Transcriptomic changes in the microsporidia proliferation and host responses in congenitally infected embryos and larvae.

Congenital infection caused by vertical transmission of microsporidia N. bombycis can result in severe economic losses in the silkworm-rearing industry. Whole-transcriptome analyses have revealed non-coding RNAs and their regulatory networks in N. bombycis infected embryos and larvae. However, transcriptomic changes in the microsporidia proliferation and host responses in congenitally infected embryos and larvae remains unclear. Here, we simultaneously compared the transcriptomes of N. bombycis and its host B. mori embryos of 5-day and larvae of 1-, 5- and 10-day during congenital infection. For the transcriptome of N. bombycis, a comparison of parasite expression patterns between congenital-infected embryos and larva showed most genes related to parasite central carbon metabolism were down-regulated in larvae during infection, whereas the majority of genes involved in parasite proliferation and growth were up-regulated. Interestingly, a large number of distinct or shared differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were revealed by the Venn diagram and heat map, many of them were connected to infection related factors such as Ricin B lectin, spore wall protein, polar tube protein, and polysaccharide deacetylase. For the transcriptome of B. mori infected with N. bombycis, beyond numerous DEGs related to DNA replication and repair, mRNA surveillance pathway, RNA transport, protein biosynthesis, and proteolysis, with the progression of infection, a large number of DEGs related to immune and infection pathways, including phagocytosis, apoptosis, TNF, Toll-like receptor, NF-kappa B, Fc epsilon RI, and some diseases, were successively identified. In contrast, most genes associated with the insulin signaling pathway, 2-oxacarboxylic acid metabolism, amino acid biosynthesis, and lipid metabolisms were up-regulated in larvae compared to those in embryos. Furthermore, dozens of distinct and three shared DEGs that were involved in the epigenetic regulations, such as polycomb, histone-lysine-specific demethylases, and histone-lysine-N-methyltransferases, were identified via the Venn diagram and heat maps. Notably, many DEGs of host and parasite associated with lipid-related metabolisms were verified by RT-qPCR. Taken together, simultaneous transcriptomic analyses of both host and parasite genes lead to a better understanding of changes in the microsporidia proliferation and host responses in embryos and larvae in N. bombycis congenital infection.

Reconfigurable, non-volatile neuromorphic photovoltaics.

The neural network image sensor-which mimics neurobiological functions of the human retina-has recently been demonstrated to simultaneously sense and process optical images. However, highly tunable responsivity concurrent with non-volatile storage of image data in the neural network would allow a transformative leap in compactness and function of these artificial neural networks. Here, we demonstrate a reconfigurable and non-volatile neuromorphic device based on two-dimensional semiconducting metal sulfides that is concurrently a photovoltaic detector. The device is based on a metal-semiconductor-metal (MSM) two-terminal structure with pulse-tunable sulfur vacancies at the M-S junctions. By modulating sulfur vacancy concentrations, the polarities of short-circuit photocurrent can be changed with multiple stable magnitudes. The bias-induced motion of sulfur vacancies leads to highly reconfigurable responsivities by dynamically modulating the Schottky barriers. A convolutional neuromorphic network is finally designed for image processing and object detection using the same device. The results demonstrated that neuromorphic photodetectors can be the key components of visual perception hardware.

Non-coding RNAs identification and regulatory networks in pathogen-host interaction in the microsporidia congenital infection.

