Effect of cord blood double collection method on cord blood hematopoietic stem cell transplantation-related indices and blood gas analysis.

BACKGROUND: Umbilical cord blood has been widely used in clinical transplantation. Blood gas analysis of umbilical cord blood is routinely used to evaluate neonatal asphyxia. This study aimed to evaluate an improved umbilical cord blood collection method that does not affect the results of umbilical cord blood gas analysis and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation-related indices. METHODS: Three hundred pregnant women were recruited between December 2019 and August 2022. In total, 270 umbilical cord blood samples were included and randomly divided into 3 groups. Group A was defined as the group in which both umbilical cord blood samples for hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and blood gas analysis were collected. Group B was defined as the group from which umbilical cord blood was collected for hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Group C was defined as that wherein umbilical cord blood was collected only for blood gas analysis. Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation-related indices were detected in groups A and B, and blood gas analysis was performed in groups A and C. RESULTS: Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation-related indices were not significantly different between groups A and B. The pH, base excess, and lactic acid values were not significantly different between groups A and C. CONCLUSION: The cord blood double collection method would not affect the results of umbilical cord blood gas analysis and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation-related indices. It is suitable for cord blood collection when preparing for hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and blood gas analysis.

Polyimide aerogel-derived amorphous porous carbon/crystalline carbon composites for high-performance microwave absorption.

High-performance polyimide-based porous carbon/crystalline composite absorbers (PIC/rGO and PIC/CNT) were prepared by vacuum freeze-drying and high-temperature pyrolysis. The excellent heat resistance of polyimides (PIs) ensured the integrity of their pore structure during high-temperature pyrolysis. The complete porous structure improves the interfacial polarization and impedance-matching conditions. Furthermore, adding appropriate rGO or CNT can improve the dielectric losses and obtain good impedance-matching conditions. The stable porous structure and strong dielectric loss enable fast attenuation of electromagnetic waves (EMWs) inside PIC/rGO and PIC/CNT. The minimum reflection loss (RLmin) for PIC/rGO is -57.22 dB at 4.36 mm thickness. The effective absorption bandwidth (EABW, RL below -10 dB) for PIC/rGO is 3.12 GHz at 2.0 mm thickness. The RLmin for PIC/CNT is -51.20 dB at 2.02 mm thickness. The EABW for PIC/CNT is 4.08 GHz at 2.4 mm thickness. The PIC/rGO and PIC/CNT absorbers designed in this work have simple preparations and excellent EMW absorption performances. Therefore, they can be used as candidate materials in EMW absorbing materials.

LPS-induced PTGS2 manipulates the inflammatory response through trophoblast invasion in preeclampsia via NF-κB pathway.

Preeclampsia (PE) is a serious obstetric complication, in which trophoblast cell invasion and migration contribute to placental inflammation. In line with the discovery that mRNA prostaglandin endoperoxide synthase 2 (PTGS2) participates in the inflammatory responses in various disorders, our study aims to explore the role of PTGS2 in trophoblast invasion and further in inflammatory response in PE, ultimately providing new therapeutic targets. Bioinformatics analysis was exploited to examine PTGS2 expression in GSE40182 and find inflammatory response-relevant genes in downstream targets of PTGS2. HTR-8/SVneo cells were treated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and transfected with short hairpin RNA against PTGS2 (shPTGS2). Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), Western blotting, and immunofluorence assays were performed to quantify the expressions of PTGS2 and involved genes (matrix metallopeptidase 2 (MMP-2), tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinase-2 (TIMP-2), p65, p-p65, IκB-α, p-IκB-α, PTGIS, CAV1, AGTR1). The migration and invasion of trophoblasts were detected through wound healing and Transwell assays. We screened out PTGS2 from GSE40182 dataset. LPS promoted cell migration and invasion, the expressions of PTGS2 and MMP-2, and reduced the expression of TIMP-2, while PTGS2 knockdown reversed all above effects of LPS. Activation of nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-κB) pathway was reinforced by LPS which also upregulated CAV1 and AGTR1 levels, and downregulated PTGIS level. Also, the effects of LPS were offset by PTGS2 knockdown. Altogether, PTGS2 silencing reverses the promoting effect of LPS on trophoblast invasion and inflammation in PE, making a breakthrough in the research regarding molecular mechanism of PE.

