Integrin αvβ6 and matrix metalloproteinase 9 correlate with survival in gastric cancer

AIM: To investigate the expression of integrin αvβ6 and matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP-9), their association with prognostic factors and to assess their predictive role in gastric cancer patients.METHODS: Immunohistochemistry was used to determine the expressions of integrin αvβ6 and MMP-9 in 126 specimens from patients with primary gastric carcinoma. Associations between immunohistochemical staining and various clinic pathologic variables of tissue specimens were evaluated by the χ2 test and Fisher’s exact test. Expression correlation of αvβ6 and MMP-9 was assessed using bivariate correlation analysis. The patients were followed-up every 3 mo in the first two years and at least every 6 mo afterwards, with a median follow-up of 56 mo (ranging from 2 mo to 94 mo). Four different combinations of αvβ6 and MMP-9 levels (that is, both markers positive, both markers negative, αvβ6 positive with MMP-9 negative, and αvβ6 negative with MMP-9 positive) were evaluated for their relative effect on survival. The difference in survival curves was evaluated with a log-rank test. Survival analysis was conducted using the Kaplan-Meier survival and Cox proportional hazards model analysis.RESULTS: The expressions of integrin αvβ6 and MMP-9 were investigated in 126 cases, among which 34.92% were positive for αvβ6 expression, and 42.06% for MMP-9 expression. The expression of αvβ6 was associated with Lauren type, differentiation, N stage, and TNM stage (the P values were 0.006, 0.038, 0.016, and 0.002, respectively). While MMP-9 expression was associated with differentiation, T stage, N stage, and TNM stage (the P values were 0.039, 0.014, 0.033, and 0.008, respectively). The positive correlation between αvβ6 and MMP-9 in gastric cancer was confirmed by a correlation analysis. The Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that patients with expression of αvβ6 or MMP-9 alone died earlier than those with negative expression and that patients who were both αvβ6 and MMP-9 positive had a shorter overall survival than those with the opposite pattern (both αvβ6 and MMP-9 negative) (P = 0.000). A Cox model indicated that positive expression of αvβ6 and MMP-9, diffuse Lauren type, as well as a senior grade of N stage, M stage, and TNM stage were predictors of a poor prognosis in univariate analysis. Only αvβ6 and MMP-9 retained their significance when adjustments were made for other known prognostic factors in multivariate analysis (RR = 2.632, P = 0.003 and RR = 1.813, P = 0.007).CONCLUSION: The expression of αvβ6 and MMP-9 are closely correlated, and the combinational pattern of αvβ6 and MMP-9 can serve as a more effective prognostic index for gastric cancer patients.

Microstructure evolution and mechanical properties of Al−3.6Cu−1Li alloy via cryorolling and aging

An Al−3.6Cu−1Li alloy was subjected to room temperature rolling and cryorolling to investigate their effects on microstructure evolution and mechanical properties.The microstructure and aging characteristics of the room temperature-rolled and the cryorolled alloys with 70%and 90%of thickness reductions were studied by microstructure analysis and mechanical tests.The samples subjected to cryorolling with 90%of thickness reduction have high strength and good toughness.This is mainly due to the inhibition of dynamic recovery and the accumulation of high-density dislocations in cryorolled samples.In addition,the artificial aging reveals that the temperature at which peak hardness is attained is inversely proportional to the deformation amount and directly proportional to the rolling temperature.Moreover,bright field images of cryorolled samples after aging indicate the existence of T1(Al2CuLi)precipitates.This suggests that the high stored strain energy enhances the aging kinetics of the alloy,which further promotes the nucleation of T1 phases.

Preparation of high-mechanical-property medium-entropy CrCoNi alloy by asymmetric cryorolling

In order to obtain good strength−plasticity synergy for a medium entropy alloy(MEA)CrCoNi,cold rolling,asymmetric rolling,cryorolling and asymmetric-cryorolling with subsequent annealing at different temperatures were conducted.The results showed that the asymmetric-cryorolled alloy achieved a high strength of over 1.6 GPa.After annealing at 1073 K,it retained a high strength of~1 GPa while the elongation reached nearly 60%.After annealing,the heterogeneous characteristics were formed in asymmetric-cryorolled samples,which were found to be more distinct than those of the samples subjected to asymmetric rolling.This resulted in the generation of high strength and ductility.

