Enhancement of Microwave Heating Technology for Emulsified Asphalt Mixtures Using SiC-Fe3O4 Composite Material.

The application of microwave heating technology can significantly enhance the water evaporation rate of emulsified asphalt mixtures post paving. To improve the microwave absorption and curing performance of these mixtures, SiC-Fe3O4 composite material (SF) was incorporated. This addition aims to enhance the microwave absorption efficiency and accelerate the curing process of emulsified asphalt mixtures under microwave heating. This study begins with an analysis of the microwave absorption principles pertinent to emulsified asphalt mixtures. Subsequently, the microwave heating temperature fields of ordinary emulsified asphalt mixture (EAM), SiC emulsified asphalt mixture (S-EAM), Fe3O4 emulsified asphalt mixture (F-EAM), and SiC-Fe3O4 emulsified asphalt mixture (SF-EAM) were simulated using COMSOL Multiphysics finite element software (COMSOL 6.2). The early strength variations in SF-EAM under different microwave heating durations were then examined through adhesion tests, leading to the proposal of a microwave heat curing process for SF-EAM. Finally, the wear resistance, water damage resistance, rutting resistance, and skid resistance of SF-EAM post-microwave curing were evaluated through wet wheel wear tests, wheel track deformation tests, and road friction coefficient tests. The results indicate that the optimal microwave heating time is 90 s, with the microwave absorption performance of the materials ranked as follows: EAM, S-EAM, F-EAM, and SF-EAM, from lowest to highest. The road performance of SF-EAM complies with specification requirements, and its wear resistance, water damage resistance, and rutting resistance are notably improved after microwave heating.

The conformational polymorphism of the green fluorescent protein.

Green fluorescent protein (GFPuv) has been widely used as a reporter fused to individual targeting sequences. However, its state in liquid and its effect on other proteins are still unclear. The conformational polymorphisms of glutathione-S-transferase-green fluorescent protein (GST-GFPuv), GFPuv and GST were analyzed by native polyacrylamide gel, indicating that GST was in many different states while GFPuv and GST-GFPuv were only in four and two slightly different states. Four different circular dichroism spectra were obtained from the GFPuv polymorphisms. The single molecular behavior of GST-GFPuv and GFPuv was also characterized by MALDI-TOF MS. Thus, we demonstrated that: (1) there might be four different structural polymorphisms for the native GFPuv; (2) GFPuv could reduce its partner's polymorphism as a fusion protein. Although GFPuv had many merits as a reporter, its unreliability was found in the study.

MiR-139 inhibits proliferation, migration and invasion of osteosarcoma cell line MG63 via down-regulating integrin subunit alpha V(ITGAV).

OBJECTIVES: Osteosarcoma is a relatively common primary malignant bone tumor in clinic, which frequently occurs in children and adolescents. It is essential to clarify the molecular mechanism of osteosarcoma to provide better diagnosis and treatment. Abnormal expression of miRNAs is closely related to the pathogenesis and progression of osteosarcoma. MiRNAs play a regulatory role in tumorigenesis and development of osteosarcoma. The purpose of this study is to reveal the working mechanism of miR-139/ITGAV axis in osteosarcoma progression. METHODS: ITGAV and miR-139 expression was detected in osteosarcoma tissues or paracancerous normal tissues. TargetScan and Double luciferase reporter gene assay were adopted to verify weather ITGAV was the target gene of miR-139. Western blot and qRT-PCR were used to evaluate the effects of miR-139 on ITGAV. CCK8, Flow cytometry, Transwell and Cell wound scratch assay were used to measure the effects of miR-139 and ITGAV on cell cycle, proliferation, migration and invasion of MG63, respectively. A nude mouse xenograft model of cervical cancer was constructed to observe the effects of miR-139 on the tumor growth. RESULTS: We found that the expression of miR-139 in osteosarcoma tissue was significantly reduced, while the expression of ITGAV was significantly increased. MiR-139 could specifically bind to the 3'-UTR of ITGAV and negatively regulate its expression. Transfection of miR-139 mimic could inhibit the proliferation, S-phase arrest, invasion and migration of MG63 cells, and up-regulating the expression of ITGAV could reverse such inhibitory effect. In nude mouse xenograft model of osteosarcoma, overexpression of miR-139 could inhibit tumor growth, while down-regulation of miR-139 produced the opposite effect. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that miR-139/ITGAV axis was related to osteosarcoma initiation. MiR-139 could inhibit the biological behavior of osteosarcoma cells and the tumor growth in nude mouse model via targeting ITGAV, and miR-139/ITGAV axis may impede the progression of osteosarcoma.

