Osteoarthritis is a common disease character with progressive destruction of cartilage. MiR-140-3p was validated as a biomarker for osteoarthritis. However, the mechanism by which miRNA-140-3p ...regulates osteoarthritis remains unclear. Thus, this study aims to evaluate the potential function of miRNA-140-3p during the pathogenesis of osteoarthritis. MiRNA-140-3p expression in tissue and CHON-001 chondrocyte cells was determined with qRT-PCR. In vitro osteoarthritis model was established by treatment of the chondrocyte cells CHON-001 with IL-1β. Cell proliferation and apoptosis were measured with CCK8 and Annexin V/PI apoptosis assay, respectively. Protein expressions were evaluated using western blot. The target gene of miR-140-3p was predicted using Targetscan and miRDB. MiR-140-3p was downregulated in knee tissue from patients with osteoarthritis. IL-1β inhibited the proliferation of CHON-001 cells via inducing apoptosis. In addition, IL-1β significantly inhibited the expressions of collagen II and aggrecan and increased the level of MMP13. However, the effects of IL-1β could be ameliorated by the addition of miR-140-3p mimics. Moreover, luciferase reporter assay demonstrated CXCR4 as a target gene of miR-140-3p. IL-1β-induced upregulation of CXCR4 could be blocked by miR-140-3p mimics. Our study indicated that miR-140-3p could suppress the progression of osteoarthritis by directly targeting CXCR4. Therefore, miR-140-3p might serve as a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of osteoarthritis.
The purpose of the present study was to identify potential markers of local dorsal root ganglion (DRG) inflammation to aid diagnosis, treatment and prognosis evaluation of DRG pain. A localized ...inflammation of the DRG (LID) rat model was used to study the contribution of inflammation to pain. The dataset GSE38859 was obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus database. Pre-treatment standardization of gene expression data for each experiment was performed using the R/Bioconductor Limma package. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified between a LID model and a sham surgery control group. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analyses of DEGs and gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) were carried out using the 'clusterProfiler' package in R. Using the Search Tool for Retrieval of Interacting Genes, a protein-protein interaction network was constructed and visualized. Candidate genes with the highest potential validity were validated using reverse transcription-quantitative PCR and western blotting. In total, 66 DEGs were enriched in GO terms related to inflammation and the immune response processes. KEGG analysis revealed 14 associated signaling pathway terms. Protein-protein interaction network analysis revealed 9 node genes, 3 of which were among the top 10 DEGs. Matrix metallopeptidase 9, chemokine CXCL9, and complement component 3 were identified as key regulators of DRG inflammatory pain progression. Key words: bioinformatics, dorsal root ganglion, pain, gene expression profiles, differentially expressed genes
•Micro-nano hybrid-structured conductive film with multifunctional sensing performance.•The films as pressure sensors demonstrate high sensitivity and ultrawide sensing range.•Flexible pressure ...sensors sensitive to physiological signals and human motions.•The films as stretchable dry electrodes acquire high-quality bioelectrical signals.
Flexible and multifunctional sensing materials have emerged as a new class of prospective components for various practical wearable applications. Here, a micro-nano hybrid-structured conductive film (HCF) incorporating 1D carbon fibers and 0D carbon nanoparticles (CNPs) into polydimethylsiloxane matrix, presents remarkable pressure-sensitivity and bioelectrical acquirability. The HCF sensor exhibits a superior sensitivity of 43.15 kPa−1 over a broad pressure range from 2.5 Pa to 200 kPa, keeping a considerable sensitivity of 7.28 kPa−1 up to 800 kPa. The devices are demonstrated in monitoring artery pulses, swallowing, acoustic vibrations, gestures and human body motions. Furthermore, benefiting from the exceptionally high conductivity and tailorability in different shape structures, the HCF could also function as stretchable dry electrodes, which can be conformal contact with skin for acquiring high-quality bioelectrical signals including electrocardiogram (ECG), electromyogram (EMG) and electrooculogram (EOG). The attainment of both excellent pressure sensing performance and bioelectrical acquirability of HCF, potentially initiates vast applications in wearable electronics.
1D and 0D fillers are incorporated in polydimethylsiloxane matrix forming a micro-nano hybrid-structured conductive film (HCF) as multifunctional sensing material for ubiquitous wearable applications. HCF pressure sensor demonstrated high sensitivity and ultrawide sensing range (2.5 Pa to 800 kPa) for monitoring physiological signals and human motions. Additionally, the HCF could also function as dry electrodes to acquire high-quality bioelectrical signals Display omitted .
Bis （4-（4-amino-3, 5-diethylbenzyl）-2, 6-diethylphenylimino） acenaphthene di- chloronickel （NiLCl2） was prepared and supported on SiO2 modified by methyl trichlorsilane（S-1） and on SiO2-MgCl2/TiCl4 ...（S-2） respectively. Two supported catalysts S-1 and S-2 used as catalysts for ethylene polymerization were studied and the influences of various polymerization conditions, including the polymerization temperature, cocatalysts, Al/Ni molar ratio on the catalytic activity, branching degree and branch length of PE were also investigated. The experimental results show that the supported catalysts exhibit higher catalytic activity for ethylene polymerization, the highest catalytic activity of S-1 using AlEt2Cl as cocatalyst at 50 ℃, reaching 5.8×10^5gPE/molNi·h, and needed lower Al/Ni molar ratio compared to homogeneous analogue.
