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In various fields such as healthcare and transportation, accurately classifying time series data can provide important support for decision-making. To further improve the accuracy of time series classification, we propose a Feature-fused Residual Network based on Multi-scale Signed Recurrence Plot (MSRP-FFRN). This method transforms one-dimensional time series into two-dimensional images, representing the temporal correlation of time series in a two-dimensional space and revealing hidden details within the data. To enhance these details further, we extract multi-scale features by setting receptive fields of different sizes and using adaptive network depths, which improves image quality. To evaluate the performance of this method, we conducted experiments on 43 UCR datasets and compared it with nine state-of-the-art baseline methods. The experimental results show that MSRP-FFRN ranks first on critical difference diagram, achieving the highest accuracy on 18 datasets with an average accuracy of 89.9%, making it the best-performing method overall. Additionally, the effectiveness of this method is further validated through metrics such as Precision, Recall, and F1 score. Results from ablation experiments also highlight the efficacy of the improvements made by MSRP-FFRN.

Echovirus 11 (E11) has gained attention owing to its association with severe neonatal infections. From 2018 to 2023, a surge in severe neonatal cases and fatalities linked to a novel variant of genotype D5 was documented in China, France, and Italy. However, the prevention and control of E11 variants have been hampered by limited background data on the virus circulation and genetic variance. Therefore, the present study investigated the circulating dynamics of E11 and the genetic variation and molecular evolution of genotype D5 through the collection of strains from the national acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) and hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) surveillance system in China during 2000–2022 and genetic sequences published in the GenBank database. The results of this study revealed a prevalent dynamic of E11 circulation, with D5 being the predominant genotype worldwide. Further phylogenetic analysis of genotype D5 indicated that it could be subdivided into three important geographic clusters (D5-CHN1: 2014–2019, D5-CHN2: 2016–2022, and D5-EUR: 2022–2023). Additionally, variant-specific (144) amino acid mutation sites and positive-selection pressure sites (132, 262) were identified in the VP1 region. Cluster-specific recombination patterns were also identified, with CVB5, E6, and CVB4 as the major recombinant viruses. These findings provide a preliminary landscape of E11 circulation worldwide and basic scientific data for further study of the pathogenicity of E11 variants.

Network virtualization can effectively establish dedicated virtual networks to implement various network functions. However, the existing research works have some shortcomings, for example, although computing resource properties of individual nodes are considered, node storage properties and the network topology properties are usually ignored in Virtual Network (VN) modelling, which leads to the inaccurate measurement of node availability and priority. In addition, most static virtual network mapping methods allocate fixed resources to users during the entire life cycle, and the users’ actual resource requirements vary with the workload, which results in resource allocation redundancy. Based on the above analysis, in this paper, we propose a dynamic resource sharing virtual network mapping algorithm named NMA-PRS-VNE, first, we construct a new, more realistic network framework in which the properties of nodes include computing resources, storage resources and topology properties. In the node mapping process, three properties of the node are used to measure its mapping ability. Second, we consider the resources of adjacent nodes and links instead of the traditional method of measuring the availability and priority of nodes by considering only the resource properties, so as to more accurately select the physical mapping nodes that meet the constraints and conditions and improve the success rate of subsequent link mapping. Finally, we divide the resource requirements of Virtual Network Requests (VNRs) into basic sub-requirements and variable sub-variable requirements to complete dynamic resource allocation. The former represents monopolizing resource requirements by the VNRs, while the latter represents shared resources by many VNRs with the probability of occupying resources, where we keep a balance between resource sharing and collision among users by calculating the collision probability. Simulation results show that the proposed NMA-PRS-VNE can increase the average acceptance rate and network revenue by 15% and 38%, and reduce the network cost and link pressure by 25% and 17%.

Time series classification exists in widespread domains such as EEG/ECG classification, device anomaly detection, and speaker authentication. Although many methods have been proposed, efficient selection of intuitive temporal features to accurately classify time series remains challenging. Therefore, this paper presents TSC-RTF, a new time series classification method using random temporal features. First, to ensure the intuitiveness of the features, TSC-RTF selects subsequences containing important data points as candidates for intuitive temporal features. Then, TSC-RTF uses random sampling to reduce the number of candidates significantly. Next, TSC-RTF selects the final temporal features using a random forest to ensure the validity of the final temporal features. Finally, a deep learning classifier is trained by TSC-RTF to achieve high accuracy. The experimental results show that the proposed method can compete with the state-of-the-art methods.

