Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “EMT”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 271 records · Page 15

FAT10 promotes the invasion and migration of breast cancer cell through stabilization of ZEB2

Highlights: • High FAT10 level was closely associated with the malignant phenotype and shorter survival in the BC patients. • FAT10 knockdown suppressed the metastasis abilities and the EMT of breast cancer cell. • FAT10 directly interacts with ZEB2 and stabilizes its expression in breast cancer cells. • The pro-metastasis role of FAT10 in breast cancer is dependent on ZEB2 enhancement. FAT10, an ubiquitin-like protein, functions as a potential tumor promoter in several caners. However, the function and clinical significance of FAT10 in breast cancer (BC) remains unclear. Here, we found that high FAT10 expression was detected frequently in primary BC tissues, and was closely associated with malignant phenotype and shorter survival among the BC patients. Multivariate analyses also revealed that FAT10 overexpression was independent prognostic factors for poor outcome of patients with BC. Function assay demonstrated that FAT10 knockdown significantly inhibited the metastasis abilities and the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of breast cancer cell. Further investigation revealed that FAT10 directly bound ZEB2 and decreased its ubiquitination to enhance the protein stability of ZEB2 in BC cells. Moreover, our data shown that the pro-metastasis effect of FAT10 in BC is partially dependent on ZEB2 enhancement. Collectively, our data suggest that FAT10 plays a crucial oncogenic role in BC metastasis, and we provide a novel evidence that FAT10 may be serve as a prognostic and therapeutic target for BC patients.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

Transforming growth factor alpha promotes tumorigenesis and regulates epithelial-mesenchymal transition modulation in colon cancer

Highlights: • TGFα facilitates short-term and long-term proliferations of colon cancer cells. • TGFα was suggested as a migration-and-invasion promoting factor of colon cancer. • TGFα modulates epithelial-mesenchymal transition markers and NFκB signaling pathway in colon cancer cells. Colon cancer is one of the most common cancers in the developed countries. The association between transforming growth factor TGFα and human cancer incidence has been suggested, yet, the regulatory roles of TGFα and the molecular mechanisms remain unknown, especially in colon cancer. We aim to investigate the functional regulations of TGFα in colon cancer progression. Two colon cancer cell lines were applied, and plasmid overexpression and siRNA-mediated depletion techniques were used to verify the role of TGFα in colon cancer. Cell proliferation was analyzed by MTS assay and colony formation assay, and western blot assay was used to examine protein expression. Migration, invasion, and reporter assays were also carried out to study the regulations of TGFα in colon cancer. Our results evidenced that expression of TGFα facilitates short-term and long-term proliferations of colon cancer cells. Moreover, TGFα was suggested as a migration-and-invasion promoting factor of colon cancer. Finally, our data indicated that TGFα modulates epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) markers and NFκB signaling pathway in colon cancer cells. We provide the first time evidence of the promoting role TGFα plays in colon cancer tumorigenesis with proposed regulatory mechanisms involving EMT alteration and NFκB signaling pathway.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

Phenotypic malignant changes and untargeted lipidomic analysis of long-term exposed prostate cancer cells to endocrine disruptors

