An integrated RF energy-harvesting system with broad input voltage range and high power conversion efficiency.

By 2050, countries around the world are expected to be gradually phasing out fossil fuels and implementing greener energy technologies. In this work, we present a system employing Energy harvesting, a self-powered technology that can recycle energy from the surrounding environment. A high-efficiency radio frequency (RF) energy-harvesting chip was designed and fabricated. With an off-chip antenna and rectifier, the system scavenges ambient RF energy and converts it into usable energy, which is then stored in energy storage elements (such as a supercapacitor or a rechargeable battery). The system can further be implemented as an energy source for charging smart devices. The system-on-chip design consists of a cold start block, a boost converter with maximum power point tracking functionalities, and a charging block. The chip was fabricated using AMS 350 nm technology. Although the system was optimized for harvesting RF energy, it can be easily adapted to harvest other energy sources (i.e., mechanical and thermal energy sources). Using an optimized cold start architecture, the circuit has a cold start voltage of 380 mV. With an improved control strategy of power conversion, the system is capable of continuously charging up to 4.5 V with a broad input voltage range of 100 mV to 10 V and has a peak charging efficiency of 82%.

Magnetic Nanostructures: Rational Design and Fabrication Strategies toward Diverse Applications.

In recent years, the continuous development of magnetic nanostructures (MNSs) has tremendously promoted both fundamental scientific research and technological applications. Different from the bulk magnet, the systematic engineering on MNSs has brought a great breakthrough in some emerging fields such as the construction of MNSs, the magnetism exploration of multidimensional MNSs, and their potential translational applications. In this review, we give a detailed description of the synthetic strategies of MNSs based on the fundamental features and application potential of MNSs and discuss the recent progress of MNSs in the fields of nanomedicines, advanced nanobiotechnology, catalysis, and electromagnetic wave adsorption (EMWA), aiming to provide guidance for fabrication strategies of MNSs toward diverse applications.

LKB1 loss promotes colorectal cancer cell metastasis through regulating TNIK expression and actin cytoskeleton remodeling.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common malignant tumors. Approximately 5%-6% of CRC cases are associated with hereditary CRC syndromes, including the Peutz-Jeghers syndrome (PJS). Liver kinase B1 (LKB1), also known as STK11, is the major gene responsible for PJS. LKB1 heterozygotic deficiency is involved in intestinal polyps in mice, while the mechanism of LKB1 in CRC remains elusive. In this study, we generated LKB1 knockout (KO) CRC cell lines by using CRISPR-Cas9. LKB1 KO promoted CRC cell motility in vitro and tumor metastases in vivo. LKB1 attenuated expression of TRAF2 and NCK-interacting protein kinase (TNIK) as accessed by RNA-seq and western blots, and similar suppression was also detected in the tumor tissues of azoxymethane/dextran sodium sulfate-induced intestinal-specific LKB1-KO mice. LKB1 repressed TNIK expression through its kinase activity. Moreover, attenuating TNIK by shRNA inhibited cell migration and invasion of CRC cells. LKB1 loss-induced high metastatic potential of CRC cells was depended on TNIK upregulation. Furthermore, TNIK interacted with ARHGAP29 and further affected actin cytoskeleton remodeling. Taken together, LKB1 deficiency promoted CRC cell metastasis via TNIK upregulation and subsequently mediated cytoskeleton remodeling. These results suggest that LKB1-TNIK axis may play a crucial role in CRC progression.

Celastrol acts as a new histone deacetylase inhibitor to inhibit colorectal cancer cell growth via regulating macrophage polarity.

The tumorigenesis and progression of colorectal cancer are closely related to the tumor microenvironment, especially inflammatory response. Inhibitors of histone deacetylase (HDAC) have been reported as epigenetic regulators of the immune system to treat cancer and inflammatory diseases and our results demonstrated that Celastrol could act as a new HDAC inhibitor. Considering macrophages as important members of the tumor microenvironment, we further found that Celastrol could influence the polarization of macrophages to inhibit colorectal cancer cell growth. Specially, we used the supernatant of HCT116 and SW480 cells to induce Ana-1 cells in vitro and chose the spontaneous colorectal cancer model APCmin/+ mice as an animal model to validate in vivo. The results indicated that Celastrol could reverse the polarization of macrophages from M2 to M1 through impacting the colorectal tumor microenvironment both in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, using bioinformatics analysis, we found that Celastrol might mechanistically polarize the macrophages through MAPK signaling pathway. In conclusion, our findings identified that Celastrol as a new HDAC inhibitor and suggested that Celastrol could modulate macrophage polarization, thus inhibiting colorectal cancer growth, which may provide some novel therapeutic strategies for colorectal cancer.

