Mechanochromic Polymer Film with High Sensitivity toward Tensile Strain by the Post-Curing Ring-Closure Induced Pre-Stretching.

Mechanochromic materials have received broad research interests recently, owing to its ability to monitor the in situ stress/strain in polymer materials in a straightforward way. However, one major setback that hinders the practical application of these materials is their low sensitivity toward tensile strain. Here a new strategy for pre-stretching of the mechanochromic agent in a polymer film on the molecular scale, which can effectively enhance the mechanochromic sensitivity of a polymer film toward tensile strain, is shown. In situ fluorescent measurement during tensile test shows an early activation of the mechanochromic agent at tensile strain as low as 50%. The pre-stretching effect is realized by first inducing ring-opening of the mechanochromic agent by molecular functionalization, and then compelling the ring-closure process in the cured film by elevated temperature. This post-curing ring-closure process will result in pre-stretched mechanochromic agent in a crosslinked network. The mechanism for mechanochromic activation of polymer films with different composition is elaborated by visco-elastic measurements, and the effect of pre-stretching is further confirmed by films with other compositions. Combined with the simplicity of the method developed, this work could offer an alternative strategy to enhance the sensitivity of different mechanochromic agents toward tensile strain.

Spot position scheme on a quadrant detector for a spaceborne laser communication system.

The paper proposes a spot positioning method based on a four-quadrant detector for the limited computing power and memory of spaceborne laser communication, in which the adaptive interpolation segmentation (AIS) algorithm is used to fit the theoretical position curve. The algorithm uses linear operations though the fitting process and the simulated result indicates that it has higher positioning accuracy in the center area of the quadrant detector. A spot receiving and positioning system was built for experimentation and the final location of the spot was calculated. The positioning error is analyzed to evaluate the performance of the whole system. It is shown that the positioning accuracy is highest in the stable communication area of the system. In result, the scheme achieves high accuracy with simple operations, which is more suitable for spaceborne laser communication systems to release more performance for communication.

From 1D to 2D: Controllable Preparation of 2D Ni-MOFs for Supercapacitors.

Controllable modulation strategies between one-dimensional (1D) and two-dimensional (2D) structures have been rarely reported for metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). Here, 1D, 1D/2D, and 2D Ni-MOFs can be facilely prepared by adjusting the ratio of Ni2+ and the pyromellitic acid linker. A low-dimensional structure can shorten the transmission distance, while MOFs with a high Ni2+ content can supply rich active sites for oxidation-reduction reactions. The 2D structure Ni-MOF with an optimized Ni2+/pyromellitic acid ratio presents a good performance of 1036 F g-1 at a current density of 1 A g-1 with a comparable rate performance of 62% at 20 A g-1. The study may offer a facile design to control the structure of MOFs for employing in electrochemical energy storage.

Efficacy and safety of corticosteroids, hyaluronic acid, and PRP and combination therapy for knee osteoarthritis: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: There are many injectable treatments for knee osteoarthritis with different characteristics and effects, the aim is to understand which one can lead to better and safer results. METHODS: The PRISMA principles were followed when doing the literature search. Web of Science databases, Embase, the Cochrane Library, PubMed, and the Wanfang database were searched to identified randomized controlled trials that assessed the efficacy of corticosteroids (CSC), platelet-rich plasma (PRP), hyaluronic acid (HA), and combination therapy in treating KOA. Risk of bias was assessed using the relevant Cochrane tools (version 1.0). The outcome measure included the visual analog scale (VAS) score, the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis (WOMAC) score, and treatment-related adverse events. The network meta-analysis was performed using STATA17 software and a Bayesian stratified random effects model. RESULTS: Network meta-analysis using the Bayesian random-effects model revealed 35 studies with 3104 participants. PRP showed the best WOMAC score at a 3-month follow-up, followed by PRP + HA, HA, placebo, and CSC; PRP + HA scored the highest VAS, followed by PRP, CSC, HA, and placebo. PRP, CSC, HA, and placebo had the highest WOMAC scores six months following treatment; PRP + HA showed the best VAS scores. PRP showed the best WOMAC score at 12 months, followed by PRP + HA, HA, placebo, and CSC; The best VAS score was obtained with PRP, followed by PRP + HA, HA, and CSC. No therapy demonstrated a rise in adverse events linked to the treatment in terms of safety. CONCLUSIONS: The current study found that PRP and PRP + HA were the most successful in improving function and alleviating pain after 3, 6, and 12 months of follow-up. CSC, HA, PRP, and combination therapy did not result in an increase in the incidence of treatment-related side events as compared to placebo.

