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The present study mimicked daily life exposure to plastic food package bags and evaluated its effects on the reproductive and neurobehavioral responses using zebrafish model. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometer (GC/MS) full scan analysis revealed that phthalic acid, isobutyl octyl ester (DEHP) and its metabolites were the main leachate from plastic bags. Our results demonstrated that during the eight weeks exposure, leaching from plastic bags treated with boiling water (P-high group) significantly affected the spawn egg production, embryo hatching and larval malformation rate. Cross-spawning trails between zebrafish collected from the controls and P-high group at the end of eight weeks showed that these adverse effects were more severe in the offspring derived from paternal exposure than those derived from the maternal exposure, suggesting leached chemicals may have a more pronounced effect in sperm than in eggs. In addition, P-high group male testis weight, sperm motility and sperm swimming velocities were decreased significantly. After eight weeks treatment, neurobehavioral tests demonstrated significant changes in the swimming speed during free swimming and light-dark stimulation in the adult zebrafish from P-high group, with the effects being more severe in the males than females. P-high group males also showed altered response in the light/dark explore and mirror attacks assays.

Background: Colon cancer is an aggressive and heterogeneous disease associated with high morbidity and mortality. The immune system is intimately involved in tumorigenesis and can influence malignant properties at the protein, epigenetic, and even genomic levels by shaping the tumor immune microenvironment (TIM). However, immune-related molecules that can effectively predict the prognosis of colon cancer remain under exploration.Methods: A total of 606 patients from TCGA and GEO databases were employed in our study, in which 429 cases were set as the training cohort and 177 were defined as the validation cohort. The immune infiltration was evaluated by ESTIMATE, TIMER, and CIBERSORT algorithms. The risk signature was constructed by LASSO Cox regression analysis. A nomogram model was generated subsequent to the multivariate Cox proportional hazards analysis to predict 1-, 3-, and 5-year survival of patients with colon cancer.Results: Infiltrating immune cell profiling identified two colon cancer clusters (Immunity_L group and Immunity_H group). The abundances of immune cells were higher in the Immunity_H group, which indicated a better prognosis. Through further statistical analysis, we identified four genes which were highly correlated with prognosis and representative of this gene set, namely ARL4C, SERPINE1, BST2, and AXIN2. When the patients were divided into low- and high-risk groups based on their risk scores, we found that patients in the high-risk group had shorter overall survival time. Moreover, a nomogram including clinicopathologic features and the established risk signature could robustly predict 1-, 3-, and 5-year survival in patients with colon cancer.Conclusion: We identified two distinct immune patterns by analyzing clinical and transcriptomic information from colon cancer patients. A subsequently constructed immune-related gene-based prognostic model as well as a nomogram model can be used to predict the prognosis of colon cancer, thereby guiding risk stratification and treatment regimen development for colon patients.

Exosomes, the small extracellular vesicles, are released by multiple cell types, including tumor cells, and represent a novel avenue for intercellular communication via transferring diverse biomolecules. Recently, microRNAs (miRNAs) were demonstrated to be enclosed in exosomes and therefore was protected from degradation. Such exosomal miRNAs can be transmitted to recipient cells where they could regulate multiple cancer-associated biological processes. Accumulative evidence suggests that exosomal miRNAs serve essential roles in modifying the glioma immune microenvironment and potentially affecting the malignant behaviors and therapeutic responses. As exosomal miRNAs are detectable in almost all kinds of biofluids and correlated with clinicopathological characteristics of glioma, they might be served as promising biomarkers for gliomas. We reviewed the novel findings regarding the biological functions of exosomal miRNAs during glioma pathogenesis and immune regulation. Furthermore, we elaborated on their potential clinical applications as biomarkers in glioma diagnosis, prognosis and treatment response prediction. Finally, we summarized the accessible databases that can be employed for exosome-associated miRNAs identification and functional exploration of cancers, including glioma.

