Bayesian transformation model for spatial partly interval-censored data.

The transformation model with partly interval-censored data offers a highly flexible modeling framework that can simultaneously support multiple common survival models and a wide variety of censored data types. However, the real data may contain unexplained heterogeneity that cannot be entirely explained by covariates and may be brought on by a variety of unmeasured regional characteristics. Due to this, we introduce the conditionally autoregressive prior into the transformation model with partly interval-censored data and take the spatial frailty into account. An efficient Markov chain Monte Carlo method is proposed to handle the posterior sampling and model inference. The approach is simple to use and does not include any challenging Metropolis steps owing to four-stage data augmentation. Through several simulations, the suggested method's empirical performance is assessed and then the method is used in a leukemia study.

A simple and sensitive electrochemical sensor for the detection of peptidase activity.

In this work, a simple and sensitive electrochemical sensor was proposed for the detection of ß-site amyloid precursor protein cleaving enzyme 1 (BACE1) activity. Firstly, the BACE1 specific peptide was modified onto the Au electrode to graft a single-strand DNA with polycytosine DNA sequence (dC12) via amide bonding between peptide and dC12. Because the dC12 is abundant in phosphate groups, thus it can react with molybdate to form redox molybdophosphate, which can generate electrochemical current. Using BACE1 as a model peptidase, the proposed sensor shows a linear response range from 1 to 15 U/mL and limit of detection down to 0.05 U/mL. The sensor displays good performance for the BACE1 activity detection in human serum samples, which may have potential applications in the clinical diagnostics of Alzheimer's disease.

Controllable Construction of Amino-Functionalized Dynamic Covalent Porous Polymers for High-Efficiency CO2 Capture from Flue Gas.

The design of high-efficiency CO2 adsorbents with low cost, high capacity, and easy desorption is of high significance for reducing carbon emissions, which yet remains a great challenge. This work proposes a facile construction strategy of amino-functional dynamic covalent materials for effective CO2 capture from flue gas. Upon the dynamic imine assembly of N-site rich motif and aldehyde-based spacers, nanospheres and hollow nanotubes with spongy pores were constructed spontaneously at room temperature. A commercial amino-functional molecule tetraethylenepentamine could be facilely introduced into the dynamic covalent materials by virtue of the dynamic nature of imine assembly, thus inducing a high CO2 capacity (1.27 mmol·g-1) from simulated flue gas at 75 °C. This dynamic imine assembly strategy endowed the dynamic covalent materials with facile preparation, low cost, excellent CO2 capacity, and outstanding cyclic stability, providing a mild and controllable approach for the development of competitive CO2 adsorbents.

Resveratrol Enhances Wound Healing in Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus by Promoting the Expression of Extracellular Vesicle-Carried MicroRNA-129 Derived from Mesenchymal Stem Cells.

Recent studies have shown the promotive effect of resveratrol on wound healing. This study aims to explore the underlying molecular mechanism of resveratrol in type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) through microRNA (miR)-129-containing extracellular vesicles (EVs) derived from mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) based on in silico analysis. The rat model of T1DM was established by intraperitoneal injection of sodium citrate containing streptozotocin, and the wound was made around the deep fascia. Rat MSCs were isolated and treated with resveratrol (SRT501), and the corresponding EVs (SRT501-EVs) were isolated, where the expression of miR-129 was determined. By performing function experiments, the effect of SRT501-EVs and miR-129 on the biological functions of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) was determined. Finally, the binding relationship between miR-129 and tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated factor 6 (TRAF6) was also determined by the dual-luciferase reporter gene assay. miR-129 was shown as a candidate related to both resveratrol and wound healing in T1DM. SRT501-EVs promoted the skin wound healing of T1DM rats and also further improved the proliferative, migratory, and tube formation potentials of HUVECs. Resveratrol inhibited the expression of TRAF6 in HUVECs stimulated by MSC-conditioned medium and promoted the transfer of miR-129 via EVs, while TRAF6 was confirmed as a target gene of miR-129. Furthermore, inhibition of miR-129 attenuated the proangiogenic effect of resveratrol on HUVECs. Resveratrol exerts promotive role in wound healing in T1DM through downregulation of TRAF6 via MSC-EV-carried miR-129, suggesting a regulatory network involved in the wound healing process in T1DM.

Expression of autophagy-associated proteins in papillary thyroid carcinoma.

The present study was designed to assess the protein expression of the autophagy-associated genes, Beclin-1 and microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3 (LC3)-II, as well as the association with clinicopathological features in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). A total of 50 subjects were recruited, including 50 human PTC samples and paired adjacent noncancerous tissue samples. The protein expression of Beclin-1 and LC3-II was analyzed using immunohistochemistry and western blotting. Beclin-1 and LC3-II expression in PTC tissues significantly reduced compared with normal tissues (P<0.05). Expression of Beclin-1 and LC3-II was associated with lymph node metastasis of PTC (P<0.05), but had no association with age, gender, tumor size, tumor number and Tumor-Node-Metastasis stage (P>0.05). Expression of Beclin-1 and LC3-II were positively correlated (r=0.327;P=0.020) in PTC. In conclusion, the activity of autophagy was declined in PTC; this decrease in autophagic capacity may be associated with tumorigenesis and the development of PTC.