Clinical significance of SQSTM1/P62 and nuclear factor-κB expression in pancreatic carcinoma

BACKGROUND Overexpression of SQSTM1(sequestosome 1,P62)and nuclear factor-κB(NF-κB)plays an important role in the invasion and metastasis of a variety of malignant tumors.AIM To explore the expression of P62 and NF-κB in pancreatic cancer and their relationship with clinicopathological features.METHODS The expression levels of P62 and NF-κB were analyzed by immunohistochemistry with a tissue chip containing 40 cases of human pancreatic carcinoma.Then we analyzed the correlation among P62 expression,phospho-P65 expression,and clinicopathological features of pancreatic carcinoma samples.RESULTS P62 expression was mainly observed in the cytoplasm of pancreatic carcinoma cells.Phosphorylated P65(phospho-P65)was mainly expressed in the nucleus and cytoplasm of pancreatic carcinoma cells.There was a significant difference in P62 expression among T stages.And a significant difference in phosphor-P65 expression among pathology types was noted.In the cases with strongly positive P62 expression,significant differences were found in age.And there were significant differences in T stage and tumor-node-metastasis stage in the cases with strongly positive phosphor-P65 expression.CONCLUSION In pancreatic carcinoma,P62 expression is significantly correlated with T stage.It may be a valuable malignant indicator for human pancreatic carcinoma.

Stacked lateral double-diffused metal–oxide–semiconductor field effect transistor with enhanced depletion effect by surface substrate

A stacked lateral double-diffused metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistor(LDMOS) with enhanced depletion effect by surface substrate is proposed(ST-LDMOS), which is compatible with the traditional CMOS processes. The new stacked structure is characterized by double substrates and surface dielectric trenches(SDT). The drift region is separated by the P-buried layer to form two vertically parallel devices. The doping concentration of the drift region is increased benefiting from the enhanced auxiliary depletion effect of the double substrates, leading to a lower specific on-resistance(Ron,sp). Multiple electric field peaks appear at the corners of the SDT, which improves the lateral electric field distribution and the breakdown voltage(BV). Compared to a conventional LDMOS(C-LDMOS), the BV in the ST-LDMOS increases from 259 V to 459 V, an improvement of 77.22%. The Ron,sp decreases from 39.62 m?·cm^2 to 23.24 m?·cm^2 and the Baliga's figure of merit(FOM) of is 9.07 MW/cm^2.

Identification of integrin β6 gene promoter and analysis of its transcription regulation in colon cancer cells

BACKGROUND The integrinβ6 gene,which is expressed in epithelial cancer,plays a pivotal role in various aspects of cancer progression.The present research for integrinβ6 regulation mainly focuses on the post-transcription and translation related regulation mechanism and its role in tumorigenesis.The mechanisms of how the integrinβ6 gene is regulated transcriptionally,and the promoter and transcription factors responsible for basic transcription of integrinβ6 gene remain unknown.AIM To clone and characterize the integrinβ6 promoter.METHODS Software analysis was used to predict the region of integrinβ6 promoter.Luciferase reporter plasmids,which contained the integrinβ6 promoter,were constructed.Element deletion analysis was performed to identify the location of core promoter and binding sites for transcription factors.RESULTS The regulatory elements for the transcription of the integrinβ6 gene were located between-286 and-85 and contained binding sites for transcription factors such as STAT3 and Ets-1.CONCLUSION For the first time,we found the region ofβ6 core promoter and demonstrated the binding sites for transcription factors such as Ets-1 and STAT3,which are important for integrinβ6 promoter transcription activity.These findings are important for investigating the mechanism of integrinβ6 activation in cancer progression.

A Lossy Contour-Based Representation of Segmentation Maps Using Quadratic Transformations Motion Prediction

In the context of object oriented video coding, the encoding of segmentation maps defined by contour networks is particularly critical. In this paper, we present a lossy contour network encoding algorithm where both the rate distortion contour encoding based on maximum operator and the prediction error for the current frame based on quadratic motion model are combined into a optimal polygon contour network compression scheme. The bit rate for the contour network can be further reduced by about 20% in comparison with that in the optimal polygonal boundary encoding scheme using maximum operator in the rate distortion sense.

