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In this study, we constructed an eight-gene metabolic related signature for LUAD. The eight-gene prognostic signature (including PLAUR, F2, UGT2B17, GNG7, IDO2, ST3GAL6, PIK3CG, and GLS2) exhibited a good prognostic value in the TCGA LUAD training dataset and testing dataset. In addition, the risk score based on the signature model was significantly correlated with immune cell infiltration and expression levels of immune markers in LUAD patients. LUAD cohorts from GEO were used to validate the model, indicating the usefulness of the model. In summary, we developed and validated an eight-gene signature model for LUAD, which can reflect the immune microenvironment characteristics and predict the prognostic outcomes for LUAD patients.

Background: A metabolic “switch” from oxidative phosphorylation to glycolysis provides tumor cells with energy and biosynthetic substrates, thereby promoting tumorigenesis and malignant progression. However, the mechanisms controlling this metabolic switch in tumors is not entirely clear. Methods: Clinical specimens were used to determine the effect of SAM68 on lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) tumorigenesis and metastasis, and mouse models and molecular biology assays were performed to elucidate the function and underlying mechanisms in vitro and in vivo. Results: SAM68 mRNA levels were higher in LUAD tissue than in normal lung tissue, indicating that SAM68 expression is upregulated in LUAD. Patients with LUAD with SAM68high (n = 257) had a higher frequency of tumor recurrence (p = 0.025) and recurrence-free survival (p = 0.013) than did those with SAM68low (n = 257). Patients with SAM68high mRNA levels (n = 257) were at a higher risk for cancer-related death (p = 0.006), and had shorter overall survival (p = 0.044) than did those with SAM68low. SAM68 promotes tumorigenesis and metastasis of LUAD cells in vitro and in vivo by regulating the cancer metabolic switch. SAM68 drives cancer metabolism by mediating alternative splicing of pyruvate kinase (PKM) pre-mRNAs, and promoting the formation of PKM2. Mechanistically, SAM68 increased the binding of the splicing repressor hnRNP A1 to exon 9 of PKM, thereby enhancing PKM2 isoform formation and PKM2-dependent aerobic glycolysis and tumorigenesis. Conclusions: SAM68 promotes LUAD cell tumorigenesis and cancer metabolic programming via binding of the 351-443 aa region of SAM68 to the RGG motif of hnRNP A1, driving hnRNP A1-dependent PKM splicing, contributing to increased oncogene PKM2 isoform formation and inhibition of PKM1 isoform formation. SAM68 is therefore a promising therapeutic target for the treatment of LUAD.

Short Retraction Notice This article has been retracted to straighten the academic record. In making this decision the Editorial Board follows COPE's Retraction Guidelines. The aim is to promote the circulation of scientific research by offering an ideal research publication platform with due consideration of internationally accepted standards on publication ethics. The Editorial Board would like to extend its sincere apologies for any inconvenience this retraction may have caused. Please see the article page for more details. The full retraction notice in PDF is preceding the original paper which is marked "RETRACTED".

Background: Butyrophilin (BTN) and butyrophilin-like (BTLN) belong to immunoglobulin superfamily, and also pertain the B7 co-stimulatory molecules family, which has multiple roles in immune modulation. Whether the BTNL9 expression in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) correlates with outcome has not been evaluated.Materials and methods: Oncomine and GEPIA were used to analyze the BTNL9, while its mRNA expression in LUAD and corresponding adjacent tissues was investigated using TIMER. The clinical prognosis of BTNL9 was assessed in the GEPIA, Kaplan-Meier plotter, and OncoLnc. Besides, the correlation between BTNL9 and tumor-infiltrating immune cells (TILs) was analyzed using TIMER and GEPIA. The correlation between BTNL9 expression and drug response was analyzed using CARE.Results: BNL9 expression was significantly low in LUAD. Low BTNL9 expression was associated with poor OS, and its expression was found to be regulated by both epigenetic regulation and post-transcriptional modification. BTNL9 expression was significant positively correlated with ImmuneScore and ESTIMATEScore. Moreover, BTNL9 expression was positively correlated with infiltrating levels of B cells, CD4+T, and macrophages, but Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that BTNL9 expression in B cells and DCs was significantly associated with OS. Furthermore, BTNL9 expression has significant positive CARE scores. Conclusions: Low BTNL9 expression can prevent the infiltration of naïve B cells and DCs in the tumor microenvironment and worsen the outcome in LUAD patients. Besides, these findings also suggest the potential role of BTNL9 as a prognostic biomarker and a new immuno-target.

