Heat Storage of Paraffin-Based Composite Phase Change Materials and Their Temperature Regulation of Underground Power Cable Systems

Excessive heat accumulation in backfill materials causes thermal fatigue damage in underground power cable systems that significantly affects the cable carrying capacity. To improve the thermal conditions of the system, two types of composite phase change materials (CPCMs) were prepared by incorporating paraffin into porous ceramsite (CS)/expanded graphite (EG) in this study. EG and CS can carry 90 and 40 wt.% paraffin, respectively. The phase change temperature of paraffin/CS and paraffin/EG CPCMs was approximately 65 °C, and the corresponding latent heats were 63.38 J/g and 156.4 J/g, respectively. Furthermore, the temperature regulation by CPCMs was evaluated experimentally by designing a setup to simulate the underground power cable system. The reduction in the maximum temperature of the backfill materials with paraffin/CS CPCM and paraffin/EG CPCM was approximately 7.1 °C and 17.1 °C, respectively, compared to reference samples. A similar conclusion was drawn from the heat flux curves. Therefore, the prepared CPCMs could significantly alleviate temperature fluctuations, where the paraffin/EG CPCM provided better temperature regulation than paraffin/CS CPCM. Both materials have potential applications for use in backfill materials for underground power cable systems.

A systematic analysis of a potential metabolism-related prognostic signature for breast cancer patients

Background

Metabolic pathways play an essential role in breast cancer. However, the role of metabolism-related genes in the early diagnosis of breast cancer remains unknown.

Methods

In our study, RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) expression data and clinicopathological information from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and GSE20685 were obtained. Univariate cox regression and least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression analyses were performed on the differentially expressed metabolism-related genes. Then, the formula of the metabolism-related risk model was composed, and the risk score of each patient was calculated. The breast cancer patients were divided into high-risk and low-risk groups with a cutoff of the median expression value of the risk score, and the prognostic analysis was also used to analyze the survival time between these two groups. In the end, we also analyzed the expression, interaction, and correlation among genes in the metabolism-related gene risk model.

Results

The results from the prognostic analysis indicated that the survival was significantly poorer in the high-risk group than in the low-risk group in both TCGA and GSE20685 datasets. In addition, after adjusting for different clinicopathological features in multivariate analysis, the metabolism-related risk model remained an independent prognostic indicator in TCGA dataset.

Conclusions

In summary, we systematically developed a potential metabolism-related gene risk model for predicting prognosis in breast cancer patients.

Mining the prognostic significance of the GINS2 gene in human breast cancer using bioinformatics analysis

A number of studies have demonstrated the crucial functions of GINS2 within the GINS complex in various types of cancer. However, the molecular mechanisms and prognostic value of GINS2 in breast cancer remain unknown. The present study used; BC-GenExMiner, COSMIC, UCSC Xena, The Human Protein Atlas, GEPIA, cBioPortal, GeneMANIA, TIMER and Oncomine, in order to investigate gene expression, co-expression, clinical parameters and mutations in GINS2 in patients with breast cancer. Furthermore, the present study assessed the prognostic value of GINS2 in patients with breast cancer via the Kaplan-Meier plotter database. The results of the present study demonstrated that the mRNA levels of GINS2 were significantly higher in breast cancer tissue compared with normal tissue. In addition, high mRNA expression levels of GINS2 were associated with high Scarff-Bloom-Richardson status grades, a basal-like status and age (≤51 years); however, it was not associated with lymph node metastasis. The survival analysis revealed that increased GINS2 mRNA levels were associated with a worse prognosis for relapse-free survival in all patients with breast cancer, particularly in those with estrogen receptor-positive and progesterone receptor-positive subtypes. In addition, a positive association between the GINS2, CENPM and MCM4 genes was confirmed. The results of the present study suggest that GINS2 could be used as a potential prognostic biomarker for breast cancer. Nevertheless, further studies are necessary to confirm the effects of GINS2 on the pathogenesis and development of patients with breast cancer.

