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Yan He,1 Zhiyun Du,1,2 Huibin Lv,1 Qianfa Jia,1 Zhikai Tang,1 Xi Zheng,1,3 Kun Zhang,1 Fenghua Zhao11Institute of Natural Medicine and Green Chemistry, School of Chemical Engineering and Light Industry, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China; 2State Key Laboratory of Natural and Biomimetic Drugs, Peking University, Beijing, People’s Republic of China; 3Susan Lehman Cullman Laboratory for Cancer Research, Department of Chemical Biology, Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ, USAAbstract: Eco-friendly green synthesis with plant extracts plays a very important role in nanotechnology, without any harmful chemicals. In this report, the synthesis of water-soluble silver nanoparticles was developed by treating silver ions with Chrysanthemum morifolium Ramat. extract at room temperature. The effect of the extract on the formation of silver nanoparticles was characterized by ultraviolet and visible absorption spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The ultraviolet and visible absorption spectroscopy results show a strong resonance centered on the surface of silver nanoparticles (AgNP) at 430 nm. The Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy spectral study demonstrates Chrysanthemum morifolium Ramat. extract acted as the reducing and stabilizing agent during the synthesis. The X-ray diffraction analysis confirmed that the synthesized AgNP are single crystallines, corresponding with the result of transmission electron microscopy. Water-soluble AgNP, with an approximate size of 20 nm–50 nm were also observed in the transmission electron microscopy image. The bactericidal properties of the synthesized AgNP were investigated using the agar-dilution method and the growth-inhibition test. The results show the AgNP had potent bactericidal activity on Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli, as well as a strong antibacterial activity against gram-negative bacteria, as compared to gram-positive bacteria with a dose-dependent effect, thus providing a clinical ultrasound gel with bactericidal property for prevention of cross infections.Keywords: silver nanoparticles, green synthesis, Chrysanthemum morifolium Ramat., bactericidal activity, ultrasound gel

In field of electrochemistry, there has been a growing interest in the potential applications of proton-conducting metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). Therefore, how to design and synthesize MOFs with high proton conductivity is considered crucial. In this study, two examples of nitro-containing Cd-based MOFs, MOF-1 {[Cd 3 (TIPE) 1.5 (NO 3 ) 5 Cl(H 2 O) 2 ] ⋅ 17H 2 O} n and MOF-2 {[Cd(TIPE) 0.5 (nip)] ⋅ 10H 2 O} n (TIPE=1,1,2,2-tetrakis(4-(1H-imidazole-1-yl)phenyl)ethene, H 2 nip=5-Nitroisophthalic Acid), had been successfully designed and synthesized, and their proton-conducting properties were thoroughly investigated. Notably, both materials displayed peak proton conductivity at 98 % RH and 90 °C, exhibiting values of 9.13×10 -3 and 3.00×10 -3  S cm -1 for MOF-1 and MOF-2, respectively. The plausible proton conduction pathways and mechanisms were elucidated through structural analyses, water vapor adsorption studies, and the determination of activation energy (E a ) values. It was found that the difference in proton conductivity between MOF-1 and MOF-2 was mainly associated with the different water absorption rates of the samples. The uniqueness of this study was that for the first time conducted an in-depth study of the role of nitrate in proton conduction, providing new ideas for designing materials with excellent proton conductivity., (© 2024 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

