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Abstract Breast cancer is one of the deadliest malignancies in women worldwide. Zinc finger protein 32 (ZNF32) has been reported to be involved in autophagy and stem cell like properties of breast cancer cells. However, the effects, mechanisms, target genes and pathways of ZNF32 in breast cancer development have not been fully explored. In this study, stable ZNF32 overexpression breast cancer cell line was generated, and we used RNA-seq and RT-qPCR to quantify and verify the changes in transcription levels in breast cancer cells under ZNF32 overexpression. Transcriptome analysis showed that high expression of ZNF32 is accompanied by changes in downstream focal adhesion, ECM-receptor interaction, PI3K-AKT, HIPPO and TNF signaling pathways, which are critical for the occurrence and development of cancer. Multiple differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were significantly involved in cell proliferation, adhesion and migration, including 11 DEGs such as CA9, CRLF1 and ENPP2P with fundamental change of regulation modes. All the 11 DEGs were validated by RT-qPCR, and 9 of them contained potential transcriptional binding sequences of ZNF32 in their promoter region. This study provides a holistic perspective on the role and molecular mechanism of ZNF32 in breast cancer progression.

Abstract Background Long-term exposure to a high altitude environment with low pressure and low oxygen could cause abnormalities in the structure and function of the heart. Myocardial strain is a sensitive indicator for assessing myocardial dysfunction, monitoring myocardial strain is of great significance for the early diagnosis and treatment of high altitude heart-related diseases. This study applies cardiac magnetic resonance tissue tracking technology (CMR-TT) to evaluate the changes in left ventricular myocardial function and structure in rats in high altitude environment. Methods 6-week-old male rats were randomized into plateau hypoxia rats (plateau group, n = 21) as the experimental group and plain rats (plain group, n = 10) as the control group. plateau group rats were transported from Chengdu (altitude: 360 m), a city in a plateau located in southwestern China, to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (altitude: 3850 m), Yushu, China, and then fed for 12 weeks there, while plain group rats were fed in Chengdu(altitude: 360 m), China. Using 7.0 T cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) to evaluate the left ventricular ejection fraction (EF), end-diastolic volume (EDV), end-systolic volume (ESV) and stroke volume (SV), as well as myocardial strain parameters including the peak global longitudinal (GLS), radial (GRS), and circumferential strain (GCS). The rats were euthanized and a myocardial biopsy was obtained after the magnetic resonance imaging scan. Results The plateau rats showed more lower left ventricular GLS and GRS (P 0.05). Conclusions After 12 weeks of exposure to high altitude low-pressure hypoxia environment, the left ventricular global strain was partially decreased and myocardium is damaged, while the whole heart ejection fraction was still preserved, the myocardial strain was more sensitive than the ejection fraction in monitoring cardiac function.

Intensive application of chlorine-based disinfectants driven by the COVID-19 pandemic was suspected to be detrimental to receiving water ecosystems, but with little field evidence. We characterized the occurrences of typical disinfectants and microeukaryotic communities in surface waters associated with three wastewater treatment plants (WWTP)-river systems one year after the lockdown in Wuhan, China. Trihalomethanes (THMs) declined from summer 2020 (0.01–1.82 ​μg/L) to summer 2021 (0.01–0.95 ​μg/L), whereas quaternary ammonium salts (QAs) increased from summer 2020 (0.53–6.35 ​ng/L) to summer 2021 (8.49–191 ​ng/L). Biodiversity monitoring with environmental DNA (eDNA) revealed significant temporal variation in microeukaryotic community composition. The monitored disinfectants were correlated with some eukaryotic communities as demonstrated by redundancy analysis. For example, QAs were positively related to Cryptophyta relative abundance, but negatively related to Rotifera relative abundance. A microeukaryote-based multimetric index indicated ecological impairment near the Han River WWTP outlet in 2020. Our findings indicate the influence of heavily used disinfectants on river microeukaryotic communities, and the usefulness of assessing mid-term ecological risks from disinfectants in the post COVID-19 era.

Summary: Microorganisms are critical to the stability of aquatic environments, and understanding the ecological mechanisms of microbial community is essential. However, the distinctions and linkages across biogeographic patterns, ecological processes, and formation mechanisms of microbes in rivers and lakes remain unknown. Accordingly, microbiome-centric analysis was conducted in rivers and lakes in the Yangtze River watershed. Results revealed significant differences in the structure and diversity of microbial communities between rivers and lakes, with rivers showing higher diversity. Lakes exhibited lower community stability, despite higher species interactions. Although deterministic processes dominated microbial community assembly both in rivers and lakes, higher stochastic processes of rare and abundant taxa exhibited in rivers. Spatial factors influenced river microbial community, while environmental factors drove differences in the lake bacterial community. This study deepened the understanding of microbial biogeography and formation mechanisms in large watershed rivers and lakes, highlighting distinct community aggregation patterns between river and lake microorganisms.

