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The extracellular matrix (ECM) governs a wide spectrum of cellular fate processes, with a particular emphasis on anoikis, an integrin‐dependent form of cell death. Currently, anoikis is defined as an intrinsic apoptosis. In contrast to traditional apoptosis and necroptosis, integrin correlates ECM signaling with intracellular signaling cascades, describing the full process of anoikis. However, anoikis is frequently overlooked in physiological and pathological processes as well as traditional in vitro research models. In this review, we summarized the role of anoikis in physiological and pathological processes, spanning embryonic development, organ development, tissue repair, inflammatory responses, cardiovascular diseases, tumor metastasis, and so on. Similarly, in the realm of stem cell research focused on the functional evolution of cells, anoikis offers a potential solution to various challenges, including in vitro cell culture models, stem cell therapy, cell transplantation, and engineering applications, which are largely based on the regulation of cell fate by anoikis. More importantly, the regulatory mechanisms of anoikis based on molecular processes and ECM signaling will provide new strategies for therapeutic interventions (drug therapy and cell‐based therapy) in disease. In summary, this review provides a systematic elaboration of anoikis, thus shedding light on its future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Purpose: The P2X3 receptor, a trimeric ionotropic purinergic receptor, has emerged as a potential therapeutic target for refractory chronic cough (RCC). Nevertheless, gefapixant/AF‐219, the only marketed P2X3 receptor antagonist, might lead taste disorders by modulating the human P2X2/3 (hP2X2/3) heterotrimer. Hence, in RCC drug development, compounds exhibiting strong affinity for the hP2X3 homotrimer and a weak affinity for the hP2X2/3 heterotrimer hold promise. An example of such a molecule is sivopixant/S‐600918, a clinical Phase II RCC candidate with a reduced incidence of taste disturbance compared to gefapixant. Sivopixant and its analogue, (3‐(4‐([3‐chloro‐4‐isopropoxyphenyl]amino)‐3‐(4‐methylbenzyl)‐2,6‐dioxo‐3,6‐dihydro‐1,3,5‐triazin‐1(2H)‐yl)propanoic acid (DDTPA), exhibit both high affinity and high selectivity for hP2X3 homotrimers, compared with hP2X2/3 heterotrimers. The mechanism underlying the druggable site and its high selectivity remains unclear. Experimental Approach: To analyse mechanisms that distinguish this drug candidate from other inhibitors of the P2X3 receptors we used a combination of chimera construction, site covalent occupation, metadynamics, mutagenesis and whole‐cell recording. Key Results: The high affinity and selectivity of sivopixant/DDTPA for hP2X3 receptors was determined by the tri‐symmetric site located close to the upper vestibule. Substitution of only four amino acids inside the upper body domain of hP2X2 with those of hP2X3, enabled the hP2X2/3 heterotrimer to exhibit a similar level of apparent affinity for sivopixant/DDTPA as the hP2X3 homotrimer. Conclusion and Implications: From the receptor‐ligand recognition perspective, we have elucidated the molecular basis of novel RCC clinical candidates' cough‐suppressing properties and reduced side effects, offering a promising approach to the discovery of novel drugs that specifically target P2X3 receptors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ZSSG (ZnSSe/rGO) composites are prepared by a hydrothermal method. The structure, morphology and material properties are investigated by various tests. Compared to ZnSe, the diffraction peaks of ZnSSe are moved to a larger angle and located between cubic phase ZnSe and cubic phase ZnS. The photocurrent density of ZSSG20 with 20 wt.% graphene is 2.17×10−5 A cm−2, which is 8.9 times higher than that of pure ZnSSe. ZSSG20 has the minimum charge transfer resistance and highest carrier density. The decreased fluorescence intensity in PL spectra indicates that graphene can effectively prevent the recombination of electron‐hole pairs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Melanoma is a melanocyte‐derived malignant cancer and is known for its early metastasis and high mortality rates. It is a highly cutaneous tumour disease that could be related to the abnormal immune microenvironment, and the identification of reliable diagnostic and prognostic markers is crucial for improving patient outcomes. In the search for biomarkers, various types of RNAs have been discovered and recognized as reliable prognostic markers. Among these, small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs) have emerged as a promising avenue for studying early diagnosis and prognostic markers in tumours due to their widespread presence in tissues, tumour specificity