MicroRNA (miRNA) and long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) have been demonstrated to participate in the progression of many cancers. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common and aggressive ...malignant tumors worldwide, while the molecular mechanisms underlying HCC tumorigenesis are not completely clear. In this study, we showed that miR-92b was significantly upregulated in tumor tissue and plasma of HCC patients, and its expression level was highly correlated with gender and microvascular invasion. Functionally, miR-92b could promote cell proliferation and metastasis of HCC in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistic investigations suggested that Smad7, which exhibited an inverse relationship with miR-92b expression in HCC, was a direct target of miR-92b and could reverse its effects on HCC tumorigenesis. Furthermore, long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) X-inactive specific transcript (XIST) and miR-92b could directly interact with and repress each other, and XIST could inhibit HCC cell proliferation and metastasis by targeting miR-92b. Taken together, our study not only revealed for the first time the importance of XIST/miR-92b/Smad7 signaling axis in HCC progression but also suggested the potential value of miR-92b as a biomarker in the clinical diagnosis and treatment of HCC.
The amyloid-β protein (Aβ) protein plays a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). It is believed that Aβ deposited in the brain originates from the brain tissue itself. ...However, Aβ is generated in both brain and peripheral tissues. Whether circulating Aβ contributes to brain AD-type pathologies remains largely unknown. In this study, using a model of parabiosis between APPswe/PS1dE9 transgenic AD mice and their wild-type littermates, we observed that the human Aβ originated from transgenic AD model mice entered the circulation and accumulated in the brains of wild-type mice, and formed cerebral amyloid angiopathy and Aβ plaques after a 12-month period of parabiosis. AD-type pathologies related to the Aβ accumulation including tau hyperphosphorylation, neurodegeneration, neuroinflammation and microhemorrhage were found in the brains of the parabiotic wild-type mice. More importantly, hippocampal CA1 long-term potentiation was markedly impaired in parabiotic wild-type mice. To the best of our knowledge, our study is the first to reveal that blood-derived Aβ can enter the brain, form the Aβ-related pathologies and induce functional deficits of neurons. Our study provides novel insight into AD pathogenesis and provides evidence that supports the development of therapies for AD by targeting Aβ metabolism in both the brain and the periphery.
We report the observation of new properties of primary cosmic rays He, C, and O measured in the rigidity (momentum/charge) range 2 GV to 3 TV with 90×10^{6} helium, 8.4×10^{6} carbon, and 7.0×10^{6} ...oxygen nuclei collected by the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) during the first five years of operation. Above 60 GV, these three spectra have identical rigidity dependence. They all deviate from a single power law above 200 GV and harden in an identical way.
We report on the observation of new properties of secondary cosmic rays Li, Be, and B measured in the rigidity (momentum per unit charge) range 1.9 GV to 3.3 TV with a total of 5.4×10^{6} nuclei ...collected by AMS during the first five years of operation aboard the International Space Station. The Li and B fluxes have an identical rigidity dependence above 7 GV and all three fluxes have an identical rigidity dependence above 30 GV with the Li/Be flux ratio of 2.0±0.1. The three fluxes deviate from a single power law above 200 GV in an identical way. This behavior of secondary cosmic rays has also been observed in the AMS measurement of primary cosmic rays He, C, and O but the rigidity dependences of primary cosmic rays and of secondary cosmic rays are distinctly different. In particular, above 200 GV, the secondary cosmic rays harden more than the primary cosmic rays.
We report the observation of new properties of primary iron (Fe) cosmic rays in the rigidity range 2.65 GV to 3.0 TV with 0.62×10^{6} iron nuclei collected by the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer ...experiment on the International Space Station. Above 80.5 GV the rigidity dependence of the cosmic ray Fe flux is identical to the rigidity dependence of the primary cosmic ray He, C, and O fluxes, with the Fe/O flux ratio being constant at 0.155±0.006. This shows that unexpectedly Fe and He, C, and O belong to the same class of primary cosmic rays which is different from the primary cosmic rays Ne, Mg, and Si class.
We report the observation of new properties of primary cosmic rays, neon (Ne), magnesium (Mg), and silicon (Si), measured in the rigidity range 2.15 GV to 3.0 TV with 1.8 × 106 Ne , 2.2 × 106 Mg , ...and 1.6 × 106 Si nuclei collected by the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer experiment on the International Space Station. The Ne and Mg spectra have identical rigidity dependence above 3.65 GV. The three spectra have identical rigidity dependence above 86.5 GV, deviate from a single power law above 200 GV, and harden in an identical way. Unexpectedly, above 86.5 GV the rigidity dependence of primary cosmic rays Ne, Mg, and Si spectra is different from the rigidity dependence of primary cosmic rays He, C, and O. This shows that the Ne, Mg, and Si and He, C, and O are two different classes of primary cosmic rays.
