Dielectric barrier discharge plasma promotes disinfection-residual-bacteria inactivation via electric field and reactive species.

Traditional disinfection processes face significant challenges such as health and ecological risks associated with disinfection-residual-bacteria due to their single mechanism of action. Development of new disinfection processes with composite mechanisms is therefore urgently needed. In this study, we employed liquid ground-electrode dielectric barrier discharge (lgDBD) to achieve synergistic sterilization through electric field electroporation and reactive species oxidation. At a voltage of 12 kV, Pseudomonas fluorescens (ultraviolet and ozone-resistant) and Bacillus subtilis (chlorine-resistant) were completely inactivated within 8 and 6 min, respectively, surpassing a 7.0-log reduction. The lgDBD process showed good disinfection performance across a wide range of pH values and different practical water samples. Staining experiments suggest that cellular membrane damage contributes to this inactivation. In addition, we used a two-dimensional parallel streamer solver with kinetics code to fashion a representative model of the basic discharge unit, and discovered the presence of a persistent electric field during the discharge process with a peak value of 2.86 × 106 V/m. Plasma discharge generates excited state species such as O(1D) and N2(C3Πu), and further forms reactive oxygen and nitrogen species at the gas-liquid interface. The physical process, which is driven by electric field-induced cell membrane electroporation, synergizes with the bactericidal effects of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species to provide effective disinfection. Adopting the lgDBD process enhances sterilization efficiency and adaptability, underscoring its potential to revolutionize physicochemical synergistic disinfection practices.

Serum resolvin D1 potentially predicts neurofunctional recovery, the risk of recurrence and death in patients with acute ischemic stroke.

Resolvin D1 (RvD1) represses inflammation, oxidative damage and neural injury related to acute ischemic stroke (AIS) progression. The present study aimed to explore the association of serum RvD1 with disease features, neurological recovery and prognosis in patients with AIS. A total of 212 patients with newly diagnosed AIS, whose serum RvD1 was quantified at admission and at discharge using an ELISA were enrolled in the current study. The modified Rankin scale (mRS) score was noted at 3 months after patient enrolment (M3), and patients were followed up for a median duration of 11.4 (range, 1.1-21.0) months. The median RvD1 in patients with AIS at admission was 1.07 (range, 0.11-9.29) ng/ml and it was negatively correlated with the neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (r=-0.160; P=0.009) and C-reactive protein level (r=-0.272; P<0.001), but it was not correlated with comorbidities or other biochemical indexes. RvD1 at admission was lower in patients with mRS >2 at M3 (P=0.001), recurrence (P=0.001) or death (P=0.032) compared with that in patients without the aforementioned characteristics, which had a general ability to estimate mRS >2 at M3 [area under curve (AUC), 0.633], as well as lower risk of recurrence (AUC, 0.745) and death (AUC, 0.757) according to receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve analyses. The median RvD1 was raised to 1.70 (range, 0.30-16.62) ng/ml at discharge. RvD1 at discharge was able to forecast mRS >2 at M3 (AUC, 0.678) and was able to predict the risk of recurrence (AUC, 0.796) and death (AUC, 0.826) in the ROC curve analyses. Increased serum RvD1 was associated with an attenuated inflammation status, and predicted improved neurological recovery, and lower risk of recurrence and death in patients with AIS. More specifically, its level at discharge exhibits a better prognostic utility than that at admission.

Biochar-based microporous nanosheets-mediated nanoconfinement for high-efficiency reduction of Cr(VI).

