Fragile X mental retardation protein protects against tumour necrosis factor-mediated cell death and liver injury.

Objective: The Fragile X mental retardation (FMR) syndrome is a frequently inherited intellectual disability caused by decreased or absent expression of the FMR protein (FMRP). Lack of FMRP is associated with neuronal degradation and cognitive dysfunction but its role outside the central nervous system is insufficiently studied. Here, we identify a role of FMRP in liver disease.

The metabolic regulator small heterodimer partner contributes to the glucose and lipid homeostasis abnormalities induced by hepatitis C virus infection.

Background: Chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection can predispose the host to metabolic abnormalities. The orphan nuclear receptor small heterodimer partner (SHP; NR0B2) has been identified as a key transcriptional regulatory factor of genes involved in diverse metabolic pathways. The protective effects of SHP against HCV-induced hepatic fibrosis have been reported.

Engineering Migration Pathway for Effective Separation of Photogenerated Carriers on Multicomponent Heterojunctions Coated with Nitrogen-Doped Carbon.

Multicomponent NiTiO /A-TiO /R-TiO photocatalysts coated with nitrogen-doped carbon (N-C/NiTiO /A-TiO /R-TiO ) for efficient H production were fabricated by directly pyrolyzing NH -MIL-125(Ni/Ti) metal-organic framework microrods. Owing to the synergistic effect of the N-doped carbon coating layer and multicomponent heterojunctions, the H production rate of N-C/NiTiO /A-TiO /R-TiO was even higher than that of its Pt-containing counterpart (Pt/NiTiO /A-TiO /R-TiO ). N-C/NiTiO /A-TiO and N-C/NiTiO /R-TiO as control photocatalysts were also prepared by simply adjusting the calcination temperature of NH -MIL-125(Ni/Ti) in air atmosphere.

Down-regulation of long non-coding RNA HOTAIR inhibits invasion and migration of oesophageal cancer cells via up-regulation of microRNA-204.

Oesophageal cancer is a progressive tumour with high mortality. However, therapies aimed at treating oesophageal cancer remain relatively limited. Accumulating studies have highlighted long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) HOX transcript antisense RNA (HOTAIR), microRNA-204 (miR-204) and homeobox C8 (HOXC8) in the progression of oesophageal cancer.

The molecular mechanism of LncRNA34a-mediated regulation of bone metastasis in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Background: Bone metastasis (BM) has long been recognized as a major threat to the quality of life of hepatocellular cancer (HCC) patients. While LncRNA34a (Lnc34a) has been shown to regulate colon cancer stem cell asymmetric division, its effect on HCC BM remains unknown.

Methods: In situ hybridization and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) were used to detect the expression of Lnc34a in HCC tissues and cell lines.

microRNA-95 knockdown inhibits epithelial-mesenchymal transition and cancer stem cell phenotype in gastric cancer cells through MAPK pathway by upregulating DUSP5.

This study investigated the role of microRNA-95 (miR-95) in gastric cancer (GC) and to elucidate the underlying mechanism. Initially, bioinformatic prediction was used to predict the differentially expressed genes and related miRNAs in GC. miR-95 and DUSP5 expression was altered in GC cell line (MGC803) to evaluate their respective effects on the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) process, cellular processes (cell proliferation, migration, invasion, cell cycle, and apoptosis), cancer stem cell (CSC) phenotype, as well as tumor growth ability.

Application of immune repertoire sequencing in cancer immunotherapy.

With the prominent breakthrough in the field of tumor immunology, diverse cancer immunotherapies have attracted great attention in the last decade. The immune checkpoint inhibitors, adoptive cell therapies, and therapeutic cancer vaccines have already achieved impressive clinical success. However, the fact that only a small subset of patients with specific tumor types can benefit from these treatments limits the application of cancer immunotherapy.

E-protein-regulated expression of CXCR4 adheres preselection thymocytes to the thymic cortex.