Pancreatic Stellate Cells Activation and Matrix Metallopeptidase 2 Expression Correlate With Lymph Node Metastasis in Pancreatic Carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to investigate the correlation between pancreatic stellate cell activation, matrix metallopeptidase 2 (MMP2) expression and lymph node metastasis in pancreatic carcinoma. METHODS: Alpha-smooth muscle actin (ACTA2), Desmin (DES) and MMP2 were detected in 40 pancreatic carcinoma patients and 10 cases of normal pancreas tissues using immunohistochemistry. Then MMP2 and ACTA2 expression profiles in pancreatic cancer were obtained from UCSC (University of California, Santa Cruz) and SurvExpress. RESULTS: A total of 67.5% and 55.0% of cases positively expressed ACTA2 and DES in pancreatic carcinoma, respectively. MMP2 in pancreatic carcinoma was expressed in 55.0% of cases, and there were significant differences between the lymph node metastasis group and the lymph node nonmetastasis group, as well as invasion and noninvasion to the peripheral tissue group (P < 0.01). High throughput sequencing databases verified that ACTA2 and MMP2 gene expression were both upregulated in pancreatic carcinoma tissues. CONCLUSIONS: The coexpression of ACTA2 and DES was related to the expression of MMP2, and positively correlated with lymph node metastasis. Activation of pancreatic stellate cells may promote the expression of MMP2 and enhance the invasion and metastasis of pancreatic carcinoma.

The Research of Acellular Pancreatic Bioscaffold as a Natural 3-Dimensional Platform In Vitro.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to investigate the biochemical and functional properties of a rat acellular pancreatic bioscaffolds (APBs). METHODS: Fresh pancreata from 10 rats were soaked and perfused through portal veins using Easy-Load Digital Drive peristaltic pumps. The histological structure, extracellular matrix composition, and the DNA content of the APBs were evaluated. Biocompatibility studies had also been performed. The proliferation and differentiation of AR42J pancreatic acinar cells were assessed. RESULTS: The pancreatic tissue became translucent after decellularization. There were no visible vascular endothelial cells, cellular components, or cracked cellular debris. The extracellular matrix components were not decreased after decellularization (P > 0.05); however, the DNA content was decreased significantly (P < 0.05). The subcutaneous implantation sites showed low immunological response and low cytotoxicity around the APB. The proliferation rate was higher and the apoptosis rate was lower when AR42J cells were cultured on APB (P < 0.05). The gene expression and the protein expression were higher for the APB group (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings support the biological utility of whole pancreas APBs as biomaterial scaffolds, which provides an improved approach for regenerative medicine.

Estimation of red-light running frequency using high-resolution traffic and signal data.

Red-light-running (RLR) emerges as a major cause that may lead to intersection-related crashes and endanger intersection safety. To reduce RLR violations, it's critical to identify the influential factors associated with RLR and estimate RLR frequency. Without resorting to video camera recordings, this study investigates this important issue by utilizing high-resolution traffic and signal event data collected from loop detectors at five intersections on Trunk Highway 55, Minneapolis, MN. First, a simple method is proposed to identify RLR by fully utilizing the information obtained from stop bar detectors, downstream entrance detectors and advance detectors. Using 12 months of event data, a total of 6550 RLR cases were identified. According to a definition of RLR frequency as the conditional probability of RLR on a certain traffic or signal condition (veh/1000veh), the relationships between RLR frequency and some influential factors including arriving time at advance detector, approaching speed, headway, gap to the preceding vehicle on adjacent lane, cycle length, geometric characteristics and even snowing weather were empirically investigated. Statistical analysis shows good agreement with the traffic engineering practice, e.g., RLR is most likely to occur on weekdays during peak periods under large traffic demands and longer signal cycles, and a total of 95.24% RLR events occurred within the first 1.5s after the onset of red phase. The findings confirmed that vehicles tend to run the red light when they are close to intersection during phase transition, and the vehicles following the leading vehicle with short headways also likely run the red light. Last, a simplified nonlinear regression model is proposed to estimate RLR frequency based on the data from advance detector. The study is expected to helpbetter understand RLR occurrence and further contribute to the future improvement of intersection safety.

