Search

Aeromonas hydrophila infections are common in aquaculture. Our previous studies found that the A. hydrophila B11 strain can survive in fish macrophages for at least 24 h and the two-component system EnvZ/OmpR may be involved in intracellular survival. To reveal the role and mechanism of the two-component system EnvZ/OmpR in intracellular survival of A. hydrophila, the genes of envZ/ompR were silenced by shRNAi. The results showed that the survival rates of the envZ-RNAi and ompR-RNAi strains were only 2.05% and 3.75%, respectively, which were decreased by 91% and 83.6% compared with that of the wild-type strain. The escape ability of envZ-RNAi and ompR-RNAi was also decreased by 51.4% and 19.7%, respectively. The comparative transcriptome analysis revealed that the functional genes directly related to bacterial intracellular survival mainly included the genes related to anti-stress capacity, and the genes related to Zn

In order to reach a compromise between fast response control and torques matching control in double turboshaft engines, research on nonlinear model predictive control for turboshaft engines based on double engines torques matching is conducted. Meanwhile, a Nonlinear Model Predictive Control (NMPC) method is proposed, which combines the control index of the power turbine speed with torques matching of double engines creatively. In addition to the control index, the difference of output torques between each engine is also incorporated in the objective function as a penalty term to ensure constant speed control and short torques matching time. Simulation results demonstrate that relative to unilateral torques matching, the settling time of the bidirectional matching method can be reduced by nearly 30.8%. Nevertheless, compared with the bidirectional torques matching method under the cascade PID controller, the NMPC method can decrease the overshoot of the power turbine speed by 65% and reduce the matching time by 15.5% synchronously. Besides fast response control of turboshaft engines, fast torques matching control of double engines is accomplished as well. Keywords: Double turboshaft engines, Fast response control, Helicopter, Nonlinear model predictive control, Torques matching method

The surface properties of the adsorbents and the acidic environment have an influence effect on Pb adsorption. In order to further improve the adsorption performance of biochar, we herein reported an effective method to synthesize high-adsorbed biochar by co-doping with nitrogen and phosphorus. After atom doping, the N/P co-doped biochar (NP-BC) showed the enhanced adsorption capacity for lead ion (Pb

The transcription factor, interferon regulatory factor 4 (IRF4), serves an essential role in the regulation of immune responses, and has been reported to act as a diagnostic and prognostic marker for various hematological malignancies. The present study aimed to investigate whether IRF4 could exert effects on human non‑small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and to explore the underlying mechanism. The mRNA and protein expression of IRF4 was detected in NSCLC tissues using reverse‑transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction and western blotting, respectively. In the in vitro experiment, IRF4 expression was knocked down or overexpressed using lentivirus in human lung adenocarcinoma A549 and lung squamous cell carcinoma LC‑AI cell lines. Cell proliferation and colony number were analyzed using MTT and colony formation assays, respectively. The expression levels of IRF4 mRNA and protein were significantly higher in NSCLC tissues (n=54) compared with that in adjacent non‑tumor tissues. Similarly, the expression levels of Notch1 and Notch2 mRNA were significantly higher in NSCLC tissues. Furthermore, the expression level of IRF4 mRNA was positively correlated with the levels of Notch1 and Notch2 mRNA in NSCLC tissues. Consequently, using NSCLC cell lines, it was demonstrated that the knockdown of IRF4 expression significantly reduced the cell proliferation rate and colony formation, whereas IRF4‑overexpression significantly increased them. Notably, the IRF4 knockdown significantly decreased the expression levels of Notch1 and Notch2 mRNA, and phosphorylated protein kinase B (AKT), whereas IRF4 overexpression resulted in the opposite. The results of the present study indicate that IRF4 is overexpressed and serves as a tumor promoter in human NSCLC, at least partially, through activating the Notch‑Akt signaling pathway.

