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Improving people's well-being is a key way to meet people's needs for a better life, and is of great importance in resolving the major contradictions in Chinese society. In this study, we evaluated peer relationships and self-actualization as potential mediators between physical exercise and subjective well-being in a sample of Chinese middle school students. A total of 1056 middle school students from six middle schools in Sichuan, China volunteered to complete questionnaires comprising the Physical Activity Rating Scale, Student Peer Relationship Scale, Short Index of Self-Actualization, Positive and Negative Affect Scale, and Satisfaction with Life Scale. Descriptive statistics, Pearson's product-moment correlation, and structural equation modeling were conducted using SPSS statistics 19.0. and AMOS 21.0 statistical software. The results showed that peer relationships and self-actualization partially mediate between physical exercise and subjective well-being. The mediation analysis revealed two paths: first, the single mediating path via peer relationships [indirect effect = 0.091, 95% CI: (0.053, 0.132)] and second, the serial mediating path via peer relationships and self-actualization [indirect effect = 0.015, 95% CI: (0.008, 0.024)]. The study confirmed for the first time the serial mediating role of peer relationships and self-actualization between physical exercise and subjective well-being of middle school students. It was suggested that middle school students could improve their peer relationships during physical exercise, thereby increasing the level of self-actualization, which results in better subjective well-being.

A new BisGMA-based antibacterial dental composite has been formulated and evaluated. Compressive strength and bacterial viability were utilized to evaluate the formed composites. It was found that the new composite exhibited a significantly enhanced antibacterial function along with improved mechanical and physical properties. The bromine-containing derivative-modified composite was more potent in antibacterial activity than the chlorine-containing composite. The modified composites also exhibited an increase of 30–53% in compressive yield strength, 15–30% in compressive modulus, 15–33% in diametral tensile strength and 6–20% in flexural strength, and a decrease of 57–76% in bacterial viability, 23–37% in water sorption, 8–15% in shrinkage, 8–13% in compressive strength, and similar degree of conversion, than unmodified composite. It appears that this experimental composite may possibly be introduced to dental clinics as an attractive dental restorative due to its improved properties as well as enhanced antibacterial function. Keywords: Composite, Antibacterial, Bacterial viability, Mechanical strength

Metastasis-associated recurrence is a major cause of poor prognosis in hepatocellular carcinoma. Here, the authors show that expression of choroideremia-like (CHML) is elevated and associates with poor prognosis in hepatocellular carcinoma, and mechanistically CHML promotes metastasis in a Rab14-dependent manner.

Abstract Controllable synthesis of highly active micro/nanostructured metal electrocatalysts for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is a particularly significant and challenging target. Herein, we report a 3D porous sponge-like Ni material, prepared by a facile hydrothermal method and consisting of cross-linked micro/nanofibers, as an integrated binder-free OER electrocatalyst. To further enhance the electrocatalytic performance, an N-doping strategy is applied to obtain N-doped sponge Ni (N-SN) for the first time, via NH3 annealing. Due to the combination of the unique conductive sponge structure and N doping, the as-obtained N-SN material shows improved conductivity and a higher number of active sites, resulting in enhanced OER performance and excellent stability. Remarkably, N-SN exhibits a low overpotential of 365 mV at 100 mA cm−2 and an extremely small Tafel slope of 33 mV dec−1, as well as superior long-term stability, outperforming unmodified sponge Ni. Importantly, the combination of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and near-edge X-ray adsorption fine structure analyses shows that γ-NiOOH is the surface-active phase for OER. Therefore, the combination of conductive sponge structure and N-doping modification opens a new avenue for fabricating new types of high-performance electrodes with application in electrochemical energy conversion devices.

Abstract For efficient electrolysis of water for hydrogen generation or other value-added chemicals, it is highly relevant to develop low-temperature synthesis of low-cost and high-efficiency metal sulfide electrocatalysts on a large scale. Herein, we construct a new core–branch array and binder-free electrode by growing Ni3S2 nanoflake branches on an atomic-layer-deposited (ALD) TiO2 skeleton. Through induced growth on the ALD-TiO2 backbone, cross-linked Ni3S2 nanoflake branches with exposed {$$\bar{2}10$$ 2¯10 } high-index facets are uniformly anchored to the preformed TiO2 core forming an integrated electrocatalyst. Such a core–branch array structure possesses large active surface area, uniform porous structure, and rich active sites of the exposed {$$\bar{2}10$$ 2¯10 } high-index facet in the Ni3S2 nanoflake. Accordingly, the TiO2@Ni3S2 core/branch arrays exhibit remarkable electrocatalytic activities in an alkaline medium, with lower overpotentials for both oxygen evolution reaction (220 mV at 10 mA cm−2) and hydrogen evolution reaction (112 mV at 10 mA cm−2), which are better than those of other Ni3S2 counterparts. Stable overall water splitting based on this bifunctional electrolyzer is also demonstrated.

Abstract Surfactant-free and low Au loading Cu2O@Au and Au hollow cubes, based on electrodeposited Cu2O cubes as sacrificed templates, were prepared by means of a galvanic replacement reaction (GRR). The electrocatalytical performance of the as-prepared catalysts towards carbon dioxide (CO2) electrochemical reduction was evaluated. The experimental results show that Cu2O@Au catalyst can convert CO2 to carbon monoxide (CO) with a maximum Faradaic efficiency (FE) of ~ 30.1% at the potential of − 1.0 V (vs. RHE) and is about twice the FE of the other catalysts at the same potential. By comparison, such electrocatalytical enhancement is attributed to the metal-oxide interface in Cu2O@Au.

The compression feature of compressed sensing (CS) enables that the ciphertext lengths of multimedia encryption schemes have reduced dramatically, and the simple linear measurements make the encryption process extremely efficient. Therefore, CS based image encryption schemes have attached wide attentions in recent years. However, almost all CS based image encryption schemes follow the framework of symmetric encryption. In this paper, we propose the first CS based public key image encryption scheme PKIE-CS with accurate decryption. As is known to all, two important conditions for successful signal reconstruction in CS are signal sparsity and measurement matrix satisfying some properties (e.g., restricted isometry property). In our scheme, the relationship between the public key and the secret key can be expressed by BP[T; I] = ATP, where BP and A are public parameters, T is the secret key, and BP can not be used as the measurement matrix in CS. Thus, anyone can not extract the secret key T from public key. We first give the specific descriptions of PKIE-CS and then give some theoretical analysis for providing strong security evidence. Last, the experimental results and the comparison with similar works demonstrate the feasibility and the superiority of the proposed scheme.

Background. As a new medical service model, the online health community can integrate various medical resources to the maximum extent and improve the accessibility and utilization rate of hospital high-quality medical resources. Objective. Research based on the characteristics of doctors can enable doctors to display themselves on the network platform better, provide better services for patients, and improve the quality of medical services for doctors. Method. By crawling the characteristic data of doctors in Good Doctor Online, using dynamic analysis, correlation analysis and regression analysis, this study explores the relationships between each characteristic data and online consultation volume. Results. The doctor’s title and city level representing the static characteristics of the doctor have a weak impact on the doctor’s online consultation volume, and the doctor’s dynamic characteristics such as the number of patient completions, the number of gifts received, and the number of published articles can have a positive impact on the doctor’s online consultation volume. However, the recommended heat will negatively affect the online consultation volume, and the comment text has no significant impact on the doctor’s online consultation volume. Conclusion. Therefore, doctors should actively publicize and show their professional level and constantly optimize their dynamic characteristics, increasing the number of online consultations and thus improving their influence.