Biochar-based materials have been widely used to remove Cr(VI). However, current strategies mainly focus on slow adsorption through electrostatic and functional group properties, ignoring the confinement catalytic fast kinetics caused by inherent porous properties. Herein, we designed a confinement strategy to achieve high-efficiency Cr(VI) reduction by encapsulating the catalytic reaction of Cr(VI) and oxalic acid (OA) in the micropore of PCRN-3-10-2-800. The results showed that the removal rate constant of the PCRN-3-10-2-800/OA system was 14.3 and 146.8 times higher than that of the BC-800/OA system (low porosity) and PCRN-3-10-2-800 alone (adsorption), which was highest removal rate constant in the current reported materials under the same system. The structure-activity relationship indicated that the catalytic activity of Cr(VI) depended on the micropore characteristics of the catalyst. Density functional theory calculations confirmed that nanoscale space could enhance Cr(VI) adsorption and reduce the energy barrier of the rate-determining step. The electron paramagnetic resonance spectrum demonstrated the rapid conversion of Cr(VI) to Cr(III). Furthermore, the PCRN-3-10-2-800/OA system showed good applicability and high efficiency for Cr(VI) removal (nearly 100% in 5 min) in industrial electroplating wastewater treatment. This work first proposes a nanoconfinement-induced heavy metal reduction strategy and guides biochar's universality design in wastewater treatment.

Knockdown of LINC00511 enhances radiosensitivity of lung adenocarcinoma via regulating miR-497-5p/SMAD3.

As the most common histological subtype of primary lung cancer, lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) causes enormous cancer deaths worldwide. Radiotherapy has been frequently used in LUAD cases, and radiosensitivity is vital for LUAD therapy. This research sought to explore the genetic factors affecting radiosensitivity in LUAD and inner mechanisms. LINC00511, miR-497-5p, and SMAD3 expression in LUAD cells were detected via qRT-PCR and western blot. CCK-8 assays, colony formation, and flow cytometry assays were employed to explore the cell viability, apoptosis, and radiosensitivity in PC-9 and A549 cells. The targeting relationship between LINC00511, miR-497-5p, and SMAD3 was verified by dual luciferase reporter assay. Furthermore, xenograft experiments were performed for the in vivo verification. In conclusion, LINC00511 was overexpressed in LUAD cells, which downregulated downstream miR-497-5p expression and mediately led to SMAD3 activation. LINC00511 downregulation suppressed cell viability while enhanced apoptosis rate in LUAD cells. Also, LINC00511 and SMAD3 were overexpressed, while miR-497-5p was downregulated in LUAD cells exposed to 4Gy irradiation treatment. Moreover, LINC00511 inhibition could block SMAD3 expression and promoted the radiosensitivity both in vitro and in vivo. These findings uncover LINC00511 knockdown promoted miR-497-5p expression and subsequently led to lower SMAD3 level, which enhanced radiosensitivity in LUAD cells. LINC00511/miR-497-5p/SMAD3 axis could be of considerable potential to enhance radiosensitivity in LUAD.

Which sediment fraction mainly drives microplastics aging process: Dissolved organic matter or colloids?

Riparian sediment is the last barrier preventing contaminants from polluting aquatic ecosystems. Recently, microplastics (MPs) have frequently been found in sediments. However, the MP aging process and its impact on sediments remain unknown. This study aimed to identify the key driving factors and mechanisms of riparian sediment on MPs aging behavior. The results showed that MPs surface suffered heavy breakage and the oxygen-to-carbon ratio of MPs increased by 268 % after accumulation in sediment for 214 d. The carbonyl index revealed that the degree of MP aging driven by dissolved organic matter (DOM) was 6.7-83.6 % greater than that of colloids, indicating that DOM was the key sediment fraction driving MP aging. Sunlight was an important environmental factor that enhanced MPs aging by sediment fractions, because photo-irradiated DOM produced hydroxyl and superoxide radicals to damage the MPs structure. Benzoic acid, dibenzoylmethane, and 4-heptyl-4,6-diphenyl-tetrahydro-pytan-2-one were the main products during the MP aging process under the interaction of sunlight and DOM, which showed acute toxicity to aquatic organisms and caused more severe toxicity during the chronic period. These results clearly clarify the behavior and environmental risk of MPs after accumulation in sediment, providing guide information to control MP pollution in the riparian zone.

Neoadjuvant transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) plus PD-1 inhibitor bridging to tumor resection in intermediate-stage hepatocellular carcinoma patients.