Background Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) is the most prevalent non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Patients with LUAD have a poor 5-year survival rate. The use of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) for the treatment of LUAD has been on the rise in the past decade. This study explored the prognostic role of butyrophilin-like 9 (BTNL9) in LUAD. Methods Gene expression profile of buytrophilins (BTNs) was determined using the GEPIA database. The effect of BTNL9 on the survival of LUAD patients was assessed using Kaplan-Meier plotter and OncoLnc. Correlation between BTNL9 expression and tumor-infiltrating immune cells (TILs) was explored using TIMER and GEPIA databases. Further, the relationship between BTNL9 expression and drug response was evaluated using CARE. Besides, construction and evaluation of nomogram based on BTNL9 expression and TNM stage. Results BTNL9 expression was downregulated in LUAD and was associated with a poor probability of 1, 3, 5-years overall survival (OS). In addition, BTNL9 expression was regulated at epigenetic and post-transcriptional modification levels. Moreover, BTNL9 expression was significantly positively correlated with ImmuneScore and ESTIMATEScore. Furthermore, BTNL9 expression was positively associated with infiltration levels of B cells, CD4+ T cells, and macrophages. Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that BTNL9 expression in B cells and dendritic cells (DCs) was significantly associated with OS. BTNL9 expression was significantly positively correlated with CARE scores. Conclusions These findings show that BTNL9 is a potential prognostic biomarker for LUAD. Low BTNL9 expression levels associated with low infiltration levels of naïve B cells, and DCs in the tumor microenvironment are unfavorable for OS in LUAD patients.

Two different kinds of composite phase change materials (PCMs)—a high thermal conductive 80 wt% paraffin wax (PW)/expanded graphite (EG) composite and a 75 wt% PW/silica aerogel (SA) with a low thermal conductivity—are prepared and they characterized the thermophysical parameters. Then, a numerical model of battery pack based on composite phase change materials coupled with polyimide (PI) electric heating films is established at −20 °C. The temperature of monitoring points set in model and maximum and minimum temperature of the batteries in the pack are measured during discharge at 1C and 2C. By comparing the battery pack filled with PW/EG composite and the pack consisting of PW/SA composite, we intend to choose an appropriate one of the two composite PCMs to improve the lithium-ion batteries performance at low temperature. The results indicate that in spite of a good heating performance in heating process, the PW/SA composite induces an even higher temperature difference over the battery pack. Although PW/EG composite causes a large temperature difference at the end of heating film heating, it can quickly restore the uniformity of the battery pack. The PW/EG composite plays a more important role in improving the performance of the lithium-ion batteries at low temperature.

Lung cancer is a common malignancy worldwide. The aim of the present study was to investigate differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and normal lung tissue, and to reveal the potential molecular mechanism underlying NSCLC. The Gene Expression Omnibus database was used to obtain three gene expression profiles (GSE18842, GSE30219 and GSE33532). DEGs were obtained by GEO2R. Gene Ontology and pathway enrichment analyses were performed for DEGs in the Database for Annotation, Visualization and Integrated Discovery. A protein-protein interaction (PPI) network of DEGs was constructed and analyzed using the Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interacting Genes/Proteins database and Cytoscape software. A survival analysis was performed and protein expression levels of DEGs in human NSCLC were analyzed in order to determine clinical significance. A total of 764 DEGs were identified, consisting of 428 upregulated and 336 downregulated genes in NSCLC tissues compared with normal lung tissues, which were enriched in the 'cell cycle', 'cell adhesion molecules', 'p53 signaling pathway', 'DNA replication' and 'tight junction'. A PPI network of DEGs consisting of 51 nodes and 192 edges was constructed. The top 10 genes were identified as hub genes from the PPI network. High expression of 4 of the 10 hub genes was associated with worse overall survival rate in patients with NSCLC, including CDK1, PLK1, RAD51 and RFC4. In conclusion, the present study aids in improving the current understanding of aberrant gene expression between NSCLC tissues and normal lung tissues underlying tumorgenesis in NSCLC. Identified hub genes can be used as a tumor marker for diagnosis and prognosis or as a drug therapy target in NSCLC.

