Improve individual treatment by comparing treatment benefits: cancer artificial intelligence survival analysis system for cervical carcinoma.

PURPOSE: The current study aimed to construct a novel cancer artificial intelligence survival analysis system for predicting the individual mortality risk curves for cervical carcinoma patients receiving different treatments. METHODS: Study dataset (n = 14,946) was downloaded from Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results database. Accelerated failure time algorithm, multi-task logistic regression algorithm, and Cox proportional hazard regression algorithm were used to develop prognostic models for cancer specific survival of cervical carcinoma patients. RESULTS: Multivariate Cox regression identified stage, PM, chemotherapy, Age, PT, and radiation_surgery as independent influence factors for cervical carcinoma patients. The concordance indexes of Cox model were 0.860, 0.849, and 0.848 for 12-month, 36-month, and 60-month in model dataset, whereas it were 0.881, 0.845, and 0.841 in validation dataset. The concordance indexes of accelerated failure time model were 0.861, 0.852, and 0.851 for 12-month, 36-month, and 60-month in model dataset, whereas it were 0.882, 0.847, and 0.846 in validation dataset. The concordance indexes of multi-task logistic regression model were 0.860, 0.863, and 0.861 for 12-month, 36-month, and 60-month in model dataset, whereas it were 0.880, 0.860, and 0.861 in validation dataset. Brier score indicated that these three prognostic models have good diagnostic accuracy for cervical carcinoma patients. The current research lacked independent external validation study. CONCLUSION: The current study developed a novel cancer artificial intelligence survival analysis system to provide individual mortality risk predictive curves for cervical carcinoma patients based on three different artificial intelligence algorithms. Cancer artificial intelligence survival analysis system could provide mortality percentage at specific time points and explore the actual treatment benefits under different treatments in four stages, which could help patient determine the best individualized treatment. Cancer artificial intelligence survival analysis system was available at: https://zhangzhiqiao15.shinyapps.io/Tumor_Artificial_Intelligence_Survival_Analysis_System/ .

Carbon quantum dots doped with phosphorus and nitrogen are a viable fluorescent nanoprobe for determination and cellular imaging of vitamin B12 and cobalt(II).

Phosphorus and nitrogen dually-doped carbon quantum dots (PN-CQDs) were prepared from sucrose, 85% phosphoric acid and 1,2-ethylenediamine as the sources for carbon, phosphorus and nitrogen, respectively. The PN-CQDs possess good water solubility and favorable biocompatibility. The excitation/emission peaks are at 365/451 nm, but bright blue, green, or red emissions are found depending on whether the excitation wavelengths of the laser are set to 408 nm, 488 nm, or 543 nm, respectively. Fluorescence is quenched by both vitamin B12 (VB12) and Co(II) by a combination of inner filter effect and static quenching. The PN-CQDs are shown to be useful nanoprobes for determination of VB12 and Co(II). Response to VB12 is linear in the range of 2.0-31 µM. The response to Co(II) is linear in two ranges, viz. from 1.7-12 µM and from 28 to 141 µM. The limit of detection of VB12 and Co(II) are 3.0 nM and 29.4 nM, respectively. The nanoprobe was successfully applied to the analyses of VB12 in drug samples and of Co(II) in spiked water samples, and it gave satisfactory results. The nanoprobe was also applied to the determination of VB12 and Co(II) in human hepatocarcinoma cells (type SMMC7721), human pulmonary epithelial cells (type BEAS-2B), human adenocarcinoma cells (type A549), and human pheochromocytoma cells (type PC12), respectively. Graphical abstract Schematic presentation of the quenching of the fluorescence of phosphorus and nitrogen dually-doped carbon quantum dots (PN-CQDs) by vitamin B12 (VB12) and Co(II).

Secondary organic aerosols in Jinan, an urban site in North China: Significant anthropogenic contributions to heavy pollution.

