Beneficial Effect of Toxoplasma gondii Infection on the Prognosis of Breast Cancer Was Modified by Cytokines.

Background: Animal experiments have shown the anticancer activity of Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii), but its effect on the prognosis of cancer patients is unclear. Thus, the present study aimed to investigate the prognostic role of anti-T. gondii IgG in breast cancer patients and the modification effect of cytokines. Methods: A total of 1121 breast cancer patients were recruited between 2008 and 2018 and followed up until December 31, 2021. Anti-T. gondii IgG and cytokines were measured using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit and a multiplex assay platform. Endpoints were overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS). Survival and multiplicative interaction analyses were performed using multivariate Cox regression models. Results: According to the cutoff value of optical density (OD=0.111), 900 (80.29%) and 221 (19.71%) patients were divided into two groups: low or high anti-T. gondii IgG. Compared to patients with a low anti-T. gondii IgG level, the adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) of OS and PFS for patients with high anti-T. gondii IgG levels were 0.60 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.37-0.99) and 0.67 (0.46-0.98), respectively. These associations were profound among patients with a high cytokine score (HR=0.29, 95% CI: 0.10-0.82 for OS; HR=0.30, 95% CI: 0.13-0.69 for PFS), accompanied by a significant interaction between the level of anti-T. gondii IgG and the cytokine score (P interaction=0.019 for PFS); interleukin-17 (IL-17) and interleukin-9 (IL-9) were the main contributors to the interaction. Conclusion: Anti-T. gondii IgG was found to be beneficial to breast cancer survival, especially in women with systematic inflammation and high IL-17 or IL-9 levels, suggesting the potential of T. gondii as a prognostic marker and a novel immunotherapy approach for cancer patients.

Short dual-core GaAs photonic crystal fiber splitter with a broad bandwidth and ultrahigh extinction ratio.

Microstructured polarization beam splitters (PBSs) have attracted much interest in recent years. Here, a ring double-core photonic crystal fiber (PCB) PSB (PCB-PSB) with an ultrashort, broadband, and high extinction ratio (ER) was designed. The effects of the structural parameters on the properties were analyzed by the finite element method, which revealed that the optimal length of the PSB was 19.08877 µm and the ER was -324.257d B. The operating bandwidth for an ER of less than -20d B is 440 nm, and the wavelength range spans the full E+S+C+L+U band between 1,320 and 1,760 nm. The fault and manufacturing tolerance of the PBS was demonstrated for structural errors of ±1%. Moreover, the influence of temperature on the performance of the PBS was determined and discussed. Our results show that a PBS has excellent potential in optical fiber sensing and optical fiber communications.

Colossal Anisotropic Thermal Expansion through Coupling Spin Crossover and Rhombus Deformation in a Hexanuclear {FeIII4FeII2} Compound.

Colossal and anisotropic thermal expansion is a key function for microscale or nanoscale actuators in material science. Herein, we present a hexanuclear compound of [(Tp*)FeIII(CN)3]4[FeII(Ppmp)]2·2CH3OH (1, Tp* = hydrotris(3,5-dimethyl-pyrazol-1-yl)borate and Ppmp = 2-[3-(2'-pyridyl)pyrazol-1-ylmethyl]pyridine), which has a rhombic core structure abbreviated as {FeIII2FeII2}. Magnetic susceptibility measurements and single-crystal X-ray diffraction analyses revealed that 1 underwent temperature-induced spin transition with the thermal hysteresis. The FeII site in 1 behaved as a spin crossover (SCO) unit, and significant deformation of its octahedron was observed during the spin transition process. Moreover, the distortion of the FeII centers actuated anisotropic deformation of the rhombic {FeIII2FeII2} core, which was spread over the whole crystal through the subsequent molecular rearrangements, leading to the colossal anisotropic thermal expansion. Our results provide a rational strategy for realizing the colossal anisotropic thermal expansion and shape memory effects by tuning the magnetic bistability.

Reaction and separation system for CO2 hydrogenation to formic acid catalyzed by iridium immobilized on solid phosphines under base-free condition.

Hydrogenation of carbon dioxide (CO2) to produce formic acid (HCOOH) in base-free condition can avoid waste producing and simplify product separation process. However, it remains a big challenge because of the unfavorable energy in both thermodynamics and dynamics. Herein, we report the selective and efficient hydrogenation of CO2 to HCOOH under neutral conditions with imidazolium chloride ionic liquid as the solvent, catalyzed by a heterogeneous Ir/PPh3 compound. The heterogeneous catalyst is more effective than the homogeneous one because it is inert in catalyzing the decomposition of product. A turnover number (TON) of 12700 can be achieved, and HCOOH with a purity of 99.5% can be isolated by distillation because of the non-volatility of the solvent. Both the catalyst and imidazolium chloride can be recycled at least 5 times with stable reactivity.

