Collision centrality and energy dependence of strange hadron production in Au + Au collisions at \sqrt{s_{NN}}= 7.7-54.4 GeV

We apply an equal-velocity quark combination model to systematically study the transverse momentum (p_{T}) spectra of strange hadrons K_{S}^{0}, \phi, \Lambda, \Xi^{-}, \Omega^{-}, \bar{\Lambda}, \bar{\Xi}^{+} and \bar{\Omega}^{+} at mid-rapidity in Au+Au collisions at \sqrt{s_{NN}}= 7.7, 11.5, 19.6, 27, 39, 54.4 GeV. Relative deviation between the model calculation and experimental data of these eight hadrons is generally about 2-3% at \sqrt{s_{NN}}= 27, 39, 54.4 GeV and in central collisions at 7.7, 11.5, 19.6 GeV. The deviation slightly increases up to about 4% in the semi-central and peripheral collision at \sqrt{s_{NN}}= 7.7, 11.5, 19.6 GeV. We systematically explain the dependence of two baryon-to-meson ratios \bar{\Lambda}/K_{S}^{0} and \Omega/\phi on p_{T}, collision centrality and collision energy by the property of quark p_{T} spectra at hadronization. We derive the analytic relations between R_{CP} of hadrons and those of quarks, and we use them to naturally explain the species and p_{T} dependence of R_{CP} of those strange hadrons

Repulsive guidance molecule B inhibits metastasis and is associated with decreased mortality in non-small cell lung cancer

Repulsive guidance molecules (RGMs) are co-receptors of bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) and programmed death ligand 2 (PD-L2), and might be involved in lung and other cancers. We evaluated repulsive guidance molecule B (RGMB) expression in 165 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) tumors and 22 normal lung tissue samples, and validated the results in an independent series of 131 samples. RGMB was downregulated in NSCLC (P ≤ 0.001), possibly through promoter hypermethylation. Reduced RGMB expression was observed in advanced-stage tumors (P = 0.017) and in tumors with vascular invasion (P < 0.01), and was significantly associated with poor overall survival (39 vs. 62 months, P < 0.001) and with disease-associated patient mortality (P = 0.015). RGMB knockdown promoted cell adhesion, invasion and migration, in both NSCLC cell lines and an in vivo mouse model, which enhanced metastatic potential. Conversely, RGMB overexpression and secretion suppressed cancer progression. The tumor-suppressing effect of RGMB was exerted through inhibition of the Smad1/5/8 pathway. Our results demonstrate that RGMB is an important inhibitor of NSCLC metastasis and that low RGMB expression is a novel predictor or a poor prognosis

Overexpressed transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1) in lung adenocarcinoma harbours a new opportunity for therapeutic targeting

The specific biological function of transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1) in pathogenesis of lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) remains unclear. In this study, TRPV1 expression in tumor tissues, primary cells and cell lines of LUAD, as well as the mechanism mediating its hyperexpression were systematically studied. Multiple models and techniques were adopted to elucidate the relationship between TRPV1 hyperexpression and tumor recurrence and metastasis. Results showed that TRPV1 expression was increased in tumor tissues and primary tumor cells of LUAD patients. The increased expression was associated with worse overall survival outcome and raised HIF1α levels. TRPV1 expression in A549 and NCI-H292 cells was increased after pretreatment with cigarette smoke extract or spermine NONOate. Moreover, A549 cells with TRPV1 overexpression has enhanced tumor growth rates in subcutaneous grafted tumor models, and increased intrapulmonary metastasis after tail vein infusion in nude BALB/c nude mice. Mechanistically, TRPV1 overexpression in A549 cells promoted HIF1α expression and nuclear translocation by promoting CREB phosphorylation and activation of NOS1-NO pathway, ultimately leading to accelerated cell proliferation and stronger invasiveness. In addition, based on photothermal effects, CuS-TRPV1 mAb effectively targeted and induced apoptosis of TRPV1-A549 cells both in vivo and in vitro, thereby mitigating tumor growth and metastasis induced by xenotransplantation of TRPV1-A549 cells. In conclusion, TRPV1 hyperexpression in LUAD is a risk factor for tumor progression and is involved in proliferation and migration of tumor cells through activation of HIF1α. Our study also attempted a new strategy inhibiting the recurrence and metastasis of LUAD: by CuS-TRPV1 mAb precisely kill TRPV1 hyperexpression cells through photothermal effects

Quantitative evaluation of the immunodeficiency of a mouse strain by tumor engraftments

© 2015 Ye et al. Background: The mouse is an organism that is widely used as a mammalian model for studying human physiology or disease, and the development of immunodeficient mice has provided a valuable tool for basic and applied human disease research. Following the development of large-scale mouse knockout programs and genome-editing tools, it has become increasingly efficient to generate genetically modified mouse strains with immunodeficiency. However, due to the lack of a standardized system for evaluating the immuno-capacity that prevents tumor progression in mice, an objective choice of the appropriate immunodeficient mouse strains to be used for tumor engrafting experiments is difficult. Methods: In this study, we developed a tumor engraftment index (TEI) to quantify the immunodeficiency response to hematologic malignant cells and solid tumor cells of six immunodeficient mouse strains and C57BL/6 wild-type mouse (WT). Results: Mice with a more severely impaired immune system attained a higher TEI score. We then validated that the NOD-scid-IL2Rg-/- (NSI) mice, which had the highest TEI score, were more suitable for xenograft and allograft experiments using multiple functional assays. Conclusions: The TEI score was effectively able to reflect the immunodeficiency of a mouse strain.Link_to_subscribed_fulltex