Ovarian cancer (OC) is typically diagnosed at an advanced stage and poses a significant challenge to treatment and recovery. Rencently, Adenosine deaminase RNA-specific B1 (ADARB1), an adenosine-to-inosine (A-to-I) RNA-editing enzyme, has been found to play an essential role in the development of cancer. However, the specific function of ADARB1 in ovarian cancer is still not fully understood. Here, we investigated the effects of ADARB1 on OC biology. By conducting bioinformatics analyses of several public databases, we found significantly decreased ADARB1 expression in OC cells and tissues. Moreover, RT-PCR and western blot showed lower ADARB1 expression in OVCAR3, HO8910pm and A2780 OC cells compared to human normal ovarian epithelial cell IOSE. Cell proliferation assay and clone formation assay showed that overexpression of ADARB1 (ADARB1-OE) inhibited the proliferation of tumor cells. Wound healing and transwell assay indicated that ADARB1-OE could suppress OC cell invasion and metastasis. Kaplan-Meier methods revealed that the patients with low level of ADARB1 displayed poor prognosis. TISIDB databases were further used to analyze the roles of ADARB1 in tumor-immune system interactions in OC patients. Furthermore, ADARB1-OE down-regulated the expression of phosphorylated AKT. Combination of ADARB1-OE and AKT inhibitor MK2206 exerted stronger cell growth inhibition. Thus, our investigation demonstrated that low levels of ADARB1 might be a potential target in the tumorigenesis and prognostic evaluation of OC patients.

Ferroptosis, a distinct type of regulated cell death, has been reported to be involved in the tumorigenesis of liver hepatocellular carcinoma (LIHC). However, the precise functions and potential mechanisms of ferroptosis in LIHC were still poorly understood. Herein, we investigated the biological roles of ferroptosis-related gene STEAP3 in LIHC. STEAP3 was previously proved to serve a key regulator in ferroptosis via mediating the iron metabolism. Comprehensive bioinformatics from several databases revealed that STEAP3 was significantly downregulated in LIHC tissues and exhibited the favorable prognostic significance in LIHC patients. The downregulated STEAP3 was further confirmed in two LIHC cells Huh7 and MHCC97H using real-time PCR and western blot. And STEAP3 overexpression significantly inhibited the cell proliferation in Huh7 and MHCC97H cells. In addition, clinical data identified the relationship between STEAP3 expression and several clinicopathological parameters of LIHC patients, including histologic grade, alpha fetal protein (AFP) concentration, etc. Receiver operation characteristic (ROC) curve revealed STEAP3 as a potential diagnostic biomarker for LIHC patients. Moreover, the co-expression network of STEAP3 was explored to gain a better insight into its underlying signaling pathways. Finally, aberrant STEAP3 might participate in varieties of immune-associated signatures in LIHC pathogenesis, including immunostimulators, immunoinhibitors, chemokines, and chemokine receptors. Taken together, these findings could enhance our knowledge regarding the inhibitory roles and underlying biological significance of STEAP3 in LIHC tumorigenesis.

Nano drug delivery systems have attracted much research and clinical interest but they remain challenging with respect to developing controllable, nontoxic, biocompatible and biodegradable nanocarriers. Herein, we report the first pH- and glutathione (GSH)-responsive diphenylalanine (FF)-based hybrid spheres using natural alginate dialdehyde (ADA) as the cross-linker to induce self-assembly of FF and an in situ reducer of Au3+ ions into Au nanoparticles (Au NPs). Not only is the synthesis simple and high-yielding, but also these biocompatible hybrid spheres can encapsulate more than 95% of hydrophobic drug (camptothecin, CPT). Moreover, the CPT-loaded carriers are stable under normal physiological environments, and have excellent pH- and GSH-responsive release at pH 5.0 with 10 mM GSH, which is similar to the tumor microenvironment. Also, these nanocarriers can be taken up by cancer cells and have greater cytotoxicity than free drugs. These attributes make nanospheres very promising for drug loading and delivery, and the method may be used for synthesis of other natural nanospheres as delivery systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ferroptosis is an iron-dependent cell death process that plays important regulatory roles in the occurrence and development of cancers, including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Moreover, the molecular events surrounding aberrantly expressed long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) that drive HCC initiation and progression have attracted increasing attention. However, research on ferroptosis-related lncRNA prognostic signature in patients with HCC is still lacking. In this study, the association between differentially expressed lncRNAs and ferroptosis-related genes, in 374 HCC and 50 normal hepatic samples obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), was evaluated using Pearson’s test, thereby identifying 24 ferroptosis-related differentially expressed lncRNAs. The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) algorithm and Cox regression model were used to construct and validate a prognostic risk score model from both TCGA training dataset and GEO testing dataset (GSE40144). A nine-lncRNA-based signature (CTD-2033A16.3, CTD-2116N20.1, CTD-2510F5.4, DDX11-AS1, LINC00942, LINC01224, LINC01231, LINC01508, and ZFPM2-AS1) was identified as the ferroptosis-related prognostic model for HCC, independent of multiple clinicopathological parameters. In addition, the HCC patients were divided into high-risk and low-risk groups according to the nine-lncRNA prognostic signature. The gene set enrichment analysis enrichment analysis revealed that the lncRNA-based signature might regulate the HCC immune microenvironment by interfering with tumor necrosis factor α/nuclear factor kappa-B, interleukin 2/signal transducers and activators of transcription 5, and cytokine/cytokine receptor signaling pathways. The infiltrating immune cell subtypes, such as resting memory CD4(+) T cells, follicular helper T cells, regulatory T cells, and M0 macrophages, were all significantly different between the high-risk group and the low-risk group as indicated in Spearman’s correlation analysis. Moreover, a substantial increase in the expression of B7H3 immune checkpoint molecule was found in the high-risk group. Our findings provided a promising insight into ferroptosis-related lncRNAs in HCC and a personalized prediction tool for prognosis and immune responses in patients.

