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Background In past decades, circular RNAs (circRNAs) have achieved increasing attention because of its regulatory role in different kinds of cancers. However, how circAGFG1 regulates cervical cancer (CC) is still largely undiscovered. This study aims to evaluate the role of a novel circRNAs and related molecular mechanism in CC cells. Methods High or low level of circAGFG1 was detected in CC cells or normal cell line with qRT-PCR. The proliferative and migratory abilities of CC cells were assessed with loss-of function assays. The downstream miRNA and mRNA of circAGFG1 were searched out and proved by using bioinformatics analysis and mechanism experiments. Recue assays were designed to confirm the role of circAGFG1/miR-370-3p/RAF1 axis in CC cell activities. Results The levels of circAGFG1 was abundant in CC cells in comparison with normal cervical cell End1/E6E7. The inhibitory effect of decreased circAGFG1 level on the proliferative and migratory abilities of CC cells was assessed. CircAGFG1 and miR-370-3p were localized in the cytoplasm and they can interact with each other. Moreover, miR-370-3p was downregulated in CC cells. We also determined the negative effect of miR-370-3p on RAF1. CircAGFG1 could promote RAF1 expression by absorbing miR-370-3p, thereby activating RAF/MEK/ERK pathway. circAGFG1 promoted proliferation and migration of CC cells via enhancing the activity of RAF/MEK/ERK pathway by sponging miR-370-3p and further regulating RAF1. Conclusion The results of this study provided new evidence that circAGFG1 acted as a vital regulator in cervical cancer proliferation and migration, giving great promise to apply it as a potential biomarker for diagnosis and therapy in CC treatment.

Neurodegeneration with brain iron accumulation (NBIA) is a group of rare diseases associated with genetic mutations in several genes including C19orf12. To explore the underlying mechanism of NBIA pathogenesis, we investigated a mouse homolog of human C19orf12 gene knockout mouse model. In the brains of knockout mice, an age-dependent accumulation of abundant axonal spheroids, alongside brain iron accumulation, neuroinflammation, α-synuclein and ubiquitin pathology was observed. Axonal spheroids were associated with abnormal ER and damaged mitochondria in knockout mice. These abnormal spheroids consistently contained the tubular ER protein reticulon 3 (RTN3) even at younger ages which preceded the onset of motor symptoms. The abnormal localized expansion of axonal ER underlies swollen axon terminals of dopaminergic neurons. The accumulated neuroaxonal swellings likely impair functioning of the dopaminergic system in the substantia nigra, striatum, and other brain regions, which ultimately led to motor function deficits in knockout mice. Altogether, the absence of C19orf12 in mouse brains recapitulates cardinal features of neuropathology in human NBIA, suggesting that C19orf12 is essential to maintain the tubular ER homeostasis in neuronal axon.

Background Muscle dysfunction is prevalent in dialysis patients. Gait speed and handgrip strength are simple and reliable methods of assessing muscle function. Numerous observational studies have linked 25-hydroxy vitamin D[25(OH)D] status with gait speed and handgrip strength in populations without kidney diseases. This study aimed to evaluate the potential associations of 25(OH)D status with gait speed and handgrip strength in patients on hemodialysis. Methods In this observational cross-sectional study, demographic data, biological data, and dialysis parameters were collected. Gait speed and handgrip strength were measured. Multiple linear regression and logistic regression analysis were used to investigate the relationship of 25(OH)D status with gait speed and handgrip strength after adjusting for potential confounders. Results Overall, a total of 118 participants undergoing hemodialysis were included. Seventy-one (60.2%) participants were male. The median 25(OH)D status in participants was 11.58 (interquartile range: 8.51 to 15.41) ng/ml. When controlling for age, gender, dialysis vintage, and other confounders with a p-value < 0.15 in univariate analyses, 25(OH)D was significantly positively associated with gait speed (β = 0.16, 95% CI 0.05 to 0.28, p = 0.006) and handgrip strength (β = 3.83, 95% CI 1.09 to 6.56, p = 0.007). Conclusion Our study showed that 25(OH)D status seemed to be associated with gait speed and handgrip strength in patients on hemodialysis. However, these results were not robust. The relationships between 25(OH)D status and gait speed and handgrip should be further explored.

Microbial spoilage of nutrient-rich strawberries leads to considerable food waste and economic losses. Plant-derived phenolic compounds, including resveratrol (RES), epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), and tea polyphenols (TP), have gained attention for their multi-target antimicrobial efficacy and potential applications in fruit preservation. This study evaluated the individual and combined effects of these three compounds on strawberries infected with ( ) and ( ). The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values for RES (analytical grade, ≥99% purity) and EGCG (analytical grade, ≥98% purity) against were 1.56 g/L and 25 g/L, with an additive effect against growth (FICI = 0.625). 5 g/L TP (analytical grade, ≥98% purity) completely inhibited the mycelial growth of . The in vivo application of RES and EGCG significantly reduced spoilage and improved texture, color, weight retention, and flavor quality in strawberries infected by individually or in combination. Similarly, the combined use of TP and chitosan saved the quality of strawberries infected by compared to single treatments. This study provided new effective and eco-friendly strategies for the preservation of strawberries.

