Molecular Characteristics of Amyloid Precursor Protein (APP) and Its Effects in Cancer

Amyloid precursor protein (APP) is a type 1 transmembrane glycoprotein, and its homologs amyloid precursor-like protein 1 (APLP1) and amyloid precursor-like protein 2 (APLP2) are highly conserved in mammals. APP and APLP are known to be intimately involved in the pathogenesis and progression of Alzheimer’s disease and to play important roles in neuronal homeostasis and development and neural transmission. APP and APLP are also expressed in non-neuronal tissues and are overexpressed in cancer cells. Furthermore, research indicates they are involved in several cancers. In this review, we examine the biological characteristics of APP-related family members and their roles in cancer.     

TiO2/MXene-Assisted LDI-MS for Urine Metabolic Profiling in Urinary Disease

Cancer remains an intractable medical problem. Rapid diagnosis and identification of cancer are critical to differentiate it from nonmalignant diseases. High-throughput biofluid metabolic analysis has potential for cancer diagnosis. Nevertheless, the present metabolite analysis method does not meet the demand for high-throughput screening of diseases. Herein, a high-throughput, cost-effective, and noninvasive urine metabolic profiling method based on TiO₂/MXene-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (LDI-MS) is presented for the efficient screening of bladder cancer (BC) and nonmalignant urinary disease. Combined with machine learning, TiO₂/MXene-assisted LDI-MS enables high diagnostic accuracy (96.8%) for the classification of patient groups (including 47 BC and 46 ureteral calculus (UC) patients) from healthy controls (113 cases). In addition, BC patients can also be identified from noncancerous UC individuals with an accuracy of 88.3% in the independent test cohort. Furthermore, metabolite variations between BC and UC individuals are investigated based on relative quantification, and related pathways are also discussed. These results suggest that this method, based on urine metabolic patterns, provides a potential tool for rapidly distinguishing urinary diseases and it may pave the way for precision medicine.     

Simultaneous determination of synthetic food additives in kimchi by liquid chromatography-electrospray tandem mass spectrometry

Food Science and Biotechnology - A new analytical method was developed for the simultaneous determination of seven food additives (Ponceau 4R, Allura Red AC, Amaranth, 4-hydroxymethyl benzoic acid,...     

Harmful effects of pyrethroid ester insecticide on the male reproductive system mainly through affecting testicular function and inflammatory markers

Pyrethroid esters are widely used as insecticides worldwide. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the harmful effect of deltamethrin on the male reproductive system through the assessment of reproductive hormones, inflammatory markers, and testicular function. To achieve our aim, eighty male 7-9-week-old, Wistar rats were taken, weighed, and divided into four experimental groups. The first group was kept as a control group, and the other three groups were given deltamethrin orally at different concentrations (0.87, 8.7, and 17.4 mg/kg body weight) for nine weeks. The results indicated that deltamethrin administration associated with a significant decrease in reproductive hormones, especially FSH, LH, and significant elevation in the interleukin 2 (IL2), interleukin 6 (IL6), histamine, and cortisol levels. Also, the significance of inhibition of sperm motility and viability, decreased testis weights, sperm count, and fructose in semen were noted. These findings clarify the harmful effect of deltamethrin on the male reproductive system by producing a significant alteration in reproductive hormones, inflammatory markers as well as testicular function.     

Poly(L-lysine)-poly(ethylene glycol) layers with different structure and their influence on silica suspension stability

The effects of the structure of di- and triblock copolymers of poly(L-lysine) – LYS with poly(ethylene glycol) – PEG as well as the length of nonionic fragment in the LYS-PEG macromolecule on the copolymer chains conformation in the adsorption layer formed on the colloidal silica (SiO2) surface were examined. Spectrophotometry and turbidimetry were applied for the determination of copolymer adsorbed amounts and stability coefficients of silica aqueous suspensions. The electrokinetic parameters such as solid surface charge density and zeta potential were also estimated. The adsorption of LYS-PEG was proved to be the highest at pH 10 whereas the lowest adsorption on the solid surface was found for the triblock copolymer with long fragments of LYS at the same pH value.     

Co-coating effect of GdPO4 and carbon on LiFePO4 cathode surface for lithium ion batteries

The electronic conductivity enhanced has been extensively studied and reported in lithium iron phosph-ate (LiFePO₄). However, only few existing literatures are available for researchers to enhance simultaneously the ion and electronic conductivity of LiFePO₄. Herein, we disclose that the LiFePO₄ is co-coated with novel GdPO₄ and Carbon via a hydrothermal-assisted solid-phase method, contributing to particle size and dispersibility. What surprising is that the ionic and electronic conductivity of the material is significantly enhanced, and the interfacial side reaction is effectively inhibited between the materials and the electrolytes. The diverse proportions of the mixed coating (LiFePO₄/C&xGdPO₄ (x = 0, 1 wt%, 2 wt%, 3 wt%, 4 wt%)) are synthesized compared with bare LiFePO₄. The experimental results suggest that LiFePO₄/C&0.03GdPO₄ exhibits the most excellent electrochemical performance. There is discharge capacity of 158, 148.8, 141.6, 134.9, 121.8, 104.9, and 86.7mAh/g at 0.1, 0.2, 0.5, 1, 2, 5, and 10 C rates, respectively.     

The Use of Grey Systems Theory to Analyze the Water Supply Systems Safety

Water Resources Management - New requirements for water supply companies enforce the implementation of risk analysis and assessment methods on many levels of their operation. The approach...     

酸性服役管线管BNS力学及耐腐蚀性能研究

文章介绍了包钢钢管公司酸性服役管线管BNS成分设计要求,对材料的拉伸性能、冲击性能、组织以及耐腐蚀性能进行了检测和分析,正火处理后,材料具有良好的力学性能和抗腐蚀性能.试验结果表明,设计的BNS完全能满足酸性服役条件下管线管性能要求.