As an abundant natural aromatic polymer, how to realize the high-value utilization of lignin (LA) is still a difficult problem. Herein, a sustainable flame retardant (LA@APP) was synthesized through hydrogen bonding interactions between LA and ammonium polyphosphate (APP), then flame retarded alone epoxy resin (EP/LA@APP). With loading of 6 wt% LA@APP, the LOI of EP/LA@APP6 rose to 27.9 % and achieved UL-94 V0 rating. Meanwhile, EP/LA@APP6 presented a 63.5 % reduction in peak of heat release rate (pHRR) and an 51.3 % decrease in peak of smoke production rate (pSPR). LA@APP could promote the EP composites to form the denser and more continuous expanded charring residuals than APP during the combustion process, effectively shielding the underlying epoxy substrate and thus enhancing fire safety. Additionally, the shell layer of LA@APP, abundant in hydroxyl groups and methoxy groups, effectively improved the compatibility and interfacial interaction with EP. Therefore, the tensile, flexural and impact strength of EP/LA@APP6 reached 50.8 MPa, 86.1 MPa and 7.81 kJ/m 2 , higher than those of pure EP at 48.3 MPa, 81.5 MPa and 7.45 kJ/m 2 . This flame retardant with simultaneously enhanced fire safety and mechanical properties of epoxy resin was expected to realize the high-level utilization of lignin., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Primary liver cancer is a prevalent and deadly cancer type. Despite treatment advances, prognosis remains poor, with high recurrence rates. Early detection is crucial but challenging due to the disease's insidious nature. Myosin proteins play significant roles in cancer development, influencing cell migration, invasion, and tumor suppression. MYL6B , a myosin light chain, is involved in various cellular processes and has been associated with poor prognosis in colorectal adenocarcinoma and potential as a biomarker in breast cancer., Aim: To investigate the expression of MYL6B in liver hepatocellular carcinoma (LIHC) and its impact on prognosis and potential mechanisms of action using bioinformatics methods., Methods: The expression of MYL6B in pan-cancer and normal tissues was analyzed using the gene expression profiling interactive analysis 2 and tumor immune estimation resource databases. The expression level of MYL6B in LIHC tissues and its relationship with prognosis were analyzed, immunohistochemical analysis of MYL6B and its effect on immune cell infiltration, and the protein network were further studied., Results: MYL6B was highly expressed in diffuse large b-cell lymphoma, LIHC, pancreatic adenocarcinoma, skin cutaneous melanoma, thymoma, uterine corpus endometrial carcinoma, uterine carcinosarcoma, and lowly expressed in kidney chromophobe, acute myeloid leukemia, testicular germ cell tumors. The expression level of MYL6B was significantly different between cancer and normal tissues. It had a significant impact on both overall survival and disease-free survival. MYL6B is highly expressed in hepatocellular carcinoma and its expression level increases with cancer progression. High MYL6B expression is associated with poor prognosis in terms of overall survival and recurrence-free survival. The immunohistochemical level of MYL6B is high in hepatocellular carcinoma tissues, and MYL6B has a high level of immune infiltration inflammation. In protein network analysis, MYL6B is correlated with MYL2 , MYL6 , MYL9 , MYLK4 , MYLK2 , MYL12A , MYL12B , MYH11 , MYH9 and MYH10 ., Conclusion: The expression level of MYL6B in LIHC was significantly higher than in normal liver tissues, and it was correlated with the degree of differentiation survival rate, and immune infiltration. MYL6B is a potential target for LIHC treatment., Competing Interests: Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest., (©The Author(s) 2024. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.)

Flame retardants containing biomass receive growing interest in environmental friendliness and sustainability but usually face the low flame-retardant efficiency and deterioration on mechanical property of matrix. Herein, a calcium gluconate-based flame retardant (CG@APP) was chemically prepared using calcium gluconate (CG) and ammonium polyphosphate (APP) via ion exchange reaction, and enabled the excellent fire safety and mechanical enhancement for epoxy resin (EP). The resulted EP composites containing 6 wt% CG@APP (EP/CG@APP6) exhibited V-0 ratings in UL-94 test. Furthermore, with respect to EP/APP6, the peak of heat release rate (pHRR) and peak of smoke production rate (pSPR) of EP/CG@APP6 decreased by 70.5 % and 50.0 %, respectively. The well synergistic flame-retardant mechanism of CG@APP between gaseous and solid phases was revealed to generate denser and more continuous charring residuals, which could do well work on insulation for heat transfer and fuel diffusion. In addition, the shell rich in hydroxyl group and Ca 2+ on the surface of CG@APP well enhanced the interface compatibility through the hydrogen bond and coordinated bond, thus the tensile strength, flexural strength and impact strength of EP/CG@APP6 increased by 18.2 %, 4.5 % and 9.1 % compared with pure EP, respectively. This work provided a simple and sustainable way to construct excellent fire-safety composites., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Blood retinal barrier (BRB) damage is an important pathogenesis of diabetic retinopathy, and alleviating BRB damage has become a key target for DR treatment. We previously found that Lycopene seed polyphenols (LSP) maintained BRB integrity by inhibiting NLRP3 inflammasome-mediated inflammation. However, it is still unknown whether LSP inhibits retinal neovascularization with abnormal capillaries and its mechanism of action. Here, we employed db/db mice and hRECs to find that LSP increases the level of glycolipid metabolism, maintains the morphology of retinal endothelial cells and inhibits acellular capillary neogenesis. Mechanistic studies revealed that LSP inhibits the NLRP3 inflammasome, reduces cell apoptosis in retinal tissue, increases tight junction protein (TJ) expression, and reduces vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and Ve-Cadherin in vivo and in vitro. Collectively, this study finds that LSP inhibits inflammation and angiogenesis to improve BRB function to ameliorate DR., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.. All rights reserved.)