Multi-responsive PNIPAM-PEGDA hydrogel composite.

Hydrogels are widely used in applications such as soft robots and flexible sensors due to their sensitivity to environmental stimuli. It is highly demanded to develop multiple-responsive hydrogel structures. In this work, we employ the 3D printing technique to fabricate a PNIPAM-PEGDA hydrogel bilayer that can change shape through controlling the temperature, solvent mixture and magnetic field. The PNIPAM gel is a typical thermo-responsive gel, showing a decrease in swelling ratio with increasing temperature. Meanwhile, the PNIPAM gels also exhibit the cononsolvency effect in ethanol-water mixtures with a smaller swelling ratio in the mixture compared with that in each pure solvent. In comparison, the swelling ratio of PEGDA gels is insensitive to changes in both the temperature and solvent composition. Thus, the bilayer structure of PNIPAM-PEGDA can bend in different directions and with different angles with changing the temperature and solvent composition. Finally, Fe3O4 nanoparticles are incorporated into the matrix of PEGDA gels, endowing the whole structure with deformation and motion in response to an external magnetic field.

Recent advances of the regulation roles of MicroRNA in glioblastoma.

Glioblastoma (GBM) is one of the most malignant neural tumors, and patients with GBM often die soon after the onset. The pathogenesis of GBM is very complicated, and there is no effective treatment for GBM. The current research results show that a variety of microRNA (miRNA) are involved in the regulation of GBM occurrence and development through specific signal pathways. Meanwhile, as a non-invasive biological indicator, there is an important clinical value of miRNA in the diagnosis and prognosis of GBM. The research of targeted miRNA treatment for GBM is still in the cell and animal model stage, although the basic research shows a good result, there is still a certain distance to the clinical application.

Correction to: Recent advances of the regulation roles of MicroRNA in glioblastoma.

The authors would like to update the affiliations and email addresses of the original publication as given in this correction.

Ornithine aminotransferase promoted the proliferation and metastasis of non-small cell lung cancer via upregulation of miR-21.

The incidence and mortality of lung cancer ranked the first among all types of cancer in China, and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the most common type of lung cancer accounting for 85% of all lung cancers. Given that the survival rate of patients with advanced NSCLC is still poor nowadays, identification of novel therapeutic targets and the development of effective therapies are desired for the treatment of NSCLC in clinics. In this study, we reported the upregulation of ornithine aminotransferase (OAT) in NSCLC cells and clinical tumor samples as well as its association with the advanced TNM stage, metastasis, and poor tumor differentiation of lung cancer. Using different NSCLC cell lines, we demonstrated that OAT promoted the proliferation, invasion, and migration, inhibited the apoptosis, and altered cell cycle of NSCLC cells; besides, the involvement of OAT-miR-21-glycogen synthase kinase-3ß signaling in the functional role of OAT in NSCLC was also revealed. Importantly, in the absence of OAT, the growth and metastasis of tumor lung cancer xenograft was significantly suppressed in the nude mice. Based on our findings, OAT may be a potential novel biomarker for the diagnosis and therapeutic outcome monitoring of NSCLC. Inhibition of OAT may also represent a new therapeutic strategy of NSCLC.

Photophoretic trapping of multiple particles in tapered-ring optical field.