Lower Compositional Variation and Higher Network Complexity of Rhizosphere Bacterial Community in Constructed Wetland Compared to Natural Wetland.

Macrophyte rhizosphere microbes, as crucial components of the wetland ecosystem, play an important role in maintaining the function and stability of natural and constructed wetlands. Distinct environmental conditions and management practices between natural and constructed wetlands would affect macrophytes rhizosphere microbial communities and their associated functions. Nevertheless, the understanding of the diversity, composition, and co-occurrence patterns of the rhizosphere bacterial communities in natural and constructed wetlands remains unclear. Here, we used 16S rRNA gene high-throughput sequencing to characterize the bacterial community of the rhizosphere and bulk sediments of macrophyte Phragmites australis in representative natural and constructed wetlands. We observed higher alpha diversity of the bacterial community in the constructed wetland than that of the natural wetland. Additionally, the similarity of bacterial community composition between rhizosphere and bulk sediments in the constructed wetland was increased compared to that of the natural wetland. We also found that plants recruit specific taxa with adaptive functions in the rhizosphere of different wetland types. Rhizosphere samples of the natural wetland significantly enriched the functional bacterial groups that mainly related to nutrient cycling and plant-growth-promoting, while those of the constructed wetland-enriched bacterial taxa with potentials for biodegradation. Co-occurrence network analysis showed that the interactions among rhizosphere bacterial taxa in the constructed wetland were more complex than those of the natural wetland. This study broadens our understanding of the distinct selection processes of the macrophytes rhizosphere-associated microbes and the co-occurrence network patterns in different wetland types. Furthermore, our findings emphasize the importance of plant-microbe interactions in wetlands and further suggest P. australis rhizosphere enriched diverse functional bacteria that might enhance the wetland performance through biodegradation, nutrient cycling, and supporting plant growth.

Phytic acid is a new substitutable plant-derived antifungal agent for the seedling blight of Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica caused by Fusarium oxysporum.

Phytic acid (PA) is a new substitutable plant-derived antifungal agent; however, few reports have been published regarding its antifungal effects on pathogenic fungi. The present study explored the in vitro antifungal activity of PA against four phytopathogenic fungi and found that PA was the most effective at inhibiting the growth of Fusarium oxysporum. This study aimed to investigate the in vivo and in vitro antifungal activities of PA against the seedling blight of Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica caused by F. oxysporum and to determine its possible mechanism of action. The results showed that PA inhibited spore germination and mycelial growth of F. oxysporum in a concentration-dependent manner and exhibited strong inhibition when its concentration exceeded 1000 mg/L. It mainly destroyed the integrity of the cell membrane, increasing its cell membrane permeability, causing the cell contents to spill out, and impairing fungal growth. In addition, the leakage of intercellular electrolytes and soluble proteins indicated that PA used at its EC20 and EC50 increased the membrane permeability of F. oxysporum. The increase in malondialdehyde and hydrogen peroxide content confirmed that PA treatment at its EC20 and EC50 damaged the cell membrane of the pathogen. Scanning electron microscopy revealed that PA affected the morphology of mycelia, causing them to shrivel, distort, and break. Furthermore, PA significantly reduced the activities of the antioxidant-related enzymes superoxide dismutase and catalase, as well as that of the pathogenicity-related enzymes polygalacturonase, pectin lyase, and endoglucanase (EG) in F. oxysporum (P < 0.05). In particular, EG enzyme activity was maximally inhibited in F. oxysporum treated with PA at its EC50. Moreover, PA significantly inhibited the incidence of disease, and growth indices in Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica seedling blight was determined. In summary, PA has a substantial inhibitory effect on F. oxysporum. Therefore, PA could serve as a new substitutable plant-derived antifungal agent for the seedling blight of P. sylvestris var. mongolica caused by F. oxysporum.

