Metal Nanoclusters as a Superior Polysulfides Immobilizer toward Highly Stable Lithium-Sulfur Batteries.

Due to their high designability, unique geometric and electronic structures, and surface coordination chemistry, atomically precise metal nanoclusters are an emerging class of functional nanomaterials at the forefront of materials research. However, the current research on metal nanoclusters is mainly fundamental, and their practical applications are still uncharted. The surface binding properties and redox activity of Au24 Pt(PET)18 (PET: phenylethanethiolate, SCH2 CH2 Ph) nanoclusters are herein harnessed as an high-efficiency electrocatalyst for the anchoring and rapid conversion of lithium polysulfides in lithium-sulfur batteries (LSBs). Au24 Pt(PET)18 @G composites are prepared by using the large specific surface area, high porosity, and conductive network of graphene (G) for the construction of battery separator that can inhibit polysulfide shuttle and accelerate electrochemical kinetics. Resultantly, the LSB using a Au24 Pt(PET)18 @G-based separator presents a high reversible specific capacity of 1535.4 mA h g-1 for the first cycle at 0.2 A g-1 and a rate capability of 887 mA h g-1 at 5 A g-1 . After 1000 cycles at 5 A g-1 , the capacity is 558.5 mA h g-1 . This study is a significant step toward the application of metal nanoclusters as optimal electrocatalysts for LSBs and other sustainable energy storage systems.

A Mott-Schottky Heterojunction with Strong Chemisorption and Fast Conversion Effects for Room-Temperature Na-S Batteries.

The practical application of the room-temperature sodium-sulfur (RT Na-S) batteries is currently limited by low reversible capacity and serious capacity decay due to the sluggish reaction kinetics and shuttle effect. It is necessary to design a suitable sulfur host integrated with electrocatalysts to realize effective chemisorption and catalysis of sodium polysulfides (NaPSs). Herein, under the guidance of theoretical calculation, the Mott-Schottky heterojunction with a built-in electric field composed of iron (Fe) and iron disulfide (FeS2) components anchored on a porous carbon matrix (Fe/FeS2-PC) is designed and prepared. The enhanced chemisorption effect of Fe, the fast electrocatalytic effect of FeS2, and the fast transfer effect of the built-in electric field within the Fe/FeS2 heterojunction in the cathode of RT Na-S batteries work together to effectively improve the electrochemical performance. As a result, the Fe/FeS2-PC@S cathode exhibits high reversible capacity (815 mAh g-1 after 150 cycles at 0.2 A g-1) and excellent stability (516 mAh g-1 after 600 cycles at 5 A g-1, with only 0.07% decay per cycle). The design of the Fe/FeS2 heterojunction electrocatalyst provides a new strategy for the development of highly stable RT Na-S batteries.

Slow flow HD and traditional CDFI technologies in identifying pulmonary veins in the first trimester.

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to assess the feasibility and effectiveness of color doppler flow imaging (CDFI) technology and the Slow Flow HD imaging technique in identifying fetal pulmonary veins (PVs) in the first trimester (11-13 + 6 weeks), and further explore the factors affecting fetal pulmonary vein identification in early pregnancy. METHODS: Echocardiography and scanning of PVs were performed in 240 normal singleton fetuses in early pregnancy by using CDFI and slow flow HD techniques, to compare the ability of two methods to identify the PVs. Slow Flow HD technology was used to further investigate the difference of PVs identification at different gestational ages [group I (11-11 + 6 weeks), group II (12-12 + 6 weeks), group III (13-13 + 6 weeks)] and with different maternal body mass indices (BMI) (≥ 25 and < 25). In 31 cases of 240 fetuses, transvaginal ultrasonography was added due to maternal habitus or significant retroversion of the uterus, and the difference in PVs identification between transabdominal and transvaginal examination was analyzed. RESULTS: Successful PVs identification rates via CDFI and Slow Flow HD were 32.0% and 88.3%, respectively (p < 0.05). The identification rate of at least one and two pulmonary veins in Slow Flow HD was 88.3% and 76.2%, and all four pulmonary veins in 11.6% (p < 0.05). The identification rate of group I, II and III were 76.4%, 88.9% and 96.0%, respectively. The identification rate was 45.1% in the transabdominal ultrasound group and 83.8% in the transvaginal ultrasound group. The identification rate was 62.5% in the BMI ≥ 25 group and 94.7% in the BMI < 25 group (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Slow Flow HD can detect PVs in early pregnancy more often than using CDFI. Slow Flow HD is a feasible and effective imaging technique for evaluating PVs in early pregnancy.

