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Abstracts: Background: Patients with psoriasis may experience an exacerbation in symptoms following COVID-19 infection. After abandoning 'zero COVID' strategies, China experienced a surge of Omicron infections. Objectives: We aimed to investigate psoriasis exacerbation in psoriatic patients with COVID-19, following treatment with three different biologics, adalimumab, secukinumab, and ixekizumab. Methods: We performed a prospective study (n = 209) at our hospital between November 01, 2022, and February 15, 2023. We defined △ PASI as post-COVID-19 PASI minus pre-COVID-19 PASI. Two endpoints were set in this study. △ PASI >0 was defined as exacerbation of psoriasis after infection. △ PASI >3 was defined as a severe exacerbation of psoriasis symptoms after infection. In addition, serum OAS1, OAS2, and OAS3 were also assessed. Results: Results showed that the severity of psoriasis can worsen after COVID-19 infection, and a smaller proportion of patients taking biologics developed worsening psoriasis compared to those not using biologics; however, only the patients taking ixekizumab demonstrated a statistically significant difference (p

While a rich set of putative cis -regulatory sequences involved in mouse fetal development has been annotated recently based on chromatin accessibility and histone modification patterns, delineating their role in developmentally regulated gene expression continues to be challenging. To fill this gap, we mapped chromatin contacts between gene promoters and distal sequences genome-wide in seven mouse fetal tissues, and for one of them, across six developmental stages. We identified 248,620 long-range chromatin interactions centered at 14,138 protein-coding genes and characterized their tissue-to-tissue variations as well as developmental dynamics. Integrative analysis of the interactome with previous epigenome and transcriptome datasets from the same tissues revealed a strong correlation between the chromatin contacts and chromatin state at distal enhancers, as well as gene expression patterns at predicted target genes. We predicted target genes of 15,098 candidate enhancers, and used them to annotate target genes of homologous candidate enhancers in the human genome that harbor risk variants of human diseases. We present evidence that schizophrenia and other adult disease risk variants are frequently found in fetal enhancers, providing support for the hypothesis of fetal origins of adult diseases.

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is one of the most common inflammatory skin diseases with complex pathogenesis involving epidermal barrier dysfunction, skin microbiome abnormalities and type-2-skewed immune dysregulation. Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) is a transcription factor that plays critical roles in various biological processes. However, the role of STAT3 in epidermal keratinocytes in AD remains unclear. In this study, we generated an epidermal keratinocyte-specific Stat3-deficient mouse strain (termed Stat3 cKO mice). After topical 2,4-dinitrochlorobenzene (DNCB) treatment, Stat3 cKO mice developed worsened AD-like skin inflammation with increased Ki67+ cells, decreased filaggrin and loricrin expression, and downregulated S100A9 and LL37. The dominant microbial population in Stat3 cKO mice changed from Ralstonia to Staphylococcus. DNCB-treated Stat3 cKO mice displayed more infiltrating type-2 inflammatory cells, including mast cells, eosinophils, and CD4+T cells, accompanied by increased skin IL-4 and serum IgE levels. Moreover, thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP), mainly produced by keratinocytes, was highly expressed in the ear skin of Stat3 cKO mice and chemoattracted more TSLPR+ cells. TSLP blockade significantly alleviated DNCB-induced AD-like skin inflammation in Stat3 cKO mice. Thus, epidermal keratinocyte-specific STAT3 deficiency can aggravate AD-like skin inflammation in mice, possibly through TSLP dysregulation.

BackgroundExosomes participate in intercellular communication and act as important molecular vehicles in the regulation of numerous physiological and pathological processes, including autoimmune development. The role of circulating exosomes in the development of autoimmune uveitis is unknown. In this study, using the rat model of experimental autoimmune uveitis, which has clinical and histological features of pan uveitis in man, we evaluated the immunoregulatory function of circulating exosomes.MethodsExperimental autoimmune uveitis was induced in Lewis rats either immunised with interphotoreceptor retinoid-binding protein R16 peptides or injected with activated R16-specific T cells. The disease incidence and severity were examined by indirect fundoscopy and flow cytometry. Circulating exosomes were isolated from peripheral blood of naïve and Day 14 R16 immunised Lewis rats. The effect of exosomes on specific T cells was evaluated by R16-specific T cell proliferation, cytokine production and recurrent uveitis induction.ResultsCirculating exosomes derived from active immunised uveitis rats selectively inhibited immune responses of R16-specific T cells in vitro. Vaccination of naïve rats with these exosomes reduced the incidence of recurrent uveitis in an antigen-specific manner. Antigen-specific uveitogenic T cells reduced IFN-γ production and increased IL-10 after vaccination.ConclusionsCirculating exosomes in autoimmune uveitis have the potential to be a novel treatment for recurrent autoimmune uveitis.

