Atomic Layer Deposition of TiO2 on Si Window Enables In Situ ATR-SEIRAS Measurements in Strong Alkaline Electrolytes.

The Si window is the most widely used internal reflection element (IRE) for electrochemical attenuated total reflection surface-enhanced infrared absorption spectroscopy (ATR-SEIRAS), yet local chemical etching on Si by concentrated OH- anions bottlenecks the reliable application of this method in strong alkaline electrolytes. In this report, atomic layer deposition of a 25 nm nonconductive TiO2 barrier layer on the reflecting plane of a Si prism is demonstrated to address this challenge. In situ ATR-SEIRAS measurement on a Au film electrode with the Si/TiO2 composite IRE in 1 M NaOH reveals reversible global spectral features without spectral distortion at 1000-1300 cm-1, in stark contrast to those obtained with a bare Si window. By applying this structured ATR-SEIRAS, ethanol electrooxidation on a Pt/C catalyst in 1 and 5 M NaOH is explored, manifesting that such high pH values prevent the adsorption of as-formed acetate in the C2 pathway but not that of CO intermediate in the C1 pathway.

Autophagy-related risk signature based on CDNK2A to facilitate survival prediction of patients with endometrial cancer.

BACKGROUND: Autophagy plays an important role in immunity and inflammation. The present study aimed to explore the prognostic significance of autophagy-related genes (ARGs) in endometrial cancer (EC) using bioinformatics. METHODS: The list of ARGs was obtained from the Human Autophagy Database. The differentially expressed ARGs (DEARGs) between the EC and normal endometrial tissue samples were screened from The Cancer Genome Atlas database. Cox regression analysis was performed on the DEARGs to screen the prognostic ARGs and construct risk signatures for overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS). The hub ARGs were identified from a protein-protein interaction network, and CDKN2A was obtained from the intersection of prognostic ARGs and hub ARGs. The association of CDKN2A expression with clinical characteristics and immune infiltration were analyzed. Finally, the role of CDKN2A in autophagy was confirmed in EC cell lines. RESULTS: CDKN2A, PTK6 and DLC1 were used to establish risk signatures for predicting the survival of EC patients. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis indicated that the risk signatures can accurately predict both OS and PFS. CDKN2A was the only hub prognostic ARG, and showed significant association with the age, survival status, grade, histological type, body mass index and FIGO (i.e. International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics) stage (p < 0.05). Furthermore, CDKN2A expression was also correlated with the infiltration of immune cells, indicating that CDKN2A might play a critical role in regulating the immune microenvironment and immune responses in EC. In addition, silencing of CDKN2A gene promoted autophagy in the HEC-1A cell line and upregulated the expression levels of autophagy-related proteins. CONCLUSIONS: CDKN2A is a prognostic factor and therapeutic target in EC, and is likely associated with the tumor immune landscape and autophagy.

Orthokeratology combined with spectacles in moderate to high myopia adolescents.

PURPOSE: Wearing ortho-k lenses overnight may not fully correct their daytime refractory errors of adolescents with moderate to high myopia. There are three common ways to deal with the daytime residual refractive error (RRE): 1) wearing spectacles to correct the RRE; 2) wear ortho-k lenses during the daytime instead of overnight.; 3) not correcting the residual refractive error. According to previous laboratory studies, myopic peripheral refraction is associated with better myopic control. This study had two aims:1) to compare relative peripheral refractive error (RPRE) among these ways after one-month stabilization; 2) to assess the axial length changes over 2 years of ortho-k lens overnight wear combined with spectacle glasses. METHODS: This was a prospective, non-controlled, non-randomized, observational study in which a total of 27 subjects (20 females, 7 males, mean age 12.48 ± 2.23Y) with spherical equivalent refractive error from -5.00 to -8.25D were enrolled. All participants in the study wore orthokeratology (ortho-k) lenses overnight for a minimum of one month. Subsequently, their peripheral refractive error (PRE) was assessed using an open-field autorefractor. During the assessment, the participants underwent three conditions in a random order in a same morning: 1) unaided eye after orthokeratology (referred to as the Unaided-eye condition), 2) wearing glasses to correct any remaining refractive errors after orthokeratology (referred to as the Spec-RE condition), and 3) wearing ortho-k lenses during the daytime (referred to as the Continuous OK wear condition). After testing, all subjects were instructed to wear ortho-k lenses overnight and glasses during the daytime to correct their RRE for the next 2 years, during which time the progression of their axial length was followed up. RESULTS: 1) RPRE in either Unaided-eye or Spec-RE condition subjects were significantly more myopic than those in the Continuous OK wear condition. 2) No difference in RPRE was seen between Unaided-eye and Spec-RE conditions. 3) Axial length growth was 0.05 ± 0.20 mm and 0.17 ± 0.32 mm (mean ± standard deviation) at 1-year and 2-year follow-ups after the initial visit, respectively, which were comparable to mild myopia patients after orthokeratology. 4) After orthokeratology, axial length change had negative correlation with the initial age (p = 0.001, r = -0.616) and residual diopter (p = 0.022). CONCLUSIONS: For myopes above refraction < -5.00D, wearing Ortho-k lenses overnight and glasses to correct the RRE in the daytime is recommended to ensure good visual quality and have more myopic RPRE for potential myopia control.