Secondary organic aerosols (SOAs) are an important component of particulates, but whether biogenic SOAs (BSOAs) or anthropogenic SOAs (ASOAs) are the dominant contributors to haze pollution remains poorly characterized. In this study, particulate samples were collected from September 2014 to August 2015 at an urban site in Jinan, which is the capital of Shandong Province and a typical city in the North China Plain. The PM2.5 samples were analyzed for BSOA (isoprene (SOAI) and monoterpenes (SOAM)) and ASOA (aromatic (SOAA)) tracers. The concentrations of the SOAA tracer (1.1 ±â€¯1.0 ng/m3) were lowest, and those of SOAI tracers (41.8 ±â€¯86.2 ng/m3) were highest, with the concentrations of SOAM tracers (19.4 ±â€¯9.9 ng/m3) being intermediate. The SOAI tracers were more abundant in the summer and less abundant in the winter. Both SOAI and SOAM increased with increasing ozone level but decreased with increasing NOx level. Correlation analysis revealed a good correlation between 2,3-dihydroxy-4-oxopentanoic acid and levoglucosan levels in three seasons. These results suggested that biomass burning activities occurring in the NCP can enhance the emissions of aromatics and should be controlled, especially in the autumn and winter. SOA tracers were classified according to pollution degree, and the results showed that as pollution increases, the contributions of SOAA increase. These results indicate that reducing anthropogenic emissions is necessary to prevent SOA pollution, especially during heavy pollution episodes.

Impact of Serious Games on Body Composition, Physical Activity, and Dietary Change in Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.

Over the past four decades, obesity in children of all ages has increased worldwide, which has intensified the search for innovative intervention strategies. Serious games, a youth-friendly form of intervention designed with educational or behavioral goals, are emerging as a potential solution to this health challenge. To analyze the effectiveness of serious games in improving body composition, physical activity, and dietary change, we performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) from PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, and Scopus databases. Pooled standardized mean differences (SMD) were calculated for 20 studies (n = 2238 the intervention group; n = 1983 in the control group) using random-effect models. The intervention group demonstrated a slightly better, although non-significant, body composition score, with a pooled SMD of -0.26 (95% CI: -0.61 to 0.09). The pooled effect tends to be stronger with longer duration of intervention (-0.40 [95% CI: -0.96, 0.16] for >3 months vs. -0.02 [95% CI: -0.33, 0.30] for ≤3 months), although the difference was not statistically significant (p-difference = 0.24). As for the specific pathways leading to better weight control, improvements in dietary habits due to serious game interventions were not significant, while a direct positive effect of serious games on increasing physical activity was observed (pooled SMD = 0.61 [95% CI: 0.04 to 1.19]). While the impact of serious game interventions on body composition and dietary changes is limited, their effectiveness in increasing physical activity is notable. Serious games show potential as tools for overweight/obesity control among children and adolescents but may require longer intervention to sustain its effect.

Seasonal variation and source apportionment of organic and inorganic compounds in PM2.5 and PM10 particulates in Beijing, China.

The distribution and source of the solvent-extractable organic and inorganic components in PM2.5 (aerodynamics equivalent diameter below 2.5 microns), and PM10 (aerodynamics equivalent diameter below 10 microns) fractions of airborne particles were studied weekly from September 2006 to August 2007 in Beijing. The extracted organic and inorganic compounds identified in both particle size ranges consisted of n-alkanes, PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons), fatty acids and water soluble ions. The potential emission sources of these organic compounds were reconciled by combining the values of n-alkane carbon preference index (CPI), %waxC(n), selected diagnostic ratios of PAHs and principal component analysis in both size ranges. The mean cumulative concentrations of n-alkanes reached 1128.65 ng/m3 in Beijing, 74% of which (i.e., 831.7 ng/m3) was in the PM2.5 fraction, PAHs reached 136.45 ng/m3 (113.44 ng/m3 or 83% in PM2.5), and fatty acids reached 436.99 ng/m3 (324.41 ng/m3 or 74% in PM2.5), which resulted in overall enrichment in the fine particles. The average concentrations of SO4(2-), NO3(-), and NH4(+) were 21.3 +/- 15.2, 6.1 +/- 1.8, 12.5 +/- 6.1 microg/m3 in PM2.5, and 25.8 +/- 15.5, 8.9 +/- 2.6, 16.9 +/- 9.5 microg/m3 in PM10, respectively. These three secondary ions primarily existed as ammonium sulfate ((NH4)2SO4), ammonium bisulfate (NH4HSO4) and ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3). The characteristic ratios of PAHs revealed that the primary sources of PAHs were coal combustion, followed by gasoline combustion. The ratios of stearic/palmitic acid indicated the major contribution of vehicle emissions to fatty acids in airborne particles. The major alkane sources were biogenic sources and fossil fuel combustion. The major sources of PAHs were vehicular emission and coal combustion.