As a zoonotic parasite, Cryptosporidium spp. could cause severe diarrhea mainly in calves and children globally. Monitoring and prevention of Cryptosporidium spp.’s prevalence is of great significance in both economy and public health aspects. In this study, specific primers and probes were designed within the conserved region of 18S rRNA gene for Cryptosporidium spp. and recombinase polymerase amplification assays based on the fluorescence monitoring (real-time RPA) as well as combined with a lateral flow strip (LFS RPA) were developed. Both of the two RPA assays allowed the exponential amplification of the target fragment within 20 min. After incubation on a metal bath at 42 °C, the LFS RPA results were displayed on the lateral flow strip within 5 min while real-time RPA allowed the real-time observation of the results in Genie III at 39 °C. The RPA assays showed high specificity for Cryptosporidium spp. without any cross-reaction with other tested pathogens causing diarrhea in cattle. With the recombinant plasmid DNA containing the 18S rRNA gene of Cryptosporidium spp. serving as a template, the limit of detection for real-time RPA and LFS RPA assays were 14.6 and 12.7 copies/reaction, respectively. Moreover, the RPA assays were validated by testing diarrheic cattle fecal samples and compared with a real-time PCR. The positive ratio of Cryptosporidium spp. was 24.04 % (44/183) and 26.23 % (48/183) in both RPA assays and real-time PCR assay, respectively, and the kappa coefficient value was 0.942. The diagnostic specificity and diagnostic sensitivity of both RPA assays were 100 % and 91.67 %, respectively. Forty-one of 48 positive samples were successfully sequenced and four Cryptosporidium species were detected, including C. parvum (n = 20), C. andersoni (n = 17), C. bovis (n = 3) and C. ryanae (n = 1). The developed RPA assays are easy to operate and faster to obtain the detection results, and they are suiting for the point-of-care detection and facilitating the prevention and control of Cryptosporidium spp. infections.

In the face of rapid environmental changes, understanding and monitoring biological traits and functional diversity are crucial for effective biomonitoring. However, when it comes to freshwater macroinvertebrates, a significant dearth of biological trait data poses a major challenge. In this opinion article, we put forward a machine-learning framework that incorporates phylogenetic conservatism and trait collinearity, aiming to provide a better vision for predicting macroinvertebrate traits in freshwater ecosystems. By adopting this proposed framework, we can advance biomonitoring efforts in freshwater ecosystems. Accurate predictions of macroinvertebrate traits enable us to assess functional diversity, identify environmental stressors, and monitor ecosystem health more effectively. This information is vital for making informed decisions regarding conservation and management strategies, especially in the context of rapidly changing environments.

Abstract Background Bovine rotavirus A (BRVA) is considered to be the most common pathogen of severe diarrhea in cattle worldwide, which could lead to the death of newborn calves and cause the significant economic losses to the cattle industry. As a novel isothermal nucleic acid amplification technique, recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA) has been applied widely for the rapid detection of different important pathogens in human and animals. Results An RT-RPA assay based on the real time fluorescence monitoring (real-time RT-RPA) and an RT-RPA assay combined with a lateral flow strip (LFS RT-RPA) were successfully developed by targeting the VP6 gene of BRVA. The RT-RPA assays allowed the exponential amplification of the target fragment in 20 min. After incubation of the LFS RT-RPA on a metal bath at 40 °C, the results were displayed on the lateral flow strip within 5 min, while real-time RT-RPA allowed the real-time observation of the results in Genie III at 42 °C. Both of the two assays showed high specificity for BRVA without any cross-reaction with the other tested pathogens causing diarrhea in cattle. With the standard RNA of BRVA serving as a template, the limit of detection for real-time RT-RPA and LFS RT-RPA were 1.4 × 102 copies per reaction and 1.4 × 101 copies per reaction, respectively. In the 134 fecal samples collected from cattle with diarrhea, the BRVA positive rate were 45.52% (61/134) and 46.27% (62/134) in real-time RT-RPA and LFS RT-RPA, respectively. Compared to a previously published real-time PCR, the real-time RT-RPA and LFS RT-RPA showed a diagnostic specificity of 100%, diagnostic sensitivity of 98.39% and 100%, and a kappa coefficient of 0.985 and 1.0, respectively. Conclusions In this study, BRVA was successfully detected in cattle fecal samples by the developed real-time RT-RPA and LFS RT-RPA assays. The developed RT-RPA assays had great potential for the rapid detection of BRVA in under-equipped diagnostic laboratory and the point-of-need diagnosis at quarantine stations and farms, which is of great importance to control BRVA-associated diarrhea in cattle herds.

This paper investigates a path planning approach for the walking and obstacle avoidance of a blind hexapod robot in various field conditions. Hexapod robots often perform field tasks in unstructured environments, and their external sensors are affected by weather and light. This paper proposes the use of internal sensors to sense the terrain and a slightly modified soft actor-critic algorithm to train the motion strategy. A hexapod robot is capable of walking smoothly on rough ground only using internal sensors that are not affected by weather factors, and the soft actor-critic approach is superior for overcoming high-dimensional issues for multi-degree-freedom robot motion in unstructured environments.The experiments showed that the hexapod robot not only traversed rugged terrain at a fixed speed but also possessed obstacle avoidance capabilities.