Experimental study on shear characteristics of the silty clay soil-ice interface.

During the spring thawing, the decrease of soil-ice interface strength by temperature may lead to slope instability. For this reason, some researchers have explored the relationship between temperature and soil-ice interface strength. However, previous studies have not systematically explored the change law of strength at the soil-ice interface from negative temperature to 0 °C. Therefore, direct shear tests were conducted at different shear temperatures and different moisture contents. The effects of temperature and moisture content on strength, cohesion, and internal friction angle are analyzed, while the shear failure mechanism of specimens at different temperatures is discussed according to the location of the shear failure surface. The results show that: Shear properties of soil ice specimens are related to the unfrozen moisture content. The strength of the sample decreases with increasing temperature, and the change in strength is most significant from - 2 to - 0 °C. The strength reduction in this range is from 21.8 to 74.8%, and the higher the moisture content the more obvious this phenomenon is. The shear index tends to decrease with the increase of unfrozen water content, and the greater the increase of unfrozen water, the faster the decrease of both, especially in stage 2. When the temperature is higher than - 5℃, the failure surface is located above the soil-ice interface, and the strength of the specimen is similar to that of the frozen soil. When the temperature is - 10℃, the shear damage surface appears at the soil-ice interface, and the strength of the specimen is determined by the strength of the soil-ice interface.

Emerging Roles of m6A RNA Methylation Regulators in Gynecological Cancer.

Gynecological cancers seriously affect the reproductive system of females; diseases include ovarian tumors, uterine tumors, endometrial cancers, cervical cancers, and vulva and vaginal tumors. At present, the diagnosis methods of gynecological cancer are insufficiently sensitive and specific, leading to failure of early disease detection. N6-methyladenosine (m6A) plays various biological functions in RNA modification and is currently studied extensively. m6A modification controls the fate of transcripts and regulates RNA metabolism and biological processes through the interaction of m6A methyltransferase ("writer") and demethylase ("erasers") and the binding protein decoding m6A methylation ("readers"). In the field of epigenetics, m6A modification is a dynamic process of reversible regulation of target RNA through its regulatory factors. It plays an important role in many diseases, especially cancer. However, its role in gynecologic cancers has not been fully investigated. Thus, we review the regulatory mechanism, biological functions, and therapeutic prospects of m6A RNA methylation regulators in gynecological cancers.

Social media exposure during COVID-19 lockdowns could lead to emotional overeating via anxiety: The moderating role of neuroticism.

China was a major hotspot during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Several studies have reported changes in residents' eating behaviors and appetite during city wide lockdowns and home confinements. However, few have investigated how neuroticism interacts with the impact of COVID-19 to influence eating behaviors during city lockdowns. Thus, the current study aims to establish a pathway model to understand social media exposure, negative affect, neuroticism, and their interaction with eating behaviors during the COVID-19 lockdowns. We present data from 1,128 participants (Mage = 24.34 ± 10.48 years) who completed an online survey between February 17 and 27, 2020. The extent of respondents' social media exposure, negative affect, eating behaviors, and desire for high-calorie food during city lockdowns, as well as the personality trait of neuroticism, were measured. Results show that city lockdowns and home confinements had a negative impact on residents' eating behaviors and appetite. Forty-eight percent of respondents showed moderate to constant emotional overeating, and respondents' desire for high-calorie food significantly increased. Correlation analysis showed that emotional overeating is positively associated with social media exposure, neuroticism, and anxiety. Then, a moderated mediation model was established, showing that heavy social media exposure could lead to emotional overeating through anxiety, and the association between social media exposure and anxiety varies depending on the extent of neuroticism. The current study provides novel insight into how the interaction of a personality trait and the stressful situation of COVID-19 influence people's negative emotions and eating behaviors.

Influence of Temperature and Sodium Sulfate Content on the Compaction Characteristics of Cement-Stabilized Macadam Base Materials.