Objective Ultraviolet light-emitting diode (UV LED) irradiation at 280 nm has been confirmed to induce apoptosis in cultured HL-60 cells, but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. This study aimed to investigate the effects of 280 nm UV LED irradiation on reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) in HL-60 cells. Methods HL-60 cells were irradiated with 0, 8, 15, or 30 J/m 2 of 280 nm UV LED and incubated for 2 hours. The intracellular ROS levels were assessed using the fluorescent probe 2ʹ-7ʹ-dichlorodihydrofluorescein diacetate (DCFH-DA) and a fluorescence plate reader. MMP was determined by flow cytometry using 5,5ʹ,6,6ʹ-tetrachloro-1,1ʹ,3,3ʹ-tetraethylbenzimidazol-carbocyanine iodide (JC-1) staining. The apoptosis-related proteins Bax and Bcl-2 were evaluated by western blot. Results UV LED irradiation at 280 nm induced a dose-dependent increase in ROS production and loss of MMP, and it activated apoptosis at irradiation doses of 8 to 30 J/m 2 . These results were consistent with a previous apoptosis study from the authors’ group. Conclusion Enhanced ROS production and mitochondrial depolarization are two distinct but interacting events, and both are involved in UV LED-induced apoptosis in HL-60 cells.

BackgroundTumor spread through air spaces (STAS) has three morphologic subtypes: single cells, micropapillary clusters, and solid nests. However, whether their respective clinical significance is similar remains unclear.MethodsWe retrospectively reviewed 803 patients with resected non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) from January to December 2009. Recurrence-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS) were compared among patients stratified by STAS subtypes. We also performed a prospective study of NSCLC resection specimens to evaluate the influence of a prosecting knife on the presence of STAS subtypes during specimen handling (83 cases).ResultsSTAS was found in 370 NSCLCs (46%), including 47 single cell STAS (13%), 187 micropapillary cluster STAS (50%), and 136 solid nest STAS (37%). STAS-negative patients had significantly better survival than patients with micropapillary cluster STAS (RFS: P < 0.001; OS: P < 0.001) and solid nest STAS (RFS: P < 0.001; OS: P < 0.001), but similar survival compared with those with single cell STAS (RFS: P = 0.995; OS: P = 0.71). Multivariate analysis revealed micropapillary cluster (RFS: P < 0.001; OS: P < 0.001) and solid nest STAS (RFS: P = 0.001; OS: P = 0.003) to be an independent prognostic indicator, but not for single cell STAS (RFS: P = 0.989; OS: P = 0.68). Similar results were obtained in subgroup analysis of patients with adenocarcinoma. The prospective study of NSCLC specimens suggested that 18 cases were considered as STAS false-positive, and most were singe cell pattern (13/18, 72%).ConclusionsSingle cell STAS was the common morphologic type of artifacts produced by a prosecting knife. A precise protocol of surgical specimen handling is required to minimize artifacts as much as possible.

Background and purpose: Inflammation has been considered a precipitating event that contributes to neurocognitive dysfunction in minimal hepatic encephalopathy (MHE). Inhibition TLR-4 related inflammation can effectively improve neurocognitive dysfunction of MHE. Our previous study showed that Babao Dan (BBD) effectively inhibited inflammation and ameliorated neurocognitive function in rats with acute hepatic encephalopathy (HE) and chronic HE. The mechanism may lie in the regulation of TLR4 signaling pathway. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the role of BBD in the treatment of MHE patients with cirrhosis and to elucidate the underlying mechanism by which BBD regulated TLR4 pathway to alleviate inflammation. Methods: A randomized controlled trial (n = 62) was conducted to evaluate the clinical efficacy between BBD plus lactulose (n = 31) and lactulose alone (n = 31) in MHE patients by testing neurocognitive function (NCT-A and DST), blood ammonia, liver function (ALT, AST and TBIL) and blood inflammation (IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α). Afterward, we detected NO, inflammatory cytokines (IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α) and the phosphorylation of P65, JNK, ERK as well as P38 in LPS-activated rat primary bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDMs), peritoneal macrophages (PMs), and mouse primary BMDMs/PMs/microglia/astrocytes, to investigate the underlying mechanism of BBD inhibiting inflammation through TLR4 pathway. Also, the survival rate of mice, liver function (ALT, AST), blood inflammation (IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α), inflammatory cytokines (IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α) and histopathological changes in the liver, brain and lung were measured to assess the anti-inflammatory effect of BBD on neurocognitive function in endotoxin shock/endotoxemia mice. Results: BBD combined with lactulose significantly ameliorated neurocognitive function by decreasing NCT-A (p＜0.001) and increasing DST (p＜0.001); inhibited systemic inflammation by decreasing IL-1β (p＜0.001), IL-6(p＜0.001) and TNF-α (p＜0.001); reduced ammonia level (p = 0.005), and improved liver function by decreasing ALT(p = 0.043), AST(p = 0.003) and TBIL (p = 0.026) in MHE patients. Furthermore, BBD inhibited gene and protein expression of IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α as well as NO in rat primary BMDMs/PMs, and mouse primary BMDMs/PMs/microglia/astrocytes in a dose-dependent manner. BBD inhibited the activation of mouse primary BMDMs/PMs/microglia/astrocytes by regulating TLR4 pathway involving the phosphorylation of P65, JNK, ERK and P38. Also, BBD reduced the mortality of mice with endotoxin shock/endotoxemia; serum levels of ALT, AST, IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α; gene expression of IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α in the liver, brain and lung, and tissue damage in the liver and lung. Conclusion: Our study provided for the first time clinical and experimental evidence supporting the use of BBD in MHE, and revealed that BBD could play a crucial role in targeting and regulating TLR4 inflammatory pathway to improve neurocognitive function in MHE patients.

Public key encryption with equality test enables the user to determine whether two ciphertexts contain the same information without decryption. Therefore, it may serve as promising cryptographic technique for cloud-assisted wireless sensor networks (CWSNs) to maintain data privacy. In this paper, an efficient RSA with equality test algorithm is proposed. The presented scheme also handles the attackers based on their authorization ability. Precisely, the proposed scheme is proved to be one-way against chosen-ciphertext attack security and indistinguishable against chosen ciphertext attacks. Moreover, the experimental evaluations depict that the underlying scheme is efficient in terms of encryption, decryption, and equality testing. Thus, this scheme may be used as a practical solution in context of CWSNs, where the users may compare two ciphertexts without decryption.