A memory machine (MM) equipped with hybrid permanent magnets (PMs), i.e., NdFeB and low coercive force PMs, exhibits acceptable torque capability at low speeds and high efficiency at high speeds. ...Previous literatures have addressed that the constant power speed range (CPSR) of MMs can be further extended by online PM flux control and the requirement of the flux-weakening (FW) inverter current can be reduced as well. Nevertheless, how to coordinate the d -axis vector FW and PM magnetization control over a whole operating range in a reasonable manner remains unreported. Therefore, this paper proposes and implements a stepwise magnetization control strategy on a dc-magnetized MM based on the operating characteristics under various PM magnetization states and speed ranges. The configuration, principle, and mathematical model of the investigated machine are introduced first. Then, the proposed control strategy is established by dividing the operating envelop into several FW regions and an appropriate FW control scheme is utilized at each stage. It demonstrates that the CPSR can be effectively extended by simply applying the demagnetizing current pulses in several steps. This simplifies the control efforts considerably without resorting to continuous PM flux control and frequent actions of the switching devices. The effectiveness of the proposed control strategy is verified by experimental results.
Among renewable energy resources, bioenergy is one of the fastest growth energy alternatives with tremendous potential in China. The thermal, physical, and biological processes of conversion of ...biomass yield a number of products and can be obtained as gases, liquids, solid fuels, and electricity as well as a variety of chemicals. Various bioenergy technologies that have been developed are at the fundamental research, demonstration, and commercialization stages. This review concentrates on the processes that are attracting the most attention in China.
This paper presents the important roles bioenergy plays in China. Firstly, the application status of bioenergy technologies are introduced, including biogas, fuel ethanol, biodiesel, and power generation at the commercialization stage. Then, the current research progresses are analyzed of ethanol derived from
lignocellulose, sweet sorghum and
cassava, biodiesel from
jatropha, biomass briquetting, synthesized fuels and pyrolysis technologies at the fundamental research and demonstration stages. Finally, it is concluded that the key areas for developing bioenergy for the future are the exploitation of new biomass resources and R&D in biofuels from non-food biomass resources, as well as the development of commercialization methods suitable for developing countries.
Hsa-miR-206, a microRNA, was found to be able to switch subtypes by targeting ER-α in breast cancer. However, there are few studies addressing the role of miR-206 in triple-negative breast cancer ...(TNBC). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the metastatic-regulatory ability of miR-206 in TNBC.
We treated two TNBC lines (MDA-MB-231 and MDA-MB-436) with miR-206 mimics, inhibitors and paired controls and examined the in vitro and in vivo functions of miR-206 via the degradation of Connexin43 (Cx43). A luciferase reporter assay was used to identify the binding site of GJA1 (gap junctional intercellular communication) (Cx43) and miR-206. Furthermore, quantitative RT-PCR was used to evaluate miR-206 expression in 77 breast cancer samples to determine the association with lymph node status and Cx43 expression.
Up-regulation of miR-206 in TNBC contributed to a decreasing metastatic potential, as demonstrated by a reduction of cell viability and proliferation, decreased cell migration and invasion, lower expression levels of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2, MMP-9 and a higher expression level of breast cancer metastatic suppressor (BRMS)-1. In vitro dual luciferase assays showed GJA1 (Cx43) is a target of miR-206. Quantitative RT-PCR was conducted to evaluate miR-206 expression in 77 breast cancer samples to determine the associations between miR-206 levels and both lymph node status and Cx43 expression. Restoring Cx43 expression positively regulated cell adhesion and GJA1, which may facilitate metastasis. MiR-206 significantly attenuated the proliferation and metastatic potential of cancer cells but did not inhibit tumor onset in a mouse xenograft model because of the dual function of Cx43.
Our results suggest hsa-miR-206 may repress the tumor proliferation and invasion in breast cancer by targeting Cx43.
•Condensation flow patterns of methane/ethane mixtures were investigated.•A new flow pattern transition criteria for zeotropic mixtures was proposed.•Condensation heat transfer of methane/ethane ...mixtures was studied experimentally.•An improved heat transfer correlation for different flow patterns was carried out.
An experimental investigation on condensation flow pattern and heat transfer coefficient of methane/ethane mixtures (0.27/0.73, 0.54/0.46 and 0.7/0.3 by mole) in a horizontal smooth tube with inner diameter of 4 mm was carried out. The tests were conducted at saturation pressure of 1.5–2.5 MPa with mass flux of 98–257 kg m−2 s−1 and heat flux of 15.1–44.4 kW m−2 over the entire vapor quality range. The effects of concentration, saturation pressure, heat flux, mass flux and vapor quality were analyzed and discussed. A new annular/non-annular flow pattern transition criteria on condensation for zeotropic mixtures was carried out. The new transition criteria took the influence of mass transfer resistance into consideration and had satisfactory predictive ability in present study. Moreover, the experimental data were compared with many condensation heat transfer correlations of mixtures. An improved heat transfer correlation for zeotropic mixtures based on flow patterns was proposed. The new correlation combined with the equilibrium method and introduced a new correction factor (Fm). It achieves better predicting results with a mean absolute relative deviation of 8.02%.
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