A 2D image 3D reconstruction function adaptive denoising algorithm.

To address the issue of image denoising algorithms blurring image details during the denoising process, we propose an adaptive denoising algorithm for the 3D reconstruction of 2D images. This algorithm takes into account the inherent visual characteristics of human eyes and divides the image into regions based on the entropy value of each region. The background region is subject to threshold denoising, while the target region undergoes processing using an adversarial generative network. This network effectively handles 2D target images with noise and generates a 3D model of the target. The proposed algorithm aims to enhance the noise immunity of 2D images during the 3D reconstruction process and ensure that the constructed 3D target model better preserves the original image's detailed information. Through experimental testing on 2D images and real pedestrian videos contaminated with noise, our algorithm demonstrates stable preservation of image details. The reconstruction effect is evaluated in terms of noise reduction and the fidelity of the 3D model to the original target. The results show an average noise reduction exceeding 95% while effectively retaining most of the target's feature information in the original image. In summary, our proposed adaptive denoising algorithm improves the 3D reconstruction process by preserving image details that are often compromised by conventional denoising techniques. This has significant implications for enhancing image quality and maintaining target information fidelity in 3D models, providing a promising approach for addressing the challenges associated with noise reduction in 2D images during 3D reconstruction.

Pioglitazone-Enhanced Brown Fat Whitening Contributes to Weight Gain in Diet-Induced Obese Mice.

INTRODUCTION: Pioglitazone is an insulin sensitizer used for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) by activating peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma. This study aimed to investigate the effects of pioglitazone on white adipose tissue (WAT) and brown adipose tissue (BAT) in diet-induced obese (DIO) mice. METHODS: C57BL/6 mice were treated with pioglitazone (30 mg/kg/day) for 4 weeks after a 16-week high-fat diet (HFD) challenge. Body weight gain, body fat mass, energy intake, and glucose homeostasis were measured during or after the treatment. Histopathology was observed by hematoxylin and eosin, oil red O, immunohistochemistry, and immunofluorescence staining. Expression of thermogenic and mitochondrial biogenesis-related genes was detected by quantitative real-time PCR and western blotting. RESULTS: After 4-week pioglitazone treatment, the fasting blood glucose levels, glucose tolerance, and insulin sensitivity were significantly improved, but the body weight gain and fat mass were increased in DIO mice. Compared with the HFD group, pioglitazone did not significantly affect the weights of liver and WAT in both subcutaneous and epididymal regions. Unexpectedly, the weight of BAT was increased after pioglitazone treatment. Histological staining revealed that pioglitazone ameliorated hepatic steatosis, reduced the adipocyte size in WAT, but increased the adipocyte size in BAT. CONCLUSION: Though pioglitazone can promote lipolysis, thermogenesis, and mitochondrial function in WAT, it leads to impaired thermogenesis, and mitochondrial dysfunction in BAT. In conclusion, pioglitazone could promote the browning of WAT but led to the whitening of BAT; the latter might be a new potential mechanism of pioglitazone-induced weight gain during T2DM treatment.

Identification of angiogenesis-related genes signature for predicting survival and its regulatory network in glioblastoma.

Glioblastoma (GBM) is notorious for malignant neovascularization that contributes to undesirable outcome. However, its mechanisms remain unclear. This study aimed to identify prognostic angiogenesis-related genes and the potential regulatory mechanisms in GBM. RNA-sequencing data of 173 GBM patients were obtained from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database for screening differentially expressed genes (DEGs), differentially transcription factors (DETFs), and reverse phase protein array (RPPA) chips. Differentially expressed genes from angiogenesis-related gene set were extracted for univariate Cox regression analysis to identify prognostic differentially expressed angiogenesis-related genes (PDEARGs). A risk predicting model was constructed based on 9 PDEARGs, namely MARK1, ITGA5, NMD3, HEY1, COL6A1, DKK3, SERPINA5, NRP1, PLK2, ANXA1, SLIT2, and PDPN. Glioblastoma patients were stratified into high-risk and low-risk groups according to their risk scores. GSEA and GSVA were applied to explore the possible underlying GBM angiogenesis-related pathways. CIBERSORT was employed to identify immune infiltrates in GBM. The Pearson's correlation analysis was performed to evaluate the correlations among DETFs, PDEARGs, immune cells/functions, RPPA chips, and pathways. A regulatory network centered by three PDEARGs (ANXA1, COL6A1, and PDPN) was constructed to show the potential regulatory mechanisms. External cohort of 95 GBM patients by immunohistochemistry (IHC) assay demonstrated that ANXA1, COL6A1, and PDPN were significantly upregulated in tumor tissues of high-risk GBM patients. Single-cell RNA sequencing also validated malignant cells expressed high levels of the ANXA1, COL6A1, PDPN, and key DETF (WWTR1). Our PDEARG-based risk prediction model and regulatory network identified prognostic biomarkers and provided valuable insight into future studies on angiogenesis in GBM.