Ovarian carcinoma immune-related microRNA affects the heterogeneity of the endocrine microenvironment and anti-tumor immune pattern.

BACKGROUND: The eighth-leading cause of cancer-related mortality and the seventh-most prevalent malignancy in women globally is ovarian cancer (OV). However, 5-year survival expectancy after conventional treatment is not good. Therefore, there is an urgent need for novel signatures to guide the designation of therapeutic schemes for OV patients. METHODS: We used univariate Cox analysis to screen hormone secretion regulation axis-related microRNAs (miRNAs), least absolute shrinkage and selection operator analysis to select candidate miRNAs and multivariate Cox analysis to build the risk model. To evaluate possible route and functional differences, enrichment analysis using Gene Ontology (GO) and the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) were performed on the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) across various risk groups. We compared Tumor Immune Dysfunction and Exclusion (TIDE) scores across risk categories by analyzing immune cell infiltration, immune checkpoint gene expression, immunological function and TIDE scores. In the end, we determined the half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50 ) of chemotherapy and targeted medicines for individual patients. Cell assays were determined to test the migration of the miRNA-target genes and western blotting was used to test the correlation of the miRNA-target genes and the pathways. RESULTS: We finally identified hormone secretion regulation axis-related 13 microRNAs to build a risk model. The validation of observed and anticipated values revealed a fair level of agreement. To evaluate the molecular pathways between various groups in accordance with the GO and KEGG analyses, we then discovered 173 DEGs between distinct risk groups. The risk score was shown to be inversely related to the number of immune cells, including myeloid dendritic, granulocytes, M1 and M2 macrophages, B cells, t-lymphocytes, and CD4+ and CD8+ cells, suggesting that immune cells are more frequent in the low-risk group. Immune cell infiltration investigation yielded these results. Finally, we recognized 11 chemotherapeutic drugs and 30 novels targeted drugs on the basis of IC50 between the different risk groups. GJB5 was determined to be the mir-219 target gene and was identified as promoting the cell cycle process. In addition, hormone secretion regulation axis related miRNAs were reported to affects the heterogeneity of endocrine microenvironment and anti-tumor immune pattern. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, a 13-miRNA prognostic model was constructed to know the immune status, prognosis, immunotherapeutic response and anti-tumor drug sensitivity for OV, which provides theoretical guidance for the effective and individualized treatment of OV patients.

The inflammatory response-related robust machine learning signature in endometrial cancer: Based on multi-cohort studies.

