The intermolecular polar bond interaction and coupling induced spectral splitting phenomenon for a binary mixture.

To explain the polarization Raman noncoincidence effect of specific polar bonds and the noncoincidence phenomenon between FT-Raman and FT-IR spectra, aggregation-induced spectral splitting theory was proposed. In this paper, the vibration splitting theory was demonstrated using two strategies: improving the spectral resolution with cryogenic matrix isolation techniques and identifying cases where the coupling splitting is large enough to be distinguishable. The monomer and dimer splitting bands of acetone were detected when cryogenically isolated by the Ar matrix. Additionally, the polarization Raman and two-dimensional infrared spectra of a ß-propiolactone (PIL)/CCl4 binary mixture were collected at room temperature, and the spectral splitting phenomenon was clearly observed. The dynamic transformation between the monomer and dimer could be achieved and detected by adjusting the PIL concentration. The observed splitting phenomenon was further confirmed by theoretical DFT calculations based on the monomer and dimer of PIL, as well as the FT-IR and FT-Raman spectra of PIL. Concentration-triggered 2D-COS synchronous and asynchronous spectra also confirmed the splitting phenomenon and the dilution kinetics of PIL/CCl4.

Study on depolymerization kinetics of formic acid dimers in binary mixture.

In this study, polarization Raman spectra were collected for binary mixtures of formic acid/methanol and formic acid/acetonitrile with different volume fractions. The broad band of formic acid in the CO vibration region was divided into four vibration peaks, corresponding to CO symmetric and anti-symmetric stretching vibration from cyclic dimer, CO stretching from open dimer, and CO stretching from the free monomer. The experiments showed that as the volume fraction of formic acid in the binary mixture decreased, the cyclic dimer gradually converted to the open dimer, and at a volume fraction of 0.1, fully depolymerized into monomer form (free monomer, solvated monomer, and hydrogen bonding monomer clusters with solvent). The contribution percentage of the total CO stretching intensity of each structure at different concentrations was quantitatively calculated using high resolution infrared spectroscopy, and the results were consistent with the conclusions predicted by polarization Raman spectroscopy. Concentration-triggered 2D-COS synchronous and asynchronous spectra also confirmed the kinetics of formic acid diluted in acetonitrile. This work provides a spectroscopic method for studying the structure of organic compounds in solution and concentration-triggering kinetics in mixtures.

Robust underwater image enhancement method based on natural light and reflectivity.

The poor visibility of underwater images is caused not only by scattering and absorption effects but is also related to light conditions. To improve robustness, a novel underwater image enhancement method based on natural light and reflectivity is proposed. Aiming at the scattering effects of reflectivity, a dehazing process based on the non-correlation of a foreground scene and background light is first conducted. Then, a more precise reflectivity can be estimated by substituting the captured image with the dehazed image. Moreover, classical methods often regard the dehazed image as the final result, but ignore the fact that attenuated natural light and nonuniform artificial light, which lead to insufficient brightness and halo effects, are included in the dehazed image, and are not robust to all scenes. This phenomenon enables us to remove the artificial light disturbance by introducing the dehazed image in the Lambertian model, and compensate for the loss of natural light energy by exploiting the light attenuation ratio map. Thus, the least-attenuated natural light can be further derived. Experimental results demonstrate that our method is satisfactory in producing more pleasing results under various circumstances.