Resource sharing among users serves as the foundation of cloud computing, which, however, may also cause vulnerabilities to diverse co-residence attacks launched by malicious virtual machines (VM) residing in the same physical server with the victim VMs. In this paper, we aim to defend against such co-residence attacks through a secure, workload-balanced, and energy-efficient VM allocation strategy. Specifically, we model the problem as an optimization problem by quantifying and minimizing three key factors: (1) the security risks, (2) the power consumption and (3) the unbalanced workloads among different physical servers. Furthermore, this work considers a realistic environmental setting by assuming a random number of VMs from different users arriving at random timings, which requires the optimization solution to be continuously evolving. As the optimization problem is NP-hard, we propose to first cluster VMs in time windows, and further adopt the Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) algorithm to identify the optimal allocation strategy for each time window. Comprehensive experimental results based on real world cloud traces validate the effectiveness of the proposed scheme.

Bovine kobuvirus (BKV) is a novel kobuvirus considered to be closely related to calf diarrhea and has become a worldwide epidemic. Currently, the BKV lacks an efficient and convenient detection method to assist the research on BKV prevalence. In this study, a new and specific TaqMan-based real-time RT-PCR for the detection of BKV was developed using the conserved region of the 3D gene. The assay was highly specific for BKV, without cross-amplification with other non-targeted pathogens. The limit of detection of this assay was 102 copies. Standard curves showed a strong linear correlation from 102 to 106 copies of BKV standard RNA per reaction, and the parameters revealed as a slope of −3.54, efficiency of 91.64%, and regression coefficients (R2) of 0.998. The assay was also reproducible, with the intra-assay and inter-assay coefficient of variation

PurposeTo seek novel diagnostic approaches, we improved the workflow of cell-free DNA (cfDNA) sequencing and evaluated its feasibility in vitreoretinal lymphoma (VRL) specimens; the profile of mutations was preliminarily analyzed for potential diagnostic value.MethodsThe study was a diagnostic trial. 23 eyes of 23 patients with VRL and 25 eyes of 25 patients with inflammatory eye diseases were enrolled. Approximate 500μl undiluted vitreous humor and 10ml diluted vitreous fluid was obtained through diagnostic vitrectomy and sent for cytopathological examinations. 500μl of the diluted vitreous fluid was spared for cfDNA sequencing. For cfDNA sequencing, DNA fragmentation procedure was added to the workflow to improve the extraction efficiency; mutations detected were analyzed for potential diagnostic model. The sensitivity and specificity of the cytopathology and cfDNA sequencing were compared. The clinical manifestations were preliminarily analyzed for potential correlations with the genotypes.ResultsCfDNA sequencing was accomplished in 23 eyes with VRL and 20 eyes with inflammatory eye diseases. VRL-related mutated genes included MYD88 (18 eyes, 78%), ETV6 (11 eyes, 48%), PIM1 (11 eyes,48%), BTG2 (7 eyes, 30%), IRF4 (7 eyes, 30%), CD79B (6 eyes, 26%), LRP1B (6 eyes, 26%), etc. Logistic regression based on the mutations of MYD88 and ETV6 was of the potential for the diagnosis of VRL (P

Objective To establish a real-time recombinase-aid amplification (RAA) method for rapid detection of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Methods Specific primers and exo probes based on ecfX gene of P. aeruginosa were designed in this study, and the validity of the method was evaluated by sensitivity, specificity and suspected strains detection. Results Real-time RAA was performed successfully at 39℃ for 20 min. Only the P. aeruginosa strains but not other bacteria were amplified, showing the good specificity. The limit of detection was 3.0×103 fg genomic DNA per reaction, and 1.0×103 CFU P. aeruginosa pure culture per reaction. The developed real-time RAA was further evaluated on 36 suspected of P. aeruginosa, which were identified successfully to be P. aeruginosa.The detection result were the same with those of a real-time PCR assay and the VITEK 2 Compact. Conclusion The developed real-time RAA assay is a rapid, simple and reliable tool for accurate detection of P. aeruginosa of diverse origins.

