A First-Principles Study of Anion Doping in LiFePO4 Cathode Materials for Li-Ion Batteries.

Doping anions into LiFePO4 can improve the electrochemical performance of lithium-ion batteries. In this study, structures, electronic properties and Li-ion migration of anion (F- , Cl- , and S2- ) doping into LiFePO4 were systematically investigated by means of density functional theory calculations. Anion substitution for oxygen atoms leads to an expansion of the LiFePO4 lattice, significantly facilitating Li-ion diffusion. For Cl- and F- anion doped into LiFePO4 , the energy barrier of Li-ion migration gets lowered to 0.209 eV and 0.283 eV from 0.572 eV. The introduction of anions narrows the forbidden band of LiFePO4 , enhancing its electronic conductivity. This work pays a way towards the rational design of high-performance lithium-ion batteries.

[Expression Levels and Regulation of Selenoprotein Genes in Patients With Coronavirus Disease 2019].

Objective To investigate the expression levels of selenoprotein genes in the patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and the possible regulatory mechanisms.Methods The dataset GSE177477 was obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus,consisting of a symptomatic group (n=11),an asymptomatic group (n=18),and a healthy control group (n=18).The dataset was preprocessed to screen the differentially expressed genes (DEG) related to COVID-19,and gene ontology functional annotation and Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes enrichment analysis were performed for the DEGs.The protein-protein interaction network of DEGs was established,and multivariate Logistic regression was employed to analyze the effects of selenoprotein genes on the presence/absence of symptoms in the patients with COVID-19.Results Compared with the healthy control,the symptomatic COVID-19 patients presented up-regulated expression of GPX1,GPX4,GPX6,DIO2,TXNRD1,SELENOF,SELENOK,SELENOS,SELENOT,and SELENOW and down-regulated expression of TXNRD2 and SELENON (all P<0.05).The asymptomatic patients showcased up-regulated expression of GPX2,SELENOI,SELENOO,SELENOS,SELENOT,and SELENOW and down-regulated expression of SELP (all P<0.05).The results of multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that the abnormally high expression of GPX1 (OR=0.067,95%CI=0.005-0.904,P=0.042) and SELENON (OR=56.663,95%CI=3.114-856.999,P=0.006) was the risk factor for symptomatic COVID-19,and the abnormally high expression of SELP was a risk factor for asymptomatic COVID-19 (OR=15.000,95%CI=2.537-88.701,P=0.003).Conclusions Selenoprotein genes with differential expression are involved in the regulation of COVID-19 development.The findings provide a new reference for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19.

High SNHG expression may predict a poor lung cancer prognosis based on a meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: An increasing number of small nucleolar RNA host genes (SNHGs) have been revealed to be dysregulated in lung cancer tissues, and abnormal expression of SNHGs is significantly correlated with the prognosis of lung cancer. The purpose of this study was to conduct a meta-analysis to explore the correlation between the expression level of SNHGs and the prognosis of lung cancer. METHODS: A comprehensive search of six related databases was conducted to obtain relevant literature. Relevant information, such as overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), TNM stage, lymph node metastasis (LNM), and tumor size, was extracted. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were pooled to evaluate the relationship between SNHG expression and the survival outcome of lung cancers. Sensitivity and publication bias analyses were performed to explore the stability and reliability of the overall results. RESULTS: Forty publications involving 2205 lung cancer patients were included in this meta-analysis. The pooled HR and 95% CI values indicated a significant positive association between high SNHG expression and poor OS (HR: 1.890, 95% CI: 1.595-2.185), disease-free survival (DFS) (HR: 2.31, 95% CI: 1.57-3.39) and progression-free survival (PFS) (HR: 2.01, 95% CI: 0.66-6.07). The pooled odds ratio (OR) and 95% CI values indicated that increased SNHG expression may be correlated with advanced TNM stage (OR: 1.509, 95% CI: 1.267-1.799), increase risk of distant lymph node metastasis (OR: 1.540, 95% CI: 1.298-1.828), and large tumor size (OR: 1.509, 95% CI: 1.245-1.829). Sensitivity analysis and publication bias results showed that each result had strong reliability and robustness, and there was no significant publication bias or other bias. CONCLUSION: Most SNHGs are upregulated in lung cancer tissues, and high expression of SNHGs predicts poor survival outcomes in lung cancer. SNHGs may be potential prognostic markers and promising therapeutic targets.