The deformation and environmental influence of the pit excavation in downtown is very important. A 3D FEM analysis is conducted to understand the deformation of a 13.9 to 15.2 m deep excavation with an in-plane dimension of about 189 m width and 251 m length constructed by the frame top-down method (FTDM) in the soft clay region in the Shanghai metropolitan area. The field monitoring results indicate that the magnitudes of wall deflections and ground settlements, along with the column’s uplift difference, are relatively small, which are below the specified protection levels, and that the FTDM is feasible as one of the extralarge excavation construction methods. It is reasonable to predict wall deflection by 3D FEM simulation with qualitative comparison between the simulated column uplifts and the measured data, yet the prediction of the settlement distribution is of no satisfaction. This project studied in this paper not only serves as a special case study calibrated and verified by numerical tools but also provides insights into the design and construction of an extralarge deep excavation using the frame top-down method in soft soils and metropolitan environment.

The water footprint (WF) of crop production has been widely accepted as a comprehensive indicator of agricultural water consumption. Rationality and accuracy in crop WF accounting are thus prerequisites for implementation of WF assessments that yield sustainable regional agricultural water management. However, few studies have focused on the rationality of multiple quantitative approaches and the associated differences in crop WF accounting among different studies. Here we, focusing on maize, wheat and rice, review quantitatively the effects of different quantification approaches and scales on the results of crop WF accounting and simulations in relevant published research during 2002–2018 worldwide. Results show that (i) The number of studies on crop WF accounting has increased by 17 times since 2002 (~the year of creation of WF concepts); the research direction is focused on improvement of quantification and resolution in both time and space. (ii) The current approaches to WF calculation can be divided into five main types: the field crop water requirement (FCWR) approach, field soil water balance (FSWB) approach, regional water balance (RWB) approach, remote sensing (RS) approach and field measured water balance (FMWB) approach. The FCWR and FSWB approaches are more widely adopted than the other three. (iii) There were non-negligible differences in the WF accounting results among approaches and scales. At the global level, the deviations in WF for maize, wheat, and rice were relatively low among different studies, with the world average values of 0.73 m3 kg−1 ± 14.9%, 1.136 m3 kg−1 ± 13.5%, and 1.269 m3 kg−1 ± 27%, respectively. The ranges of uncertainty varied significantly when downscaling to specific countries and provinces. The maximum coefficients of variation (CV) of WF for maize, wheat, and rice in different regions were up to 40%, 49%, and 50%, respectively. (iv) The WF simulations showed very reasonable agreement and lower deviation between the FCWR and FSWB approaches.

Urbanization is one of the primary forces driving worldwide pollinator decline. Moderate urban expansion with appropriate green space planning can help in maintaining pollinator diversity and pollination service. We investigated the relative effects of landscape and local factors on the diversity of flower-visitor functional groups in a moderately urbanized city, Wuhan, located in central China. We found that the proportion of impervious surface had no significant effect on the number of visitations, but it was negatively associated with the diversity of flower-visitor groups. The number of visitations by Halictidae and Lepidoptera correlated positively with local flower density and flowering plant species richness, respectively. Flowering plant species richness was also positively correlated with the diversity of flower-visitor groups. The proportion of green space was negatively associated with the visitation number of Muscidae and the overall diversity of flower-visitor groups, revealing the potential influence of green space quality on pollinator assemblage. The pollination networks under three urbanization levels (with a total of 11 flower visitor groups and 43 plant species) were asymmetric, highly nested, and generalized. The suburb sites contained the highest diversity of interactions. Core flowering plants (Oenothera speciosa, Coreopsis grandiflora and Cyanus segetum) are exotic species with attractive flowers. Improving green space quality (high flower density and flowering plant species richness) and using attractive native flowering plants (Nandina domestica, Rosa chinensis, Astragalus sinicus, Cirsium arvense var. integrifolium, and Zabelia biflora) would enhance the function of urban green space to maintain pollinator diversity and ecosystem stability.

Wei-Fu-Chun (WFC) tablet is a commercial medicinal product approved by China Food and Drug Administration, which is made of Panax ginseng C.A.Mey., Citrus aurantium L., and Isodon amethystoides (Benth.). WFC has been popularly used for the treatment of precancerous lesions of gastric cancer (PLGC) in clinical practice. In this study, a UHPLC-ESI-Q-TOF/MS method in both positive and negative ion mode was employed to rapidly survey the major constituents of WFC. 178 compounds including diterpenoids, triterpenes, sesquiterpenes, flavonoids, saponins, phenylpropanoids, lignans, coumarins, organic acids, fatty acids, quinones, and sterols, were identified by comparing their retention times, accurate mass within 5 ppm error, and MS fragmentation ions. In addition, 77 absorbed parent molecules and nine metabolites in rat serum were rapidly characterized by UHPLC-ESI-Q-TOF/MS. The network pharmacology method was used to predict the active components, corresponding therapeutic targets, and related pathways of WFC in the treatment of PLGC. Based on the main compounds in WFC and their metabolites in rat plasma and existing databases, 13 active components, 48 therapeutic targets, and 61 pathways were found to treat PLGC. The results of PLGC experiment in rats showed that WFC could improve the weight of PLGC rats and the histopathological changes of gastric mucosa partly by inhibiting Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway to increase pepsin secretion. This study offers an applicable approach to identify chemical components, absorbed compounds, and metabolic compounds in WFC, and provides a method to explore bioactive ingredients and action mechanisms of WFC.

Objective: Neoadjuvant chemotherapy has increased the survival benefit of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. The effects of different neoadjuvant therapies are still controversial. We carried out the study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of neoadjuvant therapy. Methods: We performed a search of electronic databases (PubMed, Embase, MEDLINE, Cochrane) for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing neoadjuvant treatment. After literature screening and data extraction, efficacy, and safety were analyzed by the Bayesian network meta-analysis (NMA). Results: A total of 19 RCTs were included, covering 3276 patients and six kinds of neoadjuvant therapies, including immunotherapy, targeted therapy, chemotherapy drugs and radiotherapy. Erlotinib, the first-generation epidermal growth factor receptor t yrosine inhibitors (EGFR TKIs), neoadjuvant targeted therapy is best for improving overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS), which is superior to other neoadjuvant therapy, such as neoadjuvant chemotherapy with platinum drugs [hazard ratio (HR) 0.39, 95% confidence intervals (CIs) 0.16–0.96], neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (HR 0.37, 95% CI 0.14–0.96) and neoadjuvant chemotherapy with non-platinum drugs (HR 0.25, 95% CI 0.07–0.90). OS of all neoadjuvant therapies is superior to surgery alone, but only neoadjuvant chemotherapy with platinum drugs showed a significant advantage (HR 0.76, 95% CI 0.59–0.93). Besides, for the stage IIIA N2 NSCLC patients, no significant difference was found between neoadjuvant therapies. Conclusions: Targeted neoadjuvant therapy is the best treatment for prolonging PFS. The neoadjuvant chemotherapy with platinum drugs was associated with the better OS benefits for patients with NSCLC, compared with surgery alone. There is no significant difference in the efficacy of neoadjuvant therapy for the stage IIIA N2 NSCLC.

