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Abstract An eight-year satellite observation dataset reveals that sulfate aerosols significantly influence the vertical structure of precipitation and latent heat (LH) in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH) region during summer. In this period, prevalent sulfate aerosols combine with warm, humid southerly winds and elevated convective available potential energy (CAPE), influencing precipitation dynamics. Under polluted conditions with specific CAPE and precipitation top temperature (PTT) ranges, precipitation particles experience accelerated growth within the mixed-phase layer, delineated by the −5 °C to 2 °C isotherms, compared to pristine environments. This results in a marked increase in both the intensity and height at which the maximum LH is released. Subsequent analysis reveals that hygroscopic sulfate aerosols, acting as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN), amplify the collision-coalescence process within the mixed layer amid high cloud water content, propelling rapid precipitation particle growth and elevating the PTT. This warming effect surpasses the cooling contribution from robust CAPE, culminating in a net elevation of PTT under polluted scenarios compared to pristine ones. Additionally, quantification of PTT sensitivity to both CAPE and aerosol optical depth (AOD) unveils a high consistency between satellite-detected PTT responses to CAPE and those predicted by cloud-resolving model simulations. The study deduces that the role of aerosols as CCN in either invigorating or diminishing the collision-coalescence process is contingent on the available cloud water.

Background Breast cancer is a prevalent public health concern affecting numerous women globally and is associated with palmitoylation, a post-translational protein modification. Despite increasing focus on palmitoylation, its specific implications for breast cancer prognosis remain unclear. The work aimed to identify prognostic factors linked to palmitoylation in breast cancer and assess its effectiveness in predicting responses to chemotherapy and immunotherapy. Methods We utilized the “limma” package to analyze the differential expression of palmitoylation-related genes between breast cancer and normal tissues. Hub genes were identified using the “WGCNA” package. Using the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) Cox regression analysis, we identified a prognostic feature associated with palmitoylation and developed a prognostic nomogram with the “regplot” package. The predictive values of the model for chemotherapy and immunotherapy responses were assessed using immunophenoscore (IPS) and the “pRophetic” package. Results We identified 211 differentially expressed genes related to palmitoylation, among which 44 demonstrated prognostic potential. Subsequently, a predictive model comprising eleven palmitoylation-related genes was developed. Patients were classified into high-risk and low-risk groups based on the median risk score. The findings revealed that individuals in the high-risk group exhibited lower survival rates, while those in the low-risk group showed increased immune cell infiltration and improved responses to chemotherapy and immunotherapy. Moreover, the BC-Palmitoylation Tool website was established. Conclusion This study developed the first machine learning-based predictive model for palmitoylation-related genes and created a corresponding website, providing clinicians with a valuable tool to improve patient outcomes.

Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is a major foodstuff for over 40% of the world’s population. However, hexavalent chromium [Cr(VI)] in contaminated soil significantly affects wheat production and its ecological environment. Streptomyces sp. HU2014 was first used to investigate the effects of Cr (VI) stress on wheat growth. We analyzed the Cr(VI) concentration, physicochemical properties of wheat and soil, total Cr content, and microbial community structures during their interactions. HU2014 reduced the toxicity of Cr(VI) and promoted wheat growth by increasing total nitrogen, nitrate nitrogen, total phosphorus, and Olsen-phosphorus in Cr(VI)-contaminated soil. These four soil variables had strong positive effects on two bacterial taxa, Proteobacteria and Bacteroidota, in the HU2014 treatments. In addition, the level of the dominant Proteobacteria positively correlated with the total Cr content in the soil. Among the fungal communities, which had weaker correlations with soil variables compared with bacterial communities, Ascomycota was the most abundant. Our findings suggest that HU2014 can promote the phytoremediation of Cr(VI)-contaminated soil.

Abstract Objective To investigate the optimal duration of applying a venous foot pump (VFP) in the prevention of venous thromboembolism (VTE) following hip and knee arthroplasty. Methods A total of 230 patients undergoing hip and knee arthroplasty between March 2021 and March 2022 in orthopaedic departments of four major teaching hospitals were prospectively enrolled. Patients were randomly divided into five groups based on the duration of the VFP application. Postoperative deep vein thromboses (DVT), including proximal, distal, and intermuscular DVT, were recorded for analysis. Postoperative blood coagulation examinations, such as D-dimer and active partial thromboplastin time (APTT), pain outcome, and degree of comfort were also collected. Results Two of the 230 patients withdrew due to early discharge from the hospital, and 228 patients were included in the final analysis. The mean age was 60.38 ± 13.33 years. The baseline characteristics were comparable among the five groups. Compared with the other groups, patients treated with 6-hour VFP had the lowest incidence of DVT (8.7%, 4/46), followed by those treated with 1-hour VFP (15.2%, 7/46), 12-hour VFP (15.6%, 7/45), 18-hour VFP(17.8%, 8/45) and 20-hour VFP(21.7%, 10/46), but with no significant difference (P = 0.539). Regarding postoperative blood coagulation examinations, patients treated with 6-hour VFP had the lowest D-dimer (P = 0.658) and the highest APTT (P = 0.262) compared with the other four groups. 6-hour VFP also had the lowest pain score (P = 0.206) and the highest comfort score (P = 0.288) compared with the other four groups. Conclusions Six hours may be the optimal duration of applying VFP for the prevention of VTE in patients undergoing hip and knee arthroplasty in terms of VTE incidence, postoperative blood coagulation examinations, pain outcomes, and comfort scores.

Abstract This study sought to identify molecular subtypes of breast cancer (BC) and develop a breast cancer stem cells (BCSCs)-related gene risk score for predicting prognosis and assessing the potential for immunotherapy. Unsupervised clustering based on prognostic BCSC genes was used to determine BC molecular subtypes. Core genes of BC subtypes identified by non-negative matrix factorization algorithm (NMF) were screened using weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA). A risk model based on prognostic BCSC genes was constructed using machine learning as well as LASSO regression and multivariate Cox regression. The tumor microenvironment and immune infiltration were analyzed using ESTIMATE and CIBERSORT, respectively. A CD79A+CD24-PANCK+-BCSC subpopulation was identified and its spatial relationship with microenvironmental immune response state was evaluated by multiplexed quantitative immunofluorescence (QIF) and TissueFAXS Cytometry. We identified two distinct molecular subtypes, with Cluster 1 displaying better prognosis and enhanced immune response. The constructed risk model involving ten BCSC genes could effectively stratify patients into subgroups with different survival, immune cell abundance, and response to immunotherapy. In subsequent QIF validation involving 267 patients, we demonstrated the existence of CD79A+CD24-PANCK+-BCSC in BC tissues and revealed that this BCSC subtype located close to exhausted CD8+FOXP3+ T cells. Furthermore, both the densities of CD79A+CD24-PANCK+-BCSCs and CD8+FOXP3+T cells were positively correlated with poor survival. These findings highlight the importance of BCSCs in prognosis and reshaping the immune microenvironment, which may provide an option to improve outcomes for patients.