Uterine corpus endometrial carcinoma (UCEC) is a prevalent form of cancer in women, affecting the inner lining of the uterus. Inflammation plays a crucial role in the progression and prognosis of cancer, making it important to identify inflammatory response-related subtypes in UCEC for targeted therapy and personalized medicine. This study discovered significant variation in immune response within UCEC tumors based on molecular subtypes of inflammatory response-related genes. Subtype A showed a more favorable prognosis and better response to immunotherapies like anti-CTLA4 and anti-PDCD1 therapy. Functional analysis revealed subtype-specific differences in immune response, with subtype A exhibiting higher expression of genes related to cytokine signaling pathways, NK cell-mediated cytotoxicity pathways and inflammatory processes. Subtype A also showed increased sensitivity to three chemotherapeutic agents. A 12-gene inflammatory response-related signature was found to have prognostic value for 1, 2 and 3 year survival in UCEC patients. Additionally, a validated machine learning-based signature demonstrated significant differences in clinical traits between low-risk and high-risk cohorts. Elevated risk scores were associated with higher pathological grading, older age, advanced stage and immune subtype C2. Low-risk groups had higher infiltration of immune cell types such as CD8 + T cells and activated CD4 + cells. However, the abundance of cytotoxic immune cells decreased with increasing risk scores. Finally, PCR was applied to test the different expression in P2PX4. P2RX4 knockdown inhibited the proliferation and proliferation of the endometrial carcinoma Ishikawa cell line. In conclusion, this developed signature can serve as a clinical prediction index and reveal distinct immune expression patterns. Ultimately, this study has the potential to enhance targeted therapy and personalized medicine for UCEC patients.

Micropeptide MIAC inhibits the tumor progression by interacting with AQP2 and inhibiting EREG/EGFR signaling in renal cell carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Although, micropeptides encoded by non-coding RNA have been shown to have an important role in a variety of tumors processes, there have been no reports on micropeptide in renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Based on the micropeptide MIAC (micropeptide inhibiting actin cytoskeleton) discovered and named in the previous work, this study screened its tumor spectrum, and explored its mechanism of action and potential diagnosis and treatment value in the occurrence and development of renal carcinoma. METHODS: The clinical significance of MIAC in RCC was explored by bioinformatics analysis through high-throughput RNA-seq data from 530 patients with kidney renal clear cell carcinoma (KIRC) in the TCGA database, and the detection of clinical samples of 70 cases of kidney cancer. In vitro and in vivo experiments to determine the role of MIAC in renal carcinoma cell growth and metastasis; High-throughput transcriptomics, western blotting, immunoprecipitation, molecular docking, affinity experiments, and Streptavidin pulldown experiments identify MIAC direct binding protein and key regulatory pathways. RESULTS: The analysis of 600 renal carcinoma samples from different sources revealed that the expression level of MIAC is significantly decreased, and corelated with the prognosis and clinical stage of tumors in patients with renal carcinoma. Overexpression of MIAC in renal carcinoma cells can significantly inhibit the proliferation and migration ability, promote apoptosis of renal carcinoma cells, and affect the distribution of cells at various stages. After knocking down MIAC, the trend is reversed. In vivo experiments have found that MIAC overexpression inhibit the growth and metastasis of RCC, while the synthetized MIAC peptides can significantly inhibit the occurrence and development of RCC in vitro and in vivo. Further mechanistic studies have demonstrated that MIAC directly bind to AQP2 protein, inhibit EREG/EGFR expression and activate downstream pathways PI3K/AKT and MAPK to achieve anti-tumor effects. CONCLUSIONS: This study revealed for the first time the tumor suppressor potential of the lncRNA-encoded micropeptide MIAC in RCC, which inhibits the activation of the EREG/EGFR signaling pathway by direct binding to AQP2 protein, thereby inhibiting renal carcinoma progression and metastasis. This result emphasizes that the micropeptide MIAC can provide a new strategy for the diagnosis and treatment of RCC.

