Systematic single-cell analysis reveals dynamic control of transposable element activity orchestrating the endothelial-to-hematopoietic transition.

BACKGROUND: The endothelial-to-hematopoietic transition (EHT) process during definitive hematopoiesis is highly conserved in vertebrates. Stage-specific expression of transposable elements (TEs) has been detected during zebrafish EHT and may promote hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) formation by activating inflammatory signaling. However, little is known about how TEs contribute to the EHT process in human and mouse. RESULTS: We reconstructed the single-cell EHT trajectories of human and mouse and resolved the dynamic expression patterns of TEs during EHT. Most TEs presented a transient co-upregulation pattern along the conserved EHT trajectories, coinciding with the temporal relaxation of epigenetic silencing systems. TE products can be sensed by multiple pattern recognition receptors, triggering inflammatory signaling to facilitate HSC emergence. Interestingly, we observed that hypoxia-related signals were enriched in cells with higher TE expression. Furthermore, we constructed the hematopoietic cis-regulatory network of accessible TEs and identified potential TE-derived enhancers that may boost the expression of specific EHT marker genes. CONCLUSIONS: Our study provides a systematic vision of how TEs are dynamically controlled to promote the hematopoietic fate decisions through transcriptional and cis-regulatory networks, and pre-train the immunity of nascent HSCs.

Suppressed Ion Migration in FA-Rich Perovskite Photovoltaics through Enhanced Nucleation of Encapsulation Interface.

With excellent homogeneity, compactness and controllable thickness, atomic layer deposition (ALD) technology is widely used in perovskite solar cells (PSCs). However, residual organic sources and undesired reactions pose serious challenges to device performance as well as stability. Here, ester groups of poly(ethylene-co-vinyl acetate) are introduced as a reaction medium to promote the nucleation and complete conversion of tetrakis(dimethylamino)tin(IV) (TDMA-Sn). Through simulations and experiments, it is verified that ester groups as Lewis bases can coordinate with TDMA-Sn to facilitate homogeneous deposition of ALD-SnOx , which acts as self-encapsulated interface with blocking properties against external moisture as well as internal ion migration. Meanwhile, a comprehensive evaluation of the self-encapsulated interface reveals that the energy level alignment is optimized to improve the carrier transport. Finally, the self-encapsulated device obtains a champion photovoltaic conversion efficiency (PCE) of 22.06% and retains 85% of the initial PCE after being stored at 85 °C with relative humidity of 85% for more than 800 h.

FAM3D regulation of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma behaviour through the EMT pathway.

OBJECTIVES: Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma present challenges in effective treatment, with 50%-60% of cases exhibiting recurrence or metastasis, often resistant to surgery alone. Immunotherapy, a promising approach, does not guarantee benefits for all patients. Thus, the imperative lies in identifying reliable biomarkers for predicting immunotherapy efficacy. FAM3D, a protein-coding gene known for its potent chemotactic activity in human peripheral blood monocytes and neutrophils, plays a crucial role in regulating tumour immune responses and holds promise as an immune biomarker. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We employed comprehensive database analysis to scrutinise FAM3D, evaluating its gene expression, mutation profiles and prognostic implications in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, along with its associations with clinical characteristics and immune cell infiltration. Complementary functional experiments were conducted to delve into the potential mechanisms governed by FAM3D. RESULTS: Our findings establish a significant correlation between low FAM3D expression and the invasiveness and metastatic potential of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. FAM3D likely exerts its influence through the regulation of epithelial-mesenchymal transition. CONCLUSIONS: FAM3D emerges as a valuable biomarker for predicting the responsiveness of patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma to immunotherapy, holding substantial clinical diagnostic and therapeutic relevance.

Spontaneous Internal Encapsulation via Dual Interfacial Perovskite Heterojunction Enables Highly Efficient and Stable Perovskite Solar Cells.

