Studies have shown that insulin-like growth factor 2 mRNA-binding protein 1 (IGF2BP1) plays critical roles in the genesis and development of human cancers.
To investigate the clinical significance ...and role of IGF2BP1 in pancreatic cancer.
Expression levels of IGF2BP1 and microRNA-494 (miR-494) were mined based on Gene Expression Omnibus datasets and validated in both clinical samples and cell lines by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and Western blot. The relationship between IGF2BP1 expression and clinicopathological factors of pancreatic cancer patients was analyzed. The effect and mechanism of IGF2BP1 on pancreatic cancer cell proliferation were investigated
and
. Analyses were performed to explore underlying mechanisms of IGF2BP1 upregulation in pancreatic cancer and assays were carried out to verify the post-transcriptional regulation of IGF2BP1 by miR-494.
We found that IGF2BP1 was upregulated and associated with a poor prognosis in pancreatic cancer patients. We showed that downregulation of IGF2BP1 inhibited pancreatic cancer cell growth
and
the AKT signaling pathway. Mechanistically, we showed that the frequent upregulation of IGF2BP1 was attributed to the downregulation of miR-494 expression in pancreatic cancer. Furthermore, we discovered that reexpression of miR-494 could partially abrogate the oncogenic role of IGF2BP1.
Our results revealed that upregulated IGF2BP1 promotes the proliferation of pancreatic cancer cells
the AKT signaling pathway and confirmed that the activation of IGF2BP1 is partly due to the silencing of miR-494.
This paper proposes an improved artificial bee colony (IABC) algorithm for addressing the distributed flow shop considering the distance coefficient found in precast concrete production system, with ...the minimisation of the makespan. In the proposed algorithm, each solution is first represented by a two-dimensional vector, where the first dimensional vector is the factory and the second dimensional vector lists the operation scheduling sequence of each factory. Second, considering the distributed problem feature, a distributed iterated greedy heuristic (DIG) is developed where destruction and construction processes are designed in detail while considering the distributed structures. Third, an efficient population initialisation method that considers the factory workload balance is presented. Then, a local search approach that randomly replaces two factories with two randomly selected jobs and that finds an optimal position for the two inserted operations via the DIG method is proposed. For the canonical ABC algorithm, using the DIG approach, the main three parts are improved, namely, the employee, onlooker, and scout bees. Finally, the proposed algorithm is tested on sets of extended instances based on the well-known benchmarks. Through an analysis of the experimental results, the highly effective proposed IABC algorithm is compared to several efficient algorithms drawn from the literature.
China and other rapidly developing economies face the dual challenge of substantially increasing yields of cereal grains while at the same time reducing the very substantial environmental impacts of ...intensive agriculture. We used a model-driven integrated soil-crop system management approach to develop a maize production system that achieved mean maize yields of 13.0 t haâ»Â¹ on 66 on-farm experimental plots--nearly twice the yield of current farmers' practices--with no increase in N fertilizer use. Such integrated soil-crop system management systems represent a priority for agricultural research and implementation, especially in rapidly growing economies.
•Optimal ALK/ULS parameters were determined under different sludge concentration.•Combined AO+ALK/ULS system was developed for treating wastewater at low C/N ratios.•Efficient BNR and zero sludge ...production were achieved in the AO+ALK/ULS system.•A multi-layered BPANN was developed and verified significant performance with high R2.•RSLR of AO+ALK/ULS was real-time modeled in a feasible and quicker approach by BPANN.
In this study, a combined alkaline (ALK) and ultrasonication (ULS) sludge lysis-cryptic pretreatment and anoxic/oxic (AO) system (AO + ALK/ULS) was developed to enhance biological nitrogen removal (BNR) in domestic wastewater with a low carbon/nitrogen (C/N) ratio. A real-time control strategy for the AO + ALK/ULS system was designed to optimize the sludge lysate return ratio (RSLR) under variable sludge concentrations and variations in the influent C/N (⩽ 5). A multi-layered backpropagation artificial neural network (BPANN) model with network topology of 1 input layer, 3 hidden layers, and 1 output layer, using the Levenberg–Marquardt algorithm, was developed and validated. Experimental and predicted data showed significant concurrence, verified with a high regression coefficient (R2 = 0.9513) and accuracy of the BPANN. The BPANN model effectively captured the complex nonlinear relationships between the related input variables and effluent output in the combined lysis-cryptic + BNR system. The model could be used to support the real-time dynamic response and process optimization control to treat low C/N domestic wastewater.