Association Between Tumor Necrosis Factor-α and Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes: a Meta-Analysis.

Tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) is a cell signaling protein involved in systemic inflammation, and is also an important cytokine in the acute phase reaction. Several studies suggested a possible association between TNF-α and diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) in type 2 diabetic patients, but no accurate conclusion was available. A systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies was performed to comprehensively assess the association between serum TNF-α levels and DPN in type 2 diabetic patients. We searched Pubmed, Web of Science, Embase, and China Biology Medicine (CMB) databases for eligible studies. Study-specific data were combined using meta-analysis. Fourteen studies were finally included into the meta-analysis, which involved a total of 2650 participants. Meta-analysis showed that there were obviously increased serum TNF-α levels in DPN patients compared with type 2 diabetic patients without DPN (standard mean difference [SMD] = 1.203, 95 % CI 0.795-1.611, P < 0.001). There were also obviously increased levels of serum TNF-α in diabetic patients with DPN when compared with healthy controls (SMD = 2.364, 95 % CI 1.333-3.394, P < 0.001). In addition, there were increased serum TNF-α levels in painful DPN patients compared with painless DPN patients (SMD = 0.964, 95 % CI 0.237-1.690, P = 0.009). High level of serum TNF-α was significantly associated with increased risk of DPN in patients with type 2 diabetes (odds ratio [OR] = 2.594, 95 % CI 1.182-5.500, P = 0.017). Increased serum levels of TNF-α was not associated with increased risk of painful DPN in patients with type 2 diabetes (OR = 2.486, 95 % CI 0.672-9.193, P = 0.172). Sensitivity analysis showed that there was no obvious change in the pooled estimates when omitting single study by turns. Type 2 diabetic patients with peripheral neuropathy have obviously increased serum TNF-α levels than type 2 diabetic patients without peripheral neuropathy and healthy controls, and high level of serum TNF-α may be associated with increased risk of peripheral neuropathy independently. Further prospective cohort studies are needed to assess the association between TNF-α and DPN.

Sulforaphane Prevents Neuronal Apoptosis and Memory Impairment in Diabetic Rats.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: To explore the effects of sulforaphane (SFN) on neuronal apoptosis in hippocampus and memory impairment in diabetic rats. METHODS: Thirty male rats were randomly divided into normal control, diabetic model and SFN treatment groups (N = 10 in each group). Streptozotocin (STZ) was applied to establish diabetic model. Water Morris maze task was applied to test learning and memory. Tunel assaying was used to detect apoptosis in hippocampus. The expressions of Caspase-3 and myeloid cell leukemia 1(MCL-1) were detected by western blotting. Neurotrophic factor levels and AKT/GSK3ß pathway were also detected. RESULTS: Compared with normal control, learning and memory were apparently impaired, with up-regulation of Caspase-3 and down-regulation of MCL-1 in diabetic rats. Apoptotic neurons were also found in CA1 region after diabetic modeling. By contrast, SFN treatment prevented the memory impairment, decreased the apoptosis of hippocampal neurons. SFN also attenuated the abnormal expression of Caspase-3 and MCL-1 in diabetic model. Mechanically, SFN treatment reversed diabetic modeling-induced decrease of p-Akt, p-GSK3ß, NGF and BDNF expressions. CONCLUSION: SFN could prevent the memory impairment and apoptosis of hippocampal neurons in diabetic rat. The possible mechanism was related to the regulation of neurotropic factors and Akt/GSK3ß pathway.

Long noncoding RNA are aberrantly expressed in human papillary thyroid carcinoma.

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have emerged as key regulatory molecules at almost every level of gene expression regulation. The altered expression of lncRNAs is a characteristic of numerous types of cancer, and lncRNAs have been demonstrated to promote the development, invasion and metastasis of tumors through various mechanisms. However, the role of lncRNAs in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) remain unclear. In the present study, differentially expressed lncRNAs and mRNAs were detected by human lncRNA microarray in three pairs of PTC and adjacent noncancerous samples. The microarray results revealed that 675 lncRNAs and 751 mRNAs were abnormally expressed in the three PTC samples compared with adjacent noncancerous samples (fold change ≥2.0; P<0.05). To validate the microarray results, 8 differentially expressed lncRNAs were randomly selected for quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). The results of qPCR were consistent with the microarray data; the 8 lncRNAs had an aberrant expression in the PTC samples compared with the adjacent noncancerous samples. Gene ontology and pathway analysis indicated that there were 7 downregulated pathways and 29 upregulated pathways in PTC. LncRNA classification and subgroup analysis revealed 7 pairs of enhancer-like lncRNA-mRNA, 9 pairs of antisense lncRNA-mRNA and 45 pairs of lncRNA-mRNA were differentially expressed between PTC and their paired noncancerous samples. In conclusion, the present study identified a series of novel PTC-associated lncRNAs. Further study with these lncRNAs is instrumental for the identification of novel target molecules that could lead to improved diagnosis and treatment for PTC.