BACKGROUND: The interaction networks between coding and non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) including long non-coding RNA (lncRNA), covalently closed circular RNA (circRNA) and miRNA are significant to elucidate molecular processes of biological activities and interactions between host and pathogen. Congenital infection caused by vertical transmission of microsporidia N. bombycis can result in severe economic losses in the silkworm-feeding industry. However, little is known about ncRNAs that take place in the microsporidia congenital infection. Here we conducted whole-transcriptome RNA-Seq analyses to identify ncRNAs and regulatory networks for both N. bombycis and host including silkworm embryos and larvae during the microsporidia congenital infection. RESULTS: A total of 4,171 mRNAs, 403 lncRNA, 62 circRNAs, and 284 miRNAs encoded by N. bombycis were identified, among which some differentially expressed genes formed cross-talk and are involved in N. bombycis proliferation and infection. For instance, a lncRNA/circRNA competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) network including 18 lncRNAs, one circRNA, and 20 miRNAs was constructed to describe 14 key parasites genes regulation, such as polar tube protein 3 (PTP3), ricin-B-lectin, spore wall protein 4 (SWP4), and heat shock protein 90 (HSP90). Regarding host silkworm upon N. bombycis congenital infection, a total of 14,889 mRNAs, 3,038 lncRNAs, 19,039 circRNAs, and 3,413 miRNAs were predicted based on silkworm genome with many differentially expressed coding and non-coding genes during distinct developmental stages. Different species of RNAs form interacting network to modulate silkworm biological processes, such as growth, metamorphosis and immune responses. Furthermore, a lncRNA/circRNA ceRNA network consisting of 140 lncRNAs, five circRNA, and seven miRNAs are constructed hypothetically to describe eight key host genes regulation, such as Toll-6, Serpin-6, inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and Caspase-8. Notably, cross-species analyses indicate that parasite and host miRNAs play a vital role in pathogen-host interaction in the microsporidia congenital infection. CONCLUSION: This is the first comprehensive pan-transcriptome study inclusive of both N. bombycis and its host silkworm with a specific focus on the microsporidia congenital infection, and show that ncRNA-mediated regulation plays a vital role in the microsporidia congenital infection, which provides a new insight into understanding the basic biology of microsporidia and pathogen-host interaction.

Gate-Tunable van der Waals Photodiodes with an Ultrahigh Peak-to-Valley Current Ratio.

Photodetectors and imagers based on 2D layered materials are currently subject to a rapidly expanding application space, with an increasing demand for cost-effective and lightweight devices. However, the underlying carrier transport across the 2D homo- or heterojunction channel driven by the external electric field, like a gate or drain bias, is still unclear. Here, a visible-near infrared photodetector based on van der Waals stacked molybdenum telluride (MoTe2 ) and black phosphorus (BP) is reported. The type-I and type-II band alignment can be tuned by the gate and drain voltage combined showing a dynamic modulation of the conduction polarity and negative differential transconductance. The heterojunction devices show a good photoresponse to light illumination ranging from 520-2000 nm. The built-in potential at the MoTe2 /BP interface can efficiently separate photoexcited electron-hole pairs with a high responsivity of 290 mA W-1 , an external quantum efficiency of 70%, and a fast photoresponse of 78 µs under zero bias.

Graphene/MoS2-xOx/graphene photomemristor with tunable non-volatile responsivities for neuromorphic vision processing.

Conventional artificial intelligence (AI) machine vision technology, based on the von Neumann architecture, uses separate sensing, computing, and storage units to process huge amounts of vision data generated in sensory terminals. The frequent movement of redundant data between sensors, processors and memory, however, results in high-power consumption and latency. A more efficient approach is to offload some of the memory and computational tasks to sensor elements that can perceive and process the optical signal simultaneously. Here, we proposed a non-volatile photomemristor, in which the reconfigurable responsivity can be modulated by the charge and/or photon flux through it and further stored in the device. The non-volatile photomemristor has a simple two-terminal architecture, in which photoexcited carriers and oxygen-related ions are coupled, leading to a displaced and pinched hysteresis in the current-voltage characteristics. For the first time, non-volatile photomemristors implement computationally complete logic with photoresponse-stateful operations, for which the same photomemristor serves as both a logic gate and memory, using photoresponse as a physical state variable instead of light, voltage and memresistance. The polarity reversal of photomemristors shows great potential for in-memory sensing and computing with feature extraction and image recognition for neuromorphic vision.

Geometry-asymmetric photodetectors from metal-semiconductor-metal van der Waals heterostructures.