New method for site-specific modification of liposomes with proteins using sortase A-mediated transpeptidation.

A new method was developed for site-specific modifications of liposomes by proteins via sortase A (SrtA)-mediated transpeptidation reactions. In this regard, the enhanced green fluorescent protein (eGFP) was biologically engineered to carry at its polypeptide C-terminus the LPATG motif recognized by SrtA and used as the protein donor for linking to liposomes that were decorated with phospholipids carrying a diglycine motif as the other SrtA substrate and the eGFP acceptor. Under the influence of SrtA, eGFP was efficiently attached to liposomes, as proved by analyzing the enzymatic reaction products and the resultant fluorescent liposomes. It was observed that increasing the concentration and the distance of the diglycine motif on and from the liposome surface could significantly improve the efficiency of liposome modification by proteins. It is anticipated that this strategy can be widely useful for the modification of liposomes by other proteins.

Discharge of treated Fukushima nuclear accident contaminated water: macroscopic and microscopic simulations.

The diffusion process of the treated Fukushima nuclear accident contaminated water to be discharged into the Pacific Ocean from 2023 is analyzed by two analysis models from macroscopic and microscopic perspectives. Results show that the tritium will spread to the whole North Pacific in 1200 days, which is important to formulate global coping strategies.

Circular RNA circSEPT9 Is Upregulated in Endometrial Cancer and Promotes Cell Invasion and Migration by Downregulating miR-186 through Methylation.

OBJECTIVE: MicroRNA-186 (miR-186) and circular RNA (circRNA) circSEPT9 are two crucial players in cancer biology, while their roles in endometrial cancer (EC) are unclear. Our preliminary sequencing analysis revealed the potential crosstalk between circSEPT9 and miR-186 in EC. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The expression levels of circSEPT9 and miR-186 in EC and paired non-tumor tissues from 64 EC patients were detected by RT-qPCRs. Correlation analysis was carried out with Pearson's correlation coefficient. The role of circSEPT9 in regulating the expression of miR-186 and the methylation of miR-186 gene was explored by RT-qPCR and methylation specific PCR (MSP), respectively. Cell invasion and migration were evaluated by Transwell assays. RESULTS: CircSEPT9 was upregulated in EC, and miR-186 was downregulated in EC. MiR-186 and circSEPT9 were inversely correlated across EC tissue samples, but not non-tumor samples. Overexpression of circSEPT9 decreased the expression levels of miR-186 and increased the methylation of miR-186 gene. CircSEPT9 increased cell invasion and migration and suppressed the role of miR-186 in inhibiting cell behaviors. CONCLUSION: Therefore, circSEPT9 is upregulated in EC and promotes cell invasion and migration by downregulating miR-186 through methylation.

Cytochrome C catalyzed oxygen tolerant atom-transfer radical polymerization.