This study aims to investigate whether tert-butylhydroquinone protects the retina from oxidative stress in STZ-induced experimental diabetic rats through the activation of phosphinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt/endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) pathway.In vitro, NO, reactive oxygen species(ROS), eNOS, p-eNOS Ser1179, Akt, p-Akt Ser473 and L-NAME protein expression was analyzed within rMC-1 cells cultivated within normal control(NC), high glucose (HG) and HG-containing tert-butyl hydroquinone (tBHQ) (5 μM) medium. We confirmed tBHQ's protection through administering inhibitors of PI3K and Akt. In vivo, tBHQ was administered at a ratio of 1% (w/w) to diabetic rats was induced through an STZ injection (65 mg/kg) for a 3-month period, and the retinal expression of eNOS, p-eNOS Ser1179, Akt, and p-Akt Ser473 proteins was measured using Western blotting (WB) assay. We also utilized the TUNEL kit for detecting retinal cell apoptosis. The changes of retinal morphology and visual function were measured by performing hematoxylin-eosin staining (HE staining) and electroretinograms. In vitro, ROS levels were increased in the high glucose group, NO levels were decreased, and the relative expression of Akt/p-Akt Ser473 and eNOs/p-eNOS Ser1179 was reduced. tBHQ abolished these changes, and these effects were suppressed by specific inhibitors. In vivo, tBHQ upregulated retinal protein expression in STZ-induced diabetic rats, reduced retinal apoptotic cell numbers, and partially prevented abnormalities in retinal function and structure caused by diabetes. tBHQ alleviates oxidative stress during diabetic retinopathy by upregulating the PI3K/Akt/eNOS pathway and partially restoring the structure and function of the retina. It may play a role in delaying vision loss caused by diabetic retinopathy., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Lignocellulose is an abundant xylose-containing biomass found in agricultural wastes, and has arisen as a suitable alternative to fossil fuels for the production of bioethanol. Although Saccharomyces cerevisiae has been thoroughly used for the production of bioethanol, its potential to utilize lignocellulose remains poorly understood. In this work, xylose-metabolic genes of Pichia stipitis and Candida tropicalis, under the control of different promoters, were introduced into S. cerevisiae. RNA-seq analysis was use to examine the response of S. cerevisiae metabolism to the introduction of xylose-metabolic genes. The use of the PGK1 promoter to drive xylitol dehydrogenase (XDH) expression, instead of the TEF1 promoter, improved xylose utilization in "XR-pXDH" strain by overexpressing xylose reductase (XR) and XDH form C. tropicalis, enhancing the production of xylitol (13.66 ± 0.54 g/L after 6 days fermentation). Overexpression of xylulokinase and XR/XDH from P. stipitis remarkably decreased xylitol accumulation (1.13 ± 0.06 g/L and 0.89 ± 0.04 g/L xylitol, respectively) and increased ethanol production (196.14 % and 148.50 % increases during the xylose utilization stage, respectively), in comparison with the results of XR-pXDH. This result may be produced due to the enhanced xylose transport, Embden-Meyerhof and pentose phosphate pathways, as well as alleviated oxidative stress. The low xylose consumption rate in these recombinant as well as alleviated strains comparing with P. stipitis and C. tropicalis may be explained by the insufficient supplementation of NADPH and NAD + . The results obtained in this work provide new insights on the potential utilization of xylose using bioengineered S. cerevisiae strains.

Melphalan-based intra-arterial chemotherapy was considered an innovative treatment for retinoblastoma patients because high rates of globe salvage could be obtained. Now it has been widely applied for primary or secondary treatment of retinoblastoma. This meta-analysis summarizes the most up-to-date evidence regarding the safety and effectiveness of melphalan-based intra-arterial chemotherapy in the treatment of retinoblastoma. The authors searched PubMed, EMBASE, and the Web of Science electronic databases for studies investigating the safety and effectiveness of melphalan-based intra-arterial chemotherapy in the treatment of retinoblastoma. Studies reporting outcomes and complications of melphalan-based intra-arterial chemotherapy for the treatment of retinoblastoma patients would be included. A total of 33 observational studies that involved 1900 patients and 2336 eyes were included. The overall globe salvage rate was 79.6% (773/971 eyes, 0.74 [95% CI: 0.66, 0.80]) for patients treated with IAC as primary therapy in 28 studies. The overall globe salvage rate was 66.4% (923/1391 eyes, 0.68 [95% CI: 0.60, 0.76]) for patients treated with IAC as secondary therapy in 25 studies. The most common ocular complications were retinopathy (32%) and palpebral edema (29.7%). The most common systemic complications were nausea/vomiting (20.9%). The overall metastasis rate was 1.1% (21/1793 patients, 0.038 [95% CI: 0.020, 0.038]). Twenty-nine studies that involved 1783 patients reported the mortality and the overall mortality was 1.5% (26/1783 patients, 0.029 [95% CI: 0.020, 0.048]). Our meta-analysis showed that melphalan-based IAC treatment was an option for retinoblastoma patients with acceptable efficacy according to retrospective studies. Further high-quality randomized control trials are necessary to provide more accurate and reliable results., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Yang Cao et al.)

