Antheraea pernyi Silk Fiber: A Potential Resource for Artificially Biospinning Spider Dragline Silk

The outstanding properties of spider dragline silk are likely to be determined by a combination of the primary sequences and the secondary structure of the silk proteins. Antheraea pernyi silk has more similar sequences to spider dragline silk than the silk from its domestic counterpart, Bombyx mori. This makes it much potential as a resource for biospinning spider dragline silk. This paper further verified its possibility as the resource from the mechanical properties and the structures of the A. pernyi silks prepared by forcible reeling. It is surprising that the stress-strain curves of the A. pernyi fibers show similar sigmoidal shape to those of spider dragline silk. Under a controlled reeling speed of 95 mm/s, the breaking energy was 1.04 × 105 J/kg, the tensile strength was 639 MPa and the initial modulus was 9.9 GPa. It should be noted that this breaking energy of the A. pernyi silk approaches that of spider dragline silk. The tensile properties, the optical orientation and the β-sheet structure contents of the silk fibers are remarkably increased by raising the spinning speeds up to 95 mm/s

Intestinal Fibroblast/Myofibroblast TRP Channels in Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is characterized by the repeated cycles of inflammation and healing of the gut, which ultimately progress into intestinal fibrosis. Colonic fibroblast/myofibroblast’s functions such as transformation, proliferation, invasion, migration, stress fiber formation, collagen synthesis, and cytokine/chemokine secretion are well estimated. However, the detailed mechanism can rarely be found so far. Thus, we focused on transient receptor potential (TRP) protein super family activated by various physical/chemical stimulations based on the above-described recognitions and also conducted the following examinations for the potential roles in Ca2+ signal transduction in fibroblast/myofibroblasts cells, which play an important role in intestinal inflammation and tissue remodeling. This chapter not only facilitates the understanding about the new role of intestinal fibroblast/myofibroblasts TRP channel for regulating inflammation, fibrotic processes but also suggests a novel molecular target of IBD treatment in future

Identification of Human ABAD Inhibitors for Rescuing Aβ-Mediated Mitochondrial Dysfunction

Amyloid beta (Aβ) binding alcohol dehydrogenase (ABAD) is a cellular cofactor for promoting (Aβ)-mediated mitochondrial and neuronal dysfunction, and cognitive decline in transgenic Alzheimer's disease (AD) mouse models. Targeting mitochondrial ABAD may represent a novel therapeutic strategy against AD. Here, we report the biological activity of small molecule ABAD inhibitors. Using in vitro surface plasmon resonance (SPR) studies, we synthesized compounds with strong binding affinities for ABAD. Further, these ABAD inhibitors (ABAD-4a and 4b) reduced ABAD enzyme activity and administration of phosphonate derivatives of ABAD inhibitors antagonized calcium-mediated mitochondrial swelling. Importantly, these compounds also abolished Aβ-induced mitochondrial dysfunction as shown by increased cytochrome c oxidase and adenosine-5′-triphosphate levels, suggesting protective mitochondrial function effects of these synthesized compounds. Thus, these compounds are potential candidates for further pharmacologic development to target ABAD to improve mitochondrial function

Study on the multidrug resistance and transmission factors of Staphylococcus aureus at the ‘animal–environment–human’ interface in the broiler feeding cycle

Multidrug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) poses an increasingly serious threat to agricultural safety and public health. Based on the concept of “One Health,” this study analyzed the multidrug resistance and transmission factors of S. aureus isolated from the “animal–environment–human” interface during one feeding cycle of commercial broilers in China by using antimicrobial susceptibility testing and whole genome sequencing (WGS) technologies. The results showed that in stage 1, the isolation rate of S. aureus was 1.32% (6/453), that of workers was 25.0% (4/16), and that of environmental samples was 0.69% (2/287), and the multidrug resistance rate was 83.33%. After one feeding cycle, the isolation rate of S. aureus (221/772, 28.63%) increased significantly (p < 0.01) during stage 2, and the multidrug resistance rate was as high as 97%. The resistance rates to eight drugs including erythromycin, clindamycin, enrofloxacin, ofloxacin, doxycycline, florfenicol, tylosin, and tilmicosin were elevated, but the differences were not significant (p > 0.05). ST398 (79.13%) was the dominant strain in both stages, which was prevalent in 11 types of samples from 3 sources and clustered in the same sub-branch of the single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) evolutionary tree. The loci difference between the strains ranged from 1 to 541, with SNPs of less than 10 between the human strains of stage 1 and the three sources in stage 2. The 42 representative strains carried mobile elements, mainly plasmid replicons (10 types), transposons (3 types), and 20 antibiotic resistance genes in 9 classes. A total of 10 ST398 strains exhibited the fosB gene for fosfomycin resistance, and 6 ST9 strains from stage 2 exhibited the mecA resistance gene. The SNP evolutionary analysis revealed that the fosB resistance gene might have been brought in by workers during stage 1. This study revealed the critical impact of environmental residual and worker-carried S. aureus, as well as the transmission of antibiotic resistance in stage 1. It highlighted the importance of the “One Health” approach and biosecurity measures and provided recommendations for the prevention of the spread of pathogens and resistance

A comparison of the accuracy of the original-mirror alignment algorithm and a landmark-independent method in constructing craniofacial midsagittal plane in patients with facial deformities

