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This study aimed to evaluate the prognostic ability of mismatch repair deficiency (MMR-d) and abnormal p53 expression (p53abn) in patients with endometrial atypical hyperplasia (EAH) who underwent fertility-preserving treatment. This retrospective study evaluated 51 patients with EAH who underwent fertility-sparing treatment. Endometrial biopsy specimens obtained before hormone therapy were collected and used for immunohistochemical staining for MMR and p53 proteins. Response, relapse, and progression rates were assessed based on age, body mass index, diabetes, polycystic ovary syndrome, reproductive history, MMR status, and p53 status. Overall, 11/51 (21.6%) patients had loss of MMR proteins and 6/51 (11.8%) had p53abn. Patients with MMR-d had lower complete response (CR) rates than those with normal staining patients at 12 months after initial treatment (p = 0.049). Patients with MMR-d had significantly higher relapse rates than those with MMR-p at the 1-year follow-ups after achieving CR (p = 0.035). Moreover, patients with MMR-d had a higher incidence of disease progression at 2, 3, and 4 years after fertility-sparing treatment (p = 0.001, p = 0.01 and p = 0.035, respectively). Patients with p53abn had higher relapse rates than those with p53wt at the 1- and 2-year follow-ups after achieving CR (p = 0.047 and p = 0.036, respectively). Moreover, patients with p53abn had a higher incidence of disease progression at 3 and 4 years after fertility-sparing treatment (p = 0.02 and p = 0.049, respectively). EAH patients with MMR-d and p53abn have a significantly higher risk of disease relapse and progression. Thus, MMR-d and p53abn may be used as predictive biomarkers of progestin resistance and endometrial tumorigenesis in EAH. • EAH patients with MMR-d and p53abn have poor outcomes after hormone therapy. • MMR-d and p53abn predicts EAH relapse and progression during fertility-sparing treatment. • MMR-d and p53abn may be used as predictive biomarkers of progestin resistance and endometrial tumorigenesis. • MMR-d and p53abn testing is achievable with biopsy samples, enabling risk stratification from the first diagnosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We give the necessary and sufficient conditions for all weight spaces of the highest weight irreducible module V (ϕ) of the q -Klein-bottle Lie algebra B to be finite dimensional. We prove that the irreducible highest weight module V (ϕ) equals to the Verma B -module V ¯ (ϕ) if and only if V (ϕ) has at least one infinite-dimensional weight space. We also give the maximal proper submodule of the Verma module V ¯ (ϕ) and the e -character of the irreducible highest weight B -module V (ϕ) when the highest weight ϕ satisfies some natural conditions. Furthermore, we give the classification of the Harish-Chandra B -modules with nontrivial central charge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • MnCo 2 O 4 doped g-C 3 N 4 nanosheets were successfully synthesized. • Excellently degradation performance of pollutants was reached in PMS/vis system. • The degradation mechanism of MnCo 2 O 4 /g-C 3 N 4 /PMS/vis system was proposed. • A possible tetracycline hydrochloride degradation pathway was analyzed. Peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activation by heterogeneous transition metal oxides is an effective approach for treating emerging pollutants in water. However, the low PMS activation efficiency associated with the valency conversion rate of transition metals has been a major challenge to sulfate radical-based oxidation. In this work, manganese cobaltate (MnCo 2 O 4) nanoparticles anchored on graphitic carbon nitride (g-C 3 N 4) flakes (MnCo 2 O 4 /g-C 3 N 4) were successfully prepared and showed high PMS activation efficiency under visible (Vis) light. The obtained catalysts degraded 96.1% of the tetracycline hydrochloride (TCH) through the synergistic effect of PMS and photocatalysis. The reaction rate constant (0.2505 min−1) was 5.3 and 1.8 times higher in the MnCo 2 O 4 /g-C 3 N 4 /PMS/Vis system than in the pristine g-C 3 N 4 (0.0471 min−1) and MnCo 2 O 4 (0.1435 min−1) systems, respectively. The characterization results verified that g-C 3 N 4 , which functions as the electron donor in the photocatalytic heterojunction system, could transmit numerous photogenerated electrons to MnCo 2 O 4 , thereby increasing the cyclability of divalent-trivalent metal ions. The composites also showed good stability, cycling capability, and cation/anion tolerance. Tentative degradation mechanism and reaction pathways were proposed based on the reactive species and degradation products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Hemorrhagic septicemia of mandarin fish (Siniperca chuatsi) was mainly caused by Aeromonas hydrophila which was an opportunistic pathogen. In recent years, the disease has caused tremendous economic loss with high morbidity and mass mortality in the mandarin fish breeding industry. Histopathological analysis and the immune related gene expression profiles of mandarin fish (S. chuatsi) infected with A. hydrophila were investigated in this study. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images showed that the cells of A. hydrophila densely covered with a mass of fimbriae. Histopathological analysis revealed that inflammation, vacuolization and extensive necrosis existed in the gill, liver, spleen and head kidney of the diseased fish. Quantitative real-time PCR was performed to measure mRNA expression levels for six immune related genes in mandarin fish after A. hydrophila infection. The transcriptional analysis of these immune related genes demonstrated that the expression levels of major histocompatibility complex class II (MHC II), T cell receptor α (TCRα), tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα), CC chemokine 3, interleukin 8 (IL-8) and Hepcidin were strongly up-regulated in spleen and head kidney of mandarin fish post-infection. These results will contribute to further study on the pathogenesis and host defensive system in A. hydrophila infection. Highlights • The morphological characteristic of Aeromonas hydrophila isolated from the diseased mandarin fish was observed. • Histopathological analysis related to mandarin fish with Aeromonas hydrophila infection were studied. • Aeromonas hydrophila triggers a wide defensive response of various immune related genes in mandarin fish. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Triphenyl phosphate (TPHP) has been widely used as flame retardants and been detected with increasing frequency in environment. TPHP can transform into mono-hydroxylated phosphate (OH-TPHP) and diester diphenyl phosphate (DPHP) through biotransformation. So far, information on the cytotoxicity and molecular regulatory mechanisms of TPHP metabolites are still limit. This study investigated the adverse effects of TPHP, OH-TPHP, and DPHP in HepG2 cells in terms of cell proliferation, lactate dehydrogenase release, reactive oxygen species generation, and mitochondrial membrane potential. The transcriptomic changes were measured using RNA sequencing, and bioinformatics characteristics including biological functions, signal pathways and protein-protein interaction were analyzed to explore the potential molecular mechanisms. Results displayed that the order of cytotoxicity was OH-TPHP> TPHP> DPHP. The prioritized biological functions changes induced by TPHP and OH-TPHP were correlated with lipid metabolism. Significant lipid accumulation was observed as confirmed by increased total cholesterol and triglycerides contents, and enhanced oil red O staining. Enrichment of PPARα/γ and down-stream genes suggested the participation of PPARs signal pathway in lipid metabolism disorder. In addition, TPHP and OH-TPHP induced endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS), which was further confirmed by the ERS inhibitor experiment. In general, TPHP and OH-TPHP had obvious cytotoxic effects in HepG2 cells. PPARs signal pathway and endoplasmic reticulum stress may be involved in the lipid metabolism disorder induced by TPHP and OH-TPHP. [Display omitted] TPHP and OH-TPHP can preferentially induce lipid metabolism disorder. PPARs pathway might be involved in metabolism disorder induced by TPHP and OH-TPHP. ERS might play role in lipid metabolism disorder induced by TPHP and OH-TPHP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Corin is a serine protease mainly expressed in the heart, where it regulates blood pressure and cardiac function through activating pro-atrial natriuretic peptide (pro-ANP) to ANP. Its expression has also been detected in non-cardiac tissues. However, there is no report so far about the distribution and function of corin in aorta and in related diseases such as atherosclerosis. This study was the first to explore corin expression in aorta both under normal conditions and in atherosclerosis models. In vivo, we found corin had a basal level of expression in aortas, mainly in intimal endothelial cells and was significantly elevated in mouse atherosclerosis model. Moreover, we observed pro-ANP, the specific substrate of corin, was also expressed in mice aortas and increased in mouse atherosclerosis model. In vitro, we further demonstrated corin expression in cultured vascular endothelial cells and its induced expression after ox-LDL stimulation. Our results suggested that corin may play important roles in aorta physiology and in the pathophysiological process of atherosclerosis in an autocrine manner and has potential clinical value for the treatment of atherosclerosis. Highlights • Tested the efficacy of different commercial corin antibodies. • Corin was basally expressed in aorta and induced in atherosclerotic mouse model. • Corin was expressed in vascular endothelial cells and induced by ox-LDL