A road surface reconstruction dataset for autonomous driving

Recent developments in intelligent robot systems, especially autonomous vehicles, put forward higher requirements for safety and comfort. Road conditions are crucial factors affecting the comprehensive performance of ground vehicles. Nonetheless, existing environment perception datasets for autonomous driving lack attention to road surface areas. In this paper, we introduce the road surface reconstruction dataset, providing multi-modal, high-resolution, and high-precision data collected by real-vehicle platform in diverse driving conditions. It covers common road types containing approximately 16,000 pairs of stereo images, point clouds, and ground-truth depth/disparity maps, with accurate data processing pipelines to ensure its quality. Preliminary evaluations reveal the effectiveness of our dataset and the challenge of the task, underscoring substantial opportunities of it as a valuable resource for advancing computer vision techniques. The reconstructed road structure and texture contribute to the analysis and prediction of vehicle responses for motion planning and control systems.

Characterization of the Fatty Acyl-CoA Reductase (FAR) Gene Family and Its Response to Abiotic Stress in Rice (Oryza sativa L.)

Fatty acyl-CoA reductase (FAR) is an important NADPH-dependent enzyme that can produce primary alcohol from fatty acyl-CoA or fatty acyl-carrier proteins as substrates. It plays a pivotal role in plant growth, development, and stress resistance. Herein, we performed genome-wide identification and expression analysis of FAR members in rice using bioinformatics methods. A total of eight OsFAR genes were identified, and the OsFARs were comprehensively analyzed in terms of phylogenetic relationships, duplication events, protein motifs, etc. The cis-elements of the OsFARs were predicted to respond to growth and development, light, hormones, and abiotic stresses. Gene ontology annotation analysis revealed that OsFAR proteins participate in biological processes as fatty acyl-CoA reductase during lipid metabolism. Numerous microRNA target sites were present in OsFARs mRNAs. The expression analysis showed that OsFARs were expressed at different levels during different developmental periods and in various tissues. Furthermore, the expression levels of OsFARs were altered under abiotic stresses, suggesting that FARs may be involved in abiotic stress tolerance in rice. The findings presented here serve as a solid basis for further exploring the functions of OsFARs.

Regulation of TRI5 expression and deoxynivalenol biosynthesis by a long non-coding RNA in Fusarium graminearum

Deoxynivalenol (DON) is the most frequently detected mycotoxin in cereal grains and processed food or feed. Two transcription factors, Tri6 and Tri10, are essential for DON biosynthesis in Fusarium graminearum. In this study we conduct stranded RNA-seq analysis with tri6 and tri10 mutants and show that Tri10 acts as a master regulator controlling the expression of sense and antisense transcripts of TRI6 and over 450 genes with diverse functions. TRI6 is more specific for regulating TRI genes although it negatively regulates TRI10. Two other TRI genes, including TRI5 that encodes a key enzyme for DON biosynthesis, also have antisense transcripts. Both Tri6 and Tri10 are essential for TRI5 expression and for suppression of antisense-TRI5. Furthermore, we identify a long non-coding RNA (named RNA5P) that is transcribed from the TRI5 promoter region and is also regulated by Tri6 and Tri10. Deletion of RNA5P by replacing the promoter region of TRI5 with that of TRI12 increases TRI5 expression and DON biosynthesis, indicating that RNA5P suppresses TRI5 expression. However, ectopic constitutive overexpression of RNA5P has no effect on DON biosynthesis and TRI5 expression. Nevertheless, elevated expression of RNA5P in situ reduces TRI5 expression and DON production. Our results indicate that TRI10 and TRI6 regulate each other's expression, and both are important for suppressing the expression of RNA5P, a long non-coding RNA with cis-acting inhibitory effects on TRI5 expression and DON biosynthesis in F. graminearum.

Genome-Wide Identification and Expression Analysis of the Stearoyl-Acyl Carrier Protein Δ9 Desaturase Gene Family under Abiotic Stress in Barley

Stearoyl-acyl carrier protein (ACP) Δ9 desaturase (SAD) is a critical fatty acid dehydrogenase in plants, playing a prominent role in regulating the synthesis of unsaturated fatty acids (UFAs) and having a significant impact on plant growth and development. In this study, we conducted a comprehensive genomic analysis of the SAD family in barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), identifying 14 HvSADs with the FA_desaturase_2 domain, which were divided into four subgroups based on sequence composition and phylogenetic analysis, with members of the same subgroup possessing similar genes and motif structures. Gene replication analysis suggested that tandem and segmental duplication may be the major reasons for the expansion of the SAD family in barley. The promoters of HvSADs contained various cis-regulatory elements (CREs) related to light, abscisic acid (ABA), and methyl jasmonate (MeJA). In addition, expression analysis indicated that HvSADs exhibit multiple tissue expression patterns in barley as well as different response characteristics under three abiotic stresses: salt, drought, and cold. Briefly, this evolutionary and expression analysis of HvSADs provides insight into the biological functions of barley, supporting a comprehensive analysis of the regulatory mechanisms of oil biosynthesis and metabolism in plants under abiotic stress.

Single Nanovesicles Tracking Reveals Their Heterogeneous Extracellular Adsorptions

The vigorous nanomedicine offers significant possibilities for effective therapeutics of various diseases, and nanovesicles (NVs) represented by artificial liposomes and natural exosomes and cytomembranes especially show great potential. However, their complex interactions with cells, particularly the heterogeneous extracellular adsorptions, are difficult to analyze spatiotemporally due to the transient dynamics. In this study, by single NVs tracking, the extracellular NVs adsorptions are directly observed and their heterogeneous characteristics are revealed. Briefly, plenty of NVs adsorbed on HCT116 cells are tracked and classified, and it is discovered that they exhibit various diffusion properties from different extracellular regions: stable adsorptions on the rear surface and restricted adsorptions on the front protrusion. After the hydrolysis of hyaluronic acid in the extracellular matrix by hyaluronidase, the restricted adsorptions are further weakened and manifested as dissociative adsorptions, which demonstrated reduced total NVs adsorptions from a single-cell and single-particle perspective. Compared with traditional static analysis, the spatiotemporal tracking and heterogeneous results not only reveal the extracellular NVs-cell interactions but also inspire a wide variety of nanomedicine and their nano-investigations.

