Circ_0064288 acts as an oncogene of hepatocellular carcinoma cells by inhibiting miR-335-5p expression and promoting ROCK1 expression.

BACKGROUND: Reportedly, circular RNA (circRNA) is a key modulator in the development of human malignancies. This work is aimed to probe the expression pattern, biological effects and mechanism of circ_0064288 on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) progression. METHODS: The differentially expressed circRNA was screened by analyzing the expression profiles of circRNAs in HCC tissues and normal tissues. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was performed to examine the expression of circ_0064288, miR-335-5p and Rho associated coiled-coil containing protein kinase 1 (ROCK1) mRNA in HCC specimens. After circ_0064288 was overexpressed or knocked down in HCC cells, cell growth was detected by the CCK-8 experiment, and cell migration was evaluated using Transwell experiment and scratch healing experiment. The targeting relationship between miR-335-5p and circ_0064288 and ROCK1 mRNA was predicted and verified using bioinformatic analysis and dual-luciferase reporter gene experiments, respectively. Western blot was executed to examine ROCK1 protein expression in HCC cells. RESULTS: Circ_0064288 and ROCK1 expression was up-modulated in HCC, while miR-335-5p was down-modulated. High circ_0064288 expression was associated with shorter survival time of HCC patients. It was also revealed that circ_0064288 overexpression remarkably enhanced HCC cell growth and migration, while knockdown of circ_0064288 induced opposite effects. Additionally, circ_0064288 could competitively bind with miR-335-5p thereby up-modulate ROCK1 expression. MiR-335-5p overexpression partly counteracted the effect of circ_0064288 overexpression on HCC cells. CONCLUSION: Circ_0064288 facilitates HCC cell growth and migration by modulating the miR-335-5p/ROCK1 axis.

Position 22 of the V3 loop is associated with HIV infectivity.

Human immunodeficiency virus subtype 1B (HIV-1B) binds to the CD4 receptor and co-receptor CCR5 or CXCR4 to enter T lymphocytes. The amino acid sequence of the HIV envelope glycoprotein V3 region determines the co-receptor tropism, thereby influencing the infectivity of the virus. Our research group previously found that the amino acid at position 22 of the V3 region may affect the infectivity of the virus, and in this study, we tested this hypothesis. We constructed pseudoviruses by changing the amino acids at position 22 of the V3 region in CCR5-tropic and CXCR4-tropic viruses and tested their infectivity. When the amino acid at V3 position 22 was altered in the CCR5- and CXCR4-tropic viruses, their ability to infect cells decreased to 20.6% and 17.14%, respectively. Therefore, we propose that residue 22 in the V3 region of subtype HIV-1B significantly influences the infectivity of the virus.

[A clinical analysis of 21 cases of adrenal non-Hodgkin's lymphoma].

OBJECTIVE: To elaborate the clinical characteristics of adrenal non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and to expand the clinical thinking of adrenal tumors. METHODS: Subjects with adrenal tumors and non-Hodgkin's lymphomas between January. 1994 and December.2012 in Peking University First Hospital retrospectively were included and these with adrenal lymphoma patients were analyzed in the present study. RESULTS: Among 1100 adrenal tumors and 1 002 non-hodgkin's lymphomas, 21 patients (aged 35 to 80 years, mean 56 years) were diagnosed as having adrenal non-Hodgkin's lymphoma with 14 males and 7 females. Among the 21 patients, 15 were with pain on the waist and the back, 3 with fever, 1 had weight loss. Two patients were diagnosed by regular health examination. Only 2 subjects accompanied by superficial lymph node enlargement, while 10 by abdominal cavity lymph node enlargement.Eleven subjects were with extranodal involvement. Bilateral adrenal were involved in 8 patients with 9 on the left and 4 the right. The average diameter of the masses was 7.2 cm. There were no specific features in conventional imaging such as CT and MRI scan. All of the 21 cases were found normal adrenal function by endocrinological examinations. Pathology reviewed that 18 of 21 were diffuse large B cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, 2 were T cell lymphoma, 1 were anaplastic large cell lymphoma. Only 7 of 21 cases were diagnosed with adrenal lymphoma pre-operation. Seventeen patients were followed up by telephone in September 2014, in which 14 died and the average survival time was 5.5 months, 2 were tumor-free survival for 4 and 10 months respectively, 1 were currently undergoing chemotherapy. CONCLUSIONS: Adrenal lymphoma is rare with less superficial lymph node, more bilateral adrenal involved with high malignant degree. It progressed quickly with poor prognosis. Clinical and imaging features were not specific, so misdiagnosis was very common. Pathology is the diagnostic gold standard. The most common type was diffuse large B cell type.

