Spike timing-based coding in neuromimetic tactile system enables dynamic object classification.

Rapid processing of tactile information is essential to human haptic exploration and dexterous object manipulation. Conventional electronic skins generate frames of tactile signals upon interaction with objects. Unfortunately, they are generally ill-suited for efficient coding of temporal information and rapid feature extraction. In this work, we report a neuromorphic tactile system that uses spike timing, especially the first-spike timing, to code dynamic tactile information about touch and grasp. This strategy enables the system to seamlessly code highly dynamic information with millisecond temporal resolution on par with the biological nervous system, yielding dynamic extraction of tactile features. Upon interaction with objects, the system rapidly classifies them in the initial phase of touch and grasp, thus paving the way to fast tactile feedback desired for neuro-robotics and neuro-prosthetics.

Novel metal peroxide nanoboxes restrain Clostridioides difficile infection beyond the bactericidal and sporicidal activity.

Clostridioides difficile spores are considered as the major source responsible for the development of C. difficile infection (CDI), which is associated with an increased risk of death in patients and has become an important issue in infection control of nosocomial infections. Current treatment against CDI still relies on antibiotics, which also damage normal flora and increase the risk of CDI recurrence. Therefore, alternative therapies that are more effective against C. difficile bacteria and spores are urgently needed. Here, we designed an oxidation process using H2O2 containing PBS solution to generate Cl- and peroxide molecules that further process Ag and Au ions to form nanoboxes with Ag-Au peroxide coat covering Au shell and AgCl core (AgAu-based nanoboxes). The AgAu-based nanoboxes efficiently disrupted the membrane structure of bacteria/spores of C. difficile after 30-45 min exposure to the highly reactive Ag/Au peroxide surface of the nano structures. The Au-enclosed AgCl provided sustained suppression of the growth of 2 × 107 pathogenic Escherichia coli for up to 19 days. In a fecal bench ex vivo test and in vivo CDI murine model, biocompatibility and therapeutic efficacy of the AuAg nanoboxes to attenuate CDI was demonstrated by restoring the gut microbiota and colon mucosal structure. The treatment successfully rescued the CDI mice from death and prevented their recurrence mediated by vancomycin treatment. The significant outcomes indicated that the new peroxide-derived AgAu-based nanoboxes possess great potential for future translation into clinical application as a new alternative therapeutic strategy against CDI.

Two-Fold Interpenetrated Binuclear Nickel Metal-Organic Framework as a Heterogeneous Catalyst for N-Heterocycle Synthesis.

A binuclear Ni(II)-based metal-organic framework {[Ni2(btb)1.333(H2O)3.578(py)1.422]·(DMF)(H2O)3.25}n (Nibtb) was solvothermally synthesized (H3btb = 1,3,5-tri(4-carboxylphenyl)benzene, py = pyridine, DMF = N,N-dimethylformamide). Nibtb shows a rare 2-fold interpenetrating (3,4)-connected 3D network with a point symbol of (83)4(86)3 based on binuclear Ni(II) clusters. Nibtb as a heterogeneous catalyst combines the high stability of MOFs and excellent catalytic activity of nickel, which exhibits excellent catalytic activity for the synthesis of benzimidazoles and pyrazoles under mild conditions. Moreover, the catalyst can be easily separated and reused for seven successive cycles and maintains high catalytic activity.

Post-hybridization introgression and natural selection promoted genomic divergence of Aegilops speltoides and the four S*-genome diploid species.

Understanding how different driving forces have promoted biological divergence and speciation is one of the central issues in evolutionary biology. The Triticum/Aegilops species complex contains 13 diploid species belonging to the A-, B- and D-lineages and offers an ideal system to address the evolutionary dynamics of lineage fusion and splitting. Here, we sequenced the whole genomes of one S-genome species (Aegilops speltoides) of the B-lineage and four S*-genome diploid species (Aegilops bicornis, Aegilops longissima, Aegilops sharonensis and Aegilops searsii) of the D-lineage at the population level. We performed detailed comparisons of the five species and with the other four representative A-, B- and D-lineage species. Our estimates identified frequent genetic introgressions from A- and B-lineages to the D-lineage species. A remarkable observation is the contrasting distributions of putative introgressed loci by the A- and B-lineages along all the seven chromosomes to the extant D-lineage species. These genetic introgressions resulted in high levels of genetic divergence at centromeric regions between Ae. speltoides (B-lineage) and the other four S*-genome diploid species (D-lineage), while natural selection is a potential contributor to divergence among the four S*-genome species at telomeric regions. Our study provides a genome-wide view on how genetic introgression and natural selection acted together yet chromosome-regionally divided to promote genomic divergence among the five S- and S*-genome diploid species, which provides new and nuanced insights into the evolutionary history of the Triticum/Aegilops species complex.

