Alterations of lower respiratory tract microbiome and short-chain fatty acids in different segments in lung cancer: a multiomics analysis.

Introduction: The lower respiratory tract microbiome is widely studied to pinpoint microbial dysbiosis of diversity or abundance that is linked to a number of chronic respiratory illnesses. However, it is vital to clarify how the microbiome, through the release of microbial metabolites, impacts lung health and oncogenesis. Methods: In order to discover the powerful correlations between microbial metabolites and disease, we collected, under electronic bronchoscopy examinations, samples of paired bronchoalveolar lavage fluids (BALFs) from tumor-burden lung segments and ipsilateral non-tumor sites from 28 lung cancer participants, further performing metagenomic sequencing, short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) metabolomics, and multiomics analysis to uncover the potential correlations of the microbiome and SCFAs in lung cancer. Results: In comparison to BALFs from normal lung segments of the same participant, those from lung cancer burden lung segments had slightly decreased microbial diversity in the lower respiratory tract. With 18 differentially prevalent microbial species, including the well-known carcinogens Campylobacter jejuni and Nesseria polysaccharea, the relative species abundance in the lower respiratory tract microbiome did not significantly differ between the two groups. Additionally, a collection of commonly recognized probiotic metabolites called short-chain fatty acids showed little significance in either group independently but revealed a strong predictive value when using an integrated model by machine learning. Multiomics also discovered particular species related to SCFAs, showing a positive correlation with Brachyspira hydrosenteriae and a negative one with Pseudomonas at the genus level, despite limited detection in lower airways. Of note, these distinct microbiota and metabolites corresponded with clinical traits that still required confirmation. Conclusions: Further analysis of metagenome functional capacity revealed that genes encoding environmental information processing and metabolism pathways were enriched in the lower respiratory tract metagenomes of lung cancer patients, further supporting the oncogenesis function of various microbial species by different metabolites. These findings point to a potent relationship between particular components of the integrated microbiota-metabolites network and lung cancer, with implications for screening and diagnosis in clinical settings.

Depression, anxiety and stress among metastatic breast cancer patients on chemotherapy in China.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to assess the level of depression, anxiety and stress among metastatic breast cancer (MBC) patients undergoing chemotherapy (CT) in Beijing, China. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 176 MBC women receiving CT, selected by purposive sampling. Data were collected using self-administered questionnaires that included participants' socio-demographic status, DASS-21 and Brief COPE. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and general linear regression analysis. RESULTS: The incidence of depression, anxiety and stress among MBC women were 52.3%, 60.2% and 36.9%, respectively. General linear regression showed that age, marital status, monthly income, physical functioning, emotional functioning, pain, dyspnea, and appetite loss were associated with depression. All variance determined the depression (R2) was 35.6%. Marital status, self-blame and behavioral disengagement were the predictors of stress and accounted for a 35.4% stress variance in MBC women. CONCLUSION: Our study demonstrated depression, anxiety, and stress prevalence are high in MBC women. Assessment of psychological distress (depression, anxiety, and stress) is important to recognise MBC patients who need help and further medical and mental help support. This study's findings can increasingly highlight that depression, anxiety, and stress are substantial problems in MBC patients. Therefore, psychological interventions are needed to reduce depression, anxiety, and stress for MBC patients.

The mitigating effects of diatom-bacteria biofilm on coastal harmful algal blooms: A lab-based study concerning species-specific competition and biofilm formation.

