As artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly applied to biomedical research and clinical decisions, developing unbiased AI models that work equally well for all ethnic groups is of crucial ...importance to health disparity prevention and reduction. However, the biomedical data inequality between different ethnic groups is set to generate new health care disparities through data-driven, algorithm-based biomedical research and clinical decisions. Using an extensive set of machine learning experiments on cancer omics data, we find that current prevalent schemes of multiethnic machine learning are prone to generating significant model performance disparities between ethnic groups. We show that these performance disparities are caused by data inequality and data distribution discrepancies between ethnic groups. We also find that transfer learning can improve machine learning model performance for data-disadvantaged ethnic groups, and thus provides an effective approach to reduce health care disparities arising from data inequality among ethnic groups.
Various antibiotics have been used in the treatment of cancers, via their anti-proliferative, pro-apoptotic and anti-epithelial-mesenchymal-transition (EMT) capabilities. However, increasingly ...studies have indicated that antibiotics may also induce cancer generation by disrupting intestinal microbiota, which further promotes chronic inflammation, alters normal tissue metabolism, leads to genotoxicity and weakens the immune response to bacterial malnutrition, thereby adversely impacting cancer treatment. Despite the advent of high-throughput sequencing technology in recent years, the potential adverse effects of antibiotics on cancer treatments via causing microbial imbalance has been largely ignored. In this review, we discuss the double-edged sword of antibiotics in the field of cancer treatments, explore their potential mechanisms and provide solutions to reduce the potential negative effects of antibiotics.
Abstract
The demand for sustainable energy has motivated the development of artificial photosynthesis. Yet the catalyst and reaction interface designs for directly fixing permanent gases (e.g. CO
2
, ...O
2
, N
2
) into liquid fuels are still challenged by slow mass transfer and sluggish catalytic kinetics at the gas-liquid-solid boundary. Here, we report that gas-permeable metal-organic framework (MOF) membranes can modify the electronic structures and catalytic properties of metal single-atoms (SAs) to promote the diffusion, activation, and reduction of gas molecules (e.g. CO
2,
O
2
) and produce liquid fuels under visible light and mild conditions. With Ir SAs as active centers, the defect-engineered MOF (e.g. activated NH
2
-UiO-66) particles can reduce CO
2
to HCOOH with an apparent quantum efficiency (AQE) of 2.51% at 420 nm on the gas-liquid-solid reaction interface. With promoted gas diffusion at the porous gas-solid interfaces, the gas-permeable SA/MOF membranes can directly convert humid CO
2
gas into HCOOH with a near-unity selectivity and a significantly increased AQE of 15.76% at 420 nm. A similar strategy can be applied to the photocatalytic O
2
-to-H
2
O
2
conversions, suggesting the wide applicability of our catalyst and reaction interface designs.
The prognosis of spinal cord injury (SCI) is closely related to secondary injury, which is dominated by neuroinflammation. There is evidence that α-synuclein aggregates after SCI and that inhibition ...of α-synuclein aggregation can improve the survival of neurons after SCI, but the mechanism is still unclear. This study was designed to investigate the effects of α-synuclein on neuroinflammation after SCI and to determine the underlying mechanisms.
A T3 spinal cord contusion model was established in adult male Sprague-Dawley rats. An SNCA-shRNA-carrying lentivirus (LV-SNCA-shRNA) was injected into the injury site to block the expression of α-synuclein (forming the SCI+KD group), and the SCI and sham groups were injected with an empty vector. Basso-Beattie-Bresnahan (BBB) behavioural scores and footprint analysis were used to detect motor function. Inflammatory infiltration and myelin loss were measured in the spinal cord tissues of each group by haematoxylin-eosin (HE) and Luxol Fast Blue (LFB) staining, respectively. Immunohistochemistry, Western blot analysis, and RT-qPCR were used to analyse protein expression and transcription levels in the tissues. Immunofluorescence was used to determine the morphology and function of glial cells and the expression of matrix metalloproteinase-9 in the central canal of the spinal cord. Finally, peripheral serum cytokine levels were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.
