Geological exploration of coal mine burnt rock and waterlogged area boundary based on transient electromagnetic and high-density electrical resistivity.

The water-rich burnt rock may threaten the safe production of coal mines. Identifying the boundaries of burnt rock and the water-rich area is of great practical significance for the ensuring the safety of mining operations. Transient electromagnetic and high-density resistivity methods are commonly employed in geophysical exploration, such as for investigating the presence of groundwater or delineating boundaries of altered rocks. These methods are non-invasive and provide detailed information about subsurface conditions without the need for drilling or excavation. The Jiangjun Gobi No. 1 open-pit coal mine is situated in the Kalamaili fault zone and is characterized by a high groundwater content. In certain mining sites within the study area, the inflow of water reaches tens of thousands of cubic meters per day, which significantly impacts production and presents major risks. To accurately determine the boundaries of burnt rock and water accumulation areas in the Jiangjun Gobi No. 1 open-pit coal mine, this paper uses different geophysical prospecting methods based on the depth of the strata. The middle and deep parts are investigated using the high-resolution transient electromagnetic method, while the shallow parts are examined using the high-accuracy high-density electric method. Through analyzing the electrical characteristics of the study area, it is inferred that the low-resistivity area in the northwest represents a shallow surface water-rich region. This area extends continuously towards the northwest, is not trapped, and is supplied by surface water. The deep low-resistivity zone primarily consists of sandstone and coarse sandstone. It is inferred that the low-resistance area in the southern part of the study area is also a shallow surface water-rich region, extending towards the east and west sides, not trapped, and supplied by surface water. The deep low-resistivity zone mainly comprises a combination of sandstone, coarse sandstone, and burnt rock, with intermittent layers of mudstone and argillaceous sandstone. The boundary line of burnt rock (coal-bearing strata) is located in the south of the study area. The resistivity of burnt rock (coal-bearing strata) is higher than that of the surrounding rocks, and the resistivity of coal seams is slightly higher than that of sandstone with larger porosity. Estimating the boundaries of groundwater and altered rocks serves to prevent geological disasters and provides valuable information for mineral development and ecological protection.

Prograde transposition for anteriorly low-set earlobe in lobule-type microtia reconstruction.

BACKGROUND: Lobule transposition, a common procedure in auricle reconstruction, has been successfully performed over the past few decades. However, the transposition methods for unilateral microtia with evident asymmetry of bilateral earlobe positions still remain a challenge. The objective of this study was to investigate the application of prograde transposition for anteriorly low-set earlobes. METHOD: A total of 25 patients with lobule-type microtia with anteriorly low-set residual earlobe underwent prograde transposition during auricle reconstruction between 2020 and 2022. The post-operative earlobe aesthetic assessment and patient satisfaction were evaluated, and the data on any complications that occurred when followed-up were collected. This study provides a comprehensive analysis and summary of the techniques used in earlobe transposition for auricular reconstruction. RESULTS: The patients with evident asymmetry between the residual and healthy earlobes were usually concomitant with hemifacial microsomia and the residual ear was located in the anterior and lower region. No instances of flap necrosis, hematoma, or wound dehiscence were observed following auricular reconstruction. The mean aesthetic score of the auricle was 3.52, with 23 patients attaining good or excellent aesthetic outcomes. The mean Visual Analog Scale satisfaction score was 3.68, with 24 patients reporting relative satisfaction or satisfaction. CONCLUSION: The prograde transposition of anteriorly low-set earlobe in lobule-type microtia reconstruction can effectively ensure adequate blood supply, enhance aesthetic appearance, and significantly improve patient satisfaction.