Abstract Background Most lung cancer patients worldwide (stage IV non-small cell lung cancer, NSCLC) have a poor survival: 25%-30% patients die 3 months, 10%-15% patients survive (very) long. Astragali radix (AR) is an effective traditional Chinese medicine widely used for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, the pharmacological mechanisms of AR on NSCLC remain to be elucidated. Methods Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatography system coupled with Q-Orbitrap HRMS (UPLC-Q-Orbitrap HRMS) was performed for the qualitative analysis of AR components. Then, network module analysis and molecular docking-based approach was conducted to explore underlying mechanisms of AR on NSCLC. The target genes of AR were obtained from four databases including TCMSP (Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology) database, ETCM (The Encyclopedia of TCM) database, HERB (A high-throughput experiment- and reference-guided database of TCM) database and BATMAN-TCM (a Bioinformatics Analysis Tool for Molecular mechanism of TCM) database. NSCLC related genes were screened by GEO (Gene Expression Omnibus) database. The STRING database was used for protein interaction network construction (PIN) of AR-NSCLC shared target genes. The critical PIN were further constructed based on the topological properties of network nodes. Afterwards the hub genes and network modules were analyzed, and enrichment analysis were employed by the R package clusterProfiler. The Autodock Vina was utilized for molecular docking, and the Gromacs was utilized for molecular dynamics simulations Furthermore, the survival analysis was performed based on TCGA (The Cancer Genome Atlas) database. Results Seventy-seven AR components absorbed in blood were obtained. The critical network was constructed with 1447 nodes and 28,890 edges. Based on topological analysis, 6 hub target genes and 7 functional modules were gained. were obtained including TP53, SRC, UBC, CTNNB1, EP300, and RELA. After module analysis, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis showed that AR may exert therapeutic effects on NSCLC by regulating JAK-STAT signaling pathway, PI3K-AKT signaling pathway, ErbB signaling pathway, as well as NFkB signaling pathway. After the intersection calculation of the hub targets and the proteins participated in the above pathways, TP53, SRC, EP300, and RELA were obtained. These proteins had good docking affinity with astragaloside IV. Furthermore, RELA was associated with poor prognosis of NSCLC patients. Conclusions This study could provide chemical component information references for further researches. The potential pharmacological mechanisms of AR on NSCLC were elucidated, promoting the clinical application of AR in treating NSCLC. RELA was selected as a promising candidate biomarker affecting the prognosis of NSCLC patients.

Returning carbon materials from biomass to soil is a potential technology to retard organic contaminants or dissolved organic matter (DOM) in soil by adsorption, as well as to store carbon in soil for carbon sequestration. However, DOM was widely reported to inhibit adsorption of organic contaminants on carbon materials by competition and by enhancing contaminants' solubility. In this study, a KOH activated carbon material (KAC), pyrolyzed from bamboo chips, with high surface area (3108 m2/g), micropores volumes (0.964 cm3/g), mesopores volumes (1.284 cm3/g), was observed that it can adsorb fulvic acid (FA) and organic contaminants (e.g., nitrobenzene, phenols, and anilines) simultaneously with weak competition and high adsorption capacity. With 50 mg TOC/L FA, for example, the average competition suppressing rate (ΔKf/Kf-m) of organic contaminants on KAC was lower than 5%, the adsorption for organic contaminants and FA were higher than 1100 mg/g and 90 mg TOC/g, respectively. The weak competition on KAC could be attributed to the low micropore blockage (

Background: Malignant pericardial effusion (MPE) is a common complication of advanced breast cancer (BRCA) and plays an important role in BRCA. This study is aims to construct a prognostic model based on MPE-related genes for predicting the prognosis of breast cancer. Methods: The BRCA samples are analyzed based on the expression of MPE-related genes by using an unsupervised cluster analysis method. This study processes the data by least absolute shrinkage and selection operator and multivariate Cox analysis, and uses machine learning algorithms to construct BRCA prognostic model and develop web tool. Results: BRCA patients are classified into three clusters and a BRCA prognostic model is constructed containing 9 MPE-related genes. There are significant differences in signature pathways, immune infiltration, immunotherapy response and drug sensitivity testing between the high and low-risk groups. Of note, a web-based tool (http://wys.helyly.top/cox.html) is developed to predict overall survival as well as drug-therapy response of BRCA patients quickly and conveniently, which can provide a basis for clinicians to formulate individualized treatment plans. Conclusion: The MPE-related prognostic model developed in this study can be used as an effective tool for predicting the prognosis of BRCA and provides new insights for the diagnosis and treatment of BRCA patients.

Abstract Breast cancer and diabetes are significant health challenges, and effective treatments for both diseases are lacking. Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) have demonstrated anticancer and hypoglycemic effects, but their mechanisms of action are not yet fully understood. We used the GeneCards and PharmMapper databases to identify therapeutic targets for diabetes, breast cancer and PPIs. We identified common targets and constructed a regulatory network of diseases and drugs using the STRING database and Cytoscape software. We also explored the binding between small molecule ligands and protein receptors using Discovery Studio software. We identified 33 shared targets for breast cancer, diabetes, and PPIs including lansoprazole, omeprazole, and pantoprazole, which play a critical role in fatty acid transport, insulin resistance, apoptosis, and cancer-related signaling pathways. Our findings demonstrated that PPIs had a strong affinity for AKT1 and MMP9. This study provides insights into the mechanisms of action of PPIs in breast cancer and diabetes and identifies AKT1 and MMP9 as critical targets for future drug development. Our findings highlight the potential of PPIs as a novel therapeutic approach for these challenging diseases.

Melasma is a pigmentation disease with refractory and high recurrence risk. Therefore, finding effective treatment has become the focus of research. This study aimed to reveal the mechanism of Licorice rose beverage (LRB) in treating melasma from the perspective of network pharmacology and in vitro and in vivo experimental techniques. Network pharmacological studies have shown that Isolicoflavonol, quercetin, and kaempferol are the main active components of anti-melasma and tyrosinase is the main target. Molecular docking studies have shown that these compounds have a good affinity for these targets. In vitro tyrosinase inhibition experiments showed that LRB could significantly inhibit tyrosinase activity. In vivo studies showed that LRB could significantly improve skin damage and skin pigmentation, reduce the activities of serum and skin tyrosinase in model mice, increase the activity of SOD in serum, and reduce the content of MDA in mice, showing a good effect of anti-melasma. In conclusion, these findings reveal the molecular mechanism of LRB in treating melasma and provide the scientific basis for this product's development and clinical application.

Abstract Background Old traumatic disjunction between the cervix and the uterine corpus is very rare case. In most cases, it is not immediately noticed until the onset of other symptoms, such as amenorrhea, periodic abdominal pain and so on. Scanty cases of anastomosis surgery via laparoscope have been reported. Case presentation We report here a 23-year-old young woman with the primary amenorrhea due to traumatic cervico-isthmic disjunction. The patient had a closed pelvic fracture at the age of 4 and has experienced periodic lower abdominal pain since the age of 17 years. A complete disjunction between the cervix and the uterine corpus was diagnosed. Laparoscopic cervico-isthmic anastomosis was performed to restore the continuity of the endometrial cavity and cervical canal. After this surgery, normal menstruation was resumed without cyclic abdominal pain. Conclusion Laparoscopic cervico-isthmic anastomosis could reconstruct the uterine outflow tract successfully, alleviate symptoms, and achieve a good short-term outcome.

