Identification of candidate piRNAs in the gonads of Paralichthys olivaceus (Japanese flounder)

Piwi-interacting RNA （piRNA） plays an important role in the gonadal development and maintenance of Teleostei. In this study, piRNA libraries derived from the adult gonads of Japanese flounder （Paralichthys ofivaceus） were generated using next-generation sequencing technology. Using zebrafish piRNAs as a reference, 5 865 unique candidate piRNAs were identified; 289 candidate piRNA clusters （PRCs） were generated from the above piRNAs. Among the isolated candidate PRCs, a total of 38 ovary-specific, 45 ovary-bias, 24 testis-specific, and 131 testis-bias PRCs were found. The relative expression levels of seven PRCs were validated through quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. The results of this study will help facilitate exploration of the development and maintenance of the phenotypic sex mechanism in P. olivaceus.

Regional location of lymph node metastases predicts survival in patients with de novo metastatic prostate cancer

To report the regional locations of metastases and to estimate the prognostic value of the pattern of regional metastases inmen with metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer (mHSPC), we retrospectively analyzed 870 mHSPC patients betweenNovember 28, 2009, and February 4, 2021, from West China Hospital in Chengdu, China. The patients were initially classifiedinto 5 subgroups according to metastatic patterns as follows: simple bone metastases (G1), concomitant bone and regional lymphnode (LN) metastases (G2), concomitant bone and nonregional LN (NRLN) metastases (G3), lung metastases (G4), and livermetastases (G5). In addition, patients in the G3 group were subclassified as G3a and G3b based on the LN metastatic plane(below or above the diaphragm, respectively). The associations of different metastatic patterns with castration-resistant prostatecancer-free survival (CFS) and overall survival (OS) were analyzed by univariate and multivariate analyses. The results showedthat patients in G1 and G2 had relatively favorable clinical outcomes, patients in G3a and G4 had intermediate prognoses, andpatients in G3b and G5 had the worst survival outcomes. We observed that patients in G3b had outcomes comparable to those inG5 but had a significantly worse prognosis than patients in G3a (median CFS: 8.2 months vs 14.3 months, P = 0.015;medianOS: 38.1 months vs 45.8 months, P = 0.038). In conclusion, metastatic site can predict the prognosis of patients with mHSPC,and the presence of concomitant bone and NRLN metastases is a valuable prognostic factor. Furthermore, our findings indicatethat the farther the NRLNs are located, the more aggressive the disease is.

β-Cyclodextrin polymer networks stabilized gold nanoparticle with superior catalytic activities

Support materials play a significant role in heterogeneous nanocatalysis.In this work,β-cyclodextrin(β-CD)was used directly as a monomer to construct polymer networks for gold nanoparticles(Au NPs)immobilization.Using the simple nucleophilic substitution reaction,β-CD based polymer networks(β-CDP-N andβ-CDP-C)were successfully prepared.Compared toβ-CDP-C,the hydroxyl groups and N atoms inβ-CDP-N played a synergistic role in immobilizing smaller Au NPs,thus leading to high catalytic activities.Notably,the apparent rate constant(Kapp)value for Au@β-CDP-N in the reduction of 4-nitrophenol to 4-aminophenol is 14.15×10^(-2)s^(-1),which shows a significant improvement over all previously reported Au NPs with solid supports under similar conditions.Considering the negligible porosity of theβ-CDP-N support,we purposed a"capture-catalysis-release"model to explain the high catalytic activity of Au@β-CDP-N.This explanation is supported by the guest-responsive properties ofβ-CDP-N.Moreover,the Au@β-CDP-N is easily recycled and maintained its high catalytic efficiency after seven successful cycles.

Intraductal carcinoma of the prostate in prostate biopsy samples: correlation with aggressive pathological features after radical prostatectomy and prognostic value in high-risk prostate cancer

Intraductal carcinoma of the prostate(IDC-P)is an aggressive pathological pattern of prostate cancer(PCa).We investigated the association of IDC-P in prostate biopsy(PBx)with several pathological features after radical prostatectomy(RP)and its prognostic value in high-risk PCa.A total of 418 patients with high-risk PCa after RP were included in this study.IDC-P and its architectural patterns were identified according to the 2016 World Health Organization Classification.Chi-squared test and logistic regression were used to investigate the correlation between IDC-P and post-RP pathological features.Kaplan-Meier curves and Cox regression were applied to explore the prognostic value of IDC-P.IDC-P was identified in PBx in 36/418(8.6%)patients.Logistic regression indicated that IDC-P in PBx was independently associated with several pathological features of RP,including Gleason score 8-10(P<0.001),seminal vesicular invasion(P<0.001),and pathological T(pT)3a(P=0.043).Patients with IDC-P in PBx manifested poorer biochemical-free survival(BFS)than those without IDC-P(37.47 months vs not reached,P<0.001).The addition of IDC-P in several prognostic nomograms could improve the predictive accuracy of these tools.We conclude that IDC-P in PBx is positively associated with several aggressive pathological features after RP in high-risk PCa.In addition,IDC-P in PBx could effectively predict the BFS of high-risk PCa patients after RP.

Synthesis and Characterization of D-/L-methionine Grafted PEDOTs for Selective Recognition of 3,4-Dihydroxyphenylalanine Enantiomers

Two pairs of amino-acid functionalized poly（3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene）（PEDOT） derivatives, namely, poly（N-（tert-butoxycarbonyl）-L-methionyl（3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene-2＇-yl）methylamide）（L-PEDOT-Boc-Met） and poly（N-（tertbutoxycarbonyl）-D-methionyl（3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene-2＇-yl）methylamide）（D-PEDOT-Boc-Met）; poly（L-methionyl（3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene-2＇-yl）methylamide）（L-PEDOT-Met） and poly（D-methionyl（3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene-2＇-yl）methylamide）（D-PEDOT-Met） were synthesized via chemical oxidative polymerization of corresponding monomers. The structural characterization, spectroscopic properties and thermal stability of these monomers and polymers were systematically explored by FTIR spectra, Raman spectra, XRD spectra, UV-Vis spectra and thermogravimetric analysis. As chiral electrode materials, these polymers were employed to successfully recognize 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine（DOPA） enantiomers by cyclic voltammetry（CV） in sulphuric acid solution. The measurement results reveal that the tendency was hetero-chiral interaction between L-PEDOT-Met/PVA/GCE and D-DOPA, D-PEDOT-Met/PVA/GCE and L-DOPA, respectively. Also, the mechanism of chiral discrimination was discussed. All the results implied that the combination of electrochemical molecular recognition technology and chiral PEDOT materials can be a promising approach for chiral recognition and may open new opportunities for facile, biocompatible, sensitive and robust chiral assays in biochemical applications.