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Epigenetic modifications are a driving force in carcinogenesis. However, their role in cancer metastasis remains poorly understood. The present study investigated the role of DNA methylation in the cervical cancer metastasis. Here, we report evidence of the overexpression of DNA methyltransferases 3B (DNMT3B) in invasive cervical cancer and of the inhibition of metastasis by DNMT3B interference. Using methyl-DNA immunoprecipitation coupled with microarray analysis, we found that the protein tyrosine phosphatase receptor type R (PTPRR) was silenced through DNMT3B-mediated methylation in the cervical cancer. PTPRR inhibited p44/42 MAPK signaling, the expression of the transcription factor AP1, human papillomavirus (HPV) oncogenes E6/E7 and DNMTs. The methylation status of PTPRR increased in cervical scrapings ( n =358) in accordance with disease severity, especially in invasive cancer. Methylation of the PTPRR promoter has an important role in the metastasis and may be a biomarker of invasive cervical cancer.

. Objective and design: We examine whether lipoxin A 4 4 (LXA 4 ) inhibits production of interleukins (ILs) in endothelial cells and what signal pathway might participate in the actions of LXA 4 . Methods: Cultured pulmonary microvascular endothelial cells (PMVEC) were treated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS), with or without preincubation with LXA 4 . Results: The results showed that LPS induced production of IL-1β, IL-6 and IL-8 in rat PMVEC, upregulated the expressions of myeloid differentiation factor 88 (MyD88), phosphorylated p38 and p42/44 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), phosphorylated phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3-K), DNA-binding activities of nuclear factor-κ B (NF-κB) and activator protein-1(AP-1). The blockade of p38 MAPK, p42/44 MAPK, PI3-K, NF-κB or AP-1 partially inhibited production of IL-1β, IL-6 and IL-8 stimulated by LPS, respectively. LXA 4 significantly inhibited LPS-stimulated secretion of protein and expressions of mRNA of IL-1β, IL-6 and IL-8, activation of p38 MAPK, p42/44 MAPK, PI3-K, NF-κB and AP-1 but not MyD88 in PMVEC. Conclusions: LXA 4 inhibits synthesis of IL-1β, IL-6 and IL-8 in PMVEC and this antagonism is related to PI3-K, p38 and p42/44 MAPK, NF-κB and AP-1 pathway-dependent signal transduction.

Instrument players usually play music with an unstable tempo. However, most of the robotic accompaniment systems are designed with a fixed beat. They can’t adjust their tempo to players’ tempo automatically. Therefore, we propose an adaptive accompaniment system for a soloist that can follow the tempo of a guitar player. The system includes a sound signal receiving element, an audio processing module, a robotic drumming system, and an information display device. The guitar signal is processed with the discrete wavelet transform, audio feature extraction, and peak detection to estimate the tempo of a piece of music, also known as the Beats Per Minute (BPM). In this research, the Daubechies Wavelet (db) is used for signal extraction and reconstruction. The experimental results validate wavelet five (db5) was the effective signal processing method. At the same time, the pedals are also designed to allow the guitarist to change the combination of bass drum and snare drum according to the performance needs. In the research, the guitar signal can be efficiently processed by Discrete Wavelet Transform and then control the drum to follow the guitarist’s tempo.

This study investigated the effects of supplementation of various sources of Met and Lys on nutrient digestion, N utilization, and duodenal AA flows in growing goats. Four 4-mo-old Liuyang Black wether goats were used in a 4 x 4 Latin square experiment and were assigned to 4 dietary treatments: (1) control, (2) control + lipid-coated Met-Zn chelate and Lys-Mn chelate (PML), (3) control + Met-Zn chelate and Lys-Mn chelate (CML), and (4) control + DL-Met, L-Lys-HCl, ZnSO₄·7H₂O, and MnSO₄·H₂O (FML). Compared with control, PML reduced (P < 0.05) ruminal NH₃ concentration, urinary N excretion, and plasma urea N concentration and increased (P < 0.05) the activity of ruminal endo-1,4-β-D-glucanase and β-glucosidase, the duodenal flow of N, N retention (g/d as well as % of absorbed N), the duodenal flows of Met, Lys, His, Val, and total essential AA, and plasma concentrations of Lys, Val, Phe, and total essential AA. Supplementing Zn-Met and Mn-Lys chelates had similar (P > 0.05) but lesser effects on these measures compared with PML, and the effects on most of the measures were not statistically significant (P > 0.05) when compared with control. Supplementing free-form Met and Lys had no effects compared with control (P > 0.05). The results indicate that lipid coating and chelating of AA provide a protection, and to a lesser extent by only chelating, of the AA from microbial degradation in the rumen and possibly has effects on rumen fermentation, which increases MP supply. This technology could improve productive performance and be of potential benefit to ruminant production if cost-effective products are developed.

We examine whether lipoxin A(4) (LXA(4)) inhibits production of interleukins (ILs) in endothelial cells and what signal pathway might participate in the actions of LXA(4). Cultured pulmonary microvascular endothelial cells (PMVEC) were treated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS), with or without preincubation with LXA(4). The results showed that LPS induced production of IL-1beta, IL-6 and IL-8 in rat PMVEC, upregulated the expressions of myeloid differentiation factor 88 (MyD88), phosphorylated p38 and p42/44 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), phosphorylated phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3-K), DNA-binding activities of nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-kappaB) and activator protein-1(AP-1). The blockade of p38 MAPK, p42/44 MAPK, PI3-K, NF-kappaB or AP-1 partially inhibited production of IL-1beta, IL-6 and IL-8 stimulated by LPS, respectively. LXA(4) significantly inhibited LPS-stimulated secretion of protein and expressions of mRNA of IL-1beta, IL-6 and IL-8, activation of p38 MAPK, p42/44 MAPK, PI3-K, NF-kappaB and AP-1 but not MyD88 in PMVEC. LXA(4) inhibits synthesis of IL-1beta, IL-6 and IL-8 in PMVEC and this antagonism is related to PI3-K, p38 and p42/44 MAPK, NF-kappaB and AP-1 pathway-dependent signal transduction.

