Optimization Analysis on Layout of 220kV Outdoor Substation for Noise Control at the Boundary

The noise in substations has become one of the most concerning problems in the field of power grid. In this paper, the principle of substation layout optimization based on the maximum acoustic ray shielding method is established in the premise of the sound wave propagation rule in complicated air medium to meet the requirements of relevant national environmental standards for noise at the boundary of the substation. By establishing the acoustic simulation analysis model of the 220kV outdoor substation, the noise level at the boundary of the substation before and after the layout optimization is compared and analysed, and the distribution rule of the sound field inside and outside the substation is obtained. The analysis results show that the optimized layout of the substation can effectively reduce the noise at the boundary of the substation, which provides a control method for the noise optimization design of the substation

Style Generation: Image Synthesis based on Coarsely Matched Texts

Previous text-to-image synthesis algorithms typically use explicit textual instructions to generate/manipulate images accurately, but they have difficulty adapting to guidance in the form of coarsely matched texts. In this work, we attempt to stylize an input image using such coarsely matched text as guidance. To tackle this new problem, we introduce a novel task called text-based style generation and propose a two-stage generative adversarial network: the first stage generates the overall image style with a sentence feature, and the second stage refines the generated style with a synthetic feature, which is produced by a multi-modality style synthesis module. We re-filter one existing dataset and collect a new dataset for the task. Extensive experiments and ablation studies are conducted to validate our framework. The practical potential of our work is demonstrated by various applications such as text-image alignment and story visualization. Our datasets are published at https://www.kaggle.com/datasets/mengyaocui/style-generation

School-based child sexual abuse interventions:A systematic review and meta-analysis

Purpose: The purposes of this systematic review were to systematically summarize components in existing school-based child sexual abuse (CSA) prevention programs and identify predictors for program effectiveness. Method: Building upon the most comprehensive systematic review on this topic, we conducted systematic searches in both English-language from September 2014 to October 2020 and Chinese-language from inception to October, 2020. Meta-regressions were performed to identify predictors for program effectiveness. Results: Thirty-one studies were included with a total sample size of 9049 participants. Results from meta-analyses suggested that interventions are effective in increasing participants’ CSA knowledge as assessed via questionnaires (g = 0.72, 95% CI [0.52–0.93]) and vignette-based measures (g = 0.55, 95% CI [0.35–0.74]). Results from meta-regression suggested that interventions with more than three sessions are more effective than interventions with fewer sessions. Interventions appear to be more effective with children who are 8 years and older than younger children. Discussion: CSA is a global issue that has significant negative effects on victims’ physical, psychological, and sexual well-being. Our findings also provide recommendations for future research, particularly in terms of optimizing the effectiveness of school-based CSA prevention programs, and the better reporting of intervention components as well as participant characteristics.</p

Phosphorylation of NF-κB in Cancer

The proinflammatory transcription factor nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) has emerged as a central player in inflammatory responses and tumor development since its discovery three decades ago. In general, aberrant NF-κB activity plays a critical role in tumorigenesis and acquired resistance to chemotherapy. This aberrant NF-κB activity frequently involves several post-translational modifications of NF-κB, including phosphorylation. In this chapter, we will specifically cover the phosphorylation sites reported on the p65 subunit of NF-κB and their relationship to cancer. Importantly, phosphorylation is catalyzed by different kinases using adenosine triphosphate (ATP) as the phosphorus donor. These kinases are frequently hyperactive in cancers and thus may serve as potential therapeutic targets to treat different cancers

Phosphorylation of the Regulators, a Complex Facet of NF-κB Signaling in Cancer

The nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) is a ubiquitous transcription factor central to inflammation and various malignant diseases in humans. The regulation of NF-κB can be influenced by a myriad of post-translational modifications (PTMs), including phosphorylation, one of the most popular PTM formats in NF-κB signaling. The regulation by phosphorylation modification is not limited to NF-κB subunits, but it also encompasses the diverse regulators of NF-κB signaling. The differential site-specific phosphorylation of NF-κB itself or some NF-κB regulators can result in dysregulated NF-κB signaling, often culminating in events that induce cancer progression and other hyper NF-κB related diseases, such as inflammation, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, as well as neurodegenerative diseases, etc. In this review, we discuss the regulatory role of phosphorylation in NF-κB signaling and the mechanisms through which they aid cancer progression. Additionally, we highlight some of the known and novel NF-κB regulators that are frequently subjected to phosphorylation. Finally, we provide some future perspectives in terms of drug development to target kinases that regulate NF-κB signaling for cancer therapeutic purposes

Establishment of molecular genetic approaches to study gene expression and function in an invasive hemipteran, Halyomorpha halys

