Background:EIF5A2, eukaryotic translation initiation factor 5A2, is associated with several human cancers. In this study, we investigated the role of EIF5A2 in the metastatic potential of localised invasive bladder cancer (BC) and its underlying molecular mechanisms were explored.Methods:The expression pattern of EIF5A2 in localised invasive BC was determined by immunohistochemistry. In addition, the function of EIF5A2 in BC and its underlying mechanisms were elucidated with a series of in vitro and in vivo assays.Results:Overexpression of EIF5A2 was an independent predictor for poor metastasis-free survival of localised invasive BC patients treated with radical cystectomy. Knockdown of EIF5A2 inhibited BC cell migratory and invasive capacities in vitro and metastatic potential in vivo and reversed epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT), whereas overexpression of EIF5A2 promoted BC cells motility and invasiveness in vitro and metastatic potential in vivo and induced EMT. In addition, we found that EIF5A2 might activate TGF-β1 expression to induce EMT and drive aggressiveness in BC cells. EIF5A2 stabilized STAT3 and stimulated nuclear localisation of STAT3, which resulted in increasing enrichment of STAT3 onto TGF-β1 promoter to enhance the transcription of TGF-β1.Conclusions:EIF5A2 overexpression predicts tumour metastatic potential in patients with localised invasive BC treated with radical cystectomy. Furthermore, EIF5A2 elevated TGF-β1 expression through STAT3 to induce EMT and promotes aggressiveness in BC.

Abstract. New particle formation (NPF) events and their impacts on cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) were investigated using continuous measurements collected in urban Shanghai from 1 to 30 April 2012. During the campaign, NPF occurred in 8 out of the 30 days and enhanced CCN number concentration (N CCN ) by a factor of 1.2-1.8, depending on supersaturation (SS). The NPF event on 3 April 2012 was chosen as an example to investigate the NPF influence on CCN activity. In this NPF event, secondary aerosols were produced continuously and increased PM 2.5 mass concentration at a rate of 4.33 µg cm −3 h −1 , and the growth rate (GR) and formation rate (FR) were on average 5 nm h −1 and 0.36 cm −3 s −1 , respectively. The newly formed particles grew quickly from nucleation mode (10-20 nm) into CCN size range. N CCN increased rapidly at SS of 0.4-1.0 % but weakly at SS of 0.2 %. Correspondingly, aerosol CCN activities (fractions of activated aerosol particles in total aerosols, N CCN /N CN ) were significantly enhanced from 0.24-0.60 to 0.30-0.91 at SS of 0.2-1.0 % due to the NPF. On the basis of the κ-Köhler theory, aerosol size distributions and chemical composition measured simultaneously were used to predict N CCN . There was a good agreement between the predicted and measured N CCN (R 2 = 0.96, N predicted /N measured = 1.04). This study reveals that NPF exerts large impacts on aerosol particle abundance and size spectra; thus, it significantly promotes N CCN and aerosol CCN activity in this urban environment. The GR of NPF is the key factor controlling the newly formed particles to become CCN at all SS levels, whereas the FR is an effective factor only under high SS (e.g., 1.0 %) conditions.

Abstract. Measurements of cloud condensation nuclei (CCN), condensation nuclei (CN) and aerosol chemical composition were performed simultaneously at an urban site in Shanghai from 6 to 9 November 2010. The variations of CCN number concentration (N CCN ) and aerosol activity (activated aerosol fraction, N CCN /N CN ) were examined during a fog-haze co-occurring event. Anthropogenic pollutants emitted from vehicles and unfavorable meteorological conditions such as low planetary boundary layer (PBL) height exerted a great influence on PM 2.5 and black carbon (BC) loadings. N CCN at 0.2 % supersaturation (SS) mostly fell in the range of 994 to 6268 cm −3 , and the corresponding N CCN /N CN varied between 0.09 and 0.57. N CCN and N CCN /N CN usually were usually higher in the hazy case due to increased aerosol concentration in the accumulation mode (100-500 nm), and lower in the foggy-hazy and clear cases. The BC mass concentration posed a strong positive effect on N CCN in the foggy-hazy and hazy cases, whereas it poorly correlated with N CCN in the clear case. N CCN /N CN was weakly related with BC in both foggy-hazy and hazy cases. By using a simplified particle hygroscopicity (κ), the calculated critical dry size (CDS) of activated aerosol did not exceed 130 nm at 0.2 % SS in spite of diverse aerosol chemical compositions. The predicted N CCN at 0.2 % SS was very successful compared with the observed N CCN in clear case (R 2 = 0.96) and foggy-hazy/hazy cases (R 2 = 0.91). In addition, their corresponding ratios of predicted to observed N CCN were on average 0.95 and 0.92, respectively. More organic matter is possibly responsible for this closure difference between foggy-hazy/hazy and clear cases. These results reveal that the particulate pollutant burden exerts a significant impact on N CCN , especially N CCN /N CN promotes effectively during the polluted periods.

Cellular and molecular events can be investigated using electrophysiological techniques. In particular, the patch-clamp method provides detailed information. In addition, the patch-clamp technique has become a powerful method for investigating the mechanisms underlying the effects of acupuncture. In this paper, recent researches on how acupuncture might modulate electrophysiological responses in the central nervous system (CNS) and affect peripheral structures are reviewed.