Semilocal Convergence Analysis for Inexact Newton Method under Weak Condition

Under the hypothesis that the first derivative satisfies some kind of weak Lipschitz conditions, a new semilocal convergence theorem for inexact Newton method is presented. Unified convergence criteria ensuring the convergence of inexact Newton method are also established. Applications to some special cases such as the Kantorovich type conditions and γ-Conditions are provided and some well-known convergence theorems for Newton's method are obtained as corollaries

Loss of p53 Attenuates the Contribution of IL-6 Deletion on Suppressed Tumor Progression and Extended Survival in Kras-Driven Murine Lung Cancer

Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is involved in lung cancer tumorigenesis, tumor progression, metastasis, and drug resistance. Previous studies show that blockade of IL-6 signaling can inhibit tumor growth and increase drug sensitivity in mouse models. Clinical trials in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) reveal that IL-6 targeted therapy relieves NSCLC-related anemia and cachexia, although other clinical effects require further study. We crossed IL-6-/- mice with KrasG12D mutant mice, which develop lung tumors after activation of mutant KrasG12D, to investigate whether IL-6 inhibition contributes to tumor progression and survival time in vivo. KrasG12D; IL-6-/- mice exhibited increased tumorigenesis, but slower tumor growth and longer survival, than KrasG12D mice. Further, in order to investigate whether IL-6 deletion contributes to suppression of lung cancer metastasis, we generated KrasG12D; p53flox/flox; IL-6-/- mice, which developed lung cancer with a trend for reduced metastases and longer survival than KrasG12D; p53flox/flox mice. Tumors from KrasG12D; IL-6-/- mice showed increased expression of TNFα and decreased expression of CCL-19, CCL-20 and phosphorylated STAT3 (pSTAT3) than KrasG12D mice; however, these changes were not present between tumors from KrasG12D; p53flox/flox; IL-6-/- and KrasG12D; p53flox/flox mice. Upregulation of pSTAT3 and phosphorylated AKT (pAKT) were observed in KrasG12D tumors with p53 deletion. Taken together, these results indicate that IL-6 deletion accelerates tumorigenesis but delays tumor progression and prolongs survival time in a Kras-driven mouse model of lung cancer. However, these effects can be attenuated by p53 deletion

Porous Prussian Blue Analogs Decorated Electrospun Carbon Nanofibers as Efficient Electrocatalyst for Overall Water Splitting

Metal-organic frameworks are becoming increasingly important in electrocatalysis as the hydrogen production sector grows. However, their electrocatalytic capability is limited by their inclination to agglomerate and the insufficient exposure of active sites. In this work, a three-step strategy was used to develop a bifunctional electrocatalyst with porous Prussian blue analogs supported on carbon nanofibers. The use of electrospun carbon nanofibers as conductive substrates can successfully address the problem of easy aggregation. Moreover, the etching procedure with tannic acid creates a porous structure that effectively regulates the electrical structure and exposes additional active sites. The resulting catalyst performs well in both the hydrogen evolution reaction and the oxygen evolution reaction, and also exhibits good stability in overall water splitting. The findings of this study present new concepts for the design and fabrication of metal-organic frameworks-based materials in the realm of electrocatalysis

Changes in the Water-Energy Coupling Relationship in Grain Production: A Case Study of the North China Plain

Water consumption and energy consumption are inevitable in grain production, but few studies have focused on the integrated assessment of these two indicators and their relationships. To address the research deficiency, taking the North China Plain (NCP) as a case study, this paper quantifies the changes in grain crop planting structure and the accompanying changes in irrigation water consumption (IWC) and energy consumption (EC) in the NCP. On this basis, the water-energy coupling index (CI) is constructed to analyze the water-energy coupling relationship in the context of grain crop planting structure change. The results revealed that the sown area of three of the four main grain crops in the NCP, namely winter wheat, summer maize, and rice, roughly increased in the south and decreased in the north, while the sown area of spring maize increased in most counties where it was planted in the NCP from 2000 to 2015. With the change of grain crop planting structure, IWC and EC of winter wheat in the NCP decreased by 19.87 × 106 m3 and 16.78 × 108 MJ, respectively, mainly distributed in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, while IWC and EC of other crops all increased. In terms of CI values, although that of spring maize increased, those of winter wheat, summer maize, and rice all decreased, and the overall CI values of grain production in the NCP decreased from 0.442 in 2000 to 0.438 in 2015, indicating that grain crop distribution has been optimized toward a less water- and energy-intensive and more sustainable layout in the NCP. This paper can add case and methodological support to the food-water-energy (FEW) nexus research and can also provide policy suggestions for regional crop optimization layout and conservation of both water and energy resources

Changes in the Ecological Footprint of Rural Populations in the Taihang Mountains, China

Due to massive rural–urban migration, population size and age structure are subject to significant changes in the mountainous areas of China. This can influence the ecological pressure of the mountainous areas correspondingly. In particular, large numbers of young laborers migrate from rural areas, which may greatly decrease the intensity of local human activities. However, it is still unclear how population changes (size and age structure) affect environmental changes and how to measure these changes. We analyzed changes in the ecological footprint (EF) in the Taihang Mountain region in northern China using field survey data. From 2000 to 2016, the population size in the study area decreased by 9.7%, while the EF declined by 32.1%. The EF per capita (EF_per) decreased more rapidly with decreasing elevation, which indicated that at lower elevations, households were less dependent on local resources. For households with more elderly people, the EF_per was considerably lower than for other households in 2000. However, in 2016, this was not the case, and the households with a share of the working-age population between 50–75% had the lowest EF_per. Our study is of great practical significance for reasonably guiding population migration and rural sustainable development

