Rethinking the stability of metal nanoclusters: the individual versus the collective.

Research on the stability of metal nanoclusters and their molecular/supramolecular chemistry has proceeded significantly independently thus far. We herein have demonstrated that the stability of a nanocluster-based system should be assessed from both the cluster individual aspect (i.e., the energy of the molecular conformer) and the cluster collective aspect (i.e., the energy of the supramolecular lattice). A pair of Au2Cu6 cluster polymorphs, including Au2Cu6-triclinic and Au2Cu6-trigonal, was developed here to reveal the energy and stability contributions of both cluster conformers and crystalline lattices to their total systems. This work hopefully promotes a comprehensive understanding of the stability of cluster-based nano-systems which is beneficial for their downstream applications.

Association between schizophrenia and prostate cancer risk: Results from a pool of cohort studies and Mendelian randomization analysis.

BACKGROUND: Observational studies analyzing the risk of prostate cancer in schizophrenia patients have generated mixed results. We performed a meta-analysis and a Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis to evaluate the relationship and causality between schizophrenia and the risk of prostate cancer. METHODS: A comprehensive and systematic search of cohort studies was conducted, and a random-effects model meta-analysis was performed to calculate the standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) for prostate cancer incidence among schizophrenia patients versus the general population. To investigate the correlation between genetically-predicted schizophrenia and prostate cancer risk, we used summary statistics from the Prostate Cancer Association Group to Investigate Cancer Associated Alterations in the Genome (PRACTICAL) consortium (61,106 controls and 79,148 cases), and 75 schizophrenia-associated single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) from European descent as the instrumental variable. RESULTS: In the meta-analysis of 13 cohort studies with 218,076 men involved, a decreased risk of prostate cancer was observed among schizophrenia patients [SIR 0.610; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.500-0.740; p < 0.001] with significant heterogeneity (I2 = 83.3%; p < 0.001). However, MR analysis did not sustain the link between genetically-predicted schizophrenia and prostate cancer [odds ratio (OR) 1.033; 95% CI 0.998-1.069; p = 0.065]. The result was robust against extensive sensitivity analyses. CONCLUSIONS: Our study indicated a decreased risk of prostate cancer in schizophrenia patients through meta-analysis, while MR analysis did not support the connection between schizophrenia and prostate cancer. Due to the interaction of genetic variants between binary exposures, we need to be cautious in interpreting and presenting causal associations. Moreover, further research is needed to investigate underlying factors that might link schizophrenia to the risk of prostate cancer.

Anti-Fatigue Peptides from the Enzymatic Hydrolysates of Cervus elaphus Blood.

Red deer (Cervus elaphus) blood is widely used as a health product. Mixed culture fermentation improves the flavor and bioavailability of deer blood (DB), and both DB and its enzymatic hydrolysates exhibit anti-fatigue activities in vivo. To elucidate the bioactive ingredients, enzymatic hydrolysates were fractioned into different peptide groups using reversed phase resin chromatography, and then evaluated using an exhaustive swimming mice model to assess swimming time and biochemical parameters. The structures of the bioactive peptides were elucidated by high performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass detection. Thirty-one compounds were identified as glutamine or branched-chain amino acids containing short peptides, of which Val-Ala-Asn, Val-Val-Ser-Ala, Leu(Ile)-Leu(Ile)-Val-Thr, Pro-His-Pro-Thr-Thr, Glu-Val-Ala-Phe and Val-Leu(Ile)-Asp-Ala-Phe are new peptides. The fractions containing glutamine or valine short peptides, Ala-Gln, Val-Gln, Val-Val-Ser-Ala, Val-Leu(Ile)-Ser improved exercise endurance by increasing hepatic glycogen (HG) storage. The peptides group containing Leu(Ile)-Leu(Ile), Asp-Gln, Phe- Leu(Ile), Val-Val-Tyr-Pro contributed to decreased muscle lactic acid (MLA)accumulation and to an increase in HG. The anti-fatigue activities of DB hydrolysates were attributed to the synergistic effects of different types of peptides.

Age at first birth and lung cancer: a two-sample Mendelian randomization study.

