The Unified Equation of State for Dark Matter and Dark Energy

We assume that dark matter and dark energy satisfy the unified equation of state: $p=B(z)\rho$, with $p=p_{dE}$, $\rho=\rho_{dm}+\rho_{dE}$, where the pressure of dark matter $p_{dm}=0$ has been taken into account. A special function $B=-\frac{A}{(1+z)^{\alpha}}$ is presented, which can well describe the evolution of the universe. In this model, the universe will end up with a Big Rip. By further simple analysis, we know other choices of the function $B$ can also describe the universe but lead to a different doomsday.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, ws-mpla.cls, accepted by MPL

The Real Scalar Field in Schwarzschild-de Sitter Spacetime

In this paper, the real scalar field equation in Schwarzschild-de Sitter spacetime is solved numerically with high precision. A method called polynomial approximation is introduced to derive the relation between the tortoise coordinate x and the radius r. This method is different from the tangent approximation [1] and leads to more accurate result. The Nariai black hole is then discussed in details. We find that the wave function is harmonic only near the horizons as I. Brevik and B. Simonsen [1] found. Howerver the wave function is not harmonic in the region of the potential peak, with amplitude increasing instead. Furthermore, we also find that, when cosmological constant decreases, the potential peak increases, and the maximum wave amplitude increases.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figures. To be published in volume 35(2003), G.R.

Diffusive gradients in thin-films (DGT) for in situ sampling of selected endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in waters

A passive water sampler based on the diffusive gradients in thin-films (DGT) technique was developed and tested for 3 groups of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs, including oestrogens, alkyl-phenols and bisphenols). Three different resins (hydrophilic-lipophilic-balanced (HLB), XAD18 and Strata-XL-A (SXLA)) were investigated for their suitability as the binding phase for DGT devices. Laboratory tests across a range of pH (3.5–9.5), ionic strength (0.001–0.5 M) and dissolved organic matter concentration (0–20 mg L−1) showed HLB and XAD18-DGT devices were more stable compared to SXLA-DGT. HLB-DGT and XAD18-DGT accumulated test chemicals with time consistent with theoretical predictions, while SXLA-DGT accumulated reduced amounts of chemical. DGT performance was also compared in field deployments up to 28 days, alongside conventional active sampling at a wastewater treatment plant. Uptake was linear to the samplers over 18 days, and then began to plateau/decline, indicating the maximum deployment time in those conditions. Concentrations provided by the DGT samplers compared well with those provided by auto-samplers. DGT integrated concentrations over the deployment period in a way that grab-sampling cannot. The advantages of the DGT sampler over active sampling include: low cost, ease of simultaneous multi-site deployment, in situ analyte pre-concentration and reduction of matrix interferences compared with conventional methods. Compared to other passive sampler designs, DGT uptake is independent of flow rate and therefore allows direct derivation of field concentrations from measured compound diffusion coefficients. This passive DGT sampler therefore constitutes a viable and attractive alternative to conventional grab and active water sampling for routine monitoring of selected EDCs

Single-cell analysis reveals dysregulated inflammatory response in peripheral blood immunity in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome

Introduction: Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) remains a major clinical challenge for patients in intensive care units. Determining the differential mechanisms underlying ARDS with different etiologies is a key goal to improve the effectiveness of ARDS therapy. Despite growing evidence that different immune cell types are involved in ARDS, the role of altered immune cell subpopulations in disease progression is unelucidated.Methods: In this study, we combined scRNA-seq and bulk-level sequencing to analyze the transcriptomes of peripheral blood mononuclear cells from healthy volunteers and patients with septic ARDS (sep-ARDS) and pneumonic ARDS (PNE-ARDS).Results: Our data revealed differential alterations at the cellular and molecular levels and within biological signaling pathways in ARDS with different etiologies. The dynamics of neutrophils, macrophages (Macs), classical dendritic cells (cDCs), myeloid-derived suppressive cells (MDSCs), and CD8+ T cells varied significantly among groups of different samples, with neutrophils and cDCs at higher, and Macs at significantly lower, amounts in the patients with sep-ARDS. Furthermore, MDSCs were highly enriched only in the sep-ARDS patients, whereas a higher abundance of CD8+ T cells was observed in patients with PNE-ARDS. In addition, these cell subpopulations were found to be significantly involved in apoptosis, inflammatory, and immune-related pathways. In particular, a significant enhancement of the oxidative stress response was observed in the neutrophil subpopulation.Conclusion: Our study shows that the composition of cells involved in the main peripheral circulation differs in patients with ARDS with different etiologies. Studying the role and mechanism of action of these cells during ARDS will provide new opportunities for the treatment of this condition

Maternal xNorrin, a Canonical Wnt Signaling Agonist and TGF-β Antagonist, Controls Early Neuroectoderm Specification in Xenopus

