Silencing long noncoding RNA LINC01133 suppresses pancreatic cancer through regulation of microRNA-1299-dependent IGF2BP3.

The deregulation of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) holds great potential in the treatment of multiple cancers, including pancreatic cancer (PC). However, the specific molecular mechanisms by which LINC01133 contributes to pancreatic cancer remain unknown. Subsequent to bioinformatics analysis, we predicted and analyzed differentially expressed lncRNAs, microRNAs, and genes in pancreatic cancer. We determined the expression patterns of LINC01133, miR-1299, and insulin-like growth factor 2 mRNA binding protein 3 (IGF2BP3) in pancreatic cancer cells, and validated their interactions through luciferase reporter and RNA immunoprecipitation assays. We implemented loss-of-function and gain-of-function experiments for LINC01133, miR-1299, and IGF2BP3 to assay their potential effects on pancreatic cancer cell functions. We observed high expression of LINC01133 and IGF2BP3, but low expression of miR-1299, in pancreatic cancer cells. Furthermore, we found that LINC01133 enhances IGF2BP3 through binding with miR-1299. Silencing LINC01133 or IGF2BP3 and/or overexpressing miR-1299 limited pancreatic cancer cell proliferation, invasion, epithelial-mesenchymal transition, and suppressed tumorigenic abilities in mice lacking T cells (nude mice). Overall, our findings identified that silencing LINC01133 downregulates IGF2BP3 by upregulating miR-1299 expression, ultimately leading to the prevention of pancreatic cancer.

Application of cognitive load theory in reading English academic articles on medical education among Chinese undergraduate medical students.

Reading English academic articles is the cornerstone of innovative medical education and scientific research. However, limited by both language and professional knowledge, many nonnative English-speaking undergraduate medical students have a fear of reading English academic articles. The purpose of this study was to explore whether cognitive load theory can be a useful guiding strategy to promote English medical education article reading among Chinese undergraduates, while also evaluating students' attitudes toward the reading activities and cognitive load entailed in the last article they read. In the reading activities, students needed to read 19 English academic articles that are closely related to their courses. A questionnaire was administered after the students finished reading the 19th article to determine their attitudes toward reading English medical education articles and the cognitive load involved in reading the 19th article. The results showed that students' overall perceptions of reading English medical education articles were positive. Most students felt that their ability to read English academic articles and related skills had improved. The mean scores for students' intrinsic and germane cognitive loads in reading the 19th article were 6.44 ± 1.81 and 6.92 ± 2.05, respectively. The mean score for the extraneous cognitive load was 2.31 ± 2.63. In conclusion, the cognitive load theory can serve as the basis for an effective strategy to guide English medical education article reading activities among undergraduates in China. Meanwhile, students' attitudes toward the reading activities were favorable, and they read the latest article within an acceptable cognitive load.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Many nonnative English-speaking undergraduates have a fear of reading English academic articles. This study was performed to explore whether cognitive load theory can be a useful guiding strategy to promote English article reading among Chinese medical undergraduates. The results showed that cognitive load theory can serve as the basis for an effective strategy to guide English medical education article reading activities among undergraduates in China, and students' attitudes toward the reading activities were favorable.

Elucidating the degradation mechanisms of perfluorooctanoic acid and perfluorooctane sulfonate in various environmental matrices: a review of green degradation pathways.

Given environmental persistence, potential for bioaccumulation, and toxicity of Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), the scientific community has increasingly focused on researching their toxicology and degradation methods. This paper presents a survey of recent research advances in the toxicological effects and degradation methods of PFOA and PFOS. Their adverse effects on the liver, nervous system, male reproductive system, genetics, and development are detailed. Additionally, the degradation techniques of PFOA and PFOS, including photochemical, photocatalytic, and electrochemical methods, are analyzed and compared, highlighted the potential of these technologies for environmental remediation. The biotransformation pathways and mechanisms of PFOA and PFOS involving microorganisms, plants, and enzymes are also presented. As the primary green degradation pathway for PFOA and PFOS, Biodegradation uses specific microorganisms, plants or enzymes to remove PFOA and PFOS from the environment through redox reactions, enzyme catalysis and other pathways. Currently, there has been a paucity of research conducted on the biodegradation of PFOA and PFOS. However, this degradation technology is promising owing to its specificity, cost-effectiveness, and ease of implementation. Furthermore, novel materials/methods for PFOA and PFOS degradation are presented in this paper. These novel materials/methods effectively improve the degradation efficiency of PFOA and PFOS and provide new ideas and tools for the degradation of PFOA and PFOS. This information can assist researchers in identifying flaws and gaps in the field, which can facilitate the formulation of innovative research ideas.

