Eco-Corona Dictates Mobility of Nanoplastics in Saturated Porous Media: The Critical Role of Preferential Binding of Macromolecules.

Nanoplastics are an increasing environmental concern. In aquatic environments, nanoplastics will acquire an eco-corona by interacting with macromolecules (e.g., humic substances and extracellular polymeric substances (EPS)). Here, we show that the properties of the eco-corona and, consequently, its ability to enhance the transport of nanoplastics vary significantly with the surface functionality of nanoplastics and sources of macromolecules. The eco-corona derived from the EPS of Gram-negative Escherichia coli MG1655 enhances the transport of polystyrene (PS) nanospheres in saturated porous media to a much greater extent than the eco-corona derived from soil humic acid and fulvic acid. In comparison, the eco-corona from all three sources significantly enhance the transport of carboxylated PS (HOOC-PS). We show that the eco-corona inhibits the deposition of the two types of nanoplastics to the porous media mainly via steric repulsion. Accordingly, an eco-corona consisting of a higher mass of larger-sized macromolecules is generally more effective in enhancing transport. Notably, HOOC-PS tends to acquire macromolecules of lower hydrophobicity than PS. The more disordered and flexible structures of such macromolecules may result in greater elastic repulsion between the nanoplastics and sand grains and, consequently, greater transport enhancement. The findings of this study highlight the critical role of eco-corona formation in regulating the mobility of nanoplastics, as well as the complexity of this process.

Comparative analysis of mitochondrial genomes reveals marine adaptation in seagrasses.

BACKGROUND: Seagrasses are higher marine flowering plants that evolved from terrestrial plants, but returned to the sea during the early evolution of monocotyledons through several separate lineages. Thus, they become a good model for studying the adaptation of plants to the marine environment. Sequencing of the mitochondrial (mt) genome of seagrasses is essential for understanding their evolutionary characteristics. RESULTS: In this study, we sequenced the mt genome of two endangered seagrasses (Zostera japonica and Phyllospadix iwatensis). These data and data on previously sequenced mt genomes from monocotyledons provide new evolutionary evidence of genome size reduction, gene loss, and adaptive evolution in seagrasses. The mt genomes of Z. japonica and P. iwatensis are circular. The sizes of the three seagrasses (including Zostera marine) that have been sequenced to date are smaller than that of other monocotyledons. Additionally, we found a large number of repeat sequences in seagrasses. The most abundant long repeat sequences were 31-40 bp repeats. Our study also found that seagrass species lost extensive ribosomal protein genes during evolution. The rps7 gene and the rpl16 gene of P. iwatensis are exceptions to this trend. The phylogenetic analysis based on the mt genome strongly supports the previous results. Furthermore, we identified five positive selection genes (atp8, nad3, nad6, ccmFn, and matR) in seagrasses that may be associated with their adaptation to the marine environment. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, we sequenced and annotated the mt genomes of Z. japonica and P. iwatensis and compared them with the genome of other monocotyledons. The results of this study will enhance our understanding of seagrass adaptation to the marine environment and can inform further investigations of the seagrass mt genome.

Improvement of Sphaeropsis Shoot Blight Disease Resistance by Applying the Ectomycorrhizal Fungus Hymenochaete sp. Rl and Mycorrhizal Helper Bacterium Bacillus pumilus HR10 to Pinus thunbergii.

Ectomycorrhizal fungi (EMFs) form symbioses with plant roots to promote nutrient uptake by plants but it is controversial as to whether they induce disease resistance in plants. Here, we inoculated pine seedlings with Sphaeropsis sapinea, which was presymbiotic with the EMF Hymenochaete sp. Rl, and the mycorrhizal helper bacterium (MHB) Bacillus pumilus HR10, which promotes the formation of Pinus thunbergia-Hymenochaete sp. Rl mycorrhizae. The results showed that inoculation with Hymenochaete sp. Rl, B. pumilus HR10, and the consortium significantly reduced pine shoot blight disease caused by S. sapinea. After inoculation with pathogenic fungi, callose deposition was significantly increased in needles of pine seedlings inoculated with Hymenochaete sp. Rl, B. pumilus HR10, and the consortium, together with an increase in enzymatic and nonenzymatic systemic antioxidant activity as well as early priming for upregulated expression of PR3 and PR5 genes. Our findings suggest that ectomycorrhizal colonization enhances the resistance of pine seedlings to Sphaeropsis shoot blight by triggering a systemic defense response and that interactions between EMFs and MHBs are essential for mycorrhizal-induced disease resistance.

