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Platinum-based (especially cisplatin) chemotherapy is the main treatment after surgery for ovarian cancer. Although the initial treatment is effective, chemotherapy resistance develops rapidly. Therefore, chemotherapy resistance has always been a huge obstacle in the treatment of ovarian cancer. Staphylococcal nuclease domain-containing protein 1 (SND1) is an evolutionarily conserved multifunctional protein that plays a role in promoting tumorigenesis under various stress states. In this study, using MTT and SKOV3 ovarian cancer cells deficient in SND1 were observed to be more apoptotic and to express more apoptotic protein after treatment with cisplatin through the MTT, clone formation, and flow cytometry assays, while cells overexpressing SND1 exhibited a decreased number of apoptotic cells and expression of apoptotic proteins. Moreover, SND1 can regulate the expression of Growth arrest-specific 6 (GAS6) and then activate the AKT signaling pathway to achieve the regulation of sensitivity to cisplatin-induced apoptosis in ovarian cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Preterm birth (PTB) has been associated with exposure to air pollution, but it is unclear whether effects might vary among air pollution sources in a valley city, and yet few studies have investigated refined susceptible windows for PTB. We performed a retrospective birth cohort study in Yan'an city, a typical valley city in the west of China, and analyze the effects of air pollutants on premature delivery, identify critical windows for maternal air pollutants exposure and PTB. The pregnant women who gave birth in the Affiliated Hospital of Yan'an University and Yan'an people's Hospital from January 1, 2018 to December 31, 2019 were selected as the research objects. A questionnaire survey and medical records were conducted. The daily average concentrations of particulate matter with aerodynamic diameters of ≤ 2.5 μm (PM2.5) and ≤ 10 μm (PM10), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2) and ozone (O3) in Yan'an City from January 1, 2017 to December 31, 2019 were collected. After controlling the confounding factors of PTB by logistic regression model, the effect of air pollutants on preterm birth was analyzed. After controlling the confounding factors such as maternal age, gestational times and gestational hypertension syndrome, PTB was associated with exposure to third trimester PM10 (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 1.019, 95% confidence interval [95%CI] = 1.004–1.035). PTB risk increased with second trimester exposure to SO2 (aOR = 1.039, CI = 1.011–1.068), also with third trimester (aOR = 1.031, CI = 1.010–1.053). PTB was also associated with third trimester O3 (aOR = 1.023, CI = 1.005–1.041). This study indicates that maternal exposure to PM10, SO2 and O3 might lead to increased risk of PTB, and critical exposure windows were inconsistent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To be more suitable for trace Pb2+ detection in real aqueous environments, a pH/temperature dual stimulation-responsive hydrogel-functionalized U-shaped optical fiber sensor was proposed. The hydrogels were designed and prepared with 1-Vinylimidazole (VIM), Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (NIPAM), and trimethylolpropane trimethacrylate (TMPTMA) as functional copolymer monomers using photoinitiated radical polymerization. The PNIPAM network endowed the hydrogels with thermal sensitivity, and the controlled capture and desorption of Pb2+ was achieved by adjusting the temperature, while the presence of VIM monomer provided the possibility of H+ desorption. The interior of the hydrogel exhibits a highly dense porous mesh structure, which provides abundant binding sites for Pb2+ detection. The sensitivity of the sensor was 0.0438 nm/ppb over the concentration range of 0–200 ppb and demonstrated a limit of detection of 1.44 ppb. After five repeated regeneration cycles, the sensor still exhibited excellent affinity and regeneration ability for Pb2+. Besides, the sensor has excellent selectivity and the presence of other interfering ions has a negligible effect on the accuracy of Pb2+ detection. The designed dual stimulus-responsive hydrogel functionalized sensor is cost-effective and energy-saving, which makes it promising for applications in the identification and determination of trace Pb2+ in complex aqueous environments. [Display omitted] • A pH/temperature dual responsive hydrogel with specific adsorption of Pb2 + was synthesized. • Controllable capture/release of Pb2 + by switching temperatures and pH. • The sensitivity and limit of detection are 0.0438 nm/ppb and 1.44 ppb. • The sensor is highly specific for Pb2 + and unaffected