Specific detection and deletion of the sigma-1 receptor widely expressed in neurons and glial cells in vivo

The chaperon protein sigma-1 receptor (S1R) has been discovered over 40 years ago. Recent pharmacological studies using S1R exogenous ligands demonstrated a promising therapeutical potential of targeting the S1R in several neurological disorders. Although intensive in vitro studies have revealed S1Rs are mainly residing at the membrane of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), the cell-specific in vivo expression pattern of S1Rs is still unclear, mainly because of the lack of a reliable detection method which also prevented a comprehensive functional analysis. Here, first, we identified a highly specific antibody using S1R knockout (KO) mice and established an immunohistochemical protocol involving a 1% sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) antigen retrieval step. Second, we characterized the S1R expression in the mouse brain and can demonstrate that the S1R is widely expressed: in principal neurons, interneurons and all glial cell types. In addition, unlike reported in previous studies, we showed that the S1R expression in astrocytes is not colocalized with the astrocytic cytoskeleton protein GFAP. Thus, our results raise concerns over previously reported S1R properties. Finally, we generated a Credependent S1R conditional KO mouse (S1R flox) to study cell-type-specific functions of the S1R. As a proof of concept, we successfully ablated S1R expressions in neurons or microglia employing neuronal and microglial Cre-expressing mice, respectively. In summary, we provide powerful tools to cell-specifically detect, delete and functionally characterize S1R in vivo

Unknown Weak Signal Detection Based on Duffing Oscillator

Chaotic systems are widely used to detect the weak signal of the noise background. The effect of the noise in the detection is often ignored because of the characteristics of sensitive to certain signals and inert to noise. However, it's found that chaotic system has low noise immunity for some different variance of noise after a large number of experiments, which makes mistake for the signal to be measured. In this paper, the affection of noise to weak signal detection is analyzed. The method of using cross-correlation detection system to process the signal is proposed, which can suppress noise. Also, the cyclic algorithm is introduced to the chaotic array which is universal poor and difficult to achieve with the application. This method is simple to operate and the simulation results have high accuracy

Role of Bentonite on the Mobility of Antibiotic Resistance Genes, and Microbial Community in Oxytetracycline and Cadmium Contaminated Soil

The effects of bentonite (BT), a commonly used heavy metal deactivator, on the ARGs and microbial communities in soils and lettuce systems contaminated by heavy metals and antibiotics are unclear. A study was conducted to investigate the effect of BT on the mobility of antibiotic resistance genes in oxytetracycline and cadmium contaminated soil. Results showed that the addition of BT reduced the accumulation of OTC and ARGs in the soil and lettuce roots, but increased the abundance of ARGs in lettuce leaves, and increase the risk of human pathogenic bacteria (HPB) transferring to lettuce leaves. Redundancy analysis showed that environmental factors (OTC, H2O, SOM, and pH) were the dominant factors that influence the distribution of ARGs and intI1. Network analysis showed that Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes were the major host bacteria which caused changes in ARGs and intI1. There were significant positive correlations between ermX and ermQ, and a large number of HPB. The co-occurrence of intl1 with some ARGs (tetC, tetG, ermQ, sul1, and sul2), may threaten human health due to the dispersion of ARGs via horizontal gene transfer

The vital role of hole-carriers for superconductivity in pressurized black phosphorus

The influence of carrier type on superconductivity has been an important issue for understanding both conventional and unconventional superconductors [1-7]. For elements that superconduct, it is known that hole-carriers govern the superconductivity for transition and main group metals [8-10]. The role of hole-carriers in elements that are not normally conducting but can be converted to superconductors, however, remains unclear due to the lack of experimental data. Here we report the first in-situ high pressure Hall effect measurements on single crystal black phosphorus, measured up to ~ 50 GPa, and find a correlation between the Hall coefficient and the superconducting transition temperature (TC). Our results reveal that hole-carriers play a vital role in developing superconductivity and enhancing TC. Importantly, we also find a Lifshitz transition in the high-pressure cubic phase at ~17.2GPa, which uncovers the origin of a puzzling valley in the superconducting TC-pressure phase diagram. These results offer insight into the role of hole-carriers in developing superconductivity in simple semiconducting solids under pressure.Comment: 9 pages anf 3 figure

Karyotype Analysis of Diploid and Spontaneously Occurring Tetraploid Blood Orange [Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck] Using Multicolor FISH With Repetitive DNA Sequences as Probes

Blood orange [Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck] has been increasingly appreciated by consumers worldwide owing to its brilliant red color, abundant anthocyanin and other health-promoting compounds. However, there is still relatively little known about its cytogenetic characteristics, probably because of the small size and similar morphology of metaphase chromosomes and the paucity of chromosomal landmarks. In our previous study, a naturally occurring tetraploid blood orange plant was obtained via seedling screening. Before this tetraploid germplasm can be manipulated into a citrus triploid seedless breeding program, it is of great importance to determine its chromosome characterization and composition. In the present study, an integrated karyotype of blood orange was constructed using sequential multicolor fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) with four satellite repeats, two ribosomal DNAs (rDNAs), a centromere-like repeat and an oligonucleotide of telomere repeat (TTTAGGG)3 as probes. Satellite repeats were preferentially located at the terminal regions of the chromosomes of blood orange. Individual somatic chromosome pairs of blood orange were unambiguously identified by repetitive DNA-based multicolor FISH. These probes proved to be effective chromosomal landmarks. The karyotype was formulated as 2n = 2x = 18 = 16m+2sm (1sat) with the karyotype asymmetry degree belonging to 2B. The chromosomal distribution pattern of these repetitive DNAs in this spontaneously occurring tetraploid was identical to that of the diploid, but the tetraploid carried twice the number of hybridization sites as the diploid, indicating a possible pathway involving the spontaneous duplication of chromosome sets in nucellar cells. Our work may facilitate the molecular cytogenetic study of blood orange and provide chromosomal characterization for the future utilization of this tetraploid germplasm in the service of seedless breeding programs

Pressure-induced melting of magnetic order and emergence of new quantum state in alpha-RuCl3

Here we report the observation of pressure-induced melting of antiferromagnetic (AFM) order and emergence of a new quantum state in the honeycomb-lattice halide alpha-RuCl3, a candidate compound in the proximity of quantum spin liquid state. Our high-pressure heat capacity measurements demonstrate that the AFM order smoothly melts away at a critical pressure (Pc) of 0.7 GPa. Intriguingly, the AFM transition temperature displays an increase upon applying pressure below the Pc, in stark contrast to usual phase diagrams, for example in pressurized parent compounds of unconventional superconductors. Furthermore, in the high-pressure phase an unusual steady of magnetoresistance is observed. These observations suggest that the high-pressure phase is in an exotic gapped quantum state which is robust against pressure up to ~140 GPa.Comment: 20 pages, 4 figure