ME-NBI combined with endoscopic ultrasonography for diagnosing and staging the invasion depth of early esophageal cancer: a diagnostic meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Several methods can assist in detecting early esophageal cancer (EEC) and staging esophageal cancer (EC) invasion depth. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the accuracy of magnifying endoscopy with narrow-band imaging (ME-NBI) plus endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) for diagnosing EC. METHODS: We searched the PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) databases for relevant studies. The Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies 2 (QADAS2) was used to assess the studies' methodological quality. The sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood (LR+), negative likelihood (LR-), and diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) were calculated, and the summary receiver operating characteristic (SROC) curves were drawn to evaluate the diagnostic performance. RESULTS: Seven studies were included. The meta-analysis suggested that the pooled sensitivity, specificity, LR+, LR-, and DOR of ME-NBI plus EUS for diagnosing EC were 0.947 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.901-0.975), 0.894 (95% CI, 0.847-0.931), 7.989 (95% CI, 4.264-14.970), 0.066 (95% CI, 0.035-0.124), and 137.96 (95% CI, 60.369-315.27), respectively. Those values for staging the invasive depth were 0.791 (95% CI, 0.674-0.881), 0.943 (95% CI, 0.906-0.968), 13.087 (95% CI, 7.559-22.657), 0.226 (95% CI, 0.142-0.360), and 61.332 (95% CI, 27.343-137.57). The areas under the curves (AUCs) for diagnosis and staging were 0.97 and 0.95, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: ME-NBI plus EUS might be an adequate diagnostic and staging modality for EC. Due to the study limitations, more large-scale, high-quality studies are needed to confirm the diagnostic accuracy of ME-NBI plus EUS.

Cerium-Doped Iron Oxide Nanorod Arrays for Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting.

In this work, a simple one-step hydrothermal method was employed to prepare the Ce-doped Fe2O3 ordered nanorod arrays (CFT). The Ce doping successfully narrowed the band gap of Fe2O3, which improved the visible light absorption performance. In addition, with the help of Ce doping, the recombination of electron/hole pairs was significantly inhibited. The external voltage will make the performance of the Ce-doped sample better. Therefore, the Ce-doped Fe2O3 has reached superior photoelectrochemical (PEC) performance with a high photocurrent density of 1.47 mA/cm2 at 1.6 V vs. RHE (Reversible Hydrogen Electrode), which is 7.3 times higher than that of pristine Fe2O3 nanorod arrays (FT). The Hydrogen (H2) production from PEC water splitting of Fe2O3 was highly improved by Ce doping to achieve an evolution rate of 21 µmol/cm2/h.

Super-enhancer-driven Sorting Nexin 5 expression promotes dopaminergic neuronal ferroptosis in Parkinson's disease models.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most prevalent neurodegenerative disease worldwide. Recent studies revealed that the ferroptosis pathway is involved in the death process of dopaminergic neurons in PD. The aberrant endosomal sorting pathway, which results in aberrant iron level in eukaryotic cells, may serve a role in the ferroptosis pathway in PD condition. However, its specific molecular mechanisms remained unclear. In the present study, we performed chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assay, the rank ordering of super-enhancers (ROSE) algorithm, and RNA interference (RNAi) to explore the regulatory mechanism of PD-specific super-enhancer (SE) in the endosomal sorting pathway and ferroptosis pathway of 6-OHDA-lesioned rats and cells. The ChIP assay and ROSE algorithm results showed that there are specific SEs expression in 6-OHDA-lesioned SNc of PD rats, and the most significant expression gene is Sorting Nexin 5 (SNX5). SNX5 silencing by RNAi experiments significantly decreased the level of ferroptosis in 6-OHDA-lesioned PC12 cells, suggesting the correlation between the SNX5, ferroptosis, and PD. In conclusion, this study investigated the mechanism by which PD-specific SE driven SNX5 promoted the ferroptosis level in PD models. This study further improved the understanding of the mechanism of ferroptosis during PD injury and provided potential therapeutic targets and clinical diagnostic markers in PD condition.