Recent Advances of Seed-Mediated Growth of Metal Nanoparticles: from Growth to Applications

Unprecedented advances in metal nanoparticle synthesis have paved the way for broad applications in sensing, imaging, catalysis, diagnosis, and therapy by tuning the optical properties, enhancing catalytic performance, and improving chemical and biological properties of metal nanoparticles. The central guiding concept for regulating the size and morphology of metal nanoparticles is identified as the precise manipulation of nucleation and subsequent growth, often known as seed-mediated growth methods. However, since the growth process is sensitive not only to the metal seeds but also to capping agents, metal precursors, growth solution, growth/incubation time, reductants, and other influencing factors, the precise control of metal nanoparticle morphology is multifactorial. Further, multiple reaction parameters are entangled with each other, so it is necessary to clarify the mechanism by which each factor precisely regulates the morphology of metal nanoparticles. In this review, to exploit the generality and extendibility of metal nanoparticle synthesis, the mechanisms of growth influencing factors in seed-mediated growth methods are systematically summarized. Second, a variety of critical properties and applications enabled by grown metal nanoparticles are focused upon. Finally, the current progress and offer insights on the challenges, opportunities, and future directions for the growth and applications of grown metal nanoparticles are reviewed.

A non-pheromone GPCR is essential for meiosis and ascosporogenesis in the wheat scab fungus

Meiosis is essential for generating genetic diversity and sexual spores, but the regulation of meiosis and ascosporogenesis is not clear in filamentous fungi, in which dikaryotic and diploid cells formed inside fruiting bodies are not free living and independent of pheromones or pheromone receptors. In this study, Gia1, a non-pheromone GPCR (G protein-coupled receptor) with sexual-specific expression in Fusarium graminearum, is found to be essential for ascosporogenesis. The gia1 mutant was normal in perithecium development, crozier formation, and karyogamy but failed to undergo meiosis, which could be partially rescued by a dominant active mutation in GPA1 and activation of the Gpmk1 pathway. GIA1 orthologs have conserved functions in regulating meiosis and ascosporogenesis in Sordariomycetes. GIA1 has a paralog, GIP1, in F. graminearum and other Hypocreales species which is essential for perithecium formation. GIP1 differed from GIA1 in expression profiles and downstream signaling during sexual reproduction. Whereas the C-terminal tail and IR3 were important for intracellular signaling, the N-terminal region and EL3 of Gia1 were responsible for recognizing its ligand, which is likely a protein enriched in developing perithecia, particularly in the gia1 mutant. Taken together, these results showed that GIA1 encodes a non-pheromone GPCR that regulates the entry into meiosis and ascosporogenesis via the downstream Gpmk1 MAP kinase pathway in F. graminearum and other filamentous ascomycetes.

The synthesis and functionalization of metal organic frameworks and their applications for the selective separation of proteins/peptides

Recently, proteins separation has drawn great interest for the full investigation of a proteome because the proteins separation is the precondition when conducting clinical research or proteomics research. Metal organic frameworks (MOFs) are fabricated via covalent connection between organic ligands and metal ions/clusters units. MOFs have attracted much attention due to the ultra-high specific surface area, tunable structure, more metal site or unsaturated site, and chemical stability. Over the past decade, different functionalization types of MOFs have been reported in combination with amino acids, nucleic acids, proteins, polymers, and nanoparticles for various applications. In this review, the synthesis and functionalization of MOFs have been thoroughly discussed, and we introduced the existing problems and development trends in these fields. Furthermore, MOFs as advanced adsorbents for selective separation of proteins/peptides are summarized. Additionally, we present a comprehensive prospects and challenges in the preparation of robust functional MOFs-based adsorbents and make a final outlook on their future development prospects in selective separation of proteins/peptides.

Bioactive Constituents of Verbena officinalis Alleviate Inflammation and Enhance Killing Efficiency of Natural Killer Cells

Natural killer (NK) cells play key roles in eliminating pathogen-infected cells. Verbena officinalis (V. officinalis) has been used as a medical plant in traditional and modern medicine for its anti-tumor and anti-inflammatory activities, but its effects on immune responses remain largely elusive. This study aimed to investigate the potential of V. officinalis extract (VO extract) to regulate inflammation and NK cell functions. We examined the effects of VO extract on lung injury in a mouse model of influenza virus infection. We also investigated the impact of five bioactive components of VO extract on NK killing functions using primary human NK cells. Our results showed that oral administration of VO extract reduced lung injury, promoted the maturation and activation of NK cells in the lung, and decreased the levels of inflammatory cytokines (IL-6, TNF-α and IL-1β) in the serum. Among five bioactive components of VO extract, Verbenalin significantly enhanced NK killing efficiency in vitro, as determined by real-time killing assays based on plate-reader or high-content live-cell imaging in 3D using primary human NK cells. Further investigation showed that treatment of Verbenalin accelerated the killing process by reducing the contact time of NK cells with their target cells without affecting NK cell proliferation, expression of cytotoxic proteins, or lytic granule degranulation. Together, our findings suggest that VO extract has a satisfactory anti-inflammatory effect against viral infection in vivo, and regulates the activation, maturation, and killing functions of NK cells. Verbenalin from V. officinalis enhances NK killing efficiency, suggesting its potential as a promising therapeutic to fight viral infection.