Low cross-sensitivity and sensitivity-enhanced FBG sensor interrogated by an OCMI-based three-arm interferometer.

An FBG sensor interrogated by an optical carrier microwave interferometry (OCMI)-based three-arm Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. In our sensing scheme, the interferogram generated by interfering the three-arm-MZI middle arm with the sensing arm and the reference arm respectively is superimposed to produce a Vernier effect to increase the sensitivity of the system. The simultaneous interrogation of the sensing fiber Bragg grating (FBG) and the reference FBG by the OCMI-based three-arm-MZI provides an ideal solution to the cross-sensitivity problems (e.g. temperature vs. strain) associated with conventional sensors that produce the Vernier effect by cascading optical elements. Experimental results show that when applied to strain sensing, the OCMI-three-arm-MZI based FBG sensor is 17.5 times more sensitive compared to the two-arm interferometer based FBG sensor. And the temperature sensitivity is reduced from 371.858 KHz/°C to 1.455 KHz/°C. The prominent advantages of the sensor, including high resolution, high sensitivity, and low cross-sensitivity, make it a great potential for high-precision health monitoring in extreme environments.

Boosting methanol-mediated CO2 hydrogenation into aromatics by synergistically tailoring oxygen vacancy and acid site properties of multifunctional catalyst.

Even though the direct hydrogenation of CO2 into aromatics has been realized via a methanol-mediated pathway and multifunctional catalyst, few works have been focused on the simultaneously rational design of each component in multifunctional catalyst to improve the performance. Also, the structure-function relationship between aromatics synthesis performance and the different catalytic components (reducible metal oxide and acidic zeolite) has been rarely investigated. Herein, we increase the oxygen vacancy (Ov) density in reducible Cr2O3 by sequential carbonization and oxidation (SCO) treatments of Cr-based metal-organic frameworks. Thanks to the enriched Ov, Cr2O3-based catalyst affords high methanol selectivity of 98.1% (without CO) at a CO2 conversion of 16.8% under high reaction temperature (350 oC). Furthermore, after combining with the acidic zeolite H-ZSM-5, the multifunctional catalyst realizes the direct conversion of CO2 into aromatics with conversion and selectivity as high as 25.4% and 80.1% (without CO), respectively. The property of acid site in H-ZSM-5, especially the Al species that located at the intersection of straight and sinusoidal channels, plays a vital role in enhancing the aromatics selectivity, which can be precisely controlled by varying the hydrothermal synthesis conditions. Our work provides a synergistic strategy to boost the aromatics synthesis performance from CO2 hydrogenation.

Nucleolus assembly impairment leads to two-cell transcriptional repression via NPM1-mediated PRC2 recruitment.

The nucleolus is a compartmentalized organelle in eukaryotic cells known to form during embryogenesis, yet how its layered architecture is transformed from homogenous precursor bodies is unclear, and any impacts of this formation on embryonic cell fate determination remain unknown. Here, we demonstrate that lncRNA LoNA tethers granular-component-enriched NPM1 to dense-fibrillar-component-enriched FBL and drives the formation of compartmentalized nucleolus via facilitating liquid-liquid phase separation of those two nucleolar proteins. Phenotypically, LoNA-deficient embryos show developmental arrest at the two-cell (2C) stage. Mechanistically, we demonstrate that LoNA deficiency leads to nucleolar formation failure, resulting in mislocalization and acetylation of NPM1 in the nucleoplasm. Acetylated NPM1 recruits and guides PRC2 complex to 2C genes, where PRC2 complex trimethylates H3K27, leading to transcriptional repression of these genes. Collectively, our findings reveal that lncRNA is required for the establishment of nucleolar structure, and this process has an impact on two-cell embryonic development via 2C transcriptional activation.

Research on Data Poisoning Attack against Smart Grid Cyber-Physical System Based on Edge Computing.