Endocrine disruptors (EDs) are a class of environmental toxic molecules able to interfere with the normal hormone metabolism. Numerous studies involve EDs exposure to initiation and development of cancers, including prostate cancer. In this work, three different EDs (aldrin, aroclor 1254 and chlorpyrifos (CPF)) were investigated as potential inducers of a malignant phenotype in DU145 prostate cancer cells after a chronic exposure. Epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) induction, proliferation, migration, colony formation and release of metalloproteinase 2 (MMP-2) were analyzed in 50-day exposed cells to the selected EDs. As a result, aldrin and CPF exposure led to an EMT induction (loss of 16% and 14% of E-cadherin levels, respectively, compared to the unexposed cells). Aroclor and CPF presented an increased migration (134% and 126%, respectively), colony formation (204% and 144%, respectively) and MMP-2 release (137% in both cases) compared to the unexposed cells. An untargeted lipidomic analysis was performed to decipher the lipids involved in the observed transformations. As general results, aldrin exposure showed a global decrease in phospholipids and sphingolipids, and aroclor and CPF showed an increase of certain phospholipids, glycosphingolipids as well as a remarkable increase of some cardiolipin species. Furthermore, the three exposures resulted in an increase of some triglyceride species. In conclusion, some significant changes in lipids were identified and thus we postulate that some lipid compounds and lipid metabolic pathways could be involved in the acquisition of the malignant phenotype in exposed prostate cancer cells to the selected EDs. - Highlights: • Aldrin, aroclor and chlorpyrifos induced an aggressive phenotype in DU145 cells. • An untargeted lipidomic analysis has been performed on chronic exposed cells. • Lipidomic results showed changes in specific lipid species under chronic exposure. • These lipids may have a role in the acquisition of a malignant phenotype.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

O-GlcNAcylation affects β-catenin and E-cadherin expression, cell motility and tumorigenicity of colorectal cancer

O-GlcNAcylation, the addition of β-N-acetylglucosamine (O-GlcNAc) moiety to Ser/Thr residues, is a sensor of the cell metabolic state. Cancer diseases such as colon, lung and breast cancer, possess deregulated O-GlcNAcylation. Studies during the last decade revealed that O-GlcNAcylation is implicated in cancer tumorigenesis and proliferation. The Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway and cadherin-mediated adhesion are also implicated in epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), a key cellular process in invasion and cancer metastasis. Often, deregulation of the Wnt pathway is caused by altered phosphorylation of its components. Specifically, phosphorylation of Ser or Thr residues of β-catenin affects its location and interaction with E-cadherin, thus facilitating cell-cell adhesion. Consistent with previous studies, the current study indicates that β-catenin is O-GlcNAcylated. To test the effect of O-GlcNAcylation on cell motility and how O-GlcNAcylation might affect β-catenin and E-cadherin functions, the enzyme machinery of O-GlcNAcylation was modulated either with chemical inhibitors or by gene silencing. When O-GlcNAcase (OGA) was inhibited, a global elevation of protein O-GlcNAcylation and increase in the expression of E-cadherin and β-catenin were noted. Concomitantly with enhanced O-GlcNAcylation, β-catenin transcriptional activity were elevated. Additionally, fibroblast cell motility was enhanced. Stable silenced cell lines with adenoviral OGA or adenoviral O-GlcNAc transferase (OGT) were established. Consistent with the results obtained by OGA chemical inhibition by TMG, OGT-silencing led to a significant reduction in β-catenin level. In vivo, murine orthotropic colorectal cancer model indicates that elevated O-GlcNAcylation leads to increased mortality rate, tumor and metastasis development. However, reduction in O-GlcNAcylation promoted survival that could be attributed to attenuated tumor and metastasis development. The results described herein provide circumstantial clues that O-GlcNAcylation deregulates β-catenin and E-cadherin expression and activity in fibroblast cell lines and this might influence EMT and cell motility, which may further influence tumor development and metastasis.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

PRP4 kinase induces actin rearrangement and epithelial-mesenchymal transition through modulation of the actin-binding protein cofilin

