c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase activation is essential for up-regulation of LC3 during ceramide-induced autophagy in human nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Autophagy is a dynamic catabolic process characterized by the formation of double membrane vacuoles termed autophagosomes. LC3, a homologue of yeast Atg8, takes part in autophagosome formation, but the exact regulation mechanism of LC3 still needs to be elucidated.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Ceramide-induced autophagy was determined by detecting LC3 expression with Western blotting and confocal microscopy in human nasopharyngeal carcinoma cell lines CNE2 and SUNE1. The activation of JNK pathway was assessed by Western blotting for phospho-specific forms of JNK and c-Jun. The JNK activity specific inhibitor, SP600125, and siRNA directed against JNK were used to block JNK/c-Jun pathway. ChIP and luciferase reporter analysis were applied to determine whether c-Jun was involved in the regulation of LC3 transcription.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Ceramide-treated cells exhibited the characteristics of autophagy and JNK pathway activation. Inhibition of JNK pathway could block the ceramide-induced autophagy and the up-regulation of LC3 expression. Transcription factor c-Jun was involved in LC3 transcription regulation in response to ceramide treatment.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Ceramide could induce autophagy in human nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells, and activation of JNK pathway was involved in ceramide-induced autophagy and LC3 expression.</p

Absolute co-supplement and absolute co-coclosed modules

A module M is called an absolute co-coclosed (absolute co-supplement) module if whenever M ≅ T/X the submodule X of T is a coclosed (supplement) submodule of T. Rings for which all modules are absolute co-coclosed (absolute co-supplement) are precisely determined. We also investigate the rings whose (finitely generated) absolute co-supplement modules are projective. We show that a commutative domain R is a Dedekind domain if and only if every submodule of an absolute co-supplement R-module is absolute co-supplement. We also prove that the class Coclosed of all short exact sequences 0→A→B→C→0 such that A is a coclosed submodule of B is a proper class and every extension of an absolute co-coclosed module by an absolute co-coclosed module is absolute co-coclosed.Scientific and Technical Research Council of Turke

Low Voltage Graphene-Based Amplitude Modulator for High Efficiency Terahertz Modulation

In this paper, a high-efficiency terahertz amplitude modulation device based on a field-effect transistor has been proposed. The polarization insensitive modulator is designed to achieve a maximum experimental modulation depth of about 53% within 5 V of gate voltages using monolayer graphene. Moreover, the manufacturing processes are inexpensive. Two methods are adopted to improve modulation performance. For one thing, the metal metamaterial designed can effectively enhance the electromagnetic field near single-layer graphene and therefore greatly promote the graphene&rsquo;s modulation ability in terahertz. For another, polyethylene oxide-based electrolytes (PEO:LiClO4) acts as a high-capacity donor, which makes it possible to dope single-layer graphene at a relatively low voltage

Predictive value of prognostic nutritional and systemic immune-inflammation indices for patients with microsatellite instability-high metastatic colorectal cancer receiving immunotherapy

BackgroundThe prognostic nutritional index (PNI) and systemic immune-inflammation index (SII) are indicators of nutritional immune status. They have been reported associated with clinical outcomes of various solid tumors. However, it is unclear whether they can serve as predictors for patients with microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H) metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) receiving immunotherapy. Our objective was to study the prognostic value of PNI and SII in these patients.MethodsSeventy-five MSI-H mCRC patients were enrolled in our study. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify features that influenced immunotherapy response. Survival differences between groups of mCRC patients were compared using the Kaplan–Meier method and log-rank test. The independent risk parameters for progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) of patients with MSI-H mCRC were established by Cox proportional risk regression analysis.ResultsThe optimal SII and PNI cutoff values were 409.6 and 51.35. Higher PNI (p = 0.012) and lower high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLC, p = 0.012) were associated with a better immunotherapy response. SII (p = 0.031), cholesterol (CHO) (p = 0.007) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) (p = 0.031) were independent prognostic factors correlated with OS. Higher PNI (p = 0.012) and lower AST (p = 0.049) were negative predictors of PFS. In addition, patients suffered from immune-related adverse events (irAEs) had a lower SII level (p = 0.04).ConclusionHigher AST and SII, and lower PNI predict worse outcomes in MSI-H mCRC patients undergoing immunotherapy. Moreover, patients with lower SII before immunotherapy suffered from irAEs more often