Diet and host genetics influence the composition of intestinal microbiota, yet few studies have compared the function of intestinal microbiota in the diet- or genotype-induced lipid deposition, which limits our understanding of the role of intestinal bacteria in metabolic disorders. The lipid accumulation in wild-type zebrafish fed with control (CON) or high-fat (HF) diet and two gene-knockout zebrafish lines ( cpt1b -/- or pparab -/- ) fed with control diet was measured after a 4-week feeding experiment. The intestinal microbiota composition of these groups was investigated using 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene sequencing (DNA-based) and 16S rRNA sequencing (RNA-based). The HF diet or deficiency of two genes induced more weight gain and higher triglyceride content in the liver compared with their control group. 16S rRNA gene sequencing (DNA-based) indicated the decreased abundance of Proteobacteria in the HF group compared with CON, but there was no significant difference in bacterial α diversity among treatments. 16S rRNA sequencing (RNA-based) confirmed the decreased abundance of Proteobacteria and the bacterial α diversity in the HF group compared with CON. Deficiency of cpt1b or pparab showed less change in microbiota composition compared with their wild-type group. Intestinal microbiota of each group was transferred to germ-free zebrafish, and the quantification of Nile red staining indicated that the intestinal microbiota of the HF group induced more lipid accumulation compared with CON, whereas intestinal microbiota of cpt1b -/- and pparab -/- zebrafish did not. The results showed that RNA-based bacterial sequencing revealed more bacterial alteration than DNA-based bacterial sequencing. HF diet had a more dominant role in shaping gut microbiota composition to induce lipid accumulation compared with the gene-knockout of cpt1b or pparab in zebrafish, and the transplant of intestinal microbiota from HF-fed fish induced more lipid deposition in germ-free zebrafish. Together, these data suggested that a high-fat diet exerted a more dominant role over the deletion of cpt1b or pparab on the intestinal bacterial composition, which corresponded to lipid accumulation., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Qiao, Tan, Li, Lv, Chen, Du and Zhang.)

High level of carbohydrate in aquafeed could achieve cost-sparing effect, but it may cause adverse effects on flesh quality of aquatic products. An eight-week trial was conducted to investigate whether oligosaccharides-supplementation, including Galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS) and xylo-oligosaccharide (XOS), could systematically improve the growth performance, texture characteristics and nutrition composition of Nile tilapia fed with high-carbohydrate diet. The results indicated that GOS-supplementation improved the amino acid composition, while XOS-supplementation showed beneficial effects on growth performance. High-carbohydrate diet had adverse effects on fillet texture, while oligosaccharide-supplementation regulated the expression of muscle development-related genes to help restoring muscle texture properties. Furthermore, either high-carbohydrate or addition of oligosaccharides could change the intestinal microbiota composition and their metabolites. Further correlation analysis suggested that intestinal microbiota may account for the improvement in fish growth condition and texture characteristics. Application of oligosaccharides may be an innovative strategy for flesh quality modulation in aquaculture., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2021 The Author(s).)

Hypoxia and high-fat diet (HFD) feeding are two factors commonly existing in aquaculture. However, their individual and combined effects on nutrient composition and flesh quality in fish have not been investigated. The present study evaluated the alterations of growth, nutrient composition and flesh quality in Nile tilapia (initially 7.0 ± 0.1 g and 5.6 ± 0.2 cm) fed with normal fat diet (5.95% fat) or HFD (11.8% fat) at two dissolved oxygen levels (1.1 ± 0.1 and 7.2 ± 0.1 mg/L) for 8 weeks. The results showed that hypoxia and HFD had similar effects in inducing lipid deposition, reducing flesh protein and amino acids content, pH values and water holding ability. Hypoxia had additional adverse effects in decreasing meat yield, flesh contents of n-3 PUFA and glycogen, increasing flesh fragmentation and causing liver damages. The combination of hypoxia and HFD significantly decreased feed intake, survival rate and muscle protein content, but didn't affect flesh quality-related parameters., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Alzheimer disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease characterized by impaired memory and cognitive judgment. It is the leading cause of dementia in the elderly, and its high morbidity and mortality have also brought a significant social burden. So far, there is no method can completely cure Alzheimer's dementia, but there are many non-drug treatments that have been praised by people, especially the cognitive behavioral therapy proposed in recent years. The main purpose of this article is to evaluate the effect of cognitive behavioral therapy on the cognitive function improvement of patients with Alzheimer's dementia., Methods: We did a network meta-analysis to identify both direct and indirect evidence in relevant studies. A systematic literature search will be performed in the Cochrane Library, PubMed, and EMBASE from inception to October 2020. We extracted the relevant information from these trials with a predefined data extraction sheet and assessed the risk of bias with the Cochrane risk of bias tool.The outcomes investigated were Mini-Mental State Examination and AD Assessment Scale-Cognitive section scores. We did a pair-wise meta-analysis using the fixed-effects model and then did a random-effects network meta-analysis within a Bayesian framework. The = the Assessment of Multiple Systematic Reviews-2 scale, Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses scale and Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation were used to assess the quality and evidence grade of the literature. General characteristics of the eligible randomized controlled trials will be summarized and described. Meanwhile, The ADDIS software will be used to perform the network meta-analysis, and the result figures will be generated by STATA 15.0 software., Results: Using the draft search strategy of databases and after screening,7 randomized controlled trials met the a priori criteria and were included. This network mate-analysis will be published in a peer-reviewed journal., Conclusion: Our study will provide evidence for cognitive behavioral intervention in AD patients. And provide recommendations and guidelines for the clinic., Protocol Registration: INPLASY2020110052., Competing Interests: The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose., (Copyright © 2021 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.)