Efficient Regulation of Polysulfides by MoS2 /MoO3 Heterostructures for High-Performance Li-S Batteries.

The notorious shuttle effect and sluggish conversion of polysulfides seriously hinder the practical application of Lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries. In this study, a novel architecture of MoS2 /MoO3 heterostructure uniformly distributed on carbon nanotubes (MoS2 /MoO3 @CNT) is designed and introduced into Li-S batteries via decorating commercial separator to regulate the redox reactions of polysulfides. Systematic experiments and theoretical calculations showed that the heterostructure not only provides sufficient surface affinity to capture polysulfides and acts as an active catalyst to promote the conversion of polysulfides, but also the highly conductive CNT enables rapid electron/ion migration. As a result, Li-S batteries with the MoS2 /MoO3 @CNT-PP separator deliver an impressive reversible capacity (1015 mAh g-1 at 0.2 A g-1 after 100 cycles), excellent rate capacity (873 mAh g-1 at 5 A g-1 ), and low self-discharge capacity loss (94.6% capacity retention after 7 days of standing). Moreover, even at an elevated temperature of 70 °C, it still exhibits high-capacity retention (800 mAh g-1 at 1 A g-1 after 100 cycles). Encouragingly, when the sulfur load is increased to 8.7 mg cm-2 , the high reversible areal capacity of 6.61 mAh cm-2 can be stably maintained after 100 cycles, indicating a high potential for practical application.

Study on the correlation between B vitamins and breast cancer.

BACKGROUND: Relevant studies suggest that serum vitamin level is related to the risk of breast cancer, and dietary pattern and drug supplementation can significantly affect the level of vitamin in the body. Therefore, intervention of vitamin level in the body is expected to be a potential strategy to reduce the risk of breast cancer. However, the current epidemiological findings of serum vitamin levels and breast cancer risk are inconsistent, and the relationship between serum vitamin and breast cancer is still controversial. In this study, we compared the serum vitamin expression levels of healthy people, benign breast patients, and breast cancer patients, and evaluated the relationship between B vitamin levels and breast cancer risk. METHODS: The study used liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry to determine the serum vitamin levels of 520 people who attended Yunnan Cancer Hospital from September 2020 to December 2020. After screening by exclusion criteria, 38 patients with benign breast diseases, 87 patients with breast cancer and 91 healthy controls were finally included. The kruskal-wallis H test was used to compare the differences in serum vitamin levels of subjects. Χ2 test was used to evaluate the relationship between B vitamin level and age,BMI,TNM staging,Ki-67,Her-2,surgery and chemotherapy, and other baseline characteristics and through binary logistic regression analysis, calculating odds ratio and 95% confidence interval (CI) to evaluate the relationship between B vitamins and breast cancer risk. CONCLUSION: The levels of VitB1 and VitB5 in the serum of breast cancer patients and patients with benign breast diseases were higher than those in the healthy control group, while the expression levels of VitB3 in breast cancer patients were lower than those in the healthy control group and the breast benign disease groups. The level of VitB1 was positively correlated with breast cancer risk. The VitB3 level was negatively correlated with breast cancer risk. The VitB5 level is not significantly related to the risk of breast cancer.

Effect of Qizhitongluo capsule on lower limb rehabilitation after stroke: A randomized clinical trial.