Pan-Cancer Study of the Prognosistic Value of Selenium Phosphate Synthase 1.

Objective: This study sought to determine the mean prognostic usefulness of seleniumphosphate synthase (SEPHS1) by investigating its expression in 33 human malignancies and its relationship to tumor immunity.Methods: The expression of selenophosphate synthase 1 (SEPHS1) in 33 human malignant tumors was examined using the Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx), Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), and TIMER databases. Furthermore, the TCGA cohort was used to investigate relationships between SEPHS1 and immunological checkpoint genes (ICGs), tumor mutation burden (TMB), microsatellite instability (MSI), and DNA mismatch repair genes (MMRs). To establish independent risk factors and calculate survival probabilities for liver hepatocellular carcinoma (LIHC) and brain lower-grade glioma (LGG), Cox regression models and Kaplan-Meier curves were utilized. Eventually, the Genomics of Cancer Drug Sensitivity (GDSC) database was used to evaluate the drug sensitivity in LGG and LIHC patients with high SEPHS1 expression.Results: Overall, in numerous tumor tissues, SEPHS1 was highly expressed, and it significantly linked with the prognosis of LGG, ACC, and LIHC (P < .05). Furthermore, in numerous cancers, SEPHS1 expression was linked to tumor-infiltrating immune cells (TIICs), TMB, MSI, and MMRs. According to univariate and multivariate Cox analyses, SEPHS1 expression was significant for patients with LGG and LIHC.Conclusion: High SEPHS1 expression has a better prognosis for LGG, while low SEPHS1 expression has a better prognosis for LIHC. Chemotherapy was advised for LGG patients, particularly for those with high SEPHS1 expression because it can predict how responsive patients will be to 5-Fluorouracil and Temozolomide. This interaction between SEPHS1 and chemoradiotherapy has a positive clinical impact and may be used as evidence for chemotherapy for LGG and LIHC patients.

[A Prediction Model for Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection and Mother-to-Child Transmission Based on the Expression Levels of Selenoprotein Genes].

Objective To study the expression of selenoprotein genes in human immunodeficiency virus(HIV)infection and its mother-to-child transmission,so as to provide a theoretical basis for the prevention,diagnosis,and treatment of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.Methods The dataset GSE4124 was downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus(GEO).Two groups of HIV-positive mothers(n=25)and HIV-negative mothers(n=20)were designed.HIV-positive mothers included a subset of transmitter(TR)mothers(n=11)and non-transmitter(NTR)mothers(n=14).Then,t-test was carried out to compare the expression levels of selenoprotein genes between the four groups(HIV-positive vs. HIV-negative,NTR vs. HIV-negative,TR vs. HIV-negative,TR vs. NTR).Univariate and multivariate Logistic regression were adopted to analyze the effects of differentially expressed genes on HIV infection and mother-to-child transmission.R software was used to establish a nomogram prediction model and evaluate the model performance.Results Compared with the HIV-negative group,HIV-positive,NTR,and TR groups had 8,5 and 8 down-regulated selenoprotein genes,respectively.Compared with the NTR group,the TR group had 4 down-regulated selenoprotein genes.Univariate Logistic regression analysis showed that abnormally high expression of GPX1,GPX3,GPX4,TXNRD1,TXNRD3,and SEPHS2 affected HIV infection and had no effect on mother-to-child transmission.The multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that the abnormally high expression of TXNRD3(OR=0.032,95%CI=0.002-0.607,P=0.022)was positively correlated with HIV infection.As for the nomogram prediction model,the area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve for 1-year survival of HIV-infected patients was 0.840(95%CI=0.690-1.000),and that for 3-year survival of HIV-infected patients was 0.870(95%CI=0.730-1.000).Conclusions Multiple selenoprotein genes with down-regulated expression levels were involved in the regulation of HIV infection and mother-to-child transmission.The abnormal high expression of TXNRD3 was positively correlated with HIV infection.The findings provide new ideas for the prevention,diagnosis,and treatment of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.

Multiple Dynamic Bonds-Driven Integrated Cathode/Polymer Electrolyte for Stable All-Solid-State Lithium Metal Batteries.

