miR-140-5p suppresses the proliferation, migration and invasion of gastric cancer by regulating YES1

Background: The aberrant expression of microRNA-140-5p (miR-140-5p) has been described in gastric cancer (GC). However, the role of miR-140-5p in GC remains unclear. In this study, the prognostic relevance of miR-140-5p in GC was investigated and YES1 was identified as a novel target of miR-140-5p in regulating tumor progression. Methods: miR-140-5p level was determined in 20 paired frozen specimens through quantitative real-time PCR, and analyzed in tissue microarrays through in situ hybridization. The target of miR-140-5p was verified through a dual luciferase reporter assay, and the effects of miR-140-5p on phenotypic changes in GC cells were investigated in vitro and in vivo. Results: Compared with that in adjacent normal tissues, miR-140-5p expression decreased in cancerous tissues. The downregulated miR-140-5p in 144 patients with GC was significantly correlated with the reduced overall survival of these patients. miR-140-5p could inhibit GC cell proliferation, migration and invasion by directly targeting 3'-untranlated region of YES1. miR-140-5p could also remarkably reduce the tumor size in GC xenograft mice. Conclusions: miR-140-5p serves as a potential prognostic factor in patients with GC, and miR-140-5p mediated YES1 inhibition is a novel mechanism behind the suppressive effects of miR-140-5p in GC

Construction and Application of VR-AR Teaching System in Coal-Based Energy Education

Coal-based energy has provided strong support and made outstanding contributions in the process of China’s economic development. Coal mining in China has gradually developed into intelligent, refined and green mining. However, due to the lack of effective science popularization and propaganda in coal mining for a long time, people’s understanding of coal mining often stays in the stereotype of dirty, messy and very dangerous. Based on this fact, this paper firstly discusses the difficulties and pain points of the popularization of science in coal mining based on the questionnaire survey. And then a VR-AR system for intelligent coal mining was developed. Finally, popular science teaching activities based on VR-AR system were carried out during the “Open Day” activity and “Entering Campus” activity. It is found that the long-term negative reports of coal mining and the complexity of coal mining system make the science popularization and propaganda in coal mining less effective. The proportion of primary and secondary school students with bad impression reached 85.0% and 90.3%, respectively, and 63.1% for college students. With our VR-AR system in coal-based energy education, the impression of the coal industry has increased significantly, the proportion of bad impression decreased to 23.4%. This helps to form the nationwide coal mining science popularization and justifies China’s coal mining

Construction and Application of VR-AR Teaching System in Coal-Based Energy Education

Coal-based energy has provided strong support and made outstanding contributions in the process of China’s economic development. Coal mining in China has gradually developed into intelligent, refined and green mining. However, due to the lack of effective science popularization and propaganda in coal mining for a long time, people’s understanding of coal mining often stays in the stereotype of dirty, messy and very dangerous. Based on this fact, this paper firstly discusses the difficulties and pain points of the popularization of science in coal mining based on the questionnaire survey. And then a VR-AR system for intelligent coal mining was developed. Finally, popular science teaching activities based on VR-AR system were carried out during the “Open Day” activity and “Entering Campus” activity. It is found that the long-term negative reports of coal mining and the complexity of coal mining system make the science popularization and propaganda in coal mining less effective. The proportion of primary and secondary school students with bad impression reached 85.0% and 90.3%, respectively, and 63.1% for college students. With our VR-AR system in coal-based energy education, the impression of the coal industry has increased significantly, the proportion of bad impression decreased to 23.4%. This helps to form the nationwide coal mining science popularization and justifies China’s coal mining

Quantitative characterization of coal mining damage and its application in numerical simulation

Coal seam mining causes deformation, fracture and migration of overlying rock, further leading to the surface subsidence and ecological damage, which are the main manifestations of mining damage.Quantitatively characterize mining damage is the key to analyzing the stability of surrounding rock, designing mining parameters, and the premising of roadway support parameters.According to the finite element and discrete element simulation methods commonly used at this stage, this paper proposes a quantitative index(damage degree)to characterize mining damage: the proportion of zone plastic volume and the proportion of contact fracture length(number).On this basis, this study carried out the optimization of high-intensity mining parameters of the western mining area, the stability analysis of the coal pillar under the condition of mining and water immersion, and the progressive damage characteristics analysis of the roadway surrounding rock in the water-filled fault structure area by using the damage degree index.The quantitative relationship between the damage degree of the overlying rock and the mining parameters is obtained, which can realize the reasonable optimization of the mining parameters.This paper revealed the progressive damage characteristics of mining water immersion in coal pillars.We deemed that there is a danger of water seepage in the mined-out area as a water storage area under the existing coal pillar conditions.This study quantified the damage distribution characteristics of the surrounding rock in the roadway in the water-filled fault structure area, and proposed the corresponding? solution of dredging the fault through the roof aquifer, grouting reinforcement of the original fault fracture and strengthening the support.By comparing with common indicators such as the height of the water-conducting fracture zone and the width of the plastic development of the coal pillar, this research found that the damage degree indicators are more sensitive to the characterization of mining damage, and could realize continuous mining damage characterization