Xenopus maternal Norrin, which activates Wnt signaling but inhibits TGF-β family molecules, is essential for neuroectoderm formation. Loss of TGF-β inhibition in Norrin may contribute to the development of Norrie disease

Expression and clinical significance of PD-1, PD-L1 and tumor infiltrating lymphocytes in neuroblastoma

Objective To investigate the expression of programmed cell death protein 1(PD-1), programmed cell death 1 ligand 1 (PD-L1) and tumor infiltrates lymphocytes (TIL) density in neuroblastoma and the relationship between them and the clinicopathological features of patients. Methods The postoperative tumor tissues of 58 patients with neuroblastoma who underwent surgical resection in Shanxi Children ‘s Hospital from January 2000 to June 2022 were selected, and the expression of PD-1 in tumor lymphocytes and PD-L1 in tumor cells were detected by immunohistochemical method. T lymphocyte density of CD3+, CD4+ and CD8+ was detected. The expression of PD-1 and PD-L1 and the relationship between T lymphocyte density of different subgroups and clinicopathological characteristics were analyzed. Results The positive expression rates of PD-1 and PD-L1 protein were 44.8% and 43.1%, respectively. There were significant differences in the expression of PD-L1 in INSS stage, INRGSS stage, pathological type and differentiation type (P<0.05). PD-1 expression was significantly different in different tumor location, INSS stage and INRGSS stage (P<0.05). PD-1 was correlated with PD-L1 expression (r=0.318, P=0.011). The density of tumor infiltrating T cells was significantly different in different INSS stage and INRGSS stage (P<0.05). The expression of CD3+T cells around the nest, CD3+T cells in the nest and CD8+T cells around the nest were correlated with the expression of PD-1 (r=0.265, 0.287, 0.309, P＜0.05.) Conclusion High expression of PD-L1 in neuroblastoma predicts worse prognosis, and tumor-infiltrating T lymphocytes may be involved in the regulation of PD-1 expression. Immunotherapy targeting PD-1/PD-L1 signaling pathway is expected to be a potential therapeutic target for neuroblastoma

Stress-inducible expression of an F-box gene TaFBA1 from wheat enhanced the drought tolerance in transgenic tobacco plants without impacting growth and development

E3 ligase plays an important role in the response to many environment stresses in plants. In our previous study, constitutive overexpression of an F-box protein gene TaFBA1 driven by 35S promoter improved the drought tolerance in transgenic tobacco plants, but the growth and development in transgenic plants was altered in normal conditions. In this study, we used stress-inducible promoter RD29A instead of 35S promoter, as a results, the stress-inducible transgenic tobacco plants exhibit a similar phenotype with WT plants. However, the drought tolerance of the transgenic plants with stress-inducible expressed TaFBA1 was enhanced. The improved drought tolerance of transgenic plants was indicated by their higher seed germination rate and survival rate, greater biomass and photosynthesis than those of WT under water stress, which may be related to their greater water retention capability and osmotic adjustment. Moreover, the transgenic plants accumulated less reactive oxygen species (ROS), kept lower MDA content and membrane leakage under water stress, which may be related to their higher levels of antioxidant enzyme activity and upregulated gene expression of some antioxidant enzymes. These results suggest that stress induced expression of TaFBA1 confers drought tolerance via the improved water retention and antioxidative compete abilibty. Meanwhile, this stress-inducible expression strategy by RD29A promoter can minimize the unexpectable effects by 35S constitutive promoter on phenotypes of the transgenic plants

The digestive tract histology and geographical distribution of gastrointestinal microbiota in yellow-feather broilers

ABSTRACT: Exhaustive understanding of intestinal physiological characteristics is the critical precondition for the improvement of intestinal health and growth performance of yellow-feather broilers (YFB). As a vital part of gastrointestinal tract, the symbiotic, complex, and variable microbiota have a profound effect on the nutrition, immunity, health, and production of broilers. Hence, the development status of proventriculus, jejunum, and cecum, and spatial heterogeneity of bacterial community in crop, proventriculus, gizzard, jejunum, cecum, and rectum of adult YFB were detected in our study. The results revealed that proventriculus, jejunum, and cecum of broilers are well-developed based on morphological observation. The Chao and Shannon indexes in cecum and rectum are notably higher than other sections and their microbiota structure is also distinct from foregut. Firmicutes and Lactobacillus are the predominant phylum and genus in all gastrointestinal sections, respectively. As feature species of crop, Lactobacillus spp. mainly settle in foregut, whereas some Clostridia species (unclassified Lachnospiraceae, Faecalibacterium, Romboutsia and so on) are characteristic and more abundant in cecum and rectum. Interestingly, there are 2 Ruminococcus torques strains positively and negatively correlated with cecum development, respectively. In a whole, our findings reveal the specialized digestive physiology and regional distribution of intestinal microbiota in YFB, which provides a reference for the future study on the improvement of growth performance and intestinal development through microbiota manipulation in yellow-feather broilers