Constraints on the structure of the oceanic crust of the Tamu Massif by teleseismic P-wave coda autocorrelation

The Tamu Massif, considered the biggest single volcano on Earth, was formed by the accumulation of enormous amounts of magma erupting to the surface. It is the largest and oldest seamount in Shatsky Rise, which is the third largest oceanic plateau on Earth. However, the formation mechanism of Tamu Massif is still controversial because evidence point to different formation hypotheses. In this paper, we applied the P-wave coda autocorrelation method and used the hydrophone waveform data acquired by the ocean bottom seismometer (OBS) deployed on Tamu Massif to constrain the oceanic crust, and these results provide new finding on the structure of the oceanic crust for Tamu Massif. We hope it can provide some implications to research the formation mechanism of Tamu Massif. These results show that some stations in Tamu Massif received reflection signals from shallower depths that are nearly parallel to the seafloor. We infer that in the shallow oceanic crust, there is a layer composed of alternating eruptions of dense, higher velocity massive lava and sparse, lower velocity pillow lava flows, which have less density and lower velocity compared to the lower oceanic crust, with a strong acoustic impedance contrasts between them and thus able to generate a reflection signal, which is observed in our autocorrelation results

Potential roles of non-lymphocytic cells in the pathogenesis of IgG4-related disease

Studies have confirmed the involvement of a variety of lymphocyte subsets, including type 2 helper T lymphocytes (Th2) and IgG4+ B lymphocytes, in the pathogenesis of IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD). Those lymphocytes contribute to the major pathogenetic features of IgG4-RD. However, they are not the only cellular components in the immunoinflammatory environment of this mysterious disease entity. Recent studies have suggested that various non-lymphocytic components, including macrophages and fibroblasts, may also play an important role in the pathogenetic process of IgG4-RD in terms of contributing to the chronic and complex progress of the disease. Therefore, the potential role of non-lymphocyte in the pathogenesis of IgG4-RD is worth discussing

A New Strategy for the Treatment of Old Corrugated Container Pulping Wastewater by the Ozone-Catalyzed Polyurethane Sponge Biodegradation Process

Old Corrugated Container (OCC) pulping wastewater has a complex organic composition and high levels of biotoxicity. The presence of dissolved and colloidal substances (DCSs) is a major limiting factor for pulp and paper companies to achieve closed-water recycling. In order to solve this problem, the coupled ozone-catalyzed oxidation and biodegradation (OCB) method was used to treat OCC pulping wastewater in this study. A polyurethane sponge was used as the basic skeleton, loaded with nano TiO2 and microorganisms, respectively, and then put into a reactor. After an 8-min ozone-catalyzed oxidation reaction, a 10-h biological reaction was carried out. The process was effective in removing organic pollutants such as COD and BOD5 from OCC paper whitewater. The removal rates of COD and BOD5 were 81.5% and 85.1%, respectively. By using the polyurethane sponge to construct a microenvironment suitable for microbial growth and metabolism, this study successfully applied and optimized engineered bacteria—white rut fungi (WRF)—in the system to achieve practical degradation of OCC pulping wastewater. Meanwhile, the biocompatibility of different microbial communities on the polyurethane sponge was analyzed by examining the degradation performance of OCC pulping wastewater. The structure of microbial communities loaded on the polyurethane sponge was analyzed to understand the degradation mechanism and microbial reaction behavior. White-rot fungi (Phanerochaete) contributed more to the degradation of OCC wastewater, and new strains adapted to OCC wastewater degradation were generated

Similar Transition Processes in Synovial Fibroblasts from Rheumatoid Arthritis and Osteoarthritis: A Single-Cell Study

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and osteoarthritis (OA) are common rheumatic disorders that primarily involve joints. The inflammation of the synovium can be observed in both of the two diseases. Synovial fibroblasts (SFs) play an important role in the inflammatory process of the synovium. The functional states of synovial fibroblasts are heterogeneous, and the detailed transition process of their functional states is still unclear. By using transcriptomic data of SFs at a single-cell level, we found a similar transition process for SFs in RA and OA. We also identified the potential regulatory effects of the WNT signaling pathway, the TGF-β signaling pathway, the FcεRI signaling pathway, and the ERBB signaling pathway on modifying the SFs’ functional state. These findings indicate potentially overlapped pathogenic mechanisms in these two diseases, which may help uncover new therapeutic targets to ameliorate disease progression

