Research progress of CTC, ctDNA, and EVs in cancer liquid biopsy

Circulating tumor cells (CTCs), circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), and extracellular vehicles (EVs) have received significant attention in recent times as emerging biomarkers and subjects of transformational studies. The three main branches of liquid biopsy have evolved from the three primary tumor liquid biopsy detection targets—CTC, ctDNA, and EVs—each with distinct benefits. CTCs are derived from circulating cancer cells from the original tumor or metastases and may display global features of the tumor. ctDNA has been extensively analyzed and has been used to aid in the diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of neoplastic diseases. EVs contain tumor-derived material such as DNA, RNA, proteins, lipids, sugar structures, and metabolites. The three provide different detection contents but have strong complementarity to a certain extent. Even though they have already been employed in several clinical trials, the clinical utility of three biomarkers is still being studied, with promising initial findings. This review thoroughly overviews established and emerging technologies for the isolation, characterization, and content detection of CTC, ctDNA, and EVs. Also discussed were the most recent developments in the study of potential liquid biopsy biomarkers for cancer diagnosis, therapeutic monitoring, and prognosis prediction. These included CTC, ctDNA, and EVs. Finally, the potential and challenges of employing liquid biopsy based on CTC, ctDNA, and EVs for precision medicine were evaluated

A Colorimetric Sensor for Qualitative Discrimination and Quantitative Detection of Volatile Amines

We have developed a novel colorimetric sensor based on a digital camera and white LED illumination. Colorimetric sensor arrays (CSAs) were made from a set of six chemically responsive dyes impregnated on an inert substrate plate by solution casting. Six common amine aqueous solutions, including dimethylamine, triethylamine, diisopropylamine, aniline, cyclohexylamine, and pyridine vaporized at 25 °C and six health-related trimethylamine (TMA) concentrations including 170 ppm, 51 ppm, 8 ppm, 2 ppm, 125 ppb and 50 ppb were analyzed by the sensor to test its ability for the qualitative discrimination and quantitative detection of volatile amines. We extracted the feature vectors of the CSA's response to the analytes from a fusional color space, which was obtained by conducting a joint search algorithm of sequential forward selection and sequential backward selection (SFS&SBS) based on the linear discriminant criteria (LDC) in a mixed color space composed of six common color spaces. The principle component analysis (PCA) followed by the hierarchical cluser analysis (HCA) were utilized to discriminate 12 analytes. Results showed that the colorimetric sensor grouped the six amine vapors and five TMA concentrations correctly, while TMA concentrations of 125 ppb and 50 ppb were indiscriminable from each other. The limitation of detection (LOD) of the sensor for TMA was found to be lower than 50 ppb. The CSAs were reusable for TMA concentrations below 8 ppm

Production of Transgenic Pigs Mediated by Pseudotyped Lentivirus and Sperm

Sperm-mediated gene transfer can be a very efficient method to produce transgenic pigs, however, the results from different laboratories had not been widely repeated. Genomic integration of transgene by injection of pseudotyped lentivirus to the perivitelline space has been proved to be a reliable route to generate transgenic animals. To test whether transgene in the lentivirus can be delivered by sperm, we studied incubation of pseudotyped lentiviruses and sperm before insemination. After incubation with pig spermatozoa, 62±3 lentiviral particles were detected per 100 sperm cells using quantitative real-time RT-PCR. The association of lentivirus with sperm was further confirmed by electron microscopy. The sperm incubated with lentiviral particles were artificially inseminated into pigs. Of the 59 piglets born from inseminated 5 sows, 6 piglets (10.17%) carried the transgene based on the PCR identification. Foreign gene and EGFP was successfully detected in ear tissue biopsies from two PCR-positive pigs, revealed via in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry. Offspring of one PCR-positive boar with normal sows showed PCR-positive. Two PCR-positive founders and offsprings of PCR-positive boar were further identified by Southern-blot analysis, out of which the two founders and two offsprings were positive in Southern blotting, strongly indicating integration of foreign gene into genome. The results indicate that incubation of sperm with pseudotyped lentiviruses can incorporated with sperm-mediated gene transfer to produce transgenic pigs with improved efficiency

Compaction Quality Inspection Method of Soil-Rock Filled Embankment Based on Continuous Compaction Control Technology

Affected by the site construction conditions, the measurement passes of the Taihang Expressway K8 + 105 ∼ K8 + 341 (K8 worksite) in the Taihang Expressway did not meet the requirements of data analysis, and the quantity of the control points was insufficient so that the linear correlation between the dynamic deformation modulus () and the vibratory compaction value (VCV) was not strong. Therefore, the target value of VCV cannot be used to diagnose the Ev d compaction quality of soil-rock filler. This paper analyzes the roller measurement VCV value and in situ measurements Ev d value separately. Results reveal the difference between the VCV mean measured in the last two passes and the standard deviation of the measured VCV mean in the last pass are used as the main basis for the actual compaction quality. In addition, the Ev d mean in the last rolling can be used as an auxiliary judgment basis for the quality control of the compaction

Experiments on a New Material for the Ecological Protection of Rock Slopes

AbstractFrom 2000, people use the ecological protection to reinforce rock slopes. These ecological protection methods not only can reduce the usage of concrete, but also can restore the degraded ecosystem of slopes. With the rapid development of infrastructures, many materials for ecological protection have been created. However, there are many defects in these materials, such as expensive price, weak strength in early period, easily slide or been eroded when encountered with rainfall. These defects are the problems awaiting solution in the development of slope ecological protection. In this paper, the author attempts to use cement as adhesive in a new material for the ecological protection, and carry out laboratory tests and field tests to verify the feasibility and reliability of this material. Based on existing research and the testing results, the author proposed the prescription of this new material, which can satisfy the survival requirement of vegetation on the slopes, lower costs and enhance the strength in early period of ecological protection as well

