[Retracted] Suppression of endoplasmic reticulum stress­induced invasion and migration of breast cancer cells through the downregulation of heparanase.

Following the publication of this paper, an interested reader drew to the attention of the authors and the Editorial Office that a number of the data panels shown for the cell migration assays in Figs. 1, 3, 4 and 5 contained overlapping data, such that the indicated results purportedly representing different experiments were derived from the same original sources. Furthermore, it was noted that the same scratch­wound assay data had apparently been included in four of the panels shown in Fig. 5D that were intended to represent different experiments performed under different conditions. After having investigated the matter internally, the Editor of International Journal of Molecular Medicine has decided that this paper should be retracted from the Journal on account of a lack of confidence in the presented data. The authors did not offer a satisfactory response to account for the various issues identified in these figures. The Editor apologizes to the readership for any inconvenience caused. [the original article was published in International Journal of Molecular Medicine 31: 1234­1242, 2013; DOI: 10.3892/ijmm.2013.1292].

[Pollution Characteristics and Source Apportionment of Fine Particulate Matter in Autumn and Winter in Puyang, China].

As one of the air pollution transmission channels around the beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, Puyang frequently suffer from severe airpollution in autumn and winter. In order to study the characteristics and main sources of fine particulate matter during these periods, manual membrane sampling of PM2.5 was conducted at three national control sites from October 15, 2017, to January 13, 2018. Chemical composition analysis was conducted and, combined with a PMF receptor model, source analysis of the fine particles was also undertaken. The results show that the average mass concentration of PM2.5 in Puyang was 94.16 µg·m-3 in the autumn and winter of 2017, and Pushuihe station was the most polluted site. During the heating season, the three control stations all recorded the frequent occurrence of severe and serious pollution events, while the frequency of mild pollution events decreased. When heavy pollution events occurred, the concentrations of NO2 and CO increased significantly. The main components of PM2.5 were water-soluble ions (52.33%), OCEC (25.32%), and crustal elements (0.08%). The concentrations of NO3- were high while the concentrations of SO42- were low. When heavy pollution occurred, the concentrations of water-soluble ions, OC, EC, and K in PM2.5 increased significantly, while the concentrations of crustal elements decreased. During the sampling period, the conversion ratios of sulfur and nitrogen in Puyang were high and atmospheric oxidation was strong. The transformation of sulfur and nitrogen promoted the occurrence of heavy pollution. Emissions of NOx, CO, and VOCs were higher in Puyang in 2017, and the source apportionment results showed that the main sources of PM2.5 in autumn and winter were secondary inorganic salts (37%), industrial sources (16%), secondary organic aerosol (SOA, 14%), biomass combustion (12%), mobile sources (9%), coal burning (7%), and dust (4%). Secondary transformation played an important role in the development of heavy pollution events in Puyang. It is necessary to focus on the control of emissions from industrial sources, biomass combustion, moving source, and civil coal combustion.

A novel dual closed-loop control scheme based on repetitive control for grid-connected inverters with an LCL filter.

Grid-connected inverters with LCL filters need high steady-state control accuracy, fast dynamic response performance, and strong robustness to guarantee the power quality. However, there are many problems in traditional control strategies that restrict improvements to control system performance, such as poor dynamic performance of traditional single-repetitive control, large ripples, low steady-state accuracy of inverter current feedback based repetitive dual-loop control or grid-current feedback based single-loop proportional-integral control. In this paper, a novel dual closed-loop repetitive control strategy based on grid current feedback is proposed for single-phase grid-connected inverters with LCL filters. The proportional-integral inner loop is stabilized by using an inherent one-beat delay achieved by digital controller. Based on the inner loop system, a detailed design scheme of a repetitive controller is presented, through which direct control of the grid current is realized, the reference is tracked perfectly to a zero phase shift, and high-attenuation gain is achieved in the high frequency range. In particular, the gird-voltage feed forward control and current reference feedforward control are adopted to suppress grid-voltage disturbance and increase dynamic tracking performance. Finally, the simulation and experimental results show that the proposed method has the advantages of high steady-state accuracy, fast dynamic response, and anti-disturbance ability.