Numerical Studies on the Performance of the PCM Mesh-Finned Heat Sink Base on Thermal-Flow Multiphysics Coupling Simulation

Operating temperature is an important parameter of thyristors to ensure the stable operation of power electronic devices. Thermal management technology is of great significance for improving the reliability of thyristors. In this study, the performance of a phase change material (PCM) mesh-finned heat sink is investigated for the thermal management of thyristors. A multi-physical coupling model of the PCM mesh-finned heat sink is established to analyze the effects of different power losses, air velocities, heights of fins, and thickness of PCM on the thermal performance of the PCM heat sink. The influence of thermal and flow fields on PCM is considered in this model. Furthermore, the heat sink design is optimized to improve the thermal performance based on the calculation results of thermal network parameters. The results show that the power losses, the air velocity, the height of fins, and the thickness of PCM significantly affect the protection ability of the PCM heat sink. After optimizing the heat sink, the PCM heat sink provides 80 s protection time and 100 s recovery time. The PCM mesh-finned heat sink demonstrated good potential for the thermal management of thyristors

Robotic total gastrectomy with π-shaped esophagojejunostomy using a linear stapler as a novel technique

Abstract Objective To evaluate the intraoperative and short-term postoperative outcomes of a novel robotic intracorporeal π-shaped esophagojejunostomy (EJS) after D2 total gastrectomy (TG) using the Da Vinci robotic surgical system for intracorporeal anastomosis after TG. Background Intracorporeal π-shaped EJS, using a linear stapler, was recently reported for laparoscopic total gastrectomy in patients with gastric cancer. However, robotic intracorporeal π-shaped EJS using a linear stapler has not been reported. This report aimed to describe the use of a novel technique for π-shaped EJS using the Da Vinci robotic system. Methods Robotic intracorporeal π-shaped esophagojejunostomy after total gastrectomy was performed in 11 consecutive patients diagnosed with early gastric cancer, and their perioperative outcomes were analyzed. Results All the operations were successful without conversion to open or laparoscopic surgery and postoperative complications. The total number of patients was 11 (7 males and 4 females). The mean age of the patients was 63.36 ± 10.56 years old. Seven patients were diagnosed with cardia cancer, 3 patients were diagnosed with gastric body cancer, and 1 patient was diagnosed with gastric antrum cancer. The patients’ mean proximal resection margin was 3.18 ± 1.17 cm, the distal resection margin was 6.18 ± 1.40 cm, the mean length of the incision was 4.55 ± 0.69 cm, the mean operative time was 287.27 ± 30.69 min, the mean day of first flatus was 3.27 ± 0.79 days, the mean day of the start of diet was 2.91 ± 0.94 days, the mean postoperative hospital stay was 11.45 ± 5.13 days, and the mean operative blood loss was 47.27 ± 31.33 ml. No complications were observed during anastomosis, and the median anastomosis time was 19.5 min. The mean number of lymph node dissections was 17.91 ± 4.59, the mean number of positive lymph nodes was 0.45 ± 0.69, all patients were diagnosed with stage I–II gastric cancer, and the mean maximum diameter of the tumor was 2.67 ± 1.30 cm. All the patients had a smooth hospital discharge. Conclusion A novel robotic gastrectomy with intracorporeal π-shaped EJS for esophagojejunal anastomosis described and shows acceptable resulted. This technique has the potential to offer better short-term surgical outcomes and overcomes the drawbacks of laparoscopy with a decreased risk of complications during and after surgery

Serine, glutamate, and proline in a high‐fat diet exacerbated metabolite reduction‐induced memory and cognitive decline