All-solid-state lithium metal batteries (LMBs) are considered as the promising higher-energy and improved-safety energy-storage systems. Nevertheless, the electrolyte-electrodes interfacial issues due to the limited solid physical contact lead to discontinuous interfacial charge transport and large interfacial resistance, thereby suffering from unsatisfactory electrochemical performance. Herein, we construct an integrated cathode/polymer electrolyte for all-solid-state LMBs under the action of polymer chains exchange and recombination originating from multiple dynamic bonds in our well-designed dynamic supramolecular ionic conductive elastomers (DSICE) molecular structure. The DSICE acts as polymer electrolytes with excellent electrochemical performance and mechanical properties, achieving the ultrathin pure polymer electrolyte thickness (12 µm). Notably, the DSICE also functions as lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4 , LFP) cathode binders with enhanced adhesive capability. Such well-constructed Li|DSICE|LFP-DSICE cells generate delicate electrolyte-electrodes interfacial contact at the molecular level, providing continuous Li+ transport pathways and promoting uniform Li+ deposition, further delivering superior long-term charge/discharge stability (>600 cycles, Coulombic efficiency, >99.8 %) and high capacity retention (80 % after 400 cycles). More practically, the Li|DSICE|LFP-DSICE pouch cells show stable electrochemical performance, excellent flexibility and safety under abusive tests.

Biological Functions of Selenoprotein Iodothyronine Deiodinase and its Expression in Osteoarthritis.

Objective Iodothyronine deiodinases (DIOs) are important selenoproteins that play a key role in the bone and joint diseases. Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most prevalent joint disease especially in elders. This bioinformatic analysis was performed to explore the role of DIOs in OA pathogenesis. Methods The biological functions of selenoprotein DIOs were analyzed by bioinformatic techniques, including GenCLip 3.0, Database for Annotation, Visualization and Integrated Discovery (DAVID), STRING, Cytoscape, and Network Analyst. The expression of DIOs in the healthy individuals and OA patients was determined by mining OA-related microarray data in the gene expression omnibus (GEO) database of National Center for Biotechnology Information and performing a Meta-analysis of the data with Review Manager 5.3. Results Cluster analysis revealed that the function of the DIOs was associated with thyroid hormone receptor and iodothyronine; GO analysis showed that DIOs were mainly involved in biological processes, such as ethanol metabolism and phenol-containing compound metabolism and primarily involved in the cytochrome P450 metabolism of exogenous organisms and thyroid hormone signaling; SULT1A1 was the core node of the PPI network; miRNAs and thyroid hormones had some iterations with DIO1and DIO2; Meta-analysis showed that DIO3 expression was significantly up-regulated in OA patients (SMD = 0.31, 95%CI: 0.03, 0.59, P = 0.03). Conclusions The main biological functions of DIOs were closely associated with the regulation of thyroid hormone. And the up-regulated expression of DIO3 may have crucial impact on the occurrence of OA.

Crosstalk between CpG Methylation and Polymorphisms (CpG-SNPs) in the Promotor Region of DIO2 in Kashin-Beck Disease.

Objective This study was designed to determine the methylation profile of four CpGs and the genotypes of two CpG-SNPs located in promoter region of DIO2 in patients with Kashin-Beck disease (KBD). We also analyzed the interaction between the CpGs methylations and CpG-SNPs. Methods Whole blood specimens were collected from 16 KBD patients and 16 healthy subjects. Four CpGs and two CpG-SNPs in the promoter regions of DIO2 were detected using matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS). The CpGs methylation levels were compared between samples from KBD patients and healthy subjects. The methylation levels were also analyzed in KBD patients with different CpG-SNP genotypes. Results The mRNA expression of DIO2 in whole blood of KBD patients was significnatly lower than in healthy controls (P <0.05). The methylation levels of DIO2-1_CpG_3 in KBD patients were significantly higher than those in healthy controls (P <0.05). The methylation levels of four CpGs were not significantly different between KBD patients and healthy controls. The methylation level of DIO2-1_CpG_3 in the promoter region of DIO2 in KBD patients with GA/AA genotype was significantly higher than that of KBD patients with GG genotype (P <0.05). Conclusion The methylation level of DIO2 increases in KBD patients. Similar trends exist in KBD carriers of variant genotypes of CpG-SNPs DIO2 rs955849187.

