Neoplasms of Central Nervous System: A Diagnostic Approach

Neoplasms of central nervous system accounts for approximately 1% of tumors of the human body, and they can be primary or secondary (metastatic), benign or malignant, and intra-axial or extra-axial. This chapter includes some most common brain and spinal cord tumors, like pituitary adenomas, meningiomas and gliomas, with their clinical, imaging, and histological characteristics for the diagnosis purpose, with additional treatment options and prognosis

Proteomics-based analysis of differentially expressed proteins in the CXCR1-knockdown gastric carcinoma MKN45 cell line and its parental cell

C-X-C chemokine receptor types 1 (CXCR1), a cell-surface G-protein-coupled receptor has been found to be associated with tumorigenesis, development, and progression of some tumors. Previously, we have found that CXCR1 overexpression is associated with late-stage gastric adenocarcinoma. We also have demonstrated that knockdown of CXCR1 could inhibit cell proliferation in vitro and in vivo. In this study, we compared the changes of protein expression profile between gastric carcinoma MKN45 cell line and CXCR1-knockdown MKN45 cell line by 2D electrophoresis. Among the 101 quantified proteins, 29 spots were significantly different, among which 13 were downregulated and 16 were up-regulated after CXCR1 knockdown. These proteins were further identified by mass spectrometry analysis. Among them, several up-regulated proteins such as hCG2020155, Keratin8, heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein C (C1/C2), and several downregulated proteins such as Sorcin, heat shock protein 27, serpin B6 isoform b, and heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein K were confirmed. These proteins are related to cell cycle, the transcription regulation, cell adherence, cellular metabolism, drug resistance, and so on. These results provide an additional support to the hypothesis that CXCR1 might play an important role in proliferation, invasion, metastasis, and prognosis, and drug resistance of gastric carcinoma

Supplementary Materials.docx

Establishment of human pituitary neuroendocrine tumor derived organoid and its pilot application for drug screening</p

Trophic level changes of fishery catches in Lake Chaohu, Anhui Province, China: Trends and causes

Fishing activity has been suggested to affect food web structure and functioning of aquatic ecosystems. Based on changes of the mean trophic level index of fishery catch, the present study demonstrates long-term ecosystem impacts of fisheries in Lake Chaohu, a freshwater lake in Anhui Province, China. The decline of mean trophic level (MTL) in the last five decades, coupled with a dramatic increasing of the fishery catches from the lake, can be interpreted as a result of a decrease in the abundance of high trophic level, large piscivorous benthic fishes relative to low-trophic level, small planktivorous pelagic fishes. The mean trophic level of the total fishery catches declined as fishing effort (number of fishing boats and fishermen) increased, which suggests that an expansion of fishing capacity can lead to changes in the food web structures of a lake. Various direct and indirect relationships between MTL, nutrient concentrations and air temperatures were observed, suggesting that environmental changes, jointly with fishing, may have caused cascading effects which make the system less resistant to disturbance. In such context, our results, which complement traditional fisheries assessment, add to the understanding of the interactions among different trophic level of the ecosystem and their alterations due to fisheries and environmental changes. (c) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Low-Latency Driven Energy Efficiency for D2D Communications

Low latency and energy efficiency are two important performance requirements in various fifth-generation (5G) wire-less networks. In order to jointly design the two performance requirements, in this paper a new performance metric called effective energy efficiency (EEE) is defined as the ratio of the effective capacity (EC) to the total power consumption in a cellular network with underlaid device to device (D2D) communications. We aim to maximize the EEE of the D2D network subject to the D2D device power constraints and the minimum rate constraint of the cellular network. Due to the non-convexity of the problem, we propose a two-stage difference-of-two-concave (DC) function approach to solve this problem. Towards that end, we first introduce an auxiliary variable to transfer the fractional objective function into a subtractive form. We then propose a successive convex approximation (SCA) algorithm to iteratively solve the resulting non-convex problem. The convergence and the global optimality of the proposed SCA algorithm are both analyzed. The numerical results are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm

Loss of expression and prognosis value of alpha-internexin in gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasm

Abstract Background The neuronal intermediate filament alpha-internexin (α-internexin) is a cytoskeleton protein which is involved in the tumor initiation and progression. In this study, we examined the expression and prognosis value of α-internexin in gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasms (GEP-NENs). Methods α-internexin was detected with immunohistochemical staining in 286 tumor specimens from patients with GEP-NENs. Methylation status of α-internexin was evaluated by bisulfite genomic sequencing. We assessed the prognostic value of α-internexin and its correlation with relevant clinicalpathological characteristics. Results The reduced/loss of expression rate of α-internexin in GEP-NEN was 73.4% (210/286), while the positive expression rate was 26.6% (76/286). The difference of α-internexin deficiency was not statistically significant between gastrointestinal NENs (GI-NENs) and pancreatic NENs (pNENs). However, we found significant difference of reduced/loss of α-internexin expression among different sites of GI-NENs (χ2 = 43.470, P < 0.001). The reduced/loss of expression of α-internexin was significantly associated with poorly differentiation (P < 0.001) and advanced tumor stage (P < 0.001). Univariate analyses showed that reduced/loss of expression of α-internexin predicted worse overall survival (OS) in GEP-NEN patients (P < 0.001), especially in subtype of GI-NENs (P < 0.001). However, in multivariable regression analysis, α-internexin expression was not an independent prognostic factor. The hypermethylation of α-internexin gene was significantly correlated with protein deficiency in GI-NENs, but not in pNENs. Hypermethylation of several CpG sites was significantly associated with poorly differentiated and advanced stage (P values range from 0.018 to 0.044). However, the methylation status of α-internexin was not associated with patient OS. Conclusions The expression of α-internexin was highly heterougeneous in different sites of GEP-NENs. The reduced/loss of expression of α-internexin was closely related to tumors with aggressiveness and patient’s adverse prognosis. The hypermethylation of the regulatory region examined may be an important epigenetic regulation mechanism of α-internexin deficiency in subtype of GI-NENs

