Potentially functional genetic variants in interferon regulatory factor family genes are associated with colorectal cancer survival.

Interferon regulatory factor (IRF) family genes play a critical role in colorectal cancer (CRC) development and impact patient survival. This study evaluated the influence of functional single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in IRF genes on CRC survival, including functional predictions and experimental validations. Multivariate Cox regression analysis identified three linked SNPs as significant survival predictors, with the rs141112353 T/T genotype in the 3'UTR region of IRF6 significantly associated with decreased survival (HR = 1.60, P = 6E-04). Expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) analysis indicated that the rs141112353 TA > T alteration reduced IRF6 expression. Dual luciferase assays showed lower activity for the T allele in the presence of hsa-miR-548ap-3p. Data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and other databases confirmed lower IRF6 levels in CRC tissues, correlating with worse survival and inversely with M2 macrophage infiltration. In vitro, IRF6 overexpression inhibited CRC cell proliferation and M2 macrophage polarization by downregulating MIF expression. These findings suggest that the IRF6 rs141112353 TA > T variant significantly affects CRC survival, potentially by enhancing miR-548-ap-3p binding affinity.

Fast measurement of coherence-orbital angular momentum matrices of random light beams using off-axis holography and coordinate transformation.

We propose an effective protocol to measure the coherence-orbital angular momentum (COAM) matrix of an arbitrary partially coherent beam. The method is based on an off-axis holography scheme and the Cartesian-polar coordinate transformation, which enables to simultaneously deal with all the COAM matrix elements of interest. The working principle is presented and discussed in detail. A proof-of-principle experiment is carried out to reconstruct the COAM matrices of partially coherent beams with spatially uniform and non-uniform coherence states. We find an excellent agreement between the experimental results and the theoretical predictions. In addition, we show that the OAM spectrum of a partially coherent beam can also be directly acquired from the measured COAM matrix.

An Underwater Source Location Privacy Protection Scheme Based on Game Theory in a Multi-Attacker Cooperation Scenario.

Ensuring source location privacy is crucial for the security of underwater acoustic sensor networks amid the growing use of marine environmental monitoring. However, the traditional source location privacy scheme overlooks multi-attacker cooperation strategies and also has the problem of high communication overhead. This paper addresses the aforementioned limitations by proposing an underwater source location privacy protection scheme based on game theory under the scenario of multiple cooperating attackers (SLP-MACGT). First, a transformation method of a virtual coordinate system is proposed to conceal the real position of nodes to a certain extent. Second, through using the relay node selection strategy, the diversity of transmission paths is increased, passive attacks by adversaries are resisted, and the privacy of source nodes is protected. Additionally, a secure data transmission technique utilizing fountain codes is employed to resist active attacks by adversaries, ensuring data integrity and enhancing data transmission stability. Finally, Nash equilibrium could be achieved after the multi-round evolutionary game theory of source node and multiple attackers adopting their respective strategies. Simulation experiments and performance evaluation verify the effectiveness and reliability of SLP-MACGT regarding aspects of the packet forwarding success rate, security time, delay and energy consumption: the packet delivery rate average increases by 30%, security time is extended by at least 85%, and the delay is reduced by at least 90% compared with SSLP, PP-LSPP, and MRGSLP.

A "Win-Win" Strategy to Modify Co/C Foam with Carbon Microspheres for Enhanced Dielectric Loss and Microwave Absorption Characteristics.

3D carbon foams have demonstrated their superiority in the field of microwave absorption recently, but the preparation processes of traditional graphene foams are complicated, while some novel carbon foams usually suffer from inadequate dielectric property. Herein, a simple "win-win" strategy is demonstrated to synchronously realize the construction of 3D Co/C foam and its surface decoration with carbon microspheres. Therein, the host Co/C foams and guest carbon microspheres interact with each other, resulting in the improvement of the dispersity of carbon microspheres and Co nanoparticles. The bilaterally synergistic effect can effectively enhance the interfacial polarization and conductive loss of these obtained samples. Electromagnetic analysis reveals that the optimized sample with moderate carbon microsphere content (about 33.5 wt%) displays a widened maximum effective absorption bandwidth of 5.2 GHz and a consolidated reflection loss intensity of -67.6 dB. Besides, the microwave absorption enhancement mechanisms are investigated and discussed in detail. It is believed that this work provides valuable ideas for the development of 3D-foam-based microwave absorbing materials for practical applications.