Background: Limited resection has gradually become an acceptable treatment for lung adenocarcinomas (ADCs) presenting as ground-glass nodules (GGNs). However, its role in lung ADCs presenting as pure solid nodules (PSN) remains unclear. In this study, we aimed to identify potential candidates for limited resection in lung ADCs presenting as PSN. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 772 patients from seven hospitals with lung ADCs ⩽2 cm, presenting as PSN on computed tomography scans, who had undergone surgery between 2009 and 2013. Histological subtypes were listed in 5% increments. To investigate the value of histological subtypes in surgical decision making, five pathologists prospectively evaluated the feasibility of identifying histological subtypes using frozen section (FS) in two cohorts. Results: The percentage of micropapillary (MIP) subtype had a striking impact on recurrence-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS) for lung ADCs ⩽2 cm presenting as PSNs. In multivariable Cox analysis, segmentectomy was significantly associated with worse RFS and OS in patients with MIP >5% than lobectomy, but not in those with MIP ⩽5%. With wedge resection, worse RFS and OS were observed in patients with MIP >5% and those with MIP ⩽5% than lobectomy. The sensitivity and specificity for detecting MIP by FS were 74.2% and 85.6%, respectively, with substantial inter-rater agreement. Conclusion: Segmentectomy and lobectomy had similar oncological outcomes in patients with lung ADCs ⩽2 cm presenting as PSN with MIP ⩽5%. Randomized trials are necessary to validate the feasibility of intraoperative FS to choose candidates for segmentectomy.

Public key encryption supporting equality test (PKEwET) schemes, because of their special function, have good applications in many fields, such as in cloud computing services, blockchain, and the Internet of Things. The original PKEwET has no authorization function. Subsequently, many PKEwET schemes have been proposed with the ability to perform authorization against various application scenarios. However, these schemes are incapable of traceability to the ciphertexts. In this paper, the ability of tracing to the ciphertexts is introduced into a PKEwET scheme. For the ciphertexts, the presented scheme supports not only the equality test, but also has the function of traceability. Meanwhile, the security of the proposed scheme is revealed by a game between an adversary and a simulator, and it achieves a desirable level of security. Depending on the attacker’s privileges, it can resist OW-CCA security against an adversary with a trapdoor, and can resist IND-CCA security against an adversary without a trapdoor. Finally, the performance of the presented scheme is discussed.

We investigate simultaneous estimation of multi-parameter with time-dependent Hamiltonians. We analytically obtain the maximum quantum Fisher information matrix for two-parameter encoded in time-dependent three-level systems. The optimal coherent control scheme is proposed to increase the simultaneous multi-parameter estimation precisions. In an example of a spin-1 particle in a uniformly rotating magnetic field, the optimal coherent Hamiltonians for different parameters can be chosen to be completely same. However, in general, the optimal coherent Hamiltonians for different parameters are incompatible. In this situation, we suggest a variance method to obtain the optimal coherent Hamiltonian for simultaneously estimating multiple parameters, and obtain the optimal simultaneous estimation precision of two-parameter in a three-level Landau-Zener Hamiltonian.

Background/Aims: Although it has been widely accepted that protein arginine methyltransferase 1 (PRMT1) is a cancer-promoting gene in various cancers, the mechanism of PRMT1 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) requires more exploration. This study aimed to investigate the role of PRMT1 in HCC growth and metastasis. Methods: We compared PRMT1 expression and clinicopathological characteristics using paired HCC and adjacent noncancerous liver tissues from 210 patients and immunohistochemistry analyses. Cell proliferation, colony formation and migration were determined in HCC cell lines with PRMT1 overexpression or downregulation through MTT, crystal violet and Boyden chamber assays. Tumour growth was monitored in a xenograft model, and intrahepatic metastasis models were established. Results: PRMT1 expression was greatly increased in clinical HCC samples and strongly associated with poor prognosis and recurrence; PRMT1 expression was also positively correlated with microvascular invasion (P = 0.024), tumour differentiation (P = 0.014), tumour size (P = 0.002), and portal vein tumour thrombus (PVTT) (P = 0.028). Cell proliferation, colony formation and migration in vitro were enhanced by PRMT1 upregulation and decreased by PRMT1 downregulation in HCC cell lines. Moreover, low PRMT1 expression resulted in slow tumour growth and decreased tumour weight in vivo, as well as tumour metastasis. These phenotypes were associated with STAT3 signalling pathway activation. Cryptotanshinone, a STAT3 inhibitor, inhibited STAT3 phosphorylation and reversed the HCC phenotype of PRMT1 expression. Conclusions: We revealed a significant role for PRMT1 in HCC progression and metastasis in vitro and in vivo via STAT3 signalling pathway activation. PRMT1 may be a potential novel prognostic biomarker and new therapeutic target for HCC.

Background and objective As computed tomography (CT) screening for lung cancer becomes more common in China, so too does detection of pulmonary ground-glass nodules (GGNs). Although anumber of national or international guidelines about pulmonary GGNs have been published,most of these guidelines are produced by respiratory, oncology or radiology physicians, who might not fully understand the progress of modern minimal invasive thoracic surgery, and these current guidelines may overlook or underestimate the value of thoracic surgery in the management of pulmonary GGNs. In addition, the management for pre-invasive adenocarcinoma is still controversial. Based onthe available literature and experience from Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital, we composed this consensus about diagnosis and treatment of pulmonary GGNs. For lesions which are considered as adenocarcinoma in situ, chest thin layer CT scan follow-up is recommended and resection can only be adopt in some specific cases and excision should not exceed single segment resection. For lesions which are considered as minimal invasive adenocarcinoma, limited pulmonary resection or lobectomy is recommended. For lesions which are considered as early stage invasive adenocarcinoma, pulmonary resection is recommend and optimal surgical methods depend on whether ground glass component exist, location, volume and number of the lesions and physical status of patients. Principle of management of multiple pulmonary nodules is that primary lesions should be handled with priority, with secondary lesions taking into account.

Abstract Background Our previous screening study suggested that the cell-adhesions protein Dihydropyrimidinase-like 3 (DPYSL3) was a candidate metastatic lung cancer related molecule. This study aimed to analyze the correlation between DPYSL3 and metastatic lung cancer. Methods Stable DPYSL3 knockdown Lewis lung carcinoma (LLC) cells were constructed with a retroviral system. Cell migration and invasion assays were performed to determine the role of DPYSL3 in LLC cells’ migration and invasion changes. A metastatic lung tumor model in which the stable DPYSL3 knockdown LLC cells were injected through tail vein was used to analyze the role of DPYSL3 in tumor metastasis in vivo. The correlation between DPYSL3 expression and the survival time of lung cancer patients were analyzed in KMPLOT database. Results Knockdown of DPYSL3 promoted the migratory and invasive of LLC cells compared to the control group. Meanwhile, the motility of LLC cells was also increased with the inhibition of DPYSL3. The TGFβ-induced EMT increased when DPYSL3 was inhibited. The expression of EMT markers, TWIST1 and N-cadherin, significantly increased to almost two times with the knockdown of DPYSL3. Furthermore, inhibition of DPYSL3 promoted the progression of metastatic xenograft in C57BL/6 mice. The expression level of DPYSL3 decreased in lung cancer patients with distant metastasis. Conclusions Knockdown of DPYSL3 promoted the metastatic ability of LLC cells in vitro and in vivo.

