved in diverse physiological and developmental processes at the post-transcriptional level in cells. Previous studies have demonstrated that miR-136-5p is involved in certain types of cancer. However, the function of miR-136-5p in renal cell carcinoma (RCC) remains to be fully elucidated. In present study, miR-136-5p expression levels were determined by reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR), and MTT assays, CCK-8 assays, Transwell assays, wound healing assays and flow cytometry were performed to investigate the function of miR-136-5p in RCC. RT-qPCR revealed that the expression of miR-136 was significantly lower in RCC tissues and cells compared with adjacent non-tumor tissues and cells in vitro. miR-136-5pwas also demonstrated to be associated with RCC cell proliferation, viability, migration, invasion and apoptosis. miR-136-5p may therefore function as a tumor suppressor in RCC. Further studies are required to elucidate the molecular mechanisms and signaling pathways underlying these functions of miR-136-5p, to investigate the potential function of miR-136-5p as a biomarker for the early detection and prognosis of RCC, and its potential as a therapeutic target for the treatment of RCC.

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is the third most common urological malignancy in the USA and represents 2‑3% of all adult malignancies. Furthermore, the incidence of RCC has been progressively increasing over recent years. Although the morbidity of treatment has decreased with the use of multidisciplinary synthetic therapy, the prognosis of terminal cancer remains poor, with a 5‑year survival rate of 5‑10%. MicroRNAs (miRs) have been correlated with the regulation of 30‑60% of the protein-coding genes and act as oncogenes or anti‑oncogenes in RCC. Considering this research, miRNAs are likely to be the biomarkers for tumor diagnosis, prognosis and the targets for RCC management. In the present study, 42 formalin‑fixed paraffin‑embedded RCC samples were used. The expression of miR‑572 and the role of miR‑572 in RCC cell proliferation, migration and apoptosis was determined by performing reverse transcription‑quantitative polymerase chain reaction analysis, wound scratch assays, cell proliferation assays, Transwell assays and flow cytometry assays, respectively. Further experiments were conducted to clarify the correlation between miR‑572 expression and clinicopathological variables or overall survival. Furthermore, the expression levels of miR‑572 were evaluated for the prognosis value of patients with RCC. Upregulation of miR‑572 was observed in RCC tissues and RCC cell lines. miR‑572 promoted 786‑O and ACHN cell proliferation and mobility and inhibited early apoptosis. In Cox proportional hazard regression analyses, results of the univariate and multivariate analysis indicated that the patients with low miR‑572 expression had a significantly longer overall survival compared with the patients with high miR‑572 expression (univariate analysis, P=0.037; multivariate analysis, P=0.034). Results of the Kaplan‑Meier survival curves revealed that the patients with downregulated miR‑572 have a significantly longer overall survival compared with the patients with highly expressed miR‑572 (P=0.019). To conclude, the results of the present study suggest that tumor oncogene miR‑572 is a potential biomarker for the diagnosis, treatment and prognosis for RCC.

Proton and copper (Cu) binding to soil and lignite-based humic acid (HA) was investigated by combining X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) spectroscopy, isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC), and nonideal-competitive-adsorption (NICA) modeling. NICA model calculations and XAFS results showed that bidentate and monodentate complexation occurred for Cu binding to HA. The site-type-specific thermodynamic parameters obtained by combining ITC measurements and NICA calculations revealed that copper binding to deprotonated carboxylic-type sites was entropically driven and that to deprotonated phenolic-type sites was driven by entropy and enthalpy. Copper binding to HA largely depended on the site-type and coordination environment, but the thermodynamic binding mechanisms for Cu binding to the specific site-types were similar for the different HAs studied. By comparing the site-type-specific thermodynamic parameters of HA-Cu complexation with those of low molar mass organic acids, the Cu coordination could be further specified. Bidentate carboxylic-Cu complexes made the dominating contributions to Cu binding to HA. The present study not only yields molecular-scale mechanisms of ion binding to carboxylic- and phenolic-type sites of HA but also provides the new insight that the universal nature of site-type-specific thermodynamic data enables quantitative estimation of the binding structures of heavy metal ions to humic substances.

// Jing Liu 1, 2, 3, * , Jinling Xu 1, 2, 3, * , Huining Li 1, 2, 3, * , Cuiyun Sun 1, 2, 3 , Lin Yu 4 , Yanyan Li 1, 2, 3 , Cuijuan Shi 1, 2, 3 , Xuexia Zhou 1, 2, 3 , Xiuwu Bian 5 , Yifang Ping 5 , Yanjun Wen 1, 2, 3 , Shujun Zhao 1, 2, 6 , Hui Xu 1, 2, 3 , Linlin Ren 1, 2, 3 , Tongling An 1, 2, 3 , Qian Wang 1, 2, 3 , Shizhu Yu 1, 2, 3 1 Department of Neuropathology, Tianjin Neurological Institute, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin 300052, China 2 Tianjin Key Laboratory of Injuries, Variations and Regeneration of the Nervous System, Tianjin 300052, China 3 Key Laboratory of Post-trauma Neuro-repair and Regeneration in Central Nervous System, Ministry of Education, Tianjin 300052, China 4 Department of Biochemistry, Basic Medical College of Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin 300070, China 5 Institute of Pathology and Southwest Cancer Center, Southwest Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing 400038, China 6 Laboratory of Hormone and Development, Ministry of Health, Institute of Endocrinology, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin 300070, China * These authors have contributed equally to this work Correspondence to: Shizhu Yu, e-mail: tjyushizhu@yahoo.com Qian Wang, e-mail: wangqiantni@163.com Keywords: gliomas, miR-146b-5p, TRAF6, proliferation, apoptosis, prognosis Received: May 20, 2015 Accepted: July 24, 2015 Published: August 06, 2015 ABSTRACT Down-regulation of miR-146b-5p contributes to tumorigenesis in several human cancers. However, the relevance of miR-146b-5p to prognosis, proliferation and apoptosis in gliomas remains unknown. In the present study, we demonstrated that miR-146b-5p expression was inversely correlated with grades and Ki-67 index in 147 human glioma specimens, but positively correlated with patients’ survival. Furthermore, two distinct subgroups of patients with grade I-IV gliomas with different prognoses were identified according to miR-146b-5p expression in our specimens. Cox regression showed that miR-146b-5p was an independent predictor for patients’ survival. Overexpression of miR-146b-5p dramatically suppressed glioma cell proliferation and induced apoptosis. Mechanistically, we validated TRAF6 as a direct functional target of miR-146b-5p and found that miR-146b-5p overexpression significantly decreased phosphorylated TAK1 and IκBα, the pivotal downstream effectors of TRAF6. Moreover, TRAF6 expression was positively correlated with glioma grades and Ki-67 index but inversely correlated with miR-146b-5p expression and predicted poor prognosis of glioma patients. In glioblastoma cell lines, silencing of TRAF6 could mimic the anti-tumor effect of miR-146b-5p. Our findings identify miR-146b-5p as a tumor suppressor and novel prognostic biomarker of gliomas, and suggest miR-146b-5p and TRAF6 as potential therapeutic candidates for malignant gliomas.