stimulation. • Demonstrated corin involvement in atherosclerosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, the ternary hybrid photocatalyst composed of ZnO nanorods with BiOI and Pt NPs (denoted as Pt@BiOI/ZnO) was fabricated by a simple three-step method. The as-prepared samples were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), UV–Vis diffuse reflectance spectrometry (DRS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), which proved the strong interaction has occurred among the Pt, BiOI and ZnO. The phenol degradation test showed that the Pt@BiOI/ZnO ternary hybrid composite exhibited the maximum photodegradation efficiency of phenol (99.9%) under UV irradiation within 30 min compared to Pt/BiOI, BiOI/ZnO binary composites as well as Pt/ZnO. Additionally, the transient photovoltage (TPV), steady-state PL spectra and time-resolved PL spectra were used to investigate the possible mechanism for photocatalytic performance. Our results elaborated that the enhanced photocatalytic activity was mainly attributed to the synergetic effect of Pt/ZnO and BiOI/ZnO interfaces. Conversely, the interfacial interaction of Pt/BiOI is little contribution, indicating that the effective interfaces design is very important for the degradation of phenol in the preparation process of ternary hybrid photocatalyst. These findings will contribute to developing high efficiency photocatalysts for application in environmental remediation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a series of BiOI/ZnO photocatalysts containing various BiOI contents were prepared by a facile two-step synthetic method. The structure and crystal phase, morphology, surface element analysis, optical property of as-prepared samples are measured by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and UV–Vis diffuse reflectance spectrometry (DRS). BiOI/ZnO photocatalytic activities of the prepared photocatalysts were evaluated by photocatalytic degradation of phenol under simulated light irradiation. The phenol degradation rate reached 99.9% within 2 h under simulated solar light irradiation. The probable photocatalytic mechanism of composites photocatalysts is discussed by active species trapping experiments, the surface photovoltage (SPV), the transient photovoltage (TPV) and photoluminescence (PL) measurements. The results manifest that the superior photocatalytic activity of BiOI/ZnO composites is derived from the strong internal electric field between BiOI and ZnO, which is beneficial for the effective separation and transfer of photogenerated charges in ZnO. Moreover, the loading of BiOI on the surface of ZnO inhibited the recombination of photogenerated charge carriers in ZnO, resulting in excellent photocatalytic activity. On the contrary, the effect of an extension of the light absorption range induced by the introduction of BiOI on the phenol degradation activity is not significant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the design, theoretical modelling and experimental validation of a quad-stable energy harvester for harnessing ultra-low frequency random motions using a nonlinear pendulum and piezoelectric transduction. The multi-stable pendulum is created by the magnetic forces between magnets on the pendulum and a tip magnet on a piezoelectric cantilever beam. Two attractive and one repulsive magnetic forces in combination with the gravitational force of the pendulum create multiple stable positions for the pendulum. The multi-stable dynamics allow the pendulum to effectively convert low-frequency random kinetic motions from the host, e.g. human motion or wind turbine tower oscillation into the pendulum oscillation, enabling effective plucking of the piezoelectric beam with enhanced output power. A theoretical model, including the magnetic interaction, piezoelectric conversion and pendulum dynamics, is established to describe the electromechanical dynamics of the whole harvester. A prototype is fabricated and tested on a linear shaker at ultra-low frequencies (1–3 Hz) to showcase the capability of the harvester and to validate the theoretical results. Around 8 μ W Root-Mean-Square output power was obtained at 2.5 Hz and 0.8 g of excitation. Using the experimentally validated theoretical model, a parametric study was carried out to examine the influence of different structural and operating parameters, such as pendulum mass and length, magnetic coupling strength, excitation frequency and amplitude, on the output power and operating frequency range of the energy harvester. The operation frequency range and output power can be effectively adjusted by changing the above-mentioned parameters. The self-powered sensing capability is then illustrated by integrating the harvester with an off-the-shelf power management circuit and a 22 μ F storage capacitor. The capacitor was charged from 2.8 V to 4 V in 90 s, showing its capability of implementing battery-free wireless sensing for different Internet of Things (IoT) applications. • A multi-stable pendulum-based harvester is developed for low-frequency random motion. • A distributed-parameter theoretical model is built and experimentally validated. • Cross-well oscillation, bandwidth and output can be adjusted by different parameters. • The piezoelectric energy harvester shows a wide bandwidth between 1 Hz and 3 Hz. • A self-powered sensing solution is established using the developed energy harvester. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seawater desalination is one of the most applied approaches for freshwater replenishment. However, the process not only generates freshwater but also consumes it. It is important to evaluate the balance of the production and consumption of freshwater in desalination, which is also called as water footprint. It will reveal the feasibility of seawater desalination in terms of water production, but related study has not been reported. In this study, the water footprint of reverse osmosis desalination process has been investigated based on a real reverse osmosis desalination plant data. According to the calculation, the freshwater utilization of the reverse osmosis desalination plant was about 8.16 × 10−3 m3 with 1 m3 freshwater production. The study reveals that RO desalination is freshwater gain process as the utilized freshwater amount was less than the one produced. The sensitivity study showed that the energy source used in the process was the most significant parameter affecting on the water footprint. The freshwater required in the reverse osmosis desalination with energy supplied by thermal and solar was 8.01 × 10−3 m3 and 9.90 × 10−3 m3 in 1 m3 freshwater generation, respectively. It suggests that energy source selection is important in RO desalination system. •Water footprint of desalination has not been reported before. •The RO desalination consumes only 0.008 m3 freshwater to produce 1 m3 freshwater. •Solar energy could save 20% water consumption compared with thermal energy. •Membrane maintenance also has significant impact on water footprint. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Nitric oxide (NO) is present in exhaled breath and is generally considered to be a noninvasive marker of airway inflammation, and is thus of particular relevance to monitoring asthma. NO is produced when l-arginine is converted to l-citrulline by NO synthase (NOS); however, l-arginine is also the substrate for arginase and both enzymes are upregulated in asthma. Recent reports have speculated that enhanced expression of one or both enzymes could lead to a limitation in substrate availability, and hence impact downstream targets or markers such as exhaled NO. The non-linear nature and vastly different kinetics of the enzymes make predictions difficult, particularly over the wide range of enzyme activity between baseline and inflammation. In this study, we developed a steady state model of l-arginine transmembrane transport, NO production, diffusion, and gas phase NO release from lung epithelial cells. We validated our model with experimental results of gas phase NO release and intracellular l-arginine concentration in A549 cells, and then performed a sensitivity analysis to determine relative impact of each enzyme on NO production. Our model predicts intracellular l-arginine and gas phase NO release over a wide range of initial extracellular l-arginine concentrations following stimulation with cytomix (10ng/ml TNF-α, IL-1β, and INF-γ). Relative sensitivity analysis demonstrates that enhanced arginase activity has little impact on l-arginine bioavailability for NOS. In addition, NOS activity is the dominant parameter which impacts gas phase NO release. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) and its related peptides are biomarkers for the diagnosis of heart failure. Recent studies identified several O-glycosylation sites, including Thr-71, on human pro-BNP but the functional significance was unclear. In this study, we analyzed glycosylation and proteolytic processing of pro-BNP in cardiomyocytes. Human pro-BNP wild-type (WT) and mutants were expressed in HEK 293 cells and murine HL-1 cardiomyocytes. Pro-BNP and BNP were analyzed by immunoprecipitation and Western blotting. Glycosidases and glycosylation inhibitors were used to examine carbohydrates on pro-BNP. The effects of furin and corin expression on pro-BNP processing in cells also were examined. We found that in HEK 293 cells, recombinant pro-BNP contained significant amounts of O-glycans with terminal oligosialic acids. Mutation at Thr-71 reduced O-glycans on pro-BNP and increased pro-BNP processing. In HL-1 cardiomyocytes, residue Thr-71 contained little O-glycans, and pro-BNP WT and T71A mutant were processed similarly. In HEK 293 cells, pro-BNP was processed by furin. Mutations at Arg-73 and Arg-76, but not Lys-79, prevented pro-BNP processing. In HL-1 cardiomyocytes, which express furin and corin, single or double mutations at Arg-73, Arg-76 and Lys-79 did not prevent pro-BNP processing. Only when all these three residues were mutated, was pro-BNP processing completely blocked. Our data indicate that pro-BNP glycosylation in cardiomyocytes differed significantly from that in HEK 293 cells. In HEK 293 cells, furin cleaved pro-BNP at Arg-76 whereas in cardiomyocytes corin cleaved pro-BNP at multiple residues including Arg-73, Arg-76 and Lys-79. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The lipopolysaccharide-induced TNF-α factor (LITAF) is a novel transcription factor, which plays an important role in regulating the expression of TNF-α and various inflammatory cytokines in response to LPS stimulation and forms a dependent signaling pathway separated from NF-κB. Herein, we described the identification and characterization of pearl oyster Pinctada fucata LPS-induced TNF-α factor gene (designated as poLITAF). The poLITAF cDNA was 932 bp long and consisted of a 5′-untranslated region (UTR) of 45 bp, a 3′-UTR of 497 bp with two cytokine RNA instability motifs (ATTTA), and an open reading frame (ORF) of 390 bp encoding a polypeptide of 129 amino acids with an estimated molecular mass of 13.5 kDa and a theoretical isoelectric point of 8.36. A LITAF domain at C-terminal was identified in the poLITAF using SMART analysis, which contained two conserved CXXC motifs. Homology analysis of the deduced amino acid sequence of the poLITAF with other known LITAF sequences by MatGAT software revealed that the poLITAF shared 44.2–67.4% similarity and 35.4–50.0% identity to the other known LITAF sequences. The expression level of poLITAF mRNA was the highest in digestive gland and gill, moderate in adductor muscle, gonad, intestine and mantle, the lowest in haemocytes. The poLITAF mRNA expression was significantly up-regulated at 24 h in gill and at 12 h in digestive gland after LPS stimulation respectively. These results suggested that the poLITAF was a constitutive and inducible acute-phase protein that perhaps involved in the innate immune response of pearl oyster. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Limited studies have been conducted to evaluate the short-term relationships between exposure to coarse particulate matter (PM 2.5-10) and outpatient visits in China. We designed this time-series analysis in a Chinese city Yancheng, to explore the relationship of PM 2.5-10 with outpatient visits for cardiopulmonary diseases. The study period was from 2013 to 2015. A typical generalized additive model was used. We explored the lag patterns by building a series of lag of exposure. We also built two-pollutant models to ascertain the independence of PM 2.5-10. Stratified analyses were applied to compare the season-specific associations. Finally, we pooled the concentration-response (C-R) curves for PM 2.5-10 and outpatient visits. We recorded a daily average of 85 and 43 outpatient visits for cardiovascular and respiratory causes, respectively. PM 2.5-10 exposures of lag 05 day yielded the best estimates for both outcomes. Per 10-μg/m3 increase in PM 2.5-10 , there was a 1.69% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.68%–2.72%) increase in outpatient visits for respiratory causes, and a 0.85% (95% CI: 0.13%–1.57%) increase for cardiovascular causes. The association kept robust after adjusting for PM 2.5 and O 3 , and there were larger associations in warm seasons. The C-R curves had a larger slope for respiratory diseases in relatively lower concentrations (<30 μg/m3), and PM 2.5-10 was positively associated with cardiovascular diseases in higher concentrations (>30 μg/m3). This study indicated significant associations of PM 2.5-10 with cardiopulmonary outpatient visit. Such results may be used for health risk assessment and policy making for particulate air pollution control. • PM 2.5-10 was associated with increased cardiopulmonary outpatient visits. • Independent associations of PM 2.5-10 from PM 2.5 or PM 10. • Cardiopulmonary patients might be more sensitive to PM 2.5-10 in warm season. • Almost linear associations between PM 2.5-10 and cardiopulmonary outpatients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pathogenic variants of the G-protein coupled receptor 143 (GPR143) gene may result in Ocular albinism type I (OA1). In this study, we describe the clinical features and investigate the GPR143 gene mutations in six Chinese families with OA1 and evaluate the thickness changes of iris for the affected males and female carriers. Families were ascertained, and patients underwent complete ophthalmologic examinations, including the best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), anterior segment of the eyes, vitreous and fundus changes. Spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) was used to measure the full iris thickness, the stroma/anterior border (SAB) layer, and the posterior