Nickel nanoparticle-stabilized room-temperature blue-phase liquid crystals.

Blue-phase liquid crystals (BPLCs) are regarded as a potential candidate for the next generation of optical devices, but they appear in a narrow temperature range, which restricts their applicability. The nanoparticle (NP) stabilization of BPLCs, is usually about either simple-cubic BP (BPII) or body-centered-cubic BP (BPI). Hence, NP-stabilized BPIIs and BPIs possessing wide temperature ranges have been scarcely reported. Here, nickel nanoparticles (Ni NPs) were synthesized and introduced into a BPLC. The concentration-dependent temperature range effects of Ni NPs on the BPLC were investigated. A trace amount of Ni NPs could stabilize the BPLC and increase the temperature ranges of BPII and BPI; this is attributable to the Ni NPs tending to be trapped at the joints of the disclination lines, as a result of the elastic interaction, stabilizing the overall lattice structure of the BPLC. When doped with 0.05 wt% Ni NPs, the mixture shows a wider range with 7.7 °C than the range with 5.9 °C of the BPLC without Ni NPs. Meanwhile, the phase sequence and range of the aforementioned phases are reproducible upon heating and cooling, which shows that the BPLCs doped with Ni NPs are thermodynamically stable.

BCL2L1 is regulated by the lncRNA MIR4435-2HG-miR-513a-5p-BCL2L1 ceRNA axis and serves as a biomarker for pancreatic adenocarcinoma treatment and prognosis.

Pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PAAD) is one of the most malignant cancers. After escaping death, cancer cells are made more metastatic, aggressive, and also drug-resistant through anoikis resistance. The aim of this study is to explore the molecular mechanisms of anoikis-related genes in PAAD and to identify potential key biomarkers. We integrated information about PAAD from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and The Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) databases and identified anoikis-related gene BCL2L1 by survival analysis, univariate Cox regression analysis, and multifactorial Cox regression analysis. Various bioinformatics approaches showed that BCL2L1 was a valuable prognostic marker that might be involved in PAAD development and progression through different mechanisms, including cancer intervention, genomic heterogeneity, and RNA modifications. Our analysis showed that BCL2L1 expression also closely correlates with the expression of various immune checkpoint inhibitors. In particular, we found that long non-coding RNA MIR4435-2HG acted as ceRNA sponging miR-513a-5p to promote the expression of BCL2L1, thereby promoting pancreatic cancer cells proliferation. In conclusion, BCL2L1 expression regulated by the MIR4435-2HG-miR-513a-5p-BCL2L1 ceRNA axis might be used as a biomarker for cancer prognosis, treatment selection, and follow-up in PAAD patients.

Pan-cancer analysis confirms the prognostic and immunological effects of prostate tumor overexpressed-1 in human cancers.

BACKGROUND: Prostate tumor overexpressed-1 (PTOV1) is a conserved oncogenic adaptor protein associated with cancer progression and may be an independent prognostic marker for several malignancies. Consequently, using pan-cancer research to explore the significance of PTOV1 is valuable, and may reveal novel targets for cancer treatment. METHODS: A comprehensive bioinformatics analysis of PTOV1 was performed. The qRT-PCR was utilized to confirm the aberrant PTOV1 expression in several cancer cell lines. RESULTS: We observed that PTOV1 mRNA expression was high in 18 cancer tissues and was thereafter associated with poor survival prognosis in a range of malignancies. The immune subtypes of 14 malignancies and the molecular subtypes of six malignancies were related to PTOV1. A substantial association between PTOV1 and immune checkpoint (ICP) genes was also observed. Tumor mutational burden (TMB), microsatellite instability (MSI), and DNA methylation analyses indicated that PTOV1 acts as a cancer-promoting agent in a series of tumors. In addition, an enrichment study of PTOV1 and related genes revealed that RNA splicing may be responsible for the involvement of PTOV1 in cancers. Lastly, we also verified that PTOV1 expression was elevated in bladder cancer, breast cancer, CESC, LIHC cell lines via qRT-PCR. CONCLUSION: Our bioinformatics research indicated that PTOV1 may be involved in tumor immunity. Furthermore, differentially expressed PTOV1 was found to be related to poor prognosis in cancers, and RNA splicing may be the specific mechanism for this effect. Therefore, PTOV1 mRNA and the corresponding protein may function as potential prognostic indicators and therapeutic targets in various cancers.

