Novel diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers of cancers are needed to improve precision medicine. Circular RNAs act as important regulators in cancers at the transcriptional and posttranscriptional ...levels. The circular RNA circMAN1A2 is highly expressed in nasopharyngeal carcinoma according to our previous RNA sequencing data; however, the expression and functions of circMAN1A2 in cancers are still obscure. Therefore, in this study, we evaluated the expression of circMAN1A2 in the sera of patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma and other malignant tumors and analyzed its correlations with clinical features and diagnostic values. The expression levels of circMAN1A2 were detected by quantitative real‐time PCR, and the correlations of clinical features with circMAN1A2 expression were analyzed by χ2 tests. Receiver operating characteristic curves were used to evaluate the clinical applications of circMAN1A2. The results showed that circMAN1A2 was upregulated in nasopharyngeal carcinoma, oral cancer, thyroid cancer, ovarian cancer, and lung cancer, with areas under the curves of 0.911, 0.779, 0.734, 0.694, and 0.645, respectively, indicating the good diagnostic value of circMAN1A2. Overall, our findings suggested that circMAN1A2 could be a serum biomarker for malignant tumors, providing important insights into diagnostic approaches for malignant tumors. Further studies are needed to elucidate the mechanisms of circMAN1A2 in the pathogenesis of cancer.
We verified that circMAN1A2 was significantly upregulated in the sera of patients with NPC, oral cancer, thyroid cancer, ovarian cancer, and lung cancer and had good clinical diagnostic value. We speculate that circMAN1A2 could be a serum biomarker for malignant cancers and provide effective clues for the early diagnosis of malignant cancers.
Abstract
As a healthcare ICT4D solution, mobile health (mHealth) can potentially improve users' well‐being during pandemics, especially in developing countries with limited healthcare resources. ...Recent ICT4D research reveals that providing end‐users with access to ICT is insufficient for improving well‐being and, thus, understanding how mHealth empowers end‐users to enhance well‐being against stressful events is important. However, prior research has rarely discussed the issue of empowerment in the domain of mHealth or the context of major disruptive events. This paper contributes to the literature by conceptualizing the psychological empowerment of mHealth users (PEMU) and investigating its nomological network during pandemics. Drawing upon theories of psychological empowerment and event characteristics, we developed a research model and tested it through a mixed‐methods investigation, containing a quantitative study with 602 Chinese mHealth users during COVID‐19 and a follow‐up qualitative study of 326 online articles and reviews. We found that PEMU, driven by three technological characteristics (perceived response efficacy, ease of use, and mHealth quality), affects well‐being through both (a) a stress‐buffering effect, which counterbalances the detrimental, stress‐increasing effects of event criticality and disruption, and (b) a vitality‐stimulating effect, which is intensified by event criticality. These findings have important implications for ICT4D research and practice.
Consumer indirect misbehavior in access-based consumption is a significant challenge for enterprises. The literature is in short of a deep understanding of the antecedent conditions of consumer ...indirect misbehavior in this context and limited by inconsistent findings, calling for developing a holistic and integrative theoretical framework. This study integrates three commonly used theoretical perspectives in the consumer misbehavior literature (i.e., deterrence, rational decision-making, and ethical decision-making) to present holistic archetypes of consumer indirect misbehavior formation. In accordance with this theoretical objective, we adopted an emerging approach for configurational analysis, i.e., fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA), to analyze the complex combinations of six influencing factors. We collected data using a scenario-based field survey of 264 experienced consumers of a popular bike-sharing service in China. The scenarios were developed based on relevant literature and a Delphi study. The fsQCA results reveal multiple configurations for high and low levels of consumer misbehavior intention. Specifically, perceived benefits and moral definition play important roles, while the effect of sanctions is highly dependent on other factors. These results lead us to derive three theoretical propositions for antecedent conditions leading to consumers’ indirect misbehavior intentions in access-based consumption. This study enriches our understanding of the causes of misbehavior and provides novel insights for management practitioners to take appropriate countermeasures.
