This work describes for the first time signal‐on electrochemiluminescence (ECL) enzyme biosensors based on cadmium sulfide nanocrystals (CdS NCs) formed in situ on the surface of multi‐walled carbon ...nanotubes (MWCNTs). The MWCNT–CdS can react with H2O2 to generate strong and stable ECL emission in neutral solution. Compared with pure CdS NCs, the MWCNT–CdS can enhance the ECL intensity by 5.3‐fold and move the onset ECL potential more positively for about 400 mV, which reduces H2O2 decomposition at the electrode surface and increases detection sensitivity of H2O2. Furthermore, the ECL intensity is less influenced by the presence of oxygen in solution. Benefiting from these properties, signal‐on enzyme‐based biosensors are fabricated by cross‐linking choline oxidase and/or acetylcholine esterase with glutaraldehyde on MWCNT–CdS modified electrodes for detection of choline and acetylcholine. The resulting ECL biosensors show wide linear ranges from 1.7 to 332 µM and 3.3 to 216 µM with lower detection limit of 0.8 and 1.7 µM for choline and acetylcholine, respectively. The common interferents such as ascorbic acid and uric acid in electrochemical enzyme‐based biosensors do not interfere with the ECL detection of choline and acetylcholine. Furthermore, both ECL biosensors possess satisfying reproducibility and acceptable stability.
CdS nanocrystals formed in situ on the surface of multi‐walled carbon nanotubes can react with H2O2, which is a product in most oxidase reactions, to generate strong and stable ECL emission. Thus, a signal‐on ECL enzyme biosensor based on CdS NCs‐MWCNTs nanocomposite is demonstrated for the sensing of choline and acetylcholine.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
A proportion of glioblastoma stemlike cells (GSCs) expressing endothelial cell marker CDH5 (vascular-endothelial-cadherin or CD144) can transdifferentiate into endothelial cells and form blood ...vessels. However, the implications of CDH5 expression in gliomas and how it is regulated in GSCs remain to be clarified.
The mRNA and protein levels of CDH5 were detected in glioma samples and cultured cell lines, and the prognostic value of the CDH5 expression level for GBM patients was evaluated. Bioinformatics analysis was performed to reveal the potential functional roles of CDH5 in glioblastoma multiforme. Gene knockdown induced by short hairpin RNA, chromatin immunoprecipitation analysis, and a vasculogenic tube formation assay were performed to investigate the relationships among hypoxia, CDH5 expression level, and angiogenesis.
CDH5 was overexpressed in gliomas, correlated with tumor grades, and was an independent adverse prognostic predictor for glioblastoma multiforme patients. CDH5 was specifically activated in GSCs but not in non-GSCs or neural stem cells, and CDH5(+) cells could produce xenografts in immunocompromised mice. Bioinformatics analysis demonstrated that CDH5 might interact directly with hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)2α. CDH5 expression was significantly upregulated in GSCs, but not in non-GSCs or normal neural stem cells, under a 1% O2 condition. Both HIF1α and HIF2α positively regulated CDH5 level in GSCs and could bind to the promoter of CDH5. Furthermore, CDH5 contributed to the vasculogenic mimicry of GSCs, especially under hypoxic conditions.
The specific expression of CDH5 in GSCs may contribute to GSC-derived neovasculogenesis in glioblastoma multiforme, especially under hypoxic conditions, revealing novel tumorigenic mechanisms contributed by GSCs.
There is a growing awareness that catastrophic phenomena in biology and medicine can be mathematically represented in terms of saddle–node bifurcations. In particular, the term “tipping”, or critical ...transition has in recent years entered the discourse of the general public in relation to ecology, medicine, and public health. The saddle–node bifurcation and its associated theory of catastrophe as put forth by Thom and Zeeman has seen applications in a wide range of fields including molecular biophysics, mesoscopic physics, and climate science. In this paper, we investigate a simple model of a non-autonomous system with a time-dependent parameter p(τ) and its corresponding “dynamic” (time-dependent) saddle–node bifurcation by the modern theory of non-autonomous dynamical systems. We show that the actual point of no return for a system undergoing tipping can be significantly delayed in comparison to the breaking timeτˆ at which the corresponding autonomous system with a time-independent parameter pa=p(τˆ) undergoes a bifurcation. A dimensionless parameter α=λp03V−2 is introduced, in which λ is the curvature of the autonomous saddle–node bifurcation according to parameter p(τ), which has an initial value of p0 and a constant rate of change V. We find that the breaking time τˆ is always less than the actual point of no return τ∗ after which the critical transition is irreversible; specifically, the relation τ∗−τˆ≃2.338(λV)−13 is analytically obtained. For a system with a small λV, there exists a significant window of opportunity (τˆ,τ∗) during which rapid reversal of the environment can save the system from catastrophe.