Hemiptera is a large clade of insects understudied in terms of developmental biology. Halyomorpha halys, the Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (BMSB, referred to throughout as H. halys), is an invasive hemipteran pest of the mid-Atlantic region of the USA that has rapidly spread to other regions in recent years, devastating a wide range of crops using a piercing and sucking mechanism. Its phylogenetic position, polyphagous habits, and rapid spread in the USA suggested that H. halys would be an ideal system to broaden our knowledge of developmental mechanisms in insects. We and others previously generated transcriptome sequences from different life stages of this insect. Here, we describe tools to examine gene expression patterns in whole-mount H. halys embryos and to test the response of H. halys to RNA interference (RNAi). We show that spatial and temporal patterns of gene expression in H. halys can be effectively monitored by both immunostaining and in situ hybridization. We also show that delivery of dsRNA to adult females knocks down gene function in offspring, using the homeotic gene Sex combs reduced (Scr). Knockdown of Hh-Scr resulted in dramatic malformations of the mouthparts, demonstrating for the first time that RNAi is effective in this species. Our results suggest that, despite difficulties with long-term laboratory culture of H. halys, this species shows promise as a developmental system.https://doi.org/10.1186/s13227-017-0078-

The Pivotal Player: Components of NF-κB Pathway as Promising Biomarkers in Colorectal Cancer

Over the last several decades, colorectal cancer (CRC) has been one of the most prevalent cancers. While significant progress has been made in both diagnostic screening and therapeutic approaches, a large knowledge gap still remains regarding the early identification and treatment of CRC. Specifically, identification of CRC biomarkers that can help with the creation of targeted therapies as well as increasing the ability for clinicians to predict the biological response of a patient to therapeutics, is of particular importance. This review provides an overview of CRC and its progression stages, as well as the basic types of CRC biomarkers. We then lay out the synopsis of signaling pathways related to CRC, and further highlight the pivotal and multifaceted role of nuclear factor (NF) κB signaling in CRC. Particularly, we bring forth knowledge regarding the tumor microenvironment (TME) in CRC, and its complex interaction with cancer cells. We also provide examples of NF-κB signaling-related CRC biomarkers, and ongoing efforts made at targeting NF-κB signaling in CRC treatment. We conclude and anticipate that with more emerging novel regulators of the NF-κB pathway being discovered, together with their in-depth characterization and the integration of large groups of genomic, transcriptomic and proteomic data, the day of successful development of more ideal NF-κB inhibitors is fast approaching

Discovery of Small Molecule Inhibitors for Histone Methyltransferases in Cancer

Cancer is the second leading cause of mortality in the United States. There are several therapeutic regimens employed to mitigate the mortality rate of cancer. This includes the use of chemotherapy, radiation, immunotherapy, and precision medicine/targeted therapy. Targeted therapy involves the use of drugs that target a specific pathway or biomolecule compromised in cancer for cancer treatment. Aberrant expression of epigenetic enzymes has been well documented for their contribution in driving tumorigenesis and other cancer hallmarks. Hence, there is an urgent need for novel drug discovery and development in epigenetics to help combat various cancer morbidities. Herein, we review the roles and consequences of dysregulated function of several epigenetic enzymes, with a focus on histone methyltransferases (HMTs). Additionally, we discussed the current efforts made in the development of small molecule inhibitors for a few representative HMTs implicated in different cancers. Furthermore, the common screening assays used in discovering potent small molecule inhibitors were also detailed in this chapter. Overall, this book chapter highlights the significance of targeting HMTs in different cancers and the clinical application potentials/limitations faced by the developed or emerging small molecule inhibitors of HMTs for the purpose of cancer therapy

Transcriptional Repression of CYP3A4 by Increased miR-200a-3p and miR-150-5p Promotes Steatosis in vitro

Hepatic cytochrome P450 enzyme activities correlate with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and hepatic steatosis. The decreased activity of CYP3A4, an important drug-metabolizing enzyme, is associated with the progression of NAFLD. CYP3A4 is predicted as a target gene of miR-200a-3p and miR-150-5p by MicroInspector and TargetScan algorithms analyses. Here, we found decreased CYP3A4 and increased miR-200a-3p and miR-150-5p in LO2 cells with free fatty acid (FFA)-induced steatosis. Dual-luciferase assay confirmed that both miR-200a-3p and miR-150-5p targeted the 3′-untranslated region (3′-UTR) of CYP3A4 and that such interaction was abolished by miRNA binding site mutations in 3′-UTR of CYP3A4. Using miR-200a-3p and miR-150-5p mimics and inhibitors, we further confirmed that endogenous CYP3A4 was regulated posttranscriptionally by miR-200a-3p or miR-150-5p. Moreover, miR-200a-3p and miR-150-5p inhibitors attenuated FFA-induced steatosis in LO2 cells, and such effect was dependent on CYP3Y4 expression. These results suggest that miR-200a-3p and miR-150-5p, through directly targeting 3′-UTR of CYP3A4, contribute to the development of FFA-induced steatosis