Orthogonal retrieval algorithm of atmospheric temperature profiles from pure rotational Raman lidar signals.

Aimed at the stability of calibration coefficients in a general non-orthogonal retrieval algorithm (NRA) of pure rotational Raman lidars (PRRLs), an orthogonal retrieval algorithm (ORA) of atmospheric temperature profiles based on the orthogonal basis function is proposed. This algorithm eliminates the correlation between the calibration coefficients in the NRA to reduce the influence of the number of calibration points and the selection scheme on the calibration coefficients. In this paper, the stabilities of calibration coefficients in the NRA and ORA are compared and analyzed, and the data analysis for atmospheric temperature profiles with a time resolution of minute-level are given, based on the developed Cloud Precipitation Potential Evaluation (CPPV) lidar data and the parallel radiosonde temperature data. The analysis results show that coefficients of variation (CVs) of ORA calibration coefficients are one order of magnitude smaller than those of NRA coefficients. The mean deviation of the ORA retrieval results is roughly reduced by 16.1% compared with the NRA, and the root-mean-square deviation is roughly reduced by 15.0% compared with the NRA. Therefore, the temperature retrieval performance of the ORA is better than that of the NRA.

Endometriosis decreases female sexual function and increases pain severity: a meta-analysis.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to explore the effects of endometriosis on female sexual function. METHODS: PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science databases were searched to analyze the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) or visual analog scale (VAS) scores between women with and without endometriosis. Data from publications were generated, and the sexual function of women with and without endometriosis was systematically evaluated. RESULTS: A total of six publications were included in the study. The FSFI total score and its six domains were significantly lower in women with endometriosis: FSFI total score (P < 0.001), desire (P = 0.045), arousal (P = 0.039), pain domains (P < 0.001), lubrication (P < 0.001), orgasm (P = 0.001), and satisfaction (P < 0.001). Women with endometriosis exhibited more severity in terms of VAS scores for dyspareunia (P = 0.008) and chronic pelvic pain (P < 0.001); however, no significant severity for dysmenorrhea was observed (P = 0.118). Subgroup analysis showed that the region was not a source of heterogeneity. Publication bias was not noted in all included studies, and most results of the sensitivity analysis for the included indexes were stable, which implied that our results were relatively reliable. CONCLUSION: The present meta-analysis provided evidence that endometriosis decreased female sexual function and increased the pain severity of dyspareunia and chronic pelvic pain.

Targeting DNAJC19 overcomes tumor growth and lung metastasis in NSCLC by regulating PI3K/AKT signaling.

BACKGROUND: Some driver oncogenes are still unknown in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). DNAJC19, a major component of the translocation machinery of mitochondrial membranes, is a disease-associated protein. Herein, we report the role of DNAJC19 in NSCLC cell growth and metastasis. METHODS: Immunohistochemistry (IHC) was performed to investigate DNAJC19 expression in NSCLC clinical samples. For knockdown or overexpression assays in A549 or NCI-H1299 lung cancer cells, lentiviral vectors were used. After assessment of cell functions, DNAJC19-knockdown A549 cells were further applied to establish mouse xenograft and metastasis tumor models. Assessments based on the RNA-seq data, western blotting, PCR and IHC were performed for the mechanistic study. RESULTS: Expression of DNAJC19 was higher in tumors than in noncancerous adjacent tissues. Survival analysis indicated that low DNAJC19 levels were correlated with an increased progression-free survival rate. ShRNA-mediated knockdown of DNAJC19 markedly inhibited cell growth, viability, migration and invasion. Moreover, RNA-seq analysis revealed that the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway was involved in molecular events when A549 cells were treated with shDNAJC19. In addition, DNAJC19 knockdown decreased PI3Kp85a, AKT and p-AKT expression in A549 cells, and cellular functions were greatly rescued in DNAJC19-knockdown A549 cells by ectopic overexpression of AKT. Furthermore, tumor xenograft growth and lung metastasis were markedly repressed in the shDNAJC19 group compared to the control group. As expected, the expression levels of DNAJC19, PI3K and AKT in xenograft mouse samples were also lower in the shDNAJC19 group than in the shCtrl group. CONCLUSIONS: DNAJC19 greatly promotes NSCLC cell growth and lung metastasis by regulating PI3K/AKT signaling, providing a novel therapeutic target for treating NSCLC patients.

