Programmable site-selective labeling of oligonucleotides based on carbene catalysis

Site-selective modification of oligonucleotides serves as an indispensable tool in many fields of research including research of fundamental biological processes, biotechnology, and nanotechnology. Here we report chemo- and regioselective modification of oligonucleotides based on rhodium(I)-carbene catalysis in a programmable fashion. Extensive screening identifies a rhodium(I)-catalyst that displays robust chemoselectivity toward base-unpaired guanosines in single and double-strand oligonucleotides with structurally complex secondary structures. Moreover, high regioselectivity among multiple guanosines in a substrate is achieved by introducing guanosine-bulge loops in a duplex. This approach allows the introduction of multiple unique functional handles in an iterative fashion, the utility of which is exemplified in DNA-protein cross-linking in cell lysates. The methods for investigation of DNA-binding proteins require site-selective chemical modifications to be introduced into oligonucleotides. Here, the authors report a chemo- and regioselective method for the modification of unpaired guanosines in single- and double-stranded oligonucleotides, based on Rh(I)-carbene catalysis

Husformer: A Multi-Modal Transformer for Multi-Modal Human State Recognition

Human state recognition is a critical topic with pervasive and important applications in human-machine systems.Multi-modal fusion, the combination of metrics from multiple data sources, has been shown as a sound method for improving the recognition performance. However, while promising results have been reported by recent multi-modal-based models, they generally fail to leverage the sophisticated fusion strategies that would model sufficient cross-modal interactions when producing the fusion representation; instead, current methods rely on lengthy and inconsistent data preprocessing and feature crafting. To address this limitation, we propose an end-to-end multi-modal transformer framework for multi-modal human state recognition called Husformer.Specifically, we propose to use cross-modal transformers, which inspire one modality to reinforce itself through directly attending to latent relevance revealed in other modalities, to fuse different modalities while ensuring sufficient awareness of the cross-modal interactions introduced. Subsequently, we utilize a self-attention transformer to further prioritize contextual information in the fusion representation. Using two such attention mechanisms enables effective and adaptive adjustments to noise and interruptions in multi-modal signals during the fusion process and in relation to high-level features. Extensive experiments on two human emotion corpora (DEAP and WESAD) and two cognitive workload datasets (MOCAS and CogLoad) demonstrate that in the recognition of human state, our Husformer outperforms both state-of-the-art multi-modal baselines and the use of a single modality by a large margin, especially when dealing with raw multi-modal signals. We also conducted an ablation study to show the benefits of each component in Husformer

Atomic layer coating of hafnium oxide on carbon nanotubes for high-performance field emitters

Carbon nanotubes coated with hafnium oxide exhibit excellent electron emission characteristics, including a low turn-on voltage, a high field enhancement factor, and exceptional current stability. Their enhanced emission performance was attributed to a decrease in the work function and an increase in the electron density of states at the carbon nanotube Fermi level closest to the conduction band minimum of hafnium oxide. In addition, the enhanced current stability was attributed to the ability of hafnium oxide to protect the carbon nanotubes against ions and free radicals created in the electron field emission process. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3650471]ArticleAPPLIED PHYSICS LETTERS. 99(15):153115 (2011)journal articl

Antiasthmatic Effects of Herbal Complex MA and Its Fermented Product MA128

This study was conducted to determine if oral administration of the novel herbal medicine, MA, and its Lactobacillus acidophilus fermented product, MA128, have therapeutic properties for the treatment of asthma. Asthma was induced in BALB/c mice by systemic sensitization to ovalbumin (OVA) followed by intratracheal, intraperitoneal, and aerosol allergen challenges. MA and MA128 were orally administered 6 times a week for 4 weeks. At 1 day after the last ovalbumin exposure, airway hyperresponsiveness was assessed and samples of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, lung cells, and serum were collected for further analysis. We investigated the effect of MA and MA128 on airway hyperresponsiveness, pulmonary eosinophilic infiltration, various immune cell phenotypes, Th2 cytokine production, OVA-specific IgE production, and Th1/Th2 cytokine production in this mouse model of asthma. In BALB/c mice, we found that MA and MA128 treatment suppressed eosinophil infiltration into airways and blood, allergic airway inflammation and AHR by suppressing the production of IL-5, IL-13, IL-17, Eotaxin, and OVA-specific IgE, by upregulating the production of OVA-specific Th1 cytokine (IFN-γ), and by downregulating OVA-specific Th2 cytokine (IL-4) in the culture supernatant of spleen cells. The effectiveness of MA was increased by fermentation with Lactobacillus acidophilus

Resistin enhances the expansion of regulatory T cells through modulation of dendritic cells

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Resistin, a member of adipokine family, is known to be involved in the modulation of immune responses including inflammatory activity. Interestingly, resistin is secreted by adipocytes in mice and rats whereas it is secreted by leukocytes in humans. However, the mechanism behind the effect of resistin on the expansion of regulatory T cells (Tregs) remains poorly understood. Therefore, we examined regulatory effect of resistin on the induction and cellular modification of Tregs.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Both protein and mRNA expression of <it>FoxP3</it>, a representative marker of Tregs, increased in a dose-dependent manner when peripheral blood mononuclear cells were treated with resistin. At the same time, resistin had no direct effect on the induction of <it>FoxP3 </it>in CD4⁺T cells, suggesting an indirect role through other cells type(s). Since DCs are an important player in the differentiation of T cells, we focused on the role of DCs in the modulation of Tregs by resistin. Resistin suppressed the expression of interferon regulatory factor (IRF)-1 and its target cytokines, IL-6, IL-23p19 and IL-12p40, in DCs. Furthermore, <it>FoxP3 </it>expression is increased in CD4⁺T cells when co-cultured with DCs and concomitantly treated with resistin.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our results suggest that resistin induces expansion of functional Tregs only when co-cultured with DCs.</p

