Templated arrays of α‐Fe2O3 nanotubes, produced using an alumina membrane, exhibit enhanced sensitivity to ethanol and hydrogen as well as enhanced electrochemical activity in lithium‐ion batteries. ...The nanotubes, characterized by uniform size and shape (see Figure), possess a high specific surface area, leading to electrochemical activities much higher than that of bulk or nanoparticulate α‐Fe2O3.
Avermectins are major antiparasitic agents used commercially in animal health, agriculture and human infections. To improve the fermentation efficiency of avermectins, for the first time a plasma jet ...generated by a novel atmospheric pressure glow discharge (APGD) was employed to generate mutations in Streptomyces avermitilis. The APGD plasma jet, driven by a radio frequency (RF) power supply with water-cooled and bare-metallic electrodes, was used as a new mutation method to treat the spores of S. avermitilis. The plasma jet yielded high total (over 30%) and positive (about 21%) mutation rates on S. avermitilis, and a mutated strain, designated as G1-1 with high productivity of avermectin B1a and genetic stability, was obtained. Because of the low jet temperature, the high concentrations of the chemically reactive species and the flexibility of its operation, the RF APGD plasma jet has a strong mutagenic effect on S. avermitilis. This is a proof-of-concept study for the use of an RF APGD plasma jet for inducing mutations in microbes. We have shown that the RF APGD plasma jet could be developed as a promising and convenient mutation tool for the fermentation industry and for use in biotechnology research.
Purpose
Glioma is a common malignant tumor of the central nervous system, which is characterized by a low cure rate, high morbidity, and high recurrence rate. Consequently, it is imperative to ...explore some indicators for prognostic prediction in glioma.
Methods
We obtained glioma data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were obtained by R software from TCGA data sets. Through Cox regression analysis, risk scores were obtained to assess the weighted gene-expression levels, which could predict the prognosis of patients with glioma. The validity and the prognostic value of this model in glioma were confirmed by the manifestation of receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curves, area under the curve (AUC), and 5-year overall survival (OS).
Results
In total, 920 DEGs of transcriptome genes in glioma were extracted from the TCGA database. We identified a novel seven-gene signature associated with glioma. Among them, AL118505.1 and SMOC1 were positively related to the 5-year OS of patients with glioma, showing a better prognosis for glioma; however, RAB42, SHOX2, IGFBP2, HIST1H3G, and IGF2BP3 were negatively related to 5-year OS, displaying a worse prognosis. In addition, according to risk scores, AL118505.1 was also a protective factor, while others were risk factors. Furthermore, the expression levels of SHOX2, IGFBP2, and IGF2BP3 were significantly positively correlated with glioma grades. Receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve assessed the accuracy and sensitivity of the gene signature. Each of the seven genes for patients with the distribution of the risk score was presented in the heat map.
Conclusion
We identified a novel seven-gene signature in patients with glioma, which could be used as a predictor for the prognosis of patients with glioma in the future.
In order to find an effective and convincing method to measure rock dynamic fracture toughness for mode I and mode II, cracked straight through flattened Brazilian disc specimens of marble, which ...were geometrically similar for three size, were diametrically impacted by split Hopkinson pressure bar on the flat end of the specimen with three load angle respectively. History of stress intensity factors (KI(t) for opening mode I, and KII(t) for sliding mode II), mode mixture ratio (KI(t)/KII(t)), as well as mode I and mode II dynamic fracture toughness at crack initiation (KId and KIId) were determined with the experimental–numerical method. It is found that there is a unique size effect for dynamic fracture test with the specimens, the mode mixture ratio is not solely determined by load angle (the angle between load direction and crack line) as in the static loading; the pure mode II load angle is 19° for the ϕ50mm specimen, however it is 10° for the ϕ130mm and ϕ200mm specimens; the mode II load angle decreases with increment of specimen size. Realization of pure mode II is justified by the mode mixture ratio approaching zero, it can be realized under certain load angle and loading rate for the specimen of specified size. KIId is generally greater than KId. Both KId and KIId increase with increment of specimen size, and this trend for KIId is more remarkable than that for KId.
To evaluate the motion amplitude of lung nodules in different locations during preoperative computed tomography (CT)-guided localization, and the influence of respiratory movement on CT-guided ...percutaneous lung puncture.
A consecutive cohort of 398 patients (123 men and 275 women with a mean age of 53.9 ± 10.7 years) who underwent preoperative CT-guided lung nodule localization from May 2021 to Apr 2022 were included in this retrospective study. The respiratory movement-related nodule amplitude in the cranial-caudal direction during the CT scan, characteristics of patients, lesions, and procedures were statistically analyzed. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to evaluate the influence of these factors on CT-guided localization.
The nodule motion distribution showed a statistically significant correlation within the upper/middle (lingular) and lower lobes (p<0.001). Motion amplitude was an independent risk factor for CT scan times (p=0.011) and procedure duration (p=0.016), but not for the technical failure rates or the incidence of complications. Puncture depth was an independent risk factor for the CT scan times, procedure duration, technical failure rates, and complications (p<0.01). Female, prone, and supine (as opposed to lateral) positions were significant protective factors for pneumothorax, while the supine position was an independent risk factor for parenchymal hemorrhage (p=0.025).
