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The 5G power trading private network increases network flexibility and lowers building costs with the aid of 5G and Access Point Name (APN) technology. However, the private network is facing a series of security problems, such as the lack of effective isolation between slices and malicious terminal damage in slices, which result in a large consumption of slice resource failures and even slice escape attacks. To solve this problem, we propose a slice escape detection model based on full flow adaptive detection. Firstly, we improve the "six-tuple" flow table features detection technology, and creatively proposed a set of "eleven-tuple" features scheme, so as to realize the adaptive detection of intra-slice and inter-slice escape attacks. Secondly, we construct a two-level detection model based on long short-term memory network and self-attention mechanism to improve detection efficiency and reduce false alarm rate. Thirdly, we design an exception handling module to handle the abnormally detected traffic. Our model has a high detection accuracy and a low false alarm rate for the slice escape assault, according to a large number of experiments on the CIC-DDoS2019 dataset, and the detection delay complies with the requirements for online detection.

The search for new heterometallic metal pseudohalides will be significant for the development of novel functional materials. In this work, a new silver/cadmium heterometallic thiocyanate templated by benzyl viologen has been synthesized and structurally determined, i.e., {(BV)[Ag2Cd(SCN)6]}n (BV2+ = benzyl viologen). The interesting 1-D double chain [Ag2Cd(SCN)6]n2n− was constructed from the CdN6 octahedron and Ag2SCN6 dimers via μ2-SCN and μ3-S,S N SCN bridge, in which the Ag···Ag interaction can be found. Inter-molecular C-H···S/N hydrogen bonds between BV2+ cations and [Ag2Cd(SCN)6]n2n− chains contribute to the formation of a stable 3-D network. The short S···N distance implies the strong charge transfer (CT) interactions between the electron-rich silver/cadmium thiocyanate donor and BV2+ acceptor. This hybrid can exhibit a photo-generated current performance with an intensity of 1.75 × 10−8 A. Interestingly, this hybrid can present good photocatalytic degradation performance on rhodamine B in artificial seawater with a degradation ratio of 86.5% in 240 min. This work provides a new catalyst way for the organic dye-type ocean pollutant treatments.

Antimicrobial peptide (AMP) surfaces are widely used to inhibit biofilm formation and bacterial infection. However, endpoint-immobilized AMPs on surfaces are totally different from free-state AMPs due to the constraints of the surface. In this work, the interactions between AMPs and bacterial cell membranes were analyzed through coarse-grained molecular dynamics and all-atom molecular dynamics simulations. This AMP disrupted membrane structure by altering the thickness and curvature of the membrane. Furthermore, the effect of surface-immobilized states of AMPs on their ability to disrupt membrane structure was revealed. The immobilized AMPs in the freeze-N system could bind to the membrane and disrupt the membrane structure through electrostatic forces between positively charged N-terminal amino acid residues and the negatively charged membrane, while the immobilized AMPs in the freeze-C system were repelled. The results will aid in the rational design of new AMP surfaces with enhanced efficacy and stability.

Importance: Abnormal blood pressure pattern is an independent risk factor for vascular events. Blood pressure variability can predict cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease outcomes and is closely associated with the risk of cognitive impairment. However, the relationship between blood pressure variability and cerebral small vessel disease neuroimaging markers remains unclear. This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between blood pressure variability and cerebral small vessel disease neuroimaging markers. Data sources: We searched multiple databases, including Embase, Web of Science, PubMed, Cochrane Library, UpToDate, and World of Science, from their inception until November 27, 2023.Main Outcomes and Measures: A meta-analysis of 19 observational studies involving 14519 participants was performed. Findings: ①Systolic blood pressure variability was correlated with the cerebral small vessel disease total burden, white matter hyperintensities and lacunar infarction; ② Diastolic blood pressure variability was correlated with the cerebral small vessel disease total burden, white matter hyperintensities and cerebral microbleeds; ③ Non-dipping patterns were correlated with white matter hyperintensities and lacunar infarction. ④ Reverse-dipping patterns were significantly correlated with white matter hyperintensities and cerebral microbleeds. Conclusions: and Relevance: Blood pressure variability correlates with neuroimaging markers of cerebral small vessel disease and its burden. Hence, early monitoring and intervention of blood pressure variability may be essential for the early diagnosis, prevention and treatment of cerebral small vessel disease.