Dual-Functional Capping Agent-Mediated Transformation of Silver Nanotriangles to Silver Nanoclusters for Dual-Mode Biosensing

The localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) property, depending on the structure (morphology and assembly) of nanoparticles, is very sensitive to the environmental fluctuation. Retaining the colorimetric effect derived from the LSPR property while introducing new optical properties (such as fluorescence) that provide supplementary information is an effective means to improve the controllability in structures and reproducibility in optical properties. DNA as a green and low-cost etching agent has been demonstrated to effectively control the morphology and optical properties (the blue shift of the LSPR peak) of the plasmonic nanoparticles. Herein, taking silver nanotriangles (AgNTs) as a proof of concept, we report a novel strategy to induce precisely tunable LSPR and fluorescence-composited dual-mode signals by using mono-DNA first as an etching agent for etching the morphology of AgNTs and later as a template for synthesizing fluorescent silver nanoclusters (AgNCs). In addition, common templates for synthesizing AgNCs, such as l-glutathione and bovine serum albumin, were demonstrated to have the capability to serve as etching agents. More importantly, these biomolecules as dual-functional capping agents (etching agents and templates) follow the size-dependent rule: as the size of the thiolated biomolecule increases, the blue shift of the LSPR peak increases; at the same time, the fluorescence intensity increases. The enzyme that can change the molecular weight (size) of the biomolecular substrates (DNA, peptides, and proteins) through an enzymatic cleavage reaction was explored to regulate the LSPR and fluorescent properties of the resulting nanoparticles (by etching of AgNTs and synthesis of AgNCs), achieving excellent performance in detection of cancer-related proteases. This study can be expanded to other biopolymers to impact both fundamental nanoscience and applications and provide powerful new tools for bioanalytical biosensors and nanomedicine.

An NIR fluorescent/photoacoustic dual-mode probe of NADPH for tumor imaging

A novel probe was synthesized with a turn-on NIR fluorescent (NIRF)/photoacoustic (PA) response to NADPH, which was successfully applied in both monitoring intracellular NADPH and dual-modal imaging of tumor-bearing mice. It exhibits good potential in studying and understanding the tumor energy metabolism and treatment process related to NADPH.

Lactation time influences the composition of Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus at species level in human breast milk

Human breast milk is a source of microorganisms for infants that play an important role in building infant gut health and immunity. The bacterial composition in human breast milk is influenced by lactation time. This study aimed to investigate the influence of lactation time on bacteria in breast milk at the genus level and the species levels of Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus on days 2-4, 8, 14, and 30. Eighteen individuals were recruited and 60 milk samples were collected. The 16S rRNA gene, and the bifidobacterial groEL and lactobacilli groEL genes were used for amplicon sequencing. The results revealed that the alpha diversities of colostrum and transition 1 (day 8) milk were lower than that of transition 2 (day 14) and mature milk. PCoA analysis showed that bacterial composition in colostrum and transition 1 milk differed from transition 2 and mature milk. A lower relative abundance of Blautia was found in colostrum and transition 1 milk compared with mature milk and lower abundances of Ruminococcus, Dorea, and Escherichia-Shigella were found in transition 1 compared with mature milk. Bifidobacterium ruminantium, Limosilactobacillus mucosae, and Ligilactobacillus ruminis were the predominant species across all four lactation stages, while Bifidobacterium bifidum was lower in transition 1, and Bifidobacterium pseudocatenulatum and Bifidobacterium pseudolongum were higher in transition 1 milk. This study indicated that the bacterial composition in colostrum was more similar to that of transition 1 milk, whereas the bacterial community in transition 2 milk was similar to that of mature milk which suggests that bacterial composition in human breast milk shows stage-specific signatures even within a short period at both genus level and Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus species levels, providing insights into probiotic supplementation for the nursing mother.

Mussel Inspired Trigger-Detachable Adhesive Hydrogel

Adhesion to many kinds of surfaces, including biological tissues, is important in many fields but has been proved to be extremely challenging. Furthermore, peeling from strong adhesion is needed in many conditions, but is sometimes painful. Herein, a mussel inspired hydrogel is developed to achieve both strong adhesion and trigger-detachment. The former is actualized by electrostatic interactions, covalent bonds, and physical interpenetration, while the latter is triggered, on-demand, through combining a thixotropic supramolecular network and polymer double network. The results of the experiments show that the hydrogel can adhere to various material surfaces and tissues. Moreover, triggered by shear force, non-covalent interactions of the supramolecular network are destroyed. This adhesion can be peeled easily. The possible mechanism involved is discussed and proved. This work will bring new insight into electronic engineering and tissue repair like skin care for premature infants and burn victims.

Hexagonal WO3/3D Porous Graphene as a Novel Zinc Intercalation Anode for Aqueous Zinc-Ion Batteries

Aqueous Zn-ion batteries (ZIBs) have acquired great attention because of their high safety and environmentally friendly properties. However, the uncontrollable Zn dendrites and the irreversibility of electrodes seriously affect their practical application. Herein, hexagonal WO₃/three-dimensional porous graphene (h-WO₃/3DG) is investigated as an intercalation anode for ZIBs. As a result, the h-WO₃/3DG//Zn half-battery shows excellent electrochemical performance with a high capacity of 115.6 mAh g^-1 at 0.1 A g^-1 and 89% capacity retention at 2.0 A g^-1 after 10 000 cycles. The reason could be that the crystalline structure of WO₃, which has hexagonal channels, with a diameter of 5.36 Å, much higher than the diameter of Zn²⁺ (0.73 Å), accelerating the insertion/extraction of Zn ions. A zinc metal-free full battery using h-WO₃/3DG as the anode and ZnMn₂O₄/carbon black (ZnMn₂O₄/CB) as the cathode is constructed, exhibiting an initial capacity of 66.8 mAh g^-1 at 0.1 A g^-1 corresponding to an energy density of 73.5 W h kg^-1 (based on the total mass of anode and cathode-active materials) and a capacity retention of 76.6% after 1000 cycles at 0.5 A g^-1. This work demonstrates the high potential of hexagonal WO₃ as an advanced intercalation anode material for Zn metal-free batteries and may inspire new ideas for the development of other intercalation anode hosts for ZIBs.