Role of rgsA in Oxidative Stress Resistance in Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a common opportunistic pathogen that causes infections in vulnerable patients including those with metabolic disorders, hematologic diseases, and malignancies, and in those who have undergone surgery. In addition, P. aeruginosa exhibits high intrinsic resistance to numerous antibiotics and tends to form biofilms rendering it even more refractory to treatment. Among the mechanisms used by P. aeruginosa to adapt to environmental stresses are those involving small regulatory RNAs (sRNAs), which are 40-500 nucleotides long and are ubiquitous in bacteria. sRNAs play important regulatory roles in various vital processes in diverse bacteria, with their quantity and diversity of regulatory functions exceeding those of proteins. In this study, we show that deletion of the sRNA, rgsA, decreased the growth rate of P. aeruginosa. Furthermore, ΔrgsA P. aeruginosa exhibited decreased ability to resist the stress induced by exposure to different concentrations and durations of peroxides in both planktonic and biofilm growth modes compared with the wild-type strain. These results highlight the role of rgsA in the defense of P. aeruginosa against oxidative stress.

Sensitive detection of miRNA based on enzyme-propelled multiple photoinduced electron transfer strategy.

A method is presented that uses photoinduced electron transfer (PET) for the determination of microRNAs (miRNAs) in clinical serum samples and complicated cell samples by using a smartphone. miRNA-21 is adopted as a model analyte. A 3'-phosphorylated DNA probe containing AgNCs is synthesized and hybridized with miRNA-21. Subsequently, the probe is cleaved specifically by duplex-specific nuclease to form 3'-hydroxylated products, then extended by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase (TdT) with superlong G for G-quadruplex/hemin units fabrication. In this way, PET occurred between AgNCs and produced G-quadruplex/hemin units, leading to the fluorescence quenching of AgNCs. Notably, the fluorescence images can be captured and translated into digital information by smartphone, resulting in a direct quantitative determination of miRNA. As a result, our strategy for miRNA assay is achieved with a satisfactory detection limit of 1.43 pM. Interestingly, TdT-propelled G-quadruplex/hemin units as multiple electron acceptors promote the sensitivity of miRNA monitoring. Different miRNAs assays are realized by adjusting the complimentary sequences of DNA probe. These qualities not only broaden the practical application of PET-based strategy, but also provide a new insight into the nucleic acid detection. Schematic representation of AgNCs and enzyme-propelled photoinduced electron transfer strategy. It has been successfully applied for detection of miRNA by image analysis software. The method displays portability and accuracy for miRNA determination, meeting the potential for biochemical and clinical applications in resource-limited settings.

Protective effects of 7-hydroxyethyl chrysin on rats with exercise-induced fatigue in hypobaric hypoxia environment.

: To investigate the protective effect of 7-hydroxyethyl chrysin (7-HEC) on rats with exercise-induced fatigue in hypobaric hypoxic condition.Forty healthy male Wistar rats were randomly divided into four groups with 10 rats in each group: control group, model group, chrysin group and 7-HEC group. The rats in control group were raised at local altitude but other three groups were raised in a simulating altitude of for hypobaric hypoxia treatment. The chrysin group and 7-HEC group were given chrysin or 7-HEC by gavage for respectively; while the control group and model group were given the same amount of sterilized water. The weight-bearing swimming tests were performed 3 d later, and the weight-bearing swimming time was documented. After rats were sacrificed, the liver and skeletal muscle tissue samples were taken for pathological examination and determination of lactate, malondialdehyde (MDA), total superoxide dismutase (T-SOD) and glycogen levels. Blood urea nitrogen was also determined. Compared with the model group, weight-bearing swimming times were significantly prolonged in 7-HEC group [ vs. (4.04±1.30) min, <0.01]; pathological changes in liver and skeletal muscle tissue were attenuated; generation rate of blood urea nitrogen vs. 0.60) mmol·L·min, <0.05], lactate [liver: (0.14±0.05) vs. (0.10±0.03) mg·g·min, skeletal muscle: vs. (0.18±] and MDA [liver: (0.48) vs. (0.78±0.28) nmol·mg·min, skeletal muscle: (0.87±0.19) vs. (0.63±0.11) nmol·mg·min] were significantly reduced (all < 0.05); glycogen content [liver: (15.16±2.69) vs. skeletal muscle: (1.46±0.49) vs.0.48) mg/g] and T-SOD [liver: (1.87±0.01) vs. (2.68±0.12) U/mL, skeletal muscle: 0.42) vs. 0.96) U/mL] were significantly improved (all <0.05). 7-HEC has significant protective effect on the rats with exercise-induced fatigue in hypobaric hypoxia condition.

