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The maintenance of competitiveness in the complex world in the 21st century cannot be isolated from scientific and technological innovation and talent training. As a brand-new form of education, STEM has become the focus of attention. The reform of education methods involves a global, long-term and strategic planning for development of education. The exploration of STEM education models requires not only the consideration of regional realities, but also international experience, etc. This paper analyzes the connotation and characteristics of STEM education, attempting to offer a plan for the reform of education methods that adapt to STEM development demand.

RIO Kinase 1 (RIOK1) is involved in various pathologies, including cancer. However, the role of RIOK1 in radioresistance of colorectal cancer (CRC) remains largely unknown. In this study, we reported that RIOK1 was overexpressed in rectal cancer tissue with weaker tumor regression after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (neoCRT). Moreover, higher RIOK1 expression predicted a poor prognosis in patients with rectal cancer. Blockade of RIOK1 using Toyocamycin, a pharmacological inhibitor of RIOK1, or by knocking down its expression, decreased the resistance of CRC cells to radiotherapy in vitro and in vivo. A mechanistic study revealed that RIOK1 regulates radioresistance by suppressing the p53 signaling pathway. Furthermore, we found that RIOK1 and Ras-GAP SH3 domain binding protein 2 (G3BP2) interact with each other. RIOK1 phosphorylates G3BP2 at Thr226, which increases the activity of G3BP2. RIOK1-mediated phosphorylation of G3BP2 facilitated ubiquitination of p53 by murine double minute 2 protein (MDM2). Altogether, our study revealed the clinical significance of RIOK1 in CRC, and therapies targeting RIOK1 might alleviate the CRC tumor burden in patients.

PurposeFamily dinner on Lunar New Year's Eve is the most important and most ritualized feast for families in China. It is the time for the entire family to reunite. Families gather together to reflect their past and talk about the future. Through the lens of consumer culture theories, this study explores how Chinese consumers construct family identity.Design/methodology/approachBased on constant comparative analysis of primary data including in-depth interviews and participant observation, and secondary data including historical archives, cultural tracing, documentary reports and essays, the authors deconstruct the consumption rituals of family dinner on Chinese Lunar New Year's Eve. The authors focus on four aspects, including participants, place, time and related activities, and analyze Chinese consumers' ritual experiences.FindingsThe authors’ findings show how young consumers construct and strengthen individual self-identity, relational identity and family identity in various ways through consumption and ritual practices during Chinese Lunar New Year celebration.Originality/valueThe study of family dinner on Lunar New Year's Eve helps the authors understand contemporary consumer culture in three aspects. First, it helps the authors understand the relationship between consumption and culture. Second, the study shows the changes and continuities of consumption rituals. Third, the research highlights the experience of “home” among contemporary Chinese consumers.

The integration of the N/S co-doping, anatase/rutile junction construction, and morphology regulation of TiO2 arrays is achieved by a simple method to improve photocatalytic activity.

Background: Glypican-3 (GPC3), des-γ-carboxyprothrombin (DCP) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) are potential biomarkers for the early diagnosis and prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), especially in AFP negative patients. However, their sensitivity and accuracy as biomarkers are still needed to be compared and verified by large clinical samples in Chinese population. Methods: ELISA was used to evaluate the GPC3, DCP and VEGF in the serum of 136 HCC patients, 47 liver cirrhosis patients and 46 healthy controls. Meanwhile, the risk factors and mortality for HCC recurrence were also investigated to obtain some prognostic variables according to the histopathological evaluation and follow-up data. Results: The GPC3 and VEGF serum levels were significantly sensitive and specific compared with those of AFP and DCP for the diagnosis of HCC based on cut-off values. Compared with VEGF, the maximum area under the curve (AUC) of serum GPC3 level indicated most accurately in the diagnosis of HCC. In addition, GPC3 level was increased in 50.6% (39 / 77) of HCC patients with negative serum AFP. The risk factors for recurrence were high serum levels of tumor biomarkers, including DCP (>350 mAu/ml) and VEGF (>112 pg/ml) which were significantly higher in patients with microvascular invasion (MVI) than in those without MVI (PP < 0.05, type 3 vs. type 1). Conclusions: Serum GPC3 and VEGF levels have the potential to be effective biomarkers for the early diagnosis of HCC, especially for these with normal serum AFP. Serum DCP and VEGF levels would be non-invasive prognostic biomarker substitute for tumor invasiveness and MVI, which were tightly correlated with postoperative recurrence of HCC.

