This study aimed to use micro-FTIR with transmission mode to investigate cellulose crystallinity of developing cotton fibers. Compared with ATR-FTIR method, we found that micro-FTIR can obtain more ...information of cellulose inside of the developing cotton fibers, especially in high wavenumber of 2800–3000 cm
−1
region. Combined with curve fitting method, a new IR crystallinity index (CI) method named wax crystallinity index (WCI) was introduced to evaluate the cellulose crystallinity in the development of cotton fibers based on the peak and area ratios of 2900 cm
−1
/2850 cm
−1
and 2900 cm
−1
/2920 cm
−1
. The obtained WCI values demonstrated an excellent coefficient of determination with X-ray diffraction (XRD) CI method with the value up to 0.99. This study suggested that micro-FTIR was an effective technique to qualitatively analyze the crystallinity in developing cotton fibers combined with curve fitting method.
Aim
In the current work, we aimed to explore whether Cancer‐associated fibroblasts (CAF) exosomes played crucial roles in vulvar squamous cell carcinoma (VSCC) chemoresistance via mediating long ...noncoding RNAs (lncRNA).
Methods
The IC50 value and cell apoptosis were assessed by the Cell Counting‐8 Kit (CCK‐8) assay and flow cytometry, respectively. Western blot analysis was used for the measurement of protein levels. The levels of urothelial cancer‐associated 1 (UCA1), miR‐103a and WEE1 G2 checkpoint kinase (WEE1) mRNA were detected by quantitative real‐time polymerase chain reaction (qRT‐PCR). The target relationships among miR‐103a, UCA1 and WEE1 were confirmed by dual‐luciferase reporter assays. Xenograft model mice were established to observe the impact of exosomal UCA1 on cisplatin (CDDP) resistance in vivo.
Results
Our data indicated that CAF enhanced CDDP resistance of VSCC cells in vitro. Extracellular UCA1 was transferred by exosomes derived from CAF. Exosomal UCA1 derived from CAF conferred VSCC cell resistance to CDDP. Moreover, UCA1 functioned as a miR‐103a sponge in VSCC cells. The promotion of exosomal UCA1 on VSCC cell resistance to CDDP was mediated by miR‐103a. WEE1 was a direct target of miR‐103a, and exosomal miR‐103a from CAF weakened CDDP resistance of VSCC cells by WEE1. Furthermore, exosomal UCA1 regulated WEE1 expression through sponging miR‐103a. Additionally, exosomal UCA1 enhanced tumor growth and CDDP resistance in vivo.
Conclusion
Our findings suggested exosomal UCA1 derived from CAF conferred VSCC cell resistance to CDDP in vitro and in vivo at least partly through the miR‐103a/WEE1 axis, highlighting a novel therapeutic method for improving the clinical benefits of CDDP chemotherapy in VSCC patients.
The crystal growth process significantly influences the properties of organic–inorganic halide perovskite films along with the performance of solar cell devices. In this paper, we adopted the ...microwave irradiation to treat perovskite films through a one-step deposition method for several minutes at a fixed output power. It is found that the specific microwave irradiation process can evaporate the solvent directly and heat perovskite film quickly. In comparison with the conventional thermal annealing process, a microwave irradiation process assisted fast and controllable crystallization of perovskite films with less energy-loss and time-consumption and therefore resulted in the enhancement in the photovoltaic performance of the corresponding solar cells.
To the Editor: Pelvic organ prolapse (POP) is a common pelvic floor disorder in older women and is responsible for a significant decrease in health-related quality of life. The study was approved by ...Ethics Committee of Peking Union Medical College Hospital (No.JS-3201D). 3–10 In the extended CARE study, which was published in JAMA in 2013, the estimated probability of treatment failure in the ASC group was 22% for anatomic POP, 24% for symptomatic POP, and 34% for composite POP, and the reoperation rate for POP failure was 5.4%. ...a standardized preoperative evaluation was performed for each woman, and validated questionnaires were used to perform the outcome assessment.
Interest in understanding regulation in the context of collaborative learning has increased in the past decade. Existing studies have investigated how regulated learning evolves in collaborative ...learning by focusing on external behaviors, and how different types and strategies of regulation are effective in promoting collaborative learning. Due to the cyclical and dynamic characteristics of regulation, there is a need for new methods that can trace the dynamic emergence of regulatory processes in diver collaborative learning contexts, so as to provide some insight into effective learning design. In the context of 45 student teachers participating in multi-layered online collaborative activities, this study investigated their regulatory patterns during various stages of online collaborative learning activities over an eight-week semester via content analysis and epistemic network analysis (ENA). Quantitative analyses indicated that student teachers demonstrated active social aspects of regulation and had many regulatory behaviors in content monitoring in the designed online collaborative learning activities. Through identifying and comparing the regulatory patterns of the high-performing group and the low-performing group across the stages of learning activities, the results showed that the group demonstrating ample regulatory patterns in “content monitoring”, “evaluating”, and “social emotional regulatory behavior” performed better on the collective score of group product. Furthermore, the analysis elucidated how groups regulated their collaboration variously in different stages of online learning activities. Suggestions about regulated learning at both cognitive and social emotional aspects are provided to teachers and learning designers for designing and implementing online collaborative learning activities.