[Effect of Selenoprotein Thioredoxin Reductase 3 on the Survival Prognosis of Tumor Patients].

Objective To investigate the expression of thioredoxin reductase 3(TXNRD3),a selenoprotein,in 33 human malignant tumors and then analyze its effect on the survival prognosis.Methods We employed the genotype-tissue expression project database,the cancer cell line encyclopedia,and the cancer genome atlas to explore the expression of TXNRD3 gene in 33 human malignant tumors and analyze its impact on the survival prognosis.Further,we explored the correlations of TXNRD3 with immune cells and immune infiltration in the tumor microenvironment,as well as with neoantigens,immune checkpoint genes,tumor mutational burden,and microsatellite instability.Subsequently,human samples were classified into high-and low-expression groups according to TXNRD3 gene expression levels,and the enrichment analysis of biological functions and signaling pathways was performed.Results The analysis with multiple databases showed that TXNRD3 was highly expressed in 15 tumors.The survival analysis showed that TXNRD3 was significantly associated with poor prognosis in pancreatic cancer patients.In addition,the expression level of TXNRD3 was correlated with immune infiltration in tumor microenvironment,neoantigens,immune checkpoint genes,tumor mutational burden,and microsatellite instability.TXNRD3 affected the expression of DNA mismatch repair genes.The gene set enrichment indicated that TXNRD3 was involved in regulating multiple signaling pathways associated with tumor metabolism and tumor immunity.Conclusion TXNRD3 is widely expressed in tumors and has a clinical value for the survival prognosis prediction and treatment of multiple tumors,demonstrating the potential of being a promising biomarker for targeted treatment of multiple tumors.

[Expression and Regulatory Mechanism of Autophagy-related Genes in Synovial Tissues of Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis].

Objective To investigate the expression regulation of autophagy-related genes(ATG)and the mechanism of autophagy in rheumatoid arthritis(RA).Methods The differentially expressed genes(DEG)of RA were identified from GSE55235 and GSE55457,on the basis of which the differentially expressed autophagy-related genes(DE-ATG)were selected from the Human Autophagy Database.STRING 11.0 and GeneMANIA were used to establish protein-protein interaction networks.Further,the transcription factor-gene-miRNA co-expression network was established via NetworkAnalyst and Cytoscape.Finally,receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve and DrugBank were employed to evaluate the efficacy of the predicted biomarkers and the performance of drugs targeting DE-ATG.GraphPad Prism 8.2.1 and R 4.0.3 were used for statistical analysis and graphics.Results A total of 485 DEG were enriched in signaling pathways such as T cell activation,hormone regulation,osteoclast differentiation,RA,and chemokines.Eleven DE-ATG regulated the expression of RUNX1,TP53,SOX2,and hsa-mir-155-5p in synovial tissues of RA patients and were involved in the response to environmental factors such as 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzodioxin and silicon dioxide.The ROC curve analysis identified the DE-ATG with good sensitivity and specificity,such as MYC,MAPK8,CDKN1A,and TNFSF10,which can be used to distinguish certain phenotypes and serve as novel biomarkers for RA.Conclusions In RA,down-regulated DE-ATG expression may promote apoptosis and lysis of chondrocytes.The identified novel biomarkers provides new ideas and methods for diagnosing and treating RA.The establishment of transcription factor-miRNA-gene co-expression network provides direct evidence for dissecting synovial inflammation and articular cartilage destruction.

[Expression of Glutathione Peroxidases and Its Effect on Clinical Prognosis in Glioma Patients].