Data poisoning attack is a well-known attack against machine learning models, where malicious attackers contaminate the training data to manipulate critical models and predictive outcomes by masquerading as terminal devices. As this type of attack can be fatal to the operation of a smart grid, addressing data poisoning is of utmost importance. However, this attack requires solving an expensive two-level optimization problem, which can be challenging to implement in resource-constrained edge environments of the smart grid. To mitigate this issue, it is crucial to enhance efficiency and reduce the costs of the attack. This paper proposes an online data poisoning attack framework based on the online regression task model. The framework achieves the goal of manipulating the model by polluting the sample data stream that arrives at the cache incrementally. Furthermore, a point selection strategy based on sample loss is proposed in this framework. Compared to the traditional random point selection strategy, this strategy makes the attack more targeted, thereby enhancing the attack's efficiency. Additionally, a batch-polluting strategy is proposed in this paper, which synchronously updates the poisoning points based on the direction of gradient ascent. This strategy reduces the number of iterations required for inner optimization and thus reduces the time overhead. Finally, multiple experiments are conducted to compare the proposed method with the baseline method, and the evaluation index of loss over time is proposed to demonstrate the effectiveness of the method. The results show that the proposed method outperforms the existing baseline method in both attack effectiveness and overhead.

Magnetic circuit optimization design and thermal analysis of the giant magnetostrictive transducer.

A giant magnetostrictive transducer was studied. The dynamic simulation analysis of the transducer was carried out, the influence of the magnetic block and the magnetic cylinder on the vibration performance of the transducer was studied, and the temperature rise of the transducer during the operation was simulated and calculated. The impedance and output amplitude of the developed transducer were tested experimentally. The results show that the axial magnetic field intensity of the Terfenol-D rod increased and then decreased, and the output amplitude increased and then decreased slightly with the increase of the thickness of the magnetic cylinder. As the thickness of the magnetic block increased, the axial magnetic field intensity of the rod increased, and the output amplitude of the transducer also increased. Compared with the transducer without magnetic cylinder, the transducer with magnetic cylinder has larger electromechanical conversion coefficient, and output amplitude, but the temperature was higher after working for the same time.

Multiaxial super-geometric mode laser.

Structured light was usually studied by two-dimensional (2D) transverse eigenmodes. Recently, the three-dimensional (3D) geometric modes as coherent superposed states of eigenmodes opened new topological indices to shape light, that optical vortices can be coupled on multiaxial geometric rays, but only limited to azimuthal vortex charge. Here, we propose a new structured light family, multiaxial super-geometric modes, enabling full radial and azimuthal indices coupled to multiaxial rays, and they can be directly generated from a laser cavity. Exploiting combined intra- and extra-cavity astigmatic mode conversions, we experimentally verify the versatile tunability of complex orbital angular momentum and SU(2) geometry beyond the limit of prior multiaxial geometric modes, opening new dimensions to revolutionize applications such as optical trapping, manufacturing, and communications.

Construction of 1,2-dihydro-1,3,5-triazines via reactions involving amidines.

1,2-Dihydro-1,3,5-triazine compounds were synthesized through three sets of reactions of amidines with, respectively, paraformaldehyde, aldehydes and N-arylnitrones under different conditions. The catalysts used in these three reactions were Cu(OAc)2, ZnI2 and CuCl2·2H2O, respectively. Most of the substrates tested for these reactions provided the target products in moderate to good yields. In the reactions involving paraformaldehyde, Cu(OAc)2 also accelerated the release of formaldehyde from paraformaldehyde during the catalytic reaction process. In the case of the reactions involving nitrones, CuCl2·2H2O not only catalyzed the normal progress of the main reaction, but also promoted the reaction of nitrones to produce nitroso compounds and aldehydes.

Unraveling molecular mechanisms underlying low-temperature adaptation in Laguncularia racemosa.

Laguncularia racemosa (L.) C.F. Gaertn is a controversial species in China, in terms of being a pioneer species for mangrove restoration and a putative invasive species occupying natural habitats. The tolerance to chilling stress allows L. racemosa to adapt to extreme climate change. However, little is known about the molecular-level chilling resistance mechanisms in L. racemosa, which restricts our understanding of its biological features and invasion potential. In this study, L. racemosa seedlings were treated with freezing temperature (0 °C) at four durations (0 h, 3 h, 12 h and 24 h of recovery after treatment), and both physiological and transcriptional regulations underlying chilling stress resistance were investigated. Chilling stress caused damage to the cell membrane system and reduced photosynthesis efficiency of L. racemosa seedlings. To combat the adverse impacts, plasma membrane biosynthesis and antioxidant processes were substantially enhanced. After 24 h of recovery, the seedlings nearly recovered to normal growth condition, except for the processes related to photosynthesis, indicating their vigorous adaptation to short-term chilling stress. Importantly, the individuals from higher latitude displayed better adaptation to chilling injury than those from lower latitude, highlighting the role of long-term heredity × environment interactions in promoting the chilling resistance capacity of L. racemosa. These features allow L. racemosa to survive in extremely cold weather, but may also increase its risk of invasion into intertidal ecosystems. Together, our findings present a comprehensive view of the chilling-adaptative mechanisms of L. racemosa, which provide clues for better evaluating the invasive potential of L. racemosa.