Harmful algal blooms (HABs) in coastal areas severely affected the health of ecosystem and human beings. The HABs control by biological methods, especially for biofilms, has been research hotspots in freshwater ecosystem. However, the biofilm-relating control of HABs in marine environment was very limited. In the present study, we found the population growth of two harmful algal species, Prorocentrum obtusidens Schiller (formerly P. donghaiense Lu) and Heterosigma akashiwo, were inhibited by a diatom-bacteria biofilm. The highest inhibitory rate was 79.6 ± 2.1% for P. obtusidens when co-cultured with biofilm suspension, and was 88.6 ± 5.8% for H. akashiwo when co-cultured with the biofilm filtrate without nutrient replenishment. When nitrate and phosphate were added, the inhibition rate for P. obtusidens was 72.3 ± 2.0%, but the population inhibition was not found in H. akashiwo. It suggested that P. obtusidens was mainly inhibited via interference competition, while the inhibition of H. akashiwo was resulted from exploitation competition. We further investigated the role of fatty acids for the interference competition in P. obtusidens, and found that fatty acids at their environmental-relevance concentrations can inhibit the photosynthetic capacity of P. obtusidens, but cannot inhibit the population growth. The community of biofilm shifted, and was finally dominated by the photoheterotrophic bacterium Dinoroseobacter shibae, and the diatom Fistulifera sp. with relative abundance of higher than 90%. Our study indicated that the diatom-bacteria biofilm was likely the candidate for the HABs control in marine environment. D. shibae and Fistulifera sp. were probably the effective species in the biofilm.

Low Pt loading for high-performance fuel cell electrodes enabled by hydrogen-bonding microporous polymer binders.

A key challenge for fuel cells based on phosphoric acid doped polybenzimidazole membranes is the high Pt loading, which is required due to the low electrode performance owing to the poor mass transport and severe Pt poisoning via acid absorption on the Pt surface. Herein, these issues are well addressed by design and synthesis of effective catalyst binders based on polymers of intrinsic microporosity (PIMs) with strong hydrogen-bonding functionalities which improve phosphoric acid binding energy, and thus preferably uphold phosphoric acid in the vicinity of Pt catalyst particles to mitigate the adsorption of phosphoric acid on the Pt surface. With combination of the highly mass transport microporosity, strong hydrogen-bonds and high phosphoric acid binding energy, the tetrazole functionalized PIM binder enables an H2-O2 cell to reach a high Pt-mass specific peak power density of 3.8 W mgPt-1 at 160 °C with a low Pt loading of only 0.15 mgPt cm-2.

Co-assembled perylene/graphene oxide photosensitive heterobilayer for efficient neuromorphics.

Neuromorphic electronics, which use artificial photosensitive synapses, can emulate biological nervous systems with in-memory sensing and computing abilities. Benefiting from multiple intra/interactions and strong light-matter coupling, two-dimensional heterostructures are promising synaptic materials for photonic synapses. Two primary strategies, including chemical vapor deposition and physical stacking, have been developed for layered heterostructures, but large-scale growth control over wet-chemical synthesis with comprehensive efficiency remains elusive. Here we demonstrate an interfacial coassembly heterobilayer films from perylene and graphene oxide (GO) precursors, which are spontaneously formed at the interface, with uniform bilayer structure of single-crystal perylene and well-stacked GO over centimeters in size. The planar heterostructure device exhibits an ultrahigh specific detectivity of 3.1 × 1013 Jones and ultralow energy consumption of 10-9 W as well as broadband photoperception from 365 to 1550 nm. Moreover, the device shows outstanding photonic synaptic behaviors with a paired-pulse facilitation (PPF) index of 214% in neuroplasticity, the heterosynapse array has the capability of information reinforcement learning and recognition.

Thermoplastic starch based blends as a highly renewable filament for fused deposition modeling 3D printing.

3D printing technology is considered as a highly flexible method which can achieve a various customized end products. The employment of bio-based materials can significantly decrease the environmental footprint of the end 3D printing products. This study presents the preparation of thermoplastic starch (TPS)/poly(lactic acid) (PLA)/poly(butyleneadipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT) composite that dedicated for the FDM 3D printing technology, the ratio of TPS:PLA:PBAT was fixed at 50:40:10 wt%. In addition, the chain extender ADR4468 (CE) was added to improve the brittleness of the blends to obtain better 3D printing filament. The mechanical properties of blends were improved by the addition of CE with 113 % increase in elongation at break and the 190 % raise in impact strength. Dynamic rheological analysis showed the maximum degree of complex viscosity and melt strength when the content of CE reached 1 wt%. The successful printability of TPS-based filament was demonstrated by accurate and complex printing samples. This paper provided a method to prepare highly renewable filaments for 3D printing.