Hybrid catalysts composed of transition metals and nitrogen-doped carbons have been emerging as one of efficient electrocatalysts for electrochemical CO2-to-CO under ambient conditions. Herein, NiO loaded on mesoporous graphene with tunable concentration of pyridinic nitrogen is rationally synthesized by using low-intensity pulsed laser irradiation and pyrolysis treatments. Comprehensive experiments verify that, it is pyridinic N, rather than pyrrolic N, when bonded to Ni, that significantly enhance the electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction performance. The optimized catalyst exhibits a high CO Faradaic efficiency of 87.5% at a low potential of −0.74 V vs. reversible hydrogen electrode, associated with negligible attenuation of continuous operation over 12 h.

BackgroundResistance to chemotherapy remains the major cause of treatment failure in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC). Tripartite motif containing 25 (TRIM25), an E3-ubiquitin ligase, has been reported to play a vital role in tumorigenesis. The present study aimed to explore the function and mechanism of TRIM25 in regulating oxaliplatin resistance in colorectal cancer.MethodsThe expression of TRIM25 in colorectal cancer tissues was examined using publicly available datasets, immunohistochemistry, and western blotting. Further survival analysis was conducted using the Kaplan-Meier method. CCK8 assays, colony-formation assays, Annexin V-FITC /PI staining and xenograft tumor models were used to evaluate the sensitivity of CRC cells to oxaliplatin. Sphere-formation assays, RT-PCR and limiting dilution assays were used to evaluate the influence of TRIM25 on the stem cell properties of CRC cells. Co-immunoprecipitation, polyubiquitination assays and western blotting were used to determine the mechanism by which TRIM25 regulates EZH2.ResultsPatients with high expression of TRIM25 had a significantly higher recurrence rate (28.9% vs. 15.0%, P = 0.012) and worse disease-free survival (P = 0.006) than those with low TRIM25 expression. Downregulation of TRIM25 dramatically inhibited, while overexpression of TRIM25 increased, CRC cell survival after oxaliplatin treatment. In addition, TRIM25 promoted the stem cell properties of CRC cells both in vitro and in vivo. Importantly, we demonstrated that TRIM25 inhibited the binding of E3-ubiquitin ligase TRAF6 to EZH2, thus stabilizing and upregulating EZH2, and promoting oxaliplatin resistance.ConclusionsOur study provided evidence that TRIM25 is a novel epigenetic regulator of oxaliplatin resistance. Targeting TRIM25 might be a promising strategy for CRC treatment.

Efficient and affordable electrocatalysts for reversible oxygen reduction and oxygen evolution reactions (ORR and OER, respectively) are highly sought-after for use in rechargeable metal-air batteries. However, the construction of high-performance electrocatalysts that possess both largely accessible active sites and superior ORR/OER intrinsic activities is challenging. Herein, we report the design and successful preparation of a 3D hierarchically porous graphene framework with interconnected interlayer macropores and in-plane mesopores, enriched with pyridinic-nitrogen-cobalt (pyri-N-Co) active sites, namely, CoFe/3D-NLG. The pyri-N-Co bonding significantly accelerates sluggish oxygen electrocatalysis kinetics, in turn substantially improving the intrinsic ORR/OER activities per active site, while copious interlayer macropores and in-plane mesopores enable ultra-efficient mass transfer throughout the graphene architecture, thus ensuring sufficient exposure of accessible pyri-N-Co active sites to the reagents. Such a robust catalyst structure endows CoFe/3D-NLG with a remarkably enhanced reversible oxygen electrocatalysis performance, with the ORR half-wave potential identical to that of the benchmark Pt/C catalyst, and OER activity far surpassing that of the noble-metal-based RuO2 catalyst. Moreover, when employed as an air electrode for a rechargeable Zn-air battery, CoFe/3D-NLG manifests an exceedingly high open-circuit voltage (1.56 V), high peak power density (213 mW cm−2), ultra-low charge/discharge voltage (0.63 V), and excellent charge/discharge cycling stability, outperforming state-of-the-art noble-metal electrocatalysts.