Highlights: • PRP4 is involved in pre-mRNA splicing and cell signalling. • PRP4 modulates the actin cytoskeleton of cancer cells via RhoA activity inhibition. • PRP4 induces cofilin dephosphorylation by inhibiting the Rho-ROCK-LIMK-cofilin pathway in HCT116 cells. • Dephosphorylation of cofilin results in F-actin stabilization, re-distribution of cytoplasmic actin, formation of actin stress fibers, and inhibition of cell motility. • PRP4 over-expression induces the expressions of PP1A, which directly or indirectly dephosphorylates cofilin, resulting in actin cytoskeleton rearrangement, downregulation of E-cadherin, and EMT induction. Cofilin activation may be associated with EMT properties, and promotes the progression of human colon cancer. Cell actin cytoskeleton is primarily modulated by Rho family proteins. RhoA regulates several downstream targets, including Rho-associated protein kinase (ROCK), LIM-Kinase (LIMK), and cofilin. Pre-mRNA processing factor 4B (PRP4) modulates the actin cytoskeleton of cancer cells via RhoA activity inhibition. In this study, we discovered that PRP4 over-expression in HCT116 colon cancer cells induces cofilin dephosphorylation by inhibiting the Rho-ROCK-LIMK-cofilin pathway. Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis, and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass-spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) analysis indicated increased expression of protein phosphatase 1A (PP1A) in PRP4-transfected HCT116 cells. The presence of PRP4 increased the expression of PP1A both at the mRNA and protein levels, which possibly activated cofilin through dephosphorylation and subsequently modulated the cell actin cytoskeleton. Furthermore, we found that PRP4 over-expression did not induce cofilin dephosphorylation in the presence of okadaic acid, a potent phosphatase inhibitor. Moreover, we discovered that PRP4 over-expression in HCT116 cells induced dephosphorylation of migration and invasion inhibitory protein (MIIP), and down-regulation of E-cadherin protein levels, which were further restored by the presence of okadaic acid. These findings indicate a possible molecular mechanism of PRP4-induced actin cytoskeleton remodeling and epithelial-mesenchymal transition, and make PRP4 an important target in colon cancer.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

TUSC3 accelerates cancer growth and induces epithelial-mesenchymal transition by upregulating claudin-1 in non-small-cell lung cancer cells

Lung cancer is the most frequent cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide, but its molecular pathogenesis is poorly understood. The tumor suppressor candidate 3 (TUSC3) gene is located on chromosome 8p22 and is universally acknowledged as a cancer suppressor. However, our research has demonstrated that TUSC3 expression is significantly upregulated in non-small-cell lung cancer compared to benign controls. In this study, we analyzed the consequences of TUSC3 knockdown or overexpression on the biological functions of non-small-cell lung cancer cell lines. To identify the molecules and signaling pathways with which TUSC3 might interact, we completed immunoblotting, quantitative polymerase chain reaction, microarray, co-immunoprecipitation, and immunofluorescence assays. We demonstrated that TUSC3 knockdown leads to decreased proliferation, migration, and invasion, and reduced xenograft tumor growth of non-small-cell lung cancer cell lines, whereas opposite results were observed with overexpression of TUSC3. In addition, TUSC3 knockdown suppressed epithelial-mesenchymal transition by downregulating the expression of claudin-1, which plays an indispensable role in EMT progress. On the contrary, overexpression of TUSC3 significantly enhanced EMT progress by upregulating claudin-1 expression. Overall, our observations suggest that TUSC3 accelerates cancer growth and induces the epithelial-mesenchymal transition in non-small-cell lung cancer cells; we also identified claudin-1 as a target of TUSC3.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

USP18 promotes tumor metastasis in esophageal squamous cell carcinomas via deubiquitinating ZEB1

