Understanding Challenges and Coping Strategies Experienced by Chinese American Family Caregivers of Persons with Dementia.

The purpose of this study was to explore the caregiving experience of Chinese American family caregivers of persons with dementia with a focus on challenges and coping strategies. Using a qualitative study design, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 26 Chinese American family caregivers and analyzed the data using thematic analysis. We also identified their caregiving experience specific to the COVID-19 pandemic.

A mini-review on building insulation materials from perspective of plastic pollution: Current issues and natural fibres as a possible solution.

As plastic pollution is eroding our ecological environment at an alarming rate around the world, tracking the origins is a necessity for putting forward effective measures to prevent it. The building industry, as an important sector consuming plastic products and producing plastic wastes, is increasing application of thermal insulations to improve energy efficiency. However, most insulation materials have negative impact on the environment.

Preparation and Performance of Lignin-Based Multifunctional Superhydrophobic Coating.

Superhydrophobic coatings have drawn much attention in recent years for their widespread potential applications. However, there are challenges to find a simple and cost-effective approach to prepare superhydrophobic materials and coatings using natural polymer. Herein, we prepared a kraft lignin-based superhydrophobic powder via modifying kraft lignin through 1H, 1H, 2H, 2H-perfluorodecyl-triethoxysilane (PFDTES) substitution reaction, and constructed superhydrophobic coatings by direct spraying the suspended PFDTES-Lignin powder on different substrates, including glass, wood, metal and paper.

Optimizing Bleaching Operating Conditions Based on Mathematical Programming to Reduce AOX Emissions.

This study describes the optimization of a eucalyptus elemental chlorine-free (ECF) bleach plant to reduce adsorbable organic halogen (AOX). The correlations between operating conditions of each stage and pulp quality indices as well as the AOX content in wastewater are analyzed, taking an ECF bleaching technology (DEpPD) as an example. The calculation models of pulp quality indices and AOX content in wastewater are established.

The impact of formal and informal support on emotional stress among non-co-resident caregivers of persons with dementia.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to examine the prevalence of formal and informal support between non-co-resident and co-resident family caregivers of persons with dementia and to investigate the impact of receiving formal or informal assistance on family caregivers' residential status and their perceived emotional stress.

Method: We used secondary data from the 2018 National Survey of Older American Act conducted by the Administration for Community Living. We selected 751 primary family caregivers of persons with dementia and conducted regression analyses to explore our research questions.

A genomic signature for accurate classification and prediction of clinical outcomes in cancer patients treated with immune checkpoint blockade immunotherapy.

Tumor mutational burden (TMB) is associated with clinical response to immunotherapy, but application has been limited to a subset of cancer patients. We hypothesized that advanced machine-learning and proper modeling could identify mutations that classify patients most likely to derive clinical benefits. Training data: Two sets of public whole-exome sequencing (WES) data for metastatic melanoma.

Cellulose-based colorimetric sensor with N, S sites for Ag detection.

A novel cellulose-based colorimetric sensor (DAC-Tu) with N, S sites for Ag was prepared. The DAC-Tu exhibited excellent selectivity and sensitivity for Ag with a naked eyes color change from white to black in mixed metal ions aqueous solutions. The naked-eye in-situ detection limit of DAC-Tu for Ag was 10 mol/L within 10 min.

Facile preparation of iron oxide doped Fe-MOFs-MW as robust peroxydisulfate catalyst for emerging pollutants degradation.

A novel catalyst (Fe-MOFs-MW) was facilely synthesized under microwave-assisted with NaOH as modulator for activating peroxydisulfate (PDS). The accelerated nucleation process was confirmed by Johnson-Mehl-Avrami (JMA) model. There were abundant reactive sites on prepared Fe-MOFs-MW while maintaining high Space-Time-Yield value up to 2300 kg/m·d.

Ubiquitin E3 ligase FIEL1 regulates fibrotic lung injury through SUMO-E3 ligase PIAS4.

The E3 small ubiquitin-like modifier (SUMO) protein ligase protein inhibitor of activated STAT 4 (PIAS4) is a pivotal protein in regulating the TGFβ pathway. In this study, we discovered a new protein isoform encoded by KIAA0317, termed fibrosis-inducing E3 ligase 1 (FIEL1), which potently stimulates the TGFβ signaling pathway through the site-specific ubiquitination of PIAS4. FIEL1 targets PIAS4 using a double locking mechanism that is facilitated by the kinases PKCζ and GSK3β.

The proinflammatory role of HECTD2 in innate immunity and experimental lung injury.

