Mechanism of Evolution Shared by Gene and Language

We propose a general mechanism for evolution to explain the diversity of gene and language. To quantify their common features and reveal the hidden structures, several statistical properties and patterns are examined based on a new method called the rank-rank analysis. We find that the classical correspondence, "domain plays the role of word in gene language", is not rigorous, and propose to replace domain by protein. In addition, we devise a new evolution unit, syllgram, to include the characteristics of spoken and written language. Based on the correspondence between (protein, domain) and (word, syllgram), we discover that both gene and language shared a common scaling structure and scale-free network. Like the Rosetta stone, this work may help decipher the secret behind non-coding DNA and unknown languages.Comment: 15 pages, 13 figures, 3 tabl

Transcriptomic analyses of regenerating adult feathers in chicken

Transcriptome Expression Data. Table of mapped reads to Galgal4 transcripts for all 15 data sets. FPKM (Fragments per kilobase of exon per million fragments mapped): normalized transcript abundance values for each gene in the indicated tissues. (CSV 1314 kb

Nonvirally Modified Autologous Primary Hepatocytes Correct Diabetes and Prevent Target Organ Injury in a Large Preclinical Model

BACKGROUND: Current gene- and cell-based therapies have significant limitations which impede widespread clinical application. Taking diabetes mellitus as a paradigm, we have sought to overcome these limitations by ex vivo electrotransfer of a nonviral insulin expression vector into primary hepatocytes followed by immediate autologous reimplantation in a preclinical model of diabetes. METHODS AND RESULTS: In a single 3-hour procedure, hepatocytes were isolated from a surgically resected liver wedge, electroporated with an insulin expression plasmid ex vivo and reimplanted intraparenchymally under ultrasonic guidance into the liver in each of 10 streptozotocin-induced diabetic Yorkshire pigs. The vector was comprised of a bifunctional, glucose-responsive promoter linked to human insulin cDNA. Ambient glucose concentrations appropriately altered human insulin mRNA expression and C-peptide secretion within minutes in vitro and in vivo. Treated swine showed correction of hyperglycemia, glucose intolerance, dyslipidemia and other metabolic abnormalities for > or = 47 weeks. Metabolic correction correlated significantly with the number of hepatocytes implanted. Importantly, we observed no hypoglycemia even under fasting conditions. Direct intrahepatic implantation of hepatocytes did not alter biochemical indices of liver function or induce abnormal hepatic lobular architecture. About 70% of implanted hepatocytes functionally engrafted, appeared histologically normal, retained vector DNA and expressed human insulin for > or = 47 weeks. Based on structural tissue analyses and transcriptome data, we showed that early correction of diabetes attenuated and even prevented pathological changes in the eye, kidney, liver and aorta. CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrate that autologous hepatocytes can be efficiently, simply and safely modified by electroporation of a nonviral vector to express, process and secrete insulin durably. This strategy, which achieved significant and sustained therapeutic efficacy in a large preclinical model without adverse effects, warrants consideration for clinical development especially as it could have broader future applications for the treatment of other acquired and inherited diseases for which systemic reconstitution of a specific protein deficiency is critical

Impact of opioid-free analgesia on pain severity and patient satisfaction after discharge from surgery: multispecialty, prospective cohort study in 25 countries

Background: Balancing opioid stewardship and the need for adequate analgesia following discharge after surgery is challenging. This study aimed to compare the outcomes for patients discharged with opioid versus opioid-free analgesia after common surgical procedures.Methods: This international, multicentre, prospective cohort study collected data from patients undergoing common acute and elective general surgical, urological, gynaecological, and orthopaedic procedures. The primary outcomes were patient-reported time in severe pain measured on a numerical analogue scale from 0 to 100% and patient-reported satisfaction with pain relief during the first week following discharge. Data were collected by in-hospital chart review and patient telephone interview 1 week after discharge.Results: The study recruited 4273 patients from 144 centres in 25 countries; 1311 patients (30.7%) were prescribed opioid analgesia at discharge. Patients reported being in severe pain for 10 (i.q.r. 1-30)% of the first week after discharge and rated satisfaction with analgesia as 90 (i.q.r. 80-100) of 100. After adjustment for confounders, opioid analgesia on discharge was independently associated with increased pain severity (risk ratio 1.52, 95% c.i. 1.31 to 1.76; P < 0.001) and re-presentation to healthcare providers owing to side-effects of medication (OR 2.38, 95% c.i. 1.36 to 4.17; P = 0.004), but not with satisfaction with analgesia (beta coefficient 0.92, 95% c.i. -1.52 to 3.36; P = 0.468) compared with opioid-free analgesia. Although opioid prescribing varied greatly between high-income and low- and middle-income countries, patient-reported outcomes did not.Conclusion: Opioid analgesia prescription on surgical discharge is associated with a higher risk of re-presentation owing to side-effects of medication and increased patient-reported pain, but not with changes in patient-reported satisfaction. Opioid-free discharge analgesia should be adopted routinely

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Natal down is a crucial aspect of a bird's reproductive success. These downy feathers vary considerably across species, both in terms of their distribution across the body regions and their density. In this study, we embarked on an extensive exploration of natal down's evolutionary patterns across 178 avian families and the potential factors that correlate with its variation, especially for their breeding characteristics and nestling features. We first characterized the natal down diversity according to its density in different body regions. Ancestral state reconstruction was then conducted for each body region. Remarkably, these reconstructions revealed a consistent evolutionary pattern across all pterylae (feather tracts) in different body regions and pinpointed two significant episodes in avian evolution where species exhibited a loss of natal down. We then analyzed the correlated evolution of natal down with variables like nest attendance, nest characteristics, geographical location, and climatic conditions. We revealed that bird species that benefit from the relative safety of the local environment are more likely to exhibit reduced natal down. Our study contributes valuable perspectives to our understanding of avian evolutionary history, behavioral ecology, and the distinct conservation needs of bird species.</p