A method for increasing the solubility of industrial azo pigments for 13 C and 1 H NMR spectra and the assignments of their 13 C and 1 H NMR peaks.

A method for increasing the solubilities of industrial azo pigments in DMSO by adding DBU (1,8-diaza-7-bicyclo[5.4.0]undecene) has been developed. This facilitated the acquisition of solution 13 C NMR spectra of the pigments. This method was applied to four types of azo pigments: naphthol AS (3-hydroxy-2-naphthoic acid anilide) pigments, naphthol pigments, pyrazolone pigments and acetoacetanilide pigments. This represents the first solution 13 C NMR spectra for naphthol AS pigments. Altogether 18 industrial azo pigments were analysed using 1D and 2D NMR techniques. The proton and corresponding carbon NMR resonances of these pigments have all been assigned.

Identification of a 22 bp DNA cis Element that Plays a Critical Role in Colony Stimulating Factor 1-Dependent Transcriptional Activation of the SPHK1 Gene.

Sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) is an anabolic clastokine. Colony Stimulating Factor 1 (CSF1) induces expression of the rate limiting enzyme required for S1P synthesis, sphingosine kinase 1 (SPHK1) in bone in vivo, and in osteoclasts in vitro. To study the mechanism of CSF1-induced SPHK1 gene expression, a 2608 bp fragment of the murine SPHK1 gene (- 2497 to + 111 bp relative to the transcription start site) was cloned and transfected into pZen cells (murine fibroblasts engineered to express c-fms). SPHK1 promoter activity was assessed using a dual-luciferase reporter assay system. By analyzing a series of 5'-deletions, a CSF1-responsive region was identified in the region - 1250 to - 1016 bp. To define putative DNA binding site(s) in this fragment, two biotin-labeled fragments that completely overlapped this region were generated, one 163 bp in length (- 1301 to - 1139) and one 169 bp in length (- 1157 to - 989). EMSAs revealed the 163 bp fragment as the target for protein binding. Using EMSAs, the nuclear protein binding region was further narrowed to an 85 bp fragment, (- 1223 to - 1139). Using a series of unlabeled DNA sequences as "cold competitors" in EMSAs, a 22 bp sequence is identified as the smallest fragment that could successfully compete away protein binding. The same 22 bp sequence also competed DNA binding in EMSAs using nuclear protein isolated from primary murine osteoclasts. A full-length wild-type SPHK1 promoter and an SPHK1 promoter in which the ATGGGGG motif was mutated were subsequently expressed in pZen cells. Mutating this ATGGGGG motif nearly completely abrogated the ability of CSF1 to activate the promoter. Although two transcription factors, KLF6 and Sp1 have been reported to bind to this sequence, supershift EMSAs failed to detect either among the proteins bound to the 85 bp DNA fragment.

Effects of Different Culture Conditions on the Biofilm Formation of Bacillus pumilus HR10.

Many studies have focused on the significant role of biofilm formation by Bacillus in the biocontrol process. Bacillus pumilus HR10 is a plant growth-promoting rhizobacterium with multiple biocontrol functions, including promoting growth, controlling pathogens, and assisting in the formation of mycorrhizae. Currently, there is no relevant report on the biofilm formation of B. pumilus HR10 and its influencing factors. B. pumilus HR10 was found to easily form a stable biofilm structure on the surface of media, with awesome swarming ability. The optimum temperature for biofilm formation was 37 °C. B. pumilus HR10 formed most obviously at pH 7.0 and was not extremely sensitive to acidic or alkaline conditions. Most of the polysaccharide components of plant root exudates promoted the biofilm formation by B. pumilus HR10, with glucose having the greatest promoting effect. Low concentrations of Fe2+, Mg2+, Ca2+, K+, and Na+ enhanced biofilm formation. In summary, biofilm formation can improve the tolerance of B. pumilus HR10 to salt and certain heavy metal ion stresses and contribute to its application in different plants and soils with high salinity or heavy metals in the field.

Establishment and evaluation of a risk-scoring system for lymph node metastasis in early-stage endometrial carcinoma: Achieving preoperative risk stratification.