Retinal degeneration (RD) is a group of chronic blinding diseases characterised by progressive retinal cell death. As the disease progresses, vision deteriorates due to retinal cell death and impaired retinal integrity, eventually leading to complete loss of vision. Therefore, the function and environmental homeostasis of the retina have an important impact on the pathogenesis and treatment of RD. Ubiquitination, as a complex post-translational modification process, plays an essential role in maintaining retinal homeostasis and normal function. It covalently combines ubiquitin with protein through a series of enzyme-mediated reactions, and participates in cell processes such as gene transcription, cell cycle process, DNA repair, apoptosis and immune response. At the same time, it plays a central role in protein degradation. There are two major protein degradation systems in eukaryotic cells: the ubiquitin-proteasome system and the autophagy-lysosomal system. The protein degradation pathway maintains retinal protein homeostasis by reducing abnormal protein accumulation in the retina through two modes of degradation. Either dysregulation of ubiquitination or disruption of protein homeostasis may lead to the development of RD. This article aims to comprehensively review recent research progress on ubiquitin-related genes, proteins and protein homeostasis in the pathogenesis of RD, and to summarize the potential targeted therapy strategies for it. The review is expected to provide valuable guidance for further development and application of ubiquitination in RD.

ObjectiveTo evaluate intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) risk in patients with ischemic stroke (IS) and cerebral microbleeds (CMBs) undergoing anticoagulation therapy for non-valvular atrial fibrillation (AF).MethodsWe conducted a comprehensive search across multiple databases, including Embase, PubMed, Cochrane, UpToDate, Scopus, WOS, and SinoMed. The search covered observational literature published from each database inception until February 1, 2023. We analyzed the prevalence of CMBs during the follow-up period, compared future ICH risk between patients with and without baseline CMBs (CMBs presence/absence, ≧5 CMBs), and examined factors influencing ICH occurrence in patients with CMBs. Also studied recurrent stroke during anticoagulation therapy, the risk of future ICH when white matter hyperintensity (WMH) and CMBs coexist, and the effects of anticoagulants vitamin K antagonists (VKAs) and direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) on future ICH.ResultsWe included 7 articles involving 5,134 participants. The incidence of CMBs was 24%; baseline CMBs were associated with an increased ICH risk compared to patients without CMBs. ICH—risk was more significant in patients with baseline ≥5 CMBs. After anticoagulant therapy, ICH risk was higher than that of recurrent IS. The risk of future ICH was significantly increased with anticoagulant VKAs compared with NOAC.ConclusionAnticoagulant therapy for ischemic stroke patients with non-valvular AF and CMBs increases future ICH risk. Discontinuing anticoagulation due to ICH risk should be avoided. NOACs are safe and effective for patients with CMBs and IS.

A large number of people in China still live in rural villages. The indoor environment of these rural dwellings directly affects the quality of life of the occupants. Nevertheless, constrained by the quality of dwelling construction, rural buildings have poorer indoor environments and, at the same time, have a higher operating energy consumption. However, inadequate attention has been given to the summer thermal environment in cold regions. This work has been carried out around the thermal environment of rural residences in cold regions during summer. Field measurements, questionnaires, and data analysis were used in this study. We recorded the indoor and outdoor thermal environment parameters on a typical summer day in the Linyi rural area. Moreover, the subjective sensations and thermal adaptive behaviors of the participants were recorded in detail with a questionnaire. Linear regression showed that the neutral temperature for residents in summer was 27.52 °C, with acceptable temperatures ranging from 25.14 °C to 29.9 °C. Age and gender differences were found to affect the occupants’ sensation of thermal comfort and humidity, as well as their thermal adaptive behavior. In addition, a thermal adaptive model has been constructed in the study, which will further enrich the thermal adaptive investigation and provide a scientifically sound reference for the renovation and development of the local rural areas.

Nowadays, evaporatively cooled office buildings commonly observed in dry hot areas in summer of China. However, few dedicated studies to record the local residents' thermal comfort and adaptability in these buildings. The contribution of adaptive comfort theory on thermal perception still remains unclear for optimizing office building design parameters. Hence, to deeper probe the adaptive thermal comfort of the related indoor environment, a field study of office buildings during summer considering evaporative cooling air conditioned (ECA) and naturally ventilated (NV) mode was conducted in Turpan, China. Based on 931 valid datasets collected from questionnaires, we found that the neutral temperature (Tn) of 28.4 °C in ECA group, 0.6 °C lower than NV group (29.0 °C). A lower air temperature (Ta) and higher humidity (RH)/air-velocity (Va) were expected in two modes, and Va has a stronger influence than RH on mean thermal sensation votes (MTSV). Meanwhile, occupants can adapt to current indoor environment through physiological, psychological and behavioral adjustments, while the clothing regulation had limited effect on MTSV unless the outdoor temperature exceeds 38 °C. Whether in ECA or NV mode, the predicted mean votes (PMV) model overestimated actual thermal sensation when operative temperature (Top) beyond 28 °C. Adaptive models were also proved varied from that in current standards, which indicated that they were not suitable for evaluating the studied buildings in Turpan. Above findings could suggest us a better understanding of the occupants' thermal adaptability, thereby providing the reference of design parameters revision and passive strategies for local newly/renovated buildings.