The emergence of semantic association networks has injected a new impetus for the development of online English teaching and provided a new model reference for the design of online education platforms. In this paper, the research and design of an online interactive teaching platform for college English draws on the algorithmic advantages of the semantic associative network model and utilizes the self-operation of the semantic associative network to realize the functions of autonomous addition, deletion, modification, and checking. The text semantic similarity is predicted by word embedding model, convolutional neural network, and other algorithms so as to better achieve the integration of teaching resources, connecting English knowledge and highlighting the teaching focus in the online teaching process of college English. Dynamic load balancing algorithms are used to solve the problems of short-term surges in the number of visits and the concentration of call requests, and the optimization of load balancing algorithms is further realized through genetic algorithms to finally complete the design of the online teaching interactive platform. Comparison experiments concluded that the semantic association network proposed in this paper could hold a more stable repair effect when cleaning inconsistent data in the dataset, highlighting the effectiveness of the semantic association network model in this paper. The online interactive teaching platform designed in this paper also performs well in the performance test, with only a 0.01% abnormality rate in the concurrency performance test, and the load balancing ability test also achieves the expected effect.

The polyacrylate latexes were synthesized via pre-emulsified and semi-continuous seeded emulsion polymerization technology when conventional surfactant or polymerizable surfactant was used as emulsifiers. The resultant latexes and their films were characterized with the contact angle determinator and rheometer. Effect of the polymerizable surfactant on water resistance, stability and rheology of the latex was studied. Results show that the water resistance of film is increased first then decreased with the increase of the amount of the polymerizable surfactant. There exists the optimum value of the amount of the polymerizable surfactant for the water resistance of the film. In comparison with the latex prepared with the conventional surfactant, both the mechanical stability and the freezing-thaw stability of the latex are improved when the polymerizable surfactant is used during the course of the emulsion polymerization. The resultant latex has rheological properties of pseudo-plastic fluid and belongs to non-Newtonian fluid.

A new spider species of the genus Lucas, 1837 is described from China: . (♂♀). The male of Li & Xu, 2022 is described for the first time. Detailed descriptions, photographs of the habitus and copulatory organs, as well as the COI gene confirming that the male belongs to are provided. The distribution map and taxonomic key to Chinese species are presented.

Drug resistance remains a large obstacle for the treatment of ovarian cancer. miRNAs have been reported to be involved in cisplatin (CDDP) resistance in ovarian cancer. The aim of the present study was to investigate the function and mechanism of miR-199a-3p in the CDDP resistance in ovarian cancer. We found that miR-199a-3p was significantly downregulated in chemoresistant ovarian cancer tissues, as well as CDDP-resistant SKOV3/CDDP cells, compared to chemosensitive carcinomas and SKOV3 cells. Restoration of miR-199a-3p in SKOV3/CDDP cells reduced cell proliferation, G1 phase cell cycle arrest, cell invasion, and increased cell apoptosis, resulting in enhanced CDDP sensitivity, while miR-199a-3p inhibition resulted in the opposite effects. Luciferase reporter assay showed that integrin β8 (ITGB8), one of the integrins that is involved in the regulation of cell cycle and motility, was a direct target of miR-199a-3p. Overexpression of miR-199a-3p downregulated ITGB8 expression via binding to its 3′-UTR. In addition, overexpression of ITGB8 restored CDDP resistance inhibited by miR-199a-3p. Moreover, orthotopic ovarian cancer mouse model showed that miR-199a-3p enhanced CDDP sensitivity of ovarian cancer in vivo. Therefore, our results indicate that miR-199a-3p enhances CDDP sensitivity of ovarian cancer cells through downregulating ITGB8 expression, and miR-199a-3p may serve as a therapeutic target for the treatment of ovarian cancer patients with CDDP-resistance.

A new spider species of the genus Calommata Lucas, 1837 is described from China: C. yueluensis sp. nov. (♂♀). The male of C. hangzhica Li & Xu, 2022 is described for the first time. Detailed descriptions, photographs of the habitus and copulatory organs, as well as the COI gene confirming that the male belongs to C. hangzhica are provided. The distribution map and taxonomic key to Chinese Calommata species are presented.

Ultrapluse CO fractional laser technology has emerged as an effective treatment for scar management. However, one drawback of this modality is the pain caused during the procedure. This study aims to explore the efficacy and safety of dezocine (DZC) as preemptive analgesia for reduction of pain induced by ultrapulse CO fractional laser treatment for acne scars. The study cohort included 78 outpatients with acne scars between February and April 2023. Patients were randomly assigned into three groups with intravenous injection (iv) of DZC prior to laser treatment: (1) control, iv of saline; (2) DZC group 1 (DZC_1), iv of DZC at 0.15 mg/kg; and (3) DZC_2, iv of DZC at 0.20 mg/kg. After 30 min, one session of ultrapulse CO fractional laser treatment on acne scars was performed. Hemodynamics, visual analogue scale (VAS), and anxiety visual analog test (AVAT) were monitored prior to, during, and after the procedure. Operative success rates for patients in the control, DZC_1, and DZC_2 groups were 34.6%, 84.6%, and 100%, respectively. DZC administered with either dosage significantly reduced the VAS and AVAT scores of patients in treatment groups as compared with the subjects in the control group during the course of ultrapulse CO fractional laser treatment. Patients in DZC_1 and DZC_2 groups did not show any significant difference in hemodynamic parameters, VAS, and AVAT scores. Temporary adverse effects such as nausea and dizziness were observed in some subjects after treatment; the symptoms were quickly dissolved after a rest in supine position. DZC as preemptive analgesia could effectively reduce pain and anxiety induced by ultrapulse CO fractional laser treatment in patients. This study provided an option of preemptive anesthesia to minimize the pain and discomforts associated with laser treatments in clinical practices.