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Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a global public health issue and is defined as persistent airflow limitation. COPD is a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Long noncoding RNAs are involved in the course of pulmonary diseases. Here, we revealed that a long noncoding RNA called myocardial-infarction-associated transcript (MIAT) is upregulated in lung tissues of cigarette smoke (CS)-exposed mice. Knockdown of MIAT attenuated CS or CS-extract-induced inflammatory processes, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), and collagen deposition. Moreover, according to bioinformatic analyses and luciferase reporter assays, MIAT binds to microRNA-29c-3p (miR-29c-3p) and upregulates hypoxia-inducible factor 3 alpha (HIF3A), a target gene of miR-29c-3p. When the MIAT-specific short hairpin RNA and an miR-29c-3p inhibitor were cotransfected into cells, the inhibitor reversed the effects of MIAT knockdown on cell proliferation, apoptosis, inflammation, EMT, and collagen deposition. Overall, these results indicate that MIAT participates in CS-induced EMT and airway remodeling in COPD by upregulating miR-29c-3p-HIF3A axis output, thereby offering a novel promising biomarker for the assessment of COPD exacerbation induced by CS exposure.

In the flame spray pyrolysis process, 2-ethylhexanoic acid manipulates morphology of Yb3+/Ho3+ co-doped Y2O3 upconversion nanoparticles towards homogeneous and ultrafine but causing upconversion luminescence quenching and thermal sensitivity lowering.

Foxtail millet (FM) whole grain has received special attention in recent years. To confirm the hypoglycemic effects of FM, we investigated the effects of FM supplementation on glucose metabolism and gut microbiota in rats with high-fat diet/streptozotocin (HFD/STZ)-induced diabetes. Specifically, we fully assessed the blood biochemical profiles, pancreatic histopathology, insulin-glucagon immunofluorescence, short-chain fatty acids, and gut microbiota composition of rats with HFD/STZ-induced diabetes before and after FM supplementation. Results showed that both 30% and 48% FM supplementation significantly decreased concentrations of fasting blood glucose, 60-min blood glucose, and blood triglycerides (P

CircRNAs function as pivotal molecules to regulate the malignant development of lung cancer. This study was designed to research the functional role and how it acted in lung cancer progression.Circ_0000520, microRNA-512-5p (miR-512-5p) and Breast cancer-overexpressed gene 1 (KIAA0100) levels were measured through reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction assay. Cell Counting Kit-8 assay and EdU assay were used to examine cell proliferation. Cell cycle and apoptosis were evaluated via flow cytometry. The protein levels were determined using western blot. Cell migration and invasion were assessed by wound healing assay and transwell assay. The circ_0000520 function in vivo was explored by tumor xenograft assay. The molecular interaction was analyzed via Dual-luciferase reporter assay.Circ_0000520 was obviously upregulated in lung cancer tissues and cells. Silence of circ_0000520 inhibited proliferation, cell cycle progression, migration, invasion and angiogenesis but promoted cell apoptosis. Circ_0000520 downregulation reduced tumor growth of lung cancer in vivo. Circ_0000520 served as a miR-512-5p sponge. The oncogenic function of circ_0000520 was partly achieved by sponging miR-512-5p in lung cancer. KIAA0100 was a target of miR-512-5p and miR-512-5p inhibited the malignant behaviors of lung cancer cells via downregulating KIAA0100. Circ_0000520 targeted miR-512-5p to regulate the level of KIAA0100.All these data demonstrated that circ_0000520 was able to drive the progression of lung cancer via the mediation of miR-512-5p/KIAA0100 axis. Circ_0000520 might be a potential biomarker for lung cancer.

