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RNA N6-methyladenosine (m6A), as the most abundant modification of messenger RNA, can modulate insect behaviors, but its specific roles in aggregation behaviors remain unexplored. Here, we conducted a comprehensive molecular and physiological characterization of the individual components of the methyltransferase and demethylase in the migratory locust Locusta migratoria. Our results demonstrated that METTL3, METTL14 and ALKBH5 were dominantly expressed in the brain and exhibited remarkable responses to crowding or isolation. The individual knockdown of methyltransferases (i.e., METTL3 and METTL14) promoted locust movement and conspecific attraction, whereas ALKBH5 knockdown induced a behavioral shift toward the solitary phase. Furthermore, global transcriptome profiles revealed that m6A modification could regulate the orchestration of gene expression to fine tune the behavioral aggregation of locusts. In summary, our in vivo characterization of the m6A functions in migratory locusts clearly demonstrated the crucial roles of the m6A pathway in effectively modulating aggregation behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The pig is a promising donor candidate for xenotransplantation. Understanding the differences between human and swine immune systems is critical for addressing xenotransplant rejection and hematopoietic reconstitution. The gene transcriptional profile differences between human and pig immune cell subpopulations have not been studied. To assess the similarities and differences between pigs and humans at the levels of gene transcriptional profiles or cell subpopulations are important for better understanding the cross-species similarity of humans and pigs, and it would help establish the fundamental principles necessary to genetically engineer donor pigs and improve xenotransplantation. Objective: To assess the gene transcriptional similarities and differences between pigs and humans. Methods: Two pigs and two healthy humans' PBMCs were sorted for 10 × genomics single-cell sequence. We generated integrated human-pig scRNA-seq data from human and pig PBMCs and defined the overall gene expression landscape of pig peripheral blood immune cell subpopulations by updating the set of human-porcine homologous genes. The subsets of immune cells were detected by flow cytometry. Results: There were significantly less T cells, NK cells and monocytes but more B cells in pig peripheral blood than those in human peripheral blood. High oxidative phosphorylation, HIF-1, glycolysis, and lysosome-related gene expressions in pig CD14+ monocytes were observed, whereas pig CD14+ monocytes exhibited lower levels of cytokine receptors and JAK-STAT-related genes. Pig activated CD4+T cells decreased cell adhesion and inflammation, while enriched for migration and activation processes. Porcine GNLY+CD8+T cells reduced cytotoxicity and increased proliferation compared with human GNLY+CD8+T cells. Pig CD2+CD8+γδT cells were functionally homologous to human CD2+CD4+ γδT cells. Pig CD2−CD8−γδT cells expressed genes with quiescent and precursor characteristics, while CD2−CD8+γδT cells expressed migration and memory-related molecules. Pig CD24+ and CD5+B cells are associated with inflammatory responses. Conclusion: Our research with integrated scRNA-seq assays identified the different distribution of pig immune cell subpopulations and the different transcriptional profiles of human and pig immune cells. This study enables a deeper understanding of the development and function of porcine immune cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: We developed a nomogram model derived from inflammatory indices, clinical data, and imaging data to predict in-hospital major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events (MACCEs) following emergency percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients with new-onset ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Methods: Patients with new-onset STEMI admitted between June 2020 and November 2022 were retrospectively reviewed. Data pertaining to coronary angiograms, clinical data, biochemical indices, and in-hospital clinical outcomes were derived from electronic medical records. Lasso regression model was employed to screen risk factors and construct a prediction model. Results: Overall, 547 patients with new-onset STEMI who underwent PCI were included and assigned to the training cohort (n = 384) and independent verification cohort (n = 163). Six clinical features (age, diabetes mellitus, current smoking, hyperuricemia, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, and Gensini score) were selected by LASSO regression to construct a nomogram to predict the risk of in-hospital MACCEs. The area-under-the-curve (AUC) values for in-hospital MACCEs risk in the training and independent verification cohorts were 0.921 (95% CI 0.881–0.961) and 0.898 (95% CI 0.821–0.976), respectively. It was adequately calibrated in both training cohort and independent verification cohorts, and predictions were correlated with actual outcomes. Decision curve analysis demonstrated that the nomogram was capable of predicting in-hospital