53 research outputs found
Elucidating a fresh perspective on the interplay between exosomes and rheumatoid arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune disease characterized by chronic synovitis and the destruction of bones and joints. Exosomes are nanoscale lipid membrane vesicles originating from multivesicular bodies and are used as a vital means of intercellular communication. Both exosomes and the microbial community are essential in RA pathogenesis. Multiple types of exosomes from different origins have been demonstrated to have effects on various immune cells through distinct mechanisms in RA, which depend on the specific cargo carried by the exosomes. Tens of thousands of microorganisms exist in the human intestinal system. Microorganisms exert various physiological and pathological effects on the host directly or through their metabolites. Gut microbe-derived exosomes are being studied in the field of liver disease; however, information on their role in the context of RA is still limited. Gut microbe-derived exosomes may enhance autoimmunity by altering intestinal permeability and transporting cargo to the extraintestinal system. Therefore, we performed a comprehensive literature review on the latest progress on exosomes in RA and provided an outlook on the potential role of microbe-derived exosomes as emerging players in clinical and translational research on RA. This review aimed to provide a theoretical basis for developing new clinical targets for RA therapy
Self-passivated freestanding superconducting oxide film for flexible electronics
The integration of high-temperature superconducting YBa2Cu3O6+x (YBCO) into
flexible electronic devices has the potential to revolutionize the technology
industry. The effective preparation of high-quality flexible YBCO films
therefore plays a key role in this development. We present a novel approach for
transferring water-sensitive YBCO films onto flexible substrates without any
buffer layer. Freestanding YBCO film on a polydimethylsiloxane substrate is
extracted by etching the Sr3Al2O6 sacrificial layer from the LaAlO3 substrate.
In addition to the obtained freestanding YBCO thin film having a Tc of 89.1 K,
the freestanding YBCO thin films under inward and outward bending conditions
have Tc of 89.6 K and 88.9 K, respectively. A comprehensive characterization
involving multiple experimental techniques including high-resolution
transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, Raman and X-ray
Absorption Spectroscopy is conducted to investigate the morphology, structural
and electronic properties of the YBCO film before and after the extraction
process where it shows the preservation of the structural and superconductive
properties of the freestanding YBCO virtually in its pristine state. Further
investigation reveals the formation of a YBCO passivated layer serves as a
protective layer which effectively preserves the inner section of the
freestanding YBCO during the etching process. This work plays a key role in
actualizing the fabrication of flexible oxide thin films and opens up new
possibilities for a diverse range of device applications involving thin-films
and low-dimensional materials.Comment: 22 pages,4 figures,references adde
Patients With Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Exhibit Deficits in Consummatory but Not Anticipatory Pleasure
Background: Reward dysfunctions have been reported in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), which implicates a high possibility of anhedonia for this disease. However, several components of anhedonia, such as consummatory and anticipatory pleasure, has not been substantially studied in OCD patients.Methods: The Chinese version of the Temporal Experience of Pleasure Scale (CV-TEPS) was used to evaluate both the consummatory and anticipatory pleasure in 130 OCD patients, 89 major depressive disorder (MDD) patients, and 95 healthy controls (HCs). The Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) were scored for assessing the severity of obsessive and compulsive symptoms and depressive symptoms, respectively. Analyses of covariance (ANCOVA) were used to compare the differences of anhedonia among the three groups with the severity of depression controlled. Regression analyses were also used to analyze the relationship between consummatory and anticipatory pleasure and clinical variables in OCD patients.Results: After controlling for the effect of depression, there were significant differences in TEPS scores among the three groups (p < 0.05). Compared with HCs, OCD patients had lower scores on the consummatory subscale, but not the anticipatory subscale, of the TEPS. MDD patients had lower scores on both the consummatory and anticipatory subscales than HCs.Conclusion: OCD patients exhibit deficits in consummatory but not anticipatory pleasure, which is distinct from MDD patients
A semi-quantitative upconversion nanoparticle-based immunochromatographic assay for SARS-CoV-2 antigen detection
