Analysis of Surrounding Rock Deformation in the Expansion Excavation Construction Process of Metro Interval Tunnel with Connecting Passage into Forming New Station

Objective The Cruise Home Port Station on Chongqing Rail Transit Line 9 is constructed from in-situ expansion of the existing interval tunnel (including a connecting passage). Due to the complex geological conditions, the initial stress field of surrounding rock, and the structure of the existing interval tunnel, analysis and research of the complex mechanical behavior of the interval tunnel during construction is essential to ensure engineering safety. Method After outlining the overview of the excavation project, a three-dimensional finite element numerical model, utilizing an anisotropic jointed rock mass elastoplastic model, is established. The model geometric features, geological characteristics, structural features, and procedural characteristics are further determined. Three measurement lines (connecting passage centerline, left-line large-mileage interval tunnel centerline, right-line small-mileage interval tunnel centerline) are selected for analyzing land subsidence above these three lines and deformation around the left-line and right-line tunnels. Simulation values are compared with measured values to study the deformation characteristics of surrounding rock and structure during the construction process of interval tunnel expansion and excavation. Result & Conclusion The comparison of model-simulated and construction-measured results indicate that the established finite element model is reasonable. The connecting passage expansion and excavation construction leads to a significant increase in convergence deformation around the tunnel, with the maximum deformation occurring at the intersection of the existing connecting passage and the construction main tunnel. Therefore, backfilling with spoil inside the connecting passage is recommended to ensure the safety and smooth implementation of tunnel excavation construction

Expression of GSDML Associates with Tumor Progression in Uterine Cervix Cancer12

Gasdermin-like (GSDML) belongs to the gasdermin-domain-containing protein family (GSDMDC family) that is involved in carcinogenesis and hearing impairment. However, the role of GSDML in carcinogenesis remains unclear. In this study, we identified four isoforms of GSDML gene. The primary and longest isoform GSDML1 is widely expressed in human cancer cell lines. GFP-GSDML1 fusion protein was localized predominantly in the nucleus of human breast cancer MCF7 and cervical cancer HeLa cells but exclusively in the cytoplasm of hepatocellular carcinoma HepG2 cells. Importantly, immunohistochemistry analysis showed that the GSDML protein in the nuclei is expressed at a higher level in uterine cervix cancer tissues than in the adjacent cancer tissues and corresponding nonneoplastic tissues. Such significance was not observed in hepatocellular carcinoma tissues. Ectopic expression of GSDML1 enhanced the growth of cultured cells, whereas inhibition of its endogenous expression decreased proliferation. Furthermore, GSDML1 had significant effects on promoting bromodeoxyuridine incorporation in cells. However, GSDML1 could neither promote malignant transformation nor gain the ability of colony formation or carcinogenicity on nude mice. Collectively, these results suggest that GSDML can promote cell proliferation, and it might be correlated with carcinogenesis and progression of uterine cervix cancer

Role for the pleckstrin homology domain-containing protein CKIP-1 in AP-1 regulation and apoptosis

The oncogenic transcription factor c-Jun plays an important role in cell proliferation, transformation and differentiation. All identified c-Jun-interacting proteins are localized to the nucleus or cytoplasm and function in their intact forms. Here we show that the pleckstrin homology domain-containing protein CKIP-1 (casein kinase 2-interacting protein-1) functions as a plasma membrane-bound AP-1 regulator. During apoptosis, CKIP-1 is cleaved by caspase-3 and translocated to the cytoplasm and then to the nucleus. C-terminal fragments of cleaved CKIP-1 strongly repress AP-1 activity. Importantly, CKIP-1 overexpression promotes apoptosis by forming a positive feedback loop between CKIP-1 and caspase-3. RNA interference of CKIP-1 or overexpression of c-Jun attenuates the sensitivity to apoptosis, indicating a novel role of CKIP-1 in apoptosis. CKIP-1 is the first case of a c-Jun-interacting protein that regulates AP-1 activity via caspase-3-dependent cleavage and translocation

Gene Expression Profiling in Human Fetal Liver and Identification of Tissue- and Developmental-Stage-Specific Genes through Compiled Expression Profiles and Efficient Cloning of Full-Length cDNAs

Fetal liver intriguingly consists of hepatic parenchymal cells and hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells. Human fetal liver aged 22 wk of gestation (HFL22w) corresponds to the turning point between immigration and emigration of the hematopoietic system. To gain further molecular insight into its developmental and functional characteristics, HFL22w was studied by generating expressed sequence tags (ESTs) and by analyzing the compiled expression profiles of liver at different developmental stages. A total of 13,077 ESTs were sequenced from a 3′-directed cDNA library of HFL22w, and classified as follows: 5819 (44.5%) matched to known genes; 5460 (41.8%) exhibited no significant homology to known genes; and the remaining 1798 (13.7%) were genomic sequences of unknown function, mitochondrial genomic sequences, or repetitive sequences. Integration of ESTs of known human genes generated a profile including 1660 genes that could be divided into 15 gene categories according to their functions. Genes related to general housekeeping, ESTs associated with hematopoiesis, and liver-specific genes were highly expressed. Genes for signal transduction and those associated with diseases, abnormalities, or transcription regulation were also noticeably active. By comparing the expression profiles, we identified six gene groups that were associated with different developmental stages of human fetal liver, tumorigenesis, different physiological functions of Itoh cells against the other types of hepatic cells, and fetal hematopoiesis. The gene expression profile therefore reflected the unique functional characteristics of HFL22w remarkably. Meanwhile, 110 full-length cDNAs of novel genes were cloned and sequenced. These novel genes might contribute to our understanding of the unique functional characteristics of the human fetal liver at 22 wk. [The sequence data described in this paper have been submitted to the GenBank data library under the accession nos. listed in Table 6 herein