Using a patterned sapphire substrate with a hemisphere array, flower-like ZnO nanorods grouped in a highly ordered array were fabricated on the wafer scale by routine solution growth. After decorating with high-density Ag nanoparticles (NPs), the ZnO nanoflower arrays were used as the substrates for surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). Using Rhodamine 6G as the probe molecules with a concentration down to 10(-10) M, the SERS substrates present an as high as 10(10) Raman enhancement with good reproducibility. The influence of Ag NP decoration on the SERS activity was explored and the sub-10 nm nanogaps between the adjacent Ag NPs were proved to be the primary electromagnetic "hot spots" responsible for the significant Raman enhancement. The Ag-NP-decorated ZnO nanoflower arrays were demonstrated to possess a self-cleaning function enabled by UV irradiation via photocatalytic degradation of the analyte molecules. In addition, the SERS substrate exhibited an extremely long service lifetime, possibly due to its superhydrophobicity and storage in the dark and a dry environment.

ObjectiveTo explore the effects of inhibition of PI3K/Akt/mTOR signal pathway on chronic neuropathic pain (CNP) and spinal microglia in a rat model of chronic constriction injury (CCI).MethodsMale SD rats were assigned into control, sham, CCI, wortmannin, dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and wortmannin-positive control groups. Paw withdrawal mechanical threshold (PWMT) and thermal withdrawal latency (TWL) were recorded. qRT-PCR and Western blotting were used to detect PI3K, Akt and mTOR expressions and their phosphorylation. OX-4 expression was detected by immunohistochemistry and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and nerve growth factor (NGF) expressions by immunofluorescence.ResultsPWMT and TWL decreased in the CCI group than in the sham group on the 7th and 14th day after operation. Compared with the control and sham groups, the CCI group showed increased PI3K, Akt and mTOR mRNA expressions and elevated PI3K, p-Akt, p-mTOR and P70S6K protein expressions. More OX-42-positive cells and higher integrated optical density (IOD) of GFAP and NGF were found in the CCI group than the sham group at the 14th day after operation. Compared with the DMSO group, the wortmannin group had higher PWMT and TWL, decreased PI3K, Akt and mTOR mRNA expressions and reduced PI3K, p-Akt, p-mTOR and P70S6K protein expressions. Less OX-42-positive cells and lower IOD of GFAP and NGF were found in the wortmannin group than the DMSO group 14th day after operation.ConclusionInhibition of PI3K/Akt/mTOR signal pathway may alleviate CNP and reduce microglia and GFAP and NGF expressions in marrow in a rat model of CCI.

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In this paper, we investigate the Cauchy problem for the compressible nematic liquid crystal flows in three-dimensional whole space. First of all, we establish the time decay rates for compressible nematic liquid crystal flows by the method of spectral analysis and energy estimates. Furthermore, we enhance the convergence rates for the higher-order spatial derivatives of density, velocity and director. Finally, the time decay rates of mixed space-time derivatives of solution are also established.

This paper aims to investigate the function of structural maintenance of chromosome 4 (SMC4) in the progression of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) under hypoxic condition. In this study, we found that suppression of SMC4 could inhibit proliferation and migration of HCC cells through inducing G1 phase arrest and affecting process of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) under hypoxic condition. Moreover, we demonstrated that SMC4 was transcriptionally regulated by hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1) under hypoxic condition. As SMC has been shown to be a target gene of miR-219, we observed that miR-219 was downregulated under hypoxic condition and suppression of HIF-1a could lead to the upregulation of miR-219. We also proved that miR-219 could affect the proliferation and migration of HCC cells under hypoxic condition. In conclusion, our study demonstrated a novel HIF-1-miR-219-SMC4 regulatory pathway under hypoxic condition in HCC cells.

Desflurane, halothane, isoflurane, propofol, and sevoflurane are widely used anesthetics in pediatric anesthesia. Adverse effect including emergence agitation, postoperative nausea and vomiting, and postoperative pain are common. Prolonged extubation time and emergency time are also troubling anesthesiologists. Previous studies have noted the characteristics of various anesthetics in pediatric anesthesia, while the results were inconclusive and conflicting. In this study, we aimed at performing a comprehensive network meta-analysis concerning the emergence and recovery characteristics of pediatric anesthetics. Relevant articles were retrieved and selected according to our inclusion criteria. Network meta-analysis was performed with a random-effect model within a Bayesian framework. ORs and corresponding 95 % credible intervals were calculated by Markov chain Monte Carlo methods. Node-splitting method was used to calculate the inconsistency. Rank probabilities were assessed by the surface under the cumulative ranking curve (SUCRA). Propofol was recommended as the most efficient and safe anesthetic in pediatric anesthesia with few adverse effects. Desflurane has the highest incidence of emergence agitation and worst recovery characteristics. Halothane was regarded as an efficient anesthetic with the best recovery characteristics, while postoperative nausea and vomiting is a common adverse effect. Isoflurane was reported to be the safest concerning postoperative pain, and cases using sevoflurane in pediatric anesthesia reported the highest incidence of analgesic requirement. Our network meta-analysis demonstrated that propofol was suggested as the first choice in the clinical practice for its efficiency and safe in pediatric anesthesia.

Hepatic resection provides better OS and RFS than ablation for alpha-fetoprotein positive HCC patients within the Milan criteria and without portal hypertension.

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