Radiative Decay Width of J/ψ→γη_{(2)} from N_{f}=2 Lattice QCD.

The large radiative production rate for pseudoscalar mesons in the J/ψ radiative decay remains elusive. We present the first lattice QCD calculation of partial decay width of J/ψ radiatively decaying into η_{(2)}, the SU(2) flavor singlet pseudoscalar meson, which confirms QCD U_{A}(1) anomaly enhancement to the coupling of gluons with flavor singlet pseudoscalar mesons. The lattice simulation is carried out using N_{f}=2 lattice QCD gauge configurations at the pion mass m_{π}≈350 MeV. In particular, the distillation method has been utilized to calculate light quark loops. The results are reported here with the mass m_{η_{(2)}}=718(8) MeV and the decay width Γ(J/ψ→γη_{(2)})=0.385(45) keV. By assuming the dominance of U_{A}(1) anomaly and flavor singlet-octet mixing angle θ=-24.5°, the production rates for the physical η and η^{'} in J/ψ radiative decay are predicted to be 1.15(14)×10^{-3} and 4.49(53)×10^{-3}, respectively, which agree well with the experimental measurement data. Our study manifests the potential of lattice QCD studies on the light hadron production in J/ψ radiative decays.

A numerical tool for assessing human thermal safety and thermal comfort in cold-weather activities.

This paper describes a newly developed software tool to evaluate human thermal safety and thermal comfort in cold-weather activities aimed at guiding users to arrange activity plans and select appropriate clothing ensembles. The software inputs include conditions of activity, environment, human body, and clothing ensemble. It outputs physiological temperatures, cold injury risks, thermal sensations, and thermal comforts in intuitive ways like cloud maps and curves. The software tool is characterized by (1) integration of a thermoregulatory model that predicts human thermophysiological responses under exercise conditions in cold environments, (2) the functions of clothing ensemble database and individual parameter database, (3) the human centric outputs that directly reflect human physiological and mental status, and (4) the user-friendly operation interface and output interface, as well as a wide applicability. The software is validated with human test studies covering ambient temperatures from - 30.6 to 5 °C, clothing ensembles from 1.34 to 3.20 clo, and activity intensities from 2 to 9 Mets. The average prediction RMSEs of core temperature, mean skin temperature, thermal sensation, and thermal comfort are 0.16 °C, 0.45 °C, 0.58, and 1.41, respectively. The software is an advanced expansion to current standards and guidance of cold exposure assessment and a meaningful tool for the fields of occupational health care, cold protection, and environmental ergonomics.

Rotating Lorentz Force Magnetic Bearings' Dynamics Modeling and Adaptive Controller Design.

To address the issues of our agile satellites' poor attitude maneuverability, low pointing stability, and pointing inaccuracy, this paper proposes a new type of stabilized platform based on seven-degree-of-freedom Lorentz force magnetic levitation. Furthermore, in this study, we designed an adaptive controller based on the RBF neural network for the rotating magnetic bearing, which can improve the pointing accuracy of satellite loads. To begin, the advanced features of the new platform are described in comparison with the traditional electromechanical platform, and the structural characteristics and working principle of the platform are clarified. The significance of rotating magnetic bearings in improving load pointing accuracy is also clarified, and its rotor dynamics model is established to provide the input and output equations. The adaptive controller based on the RBF neural network is designed for the needs of high accuracy of the load pointing, high stability, and strong robustness of the system, and the current feedback inner loop is added to improve the system stiffness and rapidity. The final simulation results show that, when compared to the PID controller and robust sliding mode controller, the controller's pointing accuracy and anti-interference ability are greatly improved, and the system robustness is strong, which can effectively improve the pointing accuracy and pointing stability of the satellite/payload, as well as provide a powerful means of solving related problems in the fields of laser communication, high score detection, and so on.

Immunomodulatory potential of natural products from herbal medicines as immune checkpoints inhibitors: Helping to fight against cancer via multiple targets.

Immunotherapy sheds new light to cancer treatment and is satisfied by cancer patients. However, immunotoxicity, single-source antibodies, and single-targeting stratege are potential challenges to the success of cancer immunotherapy. A huge number of promising lead compounds for cancer treatment are of natural origin from herbal medicines. The application of natural products from herbal medicines that have immunomodulatory properties could alter the landscape of immunotherapy drastically. The present study summarizes current medication for cancer immunotherapy and discusses the potential chemicals from herbal medicines as immune checkpoint inhibitors that have a broad range of immunomodulatory effects. Therefore, this review provides valuable insights into the efficacy and mechanism of actions of cancer immunotherapies, including natural products and combined treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors, which could confer an improved clinical outcome for cancer treatment.