n
-type Bi
2
(Te
0.90
Se
0.10
)
3
/(SiC)
y
(0 ≤
y
≤ 0.01) composites with nano-SiC were fabricated by mechanical alloying combined with microwave sintering. The microstructure and thermoelectric ...properties of Bi
2
(Te
0.90
Se
0.10
)
3
/(SiC)
y
were studied systematically. The nano-SiC particles as the phonon scattering center uniformly distributed in the matrix, with little effect on the electric transport performance and significantly reducing the thermal conductivity of
n
-type Bi
2
(Te
0.90
Se
0.10
)
3
/(SiC)
y
(0 ≤
y
≤ 0.01). The introduction of nano-SiC optimizes the thermoelectric performance, and the sample with SiC
y
= 0.0075 obtains the highest
ZT
~0.94 at 323 K.
To perform a comprehensive evidence synthesis to summarize the impact of frailty on health outcomes in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD).
Systematic reviews and meta-analysis.
Electronic ...searches in PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, CNKI, VIP, CBM, and Wanfang Database were performed. The methodological quality was evaluated using the Newcastle Ottawa Scale (NOS).
Patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD).
Potential clinical outcomes due to frailty.
Eighteen cohort studies incorporating a total of 22,788 participants were included. The overall risk of bias was low. The median reported prevalence of frail and prefrail individuals with CKD was 41.8% (range 2.8-81.5%) and 43.9% (range 19.1-62.7%), respectively. Prefrailty and frailty related to mortality indicated an increased hazard ratio (HR), with a pooled HR of 1.68 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.46-1.94; P < .001 and 1.48 (95% CI 1.21-1.81; P < .001), respectively. Prefrailty and frailty related to hospitalization with the pooled HR/risk ratio (RR) of 1.56 (95% CI 1.37-1.76; P < .001) and 1.21 (95% CI 0.79-1.85; P = .38), respectively. Similarly, the pooled HR demonstrated a strong correlation between frailty and falls in patients with CKD with HR 1.83 (95% CI 1.40-2.37; P < .001) and no statistical correlation between prefrailty and falls in these patients with pooled HR 1.19 (95% CI 0.44-3.22; P = .73), respectively.
Frailty is predictive of negative outcomes in patients with CKD, including all-cause mortality, all-cause hospitalization, and falls. Therefore, frailty should be routinely assessed among patients with CKD to prevent poor prognosis, reduce fatality rate, and provide evidence to support future targeted interventions. However, because of the limited amount of information currently in the literature, additional prospective studies are needed to explore the role of prefrailty in predicting adverse outcomes for patients with CKD.
The production of high value biochemicals and high energy biofuels from sustainable resources through the use of microbial based, green conversion technologies could reduce the dependence on ...petrochemical resources. However, a sustainable source of carbon and a clean, cost effective method for its conversion to high quality biofuel products are obstacles that must be overcome. Here we describe the biosynthesis of fatty alcohols in a genetically engineered cyanobacterial system through heterologously expressing fatty acyl-CoA reductase and the effect of environmental stresses on the production of fatty alcohols in the mutant strains. Hydrocarbon production in three representative types of native cyanobacterial model strains and the mutant strain overexpressing acetyl-CoA carboxylase was evaluated. The results of this investigation demonstrate the potential for direct production of high value chemicals and high energy fuels in a single biological system that utilizes solar energy as the energy source and carbon dioxide as the carbon source.
Dust aerosols are produced by wind erosion, and it is widely accepted that dust aerosols can be produced only if the wind speed exceeds a certain threshold velocity, which is largely controlled by ...soil moisture content. The relative humidity (RH) in the air could affect soil moisture content, thereby impacting dust production indirectly. However, it is not clear if the RH can directly change dust aerosol production. Here we simulated dust production and show that the RH does play a direct role in affecting the production of dust aerosol in a quite complicated way, which can be explained by a hypothesis that the RH affects both the electrostatic forces and wet‐bonding forces between soil particles in opposite directions. The current formula for dust aerosol production flux does not include the direct RH effect, and this study strongly suggests that it could lead to significant errors in estimating dust production.
Plain Language Summary
Dust is a critical source of atmospheric particulate matter, which can exert significant influences on climate and human health. Strong wind can drive the soil particles to collide with each other and shake off small particles, which could be lifted up into the air and form dust aerosols. It is now generally accepted that humidity in the air could indirectly impact dust aerosol production through affecting soil moisture. However, in this study, it is found that relative humidity can directly influence dust aerosol production, possibly through affecting the electrostatic forces and wet‐bonding forces between soil particles. Our study suggests that the modeling of dust generation should include air humidity to better predict dust aerosol production.
Key Points
Humidity in the air can directly affect the production of dust aerosol in a complicated way
Humidity may change the electrostatic forces and wet‐bonding forces between soil particles
Humidity should be included in the source functions of dust aerosol production
