Outage performance of cognitive hybrid satellite terrestrial networks with interference constraint

This paper investigates the performance of a cognitive hybrid satellite–terrestrial network, where the primary satellite communication network and the secondary terrestrial mobile network coexist, provided that the interference temperature constraint is satisfied. By using the Meijer-G functions, the exact closed-form expression of the outage probability (OP) for the secondary network is first derived. Then, the asymptotic result in a high-signal-to-noise-ratio (SNR) regime is presented to reveal the diversity order and coding gain of the considered system. Finally, computer simulations are carried out to confirm the theoretical results and reveal that a more loose interference constraint or heavier shadowing severity of a satellite interference link leads to a reduced OP, whereas stronger satellite interference power poses a detrimental effect on the outage performance

Conspicuity of breast lesions at different b values on diffusion-weighted imaging

BACKGROUND: Diffusion-weighted (DW) imaging has shown potential to differentiate between malignant and benign breast lesions. However, different b values have been used with varied sensitivity and specificity. This study aims to prospectively evaluate the influence of b value on the detection and assessment of breast lesions. METHODS: Institutional review board approval and informed patient consent were obtained. Between February 2010 and September 2010, sixty women suspected of having breast cancer by clinical examination and mammography underwent bilateral breast MRI and DW imaging (with maximum b values of 600, 800, and 1000 s/mm(2)). Conspicuity grades of lesions at different b values on DW images were performed. Signal intensity and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values were recorded and compared among different b values by the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. RESULTS: Fifty-seven lesions from 52 recruited patients including 39/57 (68%) malignant and 18/57 (32%) benign were confirmed with pathology. DCE MRI accurately detected 53 lesions with the sensitivity of 93.0% and specificity of 66.7%, and DW imaging accurately detected 51 lesions with the sensitivity of 89.5% and specificity of 100%. There were no significant differences in conspicuity grades compared among the three b values (P = 0.072), although the SNR and CNR of breast lesions decreased significantly with higher b values. Mean ADCs of malignant lesions (b = 600 s/mm(2), 1.07 ± 0.26 × 10(-3) mm(2)/s; b = 800 s/mm(2), 0.96 ± 0.22 × 10(-3) mm(2)/s; b = 1000 s/mm(2), 0.92 ± 0.26 × 10(-3) mm(2)/s) were significantly lower than those of benign lesions (b = 600 s/mm(2), 1.55 ± 0.40 × 10(-3) mm(2)/s; b = 800 s/mm(2), 1.43 ± 0.38 × 10(-3) mm(2)/s; b = 1000 s/mm(2), 1.49 ± 0.38 × 10(-3) mm(2)/s) with all P values <0.001, but there were no significant differences among the three b values (P = 0.303 and 0.840 for malignant and benign lesions, respectively). According to the area under the ROC curves, which were derived from ADC and differentiate malignant from benign lesions, no significant differences were found among the three b values (P = 0.743). CONCLUSIONS: DW imaging is a potential adjunct to conventional MRI in the differentiation between malignant and benign breast lesions. Varying the maximum b value from 600 to 1000 s/mm(2) does not influence the conspicuity of breast lesions on DW imaging at 1.5 T

1-Phenyl-1-[(1-phenyl­ethyl)sulfonyl­methyl­sulfon­yl]ethane

There are two mol­ecules in the asymmetric unit of the title compound, C17H20O4S2. There are slight differences in the twist of the two rings relative to the S–C–S chain [dihedral angles of 48.41 (18) and 87.58 (16)° in the first mol­ecule and 45.98 (18) and 87.02 (18)° in the second] and the difference in the C—S—C—S torsion angles [176.68 (17) and −77.6 (2)° for the two independent mol­ecules]

The Nuclear Chaperone Nucleophosmin Escorts an Epstein-Barr Virus Nuclear Antigen to Establish Transcriptional Cascades for Latent Infection in Human B Cells

Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) is an oncogenic γ-herpesvirus that capably establishes both latent and lytic modes of infection in host cells and causes malignant diseases in humans. Nuclear antigen 2 (EBNA2)-mediated transcription of both cellular and viral genes is essential for the establishment and maintenance of the EBV latency program in B lymphocytes. Here, we employed a protein affinity pull-down and LC-MS/MS analysis to identify nucleophosmin (NPM1) as one of the cellular proteins bound to EBNA2. Additionally, the specific domains that are responsible for protein-protein interactions were characterized as EBNA2 residues 300 to 360 and the oligomerization domain (OD) of NPM1. As in c-MYC, dramatic NPM1 expression was induced in EBV positively infected B cells after three days of viral infection, and both EBNA2 and EBNALP were implicated in the transactivation of the NPM1 promoter. Depletion of NPM1 with the lentivirus-expressed short-hairpin RNAs (shRNAs) effectively abrogated EBNA2-dependent transcription and transformation outgrowth of lymphoblastoid cells. Notably, the ATP-bound state of NPM1 was required to induce assembly of a protein complex containing EBNA2, RBP-Jκ, and NPM1 by stabilizing the interaction of EBNA2 with RBP-Jκ. In a NPM1-knockdown cell line, we demonstrated that an EBNA2-mediated transcription defect was fully restored by the ectopic expression of NPM1. Our findings highlight the essential role of NPM1 in chaperoning EBNA2 onto the latency-associated membrane protein 1 (LMP1) promoters, which is coordinated with the subsequent activation of transcriptional cascades through RBP-Jκ during EBV infection. These data advance our understanding of EBV pathology and further imply that NPM1 can be exploited as a therapeutic target for EBV-associated diseases

Clinical risk factors of carbohydrate antigen-125, cytokeratin fragment 19, and neuron-specific enolase in liver metastases from elderly lung cancer patients

Objective: Lung cancer is a common malignant tumor characterized by challenging detection and lack of specificity in clinical manifestations. To investigate the correlation of tumor markers in the serum with liver metastasis and prognosis of lung cancer. Methods: A total of 3,046 elderly lung cancer patients were retrospectively studied between September 1999 and July 2020. Divided into liver metastasis group and non-liver metastasis group. We compared a series of serum biomarkers between the two groups of elderly patients to predict the prognosis in patients with lung cancer by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), advanced flow cytometry (FCM) and multi tumor marker protein chip, including tumor markers in the serum included alkaline phosphatase (ALP), serum calcium, hemoglobin (HB), alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), neuron-specific enolase (NSE), cytokeratin fragment 19 (Cyfra21-1), carbohydrate antigen-125 (CA-125), carbohydrate antigen-153 (CA-153), carbohydrate antigen-199 (CA-199), and free prostate specific antigen (free PSA). We used binary logistic regression analysis to determine risk factors, and used receiver operating curve (ROC) analysis to evaluate the diagnostic value of liver metastases in elderly patients with lung cancer. Results: The proportion of lung cancer in the liver metastasis group was higher than that observed in the non-liver metastases group. The expression levels of CA-125, Cyfra21-1, and NSE in the liver metastasis group of lung cancer were significantly higher than those reported in the non-liver metastases group (p < 0.05). ROC curve analysis shows that the area under the curve of CA-125, Cyfra21-1, and NSE are 0.614, 0.616 and 0.608, respectively. The sensitivity and specificity of CA-125 were 45.70% and 76.20%, the sensitivity and specificity of Cyfra21-1 were 60.10% and 57.10%, and the sensitivity and specificity of NSE were 44.10% and 75.00%, respectively. Conclusion: High levels of CA-125, Cyfra21-1, and NSE in the serum may be associated with liver metastasis in elderly patients with lung cancer. CA-125 and NSE are factors influencing the prognosis of elderly patients with liver metastasis of lung cancer

Dual Targeting of 3-Hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl Coenzyme A Reductase and Histone Deacetylase as a Therapy for Colorectal Cancer

AbstractStatins are 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase (HMGR) inhibitors decreasing serum cholesterol and have shown promise in cancer prevention. In this study, we demonstrated the oncogenic role of HMGR in colorectal cancer (CRC) by disclosing increased HMGR activity in CRC patients and its enhancement of anti-apoptosis and stemness. Our previous studies showed that statins containing carboxylic acid chains possessed activity against histone deacetylases (HDACs), and strengthened their anti-HDAC activity through designing HMGR-HDAC dual inhibitors, JMF compounds. These compounds exerted anti-cancer effect in CRC cells as well as in AOM-DSS and ApcMin/+ CRC mouse models. JMF mostly regulated the genes related to apoptosis and inflammation through genome-wide ChIP-on-chip analysis, and Ingenuity Pathways Analysis (IPA) predicted their respective regulation by NR3C1 and NF-κB. Furthermore, JMF inhibited metastasis, angiogenesis and cancer stemness, and potentiated the effect of oxaliplatin in CRC mouse models. Dual HMGR-HDAC inhibitor could be a potential treatment for CRC