Streptomyces spp. produce a range of secondary metabolites that can inhibit phytopathogen growth. This study aimed to optimise the environmental and nutritional parameters for improving the production of antifungal components by Streptomyces sp. HU2014 through statistical approaches. Spectrophotometry and bioassay revealed that two fractions, F6 and F8, from the cell-free filtrates of HU2014 culture broth were rich in antifungal compounds. Subsequently, single-factor experiments were conducted using glucose-peptone-yeast extract medium as basal medium, and the effects of different parameters on the production of bioactive metabolites by Streptomyces sp. HU2014 were evaluated and optimised using shake-flask experiments as follows: incubation time, 10 days; temperature, 25 °C; agitation speed, 150 rpm; inoculum size, 5% (v/v); initial pH, 7.0; and medium composition, dextrin, yeast extract and KNO3. The central composite face-centred design from response surface methodology predicted 39.6 g/L dextrin, 8.5 g/L yeast extract and 2.5 g/L KNO3 as the optimum medium composition. The validation experiment confirmed that a 50-fold dilution of the optimised filtered fermentation broth of the strain culture showed an increase of 14.9% in the inhibition of Rhizoctonia solani YL-3 when compared with the basal medium. A good correlation between measured and predicted values of the model validated both the responses. Thus, the present study used statistical optimisation to improve the bioactive metabolites productivity in Streptomyces sp. HU2014.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are increasingly being used in the treatment of advanced human malignancies. ICIs-related adverse events, including pancreatitis and diabetes, have been individually characterized in the literature. The co-occurrence of ICIs-related pancreatitis with diabetes is rare and easily overlooked, but it is often severe or fatal. We present a patient with renal tumor resection who was treated with injection of the PD-L1 inhibitor toripalimab and eventually developed acute pancreatitis and fulminant type 1 diabetes mellitus. In addition, we conducted a literature review of ICIs-related pancreatitis with diabetes. The case in our report presented with paroxysmal abdominal pain and loss of appetite. Intravenous fluids and insulin infusion improved the patient’s pancreatitis and explosive hyperglycemia. This article suggests that ICIs can affect endocrine and exocrine functions of the pancreas, while providing information and new perspectives for the diagnosis and treatment of this challenging rare disease, helping inspire clinicians for the early identification and effective management of similar cases.

Breast cancer (BRCA) is a major global health issue, characterized by high mortality and low early diagnosis rates. The tumor immune microenvironment (TME) of BRCA is closely linked to fatty acid metabolism (FAM). This study aimed to identify FAM-related subtypes in BRCA based on gene expression and clinical data from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. The study found two distinct FAM-related subtypes, each with unique immune characteristics and prognostic implications. A FAM-related risk score prognostic model was developed and validated using TCGA and International Cancer Genome Consortium (GEO) cohorts, showing potential clinical applications for chemotherapy and immunotherapy. Additionally, a nomogram was established to facilitate clinical use of the risk score. These results highlight the significant correlation between FAM genes and TME in BRCA, and demonstrate the potential clinical utility of the FAM-related risk score in informing treatment decisions for BRCA patients.

Background: Different modes of delivery are strongly associated with postpartum pelvic floor muscle (PFM) injury and postpartum pelvic floor dysfunction. This study used Glazer PFM surface electromyography (sEMG) to objectively assess postpartum PFM function to determine the effects of different modes of delivery on pelvic floor function in the early postpartum period in primiparous women. Methods: There were 1286 cases of cesarean delivery (CD) and 2099 cases of vaginal delivery (VD). The vaginal delivery group was further divided into four subgroups (A: intact perineum without laceration and first-degree laceration; B: second-degree laceration; C: mediolateral episiotomy; D: forceps delivery). Pelvic floor sEMG indices of the subjects were analyzed at 6–8 weeks postpartum. Results: The results showed that the mean peak amplitude of phasic (flick) contractions and the mean amplitude of tonic contractions were both significantly higher in CD than in VD (p < 0.01). In contrast, the mean amplitude variability of tonic contractions was lower in CD than in VD (p < 0.01). The mean peak amplitude of phasic (flick) contractions and the mean amplitude of tonic contractions were statistically lower in the forceps group than in the other vaginal delivery groups (p < 0.05). The mean amplitude variability of tonic contractions was greater in the forceps group than in groups A, B and C (p < 0.01). Conclusions: Vaginal delivery, especially forceps delivery, may result in impaired pelvic floor muscle function in the early postpartum period compared to cesarean delivery.

Highlights Matrix diffusion, intraparticle diffusion, and outer diffusion of 1,3,5-trinitrobenzene on biochars were observed. Matrix diffusion rates were linearly positively correlated with the condensation of biochars produced at 200–350 °C. Adsorption rates were linearly positively correlated with the graphite defects of biochars produced at 400–700 °C.

Soil water content plays an important role in crop production, especially in the main rice production areas of China. The temporal stability of soil water content was studied in a paddy field of Taihu Lake region, southeast China. There were two treatments in this experiment, one was mulch with rice straw and the other was without mulch. Soil water content of the two treatments was monitored at the interval of 10 days by the Time Domain Reflectometer probes which were installed in situ, and measured both at 14 and 33 cm soil layers. The data were evaluated by temporal stability methods and Spearman's correlation. Results showed that mulching with rice straw proved to be efficient in retaining the soil water at the 14 cm soil layer. Based on the relative difference method, the representative positions of the experiment field were identified, which accurately represented the field-mean soil water at the experiment field was detected in terms of root mean square error, less than 2.18%. The Spearman's correlation values were high, which indicates temporal dependence along the experiment period. The data of soil water temporal stability could provide scientific basis for adequate water management in paddy field. HIGHLIGHTS The deeper the soil layer, the better the temporal stability of soil moisture.; Temporal stability of soil moisture affects agricultural production.; The temporal stability of soil moisture can provide information in large area.; Straw mulching had significant effect on temporal stability of soil surface water.; The use of field water stability can reduce the number of observations required for soil water management.;

Salt stress affects the growth and global production of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). Plant growth-promoting microbes can enhance plant resistance to abiotic stresses. In this study, we aimed to assess the inoculation of soil with Streptomyces sp. HU2014 to improve wheat tolerance to salt stress from multiple perspectives, including the interaction of the strain, the addition of NaCl, the condition of the wheat, and rhizosphere microbial communities. The results showed that the strain promoted wheat growth under NaCl stress by increasing biomass by 19.8%, total chlorophyll content by 72.1%, proline content by 152.0%, and malondialdehyde content by 106.9%, and by decreasing catalase by 39.0%, peroxidase by 1.4%, and soluble sugar by 61.6% when compared to the control. With HU2014 soil inoculation, total nitrogen, nitrate nitrogen, total phosphorus, and Olsen phosphorus increased, whereas ammonium nitrogen and pH decreased. HU2014 inoculation and/or the addition of NaCl affected the diversity of rhizosphere bacteria, but not fungi. The structure of the microbial community differed after HU2014 inoculation, with Proteobacteria, Acidobacteriota, Bacteroidota, and unclassified fungi being the dominant phyla, and these taxa correlated with the above-mentioned soil parameters. Thus, this study provided a promising way to enhance wheat tolerance to salt stress and improve the agricultural ecological environment by using plant growth-promoting microbes.

