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Al2O3/SrTiO3 heterostructures have attracted wide attention because of high electron mobility at cryogenic temperatures. But very low room temperature mobility (typically less than 12 cm2Vâˆ'1sâˆ'1) limits its potential application. Here, the Al2O3/SrTiO3 heterostructures are successfully prepared by the low-cost magnetron sputtering. We observed that room temperature mobility is gradually enhanced on increasing electron concentration, and a maximum of 41.1 cm2Vâˆ'1sâˆ'1 is obtained. This can be attributed to the high electron concentration due to the longitudinal optical phonon scattering. Our findings not only offer a route to improve room temperature mobility of the SrTiO3-based heterostructures but also provide a new experimental method for fabricating Al2O3/SrTiO3 heterostructures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate the expression characteristics of MTMR2 in NK/T cell lymphoma (NKTCL), and to further study its relationship with clinical parameters and the prognosis of patients with NKTCL. In addition, the potential mechanisms of MTMR2 promoting the progression of NKTCL was further explored. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Quantitative Real Time-Polymerase Chain Reaction (qRTPCR) was performed to examine MTMR2 level in peripheral blood of 45 patients with NK/T-cell lymphoma and 45 healthy volunteers. The interplay between MTMR2 expression and clinical indicators, as well as the prognosis of patients with NK/T-cell lymphoma was analyzed. Meanwhile, MTMR2 expression in NKTCL cell lines was verified by qRT-PCR. Subsequently, MTMR2 knockdown and the overexpression models were constructed using lentivirus in NKTCL cell lines, including SNK-6 and KHYG-1. Transwell invasion and cell wound healing assays were applied to analyze the effect of MTMR2 on the biological function of NKTCL cells. Finally, an in-depth study of the relationship between MTMR2 and JAK1 was conducted to explore the underlying mechanism. RESULTS: QRT-PCR results showed that the expression level of MTMR2 in the serum of patients with NKTCL was remarkably higher than that of healthy volunteers, and the difference was statistically significant (p<0.05). Compared with patients with low expression of MTMR2, patients with high expression of MTMR2 exhibited significantly higher incidence of distant metastasis and lower overall survival rate (p<0.05). The metastasis ability of NKTCL SNK6 cells was remarkably attenuated in MTMR2 knockdown group when compared with the negative control sh-NC group (p<0.05). Meanwhile, the metastatic ability of NKTCL KHYG-1 cells in MTMR2 overexpressing group was remarkably enhanced when compared with the control NC group (p<0.05). The Luciferase reporter gene assay confirmed that MTMR2 could target JAK1, thereby jointly regulating the malignant progression of NKTCL. In addition, cell recovery experiment verified that JAK1 could partially reverse the enhanced metastatic ability of NKTCL cells induced by the overexpression of MTMR2. CONCLUSIONS: MTMR2 was highly expressed in NKTCL serum samples and cell lines, leading to high risk of distant metastasis and poor prognosis. In addition, MTMR2 might promote the malignant progression of NKTCL by regulating JAK1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate whether lncSNHG15 promoted the proliferation and migration of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells by binding to miR-211-3p, thereby participating in the development of NSCLC. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Expressions of lncSNHG15 and miR-211-3p in NSCLC tissues and para-cancerous tissues were detected by quantitative Real-Time-Polymerase Chain Reaction (qRT-PCR). LncSNHG15 and miR-211-3p expression in NSCLC cell lines were determined as well. Furthermore, cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) and transwell assays were performed to evaluate the effects of lncSNHG15 and miR-211-3p on cell proliferation and migration, respectively. The binding relationship between miR-211-3p and ZNF217, as well as between miR-211-3p and lncSNHG15, were further verified by the Luciferase reporter gene assay. In addition, rescue experiments were performed to verify whether lncSNHG15 promoted the proliferation and migration of NSCLC cells by degrading miR-211-3p. RESULTS: The expression of lncSNHG15 in NSCLC tissues was significantly higher than that of para-cancerous tissues. In particular, the expression of lncSNHG15 in NSCLC patients with stage III-IV was higher than those with stage I-II. Furthermore, lncSNHG15 over-expression remarkably promoted the proliferation and migration of NSCLC cells (A549 and H358). The Luciferase reporter gene assay further indicated that lncSNHG15 could bind to miR-211-3p. Simultaneously, miR-211-3p expression in NSCLC tissues was significantly lower than that of para-cancerous tissues. The over-expression of miR-211-3p could inhibit the proliferation and migration of A549 and H358 cells. Meanwhile, the Luciferase reporter gene assay indicated that ZNF217 was the target of miR-211-3p. In addition, the over-expression of ZNF217 reversed the inhibitory effect of miR-211-3p on the proliferative and migratory potentials of A549 and H358 cells. CONCLUSIONS: High expression of lncSNHG15 promoted the proliferation and migration of NSCLC cells by upregulating ZNF217 by adsorbing miR-211-3p. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to explore the effects of diet-induced hypercholesterolemia (HC) on the production of G protein-coupled receptor autoantibodies and to elucidate the potential mechanisms involved. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Male Wistar rats were fed a normal or high-cholesterol diet for 8 weeks. Cardiac function, autoantibodies against G protein-coupled receptors, the beat frequency of neonatal cardiomyocytes, the CD4+/CD8+ T-lymphocyte ratio and lymph leukocyte counts in the spleen were determined. RESULTS: Diet-induced hypercholesterolemia significantly increased the levels of autoantibodies against α1- and β1-adrenergic receptors and the angiotensin II type 1 receptor in sera, as well as the CD4+/CD8+ T-lymphocyte ratio and lymph leukocyte count in the spleen, and decreased cardiac function. There were strong negative correlations between the levels of autoantibodies and cardiac injury. CONCLUSIONS: The present study demonstrates, for the first time, that G protein-coupled receptor autoantibodies exist in the sera of hypercholesterolemic rats and that the levels of these autoantibodies are related to cardiac function, which implies that these cardiac receptor autoantibodies may play a role in cardiac dysfunction in hypercholesterolemic rats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Design of a composite dipole antenna array with direct feed is presented. In the form of printed-circuit antennas, the structure of the design consists of a doublet antenna and an elliptic loaded monopole antenna with a skirted dipole. As the load of the antenna array, this elliptic monopole provides wider bandwidth. Therefore, with the load possessing a radiation characteristic, it contributes to enhancing effciency of the antenna array and hence the omni-directional radiation gain. A good agreement between simulated results by CST Microwave Studio ® and tested results suggests that the reflection coefficient for the frequency range between 4.35 GHz to 5.0 GHz is lower than -10 dB. The out-of-roundness on H-plane is lower than 2 dB and the maximum gain is higher than 6 dB for the frequency range from 4.6 to 5.0 GHz. What is more, the gain per wavelength is about 4 dB, showing the antenna's excellence in miniaturization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel Koch fractal printed Yagi-Uda antenna fed by coplanar waveguide (CPW) is proposed and analyzed. The antenna has first-order Koch fractal monopoles, and the monopoles' ground plane acts as the ground plane of the antenna. The radiation characteristics of the antenna are simulated by CST Microwave Studior and explained by the simulated results. The antenna's currents distribution becomes more uniform after being fractal, which is conducive to increasing antenna's radiation directivity. The proposed Koch fractal Yagi-Uda antenna has an operating band of 885-913MHz (relative bandwidth 3.1%) with the center frequency of 900MHz. The total antenna size is 171 mm x 85 mm (0.51λ x 0:25λ) and the length in the antenna's polarization direction is only 25% of the wavelength corresponding to the center frequency. Compared to traditional Yagi-Uda antenna, the proposed antenna can achieve a 50% miniaturization effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chromosome pairing was analysed in F[sub 1] hybrids of the wheat cultivar ‘Chinese Spring’ (CS) and its ph1b mutant (CS ph1b) with Dasypyrum villosum. On average, 1.61 chromosomes per cell paired in the hybrid CS × D. villosum, but 14.43 in the hybrid CS ph1b × D. villosum. Genomic fluorescence in situ hybridization (GISH) revealed three types of homoeologous association between wheat (W) and D. villosum (D) chromosomes (W-D, D-W-W and D-W-D) in pollen mother cells of the CS ph1b × D. villosum hybrid, and only one type (W-W), in the CS × D. villosum hybrid. Both F[sub 1] hybrids were self-sterile. The seed set of the backcross of CS × D. villosum with CS was 6.67% and that of CS ph1b × D. villosum with CS or CS ph1b was only 0.45%. The chromosome number of BC[sub 1] plants varied from 48 to 72. Translocations of chromosome segments or entire arms between wheat and D. villosum chromosomes were detected by GISH in the BC[sub 1] plants from the backcross of CS ph1b × D. villosum to CS ph1b. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The hierarchical ZnMn2O4 and ZnMn2O4/ZnMgO composite nanospheres have been successfully synthesized by a facile hydrothermal method, respectively. The effect of growth time of ZnMn2O4 on structure and photocatalytic performance has been investigated. The ZnMn2O4 nanospheres fabricated at 24 h show the optimal structure, morphology and photocatalytic performance. ZnMn2O4/ZnMgO composite microsphere with many flaky structures was obtained. The ZnMn2O4/ZnMgO microsphere with an interior hollow regular nanosheets is highly beneficial in improving the photocatalytic performance. The photocatalytic performance of ZnMn2O4/ZnMgO composite structure is improved obviously than that of pure ZnMn2O4. The mechanism of the increasing photocatalytic performance for ZnMn2O4/ZnMgO compound structure is discussed. These results indicate the hierarchical ZnMn2O4/ZnMgO composite nanospheres promising applications as high-performance photocatalytic materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An efficient, iterative soft-in-soft-out decoding scheme is employed for the parallel and serially concatenated single parity check (SPC) product codes, which has very low complexity, requiring only two addition-equivalent-operations per information bit. For a rate 0.8637 of parallel concatenated SPC product code, a performance of BER=10-5 at Eb/N0=3.66 dB can be achieved using this decoding scheme, which is within 1 dB from the Shannon limit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate the effect of a noval radio-frequency atmospheric-pressure glow discharge (RF-APGD) plasma jet on crosslinking of dentin collagen., Methods: (1) Twenty intact third molars were collected. The middle dentin discs were prepared for each tooth by low-speed water-cooled Isomet saw, and then immersed in 10% (mass fraction) H 3 PO 4 solution for 16 h to obtain fully demine-ralized dentin collagen. The twenty dentin discs were then randomly divided into five groups. The control group was untreated while the four experimental groups were treated by plasma jet with gas temperature of 4 ℃ for different times (20 s, 30 s, 40 s, and 50 s). The structure and crosslinking degree of dentin collagen were characterized by attenuated total reflection-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The surface morphology of demineralized dentin was observed by scanning electron microscope, and the microstructure was observed by transmission electron microscope. (2) Fourty non-caries third molars were collected to prepare 5 g fine dentin powder, then completely demineralized with 10% H 3 PO 4 solution. The control group was untreated, while the four experimental groups were treated by plasma jet for 20 s, 30 s, 40 s and 50 s. The crosslinking degree of each group was determined by ninhydrin colorimetric method. (3) Forty intact third molars were collected to obtain dentin strips. Only two central symmetrical dentin strips (nasty 80) were taken from each tooth and immersed in 10% H 3 PO 4 solution for 16 h to obtain fully demineralized dentin collagen. Eighty dentine collagen fiber strips were randomly divided into five groups. The control group was untreated and the axial surfaces of dentin collagen fiber strips in the expe-rimental groups were treated with the plasma jet for 20 s, 30 s, 40 s and 50 s. The ultimate tensile strength of dentin was measured by universal mechanical machine., Results: (1) The surface morphology of demineralized dentin observed by scanning electron microscope showed that the network structure of collagen fibers on the surface of demineralized dentin treated with the plasma jet for 20 s, 30 s and 40 s could maintain the uncollapsed three-dimensional structure, and part of the microstructure was destroyed after plasma jet treated for 50 s. After being treated by plasma jet for 20 s, 30 s and 40 s, the three-dimensional structure was uncollapsed, and the typical periodic transverse pattern of natural type Ⅰ collagen fiber could be seen. The results of infrared spectra showed that the secondary conformation of dentin collagen fibers was the same as that of the control group after being treated with the plasma jet, and the intensity of amide band was significantly increased after being treated for 30 s and 40 s. (2) The results of ninhydrin crosslinking test showed that the crosslinking ratio of dentin collagen treated by plasma jet for 30 s and 40 s was the highest, and the difference was statistically significant ( P < 0.05). (3) The results of dentin ultimate tensile strength showed that the control group was (1.67±0.24) MPa, and the plasma jet treated 20 s, 30 s, 40 s and 50 s groups were (4.21±0.15) MPa, (7.06±0.30) MPa, (7.32±0.27) MPa, and (6.87±0.17) MPa, which were significantly different from that of the control group ( P < 0.05)., Conclusion: The novel RF-APGD plasma jet treatment can promote the crosslinking degree of demineralized dentin collagen and improve their ultimate tensile strength.

Tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea) is an important grass species worldwide, but temperature stress severely affects its distribution and yield. Transcription factors (TFs), as the master switches in sophisticated regulatory networks, play essential roles in plant growth development and abiotic stress responses. In this study, the comparative transcriptome analysis was performed to explore the commonalities and differences in the response of TFs to the heat (40 °C), cold (10 °C) and control (22 °C) conditions. A total of 877 TF genes belonging to 35 families were identified. Most of them (784) were differentially expressed genes (DEG), indicating TF genes actively responded to temperature stress. The expression of bZIP and GTF family members was up-regulated when exposed to both heat and cold, but conversely, the expression of the most WRKY and NAC families members decreased. The HSF and GTE families and DREB2B were up-regulated upon heat, while bHLH, MYB, HD-ZIP and ERF families were elevated under cold stress. The TFs involved in 'Plant hormone signal transduction', 'Plant-pathogen interaction', 'Circadian rhythm' play major roles in responding to temperature stresses. The results showed the temperature threats up-regulated the expression of stress tolerance-related genes, and down-regulated those genes associated with growth and disease resistance, indicating TFs exert crucial roles in plant adaptation to an adverse environment. This study profiled the responsive pattern of TFs to temperature stresses, partially explained the mechanism of adaptations of cold-season forage crops and screened many candidate stress-tolerant TF genes., (© 2020 German Society for Plant Sciences and The Royal Botanical Society of the Netherlands.)

Objective: To analyze the differences of clinical characteristics and outcomes between relapsing and monophasic patients with anti-leucine-rich glioma-inactivated 1 (anti-LGI1) encephalitis. Methods: Medical records of confirmed anti-LGI1 encephalitic patients who underwent immunotherapy were retrospectively collected from January 2015 to January 2019 in the first affiliated hospital of Zhengzhou University. Clinical data, treatment methods, duration of treatment and outcomes were analyzed between the relapsing and monophasic groups. Results: Among the 33 anti-LGI1 encephalitic patients, there were 12 and 21 cases in the relapsing and monophasic groups, respectively. No difference was found in age, sex, precipitating factors, intensive care unit (ICU) admission, symptoms and modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score in the acute phase ( P >0.05). As to the lab test and image examination, no statistic difference was found in serum and cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) positive rate, hyponatremia, abnormal rate of electrocardiogram (ECG), electroencephalogram (EEG), CSF and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and lesion locations ( P >0.05). No difference was found in time to diagnose the disease between the 2 groups ( P >0.05). The median immunotherapy period was 102.5 days in relapsing group and 194.0 days in monophasic group, with a statistic difference ( P= 0.001). No patients had bad outcomes in the monophasic group at the last follow-up, while 6 patients had poor outcomes in the relapsing group (4 patients died). The patients in relapsing group had a worse prognosis compared to those in the monophasic group ( P= 0.007). Conclusions: Relapse is common in anti-LGI1 encephalitis. Patients in the relapsing group received a shorter term of immunotherapy and had worse outcomes than those in the monophasic group.

Colorectal carcinoma (CRC) arises as a result of mutational activation of oncogenes coupled with inactivation of tumour suppressor genes. Mutations in APC, K-ras and p53 have been commonly reported. In a previous study by our group, the tumour susceptibility gene 101 (TSG101) were found to be persistently upregulated in CRC cases. TSG101 was reported to be closely related to cancers of the breast, brain and colon, and its overexpression in human papillary thyroid carcinomas and ovarian carcinomas had previously been reported. The wingless-type MMTV integration site family member 2 (WNT2) is potentially important in the Wnt/beta-catenin pathway and upregulation of WNT2 is not uncommon in human cancers. In this study, we report the investigation for mutation(s) and expression pattern(s) of WNT2 and TSG101, in an effort to further understand their role(s) in CRC tumourigenesis. Our results revealed no mutation in these genes, despite their persistent upregulation in CRC cases studied.