Abstract Background Mycoplasmal pneumonia is an important infectious disease that threatens sheep and goat production worldwide, and Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae is one of major etiological agent causing mycoplasmal pneumonia. Recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA) is an isothermal nucleic acid amplification technique, and RPA-based diagnostic assays have been described for the detection of different types of pathogens. Results The RPA assays using real-time fluorescence detection (real-time RPA) and lateral flow strip detection (LFS RPA) were developed to detect M. ovipneumoniae targeting a conserved region of the 16S rRNA gene. Real-time RPA was performed in a portable florescence scanner at 39 °C for 20 min. LFS RPA was performed in a portable metal bath incubator at 39 °C for 15 min, and the amplicons were visualized with the naked eyes within 5 min on the lateral flow strip. Both assays were highly specific for M. ovipneumoniae, as there were no cross-reactions with other microorganisms tested, especially the pathogens involved in respiratory complex and other mycoplasmas frequently identified in ruminants. The limit of detection of LFS RPA assay was 1.0 × 101 copies per reaction using a recombinant plasmid containing target gene as template, which is 10 times lower than the limit of detection of the real-time RPA and real-time PCR assays. The RPA assays were further validated on 111 clinical sheep nasal swab and fresh lung samples, and M. ovipneumoniae DNA was detected in 29 samples in the real-time RPA, 31 samples in the LFS RPA and 32 samples in the real-time PCR assay. Compared to real-time PCR, the real-time RPA and LFS RPA showed diagnostic specificity of 100 and 98.73%, diagnostic sensitivity of 90.63 and 93.75%, and a kappa coefficient of 0.932 and 0.934, respectively. Conclusions The developed real-time RPA and LFS RPA assays provide the attractive and promising tools for rapid, convenient and reliable detection of M. ovipneumoniae in sheep, especially in resource-limited settings. However, the effectiveness of the developed RPA assays in the detection of M. ovipneumoniae in goats needs to be further validated.

Abstract Background Dunaliella salina is a good model organism for studying salt stress. In order to have a global understanding of the expression profiles of Dunaliella salina in response to hypersaline stress, we performed quantitative transcriptomic analysis of Dunaliella salina under hypersaline stress (2.5 M NaCl) of different time duration by the second and third generation sequencing method. Results Functional enrichment of the up-regulated genes was used to analyze the expression profiles. The enrichment of photosynthesis was observed, accompanied by enrichments of carbon fixation, pigment biosynthetic process and heme biosynthetic process, which also imply the enhancement of photosynthesis. Genes responsible for starch hydrolysis and glycerol synthesis were significantly up-regulated. The enrichment of biosynthesis of unsaturated fatty acids implies the plasma membrane undergoes changes in desaturation pattern. The enrichment of endocytosis implies the degradation of plasma membrane and might help the synthesis of new glycerophospholipid with unsaturated fatty acids. Co-enrichments of protein synthesis and degradation imply a higher protein turnover rate. The enrichments of spliceosome and protein processing in endoplasmic reticulum imply the enhancement of regulations at post-transcriptional and post-translational level. No up-regulation of any Na+ or Cl− channels or transporters was detected, which implies that the extra exclusion of the ions by membrane transporters is possibly not needed. Voltage gated Na+ and Cl− channels, mechanosensitive ion channel are possible signal receptors of salt stress, and Ca2+ and MAP kinase pathways might play a role in signal transduction. Conclusion At global transcriptomic level, the response of Dunaliella salina to hypersaline stress is a systematic work, possibly involving enhancements of photosynthesis, carbon fixation, and heme biosynthetic process, acceleration of protein turnover, spliceosome, protein processing in endoplasmic reticulum, and endocytosis, as well as degradation of starch, synthesis of glycerol, membrane lipid desaturation. Altogether, the changes of these biological processes occurred at trancriptomic level will help understand how a new intracellular balance achieved in Dunaliella salina to adapt to hypersaline environment, which are worth being confirmed at the physiological levels.

Since terrorist attacks pose a great threat, protective structures need to be applied in terms of the safety of buildings and personnel. The installation of anti-ram bollards around buildings and infrastructures could block potential hazards, including the damage caused by car bombs and vehicular impacts on the buildings. In order to provide effective protection for buildings, the dynamic behaviors of anti-ram bollards should be examined, which is under insufficient research. In this paper, by adopting the FE program LS-DYNA, the FE models of corresponding anti-ram bollards are established, and the FEMs are validated by comparison with the experimental results of five existing vehicle crash tests. On this basis, the dynamic response of the optimized K12 anti-ram bollards under vehicular impact is numerically analyzed, and the influences of various parameters on the deformation of anti-ram bollards, as well as the displacement of the vehicle is studied.

This study aimed to detetct Mycoplasma bovis (M. bovis) in bovine milk quickly and directly by developing and validating isothermal recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA) assays. Targeting the uvrC gene of M. bovis, an RPA assay based on the fluorescence monitoring (real-time RPA) and an RPA assay combined with a lateral flow strip (LFS RPA) were conducted. It took 20 min for the real-time RPA to finish in a Genie III at 39°C, and 15 min were required to perform the LFS RPA in an incubator block at 39°C, followed by the visualization of the products on the lateral flow strip within 5 min. Both of the two assays showed high specificity for M. bovis without any cross-reaction with the other tested pathogens. With the standard recombinant plasmid pMbovis-uvrC serving as a template, both RPA assays had a limit of detcion of 1.0 × 101 copies per reaction, equivalent to that of a real-time PCR assay. In the 65 milk samples collected from cattle with mastitis, the M. bovis genomic DNA was detected in 24 samples by both the real-time RPA and the LFS RPA assays. The developed RPA assays could detect M. bovis in bovine milk in an efficient, convenient, and credible manner as attractive and promising tools, and the assays would be helpful in the rapid response to M. bovis infection causing bovine mastitis.