BACKGROUND: An individual's level of lower limb motor function is associated with his or her disability level after stroke, and motor improvement may lead to a better prognosis and quality of life. Data from animal models show that Qizhitongluo (QZTL) capsule facilitates recovery after focal brain injury. We aimed to validate the efficacy and safety of the QZTL capsule for promoting lower limb motor recovery in poststroke patients. METHODS: In this randomized, multicenter, double-blind, placebo- and active-controlled trial from 13 sites in China, participants with ischemic stroke and Fugl-Meyer motor scale (FMMS) scores of <95 were eligible for inclusion. Patients were randomly assigned in a 2:1:1 ratio to the QZTL group, Naoxintong (NXT) group or placebo group for 12 weeks at 15-28 days after the onset of stroke. The primary outcome was the change in the Lower Limb FMMS (FMMS-LL) score from baseline over the 12-week intervention period. RESULTS: 622 participants were randomly assigned to the QZTL group (309), NXT group (159), or placebo group (154). The FMMS-LL score increased by 4.81 points (95 % CI, 4.27-5.35) in the QZTL group, by 3.77 points (95 % CI, 3.03-4.51) in the NXT group and by 3.00 points (95 % CI, 3.03-4.51) in the placebo group at week 12. The QZTL group showed significantly larger improvements compared with the placebo group at each interview from weeks 4-12 (difference, 0.89 [0.30,1.49] at week 4, P = 0.0032; difference, 1.83[1.01,2.66] at 90 days poststroke, P < 0.0001; difference, 1.81[0.88,2.74] at week 12, P = 0.0001). CONCLUSION: The QZTL capsule is an effective treatment for lower limb motor impairment. The finding indicates that the QZTL capsule may be used as a potential new strategy for stroke rehabilitation.

Extensive Microsurgical Reconstruction of Chest Wall Defects for Locally Advanced Breast Cancer: A 10-Year Single-Unit Experience.

BACKGROUND: Despite improvements in the early detection of breast cancer, locally advanced breast cancer (LABC) involving the chest wall exists in developing countries. Surgical resection remains a controversial management option. This study aims to demonstrate the value of chest wall reconstructive techniques for large LABC defects and report long-term outcomes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We report a 10-years single-unit experience in the reconstruction of large defects (>300 cm). From 2007 to 2017, all LABC cases managed with large surgical resection with immediate microsurgical chest wall reconstruction were included in this study. Herein, we present the demographics, comorbidities, clinicopathological LABC characteristics, surgical techniques (free flap choice, recipient vessels), and outcomes (survival, complication, cosmesis, and patient satisfaction). RESULTS: Of the 104 LABC cases, free deep inferior epigastric artery perforator flap was performed in 41 (39.4%) cases, free anterolateral thigh flap in 5 (4.8%), free deep inferior epigastric artery perforator combined with pedicled transverse rectus abdominis myocutaneous (TRAM) flap in 23 (22.1%), free muscle-sparing transverse rectus abdominis muscle flap in 30 (28.9%), and free transverse upper gracilis flap in 5 (4.8%). Complications were low. Over a median follow-up of 49.5 months, the 3-year local recurrence rate and distant metastasis-free survival were 13.9% and 84.9%, respectively. In addition, the 3-year disease-free survival and overall survival were 84.2% and 92.0%, respectively. The rate of excellent and good ratings by the esthetic assessment panel was 83.0%, and the patient satisfaction rate was 90.0%. CONCLUSION: Wide resection and microvascular free tissue transfer is oncologically safe in LABC with huge tumors and provides versatile solutions for the reconstruction of extensive chest wall defects. With favorable long-term survival and cosmetic outcomes, surgical resection of LABC combined with flap reconstruction may offer a practical approach in difficult and complicated cases. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: In this retrospective review, it was demonstrated that wide resection followed by distinct chest wall reconstructive free flaps transfer is oncologically safe in LABC with huge tumors and provides useful solutions for the reconstruction of extensive chest wall defects.

Study on the Effects of Estradiol in Staphylococcus epidermidis Device-Related Capsule Formation.

