siRNA-mediated inhibition of HBV replication and expression

AIM: RNA interference (RNAi) is a newly discovered phenomenon provoked by dsRNA. The dsRNA is initially cleaved by Dicer into 21-23 nt small interfering RNA (siRNA) and can then specifically target homologous mRNA for degradation by cellular ribonucleases. RNAi has been successfully utilized to down-regulate the endogenous gene expression or suppress the replication of various pathogens in mammalian cells. In this study, we investigated whether vector-based siRNA promoted by U6 (pSilencer1.0-U6) could efficiently inhibit HBV replication in cell culture.METHODS: pSilencer vectors with inserts targeting on different regions of HBV genome were constructed. These plasmids were co-transfected with pHBV3.8 into Huh-7 cells via lipofection and viral antigens were measured by ELISA. Viral RNA was analyzed by Northern blot. The mRNA of MxA and 2'-5'OAS was reverse transcribed and quantified by real-time PCR.RESULTS: Vector-based siRNA could potently reduce hepatitis B virus antigen expression in transient replicative cell culture. Furthermore, Northern blot analysis showed that viral RNA was effectively degraded, thus eliminating the messengers for protein expression as well as template for reverse transcription. Real-time PCR analysis of cellular MxA and 2'-5'OAS gene expression revealed that vector-based siRNA did not provoke the interferon pathway which reassured the specificity of the vector-based RNA interference technique.CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that RNA interference may be a potential tool to control HBV infection.</p

Magnetized strange quark matter in a quasiparticle description

The quasiparticle model is extended to investigate the properties of strange quark matter in a strong magnetic field at finite densities. For the density-dependent quark mass, self-consistent thermodynamic treatment is obtained with an additional effective bag parameter, which depends not only on the density but also on the magnetic field strength. The magnetic field makes strange quark matter more stable energetically when the magnetic field strength is less than a critical value of the order $10^7$ Gauss depending on the QCD scale $\Lambda$. Instead of being a monotonic function of the density for the QCD scale parameter $\Lambda>126$ MeV, the effective bag function has a maximum near $0.3\sim 0.4$ fm$^{-3}$. The influence of the magnetic field and the QCD scale parameter on the stiffness of the equation of state of the magnetized strange quark matter and the possible maximum mass of strange stars are discussedComment: 10 pages, 7 figure

catena-Poly[[aqua­(5,5′-dimethyl-2,2′-bipyridine-κ2 N,N′)copper(II)]-μ-2,2′-oxydibenzoato-κ2 O:O′]

In the title compound, [Cu(C14H8O5)(C12H12N2)(H2O)]n, the CuII ion is penta­coordinated in a square-pyramidal geometry. Two N atoms of the chelating 5,5′-dimethyl-2,2′-bipyridine (dbp) ligand and two O atoms of two different 2,2′-oxydibenzoic (odb) ligands occupy the basal plane while the water O atom completes the square-pyramidal geometry at the apical site. The non-water N2O2 donor atoms are nearly coplanar, with a mean deviation from the least-squares plane of 0.0518 (11) Å and the Cu atom is displaced by 0.1507 (11) Å from this plane towards the apical water O atom. Further coordination via the 2,2′-oxydibenzoate anions forms a one-dimensional coordination polymer extending parallel to [010]. In the crystal structure, O—H⋯O hydrogen bonds link the mol­ecules into a two-dimensional supra­molecular structure

Y Chromosomes of 40% Chinese Are Descendants of Three Neolithic Super-grandfathers

Demographic change of human populations is one of the central questions for delving into the past of human beings. To identify major population expansions related to male lineages, we sequenced 78 East Asian Y chromosomes at 3.9 Mbp of the non-recombining region (NRY), discovered >4,000 new SNPs, and identified many new clades. The relative divergence dates can be estimated much more precisely using molecular clock. We found that all the Paleolithic divergences were binary; however, three strong star-like Neolithic expansions at ~6 kya (thousand years ago) (assuming a constant substitution rate of 1e-9/bp/year) indicates that ~40% of modern Chinese are patrilineal descendants of only three super-grandfathers at that time. This observation suggests that the main patrilineal expansion in China occurred in the Neolithic Era and might be related to the development of agriculture.Comment: 29 pages of article text including 1 article figure, 9 pages of SI text, and 2 SI figures. 5 SI tables are in a separate ancillary fil

Bamboo node effect on the tensile properties of side press-laminated bamboo lumber

