Unique Continuation for Stochastic Heat Equations

We establish a unique continuation property for stochastic heat equations evolving in a bounded domain $G$. Our result shows that the value of the solution can be determined uniquely by means of its value on an arbitrary open subdomain of $G$ at any given positive time constant. Further, when $G$ is convex and bounded, we also give a quantitative version of the unique continuation property. As applications, we get an observability estimate for stochastic heat equations, an approximate result and a null controllability result for a backward stochastic heat equation

Element dependence of enhancement in optics emission from laser-induced plasma under spatial confinement

In this study, the element dependence of spatial confinement effects in LIBS has been studied. Hemispheric cavities were used to confine laser-induced plasmas from aluminum samples with other trace elements. The enhancement factors were found to be dependent on the elements. Equations describing the element dependent enhancement factors were successfully deduced from the local thermodynamic equilibrium conditions, which have also been verified by the experimental results. Research results show that enhancement factors in LIBS with spatial confinement depend on the temperature, electron density, and compression ratio of plasmas, and vary with elements and atomic/ionic emission lines selected. Generally, emission lines with higher upper level energies have higher enhancement factors. Furthermore, with enhancement factor of a spectral line, temperatures and electron densities of plasmas known, enhancement factors of all the other elements in the plasmas could be estimated by the equations developed in this study

Inhibiting Receptor of Advanced Glycation End Products Attenuates Pressure Overload-Induced Cardiac Dysfunction by Preventing Excessive Autophagy

The receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE) is involved in heart failure (HF) by mediating diverse pathologic processes, including the promotion of inflammation and autophagy. However, the role of RAGE in pressure overload-induced HF is not well understood. We found that stimulation of RAGE triggered the death of neonatal rat ventricular myocytes (NRVMs), while cell death was alleviated by ATG5 knockdown. Using transverse aortic constriction (TAC) in mice as a model of pressure overload-induced HF, we demonstrated that RAGE knockout or RAGE blockade attenuated cardiac hypertrophy and fibrosis as well as cardiac dysfunction at 8 weeks after TAC. Importantly, RAGE knockout reversed upregulation of autophagy related proteins (LC3BII/I and Beclin 1) and reduced cardiomyocyte death, indicating that excessive autophagy after TAC was inhibited. Moreover, RAGE knockout or blockade reduced the upregulation of pp65-NFκB and BNIP3, which mediate autophagy. Taken together, these results suggest that RAGE plays an important role in the progression of HF by regulating autophagy. Therefore, inhibition of the RAGE-autophagy axis could be a promising new strategy for treatment of heart failure

Cadmium contamination and dietary exposure assessment in rice in Nanning City

Objective To understand the content of cadmium (Cd) in rice and evaluate the potential health risk to local residents. Methods Total of 886 rice samples were collected from Nanning City during 2015-2019, and the content of Cd in rice was determined by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The health risk assessment model recommended by the United States Environmental Protection Agency was used to assess the health risk of local residents. Results The detection rate of Cd in 886 rice samples was 94.92% (841/886), and the violation rate was 19.19% (170/886). The content of Cd range from 1.50 to 915.00 μg/kg, of which mean and median were 126.85 and 79.00 μg/kg, respectively. The dietary Cd exposure of people aged 6-17 was higher than that of people aged 18 and above. The dietary exposure to Cd was 12.43-23.95 μg/kg BW for people aged 18 and above, and the target hazard quotient (THQ) was below 1; however, the dietary exposure of Cd was 15.42-29.80 μg/kg BW for people aged 6-17, with THQ between 0.62 and 1.19. In Mashan, Shanglin and Longan, the THQ of people aged 6-17 was greater than 1. Conclusion There was a certain contamination of Cd in rice in this city, and might pose potential health risks to the people aged 6-17. Therefore, it is necessary to strengthen the monitoring and control of the contamination

Run or Die in the Evolution of New MicroRNAs-Testing the Red Queen Hypothesis on De Novo New Genes.

