Gelsolin induces colorectal tumor cell invasion via modulation of the urokinase-type plasminogen activator cascade

Gelsolin is a cytoskeletal protein which participates in actin filament dynamics and promotes cell motility and plasticity. Although initially regarded as a tumor suppressor, gelsolin expression in certain tumors correlates with poor prognosis and therapy-resistance. In vitro, gelsolin has anti-apoptotic and pro-migratory functions and is critical for invasion of some types of tumor cells. We found that gelsolin was highly expressed at tumor borders infiltrating into adjacent liver tissues, as examined by immunohistochemistry. Although gelsolin contributes to lamellipodia formation in migrating cells, the mechanisms by which it induces tumor invasion are unclear. Gelsolin’s influence on the invasive activity of colorectal cancer cells was investigated using overexpression and small interfering RNA knockdown. We show that gelsolin is required for invasion of colorectal cancer cells through matrigel. Microarray analysis and quantitative PCR indicate that gelsolin overexpression induces the upregulation of invasion-promoting genes in colorectal cancer cells, including the matrix-degrading urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA). Conversely, gelsolin knockdown reduces uPA levels, as well as uPA secretion. The enhanced invasiveness of gelsolin-overexpressing cells was attenuated by treatment with function-blocking antibodies to either uPA or its receptor uPAR, indicating that uPA/uPAR activity is crucial for gelsolin-dependent invasion. In summary, our data reveals novel functions of gelsolin in colorectal tumor cell invasion through its modulation of the uPA/uPAR cascade, with potentially important roles in colorectal tumor dissemination to metastatic sites

Influence of single vacancy defect at varying length on electronic properties of zigzag graphene nanoribbons

Graphene, identified in 2004, is now an established two-dimensional (2D) material due to its outstanding physical and electronic characteristics namely its superior electrical conductivity. Graphene is a zero-gap material that has linear dispersion with electron-hole symmetry. As pristine sheet, it cannot be utilized in digital logic application without the induction of a band gap inside the band structure. In our work, the modeling and simulation of graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) are carried out to determine its electronics properties that are benchmarked with other published simulation data. A 4-Zigzag GNRs (4-ZGNRs) under different length are utilized. A single vacancy defects is introduced at various positions inside the atomic structure. The theoretical model is implemented based on single-neighbour tight binding technique coupled with a non-equilibrium Green’s function formalism. The single vacancy defects are represented by the elimination of tight binding energies in the Hamiltonian matrix. Subsequently, these matrix elements are utilized to compute dispersion relation and density of states (DOS) through Green’s function. It is found that single vacancy defects at different positions in 4-ZGNRs’ atomic structure under varying length has no significant impacts on the sub-band structure but these vacancies impact the DOS that are computed throught Green’s function approach

Diabetes in pregnancy and risk of antepartum depression: a systematic review and meta-analysis of cohort studies

Previous literature has reported that patients with diabetes in pregnancy (DIP) are at risk of developing antepartum depression but the results have been inconsistent in cohort studies. We conducted a systematic review and performed a meta-analysis to quantify the association between DIP and risk of antepartum depression in cohort studies. Medline, Cinahl, and PubMed databases were searched for studies investigating DIP involving pregnant women with pre-existing diabetes and gestational diabetes mellitus and their risk of antepartum depression that were published in journals from inception to 27 December 2019. We derived the summary estimates using a random-effects model and reported the findings as pooled relative risks (RR) and confidence interval (CI). Publication bias was assessed using a funnel plot and was quantified by Egger and Begg’s tests. Ten studies, involving 71,036 pregnant women were included in this meta-analysis. The pooled RR to develop antepartum depression was (RR = 1.430, 95% CI: 1.251–1.636) among women with gestational diabetes mellitus. Combining pregnant women with pre-existing diabetes mellitus and gestational diabetes mellitus, they had a significant increased risk of developing antepartum depression (RR = 1.431, 95% CI: 1.205–1.699) compared with those without it. In comparison, we found no association between pre-existing diabetes mellitus in pregnancy (RR = 1.300, 95% CI: 0.736–2.297) and the risk of developing antepartum depression. This study has a few limitations: first, different questionnaire and cut-off points were used in evaluation of depression across the studies. Second, there was a lack of data on history of depression prior to pregnancy, which lead to confounding bias that could not be solved by this meta-analysis. Third, data were dominated by studies in Western countries; this is due to the studies from Eastern countries failing to meet our inclusion criteria for statistical analysis. Women with gestational diabetes mellitus have an increased risk of developing antepartum depression compared to those without the disease. Therefore, more attention on the mental health status should be given on pregnant women diagnosed with pre-existing diabetes mellitus and gestational diabetes mellitus

