Circular RNAs (circRNAs) have been demonstrated to play significant roles in regulating gene expression in tumorigenesis, including breast cancer (BC). This study was designed to explore the role and ...underlying molecular mechanisms of circMMP11 in BC.
The real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) assay was used for examining expression of circMMP11, microRNA-625-5p (miR-625-5p), and Zinc finger E-box binding homeobox-2 (ZEB2). The protein expression of ZEB2, Vimentin, and E-cadherin was assessed by western blot assay. The proliferation ability of BC cells was determined by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazol-3-ium bromide (MTT) and colony-forming assays. The transwell assay was used to measure migration and invasion of BC cells. The apoptotic cells were examined by flow cytometry assay. The interaction association among circMMP11, miR-625-5p, and ZEB2 was confirmed by RNA pull-down and dual-luciferase report assays. A xenograft experiment was established to clarify the role of circMMP11 silencing in vivo.
We found that circMMP11 and ZEB2 were overexpressed in BC tissues and cells compared with controls. The suppression of circMMP11 or ZEB2 repressed proliferation, migration, and invasion while induced apoptosis of BC cells. Additionally, miR-625-5p, interacted with ZEB2, was a target of circMMP11 in BC cells. CircMMP11 regulated the expression of ZEB2 by targeting miR-625-5p. Knockdown of circMMP11-mediated effects on BC cells could be abolished by overexpression of ZEB2. Consistently, silencing of circMMP11 impeded the tumor growth in vivo.
CircMMP11/miR-625-5p/ZEB2 axis affected proliferation, migration, invasion, and apoptosis of BC cells through the mechanism of competing endogenous RNAs (ceRNA), indicating that circMMP11 was an oncogenic circRNA in BC.
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Side effects of chemotherapy are burning questions for physicians and patients involved in cancers. Ganoderma lucidum is a widely consumed traditional Chinese medicine and edible ...mushroom with multiple functional properties. The present study aims to investigate the potential of polysaccharides from spore of G. lucidum (SGP) on small intestinal barrier function recovery against paclitaxel (PTX) challenge in a breast cancer mice model and IEC-6 cell line. The 4T1 tumor-bearing mice were treated with PTX together with four-week daily oral administration of SGP. Results indicated that combination of PTX and SGP reversed body weight lost and remolded the histology of small intestine, accompanied with promoted proliferation but suppressed apoptosis in intestinal cells. Intestinal barrier function was enhanced by the combination as indicated by reduced endotoxemia and the up-regulation of tight junction proteins, including Zonula occludens-1 (ZO-1), E-cadherin, β-catenin and Occludin. The protection of SGP was further confirmed in IEC-6 cells affected by PTX in vitro. The combination treatment prevented PTX-induced apoptosis in IEC-6 by inhibiting microtubule polymerization, and the aforementioned tight junction proteins were also upregulated. These findings suggest a promising protective effect of SGP against small intestinal barrier injury caused by PTX, highlighting its clinical implication against the chemotherapy side effects.
Emerging technologies have been widely used in applications designed to increase potential for learning enhancement. This study develops a mobile application to integrate augmented reality (AR) ...functionality into physical puzzle-type games. In the application, learners see visualizations of three-dimensional (3D) dinosaurs and interact with relevant multimedia learning content. To evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed platform, experiments were conducted to evaluate impact on learner achievement and motivation. Experimental (AR-based) and control (paper-based) groups included a total of 53 fifth-grade students. Pre- and post-activity questionnaires (adapted from the Attention, Relevance, Confidence, Satisfaction (ARCS) Model of Motivational Design), and pre- and post-learning quizzes were used for assessment. Results showed that the AR-based group scored significantly higher (p < 0.05) than the Paper-based group, raising implications for a new approach to teaching natural science at the elementary school level. However, the AR-based group also showed a relative drop in confidence, suggesting that further investigation is needed to understand the impact of AR technology on learner motivation. This study provides a case for the integration of AR technology into typical physical games. The results raise important concerns for further research in technology enhancement in education. Future research should include a wider range of content topics and target groups.
The electro-peroxone (E-peroxone) process is an emerging electrocatalytic ozonation process that is enabled by in situ producing hydrogen peroxide (H
O
) from cathodic oxygen reduction during ...ozonation. The in situ-generated H
O
can then promote ozone (O
) transformation to hydroxyl radicals (•OH), and thus enhance the abatement of ozone-refractory pollutants compared to conventional ozonation. In this study, a chemical kinetic model was employed to simulate micropollutant abatement during the E-peroxone treatment of various water matrices (surface water, secondary wastewater effluent, and groundwater). Results show that by following the O
and •OH exposures during the E-peroxone process, the abatement kinetics of a variety of model micropollutants could be well predicted using the model. In addition, the effect of specific ozone doses on micropollutant abatement efficiencies could be quantitatively evaluated using the model. Therefore, the chemical kinetic model can be used to reveal important information for the design and optimization of the treatment time and ozone doses of the E-peroxone process for cost-effective micropollutant abatement in water and wastewater treatment.