The unprecedented public health and economic impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection has been met with an equally unprecedented scientific response. Sensitive point-of-care methods to detect SARS-CoV-2 antigens in clinical specimens are urgently required for the rapid screening of individuals with viral infection. Here, we developed an upconversion nanoparticle-based lateral flow immunochromatographic assay (UCNP-LFIA) for the high-sensitivity detection of SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid (N) protein. A pair of rabbit SARS-CoV-2 N-specific monoclonal antibodies was conjugated to UCNPs, and the prepared UCNPs were then deposited into the LFIA test strips for detecting and capturing the N protein. Under the test conditions, the limit of detection (LOD) of UCNP-LFIA for the N protein was 3.59 pg/mL, with a linear range of 0.01–100 ng/mL. Compared with that of the current colloidal gold-based LFIA strips, the LOD of the UCNP-LFIA-based method was increased by 100-fold. The antigen recovery rate of the developed method in the simulated pharyngeal swab samples ranged from 91.1 to 117.3%. Furthermore, compared with the reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction, the developed UCNP-LFIA method showed a sensitivity of 94.73% for 19 patients with COVID-19. Thus, the newly established platform could serve as a promising and convenient fluorescent immunological sensing approach for the efficient screening and diagnosis of COVID-19
Promoting neuro-supportive properties of astrocytes with epidermal growth factor hydrogels
Biomaterials provide novel platforms to deliver stem cell and growth factor therapies for central nervous system (CNS) repair. The majority of these approaches have focused on the promotion of neural progenitor cells and neurogenesis. However, it is now increasingly recognized that glial responses are critical for recovery in the entire neurovascular unit. In this study, we investigated the cellular effects of epidermal growth factor (EGF) containing hydrogels on primary astrocyte cultures. Both EGF alone and EGF‐hydrogel equally promoted astrocyte proliferation, but EGF‐hydrogels further enhanced astrocyte activation, as evidenced by a significantly elevated Glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) gene expression. Thereafter, conditioned media from astrocytes activated by EGF‐hydrogel protected neurons against injury and promoted synaptic plasticity after oxygen–glucose deprivation. Taken together, these findings suggest that EGF‐hydrogels can shift astrocytes into neuro‐supportive phenotypes. Consistent with this idea, quantitative‐polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) demonstrated that EGF‐hydrogels shifted astrocytes in part by downregulating potentially negative A1‐like genes (Fbln5 and Rt1‐S3) and upregulating potentially beneficial A2‐like genes (Clcf1, Tgm1, and Ptgs2). Further studies are warranted to explore the idea of using biomaterials to modify astrocyte behavior and thus indirectly augment neuroprotection and neuroplasticity in the context of stem cell and growth factor therapies for the CNS. Stem Cells Translational Medicine 2019 Biomaterials provide novel platforms to deliver stem cell and growth factor therapies for central nervous system repair. Our data suggest that epidermal growth factor‐containing hydrogels can shift astrocytes into potentially beneficial A2‐like phenotypes that may augment neuroprotection and neuroplasticity during the recovery phase after brain injury
Template bank for compact binary mergers in the fourth observing run of Advanced LIGO, Advanced Virgo, and KAGRA
Template banks containing gravitational wave (GW) waveforms are essential for
matched-filtering GW search pipelines. We describe the generation method, the
design, and validation of the template bank used by the GstLAL-based inspiral
pipeline to analyze data from the fourth observing run of LIGO scientific,
Virgo, and KAGRA collaboration. This paper presents a template bank containing
templates that include merging neutron star - neutron star,
neutron star - black hole, and black hole - black hole systems up to a total
mass of . Motivated by observations, component masses below
have dimensionless spins ranging between , while component
masses between to have dimensionless spins ranging between
, where we assume spin-aligned systems. The low-frequency cutoff is
Hz. The templates are placed in the parameter space according to the
metric via a binary tree approach which took
minutes when jobs were parallelized. The template bank generated with this
method has a match or higher for of the injections, thus being as
effective as the template placement method used for the previous observation
runs. The volumes of the templates are computed prior to template placement and
the nearby templates have similar volumes in the coordinate space, henceforth,
enabling a more efficient and less biased implementation of population models.
