Genome-wide identification and analysis of the WRKY gene family and low-temperature stress response in Prunus sibirica.

BACKGROUND: WRKY transcription factors are a prominent gene family in plants, playing a crucial role in various biological processes including development, metabolism, defense, differentiation, and stress response. Although the WRKY gene family has been extensively studied and analysed in numerous plant species, research on Prunus sibirica's WRKY genes (PsWRKY) remains lacking. RESULTS: This study analysed the basic physicochemical properties, phylogeny, gene structure, cis-acting elements, and Gene ontology (GO) annotation of PsWRKY gene family members using bioinformatics methods based on the whole-genome data of P. sibirica. In total, 55 WRKYs were identified in P. sibirica and were heterogeneously distributed on eight chromosomes. Based on the phylogenetic analysis, these WRKYs were classified into three major groups: Group I, Group II (II-a, II-b, II-c, II-d, II-e), and Group III. Members of different subfamilies have different cis-acting elements, conserved motifs, and intron-exon structures, indicating functional heterogeneity of the WRKY family. Prediction of subcellular localisation indicated that PsWRKYs were mainly located in the nucleus. Twenty pairs of duplicated genes were identified, and segmental duplication events may play an important role in PsWRKY gene family expansion. Analysis of the Ka/Ks ratio showed that the PsWRKY family's homologous genes were primarily purified by selection. Additionally, GO annotation analysis showed that the WRKY gene family was mainly involved in responses to stimuli, immune system processes, and reproductive processes. Furthermore, quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) analysis showed that 23 PsWRKYs were highly expressed in one or more tissues (pistils and roots) and PsWRKYs showed specific expression patterns under different low-temperature stress conditions. CONCLUSIONS: Our results provide a scientific basis for the further exploration and functional validation of WRKYs in P. sibirica.

Syntheses of Substituted α,ß-Unsaturated δ-Lactams from N-Boc-2,4-dioxopiperidine.

A method for the syntheses of substituted α,ß-unsaturated δ-lactams (2) from the commercially available compound N-Boc-2,4-dioxopiperidine (1) has been developed. The α-substituents were introduced by a reductive Knoevenagel condensation reaction, and the ß-substituents were installed by palladium-catalyzed cross coupling reactions. More than 20 diverse examples were prepared in 2-3 steps. The synthesis was operationally simple, user-friendly, and easy to scale up.

Novel, static, permanent spacers to treat chronic knee periprosthetic joint infections.

PURPOSE: To discuss a static and permanent spacer in the treatment of chronic periprosthetic knee infection. Methods In this study, patients who were diagonised with chronic periprosthetic knee infection and not appropriate to undergo revision operations were included and were treated with static and permanent spacers. Infection recurrence rate was recorded, Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) score and Knee Society Score (KSS) were used to record patients' pain and knee function before the operation and at the final follow-up (minimum 24 months). RESULTS: Fifteen patients were identified for this study. Pain and function were significantly improved at the latest follow-up evaluation. One patient had a recurrent infection and underwent amputation. No patients had signs of residual instability at the final follow-up evaluation, and no breakage or subsidence of the antibiotic spacer were identified at the final radiographic follow-up evaluation. CONCLUSION: Our study provided evidence that the static and permanent spacer was a reliable salvage procedure to treat periprosthetic knee infection in compromised patients.

Phase-locked terahertz quantum cascade laser array integrated with a Talbot cavity.

Increasing the power of a quantum cascade laser by widening laser ridges will lead to the degradation of the beam quality because of the operation of high-order transverse modes. We report on a phase-locked array scheme of terahertz quantum cascade laser (THz QCL) utilizing Talbot effect. By adjusting the absorbing boundary width of each ridge in the array, stable operation of the fundamental supermode is realized. A five-element array shows 4 times power amplification than that of a single ridge device. Due to the large power amplification efficiency, stable mode selection, and simple fabricating process, the phase-locked array scheme is very promising to further improve the performance of THz QCL.