Abstract
Cross-relaxation among neighboring emitters normally causes self-quenching and limits the brightness of luminescence. However, in nanomaterials, cross-relaxation could be well-controlled and ...employed for increasing the luminescence efficiency at specific wavelengths. Here we report that cross-relaxation can modulate both the brightness of single upconversion nanoparticles and the threshold to reach population inversion, and both are critical factors in producing the ultra-low threshold lasing emissions in a micro cavity laser. By homogenously coating a 5-μm cavity with a single layer of nanoparticles, we demonstrate that doping Tm
3+
ions at 2% can facilitate the electron accumulation at the intermediate state of
3
H
4
level and efficiently decrease the lasing threshold by more than one order of magnitude. As a result, we demonstrate up-converted lasing emissions with an ultralow threshold of continuous-wave excitation of ~150 W/cm
2
achieved at room temperature. A single nanoparticle can lase with a full width at half-maximum as narrow as ~0.45 nm.
Cancer-derived exosomes are considered a major driver of cancer-induced pre-metastatic niche formation at foreign sites, but the mechanisms remain unclear. Here, we show that miR-25-3p, a ...metastasis-promoting miRNA of colorectal cancer (CRC), can be transferred from CRC cells to endothelial cells via exosomes. Exosomal miR-25-3p regulates the expression of VEGFR2, ZO-1, occludin and Claudin5 in endothelial cells by targeting KLF2 and KLF4, consequently promotes vascular permeability and angiogenesis. In addition, exosomal miR-25-3p from CRC cells dramatically induces vascular leakiness and enhances CRC metastasis in liver and lung of mice. Moreover, the expression level of miR-25-3p from circulating exosomes is significantly higher in CRC patients with metastasis than those without metastasis. Our work suggests that exosomal miR-25-3p is involved in pre-metastatic niche formation and may be used as a blood-based biomarker for CRC metastasis.
•We simulated the human-induced alpine grassland NPP over the Qinghai–Tibet plateau.•We separated the influences caused by climate change and anthropogenic activities.•We found the different driving ...forces for the consistently enhanced actual NPP.•National grassland protection policy has achieved positive ecological effects.
Climate change and anthropogenic activities are two factors that have important effects on the carbon cycle of terrestrial ecosystems, but it is almost impossible to fully separate them at present. This study used process-based terrestrial ecosystem model to stimulate the potential climate-driven alpine grassland net primary production (NPP), and Carnegie–Ames–Stanford Approach based on remote sensing to stimulate actual alpine grassland NPP influenced by both of climate change and anthropogenic activities over the Qinghai–Tibet plateau (QTP) from 1982 to 2011. After the models were systematically calibrated, the simulations were validated with continuous 3-year paired field sample data, which were separately collected in fenced and open grasslands. We then simulated the human-induced NPP, calculated as the difference between potential and actual NPP, to determine the effect of anthropogenic activities on the alpine grassland ecosystem. The simulation results showed that the climate change and anthropogenic activities mainly drove the actual grassland NPP increasing in the first 20-year and the last 10-year respectively, the area percentage of actual grassland NPP change caused by climate change declined from 79.62% in the period of 1982–2001 to 56.59% over the last 10 years; but the percentage change resulting from human activities doubled from 20.16% to 42.98% in the same periods over the QTP. The effect of human activities on the alpine grassland ecosystem obviously intensified in the latter period compared with the former 20 years, so the negative effect caused by climate change to ecosystem could have been relatively mitigated or offset over the QTP in the last ten years.
We present a detailed investigation of the second-order statistics of a twisted gaussian Schell-model (TGSM) beam propagating in turbulent atmosphere. Based on the extended Huygens-Fresnel integral, ...analytical expressions for the second-order moments of the Wigner distribution function of a TGSM beam in turbulent atmosphere are derived. Evolution properties of the second-order statistics, such as the propagation factor, the effective radius of curvature (ERC) and the Rayleigh range, of a TGSM beam in turbulent atmosphere are explored in detail. Our results show that a TGSM beam is less affected by the turbulence than a GSM beam without twist phase. In turbulent atmosphere the Rayleigh range doesn't equal to the distance where the ERC takes a minimum value, which is much different from the result in free space. The second-order statistics are closely determined by the parameters of the turbulent atmosphere and the initial beam parameters. Our results will be useful in long-distance free-space optical communications.
The techniques of optical beam shaping have enabled progress in a broad range of interdisciplinary science and engineering, owing to the unique properties and promising applications of their created ...structured light. However, the conventional methods, which are based on fully coherent optics approaches, introduce several adverse effects such as speckles noise in the generated beams and susceptible to be disturbed in complex environment (e.g. turbulent atmospheres), because of the sensitive coherent light-matter interaction. To overcome those side effects, a new protocol relied on the partially coherent beam shaping has been developed. By elaborately tailoring the complex spatial coherence structure of a partially coherent beam, the desired beam profile and trajectory with high beam quality and robust propagation feature in complex environment can be generated. In this review, we present an overview of such unconventional partially coherent beam shaping with a focus on the important role of the complex spatial coherence structure engineering. Partially coherent beam shaping not only provides an efficient means for resisting the disadvantages in coherent optics methods but also enables new applications in novel optical imaging and tweezers.
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