SGLT2 inhibitor empagliflozin downregulates miRNA-34a-5p and targets GREM2 to inactivate hepatic stellate cells and ameliorate non-alcoholic fatty liver disease-associated fibrosis.

BACKGROUND AND RATIONALE: Activation of hepatic stellate cells (HSCs), the central event of fibrosis, indicates the severe stage of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). MicroRNAs (miRNAs) participate in this process. Treatment with a sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitor (SGLT2i) alleviates liver fibrosis in patients with type 2 diabetes and NAFLD; however, the role of SGLT2i in ameliorating liver fibrosis in NAFLD by regulating miRNAs remains unclear. APPROACH AND RESULTS: We monitored the expression of NAFLD-associated miRNAs in the livers of two NAFLD models and observed high expression of miR-34a-5p. miR-34a-5p was highly expressed in mouse primary liver non-parenchymal cells and LX-2 HSCs, and this miRNA was positively correlated with alanine transaminase levels in NAFLD models. Overexpression of miR-34a-5p enhanced LX-2 activation, whereas its inhibition prevented HSCs activation by regulating the TGFß signaling pathway. The SGLT2i empagliflozin significantly downregulated miR-34a-5p, inhibited the TGFß signaling pathway, and ameliorated hepatic fibrosis in NAFLD models. Subsequently, GREM2 was identified as a direct target of miR-34a-5p through database prediction and a dual-luciferase reporter assay. In LX-2 HSCs, the miR-34a-5p mimic and inhibitor directly downregulated and upregulated GREM2, respectively. Overexpressing GREM2 inactivated the TGFß pathway whereas GREM2 knockdown activated it. Additionally, empagliflozin upregulated Grem2 expression in NAFLD models. In methionine- and choline-deficient diet-fed ob/ob mice, a fibrosis model, empagliflozin downregulated miR-34a-5p and upregulated Grem2 to improve liver fibrosis. CONCLUSIONS: Empagliflozin ameliorates NAFLD-associated fibrosis by downregulating miR-34a-5p and targeting GREM2 to inhibit the TGFß pathway in HSCs.

Prognosis and Immune Landscapes in Glioblastoma Based on Gene-Signature Related to Reactive-Oxygen-Species.

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most malignant and aggressive primary brain tumor and is highly resistant to current therapeutic strategies. Previous studies have demonstrated that reactive oxygen species (ROS) play an important role in the regulation of signal transduction and immunosuppressive environment in GBM. To further study the role of ROS in prognosis, tumor micro-environment (TME) and immunotherapeutic response in GBM, an ROS-related nine-gene signature was constructed using the Lasso-Cox regression method and validated using three other datasets in our research, based on the hallmark ROS-pathway-related gene sets and the Cancer Genome Atlas GBM dataset. Differences in prognosis, TME scores, immune cell infiltration, immune checkpoint expression levels, and drug sensitivity between high-risk and low-risk subgroups were analyzed using R software. Collectively, our research uncovered a novel ROS-related prognostic model for primary GBM, which could prove to be a potential tool for clinical diagnosis of GBM, and help assess the immune and molecular characteristics of ROS in the tumorigenesis and immunosuppression of GBM. Our research also revealed that the expressions of ROS-related genes-HSPB1, LSP1, and PTX3-were closely related to the cell markers of tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) and M2 macrophages validated by quantitative RT-PCR, suggesting them could be potential targets of immunotherapy for GBM.