The wireless energy-carrying communication method for the Internet of Things (IoT) presents several difficulties for information security such as eavesdropping or data loss. To solve these issues, this paper presents a new secure transmission method for IoT wireless energy-carrying communication systems. In this method, first the secret message is turned into a word, delivered to the intended recipient and unlawful listener, respectively, and the received message is characterized as an entropy function. The message is iteratively solved using the block coordinate descent technique, and for each iteration, a digital baseband signal containing the receiver's secret message symbol and the matching beamforming vector is delivered. By concurrently optimizing the transmit beamforming vector, the noise covariance matrix, and the receiver power allocation factor based on a design that complies with the security rate and energy acquisition limitations for each receiver, the overall system transmit power is reduced. The Lagrangian method is used to solve the secure transmission problem of the communication system based on an iterative block coordinate descent algorithm, as well as to change the nonconvex problem into a convex problem and precisely derive the upper and lower bounds of the original transmission problem. In comparison to the conventional policy transmission scheme, the experimental results demonstrate that the DIPS (Digital Image Processing System) scheme can increase the STP (Signaling Transfer Point) by approximately 34.16 percent in the eavesdropper independent eavesdropping and joint eavesdropping scenarios. The usefulness of the secure transmission strategy for wireless energy-carrying communication systems is confirmed by this investigation.

Abstract Macrophages are among the most abundant immune cells in colorectal cancer (CRC). Re-educating tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) to switch from protumoral to anti-tumoral activity is an attractive treatment strategy that warrants further investigation. However, little is known about the key pathway that is activated in TAMs. In this study, infitrating CD206+ TAMs in CRC were sorted and subjected to RNA-seq analysis. Differentially expressed genes were found to be enriched in unfolded protein response/endoplasmic reticulum stress response processes, and XBP1 splicing/activation was specifically observed in TAMs. XBP1 activation in TAMs promoted the growth and metastasis of CRC. Ablation of XBP1 inhibited the expression of the pro-tumor cytokine signature of TAMs, including IL-6, VEGFA, and IL-4. Simultaneously, XBP1 depletion could directly inhibit the expression of SIRPα and THBS1, thereby blocking “don’t eat me” recognition signals and enhancing phagocytosis. Therapeutic XBP1 gene editing using AAV2-sgXBP1 enhanced the anti-tumor activity. Together, XBP1 activation in TAMs drives CRC progression by elevating pro-tumor cytokine expression and secretion, as well as inhibiting macrophage phagocytosis. Targeting XBP1 signaling in TAMs may be a potential strategy for CRC therapy.

Licorice flavonoids (LCFs) are natural flavonoids isolated from Glycyrrhiza which are known to have anti-melanoma activities in vitro. However, the molecular mechanism of LCF anti-melanoma has not been fully understood. In this study, network pharmacology, 3D/2D-QSAR, molecular docking, and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation were used to explore the molecular mechanism of LCF anti-melanoma. First of all, we screened the key active components and targets of LCF anti-melanoma by network pharmacology. Then, the logIC50 values of the top 20 compounds were predicted by the 2D-QSAR pharmacophore model, and seven highly active compounds were screened successfully. An optimal 3D-QSAR pharmacophore model for predicting the activity of LCF compounds was established by the HipHop method. The effectiveness of the 3D-QSAR pharmacophore was verified by a training set of compounds with known activity, and the possible decisive therapeutic effect of the potency group was inferred. Finally, molecular docking and MD simulation were used to verify the effective pharmacophore. In conclusion, this study established the structure–activity relationship of LCF and provided theoretical guidance for the research of LCF anti-melanoma.

The high-quality operation of a superheated steam temperature (SST) system is a core fact of the safety, economy, and stability of thermal power units. How to improve the control performance of an SST system under large-varying operating conditions is becoming a research hotspot. To solve this challenge, this paper proposes a proportional integral derivative (PID) control strategy based on integral gain scheduling. Based on the introduction of the SST system and classical model under typical operating conditions, the control difficulties of the SST system are analyzed theoretically. Then, a PID control strategy, based on integral gain scheduling, is introduced for the cascade control structure, and the stability of the proposed control strategy is analyzed by calculating the PID stability region. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed method is verified under nominal and uncertain conditions, where the proposed method could obtain satisfactory tracking and disturbance rejection control performance. Simulation results show the valuable application prospects of the proposed method.

The label-free methods of proteomic combined with metabolomics were applied to explore the mechanisms of Cryptotanshinone (CPT) intervention in rats with acne. The model group consisted of rats given oleic acid (MC), then treated with CPT, while control groups did not receive treatment. The skin samples were significantly different between control, model and CPT-treated groups in hierarchical clustering dendrogram. Obvious separations of the skin metabolic profiles from the three groups were found through PCA scoring. In total, 231 and 189 differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) were identified in MC and CPT groups, respectively. By the KEGG analysis, five protein and metabolite pathways were found to be significantly altered. These played important roles in response to oleic acid-induced acne and drug treatment. CPT could negatively regulate glycolysis/gluconeogenesis and histidine metabolisms to decrease keratinocyte differentiation and improve excessive keratinization and cellular barrier function. CPT could down-regulate the IL-17 signaling pathway and regulate the acne-driven immune response of sebum cells. The biosynthesis of unsaturated fatty acids metabolism, glycerophospholipid metabolism and linoleic acid pathways could significantly alter sebum production and control sebaceous gland secretion after CPT treatment. The gap junction was up-regulated after CPT treatment and the skin barrier turned back to normal. Krt 14, Krt 16 and Krt 17 were significantly down-regulated, decreasing keratinization, while inflammatory cell infiltration was improved by down-regulation of Msn, up-regulation of linoleic acid and estrogen pathways after CPT treatment. These results propose action mechanisms for the use of CPT in acne, as a safe and potential new drug.

