Cellular Localization of Aquaporin-1 in the Human and Mouse Trigeminal Systems

Previous studies reported that a subpopulation of mouse and rat trigeminal neurons express water channel aquaporin-1 (AQP1). In this study we make a comparative investigation of AQP1 localization in the human and mouse trigeminal systems. Immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence results showed that AQP1 was localized to the cytoplasm and cell membrane of some medium and small-sized trigeminal neurons. Additionally, AQP1 was found in numerous peripheral trigeminal axons of humans and mice. In the central trigeminal root and brain stem, AQP1 was specifically expressed in astrocytes of humans, but was restricted to nerve fibers within the central trigeminal root and spinal trigeminal tract and nucleus in mice. Furthermore, AQP1 positive nerve fibers were present in the mucosal and submucosal layers of human and mouse oral tissues, but not in the muscular and subcutaneous layers. Fluorogold retrograde tracing demonstrated that AQP1 positive trigeminal neurons innervate the mucosa but not skin of cheek. These results reveal there are similarities and differences in the cellular localization of AQP1 between the human and mouse trigeminal systems. Selective expression of AQP1 in the trigeminal neurons innervating the oral mucosa indicates an involvement of AQP1 in oral sensory transduction

Effects of Defects on Photocatalytic Activity of Hydrogen-Treated Titanium Oxide Nanobelts

Previous studies have shown that hydrogen treatment leads to the formation of blue to black TiO_2, which exhibits photocatalytic activity different from that of white pristine TiO_2. However, the underlying mechanism remains poorly understood. Herein, density functional theory is combined with comprehensive analytical approaches such as X-ray absorption near edge structure spectroscopy and transient absorption spectroscopy to gain fundamental understanding of the correlation among the oxygen vacancy, electronic band structure, charge separation, charge carrier lifetime, reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, and photocatalytic activity. The present work reveals that hydrogen treatment results in chemical reduction of TiO_2, inducing surface and subsurface oxygen vacancies, which create shallow and deep sub-band gap Ti(III) states below the conduction band. This leads to a blue color but limited enhancement of visible light photocatalytic activity up to 440 nm at the cost of reduced ultraviolet photocatalytic activity. The extended light absorption spectral range for reduced TiO_2 is ascribed to both the defect-to-conduction band transitions and the valence band-to-defect transitions. The photogenerated charge carriers from the defect states to the conduction band have lifetimes too short to drive photocatalysis. The Ti(III) deep and shallow trap states below the conduction band are also found to reduce the lifetime of photogenerated charge carriers under ultraviolet light irradiation. The ROS generated by the reduced TiO_2 are less than those generated by pristine TiO_2. Consequently, the reduced TiO_2 exhibits ultraviolet-responsive photocatalytic activity worse than that of pristine TiO_2. This report shows that increasing the light absorption spectral range of a semiconductor by doping or introduction of defects does not necessarily guarantee an increase in photocatalytic activity

Effects of Defects on Photocatalytic Activity of Hydrogen-Treated Titanium Oxide Nanobelts

Previous studies have shown that hydrogen treatment leads to the formation of blue to black TiO_2, which exhibits photocatalytic activity different from that of white pristine TiO_2. However, the underlying mechanism remains poorly understood. Herein, density functional theory is combined with comprehensive analytical approaches such as X-ray absorption near edge structure spectroscopy and transient absorption spectroscopy to gain fundamental understanding of the correlation among the oxygen vacancy, electronic band structure, charge separation, charge carrier lifetime, reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, and photocatalytic activity. The present work reveals that hydrogen treatment results in chemical reduction of TiO_2, inducing surface and subsurface oxygen vacancies, which create shallow and deep sub-band gap Ti(III) states below the conduction band. This leads to a blue color but limited enhancement of visible light photocatalytic activity up to 440 nm at the cost of reduced ultraviolet photocatalytic activity. The extended light absorption spectral range for reduced TiO_2 is ascribed to both the defect-to-conduction band transitions and the valence band-to-defect transitions. The photogenerated charge carriers from the defect states to the conduction band have lifetimes too short to drive photocatalysis. The Ti(III) deep and shallow trap states below the conduction band are also found to reduce the lifetime of photogenerated charge carriers under ultraviolet light irradiation. The ROS generated by the reduced TiO_2 are less than those generated by pristine TiO_2. Consequently, the reduced TiO_2 exhibits ultraviolet-responsive photocatalytic activity worse than that of pristine TiO_2. This report shows that increasing the light absorption spectral range of a semiconductor by doping or introduction of defects does not necessarily guarantee an increase in photocatalytic activity

Longitudinal Gut Bacterial Colonization and Its Influencing Factors of Low Birth Weight Infants During the First 3 Months of Life