Fe40Cr25Ni25Al5Ti5 (atom fraction/%) medium entropy alloys (MEAs) were prepared by a vacuum arc-melting furnace with a water-cooled copper mold, and the microstructure, mechanical properties and strengthening deformation mechanism of the alloy in solid solution and annealed states were studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy spectrometry(EDS), X-ray diffractometer (XRD), transmission electron microscopy(TEM) and tensile testing machine.The results show that the Fe40Cr25Ni25Al5Ti5 medium entropy alloy has FCC+BCC1+BCC2 triple-phase organization of solid solution state, with yield strength of 520 MPa, fracture strength of 852 MPa and elongation of 13%. After annealing at 600 ℃ for 2 h, the phase composition of the alloy has no change, the size of granular BCC2 phase increases, and the volume fraction of FCC zone and BCC zone has no change significantly. The yield strength is 668 MPa, the fracture strength is 1029 MPa, and the elongation is reduced to 9%. The strength of Fe40Cr25Ni25Al5Ti5 alloy originates from the synergistic effect of coherent strengthening, solid solution strengthening and phase boundary strengthening. Dislocation slips are the main deformation mechanism of alloy.

Carotenoids are an important component of the human diet, and fruit is a primary source of carotenoids. The synthesis and regulation of carotenoids in fruit are important contributors to the formation of fruit quality. In China, strawberry is one of the main seasonal fruits grown in the winter. Previous studies have shown that light has a significant effect on the metabolism of anthocyanins, sugars, and polyphenols in strawberry. However, the understanding of the role of light in regulating the metabolism of carotenoids in strawberry remains limited. This study investigated the effects of blue, red, yellow-green, and white light on carotenoid metabolism in strawberry. Blue light treatment promoted the synthesis of multiple carotenoids, including lutein, compared with the other three treatment groups. The RNA sequencing data revealed that blue light treatment promoted the expression of lycopene ε-cyclase (LCYE), and the transient overexpression of LCYE in strawberry fruit promoted lutein accumulation in strawberry. Overall, the results suggest that blue light can promote the synthesis of lutein in strawberry by inducing the expression of LCYE.

Constructing surface micro/nano structures and preparing nano-coatings could endow the material surface with special performance. In this work, the special functions of surface micro/nano structures, as well as the main methods and processing technologies for preparing surface micro/nano structures and nano-coatings were mainly reviewed. Firstly, the applications of surface micro/nano structures in superhydrophobicity, optical superlens, friction and wear were introduced. Secondly, the research progress of lithography technology, laser processing technology, self-assembly technology, additive manufacturing technology (3D printing), processing methods of surface micro/nano structures and nano-coatings, such as deposition method and sol-gel method, was described, respectively. Finally, the problems and development trend of different preparation methods of surface micro/nano structures and nano-coatings were summarized.

Ripened Pu’er tea was made from the sun-dried leave of large-leaf tea (Camellia sinensis (Linn.) var. assamica (Masters) Kitamura) by natural fermentation, pure culture fermentation with Rhizopus arrhizus, or mixed culture fermentation with Saccharomyces cerevisiae, R. arrhizus and Aspergillus niger in proportions of 2:1:2, 2:2:2 and 2:3:2. The composition and content of aroma substances in Pu’er tea were analyzed by simultaneous distillation extraction (SDE) coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The results showed that there were significant differences in the types and relative contents of aroma substances among all tea samples. The relative contents of terpenols in the three co-fermented Pu’er tea samples were higher than that in the naturally or R. arrhizus fermented ones, and had unique flowery, fruity and caramel-like aromas. The relative content of alcohols in the co-fermented Pu’er tea with yeast, R. arrhizus and A. niger in a ratio of 2:1:2 was 47.32%, which was significantly higher than that in the other samples (P < 0.05). The relative content of methoxybenzene in Pu’er tea obtained by natural fermentation and pure culture fermentation, having an aged aroma, were higher than that obtained by the three collaborative fermentation methods. The relative content of methoxybenzene in Pu’er tea fermented with pure R. arrhizus was as high as 31.24%, which was significantly higher than that obtained by the other fermentation methods (P < 0.05). Therefore, co-fermentation with beneficial microorganisms can improve the quality of Pu’er tea and endow it with unique flowery and fruity aromas.

Twin boundaries (TBs) are effective sinks for solutes to segregate, as they may drive the structural transformation and therefore tailor the properties of magnesium alloys. In this study, a systematic investigation on the TB segregation energy (Eseg) has been performed for the {101¯2} and {101¯1} TBs by first-principles calculations. The segregation of 19 solute atoms (X: Be, Si, Ge, Zn, Ga, Al, Ag, Sb, Ti, Cd, Sn, Li, Bi, Zr, In, Pb, Na, Ca, and Sr) has been considered at the TBs. The solute atoms smaller than Pb are prone to occupying the compression sites of TBs (exception: Ti and Zr for the {101¯1} twin), while the ones larger than Pb prefer to locate at the extension sites. Further inspections suggest that the segregation of solute atoms into preferable sites can be attributed to the combined effect of bond strengthening and alleviated lattice distortion in the vicinity of TBs. For both of the TBs, the Eseg decreases approximately linearly with an increase in the size deviations (equilibrium volume and atomic radius) between Mg and solute atoms, implying the increased propensity for segregation and the enhanced stability of twins. Considering the segregation potency and solubility, the strengthening effects of the 19 solute atoms on TBs are evaluated. Our calculated results may provide guidance for future design of novel Mg alloys based on TB strengthening.