Multifunctional Crystalline Coordination Polymers Constructed from 4,4'-Bipyridine-N,N'-dioxide: Photochromism, White-Light Emission, and Photomagnetism.

Multifunctional photochromic coordination polymers (CPs) have shown great potential in many areas, like molecular switches, anticounterfeiting, magnetics, and optoelectronics. Although multifunctional photochromic CPs can be obtained by introducing photoresponsive functional units or by exploiting the synergy effect of each component, relatively limited photochromic ligands hinder the development of various multifunctional photochromic CPs. In this work, we reported two multifunctional coordination polymers {[Zn(bpdo)(fum)(H2O)2]}n (1) and {[Mn(bpdo)(fum)(H2O)2]}n (2) based on an easily accessible but underestimated photoactive molecule 4,4'-bipyridine-N,N'-dioxide (bpdo). Compound 1 exhibits photochromism and white-light emission with an ultra-high color rendering index (CRI) of 92.1. Interestingly, compound 1 could emit intrinsic white light in the crystalline state upon UV irradiation both before and after photochromism. Meanwhile, compound 2 displays photochromic and photomagnetic properties, induced by the photogenerated radicals via a photoinduced electron transfer mechanism.

Beta-1 syntrophin (SNTB1) regulates colorectal cancer progression and stemness via regulation of the Wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway.

BACKGROUND: Beta-1 syntrophin (SNTB1) is an intracellular scaffold protein that provides a platform for the formation of signal transduction complexes, thereby modulating and coordinating various intracellular signaling events and crucial cellular processes. However, the physiological role of SNTB1 is poorly understood. This study aims to explore the role of SNTB1 in colorectal cancer (CRC) tumorigenesis and progression, with particular focus on SNTB1's expression pattern, clinical relevance, and possible molecular mechanism in CRC development. METHODS: SNTB1 expression was analyzed in both clinical tissues and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. Real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR), Western blot, and immunohistochemical assays were used to detect the relative mRNA and protein levels of SNTB1. Statistical analysis was performed to examine the correlation between SNTB1 expression and the clinicopathological characteristics of patients with CRC. Bioinformatics gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA), Western blot, luciferase assay, and agonist recovery assays were conducted to evaluate the relevance of SNTB1 and the ß-catenin signaling pathway in CRC. A flow cytometry-based Hoechst 33342 efflux assay was applied to assess the proportion of the side population (SP) within total CRC cells. RESULTS: Elevated levels of SNTB1 were identified in CRC tissues and cell lines. The elevation of SNTB1 was positively correlated with the degree of malignancy and poor prognosis in CRC. We further revealed that, by modulating the ß-catenin signaling pathway, silencing SNTB1 expression suppressed tumor growth and cancer stemness in vitro, as well as tumorigenesis in vivo. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that SNTB1 plays a crucial role in colorectal tumorigenesis and progression by modulating ß-catenin signaling and the stemness maintenance of cancer cells.

Upregulation of lnc-ZNF281 Inhibits the Progression of Glioma via the AKT/GSK-3ß/ß-Catenin Signaling Pathway.

The purpose of this study is to elucidate the roles and potential underlying mechanisms of long noncoding RNA lnc-ZNF281 in glioma. We performed qRT-PCR to detect the expression levels of lnc-ZNF281 in glioma tissues. The effects of lnc-ZNF281 on the proliferative and migrative abilities of T98G and HS683 glioma cells were examined by cell proliferation assay, colony formation assay, wound-healing assay, and transwell assay. Also, the effects of lnc-ZNF281 on AKT/GSK-3ß/ß-catenin pathway were analyzed. The results showed that the expression of lnc-ZNF281 in glioma tissues was decreased compared with normal tissues. lnc-ZNF281 overexpression inhibited the proliferative and migrative abilities of glioma cells, while lnc-ZNF281 knockdown obtained the opposite findings. Besides, overexpression of lnc-ZNF281 in glioma cells inactivated the AKT/GSK-3ß/ß-catenin signaling pathway. Furthermore, ß-catenin activation reversed the suppressive effects of lnc-ZNF281 on glioma cells. Taken together, lnc-ZNF281 inhibits glioma cell proliferation and migration via AKT/GSK-3ß/ß-catenin pathway and may serve as a potential target for glioma treatment.