Deep traps stemming from the defects formed at the surfaces and grain boundaries of the perovskite films are the main reasons of nonradiative recombination and material degradation, which significantly affect efficiency and stability of perovskite solar cells (PSCs). Here, a spontaneous internal encapsulation strategy was developed by constructing a dual interfacial perovskite heterojunction at the top and buried interface of the three-dimensional (3D) perovskite film. The spacer cations of the two-dimensional (2D) perovskite structure interacted strongly with the 3D perovskite to passivate the defects and optimize the energy level alignment. Meanwhile, the interfacial perovskite heterojunction underearth delayed the crystallization speed and improved the crystallization quality of the upper 3D perovskite. Thanks to these positive effects, the PSC exhibited a power conversion efficiency of 22.92% with good reproducibility. Significantly, the unencapsulated device with the dual interfacial perovskite heterojunction maintained 88% of its initial efficiency after 2900 h under 65 ± 5% RH in air.

Regulating Charge Transport Dynamics at the Buried Interface and Bulk of Perovskites by Tailored-phase Two-dimensional Crystal Seed Layer.

Targeting the trap-assisted non-radiative recombination losses and photochemical degradation occurring at the interface and bulk of perovskite, especially the overlooked buried bottom interface, a strategy of tailored-phase two-dimensional (TP-2D) crystal seed layer has been developed to improve the charge transport dynamics at the buried interface and bulk of perovskite films. Using this approach, TP-2D layer constructed by TP-2D crystal seeds at the buried interface can induce the formation of homogeneous interface electric field, which effectively suppress the accumulation of charge carriers at the buried interface. Additionally, the presence of TP-2D crystal seed has a positive effect on the crystallization process of the upper perovskite film, leading to optimized crystal quality and thus promoted charge transport inside bulk perovskites. Ultimately, the best performing PSCs based on TP-2D layer deliver a power conversion efficiency of 24.58 %. The devices exhibit an improved photostability with 88.4 % of their initial PCEs being retained after aging under continuous 0.8-sun illumination for 2000 h in air. Our findings reveal how to regulate the charge transport dynamics of perovskite bulk and interface by introducing homogeneous components.

Exploration of the efficacy of anti-immunoglobulin E monoclonal antibodies in the treatment of allergic asthma.

The present study aims to evaluate the efficacy of an anti-immunoglobulin E monoclonal antibody (omalizumab) in the treatment of allergic asthma (AS). A total of 34 patients with moderate-to-severe bronchial asthma admitted to the Respiratory Department of Tianjin First Central Hospital between September 2019 and September 2021 were enrolled in this study. The patients were treated with omalizumab in addition to conventional inhaled corticosteroids + long-acting ß2 agonist treatment. The therapeutic effects before and after the addition of omalizumab were compared. The lung function indicators (ratio of the forced expiratory volume [FEV] in the first second to the forced vital capacity, FEV in the first second, forced expiratory flow [FEF] at 50% of vital capacity, FEF at 75% of vital capacity, and maximum mid-expiratory flow), fractionated exhaled nitric oxide values, asthma control test scores, rhinoconjunctivitis quality of life questionnaire scores, and urticaria control test scores were significantly different after 4 months of the regular administration of omalizumab (p < 0.05) compared with before administration. The use of omalizumab had a significant efficacy in the treatment of patients with AS, and the effects were obvious in the subgroups of patients with a combination of AS and atopic dermatitis, chronic urticaria, and allergic rhinitis. These results indicate that the treatment is worthy of clinical promotion.

DeepTrio: a ternary prediction system for protein-protein interaction using mask multiple parallel convolutional neural networks.

MOTIVATION: Protein-protein interaction (PPI), as a relative property, is determined by two binding proteins, which brings a great challenge to design an expert model with an unbiased learning architecture and a superior generalization performance. Additionally, few efforts have been made to allow PPI predictors to discriminate between relative properties and intrinsic properties. RESULTS: We present a sequence-based approach, DeepTrio, for PPI prediction using mask multiple parallel convolutional neural networks. Experimental evaluations show that DeepTrio achieves a better performance over several state-of-the-art methods in terms of various quality metrics. Besides, DeepTrio is extended to provide additional insights into the contribution of each input neuron to the prediction results. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION: We provide an online application at http://bis.zju.edu.cn/deeptrio. The DeepTrio models and training data are deposited at https://github.com/huxiaoti/deeptrio.git. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

CoGO: a contrastive learning framework to predict disease similarity based on gene network and ontology structure.

