On the Lp Gaussian Minkowski problem

Existence of symmetric (resp. asymmetric) solutions to the $L_p$ Gaussian Minkowski problem for $p\leq 0$ (resp. $p\geq 1$) will be provided. Moreover, existence and uniqueness of smooth solutions to the problem for $p>n$ will also be proved without the restriction that the Gaussian volumes of convex bodies are not less than one-second.Comment: arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:2207.0693

Preparation of ordered TiO2 macroporous membrane using PBMA colloid crystal as template

Poly(butyl methacrylate) (PBMA) colloidal crystal templates were assembled orderly on the clean substrates of monocrystalline silicon by dip-drawing technique and titanium dioxide (TiO2) macroporous membranes were prepared by using sol-dipping template method to fill the interstices among the PBMA templates, followed by calcination to remove the templates at 550℃. Calcination of the PBMA templates was carried out according to the following procedure: the rate of rising temperature was 5℃/min from room temperature to 150℃, 2℃/min from 150℃ to 270℃, 1℃ /min from 270℃ to 430℃, 2℃/min from 430℃ to 550℃ and maintained it at 550℃ for 2h. X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectra indicated the macroporous materials were anatase structure. The polymerization mechanism of BMA with Fenton reagent as a new initiator was discussed, and the removal process of the PBMA templates and the formation of TiO2 pore size were investigated, respectively. The results showed that the new method of polymerization overcomes many problems associated with the conventional emulsion polymerization techniques such as long reaction time, necessary deoxygenation, and complicated operation

P-Glycoprotein/MDR1 Regulates Pokemon Gene Transcription Through p53 Expression in Human Breast Cancer Cells

P-glycoprotein (Pgp), encoded by the multidrug resistance 1 (MDR1) gene, is an efflux transporter and plays an important role in pharmacokinetics. In this study, we demonstrated that the pokemon promoter activity, the pokemon mRNA and protein expression can be significantly inhibited by Pgp. Chromatin immunoprecipitation assay showed that Pgp can bind the pokemon prompter to repress pokemon transcription activity. Furthermore, Pgp regulated pokemon transcription activity through expression of p53 as seen by use of p53 siRNA transfected MCF-7 cells or p53 mutated MDA-MB-231 cells. Moreover, p53 was detected to bind with Pgp in vivo using immunoprecipitation assay. Taken together, we conclude that Pgp can regulate the expression of pokemon through the presence of p53, suggesting that Pgp is a potent regulator and may offer an effective novel target for cancer therapy

Structural and functional abnormities of amygdala and prefrontal cortex in major depressive disorder with suicide attempts

Finding neural features of suicide attempts (SA) in major depressive disorder (MDD) may be helpful in preventing suicidal behavior. The ventral and medial prefrontal cortex (PFC), as well as the amygdala form a circuit implicated in emotion regulation and the pathogenesis of MDD. The aim of this study was to identify whether patients with MDD who had a history of SA show structural and functional connectivity abnormalities in the amygdala and PFC relative to MDD patients without a history of SA. We measured gray matter volume in the amygdala and PFC and amygdala-PFC functional connectivity using structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in 158 participants [38 MDD patients with a history of SA, 60 MDD patients without a history of SA, and 60 healthy control (HC)]. MDD patients with a history of SA had decreased gray matter volume in the right and left amygdala (F = 30.270, P = 0.000), ventral/medial/dorsal PFC (F = 15.349, P = 0.000), and diminished functional connectivity between the bilateral amygdala and ventral and medial PFC regions (F = 22.467, P = 0.000), compared with individuals who had MDD without a history of SA, and the HC group. These findings provide evidence that the amygdala and PFC may be closely related to the pathogenesis of suicidal behavior in MDD and implicate the amygdala-ventral/medial PFC circuit as a potential target for suicide intervention

Structural and functional abnormities of amygdala and prefrontal cortex in major depressive disorder with suicide attempts

Finding neural features of suicide attempts (SA) in major depressive disorder (MDD) may be helpful in preventing suicidal behavior. The ventral and medial prefrontal cortex (PFC), as well as the amygdala form a circuit implicated in emotion regulation and the pathogenesis of MDD. The aim of this study was to identify whether patients with MDD who had a history of SA show structural and functional connectivity abnormalities in the amygdala and PFC relative to MDD patients without a history of SA. We measured gray matter volume in the amygdala and PFC and amygdala-PFC functional connectivity using structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in 158 participants [38 MDD patients with a history of SA, 60 MDD patients without a history of SA, and 60 healthy control (HC)]. MDD patients with a history of SA had decreased gray matter volume in the right and left amygdala (F = 30.270, P = 0.000), ventral/medial/dorsal PFC (F = 15.349, P = 0.000), and diminished functional connectivity between the bilateral amygdala and ventral and medial PFC regions (F = 22.467, P = 0.000), compared with individuals who had MDD without a history of SA, and the HC group. These findings provide evidence that the amygdala and PFC may be closely related to the pathogenesis of suicidal behavior in MDD and implicate the amygdala-ventral/medial PFC circuit as a potential target for suicide intervention

Ubiquitin signaling in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a highly lethal malignant tumor of the digestive system, characterized by rapid progression and being prone to metastasis. Few effective treatment options are available for PDAC, and its 5-year survival rate is less than 9%. Many cell biological and signaling events are involved in the development of PDAC, among which protein post-translational modifications (PTMs), such as ubiquitination, play crucial roles. Catalyzed mostly by a three-enzyme cascade, ubiquitination induces changes in protein activity mainly by altering their stability in PDAC. Due to their role in substrate recognition, E3 ubiquitin ligases (E3s) dictate the outcome of the modification. Ubiquitination can be reversed by deubiquitylases (DUBs), which, in return, modified proteins to their native form. Dysregulation of E3s or DUBs that disrupt protein homeostasis is involved in PDAC. Moreover, the ubiquitination system has been exploited to develop therapeutic strategies, such as proteolysis-targeting chimeras (PROTACs). In this review, we summarize recent progress in our understanding of the role of ubiquitination in the development of PDAC and offer perspectives in the design of new therapies against this highly challenging disease

Disentangling the Drivers of Diversity and Distribution of Fungal Community Composition in Wastewater Treatment Plants Across Spatial Scales

Activated sludge microbial community composition is a key bio-indicator of the sustainability of wastewater treatment systems. Therefore, a thorough understanding of the activated sludge microbial community dynamics is critical for environmental engineers to effectively manage the wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). However, fungal communities associated with activated sludge have been poorly elucidated. Here, the activated sludge fungal community in 18 geographically distributed WWTPs was determined by using Illumina sequencing. The results showed that differences in activated sludge fungal community composition were observed among all WWTPs and also between oxidation ditch and anaerobic-anoxic-aerobic (A/A/O) systems. Ascomycota was the largest phyla, followed by Basidiomycota in all samples. Sporidiobolales and Pezizales were the most abundant order in oxidation ditch and A/A/O systems, respectively. The network analysis indicated cooperative and co-occurrence interactions between fungal taxa in order to accomplish the wastewater treatment process. Hygrocybe sp., Sporobolomyces sp., Rhodotorula sp., Stemphylium sp., Parascedosporium sp., and Cylindrocarpon sp., were found to have statistically significant interactions. Redundancy analysis revealed that temperature, total phosphorus, pH, and ammonia nitrogen were significantly affected the fungal community. This study sheds light on providing the ecological characteristics of activated sludge fungal communities and useful guidance for improving wastewater treatment performance efficiency