Key Points: The pparab subtype in zebrafish is much more highly expressed in tissues with high oxidative activity than pparaa. The pparab deficiency in zebrafish reduces fatty acid β-oxidation both in liver and muscle, illustrating its functional homology as a mammalian peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (PPARα). pparab deficiency promotes metabolic reprogramming by increasing glucose utilization and inhibiting amino acid breakdown. The present study brings new insights into the comprehensive regulatory roles of PPARα in the cellular fuel selection and provides a valuable animal model for PPARα studies from a viewpoint of comparative physiology., Abstract: Dysfunction of lipid metabolism is involved in the pathogenesis of several chronic metabolic diseases. Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (PPARα) is essential for normal metabolic homeostasis and, in particular, for the regulation of fatty acid β-oxidation (FAO). However, little is known about its regulation roles in systemic nutrient metabolism. To explore the underlying modulation role of PPARα in metabolic homeostasis, we generated a pparab-knockout zebrafish (Danio rerio) model. The pparab mutants demonstrated lower expression of key enzymes involved in FAO, as well as lower mitochondrial and peroxisomal FAO in tissues, which was associated with lipid accumulation in liver and visceral mass. Conversely, glucose utilization was higher because they demonstrated lower blood glucose and tissue glycogen concentrations, as well as activation of the phosphoinositide 3-kinase/AKT pathway. In addition, pparab-deficient zebrafish demonstrated activation of AKT/mammalian target of rapamycin signalling and higher protein content, implying greater protein synthesis and/or lower amino acid breakdown. These data clearly revealed that pparab deletion reduces FAO but increases glucose utilization and protein deposition to maintain energy homeostasis. The present study provides new insights into the comprehensive regulatory role of PPARα in systemic energy metabolism in fish, and this pparab-deficient zebrafish also constitutes a valuable model for investigating the functions of PPARα in mammals from comparative physiology aspects., (© 2020 The Authors. The Journal of Physiology © 2020 The Physiological Society.)

