Abstract Aberrantly expressed microRNAs (miRNAs) are involved in many diseases including cancer. In clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCCs) expression of miR-133b and miR-135a is reduced compared to ...control tissue and other sarcomas but the functional effects of this downregulation are not fully understood. This study aimed at evaluating the miR-133b and miR-135a expression profiles in different RCC subtypes and the functional role of these miRNAs. Viability and apoptosis were examined in three different ccRCC cell lines (786-O, A498 and SN12-PM6) after over-expression of these miRNAs. The modulation of JAK2 and the JAK2/STAT3 pathways was determined by Western blot. Transient transfection of miR-133b and miR-135a reduced viability and induced apoptosis by inhibition of JAK2 expression and its phosphorylation and activation of caspase 3 and 7 in all three ccRCC cell lines. p-STAT3 and Bcl-2 expression was reduced after miRNA transfection whereas only slight influence on Bcl-2 L11 (BIM) was detected. Our results demonstrate that miR-133b and miR-135a which are down-regulated in wildtype and mutated ccRCCs, induce apoptosis in vitro by a signaling cascade involving JAK2, STAT3 and Bcl-2. Therefore, over-expression of these miRNAs seems to functionally counteract oncogenic signalling pathways in ccRCCs.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZRSKP
Abstract
We report on the magneto-optical (MO) properties of heavily Tb
3+
-doped GeO
2
-B
2
O
3
-Al
2
O
3
-Ga
2
O
3
glasses towards fiber-integrated paramagnetic MO devices. For a Tb
3+
ion ...concentration of up to 9.7 × 10
21
cm
−3
, the reported glass exhibits an absolute negative Faraday rotation of ~120 rad/T/m at 632.8 nm. The optimum spectral ratio between Verdet constant and light transmittance over the spectral window of 400–1500 nm is found for a Tb
3+
concentration of ~6.5 × 10
21
cm
−3
. For this glass, the crystallization stability, expressed as the difference between glass transition temperature and onset temperature of melt crystallization exceeds 100 K, which is a prerequisite for fiber drawing. In addition, a high activation energy of crystallization is achieved at this composition. Optical absorption occurs in the NUV and blue spectral region, accompanied by Tb
3+
photoluminescence. In the heavily doped materials, a UV/blue-to-green photo-conversion gain of ~43% is achieved. The lifetime of photoluminescence is ~2.2 ms at a stimulated emission cross-section σ
em
of ~1.1 × 10
−21
cm
2
for ~ 5.0 × 10
21
cm
−3
Tb
3+
. This results in an optical gain parameter σ
em
*τ of ~2.5 × 10
−24
cm
2
s, what could be of interest for implementation of a Tb
3+
fiber laser.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
Output power scaling of single mode large mode area (LMA) photonic crystal fiber (PCF) amplifiers urgently requires the low refractive index of Yb 3+-doped silica glasses whilst maintaining high ...optical homogeneity. In this paper, we report on a promising alternative Yb 3+ /Al 3+ /F-/P 5+-co-doped silica core-glass (YAFP), which is prepared by modified sol-gel method developed by our group and highly suitable for fabricating high power LMA PCF amplifiers. By controlling the doping combinations of Al 3+ /F-/P 5+ in Yb 3+doped silica glass,it not only ensures low refractive index (RI) but also maintains the excellent optical homogeneity and spectroscopic properties of Yb 3+. The spectroscopic properties of Yb 3+ ions have not deteriorated by the co-doping of Fand P 5+ in YAFP glass compared with that of Yb 3+ /Al 3+ co-doped silica glass. A large-size (⌀5 mm × 90 mm) YAFP silica-core glass rod with low average RI difference of 2.6 × 10 −4 (with respect to pure silica glass), and low radial and axial RI fluctuations of ~2 × 10 −4 , was prepared. A LMA PCF with 50 µm core diameter was obtained by stack-capillary-draw techniques using YAFP core glass. Its core NA is 0.027. An average amplified power of 97 W peaking at 1030 nm and light-light efficiency of 54% are achieved from a 6.5 m long PCF in the pulse amplification laser experiment. Meanwhile, quasi-single-mode transmission is obtained with laser beam quality factor M 2 of 1.4.
Prostate cancer (PCa) is one of the most common malignancies in men worldwide. This study was designed to investigate the potential of Ribosomal Protein L22-like1 (RPL22L1) and Ribosomal Protein S21 ...(RPS21) as diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers for PCa. First, RPL22L1 and RPS21 were screened as the key molecular of PCa by bioinformatics analysis. Subsequently, the prostate tissue samples were stained for antibodies against RPL22L1 and RPS21. The unbiased signal quantification was performed by ImageJ software, and the results showed that the expression of RPL22L1 and RPS21 exhibited significant differences between the PCa tissues and the normal prostate tissues. Receiver-operating characteristics (ROC) curves were prepared, and then the area under the curve (AUC) values of RPL22L1 and RPS21 were calculated as 0.798 and 0.768, and the likelihood ratio (LR) values of RPL22L1 and RPS21 were calculated as 2.86 and 2.53. These data implied that the over-expression of RPL22L1 and RPS21 is associated with the presence of PCa. The further analysis suggested that the expression of RPL22L1 and RPS21 were significantly higher in high Gleason grade than they were in low Gleason grade. In addition, in vitro studies were undertaken to evaluate the roles of RPL22L1 and RPS21 in PCa. The results revealed that these genes promote PCa cell proliferation, migration and invasion, and inhibit PCa cell apoptosis. Taken together, these data showed that RPL22L1 and RPS21 exhibited higher expression in human prostate cancer tissue, and involved in PCa cell proliferation and invasion. This research provided a novel insight into diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers for PCa.
