Genome-wide transcriptome profiling and spatial expression analyses identify signals and switches of development in tapeworms.

BACKGROUND: Tapeworms are agents of neglected tropical diseases responsible for significant health problems and economic loss. They also exhibit adaptations to a parasitic lifestyle that confound comparisons of their development with other animals. Identifying the genetic factors regulating their complex ontogeny is essential to understanding unique aspects of their biology and for advancing novel therapeutics. Here we use RNA sequencing to identify up-regulated signalling components, transcription factors and post-transcriptional/translational regulators (genes of interest, GOI) in the transcriptomes of Larvae and different regions of segmented worms in the tapeworm Hymenolepis microstoma and combine this with spatial gene expression analyses of a selection of genes. RESULTS: RNA-seq reads collectively mapped to 90% of the > 12,000 gene models in the H. microstoma v.2 genome assembly, demonstrating that the transcriptome profiles captured a high percentage of predicted genes. Contrasts made between the transcriptomes of Larvae and whole, adult worms, and between the Scolex-Neck, mature strobila and gravid strobila, resulted in 4.5-30% of the genes determined to be differentially expressed. Among these, we identified 190 unique GOI up-regulated in one or more contrasts, including a large range of zinc finger, homeobox and other transcription factors, components of Wnt, Notch, Hedgehog and TGF-β/BMP signalling, and post-transcriptional regulators (e.g. Boule, Pumilio). Heatmap clusterings based on overall expression and on select groups of genes representing 'signals' and 'switches' showed that expression in the Scolex-Neck region is more similar to that of Larvae than to the mature or gravid regions of the adult worm, which was further reflected in large overlap of up-regulated GOI. CONCLUSIONS: Spatial expression analyses in Larvae and adult worms corroborated inferences made from quantitative RNA-seq data and in most cases indicated consistency with canonical roles of the genes in other animals, including free-living flatworms. Recapitulation of developmental factors up-regulated during larval metamorphosis suggests that strobilar growth involves many of the same underlying gene regulatory networks despite the significant disparity in developmental outcomes. The majority of genes identified were investigated in tapeworms for the first time, setting the stage for advancing our understanding of developmental genetics in an important group of flatworm parasites

Fixing Colloidal Motions at Water/Air Interface with Micrometer Scale Resolution

Fast colloidal motions driven by surface tension gradient are created in a thin water layer. Unlike using solid boundaries to limit the colloidal flow, our work relaxes this condition by directly placing bulk fluid next to an open air environment. When the colloidal flow along the air/water interface is interfered with stationary objects, repetitive semicircular motions, that is, micro eddy, are frequently observed in domains as small as 2 μm. We assign the capillary convection between the liquid next to the air and that from the bulk as the driving force for the observed motions. Relationships among the maximum speed, temperature gradient, and thickness of the liquid layer are experimentally investigated and numerically analyzed. Our results could inspire future designs of micromechanical motors or fluidic mixing in a miniature device

Fixing Colloidal Motions at Water/Air Interface with Micrometer Scale Resolution

Fast colloidal motions driven by surface tension gradient are created in a thin water layer. Unlike using solid boundaries to limit the colloidal flow, our work relaxes this condition by directly placing bulk fluid next to an open air environment. When the colloidal flow along the air/water interface is interfered with stationary objects, repetitive semicircular motions, that is, micro eddy, are frequently observed in domains as small as 2 μm. We assign the capillary convection between the liquid next to the air and that from the bulk as the driving force for the observed motions. Relationships among the maximum speed, temperature gradient, and thickness of the liquid layer are experimentally investigated and numerically analyzed. Our results could inspire future designs of micromechanical motors or fluidic mixing in a miniature device

Fixing Colloidal Motions at Water/Air Interface with Micrometer Scale Resolution

Fast colloidal motions driven by surface tension gradient are created in a thin water layer. Unlike using solid boundaries to limit the colloidal flow, our work relaxes this condition by directly placing bulk fluid next to an open air environment. When the colloidal flow along the air/water interface is interfered with stationary objects, repetitive semicircular motions, that is, micro eddy, are frequently observed in domains as small as 2 μm. We assign the capillary convection between the liquid next to the air and that from the bulk as the driving force for the observed motions. Relationships among the maximum speed, temperature gradient, and thickness of the liquid layer are experimentally investigated and numerically analyzed. Our results could inspire future designs of micromechanical motors or fluidic mixing in a miniature device