The Increased Ratio of Blood CD56bright NK to CD56dim NK Is a Distinguishing Feature of Primary Sjögren’s Syndrome

Objective. The aim of this study was to characterize the subsets of circulating CD56+ NK cells in pSS patients and their potential value in the diagnosis and/or prediction of prognosis in patients with pSS. Methods. We included 52 pSS patients fulfilling the 2002 AECG criteria or 2012 ACR criteria and 20 age- and gender-matched healthy volunteers. The frequency and absolute number of NK cells and CD56 NK cell subsets in peripheral blood samples were detected by flow cytometry. Other laboratory parameters such as the IgG level and complement protein levels were extracted from the clinical system. Results. Both the frequency and the absolute number of peripheral blood NK cells were reduced in pSS patients compared to healthy controls. The proportion of CD56bright NK cell subset was increased, and the proportion of CD56dim NK cell subset was decreased among NK cells, resulting in the ratio of CD56bright NK to CD56dim NK which was significantly elevated in pSS patients. ROC analysis indicated that the AUC of CD56bright NK/CD56dim NK ratio was 0.838, and the best diagnostic cut-off point was 0.0487 for pSS patients. Furthermore, this CD56bright NK/CD56dim NK ratio was positively correlated with the IgG level and negatively correlated with the complement protein C3 and C4 levels. More importantly, the CD56bright/CD56dim NK ratio was either slightly increased or not changed in other autoimmune diseases such as SLE and IgG4-related disease. Conclusion. Our findings suggest that the ratio of blood CD56bright NK to CD56dim NK might have a diagnostic value relatively specific for pSS

Table_2_Proteomic characteristics of saliva in patients with different subgroups of IgG4-RD.xlsx

BackgroundImmunoglobulin G4-related disease (IgG4-RD) is a newly defined disease entity, with great heterogeneity among IgG4-RD subgroups with different organ involvement patterns. Identification of the proteomic characteristics of IgG4-RD subgroups will be critical for the understanding of the pathogenic mechanisms of IgG4-RD.MethodIn this study, we performed proteomic analysis using Tandem Mass Tags (TMT) technology with “high field” mass analyzer with improved resolution and sequencing speed to investigate the proteomic profile of saliva and plasma samples from ten untreated IgG4-RD patients and five healthy controls (HCs). Differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) were identified by “t test” function in R package. Functional enrichment analysis was used to investigate pathways enriched in IgG4-RD samples.ResultsMost salivary DEPs identified in IgG4-RD patients compared with HCs were mainly enriched in neutrophil mediated GO bioprocess. Within the comparisons between four IgG4-RD subgroups, more DEPs were identified in the comparison of Mikulicz group and Head and neck group. Among four subgroups of IgG4-RD, Head and neck group showed the most distinctive proteomic expression pattern when compared with HCs. Moreover, “Neutrophil mediated process” related GO bioprocess was commonly identified between comparisons of Mikulicz group and Head and neck group, Head and neck group and Retroperitoneal aorta group, Head and neck group and HCs, IgG4-RD patients with saliva gland involvement and those without saliva gland involvement. Key DEPs that involved in this GO bioprocess were identified. Besides, we performed proteomic analysis for plasma samples between ten IgG4-RD and five HCs and there were several DEPs identified overlapped in saliva and plasma.ConclusionWe identified multiple processes/factors and several signaling pathways in saliva that may be involved in the IgG4-RD pathogenesis.</p

Image_1_Proteomic characteristics of saliva in patients with different subgroups of IgG4-RD.jpeg

BackgroundImmunoglobulin G4-related disease (IgG4-RD) is a newly defined disease entity, with great heterogeneity among IgG4-RD subgroups with different organ involvement patterns. Identification of the proteomic characteristics of IgG4-RD subgroups will be critical for the understanding of the pathogenic mechanisms of IgG4-RD.MethodIn this study, we performed proteomic analysis using Tandem Mass Tags (TMT) technology with “high field” mass analyzer with improved resolution and sequencing speed to investigate the proteomic profile of saliva and plasma samples from ten untreated IgG4-RD patients and five healthy controls (HCs). Differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) were identified by “t test” function in R package. Functional enrichment analysis was used to investigate pathways enriched in IgG4-RD samples.ResultsMost salivary DEPs identified in IgG4-RD patients compared with HCs were mainly enriched in neutrophil mediated GO bioprocess. Within the comparisons between four IgG4-RD subgroups, more DEPs were identified in the comparison of Mikulicz group and Head and neck group. Among four subgroups of IgG4-RD, Head and neck group showed the most distinctive proteomic expression pattern when compared with HCs. Moreover, “Neutrophil mediated process” related GO bioprocess was commonly identified between comparisons of Mikulicz group and Head and neck group, Head and neck group and Retroperitoneal aorta group, Head and neck group and HCs, IgG4-RD patients with saliva gland involvement and those without saliva gland involvement. Key DEPs that involved in this GO bioprocess were identified. Besides, we performed proteomic analysis for plasma samples between ten IgG4-RD and five HCs and there were several DEPs identified overlapped in saliva and plasma.ConclusionWe identified multiple processes/factors and several signaling pathways in saliva that may be involved in the IgG4-RD pathogenesis.</p