We conducted an annual monthly sampling in the aquaculture areas of Lianjiang and Zhangpu, Fujian province, in the west coast of the Taiwan Strait, to gain insight into the effects of shellfish aquaculture on total phytoplankton biomass and its distribution in phytoplankton size fractions. We observed that the total chlorophyll-a (TChl-a) concentration was higher in Zhangpu (annual mean 2.690 ± 2.375 μg/L) than in Lianjiang (annual mean 1.700 ± 1.500 μg/L) and that Lianjiang had a high N/P ratio during the study, which may have been the main reason for the differences in phytoplankton biomass between the two shellfish aquaculture areas. The response of phytoplankton to shellfish aquaculture was different in the northern versus southern areas. During the aquaculture period of Lianjiang, the TChl-a concentration of surface water was approximately 14% lower than that of bottom water, and such a decreasing trend of Chl-a concentration was consistently present in micro-, nano-, and pico-size fractions. Phytoplankton depletion was not observed during investigation in Zhangpu, which showed highly variable in environmental factors. The contribution of pico-sized Chl-a to TChl-a is evaluated by shellfish aquaculture to some extent in Lianjiang. The shift from the dominance of nano-phytoplankton to the dominance of micro- phytoplankton and pico-phytoplankton was caused mainly by seasonal variation in environmental conditions. In complex marine environments, the distribution of phytoplankton biomass in phytoplankton size fractions showed no significant response to shellfish aquaculture.

To investigate the diurnal variation in phytoplankton biomass and its regulating factors during the diurnal cycle, we conducted in situ observations in June 2018 at three buoy stations, including Douwei Buoy Station, Minjiang Estuary Buoy Station, and Huangqi Buoy Station on the western side of the Taiwan Strait. The calibration of buoy sensor data, including temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, pH, chlorophyll, and phycoerythrin, was conducted simultaneously. In addition, water sampling was conducted to measure chlorophyll a and phycoerythrin concentrations at hourly time intervals. The results showed that the 24 h cumulative chlorophyll a concentration order for the buoys was Minjiang Estuary (10.280 μg/L) > Huangqi (7.411 μg/L) > Douwei (4.124 μg/L). The Minjiang Estuary had a lower nighttime biomass proportion than Douwei and Huangqi. The diurnal variation in phytoplankton was jointly regulated by water masses, tides, and light. There were three response patterns, including the “light trumps tidal influences” pattern at Douwei, the “Low-tide, High-biomass” pattern at Minjiang Estuary, and the “High-tide, High-biomass” pattern at Huangqi. The prediction of algal blooms and hypoxia using buoy monitoring needs to be based on seasonal water mass background and tidal influence.

La Azolla es un helecho acuático que presenta potencialidades, tanto en la alimentación de peces, como en fitorremediación de ambientes acuáticos contaminados. El objetivo del estudio fue evaluar el efecto de la Azolla sp., utilizada como fuente alimenticia, en la longitud y peso de Aequidens rivulatus. La investigación se desarrolló en la finca agrícola “El Cisne” ubicada en la Parroquia Loma de Franco, Cantón Pasaje, Provincia de El Oro, en las coordenadas UTM: 634755.63 m longitud Este y 9630107.73 m de Latitud Sur. El factor de estudio se segmento en tres tratamientos con cuatro repeticiones que fueron distribuidos completamente al azar en estanques de cemento de un metro cuadrado. Los tratamientos fueron: Azolla (T1), 50% de Azolla + 50 % de balanceado (T2), 100% de balanceado (T3). En cada estanque se transfirieron 10 peces (A. rivulatus), los mismos que tuvieron un mes de adaptación para luego aplicarles los tratamientos respectivos. La frecuencia de alimentación fue de dos veces por día. Cada 15 días se efectuaron las mediciones de peso (g) mediante uso de balanza gramera y crecimiento de peces (ictiómetro). Cada ocho días se efectuaron las mediciones de parámetros físicos, químicos, así como también la carga de coliformes fecales. Se concluye que la aplicación de Azolla sola no incrementa la longitud y peso de A. rivulatus, lo que puede estar influenciado por las condiciones climáticas en las que se desarrolló el bioensayo, destacándose los valores de 1,6 ºC menos de temperatura; 0,39 ppm más de salinidad; 0,1 mg/L más de nitratos y 152,1% de incremento en las precipitaciones.

