1,724 research outputs found
miR-375 suppresses IGF1R expression and contributes to inhibition cell progression in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma
published_or_final_versio
Spatio-Temporal Characteristics of Global Warming in the Tibetan Plateau during the Last 50 Years Based on a Generalised Temperature Zone - Elevation Model
Temperature is one of the primary factors influencing the climate and ecosystem, and examining its change and fluctuation could elucidate the formation of novel climate patterns and trends. In this study, we constructed a generalised temperature zone elevation model (GTEM) to assess the trends of climate change and temporal-spatial differences in the Tibetan Plateau (TP) using the annual and monthly mean temperatures from 1961-2010 at 144 meteorological stations in and near the TP. The results showed the following: (1) The TP has undergone robust warming over the study period, and the warming rate was 0.318°C/decade. The warming has accelerated during recent decades, especially in the last 20 years, and the warming has been most significant in the winter months, followed by the spring, autumn and summer seasons. (2) Spatially, the zones that became significantly smaller were the temperature zones of -6°C and -4°C, and these have decreased 499.44 and 454.26 thousand sq km from 1961 to 2010 at average rates of 25.1% and 11.7%, respectively, over every 5-year interval. These quickly shrinking zones were located in the northwestern and central TP. (3) The elevation dependency of climate warming existed in the TP during 1961-2010, but this tendency has gradually been weakening due to more rapid warming at lower elevations than in the middle and upper elevations of the TP during 1991-2010. The higher regions and some low altitude valleys of the TP were the most significantly warming regions under the same categorizing criteria. Experimental evidence shows that the GTEM is an effective method to analyse climate changes in high altitude mountainous regions
Hepatitis B Virus Core Promoter Double Mutations (A1762T, G1764A) Are Associated with Lower Levels of Serum Dihydrolipoyl Dehydrogenase
Published by S. Karger AG, BaselObjectives: The aim of this study was to identify serum proteins with differential concentrations between hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients and HBsAg asymptomatic carriers among individuals infected with hepatitis B virus (HBV) with basal core promoter (BCP) double mutations (A1762T, G1764A). Methods: iTRAQ and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry were used to identify differentially expressed protein, and an ELISA test was used for the validation test. Results: The total number of proteins identified was 1,125, of which 239 showed statistically significant differences in their expression. The relative concentrations of serum dihydrolipoyl dehydrogenase (DLD), which showed the most significant correlation with liver diseases and infection, were significantly lower in HCC patients than asymptomatic HBsAg carriers and individuals negative for HBsAg. However, only the difference between HCC patients with BCP double mutations and HBsAg-negative individuals could be confirmed by ELISA. Meanwhile, we found that the concentrations of serum DLD in those infected with HBV with BCP double mutations were significantly lower than in individuals with the wild-type BCP. However, the difference in the concentrations of serum DLD between individuals with wild-type BCP and those negative for HBsAg was not significant. Conclusions: HBV with BCP double mutations are associated with lower concentrations of serum DLD
Risk factors for left ventricular dysfunction in adulthood: role of low birth weight
Aims: This study aimed to determine the relationship of low birth weight (LBW) with adult cardiac structure and function andinvestigate potential causal pathways.Methods and results: A population-based sample of 925 Australians (41.3% male) were followed from childhood (aged7–15 years) to young adulthood (aged 26–36 years) and mid-adulthood (aged 36–50 years). Left ventricular (LV) globallongitudinal strain (GLS, %), LV mass index (LVMi, g/m2.7), LV filling pressure (E/e╯), and left atrial volume index (g/m2) weremeasured by transthoracic echocardiography in mid-adulthood. Birth weight category was self-reported in young adulthoodand classified as low (≤5 lb or ≤2270 g), normal (5–8 lb or 2271–3630 g), and high (>8 lb or >3630 g). Of the 925participants, 7.5% (n = 69) were classified as LBW. Compared with participants with normal birth weight, those with LBWhad 2.01-fold (95% confidence interval: 1.19, 3.41, P = 0.009) higher risks of impaired GLS (GLS > 18%) and 2.63-fold(95% confidence interval: 0.89, 7.81, P = 0.08) higher risks of LV hypertrophy (LVMi > 48 g/m2.7 in men or >44 g/m2.7 inwomen) in adulthood, independent of age, sex, and any socio-economic factors. Participants with LBW significantlyincreased body fat from childhood to adulthood relative to their peers and had greater levels of triglycerides, fastingglucose, and arterial stiffness in adulthood. These risk factors were the strongest mediators and explained 54% of the LBWeffect size on adult GLS and 33% of the LBW effect size on LVMi. The remaining of these associations was independent ofany of the measured risk factors.Conclusions: Low birth weight was associated with impaired cardiac structure and function in mid-adulthood. This association was only partially explained by known risk factors
Aggregation-induced emission (AIE) dye loaded polymer nanoparticles for gene silencing in pancreatic cancer and their in vitro and in vivo biocompatibility evaluation
We have developed aggregation-induced emission (AIE) dye loaded polymer nanoparticles with deep-red emission for siRNA delivery to pancreatic cancer cells. Two US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved surfactant polymers, Pluronics F127 and PEGylated phospholipid, were used to prepare the dye-loaded nanoparticle formulations and they can be used as nanovectors for gene silencing of mutant K-ras in pancreatic cancer cells. The successful transfection of siRNA by the developed nanovectors was confirmed by the fluorescent imaging and quantified through flow cytometry. Quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) indicates that the expression of the mutant K-ras oncogene from the MiaPaCa-2 pancreatic cancer cells has been successfully suppressed. More importantly, our in vivo toxicity study has revealed that both the nanoparticle formulations are highly biocompatible in BALC/c mice. Overall, our results suggest that the AIE dye-loaded polymer nanoparticle formulations developed here are suitable for gene delivery and have high potential applications in translational medicine research
On the Complexity of Pointer Arithmetic in Separation Logic
We investigate the complexity consequences of adding pointer arithmetic to separation logic. Specifically, we study an extension of the points-to fragment of symbolic-heap separation logic with sets of simple “difference constraints” of the form where x and y are pointer variables and k is an integer offset. This extension can be considered a practically minimal language for separation logic with pointer arithmetic. Most significantly, we find that, even for this minimal language, polynomial-time decidability is already impossible: satisfiability becomes -complete, while quantifier-free entailment becomes -complete and quantified entailment becomes -complete (where is the second class in the polynomial-time hierarchy). However, the language does satisfy the small model property, meaning that any satisfiable formula has a model, and any invalid entailment has a countermodel, of polynomial size, whereas this property fails when richer forms of arithmetical constraints are permitted
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