Non uniform shrinkages of double-walled carbon nanotube as induced by electron beam irradiation

Electron beam-induced nanoinstabilities of pristine double-walled carbon nanotubes (DWCNTs) of two different configurations, one fixed at both ends and another fixed at only one end, were in-situ investigated in transmission electron microscope at room temperature. It was observed that the DWCNT fixed at both ends shrank in its diameter uniformly. Meanwhile, the DWCNT fixed at only one end intriguingly shrank preferentially from its free cap end along its axial direction whereas its diameter shrinkage was offset. A mechanism of "diffusion" along with "evaporation" at room temperature which is driven by the nanocurvature of the DWCNTs, and the athermal activation induced by the electron beam was proposed to elucidate the observed phenomena. The effect of the interlayer interaction of the DWCNTs was also discussed

Trifolirhizin mitigates ovalbumin-induced lung inflammation and tissue damage in neonatal rats via inhibition of the NF-κB signaling pathway

Purpose: To investigate the effect of trifolirhizin on neonatal rat model of asthma, and the mechanism of action involved. Methods: Neonatal rats (n = 50) were randomly assigned to 5 groups (10 pups/group): sham, asthma and three treatment groups. With the exception of sham group, the rat pups were sensitized intraperitoneally with ovalbumin (OVA) at a dose of 20 µg/kg on days 7 and 21 postpartum. Rats in the treatment groups received trifolirhizin intragastrically at doses of 2, 4 and 5 mg/kg on day 7 postpartum. Eosinophils in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) were counted using hematological analyzer. Serum immunoglobulin (Ig)E and interleukin (IL)-4, IL-5 and IL-13 levels in BALF were determined using their respective enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits. Messenger RNA (mRNA) expressions of mucin 5AC (Muc5AC), mucin 5B (Muc5B), tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) and intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) were determined using immunohistochemical staining, while the protein expression of inhibitor of nuclear factor of kappa light polypeptide gene enhancer in B-cells alpha (IκBα) was assayed by Western blotting. Results: Serum IgE level was significantly higher in asthma group than in sham group, but was significantly and dose-dependently reduced after treatment with trifolirhizin (p < 0.05). Lung tissue damage was also significantly mitigated in the treatment groups, relative to asthma group (p < 0.05). Trifolirhizin treatment significantly and dose-dependently downregulated the mRNA expressions of Muc5AC, Muc5B, TNF-α and ICAM-1, but upregulated IκBα protein expression significantly and dosedependently (p < 0.05). Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) levels of IL-4, IL-5 and IL-13 were significantly higher in asthma group, but were significantly and dose-dependently reduced after treatment with trifolirhizin (p < 0.05). Conclusion: These results indicate that trifolirhizin mitigates OVA-induced lung inflammation and tissue damage in neonatal rats via inhibition of NF-κB signaling pathway, thus affording a potential therapeutic strategy for the management of asthma&nbsp

Role of Panax ginseng and ginsenosides in regulating cholesterol homeostasis

Hypercholesterolemia is harmful for human health since it may favor atherosclerosis and increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. To investigate the effect of a Panax ginseng extract and of some major components thereof (namely, ginsenosides Rb1 and Rb2) on cholesterol homeostasis in vitro, we quantitated total and free cholesterol levels and monitored the changes in the levels of key mediators of cholesterol synthesis, efflux and clearance. Treatments with ginsenosides and the extract reduced intracellular cholesterol levels by modulating the SREBP-2-HMGCR and LXR-IDOL signaling pathways. In addition, we observed an upregulation of the expression of the membrane transporters ABCA1 and ABCG1 and of cholesterol 7-hydroxylase suggesting the stimulation of processes for cholesterol excretion and cholesterol conversion into bile acids. Furthermore, both ginsenosides targeted HMGCR and inhibited its activity via a statin-like mechanism. Globally, our findings aid in deciphering the mechanisms of action of a major class of ginseng components in regulating lipid metabolism

Herpes Simplex Virus Type 2 Infection-Induced Expression of CXCR3 Ligands Promotes CD4(+) T Cell Migration and Is Regulated by the Viral Immediate-Early Protein ICP4

