(R)-N-(3-Meth­oxy­phen­yl)-tert-butane­sulfinamide

The title compound, C11H17NO2S, was obtained by the reaction of (R)-tert-butane­sulfinamide with 3-meth­oxy­phenyl bromide in toluene. In the crystal, mol­ecules inter­act head-to-tail through N—H⋯O and C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds, forming one-dimensional chains parallel to the a axis

Association of Intrarenal B-Cell Infiltrates with Clinical Outcome in Lupus Nephritis: A Study of 192 Cases

Background. Lupus nephritis (LN) remains a major cause of morbidity and end-stage renal disease. Dysfunction of B lymphocytes is thought to be important in the pathogenesis of SLE/LN. Intrarenal B cells have been found in several forms of inflammatory kidney diseases although their role in LN renal is not well defined. Methods. Intrarenal B cells were analyzed in 192 renal biopsies from patients diagnosed with lupus nephritis. Immunohistochemical staining of serial sections was performed for each LN patient using CD20, CD3, and CD21 antibodies. Results. Intrarenal B cells were more likely to be associated with class IV LN and were mainly distributed in the renal interstitium, with very few in the glomerulus. The systemic lupus erythematosus disease activity index (SLEDAI), blood urea nitrogen, and serum creatinine levels were all significantly greater in the LN-B cell groups (all P<0.05). LN renal activity and chronicity indices correlated with B-cells infiltrates (all P<0.0001). Renal biopsies were classified into four distinct categories according to the organizational grade of inflammatory cell infiltrates. Germinal center- (GC-) like structures were not identified in any LN biopsies. Conclusion. It is hypothesized that intrarenal B cells enhance immunological responses and exaggerate the local immune response to persisting autoimmune damage in the tubulointerstitium

A Quantitative Sequencing Method for 5-Formylcytosine in RNA

5-Formylcytosine (f5C) modification is present in human mitochondrial methionine tRNA (mt-tRNAMet) and cytosolic leucine tRNA (ct-tRNALeu), with their formation mediated by NSUN3 and ALKBH1. f5C has also been detected in yeast mRNA and human tRNA, but its transcriptome-wide distribution in mammals has not been studied. Here we report f5C-seq, a quantitative sequencing method to map f5C transcriptome-wide in HeLa and mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs). We show that f5C in RNA can be reduced to dihydrouracil (DHU) by pic-borane, and DHU can be exclusively read as T during reverse transcription (RT) reaction, allowing the detection and quantification of f5C sites by a unique C-to-T mutation signature. We validated f5C-seq by identifying and quantifying the two known f5C sites in tRNA, in which the f5C modification fractions dropped significantly in ALKBH1-depleted cells. By applying f5C-seq to chromatin-associated RNA (caRNA), we identified several highly modified f5C sites in HeLa and mouse embryonic stem cells (mESC)

Eocene magmatic processes and crustal thickening in southern Tibet : insights from strongly fractionated ca. 43 Ma granites in the western Gangdese Batholith

This research was financially co-supported by the Strategic Priority Research Program (B) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (XDB03010301), the National Key Project for Basic Research of China (Project 2015CB452604), the Chinese National Natural Science Foundation (41225006, 41472061, and 40973026), the MOST Special Fund from the State Key Laboratory of Geological Processes and Mineral Resources (China University of Geosciences). The first author thanks the China Scholarship Council (201306400021).This study reports zircon U-Pb age and Hf isotope, whole-rock major and trace element, and Sr-Nd-Pb-Hf isotope data for the Dajia pluton, western Gangdese Batholith, in southern Tibet. These data indicate that the pluton consists of moderately (Group 1) and strongly (Group 2) fractionated granites that were emplaced synchronously at ca. 43 Ma. The Group 1 samples have SiO2 contents of 69−72 wt.% and vary in terms of the differentiation index (DI = 84−93). These rocks are depleted in Ba, Nb, Sr, P, and Ti, with moderate negative Eu anomalies, and display low heavy rare earth elements (HREEs) and Y abundances. The Group 2 samples are characterized by high SiO2 (75−78 wt.%) and DI (95−97); significantly negative Eu anomalies; marked concave-upward middle REE (Gd-Ho) patterns; and Ba, Sr, P, and Ti anomalies that are significantly more negative than those of the Group 1 samples. The Group 1 samples have whole-rock εNd(t) (-5.9 to -6.0), εHf(t) (-4.0 to -4.5), and zircon εHf(t) (-6.0 to + 5.8) values identical to those of the Group 2 samples [εNd(t) = -5.7 to -6.7, εHf(t) = -3.5 to -2.9, and zircon εHf(t) = -2.0 to + 4.2], as well as similar initial Pb isotopic compositions. These data indicate that the two groups were derived from a common source region with garnet as a residual mineral phase. The Group 1 samples were most likely derived from partial melting of garnet-bearing amphibolite (rather than eclogite) within the juvenile southern Lhasa crust and mixed with the enriched components from the subducting ancient Indian continental crust and/or the ancient central Lhasa basement. The Group 2 samples are interpreted as the products of extensive fractional crystallization (plagioclase, K-feldspar, biotite, apatite, allanite, titanite, monazite, and ilmenite) of the melts represented by the Group 1 samples. Low HREEs and Y abundances of the Dajia pluton, together with the presence of strongly fractionated granites (Group 2) identified for the first time in the Gangdese Batholith, indicate that the crust beneath the Dajia region had already been thickened by ca. 43 Ma. High whole-rock zircon saturation temperatures (815°C−869°C) of the Group 1 samples and the other ca. 43 Ma coeval magmatism documented both in the Gangdese Batholith and in the Tethyan Himalaya can be best interpreted as the final consequences of the magmatic responses to the Neo-Tethyan oceanic slab breakoff.PostprintPeer reviewe