Ovarian cancer is a significant clinical challenge as no effective treatments are available to enhance patient survival. Recently, N6-methyladenosine (m6A) RNA modification has been demonstrated to play a pivotal role in tumorigenesis and progression. However, the roles of m6A target genes in ovarian cancer haven’t been clearly illustrated. In this study, we presented a comprehensive bioinformatics and in vitro analysis to evaluate the roles of m6A target genes. Cell division cycle 42 effector protein 3 (CDC42EP3), one probable m6A target gene, was identified to be down-regulated in ovarian cancer tissues and cells. Meanwhile, quantitative PCR (qPCR) and western blot were used to confirm the down-regulated CDC42EP3 in ovarian cancer cells A2780 and TOV112D. The biological function of CDC42EP3 in ovarian cancer was further validated with several algorithms, such as PrognoScan, K-M plotter, LinkedOmics and TISIDB. These findings indicated that lower expression of CDC42EP3 was correlated with poor prognosis in patients with ovarian cancer. In addition, CDC42EP3 expression was significantly associated with a diverse range of tumor-infiltrating immune cells, including natural killer cells (NK), T central memory cells (Tcm), T gamma delta cells (Tgd), etc. Taken together, this study uncovered the potential roles of m6A target gene CDC42EP3 in the regulation of immune microenvironment in the ovarian cancer, and identified CDC42EP3 as a novel prognostic target.

Organic solar cells (OSCs) are a kind of device that can convert light energy into electrical energy, they possess the advantages of being lightweight, flexible, processable printing, and large-area production, and they are an effective way to alleviate energy deficiency and environmental pollution [...]

Neurological manifestations of primary Sjögren's syndrome (SS) are diverse involving the peripheral and central nervous system. Anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) encephalitis, as the most prevalent autoimmune encephalitis, was rarely reported to be complicated with primary SS. Herein, we present an elderly patient with a 15-year history of primary SS presenting with progressive cognitive dysfunction due to anti-NMDAR encephalitis that was once misdiagnosed as primary degenerative dementia. Early recognition of anti-NMDAR encephalitis and initiation of treatment with steroids and immunosuppressant gained a favorable outcome. Our findings enhance the awareness that autoimmune encephalitis should be taken into account in the patients with primary SS presenting with progressive cognitive impairment.