AIM: To establish a risk-scoring system for lymph node metastasis (LNM) of early-stage endometrial carcinoma (EC), and to stratify the preoperative risk of LNM. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 507 patients diagnosed with the early-stage EC (i.e., confined to the uterine corpus). We determined the risk factors for LNM by logistic regression analysis; then constructed a simple logistic scoring system, and an additive scoring system based on the regression coefficient (ß), and odds ratio, of each variable, respectively. RESULTS: The overall rate of LNM was 9.1% (46/507). Multivariate analysis showed that preoperative serum cancer antigen 125 (CA125) ≥35 U/mL, histopathology of grade 3 and/or type II, depth of myometrial invasion ≥1/2 and positive immunostaining for Ki-67 ≥50%, were independent risk factors for LNM (P < 0.05). The simple logistic and additive scoring systems exhibited good predictive ability (area under the curve [AUC] >0.8). Based on the additive scoring system, the risk of LNM in patients with early-stage EC was classified into three groups: a low-risk group (total score: <5), an intermediate-risk group (total score: 5-10) and a high-risk group (total score: >10). The incidence of LNM differed significantly across these three groups (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The risk-scoring system constructed in this study can effectively predict the risk of LNM in patients with early-stage EC, achieve preoperative risk stratification and provide a reference guideline for the use of lymphadenectomy.

Circulating obesity-driven biomarkers are associated with risk of clear cell renal cell carcinoma: a two-stage, case-control study.

Obesity is one of modifiable risk factors for clear cell renal cell cancer (ccRCC). We aim to identify the association between obesity-driven biomarkers and ccRCC risk. This is a retrospective, two-phase, case-control study involving 682 cases and 733 controls. Obesity-driven biomarkers [gastric inhibitory polypeptide (GIP), C-peptide, insulin, resistin, adipsin, peptide YY, pancreatic polypeptide, interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), plasminogen activator inhibitor-1, monocyte chemoattractant protein 1, lipocalin2, leptin, adiponectin] were measured using the Milliplex method. Multivariate logistic regression was used to assess the associations between biomarkers and ccRCC risk. Results revealed that GIP, C-peptide, IL-6 and TNF-α levels were consistently distinct between cases and controls. These markers were significantly associated with ccRCC risk in both phases (except C-peptide). In the combined population, compared with individuals with low levels of the biomarkers, individuals with high level of GIP [odds ratio (OR) = 0.52, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.40-0.67] had lower risk, whereas individuals with high levels of C-peptide (OR = 1.46, 95% CI: 1.15-1.87), IL-6 (OR = 2.20, 95% CI: 1.50-3.22), TNF-α (OR = 1.90, 95% CI: 1.49-2.43) had significantly higher risk. Stratified analysis showed consistent associations with ccRCC risk in most subgroups (P < 0.05). The risk score based on the IL-6, TNF-α and GIP was positively associated with ccRCC risk in a dose-response manner (P for trend = 2.18E-13). Data from The Cancer Genome Atlas indicate that insulin signaling, IL-6 signaling and TNF-α signaling were enhanced in tumors. Collectively, our study demonstrates the integrative effect of insulin resistance and inflammation in ccRCC development, which may elucidate the basis of association between obesity and carcinogenesis. Further confirmation in prospective cohort studies are warranted for clinical applications in prevention and precision medicine of ccRCC.

The contribution of cross-talk between the cell-surface proteins CD36 and CD47-TSP-1 in osteoclast formation and function.

Antibody-mediated blockade of cluster of differentiation 47 (CD47)-thrombospondin-1 (TSP-1) interactions blocks osteoclast formation in vitro and attenuates parathyroid hormone (PTH)-induced hypercalcemia in vivo in mice. Hypercalcemia in this model reflects increased bone resorption. TSP-1 has two cell-associated binding partners, CD47 and CD36. The roles of these two molecules in mediating the effects of TSP1 in osteoclasts are unclear. Osteoclast formation was attenuated but not absent when preosteoclasts isolated from CD47-/- mice were cocultured with WT osteoblasts. Suppressing CD36 in osteoclast progenitors also attenuated osteoclast formation. The hypercalcemic response to a PTH infusion was blunted in CD47-/-/CD36-/- (double knockout (DKO)) female mice but not CD47-/- mice or CD36-/- animals, supporting a role for both CD47 and CD36 in mediating this effect. Consistent with this, DKO osteoclasts had impaired resorptive activity when analyzed in vitro Inhibition of nitric oxide (NO) signaling is known to promote osteoclastogenesis, and TSP-1 suppresses NO production and signaling. An anti-TSP-1 antibody increased NO production in osteoclasts, and the inhibitory effect of anti-TSP-1 on osteoclastogenesis was completely rescued by l-nitroarginine methyl ester (l-NAME), a competitive NO synthase inhibitor. Supportive of an important role for CD36 in mediating the pro-osteoclastogenic effects of TSP-1, engaging CD36 with a synthetic agonist, p907, suppressed NO production in anti-TSP-1-treated cultures, allowing osteoclast maturation to occur. These results establish that CD36 and CD47 both participate in mediating the actions of TSP-1 in osteoclasts and establish a physiologically relevant cross-talk in bone tissue between these two molecules.

