Corn (Zea mays L.) is one of the major food crops, and it is considered to be a very distinctive plant, since it is able to produce a large amount of the natural polymer of starch through its capacity to utilize large amounts of sunlight. Corn starch is used in a wide range of products and applications. In recent years, the use of nanotechnology for applications in the food industry has become more apparent; it has been used for protecting against biological and chemical deterioration, increasing bioavailability, and enhancing physical properties, among other functions. However, the high cost of nanotechnology can make it difficult for its application on a commercial scale. As a biodegradable natural polymer, corn starch is a great alternative for the production of nanomaterials. Therefore, the search for alternative materials to be used in nanotechnology has been studied. This review has discussed in detail the properties, simulations, and wide range of applications of corn starch-based nanomaterials.The fracture toughness of shale is a basic parameter that can provide effective theoretical support for wellbore stability and hydraulic fracturing of a shale reservoir. Due to the composition and microstructure, there are many problems in evaluating the mechanical properties of shale in a macroscopic test. In this paper, the composition and pore distribution of shale were studied by X-ray diffraction and nuclear magnetic resonance. Scanning electron microscopy was used to characterize the pore structure. The setting of experimental parameters and the selection of the indenter were discussed. Micro-indentation technique was proposed and applied to fracture toughness analysis of shale. The results show that Berkovich indenter is more suitable for shale indentation test than Vickers indenter. Fracture toughness of shale indentation is obviously affected by surface roughness and indentation position. Fracture toughness of shale decreases slightly with the increase of the indentation load. The energy analysis result presents that the effect of cracking on the ratio of total/unloading work is minimal when there is no significant stripping on the shale surface. Compared with the experimental method, energy methods can obtain all the analysis parameters from a single indentation test. The results of comparative analysis with macroscopic experiments display that micro-indentation test can effectively predict the macroscopic fracture toughness of shale.Infiltration of diverse cell types into tumor microenvironment plays a critical role in cancer progression including metastasis. We previously reported that SFMBT2 (Scm-like with four mbt domains 2) regulates the expression of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and migration and invasion of cancer cells in prostate cancer. Here we investigated whether the down-regulation of SFMBT2 regulates the infiltration of preadipocytes and tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) in prostate cancer. We found that the down-regulation of SFMBT2 promotes the infiltration of preadipocytes and TAMs through up-regulation of CXCL8, CCL2, CXCL10, and CCL20 expression in prostate cancer. Expression of CXCL8, CCL2, CXCL10, and CCL20 was also elevated in prostate cancer patients having a higher Gleason score (≥8), which had substantially lower SFMBT2 expression. We also found that the up-regulation of CXCL8, CCL2, CXCL10, and CCL20 expression is dependent on NF-κB activation in prostate cancer cells expressing a low level of SFMBT2. Moreover, increased IL-6 from infiltrated preadipocytes and TAMs promoted migration and invasion of prostate cancer cells expressing a low level of SFMBT2. Naphazoline mouse Our study may suggest that SFMBT2 a critical regulator for the infiltration of preadipocytes and TAMs into the prostate tumor microenvironment. Thus, the regulation of SFMBT2 may provide a new therapeutic strategy to inhibit prostate cancer metastasis, and SFMBT2 could be used as a potential biomarker in prostate cancer metastasis.Interleukin 33 (IL-33) is an IL-1 family cytokine that plays a central role in immune system by regulating and initiating inflammatory responses. The binding of IL-33 to the suppressor of tumorigenicity 2 (ST2) receptor induces mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK) and nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) pathways, thereby leading to inflammatory cytokines production in type 2 helper T cells and type 2 innate lymphoid cells. To develop an antibody specific to IL-33 with a defined epitope, we characterized a single-chain antibody variable fragments (scFvs) clone specific to IL-33, C2_2E12, which was selected from a human synthetic library of scFvs using phage display. Affinity (Kd) of C2_2E12 was determined to be 38 nM using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. C2_2E12 did not show cross-reactivity toward other interleukin cytokines, including closely related IL-1 family cytokines and unrelated proteins. Mutational scanning analysis revealed that the epitope of IL-33 consisted of residues 149-158 with key residues being L150 and K151 of IL-33. Structural modeling suggested that L150 and K151 residues are important for the interaction of IL-33 with C2_2E12, implicating that C2_2E12 could block the binding of ST2 to IL-33. Pull-down and in-cell assays supported that C2_2E12 can inhibit the IL-33/ST2 signaling axis. These results suggest that the scFv clone characterized here can function as a neutralizing antibody.The primary treatment for non-functioning pituitary tumors (NFPTs) is surgery, but it is often unsuccessful. Previous studies have reported that NFPTs express receptors for somatostatin (SST1-5) and dopamine (DRDs) providing a rationale for the use of dopamine agonists and somatostatin analogues. Here, we systematically assessed SST1-5 and DRDs expression by real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) in a large group of patients with NFPTs (n = 113) and analyzed their potential association with clinical and molecular aggressiveness features. SST1-5 expression was also evaluated by immunohistochemistry. SST3 was the predominant SST subtype detected, followed by SST2, SST5, and SST1. DRD2 was the dominant DRD subtype, followed by DRD4, DRD5, and DRD1. A substantial proportion of NFPTs displayed marked expression of SST2 and SST5. No major association between SSTs and DRDs expression and clinical and molecular aggressiveness features was observed in NFPTs.