Integrating Co(OH)2 nanosheet arrays on graphene for efficient noble-metal-free EY-sensitized photocatalytic H2 evolution.

The development of an efficient noble-metal-free cocatalyst is the key to photocatalytic hydrogen production technology. In this study, hierarchical Co(OH)2 nanosheet array-graphene (GR) composite cocatalysts are developed. With Eosin Y (EY) as a photosensitizer, the optimal Co(OH)2-10%GR hybrid cocatalyst presents excellent photocatalytic activity with an H2 production rate of 17 539 µmol g-1 h-1, and the apparent quantum yield for hydrogen production can reach 12.8% at 520 nm, which remarkably surpasses that of pure Co(OH)2 and most similar hybrid cocatalyst systems. Experimental investigations demonstrate that the excellent photocatalytic activity of Co(OH)2-GR arises from its unique nanosheet array architecture, which can collaboratively expose rich active sites for photocatalytic hydrogen evolution and facilitate the migration and separation of photogenerated charge carriers. It is desired that this study would supply a meaningful direction for the rational optimization of the constitute and structure of cocatalysts to achieve efficient photocatalytic hydrogen generation.

CircRNA_0109291 regulates cell growth and migration in oral squamous cell carcinoma and its clinical significance.

OBJECTIVES: Circular RNAs (circRNAs), a new class of non-coding RNAs, have emerged as important regulators during tumorigenesis. However, the functions of circRNAs have not been completely clarified in the progression of cancers. In our study, a novel circRNA hsa_circ_0109291 was investigated in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) tissues and cell lines. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The expression profile of circRNAs in OSCC tumor tissues was performed by high-throughput sequencing. The CCK-8 wound healing and apoptosis assay were measured in OSCC cell lines after transfection with si-0109291 or si-NC. RESULTS: We discovered that hsa_circ_0109291 was significantly increased in OSCC tissues and cell lines compared with their corresponding control group. Knockdown of hsa_circ_0109291 inhibited proliferation and migration of OSCC cell lines in vitro. In addition, inhibition of hsa_circ_0109291 dramatically induced apoptosis of OSCC cells. We further found that high hsa_circ_0109291 levels in OSCC patients resulted in a poorer prognosis than in patients with low hsa_circ_0109291 levels. CONCLUSION: These findings indicated that hsa_circ_0109291 correlated with the progression of OSCC and might be a new therapeutic target for the treatment of OSCC.

Salivary Circular RNAs Hsa_Circ_0001874 and Hsa_Circ_0001971 as Novel Biomarkers for the Diagnosis of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Recent studies have demonstrated that circular RNAs (circRNAs) can serve as potential molecular markers for disease diagnosis. However, little is known about their diagnostic potential for oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). This study aimed to determine the expression of circRNAs in the saliva of OSCC patients to identify novel biomarkers for OSCC screening. METHODS: Microarray screening of circRNA was performed to identify differentially expressed circRNAs in saliva from 3 OSCC patients compared with 3 healthy controls. Quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was used to validate the results, and the association between these confirmed salivary circRNAs and clinicopathological features was analyzed using the chi-squared test. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was constructed to evaluate the diagnostic value of the circRNAs identified. Preoperative expression and postoperative expression (1 month after the surgery) of hsa_circ_0001874 and hsa_circ_0001971 was also determined. RESULTS: Our results indicated 12 upregulated and 20 downregulated circRNAs in the saliva from the OSCC patients compared with that from the healthy controls. Among the differentially expressed circRNAs, hsa_circ_0001874, hsa_circ_0001971, and hsa_circ_0008068 were upregulated and hsa_circ_0000140, hsa_circ_0002632, and hsa_circ_0008792 were downregulated in the OSCC group versus the healthy group. Clinical data indicated that salivary hsa_circ_0001874 was correlated with TNM stage (P=0.006) and tumor grade (P=0.023) and that hsa_circ_0001971 was correlated with TNM stage (P=0.019). The combination of hsa_circ_0001874 and hsa_circ_0001971 showed an area under the ROC curve of 0.922 (95% confidence interval, 0.883-0.961; P< 0.001). The risk score based on the combination of hsa_circ_0001874 and hsa_circ_0001971 also discriminated patients with OSCC from patients with oral leukoplakia (P< 0.001). Moreover, the expression levels of salivary hsa_circ_0001874 and hsa_circ_0001971 were clearly decreased in the postoperative samples compared with preoperative samples (P< 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study to demonstrate the potential of salivary hsa_circ_0001874 and hsa_circ_0001971 as biomarkers for the diagnosis of OSCC.

[Finite element stress analysis of all-ceramic continuous crowns of the lower anterior teeth in differential shoulder thickness].

PURPOSE: To investigate the stress distributions under load in 3 types of all-ceramic continuous crowns of the lower anterior teeth with differential shoulder thickness. METHODS: Cone-beam CT (CBCT) was used to scan the in vitro mandibular central incisors, and achieve three-dimensional finite element model of all-ceramic continuous crowns with different shoulder width by using Mimics, Abaqus software. Different load conditions were simulated based on this model to study the effect of shoulder width variation on finite element analysis of 3 kinds of different all-ceramic materials of incisors fixed continuous crowns of the mandibular. RESULTS: Using CBCT, Mimics10.01 software and Abaqus 6.11 software, three-dimensional finite element model of all-ceramic continuous crowns of the mandibular incisor, abutment, periodontal ligament and alveolar bone was established. Different ceramic materials and various shoulder width had minor no impact on the equivalent stress peak of periodontal membrane, as well as alveolar bone. With the same shoulder width and large area of vertical loading of 120 N, the tensile stress was the largest in In-Ceram Alumina, followed by In-Ceram Zirconia and the minimum was IPS.Empress II. Under large area loading of 120 N 45° labially, when the material was IPS.Empress II, with the shoulder width increased, the porcelain plate edge of the maximum tensile stress value increased, while the other 2 materials had no obvious change. CONCLUSIONS: Finite element model has good geometric similarity. In the setting range of this study, when the elastic modulus of ceramic materials is bigger, the tensile stress of the continuous crown is larger. Supported by Research Project of Department of Education, Jiangxi Province (GJJ09130).

[Expression of microRNA-31 and its clinicopathologic significance in oral squamous cell carcinoma].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the expression of microRNA-31 and its association with clinicopathologic features in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). METHODS: The expression level of microRNA-31 in 62 cases of OSCC and matched non-tumor adjacent tissue specimens was examined using stem-loop real-time PCR. The relationship between the expression of microRNA-31 and its clinicopathologic features of OSCC was analyzed. RESULTS: The expression of microRNA-31 was significantly higher in the tumor tissues than that in the adjacent tissues (P < 0.05).Up-regulated microRNA-31 expression was associated with the lymph node metastasis (P < 0.05) and cell differentiation (P < 0.05) in OSCC patients.No significant association was found between the expression of microRNA-31 and gender, age, lymph node metastasis, tumor size and location.Receiver operator characteristic curve (ROC) of microRNA-31 about cell differentiation resulted in a diagnostic sensitivity of 70.4% and specificity of 89.5%. CONCLUSIONS: The up-regulated level of microRNA-31 expression may be related to the pathogenesis of OSCC.