A Light Harvesting, Self-Powered Monolith Tactile Sensor Based on Electric Field Induced Effects in MAPbI3 Perovskite.

Organolead trihalide perovskite MAPbI3 shows a distinctive combination of properties such as being ferroelectric and semiconducting, with ion migration effects under poling by electric fields. The combination of its ferroelectric and semiconducting nature is used to make a light harvesting, self-powered tactile sensor. This sensor interfaces ZnO nanosheets as a pressure-sensitive drain on the MAPbI3 film and once poled is operational for at least 72 h with just light illumination. The sensor is monolithic in structure, has linear response till 76 kPa, and is able to operate continuously as the energy harvesting mechanism is decoupled from its pressure sensing mechanism. It has a sensitivity of 0.57 kPa-1 , which can be modulated by the strength of the poling field. The understanding of these effects in perovskite materials and their application in power source free devices are of significance to a wide array of fields where these materials are being researched and applied.

Bio-inspired interlocking random 3-D structures for tactile and thermal sensing.

Hierarchical nanostructures are tailored and used routinely in nature to accomplish tasks with high performance. Their formation in nature is accomplished without the use of any patterning process. Inspired by the performance of such structures, we have combined 2-D nanosheets with 1-D nanorods for functioning as electronic skin. These structures made in high density without any patterning process can be easily assembled over large areas. They can sense pressures as low as 0.4 Pa, with a response time in milliseconds. Further, these structures can also detect temperature changes with a non-linear response in the 298-400 K range, which is similar to skins perception of thermal stimuli. We illustrate this effect by showing that the device can differentiate between two 10 µl water droplets which are at room temperature and 323 K respectively.

Zero-valent iron-facilitated reduction of nitrate: Chemical kinetics and reaction pathways.

The kinetics and mechanisms of the reduction of NO3- in solution to NH3 by 1.5µm diameter zero-valent iron (ZVI1.5) particles has been examined. The effects of initial pH, ZVI1.5 particle concentration and initial NO3- concentration were also investigated. Results indicate that denitrification by ZVI1.5 is primarily a pH-dependent, surface-mediated process. At an initial ZVI1.5 concentrations of 0.832g/L, and an optimal initial pH of 1.62, the NO3- concentration was reduced by 95% from 12.50mg/L-N to 0.65mg/L-N, in 120min. Several kinetic models were used to describe the denitrification process based on the ZVI1.5:NO3- ratio. Based on mineralogical and surface analysis of the reacted ZVI1.5, and detailed solution chemical analysis, the denitrification reaction pathway involves oxidation and partial dissolution of the ZVI1.5 with the generation of Fe2+ and NO2- intermediates prior to formation of Fe3+ oxyhydroxide (goethite) and NH3.

Knockdown of GRP78 enhances cell death by cisplatin and radiotherapy in nasopharyngeal cells.

Radiotherapy and adjuvant cisplatin chemotherapy are the mainstream approaches in the treatment of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). These have been shown to effectively improve the outcome and reduce tumor recurrence. However, radiotherapy and chemotherapy resistance during the course of treatment has become more common recently, resulting in the failure of NPC therapy. Therefore, new therapeutic strategies or adjuvant drugs are urgently needed. The current study was designed to look for new treatment strategies or auxiliary drugs in the treatment of NPC. Two human NPC cell lines, HNE1 and HNE1/DDP, were used to examine the relationship between endoplasmic reticulum stress and cell resistance to ionizing radiation (IR) and cisplatin (DDP). Cell proliferation was assessed using the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay. Meanwhile, propidium iodide (PI) staining and PI/Annexin V staining were used to observe cell apoptosis. Finally, western blot was used to detect the endogenous expression of glucose-regulated protein 78 (GRP78) and other apoptosis-related proteins. GRP78 small interference RNA was transfected using Lipofectamine 2000. Compared with HNE1/DDP, IR and DDP increased the cell apoptosis and inhibited the cell proliferation of HNE1. Inhibition of GRP78 can reverse IR and DDP resistance in NPC cells by PI/Annexin V staining. Knockdown of GRP78 upregulates the expression of pro-apoptotic proteins and downregulates the expression of antiapoptotic proteins. These results indicate that HNE1 is more sensitive to DDP and IR than HNE1/DDP. Knockdown GRP78 can reverse IR and DDP resistance in NPC cells. Inhibition of GRP78 gives us a new target to overcome resistance to radiotherapy and chemotherapy of NPC cells. Thus, this study should be further explored in vivo and assessed for possible clinical applications.