The Pinx1 Gene Downregulates Telomerase and Inhibits Proliferation of CD133+ Cancer Stem Cells Isolated from a Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Cell Line by Regulating Trfs and Mad1/C-Myc/p53 Pathways.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are important factors for the continuous growth, recurrence, and metastasis of malignant tumors. They are responsible for the ineffectiveness of traditional radiotherapy and chemotherapy toward malignant tumors. Currently, stem cells or side-population cells have been isolated from many cancer cell lines and malignant tumor tissues, including nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Exploring the biological characteristics of CSCs for CSC-targeted therapy has gained importance. CSCs possess higher telomerase activity; thus, the use of the gene encoding telomerase inhibitor PinX1 gene to target telomerase in CSCs and inhibit proliferation, invasion, and metastasis of CSCs has become an important means for the treatment of malignant tumors. PinX1 may regulate complex pathways, including TRF1, Mad1/c-Myc, and p53. METHODS: In this study, nasopharyngeal CD133+ CSCs were sorted using CD133 immunomagnetic beads by flow cytometry The successful isolation of CD133+ CSCs was confirmed by examining their surface markers, namely CD44, NaNOG, and SOX2 as well as their ability to undergo in vivo tumorigenesis and in vitro sphere formation, proliferation, migration, and invasion. In addition, CD133+ CSCs were transfected with the constructed PinX1 overexpression plasmid or siRNA and the resulting effects on their proliferation, migration, invasion, and apoptosis were detected using cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8), transwell assay, and scratch test, respectively. Furthermore, their effects on mRNA and protein levels of TRF1, TRF2, Mad1, c-Myc, and p53 were examined using quantitative real-time PCR and western blot, respectively. RESULTS: The overexpression of PinX1 in CD133+ CSCs significantly decreased hTERT (P < 0.001), inhibited proliferation, migration, and invasion, induced apoptosis, and significantly decreased c-Myc mRNA levels (P < 0.001), while it increased TRF1, Mad1, and p53 mRNA levels (all P < 0.001). On the other hand, PinX1 silencing in CD133+ CSCs significantly decreased TRF1, Mad1, and p53 mRNA levels (all P < 0.01), while it increased hTERT and c-Myc mRNA levels (all P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: These results indicate that PinX1 downregulates telomerase activity in CD133+ CSCs, inhibits its proliferation, migration, and invasion, and induces apoptosis possibly through TRF1, Mad1/c-Myc, and p53-mediated pathways.

Joint quantitative measurement of hTERT mRNA in both peripheral blood and circulating tumor cells of patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma and its clinical significance.

BACKGROUND: The study was aimed to quantitatively detect mRNA levels of the catalytic subunit of telomerase (hTERT) in both peripheral blood and circulating tumor cells (CTCs) of patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) and explore its significance in early diagnosis and treatment of NPC. METHODS: hTERT mRNA levels in peripheral blood and CTCs of 33 NPC patients before and after treatment with intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) or/and chemotherapy and 24 healthy controls were measured using real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) and their correlations to clinic pathological factors of NPC were analyzed. RESULTS: Peripheral hTERT mRNA content was 10.75 ± 4.29 in NPC patients and 0.95 ± 0.37 in control subjects (P < 0.05), and had a significant correlation with patients' clinical stage, T stage, and N stage (P < 0.05). Treatment of NPC patients at stages I and II with simple IMRT significantly reduced hTERT mRNA level from 5.60 ± 2.33 to 3.43 ± 1.42 (P < 0.05) and treatment of patients at advanced stage (III and IV) with induction chemotherapy followed by IMRT significantly reduced hTERT mRNA levels from 12.68 ± 3.08 to 10.68 ± 2.48 to 3.13 ± 1.69 (P < 0.05), respectively. In addition, the study also showed that hTERT mRNA content in CTCs of NPC patients was 10.65 ± 4.28, evidently higher than that of 1.09 ± 0.40 in control subjects (P < 0.05) and hTERT mRNA level in CTCs of NPC patients was obviously correlated to patients' clinical stage, T stage and N stage (P < 0.05). After treatment, hTERT mRNA level in CTCs of NPC patients lowered from 10.65 ± 4.28 to 5.59 ± 2.32 (P < 0.05). The correlation analysis found that hTERT mRNA level in peripheral blood and CTCs of NPC patients were highly correlated with a correlation coefficient of 0.981. CONCLUSIONS: hTERT mRNA levels in peripheral blood and CTCs of NPC patients were significantly enhanced compared to that in healthy controls and highly correlated. Changes in hTERT mRNA level was closely correlated to patients' clinical stage and T stage. Radiochemotherapy could effectively reduce hTERT mRNA level in peripheral blood and CTCs. Thus, it is possible using the joint detection of hTERT mRNA level in peripheral blood and CTCs as a new biomarker for early diagnosis, treatment efficacy and prognosis of NPC.