Early-life exposure to toxicants could affect health outcomes in adulthood. We determined the effects of early-life exposure to the organophosphorus flame-retardant tris (1,3-dichloro-2-propyl) phosphate (TDCIPP) in adult zebrafish. Embryos were exposed to TDCIPP from early embryogenesis (2 h post-fertilization) to 10 days post-fertilization (dpf), and larvae were transferred to clean water until adulthood (150 dpf). TDCIPP showed accumulation in larvae, but returned to control levels after 7 days of depuration. In adult zebrafish exposed to TDCIPP in early life, vulnerability to anxiety-like behavior was observed in females but not males, suggesting gender-dependent neurotoxicity. Decreased dopamine (DA) concentration and down-regulation of dopaminergic signaling related genes were observed in the brains of adult females. Upregulation of DNA methylation transferases (dnmt1, dnmt3a, and dnmt3b) genes were observed in larvae and brains of adult females. Further, the promoter regions of the selected key genes (bdnf, drd4b, zc4h2 and th) showed increased DNA methylation status, accompanied by down-regulation of gene transcription in larvae and brains of adult females. Our results indicate that early-life exposure to TDCIPP could cause delayed neurotoxicity in adult zebrafish. Keywords: Tris (1,3-dichloro-2-propyl) phosphate, Delayed neurotoxicity, Dopaminergic neurons, DNA methylation, Zebrafish

PGC-1α has been considered as an important mediator of functional capacity of muscle. Our previous study indicated that the mRNA level of PGC-1α increased in muscle during Schizothorax prenanti (S. prenanti) growth. To understand the biological significance of PGC-1α up-regulation, S. prenanti myosatellite cells were isolated and the function of PGC-1α in myoblast differentiation was further investigated. The results indicated that PGC-1α over-expressing transfectants fused to form myotubes with higher mRNA level of myosin heavy chain isoform I (MyHCI). No obvious differentiation was observed in PGC-1α-targeted shRNA-transfected cells with a marked decrement of MyHCI expression. Furthermore, S. prenanti PGC-1α increased the expression of MyoD and MyoG, which controlled the commitment of precursor cells to myotubes. In contrast, the levels of MyoD and MyoG mRNA were down-regulated with shRNA-targeting PGC-1α transfection. These investigations indicate that PGC-1α is associated with myoblast differentiation and it elevates MyoD and MyoG expression levels in S. prenanti myoblast cells.

Abstract Background Canine distemper, caused by Canine distemper virus (CDV), is a highly contagious and fatal systemic disease in free-living and captive carnivores worldwide. Recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA), as an isothermal gene amplification technique, has been explored for the molecular detection of diverse pathogens. Methods A real-time reverse transcription RPA (RT-RPA) assay for the detection of canine distemper virus (CDV) using primers and exo probe targeting the CDV nucleocapsid protein gene was developed. A series of other viruses were tested by the RT-RPA.Thirty-two field samples were further tested by RT-RPA, and the resuts were compared with those obtained by the real-time RT-PCR. Results The RT-RPA assay was performed successfully at 40 °C, and the results were obtained within 3 min–12 min. The assay could detect CDV, but did not show cross-detection of canine parvovirus-2 (CPV-2), canine coronavirus (CCoV), canine parainfluenza virus (CPIV), pseudorabies virus (PRV) or Newcastle disease virus (NDV), demonstrating high specificity. The analytical sensitivity of RT-RPA was 31.8 copies in vitro transcribed CDV RNA, which is 10 times lower than the real-time RT-PCR. The assay performance was validated by testing 32 field samples and compared to real-time RT-PCR. The results indicated an excellent correlation between RT-RPA and a reference real-time RT-PCR method. Both assays provided the same results, and R2 value of the positive results was 0.947. Conclusions The results demonstrated that the RT-RPA assay offers an alternative tool for simple, rapid, and reliable detection of CDV both in the laboratory and point-of-care facility, especially in the resource-limited settings.

Recently, mechanism study of hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection has attracted an increasing attention because of the growing rate of the acute hepatitis caused by the virus over the world. As an important initiate in the inflammation, mast cells (MCs) play a critical role in maintaining a healthy physiology. However, the function of the MCs in the acute hepatitis caused by HEV is still unclear. In the present study, mongolian gerbils infected by HEV were used as an animal model to evaluate the role of MCs in the HEV infection. The positive ELISA and RT-PCR results showed the gerbils was successfully infected with HEV. The number of mast cell in the liver and the small intestine in the infected animals were growing higher significantly than the control group. In addition, higher expression of the tryptase and 5-HT in the liver and the intestine detected by immunohistochemical method and western blot also indicate the activation of MCs in the infection. These results suggest that MCs play an important role in the hepatitis E.