Concentrações plasmáticas de primaquina e metemoglobinemia em pacientes com malária por Plasmodium vivax

The vivax malaria is a disease that effects around 40% of the world, to treat it, chloroquine (150 mg) and primaquine (15 mg). This is an 8-aminoquinoline with tissue schizonticide action. Among the adverse effects enhance the capacity to hemoglobin oxidation, dose-dependent, which is exacerbated in individuals with glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency. When considering the lack of studies concerning the methemoglobin levels and its correlation with primaquine concentrations plasma in patients with vivax malaria, is justified this study using as tools to monitor the plasma primaquine concentrations and its correlation with methemoglobin levels. In this sense, it was followed up clinically and laboratory findings of 20 patients with vivax malaria before (D0) and after three (D3), seven (D7) and fourteen (D14) days starting the treatment, as well as validation of the method for primaquine determination by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Methemoglobinemia was evaluated using the method of Hegesh et al. (1970) and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase by colorimetric method of Brewer et al. (1962 ). The methodology validated was demonstrated efficient for primaquine determination, whose average levels at D3, D7 and D14 were 227 ± 106 ng / mL, 191 ± 97 ng / mL and 160 ± 128 ng/mL. In the analysis according to gender was not observed differences significant in the drug levels in several days of study. The average methemoglobin levels in D0, D3, D7 and D14 were 1.15 ± 0.9%, 4.1 ± 2%, 5.7 ± 2% and 3 ± 1.4%, respectively. There was an increase in the methemoglobin level after drug administration, without difference by gender. There was not significant correlation between the methemoglobin levels and primaquine concentrations plasma in both sexes. The coefficients of Pearson correlation for males and females were 0.8296 and 0.8137, respectively. We observed impaired expression of the enzyme glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase in six male patients without differences between the methemoglobin levels and primaquine concentrations plasma, compared with patients with expression normal of the enzyme.CNPq - Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e TecnológicoA malária vivax é uma doença que a cerca de 40% da população mundial, utiliza-se no tratamento desta, cloroquina (150 mg) e primaquina (15 mg). Esta é uma 8- aminoquinolina com ação esquizonticida tecidual. Dentre seus efeitos adversos se destaca a capacidade de oxidar a hemoglobina, de maneira dose dependente, que é agravada nos indivíduos com deficiência da glicose-6-fosfato desidrogenase. Ao se considerar a ausência de estudos referentes aos teores de metemoglobina e sua correlação com as concentrações plasmáticas de primaquina nos pacientes com malária vivax, justifica-se a realização deste estudo empregando-se como ferramentas a monitorização das concentrações sanguíneas de primaquina e sua correlação com os teores de metemoglobina. Neste sentido, foi realizado seguimento clínico-laboratorial de 20 pacientes com malária vivax antes (D0) e após três (D3), sete (D7) e quatorze (D14) dias iniciado o tratamento, bem como a validação do método para determinação de primaquina por cromatografia líquida de alta eficiência (CLAE). A metemoglobinemia foi avaliada pela técnica de Hegesh et al. (1970) e a glicose-6-fosfato desidrogenase pelo teste colorimétrico de Brewer et al. (1962). A metodologia validada demonstrou parâmetros aplicáveis à determinação de primaquina, cujos teores médios em D3, D7 e D14 foram de 227±106 ng/mL, 191±97 ng/mL e 160±128ng/mL. Não foram obervadas diferenças significativas nas concentrações do fármaco quanto ao sexo dos pacientes participantes e nos diversos dias do estudo. Os teores médios de metemoglobina em D0, D3, D7 e D14 foram de 1,15±0,9%, 4,1±2%, 5,7±2% e 3±1,4%, respectivamente. Foi observado aumento no teor de metemoglobina após administração do fármaco, sem diferença quanto ao sexo. Não foi observada correlação significativa entre os teores de metemoglobina e as concentrações plasmáticas de primaquina em ambos os sexos. Os coeficientes de correlação de Pearson para os sexos masculino e feminino foram 0.8296 e 0.8137, respectivamente. Foi observada deficiência da expressão da enzima glicose-6- fosfato desidrogenase em seis pacientes do sexo masculino sem diferenças entre os teores de metemoglobina e das concentrações plasmáticas de Primaquina, quando comparados com pacientes com expressão normal da enzima

AFM analysis of the multiple types of molecular interactions involved in rituximab lymphoma therapy on patient tumor cells and NK cells

© 2014. Rituximab is a monoclonal antibody drug approved for the treatment of patients with lymphomas. Rituximab's main killing mechanism is antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC). During ADCC, rituximab's fragment antigen binding (Fab) region binds to the CD20 antigen on the tumor cell and its fragment crystallizable (Fc) region binds to the Fc receptor (FcR) on the natural killer (NK) cells. In this study, two types of molecular interactions (CD20-rituximab, FcR-rituximab) involved in ADCC were measured simultaneously on cells prepared from biopsy specimens of lymphoma patients by utilizing atomic force microscopy (AFM) with functionalized tips carrying rituximab. NK cells were detected by specific NKp46 fluorescent labeling and tumor cells were detected by specific ROR1 fluorescent labeling. Based on the fluorescence recognition, the binding affinity and distribution of FcRs on NK cells, and CD20 on tumor cells, were quantitatively measured and mapped. The binding affinity and distribution of FcRs (on NK cells) and CD20 (on tumor cells) were associated with rituximab clinical efficacy. The experimental results provide a new approach to simultaneously quantify the multiple types of molecular interactions involved in rituximab ADCC mechanism on patient biopsy cells, which is of potential clinical significance to predict rituximab efficacy for personalized medicine.Link_to_subscribed_fulltex