Compared with the SCI group, the SCI+KD group exhibited reduced inflammatory infiltration, preserved myelin, and functional recovery. Specifically, the early arrest of α-synuclein inhibited the pro-inflammatory factors IL-1β, TNF-α, and IL-2 and increased the expression of the anti-inflammatory factors IL-10, TGF-β, and IL-4. The neuroinflammatory response was regulated by reduced proliferation of Iba1+ microglia/macrophages and promotion of the shift of M1-polarized Iba1+/iNOS+ microglia/macrophages to M2-polarized Iba1+/Arg1+ microglia/macrophages after injury. In addition, compared with the SCI group, the SCI+KD group also exhibited a smaller microglia/astrocyte (Iba1/GFAP) immunostaining area in the central canal, lower MMP-9 expression, and improved cerebrospinal barrier function.
Lentivirus-mediated downregulation of α-synuclein reduces neuroinflammation, improves blood-cerebrospinal barrier function, promotes functional recovery, reduces microglial activation, and promotes the polarization of M1 microglia/macrophages to an M2 phenotype to confer a neuroprotective immune microenvironment in rats with SCI.
On Thurston's core entropy algorithm Gao, Yan
Transactions of the American Mathematical Society,
02/2020, Letnik:
373, Številka:
2
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
The core entropy of polynomials, recently introduced by W. Thurston, is a dynamical invariant extending topological entropy for real maps to complex polynomials, whence providing a new tool to study ...the parameter space of polynomials. The base is a combinatorial algorithm allowing for the computation of the core entropy given by Thurston but without supplying a proof. In this paper, we will describe his algorithm and prove its validity.
The biosynthesis of aromatic aldehydes and alcohols from renewable resources is currently receiving considerable attention because of an increase in demand, finite fossil resources, and growing ...environmental concerns. Here, a temperature‐directed whole‐cell catalyst was developed by using two novel enzymes from a thermophilic actinomycete. Ferulic acid, a model lignin derivative, was efficiently converted into vanillyl alcohol at a reaction temperature at 30 °C. However, when the temperature was increased to 50 °C, ferulic acid was mainly converted into vanillin with a productivity of 1.1 g L−1 h−1. This is due to the fact that the redundant endogenous alcohol dehydrogenases (ADHs) are not active at this temperature while the functional enzymes from the thermophilic strain remain active. As the biocatalyst could convert many other renewable cinnamic acid derivatives into their corresponding aromatic aldehydes/alcohols, this novel strategy may be extended to generate a vast array of valuable aldehydes or alcohols.
By using two novel enzymes from a thermophilic actinomycete, a whole‐cell catalyst was constructed for the sustainable production of aromatic aldehydes or alcohols from renewable cinnamic acid derivatives. Ferulic acid was converted into vanillyl alcohol at 30 °C whereas the same reaction mainly gave vanillin at 50 °C because the endogenous alcohol dehydrogenases are not active at this temperature.
A range of polyoxotitanium clusters (PTCs) was constructed by tuning the type of acid (inorganic and organic) in alcoholic solvents, from Ti4, Ti6, Ti9, Ti11, to Ti16. After removing the tBuOH ...solvent, giant carboxylate‐stabilized Ti44‐oxo clusters in which propionic acid serves as both ligand and solvent were ultimately obtained. The four labile sites in the Ti44 cluster core can be occupied by two formate and two propionate anions (PTC‐165) or a pair of glutarate (PTC‐166) or 3‐methylglutarate anions (PTC‐167). According to the synthesis of PTC‐155 to PTC‐167, the propionic acid solvent plays a crucial role in the construction of giant Ti oxo clusters. Their one‐pot yields, which readily reached up to 8.75 g for PTC‐165 and 9.96 g for PTC‐166, proved the feasibility of large‐scale preparation. More interestingly, the obtained Ti44‐oxo clusters are almost completely surrounded by carboxylate ligands, which allow them to retain crystalline stability in air for about three weeks and in either acidic or basic aqueous solution over a wide pH range for at least 6 h. In addition, PTC‐165 and PTC‐166 exhibit excellent UV photocurrent response and reversible photochromic effect. This work provides a systematic approach for constructing high‐nuclearity and stable PTCs on a large scale, which is significant for future applications of PTC‐based photochemical devices.