Emerging evidence suggests that the nervous system is involved in tumor development in the periphery, however, the role of the central nervous system remains largely unknown. Here, by combining genetic, chemogenetic, pharmacological, and electrophysiological approaches, we show that hypothalamic oxytocin (Oxt)-producing neurons modulate colitis-associated cancer (CAC) progression in mice. Depletion or activation of Oxt neurons could augment or suppress CAC progression. Importantly, brain treatment with celastrol, a pentacyclic triterpenoid, excites Oxt neurons and inhibits CAC progression, and this anti-tumor effect was significantly attenuated in Oxt neuron-lesioned mice. Furthermore, brain treatment with celastrol suppresses sympathetic neuronal activity in the celiac-superior mesenteric ganglion (CG-SMG), and activation of β2 adrenergic receptor abolishes the anti-tumor effect of Oxt neuron activation or centrally administered celastrol. Taken together, these findings demonstrate that hypothalamic Oxt neurons regulate CAC progression by modulating the neuronal activity in the CG-SMG. Stimulation of Oxt neurons using chemicals, for example, celastrol, might be a novel strategy for colorectal cancer treatment.

Epidemiological and experimental evidence indicate that selenium is associated with a reduced risk of some cancers, including esophageal cancer. However, the exact mechanism is still unclear. In the present study, we used esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) cell lines and animal models to explore the anti-cancer mechanism of methylseleninic acid (MSA). Firstly, MSA treatment dramatically attenuated Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) protein expression but did not alter mRNA levels in ESCC cells. On the contrary, EGFR overexpression partly abolished the inhibitory effect of MSA. With a microRNA-array, we found MSA up-regulated miR-146a which directly targeted EGFR, whereas miR-146a inhibitor antagonized MSA-induced decrease of EGFR protein. We further used 4-nitroquinoline-1-oxide (4NQO)-induced esophageal tumor mice model to evaluate the inhibitory effect of MSA in vivo. MSA treatment significantly decreased the tumor burden and EGFR protein expression in tumor specimens. Furthermore, MSA treatment inhibited EGFR pathway and subsequntly reduced Interleukin-6 (IL-6) secretion in the supernatant of cancer cell lines. MSA-induced IL-6 suppression was EGFR-dependent. To further evaluate the association of IL-6 and the anti-tumor effect of MSA on esophageal cancer, we established the 4NQO-induced esophageal tumor model in IL-6 knock-out (IL-6 KO) mice. The results showed that IL-6 deficiency did not affect esophageal tumorigenesis in mice, but the inhibitory effect of MSA was abolished in IL-6 KO mice. In conclusion, our study demonstrated that MSA upregulated miR-146a which directly targeted EGFR, and inhibited EGFR protein expression and pathway activity, subsequently decreased IL-6 secretion. The inhibitory effect of MSA on esophageal cancer was IL-6 dependent. These results suggested that MSA may serve as a potential drug treating esophageal cancer.

Abstract Background The SUMO-activating enzyme SAE1 is indispensable for protein SUMOylation. A dysregulation of SAE1 expression involves in progression of several human cancers. However, its biological roles of SAE1 in glioma are unclear by now. Methods The differential proteome between human glioma tissues and para-cancerous brain tissues were identified by LC-MS/MS. SAE1 expression was further assessed by immunohistochemistry. The patient overall survival versus SAE1 expression level was evaluated by Kaplan–Meier method. The glioma cell growth and migration were evaluated under SAE1 overexpression or inhibition by the CCK8, transwell assay and wound healing analysis. The SUMO1 modified target proteins were enriched from total cellular or tissue proteins by incubation with the anti-SUMO1 antibody on protein-A beads overnight, then the SUMOylated proteins were detected by Western blot. Cell apoptosis and cell cycle were analyzed by flow cytometry. The nude mouse xenograft was determined glioma growth and tumorigenicity in vivo. Results SAE1 is identified to increase in glioma tissues by a quantitative proteomic dissection, and SAE1 upregulation indicates a high level of tumor malignancy grade and a poor overall survival for glioma patients. SAE1 overexpression induces an increase of the SUMOylation and Ser473 phosphorylation of AKT, which promotes glioma cell growth in vitro and in nude mouse tumor model. On the contrary, SAE1 silence induces an obvious suppression of the SUMOylation and Ser473 phosphorylation of Akt, which inhibits glioma cell proliferation and the tumor xenograft growth through inducing cell cycle arrest at G2 phase and cell apoptosis driven by serial biochemical molecular events. Conclusion SAE1 promotes glioma cancer progression via enhancing Akt SUMOylation-mediated signaling pathway, which indicates targeting SUMOylation is a promising therapeutic strategy for human glioma.

Tanshinone (TAN), a class of bioactive components in traditional Chinese medicinal plant Salvia miltiorrhiza, has antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effects, can enhance blood circulation, remove blood stasis, and promote wound healing. For these reasons it has been developed as a drug to treat acne. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the therapeutic effects of TAN in rats with oleic acid-induced acne and to explore its possible mechanisms of action through the identification of potential lipid biomarkers. In this study, a rat model of acne was established by applying 0.5 ml of 80% oleic acid to rats’ back skin. The potential metabolites and targets involved in the anti-acne effects of TAN were predicted using lipidomics. The results indicate that TAN has therapeutic efficacy for acne, as supported by the results of the histological analyses and biochemical index assays for interleukin (IL)-8, IL-6, IL-β and tumor necrosis factor alpha. The orthogonal projection of latent structure discriminant analysis score was used to analyze the lipidomic profiles between control and acne rats. Ninety-six potential biomarkers were identified in the skin samples of the acne rats. These biomarkers were mainly related to glycerophospholipid and sphingolipid metabolism, and the regulation of their dysfunction is thought to be a possible therapeutic mechanism of action of TAN on acne.

Nonintrusive industrial load identification can accurately acquire the operation data of each load in the plant, which is the benefit of intelligent power management. The identification method of the industrial load is complicated and difficult to be realized due to the difficulty in collecting transient data for modeling, and high-precision measuring equipment is required. Aiming at this situation, the article proposes a nonintrusive industrial load identification method using a random forest algorithm and steady-state waveform. Firstly, by monitoring the change of the industrial load power state, when the load changes and becomes stable, the steady-state waveform is extracted. Due to different electrical characteristics of industrial loads, the current waveform of loads is different to some extent. We can construct characteristic data for each industrial load to construct its own current steady-state waveform. Then, using the high-dimensional data of the steady-state waveform as the sample data, the bootstrap sampling method and the CART algorithm in the random forest algorithm are used to generate multiple decision trees. Finally, the industrial load types are identified by voting multiple decision trees. The actual operating load data of a factory are used as the sample data in the simulation, and the effectiveness and rapidity of the proposed identification algorithm are verified by the combined load method simulation comparison. The simulation results show that the accuracy of the proposed identification algorithm is more than 99%, the identification time is 3.36 s, which is much higher than that of other methods, and the operation time is less than that of other methods. Therefore, the proposed identification algorithm can effectively realize the nonintrusive industrial load identification.