Objective To compare the accuracy of the original-mirror alignment algorithm and a landmark-independent method in constructing the midsagittal plane (MSP) of the cone beam computed tomography in patients with facial deformities, so as to provide a theoretical basis for symmetric analysis. Methods The study was approved by the hospital ethics committee. Cone beam computed tomography data of 30 patients with facial deformities were obtained, and the output was saved in DICOM format. The scan data were imported into Mimics 21.0; after segmentation, three-dimensional (3D) skull models were reconstructed. Furthermore, the 3D scan data of skulls were transformed into mirror skull models using Geomagic Studio 2014 reverse engineering software. The MSP of each skull was generated using both the original-mirror alignment algorithm and the landmark-independent method. Original-mirror alignment algorithm: the original skull model and its mirror model were combined, and the new data to calculate the MSP (S1) of the original data in Geomagic Studio 2014 were obtained. Landmark-independent method: the following anatomical landmarks were determined using Mimics 21.0: nasion (N), crista galli (CG), sella (S), basion (Ba), vomer (V), posterior nasal spine (PNS), incisive foramen (IF), and anterior nasal spine (ANS). The MSP (S2) of best fit was then found by minimizing the mean square distance of these eight anatomical landmarks to a plane in Geomagic Studio 2014. The results of the S1 and S2 models constructed using the original-mirror alignment algorithm and the landmark-independent method, respectively, were scored subjectively by five senior maxillofacial surgeons, and a paired t-test was performed for the two groups. The internal consistency analysis was performed based on secondary experiments to verify the repeatability of the expert evaluation method. Results The average scores of the S1 and S2 models were 65.73 and 75.90, respectively. The average score of the model constructed using the landmark-independent method was significantly higher than that of the model constructed using the original-mirror alignment algorithm (P<0.01). Furthermore, the results of the internal consistency analysis showed that the expert evaluation method had good reliability and validity. Conclusion In patients with facial deformities, the MSP constructed using the landmark-independent method is superior to that constructed using the original-mirror alignment algorithm. This study provides a theoretical basis for maxillofacial symmetry analysis in clinical settings and is clinically feasible

A CsI hodoscope on CSHINE for Bremsstrahlung {\gamma}-rays in Heavy Ion Reactions

Bremsstrahlung $\gamma$ production in heavy ion reactions at Fermi energies carries important physical information including the nuclear symmetry energy at supra-saturation densities. In order to detect the high energy Bremsstrahlung $\gamma$ rays, a hodoscope consisting of 15 CsI(Tl) crystal read out by photo multiplier tubes has been built, tested and operated in experiment. The resolution, efficiency and linear response of the units to $\gamma$ rays have been studied using radioactive source and $({\rm p},\gamma)$ reactions. The inherent energy resolution of $1.6\%+2\%/E_{\gamma}^{1/2}$ is obtained. Reconstruction method has been established through Geant 4 simulations, reproducing the experimental results where comparison can be made. Using the reconstruction method developed, the whole efficiency of the hodoscope is about $2.6\times 10^{-4}$ against the $4\pi$ emissions at the target position, exhibiting insignificant dependence on the energy of incident $\gamma$ rays above 20 MeV. The hodoscope is operated in the experiment of $^{86}$Kr + $^{124}$Sn at 25 MeV/u, and a full $\gamma$ energy spectrum up to 80 MeV has been obtained.Comment: 9 pages, 19 figure

Probing high-momentum component in nucleon momentum distribution by neutron-proton bremsstrahlung {\gamma}-rays in heavy ion reactions

The high momentum tail (HMT) of nucleons, as a signature of the short-range correlations in nuclei, has been investigated by the high-energy bremsstrahlung $\gamma$ rays produced in $^{86}$Kr + $^{124}$Sn at 25 MeV/u. The energetic photons are measured by a CsI(Tl) hodoscope mounted on the spectrometer CSHINE. The energy spectrum above 30 MeV can be reproduced by the IBUU model calculations incorporating the photon production channel from $np$ process in which the HMTs of nucleons is considered. A non-zero HMT ratio of about $15\%$ is favored by the data. The effect of the capture channel $np \to d\gamma$ is demonstrated

Antheraea pernyi silk fiber: a potential resource for artificially biospinning spider dragline silk

The outstanding properties of spider dragline silk are likely to be determined by a combination of the primary sequences and the secondary structure of the silk proteins. Antheraea pernyi silk has more similar sequences to spider dragline silk than the silk from its domestic counterpart, Bombyx mori. This makes it much potential as a resource for biospinning spider dragline silk. This paper further verified its possibility as the resource from the mechanical properties and the structures of the A. pernyi silks prepared by forcible reeling. It is surprising that the stress-strain curves of the A. pernyi fibers show similar sigmoidal shape to those of spider dragline silk. Under a controlled reeling speed of 95 mm/s, the breaking energy was 1.04 × 10 5 J/kg, the tensile strength was 639 MPa and the initial modulus was 9.9 GPa. It should be noted that this breaking energy of the A. pernyi silk approaches that of spider dragline silk. The tensile properties, the optical orientation and the β-sheet structure contents of the silk fibers are remarkably increased by raising the spinning speeds up to 95 mm/s