MACCEs with good clinical benefit. Conclusions: Our prediction nomogram based on multi-modal data (inflammatory indices, clinical and imaging data) reliably predicted in-hospital MACCEs in new-onset STEMI patients with emergency PCI. This prediction nomogram can enable individualized treatment strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most existing bioluminescence imaging methods can only visualize the location of engineered bacteria in vivo, generally precluding the imaging of natural bacteria. Herein, we leverage bacteria-specific ATP-binding cassette sugar transporters to internalize luciferase and luciferin by hitchhiking them on the unique carbon source of bacteria. Typically, the synthesized bioluminescent probes are made of glucose polymer (GP), luciferase, Cy5 and ICG-modified silicon nanoparticles and their substrates are made of GP and D-luciferin-modified silicon nanoparticles. Compared with bacteria with mutations in transporters, which hardly internalize the probes in vitro (i.e., ~2% of uptake rate), various bacteria could robustly engulf the probes with a high uptake rate of around 50%. Notably, the developed strategy enables ex vivo bioluminescence imaging of human vitreous containing ten species of pathogens collected from patients with bacterial endophthalmitis. By using this platform, we further differentiate bacterial and non-bacterial nephritis and colitis in mice, while their chemiluminescent counterparts are unable to distinguish them. Bioluminescent imaging of bacteria in vivo generally requires the use of engineered bacteria. Here the authors take advantage of bacteria specific ATP-binding cassette sugar transporters to enable selective delivery of bioluminescent nanoprobes into bacteria for visualisation, including in deep tissues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), a widely used chemical substance, causes an increased risk of human type 2 diabetes (T2D), but its underlying mechanism is not well elucidated. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether PFOA regulates the functions of pancreatic β cells, which are specialized for the biosynthesis and secretion of insulin. The treatment of the mouse pancreatic β cell line (MIN6 cells) with PFOA caused a time- and dose-dependent inhibition of cell viability in CCK-8 assays. Annexin V/PI and TUNEL staining results confirmed that exposure to a high PFOA dose (500 μM) promoted apoptosis of β cells, while a low dose (300 μM) had no effects on β cell survival. PFOA treatment, even at a low dose, diminished glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS) in both primary islet perfusion and MIN6 cell experiments. RNA-sequencing data showed significantly increased expression of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress-associated genes, with tribbles homolog 3 (Trib3) ranking first among the altered genes. The activation of ER stress pathways was verified by qRT-PCR assays, and the ATF4/CHOP/TRIB3 pathway contributed to PFOA-induced β cell damage. The inhibition of TRIB3 expression significantly protected MIN6 cells from PFOA-induced GSIS defects and apoptosis by ameliorating ER stress. These findings reveal a link between ER stress and PFOA-induced β cell defects, opening up a new set of questions about the pathogenesis of T2D due to environmental chemicals. Highlights: PFOA exposure results in pancreatic β cell apoptosis. PFOA treatment diminishes glucose-stimulated insulin secretion in β cells. PFOA activates endoplasmic reticulum stress and increases TRIB3 expression. Inhibition of TRIB3 expression ameliorates PFOA-caused β cell dysfunction and apoptosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Proteomics is the study of all proteins expressed by a cell or even an organism. However, knowledge of proteins that regulate the fineness of cashmere is limited. Liaoning cashmere goat (LCG) is a valuable genetic resource of China. The skin samples of Liaoning cashmere goats during the growing period were collected, performed tandem mass tag (TMT) method, and identified 117 differentially expressed proteins in CT_LCG (course type) and FT_LCG (fine type). To verify proteins differentially expressed in LCG, we performed PRM validation on three candidate proteins (ALB, SDC1, and ITGB4) in CT-LCG and FT-LCG. Furthermore, primary metabolic process and lysosome are most enriched in the GO and KEGG pathways, respectively. In addition, we also derived a protein–protein interaction (PPI) regulatory network from the perspective of bioinformatics. This study sought to elucidate the molecular mechanism of differential proteins regulating cashmere fineness of Liaoning cashmere goats by using TMT quantitative proteomics analysis. Differentially expressed proteins ALB and SDC1 may regulate cashmere fineness; ITGB4 can become a promising protein for further study. They can be used as key proteins to lay a foundation for studying cashmere fineness of Liaoning cashmere goats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contour detection is the key pre-processing step for human vision to perceive objects. Considering the shunt transmission and interactive response characteristics of visual information in visual