Immunomodulatory therapy is a potential effective treatment for advanced cancer that may provide an alternative to chemotherapy, which patients can experience adverse side effects to. Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) have been demonstrated to cause T-cell tolerance in rodents and humans; however, little is known about the role of MDSCs in squamous cell carcinoma. In the present study, the role of MDSCs in lung squamous cell carcinoma was investigated. Peripheral blood from 78 patients with lung squamous cell carcinoma and 30 healthy controls was examined for the presence and function of human MDSCs, denoted as monocyte differentiation antigen CD14-positive HLA class II histocompatibility antigen DR-negative/low (CD14+ HLA-DR−/low) cells by flow cytometry. The sorted T-cell surface glyoprotein CD3 (CD3)+ cells and CD14+HLA-DR−/low cells were subsequently co-cultured with a tumor cell line (NCI-H226). T-cell apoptosis was detected using annexin-V-fluorescein isothicyanate and 7-aminoactinomycin D. Interferon-γ (IFN-γ) levels were detected using an ELISA. The frequency of MDSCs in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from patients with lung squamous cell carcinoma was significantly higher compared with that of the healthy controls (P

A diamine monomer, 4,4’-bis(5-amino-2-pyridinoxy)benzophenone, was designed and synthesized, and used to react with commercially different kinds of aromatic dianhydrides to prepare a series of polyimides containing pyridine and ketone units via the classical two-step procedure. Glass transition temperatures (T g) of the resultant polyimides PI-(1–5) derived from 4,4’-bis(5-amino-2-pyridinoxy) benzophenone with various dianhydrides ranged from 201 to 310 °C measured by differential scanning calorimetry. The temperatures for 5%wt loss of the resultant polyimides in nitrogen atmosphere obtained from the thermogravimetric analysis curves fell in the range of 472–501 °C. The temperatures for 10%wt loss of the resultant polyimides in nitrogen atmosphere fell in the range of 491–537 °C. Meanwhile, the char yields at 800 °C were in the range of 55.3–60.8%. Moreover, the moisture absorption of polyimide films was measured in the range of 0.37–2.09%. The thin films showed outstanding mechanical properties with tensile strengths of 103–145 MPa, an elongation at break of 12.9–15.2%, and a tensile modulus of 1.20–1.88 Gpa, respectively. The coefficients of thermal expansion of the resultant polyimides were obtained among 26–62 ppm °C−1. To sum up, this series of polyimides had a good combination of properties applied for high-performance materials and showed promising potential applications in the fields of optoelectronic devices.

Natural products derived from fruits have multiple antitumor potential. However, very few have been developed for clinical therapy, due to the limited efficiency or insufficient study of their mechanism. Since lung cancer is the most common cancer in the world, there is still need to explore novel compounds but their molecular mechanisms remain elusive. In this study, a new compound Final-2 was synthesized. Final-2 exhibited antitumor activity in A549 cells by promoting apoptosis and blocking autophagy. Moreover, Final-2 significantly induced G0/G1 cycle arrest and inhibited cell malignancy. Intracellular molecular targets investigation showed that Final-2 inhibited the Gluts, which resulted in downregulation of glucose metabolism and the oncogene c-Myc and Kras expression in vitro. However, according the autophagy inhibitor CQ and Kras inhibitors test, low concentration of Final-2 showed some controversial effects. In A549 xenograft mice model, 10 mg/kg and 20 mg/kg of Final-2 showed no and partial tumor inhibition, respectively. Moreover, a high dose of Final-2 induced serious liver necrosis. Therefore, the results indicated that even though Final-2 was efficient in suppressing the cancer cell growth in vitro, it failed to inhibit tumors in vivo and showed significant liver toxicity, which was its limitation as a potential antitumor drug.

