Search

Mutations in the cell membrane thyroid hormone (TH) transporter monocarboxylate transporter (MCT) 8 produce severe neuropsychomotor defects and characteristic thyroid function test (TFT) abnormalities. Two children with mild neurological phenotypes and normal TFTs were found to harbor MCT8 gene variants of unknown significance (VUS), MCT8-R388Q that occurred de novo, and MCT8-Q212E. Normal TH transport and action in fibroblasts of MCT8-R388Q was demonstrated in a novel nonradioactive functional assay measuring the intracellular TH availability after L-T3 treatment. No genotype-phenotype correlation was found in additional family members carrying MCT8-Q212E. For the field of MCT8 deficiency, it is important to assess the significance of MCT8 gene VUS.

ABSTRACT MALDI-TOF MS is well-recognized for single microbial identification and widely used in research and clinical fields due to its specificity, speed of analysis, and low cost of consumables. Multiple commercial platforms have been developed and approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization–time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) has been used for microbial identification. However, microbes can present as a specific microbiota, and detection and classification remain a challenge. Here, we constructed several specific microbiotas and tried to classify them using MALDI-TOF MS. Different concentrations of nine bacterial strains (belonging to eight genera) constituted 20 specific microbiotas. Using MALDI-TOF MS, the overlap spectrum of each microbiota (MS spectra of nine bacterial strains with component percentages) could be classified by hierarchical clustering analysis (HCA). However, the real MS spectrum of a specific microbiota was different than that of the overlap spectrum of component bacteria. The MS spectra of specific microbiota showed excellent repeatability and were easier to classify by HCA, with an accuracy close to 90%. These results indicate that the widely used MALDI-TOF MS identification method for individual bacteria can be expanded to classification of microbiota. IMPORTANCE MALDI-TOF MS can be used to classify specific model microbiota. The actual MS spectrum of the model microbiota was not a simple superposition of every single bacterium in a certain proportion but had a specific spectral fingerprint. The specificity of this fingerprint can enhance the accuracy of microbiota classification.

Primula filchnerae, an endangered plant endemic to China, has drawn people’s attention in recent years due to its ornamental value in flower. It was rarely recorded since being described in 1902, but it was rediscovered in 2009 and is now known from a limited number of sites located in Hubei and Shaanxi Provinces. Since the species is still poorly known, a number of unanswered questions arise related to it: How has P. filchnerae responded to past climate change and how might it respond in the future? Why was P. filchmerae so rarely collected during the past century? We assembled geographic coordinates for P. filchnerae through the field surveys and website searches, and then used a maximum entropy model (MaxEnt) to simulate its potential suitable distribution in six periods with varied carbon emission levels by combining bioclimatic and environmental factors. MaxEnt showed that Min Temperature of the Coldest Month (bio6) and Precipitation of the Coldest Quarter (bio19) affected P. filchnerae’s distribution most, with an aggregate contribution >60% and suitable ranges above −5 °C and below 40 mm, respectively. We also analyzed potential habitat distribution in various periods with differing impacts of climate change compared to today’s suitable habitats, and in most cases, Shaanxi and Sichuan remained the most stable areas and with possible expansion to the north under various carbon emission scenarios, but the 2050s SSP5-8.5 scenario may be an exception. Moreover, we used MaxEnt to evaluate population shifts, with various scenarios indicating that geometric center would be concentrated in Sichuan Province in China. Finally, conservation strategies are suggested, including the creation of protected areas, long-term monitoring, raising public awareness of plant conservation, situ conservation measures, assisted migration, and species introduction. This study demonstrates how P. filchnerae may have adapted to changes in different periods and provides a scientific basis for germplasm conservation and management.

This study investigated the role of HSP70 in modulating intestinal γδ T cells' Th17 response in Trichinella spiralis-induced PI-IBS mice model.The intestinal HSP70's expression and mRNA level were measured by Western blot and RT-PCR. The intestinal γδ T cell's morphological changes were analyzed using immunofluorescence staining and confocal laser scanning microscope. The pro-inflammatory cytokines' level was detected by ELISA. The isolated and purified γδ T cells were pre-incubated with HSP70 and their functions including proliferation, apoptosis, activation and production of IL-17 were also detected.Heat treatment augmented intestinal HSP70 expression and alleviated the clinical presentations in PI-IBS mice. Meanwhile, intestinal γδ T cells and local IL-17 level were increased by pre-induction of HSP70. HSP70 promoted the proliferation of PI-IBS mice's intestinal γδ T cells, inhibited the apoptosis and stimulated these cells to secret IL-17 rather than IFN-γ.Our results suggest that HSP70 plays a protective role via up-regulating intestinal γδ T cell's Th17 response in PI-IBS mice.