Abstract Human health has been seriously endangered by arsenic pollution in drinking water. In this paper, iron hydroxide nanopetalines were synthesized through a precipitation method using KBH4 and their performance and mechanism of As(V) and As(III) removal were investigated. The prepared material was characterized by SEM–EDX, XRD, BET, zeta potential and FTIR analyses. Batch experiments indicated that the iron hydroxide nanopetalines exhibited more excellent performance for As(V) and As(III) removal than ferrihydrite. The adsorption processes were very fast in the first stage, followed a relatively slower adsorption rate and reached equilibria after 24 h, and the reaction could be fitted best by the pseudo-second order model, followed by the Elovich model. The adsorption isotherm data followed to the Freundlich model, and the maximal adsorption capacities of As(V) and As(III) calculated by the Langmuir model were 217.76 and 91.74 mg/g at pH 4.0, respectively, whereas these values were 187.84 and 147.06 mg/g at pH 8.0, respectively. Thermodynamic studies indicated that the adsorption process was endothermic and spontaneous. The removal efficiencies of As(V) and As(III) were significantly affected by the solution pH and presence of PO4 3– and citrate. The reusability experiments showed that more than 67% of the removal efficiency of As(V) could be easily recovered after four cycles. The SEM and XRD analyses indicated that the surface morphology and crystal structure before and after arsenic removal were stable. Based on the analyses of FTIR, XRD and XPS, the predominant adsorption mechanism was the formation of inner-sphere surface complexes by the surface hydroxyl exchange reactions of Fe–OH groups with arsenic species. This research provides a new strategy for the development of arsenic immobilization materials and the results confirm that iron hydroxide nanopetalines could be considered as a promising material for removing arsenic from As-contaminated water for their highly efficient performance and stability.

Laser cladding is a new technology to fabricate a coating on the surface of a metal substrate. The properties on copper substrates are usually not very good due to the high thermal conductivity and reflectivity. The appropriate preheating temperature is helpful to fabricate coatings with good quality and properties, especially for copper substrates. In order to investigate the effect of different preheating temperatures, four coatings with different preheating temperatures (100, 200, 300 and 400 °C) were fabricated via a laser on a copper substrate. The microstructures and properties of four coatings were investigated using SEM, XRD, EDS, a Vickers microhardness meter, a wear tester and an electrochemical workstation. The results show that the elements from Ni-based alloy powder were uniformly distributed among the binding region, which obtained a good metallurgical bonding. The microstructure was mainly composited of cellular, dendrite and plane crystals, and the main reinforced phases were γ (Fe, Ni), Cr0.09Fe0.7Ni0.21, WC and Ni3B. The values of average microhardness of the four coatings were 614.3, 941.6, 668.1 and 663.1 HV0.5, respectively. The wear rates of the four coatings were 9.7, 4.9, 12.5 and 13.3 × 10−5 mm3·N−1·m−1, respectively, which were less than that of the copper substrate (4.3 × 10−3 mm3·N−1·m−1). The decrease in wear rate was due to the existence of the reinforced phases, such as WC, Ni3B, M7C3 (M=Fe, Cr) and Cr0.09Fe0.7Ni0.21. The fine crystals in the coating preheated at 200 °C also improved the wear resistance. Additionally, the minimum values of corrosion current density were 3.26 × 10−5, 2.34 × 10−7, 4.02 × 10−6 and 4.21 × 10−6 mA·mm−2, respectively. It can be seen that the coating preheated at 200 °C had higher microhardness, lower wear rates and better corrosion resistance due to the existence of reinforced phases and fine and uniform crystals.

