Excessive Autophagy Activation and Increased Apoptosis Are Associated with Palmitic Acid-Induced Cardiomyocyte Insulin Resistance

Diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM) remains the major cause of death associated with diabetes. Researchers have demonstrated the importance of impaired cardiac insulin signaling in this process. Insulin resistance (IR) is an important predictor of DCM. Previous studies examining the dynamic changes in autophagy during IR have yielded inconsistent results. This study aimed to investigate the dynamic changes in autophagy and apoptosis in the rat H9c2 cardiomyocyte IR model. H9c2 cells were treated with 500 μM palmitic acid (PA) for 24 hours, resulting in the induction of IR. To examine autophagy, monodansylcadaverine staining, GFP-LC3 puncta confocal observation, and Western blot analysis of LC3I-to-LC3II conversion were used. Results of these studies showed that autophagic acid vesicles increased in numbers during the first 24 hours and then decreased by 36 hours after PA treatment. Western blot analysis showed that treatment of H9c2 cells with 500 μM PA for 24 hours decreased the expression of Atg12-Atg5, Atg16L1, Atg3, and PI3Kp85. Annexin V/PI flow cytometry revealed that PA exposure for 24 hours increased the rate of apoptosis. Together, this study demonstrates that PA induces IR in H9c2 cells and that this process is accompanied by excessive activation of autophagy and increases in apoptosis

Analysis of Circulating Tumor Cells in Ovarian Cancer and Their Clinical Value as a Biomarker

Background/Aims: Monitoring the appearance and progression of tumors are important for improving the survival rate of patients with ovarian cancer. This study aims to examine circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) patients to evaluate their clinical significance in comparison to the existing biomarker CA125. Methods: Immuomagnetic bead screening, targeting epithelial antigens on ovarian cancer cells, combined with multiplex reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (Multiplex RT-PCR) was used to detect CTCs in 211 samples of peripheral blood (5 ml) from 109 EOC patients. CTCs and CA125 were measured in serial from 153 blood and 153 serum samples from 51 patients and correlations with treatment were analyzed. Immunohistochemistry was used to detect the expression of tumor-associated proteins in tumor tissues and compared with gene expression in CTCs from patients. Results: CTCs were detected in 90% (98/109) of newly diagnosed patients. In newly diagnosed patients, the number of CTCs was correlated with stage (p=0.034). Patients with stage IA-IB disease had a CTC positive rate of 93% (13/14), much higher than the CA125 positive rate of only 64% (9/14) for the same patients. The numbers of CTCs changed with treatment, and the expression of EpCAM (p=0.003) and HER2 (p=0.035) in CTCs was correlated with resistance to chemotherapy. Expression of EpCAM in CTCs before treatment was also correlated with overall survival (OS) (p=0.041). Conclusion: Detection of CTCs allows early diagnose and expression of EpCAM in CTC positive patients predicts prognosis and should be helpful for monitoring treatment

Global well-posedness of damped multidimensional generalized Boussinesq equations

We study the Cauchy problem for a sixth-order Boussinesq equations with the generalized source term and damping term. By using Galerkin approximations and potential well methods, we prove the existence of a global weak solution. Furthermore, we study the conditions for the damped coefficient to obtain the finite time blow up of the solution

Species diversity of Arabis alpina L. communities in two Pb/Zn mining areas with different smelting history in Yunnan Province, China

In order to explore the species compositions and species diversity (Dominance (Do), Shannon-Wiener index (H0), Simpson diversity index (Dsi), Species richness (DMG), Pielou evenness index (Epi) and Fre- quency (Fr)) of twenty Arabis alpina L. var. parviflora Franch communities, field investigation was con- ducted in Huize county, Yunnan province, China. Some 20 A. alpina communities were distributed in two traditional smelting tailing piles of Minbingyingjiying (TST) and Shangduoduo village (SDD) with different Pb smelting history. The morphological characteristics (plant height, branch number, basal leaf length, basal leaf width and root morphology) of A. alpina, contents and accumulation characteristics of eight potentially toxic metals (As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb, Zn, Al, Fe) in soil and plants were analyzed. The results showed that the morphological characteristics of A. alpina were mean plant height 12.25 cm, the basal leaf length 17.69 cm, leaf width 5.40 cm, the total root length 117.86 cm plant 1, the root diameter 0.90 mm. The leaves of A. alpina in SDD were longer and narrower with higher plant height compared with in TST. The main companion plants of A. alpina were Sporobolus fertilis (Steud.) W. D. Clayt, Arenaria orbiculata Royle ex Edgew. et Hook. F. and Eulalia speciosa. (Debeaux). The H0 and Dsi were 0.56e2.04 and 0.44e0.95, respectively. The plant species numbers, H’, Dsi and Epi of A. alpina communities in TST were higher than those in SDD. Pb contents in shoot of two A. alpina samples were more than 1000 mg kg 1, Cd content in shoot of one A. alpina sample >100 mg kg 1 and Zn contents in shoot of seven A. alpina samples >10,000 mg kg 1 with the enrichment factors and transport coefficients greater than 1. The results indicate that A. alpina as a Zn, Pb and Cd hyperaccumulator, could be used for long-term phy- toremediation of soils contaminated by Cd, Pb and Zn. Species diversity of A. alpina community during long-term natural vegetation restoration was high in the middle succession with single-peak model, and A. alpina would be dominant in the succession climax stage in potentially toxic metal contamination areas

