Prediction of the shear wave speed of seafloor sediments in the northern South China Sea based on an XGBoost algorithm

Based on data on the shear wave speed and physical properties of the shallow sediment samples collected in the northwest South China Sea, the hyperparameter selection and contribution of the characteristic factors of the machine learning model for predicting the shear wave speed of seafloor sediments were studied using the eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost) algorithm. An XGBoost model for predicting the shear wave speed of seafloor sediments was established based on four physical parameters of the sediments: porosity (n), water content (w), density (ρ), and average grain size (MZ). The result reveals that: (1) The shear wave speed has a good correlation with n, w, ρ, and MZ, and their Pearson correlation coefficients are all above 0.75, indicating that they can be used as the suitable characteristic parameters for predicting the shear wave speed based on the XGBoost model; (2) When the number of weak learners (n_estimators) is 115 and the maximum depth of the tree (max_depth) is 6, the XGBoost model has a very high goodness of fit (R2) of the validation data of 0.914, the very low mean absolute error (MAE) and mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) of the predicted shear wave speed are 3.366 m/s and 9.90%, respectively; (3) Compared with grain-shearing (GS) model and single- and dual-parameter regression equation prediction models, the XGBoost model for the shear wave speed of seafloor sediments has higher fitting goodness and lower prediction error

Design, synthesis and biological evaluation of a novel colchicine-magnolol hybrid for inhibiting the growth of Lewis lung carcinoma in Vitro and in Vivo

Colchicine is a bioactive alkaloid originally from Colchicum autumnale and possesses excellent antiproliferative activity. However, colchicine-associated severe toxicity, gastrointestinal side effects in particular, limits its further therapeutic use. In the current study, we thus designed and synthesized a novel hybrid (CMH) by splicing colchicine and magnolol, a multifunctional polyphenol showing favorable gastrointestinal protection. The antitumor activity of CMH in Lewis lung carcinoma (LLC) was then evaluated in vitro and in vivo. Biologically, CMH inhibited the growth of LLC cells with an IC50 of 0.26 μM, 100 times more potently than cisplatin (26.05 μM) did. Meanwhile, the cytotoxicity of CMH was 10-fold lower than that of colchicine in normal human lung cells (BEAS-2B). In C57BL/6 mice xenograft model, CMH (0.5 mg/kg) worked as efficacious as colchicine (0.5 mg/kg) to inhibit tumor growth and 2 times more potently than cisplatin (1 mg/kg). In terms of mortality, 7 out of 10 mice died in colchicine group (0.75 mg/kg), while no death was observed in groups receiving CMH or cisplatin at 0.75 mg/kg. Mechanistic studies using Western blot revealed that CMH dose-dependently suppressed the protein expression of phosphorylated ERK. Molecular docking analysis further indicated that CMH was well fitted in the colchicine binding site of tubulin and formed several hydrogen bonds with tubulin protein. These results enable our novel hybrid CMH as a potential antineoplastic agent with lower toxicity, and provide perquisites for further investigation to confirm the therapeutic potentiality of this novel hybrid

Enhanced mechanical, thermal and biocompatible nature of dual component electrospun nanocomposite for bone tissue engineering

Traditionally, in the Asian continent, oils are a widely accepted choice for alleviating bone-related disorders. The design of scaffolds resembling the extracellular matrix (ECM) is of great significance in bone tissue engineering. In this study, a multicompo-nent polyurethane (PU), canola oil (CO) and neem oil (NO) scaffold was developed using the electrospinning technique. The fabricated nanofibers were subjected to various physicochemical and biological testing to validate its suitability for bone tissue engineering. Morphological analysis of the multicomponent scaffold showed a reduc-Tion in fiber diameter (PU/CO 853 141.27 nm and PU/CO/NO 633 137.54 nm) compared to PU (890 116.911 nm). The existence of CO and NO in PU matrix was confirmed by an infrared spectrum (IR) with the formation of hydrogen bond. PU/CO displayed a mean contact angle of 108.7 0.58 while the PU/CO/NO exhibited hydrophilic nature with an angle of 62.33 2.52. The developed multicomponent also exhibited higher thermal stability and increased mechanical strength compared to the pristine PU. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) analysis depicted lower surface roughness for the nanocomposites (PU/CO 389 nm and PU/CO/NO 323 nm) than the pristine PU (576 nm). Blood compatibility investigation displayed the anticoagulant nature of the composites. Cytocompatibility studies revealed the non-Toxic nature of the developed composites with human fibroblast cells (HDF) cells. The newly developed porous PU nanocomposite scaffold comprising CO and NO may serve as a potential candidate for bone tissue engineering

Sediment Waves on the Western Slope of the Chukchi Rise (Arctic Ocean) and Their Implications for the Paleoenvironment