BACKGROUND: Programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) inhibitor is widely utilized in advanced-stage carcinomas including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), while its neoadjuvant application plus transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) in HCC remains unexplored. Thereby, the current study aimed to investigate the efficacy and safety of TACE plus PD-1 inhibitor as neoadjuvant therapy bridging to surgical resection in intermediate-stage HCC patients. METHODS: Twenty intermediate-stage HCC (China Liver Cancer (CNLC) stage II) patients treated with neoadjuvant TACE plus PD-1 inhibitor (camrelizumab or sintilimab) bridging to surgery were consecutively enrolled. RESULTS: The objective response rate (ORR) and disease control rate (DCR) to neoadjuvant therapy were 75.0% and 100.0%, respectively; meanwhile, alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) was decreased after the neoadjuvant therapy (P < 0.001). Moreover, 14 (70.0%) patients had successful downstaging (patients converted to CNLC stage I). Neither median disease-free survival (DFS) nor median overall survival (OS) was reached; additionally, the 1-year accumulating DFS rate was 86.6%; meanwhile, the 1-year and 2-year accumulating OS rates were 100.0% and 76.4%, separately. Moreover, patients with successful downstaging had a prolonged DFS (P = 0.014) compared to patients with failed downstaging; meanwhile, this trend was also observed in assessing accumulating OS (P = 0.067) (without statistical significance). Main adverse events included pain (50.0%), fever (25.0%), neutropenia (25.0%), nausea and vomiting (25.0%), fatigue (25.0%), peripheral neuropathy (20.0%), anemia (15.0%), thrombopenia (15.0%), diarrhea (15.0%), anorexia (15.0%), and rash (15.0%). CONCLUSION: Neoadjuvant TACE plus PD-1 inhibitor realizes a satisfying downstaging rate, acceptable survival profile, and tolerance in intermediate-stage HCC patients.

Safety and Efficacy of CT-Guided Central Venous Catheter Gastric Insufflation in Percutaneous Gastrostomy.

Gastric insufflation for computed tomography (CT)-guided percutaneous gastrostomy is currently performed via a nasogastric tube or a Chiba needle. However, nasogastric tube placement requires patient pharynx and esophagus, and Chiba needle use is associated with an increased risk of organ damage and prolonged operation time. Herein, we introduce a new method of gastric insufflation via a central venous catheter and explore its safety and efficacy by retrospective analysis of the clinical data of patients who underwent percutaneous gastrostomy using this method in our hospital from April 2021 to March 2022. The extracted data included the following: success rate, operation time, gastric insufflation time, radiation dose, postoperative pain score, and complications. We also compared the preoperative levels of several nutritional indicators (body mass index, hemoglobin, albumin, creatinine, and blood urea nitrogen) with those obtained 1 month postoperatively. A total of 12 patients underwent percutaneous gastrostomy under CT guidance using central venous catheter gastric insufflation. The surgery and gastric insufflation success rates were 100% both. The average operation time, gastric insufflation time, and effective radiation dose were 24.08 ± 5.25 min, 5.08 ± 2.50 min, and 14.16 ± 3.63 mSv, respectively. Based on the World Health Organization scale for pain assessment, five patients reported no postoperative pain and seven patients had mild pain. There were no serious complications, such as stoma infection, peritonitis, gastrointestinal perforation and bleeding, or embedding syndrome. All evaluated nutritional indicators showed improvement at 1 month postoperatively, with statistically significant differences compared to the preoperative values (p < 0.05 for all). In conclusion, CT-guided percutaneous gastrostomy with central venous catheter gastric insufflation is a safe, effective, and feasible minimally invasive treatment.

MALT1 regulates Th2 and Th17 differentiation via NF-κB and JNK pathways, as well as correlates with disease activity and treatment outcome in rheumatoid arthritis.