At present, most of the existing studies on bamboo nodes focus on the raw bamboo. There is still a lack of researches on the nodes in side press-laminated bamboo lumber (LBL). However, after processing, bamboo nodes in the laminated bamboo lumber are different from the raw bamboo nodes in terms of performance. Therefore, this paper carried out tests to analyze the influence of bamboo node on the tensile properties parallel to grain of side press-laminated bamboo lumber. A total of 180 specimens were divided into six groups, and the number and position of the bamboo nodes at the specimen in each group were different. The effects of these factors on the strength, elastic modulus, and Poisson’s ratio of the side press-laminated bamboo lumber under tension parallel to grain were obtained. The tensile failure of side press-laminated bamboo lumber was a brittle fracture, and the typical failure mode can be classified into three types. The mean value for tensile strength was 127.18 MPa when there was no bamboo node, while the mean value was 89.99–107.37 MPa when there were one to three bamboo nodes. The number of bamboo nodes would significantly affect the tensile properties parallel to grain of side press-laminated bamboo lumber, whereas the position of bamboo nodes has an insubstantial impact. Comparisons with other research results were also carried out. A series of formulas were proposed based on the test results to reflect how the node influenced the mechanical properties of side press LBL under tensile conditions

Risk of anxiety and depression in patients with uveitis: a Meta-analysis

AIM: To quantitatively evaluate the risk of anxiety and depression in patients with uveitis via performing a Meta-analysis. METHODS: Three electronic database (PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases) were searched for studies recording data about uveitis and anxiety as well as depression simultaneously up to January 2021. The incidence rate and standard mean difference (SMD) with a 95% confidence interval (95%CI) were calculated to analyse the association using random-effects models based on heterogeneity tests. RESULTS: In total, 12 observational studies containing 874 patients with uveitis were included. The results showed that there was a significant association between uveitis and anxiety (SMD=0.97, 95%CI: 0.39 to 1.54, P=0.0009) and depression (SMD=0.79, 95%CI: 0.51 to 1.07, P<0.00001). The overall morbidities of anxiety and depression in patients with uveitis were 39% and 17%, respectively. With subgroup analysis, the heterogeneity actually came from different kinds of uveitis. Specifically, the incidence rates of both anxiety and depression were relatively low in patients with anterior uveitis (33% and 15%), moderate in patients with infectious uveitis (46% and 22%), and high in patients with unspecified uveitis (59% and 35%). CONCLUSION: It is preliminarily indicated that patients with uveitis may have a high risk of anxiety and depression. Ophthalmologists and psychologists should pay more attention to the psychological state when dealing with patients with uveitis. Further high-quality studies with detailed direct data are needed to draw more precise conclusions

Length effect on bending properties and evaluation of shear modulus of parallel bamboo strand lumber

One hundred sixty-two parallel bamboo strand lumber (PBSL) beams were tested for the bending properties under three-point bending with variable span. Two typical failure types were classified, type I was tension failure of the bamboo fiber located below the neutral axis at mid-span, while type II was shear failure which was mainly found in specimens with large depth-span ratio. The shear modulus G LR of PBSL was also calculated according to Timoshenko’s bending theory. To evaluate the shear modulus, 45° off-axis compression tests had been done. The results showed that the mean values of shear modulus for G LT, G TR, and G LR are 1254.5 MPa, 408.1 MPa, and 716.4 MPa, respectively. The bending test result was compared with the shear modulus measured by 45° off-axis compression test. It was found that the shear modulus measured by three-point bending test with variable span was significantly less than the shear modulus obtained by 45° off-axis compression test. The empirical equation of shear factor s corresponding to depth-span ratio h/l was proposed. The calculation results gained from the proposed formula are in good agreement with the 45° off-axis compression test results

IL21R and PTH May Underlie Variation of Femoral Neck Bone Mineral Density as Revealed by a Genome-wide Association Study

Bone mineral density (BMD) measured at the femoral neck (FN) is the most important risk phenotype for osteoporosis and has been used as a reference standard for describing osteoporosis. The specific genes influencing FN BMD remain largely unknown. To identify such genes, we first performed a genome-wide association (GWA) analysis for FN BMD in a discovery sample consisting of 983 unrelated white subjects. We then tested the top significant single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs; 175 SNPs with p < 5 × 10−4) for replication in a family-based sample of 2557 white subjects. Combing results from these two samples, we found that two genes, parathyroid hormone (PTH) and interleukin 21 receptor (IL21R), achieved consistent association results in both the discovery and replication samples. The PTH gene SNPs, rs9630182, rs2036417, and rs7125774, achieved p values of 1.10 × 10−4, 3.24 × 10−4, and 3.06 × 10−4, respectively, in the discovery sample; p values of 6.50 × 10−4, 5.08 × 10−3, and 5.68 × 10−3, respectively, in the replication sample; and combined p values of 3.98 × 10−7, 9.52 × 10−6, and 1.05 × 10−5, respectively, in the total sample. The IL21R gene SNPs, rs8057551, rs8061992, and rs7199138, achieved p values of 1.51 × 10−4, 1.53 × 10−4, and 3.88 × 10−4, respectively, in the discovery sample; p values of 2.36 × 10−3, 6.74 × 10−3, and 6.41 × 10−3, respectively, in the replication sample; and combined p values of 2.31 × 10−6, 8.62 × 10−6, and 1.41 × 10−5, respectively, in the total sample. The effect size of each SNP was approximately 0.11 SD estimated in the discovery sample. PTH and IL21R both have potential biologic functions important to bone metabolism. Overall, our findings provide some new clues to the understanding of the genetic architecture of osteoporosis. © 2010 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research