Transient, recurrent, white matter lesions in x-linked Charcot-Marie-tooth disease with novel mutation of gap junction protein beta 1 gene in China: a case report.

BACKGROUND: Transient white matter lesions have been rarely reported in X-linked Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 1. CASE PRESENTATION: We describe a 15-year-old boy who presented transient and recurrent weakness of the limbs for 5 days. His mother, his mother's mother and his mother's sister presented pes cavus. MRI and electrophysiology were performed in the proband. Gap junction protein beta l gene was analyzed by PCR-sequencing in the proband and his parents. The electrophysiological studies showed a mixed demyelinating and axonal sensorimotor neuropathy. MRI showed white matter lesions in the internal capsule, corpus callosum and periventricular areas, which showed almost complete resolution after two months. T278G mutation in Gap junction protein beta l gene was detected in the proband and his mother. CONCLUSION: This case report highlights that the novel T278G mutation of Gap junction protein beta l maybe could result in X-linked Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 1 with predominant leucoencephalopathy. The white matter changes in MRI of X-linked Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 1 patient are reversible.

The polarized Raman spectra of N-methylpyrrolidone-an effective method for determination of intermolecular interaction and H-bond formation.

The isotropic and anisotropic component Raman spectra and H NMR of N-methylpyrrolidone (NMP)/carbon tetrachloride and NMP/methanol binary mixture at different volume fractions have been collected. The polarization Raman frequencies and frequency differences of CO stretching vibration for NMP/methanol mixture show unique concentration-dependence and abrupt jump feature. It is found that the H-bond between solute and solvent does not destroy the noncoincidence (NCE) phenomenon, but has a significant synergistic effect on the NCE. Two distinctive clusters constrained by H-bond and intermolecular interactions were easily determined by means of linear extension method from abrupt jump curve. The experimental phenomena can be well explained by aggregation-induced splitting theory with the proposed dimer structure and H-bond cluster model. Applying the same methodology the conformation of NMP in water has been determined successfully. The establishment of this method will play an important role in the determination of biomolecule aggregation behavior and supramolecular self-assembly structure.

Effects of hydrogen bond and solvent polarity on the C=O stretching of bis(2-thienyl)ketone in solution.

The optimized structural parameters, the absorption and the resonance Raman spectra have been investigated for the bis(2-thienyl)ketone in gas phase, in cyclohexane, methanol, and acetonitrile solvents by means of time dependent density functional theory calculations, the solvent electronic polarization effect on the solvation shift is examined and in well accordance with the calculation. The effect of increasing the polarity of the solvent is well represented by the polarizable continuum model, both for the absorption spectra and resonance Raman intensities. The Raman spectra of the C=O stretching mode, which is sensitive to the intermolecular interaction for bis(2-thienyl)ketone dissolved in solvents, were systematically studied. It was found that the hydrogen bond effect plays an important role in reducing the carbonyl stretching wavenumbers. The results of Raman shifts were interpreted through the dilution effect, solvation effects, and hydrogen bond-forming effects. Furthermore, the excitation profiles of several important Raman bands of bis(2-thienyl)ketone molecule in different solvents have been critically analyzed. The solvent effects on structural and symmetry properties of the molecule in S2 electronic state as well as the short-time photo relaxation dynamics have been discussed.

Aggregation induced spectral splitting and Fermi resonance of Ethylene Carbonate in binary mixture.