Synthesis and evaluation of new pirfenidone derivatives as anti-fibrosis agents.

Two series of new pirfenidone derivatives, in which phenyl groups or benzyl groups are attached to the nitrogen atom of the pyridin-2(1H)-one moiety were synthesized and evaluated as anti-fibrosis agents. Among them, compound 5d, with a (S)-2-(dimethylamino) propanamido group in the R2 position (series 1) exhibited 10 times the anti-fibrosis activity (IC50: 0.245 mM) of pirfenidone (IC50: 2.75 mM). Compound 9d (series 2) gave an IC50 of 0.035 mM against the human fibroblast cell line HFL1. The mechanism of the optimal compound inhibiting fibrosis was also studied.

Evidence for two types of Aquilegia ecalcarata and its implications for adaptation to new environments.

Spurs have played an important role in the radiation of the genus Aquilegia, but little is known about how the spurless state arose in A. ecalcarata. Here we aim to characterize the genetic divergence within A. ecalcarata and gain insights into the origin of this species. A total of 19 populations from A. ecalcarata and 23 populations from three of its closest relatives (Aquilegia kansuensis, Aquilegia rockii and Aquilegia yabeana) were sampled in this study. We sequenced fifteen nuclear gene fragments across the genome and three chloroplast loci to conduct phylogenetic, PCoA and STRUCTURE analyses. Our analyses indicate that A. ecalcarata may not be monophyletic and can be divided into two distinct lineages (A. ecalcarata I and A. ecalcarata II). A. ecalcarata I is genetically close to A. kansuensis, whereas A. ecalcarata II is close to A. rockii. Isolation-with-migration analysis suggested that historical gene flow was low between A. ecalcarata I and A. rockii, as well as between A. ecalcarata II and A. kansuensis. The two distinct lineages of A. ecalcarata show significant divergence in 13 floral traits and also have distinct distributions. In addition, both A. ecalcarata I and II are adapted to a stony environment that differs from that of their closest relatives, indicating a habitat shift may have driven new adaptations. Our findings enrich the understanding of how floral evolution contributes to species diversification.

A Qualitative Study on Coping Strategies of Chinese Women With Metastatic Breast Cancer Undergoing Chemotherapy.

Objectives: Women who underwent chemotherapy (CT) for metastatic breast cancer (MBC) used both adaptive and maladaptive coping strategies but had low implementation levels. The present study explores the qualitative experience of coping strategies for women with MBC undergoing CT in Beijing. Methods: A hermeneutic phenomenological approach was employed on twenty Chinese MBC women undergoing CT. These interviews were transcribed verbatim, coded using thematic analysis, and analyzed using NVivo 11. Results: Three themes are highlighted: Maintaining hope; Spiritual growth, and Self-perceived support resources. Conclusion: The present study results have led to a greater understanding of the tremendous impact of CT on MBC women's lives. This research provides insight into the scope of maintaining hope. Spiritual growth and self-perceived support resources were crucial factors to coping strategies among MBC women to improve their quality of life. Clinical Relevance: By attaining the adaptive coping strategies and further understanding about Chinese MBC women, health care professionals are encouraged to appraise MBC women's specific problems and adopt effective interventions to improve MBC women's psychosocial wellbeing.

The Clinical Prediction Value of the Ubiquitination Model Reflecting the Immune Traits in LUAD.

