Tuning electrochemical catalytic activity of defective 2D terrace MoSe2 heterogeneous catalyst via Co doping

This study presents successful growth of defective 2D terrace MoSe2/CoMoSe lateral heterostructures (LH), bilayer and multilayer MoSe2/CoMoSe LH, and vertical heterostructures (VH) nanolayers by doping metal Co (cobalt) element into MoSe2 atomic layers to form a CoMoSe alloy at the high temperature (~900 °C). After the successful introduction of metal Co heterogeneity in the MoSe2 thin layers, more active sites can be created to enhance hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) activities combining with metal Co catalysis, through the mechanisms including (1) atomic arrangement distortion in CoMoSe alloy nanolayers, (2) atomic level coarsening in LH interfaces and terrace edge layer architecture in VH, (3) formation of defective 2D terrace MoSe2 nanolayers heterogeneous catalyst via metal Co doping. The HER investigations indicated that the obtained products with LH and VH exhibited an improved HER activity in comparison with those from the pristine 2D MoSe2 electrocatalyst and LH type MoSe2/CoMoSe. The present work shows a facile yet reliable route to introduce metal ions into ultrathin 2D transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCS) and produce defective 2D alloy atomic layers for exposing active sites, and thus eventually improve their electrocatalytic performance

Serum from patients with ankylosing spondylitis can increase PPARD, fra-1, MMP7, OPG and RANKL expression in MG63 cells

OBJECTIVES: To explore the effects of serum from patients with ankylosing spondylitis on the canonical Wnt/β-catenin pathway and to assess whether the serum has an osteogenic effect in MG63 cells. METHODS: MG63 cells were cultured with serum from 45 ankylosing spondylitis patients, 30 healthy controls, or 45 rheumatoid arthritis patients. The relative PPARD, fra-1, MMP7, OPG and RANKL mRNA levels were measured using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. Associations between gene expression and patient demographics and clinical assessments were then analyzed. RESULTS: MG63 cells treated with serum from ankylosing spondylitis patients had higher PPARD, fra-1, MMP7 and OPG gene expression than did cells treated with serum from controls or rheumatoid arthritis patients (all

Comprehensive circular RNA expression profile in radiation-treated HeLa cells and analysis of radioresistance-related circRNAs

Background Cervical cancer is one of the most common cancers in women worldwide. Malignant tumors develop resistance mechanisms and are less sensitive to or do not respond to irradiation. With the development of high-throughput sequencing technologies, circular RNA (circRNA) has been identified in an increasing number of diseases, especially cancers. It has been reported that circRNA can compete with microRNAs (miRNAs) to change the stability or translation of target RNAs, thus regulating gene expression at the transcriptional level. However, the role of circRNAs in cervical cancer and the radioresistance mechanisms of HeLa cells are unknown. The objective of this study is to investigate the role of circRNAs in radioresistance in HeLa cells. Methods High-throughput sequencing and bioinformatics analysis of irradiated and sham-irradiated HeLa cells. The reliability of high-throughput RNA sequencing was validated using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. The most significant circRNA functions and pathways were selected by Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analyses. A circRNA–miRNA–target gene interaction network was used to find circRNAs associated with radioresistance. Moreover, a protein–protein interaction network was constructed to identify radioresistance-related hub proteins. Results High-throughput sequencing allowed the identification of 16,893 circRNAs involved in the response of HeLa cells to radiation. Compared with the control group, there were 153 differentially expressed circRNAs, of which 76 were up-regulated and 77 were down-regulated. GO covered three domains: biological process (BP), cellular component (CC) and molecular function (MF). The terms assigned to the BP domain were peptidyl-tyrosine dephosphorylation and regulation of cell migration. The identified CC terms were cell–cell adherens junction, nucleoplasm and cytosol, and the identified MF terms were protein binding and protein tyrosine phosphatase activity. The top five KEGG pathways were MAPK signaling pathway, endocytosis, axon guidance, neurotrophin signaling pathway, and SNARE interactions in vesicular transport. The protein–protein interaction analysis indicated that 19 proteins might be hub proteins. Conclusions CircRNAs may play a major role in the response to radiation. These findings may improve our understanding of the role of circRNAs in radioresistance in HeLa cells and allow the development of novel therapeutic approaches