Environmental estrogens, including bisphenol A (BPA) and 17β-estradiol (E2), which are widely used in industries and medicine, pose a severe ecological threat to fish due to feminization induction. However, the related metabolic basis for reproductive feminization in male fish has not been well addressed. We first found that female zebrafish exhibited higher lipid accumulation and lipogenesis activity than males. Next, we exposed male and female zebrafish to E2 (200 ng/L) or BPA (100 μg/L) for six weeks, and observed an early-phase reproductive feminization in males, accompanied with reduced spermatids, significant fat deposition and lipogenic gene expressions that mimicked female patterns. Cellular signaling assays revealed that, E2 or BPA modulated lipid metabolism in males mainly through lowering 5' AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and upregulating the lipogenic mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathways. For the first time, we show that environmental estrogens could alter lipid metabolism in male fish to a female pattern (metabolic feminization) prior to gonad feminization in male fish, to allows males to accumulate efficiently lipids to harmonize with the feminized gonads. This study suggests that negative effects of environmental estrogens, as hazardous materials, on vertebrate health are more complicated than originally thought., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest All authors declare that we do not have any commercial or associative interest that represents a conflict of interest in connection with the work submitted., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Objective: Previous studies have shown the carcinogenic role of long-chain non-coding RNAs (lncRNA) TRERNA1. However, the role of TRERNA1 in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has not been reported. This research aims to explore the regulatory effect of TRERNA1/FOXL1 axis on the malignant progression of NSCLC., Patients and Methods: Quantitative Real Time-Polymerase Chain Reaction (qRT-PCR) was performed to examine the expression levels of TRERNA1 and FOXL1 in 39 pairs of tumor tissues and paracancerous ones collected from NSCLC patients. The potential relation between TRERNA1 expression and clinical indicators of NSCLC patients was analyzed. Meanwhile, expression levels of TRERNA1 and FOXL1 in NSCLC cell lines were also detected by qRT-PCR. In addition, TRERNA1 knockdown model was constructed in H358 and SPC-A1 cells. Cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8), cell colony formation assay, and flow cytometry were applied to analyze the influence of TRERNA1 on NSCLC cell biological functions. Finally, Dual-Luciferase reporter gene assay and cell reverse recovery experiments were performed to figure out the underlying mechanisms of TRERNA1 in regulating NSCLC progression., Results: QRT-PCR results indicated that the expression level of lncRNA TRERNA1 in tumor tissue samples of NSCLC patients was remarkably higher than that in adjacent tissues. Compared with NSCLC patients with low expression of TRERNA1, patients with high TRERNA1 expression had a worse pathological stage and overall survival. Similarly, compared with cells in sh-NC group, the proliferation ability of cells in sh-TRERNA1 group was remarkably attenuated. In addition, cell ratio in the G1 phase increased after knockdown of TRERNA1, suggesting the arrested G1/S cell cycle. Subsequently, FOXL1 was downregulated in NSCLC cell lines and tumor tissues. Meanwhile, FOXL1 level was verified to be negatively correlated with TRERNA1 level. Additionally, the binding between TRERNA1 and FOXL1 was confirmed by Dual-Luciferase reporter gene assay. Cell reverse investigation indicated the involvement of FOXL1 in TRERNA1-regulated malignant progression of NSCLC., Conclusions: LncRNA TRERNA1 was up-regulated both in NSCLC tissues and cell lines. Its level was associated with pathological stage and poor prognosis in NSCLC. In addition, lncRNA TRERNA1 could promote the malignant progression of NSCLC via modulating FOXL1.

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (PPARα) plays critical physiological roles in energy metabolism, antioxidation and immunity of mammals, however, these functions have not been fully understood in fish. In the present study, Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) were fed with fenofibrate, an agonist of PPARα, for six weeks, and subsequently challenged with Aeromonas hydrophila. The results showed that PPARα was efficiently activated by fenofibrate through increasing mRNA and protein expressions and protein dephosphorylation. PPARα activation increased significantly mitochondrial fatty acid β-oxidation efficiency, the copy number of mitochondrial DNA and expression of monoamine oxidase (MAO), a marker gene of mitochondria. Meanwhile, PPARα activation also increased significantly the expression of NADH dehydrogenase [ubiquinone] 1α subcomplex subunit 9 (NDUFA9, complex I) and mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase 1 (MTCO1, complex IV). The fenofibrate-fed fish had higher survival rate when exposed to A. hydrophila. Moreover, the fenofibrate-fed fish also had higher activities of immune and antioxidative enzymes, and gene expressions of anti-inflammatory cytokines, while had lower expressions of pro-inflammatory cytokine genes. Taken together, PPARα activation improved the ability of Nile tilapia to resist A. hydrophila, mainly through enhancing mitochondrial fatty acids β-oxidation, immune and antioxidant capacities, as well as inhibiting inflammation. This is the first study showing the regulatory effects of PPARα activation on immune functions through increasing mitochondria-mediated energy supply in fish., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Dietary α-lipoic acid (LA), β-glucan (Gluc) and l-carnitine (L-Ca) are commonly used additives to promote fish growth and stress resistance in aquaculture production. However their mechanisms and efficiencies in helping fish to resist diseases have not been compared before. In this study, we fed Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) with diets containing appropriate doses of LA, Gluc and L-Ca for five weeks and further intraperitoneally injected the fish with Aeromonas hydrophila. After dietary treatment, none of the additives affected the fish growth, but dietary Gluc and L-Ca reduced protein and lipid body contents in fish, respectively. After A. hydrophila challenge, all fish treated with the three dietary additives showed higher survival rate, but those fed on dietary L-Ca had lower survival than those fed on LA and Gluc diets, indicating high protection efficiency of LA and Gluc. The protective mechanisms of the three feed additives were quite different under A. hydrophila infection. Dietary LA induced higher total antioxidant capacity and higher mRNA expression of anti-oxidative genes than other additives in liver and also activated partly the immune function in serum and spleen. Gluc largely increased the immune function by activating the immunity enzymes in serum, inducing inflammation in liver and increasing the expression of immune genes in spleen and head kidney. Gluc also increased partly the antioxidant capacity in serum and liver and lipid catabolism in liver. L-Ca largely increased lipid catabolism in liver while it increased partly the antioxidant capacities in serum and liver. Taken together, these results indicate that, dietary LA, Gluc and L-Ca have various protective mechanisms and differ in their efficiencies on resisting A. hydrophila infection in Nile tilapia., (Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Waveguide crossing is an important integrated photonic component that will be routinely used for high-density and large-scale photonic integrated circuits, such as optical switches and routers. Several techniques have been reported in achieving high performance waveguide crossings on a silicon-on-insulator photonic platform, i.e., low-loss and low-crosstalk waveguide crossings based on multimode interference, bi-layer tapering, optical transformation, metamaterials, and subwavelength gratings. Until recently, not much attention has been given to the reduction of the footprint of waveguide crossings. Here we experimentally demonstrate an ultra-compact waveguide crossing on silicon photonic platform with a footprint only ~1 × 1 μm 2 . Our simulations show that it has a low insertion loss (< 0.175 dB) and low crosstalk (< -37dB) across the whole C-band, while the fabricated one has an insertion loss < 0.28 dB and crosstalk around -30 dB for the C-band.

Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is a retinal degenerative disorder that often causes complete blindness. Mutations of more than 50 genes have been identified as associated with RP, including the CACNA1F gene. In a recent study, by employing next-generation sequencing, we identified a novel mutation in the CACNA1F gene. In this study, we used the amplification refractory mutation system (ARMS) and identified a single nucleotide change c.1555C>T in exon 13 of the CACNA1F gene, leading to the substitution of arginine by tryptophan (p.R519W) in a Chinese individual affected by RP. This study actually confirms this novel mutation, and establishes the ARMS technique for the detection of mutations in RP.

Glaucoma, a type of optic neuropathy, is characterized by the loss of retinal ganglion cells. It remains controversial whether c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) participates in the apoptosis of retinal ganglion cells in glaucoma. This study sought to explore a possible mechanism of action of JNK signaling pathway in glaucoma-induced retinal optic nerve damage. We established a mouse model of chronic ocular hypertension by reducing the aqueous humor followed by photocoagulation using the laser ignition method. Results showed significant pathological changes in the ocular tissues after the injury. Apoptosis of retinal ganglion cells increased with increased intraocular pressure, as did JNK3 mRNA expression in the retina. These data indicated that the increased expression of JNK3 mRNA was strongly associated with the increase in intraocular pressure in the retina, and correlated positively with the apoptosis of retinal ganglion cells.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the oxygen partial pressure of the rabbit model of the VX2 tumor using a 64-slice perfusion CT and to compare the results with that obtained using the oxygen microelectrode method. Perfusion CT was performed for 45 successfully constructed rabbit models of a VX2 brain tumor. The perfusion values of the brain tumor region of interest, the blood volume (BV), the time to peak (TTP) and the peak enhancement intensity (PEI) were measured. The results were compared with the partial pressure of oxygen (PO2) of that region of interest obtained using the oxygen microelectrode method. The perfusion values of the brain tumor region of interest in 45 successfully constructed rabbit models of a VX2 brain tumor ranged from 1.3-127.0 (average, 21.1 ± 26.7 ml/min/ml); BV ranged from 1.2-53.5 ml/100g (average, 22.2 ± 13.7 ml/100g); PEI ranged from 8.7-124.6 HU (average, 43.5 ± 28.7 HU); and TTP ranged from 8.2-62.3 s (average, 38.8 ± 14.8 s). The PO2 in the corresponding region ranged from 0.14-47 mmHg (average, 16 ± 14.8 mmHg). The perfusion CT positively correlated with the tumor PO2, which can be used for evaluating the tumor hypoxia in clinical practice.

CT perfusion imaging is a promising technique for delineating the target volume for three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy, but it is difficult in humans to obtain gross pathological samples at the same level of the brain tumor to evaluate this technique. The aim of this study was to use the BV map of CT perfusion imaging to assess the target volume in the rabbit VX2 brain tumor model, which has similar characteristics to human brain tumor, and compare the results to those of CECT. New Zealand white rabbits were used for the animal model. After tumor cell implantation 21 rabbits underwent 64-slice CT scanning. The target slice was selected and the maximum major axis length and minimum minor axis length of the tumor in the target slice on BV maps and contrast-enhanced CT images were measured. Pathological specimens were obtained from the rabbit brains which were removed intact. The GTV and CTV of the imaging methods were compared. Scanning was successful in 20 rabbits. The CECT images showed the target area for the VX2 tumor in 16 rabbits. The BV maps showed the target area for the tumor in 20 rabbits. The probability was 95% that the GTV determined by pathology can be covered completely when BV maps are used. CT perfusion imaging appears to be a promising technique for delineating the GTV of brain tumors in clinical practice.

Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs), one of the crucial regulators in embryonic development and bone formation, have been implicated in epithelium-derived tumors. Previous results showed the involvement of overexpression of BMP 2, 4, 5 in the carcinogenesis of oral epithelia. The ability of BMP receptor-II mutant to modify the malignant phenotype of oral squamous cell carcinoma cell line Tca8113 by blocking the BMP signal transduction pathway has been proposed. In this study, a negative truncated mutant of the BMP receptor-II (tBMPR-II) was transfected into Tca8113 cells. The effects were evaluated though RT-PCR, 3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay, BrdU staining, cell cyclin assay, TdT-mediated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) staining, and cell cycle protein detection. Overexpression of tBMPR-II gene transfection truncates the expression of BMPR-II mRNA expression, but not BMP 2, 4, 5. tBMPR-II resulted in a remarkable inhibition of cell proliferation and viability compared with control Tca8113. The inhibitory effects were partly attributed to the induction of apoptosis and cell cycle arrest in G(0) /G(1) accompanied by downregulation of the intracellular cell cycle proteins of cyclin D1 and cyclin-dependent kinases 4, as well as the upregulation of p27 and p57. Loss of BMP signals correlates tightly with suppression of cell proliferation, induction of apoptosis, and benign transformation of Tca8113 cells phenotype., (© 2010 John Wiley & Sons A/S.)

Objective: To investigate the long-term effects of air pollution on prevalence of respiratory symptoms in adults, in Beijing., Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in an urban area and a suburban area with different levels of air pollution in October 2008, in Beijing. Respiratory symptoms were investigated by a standard questionnaire from the American Thoracic Society (ATS-DLD-78-A) in 9 052 adults who had lived there for at least two years. The concentrations of air pollutants for recent five years were obtained from Reports on the Quality of the Beijing Environment, Environmental Protection Bureau and Statistics Yearbook. The differences of the prevalence and standardized prevalence of respiratory symptoms in adults between the urban and suburban areas were analyzed by χ(2) test., Results: The standardized prevalences of persistent phlegm and asthma in urban adults were significantly higher than those in suburban adults [(3.06% vs. 2.43%, P<0.05) and (0.65% vs. 0.31%, P<0.01), respectively], but lower than that of the breathless (0.75% vs. 1.12%, P<0.05)., Conclusion: The study suggested that ambient air pollution had long-term effects on the prevalence of some respiratory symptoms in adults.

Study design:Disturbance of gastrointestinal motility following acute spinal cord injury complicated with paraplegia can lead to bacterial overgrowth in the gastrointestinal tract, and increase the incidence of bacterial translocation. Experiments in a New Zealand rabbit model of acute spinal cord injury were performed.Objective:This study was designed to determine if the electrical stimulation of the sacral nerve prevents gut-origin bacterial translocation and endotoxemia in an animal model of acute spinal cord injury.Settings:Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Hunan, PR China.Methods:New Zealand rabbits were divided into three groups: Control group, Paraplegic Vehicle group without sacral nerve stimulation and Paraplegic Experiment group with sacral nerve stimulation. Blood and multiple organs were collected for bacterial cultures and endotoxin determination at 24, 48 and 72 h following spinal cord injury. The histology and ultra-structural features of the organs were studied.Results:Bacterial translocation and endotoxemia were observed in all animals with acute spinal cord injury. Sacral nerve stimulation increased defecation, decreased endotoxin levels and bacterial translocation and improved the morphology of the organs.Conclusion:After acute spinal cord injury, stimulation of the sacral nerve reduced gut bacterial translocation and endotoxemia.Spinal Cord advance online publication, 6 April 2010; doi:10.1038/sc.2010.35.

BRD7 was isolated through cDNA representational difference analysis (RDA) (GenBank accession No. AF152604). Previous studies showed that BRD7 gene was down-regulated in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) cells and tissues, and three cSNPs (coding-region single nucleotide polymorphisms) were found on BRD7. In addition, six BRD7-interacting proteins were identified by yeast two-hybrid system. To study the function of this gene on carcinogenesis in NPC, BRD7 gene was transfected into HNE1 cells low-expressed BRD7 by using liposomes and a stable cell line over-expressing BRD7 was established. After two-dimensional gel electrophoresis(2-DE), twenty differentially expressed proteins were identified by MALDI-TOF-MS including argininosuccinate lyase, metalloproteinase inhibitor-2 precursor, proteaseome activator28 beta subunit, thyroid transcriptional factor-1, cyclinH (MO15-associated protein), and so on. These differentially expressed proteins are related to cell cycling, transcription regulation, signaling pathway etc. Therefore, BRD7 may exert its functions by mediating differential expression of these proteins.