Objective: MALT1 regulates immunity and inflammation in multiple ways, while its role in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is obscure. This study aimed to investigate the relationship of MALT1 with disease features, treatment outcome, as well as its effect on Th1/2/17 cell differentiation and underlying molecule mechanism in RA. Methods: Totally 147 RA patients were enrolled. Then their blood Th1, Th2, and Th17 cells were detected by flow cytometry. Besides, PBMC MALT1 expression was detected before treatment (baseline), at week (W) 6, W12, and W24. PBMC MALT1 in 30 osteoarthritis patients and 30 health controls were also detected. Then, blood CD4+ T cells were isolated from RA patients, followed by MALT1 overexpression or knockdown lentivirus transfection and Th1/2/17 polarization assay. In addition, IMD 0354 (NF-κB antagonist) and SP600125 (JNK antagonist) were also added to treat CD4+ T cells. Results: MALT1 was increased in RA patients compared to osteoarthritis patients and healthy controls. Meanwhile, MALT1 positively related to CRP, ESR, DAS28 score, Th17 cells, negatively linked with Th2 cells, but did not link with other features or Th1 cells in RA patients. Notably, MALT1 decreased longitudinally during treatment, whose decrement correlated with RA treatment outcome (treatment response, low disease activity, or disease remission). In addition, MALT1 overexpression promoted Th17 differentiation, inhibited Th2 differentiation, less affected Th1 differentiation, activated NF-κB and JNK pathways in RA CD4+ T cells; while MALT1 knockdown exhibited the opposite effect. Besides, IMD 0354 and SP600125 addition attenuated MALT1's effect on Th2 and Th17 differentiation. Conclusion: MALT1 regulates Th2 and Th17 differentiation via NF-κB and JNK pathways, as well as correlates with disease activity and treatment outcome in RA.

Efficacy, safety and prognostic factors of camrelizumab plus carboplatin and pemetrexed chemotherapy in advanced lung adenocarcinoma patients.

WHAT IS KNOWN AND OBJECTIVE: Camrelizumab is a recently developed PD-1 inhibitor in China applied in treating different cancers including lung cancer. This study is designed to evaluate the efficacy, safety and prognostic factors for camrelizumab plus carboplatin and pemetrexed (CP) chemotherapy in treating patients with advanced lung adenocarcinoma. METHODS: Of 51 advanced lung adenocarcinoma patients with negative driver genes who received camrelizumab plus CP chemotherapy were recruited. These patients received four cycles of camrelizumab plus CP chemotherapy in a 21-day cycle. Then, camrelizumab, pemetrexed or camrelizumab plus pemetrexed was administered as maintenance therapy. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: The rates of complete response, partial response, stable disease and progressive disease were 2.0%, 56.8%, 19.6% and 5.9%, respectively; while treatment response of 15.7% of patients was missing or not evaluable. The objective response and disease control rates were 58.8% and 78.4%, respectively. With a median follow-up period of 14.9 months (the follow-up duration ranged from 3.9 months to 24.3 months), 41 (83.4%) cases of disease progression and 22 (43.1%) cases of death were recorded. The median progression-free survival (PFS) was 10.5 months (95% confidence interval (CI): 8.4-12.6 months) with a 1-year PFS rate of 36.3% and a 2-year PFS rate of 7.5%. In addition, the median overall survival (OS) was 18.7 months (95% CI: 16.4-21.0 months) with a 1-year OS rate of 79.1% and a 2-year OS rate of 30.4%. In consideration of safety, the most frequent adverse events were peripheral neuropathy (37.3%), neutropenia (37.3%), alopecia (35.3%), etc. and most of them were grade 1-2 and could be controlled. WHAT IS NEW AND CONCLUSION: Camrelizumab plus CP chemotherapy achieves favourable efficacy and tolerable adverse events in advanced lung adenocarcinoma patients.

Aging behavior of microplastics affected DOM in riparian sediments: From the characteristics to bioavailability.