BACKGROUND: Growing evidence suggests that female reproductive factors, like age at first birth (AFB), may play a potential role in the progression of lung cancer (LC). However, previous studies are susceptible to confounding factors, inadequate attention to variation by histology or reverse causality. Few studies have comprehensively evaluated their association and the causal effect remains unclear. METHODS: We aimed to determine whether AFB is causally correlated with the risk of LC, by means of utilizing aggregated data from the large genome-wide association studies conducted on AFB (251,151 individuals) and data of LC from International Lung and Cancer Consortium (ILCCO, 11,348 cases and 15,861 controls). We used 10 AFB-related single nucleotide polymorphisms as instrument variables and applied several two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) methods. Secondary results according to different histological subtypes of lung cancer were also implemented. RESULTS: Conventional inverse-variance weighted method indicated that genetic predisposition towards number unit (1 year) increase of AFB was associated with a 18% lower risk of LC [odds ratio (OR) =0.82, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.69-0.97; P=0.029]. When results were examined by histotypes, an inverse association was observed between genetically predisposed number unit (1 year) increase of AFB and lung adenocarcinoma (OR =0.75, 95% CI: 0.59-0.97, P=0.017) but not with squamous cell lung cancer (OR =0.77, 95% CI: 0.57-1.05, P=0.103). The results demonstrated no association between number unit decrease of AFB and LC. Pleiotropy was not presented through sensitivity analyses including MR pleiotropy residual sum and outlier test (P=0.412). Genetic predisposition towards older AFB was additionally associated with longer years of schooling (OR =1.12, 95% CI: 1.08-1.16, P<0.001), lower body mass index (OR =0.93, 95% CI: 0.88-0.98, P=0.004) and less alcohol consumption (OR =0.99, 95% CI: 0.99-1.00, P=0.004). CONCLUSIONS: Our study suggested that older AFB was a causal protective factor in the progression of LC. Further studies elucidating the potential mechanisms are needed.

Diatom assemblages from sediment traps in response to large seaweed Gracilaria cultivation off Nan'ao island, South China.

Most previous studies on seaweed bioremediation largely focus on laboratory control tests or short-time, in-situ field experiments. Here we present a dataset from 4-year-long field monitoring (2014-2018) in a mariculture area of the Baisha Bay off Nan'ao Island, South China, attempting to examine how the large seaweed Gracilaria lemaneiformis cultivation affects a mariculture ecosystem. The temporal variation in seawater physicochemical properties (TN, TP, Reactive silicate, CODMn, and chlorophyll α) and sediment proxies (TN and TP) suggest that the Baisha Bay maintained a better water quality during the Gracilaria cultivation periods (December-May) than other months. Additionally, sedimentary diatom assemblages during the Gracilaria cultivation periods showed an increase in Shannon-Wiener values, but a decrease in the dominant Thalassionema nitzschioides abundance, total diatom abundances and P/(A + B) ratios [Planktonic/(Attached + Benthic)]. These changes consistently suggest that Gracilaria cultivation may have helped improve seawater quality and phytoplankton diversity, thereby maintain a healthy mariculture ecosystem.

microRNA-520f inhibits hepatocellular carcinoma cell proliferation and invasion by targeting TM4SF1.

microRNAs (miRNAs) are reported to play crucial roles in tumorigenesis. Dysregulation of miR-520f has been implicated to be involved in several cancer progressions. However, the biological functions of miR520f in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remain unclear. Thus, the molecular mechanism underlying miR-520f on HCC development was investigated in this study. Here, we found that miR-520f was remarkably down-regulated in human HCC samples and cell lines compared to paired normal tissues and cell lines as detected by qRT-PCR. Furthermore, the deregulated miR-520f was strongly associated with larger tumor size, advanced TNM stage, and metastasis in HCC patients. Functional investigations revealed that overexpression of miR-520f significantly suppressed cell proliferation, invasion and migration, caused cell cycle arrested at G0/G1 phase, and promoted cell apoptosis in HCC cells according to MTT, colony formation, transwell, and flow cytometry assays, respectively, whereas, downregulation of miR-520f exhibited inverse effects. Transmembrane-4 L-Six family member-1 (TM4SF1) was identified as a direct target of miR-520f, and an inverse relationship was found between miR-520f and TM4SF1 mRNA levels in HCC specimens. Rescue experiments suggested that restoration of TM4SF1 partially abolished miR-520f-meidated cell proliferation and invasion inhibition in HCC cells through regulating P13K/AKT and p38 MAPK signaling pathways. In conclusion, these data indicated that miR-520f acted as tumor suppressor in HCC proliferation and invasion by targeting TM4SF1, which might provide potential therapeutic evidence for HCC patients.

