Global iTRAQ-based proteomic profiling of Toxoplasma gondii oocysts during sporulation

Toxoplasma gondii is a medically and economically important protozoan parasite. However, the molecular mechanisms of its sporulation remain largely unknown. Here, we applied iTRAQ coupled with 2D LC–MS/MS proteomic analysis to investigate the proteomic expression profile of T. gondii oocysts during sporulation. Of the 2095 non-redundant proteins identified, 587 were identified as differentially expressed proteins (DEPs). Based on Gene Ontology enrichment and KEGG pathway analyses the majority of these DEPs were found related to the metabolism of amino acids, carbon and energy. Protein interaction network analysis generated by STRING identifiedATP-citrate lyase (ACL), GMP synthase, IMP dehydrogenase (IMPDH), poly (ADP-ribose) glycohydrolase (PARG), and bifunctional dihydrofolate reductase-thymidylate synthase (DHFR-TS) as the top five hubs. We also identified 25 parasite virulence factors that were expressed at relatively high levels in sporulated oocysts compared to non-sporulated oocysts, which might contribute to the infectivity of mature oocysts. Considering the importance of oocysts in the dissemination of toxoplasmosis these findings may help in the search of protein targets with a key role in infectiousness and ecological success of oocysts, creating new opportunities for the development of better means for disease prevention. Biological significance: The development of newpreventative interventions against T. gondii infection relies on an improved understanding of the proteome and chemical pathways of this parasite. To identify proteins required for the development of environmentally resistant and infective T. gondii oocysts, we compared the proteome of non-sporulated (immature) oocysts with the proteome of sporulated (mature, infective) oocysts. iTRAQ 2DLC-MS/MS analysis revealed proteomic changes that distinguish non-sporulated from sporulated oocysts. Many of the differentially expressed proteins were involved in metabolic pathways and 25 virulence factors were identified upregulated in the sporulated oocysts. This work provides the first quantitative characterization of the proteomic variations that occur in T. gondii oocyst stage during sporulation

Characterizing microRNA editing and mutation sites in Autism Spectrum Disorder

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder whose pathogenesis is still unclear. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a kind of endogenous small non-coding RNAs that play important roles in the post-transcriptional regulation of genes. Recent researches show that miRNAs are edited in multiple ways especially in central nervous systems. A-to-I editing of RNA catalyzed by Adenosine deaminases acting on RNA (ADARs) happens intensively in brain and is also noticed in other organs and tissues. Although miRNAs are widely edited in human brain, miRNA editing in ASD is still largely unexplored. In order to reveal the editing events of miRNAs in ASD, we analyzed 131 miRNA-seq samples from 8 different brain regions of ASD patients and normal controls. We identified 834 editing sites with significant editing levels, of which 70 sites showed significantly different editing levels in the superior frontal gyrus samples of ASD patients (ASD-SFG) when compared with those of control samples. The editing level of an A-to-I editing site in hsa-mir-376a-1 (hsa-mir-376a-1_9_A_g) in ASD-SFG is higher than that of normal controls, and the difference is exaggerated in individuals under 10 years. The increased expression of ADAR1 is consistent with the increased editing level of hsa-mir-376a-1_9_A_g in ASD-SFG samples compared to normal SFG samples. Furthermore, we verify that A-to-I edited hsa-mir-376a-5p directly represses GPR85 and NAPB, which may contribute to the abnormal neuronal development of ASD patients. These results provide new insights into the mechanism of ASD

A study of clinical and serological correlation of early myocardial injury in elderly patients infected with the Omicron variant

