Co-doping with boron and nitrogen impurities in T-carbon

Previously, Ren et al. [Chem. Phys. 518, 69–73, 2019] reported the failure of Boron-Nitrogen (B-N) co-doping as inter B-N bond in T-carbon. In present work, a B-N atom pair is introduced in T-carbon as p-n co-dopant to substitute two carbon atoms in the same carbon tetrahedron and form an intra B-N bond. The stability of this doping system is verified from energy, lattice dynamic, and thermodynamic aspects. According to our B3PW calculations, B-N impurities in this situation can reduce the band gap of T-carbon from 2.95 eV to 2.55 eV, making this material to be a promising photocatalyst. Through the study of its transport properties, we can also conclude that B-N co-doping cannot improve the thermoelectric performance of T-carbon.Institute of Solid State Physics, University of Latvia as the Center of Excellence has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Framework Programme H2020-WIDESPREAD-01-2016-2017-TeamingPhase2 under grant agreement No. 739508, project CAMART

Cloning, Expression, Characterization, and Tissue Distribution of Cystatin C from Silver Carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix)

Cystatins are proteins, which inhibit cysteine proteases, such as papain. In this study, the 336-bp cystatin C gene (family II, HmCysC) of silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3). HmCysC encodes the mature peptide of cystatin C (HmCystatin C), with 111 amino acids. A typical QXXXG motif was found in HmCystatin C and it formed a cluster with Cyprinus carpio and Danio rerio cystatin C in the phylogenetic tree. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction analysis indicated that HmCysC was transcribed at different levels in five tested tissues of silver carp. Following purification with Ni2+– nitrilotriacetic acid agarose affinity chromatography, HmCystatin C displayed a molecular weight of 20 kDa in sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Purified HmCystatin C had strong inhibitory effects toward the proteolytic activity of papain. Immunochemical staining with anti-HmCystatin C antibody showed that HmCystatin C was widely distributed in silver carp tissues. These results collectively demonstrated the properties of HmCystatin C, providing information for further studies of cystatins from fish organisms.Peer reviewe

<b>Application of proteomics and machine learning algorithms to investigate the mechanisms of diabetic nephropathy and screen urinary biomarkers</b>

Diabetic nephropathy (DN) has become the main cause of end-stage renal disease worldwide, bringing serious harm. Early diagnosis of the disease is quite inadequate. To screen urine biomarkers of DN and explore its potential mechanism, this study collected urine from 87 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) (which will be classified into normal albuminuria (NA), microalbuminuria (MI), macroalbuminuria (MA) groups based on the amount of urinary protein) and 38 healthy subjects and randomly chose 12 from each group as a screening cohort and the rest as a validation cohort. The results showed that humoral immune response, complement activation, complement and coagulation cascade, renin-angiotensin system (RAS) and cell adhesion molecules were closely related to the progression of DN. Five overlapping proteins (KLK1, CSPG4, PLAU, SERPINA3, and ALB) were identified as potential biomarkers by machine learning methods. Among them, KLK1 and CSPG4 were positively correlated with urinary albumin to creatinine ratio (UACR), and SERPINA3 was negatively correlated with UACR, which were validated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) experiments. This study provides new insights into disease mechanisms and biomarkers for early diagnosis of DN.</p

<b>Integration of proteomics and metabolomics analysis investigate mechanism of As-induced immune injury in rat spleen</b>

Arsenic (As) is a widespread metalloid and human carcinogen found in the natural environment, and exposure to it has been shown to be associated with a variety of toxic effects. As can be accumulated in the spleen, the largest peripheral lymphatic organ, and long-term exposure to As can lead to splenic injury. In this study, a Sprague-Dawley (SD) rat model of As poisoning was established by feeding method, aiming to explore the molecular mechanism of As-induced immune injury through the combined analysis of proteomics and metabolomics of rats’ spleen. The results showed that a total of 134 differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) (6 up-regulated and 128 down-regulated) and 182 differentially expressed metabolites (DEMs) (127 up-regulated and 55 down-regulated) were identified in the spleen in the As poisoning group versus the control group (As/Ctrl). The proteomic results highlight the role of hypoxia-inducible factors (HIF), natural killer cells, and ribosomes. The main pathways of metabolic disruption included arachidonic acid (AA) metabolism, glycerophospholipid metabolism and folate single-carbon pool. These two omics analyses suggest that Hmox1, Stat3, arachidonic acid, phosphatidylcholine and leukotriene B4 may play key roles in the mechanism of immune injury to the spleen by As exposure. As exposure can cause spleen damage in rats. As induced alterations in characteristic proteins and metabolites of the rat spleen. This may provide a basis for further understanding of the molecular mechanisms of multi-organ splenic immune injury by As exposure.</p

Characterization and Prediction of Air Transport Delays in China

This article belongs to the Section Aerospace Science and Engineering.Air transport delays are a major source of direct and opportunity costs in modern societies, being this problem is especially important in the case of China. In spite of this, our knowledge on delay generation is mostly based on intuition, and the scientific community has hitherto devoted little attention to this topic. We here present the first data-driven systemic study of air transport delays in China, of their evolution and causes, based on 11 million flights between 2016 and 2018. A significant fraction of the delays can be explained by a few variables, e.g., weather conditions and traffic levels, the most important factors being the presence of thunderstorms and the season of the year. Remaining delays can often be explained by en-route weather phenomena or by reactionary delays. This study contributes towards a better understanding of delays and their prediction through a data-driven methodology, leveraging on statistics and data mining concepts.This study is supported by the Research Fund from National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grants No. 61861136005, No. 61851110763, No. 71731001). This project has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement No 851255). Financial support has been received from the Agencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI, MCI, Spain) and Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER, UE), under the Maria de Maeztu Program for units of Excellence in R&D (MDM-2017-0711).Peer reviewe

Autism spectrum disorder: pathogenesis, biomarker, and intervention therapy

Abstract Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has become a common neurodevelopmental disorder. The heterogeneity of ASD poses great challenges for its research and clinical translation. On the basis of reviewing the heterogeneity of ASD, this review systematically summarized the current status and progress of pathogenesis, diagnostic markers, and interventions for ASD. We provided an overview of the ASD molecular mechanisms identified by multi‐omics studies and convergent mechanism in different genetic backgrounds. The comorbidities, mechanisms associated with important physiological and metabolic abnormalities (i.e., inflammation, immunity, oxidative stress, and mitochondrial dysfunction), and gut microbial disorder in ASD were reviewed. The non‐targeted omics and targeting studies of diagnostic markers for ASD were also reviewed. Moreover, we summarized the progress and methods of behavioral and educational interventions, intervention methods related to technological devices, and research on medical interventions and potential drug targets. This review highlighted the application of high‐throughput omics methods in ASD research and emphasized the importance of seeking homogeneity from heterogeneity and exploring the convergence of disease mechanisms, biomarkers, and intervention approaches, and proposes that taking into account individuality and commonality may be the key to achieve accurate diagnosis and treatment of ASD