MOTIVATION: Quantifying the similarity of human diseases provides guiding insights to the discovery of micro-scope mechanisms from a macro scale. Previous work demonstrated that better performance can be gained by integrating multiview data sources or applying machine learning techniques. However, designing an efficient framework to extract and incorporate information from different biological data using deep learning models remains unexplored. RESULTS: We present CoGO, a Contrastive learning framework to predict disease similarity based on Gene network and Ontology structure, which incorporates the gene interaction network and gene ontology (GO) domain knowledge using graph deep learning models. First, graph deep learning models are applied to encode the features of genes and GO terms from separate graph structure data. Next, gene and GO features are projected to a common embedding space via a nonlinear projection. Then cross-view contrastive loss is applied to maximize the agreement of corresponding gene-GO associations and lead to meaningful gene representation. Finally, CoGO infers the similarity between diseases by the cosine similarity of disease representation vectors derived from related gene embedding. In our experiments, CoGO outperforms the most competitive baseline method on both AUROC and AUPRC, especially improves 19.57% in AUPRC (0.7733). The prediction results are significantly comparable with other disease similarity studies and thus highly credible. Furthermore, we conduct a detailed case study of top similar disease pairs which is demonstrated by other studies. Empirical results show that CoGO achieves powerful performance in disease similarity problem. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION: https://github.com/yhchen1123/CoGO.

Uncovering Aging Chemistry of Perovskite Precursor Solutions and Anti-aging Mechanism of Additives.

The aging of precursor solutions is the major stumbling block for the commercialization of perovskite solar cells (PSCs). Herein, for the first time we used the state-of-the-art in situ liquid time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry to molecularly explore the perovskite precursor solution chemistry. We identified that the methylammonium and formamidinium cations and the I- anion are the motivators of the aging chemistry. Further, we introduced two kinds of Lewis bases, triethyl phosphate (TP) and ethyl ethanesulfonate (EE), as new additives in the solution and unraveled that both of them can protect the reactive cations from aging through weak interactions. Significantly, TP is superior to EE in enhancing long-term solution stability as it can well-maintain the internal interaction structures within the solution phase. The PSC derived from a fresh TP-doped solution delivered a high power conversion efficiency of 23.06 %, 92.23 % of which remained in that from a 21-day-old solution.

Modulation of Colloidal Assembly Behavior Enables Printable Low-Dimensional Perovskite Photovoltaics.

The multiple quantum wells (QWs) distribution in low-dimensional perovskite films hinders charge transport due to the fundamental difficulty of controlling crystal growth from precursor solutions, yielding poorly homogeneous low-dimensional perovskite solar cells (PSCs), especially in upscaling fabrication. Here, efficient low-dimensional PSCs are realized by modulating the colloidal assembly behavior in the precursor solution to induce intermediate structures. In combination with in situ liquid time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry, the assembly behavior of organic cations involved lead iodide-dominated colloidal soft framework is visualized by investigating the precursor species differences under hydrogen bonding interactions. Subsequently, solid-state reactions emerge and the formamidine (FA)-based perovskite films exhibit significantly suppressed multiple QWs distribution. Encouragingly, the FA device (n=9, by meniscus-assisted coating) achieves a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 20.28 % for a size of 0.04 cm2 and a PCE of 15.35 % for a mini-module of 16.94 cm2 with superior stability.

Adsorption of CO2 by a novel zeolite doped amine modified ternary aerogels.