Sophisticated Structural Tuning of NiMoO4@MnCo2O4 Nanomaterials for High Performance Hybrid Capacitors.

NiMoO4 is an excellent candidate for supercapacitor electrodes, but poor cycle life, low electrical conductivity, and small practical capacitance limit its further development. Therefore, in this paper, we fabricate NiMoO4@MnCo2O4 composites based on a two-step hydrothermal method. As a supercapacitor electrode, the sample can reach 3000 mF/cm2 at 1 mA/cm2. The asymmetric supercapacitor (ASC), NiMoO4@MnCo2O4//AC, can be constructed with activated carbon (AC) as the negative electrode, the device can reach a maximum energy density of 90.89 mWh/cm3 at a power density of 3726.7 mW/cm3 and the capacitance retention can achieve 78.4% after 10,000 cycles.

Mulberry fruit polysaccharides alleviate diethylnitrosamine/phenobarbital-induced hepatocarcinogenesis in vivo: the roles of cell apoptosis and inflammation.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common malignant tumors worldwide, and chemoprevention represents a feasible treatment to reduce the mortality of this carcinoma. Mulberry fruit polysaccharides (MFP) possess immunoregulatory and anti-inflammatory effects, which have been reported to alleviate liver damage evoked by CCl4 or alcohol in previous reports. However, its chemopreventive effect against liver carcinogenesis is insufficient. The present study was aimed to investigate the possible role of MFP as a pro-apoptosis, and anti-inflammatory agent to possess its chemoprevention property. Hepatocarcinogenesis was induced by diethylnitrosamine/phenobarbital (DEN/PB) for 14 weeks. The DEN/PB-administered rats were co-treated with different doses of MFP (50 or 100 mg/kg body weight) by oral gavage for 14 weeks. Basic hepatic function indexes (AST, ALT, ALP, GGT, total bilirubin, and albumin), and hepatic tumor biomarkers (AFP, CEA, and CA19.9), together with histological assessment were performed. Besides, the hepatic apoptosis markers (Bcl-2, Bax, caspase3, and caspase9), inflammation markers (IL-1ß, TNF-α, and NF-κB), and mutT homologue gene 1 (MTH1) were examined. Oral gavage of MFP inhibited the elevations of hepatic function indexes and hepatic tumor biomarkers and alleviated pathological changes in hepatic tissue. In addition, the hepatic apoptosis markers, inflammation markers, and the mRNA level of MTH1 were abnormal in DEN/PB group, which were reversed by MFP treatment. In conclusion, MFP is an effective agent that provides chemoprevention against DEN/PB-evoked hepatocarcinogenesis via inhibition of inflammation and induction of apoptosis.

CircPVT1 Regulates Cell Proliferation, Apoptosis and Glycolysis in Hepatocellular Carcinoma via miR-377/TRIM23 Axis.