Preselection thymocytes are normally retained in the thymic cortex, but the mechanisms responsible remain incompletely understood. We now report that deletion of genes encoding the E-protein transcription factors E2A and HEB disorders chemokine receptor expression on developing thymocytes to allow escape of preselection TCRCD8 thymocytes into the periphery. We document that CXCR4 expression normally anchors preselection thymocytes to the thymic cortex via interaction with its ligand CXCL12 on cortical thymic epithelial cells, and that disruption of CXCR4-CXCL12 engagements release preselection thymocytes from the thymic cortex.

IL-6 Trans-signaling Controls Liver Regeneration After Partial Hepatectomy.

Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is critically involved in liver regeneration after partial hepatectomy (PHX). Previous reports suggest that IL-6 trans-signaling through the soluble IL-6/IL-6R complex is involved in this process. However, the long-term contribution of IL-6 trans-signaling for liver regeneration after PHX is unknown.

-induced matrix metallopeptidase-10 promotes gastric bacterial colonization and gastritis.

The interaction between gastric epithelium and immune response plays key roles in -associated pathology. We demonstrated a procolonization and proinflammation role of MMP-10 in infection. MMP-10 is elevated in gastric mucosa and is produced by gastric epithelial cells synergistically induced by and IL-22 via the ERK pathway.

Powdered activated carbon enhanced Manganese(II) removal by chlorine oxidation.

Chlorine is not effective in the oxidative removal of soluble manganese(II) ions at neutral pH. Powdered activated carbon (PAC) also has a very limited capacity for Mn(II) removal through adsorption in drinking water treatment practice. This study explored the combined use of PAC and chlorine for Mn(II) removal and found that PAC dramatically catalyzed Mn(II) oxidation by chlorine under diverse conditions.

Cationic Albumin Encapsulated DNA Origami for Enhanced Cellular Transfection and Stability.

DNA nanostructures, owing to their controllable and adaptable nature, have been considered as highly attractive nanoplatforms for biomedical applications in recent years. However, their use in the biological environment has been restricted by low cellular transfection efficiency in mammalian cells, weak stability under physiological conditions, and endonuclease degradation. Herein, we demonstrate an effective approach to facilitate fast transfection of DNA nanostructures and enhance their stability by encapsulating DNA origami with a biocompatible cationic protein (cHSA) via electrostatic interaction.

An Intelligent Fault Diagnosis Method for Reciprocating Compressors Based on LMD and SDAE.

The effective fault diagnosis in the prognostic and health management of reciprocating compressors has been a research hotspot for a long time. The vibration signal of reciprocating compressors is nonlinear and non-stationary. However, the traditional methods applied to processing such signals have three issues, including separating the useful frequency bands from overlapped signals, extracting fault features with strong subjectivity, and processing the massive data with limited learning abilities.

Increased intratumoral mast cells foster immune suppression and gastric cancer progression through TNF-α-PD-L1 pathway.

Background: Mast cells are prominent components of solid tumors and exhibit distinct phenotypes in different tumor microenvironments. However, the nature, regulation, function, and clinical relevance of mast cells in human gastric cancer (GC) are presently unknown.

Methods: Flow cytometry analyses were performed to examine level and phenotype of mast cells in samples from 114 patients with GC.

Development of the Chinese Smell Identification Test.

Smell identification ability reflects the functional integrity of the human olfactory system. Its deficit is a prodromal marker for Parkinson's disease and is also implicated in Alzheimer's disease and other neurological and psychiatric disorders. Considering the impact of cultural factors on odor identifiability, we have developed a smell identification test specifically for the Chinese population (CSIT), which includes 40 odor items that are familiar to this population, presented in a multiple-choice format.

Helicobacter pylori-downregulated tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated protein 1 mediates apoptosis of human gastric epithelial cells.

Heat shock proteins (HSPs) are crucial proteins in maintaining the homeostasis of human gastric epithelial cells. Tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated protein 1 (TRAP1), a member of the HSP90 family, has been shown to be involved in various crucial physiological processes, particularly against apoptosis. However, the regulation and function of TRAP1 in Helicobacter pylori infection is still unknown.