Diagnostic Potential of microRNAs in Extracellular Vesicles Derived from Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid for Pneumonia-A Preliminary Report.

Current clinical needs require the development and use of rapid and effective diagnostic indicators to accelerate the identification of pneumonia and the process of microbiological diagnosis. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) in extracellular vesicles (EVs) have become attractive candidates for novel biomarkers to evaluate the presence and progress of many diseases. We assessed their performance as biomarkers of pneumonia. Patients were divided into the pneumonia group (with pneumonia) and the control group (without pneumonia). We identified and compared two upregulated miRNAs in EVs derived from bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF-EVs) between the two groups (PmiR-17-5p = 0.009; PmiR-193a-5p = 0.031). Interestingly, in cell-debris pellets and EVs-free supernatants derived from bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF-cell-debris pellets and BALF-EVs-free supernatants), total plasma, and EVs derived from plasma (plasma-EVs), the expression of miR-17-5p and miR-193a-5p showed no difference between pneumonia group and control group. In vitro experiments revealed that miR-17-5p and miR-193a-5p were strikingly upregulated in EVs derived from macrophages stimulated by lipopolysaccharide. MiR-17-5p (area under the curve, AUC: 0.753) and miR-193a-5p (AUC: 0.692) in BALF-EVs are not inferior to procalcitonin (AUC: 0.685) in the diagnosis of pneumonia. Furthermore, miR-17-5p and miR-193a-5p in BALF-EVs had a significantly higher specificity compared to procalcitonin and could be served as a potential diagnostic marker. MiR-17-5p and miR-193a-5p in EVs may be involved in lung inflammation by influencing the forkhead box O (FoxO) signaling pathway and protein processing in endoplasmic reticulum. This study is one of the few studies which focused on the potential diagnostic role of miRNAs in BALF-EVs for pneumonia and the possibility to use them as new biomarkers for a rapid and early diagnosis.

Study on swelling, compression property and degradation stability of PVA composite hydrogels for artificial nucleus pulposus.

Artificial nucleus pulposus (ANP) replacement as an alternative to the treatment of cervical spondylosis aims to relieve pain and restore the normal cervical motion. In this study, the PVA/PVP and PVA/Pectin composite hydrogels (CH)s with different concentrations were prepared by the freezing-thawing process, and their performances were tested. The effect of different concentrations on both kinds of PVA CHs were evaluated and analysed. The results demonstrated that both kinds of CHs had good swelling property (¿190%), compressive stress-strain characteristic response and stable performance, and they were not easy to degrade (¡9%). The elastic modulus of the PVA/PVP CH was close to that of nucleus pulposus prosthesis, and the weight loss ratio of the PVA/PVP CH was lower than that of PVA/Pectin CH under load condition. Further, the experimental results showed that the PVA/PVP CH with 15 wt% solute and 1 wt% PVP content had the best comprehensive performance, which may provide significant advantages for use in future clinical application in replacing nucleus pulposus.

M2 macrophage-derived exosomal microRNA-411-5p impedes the activation of hepatic stellate cells by targeting CAMSAP1 in NASH model.

Liver fibrosis is a severe stage of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), which is closely associated with the activation of hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) and their interaction with macrophages. Exosomes can mediate crosstalk between macrophages and HSCs in NAFLD-associated fibrosis. We found that M2 macrophage-derived exosomes significantly inhibit HSCs activation. RNA-seq studies revealed that miRNA-411-5p was decreased in serum exosomes of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) patients as compared with that in healthy controls. Besides, miR-411-5p and M2 macrophage markers are decreased in the liver of the NASH model. We further proved that exosomal miR-411-5p from M2 macrophages inhibit HSCs activation and miR-411-5p directly downregulated the expression of Calmodulin-Regulated Spectrin-Associated Protein 1 (CAMSAP1) to inactivate stellate cells. Importantly, knockdown of CAMSAP1 also inhibited HSCs activation. This study contributes to understanding the underlying mechanism of HSCs activation and indicates CAMSAP1 may serve as a potential therapeutic target for NASH.

Car engine sounds recognition based on deformable feature map residual network.