Spectrally determination of temperature based on the lanthanide-doped nanocrystals (NCs) is a vital strategy to noninvasively measure the temperature in practical applications. Here, we synthesized a series of SrF2:Yb3+/Ho3+ NCs and simultaneously observed the efficient visible upconversion luminescence (UCL) and near-infrared (NIR) downconversion luminescence (DCL) under 980, 940 and 915 nm excitations. Subsequently, these NCs were further utilized for thermometers based on the Boltzmann (thermally-coupled levels, TCLs) and non-Boltzmann (non-thermally-coupled levels, NTCLs) of Ho3+ ions in the first (~ 650 nm), second (~ 1012 nm) and third (~ 2020) biological windows (BW-I, BW-II and BW-III) under tri-wavelength excitations. The thermometric parameters including the relative sensitivity (\({S_{\text{r}}}\)) and temperature uncertainty (\(\delta T\)) are quantitatively determined on the I648/I541 (BW-I), I1186/I1012 (BW-II), and I1950/I2020 (BW-III) transitions of Ho3+ ions in the temperature range of 303–573 K. Comparative experimental results demonstrated that the thermometer has superior performances.

Controlling the upconversion luminescence (UCL) intensity ratio, especially pumped at 808 nm, is of fundamental importance in biological applications due to the water molecules exhibiting low absorption at this excitation wavelength. In this work, a series of β-NaYbF4:Er microrods were synthesized by a simple one-pot hydrothermal method and their intense green (545 nm) and red (650 nm) UCL were experimentally investigated based on single particle level under the excitation of 808 nm continuous-wave (CW) laser. Interestingly, the competition between the green and red UCL can be observed in highly Yb3+-doped microcrystals as the excitation intensity gradually increases, which leads to the UCL color changes from green to orange. However, the microcrystals doped with low Yb3+ concentration keep green color which is independent on the excitation power. Further investigations demonstrate that the cross-relaxation (CR) processes between Yb3+ and Er3+ ions result in the UCL competition.

Controlling the upconversion luminescence (UCL) intensity ratio, especially pumped at 808 nm, is of fundamental importance in biological applications due to the water molecules exhibiting low absorption at this excitation wavelength. In this work, a series of β-NaYbF

To investigate the value of erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and serum EPO levels in evaluating the condition and prognosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in the elderly. 120 elderly patients with acute exacerbation of COPD admitted to our hospital from May 2016 to April 2019 were selected. Pulmonary function tests and CT scans were performed on all patients. According to Gold's guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, patients with different degrees of illness were divided into mild group, moderate group and severe group. The levels of EPO and ESR were measured in the morning after admission and the differences of EPO and ESR between the three groups were compared. The correlation between EPO, ESR and FEV1% of lung function index was analyzed by linear correlation analysis. There was no significant difference in age, sex, BMI index and course of disease among the three groups (P0.05); ESR and EPO increased in turn among mild, moderate and severe groups, while FEV1% decreased in turn, with significant differences between the two groups (P0.05). Negative correlation (r values were - 0.33, - 0.49, P0.05). ESR and serum EPO levels can reflect the severity of COPD in elderly patients to some extent, and are negatively correlated with FEV1% of lung function indicators, which can provide some clues to the condition and prognosis of COPD in elderly patients.

