The Generation of Equal-Intensity and Multi-Focus Optical Vortices by a Composite Spiral Zone Plate

We propose a new vortex lens for producing multiple focused coaxial vortices with approximately equal intensities along the optical axis, termed equal-intensity multi-focus composite spiral zone plates (EMCSZPs). In this typical methodology, two concentric conventional spiral zone plates (SZPs) of different focal lengths were composited together and the alternate transparent and opaque zones were arranged with specific m-bonacci sequence. Based on the Fresnel–Kirchhoff diffraction theory, the focusing properties of the EMCSZPs were calculated in detail and the corresponding demonstration experiment was been carried out to verify our proposal. The investigations indicate that the EMCSZPs indeed exhibit superior performance, which accords well with our physical design. In addition, the topological charges (TCs) of the multi-focus vortices can be flexibly selected and controlled by optimizing the parameters of the zone plates. These findings which were demonstrated by the performed experiment may open new avenues towards improving the performance of biomedical imaging, quantum computation and optical manipulation

Integrated analysis of genome-wide association studies and 3D epigenomic characteristics reveal the BMP2 gene regulating loin muscle depth in Yorkshire pigs.

BackgroundThe lack of integrated analysis of genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and 3D epigenomics restricts a deep understanding of the genetic mechanisms of meat-related traits. With the application of techniques as ChIP-seq and Hi-C, the annotations of cis-regulatory elements in the pig genome have been established, which offers a new opportunity to elucidate the genetic mechanisms and identify major genetic variants and candidate genes that are significantly associated with important economic traits. Among these traits, loin muscle depth (LMD) is an important one as it impacts the lean meat content. In this study, we integrated cis-regulatory elements and genome-wide association studies (GWAS) to identify candidate genes and genetic variants regulating LMD.ResultsFive single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) located on porcine chromosome 17 were significantly associated with LMD in Yorkshire pigs. A 10 kb quantitative trait locus (QTL) was identified as a candidate functional genomic region through the integration of linkage disequilibrium and linkage analysis (LDLA) and high-throughput chromosome conformation capture (Hi-C) analysis. The BMP2 gene was identified as a candidate gene for LMD based on the integrated results of GWAS, Hi-C meta-analysis, and cis-regulatory element data. The identified QTL region was further verified through target region sequencing. Furthermore, through using dual-luciferase assays and electrophoretic mobility shift assays (EMSA), two SNPs, including SNP rs321846600, located in the enhancer region, and SNP rs1111440035, located in the promoter region, were identified as candidate SNPs that may be functionally related to the LMD.ConclusionsBased on the results of GWAS, Hi-C, and cis-regulatory elements, the BMP2 gene was identified as an important candidate gene regulating variation in LMD. The SNPs rs321846600 and rs1111440035 were identified as candidate SNPs that are functionally related to the LMD of Yorkshire pigs. Our results shed light on the advantages of integrating GWAS with 3D epigenomics in identifying candidate genes for quantitative traits. This study is a pioneering work for the identification of candidate genes and related genetic variants regulating one key production trait (LMD) in pigs by integrating genome-wide association studies and 3D epigenomics

Hydraulic-driven adaptable morphing active-cooling elastomer with bioinspired bicontinuous phases

Abstract The active-cooling elastomer concept, originating from vascular thermoregulation for soft biological tissue, is expected to develop an effective heat dissipation method for human skin, flexible electronics, and soft robots due to the desired interface mechanical compliance. However, its low thermal conduction and poor adaptation limit its cooling effects. Inspired by the bone structure, this work reports a simple yet versatile method of fabricating arbitrary-geometry liquid metal skeleton-based elastomer with bicontinuous Gyroid-shaped phases, exhibiting high thermal conductivity (up to 27.1 W/mK) and stretchability (strain limit >600%). Enlightened by the vasodilation principle for blood flow regulation, we also establish a hydraulic-driven conformal morphing strategy for better thermoregulation by modulating the hydraulic pressure of channels to adapt the complicated shape with large surface roughness (even a concave body). The liquid metal active-cooling elastomer, integrated with the flexible thermoelectric device, is demonstrated with various applications in the soft gripper, thermal-energy harvesting, and head thermoregulation

¹²⁵I–F56 Peptide as Radioanalysis Agent Targeting VEGFR1 in Mice Xenografted with Human Gastric Tumor

¹²⁵I-Radiolabeled F56 peptide was designed as a radioactive analogue of F56 (peptide WHSDMEWWYLLG) to bind with VEGFR1 receptor. It was synthesized in high radiochemical yield and specific activity. The <i>in vitro</i> stability of ¹²⁵I–F56 was tested, and the bioactivity of ¹²⁵I–F56 was confirmed by both cell uptake and binding affinity measurement in VEGFR1 positive BGC-823 cells. The time–radioactivity relationship and biodistribution of ¹²⁵I–F56 tracer were conducted using nude mice bearing human gastric carcinoma BGC-823, by noninvasive micro-SPECT/CT imaging. The tracer’s tumor uptake was further confirmed by autoradiography and HE stain of ¹²⁵I–F56 in tumor tissues ex vivo. Those results demonstrated that ¹²⁵I–F56 holds great potential as a diagnostic agent in both molecular imaging and radioanalysis probe for gastric cancer

SW inhibits cell scratch wound healing.

<p><i>In vitro</i> scratch assay was used to evaluate the effect of SW on the migration of HepG2 (A), MDA-MB-231 (B) and T24 cells (C). Representative images were displayed in left panel; quantification of the data in left panel was shown in right panel, shown were composite results of three independently experiments with triplicate parallel samples. The migration index represents migration speed in relative to control group. Columns, mean; bars, SD.</p

SW promotes cell adhesion.

<p>Left panels: HepG2 (A), MDA-MB-231 (B) and T24 cells (C) were pretreated with indicated doses of SW for 15 or 30 min before seeding into the matrigel-coated wells, and 2 h later, adhered cells were counted after removing the floating cells by PBS. Representative images were displayed. Scale bar, 200 μm. Right panels: quantification of the data in the left panel, shown were composite results of three independently experiments with triplicate. Columns, mean; bars, SD.</p