Establishment of low birth weight (LBW) infant gut microbiota may have lifelong implications for the health of individuals. However, no longitudinal cohort studies have been conducted to characterize the gut microbial profiles of LBW infants and their influencing factors. Our objective was to understand how the gut bacterial community structure of LBW and normal birth weight (NBW) infants varies across the first 3 months of life and assess the influencing factors. In this observational cohort study, gut bacterial composition was identified with sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene in fecal samples of 69 LBW infants and 65 NBW controls at 0 day, 3 days, 2 weeks, 6 weeks, and 3 months (defined as stages 1–5) after birth. Alpha-diversity of both groups displayed a decreasing trend followed by slight variations. There were significant differences on the Shannon index of the two groups at stages 1 to 3 (P = 0.041, P = 0.032, and P = 0.014, respectively). The microbiota community structure of LBW infants were significantly different from NBW infants throughout the 3 months (all P < 0.05) but not at stage 2 (P = 0.054). There was a significant increase in abundance in Firmicutes while a decrease in Proteobacteria, and at genus level the abundance of Enterococcus, Klebsiella, and Streptococcus increased while it decreased for Haemophilus in LBW group. Birth weight was the main factor explaining the observed variation at all stages, except at stage 2. Delivery mode (4.78%) and antibiotic usage (3.50%) contributed to explain the observed variation at stage 3, and pregestational BMI (4.61%) partially explained the observed variation at stage 4. In conclusion, gut microbial communities differed in NBW and LBW infants from birth to 3 months of life, and were affected by birth weight, delivery mode, antibiotic treatment, and pregestational BMI

Bmi-1 Absence Causes Premature Brain Degeneration

Bmi-1, a polycomb transcriptional repressor, is implicated in cell cycle regulation and cell senescence. Its absence results in generalized astrogliosis and epilepsy during the postnatal development, but the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. Here, we demonstrate the occurrence of oxidative stress in the brain of four-week-old Bmi-1 null mice. The mice showed various hallmarks of neurodegeneration including synaptic loss, axonal demyelination, reactive gliosis and brain mitochondrial damage. Moreover, astroglial glutamate transporters and glutamine synthetase decreased in the Bmi-1 null hippocampus, which might contribute to the sporadic epileptic-like seizures in these mice. These results indicate that Bmi-1 is required for maintaining endogenous antioxidant defenses in the brain, and its absence subsequently causes premature brain degeneration

Molecular mechanisms of cell death: recommendations of the Nomenclature Committee on Cell Death 2018.

Over the past decade, the Nomenclature Committee on Cell Death (NCCD) has formulated guidelines for the definition and interpretation of cell death from morphological, biochemical, and functional perspectives. Since the field continues to expand and novel mechanisms that orchestrate multiple cell death pathways are unveiled, we propose an updated classification of cell death subroutines focusing on mechanistic and essential (as opposed to correlative and dispensable) aspects of the process. As we provide molecularly oriented definitions of terms including intrinsic apoptosis, extrinsic apoptosis, mitochondrial permeability transition (MPT)-driven necrosis, necroptosis, ferroptosis, pyroptosis, parthanatos, entotic cell death, NETotic cell death, lysosome-dependent cell death, autophagy-dependent cell death, immunogenic cell death, cellular senescence, and mitotic catastrophe, we discuss the utility of neologisms that refer to highly specialized instances of these processes. The mission of the NCCD is to provide a widely accepted nomenclature on cell death in support of the continued development of the field

La détermination du pH dans les paléofluides : approche expérimentale et thermodynamique