Effect of Thyroid-Stimulating Hormone Suppression Therapy on Cardiac Structure and Function in Patients With Differentiated Thyroid Cancer After Thyroidectomy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to evaluate the effects of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) suppression therapy on cardiac structure and function in patients with differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) following thyroidectomy. METHODS: Two investigators independently searched the PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science databases for relevant studies published from inception to January 6, 2023, without any restrictions on language. Standard mean differences and 95% confidence intervals were calculated using fixed or random effects models. Thirteen clinical outcomes were analyzed, mainly evaluating cardiac morphology, systolic function, and diastolic function. RESULTS: Thirteen studies were included in the quantitative analysis. Compared to healthy controls, left ventricular mass index, left ventricular posterior wall thickness, interventricular septal thickness, and isovolumic relaxation time values increased; the ratio of E-wave velocity to A-wave velocity and E-wave velocity values decreased. The left ventricular ejection fraction and cardiac output did not change in patients with DTC who underwent long-term TSH suppression therapy. Interventricular septal thickness values were significantly correlated with the duration of TSH suppression therapy. CONCLUSION: Long-term TSH suppression therapy leads to cardiac hypertrophy and impaired cardiac diastolic function in patients with DTC. These changes may be related to the duration of TSH suppression therapy. Large prospective studies with long follow-up periods are needed to validate these findings.

Adjuvant Therapy-Free Strategy for Stage IB to IIIA Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer Patients After Radical Resection Based on Longitudinal Undetectable Molecular Residual Disease: Prospective, Multicenter, Single-Arm Study (CTONG 2201).

BACKGROUND: The utility of circulating tumor DNA to monitor molecular residual disease (MRD) has been clinically confirmed to predict disease recurrence in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients after radical resection. Patients with longitudinal undetectable MRD show a favorable prognosis and might not benefit from adjuvant therapy. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The CTONG 2201 trial is a prospective, multicenter, single-arm study (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier, NCT05457049), designed to evaluate the hypothesis that no adjuvant therapy is needed for patients with longitudinal undetectable MRD. Pathologically confirmed stage IB-IIIA NSCLC patients who have undergone radical resection will be screened. Only patients with 2 consecutive rounds of undetectable MRD will be enrolled (first at days 3-10, second at days 30 ± 7 after surgery), and admitted for imaging and MRD monitoring every 3 months without adjuvant therapy. The primary endpoint is the 2-year disease-free survival rate for those with longitudinal undetectable MRD. The recruitment phase began in August 2022 and 180 patients will be enrolled. CONCLUSIONS: This prospective trial will contribute data to confirm the negative predictive value of MRD on adjuvant therapy for NSCLC patients. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT05457049 (CTONG 2201).

Exosomes derived from uMSCs promote hair regrowth in alopecia areata through accelerating human hair follicular keratinocyte proliferation and migration.

Alopecia areata (AA) is a complex genetic disease that results in hair loss due to an autoimmune-mediated attack on the hair follicle. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have great potential to induce hair regeneration due to their strong secretion ability and multidirectional differentiation. Recent studies have revealed that the therapeutic potential of MSCs comes from their secretion ability, which can produce large amounts of bioactive substances and regulate the key physiological functions of subjects. The secretion products of MSCs, such as vesicles, exosomes, and conditioned media, have significant advantages in preparing of biological products derived from stem cells. Human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (uMSCs) are the best choice for exosome production. uMSCs are obtained from the human umbilical cord. The umbilical cord is easy to obtain, and the efficiency of uMSCs isolation and culture higher than that of obtaining MSCs from bone marrow or adipose tissue. In this study, we investigated the effects of exosomes released from uMSCs in AA mice. In summary, due to easy isolation and cultivation, simple preparation, and convenient storage, it is possible to obtain uMSCs, or uMSCs exosomes for research and clinical treatment.

An Asymmetric Layer Structure Enables Robust Multifunctional Wearable Bacterial Cellulose Composite Film with Excellent Electrothermal/Photothermal and EMI Shielding Performance.