BACKGROUND: Recent studies reported that circular RNAs (circRNAs) exert essential functions in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) progression. However, the expression profile and function of circular RNA PVT1 (circPVT1) in HCC are not fully addressed. Thus, we aimed to probe into the function of circPVT1 in HCC development. METHODS: The levels of circPVT1, microRNA-377 (miR-377) and transcripts encoding tripartite motif containing 23 (TRIM23) were determined by qRT-PCR. The stability and localization of circPVT1 were examined by RNase R digestion assay and subcellular fraction assay, respectively. Cell proliferation and apoptosis were evaluated by MTT assay and flow cytometry analysis, respectively. The relationship between miR-377 and circPVT1 or TRIM23 was determined by dual-luciferase reporter assay and RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP). The protein expression of TRIM23 was measured by Western blot. The glycolysis level was assessed by specific kits and Seahorse Extracellular Flux Analyzer XF96. The function of circPVT1 in vivo was investigated in a murine xenograft model. RESULTS: CircPVT1 and TRIM23 levels were elevated, while miR-377 was decreased in HCC. CircPVT1 knockdown restrained proliferation and glycolysis, but enhanced apoptosis in HCC cells. CircPVT1 could bind to miR-377 and inhibition of miR-377 restored circPVT1 knockdown-mediated effect on HCC cells. TRIM23 was certified as a target of miR-377, and TRIM23 upregulation overturned the influence of miR-377 upregulation or circPVT1 silence on HCC progression. Moreover, circPVT1 knockdown restrained tumor growth in HCC in vivo. CONCLUSION: CircPVT1 aggravated the progression of HCC by upregulating TRIM23 via sponging miR-377.

Long-Term Postpartum Outcomes of Insulin Resistance and ß-cell Function in Women with Previous Gestational Diabetes Mellitus.

AIMS: The objective of the present study was to explore the long-term postpartum glucose metabolism in women with previous GDM, and study the mechanism of hyperglycemia from gestation to postpartum by investigating the postpartum insulin resistance and insulin secretion. METHODS: A total of 321 females with previous GDM were followed up once during 1- to 6-years postpartum. Characteristics during pregnancy, perinatal period, and postpartum were compared between postpartum NGT and hyperglycemic women. HOMA-IR and HOMA-ß were used to assess insulin resistance and insulin secretion levels with different glucose statuses. RESULTS: The prevalence of postpartum hyperglycemia had a fluctuant increase from 25.9% at 1 year, to 53.7% at 5 year. 75 g OGTT 2 hPG during pregnancy was an independent predictor of postpartum hyperglycemia with an OR of 2.15 (95% CI 1.245, 3.722) (P=0.006). After ROC analysis, the best equilibrium between sensitivity (70.3%) and specificity (60.4%) for 2 hPG was 9.03 mmol/L. HOMA-IR was increased in postpartum normal glucose tolerance (NGT), prediabetes, and T2DM (1.64 vs. 2.14 vs. 4.27, P=0.006). After ROC analysis, the best equilibrium between sensitivity (70.3%) and specificity (60.4%) for 2 hPG was 9.03 mmol/L. HOMA-IR was increased in postpartum normal glucose tolerance (NGT), prediabetes, and T2DM (1.64 vs. 2.14 vs. 4.27, ß were used to assess insulin resistance and insulin secretion levels with different glucose statuses. P=0.006). After ROC analysis, the best equilibrium between sensitivity (70.3%) and specificity (60.4%) for 2 hPG was 9.03 mmol/L. HOMA-IR was increased in postpartum normal glucose tolerance (NGT), prediabetes, and T2DM (1.64 vs. 2.14 vs. 4.27, ß were used to assess insulin resistance and insulin secretion levels with different glucose statuses. CONCLUSIONS: 75 g OGTT 2h PG during pregnancy higher than 9.03 mmol/L is regarded as an independent risk factor of postpartum hyperglycemia. Insulin resistance with insufficient insulin secretion compensation is still common phenomenon during long-term postpartum. Women with heavier insulin resistance in the postpartum period are more likely develop prediabetes, while decreased ß-cell function contributes more to T2DM development.ß were used to assess insulin resistance and insulin secretion levels with different glucose statuses.

Poincaré Analysis based on Short-term Heart Rate Variability Data for Stress Evaluation.