Display omitted
Acrylamide (AA) occurs in many cooked carbohydrate-rich foods and has caused widespread concern as a possible carcinogen. Glycidamide (GA) is the ultimate genotoxic metabolite of AA. The present ...study was to investigate the protective effect of Cyanidin-3-O-glucoside (C3G) against AA- and GA-induced reproductive toxicity in R2C Leydig cells. The results demonstrated that C3G inhibited AA- and GA-induced cytotoxicity and mitochondria-mediated cell apoptosis, the effective doses of C3G were ranging from 10 to 50 μM. Besides, AA (1.925 mM) and GA (0.872 mM) exposure increased ROS level and decreased mitochondrial membrane potential, which led to a decrease in progesterone production, while C3G ranging from 10 to 50 μM reduced ROS immediately, and increased progesterone production after 24 h treatment. Furthermore, C3G up-regulated expression of Bcl-2 protein and down-regulated pro-apoptotic protein Bax and cleaved Caspase-3 after 24 h treatment in 1.925 mM AA- and 0.872 mM GA-treated R2C cells. Moreover, C3G intervention increased the protein expression of steroidogenic acute regulatory (StAR). It was concluded that C3G is effective in reducing AA- and GA-induced reproductive toxicity via inhibition of ROS generation, mitochondrial membrane depolarization and apoptosis, as well as activating steroidogenic enzymes.
Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a prevalent and debilitating psychiatric mood disorder that lacks objective laboratory-based tests to support its diagnosis. A class of microRNAs (miRNAs) has been ...found to be centrally involved in regulating many molecular processes fundamental to central nervous system function. Among these miRNAs, miRNA-134 (miR-134) has been reported to be related to neurogenesis and synaptic plasticity. In this study, the hypothesis that plasma miR-134 can be used to diagnose MDD was tested. Perturbation of peripheral and central miR-134 in a depressive-like rat model was also examined. By reverse-transcription quantitative PCR, miR-134 was comparatively measured in a small set of plasma samples from MDD and healthy control (HC) subjects. To determine its diagnostic efficacy, plasma miR-134 levels were assessed in 100 MDD, 50 bipolar disorder (BD), 50 schizophrenic (SCZ), and 100 HC subjects. A chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) rat model was also developed to evaluate miR-134 expression in plasma, hippocampus (HIP), prefrontal cortex (PFC), and olfactory bulb. We found that plasma miR-134 was significantly downregulated in MDD subjects. Diagnostically, plasma miR-134 levels could effectively distinguish MDD from HC with 79% sensitivity and 84% specificity, while distinguishing MDD from HC, BD, and SCZ subjects with 79% sensitivity and 76.5% specificity. Congruent with these clinical findings, CUMS significantly reduced miR-134 levels in the rat plasma, HIP, and PFC. Although limited by the relatively small sample size, these results demonstrated that plasma miR-134 displays potential ability as a biomarker for MDD.