Highly robust flexible multifunctional film with excellent electromagnetic interference shielding and electrothermal/photothermal characteristics are highly desirable for aerospace, military, and wearable devices. Herein, an asymmetric gradient multilayer structured bacterial cellulose@Fe3 O4 /carbon nanotube/Ti3 C2 Tx (BC@Fe3 O4 /CNT/Ti3 C2 Tx ) multifunctional composite film is fabricated with simultaneously demonstrating fast Joule response, excellent EMI shielding effectiveness (EMI SE) and photothermal conversion properties. The asymmetric gradient 6-layer composite film with 40% of Ti3 C2 Tx possesses excellent mechanical performance with exceptional tensile strength (76.1 MPa), large strain (14.7%), and good flexibility. This is attributed to the asymmetric gradient multilayer structure designed based on the hydrogen bonding self-assembly strategy between Ti3 C2 Tx and BC. It achieved an EMI SE of up to 71.3 dB, which is attributed to the gradient "absorption-reflection-reabsorption" mechanism. Furthermore, this composite film also exhibits excellent low-voltage-driven Joule heating (up to 80.3 °C at 2.5 V within 15 s) and fast-response photothermal performance (up to 101.5 °C at 1.0 W cm-2 within 10 s), which is attributed to the synergistic effect of heterostructure. This work demonstrates the fabrication of multifunctional bacterial cellulose@Fe3 O4 /carbon nanotube/Ti3 C2 Tx composite film has promising potentials for next-generation wearable electronic devices in energy conversion, aerospace, and artificial intelligence.

Nash equilibrium realization of population games based on social learning processes.

In the two-population game model, we assume the players have certain imitative learning abilities. To simulate the learning process of the game players, we propose a new swarm intelligence algorithm by combining the particle swarm optimization algorithm, where each player can be considered a particle. We conduct simulations for three typical games: the prisoner's dilemma game (with only one pure-strategy Nash equilibrium), the coin-flip game (with only one fully-mixed Nash equilibrium), and the coordination game (with two pure-strategy Nash equilibria and one fully-mixed Nash equilibrium). The results show that when the game has a pure strategy Nash equilibrium, the algorithm converges to that equilibrium. However, if the game does not have a pure strategy Nash equilibrium, it exhibits periodic convergence to the only mixed-strategy Nash equilibrium. Furthermore, the magnitude of the periodical convergence is inversely proportional to the introspection rate. After conducting experiments, our algorithm outperforms the Meta Equilibrium Q-learning algorithm in realizing mixed-strategy Nash equilibrium.

Genome-Wide Identification and Preliminary Functional Analysis of BAM (ß-Amylase) Gene Family in Upland Cotton.

The ß-amylase (BAM) gene family encodes important enzymes that catalyze the conversion of starch to maltose in various biological processes of plants and play essential roles in regulating the growth and development of multiple plants. So far, BAMs have been extensively studied in Arabidopsis thaliana (A. thaliana). However, the characteristics of the BAM gene family in the crucial economic crop, cotton, have not been reported. In this study, 27 GhBAM genes in the genome of Gossypium hirsutum L (G. hirsutum) were identified by genome-wide identification, and they were divided into three groups according to sequence similarity and phylogenetic relationship. The gene structure, chromosome distribution, and collinearity of all GhBAM genes identified in the genome of G. hirsutum were analyzed. Further sequence alignment of the core domain of glucosyl hydrolase showed that all GhBAM family genes had the glycosyl hydrolase family 14 domain. We identified the BAM gene GhBAM7 and preliminarily investigated its function by transcriptional sequencing analysis, qRT-PCR, and subcellular localization. These results suggested that the GhBAM7 gene may influence fiber strength during fiber development. This systematic analysis provides new insight into the transcriptional characteristics of BAM genes in G. hirsutum. It may lay the foundation for further study of the function of these genes.

Effects of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation on Graph Naming Function and Brain Connectivity in Post-Infarction Aphasia Patients: An fMRI Study.