Lung cancer is a common malignancy worldwide. The aim of the present study was to investigate differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and normal lung tissue, and to reveal the potential molecular mechanism underlying NSCLC. The Gene Expression Omnibus database was used to obtain three gene expression profiles (GSE18842, GSE30219 and GSE33532). DEGs were obtained by GEO2R. Gene Ontology and pathway enrichment analyses were performed for DEGs in the Database for Annotation, Visualization and Integrated Discovery. A protein-protein interaction (PPI) network of DEGs was constructed and analyzed using the Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interacting Genes/Proteins database and Cytoscape software. A survival analysis was performed and protein expression levels of DEGs in human NSCLC were analyzed in order to determine clinical significance. A total of 764 DEGs were identified, consisting of 428 upregulated and 336 downregulated genes in NSCLC tissues compared with normal lung tissues, which were enriched in the ‘cell cycle’, ‘cell adhesion molecules’, ‘p53 signaling pathway’, ‘DNA replication’ and ‘tight junction’. A PPI network of DEGs consisting of 51 nodes and 192 edges was constructed. The top 10 genes were identified as hub genes from the PPI network. High expression of 4 of the 10 hub genes was associated with worse overall survival rate in patients with NSCLC, including CDK1, PLK1, RAD51 and RFC4. In conclusion, the present study aids in improving the current understanding of aberrant gene expression between NSCLC tissues and normal lung tissues underlying tumorgenesis in NSCLC. Identified hub genes can be used as a tumor marker for diagnosis and prognosis or as a drug therapy target in NSCLC.

Since the moon landings of the 1970’s, researchers have believed that “horizon glow”(HG) observed on the moon are formed by the scattering of sunlight by the electrostatic lofted dust. In order to analyze the characteristics of dust lofting, researchers have proposed different suspension and lofting models. However, due to the neglect of adhesion force, it is impossible to accurately solve the accelerated separation process and the 3D trajectories of lofting particles. Therefore, we regard the dust lofting phenomenon as an electrostatic emission process with adhesion constraint, and propose a new mechanical model of lunar dust lofting, which is suitable for accelerated separation process and ballistic projection process. Using this model, we calculated the conditions of dust lofting, the maximum height, the time period, the characteristics of accelerated separation and the 3D trajectories of particles. The results of calculation and correlation analysis show that: 1) The changing of contact state caused by external factors may be one of the necessary conditions for dust lofting; 2) The maximum lofting height of submicron and micron particles varies from several kilometers to more than 300 ​km; 3) Lunar dust will be accelerated to a high speed in a very short time, in condition of that, it may be difficult for the particles to suspend at the force balanced height; 4) The trajectory of a dust particle is affected by the lofting sequence and the initial position, the boundary of lofting trajectories seems similar to the HG sketch by the astronaut in Apollo 17 mission; 5) Compared with the macroscopic plasma sheath electric field, the microscopic particles are more sensitive to the charging voltage of the lunar surface in the lofting process.

Due to their unique properties, carbon nanotubes will have great potential applications in many fields, particularly in space applications. But in development of carbon nano-materials intended for operation in aerospace, one of the most important problems is assurance of their resistance against the impact of the AO which is one of the predominant environment in space. Here we present the AO erosion effects on pure carbon nanotube arrays by SEM analysis. It is shown that the morphologies of CNT arrays are quite different from those before AO experiments. Different morphologies of CNT arrays after AO exposure are shown by SEM images. It is presented that shrinkage and crack formation of CNT arrays are caused by bombardment force.

