Recent studies have shown that microRNAs can be stably detected in human plasma and have the potential as non-invasive biomarkers for the diagnosis of cancers. This study evaluates the potential application of plasma microRNAs for the early detection of gastric cancer (GC). We first measured the plasma expression levels of 15 selected microRNAs (miR-1, -106a, -106b, -17-5p, -20a, -21, -221, -27a, -34, -376c, -378, -423-5p, -451, -486, -744) in 30 GC patients and 30 age- and gender-matched healthy controls and then validated those microRNAs that differentiating GC and controls in another 60 GC patients and 60 matched controls using quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. The areas under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to test the sensitivity and specificity of GC diagnosis using these identified plasma microRNAs. Three plasma microRNAs, miR-106b, miR-20a, and miR-221, were significantly elevated in GC patients than in healthy controls (P < 0.05). Furthermore, the areas under the ROC curves using miR-106b, miR-20a, and miR-221 for GC diagnosis were 0.7733 (95 % CI, 0.7758-0.8409), 0.8593 (95 % CI, 0.8046-0.9139), and 0.7960 (95 % CI, 0.7256-0.8664), respectively. Furthermore, these three microRNAs had a statistically significant elevation in GC patients compared with healthy controls at each of the four stages. However, there were no significant differences in the plasma levels of the three microRNAs among the four TNM stages (P > 0.05). Plasma miR-106b, miR-20a, and miR-221 have the potential as novel, non-invasive biomarkers for the early detection of GC.

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Histone acetylation plays an important role in regulation of chromatin structure and gene expression in terms of responding to abiotic stresses. Histone acetylation is modulated by histone deacetylases (HDACs) and histone acetyltransferases. Recently, the effectiveness of HDAC inhibitors (HDACis) for conferring plant salt tolerance has been reported. However, the role of HDACis in cotton has not been elucidated. In the present study, we assessed the effects of the HDACi suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid (SAHA) during high salinity stress in cotton. We demonstrated that 10 μM SAHA pretreatment could rescue of cotton from 250 mM NaCl stress, accompanied with reduced Na+ accumulation and a strong expression of the ion homeostasis-related genes. Western blotting and immunostaining results revealed that SAHA pretreatment could induce global hyperacetylation of histone H3 at lysine 9 (H3K9) and histone H4 at lysine 5 (H4K5) under 250 mM NaCl stress, indicating that SAHA could act as the HDACi in cotton. Chromatin immunoprecipitation and chromatin accessibility coupled with real time quantitative PCR analyses showed that the upregulation of the ion homeostasis-related genes was associated with the elevated acetylation levels of H3K9 and H4K5 and increased chromatin accessibility on the promoter regions of these genes. Our results could provide a theoretical basis for analyzing the mechanism of HDACi application on salt tolerance in plants.

Glioblastoma is the most aggressive malignant brain tumor in adults. Long noncoding RNA HOTAIRM1 (HOX antisense intergenic RNA myeloid 1) has been reported to participate in the progression of various cancers. However, the role of HOTAIRM1 in glioblastoma and its underlying mechanisms are largely unknown. The relative expression levels of HOTAIRM1, miR-137 and specificity protein 1 were detected by quantitative real-time PCR or western blot. The effects of HOTAIRM1 on cell proliferation and invasion were evaluated by Cell Counting Kit-8 assay and Transwell assay, respectively. The interactions among HOTAIRM1, miR-137 and specificity protein 1 were predicted by online softwares and confirmed by luciferase reporter assay and RNA immunoprecipitation assay. The levels of HOTAIRM1 and specificity protein 1 were significantly increased while miR-137 was significantly decreased in glioblastoma tissues and cells. Knockdown of HOTAIRM1 suppressed proliferation and invasion in glioblastoma cells. Moreover, miR-137 was bound to HOTAIRM1, and specificity protein 1 was identified as a target of miR-137. The protein level of specificity protein 1 was repressed by silencing the expression of HOTAIRM1, whereas the effect was restored by inhibiting the expression of miR-137. Downregulation of HOTAIRM1 expression suppressed the proliferation and invasion of glioblastoma cells by down-regulating specificity protein 1 expression via sponging miR-137, indicating a promising strategy for glioblastoma treatment.