Riparian zone is a hub for microplastics (MPs), and MPs accumulation also changes the function of the riparian zone (e.g., carbon pool) to pose a great threat to river ecosystems. Although it is known that MPs can be aged for changing their characteristic after accumulating in riparian sediment, the effect of MP aging behavior on sediment dissolved organic matter (DOM) bioavailability and carbon emission has not been elucidated. In this study, effects of pristine and aged MPs on the DOM characteristics and components were investigated in sediment. The results showed that pristine MPs increased DOM humification and promoted the formation of larger molecular weight components, thereby reducing DOM bioavailability by approximately 16~23% and inducing negative priming effect. However, inhibition of MPs on DOM bioavailability and the priming effect decreased with aging behavior. Mathematical models revealed that the fulvic acid-like substance of sediment DOM was the driven factor in the influence of sediment carbon stability. Further microbial analysis found that higher carbohydrate metabolism promoted DOM humification, thereby reducing CO2 emissions approximately by 19~26% after MPs accumulation. Thus, this study provided an integrated picture to understand the risk of MPs accumulation in sediment for a long term on terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

AKIP1 promotes tumor progression by cancer-related pathways and predicts prognosis in tongue squamous cell carcinoma.

The current study was designed to explore the effect of A-kinase-interacting protein 1 (AKIP1) on tongue squamous cell carcinoma (TSCC) viability and mobility and to investigate its molecular mechanism. Control overexpression (OE-NC group) and AKIP1 overexpression (OE-AKIP1 group) plasmids were transfected into CAL-27 cells; control knockdown (KD-NC group) and AKIP1 knockdown (KD-AKIP1 group) plasmids were transfected into SCC-9 cells. Cellular viability and mobility were determined, and mRNA sequencing was performed followed by RT-qPCR validation. Immunohistochemistry was utilized to detect AKIP1 expression in tumor and adjacent tissues from 90 TSCC patients. AKIP1 was more highly expressed in human TSCC cell lines compared to human normal lingual epithelial cells. Cell proliferation, migration, and invasion were increased in the OE-AKIP1 group compared to the OE-NC group but decreased in the KD-AKIP1 group compared to the KD-NC group. mRNA sequencing revealed 436 differentially expressed genes; most of the genes were mainly enriched in the mTOR, PI3K-Akt, MAPK, Hippo, and Wnt signaling pathways. These findings were subsequently confirmed by RT-qPCR quantification. In TSCC patients, AKIP1 expression was increased in tumor tissues and related to increased tumor size, lymph node metastasis and poor overall survival. AKIP1 is a therapeutic target that regulates multiple tumor-related pathways in TSCC.

SENP2 Reduces Hepatocellular Carcinoma Stemness and Improves Sorafenib Sensitivity Through Inactivating the AKT/GSK3ß/CTNNB1 Pathway.

BACKGROUND: Small ubiquitin-like modifier specific peptidase 2 (SENP2) suppresses the progression and chemoresistance of several cancers, while few studies report its role in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). This study aimed to evaluate the effect of SENP2 on stemness, sorafenib sensitivity, and downstream pathway in HCC, with validation of its molecular mechanisms by compensation experiment. METHODS: SENP2 was regulated by plasmid transfection; meanwhile, in a compensation experiment, protein kinase B (AKT) was activated by SC79 treatment and ß-catenin (CTNNB1) was overexpressed by plasmid transfection. After modification, sorafenib sensitivity was detected by cell counting kit-8 assay; stemness was evaluated by CD133+ cell proportion and sphere formation assay. RESULTS: SENP2 was decreased in HCC cell lines (including Hep3B, Li7, and Huh7) compared with normal human liver epithelial cell lines, which was further reduced in HCC stem cells than in normal HCC cells. Subsequently, SENP2 overexpression inhibited CD133+ cell proportion, decreased sphere formation ability, promoted sorafenib sensitivity, suppressed AKT and glycogen synthase kinase-3ß (GSK3ß) phosphorylation, and reduced CTNNB1 expression in Huh7 and Hep3B cells, while SENP2 knockdown showed the reverse effects. The following compensation experiment revealed that activating AKT or overexpressing CTNNB1 promoted CD133+ cell proportion and sphere formation ability but suppressed sorafenib sensitivity in Huh7 and Hep3B cells. Moreover, activating AKT or overexpressing CTNNB1 attenuated the effect of SENP2 overexpression on stemness and sorafenib sensitivity in Huh7 and Hep3B cells. CONCLUSION: SENP2 suppresses HCC stemness and increases sorafenib sensitivity through inactivating the AKT/GSK3ß/CTNNB1 signaling pathway.