Decreased IL-17RB expression impairs CD11bCD11c myeloid cell accumulation in gastric mucosa and host defense during the early-phase of Helicobacter pylori infection.

Interleukin-17 receptor B (IL-17RB), a member of the IL-17 receptor family activated by IL-17B/IL-17E, has been shown to be involved in inflammatory diseases. However, the regulation and function of IL-17RB in Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection, especially in the early-phase is still unknown.

Robust Kalman Filter Aided GEO/IGSO/GPS Raw-PPP/INS Tight Integration.

Reliable and continuous navigation solutions are essential for high-accuracy location-based services. Currently, the real-time kinematic (RTK) based Global Positioning System (GPS) is widely utilized to satisfy such requirements. However, RTK's accuracy and continuity are limited by the insufficient number of the visible satellites and the increasing length of base-lines between reference-stations and rovers.

Dye removal by eco-friendly physically cross-linked double network polymer hydrogel beads and their functionalized composites.

Hydrogels have attracted large attention in wastewater treatment fields due to their low-cost and good interaction with pollutants, among which novel double network hydrogel is an outstanding class. To expand the application of double network hydrogel in water treatment, in this study, eco-friendly physically cross-linked double network polymer hydrogel beads (DAP) are prepared and studied in depth on the mechanism of Methylene Blue (MB) adsorption; and then the polymer hydrogels are further functionalized by inorganic materials. MB adsorption on DAP favors alkaline condition which is due to the increase of electrostatic attraction and adsorption site, and it reaches equilibrium within 10 hr, which is faster than that of the single network hydrogel beads (SAP).

Prognostic Role of the Prognostic Nutritional Index in Pancreatic Cancer: A Meta-analysis.

Objective: The prognostic nutritional index (PNI) has been reported to play an important prognostic role in various malignancies. Here we performed a meta-analysis to explore the predictive value of PNI in pancreatic cancer (PC).

Methods: Clinical studies about PNI and prognosis in PC were retrieved from Pubmed, Embase, Web of Science and Cochrane Libarary updated on 31 December 2017.

Wireless Fingerprinting Uncertainty Prediction Based on Machine Learning.

Although wireless fingerprinting has been well researched and widely used for indoor localization, its performance is difficult to quantify. Therefore, when wireless fingerprinting solutions are used as location updates in multi-sensor integration, it is challenging to set their weight accurately. To alleviate this issue, this paper focuses on predicting wireless fingerprinting location uncertainty by given received signal strength (RSS) measurements through the use of machine learning (ML).

Medication Adherence in Chinese Patients With Systemic Lupus Erythematosus.

Objective: Medication adherence plays an important role in improving symptoms and ameliorating the progression of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The purpose of this study was to examine the medication adherence rate and explore the related factors for nonadherence in Chinese SLE patients.

Methods: A cross-sectional study from The Second Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University between January 2017 and February 2018 was conducted.

Abrogation of cathepsin C by Helicobacter pylori impairs neutrophil activation to promote gastric infection.

Cathepsin C (CtsC) functions as a central coordinator for activation of many serine proteases in immune cells. However, CtsC expression in gastric epithelial cells and its role in Helicobacter pylori infection remain unclear. Real-time PCR, Western blot, and immunohistochemistry analyses identified that CtsC was decreased in gastric mucosa of H.

Rationally Designed Double-Shell Dodecahedral Microreactors with Efficient Photoelectron Transfer: N-Doped-C-Encapsulated Ultrafine In O Nanoparticles.

It is desirable but challenging to design efficient micro-/nanoreactors for chemical reactions. In this study, we have fabricated mesoporous double-shelled hollow microreactors composed of N-doped-C-coated ultrafine In O nanoparticles [N-C/In O HD (hollow dodecahedron)] by the thermolysis of a dodecahedral In-based framework in Ar atmosphere. The obtained N-C/In O HD exhibited excellent activity in the photocatalytic oxidative hydroxylation of a series of arylboronic acid substrates.