Electrotunable liquid sulfur microdroplets.

Manipulating liquids with tunable shape and optical functionalities in real time is important for electroactive flow devices and optoelectronic devices, but remains a great challenge. Here, we demonstrate electrotunable liquid sulfur microdroplets in an electrochemical cell. We observe electrowetting and merging of sulfur droplets under different potentiostatic conditions, and successfully control these processes via selective design of sulfiphilic/sulfiphobic substrates. Moreover, we employ the electrowetting phenomena to create a microlens based on the liquid sulfur microdroplets and tune its characteristics in real time through changing the shape of the liquid microdroplets in a fast, repeatable, and controlled manner. These studies demonstrate a powerful in situ optical battery platform for unraveling the complex reaction mechanism of sulfur chemistries and for exploring the rich material properties of the liquid sulfur, which shed light on the applications of liquid sulfur droplets in devices such as microlenses, and potentially other electrotunable and optoelectronic devices

Effects of Lactic Acid Bacteria Fermentation on Calcium Release and Metabolites in Chicken Bone Paste

The effects of Lactobacillus acidophilus CICC6074 (LA), Limosilactobacillus reuteri WQ-Y1 (LR) and Lactiplantibacillus plantarum A3 (LP) on calcium release and metabolite composition during the fermentation of chicken bone paste were studied using chicken bone as raw materials. The growth characteristics of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) strains, pH changes, total acidity variations, calcium distribution and calcium-to-phosphorus ratio, composition and content of metabolites were investigated to reveal the effect of the growth of LAB on calcium release during the fermentation of chicken bone paste. Principal component analysis (PCA), correlation analysis, and KEGG metabolic pathway analysis were further employed to identify the key metabolic pathways during the fermentation of chicken bone paste. The results showed that, LA, LR and LP strains were able to effectively utilize chicken bone paste for growth and proliferation, and the maximum viable cell count was observed at 30 h during the fermentation processing. The total acidity contents of LA, LP and LR groups were 5.60, 3.76, and 3.75 g/L respectively, significantly higher total acidity content was shown in LA group compared to other treatment groups (P<0.05). Calcium release analysis revealed that the total calcium content increased from 181.33 mg/kg of control group to 1176.67 mg/kg of LR, 1310.00 mg/kg of LP, and 1916.67 mg/kg of LA, respectively. The free calcium content of LA, LP and LR groups was 40.60, 50.19, and 74.62 fold-time higher than that of control group, and the free calcium content of LA group was significantly higher compared to LP and LR groups (P<0.05). X-ray diffraction and infrared spectroscopy results indicated that hydroxyapatite of bone paste mainly existed in an amorphous form. The intensity of characteristic peaks of hydroxyapatite at 2926 and 1050 cm−1 significantly decreased among LR, LP and LA groups compared to control group. LC-MS/MS analysis demonstrated that 37 metabolites were identified in the fermented bone paste. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and correlation analysis revealed that lactic acid, pyruvate, sucrose, L-serine, and 5'-CMP were the key metabolites of fermented bone paste. KEGG metabolic pathway analysis indicated that pyrimidine metabolism, arginine and proline metabolism, glycolysis, pyruvate metabolism, taurine and hypotaurine metabolism, and tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle were the main metabolic pathways associated with lactic acid bacteria growth and calcium release during the fermentation of bone paste

The Antitumor Activities of Marsdenia tenacissima

Marsdenia tenacissima (MT), a traditional Chinese herbal medicine, has long been used for thousands of years to treat asthma, tracheitis, rheumatism, etc. An increasing number of recent studies have focused on the antitumor effects of MT. The effects of MT on cancer are the result of various activated signaling pathways and inhibiting factors and the high expression levels of regulatory proteins. MT can inhibit different cancer types including non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), malignant tumors, hepatic carcinoma, and so on. This article mainly focuses on the activities and mechanisms of MT. In addition, the efficacy and toxicity of MT are also discussed. Further studies of MT are required for improved medicinal utilization