The dynamic drug release mechanisms from Carbomer 940 (CP) hydrogels have not been systematically explored elsewhere. This study aimed to investigate the quantitative structure−activity relationship of licorice flavonoids (LFs) compounds on their drug release from CP hydrogels based on LFs-CP interactions and drug solubility in the release medium. Ten LFs-CP hydrogels were formulated, and their in vitro release study was conducted. The intermolecular forces of LFs-CP systems were characterized by FTIR, molecular docking and molecular dynamic simulation. Ten LFs compounds were classified into I (high-release capability) LFs and II (low-release capability) LFs according to the different negative correlations between drug release percent at 48 h and intermolecular forces of drugs-CP, respectively. Moreover, high-release LFs possessed significantly lower log P and higher drug solubility in the release medium than low-release LFs. All I LFs release behaviors best followed the first-order equation, while II LFs release characteristics best fitted the zero-order equation except for isoliquiritigenin. Log P mainly affect the hydrogel relaxation process for I drugs release and the drug diffusion process for II drugs release. Higher log P values for LFs resulted in higher intermolecular strength for I drugs-CP systems and lower drug solubility in the release medium for II drugs, which hindered drug release. Hydrophobic association forces in drug-CP hydrogel played a more and more dominant role in hindering I LFs release with increasing release time. On the other hand, lower drug solubility in the release medium restricted II LFs release, and the dominant role of drug solubility in the release medium increased in 24 h followed by a significant decline after 36 h. Collectively, log P of LFs served as a bridge to determine LFs compound release behaviors and classification from CP hydrogels, which provided guidelines for reasonable design of LFs hydrogels in pharmaceutical topical formulations.

Keratin liposomes have emerged as a useful topical drug delivery system given theirenhanced ability to penetrate the skin, making them ideal as topical drug vehicles. However, the mechanisms of the drug penetration enhancement of keratin liposomes have not been clearly elucidated. Therefore, licochalcone A(LA)-loaded skin keratin liposomes (LALs) were prepared to investigate their mechanisms of penetration enhancement on the skin and inB16F10 cells. Skin deposition studies, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), attenuated total reflection-Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), and skin distribution and intracellular distribution studies were carried out to demonstrate the drug enhancement mechanisms of LALs. We found that the optimal application of LALs enhanced drug permeation via alterations in the components, structure, and thermodynamic properties of the stratum corneum (SC), that is, by enhancing the lipid fluidization, altering the skin keratin, and changing the thermodynamic properties of the SC. Moreover, hair follicles were the main penetration pathways for the LA delivery, which occurred in a time-dependent manner. In the B16F10 cells, the skin keratin liposomes effectively delivered LA into the cytoplasm without cytotoxicity. Thus, LAL nanoparticles are promising topical drug delivery systems for pharmaceutical and cosmetic applications.

Abstract A steam turbine is one of the components in a power plant. Considered as a strong coupling system, steam turbines may possess correlation information among the operation parameters. In this article, a correlation extraction method based on mutual information theory is proposed for performance monitoring. First, five functions between two variables including linear and nonlinear relationships are tested to validate the proposed method. In the first industrial case study, a sensor fault detection based on the governing stage pressure is conducted on the abnormal fluctuation mutual entropy values calculated by operation data. The results show the proposed method may effectively be used to detect sensor errors and locate the first error sample. Furthermore, uncertainty analysis on the heat rate is studied to sort the importance degree of the relative parameters. The mutual information entropy difference values are then calculated to quantify the sensitivity degree of the operation parameters to the heat rate index. The results in this case study are in accordance with the sequences by the Guide to the Expression of Uncertainty Measurement (GUM) and Monte Carlo (MC) methods. In conclusion, mutual information entropy may hence be used as a new solution for turbine monitoring, combined with information theory.

We applied a label-free proteomic method to explore the mechanisms of Licorice flavonoid anti-acne effects in rat. Acne model was established in the back of rats as model group (MDL), then treated with licorice flavonoid (LCF), while none treated rats as control groups (CTR). In MDL, 314 differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) and 27 significantly differentially expressed proteins (SDEPs) were identified compared to what was identified in CTR. While in LCF, 359 DEPs and 15 SDEPs were identified in comparison to MDL. Bioinformatics analysis showed that pathways related to metabolism, tight junction, PI3K-Akt signaling, focal adhesion, regulation of actin cytoskeleton, and leukocyte transendothelial migration were activated. The results of proteomics data were validated by qRT-PCR and western blot. Transdermal administration of LCF may exert anti-acne effects by inhibiting PI3K-Akt signaling pathway and mitochondrial activity. Hence, our results elucidated the underlying mechanisms of LCF anti-acne effect.

Ambient PM2.5-bound ions, OC, EC, heavy metals (HMs), 18 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), 7 hopanes, and 29 n-alkanes were detected at Tuoji Island (TI), the only marine background atmospheric monitoring station in North China. The annual PM2.5 average concentration was 47 ± 31 μg m−3, and the average concentrations of the compositions in PM2.5 were higher in cold seasons than in warm seasons. The cancer and non-cancer risks of HMs and PAHs in cold seasons were also higher than in warm seasons. BaP, Ni, and As dominated the ∑HQ (hazard quotient) in cold seasons, while the non-carcinogenic risk in warm seasons was mainly dominated by Ni, Mn, and As. The ILCR (incremental lifetime cancer risk) values associated with Cr and As were higher in the cold season, while ILCR-Ni values were higher in the warm season. The backward trajectory was calculated to identify the potential directions of air mass at TI. Through the diagnostic ratios of organic and inorganic tracers, the sources of particulate matter in different directions were judged. It was found that ship emissions and sea salt were the main sources from marine directions, while coal combustion, vehicles emissions, industrial process, and secondary aerosols were the main source categories for inland directions. In addition, potential HM and PAH risks from inland and marine directions were explored. The non-cancerous effects of TI were mainly affected by inland transport, especially from the southeast, northwest, and west-northwest. The cancerous effects of TI were mainly simultaneously affected by the inland direction and marine direction of transport.

This study aimed to systematically compare licochalcone A (LicA) and glabridin (Gla) (whitening agents) release and permeation from Carbomer 940 (CP) hydrogels with different enhancers, and evaluate the relationship between the quantitative enhancement efficacy and structures of the enhancers. An in vitro release study and an in vitro permeation experiment in solution and hydrogels using porcine skin were performed. We found that the Gla–CP hydrogel showed a higher drug release and skin retention amount than LicA–CP due to the higher solubility in medium and better miscibility with the skin of Gla than that of LicA. Enhancers with a higher molecular weight (MW) and lower polarizability showed a higher release enhancement effect (ERrelease) for both LicA and Gla. The Van der Waals forces in the drug–enhancers–CP system were negatively correlated with the drug release percent. Moreover, enhancers with a higher log P and polarizability displayed a higher retention enhancement effect in solution (ERsolution retention) for LicA and Gla. Enhancers decreased the whole intermolecular forces indrug–enhancers-skin system, which had a linear inhibitory effect on the drug retention. Moreover, C=O of ceramide acted asthe enhancement site for drug permeation. Consequently, Transcutol® P (TP) and propylene glycol (PG), seven enhancers showed a higher retention enhancement effect in hydrogel (ERhydrogel retention) for LicA and Gla. Taken together, the conclusions provide a strategy for reasonable utilization of enhancers and formulation optimization in topical hydrogel whitening.