ALKAL1 gene silencing prevents colorectal cancer progression via suppressing Sonic Hedgehog (SHH) signaling pathway.

Anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) has been described in a range of human cancers and is involved in cancer initiation and progression via activating multiple signaling pathways, such as the PI3K-AKT, CRKL-C3G, MEKK2/3-MEK5-ERK5, JAK-STAT and MAPK signal pathways. Recently ALK and LTK ligand 1 (ALKAL1) also named "augmentor-ß" or "FAM150A" is identified as a potent activating ligands for human ALK that bind to the extracellular domain of ALK. However, due to its poor stability, the mechanisms of ALKAL1 underlying the tumor progression in the human cancers including colorectal cancer have not been well documented. Herein, ALKAL1 expression was evaluated by RNA sequencing datasets from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) of 625 cases colorectal cancer, immunohistochemical analysis of 377 cases colorectal cancer tissues, and Western blotting even Real-time PCR of 10 pairs of colorectal cancer tissues and adjacent normal tissues, as well as 8 colorectal cancer cell lines. Statistical analysis was performed to explore the correlation between ALKAL1 expression and clinicopathological features in colorectal cancer. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analysis were performed to examine the association between ALKAL1 expression and overall survival. In vitro and in vivo assays were performed to assess the biological roles of ALKAL1 in colorectal cancer. Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA), Western blotting and luciferase assays were used to identify the underlying signal pathway involved in the tumor progression role of ALKAL1. As a result, we showed that ALKAL1 was upregulated in colorectal cancer tissues and cell lines. Upregulation of ALKAL1 correlated with tumor malignancy and poor prognosis in colorectal cancer. ALKAL1 silencing inhibited tumorigenesis, metastasis and invasion of colorectal cancer cells, and inhibited SHH signaling pathway, which is essential for ALKAL1 induced migration. Our findings reveal a new mechanism by which ALKAL1 participates in colorectal cancer migration and invasion via activating the SHH signaling pathway.

Ectodysplasin A receptor (EDAR) promotes colorectal cancer cell proliferation via regulation of the Wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway.

Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer mortality worldwide with poor prognosis and high recurrence. Aberrant Wnt/ß-catenin signaling promotes oncogenesis by transcriptional activation of c-Myc and its downstream signals. EDAR is characterized as an important effector of canonical Wnt signaling in developing skin appendages, but the interplay between EDAR and Wnt signaling in tumorigenesis and progression remains to be elucidated. In this study, we revealed that EDAR expression is prevalently elevated in colorectal cancer tissues compared with normal tissues. Further analysis suggests there is a strict correlation between EDAR expression and colorectal cancer progression. EDAR silencing by shRNA in colorectal cancer cells showed proliferative suppression via retarding cell cycle at G1 phase. Xenograft mice transplanted with shEDAR-transduced tumor cells significantly alleviated tumor burden in comparison with control mice. Furthermore, downregulation of EDAR was accompanied by reduction of ß-catenin, c-Myc and other G1 cell cycle regulators, while ß-catenin agonist restored the expression of these proteins and overrode the proliferative block induced by EDAR knockdown. These findings indicate that EDAR functions as a component of Wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway, and is a potential modulator in colorectal carcinogenesis.

Measurement and prediction on thermal conductivity of fused quartz.

Thermal conductivity of soil is a basic physical property related to heat conduction, and also is one of parameters widely applied in geotechnical engineering. The effect of gradation on the thermal conductivity of fused quartz was analyzed by thermal needle tests. The different particle size with the same uniformity coefficient (Cu = 3.2) and different uniformity coefficient for the same particle size (0.10~1.00 mm) were considered in this study. It shows that the thermal conductivity of fused quartz decreases with the decreasing of the mean particle size and with the increasing of the porosity. Simple modified methods to estimate the value of thermal conductivity are proposed, and had been demonstrated successfully by conducting fused quartz, carbonate sand and Ottawa sand.