Abstract Background Abnormal DNA methylation of tumor suppressor gene promoter has been found in breast cancer. Therefore, the current study set out to explore how DNA methyltransferase 1 (DNMT1) affects breast cancer through mediating miR-497/GPRC5A axis. Methods After loss and gain-of-function approaches were conducted in MCF-7/ADR and MCF-7 cells, cell viability, IC50 value, invasion, migration and apoptosis were measured, respectively. In addition, drug resistance, metastasis and apoptosis-related protein expression were examined using immunoblotting. ChIP and dual-luciferase reporter gene assays were carried out to validate relationship among DNMT1, miR-497, and GPRC5RA. Subcutaneous xenograft tumor model in nude mice was established to detect effects of DNMT1 on growth and metastasis of breast cancer in vivo. Results It was found that DNMT1 was notably increased, while miR-497 was poorly-expressed in breast cancer. Highly-expressed DNMT1 could promote chemotherapy resistance and metastasis of breast cancer. Meanwhile, DNMT1 modified methylation of CpG island in miR-497 promoter region, thereby repressing miR-497 level. In addition, miR-497 targeted GPRC5A expression to curb chemotherapy resistance and metastasis of breast cancer cells. Lastly, in vivo experiments showed that knockdown of DNMT1 could suppress breast cancer growth and metastasis. Conclusions Collectively, our findings indicated that DNMT1 may inhibit miR-497 and boost the expression of GPRC5A through methylation, thus augmenting breast cancer chemotherapy resistance and metastasis, which provides novel mechanistic insight into the unrecognized roles of DNMT1 in breast cancer.

Abstract Background Invasive candidal infection combined with bacterial bloodstream infection is one of the common nosocomial infections that is also the main cause of morbidity and mortality. The incidence of invasive Candidal infection with bacterial bloodstream infection is increasing year by year worldwide, but data on China is still limited. Methods We included 246 hospitalised patients who had invasive candidal infection combined with a bacterial bloodstream infection from January 2013 to January 2018; we collected and analysed the relevant epidemiological information and used machine learning methods to find prognostic factors related to death (training set and test set were randomly allocated at a ratio of 7:3). Results Of the 246 patients with invasive candidal infection complicated with a bacterial bloodstream infection, the median age was 63 years (53.25–74), of which 159 (64.6%) were male, 109 (44.3%) were elderly patients (> 65 years), 238 (96.7%) were hospitalised for more than 10 days, 168 (68.3%) were admitted to ICU during hospitalisation, and most patients had records of multiple admissions within 2 years (167/246, 67.9%). The most common blood index was hypoproteinemia (169/246, 68.7%), and the most common inducement was urinary catheter use (210/246, 85.4%). Moreover, the most frequently infected fungi and bacteria were Candida parapsilosis and Acinetobacter baumannii, respectively. The main predictors of death prognosis by machine learning method are serum creatinine level, age, length of stay, stay in ICU during hospitalisation, serum albumin level, C-Reactive protein (CRP), leukocyte count, neutrophil count, Procalcitonin (PCT), and total bilirubin level. Conclusion Our results showed that the most common candida and bacteria infections were caused by Candida parapsilosis and Acinetobacter baumannii, respectively. The main predictors of death prognosis are serum creatinine level, age, length of stay, stay in ICU during hospitalisation, serum albumin level, CRP, leukocyte count, neutrophil count, PCT and total bilirubin level.

Abstract Background Maternally Expressed Gene 3 (MEG3) is expressed at low levels in placental villi during preeclampsia; however, its roles in unexplained recurrent spontaneous abortion (URSA) remain unclear. In this study, we aimed to explore the relationship between MEG3 and URSA. Methods The differentially expressed lncRNAs (MEG3) and its downstream genes (RASA1) were identified using bioinformatics analysis of Genomic Spatial Event (GSE) database. The expression levels of MEG3 in embryonic villis (with gestational ages of 49–63 days) and primary trophoblasts were determined using quantitative RT-PCR assay. A mouse model of Embryo implantation, Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8), flow cytometry, and Transwell migration assays were performed to determine the implantation, proliferative, apoptotic, and invasive capacities of trophoblast. The level of phosphorylated core proteins in the RAS-MAPK pathway were analyzed using Western blot assay. The mechanisms of MEG3 in the regulation of RASA1 were studied by RNA pulldown, RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP), DNA pulldown, and chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assays. Results MEG3 had a low expression level in embryonic villis of 102 URSA patients compared with those of 102 normal pregnant women. MEG3 could promote proliferation and invasion, inhibit the apoptosis of primary trophoblast of URSA patients (PT-U cells), as well as promote embryo implantation of mouse. Besides, MEG3 also promoted the phosphorylation of rapidly accelerated fibrosarcoma (Raf), mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase (MEK), and extracellular-signal-regulated kinase (ERK) proteins. The results of RNA pull down and RIP assays showed that MEG3 bound with the enhancer of zeste homolog 2 (EZH2). The DNA pulldown assay revealed that MEG3 could bind to the promoter sequence of the RAS P21 Protein Activator 1 (RASA1) gene. Further, the ChIP assay showed that MEG3 promoted the binding of EZH2 to the promoter region of the RASA1 gene. Conclusions The inactivation of MEG3 in embryonic villi association with URSA; MEG3 inhibited the expression of RASA1 by mediating the histone methylation of the promoter of RASA1 gene by EZH2, thereby activating the RAS-MAPK pathway and enhancing the proliferative and invasive capacities of trophoblasts.

