In Situ Growth Route To Fabricate Ternary Co–Ni–Al Mixed-Metal Oxide Film as a Promising Structured Catalyst for the Oxidation of Benzyl Alcohol

Currently, designing high-performance structured catalysts is full of significance for economic and sustainable production of chemicals due to the catalysts easy separation and recovery and excellent heat/mass transfer characteristics. Herein, we reported the synthesis of a ternary Co–Ni–Al mixed-metal oxide (CoNiAl-MMO) film with surface intercrossed and vertically aligned nanoplatelets via an in situ growth route. CoNiAl-MMO film exhibited greatly enhanced catalytic performance in the oxidation of benzyl alcohol, compared with binary MAl-MMO films (M = Co or Ni) and pristine CoNiAl-MMO powder. The improved catalytic efficiency was attributable to a synergistic effect between highly dispersed active Co and Ni species, as well as the presence of more surface oxygen vacancies. Moreover, the film possessed extremely high structural stability stemming from the strong interaction between the CoNiAl-MMO layer and the substrate. Such type of structured non-noble-metal film catalyst may have potential industrial applications in a broad range of heterogeneous catalysis systems in the future

Restoration of miR-1228* Expression Suppresses Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition in Gastric Cancer

<div><p>Dysregulated miRNAs play critical roles during carcinogenesis and cancer progression. In the present study, the function of miR-1228* in regulating cancer progression was investigated in gastric cancer. Decreased expression of miR-1228* was observed in human gastric cancer tissues comparing to normal tissues. Subsequently, the role of miR-1228* was evaluated <i>in vivo</i> using the tumor xenograft model. In this model, miR-1228* overexpression suppressed xenograft tumor formation. Furthermore, we demonstrated miR-1228* negatively regulated NF-κB activity in SGC-7901 gastric cancer cells and found that CK2A2 was a target of miR-1228*. Upregulation of miR-1228* decreased the expression of mesenchymal markers and increased the epithelial marker E-cadherin, suggesting its potential role in suppressing epithelial-mesenchymal transition. Collectively, these findings provide the first evidence that miR-1228* plays an important role in regulating gastric cancer growth and suggest that selective restoration of miR-1228* might be beneficial for gastric cancer therapy.</p> </div

Data_Sheet_1_Effect of facial emotion recognition learning transfers across emotions.docx

IntroductionPerceptual learning of facial expression is shown specific to the train expression, indicating separate encoding of the emotional contents in different expressions. However, little is known about the specificity of emotional recognition training with the visual search paradigm and the sensitivity of learning to near-threshold stimuli.MethodsIn the present study, we adopted a visual search paradigm to measure the recognition of facial expressions. In Experiment 1 (Exp1), Experiment 2 (Exp2), and Experiment 3 (Exp3), subjects were trained for 8 days to search for a target expression in an array of faces presented for 950 ms, 350 ms, and 50 ms, respectively. In Experiment 4 (Exp4), we trained subjects to search for a target of a triangle, and tested them with the task of facial expression search. Before and after the training, subjects were tested on the trained and untrained facial expressions which were presented for 950 ms, 650 ms, 350 ms, or 50 ms.ResultsThe results showed that training led to large improvements in the recognition of facial emotions only if the faces were presented long enough (Exp1: 85.89%; Exp2: 46.05%). Furthermore, the training effect could transfer to the untrained expression. However, when the faces were presented briefly (Exp3), the training effect was small (6.38%). In Exp4, the results indicated that the training effect could not transfer across categories.DiscussionOur findings revealed cross-emotion transfer for facial expression recognition training in a visual search task. In addition, learning hardly affects the recognition of near-threshold expressions.</p

Table_1_Detection of consensus genomic regions and candidate genes for quality traits in barley using QTL meta-analysis.xlsx

Improving barley grain quality is a major goal in barley breeding. In this study, a total of 35 papers focusing on quantitative trait loci (QTLs) mapping for barley quality traits published since 2000 were collected. Among the 454 QTLs identified in these studies, 349 of them were mapped onto high-density consensus maps, which were used for QTL meta-analysis. Through QTL meta-analysis, the initial QTLs were integrated into 41 meta-QTLs (MQTLs) with an average confidence interval (CI) of 1. 66 cM, which is 88.9% narrower than that of the initial QTLs. Among the 41 identified MQTLs, 25 were subsequently validated in publications using genome-wide association study (GWAS). From these 25 validated MQTLs, ten breeder’s MQTLs were selected. Synteny analysis comparing barley and wheat MQTLs revealed orthologous relationships between eight breeder’s MQTLs and 45 wheat MQTLs. Additionally, 17 barley homologs associated with rice quality traits were identified within the regions of the breeder’s MQTLs through comparative analysis. The findings of this study provide valuable insights for molecular marker-assisted breeding and the identification of candidate genes related to quality traits in barley.</p

DataSheet_1_Detection of consensus genomic regions and candidate genes for quality traits in barley using QTL meta-analysis.docx