Aiming at the difficulty in extracting the features of time-frequency images for the recognition of car engine sounds, we propose a method to recognize them based on a deformable feature map residual network. A deformable feature map residual block includes offset and convolutional layers. The offset layers shift the pixels of the input feature map. The shifted feature map is superimposed on the feature map extracted by the convolutional layers through shortcut connections to concentrate the network to the sampling in the region of interest, and to transmit the information of the offset feature map to the lower network. Then, a deformable convolution residual network is designed, and the features extracted through this network are fused with the Mel frequency cepstral coefficients of car engine sounds. After recalibration by the squeeze and excitation block, the fused results are fed into the fully connected layer for classification. Experiments on a car engine sound dataset show that the accuracy of the proposed method is 84.28%. Compared with the existing state-of-the-art methods, in terms of the accuracy of recognizing car engine sounds under various operating conditions, the proposed method represents an improvement over the method based on dictionary learning and a convolutional neural network.

A biodegradable "Nano-donut" for magnetic resonance imaging and enhanced chemo/photothermal/chemodynamic therapy through responsive catalysis in tumor microenvironment.

Prussian blue (PB) is a safe photothermal agent for tumor therapy, yet poor photothermal effect and single therapeutic function severely restrict its further clinical applications. Herein, a biodegradable "Nano-donut" (CMPB-MoS2-PEG) is fabricated for magnetic resonance (MR) imaging and enhanced photothermal therapy (PTT)/ chemodynamic therapy (CDT)/chemotherapy through responsive catalysis in tumor microenvironment (TME). The "Nano-donut" is organically composed of Cu/Mn ions doped-PB and MoS2. The porous donut structure of CMPB-MoS2-PEG endows them as a carrier for delivery of doxorubicin hydrochloride (DOX) to tumor site. The framework of Nano-donut specifically decomposes in TME due to the reaction between Fe2+/Fe3+ and H2O2. The multivalent elements (Cu/Fe/Mn ions) decrease the bandgap and then enhance CDT by synergistically catalyzing H2O2 into toxic ·OH. Meanwhile, the Mn4+ also reacts with H2O2 to generate O2, improving the hypoxia of TME and enhancing the chemotherapy effect of released DOX. The MoS2 mingles in the PB, which significantly enhances photothermal conversion efficiency (η) effect of PB from 16.02% to 38.0%. In addition, Fe3+ as T2-weighted MR imaging agent can achieve MR imaging-guided therapy. The data clearly shows Nano-donut/DOX nanocomposites (NCs) have a remarkable inhibition for cancer cells and excellent biological safety in tumor treatment.

Accurately Controlled Delivery of Temozolomide by Biocompatible UiO-66-NH2 Through Ultrasound to Enhance the Antitumor Efficacy and Attenuate the Toxicity for Treatment of Malignant Glioma.

BACKGROUND: Glioma is the most common and malignant primary brain tumour in adults and has a dismal prognosis. Temozolomide (TMZ) is the only clinical first-line chemotherapy drug for malignant glioma up to present. Due to poor aqueous solubility and toxic effects, TMZ is still inefficient and limited for clinical glioma treatment. METHODS: UiO-66-NH2 nanoparticle is a zirconium-based framework, constructed by Zr and 2-amino-1,4-benzenedicarboxylic acid (BDC-NH2) with octahedral microporous structure, which can be decomposed by the body into an ionic form to discharge. We prepared the nanoscale metal-organic framework (MOF) of UiO-66-NH2 to load TMZ for therapy of malignant glioma, TMZ is released from UiO-66-NH2 through a porous structure. The ultrasound accelerates its porous percolation and promotes the rapid dissolution of TMZ through low-frequency oscillations and cavitation effect. The biological safety and antitumor efficacy were evaluated both in vitro and in vivo. RESULTS: The prepared TMZ@MOF exhibited excellent biocompatibility and biosafety due to minimal drug leakage without ultrasound intervention. We further used the flank model of glioblastoma to verify the in vivo therapeutic effect. TMZ@UiO-66-NH2 nanocomposites could be well delivered to the tumour tissue, which led to local enrichment of the TMZ concentration. Furthermore, TMZ@UiO-66-NH2 nanocomposites under ultrasound demonstrated much more efficient inhibition for tumor growth than TMZ@UiO-66-NH2 nanocomposites and TMZ alone. Meanwhile, the bone marrow suppression side effects of TMZ were significantly reduced by TMZ@UiO-66-NH2 nanocomposites. CONCLUSION: In this work, TMZ@UiO-66-NH2 nanocomposites with ultrasound mediation could effectively improve the killing effect of malignant glioma and decrease TMZ-induced toxicity in normal tissues, demonstrating great potential for the delivery of TMZ in the clinical treatment of malignant gliomas.

