Quantitative and site-specific detection of inosine modification in RNA by acrylonitrile labeling-mediated elongation stalling

RNA molecules contain diverse modifications that play crucial roles in a wide variety of biological processes. Inosine is one of the most prevalent modifications in RNA and dysregulation of inosine is correlated with many human diseases. Herein, we established an acrylonitrile labeling-mediated elongation stalling (ALES) method for quantitative and site-specific detection of inosine in RNA from biological samples. In ALES method, inosine is selectively cyanoethylated with acrylonitrile to form N1-cyanoethylinosine (ce1I) through a Michael addition reaction. The N1-cyanoethyl group of ce1I compromises the hydrogen bond between ce1I and other nucleobases, leading to the stalling of reverse transcription at original inosine site. This specific property of stalling at inosine site could be evaluated by subsequent real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR). With the proposed ALES method, we found the significantly increased level of inosine at position Chr1:63117284 of Ino80dos RNA of multiple tissues from sleep-deprived mice compared to the control mice. This is the first report on the investigation of inosine modification in sleep-deprived mice, which may open up new direction for deciphering insomnia from RNA modifications. In addition, we found the decreased level of inosine at GluA2 Q/R site (Chr4:157336723) in glioma tissues, indicating the decreased level of inosine at GluA2 Q/R site may serve as potential indicator for the diagnosis of glioma. Taken together, the proposed ALES method is capable of quantitative and site-specific detection of inosine in RNA, which provides a valuable tool to uncover the functions of inosine in human diseases.

Aerobic Treadmill Exercise Upregulates Epidermal Growth Factor Levels and Improves Learning and Memory in d-galactose-Induced Aging in a Mouse Model

Previous studies have demonstrated that exercise improves cognitive function in Alzheimer's disease mice but the exact mechanism needs further studies. This research aimed to study the effects of aerobic treadmill exercise on epidermal growth factor (EGF) levels and learning and memory in d-galactose-induced aging in a mouse model. Forty male Kunming mice were analyzed in this study and randomly divided into 4 groups: control (C group), aerobic exercise (AE group), d-galactose (D-gal group), and d-galactose + aerobic exercise (D-gal + AE group). The C and AE groups received a daily mid-scapular subcutaneous injection of .9% saline for 40 days. Mice in the D-gal and D-gal + AE groups were subcutaneously injected with d-galactose (1.25 mg/kg) once daily for 40 days. The mice in the AE group and D-gal + AE group completed 40 days of aerobic treadmill exercise. Learning and memory were evaluated by step-down tests. Specifically, 24 h after the behavioral test, blood was collected and brain tissue was extracted, and superoxide dismutase (SOD) and acetylcholinesterase activities were detected. The neurons in the CA1 and CA3 regions of the hippocampus were counted by Nissl staining. The number of EGF-positive cells was observed by immunohistochemical methods. In the learning test, the reaction time in the D-gal group increased significantly (P < .05), while the error numbers in the D-gal group tended to decrease compared with AE, D-gal + AE, and C groups. In the memory test, the latency of mice in the D-gal group was lower, while the error in this group was higher than in the other groups (P < .05). The activities of SOD and acetylcholinesterase were lower in the D-gal group than in the other groups (P < .05). The number of EGF-positive cells and neurons in the hippocampal CA1 and CA3 regions in the D-gal + AE group was higher compared to those in the D-gal group (P < .05), and lower in groups with mice that were not injected with d-galactose. Aerobic treadmill exercise inhibited SOD activity, increased EGF-positive cells, and decreased neuronal death and apoptosis, thereby improving learning and memory in the mouse model of d-galactose-induced aging.