Ochratoxin A(OTA) is considered to be one of the most important contaminants of food and feed worldwide. The liver is one of key target organs for OTA to exert its toxic effects. Due to current lifestyle and diet, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has been the most common liver disease. To examine the potential effect of OTA on hepatic lipid metabolism and NAFLD, C57BL/6 male mice received 1 mg/kg OTA by gavage daily. Compared with controls, OTA increased lipid deposition and TG accumulation in mouse livers. In vitro OTA treatment also promoted lipid droplets accumulation in primary hepatocytes and HepG2 cells. Mechanistically, OTA prevented PPARγ degradation by reducing the interaction between PPARγ and its E3 ligase SIAH2, which led to activation of PPARγ signaling pathway. Furthermore, downregulation or inhibition of CD36, a known of PPARγ, alleviated OTA-induced lipid droplets deposition and TG accumulation. Therefore, OTA induces hepatic steatosis via PPARγ-CD36 axis, suggesting that OTA has an impact on liver lipid metabolism and may contribute to the development of metabolic diseases.

Abstract Background Extracellular histones were recently identified as an inflammatory mediator involved in the pathogenesis of various organ injuries. This study aimed to examine extracellular histone levels and their clinical implications in acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) patients and to explore histone-mediated effects through ex-vivo investigations. Methods Extracellular histones, cytokine profiles and clinical data from 96 ARDS patients and 30 healthy volunteers were obtained. Human bronchial epithelial cells (BEAS-2B), human pulmonary artery endothelial cells (HPAEC), and human monocytic U937 cells were exposed to bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) collected from ARDS patients, and cellular damage and cytokine production were assessed. Furthermore, the effect of histone-targeted interventions by heparin or anti-histone antibody was evaluated. Results Plasma and BALF extracellular histone levels were much higher in ARDS patients than in healthy controls. There was a significant association between extracellular histones and ARDS severity and mortality. In addition, extracellular histones correlated with an evident systemic inflammation detected in ARDS patients. Ex-vivo analysis further showed that ARDS patient’s BALF remarkably induced epithelial and endothelial cell damage and stimulated cytokine production in the supernatant of U937 cells. The adverse effects on these cells could be abrogated by heparin or anti-histone antibody. Conclusions Extracellular histones in ARDS patients are excessively increased and may contribute to disease aggravation by inducing cellular damage and promoting systemic inflammation. Targeting extracellular histones may provide a promising approach for treating ARDS.

In the original publication Figure S4 is an ancillary image to compare the specific surface areas of TiO2/Ni3S2 and Ni3S2 samples was incorrectly published.

Elaboration of Bayesian phylogenetic inference methods has continued at pace in recent years with major new advances in nearly all aspects of the joint modelling of evolutionary data. It is increasingly appreciated that some evolutionary questions can only be adequately answered by combining evidence from multiple independent sources of data, including genome sequences, sampling dates, phenotypic data, radiocarbon dates, fossil occurrences, and biogeographic range information among others. Including all relevant data into a single joint model is very challenging both conceptually and computationally. Advanced computational software packages that allow robust development of compatible (sub-)models which can be composed into a full model hierarchy have played a key role in these developments. Developing such software frameworks is increasingly a major scientific activity in its own right, and comes with specific challenges, from practical software design, development and engineering challenges to statistical and conceptual modelling challenges. BEAST 2 is one such computational software platform, and was first announced over 4 years ago. Here we describe a series of major new developments in the BEAST 2 core platform and model hierarchy that have occurred since the first release of the software, culminating in the recent 2.5 release.

Objective: Synchronous multiple ground-glass nodules (SM-GGNs) are a distinct entity of lung cancer which has been emerging increasingly in recent years in China. The oncogenesis molecular mechanisms of SM-GGNs remain elusive.Methods: We investigated single nucleotide variations (SNV), insertions and deletions (INDEL), somatic copy number variations (CNV), and germline mutations of 69 SM-GGN samples collected from 31 patients, using target sequencing (TRS) and whole exome sequencing (WES).Results: In the entire cohort, many known driver mutations were found, including EGFR (21.7%), BRAF (14.5%), and KRAS (6%). However, only one out of the 31 patients had the same somatic missense or truncated events within SM-GGNs, indicating the independent origins for almost all of these SM-GGNs. Many germline mutations with a low frequency in the Chinese population, and genes harboring both germline and somatic variations, were discovered in these pre-stage GGNs. These GGNs also bore large segments of copy number gains and/or losses. The CNV segment number tended to be positively correlated with the germline mutations (r = 0.57). The CNV sizes were correlated with the somatic mutations (r = 0.55). A moderate correlation (r = 0.54) was also shown between the somatic and germline mutations.Conclusion: Our data suggests that the precancerous unstable CNVs with potentially predisposing genetic backgrounds may foster the onset of driver mutations and the development of independent SM-GGNs during the local stimulation of mutagens.

Amorphous carbon is considered as a prospective and serviceable anode for the storage of sodium. In this contribution, we illuminate the transformation rule of defect/void ratio and the restrictive relation between specific capacity and rate capability. Inspired by this mechanism, ratio of plateau/slope capacity is regulated via temperature-control pyrolysis. Moreover, pore-forming reaction is induced to create defects, open up the isolated voids, and build fast ion channels to further enhance the capacity and rate ability. Numerous fast ion channels, high ion-electron conductivity, and abundant defects lead the designed porous hard carbon/Co3O4 anode to realize a high specific capacity, prolonged circulation ability, and enhanced capacity at high rates. This research deepens the comprehension of sodium storage behavior and proposes a fabrication approach to achieve high performance carbonaceous anodes for sodium-ion batteries.

Colour patterns based on micro-nano structure have attracted enormous research interests due to unique optical switches and smart surface applications in photonic crystal, superhydrophobic surface modification, controlled adhesion, inkjet printing, biological detection, supramolecular self-assembly, anti-counterfeiting, optical device and other fields. In traditional methods, many patterns of micro-nano structure are derived from changes of refractive index or lattice parameters. Generally, the refractive index and lattice parameters of photonic crystals are processed by common solvents, salts or reactive monomers under specific electric, magnetic and stress conditions. This review focuses on the recent developments in the fabrication of micro-nano structures for patterns including styles, materials, methods and characteristics. It summarized the advantages and disadvantages of inkjet printing, angle-independent photonic crystal, self-assembled photonic crystals by magnetic field force, gravity, electric field, inverse opal photonic crystal, electron beam etching, ion beam etching, laser holographic lithography, imprinting technology and surface wrinkle technology, etc. This review will provide a summary on designing micro-nano patterns and details on patterns composed of photonic crystals by surface wrinkles technology and plasmonic micro-nano technology. In addition, colour patterns as switches are fabricated with good stability and reproducibility in anti-counterfeiting application. Finally, there will be a conclusion and an outlook on future perspectives.