Highlights: • High USP18 expression is positively correlated with the malignant phenotype and poor survival in ESCC patients. • Knockdown of USP18 suppressed the metastasis ability of ESCC cells in vitro and in vivo. • USP18 contributes to ESCC cell metastasis by inducing ZEB1 mediated EMT process. • USP18 acts as a deubiquitinase, and stabilises ZEB1 by reducing its poly-ubiquitination. The dysregulation of deubiquitinating enzymes (DUBs), which regulate the stability of most cellular proteins, have been implicated in many human diseases, including cancers. Ubiquitin-specific protease 18 (USP18), a member of the DUBs family, functions as a potential tumour promoter in various cancers. However, the biological function and clinical significance of USP18 in esophageal squamous cell carcinomas (ESCC) are still unclear. Here, we found that ESCC tumors had higher USP18 expression compared with that of normal esophageal epithelial tissues, and high USP18 level was significantly correlated with malignant phenotype and shorter survival in patients with ESCC. In functional experiments, USP18 knockdown significantly inhibited ESCC invasion and metastasis in vitro. Consistently, a xenograft assay showed that knockdown of USP18 in ESCC cell suppressed their dissemination to lung tissue in vivo. Furthermore, we showed that USP18 promoted ESCC cell metastasis by inducing ZEB1 mediated epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Importantly, our results demonstrated that the oncogenic effect of USP18 in ESCC is partially dependent on ZEB1 enhancement. Mechanistic investigations revealed that USP18 directly bound ZEB1 and decreased its ubiquitination to enhance the protein stability of ZEB1 in ESCC cells. Overall, our data highlighted an essential role of USP18 in ESCC metastasis, suggesting that it could be a potential diagnostic and therapeutic target for ESCC.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

Inverter Controls for Smooth Transition Operation of Networked Microgrids

Islanding sections of a distribution grid as microgrids and networking these microgrids offer promising opportunities for improving system reliability; however, this approach may need distributed energy resources (DERs) to switch between grid-connected and islanded operation without affecting the system stability. The Thevenin impedance of the power system at the DER point of common coupling changes due to networking actions. It is critical to have smooth transitions between modes to ensure stable system operation and to avoid nuisance tripping. This paper presents the design of a grid-forming (GFM)-capable inverter control scheme to reliably operate in distribution systems with networked microgrids. Control mechanisms for smooth transitions between grid-following (GFL) and GFM inverter modes are presented. First, we test the control mechanism on a simple two-source power system through electromagnetic transient (EMT) simulations using a digital real-time simulator. Then, we add multiple such DERs to the EMT model of a real-world distribution feeder and demonstrate stable operation between mode transitions during the networking of the microgrids.

grid forming controls↗

Effect of orientation anisotropy on calculating effective electrical conductivities

This paper develops an analytical effective medium theory (EMT) equation for calculating the effective conductivity of a mixture based on Maxwell's and Maxwell-Garnett’s theories, extended to higher volume fractions using Bruggeman's unsymmetrical treatment (BUT), with a long term goal of extending the treatment to mixtures more representative of real materials in order to calculate their effective electrical conductivity. The development accounts for spheroid shaped inclusions of varying degrees of anisotropic orientation. The orientation is described by the introduction of a distribution function. Two methodologies valid for the inclusion dilute limit were used to evaluate the effective conductivity: one based on Maxwell's far field approach, and the other based on the Maxwell-Garnett in the matrix approach. It was found that while the dilute limit equations for the effective conductivity were different, the final EMT equations derived by applying BUT collapsed to the same formula which was generalized for anisotropic orientation based on the distribution function presented.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Comparing T-odd and T-even spin sum rules

Sum rules for T-even and T-odd structure functions and parton distributions are considered. The case of spin-dependent distributions related to energy-momentum tensor (EMT) is specifically addressed. The Burkardt sum rule for T-odd Sivers functions may be related to EMT provided the imaginary prescription for gluonic pole correlator is incorporated. The momentum sum rule for deuteron tensor spin structure function allows one to probe indirectly the gravity couplings to quarks and gluons.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

An accurate full-dimensional potential energy surface for H–Au(111): Importance of nonadiabatic electronic excitation in energy transfer and adsorption