Dynamic changes in autonomic stress responses may provide details on autonomic nervous system functions. Time-varying evaluation can be achieved with a sliding window, however, in order to learn dynamic changes, an evaluation method needs to not only conduct calculation with a short sliding step but also derive evaluation indices with a narrow window. Stress analysis using HRV data shorter than one minute is still a challenge in this field. This paper investigates a Poincar plot analysis method for stress evaluation based on short term heart rate variability (HRV) data. First a sliding window, with no overlap, is used to segment data in order to form Poincaré plots. Then a simple index, which corresponds to mean distance between two adjacent points in the plot, is calculated on each evaluation window. The window length is defined with time duration and four lengths are examined in this paper, namely, 15, 30, 45, and 60 s. Two mental stress induction experiments, mental arithmetic and Stroop color-word tests, are utilized to validate the proposed method.

Surface EMG Pattern Recognition Using Long Short-Term Memory Combined with Multilayer Perceptron.

Motion classification based on pattern recognition of surface EMG (sEMG) signals is a promising approach for prosthetic control. We present a pattern recognition model that combines long short-term memory (LSTM) network with multiplayer perceptron (MLP) for sEMG signals feature learning and classification. The LSTM network captures temporal dependencies of the sEMG signals while the MLP has no inherent temporal dynamics but focuses on the static characteristics. The combination of the two networks would learn a feature space that contains both the dynamic and static information of the sEMG signals, which helps to improve the motion classification accuracy. The architecture of the proposed network was optimized by investigating the appropriate width and depth of the neural network as well as the dropout to achieve the best classification results. The performance of the proposed pattern recognition model was evaluated using Ninapro database. The results show that the proposed model can produce better classification accuracy than most of the well-known recognition techniques.

A recurrent log-linearized Gaussian mixture network.

Context in time series is one of the most useful and interesting characteristics for machine learning. In some cases, the dynamic characteristic would be the only basis for achieving a possible classification. A novel neural network, which is named "a recurrent log-linearized Gaussian mixture network (R-LLGMN)," is proposed in this paper for classification of time series. The structure of this network is based on a hidden Markov model (HMM), which has been well developed in the area of speech recognition. R-LLGMN can as well be interpreted as an extension of a probabilistic neural network using a log-linearized Gaussian mixture model, in which recurrent connections have been incorporated to make temporal information in use. Some simulation experiments are carried out to compare R-LLGMN with the traditional estimator of HMM as classifiers, and finally, pattern classification experiments for EEG signals are conducted. It is indicated from these experiments that R-LLGMN can successfully classify not only artificial data but real biological data such as EEG signals.

Electrochemiluminescent biosensor of ATP using tetrahedron structured DNA and a functional oligonucleotide for Ru(phen)3(2+) intercalation and target identification.

Restricted target accessibility and surface-induced perturbation of the aptamer structure are the main limitations in single-stranded DNA aptamer-based electrochemical sensors. Chemical labeling of the aptamer with a probe at the end of aptamer is inefficient and time-consuming. In this work, tetrahedron-structured DNA (ts-DNA) and a functionalized oligonucleotide (FO) were used to develop an electrochemiluminescence (ECL) aptasensor with adenosine triphosphate (ATP) as a model target. The ts-DNA was formed with three thiolated oligonucleotides and one oligonucleotide containing anti-ATP aptamer. The FO contained a complementary strand to the anti-ATP aptamer and an intermolecular duplex for Ru(phen)3(2+) intercalation. After the ts-DNA was immobilized on the electrode surface through gold-thiol interactions, hybridization between the anti-ATP aptamer and its complementary strand introduced the intercalated Ru(phen)3(2+) to the electrode. ECL emission from Ru(phen)3(2+) was observed with tripropylamine as a co-reactant. Once ATP reacted with its aptamer, the aptamer-complimentary strand duplex dissociated and the intermolecular duplex containing Ru(phen)3(2+) was released. The difference in emission before and after reaction with ATP was used to quantify ATP with a detection limit of 0.2nM. The ts-DNA increased the sensitivity compared to conventional methods, and the intercalation strategy avoided a complex chemical labeling procedure.