Biodegradable Ferrous Sulfide-Based Nanocomposites for Tumor Theranostics through Specific Intratumoral Acidosis-Induced Metabolic Symbiosis Disruption.

Abnormal metabolic symbiosis is a typical characteristic that differentiates the tumor regions from healthy tissues and meanwhile maintains tumor survival. It is of great potential to disrupt intratumoral metabolic symbiosis in tumor therapy. Herein, we report a specific tumor therapy strategy through inducing acidosis to disrupt intratumoral metabolic symbiosis for tumor elimination, which is based on carbonic anhydrase inhibitor (CAI)-modified ferrous sulfide nanoparticles (FeS-PEG-CAI NPs). The FeS-PEG-CAI NPs show the acid-responsive degradation capacity to release functional components, including CAI, Fe2+, and H2S, while remaining quite stable under normal physiological conditions. The generated CAI and H2S gas can not only disrupt the intracellular metabolic symbiosis to induce acidosis but also provide suitable circumstances for Fe2+-mediated Fenton reaction, producing abundant toxic hydroxyl radicals. Meanwhile, these NPs also show the dual-mode imaging capacity with photoacoustic and magnetic resonance imaging, which can dynamically monitor tumor location in the process of synergistic chemodynamic/photothermal/gas therapy. Overall, the developed FeS-PEG-CAI NPs exert their role of disrupting intratumoral metabolic symbiosis and other synergistic effects, which further enrich tumor treatment strategies.

Decreased spatial variation and deterministic processes of bacterial community assembly in the rhizosphere of Phragmites australis across the Middle-Lower Yangtze plain.

Comparison of the spatial distribution and assembly processes between bulk and rhizosphere bacterial communities at multiple spatial scales is vital for understanding the generation and maintenance of microbial diversity under the influence of plants. However, biogeographical patterns and the underlying mechanisms of microbial communities in bulk and rhizosphere sediments of aquatic ecosystems remain unclear. Here, we collected 140 bulk and rhizosphere sediment samples of Phragmites australis from 14 lakeshore zones across a 510-km transect in the Middle-Lower Yangtze plain. We performed high-throughput sequencing to investigate the bacterial diversity, composition, spatial distribution and assembly processes of these samples. Bacterial communities in the rhizosphere sediment exhibited higher alpha diversity but lower beta diversity than those in the bulk sediment. Both bulk and rhizosphere sediment bacterial communities had significant distance-decay relationships, but spatial turnover of the rhizosphere sediment bacterial community was strikingly lower than that of bulk sediment. Despite variable selection dominating the assembly processes of bacterial communities in bulk sediment, the rhizosphere of P. australis enhanced the role of dispersal limitation in governing bacterial communities. The relative importance of different ecological processes in determining bacterial assembly presented distinct patterns of increasing or decreasing linearly with an increase of scale. This investigation highlights the convergent selection of the aquatic plant rhizosphere for surrounding bacterial communities and emphasizes the importance of different ecological processes on bacterial community assembly in sediment environments over different scales. Furthermore, we provide a preliminary framework for exploring the scale dependence of microbial community assembly in aquatic ecosystems.

Contrasting assembly mechanisms explain the biogeographic patterns of benthic bacterial and fungal communities on the Tibetan Plateau.

The Tibetan Plateau characterized by high altitude and low temperature, where a great number of lakes are located, is a hotspot of global biodiversity research. Both bacterial and fungal communities are vital participants of biogeochemical cycling in lake ecosystems. However, we know very little about the large-scale biogeographic patterns and the underlying assembly mechanisms of lake benthic microbial communities on the Tibetan Plateau. To investigate the biogeographic patterns and their underlying assembly mechanisms of benthic bacterial and fungal communities, we collected sediment samples from 11 lakes on the Tibetan Plateau (maximum geographic distance between lakes over 1100 km). Benthic community diversity and composition were determined using the high-throughput sequencing technique. Our results indicated that there were contrasting distance-decay relationships between benthic bacterial and fungal communities on a regional scale. Benthic bacterial communities showed a significant distance-decay relationship, whereas no significant relationship was observed for benthic fungal communities. Deterministic processes dominated the bacterial community assembly, whereas fungal community assembly was more stochastic. pH was a dominant factor in influencing the geographic distribution of benthic microbial communities. Co-occurrence network analysis revealed that bacterial communities showed higher complexity and greater stability than those of the fungal communities. Taken together, this study contributes to a novel understanding of the assembly mechanisms underlying the biogeographic distribution of plateau benthic bacterial and fungal communities at a large scale.