by many other interfering ions. • Applicability for Pb2 + detection in aqueous environment by hydrogel-based optical fiber sensor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Trace Hg2+ detection was achieved with a novel PVA-MPTMS-coated optical fiber sensor. • The sensitivity of the sensor can reach 17.5 nm/μM in the concentration range of 0–1000 nM. • The LOD of the sensor is 3.42 nM, which is lower than the WHO standard for drinking water. • The response time of this sensor is as rapid as 90 s. • Specific adsorption mechanism of Hg2+ based on density functional theory. A highly sensitive, selective, and well-repeatable optical fiber sensor was proposed for trace measurement of Hg2+ concentration in the water environment based on Mach-Zehnder interference. The proposed structure was prepared by splicing a piece of thin core fiber (TCF) between multimode fibers (MMF) to form MMF-TCF-MMF. A novel sensitive film 3-mercaptopropyl-trimethoxysilane (MPTMS) modified polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) has been designed and synthesized, and uniformly coated on the surface of TCF. The specific combination of Hg2+ with PVA-MPTMS sensitive film can change the effective refractive index of the coating mode, enabling the measurement of Hg2+ concentration by tracking the interference spectra. The results show that the sensitivity of the PVA-MPTMS-coated sensor can achieve 17.5 nm/μM with a detection limit of 3.42 nM in the concentration range of 0–1000 nM. The sensor represents excellent repeatability and stability and a rapid response time of roughly 90 s. Meanwhile, the proposed sensor shows a specific recognition of Hg2+ and is unaffected by many other interfering metal ions in the water, which corresponds well with the binding energy calculated by the density functional theory (DFT). The sensor for Hg2+ detection exhibits compact structure, rapid response, high selectivity and repeatability, showing promising potential applications in the field of environmental monitoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We utilized the metals complexation capacity of carboxymethyl chitosan (CMCS) to prepare CMCS/CeO 2 &Ca nanowires. The nanowires improved the efficacy of radio-immunotherapy for tumor and minimized the side effects of X-rays exposure on intestine, owing to the different regulation of the radio-sensitivity/macrophage polarization in intestinal tissue and colorectal cancer, providing a guarantee for the successful implementation of the subsequent surgery of colorectal cancer. [Display omitted] • CMCS/CeO 2 &Ca enhanced the X-rays-caused ROS production and the macrophage polarization to M1-type in colorectal cancer, realizing the radio-immune sensitization therapy of tumor. • CMCS/CeO 2 &Ca decreased the X-rays-caused ROS generation/M1 macrophage polarization and enhanced the number of stem cells in intestinal tissues, realizing the radiation protection of intestinal tissue. • In the orthotopic colorectal cancer model, CMCS/CeO 2 &Ca nano-enema simultaneously improved the effect of tumor radiotherapy and intestinal tissue protection, optimizing preoperative preparation for colorectal cancer. Surgery is the preferred treatment for colorectal cancer, and the preoperative radiotherapy (pre-RT) improves surgical success and postoperative quality of life for patients. However, the therapeutic effect of pre-RT is limited by radiation resistance of tumor and radiation susceptibility of intestine, probably resulting in poor tumor suppression and postoperative anastomotic injury. Herein, we select carboxymethyl chitosan (CMCS) to complex with cerium oxide (CeO 2) and calcium ion (Ca2+), obtaining CMCS/CeO 2 &Ca nano-enema for the optimized pre-RT of colorectal cancer. CMCS/CeO 2 and CMCS/CeO 2 &Ca can mop up various kinds of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and decomposes H 2 O 2 that largely exists in tumor tissue into OH and oxygen (some OH in acidic environment and main oxygen in neutral environment), enhancing free radical clearance in normal tissue and radiation sensitivity of tumor. Meanwhile, RT-induced M1 macrophage in intestinal tissue and the proportion of M2 macrophages in X-rays-treated tumor could be reduced, owing to CMCS/CeO 2 &Ca-induced change of ROS level. Moreover, CMCS/CeO 2 &Ca could also promote the proliferation of stem cells in intestine. Therefore, CMCS/CeO 2 &Ca improves the radio-immunotherapy outcome of colorectal cancer and reduces RT-induced intestinal inflammation/fibrosis, providing an optimal scheme and an effective enema for pre-RT for colorectal cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Ethanol-type AD enhanced methane production by 1.2–14.8 times. • Ethanol-type AD increased maximum organic loading rate