Broadband Anisotropy in Terahertz Metamaterial With Single-Layer Gap Ring Array

To convert the polarization of terahertz waves pumped by a femtosecond laser in a terahertz time domain system, a broadband anisotropic metamaterial is proposed. The metamaterial is constructed with a single-layer gapped metallic ring array, which supports different resonant modes in orthogonal directions. With the aid of simulations and measurements, the anisotropy of the terahertz transmission is demonstrated and discussed. The experimental results of THz transmission in the metamaterial indicate that the anisotropic band is as wide as 0.56 THz, which accords well with our theoretical prediction

Soil microbial and chemical properties influenced by continuous cropping of banana

The impacts of continuous cropping of banana on soil microbiological and biochemical properties are little understood. In this study, we evaluated the variations in soil bacterial community abundance and diversity, microbial biomass carbon (MBC) and nitrogen (MBN) as well as soil enzyme activities involved in C, N and P cycles as affected by continuous cropping of banana. An initial increase in bacterial 16S rRNA copy and soil microbial biomass was observed in the second cropping and then decreased until the fourth cropping. The diversity of bacterial community showed a continuous decrease throughout the experiment. In addition, continuous cropping of banana caused shifts in bacterial community composition and structures. Soil urease and invertase exhibited the highest activities in the second cropping and then decreased gradually from the second to the fourth cropping. The phosphatase activity showed a gradual increase from the first to the third cropping. The bacterial 16S rRNA copy was positively correlated with the contents of MBN and urease activities. The results indicated that continuous cropping of banana was responsible for the disturbance of the bacterial community and that the effect on enzyme activity varies depending on the type of soil enzyme

Soil microbial and chemical properties influenced by continuous cropping of banana

ABSTRACT: The impacts of continuous cropping of banana on soil microbiological and biochemical properties are little understood. In this study, we evaluated the variations in soil bacterial community abundance and diversity, microbial biomass carbon (MBC) and nitrogen (MBN) as well as soil enzyme activities involved in C, N and P cycles as affected by continuous cropping of banana. An initial increase in bacterial 16S rRNA copy and soil microbial biomass was observed in the second cropping and then decreased until the fourth cropping. The diversity of bacterial community showed a continuous decrease throughout the experiment. In addition, continuous cropping of banana caused shifts in bacterial community composition and structures. Soil urease and invertase exhibited the highest activities in the second cropping and then decreased gradually from the second to the fourth cropping. The phosphatase activity showed a gradual increase from the first to the third cropping. The bacterial 16S rRNA copy was positively correlated with the contents of MBN and urease activities. The results indicated that continuous cropping of banana was responsible for the disturbance of the bacterial community and that the effect on enzyme activity varies depending on the type of soil enzyme

Research on the propagation of laser beams array with coherent and incoherent combination in dynamic atmosphere turbulence

High-power laser systems mostly use coherent or incoherent combined beams to achieve higher laser output power to satisfy the application. However, the far-field beam quality of laser will be reduced when propagating over atmosphere. Based on the propagation model of laser beams array, we use atmospheric coherence length, laser duration and average wind velocity to construct dynamic atmospheric turbulence which is characterized as a phase screen sequence. Meanwhile, considered as the indexes to evaluate beam quality, peak intensity and intensity in bucket are comparatively analysed in coherent and incoherent combined beams in far-field. The results indicate that in weaker turbulence circumstances, coherent combined beam has an advantage compared with the incoherent combined beams when laser duration is short, and coherent combination is more suitable for pulsed laser. With laser duration is increasing, the beam quality of incoherent and coherent combined beams both decrease and tend to be close. In stronger turbulence circumstances, the corresponding laser duration will be shorter when the beam quality of coherent combined beams is extraordinary close to that of incoherent combined beams. The researches can provide important data for high-power laser system to select the optimal beam combination mode to improve its performance