A New Type of Crumb Rubber Asphalt Mixture: A Dry Process Design and Performance Evaluation

To obtain a crumb rubber asphalt mixture with excellent performance, this study combined trans-polyoctenamer rubber (TOR), crumb rubber, and other additives to establish a new type of crumb rubber (CRT). The objective of this study was to design and evaluate the road performance of the new type of crumb rubber asphalt mixture (CRTAM) with a skeleton dense texture through a dry process. First, the skeleton intrusion compact volume method was used to optimize the grading of coarse and fine aggregates, and the design of the CRTAM gradation was carried out through the same and unequal volume replacement grading method. Then, three types of road performance were analyzed: high-temperature stability, low-temperature crack resistance, and water stability. The results showed that 2% and 2.5% CRT met a low-temperature index with equal volume substitution, and the six gradations obtained by unequal volume replacement with 2% CRT complied with the requirements of a skeleton dense texture. When the substitution ratio was 1.5 and 0.5, the high-temperature performance was better. In addition, when the substitution ratio was 0.5, the flexural strain energy density was the highest and the low-temperature performance was the best. Including considerations of economic benefits, it is recommended that the CRT content be 2% and the substitution ratio be 0.5

A time-resolved fluorescence microsphere-lateral flow immunochromatographic strip for quantitative detection of Pregnanediol-3-glucuronide in urine samples

Introduction: Pregnanediol-3-glucuronide (PdG), as the main metabolite of progesterone in urine, plays a significant role in the prediction of ovulation, threatened abortion, and menstrual cycle maintenance.Methods: To achieve a rapid and sensitive assay, we have designed a competitive model-based time-resolved fluorescence microsphere-lateral flow immunochromatography (TRFM-LFIA) strip.Results: The optimized TRFM-LFIA strip exhibited a wonderful response to PdG over the range of 30–2,000 ng/mL, the corresponding limit of detection (LOD) was calculated as low as 8.39 ng/mL. More importantly, the TRFM-LFIA strip was innovatively used for the quantitative detection of PdG in urine sample, and excellent recovery results were also obtained, ranging from 97.39% to 112.64%.Discussion: The TRFMLFIA strip possessed robust sensitivity and selectivity in the determination of PdG, indicating the great potential of being powerful tools in the biomedical and diagnosis region

Stromal protein CCN family contributes to the poor prognosis in lower-grade gioma by modulating immunity, matrix, stemness, and metabolism

Background: The CCN family of stromal proteins is involved in the regulation of many important biological functions. However, the role of dysregulated CCN proteins in lower-grade glioma (LGG) remain less understand.Methods: The clinical significance of the CCN proteins was explored based on RNA-seq profiles from multiple cohorts. A CCNScore was constructed using LASSO regression analysis. The PanCanAtlas data and MEXPRESS database were employed to elucidate molecular underpinnings.Results: The expression of CCN4 was associated with poor prognosis in LGG. The CCNScore (CCN1 = 0.06, CCN4 = 0.86) showed implication in prognosis prediction, subtype assessment and therapy selection. The gene mutation pattern of the high-CCNScore group was similar with glioblastoma, including EGFR, PTEN, and NF1 mutation frequently. Besides, the high-CCNScore group was comprised of samples mainly classic-like and mesenchymal-like, had lower methylation levels, higher stemness, higher inflammation, higher levels of extracellular matrix remodel and dysfunction of metabolic pathways. On the other hand, the low-CCNScore group consisted mainly of IDH-mutation LGG, and was characterized by TP53, CIC, and ATRX gene mutations, hyper-methylation status, lower stemness, lower proliferation, immune quietness and low extracellular matrix stiffness.Conclusion: In summary, these results outlined the role of CCN family in LGG and provided a potential and promising therapeutic target

Netrin-1 controls sympathetic arterial innervation

Autonomic sympathetic nerves innervate peripheral resistance arteries, thereby regulating vascular tone and controlling blood supply to organs. Despite the fundamental importance of blood flow control, how sympathetic arterial innervation develops remains largely unknown. Here, we identified the axon guidance cue netrin-1 as an essential factor required for development of arterial innervation in mice. Netrin-1 was produced by arterial smooth muscle cells (SMCs) at the onset of innervation, and arterial innervation required the interaction of netrin-1 with its receptor, deleted in colorectal cancer (DCC), on sympathetic growth cones. Function-blocking approaches, including cell type-specific deletion of the genes encoding Ntn1 in SMCs and Dcc in sympathetic neurons, led to severe and selective reduction of sympathetic innervation and to defective vasoconstriction in resistance arteries. These findings indicate that netrin-1 and DCC are critical for the control of arterial innervation and blood flow regulation in peripheral organs