Radioactive Wastewater Treatment Technologies: A Review.

With the wide application of nuclear energy, the problem of radioactive pollution has attracted worldwide attention, and the research on the treatment of radioactive wastewater is imminent. How to treat radioactive wastewater deeply and efficiently has become the most critical issue in the development of nuclear energy technology. The radioactive wastewater produced after using nuclear technology has the characteristics of many kinds, high concentration, and large quantity. Therefore, it is of great significance to study the treatment technology of radioactive wastewater in reprocessing plants. The process flow and waste liquid types of the post-treatment plant are reviewed. The commonly used evaporation concentration, adsorption, precipitation, ion exchange, biotechnology, membrane separation, and photocatalysis are summarized. The basic principles and technological characteristics of them are introduced. The advantages and disadvantages of different single and combined processes are compared, and the development trend of future processing technology is prospected.

Correlation between Chemokine CXCL-12 and ist Receptor CXCR4 Expression is Associated with Clinical Prognosis of Gastric Cancer.

BACKGROUND: To analyze the differences in gene expression levels of chemokine CXCL-12 and its receptor CXCR4 in gastric cancer and the relationship between their correlations with the clinical prognosis of gastric cancer. METHODS: The information on gastric cancer in the TCGA (The Cancer Genome Atlas) database was downloaded from the Broad GDAC FIREHOSE, including CXCL-12 and CXCR4 gene expression data of 415 gastric cancer tissues and 35 normal gastric tissues; clinical information of 392 gastric cancer cases. All patients were divided into either a correlated (significantly higher or lower correlation between CXCL12 and CXCR4 expression) or uncorrelated groups. Wilcoxon rank sum test was used to analyze the differential gene expressions of CXCL-12 and CXCR4 between gastric cancer tissues and normal gastric tissues. Furthermore, one-way analysis of variance and Kaplan-Meier survival analysis were used to analyze the differential gene expressions of CXCL-12 and CXCR4 and the prognosis in patients with different stages of gastric cancer. Gastric cancer patients were divided into two groups according to whether CXCL-12 and CXCR4 gene expressions were correlated or not. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was used to analyze the three-year survival of the two groups. RESULTS: There were differences between CXCL-12 and CXCR4 expression in 415 gastric cancer tissues and 35 normal gastric tissues. No statistically significant difference between CXCL-12 and CXCR4 was detected in different stages of gastric cancer. There were differences of the five-year survival in different stages of gastric cancer. Further analysis showed that the three-year survival in the correlated group was superior compared to the uncor-related one. CONCLUSIONS: The gene expression of CXCL-12 and CXCR4 was significantly different between gastric cancer tissues and normal gastric tissues. Moreover, the correlation between CXCL-12 and CXCR4 gene expression may be used as a predictor of clinical prognosis in patients with gastric cancer.

CircUCK2 promotes hepatocellular carcinoma development by upregulating UCK2 in a mir-149-5p-dependent manner.

BACKGROUND: Circular RNAs (circRNAs) participate in the regulation of Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) progression. The objective of this study was to explore the function and mechanism of circUCK2 in HCC development. METHODS: The RNA levels of circUCK2, miR-149-5p and uridine-cytidine kinase 2 (UCK2) were examined by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). EdU incorporation assay and colony formation assay were respectively performed to analyze cell proliferation and colony formation. Wound healing assay and transwell assay were conducted for cell migration and invasion. Flow cytometry was used for cell apoptosis analysis. Western blot assay was conducted to determine the protein levels of E-cadherin, N-cadherin, matrix metallopeptidase 9 (MMP-9) and UCK2. Dual-luciferase reporter assay, RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) assay and RNA pull-down assay were conducted to confirm the interaction between miR-149-5p and circUCK2 or UCK2. The xenograft model was established to explore the role of circUCK2 in tumor growth in vivo. RESULTS: CircUCK2 level was elevated in HCC, and circUCK2 depletion suppressed HCC cell proliferation, colony formation, migration and invasion and accelerated cell apoptosis. Mechanistically, circUCK2 could positively modulate UCK2 expression by interacting with miR-149-5p. Furthermore, the repressive effects of circUCK2 knockdown on the malignant behaviors of HCC cells were alleviated by UCK2 overexpression or miR-149-5p inhibition. The promoting effects of circUCK2 overexpression on HCC cell malignancy were alleviated by UCK2 silencing or miR-149-5p introduction. Additionally, circUCK2 knockdown hampered tumor growth in vivo. CONCLUSION: CircUCK2 contributed to HCC malignant progression in vitro and in vivo via targeting miR-149-5p/UCK2 axis, demonstrating that circUCK2 might be a novel therapeutic target for HCC.

Advances of LiCoO2 in Cathode of Aqueous Lithium-Ion Batteries.

Aqueous lithium-ion batteries offer promising advantages such as low cost, enhanced safety, high rate capability, and the ability to deliver considerable capacity at 1.8 V, making them ideal candidates for large-scale reserve power sources for renewable energy. However, the practical application of aqueous lithium-ion batteries has been hindered by the poor cycle stability of layered cathode materials, including LiCoO2, in neutral aqueous electrolytes. This review examines the working principles, material limitations, and research progress of aqueous lithium-ion batteries. The types and characteristics of materials used in the cathode of aqueous lithium-ion batteries are summarized, with a primary focus on the attenuation mechanisms of LiCoO2 when used as the cathode material in aqueous electrolytes. Furthermore, this review explores the advancements in utilizing LiCoO2 in the cathode of aqueous lithium-ion batteries, as well as the combination with machine learning. By addressing these critical aspects, this review aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of aqueous lithium-ion batteries and shed light on future development and application prospects.