Atom-transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) is a well-known technique for controlled polymer synthesis. However, the ATRP usually employed toxic heavy metal ionas as the catalyst and was susceptible to molecular oxygen, which made it should be conducted under strictly anoxic condition. Conducting ATRP under ambient and biocompatible conditions is the major challenge. In this study, cytochrome C was explored as an efficient biocatalyst for ATRP under biocompatible conditions. The cytochrome C catalyzed ATRP showed a relatively low polymer dispersity index of 1.19. More interestingly, the cytochrome C catalyzed ATRP showed superior oxygen resistance as it could be performed under aerobic conditions with high dissolved oxygen level. Further analysis suggested that the Fe(II) embed in the cytochrome C might serve as the catalytic center and methyl radical was responsible for the ATRP catalysis. This work explored new biocompatible catalyst for aerobic ATRP, which might open new dimension for practical ATRP and application of cytochrome C protein.

Azithromycin detection in cells and tablets by N,S co-doped carbon quantum dots.

Azithromycin (AZM)1 is one of the most widely used antibiotics. AZM abuse is easy to cause great harm to human body, so developing a rapid and sensitive method to detect AZM is of great importance. Herein, 3-aminothiophenol as only reaction precursor, nitrogen and sulfur co-doped carbon quantum dots (N,S-CQDs)2 were fabricated by one-step hydrothermal carbonization method. All characteristics demonstrate that N,S-CQDs possess good water solubility, high fluorescence stability and low cytotoxicity. Without being disturbed by amino acids and drugs, the most interesting finding is that AZM can efficiently quench the fluorescence of N,S-CQDs by a synergistic effect of electrostatic interaction and static quenching. A fluorescent probe for the detection of AZM was constructed with high selectivity and good sensitivity, achieving two linear ranges of 2.5-32.3 µM and 37.2-110 µM and a limit of detection of 0.76 µM. The proposed fluorescent method was used for the detection of AZM in cells with fulfilling results. More importantly, the fluorescent probe was successfully used to the detection of AZM in tablets and human urine with recovery rate and relative standard deviations of 98.2-104.8% and 0.04-3.46%, respectively, which was confirmed by the standard method of HPLC-UV. This finding illustrates the usefulness and feasibility of N,S-CQDs as an effective fluorescent probe for the detection of AZM in tablets and human urine, which is helpful for supervising and guiding pharmacy.

Sortase A-catalyzed transpeptidation of glycosylphosphatidylinositol derivatives for chemoenzymatic synthesis of GPI-anchored proteins.

Several peptides/small proteins and glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) derivatives were synthesized and compared as substrates of sortase A (SrtA), a bacterial transpeptidase, for enzymatic coupling. It was observed that peptides containing the LPKTGGS and LPKTGGRS sequences as sorting signals at the peptide C-terminus were effectively coupled to GPI derivatives having one or two glycine residues attached to the phosphoethanolamine group at the nonreducing end. This reaction was employed to prepare several analogues of the human CD52 and CD24 antigens, which are naturally GPI-anchored glycopeptides/glycoproteins. It was further observed that the trisaccharide GPI analogues 5 and 6 were better SrtA substrates than monosaccharide GPI analogue 4, suggesting that steric hindrance of the GPI analogues does not affect their peptidation reaction mediated by SrtA. Therefore, this synthetic strategy may be useful for the preparation of more complex GPI-anchored peptides, glycopeptides, proteins, and glycoproteins.

Sortase-catalyzed peptide-glycosylphosphatidylinositol analogue ligation.

It is demonstrated that sortase A (SrtA) can catalyze efficient coupling of peptides to GPI analogues with a glycine residue attached to the phosphoethanolamine moiety at the nonreducing end to form GPI-linked peptides. This represents the first chemoenzymatic synthesis of GPI-peptide conjugates and is a proof-of-concept for the potential application of SrtA to the synthesis of more complex GPI-anchored peptides/glycopeptides and GPI-anchored proteins/glycoproteins.

Distribution and sources of solvent extractable organic compounds in PM2.5 during 2007 Chinese Spring Festival in Beijing.