Forest ecosystems are in serious trouble globally, largely due to the over-exploitation. To alleviate environmental problems caused by deforestation, China has undertaken a series of key forestry ecological development programs, including the Natural Forest Protection Program (NFPP), the Conversion of Cropland into Forests Program (CCFP), the Desertification Combating Program around Beijing and Tianjing (DCBT), the Key Shelterbelt Development Programs in the Three-North Region and in the Middle and Lower Reaches of the Yangtze River (KSDP) and the Nature Reserve Development Program in Forestry Sector (WCNR). This article aims to make a documentation of the specific contents (duration, major aims, geographic coverage and investment), and environmental impacts of these programs from peer-reviewed literature, official reports and journals. Environmental impact is measured with land area afforested (except the WCNR) and the consequent changes in ecosystem function. Overall, with the huge investment and long-term efforts, these programs have made tremendous progress in increasing vegetative coverage, enhancing carbon sequestration, controlling soil erosion, conservation of biodiversity, etc. For proper implementation and remarkable achievement, a more balanced approach with flexible planning, suitable measures and proper management should be adopted. Meanwhile, the scientific communities need to be more actively involved in execution and assessment of these programs. The environmental impact of the DCBT, the KSDP, and the WCNR deserve more research concern.

Minimally invasive, safe and tumor-free are the main principles of the choice of surgical incision in lung cancer surgery. In recent years, with the advances in minimally invasive techniques, single-port video assisted thoracic surgery (VATS), robot-assisted thoracoscopic (RATS), suboxiphoid single-port VATS, simultaneous bilateral VATS pulmonary resection, are emerging approaches, single-port VATS has become one of the most exciting new developments in minimally invasive thoracic surgery in recent years. This paper reviews the evolution and trends of surgical incision in lung cancer surgery.

Different from the traditional healthcare field, Medical Cyber Physical Systems (MCPS) rely more on wireless wearable devices and medical applications to provide better medical services. The secure storage and sharing of medical data are facing great challenges. Blockchain technology with decentralization, security, credibility and tamper-proof is an effective way to solve this problem. However, capacity limitation is one of the main reasons affecting the improvement of blockchain performance. Certificateless aggregation signature schemes can greatly tackle the difficulty of blockchain expansion. In this paper, we describe a two-layer system model in which medical records are stored off-blockchain and shared on-blockchain. Furthermore, a multi-trapdoor hash function is proposed. Based on the proposed multi-trapdoor hash function, we present a certificateless aggregate signature scheme for blockchain-based MCPS. The purpose is to realize the authentication of related medical staffs, medical equipment, and medical apps, ensure the integrity of medical records, and support the secure storage and sharing of medical information. The proposed scheme is highly computationally efficient because it does not use bilinear maps and exponential operations. Many certificateless aggregate signature schemes without bilinear maps in Internet of things (IoT) have been proposed in recent years, but they are not applied to the medical field, and they do not consider the security requirements of medical data. The proposed scheme in this paper has high computing and storage efficiency, while meeting the security requirements in MCPS.

Temperature comprises a major driver for species distribution and physiological processes in alpine plants. For all terrestrial plant species tested to date, elevation associated decreases in temperature have been observed to influence the balance between carbon acquisition and usage; restricting the upper limit of most alpine trees (i.e., treeline). However, such a carbon source-sink balance has not been tested in any alpine aquatic plants, which is an important component of the alpine aquatic ecosystem. The Myriophyllum species inhabits a broad range of habitats across the high-altitude plateau. Three Myriophyllum species (Myriophyllum spicatum, Myriophyllum verticillatum, and Myriophyllum sibiricum) from 12 water bodies at elevational gradients between 2766 and 5111 m were collected in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. The late growing seasonal concentrations of non-structural carbohydrates (NSC) in the leaves were measured to find how high-altitude conditions influence the carbon balance in aquatic plants. Regression tree analysis separated the 12 water bodies into two groups according to water turbidity (seven water bodies with high turbidity and five water bodies with low turbidity). Overall, leaf NSC concentrations (primarily starch) decreased significantly with increasing elevation in widely distributed M. spicatum and M. verticillatum. Regression tree analysis indicated that water turbidity (i.e., shady environment) was a strong determinant of leaf NSC. In the low turbidity group (3.5 NTU), leaf NSC concentrations were low and had no association with elevation. Unlike most recent studies in tree species, which show low temperatures limited growth at high-elevations, our results demonstrated that carbon gain limitation is the primary mechanism for the elevational distribution limit of Myriophyllum species in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Moreover, water turbidity moderated the effects of low temperature by masking the expected carbon limitation trend. Therefore, at least two environmental factors (i.e., temperature and light availability) induced photosynthesis decreases might explain the NSC responses for aquatic plants in response to elevation.

Splicing factor 3b subunit 4, a critical component of pre-message RNA splicing complex, has been reported to play an important part in the tumorigenesis. However, the expression pattern and biological role of splicing factor 3b subunit 4 in pancreatic cancer have never been investigated. In this study, we found that both the messenger RNA ( p < 0.001) and protein level of splicing factor 3b subunit 4 were decreased significantly in pancreatic cancer specimens compared with their adjacent normal tissues. Overexpression of splicing factor 3b subunit 4 in pancreatic cancer cells inhibited cell growth and motility in vitro, while suppressing splicing factor 3b subunit 4 expression promoted the proliferation and migration of pancreatic cancer cells. In addition, splicing factor 3b subunit 4 was found to inhibit the activity of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 signaling via downregulating the phosphorylation of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 on a tyrosine residue at position 705. Taken together, these findings demonstrated that splicing factor 3b subunit 4 acted as a suppressive role in pancreatic cancer and indicated that restoring the function of splicing factor 3b subunit 4 might be a strategy for cancer therapy.

In a general (k, n) scalable secret image sharing (SSIS) scheme, the secret image is shared by n participants and any k or more than k participants have the ability to reconstruct it. The scalability means that the amount of information in the reconstructed image scales in proportion to the number of the participants. In most existing SSIS schemes, the size of each image shadow is relatively large and the dealer does not has a flexible control strategy to adjust it to meet the demand of differen applications. Besides, almost all existing SSIS schemes are not applicable under noise circumstances. To address these deficiencies, in this paper we present a novel SSIS scheme based on a brand-new technique, called compressed sensing, which has been widely used in many fields such as image processing, wireless communication and medical imaging. Our scheme has the property of flexibility, which means that the dealer can achieve a compromise between the size of each shadow and the quality of the reconstructed image. In addition, our scheme has many other advantages, including smooth scalability, noise-resilient capability, and high security. The experimental results and the comparison with similar works demonstrate the feasibility and superiority of our scheme.

Iron excess is closely associated with tumorigenesis in multiple types of human cancers, with underlying mechanisms yet unclear. Recently, iron deprivation has emerged as a major strategy for chemotherapy, but it exerts tumor suppression only on select human malignancies. Here, we report that the tumor suppressor protein p53 is downregulated during iron excess. Strikingly, the iron polyporphyrin heme binds to p53 protein, interferes with p53-DNA interactions, and triggers both nuclear export and cytosolic degradation of p53. Moreover, in a tumorigenicity assay, iron deprivation suppressed wild-type p53-dependent tumor growth, suggesting that upregulation of wild-type p53 signaling underlies the selective efficacy of iron deprivation. Our findings thus identify a direct link between iron/heme homeostasis and the regulation of p53 signaling, which not only provides mechanistic insights into iron-excess-associated tumorigenesis but may also help predict and improve outcomes in iron-deprivation-based chemotherapy.