A comprehensive sediment dynamics study of a major mud belt system on the inner shelf along an energetic coast.

Globally mud areas on continental shelves are conduits for the dispersal of fluvial-sourced sediment. We address fundamental issues in sediment dynamics focusing on how mud is retained on the seabed on shallow inner shelves and what are the sources of mud. Through a process-based comprehensive study that integrates dynamics, provenance, and sedimentology, here we show that the key mechanism to keep mud on the seabed is the water-column stratification that forms a dynamic barrier in the vertical that restricts the upward mixing of suspended sediment. We studied the 1000 km-long mud belt that extends from the mouth of the Changjiang (Yangtze) River along the coast of Zhejiang and Fujian Provinces of China and ends on the west coast of Taiwan. This mud belt system is dynamically attached to the fluvial sources, of which the Changjiang River is the primary source. Winter is the constructive phase when active deposition takes place of fine-grained sediment carried mainly by the Changjiang plume driven by Zhe-Min Coastal Currents southwestward along the coast.

Comparison of the effect and safety of Kuntai capsule and hormone replacement therapy in patients with perimenopausal syndrome: a systematic review and Meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the effectiveness and safety of Kuntai capsule and hormone replacement therapy in treatment of perimenopausal syndrome. METHODS: Articles were retrieved from the databases Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, PubMed, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, China Science and Technology Journal Database, and Wanfang Database. Only randomized controlled trials were included; 15 trials involving 1243 patients were identified from January 2005 to April 2015. A systemic review and Meta-analysis of publications was performed. The review was limited to randomized controlled trials that compared Kuntai capsule and hormone replacement therapy to treat perimenopausal syndrome for at least 3 months. The primary outcome assessed was the treatment efficacy at 3 months, including effective rate of Kupperman menopausal scores, Kupperman menopausal scores, and blood estradiol (E2) or blood follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) levels. Other outcomes assessed were safety or adverse events, such as gastrointestinal complaints, breast distending pain, or vaginal bleeding. RESULTS: Kupperman menopausal scores showed no significant difference in effective rate [odds ratio (OR): 1.05, 95% confidence intervals (CI): 0.71 to 1.55] and changes in FSH level [mean difference (MD): 2.14, 95% CI: -2.36 to 6.65]. There was a significant statistical difference in Kupperman menopausal scores (MD: -1.14, 95% CI: -2.03 to -0.25) and changes in E2 level (MD: -16.41, 95% CI: -18.83 to -13.69). There were fewer adverse events in the Kuntai capsule group than in the hormone replacement therapy group (OR: = 0.35, 95% CI: 0.25 to 0.48, P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: Compared with hormone replacement therapy, Kuntai capsule can improve perimenopausal symptoms and blood E2 levels, and reduce the incidence of adverse events.

A facile method for the synthesis of quaternary Ag-In-Zn-S alloyed nanorods.

Ag-In-Zn-S nanorods with tunable photoluminescence were formed by a convenient synthetic approach, and the nanorods demonstrated a relatively long fluorescence lifetime of 1.248 µs. In addition, Ag-In-Zn-S nanorods of nail shape and rod-particle dimers were successfully produced by adjusting the reaction parameters.

[Expression and clinical significance of HMGB1 and RAGE in cervical squamous cell carcinoma].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the association between high mobility group box1 (HMGB1) and cervical squamous cell carcinoma (CSCC), and explore the role of HMGB1/RAGE pathway in the metastasis of CSCC. METHODS: Levels of HMGB1 mRNA and RAGE mRNA in CSCC and normal cervical tissues were detected by real time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), and the level of HMGB1 protein was determined by immunohistochemistry and Western blotting. RESULTS: The mRNA and protein expression of HMGB1 was significantly higher in CSCC than that in normal cervical tissue (P < 0.05), correlated with stage, invasion and metastasis (P < 0.05), but not with tumor size and differentiation (P > 0.05). The levels of RAGE mRNA and HMGB1 mRNA were both significantly higher (r = 0.663, P < 0.05) in metastatic CSCC in comparison with those in the non-metastatic cases. CONCLUSION: HMGB1 is involved in the invasion and metastasis of CSCC, and HMGB1/RAGE pathway plays an important role in the metastasis of CSCC.