Thermosensitive Hydrogel Based on Poly(2-Ethyl-2-Oxazoline)-Poly(D,L-Lactide)-Poly(2-Ethyl-2-Oxazoline) for Sustained Salmon Calcitonin Delivery.

This study developed a thermosensitive hydrogel based on poly(2-ethyl-2-oxazoline)-poly(D,L-lactide)-poly(2-ethyl-2-oxazoline) (PPP) for the delivery of salmon calcitonin to improve the hypocalcemic effect. The tube inversion and rheological tests revealed that the copolymer solution underwent temperature-dependent sol-gel-sol transitions. Observation by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed that the hydrogel exhibited a porous three-dimensional network. The swelling test demonstrated that there was a maximum swelling ratio at low temperature (25°C) as compared with the high temperature (37°C). In vitro release revealed that the PPP hydrogel were capable of sustained release of salmon calcitonin (sCT). The in vivo biodegradability study indicated the good degradability of PPP hydrogel. More importantly, the in vivo retention time of the hydrogel in situ was significantly prolonged after subcutaneous injection of the PPP hydrogel compared to the F127 hydrogel. In vivo pharmacodynamics analysis showed that the hypocalcemic effect of both PPP and F127 hydrogel was significantly greater than that of sCT solution, and the mean serum Ca reduction effect could be maintained for 24 h of PPP hydrogel, indicating that PPP hydrogel could achieve a significant enhanced hypocalcemic effect. In conclusion, the PPP hydrogel has been shown to be prospective as a controlled release carrier for injection delivery of protein drugs.

Comparison of efficacy of robotic surgery, laparoscopy, and laparotomy in the treatment of ovarian cancer: a meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: We intended to compare the clinical effect of robotic surgery with laparoscopy and laparotomy in ovarian cancer treatment. METHODS: The included studies were retrieved from PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library databases. The Methodological Index for Nonrandomized Studies (MINORS) was used to evaluate the study quality. Effect measures were presented with weighted mean difference (WMD)/odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI), and heterogeneity test was assessed using Q test and I2 statistics to determine the use of the random effects model or fixed effects model. Egger's test was used to assess the publication bias. RESULTS: A total of eight studies was included in this meta-analysis with a MINORS score of 16-18. In the random effects model, estimated blood loss (EBL) of robotic surgery was significantly less compared with laparotomy (WMD = - 521.7027, 95% CI - 809.7816; - 233.6238). In the fixed effects model, length of hospital stay (LHS) (WMD = - 5.2225, 95% CI - 6.1485; - 4.2965) and postoperative complication (PC) (OR = 0.4710, 95% CI 0.2537; 0.8747) of robotic surgery were significantly less, and overall survival (OS) rate (OR = 6.4355, 95% CI 1.6722; 24.7678, P = 0.0070) of robotic surgery was significantly higher compared with laparotomy. There was no difference in the effect size of all variables between robotic surgery and laparoscopy. Meanwhile, a publication bias (t = 6.8290, P = 0.002405) was only identified for PC in robotic surgery and laparotomy groups; no publication bias was identified for the other variables. CONCLUSIONS: Despite the above results, it failed to show oncological safety and recurrence by pathological stages or histologic types in this meta-analysis, and those confounding factors might affect the clinical outcome. Future meta-analyses with a larger number of eligible randomized controlled trial studies were needed to determine the most suitable treatment method for patients with different stages and types of ovarian cancer.

Identifying Molecular Markers of Cervical Cancer Based on Competing Endogenous RNA Network Analysis.