SVD sorting of the O4 template bank has been renewed to use post-Newtonian
phase terms, which improved the computational efficiency of SVD by nearly times as compared to conventional SVD sorting schemes. Template banks
and searches focusing on the sub-solar mass parameter space and
intermediate-mass black hole parameter space are conducted separately
When to Point Your Telescopes: Gravitational Wave Trigger Classification for Real-Time Multi-Messenger Followup Observations
We develop a robust and self-consistent framework to extract and classify
gravitational wave candidates from noisy data, for the purpose of assisting in
real-time multi-messenger follow-ups during LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA's fourth observing
run~(O4). Our formalism implements several improvements to the low latency
calculation of the probability of astrophysical origin~(\PASTRO{}), so as to
correctly account for various factors such as the sensitivity change between
observing runs, and the deviation of the recovered template waveform from the
true gravitational wave signal that can strongly bias said calculation. We
demonstrate the high accuracy with which our new formalism recovers and
classifies gravitational wave triggers, by analyzing replay data from previous
observing runs injected with simulated sources of different categories. We show
that these improvements enable the correct identification of the majority of
simulated sources, many of which would have otherwise been misclassified. We
carry out the aforementioned analysis by implementing our formalism through the
\GSTLAL{} search pipeline even though it can be used in conjunction with
potentially any matched filtering pipeline. Armed with robust and
self-consistent \PASTRO{} values, the \GSTLAL{} pipeline can be expected to
provide accurate source classification information for assisting in
multi-messenger follow-up observations to gravitational wave alerts sent out
during O4.Comment: v2 upload was accidental. revert back to v
Performance of the low-latency GstLAL inspiral search towards LIGO, Virgo, and KAGRA's fourth observing run
GstLAL is a stream-based matched-filtering search pipeline aiming at the
prompt discovery of gravitational waves from compact binary coalescences such
as the mergers of black holes and neutron stars. Over the past three
observation runs by the LIGO, Virgo, and KAGRA (LVK) collaboration, the GstLAL
search pipeline has participated in several tens of gravitational wave
discoveries. The fourth observing run (O4) is set to begin in May 2023 and is
expected to see the discovery of many new and interesting gravitational wave
signals which will inform our understanding of astrophysics and cosmology. We
describe the current configuration of the GstLAL low-latency search and show
its readiness for the upcoming observation run by presenting its performance on
a mock data challenge. The mock data challenge includes 40 days of LIGO
Hanford, LIGO Livingston, and Virgo strain data along with an injection
campaign in order to fully characterize the performance of the search. We find
an improved performance in terms of detection rate and significance estimation
as compared to that observed in the O3 online analysis. The improvements are
attributed to several incremental advances in the likelihood ratio ranking
statistic computation and the method of background estimation.Comment: 19 pages, 21 figure
Magnetoelectric interaction and transport behaviours in magnetic nanocomposite thermoelectric materials
How to suppress the performance deterioration of thermoelectric materials in the intrinsic excitation region remains a key challenge. The magnetic transition of permanent magnet nanoparticles from ferromagnetism to paramagnetism provides an effective approach to finding the solution to this challenge. Here, we have designed and prepared magnetic nanocomposite thermoelectric materials consisting of BaFe12O19 nanoparticles and Ba0.3In0.3Co4Sb12 matrix. It was found that the electrical transport behaviours of the nanocomposites are controlled by the magnetic transition of BaFe12O19 nanoparticles from ferromagnetism to paramagnetism. BaFe12O19 nanoparticles trap electrons below the Curie temperature (TC) and release the trapped electrons above the TC, playing an ‘electron repository’ role in maintaining high figure of merit ZT. BaFe12O19 nanoparticles produce two types of magnetoelectric effect—electron spiral motion and magnon-drag thermopower—as well as enhancing phonon scattering. Our work demonstrates that the performance deterioration of thermoelectric materials in the intrinsic excitation region can be suppressed through the magnetic transition of permanent magnet nanoparticles
Childhood gene-environment interactions and age-dependent effects of genetic variants associated with refractive error and myopia : The CREAM Consortium
Myopia, currently at epidemic levels in East Asia, is a leading cause of untreatable visual impairment. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) in adults have identified 39 loci associated with refractive error and myopia. Here, the age-of-onset of association between genetic variants at these 39 loci and refractive error was investigated in 5200 children assessed longitudinally across ages 7-15 years, along with gene-environment interactions involving the major environmental risk-factors, nearwork and time outdoors. Specific variants could be categorized as showing evidence of: (a) early-onset effects remaining stable through childhood, (b) early-onset effects that progressed further with increasing age, or (c) onset later in childhood (N = 10, 5 and 11 variants, respectively). A genetic risk score (GRS) for all 39 variants explained 0.6% (P = 6.6E-08) and 2.3% (P = 6.9E-21) of the variance in refractive error at ages 7 and 15, respectively, supporting increased effects from these genetic variants at older ages. Replication in multi-ancestry samples (combined N = 5599) yielded evidence of childhood onset for 6 of 12 variants present in both Asians and Europeans. There was no indication that variant or GRS effects altered depending on time outdoors, however 5 variants showed nominal evidence of interactions with nearwork (top variant, rs7829127 in ZMAT4; P = 6.3E-04).Peer reviewe
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