The solvent extractable organic compounds (SEOC), including n-alkanes, polycylic aromatic hydrocarbons, fatty acids, and dicarboxylic acids in PM2.5 during the 2007 Chinese Spring Festival in Beijing, were measured via gas chromatography-mass spectrometry for determining the characteristics and sources of these organic pollutants. The concentrations of total n-alkanes, PAHs, and organic acids before Chinese Spring Festival Eve (1025.5, 95.9, and 543.3 ng/m3, respectively) were higher than those after (536.6, 58.9, and 331.8 ng/m3, respectively). n-Aalkanes and PAHs had much higher concentration in nighttime than those in daytime because of high relative humidity and low wind speed during the night. Combustion of coal and exhaust emission were major sources of n-alkanes. It could be concluded by the characteristic ratios that the primary source of PAHs in fine particles was the combustion of coal, but the combustion of gasoline was in the next place. The ratios of C18:0/C16 indicated the contribution of vehicular emissions to the fatty acids. Dicarboxylic and aromatic acids were abundant in daytime than in nighttime because these acids were secondary organic acid and the photochemical degradation of aromatic hydrocarbons was the main source.

Comparative study of Cl,N-Cdots and N-Cdots and application for trinitrophenol and ClO- sensor and cell-imaging.

To understand the effect of Cl doping in carbon dots, nitrogen-doped carbon dots (N-Cdots) and nitrogen and chlorine dual-doped carbon dots (Cl,N-Cdots) were fabricated by high-temperature carbonization and low-temperature concentrated acid (HCl) acidification of dried shaddock peel, respectively. The quantum yield of Cl,N-Cdots is about four times of that of N-Cdots and the size of Cl,N-Cdots is smaller than that of N-Cdots. Furthermore, since trinitrophenol (PA) and ClO- could effectively quench the fluorescence of Cl,N-Cdots, the fluorescence sensors for determining PA and ClO- was constructed, respectively. The linear range of PA and ClO- are 0.9-90 µM and 3.24-216 µM with the limit of detection of 37.1 nM and 2.88 µM, respectively. The proposed sensor was used to detect PA in Taiyuan tap water, Wutai tap water, Wutai rain water and Wutai river water samples with encouraging results. The as-constructed sensor was also used to detect ClO- in Taiyuan tap water and commercial disinfectants. Last but not least, Cl,N-Cdots was employed as an agent for A549 and HeLa cell-imaging, possessing optimal imaging effect and ultra-low cytotoxicity. Our results suggested that Cl,N-Cdots has promising applications in sensing, water monitoring, commodity supervision and cell-imaging.

Analysis of common gene expression patterns in four human tumor cell lines exposed to camptothecin using cDNA microarray: identification of topoisomerase-mediated DNA damage response pathways.

Camptothecin (CPT) is a potent inhibitor of DNA topoisomerase I with a wide spectrum of anti-tumor activity. Relatively little information is available regarding the relation of known topoisomerase-mediated DNA damage with other intracellular pathways. To gain an insight into the intracellular molecular mechanisms of Topoisomerase I inhibitor camptothecin-mediated DNA damage leading to cell death, we used a high-density cDNA microarray to assess sensitive early gene expression profiles in SGC7901 (gastric cancer), Hela (cervical adenocarcinoma), K562 (chronic myelogenous leukemia) and HL60 (promyelocytic leukemia) tumor cells stimulated with camptothecin for 1 h at the concentrations of GI50 (50 % growth inhibition after 24 h of treatment). Analysis of the differentially expressed genes obtained 29 response genes common to all four cell lines. Moreover, these cell lines also shared the direction of regulation. Most of these common response genes were functionally related to cell proliferation or apoptosis, and some of them were involved in ATM (ataxia-telangiectasia mutated) and ATR (ATM-and Rad3 related) checkpoint pathways, JNK (c-Jun N-terminal kinase) pathway, the survival phosphatidylinositol (PI) 3 kinase-Akt-dependent pathway, mitochondrial cell death pathway, endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-related cell death pathway, and to ubiquitin/proteasome dependent protein degradation pathway. The data provides evidence for a linkage between topoisomerase-mediated DNA damage and intracellular signaling events, which may facilitate our understanding of the camptothecin mediated molecular mechanisms of action.

