A gene signature of cancer-associated fibroblasts predicts prognosis and treatment response in bladder cancer

OBJECTIVE

Due to the pivotal role cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) play in tumor progression, our study aimed to develop a signature of CAFs-related gene (CRG) to predict the survival outcomes and treatment response of bladder cancer (BLCA).

METHODS

The transcriptome data and relevant clinical information about BLCA were collected from publicly available databases, including The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) datasets. Weighted gene co-expression network analysis was utilized to uncover CAFs-associated hub genes, and subsequently, a risk model for survival prognosis was constructed using LASSO-Cox regression. The immune microenvironment, immune infiltration, immunotherapy response, and drug sensitivity were explored using ESTIMATE, CIBERSORT, TIDE, and oncoPredict algorithms. To verify the expression of the CRGs, additional analyses were performed using online databases (HPA, CCLE, TIMER, cBioPortal, and TISCH).

RESULTS

Our study developed a CRG signature and constructed a prognostic model. Significant differences in overall survival were observed between the two risk stratifications. The risk score increased with the infiltration of CAFs and tumor staging progression, while closely correlating with immune checkpoint expression and infiltration of CD8 T cells, follicular helper T cells, regulatory T cells, activated dendritic cells, M0 macrophages, M2 macrophages, and resting mast cells. Furthermore, a higher proportion of patients in the low-risk stratification exhibited responsiveness to immunotherapy, and significant variances in sensitivity to multiple chemotherapy medications were observed between the two risk stratifications.

CONCLUSION

The construction of the risk model based on the CRG signature offers new avenues for the prognosis evaluation and development of personalized treatment strategies for BLCA.

Aminated graphene quantum dots/CdS nanobelts for enhanced photocatalytic degradation of RhB dye under visible light

CdS nanoparticles have wide applications as photocatalysts for degradation of organic pollutants, but due to their limited turnover number and off-pathway charge recombination processes, their degradation efficiency is low. Herein, aminated graphene quantum dots/CdS (GQDs/CdS) nanobelts were successfully fabricated by solvothermal and hydrothermal processes. The prepared GQDs/CdS were characterized by physical methods to investigate their structure, morphology, optical properties, specific surface area, element composition, and chemical state. GQDs/CdS materials promoted efficient charge separation, and showed high efficiency in the photocatalytic degradation of the organic dye Rhodamine B (RhB) under visible light. The degradation efficiency of RhB samples over 0.05 g of catalysts reached 97.40% after 150 min, a much higher efficiency in comparison to pure CdS. Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy provided direct evidence for ˙OH and ˙O2- as the reactive oxidative species using DMPO as a spin trap. Consistent with the experimental results, a possible mechanism of RhB photocatalytic degradation by GQDs/CdS under visible light was proposed. This work may provide environmentally friendly photocatalysts for degrading organic dyes and purifying water.

Research progress on ecology and sustainable development of Guilin Lijiang River Basin, China, based on bibliometric analysis

Guilin is a typical representative of karst landform in South China. Because of its unique geographical landform and hydrological environment, Lijiang River Basin has received a certain degree of attention in field of ecology and sustainable development. Explore and visualize the hotspots and frontiers of Guilin Lijiang River Basin Ecology and Sustainable Development (GLRBESD) by using bibliometrics, CiteSpace, and VOSviewer. Results showed that number of published papers was in a fluctuating upward trend from 1992 to 2022 and from 2011 to 2022, respectively. Work of scholars in this field has been continuously strengthened and deepened, and overall scientific research results show an increasing trend. Research objects and topics are mainly aimed at the water resources, climate, and environment of GLRB Landscape ecology and SDG index construction. Research of GLRBESD-published documents has the characteristics of multi-disciplinary and interdisciplinary integration. High-frequency keywords in research field focus on ecotourism, ecological restoration, and sustainable development, mainly based on the research of ecotourism development. Impact of environmental factor changes and human activities on land use change in different periods is an important research topic. Core research field of GLRBESD on macro-scale can be divided into ESV and function, ecological compensation and ecotourism, ecological environment and ecological restoration, ecological network and ecological risk assessment, and sustainable development. This research provides systematic scientific research basis for enhancing sustainable development ability and ecosystem functions and services of World Natural Heritage Site.

Speech extraction from vibration signals based on deep learning

Extracting speech information from vibration response signals is a typical system identification problem, and the traditional method is too sensitive to deviations such as model parameters, noise, boundary conditions, and position. A method was proposed to obtain speech signals by collecting vibration signals of vibroacoustic systems for deep learning training in the work. The vibroacoustic coupling finite element model was first established with the voice signal as the excitation source. The vibration acceleration signals of the vibration response point were used as the training set to extract its spectral characteristics. Training was performed by two types of networks: fully connected, and convolutional. And it is found that the Fully Connected network prediction model has faster Rate of convergence and better quality of extracted speech. The amplitude spectra of the output speech signals (network output) and the phase of the vibration signals were used to convert extracted speech signals back to the time domain during the test set. The simulation results showed that the positions of the vibration response points had little effect on the quality of speech recognition, and good speech extraction quality can be obtained. The noises of the speech signals posed a greater influence on the speech extraction quality than the noises of the vibration signals. Extracted speech quality was poor when both had large noises. This method was robust to the position deviation of vibration responses during training and testing. The smaller the structural flexibility, the better the speech extraction quality. The quality of speech extraction was reduced in a trained system as the mass of node increased in the test set, but with negligible differences. Changes in boundary conditions did not significantly affect extracted speech quality. The speech extraction model proposed in the work has good robustness to position deviations, quality deviations, and boundary conditions.

