Background
The importance of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) has been identified in human cancers, such as emerged as tumor facilitator or tumor suppressor. Small nucleolar RNA host gene 10 (SNHG10) ...has been reported as an oncogenic lncRNA in hepatocellular carcinoma. However, its functional role and underlying mechanism in gastric cancer (GC) need to be further explored.
Aims
Our study was conducted to investigate the function and molecular mechanism of SNHG10 in GC.
Methods
SNHG10 expression was detected by qRT-PCR. The effect of SNHG10 on GC cell growth was assessed by colony formation, EdU, JC-1, flow cytometry, and wound-healing assays. The interaction between SNHG10 and PBX3 was confirmed through ChIP and luciferase reporter assay. RIP and RNA pull down assays was used to define the binding of DEAD-box helicase 54 (DDX54) to SNHG10 or PBX homeobox 3 (PBX3).
Results
SNHG10 was expressed at a high level in GC cells. SNHG10 knockdown resulted in the inhibition on GC cell proliferation, migration but induced cell apoptosis. PBX3 could interact with SNHG10 promoter and thereby activate the expression of SNHG10. Subsequently, it was confirmed that SNHG10 positively modulated the expression of PBX3. Based on this, we found that DDX54 could bind to SNHG10 and PBX3, suggesting that SNHG10 maintained PBX3 mRNA stability through recruiting DDX54. Restoration assays indicated that PBX3 overexpression recovered SNHG10 silencing-induced inhibition on GC cell growth.
Conclusions
SNHG10 facilitates cell growth by affecting DDX54-mediated PBX3 mRNA stability in GC.
Contamination of fine plastic particles (FPs), including micrometer to millimeter plastics (MPs) and nanometer plastics (NPs), in the environment has caught great concerns. FPs are strong adsorbents ...for hydrophobic toxic pollutants and may affect their fate and toxicity in the environment; however, such information is still rare. We studied joint toxicity of FPs with phenanthrene to Daphnia magna and effects of FPs on the environmental fate and bioaccumulation of 14C-phenanthrene in fresh water. Within the five sizes particles we tested (from 50 nm to 10 μm), 50-nm NPs showed significant toxicity and physical damage to D. magna. The joint toxicity of 50-nm NPs and phenanthrene to D. magna showed an additive effect. During a 14-days incubation, the presence of NPs significantly enhanced bioaccumulation of phenanthrene-derived residues in daphnid body and inhibited the dissipation and transformation of phenanthrene in the medium, while 10-μm MPs did not show significant effects on the bioaccumulation, dissipation, and transformation of phenanthrene. The differences may be attributed to higher adsorption of phenanthrene on 50-nm NPs than 10-μm MPs. Our findings underlined the high potential ecological risks of FPs, and suggested that NPs should be given more concerns, in terms of their interaction with hydrophobic pollutants in the environment.
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•Nano-plastics (NPs) and phenanthrene had additive joint toxicity to D. magna.•NPs enhanced bioaccumulation of phenanthrene-derived residues in daphnid body.•NPs inhibited dissipation and transformation of phenanthrene in the medium.•Microplastics (MPs) did not show significant effects.
Compared to microplastics, nanoplastics had additive toxic effects with phenanthrene, increased bioaccumulation in D. magna, and inhibited its dissipation in the environment.
We perform a comprehensive first-principles study of the electronic properties of phosphorene nanoribbons, phosphorus nanotubes, multilayer phosphorene sheets, and heterobilayers of phosphorene and ...two-dimensional (2D) transition-metal dichalcogenide (TMDC) monolayer. The tensile strain and electric-field effects on electronic properties of low-dimensional phosphorene nanostructures are also investigated. Our calculations show that the bare zigzag phosphorene nanoribbons (z-PNRs) are metals regardless of the ribbon width, whereas the bare armchair phosphorene nanoribbons (a-PNRs) are semiconductors with indirect bandgaps and the bandgaps decrease with increasing ribbon width. We find that compressive (or tensile) strains can reduce (or enlarge) the bandgap of the bare a-PNRs while an in-plane electric field can significantly reduce the bandgap of the bare a-PNRs, leading to the semiconductor-to-metal transition beyond certain electric field. For edge-passivated PNR by hydrogen, z-PNRs become semiconductor with nearly direct bandgaps and a-PNRs are still semiconductor but with direct bandgaps. The response to tensile strain and electric field for the edge-passivated PNRs is similar to that for the edge-unpassivated (bare) a-PNRs. For single-walled phosphorus nanotubes, both armchair and zigzag nanotubes are semiconductors with direct bandgaps. With either tensile strains or transverse electric field, behavior of bandgap modulation similar to that for a-PNRs can arise. It is known that multilayer phosphorene sheets are semiconductors whose bandgaps decrease with an increase in the number of multilayers. In the presence of a vertical electric field, the bandgaps of multilayer phosphorene sheets decrease with increasing electric field and the bandgap modulation is more significant with more layers. Lastly, heterobilayers of phosphorene (p-type) with an n-type TMDC (MoS2 or WS2) monolayer are still semiconductors while their bandgaps can be reduced by applying a vertical electric field as well. We also show that the combined phosphorene/MoS2 heterolayers can be an effective solar cell material. Our estimated power conversion efficiency for the phosphorene/MoS2 heterobilayer has a theoretical maximum value of 17.5%.
