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Recent studies uncovered the emerging roles of SAPCD2 (suppressor anaphase-promoting complex domain containing 2) in several types of human cancer. However, the functions and underlying mechanisms of SAPCD2 in the progression of neuroblastoma (NB) remain elusive. Herein, through integrative analysis of public datasets and regulatory network of GSK-J4, a small-molecule drug with anti-NB activity, we identified SAPCD2 as an appealing target with a high connection to poor prognosis in NB. SAPCD2 promoted NB progression in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, SAPCD2 could directly bind to cytoplasmic E2F7 but not E2F1, alter the subcellular distribution of E2F7 and regulate E2F activity. Among the E2F family members, the roles of E2F7 in NB are poorly understood. We found that an increasing level of nuclear E2F7 was induced by SAPCD2 knockdown, thereby affecting the expression of genes involved in the cell cycle and chromosome instability. In addition, Selinexor (KTP-330), a clinically available inhibitor of exportin 1 (XPO1), could induce nuclear accumulation of E2F7 and suppress the growth of NB. Overall, our studies suggested a previously unrecognized role of SAPCD2 in the E2F signaling pathway and a potential therapeutic approach for NB, as well as clues for understanding the differences in subcellular distribution of E2F1 and E2F7 during their nucleocytoplasmic shuttling.

The aim of this study was to investigate the time-dependent effects of acupuncture on the excitability and long-term potentiation- (LTP-) like plasticity induced by paired-associative stimulation (PAS) over the primary motor cortex (M1). The present examination is the first to report the influence of acupuncture on the motor-evoked potential (MEP) throughout the treatment process, including baseline (before acupuncture), the needle in situ, and the needle removal. Subsequently, the LTP-like plasticity induced by paired-associative stimulation (PAS) was explored, which consisted of 200 pairs of electrical stimulation of the ulnar nerve at the first dorsal interosseous (FDI), followed by transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) over the bilateral M1. TMS-MEP amplitudes over the bilateral M1 in resting conditions were measured throughout the whole treatment process. Finally, we confirmed the behavioral measurements. Significant changes were found in both the contralateral and ipsilateral acupuncture sizes as compared to the baseline values. Our results indicated that acupuncture modulated the excitability of M1, and the synaptic plasticity was time-dependent. We concluded that acupuncture should be combined with rehabilitation techniques to improve the motor function in stroke patients. Therefore, we put forward the combined application of the acupuncture timing and rehabilitation for higher therapeutic effectiveness. This trial was registered in the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (registration no. ChiCTR-IPR-1900020515).

Successful prevention and treatment of hypertension depend on the appropriate combination of antihypertensive drug therapy and nondrug lifestyle modification. While most hypertension guidelines recommend moderate- to high-intensity exercise, we decided to explore a mild yet effective type of exercise to add to hypertension management, especially in populations with complications or frailty. After comparing the short-term cardiovascular effects of low-speed walking versus high-speed walking for 3 kilometers (km) (3 km/h versus 6 km/h) in young, healthy volunteers, we delivered low-speed walking (low-intensity walking, 2.5 metabolic equivalents of task, METs) as exercise therapy in 42 prehypertensive and 43 hypertensive subjects. We found that one session of 3 km low-intensity walking exerted a transient pressure-lowering effect as well as a mild negative chronotropic effect on heart rate in both the prehypertensive and hypertensive subjects; these short-term benefits on blood pressure and heart rate were accompanied by a brief increase in urine β-endorphin output. Then we prescribed regular low-intensity walking with a target exercise dose (exercise volume) of 500–1000 METs·min/week (50–60 min/day and 5–7 times/week) in hypertensive subjects in addition to their daily activities. Regular low-intensity walking also showed mild but significant blood pressure-lowering and heart rate-reducing effects in 7 hypertensive subjects within two months. It is hypothesized that regular low-intensity exercise of the necessary dose could be taken as a pragmatic and supplementary medication for hypertension management.

In order to research thermal behavior of benzoyl peroxide(BPO) mixed with NaOH solution, dynamic and isothermal experiments were carried out by differential scanning calorimeter (DSC).Thermal safety software(TSS) was used to analysis thermal behavior. Two methods were established to obtain reaction thermodynamic parameters, model-free method(Friedman method) and model-based method. By Friedman method, the activation energy of BPO with NaOH solution changed greatly, which demonstrated that the reaction was a multi-step reaction. By model-based method, BPO with NaOH solution can be described as A→B→C, where the first step A→B is an autocatalytic reaction, the second step B→C is a n-order reaction. Finally, the self-accelerating decomposition temperature(SADT) was predicted and the result indicated that SADT of BPO with NaOH solution is -1℃, which is much lower than BPO.