The vibration band of the ring stretching (ν14), the fundamental ring breathing (ν17) and the Fermi resonance band of carbonyl stretching mixing with the overtone of the ring breathing (ν5 + 2ν17) have been investigated in solid ethylene carbonate (EC) and EC/CH3CN and EC/CHCl3 binary mixture. Dimer structure with aggregation-induced spectral splitting model (AIS) was applied to calculate the vibration spectra using the B3LYP-D3/6-311+G (d,p) procedure. The noncoincidence effect (NCE) and concentration induced frequency shifts of the ν14 and ν5 could be well explained by AIS model based on the dimer structure. Four bands were observed with two in the isotropic and two in the anisotropic Raman spectra and their NCE value decreased with the decrease of EC volume fraction in the binary mixture, and finally disappeared. NCE value and the Fermi resonance constants of EC at different concentrations were calculated from the experimental data.

High resolution DOA estimation of acoustic plane waves: An innovative comparison among Cuckoo search heuristics and subspace based algorithms.

SONAR signal processing plays an indispensable role when it comes to parameter estimation of Direction of Arrival (DOA) of acoustic plane waves for closely spaced target exclusively under severe noisy environments. Resolution performance of classical MUSIC and ESPRIT algorithms and other subspace-based algorithms decreases under scenarios like low SNR, smaller number of snapshots and closely spaced targets. In this study, optimization strength of swarm intelligence of Cuckoo Search Algorithm (CSA) is accomplished for viable DOA estimation in different scenarios of underwater environment using a Uniform Linear Array (ULA). Higher resolution for closely spaced targets is achieved using smaller number of snapshots viably with CSA by investigating global minima of the highly nonlinear cost function of ULA. Performance analysis of CSA for different number of targets employing estimation accuracy, higher resolution, variance analysis, frequency distribution of RMSE over the monte Carlo runs and robustness against noise in the presence of additive-white Gaussian measurement noise is achieved. Comparative studies of CSA with Root MUSIC and ESPRIT along with Crammer Rao Bound analysis witnesses better results for estimating DOA parameters which are further endorsed from the results of Monte Carlo simulations.

Resonance Raman spectroscopy and density functional theory calculation study of photodecay dynamics of tetra(4-carboxyphenyl) porphyrin.

The 397.9 nm, 416.0 nm and 435.7 nm resonance Raman spectra were acquired for meso-tetrakis(4-carboxyphenyl)porphyrin (TCPP) in tetrahydrofuran solution, and the Raman effect of relaxation dynamics was analyzed according to Herzberg-Teller (vibronic coupling) contributions. Density functional calculations were done to help the elucidation of the Soret (B(x) and B(y)-band) electronic transitions and the corresponding photo relaxation dynamics of TCPP. The spectra indicate that the Franck-Condon region photo relaxation dynamics upon S(0) → S(4) electronic transition are predominantly along the totally symmetric C(m)-ph stretch and Porphin ring breath stretch, and simultaneously along the asymmetric ν(C(m)-Phenyl) + δ(N-H) and ν(C(α)-C(m)-C(α))(as) + def (pyr) vibrational relaxation processes. The excited state structural dynamics of TCPP determined from the resonance Raman spectra show that the internal conversion between the B(y) and B(x) electronic states occurs in tens of femtoseconds, and the electronic relaxation dynamics were firstly interpreted taking into account the time-dependent wave packet theory and Herzberg-Teller (vibronic coupling) contributions.

Resonance Raman intensity analysis of the A band short-time photochemical dynamics of 4,5-ethylenedithio-1,3-dithiole-2-thione.