Reconstructing early transmission networks of SARS-CoV-2 using a genomic mutation model.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has greatly damaged human society, but the origins and early transmission patterns of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pathogen remain unclear. Here, we reconstructed the transmission networks of SARS-CoV-2 during the first three and six months since its first report based on ancestor-offspring relationships using BANAL-52-referenced mutations. We explored the position (i.e., root, middle, or tip) of early detected samples in the evolutionary tree of SARS-CoV-2. In total, 6 799 transmission chains and 1 766 transmission networks were reconstructed, with chain lengths ranging from 1-9 nodes. The root node samples of the 1 766 transmission networks were from 58 countries or regions and showed no common ancestor, indicating the occurrence of many independent or parallel transmissions of SARS-CoV-2 when first detected (i.e., all samples were located at the tip position of the evolutionary tree). No root node sample was found in any sample ( n=31, all from the Chinese mainland) collected in the first 15 days from 24 December 2019. Results using six-month data or RaTG13-referenced mutation data were similar. The reconstruction method was verified using a simulation approach. Our results suggest that SARS-CoV-2 may have already been spreading independently worldwide before the outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China. Thus, a comprehensive global survey of human and animal samples is essential to explore the origins of SARS-CoV-2 and its natural reservoirs and hosts.

CT image crack segmentation method based on linear feature enhancement.

Industrial computed tomography (CT) crack segmentation is a key technology in industrial CT image processing. Unfortunately, the interference of artifact and noise in CT image often bring great trouble to the crack segmentation. In order to improve the segmentation accuracy of cracks in CT images, we propose to develop and test a new crack segmentation algorithm based on linear feature enhancement by analyzing the features of cracks in CT images. Firstly, the total variational model is used to denoise the input image. Next, a Frangi multiscale filter is used to extract linear structures in the image, and then the extracted linear structures are used to enhance the contrast of the image. Finally, the cracks in the image are detected and segmented by Otsu algorithm. By comparing with the manual segmentation results, the average intersection-over-union (IOU) reaches 86.10% and the average F1 score reaches 92.44%, which verifies the effectiveness and correctness of the algorithm developed in this study. Overall, experiments demonstrate that the new algorithm improves the accuracy of crack segmentation and it is effective applying to industry CT images.

[Effects of electron acceptor and light on the abundance of microbial function gene related to soil CH4 emission]. / ç”µå­å—ä½“å’Œå ‰ç §å¯¹åœŸå£¤CH4æŽ’æ”¾ç›¸å ³å¾®ç”Ÿç‰©åŠŸèƒ½åŸºå› ä¸°åº¦çš„å½±å“.

To explore the effects of different electron acceptors on soil methane emission and responses of soil microorganisms to different light conditions, a strict anaerobic 20-day incubation experiment was conducted with eight treatments: darkness + Fe3+ (DF); darkness + NO3- (DN); darkness +SO42- (DS); darkness + distilled water (DCK); light + Fe3+ (LF); light + NO3- (LN); light +SO42- (LS); light + distilled water (LCK). The changes of methane concentration in the anaerobic incubation flask and the variation of the abundance of bacteria, archaea, fungi and six soil functional genes were analyzed. Results showed that soil methane emission under NO3-, SO42- addition and control (CK) was significantly lower under light conditions than dark, except the Fe3+ treatment. DN, DCK and LF treatments had the highest abundance of bacteria, fungi and archaea genes, respectively. The gene abundance of methanogenic mcrA, sulfate-reducing bacteria Dsr, and carbon-fixing CbbL were significantly up-regulated in the LF, while that of methanotrophs pmoA, iron-reducing bacteria Geo, and denitrifying bacteria nosZ were significantly up-regulated in the LN, DCK and LCK, respectively. Results of Pearson correlation and RDA analysis showed that CH4 emission was significantly positively correlated with CO2 concentration, pH, ammonium-nitrogen, and total N contents, and negatively correlated with N2O concentration, Eh, nitrate, and total C contents. Under dark condition, methane emission was positively correlated with archaea and pmoA genes abundance, and negatively correlated with other genes abundance. Under light condition, methane emission was negatively correlated with the abundance of soil microbe and functional genes. In general, methane emission under light condition was significantly lower than that under dark condition (except for the Fe3+ treatment). These results showed that it was helpful to reduce methane emission under light condition, but the increase or decrease of methane emission was closely related to the type of electron acceptors and the functional responses of soil micro-organisms.

