Decadal link between longitudinal morphological changes in branching channels of Yangtze Estuary and movement of the offshore depo-center

In estuaries, the morphology of inland and offshore areas usually evolves synergistically. This study examines the decadal link between longitudinal changes in morphology of branching channels and movement of the offshore depo-center (where sediment deposition rate is maximum) of the Yangtze River estuary, under intense human interference. Integrated data analysis is provided on morphology, runoff discharge, and ebb partition ratio from 1950 to 2017. Channel-volume reductions and change rates between isobaths in branching channels reflect the impact of estuarine engineering projects. Ebb partition ratio and duration of discharge ≥ 60 000 m3 s-1 act as proxies for the water excavating force in branching channels and runoff intensity. It is found that deposition occurs in the lower/upper sub-reaches (or further downstream/upstream channels) of the inland north/south branching channels, and the offshore depo-center moves southward or southeastward, as runoff intensity grows; the reverse occurs as runoff intensity declines. This is because the horizontal circumfluence in the Yangtze estuary rotates clockwise as ebb partition ratios of the north/south branching channels increase/decrease for increasing runoff, and conversely rotates anticlockwise for decreasing runoff. Land reclamation activities, the Deepwater Channel Project, and the Qingcaosha Reservoir have impacted greatly on longitudinal changes of morphology in the North Branch and the South Passage and on ebb partition ratio variations in the North/South Channel and the North/South Passage. Dam-induced runoff flattening has enhanced deposition in the upper/lower sub-reaches of the north/south branching channels and caused northward movement of the offshore depo-center, except in areas affected by estuarine engineering projects. Dam-induced longitudinal evolution of branching channel morphology and offshore depo-center movement will likely persist in the future, given the ongoing construction of large cascade dams in the upper Yangtze and the completion of major projects in the Yangtze estuary

Controlled synthesis of high-ortho-substitution phenol-formaldehyde resins

The relationship between the use of 19 kinds of metal catalysts and the proportion of ortho-ortho links of novolac resins was studied. The proportion of ortho-ortho links of novolac resins was characterized with Fourier transform infrared, H-1-NMR, and C-13-NMR. The effects of different catalysts and different reaction conditions, such as the molar ratio of phenol to formaldehyde, the pH value of the reaction, and the reaction time, were examined. Phenolformaldehyde resins were synthesized with a certain proportion of the ortho position through the adjustment of the reaction conditions. (c) 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc

Programmable metasurface-based RF chain-free 8PSK wireless transmitter

In this Letter, a wireless transmitter using the new architecture of programmable metasurface is presented. The proposed transmitter does not require any filter, nor wideband mixer or wideband power amplifier, thereby making it a promising hardware architecture for cost-effective wireless communications systems in the future. Using experimental results, the authors demonstrate that a programmable metasurface-based 8-phase shift-keying (8PSK) transmitter with 8 × 32 phase adjustable unit cells can achieve 6.144 Mbps data rate over the air at 4.25 GHz with a comparable bit error rate performance as the conventional approach without channel coding, but with less hardware complexity

P120-Catenin Isoforms 1 and 3 Regulate Proliferation and Cell Cycle of Lung Cancer Cells via β-Catenin and Kaiso Respectively

<div><h3>Background</h3><p>The different mechanisms involved in p120-catenin (p120ctn) isoforms' 1/3 regulation of cell cycle progression are still not elucidated to date.</p> <h3>Methods and Findings</h3><p>We found that both cyclin D1 and cyclin E could be effectively restored by restitution of p120ctn-1A or p120ctn-3A in p120ctn depleted lung cancer cells. When the expression of cyclin D1 was blocked by co-transfection with siRNA-cyclin D1 in p120ctn depleted cells restoring p120ctn-1A or 3A, the expression of cyclin E was slightly decreased, not increased, implying that p120ctn isoforms 1 and 3 cannot up-regulate cyclin E directly but may do so through up-regulation of cyclin D1. Interestingly, overexpression of p120ctn-1A increased β-catenin and cyclin D1 expression, while co-transfection with siRNA targeting β-catenin abolishes the effect of p120ctn-1A on up-regulation of cyclin D1, suggesting a role of β-catenin in mediating p120ctn-1A's regulatory function on cyclin D1 expression. On the other hand, overexpression of p120ctn isoform 3A reduced nuclear Kaiso localization, thus decreasing the binding of Kaiso to KBS on the cyclin D1 promoter and thereby enhancing the expression of cyclin D1 gene by relieving the repressor effect of Kaiso. Because overexpressing NLS-p120ctn-3A (p120ctn-3A nuclear target localization plasmids) or inhibiting nuclear export of p120ctn-3 by Leptomycin B (LMB) caused translocation of Kaiso to the nucleus, it is plausible that the nuclear export of Kaiso is p120ctn-3-dependent.</p> <h3>Conclusions</h3><p>Our results suggest that p120ctn isoforms 1 and 3 up-regulate cyclin D1, and thereby cyclin E, resulting in the promotion of cell proliferation and cell cycle progression in lung cancer cells probably via different protein mediators, namely, β-catenin for isoform 1 and Kaiso, a negative transcriptional factor of cyclin D1, for isoform 3.</p> </div