pathways, a new contour detection method, which is based on the interactive response and fusion model of bilateral attention pathways, is proposed. Firstly, according to the color antagonism mechanism of single-opponent receptive field (SORF) in the sub-visual cortex, a SORF dynamical adjustment model based on local luminance information was devised to realize the joint coding of luminance and color boundaries. Secondly, a multi-directional fretting method in the optimal azimuth interval was designed by simulating the direction-sensitive characteristics of the classical receptive field of the primary visual cortex. Then, a visual information interaction model based on bilateral attention pathways—which combines visual attention and bilateral shunt mechanisms of visual information—was developed to obtain spatial salient contours of dorsal attention pathway and sparse responses of ventral neurons. Finally, the multi-pathway information fusion mechanism of the high-level visual cortex was introduced, and visual information differences between bilateral attention pathways were used to obtain the target contours. The experimental results show that our method can effectively highlight contours and eliminate textures, which will provide new ideas for subsequent image understanding and analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The stirrups corrosion reduces the lateral constraint on concrete, and thus degrades the mechanical behavior of confined concrete. In this paper, 39 concrete cylinder specimens confined by stirrups are constructed at three different concrete strength grades. The stirrups are artificially corroded at different levels, in order to investigate the mechanical behavior of concrete confined by corroded stirrups. The corrosion cracks and mass loss of the corroded stirrups are measured, and the load-displacement curves of concrete columns are determined using the axial compression loading test. The bearing capacity of cover concrete and rebars are eliminated using an equivalent strength area conversion technique, in order to obtain the stress–strain curve of confined concrete. The test results demonstrate the degradation of the ultimate stress, and the corresponding strain of the confined concrete with increasing stirrups corrosion level. In addition, an axial compressive stress-strain relationship model of concrete, confined by corroded stirrups, is proposed. A formulation is performed to calculate the loading capacity of the concrete column confined by corroded stirrups. The results show that the mechanical behavior degradation of the low strength grade (C20) confined concrete specimens, are more severe compared to that of the high concrete strength grades (C25 and C30) specimens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many unavoidable uncertainties in the engineering structure will affect its performance response. It is necessary to analyze the uncertain responses generated by uncertain factors in the vehicle design. Therefore, this study proposes a feasible identification method of uncertainty responses for vehicle structures. The proposed method consists of radial basis function neural network (RBFNN) and Taylor interval expansion (IE) model. The optimal network parameters of RBFNN are trained by the improved K-means clustering algorithm and singular value decomposition (SVD). Here, the first-order and second-order differential equations are derived from the RBFNN parameters since it is difficult to calculate the partial derivatives of complex systems without explicit expressions. A series of typical functions are tested and the results show that the trained RBFNN parameters can approximate the first-order and second-order partial derivatives of different types of functions. Besides, the subinterval expansion method is further applied to improve the calculation accuracy of uncertain structural responses. Finally, the proposed method is applied to four engineering applications (vehicle hood, mechanical claw, anti-collision structures, and multi-link suspension). Compared with genetic algorithm (GA) and Monte Carlo simulation (MCS), the proposed method can improve computational efficiency while ensuring accuracy. The identification method of interval uncertainty responses can be used as an alternative for uncertainty analysis and subsequent reliability or robustness optimization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: To the authors' knowledge, there is no current consensus regarding the optimal interprocedural interval for patients who have undergone bilateral total knee arthroplasty (BTKA). The purpose of this study is to evaluate complication rates and functional outcome in patients who have undergone BTKA (simultaneous or sequential at different time intervals), and to determine an optimal time frame for the second knee. Methods: Data from 315 patients who were able to tolerate simultaneous BTKA according to the anaesthesiologist's preoperative assessment between 2016 and 2020 were analysed retrospectively. According to the operative time interval, they were divided into simultaneous, ≤ 1-month sequential, 1- to 3-month sequential, and ≥ 3-month sequential BTKA groups. The primary outcomes