•Dynamical saddle–node bifurcation and its applications are studied.•Pullback attractors of non-autonomous dynamical systems are presented analytically and numerically.•The time window to avoid the catastrophic shift is investigated.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
With ENCODE epigenomic data and results from published genome-wide association studies (GWASs), we aimed to find regulatory signatures of obesity genes and discover novel susceptibility genes.
...Obesity genes were obtained from public GWAS databases and their promoters were annotated based on the regulatory element information. Significantly enriched or depleted epigenomic elements in the promoters of obesity genes were evaluated and all human genes were then prioritized according to the existence of the selected elements to predict new candidate genes. Top-ranked genes were subsequently applied to validate their associations with obesity-related traits in three independent in-house GWAS samples.
We identified RAD21 and EZH2 as over-represented, and STAT2 (signal transducer and activator of transcription 2) and IRF3 (interferon regulatory transcription factor 3) as depleted transcription factors. Histone modification of H3K9me3 and chromatin state segmentation of 'poised promoter' and 'repressed' were over-represented. All genes were prioritized and we selected the top five genes for validation at the population level. Combining results from the three GWAS samples, rs7522101 in ESRRG (estrogen-related receptor-γ) remained significantly associated with body mass index after multiple testing corrections (P=7.25 × 10(-5)). It was also associated with β-cell function (P=1.99 × 10(-3)) and fasting glucose level (P<0.05) in the meta-analyses of glucose and insulin-related traits consortium (MAGIC) data set.Cnoclusions:In summary, we identified epigenomic characteristics for obesity genes and suggested ESRRG as a novel obesity-susceptibility gene.
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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
Background and Aims
Androgen receptor (AR) has been reported to play an important role in the development and progression of man’s prostate cancer. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is also ...male‐dominant, but the role of AR in HCC remains poorly understood. Mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) also has been reported to be highly activated in HCC. In this study, we aimed to explore the role of AR phosphorylation and its relationship with mTORC1 in hepatocarcinogenesis.
Approach and Results
In vitro experiment, we observed that mTORC1 interacts with hepatic AR and phosphorylates it at S96 in response to nutrient and mitogenic stimuli in HCC cells. S96 phosphorylation promotes the stability, nuclear localization, and transcriptional activity of AR, which enhances de novo lipogenesis and proliferation in hepatocytes and induces liver steatosis and hepatocarcinogenesis in mice independently and cooperatively with androgen. Furthermore, high ARS96 phosphorylation is observed in human liver steatotic and HCC tissues and is associated with overall survival and disease‐free survival, which has been proven as an independent survival predictor for patients with HCC.
Conclusions
AR S96 phosphorylation by mTORC1 drives liver steatosis and HCC development and progression independently and cooperatively with androgen, which not only explains why HCC is man‐biased but also provides a target molecule for prevention and treatment of HCC and a potential survival predictor in patients with HCC.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
Based on the nonequilibrium Green's function (NEGF) method combined with density functional theory (DFT), we investigate the spin-dependent thermoelectric transport properties of zigzag-edged ...silicene nanoribbons (ZSiNRs) doped by an Al–P bonded pair at different edge positions. For the ferromagnetic (FM) configuration, the strong quantum destructive interference effects between the localized states induced by the Al–P bonded pair and the side quantum states results in the appearance of spin-dependent transmission dips near the Fermi level. This fact leads to the simultaneous enhancement of the spin-filter efficiency and spin Seebeck coefficient at the Fermi level, while their signs are dependent on the doping positions. Moreover, for the antiferromagnetic (AFM) configuration, the spin-dependent transmission peaks with ordinary Lorentzian shapes near the Fermi level can be introduced by the Al–P bonded pair. Interestingly, a pure spin current in the doped AFM ZSiNRs can be achieved by modulating the temperature. In this case, the spin-filter efficiency can reach infinity, while the thermal magnetoresistance (TMR) between the FM and AFM configurations can also reach infinity.
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IJS, KILJ, NUK, UL, UM, UPUK
Nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) is responsible for the expression by regulating many genes for immune response, cell adhesion, differentiation, proliferation, angiogenesis and apoptosis. The ...function of NF-kappaB is inhibited by binding to NF-kappaB inhibitor (IkappaB), and imbalance of NF-kappaB and IkappaB has been associated with development of many diseases, including tumours. In this review, we focus on polymorphisms of the NFKB and NFKBI genes in relation to development of common inflammatory diseases including ulcerative colitis (UC), Crohn's disease (CD), rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, psoriatic arthritis, giant cell arthritis, type 1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis, celiac disease, and Parkinson's disease, as well as susceptibility of several cancers, such as oral squamous cell carcinoma, colorectal cancer (CRC), hepatocellular carcinoma, breast cancer and myeloma.