Novel amine functionalized materials can capture greenhouse gas CO2. In this study, SiO2-Al2O3-ZrO2 ternary composite aerogel was prepared by sol-gel method, supercritical drying, ultrasonic non-in-situ synthesis and other processes using aluminum chloride hexahydrate as aluminum source, ethyl orthosilicate as silicon source and tetrabbutyl zirconate as zirconium source. The composite material was used as the carrier material. By impregnation method, the modified agent bis - (3-trimethoxy-silpropyl) amine and the composite were fully mixed and modified, and the novel zeolite doped amine functionalized ternary composite aerogel was obtained by doping acidification activation zeolite. The results show that the prepared novel zeolite amine-modified ternary aerogels have rich microporous structure and ordered mesoporous structure. After loading different contents of amine-based materials (CAA-X) in the ternary aerogels, the comparison between CAAZ-X and zeolite amine-modified ternary aerogels is conducted. Zeolite doped CAAZ-30 material shows the best adsorption performance, with a maximum adsorption capacity of 5.30 mmol/g. In the presence of water vapor, CAAZ-30 material also showed the best adsorption performance, with a maximum adsorption capacity of 5.33 mmol/g. This can help us design suitable adsorbent materials for CO2 capture in different practical applications.

Flavonoid Metabolism in Tetrastigma hemsleyanum Diels et Gilg Based on Metabolome Analysis and Transcriptome Sequencing.

Tetrastigma hemsleyanum Diels et Gilg, known as a "plant antibiotic", possesses several attractive properties including anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor, and antioxidant effects, with its efficacy being attributed to flavonoids. However, the flavonoid biosynthesis of T. hemsleyanum has rarely been studied. In this study, we investigated the flavonoid metabolism of T. hemsleyanum through metabolome analysis and transcriptome sequencing. The metabolomic results showed differences in the flavonoids of the leaves and root tubers of T. hemsleyanum. A total of 22 flavonoids was detected, and the concentrations of most flavonoids in the leaves were higher than those in the root tubers. Transcriptome analysis revealed that differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the leaves and root tubers were enriched in photosynthesis-antenna proteins. Pearson correlation analysis indicated that the expression levels of chalcone isomerase (CHI) and UDP-glycose flavonoid glycosyltransferase (UFGT) were highly correlated with the concentrations of most flavonoids. Further, this study found that the photosynthesis-antenna proteins essentially contributed to the difference in the flavonoids in T. hemsleyanum. The gene expressions and concentrations of the total flavonoids of leaves and root tubers in Hangzhou, Jinhua, Lishui, and Taizhou in Zhejiang Province, China, showed that CHI (CL6715.Contig1_All, Unigene19431_All, CL921.Contig4_All) and UFGT (CL11556.Contig3_All, CL11775.Contig1_All) were the potential key genes of accumulation of most flavonoids in T. hemsleyanum.

"Three-propulsion" suspension method for endoscopic thyroid surgery gasless axillary approach.

Gasless endoscopic thyroidectomy through unilateral axillary approach has advantages of clear vision, simple manipulation, short learning curve, hidden surgical incision, no postoperative neck scar, and less swallowing discomfort. During the procedure the separation path goes through thoracic muscle surface, sternocleidomastoid gap and jugular vein, which may meet various variations of neck muscles, blood vessels and nerves. With the "three-propulsion" suspension cavity construction method the procedure advances the dissection from the axillary incision to clavicle, from the clavicle to sternocleidomastoid gap and from the sternocleidomastoid gap to thyroid. Combined with intraoperative hanging upward hook it can establish a good cavity for the subsequent surgical operation. This article introduces the main steps, key points and attentions of the "three-propulsion"suspension cavity construction method in gasless endoscopic thyroidectomy through unilateral axillary approach.

Wearable Tin-Based Perovskite Solar Cells Achieved by a Crystallographic Size Effect.

Tin-based perovskite solar cells (PSCs) demonstrate a potential application in wearable electronics due to its hypotoxicity. However, poor crystal quality is still the bottleneck for achieving high-performance flexible devices. In this work, graphite phase-C3 N4 (g-C3 N4 ) is applied into tin-based perovskite as a crystalline template, which delays crystallization via a size-effect and passivates defects simultaneously. The double hydrogen bond between g-C3 N4 and formamidine cation can optimize lattice matching and passivation. Moreover, the two-dimensional network structure of g-C3 N4 can fit on the crystals, resulting an enhanced hydrophobicity and oxidation resistance. Therefore, the flexible tin-based PSCs with g-C3 N4 realize a stabilized power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 8.56 % with negligible hysteresis. In addition, the PSCs can maintain 91 % of the initial PCE after 1000 h under N2 environment and keep 92 % of their original PCE after 600 cycles at a curvature radius of 3 mm.