Background/Aims: Circadian locomotor output cycles protein kaput (CLOCK) plays a key role in maintaining circadian rhythms and activation of downstream elements. However, its function on human female reproductive system remains unknown. Methods: To investigate the potential role of CLOCK, CLOCK-shRNAs were transfected into mouse 129 ES cells or injected into the ovaries of adult female mice. Western blotting was utilized to analyze the protein interactions and flow cytometry was used to assess apoptosis. Results: The expression of CLOCK peaked at the 6th week in the healthy fetuses. However, an abnormal expression of CLOCK was detected in fetuses from spontaneous miscarriage. To determine the effect of CLOCK on female fertility, a small hairpin RNA (shRNA) strategy was used to specifically knockdown the CLOCK gene expression in vitro and in vivo. Knockdown of CLOCK induced apoptosis in mouse embryonic stem (mES) cells and inhibited the proliferation in mES cells in vitro. CLOCK knockdown also led to decreased release of oocytes and smaller litter size compared with control in vivo. Conclusions: Collectively, theses findings indicate that CLOCK plays an important role in fertility and that the CLOCK knockdown leads to reduction in reproduction and increased miscarriage risk.

The increasing occurrence of vehicle-pier collision accidents has significant influences on the safety of bridge structures. In order to study the impact behavior of bridge piers, a vehicle-double-pier collision numerical model was developed by LS-DYNA. Nonlinear material constitutive laws considering the strain-rate effect were used. The reliability of numerical analyses was validated. Parametric studies were carried out to investigate the effects of impact velocity, impact mass, and concrete and steel strength on the impact behaviors of piers and the impact forces. The relationship between failure modes of the impacted piers and impact energy was analyzed. Based on the numerical analysis results, the current impact design provisions of AASHTO, Eurocode, and JTG D60 were found to be unconservative, which could result in that piers designed with the current standard codes were vulnerable to the large impact energy. The recommended value of equivalent static force in the current standards is unreasonable.

The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of swine hepatitis E virus (HEV) in pigs fed different feedstuffs (kitchen residue or mixed feeds) and genetic identification of HEV isolated in Hebei province, China. Serum and fecal samples were collected from adult swine. Anti-HEV antibody was evaluated by double sandwich antigen enzyme immunoassay. HEV RNA was extracted from fecal samples and amplified by nested RT-PCR. The reaction products were sequenced, and the sequence analyzed. Virus-like particles were distinguishable by negative staining in the electron microscope. Histopathological observation and immunohistochemical localization were used in the animal models. Overall, the anti-HEV positive percentage of serum samples from pigs fed on kitchen residue was 87.10% (27/31), and 53.06% (130/245) from pigs fed on complete feed. The HEV RNA positivity rate of fecal samples from pigs fed on kitchen residue was 61.54% (8/13), but zero for pigs fed on complete feed. Sequence analysis of these eight samples and comparison with the published sequence showed that there were eight groups that belonged to genotype 4 d and the nucleotide identity was 95.6-99.3%. swHE11 is most closely related to strain CCC220, and the other seven HEV isolates were most closely related to strains swGX40, SwCH189 and V0008ORF3, which are isolates from human and pigs. Histopathological observation showed that there was liver damage in the experimental group, and immunohistochemistry indicated that the HEV antigens were strongly positive at 7 days after infection. The results demonstrated that the prevalence of HEV in pigs fed on kitchen residue was higher than in those fed on complete feed (P

In three-dimensional (3D) stacking, the thermal stress of through-silicon via (TSV) has a significant influence on chip performance and reliability, and this problem is exacerbated in high-density TSV arrays. In this study, a novel hollow tungsten TSV (W–TSV) is presented and developed. The hollow structure provides space for the release of thermal stress. Simulation results showed that the hollow W–TSV structure can release 60.3% of thermal stress within the top 2 μm from the surface, and thermal stress can be decreased to less than 20 MPa in the radial area of 3 μm. The ultra-high-density (1600 TSV∙mm−2) TSV array with a size of 640 × 512, a pitch of 25 μm, and an aspect ratio of 20.3 was fabricated, and the test results demonstrated that the proposed TSV has excellent electrical and reliability performances. The average resistance of the TSV was 1.21 Ω. The leakage current was 643 pA and the breakdown voltage was greater than 100 V. The resistance change is less than 2% after 100 temperature cycles from −40 to 125 °C. Raman spectroscopy showed that the maximum stress on the wafer surface caused by the hollow W–TSV was 31.02 MPa, which means that there was no keep-out zone (KOZ) caused by the TSV array. These results indicate that this structure has great potential for applications in large-array photodetectors and 3D integrated circuits.

With the advancement of semiconductor manufacturing technology, thin film structures were widely used in MEMS devices. These films played critical roles in providing support, reinforcement, and insulation in MEMS devices. However, due to their microscopic dimensions, the sensitivity of their parameters and performance to thermal stress increased significantly. In this study, a Pirani gauge sample with a multilayer thin film structure was designed and fabricated. Based on this sample, finite element modeling analysis and thermal stress experiments were conducted. The finite element modeling analysis employed a combination of steady-state and transient methods to simulate the deformation and stress distribution of the device at room temperature (25 °C), low temperature (−55 °C), and high temperature (125 °C). The thermal stress test involved placing the sample in a temperature cycling chamber for temperature cycling tests. After the tests, the resonant frequency and surface deformation of the device were measured to quantitatively evaluate the impact of thermal stress on the deformation and resonant frequency parameters of the device. After the experiments, it was found that the clamped-end beams made of Pt were a stress concentration area. Additionally, the repetitive thermal load caused the cantilever beam to move cyclically in the Z direction. This movement altered the deformation of the film and the resonant frequency. The suspended film exhibited concavity, and the overall trend of the resonant frequency was downward. Over time, this could even lead to the fracture of the clamped-end beams. The variation of mechanical parameters derived from finite element simulations and experiments provided an important reference value for device design improvement and played a crucial role in enhancing the reliability of thin film devices.

