Nonblinking carbon dots for imaging and tracking receptors on a live cell membrane.

Blinking occurs with nearly all fluorophores including organic dyes, fluorescent proteins, semiconductor quantum dots and carbon dots (CDs). We developed non-blinking and photoresistant fluorescent CDs by introducing multiple aromatic domains onto a single carbon dot and demonstrated their great potential for imaging and tracking of receptors on a live cell membrane.

A novel risk score for in-hospital perioperative mortality of five major surgeries.

Background: Risk-scoring tools for perioperative mortality adjustment are essential for inter-hospital quality comparisons, which are still lacking in China. Existing scores had significant disadvantages when applied in managerial practice.

Objective: This study aimed to develop a simple risk score using highly accessible information that could appropriately adjust the perioperative mortality from major surgeries across tertiary Chinese public hospitals and provide a reference for other underdeveloped countries with the same need.

Redd1 knockdown prevents doxorubicin-induced cardiac senescence.

Regulated in development and DNA damage response-1 (Redd1) is a stress-response gene that is transcriptionally induced by diverse stressful stimuli to influence cellular growth and survival. Although evidence suggests that aging may drive Redd1 expression in skeletal muscles, the expression patterns and functions of Redd1 in senescent cardiomyocytes remain unspecified. To address this issue, and models of cardiomyocyte senescence were established by administration of doxorubicin (Dox).

Fabrication of magnetic FeO@SiO@BiOCO/rGO composite for enhancing its photocatalytic performance for organic dyes and recyclability.

A novel magnetic FeO@SiO@BiOCO/rGO composite comprising of uniform core-shell-structured FeO@SiO@BiOCO microspheres mounted on reduced graphene oxide (rGO) sheets was successfully fabricated by using a facile hydrothermal method. The adsorption-desorption isotherm of FeO@SiO@BiOCO/rGO belonged to type IV with an H4-type hysteresis loop. The specific surface areas and magnetization saturation value (M) of FeO@SiO@BiOCO/rGO (x = 0.

Comprehensive recovery of arsenic and antimony from arsenic-rich copper smelter dust.

In view of reducing contaminant and recovery arsenic and antimony, a novel technology was proposed to recover arsenic and antimony from arsenic-rich copper smelter dust comprehensively. The technique route includes three stages: arsenic and antimony trioxides were leached from the copper smelter dust with hydrochloric acid; trivalent arsenic ions (As) were then reduced to less toxic simple arsenic (As) by sodium hypophosphate (NaHPO) and recovered; and stepwise recovery of antimony by SbCl was achieved by the continuous distillation technique. The results indicates that the leaching efficiency of As and Sb was over 97.

Prolongation of allograft survival by artemisinin treatment is associated with blockade of OX40-OX40L.

Objectives: It has been demonstrated that artemisinin (ART) possesses multiple immune modulatory effects. However, its role as immunosuppressant in allogeneic transplantation is undetermined. Here, we investigated the effect of ART on co-stimulatory signaling in OX40 T cells and evaluated ART as a potential immunosuppressant in transplantation.

Effects of water-nitrogen coupling on photosynthetic characteristics, yield, water and nitrogen use efficiency for mountain apple trees under surge-root irrigation in Northern Shaanxi area of China.

Taking 7-year-old apple trees (Hanfu) as the test material, an experiment with three irrigation levels including high water (W, 85%-100%, was the field water holding capacity), medium water (W, 70%-85%) and low water (W, 55%-70%), and three nitrogen application levels, high (N, 600 kg·hm), medium (N, 400 kg·hm) and low (N, 200 kg·hm), was conducted to investigate the effects of water and nitrogen coupling on photosynthetic characteristics, yield and water and nitrogen utilization of apple trees in mountainous areas under surge-root irrigation (SRI). The results showed that the net photosynthetic rate (), transpiration rate (), stomatal conductance (), intercellular CO concentration (), leaf instantaneous water use efficiency (WUE) of apple trees leaves decreased with decreasing nitrogen application rates under the same irrigation amount, but increased. Under the same nitrogen application rate, foliar , , and WUE decreased with decreasing irrigation amount, but increased.

α Promoter Methylation May Modify the Association Between Lipid Metabolism and Type 2 Diabetes in Chinese Farmers.

This study is aimed to explore the potential association among the estrogen receptor alpha (α) promoter methylation, lipid metabolism and the risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). A total of 1143 rural residents were recruited randomly from Henan Province, China. The circulating methylation levels in α promoter region were determined by quantitative methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction.

Using Integrated Bioinformatics Analysis to Identify Abnormally Methylated Differentially Expressed Genes in Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Objective: For the identification of abnormally methylated differentially expressed genes (MDEGs) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), this study integrated four microarray datasets to investigate the fundamental mechanisms of tumorigenesis.

Methods: We obtained the expression (GSE76427, GSE57957) and methylation (GSE89852, GSE54503) profiles from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO). The abnormally MDEGs were identified by using R software.

Differential Antioxidant Compounds and Activities in Seedlings of Two Rice Cultivars Under Chilling Treatment.

Variations in antioxidant compounds were examined in seedlings of two rice cultivars (Qiutianxiaoting and 93-11) exposed to low temperature (4°C) for 0, 12, 36, and 48 h. Antioxidant activity was identified by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assays. The concentrations of total phenols, flavonoids, chlorophyll, and anthocyanins (ACNs) were determined by spectrophotometry.