Scale it up! A facile acid‐controlled approach has been developed for the synthesis of a range of polyoxotitanium clusters (PTCs; see figure). By using propionic acid as both ligand and solvent, Ti44‐oxo clusters with four labile sites and reversible photochromic behavior were prepared. Moreover, large‐scale synthesis of the Ti44‐oxo clusters was achieved, with one‐pot yields scaled up to about 10 g.
Blockade of the protein–protein interaction between the transmembrane protein programmed cell death protein 1 (PD‐1) and its ligand PD‐L1 has emerged as a promising immunotherapy for treating ...cancers. Using the technology of mirror‐image phage display, we developed the first hydrolysis‐resistant D‐peptide antagonists to target the PD‐1/PD‐L1 pathway. The optimized compound DPPA‐1 could bind PD‐L1 at an affinity of 0.51 μM in vitro. A blockade assay at the cellular level and tumor‐bearing mice experiments indicated that DPPA‐1 could also effectively disrupt the PD‐1/PD‐L1 interaction in vivo. Thus D‐peptide antagonists may provide novel low‐molecular‐weight drug candidates for cancer immunotherapy.
Protein chemical synthesis and mirror‐image phage display were combined to develop a proteolysis‐resistant D‐peptide antagonist (DPPA‐1) which targets the immune checkpoint protein PD‐L1 (the ligand for PD‐1, the programmed cell death protein 1). DPPA‐1 was found to inhibit the PD‐1/PD‐L1 protein–protein interaction at the cellular level. IgV=immunoglobulin‐like variable.
Based on the design of functional orientation, the training mechanism of young Marxists was innovated by combining network characteristics. Forty experts from enterprises, colleges, and universities ...were selected, and the Delphi method was applied to finalize the evaluation index system of the Marxist cultivation mechanism. Based on the evaluation index system, the Marxist cultivation mechanism’s evaluation model was constructed using principal component analysis. The results show that the weight coefficient of the effect index Q16 of the Marxist cultivation mechanism is 0.32415, and the weight coefficient of the innovation index Q8 of the Marxist cultivation mechanism is 0.20381. The extracted principal components can effectively explain the key factors of the cultivation mechanism. This study advances the new development of the Marxist cultivation mechanism in terms of epochal, scientific, and systematic, which is of great significance to the development of Marxist education in colleges and universities.
LncRNA TUG1, a tumor oncogene associated with various human cancers, has been reported to be involved in regulating various cellular processes, such as proliferation, apoptosis and invasion through ...targeting multiple genes. However, its biological function in thyroid cancer cells has not been elucidated. The aim of this study is to measure TUG1 expression level and evaluate its function in thyroid cancer cells. LncRNA TUG1 expression levels in thyroid cancer tissues and three thyroid cancer cell lines （the ATC cell lines SW1736 and KAT18 and the FTC cell line FTC133） were assessed by qRT-PCR and compared with that of the human normal breast epithelial cell HGC-27. M＇IT assay, colony formation assay, transwell assay and western blot analysis were performed to assess the effects of TUG1 on proliferation, metastasis and EMT formation in thyroid cancer cells in vitro. Rescue assay was performed to further confirm that TUG1 contributes to the progression of thyroid cancer cells through regulating miR-145/ZEB1 signal pathway. LncRNA TUG1 was found to be up-regulated in thyroid cancer tissues and thyroid cancer cells compared with that in the human normal breast epithelial cell HGC-27. Increased IncRNA TUG1 expression was found to significantly promote tumor cell proliferation, and facilitate cell invasion, while down-regulated TUG1 could obviously inhibit cell proliferation, migration/invasion and reverse EMT to MET. These results indicated that TUG1 may contribute to the progression of thyroid cancer cells by function as a ceRNA competitive sponging miR-145, and that IncRNA TUG1 is associated with tumor progression In thyroid cancer Cells.
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