Dear Editor, PIWI-interacting RNAs （piRNAs） are germ cell-specific small non-coding RNAs that are essential for silenc- ing transposable elements. Substantial efforts in the past decade have led to ...an understanding of how piRNAs are made. Primary piRNA biogenesis is initiated with transcription of piRNA precursors, followed by cleavage into piRNA intermediates, and finally, maturation by 3＇ end trimming and 2＇-O-methylation. Secondary piRNA biogenesis occurs through an amplification loop （ping pong pathway）; the piRNA pools generated through pri- mary processing guide MILI protein to cleave the target RNA for piRNA generation in a feed-forward loop that accelerates production of the piRNAs. Papi/Tdrkh has been implicated in processing the 3＇ ends of piRNAs 1, 2, however,
Available data indicate that patients with depression and anxiety disorders are likely to be at greater risk for suicide. Therefore, it is important to correctly diagnose patients with depression and ...anxiety disorders. However, there are still no empirical laboratory methods to objectively diagnose these patients. In this study, the multiple metabolomics platforms were used to profile the urine samples from 32 healthy controls and 32 patients with depression and anxiety disorders for identifying differential metabolites and potential biomarkers. Then, 16 healthy controls and 16 patients with depression and anxiety disorders were used to independently validate the diagnostic performance of the identified biomarkers. Finally, a panel consisting of four biomarkers-N-methylnicotinamide, aminomalonic acid, azelaic acid and hippuric acid-was identified. This panel was capable of distinguishing patients with depression and anxiety disorders from healthy controls with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.977 in the training set and 0.934 in the testing set. Meanwhile, we found that these identified differential metabolites were mainly involved in three metabolic pathways and five molecular and cellular functions. Our results could lay the groundwork for future developing a urine-based diagnostic method for patients with depression and anxiety disorders.
Tenebrio obscurus (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) larvae are capable of biodegrading polystyrene (PS) but their capacity for polyethylene (PE) degradation and pattern of depolymerization remains unknown. ...This study fed the larvae of T. obscurus and Tenebrio molitor, which have PE degrading capacity, two commercial low-density PE (LDPE) foams i.e., PE-1 and PE-2, with respective number-average molecular weights (Mn) of 28.9 and 27.3 kDa and weight-average molecular weights (Mw) of 342.0 and 264.1 kDa, over a 36-day period at ambient temperature. The Mw of residual PE in frass (excrement) of T. obscurus, fed with PE-1 and PE-2, decreased by 45.4 ± 0.4% and 34.8 ± 0.3%, respectively, while the respective decrease in frass of T. molitor was 43.3 ± 0.5% and 31.7 ± 0.5%. Data analysis showed that low molecular weight PE (<5.0 kDa) was rapidly digested while longer chain portions (>10.0 kDa) were broken down or cleaved, indicating a broad depolymerization pattern. Mass balance analysis indicated nearly 40% of ingested LDPE was digested to CO2. Antibiotic suppression of gut microbes in T. molitor and T. obscurus larvae with gentamicin obviously reduced their gut microbes on day 15 but did not stop depolymerization because the Mn, Mw and size- average molecular weight (Mz) decreased. This confirmed that LDPE biodegradation in T. obscurus was independent of gut microbes as observed during previous PS degradation in T. molitor, suggesting that the intestinal digestive system could perform LDPE depolymerization. High-throughput sequencing revealed significant shifts in the gut microbial community during bran-fed and unfed conditions in response to LDPE feeding in both Tenebrio species. The respective predominant gut genera of Spiroplasma sp. and Enterococcus sp. were observed in LDPE-fed T. molitor and T. obscurus larvae.
Display omitted
•Tenebrio obscurus larvae biodegrading LDPE similar to T. molitor•Biodegradation via broad depolymerization pattern with oxidized intermediates•LDPE biodegradation is gut microbe independent but enhanced by microbes.•Distinct gut communities developed and shaped with LDPE diets vs. origins.
Transcription factors of the Sox protein family contain a DNA-binding HMG box and are key regulators of progenitor cell fate. Here, we report that expression of Sox30 is restricted to meiotic ...spermatocytes and postmeiotic haploids.
mutant males are sterile owing to spermiogenic arrest at the early round spermatid stage. Specifically, in the absence of Sox30, proacrosomic vesicles fail to form a single acrosomal organelle, and spermatids arrest at step 2-3. Although most
mutant spermatocytes progress through meiosis, accumulation of diplotene spermatocytes indicates a delayed or impaired transition from meiotic to postmeiotic stages. Transcriptome analysis of isolated stage-specific spermatogenic cells reveals that Sox30 controls a core postmeiotic gene expression program that initiates as early as the late meiotic cell stage. ChIP-seq analysis shows that Sox30 binds to specific DNA sequences in mouse testes, and its genomic occupancy correlates positively with expression of many postmeiotic genes including
,
,
and
These results define Sox30 as a crucial transcription factor that controls the transition from a late meiotic to a postmeiotic gene expression program and subsequent round spermatid development.
PDF