Cellular Effects of Butyrate on Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells are Mediated through Disparate Actions on Dual Targets, Histone Deacetylase (HDAC) Activity and PI3K/Akt Signaling Network.

Vascular remodeling is a characteristic feature of cardiovascular diseases. Altered cellular processes of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) is a crucial component in vascular remodeling. Histone deacetylase inhibitor (HDACI), butyrate, arrests VSMC proliferation and promotes cell growth. The objective of the study is to determine the mechanism of butyrate-induced VSMC growth. Using proliferating VSMCs exposed to 5 mM butyrate, immunoblotting studies are performed to determine whether PI3K/Akt pathway that regulates different cellular effects is a target of butyrate-induced VSMC growth. Butyrate inhibits phosphorylation-dependent activation of PI3K, PDK1, and Akt, eliciting differential effects on downstream targets of Akt. Along with previously reported Ser9 phosphorylation-mediated GSK3 inactivation leading to stability, increased expression and accumulation of cyclin D1, and epigenetic histone modifications, inactivation of Akt by butyrate results in: transcriptional activation of FOXO1 and FOXO3 promoting G1 arrest through p21Cip1/Waf1 and p15INK4B upregulation; inactivation of mTOR inhibiting activation of its targets p70S6K and 4E-BP1 impeding protein synthesis; inhibition of caspase 3 cleavage and downregulation of PARP preventing apoptosis. Our findings imply butyrate abrogates Akt activation, causing differential effects on Akt targets promoting convergence of cross-talk between their complimentary actions leading to VSMC growth by arresting proliferation and inhibiting apoptosis through its effect on dual targets, HDAC activity and PI3K/Akt pathway network.

An ERCC4 regulatory variant predicts grade-3 or -4 toxicities in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer treated by platinum-based therapy.

Platinum-based chemotherapy (PBC) in combination with the 3rd generation drugs is the first-line treatment for patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC); however, the efficacy is severely hampered by grade 3-4 toxicities. Nucleotide excision repair (NER) pathway is the main mechanism of removing platinum-induced DNA adducts that contribute to the toxicity and outcome of PBC. We analyzed data from 710 Chinese NSCLC patients treated with PBC and assessed the associations of 25 potentially functional single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in nine NER core genes with overall, gastrointestinal and hematologic toxicities. Through a two-phase study, we found that ERCC4 rs1799798 was significantly associated with overall and gastrointestinal toxicities [all patients: GA/AA vs. GG, odds ratio (OR)adj =1.61 and 2.35, 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.11-2.33 and 1.25-4.41, and Padj =0.012 and 0.008, respectively]. Our prediction model for the overall toxicity incorporating rs1799798 demonstrated a significant increase in the area under the curve (AUC) value, compared to that for clinical factors only (all patients: AUC = 0.61 vs. 0.59, 95% CI = 0.57-0.65 vs. 0.55-0.63, P = 0.010). Furthermore, the ERCC4 rs1799798 A allele was associated with lower ERCC4 mRNA expression levels according to the expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) analysis. Our study provided some new clue in future development of biomarkers for assessing toxicity and outcomes of platinum drugs in lung cancer treatment.

Bioadhesive Polymersome for Localized and Sustained Drug Delivery at Pathological Sites with Harsh Enzymatic and Fluidic Environment via Supramolecular Host-Guest Complexation.