Bacteraemia has attracted great attention owing to its serious outcomes, including deterioration of the primary disease, infection, severe sepsis, overwhelming septic shock or even death. Candidemia, secondary to bacteraemia, is frequently seen in hospitalised patients, especially in those with weak immune systems, and may lead to lethal outcomes and a poor prognosis. Moreover, higher morbidity and mortality associated with candidemia. Owing to the complexity of patient conditions, the occurrence of candidemia is increasing. Candidemia-related studies are relatively challenging. Because candidemia is associated with increasing mortality related to invasive infection of organs, its pathogenesis warrants further investigation. We collected the relevant clinical data of 367 patients with concomitant candidemia and bacteraemia in the first hospital of China Medical University from January 2013 to January 2018. We analysed the available information and attempted to obtain the undisclosed information. Subsequently, we used machine learning to screen for regulators such as prognostic factors related to death. Of the 367 patients, 231 (62.9%) were men, and the median age of all patients was 61 years old (range, 52–71 years), with 133 (36.2%) patients aged >65 years. In addition, 249 patients had hypoproteinaemia, and 169 patients were admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) during hospitalisation. The most common fungi and bacteria associated with tumour development and Candida infection were Candida parapsilosis and Acinetobacter baumannii, respectively. We used machine learning to screen for death-related prognostic factors in patients with candidemia and bacteraemia mainly based on integrated information. The results showed that serum creatinine level, endotoxic shock, length of stay in ICU, age, leukocyte count, total parenteral nutrition, total bilirubin level, length of stay in the hospital, PCT level and lymphocyte count were identified as the main prognostic factors. These findings will greatly help clinicians treat patients with candidemia and bacteraemia.

A Ni-WC coating was fabricated successively on a copper substrate by laser. The microstructure, hardness and wear resistance were investigated. The thickness of Ni-WC coating was 0.65 mm and average hardness of strengthening layer was 667HV0.1, which was approximately 7.8 times higher than the hardness of copper substrate. The wear volume of Ni-WC coating was only 0.014 mm3, which was only 1.02% wear volume of copper substrate. The decrease in wear volume was mainly due to presence of reinforced phases, such as γ-Ni, Cr0.19Fe0.7Ni0.11, M7C3, M23C6 and WC. In addition, there was no coating peeled off after 100 times trials of heat shock resistance experiment at 800℃. The experimental results show that this Ni-WC coating has a good metallurgical bonding strength and hardness, and it also has good wear resistance and high temperature property, which is helpful to improve the service life of mould copper plate.

The N6-methyladenosine (m6A) is the most abundant internal modification in advanced eukaryotic mRNAs, and it plays an important role in mRNA metabolism and diverse biological processes. Moreover, m6A modification is dynamically reversible and may reshape gene expression patterns after demethylation induced by drug interventions, which may reverse the occurrence and progression of certain diseases. Although the role of changes in DNA methylation in ophthalmic diseases has been well described, the regulatory role of the m6A modification in ophthalmic diseases is still a new field of study. This paper aims to systematically summarize the latest research progress about m6a-modification-related ophthalmic diseases and potential therapeutic strategies. All English literature relevant to our research was searched in PubMed and CNKI databases, using appropriate keywords. Our study reviews the regulatory role of m6A in ophthalmic diseases. It covers almost all of the reported m6A-related ophthalmic diseases and proposes potential treatment strategies for each disease. This review will provide direction for further research on m6A in ophthalmic diseases and help in the treatment of ophthalmic diseases in the future.

Seed size is one of the vital traits determining seed appearance, quality, and yield. Untangling the genetic mechanisms regulating soybean 100-seed weight (100-SW), seed length and seed width across environments may provide a theoretical basis for improving seed yield. However, there are few reports related to QTL mapping of 100-SW across multiple ecological regions. In this study, 21 loci associated with seed size traits were identified using a genome-wide association of 5361 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) across three ecoregions in China, which could explain 8.12%–14.25% of the phenotypic variance respectively. A new locus, named as SW9-1 on chromosome 9 that explained 10.05%–10.93% of the seed weight variance was found significantly related to seed size traits, and was not previously reported. The selection effect analysis showed that SW9-1 locus has a relatively high phenotypic effect (13.67) on 100-SW, with a greater contribution by the accessions with bigger seeds (3.69) than the accessions with small seeds (1.66). Increases in seed weight were accompanied by increases in the frequency of SW9-1T allele, with >90% of the bred varieties with a 100-SW >30 g carrying SW9-1T. Analysis of SW9-1 allelic variation in additional soybean accessions showed that SW9-1T allele accounting for 13.83% of the wild accessions, while in 46.55% and 51.57% of the landraces and bred accessions, respectively, this results indicating that the SW9-1 locus has been subjected to artificial selection during the early stages of soybean breeding, especially the utilization of SW9-1T in edamame for big seed. These results suggest that SW9-1 is a novel and reliable locus associated with seed size traits, and might have an important implication for increasing soybean seed weight in molecular design breeding. Cloning this locus in future may provide new insights into the genetic mechanisms underlying soybean seed size traits. Keywords: Soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.], Seed size/weight, SW9-1, Molecular breeding