OBJECTIVE: The study aimed to investigate the mechanisms of impairment and recovery in graph naming functions among patients with aphasia due to cerebral infarction. Specifically, the study compared immediate effects of transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) treatment in patients at different stages post-infarction: the acute phase and the recovery period. METHODS: Twenty-eight patients were selected, consisting of 16 in the acute phase (AP) and 12 in the recovery period (RP), along with 18 healthy controls. Both patient groups underwent two weeks of tDCS treatment. Post-treatment changes in functional connectivity (FC) within language-related brain regions, as well as in graph naming abilities, were assessed in both patient groups. RESULTS: Both AP and RP groups exhibited significant improvements in graph naming ability following tDCS treatment. Compared to healthy controls, patients showed decreased functional connectivity in multiple brain regions of both hemispheres, particularly in the dominant hemisphere. Post-treatment assessments revealed significant increases in functional connectivity within the bilateral frontotemporal lobes for both AP and RP groups, and within the bilateral temporo-occipital regions for the AP group. Moreover, the RP group demonstrated decreased functional connectivity in the left temporal lobe post-treatment, which had shown increased functional connectivity pre-treatment. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that tDCS can effectively enhance graph naming functions in patients with post-infarction aphasia. The therapeutic effects appear to be mediated by enhancing functional connectivity within bilateral frontotemporal lobes.

A Mushroom P450-Monooxygenase Enables Regio- and Stereoselective Biocatalytic Synthesis of Epoxycyclohexenones.

An epoxycyclohexenone (ECH) moiety occurs in natural products of both bacteria and ascomycete and basidiomycete fungi. While the enzymes for ECH formation in bacteria and ascomycetes have been identified and characterized, it remained obscure how this structure is biosynthesized in basidiomycetes. In this study, we i) identified a genetic locus responsible for panepoxydone biosynthesis in the basidiomycete mushroom Panus rudis and ii) biochemically characterized PanH, the cytochrome P450 enzyme catalyzing epoxide formation in this pathway. Using a PanH-producing yeast as a biocatalyst, we synthesized a small library of bioactive ECH compounds as a proof of concept. Furthermore, homology modeling, molecular dynamics simulation, and site directed mutation revealed the substrate specificity of PanH. Remarkably, PanH is unrelated to ECH-forming enzymes in bacteria and ascomycetes, suggesting that mushrooms evolved this biosynthetic capacity convergently and independently of other organisms.

Quantitative trait loci and candidate genes for yield-related traits of upland cotton revealed by genome-wide association analysis under drought conditions.

BACKGROUND: Due to the influence of extreme weather, the environment in China's main cotton-producing areas is prone to drought stress conditions, which affect the growth and development of cotton and lead to a decrease in cotton yield. RESULTS: In this study, 188 upland cotton germplasm resources were phenotyped for data of 8 traits (including 3 major yield traits) under drought conditions in three environments for two consecutive years. Correlation analysis revealed significant positive correlations between the three yield traits. Genetic analysis showed that the estimated heritability of the seed cotton index (SC) under drought conditions was the highest (80.81%), followed by that of boll weight (BW) (80.64%) and the lint cotton index (LC) (70.49%) With genome-wide association study (GWAS) analysis, a total of 75 quantitative trait loci (QTLs) were identified, including two highly credible new QTL hotspots. Three candidate genes (Gh_D09G064400, Gh_D10G261000 and Gh_D10G254000) located in the two new QTL hotspots, QTL51 and QTL55, were highly expressed in the early stage of fiber development and showed significant correlations with SC, LC and BW. The expression of three candidate genes in two extreme materials after drought stress was analyzed by qRT-PCR, and the expression of these two materials in fibers at 15, 20 and 25 DPA. The expression of these three candidate genes was significantly upregulated after drought stress and was significantly higher in drought-tolerant materials than in drought-sensitive materials. In addition, the expression levels of the three candidate genes were higher in the early stage of fiber development (15 DPA), and the expression levels in drought-tolerant germplasm were higher than those in drought-sensitive germplasm. These three candidate genes may play an important role in determining cotton yield under drought conditions. CONCLUSIONS: This study is helpful for understanding the regulatory genes affecting cotton yield under drought conditions and provides germplasm and candidate gene resources for breeding high-yield cotton varieties under these conditions.

Biochemical and Genetic Basis of Guanacastane Diterpene Biosynthesis in Basidiomycete Fungi.