Abstract Epidemiological studies have shown that excessive consumption of meat may cause memory loss and cognitive decline, but the underlying mechanism is unknown. Here, a high‐chicken‐protein diet but not a high‐pork diet was found to have a markedly negative impact on the enteric nervous system and hippocampal function. Higher serine, glutamate, and proline levels in the high‐chicken‐protein diet inhibited the absorption capacity of amino acids, reduced the levels of neurotransmitters, and further increased hippocampal β‐secretase levels. Alzheimer's disease mouse model and cell studies confirmed that high‐chicken diet‐induced changes in the intestinal function further resulted in metabolic disorders with a reduction in L‐serine and niacinamide in serum, accumulation of hippocampal β‐amyloid, and eventually aggravated memory and cognitive decline. Our findings highlight the importance of serine, glutamate, and proline as systemic mediators of diet–gut–brain axis homeostasis against memory and cognitive dysfunctions associated with excessive intake of chicken

Comparative Proteomics Provides Insights into Metabolic Responses in Rat Liver to Isolated Soy and Meat Proteins

It has been reported that isolated dietary soy and meat proteins have distinct effects on physiology and liver gene expression, but the impact on protein expression responses are unknown. Because these may differ from gene expression responses, we investigated dietary protein-induced changes in liver proteome. Rats were fed for 1 week semisynthetic diets that differed only regarding protein source; casein (reference) was fully replaced by isolated soy, chicken, fish, or pork protein. Changes in liver proteome were measured by iTRAQ labeling and LC–ESI–MS/MS. A robust set totaling 1437 unique proteins was identified and subjected to differential protein analysis and biological interpretation. Compared with casein, all other protein sources reduced the abundance of proteins involved in fatty acid metabolism and Pparα signaling pathway. All dietary proteins, except chicken, increased oxidoreductive transformation reactions but reduced energy and essential amino acid metabolic pathways. Only soy protein increased the metabolism of sulfur-containing and nonessential amino acids. Soy and fish proteins increased translation and mRNA processing, whereas only chicken protein increased TCA cycle but reduced immune responses. These findings were partially in line with previously reported transcriptome results. This study further shows the distinct effects of soy and meat proteins on liver metabolism in rats

Epidemiological and Genomic Analysis of SARS-CoV-2 in 10 Patients From a Mid-Sized City Outside of Hubei, China in the Early Phase of the COVID-19 Outbreak.

A novel coronavirus known as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the cause of the ongoing Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. In this study, we performed a comprehensive epidemiological and genomic analysis of SARS-CoV-2 genomes from 10 patients in Shaoxing (Zhejiang Province), a mid-sized city outside of the epicenter Hubei province, China, during the early stage of the outbreak (late January to early February, 2020). We obtained viral genomes with >99% coverage and a mean depth of 296X demonstrating that viral genomic analysis is feasible via metagenomics sequencing directly on nasopharyngeal samples with SARS-CoV-2 Real-time PCR Ct values <28. We found that a cluster of four patients with travel history to Hubei shared the exact same virus with patients from Wuhan, Taiwan, Belgium, and Australia, highlighting how quickly this virus spread to the globe. The virus from another cluster of two family members living together without travel history but with a sick contact of a confirmed case from another city outside of Hubei accumulated significantly more mutations (9 SNPs vs. average 4 SNPs), suggesting a complex and dynamic nature of this outbreak. Our findings add to the growing knowledge of the epidemiological and genomic characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 and offers a glimpse into the early phase of this viral infection outside of Hubei, China

Plasma-electrolytic liquefaction of human waste for biofuels production and recovery of ammonium, chlorine and metals

Sustainable production of value-added fuels and chemicals from biomass faces enormous challenges for integration in zero-carbon-emissions technologies and circular economy. In this work, green and renewable solvents, polyethylene glycol 200 and glycerol, were used in a plasma-electrolytic liquefaction (PEL) system to electrically liquefy human feces in the absence of a catalyst. It is demonstrated that the plasma ignition during the liquefaction accelerated the conversion of feces (85.67% liquefaction yield within 12 min), and the intrinsic heating features of the PEL greatly reduced the energy consumption. The obtained biocrude oil at the optimized conditions contained 10.53% aldehydes, 5.39% ketones, 18.48% cyclic oxygen-containing compounds and others, with a high heating value of 28.10 MJ/kg. Further analysis of the PEL-converted products reveals that most of the chlorine in the feces was gasified, the metals were extracted into the solid residue, while ammonia was released. An evaluation of the developed plasma electrolytic feces liquefaction process was carried out and favorably compared with common liquefaction methods. Overall, the proposed approach may provide a new avenue for clean chemical production and sustainable resource recovery from human waste under benign process conditions.</p