Promoted diffusion mechanism of Fe2.7wt.%Si-Fe10wt.%Si couples under magnetic field by atomic-scale observations

Diffusion behavior of newly designed Fe2.7wt.%Si-Fe10wt.%Si couples at 1100 °C for up to 12 h has been investigated under the 0, 0.8 and 3 T magnetic fields. Diffusion thickness of solid solution layer and weight percent of Si on Fe2.7wt.%Si side increase significantly under a magnetic field. Application of a magnetic field promotes the diffusion of solid solution layer through the possible diffusion of vacancies mainly due to the appearance of defects, which has been demonstrated by the increased dislocation density and broadening of the typical XRD peaks. Replacement of Si sits by Fe atoms in the crystal structure leads to the appearance of Fe diffraction peaks, which has been confirmed by the increased interplanar spacings under a magnetic field. The magnetic field benefits the depinning of dislocations and leads to higher dislocation density because of the magnetoplastic effect which has been confirmed by the significantly reduced thickness of Fe2.7wt.%Si. Nano-sized Fe₃Si particles precipitate in the matrix with an orientation relationship on Fe10wt.%Si side as {220}_Fe3Si || {220}_matrix & < 1–10 >_Fe3Si || < 1–10 >_matrix. Fe₃Si particles pin dislocation moving and lead to higher dislocation density.

Long non-coding RNA LINC00675 inhibits tumorigenesis and EMT via repressing Wnt/β-catenin signaling in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

OBJECTIVE

Long noncoding RNA LINC00675 (LINC00675) seems to play an anti-oncogenic role in cancers, though its exact function remains unknown. Up to date, little is known about the role of LINC00675 in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). In this study, we aimed to explore the expression pattern, clinical significance and biological function of LINC00675 in ESCC.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

RT-PCR was performed to detect the expression levels of LINC00675 in both ESCC tissue and cell lines. The association of LINC00675 expression with clinicopathological factors and prognosis was statistically analyzed. Cell growth was detected by MTT assay and colony formation assay. Cell apoptosis was evaluated with flow cytometry. Migration and invasion ability of ESCC cells were detected wound healing assay and transwell assays. The expressions of EMT-related proteins and Wnt/β-catenin-related proteins by Western blot were investigated.

RESULTS

LINC00675 expression was significantly downregulated in both ESCC tissues and cell lines. Decreased LINC00675 expression was correlated with histological grade, lymph nodes metastasis and advanced clinical stage. Furthermore, LINC00675 could serve as an independent predictor for overall survival in ESCC. Importantly, in vitro experiments indicated that that forced LINC00675 expression significantly suppressed inhibited ESCC cell proliferation, colony formation, migration, invasion and EMT, and promoted cell apoptosis through suppressing Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway.

CONCLUSIONS

We suggested that LINC00675 acted as a tumor suppressor in ESCC via regulation of Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway and may be a new prognostic biomarker and potential therapeutic target for ESCC intervention.

Detection of IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α in Sprague-Dawely rats' atrophic thymus induced by lipopolysaccharide

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to investigate developmental changes of the thymus and intra- thymic IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α expression in weaned Sprague-Dawley rats induced by lipopolysac- charide.

METHODS

Forty healthy weaned rats aged 26 days and weighing 83±4 g were randomly and equally divided into two groups. The lipopolysaccharide group was treated daily with a single injection of lipopolysaccharide for 10 consecutive days, and the saline group was treated with an equal volume of sterilized saline. On the 1st, 4th, 7th and 10th day, histological changes and distribu- tion of IL-1β-, IL-6- and TNF-α-positive cells were detected in the thymus by hematoxylin-eosin and immunohistochemistry staining, respectively. Subsequently, the expression levels of IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α were evaluated in the thymus by the ELISA method.

RESULTS

Thymus weight and index were significantly smaller in lipopolysaccharide-treated rats than in saline-treated rats (p⟨0.05), but no substantial changes were found in the thymus microstructure after lipopolysaccharide induction. Moreover, a large number of IL-1β-, IL-6- and TNF-α-positive cells were observed with brownish-yellow color and mainly distributed in the thy- mus parenchyma, both integrated optical density and average optical density increased signifi- cantly in lipopolysaccharide-treated rats than those in saline-treated rats. Compared with the saline group, most of the thymic homogenates had higher levels of IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α in the lipopolysaccharide group on different days.