The work presented herein focuses on simulating the compounding process via a torque rheometer, as well as the relationship between the melt viscosity and the polymer molecular weight (MW). We aim to predict the plasticization of polylactic acid (PLA) using polypropylene glycol (PPG) with different MWs. The rheological properties of the PLA/PPG composites containing PPG with different MWs were systematically studied by capillary rheometry and torque rheometry. The initial degradation of PLA/PPG composites during melt processing was monitored in real time. The results indicate that PPG can significantly reduce the melt viscosity of PLA/PPG composites, leading to obvious pseudoplastic fluid behavior. The lower the MW of PPG, the lower the viscosity of the PLA/PPG composite. The addition of PPG was favorable for the degradation of PLA during processing, and the degradation degree of the composite materials increased as the MW of PPG was decreased.

The aging fracture of bonding wire is one of the main reasons for failure of insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT). This paper proposes an online monitoring method for IGBT bonding wire aging that does not interfere with the normal operation of the IGBT module. A quantitative analysis of aging degree was first performed, and the results of multivariate and univariate monitoring were compared. Based on the relationship between the monitoring parameters and the aging of the IGBT bonding wire, gradual damage of the IGBT bond wire was implemented to simulate aging failure and obtain the aging data. Moreover, the change of junction temperature was considered to regulate monitoring parameters. Then, the aging degree was evaluated by an artificial neural network (ANN) algorithm. The experimental results showed the effectiveness of the proposed method.

With the rapid development of the Internet of Things (IoT), it becomes challenging to ensure its security. Identity authentication and integrity verification can be achieved by secure hash functions and digital signature algorithms for IoT applications. In order to solve the issues of bandwidth limitation and computational efficiency of secure communication in IoT applications, an aggregate signature scheme based on multi- trapdoor hash function is proposed in this paper. Firstly, to prevent key exposition, based on the elliptic curve discrete logarithm problem (ECDLP), we constructed a double trapdoor hash function (DTH) and proved its reliability. Secondly, the multi-trapdoor hash function (MTH) based on DTH is presented. Finally, an MTH-based aggregate signature scheme (MTH-AS) with constant signature length is proposed. Based on the assumption of ECDLP, the proposed scheme is proven unforgeable against adaptive chosen message attacks with the Forking Lemma. Different from the most signature schemes with bilinear mapping, the proposed scheme has higher computational efficiency and shorter aggregate signature length. Moreover, it is independent of the number of signers. Security analysis and performance evaluation has revealed that the proposed scheme is an ideal solution for secure IoT applications with limited computing power, storage capacity, or limited bandwidth, such as wireless sensor networks, vehicular ad hoc networks, or healthcare sensor networks.

OBJETIVO: A cirurgia torácica vídeo-assistida (CTVA) tem sido uma intervenção de escolha para o tratamento de pneumotórax espontâneo (PS) com bolha pulmonar. Nosso objetivo foi apresentar uma abordagem de CTVA uniportal unilateral para bulectomia bilateral e avaliar sua eficácia terapêutica. MÉTODOS: Entre maio de 2011 e janeiro de 2012, cinco pacientes foram submetidos a bulectomia bilateral por essa abordagem. Todos apresentavam PS bilateral. A TCAR pré-operatória mostrou que todos os pacientes tinham bolhas bilaterais no pulmão apical. As indicações cirúrgicas, os procedimentos de operação e os desfechos foram revisados. RESULTADOS: Todos os pacientes foram submetidos com sucesso a essa abordagem para bulectomia bilateral, sem complicações intraoperatórias. A mediana de tempo para a retirada do dreno torácico foi de 4,2 dias, e a mediana do tempo de hospitalização no pós-operatório foi de 5,2 dias. A mediana de seguimento pós-operatório foi de 11,2 meses. Um paciente teve recidiva de PE do lado esquerdo três semanas após a cirurgia e foi submetido a abrasão pleural. CONCLUSÕES: A bulectomia bilateral utilizando CTVA uniportal combinada com acesso contralateral ao mediastino anterior é tecnicamente confiável e promove desfechos favoráveis para pacientes com PS que desenvolvem bolhas bilaterais no pulmão apical. Entretanto, para a realização desse procedimento cirúrgico, são necessários cirurgiões com experiência em CTVA, instrumentos toracoscópicos longos, entre outras exigências.OBJECTIVE: Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) has been a surgical intervention of choice for the treatment of spontaneous pneumothorax (SP) with lung bulla. Our objective was to introduce a uniportal VATS approach for simultaneous bilateral bullectomy and to evaluate its therapeutic efficacy. METHODS: Between May of 2011 and January of 2012, five patients underwent bilateral bullectomy conducted using this approach. All of the patients presented with bilateral SP. Preoperative HRCT revealed that all of the patients had bilateral apical bullae. We reviewed the surgical indications, surgical procedures, and outcomes. RESULTS: All of the patients were successfully submitted to this approach for bilateral bullectomy, and there were no intraoperative complications. The median time to chest tube removal was 4.2 days, and the median length of the postoperative hospital stay was 5.2 days. The median postoperative follow-up period was 11.2 months. One patient experienced recurrence of left SP three weeks after the surgery and underwent pleural abrasion. CONCLUSIONS: Bilateral bullectomy through uniportal VATS combined with contralateral access to the anterior mediastinum is technically reliable and provides favorable surgical outcomes for patients with bilateral SP who develop bilateral apical bullae. However, among other requirements, this surgical procedure demands that surgeons be experienced in VATS and that the appropriate thoracoscopic instruments are available.

At present, living cells are widely used in cell transplantation and tissue engineering. Many efforts have been made aiming towards the use of a large number of living cells with high activity and integrated functionality. Currently, cryopreservation has become well-established and is effective for the long-term storage of cells. However, it is still a major challenge to inhibit cell damage, such as from solution injury, ice injury, recrystallization and osmotic injury during the thawing process, and the cytotoxicity of cryoprotectants. Hence, this review focused on different novel gel cryopreservation systems. Natural polymer hydrogel cryopreservation, the synthetic polymer hydrogel cryopreservation system and the supramolecular hydrogel cryopreservation system were presented, respectively. Due to the unique three-dimensional network structure of the hydrogel, these hydrogel cryopreservation systems have the advantages of excellent biocompatibility for natural polymer hydrogel cryopreservation systems, designability for synthetic polymer hydrogel cryopreservation systems, and versatility for supramolecular hydrogel cryopreservation systems. To some extent, the different hydrogel cryopreservation methods can confine ice crystal growth and decrease the change rates of osmotic shock in cell encapsulation systems. It is notable that the cryopreservation of complex cells and tissues is demanded in future clinical research and therapy, and depends on the linkage of different methods.

We present a new open source, extensible and flexible software platform for Bayesian evolutionary analysis called BEAST 2. This software platform is a re-design of the popular BEAST 1 platform to correct structural deficiencies that became evident as the BEAST 1 software evolved. Key among those deficiencies was the lack of post-deployment extensibility. BEAST 2 now has a fully developed package management system that allows third party developers to write additional functionality that can be directly installed to the BEAST 2 analysis platform via a package manager without requiring a new software release of the platform. This package architecture is showcased with a number of recently published new models encompassing birth-death-sampling tree priors, phylodynamics and model averaging for substitution models and site partitioning. A second major improvement is the ability to read/write the entire state of the MCMC chain to/from disk allowing it to be easily shared between multiple instances of the BEAST software. This facilitates checkpointing and better support for multi-processor and high-end computing extensions. Finally, the functionality in new packages can be easily added to the user interface (BEAUti 2) by a simple XML template-based mechanism because BEAST 2 has been re-designed to provide greater integration between the analysis engine and the user interface so that, for example BEAST and BEAUti use exactly the same XML file format.