High performance distributed feedback quantum cascade laser emitting at λ∼6.12um.

Distributed feedback quantum cascade lasers emitting at a wavelength of 6.12 µm are reported. Benefitted from the optimized materials epitaxy and the modified bound to continuum transition active region design along with three pairs of phonon scattering, high device performance is achieved. For a 2-mm-long, 8.4-µm-wide device, the threshold current is as low as 130 mA, the corresponding threshold current density is only 0.77 kA/cm2, and the optical output power is 69 mW at 20 °C in continuous wave mode. The temperature of continuous wave operation can reach 100 °C, where the optical output power is still more than 8 mW. In addition, it maintains a stable single mode operation from 20 to 100 °C without mode hopping, corresponding to a total wavelength shift of 41 nm. Such low-threshold quantum cascade lasers are highly beneficial to portable and highly integrated system sensor applications.

High-performance quantum cascade lasers at λ ∼ 9†µm grown by MOCVD.

We demonstrate a high power InP-based quantum cascade laser (QCL) (λ ∼ 9 µm) with high characteristic temperature grown by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) in this article. A 4-mm-long cavity length, 10.5-µm-wide ridge QCL with high-reflection (HR) coating demonstrates a maximum pulsed peak power of 1.55 W and continuous-wave (CW) output power of 1.02W at 293 K. The pulsed threshold current density of the device is as low as 1.52 kA/cm2. The active region adopted a dual-upper-state (DAU) and multiple-lower-state (MS) design and it shows a wide electroluminescence (EL) spectrum with 466 cm-1 wide full-width at half maximum (FWHM). In addition, the device performance is insensitive to the temperature change since the threshold-current characteristic temperature coefficient, T0, is as high as 228 K, and slope-efficiency characteristic temperature coefficient, T1, is as high as 680 K, over the heatsink-temperature range of 293 K to 353 K.

Measurement of visibility and phase steps of a static wind imaging interferometer assisted by deep learning.

In a static wind imaging Michelson interferometer we developed, one of the Michelson mirrors is divided into four quadrants, with coatings on the quadrants that provide small phase steps from one quadrant to another, realizing the four simultaneous sampling of the interferogram. Restricted by the coating process and interferometer adjustment, the instrument visibility and phase steps of the four quadrants will deviate from the design value. In the actual passive detection of the atmospheric wind field, quasi-real-time calibration is required, and the calibration will also be affected by the instrument noise. In this paper, we propose a deep-learning-based denoising algorithm that can quickly denoise the wind interferogram with no need to adjust parameters, combined with conventional least-squares fitting cosine curves to obtain the visibility and phase steps of four quadrants from a series of interferograms with varying phase differences. The proposed algorithm framework is verified by experiment, and the measurement of visibility and phase steps of the wind field interferogram is efficiently realized. It can provide a reference for the visibility and phase steps measurement of the wind imaging interferometer and may have applications in wind imaging interferometer calibration.

Rapid Limit Test of Seven Pesticide Residues in Tea Based on the Combination of TLC and Raman Imaging Microscopy.

Numerous studies have shown that pesticide residues in tea exceeding the maximum residue limits (MRL) can cause harmful effects on the human body. There are many limitations in the existing analytical methods for pesticide residues in tea, so new analytical methods need to be developed. We developed a limit test method that combines thin-layer chromatography with Raman imaging microscopy (TLC-RIM). Seven residual pesticide components in tea (Avermectin, Methomyl, Carbendazim, Imidacloprid, Chlorothalonil, Azoxystrobin, and Acetamiprid) could be preliminarily separated by TLC and then irradiated by a 532 nm laser. Raman spectra of seven pesticides obtained by Raman imaging microscopy could be used to test whether the pesticide residues in tea exceed the MRL. The limits of detection of the seven pesticides were 0.04, 0.10, 0.24, 0.20, 0.12, 0.12, and 1.0 mg/mL, respectively. The simulated positive test showed that the matrix in tea did not interfere with the test of the seven pesticides. When the pesticides were tested within 8 h, the RSD of the peak heights of the seven pesticides were 1.2%~9.6%; the test results of three batches of tea showed that the imidacloprid in one batch of tea exceeded its MRL, and the results were consistent with that by UPLC-MS/MS. The TLC-RIM is fast, sensitive, stable, specific, and reliable.

