Exploring the Relationship between the Structural Characteristics and Mechanical Behavior of Multicomponent Fe-Containing Phases: Experimental Studies and First-Principles Calculations.

A comprehensive understanding of the structural characteristics and mechanical behavior of Fe-containing phases is important for high-Fe-level Al-Si alloys. In this paper, the crystal characteristics, thermal stability, thermophysical properties and mechanical behavior of multicomponent α-AlFeMnSi and α-AlFeMnCrSi phases are investigated by experimental studies and first-principles calculations. The results indicate that it is easier for Fe and Cr to substitute the Mn-12j site in α-AlMnSi in thermodynamics; Cr is preferred to Fe for substituting Mn-12j/k sites due to its lower formation enthalpy after single substitutions at Mn atom sites. The α-AlFeMnCrSi phase shows higher thermal stability, modulus and intrinsic hardness and a lower volumetric thermal expansion coefficient at different temperatures due to the strong chemical bonding of Si-Fe and Si-Cr. Moreover, the α-AlFeMnCrSi phase has a higher ideal strength (10.65 GPa) and lower stacking fault energy (1.10 × 103 mJ/m2). The stacking fault energy evolution of the different Fe-containing phases is mainly attributed to the differential charge-density redistribution. The strong chemical bonds of Si-Fe, Si-Mn and Si-Cr are important factors affecting the thermophysical and mechanical behaviors of the α-AlFeMnCrSi phase.

Dysregulated microRNAs as a biomarker for diagnosis and prognosis of hepatitis B virus-associated hepatocellular carcinoma.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a malignancy with a high incidence and fatality rate worldwide. Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is one of the most important risk factors for its occurrence and development. Early detection of HBV-associated HCC (HBV-HCC) can improve clinical decision-making and patient outcomes. Biomarkers are extremely helpful, not only for early diagnosis, but also for the development of therapeutics. MicroRNAs (miRNAs), a subset of non-coding RNAs approximately 22 nucleotides in length, have increasingly attracted scientists' attention due to their potential utility as biomarkers for cancer detection and therapy. HBV profoundly impacts the expression of miRNAs potentially involved in the development of hepatocarcinogenesis. In this review, we summarize the current progress on the role of miRNAs in the diagnosis and treatment of HBV-HCC. From a molecular standpoint, we discuss the mechanism by which HBV regulates miRNAs and investigate the exact effect of miRNAs on the promotion of HCC. In the near future, miRNA-based diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic applications will make their way into the clinical routine.

Effects of High-Temperature Annealing Atmosphere on the Secondary Recrystallization Behavior and Magnetic Properties of Fe-3.2%Si-0.055%Nb Grain-Oriented Silicon Steel.

High-temperature annealing is a key step for the secondary recrystallization of grain-oriented silicon steel, which has an important effect on the final sharp Goss texture. In this work, the effects of three different annealing atmospheres during high-temperature annealing (100%H2, 25%N2 + 75%H2 and 50%N2 + 50%H2) on the secondary recrystallization microstructure and texture of Fe-3.2%Si-0.055%Nb low temperature grain-oriented silicon steel were analyzed by optical microscopy (OM) and electron back-scattered diffraction (EBSD) techniques, and the magnetic properties of the samples were compared. The results show that when the high-temperature annealing atmosphere is 100%H2, the texture of the grains with secondary recrystallization is mainly <110>//ND orientation, but the grains without secondary recrystallization have a disordered orientation. When the high-temperature annealing atmosphere is 50%H2 + 50%N2, the secondary recrystallization grains present a Goss texture and brass texture. After high-temperature annealing in the 25%N2 + 75%H2 atmosphere, the sample can be fully recrystallized to obtain secondary recrystallization grains; the grain size is relatively uniform and the texture is mainly a Goss texture with a sharp edge. The content of this reaches 93.1%, the magnetic induction B800 is the highest, reaching 1.89 T, and the iron loss P1.7/50 is the lowest, reaching 1.33 W/kg.

Microstructure Evolution and Mechanical Properties of Ferrite-Austenite Duplex Fe-Mn-Al-(Cu)-C Steel under Different Annealing Temperatures.