Comparative Transcriptomics and Proteomics of Atractylodes lancea in Response to Endophytic Fungus Gilmaniella sp. AL12 Reveals Regulation in Plant Metabolism

The fungal endophyte Gilmaniella sp. AL12 can establish a beneficial association with the medicinal herb Atractylodes lancea, and improve plant growth and sesquiterpenoids accumulation, which is termed “double promotion.” Our previous studies have uncovered the underling primary mechanism based on some physiological evidences. However, a global understanding of gene or protein expression regulation in primary and secondary metabolism and related regulatory processes is still lacking. In this study, we employed transcriptomics and proteomics of Gilmaniella sp. AL12-inoculated and Gilmaniella sp. AL12-free plants to study the impact of endophyte inoculation at the transcriptional and translational levels. The results showed that plant genes involved in plant immunity and signaling were suppressed, similar to the plant response caused by some endophytic fungi and biotroph pathogen. The downregulated plant immunity may contribute to plant-endophyte beneficial interaction. Additionally, genes and proteins related to primary metabolism (carbon fixation, carbohydrate metabolism, and energy metabolism) tended to be upregulated after Gilmaniella sp. AL12 inoculation, which was consistent with our previous physiological evidences. And, Gilmaniella sp. AL12 upregulated genes involved in terpene skeleton biosynthesis, and upregulated genes annotated as β-farnesene synthase and β-caryophyllene synthase. Based on the above results, we proposed that endophyte-plant associations may improve production (biomass and sesquiterpenoids accumulation) by increasing the source (photosynthesis), expanding the sink (glycolysis and tricarboxylic acid cycle), and enhancing the metabolic flux (sesquiterpenoids biosynthesis pathway) in A. lancea. And, this study will help to further clarify plant-endophyte interactions

The Characteristics and Significance of Locally Infiltrating B Cells in Lupus Nephritis and Their Association with Local BAFF Expression

Introduction. Dysfunction of the B lymphocyte is considered to be involved in the pathogenesis of lupus nephritis (LN). Intrarenal B cells have been found in several forms of inflammatory kidney disease. B-cell activating factor (BAFF) regulates B lymphocyte proliferation and survival, and contributes to human autoimmune disease. Their role in renal inflammation is not well defined. Methods. Clinical parameters and renal biopsies from 62 LN patients were prospectively analyzed. We performed standard immunohistochemistry on serial paraffin tissue sections using monoclonal antibodies to CD20 and BAFF to investigate the characteristics and significance of locally infiltrating B cells and local BAFF expression in patients with LN. Results. Intrarenal B cells and/or BAFF were mainly distributed in the renal interstitium. Compared to the LN-non-B-cell/BAFF expression group, proteinuria (g/24 hour), blood urea nitrogen, serum creatinine levels, LN renal activity, and chronicity indices, were all significantly greater in the LN-B-cell/BAFF expression groups. The expression of BAFF was strongly associated with the quantity of B-cell infiltrate in the interstitium. Conclusion. As BAFF expression was strongly associated with B-cell infiltration, we hypothesize that altered B-cell differentiation and tolerance induced by excess BAFF may be central to the pathogenesis of LN

Using Pre-TMIn Treatment to Improve the Optical Properties of Green Light Emitting Diodes

We investigated the effects of pre-TMIn treatment on the optical properties of green light emitting diodes (LEDs). Although pre-TMIn treatment did not affect the epitaxial structure of quantum wells, it significantly improved the quality of the surface morphology relative to that of the untreated sample. Indium cluster can be seen by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), which is the explanation for the red-shift of photoluminescence (PL). Time-resolved photoluminescence measurements indicated that the sample prepared with pre-TMIn treatment had a shorter radiative decay time. As a result, the light output power of the treated green LED was higher than that of the conventional untreated one. Thus, pre-TMIn treatment appears to be a simple and efficient means of improving the performance of green LEDs

Distorted magnetic orders and electronic structures of tetragonal FeSe from first-principles

We use the state-of-the-arts density-functional-theory method to study various magnetic orders and their effects on the electronic structures of the FeSe. Our calculated results show that, for the spins of the single Fe layer, the striped antiferromagnetic orders with distortion are more favorable in total energy than the checkerboard antiferromagnetic orders with tetragonal symmetry, which is consistent with known experimental data, and the inter-layer magnetic interaction is very weak. We investigate the electronic structures and magnetic property of the distorted phases. We also present our calculated spin coupling constants and discuss the reduction of the Fe magnetic moment by quantum many-body effects. These results are useful to understand the structural, magnetic, and electronic properties of FeSe, and may have some helpful implications to other FeAs-based materials