Transport properties and current-voltage (I-V) characteristics for the Fe1.01Te0.62Se0.38 single crystal were measured under dc magnetic field up to 14 T. The temperature dependence of resistivity (?-T) displayed major differences when magnetic fields were applied along and perpendicular to the c-axis, respectively, which distinguishes Fe1.01Te0.62Se0.38 from the isotropic ß-FeSe. Strong evidence of the existence of vortex-glass transition was provided by both the tail behavior in the ?-T curves and successful vortex-glass scaling of the I-V isotherms, implying excellent sustainability under high magnetic field and potential application of the superconducting system. In contrast to the typical three-dimensional vortex behavior of the AxFe2-ySe2 superconductors, the Fe1.01Te0.62Se0.38 single crystals displayed quasi two-dimensional vortex behavior. A vortex phase diagram is presented, based on the evolution of the upper critical field and the vortex-glass transition temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Double-perovskite Ba2YMoO6 ceramics were prepared via the solid-state reaction route. Their dielectric properties were investigated as a function of temperature (100 °C≤T≤800 °C) and frequency (300 Hz≤f≤5 MHz). In the temperature below 600 °C, two thermally activated dielectric relaxations can be well identified. The low-temperature relaxation was ascribed to be a dipolar relaxation caused by oxygen vacancy diffusion, and the high-temperature relaxation is found to be a Maxwell-Wagner relaxation due to surface-layer effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this experiment, we established an animal model of gestational diabetes mellitus rats using streptozotocin. Using the rat model of GDM, the pregnant rats in 1-19d were divided into three groups: (1) Zuogui Wan gestational diabetes mellitus group (group I, n= 12), (2) gestational diabetes mellitus rats as the control group (group II, n = 11), and (3) rats of normal pregnancy group (group III, n = 11). Compared with gestational diabetes mellitus rats as the control group, Zuogui Wan can change the indexes of fasting blood glucose, body weight, total cholesterol, insulin, and metabolism cage index significantly in Zuogui Wan gestational diabetes mellitus group. We can conclude that Zuogui Wan has the therapeutic effect on gestational diabetes mellitus [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The coexistence of myasthenia gravis (MG) and primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) is rarely reported. This study aims to describe the clinical features, treatment and outcome of MG coexisting with pSS.Materials and Methods: Herein we reported three cases with the two coexisting diseases, and also searched the PubMed, Medline databases, and China Wanfang databases for the relevant case reports written in English, Chinese, or Japanese with detailed data.Results: We reviewed a total of 17 patients with both diseases. Fifteen patients were female. The median age at onset was 48 years (range 28–78 years). MG was the initial disease in nine of 17 cases. The median interval between the onsets of the two diseases was 30 months (range 7 months to 20 years). The symptoms of MG included fatigable ptosis (64.7%), bulbar symptoms (58.8%), muscle fatigability (64.7%), diplopia (64.7%), dyspnea (23.5%), and facial paralysis (5.9%). Anti-acetylcholine receptor antibody was positive in 70.6% patients. All the patients had sicca symptoms. Manifestations of pSS also included swollen exocrine glands (23.5%), joint pain (23.5%), hair loss (11.8%), leukopenia (11.8%), recurrent oral ulcers (5.9%), Raynaud phenomenon (5.9%), and fever (5.9%). ANA positivity was present in 70.6% patients, anti-SSA positivity in 47.1%, and double positivity of anti-SSA and anti-SSB in 17.6%. There were 12 patients (70.6%) with two autoimmune diseases (pSS and MG), and five patients with more than two autoimmune diseases. Cholinesterase inhibitors were the most commonly prescribed drugs (82.4%). Seven patients received thymectomy and one patient improved after the operation. Two patients were given intravenous methylprednisolone pulse therapy, and four patients oral steroids combined with immunosuppressants initially. Intravenous immunoglobulin and plasma exchange were used in two patients, respectively, for the respiratory failure. All the patients improved following treatment except one patient who died of MG crisis due to medication withdrawal.Conclusion: The coexistence of SS with MG is quite rare. The onset of MG may occur before or after the diagnosis of SS. Co-morbidity with MG does not seem to adversely affect the course of SS. Thus, controlling the progress of MG is the critical aspect of treatment.

The initial bacterial adhesion phase is a pivotal and unstable step in the formation of biofilms. The initiation of biofilm formation is an unstable process caused by the reversible adhesion of bacteria, which is always time-consuming and yet to be elucidated. In this study, impedance-based real time cell analysis (RTCA) was employed to comprehensively investigate the initial bacterial adhesion process. Results showed that the time required for the unstable adhesion process was significantly (p