We demonstrate the photophoretic trapping of more than several hundreds of absorbing particles by tapered-ring optical traps diffracted from a circular aperture. The experiments with different laser powers show the influence of air flow acting on particles. Three kinds of particles with different densities (about 1~7 g/cm(3)) and different shapes (spherical, non-spherical) can be trapped. The non-spherical particles (toner particles) disperse in optical field, while the spherical particles (ink droplets and iron particles) arrange as a straight line. More importantly, in the experiments of two counter-propagating tapered-ring beams, the agglomeration of particles is achieved and can help research the dynamics of aerosols.

Manipulation of aerosols revolving in taper-ring optical traps.

We designed taper-ring optical traps by a weakly focused laser beam through a circular aperture. By railing-like potential barriers, these optical traps are partitioned into enclosed rings, in which irregular light-absorbing microparticles can be driven by photophoretic force to revolve around optical axis in air. The diameter of revolution can reach about 700 µm, which is much larger than that in traditional optical traps based on radiation pressure and gradient force. More importantly, multiple particles were driven to revolve simultaneously in different planes in air for the first reported time to the best of our knowledge.

Rigid-foldable cylindrical origami with tunable mechanical behaviors.

Rigid-foldable origami shows significant promise in advanced engineering applications including deployable structures, aerospace engineering, and robotics. It undergoes deformation solely at the creases during the folding process while maintaining rigidity throughout all facets. However, most types of cylindrical origami, such as Kresling origami, water-bomb origami, and twisted tower origami, lack rigid-foldability. Although shape transformation can be achieved through elastic folding, their limited rigid foldability constrains their engineering applications. To address this limitation, we proposed a type of cylindrical origami inspired by Kresling origami, named foldable prism origami (FP-ori), in this paper. FP-ori possesses not only rigid-foldability but also several tunable properties, including flat-foldability, self-locking, and bistability. The geometric properties of FP-ori were analyzed and the relationship between different parameters and tunable mechanical behaviors were verified through finite element method simulations, as well as experiments using paper models. Furthermore, we proposed stacked structures composed of multiple cubic FP-ori units, the rotation directions of which could be controlled through the combination arrangement. And drawing inspiration from kirigami, a negative Poisson's ratio tessellation structure was created. These results indicated that FP-ori has substantial potential for broad application in engineering fields.

CaCO3 nanoplatform for cancer treatment: drug delivery and combination therapy.

The use of nanocarriers for drug delivery has opened up exciting new possibilities in cancer treatment. Among them, calcium carbonate (CaCO3) nanocarriers have emerged as a promising platform due to their exceptional biocompatibility, biosafety, cost-effectiveness, wide availability, and pH-responsiveness. These nanocarriers can efficiently encapsulate a variety of small-molecule drugs, proteins, and nucleic acids, as well as co-encapsulate multiple drugs, providing targeted and sustained drug release with minimal side effects. However, the effectiveness of single-drug therapy using CaCO3 nanocarriers is limited by factors such as multidrug resistance, tumor metastasis, and recurrence. Combination therapy, which integrates multiple treatment modalities, offers a promising approach for tackling these challenges by enhancing efficacy, leveraging synergistic effects, optimizing therapy utilization, tailoring treatment approaches, reducing drug resistance, and minimizing side effects. CaCO3 nanocarriers can be employed for combination therapy by integrating drug therapy with photodynamic therapy, photothermal therapy, sonodynamic therapy, immunotherapy, radiation therapy, radiofrequency ablation therapy, and imaging. This review provides an overview of recent advancements in CaCO3 nanocarriers for drug delivery and combination therapy in cancer treatment over the past five years. Furthermore, insightful perspectives on future research directions and development of CaCO3 nanoparticles as nanocarriers in cancer treatment are discussed.

An Analytical Method for Elastic Modulus of the Sandwich BCC Lattice Structure Based on Assumption of Linear Distribution.