Portable fluid circuit device containing printed silicone microvessels as a training aid for arterial microanastomosis

Anastomosis of the microvessels requires high-level skills and extensive basic training. This study was performed to introduce and evaluate an inexpensive laboratory device as a training aid. Micro-tubes of 0.8 mm inner diameter and 0.5/0.8 mm wall thickness mimicking human vein/artery were printed from a silicon-containing hydrogel using three-dimensional printing technology. The hydrogel components are optimized to render the printed tubes biomechanical features resembling the blood vessels of a living organism. These artificial vessels were connected to a pump for fluid flow, simulating the blood circulation. Forty medical interns were assigned to two equal groups. The 20 interns in group A practiced anastomosis using the training aid for a total of 10 hours over 5 days. The 20 interns in group B practiced anastomosis using the traditional gum pieces and silicone tubes. Then, all interns performed anastomosis on rat carotid arteries, and their performance was scored by a team of five experienced maxillofacial surgeons. The average success score and time required for anastomosis were compared between the two groups. The mean success score of group A was significantly higher than that of group B (0.83 ± 0.12 vs 0.64 ± 0.10, P < 0.001). The mean anastomosis time of group A was significantly shorter than that of group B (10.2 ± 1.1 vs 17.2 ± 1.4 minutes, P < 0.001). This training device for vessel microanastomosis is an inexpensive, practical, and effective tool for use in laboratories and also reduces the use of animals.

PolarMask++: Enhanced Polar Representation for Single-Shot Instance Segmentation and Beyond

Reducing complexity of the pipeline of instance segmentation is crucial for real-world applications. This work addresses this problem by introducing an anchor-box free and single-shot instance segmentation framework, termed PolarMask++, which reformulates the instance segmentation problem as predicting the contours of objects in the polar coordinate, leading to several appealing benefits. (1) The polar representation unifies instance segmentation (masks) and object detection (bounding boxes) into a single framework, reducing the design and computational complexity. (2) We carefully design two modules (soft polar centerness and polar IoU loss) to sample high-quality center examples and optimize polar contour regression, making the performance of PolarMask++ does not depend on the bounding box prediction and thus more efficient in training. (3) PolarMask++ is fully convolutional and can be easily embedded into most off-the-shelf detectors. To further improve the accuracy of the framework, a Refined Feature Pyramid is introduced to improve the feature representation at different scales. Extensive experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of PolarMask++, which achieves competitive results on COCO dataset, and new state-of-the-art results on text detection and cell segmentation datasets. We hope polar representation can provide a new perspective for designing algorithms to solve single-shot instance segmentation. Code is released at: github.com/xieenze/PolarMask.

[Research progress in the role and mechanism of polysaccharides in regulating glucose and lipid metabolism]

Polysaccharides are a group of compounds composed of multiple monosaccharides of the same or different structures combined by glycosidic bonds, and are widely found in animals and plants and in the cell walls of microorganisms. Polysaccharides possess the advantages of high safety and low toxicity. Recent studies revealed that polysaccharides have a wide range of biological activities including immunoregulation, anti-tumor, antiviral, antioxidant activities, and blood glucose-and lipid- lowering effects. The effects of polysaccharides in improving insulin sensitivity and regulating glucose and lipid metabolism have drawn much attention from researchers. Many polysaccharides can reduce blood glucose and blood lipid by repairing pancreatic islet cells, improving insulin resistance, regulating intestinal flora, enhancing antioxidant capacity, and regulating the activities of key enzymes in glucose and lipid metabolism. This reviews examines the role and mechanism of polysaccharides in regulating glucose and lipid metabolism. The mechanisms of polysaccharide in regulating glucose metabolism include repairing islet cells and increasing insulin content, increasing insulin sensitivity and improving insulin resistance, regulating the activity of key enzymes in glucose metabolism, increasing synthesis of liver glycogen, and regulating intestinal flora. Polysaccharides can also regulate glucose metabolism by improving immune regulation and antagonizing glucagon. Polysaccharide also regulate lipid metabolism by regulating lipid absorption, expression of the related genes such as PPAR-α, enzyme activities in lipid metabolism, improving antioxidant capacity, and modulating intestinal flora and signaling pathways.

Affimer-Based Europium Chelates Allow Sensitive Optical Biosensing in a Range of Human Disease Biomarkers

The protein biomarker measurement has been well-established using ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay), which offers good sensitivity and specificity, but remains slow and expensive. Certain clinical conditions, where rapid measurement or immediate confirmation of a biomarker is paramount for treatment, necessitate more rapid analysis. Biosensors offer the prospect of reagent-less, processing-free measurements at the patient's bedside. Here, we report a platform for biosensing based on chelated Eu³⁺ against a range of proteins including biomarkers of cardiac injury (human myoglobin), stroke (glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP)), inflammation (C-reactive protein (CRP)) and colorectal cancer (carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA)). The Eu³⁺ ions are chelated by modified synthetic binding proteins (Affimers), which offer an alternative targeting strategy to existing antibodies. The fluorescence characteristics of the Eu³⁺ complex with modified Affimers against human myoglobin, GFAP, CRP and CEA were measured in human serum using λ_ex = 395 nm, λ_em = 590 and 615 nm. The Eu³⁺-Affimer based complex allowed sensitive detection of human myoglobin, GFAP, CRP and CEA proteins as low as 100 fM in (100-fold) diluted human serum samples. The unique dependence on Eu³⁺ fluorescence in the visible region (590 and 615 nm) was exploited in this study to allow rapid measurement of the analyte concentration, with measurements in 2 to 3 min. These data demonstrate that the Affimer based Eu³⁺ complexes can function as nanobiosensors with potential analytical and diagnostic applications.

Sarcopenia as a Risk Factor for Future Hip Fracture: A Meta-Analysis of Prospective Cohort Studies

OBJECTIVE

Our study aims to determine whether sarcopenia is a predictive factor of future hip fractures.

DESIGN

Systematic review and meta-analysis. Set: We searched for potentially suitable articles in PubMed, Cochrane library, Medline and EMBASE from inception to March 2020. The quality of the research was assessed by the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS). Finally, a meta-analysis was conducted with the Stata software.

PARTICIPANTS

Older community-dwelling residents.

MEASUREMENTS

Hip fracture due to sarcopenia.