Signal-to-noise ratio of a near-infrared static wind imaging Michelson interferometer.

Wind is a key parameter to understand the dynamic behavior of the atmosphere. This paper focuses on the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the near-infrared static wind imaging Michelson interferometer developed by our research group. As a physical quantity related directly to the resolution of airglow radiation, SNR is an important index to evaluate the performance of interferometers. The theoretical model of SNR is derived, and the changing rules of SNR under various physical quantities are given by computer simulation. This research provides a reliable theoretical basis for the design, development, and engineering of novel wind imaging interferometers.

MiR-96-5p promotes breast cancer migration by activating MEK/ERK signaling.

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in women worldwide. The purpose of the current study was to investigate the potential role of miR-96-5p in breast cancer. METHODS: Breast cancer tissues and matched para-cancerous tissues were collected. The expression of microRNA-96-5p (miR-96-5p) and arginine kinase 3 (AK3) was detected by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). The correlation between miR-96-5p and AK3 was calculated by Pearson's Chi-square test. Moreover, mimics or inhibitors of miR-96-5p were applied to explore whether miR-96-5p influences the migration capacity in Transwell and wound healing assays. Bioinformatics analysis was performed to identify the target genes of miR-96-5p through the TargetScan, miRDB and miRanda databases. A luciferase reporter assay was performed to verify AK3 as a downstream target gene of miR-96-5p. RESULTS: The expression of miR-96-5p was significantly increased in breast cancer tissue and breast cancer cell lines compared with para-cancerous tissue and a breast cell line, respectively. The expression of miR-96-5p negatively correlated with AK3 gene expression. AK3 was demonstrated to be a direct mRNA target of miR-96-5p. AK3 was positively associated with the overall survival of breast cancer patients. Kaplan-Meier curve and log rank test analyses revealed that decreased AK3 levels were significantly associated with reduced overall survival. miR-96-5p was shown to promote the migration of breast cancer cells through the MEK/ERK signaling pathway. CONCLUSION: Our results identify a role for miR-96-5p in promoting breast cancer cell migration through activation of MEK/ERK signaling by targeting AK3.

Characterization of Nucleobases in Broadband Terahertz Spectra from 0.5 to 10 THz with the Air-Biased-Coherent-Detection Technique.

Terahertz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS) is an effective coherent detection technique for deeply understanding the structures and functions of biomolecules. However, generally not full information in the whole THz range can be obtained due to the limited detection bandwidth (usually less than 5 THz) of the traditional THz-TDS systems. In this paper, effective THz absorption spectra in 0.5⁻10 THz range of five typical nucleobases of DNA/RNA are characterized with a super broadband THz detection technique, called the air-biased- coherent-detection (THz-ABCD) technique. Few unexpected characteristic absorption peaks appeared in the low-frequency region and meanwhile a series of anticipated characteristic absorption peaks are found in the high-frequency region. The fingerprint spectra of these nucleobases are helpful for further analysis on the vibration and twisting behavior of hydrogen bonds, van der Waals and electrostatic forces etc. between and within DNA/RNA biomolecules.

The electronic transport properties of zigzag phosphorene-like MX (M = Ge/Sn, X = S/Se) nanostructures.

