A WDR35-dependent coat protein complex transports ciliary membrane cargo vesicles to cilia

Intraflagellar transport (IFT) is a highly conserved mechanism for motor-driven transport of cargo within cilia, but how this cargo is selectively transported to cilia is unclear. WDR35/IFT121 is a component of the IFT-A complex best known for its role in ciliary retrograde transport. In the absence of WDR35, small mutant cilia form but fail to enrich in diverse classes of ciliary membrane proteins. In Wdr35 mouse mutants, the non-core IFT-A components are degraded and core components accumulate at the ciliary base. We reveal deep sequence homology of WDR35 and other IFT-A subunits to α and ß′ COPI coatomer subunits and demonstrate an accumulation of ‘coat-less’ vesicles that fail to fuse with Wdr35 mutant cilia. We determine that recombinant non-core IFT-As can bind directly to lipids and provide the first in situ evidence of a novel coat function for WDR35, likely with other IFT-A proteins, in delivering ciliary membrane cargo necessary for cilia elongation

Synthesis and magnetorheological effect of Fe3O4-TiO2 nanocomposite

Aimed to obtain a material with improved rheological property, the Fe3O4-TiO2 nanocomposites were prepared by a modified sol-gel processing. The structure and morphology of the Fe3O4-TiO2 nanocomposites were examined by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) analysis, etc. The magnetic property and the magnetorheological properties of the coated particles were also examined in detail. The experimental results demonstrated that such materials exhibited favorable magnetorheological (MR) effect, and the MR performance of them were dependent on the relative content of TiO2 in the composite

Triple-Scale Structured, Superhydrophobic and Highly Oleophobic Surfaces

We prepared triple-scale structured, superhydrophobic films via a layer-by-layer particle deposition approach: large silica particles (1.2 μm in diameter) were first partially embedded in an epoxy matrix, followed by electrostatic deposition of medium (180 nm) and small (20 nm) particles. Mechanical robustness of the triple-scale structured coating was enhanced by SiCl4-based cross-linking between silica particles. After chemical modification with a perfluoroalkyl silane, the triple-scale structured surface was turned superhydrophobic, on which the contact angle (CA) and roll-off angle were 167 ± 3° and [similar]1° for 10 μL water droplets, and 171 ± 1° and 6 ± 2° for 1 μL water droplets, respectively. The triple-scale surface roughness was especially effective in achieving low roll-off angles for small droplets. The triple-scale structure demonstrated much higher stability for the non-wetting Cassie state for water over a dual-scale structure, as experimentally verified by a compression test. In addition, the triple-scale structured surface was also highly oleophobic, as evidenced by high CAs for hexadecane (134 ± 3°) and ethanol–water mixtures (advancing CA above 150° when the surface tension was greater than 35 mN m−1)

Identifying hub genes of papillary thyroid carcinoma in the TCGA and GEO database using bioinformatics analysis

Background Thyroid carcinoma (THCA) is a common endocrine malignant tumor. Papillary carcinoma with low degree of malignancy and good prognosis is the most common. It can occur at any age, but it is more common in young adults. Although the mortality rate is decreased due to early diagnosis, the survival rate varies depending on the type of tumor. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to identify hub biomarkers and novel therapeutic targets for THCA. Methods The GSE3467, GSE3678, GSE33630 and GSE53157 were obtained from the GEO database, including 100 thyroid tumors and 64 normal tissues to obtain the intersection of differentially expressed genes, and a protein-protein interaction network was constructed to obtain the HUB gene. The corresponding overall survival information from The Cancer Genome Atlas Project-THCA was then included in this research. The signature mechanism was studied by analyzing the gene ontology and the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genome database. Results In this research, we identified eight candidate genes (FN1, CCND1, CDH2, CXCL12, MET, IRS1, DCN and FMOD) from the network. Also, expression verification and survival analysis of these candidate genes based on the TCGA database indicate the robustness of the above results. Finally, our hospital samples validated the expression levels of these genes. Conclusion The research identified eight mRNA (four up–regulated and four down–regulated) which serve as signatures and could be a potential prognostic marker of THCA

A mini review of recent progress on vortex-induced vibrations of marine risers

© 2019 Elsevier Ltd Marine risers are subject to vortex-induced vibration (VIV) caused by a combination of various external and internal excitations. The external excitations include the current-induced hydrodynamic forces and the wave-induced motions of the floating platform, while the internal excitation refers to the effect of internal flow. With significant increase of the riser aspect ratio, the VIV becomes much more complicated, resulting in more frequent fatigue damages to the risers. Hence, VIV is an important research area in marine engineering. This review surveys the latest progress on the VIV research, including the multi-mode response, VIV response at high Reynolds numbers, flow-induced vibrations between multiple marine risers, VIV of inclined risers and intermittent VIV in oscillatory flow. Particularly, the impacts of the floating platform and internal flow that have not been widely considered in previous studies are discussed to comprehensively understand the VIV of marine risers. Moreover, typical experimental and numerical investigations on the VIV of marine risers are also introduced

Condition-based structural health monitoring of offshore wind jacket structures: Opportunities, challenges, and perspectives

Structural health monitoring (SHM) has been recognized as a useful tool for safety management and risk reduction of offshore wind farms. In complex offshore environment, jacket structures of offshore wind turbines are prone to damages due to corrosion and fatigue. Effective SHM on jacket structures can substantially reduce their operation risk and costs. This work reviews the latest progress on the SHM of offshore wind jacket structures. The achievements in the structural damage identification, location, quantification, and remaining useful life (RUL) estimation are respectively introduced in detail, and existing challenges are discussed. Possible solutions to the challenges using the Digital Twin (DT) technology are put forward. The DT is able to mirror a real jacket structure into a virtual model, and Bayesian updating can refresh the virtual model parameters in real-time to keep consistency between virtual model and physical structure; then, just-in-time SHM can be carried out for jacket structures by performing damage detection, location, quantification, and RUL estimation using the virtual model. As a result, the DT may provide engineers and researchers a practicable tool for safety monitoring and risk reduction of fixed foundation offshore wind structures

GBF1 and Arf1 interact with Miro and regulate mitochondrial positioning within cells

Abstract The spatial organization of cells depends on coordination between cytoskeletal systems and intracellular organelles. The Arf1 small G protein and its activator GBF1 are important regulators of Golgi organization, maintaining its morphology and function. Here we show that GBF1 and its substrate Arf1 regulate the spatial organization of mitochondria in a microtubule-dependent manner. Miro is a mitochondrial membrane protein that interacts through adaptors with microtubule motor proteins such as cytoplasmic dynein, the major microtubule minus end directed motor. We demonstrate a physical interaction between GBF1 and Miro, and also between the active GTP-bound form of Arf1 and Miro. Inhibition of GBF1, inhibition of Arf1 activation, or overexpression of Miro, caused a collapse of the mitochondrial network towards the centrosome. The change in mitochondrial morphology upon GBF1 inhibition was due to a two-fold increase in the time engaged in retrograde movement compared to control conditions. Electron tomography revealed that GBF1 inhibition also resulted in larger mitochondria with more complex morphology. Miro silencing or drug inhibition of cytoplasmic dynein activity blocked the GBF1-dependent repositioning of mitochondria. Our results show that blocking GBF1 function promotes dynein- and Miro-dependent retrograde mitochondrial transport along microtubules towards the microtubule-organizing center, where they form an interconnected network