Initial attachment plays an important role in biofilm formation in wastewater treatment processes. However, the initial attachment process mediated by N-acyl-homoserine lactones (AHLs) is difficult to be fully understood due to the lack of non-invasive and on-line investigation techniques. In this study, the AHL-regulated wastewater biofilm attachment was quantified using ultrasonic time-domain reflectometry (UTDR) as an in-situ and non-invasive monitoring technique. Results demonstrated that the reversible adhesion time in municipal and industrial wastewaters was significantly decreased in the presence of exogenous AHLs. Biofilm thickness in municipal and industrial wastewaters increased significantly with the addition of exogenous AHLs. Also, the addition of acylase delayed the initial biofilm formation (lengthened reversible adhesion time and decreased biofilm thickness and density). Compared with biofilm behavior in the presence of low concentrations of AHLs (4.92 ± 0.17 μg/L), both reversible adhesion time and biofilm thickness were not significantly increased (p > 0.05) with an increase in AHL concentration (9.75 ± 0.41 μg/L). Furthermore, the addition of exogenous AHLs resulted in significant changes in the attached bacterial community structures, in which both QS and quorum-quenching (QQ) bacteria were stimulated. The current work presents an effective approach to in-situ monitoring of the regulation of AHL-mediated QS in the initial attachment of biofilms, especially in the reversible adhesion process, which may provide a potential strategy to facilitate biofilm establishment in wastewater treatment processes. Keywords: UTDR, AHLs, Quorum sensing, Initial biofilm attachment, Reversible adhesion

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0099741.].

Agronomic biofortification of horticultural crops using plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) under crop residue incorporation systems remains largely underexploited. Bacillus subtilis (B1), Bacillus laterosporus (B2), or Bacillus amyloliquefaciens (B3) was inoculated on soil containing chili residue, while chili residue without PGPR (NP) served as the control. Two hybrid long cayenne peppers, succeeding a leaf mustard crop were used in the intensive cultivation study. Net photosynthesis, leaf stomatal conductance, transpiration rate, photosynthetic water use efficiency, shoot and root biomass, and fruit yield were evaluated. Derivatives of folate, minerals, and nitrate contents in the pepper fruits were also assessed. B1 elicited higher net photosynthesis and photosynthetic water use efficiency, while B2 and B3 had higher transpiration rates than B1 and NP. B1 and B3 resulted in 27–36% increase in pepper fruit yield compared to other treatments, whereas B3 produced 24–27.5% and 21.9–27.2% higher 5-methyltetrahydrofolate and total folate contents, respectively, compared to B1 and NP. However, chili residue without PGPR inoculation improved fruit calcium, magnesium, and potassium contents than the inoculated treatments. ‘Xin Xian La 8 F1’ cultivar had higher yield and plant biomass, fruit potassium, total soluble solids, and total folate contents compared to ‘La Gao F1.’ Agronomic biofortification through the synergy of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens and chili residue produced better yield and folate contents with a trade-off in the mineral contents of the greenhouse-grown long cayenne pepper.

Solution–processed organic solar cells (OSC) have been explored widely due to their low cost and convenience, and impressive power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) which have surpassed 18%. In particular, the optimization of film morphology, including the phase separation structure and crystallinity degree of donor and acceptor domains, is crucially important to the improvement in PCE. Considering that the film morphology optimization of many blends can be achieved by regulating the film–forming process, it is necessary to take note of the employment of solvents and additives used during film processing, as well as the film–forming conditions. Herein, we summarize the recent investigations about thin films and expect to give some guidance for its prospective progress. The different film morphologies are discussed in detail to reveal the relationship between the morphology and device performance. Then, the principle of morphology regulating is concluded with. Finally, a future controlling of the film morphology and development is briefly outlined, which may provide some guidance for further optimizing the device performance.