Square Dancing and The happiness of Chinese Aunts.sav

<b> </b>In China, the social phenomenon of senior citizens dancing at public squares has attracted widespread attention. Why do Chinese Aunts (middle-age and elderly ladies) prefer to dance on the square? We surveyed 62 aunts in a square dancing team in Jilin Province of China

Excessive Autophagy Activation and Increased Apoptosis Are Associated with Palmitic Acid-Induced Cardiomyocyte Insulin Resistance

Diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM) remains the major cause of death associated with diabetes. Researchers have demonstrated the importance of impaired cardiac insulin signaling in this process. Insulin resistance (IR) is an important predictor of DCM. Previous studies examining the dynamic changes in autophagy during IR have yielded inconsistent results. This study aimed to investigate the dynamic changes in autophagy and apoptosis in the rat H9c2 cardiomyocyte IR model. H9c2 cells were treated with 500 μM palmitic acid (PA) for 24 hours, resulting in the induction of IR. To examine autophagy, monodansylcadaverine staining, GFP-LC3 puncta confocal observation, and Western blot analysis of LC3I-to-LC3II conversion were used. Results of these studies showed that autophagic acid vesicles increased in numbers during the first 24 hours and then decreased by 36 hours after PA treatment. Western blot analysis showed that treatment of H9c2 cells with 500 μM PA for 24 hours decreased the expression of Atg12-Atg5, Atg16L1, Atg3, and PI3Kp85. Annexin V/PI flow cytometry revealed that PA exposure for 24 hours increased the rate of apoptosis. Together, this study demonstrates that PA induces IR in H9c2 cells and that this process is accompanied by excessive activation of autophagy and increases in apoptosis.Peer Reviewe

Artificial Intelligence-Assisted Terahertz Imaging for Rapid and Label-Free Identification of Efficient Light Formula in Laser Therapy

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is considered a promising noninvasive therapeutic strategy in biomedicine, especially by utilizing low-level laser therapy (LLLT) in visible and near-infrared spectra to trigger biological responses. The major challenge of PDT in applications is the complicated and time-consuming biological methodological measurements in identification of light formulas for different diseases. Here, we demonstrate a rapid and label-free identification method based on artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted terahertz imaging for efficient light formulas in LLLT of acute lung injury (ALI). The gray histogram of terahertz images is developed as the biophysical characteristics to identify the therapeutic effect. Label-free terahertz imaging is sequentially performed using rapid super-resolution imaging reconstruction and automatic identification algorithm based on a voting classifier. The results indicate that the therapeutic effect of LLLT with different light wavelengths and irradiation times for ALI can be identified using this method with a high accuracy of 91.22% in 33 s, which is more than 400 times faster than the biological methodology and more than 200 times faster than the scanning terahertz imaging technology. It may serve as a new tool for the development and application of PDT

Low-Frequency Terahertz Photonic Crystal Waveguide with a Lilac-Shaped Defect Based on Stereolithography 3D Printing

Terahertz (THz) photonic crystal (PC) waveguides show promise as an efficient and versatile waveguiding platform for communication, sensing, and imaging. However, low-frequency THz PC waveguides with a low-cost and easy fabrication remain challenging. To address this issue, a THz PC waveguide with a lilac-shaped defect has been designed and fabricated by 3D printing based on stereolithography (SLA). The reflection and transmission characteristics of the proposed waveguide have been analyzed using the finite difference frequency domain (FDFD) method. The waveguide spectral response is further optimized by changing the distance of the lilac-shaped resonant cavities. Consistent with the results of numerical modeling, the measured results show that the waveguide performs a resonant reflection in the region of 0.2 to 0.3 THz and low-pass transmission in the 6G mobile communication window. Furthermore, in order to characterize the performance of the proposed waveguide, parameters have been analyzed, including the Q factor, resonant frequency, and bandwidth. This work supplies a novel pathway for the design and fabrication of a low-frequency THz PC waveguide with potential applications in communication, sensing, and imaging