miR-1908 as a novel prognosis marker of glioma via promoting malignant phenotype and modulating SPRY4/RAF1 axis

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are reported to be involved in the development of glioma. However, study on miRNAs in glioma is limited. The present study aimed to identify miRNAs which can act as potential novel prognostic markers for glioma and analyze its possible mechanism. We show that miR-1908 correlates with shorter survival time of glioma patients via promoting cell proliferation, invasion, anti-apoptosis and regulating SPRY4/RAF1 axis. Analysis of GEO and TCGA database found that miR-1908 was significantly upregulated in glioma tissues, and strongly associated with shorter survival time of glioma patients. Further Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis revealed that miR-1908 is mainly involved in regulating cell proliferation, invasion and apoptosis. To further confirm the above results, in vitro, glioma U251 cells were transfected with miR-1908 mimics or inhibitor, and upregulated miR-1908 promoted U251 cell proliferation, and enhanced the ability of invasion by transwell assay. In addition, upregulated miR-1908 also enhanced anti-apoptosis ability of U251 cells through decreasing pro-apoptosis protein Bax expression. Since miRNAs regulate numerous biological processes by targeting broad set of messenger RNAs, validated target genes of miR-1908 in glioma were analyzed by Targetscan and miRTarBase databases. Among them SPRY4 was significantly decreased in glioma tissues and associated with short survival time, which was selected as the key target gene of miR-1908. Moreover, protein-protein interaction (PPI) showed that SPRY4 could interacted with pro-oncogene RAF1 and negatively correlated with RAF1 expression. Consistent with above analysis, in vitro, western blot analysis identified that miR-1908 upregulated significantly decreased SPRY4 expression and increased RAF1 expression. Hence, miR-1908 was correlated with poor prognosis of glioma via promoting cell proliferation, invasion, anti-apoptosis and regulating SPRF4/RAF1 axis. Our results elucidated the tumor promoting role of miR-1908 and established miR-1908 as a potential novel prognostic marker for glioma

Methodologies, technologies and strategies for acoustic streaming based Acoustofluidics

Acoustofluidics offers contact-free manipulation of particles and fluids, enabling their uses in various life sciences, such as for biological and medical applications. Recently, there have been extensive studies on acoustic streaming-based acoustofluidics, which are formed inside a liquid agitated by leaky surface acoustic waves (SAWs) through applying radio frequency signals to interdigital transducers (IDTs) on a piezoelectric substrate. This paper aims to describe acoustic streaming-based acoustofluidics and provide readers with an unbiased perspective to determine which IDT structural designs and techniques are most suitable for their research. This review, first, qualitatively and quantitatively introduces underlying physics of acoustic streaming. Then, it comprehensively discusses the fundamental designs of IDT technology for generating various types of acoustic streaming phenomena. Acoustic streaming-related methodologies and the corresponding biomedical applications are highlighted and discussed, according to either standing surface acoustic waves or traveling surface acoustic waves generated, and also sessile droplets or continuous fluids used. Traveling SAW-based acoustofluidics generate various physical phenomena including mixing, concentration, rotation, pumping, jetting, nebulization/atomization, and droplet generation, as well as mixing and concentration of liquid in a channel/chamber. Standing SAWs induce streaming for digital and continuous acoustofluidics, which can be used for mixing, sorting, and trapping in a channel/chamber. Key challenges, future developments, and directions for acoustic streaming-based acoustofluidics are finally discussed

Robust estimation of bacterial cell count from optical density

Optical density (OD) is widely used to estimate the density of cells in liquid culture, but cannot be compared between instruments without a standardized calibration protocol and is challenging to relate to actual cell count. We address this with an interlaboratory study comparing three simple, low-cost, and highly accessible OD calibration protocols across 244 laboratories, applied to eight strains of constitutive GFP-expressing E. coli. Based on our results, we recommend calibrating OD to estimated cell count using serial dilution of silica microspheres, which produces highly precise calibration (95.5% of residuals <1.2-fold), is easily assessed for quality control, also assesses instrument effective linear range, and can be combined with fluorescence calibration to obtain units of Molecules of Equivalent Fluorescein (MEFL) per cell, allowing direct comparison and data fusion with flow cytometry measurements: in our study, fluorescence per cell measurements showed only a 1.07-fold mean difference between plate reader and flow cytometry data

Decision-Making Behavior Analysis and Empirical Study under Information Intervention in a Cold Environment

Some mega-sport events such as the Winter Olympics are usually held in areas accompanied by cold environment, which has a great risk of frostbite and safety for pedestrians. Releasing guidance information have become a good way for managers to reduce freezing time, improve travel efficiency and prevent safety accidents. In this article, the 2022 Winter Olympics were taken as an example to discuss influence of information intervention on TDMB (travel decision-making behavior). The mechanism of the TDMB was explored, and a survey of pedestrian behavior was carried out in the area. In particular, the influence of the subjective perception and objective factors on the RDMB (route decision-making behavior) was analyzed based on the SEM-logit model. The results show that information, congestion and the cold have an impact on the decision-making behavior. The path coefficient values of the pedestrians’ perception of information, congestion and the cold were 0.557, 0.216 and 0.324, respectively, which indicates that guidance information has the most serious impact on the pedestrians’ comprehensive perception. The objective factors including outdoor walking time, information intervention frequency, distance to a heated space had a significant impact on the RDMB. Indeed, when information intervention frequency is 2, the compliance rate of pedestrians to the information can be effectively increased. If the manager wants to alleviate traffic congestion, setting up heated spaces within a radius of 1 km is a good way to divert pedestrians. This study can provide a scientific reference for the sustainable development of mega-sport events, long-term construction of service facilities and the passenger flow management in a cold environment