Stretchable Perovskite Solar Cells with Recoverable Performance.

Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) are a promising photovoltaic technology for stretchable applications because of their flexible, light-weight, and low-cost characteristics. However, the fragility of crystals and poor crystallinity of perovskite on stretchable substrates results in performance loss. In fact, grain boundary defects are the "Achilles' heel" of optoelectronic and mechanical stability. We incorporate a self-healing polyurethane (s-PU) with dynamic oxime-carbamate bonds as a scaffold into the perovskite films, which simultaneously enhances crystallinity and passivates the grain boundary of the perovskite films. The stretchable PSCs with s-PU deliver a stabilized efficiency of 19.15 % with negligible hysteresis, which is comparable to the performance on rigid substrates. The PSCs can maintain over 90 % of their initial efficiency after 3000 hours in air because of their self-encapsulating structure. Importantly, the self-healing function of the s-PU scaffold was verified in situ. The s-PU can release mechanical stress and repair cracks at the grain boundary on multiple levels. The devices recover 88 % of their original efficiency after 1000 cycles at 20 % stretch. We believe that this ingenious growth strategy for crystalline semiconductors will facilitate development of flexible and stretchable electronics.

Non-Lithography Hydrodynamic Printing of Micro/Nanostructures on Curved Surfaces.

A key issue of micro/nano devices is how to integrate micro/nanostructures with specified chemical components onto various curved surfaces. Hydrodynamic printing of micro/nanostructures on three-dimensional curved surfaces is achieved with a strategy that combines template-induced hydrodynamic printing and self-assembly of nanoparticles (NPs). Non-lithography flexible wall-shaped templates are replicated with microscale features by dicing a trench-shaped silicon wafer. Arising from the capillary pumped function between the template and curved substrates, NPs in the colloidal suspension self-assemble into close-packed micro/nanostructures without a gravity effect. Theoretical analysis with the lattice Boltzmann model reveals the fundamental principles of the hydrodynamic assembly process. Spiral linear structures achieved by two kinds of fluorescent NPs show non-interfering photoluminescence properties, while the waveguide and photoluminescence are confirmed in 3D curved space. The printed multiconstituent micro/nanostructures with single-NP resolution may serve as a general platform for optoelectronics beyond flat surfaces.

Silver Mesh Electrodes via Electroless Deposition-Coupled Inkjet-Printing Mask Technology for Flexible Polymer Solar Cells.

The application of metal grids as flexible transparent electrodes (FTEs) in optoelectronic devices is significantly influenced by poor adhesion and thickness difference between the metal and the substrate, resistance distribution uniformity, and a high annealing temperature. Direct inkjet printing of the metal mesh can overcome junction resistance while maintaining high conductivity, but the metal mesh thickness is still unsatisfactory. In addition, inkjet printing of mechanically durable metal FTEs directly on flexible substrates is challenging because of the high-temperature sintering treatment. Electroless deposition is a well-established method for low-cost and large-scale deposition of metal films. Here, ultrathin and ultraflexible Ag mesh@polydopamine (PDA)/poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) FTEs were fabricated by integrating inkjet-printed polymer matrices on a PDA-modified flexible PET substrate to form consecutive patterns as a mask and performing subsequent electroless deposition of the Ag mesh. The FTEs exhibit an excellent sheet resistance (Rs) of 9 Ω/sq with 89.9% transmittance. The resultant polymer solar cells show a superior power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 10.24% with 1 cm2 area and feature excellent flexural endurance (81% of initial PCE after 1500 bending cycles) and operational reliability (83% of initial PCE after 30 days). This ecofriendly and large-area fabrication technique has potential for future commercial applications of wearable electronics.

Overexpression of ClC-3 Chloride Channel in Chondrosarcoma: An In Vivo Immunohistochemical Study with Tissue Microarray.