Objective To investigate the relationship between the expression of glutathione peroxidase(GPX)genes and the clinical prognosis in glioma patients,and to construct and evaluate the model for predicting the prognosis of glioma. Methods The clinical information and GPX expression of 663 patients,including 153 patients of glioblastoma(GBM)and 510 patients of low-grade glioma(LGG),were obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas(TCGA)database.The relationship between GPX expression and patient survival was analyzed.The key GPX affecting the prognosis of glioma was screened out by single- and multi-factor Cox's proportional-hazards regression models and validated by least absolute shrinkage and selection operator(Lasso)regression.Finally,we constructed the model for predicting the prognosis of glioma with the screening results and then used concordance index and calibration curve respectively to evaluate the discrimination and calibration of model. Results Compared with those in the control group,the expression levels of GPX1,GPX3,GPX4,GPX7,and GPX8 were up-regulated in glioma patients(all P<0.001).Moreover,the expression levels of other GPX except GPX3 were higher in GBM patients than in LGG patients(all P<0.001).The Kaplan-Meier curves showed that the progression-free survival of GBM with high expression of GPX1(P=0.013)and GPX4(P=0.040),as well as the overall survival,disease-specific survival,and progression-free survival of LGG with high expression of GPX1,GPX7,and GPX8,was shortened(all P<0.001).GPX7 and GPX8 were screened out as the key factors affecting the prognosis of LGG.The results were further used to construct a nomogram model,which suggested GPX7 was the most important variable.The concordance index of the model was 0.843(95%CI=0.809-0.853),and the calibration curve showed that the predicted and actual results had good consistency. Conclusion GPX7 is an independent risk factor affecting the prognosis of LGG,and the nomogram model constructed with it can be used to predict the survival rate of LGG.

Ubiquitination of NOTCH2 by DTX3 suppresses the proliferation and migration of human esophageal carcinoma.

The NOTCH2 gene plays a role in the development of many tumors. Deltex E3 ubiquitin ligase 3 (DTX3) was identified as a novel E3 ligase for NOTCH2 and as a potential therapeutic target for esophageal cancer. However, whether DTX3 could regulate NOTCH2 to suppress the progression of esophageal carcinoma remains unknown. In our study, NOTCH2 had higher expression in human esophageal carcinoma cell lines compared to normal human esophageal epithelial cell line, and ablation of NOTCH2 suppressed the proliferation and migration of esophageal carcinoma cells. A novel E3 ligase for NOTCH2 was identified by yeast two-hybrid (Y2H) screening, and DTX3 promoted the ubiquitination and degradation of NOTCH2. Further study showed that DTX3 overexpression suppressed the proliferation and tumorigenicity of human oesophageal carcinoma cells. The analysis of tissue samples from patients revealed that the expression of NOTCH2 was high while the expression of DTX3 was low in esophageal cancer. Furthermore, the expression of DTX3 and NOTCH2 showed a significant negative correlation in human oesophageal cancer samples. Our study suggested that the DTX3-NOTCH2 axis plays an important role in the progression of esophageal cancer, and DTX3 acts as an anti-oncogene in esophageal carcinoma, potentially offering a therapeutic target for esophageal cancer.

A triazole-based fluorescence probe for detecting Hg2+ ions and its biological application.

A new compound, ethyl 5-phenyl-2-(p-tolyl)-2H-1,2,3-triazole-4-carboxylate was successfully introduced and synthesized as a novel rhodamine B derivative named REPPC, and characterized by 1 H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), 13 C NMR, and high resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS). It showed an obvious fluorescence and UV-visible light absorption enhancement towards Hg2+ ion without interference from common metal ions in N,N-dimethylformamide-H2 O (pH 7.4). The spirolactam ring moiety of rhodamine in REPPC was converted to the open-ring form generating a 1:1 complex with the intervention of a mercury ion, verified by electrospray ionization-mass spectroscopy testing and density functional theory calculation. REPPC was used to visualize the level of mercury ions in living HeLa cells with encouraging results.

Adaptive Spoofing Suppression Algorithm for GNSS Based on Multiple Antennas Array.

The signals of navigation satellites are easily affected by spoofing interference, causing the wrong position, speed or Universal Time Coordinate of the receiver to be calculated. Traditional detection and suppression algorithms are used only to eliminate the spoofing signals, which may lead to an insufficient number of satellites for positioning. An adaptive spoofing suppression algorithm (ASSA) based on a multiple antenna array is proposed in this study. The ASSA can use the cross-correlation gain of multiple antenna array to adaptively generate nulling and realize the simultaneous suppression of multiple spoofing signals. Moreover, ASSA does not need to capture and track spoofing separately, thus reducing the complexity of implementation and calculation. Experiments were conducted to verify the proposed system under different conditions, and the results show that ASSA can suppress multiple spoofings with little impact on positioning performance. Under the condition of spoofing, ASSAs were (2.22 m, 2.41 m, 4.43 m) in the static test and (2.27 m, 2.43 m, 4.64 m) in the kinematic test, which are good positioning performances for both. In addition, the ASSA is applied before capturing signals, which is beneficial to identifying and eliminating spoofing earlier and faster.