RESULTS

We retrieved 2129 studies through our search strategy, and five studies with 23,359 individuals were analyzed in our pooled analyses. Sarcopenia increases the risk of future hip fractures with a pooled hazard ratio (HR) of 1.42 (95% CI: 1.18-1.71, P <0.001, I2 = 37.7%). In addition, in subgroup analyses based on different definitions of sarcopenia, sarcopenia was associated with the risk of future hip fractures with the Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia (AWGS) criteria with a pooled HR of 2.13(95% CI: 1.33-3.43). When subgroup analyses were conducted by sex, sarcopenia was associated with the risk for future hip fractures in females with pooled HRs of 1.69 (95% CI: 1.18-2.43). Sarcopenia was associated with the risk of future hip fractures in the group with a follow-up period of more than 5 years, with a pooled HR of 1.32 (95% CI: 1.08-1.61), and in the group with a follow-up period of less than 5 years, with a pooled HR of 2.13 (95% CI: 1.33-3.43).

CONCLUSIONS

Sarcopenia could significantly increase the risk of future hip fracture in old people; thus, it is necessary to prevent hip fractures in individuals with sarcopenia.

Nitrite-Responsive Hydrogel: Smart Drug Release Depending on the Severity of the Nitric Oxide-Related Disease

Nitric oxide (NO) is known as one of the most important biomarkers of many diseases. However, the development of NO-triggered drug releasing platforms is challenging due to the low concentration and short lifetime of NO in vivo. In this work, a novel nitrite (NO₂^-)-responsive hydrogel (DHPL-GEL), which can be used for smart drug release depending on the severity of the NO-related disease, is demonstrated. A dihydropyridine cross-linking agent is designed to construct DHPL-GEL to enable the responsive degradation of the hydrogel triggered by NO₂^-. On-demand release of the drug loaded in DHPL-GEL was observed under the stimulation of various concentrations of NO₂^- at the physiological level both in vitro and in vivo. In the inflammatory arthritis rat model, the DHPL-GEL drug delivery system showed a better therapeutic effect and less side effects than the traditional therapy and nonresponsive hydrogel drug delivery system, demonstrating the promising application of the NO₂^--responsive hydrogel for the treatment of NO-related diseases.

FULLEROL alleviates myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury by reducing inflammation and oxidative stress in cardiomyocytes via activating the Nrf2/HO-1 signaling pathway

OBJECTIVE

Myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury (MIRI) is myocardial tissue injury caused by blood supply returning to myocardial tissue after ischemia or hypoxia. The purpose of this study was to investigate the protective effect of FULLEROL on myocardial tissue in MIRI rats and its mechanism.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We use rats and ligate their left anterior descending coronary artery to make a MIRI model, and we also subcutaneously injected some MIRI rats with FULLEROL daily for two weeks before modeling. We determined the effects of model building and the therapeutic effect of FULLEROL on MIRI by detecting the changes of myocardial tissue morphology, myocardial injury markers and cardiac function in rats. In addition, we detected the expression changes of inflammatory factors and antioxidative molecules in rat myocardial tissue and serum to determine the effect of FULLEROL on inflammation and oxidative stress in myocardial tissue. Finally, we detected the activity of the Nrf2/HO-1 signaling pathway in rat cardiomyocytes to determine the mechanism of action of FULLEROL.

RESULTS

The structure of myocardial tissue in MIRI rats was remarkably damaged, and the range of myocardial infarction was increased. In addition, the concentrations of creatine kinase and lactate dehydrogenase were increased, and the heart function was reduced, while FULLEROL could reverse these conditions. In addition, FULLEROL was found to reduce the concentration of the inflammatory factors in rat myocardial tissue and serum, and to increase the expression of antioxidative molecules in myocardial tissue. The Nrf2/HO-1 signaling pathway was found to be related to MIRI and FULLEROL could increase the activity of the Nrf2/HO-1 signaling pathway in cardiomyocytes.

CONCLUSIONS

FULLEROL can alleviate MIRI by promoting the activity of the Nrf2/HO-1 signaling pathway to reduce the expression of inflammatory factors in rats and increase the antioxidative capacity of cardiomyocytes.

Protective effects of melatonin on mitochondrial biogenesis and mitochondrial structure and function in the HEK293-APPswe cell model of Alzheimer's disease

OBJECTIVE

The effects and mechanisms of melatonin on Alzheimer's disease (AD) are still not researched thoroughly. 20E2 cells (HEK293-APPswe cells) are a cellular model of AD. The modulation effects of melatonin on the structure and function of mitochondria in 20E2 cells need to be studied.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The Alzheimer's disease (AD) cell model was assessed for cell viability, expression levels of mitochondrial biogenesis factors (peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator 1-alpha [PGC-1α], nuclear respiratory factor 1 [NRF1], nuclear respiratory factor 2 [NRF2], mitochondrial transcription factor A [TFAM]), mitochondrial membrane potential, Na+-K+-adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase) and cytochrome C oxidase activity, adenosine triphosphate (ATP) level, mitochondrial DNA/nuclear DNA (mtDNA/nDNA) ratio, and mitochondrial structure with and without melatonin.

RESULTS

Melatonin improved 20E2 cell viability, expression of mitochondrial biogenesis factors (PGC-1α, NRF1, NRF2, TFAM), mitochondrial membrane potential, Na+-K+-ATPase, and cytochrome C oxidase activity, ATP level, mtDNA/nDNA ratio, mitochondrial structure, and decreased amyloidogenic amyloid precursor protein processing.

CONCLUSIONS

Mitochondrial biogenesis disorder is associated with the pathogenesis of AD through PGC-1α-NRF-TFAM pathway, and melatonin improves the mitochondrial structure and function by enhancing mitochondrial biogenesis and decreasing amyloidogenic APP processing in Alzheimer's disease.