Increased SIX-1 expression promotes breast cancer metastasis by regulating lncATB-miR-200s-ZEB1 axis

Patients with advanced breast cancer (BC) showed a higher incidence of regional and distant metastases. Sine oculis homeobox homolog 1 (SIX-1) has been confirmed to be a key tumorigenic and metastatic regulator in BC progression. Yet, molecular mechanisms behind SIX-1-induced BC metastases remain largely unknown. Here we found that SIX-1 was frequently up-regulated in BC and correlated with poor outcomes when tested in human BC tissue microarray. Then, we manipulated the expression of SIX-1 by via shRNA-mediated knockdown and lentivirus-mediated overexpression. Transwell assay in vitro and lung metastases model of nude mice in vivo showed that SIX-1 promoted BC cell invasion and migration in vitro, and facilitated metastases in vivo. Mechanistically, SIX-1 could promote the transcription of lncATB, which exerts critical pro-metastatic role in BC by directly binding to the miR-200 family, especially for miR-200c, to induce EMT and promote metastases. In conclusion, SIX-1 exerts its pro-metastatic role in BC through lncATB/miR-200s axis of EMT signalling pathway and could act as an important diagnostic marker as well as a significant therapeutic target for clinically advanced BC.

Effects of incubation and chick rearing on intestinal morphology, digestive enzyme activities, and mRNA expression of nutrient transporter genes in the pigeon (Columba livia) under artificial farming conditions

The present study investigated the changes in morphology, enzyme activities in the pancreas and mucosa, and nutrient transporter gene expression in the duodenum and jejunum in male and female pigeons during the incubation and chick-rearing periods. Forty-two pairs of White King pigeons with 2 fertile eggs per pair were randomly divided into 7 groups by different breeding stages. The crypt depth of the duodenum and jejunum reached the peak at day 1 (R1) and day 7 (R7) of chick rearing, respectively. The jejunum surface area increased to a maximum value at R1. Amylase activity in the pancreas decreased to the lowest value at R1, whereas trypsin and lipase activities peaked at 17 D of incubation (I17) and R7, respectively. In male pigeons, mucosal Na⁺-K⁺-ATPase activity in the duodenum and jejunum was the highest at R15 and it was at I17 in female pigeons. Jejunum sucrose activity in female pigeons was higher at I4 than that at I17 (P < 0.05). The gene expression of FAT/CD36 and I-FABP in the duodenum gradually increased and then declined in the late chick-rearing period. SGLT1 in the jejunum decreased to a lower level at I17 and R25 in male pigeons (P < 0.05). GLUT2 expression in female duodenum and male jejunum decreased to a lower value at I17 compared with that at R15 (P < 0.05). In the late of incubation (from I10 to I17), expression of duodenum CAT1, B⁰AT1, and PepT1 and jejunum CAT1, ASCT1, and PepT1 in female pigeons was significantly reduced (P < 0.05), whereas opposite results were found in male jejunum CAT1 and duodenum ASCT1. In conclusion, variations of intestinal morphology, activities of pancreatic and mucosal enzymes, and gene expression of nutrient transporters during incubation and chick-rearing periods, underlying potential changes of digestive and absorptive function and intestinal adaptation with sexual effects, may represent a complicated response to stimuli of different breeding stages.

The profiling of amino acids in crop milk and plasma and mRNA abundance of amino acid transporters and enzymes related to amino acid synthesis in the crop tissue of male and female pigeons during incubation and chick-rearing periods

The present study was carried out to investigate the changes in amino acid (AA) contents of crop milk and plasma and mRNA abundance of AA transporters and AA synthesis-related enzymes in the crop tissue of male and female pigeons during incubation and chick-rearing periods. Forty-two pairs of adult White King pigeons with 2 fertile eggs per pair were randomly divided into 7 groups by different breeding stages. The AA content of crop milk decreased from day 1 (R1) to day 25 (R25) of chick rearing (P < 0.05). In both male and female adult pigeons, the contents of Thr, Leu, Val, His, Asp, and Pro in plasma increased to maximum levels on R25. Parental sex effect and interaction between stage and sex were observed in the AA contents of pigeon plasma (P < 0.05). For AA transporters, the mRNA abundances of SNAT2, ASCT1, LAT1, and y+LAT2 in the male crops reached the highest value on day 17 of incubation (I17), and the peak mRNA levels of PAT-1, xCT, b0,+AT, and CAT1 were found on R7 (P < 0.05). In females, the abundances of ASCT1, B0AT1, asc-1, and CAT1 mRNA peaked on R1, whereas the maximum levels of LAT1, PAT-1, b0,+AT, and y+LAT2 were observed on R7. For enzymes involved in AA synthesis, the highest gene expressions of glutamate dehydrogenase 1, acetolactate synthase in both parent pigeons, and L-threonine 3-dehydrogenase in female pigeon crops were attained on I17. The expressions of ornithine-δ-aminotransferase, glutamic-oxal(o)acetic transaminase 1, glutamic-oxal(o)acetic transaminase 2, asparagine synthetase, serine hydroxymethyltransferase 2, and glutamic-pyruvic transaminase 2 in both sexes and argininosuccinate lyase and L-threonine 3-dehydrogenase in males were the highest on R1. In conclusion, AA used for pigeon crop milk formation may originate from plasma and intracellular synthesis. The genes involved in AA transport and synthesis varied significantly with sexual effects, indicating that other factors should be considered in future explorations of the mechanism of protein formation in crop milk.