Self-Driven Electrochromic Window System Cu/WOx-Al3+/GR with Dynamic Optical Modulation and Static Graph Display Functions.

Electrochromic devices with unique advantages of electrical/optical bistability are highly desired for energy-saving and information storage applications. Here, we put forward a self-driven Al-ion electrochromic system, which utilizes WOx films, Cu foil, and graphite rod as electrochromic optical modulation and graph display electrodes, coloration potential supplying electrodes, and bleaching potential supplying electrodes, respectively. The inactive Cu electrode can not only realize the effective Al3+ cation intercalation into electrochromic WOx electrodes but also eliminate the problem of metal anode consumption. The electrochromic WOx electrodes cycled in Al3+ aqueous media exhibit a wide potential window (∼1.5 V), high coloration efficiency (36.0 cm2/C), and super-long-term cycle stability (>2000 cycles). The dynamic optical modulation and static graph display function can be achieved independently only by switching the electrode connection mode, thus bringing more features to this electrochromic system. For a large-area electrochromic system (10 × 10 cm2), the absolute transmittance value in its color-neutral state can reach about 41% (27%) at 633 nm (780 nm) by connecting the Cu and WOx electrodes for 140 s. The original transparent state can be readily recovered by replacing the Cu foil with the graphite rod. This work throws light on next-generation electrochromic applications for optical/thermal modulation, privacy protection, and information display.

An inner-filter-effect based ratiometric fluorescent sensor for the detection of uranyl ions in real samples.

In this work, a ratiometric fluorescence system was designed for the detection of trace UO22+ in water based on the inner filter effect (IFE) between gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) and gold nanoclusters (AuNCs). IFE-induced fluorescence quenching was achieved due to the enhanced complementary overlap between the absorption spectra of AuNPs and the emission spectrum of AuNCs after the addition of UO22+. Blue carbon dots (B-CDs) were added to serve as reference fluorophores to expand the color tonality and make human eye recognition easier. The ratiometric fluorescent sensor demonstrated a unique fluorescence color change from red to blue when different doses of UO22+ were added, with a detection limit of 8.4 nM. Furthermore, the ratiometric fluorescent sensor was effectively used for UO22+ determination in real-world water samples, with acceptable recoveries.

Genome sequences of five Sitopsis species of Aegilops and the origin of polyploid wheat B subgenome.

Common wheat (Triticum aestivum, BBAADD) is a major staple food crop worldwide. The diploid progenitors of the A and D subgenomes have been unequivocally identified; that of B, however, remains ambiguous and controversial but is suspected to be related to species of Aegilops, section Sitopsis. Here, we report the assembly of chromosome-level genome sequences of all five Sitopsis species, namely Aegilops bicornis, Ae. longissima, Ae. searsii, Ae. sharonensis, and Ae. speltoides, as well as the partial assembly of the Amblyopyrum muticum (synonym Aegilops mutica) genome for phylogenetic analysis. Our results reveal that the donor of the common wheat B subgenome is a distinct, and most probably extinct, diploid species that diverged from an ancestral progenitor of the B lineage to which the still extant Ae. speltoides and Am. muticum belong. In addition, we identified interspecific genetic introgressions throughout the evolution of the Triticum/Aegilops species complex. The five Sitopsis species have various assembled genome sizes (4.11-5.89 Gb) with high proportions of repetitive sequences (85.99%-89.81%); nonetheless, they retain high collinearity with other genomes or subgenomes of species in the Triticum/Aegilops complex. Differences in genome size were primarily due to independent post-speciation amplification of transposons. We also identified a set of Sitopsis genes pertinent to important agronomic traits that can be harnessed for wheat breeding. These newly assembled genome resources provide a new roadmap for evolutionary and genetic studies of the Triticum/Aegilops complex, as well as for wheat improvement.

Ultrasensitive detection of UO2 2+ based on dopamine-functionalized MoOx quantum dots.

Uranium is an important nuclear fuel and the risk of human exposure to uranium increases as increasing amounts of uranium-containing waste enter the environment due to the rapid growth of nuclear power. Therefore, rapid, sensitive, and portable uranium detection is a promising approach to effectively control and monitor uranium contamination. To achieve this goal, abundant oxygen- and nitrogen-containing groups were introduced to molybdenum oxide quantum dot (MoOx QDs) surfaces with dopamine (DA) modification. Due to the excellent coordination ability of oxygen- and nitrogen-containing groups with uranium, the obtained DA-functionalized MoOx QDs (DA-MoOx QDs) showed a strong binding affinity for uranium and sensitivity was increased nearly 1000-fold compared with MoOx QDs alone. The limit of detection was 3.85 nM, which is higher than most of the reported nanomaterials. Moreover, the DA-MoOx QD-based method showed high selectivity and uranium could be clearly detected under masking with ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid even when the concentration of other metal ions was 100-fold higher than that of uranium, showing a very promising method for uranium contamination control and monitoring.

Cloning capacity helps seeds of Garcinia xanthochymus counter animal predation.

Seed predators have the potential to act as agents of natural selection that influence seed traits and seed fates, which in turn affect the whole plant population dynamic. Accordingly, plants deploy a variety of mechanisms (e.g., resistance and tolerance strategies) to lessen the impact of predation on seed crop or on an individual seed. In this study, we described a novel mechanism, seed cloning strategy, in a tropical plant species in countering animal predation. By conducting field- and laboratory-based germination experiments, we found that both rodent damaged and artificially damaged seed fragments of a large-seeded tree Garcinia xanthochymus (Clusiaceae) could successfully germinate and establish as seedlings. Tissue culture experiments revealed that G. xanthochymus has no endosperm in seeds, and its seed fragments own strong capacity of differentiation and cloning. Seed damage negatively affected seedling growth and germination, but the seed germination rate was remarkably high. Our study suggests that, seed cloning capacity, adopted by the large-seeded tree G. xanthochymus may act as a novel strategy counteract for seed predation and would play a significant role in stabilizing the mutualism between plant and animals.

Effects of dietary supplementation with glutamine on the lymphocyte proliferation and intestinal immune gene expression in broiler chickens infected with Salmonella Enteritidis.

An experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of glutamine (Gln) on the lymphocyte proliferation and intestinal immune relevant gene expression in broilers infected with Salmonella Enteritidis. 240 1-day-old broilers were divided randomly into four groups in a completely randomized design, each of which had 6 replicates. Birds were reared in battery cages for 21 days. The experimental groups were as follows: control group (unchallenged group, CON), basal diet; Salmonella Enteritidis challenged group (challenged with 2.0 × 104 CFU/mL of Salmonella Enteritidis, SCC), basal diet; Gln 1, basal diet plus Salmonella Enteritidis challenged plus Gln at 0.5% diet; Gln 2, basal diet plus Salmonella Enteritidis challenged plus Gln at 1.0% diet. The results showed that Salmonella Enteritidis infection led to some decrease in the relative weight of spleen and bursa (except at 21 d), lymphocyte percentage, number of proliferation peripheral blood T and B lymphocytes, and increased the heterophil percentage, H/L ratio, mRNA expression levels of TNF-α, NF-κB p65, IL-1ß, IL-6, and IL-8 in the jejunal and ileal mucosa compared with the measurements of these parameters in the CON group at d 4, 7, 14, and 21 (p < 0.05). On the other hand, chickens fed the Gln showed improved the relative weight of spleen and bursa, increased the lymphocyte percentage, number of proliferation peripheral blood T and B lymphocytes, and decreased the heterophil percentage, H/L ratio, and immune relevant gene expression in the jejunal and ileal mucosa compared with the measurements of these parameters in the SCC group (p < 0.05). These results suggest that Gln as a feed additive could be effective for reducing the detrimental effects of Salmonella Enteritidis infection, and increase the intestinal immune barrier function of broilers.

Misdiagnosis of appendiceal abscess with intestinal malrotation: A case report.

Here, we report the case of a 75-year-old male with abdominal pain who was admitted to our Emergency Department. Computed tomography (CT) scan revealed torsion of the mesenteric root with fluid surrounding the area. Emergency laparotomy, performed under general anesthesia, revealed appendiceal abscess with intestinal malrotation. Appendicectomy was performed after the torsional mesentery restoration. Antibiotics and other symptomatic treatments were administered postoperatively. The patient recovered well and was discharged one week after surgery. Intestinal malrotation is more common in neonates than in adults. The diagnosis of appendicitis could be further obscured by intestinal malrotation. Therefore, the rare situation of intestinal malrotation and ectopic appendicitis in the abdomen should be considered in cases with an absence of right lower abdominal pain, where preoperative abdominal CT shows mesenteric volvulus and the surrounding intestinal wall is thickened and demonstrating exudation.