Targeted and sustained delivery of drugs to diseased tissues/organs, where body fluid exchange and catabolic activity are substantial, is challenging due to the fast cleansing and degradation of the drugs by these harsh environmental factors. Herein, a multifunctional and bioadhesive polycaprolactone-ß-cyclodextrin (PCL-CD) polymersome is developed for localized and sustained co-delivery of hydrophilic and hydrophobic drug molecules. This PCL-CD polymersome affords multivalent crosslinking action via surface CD-mediated host-guest interactions to generate a supramolecular hydrogel that exhibits evident shear thinning and efficient self-healing behavior. The co-delivery of small molecule and proteinaceous agents by the encapsulated PCL-CD polymersomes enhances the differentiation of stem cells seeded in the hydrogel. Furthermore, the PCL-CD polymersomes are capable of in situ grafting to biological tissues via host-guest complexation between surface CD and native guest groups in the tissue matrix both in vitro and in vivo, thereby effectively extending the retention of loaded cargo in the grafted tissue. It is further demonstrated that the co-delivery of small molecule and proteinaceous drugs via PCL-CD polymersomes averts cartilage degeneration in animal osteoarthritic (OA) knee joints, which are known for their biochemically harsh and fluidically dynamic environment.

Genetic variants in nucleotide excision repair pathway predict survival of esophageal squamous cell cancer patients receiving platinum-based chemotherapy.

The benefits of platinum-based chemotherapy (PBC) on survival of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) patients are inexplicit due to the varied therapeutic effects. Nucleotide excision repair (NER) pathway plays a vital role in removing platinum-DNA adducts in tumor cells and hence may modulate the therapeutic effect and survival outcome. The present study assessed the associations of 26 potentially functional regulatory single nucleotide polymorphisms (rSNPs) in nine core NER genes with disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) in 339 ESCC patients. We found that ERCC2 rs2097215 T and rs3916788 A, ERCC5 rs3759497 A and XPC rs3731054 C alleles were associated with unfavorable DFS. Patients carrying high-risk allele group (HRG, 5-8 risk alleles) had a significantly shorter DFS, compared with those carrying low-risk alleles (LRG, 0-4 risk alleles) [adjusted hazards ratio (HRadj ) = 1.64, 95%CI = 1.23-2.19, Padj < 0.001]. Three of these SNPs (ie, ERCC2 rs2097215 T and rs3916788 A and ERCC5 rs3759497 A) were also significantly associated with a poorer OS (HRG vs LRG: HRadj = 1.75, 95%CI = 1.23-2.47, Padj = 0.002). The expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) analysis revealed significant genotype-expression correlations for ERCC5 rs3759497 and ERCC2 2097215 and rs3916788, which suggest regulatory roles of these SNPs. It appears that these NER variants may independently or jointly exert an impact on survival outcome of Chinese ESCC patients undergoing adjuvant platinum-based therapy. Large studies are warranted to validate these findings.

A Correlation Driven Approach with Edge Services for Predictive Industrial Maintenance.

Predictive industrial maintenance promotes proactive scheduling of maintenance to minimize unexpected device anomalies/faults. Almost all current predictive industrial maintenance techniques construct a model based on prior knowledge or data at build-time. However, anomalies/faults will propagate among sensors and devices along correlations hidden among sensors. These correlations can facilitate maintenance. This paper makes an attempt on predicting the anomaly/fault propagation to perform predictive industrial maintenance by considering the correlations among faults. The main challenge is that an anomaly/fault may propagate in multiple ways owing to various correlations. This is called as the uncertainty of anomaly/fault propagation. This present paper proposes a correlation-based event routing approach for predictive industrial maintenance by improving our previous works. Our previous works mapped physical sensors into a soft-ware-defined abstraction, called proactive data service. In the service model, anomalies/faults are encapsulated into events. We also proposed a service hyperlink model to encapsulate the correlations among anomalies/faults. This paper maps the anomalies/faults propagation into event routing and proposes a heuristic algorithm based on service hyperlinks to route events among services. The experiment results show that, our approach can reach 100% precision and 88.89% recall at most.

Genetic variants of JNK and p38α pathways and risk of non-small cell lung cancer in an Eastern Chinese population.

