Admissible Solutions of the Schwarzian Type Difference Equation

This paper is to investigate the Schwarzian type difference equation Δ3f/Δf-3/2Δ2f/Δf2k=Rz,f=P(z,f)/Q(z,f), where R(z,f) is a rational function in f with polynomial coefficients, P(z,f), respectively Q(z,f) are two irreducible polynomials in f of degree p, respectively q. Relationship between p and q is studied for some special case. Denote d=max⁡p,q. Let f(z) be an admissible solution of (*) such that ρ2(f)<1; then for s  (≥2) distinct complex constants α1,…,αs , q+2k∑j=1sδ(αj,f)≤ 8k. In particular, if N(r,f)=S(r,f), then d+2k∑j=1sδ (αj,f)≤4k

LncRNA MALAT1: A potential therapeutic target in DSSinduced ulcerative colitis progression in vitro

Purpose: Ulcerative colitis is a severe disease affecting human health worldwide. Studies have shown that lncRNA MALAT1 has a significant correlation with breast, pancreatic, colon and liver cancers, but its effects on colitis is yet to be discovered. In this study, the potential role of lncRNA MALAT1 and the underlying molecular mechanism in DSS-induced colitis were investigated in vitro.Methods: Colorectal mucosal cell line FHC was induced with dextran sulphate sodium (DSS) to form an in vitro colitis model. Transfection procedure was employed to up- or down-regulate the expressions of lncRNA MALAT1 or miR-30c-5p in FHC cells. Cell viabilities were detected by CCK-8 assay. RT-qPCR was applied for evaluating gene expressions in normal FHC and DSS-induced FHC cell lines, while protein expression levels of target genes were examined by Western blot analysis. Starbase was used to predict the molecular interaction between MALAT1 and miR-30c-5p, while luciferase reporter assay was utilized to verify the binding sites between the two genes.Results: Expression of MALAT1 in the DSS-induced FHC cells was high with low cell viabilities, compared to the normal FHC cells. In the DSS-induced colitis-like FHC cells, overexpression of MALAT1 inhibited cell viabilities, while its downregulation promoted it. MiR-30c-5p directly targets MALAT1 and inhibited its expression in DSS-treated FHC cells. Upregulation of miR-30c-5p increased cell viabilities. Bcl-xL expression was inhibited by the up-regulation of MALAT1, while that of Bax was enhanced and the mimics of miR-30c-5p reversed these observations, suggesting that the enhancement of apoptosis promoted by oe-MALAT1 could be inhibited by miR-30c-5p. The interaction between MALAT1 and miR-30c-5p regulated NF-κB/TGF-β/Wnt-β-catenin signaling pathway.Conclusion: Overexpression of MALAT1 led to inhibition of cell viability, while apoptosis and inflammation were promoted by targeting miR-30c-5p via NF-κB/TGF-β/Wnt-β-catenin signaling pathway. These findings suggest MALAT1 as a therapeutic target for treating colitis. Keywords: Colitis, MALAT1, miR-30c-5p, NF-κB/TGF-β/Wnt-β-catenin&nbsp

Simultaneous broadband generation of second and third harmonics from chirped nonlinear photonic crystals

Ultrabroadband laser sources are highly desirable in a wide variety of modern science disciplines ranging from physics, chemistry and materials science to information communications and processing. Here we present the design and fabrication of a chirped periodically poled lithium niobate (CPPLN) nonlinear photonic crystal that supports multiple orders of quasiphase matching with finite bandwidth and allows for the simultaneous broadband generation of second and third harmonics with high conversion efficiency. Moreover, the chirp rate has a significant influence on the conversion efficiency and bandwidth. The CPPLN scheme offers a promising approach for the construction of short-wavelength laser sources and enables the generation of the three primary colors - red, green and blue - from a single crystal, which may have potential applications in large-screen laser displays

Urinary screening of elementary school students in Taicang, China

AbstractBackground: Chronic kidney disease in children is a severe progressive disease that influences the growth, development, and life quality of patients. This study aimed to explore the detection rate of proteinuria and hematuria in elementary school students in Taicang, China.Materials and methods: From 2015 to 2019, urine specimens were selected from 11,753 pupils in Taicang. The samples were tested for proteinuria and hematuria by applying single urine tests and urine sediment microscopic examinations. The observation results were divided into three groups: hematuria, proteinuria, and co-existing hematuria and proteinuria. In addition, kidney biopsies were carried out.Results: The positive rate of urinary abnormalities was 0.842% (99 cases), of which there were 51 cases (0.433%) of proteinuria, 42 cases (0.357%) of hematuria, and six cases (0.051%) of co-existing proteinuria and hematuria. In terms of gender, of the 99 cases, 63 were female students (1.142%) and 36 were male students (0.577%). Additionally, the age distribution results indicated that the prevalence of urine abnormalities in each age group from age 7 to age 13 were 11.11%, 12.12%, 12.12%, 16.16%, 29.29%, 18.18% and 3.03%, respectively. Furthermore, one immunoglobin A nephropathy case was certified by renal biopsy assay in the follow-up at six months.Conclusions: The urine screening revealed that abnormal proteinuria was the main form of urinary abnormalities in elementary school students from Taicang. Urine screening is necessary for early detection and intervention of kidney disease. [Ethiop. J. Health Dev. 2021; 35(2):91-96] Key words: Urine screening, Taicang, elementary school student, proteinuria, hematuri