Nanoparticle chains as electrochemical sensors and electrodes.

With the advances in the field of nanotechnology, significant progress is being achieved in fabrication of nanoscale electrodes (nanoelectrodes) and using their properties for applications in multiple fields. Compared with conventional macroscale electrodes, nanoelectrodes offer many advantages that arise from their limited size. Self-assembled chains of metal nanoparticles in particular have drawn interest for fabrication of nanoelectrodes because of their unique electrical properties and geometric morphology. This article discusses the fabrication methods and potential applications of nanoparticle chains as nanoelectrodes in electrochemical systems and also as conductometric sensors. The challenges for such systems are also summarized.

Electrochemical synthesis on nanoparticle chains to couple semiconducting rods: coulomb blockade modulation using photoexcitation.

Hybrid nanostructures are made by coupling a room temperature coulomb blockade device with photoexcitable nano-rods. Direct electrochemical synthesis on nanoparticle chain arrays leads to the formation of semiconducting rods that are in direct contact with the nanoparticles and also spatial confined by them. This direct interfacing leads to mutual intermodulation between the two systems.

[Effects of cisplatin combined with heparanase inhibitor on proliferation and invasion of human nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells].

This study is to investigate the effects of cisplatin combined with heparanase inhibitor OGT2115 on proliferation, invasion and migration of human nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells CNE-2 and to provide a new target for the treatment of metastasis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma. MTT assay was used to detect the cell viability of CNE-2 after exposure to different concentrations of DDP (2, 4, 8, 16 and 32 micromol x L(-1)), different concentrations of OGT2115 (0.4, 0.8, 1.6, 3.2 and 6.4 micromol x L(-1)), and DDP combined with OGT2115. Transwell assay was applied to analyze the effects of drugs on invasion and migration of human nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells. Wound healing assay was performed to detect cell migration and heparanase activity was analyzed by ELISA. MTT results showed that DDP can inhibit the proliferation of CNE-2 cells in a time and concentration-dependent manner, with an IC50 of 24.03 micromol x L(-1) at 24 h (P < 0.05), low concentration of DDP has almost no inhibitory effect on cell invasion and migration. DDP combined with OGT2115 can significantly inhibit cell invasion and migration. Inhibition of heparanase can significantly enhance anti-invasion and anti-proliferation of DDP.

Suppression of endoplasmic reticulum stress-induced invasion and migration of breast cancer cells through the downregulation of heparanase.

Tumor metastasis is the ultimate stage of cancer, and the primary cause of mortality in patients. Tumor cells breaking through the natural barrier consisting of the basement membrane (BM) and extracellular matrix (ECM) is the a crucial step in tumor invasion and metastasis. Thus, protecting this barrier is the key to reducing mortality. Heparanase is a mammalian endo-ß-glucuronidase which has been found to promote the cleavage of heparan sulfate (HS), and plays a significant role in tumor cell invasion and metastasis. Although chemotherapeutic reagents have a strong antitumor activity, they may promote the invasion and migration of cancer cells, as has been observed during clinical treatment. Chemotherapeutic reagents can induce endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress; in this study, we used adriamycin (ADM) and a classical ER stress inducer, tunicamycin (TM). We report that the activation of ER stress is involved in the enhanced invasion and migration ability of breast cancer cells and we hypothesized that this effect is associated with the activation of heparanase. In support of this, we used the heparanase inhibitor, OGT2115, and low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) to inhibit the expression and activity of heparanase, and we found that the invasion and migration ability of the cells was suppressed. Our findings demonstrate that heparanase inhibitors suppress breast cancer cell invasion and migration induced by ER stress, and provide a strong rationale for the development of heparanase-based therapeutics for the prevention of metastasis induced by chemotherapeutic reagents.