Invading pathogens may trigger overactivation of the innate immune system, which results in the release of large amounts of proinflammatory cytokines (cytokine storm) and leads to the development of pulmonary edema, multiorgan failure, and shock. PIAS1 is a multifunctional and potent anti-inflammatory protein that negatively regulates several key inflammatory pathways such as Janus kinase (JAK)-signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) and nuclear factor κB (NF-κB). We discovered a ubiquitin E3 ligase, HECTD2, which ubiquitinated and mediated the degradation of PIAS1, thus increasing inflammation in an experimental pneumonia model.

A kinetic model for oxidative degradation of bagasse pulp fiber by sodium periodate.

In this paper, some key parameters, such as the system pH, the periodate concentration, and the reaction temperature, on the influence of the bagasse fiber degradation were studied based on the oxygenant of periodate. And the feasible reaction mechanism was also discussed through the FTIR characterization for bagasse fiber before and after the oxidizing reaction. As the results shown, the crystallinity of bagasse fiber decreased with the oxidation level increasing.

Tyrosine phosphatase PTP-MEG2 negatively regulates vascular endothelial growth factor receptor signaling and function in endothelial cells.

Protein tyrosine phosphorylation is a fundamental mechanism for diverse physiological processes, which is regulated by protein tyrosine kinases and protein tyrosine phosphatases (PTPs). In this study, we searched for protein substrates of PTP-MEG2 (also called PTPN9), a nonreceptor PTP, and investigated its function in endothelial cells (ECs). By using a PTP-MEG2 substrate-trapping DA mutant, we found that a couple of tyrosine-phosphorylated proteins were associated with the DA mutant but not wild-type PTP-MEG2 and that the association was enhanced by vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in ECs.

Identification of protein kinase D2 as a pivotal regulator of endothelial cell proliferation, migration, and angiogenesis.

Angiogenesis, the formation of new blood vessels, plays a crucial role in normal physiological processes and in various pathological conditions. In the present study, we have investigated the physiological function of a newly described serine/threonine protein kinase D2 (PKD2) in aspects of endothelial cell biology involved in angiogenesis. We found that PKD2 was expressed in primary human endothelial cells from different tissues and was a critical PKD isoform mediating the phosphorylation of PKD substrates in endothelial cells.

Inactivation of SRC family tyrosine kinases by reactive oxygen species in vivo.

Reactive oxygen species, including H2O2, O2*- and OH* are constantly produced in the human body and are involved in the development of cardiovascular diseases. Emerging evidence suggests that reactive oxygen species, besides their deleterious effects at high concentrations, may be protective. However, the mechanism underlying the protective effects of reactive oxygen species is not clear.

Roles of Gab1 and SHP2 in paxillin tyrosine dephosphorylation and Src activation in response to epidermal growth factor.

Epidermal growth factor (EGF) induces paxillin tyrosine dephosphorylation and Src activation, but the signaling pathways that mediate these responses were largely undefined. We found that Gab1, a docking protein for the SHP2 protein-tyrosine phosphatase in EGF-stimulated cells, was associated with paxillin. SHP2 dephosphorylated paxillin and caused dissociation of Csk, a negative regulator of Src, from paxillin but had no effect on paxillin-Src association.

SHP-1 suppresses cancer cell growth by promoting degradation of JAK kinases.

SHP-1 has been proposed to be a tumor suppressor gene for several cancers. The expression of SHP-1 protein is diminished or abolished in most leukemia and lymphoma cell lines and tissues, and in some non-hematopoietic cancer cell lines, such as estrogen receptor (ER) negative breast cancer cell lines and some colorectal cancer cell lines. However, we do not know whether the reduced SHP-1 expression is the cause of cancer diseases or the secondary effect of cancer developments.

Purification and characterization of protein tyrosine phosphatase PTP-MEG2.

PTP-MEG2 is an intracellular protein tyrosine phosphatase with a putative lipid-binding domain at the N-terminus. The present study reports expression, purification, and characterization of the full-length form of the enzyme plus a truncated form containing the catalytic domain alone. Full-length PTP-MEG2 was expressed with an adenovirus system and purified from cytosolic extracts of human 293 cells infected with the recombinant adenovirus.

Cell surface glycoprotein PZR is a major mediator of concanavalin A-induced cell signaling.

PZR is an immunoglobulin superfamily cell surface protein containing a pair of immunoreceptor tyrosine-based inhibitory motifs. As a glycoprotein, PZR displays a strong association with concanavalin A (ConA), a member of the plant lectin family. Treatment of several cell lines with ConA caused tyrosine phosphorylation of a major cellular protein.