State of art on the mechanisms of laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy in treating type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Obesity and type-2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) are metabolic disorders. Obesity increases the risk of T2DM, and as obesity is becoming increasingly common, more individuals suffer from T2DM, which poses a considerable burden on health systems. Traditionally, pharmaceutical therapy together with lifestyle changes is used to treat obesity and T2DM to decrease the incidence of comorbidities and all-cause mortality and to increase life expectancy. Bariatric surgery is increasingly replacing other forms of treatment of morbid obesity, especially in patients with refractory obesity, owing to its many benefits including good long-term outcomes and almost no weight regain. The bariatric surgery options have markedly changed recently, and laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) is gradually gaining popularity. LSG has become an effective and safe treatment for type-2 diabetes and morbid obesity, with a high cost-benefit ratio. Here, we review the me-chanism associated with LSG treatment of T2DM, and we discuss clinical studies and animal experiments with regard to gastrointestinal hormones, gut microbiota, bile acids, and adipokines to clarify current treatment modalities for patients with obesity and T2DM.

Advances in traditional Chinese medicine as adjuvant therapy for diabetic foot.

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a complex disease that often causes multiple systemic complications that have become a major international public health problem. Diabetic foot (DF) is one of the severe and frequent chronic complications of DM due to vascular lesions and neuropathy. DF ulcers (DFU) affect approximately 15% of people with DM and are the leading cause of death and disability. The prevalence and recurrence of DF are worrisome, and morbidity and mortality are also on the rise, which poses a substantial socioeconomic burden. Treating DF is difficult for clinicians and requires multidisciplinary cooperation, combining local and systemic therapy to reduce amputation and case-fatality rates. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has received extensive attention due to noticeable therapeutic effects and few adverse reactions. In recent years, research on DF treatment by TCM has been increasing, and further progress has been made. TCM includes oral medication, injectable preparations, and adjuvant therapy. This article reviews the relevant research on TCM-related adjuvant therapy for DF. We describe current progress in TCM in terms of external application, acupuncture, massage, acupoint injection, foot bath, fumigation, and moxibustion, as well as the mechanisms involved.

The predictive value of preoperative luteinizing hormone to follicle stimulating hormone ratio for ovulation abnormalities recovery after laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy: A prospective cohort study.

Introduction: Obesity-related ovulation abnormalities (OA) affect fertility. LSG is the most frequent bariatric operation. However, no research has identified a reliable indicator for predicting OA recovery after LSG. The purpose of this research was to examine the prognostic usefulness of preoperative the luteinizing hormone (LH) to follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) ratio (LFR). Methods: Our department conducted a prospective study from 2016 to 2021. Venous blood was typically tested 3 days before surgery to get the preoperative LFR. Descriptive data, preoperative and postoperative variables were also collected. Binary logistic regression related preoperative LFR with OA recovery. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve evulated preoperative LFR's predictive capability. Results: A total of 157 women with a complete follow-up of one year were included. LFR was the only factor linked with OA (P < 0.001). AUC (area under the ROC curve) = 0.915, cutoff = 1.782, sensitivity = 0.93, and specificity = 0.82. Discussion: Overall, LSG has a favorable surgical result, with a %TWL of 66.082 ± 12.012 at 12 months postoperatively. Preoperative sexual hormone levels, as expressed by LFR, has the potential to predict the fate of OA following LSG at one year post-operatively.

InP/ZnS quantum dots doped blue phase liquid crystal with wide temperature range and low driving voltage.

Blue-phase liquid crystals (BPLCs) are regarded as potential materials for the exploitation of next-generation optical devices due to the rapid response, wide viewing angle, and simple industrial production procedures. However, practical application of traditional BPLCs is limited by their narrow temperature range and high driving voltage. Herein, we demonstrated that doping of chiral molecular isosorbide hexyloxybenzoate (R811) into BPLCs is able to increase the temperature range. More importantly, addition of InP/ZnS quantum dots (QDs) with oleylamine surface groups could also effectively broaden the temperature range of the BPLCs further while decreasing the driving voltage, which is attributed to the quantum dot trapped by BPLCs lattice defect that reduces its free energy. Since the trapped quantum dot subsequently forms a local electric field under electric field, the effective electric field of the surrounding liquid crystal molecules is enhanced and the rotation of the liquid crystal molecules is accelerated. Specially, the temperature range is widened by 1.4 °C, and the driving voltage is reduced by 57%, under the optimal concentration of R811 and lnP/ZnS QDs. The accomplishment we proposed in this work is a prospective optimization which makes the practical application of blue phase liquid crystals one step closer.