The aim of this study is to develop the methodology to get the pH values of the palaeo-circulation in the system H2O-CO2-HCO3--NaCl in the P-T conditions of circulation. It combines the use of an experimental approach for calibrating the analytical method, Raman spectrometry, and numerical modelling for the quantitative interpretation of phase and chemical species equilibria. The routine analytical techniques for fluid inclusions are used to carry out the experimental analyses, such as microthermometry and micro-Raman spectroscopy. Experiments are based both on the use of synthetic fluid inclusions produced in quartz crystal and a new method to make synthetic fluids in fused-silica glass capillary. The synthetic fluid in silica glass capillary can be applied to a wide range of pressure (up to 2 to 3 kbar) at room temperature and temperature (as high as at least 673 K). The experimental protocol of capillary loading with different chemical species in the system H2O-CO2-HCO3--NaCl and the methods to quantify their amount are elaborated and validated. Numerical modelling is based on the use of the Pitzer model to describe the liquid aqueous phase, especially the activity coefficients of each chemical species in the liquid aqueous phase. The Duan equation of state is used for the P-V-T-X properties of the liquid and vapour phases in the simplified subsystem H2O-CO2-NaCl. The application pressure and temperature ranges of the model are respectively 273 to 523 K, and 0 to 2000 bar. Range of NaCl concentration is between 0 and 5 molal and corresponds to the range of ice melting temperature (Tmice). The determination of the concentration of aqueous species HCO3- and CO2 is performed by using micro-Raman spectrometry and is calibrated with using the standards of synthetic fluid inclusion and silica glass capillary. A software program based on the Pitzer and Duan models has been done for the interpretation of i) ice melting temperature (Tmice) and bicarbonate concentration in terms of NaCl concentration, and ii) total homogenisation temperature in terms of bulk molar volume and pressure at homogenisation temperature. Then speciation of the fluid is calculated along the isochore till the trapping temperature if lower than 250 °C. A first application to the Mokrsko gold deposit in Bohemian Massif is done and discussedLe but de cette étude est de développer une méthodologie permettant d'obtenir le pH des paléofluides du système H2O-CO2-HCO3--NaCl dans leurs conditions P-T de circulation. Ceci combine une approche expérimentale pour le calibrage d'une méthode analytique, la spectrométrie Raman et une modélisation numérique pour l'interprétation quantitative des équilibres de phase ou d'espèces chimiques. Les techniques analytiques utilisées en routine pour l'étude des inclusions fluides, comme la microthermométrie et la micro-spectrométrie Raman sont utilisées pour la détermination des concentrations. Les expériences sont basées à la fois sur l'utilisation d'inclusions fluides synthétiques fabriquées dans des cristaux de quartz et sur une nouvelle méthode de synthèse de fluides dans des capillaires de silice pure. La technique des fluides contenus dans des capillaires de silice pure peut être appliquée dans une gamme de pressions, jusqu'à 2 ou 3 Kbar à température ambiante, et de températures au moins jusqu'à 400°C sous 2 Kbar de pression. Le protocole expérimental de chargement des fluides du système H2O-CO2-HCO3--NaCl et les méthodes de quantification sont élaborées et validées. La modélisation numérique est basée sur le modèle de Pitzer pour décrire la phase liquide aqueuse, en particulier les coefficients d'activité de chaque espèce chimique des espèces présentes dans la phase aqueuse. L'équation d'état de Duan est utilisée pour le calcul des propriétés P-V-T-X des phases liquide et vapeur dans le sous-système H2O-CO2-NaCl. Les conditions d'application du modèle de Pitzer dans le champ température-pression sont respectivement comprises entre 273 et 523 K et 0 et 2000 bar. La gamme de concentration en NaCl de notre modèle est comprise entre 0 et 5 molal, gamme qui correspond aux températures de fusion de la glace (Tmice) comme dernière phase. La détermination de la concentration des espèces HCO3- et CO2 est réalisée à l'aide de la micro-spectrométrie Raman et est calibrée grâce à l'utilisation des standards que sont les inclusions fluides synthétiques et la technique des capillaires de silice fondue. Un programme de calcul utilisant les modèles de Pitzer et de Duan est réalisé afin d'interpréter i) la température de fusion de la glace et la concentration en bicarbonate en termes de concentration de NaCl et ii) la température d'homogénéisation globale en termes de volume molaire global et de pression à la température d'homogénéisation. Ensuite, la spéciation du fluide est calculée le long de l'isochore à la température de piégeage si celle-ci est inférieure à 250°C. Une première application au gisement d'or de Mokrsko dans le massif de Bohême est discuté

An Attractor-Guided Neural Networks for Skeleton-Based Human Motion Prediction

Joint relation modeling is a curial component in human motion prediction. Most existing methods tend to design skeletal-based graphs to build the relations among joints, where local interactions between joint pairs are well learned. However, the global coordination of all joints, which reflects human motion's balance property, is usually weakened because it is learned from part to whole progressively and asynchronously. Thus, the final predicted motions are sometimes unnatural. To tackle this issue, we learn a medium, called balance attractor (BA), from the spatiotemporal features of motion to characterize the global motion features, which is subsequently used to build new joint relations. Through the BA, all joints are related synchronously, and thus the global coordination of all joints can be better learned. Based on the BA, we propose our framework, referred to Attractor-Guided Neural Network, mainly including Attractor-Based Joint Relation Extractor (AJRE) and Multi-timescale Dynamics Extractor (MTDE). The AJRE mainly includes Global Coordination Extractor (GCE) and Local Interaction Extractor (LIE). The former presents the global coordination of all joints, and the latter encodes local interactions between joint pairs. The MTDE is designed to extract dynamic information from raw position information for effective prediction. Extensive experiments show that the proposed framework outperforms state-of-the-art methods in both short and long-term predictions in H3.6M, CMU-Mocap, and 3DPW