Outbred genome sequencing and CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing in butterflies

Butterflies are exceptionally diverse but their potential as an experimental system has been limited by the difficulty of deciphering heterozygous genomes and a lack of genetic manipulation technology. Here we use a hybrid assembly approach to construct high-quality reference genomes for Papilio xuthus (contig and scaffold N50: 492 kb, 3.4 Mb) and Papilio machaon (contig and scaffold N50: 81 kb, 1.15 Mb), highly heterozygous species that differ in host plant affiliations, and adult and larval colour patterns. Integrating comparative genomics and analyses of gene expression yields multiple insights into butterfly evolution, including potential roles of specific genes in recent diversification. To functionally test gene function, we develop an efficient (up to 92.5%) CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing method that yields obvious phenotypes with three genes, Abdominal-B, ebony and frizzled. Our results provide valuable genomic and technological resources for butterflies and unlock their potential as a genetic model system

Xanthoangelol modulates Caspase-1-dependent pyroptotic death among hepatocellular carcinoma cells with high expression of GSDMD

Xanthoangelol (XAG), a major chalcone presents in Angelica keiskei, has been employed in research to develop functional supplements or drugs due to its various pharmacological activities. Here, we investigated the underlying mechanism of XAG-induced cell death in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We found that XAG inhibited the cell viability of either HepG2 or HuH7cells, and induced pyroptotic death in HuH7 cell with concomitant activation of NOD-like receptor family pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3)/Caspase-1/gasdermin D (GSDMD) pathway. However, in GSDMD-low HepG2 cells, Caspase-1 expression modulated the underlying XAG-induced apoptosis pathway, thereby regulating cell death. VX-765, a special inhibitor of caspase-1, attenuated XAG-induced pyroptosis and apoptosis. Additionally, mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and NF-κB signaling pathway were suppressed by XAG. These findings suggest that XAG is a promising therapeutic agent through induction of caspase-1 mediated pyroptosis and apoptosis depend on the expression of GSDMD in HCC cells

Through‐space 11 B– 27 Al correlation: Influence of the recoupling channel

International audienceThrough-space heteronuclear correlation (D-HETCOR) experiments based on heteronuclear multiple-quantum correlation (D-HMQC) or refocused insensitive nuclei enhanced by polarization transfer (D-RINEPT) sequences prove to be useful approaches for the NMR detection of the spatial proximity between half-integer quadrupolar nuclei in solids under magic-angle spinning (MAS) conditions. These sequences employ coherence transfers mediated by heteronuclear dipolar interactions, which are reintroduced under MAS by radiofrequency irradiation of only one of the two correlated nuclei. We investigate herein using numerical simulations of spin dynamics and solid-state NMR experiments on magnesium aluminoborate glass how the choice of the channel to which the heteronuclear dipolar recoupling is applied affects the transfer efficiency of D-HMQC and D-RINEPT sequences between 11 B and 27 Al nuclei. Experimental results show that maximum transfer efficiency is achieve

Can Spectral CT Imaging Improve the Differentiation between Malignant and Benign Solitary Pulmonary Nodules?

To quantitatively assess the value of dual-energy CT (DECT) in differentiating malignancy and benignity of solitary pulmonary nodules.Sixty-three patients with solitary pulmonary nodules detected by CT plain scan underwent contrast enhanced CT scans in arterial phase (AP) and venous phase (VP) with spectral imaging mode for tumor type differentiation. The Gemstone Spectral Imaging (GSI) viewer was used for image display and data analysis. Region of interest was placed on the relatively homogeneous area of the nodule to measure iodine concentration (IC) on iodine-based material decomposition images and CT numbers on monochromatic image sets to generate spectral HU curve. Normalized IC (NIC), slope of the spectral HU curve (λHU) and net CT number enhancement on 70keV images were calculated. The two-sample t-test was used to compare quantitative parameters. Receiver operating characteristic curves were generated to calculate sensitivity and specificity.There were 63 nodules, with 37 malignant nodules (59%) and 26 benign nodules (41%). NIC, λHU and net CT number enhancement on 70keV images for malignant nodules were all greater than those of benign nodules. NIC and λHU had intermediate to high performances to differentiate malignant nodules from benign ones with the areas under curve of 0.89 and 0.86 respectively in AP, 0.96 and 0.89 respectively in VP. Using 0.30 as a threshold value for NIC in VP, one could obtain sensitivity of 93.8% and specificity of 85.7% for differentiating malignant from benign solitary pulmonary nodules. These values were statistically higher than the corresponding values of 74.2% and 53.8% obtained with the conventional CT number enhancement.DECT imaging with GSI mode provides more promising value in quantitative way for distinguishing malignant nodules from benign ones than CT enhancement numbers

Supplemental material for 3D printed honeycomb spacers: Tailoring sandwich structures for enhanced electromagnetic shielding

<p>Supplemental material for 3D printed honeycomb spacers: Tailoring sandwich structures for enhanced electromagnetic shielding by Yi-Sheng Hong, Xiao-Feng Lu, Xiao-Lei Zhu, Kai-Lun Zhang and Mingji Chen in Journal of Reinforced Plastics and Composites</p

Prediction of methylation status using WGS data of plasma cfDNA for multi-cancer early detection (MCED)

Abstract Background Cell-free DNA (cfDNA) contains a large amount of molecular information that can be used for multi-cancer early detection (MCED), including changes in epigenetic status of cfDNA, such as cfDNA fragmentation profile. The fragmentation of cfDNA is non-random and may be related to cfDNA methylation. This study provides clinical evidence for the feasibility of inferring cfDNA methylation levels based on cfDNA fragmentation patterns. We performed whole-genome bisulfite sequencing and whole-genome sequencing (WGS) on both healthy individuals and cancer patients. Using the information of whole-genome methylation levels, we investigated cytosine–phosphate–guanine (CpG) cleavage profile and validated the method of predicting the methylation level of individual CpG sites using WGS data. Results We conducted CpG cleavage profile biomarker analysis on data from both healthy individuals and cancer patients. We obtained unique or shared potential biomarkers for each group and built models accordingly. The modeling results proved the feasibility to predict the methylation status of single CpG sites in cfDNA using cleavage profile model from WGS data. Conclusion By combining cfDNA cleavage profile of CpG sites with machine learning algorithms, we have identified specific CpG cleavage profile as biomarkers to predict the methylation status of individual CpG sites. Therefore, methylation profile, a widely used epigenetic biomarker, can be obtained from a single WGS assay for MCED

Observation of quadrupolar nuclei in solids by controling internuclear transfers

International audienc