Long non-coding RNA T cell factor 7 is associated with increased disease risk and poor prognosis, and promotes cell proliferation, attenuates cell apoptosis and miR-200c expression in multiple myeloma.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the association of long non-coding RNA T cell factor 7 (lncRNA TCF7) with disease risk, prognosis and its cellular function in multiple myeloma (MM). A total of 132 de novo symptomatic patients with MM and 50 controls were enrolled. Plasma cells from patients with MM and controls were separated from bone marrow samples to detect lncRNA TCF7 expression using reverse transcription-quantitative PCR. In addition, treatment responses, event-free survival (EFS) and overall survival (OS) were measured. The effects of lncRNA TCF7 on proliferation, apoptosis and microRNA-200c (miR-200c) expression were assessed by gain- and loss-of-function experiments in RPMI-8226 and U-266 cells. The results demonstrated that lncRNA TCF7 expression was upregulated in patients with MM compared with controls, and the receiver operating characteristic curve revealed that lncRNA TCF7 could distinguish patients with MM from controls with an area under the curve of 0.793 (95% CI, 0.725-0.861). In patients with MM, high lncRNA TCF7 expression was associated with higher ß2-microglobulin, more advanced International Staging System stage and increased t (14; 16) mutations. Furthermore, it was demonstrated that lncRNA TCF7 was downregulated in patients with complete response (CR) compared with patients without CR. Furthermore, high lncRNA TCF7 expression predicted worse EFS and OS. lncRNA TCF7 also promoted cell proliferation, whereas it reduced cell apoptosis and miR-200c expression in RPMI-8226 and U-266 cells. In conclusion, the present results suggested that lncRNA TCF7 may be used as a potential biomarker and as a treatment target for MM.

Association of kinesin family member 2A with increased disease risk, deteriorative clinical characteristics, and shorter survival profiles in acute myeloid leukemia

This study aimed to explore the correlation of kinesin family member 2A (KIF2A) expression with disease risk, clinical characteristics, and prognosis of acute myeloid leukemia (AML), and investigate the effect of KIF2A knockdown on AML cell activities in vitro. Bone marrow samples were collected from 176 AML patients and 40 healthy donors, and KIF2A expression was measured by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Treatment response, event-free survival (EFS), and overall survival (OS) were assessed in AML patients. In vitro, KIF2A expression in AML cell lines and CD34+ cells (from healthy donors) was measured, and the effect of KIF2A knockdown on AML cell proliferation and apoptosis in HL-60 and KG-1 cells was detected. KIF2A expression was greater in AML patients compared to healthy donors, and receiver operating characteristic curve indicated that KIF2A expression predicted increased AML risk (area under curve: 0.793 (95%CI: 0.724-0.826)). In AML patients, KIF2A expression positively correlated with white blood cells, monosomal karyotype, and high risk stratification. Furthermore, no correlation of KIF2A expression with complete remission or hematopoietic stem cell transplantation was found. Kaplan-Meier curves showed that KIF2A expression was negatively correlated with EFS and OS. In vitro experiments showed that KIF2A was overexpressed in AML cell lines (KG-1, HL-60, ME-1, and HT-93) compared to CD34+ cells, moreover, cell proliferation was reduced but apoptosis was increased by KIF2A knockdown in HL-60 and KG-1 cells. In conclusion, KIF2A showed potential to be a biomarker and treatment target in AML.

Association of kinesin family member 2A with increased disease risk, deteriorative clinical characteristics, and shorter survival profiles in acute myeloid leukemia.