Dissolved black carbon (DBC) is ubiquitous in aquatic systems, being an important subgroup of the dissolved organic matter (DOM) pool. Nevertheless, its aquatic photoactivity remains largely unknown. In this study, a range of spectroscopic indices of DBC and humic substance (HS) samples were determined using UV-Vis spectroscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy, and proton nuclear magnetic resonance. DBC can be readily differentiated from HS using spectroscopic indices. It has lower average molecular weight, but higher aromaticity and lignin content. The apparent singlet oxygen quantum yield (Φsinglet oxygen) of DBC under simulated sunlight varies from 3.46% to 6.13%, significantly higher than HS, 1.26%-3.57%, suggesting that DBC is the more photoactive component in the DOM pool. Despite drastically different formation processes and structural properties, the Φsinglet oxygen of DBC and HS can be well predicted by the same simple linear regression models using optical indices including spectral slope coefficient (S275-295) and absorbance ratio (E2/E3) which are proxies for the abundance of singlet oxygen sensitizers and for the significance of intramolecular charge transfer interactions. The regression models can be potentially used to assess the photoactivity of DOM at large scales with in situ water spectrophotometry or satellite remote sensing.

The aim was to compare the efficacy and toxicity of gemcitabine plus docetaxel (GD) with platinum-based regimens in patients with untreated advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). We searched PubMed, Embase and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials databases for relevant trials. Reference lists of original articles and review articles were also examined. Abstracts presented at the ASCO and ESMO meetings were also searched. Studies were evaluated for eligibility and quality, and then, the data were extracted and analyzed. Statistical analyses were conducted by using RevMan 5.1. The primary end point was overall survival (OS). Secondary end points included 1-year survival, time to progression (TTP), overall response rate (ORR) and grade 3–4 toxicity. Nine randomized controlled trials were identified ultimately. The meta-analysis demonstrated that the survival between GD and platinum-based regimens was comparable according to the pooled HR for overall survival (1.04, 95% CI = 0.96–1.12, p = 0.39) and RR for one-year survival (0.94, 95% CI = 0.84–1.06, p = 0.33). Platinum-based regimens had an advantage in TTP (HR = 1.12, 95% CI = 1.02–1.24, p = 0.02) and ORR (RR = 0.86, 95% CI = 0.74–0.99, p = 0.03). However, GD induced less grade 3–4 nausea/vomiting, anemia, neutropenia and febrile neutropenia (RR = 0.36, 95% CI = 0.15–0.86, p = 0.02; RR = 0.35, 95% CI = 0.23–0.53, p = 0.00; RR = 0.68, 95% CI = 0.52–0.88, p = 0.003; RR = 0.53, 95% CI = 0.34–0.82, p = 0.004, respectively). Grade 3–4 diarrhea, sensory neuropathy, fatigue and thrombocytopenia were comparable between the two groups. GD acquired similar survival with platinum-based regimens in first-line treatment of advanced NSCLC. Platinum-based regimens had an advantage in TTP and ORR with more grade 3–4 nausea/vomiting, anemia, neutropenia and febrile neutropenia compared with GD.

Aims: Pleiotrophin (PTN), an angiogenic factor, is associated with various types of cancer, including lung cancer. Our aim was to investigate the possibility of using serum PTN as an early indicator regarding disease diagnosis, classification and prognosis, for patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods: Significant differences among PTN levels in patients with small cell lung cancer (SCLC, n=40), NSCLC (n=136), and control subjects with benign pulmonary lesions (n=21), as well as patients with different pathological subtypes of NSCLC were observed. Results: A serum level of PTN of 300.1 ng/ml, was determined as the cutoff value differentiating lung cancer patients and controls, with a sensitivity and specificity of 78.4% and 66.7%, respectively. Negative correlations between serum PTN level and pathological differentiation level, stage, and survival time were observed in our cohort of patients with NSCLC. In addition, specific elevation of PTN levels in pulmonary tissue in and around NSCLC lesions in comparison to normal pulmonary tissue obtained from the same subjects was also observed (n=2). Conclusion: This study suggests that the serum PTN level of patients with NSCLC could be an early indicator for diagnosis and prognosis. This conclusion should be further assessed in randomized clinical trials.