A multi-stakeholder strategy to identify conservation priorities in Peninsular Malaysia

Malaysia, with its rapidly growing economy, exemplifies the tensions between conservation and development faced by many tropical nations. Here we present the results of a multi-stakeholder engagement exercise conducted to (1) define conservation priorities in Peninsular Malaysia and (2) explore differences in perceptions among and within stakeholder groups (i.e. government, academia, NGOs and the private sector). Our data collection involved two workshops and two online surveys where participants identified seven general conservation themes and ranked the top five priority issues within each theme. The themes were: (1) policy and management, (2) legislation and enforcement, (3) finance and resource allocation, (4) knowledge, research and development, (5) socio-economic issues, (6) public awareness and participation and (7) rights of nature. In spite of their very different backgrounds and agendas, the four stakeholder groups showed general agreement in their priority preferences except for two issues. Respondents from government and private sector differed the most from each other in their priority choices while academia and NGO showed the highest degree of similarity. This ranked list of 35 conservation priorities is expected to influence the work of policy-makers and others in Peninsular Malaysia and can be used as a model to identify conservation priorities elsewhere

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

Klebsiella pneumoniae sacroiliac septic arthritis: First case report

Infective sacroiliitis is a rare disease with misleading clinical signs that often delay diagnosis. We report a case of pyogenic sacroiliac joint septic arthritis caused by Klebsiella pneumoniae that has not been reported in the literature highlighting its importance especially among diabetics. Keywords: Klebsiella Pneumoniae, Septic Arthritis, Infective Sacroiliitis, Diabete

High-Performance Supercapacitor Based on Three-Dimensional Hierarchical rGO/Nickel Cobaltite Nanostructures as Electrode Materials

A hybrid supercapacitor that employs nanomaterial has been extensively studied recently. However, inexorable collapse and agglomeration of metal oxide and short cycle stability of graphene sheets greatly hinder their practical applications. Herein, we demonstrate a competent synergic effect between nickel cobaltite (NCO) and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) for synthesizing the three-dimensional hierarchical rGO/NCO nanostructures via a facile one-pot hydrothermal method, followed by subsequent annealing in air. The structural and morphological characteristics of as-synthesized rGO/NCO have been characterized in-depth by FESEM, XRD, XPS, BET, and Raman spectroscopy. When incorporated in a two-electrode system with 2.0 M KOH electrolyte, the three-dimensional rGO/NCO nanostructures exhibit excellent supercapacitive performance. This is due to the unique properties of rGO that provide a flexible and expandable platform for growing NCO nanocrystals, which result in a nanoscopic rose petals morphology. These nanostructures provide a large surface area which facilitates the ion diffusion and eventually enhances the specific capacitance. Furthermore, performance studies between the as-synthesized electrode materials with a commercialized supercapacitor proved that the as-synthesized rGO/NCO electrode possesses a proficient potential to be a supercapacitor material, which provides high energy density as well as power density. A two-electrode system is advantageous over a conventional three-electrode system because it mimics the cell configuration of commercial supercapacitors

Are the Urban Malaysian Selfish, Altruistic, Dynastic, or Social Norms and Tradition?

Abstract The trend of population aging will pose distinct challenges on many parts of society including bequest motives. Bequest is important in an economic sense and crucial element to policy prescriptions related to wealth distribution, saving behaviour among older persons, government pension policy, taxation, charitable contributions, and wealth holdings and income flow for next generation. The aim of this study is to identify the urban Malaysians' bequest motives. Three bequest motives, named selfish life-cycle model, altruism model, and social norms and tradition model have been identified in this study. The findings alert the society that children are unlikely to co-reside with, or care for their older parents if their parents have little or no housing assets and little or no income. Thus, there is urgent need to introduce and strengthen the long-term care social security system, and to upgrade and expand the old folks' homes. So that, the frail and needed older persons with little or no assets and income, can receive adequate care and financial supports