Single-layer phosphorene-like MX sheets have aroused new interest and could become a family of nanomaterials in physics and materials science. Using a first-principles method combined with non-equilibrium Green's function (NEGF) theory, we study the electronic transport properties of the zigzag phosphorene-like MX (M = Ge/Sn, X = S/Se) nanostructures. The results demonstrate that GeS and GeSe nanoribbons display very similar electronic transport properties. Their current-voltage (I-V) curves exhibit an interesting negative differential resistive (NDR) effect and are insensitive to their ribbon widths due to their similar band structures. However, for SnS and SnSe nanoribbons, their electronic transport properties are obviously dependent on their ribbon widths due to their different band structures. Most of the SnS nanoribbons display the current-limited effect. SnSe nanoribbons could also present a NDR effect, which appeared at a lower applied bias. The currents mainly propagate through the phosphorene-like MX nanoribbons along the metal-termination, while little along the S/Se-termination. Moreover, their two-dimensional monolayers present an obvious difference from their one-dimensional structures. These phosphorene-like MX nanostructures have potential applications in nanoelectronics, and could become candidates for nanodevices, such as NDR devices.

[Establishment and evaluation of a novel mouse model of orthotopic colon cancer in the mesenteric triangle of the cecum].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the feasibility of preparation of a mouse model of orthotopic colon cancer by injecting tumor cell suspension into mesenteric triangle of the cecum. METHODS: Twenty SPF 8-week old BALB/c mice (male:female = 1:1) were used in this study. The mouse caecum was exposed by laparostomy, and suspension of mouse colon adenocarcinoma CT26. WT cells was injected into the mesenteric triangle of cecum for preparation of a mouse model of orthotopic colon cancer. RESULTS: Mouse orthotopic colon cancer was developed by injection of tumor cell suspension into mesenteric triangle of the cecum showing a successful rate of 100%, without intestinal obstruction, and the liver, spleen, diaphragm and mesenteric lymph nodes metastasis rates were high in all the 20 experimental mice. CONCLUSIONS: The establishment of mouse models of orthotopic colon cancer by injection of tumor cell suspension into the mesenteric triangle is a simple, rapid, and easy to master procedure, causing less damage to the colon wall, safe and with less trauma to the mice. This method may provide an ideal mouse model of orthotopic colon cancer for the study of pathogenesis as well as liver metastasis mechanisms of colon cancer.

Clinical study of ganglioside (GM) combined with methylprednisolone (MP) for early acute spinal injury.

This paper aims to make an analysis of the effects of ganglioside (GM) combined with methylprednisolone (MP) in early acute spinal injury. Fifty-three patients with acute spinal cord injury were included in this study and they were randomly divided into experimental and control group. Twenty-seven patients in the control group were treated with MP, while the rest 26 patients received more GM based on that. By observing and comparing the clinical responses from patients and recovery time of all indexes, results came out: the curative rates in the experimental and control group were 50.0%, 40.7% respectively, and the total effective rates were 92.3%, 85.2% respectively. There was a remarkable difference between the two groups (P<0.05). Patients in the experimental group took 6.2 ± 1.9d to restore their sphincter function, 11.2 ± 2.8d to recover their muscle forces to over grade II, and 13.8 ± 3.9d to return general activity, while the patients in the other group clearly spent longer time on recovery, that were 12.1 ± 3.2, 19.2 ± 4.6 and 23.9 ± 5.6 respectively. The distinct difference between the two groups was of statistical significance (P<0.05). We conclude that GM has better curative effects than MP, for it is able to promote the recovery of nerve function for patients and greatly improve the prognosis.

Report: Osteocyte enhancement function of bisphosphonates in prosthetic replacement.

Aseptic loosening after prosthetic replacement is the primary cause of shortened service life and lowered stability of prosthesis, and increased revision rate after joint replacement. Factors of causing the loosening of joint prosthesis include mechanical factors and biological factors. The mechanical effect of bisphosphonates (BP) is quite obvious, which can enhance osteocyte function, accelerate the generation of new bone and lower bone resorption activity of osteoclast and macrophage. In animal experiment and adjuvant therapy of patients after joint replacement, BP also shows up the functions of reducing osteolysis induced by wear debris, preventing stress shielding and interface fretting and enhancing bone density. This paper elaborated the mechanism of BP adjusting bone metabolism, and analyzed the action principle and the vital function of it in prosthetic replacement. It has proved that BP can effectively reduce the early peri-prosthesis bone absorption after total hip replacement and improve bone mass peri-prosthesis. It is currently the significant choice of preventing bone lose of peri-prosthesis after operation.