Abstract Background Maternally expressed 3 (MEG3) plays an important role in cervical cancer development, but its exact role remains unclear. Here, we explored the specific regulatory mechanism of MEG3 and its downstream proteins in cervical cancer cells. Methods The effect of MEG3 on tumor formation ability of cervical cancer cells was determined in nude mice. The direct binding of MEG3 to phosphorylated signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (P-STAT3) was detected by RNA pull-down and RNA-binding protein immunoprecipitation (RIP) assays. Cycloheximide (CHX)-chase and ubiquitination assays were performed to determine the regulatory effect of MEG3 on P-STAT3 ubiquitination. Clone formation assay and flow cytometry were used to evaluate the effect of the MEG3-STAT3 regulatory axis on cell proliferation and apoptosis. Results In vivo tumor formation experiments showed that MEG3 inhibited the tumor formation ability of cervical cancer cells. RNA pull-down and RIP assays demonstrated that MEG3 bound directly to P-STAT3 protein. CHX-chase and ubiquitination assay results showed that MEG3 promoted P-STAT3 degradation via ubiquitination. Clone formation assay and flow cytometry analysis results revealed that the inhibitory effect of MEG3 on P-STAT3 promoted apoptosis and inhibited proliferation of cervical cancer cells. Conclusion MEG3 binds to P-STAT3 in cervical cancer cells, resulting in P-STAT3 ubiquitination and degradation and apoptosis and inhibition of proliferation of tumor cells. The in-depth elaboration of the MEG3-STAT3 regulatory axis in cervical cancer may clarify the mechanism of action of MEG3 and provide new ideas for cervical cancer treatment.

The prokaryote defence system Dnd relies on phosphorothioation (PT) of DNA backbone to distinguish between self and non-self DNA. Here, Xiong et al. describe a previously uncharacterized PT-based antiviral system that is independent of the canonical Dnd and is widespread in Archaea and Bacteria.

Social media have become increasingly popular for the sharing and spreading of user-generated content due to their easy access, fast dissemination, and low cost. Meanwhile, social media also enable the wide propagation of cyber frauds, which leverage fake information sources to reach an ulterior goal. The prevalence of untrustworthy information sources on social media can have significant negative societal effects. In a trustworthy social media system, trust calculation technology has become a key demand for the identification of information sources. Trust, as one of the most complex concepts in network communities, has multi-criteria properties. However, the existing work only focuses on single trust factor, and does not consider the complexity of trust relationships in social computing completely. In this paper, a multi-criteria trustworthiness calculation mechanism called Info-Trust is proposed for information sources, in which identity-based trust, behavior-based trust, relation-based trust, and feedback-based trust factors are incorporated to present an accuracy-enhanced full view of trustworthiness evaluation of information sources. More importantly, the weights of these factors are dynamically assigned by the ordered weighted averaging and weighted moving average (OWA-WMA) combination algorithm. This mechanism surpasses the limitations of existing approaches in which the weights are assigned subjectively. The experimental results based on the real-world datasets from Sina Weibo demonstrate that the proposed mechanism achieves greater accuracy and adaptability in trustworthiness identification of the network information.

BackgroundPotential anti-tumor effects of microRNA-497 (miR-497) have been highlighted in various malignancies including breast cancer. However, little is known about the function of miR-497 and its putative target mucin1 (MUC1) in breast cancer. The present study explored how miR-497 regulates breast cancer progression in a MUC1-dependent manner.MethodsExpression of miR-497 and MUC1 was determined in breast cancer tissues and cells. Methylation specific polymerase chain reaction was used to measure the methylation status of CpG islands of miR-497 promoter, while chromatin immunoprecipitation assay was used to detect recruitment of methyltransferase to the promoter region of miR-497. Alteration in expression of miR-497 (overexpression) and MUC1 (up- and down-regulation) was performed to examine their roles in breast cancer biology in vitro and in vivo. The binding affinity between miR-497 and MUC1 was investigated through a bioinformatics database and dual luciferase reporter gene assay.ResultsMiR-497 was down-regulated and MUC1 was up-regulated in breast cancer tissues and cell lines. Besides, methylation induced a down-regulation of miR-497 in breast cancer. The bioinformatics analysis and dual luciferase reporter gene assay indicated that miR-497 targeted MUC1. Overexpression of miR-497 inhibited breast cancer cell proliferation and invasion and promoted the apoptosis of breast cancer cells by down-regulating MUC1. The inhibitory action of miR-497 on tumor growth was validated in vivo.ConclusionIn conclusion, miR-497 down-regulated MUC1 expression and subsequently suppressed breast cancer progression, highlighting miR-497 to be a potential biomarker and therapeutic target for breast cancer therapy.