In order to solve the problem of high reheated steam temperature fluctuation, difficult operation of automatic control and low economical efficiency because of high spraying water in supercritical unit, an advanced reheated steam temperature optimal control strategy being applicable to big lag and nonlinear characteristic was put forward by combining the active disturbance rejection controller (ADRC) with the Smith predictive compensation control. Through the simulation of the reheated steam temperature object in 600 MW supercritical unit, the results show that compared with the traditional reheated steam temperature control system, the proposed advanced reheated steam temperature control strategy can decrease the reheated steam temperature fluctuations, setpoint tracking performance and disturbance rejection can be improved, also the economical efficiency can be raised by reducing the amount of spraying water.

Abstract Background Isoliquiritigenin (ISL), a natural flavonoid isolated from the root of licorice (Glycyrrhiza uralensis), has shown various pharmacological properties including anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer activities. MicroRNAs (miRNAs), a class of small non-coding RNAs, have been reported as post-transcriptional regulators with altered expression levels in melanoma. This study aims to investigate the anti-melanoma effect of ISL and its potential mechanism. Methods We investigated the effect of ISL on the proliferation and apoptosis of melanoma cell lines with functional assays, such as CCK-8 assay, colony formation assay and flow cytometry. The protein level of apoptosis related genes were measured by western blotting. High-throughput genome sequencing was used for screening differentially expressed miRNAs of melanoma cell lines after the treatment of ISL. We performed functional assays to determine the oncogenic role of miR-301b, the most differentially expressed miRNA, and its target gene leucine rich repeats and immunoglobulin like domains 1 (LRIG1), confirmed by bioinformatic analysis, luciferase reporter assay, western blotting and immunohistochemical assay in melanoma. Immunocompromised mouse models were used to determine the role of miR-301b and its target gene in melanoma tumorigenesis in vivo. The relationship between miR-301b and LRIG1 was further verified in GEO data set and tissue specimens. Results Functional assays indicated that ISL exerted significant growth inhibition and apoptosis induction on melanoma cells. MiR-301b is the most differentially expressed miRNA after the treatment of ISL and significantly downregulated. The suppressive effect of ISL on cell growth is reversed by ectopic expression of miR-301b. Intratumorally administration of miR-301b angomir enhances the inhibitory effect of ISL on tumor growth in vivo. Bioinformatic analysis showed that miR-301b may target LRIG1, miR-301b suppresses the luciferase activity of reporter constructs containing 3’UTR of LRIG1 as well as the expression level of LRIG1. And the anti-cancer effect of ISL is mitigated when LRIG1 is silenced in vivo and in vitro. Analysis of the melanoma samples obtained from patients shows that LRIG1 is negatively correlated with miR-301b. Conclusions ISL may inhibit the proliferation of melanoma cells by suppressing miR-301b and inducing its target LRIG1.

An integrated combustion optimization scheme is proposed for the combined considering the restriction in coal-fired boiler combustion efficiency and outlet NOx emissions. Continuous attribute discretization and reduction techniques are handled as optimization preparation by E-Cluster and C_RED methods, in which the segmentation numbers don't need to be provided in advance and can be continuously adapted with data characters. In order to obtain results of multi-objections with clustering method for mixed data, a modified K-prototypes algorithm is then proposed. This algorithm can be divided into two stages as K-prototypes algorithm for clustering number self-adaptation and clustering for multi-objective optimization, respectively. Field tests were carried out at a 660 MW coal-fired boiler to provide real data as a case study for controllable attribute discretization and reduction in boiler system and obtaining optimization parameters considering [maxηb,minyNOx] multi-objective rule. Keywords: Boiler combustion efficiency, NOx emissions, Multi-objective optimization, Clustering

China's power plant thermal process automation has experienced from scratch, from weak to strong changes. The history of power plant thermal process automation was briefly reviewed, the present situation of power plant thermal automation was analyzed, technologies were discussed such as the control system optimization, fieldbus control system(FCS), distributed control system (DCS), automatic plant start-up and shut down system(APS), digitization, centralization and intelligent. The main problems and the direction of development in the future were put forward.

An energy efficiency monitoring method of the steam turbine system is studied in this paper. Multivariate state estimation technique (MSET) is utilized to compare the actual monitoring parameters and the healthy data of the equipment in normal working condition with a multi parameter estimation model. Due to the limitation of a single heat rate index in evaluating energy efficiency variation, the energy efficiency deviation degree combined with improved information entropy weight is proposed to judge the steam turbine’s operation condition levels. The index value in the modified weight method has been searched for more steady weight values calculated by information entropy values with small variation. Taking a 600 MW unit as an example, the energy efficiency levels of the unit under a 550 MW normal working condition are clustered into four groups, testifying the MSET model correctness and calculating the deviation degree value. Then, the energy efficiency status monitoring model is utilized to record residuals of actual data and estimated data during abnormal energy efficiency period. The residuals over deviation degree are then marked and judged as related with the abnormal data. The results show that the MSET model can timely and accurately judge the change of unit operation state, and the deviation degree calculated by the modified information entropy weight method can provide earlier warnings for the abnormal energy efficiency working conditions.

Abstract Background Aberrant expression of Na+/K+-ATPase α1 subunit (ATP1A1) is widely observed in multiple types of tumors, and its tissue-specific expression relates to cancer development. However, the functions and molecular mechanisms in renal cell carcinoma (RCC) are not fully understood. Methods We investigated the ATP1A1 expression changes and possible roles in RCC through a quantitative proteomic approach and an integrative biochemical assessment. We detected ATP1A1 in RCC with LC–MS/MS, and further validated its expression with immunohistochemical analyses of 80 pairs of the RCC tumor and non-tumor tissues samples. The association of ATP1A1 expression with RCC pathology was statistically analyzed. Cell proliferation, migration and apoptosis were measured by CCK-8, boyden chamber assay and flow cytometry, respectively. The production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) was labeled with a single staining using a commercial kit, and was further detected with flow cytometry. Results The ATP1A1 shows a significantly decreased expression in human RCC tissues than in the adjacent non-tumor tissues. The RCC patients with ATP1A1-positive expression exhibit longer overall survival time than the ATP1A1-negative patients. The exogenous overexpression of ATP1A1 inhibits RCC cell proliferation and cell migration by increasing the production of ROS. In addition, ATP1A1-mediated Raf/MEK/ERK signaling pathway is suppressed in RCC cells, indicating the possible occurrence of induced cell apoptosis. Conclusions Our in vitro and in vivo data of ATP1A1 inhibitory roles in RCC progression suggest that ATP1A1 is a potential novel suppressor protein for renal cancer.

The AC voltage test is an important means to effectively detect the insulation defects of the equipment. The problems of low efficiency, poor safety, and poor compatibility of the AC voltage test for smart electricity meters and data acquire terminal of the special transformer, the fully automatic AC voltage test device are studied and designed by software programming, PLC control technology, and automatic crimping technology. The automatic test and result judgment of the AC voltage test for the smart electricity meters and data acquire terminal of the special transformer are realised, which makes many problems of the existing test equipment to be effectively solved. Thus, the efficiency, compatibility, safety and reliability of the test are improved.