Resonance Raman spectra (RRs) for 4,5-ethylenedithio-1,3-dithiole-2-thione (EDDT) were obtained with 397.9 and 416 nm excitation wavelengths, and density functional calculations were performed to elucidate the electronic transitions and the RRs of EDDT in chloroform solvent. The RRs indicate that the Franck-Condon region photodynamics have multidimensional character with nuclear motion predominantly along the C(4)═C(5) stretch and the C(4)═C(5) twist out-of-plane. Resonance Raman cross-sections of A-band absorption have been obtained for the vibrational modes of EDDT with its excitation frequencies spanning the 408 nm. Resonance Raman intensity analysis of the resulting RRs excitation profiles and absorption spectrum using a time-dependent wave packet formalism yields mode-specific nuclear displacement and vibrational reorganizational energies. The intensity analysis results for EDDT were compared to previously reported results for dimethyl 1,3-dithiole-2-thione-4,5-dicarboxylate (DDTD), which shows that the additional six-member heterocycle of EDDT strongly affects the reorganizational energy and energy participation. The authors briefly discuss the differences and similarities of the spectra in terms of molecular symmetry and electron density.

A line-scanning chromatic confocal sensor for three-dimensional profile measurement on highly reflective materials.

We developed a practical Line-Scanning Chromatic Confocal Sensor (LSCCS) that can generate three-dimensional (3D) points with up to 32 000/s with a high-precision motion device. An optical route of line-scanning confocal spectroscopy is designed and verified by simulation. The LSCCS is composed of a white laser source, a chromatic confocal optics, and a self-developed spectrometer. The chromatic confocal optics consists of a slit, a chromatic lens (dispersive objective lens), and a beam splitter, and the spectrometer consists of an adjustable slit, a collimating lens, a blazed grating, a focusing lens, a CMOS, and an image processing circuit. The slit and the chromatic lens are designed for a line focus, and the polarizing beam splitter is selected to maximize the white light power collected by the CMOS. The motion device is made to realize the full-field 3D scanning. The key algorithms involved are developed to accurately restore the peak wavelength that includes the position information of the measured surface from the collected spectral image. Theoretical analysis and simulation showed that the corresponding resolutions in Z (depth), X (direction of optical fibers layout), and Y (direction of line-scanning) directions are 0.6, 10, and 5 µm, with a line length of 8 mm and a depth field of 2.4 mm. Experimental results showed that the sensor produces a measurement accuracy of 0.886 µm and a scanning speed of 90 fps. It is of great significance for the accurate measurement of the 3D profile and thickness on the highly reflective materials in the fields of optics, semiconductors, or micromechanics.

UV-Vis, Raman spectroscopic and density functional theoretical studies on microsolvation 1, 2, 4-triazole-3-thione clusters.

Photophysical and photochemical reactions of microsolvation clusters are attracting an increasing attention due to their wide applications in materials science and biology. In this paper, 1, 2, 4-triazole-3-thione (3TT) is investigated in solid, protic, and aprotic solvents using FT-Raman, resonance Raman and electronic absorption spectroscopic experiments. The structures of microsolvation clusters in solvents were confirmed by 488 nm Raman spectroscopy combining with density functional theory (DFT) calculation. Steady-state absorption and resonance Raman spectra of 3TT in different environments indicate that the intermolecular hydrogen bonding may reveal important insights in the photophysical and photochemical process. With the aid of DFT and time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) calculations, we assigned the observed Raman spectra to the microsolvation clusters in acetonitrile, water and methanol, and carried out preliminary investigations on spectrum shifts of UV and Raman spectra due to the hydrogen bonding with the solvent molecules. The intermolecular >NH···O and >=S···H hydrogen bonding interactions, which are the key constituents of stable thione structure of 3TT, revealed the obvious spectrum shifts of 3TT, including Raman and absorption shifts in CH3CN, CH3OH and H2O. The hydrogen bond sites were further confirmed to be located on the functional group SCNH of 3TT with CH3CN, H2O and CH3OH.

Synergistic combination of ACQ and AIE moieties to enhance the emission of hexagonal metallacycles.

Herein, we show the synergistic combination of aggregation-caused quenching (ACQ) and aggregation-induced emission (AIE) units into two hexagonal metallacycles. The resultant metallacycles displayed emergent photophysical properties including tunable fluorescence using the polarity and solubility of the solvents as well as enhanced emissive efficacy. Our work demonstrates the synergistic enhancement of these two orthogonal effects via coordination-driven self-assembly.