AIM: Recurrence being a major challenge for the treatment of cervical cancer, we aimed at identifying novel molecular markers of cervical cancer to improve recurrence prediction. METHODS: Cervical cancer samples were obtained from the Cancer Genome Atlas. Prognosis-associated long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), microRNAs (miRNAs), and mRNAs between recurrent and nonrecurrent samples were acquired using expression analysis. Regulatory relationships among these prognosis-associated RNAs were predicted and used to construct a competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) network. Key prognostic lncRNAs, miRNAs, and mRNAs were identified using the ceRNA network, followed by the Kaplan-Meier survival analysis to reveal the influence of these key prognostic RNAs on prognosis. RESULTS: In total, 15 lncRNAs, 10 miRNAs, and 348 mRNAs were identified as significant prognosis-associated molecules. The cervical cancer-related ceRNA network contained 13 prognosis-associated lncRNAs, 5 prognosis-associated miRNAs, and 120 prognosis-associated mRNAs. Key prognostic lncRNAs, miRNAs, and mRNAs were further identified using the ceRNA network. The key prognostic lncRNAs included H19 and HOTAIR, those for miRNAs included hsa-miR-133b, hsa-miR-138, and hsa-miR-301b, and those for mRNAs included Wnt family member 2, fibroblast growth factor 7, fibronectin 1, synaptic vesicle glycoprotein 2A, and bone morphogenetic protein 7. CONCLUSION: The key prognostic lncRNAs, miRNAs, and mRNAs may serve as potential molecular markers for recurrence prediction and may contribute to the treatment of cervical cancer.

Contemporary Epidemiology, Management, and Outcomes of Patients Hospitalized for Heart Failure in China: Results From the China Heart Failure (China-HF) Registry.

BACKGROUND: Contemporary data on the epidemiology of heart failure (HF) in China are scarce. The China-HF Registry was designed to investigate clinical characteristics, management, and outcomes of patients hospitalized for HF in China. METHODS AND RESULTS: Data were collected prospectively on 13,687 patients with a primary discharge diagnosis of HF who were enrolled from 132 participating hospitals from January 2012 to September 2015. Data from the China-HF Registry was compared with previously published literature. The mean age was 65 ± 15 years, 59.1% were male, and 36.0% had preserved ejection fraction. Age, body mass index, and systolic blood pressure were lower than in high-income countries. Common comorbidities included hypertension (50.9%), coronary heart disease (49.6%), and atrial fibrillation (24.4%). The overall use of diuretics, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors or angiotensin receptor blockers (ACEI/ARB), and ß-blockers at admission was 30.1%, 27.0%, and 25.6%, respectively, which was lower than in other registries. For patients discharged alive, ACEI/ARB, ß-blocker, and mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist use in patients with reduced ejection fraction was 67.5%, 70.0%, and 74.1%, respectively; device use was much lower. The median length of hospital stay was 10 (range 7-15) days, and in-hospital mortality was 4.1 ± 0.3%. Predictors of mortality included low systolic blood pressure, acute myocardial infarction, infection, right bundle branch block, and elevated total bilirubin and blood urea nitrogen level. CONCLUSIONS: Several important findings in patient profile and treatment patterns among Chinese patients with HF were noted compared with published literature. These data underscore the need for regional characterization of HF for global clinical trials and for the identification of several quality improvement opportunities.

MicroRNA-200c and microRNA-141 as potential diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers for ovarian cancer.

Ovarian cancer is the fifth leading cause of female death globally due to its low survival rates. Thus, improved approaches for ovarian cancer detection are urgently needed. MicroRNAs as a new class of biomarkers have been explored in recent studies. This study was trying to identify and validate the two kinds of serum microRNA (miR-200c and miR-141) as biomarkers for ovarian cancer. We extracted serum samples from 74 epithelial ovarian cancer patients, 19 borderline ovarian cancer, and 50 healthy controls. Relative expression of these miRNA markers were measured by quantificational real-time polymerase chain reaction assay (qRT-PCR). Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) and area under the ROC curve (AUC) were used to validate the diagnostic value of miR-200c and miR-141. Kaplan-Meier curve and the log-rank test were conducted to detect the prognostic value of miR-200c and miR-141. miR-200c and miR-141 were significantly elevated in the epithelial ovarian cancer patients compared to healthy controls. The relative expression level of miR-200c showed a descending trend from early stages to advanced stages, while the level of miR-141 displayed an escalating trend. Patients with high miR-200c level achieved significantly a higher 2-year survival rate compared with the other group (P < 0.001), while low miR-141 group showed a significantly higher survival rate. The results of the current study suggested that serum miR-200c and miR-141 were able to discriminate the ovarian cancer patients from healthy controls. In addition, miR-200c and miR-141 may be predictive biomarkers for ovarian cancer prognosis. Further large-scale studies are still needed to confirm our findings.