IntroductionMyocardial injury in elderly Omicron variant patients is a leading cause of severe disease and death. This study focuses on elucidating the clinical characteristics and potential risk factors associated with myocardial injury in elderly patients infected with the Omicron variant.MethodsMyocardial injury was defined based on elevated cardiac troponin concentrations exceeding the 99th percentile upper reference limit. Among 772 elderly Omicron-infected patients, categorized into myocardial injury (n = 263) and non-myocardial injury (n = 509) groups. The stratified log-rank statistic was used to compare the probability of patients developing intensive care. Receiver operating characteristic curves were used to determine the best cut-off values of clinical and laboratory data for predicting myocardial injury. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression was adopted to analyze the risk factors for myocardial injury.ResultsThe occurrence of myocardial injury in Omicron variant-infected geriatric patients was up to 34.07% and these patients may have a higher rate of requiring intensive care (P < 0.05). By comparing myocardial injury patients with non-myocardial injury patients, notable differences were observed in age, pre-existing medical conditions (e.g., hypertension, coronary heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, arrhythmia, chronic kidney disease, and heart failure), and various laboratory biomarkers, including cycle threshold-ORF1ab gene (Ct-ORF1ab), cycle threshold-N gene (Ct-N), white blood cell count, neutrophil (NEUT) count, NEUT%, lymphocyte (LYM) count, LYM%, and D-dimer, interleukin-6, procalcitonin, C-reactive protein, serum amyloid A, total protein, lactate dehydrogenase, aspartate aminotransferase, glomerular filtration rate, blood urea nitrogen, and serum creatinine (sCr) levels (P < 0.05). Furthermore, in the multivariable logistic regression, we identified potential risk factors for myocardial injury in Omicron variant–infected elderly patients, including advanced age, pre-existing coronary artery disease, interleukin-6 > 22.69 pg/ml, procalcitonin > 0.0435 ng/ml, D-dimer > 0.615 mg/L, and sCr > 81.30 μmol/L.ConclusionThis study revealed the clinical characteristics and potential risk factors associated with myocardial injury that enable early diagnosis of myocardial injury in Omicron variant-infected elderly patients, providing important reference indicators for early diagnosis and timely clinical intervention

YBCO films with Zr4+ doping grown by MOD method

YBa2Cu3O7-delta (YBCO) films with Zr doping have been prepared successfully by the trifluoroacetate metal-organic deposition (TFA-MOD) method through dissolving Zr acetylacetonate into the precursor solution. Yttria-stabilized zirconia(YSZ)nanoparticles were detected in the doped YBCO films by XRD. From the analysis of XRD omega and phi scans, the doped films have better out-of-plane and in-plane textures than those of the un-doped YBCO film. Although the doped YBCO films have lower T-c than that of the un-doped YBCO film, a very significant enhancement of normalized J(c) is displayed as compared to the undoped film at applied fields, indicating that an effective pinning force was created by Zr doping

Synthesis of silver coatings by brush plating with cyanide-free solution

Silver coating can be used to improve the surface properties of components made of copper in terms of corrosion resistance, wear resistance and electrical contact conductivity. A cyanide-free solution based on Na₂S₂O₃ is proposed for the brush plating of silver coating on copper substrate. XRD, SEM and microhardness tester were used to characterize the microstructure and properties of the coatings. It is found that this cyanide-free solution can deposit silver coating with high efficiency. Coatings consist of nano-sized grains which present as aggregated nodular morphology. The brush plated coatings show microhardness of 122.47 Hv, which is promising in the engineering application of electrical contact components

An Improved Space Characteristic Analysis Algorithm for 3D Model Information Hiding Based on Profile Analysis

Considering the practicability and simplification of space-domain pre-processing for 3D model information hiding, we present an improved carrier pre-processing using interval analysis of values on z-axis for the vertical profile of 3D models. First, the 3D model is scaled and rotated disproportionately according to fixed size and angle respectively, and the vertical profile can be obtained by horizontal mapping. Second, the vertical profile is mapped into the two-dimensional coordinate system and the values on the vertical axis can be determined using a fixed step size. Last, the vertical values are converted into binary numbers with interval constraints according to the fixed threshold. By disproportionate scaling with fixed size, the algorithm can be effective against the scaling attack. According to the fixed rotated angle and step size, the data can be embedded in redundancy of the whole model and the algorithm can be robust against cutting. The experimental results illustrate that, being satisfied the characteristic of carrier, our algorithm is of stronger robustness against the random noise under 0.2%, re-meshing and non-uniform simplification compared with similar algorithm