Previous studies on social virtual world (SVW) continuance have suggested that satisfaction, which promotes SVW continuance intention, is determined by three types of perceived benefits (i.e., ...utilitarian, hedonic, and social benefits). Moreover, the relative impacts of these benefits on satisfaction are contingent on individual difference factors such as gender. However, little (if any) research has systematically investigated the effects of these benefits on satisfaction simultaneously, and how these effects are moderated by gender, in the SVW context. Adopting the need fulfillment perspective as a guiding framework and extending the literature of gender differences in technology usage into the distinctive context of SVWs, this study investigates the effects of the three types of perceived benefits, moderated by gender, on satisfaction in relation to SVW continuance. The proposed hypotheses are supported by multigroup PLS analyses using empirical data collected from 464 users of Second Life, a typical SVW. Specifically, we find that utilitarian and social benefits are more important for female users in predicting satisfaction, whereas hedonic benefit has a more salient effect on satisfaction for male users. These findings have important theoretical and practical implications.
Myocardial ischemia is the most common form of cardiovascular disease and the leading cause of morbidity and mortality. Understanding the mechanisms is very crucial for the development of effective ...therapy. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the functional roles and mechanisms by which ELAVL1 regulates myocardial ischemia and reperfusion (I/R) injury.
Mouse myocardial I/R model and cultured myocardial cells exposed to hypoxia/reperfusion (H/R) were used in this study. Features of ferroptosis were evidenced by LDH activity, GPx4 activity, cellular iron, ROS, LPO, and GSH levels. The expression levels of autophagy markers (Beclin-1, p62, LC3), ELAVL1 and FOXC1 were measured by qRT-PCR, immunostaining and western blot. RIP assay, biotin-pull down, ChIP and dual luciferase activity assay were employed to examine the interactions of ELAVL1/Beclin-1 mRNA and FOXC1/ELAVL1 promoter. CCK-8 assay was used to examine viability of cells. TTC staining was performed to assess the myocardial I/R injury.
Myocardial I/R surgery induced ferroptosis and up-regulated ELAVL1 level. Knockdown of ELAVL1 decreased ferroptosis and ameliorated I/R injury. Si-ELAVL1 repressed autophagy and inhibition of autophagy by inhibitor suppressed ferroptosis and I/R injury in myocardial cells. Increase of autophagy could reverse the effects of ELAVL1 knockdown on ferroptosis and I/R injury. ELAVL1 directly bound with and stabilized Beclin-1 mRNA. Furthermore, FOXC1 bound to ELAVL1 promoter region and activated its transcription upon H/R exposure.
FOXC1 transcriptionally activated ELAVL1 may promote ferroptosis during myocardial I/R by modulating autophagy, leading to myocardial injury. Inhibition of ELAVL1-mediated autophagic ferroptosis would be a new viewpoint in the treatment of myocardial I/R injury.
Inefficient use of fertilizer has caused serious environmental problems and unsustainable development of agriculture in China. To meet the increasing food demand in the future without damaging the ...ecological environment, Chinese government officially launched the Action Plan for the Zero Growth of Fertilizer Use in 2015. At the same time, China released a series of policies aiming explicitly at expanding farm size and a great number of large scale farmers emerged recently. However, whether the expansion of farm size will be beneficial for the increase of fertilizer use efficiency still remains to be investigated. In this study, we comprehensively explored the relationship between fertilizer use efficiency and farm size. Based on the 4 281 farm households’ survey data collected by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) of China from 2004 to 2016 in Jiangsu Province, China, this paper applies a stochastic frontier production function to estimate fertilizer use efficiency across farm size and uses a regression model to analyze the influence of farm size on fertilizer use efficiency. The results show that: (1) the average fertilizer use efficiency of whole samples was only 0.60, much lower than the average technical efficiency, indicating that on average half of the fertilizer utilized are excessive in China; and (2) the smallest farm size group get the highest fertilizer use efficiency score. We also provide some possible explanations for the inverse relationship between farm size and fertilizer use efficiency.