In electronic packaging, Sn-Zn lead-free solder has great application prospects. Sn-9Zn-xBi alloys were obtained by smelting. This paper details a systematic study of the effect of Bi on the microstructure, melting behavior, wettability, mechanical behavior, antioxidant properties, and electrical conductivity of Sn-9Zn-xBi alloy, as well as the interfacial reaction in Sn-9Zn-xBi/Cu joints. The coarse Zn-rich phase became larger with an increase in the addition of Bi, which is harmful to the oxidation resistance of the solders. The melting temperature, solidus temperature, and liquidus temperature decreased with the increase in the addition of Bi, but the melting range increased. Adding a proper amount of Bi could substantially improve the spreading rate of Sn-9Zn, but reduce its oxidation resistance. Because of the solid solution effect of Bi element, the tensile strength of the Sn-9Zn solders could be enhanced, but the plastic and electrical conductivity was decreased. The IMC layer of the Sn-9Zn and Cu joints consisted of the ε-CuZn5 phase and the γ-Cu5Zn8 phase. With an increase in the Bi element, the thickness of the interfacial reaction layer was firstly increased. When the Bi element content exceeded 3 wt.%, the inhibitory effect of the aggregated Bi elements on the formation of IMC was greater than the positive effect of the longer reaction time, and the thickness of the IMC decreased.

Background: Rotavirus (RV), norovirus (NoV), human enteric adenovirus (HAdV), human astrovirus (HAstV), and sapovirus (SaV) are important viral causes of acute gastroenteritis (AGE) in children. However, limited information is available regarding AGE in Yunnan, Southwest China., Methods: To investigate the prevalence of group A rotavirus (RVA), norovirus genogroups I (GI) and II (GII), and HAdV, HAstV, and SaV in children aged <5 years hospitalized with AGE between 2020 and 2022., Results: Stool samples were collected from 612 children hospitalized with AGE. A total of 266 of the 612 children presented with AGE (43.46%; 266/612). RVA was detected in 28.76% (176 of 612) of the children. Rotavirus G9P[8] was the most frequent genotype in 2020 and 2021. In 2022, G8P[8] became the dominant genotype combination circulating in Yunnan Province. The norovirus positivity rate was present in 11.93% (73/612) of the 612 samples. Of the 45 GII successfully sequenced samples, GII.4 was the dominant genotype, accounting for 51.11% (23 of 45), followed by GII.3 [P12] (28.89%; 13 of 45). The positivity rates for SaV, HAstV, and HAdV were 2.94% (18/612), 3.43% (21/612), and 4.74% (29/612), respectively. HAdV-F41 was the predominant genotype and non-enteric HAdV-C2 and HAdV-A12 were also observed in Yunnan. Male children had a higher incidence of AGE than female children upon infection with RV, NoV, and HAdV. The highest incidence of AGE was observed among children aged between 12 and 23 months (62.50%; 120/192), followed by children aged between 24 and 35 months (52.44%; 43/82). The incidence rate of the infection peaked (78.62%; 125/159) in the first 3 months of the year, followed by the next 3 months (66.67%; 70/105)., Conclusions: RV and NoV remained the most important agents causing AGE. RV G8P[8] became the dominant circulating genotype instead of G9P[8] in Yunnan in 2022. The authors suggest that monitoring should be strengthened to prevent outbreaks caused by RV G8P[8]. New vaccines, such as the RV G8P[8] genotype, should be considered., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (© 2025 Li, Qiao, Duan, Li, Jiang, Cun, Zhou, Wang, Zhou and Cao.)

The healing of infected wounds is challenging for patients. In this paper, a hybrid hydrogel with strong tissue adhesion, self-healing, and antibiosis without antibiotics was developed as a dressing to promote the healing of infected chronic wounds. Acrylamide (PAM) was polymerized with N , N -methylene bis(acrylamide) (BIS) as the substrate, and self-assembled nanoparticles of carboxymethyl chitosan and chlorin e6 (CMCS/Ce6 NPs) trapped with magnesium (Mg 2+ ) ions were dispersed in the hydrogel substrate. CMCS/Ce6 NPs provided favorable photodynamic antibiosis via the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) under NIR irradiation. The hybrid hydrogels exhibited excellent self-healing properties, diverse adhesion, and biocompatibility. The in vivo results indicated that the hybrid hydrogel accelerated wound healing significantly via comprehensive factors of photodynamic antibiosis of CMCS/Ce6 NPs, cell proliferation promotion by Mg 2+ , good bioadhesion, and moisture retention of the PAM hydrogel, which promoted collagen deposition and blood vessel maturation.

