Breast cancer (BC) is one of the most common and heterogeneous malignancies. Although prognosis of breast cancer has improved with the development of early screening, the mechanisms underlying tumorigenesis and progression remain incompletely understood. DNA methylation has been implicated in tumorigenesis and tumor development, and so here we screened methylation-driven genes and explored their prognostic values in breast cancer. RNA-Seq transcriptome data and DNA methylation data of the TCGA-BRCA dataset were obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas. Differentially-expressed genes and differentially-methylated genes were identified separately. The intersected 783 samples with both RNA-Seq data and DNA methylation data were selected for further analysis. Fifty-six methylation-driven genes were identified using the MethylMix R package and ten prognosis methylation-driven genes (CDO1, CELF2, ITPAIPL1, KCNH8, PTK6, RAB25, RIC3, USP44, ZSCAN1, and ZSCAN23) were further screened by combined methylation and gene expression analysis. Based on the methylation data of the screened ten methylation-driven genes, six subgroups were identified with the ConsensusClusterPlus R package. The protein levels of the ten prognostic methylation-driven genes were detected by immunohistochemical experiments. Moreover, based on the RNA-Seq data, a signature calculating the risk score of each patient was developed with stepwise regression. The risk score and other clinical features (age and stage) were confirmed to be independent prognostic factors by univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses. Finally, a prognostic nomogram incorporating all the significant factors was integrated to predict the 3-, 5-, and 7-year overall survival. Taken together, the methylation-driven genes identified here may be potential biomarkers of breast cancer.

Bamboo sawdust was used as the precursor for the multipurpose use of waste. Offgases released during the activation process of bamboo by KOH were investigated quantitatively and qualitatively by a gas analyzer. TG/DTG curves during the pyrolysis process with different impregnation weight ratios (KOH to bamboo) were obtained by a thermogravimetric analyzer. Pyrolysis mechanism of bamboo was proposed. The results showed that the offgases were composed of CO, NO, SO 2 and hydrocarbon with the concentration of 1 372, 37, 86, 215 mg/L, respectively. Thermogravimetric analysis indicated that the pyrolytic process mainly experienced two steps. The first was the low temperature activation step (lower than 300 ℃), which was the pre-activation and induction period. The second was the high temperature activation step(higher than 550 ℃), which was a radial activation followed by pore production. The second process was the key to control the pore distribution of the final product.

Dynorphin A (1-13) was chemically modified by reaction with succinimidyl propionate-monomethoxy polyethylene glycol (mPEG-SPA). To determine the degree and the optimized condition for PEGylation of dynorphin A, the reactions were monitored in different pH buffers at different molar ratios by reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS). The results showed that the degree of PEGylation for dynorphin A could easily be controlled through adjustment of the molar ratios and the pH. The degree of PEGylation of dynorphin A increased as the molar ratio of dynorphin to MPEG-SPA and the pH increased.

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