Development of an Immune-Related Prognostic Signature in Breast Cancer

BACKGROUND

Although increased early detection, diagnosis and treatment have improved the outcome of breast cancer patients, prognosis estimation still poses challenges due to the disease heterogeneity. Accumulating data indicated an evident correlation between tumor immune microenvironment and clinical outcomes.

OBJECTIVE

To construct an immune-related signature that can estimate disease prognosis and patient survival in breast cancer.

METHODS

Gene expression profiles and clinical data of breast cancer patients were collected from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) databases, which were further divided into a training set (n = 499), a testing set (n = 234) and a Meta-validation set (n = 519). In the training set, immune-related genes were recognized using combination of gene expression data and ESTIMATE algorithm-derived immune scores. An immune-related prognostic signature was generated with LASSO Cox regression analysis. The prognostic value of the signature was validated in the testing set and the Meta-validation set.

RESULTS

A total of 991 immune-related genes were identified. Twelve genes with non-zero coefficients in LASSO analysis were used to construct an immune-related prognostic signature. The 12-gene signature significantly stratified patients into high and low immune risk groups in terms of overall survival independent of clinical and pathologic factors. The signature also significantly stratified overall survival in clinical defined groups, including stage I/II disease. Several biological processes, such as immune response, were enriched among genes in the immune-related signature. The percentage of M2 macrophage infiltration was significantly different between low and high immune risk groups. Time-dependent ROC curves indicated good performance of our signature in predicting the 1-, 3- and 5-year overall survival for patients from the full TCGA cohort. Furthermore, the composite signature derived by integrating immune-related signature with clinical factors, provided a more accurate estimation of survival relative to molecular signature alone.

CONCLUSION

We developed a 12-gene prognostic signature, providing novel insights into the identification of breast cancer with a high risk of death and assessment of the possibility of immunotherapy incorporation in personalized breast cancer management.

Gut microbiota of newborn piglets with intrauterine growth restriction have lower diversity and different taxonomic abundances

Aim

Intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) is a prevalent problem in mammals. The present study was conducted to unveil the alterations in intestinal microbiota in IUGR piglets.

Methods and Results

We identified the alterations of small intestinal microbiota in IUGR piglets on 7, 21 and 28 days of age using 16S rRNA sequencing. The results showed that IUGR piglets had a decreased alpha diversity of jejunum microbiota at 7 and 21 days of age; had lower abundances of Bacteroidetes and Bacteroides in the jejunum at 7, 21 and 28 days of age, Oscillibacter in the jejunum at 21 days of age, and Firmicutes in the ileum at 21 days of age; whereas they had higher abundances of Proteobacteria and Pasteurella in the ileum at 21 days of age and Escherichia–Shigella in the jejunum at 28 days of age. Correlation analysis showed that Bacteroides, Oscillibacter and Ruminococcaceae_UCG‐002 compositions were positively associated with the body weight (BW) of IUGR piglets, nevertheless Proteobacteria and Escherichia–Shigella relative abundances were negatively correlated with the BW of IUGR piglets. Gene function prediction analysis indicated that microbiota‐associated carbohydrate metabolism, lipid metabolism, glycan biosynthesis and metabolism, amino acid metabolism, and xenobiotics biodegradation and metabolism were downregulated in the IUGR piglets compared to control piglets.

Conclusions

The present study profiled the intestinal microbiota of newborn piglets with IUGR and the newborn IUGR piglets have lower diversity and different taxonomic abundances. Alterations in the abundances of Bacteroidetes, Bacteroides, Proteobacteria Escherichia–Shigella and Pasteurella may be involved in nutrient digestion and absorption, as well as the potential mechanisms connecting to the growth and development of IUGR in mammals.