An evidence-based proposal for predicting organ failure in severe acute pancreatitis.

OBJECTIVES: Early, efficient, and accurate evaluation for organ failure is an important step for improving outcome in severe acute pancreatitis (SAP). We aim to develop a method that can early, efficiently, and accurately evaluate the in-hospital organ failure in patients with SAP. METHODS: Using multivariate logistic regression analysis, the associative factors for in-hospital organ failure were evaluated retrospectively from conventional data obtained from 393 patients with SAP from 2000 to 2012. In classification and regression tree analysis, a new clinical scoring system was developed for the evaluation of in-hospital organ failure in SAP. We also compared the accuracy of our new scoring system with multiple organ dysfunction score and Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Examination II score by the receiver operating characteristic curve. RESULTS: Laboratory results revealed serum calcium level greater than or equal to 1.84 mmol/L, serum creatinine level greater than or equal to 110 µmol/L, age greater than or equal to 72 years, activated partial thromboplastin time less than or equal to 30.95 seconds, and Balthazar computed tomography score greater than or equal to 7 (CCAAB) score system, each contributed 1 point for the prediction of organ failure. The area under the curve of the CCAAB score system was similar to multiple organ dysfunction scores and Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Examination II scores. CONCLUSIONS: The new scoring system CCAAB is an efficient and accurate method for the early evaluation of patients with SAP for in-hospital organ failure.

A model of cancer stem cells derived from mouse induced pluripotent stem cells.

Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are capable of continuous proliferation and self-renewal and are proposed to play significant roles in oncogenesis, tumor growth, metastasis and cancer recurrence. CSCs are considered derived from normal stem cells affected by the tumor microenvironment although the mechanism of development is not clear yet. In 2007, Yamanaka's group succeeded in generating Nanog mouse induced pluripotent stem (miPS) cells, in which green fluorescent protein (GFP) has been inserted into the 5'-untranslated region of the Nanog gene. Usually, iPS cells, just like embryonic stem cells, are considered to be induced into progenitor cells, which differentiate into various normal phenotypes depending on the normal niche. We hypothesized that CSCs could be derived from Nanog miPS cells in the conditioned culture medium of cancer cell lines, which is a mimic of carcinoma microenvironment. As a result, the Nanog miPS cells treated with the conditioned medium of mouse Lewis lung carcinoma acquired characteristics of CSCs, in that they formed spheroids expressing GFP in suspension culture, and had a high tumorigenicity in Balb/c nude mice exhibiting angiogenesis in vivo. In addition, these iPS-derived CSCs had a capacity of self-renewal and expressed the marker genes, Nanog, Rex1, Eras, Esg1 and Cripto, associated with stem cell properties and an undifferentiated state. Thus we concluded that a model of CSCs was originally developed from miPS cells and proposed the conditioned culture medium of cancer cell lines might perform as niche for producing CSCs. The model of CSCs and the procedure of their establishment will help study the genetic alterations and the secreted factors in the tumor microenvironment which convert miPS cells to CSCs. Furthermore, the identification of potentially bona fide markers of CSCs, which will help the development of novel anti-cancer therapies, might be possible though the CSC model.

E-selectin targeting to visualize tumors in vivo.

Generally angiogenic factors induce the expression of E-selectin in vascular endothelial cells in the tumors. In this study, we employed an anti-E-selectin monoclonal antibody to target tumors in vivo and evaluated an optical imaging reagent to visualize tumor regions. The anti-E-selectin antibody was conjugated on the surface of liposomes, which encapsulated the near-infrared fluorescent substances Cy3 or Cy5.5. The liposomes efficiently recognized human umbilical vein endothelial cells only when E-selectin was induced by angiogenic factors such as TNF-alpha in vitro. Cy5.5 encapsulated into liposomes that were conjugated with an anti-E-selectin antibody successfully visualized Ehrlich ascites tumor cells when transplanted into mice. Thus, E-selectin targeting with liposomes containing a near-infrared fluorescent dye was found effective in visualizing tumors in vivo. This strategy should be extremely useful as a method to identify sentinel lymphatic nodes and angiogenic tumors as well as use for drug delivery to tumor cells.