and stability. In our study, we analysed snoRNAs data from melanoma samples in the TCGA‐SKCM cohort and developed a prognostic model comprising 12 snoRNAs (SNORD9, SNORA31, SNORD14E, SNORA14A, SNORA5A, SNORD83A, SNORA75, AL096855, AC007684, SNORD14A, SNORA65 and AC004839). This model exhibited unique prognostic accuracy and demonstrated a significant correlation with the immune infiltration tumour microenvironment. Additionally, analysis of the GSE213145 dataset, which explored the sensitivity and resistance of immune checkpoint inhibitors, further supported the potential of snoRNAs as prognostic markers for immunotherapy. Overall, our study contributes reliable prognostic and immune‐related biomarkers for melanoma patients. These findings can offer valuable insights for the future discovery of novel melanoma treatment strategies and hold promise for improving clinical outcomes in melanoma patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Impaired adipogenic differentiation exacerbates metabolic disease in obesity. This study reported that high‐fat diet (HFD)‐fed mice housed at thermoneutrality exhibited impaired adipogenic differentiation, attributed to increased expression of histone deacetylase 9 (HDAC9). However, the impact of HFD on adipogenic differentiation is reportedly variable, possibly reflecting divergent environmental conditions such as housing temperature. Methods: C57BL/6J (wild‐type [WT]) mice were housed at either thermoneutral (28–30°C) or ambient (20–22°C) temperature and fed HFD or chow diet (CD) for 12 weeks. For acute exposure experiments, WT or transient receptor potential cation channel subfamily M member 8 (TRPM8) knockout mice housed under thermoneutrality were acutely exposed to ambient temperature for 6 to 24 h. Results: WT mice fed HFD and housed at thermoneutrality, compared with ambient temperature, gained more weight despite reduced food intake. They likewise exhibited increased inguinal adipose tissue HDAC9 expression and reduced adipogenic differentiation in vitro and in vivo compared with CD‐fed mice. Conversely, HFD‐fed mice housed at ambient temperature exhibited minimal change in adipose HDAC9 expression or adipogenic differentiation. Acute exposure of WT mice to ambient temperature reduced adipose HDAC9 expression independent of sympathetic β‐adrenergic signaling via a TRPM8‐dependent mechanism. Conclusions: Adipose HDAC9 expression is temperature sensitive, regulating adipogenic differentiation in HFD‐fed mice housed under thermoneutrality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The stress field is a critical factor for fracture propagation in hydraulic fracturing. Attention should be paid to fracture propagation with the nonuniform stress field. A stress field with gradient was established to investigate the influence of the nononuniform stress on fracture propagation. Based on the three‐dimensional block distinct element model the fracture propagation law with nononuniform stress was obtained. The mechanism of stress gradient and magnitude of uneven fracture propagation was revealed. Aiming at the uneven propagation, the influence of elastic modulus and construction parameters was analyzed. The results show that the influence of the elastic modulus follows the χ2 distribution equation and the influence of construction parameters can be expressed by the product of the injection rate and fluid viscosity. This conclusion is of theoretical significance for fracturing with nonuniform in situ stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the rust conversion coating that acts directly on the surface of rust layer, was studied from the preparation of rust conversion agents gallic acid (GA), 2‐hydroxyphosphonyl acetic acid (HPAA), and their compound (GA/HPAA), rust conversion effect and anticorrosive mechanism. Results show that 1) when GA and HPAA were combined to form GA/HPAA with a mass ratio of 2:1, the strengthening effect of rust conversion was observed, and a more complete, dense, and smooth covering film was generated on the rust surface. In this case, the corrosion current of GA/HPAA was reduced to 4.10 × 10−7 A cm−2, while the GA was 2.35 × 10−6 A cm−2 and HPAA was 2.16 × 10−6 A cm−2. 2) The mechanism of rust conversion and corrosion resistance can be expressed as that the chelation reaction can occur between the rust and rust conversion agent, which can generate new coordination covalent bonds O–Fe–O, P–O–Fe, and C–Fe–O. In this case, they can firmly lock the rust and prevent it from spreading further. Meanwhile, a highly cross‐linked dense anticorrosion protective film can be formed. Due to the presence of these chelating products, they can act as obstacles, prolonging the diffusion path of corrosive medium and slowing down the interaction with the metal matrix. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