Simulation of Transient Photoconduction in Organic p−n Junction Bilayer Photodiodes

The transient photoconducting behavior of organic p/n bilayer photocells has been investigated in cells constructed with the copolymer, poly(3-butylthiophene-co-ethylenedioxythiophene), as p-type material and a perylene diimide (PV) as the n-type material. The decay rate constant of the transient photocurrent observed after pulsed illumination is independent of the applied electric field, light intensity, and temperature. However, the peak photoresponse was strongly affected by these variables. Simulations of the photoresponse revealed that the peak current depends primarily on the carrier mobility (at a given light intensity), whereas the characteristic decay rate is hardly influenced by the mobility, but depends on the carrier lifetime which is chiefly due to trapping by deep levels

Image_1_Does PD-1 blockade play a decisive role in the pathological complete remission of unresectable MSS, BRAF V600E-mutated metastatic colorectal cancer: A case report.tif

BackgroundColorectal cancer (CRC) ranks third in highest incidence among human cancers. With the continuous development of anti-cancer drugs, CRC patients are treated more and more effectively. However, the treatment of patients with unresectable metastatic CRC (mCRC) remains a core point for surgeons worldwide, especially for those with microsatellite stability (MSS) and BRAF V600E mutation, who have been reported to have the worst prognosis.Case descriptionWe report a case of pathological complete remission in a patient with unresectable MSS, BRAF V600E-mutated metastatic rectal cancer after using Vemurafenib and Cetuximab in combination with Camrelizumab.ConclusionsThis case suggested that Vemurafenib and Cetuximab combined with Camrelizumab is effective in the treatment of MSS, BRAF V600E-mutated mCRC. To benefit more patients, further studies need to be completed.</p

Image_2_Does PD-1 blockade play a decisive role in the pathological complete remission of unresectable MSS, BRAF V600E-mutated metastatic colorectal cancer: A case report.tif

BackgroundColorectal cancer (CRC) ranks third in highest incidence among human cancers. With the continuous development of anti-cancer drugs, CRC patients are treated more and more effectively. However, the treatment of patients with unresectable metastatic CRC (mCRC) remains a core point for surgeons worldwide, especially for those with microsatellite stability (MSS) and BRAF V600E mutation, who have been reported to have the worst prognosis.Case descriptionWe report a case of pathological complete remission in a patient with unresectable MSS, BRAF V600E-mutated metastatic rectal cancer after using Vemurafenib and Cetuximab in combination with Camrelizumab.ConclusionsThis case suggested that Vemurafenib and Cetuximab combined with Camrelizumab is effective in the treatment of MSS, BRAF V600E-mutated mCRC. To benefit more patients, further studies need to be completed.</p

Fixing Colloidal Motions at Water/Air Interface with Micrometer Scale Resolution

Fast colloidal motions driven by surface tension gradient are created in a thin water layer. Unlike using solid boundaries to limit the colloidal flow, our work relaxes this condition by directly placing bulk fluid next to an open air environment. When the colloidal flow along the air/water interface is interfered with stationary objects, repetitive semicircular motions, that is, micro eddy, are frequently observed in domains as small as 2 μm. We assign the capillary convection between the liquid next to the air and that from the bulk as the driving force for the observed motions. Relationships among the maximum speed, temperature gradient, and thickness of the liquid layer are experimentally investigated and numerically analyzed. Our results could inspire future designs of micromechanical motors or fluidic mixing in a miniature device

Hierarchical Buckling on Surfaces of Soft Laminae

Buckling in solid thin films supported by soft substrates has been well-studied. Many of those buckling features discovered, however, are monotonous without any hierarchical organizations. We report our finding of a substantial 2D hierarchical buckling atop a molecular type of multistacks or lamellae. This multistacked structure is a direct self-assembly from aminopropyltriethoxysilane, in which the polar amine groups promote the absorption of a large amount of water. We found that the resulting soft structures are good candidates to allow the formation of a complex buckling along the surface normal. Revealed cauliflower-like, hierarchical patterns are modeled by considering rigid columns standing on a soft substrate. In return, the hierarchical structures demonstrated could find applications in nanofabrication and enrich emerging fields, such as flexible electronics or optics