Image_4_Proteomic characteristics of saliva in patients with different subgroups of IgG4-RD.jpeg

BackgroundImmunoglobulin G4-related disease (IgG4-RD) is a newly defined disease entity, with great heterogeneity among IgG4-RD subgroups with different organ involvement patterns. Identification of the proteomic characteristics of IgG4-RD subgroups will be critical for the understanding of the pathogenic mechanisms of IgG4-RD.MethodIn this study, we performed proteomic analysis using Tandem Mass Tags (TMT) technology with “high field” mass analyzer with improved resolution and sequencing speed to investigate the proteomic profile of saliva and plasma samples from ten untreated IgG4-RD patients and five healthy controls (HCs). Differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) were identified by “t test” function in R package. Functional enrichment analysis was used to investigate pathways enriched in IgG4-RD samples.ResultsMost salivary DEPs identified in IgG4-RD patients compared with HCs were mainly enriched in neutrophil mediated GO bioprocess. Within the comparisons between four IgG4-RD subgroups, more DEPs were identified in the comparison of Mikulicz group and Head and neck group. Among four subgroups of IgG4-RD, Head and neck group showed the most distinctive proteomic expression pattern when compared with HCs. Moreover, “Neutrophil mediated process” related GO bioprocess was commonly identified between comparisons of Mikulicz group and Head and neck group, Head and neck group and Retroperitoneal aorta group, Head and neck group and HCs, IgG4-RD patients with saliva gland involvement and those without saliva gland involvement. Key DEPs that involved in this GO bioprocess were identified. Besides, we performed proteomic analysis for plasma samples between ten IgG4-RD and five HCs and there were several DEPs identified overlapped in saliva and plasma.ConclusionWe identified multiple processes/factors and several signaling pathways in saliva that may be involved in the IgG4-RD pathogenesis.</p

Table_3_Proteomic characteristics of saliva in patients with different subgroups of IgG4-RD.xlsx

BackgroundImmunoglobulin G4-related disease (IgG4-RD) is a newly defined disease entity, with great heterogeneity among IgG4-RD subgroups with different organ involvement patterns. Identification of the proteomic characteristics of IgG4-RD subgroups will be critical for the understanding of the pathogenic mechanisms of IgG4-RD.MethodIn this study, we performed proteomic analysis using Tandem Mass Tags (TMT) technology with “high field” mass analyzer with improved resolution and sequencing speed to investigate the proteomic profile of saliva and plasma samples from ten untreated IgG4-RD patients and five healthy controls (HCs). Differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) were identified by “t test” function in R package. Functional enrichment analysis was used to investigate pathways enriched in IgG4-RD samples.ResultsMost salivary DEPs identified in IgG4-RD patients compared with HCs were mainly enriched in neutrophil mediated GO bioprocess. Within the comparisons between four IgG4-RD subgroups, more DEPs were identified in the comparison of Mikulicz group and Head and neck group. Among four subgroups of IgG4-RD, Head and neck group showed the most distinctive proteomic expression pattern when compared with HCs. Moreover, “Neutrophil mediated process” related GO bioprocess was commonly identified between comparisons of Mikulicz group and Head and neck group, Head and neck group and Retroperitoneal aorta group, Head and neck group and HCs, IgG4-RD patients with saliva gland involvement and those without saliva gland involvement. Key DEPs that involved in this GO bioprocess were identified. Besides, we performed proteomic analysis for plasma samples between ten IgG4-RD and five HCs and there were several DEPs identified overlapped in saliva and plasma.ConclusionWe identified multiple processes/factors and several signaling pathways in saliva that may be involved in the IgG4-RD pathogenesis.</p