The role of D-dimer and fibrinogen testing in catheter-directed thrombolysis with urokinase for deep venous thrombosis.

BACKGROUND: During catheter-directed thrombolysis (CDT), D-dimer (D-D) are generated in large quantities and fibrinogen (FIB) is continuously consumed. Reduction of FIB increases the risk of bleeding. However, there are currently few studies on the relationship between D-D and FIB concentrations during CDT. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the relationship of D-D and FIB concentrations during CDT with urokinase for deep venous thrombosis (DVT). METHOD: 17 patients with lower limb DVT were enrolled and treated with CDT. The concentrations of plasma D-D and FIB were measured every 8 h during thrombolysis. The degree of thrombolysis was evaluated, the change rules of D-D and FIB concentrations were analyzed, and the change curve graphs were drawn. The "thrombus volume," "thrombolysis time," "thrombolysis ratio," "D-D peak," "D-D rising speed," "FIB falling speed," and "duration of D-D elevation" were calculated in each patient. The mixed model was used to simulate the time change trend of the plasma D-D and FIB concentrations. Pearson method and linear regression were used to analyze the correlation and linear relationship, respectively. RESULTS: The D-D concentration first increased rapidly and then decreased gradually, and the FIB concentration continued to decrease during thrombolysis. The rate of the decline of FIB varies with the urokinase dose. The thrombus volume is positively correlated with D-D rising speed, duration of D-D elevation, D-D peak, and FIB falling speed; the D-D rising speed is positively correlated with the D-D peak and FIB falling speed; and the D-D peak is positively correlated with the FIB falling speed. The correlation coefficients were all statistically significant (p < 0.05). Efficacy reached level I-II in 76.5% patients. No major bleeding occurred in any of the patients. CONCLUSION: During CDT with urokinase for DVT, the concentrations of D-D and FIB show specific changes, and there are some specific relationships between each other. Understanding these changes and relationships may be helpful to adjust the thrombolysis time and urokinase dose more rationally.

Interaction of reproductive tract infections with estrogen exposure on breast cancer risk and prognosis.

BACKGROUND: Reproductive tract infections influenced a series of inflammatory processes which involved in the development of breast cancer, while the processes were largely affected by estrogen. The present study aimed to explore the associations of breast cancer risk and prognosis with reproductive tract infections and the modification effects of estrogen exposure. METHODS: We collected history of reproductive tract infections, menstruation and reproduction from 1003 cases and 1107 controls and a cohort of 4264 breast cancer patients during 2008-2018 in Guangzhou, China. We used logistic regression model to estimate the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for risk; Cox model was applied to estimate the hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% CIs for progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). RESULTS: It was found that previous reproductive tract infections were negatively associated with breast cancer risk (OR = 0.80, 95%CI, 0.65-0.98), particularly for patients with more menstrual cycles (OR = 0.74, 95%CI, 0.57-0.96). Patients with previous reproductive tract infections experienced better OS (HR = 0.61; 95% CI, 0.40-0.94) and PFS (HR = 0.84; 95% CI, 0.65-1.09). This protective effect on PFS was only found in patients with more menstrual cycles (HR = 0.52, 95% CI:0.34-0.79, Pinteraction = 0.015). CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggested that reproductive tract infections may be protective for the initiation and development of breast cancer, particularly for women with a longer interval of lifetime estrogen exposure.

Magnetoelectric effect generated through electron transfer from organic radical to metal ion.

Magnetoelectric (ME) materials induced by electron transfer are extremely rare. Electron transfer in these materials invariably occurs between the metal ions. In contrast, ME properties induced by electron transfer from an organic radical to a metal ion have never been observed. Here, we report the ME coupling effect in a mononuclear molecule-based compound [(CH3)3NCH2CH2Br][Fe(Cl2An)2(H2O)2] (1) [Cl2An = chloranilate, (CH3)3NCH2CH2Br+ = (2-bromoethyl)trimethylammonium]. Investigation of the mechanism revealed that the ME coupling effect is realized through electron transfer from the Cl2An to the Fe ion. Measurement of the magnetodielectric (MD) coefficient of 1 indicated a positive MD of up to ∼12% at 103.0 Hz and 370 K, which is very different from that of ME materials with conventional electron transfer for which the MD is generally negative. Thus, the current work not only presents a novel ME coupling mechanism, but also opens a new route to the synthesis of ME coupling materials.

Fractionation of depectinated sugar beet pulp into cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin with NaOH/urea/H2O and ionic liquid.