Significance and Impact of the Study

The small intestinal microbiota were highly shaped in the IUGR piglets, which might further mediate the growth and development of IUGR piglets; and the gut microbiota could serve as a potential target for IUGR treatment.

A nomogram for predicting the HER2 status in female patients with breast cancer in China: a nationwide, multicenter, 10-year epidemiological study

BACKGROUND

The concordance rate of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) status between core needle biopsy (CNB) and subsequent excisional biopsies of the same tumor varies from 81 to 96%, which may cause inappropriate neoadjuvant therapy that impair the potential benefit from HER2 targeted therapy for patients. This study aimed to establish a nomogram to predict the HER2 status pre-operatively as an auxiliary diagnosis to CNB assessment.

METHODS

Among 4211 breast cancer patients cataloged in the Nation-wide Multicenter 10-year Retrospective Clinical Epidemiological Study of Breast Cancer in China, 2291 patients with complete relevant information were included in this study, which were further randomized 3:1 and divided into a training set and a validation set. The nomogram was established based on independent predictors of HER2 positivity recognized by logistic regression analysis and further validated internally and externally.

RESULTS

The multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that T-stage, N-stage, estrogen receptor (ER) status, progesterone receptor (PR) status were independent predictors for HER2 status. The nomogram was thereby constructed by those independent predictors as well as histology type. The areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of the training set and the validation set were 0.636 and 0.681, respectively. The calibration plots demonstrated good fitness of the nomogram for HER2 status prediction. With the optimal cutoff value, the nomogram yielded 80.0% sensitivity, 43.1% specificity in the training set and 81.1% sensitivity, 49.8% specificity in the validation set.

CONCLUSIONS

The present nomogram can provide valuable information on HER2 status and combined with standard CNB assessment, clinicians could make more appropriate decision on neoadjuvant therapy of breast cancer.

Prolactin induces lipid synthesis of organ-cultured pigeon crops

The objective of this research was to examine the effects of prolactin (PRL) on the lipid synthesis of organ-cultured pigeon crops in vitro. In experiment 1, the histology, activities of enzymes, and expression of genes involved in metabolism and apoptosis of organ-cultured pigeon crops were analyzed over a 7-d culture period. The results showed that cultured crops maintained their structural integrity for up to 3 d in vitro. Beyond 3 d, caspase-3 activity and Bak1 gene expression increased with day of culture, whereas the activities of succinate dehydrogenase, Na+-K+-ATPase, Ca2+-Mg2+-ATPase, total ATPase, and gene expression of Bcl-2 and CK-19 diminished (P < 0.05). In experiment 2, the crops were cultured for 24, 36, and 48 h in medium containing 0, 25, or 50 ng/mL PRL, respectively, and the accumulation of lipid droplets, lipid content, and expression of fatty acid transportation- and lipogenesis-related genes were analyzed. The results showed that the crops with PRL supplements showed higher amounts of lipid droplets than those of the controls, and the droplets were mainly located in the basal nutritive layer in response to PRL. The efficacy of inducing lipid accumulation increased as the concentration of PRL increased. Crops with 50 ng/mL PRL incubated for 36 h displayed the maximal lipid content. Increasing the concentration of PRL from 0 to 50 ng/mL resulted in a dose-dependent increase in the expression of acetyl-CoA carboxylase, fatty acid synthase, fatty acid translocase, fatty acid binding protein 5, acyl-CoA binding protein, and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ genes after incubation for 36 h (P < 0.05). Therefore, our results indicated that the organ-cultured pigeon crops maintained good viability for up to 3 d in vitro. Furthermore, PRL induced the lipid synthesis of organ-cultured pigeon crops in a dose- and time-dependent manner, which was related to the increased expression of genes involved in fatty acid transportation and lipogenesis.

Co-Existence of Novel PDE6A Mutations and A Recurrent RPGR Mutation: A Potential Explanation for Phenotypic Diversity in Female RPGR Mutation Carriers

BACKGROUND

To report the co-existence of novel biallelic PDE6A mutations and heterozygous RPGR mutation in a Chinese female patient with retinitis pigmentosa (RP), and to analyze the intrafamilial phenotypic diversity.

METHODS

Three patients with retinopathy and four healthy family members were included in genetic and clinical analyses. Personal medical records were obtained from another four unaffected female family members who refused blood donation. Family history was carefully recorded. Each patient received comprehensive ophthalmic tests. Targeted next-generation sequencing (NGS) approach was performed on the proband to determine the retinopathy causative mutation for this family. In silico analysis was also applied to analyze the pathogenesis of identified mutations.