Based on multibeam bathymetric data and high-resolution shallow sub-bottom profiles acquired during China’s 10th Arctic Scientific Expedition Cruise in 2019, a sediment wave field was found on the western slope of the Chukchi Rise, in the Arctic Ocean. This sediment wave field developed on the lower slope with water depths of between 1200 m and 1800 m and stretched 15 km in the downslope direction. It comprised several parallel sediment waves, with wavelengths ranging from 700 m to 3400 m and wave heights from 12 m to 70 m. In the vertical direction, well-stratified deposits, tens of meters thick, were affected by sediment waves, which exhibit asymmetric waveforms and upslope migration trends. The morphological and seismostratigraphic characteristics of the sediment waves suggested their genesis as a result of the interaction between the bottom current and seafloor morphology, which was also supported by hydrographical data adjacent to the sediment wave field. It was infered that this bottom current was related to the Arctic Circumpolar Boundary Current, which many researchers suggest flows through the study area

Sediment Waves on the Western Slope of the Chukchi Rise (Arctic Ocean) and Their Implications for the Paleoenvironment

Based on multibeam bathymetric data and high-resolution shallow sub-bottom profiles acquired during China’s 10th Arctic Scientific Expedition Cruise in 2019, a sediment wave field was found on the western slope of the Chukchi Rise, in the Arctic Ocean. This sediment wave field developed on the lower slope with water depths of between 1200 m and 1800 m and stretched 15 km in the downslope direction. It comprised several parallel sediment waves, with wavelengths ranging from 700 m to 3400 m and wave heights from 12 m to 70 m. In the vertical direction, well-stratified deposits, tens of meters thick, were affected by sediment waves, which exhibit asymmetric waveforms and upslope migration trends. The morphological and seismostratigraphic characteristics of the sediment waves suggested their genesis as a result of the interaction between the bottom current and seafloor morphology, which was also supported by hydrographical data adjacent to the sediment wave field. It was infered that this bottom current was related to the Arctic Circumpolar Boundary Current, which many researchers suggest flows through the study area

Association of ABO blood group, Rh phenotype and MN blood group with susceptibility to COVID-19.

BackgroundPrevious studies have reported that the susceptibility to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is related to ABO blood group, but the relationship with Rh phenotype and MN blood group is unknown. China had adopted a strict control policy on COVID-19 until December 5, 2022, when local communities were liberalized. Therefore, we aimed to explore the correlation between ABO blood group, Rh phenotype, MN blood group and susceptibility to COVID-19 based on the time sequence of infection during the pandemic.MethodsA total of 870 patients who were routinely hospitalized in Ningbo Medical Center Lihuili Hospital from March 1, 2023 to March 31, 2023 were randomly selected to enroll in this study. Patients were divided into susceptible group and non-susceptible group, according to the time of their previous infection. The demographics and clinical information of the enrolled participants were collected from electronic medical records. The association of ABO blood group, Rh phenotype and MN blood group with susceptibility to COVID-19 was analyzed.ResultsA total of 650 cases (74.7%) had been infected with COVID-19, with 157 cases (18.0%) in the second week and 252 cases (29.0%) in the third week, reaching the peak of infection. Compared with the non-susceptible group, the susceptible group had no statistically significant differences in ABO blood group and Rh phenotype, but the proportion of N+ was higher (75.6% vs 68.9%, P = 0.030) and the proportion of MM was lower (24.4% vs 31.1%, P = 0.030). Consistent with this, ABO blood group and Rh phenotype were not significantly associated with susceptibility to COVID-19 (P>0.05), while N+ and MM were associated with susceptibility to COVID-19 (OR: 1.432, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.049, 1.954, P = 0.024; OR: 0.698, 95% CI: 0.512, 0.953, P = 0.024, respectively), after adjusting for age, sex, BMI, basic disease, and vaccination status in multivariate logistic regression analysis.ConclusionOur study showed that ABO blood group and Rh phenotype may not be related to the susceptibility to COVID-19, but MN blood group may be associated with the susceptibility to COVID-19

Downregulation of miR-485-3p promotes proliferation, migration and invasion in prostate cancer through activation of TGF-β signaling

Background. Prostate cancer (PC) is the second leading cause of cancer-related death among men worldwide. Downregulation of miR-485-3p has been revealed to participate in the tumorigenesis and progression of many types of cancer. However, the clinical and biological role of miR-485-3p in PC remains largely unknown. Methods. The expression of miR-485-3p was analyzed in the published databases and detected in our clinical samples and cell lines by RT-qPCR assay. CCK8, transwell invasion and migration, and colony formation assays were performed to investigate the biological function of miR-485-3p. Bioinformatical analysis, RIP, western blotting and luciferase reporter assays were carried out to explore the downstream mechanism of miR-485-3p. Results. The level of miR-485-3p was downregulated in PC tissues, particularly in primary PC tissues with metastasis relative to normal prostate tissues. miR-485-3p downregulation was positively correlated with poor disease-free and overall survival in patients with PC. Functionally, miR-485-3p overexpression dramatically suppressed the proliferation, migration and invasion ability of PC cells in vitro. Mechanistically, miR-485-3p overexpression suppressed the activity of TGF-β signaling by targeting TGFBR2 to play tumor-suppressive roles in PC progression. Conclusion. Our study reports the miR-485- 3p/TGFBR2/ TGF-β signaling axis in tumor development of PC, suggesting miR-485-3p may be a potential target to develop therapeutic strategies against PC

Risk of COVID-19 infection in the study population, according to ABO blood group, Rh phenotype and MN blood group.

A: unadjusted; B: adjusted for age, sex, BMI, basic disease and vaccination status.</p