Consensus for Mixed-Order Multiagent Systems over Jointly Connected Topologies via Impulse Control

Because of the complexity of the environment, the dynamics of agents in the same system may be different. That is, the dynamics of some agents may be first ordered, and the others may be second ordered, even high ordered. In addition, the network topologies of systems are always varying over time. Because of these facts, this paper studies the consensus problem of the mixed-order multiagent networks over the jointly connected topologies. By adopting the impulse control technique, some control protocols are proposed based on the information of the agents themselves and their neighbors. Several simulation results are given to verify the correctness of the theoretical results

Shrinkage and Mechanical Properties of Self-Compacting SFRC With Calcium-Sulfoaluminate Expansive Agent

With the premise of ensuring workability on a fresh mixture, the volume stability of hardened self-compacting steel fiber reinforced concrete (SFRC) becomes an issue due to the content of cementitious materials increased with the volume fraction of steel fiber. By using the expansive agent to reduce the shrinkage deformation of self-compacting SFRC, the strength reduction of hardened self-compacting SFRC is another issue. To solve these issues, this paper performed an experimental investigation on the workability, shrinkage, and mechanical properties of self-compacting SFRC compared to the self-compacting concrete (SCC) with or without an expansive agent. The calcium-sulfoaluminate expansive agent with content optimized to be 10% mass of binders and the steel fiber with a varying volume fraction from 0.4% to 1.2% were selected as the main parameters. The mix proportion of self-compacting SFRC with expansive agent was designed by the direct absolute volume method, of which the steel fibers are considered to be the distributed coarse aggregates. Results showed that rational high filling and passing ability of fresh self-compacting SFRC was ensured by increasing the binder to coarse-aggregate ratio and the sand ratio in the mix proportions; the autogenous and drying shrinkages of hardened self-compacting SFRC reduced by 22.2% to 3.2% and by 18.5% to 7.3% compared to those of the SCC without expansive agent at a curing age of 180 d, although the expansion effect of expansive agent decreased with the increasing volume fraction of steel fiber; the mechanical properties, including the compressive strength, the splitting tensile strength, and the modulus of elasticity increased with the incorporation of an expansive agent and steel fibers, which met the design requirements

Genome-Wide Identification of the NPR1-like Gene Family in <i>Solanum tuberosum</i> and Functional Characterization of <i>StNPR1</i> in Resistance to <i>Ralstonia solanacearum</i>

The NPR1 (nonexpressor of pathogenesis-related genes 1) gene is an activator of the systemic acquisition of resistance (SAR) in plants and is one of the central factors in their response to pathogenic bacterial infestation, playing an important role in plant disease resistance. Potato (Solanum tuberosum) is a crucial non-grain crop that has been extensively studied. However, the identification and analysis of the NPR1-like gene within potato have not been understood well. In this study, a total of six NPR1-like proteins were identified in potato, and phylogenetic analysis showed that the six NPR1-like proteins in Solanum tuberosum could be divided into three major groups with NPR1-related proteins from Arabidopsis thaliana and other plants. Analysis of the exon–intron patterns and protein domains of the six NPR1-like genes from potato showed that the exon–intron patterns and protein domains of the NPR1-like genes belonging to the same Arabidopsis thaliana subfamily were similar. By performing quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) analysis, we found that six NPR1-like proteins have different expression patterns in different potato tissues. In addition, the expression of three StNPR1 genes was significantly downregulated after being infected by Ralstonia solanacearum (RS), while the difference in the expression of StNPR2/3 was insignificant. We also established potato StNPR1 overexpression lines that showed a significantly increased resistance to R. solanacearum and elevated activities of chitinase, β-1,3-glucanase, and phenylalanine deaminase. Increased peroxidase (POD), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and catalase (CAT) activities, as well as decreased hydrogen peroxide, regulated the dynamic balance of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the StNPR1 overexpression lines. The transgenic plants activated the expression of the genes associated with the Salicylic acid (SA) defense response but suppressed the expression of the genes associated with Jasmonic acid (JA) signaling. This resulted in resistance to Ralstonia solanacearum

Research Advances in Clinical Applications, Anticancer Mechanism, Total Chemical Synthesis, Semi-Synthesis and Biosynthesis of Paclitaxel

Paclitaxel, a natural secondary metabolite isolated and purified from the bark of the Taxus tree, is considered one of the most successful natural anticancer drugs due to its low toxicity, high potency and broad-spectrum anticancer activity. Taxus trees are scarce and slow-growing, and with extremely low paclitaxel content, the contradiction between supply and demand in the market is becoming more and more intense. Therefore, researchers have tried to obtain paclitaxel by various methods such as chemical synthesis, artificial culture, microbial fermentation and tissue cell culture to meet the clinical demand for this drug. This paper provides a comprehensive overview of paclitaxel extraction, combination therapy, total synthesis, semi-synthesis and biosynthesis in recent years and provides an outlook, aiming to provide a theoretical basis and reference for further research on the production and application of paclitaxel in the future