A resonance Raman spectroscopic and CASSCF investigation of the Franck-Condon region structural dynamics and conical intersections of thiophene.

Resonance Raman spectra were acquired for thiophene in cyclohexane solution with 239.5 and 266 nm excitation wavelengths that were in resonance with ∼240 nm first intense absorption band. The spectra indicate that the Franck-Condon region photodissociation dynamics have multidimensional character with motion mostly along the reaction coordinates of six totally symmetry modes and three nontotally symmetry modes. The appearance of the nontotally symmetry modes, the C-S antisymmetry stretch +C-C=C bend mode ν(21)(B(2)) at 754 cm(-1) and the H(7)C(3)-C(4)H(8) twist ν(9)(A(2)) at 906 cm(-1), suggests the existence of two different types of vibronic-couplings or curve-crossings among the excited states in the Franck-Condon region. The electronic transition energies, the excited state structures, and the conical intersection points (1)B(1)/(1)A(1) and (1)B(2)/(1)A(1) between 2 (1)A(1) and 1 (1)B(2) or 1 (1)B(1) potential energy surfaces of thiophene were determined by using complete active space self-consistent field theory computations. These computational results were correlated with the Franck-Condon region structural dynamics of thiophene. The ring opening photodissociation reaction pathway through cleavage of one of the C-S bonds and via the conical intersection point (1)B(1)/(1)A(1) was revealed to be the predominant ultrafast reaction channel for thiophene in the lowest singlet excited state potential energy hypersurface, while the internal conversion pathway via the conical intersection point (1)B(2)/(1)A(1) was found to be the minor decay channel in the lowest singlet excited state potential energy hypersurface.

The noncoincidence phenomenon of acetonylacetone C[double bond, length as m-dash]O stretching in a binary mixture and the aggregation-induced split theory.

This article aims to correlate the noncoincidence effect phenomenon with the aggregation state of acetylacetone C[double bond, length as m-dash]O stretching in a binary mixture. C[double bond, length as m-dash]O stretching noncoincidence effect (NCE) was observed not only between IR and Raman spectra but also between the isotropic and anisotropic Raman spectra of acetonylacetone. The difference in C[double bond, length as m-dash]O stretching wavenumbers of the isotropic and anisotropic Raman spectra (NCE value) in a binary mixture at different concentrations has been calculated. We found that both isotropic and anisotropic Raman wavenumbers of C[double bond, length as m-dash]O stretching increase with the dilution of acetonylacetone by CCl4 while the NCE value decreases. These noncoincidence and concentration effect phenomena seem to go against the quantum theory. Herein, we proposed an aggregation-induced split (AIS) model to explain the NCE phenomenon and concentration effect. The experimental data were consistent with the DFT calculations performed at the B3LYP-D3/6-311++G (d,p) levels based on the proposed model. The dynamics of transformation from monomers to an aggregated structure can be easily controlled by tuning the concentration. Solvent dependent experiments show that the value of NCE decreased with the increase of the solvent dielectric constant at the same concentration, which is in accordance with Logan's theory.

Individualized treatment for allergic rhinitis based on key nasal clinical manifestations combined with histamine and leukotriene D4 levels.

