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Jianwen Wang, Xuehai Wang, Kai Liu, Li Gu, Lei Yu, Li Han, Zhaojin Meng Department of Otolaryngology, Weihai Municipal Hospital, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Weihai 264200, Shandong, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Xuehai WangDepartment of Otolaryngology, Weihai Municipal Hospital, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Weihai 264200, Shandong, People’s Republic of ChinaEmail xuehai581@163.comIntroduction: Radiotherapy is one of the most important methods in the treatment of patients with hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (HSCC). However, radioresistance will be developed after repeated irradiation. Among many key factors contributing to radioresistance, enhanced autophagy is recognized as one of the most important. The ultraviolent irradiation resistance-associated gene (UVRAG) is reported to be a crucial gene involved in the process of autophagy. Here, we test whether UVRAG has effect on the radioresistance of HSCC.Methods: HSCC cell line Fadu cells were treated with irradiation to test levels of autophagy. Tumor tissues from primary and recurrent HSCC patients were tested by immunohistochemistry. Then, we knocked down UVRAG to test its role in cell growth and the malignant behaviors. Response of cells to treatment was examined using LDH release assay, immunofluorescence, Western blot analysis and colony formation.Results: We found that irradiation induced autophagy in Fadu cells. Immunohistochemistry of primary and irradiated HSCC tumor tissues showed that UVRAG was upregulated after irradiation treatment. Inhibiting UVRAG with siRNA interfered cell growth, cell cycle, malignant behaviors and autophagic flux in Fadu cells. Knocking down UVRAG increased DNA damage and cell death induced by irradiation. Finally, we found that inhibiting UVRAG induced lysosomal membrane permeabilization, which contributed to radiosensitization of Fadu cells.Conclusion: Our findings supported the oncogenic properties of UVRAG in HSCC and inhibiting UVRAG increased radiosensitivity in HSCC by triggering lysosomal membrane permeabilization. Therefore, UVRAG might be a promising target in the treatment of HSCC.Keywords: UVRAG, autophagy, radiosensitivity, hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma, lysosomal membrane permeabilization

Additional file 4: Table S2. Basic information of 120 ESCCs.

Additional file 2: Supplementary File 2. Risk index of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC)

Additional file 7: Fig. S1. Microbial relative abundances at the genus level in tumor and tumor-adjacent tissues.

Additional file 5: Table S3. The characteristics of ESCC patients from Zhangzhou City (n = 50) and other regions (n = 70).

Additional file 6: Table S4. The corresponding description of the differential MetaCyc metabolic pathways.

Additional file 1: Supplementary File 1. The details of method

Background：Given the increasing trend of using wind energy in cities, the utilization of distributed wind energy in cities has been widely concerned by researchers. The related research on the micro-site selection of wind turbines, a sub-project of the Task27 project of the International energy agency, was continued in this paper.Methods：The wind speed data of an observation station near Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, with a range of 10-19 m were collected. The evaluation included wind direction, Weibull parameter characteristics, and turbulence intensity. The potential energy output in 10 different heights was estimated using commercial horizontal and vertical axis wind turbines of the same power.Results：The three-parameter Weibull distribution model can well describe the statistical properties of the wind speed in this site. The wind speed distribution model constructed from extrapolation parameters reflects the wind speed statistical properties out of detection positions to a certain extent.Conclusions：The wind energy density of the vertical axis wind turbine is slightly lower than that of the horizontal axis wind turbine. Furthermore, more power can be generated from March to May.

This paper discusses the result of the exergy efficiency analysis of direct-drive wind turbines by obtaining the exergy loss and destruction characteristics as well as the law of influence of every...

In this study, we aimed to explore correlations among stride characteristics, time records, and bonus amounts to identify relevant indices for evaluating racing abilities of 2-year-old Yili horses. In total, 41 and 26 Yili horses were enrolled in the 1600 and 3600 m races, respectively. This experiment was performed by measuring their stride characteristics using a high-speed video and collecting time records during the competition and the bonus amounts. The results showed that the 2-year-old Yili horses' stride length (SL), stride frequency (SF), middle SL (mid SL), hind limb SL (hind SL), forelimb SL (fore SL), aerial duration SL (AD SL), stride angle, and advanced placement (AP) between the leading hind limb and trailing forelimb (AP LH-TF) were significantly and positively correlated with the bonus (P.01). The bonus group had significantly higher values for these variables than the nonbonus group (P.05); the stance duration and the overlap between LH and TF (overlap LH-TF) were negatively correlated with the bonus (P.01), and the bonus group had a significantly lower overlap LH-TF value than the non-bonus group (P.01). These findings indicated that 2-year-old Yili horses with greater SL, SF, mid SL, fore SL, AD SL, and stride angle values have better racing abilities. Likewise, smaller stance and overlap LH-TF values correspond to better horse racing abilities. The swing trailing hind limb, mid SL, AP LH-TF, and SF were filtrated by stepwise regression analysis as the primary indices for evaluating the racing ability of 2-year-old Yili horses.

The sarcomeric protein α-actinin-3, which is encoded by the ACTN3 gene, interacts with multiple proteins involved in structure, muscle metabolism, and signaling. α-Actinin-3 deficiency caused by a knockout or mutation of the terminator sequence of the ACTN3 gene leads to a change in muscle phenotype from fast-twitch fibers to slow-twitch fibers, resulting in enhanced aerobic metabolic energy, decreased calcium sensitivity, and degraded sprint and power performance. In this study, the single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the equine ACTN3 gene in Yili horses (n = 38) were detected and sequenced. Comparison of the obtained equine ACTN3 sequences with those in GenBank identified 15 SNPs, with one located in the promoter, eight located in exons, and six located in introns. All eight exonic SNPs, except for the missense mutation g.9059T>G, were synonymous. The g.9059T>G mutation lead to an increase in the free energy of the thermodynamic ensemble of the equine ACTN3 mRNA from −1157.84 to −1157.35 kcal/mol and changed the secondary structure of α-actinin-3, which may affect its function. We hypothesized that g.9059T>G might affect athletic performance and may be a candidate SNP for racehorse breeding.

With the surge of newly diagnosed and severe cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the death toll is mounting, this study is aimed to explore the prognostic factors of severe COVID-19. This retrospective study included 122 inpatients diagnosed with COVID-19 from January 13 to February 25, 2020. Univariate and multivariate analysis were used to identity the risk factors, receiver operating characteristics curve (ROC) analysis was used for risk stratification. The baseline neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) (OR = 1.171, 95%CI = 1.049–1.306, P = .005) and Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) (OR = 1.007, 95%CI = 1.002–1.011, P = .004) were identified as the independent risk factors for severe COVID-19 conditions, and the NLR-LDH grading system was developed to perform risk stratification. The baseline C-reactive protein (CRP) (OR = 1.019, 95%CI = 1.004–1.306, P = .016) and B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) (OR = 1.018, 95%CI = 1.004–1.035, P = .007) were identified as the independent predictors for disease progression of severe patients. Accordingly, The NLR-LDH grading system was a useful prognostic tool for the early detection of severe COVID-19. And in the severe patients, CRP and BNP seemed to be helpful for predicting the disease progression or death.