S‐graphene quantum dots (GQDs), N‐GQDs, P‐GQDs, and Cl‐GQDs are prepared by a solution chemistry method and further incorporated with ZnxCd1−xSe by one‐step hydrothermal method. In the previous study, ZnxCd1−xSe reached the optimal photoelectric performances at the Zn/Cd ratio of 0.9:0.1, so the Zn0.9Cd0.1Se were combined with doped GQDs (D‐GQDs) to form Zn0.9Cd0.1Se/doped‐GQDs. The influence of GQDs doped with different elements on the photoelectric properties of Zn0.9Cd0.1Se composites is discussed. Compared with pristine Zn0.9Cd0.1Se, Zn0.9Cd0.1Se/Cl‐GQDs, and Zn0.9Cd0.1Se/P‐GQDs can improve the photocurrent response and current intensity, therein, Zn0.9Cd0.1Se/Cl‐GQDs reaches the lowest interfacial charge transfer resistance and the highest photocurrent response of 5.48 × 10−6 A cm−2. Mott–Schottky analysis shows that the fitting slope of Zn0.9Cd0.1Se/Cl‐GQDs composites is significantly lower than that of Zn0.9Cd0.1Se/GQDs with other doped elements. The results indicate that Zn0.9Cd0.1Se/Cl‐GQDs composites has the largest carrier density, which is beneficial to charge conduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

GLO:F2H7/01nov21:ctm2586-fig-0001.jpg PHOTO (COLOR): 1 Pharmacogenomics (PGx) testing unit and characteristics of the participants, tested genes, drugs, diseases, and variants. Analytics of the clinical implementation of pharmacogenomics testing in 12 758 individuals Pharmacogenomics (PGx) testing is still not widely accepted in routine medical practice, with one of the major obstacles being the lack of evidence to support its clinical benefit.1,2 In the Chinese population, large-scale comprehensive analytics of clinical PGx testing are still lacking.3,4 Thus, we analysed clinical PGx testing for personalised drug treatment in 12,758 Chinese patients at Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, which is one of the first institutions to conduct clinical PGx testing in China. All tested drugs and genes were sorted by the recommendation percentage, which was equal to that of the samples that received PGx recommendations (including risk warnings) divided by the total samples tested for each gene or drug. [Extracted from the article]

Personalized drug therapy aims to provide tailored treatment for individual patient. Mass spectrometry (MS) is revolutionarily involved in this area because MS is a rapid, customizable, cost‐effective, and easy to be used high‐throughput method with high sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy. It is driving the formation of a new field, MS‐based personalized drug therapy, which currently mainly includes five subfields: therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM), pharmacogenomics (PGx), pharmacomicrobiomics, pharmacoepigenomics, and immunopeptidomics. Gas chromatography‐MS (GC‐MS) and liquid chromatography‐MS (LC‐MS) are considered as the gold standard for TDM, which can be used to optimize drug dosage. Matrix‐assisted laser desorption ionization‐time of flight‐MS (MALDI‐TOF‐MS) significantly improves the capability of detecting biomacromolecule, and largely promotes the application of MS in PGx. It is becoming an indispensable tool for genotyping, which is used to discover and validate genetic biomarkers. In addition, MALDI‐TOF‐MS also plays important roles in identity of human microbiome whose diversity can explain interindividual differences of drug response. Pharmacoepigenetics is to study the role of epigenetic factors in individualized drug treatment. MS can be used to discover and validate pharmacoepigenetic markers (DNA methylation, histone modification, and noncoding RNA). For the emerging cancer immunotherapy, personalized cancer vaccine has effective immunotherapeutic activity in the clinic. MS‐based immunopeptidomics can effectively discover and screen neoantigens. This article systematically reviewed MS‐based personalized drug therapy in the above mentioned five subfields. © 2020 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Mass Spec Rev [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fracture-control matrix unit (F-CMU) is a special body present in low-permeability fractured reservoirs that can be distinguished by a fracture system and a matrix system. The imbibition phenomenon of the F-CMU provides the possibility for secondary development of low-permeability fractured reservoirs because of the driving force including capillary force and gravity. However, the F-CMU is difficult to obtain during the field core drilling, which has limited the development for laboratory dynamic imbibition tests. Therefore, a new F-CMU reconstruction method is proposed in this study. According to the geometry and parameters, combining laser engraving technology, the fracture system is designed and engraved. Then, the F-CMU is established using a