Study on Meso-Material Parameters of Submarine Weathered Granite Based on Parallel Bond Model.

In order to study the mechanical properties of submarine weathered granite under marine geological conditions, uniaxial compression tests were carried out on the original medium weathered granite of the seafloor of an offshore area in Pingtan, Fujian Province by using triaxial experimental apparatus to analyze the fracture characteristics, stress-strain characteristics, and compressive strength indexes. Based on the theory of discontinuous medium, the uniaxial compression and uniaxial tensile tests of rocks were simulated, and the microscopic mechanical parameters of discrete elements of granite samples were determined based on the indoor macroscopic mechanical tests: effective modulus E, compressive elastic modulus E, macro Poisson's ratio μ, and uniaxial compressive strength . The results show that the parallel bond model has good simulation results for the uniaxial compression test, but the tensile strength and tensile-compression ratio were quite different from the experimental values.

Transcriptomic analysis identifies upregulation of secreted phosphoprotein 1 in silicotic rats.

Silicosis is caused by exposure to crystalline silica and the molecular mechanism of silicotic fibrosis remains unclear. Therefore, the present study investigated the mRNA profiles of rats exposed to crystalline silica. RNA-sequencing techniques were used to observe differential expression of mRNAs in silicotic rats induced by chronic inhalation of crystalline silica particulates.

A Review of Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy in the Management of Oligometastatic Prostate Cancer.

Background/aim: Management strategies such as surgery and systemic therapy (androgen-deprivation therapy and chemotherapy) are considered a standard of care for patients with oligometastatic prostate cancer and have shown some positive results in many patients. However, they are often accompanied by side-effects that can negatively affect patients. The aim of this study is to review the potential of stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) in the management of oligometastatic prostate cancer and to compare treatment outcomes with SBRT to those under standard of care management regarding progression-free survival (PFS), androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT)-free survival and local control rate (LCR) as well as a comparison of toxicity profiles.

Differential expression of lncRNAs during silicosis and the role of LOC103691771 in myofibroblast differentiation induced by TGF-β1.

Objective: The role and molecular mechanism of long non-coding RNA (lncRNA)-related pathways in silicosis have not been elucidated clearly. The aims of this study were to evaluate the expression of lncRNAs during silica-induced pulmonary fibrosis and verify the function and molecular mechanism of LOC103691771 in myofibroblast differentiation induced by transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1).

Methods: RNA-sequencing was performed to assess differential expression of lncRNAs in control and silicotic rat lungs.

Hypoxia: involved but not essential for endometrial breakdown in mouse menstural-like model.

Menstruation is a specific physiological phenomenon that occurs in women. However, molecular mechanisms underlying this phenomenon are still unclear. According to the classical theory, tissue hypoxia resulting from vasoconstriction of the spiral arteries after progesterone (P4) withdrawal initiates the breakdown of the endometrium at the earliest stage of menstruation.

Disparities in socio-economic drivers behind China's provincial energy-related mercury emission changes.

The legally binding Minamata Convention was ratified by the Chinese government in 2017, implying that mercury emission mitigation policy design has become an urgent task ever since. As each provincial region has different energy structures and technology levels, their mercury emission profiles may have heterogeneity, thus requiring targeted regional control polices. Therefore, this study investigates the provincial energy-related mercury emissions and identifies their underlying socioeconomic factors during 2007-2012, by combining structural decomposition analysis (SDA) with the multi-regional input-output analysis (MRIO).

Dynamic Variation of RAS on Silicotic Fibrosis Pathogenesis in Rats.

The dynamic variation of renin-angiotensin system (RAS) in silicosis remains unclear. Seventy Wistar rats were divided into 7 groups including control group, silicosis groups (inhaling SiO2 for 2, 4, 8, 16 and 24 weeks, respectively) and Captopril (Cap) group. Rat lung primary fibroblasts were divided into control group, SiO-stimulated group (0, 0.

Interaction of N-acetyl-seryl-aspartyl-lysyl-proline with the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2-angiotensin-(1-7)-Mas axis attenuates pulmonary fibrosis in silicotic rats.

