Developmental stage related patterns of codon usage and genomic GC content: searching for evolutionary fingerprints with models of stem cell differentiation

Developmental-stage-related patterns of gene expression correlate with codon usage and genomic GC content in stem cell hierarchies

Lifor Solution: An Alternative Preservation Solution in Small Bowel Transplantation

Background and Objectives. The intestinal mucosa is extremely sensitive to ischemia. Better intestinal preservation is the first step to improve the results of intestinal transplantation. The aim of the study is to investigate the effect of cold Lifor solution on preservation of swine small bowel. Methods. Swine ileum segments (200 cm) were allotransplanted heterotopically after 9-hour cold storage with UW solution (group 1, n=6), with Lifor solution (group 2, n=6), or without storage (group 3, n=6), respectively. After cold storage, mucosal adenosine triphosphate (ATP) concentrations and histopathologic analysis after preservation were performed. At day 7 after the transplantation, intestinal absorptive function was also observed. Results. After 9 h cold preservation, pathological changes, the content of ATP in the intestinal mucosa, and the intestinal absorptive function after transplantation in group 2 were similar to those of group 1. Conclusion. The effect of cold storage of swine small bowel with Lifor solution is similar to that of UW solution. It may provide additional rationale for further exploration of Lifor as an alternative preservation solution in small bowel transplantation

Electrically empowered microcomb laser

Optical frequency comb underpins a wide range of applications from communication, metrology, to sensing. Its development on a chip-scale platform -- so called soliton microcomb -- provides a promising path towards system miniaturization and functionality integration via photonic integrated circuit (PIC) technology. Although extensively explored in recent years, challenges remain in key aspects of microcomb such as complex soliton initialization, high threshold, low power efficiency, and limited comb reconfigurability. Here we present an on-chip laser that directly outputs microcomb and resolves all these challenges, with a distinctive mechanism created from synergetic interaction among resonant electro-optic effect, optical Kerr effect, and optical gain inside the laser cavity. Realized with integration between a III-V gain chip and a thin-film lithium niobate (TFLN) PIC, the laser is able to directly emit mode-locked microcomb on demand with robust turnkey operation inherently built in, with individual comb linewidth down to 600 Hz, whole-comb frequency tuning rate exceeding $\rm 2.4\times10^{17}$ Hz/s, and 100% utilization of optical power fully contributing to comb generation. The demonstrated approach unifies architecture and operation simplicity, high-speed reconfigurability, and multifunctional capability enabled by TFLN PIC, opening up a great avenue towards on-demand generation of mode-locked microcomb that is expected to have profound impact on broad applications

Application of Acupoints and Meridians for the Treatment of Primary Dysmenorrhea: A Data Mining-Based Literature Study

Background. Dysmenorrhea is a common problem for which acupuncture provides effective analgesia. Although acupoint selection affects the effectiveness of acupuncture, the basic rules of acupoint selection are little understood. This study aims to investigate the principles of acupoint selection and characteristics of acupoints used for primary dysmenorrhea. Methods. PubMed, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, and Chinese Biomedical Database were searched for clinical trials published in English or Chinese from January 1978 to April 2014 evaluating the effect of acupuncture on primary dysmenorrhea, with or without methods of randomization and/or control. Three authors extracted information and two reviewers inputted information on titles, journals, interventions, main acupoints, and outcomes using the self-established Data Excavation Platform of Acupoint Specificity for data mining. Results. Sanyinjiao (SP06), Guanyuan (CV04), and Qihai (CV06) were used most frequently. The most frequently used meridians were Conception Vessel, Spleen Meridian of Foot Taiyin, and Bladder Meridian of Foot Taiyang. 67.24% of acupoints used were specific acupoints. Acupoints on lower limbs were most frequently used. Conclusion. Data mining is a feasible approach to identify the characteristics of acupoint selection. Our study indicated that modern acupuncture treatment for primary dysmenorrhea is based on selection of specific acupoints according to traditional acupuncture theory

Confronting Potential Influenza A (H5N1) Pandemic with Better Vaccines

Better understanding of host-virus interaction is essential to produce effective vaccines against influenza (H5N1) viruses

Expression of HA of HPAI H5N1 Virus at US2 Gene Insertion Site of Turkey Herpesvirus Induced Better Protection than That at US10 Gene Insertion Site