BACKGROUND Recently, ClC-3 chloride channel expression has been noted to be high in some tumors. In chondrosarcoma, which is a malignant tumor with a high incidence in the bone, there has been no previous literature regarding ClC-3 chloride channel expression. Here we evaluated the expression of ClC-3 chloride channel in chondrosarcoma and explored its clinical significance. MATERIAL AND METHODS In this study, 75 chondrosarcoma and 5 normal cartilage tissues were collected. Thereafter, tissue microarray was performed. Immunohistochemistry was also used to observe the level of ClC-3 chloride channel expression between normal and chondrosarcoma tissues. RESULTS Results showed that the expression of ClC-3 chloride channel in the normal chondrocyte was thinner, since it showed distinct differentiation among chondrosarcoma specimens. Interestingly, we noticed that the moderately-differentiated chondrosarcoma (MDC) and the poorly-differentiated chondrosarcoma (PDC) exhibited 94.44% of ClC-3 chloride channel. Besides, the subcellular localization of ClC-3 chloride channel was changed in association with malignant degree changes. The subcellular localization of ClC-3 chloride channel in the MDC and PDC tissue was localized in the cytoplasm and both nucleus and cytoplasm: 83.33% (5 out of 6 cases) and 91.66% (11 out of 12 cases) respectively. On the other hand, we noticed that patient age and gender could have a relation with ClC-3 chloride channel expression; 30- to 60-year-old males showed more expression. CONCLUSIONS These results demonstrated a high frequency of ClC-3 chloride channel overexpression and subcellular localization differences in MDC and PDC tissue, suggesting a specific role of ClC-3 chloride channel in the pathogenesis of chondrosarcoma.

Investigation of Urinary Sestrin2 in Patients with Obstructive Sleep Apnea.

BACKGROUND: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a disease seriously threatening individual health, which results in serious complications such as hypertension and stroke. These complications are associated with oxidative stress triggered by intermittent hypoxia in OSA. Sestrin2 is a crucial factor involved in oxidative stress. The goal of this study was to investigate if a relationship exists between OSA and Sestrin2. METHODS: We prospectively enrolled 71 subjects, and 16 patients of them with severe OSA completed 4 weeks of nasal continuous positive airway pressure (nCPAP) therapy. We measured and compared the concentration of Sestrin2 in the urine of all subjects, as well as the changes between before and after nCPAP treatment. Additionally, the correlation between Sestrin2 and sleep parameters was analyzed, and the multiple linear regression analysis with stepwise selection was performed to explore the relationship between Sestrin2 and various factors. RESULTS: A total of 71 subjects were enrolled and divided into two groups: OSA group (n = 41), control group (n = 30). The level of urinary Sestrin2 in OSA patients was significantly higher than that of the control group, and increased with the severity of OSA, while it reduced after nCPAP treatment. Additionally, Sestrin2 was positively correlated with apnea/hypopnea index (AHI), oxygen desaturation index, oxygen saturation < 90% percentage of recording time spent (PRTS) and high-density lipoprotein (HDL), while negatively correlated with the lowest oxygen saturation. Importantly, Sestrin2 was independently associated with AHI, oxygen saturation < 90% PRTS and HDL. CONCLUSIONS: Urinary Sestrin2 is involved in OSA, and is a paramount marker of OSA severity.

Bioinspired Synergy Sensor Chip of Photonic Crystals-Graphene Oxide for Multiamines Recognition.

Benefiting from the integrated functions of cilia and glomeruli in the olfactory system, animals can discriminate various odors even in hostile environments. Inspired by this synergetic system of response and signal processing units, a sensor chip of graphene oxide (GO) and photonic crystals (PCs) is fabricated. The GO aerogel functions like the olfactory cilia, which effectively captures the analytes and generates abundant sensing signals for recognition; and the PCs act as the olfactory glomeruli, whose periodic structure enables selective enhancement of the fluorescent signals to realize further signal processing. Ten biogenic amines and seven drug amines are effectively discriminated. The integrated sensor strategy of response and signal manipulation units will promote enormous pursuits of rapid clinical diagnosis or intractable pathology analysis.