CONCLUSION

These findings indicate that the thymus atrophied after lipopolysaccharide induction in weaned Sprague-Dawley rats, and excessive production of intrathymic IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α was probably involved in the atrophic process.

Non-monotonic changes in critical solidification rates for stability of liquid-solid interfaces with static magnetic fields

We report the magnetic field dependence of the critical solidification rate for the stability of liquid-solid interfaces. For a certain temperature gradient, the critical solidification rate first increases, then decreases, and subsequently increases with increasing magnetic field. The effect of the magnetic field on the critical solidification rate is more pronounced at low than at high temperature gradients. The numerical simulations show that the magnetic-field dependent changes of convection velocity and contour at the interface agree with the experimental results. The convection velocity first increases, then decreases, and finally increases again with increasing the magnetic field intensity. The variation of the convection contour at the interface first decreases, then increases slightly, and finally increases remarkably with increasing the magnetic field intensity. Thermoelectromagnetic convection (TEMC) plays the role of micro-stirring the melt and is responsible for the increase of interface stability within the initially increasing range of magnetic field intensity. The weak and significant extents of the magneto-hydrodynamic damping (MHD)-dependent solute build-up at the interface front result, respectively, in the gradual decrease and increase of interfacial stability with increasing the magnetic field intensity. The variation of the liquid-side concentration at the liquid-solid interface with the magnetic field supports the proposed mechanism.

Gas chromatograph-surface acoustic wave for quick real-time assessment of blood/exhaled gas ratio of propofol in humans

BACKGROUND

Although pilot studies have reported that exhaled propofol concentrations can reflect intraoperative plasma propofol concentrations in an individual, the blood/exhaled partial pressure ratio RBE varies between patients, and the relevant factors have not yet been clearly addressed. No efficient method has been reported for the quick evaluation of RBE and its association with inter-individual variables.

METHODS

We proposed a novel method that uses a surface acoustic wave (SAW) sensor combined with a fast gas chromatograph (GC) to simultaneously detect propofol concentrations in blood and exhaled gas in 28 patients who were receiving propofol i.v. A two-compartment pharmacokinetic (PK) model was established to simulate propofol concentrations in exhaled gas and blood after a bolus injection. Simulated propofol concentrations for exhaled gas and blood were used in a linear regression model to evaluate RBE.

RESULTS

The fast GC-SAW system showed reliability and efficiency for simultaneous quantitative determination of propofol in blood (correlation coefficient R(2)=0.994, P<0.01) and exhaled gas (R(2)=0.991, P<0.01). The evaluation of RBE takes <50 min for a patient. The distribution of RBE in 28 patients showed inter-individual differences in RBE (median 1.27; inter-quartile range 1.07-1.59).

CONCLUSIONS

Fast GC-SAW, which analyses samples in seconds, can perform both rapid monitoring of exhaled propofol concentrations and fast analysis of blood propofol concentrations. The proposed method allows early determination of the coefficient RBE in individuals. Further studies are required to quantify the distribution of RBE in a larger cohort and assess the effect of other potential factors.

CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION

ChiCTR-ONC-13003291.

The measurement of testosterone in hair

Trace metals and drugs have been measured in hair for a number of years but there are no published papers on the measurement of steroids in human hair. We report here the measurement of testosterone in hair samples taken from men, women and prepubertal children. This was a preliminary investigation to see whether testosterone was detectable in hair and whether concentrations between men and women, and men and prepubertal children were different in line with concentrations of testosterone in the blood. Hair was digested in sodium hydroxide and the testosterone extracted before measurement by radioimmuno- assay. There was a clear difference between testosterone concentrations found in heir collected from men (12.9-77.7 pmol/g) and those found in hair from women (<0.9-10.8 pmol/g). There was no significant difference between the concentrations found in women and children. The authenticity of the testosterone measured was confirmed with GCMS.