An analytical method to predict the elastic modulus of the sandwich body-centered cubic (BCC) lattice structure is presented on the basis of the assumption of a linearly changing elastic modulus. In the constrained region, the maximum of elastic modulus used the elastic moduli of the BCC lattice element with plate constraints and is calculated with Timoshenko beam theory, the minimum used without plate constraints. In the rest of the constrained region, a linear function along the thickness direction is proposed to calculate elastic modulus. The elastic modulus of the unconstrained region is constant and it is the same as the minimum of the constrained region. The elastic modulus of the whole sandwich BCC lattice structure can be calculated theoretically with the elastic modulus of the constrained and unconstrained regions and a single-layer slice integration method. Six kinds of sandwich BCC lattice structures with different geometric parameters are designed and made by resin 3D printing technology, and the elastic moduli are measured. By comparing the predictions of the elastic modulus using the proposed analytical method and existing method with experimental results, the errors between the results of the existing method and the experimental results varied from 10.3% to 24.7%, and the errors between the results of the proposed method and the experimental results varied from 1.6% to 7.4%, proving that the proposed method is more accurate than the existing methods.

Two novelty learning models developed based on deep cascade forest to address the environmental imbalanced issues: A case study of drinking water quality prediction.

Environmental quality data sets are typically imbalanced, because environmental pollution events are rarely observed in daily life. Prediction of imbalanced data sets is a major challenge in machine learning. Our recent work has shown deep cascade forest (DCF), as a base learning model, is promising to be recommended for environmental quality prediction. Although some traditional models were improved by introducing the cost matrix, little is known about whether cost matrix could enhance the prediction performance of DCF. Additionally, feature extraction is also an important way to potentially improve the model's ability to predict the imbalanced data. Here, we developed two novelty learning models based on DCF: cost-sensitive DCF (CS-DCF) and DCF that combines unsupervised learning models and greedy methods (USM-DCF-G). Subsequently, CS-DCF and USM-DCF-G were successfully verified by an imbalanced drinking water quality data set. Our data presented both CS-DCF and USM-DCF-G show better prediction performance than that of DCF alone did. In particular, USM-DCF-G shows the best performance with the highest F1-score (95.12 ± 2.56%), after feature extraction and selection by using unsupervised learning models and greedy methods. Thus, the two learning models, especially USM-DCF-G, were promising learning models to address environmental imbalanced issues and accurately predict environmental quality.

Comparative analysis of surface water quality prediction performance and identification of key water parameters using different machine learning models based on big data.

The water quality prediction performance of machine learning models may be not only dependent on the models, but also dependent on the parameters in data set chosen for training the learning models. Moreover, the key water parameters should also be identified by the learning models, in order to further reduce prediction costs and improve prediction efficiency. Here we endeavored for the first time to compare the water quality prediction performance of 10 learning models (7 traditional and 3 ensemble models) using big data (33,612 observations) from the major rivers and lakes in China from 2012 to 2018, based on the precision, recall, F1-score, weighted F1-score, and explore the potential key water parameters for future model prediction. Our results showed that the bigger data could improve the performance of learning models in prediction of water quality. Compared to other 7 models, decision tree (DT), random forest (RF) and deep cascade forest (DCF) trained by data sets of pH, DO, CODMn, and NH3-N had significantly better performance in prediction of all 6 Levels of water quality recommended by Chinese government. Moreover, two key water parameter sets (DO, CODMn, and NH3-N; CODMn, and NH3-N) were identified and validated by DT, RF and DCF to be high specificities for perdition water quality. Therefore, DT, RF and DCF with selected key water parameters could be prioritized for future water quality monitoring and providing timely water quality warning.

[RETRACTED: Serine hydroxymethyl transferase 2 regulates the AMPK/mTOR pathway and induces autophagy to promote chemotherapy resistance in colon cancer cells].