Carbon Dioxide Microbubble Bursting Ionization Mass Spectrometry

Aerosols generated by bubble bursting have been proved to promote the extraction of analytes and have ultrahigh electric fields at their water-air interfaces. This study presented a simple and efficient ionization method, carbon dioxide microbubble bursting ionization (CDMBI), without the presence of an exogenous electric field (namely, zero voltage), by simulating the interfacial chemistries of sea spray aerosols. In CDMBI, microbubbles are generated in situ by continuous input of carbon dioxide into an aqueous solution containing low-concentration analytes. The microbubbles extract low- and high-polarity analytes as they pass through the aqueous solution. Upon reaching the water-air interface, these microbubbles burst to produce charged aerosol microdroplets with an average diameter of 260 μm (8.1-10.4 nL in volume), which are immediately transferred to a mass spectrometer for the detection and identification of extracted analytes. The above analytical process occurs every 4.2 s with a stable total ion chromatogram (relative standard deviation: 9.4%) recorded. CDMBI mass spectrometry (CDMBI-MS) can detect surface-active organic compounds in aerosol microdroplets, such as perfluorooctanoic acid, free fatty acids epoxidized by bubble bursting, sterols, and lecithins in soybean and egg, with the limit of detection reaching the level of fg/mL. In addition, coupling CDMBI-MS with an exogenous voltage yields relatively weak gains in ionization efficiency and sensitivity of analysis. The results suggested that CDMBI can simultaneously accomplish both bubbling extraction and microbubble bursting ionization. The mechanism of CDMBI involves bubbling extraction, proton transfer, inlet ionization, and electrospray-like ionization. Overall, CDMBI-MS can work in both positive and negative ion modes without necessarily needing an exogenous high electric field for ionization and quickly detect trace surface-active analytes in aqueous solutions.

Grafting with an invasive Xanthium strumarium improves tolerance and phytoremediation of native congener X. sibiricum to cadmium/copper/nickel tailings

Invasive plants could play an important role in the restoration of tailings, but their invasiveness limits their practical application. In this study, the phytoremediation potentials and invasive risks of an exotic invasive plant (Xanthium strumarium, LT), a native plant (X. sibiricum, CR), and combinations of inoculations (EG, with CR as the scion and LT as the rootstock; SG, with CR as both the scion and rootstock) were evaluated on Cd/Cu/Ni tailings. LT rootstock has a stronger nutrient and metal transport capacity, compared with CR. EG not only had higher biomass and Cd/Cu/Ni accumulation, but also abundant rhizosphere microbial communities. Hydroponic and common garden experiments showed that the growth and metal enrichment characteristics of EG are not inherited by plant offspring, which reduces the risk of the biological diffusion in the process of using exotic species. Transcriptome analysis shows that a large number of differentially-expressed genes in EG leaves and roots are involved in phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, secondary metabolite generation, and signal transduction. The genes induced in EG leaves, including cyclic nucleotide-gated ion channel, calcium-binding protein, and WRKY transcription factor, were found to be differentially expressed compared to CR. The genes induced in EG roots, included phenylalanine ammonia-lyase, cinnamoyl-CoA reductase, caffeoyl-CoA O-methyltransferase, and beta-glucosidase. We speculate that lignin and glucosinolates play an important role in the metal accumulation and transportation of EG. The results demonstrate that grafting with LT not only improved CR tolerance and accumulation of Cd, Cu, and Ni, but also created a beneficial microbial environment for plants in tailings. More importantly, grafting with LT did not enhance the invasiveness of CR. Our results provide an example of the safe use of invasive plants in the restoration of Cd/Cu/Ni tailings.