to 6.0 gCOD/L/d. • The gene for e-pili was highly expressed in ethanol-type AD. • Syntrophic metabolism was enhanced between Syntropacetus and Methanobacterium. • Ethanol-type AD stimulated the DIET and IHT process. Ethanol pre-fermentation of food waste effectively alleviates acidification; however, its effects on interspecies electron transfer remain unknown. This study configured the feed according to COD ratios of ethanol: sodium acetate: sodium propionate: sodium butyrate of 5:2:1.5:1.5 (ethanol-type anaerobic digestion) and 0:5:2.5:2.5 (control), and conducted semi-continuous anaerobic digestion (AD) experiments. The results showed that ethanol-type AD increased maximum tolerable organic loading rate (OLR) to 6.0 gCOD/L/d, and increased the methane production by 1.2–14.8 times compared to the control at OLRs of 1.0–5.0 gCOD/L/d. The abundance of the pilA gene, which was associated with direct interspecies electron transfer (DIET), increased by 5.6 times during ethanol-type AD. Hydrogenase genes related to interspecies hydrogen transfer (IHT), including hydA-B , hoxH-Y , hnd , ech , and ehb , were upregulated during ethanol-type AD. Ethanol-type AD improved methanogenic performance and enhanced microbial metabolism by stimulating DIET and IHT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The sensor exhibits a sensitivity of 26.3 pm/με in the strain range of 0–300 με. • The CNN-based technique can effectively extract the data information in the spectral. • The strain range that can be measured is greatly enlarged to 0–2000 με. • Temperature crosstalk can be solved by tracking different interference dips. A balloon-type optical fiber sensor (OFS) for strain measurement was proposed, and the measurement range was significantly increased with the assistance of convolutional neural networks (CNN). The presented OFS was prepared by bending a Mach-Zehnder structure based on polarization-maintaining fibers into a balloon-type, which exhibits a sensitivity of 26.3 pm/με under the strain range from 0 to 300 με. The CNN-based signal analysis method can effectively extract the data information in the spectral, and the strain range that can be measured is greatly enlarged to 0–2000 με, while the accuracy of the measurement can be guaranteed. Further, the temperature sensitivity of the OFS is −0.0252 nm/°C; the lower temperature sensitivity can effectively suppress the crosstalk problem caused by temperature changes during strain measurement. The proposed method remarkably increases the strain measurement range of OFS, which is conducive to the application and development of OFSs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The C797S mutation of EGFR leads to Osimertinib resistance by blocking the covalent binding of Cys797. To develop new agents that can overcome EGFR mutation resistance, thirty seven new cyclopropane sulfonamide derivatives were synthesized and evaluated as EGFRL858R/T790M/C797S or EGFRDel19/T790M/C797S inhibitors by structure-based screening. Most of the synthesized compounds exhibit good to excellent anti proliferation activity against to BaF3-EGFR L858R/T790M/C797S and BaF3–C797S/Del19/T790M cancer cell lines. Representative compounds 8l showed inhibitory activity against the two cancer cell lines with the IC 50 values of 0.0012 and 0.0013 μM, respectively. Another compound 8h , exhibited slightly lower activity (0.0042 and 0.0034 μM of the IC 50 values) to both of the two tri-mutation cell lines, but excellent activities against H1975 and PC9 cells with IC 50 values of 13 and 19 nM, respectively. Considering the acquired drug resistance of tumors is a gradual process, we chose 8h for further in vivo and mechanism study. 8h was demonstrated significantly inhibited tumor growth with 72.1 % of the TGI in the BaF3/EGFR-TM xenograft tumor model and 83.5 % in the H1975-DM xenograft tumor model. Compound 8h was confirmed to be safe with no significant side effects as showed by the results of in vitro assay of human normal cells and the sections of animals major organs. Mechanism studies showed that in addition to inhibiting EGFR mutations, 8h can also target the tumor microenvironment and induce tumor cell apoptosis. All these results indicate that 8h deserves further investigation as an EGFR inhibitor to overcome C797S-mediated resistance. [Display omitted] • Thirty seven new cyclopropane sulfonamide derivatives were synthesized and evaluated as EGFR-trimutation inhibitors. • Optimal compound 8h exhibited 4.2 and 3.4 nM of the IC 50 values to two tri-mutation cell lines. • 8h exhibited 13 and 19 nM of the IC 50 values against H1975 and PC9 cells. • 8h exhibited 72.1 % of TGI in BaF3/EGFR-TM model, and 83.5 % in H1975-DM model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]