The chromosomal passenger complex (CPC) plays a pivotal role in controlling accurate chromosome segregation and cytokinesis during cell division. Aurora-B, one of the chromosomal passenger proteins, is important for the mitotic spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC). Previous reports noted that Aurora-C is predominantly expressed in male germ cells and has the same subcellular localization as Aurora-B. Increasing evidence indicates that Aurora-C is overexpressed in many somatic cancers, although its function is uncertain. Our previous study showed that the aberrant expression of Aurora-C increases the tumorigenicity of cancer cells. Here, we demonstrate that overexpressed Aurora-C displaces the centromeric localization of CPCs, including INCENP, survivin, and Aurora-B. When cells were treated with nocodazole to turn on SAC, both the Aurora-B protein stability and kinase activity were affected by overexpressed Aurora-C. As a result, the activation of spindle checkpoint protein, BubR1, and phosphorylation of histone H3 and MCAK were also eliminated in Aurora-C-overexpressing cells. Thus, our results suggest that aberrantly expressed Aurora-C in somatic cancer cells may impair SAC by displacing the centromeric localization of CPCs.

A bstract Using (2712 ± 14) × 10 6 ψ (3686) events collected with the BESIII detector, we perform the first amplitude analysis of the radiative decay ψ 3686 → γ K S 0 K S 0 within the mass region M K S 0 K S 0 < 2.8 GeV/ c 2 . Employing a one-channel K-matrix approach for the description of the dynamics of the K S 0 K S 0 system, the data sample is well described with four poles for the f 0 -wave and three poles for the f 2 -wave. The determined pole positions are consistent with those of well-established resonance states. The observed f 0 and f 2 states are found to be in agreement with those produced in radiative J/ψ decays. The production behaviors of f 0 and f 2 poles in ψ 3686 → γ K S 0 K S 0 are qualified with their residues and the converted branching fractions. By comparing with J / ψ → γ K S 0 K S 0 decay, the ratios B ψ 3686 → γ f 0 , 2 B J / ψ → γ f 0 , 2 are determined, which provides crucial experimental inputs on the internal structure of the f 0 , 2 states, especially their potential mixing with glueball components.

A bstract Using e + e − collision data collected by the BESIII detector at BEPCII corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 30 fb − 1 , we measure Born cross sections and effective form factors for the process e + e − → Ξ 0 Ξ ¯ 0 at forty-five center-of-mass energies between 3.51 and 4.95 GeV. The dressed cross section is fitted, assuming a power-law function plus a charmonium(-like) state, i.e., ψ (3770), ψ (4040), ψ (4160), ψ (4230), ψ (4360), ψ (4415) or ψ (4660). No significant charmonium(-like) state decaying into Ξ 0 Ξ ¯ 0 is observed. Upper limits at the 90% confidence level on the product of the branching fraction and the electronic partial width are provided for each decay. In addition, ratios of the Born cross sections and the effective form factors for e + e − → Ξ 0 Ξ ¯ 0 and e + e − → Ξ − Ξ ¯ + are also presented to test isospin symmetry and the vector meson dominance model.

A bstract Based on a sample of (2712 . 4 ± 14 . 3) × 10 6 ψ (3686) events collected with the BESIII detector, a partial wave analysis of the decay ψ 3686 → Λ Σ ¯ 0 π 0 + c . c . is performed to investigate Λ * and Σ * resonances in the π 0 Σ ¯ 0 and π 0 Λ invariant mass distributions. Significant contributions are found from the Λ(1405), Λ(1520), Λ(1600), Λ(1670), Λ(1690), Λ(1800), Λ(1890), Λ(2325), Σ(1385), Σ(1660), Σ(1670), Σ(1750), and Σ(1910). The masses, widths, and production branching fractions for each component are determined. In addition, the branching fraction of ψ 3686 → Λ Σ ¯ 0 π 0 + c . c . is measured to be (1 . 544 ± 0 . 013 ± 0 . 071) × 10 − 4 for the first time, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second systematic.

A bstract Using (2712 . 4 ± 14 . 3) × 10 6 ψ (3686) candidates collected by the BESIII detector operating at the BEPCII storage ring, the decays χ cJ J = 0 1 2 → p p ¯ ηη are observed for the first time through the radiative transition ψ (3686) → γχ cJ . The statistical significances for χ cJ signals are all larger than 5 σ . The branching fractions of χ c 0 , 1 , 2 → p p ¯ ηη are determined to be (5 . 75 ± 0 . 59 ± 0 . 42) × 10 − 5 , (1 . 40 ± 0 . 33 ± 0 . 17) × 10 − 5 , and (2 . 64 ± 0 . 40 ± 0 . 27) × 10 − 5 , respectively, where the first uncertainties are statistical and the second systematic. No evident resonant structures are found in the p p ¯ and pη / p ¯ η systems.