B meson rare decays in the TNMSSM

We investigate the two loop electroweak corrections to B meson rare decays B¯→Xsγand B0s→μ+μ−in the minimal supersymmetry standard model(MSSM)extension with two triplets and one singlet(TNMSSM).The new particle contents and interactions in the TNMSSM can affect the theoretical predictions of the branching ratios Br(B¯→Xsγ)and Br(B0s→μ+μ−),and the corrections from two loop diagrams to the process B¯→Xsγcan reach around 4%.Considering the latest experimental measurements,the numerical results of Br(B¯→Xsγ)and Br(B0s→μ+μ−)in the TNMSSM are presented and analyzed.The findings indicate that the results in the TNMSSM can fit the updated experimental data well,and the new parameters Tλ,κ,λ,clearly affect the theoretical predictions of Br(B¯→Xsγ)and Br(B0s→μ+μ−).

Higgs boson decays h→MZ in the TNMSSM

We study the SM-like Higgs boson decays h→MZ in the triplet extended NMSSM(TNMSSM),where M is a vector meson(ρ,ω,φ,J/ψ,Υ).Compared to the minimal supersymmetric standard model(MSSM),the TNMSSM includes two new SU(2) triplets with hypercharge ±1 and an SM gauge singlet,which are coupled to each other.The indirect contributions to the h→MZ decays are produced from the effective hyZ vertex,and they are more important than the direct contributions.The results of this work could encourage a detection on h→Zγ at the future high energy colliders for exploring new physics beyond the SM.

Single-chain and monolayered conjugated polymers for molecular electronics

Exploring the charge transport properties and electronic functions of molecules is of primary interest in the area of molecular electronics.Conjugated polymers（CPs） represent an attractive class of molecular candidates,benefiting from their outstanding optoelectronic properties.However,they have been less studied compared with the small-molecule family,mainly due to the difficulties in incorporating CPs into molecular junctions.In this review,we present a summary on how to fabricate CP-based singlechain and monolayered junctions,then discuss the transport behaviors of CPs in different junction architectures and finally introduce the potential applications of CPs in molecular-scale electronic devices.Although the research on CP-based molecular electronics is still at the initial stage,it is widely accepted that（1） CP chains are able to mediate long-range charge transport if their molecular electronic structures are properly designed,which makes them potential molecular wires,and（2） the intrinsic optoelectronic properties of CPs and the possibility of incorporating desirable functionalities by synthetic strategies imply the potential of employing tailor-made polymeric components as alternatives to small molecules for future molecular-scale electronics.

Cooperative spectrum sensing in cognitive radio systems with limited sensing ability

In cognitive radio systems,the design of spectrum sensing has to face the challenges of radio sensitivity and wide-band frequency agility. It is difficult for a single cognitive user to achieve timely and accurate wide-band spectrum sensing because of hardware limitations. However,cooperation among cognitive users may provide a way to do so. In this paper,we consider such a cooperative wide-band spectrum sensing problem with each of the cognitive users able to imperfectly sense only a small portion of spectrum at a time. The goal is to maximize the average throughput of the cognitive network,given the primary network's collision probability thresholds in each spectrum sub-band. The solution answers the essential questions:to what extent should each cognitive user cooperate with others and which part of the spectrum should the user choose to sense? An exhaustive search is used to find the optimal solution and a heuristic cooperative sensing algorithm is proposed to simplify the computational com-plexity. Inspired by this optimization problem,two practical cooperative sensing strategies are then presented for the centralized and distributed cognitive network respectively. Simulation results are given to demonstrate the promising performance of our proposed algorithm and strategies.

Centralized and distributed resource allocation in OFDM based multi-relay system

In the presence of multiple non-regenerative relays, we derived optimal joint power allocation, relay selection, and subchannel pairing schemes in orthogonal frequency division multiplexing(OFDM) based wireless networks.The Lagrange dual method was employed to design the optimal algorithm.First, the optimization problem was formulated for the single-relay system and the optimal centralized algorithm was presented by resolving the dual problem.Next, the optimal algorithm for a multi-relay system was proposed in a similar way.Compared with the exhaustive search method, the computational complexity of the proposed optimal algorithms was reduced from non-polynomial to polynomial time.Finally, the centralized algorithm was extended to the distributed algorithm, which was more feasible for the practical system.Simulation results verify our analysis.