Increased expression of integrin-linked kinase is associated with shorter survival in non-small cell lung cancer

BACKGROUND: Integrin-linked kinase (ILK) promotes tumor growth and invasion. Increased ILK expression is correlated with progression of several tumor types, but the expression of ILK has not been investigated in patients with non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLCs). METHODS: We investigated ILK expression in patients with NSCLC by means of immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: ILK expression was significantly associated with tumor grade, T status, lymph node metastasis and stage. (p = 0.0169 for tumor grade; p = 0.0006 for T status; p = 0.0002 for lymph node metastasis; p < 0.0001 for stage). The 5-year survival rates for patients with strong and weak or no ILK expression levels were 20% and 59%, respectively: the difference was statistically significant (p < 0.0001). A multivariate analysis of survival revealed that ILK expression, T status, N status and vascular invasion were statistically significant prognostic factors (p = 0.0218 for ILK; p = 0.0046 for T status; p < 0.0001 for N status; p < 0.0001 for vascular invasion). CONCLUSIONS: Our study demonstrates that increased expression of ILK is a poor prognostic factor in patients with NSCLC

Medical physics aspects of cancer care in the Asia Pacific region

Medical physics plays an essential role in modern medicine. This is particularly evident in cancer care where medical physicists are involved in radiotherapy treatment planning and quality assurance as well as in imaging and radiation protection. Due to the large variety of tasks and interests, medical physics is often subdivided into specialties such as radiology, nuclear medicine and radiation oncology medical physics. However, even within their specialty, the role of radiation oncology medical physicists (ROMPs) is diverse and varies between different societies. Therefore, a questionnaire was sent to leading medical physicists in most countries/areas in the Asia/Pacific region to determine the education, role and status of medical physicists

Practical Issues in Imputation-Based Association Mapping

Imputation-based association methods provide a powerful framework for testing untyped variants for association with phenotypes and for combining results from multiple studies that use different genotyping platforms. Here, we consider several issues that arise when applying these methods in practice, including: (i) factors affecting imputation accuracy, including choice of reference panel; (ii) the effects of imputation accuracy on power to detect associations; (iii) the relative merits of Bayesian and frequentist approaches to testing imputed genotypes for association with phenotype; and (iv) how to quickly and accurately compute Bayes factors for testing imputed SNPs. We find that imputation-based methods can be robust to imputation accuracy and can improve power to detect associations, even when average imputation accuracy is poor. We explain how ranking SNPs for association by a standard likelihood ratio test gives the same results as a Bayesian procedure that uses an unnatural prior assumption—specifically, that difficult-to-impute SNPs tend to have larger effects—and assess the power gained from using a Bayesian approach that does not make this assumption. Within the Bayesian framework, we find that good approximations to a full analysis can be achieved by simply replacing unknown genotypes with a point estimate—their posterior mean. This approximation considerably reduces computational expense compared with published sampling-based approaches, and the methods we present are practical on a genome-wide scale with very modest computational resources (e.g., a single desktop computer). The approximation also facilitates combining information across studies, using only summary data for each SNP. Methods discussed here are implemented in the software package BIMBAM, which is available from http://stephenslab.uchicago.edu/software.html

Identification of the initial molecular changes in response to circulating angiogenic cells-mediated therapy in critical limb ischemia

BackgroundCritical limb ischemia (CLI) constitutes the most aggressive form of peripheral arterial occlusive disease, characterized by the blockade of arteries supplying blood to the lower extremities, significantly diminishing oxygen and nutrient supply. CLI patients usually undergo amputation of fingers, feet, or extremities, with a high risk of mortality due to associated comorbidities.Circulating angiogenic cells (CACs), also known as early endothelial progenitor cells, constitute promising candidates for cell therapy in CLI due to their assigned vascular regenerative properties. Preclinical and clinical assays with CACs have shown promising results. A better understanding of how these cells participate in vascular regeneration would significantly help to potentiate their role in revascularization.Herein, we analyzed the initial molecular mechanisms triggered by human CACs after being administered to a murine model of CLI, in order to understand how these cells promote angiogenesis within the ischemic tissues.MethodsBalb-c nude mice (n:24) were distributed in four different groups: healthy controls (C, n:4), shams (SH, n:4), and ischemic mice (after femoral ligation) that received either 50 mu l physiological serum (SC, n:8) or 5x10(5) human CACs (SE, n:8). Ischemic mice were sacrificed on days 2 and 4 (n:4/group/day), and immunohistochemistry assays and qPCR amplification of Alu-human-specific sequences were carried out for cell detection and vascular density measurements. Additionally, a label-free MS-based quantitative approach was performed to identify protein changes related.ResultsAdministration of CACs induced in the ischemic tissues an increase in the number of blood vessels as well as the diameter size compared to ischemic, non-treated mice, although the number of CACs decreased within time. The initial protein changes taking place in response to ischemia and more importantly, right after administration of CACs to CLI mice, are shown.ConclusionsOur results indicate that CACs migrate to the injured area; moreover, they trigger protein changes correlated with cell migration, cell death, angiogenesis, and arteriogenesis in the host. These changes indicate that CACs promote from the beginning an increase in the number of vessels as well as the development of an appropriate vascular network.Institute of Health Carlos III, ISCIII; Junta de Andaluci