Effect of m6A methyltransferase METTL3 -mediated MALAT1/E2F1/AGR2 axis on adriamycin resistance in breast cancer.

N6-methyladenosine (m6A) methyltransferase METTL3 has been implicated in carcinogenesis, which may be associated the overexpression of MALAT1. However, the downstream mechanics actions remain largely unknown. This study intends to probe the downstream mechanism of the N6-methyladenosine (m6 A) methyltransferase METTL3 and MALAT1 in adriamycin resistance in breast cancer. Through Bioinformatics databases lncMAP, TCGA and GTEx, we predicted the downstream transcription factors E2F1 and AGR2 of MALAT1 in breast cancer. The Cancer Genome Atlas and Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) databases were used to screen the downstream target genes of MALAT1. MeRIP-qPCR was used to detect the m6 A level of MALAT1 in cells. RIP was used to detect the binding between MALAT1 and E2F1, and chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) for the binding of E2F1 to AGR2 promoter. Cell Counting Kit-8 and colony formation assays were used to detect cell viability. Transwell was used to detect cell invasion. Quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and western blot were used to detect the expression of related genes and proteins. A nude mouse xenograft tumor model was established to observe the effect of METTL3 on adriamycin resistance of breast cancer. The total survival of mice after exogenous gene silencing was analyzed by the Kaplan-Meier method. METTL3 was highly expressed in adriamycin-resistant breast cancer cells. METTL3 promotes adriamycin resistance in breast cancer cells. METTL3 mediates the expression of MALAT1 in adriamycin-resistant breast cancer through m6 A. MALAT1 increases adriamycin resistance in breast cancer cells by recruiting E2F1 to activate AGR2 transcription. METTL3 can regulate the expression of MALAT1 through m6 A, mediate the E2F1/AGR2 axis, and promote the adriamycin resistance of breast cancer. METTL3 may modify MALAT1 protein through m6 A, recruit E2F1 and activate downstream AGR2 expression, thus promoting adriamycin resistance in breast cancer.

Modelling and experimental study of thermo-physiological responses of human exercising in cold environments.

A numerical human thermo-physiological model is developed with the consideration of characteristics of exercising people in cold environments. The developed model is characterized by: 1) the concept of net exercise efficiency which is used to correct the calculation of metabolic heat production by excluding mechanical energy; 2) the effects of low temperature on basal metabolic rate and basal blood flow rate; 3) the integration with a multi-layer clothing model to calculate the heat and moisture transfer through the clothing system, which takes into account the air gaps between the clothing layers to reflect the ventilation and air penetration effect from the ambient wind. Human subject experiment is conducted in a climate chamber to validate the proposed model. The human subject experiment is also carried out in a cold environment (-5 °C) combined with different air velocity conditions (still air, 2 m/s), taking into account the activities of different intensities (standing statically, 2 km/h walking and 7 km/h running). Thermo-physiological parameters including the core temperature, 8-point local skin temperatures and the clothing layer temperatures, are measured during the experiment. Comparison between the predicted and experimental results gives the root mean squared error (RMSE) of core temperature and mean skin temperature of 0.06-0.10 °C and 0.17-0.27 °C, respectively. RMSE values for local skin and clothing layer temperatures are no higher than 1.5 °C and most within 0.8 °C. The model is also validated with published data under various ambient temperature and activity intensity conditions. The proposed model is shown to be capable of predict the thermo-physiological responses of people exposed and exercising in cold environments.

Potential Focal Adhesion Kinase Inhibitors in Management of Cancer: Therapeutic Opportunities from Herbal Medicine.

Focal adhesion kinase (FAK) is a multifunctional protein involved in cellular communication, integrating and transducing extracellular signals from cell-surface membrane receptors. It plays a central role intracellularly and extracellularly within the tumor microenvironment. Perturbations in FAK signaling promote tumor occurrence and development, and studies have revealed its biological behavior in tumor cell proliferation, migration, and adhesion. Herein we provide an overview of the complex biology of the FAK family members and their context-dependent nature. Next, with a focus on cancer, we highlight the activities of FAK signaling in different types of cancer and how knowledge of them is being used for screening natural compounds used in herbal medicine to fight tumor development.