CircRNA GFRA1 promotes hepatocellular carcinoma progression by modulating the miR-498/NAP1L3 axis

Abstract Circular RNAs (circRNAs) play essential roles in tumorigenesis and tumor progression. CircRNA GFRA1 (circGFRA1) was dysregulated in many cancer samples and acted as an independent marker for prediction of survivals in various cancer patients. However, the functions and molecular mechanisms of circGFRA1 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remain unclear. We collected 62 HCC tissues and normal adjacent tissues to evaluate the expression of circGFRA1 and the relationship between circGFRA1 expression and HCC patients’ survival. We carried out a list of characterization experiments to investigate the roles and underling mechanisms of circGFRA1 and miR-498 in HCC progressions. CircGFRA1 was greatly increased in HCC tissues and cells, and the over-expression of circGFRA1 was intimately related with the advanced clinical stage and poor survival of HCC patients. The expression of circGFRA1 was negatively correlated with the expression of miR-498, but a positive correlation was found between circGFRA1 and NAP1L3 expression in HCC tissues. Silencing circGFRA1 inhibited the growth and invasion of hepatocellular carcinoma. Moreover, miR-498 over-expression or NAP1L3 inhibition could abrogate the oncogene role of circGFRA1 in HCC in vivo. Our findings indicated that circGFRA1 contributed to HCC progression by modulating the miR-498/NAP1L3 axis in HCC

Anti-aging performance improvement and enhanced combustion efficiency of boron via the coating of PDA

Boron is an ambitious fuel in energetic materials since its high heat release values, but its application is prohibited by low combustion efficiency and oxidization during storage. The polydopamine (PDA) was introduced into boron particles, investigating the impact of PDA content on the energetic behavior of boron. The results indicated that the PDA coating formed a fishing net structure on the surface of boron particles. The heat release results showed that the combustion calorific value of B@PDA was higher than that of the raw boron. Specifically, the actual combustion heat of boron powder in B@10%PDA increased by 38.08%. Meanwhile, the DSC peak temperature decreased by 100.65 °C under similar oxidation rate compared to raw boron. Simultaneously, the B@PDA@AP and B@AP composites were prepared, and their combustion properties were evaluated. It was demonstrated that B@10%PDA@AP exhibited superior performance in terms of peak pressure and burning time, respectively. The peak pressure is 12.43 kPa more than B@AP and burning time is 2.22 times higher than B@AP. Therefore, the coating of PDA effectively inhibits the oxidization of boron during storage and enhances the energetic behavior of boron and corresponding composites

Synthesis and Microwave Absorption Properties of Sulfur-Free Expanded Graphite/Fe3O4 Composites

In this study, sulfur-free expanded graphite (EG) was obtained by using flake graphite as the raw material, and EG/Fe3O4 composites with excellent microwave absorption properties were prepared by a facile one-pot co-precipitation method. The structure and properties of as-prepared EG/Fe3O4 were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman, X-ray photoelectron spectrometry (XPS), thermogravimetric (TG), and vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM) characterizations. The Fe3O4 intercalated between the layers of expanded graphite forms a sandwich-like structure which is superparamagnetic and porous. When applied as a microwave absorber, the reflection loss (RL) of EG/Fe3O4 reaches −40.39 dB with a thickness of 3.0 mm (10 wt% loading), and the effective absorption bandwidth (EAB < −10 dB) with RL exceeding −10 dB is 4.76–17.66 GHz with the absorber thickness of 1.5–4.0 mm. Considering its non-toxicity, easy operation, low cost, suitability for large-scale industrial production, and excellent microwave absorbing performance, EG/Fe3O4 is expected to be a promising candidate for industrialized electromagnetic absorbing materials

Two-Dimensional Cr5Te8@Graphite Heterostructure for Efficient Electromagnetic Microwave Absorption

Highlights A Cr5Te8@expanded graphite heterostructure is fabricated by chemical vapor deposition, exhibiting remarkable microwave absorption performance with a minimum reflection loss of up to − 57.6 dB at a thin thickness of only 1.4 mm under a low filling rate of 10%. Density functional theory calculations deeply reveal the polarization loss mechanism triggered by heterogeneous interfaces. The heterostructure coating displays a remarkable radar cross section reduction of 31.9 dB m2, demonstrating a great electromagnetic microwave scattering ability and radar stealth capability

Sodium Danshensu stabilizes atherosclerotic vulnerable plaques by targeting IKKβ mediated inflammation in macrophages