HSV-2 infection-induced CXCR3 ligands are important for the recruitment of virus-specific CD8+ T cells, but their impact on CD4+ T cell trafficking remains to be further determined. Given that recruitment of CD4+ T cells to infection areas may be one of the mechanisms that account for HSV-2 infection-mediated enhancement of HIV-1 sexual transmission, here we investigated the functionality of HSV-2 infection-induced CXCR3 ligands CXCL9, CXCL10, and CXCL11 in vivo and in vitro, and determined the viral components responsive for such induction and the underlying mechanisms. We first found that the expression of CXCR3 ligands CXCL9, CXCL10, and CXCL11 was increased in mice following vaginal challenge with HSV-2, while CXCL9 played a predominant role in the recruitment of CD4+ T cells to the vaginal foci of infected mice. HSV-2 infection also induced the production of CXCL9, CXCL10, and CXCL11 in human cervical epithelial cells. Of note, although HSV-2 induced the expression of all the three CXCR3 ligands, the induced CXCL9 appeared to play a predominant role in promoting CD4+ T cell migration, reflecting that the concentrations of CXCL10 and CXCL11 required for CD4+ T cell migration are higher than that of CXCL9. We further revealed that, ICP4, an immediate-early protein of HSV-2, is crucial in promoting CXCR3 ligand expression through the activation of p38 MAPK pathway. Mechanistically, ICP4 binds to corresponding promoters of CXCR3 ligands via interacting with the TATA binding protein (TBP), resulting in the transcriptional activation of the corresponding promoters. Taken together, our study highlights HSV-2 ICP4 as a vital viral protein in promoting CXCR3 ligand expression and CXCL9 as the key induced chemokine in mediating CD4+ T cell migration. Findings in this study have shed light on HSV-2 induced leukocyte recruitment which may be important for understanding HSV-2 infection-enhanced HIV-1 sexual transmission and the development of intervention strategies

Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D level and erectile dysfunction: a causal relationship? Findings from a two-sample Mendelian randomization study

BackgroundSerum 25-hydroxyvitamin D level is associated with erectile dysfunction (ED) in observational studies. However, whether there is a causal association between them remains uncertain.ObjectiveConduct a two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis to investigate the causal effect between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D level and ED risk.MethodGenome-wide association study (GWAS) data of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels comprising 6,896,093 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) from 496,949 people of European ancestry were regarded as exposure for the MR analysis. Additional GWAS data involving 9,310,196 SNPs of 6,175 European ED cases and 217,630 controls were used as outcome data. The MR-Egger, inverse variance weighted (IVW) method, weighted median, simple mode, and weighted mode were employed to evaluate causal effects, among which IVW was the primary MR analysis method. The stability of the MR analysis results was confirmed by a heterogeneity test, a horizontal pleiotropy test, and the leave-one-out method.ResultThere were 103 SNPs utilized as instrumental variables (p < 5 × 10−8). The results of MR analysis showed no causal effects of serum 25(OH) D concentration on ED risks (IVW; OR = 0.9516, 95% CI = 0.7994 to 1.1328, p = 0.5772). There was no heterogeneity and pleiotropy in the statistical models.ConclusionThe present MR study did not support a causal association for genetically predicted serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration in the risk of ED in individuals of European descent

Evaluation of a new fluorescence quantitative PCR test for diagnosing Helicobacter pylori infection in children

Abstract Background Numerous diagnostic tests are available to detect Helicobactor pylori (H. pylori). There has been no single test available to detect H. pylori infection reliably. We evaluated the accuracy of a new fluorescence quantitative PCR (fqPCR) for H. pylori detection in children. Methods Gastric biopsy specimens from 138 children with gastritis were sent for routine histology exam, rapid urease test (RUT) and fqPCR. 13C-urea breath test (13C-UBT) was carried out prior to endoscopic procedure. Gastric fluids and dental plaques were also collected for fqPCR analysis. Results 38 children (27.5%) were considered positive for H. pylori infection by gold standard (concordant positive results on 2 or more tests). The remaining 100 children (72.5%) were considered negative for H. pylori. Gastric mucosa fqPCR not only detected all 38 H. pylori positive patients but also detected 8 (8%) of the 100 gold standard-negative children or 11 (10.7%) of the 103 routine histology-negative samples. Therefore, gastric mucosa fqPCR identified 46 children (33.3%) with H. pylori infection, significantly higher than gold standard or routine histology (P<0.01). Both gastric fluid and dental plaque fqPCR only detected 32 (23.2%) and 30 (21.7%) children with H. pylori infection respectively and was significantly less sensitive than mucosa fqPCR (P<0.05) but was as sensitive as non-invasive UBT. Conclusions Gastric mucosa fqPCR was more sensitive than routine histology, RUT, 13C-UBT alone or in combination to detect H. pylori infection in children with chronic gastritis. Either gastric fluid or dental plaque PCR is as reliable as 13C-UBT for H. pylori detection.Peer Reviewe