Neural Network Optimal Routing Algorithm Based on Genetic Ant Colony in IPv6 Environment.

The traditional IPv6 routing algorithm has problems such as network congestion, excessive energy consumption of nodes, and shortening the life cycle of the network. In response to this phenomenon, we proposed a routing optimization algorithm based on genetic ant colony in IPv6 environment. The algorithm analyzes and studies the genetic algorithm and the ant colony algorithm systematically. We use neural network to build the initial model and combine the constraints of QoS routing. We effectively integrate the genetic algorithm and ant colony algorithm that maximize their respective advantages and apply them to the IPv6 network. At the same time, in order to avoid the accumulation of a lot of pheromones by the ant colony algorithm in the later stage of the network, we have introduced an anticongestion reward and punishment mechanism. By comparing the search path with the optimal path, rewards and punishments are based on whether the network path is smooth or not. Finally, it is judged whether the result meets the condition, and the optimal solution obtained is passed to the BP neural network for training; otherwise, iterative iterations are required until the optimal solution is satisfied. The experimental results show that the algorithm can effectively adapt to the IPv6 routing requirements and can effectively solve the user's needs for network service quality, network performance, and other aspects.

[Effect of Huangqin Decoction on pyroptosis pathway of NLRP3/caspase-1 in mice with ulcerative colitis].

To explore the effect of Huangqin Decoction on ulcerative colitis(UC) pyroptosis, and to explain the mechanism of pyroptosis based on NOD-like receptor thermoprotein domain 3(NLRP3)/cysteine proteinase 1(caspase-1) pathway. The animal model of UC induced with 3% dextran sodium sulfate(DSS) was established. The experimental animals were divided into control group, model group, low-dose(4.55 g·kg~(-1)), medium-dose(9.1 g·kg~(-1)) and high-dose(18.2 g·kg~(-1)) Huangqin Decoction groups and salazosulfapyridine group(0.45 g·kg~(-1)). While modeling, intragastric administration was given for 7 consecutive days. On the 8 th day, the mice were euthanized, the colon length was collected, and the histopathological changes were observed by HE staining. The content of interleukin-18(IL-18) was observed by ELISA. The content of lactatedehydrogenase(LDH)was determined by microplate method. TUNEL assay kit was used to detect the cell death. The immunohistochemical staining was used to detect the expressions of NLRP3 and apoptosis-associated speck-like protein containing a CARD(ASC). Western blot was used to detect the expressions of interleukin-1ß(IL-1ß), caspase-1 and gasdermin D(GSDMD).The experimental study showed that compared with normal group, the LDH content, TUNEL positive staining, inflammatory factors(IL-18, IL-1ß), and proteins associated with pyroptosis were significantly increased(P<0.05). Compared with model control group, the LDH content, TUNEL positive staining, inflammatory factors(IL-18, IL-1ß), and proteins associated with pyroptosis were decreased, and these results were more significant in high-dose groups(P<0.05). The results of HE staining showed that Huangqin Decoction could improve the pathological changes of colon. Huangqin Decoction could inhibit UC cell pyroptosis, and the mechanism may be closely related to NLRP3/caspase-1 signaling pathway.

Facile Interfacial Synthesis of Densely Spiky Gold Nano-Chestnuts With Full Spectral Absorption for Photothermal Therapy.