The Red Queen hypothesis depicts evolution as the continual struggle to adapt. According to this hypothesis, new genes, especially those originating from nongenic sequences (i.e., de novo genes), are eliminated unless they evolve continually in adaptation to a changing environment. Here, we analyze two Drosophila de novo miRNAs that are expressed in a testis-specific manner with very high rates of evolution in their DNA sequence. We knocked out these miRNAs in two sibling species and investigated their contributions to different fitness components. We observed that the fitness contributions of miR-975 in Drosophila simulans seem positive, in contrast to its neutral contributions in D. melanogaster, whereas miR-983 appears to have negative contributions in both species, as the fitness of the knockout mutant increases. As predicted by the Red Queen hypothesis, the fitness difference of these de novo miRNAs indicates their different fates

The effect of parental opportunism, IJV's autonomy and tacit knowledge on IJV instability: A comparison of multi-variate regression and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis

This study uses an agency theory perspective to examine how the factors that influence principal (IJV parents) and agent (IJV) relationship may affect IJV instability in China. The study proposes a framework that bridges knowledge-based theory (of tacit knowledge) and agency theory (of parental opportunism) by incorporating reactance theory (of autonomy). By comparing the empirical results of fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) and multiple regression analysis, using a sample of 203 Chinese-foreign IJVs, the study add further evidence to growing methodological consideration regarding complexity theory. The results from multiple regressions show that parental opportunism and IJV’s autonomy has a positive effect on IJV’s instability, and that the interaction of autonomy and tacit knowledge moderates the effect of parental opportunism on IJV instability. However, fsQCA uncovers more causal paths than findings from multiple regression analysis

Integrated Genomic Analysis of the Ubiquitin Pathway across Cancer Types

Protein ubiquitination is a dynamic and reversibleprocess of adding single ubiquitin molecules orvarious ubiquitin chains to target proteins. Here,using multidimensional omic data of 9,125 tumorsamples across 33 cancer types from The CancerGenome Atlas, we perform comprehensive molecu-lar characterization of 929 ubiquitin-related genesand 95 deubiquitinase genes. Among them, we sys-tematically identify top somatic driver candidates,including mutatedFBXW7with cancer-type-specificpatterns and amplifiedMDM2showing a mutuallyexclusive pattern withBRAFmutations. Ubiquitinpathway genes tend to be upregulated in cancermediated by diverse mechanisms. By integratingpan-cancer multiomic data, we identify a group oftumor samples that exhibit worse prognosis. Thesesamples are consistently associated with the upre-gulation of cell-cycle and DNA repair pathways, char-acterized by mutatedTP53,MYC/TERTamplifica-tion, andAPC/PTENdeletion. Our analysishighlights the importance of the ubiquitin pathwayin cancer development and lays a foundation fordeveloping relevant therapeutic strategies

Molecular characterization and clinical relevance of metabolic expression subtypes in human cancers.

Metabolic reprogramming provides critical information for clinical oncology. Using molecular data of 9,125 patient samples from The Cancer Genome Atlas, we identified tumor subtypes in 33 cancer types based on mRNA expression patterns of seven major metabolic processes and assessed their clinical relevance. Our metabolic expression subtypes correlated extensively with clinical outcome: subtypes with upregulated carbohydrate, nucleotide, and vitamin/cofactor metabolism most consistently correlated with worse prognosis, whereas subtypes with upregulated lipid metabolism showed the opposite. Metabolic subtypes correlated with diverse somatic drivers but exhibited effects convergent on cancer hallmark pathways and were modulated by highly recurrent master regulators across cancer types. As a proof-of-concept example, we demonstrated that knockdown of SNAI1 or RUNX1—master regulators of carbohydrate metabolic subtypes-modulates metabolic activity and drug sensitivity. Our study provides a system-level view of metabolic heterogeneity within and across cancer types and identifies pathway cross-talk, suggesting related prognostic, therapeutic, and predictive utility