Oxidatively Damaged Nucleic Acid: Linking Diabetes and Cancer

Significance: Our current knowledge of the mechanism between diabetes and cancer is limited. Oxidatively damaged nucleic acid is considered a critical factor to explore the connections between these two diseases. Recent Advances: The link between diabetes mellitus and cancer has attracted increasing attention in recent years. Emerging evidence supports that oxidatively damaged nucleic acid caused by an imbalance between reactive oxygen species generation and elimination is a bridge connecting diabetes and cancer. 8-Oxo-7,8-dihydro-2'-deoxyguanosine and 8-oxo-7,8-dihydroguanosine assume important roles as biomarkers in assessing the relationship between oxidatively damaged nucleic acid and cancer. Critical Issues: The consequences of diabetes are extensive and may lead to the occurrence of cancer by influencing a combination of factors. At present, there is no direct evidence that diabetes causes cancer by affecting a single factor. Furthermore, the difficulty in controlling variables and differences in detection methods lead to poor reliability and repeatability of results, and there are no clear cutoff values for biomarkers to indicate cancer risk. Future Directions: A better understanding of connections as well as mechanisms between diabetes and cancer is still needed. Both diabetes and cancer are currently intractable diseases. Further exploration of the specific mechanism of oxidatively damaged nucleic acid in the connection between diabetes and cancer is urgently needed. In the future, it is necessary to further take oxidatively damaged nucleic acid as an entry point to provide new ideas for the diagnosis and treatment of diabetes and cancer. Experimental drugs targeting the repair process of oxidatively generated damage require an extensive preclinical evaluation and could ultimately provide new treatment strategies for these diseases. Antioxid. Redox Signal. 37, 1153-1167.

DGHNE: network enhancement-based method in identifying disease-causing genes through a heterogeneous biomedical network

The identification of disease-causing genes is critical for mechanistic understanding of disease etiology and clinical manipulation in disease prevention and treatment. Yet the existing approaches in tackling this question are inadequate in accuracy and efficiency, demanding computational methods with higher identification power. Here, we proposed a new method called DGHNE to identify disease-causing genes through a heterogeneous biomedical network empowered by network enhancement. First, a disease-disease association network was constructed by the cosine similarity scores between phenotype annotation vectors of diseases, and a new heterogeneous biomedical network was constructed by using disease-gene associations to connect the disease-disease network and gene-gene network. Then, the heterogeneous biomedical network was further enhanced by using network embedding based on the Gaussian random projection. Finally, network propagation was used to identify candidate genes in the enhanced network. We applied DGHNE together with five other methods into the most updated disease-gene association database termed DisGeNet. Compared with all other methods, DGHNE displayed the highest area under the receiver operating characteristic curve and the precision-recall curve, as well as the highest precision and recall, in both the global 5-fold cross-validation and predicting new disease-gene associations. We further performed DGHNE in identifying the candidate causal genes of Parkinson's disease and diabetes mellitus, and the genes connecting hyperglycemia and diabetes mellitus. In all cases, the predicted causing genes were enriched in disease-associated gene ontology terms and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathways, and the gene-disease associations were highly evidenced by independent experimental studies.

Maintenance of grafting reducing cadmium accumulation in soybean (Glycinemax) is mediated by DNA methylation

Cadmium (Cd) pollution in farmland soil increases the probability of wastage of land resources and compromised food safety. Grafting can change the absorption rates of elements in crops; however, there are few studies on grafting in bulk grain and cash crops. In this study, Glycine max was used as a scion and Luffa aegyptiaca as a rootstock for grafting experiments. The changes in total sulfur and Cd content in the leaves and grains of grafted species were determined for three consecutive generations, and the gene expression and DNA methylation status of the leaves were analyzed. The results show that grafting significantly reduced the total sulfur and Cd content in soybean leaves and grains; the Cd content in soybean leaves and grains decreased by >50 %. The plant's primary sulfur metabolism pathway was not significantly affected. Glucosinolates and DNA methylation may play important roles in reducing total sulfur and Cd accumulation. Notably, low sulfur and low Cd traits can be maintained over two generations. Our study establishes that grafting can reduce the total sulfur and Cd content in soybean, and these traits can be inherited. In summary, grafting technology can be used to prevent soybean from accumulating Cd in farmland soil. This provides a theoretical basis for grafting to cultivate crops with low Cd accumulation.