Human cytomegalovirus exploits interferon-induced transmembrane proteins to facilitate morphogenesis of the virion assembly compartment

Recently, interferon-induced transmembrane proteins (IFITMs) have been identified to be key effector molecules in the host type I interferon defense system. The invasion of host cells by a large range of RNA viruses is inhibited by IFITMs during the entry step. However, the roles of IFITMs in DNA virus infections have not been studied in detail. In this study, we report that human cytomegalovirus (HCMV), a large human DNA virus, exploits IFITMs to facilitate the formation of the virion assembly compartment (vAC) during infection of human fibroblasts. We found that IFITMs were expressed constitutively in human embryonic lung fibroblasts (MRC5 cells). HCMV infection inhibited IFITM protein accumulation in the later stages of infection. Overexpression of an IFITM protein in MRC5 cells slightly enhanced HCMV production and knockdown of IFITMs by RNA interference reduced the virus titer by about 100-fold on day 8 postinfection, according to the findings of a virus yield assay at a low multiplicity of infection. Virus gene expression and DNA synthesis were not affected, but the typical round structure of the vAC was not formed after the suppression of IFITMs, thereby resulting in defective virion assembly and the production of less infectious virion particles. Interestingly, the replication of herpes simplex virus, a human herpesvirus that is closely related to HCMV, was not affected by the suppression of IFITMs in MRC5 cells. These results indicate that IFITMs are involved in a specific pathway required for HCMV replication. IMPORTANCE HCMV is known to repurpose the interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs) viperin and tetherin to facilitate its replication. Our results expand the range of ISGs that can be exploited by HCMV for its replication. This is also the first report of a proviral function of IFITMs in DNA virus replication. In addition, whereas previous studies showed that IFITMs modulate virus entry, which is a very early stage in the virus life cycle, we identified a new function of IFITMs during the very late stage of virus replication, i.e., virion assembly. Virus entry and assembly both involve vesicle transport and membrane fusion; thus, a common biochemical activity of IFITMs is likely to be involved. Therefore, our findings may provide a new platform for dissecting the molecular mechanism of action of IFITMs during the blocking or enhancement of virus infection, which are under intense investigation in this field

Identification and investigation of depression-related molecular subtypes in inflammatory bowel disease and the anti-inflammatory mechanisms of paroxetine

BackgroundUp to 40 per cent of people with active inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) also suffer from mood disorders such as anxiety and depression. Notwithstanding, the fundamental biological pathways driving depression in IBD remain unknown.MethodsWe identified 33 core genes that drive depression in IBD patients and performed consensus molecular subtyping with the NMF algorithm in IBD. The CIBERSORT were employed to quantify the immune cells. Metabolic signature was characterized using the “IOBR” R package. The scoring system (D. score) based on PCA. Pre-clinical models are constructed using DSS.ResultsUsing transcriptome data from the GEO database of 630 IBD patients, we performed a thorough analysis of the correlation between IBD and depression in this research. Firstly, the samples were separated into two different molecular subtypes (D. cluster1 and D. cluster2) based on their biological signatures. Moreover, the immunological and metabolic differences between them were evaluated, and we discovered that D. cluster2 most closely resembled IBD patients concomitant with depression. We also developed a scoring system to assess the IBD-related depression and predict clinical response to anti-TNF- therapy, with a higher D. score suggesting more inflammation and worse reaction to biological therapies. Ultimately, we also identified through animal experiments an antidepressant, paroxetine, has the added benefit of lowering intestinal inflammation by controlling microorganisms in the digestive tract.ConclusionsThis study highlights that IBD patients with or without depression show significant variations and antidepressant paroxetine may help reduce intestinal inflammation

Disentangling the Drivers of Diversity and Distribution of Fungal Community Composition in Wastewater Treatment Plants Across Spatial Scales

Activated sludge microbial community composition is a key bio-indicator of the sustainability of wastewater treatment systems. Therefore, a thorough understanding of the activated sludge microbial community dynamics is critical for environmental engineers to effectively manage the wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). However, fungal communities associated with activated sludge have been poorly elucidated. Here, the activated sludge fungal community in 18 geographically distributed WWTPs was determined by using Illumina sequencing. The results showed that differences in activated sludge fungal community composition were observed among all WWTPs and also between oxidation ditch and anaerobic-anoxic-aerobic (A/A/O) systems. Ascomycota was the largest phyla, followed by Basidiomycota in all samples. Sporidiobolales and Pezizales were the most abundant order in oxidation ditch and A/A/O systems, respectively. The network analysis indicated cooperative and co-occurrence interactions between fungal taxa in order to accomplish the wastewater treatment process. Hygrocybe sp., Sporobolomyces sp., Rhodotorula sp., Stemphylium sp., Parascedosporium sp., and Cylindrocarpon sp., were found to have statistically significant interactions. Redundancy analysis revealed that temperature, total phosphorus, pH, and ammonia nitrogen were significantly affected the fungal community. This study sheds light on providing the ecological characteristics of activated sludge fungal communities and useful guidance for improving wastewater treatment performance efficiency

Unicity of Meromorphic Solutions of the Pielou Logistic Equation

This paper mainly considers the unicity of meromorphic solutions of the Pielou logistic equation yz+1=Rzyz/Qz+Pzyz, where Pz,Qz, and Rz are nonzero polynomials. It shows that the finite order transcendental meromorphic solution of the Pielou logistic equation is mainly determined by its poles and 1-value points. Examples are given for the sharpness of our result