epithelial layer (PEL) at the pupillary and ciliary regions. DNA was extracted from the peripheral blood vessels after confirmed consent information. GPR143 gene was directly sequenced by the Sanger method. The affected males had variable reduced visual acuity, nystagmus and macular hypoplasia. Four novel frameshift mutations and two previously reported missense/nonsense mutations in the GPR143 gene were detected in these families. The thickness of the iris was significantly reduced at the ciliary region in the affected males, compared with that in the normal controls and the female carriers. Pathogenic variants in the GPR143 gene may disturb the normal melanogenesis in the pigmented tissues of the eye, result in macular hypoplasia, and alter the thickness of the iris. • The thickness of iris in ciliary regions could be altered by the GPR143 gene mutations. • GPR143 gene mutation may disturb the normal melanogenesis in the pigmented tissues of the eye. • GPR143 gene detection may be a useful technique for evaluating morphological changes of the anterior structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mitochondria-associated ER membranes (MAMs) are contact sites that enable bidirectional communication between the ER (endoplasmic reticulum) and mitochondria, including the transfer of Ca2+ signals. MAMs are essential for mitochondrial function and cellular energy metabolism. However, unrestrained Ca2+ transfer to the mitochondria can lead to mitochondria-dependent apoptosis. IP3R2 (Inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor 2) is an important intracellular Ca2+ channel. This study investigated the contribution of IP3R2-MAMs to hypoxia-induced apoptosis in photoreceptor cells. A photoreceptor hypoxia model was established by subretinal injection of hyaluronic acid (1%) in C57BL/6 mice and 1% O 2 treatment in 661W cells. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), ER-mitochondria colocalization, and the MAM reporter were utilized to evaluate MAM alterations. Cell apoptosis and mitochondrial homeostasis were evaluated using immunofluorescence (IF), flow cytometry, western blotting (WB), and ATP assays. SiRNA transfection was employed to silence IP3R2 in 661W cells. Upon hypoxia induction, MAMs were significantly increased in photoreceptors both in vivo and in vitro. This was accompanied by the activation of mitochondrial apoptosis and disruption of mitochondrial homeostasis. Elevated MAM-enriched IP3R2 protein levels induced by hypoxic injury led to mitochondrial calcium overload and subsequent photoreceptor apoptosis. Notably, IP3R2 knockdown not only improved mitochondrial morphology but also restored mitochondrial function in photoreceptors by limiting MAM formation and thereby attenuating mitochondrial calcium overload under hypoxia. Our results suggest that IP3R2-MAM-mediated mitochondrial calcium overload plays a critical role in mitochondrial dyshomeostasis, ultimately contributing to photoreceptor cell death. Targeting MAM constitutive proteins might provide an option for a therapeutic approach to mitigate photoreceptor death in retinal detachment. • Mitochondria-associate ER membrane (MAM) increased in mice with retinal detachment (RD). • Hypoxia induced mitochondria-ER contacts (MAM) in 661W cells. • Silencing IP3R2 rescued hypoxia induced cell apoptosis and mitochondrial dysfunction in 661W cells. • The study shows novel regulatory mechanism of photoreceptor apoptosis in RD pathology regulated by IP3R2-MAM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heterogeneous photo-Fenton technology has drawn tremendous attention for removal of recalcitrant pollutants. Fe-based metal-organic frameworks (Fe-MOFs) are regarded to be superior candidates in wastewater treatment technology. However, the central metal sites of the MOFs are coordinated with the linkers, which reduces active site exposure and decelerates H 2 O 2 activation. In this study, a series of 2, 5-dioxido-1, 4-benzenedicarboxylate (H 2 DOBDC)-functionalized MIL-100(Fe) with enhanced degradation performance was successfully constructed via solvothermal strategy. The modified MIL-100(Fe) displayed an improvement in photo-Fenton behaviors. The photocatalytic rate constant of optimized MIL-100(Fe)-1/2/3 are 2.3, 3.6 and 4.4 times higher compared with the original MIL-100(Fe). The introduced H 2 DOBDC accelerates the separation and transfer in photo-induced charges and promotes Fe(II)/Fe(III) cycle, thus improving the performance. •OH and •O 2 − are main reactive radicals in tetracycline (TCH) degradation. Dealkylation, hydroxylation, dehydration and dealdehyding are the main pathways for TCH degradation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel three-dimensional porous photoanode of BiOCl 0.75 I 0.25 /g-C 3 N 4 -Cl/reduced graphene hydrogel (BOCI/CNCl/rGH) was successfully fabricated by a combined in-situ growth and re-dispersion strategy. It was verified