MOFs based on the application and challenges of perovskite solar cells.

In recent years, perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have attracted much attention because of their high energy conversion efficiency, low cost, and simple preparation process. Up to now, the photoelectric conversion efficiency of solar cells has been increased from 3.8% to 25.5%. Metal-organic skeleton-derived metal oxides and their composites (MOFs) are widely considered for application in PSCs due to their low and flat charge/discharge potential plateau, high capacity, and stable cycling performance. By combining MOFs and PSCs, based on the composition materials of perovskite film, electron transport layer, hole transport layer, and interfacial interlayer of PSCs, this article discusses the photovoltaic performance or structure optimization effect of MOFs in each function layer, which is of great significance to improve the photovoltaic performance of the cell. The problems faced by MOFs on perovskite solar cells are summarized, the next research directions are discussed, and the development of this crossover area of MOFs-PSC is foreseen to accelerate the comprehensive research and popularization of MOFs on PSCs.

Oncogenic Role of Long Noncoding RNAMALAT1 in Thyroid Cancer Progression through Regulation of the miR-204/IGF2BP2/m6A-MYC Signaling.

Accumulating studies highlight the role of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs)/microRNAs (miRNAs)/messenger RNAs (mRNAs) as important regulatory networks in various human cancers, including thyroid cancer (TC). This study aimed to investigate a novel regulatory network dependent on lncRNA metastasis-associated lung adenocarcinoma transcript 1 (MALAT1) in relation to TC development. Quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and western blot were initially employed to detect the expression of MALAT1, insulin-like growth factor 2 mRNA binding protein 2 (IGF2BP2), and myelocytomatosis (MYC) in TC cells. Interactions among MALAT1, miR-204, and IGF2BP2 were then identified in vitro. The biological processes of proliferation, migration, invasion, and apoptosis were evaluated in vitro via gain- and loss-of-function experiments, followed by in vivo validation using xenograft mice. Our data indicated that MALAT1 and IGF2BP2 were highly expressed, while miR-204 was poorly expressed in TC. IGF2BP2 was verified as a target of miR-204. MALAT1 was found to upregulate IGF2BP2 and enhance MYC expression via m6A modification recognition by competitively binding to miR-204, conferring a stimulatory effect on proliferation, migration, and invasion of TC cells, which was accompanied by weakened tumor growth and cell apoptosis. Altogether, the central findings of our study suggest that MALAT1 contributes to TC progression through the upregulation of IGF2BP2 by binding to miR-204.

Progress and prospects of reversible solid oxide fuel cell materials.

Reversible solid oxide fuel cell (RSOFC) is an energy device that flexibly interchanges between electrical and chemical energy according to people's life and production needs. The development of cell materials affects the stability and cost of the cell, but also restricts its market-oriented development. After decades of research by scientists, a lot of achievements and progress have been made on RSOFC materials. According to the composition and requirements of each component of RSOFC, this article summarizes the research progress based on materials and discusses the merits and demerits of current cell materials in electrochemical performance. According to the efficiency of different materials in solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC mode) and solid oxide electrolyzer (SOEC mode), the challenges encountered by RSOFC in the operation are evaluated, and the future development of RSOFC materials is boldly prospected.

Circular RNA circFOXM1 Plays a Role in Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma by Sponging miR-1179 and Regulating HMGB1 Expression.

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are a class of noncoding RNAs broadly expressed in cells of various species. However, the molecular mechanisms that link circRNAs with progression of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) are not well understood. In the present study, we attempted to provide a novel basis for targeted therapy for PTC from the aspect of the circRNA-microRNA (miRNA)-mRNA interaction. We investigated the expression of circRNAs in five paired PTC tissues and normal tissues by microarray analysis. The circRNA microarray assay followed by qRT-PCR was used to verify the differential expression of circFOXM1 (hsa_circ_0025033), which is located at chr12: 2966846-2983691 and derived from FOXM1. The spliced length of circFOXM1 is 3410 nt. The qRT-PCR analysis was to investigate the expression pattern of circFOXM1 in PTC tissues and cell lines. Then, the effects of circFOXM1 on tumor growth were assessed in PTC in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, bioinformatics online programs predicted, and the luciferase reporter assay was used to validate the association of circFOXM1 and miR-1179 in PTC cells. In this study, circFOXM1 was observed to be upregulated in PTC tissues and cell lines. circFOXM1 downregulation inhibited tumor growth of PTC in vitro and in vivo. Bioinformatics analysis predicted that there is a circFOXM1/miR-1179/high-mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) axis in PTC. A dual luciferase reporter system validated the direct interaction of circFOXM1, miR-1179, and HMGB1. In summary, our study demonstrated that circFOXM1 modulates cancer progression through the miR-1179/HMGB1 pathway in PTC. Our findings indicate that circFOXM1 may serve as a promising therapeutic target for the treatment of PTC patients.