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Natal down is a crucial aspect of a bird's reproductive success. These downy feathers vary considerably across species, both in terms of their distribution across the body regions and their density. In this study, we embarked on an extensive exploration of natal down's evolutionary patterns across 178 avian families and the potential factors that correlate with its variation, especially for their breeding characteristics and nestling features. We first characterized the natal down diversity according to its density in different body regions. Ancestral state reconstruction was then conducted for each body region. Remarkably, these reconstructions revealed a consistent evolutionary pattern across all pterylae (feather tracts) in different body regions and pinpointed two significant episodes in avian evolution where species exhibited a loss of natal down. We then analyzed the correlated evolution of natal down with variables like nest attendance, nest characteristics, geographical location, and climatic conditions. We revealed that bird species that benefit from the relative safety of the local environment are more likely to exhibit reduced natal down. Our study contributes valuable perspectives to our understanding of avian evolutionary history, behavioral ecology, and the distinct conservation needs of bird species.</p

Zinc oxide nanoparticles as additives for improved dimensional accuracy in vat photopolymerization

To improve the dimensional accuracy of 3D printed parts produced by vat photopolymerization, a controlled light penetration through the photopolymer resin is necessary to avoid excessive unwanted curing caused by overexposure. Although photoabsorbing additives like Sudan I can attenuate light to decrease excessive light penetration, they also require longer exposure time to solidify the resin. In this work, photocatalytic zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnONP) were used as resin additives substituting photoabsorbers to control overexposure that causes loss in dimensional accuracy. Compared to adding 0.1 wt/wt% of Sudan I, adding 2.5 wt/wt% of ZnONP not only showed similar level of control in light penetration, but reduced the required curing time of the resin. Significant improvement in preventing unwanted curing was also observed in resin with ZnONP, as evident by our printing tests on open channels and overhanging structures. Unlike Sudan I which deteriorated the mechanical properties of printed parts, ZnONP additives have rendered more effective curing that resulted in improved tensile strength, fracture strain and Young's modulus.National Research Foundation (NRF)This research is supported by the National Research Foundation, Prime Minister's Office, Singapore under its Medium-Sized Centre funding scheme

Insights from density functional theory calculations on heteroatom P-doped ZnIn₂S₄ bilayer nanosheets with atomic-level charge steering for photocatalytic water splitting

ZnIn(2)S(4) (ZIS) is an efficient photocatalyst for solar hydrogen (H(2)) generation from water splitting owing to its suitable band gap, excellent photocatalytic behaviour and high stability. Nevertheless, modifications are still necessary to further enhance the photocatalytic performance of ZIS for practical applications. This has led to our interest in exploring phosphorus doping on ZIS for photocatalytic water splitting, which has not been studied till date. Herein, phosphorus-doped ZnIn(2)S(4) (P-ZIS) was modelled via Density Functional Theory to investigate the effects of doping phosphorus on the structural and electronics properties of ZIS as well as its performance toward photocatalytic water splitting. This work revealed that the replacement of S3 atom by substitutional phosphorus gave rise to the most stable P-ZIS structure. In addition, P-ZIS was observed to experience a reduction in band gap energy, an upshift of valence band maximum (VBM), an increase in electron density near VBM and a reduction of H* adsorption–desorption barrier, all of which are essential for the enhancement of the hydrogen evolution reaction. In overall, detailed theoretical analysis carried out in this work could provide critical insights towards the development of P-ZIS-based photocatalysts for efficient H(2) generation via solar water splitting

Organic solvent forward osmosis membranes for pharmaceutical concentration

A scaled-up hollow fibre thin-film composite (TFC) module was successfully developed for organic solvent forward osmosis (OSFO) application in the pharmaceutical industry. The membrane consists of cross-linked P84 polyimide substrate with a polyamide selective layer, formed via interfacial polymerisation. The performance of the lab-scale module was compared to the scaled-up module in reverse osmosis and forward osmosis modes. The results from both tests revealed that the solvent permeability of the scaled-up module decreased while its selectivity increased slightly. This might be caused by the uneven distribution of liquids during interfacial polymerisation, leading to varied membrane performance. The scaled-up module was further tested for OSFO performance using a range of PEG-400 concentrations (0.5–2 M) in acetone and isopropanol as draw solutions. At 2 M PEG-400 concentration, the module demonstrated high isopropanol and acetone permeability of 0.63 LMH and 13.9 LMH, respectively. Moreover, the reverse solute flux of PEG-400 in acetone and isopropanol were relatively low at 0.188 g/l and 0.153 g/l, respectively. The module was further tested for OSFO application in the pharmaceutical industry by concentrating levofloxacin in acetone, using 2 M PEG-400 as draw solution. The process was able to concentrate levofloxacin from 1000 ppm to 16,000 ppm with very low reverse solute flux of 0.178 g/l. Therefore, this work presents a scalable TFC membrane for OSFO application in the pharmaceutical industry.Economic Development Board (EDB)Submitted/Accepted versionThe authors acknowledge Economic Development Board (EDB) of Singapore for funding the Singapore Membrane Technology Centre (SMTC), Interdisciplinary Graduate Programme, Nanyang Environment and Water Research Institute, Nanyang Technological University