The Prognostic Role of Ribosomal Protein S6 Kinase 1 Pathway in Patients With Solid Tumors: A Meta-Analysis

Background: Recent studies supported the predictive role of ribosomal protein S6 kinase 1 (S6K1), phosphorylated S6K1 (p-S6K1), and phosphorylated ribosomal protein S6 (p-S6) for the outcome of cancer patients. However, inconsistent results were acquired across different researches. To comprehensively and quantitatively elucidate their prognostic significance in solid malignancies, the current meta-analysis was carried out utilizing the results of clinical studies.Methods: We conducted the literature retrieval by searching PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, and Cochrane library to identify eligible publications. Data were collected from included articles to calculate pooled overall survival (OS), disease-free survival (DFS), recurrence-free survival (RFS), and progression-free survival (PFS). Hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) served as appropriate parameters to assess prognostic significance.Results: Forty-four original studies were included, of which 7 studies were analyzed for S6K1, 24 for p-S6K1, and 16 for p-S6. The overexpression of p-S6K1 was significantly associated with poorer prognosis of solid tumor patients in OS (HR = 1.706, 95%CI: 1.369–2.125, p < 0.001), DFS (HR = 1.665, 95%CI: 1.002–2.768, p = 0.049). However, prognostic role of p-S6K1 in RFS and PFS was not found. The result also revealed that S6K1 and p-S6 were significantly associated with reduced OS (HR = 1.691, 95%CI: 1.306–2.189, p < 0.001; HR = 2.019, 95%CI: 1.775–2.296, p < 0.001, respectively).Conclusions: The present meta-analysis demonstrated that elevated expression of S6K1, p-S6K1, or p-S6 might indicate worse prognosis of patients with solid tumors, and supported a promising clinical test to predict solid tumor prognosis based on the level of S6K1 pathway

Development of Zein nanoparticles for nucleic acids delivery

Gene therapy refers to introducing exogenous nucleic acids into human body with the attempt to alter the gene expression for the treatment of human diseases. It has provided a promising approach for the treatment of a wide range of diseases including cancer, infectious diseases and genetic diseases. However, the anionic and hydrophilic nature rendering naked nucleic acids unable to enter cytoplasm or nuclei. Moreover, enzymes like nuclease is capable to degrade nucleic acids before they can exert their effects. To overcome these obstacles, proper delivery vectors are essential when delivering therapeutic nucleic acids into cells. Compared with viral vectors which are efficient in transduction, non-viral vectors show potential advantages including low immunogenicity and high nucleic acids capacity. Zein is a kind of prolamines derived from corn, which is regarded as a potential material for the development of drug delivery systems due to multiple advantages especially its biocompatibility and biodegradability. Among various zein-based carriers, zein nanoparticles have been attached high importance due to their abilities to improve drug loading and delivery. Additionally, zein nanoparticles modifications with different purposes are possible. In this study, zein nanoparticles (Z-NPs) were fabricated by means of anti-solvent method. Sodium caseinate (CAS)-stabilized zein nanoparticles (ZC-NPs) and protamine-coated zein nanoparticles (ZP-NPs) were both investigated. DNA and small interfering RNA (siRNA) were loaded into ZP-NPs. The particle sizes of the nanoparticles prepared ranged from 100 nm to 300 nm. The zeta potential could be reversed into positive by protamine coating. When loaded with DNA at high DNA to protamine mass ratio (2:1), the positive charge of the nanoparticles could be reduced. Different cytotoxicity could be observed among different nanoparticles. Increasing the concentration of ZP-NPs could result in a reduced cell viability. Flow cytometry indicated a high cellular uptake of siRNA loaded nanoparticles but the uptake of DNA loaded nanoparticles was low. No DNA or siRNA transfection effect could be observed which could be due to a poor intracellular delivery or degradation of nucleic acids. Further study on optimizing this drug delivery system need to be conducted to improve transfection efficiency.published_or_final_versionPharmacology and PharmacyMasterMaster of Medical Science