The Relationship between Teacher Autonomy and Mental Health in Primary and Secondary School Teachers: The Chain-Mediating Role of Teaching Efficacy and Job Satisfaction

Teachers in primary and secondary schools are frequently under pressure. Therefore, it is critical to understand the factors that affect their mental health. Autonomy was associated with mental health in the past. However, the mediating mechanism behind this relationship has received little attention. In this study, a chain mediation model was built to determine whether teaching efficacy and work satisfaction mediated the relationship between teacher autonomy and mental health. Our study enlisted the participation of 810 Chinese primary and secondary school teachers aged from 21 to 57 years old. They completed self-reporting measures of teacher autonomy, mental health, teaching efficacy, and job satisfaction. The results show that (1) teacher autonomy, teaching efficacy, job satisfaction, and mental health have strong positive relationships, (2) teaching efficacy and job satisfaction significantly mediate the relationship between autonomy and mental health, and (3) both teaching efficacy and job satisfaction play a chain-mediating role. The chain-mediating effect of teaching efficacy and job satisfaction plays an important role in promoting teachers' mental health. Teachers with a high level of autonomy tend to have high teaching efficacy, high job satisfaction, and improved mental health.

Meta-analysis of 16S rRNA microbial data identified alterations of the gut microbiota in COVID-19 patients during the acute and recovery phases

Background

Dozens of studies have demonstrated gut dysbiosis in COVID-19 patients during the acute and recovery phases. However, a consensus on the specific COVID-19 associated bacteria is missing. In this study, we performed a meta-analysis to explore whether robust and reproducible alterations in the gut microbiota of COVID-19 patients exist across different populations.

Methods

A systematic review was conducted for studies published prior to May 2022 in electronic databases. After review, we included 16 studies that comparing the gut microbiota in COVID-19 patients to those of controls. The 16S rRNA sequence data of these studies were then re-analyzed using a standardized workflow and synthesized by meta-analysis.

Results

We found that gut bacterial diversity of COVID-19 patients in both the acute and recovery phases was consistently lower than non-COVID-19 individuals. Microbial differential abundance analysis showed depletion of anti-inflammatory butyrate-producing bacteria and enrichment of taxa with pro-inflammatory properties in COVID-19 patients during the acute phase compared to non-COVID-19 individuals. Analysis of microbial communities showed that the gut microbiota of COVID-19 recovered patients were still in unhealthy ecostates.

Conclusions

Our results provided a comprehensive synthesis to better understand gut microbial perturbations associated with COVID-19 and identified underlying biomarkers for microbiome-based diagnostics and therapeutics.

Influences of Ag Addition on the Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Al-4Mg Alloy

In this study, the influence of Ag on the microstructures, precipitation behavior and mechanical properties of the Al-4Mg alloy are investigated. For the as-cast alloys, Ag can reduce the dimension of the precipitates and promote the precipitation of numerous fine-scale AlMgAg particles. In the aging process, Ag promotes the precipitation of nanoscale MgAg phase and T-Mg₃₂(Ag, Al)₄₉ phase, which improves the aging hardening response of the alloy. At the peak-aged stage of 210 °C, the ultimate tensile strength of the Ag-bearing alloy is 280 MPa, and the yield strength is 200 MPa, which is much higher than that of Ag-free alloy.

A novel MCF-Net: Multi-level context fusion network for 2D medical image segmentation