Effect of panel construction on the ballistic performance of multiply 3D through-the-thickness angle-interlock fabrIc reinforced composites

This paper studied the ballistic performance of 3D woven angle-interlock fabric reinforced composites with different types of panel construction. Two types of composites P10B and P17C were designed to have the same areal density of around 12 kg/m2 although they both had different ply areal densities and consisted of different numbers of plies. Non-perforated ballistic impacts were conducted on the two types of panels under the same level of impact energy. Post-mortem examination on the non-perforated panels was conducted through the cross-sectional images, planar projected delamination and 3D damage volume extracted from the non-destructive tests. Three distinctive sections of damage were segmented from the non-perforated panels, each indicating different material failure modes upon impact. Under the same areal density, the coarser composite panel P10B with a larger ply areal density and fewer reinforcement plies would result in less damage. The damage volume of P10B is nearly one-third that of the P17C. The findings are instructive for the design of 3D woven fabric continuously reinforced composites with doubly-curved shapes

Application of Parametric Design in the Optimization of Traditional Landscape Architecture

Parametric design, with its unique scientific and logical nature, is gradually applied in the field of landscape design. Therefore, the GIS (geographic information systems) technology of parametric software was applied to the optimization of traditional landscape architecture, and its practical application quality was discussed. The actual analysis results showed that the evaluation result of parametric design had the highest score of 7.71 in behavioral perception. The overall score was 7.28, showing a high scientific nature. In the evaluation of landscape environmental benefits, after the optimization of landscape greening by parametric design, the air cleanliness and living comfort were generally improved, compared with those before optimization, and the highest values were 11.97 ± 6.01 and 5.86 ± 2.11 respectively. In the evaluation of the economic benefits of gardens, the economic income of gardens in the past 8 years generally increased, reaching the highest of 3.5795 billion yuan, with a growth rate of 78.92%. At the same time, the return on investment reached 26.17%, far exceeding the expected 20%. Among the social benefits, the weight of increasing employment opportunities was the largest at 0.36. In summary, parameterized optimization of traditional landscape design can effectively improve its social, environmental, and economic benefits and has good practical value

Strain-Sensing Mechanism and Axial Stress Response Characterization of Bolt Based on Fiber Bragg Grating Sensing

The anchoring quality of bolts is related to roadway safety and the surrounding rock stability. Due to the limitations of conventional monitoring methods in capturing strain, there still exists a gap in the real-time perception of the mechanical properties of bolts at the micro-scale. This paper proposes a new approach to detecting bolts’ anchoring qualities based on the fiber Bragg grating sensing principle. Moreover, it studies the strain transmission mechanism between the surface-bonded fiber Bragg grating and the bolt. A fiber-optic monitoring test platform of anchor bolt anchoring quality is built. The full-length anchor bolt’s strain evolution law and axial force distribution characteristics are studied during the pull-out test. The study results have shown that the theoretical value of the fiber strain transfer coefficient can be used to calculate the strain of the bolt. The bolt pull-out test verified the accuracy of using the fiber Bragg grating bolt axial force characterization equation to estimate the bolt stress. On the other hand, the correlation between the bolt axial force and the fiber Bragg grating monitoring value follows an exponential pattern. This study provides an important basis for improving the understanding of a bolt anchoring mechanism and the stability control of a roadway’s surrounding rock

Positive Impacts of the Overall-Process Management Measures on Promoting Municipal Solid Waste Classification: A Case Study of Chongqing, China

Municipal solid waste (MSW) classification is a national strategic objective and an important component of successful municipal solid waste management (MSWM). Some failures of pilot programs suggest that safeguarding measures are essential for MSW classification. A questionnaire survey of public awareness and attitudes toward MSW source-separated collection in Chongqing’s main districts was conducted, and the results indicated that the proportions of respondents willing to participate in MSW classification and provide money for it were 67.9% and 86.2%, respectively. The positive impacts of the overall-process management measures on promoting MSW classification in Chongqing’s main districts, including source-separated collection system, transportation system, treatment and disposal system, and environmental sanitation prevention system, were analyzed comprehensively. The analyses revealed that a 98% resident participation rate was obtained for MSW source-separated collection with the application of a cloud-based platform and traceability system. Moreover, the secondary transportation and comprehensive “4 + 1” (four waste incineration plants and one waste landfill) disposal mode showed significant advantages with respect to costs and environmental friendliness. In view of the environmental sanitation risks, the prevention and control of environmental sanitation were developed in Chongqing. The future prospects have also been discussed. The refinement and regionalization of source-separated collection are proposed as the possible solution

Positive Impacts of the Overall-Process Management Measures on Promoting Municipal Solid Waste Classification: A Case Study of Chongqing, China

Municipal solid waste (MSW) classification is a national strategic objective and an important component of successful municipal solid waste management (MSWM). Some failures of pilot programs suggest that safeguarding measures are essential for MSW classification. A questionnaire survey of public awareness and attitudes toward MSW source-separated collection in Chongqing’s main districts was conducted, and the results indicated that the proportions of respondents willing to participate in MSW classification and provide money for it were 67.9% and 86.2%, respectively. The positive impacts of the overall-process management measures on promoting MSW classification in Chongqing’s main districts, including source-separated collection system, transportation system, treatment and disposal system, and environmental sanitation prevention system, were analyzed comprehensively. The analyses revealed that a 98% resident participation rate was obtained for MSW source-separated collection with the application of a cloud-based platform and traceability system. Moreover, the secondary transportation and comprehensive “4 + 1” (four waste incineration plants and one waste landfill) disposal mode showed significant advantages with respect to costs and environmental friendliness. In view of the environmental sanitation risks, the prevention and control of environmental sanitation were developed in Chongqing. The future prospects have also been discussed. The refinement and regionalization of source-separated collection are proposed as the possible solution