BACKGROUND: Capsular contracture, mainly caused by Staphylococcus epidermidis (S. epidermidis) biofilm formation, is a complex problem for breast cancer patients who undergo surgical prosthetic breast reconstruction. Estradiol has been reported to be involved in the formation of bacterial biofilms. Thus, the underlying mechanism of estradiol in capsular contracture needs to be investigated. METHODS: Biofilm-related gene expressions were measured by qRT-PCR after sterilizing the silicone with bacterial suspension and E2 treatment in vitro. Rat models were established with bilateral ovariectomy operations and estradiol subcutaneous injections. The effects of estradiol on capsular contracture were detected by monitoring serum estradiol levels, bacterial infection rate in organs, biofilm formation and capsular contracture in vivo; inflammatory factors in vivo were examined as well. Biofilm on the silicone implants was observed under a scanning electron microscope. RESULTS: Both positive regulatory genes and negative regulatory genes were increased by the high concentration of estradiol, suggesting that estradiol can promote the formation of biofilm by not only positive but also negative regulations. High estradiol levels increased bacterial infection rate in organs, biofilm formation and capsular contracture. Further, high estradiol caused a large number of inflammatory cells to infiltrate and caused serious inflammatory reactions that aggravate the immune imbalances of the host. CONCLUSION: High estradiol levels contribute to increasing capsular contracture caused by S. epidermidis biofilm formation. NO LEVEL ASSIGNED: This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each submission to which Evidence-Based Medicine rankings are applicable. This excludes Review Articles, Book Reviews, and manuscripts that concern Basic Science, Animal Studies, Cadaver Studies, and Experimental Studies. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266.

Nb2 O5 /RGO Nanocomposite Modified Separators with Robust Polysulfide Traps and Catalytic Centers for Boosting Performance of Lithium-Sulfur Batteries.

Lithium-sulfur batteries (LSBs) have shown great potential for application in high-density energy storage systems. However, the performance of LSBs is hindered by the shuttle effect and sluggish reaction kinetics of lithium polysulfides (LiPSs). Herein, heterostructual Nb2 O5 nanocrystals/reduced graphene oxide (Nb2 O5 /RGO) composites are introduced into LSBs through separator modification for boosting the electrochemical performance. The Nb2 O5 /RGO heterostructures are designed as chemical trappers and conversion accelerators of LiPSs. Originating from the strong chemical interactions between Nb2 O5 and LiPSs as well as the superior catalytic nature of Nb2 O5 , the Nb2 O5 /RGO nanocomposite possesses high trapping efficiency and efficient electrocatalytic activity to long-chain LiPSs. The effective regulation of LiPSs conversion enables the LSBs enhanced redox kinetics and suppressed shuttle effect. Moreover, the Nb2 O5 /RGO nanocomposite has abundant sulfophilic sites and defective interfaces, which are beneficial for the nucleation and growth of Li2 S, as evidenced by analysis of the cycled separators. As a result, LSBs with the Nb2 O5 /RGO-modified separators exhibit excellent rate capability (816 mAh g-1 at 3 A g-1 ) and cyclic performance (628 mAh g-1 after 500 cycles). Remarkably, high specific capacity and stable cycling performance are demonstrated even at an elevated temperature of 50 °C or with higher sulfur loadings.

Treatment of migraines with Tianshu capsule: a multi-center, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial.

BACKGROUND: Tianshu capsule (TSC), a formula of traditional Chinese medicine, has been widely used in clinical practice for prophylactic treatment of headaches in China. However, former clinical trials of TSC were small, and lack of a standard set of diagnostic criteria to enroll patients. The study was conducted to re-evaluate the efficacy and safety of TSC post-marketing in an extending number of migraineurs who have diagnosed migraine with the International Classification of Headache Disorders, 3rd edition (beta version, ICHD-3ß). METHODS: The study was a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial that conducted at 20 clinical centers in China. At enrollment, patients between 18 and 65 years of age diagnosed with migraine were assigned to receive either TSC (4.08 g, three times daily) or a matched placebo according to a randomization protocol. The primary endpoint was a relative reduction of 50% or more in the frequency of headache attacks. The secondary outcomes included a reduction in the incidence of headache, the visual analogue scale of headache attacks, days of acute analgesic usage, and percentage of patients with a decrease of 50% or more in headache severity. Accompanying symptoms were also assessed. RESULTS: One thousand migraine patients were initially enrolled in the study, and 919 of them completed the trial. Following the 12-week treatment, significant improvement was observed in the TSC group concerning both primary and secondary outcomes. After therapy discontinuation, the gap between the TSC group and the placebo group in efficacy outcomes continued to increase. There were no severe adverse effects. CONCLUSIONS: TSC is an effective, well-tolerated medicine for prophylactic treatment of migraine, and still have prophylactic effect after medicine discontinuation. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02035111; Data of registration: 2014-01-10.