Medical image segmentation is a crucial step in the clinical applications for diagnosis and analysis of some diseases. U-Net-based convolution neural networks have achieved impressive performance in medical image segmentation tasks. However, the multi-level contextual information integration capability and the feature extraction ability are often insufficient. In this paper, we present a novel multi-level context fusion network (MCF-Net) to improve the performance of U-Net on various segmentation tasks by designing three modules, hybrid attention-based residual atrous convolution (HARA) module, multi-scale feature memory (MSFM) module, and multi-receptive field fusion (MRFF) module, to fuse multi-scale contextual information. HARA module was proposed to effectively extract multi-receptive field features by combing atrous spatial pyramid pooling and attention mechanism. We further design the MSFM and MRFF modules to fuse features of different levels and effectively extract contextual information. The proposed MCF-Net was evaluated on the ISIC 2018, DRIVE, BUSI, and Kvasir-SEG datasets, which have challenging images of many sizes and widely varying anatomy. The experimental results show that MCF-Net is very competitive with other U-Net models, and it offers tremendous potential as a general-purpose deep learning model for 2D medical image segmentation.

Regulatory actions of rare earth elements (La and Gd) on the cell cycle of root tips in rice seedlings (Oryza sativa L.)

The continuous expansion of the application of rare earth elements (REEs) in various fields has attracted attention to their biosafety. At present, the molecular mechanisms underlying the biological effects of REEs are unclear. In this study, the effects of lanthanum (La) and gadolinium (Gd) on cell cycle progression in the root tips of rice seedlings were investigated. Low concentrations of REEs (0.1 mg L^-1) induced an increase in the number of cells in the prophase and metaphase, while high concentrations of REEs (10 mg L^-1) induced an increase in the number of cells in the late and terminal stages of the cell cycle, and apoptosis or necrosis. Additionally, low concentrations of REEs induced a significant increase in the expression of the cell cycle factors WEE1, CDKA;1, and CYCB1;1, and promoted the G2/M phase and accelerated root tip growth. However, at high REEs concentrations, the DNA damage response sensitized by BRCA1, MRE11, and TP53 could that prevent root tip growth by inhibiting the transcription factor E2F, resulting in obvious G1/S phase transition block and delayed G2/M phase conversion. Furthermore, by comparing the biological effect mechanisms of La and Gd, we found that these two REEs share regulatory actions on the cell cycle of root tips in rice seedlings.

Assessment of the biotoxicity of lanthanides (La, Ce, Gd, and Ho) on zebrafish (Danio rerio) in different water environments

The expanding applications of lanthanides (Ln) in various aspects have raised concerns about their biosafety. Slight changes in the chemical composition of environmental media can significantly affect the biological effectiveness of poorly water-soluble Ln; however, the knowledge of the effects of environmental factors on Ln toxicity remains limited. Here, the effects of pH, HCO₃^-, Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺, Na⁺, K⁺, Cl^-, and SO₄^2- on the bioefficacy and biotoxicity of Ln (La, Ce, Gd, and Ho) were comparatively studied using zebrafish (Danio rerio) as the test organism. In the standard water, the toxicity of Ln in zebrafish was significantly correlated with pH, HCO₃^-, and Ca²⁺-Mg²⁺ levels in the medium but not with the levels of Cl^-, Na⁺, K⁺, and SO₄^2-. At the beginning of the test, the four Ln were complexed with HCO₃^- in the medium to form precipitates. A decrease in pH or HCO₃^- concentration can promote the conversion of granular Ln to a soluble state, thus enhancing their bioavailability, biotoxicity, and bioaccumulation. At a pH of 5.0 and 0.2 mmol·L^-1 HCO₃^-, where Ln precipitates were not found, the four Ln showed a consistent trend of 96 h-LC50 in zebrafish. These data indicate that the differences in the toxicities of the four Ln in the standard water may be due to differences in the effective states of the individual elements rather than the different toxicities of the elements. Overall, in biological toxicity assessments, Ln can be regarded as a group of elements with additive patterns of toxicity until the differences in their biological toxicity mechanisms are revealed, and the effects of pH and carbonate should be considered.