Prognostic significance of CXCL5 expression in cancer patients: a meta-analysis

Abstract Background CXCL5 is a member of the CXC-type chemokine family, which has been found to play important roles in tumorigenesis and cancer progression. Recent studies have demonstrated that CXCL5 could serve as a potential prognostic biomarker for cancer patients. However, the prognostic value of CXCL5 is still controversial. Methods We systematically searched PubMed, Embase and Web of Science to obtain all relevant articles investigating the prognostic significance of CXCL5 expression in cancer patients. Hazards ratios (HR) with corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI) were pooled to estimate the association between CXCL5 expression levels with survival of cancer patients. Results A total of 15 eligible studies including 19 cohorts and 5070 patients were enrolled in the current meta-analysis. Our results demonstrated that elevated expression level of CXCL5 was significantly associated with poor overall survival (OS) (pooled HR 1.70; 95% CI 1.36–2.12), progression-free survival (pooled HR 1.65; 95% CI 1.09–2.49) and recurrence-free survival (pooled HR 1.49; 95% CI 1.15–1.93) in cancer patients. However, high or low expression of CXCL5 made no difference in predicting the disease-free survival (pooled HR 0.63; 95% CI 0.11–3.49) of cancer patients. Furthermore, we found that high CXCL5 expression was associated with reduced OS in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (HR 1.91; 95% CI 1.31–2.78) and hepatocellular carcinoma (HR 1.87; 95% CI 1.55–2.27). However, there was no significant association between expression level of CXCL5 with the OS in lung cancer (HR 1.25; 95% CI 0.79–1.99) and colorectal cancer (HR 1.16; 95% CI 0.32–4.22, p = 0.826) in current meta-analysis. Conclusions In conclusion, our meta-analysis suggested that elevated CXCL5 expression might be an adverse prognostic marker for cancer patients, which could help the clinical decision making process

Carbon emission trading system of China: a linked market vs. separated markets

The Chinese government intends to upgrade its current provincial carbon emission trading pilots to a nationwide scheme by 2015. This study investigates two of scenarios: separated provincial markets and a linked inter-provincial market. The carbon abatem

Parameter analysis of stability bearing capacity of bottom frame beam for container building

In this paper, the bottom frame beam of container building is analyzed by finite element method, and compared with the experimental results, the accuracy of the model is verified to meet the needs of the analysis. On this basis, by changing the stiffening position of the upper flange, the height of the web, the load layout and the thickness of the wall, the variation of the stability bearing capacity of the bottom frame beam was studied, the control factors affecting the stability bearing capacity of the bottom frame beam were obtained, and the selection suggestions were given

Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Nanocrystalline Al-Zn-Mg-Cu Alloy Prepared by Mechanical Alloying and Spark Plasma Sintering

In this study, Al, Zn, Mg and Cu elemental metal powders were chosen as the raw powders. The nanocrystalline Al-7Zn-2.5Mg-2.5Cu bulk alloy was prepared by mechanical alloying and spark plasma sintering. The effect of milling time on the morphology and crystal structure was investigated, as well as the microstructure and mechanical properties of the sintered samples. The results show that Zn, Mg and Cu alloy elements gradually dissolved in α-Al with the extension of ball milling time. The morphology of the ball-milled Al powder exhibited flaking, crushing and welding. When the ball milling time was 30 h, the powder particle size was 2–5 μm. The α-Al grain size was 23.2 nm. The lattice distortion was 0.156% causing by the solid solution of the metal atoms. The grain size of ball-milled powder grew during the spark plasma sintering process. The grain size of α-Al increased from 23.2 nm in the powder to 53.5 nm in the sintered sample during the sintering process after 30 h of ball milling. At the same time, the bulk alloy precipitated micron-sized Al2Cu and nano-sized MgZn2 in the α-Al crystal. With the extension of ball milling time, the compression strength, yield strength and Vickers hardness of spark plasma sintering (SPS) samples increased, while the engineering strain decreased. The compression strength, engineering strain and Vickers hardness of sintered samples prepared by 30 h milled powder were ~908 MPa, ~8.1% and ~235 HV, respectively. The high strength of the nanocrystalline Al-7Zn-2.5Mg-2.5Cu bulk alloy was attributed to fine-grained strengthening, dislocation strengthening and Orowan strengthening due to the precipitated second phase particles

Effect of Paper and Aluminum Bagging on Fruit Quality of Loquat (Eriobotrya japonica Lindl.)