New Findings: What is the central question of this study? What are the effects of the antifibrotic peptide acetyl-seryl-aspartyl-lysyl-proline (Ac-SDKP) on the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2)-angiotensin-(1-7)-Mas axis during the occurrence and progression of silicosis? What is the main finding and its importance? Ac-SDKP inhibited lung fibrosis in rats exposed to silica by activation of the ACE2-angiotensin-(1-7)-Mas axis. Angiotensin-(1-7) potentially promotes Ac-SDKP by increasing the level of meprin α, the major synthetase of Ac-SDKP. Thus, the interaction Ac-SDKP and angiotesin-(1-7) in silicosis could provide a new therapeutic strategy.

Targeting the RAS axis alleviates silicotic fibrosis and Ang II-induced myofibroblast differentiation via inhibition of the hedgehog signaling pathway.

The hedgehog (HH) signaling pathway plays an important role in lung development, but its significance in silicosis is unclear. We showed that in human coal pneumoconiosis autopsy specimens, Sonic Hedgehog (SHH) and the Glioma-associated oncogene homolog transcription factors family (GLI) 1 proteins were up-regulated, whereas Patch-1 (PTC) was down-regulated. The protein levels of SHH, smoothened (SMO), GLI1, GLI2, α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) and collagen type Ⅰ (Col Ⅰ) were also elevated gradually in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) of different stages of coal pneumoconiosis patients, dynamic silica-inhalation rat lung tissue and MRC-5 cells induced by Ang II at different time points, whereas the PTC and GLI3 levels were diminished gradually.

Rho GDP dissociation inhibitor α silencing attenuates silicosis by inhibiting RhoA/Rho kinase signalling.

Transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) alters the fibroblast phenotype by promoting transdifferentiation into myofibroblasts, which exhibit the ability to promote collagen synthesis and extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition, thereby playing a significant role in the pathology of silicosis. In this study, we investigated the regulatory mechanisms involved in myofibroblast transdifferentiation. Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis showed that Rho GDP-dissociation inhibitor α (RhoGDIα) was upregulated following myofibroblast transdifferentiation stimulated by TGF-β1.

Proteomic profile of TGF-β1 treated lung fibroblasts identifies novel markers of activated fibroblasts in the silica exposed rat lung.

We performed liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) on control and TGF-β1-exposed rat lung fibroblasts to identify proteins differentially expressed between cell populations. A total of 196 proteins were found to be differentially expressed in response to TGF-β1 treatment. Guided by these results, we next determined whether similar changes in protein expression were detectable in the rat lung after chronic exposure to silica dust.

Dibutyryl-cAMP attenuates pulmonary fibrosis by blocking myofibroblast differentiation via PKA/CREB/CBP signaling in rats with silicosis.

Background: Myofibroblasts play a major role in the synthesis of extracellular matrix (ECM) and the stimulation of these cells is thought to play an important role in the development of silicosis. The present study was undertaken to investigate the anti-fibrotic effects of dibutyryl-cAMP (db-cAMP) on rats induced by silica.

Methods: A HOPE MED 8050 exposure control apparatus was used to create the silicosis model.

Acetylated α-Tubulin Regulated by N-Acetyl-Seryl-Aspartyl-Lysyl-Proline(Ac-SDKP) Exerts the Anti-fibrotic Effect in Rat Lung Fibrosis Induced by Silica.

Silicosis is the most serious occupational disease in China. The objective of this study was to screen various proteins related to mechanisms of the pathogenesis of silicosis underlying the anti-fibrotic effect of N-acetyl-seryl-aspartyl-lysyl-proline (Ac-SDKP) using proteomic profile analysis. We also aimed to explore a potential mechanism of acetylated α-tubulin (α-Ac-Tub) regulation by Ac-SDKP.

The Rhododendron dauricum L. Flavonoids Exert Vasodilation and Myocardial Preservation.

Rhododendron dauricum L. is an ancient Chinese traditional herb. The pharmacological effects of R.