Functional Polymer Materials for Advanced Lithium Metal Batteries: A Review and Perspective

Lithium metal batteries (LMBs) are promising next-generation battery technologies with high energy densities. However, lithium dendrite growth during charge/discharge results in severe safety issues and poor cycling performance, which hinders their wide applications. The rational design and application of functional polymer materials in LMBs are of crucial importance to boost their electrochemical performances, especially the cycling stability. In this review, recent advances of advanced polymer materials are examined for boosting the stability and cycle life of LMBs as different components including artificial solid electrolyte interface (SEI) and functional interlayers between the separator and lithium metal anode. Thereafter, the research progress in the design of advanced polymer electrolytes will be analyzed for LMBs. At last, the major challenges and key perspectives will be discussed for the future development of functional polymers in LMBs

ROS signaling under metabolic stress: cross-talk between AMPK and AKT pathway

Abstract Cancer cells are frequently confronted with metabolic stress in tumor microenvironments due to their rapid growth and limited nutrient supply. Metabolic stress induces cell death through ROS-induced apoptosis. However, cancer cells can adapt to it by altering the metabolic pathways. AMPK and AKT are two primary effectors in response to metabolic stress: AMPK acts as an energy-sensing factor which rewires metabolism and maintains redox balance. AKT broadly promotes energy production in the nutrient abundance milieu, but the role of AKT under metabolic stress is in dispute. Recent studies show that AMPK and AKT display antagonistic roles under metabolic stress. Metabolic stress-induced ROS signaling lies in the hub between metabolic reprogramming and redox homeostasis. Here, we highlight the cross-talk between AMPK and AKT and their regulation on ROS production and elimination, which summarizes the mechanism of cancer cell adaptability under ROS stress and suggests potential options for cancer therapeutics

A Diluted Electrolyte for Long-Life Sulfurized Polyacrylonitrile-Based Anode-Free Li-S Batteries

Lithium-metal batteries have attracted extensive research attention because of their high energy densities. Developing appropriate electrolytes compatible with lithium-metal anodes is of great significance to facilitate their practical application. Currently used electrolytes still face challenges of high production costs and unsatisfactory Coulombic efficiencies of lithium plating/stripping. In this research, we have developed a diluted electrolyte which is compatible with both lithium-metal anode and sulfurized polyacrylonitrile cathode. It presents a very high Li plating/stripping Coulombic efficiency of 99.3% over prolonged cycling, and the as-assembled anode-free Li-S battery maintains 71.5% of the initial specific capacity after 200 cycles at 0.1 A g&minus;1. This work could shed light on designing a low-cost and high-performance liquid electrolyte for next-generation high-energy batteries

CXCL17 Attenuates Diesel Exhaust Emissions Exposure-Induced Lung Damage by Regulating Macrophage Function

Exposure to diesel exhaust emissions (DEE) is strongly linked to innate immune injury and lung injury, but the role of macrophage chemoattractant CXCL17 in the lung damage caused by DEE exposure remains unclear. In this study, whole-body plethysmography (WBP), inflammatory cell differential count, and histopathological analysis were performed to assess respiratory parameters, airway inflammation, and airway injury in C57BL/6 male mice exposed to DEE for 3 months. qRT-PCR, IHC (immunohistochemistry), and ELISA were performed to measure the CXCL17 expression in airway epithelium or BALF (bronchoalveolar lavage fluid) following DEE/Diesel exhaust particle (DEP) exposure. Respiratory parameters, airway inflammation, and airway injury were assessed in CXCL17-overexpressing mice through adeno-associated virus vector Type 5 (AAV5) infection. Additionally, an in vitro THP-1 and HBE co-culture system was constructed. Transwell assay was carried out to evaluate the effect of rh-CXCL17 (recombinant human protein-CXCL17) on THP-1 cell migration. Flow cytometry and qRT-PCR were conducted to assess the impacts of rh-CXCL17 on apoptosis and inflammation/remodeling of HBE cells. We found that the mice exposed to DEE showed abnormal respiratory parameters, accompanied by airway injury and remodeling (ciliary injury in airway epithelium, airway smooth muscle hyperplasia, and increased collagen deposition). Carbon content in airway macrophages (CCAM), but not the number of macrophages in BALF, increased significantly. CXCL17 expression significantly decreased in mice airways and HBE after DEE/DEP exposure. AAV5-CXCL17 enhanced macrophage recruitment and clearance of DEE in the lungs of mice, and it improved respiratory parameters, airway injury, and airway remodeling. In the THP-1/HBE co-culture system, rh-CXCL17 increased THP-1 cell migration while attenuating HBE cell apoptosis and inflammation/remodeling. Therefore, CXCL17 might attenuate DEE-induced lung damage by recruiting and activating pulmonary macrophages, which is expected to be a novel therapeutic target for DEE-associated lung diseases