A more sensitive, low-cost, and miniaturized three-channel smartphone-based aptamer sensor using resonance light scattering (RLS) as a readout method was designed to in-situ detect multiplexed antibiotics in water. In this system, three unlabeled aptamers were used to respectively recognize the targets and a smartphone with a three-channel design was the detector to obtain the corresponding RLS signal of aggregation AuNPs caused by depressed aptamer. The strategy simultaneously tested tobramycin (TOB), kanamycin (KANA), and alternariol (AOH) to verify the sensor performance using three-channel design. This sensor obtained good limit of detection of 24.23 ng/mL for TOB, and 58.03 ng/mL, and 0.18 μg/mL for KANA and AOH, linear ranges of 50–300 ng/mL, 200–1000 ng/mL, and 0.75–3.5 μg/mL, respectively. The recoveries for TOB ranged from 91.6%–105.4% and the coefficient of variation for the relative standard deviation was less than 10%. Compared with commonly used bio-sensors, this sensor has advantages of high-throughput assay and simple operation and realized three antibiotics detection using RLS as a signal output based on a miniaturized smartphone with a three-channel design.

Low-cost uncooled infrared thermal cameras show a large application potential for the rapid diagnosis of pig diseases. However, with the increase in ambient temperature and absorbing infrared radiation, almost all of them produce severe thermal drift and provide poor accuracy of temperature measurement. In addition, the unknown surface emissivity on a pig’s body can also bring measuring errors. In this article, an uncooled infrared thermal camera with an accuracy of 3°C was used to develop a smartphone-based sensor for measuring the pig’s temperature. Based on this sensor, we proposed a system combined with internal calibration for real-time compensation of the thermal drift and altering spectrum for eliminating the influence of unknown surface emissivity to improve the accuracy of temperature measurement. After calibration, the accuracy of this sensor was improved from 3 to 0.3°C without knowing the emissivity. We used this sensor to successfully identify pigs with abnormal temperatures on a livestock farm, which indicated that our proposed methods may be widely employed for rapid temperature screening and diagnosis of pig diseases.