Characterization of a P18 protein in the S1 segment of the novel duck reovirus genome

Novel duck reovirus (NDRV), the prototype strain of avian orthoreoviruses, continues to circulate among ducks. Analysis of its genome suggested that a putative second open reading frame in the S1 segment encodes a 162-amino acid nonstructural protein with size of 18 kDa, provisionally designated P18. This protein is different from the 17 kDa nonstructural protein encoded in the same open reading frame in other avian orthoreoviruses, which is designated P17 and consists of 146 amino acids. There is no corresponding protein in Muscovy duck reovirus. Antibodies raised to the purified recombinant protein reacted with viral P18 both in vitro and in vivo. In cells, P18 was located predominantly in the nucleus at 6-12 h post-infection, with negligible levels in the cytoplasm. However, the protein accumulated both in the nucleus and cytoplasm at 24 to 36 h post-infection. Immunohistochemistry indicated that P18 strongly accumulates in spleen tissues of infected ducklings. Collectively, the data provide the direct experimental evidence that P18 is expressed by novel duck reovirus both in vivo and in vitro. Keywords: duck reovirus; expression; characterization; novel P18 protein.

Designed Fabrication of Polymer-Mediated MOF-Derived Magnetic Hollow Carbon Nanocages for Specific Isolation of Bovine Hemoglobin

It is highly required to develop well-designed separation materials for the specific isolation of certain proteins in proteomic research. Herein, the new type of metal-organic framework (MOF)-derived polymer-mediated magnetic hollow nanocages was fabricated via stress-induced orientation contraction, which was further applied for specific enrichment of proteins. The core-shell nanocomposites comprised of polymer-mediated ZIF-67 cores and polydopamine (PDA) shells, after annealing, generated magnetic hollow carbon nanocages with hierarchical pores and structures. Particularly, the magnetic carbonized PDA@F127/ZIF-67 hollow nanocages exhibited a remarkable adsorption capacity toward bovine hemoglobin (BHB) up to 834.3 mg g^-1, which was significantly greater than that of the directed carbonized ZIF-67 nanoparticles. The results also exhibited the notable specificity of the obtained nanocages on complex biosamples, including intact mixed proteins and fetal calf serum. The hierarchically hollow porous structure greatly improves the specific surface area and reduces the mass transfer resistance, leading to enhanced high adsorption for target protein BHB. This novel method will be promising for the applications in purification and enrichment of biomacromolecules for complex biosamples, which successfully solve the problem of low adsorption efficiency and tedious separating process of the previous MOF-derived materials.

Efficient water-mediated synthesis of bismuth oxyiodide with several distinct morphologies

Water mediates the crystal growth and self-assembly of BiOI nanostructures with several distinct morphologies for the preparation of functional photoactive materials.

Sequential treatment by polidocanol and radiofrequency ablation of large benign partially cystic thyroid nodules with solid components: Efficacy and safety

PURPOSE

The purpose of this study was to retrospectively evaluate the efficacy and safety of a sequential treatment including percutaneous polidocanol sclerotherapy and radiofrequency ablation (RFA) in terms of volume reduction and complication rate in large, benign, partially cystic thyroid nodules with solid components.

MATERIALS AND METHOD

From April 2017 to April 2019, 46 patients with 47 large benign partially cystic thyroid nodules underwent sequential treatment. There were 14 men and 32 women with a mean age of 49.9±11.5 (SD) years (range: 18-75 years). The volume of initial nodules was 12.7±12.3 (SD) mL (range: 2.16-75.62mL). Volume reduction after percutaneous polidocanol sclerotherapy and further RFA was evaluated respectively. Patients had clinical and ultrasound evaluations at a follow-up time of 12.1±5.3 (SD) months (range: 1.5-23.9 months). Technical success and complications were accessed retrospectively.

RESULTS

After unsatisfying results with polidocanol sclerotherapy alone the 46 patients with 47 large benign partially cystic thyroid nodules had further RFA. Mean volume reduction of 47 nodules was 90.5±11.3 (SD) % (range: 43.9-99.3%) one month after RFA, 94.9±6.2 (SD) % (range: 66.9-99.5%) three months after RFA, and 95.8±5.5 (SD) % (range: 71.0-99.8%) six months after RFA. No recurrence or nodule enlargement after RFA was observed at the last follow-up. The complication rate of RFA was 12.5% (8/46 patients), with minor complications only.

CONCLUSIONS

The sequential treatment regimen, including percutaneous polidocanol sclerotherapy and RFA, is an appropriate and safe treatment strategy for large benign partially cystic thyroid nodules with solid components.

Discovery and identification of fatigue-related biomarkers in human saliva

OBJECTIVE

To identify stable and specific biomarkers/biomarker combinations for fatigue assessment and establish a discriminant model.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Saliva was collected and electroencephalogram analysis was performed for 47 emergency physicians while awake and after continuoutas duty for 18-24 h. Physicians were divided into the fatigue and non-fatigue groups. Protein spectra of completely quantified saliva specimens were identified before and after long working hours using mass spectrometry. Data were analyzed through Proteome Discoverer software combined with SEQUEST to search protein databases. Proteins were characterized by collision-induced dissociation spectra. A global internal standard (GIS) was added to each group of samples and labeled by tandem mass tags m/z 131.1. All data were compared with GIS, and data between groups were further compared. Qualitative and quantitative data on proteins were exported for fatigue-related proteomic analysis, and a fatigue assessment model was established.

RESULTS

We identified 767 salivary proteins in the fatigue group. The correct rates of the discriminant function of the non-fatigue and fatigue groups were 97.1% and 91.7%, respectively (the total correct rate was 95.7%).

CONCLUSIONS

We identified 30 fatigue-related protein markers from saliva. We also established a fatigue assessment model for emergency physicians using salivary biomarkers.

Measurement of the cosmic ray proton spectrum from 40 GeV to 100 TeV with the DAMPE satellite

The precise measurement of the spectrum of protons, the most abundant component of the cosmic radiation, is necessary to understand the source and acceleration of cosmic rays in the Milky Way. This work reports the measurement of the cosmic ray proton fluxes with kinetic energies from 40 GeV to 100 TeV, with 2 ¹/₂ years of data recorded by the DArk Matter Particle Explorer (DAMPE). This is the first time that an experiment directly measures the cosmic ray protons up to ~100 TeV with high statistics. The measured spectrum confirms the spectral hardening at ~300 GeV found by previous experiments and reveals a softening at ~13.6 TeV, with the spectral index changing from ~2.60 to ~2.85. Our result suggests the existence of a new spectral feature of cosmic rays at energies lower than the so-called knee and sheds new light on the origin of Galactic cosmic rays.