Orthogonality of Redesigned tRNA Molecules with Three Stop Codons

The ability to expand genetic code in living cells has emerged as a powerful method with diverse applications.Here,we design re-placement of the anticodons of E.coli tRNAs that recognize codons for 20 natural amino acids,with three anti-stop codons,resulting in a total of 60 engineered tRNA constructs.We test these constructs one by one in E.coli,and found that six tRNAsCUA(tyrV,serX,hisR,trpT,glnV and leuX),two tRNAsUCA(trpT and leuX)and one tRNAUUA(tyrV)allowed efficient expression of Red Fluorescence Protein(RFP)with the presence of a corresponding stop codon in frame.Furthermore,we exploit the mutual orthogonality of tRNASer CUA,tRNATrpUCA and tRNATyrUUA with corresponding stop codons and demonstrated that the tRNASer CUA and the tRNATrp UCA can provide dynamic range and low crosstalk.Finally,we show the TAG and TGA can not only be used as an"AND gate"circuit to control the translation of target gene,but also be used to control the translation of a prodeoxyviolacein(PDV)pathway and a reporter in parallel.Overall,this work provides flexible tools for translational control and holds great potential to promote synthetic biology studies.

Interference coordination in full-duplex HetNet with large-scale antenna arrays

Massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO), small cell, and full-duplex are promising techniques for future 5G communication systems, where interference has become the most challenging issue to be addressed.In this paper, we provide an interference coordination framework for a two-tier heterogeneous network(HetNet)that consists of a massive-MIMO enabled macro-cell base station (MBS) and a number of full-duplex small-cell base stations (SBSs). To suppress the interferences and maximize the throughput, the full-duplex mode of each SBS at the wireless backhaul link (i.e., in-band or out-of-band), which has a different impact on the interference pattern, should be carefully selected. To address this problem, we propose two centralized algorithms, a genetic algorithm (GEA)and a greedy algorithm (GRA). To sufficiently reduce the computational overhead of the MBS, a distributed graph coloring algorithm (DGCA) based on price is further proposed. Numerical results demonstrate that the proposed algorithms significantly improve the system throughput.

自组装单分子膜功能器件

分子尺度电子学是利用单个分子或分子单层组装体作为活性单元来实现电子学功能的一门前沿科学领域.基于自组装单分子膜(SAMs)的分子器件在分子电子学的实用化道路上具有很大的发展潜力与应用前景.目前,SAMs功能器件的研究仍处于起步阶段,其性能还有很大提升空间.本文首先评述了SAMs器件的构筑方法,针对直接蒸镀金属顶电极会对SAMs造成破坏的问题,介绍了3类软接触电极,包括液态金属、导电高分子和石墨烯顶电极;然后以固态光开关器件为例介绍了近年来功能器件上的一些新进展,分子优化设计对于提升器件响应活性具有重要意义;同时总结了共轭聚合物SAMs器件的制备方法和性能,通过合理的结构设计,共轭聚合物能进行电荷的长程输运,并有望提供比小分子更优异的光电功能;最后讨论和展望了未来的发展方向.

Coherent control of dressed images of four-wave mixing

In two-level as well as V-type three-level atomic systems, we study probe transmission, four-wave mixing （FWM） and fluorescence signals with dressing effect experimentally and theoretically. We find both the hyperfine structure （at the same energy level） and the transition dipole moment （at different energy levels） can affect the dressing effect. We also experimentally investigate that angle- control dynamics in the nonlinear propagation of the images of the probe and generated FWM in two-level atomic systems, and find that the focusing and defocusing of probe beam and FWM signals can be greatly affected by the angles between dressing fields.

Serial decoding of rateless code over noisy channels

Rateless code usually generates a potentially infinite number of coded packets at the encoder and collects enough packets at the decoder to ensure reliable recovery of multiple information packets.The conventional rateless decoder usually works in a parallel manner which needs to initiate a new belief propagation (BP) decoding procedure upon each newly received collection of coded packets,thereby resulting in prohibitive decoding complexity in practice.In this paper,we present a novel serial decoding algorithm,i.e.,the serial storage belief propagation (SS BP) algorithm,for rateless codes over noisy channels.Specifically,upon receiving a new group of coded packets,the decoder initiates a new attempt to decode all the packets received so far,using the results of the previous attempt as initial input.Moreover,in each iteration of the new attempt,the decoder serially propagates the messages group by group from the most recent one to the earliest one.In this way,the newly updated messages can be propagated faster,expediting the recovery of information packets.In addition,the proposed serial decoding algorithm has significantly lower complexity than the existing parallel decoding algorithms.Simulation results validate its effectiveness in AWGN,Rayleigh,and Rician fading channels.