Microplastics are widespread in freshwater environments, their biological effects and combined effects of other pollutants have attracted extensive attention. In this study, we investigated the ...adsorption properties of heavy metals onto polystyrene (PS) microplastics as well as the bioavailability and toxicity of microplastics and heavy metals by hydroponic wheat seedlings experiment. Results showed that PS microplastics (0.5 µm, 100 mg/L) had no significant effect on wheat seedlings growth, photosynthesis, and reactive oxygen species (ROS) content. However, PS microplastics could adsorb copper and cadmium, with a predominantly chemisorption. The accumulation of copper and cadmium in wheat seedlings reduced in the presence of PS microplastics, which meant the toxic effect by heavy metals might be mitigated. Compared with single heavy metals treatments, the combination of PS microplastics and heavy metals increased chlorophyll content, enhanced photosynthesis and reduced the accumulation of ROS. These findings suggest that PS microplastics (0.5 µm, 100 mg/L) have a mitigating effect on the bioavailability and toxicity of copper and cadmium.
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•PS microplastics (0.5 μm, 100 mg/L) had no significant effect on wheat seedlings.•Adsorption kinetics of Cu2+ and Cd2+ onto PS microplastics were fitted well by the pseudo-second-order model.•The accumulation of metals in wheat seedlings decreased by the presence of PS microplastics.•PS microplastics had a mitigating effect on the toxicity of copper and cadmium.
Ovarian cancer (OC) is a heterogeneous disease with the highest mortality rate and the poorest prognosis among gynecological malignancies. Because of the absence of specific early symptoms, most OC ...patients are often diagnosed at late stages. Thus, improved biomarkers of OC for use in research and clinical practice are urgently needed. The last decade has seen increasingly rapid advances in sequencing and biotechnological methodologies. Consequently, multiple omics technologies, including genomic/transcriptomic sequencings and proteomic/metabolomic mass spectra, have been widely applied to analyze tissue- and liquid-derived samples from OC patients. The integration of multi-omics data has increased our knowledge of the disease and identified valuable OC biomarkers. In this review, we summarize the recent advances and perspectives in the use of multi-omics technologies in OC research and highlight potential applications of multi-omics for identifying novel biomarkers and improving clinical assessments.
We have performed a systematic first-principles study of the effect of tensile strains on the electronic properties of early transition-metal dichalcogenide (TMDC) monolayers MX2 (M = Sc, Ti, Zr, Hf, ...Ta, Cr; X = S, Se, Te). Our density functional theory calculations suggest that the tensile strain can significantly affect the electronic properties of many early TMDCs in general and the electronic bandgap in particular. For group IVB TMDCs (TiX2, ZrX2, HfX2), the bandgap increases with the tensile strain, but for ZrX2 and HfX2 (X = S, Se), the bandgap starts to decrease at strain 6–8%. For the group VB TMDCs (TaX2), the tensile strain can either induce the ferromagnetism or enhance the existing ferromagnetism. For the group VIB TMDCs (CrX2), the direct-to-indirect bandgap transition is seen upon application of the tensile strain, except CrTe2 whose bandgap decreases with the tensile strain even though the direct character of its bandgap is retained. Lastly, for the group IIIB TMDCs (ScX2) in the T metallic phase, we find that the tensile strain has little effect on their electronic and magnetic properties. Our study suggests that strain engineering is an effective approach to modify electronic and magnetic properties of most early TMDC monolayers, thereby opening an alternative way for future optoelectronic and spintronic applications.
