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Background and purpose: Breast cancer threatens the health of women all over the world. Although a large number of microRNAs (miRNAs) have been found to be abnormally expressed in breast cancer, a complete miRNA-messenger RNA (mRNA) network still needs to be constructed. Methods: The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database was used to download breast cancer related data sets and analyze the differentially expressed miRNAs between tumor tissues and normal tissues. The miRDB, miRTarBase and StarBase databases were used to analyze the genes targeted by different miRNAs. The ClusterProfiler package in R language was used to enrich and analyze the target genes. String database and Cytoscape 3.6.2 software were used to analyze protein- protein interaction (PPI) network and screen Hub gene. The miRNA-Hub mRNA regulatory network was constructed to determine the research signal axis, and then verified by cell experiments. Results: Two differential miRNAs were identified in TCGA data set; 278 target genes were predicted from the three databases. Ten Hub genes were identified. The constructed miRNA Hub gene network showed that hsa-mir-98-5p/DKK3 axis might play a key role in the progression of breast cancer. Cell functional experiments confirmed that hsa-miR-98-5p could inhibit apoptosis and promote cell proliferation, migration and invasion. The binding of hsa- miR-98-5p to DKK3 was further confirmed by dual luciferase activity assay. Conclusion: In this study, we analyzed a miRNA- mRNA network associated with breast cancer progression and identified an important miRNA mRNA axis in breast cancer.

In this study, the visible light-responsive catalysts Fe3O4/Bi2WO6 were prepared and characterized by BET, SEM, EDS, XRD, XPS, and MPMS. The performances of five catalysts (0.05 Fe/Bi, 0.13 Fe/Bi, 0.17 Fe/Bi, 0.21 Fe/Bi, and 0.30 Fe/Bi) for photocatalytic degradation of bisphenol A under visible light (300-W Xe lamp) were compared. Among five catalysts, 0.17 Fe/Bi (the molar ratio of Fe3O4 to Bi2WO6 was 0.17) acquired the highest BPA photocatalytic removal of 90.2% at 120 min. With the synergistic effect between Vis/0.17 Fe/Bi and peroxymonosulfate (PMS), the BPA removal obtained was as high as 100% at 90 min ([BPA] = 100 mg/L, [0.17 Fe/Bi] = 1.25 g/L, [PMS] = 2.0 g/L, and T = 25 °C). After five times reused of 0.17 Fe/Bi, its removal of BPA dropped by 13.4% in presence of PMS, which demonstrated 0.17 Fe/Bi possessed relatively stable performance. High BPA degradation was attributed to the attacking effects of various oxide species (SO4•−, •OH, h+, O2•−) generated in the Fe3O4/Bi2WO6/PMS system under the cooperation of photocatalyst Fe3O4/Bi2WO6 and oxidizing agent PMS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The magnetic nanocomposite TiO2/Fe3O4 coupled with persulfate (PS) under UV irradiation for methyl orange (MO) degradation in aqueous solution was investigated in this study. The features of TiO2/Fe3O4 were characterized via SEM, XPS, UV–Vis, and MPMS. The effect of several operating parameters including PS concentration, TiO2/Fe3O4 dosage, MO concentration, and pH was assessed in UV/TiO2/Fe3O4/PS system. The removal of MO via UV/TiO2/Fe3O4/PS reached 99.5% under the following conditions: [PS] = 60 mM; [TiO2/Fe3O4] = 0.4 g/L; [MO] = 20 mg/L; pH = 3.0; T = 25 ℃; UV = 300 W; and t = 150 min. In addition, possible mechanisms of TiO2/Fe3O4 photocatalysis, PS activation, and MO degradation were analyzed. Moreover, TiO2/Fe3O4 was easily separated from the reacted solution by magnets and had relatively stable recycling performance. Overall, the application of UV/TiO2/Fe3O4/PS can be introduced as an effective method for MO and even dyes removal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]