that BOCI/CNCl composite exhibited photocatalytic efficiency, and the introduced rGH not only provided superior conductivity which was favorable for charge transfer, but also increased the specific surface area and reactive sites than the fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) coated glass. On the basis of these advantages, the short-circuit current and maximum power density were increased by 5.1 and 1.2 times, and the respective removal efficiency of tetracycline hydrochloride (TCH) and hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) was increased by 29% and 32% in BOCI/CNCl/rGH, comparing with BOCI/CNCl/FTO. Notably, the removal efficiencies could reach 87% and 85% in TCH and Cr(VI) coexistence system, which were higher than those in TCH or Cr(VI) alone system. This study provides a novel strategy for designing highly efficient photoanode for multiple pollutants removal and electricity generation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Cathepsin L is one of the crucial enzyme superfamilies and involved in the immune responses. In this study, a cDNA encoding cathepsin L cysteine protease was identified and characterized from pearl oyster Pinctada fucata (designated as poCL1). The poCL1 cDNA was 1160bp long and consisted of a 5′-untranslated region (UTR) of 15bp, a 3′-UTR of 149bp with a polyadenylation signal (AATAAA) at 11 nucleotides upstream of the poly(A) tail, and an open reading frame (ORF) of 996bp encoding a polypeptide of 331 amino acids, which contained a typical signal peptide sequence (Met1–Ala16), a prodomain (Thr17–Asp113), and a mature domain (Leu114–Val331). The preproprotein contained the oxyanion hole (Gln), the active triad formed by Cys, His and Asn, and the conserved ERFNIN, GNFD motifs, which is characteristic for cathepsin L proteases. Homology analysis revealed that the poCL1 shared 62.5–72.5% similarity and 42.9–56.0% identity to other known cathepsin L sequences. The phylogenetic tree showed that the poCL1 clustered with the invertebrate cathepsin L cysteine proteases and was closely related to Stichopus japonicus CL, Strongylocentrotus salar CL1 and Radix peregra CL. The mRNA expression of the poCL1 in blank group and bacterial challenge group could be detected in all studied tissues with the higher level in digestive gland. The expression level of poCL1 mRNA was significantly up-regulated at 4h and 8h, and then significantly down-regulated at 12h and 24h in digestive gland after Vibrio alginolyticus stimulation. These results provided important information for further exploring the roles of pearl oyster cathepsin L in the immune responses. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• Singularity-free requirements in desired attitude extraction are satisfied to avoid the constraint of pitch angle attitude. • Unknown external disturbances and parametric uncertainties in lunar lander dynamics are handled by robust adaptive control. • Ultimately uniformly bounded stability and tuning rules of designing parameters are derived. A novel double-loop guidance and control strategy for under-actuated lunar landers in terminal landing phases is developed by using adaptive nonlinear control approach in this study. To derive the main thrust input and inner-loop desired attitude trajectory, the outer-loop position tracking guidance law is firstly developed based on the hyperbolic tangent functions to guarantee the constrained thrust and singularity avoidance of the desired attitudes. Then, to avoid the complicated analytic-derivative computing of the desired attitude trajectory, a stable second-order filter is employed to generate the command attitude trajectory for the inner-loop attitude motion. Finally, an adaptive attitude tracking controller is designed by combining the barrier Lyapunove function and the backstepping technique to get rid of the singularities of the Euler angles-based attitude kinematic Jacobian matrix. In addition, tuning rules for designing parameters in guidance law and attitude controller are derived based on the Lyapunov analysis, and the pose tracking errors in the closed-loop system ultimately converge to the small neighborhoods of the origin. An example is simulated to verify the effectiveness of the proposed control design approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aquaporin 1(AQP1) and AQP5 have an important role in eliminating extravascular lung water, an increase of which contributes to lung injury in patients with sepsis and its consequent mortality. It has been reported that hydrogen-rich saline (HRS) has protective effects against sepsis-related lung injury. In this study, we hypothesized that the protective effect occurred by preserving the expression of AQP1 and AQP5. To test this hypothesis, male Sprague–Dawley rats received intratracheal administration of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) followed by intraperitoneal injection of HRS. Lung function, wet-to-dry weight ratio, and histopathology scores were determined. The expression of AQP1 and AQP5 at the messenger RNA and protein levels, as well as the involved pathways, was explored by quantitative polymerase chain reaction and Western blot. LPS significantly impaired lung function and downregulated the expression of AQP1 and AQP5 in the rat lung, all of which were attenuated by HRS treatment. Moreover, HRS treatment inhibited LPS-induced activation of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase and jun N-terminal kinase, which is associated with LPS-induced downregulation of AQP1 and AQP5. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The phase inversion temperature (PIT) method is generally used to prepare nonionic surfactant stabilized nano-emulsions because of its low energy and surfactant consumption. The emulsion droplets are usually negatively charged because of the selective adsorption of OH− onto the droplet surfaces. In this work, positively charged oil/water nano-emulsions were prepared by adding a cationic surfactant to the system. The cationic molecules change the spontaneous curvature of the surfactant layers and raise the PIT above 100°C. The PIT can be depressed by addition of NaBr, as shown by conductivity measurements and equilibrium phase behavior. Therefore, these nano-emulsions can be prepared by the PIT method. We found that the formation of the nano-emulsions did not require a cross-PIT cycle. The mechanism of the emulsification is the formation of mixed swollen micelles that can solubilize all the oil above a “clearing boundary”, followed by a stir-quench to a temperature where these droplets become metastable emulsions. The zeta potential of the emulsion droplets can be easily tuned by varying the cationic surfactant concentrations. Due to electrosteric stabilization, the resulting nano-emulsions are highly stable, thus could find significant applications in areas such as pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and food industries. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Quantitative real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (Q-PCR) has become an indispensable technique for accurate determination of gene expression in various samples. In mice, intravenous injection of concanavalin A (ConA) leads to acute hepatitis and liver injury. Functional studies based on this model have provided insights for understanding the mechanisms of liver injury. However, no data have been reported to validate reference genes during the progression of ConA-induced hepatitis (CIH). In this study, IκBα and C/EBPβ messenger RNA (mRNA) levels were examined using Q-PCR with ACTB as the reference gene after ConA injection. However, we got inconsistent results with previous reports determining IκBα and C/EBPβ mRNA expression levels. The results indicate the necessity for stability analysis of candidate reference genes in the CIH model. geNorm, NormFinder, and BestKeeper software analysis indicates that ACTB is the most unstable gene during CIH progression among the 10 reference genes tested, whereas RPLP0 or HPRT1 is the most stable one. This study demonstrates that some of the commonly used reference genes are inadequate for normalization of Q-PCR data due to their expression instability. Furthermore, this study validates HPRT1 and RPLP0 as appropriate reference genes for Q-PCR analysis in the CIH model. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The clip-domain serine proteases (SPs) are the essential components of extracellular signaling cascade in various biological processes, especially in embryonic development and the innate immune responses of invertebrate. Herein, we described the isolation and characterization of pearl oyster Pinctada fucata clip-domain SP gene (designated as poSP). The poSP cDNA was 1080bp long and consisted of a 5′-untranslated region (UTR) of 13bp, a 3′-UTR of 68bp with a polyadenylation signal (AATAAA) at 22 nucleotides upstream of the poly(A) tail, and an open reading frame (ORF) of 999bp encoding a polypeptide of 332 amino acids with an estimated molecular mass of 36.5kDa and a theoretical isoelectric point of 7.3. A clip-domain and a trypsin-like serine protease domain were identified in the poSP using SMART analysis. Homology analysis of the deduced amino acid sequence of the poSP with other known SP sequences by MatGAT software revealed that the poSP shared 47.0–68.4% similarity to the other known SP sequences. The poSP mRNA was expressed in haemocytes, gonad, digestive gland and mantle, but not expressed in adductor muscle and gill. The poSP mRNA was up-regulated and increased nearly double-fold after LPS or Vibrio alginolyticus stimulation, respectively. These results suggested that the poSP was an inducible acute-phase protein that perhaps involved in the innate immune response of pearl oyster. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]