The gold nanostructure is regarded as the most promising photothermal agent due to its strong localized surface plasma resonance (LSPR) effect. In particular, the gold nanostructures with sharp spikes on the surface have higher optical signal enhancement, owing to the sharp tips drastically enhancing the intense nanoantenna effect. However, current approaches for the synthesis of spiky gold nanostructures are either costly, complicated, or uncontrollable. Herein, we report a novel strategy to synthesize gold nano-chestnuts (SGNCs) with sharp spikes as an excellent photothermal agent. The SGNCs were prepared by a facile one-pot interfacial synthetic method, and their controllable preparation mechanism was acquired. The SGNCs exhibited ideal full-spectrum absorption and showed excellent photothermal effect. They have a photothermal conversion efficiency (η) as high as 52.9%, which is much higher than traditional photothermal agents. The in vitro and in vivo results show that the SGNCs could efficiently ablate the tumor cells. Thus, the SGNCs have great potential in photothermal therapy applied in malignant tumors.

[Bioinformatics analysis and systematic review of key genes and therapeutic traditional Chinese medicine of ulcerative colitis active stage].

Data GSE75214 and GSE48959 that contained ulcerative colitis(UC) in the active stage was download from GEO database. Differential genes of UC in the active phase were obtained by using adjusted P<0.05 and |log_2 FC|≥1.5, which was the screening criteria. PPI analysis was performed in the STRING database, and GO and KEGG pathway analysis was performed in DAVID database. Cytoscape was used to visualize differential genes, and calculate key genes in the active phase. Coremine Medical was used to analyze and systematically evaluate traditional Chinese medicines for treating key genes. Finally, 139 differentially expressed genes in the active phase were screened out, which included the 109 up-regulated genes and 30 down-regulated genes. DAVID analyzed that the biology and pathways of these differential genes were mainly concentrated in inflammatory response, immune response, chemokine activity, TNF pathway, NF-κB pathway, and Toll-like receptor pathway. Cytoscape software calculated that IL-6, CXCL8, IL-1ß, MMP9, CXCL1, ICAM1, CXCL10, TIMP1, PTGS2 and CXCL9 were the key genes of UC in the active phase. According to Coremine Medical analysis, traditional Chinese medicines for UC in the active stage included Curcumae Longae Rhizoma, Scutellariae Radix, Curcumae Radix had clearing heat clearing damp, reducing fire and detoxifying effects, which was in line with the pathogenesis of UC active stage, and was often used in clinical treatment of dampness-heat diarrhea. Therefore, Huangqin Decoction, which Scutellariae Radix was the principal drug, was selected for systematic evaluation. The evaluation showed that Scutellariae Radix was superior to Western medicine in terms of improving clinical efficiency, reducing inflammatory factors and immunoglobulin levels, with statistically significant differences and fewer adverse reactions. This study provided a new idea for further research on the pathogenesis of UC in the active phase by analyzing the genes and their mechanism of action, and the systematic evaluation of Chinese medicine for the treatment of UC active stage provided a basis for the clinical prevention and treatment of UC by Chinese medicine.

A novel lncRNA-LINC01116 regulates tumorigenesis of glioma by targeting VEGFA.

Brain glioma is the most common malignant tumor of the central nervous system, and one of the leading causes of death in patients with intracranial tumors. The clinical outcome of glioma is usually poor due to abundant vascularity, fast growth and susceptibility of invasion to normal brain tissues. Our microarray study showed that lncRNA-LINC01116 was significantly upregulated in glioma tissues and played an important role in cell proliferation, cycle, migration, invasion and angiogenesis. In addition, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGFA) may be the major target genes in the downstream of lncRNA-LINC01116. Dual luciferase assay showed that LINC01116 and VEGFA both contained a miR-31-5p binding site, and LINC01116 could regulate the expression of VEGFA through competitive absorption of miR-31-5p. RNA immunoprecipitation indicated that LINC01116 and VEGFA were present in the miR-31-5p-RISC complex, and biotinylated miR-31-5p pull-down assay suggested that there was a competitive relationship between LINC01116 and VEGFA to bind with miR-31-5p. Collectively, our study has identified a novel lncRNA-LINC01116 and clarified the role and mechanism of LINC01116 in the tumorigenesis of glioma. LINC01116 may prove to be a potential target for the clinical diagnosis and treatment of glioma.

Biodegradable hollow manganese/cobalt oxide nanoparticles for tumor theranostics.