The functional diversities of two-dimensional (2D) material devices with simple architectures are ultimately limited by immature doping techniques. An alternative strategy is to use geometry-asymmetric metal-semiconductor-metal (GA-MSM) structures, which enable the basic functions of semiconductor junctions such as rectification and photovoltaics. Here, the mixed-dimensional van der Waals heterostructures (MDvdWHs) based on the separation and self-assembly of p-type SnS layered nanosheets (NSs) and n-type SnS2 nanoparticles (NPs) are obtained using an aqueous phase exfoliation (APE) method. Due to the surface charge transfer doping, the carrier transport mechanism of devices based on MDvdWHs turns from thermionic field emission (TFE) to thermionic emission (TE), with the rectification factor (Iforward/Ireverse) changing from 0.7 to 3. To further illustrate the experimental results, the generic current transport models of GA-MSM devices have been established based on the TE and TFE mechanisms in which the TE and TFE mechanisms lead to opposite rectification phenomena in good agreement with the experimental results. The GA-MSM devices show a photovoltaic effect with a high responsivity of 35 A W-1 and detectivity of 3.4 × 1011 cm Hz1/2 W-1. This study not only provides a novel strategy to design photovoltaic devices with MDvdWHs, but more importantly, we have established fundamental models for the rectification behavior of GA-MSM devices.

Proliferation characteristics of the intracellular microsporidian pathogen Nosema bombycis in congenitally infected embryos.

Nosema bombycis is an obligate intracellular pathogen that can be transmitted vertically from infected females to eggs, resulting in congenital infections in embryos. Here we investigated the proliferation characteristics of N. bombycis in silkworm embryos using a histopathological approach and deep RNA sequencing. We found that N. bombycis proliferated mainly around yolk granules at the early stage of the embryonic development, 1-2 days post oviposition (dpo). At 4-6 dpo, a portion of N. bombycis in different stages adjacent to the embryo were packaged into the newly formed intestinal lumen, while the remaining parasites continued to proliferate around yolk granules. In the newly hatched larvae (9 dpo), the newly formed spores accumulated in the gut lumen and immediately were released into the environment via the faeces. Transcriptional profiling of N. bombycis further confirmed multiplication of N. bombycis throughout every stage of embryonic development. Additionally, the increased transcriptional level of spore wall proteins and polar tube proteins from 4 dpo indicated an active formation of mature spores. Taken together, our results have provided a characterization of the proliferation of this intracellular microsporidian pathogen in congenitally infected embryos leading to vertical transmission.

Biomarker MicroRNAs for Diagnosis of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma Identified Based on Gene Expression Data and MicroRNA-mRNA Network Analysis.

Oral squamous cell carcinoma is one of the most malignant tumors with high mortality rate worldwide. Biomarker discovery is critical for early diagnosis and precision treatment of this disease. MicroRNAs are small noncoding RNA molecules which often regulate essential biological processes and are good candidates for biomarkers. By integrative analysis of both the cancer-associated gene expression data and microRNA-mRNA network, miR-148b-3p, miR-629-3p, miR-27a-3p, and miR-142-3p were screened as novel diagnostic biomarkers for oral squamous cell carcinoma based on their unique regulatory abilities in the network structure of the conditional microRNA-mRNA network and their important functions. These findings were confirmed by literature verification and functional enrichment analysis. Future experimental validation is expected for the further investigation of their molecular mechanisms.

Corrigendum to "Biomarker MicroRNAs for Diagnosis of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma Identified Based on Gene Expression Data and MicroRNA-mRNA Network Analysis".

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1155/2017/9803018.].

Risk factors of recurrence and life-threatening complications for patients hospitalized with chronic suppurative osteomyelitis of the jaw.