Optimization of composting methods for efficient use of cassava waste, using microbial degradation

With the recent revolution in the green economy, agricultural solid waste resource utilization has become an important project. A small-scale laboratory orthogonal experiment was set up to investigate the effects of C/N ratio, initial moisture content and fill ratio (v_{cassava residue}: v_gravel) on the maturity of cassava residue compost by adding Bacillus subtilis and Azotobacter chroococcum. The highest temperature in the thermophilic phase of the low C/N ratio treatment is significantly lower than the medium and high C/N ratios. The C/N ratio and moisture content have a significant impact on the results of cassava residue composting, while the filling ratio only has a significant impact on the pH value and phosphorus content. Based on comprehensive analysis, the recommended process parameters for pure cassava residue composting are a C/N ratio of 25, an initial moisture content of 60%, and a filling ratio of 5. Under these conditions, the high-temperature conditions can be reached and maintained quickly, the organic matter has been degraded by 36.1%, the pH value has dropped to 7.36, the E4/E6 ratio is 1.61, the conductivity value has dropped to 2.52 mS/cm, and the final germination index increased to 88%. The thermogravimetry, scanning electron microscope, and energy spectrum analysis also showed that the cassava residue was effectively biodegraded. Cassava residue composting with this process parameter has great reference significance for the actual production and application of agriculture.

Physio-Morphological, Biochemical and Transcriptomic Analyses Provide Insights Into Drought Stress Responses in Mesona chinensis Benth

Drought stress affects the normal growth and development of Mesona chinensis Benth (MCB), which is an important medicinal and edible plant in China. To investigate the physiological and molecular mechanisms of drought resistance in MCB, different concentrations of polyethylene glycol 6000 (PEG6000) (0, 5, 10, and 15%) were used to simulate drought conditions in this study. Results showed that the growth of MCB was significantly limited under drought stress conditions. Drought stress induced the increases in the contents of Chla, Chlb, Chla + b, soluble protein, soluble sugar, and soluble pectin and the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), total antioxidant capacity (TAC), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), and malondialdehyde (MDA). Transcriptome analysis revealed 3,494 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) (1,961 up-regulated and 1,533 down-regulated) between the control and 15% PEG6000 treatments. These DEGs were identified to be involved in the 10 metabolic pathways, including "plant hormone signal transduction," "brassinosteroid biosynthesis," "plant-pathogen interaction," "MAPK signaling pathway-plant," "starch and sucrose metabolism," "pentose and glucuronate interconversions," "phenylpropanoid biosynthesis," "galactose metabolism," "monoterpenoid biosynthesis," and "ribosome." In addition, transcription factors (TFs) analysis showed 8 out of 204 TFs, TRINITY_DN3232_c0_g1 [ABA-responsive element (ABRE)-binding transcription factor1, AREB1], TRINITY_DN4161_c0_g1 (auxin response factor, ARF), TRINITY_DN3183_c0_g2 (abscisic acid-insensitive 5-like protein, ABI5), TRINITY_DN28414_c0_g2 (ethylene-responsive transcription factor ERF1b, ERF1b), TRINITY_DN9557_c0_g1 (phytochrome-interacting factor, PIF3), TRINITY_DN11435_c1_g1, TRINITY_DN2608_c0_g1, and TRINITY_DN6742_c0_g1, were closely related to the "plant hormone signal transduction" pathway. Taken together, it was inferred that these pathways and TFs might play important roles in response to drought stress in MCB. The current study provided important information for MCB drought resistance breeding in the future.

Control of the interface graphitized/amorphous carbon of biomass-derived carbon microspheres for symmetric supercapacitors

Rational interface control of porous carbon electrode materials is of significance for achieving efficient supercapacitors. Herein, biomass-derived carbon microspheres with a highly graphitized porous surface and amorphous subsurface were well constructed via a flexible coupled catalysis-activation process. The unique structure not only endows the carbon microspheres with rapid electron transfer but also an ultra-high specific surface area. Owing to the optimized graphitized/amorphous structure, the obtained graphitized and activated starch-derived carbon microspheres display obviously impressive energy storage capability among the reported starch-derived carbon materials, even though they were evaluated in a narrow voltage window. The assembled symmetrical supercapacitor based on the optimized carbon microspheres exhibits a high capacitance of 198 F g^-1 at 1 A g^-1, a high energy density of 14.67 W h kg^-1 at a power density of 4142.80 W kg^-1, robust cycle performance, and good rate performance in alkaline aqueous electrolyte. This work provides a strategy for flexible construction of biomass-derived carbon electrode materials, with an optimized graphitized/amorphous and porous structure, for boosted energy storage in supercapacitor applications.

Fabrication of Nanopillar Crystalline ITO Thin Films with High Transmittance and IR Reflectance by RF Magnetron Sputtering

Nanopillar crystalline indium tin oxide (ITO) thin films were deposited on soda-lime glass substrates by radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering under the power levels of 100 W, 150 W, 200 W and 250 W. The preparation process of thin films is divided into two steps, firstly, sputtering a very thin and granular crystalline film at the bottom, and then sputtering a nanopillar crystalline film above the bottom film. The structure, morphology, optical and electrical properties of the nanopillar crystalline ITO thin films were investigated. From X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, the nanopillar crystalline thin films shows (400) preferred orientation. Due to the effect of the bottom granular grains, the crystallinity of the nanopillar crystals on the upper layer was greatly improved. The nanopillar crystalline ITO thin films exhibited excellent electrical properties, enhanced visible light transmittance and a highly infrared reflectivity in the mid-infrared region. It is noted that the thin film deposited at 200 W showed the best combination of optical and electrical performance, with resistivity of 1.44 × 10-4 Ω cm, average transmittance of 88.49% (with a film thickness of 1031 nm) and IR reflectivity reaching 89.18%.