Background: Invasive fungal infection (IFI) is one of the most common nosocomial infections. However, data on the epidemiology of IFI and susceptibility to antifungal agents in China are quite limited, and in particular, no current data exist on the microbiological, and clinical characteristics of IFI patients in Northeast China.Objectives: The purpose of this study was to provide a retrospective review of the clinical characteristics, laboratory test results, and risk factor predictions of inpatients diagnosed with IFI. Multivariate regression analysis was used to assess prognostic factors associated with the mortality of these patients.Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the results from 509 patients with IFI extracted from the First Hospital of China Medical University from January 2013 to January 2018.Results: Neutrophil numbers, total bilirubin, length of stay in the ICU, renal failure, use of immunosuppressants within the past 30 days, stomach tube placement and septic shock were risk factors for death from IFI. Recent surgery (within 2 weeks) and drainage tube placement did not increase mortality in these IFI patients. Increased serum levels of PCT (AUC 0.601, 95% CI 0.536–0.665, P = 0.003) and CRP (AUC 0.578, 95% CI 0.512–0.644, P = 0.020) provided effective predictors of 30-day mortality rates.Conclusions: We report for the first time epidemiological data on invasive fungal infections in Northeast China over the past 5 years. Despite the limited available clinical data, these findings will greatly aid clinical health care workers with regard to the identification, prevention, and treatment of IFI in hospitalized patients.

In existing studies, the problem of maximizing aggregation information based on a given particular tree in deadlineand energy-constrained unreliable wireless sensor networks was addressed. However, these studies did not consider the effect of the aggregation tree structure on the maximum available aggregation information, which in this paper is proved to be important. In this paper, we focus on constructing optimal trees for maximizing aggregation information in unreliable sensor networks under a deadline constraint imposed on the sink and the energy constraints of each sensor. First, we propose an adaptive scheduling algorithm that efficiently implements scheduling in a given aggregation tree to maximize aggregation information. Second, we propose a distributed efficient algorithm to construct optimal aggregation trees and describe the design of an efficient state transition method of Markov chain that is implemented in the algorithm. Finally, we verify the performance of our proposed algorithms in a set of representative simulation scenarios. The experimental results show that, as compared with the methods examined in the existing research studies, our proposed algorithms significantly improve the maximum available aggregation information.

Abstract Background In our previous study, we revealed that MEG3 was a tumor suppressor gene in retinoblastoma and inhibited proliferation of retinoblastoma cells by regulating the activity of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway. Here, we further explored the mechanism of MEG3 inactivation in retinoblastoma. Methods MSP and qRT-PCR were performed to detect the methylation status of MEG3 promoter and levels of MEG3 expression, respective. To further explore relationship between MEG3 expression and epigenetic modifications, 5-Aza-CdR was used to interfere with DNA methylation. In addition, we evaluated proliferation, apoptosis and the expression of β-catenin via CCK-8, flow cytometric analysis and western blot analysis, respective. Results Hypermethylation of MEG3 promoter was observed more frequently in retinoblastoma tissues and was highly associated with low MEG3 expression and poor survival of retinoblastoma patients. We also provided evidence demonstrating that hypermethylation of MEG3 promoter depressed MEG3 expression, promoted proliferation, inhibited apoptosis and increased β-catenin expression of retinoblastoma cells in vitro. Conclusions Our present study indicates that promoter silencing by hypermethylation may account for the loss of MEG3 expression and predict poor prognosis.