Herpesvirus of turkey (HVT) is being widely used as a vector for development of recombinant vaccines and US2 and US10 genes are often chosen as insertion sites for targeted gene expression. However, the different effects of the two genes for generation of recombinant HVT vaccines were unknown. In order to compare the effects of inserted genes in the two sites on the efficacy of the recombinant vaccines, host-protective haemagglutinin (HA) gene of the highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (HPAIV) H5N1 was inserted into either US2 or US10 gene locus of the HVT. The resulting US2 (rHVT-US2-HA) or US10 (rHVT-US10-HA) recombinant HVT viruses were used to infect chicken embryo fibroblasts. Plaques and the growth kinetics of rHVT-US2-HA-infected chicken embryo fibroblasts were similar to those of parental HVT whereas rHVT-US10-HA infected chicken embryo fibroblasts had different growth kinetics and plaque formation. The viremia levels in rHVT-US10-HA virus-infected chickens were significantly lower than those of rHVT-US2-HA group on 28 days post infection. The vaccine efficacy of the two recombinant viruses against H5N1 HPAIV and virulent Marek's disease virus was also evaluated in 1-day-old vaccinated chickens. rHVT-US2-HA-vaccinated chickens were better protected with reduced mortality than rHVT-US10-HA-vaccinated animals following HPAIV challenge. Furthermore, the overall hemaglutination inhibition antibody titers of rHVT-US2-HA-vaccinated chickens were higher than those of rHVT-US10-HA-vaccinated chickens. Protection levels against Marek's disease virus challenge following vaccination with either rHVT-US2-HA or rHVT-US10-HA, however, were similar to those of the parental HVT virus. These results, for the first time, indicate that US2 gene provides a favorable foreign gene insertion site for generation of recombinant HVT vaccines

Lifor Solution: An Alternative Preservation Solution in Small Bowel Transplantation

Background and Objectives. The intestinal mucosa is extremely sensitive to ischemia. Better intestinal preservation is the first step to improve the results of intestinal transplantation. The aim of the study is to investigate the effect of cold Lifor solution on preservation of swine small bowel. Methods. Swine ileum segments (200 cm) were allotransplanted heterotopically after 9-hour cold storage with UW solution (group 1, = 6), with Lifor solution (group 2, = 6), or without storage (group 3, = 6), respectively. After cold storage, mucosal adenosine triphosphate (ATP) concentrations and histopathologic analysis after preservation were performed. At day 7 after the transplantation, intestinal absorptive function was also observed. Results. After 9 h cold preservation, pathological changes, the content of ATP in the intestinal mucosa, and the intestinal absorptive function after transplantation in group 2 were similar to those of group 1. Conclusion. The effect of cold storage of swine small bowel with Lifor solution is similar to that of UW solution. It may provide additional rationale for further exploration of Lifor as an alternative preservation solution in small bowel transplantation

A New Method for Evaluating the Homogeneity and Structure of Remolded Loess Samples with the Air Permeability Coefficient

The uniformity of remolded loess samples prepared in the laboratory directly determines the reliability of various test results. While many tests have been designed to reflect the properties of undisturbed loess, there are obvious structural differences between remolded and undisturbed loess. Therefore, it is of great theoretical and practical significance to explore a non-destructive evaluation index of the uniformity and structure of loess samples for indoor geotechnical tests. In this study, the loess from the Malan loess section of the Chanhe River in Xi’an, China, was used as the experimental material to analyze the uniformity of remolded loess samples in terms of the stress distribution, stratification range, and sample variance. Based on the test results, the feasibility of using the air permeability coefficient as an index by which to evaluate the uniformity and structure of loess samples is investigated for the first time. The results demonstrate that when the overall height of the sample is fixed, the higher the designed dry density of the sample and the lower the air permeability of the sample. Moreover, when the designed dry density of the sample is constant, with the increase in the overall height of the sample, the range of the stratified dry density of the sample gradually decreases, as does the sample variance. The more uniform the sample, the greater the air permeability, and under the same conditions, the air permeability of remolded soil is lower than that of undisturbed loess. SEM images reveal that there is a considerable difference between the structures of undisturbed and remolded loess samples. Remolded loess is characterized by the greatly reduced effectiveness of cementation between skeleton particles, which causes its structure to be weaker than that of undisturbed loess. In this paper, a quantitative index of loess structure based on air permeability is proposed, and the test results show that the index can adequately reflect the loess structure. Due to its obvious advantages of non-destructiveness, high efficiency, economy, convenience, and high speed, it has a unique advantage for the evaluation of the uniformity and structure of remolded soil samples