MiR-384-3p aggravates propofol induced apoptosis in developing neurons by targeting Wnt3a

Purpose: To evaluate the cytotoxicity of miR-384-3p toward propofol-treated neonatal rat hippocampal neurons and investigate its related molecular mechanism(s).Methods: Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was employed to determine miR-384-3p expression levels in propofol-treated neonatal rat hippocampal neurons. Cell apoptosis and cell viability were evaluated by flow cytometry analysis and 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay, respectively. Bioinformatics and dual-luciferase reporterassay were applied together to forecast and verify the interaction between miR-384-3p and Wnt3a. Wnt3a expression in transfected neonatal rat hippocampal neurons was assessed by Western blot assay.Results: Propofol induced apoptosis in developing neurons by upregulating miR-384-3p expression levels. Knockdown of miR-384-3p reduced propofol-induced apoptosis in developing neurons. Subsequent experiments indicated that miR-384-3p directly regulated Wnt3a expression via coupling with the 3′-untranslated region of Wnt3a. Furthermore, upregulation of Wnt3a expression levels alleviated propofol-induced cytotoxicity promoted by miR-384-3p (p < 0.01).Conclusion: MiR-384-3p aggravates propofol-induced apoptosis in developing neurons by targeting Wnt3a. Keywords: MiR-384-3p, Wnt3a, Propofol, Apoptosis, Developing neuron

Urban transformation of Fotang town in the recent 20 years - a sample in small city fostering program of Zhejiang Province, China

This paper studies the recent twenty years' morphological change of a small city Fotang in China. Although many cities are shrinking at present, the coastal metropolitan areas in China are experiencing a continuing growth, both in terms of population and built-up area. Comply with such a trend, Zhejiang Province launched a "Small City Fostering program" starting from 2010, by which to cultivate certain qualified but low administration level "Zhen" (town) into small city. There were annual evaluations for these towns and Fotang always gain outstanding rating. By a description of the town's morphological transformation process in the past 20 years, this paper analyses the influence and process of different agents to its morphological changes. The researchers collected historical satellite maps, and historical urban planning documents. Interviews to government officials and local residents were carried out, and on-site investigation are done to confirm the information. The changes of urban form in the recent 20 years are sorted out in chronological order. The growth and densification of the street network, the construction on plots, and the replacement of land use, are the main focuses of the analysis. By Space Syntax method, the structures of street network in four phases are depicted, namely 2006, 2010, 2016, and 2020. This paper compares the real urban changes with the urban planning documents; and then reflects the spatial relation between the core of spatial structure and the functional live centres. It provided a vivid illustration for the urban transformation of Chinese small cities, which are rare in the current literature. The study shows how the top-down and bottom-up forces work together to shape the urban form of this small but vibrant historical city

Human Papillomavirus Infection in Relation to Vaginal Microflora and Immune Factors

Objective: Clarify the vaginal microflora and immune factors in women with human papilloma virus (HPV) infection, and explore its association with HPV infection. Methods: This study collected vaginal secretions and blood from 160 women initially diagnosed as HPV positive in our hospital from June 2020 to December 2020 and 80 healthy women with HPV negative physical examination in the same period. The vaginal microflora of the patients were detected by 16S rDNA sequencing and the expression of immune factors was measured by a high-performance liquid phase chip. Results: The different types of HPV were HPV mix (64,40%), HPV52 (39,24.375%), HPV16 (30,18.750%), HPV58 (18,11.250%), HPV18 (6,3.750%), HPV53 (1,0.625%), HPV55 (1,0.625%), and HPV68 (1,0.625%).α diversity analysis showed that there was no significant difference in vaginal microflora between different HPV types (P=0.733). The genus level abundance of vaginal microflora in each group was mainly Lactobacillus, followed by Gardnerella and Prevotella. LEfSe Analysis showed that the mix group was Gardnerella and the type HPV16 group was Streptococcus. The immune comparison showed that MIP-1β was significantly upregulated in the HPV-positive group, but EGF in the HPV-negative group. Conclusion: This study revealed that HPV infection can change the proportion of vaginal microbial bacteria and the expression of immune factors, which provides a basis for local vaginal treatment and prevention of HPV infection after HPV infection

