Clinical significance of S100B protein in pregnant woman with early- onset severe preeclampsia

Objectives: Preeclampsia is one of the most feared complications of pregnancy, which can progress rapidly to serious complications such as death of both mother and fetus. To present, the leading cause of preeclampsia is still debated. The purpose of this article was to explore the clinical significance of S100B protein, a kind of Ca2+ -sensor protein, in the early-onset severe preeclampsia. Material and methods: Nine pregnant women with early-onset severe preeclampsia (the study group) and 13 healthy pregnant women (the control group) were included in this study. The level of S100B in the amniotic fluid, maternal blood, and umbilical cord blood were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and surface plasmon resonance imaging (SPRi) methods. Diagnostic values of S100B for early-onset severe preeclampsia were assessed by Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. Results: The levels of S100B in maternal blood and amniotic fluid in the study group were higher than those in the control group (p < 0.05). ROC curve analysis showed that S100B detected by SPRi method (SPRi-S100B) showed a cut-off level of 181 ng/mL with sensitivity of 100%, a specificity of 84.6%, and a Youden index of 0.846 in the maternal blood, which had better clinical significance and diagnostic value (at than that detected by ELISA (ELISA-S100B).   Conclusions: The levels of S100B detected by SPRi in maternal blood can indicate early-onset severe preeclampsia and perinatal brain injury

Perturbation of Rb, p53, and Brca1 or Brca2 Cooperate in Inducing Metastatic Serous Epithelial Ovarian Cancer

The majority of human high grade serous epithelial ovarian cancer (SEOC) is characterized by frequent mutations in p53 and alterations in the RB and FOXM1 pathways. A subset of human SEOC harbors a combination of germline and somatic mutations as well as epigenetic dysfunction for BRCA1/2. Using Cre-conditional alleles and intrabursal induction by Cre-expressing adenovirus in genetically engineered mice, we analyzed the roles of pathway perturbations in epithelial ovarian cancer initiation and progression. Inactivation of RB-mediated tumor suppression induced surface epithelial proliferation with progression to stage I carcinoma. Additional biallelic inactivation and/or missense p53 mutation in the presence or absence of Brca1/2 caused progression to stage IV disease. As in human SEOC, mice developed peritoneal carcinomatosis, ascites, and distant metastases. Unbiased gene expression and metabolomic profiling confirmed that Rb, p53, and Brca1/2-triple mutant tumors aligned with human SEOC, and not with other intraperitoneal cancers. Together, our findings provide a novel resource for evaluating disease etiology and biomarkers, therapeutic evaluation, and improved imaging strategies in epithelial ovarian cancer

Enhancing cycling durability of Li-ion batteries with hierarchical structured silicon–graphene hybrid anodes

Hybrid anode materials consisting of micro-sized silicon (Si) particles interconnected with few-layer graphene (FLG) nanoplatelets and sodium-neutralized poly(acrylic acid) as a binder were evaluated for Li-ion batteries. The hybrid film has demonstrated a reversible discharge capacity of ∼1800 mA h g−1 with a capacity retention of 97% after 200 cycles. The superior electrochemical properties of the hybrid anodes are attributed to a durable, hierarchical conductive network formed between Si particles and the multi-scale carbon additives, with enhanced cohesion by the functional polymer binder. Furthermore, improved solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) stability is achieved from the electrolyte additives, due to the formation of a kinetically stable film on the surface of the Si

Expression of IRAK1 in Hepatocellular Carcinoma, Its Clinical Significance, and Docking Characteristics with Selected Natural Compounds

This study aimed to explore clinical significance of interleukin-1 receptor-associated kinase 1 (IRAK1) in the diagnosis, prognosis, and targeted therapy of hepatocellular carcinoma. A systematic analysis based on the cancer genome atlas (TCGA) indicated that IRAK1 was highly expressed in 18 cancer types (p < 0.01) and may be a pan-cancer biomarker. In hepatocellular carcinoma, the alteration rate of IRAK1 was rather high (62.4%), in which mRNA high relative to normal predominated (58.9%). Higher expression was associated with shorter overall survival (p < 0.01). IRAK1 expression correlated positively with pathology stage and tumor grade (for the latter there was only a slight trend). Interestingly, it correlated positively with TP53 mutation (p < 0.001), suggesting a possible strategy for targeting TP53 via IRAK1. Immunohistochemistry experiments confirmed a higher positive rate of IRAK1 in carcinoma than in para-carcinoma tissues (χ2 = 18.006, p < 0.001). Higher tumor grade correlated with more strongly positive staining. Molecular docking revealed cryptotanshinone, matrine, and harmine as the best hit compounds with inhibition potential for IRAK1. Our findings suggest that IRAK1 may play biologically predictive roles in hepatocellular carcinoma. The suppression of IRAK1/NF-κB signaling via inhibition of IRAK1 by the hit compounds can be a potential strategy for the targeted therapy