It is highly desirable to develop all-pH-compatible hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) electrocatalysts that can be used universally in a variety of different electrolyzers and operated in different...

pH-sensitive smart polymeric nanocarriers have been under development in the field of biomedicine due to permeabilization the physiological barriers readily to address the limitation of conventional chemotherapeutics delivery systems of low intracellular transport and targeting efficiency. Where traditional polymers kept stable under physiological neutral or acidic conditions, pH-sensitive polymeric nanocarriers underwent rapid degradation with a labile group in tumor acidic environment (around 5.0–6.0), allowing these biomaterials to achieve controlled drug release, drug pharmacokinetics improvement and antitumor biotherapeutic molecules efficiency enhancement compared with traditional polymers. This review mainly concentrated on properties of pH-sensitive polymers for biomedical purposes to construct the smart drug delivery system based on acid liable linkers which were categorized into pH-sensitive polymeric prodrugs composed of antitumor drugs (doxorubicin and paclitaxel) bounded to the polymer via acid liable linkers and pH-sensitive copolymeric nanocarriers prepared by block copolymers containing polymer blocks linked with acid-cleavable groups. Besides, advanced platforms in biomedicine for special biotherapeutic molecules delivery were reviewed in the article. Furthermore, several acid-sensitive linkages were reviewed to study the mechanism of the controlled pH-responsive drug delivery, such as hydrazone, acetal, cis-aconityl linker and β-thioether ester, as well as improvement of drug pharmacokinetics.

Because of their extensive specific surface area, excellent charge transfer rate, superior chemical stability, low cost, and Earth abundance, nanostructured titanium dioxide (TiO2) arrays have been thoroughly explored during the past few decades. The synthesis methods for TiO2 nanoarrays, which mainly include hydrothermal/solvothermal processes, vapor-based approaches, templated growth, and top-down fabrication techniques, are summarized, and the mechanisms are also discussed. In order to improve their electrochemical performance, several attempts have been conducted to produce TiO2 nanoarrays with morphologies and sizes that show tremendous promise for energy storage. This paper provides an overview of current developments in the research of TiO2 nanostructured arrays. Initially, the morphological engineering of TiO2 materials is discussed, with an emphasis on the various synthetic techniques and associated chemical and physical characteristics. We then give a brief overview of the most recent uses of TiO2 nanoarrays in the manufacture of batteries and supercapacitors. This paper also highlights the emerging tendencies and difficulties of TiO2 nanoarrays in different applications.

Optical systems are often subject to parametric instability caused by the delayed response of the optical field to the system dynamics. In some cases, parasitic photothermal effects aggravate the instability by adding new interaction dynamics. This may lead to the possible insurgence or amplification of parametric gain that can further destabilize the system. In this paper, we show that the photothermal properties of an optomechanical cavity can be modified to mitigate or even completely cancel optomechanical instability. By inverting the sign of the photothermal interaction to let it cooperate with radiation pressure, we achieve control of the system dynamics to be fully balanced around a stable equilibrium point. Our study provides a feedback solution for optical control and precise metrological applications, specifically in high-sensitivity resonating systems that are particularly susceptible to parasitic photothermal effects, such as our test case of a macroscopic optical levitation setup. This passive stabilization technique is beneficial for improving system performance limited by photothermal dynamics in broad areas of optics, optomechanics, photonics, and laser technologies., Comment: 15 pages, 5 figures