[Changes of Gene Expression Profile in Cardiac Mesenchymal Cells in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Screening of Their Related Environmental Chemicals].

Objective To study the gene expression of cardiac mesenchymal cells in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM)based on a whole-genome high-throughput sequencing dataset,screen differentially expressed genes,analyze the genetics signature of cardiac mesenchymal cells in T2DM patients by bioinformatics analysis,and explore the environmental chemicals related to the key differentially expressed genes. Methods The dataset GSE106177 was obtained from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database.The dataset was pre-processed and analyzed by Network Analyst,Cytoscape 3.7.1,String11.0,CTD,and HMDD for screening for differentially expressed genes,enrichment analysis,establishment of protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks,and screening for relevant environmental chemicals. Results The gene expression pattern of cardiac mesenchymal cells in T2DM patients was significantly different from that in the control group.There were 135 differentially expressed genes,of which 58 (42.96%) were up-regulated and 77 (57.04%) were down-regulated.The differentially expressed genes mainly participated in biological processes such as multicellular organism development,anatomical structure development,and system development and were mainly involved in hepatocellular carcinoma,Cushing's syndrome,and cholesterol metabolism.PPI network showed that UBC was the core protein node.The microRNA-Gene interaction network showed that seven microRNAs,represented by hsa-mir-8485,interacted with the differentially expressed genes.Key T2DM related genes such as UBC,DNER,and CNTN1 interacted with bisphenol A. Conclusions The gene expression profile of cardiac mesenchymal cells markedly changes in T2DM patients,during which UBC may play an important biological role.Bisphenol A exposure may also affect the development and normal function of cardiac cells in T2DM patients.

Culprit Lesion Characteristics in Young Patients with Hyperhomocysteinemia.

BACKGROUND The relationships between culprit coronary plaque characteristics and hyperhomocysteinemia (HHcy) are not fully understood in young patients. In this study we investigated the relationship between culprit atherosclerotic plaque phenotype assessed by optical coherence tomography (OCT) and hyperhomocysteinemia (HHcy) in young patients. MATERIAL AND METHODS We investigated the OCT imaging and HHcy of 123 lesions in 123 young patients (≤45 years of age). According to OCT images, culprit lesions were classified as thin-cap fiber atheroma (TCFA), thrombus, and other. The 123 patients were grouped as: HHcy group (53 cases, HHcy ≥15.5 µmol/l) and control group (70 cases, HHcy <15.5 µmol/l). RESULTS Compared with the control group, the HHcy group had a higher proportion of OCT-TCFA (p=0.03), OCT-vasa vasorum (p=0.013), and OCT-thrombus (p=0.012), and a larger lipid arc (p=0.002). HHcy (P=0.037) and metabolic syndrome (MetS) (P=0.016) remained independent predictors of TCFAs. HHcy (P=0.026) and smoking (P=0.005) remained independent determinants of thrombus. CONCLUSIONS HHcy and MetS are associated with TCFAs, and HHcy and smoking are associated with thrombus in young patients with coronary artery disease.

Mach-Zehnder interferometric magnetic field sensor based on a photonic crystal fiber and magnetic fluid.

A Mach-Zehnder interferometric magnetic field sensor based on a photonic crystal fiber (PCF) and magnetic fluid (MF) was designed and experimentally demonstrated. The sensing probe consists of a single-mode-(SM)-multimode-PCF-SM fiber structure through arc fusion splicing. It was then laser engrave notched with the femtosecond laser so that the PCF cladding was selectively infilled MF. A well-defined interference pattern was obtained on account of the tunable refractive index of the MF infilled PCF cladding. The transmission spectra of the proposed sensor under different magnetic field intensities have been measured and theoretically analyzed. The results show that the sensitivity of the proposed sensor can reach -0.13 dB/mT and 0.07334 nm/mT in the magnetic field intensity from 1 mT to 20 mT and 2 mT to 20 mT, respectively.

LGR5 and BMI1 Increase Pig Intestinal Epithelial Cell Proliferation by Stimulating WNT/ß-Catenin Signaling.