Background: The primary cause of acute cardiovascular events with high mortality is the rupture of atherosclerotic plaque followed by thrombosis. Sodium Danshensu (SDSS) has shown potential in inhibiting the inflammatory response in macrophages and preventing early plaque formation in atherosclerotic mice. However, the specific targets and detailed mechanism of action of SDSS are still unclear. Objective: This study aims to investigate the efficacy and mechanism of SDSS in inhibiting inflammation in macrophages and stabilizing vulnerable plaques in atherosclerosis (AS). Materials and Methods: The efficacy of SDSS in stabilizing vulnerable plaques was demonstrated using various techniques such as ultrasound, Oil Red O staining, HE staining, Masson staining, immunohistochemistry, and lipid analysis in ApoE-/- mice. Subsequently, IKKβ was identified as a potential target of SDSS through protein microarray, network pharmacology analysis, and molecular docking. Additionally, ELISA, RT-qPCR, Western blotting, and immunofluorescence were employed to measure the levels of inflammatory cytokines, IKKβ, and NF-κB pathway-related targets, thereby confirming the mechanism of SDSS in treating AS both in vivo and in vitro. Finally, the impact of SDSS was observed in the presence of an IKKβ-specific inhibitor. Results: Initially, the administration of SDSS led to a decrease in the formation and area of aortic plaque, while also stabilizing vulnerable plaques in ApoE-/- mice. Furthermore, it was identified that IKKβ serves as the primary binding target of SDSS. Additionally, both in vivo and in vitro experiments demonstrated that SDSS effectively inhibits the NF-κB pathway by targeting IKKβ. Lastly, the combined use of the IKKβ-specific inhibitor IMD-0354 further enhanced the beneficial effects of SDSS. Conclusions: SDSS stabilized vulnerable plaques and suppressed inflammatory responses by inhibiting the NF-κB pathway through its targeting of IKKβ

Isolation of a Novel QTL, <i>qSCM4,</i> Associated with Strong Culm Affects Lodging Resistance and Panicle Branch Number in Rice

Rice breeders are now developing new varieties with semi-high or even high plant height to further increase the grain yield, and the problem of lodging has re-appeared. We identified a major quantitative trait locus (QTL), qSCM4, for resistance to lodging by using an F2 segregant population and a recombinant self-incompatible line population from the cross between Shennong265 (SN265) and Lijiangxintuanheigu (LTH) after multiple years and multiple environments. Then, the residual heterozygous derived segregant population which consisted of 1781 individual plants, and the BC3F2 segregant population which consisted of 3216 individual plants, were used to shorten the physical interval of qSCM4 to 58.5 kb including 11 genes. DNA sequencing revealed the most likely candidate gene for qSCM4 was Os04g0615000, which encoded a functional protein with structural domains of serine and cysteine. There were 13 DNA sequence changes in LTH compared to SN265 in this gene, including a fragment deletion, two base changes in the 3′ UTR region, six base changes in the exons, and four base changes in the introns. A near-isogenic line carrying qSCM4 showed that it improved the lodging resistance through increasing stem thickness by 25.3% and increasing stem folding resistance by 20.3%. Furthermore, it was also discovered that qSCM4 enhanced the primary branch per panicle by 16.7%, secondary branch by per panicle 9.9%, and grain number per panicle by 14.7%. All the above results will give us a valuable genetic resource for concurrently boosting culm strength and lodging resistance, and they will also provide a basis for further research on the lodging resistance mechanism of rice

Three-Dimensional Polypyrrole-Decorated CuCo₂S₄ Nanowires Anchored on Nickel Foam: A Promising Electrode for High-Performance Supercapacitors

The exploitation of high-performance supercapacitors is crucial to promote energy storage technologies. Benefiting from the three-dimensional conductive micronanostructures and high specific capacity of the PPy@CuCo2S4@NF (polypyrrole/copper cobalt sulfide/nickel foam) composite electrode, this electrode exhibits a high specific capacity of 1403.21 C g–1 at 1 A g–1 and a capacitance retention of 85.79% after 10,000 cycles at 10 A g–1. The assembled PPy@CuCo2S4@NF//AC aqueous hybrid supercapacitor (AHSC) reveals a wide operating potential window of 1.5 V and achieves a high specific capacity of 322.52 C g–1 at 1 A g–1 and a capacitance retention of 86.84% after 15,000 cycles at 10 A g–1. The AHSC also exhibits a high power density of 733.69 W kg–1 at an energy density of 67.19 W h kg–1, surpassing those of previously reported spinel-based supercapacitors. Ex situ X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy results show that the CuCo2S4 spinel structure changes to CuS2 and CoS2 cube structures, and the oxidation states of Cu and Co increase during charging and discharging processes. Density functional theory calculations suggest a superior conductivity for CuCo2S4 compared to that for CuCo2O4, demonstrating that CuCo2S4 has superior electrochemical performance. These findings attest to the considerable potential of the spinel materials for advanced energy storage applications