Nanostructured zirconia thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) have been prepared by atmospheric plasma spraying using the reconstituted nanosized yttria partially stabilized zirconia powder. Field emission scanning electron microscope was applied to examine the microstructure of the resulting TBCs. The results showed that the TBCs exhibited a unique, complex structure including nonmelted or partially melted nanosized particles and columnar grains. A CO 2 continuous wave laser beam has been applied to laser glaze the nanostructured zirconia TBCs. The effect of laser energy density on the microstructure and thermal shock resistance of the as-glazed coatings has been systematically investigated. SEM observation indicated that the microstructure of the as-glazed coatings was very different from the microstructure of the as-sprayed nanostructured TBCs. It changed from single columnar grain to a combination of columnar grains in the fracture surface and equiaxed grains on the surface with increasing laser energy density. Thermal shock resistance tests have showed that laser glazing can double the lifetime of TBCs. The failure of the as-glazed coatings was mainly due to the thermal stress caused by the thermal expansion coefficient mismatch between the ceramic coat and metallic substrate.

Pyoderma gangrenosum (PG) is an uncommon ulcerative cutaneous condition of an unknown etiology and is often associated with immune diseases. However, PG rarely shows visceral involvement, especially in the kidney. A 20-year-old female presented with pedal edema and skin ulceration of both lower limbs. The skin lesion began as an erythematous plaque and then became a blister. She also complained of abdominal distension and a decreasing urine volume. Laboratory data showed high proteinuria, hypoalbuminemia and hyperlipidemia. Her skin and kidney were biopsied. The pathological results indicated PG and immunoglobulin A (IgA) nephropathy. The patient was finally cured with prednisolone in combination with cyclosporine A (CsA).

Background:Monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) plays an important role in the development of allergic inflammatory reactions by recruiting various immune cells, which is associated with many autoimmune diseases, but the association with the MCP-1-2518A/G gene polymorphism and lupus nephritis (LN) was still controversial in previous studies. Thus, we performed a meta-analysis to derive a more precise evaluation of the association between MCP-1 -2518A/G polymorphism and LN risk and evaluated influence of ethnicity and source of controls.Methods:A systematic review and meta-analysis that will be performed according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). Relevant literatures dated to September 2016 were acquired from the PubMed, EMBASE, Cochran Library databases. A total of 961 LN cases and 1867 controls were extracted from 10 published case-control studies. We used odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) to assess the risk of LN with MCP-1-2518A/G.Results:Our meta-analysis suggested that MCP-1-2518A/G polymorphism was associated with the risk of LN (GG vs AG+AA: P < .01, OR = 1.42, 95% CI: 1.13–1.79 and A vs G P = .02, OR = 0.74, 95% CI: 0.58–0.95). Then the subgroup analysis showed MCP-1 -2518 A/G gene has a certain correlation with LN susceptibility in the American population (GG vs AA: P < .01, OR = 5.70, 95% CI: 2.09–15.50, GG vs AG+AA: P < .01, OR = 3.31, 95% CI: 1.97–5.54, GG+AG vs AA: P < .01, OR = 2.86, 95% CI: 1.14–7.18, and A vs G: P < .01, OR = 0.43, 95% CI: 0.24–0.79), while no significant risk in Europeans and Asians.Conclusion:The current meta-analysis suggests that the MCP-1-2518A/G polymorphism is associated with an increased risk of LN, especially in the American population. However, better-designed studies with larger sample sizes are needed to validate the results.

A good investment portfolio can make the investment get more returns, which requires investors to adopt appropriate methods to optimize the investment portfolio. A portfolio is not just a simple sum of assets, it requires the use of suitable models to analyze optimal asset allocation. This paper analyzes the asset allocation of firefighters, and uses three methods of mean variance analysis, CAPM model and FF3F model to optimize the pension investment ratio of firefighters. At the same time, this paper analyzes multiple stocks from four industries including retail, technology, manufacturing, and food, and strives to find the investment portfolio with the most potential pension. The results show that in CAPM, the largest weights of both maximum sharp ratio portfolio and the minimum portfolio belong to the possession of ‘NSRGY’, while in the FF3F model, the greatest weight of the maximum sharp ratio portfolio belongs to ‘TM’ possession and the greatest weight of the minimum variance portfolio belongs to ‘NSRGY’. This research could help retirees on the same pension type better allocate their pension assets and optimize their investment portfolios. At the same time, this paper also analyzes the investment performance of stocks in different industries under the same fixed proportion of pension.