The effect of Cu addition and the intercritical annealing (IA) temperature on the microstructural evolution and mechanical properties of Fe-0.4C-7Mn-4Al (wt%) was investigated via scanning electron microscopy (SEM), electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and nanoindentation tests. The results showed that the volume fraction and the average grain size of austenite, and the fraction of high angle grain boundaries, increased with IA temperature increase in the range of 650 °C to 710 °C. The addition of Cu facilitates the formation of Cu-rich nanoparticles, raises the volume fraction of austenite, and delays the recrystallization of austenite. As IA temperature increased, the yield strength (YS), ultimate tensile strength (UTS), and Lüders bands strain (LBS) decreased in both experimental steels. The Cu addition not only increases the YS of medium Mn steel but also benefits the decrease of LBS. The best comprehensive mechanical properties were obtained at the IA temperature of 690 °C in the studied steel, with Cu addition. According to nanoindentation experiments, the Cu addition raises the hardness of ferrite and austenite from 4.7 GPa to 6.3 GPa and 7.4 GPa to 8.5 GPa, respectively, contributing to the increase of YS of medium-Mn steel.

Safety and efficiency of stem cell therapy for COVID-19: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: With the COVID-19 pandemic continuing, various treatments have become widely practiced. Stem cells have a wide range of applications in the treatment of lung diseases and have therefore been experimentally used to treat patients with COVID-19, but whether the expanded use of stem cells is safe and reliable still lacks enough evidence. To address this issue, we systematically reviewed the safety and efficiency of stem cell therapy in COVID-19 cases. METHODS: We searched PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, The Cochrane Library, CNKI, WanFang, VIP and SinoMed up to January 18, 2022. The included studies were assessed using the Risk-of-bias tool 1.0 and MINORS instrument. The adverse events, mortality, length of hospital day and laboratory parameters were analyzed by meta-analysis. We adhered to PRISMA reporting guideline. RESULTS: We have included 17 studies meeting the inclusion data. There were no significant differences in AEs (OR = 0·39, 95% CI = 0·12 to 1·33, P = 0·13, I2 = 58%) and SAEs (OR = 0·21, 95% CI = 0·04 to 1·03, P = 0·05, I2 = 0%) between stem cell therapy group and control group. The analysis showed that stem cell treatment could significantly reduce the mortality rate(OR = 0·24, 95% CI = 0·13 to 0·45, P < 0·01, I2 = 0%), but was not able to cause changes in length of hospital stay or most laboratory parameters. CONCLUSIONS: The present study shows that stem cell therapy for COVID-19 has a remarkable effect on efficiency without increasing risks of adverse events and length of hospital stay. It is potentially necessary to establish the criteria for COVID-19 for stem cell therapy.

Endothelial cells promote the proliferation and migration of Schwann cells.

Background: After peripheral nerve injury, Schwann cells proliferate and migrate to the injured site, thereby promoting peripheral nerve regeneration. The process is regulated by various factors. Endothelial cells participate in the process via angiogenesis. However, the effects of endothelial cells on Schwann cells are not yet known. The present study sought to evaluate whether endothelial cells accelerate Schwann cell proliferation and migration. Methods: We established a co-culture model of rat Schwann cells (RSC96s) and rat aortic endothelial cells (RAOECs), and studied the effects of endothelial cells on Schwann cells by evaluating changes in Schwann cell proliferation and migration and related multiple genes and their protein expressions in the co-culture model. Results: The results showed that increasing the proportion of endothelial cells in the co-culture model enhanced the proliferation. At days 1 and 3 following the co-culturing, the relative growth rates of the co-cultured cells were 122.87% and 127.37%, respectively, which showed a significant increase in the viability compared to that of the RSC96s (P<0.05). In this process, the expression of Ki67 increased. The migration ability of Schwann cells was also enhanced. The migration capacity of Schwann cells was detected by wound-healing and Transwell assays. The results of the group with 15% of endothelial cells was significantly higher than the results of the other groups (P<0.0001 and P<0.05, respectively). Further, neuregulin 1 and glial fibrillary acidic protein increased the process of Schwann cell migration. Conclusions: The results showed that endothelial cells can promote the proliferation and migration of Schwann cells and participate in peripheral nerve regeneration.

Dynamics of fractional N-soliton solutions with anomalous dispersions of integrable fractional higher-order nonlinear Schrödinger equations.