Echovirus 25 (E25), a member of the Enterovirus B (EV-B) species, can cause aseptic meningitis (AM), viral meningitis (VM), and acute flaccid paralysis (AFP). However, systematic studies on the molecular epidemiology of E25, especially those concerning its evolution and recombination, are lacking. In this study, 18 strains of E25, isolated from seven provinces of China between 2009 and 2018, were collected based on the Chinese hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) surveillance network, and 95 sequences downloaded from GenBank were also screened. Based on the phylogenetic analysis of 113 full-length VP1 sequences worldwide, globally occurring E25 strains were classified into 9 genotypes (A-I), and genotype F was the dominant genotype in the Chinese mainland. The average nucleotide substitution rate of E25 was 6.08 × 10 -3 substitutions/site/year, and six important transmission routes were identified worldwide. Seventeen recombination patterns were determined, of which genotype F can be divided into 9 recombination patterns. A positive selector site was found in the capsid protein region of genotype F. Recombination analysis and pressure selection analysis for genotype F showed multiple recombination patterns and evolution characteristics, which may be responsible for it being the dominant genotype in the Chinese mainland. This study provides a theoretical basis for the subsequent prevention and control of E25., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

The aims of this study were to determine the distribution and prevalence of gastroenteritis caused by human adenovirus (HAdV) in children in Yunnan province, China, in 2015-2021 and to identify preventive measures that can be taken to reduce morbidity and mortality in children.HAdV is a significant agent of diarrhea in children, but limited data are available regarding the epidemiology and genetic diversity of HAdV in children with diarrhea in Yunnan province, China. A total of 1754 fecal samples were subjected to real-time RT-PCR to detect and quantify HAdV. Positive samples were further analyzed using next-generation sequencing (NGS), and epidemiological data were analyzed as well.1754 patients with diarrhea were enrolled, of which 1041 were male and 713 were female (M:F ratio: 1.46). Seventy-two stool samples out of 1754 (4.10%) were positive for HAdV. The detection rates of all age groups varied from 2.50-4.78%. The highest incidence of HAdV was observed in children under 2 years of age, especially in children 12-24 months-old. From 2015-2021, the annual detection rate ranged from 1.62-12.26%. HAdV was detected throughout the year, but with marked seasonality. Children were most likely to be positive for HAdV in June and November. We detected HAdV in 15.53% (16/103) of samples collected in June and in 8.19% (14/171) of those collected in November. The entire viral genome was successfully sequenced for 13 of the 72 HAdV-positive samples, and 76.92% (10/13) of these were classified as genotype F41 and 23.08% (3/13) were classified as genotype C2.ConclusionsIn Yunnan province, children of all ages are susceptible to HAdV infection, but there has been marked variation in the yearly prevalence. The highest rate of HAdV detection was in June, followed by November. Priority should be given to disease prevention over the development of targeted antiviral therapies, and effective vaccines for preventing HAdV diarrhea are needed. It is also important to establish a surveillance system to collect relevant clinical and epidemiological data quickly in order to assess the potential risk of HAdV infection in children and to identify epidemic strains for the development of effective vaccines., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Numerous studies focused on drug discovery perspective have proved the great potential for exploration of marine-derived fungi to seek bioactive chemicals. Yet, marine-derived fungi are less explored compared to their terrestrial counterparts. Here, 181 fungal strains (134 species) isolated from marine algae and sediment in Chinese intertidal zones were screened to reveal bioactivities using brine shrimp, green peach aphid and plant pathogens as targets. Fermentation supernatants of 85 fungal strains exhibited a high lethality (>70%) of brine shrimp at 24 h, and 14 strains appeared to be acute-toxic as featured by more than 75% mortality at 4 h, indicating efficient insecticidal bioactivity. The crude extracts of 34 strains displayed high toxicity to green peach aphid with more than 70% of mortality at 48 h. For the plant pathogens tested, the inhibitory rates of eight fungal strains affiliated with Alternaria (AS3, AS4), Amphichorda (AS7), Aspergillus (AS14), Chaetomium (AS21), Penicillium (AS46), Purpureocillium (AS55) and Trichoderma (AS67) were equal or higher than that of the positive Prochloraz, and five of them (AS7, AS14, AS21, AS55, AS67) were also strongly toxic to brine shrimp or aphid. Our findings indicate broad potential for exploration of marine-derived fungi as candidate resources to pursue bioactive compounds in controlling agricultural pests and pathogens.