Synthetic Strategies and Applications of GaN Nanowires

GaN is an important III-V semiconductor material with a direct band gap of 3.4 eV at 300 K. The wide direct band gap makes GaN an attractive material for various applications. GaN nanowires have demonstrated significant potential as fundamental building blocks for nanoelectronic and nanophotonic devices and also offer substantial promise for integrated nanosystems. In this paper, we provide a comprehensive review on the general synthetic strategies, characterizations, and applications of GaN nanowires. We first summarize several growth techniques of GaN nanowires. Subsequently, we discuss mechanisms involved to generate GaN nanowires from different synthetic schemes and conditions. Then we review some characterization methods of GaN nanowires. Finally, several kinds of main applications of GaN nanowires are discussed

A Digital Image Carrier Preprocessing Scheme based on Energy and Structure Analysis for Information Hiding

The reasonable preprocessing methods based on the characteristics of the carriers can improve the performance of hiding algorithm largely. Respectively related with robustness and invisibility, the energy and structure characteristics of the carriers should be necessarily analyzed before the data hiding. In this paper, the original carrier is filtered by the Gaussian pyramid (GP) to generate sub-images with different energy level, which can be selected as the embedding regions for the information with different robustness. And the Color Field Structure Analysis is used to process the sub-images after GP to obtain the specific space parameters which can be considered as the modified data for the secret information. And at the same time, some optimization theories like the Logistic chaotic map, Knight’s Tour traversal and the genetic algorithms are used to improve the consistency between the original and stego carrier. At last, the experimental shows the achievements about robustness, invisibility and the ability against steganalysis of this scheme in the form of data

The Floral Repressor GmFLC-like Is Involved in Regulating Flowering Time Mediated by Low Temperature in Soybean

Soybean is an important crop that is grown worldwide. Flowering time is a critical agricultural trait determining successful reproduction and yields. For plants, light and temperature are important environmental factors that regulate flowering time. Soybean is a typical short-day (SD) plant, and many studies have elucidated the fine-scale mechanisms of how soybean responds to photoperiod. Low temperature can delay the flowering time of soybean, but little is known about the detailed mechanism of how temperature affects soybean flowering. In this study, we isolated GmFLC-like from soybean, which belongs to the FLOWERING LOCUS C clade of the MADS-box family and is intensely expressed in soybean leaves. Heterologous expression of GmFLC-like results in a delayed-flowering phenotype in Arabidopsis. Additional experiments revealed that GmFLC-like is involved in long-term low temperature-triggered late flowering by inhibiting FT gene expression. In addition, yeast one-hybrid, dual-luciferase reporter assay, and electrophoretic mobility shift assay revealed that the GmFLC-like protein could directly repress the expression of FT2a by physically interacting with its promoter region. Taken together, our results revealed that GmFLC-like functions as a floral repressor involved in flowering time during treatments with various low temperature durations. As the only the FLC gene in soybean, GmFLC-like was meaningfully retained in the soybean genome over the course of evolution, and this gene may play an important role in delaying flowering time and providing protective mechanisms against sporadic and extremely low temperatures

YBCO films doping with szo particles grown by chemical solution deposition

YBa2Cu3O7−δ (YBCO) films with SrZrO3 (SZO) doping have been prepared successfully by a nonvacuum, low cost, and easily scalable metal–organic deposition method, and their microstructures and physical properties were investigated. From the analysis of x-ray diffraction and φ-scan results, the doped films had sharp biaxial textures. Although the doped YBCO film had a wider critical temperature transition width than that of the un-doped YBCO film, the critical current density, Jc, was significantly enhanced under applied fields as compared to the un-doped film. Furthermore, the ratio of Jc, doped to Jc, un-doped became gradually larger with increasing temperature and magnetic field, indicating that an effective pinning force was created by SZO doping. These results clearly demonstrate that there are appealing prospects for applications of the doped film in high magnetic fields and temperatures