Respiratory-induced motion amplitude of nodules was greater in the lower lobes, resulting in more CT scan times/radiation dose and longer localization duration, but showed no statistically significant influence on the technical success rates or the incidence of complications during preoperative CT-guided localization.
•Respiratory-induced nodule motion differed between lobes in CT-guided localization.•Greater nodule motion causes more radiation dose and longer procedure duration.•Nodule motion is not associated with the incidence of procedure complications.
Killing cancer cells through the induction of apoptosis is one of the main mechanisms of chemotherapy. However, numerous cancer cells have primary or acquired apoptosis resistance, resulting in ...chemoresistance. In this study, using a novel chalcone derivative chalcone-24 (Chal-24), we identified a novel anticancer mechanism through autophagy-mediated necroptosis (RIP1- and RIP3-dependent necrosis). Chal-24 potently killed different cancer cells with induction of necrotic cellular morphology while causing no detectable caspase activation. Blocking the necroptosis pathway with either necrostatin-1 or by knockdown of RIP1 and RIP3 effectively blocked the cytotoxicity of Chal-24, suggesting that Chal-24-induced cell death is associated with necroptosis. Chal-24 robustly activated JNK and ERK and blockage of which effectively suppressed Chal-24-induced cytotoxicity. In addition, Chal-24 strongly induced autophagy that is dependent on JNK-mediated phosphorylation of Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL and dissociation of Bcl-2 or Bcl-xL from Beclin-1. Importantly, suppression of autophagy, with either pharmacological inhibitors or small interfering RNAs targeting the essential autophagy components ATG7 and Beclin-1, effectively attenuated Chal-24-induced cell death. Furthermore, we found that autophagy activation resulted in c-IAP1 and c-IAP2 degradation and formation of the Ripoptosome that contributes to necroptosis. These results thus establish a novel mechanism for killing cancer cells that involves autophagy-mediated necroptosis, which may be employed for overcoming chemoresistance.
Diabetes mellitus (DM)-associated ED is predominantly due to neurovascular dysfunction mediated by nitric oxide (NO) suppression. Panax notoginseng saponins (PNS) are widely used for treating ...cardiovascular disease in China. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of PNS on penile erection and corpus cavernosum tissues in rats with diabetes-associated ED. Four weeks after PNS treatment, erectile function was assessed by intracavernous pressure (ICP) and mean arterial pressure (MAP) measurements. The level of NO, cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) and advanced glycation end products (AGEs) in cavernous tissue were assessed. Immunohistochemical staining and TUNEL (terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling) were performed for detecting endothelial NO synthase (eNOS) and apoptosis, respectively. The results show that ICP/MAP ratio was significantly increased in high-dose (150 mg kg(-1) per day) PNS-treated group compared with the diabetic ED untreated group (DM group). Compared with the untreated group, the expression of eNOS and the levels of NO and cGMP were increased in the PNS-treated groups. Moreover, apoptosis was markedly decreased in the group that received 150 mg kg(-1) per day of PNS. These results suggest that PNS may be used for improving the ED in diabetic rats via the NO/cGMP pathway and restores the function of endothelium in corpus cavernosum.
Purpose: At present, there is no gold standard or unified standard for the diagnosis of neurosyphilis, and the rate of misdiagnosis is high. The diagnosis of neurosyphilis is still challenging. This ...study compared the clinical indicators between neurosyphilis and latent syphilis infection in the central nervous system. The purpose of this study was to provide evidence for the differential diagnosis and prognosis of patients with neurosyphilis and latent syphilis infection of the central nervous system. Methods: The clinical data of 59 patients with neurosyphilis and 30 patients with latent syphilis infection in the nervous system from 2008 to 2021 were analyzed. The cerebrospinal fluid and serum biochemical markers were evaluated for all patients. Results: CSF-nucleated cells, CSF-TRUST, CSF-totalprotein and CSF-IgG (P<0.001) were significantly different between neurosyphilis and latent syphilis infection in the central nervous system. CSF-TRUST titer was positively correlated with D-D concentration (r = 0.274, P < 0.05), sodion (r =0.251, P < 0.05), respectively. Glucose concentration is the most unreliable in the diagnosis of neurosyphilis (AUC=0.445, P=0.395), and TRUST combined with nucleated cells and total protein is the most accurate in the diagnosis of neurosyphilis (AUC=0.989, P<0.001). Conclusion: The combination of TRUST, nucleated cell count and totalprotein detection in CSF can distinguish the patients with neurosyphilis and latent syphilis infection in the central nervous system, which has a significant diagnostic value. Keywords: neurosyphilis, latent syphilis infection, diagnosis, detection index
Semiconductor tin oxide (SnO
2) nanotubes have been synthesised in bulk quantities using a sol–gel template (AAO membrane) synthetic technique. The morphology and crystal structure of SnO
2 nanotubes ...were characterised by a field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) and a transmission electron microscope (TEM). The as-prepared SnO
2 nanotubes are polycrystalline with an outer diameter of 200
nm, an inner diameter of about 150
nm and a length extending to tens of micrometers. SnO
2 nanotube sensors exhibited high sensitivity towards ethanol gas.
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