We have constructed a potential energy surface (PES) for H-atoms interacting with fcc Au(111) based on fitting the analytic form of the energy from Effective Medium Theory (EMT) to ab initio energy values calculated with density functional theory. The fit used input from configurations of the H–Au system with Au atoms at their lattice positions as well as configurations with the Au atoms displaced from their lattice positions. It reproduces the energy, in full dimension, not only for the configurations used as input but also for a large number of additional configurations derived from ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) trajectories at finite temperature. Adiabatic molecular dynamics simulations on this PES reproduce the energy loss behavior of AIMD. EMT also provides expressions for the embedding electron density, which enabled us to develop a self-consistent approach to simulate nonadiabatic electron-hole pair excitation and their effect on the motion of the incident H-atoms. For H atoms with an energy of 2.7 eV colliding with Au, electron-hole pair excitation is by far the most important energy loss pathway, giving an average energy loss ≈3 times that of the adiabatic case. This increased energy loss enhances the probability of the H-atom remaining on or in the Au slab by a factor of 2. The most likely outcome for H-atoms that are not scattered also depends prodigiously on the energy transfer mechanism; for the nonadiabatic case, more than 50% of the H-atoms which do not scatter are adsorbed on the surface, while for the adiabatic case more than 50% pass entirely through the 4 layer simulation slab.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Twist1-induced dissemination preserves epithelial identity and requires E-cadherin

Dissemination of epithelial cells is a critical step in metastatic spread. Molecular models of dissemination focus on loss of E-cadherin or repression of cell adhesion through an epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT). We sought to define the minimum molecular events necessary to induce dissemination of cells out of primary murine mammary epithelium. Deletion of E-cadherin disrupted epithelial architecture and morphogenesis but only rarely resulted in dissemination. In contrast, expression of the EMT transcription factor Twist1 induced rapid dissemination of cytokeratin-positive epithelial cells. Twist1 induced dramatic transcriptional changes in extracellular compartment and cell–matrix adhesion genes but not in cell–cell adhesion genes. Surprisingly, we observed disseminating cells with membrane-localized E-cadherin and β-catenin, and E-cadherin knockdown strongly inhibited Twist1-induced single cell dissemination. Dissemination can therefore occur with retention of epithelial cell identity. The spread of cancer cells during metastasis could similarly involve activation of an epithelial motility program without requiring a transition from epithelial to mesenchymal character.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

Relaxation of a Spiking Mott Artificial Neuron

We consider the phenomenon of electric Mott transition (EMT), which is an electrically induced insulator-to-metal transition. Experimentally, it is observed that depending on the magnitude of the electric excitation, the final state may show a short-lived or a long-lived resistance change. We extend a previous model for the EMT to include the effect of local structural distortions through an elastic energy term. We find that by strong electric pulsing, the induced metastable phase may become further stabilized by the electroelastic effect. We present a systematic study of the model by numerical simulations and compare the results to experiments in Mott insulators of the AM 4 Q 8 family. Our work significantly extends the scope of our recently introduced leaky-integrate-and-fire Mott neuron [P. Stoliar et al., Adv. Funct. Mat. 27, 1604740 (2017)] to provide a better insight into the physical mechanism of its relaxation. This is a key feature for future implementations of neuromorphic circuits.

bio-inspired↗

Near-field heat transfer between graphene/hBN multilayers

We study the radiative heat transfer between multilayer structures made by a periodic repetition of a graphene sheet and a hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) slab. Surface plasmons in a monolayer graphene can couple with a hyperbolic phonon polaritons in a single hBN lm to form hybrid polaritons that can assist photon tunneling. For periodic multilayer graphene/hBN structures, the stacked metallic/dielectric array can give rise to a further e ective hyperbolic behavior, in addition to the intrinsic natural hyperbolic behavior of hBN. The e ective hyperbolicity can enable more hyperbolic polaritons that enhance the photon tunneling and hence the near- eld heat transfer. However, the hybrid polaritons on the surface, i.e. surface plasmon-phonon polaritons, dominate the near- eld heat transfer between multilayer structures when the topmost layer is graphene. The e ective hyperbolic regions can be well predicted by the e ective medium theory (EMT), thought EMT fails to capture the hybrid surface polaritons and results in a heat transfer rate much lower compared to the exact calculation. The chemical potential of the graphene sheets can be tuned through electrical gating and results in an additional modulation of the heat transfer. We found that the near- eld heat transfer between multilayer structure does not increase monotonously with the number of layer in the stack, which provides a way to control the heat transfer rate by the number of graphene layers in the multilayer structure. The results may bene t the applications of near- eld energy harvesting and radiative cooling based on hybrid polaritons in two-dimensional materials.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Glue in hadrons at medium resolution and the QCD instanton vacuum