Green synthesis of bioderived high‐molecular‐weight poly(ethylene 2,5‐furandicarboxylate) (PEF) over metal‐free catalysts is a significant challenge. This study focuses on PEF prepared from ethylene ...glycol and 2,5‐furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA) through a direct esterification method with ecofriendly metal‐free ionic liquids (ILs) as catalysts. The catalytic activities of a series of imidazolium cations in the presence of various anions are systematically investigated and found to be mainly governed by the anions. Among the ILs studied, 1‐ethyl‐3‐methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (C2MIMBF4) is identified as the best catalyst, showing excellent catalytic activity, selectivity, and stability, even at low catalyst loadings (0.1 mol % w.r.t. FDCA). Optimization of the polymerization parameters enables C2MIMBF4‐catalyzed production of PEF with a high number‐average molecular weight (Mn=5.25×104 g mol−1). The relationship between Brønsted acidity and catalytic activity is also investigated and the results show that the trend in catalytic activity is in good agreement with that in Brønsted acidity, as determined by the Hammett method. Additionally, on the basis of experimental results and density functional theory calculations, an electrophilic activation mechanism induced by hydrogen bonds is proposed. This strategy of adjustable acidity and anion structure in ILs provides an opportunity to develop other ILs for bio‐based polyesters through green synthesis pathways.
Low loading: With a small catalyst loading of metal‐free and selective ionic liquids (0.1 % based on 2,5‐furandicarboxylic acid), bioderived poly(ethylene 2,5‐furandicarboxylate) is efficiently prepared with high molecular weight by the electrophilic activation induced by hydrogen bonds, which are formed between the ionic liquid C2MIM+ and the carbonyl oxygen.
Recent studies have shown that on one hand, tumors need to obtain a sufficient energy supply, and on the other hand they must evade the body's immune surveillance. Because of their metabolic ...reprogramming characteristics, tumors can modify the physicochemical properties of the microenvironment, which in turn affects the biological characteristics of the cells infiltrating them. Regulatory T cells (Tregs) are a subset of T cells that regulate immune responses in the body. They exist in large quantities in the tumor microenvironment and exert immunosuppressive effects. The main effect of tumor microenvironment on Tregs is to promote their differentiation, proliferation, secretion of immunosuppressive factors, and chemotactic recruitment to play a role in immunosuppression in tumor tissues. This review focuses on cell metabolism reprogramming and the most significant features of the tumor microenvironment relative to the functional effects on Tregs, highlighting our understanding of the mechanisms of tumor immune evasion and providing new directions for tumor immunotherapy.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Summary
With advanced sequencing technology, dozens of complex polyploid plant genomes have been characterized. However, for many polyploid species, their diploid ancestors are unknown or extinct, ...making it impossible to unravel the subgenomes and genome evolution directly.
We developed a novel subgenome‐phasing algorithm, SubPhaser, specifically designed for a neoallopolyploid or a homoploid hybrid. SubPhaser first searches for the subgenome‐specific sequence (k‐mer), then assigns homoeologous chromosomes into subgenomes, and further provides tools to annotate and investigate specific sequences.
SubPhaser works well on neoallopolyploids and homoploid hybrids containing subgenome‐specific sequences like wheat, but fails on autopolyploids lacking subgenome‐specific sequences like alfalfa, indicating that SubPhaser can phase neoallopolyploid/homoploid hybrids with high accuracy, sensitivity and performance.
This highly accurate, highly sensitive, ancestral data free chromosome phasing algorithm, SubPhaser, offers significant application value for subgenome phasing in neoallopolyploids and homoploid hybrids, and for the subsequent exploration of genome evolution and related genetic/epigenetic mechanisms.
Pandemics like COVID-19 disrupt conventional healthcare services, pushing toward smart and connected health solutions including mobile healthcare applications. However, the dynamics of disruptive ...events influencing smart health service adoption are not well-understood. By incorporating the concept of event disruption into cognitive appraisal theory, this paper develops a research model on how individuals’ event appraisals (event disruption and event threat) interact with coping appraisals (response efficacy and self-efficacy) of smart and connected health services in driving their future usage of smart and connected health services as a coping method. We tested the model using a mixed-methods approach with quantitative and qualitative data. First, we conducted an online survey to collect quantitative data from individuals with experience in using smart and connected health services. The results showed that the moderating effect of the cognitive appraisals of an external event stimulated the usage of smart and connected health services. We then collected archival qualitative data via multiple social media platforms during the COVID-19 pandemic to cross-validate the results of the quantitative study. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.
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