Bagging regulates the fruit microenvironment and improves the quality and market value of fruits. It is a safe and ecofriendly technique to protect fruits from insect/pest infestation and multiple biotic and abiotic stresses. In the current study, the influence of fruit bagging was evaluated on the development and quality of loquat fruits. Fruits from a healthy loquat orchard (Cv. Zaozhong No.6), located in Fujian, China, were enveloped in paper (T1), aluminum (T2), and aluminum–polyethylene bags (T3), while unbagged fruits were maintained as control (T0). In general, fruit bagging improved fruit quality in terms of fruit physiological and biochemical attributes and protected fruits from physical damage. In particular, aluminum–polyethylene bagging enhanced fruit weight, length, and width by 1.37-, 1.18-, and 1.13-fold, respectively. Loquat fruits bagged with paper bags exhibited the maximum soluble sugar and lowest titratable acid content. Fruits treated with paper and aluminum–ethylene bags showed twofold higher sugar–acid ratio as compared to control. Aluminum–polyethylene bagging caused 66.67%, 55.56%, and 33.33% reductions in skin burn, fruit rotting, and black spot of loquat. The fruits bagged in aluminum and aluminum–polyethylene did not show insect or bird damage, while unbagged fruits had 14.70% and 17.65% insect and bird damage, respectively. Overall, the results suggest that paper, aluminum, and aluminum–polyethylene bagging improved fruit health by 75%, 131%, and 144%, respectively, as compared to control. To delineate bagging type-dependent effects, principal component analysis was performed. Paper bagging was positively correlated with fruit firmness, rotting, soluble sugars, sugar–acid ratio, and proline content. Aluminum bagging was highly associated with improvements in titratable acids, cystine, and methionine. Aluminum–polyethylene bags were correlated with fruit weight, size, peel thickness, edible rate, and certain amino acids

High Refractive Index Diphenyl Sulfide Photopolymers for Solar Cell Antireflection Coatings

The anti-reflection film can effectively reduce the surface reflectivity of solar photovoltaics, increase the transmittance of light, and improve the photoelectric conversion efficiency. The high refractive index coating is an important part of the anti-reflection film. However, the traditional metal oxide coating has poor stability and complicated processes. To address this issue, we prepared two organic high refractive index (HRI) photopolymers by modifying epoxy acrylic acid with 4,4′-thiodibenzenethiol, which can be surface patterned by nanoimprinting to prepare antireflection coatings. As a result, two modified photopolymers with high refractive index (n > 1.63), high optical transmittance (T > 95%), and thermal stability (Tg > 100 °C) are obtained after curing. In particular, the diphenyl sulfide photopolymer modified by ethyl isocyanate acrylate has a refractive index up to 1.667 cured by UV light. Our work confirms that the organic HRI photopolymer can be obtained by introducing high molar refractive index groups, with potential to be applied as a PV cell power conversion efficiency material

High Birth Weight Increases the Risk for Bone Tumor: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

There have been several epidemiologic studies on the relationship between high birth weight and the risk for bone tumor in the past decades. However, due to the rarity of bone tumors, the sample size of individual studies was generally too small for reliable conclusions. Therefore, we have performed a meta-analysis to pool all published data on electronic databases with the purpose to clarify the potential relationship. According to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 18 independent studies with more than 2796 cases were included. As a result, high birth weight was found to increase the risk for bone tumor with an Odds Ratio (OR) of 1.13, with the 95% confidence interval (95% CI) ranging from 1.01 to 1.27. The OR of bone tumor for an increase of 500 gram of birth weight was 1.01 (95% CI 1.00–1.02; p = 0.048 for linear trend). Interestingly, individuals with high birth weight had a greater risk for osteosarcoma (OR = 1.22, 95% CI 1.06–1.40, p = 0.006) than those with normal birth weight. In addition, in the subgroup analysis by geographical region, elevated risk was detected among Europeans (OR = 1.14, 95% CI 1.00–1.29, p = 0.049). The present meta-analysis supported a positive association between high birth weight and bone tumor risk