Establishment of a promising vitiligo mouse model for pathogenesis and treatment studies.

AIMS: Vitiligo is a chronic dermatological condition characterized by the progressive loss of melanocytes, for which traditional therapy has shown limited efficacy. This study aimed to establish a vitiligo model with easy operability, high repeatability, and stable depigmentation to provide a foundation for studying the pathogenesis and developing novel therapies for vitiligo. METHODS: (1) Establishing vitiligo model: Firstly, deliver B16F10 cells to the back skin of C57BL/6 J via intradermal injection (day 0), and the CD4 depletion antibody was injected intraperitoneally on day 4 and 10. Secondly, the melanoma was surgically removed on day 12. Thirdly, CD8 antibody was administered intraperitoneally every fourth day till day 30. (2) Identification of vitiligo model: H&E staining, immunohistochemistry, and immunofluorescence were used to detect the melanocytes. The melanin was detected by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Lillie ferrous sulfate staining and L-DOPA staining. RESULTS: (1) The back skin and hair began to appear white on day 30. Melanin loss reached peak on day 60; (2) Hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining, immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence results showed melanocytes were reduced. L-DOPA staining, Lillie ferrous sulfate staining and TEM results showed that melanin decreased in the epidermis. CONCLUSION: We successfully establishment a vitiligo mouse model which can be more capable to simulate the pathogenesis of human vitiligo and provide an important basis for the study of pathogenesis and therapy of vitiligo.

Measurement of the [Formula: see text]Ta([Formula: see text]) cross sections up to stellar s-process temperatures at the CSNS Back-n.

The neutron capture cross section of [Formula: see text]Ta is relevant to s-process of nuclear astrophysics, extraterrestrial samples analysis in planetary geology and new generation nuclear energy system design. The [Formula: see text]Ta([Formula: see text]) cross section had been measured between 1 eV and 800 keV at the back-streaming white neutron facility (Back-n) of China spallation neutron source(CSNS) using the time-of-flight (TOF) technique and [Formula: see text] liquid scintillator detectors. The experimental results are compared with the data of several evaluated libraries and previous experiments in the resolved and unresolved resonance region. Resonance parameters are extracted using the R-Matrix code SAMMY in the 1-700 eV region. The astrophysical Maxwell average cross section(MACS) from kT = 5 to 100 keV is calculated over a sufficiently wide range of neutron energies. For the characteristic thermal energy of an astrophysical site, at kT = 30keV the MACS value of [Formula: see text]Ta is 834 ± 75 mb, which shows an obvious discrepancy with the Karlsruhe Astrophysical Database of Nucleosynthesis in Stars (KADoNiS) recommended value 766 ± 15 mb. The new measurements strongly constrain the MACS of [Formula: see text]Ta([Formula: see text]) reaction in the stellar s-process temperatures.

Pathological characteristics and immune microenvironment of SMARCA4-deficient undifferentiated uterine sarcoma.

SMARCA4-deficient undifferentiated uterine sarcoma (SDUS) is a highly invasive single-gene malignant tumor caused by mutations in the SMARCA4 gene. SDUS has a poor prognosis, with no established treatment strategy at present. Further, there is a lack of relevant research on the role of the immune microenvironment in SDUS worldwide. Here, we report a case of SDUS that was diagnosed and analysed using morphological, immunohistochemical, and molecular detection techniques, along with the analysis of the immune microenvironment. By immunohistochemistry, the tumor cells showed retained INI-1 expression, focal CD10 expression, and loss of BRG1, CK-pan, synaptophysin, desmin, and ER expression. Further, some of the immune cells expressing CD3 and CD8 had infiltrated into the SDUS, but no PD-L1 expression was detected. The multiple immunofluorescent staining results showed that a proportion of the immune cells and SDUS cells expressed CD8/CD68/PD-1/PD-L1. Therefore, our report will help in the diagnostic awareness of SDUS.