three-dimensional (3D) printed material called polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) as fracture support material which has a faster dissolution rate and causes less damage to the core due to water being the solvent. Finally, the porosity, permeability, and wettability of the matrix system and the T2 spectra from nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) before and after reconstruction are measured. In addition, numerical simulation calculation of F-CMU permeability is performed. The results show that the characteristic parameters of the matrix system hardly change, indicating low damage to the core. The reconstructed fracture system is found on the T2 spectra, and the fracture permeability is consistent by comparing with the experimental and numerical simulation results. The permeability of the fracture system is about 104 orders of magnitude of the matrix system, which is closer to real core and meets the requirements needed for dynamic permeability experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pore‐scale imbibition mechanism in fractured water‐wetted reservoirs has been acknowledged as an efficient tool to enhance oil recovery. Most rock in a natural reservoir is mixed‐wetted, but most studies on the pore‐scale imbibition process only focused on the water‐wetted rock. This paper adopts two mixed‐wetted core samples for microspontaneous imbibition experiment, micro‐CT scanning, and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) test. The results indicate that the pore radius distribution of the segmented CT images is consistent with that of the NMR test. The microimbibition recovery ratio of core No. 34‐1 and core No. 64 in the spontaneous imbibition experiment are 27.7% and 58.2%, which agrees well with that computed by the micro‐CT scanning image (27.63% and 56.09%). Based on the segmented images, the influences of the Jamin's effect, pore size distribution, and wettability on the microspontaneous imbibition are visualized and quantitatively studied. The Jamin's effect is the important factor that hinders the microimbibition process. The main pore size of imbibition distributes in the range of 1‐25 μm. Furthermore, the pore‐scale spontaneous imbibition process in a single pore with mixed wettability is investigated and analyzed. The relationships among the contact angle, capillary force, recovery ratio, wettability, and the microimbibition recovery are revealed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cellular internal ribosomal entry site (IRES) is one of the most important elements to mediate cap‐independent translational initiation, especially under conditions of stress and pathology. However, a high‐throughput method to discover IRESs in these conditions is still lacking. Here, a possible way IRES long‐read sequencing based on the latest high‐throughput technologies is proposed to solve this problem. Based on this design, diversity and integrity of the transcriptome from original samples can be kept. The micro‐environment that stimulates or inhibits IRES activity can also be mimicked. By using long read‐length sequencing technology, additional experiments that are essential for ruling out the cryptic promoters or splicing events in routine IRES identification processes can be circumvented. It is hoped that this proposed methodology may be adopted for IRES element discovery, hence uncovering the full extent of the role of IRESs in disease, development, and stress. Also see the video abstract here https://youtu.be/JuWBbMzWXS8 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Varieties of pore‐scale numerical and empirical approaches have been proposed to predict the rock permeability when the pore structure is known, for example, microscopic computerized tomography (micro‐CT) technology. A comparative study on these approaches is conducted in this paper. A reference dataset of nine micro‐CT images of porous rocks is generated and processed including artificial sandpacks, tight sandstone, and carbonate. Multiple numerical and empirical approaches are used to compute the absolute permeability of micro‐CT images including the image voxel‐based solver (VBS), pore network model (PNM), Lattice Boltzmann method (LBM), Kozeny‐Carman (K‐C) equation, and Thomeer relation. Computational accuracy and efficiency of different numerical approaches are investigated. The results indicate that good agreements among numerical solvers are achieved for the sample with a homogeneous structure, while the disagreement increases with an increase in heterogeneity and complexity of pore structure. The LBM and VBS solver both have a relative higher computation accuracy, whereas the PNM solver is less accurate due to simplification on the topological structure. The computation efficiency of the different solver is generally computation