Green surfactant-modified TiO2 nanoparticles doped with La-Cr bimetal for NOx removal

Cost-effective new environmental catalysts play a crucial role in purifying NO_x from exhaust gas of coal mine diesel vehicle. A new, environmentally friendly catalyst with high catalytic activity and good redox properties was prepared by a microwave-assisted sol-gel method using TiO₂ nanoparticles as a catalyst, which were doped with La and Cr, and adding the surfactant dimethyldiallylammonium chloride (DMDAAC) as an organic modifier. The morphological characteristics, crystalline structure, functional groups, and elemental types of the catalyst were characterized, and the properties of the catalyst, such as redox ability and catalytic activity, were examined with H₂-temperature-programmed reduction experiments and activity tests. The results showed that the addition of surfactant suppressed the growth of particle size, increased the specific surface area, and improved the redox ability and catalytic activity of the catalyst. I hope to reduce the pollution of NO_x to environment and achieve efficient cleaner production.

Individualized morphometric similarity predicts body mass index and food approach behavior in school-age children

Childhood obesity is associated with alterations in brain structure. Previous studies generally used a single structural index to characterize the relationship between body mass index(BMI) and brain structure, which could not describe the alterations of structural covariance between brain regions. To cover this research gap, this study utilized two independent datasets with brain structure profiles and BMI of 155 school-aged children. Connectome-based predictive modeling(CPM) was used to explore whether children’s BMI is reliably predictable by the novel individualized morphometric similarity network(MSN). We revealed the MSN can predict the BMI in school-age children with good generalizability to unseen dataset. Moreover, these revealed significant brain structure covariant networks can further predict children’s food approach behavior. The positive predictive networks mainly incorporated connections between the frontoparietal network(FPN) and the visual network(VN), between the FPN and the limbic network(LN), between the default mode network(DMN) and the LN. The negative predictive network primarily incorporated connections between the FPN and DMN. These results suggested that the incomplete integration of the high-order brain networks and the decreased dedifferentiation of the high-order networks to the primary reward networks can be considered as a core structural basis of the imbalance between inhibitory control and reward processing in childhood obesity.

Precise regulation of defect concentration in MOF and its influence on photocatalytic overall water splitting

In this work, the defective Cu-BDC with different defect concentration and Cu¹⁺/Cu²⁺ coordinatively unsaturated sites (CUS) content were designed and synthesized by introducing defective linkers with different pK_a values. The low-concentration defects in Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) structure act as the active sites to enhance their photocatalytic activity. In contrast, the high concentration defects serve as the recombination centers of photogenerated electrons and holes to decrease the transfer efficiency of charge carriers. Cu-BDC-FBA shows an excellent bifunctional photocatalytic performance for overall water splitting due to the suitable defect concentration, which gives an oxygen production rate of 3114 μmol g^-1 h^-1 and hydrogen production rate of 16 829 μmol g^-1 h^-1, respectively. It is expected that this study can deepen the understanding of the relationship between defects and photocatalytic activity, and provide a new idea for the design and synthesis of defective MOFs photocatalysts with excellent performance.

Guillain-Barré Syndrome in Northern China: A Retrospective Analysis of 294 Patients from 2015 to 2020

Objectives: Acute motor axonal neuropathy (AMAN) was first reported to be the main subtype of Guillain−Barré syndrome (GBS) in northern China in the 1990s. About 30 years has passed, and it is unknown whether the disease spectrum has changed over time in northern China. We aimed to study the epidemiological, clinical, and electrophysiological features of GBS in northern China in recent years. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the medical records of GBS patients admitted to the Second Hospital of Hebei Medical University in northern China from 2015 to 2020. Results: A total of 294 patients with GBS were enrolled, with median age 53 years and 60.5% of participants being male, and a high incidence in summer and autumn. AMAN was still the predominant subtype in northern China (40.1%). The AMAN patients had shorter time to nadir, longer hospitalization time, and a more severe HFGS score at discharge than acute inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathies (AIDP) (p < 0.05). With SPSS multivariable logistic regression analysis, we found the GBS disability score (at admission), dysphagia, and dysautonomia were independent risk factors for GBS patients requiring MV (p < 0.05). In comparison with other regions, the proportion of AMAN in northern China (40.1%) was higher than in eastern (35%) and southern (19%) China. Conclusions: AMAN is still the predominant subtype in northern China after 30 years, but there have been changes over time in the GBS spectrum since the 1990s. There are regional differences in GBS in China.