RESULTS

The two recruited male patients were diagnosed with RP, and the female patient RP sine pigmento (RPSP). Genetic assessments revealed a recurrent RPGR mutation, c.1926_1927insA, carried by all three patients and segregated the disease status. Three other unaffected female family members were confirmed as carriers for the identified RPGR mutation, and another four as obligate carriers. Interestingly, of all the eight female RPGR mutation carriers in this family, only one female developed retinal dystrophy. Comprehensive genetic analysis of this patient unraveled additional biallelic PDE6A mutations, c.[1066-9delT];[2324delG], carried solely by this individual.

CONCLUSIONS

Taken together, we hypothesize that the phenotypic variability presented by female RPGR mutation carriers may be attributed to the co-existence of other disease-causative mutations. Our study also emphasizes the importance of comprehensive genetic analysis in these female carriers, which will contribute to better diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment for these patients.

Changes in hormone profiles, growth factors, and mRNA expression of the related receptors in crop tissue, relative organ weight, and serum biochemical parameters in the domestic pigeon (Columba livia) during incubation and chick-rearing periods under artificial farming conditions

The present study was conducted to determine the changes in concentrations of hormones and growth factors and their related receptor gene expressions in crop tissue, relative organ weight, and serum biochemical parameters in male and female pigeons during incubation and chick-rearing periods under artificial farming conditions. Seventy-eight pairs of 60-week-old White King pigeons with 2 fertile eggs per pair were randomly divided into 13 groups by different breeding stages. Serum prolactin and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) concentrations in crop tissue homogenates were the highest in both male and female pigeons at 1 d of chick-rearing (R1), while epidermal growth factor (EGF) in female pigeons peaked at d 17 of incubation (I17) (P < 0.05). mRNA expression of the prolactin and EGF receptors in the crop tissue increased at the end of incubation and the early chick-rearing stage in both sexes. However, estrogen, progesterone, and growth hormone receptor expression each decreased during the early chick-rearing stage (P < 0.05). In male pigeons, IGF-1 receptor gene expression reached its peak at R7, while in female pigeons, it increased at the end of incubation. The relative weight of breast and abdominal fat in both sexes and thighs in the males was lowest at R7, and then gradually increased to the incubation period level. Serum total protein, albumin, and globulin concentrations increased to the highest levels at I17 (P < 0.05). Total cholesterol, triglyceride, and low-density lipoprotein reached their highest values at I17 in male pigeons and R25 in female pigeons (P < 0.05). In conclusion, hormones, growth factors, and their receptors potentially underlie pigeon crop tissue development. Changes in organs and serum biochemical profiles suggested their different breeding-cycle patterns with sexual effects.

Effect of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors on bone mineral density: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Our work is the first systematic meta-analysis to investigate the effect of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) medication on bone mineral density. Through meta-analyzed 11 studies, our findings suggested that compared with nonusers, use of SSRIs was significantly associated with lumbar spine BMD reduction, particularly for old people. The use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) has already been associated with bone mass loss. Their effects on bone mineral density (BMD) for the different bone sections have, however, thus been inconsistent. Here, we aim to assess the effects of SSRIs on BMD using a meta-analysis. We searched PubMed, Scopus, ISI Web of Knowledge, the Cochrane Library, and PsycINFO for all English-written studies investigating the effects of SSRIs on BMD and published before November 2017. BMD was compared between non-SSRI users and SSRI users using a random-effect model with standardized mean differences (SMD) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Furthermore, subgroup analyses were performed based on study design, age, and sex in order to find the origins of high heterogeneity. Eleven studies met the inclusion criteria and were used for the meta-analysis. Our study demonstrated that the use of SSRIs was significantly associated with lower BMD values (SMD - 0.40; 95% CI - 0.79 to 0.00; p = 0.05) and BMD Z-scores (SMD - 0.28; 95% CI - 0.50 to - 0.05; p = 0.02) of the lumbar spine, but not of the total hip and femoral neck. In addition, SSRI use was associated with a greater bone loss in older people. SSRI use is a risk factor of lower BMD of the lumbar spine, especially for older people. Future studies into the relationship between SSRI use and bone metabolism and bone mass need to be conducted with larger sample sizes for both men and women at different bone sites.