Global Bifurcation in 2

We consider the systems of (-1)mu(2m)=λu+λv+uf(t,u,v),  t∈(0,1),  u(2i)(0)=u(2i)(1)=0, and 0≤i≤m-1,  (-1)mv(2m)=μu+μv+vg(t, u,v),  t∈(0,1),  v(2i)(0)=v(2i)(1)=0,  0≤i≤m-1, where λ,μ∈R are real parameters. f,g:[0,1]×R2→R are Ck,k≥3 functions and f(t,0,0)=g(t,0,0)=0,t∈[0,1]. It will be shown that if the functions, f and g are “generic” then the solution set of the systems consists of a countable collection of 2-dimensional, Ck manifolds

Diagnostic value of magnetic resonance imaging features of microvascular invasion in hepatocellular carcinoma: a meta-analysis

PURPOSEThis systematic review and meta-analysis of conventional enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were conducted to evaluate the diagnostic performance of imaging features of microvascular invasion (MVI) prediction in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).METHODSRelevant studies on diagnosing MVI in HCC by MRI were searched in the MEDLINE, PUBMED, EMBASE, Cochrane library, and Web of Science databases. The pooled mean sensitivity and specificity were calculated using a random effects model. The corresponding positive likelihood ratio (PLR), negative likelihood ratio (NLR), and pooled diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) were calculated. The summary receiver operating characteristic (SROC) curve was used to summarize the overall diagnostic accuracy. Diagnostic performance was evaluated by determining the area under the curve (AUC). Regression analysis by subgroup and sensitivity analysis were used to explore potential sources of heterogeneity.RESULTSA total of 19 studies comprising 1920 HCC patients with 2033 tumors were ultimately enrolled. For the signs of the presence of peritumoral enhancement in the arterial phase, peritumoral hypointensity in the hepatobiliary phase, irregular non-smooth margin, and rim-like enhancement in the arterial phase, the pooled sensitivity values, the pooled specificity values, the pooled PLR values, the pooled NLR values, the pooled DOR values, and the values of the AUC of SROC curves were determined.CONCLUSIONThe conventional MRI features for predicting MVI showed poor diagnostic performance in HCC. Only signs of the presence of peritumoral enhancement in the arterial phase showed a moderate diagnostic accuracy

Joint optimization of bitrate selection and beamforming for holographic video cooperative streaming in VLC systems

Holographic video streaming requires ultrahigh channel capacity, which might not be achieved by the existing radio frequency-based wireless networks. To address this challenge, we propose a holographic video cooperative streaming framework by integrating coordinated multipoint transmission and beamforming technologies in visible light communication (VLC) systems. This framework enables simultaneous video streaming with an ultrahigh data rate for multiple users in the VLC system, resulting in a more efficient and effective streaming process. By mathematically modeling the streaming framework, we formulate a joint bitrate selection and beamforming problem, aiming to maximize the average video quality experienced by all users. The problem is a non-convex mixed-integer problem and is NP-hard in general. We propose an algorithm with polynomial time complexity for the problem using an alternative optimization technique along with an appropriate rounding operation. Numerical results demonstrate the superiority of the proposed joint bitrate selection and beamforming solution over baselines

Converting Redox Signaling to Apoptotic Activities by Stress-Responsive Regulators HSF1 and NRF2 in Fenretinide Treated Cancer Cells

BACKGROUND: Pharmacological intervention of redox balance in cancer cells often results in oxidative stress-mediated apoptosis, attracting much attention for the development of a new generation of targeted therapy in cancer. However, little is known about mechanisms underlying the conversion from oxidative signaling to downstream activities leading cells to death. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We here report a systematic detection of transcriptome changes in response to oxidative signals generated in leukemia cells upon fenretinide treatment, implicating the occurrence of numerous stress-responsive events during the fenretinide induced apoptosis, such as redox response, endoplasmic reticulum stress/unfolded protein response, translational repression and proteasome activation. Moreover, the configuration of these relevant events is primarily orchestrated by stress responsive transcription factors, as typically highlighted by NF-E2-related factor-2 (NRF2) and heat shock factor 1 (HSF1). Several lines of evidence suggest that the coordinated regulation of these transcription factors and thus their downstream genes are involved in converting oxidative signaling into downstream stress-responsive events regulating pro-apoptotic and apoptotic activities at the temporal and spatial levels, typifying oxidative stress-mediated programmed death rather than survival in cancer cells. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: This study provides a roadmap for understanding oxidative stress-mediated apoptosis in cancer cells, which may be further developed into more sophisticated therapeutic protocols, as implicated by synergistic induction of cell apoptosis using proteasome inhibitors with fenretinide