BACKGROUND: Clinically, recurrence and life-threatening complications are challenging problems for chronic suppurative osteomyelitis of the jaw (CSOJ), but there is no quantitative analysis or report about the causes of or risk factors for the two problems to date. Doctors identify the causes or risk factors only through clinical experience. We performed a retrospective study of 322 patients with CSOJ to quantificationally analysed the risk factors for the abovementioned two problems by logistic regression analysis. METHODS: A retrospective study of 322 patients hospitalized with CSOJ was performed. The socio-demographic and clinical characteristics were recorded. The risk factors for the above two problems were analyzed by logistic regression analysis. Frequency and percentage were used to indicate descriptive research factors. A univariate logistic regression analysis was performed to calculate the odds ratio (OR) and to identify independent risk factors. The independent risk factors were further identified by multivariate logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: An age from 6-12 years or > 65 years, pre-admission antibiotic administration, a lesion at the mandibular ramus, concurrent maxillofacial space infection (MSI), and conservation of pathogenic teeth were found to be risk factors for recurrence. An age > 65 years, admission temperature > 39 degree Celsius, admission white blood cell (WBC) count >15×109/L, pre-admission antibiotic administration, concurrent MSI, pre-existing diabetes, and respiratory difficulty were found to be risk factors for life-threatening complications. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate that doctors should remain mindful of the risk factors listed above, and the management of CSOJ should be increasingly aggressive when the above risk factors are present, especially when the lesion is located at the mandibular ramus. In addition, pathogenic teeth must be extracted, and antibiotics should be administered properly. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinicaltrials.gov (NCT01670422).

Differential expression of signaling pathways in odontogenic differentiation of ectomesenchymal cells isolated from the first branchial arch.

The aim of this study was to screen for differential expression of signaling pathways in odontogenic differentiation of ectomesenchymal cells isolated from the first branchial arch of embryonic day 10 (E10) mice by real time RT-PCR microarray. Observations of cellular morphology, immunocytochemistry, and RT-PCR were used to identify the cell source. A real time RT-PCR microarray was then used to detect the differential expression of signaling pathways in cells dissected from animals at two different developmental stages. These assays identified 25 up-regulated genes and 16 down-regulated genes involved in odontogenic differentiation of the ectomesenchymal cells of the first branchial arch. They represented the main members of Wnt, Hedgehog, TGF-ß, NF-κB, and LDL signaling pathways. This study determined that these signaling pathways are important for odontogenic differentiation of ectomesenchymal cells of the first branchial arch.

Bilateral coronoid hyperplasia (Jacob disease on right and elongation on left): report of a case and literature review.

A case is reported of bilateral coronoid hyperplasia. The literature is reviewed concerning this condition's etiology, pathogenesis, clinical characteristics, diagnosis, and treatment. Jacob disease and coronoid elongation are both clinical features of coronoid hyperplasia. It is usually accompanied by restricted opening. The etiology and pathogenesis of coronoid hyperplasia are unclear. The condition can be diagnosed by panoramic radiographs and with 3-dimensional reconstructions from computerized tomography image data sets. Hyperplasia of the coronoid processes can be treated using an intraoral approach for coronoidectomy and dynamic laser physiotherapy after surgery. Although hyperplasia of the coronoid processes is uncommon in clinic, it can be found through careful examination and proper radiographic study. A 39-year-old female patient was referred for coronoid hyperplasia (Jacob disease on right and elongation on left). The histologic diagnosis for the right condylar condition was osteochondroma.