AP4M1 as a prognostic biomarker associated with cell proliferation, migration and immune regulation in hepatocellular carcinoma

Abstract Background AP4M1 is a protein-coding gene that plays a crucial role in transporter activity, recognition, and hereditary-associated diseases, but it’s largely unknown in cancers. Methods The expression level of AP4M1 in cancers was investigated by The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) databases, and the correlation between AP4M1 and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) clinicopathological parameters were analyzed. Univariate and multifactorial COX regression analyses were performed to clarify the prognostic value of AP4M1 in HCC. The correlation between AP4M1 and immune cell infiltration was analyzed using single-sample Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (ssGSEA). Besides, we verified the biological function of AP4M1 by applying Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK8), colony formation, and transwell assays. Results The expression of AP4M1 was significantly elevated in HCC and was correlated with patients’ pathological grades, AFP, and BMI. Kaplan-Meier survival curves indicated that patients with AP4M1 overexpression had worse overall survival. Univariate and multivariate COX regression analyses showed that AP4M1 was an independent risk factor affecting the prognosis of HCC. In addition, we observed that AP4M1 positively correlated with most immune checkpoint suppressor genes in HCC. Moreover, in vitro experiments further confirmed that AP4M1 could promote the proliferation and invasion of HCC. Conclusions AP4M1 is highly expressed and associated with poor prognosis in HCC. AP4M1 is closely related to cancer-immune regulation and could be a novel target for HCC, and guiding new strategies for the diagnosis and treatment of HCC patients

The deubiquitinase EIF3H promotes hepatocellular carcinoma progression by stabilizing OGT and inhibiting ferroptosis

Abstract Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most prevalent and lethal human malignancies, and with quite limited treatment alternatives. The proteasome is responsible for most of the protein degradation in eukaryotic cells and required for the maintenance of intracellular homeostasis. However, its potential role in HCC is largely unknown. In the current study, we identified eukaryotic translation initiation factor 3 subunit H (EIF3H), belonging to the JAB1/MPN/MOV34 (JAMM) superfamily, as a bona fide deubiquitylase of O-GlcNAc transferase (OGT) in HCC. We explored that EIF3H was positively associated with OGT in HCC and was related to the unfavorable prognosis. EIF3H could interact with, deubiquitylate, and stabilize OGT in a deubiquitylase-dependent manner. Specifically, EIF3H was associated with the GT domain of ERα via its JAB/MP domain, thus inhibiting the K48-linked ubiquitin chain on OGT. Besides, we demonstrated that the knockdown of EIF3H significantly reduced OGT protein expression, cell proliferation and invasion, and caused G1/S arrest of HCC. We also found that the deletion of EIF3H prompted ferroptosis in HCC cells. Finally, the effects of EIF3H depletion could be reversed by further OGT overexpression, implying that the OGT status is indispensable for EIF3H function in HCC carcinogenesis. In summary, our study described the oncogenic function of EIF3H and revealed an interesting post-translational mechanism between EIF3H, OGT, and ferroptosis in HCC. Targeting the EIF3H may be a promising approach in HCC. Video Abstrac

Preparation, Morphology and Release of Goose Liver Oil Microcapsules

Goose liver oil (GLO) microcapsules were prepared by konjac glucomannan (KGM) and soybean protein isolate (SPI) for the first time as wall materials. The GLO could be effectively encapsulated, with an encapsulation efficiency of 83.37%, when the ratio of KGM to SPI was 2.9:1, the concentration of the KGM-SPI composite gel layer was 6.28% and the ratio of the GLO to KGM-SPI composite gel layer was 1:6. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction methods showed electrostatic interactions between KGM and SPI molecules and the formation of hydrogen bonds between the GLO and KGM-SPI wall components. The results of scanning electron microscopy showed a smooth spherical surface morphology of the microcapsules with a dense surface and no cracks. The confocal laser scanning microscopy showed that the microcapsules were homogeneous inside and no coalescence occurred. The encapsulated GLO has a significantly higher thermal and oxidative stability compared to free GLO. In the in vitro digestion experiment, 85.2% of the microcapsules could travel through gastric juice, and 75.2% could be released in the intestinal region. These results suggested that microcapsules prepared by KGM-SPI might be used as a carrier for the controlled release of GLO and could microencapsulate various oil-soluble nutrients in food products