Abstract Methylation alterations of specific genes have recently been identified as diagnostic biomarkers for human cancers. Although MEG3 has been proved to be a tumor suppressor in cervical cancer according to our previous study, the diagnostic value of MEG3 methylation in plasma is still unknown. Therefore, the aim of this study is to identify a novel epigenetic biomarker for cervical cancer. In the current study, the level of MEG3 methylation was evaluated using methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction. The results showed that the level of MEG3 methylation was significantly higher in cervical cancer tissues and patients’ plasmas than those in adjacent normal tissues and plasmas of healthy participants respectively. Moreover, the accuracy was good enough for MEG3 methylation in plasma to discriminate CIN III patients from healthy participants. In addition, MEG3 methylation in plasma also has high discriminating power to predict HR-HPV infection and lymph node metastasis. Furthermore, hypermethylation of MEG3 in plasma was associated with worse recurrence-free and overall survival in cervical cancer patients. In conclusions, MEG3 methylation in plasma can serve as a diagnostic and prognostic biomarker for cervical cancer, providing useful information for clinical management.

In mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs), if mobile devices frequently leave or join the overlay of MANETs, the communication links between mobile devices or between mobile devices and cloud will lose or reestablish; for searching and routing the needed cloud services again, more energy will be consumed. 5G is the fifth generation mobile communication technology, and fog computing is defined as a distributed computing infrastructure that is able to handle billions of Internet-connected devices. Therefore, combining fog computing with 5G, we present a novel and effective dynamic cloudlet-assisted routing mechanism (DCRM) for MANETs to solve the energy-saving problem of link breakages. First, for every mobile device in MANETs, we build a temporary file to record its identity and route information in a certain time. Moreover, as a key promising technology of 5G, device-to-device is used as the communication way between mobile devices, because it can enhance the communication ability and the information sharing ability between mobile devices. Second, cloudlets can be considered as small data centers, and we set the sharing relation table and the cooperation mechanism between cloudlets. Then, relying on these, mobile devices can quickly route and search the requested services regardless of the frequent movement of mobile devices in MANETs. The experimental results show that DCRM can save more time and several times more energy, and display more advantages than the network model without the proposed mechanism in many ways, consequently enable cloud to provide services that are more realistic for the future mobile network applications.

The formation of sunken oils is mainly dominated by the interaction between spilled oils and sediments. Due to their patchiness and invisibility, cleaning operations become difficult. As a result, sunken oils may cause long-term and significant damage to marine benthonic organisms. In the present study, a bench experiment was designed and conducted to investigate the quantitative distribution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in sunken oils in the presence of chemical dispersant and sediment. The oil sinking efficiency (OSE) of 16 priority total PAHs in the sediment phase was analyzed with different dosages of dispersant. The results showed that the synergistic effect of chemical dispersant and sediment promoted the formation of sunken oils, and the content of PAHs partitioned in the sunken oils increased with the increase of dispersant-to-oil ratios (DORs). Furthermore, with the addition of chemical dispersant, due to the solubility and hydrophobicity of individual PAHs, the high molecular weight (HMW) PAHs with 4−6 rings tended to partition to sediment compared with low molecular weight (LMW) PAHs with 2−3 rings. The synergistic effect of chemical dispersant and sediment could enhance the OSE of HMW PAHs in sunken oils, which might subsequently cause certain risks for marine benthonic organisms.

A Galerkin method for a modified regularized long wave equation is studied using finite elements in space, the Crank-Nicolson scheme, and the Runge-Kutta scheme in time. In addition, an extrapolation technique is used to transform a nonlinear system into a linear system in order to improve the time accuracy of this method. A Fourier stability analysis for the method is shown to be marginally stable. Three invariants of motion are investigated. Numerical experiments are presented to check the theoretical study of this method.

Cupin superfamily of proteins, including germin and germin-like proteins (GLPs) from higher plants, is known to play crucial roles in plant development and defense. To date, no systematic analysis has been conducted in soybean (Glycine max) incorporating genome organization, gene structure, expression compendium. In this study, 69 putative Cupin genes were identified from the whole-genome of soybean, which were non-randomly distributed on 17 of the 20 chromosomes. These Gmcupin proteins were phylogenetically clustered into ten distinct subgroups among which the gene structures were highly conserved. Eighteen pairs (52.2%) of duplicate paralogous genes were preferentially retained in duplicated regions of the soybean genome. The distributions of GmCupin genes implied that long segmental duplications contributed significantly to the expansion of the GmCupin gene family. According to the RNA-seq data analysis, most of the Gmcupins were differentially expressed in tissue-specific expression pattern and the expression of some duplicate genes were partially redundant while others showed functional diversity, suggesting the Gmcupins have been retained by substantial subfunctionalization during soybean evolutionary processes. Selective analysis based on single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in cultivated and wild soybeans revealed sixteen Gmcupins had selected site(s), with all SNPs in Gmcupin10.3 and Gmcupin07.2 genes were selected sites, which implied these genes may have undergone strong selection effects during soybean domestication. Taken together, our results contribute to the functional characterization of Gmcupin genes in soybean.