Metabolomic Profiling of Autoimmune Hepatitis: The Diagnostic Utility of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy.

Autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) is often confused with other liver diseases because of their shared nonspecific symptoms and serological and histological overlap. This study compared the plasma metabolomic profiles of patients with AIH, primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC), PBC/AIH overlap syndrome (OS), and drug-induced liver injury (DILI) with those of healthy subjects to identify potential biomarkers of AIH. Metabolomic profiling and biomarker screening were performed using proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H NMR) coupled with a partial least-squares discriminant analysis. Compared with the levels in healthy volunteers and other liver disease patients, AIH patients exhibited relatively high levels of plasma pyruvate, lactate, acetate, acetoacetate, and glucose. Such metabolites are typically related to energy metabolism alterations and may be a sign of metabolic conversion to the aerobic glycolysis phenotype of excessive immune activation. Increased aromatic amino acids and decreased branched-chain amino acids were found in the plasma of AIH patients. The whole NMR profiles were stepwise-reduced, and nine metabolomic biomarkers having the greatest significance in the discriminant analysis were obtained. The diagnostic utility of the selected metabolites was assessed, and these biomarkers achieved good sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy (all above 93%) in distinguishing AIH from PBC, DILI, and OS. This report is the first to present the metabolic phenotype of AIH and the potential utility of 1H NMR metabolomics in the diagnosis of AIH.

Interleukin-33 promotes disease progression in patients with primary biliary cirrhosis.

Primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) is a progressive autoimmune liver disease that can cause a series of complications, including cirrhosis, liver failure and hepatocellular carcinoma. Interleukin-33 (IL-33) is expressed in various non-hematopoietic cells and a certain population of immune cells, and exerts its biological effects by binding to the specific receptor, suppression of tumorigenicity 2 (ST2). A soluble form of ST2 (sST2) has been postulated to act as a decoy receptor for IL-33. In this study, we aimed to investigate the role of IL-33 in the pathogenesis of PBC. The study included 20 healthy controls and 68 patients with PBC. We thus found the increased serum IL-33 levels in PBC patients. Its elevated levels were positively correlated with serum alkaline phosphatase levels (a key parameter for the definition of PBC) and with Child-Pugh scores, which were used to determine the prognosis of liver cirrhosis. Moreover, the serum concentrations of sST2 were significantly higher in PBC patients compared with healthy subjects, irrespective of the disease severity. Importantly, the cells that express IL-33 and/or myeloperoxidase (a marker for neutrophils) were accumulated in the livers of PBC patients, and their number increased with the severity of liver lesions. Lastly, in vitro chemotaxis assays revealed that IL-33 enhanced the migration of neutrophils. These data suggest that IL-33 may affect the progress of PBC by recruiting neutrophils to the liver. This expanded knowledge of IL-33 in PBC patients is important for developing therapeutic strategies (e.g., neutralization of IL-33), selecting optimal clinical management, and predicting prognosis.