Corrosion Resistance of ZnO Nanorod Superhydrophobic Coatings with Rose Petal Effect or Lotus Leaf Effect.

Superhydrophobic ZnO nanorods coatings with a strong adhesive force to the surface (rose petal effect) or a low sliding angle (lotus leaf effect) were fabricated on the zinc plate by the hydrothermal plus sol-gel method. The corrosion resistance and durability of the superhydrophobic coatings in 5 wt% NaCl solution were investigated. The coating with loose ZnO nanostructure on ZnO nanorods shows a high adhesive force to water with low corrosion resistance, while the coating with a layer of dense nanotubes on nanorods exhibits a low adhesive to water with a high corrosion resistance due to a layer of trapped air among micro/nanostructures, which can delay the penetration of corrosive media. It can be found that the nanorods coating with lotus leaf effect lost its superhydrophobicity after 5150 s immersion in salt solution and the water repellency model is transformed from Cassie state to Wenzel state.

Irisin reverses the IL-6 induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition in osteosarcoma cell migration and invasion through the STAT3/Snail signaling pathway.

As a novel discovered myokine, irisin is considered to be a promising candidate for the treatment of metabolic disorders and cancer. However, little is known about the anti-metastasic effect of irisin on osteosarcoma cells and its underlying mechanisms. In the present study, we aimed to explore the effect of irisin on the migration and invasion of osteosarcoma cells and the underlying mechanisms involved. Viability and proliferation of osteosarcoma cells were examined by MTT assay. Then, by using scratch wound healing assay and Transwell assays, we evaluated migratory and invasive ability of the cells, respectively. Moreover, the expression of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) markers were determined by qPCR, western blot and immunofluorescence staining after treatment with IL-6 and irisin. Furthermore, the expression of ERK, p38, STAT3 and Snail were detected by western blot analysis. Finally, an inhibitor of STAT3, WP1066 was applied to testify the effect of irisin on the expression of EMT markers and Snail. It was found that irisin treatment significantly suppressed the proliferation, migration and invasion of osteosarcoma cells. Furthermore, irisin reversed the IL-6-induced epithelial­mesenchymal transition (EMT) in osteosarcoma cells by regulating the expression of E-cadherin, N-cadherin, vimentin, fibronectin, MMP-2, MMP-7 and MMP-9. In addition, irisin suppressed the IL-6-activated phosphorylation of STAT3 and the expression of Snail in osteosarcoma cells. Finally, blockade of STAT3 by WP1066 (a STAT3 inhibitor) further enhanced the effect of irisin on the EMT and Snail expression in osteosarcoma cells. Collectively, our findings revealed that irisin may play a critical role in the IL-6-induced EMT of osteosarcoma cells via the STAT3/Snail signaling pathway.

Computed tomographic morphometric analysis of pediatric clival screw placement at the craniovertebral junction.

STUDY DESIGN: A computed tomography-based morphometric measurement of the pediatric craniovertebral junction for clival screw placement. OBJECTIVE: To identify morphometric differences of the pediatric clivus at different ages and establish guidelines for pediatric clival screw fixation. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: Anterior fixation of the pediatric craniovertebral junction, a viable alternative to posterior occipital-cervical fixation, requires clival screw placement. The morphology of the pediatric clivus may be associated with greater difficulty in adequate purchase because of the spheno-occipital synchondrosis (clival fissure). METHODS: Morphometric analysis was conducted on computed tomographic scans of the craniocervical junction in 87 pediatric patients who were assigned into groups based on their ages (2-5 yr, 6-9 yr, 10-13 yr, and 14-16 yr). Measurements were made of the sagittal and axial planes to determine the clival length, widest and narrowest clival diameter, clival fissure distance, clival-cervical angle, and putative screw lengths. RESULTS: The mean clival length, widest diameter, narrowest diameter, fissure distance, and putative screw lengths were 29.4 mm, 28. 9 mm, 17.3 mm, 21.9 mm, and 9.6 mm, respectively. These measurements were significantly different among the groups and highly correlated to age (P < 0.01). There was no significant difference in clival-cervical angle among the groups, with a mean angle of 129.2°± 6.4°. A clival screw (ø3.5 mm) was accommodated for all children older than 10 years, 89% of children aged 6 to 9 years, and 80% of children aged 2 to 5 years. CONCLUSION: A clival screw fixation is feasible in the pediatric craniovertebral junction, particularly in children aged 10 years or older. The dimensions of the clivus were highly dependent on age. We suggest that all pediatric patients should undergo high-resolution, thin-slice computed tomography preoperatively to assess suitability for clival screw fixation. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 3.

