Silencing of the Rotavirus NSP4 Protein Decreases the Incidence of Biliary Atresia in Murine Model

Biliary atresia is a common disease in neonates which causes obstructive jaundice and progressive hepatic fibrosis. Our previous studies indicate that rotavirus infection is an initiator in the pathogenesis of experimental biliary atresia (BA) through the induction of increased nuclear factor-kappaB and abnormal activation of the osteopontin inflammation pathway. In the setting of rotavirus infection, rotavirus nonstructural protein 4 (NSP4) serves as an important immunogen, viral protein 7 (VP7) is necessary in rotavirus maturity and viral protein 4 (VP4) is a virulence determiner. The purpose of the current study is to clarify the roles of NSP4, VP7 and VP4 in the pathogenesis of experimental BA. Primary cultured extrahepatic biliary epithelia were infected with Rotavirus (mmu18006). Small interfering RNA targeting NSP4, VP7 or VP4 was transfected before rotavirus infection both in vitro and in vivo. We analyzed the incidence of BA, morphological change, morphogenesis of viral particles and viral mRNA and protein expression. The in vitro experiments showed NSP4 silencing decreased the levels of VP7 and VP4, reduced viral particles and decreased cytopathic effect. NSP4-positive cells had strongly positive expression of integrin subunit α2. Silencing of VP7 or VP4 partially decreased epithelial injury. Animal experiments indicated after NSP4 silencing, mouse pups had lower incidence of BA than after VP7 or VP4 silencing. However, 33.3% of VP4-silenced pups (N = 6) suffered BA and 50% of pups (N = 6) suffered biliary injury after VP7 silencing. Hepatic injury was decreased after NSP4 or VP4 silencing. Neither VP4 nor VP7 were detected in the biliary ducts after NSP4. All together, NSP4 silencing down-regulates VP7 and VP4, resulting in decreased incidence of BA

Analysis and Correction of Polarization Response Calibration Error of Limb Atmosphere Ultraviolet Hyperspectral Detector

A UV hyperspectral instrument was designed with a polarization measurement channel for real-time in-orbit polarization correction to reduce the influence of polarization on the detection accuracy of atmospheric radiation. One of the prerequisites for in-orbit polarization calibration is accurately calibrating the instrument’s polarization properties in the laboratory. This study first introduces the calibration method and measuring device of the polarization characteristics of the ultraviolet (UV) hyperspectral detector and conducts a polarization calibration test of the instrument. The two main error sources introduced by the calibration device were emphatically analyzed, and the correction method of the error sources was deduced theoretically. Finally, the polarization calibration results of the UV hyperspectral detector were corrected, and the uncertainty analysis of the corrected calibration results was about 1.4%, which provides effective ground polarization calibration data for the on-orbit polarization correction of the instrument

Efficient all polymer solar cells employing donor polymer based on benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b’]dithiophene unit

We reported all polymer solar cells (all-PSCs) employing BDT-based donor–acceptor (D–A) polymers composed of benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b’]dithiophene (BDT) and thiadiazolo[3,4-c]pyridine (PyTZ) (PBPT-8 and PBPT-12) as donor and NDI-based n-type polymer Poly{[N,N’-bis(2-octyldodecyl)-naphthalene-1,4,5,8-bis(dicarboximide)-2,6-diyl]-alt-5,5’-(2,2’-bithiophene)} (P(NDI2OD-T2)) (N2200) as acceptor. The influence of thermal annealing on the performance of all-PSCs was systematically investigated and discussed. It was found that the pre-annealing of the active blend films could significantly improve the all-PSCs performance. Both PBPT-8/PBPT-12:N2200 systems can deliver promising PCEs (4.12% and 4.25%) at the optimal annealing temperature of 160 oC due to the promoted film quality and charge transport properties. Morphology investigation and carrier mobility measurements have been carried out to analyze the effect of thermal annealing. This study suggests that BDT-based polymer:N2200 systems can be promising candidates for all-PSCs, with thermal annealing as an effective approach to promote the device performance

Recyclable Metallic Imidazolium-Based Ionic Liquid-Catalyzed Selective Mono- and Double-Hydroboration in Water

The recyclable metallic imidazolium-based ionic liquid-catalyzed mono-hydroboration of imines, double-hydroboration of imine with aldehyde, and double-hydroboration of aniline with glutaric dialdehyde in the presence of HBpin in water is described for the first time. The ionic liquid [BMIm][FeCl4] showed excellent activity, high selectivity, and good recyclability for the catalytic imine hydroborations. This catalytic system widely tolerated various functional rings and unsaturated groups without additional reduction. Furthermore, the metallic ionic liquid [BMIm][FeCl4] could be reused for more than 15 runs in water without decay of the catalytic activity

Image_2_Identification and validation of transferrin receptor protein 1 for predicting prognosis and immune infiltration in lower grade glioma.tiff

IntroductionTransferrin receptor protein 1 (TFRC), an ananda molecule associated with ferroptosis, has been identified as affecting a wide spectrum of pathological processes in various cancers, but the prognostic value correlates with the tumor microenvironment of TFRC in lower-grade glioma (LGG) is still unclear.Materials and methodsClinical pathological information and gene expression data of patients with LGG come from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), Chinese Glioma Genome Atlas (CGGA), GTEx, Oncomine, UCSC Xena, and GEO databases. We then used various bioinformatics methods and mathematical models to analyze those data, aiming to investigate the clinical significance of TFRC in LGG and illustrate its association with tumor immunity. In addition, the molecular function and mechanisms of TFRC were revealed by gene ontology (GO), Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG), and gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA). Immunohistochemical experiments and single-cell analysis have been performed.ResultsTFRC expression was highly expressed in many tumors and showed a poor prognosis. Including gliomas, it was significantly associated with several poor clinical prognostic variables, tumor immune microenvironment, tumor mutational burden (TMB), m6a modification, and ferroptosis in LGG. TFRC as a key factor was further used to build a prediction nomogram. The C-index, calibration curve, and decision curve analysis showed the nomogram was clinically useful and calibration was accurate. At the same time, we also demonstrated that promoter hypomethylation of DNA upstream of TFRC could lead to high TFRC expression and poor overall survival. There is a significant correlation between TFRC and CD8 + T cell, macrophage cell infiltration, and several immune checkpoints, such as PD-L1(cd274), CTLA4, and PD1, suggesting a novel direction for future clinical application. Functional and molecular mechanism analysis showed an association of TFRC expression with immune-related pathways through GSEA, GO, and KEGG analysis. Finally, immunohistochemical experiments and single-cell analysis confirmed the expression of TFRC in glioma.ConclusionTFRC may be a potential prognostic biomarker and an immunotherapeutic target for glioma.</p