Macroautophagy in T Lymphocyte Development and Function

Macroautophagy (referred to as autophagy) is a fundamental intracellular process characterized by the sequestration of cytoplasmic compartments through double-membrane vesicles, termed autophagosomes. Recent studies have established important roles of autophagy in regulating T lymphocyte development and function. Resting T lymphocytes have basal levels of autophagy that is upregulated by T cell receptor stimulation. Several specific knockout or transgenic models have been developed during the past few years, and it has been revealed that autophagy plays an essential role in regulating thymocyte selection, peripheral T cell survival, and proliferation. The regulation of T cell development and function by autophagy is mediated through its role in regulating self-antigen presentation, intracellular organelle homeostasis, and energy production. Here we will review the current findings concerning how autophagy regulates T cell function, as well as compare different models in studying autophagy in T lymphocytes

Deformation monitoring of reservoir dams using GNSS: An application to south-to-north water diversion project, China

\ua9 2019 IEEE.Deformation monitoring plays an important role in performance monitoring to ensure the reservoir dams and embankments are functioning as designed. This work should be the first deformation monitoring application of GNSS in China’s huge South-to-North Water Diversion Project. A GNSS deformation monitoring system, equipped with 4G data transmission and automated data processing software, is established at Shuangwangcheng Reservoir, an important regulation control project on the Eastern Route. Precision evaluations of different observation sessions from both GPS and BDS are conducted, and results show that the performance of BDS is comparable to that of GPS, especially for longer observation session solutions. The 1 mm horizontal and 2 mm vertical precisions of daily solutions meet the deformation monitoring requirement of the project. The deformation time series reveal an uneven settlement of Shuangwangcheng Reservoir dam. The causes of deformation are analyzed and the water level change in the reservoir is deemed as the main factor

Multi-omics analysis reveals underlying host responses in pediatric respiratory syncytial virus pneumonia.

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is an important pathogen causing pneumonia in children. Few studies have used multi-omics data to investigate the pathogenies of RSV pneumonia. Here, metabolomics was first used to identify potential biomarkers for RSV diagnosis. In the training cohort, serum from 36 healthy controls (HCs), 45 RSV pneumonia children, and 32 infectious disease controls (IDCs) were recruited. After analyses, six metabolites had potential diagnostic value. Using an independent cohort of 49 subjects, two biomarkers (neuromedin N and histidyl-proline diketopiperazine) were validated. Next, multi-omics analysis were applied to analyze the pathogenies of RSV pneumonia. Accumulation of collagen in the serum of RSVs indicated that RSV infection could lead to increased levels of soluble collage. Activation of the complement system and imbalance in lipid metabolism were also observed in RSV patients. The multi-omics analysis presented here revealed the signature protein and metabolite changes in serum caused by RSV infection

Molten Salt/Metal Foam/Graphene Nanoparticle Phase Change Composites for Thermal Energy Storage

The binary and ternary mixtures of nitrates are desirable phase change materials (PCMs) as latent heat thermal energy storage media for solar energy applications. In this study, graphene oxide was synthesized with graphite powder first and then it was doped into HITEC salt or solar salt solvent with sonication using two-step methods. Finally, metal foams including nickel and copper ones were impregnated with the salt seeded with graphene (nanocomposite). The morphologies of the synthesized composite PCMs were analyzed extensively, while the thermophysical properties of the composite PCMs were both theoretically predicted and experimentally investigated. The results indicated that metal foam was compatible with nanocomposite and the thermal stabilities of the composite PCMs were good regarding the thermal cycle characteristics. The effective thermal conductivities of the salt/graphene/metal foam composites were distinctly enhanced, while the latent heats of the present composite PCMs were smaller than that of pure salt to some extent. Furthermore, the phase change temperatures shifted slightly in the presence of porous metal foam and graphene, while the addition of graphene could compensate for the reduction of specific heats of the composite PCMs caused by metal foam. Finally, it was found that the thermal effusivities of the salt/graphene/metal foam composites were larger than those of pure salt, indicating the increments of 110%∼270% in solid state and 150%∼360% in liquid state, respectively. Fundamental information on the nanocomposites with porous media could broaden their application in thermal energy storage systems

Electric Field Effect in Multilayer Cr2Ge2Te6: a Ferromagnetic Two-Dimensional Material

The emergence of two-dimensional (2D) materials has attracted a great deal of attention due to their fascinating physical properties and potential applications for future nanoelectronic devices. Since the first isolation of graphene, a Dirac material, a large family of new functional 2D materials have been discovered and characterized, including insulating 2D boron nitride, semiconducting 2D transition metal dichalcogenides and black phosphorus, and superconducting 2D bismuth strontium calcium copper oxide, molybdenum disulphide and niobium selenide, etc. Here, we report the identification of ferromagnetic thin flakes of Cr2Ge2Te6 (CGT) with thickness down to a few nanometers, which provides a very important piece to the van der Waals structures consisting of various 2D materials. We further demonstrate the giant modulation of the channel resistance of 2D CGT devices via electric field effect. Our results illustrate the gate voltage tunability of 2D CGT and the potential of CGT, a ferromagnetic 2D material, as a new functional quantum material for applications in future nanoelectronics and spintronics.Comment: To appear in 2D Material

Comparison Between Electropositive and Electronegative Cold Atmospheric-Pressure Plasmas: A Modelling Study

Cold atmospheric-pressure He + N2 and He + O2 plasmas are chosen as the representatives for electropositive and electronegative plasmas, of which the discharge characteristics are studied and then compared to each other by fluid models. As the increase of the impurity (N2 or O2) fraction from 0 to 10%, for He + N2 plasmas the electron density and ion density increase, the spatiotemporal distributions of electron density, ion density, electron temperature and electron generation rate change a little. On contrast, for He + O2 plasmas the electron density decreases, the ion density first increases and then decreases, the electron temperature increases in the bulk region, but decreases in the sheath region, and the plasmas transform from ᵞ mode to α mode as the significant change of electron generation rate distributions. Larger electric field is needed in the bulk region to sustain the electronegative plasma, so the electrical characteristics of He + O2 plasmas transform form capacitive to resistive with increasing O2fraction. Meanwhile, the ion-coupling power increases dramatically, which can be estimated by a formula based on the electronegativity. A new criterion for determining the sheath boundary, |ΔE| = 5 kV/cm2, is put forward, which is found suitable for both the electropositive and electronegative plasmas

The complete mitochondrial genome of Mantis religiosa (Mantodea: Mantidae) from Canada and its phylogeny

The complete mitochondrial genome of Mantis religiosa (Mantodea: Mantidae) from Canada was successfully sequenced. The mitochondrial genome was a circular molecule of 15,521 bp in length, containing 13 protein-coding genes, two rRNA genes, 23 tRNA genes (including an extra tRNAArg gene), and the control region. The AT content of the whole genome was 76.9% and the length of the control region was 636 bp with 81.9% AT content. The structure of the M. religiosa mitochondrial genome from Canada was almost identical to M. religiosa from China and their genetic distance was just 0.017. In Bayesian inference (BI) and maximum likelihood (ML) analyses, we found that M. religiosa was a sister clade to Statilia sp. and the monophyly of the genera Hierodula and Rhombodera was not supported