NosZI microbial community determined the potential of denitrification and nitrous oxide emission in river sediments of Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau.

Denitrification in river sediments is the hotspot of nitrogen removal and nosZI gene is essential for reducing nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions. However, few studies tried to link nosZI communities with variations of denitrification rates in sediments along the high-elevation rivers. Here, we investigated the spatial variation of potential denitrification rates of sediments along a section (hereafter YJ) of the middle reaches of the Yarlung Zangbo River in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. We also used the real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) and high-throughput sequencing techniques to evaluate the abundance and composition of nosZI-containing microbial groups. The influences of physicochemical factors and denitrifier communities on potential denitrification rates were further revealed through structural equation modeling. The obtained results indicated that potential denitrification rates and N2O/(N2O + N2) ratio in the sediments along YJ section were greatly different. Moreover, the alpha diversity and composition of nosZI-containing microbial community in river sediments differed remarkably, mainly driven by the ammonia nitrogen (NH4+-N), organic matter (OM) and pH in sediments. The relative abundances of Zoogloeaceae, Oxalobacteraceae, Rhodospirillaceae and Bradyrhizobiaceae significantly differed among five groups (P < 0.05). Structural equation modeling further suggested that nitrogen nutrients directly influenced the potential denitrification rates, while total phosphorus (TP) showed indirect effects on potential denitrification rates through modulating denitrifier abundances and nosZI community. The abundance and composition of nosZI community were powerful predictors in regulating denitrification rates and N2O/(N2O + N2) ratio. Our findings highlight that the nosZI-containing microbial groups play a non-negligible role in nitrogen removal and N2O mitigation in high-elevation river sediments.

First Report of Black Spot Needle Blight of Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica Litv. Caused by Heterotruncatella spartii in China.

Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica Litv. (Pinales: Pinaceae) is an excellent tree for soil and water conservation in Northeast China. The Honghua'erji area in Inner Mongolia is the "hometown of P. sylvestris var. mongolica", however, in recent years, coniferous diseases of P. sylvestris var. mongolica have frequently occurred here. During the investigation, it was found that some black spot needle blight had been observed in addition to the common blight caused by Sphaeropsis sapinea. From May to September 2020, black spot needle blight was found on hundreds of P. sylvestris var. mongolica trees in four forest farms, and the infection rate among the forests was 24.58 % (n=240). This disease first appeared on the upper part of the needles, and the needles then became withered and gradually showed light black spots, although they remained green. As the disease progressed, the needles eventually died and turned gray with many dark black spots. Fungal isolate named YJ-1 was obtained from infected needles of symptomatic pine trees, and a voucher specimen was deposited in Heilongjiang Province Key Laboratory of Forest Protection. Microscopic observation showed the conidia were 3-septate (4 cells) clavate spindles that measured 23.9 µm (20.8-25.9) × 5.9 µm (4.5-8.2) (n=50). The middle two cells were dark brown, and the septa were darker than the cells. Both apical and basal cells were hyaline. The apical cell had 2-4 appendages (mostly 3), and the basal cell had a truncate base (n=50). The cultural characteristics on potato dextrose agar medium were flat off-white and dense in 3-5 d. At approximately 5-7 d, the reverse side of the colony turned pale to slightly luteous. Superficial black acervuli were distributed in the center of the mature colonies after 10 d. Morphological, cultural and microscopic characteristics observed were similar of Heterotruncatella spartii (basionym: Truncatella spartii) reported by Hlaiem et al (2019). To further identify, total DNA was extracted and the internal transcribed spacer region (ITS-rDNA) was amplified by PCR using the primers ITS1/ITS4 and sequenced for BLASTn analysis and phylogenetic tree construction. The resulting 564 bp sequence (GenBank Accession No. OL662864) had 99.24% (521/525) to H. spartii MFLUCC 15-0537, with bootstrap support of at least 94% using the Neighbor-Joining algorithm by MEGA-X (Felsenstein, 1985). The fungus was identified as H. spartii based on morphology and molecular methods. A pathogenicity test was conducted by preparing a conidial suspension of 2.0 × 107 conidia/mL. The suspension was sprayed onto the needles of 20 pots of annual P. sylvestris ar. mongolica seedlings, and the control was sprayed with sterile water. Then the seedlings were placed in a constant temperature room at 25 °C. After 30 d, typical symptoms appeared on 11 inoculated needles, while the control needles remained symptomless. After 50 d, the re-isolation infection rate reached 66.7 %. The fungus present on the inoculated seedlings was morphologically identical to that originally observed on diseased pines, fulfilling Koch's postulates. The fungus was isolated from Spartium junceum for the first time and designated Truncatella spartii (Senanayake et al, 2015). It was then renamed H. spartii (Liu et al, 2019) and has been reported to infect P. pinea in Tunisia (Hlaiem et al, 2019). To our knowledge, this is the first report of H. spartii causing black spot needle blight on P. sylvestris var. mongolica in China and worldwide.