Background: Increasing evidence shows that the ubiquitin-proteasome system has a crucial impact on lung adenocarcinoma. However, reliable prognostic signatures based on ubiquitination and immune traits have not yet been established. Methods: Bioinformatics was performed to analyze the characteristic of ubiquitination in lung adenocarcinoma. Principal component analysis was employed to identify the difference between lung adenocarcinoma and adjacent tissue. The ubiquitin prognostic risk model was constructed by multivariate Cox regression and least absolute shrinkage and selection operator regression based on the public database The Cancer Genome Atlas, with evaluation of the time-dependent receiver operating characteristic curve. A variety of algorithms was used to analyze the immune traits of model stratification. Meanwhile, the drug response sensitivity for subgroups was predicted by the "pRRophetic" package based on the database of the Cancer Genome Project. Results: The expression of ubiquitin genes was different in the tumor and in the adjacent tissue. The ubiquitin model was superior to the clinical indexes, and four validation datasets verified the prognostic effect. Additionally, the stratification of the model reflected distinct immune landscapes and mutation traits. The low-risk group was infiltrating plenty of immune cells and highly expressed major histocompatibility complex and immune genes, which illustrated that these patients could benefit from immune treatment. The high-risk group showed higher mutation and tumor mutation burden. Integrating the tumor mutation burden and the immune score revealed the patient's discrepancy between survival and drug response. Finally, we discovered that the drug targeting ubiquitin and proteasome would be a beneficial prospective treatment for lung adenocarcinoma. Conclusion: The ubiquitin trait could reflect the prognosis of lung adenocarcinoma, and it might shed light on the development of novel ubiquitin biomarkers and targeted therapy for lung adenocarcinoma.

Accurate prediction of acute pancreatitis severity based on genome-wide cell free DNA methylation profiles.

BACKGROUND: Patients with severe acute pancreatitis (SAP) have a high mortality, thus early diagnosis and interventions are critical for improving survival. However, conventional tests are limited in acute pancreatitis (AP) stratification. We aimed to assess AP severity by integrating the informative clinical measurements with cell free DNA (cfDNA) methylation markers. METHODS: One hundred and seventy-five blood samples were collected from 61 AP patients at multiple time points, plus 24 samples from healthy individuals. Genome-wide cfDNA methylation profiles of all samples were characterized with reduced representative bisulfite sequencing. Clinical blood tests covering 93 biomarkers were performed on AP patients within 24 h. SAP predication models were built based on cfDNA methylation and conventional blood biomarkers separately and in combination. RESULTS: We identified 565 and 59 cfDNA methylation markers informative for acute pancreatitis and its severity. These markers were used to develop prediction models for AP and SAP with area under the receiver operating characteristic of 0.92 and 0.81, respectively. Twelve blood biomarkers were systematically screened for a predictor of SAP with a sensitivity of 87.5% for SAP, and a specificity of 100% in mild acute pancreatitis, significantly higher than existing blood tests. An expanded model integrating 12 conventional blood biomarkers with 59 cfDNA methylation markers further improved the SAP prediction sensitivity to 92.2%. CONCLUSIONS: These findings have demonstrated that accurate prediction of SAP by the integration of conventional and novel blood molecular markers, paving the way for early and effective SAP intervention through a non-invasive rapid diagnostic test.

Study of Grain Growth in a Ni-Based Superalloy by Experiments and Cellular Automaton Model.

The grain growth behavior in a typical Ni-based superalloy was investigated using isothermal heat treatment experiments over a holding temperature range of 1353-1473 K. The experimental results showed that the grain structure continuously coarsened as the holding time and holding temperature increased during heat treatment. A classical parabolic grain growth model was used to explore the mechanism of grain growth under experimental conditions. The grain growth exponent was found to be slightly above 2. This indicates that the current grain growth in the studied superalloy is mainly governed by grain boundary migration with a minor pinning effect from the precipitates. Then, the grain growth in the studied superalloy during isothermal heat treatment was modelled by a cellular automaton (CA) with deterministic state switch rules. The microscale kinetics of grain growth is described by the correlation between the moving velocity and curvature of the grain boundary. The local grain boundary curvature is well evaluated by a template disk method. The grain boundary mobility was found to increase with increasing temperature. The relationship between the grain boundary mobility and temperature has been established. The developed CA model is capable of capturing the dependence of the grain size on the holding time under different holding temperatures.

Hsa_circ_0001361 facilitates the progress of lung adenocarcinoma cells via targeting miR-525-5p/VMA21 axis.