In this paper, using the algorithm due to Ablowitz et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 128, 184101 (2022); J. Phys. A: Math. Gen. 55, 384010 (2022)], we explore the anomalous dispersive relations, inverse scattering transform, and fractional N-soliton solutions of the integrable fractional higher-order nonlinear Schrödinger (fHONLS) equations, containing the fractional third-order NLS (fTONLS), fractional complex mKdV (fcmKdV), and fractional fourth-order nonlinear Schrödinger (fFONLS) equations, etc. The inverse scattering problem can be solved exactly by means of the matrix Riemann-Hilbert problem with simple poles. As a consequence, an explicit formula is found for the fractional N-soliton solutions of the fHONLS equations in the reflectionless case. In particular, we analyze the fractional one-, two-, and three-soliton solutions with anomalous dispersions of fTONLS and fcmKdV equations. The wave, group, and phase velocities of these envelope fractional one-soliton solutions are related to the power laws of their amplitudes. Moreover, we also deduce the formula for the fractional N-soliton solutions of all fHONLS equations and analyze some velocities of the one-soliton solution. These obtained fractional N-soliton solutions may be useful to explain the related super-dispersion transports of nonlinear waves in fractional nonlinear media.

Microstructure Evolution and Mechanical Properties of Medium Carbon Martensitic Steel during Warm Rolling and Annealing Process.

The microstructure evolution and mechanical properties of medium carbon martensitic steel during the warm rolling and annealing process were studied by scanning electron microscope (SEM), electron back scattering diffraction (EBSD), and electronic universal testing machine. The results showed that the microstructure of ferrite matrix with mass dispersive cementite particles was obtained by decomposition of martensitic in medium-carbon martensitic steel after warm rolling. The grain size of ferrite was ~0.53 µm, the yield strength and tensile strength were 951 MPa and 968 MPa, respectively, and the total elongation rate was 11.5% after warm rolling at 600 °C. Additionally, after the next 4 h of annealing, the grain size of ferrite and particle size of cementite increased to ~1.35 µm and ~360 nm and the yield strength and tensile strength decreased to 600 MPa and 645 MPa, respectively, with a total elongation increases of 20.9%. The strength of the material increased with increasing strain rate in tension, and the yield-to-tensile strength ratio increased from 0.92 to 0.94 and maintained good plasticity.

Correction to: Evidence for paternal DNA transmission to gynogenetic grass carp.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via the original article.

Hox genes reveal variations in the genomic DNA of allotetraploid hybrids derived from Carassius auratus red var. (female) × Cyprinus carpio L. (male).

BACKGROUND: Hox transcription factors are master regulators of animal development. Although highly conserved, they can contribute to the formation of novel biological characteristics when modified, such as during the generation of hybrid species, thus potentially serving as species-specific molecular markers. Here, we systematically studied the evolution of genomic sequences of Hox loci in an artificial allotetraploid lineage (4nAT, 4n = 200) derived from a red crucian carp (♀, RCC, 2n = 100) × common carp (♂, CC, 2n = 100) cross and its parents (RCC and CC). RESULTS: PCR amplification yielded 23 distinct Hox gene fragments from 160 clones in 4nAT, 22 fragments from 90 clones in RCC, and 19 fragments from 90 clones in CC. Sequence alignment of the HoxA3a and HoxC10a genes indicated both the inheritance and loss of paternal genomic DNA in 4nAT. The HoxA5a gene from 4nAT consisted of two subtypes from RCC and two subtypes from CC, indicating that homologous recombination occurred in the 4nAT hybrid genome. Moreover, 4nAT carried genomic pseudogenization in the HoxA10b and HoxC13a loci. Interestingly, a new type of HoxC9a gene was found in 4nAT as a hybrid sequence of CC and RCC by recombination in the intronic region. CONCLUSION: The results revealed the influence of Hox genes during polyploidization in hybrid fish. The data provided insight into the evolution of vertebrate genomes and might be benefit for artificial breeding programs.

The Hybrid Genome of a New Goldfish-Like Fish Lineage Provides Insights Into the Origin of the Goldfish.

Distant hybridization leads to obvious changes in genotypes and phenotypes, giving rise to species with novel capabilities. However, the fusion of distinct genomes also polymerizes the DNA or gene variations that occur during the course of evolution. Knowledge of the early stages of post-hybridization evolution is particularly important. Here, we investigated the full-length (FL) transcriptomes and the sequences resulting from the genome resequencing of the red crucian carp-like homodiploid fish (RCC-L) and goldfish-like homodiploid fish (GF-L) derived from the interspecific hybridization of koi carp (KOC) and blunt snout bream (BSB) to provide molecular evidence for the hybrid origin of the goldfish (GF). We compared the orthologous genes in the transcriptomes of RCC-L and GF-L with those of KOC and BSB. We also mapped the orthologous genes to the common carp (CC) and BSB genomes and classified them into eight gene patterns in three categories (chimaera, mutant, and biparental origin genes). The results showed that 48.20% and 46.50% of the genes were chimaera and that 3.70% and 8.30% of the genes were mutations of orthologous genes in RCC-L and GF-L, respectively. In RCC-L and GF-L, 63.70% and 68.20% of the genetic materials were from KOC, and 12.30% and 11.90% of the genetic materials were from BSB. The sequences from the genome resequencing of RCC-L and GF-L were mapped to the genome sequences of CC and BSB, revealing that the similarities of both RCC-L and GF-L to the CC genome (92.52%, 90.18%) were obviously higher than to the BSB genome (50.33%, 49.18%), supporting the suggestion that the genomes of both RCC-L and GF-L were mainly inherited from KOC but had some DNA fragments from BSB. Overall, our results provide molecular biological evidence for the hybrid origin of red crucian carp (RCC) and GF.