Gene Expression and Correlation of Pten and Fabp4 in Liver, Muscle, and Adipose Tissues of Type 2 Diabetes Rats.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this work was to study the Fabp4 and Pten gene expression and correlation in the liver, muscle, and adipose tissues of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) rats. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Male Wistar rats (8 weeks old) were randomly divided into 2 groups (n=12/group): a control group fed a normal diet for 8 weeks and an experimental group fed a high-fat, high-sugar diet for 8 weeks and that received 25 mg/kg streptozotocin by intraperitoneal injection to induce T2DM. The random blood glucose, fasting blood glucose, and fasting insulin levels were measured. The expression of Pten and Fabp4 in the liver, muscle, and epididymal adipose tissues was estimated by real-time quantitative PCR. Pearson correlation coefficient analysis was used to investigate the expression correlation between Pten and Fabp4 in T2DM rats. RESULTS: The gene expressions of Pten and Fabp4 in the liver, muscle, and adipose tissues of T2DM rats were all significantly higher than those in the control group (P<0.05). Pten was highly expressed in the muscles and Fabp4 was highly expressed in muscle and adipose tissues. Furthermore, expressions of Fabp4 and Pten in the muscle and adipose tissues of T2DM rats were positively correlated (P<0.05), but not in the liver. CONCLUSIONS: The increased expression of PTEN and FABP4 in the adipose and muscles of T2DM rats may play an important role in the insulin resistance of T2DM. However, the mechanism by which these 2 genes function in T2DM needs further study.

Complete genome sequence of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus strain ZCYZ isolated from hybrid wild boars.

A serologic investigation of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) in hybrid wild boar herds was conducted during 2008-2009. PRRSV isolates with novel genetic markers were recovered. Experimental infection of pigs indicated that hybrid wild boars are involved in the epidemiology of PRRSV.

Efficacy and Safety of Anlotinib in Overall and Disease-Specific Advanced Gynecological Cancer: A Real-World Study.

Purpose: Anlotinib is a novel oral small-molecule multi-target tyrosine kinase inhibitor that has been approved for treating non-small cell lung cancer. However, its efficacy and safety among patients with advanced gynecological cancer have not been comprehensively evaluated. We conducted this study to address this issue in the real-world setting. Patients and Methods: Data from patients treated with Anlotinib for persistent, recurrent or metastatic gynecological cancer were collected from 17 centers from August 2018. The database lock-time was on March 2022. Anlotinib was administered orally on days 1-14 every 3 weeks until disease progression, severe toxicity occurred, or death. In this study, disease-specific advanced gynecological cancer was mainly referred to cervical, endometrial, and ovarian cancer. The outcomes included objective response rate (ORR), disease control rate (DCR), and progression-free survival (PFS). Results: A total of 249 patients were analyzed, with a median follow-up of 14.5 months. The overall ORR and DCR were 28.1% [95% confidence interval (CI) 22.6% to 34.1%] and 80.7% (95% CI 75.3% to 85.4%), respectively. Specifically, the ORR varied from 19.7% to 34.4% and the DCR differed from 81.7% to 90.0% in disease-specific advanced gynecological cancer. The median PFS was 6.1 months and ranged from 5.6 to 10.0 months in the overall and disease-specific advanced gynecological cancer, respectively. Larger cumulative dosage of Anlotinib (>700 mg) was in general associated with longer PFS in the overall and disease-specific advanced gynecological cancer. The most common adverse event related to Anlotinib treatment was pain/arthralgia (18.3%). Conclusion: In conclusion, Anlotinib holds promise in treating patients with advanced gynecological cancer including its disease-specific types, with reasonable efficacy and tolerable safety.

APE1 shRNA-loaded cancer stem cell-derived extracellular vesicles reverse Erlotinib resistance in non-small cell lung cancer via the IL-6/STAT3 signalling.