This paper describes an experimental investigation into the compaction characteristics of cement-stabilized macadam base materials (CSMBM) in a saline soil area. Through the field tests, the main causes of arch expansion in an existing road were analyzed. Based on this, the compaction tests and microscopic tests were designed to analyze the impacts of temperature, sodium sulfate content and cement content on the compaction characteristics of CSMBM. Then, the orthogonal test was designed to analyze the effects of the degree of the temperature, the cement content, and the sodium sulfate content on the compaction results of the CSMBM. Feld tests results show that the temperature, sodium sulfate content and cement content may be the main causes of arch expansion. The compaction tests show that with the temperature increasing, the optimal water content (OWC) decreases, but the maximum dry density (MDD) increases; with the sodium sulfate content increasing, the OWC increases, but the MDD decreases; with the cement content increasing, both MDD and OWC increase. The microscopic tests show that the increase of temperature and cement content is beneficial to the compactness between cementitious materials and aggregates, while the increase of sodium sulfate content makes the whole structure of cementitious materials and aggregates increasingly rough. The orthogonal test shows that the temperature has the greatest influence on the MMD, and the sodium sulfate content has the greatest influence on the OWC. Thus, in a sulfate saline soil area, the construction temperature, the sodium sulfate content and the cement content should be controlled to ensure the compaction quality of CSMBM.

hucMSC derived exosomes promote functional recovery in spinal cord injury mice via attenuating inflammation.

The exploration of effective spinal cord injury (SCI) healing still remain a great challenge due to the high morbidity, complex pathology and unclear targets. Human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (hucMSC) play an important role in tissue regeneration. However, transplanting stem cells has a potential risk of teratogenicity. Recent studies have suggested that exosomes secreted by stem cells may contribute to tissue injury repair. We hypothesized that the application of hucMSC derived exosomes may be a potential way for SCI treatment. Our studies showed the hucMSC derived exosomes with a mean particle size of 70 nm could effectively trigger the bone marrow derived macrophage (BMDM) polarization from M1 to a M2 phenotype. In vivo studies demonstrated that the hucMSC derived exosomes could improve the functional recovery after SCI through down-regulation of the inflammatory cytokines, such as TNF-α, MIP-1α, IL-6 and IFN-γ. Collectively, our findings indicated that hucMSC derived exosomes could facilitate spinal cord injury healing via attenuating the inflammation of the injury region. Our results provided a new perspective and therapeutic strategy for the use of hucMSC derived exosomes in soft tissue repair.

Long-term consumption of caffeine-free high sucrose cola beverages aggravates the pathogenesis of EAE in mice.

Epidemiological data provide strong evidence of dramatically increasing incidences of many autoimmune diseases in the past few decades, mainly in western and westernized countries. Recent studies clearly revealed that 'Western diet' increases the risk of autoimmune diseases at least partially via disrupting intestinal tight junctions and altering the construction and metabolites of microbiota. However, the role of high sucrose cola beverages (HSCBs), which are one of the main sources of added sugar in the western diet, is barely known. Recently, a population study showed that regular consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages is associated with increased risk of seropositive rheumatoid arthritis in women, which provokes interest in the genuine effects of these beverages on the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases and the underlying mechanisms. Here we showed that long-term consumption of caffeine-free HSCBs aggravated the pathogenesis of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis in mice in a microbiota-dependent manner. Further investigation revealed that HSCBs altered community structure of microbiota and increased Th17 cells. High sucrose consumption had similar detrimental effects while caffeine contamination limited the infiltrated pathogenic immune cells and counteracted these effects. These results uncovered a deleterious role of decaffeinated HSCBs in aggravating the pathogenesis of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis in mice.

mTOR inhibition potentiates cytotoxicity of Vγ4 γδ T cells via up-regulating NKG2D and TNF-α.

γδ T cells play a critical role in early anti-tumor immunity and perform cytotoxicity via NKG2D for recognition and multiple cytotoxic factors for tumor killing. Recent studies have demonstrated pivotal roles of mTOR-mediated metabolism in the maturation, differentiation, and effector function of diverse immune cells, including DCs, NK cells, CD4+ T cell subsets, and CD8+ T cells, but the role of mTOR signaling in γδ T cells is barely known. Here, we showed that suppressing mTOR signaling in in vitro-expanded Vγ4 γδ T cells via the mechanistic inhibitor rapamycin enhanced their cytotoxicity against multiple tumor cell lines, and these cells performed better tumor-suppressing effects upon adoptive therapy. Further investigation revealed that elevated cytotoxicity was a result of up-regulation of NKG2D and TNF-α. Moreover, rapamycin treatment significantly decreased the expression of CISH and increased pSTAT5. The inhibition of STAT5 pathways via siRNA interference or a specific inhibitor eliminated the up-regulation of NKG2D and TNF-α in rapamycin-treated Vγ4 γδ T cells. These results uncovered an important role of mTOR signaling in the cytotoxic effector function of γδ T cells and provided a potential strategy to improve γδ T cell-based cancer immunotherapy.