Unprecedented non-hysteretic superelasticity of [001]-oriented NiCoFeGa single crystals.

Superelasticity associated with the martensitic transformation has found a broad range of engineering applications1,2. However, the intrinsic hysteresis3 and temperature sensitivity4 of the first-order phase transformation significantly hinder the usage of smart metallic components in many critical areas. Here, we report a large superelasticity up to 15.2% strain in [001]-oriented NiCoFeGa single crystals, exhibiting non-hysteretic mechanical responses, a small temperature dependence and high-energy-storage capability and cyclic stability over a wide temperature and composition range. In situ synchrotron X-ray diffraction measurements show that the superelasticity is correlated with a stress-induced continuous variation of lattice parameter accompanied by structural fluctuation. Neutron diffraction and electron microscopy observations reveal an unprecedented microstructure consisting of atomic-level entanglement of ordered and disordered crystal structures, which can be manipulated to tune the superelasticity. The discovery of the large elasticity related to the entangled structure paves the way for exploiting elastic strain engineering and development of related functional materials.

Analysis on the Meiosis-Related Gene (Dmc1, Ph1) Expression in Autotriploid Carassius auratus.

Triploid is usually considered to be unable to perform normal meiosis due to the abnormal behavior of the three sets of chromosomes. But autotriploid Carassius auratus in the Dongting water system (3n = 150, abbreviated as 3nCC) can perform normal meiosis. In artificial autotriploid Carassius auratus (3n = 150, abbreviated as 3nRR), female individuals undergo normal meiosis and produce mature gametes, while male individuals cannot. To better understand the effects of triploidization on meiosis in fish, we study the structure, methylation level, and expression level of meiosis-related genes (Dmc1, Ph1) in diploid Carassius auratus (2n = 100, abbreviated as 2nCC), Carassius auratus red var.(2n = 100, abbreviated as RCC), 3nCC and 3nRR. The results show that, compared with their diploid ancestors (2nCC and RCC), Dmc1 and Ph1 genes are hypomethylated in all 3nCC and female 3nRR, while are hypermethylated in male 3nRR. Correspondingly, Dmc1 and Ph1 genes are highly expressed in all 3nCC and female 3nRR, while are lowly expressed in male 3nRR. These results indicate that high expression of meiosis-related genes can contribute to restoration of bivalent pairing during meiosis in autotriploid Carassius auratus. This study provides new insights into the effect of DNA methylation on the fertility in triploid fish.

Transcriptome Profile Analysis on Ovarian Tissues of Autotetraploid Fish and Diploid Red Crucian Carp.

Polyploidization can significantly alter the size of animal gametes. Autotetraploid fish (RRRR, 4nRR = 200) (4nRR) possessing four sets of chromosomes were derived from whole-genome duplication in red crucian carp (RR, 2n = 100) (RCC). The diploid eggs of the 4nRR fish were significantly larger than the eggs of RCC. To explore the differences between the ovaries of these two ploidies of fishes at the molecular level, we compared the ovary transcriptome profiles of 4nRR fish and RCC and identified differentially expressed genes (DEGs). A total of 19,015 unigenes were differentially expressed between 4nRR fish and RCC, including 12,591 upregulated and 6,424 downregulated unigenes in 4nRR fish. Functional analyses revealed that eight genes (CDKL1, AHCY, ARHGEF3, TGFß, WNT11, CYP27A, GDF7, and CKB) were involved in the regulation of cell proliferation, cell division, gene transcription, ovary development and energy metabolism, suggesting that these eight genes were related to egg size in 4nRR fish and RCC. We validated the expression levels of these eight DEGs in 4nRR fish and RCC using quantitative PCR. The study results provided insights into the regulatory mechanisms underlying the differences in crucian carp egg sizes.

Evidence for paternal DNA transmission to gynogenetic grass carp.