In this study, we investigate the determinants of credit spread using a Markov regime-switching model. We consider corporate governance variables and credit risk to analyze the determinants of credit ...spread. The corporate governance mechanism is an indicator of company sustainability, and credit spread is the main factor in profits obtained by banks. However, the relationship between credit spread and corporate governance is seldom discussed. We focus on loans from banks in Taiwan between 2000 and 2019 and apply a Markov regime-switching model, which is superior to other models in capturing different effects in various regimes. We specify two regime types: corporate governance and credit risk regimes. Furthermore, we consider four aspects of corporate governance: firm ownership structure, board structure, deviation, and information environment. In this study, the determinants of credit spread are investigated more thoroughly than in previous studies. Moreover, in this study, we examine the effects of monetary policy and economic status on credit spread using a Markov regime-switching model; such models are not employed to their full extent in related studies of credit spread. Empirical results indicate that credit spread has different effects in various regimes. Thus, understanding the determinants of credit spread in different regimes is crucial for financial analysts, investors, economic policymakers, and banks. Consequently, we expect that this study can improve the management and measurement of credit risk and be of value to financial institutions.
A series of cyclodextrin-based glycoconjugates, including glycoclusters and star glycopolymers, were synthesized via combination of CuAAC Huisgen coupling and copper-mediated living radical ...polymerization. These glycoconjugates showed high affinity binding to the human transmembrane lectin DC-SIGN and act as inhibitors to prevent the binding of HIV envelope protein gp120 to DC-SIGN at nanomolar concentrations. The star block glycopolymers showed high loading capacity of hydrophobic anticancer and anti-HIV drugs, indicating promising applications in HIV-therapeutic and smart drug delivery.
A new asperitaconic acid (1) and an undescribe cyclotetrapeptide (2), together with nine known compounds (3–11), were isolated from the endophytic fungus Pseudallescheria boydii XL-0256 obtained from ...the leaves of Dimocarpus longan Lour. The structures of the new compounds have been successfully assigned based on the NMR spectroscopic data and the mass spectrometric analysis. Compound 3 was confirmed to significantly reduce B16–F10 cell viability in a dose- and time-dependent manner, as well as promoting cell apoptosis and inhibiting cell migration in B16–F10 cell. In addition, compound 3 was hypothesized to have an anti-melanoma effect through target proteins (ADAM17 and ADAMTS5) based on network pharmacological target prediction and molecular docking studies.
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The recent proliferation of human-carried mobile devices has given rise to the mobile crowd sensing (MCS) systems. However, the sensory data provided by the participating workers are usually not ...reliable. As an efficient technique to extract truthful information from unreliable data, truth discovery has drawn significant attention. Currently, the privacy concern of the participating workers poses a major challenge on the design of truth discovery mechanisms. Although the existing mechanism can conduct truth discovery with high accuracy and strong privacy guarantee, tremendous overhead is incurred on the worker side. In this paper, we propose a novel lightweight privacy preserving truth discovery framework, L-PPTD, which is implemented by involving two non-colluding cloud platforms and adopting additively homomorphic cryptosystem. This framework not only achieves the protection of each worker's sensory data and reliability information but also introduces little overhead to the workers. In order to further reduce each worker's overhead in the scenarios where only the sensory data need to be protected, we propose another more lightweight framework named L 2 -PPTD. The desirable performance of the proposed frameworks is verified through extensive experiments conducted on real world MCS systems.
► An optimization model of energy supply in microgrid system is formulated. ► Optimal energy management strategies are determined. ► Sensitivity analyses of storage capacity and energy demand is ...performed.
The purpose of this research is to perform economic analysis, formulate an optimization model, and determine optimal operating strategies for smart microgrid systems. Microgrid systems are electricity supply systems that integrate distributed renewable energy production for local demand. Microgrids are able to reduce transmission losses and improve utilization efficiency of electricity and heat. Further, greenhouse gas emissions are reduced by utilizing an efficient power generation microgrid system. This study presents an energy management model that is used to determine optimal operating strategies with maximum profit for a microgrid system in Taiwan. The smart microgrid system is equipped with energy storage devices, photovoltaic power, and wind power generation systems. Sensitivity analyses of investment in storage capacity and growth in electricity demand are conducted for the smart microgrid model. The results show that appropriate battery capacity should be determined on the basis of both battery efficiency and power supply.
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