Extraction-Derived Self-Organization of Colloidal Photonic Crystal Particles within Confining Aqueous Droplets

In this work, we developed a novel and simple microfluidic method for the fabrication of self-assembled monodispersed photonic crystal microbeads with core–shell structures using solvent extraction. Monodispersed aqueous droplets encapsulating colloidal photonic crystal particles were produced in a T-junction microfluidic device, and the controlled transport of water from the aqueous droplets to the oil phase created spherical colloidal crystal microbeads with controlled shell–core structures by extraction-derived self-organization of the colloidal nanoparticles. While the solidification of colloidal particles from emulsion droplets in an oven took tens of hours, the present extraction-derived method reduces the time required for solidification to several minutes. Compared with recent microwave-assisted consolidation methods which showed a particle material dependency, our new method exhibited no such limitation. The results showed that the packing quality of colloidal crystals, which can be precisely controlled by adjusting the extraction rate and surfactant, was high enough to show photonic band-gap characteristics. The reflectance of our photonic microbeads responded precisely to any change in physical properties including the size of colloidal particles and refractive index. A mechanism of the extraction-derived self-assembly of colloidal particles was developed and then supposed by theoretical derivations and experimental results. Finally, the universality of the method was demonstrated by fabricating SiO₂ photonic crystal microbeads

Microfluidic Generation of Multicolor Quantum-Dot-Encoded Core-Shell Microparticles with Precise Coding and Enhanced Stability

A novel microfluidic approach is developed to prepare multicolor QDs-encoded core-shell microparticles with precise and various barcode and enhanced stability performance. With the protection of the hydrogel shell, the leakage of QDs is avoided and the fluorescent stability is enhanced greatly. By embedding different QDs into different cores, no interaction between different QDs existed and the fluorescence spectrum of each kind of QDs can be recorded, respectively. Compared with QDs mixtures in a single particle, it is unnecessary to separate the emissions of QDs in different colors, and deconvolution algorithms are not needed. Therefore, it still maintains precise coding even if QDs with approximate emission wavelengths are used

Methylation status of promoter regions of <i>z1A</i> genes.

<p>Panel (A) displays average DNA methylation, and (B) CG methylation in leaf, endosperm and tissue-cultured endosperm (TC) as graphic bars. The universal primers of <i>z1A</i> genes, described in our previous study [<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0146416#pone.0146416.ref030" target="_blank">30</a>], were used for bisulfite PCR amplification. Ninety-six colonies were sequenced, and each sequence was matched to individual <i>z1A</i> genes based on sequence similarity. The average methylation levels were calculated for individual genes with all three contents (A) and CG (B). The color code for individual gene copies is displayed as an insert.</p

Analysis of a common spoken language in Staňkov

The aim of this dialectological bachelor's thesis was to found out if and which characterictics features are appearing in the everyday speech of native speakers in Staňkov. In a brief way it described the specifics and general distribution of the Southwest bohemia dialect. The practical part focused on the observation of local language in the context of three generations

C methylation at CCG sites.

<p>Methylation levels of <i>z1A</i> (A, C) and <i>z1B</i> (B, D) gene coding regions in leaf (C, D) and endosperm (A, B) is shown. The methylation of outer and inner C is marked with mCCG (blue) and CmCG (red), respectively.</p

Locus- and Site-Specific DNA Methylation of 19 kDa Zein Genes in Maize

<div><p>An interesting question in maize development is why only a single zein gene is highly expressed in each of the 19-kDa zein gene clusters (A and B types), <i>z1A2</i>-1 and <i>z1B4</i>, in the immature endosperm. For instance, epigenetic marks could provide a structural difference. Therefore, we investigated the DNA methylation of the arrays of gene copies in both promoter and gene body regions of leaf (non-expressing tissue as a control), normal endosperm, and cultured endosperm. Although we could show that expressed genes have much lower methylation levels in promoter regions than silent ones in both leaf and normal endosperm, there was surprisingly also a difference in the pattern of the <i>z1A</i> and <i>z1B</i> gene clusters. The expression of <i>z1B</i> gene is suppressed by increased DNA methylation and activated with reduced DNA methylation, whereas <i>z1A</i> gene expression is not. DNA methylation in gene coding regions is higher in leaf than in endosperm, whereas no significant difference is observed in gene bodies between expressed and non-expressed gene copies. A median CHG methylation (25–30%) appears to be optimal for gene expression. Moreover, tissue-cultured endosperm can reset the DNA methylation pattern and tissue-specific gene expression. These results reveal that DNA methylation changes of the 19-kDa zein genes is subject to plant development and tissue culture treatment, but varies in different chromosomal locations, indicating that DNA methylation changes do not apply to gene expression in a uniform fashion. Because tissue culture is used to produce transgenic plants, these studies provide new insights into variation of gene expression of integrated sequences.</p></div

Methylation status of promoter regions of <i>z1B</i> genes.

<p>The average DNA methylation of <i>z1B</i> genes in leaf, endosperm and tissue-cultured endosperm is displayed as bar graphs. The universal primers of <i>z1B</i> genes described in our previous study [<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0146416#pone.0146416.ref030" target="_blank">30</a>] were used for bisulfite PCR amplification. The color code for individual gene copies is displayed as an insert.</p

The conservation of miRNA families in 84 animal species.

<p>The miRNAs of 84 animal species belonging to nine phyla were extracted from miRBase and published NGS data, and the conservation was analyzed for 38 miRNA families with RNA secondary structure in <i>L. striatellus</i>. Colored boxes indicate the presence of the conserved miRNA family; the same color indicates similar species.</p

The conservation of miRNA families in Arthropoda.

<p>The Arthropoda phylum was divided into eight orders with different colors and 12 families; and one representative species was shown in each family. The phylogenetic topology tree was adapted from Wheat et al. (2013)<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0103041#pone.0103041-Wheat1" target="_blank">[54]</a>.</p

Identification and Characterization of MicroRNAs in Small Brown Planthopper (<i>Laodephax striatellus</i>) by Next-Generation Sequencing

<div><p>MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are endogenous non-coding small RNAs that regulate gene expression at the post-transcriptional level and are thought to play critical roles in many metabolic activities in eukaryotes. The small brown planthopper (<i>Laodephax striatellus</i> Fallén), one of the most destructive agricultural pests, causes great damage to crops including rice, wheat, and maize. However, information about the genome of <i>L. striatellus</i> is limited. In this study, a small RNA library was constructed from a mixed <i>L. striatellus</i> population and sequenced by Solexa sequencing technology. A total of 501 mature miRNAs were identified, including 227 conserved and 274 novel miRNAs belonging to 125 and 250 families, respectively. Sixty-nine conserved miRNAs that are included in 38 families are predicted to have an RNA secondary structure typically found in miRNAs. Many miRNAs were validated by stem-loop RT-PCR. Comparison with the miRNAs in 84 animal species from miRBase showed that the conserved miRNA families we identified are highly conserved in the Arthropoda phylum. Furthermore, miRanda predicted 2701 target genes for 378 miRNAs, which could be categorized into 52 functional groups annotated by gene ontology. The function of miRNA target genes was found to be very similar between conserved and novel miRNAs. This study of miRNAs in <i>L. striatellus</i> will provide new information and enhance the understanding of the role of miRNAs in the regulation of <i>L. striatellus</i> metabolism and development.</p></div