nc886 is a medium-sized non-coding RNA that is transcribed by RNA polymerase III (Pol III) and plays diverse roles in tumorigenesis, innate immunity, and other cellular processes. Although Pol ...III-transcribed ncRNAs were previously thought to be expressed constitutively, this concept is evolving, and nc886 is the most notable example. The transcription of nc886 in a cell, as well as in human individuals, is controlled by multiple mechanisms, including its promoter CpG DNA methylation and transcription factor activity. Additionally, the RNA instability of nc886 contributes to its highly variable steady-state expression levels in a given situation. This comprehensive review discusses nc886's variable expression in physiological and pathological conditions and critically examines the regulatory factors that determine its expression levels.
Aims
To determine the association between sleep quality and nurse productivity.
Background
Although poor sleep quality may decrease nurses’ productivity, the association between the two has not yet ...been evaluated in the literature.
Methods
A cross‐sectional survey was completed in May 2014 by 188 nurses working in acute hospitals in South Korea using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. Descriptive statistics, t tests, ANOVA, Pearson's correlation, and stepwise multiple regression were conducted for data analysis.
Results
The prevalence of poor sleep quality was high (79.8%). Among the components of sleep quality, sleep disturbances (β = −0.19) and subjective sleep quality (β = −0.16) were determined to be statistically significant predictive factors of nurse productivity, in addition to shift work (β = −0.20) and age (β = 0.32).
Conclusion
Poor sleep quality may lead to lower nurse productivity.
Implications for Nursing Management
Nurse leaders and executives should consider measures to improve nurses’ sleep quality and enhance nurse productivity. Steps that need to be considered include longer intervals between shift‐work cycles, clockwise scheduling order, a longer break time after night shift work, allowing nurses to nap before / during a night shift, and providing a worksite healthy sleep programme.
With the demand for low‐power‐operating artificial intelligence systems, bio‐inspired memristor devices exhibit potential in terms of high‐density memory functions and the emulation of the synaptic ...dynamics of the human brain. The 2D material MXene attracts considerable interest for use in resistive‐switching memory and artificial synapse devices owing to its excellent physicochemical properties in memristor devices. However, few memristive and synaptic MXene devices that display increased switching performances are reported, with no significant results. Herein, the conductivity of MXene (Ti3C2Tx) is engineered via etching and oxidation to enhance the switching performance of the device. The exceptional properties of partially oxidized MXene memristors include large memory windows and low threshold biases, and the complex spike‐timing‐dependent plasticity synaptic rules are also emulated. The low threshold potential distribution, reliable retention time (104 s), and distinct resistance states with a high ON–OFF ratio (>104) are the main memory‐related features of this device. The experimentally determined switching potentials of the optimized device are also uniformly distributed, according to a statistical probability‐based approach. This investigation may promote the essential material properties for use in high‐density non‐volatile memory storage and artificial synapse systems in the field of innovative nanoelectronic devices.
Exquisite improvements are witnessed for MXene memristors. Conventional memory cells confront the demands of future data‐intensive computing applications. This sortation has led the research on constructing the memristors with novel 2D functional materials for advanced applications of next‐generation memory technology. MXene for high‐density computing and synapse functionality at low power (among all Ti3C2) with edge detection applicability are manifested.
Protein kinase R (PKR), originally known as an antiviral protein, senses various stresses as well as pathogen‐driven double‐stranded RNAs. Thereby activated PKR provokes diverse downstream events, ...including eIF2α phosphorylation and nuclear factor kappa‐light‐chain‐enhancer of activated B cells activation. Consequently, PKR induces apoptosis and inflammation, both of which are highly important in cancer as much as its original antiviral role. Therefore, cellular proteins and RNAs should tightly control PKR activity. PKR and its regulators are often dysregulated in cancer and it is undoubted that such dysregulation contributes to tumorigenesis. However, PKR's precise role in cancer is still in debate, due to incomprehensible and even contradictory data. In this review, we introduce important cellular PKR regulators and discuss about their roles in cancer. Among them, we pay particular attention to nc886, a PKR repressor noncoding RNA that has been identified relatively recently, because its expression pattern in cancer can explain interesting yet obscure oncologic aspects of PKR. Based on nc886 and its regulation of PKR, we have proposed a tumor surveillance model, which reconciles contradictory data about PKR in cancer.