Ultrafast visible-infrared photodetector based on the SnSe2/Bi2Se3 heterostructure

Using the inherent properties of a heterostructure, ultrafast photodetectors with high sensitivity can be progressively developed that have the potential to carve a niche among the optoelectronic devices. In this Letter, a heterojunction photodetector based on SnSe₂/Bi₂Se₃ is constructed, and a visible-infrared photoresponse with good sensitivity at room temperature is obtained. The SnSe₂/Bi₂Se₃ photodetector demonstrates a high Iph/Id ratio of 1.2 × 10⁴ at 0 V. Moreover, the high responsivity of 2.3 A/W, detectivity of 1.6 × 10¹¹ Jones, and fast response time of 40 µs are simultaneously achieved. The presented results offer an alternative route for ultrafast photodetectors with high sensitivity.

QTL mapping and KASP marker development for seed vigor related traits in common wheat

Seed vigor is an important parameter of seed quality, and identification of seed vigor related genes can provide an important basis for highly efficient molecular breeding in wheat. In the present study, a doubled haploid (DH) population with 174 lines derived from a cross between Yangmai16 and Zhongmai 895 was used to evaluate 10 seed vigor related traits in Luoyang during the 2018-2019 cropping season and in Mengjin and Luoning Counties during 2019-2020 cropping season for three environments. Quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping of 10 seed vigor related traits in the DH population resulted in the discovery/identification of 28 QTLs on chromosomes 2B, 3D, 4B, 4D, 5A, 5B, 6A, 6B, 6D, 7A and 7D, explaining 3.6-23.7% of the phenotypic variances. Among them, one QTL cluster for shoot length, root length and vigor index was mapped between AX-89421921 and Rht-D1_SNP on chromosome 4D in the physical intervals of 18.78-19.29 Mb (0.51 Mb), explaining 9.2-20.5% of the phenotypic variances. Another QTL for these traits was identified at the physical position 185.74 Mb on chromosome 5B, which was flanked by AX-111465230 and AX-109519938 and accounted for 8.0-13.3% of the phenotypic variances. Two QTLs for shoot length, shoot fresh weight and shoot dry weight were identified in the marker intervals of AX-109384026-AX-111120402 and AX-111651800-AX-94443918 on chromosomes 6A and 6B, explaining 8.2-11.7% and 3.6-10.3% of the phenotypic variance, respectively; both alleles for increasing phenotypic values were derived from Yangmai 16. We also developed the KASP markers for the QTL cluster QVI.haust-4D.1/QSL.haust-4D/QRL.haust-4D, and validated in an international panel of 135 wheat accessions. The germplasm, genes and KASP markers were developed for breeders to improve wheat varieties with seed vigor related traits.

Ultrasensitive Anisotropic Room-Temperature Terahertz Photodetector Based on an Intrinsic Magnetic Topological Insulator MnBi2Te4

Terahertz photodetectors based on emergent intrinsic magnetic topological insulators promise excellent performance in terms of highly sensitive, anisotropic and room-temperature ability benefiting from their extraordinary material properties. Here, we propose and conceive the response features of exfoliated MnBi₂Te₄ flakes as active materials for terahertz detectors. The MnBi₂Te₄-based photodetectors show the sensitivity rival with commercially available ones, and the noise equivalent power of 13 pW/Hz^0.5 under 0.275 THz at room-temperature led by the nonlinear Hall effect, allowing for the high-resolution terahertz imaging. In addition, a large anisotropy of polarization-dependent terahertz response is observed when the MnBi₂Te₄ device is tuned into different directions. More interestingly, we discover an unprecedented power-controlled reversal of terahertz response in the MnBi₂Te₄-graphene device. Our results provide feasibility of manipulating and exploiting the nontrivial topological phenomena of MnBi₂Te₄ under a high-frequency electromagnetic field, representing the first step toward device implementation of intrinsic magnetic topological insulators.