Vibration Response Characteristics and Application of Existing Railway Subgrade

The existing conventional methods of subgrade disease assessment are not suitable for the existing lines. There are many research studies on the vibration response and attenuation law of the railway subgrade, but few research studies focus on the vibration response and attenuation law caused by the weak subgrade. In this study, vibration response tests were carried out at different positions and depths of the subgrade before and after reinforcement improvement. The results show that vibration response near the ballast is obvious, and it attenuates with the increase of the horizontal distance from the rail; the vibration acceleration response of the subgrade after reinforcement changes greatly; the vibration response curve of the reinforced section is spindle shaped, and the vertical vibration acceleration response attenuates obviously at the depth of 6.5 m, only about 10% to 30% of the surface; the vibration acceleration of the subgrade with reinforcement at the depth of 4.5 m attenuates to 60% of the surface; the vibration acceleration of the subgrade without reinforcement at the depth of 4.5 m attenuates to 50%–60% of the surface

Influence of Maximum Particle Diameter on the Mechanical Behavior of Soil-Rock Mixtures

With the steady development of the development of the western region in China, the construction of mountain highways has developed rapidly, and the soil-rock mixed filler, as an excellent filler, is widely used in the subgrade filling of mountain highways. Unlike ordinary fine-grained soil, the source of the soil-rock mixtures (S-RMs) is not unique, and the particle size difference is large and the water content is not uniform, resulting in very complicated mechanical properties. But the current highway embankment codes are still mainly established on the fine-grained soil. It is not fully applicable to soil-rock filled embankment. Based on soil-rock filled embankment engineering practice, this research uses a large-scale direct shear test to research the mechanical characteristics of the S-RMs with different maximum particle diameters. According to the large-scale direct shear test of S-RMs with different maximum particle diameters, the shear displacement vs shear stress curve, shear dilation, and strength characteristics with maximum particle diameter were analyzed. Results demonstrate that whether secondary hardening occurs mainly depends on the normal stress and the maximum particle diameter of the filler. At different maximum particle diameters, the horizontal displacement vs vertical displacement curves of the S-RMs can be roughly divided into continuous shearing and beginning of shearing and quick dilation. And the shear strength increases with the increase of the maximum particle diameter. Moreover, the cohesion decreases first and then increases with the increase of the maximum particle diameter, and the internal friction angle increases with the increase of the maximum particle diameter. Therefore, some RBs with large particle diameter added to filler can effectively improve the shear strength of the S-RMs, which may be valuable for realistic engineering

Changes and significance of α kinase 1 expression in cartilage tisssueof patients with knee osteoarthritis

Objective: To investigate the expression changes and significance of α kinase 1 （ALPK1）, a member of the α kinase family, in cartilage tissue of knee osteoarthritis (OA). Methods: Twenty-five patients who underwent knee OA surgery in Pizhou Hospital affiliated to Xuzhou Medical University from July 2018 to October 2022 were retrospectively selected, and cartilage tissue samples of the patients’ knee joints were collected. In addition, the tibial plateau cartilage of 10 patients who underwent lower limb amputation due to trauma in the biological sample of the hospital was selected as the control. Immunohistochemical (IHC) staining, Western blotting and real-time quantitative PCR （RT-qPCR） were used to detect the expression of ALPK1 in cartilage. Results: The results of IHC staining, Western blotting and RT-qPCR showed that compared with the control group, the mRNA expression level of ALPK1 （2.126±0.930 vs 0.995±0.049, t=4.112, P＜0.01）, protein expression level （1.880±0.722 vs 1.025±0.062, t=3.706, P＜0.01） and IHC-positive cell rate （P＜0.01） in the cartilage of knee OA patients were significantly increased. Conclusion: The high expression of ALPK1 in cartilage of patients with kee OA may be one of the reasons for the increase of inflammation and destruction of articular cartilage. ALPK1 is expected to be a diagnostic marker and therapeutic target of kee OA

Human activity and climate change triggered the expansion of rocky desertification in the karst areas of Southwestern China

International audienceIt is conducive to the sustainable development of human beings in karst regions to research the mechanism of karstrocky desertification (KRD) expansion. Whether the large-scale KRD in southwestern China is caused by climate change orhuman activities is still controversial. In this study, the evolution of the KRD in southwestern China over the past 2000 years wasreconstructed through the high-precision δ13C record of stalagmites from Shijiangjun (SJJ) Cave, Guizhou Province, China. Theδ13C of the stalagmites from SJJ Cave exhibited heavy values from the Medieval Warm Period (MWP) to the Little Ice Age(LIA). Furthermore, the δ13C records of other stalagmites and tufa from southwestern China also showed the same significantheavy trend. Because the stalagmite δ13C could record the change of ecological environment, it indicated that the consistentchange of the stalagmites δ13C may record the process of KRD expansion in the karst regions of southwestern China. During theMWP, the stronger Asian summer monsoon and the northward movement of the rain belt led to a dry period in southwesternChina and a wet period in northern China. In contrast, it was wet in southwestern China and dry in northern China during the LIA.In addition, after the Jing-Kang event (JK event, AD1127) occurred at the end of the Northern Song dynasty, the political andeconomic center of China migrated to southern China for the first time, which changed the population distribution pattern oflarger population in the north and smaller population in the south. Therefore, the expansion of KRD in southwestern China wasexacerbated in the MWP due to the change of climate in southwestern China, the migration of a large number of people, wars, thelarge-scale reclamation of arable land, and the cultivation of large areas of crops