KLF4-PFKFB3-driven glycolysis is essential for phenotypic switching of vascular smooth muscle cells.

Vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) within atherosclerotic lesions undergo a phenotypic switching in a KLF4-dependent manner. Glycolysis plays important roles in transdifferentiation of somatic cells, however, it is unclear whether and how KLF4 mediates the link between glycolytic switch and VSMCs phenotypic transitions. Here, we show that KLF4 upregulation accompanies VSMCs phenotypic switching in atherosclerotic lesions. KLF4 enhances the metabolic switch to glycolysis through increasing PFKFB3 expression. Inhibiting glycolysis suppresses KLF4-induced VSMCs phenotypic switching, demonstrating that glycolytic shift is required for VSMCs phenotypic switching. Mechanistically, KLF4 upregulates expression of circCTDP1 and eEF1A2, both of which cooperatively promote PFKFB3 expression. TMAO induces glycolytic shift and VSMCs phenotypic switching by upregulating KLF4. Our study indicates that KLF4 mediates the link between glycolytic switch and VSMCs phenotypic transitions, suggesting that a previously unrecognized KLF4-eEF1A2/circCTDP1-PFKFB3 axis plays crucial roles in VSMCs phenotypic switching.

Timing Performance Simulation for 3D 4H-SiC Detector.

To meet the high radiation challenge for detectors in future high-energy physics, a novel 3D 4H-SiC detector was investigated. Three-dimensional 4H-SiC detectors could potentially operate in a harsh radiation and room-temperature environment because of its high thermal conductivity and high atomic displacement threshold energy. Its 3D structure, which decouples the thickness and the distance between electrodes, further improves the timing performance and the radiation hardness of the detector. We developed a simulation software-RASER (RAdiation SEmiconductoR)-to simulate the time resolution of planar and 3D 4H-SiC detectors with different parameters and structures, and the reliability of the software was verified by comparing the simulated and measured time-resolution results of the same detector. The rough time resolution of the 3D 4H-SiC detector was estimated, and the simulation parameters could be used as guideline to 3D 4H-SiC detector design and optimization.

A simple method for measuring electron drift velocity in gases using grid ionization chamber.

A simple method for measuring the electron drift velocity in gases with a given electric field using a grid ionization chamber is proposed and demonstrated. By collimating incident α particles that are perpendicular to the electric field, the drift velocity can be derived easily using the electron drift distance from primary ionization to a grid divided by the time interval between the cathode and anode signal starting times. These experimental settings can avoid additional signal processing of signals and reduce the effect of electron diffusion. Using this method, the measurement of electron drift velocities in 90% Ar + 10% CO2 is presented. Measured results agree well with the simulated values and with existing experimental results.

Melanocytes derived from mouse hair follicles: A novel study model to assess pigmentation disorders.

Melanocytes are the major cells responsible for skin and fair pigmentation in vertebrates. They localize to hair follicles(HFs) and the epidermis during embryonic development. A reduced number or dysfunction of melanocytes results in pigmentation disorders.Thus, methods for isolation, culture, and identification of melanocytes in mouse hair follicles provide an experimental basis for thestudy of of pigmentation disorders. In the current work, we harvested the melanocytes from the anagen phase dorsal skin of C57BL/6 mice.After its separation from the skin, the dermis was digested, and the HFs were released. HFs were then also digested, and the cells released from HFs were cultured in melanocyte growth medium. Immunofluorescence and immunohistochemistry staining were used to localize the distribution of melanocytes in HFs . Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction was performed to detect the expression of specific melanocyte marker genes. Immunofluorescence, immunohistochemistry, flow cytometry, and western blot were carried out to detect the expression of marker proteins in cells. 3,4-Dihydroxy-L-phenylalanine (L-DOPA) staining was used to detect the pigmentation functionality of melaonocytes. Based on our results, we conclude that mature and functional melanocytes can be successfully obtained from theHFs, providing a cell model to study pigmentation disorders. The current findings provide novel insights for the treatment of pigmentation disorders by autologous cell transplantation. Further, we believe that issues related to skin damage, insufficient numbers of autologous cells, and autoimmune problems can be resolved in future though the use of functional melanocytes.