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EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OBVAL, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
Background There are differences in survival between high-and low-grade Upper Tract Urothelial Carcinoma (UTUC). Our study aimed to develop a nomogram to predict overall survival (OS) of patients ...with high- and low-grade UTUC after tumor resection, and to explore the difference between high- and low-grade patients. Methods Patients confirmed to have UTUC between 2004 and 2015 were selected from the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database. The UTUCs were identified and classified as high- and low-grade, and 1-, 3- and 5-year nomograms were established. The nomogram was then validated using the Chinese multicenter dataset (patients diagnosed in Shandong, China between January 2010 and October 2020). Results In the high-grade UTUC patients, nine important factors related to survival after tumor resection were identified to construct nomogram. The C index of training dataset was 0.740 (95% confidence interval CI: 0.727-0.754), showing good calibration. The C index of internal validation dataset was 0.729(95% CI:0.707-0.750). On the other hand, Two independent predictors were identified to construct nomogram of low-grade UTUC. The C index was 0.714 (95% CI: 0.671-0.758) for the training set,0.731(95% CI:0.670-0.791) for the internal validation dataset. Encouragingly, the nomogram was clinically useful and had a good discriminative ability to identify patients at high risk. Conclusion We constructed a nomogram and a corresponding risk classification system predicting the OS of patients with an initial diagnosis of high-and low-grade UTUC. Keywords: Upper tract urothelial carcinoma, SEER program, Grade, Nomogram, Tumor resection, Overall survival, Validation, Multicenter
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
We report on photoluminescence of vanadium-doped lithium zinc silicate glasses and corresponding nanocrystalline Li2ZnSiO4 glass ceramics as broadband UV-to-VIS photoconverters. Depending on dopant ...concentration and synthesis conditions, VIS photoemission from VO43 is centered at 550-590 nm and occurs over a bandwidth (FWHM) of ~250 nm. The corresponding excitation band covers the complete UV-B to UV-A spectral region. In as-melted glasses, the emission lifetime is about 34 μs up to a nominal dopant concentration of 0.5 mol%. In the glass ceramic, it increases to about 45 μs. For higher dopant concentration, a sharp drop in emission lifetime was observed, what is interpreted as a result of concentration quenching. Self-quenching is further promoted by energy transfer to V4+ centers (2<Гt4→2Гt3). Partitioning of vanadium into V5+ and V4+ was examined by electron paramagnetic resonance and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Suppression of V5+-reduction requires careful adjustment of the optical basicity of the host glass and/or synthesis conditions.
To investigate the clinical efficacy of holmium laser enucleation of the prostate (HoLEP) in the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) with prostatic inflammation (PI).
We prospectively ...collected and followed up data on patients with BPH who underwent HoLEP at the Affiliated Hospital of Weifang Medical University between July 2021 and July 2022. According to the postoperative pathological results, the patients were divided into two groups: BPH without PI group (BPH group) and BPH with PI group. Statistical analysis was performed on clinical data, including age and body mass index (BMI), prostate volume (PV), postoperative residual urine volume (PVR), preoperative serum total prostate-specific antigen (tPSA), serum-free prostate-specific antigen (fPSA), preoperative and postoperative maximum urinary flow rate (Qmax), International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) before and 3 months after surgery, quality of life index (QoL) before and 3 months after surgery, and postoperative complications.
A total of 41 patients were included in this study, including 16 in the BPH group and 25 in the BPH with PI group. There were no significant differences in preoperative age, BMI, PV, PVR, tPSA, fPSA, and f/tPSA between the BPH and BPH with PI groups (
> 0.05). The preoperative mean Qmax of the BPH and BPH with PI groups were 9.44 ± 2.449 and 7.52 ± 2.946 mean ± standard deviation (SD) ml/s, mean IPSS were 17.75 ± 5.335 and 24.24 ± 5.861 (mean ± SD), and mean QoL were 4.13 ± 0.806 and 4.48 ± 0.8 (mean ± SD), respectively. The postoperative mean Qmax of the BPH and BPH with PI groups were 20.38 ± 4.787 and 14.32 ± 3.827 (mean ± SD) ml/s, mean IPSS were 2.69 ± 1.25 and 5.84 ± 3.579 (mean ± SD), and mean QoL were 0.13 ± 0.342 and 0.92 ± 0.759 (mean ± SD), respectively. In both groups, Qmax significantly increased (
< 0.05) and IPSS and QoL significantly decreased after HoLEP (
< 0.05). Before and after surgery, the Qmax in the BPH with PI group was lower than that in the BPH group, and the IPSS and QoL levels in the BPH with PI group were higher than those in the BPH group (
< 0.05). Compared with the BPH group, the increase in Qmax in the BPH with PI group was smaller and the decrease in IPSS was larger (
< 0.05), but the variation in QoL was not statistically significant (
> 0.05).
Improvements in Qmax, IPSS, and QoL in BPH patients with PI after HoLEP surgery were lower than those in BPH patients alone. PI may be a predictor of a worse response to surgical treatment. However, more multicenter randomized controlled trials with larger samples and long-term follow-up are needed to verify this.
Recent studies have applied different approaches for summarizing software artifacts, and yet very few efforts have been made in summarizing the source code fragments available on web. This paper ...investigates the feasibility of generating code fragment summaries by using supervised learning algorithms. We hire a crowd of ten individuals from the same work place to extract source code features on a cor- pus of 127 code fragments retrieved from Eclipse and Net- Beans Official frequently asked questions （FAQs）. Human an- notators suggest summary lines. Our machine learning algo- rithms produce better results with the precision of 82% and perform statistically better than existing code fragment classi- fiers. Evaluation of algorithms on several statistical measures endorses our result. This result is promising when employing mechanisms such as data-driven crowd enlistment improve the efficacy of existing code fragment classifiers.
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EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
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