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is widely used to track and trace objects in traceability supply chains. However, massive uncertain data produced by RFID readers are not effective and efficient to be used in RFID application systems. Following the analysis of key features of RFID objects, this paper proposes a new framework for effectively and efficiently processing uncertain RFID data, and supporting a variety of queries for tracking and tracing RFID objects. We adjust different smoothing windows according to different rates of uncertain data, employ different strategies to process uncertain readings, and distinguish ghost, missing, and incomplete data according to their apparent positions. We propose a comprehensive data model which is suitable for different application scenarios. In addition, a path coding scheme is proposed to significantly compress massive data by aggregating the path sequence, the position, and the time intervals. The scheme is suitable for cyclic or long paths. Moreover, we further propose a processing algorithm for group and independent objects. Experimental evaluations show that our approach is effective and efficient in terms of the compression and traceability queries.

Many notorious invasive plants are clonal, however, little is known about the different roles of clonal integration effects between invasive and native plants. Here, we hypothesize that clonal integration affect growth, photosynthetic performance, biomass allocation and thus competitive ability of invasive and native clonal plants, and invasive clonal plants benefit from clonal integration more than co-occurring native plants in heterogeneous habitats. To test these hypotheses, two stoloniferous clonal plants, Alternanthera philoxeroides (invasive), Jussiaea repens (native) were studied in China. The apical parts of both species were grown either with or without neighboring vegetation and the basal parts without competitors were in nutrient- rich or -poor habitats, with stolon connections were either severed or kept intact. Competition significantly reduced growth and photosynthetic performance of the apical ramets in both species, but not the biomass of neighboring vegetation. Without competition, clonal integration greatly improved the growth and photosynthetic performance of both species, especially when the basal parts were in nutrient-rich habitats. When grown with neighboring vegetation, growth of J. repens and photosynthetic performance of both species were significantly enhanced by clonal integration with the basal parts in both nutrient-rich and -poor habitats, while growth and relative neighbor effect (RNE) of A. philoxeroides were greatly improved by clonal integration only when the basal parts were in nutrient-rich habitats. Moreover, clonal integration increased A. philoxeroides's biomass allocation to roots without competition, but decreased it with competition, especially when the basal ramets were in nutrient-rich sections. Effects of clonal integration on biomass allocation of J. repens was similar to that of A. philoxeroides but with less significance. These results supported our hypothesis that invasive clonal plants A. philoxeroides benefits from clonal integration more than co-occurring native J. repens, suggesting that the invasiveness of A. philoxeroides may be closely related to clonal integration in heterogeneous environments.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most malignant tumors and the biggest obstacle in curing HCC is its high metastasis potential. Alteration of p53 is the most frequent genetic change found in HCC. Although the biological function of p53 in tumor initiation and progression has been well characterized, whether or not p53 is implicated in metastasis of HCC is largely unknown. In this study, we analyzed the potential functions of p53 in epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and metastasis of HCC cells. Both insulin- and TGF-β1-induced changes of critical EMT markers were greatly enhanced by p53 knockdown in HCC cells. The insulin- and TGF-β1-stimulated migration of HCC cells were enhanced by p53 knockdown. Furthermore, in vivo metastasis of HCC cells using different mouse models was robustly enhanced by p53 knockdown. In addition, we found that p53 regulation on EMT and metastasis involves β-catenin signaling. The nuclear accumulation and transcriptional activity of β-catenin was modulated by p53. The enhanced EMT phenotype, cell migration and tumor metastasis of HCC cells by p53 knockdown were abrogated by inhibiting β-catenin signal pathway. In conclusion, this study reveals that p53 plays a pivotal role in EMT and metastasis of HCC cells via its regulation on β-catenin signaling.

Experimental data suggest a protective effect of vitamin D on breast cancer; however, epidemiologic results remain inclusive. With a Chinese population-based case-control study and meta-analysis of the observational studies, we here systematically evaluated the association of blood 25(OH)D level and breast cancer risk. With 593 breast cancer cases and 580 cancer-free controls from Shanghai, China, we found that 80% of the normal women had severe vitamin D deficiency (less than 20 ng/mL) and 15.2% had mild deficiency (20 to 30 ng/mL) and only 4.8% of women had sufficient vitamin D level (>30 ng/mL) while the proportion was 96.1%, 3.2% and 0.7% respectively for the breast cancer patients. Compared to those with the lowest quartile of plasma 25(OH)D level, women with highest quartile 25(OH)D level showed a significant decreased breast cancer risk (Q4 vs.Q1: OR = 0.10, 95% CI = 0.06-0.15) and every 1 ng/ml increment of plasma 25(OH)D level led to a 16% lower odds of breast cancer (OR = 0.84, 95% CI = 0.81-0.87; P

Polyaniline (PAN) was prepared by using a technique of chemical synthesis to obtain the insulating emeraldine base form. And then PAN was doped with toluenesulfonic acid (TSA), HCl, or camphor sulfonic acid (CSA) to protonate it into conducting salt form. The morphologies and electrical property of PAN under atmospheric pressure were investigated. Subsequently, the high pressure using a Bridgman anvil cell was applied on the doped PAN, and the effect of high pressure on the properties of doped PAN was analyzed. At normal pressure, the conductivity of PAN increases as the PH value increases. While at high pressures, the conductivity of PAN increases, and then it becomes independent of pressure. The results indicate that the conductivity of PAN is related to the presence of the polaron band, and the doped PAN under high pressure will be enhanced strongly in conductivity because of overlap of polaron band and π band. However, with the further increase of the applied pressure, scattering mechanisms of carriers limit the conductivity of PAN.

Tumor suppressor p53, which is activated by various stress and oncogene activation, is a target for anti-cancer drug development. In this study, by screening panels of protein kinase inhibitors and protein phosphatase inhibitors, we identified 5-Iodotubercidin as a strong p53 activator. 5-Iodotubercidin is purine derivative and is used as an inhibitor for various kinases including adenosine kinase. We found that 5-Iodotubercidin could cause DNA damage, verified by induction of DNA breaks and nuclear foci positive for γH2AX and TopBP1, activation of Atm and Chk2, and S15 phosphorylation and up-regulation of p53. As such, 5-Iodotubercidin induces G2 cell cycle arrest in a p53-dependent manner. Itu also induces cell death in p53-dependent and -independent manners. DNA breaks were likely generated by incorporation of 5-Iodotubercidin metabolite into DNA. Moreover, 5-Iodotubercidin showed anti-tumor activity as it could reduce the tumor size in carcinoma xenograft mouse models in p53-dependent and -independent manners. These findings reveal 5-Iodotubercidin as a novel genotoxic drug that has chemotherapeutic potential.