Assessment of patient compliance in orthokeratology and analysis of influencing factors: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Patient non-compliance, that is, failure to perform standard wear and care orthokeratology (ortho-k) lenses procedures, has been shown to be a major risk factor for contact lens-associated complications. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the compliance with wear and care behaviors of ortho-k patients and analyze its influencing factors. METHODS: Patients who were successfully prescribed ortho-k lenses at the Eye Center of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine (ECSAHZU) were enrolled in the study. Patient compliance with wear and care behaviors was examined through a questionnaire. RESULTS: This study assessed 238 subjects. The subjects' ages ranged from 7 to 25 (mean ± SD, 11.3 ± 2.5) years. The compliance with wear and care behaviors was 19.7%, and the subjects' self-assessment compliance was 96.6%. The compliance rate of subjects wearing lenses for less than 1 year was higher than that of subjects wearing lenses for more than 1 year (p < 0.001). In the first year, the compliance rates of wearing experiences for less than 1 month, 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, and more than 6 months were 45, 29, 21.6, 20, and 27.6%, respectively, and there were no statistically significant differences in compliance among these periods (p = 0.314). No correlation was identified between compliance and age (r = - 0.061, p = 0.527) or sex (r = 0.114, p = 0. 751). There was no correlation between compliance and lens care operator (r = - 0.626, p = 0.151). CONCLUSIONS: The compliance of ortho-k patients was poor. After wearing ortho-k lenses for more than 1 year, compliance with wear and care behaviors declined. In clinical practice, measures should be taken to solve these problems and improve the safety of wearing ortho-k lenses.

The impact of environmental regulation on firm performance: Evidence from the Chinese cement industry.

The relationship between environmental regulation and firm performance is a central question in environmental economics. Although many empirical works study this question, economists have not reached a consensus on the nature of the relationship or the mechanism that drives it. Based on the off-peak production policy in the Chinese cement market, this paper uses the differences-in-differences model to study the impact of environmental regulation on the revenue and profit of listed companies. We find that the environmental regulation has negative impacts on firms' revenue and profit. According to further analysis, the main reason for this firm performance decline is that the relatively large elasticity of market demand prevents enterprises from passing regulatory costs through to consumers. Although the policy has caused the cement price to increase by 8%, it has led cement consumption to decrease by 16%.

Dual-terminal decentralized event-triggered control for switched systems with cyber attacks and quantization.

This article concerns dual-terminal event-triggered communication and decentralized control of switched systems that are the target of cyber attacks. Due to different properties of physical system, this system uses decentralized communication channels to transmit feedback data. In order to make efficient use of communication resources in each channel, the information sent by the sub-system needs to meet the given event-triggering conditions before it can be released. Moreover, the quantization is employed in both sides of the controller to further improve the data transmission efficiency. Then, considering that the triggered and quantified data are affected by dual-terminal cyber attacks, the event-triggered closed-loop switched (CLS) systems under attacks are derived. Furthermore, by utilizing average dwell time (ADT) technique and piecewise Lyapunov function (LF) method, sufficient conditions are given to ensure that the event-triggered CLS systems subject to dual-terminal cyber attacks are globally exponentially stable (GES). Accordingly, the design conditions for the gains of event-triggered dynamic output feedback (DOF) controllers and the parameters of decentralized event-triggering mechanisms (DETMs) are presented. Finally, simulations for verifying the system stability with and without cyber attacks are given.

Sustainable operation of submerged Anammox membrane bioreactor with recycling biogas sparging for alleviating membrane fouling.

A submerged anaerobic ammonium oxidizing (Anammox) membrane bioreactor with recycling biogas sparging for alleviating membrane fouling has been successfully operated for 100d. Based on the batch tests, a recycling biogas sparging rate at 0.2m(3)h(-1) was fixed as an ultimate value for the sustainable operation. The mixed liquor volatile suspended solid (VSS) of the inoculum for the long operation was around 3000mgL(-1). With recycling biogas sparging rate increasing stepwise from 0 to 0.2m(3)h(-1), the reactor reached an influent total nitrogen (TN) up to 1.7gL(-1), a stable TN removal efficiency of 83% and a maximum specific Anammox activity (SAA) of 0.56kg TNkg(-1) VSSd(-1). With recycling biogas sparging rate at 0.2 m(3) h(-1) (corresponding to an aeration intensity of 118m(3)m(-2)h(-1)), the membrane operation circle could prolong by around 20 times compared to that without gas sparging. Furthermore, mechanism of membrane fouling was proposed. And with recycling biogas sparging, the VSS and EPS content increasing rate in cake layer were far less than the ones without biogas sparging. The TN removal performance and sustainable membrane operation of this system showed the appealing potential of the submerged Anammox MBR with recycling biogas sparging in treating high-strength nitrogen-containing wastewaters.