This study aimed to explore the correlation of kinesin family member 2A (KIF2A) expression with disease risk, clinical characteristics, and prognosis of acute myeloid leukemia (AML), and investigate the effect of KIF2A knockdown on AML cell activities in vitro. Bone marrow samples were collected from 176 AML patients and 40 healthy donors, and KIF2A expression was measured by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Treatment response, event-free survival (EFS), and overall survival (OS) were assessed in AML patients. In vitro, KIF2A expression in AML cell lines and CD34+ cells (from healthy donors) was measured, and the effect of KIF2A knockdown on AML cell proliferation and apoptosis in HL-60 and KG-1 cells was detected. KIF2A expression was greater in AML patients compared to healthy donors, and receiver operating characteristic curve indicated that KIF2A expression predicted increased AML risk (area under curve: 0.793 (95%CI: 0.724-0.826)). In AML patients, KIF2A expression positively correlated with white blood cells, monosomal karyotype, and high risk stratification. Furthermore, no correlation of KIF2A expression with complete remission or hematopoietic stem cell transplantation was found. Kaplan-Meier curves showed that KIF2A expression was negatively correlated with EFS and OS. In vitro experiments showed that KIF2A was overexpressed in AML cell lines (KG-1, HL-60, ME-1, and HT-93) compared to CD34+ cells, moreover, cell proliferation was reduced but apoptosis was increased by KIF2A knockdown in HL-60 and KG-1 cells. In conclusion, KIF2A showed potential to be a biomarker and treatment target in AML.

Long non-coding RNA zinc finger antisense 1 expression associates with increased disease risk, elevated disease severity and higher inflammatory cytokines levels in patients with lumbar disc degeneration.

This study aimed to investigate the correlation of long noncoding RNA zinc finger antisense 1 (lncRNA ZFAS1) expression with disease risk, disease severity and inflammatory cytokines levels in lumbar disc degeneration (LDD) patients.83 LDD patients underwent surgery and 28 traumatized, non-LDD patients underwent lumbar disc surgery (controls) were consecutively enrolled in this case-control study. Lumbar disc tissue was obtained during surgery and herniated nucleus pulposus (HNP) was isolated to detect lncRNA ZFAS1 expression and inflammatory cytokines mRNA levels by RT-qPCR, and determine protein levels of inflammatory cytokines by western blot.HNP lncRNA ZFAS1 expression in LDD patients was up-regulated compared with controls (P < .001), and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve showed lncRNA ZFAS1 expression disclosed a good predictive value for LDD risk with area under curve (AUC) 0.753 (95% CI 0.646-0.859). And after adjustment by age, gender and body mass index (BMI), lncRNA ZFAS1 (P = .017) remained to be an independent predictive factor for higher LDD risk. In addition, lncRNA ZFAS1 expression was positively associated with Modified Pfirrmann Grade (P = .015). As to inflammatory cytokines, lncRNA ZFAS1 expression was observed to be positively correlated with TNF-α (P = .002), IL-1ß (P = .007) and IL-6 (P = .015) mRNAs expressions while reversely associated with IL-10 mRNA level (P = .014); and lncRNA ZFAS1 expression was also positively correlated with protein levels of TNF-α (P = .038) and IL-6 (P = .027) while reversely associated with IL-10 protein expression (P = .039).lncRNA ZFAS1 expression associates with increased risk, elevated disease severity and higher inflammatory cytokines levels in LDD patients.

EIF3B correlates with advanced disease stages and poor prognosis, and it promotes proliferation and inhibits apoptosis in non-small cell lung cancer.

BACKGROUND: Although up-regulation of EIF3B correlates with poor prognosis in carcinomas, the role of EIF3B in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is rarely known. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to investigate correlation of EIF3B with clinicopathological features and prognosis in NSCLC patients, and clarify its effect on cells proliferation and apoptosis. METHODS: Two hundred and eleven NSCLC patients underwent surgery were retrospectively reviewed. Tumor tissue and paired adjacent tissue were obtained. EIF3B expression was detected by immunohistochemistry, qPCR and western blot. EIF3B inhibitor, blank inhibitor, blank mimic and EIF3B mimic plasmids were transfected to A-549 cells. Cells proliferation and apoptosis were measured by CCK-8 and AV/PI. All processes were repeated for validation in PC9 cells. RESULTS: EIF3B expression increased in tumor tissue compared to paired adjacent tissue, and positively correlated with tumor size, lymph node metastasis and TNM stage. K-M curves revealed patients with EIF3B high expression had shorter DFS and OS, and its high expression independently predicted unfavorable DFS and OS. In vitro, EIF3B expression increased in NSCLC cells compared to normal cells. EIF3B increased cells proliferation but inhibited cells apoptosis. CONCLUSIONS: EIF3B overexpression correlates with advanced disease conditions and poor prognosis, and it promotes cells proliferation while inhibits apoptosis in NSCLC.