resources dependent, and the PNM solver is the fastest, followed by VBS and LBM solver. As expected, empirical relation can over‐estimate permeability by a magnification of 50 or more, particularly for those strong heterogeneous structures reported in this study. Nevertheless, empirical relation is still applicable for artificial rocks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The formation of the fracture network in shale hydraulic fracturing is the key to the successful development of shale gas. In order to analyze the mechanism of hydraulic fracturing fracture propagation in cemented fractured formations, a numerical simulation about fracture behavior in cemented joints was conducted based firstly on the block discrete element. And the critical pressure of three fracture propagation modes under the intersection of hydraulic fracturing fracture and closed natural fracture is derived, and the parameter analysis is carried out by univariate analysis and the response surface method (RSM). The results show that at a low intersecting angle, hydraulic fractures will turn and move forward at the same time, forming intersecting fractures. At medium angles, the cracks only turn. At high angles, the crack will expand directly forward without turning. In conclusion, low-angle intersecting fractures are more likely to form complex fracture networks, followed by medium-angle intersecting fractures, and high-angle intersecting fractures have more difficulty in forming fracture networks. The research results have important theoretical guiding significance for the hydraulic fracturing design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Sarcosine is a potential prostate cancer marker. In this study, we developed a method of three‐phase solvent bar liquid‐phase microextraction combined with high‐performance liquid chromatography to determine sarcosine after derivatization with 4‐dimethylarminoazobenzene‐4‐sulfonyl chloride from human urine. The effects of different extraction conditions on extraction efficiency were investigated and optimized. Under optimum experimental conditions, a calibration graph exhibited linearity over the range of 0.05–25 μmol/L with a correlation coefficient (r2) of 0.9990. The enrichment factor was 168, and the detection limit was 0.02 μmol/L. The method was successfully used to analyze sarcosine in human urine and non‐invasive detection, and good spiked recoveries ranging from 90.5 to 93.6% were obtained. The proposed method exhibited high sensitivity, high enrichment factor, good precision, and a simple setup. It may contribute to the early accurate diagnosis and the progression monitoring of prostatic carcinoma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional Nanjing salted ducks are cooked at low temperatures. However, factories in China that attempt to mass produce this meat require a heat-treatment stage to maintain the safety of this food product over longer storage periods. Conjugated diene, carbonyl, thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances, peroxide, and the compositions of fatty acids ( FA) and triacylglycerols ( TGs) were measured in Chinese Nanjing salted ducks following different heat treatments including a control, 99 C, 108 C, microwave and 121 C heat treatments after packaging. Heat treatments increased ( P < 0.05) carbonyl and peroxide values and the percentages of C18:2n6, C18:3n3, C20:4n6, polyunsaturated FAs, unsaturated FA and some TGs; however, heat treatments decreased ( P < 0.05) C16:0, C16:1, C18:1, monounsaturated and saturated fatty acids, and other TG fractions in the duck meat especially after microwaving or being treated at 121 C. Further research should explore modifying current preservation methods to improve meat quality. Practical Applications Heat treatment of packaged products is considered an effective method of increasing their shelf life. However, such treatment can also distort the flavor of products, largely because of lipid oxidation. This study investigated changes in lipid composition and oxidation in heat-treated ducks to indirectly explore the mechanism behind off-flavor formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Efforts to get a strong and sustained anti-tumour immune response induced by a tumour specific antigen have failed, but sipuleucel-T has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). We noticed that exosomes secreted by tumour cells or immune cells may be crucially involved in the tumour immune response, whereas others have had inconsistent findings on exosome involvement. Based on immune network theory, we summarise research advances of exosomes and speculate that in the tumour immune response exosomes follow the immune response curve hypothesis. Exosomes activate simultabeously both immune activation and immune tolerance, but at different