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Objective The long non-coding RNA plays an important role in inflammation and autoimmune diseases. The aim of this study is to screen and identify abnormally expressed lncRNAs in peripheral blood neutrophils of SLE patients as novel biomarkers and to explore the relationship between lncRNAs levels and clinical features, disease activity and organ damage. Methods RNA-seq technology was used to screen differentially expressed lncRNAs in neutrophils from SLE patients and healthy donors. Based on the results of screening, candidate lncRNA levels in neutrophils of 88 SLE patients, 35 other connective disease controls, and 78 healthy controls were qualified by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Results LncRNA expression profiling revealed 360 up-regulated lncRNAs and 224 down-regulated lncRNAs in neutrophils of SLE patients when compared with healthy controls. qPCR assay validated that the expression of Lnc-FOSB-1:1 was significantly decreased in neutrophils of SLE patients when compared with other CTD patients or healthy controls. It correlated negatively with SLE Disease Activity Index 2000 (SLEDAI-2K) score (r = −0.541, P < 0.001) and IFN scores (r = −0.337, P = 0.001). More importantly, decreased Lnc-FOSB-1:1 expression was associated with lupus nephritis. Lower baseline Lnc-FOSB-1:1 level was associated with higher risk of future renal involvement (within an average of 2.6 years) in patients without renal disease at baseline (P = 0.019). Conclusion LncRNA expression profile in neutrophils of SLE patients revealed differentially expressed lncRNAs. Validation study on Lnc-FOSB-1:1 suggest that it is a potential biomarker for prediction of near future renal involvement.

Osteolysis around the prosthesis and subsequent aseptic loosening are the main causes of prosthesis failure. Inflammation due to wear particles and osteoclast activation are the key factors in osteolysis and are also potential targets for the treatment of osteolysis. However, it is not clear whether puerarin can inhibit chronic inflammation and alleviate osteolysis. In this study, we investigated the effect of puerarin on Ti particle‐induced inflammatory osteolysis in vivo in rat femoral models and in vitro in receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa‐B ligand (RANKL)‐induced osteoclast activation models. Our in vivo results showed that puerarin significantly inhibited Ti particle‐induced osteolysis and the expression of matrix metallopeptidase 9 (MMP‐9), nuclear factor of activated T cells 1 (NFATc1), tumour necrosis factor (TNF)‐α and interleukin (IL)‐6. In vitro, puerarin prevented RANKL‐induced osteoclast differentiation, bone resorption and F‐actin ring formation in a concentration‐dependent manner. Furthermore, puerarin decreased the phosphorylation of p65 and prevented p65 moving from the cytoplasm to the nucleus. Puerarin also reduced the expression of osteoclast‐specific factors and inhibited the inflammatory response. In conclusion, our study proves that puerarin can block the NF‐κB signalling pathway to inhibit osteoclast activation and inflammatory processes, which provides a new direction for the treatment of osteolysis‐related diseases.

The application of composite insulators in Inner Mongolia Power Grid was introduced. A batch of composite insulators with different voltage levels, different operating years and different manufacturers were selected, and their appearance, electrical, mechanical and material properties were tested. Based on the test results, the effectiveness of each test item was obtained, the characteristics of operating composite insulator in Inner Mongolia Power Grid was analyzed, and the operation and maintenance recommendations of the composite insulator were put forward.

Simultaneous, parallel or double-sided machining can increase the metal-removal-rate (MRR) of hard-to-cut materials. This paper presents a direct-drive duplex-face-turning (DFT) machine for manufacturing thin-walled disk-like components characterized by a very large diameter-to-thick ratio, which allows simultaneous cutting of opposite sides to improve productivity and mitigate workpiece deformations/vibrations during machining. The unique dynamic characteristics on the cutting interface between the thin-walled disk and the two cutters, however, present some challenges in chatter prediction and process parameter optimization. To address these challenges, a multi-dimensional chatter stability analysis method based on a conceptually straightforward modeling approach in terms of the major oblique cutting parameters is presented, where the dynamic effects of both the workpiece and two cutters in addition to the insert geometries are taken into considerations in the formulation of the DFT process. The proposed chatter stability analysis is numerically illustrated and experimentally validated. The relative merit of the direct-drive DFT process has been experimentally evaluated for machining thin-walled hard-to-machine compressor disks by comparing symmetric and non-symmetric DFT operations with single-sided face-turning, along with an example that illustrates a quick guide for nonsymmetrical DFT in the specified speed range.

Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) from gram-negative bacteria was found to be involved in the decrease in laying performance in goose flocks with high stocking density during summer months. LPS injection delayed the increase in the laying rate and altered hierarchical follicle morphology. While there is evidence that LPS exerts suppressive effects on goose reproduction, the time course effects of LPS on the hypothalamus-pituitary-ovary (HPG) axis remain elusive. In this study, we investigated the expression of genes in the HPG axis and the plasma gonadotrophin hormone concentrations in breeding geese at 0, 6, 12, 24, and 36 h after intravenous injection with LPS. The results showed that LPS treatment enhanced and suppressed expression of hypothalamic gonadotropin-inhibiting hormone (GnIH) and gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH) mRNA, respectively, and similar effects were observed on the mRNA expression of their receptors, GnIHR and GnRHR, in the pituitary. LPS treatment transiently increased follicle FSH&beta, mRNA expression at 12 h and exerted no significant effect on LH&beta, mRNA expression in the pituitary. Regardless of the expression of FSH&beta, and LH&beta, plasma follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) concentrations were significantly increased during 24&ndash, 36 h after LPS treatment. In the ovary, StAR and Cyp11a1 were mainly expressed in the granulosa layer (GL) of hierarchical follicles, while Cyp17a1 and Cyp19a1 were mainly expressed in white follicles (WFs) and yellowish follicles (YFs), and to a lesser extent in the theca layer (TL). After LPS treatment, the mRNA levels of Cyp11a1 in the GLs, Cyp17a1 in the WFs and TL, and Cyp19a1 in the WFs, YFs, and TL were significantly decreased. However, LPS treatment transiently upregulated StAR expression at 12 h. These results indicate that the exposure of laying geese to LPS may impair the HPG axis and disturb ovarian steroidogenesis. Our research provides new insights into reproductive dysfunction caused by LPS and the immune challenge in birds.

For a linear response in a competitive bioaffinity assay of a ligand, an optimized system requires CRT greater than 3-fold of CPT, CPT greater than 50-fold of KdR, and KdR greater than 260-fold of KdX, based on chemometrics for bioaffinity interactions (CRT and CPT are the concentrations of the probe and the biomacromolecule and KdX and KdR are the dissociation constants of complexes with the ligand and the probe, respectively). These criteria were tested for a competitive bioaffinity assay of biotin. The probe was a conjugate of monomethyl-poly-(ethylene glycol)-5000, 1-naphthyl-ethylenediamine and biotin. The complex of the probe with streptavidin was quantified by the fluorescence at 430 nm based on Forster resonance energy transfer with tryptophan residues as the intrinsic donors. By fluorometric titration, KdR of the probe was 5.4 ± 1.4 nM (n = 4). At 1.5 μM probe plus 0.50 μM streptavidin, there was a linear decrease of fluorescence at 430 nm for biotin concentrations ranging from ∼36 to ∼500 nM; the linear response slope was consistent with that for the fluorescence at 430 nm to the concentration of the complex of streptavidin and the probe. Biotin at 81 and 414 nM was estimated with variation coefficients below 7%. These proposed criteria may be universally applicable for linear responses in competitive assays of ligands.