Novel three‐dimensional (3D) hierarchical nanoarchitectures of ϵ‐MnO2 have been synthesized by a simple chemical route without the addition of any surfactants or organic templates. The self‐organized ...crystals consist of a major ϵ‐MnO2 dipyramidal single crystal axis and six secondary branches, which are arrays of single‐crystal ϵ‐MnO2 nanobelts. The growth directions of the nanobelts are perpendicular to the central dipyramidal axis, which shows sixfold symmetry. The shape of the ϵ‐MnO2 assembly can be controlled by the reaction temperature. The morphology of ϵ‐MnO2 changes from a six‐branched star‐like shape to a hexagonal dipyramidal morphology when the temperature is increased from 160 to 180 °C. A possible growth mechanism is proposed. The synthesized ϵ‐MnO2 shows both semiconducting and magnetic properties. These materials exhibit ferromagnetic behavior below 25 K and paramagnetic behavior above 25 K. The ϵ‐MnO2 system may have potential applications in areas such as fabrication of nanoscale spintronic materials, catalysis, and sensors.
ϵ‐MnO2 with controlled 3D hierarchical nanoarchitectures (see Figure) has been synthesized through a simple hydrothermal process. The self‐organized crystals consist of a major ϵ‐MnO2 dipyramidal single crystal axis and secondary branches. The formation mechanism is investigated. The synthesized ϵ‐MnO2 shows both semiconducting and magnetic properties.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
To study the protective effect and mechanism of paeoniflorin (pae) on myocardial injury in septic rats.
Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into 4 groups with 10 rats in each group. Rats ...were intraperitoneally injected with 1.4 ml normal saline and 1.4 ml 5% dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO)solution independently in control group and DMSO group. Rats were intraperitoneally injected with 1.4 ml normal saline and 1.4 ml pae independently, then with 0.1 ml lipopolysaccharide (LPS) 1 hour later in sepsis group and pae group. Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to detect serum cardiac troponin I (cTnI) levels and myocardial tissue tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα), interleukin(IL)-6, IL-1β, chemokine (C-X-C motif) ligand 1 (CXCL1), chemokine (C-X-C motif) ligand 2 (CXCL2), vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 (VCAM-1) levels. Evans blue (EB) method was used to detect the EB content of myocardial tissue. HE staining method was used to observe the pathological changes, real-time quantitative polymera
Contaminated sites from electronic waste (e-waste) dismantling and coking plants feature high concentrations of heavy metals (HMs) and/or polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in soil. Mixed ...contamination (HMs + PAHs) hinders land reclamation and affects the microbial diversity and function of soil microbiomes. In this study, we analyzed HM and PAH contamination from an e-waste dismantling plant and a coking plant and evaluated the influences of HM and PAH contamination on soil microbiomes. It was noticed that HMs and PAHs were found in all sites, although the major contaminants of the e-waste dismantling plant site were HMs (such as Cu at 5,947.58 ± 433.44 mg kg−1, Zn at 4,961.38 ± 436.51 mg kg−1, and Mn at 2,379.07 ± 227.46 mg kg−1), and the major contaminants of the coking plant site were PAHs (such as fluorene at 11,740.06 ± 620.1 mg kg−1, acenaphthylene at 211.69 ± 7.04 mg kg−1, and pyrene at 183.14 ± 18.89 mg kg−1). The microbiomes (diversity and abundance) of all sites were determined via high-throughput sequencing of 16S rRNA genes, and redundancy analysis was conducted to investigate the relations between soil microbiomes and contaminants. The results showed that the microbiomes of the contaminated sites divergently responded to HMs and PAHs. The abundances of the bacterial genera Sulfuritalea, Pseudomonas, and Sphingobium were positively related to PAHs, while the abundances of the bacterial genera Bryobacter, Nitrospira, and Steroidobacter were positively related to HMs. This study promotes an understanding of how soil microbiomes respond to single and mixed contamination with HMs and PAHs.
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•The microbiomes of soil contaminated by heavy metals and PAHs were investigated.•The e-waste dismantling plant sample had high concentrations of heavy metals.•The coking plant samples were characterized by high concentrations of PAHs.•Sulfuritalea, Pseudomonas and Sphingobium were abundant in soil with PAHs.•Bryobacter, Galiella and Nitrospira were abundant in heavy metal-rich soil.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
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