Surfactant-Free Stabilization of Aqueous Graphene Dispersions Using Starch as a Dispersing Agent.

Attention to graphene dispersions in water with the aid of natural polymers is increasing with improved awareness of sustainability. However, the function of biopolymers that can act as dispersing agents in graphene dispersions is not well understood. In particular, the use of starch to disperse pristine graphene materials deserves further investigation. Here, we report the processing conditions of aqueous graphene dispersions using unmodified starch. We have found that the graphene content of the starch-graphene dispersion is dependent on the starch fraction. The starch-graphene sheets are few-layer graphene with a lateral size of 3.2 µm. Furthermore, topographical images of these starch-graphene sheets confirm the adsorption of starch nanoparticles with a height around 5 nm on the graphene surface. The adsorbed starch nanoparticles are ascribed to extend the storage time of the starch-graphene dispersion up to 1 month compared to spontaneous aggregation in a nonstabilized graphene dispersion without starch. Moreover, the ability to retain water by starch is reduced in the presence of graphene, likely due to environmental changes in the hydroxyl groups responsible for starch-water interactions. These findings demonstrate that starch can disperse graphene with a low oxygen content in water. The aqueous starch-graphene dispersion provides tremendous opportunities for environmental-friendly packaging applications.

New Helvolic Acid Derivatives with Antibacterial Activities from Sarocladium oryzae DX-THL3, an Endophytic Fungus from Dongxiang Wild Rice (Oryza rufipogon Griff.).

Three new helvolic acid derivatives (named sarocladilactone A (1), sarocladilactone B (2) and sarocladic acid A (3a)), together with five known compounds (6,16-diacetoxy-25-hy- droxy-3,7-dioxy-29-nordammara-1,17(20)-dien-21-oic acid (3b), helvolic acid (4), helvolinic acid (5), 6-desacetoxy-helvolic acid (6) and 1,2-dihydrohelvolic acid (7)), were isolated from the endophytic fungus DX-THL3, obtained from the leaf of Dongxiang wild rice (Oryza rufipogon Griff.). The structures of the new compounds were elucidated via HR-MS, extensive 1D and 2D NMR analysis and comparison with reported data. Compounds 1, 2, 4, 5, 6 and 7 exhibited potent antibacterial activities. In particular, sarocladilactone B (2), helvolinic acid (5) and 6-desacetoxy-helvolic acid (6) exhibited strongly Staphylococcus aureus inhibitory activity with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values of 4, 1 and 4 µg/mL, respectively. The structure-activity relationship (SAR) of these compounds was primarily summarized.

Unprecedented Electrochromic Stability of a-WO3-x Thin Films Achieved by Using a Hybrid-Cationic Electrolyte.

With large interstitial space volumes and fast ion diffusion pathways, amorphous metal oxides as cathodic intercalation materials for electrochromic devices have attracted attention. However, these incompact thin films normally suffer from two inevitable imperfections: self-deintercalation of guest ions and poor stability of the structure, which constitute a big obstacle toward the development of high-stable commercial applications. Here, we present a low-cost, eco-friendly hybrid cation 1,2-PG-AlCl3·6H2O electrolyte, in which the sputter-deposited a-WO3-x thin film can exhibit both the long-desired excellent open-circuit memory (>100 h, with zero optical loss) and super-long cycling lifetime (∼20,000 cycles, with 80% optical modulation), benefiting from the formation of unique Al-hydroxide-based solid electrolyte interphase during electrochromic operations. In addition, the optical absorption behaviors in a-WO3-x caused by host-guest interactions were elaborated. We demonstrated that the intervalence transfers are primarily via the "corner-sharing" related path (W5+ ↔ W6+) but not the "edge-sharing" related paths (W4+ ↔ W6+ and/or W4+ ↔ W5+), and the small polaron/electron transfers taking place at the W-O bond-breaking positions are not allowed. Our findings might provide in-depth insights into the nature of electrochromism and provide a significant step in the realization of more stable, more excellent electrochromic applications based on amorphous metal oxides.

Rapid and sensitive detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis based on strand displacement amplification and magnetic beads.