intensities. To obtain a desired anti-immune response, the initial point of immunity should be determined to achieve the strongest anti-tumour response, and repeated in vitro to extend and enhance this response. As a result, our hypothesis proposes that studies should now be directed at determining the exact time of exosome activity in maintaining a viable anti-tumour immune response in vivo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Neural tube defects ( NTDs) are severe birth malformations that affect one in 1,000 live births. Recently, mutations in the planar cell polarity ( PCP) pathway genes had been implicated in the pathogenesis of NTDs in both the mouse model and in human cohorts. Mouse models indicate that the homozygous disruption of Sec24b, which mediates the ER-to- Golgi transportation of the core PCP gene Vangl2 as a component of the COPII vesicle, will result in craniorachischisis. In this study, we found four rare missense heterozygous SEC24B mutations (p. Phe227 Ser, p. Phe682 Leu, p. Arg1248 Gln, and p. Ala1251 Gly) in NTDs cases that were absent in all controls. Among them, p. Phe227 Ser and p. Phe682 Leu affected its protein stability and physical interaction with VANGL2. Three variants (p. Phe227 Ser, p. Arg1248 Gln, and p. Ala1251 Gly) were demonstrated to affect VANGL2 subcellular localization in cultured cells. Further functional analysis in the zebrafish including overexpression and dosage-dependent rescue study suggested that these four mutations all displayed loss-of-function effects compared with wild-type SEC24B. Our study demonstrated that functional mutations in SEC24B might contribute to the etiology of a subset of human NTDs and further expanded our knowledge of the role of PCP pathway-related genes in the pathogenesis of human NTDs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A solid-state electrochemiluminescence (ECL) biosensor based on special ferrocene-labeled molecular beacon (Fc-MB) for highly sensitive detection of promyelocytic leukemia/retinoic acid receptor alpha (PML/RARα) fusion gene was developed successfully using Ru(bpy) ${{{2+\hfill \atop 3\hfill}}}$/2-(dibutylamino)ethanol (DBAE) as detecting pattern. Such a special sensor involves two main parts, an ECL substrate and an ECL intensity switch. The ECL substrate was made by modifying the complex of Ruthenium (II) tris-(bipyridine) and Au nanoparticles (Ru(bpy) ${{{2+\hfill \atop 3\hfill}}}$-AuNPs) onto the Au electrode (AuE) surface. The molecular beacon probe in which the ferrocene tag could effectively quench the ECL of the Ru(bpy) ${{{2+\hfill \atop 3\hfill}}}$acted as ECL intensity switch. The molecular beacon probe was designed with special base sequence, which could hybridize with its complementary target DNA. In the absence of a target, the hairpin structure of the probe forced the ferrocene (Fc) into close proximity with the ECL substrate, thus reducing ECL intensity. Target binding allowed the Fc away from the ECL substrate and resulted in an obvious increment in ECL intensity due to the decreased Fc quenching effect. The effect of the amount of Ru(bpy) ${{{2+\hfill \atop 3\hfill}}}$ and the mixing procedure of Ru(bpy) ${{{2+\hfill \atop 3\hfill}}}$ and AuNPs solution on the fabrication of ECL film had been investigated. As a result, the change of ECL intensity had a direct relationship with the logarithm of PML/RARα fusion gene concentration in the range of 0.05-500 pM with a detection limit of 7 fM, and the developed biosensor possessed good molecular recognizability in human serum. Thus, the approach holds promise for the early diagnostics and prognosis monitoring of APL and other diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neural tube defects (NTDs) constitute the second most frequent cause of human congenital abnormalities. Complex multigenetic causes have been suggested to contribute to NTDs. The planar cell polarity (PCP) pathway plays a critical role in neural tube closure in model organisms and in human. Knockout of Dact1 ( Dapper, Frodo) leads to deregulated PCP signaling with defective neural tube in mice. Here, we report that five missense heterozygote mutations of the DACT1 gene are specifically identified in 167 stillborn or miscarried Han Chinese fetuses with neural tube defects. Our biochemical analyses revealed that among the five mutations, N356K and R45W show loss-of-function or reduced activities in inducing Dishevelled2 (DVL2) degradation and inhibiting jun-N-terminal kinase (JNK) phosphorylation, implicating mutated DACT1 as a risk factor for human NTDs. Our findings, together with early reports, suggest that rare mutations of the PCP-related genes may constitute a great contribution to human NTDs. Hum Mutat 33:1450-1455, 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil moisture is an important hydrological variable