Generation of a higher-order Poincaré sphere beam array with spatial coherence engineering.

We propose a protocol to synthesize a class of vector beam array in the far field with periodic higher-order Poincaré sphere (HOPS) polarization states by engineering the second-order spatial coherence structure of a partially coherent light source. We show that the polarization state of a single HOPS beam at the source plane can be mapped into a beam array in the far field when the spatial coherence of the beam source is engineered to have a lattice-like distribution. We demonstrate that the degree of polarization of the generated HOPS beam array can be conveniently controlled by modulating the transverse spatial coherence width of the source. Our method provides an additional way to construct the structured beam array and may find applications, e.g., in multiparticle manipulations.

Differential Expression of miR-381-3p in Alzheimer's Disease Patients and Its Role in Beta-Amyloid-Induced Neurotoxicity and Inflammation.

INTRODUCTION: This study aimed to explore the diagnostic value and effect of miR-381-3p on Alzheimer's disease (AD). METHODS: RT-qPCR was used for the measurement of miR-381-3p levels. Pearson correlation coefficient was used for the correlation analysis. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was constructed to assess the distinct ability of miR-381-3p for AD. SH-SY5Y cells were treated with Aß25-35 to establish an AD cell model. The role of miR-381-3p on cell proliferation and apoptosis was detected. ELISA was applied to detect the protein levels of inflammatory cytokine expression. The target relationship of miR-381-3p with PTGS2 was verified by luciferase reporter gene assay. RESULTS: Low expression of miR-381-3p was detected in the serum of AD patients and cell models. There was a negative association of serum miR-381-3p with the serum inflammatory cytokines. The ROC curve demonstrated the distinct ability of serum miR-381-3p for AD, with the AUC value of 0.898, with a sensitivity of 87.5%, and a specificity of 77.7%. Overexpression of miR-381-3p reversed the influence of Aß25-35 on cell proliferation and apoptosis, but miR-381-3p downregulation exacerbated the influence. miR-381-3p overexpression inhibited the release of IL-6, IL-1ß, and TNF-α induced by Aß25-35 treatment, whereas miR-381-3p downregulation further promoted the release of inflammatory cytokines. PTGS2 was the target gene of miR-381-3p and was upregulated in AD cell models. CONCLUSION: miR-381-3p is less expressed in the serum of AD patients and has potential diagnostic values for AD. Overexpression of miR-381-3p may attenuate Aß25-35-induced neurotoxicity and inflammatory responses via targeting PTGS2 in SH-SY5Y cells.

Measuring refractive indices of a uniaxial crystal by structured light with non-uniform correlation.

We introduce an effective method for measuring the refractive indices of a uniaxial crystal based on the independent self-focusing property of non-uniformly correlated beams along the $x$ and $y$ directions. We demonstrate how the positions of the independent foci can be changed by adjusting coherence lengths to determine the characteristic coherence lengths of the beams in a uniaxial crystal, and how this information can be used to determine the refractive indices by relating the propagation characteristics of the beam in free space and in the crystal. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that, by choosing a high beam order, one can reduce the measuring error caused by CCD detection precision. These results present an example of how non-uniformly correlated beams can be used for applications in anisotropic materials.

MiR-3613-3p from carcinoma-associated fibroblasts exosomes promoted breast cancer cell proliferation and metastasis by regulating SOCS2 expression.