[Distraction osteogenesis for repair of cleft palate: an experimental study].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the repair of cleft palate (CP) bone defect under the application of distraction osteogenesis (DO); to investigate the correction mechanism in thin bone of palatal shelf and to search a possible new treatment approach for repair of CP. METHODS: 14 cats were assigned randomly to 3 groups: (1) Empty control, 2 cats unoperated with euthanasia at the end of 2 weeks; (2) Experimental control, 2 cats underwent 8 mm x 18 mm palatal osteoectomy in saggital direction as the experimental model of CP with euthanasia in 6 weeks; (3) Experimental group, 10 cats were performed the same palatal osteoectomy as group (2), the newly designed and individual manufactured intraoral distractors were fixed to teeth by brackets and to bilateral palate bone across the defect with titanium miniscrews. 4 weeks later the transport disc (TD) osteotomy were performed and gradual distraction was started after 6 days latency period at the rate of 0.4 mm x 2/day till the TD reached the opposite edge of the CP. Roentgenographic, gross meterage and ultrastructural observation were performed 2, 4, 6, 8, 12 weeks after completion of distraction. RESULTS: All the examinations revealed the TD recombination to the opposite bone edge of the CP, simultaneously, the proportional expansion of overlay mucoperiosteal flap was achieved. The bone defect were filled with de move osteogenesis. Roentgenographically, the new bone mineralization was along the DO vector, developed from the bone cut edges bilaterally to the central translucent zone until turned to thin fissure. Comparison of the plaster casts showed no change in the occlusion or dentomaxillofacial framework. CONCLUSIONS: The intraoral distractor is able to get both effective distraction and steady fixation. The examination results suggest that the CP bone and soft tissue defect could be repaired and acheived functional reconstruction under DO, which could be a new treatment approach for repair of CP.

[Distraction osteogenesis for the repair of cleft palate--an ultrastructural study].

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to explore ultrastructural characters of the newly formed bone in the correction of cleft palate (CP) bone defect by distraction osteogenesis (DO). METHODS: The CP experimental animal models (12 cats) were established surgically, and were divided randomly into the experimental group (10 cats), in which the hard palate bone defects were corrected with DO procedure at the rate of 0.4 mm x 2/day. The specimen retrieval with euthanasia was carried out at 2, 4, 6, 8, 12 weeks after completion of distraction. Ultrastructural study was then performed; the experimental control group (2 cats) was kept for 6 weeks before euthanasia without any correction, the other extra 2 cats were used as the negative control. RESULTS: New bone formation appeared in early 2 weeks. Exclusively intramembranous bone formation was observed in all specimens. The remodeling activities were keep observed throughout the period of study, and the bone structure matured gradually till 12 weeks after the completion of DO. No repair was observed in experimental control group. CONCLUSION: The reconstruction of CP bone defect by means of DO could get active intramembranous bone formation and remodeling, which adapted to normal functional activities.

[Characteristics of BMP expression and X-ray films in distraction osteogenesis for repair of cleft palate--an immunohistochemical and roentgenographic study].

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to observe the roentgenographic characters of distraction osteogenesis (DO) correction of cleft palate (CP), to study the expression of BMP proportional to fixation period time intervals, and to explore the new bone formation mechanism in Cleft Palate bone shelf. METHODS: 12 cats were used to establish the CP animal model surgically, and then were assigned randomly to (1) Experimental group (12 cats): CP defects were DO repaired at the rate and rhythm of 0.4 mm x 2/day. Specimen retrieval at 2, 4, 6, 8, 12 weeks after completion of distraction, roentgenography and Anti-BMP immunohistochemistry studies were performed; (2) Experimental control group (2 cats): CP defects without any treatment procedures, and (3) Empty control group of 2 cats. RESULTS: Anti-BMP immunohistochemistry study showed positive DAB dye in early 2 weeks and most extensively positive expression of BMP in 4 to 6 weeks. The expression of BMP wore off gradually through 8 to 12 weeks. The roentgenography showed that the newly mineralized bone was developed from the cut bone edges bilaterally to the central transparent zone, and the newly formed bone bridged the defect area completely at the end of the study. The CP bone defect was reconstructed and the distraction gap was filled with de nove osteogenesis. No new bone formation was observed in experimental control group. CONCLUSION: The process of new bone formation in the distraction area is dynamic. Being stimulated primarily, the process was kept highly active till quiescence phase finally. The X-ray examination shows that there is distinctively low roentgenopeque. Nevertheless, roentgenography is so far a very effective and convenient method to evaluate and monitor the DO correction efficiency.