Tetrahedron-structured DNA and functional oligonucleotide for construction of an electrochemical DNA-based biosensor.

Tetrahedron-structured DNA (ts-DNA) in combination with a functionalized oligonucleotide was used to develop a "turn-on" biosensor for Hg(2+) ions. The ts-DNA provided an improved sensitivity and was used to block the active sites.

Functional nucleic acid-based electrochemiluminescent biosensor for interaction study and detection of Ag+ ions and cysteine.

An electrochemiluminescent biosensor was designed for the detection of Ag(+) ions and cysteine as well as their interaction study. To this end, a functional nucleic acid was designed for target recognition and probe intercalation.

Measuring muscle movements for human interfaces using a flexible piezoelectric thin film sensor.

This paper proposes a novel method to measure muscle movements for human interfaces. During muscle movements, cross-sectional muscle area changes, and this can be detected at the skin surface. In this study, a flexible piezoelectric thin film sensor is used to measure the morphological change of the skin surface. This sensor is made of oriented aluminum nitride (AlN) thin film, and the total thickness is less than 40 mum. Since the AlN film sensor has good sensitivity, small strain of the skin surface can be measured. Furthermore, a motion classification method is developed to investigate the potential of the proposed sensor for its use in human interfaces. Response characteristics of the AlN sensor were tested with experiments using a cantilever beam. In addition, motion classification experiments were conducted with five subjects, including a patient with cervical spine injury. The experimental results validate the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Monitoring of respiration and heartbeat during sleep using a flexible piezoelectric film sensor and empirical mode decomposition.

Cardio-respiratory monitoring during sleep is one of the basic means for assessment of personal health, and has been widely used in diagnosis of sleep disorders. This paper proposes a novel method for non-invasive and unconstrained measurement of respiration and heartbeat during sleep. A flexible piezoelectric film sensor made of aluminum nitride (AlN) material is used in this study. This sensor measures pressure fluctuation due to respiration and heartbeat on the contact surface when a subject is lying on it. Since the AlN film sensor has good sensitivity, the pressure fluctuation measured can be further separated into signals corresponding to respiration and heartbeat, respectively. In the proposed method, the signal separation is achieved using an algorithm based on empirical mode decomposition (EMD). Experiments have been conducted with three subjects. The experimental results show that respiration and heartbeat signals can be successfully obtained with the proposed method.

Automated discrimination of tissue boundaries using ultrasound images of "ubiquitous echo".

Balance between human body compositions, e.g. bones, muscles, and fat, is one of the major and basic indicators related to personal health. Body composition analysis using ultrasound imaging has developed rapidly. However, interpretation of ultrasound images is conducted manually, and accuracy and confidence in interpretation requires experience. This paper proposes an automated approach to determine boundaries between tissues, with which thickness of subcutaneous fat and muscles can be obtained. A portable B-mode ultrasound echographic device, which is called Ubiquitous Echo, was used in this study. The validity of the proposed method was evaluated in eleven subjects (three women, eight men; ages 22-77 yr) at three anatomical sites. Experimental results show that the proposed method can achieve considerably high discrimination performance.

Phoneme classification for speech synthesiser using differential EMG signals between muscles.

This paper proposes the use of differential electromyography (EMG) signals between muscles for phoneme classification, with which a Japanese speech synthesiser system can be constructed using fewer electrodes. In distinction from traditional methods using differential EMG signals between bipolar electrodes on the same muscle, an EMG signal is derived as differential between monopolar signals on two different muscles in the proposed method. Then, frequency-based feature patterns are extracted with filter banks, and classification of phonemes is realized by using a probabilistic neural network, which combines feature reduction and pattern classification processes in a single network structure. Experimental results show that the proposed method can achieve considerably high classification performance with fewer electrodes.