We discuss a general framework for the evaluation of the gluonic form factors in light hadrons at low momentum transfer, in the QCD instanton vacuum. At medium resolution of the order of the inverse mean instanton size, the glue is mostly localized in single or pairs of pseudoparticles and globally constrained by the fluctuations of their topological charges. These pseudoparticles trap light quarks, giving rise to emerging multiflavor ’t Hooft interactions. We explicitly evaluate the gluonic scalar, pseudoscalar, energy-momentum tensor (EMT), and the leading C -odd and C -even three-gluon hadronic form factors, at next to leading order in the instanton density, including molecular clusters of like and unlike instantons. We use the results for the EMT to address the contribution of the gluons in Ji’s mass and spin sum rules, at low resolution. When evolved, our results for the mass and spin composition of the nucleon are shown to be in good agreement with the recently reported lattice results at higher resolution. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Astronomy & Astrophysics↗

Quadrupole forces between quark and gluon subsystems inside higher-spin particles

We generalize the mechanical interpretation of the forces between quark and gluon subsystems, previously studied for the nucleon, to arbitrary higher-spin particles. For spin-0 and spin-1/2 particles, this force is characterized by the nonconserved $\overline{𝑐}$⁡(𝑡) form factor. However, such an interpretation has not yet been established for higher-spin particles due to the intricate structure of the nonconserved energy-momentum tensor (EMT) form factors. By performing a multipole expansion, we identify the physically meaningful combinations of the nonconserved covariant EMT form factors and provide them with a clear mechanical interpretation.

Baryons↗

A New Impedance-Based Modeling and Stability Analysis Approach for Power Oscillations Between Grid-Forming Inverters

This paper presents a new modeling and analysis approach to address the small-signal stability issues among interconnected grid-forming (GFM) inverters. A novel phasor domain “power impedance” model is developed to capture the terminal characteristics of GFM inverters. Based on the developed models, a sum-type impedance stability criterion is proposed to analyze the power oscillations between GFM Inverters. The developed models are validated with EMT simulations and the stability analysis results using the proposed stability criterion can match both EMT simulations and eigenvalue analysis. In addition, the application of the developed model can be extended to the stability analysis of large-scale power system with high penetration of GFM inverters.

Liu, Hanchao↗

Fault Contribution of Grid-Following and Grid-Forming Inverters Considering Generic Inverter Controls and Ride-through Requirements

Gradual transformation of the synchronous generator (SG)-dominated power systems to inverter-based resource (IBR)-dominated power systems is bringing new challenges regarding power system protection. Increasing IBR’s penetration will reduce the reliability of protection coordination, originally developed for SG-dominated power systems, potentially leading to less accurate calculation or even mis-operation. Thus, new protection schemes compatible with IBR-dominated power systems should be established. Prior to establishing the protection schemes, research on the fault contribution of generic IBR models should be conducted considering interconnection requirements. This paper conducts fault current contribution analysis of generic grid-following (GFL) and grid-forming (GFM) inverters considering interconnection requirements using an electromagnetic transient (EMT) simulation tool. To do this, EMT-based generic GFL models have been developed with the ride-through requirements from IEEE-1547 standards. In addition, the major functions of the generic models are explained. Then, the fault current analysis was conducted using GFL and GFM inverters in a single-inverter-infinite-bus system and a modified IEEE 34-node system considering different grid, fault, inverter control parameters.

Kim, Jinho [BATTELLE (PACIFIC NW LAB)]↗