弹簧压并状态下悬架减振器绕流涡旋特性分析

为研究汽车行驶过程中减振器弹簧压并状态下翼子板内流场特性的变化,将该状态下的减振器简化为三维变截面圆柱模型,并建立变截面圆柱绕流三维流场模型,利用Transition SST四方程转捩模型模拟低、中、高3种车速对大、小圆柱绕流涡旋特性的影响.结果表明:绕流后尾涡的大小、形态、上升角均受圆柱直径、雷诺数及边界条件的影响,在变截面处验证“下洗”运动对N区边缘涡生长的直接作用及对L区涡旋分布的干扰作用;3种流速下适合绕流涡旋振动压电能量回收的最优夹角分别为±10°,±15°,±20°;在有界的高雷诺数流场下对变截面圆柱绕流涡旋重新分区,发现新的涡旋连接方式.     

一种含N低Ni经济型双相不锈钢的抗氢脆性能的研究

设计了一种新型低Ni经济型双相不锈钢，通过金相显微镜、X射线衍射仪和扫描电子显微镜对不同固溶温度处理后的试样进行表征，通过常规拉伸实验得到综合力学性能最佳的热处理温度点，并通过电化学预充氢后的慢应变速率拉伸实验探究了其氢脆敏感性能。实验表明，随着温度的升高，奥氏体体积分数明显下降，铁素体体积分数升高，氢在双相不锈钢中的扩散能力提高。在1 050 ℃下固溶处理5 min后水淬的经济型双相不锈钢（lean duplex stainless steel，LDSS）综合性能最佳，其屈服强度和抗拉强度分别为744.7 MPa和807.7 MPa，总伸长率为62%，并且该材料在不同温度都具有优异的加工硬化性能。通过对1 050 ℃热处理后的试样进行不同电流密度和时间的预充氢处理，发现其氢脆敏感性能受充氢时间影响大于充氢电流，氢原子主要在塑性变形阶段降低材料抗拉强度和伸长率，对屈服强度影响较小。     

产后早期肛提肌裂孔扩张程度及相关因素分析

目的 分析产后早期肛提肌裂孔扩张的影响因素.方法 盆底超声测量产后早期女性肛提肌裂孔面积,其中研究组为105名肛提肌裂孔扩张者,对照组为145名肛提肌裂孔正常者,对肛提肌裂孔扩张的相关因素进行二元Logistic回归分析.结果 研究组中盆底疾病的发生率高于对照组(P＜0.05),Logistic回归分析显示第二产程时间、胎儿体重、催产素使用和盆腔器官脱垂与肛提肌裂孔扩张显著相关(P＜0.05).结论 第二产程时间延长、催产素增加和胎儿体重增加是肛提肌裂孔扩张的影响因素,对预测和精确诊断盆底疾病有临床意义.     

Blockage of the NLRP3 inflammasome by MCC950 improves anti-tumor immune responses in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

The NLRP3 inflammasome is a critical innate immune pathway responsible for producing active interleukin (IL)-1β, which is associated with tumor development and immunity. However, the mechanisms regulating the inflammatory microenvironment, tumorigenesis and tumor immunity are unclear. Herein, we show that the NLRP3 inflammasome was over-expressed in human HNSCC tissues and that the IL-1β concentration was increased in the peripheral blood of HNSCC patients. Additionally, elevated NLRP3 inflammasome levels were detected in tumor tissues of Tgfbr1/Pten 2cKO HNSCC mice, and elevated IL-1β levels were detected in the peripheral blood serum, spleen, draining lymph nodes and tumor tissues. Blocking NLRP3 inflammasome activation using MCC950 remarkably reduced IL-1β production in an HNSCC mouse model and reduced the numbers of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs), regulatory T cells (Tregs) and tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs). Moreover, inhibiting NLRP3 inflammasome activation increased the numbers of CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T cells in HNSCC mice. Notably, the numbers of exhausted PD-1⁺ and Tim3⁺ T cells were significantly reduced. A human HNSCC tissue microarray showed that NLRP3 inflammasome expression was correlated with the expression of CD8 and CD4, the Treg marker Foxp3, the MDSC markers CD11b and CD33, and the TAM markers CD68 and CD163, PD-1 and Tim3. Overall, our results demonstrate that the NLRP3 inflammasome/IL-1β pathway promotes tumorigenesis in HNSCC and inactivation of this pathway delays tumor growth, accompanied by decreased immunosuppressive cell accumulation and an increased number of effector T cells. Thus, inhibition of the tumor microenvironment through the NLRP3 inflammasome/IL-1β pathway may provide a novel approach for HNSCC therapy.     