The basic idea of H2-C mixture reduction reflects advantages of hydrogen for fast reaction and low heat absorption in smelting reduction reactor, where hydrogen is used as main reducing agent and carbon as main heat generator on purpose to cut down total energy consumption and CO2 emission. This article aimed at the experimental investigation of optimal carbon/hydrogen ratio, a key parameter of iron oxide reduction with mixture reductive agents of carbon and hydrogen. Experiments were carried out using a pure Al2O3 crucible which was placed in a tubular furnace for high temperature. Two investigation methods were adopted, one was injecting acetylene/hydrogen mixture reducing gas into molten iron oxides and another was blowing hydrogen into iron bath during continuous feeding fine ore mixing solid carbon dust. Parameters such as apparent de-oxidation rate and utilization ratio of reductive agents were calculated from content analysis of exhaust gas after dust removing and drying. In experiments highest total de-oxidation rate and satisfied apparent utilization ratio of hydrogen were obtained under conditions with temperatures of 1823 K and carbon/hydrogen ratio in region from 0.5:1 to 2:1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the risk factors for cognitive impairment in older people with diabetes. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 2626 community-dwelling participants with diabetes aged ⩾55 years, living in Beijing, China. The participants were screened for risk factors, including smoking, obesity, hypertension, stroke, coronary heart disease, dyslipidemia, depression, apolipoprotein E (APOE) genotype, and low physical activity. Cognitive function was assessed with the scholarship-adjusted Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE): MMSE ⩽17 for iliterate participants; MMSE ⩽20 for primary school graduates (⩾6 years of education); and MMSE ⩽24 for junior school graduates or above (⩾9 years of education). Results: The prevalence of cognitive impairment in older people with diabetes was 9.90%. Multiple logistic regression analysis demonstrated that stroke [odds ratio (OR) = 1.71, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.20–2.43], less than 0.5 h exercise per day (OR = 1.89, 95% CI = 1.37–2.61), and depression (OR = 1.64, 95% CI = 1.06–2.54), but not smoking, obesity, hypertension, dyslipidemia, and coronary heart disease, were independent risks for cognitive impairment in older people with diabetes. In addition, being married (OR = 0.66, 95% CI = 0.47–0.93) and urban living (OR = 0.33, 95% CI = 0.22–0.48) could decrease the risk of cognitive impairment. Conclusions: Stroke, depression, and less than 0.5 h exercise per day were independent risks for cognitive impairment in older people with diabetes, whereas being married and urban living were protective.

Chloroplast formation is associated with embryo development and seedling growth. However, the relationship between chloroplast differentiation and embryo development remains unclear. Five FtsHi genes that encode proteins with high similarity to FtsH proteins, but lack Zn2+-binding motifs, are present in the Arabidopsis genome. In this study, we showed that T-DNA insertion mutations in the Arabidopsis FtsHi4 gene resulted in embryo arrest at the globular-to-heart-shaped transition stage. Transmission electron microscopic analyses revealed abnormal plastid differentiation with a severe defect in thylakoid formation in the mutant embryos. Immunocytological studies demonstrated that FtsHi4 localized in chloroplasts as a thylakoid membrane-associated protein, supporting its essential role in thylakoid membrane formation. We further showed that FtsHi4 forms protein complexes, and that there was a significant reduction in the accumulation of D2 and PsbO (two photosystem II proteins) in mutant ovules. The role of FtsHi4 in chloroplast development was confirmed using an RNA-interfering approach. Additionally, mutations in other FtsHi genes including FtsHi1, FtsHi2, and FtsHi5 caused phenotypic abnormalities similar to ftshi4 with respect to plastid differentiation during embryogenesis. Taken together, our data suggest that FtsHi4, together with FtsHi1, FtsHi2, and FtsHi5 are essential for chloroplast development in Arabidopsis.