Integrative Analysis of the Predictive Value of Perilipin Family on Clinical Significance, Prognosis and Immunotherapy of Glioma

Gliomas are common tumors of the central nervous system. The PLINs family is widely involved in the regulation of lipid metabolism and has been associated with the development and invasive metastasis of various malignancies. However, the biological role of the PLINs family in gliomas is still unclear. TIMER and UALCAN were used to assess PLINs mRNA expression in gliomas. “Survminer” and “Survival” were used to evaluate the connection between PLINs expression and glioma patients’ survival. cBioPortal was applied to assess PLINs’ genetic alterations in glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) and low-grade glioma (LGG). The correlation of PLINs expression with tumor immune cells was analyzed by TIMER. The expressions of PLIN1, PLIN4, and PLIN5 were decreased in GBM compared to normal tissues. However, PLIN2 and PLIN3 were significantly increased in GBM. Prognostic analysis showed that LGG patients with high PLIN1 expression had better overall survival (OS), and high expression of PLIN2/3/4/5 was associated with unfavorable OS. We further determined that the expression of PLINs members in gliomas was strongly related to tumor immune cells and immune checkpoint-associated genes. PLINS may be potential biomarkers for regulating the tumor microenvironment and predicting the efficacy of immunotherapy. In addition, we determined that PLIN1 may affect glioma patients’ therapeutic sensitivity to temozolomide. Our results demonstrated the biological significance and clinical values of PLINs in gliomas and provide a basis for future in-depth exploration of the specific mechanisms of each member of PLINs in gliomas

TMCS-ENN: A Temporal Feature-Correlation Cuckoo Search-Elman Neural Network for Sugar Raw Materials Demands Prediction

The prediction of the demand for raw materials is of vital importance to modern industries. Most studies are based on traditional regression, linear programming, and other methods. Previous studies have often overlooked the characteristics of the sugar raw materials business and the influence of time factors on raw material demand, resulting in limited prediction accuracy. How to accurately predict the demand for sugar raw materials is one of the key issues for intelligent management. In view of the above problems, combined with the characteristics of the supply and demand cycle of sugar raw materials, this paper aims to predict the demand for raw materials based on their supply and demand in a real sugar company by optimizing the Elman neural network through the modified cuckoo search (MCS) algorithm with temporal features. This study proposes a temporal feature-correlation cuckoo search&ndash;Elman neural network (TMCS-ENN) for predicting the demand for sugar raw materials. The experimental results show that the accuracy of the TMCS-ENN model reaches 93.89%, a better performance than that achieved by existing models. Therefore, the study model effectively improves the accuracy of the demand forecast of sugar raw materials for companies. This output will be helpful for improving the production efficiency and automation level, as well as reducing costs

Additional file 1 of AP4M1 as a prognostic biomarker associated with cell proliferation, migration and immune regulation in hepatocellular carcinoma

Supplementary Material

Perovskite solar cells: must lead be replaced – and can it be done?

Perovskite solar cells have recently drawn significant attention for photovoltaic applications with a certified power conversion efficiency of more than 22%. Unfortunately, the toxicity of the dissolvable lead content in these materials presents a critical concern for future commercial development. This review outlines some criteria for the possible replacement of lead by less toxic elements, and highlights current research progress in the application of low-lead halide perovskites as optically active materials in solar cells. These criteria are discussed with the aim of developing a better understanding of the physio-chemical properties of perovskites and of realizing similar photovoltaic performance in perovskite materials either with or without lead. Some open questions and future development prospects are outlined for further advancing perovskite solar cells toward both low toxicity and high efficiency