Molecular cloning and characterization of a ß-1,3-glucan recognition protein from Plutella xylostella (L.).

The ß-glucan recognition proteins (ßGRPs) play a significant role as important pattern recognition proteins (PRPs) for recognizing conserved surface determinants of pathogens and trigger complex signaling pathways in invertebrates. In the present study, a full-length cDNA 1793bp encoding 479 amino acids and ßGRP1 was obtained from Plutella xylostella by reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR) (designed as P×ßGRP1) which showed significant similarities with other insect's ßGRPs. The transcription level was constitutively expressed and upregulated by microbial induction in all life stages of P. xylostella. Tissue distribution showed P×ßGRP1 to be mainly expressed in fat body as detected by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) and immunohistochemistry. Subsequent to knock down the P×ßGRP1 expression and the transcripts of Toll-like receptor, cecropin 1 and cecropin 2 decreased in P. xylostella. Meanwhile, the bacterial colonies increased and the expression of four AMP genes decreased on injection of anti-P×ßGRP1 into Bombyx mori. The results demonstrated that P×ßGRP1 can play a vital role in response to the expression of AMP genes in P. xylostella.

Molecular characterization of a short peptidoglycan recognition protein (PGRP-S) from Asian corn borer (Ostrinia furnacalis) and its role in triggering proPO activity.

Peptidoglycan recognition proteins (PGRPs) are non-specific immune molecules of insects, and vertebrates etc., but are not present in plants and nematodes. In the current experiment, a PGRP DNA sequence (2,910 bp containing four exons) was identified from genomic DNA library of Asian corn borer, Ostrinia furnacalis, and a full-length cDNA programming PGRP was cloned (designed as OfPGRP-S) with an open reading frame of 579 bp, having 192 amino acid. This inferred amino acid sequence showed maximum similarity to known lepidopteran PGRPs. Quantitative real-time PCR investigation disclosed the level of mRNA of OfPGRP-S to be constitutively expressed in the whole developmental stages and with higher expression in the mature larvae. Even more the OfPGRP-S was mainly expressed in immune capable organs i.e., fat body and midgut, and was strongly induced by injecting gram-positive bacteria i.e., Staphylococus aureus. Recombinant protein OfPGRP-S could bind to S. aureus and Bacillus thuringiensis which enhance proPO activation in the presence of these microbes. The results indicated that OfPGRP-S is an inducible protein acting as a receptor-type PGRP for enhancing the proPO activation on exposure to bacteria.

Proteomic and properties analysis of botanical insecticide rhodojaponin III-induced response of the diamondback moth, Plutella xyllostella (L.).

BACKGROUND: Rhodojaponin III, as a botanical insecticide, affects a wide variety of biological processes in insects, including reduction of feeding, suspension of development, and oviposition deterring of adults in a dose-dependent manner. However, the mode of these actions remains obscure. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: In this study, a comparative proteomic approach was adopted to examine the effect of rhodojaponin III on the Plutella xyllostella (L.). Following treating 48 hours, newly emergence moths were collected and protein samples were prepared. The proteins were separated by 2-DE, and total 31 proteins were significantly affected by rhodojaponin III compared to the control identified by MALDI-TOF/TOF-MS/MS. These differentially expressed proteins act in the nervous transduction, odorant degradation and metabolic change pathways. Further, gene expression patterns in treated and untreated moths were confirmed by qRT-PCR and western blot analysis. RNAi of the chemosensory protein (PxCSP) gene resulted in oviposition significantly increased on cabbage plants treated with rhodojaponin III. CONCLUSIONS: These rhodojaponin III-induced proteins and gene properties analysis would be essential for a better understanding of the potential molecular mechanism of the response to rhodojaponin III from moths of P. xylostella.