Guanacastane diterpenoids with an unusual 5/7/6 tricyclic skeleton mainly produced by basidiomycete fungi represent a structurally intriguing class of natural products. While the chemical synthesis of several members has been achieved, the biochemical and genetic basis of their biosynthesis remain unknown. Herein, we present the identification and characterization of two crucial enzymes in the biosynthesis of guanacastane diterpenoids in Psathyrella candolleana. Heterologous expression reveals that PsaD, a typical class I diterpene synthase, catalyzes the cyclization of geranylgeranyl diphosphate to form a new guanacastane-type diterpene, guanacasta-1,3-diene (7). Moreover, we demonstrate that PsaA, a cytochrome P450 monooxygenase, can catalyze multiple oxidations of 7 to yield guanacastepene U (8). These results provide new opportunities for genome mining and metabolic engineering of guanacastane diterpenoids.

A flavin-monooxygenase catalyzing oxepinone formation and the complete biosynthesis of vibralactone.

Oxepinone rings represent one of structurally unusual motifs of natural products and the biosynthesis of oxepinones is not fully understood. 1,5-Seco-vibralactone (3) features an oxepinone motif and is a stable metabolite isolated from mycelial cultures of the mushroom Boreostereum vibrans. Cyclization of 3 forms vibralactone (1) whose ß-lactone-fused bicyclic core originates from 4-hydroxybenzoate, yet it remains elusive how 4-hydroxybenzoate is converted to 3 especially for the oxepinone ring construction in the biosynthesis of 1. In this work, using activity-guided fractionation together with proteomic analyses, we identify an NADPH/FAD-dependent monooxygenase VibO as the key enzyme performing a crucial ring-expansive oxygenation on the phenol ring to generate the oxepin-2-one structure of 3. The crystal structure of VibO reveals that it forms a dimeric phenol hydroxylase-like architecture featured with a unique substrate-binding pocket adjacent to the bound FAD. Computational modeling and solution studies provide insight into the likely VibO active site geometry, and suggest possible involvement of a flavin-C4a-OO(H) intermediate.

Establishment and validation of a ferroptosis-related prognostic signature for hepatocellular carcinoma.

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common type of primary liver cancer with high heterogeneity. The prognosis of HCC is quite poor and the prognostic prediction also has challenges. Ferroptosis is recently recognized as a kind of iron-dependent cell death, which is involved in tumor progression. However, further study is needed to validate the influence of drivers of ferroptosis (DOFs) on the prognosis of HCC. Methods: The FerrDb database and the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database were applied to retrieve DOFs and information of HCC patients respectively. HCC patients were randomly divided into training and testing cohorts with a 7:3 ratio. Univariate Cox regression, LASSO and multivariate Cox regression analyses were carried out to identify the optimal prognosis model and calculate the risk score. Then, univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were performed to assess the independence of the signature. At last, gene functional, tumor mutation and immune-related analyses were conducted to explore the underlying mechanism. Internal and external databases were used to confirm the results. Finally, the tumor tissue and normal tissue from HCC patients were applied to validate the gene expression in the model. Results: Five genes were identified to develop as a prognostic signature in the training cohort relying on the comprehensive analysis. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses confirmed that the risk score was able to be an independent factor for the prognosis of HCC patients. Low-risk patients showed better overall survival than high-risk patients. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis confirmed the signature's predictive capacity. Furthermore, internal and external cohorts were consistent with our results. There was a higher proportion of nTreg cell, Th1 cell, macrophage, exhausted cell and CD8+T cell in the high-risk group. The Tumor Immune Dysfunction and Exclusion (TIDE) score suggested that high-risk patients could respond better to immunotherapy. Besides, the experimental results showed that some genes were differentially expressed between tumor and normal tissues. Conclusion: In summary, the five ferroptosis gene signature showed potential in prognosis of patients with HCC and could also be regarded as a value biomarker for immunotherapy response in these patients.

Genome-wide association analysis revealed genetic variation and candidate genes associated with the yield traits of upland cotton under drought conditions.