in reforestation practices in a water-limited region of the Loess Plateau of northwestern China. The objective of this study was to quantify the spatial dynamics of soil moisture on a complex terrain. During 2004-2006, a total of 313 sample points in two kinds of grid (2 × 2 m and 20 × 20 m) were arranged for soil moisture measurements (two soil layers: 0-30 and 30-60 cm) with Time Domain Reflectometry. The geostatistical properties of soil moisture patterns, the variance and correlation structure of the soil moisture, and the effects of terrain factors on soil moisture were analyzed. The results suggested that our sampling grid captured the spatial variability of soil moisture distributions for this complex terrain. Principal Component Analysis and Cluster Analysis statistics showed that soil moisture decreased as slope gradient increased; that sunny aspects (112.5°-292.5°) had relatively lower soil moisture than did shady aspects (292.5°-112.5°); that soil moisture was lowest in the SWW direction and highest in the NWN direction; and that hillslope aspect was the main factor affecting soil moisture in the 0- to 30-cm soil layer, whereas the main factor for the 30- to 60-cm layer was slope gradient. It was found that the relative values of soil moisture for steep slopes (>36%) with shady aspect (292.5°-112.5°), gentle slopes (<36%) with sunny aspect (112.5°-292.5°), and steep slopes with sunny aspect were 99, 82, and 80, respectively – assuming a soil moisture value of 100 for gentle slopes with shady aspect. The results of this study are expected to be relevant to and useful for reforestation planning and design, parameterization of distributed hydrology models, and land productivity assessment in the study region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

N‐graphene quantum dots (N‐GQDs) are prepared using graphite as a carbon source and ammonia as a nitrogen source by a top‐down approach, and further combined with SnO2 to obtain SnO2/N‐GQDs composites by a hydrothermal method. SnO2/N‐GQDs composites are analyzed by morphology and structure characterization, and the composites with different N‐GQDs content are further investigated by instantaneous photocurrent response (I‐t), electrochemical impedance (EIS), linear scanning voltammetry (LSV), and Mott‐Schottky curves (MS). SnO2/N‐GQDs composites exhibit an obvious increment in photocurrent and a decrement in interface charge transfer impedance. When the addition of N‐GQDs is 1.5wt.%, the I‐t value of SnO2/N‐GQDs reaches the optimum of 3.84 × 10−5 A cm−2, which is 2.3 times as large as that of SnO2. Meantime, the carrier density of SnO2/N‐GQDs reaches 2.67 × 1021cm−3, which is 1.5 times as high as that of SnO2. The improvement is attributed to the combination of SnO2 and N‐GQDs, which promotes more charge carriers to be generated and transported under UV irradiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cellular internal ribosomal entry site (IRES) is important for cap-independent translational initiation during stress and pathology. In article number 1900180, Lei-Yun Wang et al. propose an idea to discover IRES based on the latest high-throughput technologies, hence facilitating the understanding of IRES in disease development and treatment. [Extracted from the article]

A magnetic heterogeneous α‐Fe2O3/CdS‐RGO (RGO: reduced graphene oxide) composite photocatalyst was synthesized using the one‐step hydrothermal method. The α‐Fe2O3 and CdS nanoparticles with a diameter range of 20~60 nm were synchronously loaded/distributed on the surface of RGO. The as‐synthesized α‐Fe2O3/CdS‐RGO nanocomposites were analyzed using X‐ray diffraction, Fourier transform‐infrared spectra, BET surface area, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, UV–Vis diffusive reflectance spectra and Raman spectroscopy. Compared with the pure CdS, α‐Fe2O3 and α‐Fe2O3/CdS nanoparticles, the α‐Fe2O3/CdS‐RGO nanocomposites expanded the adsorption range of visible‐light, and showed significant photocatalytic performance and cyclic stability for degradation of methylene blue in visible light. Also, the remarkable catalytic performances mainly depend on its special structure of the α‐Fe2O3/CdS‐RGO, which enabled the effective separation of the electron–hole pairs. These attractive features make the α‐Fe2O3/CdS‐RGO nanocomposite to be a photocatalyst with great application potential in water pollutants treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study which provides comparisons on mineralogy and lithology between Paleozoic Marine and Lacustrine Dolostones in Northern China. It mentions that Dolomite, a common mineral in carbonate rocks, can be found in geological settings from Precambrian to modern age. It also mentions the transformations of cation state in dolomite and influencing factors during dolomitization.