Introduction: Regulator of chromatin condensation 1 (RCC1) is a major guanine-nucleotide exchange factor for Ran GTPase, and it plays key roles in various biological processes. Previous studies have found that RCC1 may play a role in the development of tumors, but little is known about the relationship between RCC1 and colorectal liver oligometastases (CLOs).Methods: One hundred and twenty-nine pairs of matched human CLO samples, including both primary tumor and its liver metastasis specimens, were subjected to immunohistochemistry to determine the location and expression levels of RCC1. Associations between RCC1 and survival as well as gene expression profiling were explored.Results: In this study, we first observed that RCC1 was mildly increased in CLO tumor tissues compared with normal tissues, and the localization was primarily nuclear. In addition, our study found that high RCC1 expression in liver oligometastases was an independent prognostic marker for unfavorable recurrence-free survival and overall survival (p = 0.036 and p = 0.016). Gene expression profiles generated from microarray analysis showed that RCC1 was involved in pathways including “Myc targets,” “E2F targets” and “DNA repair” pathways.Conclusion: Our data indicated that RCC1 was expressed mainly in the nucleus, and strong and significant associations were found between RCC1 expression levels and the survival of CLO patients. These findings indicated that RCC1 may play a role in CLO development.

Mutations in ASPM are the most common causes of primary microcephaly (MCPH), which is a rare brain developmental disorder with few studies in Chinese population so far. This study aimed to identify the common pathogenic variants of ASPM and estimated the incidence of MCPH5 in Guangxi population.We ascertained six MCPH cases caused by ASPM mutations in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Whole-exome sequencing (WES) was performed to uncover the causal variants. The haplotype analysis was used to estimate the age of the recurrent variation.Five different pathogenic variants were identified in this batch of MCPH5 cases, including two novel variants p.Ser842fs*9 and p.Lys1340Argfs*29. An rarely reported pathogenic variant, c.1789CT/p.Arg597* was found to be a founder mutation in local population. We evaluated all ASPM variants detected among 2674 non-microcephalic individuals and estimated the MCPH5 incidence to be 5.03/1,000,000 in Guangxi population.We reported the first case series of Chinese MCPH cases with ASPM mutation and revealed a highly recurrent founder mutation in this local population. MCPH5 may be the major type of congenital microcephaly in Chinese population.

Interfacial electron transfer (IET) at the metal–solution interface is known as a rate-determining step for many electrocatalytic reactions. Hitherto, there is still lack of physical insight into t...

Designing efficient and affordable electrocatalysts for reversible oxygen electrocatalysis (oxygen reduction reaction [ORR] and oxygen evolution reaction [OER]) reactions is highly desirable for rechargeable metal–air batteries. The hybrid electrocatalysts composed of transition metal oxides and N‐doped carbonaceous materials are promising bifunctional ORR/OER electrocatalysts, whose improved electrocatalytic activities can be attributed to the synergistic effect originated from the metal–N–C active sites. Herein, NiFe2O4/N‐doped graphene (NFO/NG) composites are prepared which own enhanced OER, especially superior ORR performance for the utilization of rechargeable Zn–air batteries. Significantly, it is also verified that the interfacial Ni–(pyridinic or pyrrolic) N–C species, rather than Fe–N–C, play key role infactors for promoting ORR/OER bifunctional electrocatalysis. The optimized catalyst displays remarkably reduced overpotential for both ORR and OER with an overall potential difference as low as 0.67 V. The assembled rechargeable Zn–air battery shows a high specific capacity (513.6 mA h gzn−1) and power density (173.6 mW cm−2), as well as a long‐term cycling stability.

Background: We evaluated the prognostic value of C-reactive protein/albumin (CAR) and systemic immune-inflammation index (SII), which we calculated as neutrophil × platelet/lymphocyte) in patients with colorectal liver metastasis (CRLM) after curative resection.Methods: We retrospectively enrolled 283 consecutive patients with CRLM who underwent curative resection between 2006 and 2016. We determined the optimal cutoff values of CAR and SII using receiver operating curve (ROC) analysis. Overall survival (OS)- and recurrence-free survival (RFS)-related to CAR and SII were analyzed using the log-rank test and multivariate Cox regression methods.Results: We found that a high CAR was significantly associated with poor OS (P < 0.001) and RFS (P = 0.008) rates compared with a low CAR; a high SII was significantly associated with poor RFS (P = 0.003) rates compared with a low SII. The multivariate analysis indicated that CAR was an independent predictor of OS (hazard ratio [HR] = 2.220; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.387–3.550; P = 0.001) and RFS (HR = 1.494; 95% CI = 1.086–2.056; P = 0.014). The SII was an independent predictor of RFS (HR = 1.973; 95% CI = 1.230–3.162; P = 0.005) in patients with CRLM.Conclusion: We proved that CAR was an independent predictor of OS and RFS in patients with CRLM who underwent curative resection, and that the prognostic value of CAR was superior to that of SII.