Inhibitory effects and mechanisms of vanillin on gray mold and black rot of cherry tomatoes.

Vanillin is a natural antimicrobial agent; however, there are few reports on its antifungal effect on postharvest pathogenic fungi. This study aimed to investigate the in vivo and in vitro antifungal activities of vanillin against gray mold (caused by B. cinerea) and black rot (caused by A. alternata) of cherry tomato fruit and to explain its possible mechanism of action. Vanillin strongly inhibits Botrytis cinerea and Alternaria alternata mycelial growth, spore germination, and germ tube elongation in a concentration-dependent manner (P<0.05). In vivo experiments showed that 4000 mg L-1 vanillin treatment inhibited cherry tomato gray mold and black rot occurrence. Besides, intercellular electrolytes, soluble proteins, and soluble sugars leakage indicated that 50 or 100 mg L-1 vanillin treatment increased Botrytis cinerea and Alternaria alternata membrane permeability. The increase of malondialdehyde and hydrogen peroxide contents confirmed that 50 or 100 mg L-1 vanillin treatment damages the pathogen membranes. Importantly, vanillin treatment inhibited the pathogenicity-related enzyme activities of the two pathogens to reduce their infection ability, among them PL enzyme activity in A. alternata was most inhibited, reducing by 94.7 % at 6 h treated with 100 mg L-1 vanillin. The hyphae morphology of the two pathogens changed, the mycelia were severely damaged, and the hyphae surface was deformed, shrunk, or even broken after 100 mg L-1 vanillin treatment. In summary, vanillin had a substantial inhibitory effect on postharvest gray mold and black rot in cherry tomato fruit. Therefore, vanillin can be an effective alternative to prevent and control cherry tomato postharvest diseases.

Transcriptome and cell wall degrading enzyme-related gene analysis of Pestalotiopsis neglecta in response to sodium pheophorbide a.

Sodium pheophorbide a (SPA) is a new alternative fungicide with low toxicity and high efficiency, which has high fungicidal activity against Pestalotiopsis neglecta, a pathogen that causes black spot needle blight of Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica. To utilize SPA for plant disease control, understanding its antifungal mechanism is essential. Six cDNA libraries were constructed from 3 d-old P. neglecta mycelia (three SPA-infected and three untreated groups) and 29,850 expressed genes were obtained by Illumina HiSeq4000 sequencing. Compared with controls, 3268 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified in SPA-treated groups, including 1879 upregulated and 1389 downregulated genes. Most DEGs were involved in the metabolism of amino acids, carbohydrates, and lipids, as well as cell structure and genetic information processing. These findings were further confirmed by decreased conductivity, RNA and protein content, and activities of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide-dependent malate dehydrogenase, citrate synthase, isocitrate dehydrogenase, and succinate dehydrogenase. Moreover, qRT-PCR verified the reliability of the transcriptome results. After treatment with SPA at different concentrations for 60 min, the expressions of three cell wall degrading enzyme-related genes (PnEG, PnBG, and PnPG) were all suppressed. Overall, this study provided insights into the molecular mechanisms through which SPA inhibits P. neglecta, increasing the possibility of developing SPA into an effective fungicide in the future.