Retraction This article has been retracted at the request of Author 'Serine hydroxymethyl transferase 2 regulates the AMPK/mTOR pathway and induces autophagy to promote chemotherapy resistance in colon cancer cells' by Liu F, Liu Y, Gao H, Wang L. The above article, published online on Apr 2019, in Xi Bao Yu Fen Zi Mian Yi Xue Za Zhi, 35(4):344-350; 356, has been retracted by agreement with all authors. The authors of the paper wish to retract the paper due to the discovery of error in the processing of the raw data. They apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. Reference Liu F, Liu Y, Gao H, Wang L. Xi Bao Yu Fen Zi Mian Yi Xue Za Zhi, 2019 Apr;35(4):344-350; 356.PMID: 31167694. Retraction of Serine hydroxymethyl transferase 2 regulates the AMPK/mTOR pathway and induces autophagy to promote chemotherapy resistance in colon cancer cells. [Xi Bao Yu Fen Zi Mian Yi Xue Za Zhi. 2019].

miR­501­3p promotes colorectal cancer progression via activation of Wnt/ß­catenin signaling.

Aberrant activation of Wnt/ß­catenin signaling is observed in >90% of colorectal cancer cases. microRNAs (miRNAs) regulate the expression of key genes in Wnt/ß­catenin signaling. As a result, abnormal expression of miRNAs regulates the activation of Wnt/ß­catenin signaling in several types of cancer. In the current study, it was demonstrated that miR­501­3p was overexpressed in colorectal tumor tissues compared to the adjacent normal tissues. Downregulation of miR­501­3p inhibited cell proliferation and sphere formation, while it induced cell cycle arrest at the G1 phase in colorectal cancer cells. Bioinformatics analysis results predicted that adenomatous polyposis coli (APC), a negative regulator of Wnt/ß­catenin signaling, was a potential target gene of miR­501­3p. Inhibition of miR­501­3p increased APC expression in colorectal cancer cells. Additionally, ß­catenin was destabilized following miR­501­3p inhibition; immunofluorescence analysis revealed that ß­catenin translocated from nucleus to cytoplasm. In addition, cyclin D1 and c­Myc, two well­characterized target genes of Wnt/ß­catenin signaling, were downregulated following miR­501­3p inhibition. Transfection of APC small interfering RNA re­activated ß­catenin and stimulated the expression of cyclin D1 and c­Myc. Furthermore, silencing of APC reversed the miR­501­3p inhibitor­induced cell cycle disruption, and the inhibition of cell proliferation and sphere formation in colorectal cancer cells. In conclusion, the present study identified miR­501­3p as a novel regulator of Wnt/ß­catenin signaling in colorectal cancer cells via targeting APC, suggesting that miR­501­3p may act as a novel oncogenic miRNA in colorectal cancer.

[Cyanidin-3-O-glucoside inhibits proliferation of colorectal cancer cells by targeting TOPK].

Objective To explore the influence of cyanidin-3-O-glucoside (C3G) on the proliferation of colorectal cancer cells and its mechanism. Methods In vitro binding and in vitro kinase assay were used to detect the binding ability of C3G and T-LAK cell-originated protein kinase (TOPK) and its effect on TOPK activity. Soft AGAR test was used to detect the effect of C3G on the clonal ability of colon cancer cells. The cytotoxicity of C3G was determined by MTS assay. E. coli BL21 was used to express GST-histone H3 fusion protein. The effect of C3G on the clonogenesis of colon cancer cells with silenced TOPK was examined by lentivirus infection. The phosphorylation of histone H3 by C3G in HCT116 cells was determined by Western blotting. A mouse model of xenograft was established to study the phosphorylation level of histone H3 by immunohistochemical staining. Results C3G was directly bound to TOPK in vitro and inhibited TOPK activity. C3G inhibited the proliferation and clone formation of colon cancer cells in a concentration-dependent manner. Silencing TOPK decreased the sensitivity of colon cancer cells to C3G. C3G inhibited the phosphorylation of histone H3 downstream of TOPK in a time- and concentration-dependent manner. In addition, C3G inhibited tumor growth in mice with xenograft tumors from colon cancer tissues of a patient. Conclusion C3G can inhibit colorectal cancer growth by targeting TOPK.

[Serine hydroxymethyl transferase 2 regulates the AMPK/mTOR pathway and induces autophagy to promote chemotherapy resistance in colon cancer cells].

