•We studied associations between the gut microbiome and GAD severity and treatment.•Stool samples were analyzed by 16S rRNA gene sequencing.•Anxiety was assessed based on HAM-A and SAS scores.•Gut ...microbiome compositions were altered in A-GAD patients.•The gut microbiome may contribute to GAD pathogenesis and remission.
Associations between abnormal gut microbiome compositions and anxiety-like behaviors are well established. However, it is unknown whether the gut microbiome composition is associated with the severity of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and relief from clinical symptoms in patients.
Stool samples from 36 patients with active GAD (A-GAD group) and 24 matched healthy control subjects (HC group) were analyzed by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Anxiety was assessed with the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale and the Self-rating Anxiety Scale, and global assessments of functioning were performed at baseline and 1 month after drug treatment.
Gut microbiome compositions were altered in A-GAD patients, with fewer operational taxonomic units and lower fecal bacterial α-diversity. Specifically, Firmicutes and Tenericutes abundances were lower in A-GAD patients, and several genera were differentially represented in the A-GAD and HC groups. The abundances of Eubacterium_coprostanoligenes_group, Ruminococcaceae_UCG-014, and Prevotella_9 correlated negatively with the anxiety severity and positively with anxiety reduction, whereas the abundances of Bacteroides and Escherichia-Shigella were positively associated with anxiety severity. Sex, smoking, and alcohol intake influenced the gut microbiome composition.
The sample sizes were small and the stool samples were collected only at baseline; therefore, a causal association between changes in intestinal flora and disease remission was not established. Moreover, the effects of different drugs on gut microbiome composition were not investigated.
Altered gut microbiome composition may contribute to GAD pathogenesis and remission.
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs that have crucial regulatory functions in carcinogenesis. miR-324-5p and miR-324-3p are generated from the same hairpin RNA structure, however, both are ...diverse in their direct target genes and expression levels. We report that expression of miR-324-5p and -3p was frequently observed to be either up-regulated or down-regulated, and the selection preference of miR-324 for 5p and 3p arms significantly varied in various types or human cancer. Overexpression of miR-324-5p or -3p suppressed growth and invasion of breast cancer cells. Overexpression of miR-324-5p reduced the growth and invasive abilities of colorectal cancer cells, whereas miR-324-3p suppressed colorectal cancer cell invasion but did not influence cell growth. We conclude that miR-324-5p and miR-324-3p might have distinct biological functions, further complicating the regulatory network in human cancer. Therefore, the arm selection preference of miR-324 may be a method for modulating its function.
Haploinsufficiency of EFTUD2 (Elongation Factor Tu GTP Binding Domain Containing 2) is linked to human mandibulofacial dysostosis, Guion-Almeida type (MFDGA), but the underlying cellular and ...molecular mechanisms remain to be addressed. We report here the isolation, cloning and functional analysis of the mutated eftud2 (snu114) in a novel neuronal mutant fn10a in zebrafish. This mutant displayed abnormal brain development with evident neuronal apoptosis while the development of other organs appeared less affected. Positional cloning revealed a nonsense mutation such that the mutant eftud2 mRNA encoded a truncated Eftud2 protein and was subjected to nonsense-mediated decay. Disruption of eftud2 led to increased apoptosis and mitosis of neural progenitors while it had little effect on differentiated neurons. Further RNA-seq and functional analyses revealed a transcriptome-wide RNA splicing deficiency and a large amount of intron-retaining and exon-skipping transcripts, which resulted in inadequate nonsense-mediated RNA decay and activation of the p53 pathway in fn10a mutants. Therefore, our study has established that eftud2 functions in RNA splicing during neural development and provides a suitable zebrafish model for studying the molecular pathology of the neurological disease MFDGA.
To successfully deploy femtocells underlaying the macrocell as a heterogeneous network, which has been proven to greatly improve indoor coverage and system capacity, the cross-tier interference among ...the macrocell and femtocells as well as the intratier interference among femtocells must be mitigated. However, some unique features present a challenge in interference mitigation in a two-tier heterogeneous network such as random deployment for femtocells, nonexistence of macro-femto backhaul coordination, and mandates allowing no modifications of existing macrocells. Carefully examining the existing distributed information acquisition mechanisms, cognitive radio is the most promising solution for two-tier heterogeneous networks. We therefore study possible interference mitigation approaches, including orthogonal radio resource assignment in the time-frequency and antenna spatial domains, as well as interference cancellation via novel decoding techniques. According to the information acquired by cognitive radio technology, recent innovations such as game theory and the Gibbs sampler have been explored to mitigate both cross-tier and intratier interferences. Performance evaluations show that considerable performance improvement can be generally achieved, and thus demonstrate the potential of applying cognitive radio in mitigating interference.
Aim
To understand and report on the perceptions and experiences of registered nurses in the aged care sector.
Design
An exploratory qualitative study.
Methods
Semi‐structured telephone interviews ...were utilised as the primary data collection method. Fifteen registered nurses were interviewed. All interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed using conventional content analysis. Participants were quoted verbatim to ensure authenticity.
Results
The results indicated a demand for increased administrative and staffing support in the aged care workplace. Poor morale and unethical practices contributed to negative perceptions and attitudes among nurses towards aged care. Managing and communicating with older people was reported as challenging, which impacts nursing staff recruitment and retention. Future work is needed to ensure that outstanding clinical role models and leadership support nursing staff recruitment and retention. Incorporating aged care content into the nursing curriculum and providing professional development opportunities to aged care professionals would be the foundation towards solutions, as the study primarily explored nurses' perspectives.