Chinese lantern in Physalis is an advantageous morphological novelty and improves plant fitness

Abstract The origin of morphological novelties is an important but neglected issue of evolutionary biology. The fruit of the genus Physalis, a berry, is encapsulated by a novel morphological feature of the post-floral, accrescent calyx that is referred to as a Chinese lantern. The evolutionary developmental genetics of the Chinese lantern have been investigated in the last decade; however, the selective values of the morphological novelty remain elusive. Here, we measured the photosynthetic parameters of the fruiting calyces, monitored microclimatic variation within the Chinese lanterns during fruit development, performed floral-calyx-removal experiments, and recorded the fitness-related traits in Physalis floridana. Ultimately, we show that the green-fruiting calyx of Physalis has photosynthetic capabilities, thus serving as an energy source for fruit development. Moreover, the developing Chinese lantern provides a microclimate that benefits the development and maturation of berry and seed, and it improves plant fitness in terms of fruit/seed weight and number, and fruit maturation under low-temperature environments. Furthermore, the lantern structure facilitates the dispersal of fruits and seeds by water and wind. Our results suggest that the Chinese lantern morphology of Physalis is an evolutionary adaptive trait and improves plant fitness, thus providing new insight into the origin of morphological novelties

Non-covalent functionalization of graphene oxide by pyrene-block copolymers for enhancing physical properties of poly(methyl methacrylate)

Pyrene-functionalized poly(methyl methacrylate)-block-polydimethylsiloxane (Py-PMMA-b-PDMS) copolymers were synthesized via activators regenerated by an electron transfer atom transfer radical polymerization (ARGET ATRP) method and further used to functionalize graphene oxide (GO) through the π–π interaction between pyrene and the carbon sheets. The modification efficiency of the non-covalently functionalized GO (GO@Py-PMMA-b-PDMS) particles was evaluated by studying their effects on the mechanical, optical and thermal properties of the PMMA. With incorporation of 0.05 wt% GO@Py-PMMA-b-PDMS, the tensile strength, Young's modulus, elongation at break and toughness of PMMA were increased by 23%, 54%, 117%, and 218%, respectively, showing simultaneously reinforcing and toughening effects of the functionalized GO particles; the initial decomposition temperature of PMMA increased by 11 °C from 349 °C to 360 °C; and the haze value of PMMA increased from 2.1% to 16.8%; the refractive index of PMMA varied from 1.48 to 1.51. This improvement in the physical properties of PMMA can be attributed to the homogeneous dispersion and enhanced interfacial adhesion between GO@Py-PMMA-b-PDMS and PMMA. This work demonstrates the feasibility of using GO@Py-PMMA-b-PDMS as a modifier for simultaneously improving the mechanical, optical and thermal properties of PMMA for potential organic light-emitting diodes and organic photovoltaics applications

Efficient degradation of vulcanized natural rubber into liquid rubber by catalytic oxidation

Waste tire rubber based on natural rubber (NR) represents an abundant feedstock for the production of valuable products. This study investigated an efficient approach to convert NR vulcanizates into liquid rubber with the number-average molar masses of 1.3 × 104 g/mol. Compared to the anaerobic liquefaction at 300°C for 3 min, NR vulcanizates were liquefied efficiently at 210°C for 3 min by thermo-oxidative degradation catalyzed by manganese (II) stearate. The apparent activation energy of the NR degradation reaction decreased from 470.8 kJ/mol to 208.2 kJ/mol with catalysis, which was attributed to the formation of a coordination complex between catalysts and peroxides via the single-electron transfer redox reaction, leading to the catalytic oxidative degradation of NR vulcanizates. The main chain scission and crosslink scission occurred simultaneously during the degradation process, and the main chain scission was the primary catalytic oxidation reaction according to the Horikx theory. In addition, the obtained liquid rubber contained carbonyls, ether linkages, and sulfoxide groups, as proved by FTIR and 13C-NMR. The catalytic oxidative degradation mechanism of NR vulcanizates was proposed based on the chemical structure of products and simulation results. The efficient method was proposed to highly facilitate the recycling and valorization of NR-based waste tire rubber