Sodium pheophorbide a controls cherry tomato gray mold (Botrytis cinerea) by destroying fungal cell structure and enhancing disease resistance-related enzyme activities in fruit.

Sodium pheophorbide a (SPA) is a natural photosensitizer. The present study investigated the antifungal activity and mechanism of SPA against Botrytis cinerea in vitro and in vivo. Its inhibitory effect was studied on the spore germination and mycelial growth of B. cinerea. The effects of SPA on cell wall integrity, cell membrane permeability, and mycelial morphology of B. cinerea were also determined. Additionally, how SPA effected B. cinerea in vivo was evaluated using cherry tomato fruit. The results showed that SPA effectively inhibited the spore germination and mycelial growth of B. cinerea under light conditions (4000 lx). SPA significantly affected both cell wall integrity and cell membrane permeability (P < .05). In addition, SEM analysis suggested that B. cinerea treated with SPA (12.134 mg/mL) showed abnormal mycelial morphology, including atrophy, collapse, flattening, and mycelial wall dissolution. In vivo tests showed that SPA could increase the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), and catalase (CAT) significantly (P < .05); however, SPA had no significant effect on phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL) activity. In short, SPA could destroy the fungal cell structure and enhance disease resistance-related enzyme activity in cherry tomatoes, thereby controlling cherry tomato gray mold.

Variations of bacterial community during the decomposition of Microcystis under different temperatures and biomass.

BACKGROUND: The decomposition of Microcystis can dramatically change the physicochemical properties of freshwater ecosystems. Bacteria play an important role in decomposing organic matters and accelerating the cycling of materials within freshwater lakes. However, actions of the bacterial community are greatly influenced by temperature and the amount of organic matter available to decompose during a bloom. Therefore, it is vital to understand how different temperatures and biomass levels affect the bacterial community during the decomposition of Microcystis. RESULTS: Microcystis addition reduced the diversity of bacterial community. The composition of bacterial community differed markedly between samples with different biomass of Microcystis (no addition, low biomass addition: 0.17 g/L, and high biomass addition: 0.33 g/L). In contrast, temperature factor did not contribute much to the different bacterial community composition. Total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), total organic carbon (TOC), ammonia nitrogen (NH4+-N) and oxidation-reduction potential (ORP) were the key measured environmental variables shaping the composition of bacterial community. CONCLUSIONS: Decomposition of Microcystis changed the physicochemical characteristics of the water and controlled the diversity and composition of the bacterial community. Microcystis biomass rather than temperature was the dominant factor affecting the diversity and composition of the bacterial community.

MicroRNA-492 overexpression involves in cell proliferation, migration, and radiotherapy response of cervical squamous cell carcinomas.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNA that target protein-coding mRNAs at the post-transcriptional level. The aim of this study was to define the role of miR-492 in cervical squamous cell carcinomas. After microRNA profiling and comparison, we firstly detected miR-492 expression in 104 tumor tissues biopsies derived from advanced staged (FIGO IIB-IIIB) cervical squamous cell carcinoma patients before receiving concomitant chemoradiotherapy and found miR-492 expression was significantly higher in the specimens that were sensitive to concomitant chemoradiotherapy, as compared with insensitive cancer specimens (P < 0.05). Moreover, higher expression of miR-492 was associated with pelvic lymph node metastasis (LNM) (P < 0.05). Further studies illustrated ectopic miR-492 overexpression in SiHa cells promoted cell proliferation, migration, and enhanced the sensitivity of cervical cancer cells to irradiation by promoting apoptosis. In addition, we identified TIMP2 as a direct miR-492 target, which has been shown to be critical in modulating cancer cell migration and invasion. We also confirmed that miR-492 expression levels in positive pelvic LNM were much higher than negative LNM and miR-492 played a vital role in pelvic lymph node metastasis via regulating miR-492/TIMP2/MMP10 axis. In particular, miR-492 was correlated with prognosis in the subgroup of patients with negative pelvic LNM (P < 0.05) and had a promising value in predicting treatment response in the subgroup of patients with positive pelvic LNM (an AUC of 85%, 75.00% specificity, and 95.24% sensitivity). Taken together, the results suggested that miR-492 may serve as a potential biomarker for cervical cancer treatment and prognosis.