Image-guided interstitial brachytherapy for recurrent cervical cancer after radiotherapy: A single institution experience

PurposeThe aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy and toxicity of image-guided high-dose rate (HDR) interstitial brachytherapy (ISBT) for the reirradiation of cervical cancer within a previously irradiated area.Methods and materialsTwenty-three consecutive patients with cervical cancer were reirradiated with curative intent using brachytherapy (BT) with or without external beam irradiation. The median biologically equivalent dose in 2-Gy fractions (EQD2) for reirradiation was 64.0 Gy (range: 31.3–95.1 Gy), and the median cumulative EQD2 (for primary treatment and reirradiation) was 152.4 Gy (range: 97.8–200.9 Gy). The average clinical target volume was 82.9 cm3 (range: 26.9–208.3 cm3), and the median treatment-free interval (TFI) was 13 months (range: 3–93 months).ResultsThe median follow-up time was 19 months (range: 2–59 months). The complete response rate after reirradiation was 56.5%. The 1-, 2- 3-, and 4-year post-relapse survival (PRS) rates were 65.2%, 43.5%, 33.8%, and 27.1%, respectively. The median reirradiation EQD2 D2cc of rectum and bladder was 39.5 Gy (range = 14.6–96.2 Gy) and 52.1 Gy (range = 29.1–114.2 Gy). The median cumulative EQD2 D2cc of rectum and bladder was 115.0 Gy (range = 84.4–189.3 Gy) and 130.5 Gy (range = 95.5–173.5 Gy). During follow-up, nine (39.1%) patients had experienced grade 3 or 4 late toxicities. Grade ≥3 rectal toxicity occurred in three patients (13.0%). Grade ≥3 urinary toxicity occurred in five patients (21.7%). One patient (4.3%) had both grade ≥3 urinary and rectal toxicity. Tumor volume, TFI, tumor invasion organ number, and local control were significant prognostic factors adversely affecting OS.ConclusionsFor recurrent cervical cancer after radiotherapy, reirradiation of HDR-ISBT is feasible, even if the local tumor invasion is large, with a good chance of survival and acceptable side effects

Climate warming accelerates temporal scaling of grassland soil microbial biodiversity.

Determining the temporal scaling of biodiversity, typically described as species-time relationships (STRs), in the face of global climate change is a central issue in ecology because it is fundamental to biodiversity preservation and ecosystem management. However, whether and how climate change affects microbial STRs remains unclear, mainly due to the scarcity of long-term experimental data. Here, we examine the STRs and phylogenetic-time relationships (PTRs) of soil bacteria and fungi in a long-term multifactorial global change experiment with warming (+3 °C), half precipitation (-50%), double precipitation (+100%) and clipping (annual plant biomass removal). Soil bacteria and fungi all exhibited strong STRs and PTRs across the 12 experimental conditions. Strikingly, warming accelerated the bacterial and fungal STR and PTR exponents (that is, the w values), yielding significantly (P < 0.001) higher temporal scaling rates. While the STRs and PTRs were significantly shifted by altered precipitation, clipping and their combinations, warming played the predominant role. In addition, comparison with the previous literature revealed that soil bacteria and fungi had considerably higher overall temporal scaling rates (w = 0.39-0.64) than those of plants and animals (w = 0.21-0.38). Our results on warming-enhanced temporal scaling of microbial biodiversity suggest that the strategies of soil biodiversity preservation and ecosystem management may need to be adjusted in a warmer world

A genome-wide association study identifies common variants influencing serum uric acid concentrations in a Chinese population