Down-regulation of RIP1 by 2-deoxy-D-glucose sensitizes breast cancer cells to TRAIL-induced apoptosis.

TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) appears to be a promising anticancer agent as it specifically kills a wide variety of cancer cells. However, resistance of subpopulations of cancer cells to TRAIL-induced cell death remains a major obstacle for successful treatment of cancer using TRAIL-based therapy. In this report we show that the hexokinase inhibitor 2-deoxy-d-glucose (2-DG) efficiently enhances TRAIL-induced apoptosis through downregulation of receptor-interacting protein kinase 1 (RIP1) in breast cancer cells. Although 2-DG alone did not kill breast cancer cells, it sensitized the cells to TRAIL-induced cell death. This could be efficiently inhibited by blockage of the caspase cascade, suggesting 2-DG augments TRAIL-mediated apoptotic signaling. Indeed, treatment with 2-DG resulted in upregulation of TRAIL receptor 2 (TRAIL-R2), downregulation of cIAP1 and XIAP, and reduction in RIP1. The latter appeared to play an important role in regulating sensitivity of breast cancer cells to TRAIL, in that knockdown of RIP1 recapitulated, at least in part, the effect of 2-DG on TRAIL-induced apoptosis. Taken together, these results indicate that 2-DG enhances TRAIL-induced apoptosis in breast cancer cells by multiple mechanisms including suppression of RIP1, and highlight the potential therapeutic benefit of combinations of 2-DG and TRAIL in the treatment of breast cancer.

[Preparation of microencapsulated red phosphorus and its flame-retardant application in PP composites].

In the present study, the melamine-formaldehyde prepolymer (MFP) was first synthesized at pH 8-8.5 under about 80 degrees C with melamine, formaldehyde, triethanolamine and methanol as the starting materials. Subsequently, the microencapsulated red phosphorus (MRP) was successfully prepared by in-situ polymerization at pH 5.5 under 65 degrees C, using MFP and red phosphorus (RP) powders as raw materials, and potassium persulphate (KPS) as catalyst. The obtained products were detected by differential scan calorimetry (DSC), scanning electron microscope (SEM), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and X-ray photo-electron spectroscopy (XPS). It was found that KPS is useful in enhancing the reaction activity of MFP, which can make RP be well encapsulated by melamine-formaldehyde resin (MF) and reduce the reaction time. The DSC, SEM and XPS results show that it won't get well-encapsulated MRP only under acidic condition and without any KPS. When a proper quantity of KPS is employed, the RP particles can be almost completely-encapsulated by MF and the peak temperature of oxidation reaction for MRP is 480 degrees C, which is much higher than that of RP, extending the applications for MRP. The FTIR spectrum demonstrates that the coating material on the surface of RP accurately is MF, in agreement with the reference. Polyproplene (PP) composites with different formulations were prepared by melt extrusion. It was shown that the flame-retardant efficiencies are very low when the PP composites only contain MRP or MH. However, the flame-retardant property can obviously improve if MRP and MH are both used in the PP composites. When PP : MRP: MH = 100 (phr) : 15 (phr) : 50 (phr), the limited oxygen index of the MRP/MH/PP composite is 26%, and vertical firing ranks UL-94 V-0. In addition, the possible flame-retardant mechanism of the PP composites has also been discussed, and further verified by FTIR and Raman spectroscopy.