Integrating transcriptome-wide association study and mRNA expression profiling identifies novel genes associated with bone mineral density

To scan novel candidate genes associated with osteoporosis, a two-stage transcriptome-wide association study (TWAS) of bone mineral density (BMD) was conducted. The BMD-associated genes identified by TWAS were then compared with the gene expression profiling of BMD in bone cells, B cells, and mesenchymal stem cells. We identified multiple candidate genes and gene ontology (GO) terms associated with BMD.

INTRODUCTION

Osteoporosis (OP) is a metabolic bone disease characterized by decrease in BMD. Our objective is to scan novel candidate genes associated with OP.

METHODS

A transcriptome-wide association study (TWAS) was performed by integrating the genome-wide association study (GWAS) summary of bone mineral density (BMD) with two pre-computed mRNA expression weights of peripheral blood and muscle skeleton. Then, another independent GWAS data of BMD was used to verify the discovery results. The BMD-associated genes identified between discovery and replicate TWAS were further subjected to gene ontology (GO) analysis implemented by DAVID. Finally, the BMD-associated genes and GO terms were further compared with the mRNA expression profiling results of BMD to detect the common genes and GO terms shared by both DNA-level TWAS and mRNA expression profile analysis.

RESULTS

TWAS identified 95 common genes with permutation P value < 0.05 for peripheral blood and muscle skeleton, such as TMTC4 in muscle skeleton and DDX17 in peripheral blood. Further comparing the genes detected by discovery-replicate TWAS with the differentially expressed genes identified by mRNA expression profiling of OP patients found 18 overlapped genes, such as MUL1 in muscle skeleton and SPTBN1 in peripheral blood. GO analysis of the genes identified by discovery-replicate TWAS detected 12 BMD-associated GO terms, such as negative regulation of cell growth and regulation of glycogen catabolic process. Further comparing the GO results of discovery-replicate TWAS and mRNA expression profiles found 6 overlapped GO terms, such as membrane and cell adhesion.

CONCLUSION

Our study identified multiple candidate genes and GO terms for BMD, providing novel clues for understanding the genetic mechanism of OP.

Clinical outcomes of ultrasound-guided radiofrequency ablation for the treatment of primary papillary thyroid microcarcinoma

AIM

To evaluate the safety, efficacy, and long-term outcomes of ultrasound-guided radiofrequency ablation (RFA) for the treatment of primary papillary thyroid microcarcinoma (PTMC).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A total of 37 patients with 38 PTMC nodules underwent RFA at a power of 20 W between September 2014 and December 2017. The clinical data of these patients were reviewed retrospectively and analysed. Imaging studies of the nodules were conducted, and the patients' thyroid function was assessed before RFA; 1, 3, 6, and 12 months after RFA; and every 6 months thereafter. The volumes and volume reduction rate (VRR) of the nodules were also calculated.

RESULTS

RFA with a low power of 20 W was used in the treatment of 37 patients with 38 PTMC nodules. All nodules achieved complete ablation, no complications occurred, and thyroid function was not affected. During follow-up, the volume of the nodules gradually decreased. Twelve months after ablation, the mean volumes of the nodules significantly decreased to 0.01±0.03 ml with a VRR of 99.34±3.49%. At a median follow-up of 6 (range: 1-18) months, 37 of the 38 nodules were completely absorbed, and no recurrence was observed in all 37 patients.

CONCLUSIONS

Low-power RFA showed good safety and promising efficacy outcomes for the treatment of PTMC. In addition to surgery and active surveillance, RFA may be an alternative treatment option for patients with PTMC.

An expanded subfamily of G-protein-coupled receptor genes in Fusarium graminearum required for wheat infection

The cAMP-PKA and MAP kinase pathways are essential for plant infection in the wheat head blight fungus Fusarium graminearum. To identify upstream receptors of these well-conserved signalling pathways, we systematically characterized the 105 G-protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) genes. Although none were required for vegetative growth, five GPCR genes (GIV1-GIV5) significantly upregulated during plant infection were important for virulence. The giv1 mutant was defective in the formation of specialized infection structures known as infection cushions, which was suppressed by application of exogenous cAMP and dominant active FST7 MEK kinase. GIV1 was important for the stimulation of PKA and Gpmk1 MAP kinase by compounds in wheat spikelets. GIV2 and GIV3 were important for infectious growth after penetration. Invasive hyphae of the giv2 mutant were defective in cell-to-cell spreading and mainly grew intercellularly in rachis tissues. Interestingly, the GIV2-GIV5 genes form a phylogenetic cluster with GIV6, which had overlapping functions with GIV5 during pathogenesis. Furthermore, the GIV2-GIV6 cluster is part of a 22-member subfamily of GPCRs, with many of them having in planta-specific upregulation and a common promoter element; however, only three subfamily members are conserved in other fungi. Taken together, F. graminearum has an expanded subfamily of infection-related GPCRs for regulating various infection processes.

Fabrication of Yb3+-Immobilized Hydrophilic Phytic-Acid-Coated Magnetic Nanocomposites for the Selective Separation of Bovine Hemoglobin from Bovine Serum

In this work, Yb³⁺-immobilized hydrophilic phytic-acid-coated magnetic nanocomposites were prepared through a facile route and used to selectively separatrf bovine hemoglobin. Hydrophilic phytic acid (PA) was coated onto the magnetic Fe₃O₄-PEI via electrostatic interactions, followed by finally chelating with Yb³⁺ ions, which could produce specific protein binding sites at room temperature in water, and complex instrumentation was not necessary. The performance of as-prepared hybrids (Fe₃O₄-PEI-PA-Yb³⁺) was assessed by selectively isolating bovine hemoglobin (BHb). The obtained maximum binding capacity was 347.3 mg g^-1. The retained BHb could be eluted under simple elution via using 0.1 M of Na₂CO₃, giving a recovery of 83%. Moreover, the generation of nanocomposites was demonstrated. In addition, the PA and PEI could improve the hydrophilicity of nanoparticles and further reduce the nonspecific adsorption. Therefore, such nanocomposites were successfully employed to selectively bind and separate BHb from bovine serum as verified by SDS-PAGE and MALDI-TOF MS analysis, providing a new perspective for the isolation of heme proteins in proteomics.