LncRNA ALKBH3-AS1 enhances ALKBH3 mRNA stability to promote hepatocellular carcinoma cell proliferation and invasion

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are confirmed as the key regulators of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) occurrence and progression, but the role of AlkB homologue 3 antisense RNA 1 (ALKBH3-AS1) in HCC is unclear. We revealed the overexpression of ALKBH3-AS1 in HCC tissues. The upregulated levels of ALKBH3-AS1 were observed in HCC cells. ALKBH3-AS1 was expressed in the nucleus and cytoplasm of HCC cells. The high ALKBH3-AS1 expression was markedly associated with a decreased survival rate of HCC patients. ALKBH3-AS1 knockdown repressed and ALKBH3-AS1 overexpression enhanced HCC cell invasion and proliferation. ALKBH3-AS1 silencing restricted HCC growth in vivo. A significant positive correlation between ALKBH3-AS1 and ALKBH3 mRNA levels was confirmed in HCC specimens. ALKBH3-AS1 silencing reduced ALKBH3 expression by stabilizing its mRNA stability in HCC cells. Notably, the impact of ALKBH3 silencing on HCC cells was similar to that of ALKBH3-AS1 knockdown. ALKBH3 restoration prominently attenuated the suppressive effects resulting from ALKBH3-AS1 silencing in HCCLM3 cells. Hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) transcriptionally activated ALKBH3-AS1 expression in hypoxic HCC cells. ALKBH3-AS1 knockdown markedly attenuated cell proliferation and invasion in hypoxic Huh7 cells. Collectively, HIF-1α-activated ALKBH3-AS1 exerted an oncogenic role by enhancing ALKBH3 mRNA stability in HCC cells.

Effective delivery of osteopontin small interference RNA using exosomes suppresses liver fibrosis via TGF-β1 signaling

Objective and aims: Osteopontin (OPN), an oxidant stress sensitive cytokine, plays a central role in liver fibrosis. While OPN expression can be reduced by small interfering RNA (siRNA), the challenge to deliver siRNA safely and effectively into liver remains unresolved. Exosomes are promising natural nanocarriers for drug delivery that are able to enter cells with different biological barriers efficiently. In this study, we used exosomes as a delivery vehicle to target OPN in liver fibrosis.

Methods: Exosomes selectively home to fibrotic liver according to small animal imaging system. Electroporation technique was used to engineer exosomes to carry siRNA targeting OPN (Exo^siRNA−OPN). Primary hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) were isolated and treated with Exo^siRNA−OPN to assess the effect on activated HSCs (aHSCs). Immunofluorescence for α−SMA, an aHSCs marker, and sirius red staining were performed to assess ECM deposition. Finally, plasma OPN from patients with liver fibrosis was identified by ELISA assay.

Results: Exosome-mediated siRNA delivery systems show high uptake and low toxicity. Besides, Exo^siRNA−OPN suppressed HSCs activation and ECM deposition and more efficiently improved liver function when compared to naked siRNA-OPN. Moreover, Exo^siRNA−OPN was assumed inhibiting TGF-β1 signaling activation, along with other fibrotic-related genes based on a GEO datasheet of liver fibrosis samples for correlation analyzes. Exo^siRNA−OPN inhibited TGF-β1 signaling by decreasing high-mobility group box-1 (HMGB1). Plasma proteins from chronic HBV-induced fibrosis patients were identified that patients with high OPN expression correlates with more advanced fibrosis progression.

Discussion: This study shows that exosome-mediated siRNA-OPN delivery may be an effective option for the treatment of liver fibrosis.