Long non-coding RNA (LncRNA) RMST in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC): Expression analysis and biological roles research.

Microarray showed that lncRNA RMST was differentially expressed in cervical cancer. Further experiments were conducted to detect the expression and biological function of RMST in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). Microarray was used to screen the differentially expressed lncRNAs in TNBC. QRT-PCR was applied to uncover the expression of RMST in TNBC tissues. The cell viability of RMST-transfected TNBC cells were probed by CKK-8 assay and colony formation assay. TUNEL assay was conducted to test the cell apoptosis and FCM assay was exerted to detect the cell cycle. The invasion and migration ability of transfected cells were examined by transwell assay. RMST played its biological function through regulating the mRNA or protein expression in cytoplasm. CCK-8 and colony formation assay unveiled that RMST could slow down the proliferation of TNBC cells to influence the tumor progression. TUNEL results revealed that RMST could enhance cell apoptosis in TNBC. The cell cycle detected by FCM assay indicated that RMST might induce the block of G0/G1 phase thus inhibiting TNBC cell proliferation. RMST overexpression could also restrain the invasion and migration abilities of TNBC cells. RMST played a role of tumor suppressor in TNBC through inhibiting cell proliferation, invasion and migration, enhancing cell apoptosis, and regulating cell cycle.

Chromosome-wide gene dosage rebalance may benefit tumor progression.

The high-risk of tumor initiation in patients with Turner syndrome (TS) characterized by X chromosome monosomy in women has been well established and aneuploidy, defined as an abnormal number of chromosomes, is a common feature in human cancer. However, the underlying mechanisms of X chromosome aneuploidy promoting tumorigenesis remain obscure. We propose that chromosome-wide gene dosage imbalance (CDI) may serve as an important mechanism. Here, we assess the relative expression ratios of X chromosome and autosomes (expression ratios of X:AA) between tumor samples and adjacent normal samples across 16 tumor types using expression datasets from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) project. Our results show that the expression ratios of X:AA in tumor samples are frequently rebalanced to a lower level compared to those in adjacent normal samples, which is termed chromosome-wide gene dosage rebalance (CDR) thereafter. Gene ontology (GO) analysis of differentially expression genes from X chromosome reveals that downregulation of multicellularity-related genes and upregulation of unicellularity-related genes in tumors form a distinctive feature and enrichment analysis shows that downregulated genes are enriched in tumor suppressor genes, which indicate that CDR benefits tumor progression. Further experimental results prove that disturbance of X chromosome expression by knocking down of XIST in breast cancer cells, which functions in initiation phase of X chromosome inactivation (XCI), inhibits tumor progression. Our results demonstrate that the prevalent CDRs across tumor types serve as an important mechanism in promoting tumor progression, which partially explains the high risk of tumor in patients with TS and also provides a new cancer therapy from the CDR perspective.

Identification and validation of QTLs for 100-seed weight using chromosome segment substitution lines in soybean.

The 100-seed weight (100SW) is one of the most important traits that control soybean yield. To identify the quantitative trait loci (QTL) of 100SW, 120 BC3F5 chromosome segment substitution lines (CSSLs) were cultivated over three years. The CSSLs were developed from a cross between the cultivated soybean variety 'Jackson' and the wild soybean accession 'JWS156-1', followed by continuous backcrossing using 'Jackson' variety as a recurrent parent. A total of nine QTLs (qSW8.1, qSW9.1, qSW12.1, qSW13.1, qSW14.1, qSW16.1, qSW17.1, qSW17.2, and qSW20.1) were detected on eight chromosomes. Of these, qSW12.1 (LOD = 6.78-12.31) was detected over the three successive years on chromosome 12 as a novel, stable, and major QTL. To validate the effect of qSW12.1, a residual heterozygous line (RHL), RHL564, which showed heterozygous at the qSW12.1 region, was selected from the BC3F5 population. Of the two homologous genotypes in the progenies produced by self-pollination of RHL564, a higher seed weight was observed in the 'Jackson' genotype plants than that in the 'JWS156-1' genotype plants. qSW12.1 was delimited in an interval of approximately 1,348 kb between the BARCSOYSSR_12_1282 and BARCSOYSSR_12_1347 markers on chromosome 12.