Reproducibility of Intra- and Inter-scanner Measurements of Liver Fat Using Complex Confounder-corrected Chemical Shift Encoded MRI at 3.0 Tesla.

The purpose of this study was to prospectively evaluate the reproducibility of the proton density fat-fraction (PDFF) of the liver using the IDEAL algorithm, a quantitative confounder-corrected chemical-shift-encoded MRI method. Data were obtained from 15 volunteers on four different days. The first and the third examinations were conducted on scanner one with one-week intervals, while the second and the fourth tests were performed on scanner two with same time interval. For each test, two MR scans were performed, one before and one after a meal. Regions-of-interest measurements were manually calculated to estimate the PDFF in the right and left lobes on the PDFF images. Reproducibility was measured using the intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC). The ICCs of the PDFF in the right and left lobes were 0.935 and 0.878, respectively. The intra-scanner ICCs of the right lobe before and after a meal or at a one-week interval were 0.924 and 0.953, respectively. The inter-scanner ICCs of PDFF the next day and at a one-week interval were 0.920 and 0.864, respectively. The PDFF of liver derived from IDEAL demonstrated high intra- and inter-scanner measurement reproducibility. The PDFF of the right lobe before a meal was more reproducible than after-meal measurements.

Chemoenzymatic synthesis of the human CD52 and CD24 antigen analogues.

Analogs of the human CD52 and CD24 antigens carrying the common core structure of glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchors and the intact polypeptide sequences of CD52 and CD24 were chemoenzymatically synthesized. CD52 and CD24 proteins were obtained by solid-phase peptide synthesis and then coupled to chemically synthesized GPI anchors under the influence of a bacterial enzyme, sortase A, to afford the target molecules in good yields.

Sortase A-mediated chemoenzymatic synthesis of complex glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored protein.

Green fluorescent protein and a glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchor containing the common core structure and a lipid chain were synthesized and then coupled together in the promotion of bacterial sortase A (SrtA), which was the first example for the synthesis of a full-size GPI-anchored protein by SrtA, demonstrating that this can be a generally useful method for GPI-anchored protein synthesis.

Sortase A-catalyzed peptide cyclization for the synthesis of macrocyclic peptides and glycopeptides.

A chemoenzymatic method was developed for the synthesis of macrocyclic peptides and glycopeptides. Sortase A was found to mediate either head to tail cyclization or oligomerization and then head to tail cyclization of peptides and glycopeptides, depending on the peptide length, to produce 15-mer or higher cyclic peptides and glycopeptides.

[Size distribution and characterization of EC and OC in aerosols during the Olympics of Beijing, China].

Samples of airborne PM with different size were collected by cascade impactor (Andersen) in Beijing during the Beijing Olympics. Organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC) in particles were determined by DRI Model 2001 A t carbon analyzer of USA. PM (56%), OC (55%) and EC (73%) were associated with the fine particle below 2.1 microm. OC and EC account for 25% and 5% of particle below 2.1 microm, respectively, which indicates that carbonaceous aerosols are key components for controlling fine particles pollution in Beijing. It is found that Beijing auto measures were effective in abatement of carbonaceous aerosols. The ratios of OC/EC indicated that the main origins of carbonaceous aerosols in fine particle were automobile exhaust fumes and coal combustion and in coarse particle were biomass burning and cooking. The average percentage of estimated secondary OC (OC(sec)) in the total OC (OC(tot)) in TSP was 74%. The results of correlation analysis show that the correlation coefficient between the OC and secondary water soluble ions (SO4(2-), NO3-, NH4+, NO2-) were very high in PM2.1 (R2 = 0.88), while the correlation coefficient was very faint in particles greater than 2.1 microm (R2 = 0.21).