A fluorometric titration approach was proposed for the calibration of the quantity of monoclonal antibody (mcAb) via the quench of fluorescence of tryptophan residues. It applied to purified mcAbs recognizing tryptophan-deficient epitopes, haptens nonfluorescent at 340 nm under the excitation at 280 nm, or fluorescent haptens bearing excitation valleys nearby 280 nm and excitation peaks nearby 340 nm to serve as Förster-resonance-energy-transfer (FRET) acceptors of tryptophan. Titration probes were epitopes/haptens themselves or conjugates of nonfluorescent haptens or tryptophan-deficient epitopes with FRET acceptors of tryptophan. Under the excitation at 280 nm, titration curves were recorded as fluorescence specific for the FRET acceptors or for mcAbs at 340 nm. To quantify the binding site of a mcAb, a universal model considering both static and dynamic quench by either type of probes was proposed for fitting to the titration curve. This was easy for fitting to fluorescence specific for the FRET acceptors but encountered nonconvergence for fitting to fluorescence of mcAbs at 340 nm. As a solution, (a) the maximum of the absolute values of first-order derivatives of a titration curve as fluorescence at 340 nm was estimated from the best-fit model for a probe level of zero, and (b) molar quantity of the binding site of the mcAb was estimated via consecutive fitting to the same titration curve by utilizing such a maximum as an approximate of the slope for linear response of fluorescence at 340 nm to quantities of the mcAb. This fluorometric titration approach was proved effective with one mcAb for six-histidine and another for penicillin G.

To characterize streptavidin immobilization on magnetic submicron particles (MSPs), residual streptavidin after magnetic removal of immobilized streptavidin was quantified with N-biotinyl- N′-(1-naphthyl)-ethylenediamine (BNEDA) based on Forster resonance energy transfer. Residual BNEDA after magnetic removal of bound BNEDA was measured by its own fluorescence. Streptavidin was immobilized at about 12 mg per gram of MSPs and easily retained over 50% of its original activity. These assays facilitated optimized streptavidin immobilization on MSPs.

To determine inhibition constant (K i) of tight-binding inhibitor, the putative method estimated an apparent K i from the response of initial rates to total concentrations of the inhibitor considering its depletion during binding for conversion into the true K i, but was impractical with glutathione S-transferase of sophisticated kinetics. A fluorometric titration assay of dissociation constant (K d) was thus proposed. Schistosoma japonicum glutathione S-transferase (SjGST) action on a nonfluorescent divalent pro-inhibitor and glutathione yielded a divalent product in active site to act as a tight-binding inhibitor, whose binding quenched fluorescence of SjGST at 340 nm under the excitation at 280 nm. K d was estimated from the response of fluorescence of SjGST at 340 nm to total concentrations of the divalent product considering its depletion during binding. By fluorometric titration assay, K d of two tested nonfluorescent divalent products varied from subnanomolar to nanomolar, but both were resistant to change of SjGST levels and consistent with their apparent K i estimated via the putative method. Hence, fluorometric titration assay of K d of nonfluorescent tight-binding inhibitors/ligands was effective to GST and may be universally applicable to common enzymes/proteins; affinities of tight-binding inhibitors of GST can be approximated by their apparent K i estimated via the putative method.

Along with the growing energy consumption of modern society, the environmental protection of power system becomes more important. In this paper, the environmental impacts on thermal power plants are considered in optimal power flow, and a new method to determine the weight of objective function is proposed. Thermal power plant's geographical location, weather conditions and the impact of population factors are taken into consideration to form relevant impact factors which are translated into meaningful penalty factors through the emissions fine, and then the multi-objective optimization problem could be translated into a single objective optimization problem. A program based on primal-dual interior point method is used to solve the problem and an IEEE30 bus system is used to verify the validity of the algorithm.

In this paper, the characteristics and harm of the impact that natural disasters could make on power system were analyzed. Furthermore, the natural disaster early warning system for power system is proposed, and details of the four parts of the system are introduced respectively. The authors focused on the information sources of early warning monitor, the three steps of risk assessment, the determination of warning grade and five facets of early warning response. This paper will provide theoretical support for the future construction of a natural disaster early warning system for power system.