Drought is one of the major abiotic stresses seriously affecting cotton yield. At present, the main cotton-producing areas in China are primarily arid and semiarid regions. Therefore, the identification of molecular markers and genes associated with cotton yield traits under drought conditions is of great importance for stabilize cotton yield under such conditions. In this study, resequencing data were used to conduct a genome-wide association study (GWAS) on 8 traits of 150 cotton germplasms. Under drought stress, 18 SNPs were significantly correlated with yield traits (single-boll weight (SBW) and seed (SC)), and 8 SNPs were identified as significantly correlated with effective fruit shoot number (EFBN) traits (a trait that is positively correlated with yield). Finally, a total of 15 candidate genes were screened. The combined results of the GWAS and transcriptome data analysis showed that four genes were highly expressed after drought stress, and these genes had significantly increased expression at 10, 15 and 25 DPA of fiber development. qRT-PCR was performed on two samples with drought tolerance extremes (drought-resistant Xinluzao 45 and drought-sensitive Xinluzao 26), revealing that three of the genes had the same differential expression pattern. This study provides a theoretical basis for the genetic analysis of cotton yield traits under drought stress, and provides gene resources for improved breeding of cotton yield traits under drought stress.

Advances in lung adenocarcinoma: A novel perspective on prognoses and immune responses of CENPO as an oncogenic superenhancer.

Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) is the most prevalent form of lung cancer globally, and its treatment remains a significant challenge. Therefore, it is crucial to comprehend the microenvironment to improve therapy and prognosis urgently. In this study, we utilized bioinformatic methods to analyze the transcription expression profile of patient samples with complete clinical information from the TCGA-LUAD datasets. To validate our findings, we also analyzed the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) datasets. The super-enhancer (SE) was visualized using the peaks of the H3K27ac and H3K4me1 ChIP-seq signal, which were identified by the Integrative Genomics Viewer (IGV). To further investigate the role of Centromere protein O (CENPO) in LUAD, we conducted various assays including Western blot, qRT-PCR, flow cytometry, wound healing and transwell assays to assess the cell functions of CENPO in vitro. The overexpression of CENPO is linked to a poor prognosis in patients with LUAD. Strong signal peaks of H3K27ac and H3K4me1 were also observed near the predicted SE regions of CENPO. CENPO was found to be positively associated with the expression levels of immune checkpoints and drug IC50 value (Roscovitine and TGX221), but negatively associated with the fraction levels of several immature cells and drug IC50 value (CCT018159, GSK1904529A, Lenaildomide, and PD-173074). Additionally, CENPO-associated prognostic signature (CPS) was identified as an independent risk factor. The high-risk group for LUAD is identified based on CPS enrichment, which involved not only endocytosis that transfers mitochondria to promote cell survival in response to chemotherapy but also cell cycle promotion that leads to drug resistance. The removal of CENPO significantly suppressed metastasis and induced arrest and apoptosis of LUAD cells. The involvement of CENPO in the immunosuppression of LUAD provides a prognostic signature for LUAD patients.

Pan-cancer landscape of CENPO and its underlying mechanism in LUAD.

BACKGROUND: Centromere protein O (CENPO) is a newly discovered constitutive centromeric protein, associated with cell death. However, little is known about how CENPO expression is associated with human cancers or immune infiltration. Here, we assessed the function of CENPO in pan-cancer and further verified the results in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) through in vitro and in vivo experiments. METHODS: Sangerbox and TCGA databases were used to evaluate the CENPO expression level in different human cancer types. A subsequent evaluation of the potential role of CENPO as a diagnostic and prognostic biomarker in pancancer was conducted. The CENPO mutations were analyzed using the cBioPortal database and its function was analyzed using the LinkedOmics and CancerSEA databases. The TIMER2 and TISIDB websites were used to find out how CENPO affects immune infiltration. The expression level of CENPO in LUAD was revealed by TCGA database and immunohistochemical (IHC) staining. Targetscan, miRWalk, miRDB, miRabel, LncBase databases, and Cytoscape tool were used to identify microRNAs (miRNAs) and long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) that regulate expression and construct ceRNA network. Subsequently, loss-of-function assays were performed to identify the functions of CENPO on the malignant behavior and tumor growth of LUAD in vitro and in vivo experiments. RESULTS: In most cancers, CENPO was upregulated and mutated, which predicted a poorer prognosis. Furthermore, infiltration of CENPO and myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC) showed a significant positive correlation, while T-cell NK infiltration showed a significant negative correlation in most cancers. CENPO was expressed at high levels in LUAD and was correlated with p-TNM stage. Furthermore, CENPO knockdown suppressed the malignant phenotypes of LUAD cells, manifested by slower proliferation, cycle in G2, increased apoptosis, decreased migration, and attenuated tumorigenesis. Furthermore, CENPO knockdown decreased CDK1/6, PIK3CA, and inhibited mTOR phosphorylation, suggesting that the mTOR signaling pathway may be involved in CENPO-mediated regulation of LUAD development. CONCLUSIONS: In pan-cancer, especially LUAD, CENPO may be a potential biomarker and oncogene. Furthermore, CENPO has been implicated in immune cell infiltration in pan-cancer and represents a potential immunotherapeutic target for tumor therapy.