Background: Accurate assessment is important for meningioma patients in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The purpose of this study was to establish an automated visual evaluation system to facilitate diagnosis and treatment. Methods: The system, designed with a cascade network structure, was developed with deep-learning technology for automatic function of tumor detection, visual assessment, and grading prediction. Patients were retrospectively collected from two institutions. Deep-learning models were trained on the largest meningioma dataset so far involved 97500 MR images of 625 patients from the first institution. Specifically, a convolutional neural network model was established first to segment the tumor images, followed by rendering algorithms for spatial reconstruction. Then, another model was trained with the segmented tumor images for grading prediction. After training and validating performances in the first dataset, we integrated our models as a system, and tested the robustness based on performances on the second dataset from the second institution involving different MRI platforms. Findings: The segment model represented worthy-noted performances with Dice coefficients of 0.920±0.009, and the classification model also achieved high accuracy with AUC of 0.918±0.006 and accuracy of 0.901±0.039 when classifying the tumors into low-grade and high-grade meningiomas. The system showed clinical potentials, and represented good performances in the external validation group. Interpretation: Deep-learning based system could potentially serve as a reliable assessment for meningioma patients. Funding Statement: This work was supported by 1.3.5 project for disciplines of excellence, West China Hospital, Sichuan University; Key research and development project of science and technology department of Sichuan Province. Declaration of Interests: None declared. Ethics Approval Statement: Committee of Sichuan University have given approval for statistics export and utilization for this study. The obligatory written informed consent was obtained from participants enrolled in this study (written informed consent for patients

In our previous article entitled “Low-intensity walking as mild medication for pressure control in prehypertensive and hyperten-sive subjects: how far shall we wander?” published in this journal [1], we reported mild but significant reductions in both blood pressure (BP) and heart rate (HR) after low-intensity walking at a speed of 3 km/h (2.5 metabolic equivalents of task, METs), accompanied by a transient elevation in urine β-endorphin. In a recent study observing environmental influence on low-intensity walking, we found unexpectedly interesting results that we would like to share with the readers of the journal.

The thermal behaviors of azo-compounds have been a topic received extensive attention. This paper attempted to obtain the decomposition kinetics of 2,2′-azobis(2-methylpropionamidine) dihydrochloride (AIBA) by applying differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) experiments and slow cook-off test. Moreover, the thermal hazards parameters, such as self-accelerating decomposition temperature (SADT), time to maximum rate under adiabatic conditions (TMRad), time to conversion limit (TCL), were predicted. The results indicate that AIBA is a highly exothermic and hazardous substance, and the kinetic model including two-step parallel reaction paths, the n-order reaction and the autocatalytic reaction, is credible to evaluate the decomposition process of AIBA. Based on the kinetic model and fiberboard packaging, the simulated SADT of 50 kg drum and 25 kg box are 94 °C and 91 °C, respectively. The TMRad is 104.66 °C under 24 h, and 113.05 °C of 8 h.

The mcr-1 gene was detected in 5.11% (58/1136) of Escherichia coli isolates of chicken origin from 13 provinces in China. A novel mcr-1 variant, named mcr-1.3 , encoding an Ile-to-Val functional variant of MCR-1 was identified in a sequence type 155 (ST155) strain. An mcr-1.3 -containing IncI2 plasmid, pHeN867 (60,757 bp), was identified. The transfer of pHeN867 led to a 32-fold increase in the MIC of colistin in the recipient, exhibiting an effect on colistin resistance that was similar to that of mcr-1 .

The field of ocean ambient noise contains numerous information about the water column, especially the information about the sub-bottom. The geoacoustics parameters of sub-bottom are very important factors influencing the spatial characteristics of ocean ambient noise field. For different layered structures of the sub-bottom, the bottom-loss shows different critical angles according to sound speed of each layer, while the structure of interference fringe is dependent on the thickness of the sediment. Flux theory of ocean ambient noise proposed by Harrison is used in this paper. Using this theory, the curve of bottom-loss can be extracted by computing the ratio between the energy of the upward wave and the downward wave. From the ideal reflection coefficient, the influence of sound speed, density and attenuation coefficient on reflection coefficient are discussed in the situation of the sub-bottom of acoustic half space, while the reflection coefficient of 1 layer of sediment is simplified. Initially, the reflection coefficient is the sum of sound waves reflect from the sub-bottom transmitted from the same source at the same angle. Only the first two terms are reserved, so that the mechanism of the interference fringe can be easily discussed. The structure of interference fringe can be explained which is affected by the thickness of the sediment. The curve of bottom-loss oscillates periodically with the increase of the thickness of the sub-bottom. Also by the reciprocity principle, the interference fringe of the reflection coefficient can be explained by considering the sound transmitted from two point sources at the surface of the sea. In this way the same result can be obtained as that from the method of simplification. The result of the experiment in China Yellow Sea shows that the information about the reflection coefficient of the sub-bottom can be extracted by the vertical azimuth spectrum of ocean ambient noise. In this way, the critical angle can be obtained, so that the sound speed of the sub-bottom can be estimated by using Snell law. The structure of the interference fringe is also contained in the bottom-loss curve estimated by ocean ambient noise. Therefore the layered structure, sound speed and the thickness of the layer of the sub-bottom can be estimated.

The mcr-1 gene was detected in 5.11% (58/1136) of Escherichia coli isolates of chicken origin from 13 provinces in China. A novel mcr-1 variant, named mcr-1.3, encoding an Ile-to-Val functional variant of MCR-1 was identified in a sequence type 155 (ST155) strain. An mcr-1.3-containing IncI2 plasmid, pHeN867 (60,757 bp), was identified. The transfer of pHeN867 led to a 32-fold increase in the MIC of colistin in the recipient, exhibiting an effect on colistin resistance that was similar to that of mcr-1.