This article is categorized under:
Regulatory RNAs/RNAi/Riboswitches > Regulatory RNAs
RNA Interactions with Proteins and Other Molecules > Protein–RNA Interactions: Functional Implications
Apoptosis and inflammation: two opposite outcomes of PKR activation in cancer.
Abstract
We present a new type of torsional soft morphing actuator designed and fabricated by twisted shape memory alloy (SMA) wires embedded in polydimethylsiloxane matrix. The design and ...fabrication process of the proposed soft morphing actuator are presented with investigations of its working mechanism. Actuation performance was evaluated with respect to the temporal response, the maximum torsional deformation under an applied electric current, and various design parameters including the twist direction, wire diameter, helical pitch of the SMA wire, and the actuator’s thickness and length. We demonstrate potential applications of the proposed soft morphing actuator as a soft morphing wing and airfoil. The proposed actuator will aid in the development of soft actuators, soft robotics, and other relevant scientific and engineering applications.
Brain‐inspired electronics with multimodal signal processing have been investigated as the next‐generation semiconductor platforms owing to the limitations of von Neumann architecture, which limits ...data processing and energy consumption efficiencies. This study demonstrates the molecular reconfiguration of plasticity of artificial synaptic devices with tunable electric conductance based on molecular dynamics at the channel surfaces for realizing chemical multimodality. Carrier transport dynamics are adjusted using the density of trapped carriers for the molecular adsorption of HS in the MoSe2 channel, and the results are consistent with the molecular simulations. In molecular dynamics‐controlled devices, enhanced hysteresis enables the engineering of artificial neuroplasticity, mimicking the neurotransmitter release of biological synapses. Owing to the molecular reconfigurability of MoSe2 devices, the synaptic weights of excitatory and inhibitory synapse modes are significantly enhanced. Thus, this study can potentially contribute to the creation of the next generation of multimodal interfaces and artificial intelligence hardware realization.
Molecular adsorption at the surface of channels induces the pulling or repelling of carriers transferred across the 2D semiconductor channel, which enables bioinspired synaptic behavior owing to the trapping or de‐trapping of carriers. Molecularly reconfigurable surface engineering in MoSe2 FETs is employed to mimic and enhance the essential features of biological synapses using van der Waals interactions upon molecular adsorption.
Although neurotransmitters are key substances closely related to evaluating degenerative brain diseases as well as regulating essential functions in the body, many research efforts have not been ...focused on direct observation of such biochemical messengers, rather on monitoring relatively associated physical, mechanical, and electrophysiological parameters. Here, a bioresorbable silicon‐based neurochemical analyzer incorporated with 2D transition metal dichalcogenides is introduced as a completely implantable brain‐integrated system that can wirelessly monitor time‐dynamic behaviors of dopamine and relevant parameters in a simultaneous mode. An extensive range of examinations of molybdenum/tungsten disulfide (MoS2/WS2) nanosheets and catalytic iron nanoparticles (Fe NPs) highlights the underlying mechanisms of strong chemical and target‐specific responses to the neurotransmitters, along with theoretical modeling tools. Systematic characterizations demonstrate reversible, stable, and long‐term operational performances of the degradable bioelectronics with excellent sensitivity and selectivity over those of non‐dissolvable counterparts. A complete set of in vivo experiments with comparative analysis using carbon‐fiber electrodes illustrates the capability for potential use as a clinically accessible tool to associated neurodegenerative diseases.
A soft, wireless, and bioresorbable neurochemical system designed to determine various concentrations of neurotransmitters as well as to monitor peripheral physiologies (temperature, pH, electrical activity) in a simultaneous manner is presented. An extensive range of studies covers modifications of nanoscale materials and system‐level electronics, enabling the production of exceptional performance.