FPGA-Based On-Board Geometric Calibration for Linear CCD Array Sensors.

With increasing demands in real-time or near real-time remotely sensed imagery applications in such as military deployments, quick response to terrorist attacks and disaster rescue, the on-board geometric calibration problem has attracted the attention of many scientists in recent years. This paper presents an on-board geometric calibration method for linear CCD sensor arrays using FPGA chips. The proposed method mainly consists of four modules-Input Data, Coefficient Calculation, Adjustment Computation and Comparison-in which the parallel computations for building the observation equations and least squares adjustment, are implemented using FPGA chips, for which a decomposed matrix inversion method is presented. A Xilinx Virtex-7 FPGA VC707 chip is selected and the MOMS-2P data used for inflight geometric calibration from DLR (Köln, Germany), are employed for validation and analysis. The experimental results demonstrated that: (1) When the widths of floating-point data from 44-bit to 64-bit are adopted, the FPGA resources, including the utilizations of FF, LUT, memory LUT, I/O and DSP48, are consumed at a fast increasing rate; thus, a 50-bit data width is recommended for FPGA-based geometric calibration. (2) Increasing number of ground control points (GCPs) does not significantly consume the FPGA resources, six GCPs is therefore recommended for geometric calibration. (3) The FPGA-based geometric calibration can reach approximately 24 times faster speed than the PC-based one does. (4) The accuracy from the proposed FPGA-based method is almost similar to the one from the inflight calibration if the calibration model and GCPs number are the same.

Group IVA Element (Si, Ge, Sn)-Based Alloying/Dealloying Anodes as Negative Electrodes for Full-Cell Lithium-Ion Batteries.

To satisfy the increasing energy demands of portable electronics, electric vehicles, and miniaturized energy storage devices, improvements to lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are required to provide higher energy/power densities and longer cycle lives. Group IVA element (Si, Ge, Sn)-based alloying/dealloying anodes are promising candidates for use as electrodes in next-generation LIBs owing to their extremely high gravimetric and volumetric capacities, low working voltages, and natural abundances. However, due to the violent volume changes that occur during lithium-ion insertion/extraction and the formation of an unstable solid electrolyte interface, the use of Group IVA element-based anodes in commercial LIBs is still a great challenge. Evaluating the electrochemical performance of an anode in a full-cell configuration is a key step in investigating the possible application of the active material in LIBs. In this regard, the recent progress and important approaches to overcoming and alleviating the drawbacks of Group IVA element-based anode materials are reviewed, such as the severe volume variations during cycling and the relatively brittle electrode/electrolyte interface in full-cell LIBs. Finally, perspectives and future challenges in achieving the practical application of Group IVA element-based anodes in high-energy and high-power-density LIB systems are proposed.

Numb and Numbl act to determine mammary myoepithelial cell fate, maintain epithelial identity, and support lactogenesis.

Mammary epithelium is comprised of an inner layer of luminal epithelial cells and an outer layer of contractile myoepithelial cells with mesenchymal properties. These two compartments interact throughout mammary morphogenesis to form branching ducts during puberty and terminate in secretory alveoli during lactation. It is not known how the myoepithelial cell lineage is specified, nor how signals in myoepithelial cells contribute to lactogenesis. Here, we show that Numb and Numbl are enriched in mammary myoepithelial cells, with their expression peaking during pregnancy. We use conditional Numb- and Numbl-knockout mouse models to demonstrate that loss of Numb/Numbl compromised the myoepithelial layer and expanded the luminal layer, led epithelial cells to undergo epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, and resulted in lactation failure as a result of abnormal alveolar formation during pregnancy. Numb and Numbl function via repression of the Notch signaling pathway and of the p53-p21 axis during mammary gland development. These findings highlight the importance of Numb and Numbl in the control of myoepithelial cell fate determination, epithelial identity, and lactogenesis.-Zhang Y., Li, F., Song, Y., Sheng, X., Ren, F., Xiong, K., Chen, L., Zhang, H., Liu, D., Lengner, C. J., Xue, L., Yu, Z. Numb and Numbl act to determine mammary myoepithelial cell fate, maintain epithelial identity, and support lactogenesis.