Tuberculosis is one of the main infectious diseases threatening public health, and the development of simple, rapid, and cost-saving methods for tuberculosis diagnosis is of profound importance for tuberculosis prevention and treatment. The bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) is the pathogen that causes tuberculosis, and assaying for MTB is the only criterion for tuberculosis diagnosis. A new enzyme-free method based on strand displacement amplification and magnetic beads was developed for simple, rapid, and cost-saving MTB detection. Under optimum conditions, a good linear relationship could be observed between fluorescence and MTB specific DNA concentration ranging from 0.05 to 150 nM with a correlation coefficient of 0.993 (n = 8) and a detection limit of 47 pM (3σ/K). The present method also distinguished a one base mismatch from MTB specific DNA, showing great promise for MTB genome single base polymorphism analysis. MTB specific DNA content in polymerase chain reaction samples was successfully detected using the new method, and recoveries were 97.8-100.8%, indicating that the present method had high accuracy and shows good potential for the early diagnosis of tuberculosis.

[Combined Use of Zirconium-Modified Bentonite Capping and Calcium Nitrate Addition to Control the Release of Phosphorus from Sediments].

In this study, sediment incubation experiments were carried out to investigate the efficiency and mechanism of the control of phosphorus (P) release from sediments. The results showed that under anoxic conditions, P could be released from the sediment into the pore water first and then the dissolved P in the pore water could be transported into the overlying water, leading to high concentrations of soluble reactive P (SRP) and diffusive gradient in thin-films (DGT)-labile P in the overlying water. However, the combined use of calcium nitrate (CN) addition and zirconium-modified bentonite (ZB) capping could effectively control the release of P from sediment, resulting in the low concentrations of SRP and DGT-labile P in the overlying water. Furthermore, the combined use of CN addition and ZB capping could significantly decrease the concentrations of SRP and DGT-labile P in the sediment. In addition, the combined utilization of CN addition and ZB capping also could result in a reduction of redox sensitive P (BD-P) in the uppermost sediment layer. The reduction of pore water SRP, DGT-labile P, and BD-P in sediment solids is of great importance to the control of sediment-P liberation by the combined use of CN addition and ZB capping. The reduction efficiency of overlying water SRP by combined CN addition/ZB capping technology was higher than that of single CN addition technology. Compared to that of single CN addition technology, the reduction efficiencies of pore water SRP, SRP diffusion flux across the sediment/overlying water interface (SWI), and BD-P in the sediment by the combined use of CN addition and ZB capping were also higher. The combined technology based on CN addition and ZB capping had a higher reduction efficiency of overlying water SRP during the late stage of sediment remediation than the single technology based on ZB capping, and the former had higher reduction efficiencies of pore water SRP, DGT-labile P, and SRP diffusion flux across the SWI and apparent P diffusion flux through the SWI than the latter. The results of this work indicate that the combined use of CN addition and ZB capping is a very promising method for the control of P release from sediments.

Astrocyte elevated gene-1 serves as a target of miR542 to promote glioblastoma proliferation and invasion.

BACKGROUND: Epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) is strongly linked with tumor invasion and metastasis, which performs a vital role in carcinogenesis and cancer progression. Emerging evidence suggests that microRNAs (miRNAs) expression are closely associated to EMT by regulating targeted genes. MiR542 has been found to be involved in the EMT program and bound up with various cancers. However, the functions of miR542 and its underlying mechanism in glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) remain largely unknown. In the current study, we investigated the effect of astrocyte elevated gene-1 (AEG-1) on U251 cells aggressiveness, proliferation, apoptosis, and cell cycle. METHODS: The screening of targeted miRNAs was performed, as well as the functional roles and mechanisms of miR542 were explored. RESULTS: MiR542 was selected as the target because of the most significantly differential expression and this high level of expression negatively correlated with cell migration and proliferation, which suggested that miR542 could be a novel tumor suppressor. Moreover, we confirmed that AEG-1 was a direct targeted gene of miR542 by luciferase activity assay, reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction, and immunoblotting analysis. Furthermore, miR542 suppressed the expression of AEG-1, which upgraded the level of E-cadherin and degraded Vimentin expression contributing to retraining EMT. CONCLUSION: The in vitro findings demonstrated that miR542 inhibited the migration and proliferation of U251 cells and suppressed EMT through targeting AEG-1, indicating that miR542 may be a potential anti-cancer target for GBM.