Fluorescent labelling in living dental pulp stem cells by graphene oxide quantum dots.

Cellular labelling is possible to offer significant information after transplantation for the purpose of determining stem cell therapy's efficacy. According to the research, it has been reported that graphene oxide quantum dots (GOQDs) are a kind of healthy biological labelling agent for stem cells which show little cytotoxicity. GOQDs' interactions have been examined on the dental pulp stem cells (hDPSCs) of human beings for the purpose of investigating GOQD's biocompatibility and uptake and explored GOQDs' effects on hDPSCs' metabolic activity and the proliferation. According to the outcomes, GDQDs have been accepted by hDPSCs in a time-dependent and concentration-dependent behaviour. Moreover, no important changes have been discovered within hDOPSCs' proliferation, viability as well as metabolic activity after treatment with GOQDs. Therefore, such resources have shown that GOQDs can be multifunctional agents for cell therapy, drug delivery as well as cell imaging and also as outstanding candidates for labelling stem cells.

Divergent scaling of respiration rates to nitrogen and phosphorus across four woody seedlings between different growing seasons.

Empirical studies indicate that the exponents governing the scaling of plant respiration rates (R) with respect to biomass (M) numerically vary between three-fourth for adult plants and 1.0 for seedlings and saplings and are affected by nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) content. However, whether the scaling of R with respect to M (or N and P) varies among different phylogenetic groups (e.g., gymnosperms vs. angiosperms) or during the growing and dormant seasons remains unclear. We measured the whole-plant R and M, and N and P content of the seedlings of four woody species during the growing season (early October) and the dormant season (January). The data show that (i) the scaling exponents of R versus M, R versus N, and R versus P differed significantly among the four species, but (ii), not between the growing and dormant seasons for each of the four species, although (iii) the normalization constants governing the scaling relationships were numerically greater for the growing season compared to the dormant season. In addition, (iv) the scaling exponents of R versus M, R versus N, and R versus P were numerically larger for the two angiosperm species compared to those of the two gymnosperm species, (v) the interspecific scaling exponents for the four species were greater during the growing season than in the dormant season, and (vi), interspecifically, P scaled nearly isometric with N content. Those findings indicate that the metabolic scaling relationships among R, M, N, and P manifest seasonal variation and differ between angiosperm and gymnosperm species, that is, there is no single, canonical scaling exponent for the seedlings of woody species.

"Diminishing returns" in the scaling of leaf area vs. dry mass in Wuyi Mountain bamboos, Southeast China.

PREMISE OF STUDY: Leaf area and dry mass are crucial for plant metabolic performance. The "diminishing returns" hypothesis predicts that leaf area will scale less than one with respect to leaf dry mass, indicating that the cost of light interception increases with leaf area. However, it remains unclear whether and how this scaling relationship varies among species growing in different environments. METHODS: More than 2000 measurements from five bamboo species adapted to high and low light and growing at different elevations in Wuyi Mountains, Southeast China, were used to explore how the leaf area vs. dry mass scaling relationship was affected by light and elevation. KEY RESULTS: The data indicate that (1) the normalization constants for leaf area vs. dry mass were positively but not significantly correlated with increasing leaf size and that (2) the scaling exponents remained numerically invariant among all five bamboo species, with a common slope of 0.85. Standardized major axis (SMA) analyses and comparisons of 95% confidence intervals also showed that the numerical values of the scaling exponents did not differ regardless of elevation and were similar between shaded and unshaded adapted species, whereas the numerical values of the normalization constants increased with decreasing light. CONCLUSIONS: The data collected for all five bamboo species are consistent with the "diminishing returns" hypothesis, i.e., the scaling exponents governing the leaf area vs. dry mass scaling relationship are less than one within and across species and are insensitive to light conditions or elevation.