Diabetes mellitus increases the incidence of deep vein thrombosis after total knee arthroplasty.

INTRODUCTION: Many patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty (TKA) have diabetes mellitus, which may increase the risk of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) after TKA. We therefore assessed whether diabetes mellitus increased the incidence of DVT within 14 days after TKA. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The incidence of DVT within 14 days of surgery was compared in diabetic and non-diabetic patients undergoing TKA in our hospital between June 2011 and February 2013. The relationships between diabetes mellitus and DVT were analyzed. RESULTS: Of the 358 enrolled patients, 70 (19.6%) had diabetes and 288 (80.4%) did not. DVT occurred within 14 days in 198 patients, 52 of 70 (74.3%) in the diabetes group and 146 of 288 (50.7%) in the non-diabetes group (p = 0.012). DVT of the contralateral leg was observed in 16 and 50 patients, respectively (p = 0.452). Logistic regression analysis showed that the risk of DVT was 2.71-fold higher in patients with than without diabetes mellitus (95% CI 1.183-6.212, p = 0.018). There were no significant differences in age, gender, hypertension, BMI, duration of surgery, intra-operative blood loss, and duration of tourniquet between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of DVT 14 days after TKA was significantly higher in patients with than without diabetes.

[Affine transformation-based automatic registration for peripheral digital subtraction angiography (DSA)].

In order to remove the artifacts of peripheral digital subtraction angiography (DSA), an affine transformation-based automatic image registration algorithm is introduced here. The whole process is described as follows: First, rectangle feature templates are constructed with their centers of the extracted Harris corners in the mask, and motion vectors of the central feature points are estimated using template matching technology with the similarity measure of maximum histogram energy. And then the optimal parameters of the affine transformation are calculated with the matrix singular value decomposition (SVD) method. Finally, bilinear intensity interpolation is taken to the mask according to the specific affine transformation. More than 30 peripheral DSA registrations are performed with the presented algorithm, and as the result, moving artifacts of the images are removed with sub-pixel precision, and the time consumption is less enough to satisfy the clinical requirements. Experimental results show the efficiency and robustness of the algorithm.

[Impact of perioperative chemotherapy on prognosis of colorectal cancer: a report of 82 cases].

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE: Recently, some scholars advocate perioperative chemotherapy for colorectal cancer. This study aimed to investigate the impact of perioperative chemotherapy on the prognosis of colorectal cancer. METHODS: From Aug. 2001 to Aug. 2003, 167 patients with Dukes'B or C colorectal cancer were randomized into two groups: 82 in trial group received perioperative chemotherapy using 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), while 85 in control group received no perioperative chemotherapy. All patients received adjuvant chemotherapy of 5-FU/leucovorin regimen. The adverse events, recurrence rate and survival rate were compared between these two groups. RESULTS: There was no difference in adverse events between the two groups. The overall recurrence rate was 42.5%û it was significantly lower in trial group than in control group (34.6% vs. 49.4%, P=0.038). The overall 1-, 3-, and 4-year survival rates were 97.6%, 74.7% and 61.8%û they were significantly higher in trial group than in control group (100% vs. 95.3%, 82.7% vs. 67.1%, and 69.1% vs. 54.8%, P=0.046). CONCLUSION: Perioperative chemotherapy can improve the prognosis of colorectal cancer.