Aim: We investigated the effects of metabolic syndrome (MetS) and its components, including a body shape index (ABSI), on increased arterial stiffness measured using the cardio-ankle vascular index ...(CAVI) according to sex and age strata.Methods: A total of 7127 asymptomatic Korean participants aged 21–90 years (men, 69.4%) were included. Age–sex-specific increased CAVI was defined as having the highest quartile of CAVI in each age group.Results: The CAVI increased with age and was higher in men. MetS was associated with an increased risk of high CAVI by 1.30 times in men and 1.45 times in women. The risk of high CAVI with an increasing MetS risk score was greater in women. MetS was significantly associated with increased CAVI in men only aged 51–70 years and in women aged ≥ 51 years, and the size of association increased with age (odds ratio (OR) of 1.41 in 51–70 years vs. OR of 2.96 in ≥ 71 years of women). Among MetS components, triglyceride (men, all ages), hypertension (men, 51–70 years; women, ≤ 70 years), glucose intolerance (men, 51–70 years; women, ≥ 51 years), and HDL-cholesterol (women, ≥ 71 years) were associated with increased CAVI.Unlike increased waist circumference (WC), increased ABSI revealed an association with high CAVI. MetS diagnosed with ABSI instead of WC was more significantly associated with increased CAVI in all age–sex groups. Conclusion: The association of MetS and its components with increased CAVI differed with age and sex, which might provide a new insight for the management of MetS risk factors to promote vascular health.
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is among the most common malignant cancers worldwide, with an increasing incidence associated with an increase in deaths due to liver cancer. HCC is typically detected ...at an advanced stage in patients with underlying liver dysfunction, resulting in high mortality. The identification of HCC-specific targets represents a desired but unmet need for liver cancer treatment.
To identify potentially novel HCC therapeutic targets, we performed a secretome analysis using HCC spheroids. Sorbitol dehydrogenase (SORD) was identified as uniquely enriched in the secretomes and lysates derived from HCC spheroids, and high SORD expression in HCC tissues was associated with favorable effects on overall survival among patients with liver cancer. We found that the introduction of excess SORD in HCC cells inhibited tumor growth and stemness by enhancing necroptosis signal and bypassing energy-yielding pathways through regulation of lactate dehydrogenase A (LDHA) expression and mitochondrial dynamics. Treatment with human recombinant SORD (hrSORD) controlled HCC cell growth and regulated macrophage polarization in the tumor microenvironment.
These results demonstrate that SORD plays critical functional roles in HCC suppression through polyol pathway–independent mechanisms, suggesting that targeting SORD expression might represent a promising therapeutic strategy for liver cancer therapy.
•SORD expression in tumor tissues is associated with favorable prognosis in HCC patients.•Excess SORD in HCC promotes inhibition of tumor growth by enhancing necroptosis signal and bypassing aerobic glycolysis.•SORD attenuates tumor growth through ZNF530 regulation in HCC cells.•SORD regulates macrophage polarization in the tumor microenvironment.
The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is the principal organelle in the cell for protein folding and trafficking, lipid synthesis, and cellular calcium homeostasis. Perturbation of ER function results in ...activation of the unfolded protein response (UPR) and is implicated in abnormal lipid biosynthesis and development of insulin resistance. In this study, we investigated whether transcription of sphingosine kinase (Sphk)2 is regulated by ER stress‐mediated UPR pathways. Sphk2, a major isotype of sphingosine kinase in the liver, was transcriptionally up‐regulated by tunicamycin and lipopolysaccharides. Transcriptional regulation of Sphk2 was mediated by activation of activating transcription factor (ATF)4 as demonstrated by promoter assays, immunoblotting, and small interfering RNA analyses. In primary hepatocytes, adenoviral Sphk2 expression elevated cellular sphingosine 1 phosphate (S1P) and activated protein kinase B phosphorylation, with no alteration of insulin receptor substrate phosphorylation. Hepatic overexpression of Sphk2 in mice fed a high‐fat diet (HFD) led to elevated S1P and reduced ceramide, sphingomyelin, and glucosylceramide in plasma and liver. Hepatic accumulation of lipid droplets by HFD feeding was reduced by Sphk2‐mediated up‐regulation of fatty acid (FA) oxidizing genes and increased FA oxidation in liver. In addition, glucose intolerance and insulin resistance were ameliorated by improved hepatic insulin signaling through Sphk2 up‐regulation. Conclusion: Sphk2 is transcriptionally up‐regulated by acute ER stress through activation of ATF4 and improves perturbed hepatic glucose and FA metabolism. (Hepatology 2015;62:135‐146)
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