Improving barley grain quality is a major goal in barley breeding. In this study, a total of 35 papers focusing on quantitative trait loci (QTLs) mapping for barley quality traits published since 2000 were collected. Among the 454 QTLs identified in these studies, 349 of them were mapped onto high-density consensus maps, which were used for QTL meta-analysis. Through QTL meta-analysis, the initial QTLs were integrated into 41 meta-QTLs (MQTLs) with an average confidence interval (CI) of 1. 66 cM, which is 88.9% narrower than that of the initial QTLs. Among the 41 identified MQTLs, 25 were subsequently validated in publications using genome-wide association study (GWAS). From these 25 validated MQTLs, ten breeder’s MQTLs were selected. Synteny analysis comparing barley and wheat MQTLs revealed orthologous relationships between eight breeder’s MQTLs and 45 wheat MQTLs. Additionally, 17 barley homologs associated with rice quality traits were identified within the regions of the breeder’s MQTLs through comparative analysis. The findings of this study provide valuable insights for molecular marker-assisted breeding and the identification of candidate genes related to quality traits in barley.</p

Image_2_CCR2 Signal Facilitates Thymic Egress by Priming Thymocyte Responses to Sphingosine-1-Phosphate.TIF

<p>The signal mediated by sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor 1 (S1P1) is essential but seemingly insufficient for thymic export of newly generated T cells. Here, we reported the identification of CCR2 as an additional regulator of this process. CCR2 showed a markedly increased expression in the most mature subset of single-positive (SP) thymocytes. Its deficiency led to a reduction of recent thymic emigrants in the periphery and a simultaneous accumulation of mature SP cells in the thymus. The CCR2 signaling promoted thymic emigration primarily through modulating the chemotactic responses to S1P1 engagement. On the one hand, the chemokinesis induced by CCR2 activation endowed thymocytes with enhanced capacity to respond to S1P-induced migration. On the other hand, CCR2 signaling through Stat3 augmented forkhead box O1 activity, leading to increased expression of S1P1. Taken together, the present study highlights a unique and novel function of CCR2 signaling in the regulation of thymic egress.</p

NF-κB activation is responsible for the lower expression of miR-1228*.

<p>(A) Schematic representations of the miR-1228* promoter region (the black arrowheads is the c-Rel binding domains), the lower is the pGL3-miR-1228*-promoter construct. (B) 24 hours after transfection with pGL3-miR-1228*-promoter or pGL3-control, SGC-7901 cells were stimulated with or without TNF-α and/or PDTC for 8 hours, then relative luciferase activity was measured. The luciferase activity was normalized to Renilla luciferase activity expressed by pRL-TK and then compared with the relative luciferase level of pGL3-control. * <i>P</i> <0.05 as compared with control. ^#<i>P</i> <0.05 as compared with TNF-α-treated group. (C) SGC-7901 cells were co-transfected with pGL3-miR-1228*-promoter/pGL3-control and GFP-c-Rel/GFP-control, and the relative luciferase expression was detected 48 hours later. The luciferase activity was normalized to Renilla luciferase activity expressed by pRL-TK and then compared with the relative luciferase level of GFP-control. Data were expressed as means ± SEM, n  =  3.</p

miR-1228* restoration inhibits xenograft tumor formation of gastric cancer cells.

<p>(A) miR-1228* was more than ten-fold changes in miR-1228* stable transfected SGC-7901 compared with NC. Results are means ± SEM, n  =  3. (B) Increased miR-1228* expression suppresses xenograft tumor growth. Stable transfection of SGC-7901 cells with miR-1228* or miR-NC were injected subcutaneously into nude mice. The volume of each tumor was measured twice each week. The average volume of tumors developed in nude mice is shown as means ± SEM, n  =  6 per treatment group. The statistical differences between samples were determined by the two-way ANOVA. (C) Compared with the control, the xenografts with miR-1228* overexpression were significantly smaller. The mice were sacrificed 5 weeks after inoculation. Two groups’ photograph of tumors is shown. (D) Tumors from each group were weighed immediately after removal. The tumor weight is indicated as means ± SEM, n  =  6.</p

Effect of miR-1228* on EMT in SGC-7901 cells.

<p>(A) Western blot analysis of epithelial marker (E-cadherin) and mesenchymal markers (Vimentin, β-catenin, Snail, Slug, and ZEB1/2) in miR-1228* stable transfected SGC-7901 cells and control. (B) Transwell migration assay showed that SGC-7901 cells stable transfected with miR-1228* had lower migratory potential in compare with miR-NC (×100). (C) The relative level of cell migration is presented as the mean ± SEM, based on three independent experiments. (D) Expression of EMT-related markers in xenograft tumor. Immunohistochemical staining indicated decreased Vimentin and increased E-cadherin expression in miR-1228* xenograft tumor compared to the control (×400).</p

Image_3_CCR2 Signal Facilitates Thymic Egress by Priming Thymocyte Responses to Sphingosine-1-Phosphate.TIF

<p>The signal mediated by sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor 1 (S1P1) is essential but seemingly insufficient for thymic export of newly generated T cells. Here, we reported the identification of CCR2 as an additional regulator of this process. CCR2 showed a markedly increased expression in the most mature subset of single-positive (SP) thymocytes. Its deficiency led to a reduction of recent thymic emigrants in the periphery and a simultaneous accumulation of mature SP cells in the thymus. The CCR2 signaling promoted thymic emigration primarily through modulating the chemotactic responses to S1P1 engagement. On the one hand, the chemokinesis induced by CCR2 activation endowed thymocytes with enhanced capacity to respond to S1P-induced migration. On the other hand, CCR2 signaling through Stat3 augmented forkhead box O1 activity, leading to increased expression of S1P1. Taken together, the present study highlights a unique and novel function of CCR2 signaling in the regulation of thymic egress.</p