Search

Summary UTX, a H3K27me3 demethylase, plays an important role in mouse brain development. However, so little is known about the function of UTX in human neural differentiation and dendritic morphology. In this study, we generated UTX-null human embryonic stem cells using CRISPR/Cas9, and differentiated them into neural progenitor cells and neurons to investigate the effects of UTX loss of function on human neural development. The results showed that the number of differentiated neurons significantly reduced after loss of UTX, and that the dendritic morphology of UTX KO neurons tended to be simplified. The electrophysiological recordings showed that most of the UTX KO neurons were immature. Finally, RNA sequencing identified dozens of differentially expressed genes involved in neural differentiation and synaptic function in UTX KO neurons and our results demonstrated that UTX regulated these critical genes by resolving bivalent promoters. In summary, we establish a reference for the important role of UTX in human neural differentiation and dendritic morphology., Graphical Abstract, Highlights • Loss of UTX in hESCs reduces their neural differentiation potential • The dendritic morphology of UTX KO neurons tends to be simplified • UTX regulates human neural development depending on its demethylation • UTX regulates the expression of genes by resolving bivalent promoters, In this article, Liu and colleagues show that the deletion of UTX in hESCs leads to the decline of their ability to differentiate into neurons, and the decrease of neurite complexity of neurons. UTX regulates dozens of genes involved in neural differentiation and synaptic function by resolving bivalent promoters depending on its demethylation.

We investigated a dielectric transmission line consisting of three dielectric substrate layers for millimeter-wave (mmW) applications. This line is referred to as a narrowed dielectric microstrip line (N-DML). The effective dielectric constant method is used to analyze the propagation characteristics of the N-DML. The result of the analysis of the normalized phase constant is consistent with the simulation. For demonstration, two J -band N-DML prototypes of different lengths with transitions to rectangular waveguides were designed, fabricated, and measured. Good agreement between the simulated and measured results is observed. In particular, due to its nonmetal structure, the N-DML shows a low average attenuation constant of only 0.52 dB/cm over 220-280 GHz in the experiment. Due to its good performance, ease of fabrication, low loss, and low cost, the N-DML is a suitable candidate for various mmW applications.

Powders of Nd/V-doped Bi4Ti3O12 with a composition Bi3.74Nd0.26Ti2.98V0.02O12.01 (BNTV), prepared by the molten salt synthesis, using chlorides as the fluxes, were successfully obtained. The influences of the molar ratio of KCl to NaCl, temperature, and soak time on the formation and morphology of BNTV were investigated. The results indicated that Na+ can enter the lattice of Bi4Ti3O12 (BIT), leading to a decrease in the cell dimensions of BIT phase. The grain size and morphology of BNTV powders were considerably affected by the molar ratio of KCl to NaCl in the fluxes, in which the platelets showed the morphology of a rectangle and no regular shape in KCl and NaCl fluxes, respectively. The grain size of BNTV increased with increasing amount of NaCl in the fluxes, but the thickness decreased. The platelets prepared in the NaCl flux were faceted along (0 0 1) plane.

A combinatorial approach was used to present primary neurons with a large library of topographical features in the form of micropatterned substrate for high-throughput screening of physical neural-guidance cues that can effectively promote different aspects of neuronal development, including axon and dendritic outgrowth. Notably, the neuronal-guidance capability of specific features was automatically identified using a customized image processing software, thus significantly increasing the screening throughput with minimal subjective bias. Our results indicate that the anisotropic topographies promote axonal and in some cases dendritic extension relative to the isotropic topographies, while dendritic branching showed preference to plain substrates over the microscale features. The results from this work can be readily applied towards engineering novel biomaterials with precise surface topography that can serve as guidance conduits for neuro-regenerative applications. This novel topographical screening strategy combined with the automated processing capability can also be used for high-throughput screening of chemical or genetic regulatory factors in primary neurons.

A versatile capacitive tactile sensor based on transparent flexible materials is developed in a simple and low-cost fabrication process. The sensor shows an excellent sensitivity (S=2.05 N-1), and is highly sensitive to the load as low as about 3 mN. Moreover, it exhibits a prominent resolution. The excellent device performance is attributed to the creative design of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) polymer layer, used as the structural material of the sensor, in which each sensing section acting as a sensor unit is a concave square with hemispheric micro-structured PDMS arrays. Meanwhile, other sections without any PDMS arrays serving as perfect natural wall-barriers can make each sensor unit separated effectively.