Magnetically Hollow Pt Nanocages with Ultrathin Walls as a Highly Integrated Nanoreactor for Catalytic Transfer Hydrogenation Reaction

Fabricating efficient and stable nanocatalysts for chemoselective hydrogenation of nitroaromatics is highly desirable because the amines hold tremendous promise for the synthesis of nitrogen containing chemicals. Here, a highly reactive and stable porous carbon nitride encapsulated magnetically hollow platinum nanocage is developed with subnanometer thick walls (Fe3O4@snPt@PCN) for this transformation. This well-controlled nanoreactor is prepared via the following procedures: the preparation of core template, the deposition of platinum nanocage with subnanometer thick walls, oxidative etching, and calcination. This highly integrated catalyst demonstrates excellent performance for the catalytic transfer hydrogenation of various nitroaromatics and the reaction can reach >99% conversion and >99% selectivity. With the ultrathin wall structure, the atom utilization of platinum atoms is highly efficient. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy results indicate that partial electrons transfer from the iron oxides to Pt nanowalls, and this increases the electron density of snPt nanoparticles, thus promoting the catalytic activity for the transfer hydrogenation of nitroaromatics. For the reduction of 4-nitrophenol, the reaction rate constant K app is 0.23 min-1 and the turnover frequency (TOF) is up to 3062 h-1. Additional reaction results illustrate that this magnetic nanoreactor can be reused more than eight times and it is a promising catalytic nanoplatform in heterogeneous catalysis.

Urban blue: A global analysis of the factors shaping people's perceptions of the marine environment and ecological engineering in harbours

Marine harbours are the focus of a diverse range of activities and subject to multiple anthropogenically induced pressures. Support for environmental management options aimed at improving degraded harbours depends on understanding the factors which influence people's perceptions of harbour environments. We used an online survey, across 12 harbours, to assess sources of variation people's perceptions of harbour health and ecological engineering. We tested the hypotheses: 1) people living near impacted harbours would consider their environment to be more unhealthy and degraded, be more concerned about the environment and supportive of and willing to pay for ecological engineering relative to those living by less impacted harbours, and 2) people with greater connectedness to the harbour would be more concerned about and have greater perceived knowledge of the environment, and be more supportive of, knowledgeable about and willing to pay for ecological engineering, than those with less connectedness. Across twelve locations, the levels of degradation and modification by artificial structures were lower and the concern and knowledge about the environment and ecological engineering were greater in the six Australasian and American than the six European and Asian harbours surveyed. We found that people's perception of harbours as healthy or degraded, but not their concern for the environment, reflected the degree to which harbours were impacted. There was a positive relationship between the percentage of shoreline modified and the extent of support for and people's willingness to pay indirect costs for ecological engineering. At the individual level, measures of connectedness to the harbour environment were good predictors of concern for and perceived knowledge about the environment but not support for and perceived knowledge about ecological engineering. To make informed decisions, it is important that people are empowered with sufficient knowledge of the environmental issues facing their harbour and ecological engineering options.

Thioredoxin Reductase Is Involved in Development and Pathogenicity in Fusarium graminearum

Fusarium graminearum is one of the causal agents of Fusarium head blight and produces the trichothecene mycotoxin, deoxynivalenol (DON). Thioredoxin reductases (TRRs) play critical roles in the recycling of oxidized thioredoxin. However, their functions are not well known in plant pathogenic fungi. In this study, we characterized a TRR orthologue FgTRR in F. graminearum. The FgTRR-GFP fusion protein localized to the cytoplasm. FgTRR gene deletion demonstrated that FgTRR is involved in hyphal growth, conidiation, sexual reproduction, DON production, and virulence. The ΔTRR mutants also exhibited a defect in pigmentation, the expression level of aurofusarin biosynthesis-related genes was significantly decreased in the FgTRR mutant. Furthermore, the ΔTRR mutants were more sensitive to oxidative stress and aggravated apoptosis-like cell death compared with the wild type strain. Taken together, these results indicate that FgTRR is important in development and pathogenicity in F. graminearum.

Correction: Hydrogel microfibers with perfusable folded channels for tissue constructs with folded morphology

Correction for ‘Hydrogel microfibers with perfusable folded channels for tissue constructs with folded morphology’ by Yupeng Liu et al., RSC Adv., 2018, 8, 23475–23480.

Invasive fungal disease in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus from Southern China: a retrospective study

Objective

To investigate the characteristics and associated factors of invasive fungal disease in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus from Southern China.

Methods

A retrospective study was performed. Demographic and clinical characteristics, laboratory data, and radiographic manifestations were recorded.

Results

A total of 45 lupus patients with invasive fungal disease (incidence 1.1%) were included. Twenty-three cases (51.1%) were infected with mold and 22 cases (48.9%) with yeast. Aspergillus spp. (44.4%) and Cryptococcus spp. (33.3%) were common. Aspergillosis mainly occurred in the lung. Cryptococcosis developed in the lung (40.0%), meninges (46.7%) and bloodstream (13.3%). Compared with yeast infection, mold infection tended to develop in patients with active lupus nephritis (65.2% vs. 31.8%, P = 0.03) and the mortality rate was higher (20.0% vs. 0%, P = 0.001). Co-infection with bacteria, virus or superficial fungi occurred in 12 patients (26.7%). Multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that lymphopenia (odds ratio 2.65, 95% confidential interval 1.14–6.20, P = 0.02) and an accumulated dose of glucocorticoid (odds ratio 1.58, 95% confidence interval 1.10–2.25, P = 0.01) was associated with invasive fungal disease in lupus patients.

Conclusion

Mold infection tended to develop in patients with active lupus disease with high mortality. Co-infection is not rare. Lymphopenia and an accumulated dose of glucocorticoid are associated with invasive fungal disease in lupus patients.