Centrally located cytoplasmic granulation (central granulation) is a common cytoplasmic dysmorphism in human oocytes retrieved after controlled ovarian hyperstimulation (COH). In order to achieve a better understanding of its formation and effects on clinical outcomes, we retrospectively analyzed 422 ICSI treatment cycles. Three groups of patients were classified according to the ratio of central granulation occurrence in one egg cohort, as partial granulation, all granulation and control groups. The partial granulation group had a significantly lower BMI and higher AMH level compared to the control or all granulation groups. Consistent with these distinctive features in the partial granulation group, fertilization and blastocyst formation rates were reduced significantly in the partial granulation group but not in the all granulation group. Furthermore, the clinical outcomes in fresh embryo transfer cycles were dramatically reduced in the partial granulation group compared with the control group. However, in FET cycles, all three clinical outcomes were significantly reduced in the all granulation group but not in the partial granulation group. We propose that partial granulation may reflect a specific population of patients, and that the central granulation structure is sensitive to cryopreservation., (Copyright © 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To investigate the predictive risk factors of vocal fold leukoplakia under electronic laryngoscope and influential factors of malignancy. Methods: A total of 163 cases with vocal cord leukoplakia were analyzed retrospectively. The relationship between the clinical features, including site, size, whether involving the anterior commissure, morphology and pathological grade were analyzed. Then the associations with malignant transformation in vocal cord leukoplakia were evaluated by using multiple Logistic regression analysis. Results: There were one side lesions in 96 cases（58.9%）, and bilateral vocal cord lesions in 67 cases（41.1%）. The vocal cord leukoplakia with extension less than half of the vocal cord was observed in 135 cases（82.8%） and beyond half of the vocal cord was seen in 28 cases（17.1%）. Lesions involving the anterior commissure were 42 cases（25.8%）, without involving the anterior commissure were 121 cases（74.2%）. According to morphological features, 82 patients（50.3%） had a superficial type, followed by exophytic type（ n =65, 39.9%）, and ulcerative type（ n =16, 9.8%）. The pathological type included squamous epithelial simple hyperplasia in 65 cases（39.9%）, mild hyperplasia in 44 cases（27.0%）, moderate hyperplasia in 31 cases（19.0%）, severe hyperplasia and carcinoma in situ in 23 cases（14.1%）. 140 cases（85.9%） were in low risk group, and 23 cases（14.1%） were in high risk group. The site of the vocal fold leukoplakia was not associated with the pathological grade（ P >0.05）, whether the vocal fold leukoplakia range exceeds 1/2 of the total length of the vocal fold, and whether involving the anterior commissure were associated with the pathological grade（both P <0.05）. There were statistically significant differences between the pathological grade and the morphological type（ P <0.01）. Ten cases developed larynx cancer, the ratio of malignant transformation was 6.1%. The multiple Logistic regression showed that whether involving the anterior commissure and histopathological classification were the risk factors of malignant transformation in vocal cord eukoplakia. Conclusion: The pathological results of vocal cord leukoplakia can be predicted by laryngoscopy features. Involving of the anterior commissure and histopathological classification are the risk factors of malignant transformation in vocal cord leukoplakia., Competing Interests: The authors of this article and the planning committee members and staff have no relevant financial relationships with commercial interests to disclose., (Copyright© by the Editorial Department of Journal of Clinical Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery.)