Highly sensitive and selective determination of Hg(II) based on microfluidic chip with on-line fluorescent derivatization.

In this study, a convenient, sensitive, rapid and simple method was developed on microfluidic chip which was integrated with on-line complexing and laser-induced fluorescence detection. A rhodamine derivative (RD) was developed as a fluorescent chemosensor for Hg(II). It exhibited high selective recognition toward Hg(II) over other examined metal ions in water samples. Under the optimized conditions, the response was linearly proportional to the concentration of Hg(II) in the range of 0-70 µM with a detection limit of 0.031 µM. Satisfactory repeatability and reproducibility were achieved, with a relative standard deviation (RSD) of 6.62%. The established method was successfully applied for the determination of Hg(II) in environmental water samples (surface water, tap water, and waste water). Recoveries obtained for the determination of Hg(II) in spiking samples ranged from 85% to 103%.

Magnetic solid-phase extraction for the analysis of bisphenol A, naproxen and triclosan in wastewater samples.

Magnetic Fe3O4 graphene oxide nanocomposite was synthesized by chemical coprecipitation method and characterized by scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectra and X-ray diffraction. A simple, rapid, convenient and environmentally friendly method was developed for separation and pre-concentration of trace amounts of bisphenol A, naproxen and triclosan in wastewater samples by high performance liquid chromatography with magnetic Fe3O4 graphene oxide nanocomposite as the adsorbent for magnetic solid-phase extraction. Various parameters possibly influencing the extraction performance such as amount of the adsorbent, extraction time, sample pH and elution conditions were optimized. Under the optimal working conditions, the developed method showed good linearity (R > 0.9997) in the range of 1-200 µg/L, and the limits of detection are between 0.5 and 0.8 µg/L. The enrichment factors are in the range of 81-89. The repeatability of the method, expressed as relative standard deviation, is 3.36-4.26%.

MicroRNA-181a functions as an oncomir in gastric cancer by targeting the tumour suppressor gene ATM.

Based on our previous experiments, this study is to further investigate the functional significance of miR-181a and its target gene in gastric cancer. Expression of miR-181a was detected by qRT-PCR in three normal gastric tissues and three human gastric cancer cell lines (SGC-7901, MGC-803, and BGC-823 cells). After transfection with miR-181a inhibitor, proliferation, apoptosis, migration, and invasion of the SGC-7901 cells were evaluated. Ataxia-telangiectasia mutation (ATM) was predicted as a target gene of miR-181a with bioinformatics analysis, and was verified by lucifersae reporter assay. Expression of ATM protein in HEK293T cells and tissues was measured by Western Blot. Expression of ATM mRNA in HEK293T cells was measured by RT-PCR. Compared with three non-tumour tissues, the expression of miR-181a in three gastric cancer cells was significantly increased by 26.68, 14.83 and 14.96 folds; Compared with Negative Control(NC) and blank groups, transfection of miR-181a inhibitor led to inhibition of SGC7901 cell proliferation, invasion, and migration as well as promotion of apoptosis. A luciferase reporter assay demonstrated that ATM was a direct target of miR-181a, miR-181a mimics transfection down regulated ATM mRNA and protein expression. There was inverse correlation between miR-181a and ATM protein expression in gastric cancer and normal gastric tissues. Our study demonstrates that over-expression of miR-181a might be involved in development of gastric cancer by promoting proliferation and inhibiting apoptosis probably through directly targeting ATM. miR-181a modulation may be a potential strategy for the development of miRNA-based therapy of gastric cancer.