This study proposes a novel and feasible dissolution and fractionation method of depectinated sugar beet pulp (SBP) in NaOH/Urea/H2O, ionic liquid (IL) and alkaline treatment processes. Interestingly, the complicated structure of SBP can be treated with 30 % H2SO4 to increase the dissolution rate. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis confirmed that the appearance of cellulose and hemicellulose obtained by two methods were different. At the same time, two lignin fractions showed irregular high-density clusters, which were composed of a large number of submicron particles. The crystal structure of two cellulose fractions changed from cellulose I to cellulose II. The thermal stability of cellulose and lignin obtained by ionic liquid was slightly better than that obtained by NaOH/urea/H2O. Results of Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and 13C NMR showed that the chemical structures of SBP cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin regenerated from NaOH/urea/H2O and ionic liquid were similar.

Transcriptome analysis of anorexic and preferred silkworms (Bombyx mori) on artificial diet.

The silkworm, Bombyx mori, is an important oligophagous economic insect and feeding habits of different silkworm varieties to artificial diet are different. Research on the mechanisms of feeding habits on artificial diet, and breeding of silkworm varieties adapted on artificial diet, which is a necessary condition for industrial silkworm rearing, is currently lacking. For an artificial diet, Xin was anorexic, whereas Haoyue A showed a strong appetite. When the two varieties were crossed, the F1 generation showed a poor appetite for the artificial diet and had a setae dispersion rate of <50 %. However, the F2 generation, self-bred progeny of F1, had a good appetite for the artificial diet, with a setae dispersion rate of 70 %. Herein, transcriptome analysis was conducted on the F2 generation, comparing individuals with anorexic and preferred feeding habits, and 2188 differential genes were identified, with 1524 genes up-regulated and 934 genes down-regulated. Several genes were identified to contribute to feeding habits, such as genes involved olfactory system, energy supply, and cell proliferation and differentiation. GO enrichment revealed a large number of DEGs related to behavior, growth, signaling, developmental process, response to stimulation, and other pathways. Furthermore, proteins closely related to feeding were expressed differently. Some DEGs were selected for qRT-PCR, and results indicated the reliability of the DEG results. The DEGs between individuals with anorexic and preferred feeding habits were screened by RNA-Seq technology, which provides a reliable reference to study molecule mechanisms of feeding habits on artificial diet.

TFAP2C exacerbates psoriasis-like inflammation by promoting Th17 and Th1 cells activation through regulating TEAD4 transcription.

BACKGROUND: Psoriasis is one of the chronic and autoimmune skin diseases. It is important to uncover the mechanisms underlying the psoriasis. Transcription factor activator protein (TFAP-2) gamma, also known as AP2-gamma, is a protein encoded by the TFAP2C gene. Immune-mediated pathophysiological processes could be linked to psoriasis, but the mechanism is still unclear. Therefore, to date the cause of psoriasis has not been understood completely. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Psoriasis is a complex disease triggered by genetic, immunological, and environmental stimuli. Keratinocytes play an important role in both initiation and maintenance phases of psoriasis. A psoriatic keratinocyte model was established by stimulating high sensitivity of human epidermal keratinocytes (HaCaT) to topoisomerase inhibitor cell lines using the accumulation of M5 cytokines comprising interleukin (IL)-17A, IL-22, oncostatin M, IL-1α, and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α). The TFAP2C and transcriptional enhanced associate domain 4 (TEAD4) genes expression was evaluated by reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Western blot analysis was used to examine protein expression. Cell viability (quantitative) of keratinocytes, including cytotoxicity, proliferation, and cell activation, was evaluated by the MTT assay. The relative percentage values of interleukin (IL)-17a, interferon gamma, and IL-4+ cells were measured by flow cytometry. Accordingly, chromatin immunoprecipitation and luciferase reporter assays were applied to evaluate the binding affinity of TFAP2C and TEAD4 promoter. RESULTS: Level of the TFAP2C gene was elevated in the lesional skin of psoriasis patients. On the other hand, silencing of the TFAP2C gene suppressed the proliferation and inflammatory response in M5-induced keratinocytes. In addition, inhibition of TFAP2C alleviated imiquimod (IMQ)-induced skin injury in mice model. We also observed that suppression of TFAP2C inhibited the activation of T-helper 17 (Th17) and Th1 cells in IMQ-induced mice model. Mechanically, TFAP2C promoted TEAD4 transcriptional activation. CONCLUSION: TFAP2C exacerbated psoriasis-like inflammation by increasing the activation of Th17 and Th1 cells by regulating TEAD4 transcription. This finding clearly indicated that TFAP2C could be considered a valuable biomarker for the prevention and treatment for psoriasis.