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the prognostic factors for transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) for hepatitis B-related hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC)., Materials and Methods: The variables that may affect overall survival (OS), such as age, gender, AFP, Child Pugh classification, body mass index, HBV-DNA, HbeAg, tumor number, tumor diameter, BCLC stage, embolization method, ablation therapy, and targeted therapy, were analyzed by single factor and many factor COX regression. In addition, predictive factors of OS were stratified and a Kaplan-Meier survival curve was drawn., Results: Among the 136 patients, the median follow-up time was 14.5 months (range: 2-72 months). HCC patients with the tumor diameter <3 ​cm had the highest survival rate, followed by patients with a tumor diameter of 3-5 ​cm; the survival rate of patients with the tumor diameter (greater than 5 ​cm) was the lowest. Among the BCLC stages, stage A patients had the highest survival rate, followed by stage B and stage C patients, which had the lowest survival rate.The survival rate of Child Pugh grade A patients was higher than those with Child Pugh grade B. Compared with patients who did not undergo ablation treatment, the survival rate of patients with combined ablation treatment was relatively high. The survival rate of patients receiving drug-eluting beads transarterial chemoembolization (DEB-TACE) treatment was higher than those receiving conventional transarterial chemoembolization (cTACE) treatment. Additionally, repeated TACE treatment improved the OS rate of patients. These six factors were related to patient prognosis and the differences were statistically significant (P ​< ​0.05)., Conclusions: Tumor diameter, BCLC stage, TACE repetition, and TACE combined with ablation were independent prognostic factors of OS., (© 2021 Shanghai Journal of Interventional Radiology Press. Publishing services by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of KeAi Communications Co. Ltd.)

Background: Increasing evidence indicated a close relationship between aberrant splicing variants and carcinoma, whereas comprehensive analysis of prognostic alternative splicing (AS) profiling in breast cancer (BRCA) is lacking and largely unknown., Methods: RNA-seq data and corresponding clinical information of BRCA patients were obtained and integrated from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). Then SpliceSeq software was used to assess seven AS types and calculate the Percent Spliced In (PSI) value. Univariate followed by stepwise multivariate Cox regression analyses identified survival associated AS events and constructed the AS signature, which were further sent for enrichment analysis, respectively. Besides, the splicing correlation network was constructed. Additionally, nomogram incorporating AS signature and clinicopathological characteristics was developed and its efficacy was evaluated with respect to discrimination, calibration and clinical utility., Results: A total of 45,421 AS events were detected, among which 3071 events were found associated with overall survival (OS) after strict filtering. Parent genes of these prognostic events were involved in BRCA-related processes including NF-kappaB and HIF-1 signaling pathway. Besides, the final prognostic signature built with 20 AS events performed well with an area under the curve (AUC) of receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve up to 0.957 for 5 years. And gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) also confirmed the candidate 20 AS events contributed to progression of BRCA. Moreover, the nomogram that incorporated 20-AS-event-based classifier, age, pathological stage and Her-2 status showed good calibration and moderate discrimination, with C-index of 0.883 (95% CI, 0.844-0.921). Decision curve analysis (DCA) confirmed more benefit was added to survival prediction with our nomogram, especially in 5 or 8 years with threshold probability up to 80%. Finally, splicing correlation network revealed an obvious regulatory pattern of prognostic splicing factors (SF) in BRCA., Conclusion: This study provided a systematic portrait of survival-associated AS events involved in BRCA and further presented a AS-clinicopathological nomogram, which could be conveniently used to assist the individualized prediction of long-term survival probability for BRCA patients. And a series of bioinformatic analysis provided a promising perspective for further uncovering the underlying mechanisms of AS events and validating therapeutic targets for BRCA.

The abnormal expression of miR-92a-3p was detected in multiple cancers. However, the biological role and underlying mechanism of miR-92a-3p in tamoxifen-resistant cells are still unknown. The main objective of our study was to find potential miR-92a-3p regulating pathways involved in tamoxifen resistance and to construct their regulatory network using bioinformatics. Four gene expression profiles were retrieved from GEO database and the GEO2R tool was used for analysis. GSE41922 and GSE42072 were applied to investigate aberrant miR-92a-3p expression in breast cancer serum and tissue. We found that miR-92a-3p expression was higher in breast cancer serum or tissue than in healthy volunteer serum or adjacent normal tissue, and high expression of miR-92a-3p could predict poor prognosis of breast cancer patients. In our qRT-PCR validation, we found that miR-92a-3p was upregulated in tamoxifen-resistant cells. MiR-92a-3p might play a role in tamoxifen resistance. In order to find the relationship between miR-92a-3p and some key genes and their potential molecular mechanisms in tamoxifen-resistant cells. The microarray data GSE26459 and GSE28267 were analyzed to determine the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) or miRNAs (DEMs). Furthermore, the related long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) were screened with starBase v2.0. Finally,microRNA.org,miRDB, targetminer and targetscan were applied to predict the targets of miR-92a-3p. Through analysis, we find that miR-92a-3p may be used as a potential biomarker for early detection of cancer and monitoring the efficacy of endocrine therapy., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