Leucine-rich repeat-containing G protein-coupled receptor 5 (LGR5) and B-cell-specific Moloney murine leukemia virus insertion site 1 (BMI1) are markers of fast-cycling and quiescent intestinal stem cells, respectively. To determine the functions of these proteins in large animals, we investigated their effects on the proliferation of intestinal epithelial cells from pigs. Our results indicated that LGR5 and BMI1 are highly conserved proteins and that the pig proteins have greater homology with the human proteins than do mouse proteins. Overexpression of either LGR5 or BMI1 promoted cell proliferation and WNT/ß-catenin signaling in pig intestinal epithelial cells (IPEC-J2). Moreover, the activation of WNT/ß-catenin signaling by recombinant human WNT3A protein increased cell proliferation and LGR5 and BMI1 protein levels. Conversely, inhibition of WNT/ß-catenin signaling using XAV939 reduced cell proliferation and LGR5 and BMI1 protein levels. This is the first report that LGR5 and BMI1 can increase proliferation of pig intestinal epithelial cells by activating WNT/ß-catenin signaling.

[Analysis of Differentially Expressed Genes and the Interaction Network between Acute and Chronic Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura in Children].

Objective To analyze the differentially expressed genes and key proteins in T cells between acute and chronic idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) in children and provide the basis for the prevention and therapies of this disease. Methods Microarray gene chip data from T cells of children with acute or chronic ITP were downloaded from the GEO Database. The gene expression profiles,gene function,and protein interaction network were analyzed by R,QOE,Networkanalyst,GCBI,and GenClip. Results The gene expression profiles between these two groups were significantly different. Among the 54 675 genes analyzed,there were 457 (0.84%) differentially expressed genes between these two groups. In the protein interaction networks among top 20 differentially expressed genes,the core was JUN(down-regulated) and ITCH(up-regulated),which were both related to the tumor necrosis factor signaling pathway;differentially expressed genes were mainly related to the activation and tolerance of T cell. Conclusions The gene expression profiles differ between acute and chronic ITP patients,suggesting that the gene transcription profile plays a regulatory role in the different stages of ITP. JUN and ITCH may play a role in predict the progression of ITP and may exert their biological functions by regulating the tumor necrosis factor signaling pathway.

A novel bicistronic expression system composed of the intraflagellar transport protein gene ift25 and FMDV 2A sequence directs robust nuclear gene expression in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii.

Chlamydomonas reinhardtii offers a great promise for large-scale production of multiple recombinant proteins of pharmaceutical and industrial interest. However, the nuclear-encoding transgenes usually are expressed at a low level, which severely hampers the use of this alga in molecular farming. In this study, the promoter of the endogenous intraflagellar transport 25 (IFT25) gene of C. reinhardtii was tested for its ability to drive the expression of green fluorescent protein (GFP), which functions as a readout for target gene expression. IFT25 promoter (IFT25P) alone was not able to drive GFP expression to a detectable level. IFT25P, however, can drive robust IFT25-GFP fusion protein expression when the intron-containing IFT25 gene was inserted between IFT25P and GFP cDNA. When an extended version of foot-and-mouth virus 2A protease (2AE) sequence was further inserted between the intron-containing IFT25 gene and the GFP cDNA, discrete GFP protein was observed to release from the IFT25-2AE-GFP polyprotein via 2A self-cleaving with a cleavage efficacy of approximately 99%. The monomer GFP was accumulated to a level of as high as 0.68% of total soluble proteins. To test whether the newly developed bicistronic IFT25P-IFT25-2AE expression system can be used to overexpress heterologous proteins of different origins and sizes, we inserted codon-optimized cDNAs encoding a Trichoderma reesei xylanase1 (25 kDa) and a Lachnospiraceae bacterium ND2006 type V CRISPR-Cas protein LbCpf1 (147 kDa) to the vector and found that the production of xylanase1 and LbCpf1 was as high as 0.69 and 0.49% of total soluble protein. Our result showed that IFT25P-IFT25-2AE system is more efficient to drive nuclear gene expression in C. reinhardtii than other conventionally used promoters, thus representing a novel efficient recombinant protein expression tool and has the potential to be scaled for commercial production of nuclear-encoded recombinant proteins of different sizes and origins in C. reinhardtii.