Recombinant TAT–gelonin fusion toxin: Synthesis and characterization of heparin/protamine‐regulated cell transduction

Protein toxins, such as gelonin, are highly desirable anti‐cancer drug candidates due to their unparalleled potency and repetitive reaction mechanism in inhibiting protein translation. However, for its potential application in cancer therapy, there remains the cell membrane barrier that allows permeation of only small molecules, which must be overcome. To address this challenge, we conjugated gelonin with a protein transduction domain (PTD), the TAT peptide, via genetic recombination. The chimeric TAT–gelonin fusion protein (TAT‐Gel) retained equipotent N ‐glycosidase activity yet displayed greater cell uptake than unmodified recombinant gelonin (rGel), thereby yielding a significantly augmented cytotoxic activity. Remarkably, TAT‐Gel displayed up to 177‐fold lower IC 50 (avg. 54.3 n M ) than rGel (avg. IC 50 : 3640 n M ) in tested cell lines. This enhanced cytotoxicity, however, also raised potential toxicity concerns due to the non‐selectivity of PTD in its mediated cell transduction. To solve this problem, we investigated the plausibility of regulating the cell transduction of TAT‐Gel via a reversible masking using heparin and protamine. Here, we demonstrated, both in vitro and in vivo , that the cell transduction of TAT‐Gel can be completely curbed with heparin and yet this heparin block can be efficiently reversed by the addition of protamine. This reversible tight regulation of the cell transduction of TAT‐Gel by heparin and protamine sheds light of possible application of TAT‐Gel in achieving a highly effective yet safe drug therapy for the treatment of tumors. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A: 103A: 409–419, 2015.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/109572/1/jbma35188.pd

Patterns of Using Complementary and Alternative Medicine by Stroke Patients at Two University Hospitals in Korea

This study measured the prevalence of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use among Korean stroke patients. Questionnaire-based 20-min interviews were conducted at the hospitals by a trained nurse after an outpatient visit. It included questions on demographic information, clinical information and the utilization of CAM. Of 304 stroke-patient respondents, 164 (54%) had used CAM, of which 66% had started taking CAM products following suggestions from family members and other relatives. Of the 57% of users who felt that CAM was effective, 84% considered that it improved the symptoms of stroke and 16% felt it was effective in achieving psychological relaxation. Of the eight CAM categories used by respondents, 92% used traditional Oriental medical treatments, 36% used plant- and animal-derived over-the-counter health care products, 24% used minerals and vitamins, and 11% used manual therapies. The majority of stroke patients (68%) were trying a new type of CAM, and half of the respondents (45%) relied on the knowledge of their general practitioner about CAMs when deciding whether to use them. Most of the stroke patients in this study used CAM, and a half of them reported beneficial effects. Despite the presence of adverse side effects, they tended to be used without discussion with chief physicians, and hence physicians should be actively involved in the usage of CAM

Soft lithography for microfluidics: a review

Soft lithography has provided a low-expertise route toward micro/nanofabrication and is playing an important role in microfluidics, ranging from simple channel fabrication to the creation of micropatterns onto a surface or within a microfluidic channel. In this review, the materials, methods, and applications of soft lithography for microfluidics are briefly summarized with a particular emphasis on integrated microfluidic systems containing physical microstructures or a topographically patterned substrate. Relevant exemplary works based on the combination of various soft lithographic methods using microfluidics are introduced with some comments on their merits and weaknesses.This work was supported by Korea Science and Engineering Foundation (KOSEF) grant funded by the Korea government (MOST) (R01-2007-000- 20675-0) and the Grant-in-Aid for Next-Generation New Technology Development Programs from the Korea Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy (No.10030046). This work was also supported by the Korea Research Foundation Grant funded by the Korean Government (MOEHRD, Basic Research Promotion Fund)(KRF-2007-331-D00064) for Sun Min Kim

Insulin Facilitates the Recovery of Myocardial Contractility and Conduction during Cardiac Compression in Rabbits with Bupivacaine-Induced Cardiovascular Collapse

Bupivacaine inhibits cardiac conduction and contractility. Insulin enhances cardiac repolarization and myocardial contractility. We hypothesizes that insulin therapy would be effective in resuscitating bupivacaine-induced cardiac toxicity in rabbits. Twelve rabbits were tracheally intubated and midline sternotomy was performed under general anesthesia. Cardiovascular collapse (CVC) was induced by an IV bolus injection of bupivacaine 10 mg/kg. The rabbits were treated with either saline (control) or insulin injection, administered as a 2 U/kg bolus. Internal cardiac massage was performed until the return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) and the time to the return of sinus rhythm (ROSR) was also noted in both groups. Arterial blood pressure, and electrocardiography were continuously monitored for 30 min and plasma bupivacaine concentrations at every 5 min. The ROSC, ROSR and normalization of QRS duration were attained faster in the insulin-treated group than in the control group. At the ROSC, there was a significant difference in bupivacaine concentration between two groups. Insulin facilitates the return of myocardial contractility and conduction from bupivacaine-induced CVC in rabbits. However, recovery of cardiac conduction is dependent mainly on the change of plasma bupivacaine concentrations