Objective To investigate the mechanism of serine hydroxymethyl transferase 2 (SHMT2) inducing autophagy and promoting chemotherapy resistance in colon cancer cells. Methods TCGA database and real-time quantitative PCR were used to analyze the level of SHMT2 mRNA in colon cancer tissues. Western blot analysis and immunohistochemistry were used to detect the expression and distribution of SHMT2 in colon cancer tissues. Western blot analysis was performed to detect the SHMT2 protein levels of SW480, SW620, HCT116, CACO2, RKO, HCT8, HT15 and HT29 cells. After over-expression of SHMT2 in CACO2 colon cancer cells, MTT assay was used to detect cell viability, and annexin V-FITC/PI double labeling was used to detect the apoptosis of colon cancer cells induced by 5-fluorouracil (5-Fu). The autophagosomes of colon cancer cells were observed by transmission electron microscopy. The protein levels of LC3 II/I, P62, cleaved PARP (c-PARP), and cleaved caspase-3 (c-caspase-3) were examined by Western blot analysis. Signaling Phospho-Antibody Array and Western blot analysis were applied to analyze the phosphorylation level of AMPK/mTOR. Results SHMT2 was highly expressed in colon cancer tissues and cells. Over-expression of SHMT2 significantly increased cell viability and the ratio of LC3 II/ LC3 I. It was found that the phosphorylation level of AMPK was raised and the phosphorylation level of mTOR was reduced after the over-expression of SHMT2. Conclusion SHMT2 may induce autophagy by promoting AMPK phosphorylation and directly or indirectly inhibiting mTOR activity, thus leading to chemotherapy-induced apoptosis tolerance and resistance to chemotherapeutics.

The lncRNA ZEB2-AS1 is upregulated in gastric cancer and affects cell proliferation and invasion via miR-143-5p/HIF-1α axis.

BACKGROUND: Growing evidence has implicated the important role of the long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in gastric cancer progression. In this study, we examined the expression of lncRNA zinc finger E-box-binding homeobox 2 antisense RNA 1 (ZEB2-AS1) in gastric cancer tissues and elucidated the molecular mechanisms underlying ZEB2-AS1-mediated gastric cancer progression. METHODS: Quantitative real-time PCR measured the gene expression level; CCK-8, colony formation and cell invasion assays determined gastric cancer cell proliferation, growth and invasion, respectively; the xenograft nude mice model was used to determine in vivo tumor growth; Bioinformatics analysis and luciferase reporter assay determined the downstream targets of ZEB2-AS1 and miR-143-5p. The expression of ZEB2-AS1 was upregulated in gastric cancer cell lines. RESULTS: Knockdown of ZEB2-AS1 suppressed gastric cancer cell proliferation, growth and invasion, and also suppressed in vivo tumor growth in the nude mice. Overexpression of ZEB2-AS1 potentiated gastric cancer cell proliferation, growth and invasion. Bioinformatics analysis and luciferase reporter assay showed that miR-143-5p was a direct target of ZEB2-AS1 and was negatively regulated by ZEB2-AS1. Furthermore, hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) was found to be a target of miR-143-5p and was negatively regulated by miR-143-5p. The rescue in vitro assays showed that the effects of ZEB2-AS1 overexpression on gastric cancer cell proliferation, growth and invasion was mediated via miR-143-5p/HIF-1α. ZEB2-AS1 and HIF-1α was upregulated in gastric cancer tissues, while miR-143-5p was down-regulated; and ZEB2-AS1 expression level was inversely correlated with miR-143-5p expression level, and positively correlated with HIF-1α mRNA expression level; while miR-143-5p expression level was inversely correlated with HIF-1α expression level. High ZEB2-AS1 expression level was correlated with poor differentiation, lymph node metastasis and distant metastasis. CONCLUSION: Collectively, our results indicated that ZEB2-AS1 was up-regulated in gastric cancer tissues and cells and promoted cell proliferation and metastasis through miR-143-5p/HIF-1α pathway, which may provide a promising target for treatment of gastric cancer.