Biochemical responses and phytoremediation potential of Azolla imbricata (Roxb.) Nakai in water and nutrient media exposed to waste metal cutting fluid along with temperature and humidity stress.

Phytoremediation of metals from water (WM) and nutrient (NM) media exposed to waste metal cutting fluid (WMCF) along with temperature (T) and humidity (H) stress was tested using Azolla imbricata (Roxb.) Nakai. In the absence of WMCF, biomass was higher in NM than in WM during all tests. Surprisingly, opposite results were noted in the presence of WMCF, with growth failing at exposure to > 0.1% and > 0.5% in NM and WM, respectively. Further, correlation analysis of the growth data following WM exposure revealed that biomass was affected positively by T and negatively by H and metal accumulation. Simultaneously, metal accumulation was affected negatively by T and positively by H. The average accumulations of Al, Cd, Cr, Fe, Pb, and Zn across all T/H tests were 540, 282, 71, 1645, 2494 and 1110 mg·kg-1, respectively. The observed bioconcentration factor indicated that A. imbricata acts as a hyperaccumulator or accumulator of Zn (>10) and as either accumulator (>1) or excluder (<1) of the other metals. Overall, the phytoremediation performance of A. imbricata in multi-metal-contaminated WMCF was high in WM under all environmental conditions. Therefore, the use of WM is an economically feasible approach for the removal of metals from WMCF.

Prognostic Value of MicroRNAs in Coronary Artery Diseases: A Meta-Analysis.

PURPOSE: Coronary artery diseases (CADs) are the leading causes of death in the world. Recent studies have reported that differentially expressed microRNAs (miRNAs) are associated with prognosis or major adverse cardiac events (MACEs) in CAD patients. In a previous meta-analysis, the authors made serious mistakes that we aimed to correct through an updated systematic review and meta-analysis of the prognostic value of altered miRNAs in patients with CADs. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We performed a systematic search of MEDLINE (from inception to May 2017) and EMBASE (from inception to May 2017) for English-language publications. Studies of CADs with results on miRNAs that reported survival data or MACEs were included. Data were extracted from each publication independently by two reviewers. RESULTS: After reviewing 515 articles, a total eight studies were included in this study. We measured pooled hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of miRNA 133a with a fixed-effect model (pooled HR, 2.35; 95% CI, 1.56-3.55). High expression of miRNA 133a, 208b, 126, 197, 223, and 122-5p were associated with high mortality. Additionally, high levels of miRNA 208b, 499-5p, 134, 328, and 34a were related with MACEs. CONCLUSION: The present study confirmed that miRNA 133a, which was associated with high mortality in CAD patients, holds prognostic value in CAD. More importantly, this study corrected issues raised against a prior meta-analysis and provides accurate information.

Origami Wheel Transformer: A Variable-Diameter Wheel Drive Robot Using an Origami Structure.

A wheel drive mechanism is simple, stable, and efficient, but its mobility in unstructured terrain is seriously limited. Using a deformable wheel is one of the ways to increase the mobility of a wheel drive robot. By changing the radius of its wheels, the robot becomes able to pass over not only high steps but also narrow gaps. In this article, we propose a novel design for a variable-diameter wheel using an origami-based soft robotics design approach. By simply folding a patterned sheet into a wheel shape, a variable-diameter wheel was built without requiring lots of mechanical parts and a complex assembly process. The wheel's diameter can change from 30 to 68 mm, and it is light in weight at about 9.7 g. Although composed of soft materials (fabrics and films), the wheel can bear more than 400 times its weight. The robot was able to change the wheel's radius in response to terrain conditions, allowing it to pass over a 50-mm gap when the wheel is shrunk and a 50-mm step when the wheel is enlarged.

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs suppress cancer stem cells via inhibiting PTGS2 (cyclooxygenase 2) and NOTCH/HES1 and activating PPARG in colorectal cancer.

Cancer stem cells (CSCs) play a pivotal role in cancer relapse or metastasis. We investigated the CSC-suppressing effect of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and the relevant mechanisms in colorectal cancer. We measured the effect of NSAIDs on CSC populations in Caco-2 or SW620 cells using colosphere formation and flow cytometric analysis of PROM1 (CD133)(+) CD44(+) cells after indomethacin treatment with/without prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) or peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARG) antagonist, and examined the effect of indomethacin on transcriptional activity and protein expression of NOTCH/HES1 and PPARG. These effects of indomethacin were also evaluated in a xenograft mouse model. NSAIDs (indomethacin, sulindac and aspirin), celecoxib, γ-secretase inhibitor and PPARG agonist significantly decreased the number of colospheres formation compared to controls. In Caco-2 and SW620 cells, compared to controls, PROM1 (CD133)(+) CD44(+) cells were significantly decreased by indomethacin treatment, and increased by 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) treatment. This 5-FU-induced increase of PROM1 (CD133)(+) CD44(+) cells was significantly attenuated by combination with indomethacin. This CSC-inhibitory effect of indomethacin was reversed by addition of PGE2 and PPARG antagonist. Indomethacin significantly decreased CBFRE and increased PPRE transcriptional activity and their relative protein expressions. In xenograft mouse experiments using 5-FU-resistant SW620 cells, the 5-FU treatment combined with indomethacin significantly reduced tumor growth, compared to 5-FU alone. In addition, treatment of indomethacin alone or combination of 5-FU and indomethacin decreased the expressions of PROM1 (CD133), CD44, PTGS2 (cyclooxygenase 2) and HES1, and increased PPARG expression. NSAIDs could selectively reduce the colon CSCs and suppress 5-FU-induced increase of CSCs via inhibiting PTGS2 (cyclooxygenase 2) and NOTCH/HES1, and activating PPARG.

The effect of lead on calcium release activated calcium influx in primary cultures of human osteoblast-like cells.

To further understand the significance of bone as a target tissues of lead toxicity, as well as a reservoir of systemic lead, it is necessary to define the effect of lead on the calcium release activated calcium influx (CRACI) in primary cultures of human osteoblast-like cells (OLC). Pb2+ inhibited the immediate CRACI dose-dependent manner. Influx of Pb2+ into human OLC was increased dose-dependent manner. The present study demonstrates that the interference of Pb2+ with CRACI of human OLC is at least twofold: (1) the initiation of CRACI, i.e., the measurable influx of Ca2+ upon Ca2+ readdition, is partially inhibited by Pb2+ and (2) the influx of Pb2+ was enhanced after CRACI had been induced.

Optical properties of Ag nanoparticles embedded Ba0.5Sr0.5TiO3 films prepared by alternating pulsed laser deposition.

Nanocomposite thin films consisting of nanometer-sized Ag particles embedded in amorphous Ba0.5Sr0.5TiO3 matrix were prepared on fused silica substrates by an alternating pulsed laser deposition method. Their optical nonlinearities have been studied using the Z-scan method. The surface plasmon resonance (SPR) peak shifts to red and increases with the increasing the volume fraction of Ag in the nanocomposite films. The magnitude of the third-order nonlinear susceptibility of the nanocomposite with an Ag volume fraction of 3.3% was calculated to be approximately 2 x 10(-8) esu at the SPR wavelength.