A new nano-particle mixed as thermal storage material (CMN) was prepared with KAl(SO4)2·12H2O (M) and Na2SO4·10H2O (N) and nano-particle carbon (C) as a thermal conductive agent for thermal conductivity enhancing. The detailed thermo-physical properties and thermal energy storage performance were studied, including thermal conductivity, phase change temperature, latent heat, supercooling degree and thermal cycling stability. The results indicated that C, KAl(SO4)2·12H2O and Na2SO4·10H2O were physically mixed. The thermal conductivity of PCM increased from 0.546 W/(m·K) to 0.910 W/(m·K) because of the addition of 1 wt%C. 1 wt% C suppressed the subcooling of PCM from 2.9 °C to 1.8 °C. The DSC revealed that the phase change temperature and latent heat of CMN were 65.68 °C and 132.2 J/g. It indicated that CMN had good thermal stability after 100 thermal cycle tests.

Here we investigated whether hydrogen can protect the lung from chronic injury induced by hypoxia/re-oxygenation (H/R). We developed a mouse model in which H/R exposure triggered clinically typical lung injury, involving increased alveolar wall thickening, infiltration by neutrophils, consolidation, alveolar hemorrhage, increased levels of inflammatory factors and recruitment of M1 macrophages. All these processes were attenuated in the presence of H2. We found that H/R-induced injury in our mouse model was associated with production of hydroxyl radicals as well as increased levels of colony-stimulating factors and circulating leukocytes. H2 attenuated H/R-induced production of hydroxyl radicals, up-regulation of colony-stimulating factors, and recruitment of neutrophils and M1 macrophages to lung tissues. However, H2 did not substantially affect the H/R-induced increase in erythropoietin or pulmonary artery remodeling. Our results suggest that H2 ameliorates H/R-induced lung injury by inhibiting hydroxyl radical production and inflammation in lungs. It may also prevent colony-stimulating factors from mobilizing progenitors in response to H/R-induced injury.

To investigate the structure–property relationships of polyimides containing pyrimidine or pyridine moieties, two diamine monomers, 2-phenyl-4,6-bis(4-aminophenoxy)pyrimidine and 1,3-bis(5-amino-2-pyridinoxy)benzene, were designed and synthesized. The diamines reacted with different commercially available aromatic dianhydrides to yield a series of heterocyclic polyimides via a classical two-step polymerization method. The polyimides, PI-1 and PI-6, exhibited excellent solubility in strong polar solvents, such as N,N-dimethylacetamide, N,N-dimethylformamide and N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone. The flexible, strong and transparent polyimide films were formed with UV-visible absorption cut-off wavelengths at 344–399 nm. Glass transition temperatures (Tg) of the polyimides PI-(1–6), derived from PBAPD and BADB with dianhydrides, in the range of 212–260 °C were obtained by DSC, and the temperatures for 5% wt loss of the polyimides in nitrogen and air atmospheres were obtained from TGA in the range of 430–503 °C and 422–465 °C, respectively. Moreover, the polyimide films showed a low moisture absorption of 0.18–1.38% and outstanding mechanical properties with tensile strengths of 81–111 MPa, an elongation at break of 4.3–8.7%, and a tensile modulus of 1.3–2.4 GPa. The coefficients of thermal expansion (CTEs) of the polyimides ranged from 28 to 62 ppm °C−1.

In this paper, space environments and effects are briefly introduced firstly, and then the demand of a general light integrated exploration on the space environment and effects are analyzed. Thirdly, on the basis of the analysis on foreign integrated detection device for the space environment and effects, the scheme of general lightweight integrated detection for space environment and effect in China was presented. At last, some key technologies, such as overall design, system integration, data acquisition and analysis, ground calibration and verification, spatial environment adaptability evaluation and so on, are put forward.

An experimental study on the behavior of wake flow behind a square cylinder in an upward gas-liquid vertical two-phase flow especially about the effects of blockage ratio of flow passage was examined. The results showed that Karman vortex is shed regularly under certain flow conditions for various Reynolds number, void fractions and blockage ratios. Two uniform experimental equations were shown to describe the vortex shedding frequency f and pressure differenceΔP between the front and rear stagnation points of the obstacle for various blockage ratios. An entirely new method for measuring the flow rate of the gas-liquid two-phase flow by f andΔP was shown.