BACKGROUND: Grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idellus, GC), as the highest-output fish in China, is economically important. The production of gynogenetic grass carp (GGC) will provide important germplasm resource for producing improved GC. At present, knowledge regarding the heterologous sperm DNA in gynogenetic offspring is little. Thus, revealing paternal DNA in GGC at the molecular level would be highly significant for fish genetic breeding. RESULT: In this study, ultraviolet-treated sperm of koi carp (Cyprinus carpio haematopterus, KOC, 2n = 100), was used to activate the eggs of GC (2n = 48). Afterwards, cold shock (0-4 °C) was administered for 12 min to double the chromosomes, resulting in GGC. No significant difference (p > 0.05) was found between GGC and GC in appearance, erythrocytes size and chromosome numbers. However, at the molecular level, a specific microsatellite DNA fragment (MFW1-gynogenetic grass carp, MFW1-G) derived from the paternal parent KOC was found to be transmitted into GGC. CONCLUSIONS: For the first time, this study provided an evidence at the molecular level that the DNA fragment derived from the paternal parent occurred in GGC. This finding is of great significance for fish genetic breeding.

The Formation of the Goldfish-Like Fish Derived From Hybridization of Female Koi Carp × Male Blunt Snout Bream.

Goldfish (Carassius auratus var., GF; 2n = 100) is the most popular ornamental fish in the world. It is assumed that GF evolved from red crucian carp (C. auratus red var., RCC; 2n = 100). However, this hypothesis lacks direct evidence. Furthermore, our knowledge of the role of hybridization in the formation of new species is sparse. In this study, goldfish-like fish with twin tails (GF-L; 2n = 100) was produced by self-mating red crucian carp-like fish (RCC-L; 2n = 100) derived from the distant crossing of koi carp (Cyprinus carpio haematopterus, KOC; 2n = 100; ♀) with blunt snout bream (Megalobrama amblycephala, BSB; 2n = 48; ♂). The phenotypes and genotypes of GF-L and RCC-L were very similar to those of GF and RCC, respectively. Microsatellite DNA and 5S rDNA analyses revealed that GF-L and RCC-L were closely related to GF and RCC, respectively. The presence of a twin tail of GF-L was related to a base mutation in chordinA from G in RCC-L to T in GF-L, indicating that the lineage of RCC-L and GF-L can be used to study gene variation and function. The sequences of 5S rDNA in GF-L and RCC-L were mapped to the genomes of CC and BSB, which revealed that the average similarities of both GF-L and RCC-L to CC were obviously higher than those to BSB, supporting that the genomes of both RCC-L and GF-L were mainly inherited from KOC. GF-L and RCC-L were homodiploids that were mainly derived from the genome of KOC with some DNA fragments from BSB. The reproductive traits of GF-L and RCC-L were quite different from those of their parents, but were the same as those of GF and RCC. RCC-L easily diversified into GF-L, suggesting that RCC and GF evolved within the same period in their evolutionary pathway. This study provided direct evidence of the KOC-RCC-GF evolutionary pathway that was triggered by distant hybridization, which had important significance in evolutionary biology and genetic breeding.

Unraveling submicron-scale mechanical heterogeneity by three-dimensional X-ray microdiffraction.

Shear banding is a ubiquitous phenomenon of severe plastic deformation, and damage accumulation in shear bands often results in the catastrophic failure of a material. Despite extensive studies, the microscopic mechanisms of strain localization and deformation damage in shear bands remain elusive due to their spatial-temporal complexities embedded in bulk materials. Here we conducted synchrotron-based X-ray microdiffraction (µXRD) experiments to map out the 3D lattice strain field with a submicron resolution around fatigue shear bands in a stainless steel. Both in situ and postmortem µXRD results revealed large lattice strain gradients at intersections of the primary and secondary shear bands. Such strain gradients resulted in severe mechanical heterogeneities across the fatigue shear bands, leading to reduced fatigue limits in the high-cycle regime. The ability to spatially quantify the localized strain gradients with submicron resolution through µXRD opens opportunities for understanding the microscopic mechanisms of damage and failure in bulk materials.

[Guideline of surgical practice for non-small cell lung cancer based staging].

The clinical evidences of the guideline came from clinical trials based evidence-based medicine. Applied principle of the evidence was: systematic reviews, RCTs, the results from multiple factors ana-lysis, consensus, especially combined with Chinese experience and some lung cancer guidelines used in USA or Europe. All doctors who use the guideline in making therapeutic strategy must combine patients' conditions with the knowledge of biological behavior, dynamic change and response to treatment of lung cancer.