Photothermal effects can alter the response of an optical cavity, for example, by inducing self-locking behavior or unstable anomalies. The consequences of these effects are often regarded as parasitic and generally cause limited operational performance of the cavity. Despite their importance, however, photothermal parameters are usually hard to characterize precisely. In this work we use an optical cavity strongly coupled to photothermal effects to experimentally observe an optical back-action on the photothermal relaxation rate. This effect, reminiscent of the radiation-pressure-induced optical spring effect in cavity optomechanical systems, uses optical detuning as a fine control to change the photothermal relaxation process. The photothermal relaxation rate of the system can be accordingly modified by more than an order of magnitude. This approach offers an opportunity to obtain precise in-situ estimations of the parameters of the cavity, in a way that is compatible with a wide range of optical resonator platforms. Through this back-action effect we are able to determine the natural photothermal relaxation rate and the effective thermal conductivity of the cavity mirrors with unprecedented resolution., 11 pages, 4 figures

Optical levitation of mechanical oscillators has been suggested as a promising way to decouple the environmental noise and increase the mechanical quality factor. Here, we investigate the dynamics of a free-standing mirror acting as the top reflector of a vertical optical cavity, designed as a testbed for a tripod cavity optical levitation setup. To reach the regime of levitation for a milligram-scale mirror, the optical intensity of the intracavity optical field approaches 3 MW cm$^{-2}$. We identify three distinct optomechanical effects: excitation of acoustic vibrations, expansion due to photothermal absorption, and partial lift-off of the mirror due to radiation pressure force. These effects are intercoupled via the intracavity optical field and induce complex system dynamics inclusive of high-order sideband generation, optical bistability, parametric amplification, and the optical spring effect. We modify the response of the mirror with active feedback control to improve the overall stability of the system., 11 pages, 6 figures

Equation (7) of the published article (Aasi et al. 2015) is in error; it should read (Equation presented). The upper limits on ò presented in the published article are unaffected by this error. Equation (8) of the published article is in error; it should read (Equation presented) The upper limits on α presented in Figure 3 and Table 4 of the published article were computed incorrectly. The revised Figure 3 (bottom) shows the corrected upper limits on α for the G266.2-1.2 (Vela Jr.) wide search. The revised Table 4 is provided here. The correct lowest upper limit on α (quoted in the Abstract of the published article) is 3 × 10-6. Figure 4 shows the incorrect and corrected upper limits on α for the G266.2-1.2 (Vela Jr.) wide search, which have been surpassed by upper limits from Abbott et al. (2019).

Solidification of self-microemulsifying drug delivery systems (SMEDDS) is one of the major trends to promote the transformation of self-microemulsion technology into industrialization. Here, a preliminary curcumin SMEDDS formulation was constructed to improve the druggability of curcumin, through the determination of equilibrium solubility determination, self-emulsifying grading assessment, and pseudo-ternary phase diagrams drafting. Furthermore, the optimal curcumin SMEDDS formulation consisted of 10% Ethyl oleate, 57.82% Cremophor RH 40, and 32.18% Transcutol P was obtained by the simplex lattice design. Besides, curcumin solid self-microemulsifying drug delivery system (S-SMEDDS) was developed by the extrusion and spheronization process to achieve the solidification of SMEDDS. The formulation of curcumin S-SMEDDS pellets was screened by the single factor experiment and the process parameters were investigated using the orthogonal optimization method. Subsequently, curcumin S-SMEDDS pellets were evaluated by apparent morphology characterization, redispersibility study, drug release behavior, and pharmacokinetic evaluation. Results from the pharmacokinetic study in rabbits showed that the AUC0–τ of the curcumin S-SMEDDS pellets and curcumin suspension were 5.91 ± 0.28 µg/mL·h and 2.05 ± 0.04 µg/mL·h, while the relative bioavailability was 289.30%. These studies demonstrated that S-SMEDDS pellets can be a promising strategy for curcumin industrialized outputs.