Etiological carriers and the excretion of the pathogens causing hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) in healthy persons, patients, and asymptomatic persons infected with HFMD as ongoing infection sources may play an important role in perpetuating and spreading epidemics of HFMD. The aims of this study were to determine the carrier status of EV-A71 and CV-A16 in healthy populations, as well as the duration of EV-A71 and CV-A16 shedding in the stools of HFMD patients in an epidemic area of southwest China. A cross-sectional study and a follow-up study were conducted in three HFMD endemic counties of Yunnan Province. Six hundred sixty-seven healthy subjects were recruited to participate in the cross-sectional study, and two stool specimens were collected from each subject. Among the healthy subjects, 90 (13.5%) tested positive for viral isolation, but neither EV-A71 nor CV-A16 was detected in healthy individuals. Of the 150 patients with probable HFMD, 55.3% (83/150) tested positive for viral isolation with presented serotypes such as EV-A71 (51.81%, 43/83), CV-A16 (32.53%, 27/83), other EVs (13.25%, 11/83), and mixed EV-A71 and CV-A16 (2.41%, 2/83). The longest duration of EV-A71 and CV-A16 shedding in stool specimens from patients with HFMD was >46 days after onset. The positive rate of EV-A71 in the stool specimens of confirmed patients dropped to 50% by the end of the third week, and the same occurred with CV-A16 by the end of approximately the seventh week after onset. Although carriers of major causative agents of HFMD in healthy populations are fewer in number, the prolonged shedding of pathogens in patients with HFMD may serve as an important factor in perpetuating and spreading HFMD epidemics.

Tamoxifen (TAM) is the most widely used endocrine therapy for estrogen receptor (ER)-positive breast cancer patients, but side effects and the gradual development of insensitivity limit its application. We investigated whether Huaier extract, a traditional Chinese medicine, in combination with TAM would improve treatment efficacy in ER-positive breast cancers. MTT, colony formation, and invasion and migration assays revealed that the combined treatment had stronger anticancer effects than either treatment alone. Huaier extract enhanced TAM-induced autophagy, apoptosis, and G0/G1 cell cycle arrest, as measured by acidic vesicular organelle (AVO) staining, TUNEL, flow cytometry, and western blot. Additionally, combined treatment inhibited tumorigenesis and metastasis by suppressing the AKT/mTOR signaling pathway. Huaier extract also enhanced the inhibitory effects of TAM on tumor growth in vivo in a xenograft mouse model. These results show that Huaier extract synergizes with TAM to induce autophagy and apoptosis in ER-positive breast cancer cells by suppressing the AKT/mTOR pathway., Competing Interests: No, there is no conflict of interest that I should disclose, having read the above statement.

Huaier extract is attracting increased attention due to its biological activities, including antitumor, anti-parasite and immunomodulatory effects. Here, we investigated the role of autophagy in Huaier-induced cytotoxicity in MDA-MB-231, MDA-MB-468 and MCF7 breast cancer cells. Huaier treatment inhibited cell viability in all three cell lines and induced various large membranous vacuoles in the cytoplasm. In addition, electron microscopy, MDC staining, accumulated expression of autophagy markers and flow cytometry revealed that Huaier extract triggered autophagy. Inhibition of autophagy attenuated Huaier-induced cell death. Furthermore, Huaier extract inhibited the mammalian target of the rapamycin (mTOR)/S6K pathway in breast cancer cells. After implanting MDA-MB-231 cells subcutaneously into the right flank of BALB/c nu/nu mice, Huaier extract induced autophagy and effectively inhibited xenograft tumor growth. This study is the first to show that Huaier-induced cytotoxicity is partially mediated through autophagic cell death in breast cancer cells through suppression of the mTOR/S6K pathway.