This article describes the fabrication of hollow manganese/cobalt oxide nanoparticles (MCO NPs) with a tunable size through a redox reaction and the Kirkendall effect for cancer imaging and drug delivery. MCO-70 NPs (with an average size of 70 nm) can act as glutathione (GSH)-responsive contrast agents for dual T1/T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The degradation of MCO NPs by GSH led to the enhancement of their T1 and T2 signals by 2.24- and 3.43-fold compared with those of MCO NPs before degradation, respectively. Antitumor agents such as doxorubicin (Dox) could be encapsulated inside the cavity of the hollow MCO NPs (MCO-70-Dox) and be released in the presence of GSH. The MCO-70-Dox NPs showed good tumor growth inhibition effects in vitro and in vivo, and can be promising drug delivery vehicles and MRI contrast agents for tumor diagnosis and reporting drug release.

Phylogenetic analysis of the chloroplast genome for Magnolia liliflora (Magnoliaceae), an endemic species to China.

Magnolia liliflora is commonly called lily magnolia and its buds are used as the herbal medicine; it is an endemic species to China. In this study, the complete chloroplast genome of M. liliflora has been presented and annotated. The whole chloroplast (cp) genome is 158,177 bp in size, which exhibits a large single-copy region (LSC) of 88,134 bp, a small single-copy region (SSC) of 19,876 bp and two inverted-repeat regions (IRs) 25,706 bp in each one. The overall nucleotide composition is: 30.0% of A, 30.9% of T, 19.9% C, and 19.2% G, with the GC content of the chloroplast genome 39.1%. The cp genome of M. liliflora contains 129 genes, which includes 86 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 35 transfer RNA (tRNAs), and 8 ribosome RNA (rRNAs). The maximum-likelihood (ML) tree result showed that M. liliflora is closely related to two Magnoliaceae family species of M. dealbata and M. glaucifolia in phylogenetic relationship. This complete chloroplast genomes will be useful for medicinal study in the future.

Characterization of the complete chloroplast genome of black soybeans, Glycine max (L.) Merr. (legume).

l.Black Soybeans (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) is a rare legume native for agricultural production by clearing toxins from the body in Chinese medicine. In this study, the chloroplast genome of G. max (L.) Merr. obtained is 151,212 bp in length as the circular. The overall GC contents of the cp genome are 35.3%. The phylogenetic maximum-likelihood tree was constructed on 18 species the family Leguminosae cp genomes. The result showed that G. max (L.) Merr. is closest related to Glycine soja in genetic evolution relationship. This complete cp genome of Black Soybeans will be important for agriculture in Northeast China.

Differential Expression of Circular RNAs in Glioblastoma Multiforme and Its Correlation with Prognosis.

OBJECTIVE: The present study aimed to explore the expression profiles of circular RNAs (circRNAs) in glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) in an attempt to identify potential core genes in the pathogenesis of this tumor. METHODS: Differentially expressed circRNAs were screened between tumor tissues from five GBM patients and five normal brain samples using Illumina Hiseq. Bioinformatics analysis was used to analyze their potential function. CircBRAF was further detected in different WHO grades glioma tissues and normal brain tissues. Kaplan-Meier curves and multivariate Cox's analysis were used to analyze the association between circBRAF expression level and prognosis of glioma patients. RESULTS: A total of 1411 differentially expressed circRNAs were identified in GBM patients including 206 upregulated circRNAs and 1205 downregulated circRNAs. Differential expression of circRNAs was closely associated with the biological process and molecular function. The downregulated circRNAs were mainly associated with ErbB and Neurotrophin signaling pathways. Moreover, the expression level of circBRAF in normal brain tissues was significantly higher than that in glioma tissues (P<.001). CircBRAF was significantly lower in glioma patients with high pathological grade (WHO III & IV) than those with low grade (WHO I & II) (P<.001). Cox analysis revealed that high circBRAF expression was an independent biomarker for predicting good progression-free survival and overall survival in glioma patients (HR=0.413, 95% CI 0.201-0.849; HR=0.299, 95% CI 0.135-0.661; respectively). CONCLUSION: The present study identified a profile of dysregulated circRNAs in GBM. Bioinformatics analysis showed that dysregulated circRNAs might be associated with tumorigenesis and development of GBM. In addition, circBRAF could severe as a biomarker for predicting pathological grade and prognosis in glioma patients.