were revision and readmission rates during the follow-up period, and the secondary outcomes were hospital length of stay (LOS), transfusion and postoperative complications. Results: There was no difference in the implant survival or readmission rate between the groups (p > 0.05). Multivariable linear regression showed that interprocedural interval and body mass index (BMI) affected LOS; the LOS of simultaneous BTKA was the shortest (p < 0.05). BMI was associated with an increased LOS of 0.25 days (95% CI 0.02–0.48, p = 0.03). A modified Poisson regression model showed that the odds of blood transfusion were reduced in sequential BTKAs of any interval (p < 0.05), and preoperative haemoglobin (Hb) was also a risk factor (RR 0.96, 95% CI 0.95–0.98, p < 0.001). The interprocedural interval was not a risk factor for postoperative cardiovascular and cerebrovascular complications. Conclusion: For appropriate patients, simultaneous BTKA is beneficial. However, higher preoperative haemoglobin was required to mitigate the high blood transfusion rate associated with simultaneous surgeries. If suitable patients refuse simultaneous BTKA for other non-medical reasons, sequential BTKA with an interval greater than 1 month is recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lithium-ion capacitors are envisaged as promising energy-storage devices to simultaneously achieve a large energy density and high-power output at quick charge and discharge rates. However, the mismatched kinetics between capacitive cathodes and faradaic anodes still hinder their practical application for high-power purposes. To tackle this problem, the electron and ion transport of both electrodes should be substantially improved by targeted structural design and controllable chemical doping. Herein, nitrogen-enriched graphene frameworks are prepared via a large-scale and ultrafast magnesiothermic combustion synthesis using CO2 and melamine as precursors, which exhibit a crosslinked porous structure, abundant functional groups and high electrical conductivity (10524 S m−1). The material essentially delivers upgraded kinetics due to enhanced ion diffusion and electron transport. Excellent capacities of 1361 mA h g−1 and 827 mA h g−1 can be achieved at current densities of 0.1 A g−1 and 3 A g−1, respectively, demonstrating its outstanding lithium storage performance at both low and high rates. Moreover, the lithium-ion capacitor based on these nitrogen-enriched graphene frameworks displays a high energy density of 151 Wh kg−1, and still retains 86 Wh kg−1 even at an ultrahigh power output of 49 kW kg−1. This study reveals an effective pathway to achieve synergistic kinetics in carbon electrode materials for achieving high-power lithium-ion capacitors. A large-scale and ultrafast combustion synthesis using CO2 as feedstock is demonstrated for the fabrication of nitrogen-enriched graphene frameworks (NGF) with high electrical conductivity, which delivers an upgraded kinetics due to the enhanced ion diffusion and electron transport. Lithium-ion capacitors based on NGF as both cathode and anode exhibit a high gravimetric energy density of 151 Wh kg−1 and power output of 49 kW kg−1. This study reveals an effective pathway to achieve synergistic kinetics in electrode materials for high-performance electrochemical energy storage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transcription factor Blimp-1 is necessary for the B cell differentiation toward immunoglobulin-secreting plasma cells. However, the immunopathological mechanisms of Blimp-1 that regulates B cell differentiation remain unclear in MG. The purpose of this study was to perform a quantitative and functional analysis of Blimp-1 in MG. A total of 34 patients with MG (18 ocular MG (OMG) and 16 generalized MG (GMG) and 20 healthy controls (HC) were recruited in this study. CD19+ B cells were isolated by positive selection using CD19 beads. The expression of Blimp-1 and p-STAT3 protein in isolated B cells was assessed by Western blot. Plasma cells were analyzed by flow cytometry. Serum IL-21 levels were detected by ELISA. Our data demonstrated that Blimp-1 in peripheral blood B cell of MG patients was significantly increased compared with HC. The increased expression of Blimp-1 was positively associated with clinical severity score (QMGs), plasma cell frequency, and serum IL-21 levels. Furthermore, glucocorticoid (GC) treatment reduced the expression of Blimp-1 and p-STAT3 in B cells, and this change was accompanied with relieved clinical severity, reduced plasma cell frequency, and decreased serum IL-21 levels. In vitro assay demonstrated that IL-21 stimulation upregulated STAT3 phosphorylation, increased Blimp-1 expression in B cells, and promoted plasma cell differentiation, and these processes could be inhibited by dexamethasone or STAT3 inhibitor stattic. This work indicates for the first time that aberrant expression of Blimp-1 exists on B cells and contributes to the plasma cell differentiation in MG patients. Modulation of IL-21/STAT3/Blimp-1 signaling pathway in B cells may be one of the mechanisms of glucocorticoid in the treatment of MG. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using ethylene glycol as solvent and PVP as structure-directing agent, CuFe2O4 nanospheres were successfully prepared by solvothermal method. The crystal structure, morphology, magnetic properties, and pore-size distribution of samples were characterized by using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope, transmission electron microscope, VSM, and BET, respectively. The effects of various preparation factors on the crystal form and morphology of the obtained samples were systematically discussed. The result exhibited that the self-assembled hollow nanospheres with good crystal form and morphology are obtained under the conditions of 0.50 g PVP, 9 mmol NaAc, reaction temperature of 180 °C, and reaction time of 24 h. The catalytic activity of CuFe2O4 hollow nanospheres was evaluated by the degradation of methylene blue (MB) and the possible degradation mechanism and pathway of MB in the CuFe2O4/H2O2 photo-Fenton-like system were proposed. In addition, the properties of CuFe2O4 particles prepared by different methods were compared and analyzed. The sample synthesized by solvothermal method has a large specific surface area and excellent magnetic properties. Furthermore, the increase in the photoelectric response and the conductivity are beneficial to the improvement of catalytic performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The large volume and variety of apps pose a great challenge for people to choose appropriate apps. As a consequence, app recommendation is becoming increasingly important. Recently, app usage data which record the sequence of apps being used by a user have become increasingly available. Such data record the usage context of each instance of app use, i.e., the app instances being used together with this app (within a short time window). Our empirical data analysis shows that a user has a pattern of app usage contexts. More importantly, the similarity in the two users' preferences over mobile apps is correlated with the similarity in their app usage context patterns. Inspired by these important observations, this paper tries to leverage the predictive power of app usage context patterns for effective app recommendation. To this end, we propose a novel neural approach which learns the embeddings of both users and apps and then predicts a user's preference for a given app. Our neural network structure models both a user's preference over apps and the user's app usage context pattern in a unified way. To address the issue of unbalanced training data, we introduce several sampling methods to sample user-app interactions and app usage contexts effectively. We conduct extensive experiments using a large real app usage data. Comparative results demonstrate that our approach achieves higher precision and recall, compared with the state-of-the-art recommendation methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Noise pollution poses a serious threat to people living in cities today. To alleviate the negative impact of noise pollution, an urban noise mapping can be helpful. In this paper, we present the design of NoiseSense, a crowd sensing system for housing a real-time urban noise mapping service. A major challenge in building such a system is caused by the sparsity problem of the limited noise measurement data from smartphones. To tackle this challenge, we propose a hybrid approach including a neighborhood-based noise level estimation method and a semi-supervised tensor completion algorithm for inferring noise levels for locations without measurements by smartphone users. This approach leverages a variety of urban data sources, such as Point of Interests, road networks, and check-in data. We also provide a noise prediction method for forecasting the noise levels in the next few hours. We implemented the system and developed an APP for smartphone users. We conducted experiments and field study. The experimental results show that the proposed approach is superior in inferring noise levels merely with sparse measurements from smartphone users. And the prediction approach also outperforms other baseline methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim and objective: Efficient production of monocytic myeloid-derived suppressor cells (M-MDSCs) with stable immunosuppressive function is crucial for immunomodulatory cell therapy for many diseases such as transplant rejection, graft-versus-host disease and autoimmune diseases. Methods: We used M-CSF as growth factor for myeloid progenitor cell differentiation and activated them with IFN-γ during early stage in vitro to produce M-MDSCs. The cell phenotypes were determined using flow cytometry, the immunosuppressive function and mechanisms were determined by skin grafted mouse models and genetic modified mice. Results: IFN-γ treatment endows these cell strong immunosuppressive function by inhibition of T cell proliferation and cytokine productions. The phenotype of these cells also changed towards M-MDSCs. IFN-γ significantly upregulated iNOS expression in these M-MDSCs and inhibition of this molecule significantly reversed their immune regulatory function. The functional stability of induced M-MDSCs by IFN-γ was tested in vivo by transferring them to alloskin-grafted