Distance Between Home and the Admitting Hospital and Its Effect on Survival of Low Socioeconomic Status Population With Bacteremia.

Objective: Bacteremia is the presence of bacteria in the bloodstream. The objective of this study was to determine the relationship between low socioeconomic status (SES) and the epidemiology, process of care, and outcomes of patients with bacteremia (SAB).

Methods: We conducted a multicenter, retrospective, cohort study that evaluated adult patients with SAB in 3 Los Angeles County hospitals from July 15, 2012, through May 31, 2018.

Evidence for racial/ethnic disparities in emergency department visits following breast cancer surgery among women in California: a population-based study.

Purpose: Racial/ethnic disparities in breast cancer outcomes may be related to quality of care and reflected in emergency department (ED) visits following primary treatment. We examined racial/ethnic variation in ED visits following breast cancer surgery.

Methods: Using linked data from the California Cancer Registry and California Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development, we identified 151,229 women diagnosed with stage 0-III breast cancer between 2005 and 2013 who received surgical treatment.

Age-related changes in expression of lysine48 and lysine63 ubiquitin linkages in dopamine neurons of midbrain in mice.

Ubiquitination of target proteins is mediated via different ubiquitin lysine (K) linkages and determines the protein fates. In particular, K48 ubiquitin linkage targets proteins for degradation, whereas K63 ubiquitin linkage plays a nondegradative role. Parkinson's disease is an age-onset neurodegenerative disorder, which shows selective loss of dopamine neurons in substantia nigra pars compacta (SNC) and ubiquitinated protein aggregates.

Exosomal connexin 43 regulates the resistance of glioma cells to temozolomide.

Glioblastoma is the most common and aggressive brain tumor and it is characterized by a high mortality rate. Temozolomide (TMZ) is an effective chemotherapy drug for glioblastoma, but the resistance to TMZ has come to represent a major clinical problem, and its underlying mechanism has yet to be elucidated. In the present study, the role of exosomal connexin 43 (Cx43) in the resistance of glioma cells to TMZ and cell migration was investigated.

Carbon Dot Blinking Enables Accurate Molecular Counting at Nanoscale Resolution.

Accurate counting of single molecules at nanoscale resolution is essential for the study of molecular interactions and distribution in subcellular fractions. By using small-sized carbon dots (CDs), we have now developed a quantitative single-molecule localization microscopy technique (qSMLM) based on spontaneous blinking to count single molecules with a localization precision of 10 nm, which can be accomplished on conventional microscopes without sophisticated laser control. We explore and adapt the blinking of CDs with diverse structures and demonstrate a counting accuracy of >97% at a molecular density of 500 per μm.

Identification of the Hub Genes Associated with the Prognosis of Ovarian Cancer Patients via Integrated Bioinformatics Analysis and Experimental Validation.

Background: This study aimed to identify the hub genes associated with prognosis of patients with ovarian cancer by using integrated bioinformatics analysis and experimental validation.

Methods: Four microarray datasets (GSE12470, GSE14407, GSE18521 and GSE46169) were analyzed by the GEO2R tool to screen common differentially expressed genes (DEGs). Gene Ontology, the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes, the (KEGG) pathway and Reactome pathway enrichment analysis, protein-protein interaction (PPI) construction, and the identification of hub genes were performed.

N‑acetylcysteine inhibits atherosclerosis by correcting glutathione‑dependent methylglyoxal elimination and dicarbonyl/oxidative stress in the aorta of diabetic mice.

In diabetic animal models, high plasma/tissue levels of methylglyoxal (MG) are implicated in atherosclerosis. N‑acetylcysteine (NAC) is a cysteine prodrug that replenishes intracellular glutathione (GSH) levels, which can increase the elimination of MG in diabetes mellitus (DM). The present study investigated the anti‑atherosclerotic role of NAC in DM and aimed to determine whether the mechanism involved GSH‑dependent MG elimination in the aorta.

EGR1/GADD45α Activation by ROS of Non-Thermal Plasma Mediates Cell Death in Thyroid Carcinoma.

(1) Background: Nonthermal plasma (NTP) induces cell death in various types of cancer cells, providing a promising alternative treatment strategy. Although recent studies have identified new mechanisms of NTP in several cancers, the molecular mechanisms underlying its therapeutic effect on thyroid cancer (THCA) have not been elucidated. (2) Methods: To investigate the mechanism of NTP-induced cell death, THCA cell lines were treated with NTP-activated medium -(NTPAM), and gene expression profiles were evaluated using RNA sequencing.

Presentation, Management, and Outcomes Across the Rural-Urban Continuum for Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma is 1 of few cancers with rising incidence and mortality in the United States. Little is known about disease presentation and outcomes across the rural-urban continuum.

Methods: Using the population-based Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results registry, we identified adults with incident hepatocellular carcinoma between 2000 and 2016.

Recollecting Cross-Cultural Evidences: Are Decision Makers Really Foresighted in Iowa Gambling Task?

The Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) has become a remarkable experimental paradigm of dynamic emotion decision making. In recent years, research has emphasized the "prominent deck B (PDB) phenomenon" among normal (control group) participants, in which they favor "bad" deck B with its high-frequency gain structure-a finding that is incongruent with the original IGT hypothesis concerning foresightedness. Some studies have attributed such performance inconsistencies to cultural differences.