Background: Uric acid (UA) is a complex phenotype influenced by both genetic and environmental factors as well as their interactions. Current genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have identified a variety of genetic determinants of UA in Europeans; however, such studies in Asians, especially in Chinese populations remain limited. Methods: A two-stage GWAS was performed to identify single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that were associated with serum uric acid (UA) in a Chinese population of 12,281 participants (GWAS discovery stage included 1452 participants from the Dongfeng-Tongji cohort (DFTJ-cohort) and 1999 participants from the Fangchenggang Area Male Health and Examination Survey (FAMHES). The validation stage included another independent 8830 individuals from the DFTJ-cohort). Affymetrix Genome-Wide Human SNP Array 6.0 chips and Illumina Omni-Express platform were used for genotyping for DFTJ-cohort and FAMHES, respectively. Gene-environment interactions on serum UA levels were further explored in 10,282 participants from the DFTJ-cohort. Results: Briefly, we identified two previously reported UA loci of SLC2A9 (rs11722228, combined P = 8.98 × 10-31) and ABCG2 (rs2231142, combined P = 3.34 × 10-42). The two independent SNPs rs11722228 and rs2231142 explained 1.03% and 1.09% of the total variation of UA levels, respectively. Heterogeneity was observed across different populations. More importantly, both independent SNPs rs11722228 and rs2231142 were nominally significantly interacted with gender on serum UA levels (P for interaction = 4.0 × 10-2 and 2.0 × 10-2, respectively). The minor allele (T) for rs11722228 in SLC2A9 has greater influence in elevating serum UA levels in females compared to males and the minor allele (T) of rs2231142 in ABCG2 had stronger effects on serum UA levels in males than that in females. Conclusions: Two genetic loci (SLC2A9 and ABCG2) were confirmed to be associated with serum UA concentration. These findings strongly support the evidence that SLC2A9 and ABCG2 function in UA metabolism across human populations. Furthermore, we observed these associations are modified by gender

Design and performance of stone mastic asphalt in Singapore conditions

Stone Mastic Asphalt (SMA) mixtures are gap-graded mixtures that contain a coarse aggregate skeleton and a high asphalt binder content mortar. The rutting resistance is mostly attributed to the coarse aggregate skeleton component that exhibits “stone-to-stone” contact due to its gap-graded gradation. The objective of the research is to provide a methodology of quantifying coarse aggregate stone-to-stone contact in SMA with different aggregate packing to yield high rutting resistance; thus, developing a new mix design procedure and leading to an improved SMA mixture design and performance. A total of thirty-seven mixtures were tested in this study for developing and analysing coarse aggregate stone-to-stone contact in SMA mixtures.Doctor of Philosophy (CEE

Diversity and spatial-Temporal distribution of soil macrofauna communities along elevation in the changbai mountain, China

The understanding of patterns of vertical variation and diversity of flora and fauna along elevational change has been well established over the past century. However, it is unclear whether there is an elevational distribution pattern for soil fauna. This study revealed the diversity and spatial-Temporal distribution of soil macrofauna communities in different vegetation zones from forest to alpine tundra along elevation of the Changbai Mountain, China. The abundance, richness, and Shannon-Wiener diversity index of soil macrofauna communities were compared in four distinguished vegetation zones including the coniferous and broadleaved mixed forest zone, the coniferous forest zone, the subalpine dwarf birch (Betula ermanii) forest zone, and the alpine tundra zone. Soil macrofauna were extracted in May, July, and September of 2009. In each season, the abundance and richness of the soilmacrofauna decreased with the ascending elevation. The Shannon-Wiener diversity indices of the soil macrofauna were higher in the vegetation zones of lower elevation than of higher elevation. Significant differences were observed in the abundance, richness, and Shannon-Wiener diversity index for the studied vegetation zones. Soil macrofauna congregated mainly to the litter layer in the low-elevation areas and in the 0-5 cm soil layer of the higher elevation areas. The results emphasized that the diversity of soil macrofauna communities decreased as the elevation increased and possess the distinct characteristics of zonation in the mountain ecosystem. The diversity and distribution of soil macrofauna communities were influenced by mean annual precipitation, altitude, annual radiation quantity, and mean annual temperature