Improvement of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis through a combination of Astragalus radix and Angelica sinensis radix via mammalian target of rapamycin signaling pathway-induced autophagy in rat.

Background: There is a major need for effective, well-tolerated treatments for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) in clinic. Astragalus radix (AR; Huangqi) and Angelica sinensis radix (AS; Danggui) have been frequently used in the treatment of IPF. This study aimed to reveal the pharmacological effects and the mechanisms of the action of an AR-AS combination in treating IPF. Methods: Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into six groups (n=5): control, bleomycin (BLM) model, AR, AS, AR + AS, and prednisone (PDN) groups. A transforming growth factor-ß1 (TGF-ß1)-induced MRC-5 cell model were also used. Pulmonary fibrosis, inflammation, oxidative stress, and autophagy were evaluated by performing hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining, Masson staining, immunohistochemical staining, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), Western blotting, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), immunofluorescence, and hydroxyproline assay following the treatment of AR, AS, and the AR-AS herb pair. Results: Rats administered the AR-AS herb pair had lower α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), collagen I, fibronectin, and vimentin levels in lung tissues, and lower inflammatory cytokine levels in rat serum. In addition, the AR-AS herb pair induced mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR)-mediated autophagy and reduced oxidative stress in BLM-induced rats. The effects of the AR and AS combination were confirmed in MRC-5 cells treated with TGF-ß1. Specifically, the combination of AR and AS attenuated MRC-5 cell fibrosis, inflammation, and oxidative stress while inducing autophagy. Conclusions: The combination of AR and AS protects against IPF by inducing autophagy via inhibiting the mTOR signaling pathway. The synergistic action of AR and AS is superior to that of either AR or AS alone.

Design and Analysis of a Microgripper with Three-Stage Amplification Mechanism for Micromanipulation.

This paper proposes a novel microgripper with two working modes. The microgripper is designed with symmetric structure and each part is actuated by one piezoelectric actuator, respectively. To achieve desired output displacement, each part of the microgripper is designed with three-stage amplification mechanism to amplify the displacement of the PZT actuator. According to the size of the microobjects, the grasping operation can be completed by one finger moving or two fingers moving simultaneously. Then, the theoretical analysis is carried out to calculated the key characteristics, including amplification, input stiffness and frequency. Finite element analysis (FEA) is conducted to optimize the structural parameters and investigate the performance of the microgripper. Finally, a prototype is machined by wire electro-discharge machining (WEDM) method and experiments are carried out to verify the performance of the microgripper. The results indicate that the amplification is 10.41 and the motion stroke of one jaw is 118.34 µm when the input voltage is 100 V. The first natural frequency is 746.56 Hz. By picking and placing the wires with different diameters and slices with different thickness, the grasping stability is verified.

LncRNA CCDC144NL-AS1 Serves as a Prognosis Biomarker for Non-small Cell Lung Cancer and Promotes Cellular Function by Targeting miR-490-3p.

This study revealed the prognostic significance of long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) CCDC144NL-AS1 in NSCLC patients and discussed the effect and mechanism of proliferation, migration, and invasion of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells. 128 pairs of NSCLC tissues and paracancerous tissues were collected, and qRT-PCR was used to detect the differential expression of lncRNA CCDC144NL-AS1 in all tissues and cells lines. Kaplan-Meier analysis and Cox proportional hazards model analysis were used to estimate the prognostic value of lncRNA CCDC144NL-AS1. CCK-8 and Transwell assays confirmed the effect of lncRNA CCDC144NL-AS1 on the proliferation, migration, and invasion of NSCLC. Bioinformatics was used to predict the microRNAs that lncRNA CCDC144NL-AS1 might bind to miR-490-3p. The regulation of lncRNA CCDC144NL-AS1 on miR-490-3p was verified by luciferase activity assay with wide type or mutation. The expression of lncRNA CCDC144NL-AS1 was enhanced in both NSCLC tissues and cell lines. Patients with overexpression of lncRNA CCDC144NL-AS1 have a poor prognosis, and lncRNA CCDC144NL-AS1 is an independent prognostic factor for NSCLC. Increased the relative expression level of lncRNA CCDC144NL-AS1 can promote the proliferation, migration, and invasion of NSCLC cells. LncRNA CCDC144NL-AS1 might target miR-490-3p. LncRNA CCDC144NL-AS1 can be used as an oncogene of NSCLC to predict patient prognosis and promote tumor proliferation, migration, and invasion by targeting miR-490-3p.

Enhanced broadband absorption with a twisted multilayer metal-dielectric stacking metamaterial.

This study proposes and experimentally demonstrates enhanced broadband absorption with twisted multilayer metal-dielectric stacking. Compared with the traditional metal-dielectric pyramid, the resonance frequencies of the third-order magnetic resonances in the twisted quadrangular frustum redshifted obviously. Hence, the proposed structure enables an ultra-broadband absorption by combining the third-order magnetic resonances with the fundamental mode. The broadband absorption is insensitive to the incident wave polarization, whereas the twisted angle of the stacking plays an important role in deciding the absorption bandwidth. The sample was fabricated via the multi-material hybrid micro-droplet jetting modeling (MHMJM) technology to verify the enhanced absorbing performance. The measured results suggest that the proposed strategy provides a potential path to realize broadband electromagnetic wave absorption. Moreover, it is possible to extend the twisted metamaterial to the terahertz and infrared frequencies using the advanced nano fabrication techniques.

An Ultrathin, Triple-Band Metamaterial Absorber with Wide-Incident-Angle Stability for Conformal Applications at X and Ku Frequency Band.

An ultrathin and flexible metamaterial absorber (MA) with triple absorption peaks is presented in this paper. The proposed absorber has been designed in such a way that three absorption peaks are located at 8.5, 13.5, and 17 GHz (X and Ku bands) with absorption of 99.9%, 99.5%, and 99.9%, respectively. The proposed structure is only 0.4 mm thick, which is approximately 1/88, 1/55, and 1/44 for the respective free space wavelengths of absorption frequency in various bands. The MA is also insensitive due to its symmetric geometry. In addition, the proposed structure exhibits minimum 86% absorption (TE incidence) within 60° angle of incidence. For TM incidence, the proposed absorber exhibits more than 99% absorptivity up to 60° incidence. Surface current and electric field distributions were investigated to analyze the mechanism governing absorption. Parameter analyses were performed for absorption optimization. Moreover, the performance of the MA was experimentally demonstrated in free space on a sample under test with 20 × 30 unit cells fabricated on a flexible dielectric. Under normal incidence, the fabricated MA exhibits near perfect absorption at each absorption peak for all polarization angles, and the experimental results were found to be consistent with simulation results. Due to its advantages of high-efficiency absorption over a broad range of incidence angles, the proposed absorber can be used in energy harvesting and electromagnetic shielding.

Wideband Metamaterial Absorbers Based on Conductive Plastic with Additive Manufacturing Technology.

This paper proposes a wideband and polarization-insensitive metamaterial absorber (MA) based on tractable conductive plastic, which is compatible with an additive manufacturing technology. We provide the design, fabrication, and measurement result of the proposed absorber and investigate its absorption principle. The performance characteristics of the structure are demonstrated numerically and experimentally. The simulation results indicate that the absorption of this absorber is greater than 90% in the frequency range of 16.3-54.3 GHz, corresponding to the relative absorption bandwidth of 108%, where a high absorption rate is achieved. Most importantly, this additive manufactured structure provides a new way for the design and fabrication of wideband MAs.