The effect of sand and dust pollution on the sensitive structures of flow sensors in microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) is a hot issue in current MEMS reliability research. However, previous studies on sand and dust contamination have only searched for sensor accuracy degradation due to heat conduction in sand and dust cover and have yet to search for other failure-inducing factors. This paper aims to discover the other inducing factors for the accuracy failure of MEMS flow sensors under sand and dust pollution by using a combined model simulation and sample test method. The accuracy of a flow sensor is mainly reflected by the size of its thermistor, so in this study, the output value of the thermistor value was chosen as an electrical characterization parameter to verify the change in the sensor’s accuracy side by side. The results show that after excluding the influence of heat conduction, when sand particles fall on the device, the mutual friction between the sand particles will produce an electrostatic current; through the principle of electrostatic dissipation into the thermistor, the principle of measurement leads to the resistance value becoming smaller, and when the sand dust is stationary for some time, the resistance value returns to the expected level. This finding provides theoretical guidance for finding failure-inducing factors in MEMS failure modes.

This investigation delves into the dynamic optimization of the progression from outsider to insider status within the context of family businesses. Utilizing a dynamic game model that incorporates three agents—leaders, insiders, and outsiders—it conducts a rigorous examination of the optimal pathway for the status transition of outsider employees in family businesses. The paramount objective of this study is to generate theoretical insights that may inform the optimization of human resources management and thereby bolster the overall performance of family businesses. The key findings of the research are as follows: 1) Outsider employees necessitate support from both leaders and insiders for a successful elevation in ranks. A collaborative relationship with insiders significantly enhances their performance. 2) The harmonious functioning of the workplace demands concerted efforts from all parties—leaders, insiders, and outsiders. The upward mobility of outsiders is contingent upon synergistic cooperation amongst all stakeholders. 3) A myriad of factors such as potential costs, benefits, and favoritism heavily influence the degree to which leaders endorse the upward mobility of outsiders. 4) Encouraging outsiders to move up in the ranks can instigate a sense of urgency among insiders, serving as a deterrent against complacency. This urgency can act as a catalyst for insiders to enhance their performance and mitigate the perceived threat to their own status.

The VTC complex generate eukaryotic polyphosphate (polyP). Authors here reveal how the signal-activated VTC synthesize cytosolic polyP and transport polyP across vacuolar membrane into the lumen, by using cryo-EM, in-cell NMR, and smFRET analyses.

Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic autoimmune systemic disease with a wide range of clinical symptoms, complex development processes, and uncertain prognosis. The clinical treatment of SLE is mainly based on hormones and immunosuppressants. Research on novel therapy strategies for SLE has flourished in recent years, especially the emergence of new targeted drugs and natural products that can modulate related symptoms. This review discusses the current experience including B-cell targeted drugs (belimumab, tabalumab, blisibimod, atacicept, rituximab, ofatumumab, ocrelizumab, obexelimab, and epratuzumab), T-cell targeted drugs (abatacept, dapirolizumab, and inhibitor of syk and CaMKIV), cytokines targeted drugs (anifrolumab and sifalimumab), and natural products (curcumin, oleuropein, punicalagin, sulforaphane, icariin, apigenin, and resveratrol). The aim of this paper is to combine the existing in vitro and in vivo models and clinical research results to summarize the efficacy and mechanism of natural drugs and targeted drugs in SLE for the reference and consideration of researchers.

SPX receptors regulate plant phosphate response via PHR transcription factors. Here, based on crystal structure analysis of rice PHR2 complexes, the authors propose that SPX2 regulates PHR2 by preventing DNA binding and oligomerisation of the PHR2 CC domain.

This article presents a novel cross-rib micro-channel (MC-CR) heat sink to make fluid self-rotate. For a thermal test chip (TTC) with 100 w/cm2, the cross-ribs micro-channel were compared with the rectangular (MC-R) and horizontal rib micro-channel (MC-HR) heat sinks. The results show that, with the cross-rib micro-channel, the junction temperature of the thermal test chip was 336.49 K, and the pressure drop was 22 kPa. Compared with the rectangular and horizontal ribs heat sink, the cross-rib micro-channel had improvements of 28.6% and 14.3% in cooling capability, but the pressure drop increased by 10.7-fold and 5.5-fold, respectively. Then, the effects of the aspect ratio (λ) of micro-channel in different flow rates were studied. It was found that the aspect ratio and cooling performance were non-linear. To reduce the pressure drop, the inclination (α) and spacing (S) of the cross-ribs were optimized. When α = 30°, S = 0.1 mm, and λ = 4, the pressure drop was reduced from 22 kPa to 4.5 kPa. In addition, the heat dissipation performance of the rectangular, staggered fin (MC-SF), staggered rib (MC-SR) and cross-rib micro-channels were analyzed in the condition of the same pressure drop, MC-CR still has superior heat dissipation performance.