We have performed a comprehensive first-principles study of the electronic and magnetic properties of two-dimensional (2D) transition-metal dichalcogenide (TMD) heterobilayers MX2/MoS2 (M = Mo, Cr, ...W, Fe, V; X = S, Se). For M = Mo, Cr, W; X = S, Se, all heterobilayers show semiconducting characteristics with an indirect bandgap with the exception of the WSe2/MoS2 heterobilayer which retains the direct-bandgap character of the constituent monolayer. For M = Fe, V; X = S, Se, the MX2/MoS2 heterobilayers exhibit metallic characters. Particular attention of this study has been focused on engineering the bandgap of the TMD heterobilayer materials via application of either a tensile strain or an external electric field. We find that with increasing either the biaxial or uniaxial tensile strain, the MX2/MoS2 (M = Mo, Cr, W; X = S, Se) heterobilayers can undergo a semiconductor-to-metal transition. For the WSe2/MoS2 heterobilayer, a direct-to-indirect bandgap transition may occur beyond a critical biaxial or uniaxial strain. For M (=Fe, V) and X (=S, Se), the magnetic moments of both metal and chalcogen atoms are enhanced when the MX2/MoS2 heterobilayers are under a biaxial tensile strain. Moreover, the bandgap of MX2/MoS2 (M = Mo, Cr, W; X = S, Se) heterobilayers can be reduced by the vertical electric field. For two heterobilayers MSe2/MoS2 (M = Mo, Cr), PBE calculations suggest that the indirect-to-direct bandgap transition may occur under an external electric field. The transition is attributed to the enhanced spontaneous polarization. The tunable bandgaps in general and possible indirect-direct bandgap transitions due to tensile strain or external electric field make the TMD heterobilayer materials a viable candidate for optoelectronic applications.
The aim of this study was to optimize the preparation method of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) denture base loaded with nano silver (NAg), to more effectively and safely impart sustainable ...antibacterial functions. NAg solution was synthetized and mixed with acrylic acid and methyl methyacrylate (MMA) monomer in order to prepare a new type of NAg solution (NS)/polymer methyl methacrylate denture base specimens (NS/PMMA). The surface morphology, mechanical strength, antimicrobial activity, anti-aging performance, cytotoxicity and biocompatibility of NS/PMMA denture base were evaluated in comparison with specimens fabricated using traditional NAg adding methods and NAg-free denture base. The aesthetic characteristics and mechanical strength of NS/PMMA denture base met the clinical application requirements. Meanwhile, NS/PMMA denture base showed better antibacterial activity, anti-aging properties, no cytotoxicity and displayed exceptional biocompatibility. NS/PMMA denture base thus has great potential for clinical application.
The dynamic transcriptional regulation and interactions of human germlines and surrounding somatic cells during folliculogenesis remain unknown. Using RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) analysis of human ...oocytes and corresponding granulosa cells (GCs) spanning five follicular stages, we revealed unique features in transcriptional machinery, transcription factor networks, and reciprocal interactions in human oocytes and GCs that displayed developmental-stage-specific expression patterns. Notably, we identified specific gene signatures of two cell types in particular developmental stage that may reflect developmental competency and ovarian reserve. Additionally, we uncovered key pathways that may concert germline-somatic interactions and drive the transition of primordial-to-primary follicle, which represents follicle activation. Thus, our work provides key insights into the crucial features of the transcriptional regulation in the stepwise folliculogenesis and offers important clues for improving follicle recruitment in vivo and restoring fully competent oocytes in vitro.
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•RNA-seq of oocytes and granulosa cells mapped transcriptome and signature genes•KEGG/GSEA analysis uncovered pathways involved in primordial follicle activation•Oocyte-granulosa cell interactions exhibit stage- and species-specific patterns•RNA-seq analysis identified candidate secretory biomarkers of ovarian reserve
Zhang et al. investigated the transcriptomic profiles from both the oocyte and somatic follicular compartments during folliculogenesis using single-cell RNA-seq analysis. They provided a transcriptomic landscape of folliculogenesis as well as key insights into the transcriptional regulation in oocytes and granulosa cells during the stepwise folliculogenesis.
In order to improve the computational performance of the extended Kalman filter (EKF) for longitudinal and lateral vehicle velocities estimation, a novel scheme for the EKF implementation is proposed ...based on field programmable gate array (FPGA) and System on Programmable Chip (SoPC). A Nios II processor clocked at 100 MHz is embedded into the FPGA chip. The EKF is created by C/C++ program and runs in the Nios II processor. The main procedure for the EKF implementation using FPGA/SoPC technique is decomposed into three parts: system requirements analysis, hardware design, and software design. The proposed architecture offers favorable flexibility since it supports the reconfigurable hardware and reprogramming software. For the sake of increasing the computational efficiency, the single precision floating-point customized instructions and algorithm optimization are adopted. A testing platform is introduced to evaluate the functionality and the computational performance of the EKF, which includes an FPGA prototyping board and an xPC-Target system. Simulation results of standard double lane change, slalom test, and hard accelerating and braking test show that the proposed EKF implementation scheme has acceptable precision and computational efficiency.
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