Medicinal plant extracts have been widely used for cancer treatment. Nitidine chloride (NC) is a natural bioactive alkaloid that has recently been reported to have diverse anticancer properties. We aimed to investigate the cytotoxic effects of NC and the effectiveness of combinatorial treatment including NC and doxorubicin in breast cancer cells. Using MTT and flowcytometry assays, we found that NC induced cell growth inhibition and G2/M cell cycle arrest in a time- and dose-dependent manner both in MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cell lines. Cancer cell growth inhibition was associated with increased levels of the p53 and p21 proteins. Apoptosis induction by NC treatment was confirmed by JC-1 mitochondrial membrane potential, annexin V-positive cell, and TUNEL staining. Using western blot analysis, we found that NC upregulated the pro-apoptotic proteins Bax, cleaved caspase-9 and -3 and cleaved PARP and that it downregulated the anti-apoptotic proteins Bcl-2 and PARP. By using the PI3K/Akt inhibitor LY294002, we further demonstrated that NC-induced apoptosis might be Akt-specific or dependent. In addition, NC exhibited a synergistic effect with doxorubicin on the growth inhibition of the human breast cancer cell lines MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231. Our study demonstrated the anticancer effect of NC on breast cancer and highlighted the potential clinical application of NC.

Background: Genetic modification, such as the addition of exogenous genes to the MSC genome, is crucial to their use as cellular vehicles. Due to the risks associated with viral vectors such as insertional mutagenesis, the safer nonviral vectors have drawn a great deal of attention., Methods: VEGF, bFGF, vitamin C, and insulin-transferrin-selenium-X were supplemented in the MSC culture medium. The cells' proliferation and survival capacity was measured by MTT, determination of the cumulative number of cells, and a colony-forming efficiency assay. The plasmid pHr2-NL was constructed and nucleofected into MSCs. The recombinants were selected using G418 and characterized using PCR and Southern blotting., Results: BFGF is critical to MSC growth and it acted synergistically with vitamin C, VEGF, and ITS-X, causing the cells to expand significantly. The neomycin gene was targeted to the rDNA locus of human MSCs using a nonviral human ribosomal targeting vector. The recombinant MSCs retained multipotential differentiation capacity, typical levels of hMSC surface marker expression, and a normal karyotype, and none were tumorigenic in nude mice., Conclusions: Exogenous genes can be targeted to the rDNA locus of human MSCs while maintaining the characteristics of MSCs. This is the first nonviral gene targeting of hMSCs.

Three activated sludges from a landfill leachate treatment plant (S1), a municipal sewage treatment plant (S2) and a monosodium glutamate (MSG) wastewater treatment plant (S3) were used as inocula to enrich anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) bacteria for the startup of MSG industrial wastewater treatment system. After 360 days of cultivation using MSG wastewater, obvious anammox activity was observed in all three cultures. The maximum specific anammox activities of cultures S1, S2 and S3 were 0.11 kg N kg(-1) VSS day(-1), 0.09 kg N kg(-1) VSS day(-1) and 0.16 kg N kg(-1) VSS day(-1), respectively. Brownish-red anammox granules having diameters in the range of 0.2-1.0mm were visible in cultures S1 and S2, and large red granules having diameters in the range of 0.5-2.5mm were formed in culture S3 after 420 days of cultivation. Phylogenetic analysis of 16S rRNA genes showed that Kuenenia organisms were the dominant anammox species in all three cultures. The copy numbers of 16S rRNA genes of anammox bacteria in cultures S1, S2 and S3 were 6.8 × 10(7) copies mL(-1), 9.4 × 10(7) copies mL(-1) and 7.5 × 10(8) copies mL(-1), respectively. The results of this study demonstrated that anammox cultivation from conventional activated sludges was highly possible using MSG wastewater. Thus the anammox process has possibility of applying to the nitrogen removal from MSG wastewater., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The effects of pH on the performance of anoxic sulfide oxidizing (ASO) reactor were evaluated. Performance was investigated under various operational conditions at influent pH range of 4-11. At the influent pH of 7-7.5 during loading tests and HRT tests, the sulfide oxidation was partial. In general, the amount of sulfate formed decreased with the increasing sulfide and nitrite loadings. The bacterial communities in ASO reactors were more sensitive to acidic pH compared with alkaline pH, as nitrite and sulfide removal rates dropped significantly when exposed to acidic pH 3. High dissolved bisulfide ions, nitrite and excess of sulfate (>300 mg/L) might have inhibited the sulfide oxidation under highly acidic and alkaline conditions in the ASO reactor. Based on sulfide and nitrite removal efficiencies, the ASO reactor can be operated in a wide range of pH, i.e. 5-11.