Corrigendum to: The TianQin project: current progress on science and technology

In the originally published version, this manuscript included an error related to indicating the corresponding author within the author list. This has now been corrected online to reflect the fact that author Jun Luo is the corresponding author of the article

Aurora A–Selective Inhibitor LY3295668 Leads to Dominant Mitotic Arrest, Apoptosis in Cancer Cells, and Shows Potent Preclinical Antitumor Efficacy

Although Aurora A, B, and C kinases share high sequence similarity, especially within the kinase domain, they function distinctly in cell-cycle progression. Aurora A depletion primarily leads to mitotic spindle formation defects and consequently prometaphase arrest, whereas Aurora B/C inactivation primarily induces polyploidy from cytokinesis failure. Aurora B/C inactivation phenotypes are also epistatic to those of Aurora A, such that the concomitant inactivation of Aurora A and B, or all Aurora isoforms by nonisoform–selective Aurora inhibitors, demonstrates the Aurora B/C-dominant cytokinesis failure and polyploidy phenotypes. Several Aurora inhibitors are in clinical trials for T/B-cell lymphoma, multiple myeloma, leukemia, lung, and breast cancers. Here, we describe an Aurora A–selective inhibitor, LY3295668, which potently inhibits Aurora autophosphorylation and its kinase activity in vitro and in vivo, persistently arrests cancer cells in mitosis, and induces more profound apoptosis than Aurora B or Aurora A/B dual inhibitors without Aurora B inhibition–associated cytokinesis failure and aneuploidy. LY3295668 inhibits the growth of a broad panel of cancer cell lines, including small-cell lung and breast cancer cells. It demonstrates significant efficacy in small-cell lung cancer xenograft and patient-derived tumor preclinical models as a single agent and in combination with standard-of-care agents. LY3295668, as a highly Aurora A–selective inhibitor, may represent a preferred approach to the current pan-Aurora inhibitors as a cancer therapeutic agent

Post-capitalist property

When writing about property and property rights in his imagined post-capitalist society of the future, Marx seemed to envisage ‘individual property’ co-existing with ‘socialized property’ in the means of production. As the social and political consequences of faltering growth and increasing inequality, debt and insecurity gradually manifest themselves, and with automation and artificial intelligence lurking in the wings, the future of capitalism, at least in its current form, looks increasingly uncertain. With this, the question of what property and property rights might look like in the future, in a potentially post-capitalist society, is becoming ever more pertinent. Is the choice simply between private property and markets, and public (state-owned) property and planning? Or can individual and social property in the (same) means of production co-exist, as Marx suggested? This paper explores ways in which they might, through an examination of the Chinese household responsibility system (HRS) and the ‘fuzzy’ and seemingly confusing regime of land ownership that it instituted. It examines the HRS against the backdrop of Marx’s ideas about property and subsequent (post-Marx) theorizing about the legal nature of property in which property has come widely to be conceptualized not as a single, unitary ‘ownership’ right to a thing (or, indeed, as the thing itself) but as a ‘bundle of rights’. The bundle-of-rights idea of property, it suggests, enables us to see not only that ‘individual’ and ‘socialized’ property’ in the (same) means of production might indeed co-exist, but that the range of institutional possibility is far greater than that between capitalism and socialism/communism as traditionally conceived

A blockchain-based certifiable anonymous E-taxing protocol.

The security of the tax system is directly related to the development of a country. The conventional process of tax payment laborious steps, so this process becomes a cause of irregularities among taxpayers and tax authorities, increasing the rate of corruption in tax collection. Blockchain, as a distributed ledger technology, its unique advantages and promising applications in taxation offer an effective solution to the problems of electronic taxation. However, the transparency of blockchain exists the risk of privacy disclosure, the high degree of anonymity brings the problem of lack of user supervision. Therefore, for balancing the contradiction of taxpayer privacy and supervision, we propose a blockchain-based self-certified and anonymous e-taxing scheme, which uses blockchain as the underlying support, and utilizes cryptography technology such as self-certified public key, Diffie-Hellman, to reduce the taxpayer's reliance on the certificate authority, and protects the taxpayer's anonymity while realizing the tracking of the real identity of malicious taxpayers. The security analysis proves that the scheme has the properties such as anonymity, conditional privacy and unforgeability, etc. Finally, performance analysis shows that compared with similar schemes, the scheme significantly improves the registration efficiency, proving its practicability and implementability