OBJECTIVE: Apurinic endonuclease 1 (APE1) has been suggested as an oncogene of lung tumours and our bioinformatics analysis identified the association between Erlotinib resistance and interleukin-6 (IL-6). Thus, we performed this work to delineate the mechanistic actions of APE1/IL-6 signalling in Erlotinib resistance of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). METHODS: We selected human NSCLC cell lines HCC827 and PC9 to establish Erlotinib-resistant HCC827R and PC9R cells. Cancer stem cells (CSCs) were isolated from Erlotinib-sensitive HCC827P and PC9P cells (PCSCs) and from HCC827R and PC9R cells (RCSCs). Further, extracellular vesicles (EVs) were separated from PCSCs (PCSC-EVs) and RCSCs (RCSC-EVs) and co-cultured with RCSCs with or without short hairpin RNA (shRNA)-targeting APE1 (APE1 shRNA) transduction. In addition, functional assays were conducted to determine the effect of APE1 shRNA on malignant phenotypes of cancer cells in vitro and in vivo and the activation of IL-6/STAT3 signalling. RESULTS: It was found that NSCLC cells could internalize both RCSC-EVs and PCSC-EVs. RCSC-EVs augmented the resistance of NSCLC cells to Erlotinib. The overexpression of APE1 occurred in NSCLC tissues, and IL-6 was enriched in serum samples of patients with NSCLC. APE1 shRNA was demonstrated to restrict the Erlotinib resistance of NSCLC cells by inactivating the IL-6/STAT3 signalling. Additionally, shAPE1-loaded RCSC-EVs suppressed the Erlotinib resistance of NSCLC via the IL-6/STAT3 axis both in vitro and in vivo, as reflected by impeded malignant phenotypes and xenograft tumour formation. CONCLUSIONS: Collectively, these data indicate that APE1 confers Erlotinib resistance by activating the IL-6/STAT3 signalling, suggesting targeting APE1 as a possible therapeutic target in Erlotinib-resistant NSCLC.

Intelligent Diagnosis of Cervical Cancer Based on Data Mining Algorithm.

The intelligent diagnosis of cervical cancer by using a class of data mining algorithms has important practical significance. In particular, the useful information included in a significant quantity of medical data may not only discreetly boost the development of medical technology but also detect cervical cancer in the future. This paper improves the data mining algorithm and combines image recognition technology and data mining technology to extract and analyze image features. Moreover, this paper makes full use of the information contained in the image to realize the segmentation of the cervical cancer cell image, select the feature vector according to the characteristics of the cervical cancer cell, and use the statistical classification method to design the classifier. The test results show that the automatic recognition effect of this system is good, and it has a good auxiliary diagnosis effect. Therefore, it can be verified in clinical practice in the follow-up.

The effects of the crosslinking position and degree of conjugation in perylene tetraanhydride bisimide microporous polymers on fluorescence sensing performance.

In this study, two fluorescence conjugated microporous polymers based on perylene tetraanhydride bisimide (DP4A0 and DP4A2) were prepared via Sonogashira-Hagihara cross-coupling polymerization for the efficient detection of o-nitrophenol (o-NP). They were well characterized via FT-IR, solid state 13C NMR, elemental analysis, and other material characterization techniques. The experiments proved that both CMPs possess high thermal and chemical stability and a porous nature with Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) specific surface areas of 41.3 and 402.1 m2 g-1. Importantly, owing to signal amplification by the conjugated skeleton, DP4A0 and DP4A2 exhibit extremely high sensitivity to o-NP with K sv values of 1.83 × 104 and 1.69 × 104 L mol-1 and limits of detection of 5.73 × 10-9 and 7.36 × 10-9 mol L-1, respectively. The sensing performance of DP4A0 and DP4A2 was dependent on the position of crosslinking points and crosslinking density. Finally, super amplified quenching was considered the electron transfer mechanism and hydrogen bond interactions were also present.

Identification of metastasis and prognosis-associated genes for serous ovarian cancer.