In this work, the temperature dependence of diamond GeV centers that were formed by germanium (Ge) ion implantation and annealed in a hydrogen atmosphere at 1000 °C was investigated by photoluminescence spectroscopy. It was found that the intensity of the GeV centers had a thermal quenching effect with the increase in temperature, and the activation energy was fitted at 62.32 meV. Then, the laser power dependence was mainly dependent on radiative recombination so that the diamond GeV center intensity increased with the laser power. Furthermore, the electron-phonon coupling and thermal softening effect were found between Ge ions and vacancies chemical bonds, which made the GeV center peak position red shift with the increase of temperature. Finally, the FWHM of the diamond GeV center exhibited both homogeneous (Lorentzian component) and inhomogeneous broadening (Gaussian component) at 80–280 K, indicating that the Lorentzian component was dominant in the FWHM of the GeV center. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To improve the mess-specific activity of Co supported on zeolite catalysts in Fischer–Tropsch (FT) synthesis, the Co-MCM-22 catalyst was prepared by simply grinding the MCM-22 with nanosized Co3O4 prefabricated by the thermal decomposition of the Co(II)-glycine complex. It is found that this novel strategy is effective for improving the mess-specific activity of Co catalysts in FT synthesis compared to the impregnation method. Moreover, the ion exchange and calcination sequence of MCM-22 has a significant influence on the dispersion, particle size distribution, and reduction degree of Co. The Co-MCM-22 prepared by the physical grinding of prefabricated Co3O4 and H+-type MCM-22 without a further calcination process exhibits a moderate interaction between Co3O4 and MCM-22, which results in the higher reduction degree, higher dispersion, and higher mess-specific activity of Co. Thus, the newly developed method is more controllable and promising for the synthesis of metal-supported catalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To analyze the effects of Dan Huang Ming Mu Recipe (DHMMR) (a pharmaceutical preparation from herbs and having the function of replenishing vital essence, removing heat, promoting blood circulation and excreting pathogenic water) on diabetic retinopathy (DR) after retinal laser photocoagulation through regulating the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF). Methods: Forty male Brown Norway (BN) rats were randomly divided into blank group (group A, 10 BN rats) and model group (30 BN rats). DR models were induced by 40 mg/kg streptozotocin (STZ) and the body weight and blood glucose of rats were monitored. After 12-week injection, fluorescein fundus angiography (FFA) and histopathological examination were detected to confirm the successful establishment of DR models. Subsequently, the right eyes of model group rats were conducted retinal laser photocoagulation with the left eyes having no retinal laser photocoagulation and rats of the model group were randomly divided into group B (the model control group), group C (the positive control group), and group D (the DHMMR group), with 10 rats in each group. Rats of the group A and the group B were given vehicle, and the group C were given calcium dobesilate suspension by gavage, and the group D were given DHMMR by gavage. After 4-week gavage, FFA was carried out to observe the fundus microvascular change. Then, the rats were sacrificed to do histopathological examinations and the serum levels of P-selectin, cAMP, cGMP, and the relative expression of the protein of VEGF and PEDF in retina were detected. Results: After 12-week STZ injection, the blood glucose of the model group were pronouncedly higher than the blank group (P < 0.01). Fundus micro-hemangioma changes were observed in the rats of the model group through FFA, and the rats of the blank group did not see any changes. The pictures of HE staining showed that the retinal structure of the model group was more disordered than the blank group. After 4-week gavage, treatments with DHMMR showed dramatic reduction of serum levels of P- selectin, cAMP and cGMP compared with the group B (P < 0.01). FFA and histopathological examinations of DHMMR-treated rats revealed significantly suppression of retinal edema, fundus microvascular destruction and retinal destruction distinguishing from the group B. And the relative expression of VEGF protein of the group D and the group A was markedly lower than that of the group B (P < 0.01). The relative expression of PEDF protein of the group D and the group A was dramatically higher than that of the group B to the contrary (P < 0.01). Conclusions: DHMMR demonstrates pronounced suppressive effects on the progression of DR after retinal laser photocoagulation, through down-regulating VEGF and up- regulating PEDF. Keywords: Diabetic retinopathy (DR), Dan Huang Ming Mu Recipe (DHMMR), Reinal laser photocoagulation, Brown Norway (BN) rats, Streptozotocin (STZ), Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), Pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF)

The family of high mobility group box (HMGB) proteins participates in various biological processes including immunity, inflammation, as well as cancer formation and progression. However, its role in thyroid cancer remains to be clarified. We performed quantitative RT-PCR (qRT-PCR), western blot, enzyme-linked immunosorbent, immunohistochemistry, and immunofluorescence assays to evaluate the expression level and subcellular location of HMGB3. The effects of HMGB3 knockdown on malignant biological behaviors of thyroid cancer were determined by cell proliferation assays, cell cycle and apoptosis assays, and transwell chamber migration and invasion assays. Differential expression genes (DEGs) altered by HMGB3 were analyzed using the Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA) and TRRUST v2 database. HMGB3 correlated pathways predicted by bioinformatic analysis were then confirmed using western blot, co-immunoprecipitation, dual-luciferase reporter assay, and flow cytometry. We found that HMGB3 is overexpressed and its downregulation inhibits cell viability, promotes cell apoptosis and cell cycle arrest, and suppresses cell migration and invasion in thyroid cancer. In PTC, both tissue and serum levels of HMGB3 are elevated and are correlated with lymph node metastasis and advanced tumor stage. Mechanistically, we observed the translocation of HMGB3 in PTC, induced at least partially by hypoxia. Cytoplasmic HMGB3 activates nucleic-acid-mediated TLR3/NF-κB signaling and extracellular HMGB3 interacts with the transmembrane TREM1 receptor in PTC. This study demonstrates the oncogenic role of HMGB3 cytoplasmic and extracellular translocation in papillary thyroid cancers; we recommend its future use as a potential circulating biomarker and therapeutic target for PTC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]