BACKGROUND: Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) is a common subtype of lung cancer with high recurrence rate and fatality. Circ_0001361 has been recognized as key regulators in various malignancies, but its roles in LUAD remain ambiguous. METHODS: Circ_0001361, miR-525-5p, and VMA21 levels were assessed by RT-qPCR. The growth and metastasis of LUAD cells were detected by MTT, colony formation, wound scratch, and transwell assays, respectively. The interaction between circ_0001361/VMA21 and miR-525-5p was detected by dual luciferase, RNA immunoprecipitation, and RNA pull-down assays. VMA21 protein level was detected by Western blotting. Nude mouse xenograft model was established to determine the role of circ_0001361 in tumor growth in vivo. RESULTS: Circ_0001361 was up-regulated, while miR-525-5p was down-regulated in LUAD tissues and cells. Functional experiments demonstrated that circ_0001361 drove LUAD cell growth and metastasis. Mechanistically, circ_0001361 functioned as a sponge of miR-525-5p to up-regulate downstream target VMA21 level. MiR-525-5p/VMA21 axis was involved in circ_0001361-mediated malignant phenotypes of LUAD cells. Finally, inhibition of circ_0001361 restrained in vivo xenograft tumor growth via regulating miR-525-5p/VMA21 axis. CONCLUSION: Our findings elucidate that circ_0001361 facilitates the tumorigenesis and development of LUAD through miR-525-5p/VMA21 axis, providing evidence for circ_0001361 as a potential prognosis biomarker and therapeutic target for clinical treatment of LUAD.

Divergence in the Aquilegia ecalcarata complex is correlated with geography and climate oscillations: Evidence from plastid genome data.

Quaternary climate oscillations and geographical heterogeneity play important roles in determining species and genetic diversity distribution patterns, but how these factors affect the migration and differentiation of East Asian plants species at the population level remains poorly understood. The Aquilegia ecalcarata complex, a group that originated in the Late Tertiary and is widely distributed throughout East Asia, displays high genetic variation that is suitable for studying elaborate phylogeographic patterns and demographic history related to the impact of Quaternary climate and geography. We used plastid genome data from 322 individuals in 60 populations of the A. ecalcarata complex to thoroughly explore the impact of Quaternary climate oscillations and geography on the phylogeographic patterns and demographic history of the A. ecalcarata complex through a series of phylogenetic, divergence time estimation, and demographic history analyses. The dry, cold climate and frequent climate oscillations that occurred during the early Pleistocene and the Mid-Pleistocene transition led to the differentiation of the A. ecalcarata complex, which was isolated in various areas. Geographically, the A. ecalcarata complex can be divided into Eastern and Western Clades and five subclades, which conform to the divergence of the East Asian flora. Our results clearly show the impact of Quaternary climate and geography on evolutionary history at the population level. These findings promote the understanding of the relationship between plant genetic differentiation and climate and geographical factors of East Asia at the population level.

The dispersal-related traits of an invasive plant Galinsoga quadriradiata correlate with elevation during range expansion into mountain ranges.

Detecting shifts in trait values among populations of an invasive plant is important for assessing invasion risks and predicting future spread. Although a growing number of studies suggest that the dispersal propensity of invasive plants increases during range expansion, there has been relatively little attention paid to dispersal patterns along elevational gradients. In this study, we tested the differentiation of dispersal-related traits in an invasive plant, Galinsoga quadriradiata, across populations at different elevations in the Qinling and Bashan Mountains in central China. Seed mass-area ratio (MAR), an important seed dispersal-related trait, of 45 populations from along an elevational gradient was measured, and genetic variation of 23 populations was quantified using inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) markers. Individuals from four populations were then planted in a greenhouse to compare their performance under shared conditions. Changing patterns of seed dispersal-related traits and populations genetic diversity along elevation were tested using linear regression. Mass-area ratio of G. quadriradiata increased, while genetic diversity decreased with elevation in the field survey. In the greenhouse, populations of G. quadriradiata sourced from different elevations showed a difference response of MAR. These results suggest that although rapid evolution may contribute to the range expansion of G. quadriradiata in mountain ranges, dispersal-related traits will also likely be affected by phenotypic plasticity. This challenges the common argument that dispersal ability of invasive plants increases along dispersal routes. Furthermore, our results suggest that high-altitude populations would be more effective at seed dispersal once they continue to expand their range downslope on the other side. Our experiment provides novel evidence that the spread of these high-altitude populations may be more likely than previously theorized and that they should thus be cautiously monitored.