In this work, a series of Nd3+ and Yb3+ codoped SrF2 nanocrystals (NCs) were synthesized by the hydrothermal method. The TEM results show that the average size of these NCs is approximately ∼50 nm. The structure of SrF2 NCs and its optical properties of near-infrared (NIR) downconversion luminescence (DCL) are systematically characterized. Under the excitation of 808 nm laser, intense NIR DCL centered at 976 nm from Yb3+ ions is experimentally determined. The mechanism of the DCL is further interpreted based on the efficient energy-transfer (ET) processes from Nd3+ to Yb3+. In addition, utilizing the fluorescence intensity ratio (FIR) technique, the temperature sensing behaviors of SrF2:Nd3+/Yb3+ (15/4 mol%) are also investigated through the heterogeneously coupled states between Nd3+ (4F3/2 → 4I11/2) and Yb3+ (2F5/2 → 2I7/2) in a temperature range of 298–573 K. The results confirm that the maximum thermal sensitivity is up to 0.00346 K−1 at 473K. The excellent thermal sensitivity of these NCs, particularly the DCL located at the NIR region, have the potential for biological applications and temperature measurement at the nanoscale.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is regarded as a persistent respiratory symptom, mainly caused by cigarette smoking. Recent data have suggested that some miRNAs are involved in the pathogenesis of COPD. Here, we found that miR-195 was significantly upregulated in the lung tissues of patients with COPD compared to in never smokers. miR-195 expression was also upregulated in cigarette smoke (CS)-exposed mice. Lentivirus-mediated knockdown of miR-195 alleviated CS-induced lung pathological changes and reduced inflammatory cell infiltration as well as production of interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor-α in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. Mechanically, a positive correlation was found between miR-195 and phosphorylation of Akt in lung tissues of COPD patients. PHLPP2 was confirmed as a direct downstream target of miR-195 and negative regulator of miR-195 expression. Inhibition of PHLPP2 enhanced Akt phosphorylation and increased interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor-α production in BEAS-2B cells, resembling the effects of miR-195 overexpression. Collectively, our data indicate that miR-195 has a pathogenetic role in CS-induced COPD and regulates Akt signaling by suppressing PHLPP2 expression. miR-195 may be an effective therapeutic target in COPD.

Photon upconversion (UC) based on self-sensitization of lanthanide-doped nanocrystals is of great importance for biological and photonic applications. Here, we report tunable multicolor display and sensitive temperature sensing in the erbium-doped CaF2 upconversion nanocrystals (UCNCs) codoped with Tm3+ ions. Under the excitation of 980, 808 and 1532 nm lasers, the upconversion luminescence (UCL) color of these self-sensitized UCNCs can be manipulated from green to red efficiently and the red-to-green (R/G) UC intensity ratio is promoted remarkably as the doping Tm3+ ions vary from 0 to 4 mol%. Especially, we have successfully demonstrated the multicolor modulation of these UCNCs by changing the pulse width and repetition frequency under multi-wavelength excitation. The power dependence and decay lifetimes measurements of Er3+ ions under multi-wavelength excitation were carried out to clarify the UC color manipulation. In addition, the optical temperature sensing properties of CaF2:Er3+/Tm3+ (10/0.125 mol%) UCNCs are also studied thoroughly under 980, 808 and 1532 nm lasers excitation, and the results show that the UCNCs possess outstanding thermal sensitivity. The features enable these UCNCs to act as promising candidates for high-resolution biological imaging, multicolor display and nanoscale thermometer fields.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a progressive lung disease that is primarily caused by cigarette smoke (CS)‐induced chronic inflammation. In this study, we investigated the function and mechanism of action of the long non‐coding RNA (lncRNA) taurine‐up‐regulated gene 1 (TUG1) in CS‐induced COPD. We found that the expression of TUG1 was significantly higher in the sputum cells and lung tissues of patients with COPD as compared to that in non‐smokers, and negatively correlated with the percentage of predicted forced expiratory volume in 1 second. In addition, up‐regulation of TUG1 was observed in CS‐exposed mice, and knockdown of TUG1 attenuated inflammation and airway remodelling in a mouse model. Moreover, TUG1 expression was higher in CS extract (CSE)‐treated human bronchial epithelial cells and lung fibroblasts, whereas inhibition of TUG1 reversed CSE‐induced inflammation and collagen deposition in vitro. Mechanistically, TUG1 promoted the expression of dual‐specificity phosphatase 6 (DUSP6) by sponging miR‐145‐5p. DUSP6 overexpression reversed TUG1 knockdown‐mediated inhibition of inflammation and airway remodelling. These findings suggested an important role of TUG1 in the pathological alterations associated with CS‐mediated airway remodelling in COPD. Thus, TUG1 may be a promising therapeutic target in CS‐induced airway inflammation and fibroblast activation.