The JNK and p38α pathways play an important role in carcinogenesis. Therefore, we hypothesize that single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of genes involved in these pathways are associated with risk of lung cancer. We first selected and genotyped 11 independent SNPs of the JNK and p38α pathway-related genes in a discovery set of 1,002 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cases and 1,025 cancer-free controls of Eastern Chinese. Then, we validated those significant SNPs in a replication set of 1,333 NSCLC cases and 1,339 cancer-free controls of Eastern Chinese. Multifactor dimensionality reduction (MDR) and classification and regression tree (CART) analyses were used to identify interactions between significant SNPs and other covariates. In both discovery and replication as well as their pooled analysis, carriers of GADD45G rs8252T variant genotypes had a significantly lower risk of NSCLC (adjusted OR = 0.81 and 0.79, 95% CI = 0.72-0.92 and 0.64-0.99 and p = 0.001 and 0.040 for dominant and recessive genetic models, respectively) and carriers of MAP2K7 rs3679T variant genotypes had an increased risk of NSCLC (adjusted OR = 1.19 and 1.29, 95% CI = 1.05-1.34 and 1.09-1.54 and p = 0.005 and 0.004 for dominant and recessive genetic models, respectively). Furthermore, rs8252 variant CT/TT carriers showed significantly higher levels of GADD45G mRNA expression than CC carriers in the target tissues. We observed some evidence of interactions between rs8252 genotypes and sex in NSCLC risk. These results indicate that GADD45G rs8252 and MAP2K7 rs3679 SNPs may be susceptibility biomarkers for NSCLC in Eastern Chinese populations.

[Biopharmaceutics classification system of Chinese materia medica of berberine in Gegen Qinlian decoction].

One of the top-level researches of biopharmaceutics classification system of Chinese materia medica (CMMBCS) is the study on single component in compound Chinese medicine. The medicines shall be classified according to its solubility and intestinal permeability, as well as the ascending degree in multicomponent environment. Based on above, we chose berberine as the main object to explore the change rules of its solubility and intestinal permeability in Gegen Qinlian decoction. Shaking flask-HPLC was used to detect the solubility changes of berberine in compounds. The qualitative investigation of berberine in intestinal absorption was measured by everted gut sac, and the quantitative research of berberine in intestinal absorption was measured by single-pass intestinal perfusion experiment, while the qualitative and quantitative research of berberine absorption into blood was measured by in intestinal perfusion with venous sampling experiment.

Polymorphisms in the AKT1 and AKT2 genes and oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma risk in an Eastern Chinese population.

Ethnic Han Chinese are at high risk of developing oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). Aberrant activation of the AKT signalling pathway is involved in many cancers, including ESCC. Some single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in genes involved in this pathway may contribute to ESCC susceptibility. We selected five potentially functional SNPs in AKT1 (rs2494750, rs2494752 and rs10138277) and AKT2 (rs7254617 and rs2304186) genes and investigated their associations with ESCC risk in 1117 ESCC cases and 1096 controls in an Eastern Chinese population. None of individual SNPs exhibited an association with ESCC risk. However, the combined analysis of three AKT1 SNPs suggested that individuals carrying one of AKT1 variant genotypes had a decreased ESCC risk [adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 0.60, 95% CI = 0.42-0.87]. Further stratified analysis found that AKT1 rs2294750 SNP was associated with significantly decreased ESCC risk among women (adjusted OR = 0.63, 95% CI = 0.43-0.94) and non-drinkers (OR = 0.79, 95% CI = 0.64-0.99). Similar protective effects on women (adjusted OR = 0.56, 95% CI = 0.37-0.83) and non-drinker (adjusted OR = 0.75, 95% CI = 0.60-0.94) were also observed for the combined genotypes of AKT1 SNPs. Consistently, logistic regression analysis indicated significant gene-gene interactions among three AKT1 SNPs (P < 0.015). A three-AKT1 SNP haplotype (C-A-C) showed a significant association with a decreased ESCC risk (adjusted OR = 0.70, 95% CI = 0.52-0.94). Multifactor dimensionality reduction analysis confirmed a high-order gene-environment interaction in ESCC risk. Overall, we found that three AKT1 SNPs might confer protection against ESCC risk; nevertheless, these effects may be dependent on other risk factors. Our results provided evidence of important gene-environment interplay in ESCC carcinogenesis.