Exosomes carrying microRNAs (miRNAs) mediate cell-to-cell communication, which play important roles in cancer growth and progression. However, the roles and molecular mechanisms of the miRNAs in the exosomes from carcinoma-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are still not clear. The miRNA array showed that miR-3613-3p was an upregulated miRNA in CAFs exosomes. It was verified that miR-3613-3p was upregulated in exosomes from fibroblasts educated by TGF-ß1 and the fibroblasts from breast cancer tissues. Exosomal miR-3613-3p promoted breast cancer cell proliferation and metastasis. The cellular functions showed that miR-3613-3p downregulation in the CAFs exosomes suppressed cell proliferation and metastasis in breast cancer by targeting SOCS2 expression. The clinical data showed that miR-3613-3p levels were negatively related to SOCS2 expression in breast cancer tissues. In a conclusion, the study demonstrated that activated fibroblasts exosomes with high levels of miR-3613-3p played an oncogenic role in breast cancer cell survival and metastasis, which suggested that miR-3613-3p function as a therapeutic target.

Cry64Ba and Cry64Ca, Two ETX/MTX2-Type Bacillus thuringiensis Insecticidal Proteins Active against Hemipteran Pests.

Genetically modified crops that express insecticidal Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) proteins have become a primary approach for control of lepidopteran (moth) and coleopteran (beetle) pests that feed by chewing the plants. However, the sap-sucking insects (Hemiptera) are not particularly susceptible to Bt toxins. In this study, we describe two Cry toxins (Cry64Ba and Cry64Ca) from Bt strain 1012 that showed toxicity against two important hemipteran rice pests, Laodelphax striatellus and Sogatella furcifera Both of these proteins contain an ETX/MTX2 domain and share common sequence features with the ß-pore-forming toxins. Coexpression of cry64Ba and cry64Ca genes in the acrystalliferous Bt strain HD73- resulted in high insecticidal activity against both hemipteran pests. No toxicity was observed on other pests such as Ostrinia furnacalis, Plutella xylostella, or Colaphellus bowringi Also, no hemolytic activity or toxicity against cancer cells was detected. Binding assays showed specific binding of the Cry64Ba/Cry64Ca toxin complex to brush border membrane vesicles isolated from L. striatellus Cry64Ba and Cry64Ca are Bt Cry toxins highly effective against hemipteran pests and could provide a novel strategy for the environmentally friendly biological control of rice planthoppers in transgenic plants.IMPORTANCE In Asia, rice is an important staple food, whose production is threatened by rice planthoppers. To date, no effective Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) protein has been shown to have activity against rice planthoppers. We cloned two Bt toxin genes from Bt strain 1012 that showed toxicity against small brown planthoppers (Laodelphax striatellus) and white-backed planthoppers (Sogatella furcifera). To our knowledge, the proteins encoded by the cry64Ba and cry64Ca genes are the most efficient insecticidal Bt Cry proteins with activity against hemipteran insects reported so far. Cry64Ba and Cry64Ca showed no toxicity against some lepidopteran or coleopteran pests. These two proteins should be able to be used for integrated hemipteran pest management.

Cry78Aa, a novel Bacillus thuringiensis insecticidal protein with activity against Laodelphax striatellus and Nilaparvata lugens.

Transgenic plants expressing insecticidal proteins originating from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) have successfully been used to control lepidopteran and coleopteran pests with chewing mouthparts. However, only a handful of Bt proteins have been identified that have bioactivity against sap sucking pests (Hemiptera), including aphids, whiteflies, plant bugs and planthoppers. A novel Bt insecticidal protein with significant toxicity against a hemipteran insect pest is described here. The gene encoding the 359 amino acid, 40.7 kDa protein was cloned from strain C9F1. After expression and purification of the toxin, its median lethal concentration (LC50) values against Laodelphax striatellus and Nilaparvata lugens were determined as 6.89 µg/mL and 15.78 µg/mL respectively. Analysis of the toxin sequence revealed the presence of both Toxin_10 and Ricin_B_Lectin domains.