mice. Adoptive transfer of these cells significantly prolonged allograft survival and promoted immune tolerance, whereas iNOS deficiency in these cells reversed this effect. Conclusions: We established one M-MDSCs-inducting protocol with the combination of M-CSF and IFN-γ in vitro. M-CSF+IFN-γ-induced M-MDSCs are promising to prevent graft rejection by immune regulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study proposes a non-deterministic robust topology optimization of ply orientation for multiple fiber-reinforced plastic (FRP) materials, such as carbon fiber-reinforced plastic (CFRP) and glass fiber-reinforced plastic (GFRP) composites, under loading uncertainties with both random magnitude and random direction. The robust topology optimization is considered here to minimize the fluctuation of structural performance induced by load uncertainty, in which a joint cost function is formulated to address both the mean and standard deviation of compliance. The sensitivities of the cost function are derived with respect to the design variables in a non-deterministic context. The discrete material optimization (DMO) technique is extended here to accommodate robust topology optimization for FRP composites. To improve the computational efficiency, the DMO approach is revised to reduce the number of design variables by decoupling the selection of FRP materials and fiber orientations. In this study, four material design examples are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed methods. The robust topology optimization results exhibit that the composite structures with the proper ply orientations are of more stable performance when the load fluctuates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sclerostin domain containing protein 1 (SOSTDC1) is a cell signaling regulator involved in cell physiology and pathology. SOSTDC1 is known to have a suppressive effect on certain kinds of cancer. However, the role of SOSTDC1 in follicular thyroid cancer (FTC) remains unknown. We aimed to investigate if the expression of SOSTDC1 plays any roles in carcinogenesis and metastasis of FTC. We found a significantly down-regulated SOSTDC1 expression in follicular thyroid cancer samples. In addition, our data showed that ectopic expression of SOSTDC1 dramatically inhibited thyroid cancer cell proliferation in vitro and in nude mice. SOSTDC1 also compromised the migratory, invasive property, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) activity of FTC cell. Mechanically, SOSTDC1 exerted its tumor suppressor function by inhibiting the activity of major signaling pathways including the phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK)/Erk pathways. Altogether, our findings provide insight into the role of SOSTDC1 as a novel functional tumor suppressor in follicular thyroid cancer through modulating the activities of PI3K/Akt and MAPK/Erk signaling pathways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is recognized that CC chemokine receptor 3 (CCR3) is associated with numerous inflammatory conditions and fibroblast-like synoviocyte (FLS) invasiveness correlates with articular damage in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). However, little is known of the expression and action of CCR3 on FLS in RA. In the present study, we investigated the expression of CCR3 on dispersed synovial tissue and peripheral blood cells in RA and influence of eotaxin-1 on FLS functions by using flow cytometry analysis, FLS challenge, and real-time PCR techniques. The results showed that approximately 7.0 % dispersed synovial cells are CCR3+ cells. Among those CCR3+ cells, 38.1, 23.8, and 20.6 % cells are CD90+CD14−CD3− (representing FLS), CD14+, and CD8+ cells, respectively, indicating that FLS is one of the major populations of CCR3+ cells in the synovial tissue of RA. In peripheral blood, CD14+ CCR3+ cells are elevated, but CD8+CCR3+ cells are reduced in RA. It was found that eotaxin-1 induced upregulated expression of CCR3 and matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9 messenger RNAs (mRNAs) in FLS. Since an antagonist of CCR3 suppressed the action of eotaxin-1, the event appeared CCR3 dependent. Moreover, we observed that interleukin (IL)-1β induced markedly enhanced eotaxin-1 release from FLS, but TNF-α reduced eotaxin-1 release at 12 and 24 h following incubation. In conclusion, enhanced expression of CCR3 on synovial cells and increased levels of eotaxin-1 in plasma and synovial fluid (SF) of RA indicate that CCR3-mediated mechanisms may play an important role in RA. Blockage of eotaxin-1 provoked CCR3 and MMP-9 expression in FLS by antagonist of CCR3, implicating that anti-CCR3 agents may have therapeutic use for RA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fatigue cracking is one of the major distresses found in asphalt pavements. The ability of asphalt binder to resist the accumulation of fatigue damage can have a profound effect on the service life of asphalt pavements. However, different from other materials, the fatigue characteristics of asphalt binder depend heavily on the load control mode. That is the fatigue characteristics of asphalt binder under controlled-stress mode differ from those under controlled-strain mode. This discrepancy affects the analysis results of asphalt binder fatigue performance. Therefore, this study is aimed at analyzing the effects of the load control mode on the fatigue performance of asphalt binder through a comparison of the fatigue characteristics under two different load control modes. The effect range of the load control mode was confirmed, and the method to differentiate the region affected by load control modes from the region not affected by load control modes was put forward. The relationship between the fatigue performances of asphalt binder under different control modes was analysed. Based on the results, it is concluded that the fatigue process can be divided into two regions using the curve of normalized dynamic modulus versus normalized phase angle. And, if the controlled stress and the controlled strain are equivalent levels, the fatigue characteristics of asphalt binder are independent of load control modes in the first region. The accumulated dissipated energy at the division point of the two regions is independent of both control modes and load levels, and serves as the effect threshold of the load control mode. Besides, the curve of accumulated dissipated energy versus number of cycles under controlled-stress mode is symmetrical to that curve under controlled-strain mode. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Combining denitrifying bacteria with sodium oleate-nanoscale zero-valent iron (SONZVI) has been proven to be effective for aqueous phase nitrate remediation. However, the effects of coexistent ions on nitrate reduction in a groundwater environment, which is at low temperature and under anoxic, light-excluded conditions, remain elusive. In this study, nitrate reduction by microbial-NZVI was evaluated via batch tests in the presence of common anions (SO, PO and Cl) in two different environments: groundwater environment and room environment. The results showed that nitrate was largely reduced within 10 days in an SONZVI + cell reactor in the groundwater environment, while only 79 % of the nitrate was reduced over 10 days in the room environment. In the groundwater environment, the removal efficiency could be accelerated by chloride or phosphate, but inhibited by sulfate. There were mainly two reaction stages, which were chemical reduction degradation and denitrifying degradation. Pseudo-first-order kinetics was used to describe the two reaction stages. In the first stage, the existence of the anions inhibited nitrate degradation. The synergistic effects of these anions on nitrate removal followed the order of Cl, SO, and PO. The results implied that using microbial-NZVI is a potential approach for in situ remediation of groundwater with nitrate contamination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A separable Hamiltonian system of Mindlin plate bending problems is obtained. Using the equivalence between the differential form and integral form of the separable Hamiltonian system, the biorthogonal relationships of the eigenfunctions are presented. Based on the biorthogonal relationships, a novel complete biorthogonal expansion of the Mindlin plate bending problems with two opposite sides simply supported is proposed through the products of operator matrices. The exact solutions to deflections and bending moments for the Mindlin plate with fully simply supported sides are obtained. A numerical example is illustrated to verify the accuracy and validity of the expansion method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ciliogenesis requires the removal of CP110 from the mother centriole; actin dynamics also influence ciliation, at least partly by affecting the centrosomal accumulation of ciliogenic membrane vesicles. How these distinct processes are properly regulated remains unknown. Here we show that miR-129-3p, a microRNA conserved in vertebrates, controlled cilia biogenesis in cultured cells by concomitantly downregulating CP110 and repressing branched F-actin formation. Blocking miR-129-3p inhibited serum-starvation-induced ciliogenesis, whereas its overexpression potently induced ciliation in proliferating cells and also promoted cilia elongation. Gene expression analysis further identified ARP2, TOCA1, ABLIM1 and ABLIM3 as its targets in ciliation-related actin dynamics. Moreover, miR-129-3p inhibition in zebrafish embryos suppressed ciliation in Kupffer's vesicle and the pronephros, and induced developmental abnormalities including a curved body, pericardial oedema and defective left-right asymmetry. Therefore, our results reveal a mechanism that orchestrates both the centriole-to-basal body transition and subsequent cilia assembly through microRNA-mediated post-transcriptional regulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