Micro-Pirani vacuum sensors usually operate at hundreds of microwatts, which limits their application in battery-powered sensor systems. This paper reports a diode-based, low power consumption micro-Pirani vacuum sensor that has high sensitivity. Optimizations to the micro-Pirani vacuum sensor were made regarding two aspects. On the one hand, a greater temperature coefficient was obtained without increasing power consumption by taking advantage of series diodes; on the other hand, the sensor structure and geometries were redesigned to enlarge temperature variation. After that, the sensor was fabricated and tested. Test results indicated that the dynamic vacuum pressure range of the sensor was from 10−1 to 104 Pa when the forward bias current was as low as 10 μA with a power consumption of 50 μW. Average sensitivity was up to 90 μV/Pa and the sensitivity of unit power consumption increased to 1.8 V/W/Pa. In addition, the sensor could also work at a greater forward bias current for better sensor performance.

The main objective of this article is to question the hypothesis of the role of transport infrastructures in regional economic growth by comparing Central Eastern Europe (supported by the EU structural and cohesion funds) and the Greater Mekong Subregion (mainly supported by the “economic corridors” of the ADB). Three main components of trade efficiency are scrutinized and compared: (1) the historical development of trade agreements, (2) the supra-national (regional) capacity of trade regulation, and (3) the micro level of governance between the different actors involved in trade. The comparison between CEE and the GMS is all the more warranted because of two paradoxes that need to be explained: The first one results from the existing link between transport and growth in the case of the GMS, and the lack of a link in the case of CEE. The second paradox insists on the fact that despite their very different institutional frameworks, both subregions continue to face similar challenges concerning the implementation of trade agreements and the exchange of facilities at the local level – pointing towards the issue of governance.

This article reports a compact wideband piezoelectric vibration energy harvester consisting of three proof masses and an asymmetric M-shaped cantilever. The M-shaped beam comprises a main beam and two folded and dimension varied auxiliary beams interconnected through the proof mass at the end of the main cantilever. Such an arrangement constitutes a three degree-of-freedom vibrating body, which can tune the resonant frequencies of its first three orders close enough to obtain a utility wide bandwidth. The finite element simulation results and the experimental results are well matched. The operation bandwidth comprises three adjacent voltage peaks on account of the frequency interval shortening mechanism. The result shows that the proposed piezoelectric energy harvester could be efficient and adaptive in practical vibration circumstance based on multiple resonant modes.

Aquatic product safety incidents have occurred frequently because of serious pollution in the farming environment, use of illicit veterinary drugs during the farming process, and the natural occurrence of pathogenic bacteria in aquatic products. However, due to the low content of target analytes, the complexity of aquatic product matrices, and the interaction between target analytes and food components, it is very difficult to separate and purify residual pollutants from aquatic products, so there is an urgent need for accurate and precise methods with a low limit of detection for the safety detection of aquatic products. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are porous crystalline materials with large specific surface area, good thermal stability, and adjustable surface modification. MOFs have been successfully applied to the safety testing of aquatic products owing to the excellent adsorption properties. This article summarizes the major structure of MOFs, discusses the adsorption mechanisms of MOFs, and reviews the applications of MOFs in the safety detection of residual pollutants (fishery drugs, heavy metals, and organic pollutants) in aquatic products, in order to provide a reference for researchers engaged in the safety detection of aquatic products.

Successful repair of damage in cerebral palsy (CP) needs effective clinical interventions other than simply symptomatic treatments. To elucidate the feasibility of using olfactory ensheathing cells (OECs) to treat CP in children and adolescents, we conducted a randomized controlled clinical trial (RCT) on 33 patients. The patients were randomly assigned into two groups (treatment group, n = 18; control group, n = 15), and OECs derived from aborted fetal tissue were injected into the bilateral corona radiata in the frontal lobes (a key point for neural network restoration, KPNNR). The Gross Motor Function Measure (GMFM-66) and the Caregiver Questionnaire Scale were used to evaluate the patients' neurological function and overall health status. Among the 14 patients who completed the 6-month study, six received the cell transplantation and the other eight served as controls. In OEC treatment group, GMFM-66 scores were 26.67 ± 25.33 compared with 19.00 ± 20.00 for the control group. Concurrently, the Caregiver Questionnaire Scale score decreased to 77.83 ± 15.99 in the treatment group in comparison to 138.66 ± 64.06 of the control group. This trial, albeit small in sample size, indicates OEC KPNNR transplantation is effective for functional improvement in children and adolescents with CP, yet without obvious side effects. This small-scale study suggests that the procedure may be a plausible alternative method to treat this not yet curable disorder, and we urge further evaluation with a large-scale RCT.