Notch3 negatively regulates chemoresistance in breast cancers.

To define the role of the NOTCH signaling pathway in the development of chemoresistance and the associated epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), we investigated the effect of Notch3 on adriamycin (ADM)-resistant human breast cancer cells (MCF-7/ADM cells). We found that Notch3 was downregulated and involved in the chemoresistance of MCF-7/ADM cells, while forced expression of Notch3 reversed the chemoresistance. Furthermore, fos-related antigen 1 (Fra1) was negatively regulated by Notch3 and was highly expressed in MCF-7/ADM cells. Increased Fra1 activated the EMT process. Finally, Notch3 expression was confirmed in clinically chemoresistant samples of breast cancers from patients receiving anthracycline-based chemotherapy. Low expression of Notch3 was an unfavorable predictor of distant relapse-free survival in ER positive breast cancers. Taken together, our findings demonstrate that the Notch3-Fra1 signaling pathway mediates chemoresistance via the EMT.

Identification of featured biomarkers in breast cancer with microRNA microarray.

PURPOSE: We aimed to screen possible biomarkers associated with the molecular mechanism of breast cancer using microRNA (miRNA) microarray. METHODS: The miRNAs expression profile GSE45666 was downloaded from Gene Expression Omnibus database, which included 101 genechips from breast tumor samples and 15 from adjacent breast normal tissue samples. Limma package in R language was used to screen and identify differentially expressed miRNAs (DE-miRNAs) which were classified as up-regulated and down-regulated groups. Then, target genes regulated by the two groups of DE-miRNA were predicted, followed by the functional and pathway enrichment analysis using the DAVID system. RESULTS: Totally, 130 DE-miRNAs were screened out, including 59 up-regulated DE-miRNAs and 71 down-regulated DE-miRNAs. The functional enrichment indicated that target genes of up- and down-regulated DE-miRNA may be most highly associated with positive regulation of gene expression and regulation of cellular metabolic process, respectively. Target genes regulated by the up- and down-regulated DE-miRNAs were mainly enriched in 13 and 14 pathways, respectively, and both were most significant in subcategories in cancer. In addition, we identified three important miRNAs (miR-142-3p, miR-483-5p and miR-483-3p) pivotal for the initiation and progression of this malignant tumor. CONCLUSIONS: MiR-142-3p, miR-483-5p and miR-483-3p are potential key factors for further understanding the molecular mechanism of breast cancer by affecting the normal physiological function of cell.

The Sonographic Features of an Oral Lymphoma.

The gastrointestinal tract is the most commonly involved extranodal site in non-Hodgkin lymphomas (NHL). Oral cavity as primary site constitutes only 2% of all extranodal non-Hodgkin lymphomas. The oral buccal mucosa involvement by lymphoma is very rare. Here, the authors report a case of primary mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma of the oral mucosa. The sonographic features of the mass are described in depth.

Atomistic origins of high rate capability and capacity of N-doped graphene for lithium storage.

Distinct from pure graphene, N-doped graphene (GN) has been found to possess high rate capability and capacity for lithium storage. However, there has still been a lack of direct experimental evidence and fundamental understanding of the storage mechanisms at the atomic scale, which may shed a new light on the reasons of the ultrafast lithium storage property and high capacity for GN. Here we report on the atomistic insights of the GN energy storage as revealed by in situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The lithiation process on edges and basal planes is directly visualized, the pyrrolic N "hole" defect and the perturbed solid-electrolyte-interface configurations are observed, and charge transfer states for three N-existing forms are also investigated. In situ high-resolution TEM experiments together with theoretical calculations provide a solid evidence that enlarged edge {0002} spacings and surface hole defects result in improved surface capacitive effects and thus high rate capability and the high capacity are owing to short-distance orderings at the edges during discharging and numerous surface defects; the phenomena cannot be understood previously by standard electron or X-ray diffraction analyses.