Association between sleep duration, depression and breast cancer in the United States: a national health and nutrition examination survey analysis 2009–2018

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women, threatening both physical and mental health. The epidemiological evidence for association between sleep duration, depression and breast cancer is inconsistent. The aim of this study was to determine the association between them and build machine-learning algorithms to predict breast cancer. A total of 1,789 participants from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) were included in the study, and 263 breast cancer patients were identified. Sleep duration was collected using a standardized questionnaire, and the Nine-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) was used to assess depression. Logistic regression yielded multivariable-adjusted breast cancer odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for sleep duration and depression. Then, six machine learning algorithms, including AdaBoost, random forest, Boost tree, artificial neural network, limit gradient enhancement and support vector machine, were used to predict the development of breast cancer and find out the best algorithm. Body mass index (BMI), race and smoking were statistically different between breast cancer and non-breast cancer groups. Participants with depression were associated with breast cancer (OR = 1.99, 95%CI: 1.55–3.51). Compared with 7–9h of sleep, the ORs for 9 h of sleep were 1.25 (95% CI: 0.85–1.37) and 1.05 (95% CI: 0.95–1.15), respectively. The AdaBoost model outperformed other machine learning algorithms and predicted well for breast cancer, with an area under curve (AUC) of 0.84 (95%CI: 0.81–0.87). No significant association was observed between sleep duration and breast cancer, and participants with depression were associated with an increased risk for breast cancer. This finding provides new clues into the relationship between breast cancer and depression and sleep duration, and provides potential evidence for subsequent studies of pathological mechanisms.</p

Oroxylin A inhibits H₂O₂-induced oxidative stress in PC12 cells

<p>Oroxylin A, a natural flavonoid isolated from <i>Scutellaria baicalensis</i>, has been reported to have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects. However, suppression of oxidative stress and neuroapoptosis by oroxylin A is largely uninvestigated. To investigate the protective effects of oroxylin A, PC12 cells were exposed to oroxylin A and hydrogen peroxide solutions and measured. Oroxylin A significantly reduced the levels of intracellular calcium and reactive oxygen species and increased the levels of CAT and Mn/SOD. Oroxylin A also inhibited the activation of caspase-3. These results suggest that treatment of PC12 cells with oroxylin A inhibits H₂O₂-induced oxidative stress.</p

The expression of PCNA in tumor tissue.

<p>(A) Immunohistochemical staining analysis. PCNA-positive cells in the sections are stained brown. The nuclei are stained blue. Representative figures from each group are shown; n = 6; Magnification, × 400; Scale bars = 50 μm. (B) The corresponding quantitative analysis results of PCNA are shown in (A). Five fields from each tumor tissue section were randomly selected for the calculation of the IOD value of the positive region through IPP software, which indicated the amount of antigen expression. (C) Western blot analysis. Total protein from the tumor tissues was extracted. PCNA was detected with β-actin as an internal control. n = 3. (D) The quantitative analysis results of PCNA are shown in (D). The intensity of each strip was analyzed by ImageJ software. The average intensities of PCNA were standardized to β-actin. Error bars, mean ± SD; ns, not significant; *** <i>p</i> <0.001.</p

Penetration analysis of Evans Blue in extravascular tumor tissues.

<p>(A) The representative images of Evans Blue accumulation in normal organs and in tumors of the mice that received different treatments. The blue intensity denotes the quantity of accumulated Evans Blue. (B) Images of the tumor in (A). (C) Quantification of Evans Blue extracted from tumors and organs in (A) by OD600 measurement. n = 3; Error bars, mean ± SEM; ***<i>p</i>< 0.001.</p

Therapeutic efficacy of Gemcitabine combined with iRGD for human NSCLC xenografts.

<p>(A) The tumor volume curve during treatment. Arrows indicate the time of injection. The day when treatment started was recorded as day 0. Tumor volume was measured once every three days until day 30. (B) Average tumor weight of each group at the end of treatment. (C) The body weight shift curve of the mice during the experiment. n = 6. Error bars, mean ± SD; ns, not significant; *** <i>p</i> < 0.001.</p

Expression analysis of αvβ3, αvβ5 and NRP-1 in A549 cells and xenografts.