The transport property () and flux motion together with the superconductivity of Fe Se2 single crystals are studied. In the transport measurement, contrasting behavior is observed under two different magnetic field orientations, i.e., and , which is ascribed to different vortex configurations. In the flux motion study, the tail of the well fits the description of the vortex-glass (VG) critical behavior, which is confirmed by VG scaling. The strong pinning nature of FeSe2 implies great sustainability under high magnetic fields and the potential for practical application of the system. The relation under Tc follows Arrhenius thermally activated flux flow (TAFF) behavior. The existence of a crossover behavior in a magnetic field is discovered via the magnetic dependence of the effective pinning barrier, which is related to the change in pinning strength of the point defects and the entanglements of the flux lines. Finally, a vortex phase diagram is proposed based on the evolution of upper critical field and other dynamic characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An efficient surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrate has been developed based on highly ordered arrays of graphene-isolated Ag nanodot (G/AgND) arrays. By combining the plasmonic activity of AgND arrays and unique physical/chemical properties of graphene, the G/AgND arrays show high performance in terms of sensitivity, signal-to-noise ratio and reproducibility. The SERS signals of R6G are clearly detected even at very low concentration of 10−11M. The maximum deviations of SERS intensities from 20 positions of the SERS substrate are less than 5%. The G/AgND arrays were employed for detection of human urinary nucleosides. The diagnostic algorithms based on principal component analysis achieved a diagnostic sensitivity of 91.1% and specificity of 93.3% for separating cancer from normal samples. This work demonstrates that G/AgND arrays used in Raman spectroscopy could be developed as a smart and promising system for detection and screening of cancers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The number of ion channels expressed on the cell surface shapes the complex electrical response of excitable cells. Maintaining a balance between anterograde and retrograde trafficking of channel proteins is vital in regulating steady-state cell surface expression. Kv1.5 is an important voltage-gated K+ channel in the cardiovascular system underlying the ultra-rapid rectifying potassium current (Ikur), a major repolarizing current in atrial myocytes, and regulating the resting membrane potential and excitability of smooth muscle cells. Defects in the expression of Kv1.5 are associated with pathological states such as chronic atrial fibrillation and hypoxic pulmonary hypertension. There is, thus, substantial interest in understanding the mechanisms regulating cell surface channel levels. Here, we investigated the internalization and recycling of Kv1.5 in the HL-1 immortalized mouse atrial myocytes. Kinetic studies indicate that Kv1.5 is rapidly internalized to a perinuclear region where it co-localizes with the early endosomal marker, EEA1. Importantly, we identified that a population of Kv1.5, originating on the cell surface, internalized and recycled back to the plasma membrane. Notably, Kv1.5 recycling processes are driven by specific Rab-dependent endosomal compartments. Thus, co-expression of GDP-locked Rab4S22N and Rab11S25N dominant-negative mutants decreased the steady-state Kv1.5 surface levels, whereas GTPase-deficient Rab4Q67L and Rab11Q7OL mutants increased steady-state Kv1.5 surface levels. These data reveal an unexpected dynamic trafficking of Kv1.5 at the myocyte plasma membrane and demonstrate a role for recycling in the maintenance of steady-state ion channel surface levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gd0.5Na0.5TiO3 ceramic samples were prepared by the solid-state reaction method. Incipient ferroelectricity was confirmed in the sample. Dielectric properties were investigated at temperatures from room temperature to 1073 K and the frequency range of 20 Hz-10 MHz. By means of electric modulus and impedance analysis, the sample was found to show two thermally activated relaxations with the high-frequency (low-temperature) one being the relaxation caused by hopping motion of oxygen vacancies and the low-frequency (high-temperature) one being the interfacial relaxation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate sub-health status of neonates in Heping Street Region and related risk factors. Then, 7436 maternal women admitted to hospital in Heping Street Region, Beijing were enrolled from October 2013 to September 2015, including 293 women, who gave birth to sub-health neonates. Questionnaire survey was conducted to collect maternal age, education degree, experiences and income, occupation, life habit, condition in pregnancy, condition in perinatal period, adverse reaction in pregnancy, etc. Finally, 281 effective questionnaires were regained with effective regain rate of 95.90%. Compared with the occurrence rate of sub-health neonates between local population and floating population, correlation analysis and multi-factor Logistic regression analysis were conducted on the influence factors of sub-health neonates. The occurrence rate of sub-health neonates among floating population is higher than that among local population (1.10% (59/2641) V.S. 4.88% (234/4795)) with significant difference (P<0.05). Correlation analysis showed that the differences in mother's age, family income, education degree, harmful factors in contact environment, prenatal care, history of adverse pregnancy, unhealthy metal factor, gestational diabetes, diseases history in pregnancy, drug history in pregnancy, sexually transmitted disease, pregnancy hypertension, premature rupture of fetal membranes, and circular of umbilical cord performed statistical significance (P<0.05). Moreover, mother's age, premature rupture of fetal membranes, disease history in pregnancy, drug history in pregnancy and pregnancy hypertension are the influence factors for the risk of sub-health neonates, while high family income and healthcare in pregnancy are protective factors from the risk of sub-health neonates. All of these differences showed statistical significance (P<0.05). The occurrence of sub-health neonates among floating population is higher than that among local population. Mother's age, premature rupture of fetal membranes, disease history in pregnancy, drug history in pregnancy, and pregnancy hypertension are major risk factors of sub-health neonates. Therefore, these results help us to take corresponding measures to improve the quality of newly-born population.