[Expressions of JNK and p-JNK in advanced prostate cancer and their clinical implications].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the expressions of JNK and p-JNK in advanced prostate cancer (PCa) and benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and their implications. METHODS: Using immunohistochemistry, we detected the expressions of JNK and p-JNK proteins in 40 cases of paraffin wax-embedded PCa and 21 cases of BPH tissues and analyzed their relationships with advanced PCa and BPH as well as with the pathologic features of advanced PCa. RESULTS: Statistically significant differences were not found in the positive expression rate of the JNK protein between BPH and PCa (42.86% vs 52.50%, P>0.05), non-metastatic and metastatic PCa (53.85% vs 51.85%, P >0.05), Gleason ≤7 and Gleason >7 (58.82% vs 47.82%, P >0.05), PSA ≤20 µg/L and PSA >20 µg/L (57.14% vs 51.52%, P >0.05), or survival >5 yr and survival ≤5 yr (60.00% vs 45.00%, P >0.05), nor in the expression level of p-JNK between BPH and PCa (33.33% vs 35.00%, P >0.05), non-metastatic and metastatic PCa (30.77% vs 37.03%, P >0.05), Gleason ≤7 and Gleason >7 (35.29% vs 34.78%, P >0.05), or PSA ≤20 µg/L and PSA >20 µg/L (43.75% vs 10.93%, P >0.05). However, the expression of p-JNK was significantly higher in the survival >5 yr than in the survival ≤5 yr group of the PCa patients (50.00% vs 20.00%, P <0.05). CONCLUSIONS: PCa patients with highly expressed p-JNK have a longer survival time and the high positive rate of p-JNK is associated with the prognosis of PCa.

[Expressions of ERK and p-ERK in advanced prostate cancer].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the expressions of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) and p-ERK in benign and malignant prostate tissues, and whether it can be used as a marker for the prognosis of advanced prostate cancer (PCa). METHODS: Using immunohistochemical Envision, we detected the expressions of ERK1/2 and p-ERK1/2 in 20 cases of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and 40 cases of advanced PCa and analyzed their correlation with PCa metastasis, Gleason score, PSA level, and prognosis. RESULTS: The expression of ERK1/2 was remarkably higher in the advanced PCa than in the BPH cases (82.5% vs 55%, P<0.05), which was not associated with cancer metastasis, Gleason score, PSA level, or survival time of the patients with advanced PCa, and so was that of p-ERK1/2 (75.0% vs 35%, P<0.05), which was not associated with the Gleason score or PSA level of the PCa patients, either. The expression rates of p-ERK in the metastasis, non-metastasis, survival >5 yr, and survival ≤ 5 yr groups were 61.9%, 89.5%, 57.9%, and 90.5%, respectively, with statistically significant differences among these groups (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: ERK1/2 and p-ERK1/2 proteins are highly expressed in advanced PCa and p-ERK1/2 is associated with the metastasis and prognosis of advanced PCa.

New Types of Magnetic Nanoparticles for Stimuli-Responsive Theranostic Nanoplatforms.

Magnetic nanomaterials have played a crucial role in promoting the application of nanotechnology in the biomedical field. Although conventional magnetic nanomaterials such as iron oxide nanoparticles (NPs) are used as biosensors, drug delivery vehicles, diagnostic and treatment agents for several diseases, the persistent pursuit of high-performance technologies has prompted researchers to continuously develop new types of magnetic nanomaterials such as iron carbide NPs. Considering their potential application in biomedicine, magnetic NPs responsive to exogenous or endogenous stimuli are developed, thereby enhancing their applicability in more complex versatile scenarios. In this review, the synthesis and surface modification of magnetic NPs are focused, particularly iron carbide NPs. Subsequently, exogenous and endogenous stimuli-responsive magnetic NP-based theranostic platforms are introduced, particularly focusing on nanozyme-based technologies and magnetic NP-mediated immunotherapy, which are emerging stimuli-responsive treatments. Finally, the challenges and perspectives of magnetic NPs to accelerate future research in this field are discussed.