Wnt/β-catenin and Hippo pathways play essential roles in the tumorigenesis and development of colorectal cancer. We found that Celastrol, isolated from Tripterygium wilfordii plant, exerted a significant inhibitory effect on colorectal cancer cell growth in vitro and in vivo , and further unraveled the molecular mechanisms. Celastrol induced β-catenin degradation through phosphorylation of Yes-associated protein (YAP), a major downstream effector of Hippo pathway, and also Celastrol-induced β-catenin degradation was dependent on liver kinase B1 (LKB1). Celastrol increased the transcriptional activation of LKB1, partially through the heat shock factor 1 (HSF1). Moreover, LKB1 activated AMP-activated protein kinase α (AMPKα) and further phosphorylated YAP, which eventually promoted the degradation of β-catenin. In addition, LKB1 deficiency promoted colorectal cancer cell growth and attenuated the inhibitory effect of Celastrol on colorectal cancer growth both in vitro and in vivo . Taken together, Celastrol inhibited colorectal cancer cell growth by promoting β-catenin degradation via the HSF1–LKB1–AMPKα–YAP pathway. These results suggested that Celastrol may potentially serve as a future drug for colorectal cancer treatment.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are one abundant class of small, endogenous non-coding RNAs, which regulate various biological processes by inhibiting expression of target genes. miRNAs have important functional roles in carcinogenesis and development of colorectal cancer (CRC), and emerging evidence has indicated the feasibility of miRNAs as robust cancer biomarkers. This review summarizes the progress in miRNA-related research, including study of its oncogene or tumour-suppressor roles and the advantages of miRNA biomarkers for CRC diagnosis, treatment and recurrence prediction. Along with analytical technique improvements in miRNA research, use of the emerging extracellular miRNAs is feasible for CRC diagnosis and prognosis.

The data presented in this article are related to the research article entitled “Antibacterial mechanism of daptomycin antibiotic against Staphylococcus aureus based on a quantitative bacterial proteome analysis” (Ma et al., 2016) [1]. Nucleoside diphosphate kinase (NDK) and 5′-nucleotidase (NT5) are two proteins related to bacterial growth. Here, a bioinformatics analysis was presented to explore NDK and NT5-invovled in the interacting protein network and purine metabolism.

The high recurrence rate remains a major problem that strongly influenced the prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients who received hepatectomy. The presence of microvascular invasion (MVI) is regarded as the most important risk factor that contributes to the postoperative recurrence. Our previous study has hinted that serum microRNA-125b (miR-125b) was associated with MVI. The aim of the present study was to identify whether serum miR-125b can serve as a biomarker to reliably predict microvascular invasion (MVI) preoperatively. MiR-125b was quantified in 108 HCC patients’ serum before they received surgery by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). Our results revealed that MVI was associated with relapse free survival (RFS) of postoperative HCC patients; surgical margin width was associated with postoperative RFS in MVI present patients, but not in the patients without MVI. Multivariate analysis revealed that miR-125b, tumor size and AFP were the independent predictive factors associated with MVI in this cohort (P = .001, .001, .003, respectively). The probability of the predictive accuracy of miR-125b was 76.95% (51.32% specificity and 87.50% sensitivity), which was almost equal to the classifier established by combination of AFP and tumor size (78.82% probability, 65.63% specificity and 84.21% sensitivity). Furthermore, the combination of tumor size, AFP and miR-125b yielded a ROC curve area of 86.68% (72.37% specificity and 84.38% sensitivity). Our study indicated that serum miR-125b can be used to predict MVI of HCC patients before they received hepatic resection. Therefore, miR-125b can potentially guide individualized treatment, which helps HCC patients, with or without MVI, to benefit from different surgical approach.

The boiler-turbine unit is really a complex system in thermal power engineering due to its large-scale nonlinearity, unmeasured state, unknown disturbances, and constraints imposed on both controls and outputs. To design a controller with appropriate performance in above synthetical cases, this paper intends to propose an adaptively receding Galerkin optimal controller design method, in which, the mathematical dynamics of unit can be directly used as a predictive model without any linearization, and the unmeasured state in the predictive model is adaptively estimated using a predesigned state observer. With the help of a mathematical predictive model, optimal control law is then obtained based on a Galerkin optimization algorithm. Due to the application of the useful information measured at every sampling time instant, the proposed method can deal with the tracking problem with constraints rather than the stabilization problem that can be only done by the traditional Galerkin optimal control. Furthermore, it can also be easily extended to estimate and thus eliminate constant disturbances in an output channel using an independent model strategy. Some simulations suggest that satisfactory tracking performance can be achieved even when the unit experiences wide-range load change.

A copper-catalysed sulfenylation of indoles with sodium sulfinates that affords 3-sulfenylindoles in good-to-excellent yields in N,N-dimethyl formamide (DMF) is described. In the process, DMF serves not only as a solvent but also as a reductant. This transformation is easy to carry out and has mild reaction conditions and good functional group tolerance.

Progesterone receptor membrane component 1 (PGRMC1) is widely observed with an elevated level in multiple human cancers. However, the roles of PGRMC1 in renal cancer are not clear and merit further study. In this report, we made a systematic, integrative biological assessment for PGRMC1 in renal cell carcinoma (RCC) by a quantitative proteomic identification, immunohistochemical detection, and its clinic pathologic significance analysis. We found that PGRMC1 abundance is increased by 3.91-fold in RCC tissues compared with its autologous para-cancerous tissues by a quantitative proteome identification. To validate the proteomic result with more confidence, 135 clinic RCC tissues were recruited to measure PGRMC1 abundance by immunohistochemical staining, and 63.7% RCC samples (n = 86) showed a higher abundance of PGRMC1 than the noncancerous counterparts. And the elevated PGRMC1 level was related to the tumor malignancy degree and overall survival of RCC patients. Meanwhile the average serum PGRMC1 concentration for RCC patients (n = 18) was significantly increased by 1.67 fold compared with healthy persons. Moreover an exogenous elevated abundance of PGRMC1 by plasmid transfections significantly enhanced cell proliferation of renal cancer cells in vitro. Our findings demonstrate PGRMC1, which promotes RCC progression phenotypes in vitro and in vivo, is a novel potential biomarker and therapeutic target for RCC.

SUMOylation, as a post-translational modification, plays essential roles in various biological functions including cell growth, migration, cellular responses to stress and tumorigenesis. The imbalance of SUMOylation and deSUMOylation has been associated with the occurrence and progression of various diseases. Herein, we summarize and discuss the signal crosstalk between SUMOylation and ubiquitination of proteins, protein SUMOylation relations with several diseases, and the identification approaches for SUMOylation site. With the continuous development of bioinformatics and mass spectrometry, several accurate and high-throughput methods have been implemented to explore small ubiquitin-like modifier-modified substrates and sites, which is helpful for deciphering protein SUMOylation-mediated molecular mechanisms of disease.