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•Intrinsically stretchable and conductive ionogels are leveraged to create ion-conductive silk yarns (i-SYs) tailored for e-textile applications.•Aesthetically refined i-SYs can be ...customarily prepared on a scalable basis.•i-SY e-textiles are used for exercise posture correction.
Electronic textiles (e-textiles), which combine the comfort of textiles with the functionality of soft electronics, have attracted much attention in wearable applications. However, scale-up fabrication of stretchable textiles with concurrent high stability and aesthetic appeal features poses significant challenges. Here, we report a scalable and customizable dip-coating strategy for the preparation of multiple-colored and functionally stable ionic conductive silk yarns (i-SY) and demonstrate their effectiveness in exercise posture correction. The i-SY preserves the inherent properties of silk fibers and ionic liquids, exhibiting improved mechanical properties, weaving capabilities, flame retardancy, and electrical conductivity. The method leverages the exceptional transparency of ionic liquids, facilitating the large-scale production of colored i-SYs to meet aesthetic demands. Additionally, the i-SY sensor exhibits exemplary sensing sensitivity and stability, enabling the real-time monitoring of human joint movements and facilitating precise posture correction during fitness exercises. We envision that the proposed sensing textile holds promise for applications in wearable devices, healthcare monitoring, and human–machine interfaces.
Since the integration and heat flux of high-power light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are continuously increasing in response to the rising demand for illumination, high-power LEDs require a sophisticated ...thermal management system to ensure stable operation and prolonged service life. In the present work, a double-layer liquid-cooled plate with circular arc-shaped flow channels was developed. Circular arc-shaped flow channels may help the fluid flow against the channels' wall more effectively by preventing the development of eddy and impact flow and minimizing flow resistance. Combining it with the double-layer design may conduct cooling in the hot spot area twice as effectively. Numerical analysis and experimentation were conducted to explore the hydraulic properties and cooling performance of the plate, and the LED chips' arrangement schemes were examined. Water and ethylene glycol solutions with varying mass concentrations are utilized as the working fluids. The pin temperatures and illumination characteristics of LED chips were assessed after being cooled using the created plate at various flow rates. The results demonstrate the advantages of the proposed liquid-cooled plate's flow characteristics and cooling capability. After cooling, the LED chips' pin temperatures may be kept below 50 °C. When the flow rate was increased from 0.03 L/min to 0.18 L/min and the operating power of the LEDs was 300 W, the luminous intensity of the chips rose by 1440–1680 lx. Based on the temperature of the surrounding environment, the appropriate working fluid should be employed in practical applications. Furthermore, when the j/f coefficient is large, less pump work is needed, and the plate cools more effectively. It satisfies the need for a lightweight cooling system because the produced liquid-cooled plate weighs only 200 g.
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short noncoding RNAs derived from the 3' and 5' ends of the same precursor. However, the biological function and mechanism of miRNA arm expression preference remain unclear in ...breast cancer. We found significant decreases in the expression levels of miR-193a-5p but no significant differences in those of miR-193a-3p in breast cancer. MiR-193a-3p suppressed breast cancer cell growth and migration and invasion abilities, whereas miR-193a-5p suppressed cell growth but did not influence cell motility. Furthermore, NLN and CCND1, PLAU, and SEPN1 were directly targeted by miR-193a-5p and miR-193a-3p, respectively, in breast cancer cells. The endogenous levels of miR-193a-5p and miR-193a-3p were significantly increased by transfecting breast cancer cells with the 3'UTR of their direct targets. Comprehensive analysis of The Cancer Genome Atlas database revealed significant differences in the arm expression preferences of several miRNAs between breast cancer and adjacent normal tissues. Our results collectively indicate that the arm expression preference phenomenon may be attributable to the target gene amount during breast cancer progression. The miRNA arm expression preference may be a means of modulating miRNA function, further complicating the mRNA regulatory network. Our findings provide a new insight into miRNA regulation and an application for breast cancer therapy.
MicroRNA (miRNA/miR) dysfunction is a hallmark of lung cancer, and results in the dysregulation of tumor suppressors and oncogenes during lung cancer progression. Selection of the 5p and 3p arms of ...miRNA is a mechanism that improves the modulation of miRNA biological functions and complicates the regulatory network in human types of cancer. However, the involvement of arm selection preference of miRNA in lung cancer remains unclear. In the present study, changes in miRNA arm selection preference were comprehensively identified in lung cancer and corresponding adjacent normal tissues by analyzing The Cancer Genome Atlas. Arm selection was revealed to be consistent in the majority of miRNAs in lung cancer. Only a few miRNAs had significantly altered arm selection preference in lung cancer. Among these, the biological functions of the individual arms of miR-324 were investigated further. The data revealed that miR-324-5p and -3p were significantly overexpressed in lung cancer cells. Ectopic expression of miR-324-5p significantly promoted cell proliferation and invasion in lung cancer cells, while miR-324-3p overexpression significantly increased cell proliferation but did not alter the invasion of lung cancer cells. In conclusion, the arm selection preference of miRNA may be an additional mechanism through which biological functions are modulated. The results of the present study provide a novel insight into the underlying mechanisms of lung cancer and may direct research into future therapies.
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