Synthesis and Sintering Reaction Mechanism of High-Performance MgO-CaO-Fe2O3 Clinker.

High-performance MgO-CaO-Fe2O3 clinker was prepared using magnesite from Xinjiang (with high calcium and low silica), calcium oxide, and ferric oxide as raw materials. Microstructural analysis and thermogravimetric analysis, combined with HSC chemistry 6 software simulations, were used to investigate the synthesis mechanism of MgO-CaO-Fe2O3 clinker and the effect of firing temperature on the properties of MgO-CaO-Fe2O3 clinker. The results show that MgO-CaO-Fe2O3 clinker with a bulk density of 3.42 g·cm-3, water absorption of 0.7%, and excellent physical properties can be formed by firing at 1600 °C for 3 h. In addition, the crushed and reformed specimens can be refired at temperatures of 1300 °C and 1600 °C to achieve compressive strengths of 17.9 MPa and 39.1 MPa, respectively. The main crystalline phase of the MgO-CaO-Fe2O3 clinker is the MgO phase; the 2CaO·Fe2O3 phase generated by the reaction is distributed between the MgO grains to form a cemented structure with a small quantity of 3CaO·SiO2 and 4CaO·Al2O3·Fe2O3 also distributed between the MgO grains. A series of decomposition and resynthesis chemical reactions occurred during the firing of the MgO-CaO-Fe2O3 clinker, and the liquid phase appeared in the system once the firing temperature exceeded 1250 °C. The presence of the liquid phase promoted intergranular mass transfer between the MgO grains, ensuring the continuous growth of the MgO grains and furthering the densification of the MgO-CaO-Fe2O3 clinker.

Repeated High-Definition Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Modulated Temporal Variability of Brain Regions in Core Neurocognitive Networks Over the Left Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex in Mild Cognitive Impairment Patients.

BACKGROUND: Early intervention of amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) may be the most promising way for delaying or even preventing the progression to Alzheimer's disease. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a noninvasive brain stimulation technique that has been recognized as a promising approach for the treatment of aMCI. OBJECTIVE: In this paper, we aimed to investigate the modulating mechanism of tDCS on the core neurocognitive networks of brain. METHODS: We used repeated anodal high-definition transcranial direct current stimulation (HD-tDCS) over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and assessed the effect on cognition and dynamic functional brain network in aMCI patients. We used a novel method called temporal variability to depict the characteristics of the dynamic brain functional networks. RESULTS: We found that true anodal stimulation significantly improved cognitive performance as measured by the Montreal Cognitive Assessment after simulation. Meanwhile, the Mini-Mental State Examination scores showed a clear upward trend. More importantly, we found significantly altered temporal variability of dynamic functional connectivity of regions belonging to the default mode network, central executive network, and the salience network after true anodal stimulation, indicating anodal HD-tDCS may enhance brain function by modulating the temporal variability of the brain regions. CONCLUSION: These results imply that ten days of anodal repeated HD-tDCS over the LDLPFC exerts beneficial effects on the temporal variability of the functional architecture of the brain, which may be a potential neural mechanism by which HD-tDCS enhances brain functions. Repeated HD-tDCS may have clinical uses for the intervention of brain function decline in aMCI patients.