Microsatellite instability in gastric cancer: molecular bases,clinical perspectives,and new treatment approaches

Gastric cancer is one of the most aggressive malignancies, with limited treatment options in both locally advanced and metastatic setting, resulting in poor prognosis. Based on genomic characterization, stomach tumour has recently been described as a heterogeneous disease composed by different subtypes, each of them with peculiar molecular aspects and specific clinical behaviour. With an incidence of 22% among all western gastric tumour cases, stomach cancer with microsatellite instability was identified as one of these subgroups. Retrospective studies and limited prospective trials reported differences between gastric cancers with microsatellite stability and those with instability, mainly concerning clinical and pathological features, but also in regard to immunological microenvironment, correlation with prognostic value, and responses to treatment. In particular, gastric cancer with microsatellite instability constitutes a small but relevant subgroup associated with older age, female sex, distal stomach location, and lower number of lymph-node metastases. Emerging data attribute to microsatellite instability status a favourable prognostic meaning, whereas the poor outcomes reported after perioperative chemotherapy administration suggest a detrimental role of cytotoxic drugs in this gastric cancer subgroup. The strong immunogenicity and the widespread expression of immune-checkpoint ligands make microsatellite instability subtype more vulnerable to immunotherapeutic approach, e.g., with anti-PD-L1 and anti-CTLA4 antibodies. Since gastric cancer with microsatellite instability shows specific features and clinical behaviour not overlapping with microsatellite stable disease, microsatellite instability test might be suitable for inclusion in a diagnostic setting for all tumour stages to guarantee the most targeted and effective treatment to every patient.     

General mechanisms of drought response and their application in drought resistance improvement in plants

Plants often encounter unfavorable environmental conditions because of their sessile lifestyle. These adverse factors greatly affect the geographic distribution of plants, as well as their growth and productivity. Drought stress is one of the premier limitations to global agricultural production due to the complexity of the water-limiting environment and changing climate. Plants have evolved a series of mechanisms at the morphological, physiological, biochemical, cellular, and molecular levels to overcome water deficit or drought stress conditions. The drought resistance of plants can be divided into four basic types-drought avoidance, drought tolerance, drought escape, and drought recovery. Various drought-related traits, including root traits, leaf traits, osmotic adjustment capabilities, water potential, ABA content, and stability of the cell membrane, have been used as indicators to evaluate the drought resistance of plants. In the last decade, scientists have investigated the genetic and molecular mechanisms of drought resistance to enhance the drought resistance of various crops, and significant progress has been made with regard to drought avoidance and drought tolerance. With increasing knowledge to comprehensively decipher the complicated mechanisms of drought resistance in model plants, it still remains an enormous challenge to develop water-saving and drought-resistant crops to cope with the water shortage and increasing demand for food production in the future.     

Junctional adhesion molecule-A: functional diversity through molecular promiscuity

Cell adhesion molecules (CAMs) of the immunoglobulin superfamily (IgSF) regulate important processes such as cell proliferation, differentiation and morphogenesis. This activity is primarily due to their ability to initiate intracellular signaling cascades at cell–cell contact sites. Junctional adhesion molecule-A (JAM-A) is an IgSF-CAM with a short cytoplasmic tail that has no catalytic activity. Nevertheless, JAM-A is involved in a variety of biological processes. The functional diversity of JAM-A resides to a large part in a C-terminal PDZ domain binding motif which directly interacts with nine different PDZ domain-containing proteins. The molecular promiscuity of its PDZ domain motif allows JAM-A to recruit protein scaffolds to specific sites of cell–cell adhesion and to assemble signaling complexes at those sites. Here, we review the molecular characteristics of JAM-A, including its dimerization, its interaction with scaffolding proteins, and the phosphorylation of its cytoplasmic domain, and we describe how these characteristics translate into diverse biological activities.     

Current knowledge on exosome biogenesis and release

Exosomes are nanosized membrane vesicles released by fusion of an organelle of the endocytic pathway, the multivesicular body, with the plasma membrane. This process was discovered more than 30 years ago, and during these years, exosomes have gone from being considered as cellular waste disposal to mediate a novel mechanism of cell-to-cell communication. The exponential interest in exosomes experienced during recent years is due to their important roles in health and disease and to their potential clinical application in therapy and diagnosis. However, important aspects of the biology of exosomes remain unknown. To explore the use of exosomes in the clinic, it is essential that the basic molecular mechanisms behind the transport and function of these vesicles are better understood. We have here summarized what is presently known about how exosomes are formed and released by cells. Moreover, other cellular processes related to exosome biogenesis and release, such as autophagy and lysosomal exocytosis are presented. Finally, methodological aspects related to exosome release studies are discussed.