<p>(A) Expression analysis of αvβ3, αvβ5 and NRP-1 in A549 cells by flow cytometry. (B) Expression analysis of αvβ3, αvβ5 and NRP-1 in A549 xenografts by immunofluorescence staining. EG, experimental group; CG, control group. Both αvβ3 and αvβ5 are stained green. NRP-1 is stained red. Nuclei are stained blue. Magnification, × 400; Scale bars = 50 μm.</p

Induction of apoptosis by Gemcitabine combined with iRGD.

<p>(A) Apoptotic cells in the tumor tissues were detected by a TUNEL assay. TUNEL-positive nuclei are stained brown, and TUNEL-negative nuclei are stained blue. The figures shown here are representative of the six tumors in each group. Arrows indicate the apoptotic bodies. Magnification, × 400; Scale bars = 50 μm. (B) Quantitative analysis of the apoptosis index in each group. The percentage of TUNEL-positive cells was counted from 100 randomly selected tumor cells per section. Five sections were counted per tumor. n = 6; Error bars, mean ± SD; *** <i>p</i> < 0.001.</p

Organocatalytic Atroposelective Construction of Axially Chiral Compounds Containing Benzimidazole and Quinoline Rings

An organocatalytic atroposelective strategy for the construction of axially chiral compounds containing benzimidazole and quinoline rings is described. The enantioselective heteroannulation reaction of 2-alkynylbenzimidazoles with ortho-aminophenylketones proceeded smoothly in the presence of chiral phosphoric acid to provide axially chiral heterobiaryls with good yields and enantioselectivities. This is the first example of the combination of benzimidazole and quinoline rings at the 2- and 3-positions, respectively, into axially chiral heterobiaryls by this new strategy

High-Performance NiO/Ag/NiO Transparent Electrodes for Flexible Organic Photovoltaic Cells

Transparent electrodes with a dielectric–metal–dielectric (DMD) structure can be implemented in a simple manufacturing process and have good optical and electrical properties. In this study, nickel oxide (NiO) is introduced into the DMD structure as a more appropriate dielectric material that has a high conduction band for electron blocking and a low valence band for efficient hole transport. The indium-free NiO/Ag/NiO (NAN) transparent electrode exhibits an adjustable high transmittance of ∼82% combined with a low sheet resistance of ∼7.6 Ω·s·<i>q</i>^–1 and a work function of 5.3 eV after UVO treatment. The NAN electrode shows excellent surface morphology and good thermal, humidity, and environmental stabilities. Only a small change in sheet resistance can be found after NAN electrode is preserved in air for 1 year. The power conversion efficiencies of organic photovoltaic cells with NAN electrodes deposited on glass and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrates are 6.07 and 5.55%, respectively, which are competitive with those of indium tin oxide (ITO)-based devices. Good photoelectric properties, the low-cost material, and the room-temperature deposition process imply that NAN electrode is a striking candidate for low-cost and flexible transparent electrode for efficient flexible optoelectronic devices

Surface-Modified Silicon Nanoparticles with Ultrabright Photoluminescence and Single-Exponential Decay for Nanoscale Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging of Temperature

In this Communication, we report fabrication of ultrabright water-dispersible silicon nanoparticles (SiNPs) with quantum yields (QYs) up to 75% through a novelly designed chemical surface modification. A simple one-pot surface modification was developed that improves the photoluminescent QYs of SiNPs from 8% to 75% and meanwhile makes SiNPs water-dispersible. Time-correlated single photon counting and femtosecond time-resolved photoluminescence techniques demonstrate the emergence of a single and uncommonly highly emissive recombination channel across the entire NP ensemble induced by surface modification. The extended relatively long fluorescence lifetime (FLT), with a monoexponential decay, makes such surface-modified SiNPs suitable for applications involving lifetime measurements. Experimental results demonstrate that the surface-modified SiNPs can be utilized as an extraordinary nanothermometer through FLT imaging