INTRODUCTION: The types of allergic rhinitis are roughly classified based on the causative antigens, disease types, predilection time, and symptom severity. OBJECTIVE: To examine the clinical typing and individualized treatment approach for allergic rhinitis and to determine the optimal treatment method for this disease using various drug combination therapies. METHODS: A total of 108 participants with allergic rhinitis were divided into three groups based on symptoms. Subsequently, each group was further categorized into four subgroups based on the medications received. The efficacy of the treatments was evaluated using the visual analog scale VAS scores of the total and individual nasal symptoms, decline index of the symptom score, histamine and leukotriene levels, and mRNA and protein expression levels of histamine 1 and cysteinyl leukotriene 1 receptors. RESULTS: Loratadine+mometasone furoate and loratadine+mometasone furoate+montelukast significantly improved the sneezing symptom and reduced the histamine levels compared with the other combination therapies (p<0.05). Meanwhile, montelukast+mometasone furoate and montelukast+mometasone furoate+loratadine considerably improved the nasal obstruction symptom and decreased the leukotriene D4 levels compared with the other combination therapies (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: Clinical symptom evaluation combined with experimental detection of histamine and leukotriene levels can be an objective and accurate method to clinically classify the allergic rhinitis types. Furthermore, individualized treatment based on allergic rhinitis classification can result in a good treatment efficacy.

Anti-cancer effect of miR-139-3p on laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma by targeting rab5a: In vitro and in vivo studies.

BACKGROUND: Laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma is the second most common head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Nowadays, as traditional treatment methods are gradually limited, the development of new treatment methods needs to be resolved. This study aimed to investigate the role of microRNA(miR)-139-3p in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma, and further explored the underlying mechanism. METHODS: In this study, we first used quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) to detect the level of miR-139-3p in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma tissue. Then, TargetScan and dual luciferase reporter assay were used to explore and verify whether rab5a was a direct target of miR-139-3p. Thereafter, the expression of miR-139-3p and rab5a in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma cell line SNU46 was changed by transfection with miR-139-3p mimic or rab5a-plasmid. Then, SNU46 cell proliferation, cell apoptosis, cell cycle, cell migration and cell invasion were determined using Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8), flow cytometry, scratch assay and Transwell assay, respectively. Finally, mouse tumor formation experiments were used to test whether miR-139-3p still exerted its role in inhibiting laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma in vivo. RESULTS: Compared with the adjacent normal tissues, miR-139-3p significantly down-regulated in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma tissue. It was confirmed by dual luciferase reporter experiment that rab5a was a direct target of miR-139-3p. Moreover, the up-regulation of miR-139-3p could effectively inhibit the proliferation, migration and invasion of laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma cells, and induced cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. In the molecular level study, we found that up-regulation of miR-139-3p inhibited the expression of rab5a in SNU46 cells. In addition, the protein and mRNA expression of factors related to cell migration, invasion, proliferation and apoptosis, such as integrin ß1, Focal adhesion kinase (FAK), paxillin, B cell lymphoma-2 (bcl-2), nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-κB), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP9), in SNU46 cells were changed after miR-139-3p up-regulation. Consistent with the results of in vitro studies, in vivo experiments showed that miR-139-3p mimic inhibited laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma tumor growth. All the effects of miR-139-3p on laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma were reversed by rab5a over-expression. CONCLUSION: miR-139-3p could inhibit laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma by targeting rab5a both in vitro and in vivo.

Preparation of the heterojunction catalyst N-doping carbon quantum dots/P25 and its visible light photocatalytic activity.

N-doping carbon quantum dots were successfully loaded on P25 nanoparticles (denoted as N-CDs/P25) by facile hydrothermal process, and their morphology and chemical structure were systematically studied. The carrier of N-CDs can significantly broaden the photoresponse range of the P25 to the visible region, accelerate charge transportation and separation. Application of the N-CDs/P25 material for the photocatalytic decomposition of Rhodamine B (RhB) gave improved activity relative to P25. The best degradation activity obtained at 6mL N-CDs/P25 under visible light irradiation, which shows a 13.06 fold photocatalytic activity over P25. Radical trapping control experiment and Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) measurements have been applied to explore the photodegradation dynamic and visible-light driven degradation mechanism. This work provides new insights into the fabrication of N-doping carbon quantum dots/TiO2 composite and is promising to open new possibilities in the application of carbon-TiO2 composites as the photocatalysts in the environmental protection issues.