[Preliminary study of the inhibitory effect and mechanism of B16F10-ESAT-6-gpi/IL-21 vaccine on the pulmonary metastasis in mouse models of melanoma].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect and mechanism of B16F10-ESAT-6-gpi/IL-21 tumor cell vaccine on pulmonary metastasis in mouse model of melanoma. METHODS: Twelve 8-week old female C57BL/6 mice were used in this study. The mice were injected with wild-type B16F10 cells through tail vein after immunization with B16F10-ESAT-6-gpi/IL-21 tumor cell vaccine, and the pulmonary metastasis was observed. The CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells were isolated by magnetic activated cell sorting, and then used for the detection of CFSE/7-AAD cytotoxicity by flow cytometry. Serum from the mice immunized with tumor-cell vaccine was used to detect IFN-γ expression by ELISA. The expression of TGF-ß2, ZEB1, E-cadherin, and N-cadherin of tumor tissues was detected by RT-PCR and immunofluorescence, respectively. RESULTS: The mice vaccinated with B16F10-ESAT-6-gpi/IL-21 had significantly fewer nodules in the lung and lower lung weight [(285.8 ± 19.01) mg vs. (406.3 ± 27.12) mg], with lower levels of TGF-ß2, ZEB1 and N-cadherin proteins but higher level of E-cadherin protein within the tumor tissue, as compared with the control mice. Meanwhile, the immunized mice had significantly increased CD8(+) T cell killing activity [(42.62 ± 3.465)% vs. (22.29 ± 1.804)%] and IFN-γ expression level [(55.200 ± 7.173) pg/ml vs. (6.435 ± 1.339) pg/ml] over the control mice. CONCLUSIONS: The B16F10-ESAT-6-gpi/IL-21 vaccine can inhibit the metastasis of melanoma in the lung in vaccinated melanoma-bearing mice. This inhibitory effect is associated with CD8(+) T cell immune response and a higher level of IFN-γ, which may influence on the mesenchymal-epithelial transition of tumor cells.

Peptide-based probe for colorimetric and fluorescent detection of Cu2+ and S2- in environmental and biological systems.

Pollution caused by Copper and hydrogen sulfide pollution has severe adverse effects on the environment and organisms. Real-time, fast and accurate monitoring of Cu2+ and S2- faces serious challenges. In this study, we designed a novel biosensor and synthesized it by mimicking the structure of the main Cu(II)-binding site on bovine serum albumin. As a peptide-based sensor, FGGH (FITC-Gly-Gly-His-NH2) can perform the sequential detection of Cu2+ and S2- by fluorescence and colorimetry. The high water solubility and selectivity make it suitable for monitoring Cu2+ and S2- in environmental water samples with high sensitivity; its limit of detection (LOD) is as low as 1.42 nM for Cu2+ and 22.2 nM for S2-. The paper-based sensing platform of this probe was found to be a promising tool for the on-site visualization of real-time quantitative analysis of Cu2+ and S2- due to its rapid response and recyclable detection characteristics. Additionally, FGGH was successfully used to image Cu2+ and S2- in living cells and zebrafish models with adequate fluorescence stability and low cytotoxicity, providing the first visual evidence of the effect of the interactions between Cu2+ and S2- on the redox homeostasis of organisms.

A rapid and specific fluorescent probe based on aggregation-induced emission enhancement for mercury ion detection in living systems.

Mercury is a harmful heavy metal that seriously threatens the environment and organisms. In this study, we combined the aggregation-induced emission mechanism and the advantages of peptides to design a novel tetraphenylene (TPE)-based peptide fluorescent probe, TPE-Cys-Pro-Gly-His (TPE-CPGH), in which the sulfhydryl group of Cys in the peptide chain and the imidazolium nitrogen provided by His were used to mimic the Hg2+ binding site of metalloproteins. The ß-fold formed by Pro-Gly was used to promote the spatial coordination of the probe with Hg2+ and the formation of the coordination complex aggregates, these changes led to the "turn on" response to Hg2+. The detection of Hg2+ by TPE-CPGH not only showed high specificity and sensitivity (LOD=46.2 nM), but also had the advantages of fast response and applicability for detection over a wide pH range. Additionally, TPE-CPGH effectively detected Hg2+ in environmental samples, living cells and organisms due to its low cytotoxicity, high water solubility and cell membrane permeability. More interestingly, TPE-CPGH was also mitigated Hg2+ exposure-induced oxidative stress toxicity in vitro and in vivo.