Serous ovarian cancer is one of the most fatal gynecological tumors with an extremely low 5-year survival rate. Most patients are diagnosed at an advanced stage with wide metastasis. The dysregulation of genes serves an important role in the metastasis progression of ovarian cancer. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between primary tumors and metastases of serous ovarian cancer were screened out in the gene expression profile of GSE73168 from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO). Cytoscape plugin cytoHubba and weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) were utilized to select hub genes. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were used to screen out prognosis-associated genes. Furthermore, the Oncomine validation, prognostic analysis, methylation mechanism, gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA), TIMER database analysis and administration of candidate molecular drugs were conducted for hub genes. Nine hundred and fifty-seven DEGs were identified in the gene expression profile of GSE73168. After using Cytoscape plugin cytoHubba, 83 genes were verified. In co-expression network, the blue module was most closely related to tumor metastasis. Furthermore, the genes in Cytoscape were analyzed, showing that the blue module and screened 17 genes were closely associated with tumor metastasis. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression revealed that the age, stage and STMN2 were independent prognostic factors. The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) suggested that the up-regulated expression of STMN2 was related to poor prognosis of ovarian cancer. Thus, STMN2 was considered as a new key gene after expression validation, survival analysis and TIMER database validation. GSEA confirmed that STMN2 was probably involved in ECM receptor interaction, focal adhesion, TGF beta signaling pathway and MAPK signaling pathway. Furthermore, three candidate small molecule drugs for tumor metastasis (diprophylline, valinomycin and anisomycin) were screened out. The quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and western blot showed that STMN2 was highly expressed in ovarian cancer tissue and ovarian cancer cell lines. Further studies are needed to investigate these prognosis-associated genes for new therapy target.

MicroRNA-300 inhibits the growth of hepatocellular carcinoma cells by downregulating CREPT/Wnt/ß-catenin signaling.

A number of studies have demonstrated that altered expression levels of microRNA-300 (miR-300) are associated with tumor progression; however, little is understood regarding the role of miR-300 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The present study aimed to investigate the expression, biological function and potential regulatory mechanism of miR-300 in HCC. A miR-300 mimic and miR-300 inhibitor were transfected into liver cancer cells using RNAiMAX reagent. The expression levels of miR and mRNA were detected by reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Protein expression levels were detected by western blot analysis. Cell growth was determined using Cell Counting Kit-8, a colony formation assay and cell cycle assay. miRNA targeting sites were analyzed using bioinformatics analysis and dual-luciferase reporter assay. The results revealed that miR-300 expression was significantly decreased in HCC tissues and cell lines. In vitro experiments demonstrated that overexpression of miR-300 could inhibit cell proliferation, colony formation and cell cycle progression of liver cancer cells. By contrast, inhibition of miR-300 was associated with increased rates of cell proliferation, colony formation and cell cycle progression. Notably, regulation of nuclear pre-mRNA domain-containing protein 1B (CREPT) was identified as a putative target gene of miR-300 by bioinformatics analysis. A luciferase reporter assay revealed that miR-300 directly targets the 3'-untranslated region of CREPT. Further data demonstrated that miR-300 can regulate CREPT expression levels in liver cancer cells. Notably, miR-300 was identified to regulate the Wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway in liver cancer cells. The restoration of CREPT expression partially reversed the antitumor effect of miR-300. In conclusion, the current results revealed a tumor suppressive role of miR-300 in HCC and indicated that the underlying mechanism was associated with a regulation of CREPT. The present study suggests that miR-300 and CREPT may serve as potential therapeutic targets for liver cancer.

Colony­stimulating factor 1 receptor inhibition blocks macrophage infiltration and endometrial cancer cell proliferation.

Tumor­associated macrophages (TAMs) promote the progression of endometrial cancer (EC), but the mechanism of TAM in EC cell proliferation remains unclear. It was found that colony stimulating factor (CSF)­1 and CSF­1 receptor (CSF­1R) were highly expressed in EC tissues of patients and two EC cell lines (ECC­1 and HEC­1A). Using wound­healing and chemotactic migration assays to evaluate the role of EC cells in the induction of macrophage migration, it was found that the supernatant of EC cells promoted macrophage cell line (U937) migration; however, the migration capacity of U937 weakened when CSF­1R was blocked. Subsequently, inhibition of CSF­1 expression in EC cells also restrained U937 migration. Additionally, blocking CSF­1R by PLX3397 treatment in U937 cells inhibited EC cell proliferation in a co­culture system by inhibiting the expression of proliferation­associated proteins (Janus kinase­1, phosphoinositide 3­kinase, AKT, cyclin kinase 2, 4 and retinoblastoma­associated protein). Together, these results demonstrated that CSF­1 secreted by EC cells promoted macrophage migration; similarly, CSF­1­stimulated macrophages promoted EC cell proliferation. These results suggested that the interaction between CSF­1 and its receptor served an important role in promoting macrophage infiltration and progression of EC.