A Bio-Inspired Molecular Design Strategy toward 2D Organic Semiconductor Crystals with Superior Integrated Optoelectronic Properties.

Inspired by the 2D bilayer lipid membranes in nature, a unique supramolecular "push-pull" synergetic strategy toward self-assembled 2D organic crystals (2DOCs) is proposed in this work, which can effectively suppress the interlayer 3D stacking while maintaining the assembly of the intralayer for 2D growth. For this purpose, a model molecule PF-Py consisting of a planar supramolecular "attractor" and a nonplanar steric "repellor" is designed for the solution self-assembly process. Well-defined 2DOCs including crystal nanosheets and millimeter-sized crystal films with layered amphiphile-like packing are obtained, which is analogical to the cell membranes of living organisms. Thanks to the special packing mode, the 2DOCs have fascinating integrated photoelectric property, with high mobility of 7.8 × 10-2 cm2 V-1 s-1 , high crystalline state photoluminescence quantum yield of 55%, and superior deep-blue laser characteristics with a low threshold of 5.51 µJ cm-2 . This supramolecular synergetic strategy advances the design of 2D organic semiconductor crystals for high performance optoelectronics.

LIN28A inhibits DUSP family phosphatases and activates MAPK signaling pathway to maintain pluripotency in porcine induced pluripotent stem cells.

LIN28A, an RNA-binding protein, plays an important role in porcine induced pluripotent stem cells (piPSCs). However, the molecular mechanism underlying the function of LIN28A in the maintenance of pluripotency in piPSCs remains unclear. Here, we explored the function of LIN28A in piPSCs based on its overexpression and knockdown. We performed total RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) of piPSCs and detected the expression levels of relevant genes by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), western blot analysis, and immunofluorescence staining. Results indicated that piPSC proliferation ability decreased following LIN28A knockdown. Furthermore, when LIN28A expression in the shLIN28A2 group was lower (by 20%) than that in the negative control knockdown group ( shNC), the pluripotency of piPSCs disappeared and they differentiated into neuroectoderm cells. Results also showed that LIN28A overexpression inhibited the expression of DUSP (dual-specificity phosphatases) family phosphatases and activated the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway. Thus, LIN28A appears to activate the MAPK signaling pathway to maintain the pluripotency and proliferation ability of piPSCs. Our study provides a new resource for exploring the functions of LIN28A in piPSCs.

Enhanced oxygen barrier properties of poly(lactic acid) via oxygen scavenging strategy combining with uniaxial stretching.

Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) films with significantly enhanced mechanical and oxygen barrier properties were obtained via oxygen scavenging strategy combining with uniaxial stretching. In this study, PLA was melt blended with 3 phr of hydroxy-terminated polybutadiene (HTPB) and different contents of acetyl(tributyl citrate) (ATBC) and cobalt neodecanoate. It was then followed by compression molding and uniaxial stretching. After uniaxial stretching, the crystallinity of all films was significantly improved, which contributed to the enhancement in the oxygen barrier performance of composite materials. The morphological analysis carried out using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed that ATBC could obviously promote the dispersion of HTPB in PLA. Overall, the blend films showed a decrease in the oxygen permeability coefficient as compared with the neat PLA film, which reached a similar level to oriented PET film. The optical and mechanical properties of the blend films with ATBC also improved considerably. This work provides a method to prepare high-crystalline polymers with superior gas-barrier properties having great potential for use in high-barrier applications, such as polymers for oxygen-sensitive food packaging.