RecQ family helicases are critical for maintaining genomic integrity. Many RecQ family helicases not only unwind duplex, and other more complicated DNA structures, but also possess, interestingly, DNA annealing (strand pairing) activity. Here, we systematically investigated the DNA annealing properties of RECQ5β by measuring DNA annealing kinetics, equilibrium DNA binding, and kinetics of dissociation from ssDNA. RECQ5β catalyzed DNA annealing most efficiently when the enzyme molecules covered approximately 40%-50% of the DNA strand, in the absence or presence of different nucleotide cofactors (AMPPNP, ATPγS, or ADP) under our buffer conditions. A comparative study with RECQ5β confirmed that the C-terminal region of RECQ5β was essential for its high DNA annealing activity. These results contribute to our understanding of the mechanism of DNA annealing catalyzed by RecQ family helicases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A surface-graphenized pencil graphite electrode (SGPGE) served as an amperometric sensor for dopamine (DA). It was prepared through a one-step in-situ electrochemical graphene delamination. The graphite particles on the outer surface of the pencil graphite electrode (PGE) were delaminated by controlling the electrochemical delaminating conditions such as the applied anodic voltage and polarization duration, as well as the kind of electrolytes. The best conditions were identified by scanning electron microscopy, Raman spectra, cyclic voltammetry and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV). As a result, the electrode was endowed with an optimum combination of graphene delamination efficiency and electrochemical activity. The electrochemical treatment activates the surface sensing sites and improves the sensing performance. The NaOH-teated anodically graphenized electrode was used to sense dopamine by DPV. The best oxidation voltage of dopamine is at around 0.17 V (vs. SCE). The electrode respondsy to dopamine in the ranges of 0.15 to 45 μM, the detection limit is 8.2 nM (S/N = 3), and the sensitivity is 20.81 μA μM−1 cm−2. In real human urine samples, the sensor exhibited detection recoveries of 97.4–98.8% and low relative standard deviations of 3.49–3.92%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A sandwich-type electrochemical cytosensor is described for quantitative determination of CD44-overexpressing HeLa cells. Hyaluronic acid (HA) acts as a targeting molecule that was in-situ incorporated into the sensor based on the use of an indium tin oxide (ITO) electrode modified with multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). The 3D-MWCNT structure is shown to strongly improve the electronic properties and surface chemical reactivities. The HA-modified sensor exhibits a highly sensitive response to HeLa cells. A sandwiched hybridization protocol was then established using BIO [an N-butyl-4-(6′-aminohexyl)amino-1,8-naphthalimide probe modified with HA] as the tracing labels of the fluorescent probes for targeting CD44-positive tumor cells. The signal amplification was thereby maximized and measured by chronocoulometry. The binding of CD44-positive HeLa cells to the HA modified sensing layer causes a decrease in chronocoulometric response. The signal decreases linearly in the 2.1 × 102 to 2.1 × 107 HeLa cells·mL−1 concentration range with a detection limit of 70 cells·mL−1. Such a sandwich-type assay may be tailored as a sensitive candidate for detecting low levels of tumor cells.Schematic of a sandwich cytosensor based on hyaluronic acid-grafted 3D-MWCNT as biosensing interface and BIO as fluorescent probe. This biosensor possessed excellent electrochemical activity, high sensitivity and selectivity, providing a dynamical tracking and detecting platform for CD44-positive tumor cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Clinical treatment of exposed skull injuries becomes extremely challenging. The current treatment methods for exposed skull injuries are mainly surgical treatments. However, these treatments are not suitable for elderly patients who cannot tolerate anaesthesia. This research aimed to assess the effectiveness of platelet-rich gel (PRG) as a non-surgical option for repairing exposed skull injuries. In this study, twelve patients who presented to our hospital with scalp defects between September 2018 and March 2022 were included. Patients were evaluated before and three days after treatment using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) score, inflammatory markers, and topical skin temperature. Additionally, the length of the platelet-rich gel, number of dressing changes, wound-healing time, local scarring, and hair growth were recorded. The average wound area was 17.08 SD5.49 cm2. The platelet-rich gel exhibited a length of 3.09 SD0.09 cm and showed a significant increase in platelet concentration by a factor of 2.43 SD0.07. all 12 patients achieved complete healing, requiring average number of 8.3 SD2.0 dressing changes and resulting in an average wound healing time of 25.0 SD5.8 days. There were no statistically significant differences in the Visual Analog Scale scores, inflammatory markers, or topical skin temperatures before and after treatment. Follow-up assessments conducted 4–10 months after treatment revealed minimal local scars and sparse hair growth. The one-step preparation of platelet-rich gel in reconstructing scalp defects is a simple, safe, and effective non-surgical method. Its advantages include speedy preparation, painless treatment, and small local scars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]