Identification of a Novel Testis-specific Gene in Mice and Its Potential Roles in Spermatogenesis

Aim Identification of a novel gene in mouse testis and its relation to spermatogenesis. Methods Genes expressed during different developmental stages of the mouse testis were screened by DNA microarray. The results of chip analysis were authenticated by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) technique, as well as the tissue distribution of the selected genes. The characteristics of the selected genes were analyzed by bioinformatics tools. Results A novel gene, TSC77, was identified and located at the mouse chromosome 2G1. The full cDNA length of TSC77 was 2280 bp, with a 2046 bp open reading frame encoding a 681 amino acids protein with a predicted molecular weight of 77.17 kDa. The results of subcellular localization of GFP-TSC77 fusion protein indicated TSC77 protein was located in the nucleus of Cos-7 cells. The analysis of multiple amino acid sequence alignment showed that TSC77 protein was highly homologous with the human CAI40813 (C2orf26 gene, 76%), and rat XP_230651 (77%). Three putative domains including nicotine amide dinucleotide phosphate (NAD(P))-nitrit

Experimental demonstration and analysis of compact silicon-nanowire-based couplers

Compact 2 x 2 couplers based on silicon nanowires are fabricated and tested. They include a directional (X) coupler, a cross-gap coupler (CGC), and a multimode interference (MMI) coupler. The length of the X coupler\u27s parallel film waveguide is 1 μm. The theoretical minimum excess loss of the X coupler is 0.73 dB, whereas its experimental value is 1.0817 dB. CGC has a coupling region length of 24 μm. The minimum excess loss of CGC, which is 0.6 dB in theory, is experimentally determined to be 0.6737 dB. Taper waveguides are used as input/output waveguides for the MMI coupler. The footprint of the MMI region is only 6 x 57 μm2. The excess loss of the MMI coupler is theoretically 0.46 dB, but its experimental value is 0.5423 dB. The experimental nonuniformity of the MMI coupler is 0.0063 dB when the center wavelength is 1.55 μm. The maximum excess loss of the MMI coupler is 0.8233 dB in the wavelength range of 1.52 to 1.58 μm. The simulated and experimental results show that a small 2 x 2 MMI coupler that is suitable for optoelectronic integration exhibits lower excess loss, wider bandwidth, and better uniformity

Practical fabrication and analysis of an optimized compact eight-channel silicon arrayed-waveguide grating

We have designed, fabricated, and characterized a 1 x 8 ultrasmall compact arrayed-waveguide grating (AWG) on silicon-on-insulator (SOI) in a fiber grating demodulation integration microsystem. The miniature AWG, consisting of Si photonic wire waveguides, was designed using the complete modeling simulation in the beam propagation method. The device was fabricated on an SOI substrate and evaluated in the wavelength range around 1.55 μm, with an effective area of 230 x 160 μm. Clear demultiplexing characteristics were observed with a channel spacing of 1.91 nm. The influence of the waveguide widths on crosstalk defined by adjacent channel crosstalk and phase error is discussed. Insertion loss, crosstalk, and nonuniformity of loss were measured to be −3.18, −23.1, and −1.35 dB, respectively. Thus, the AWG design is the best choice for a fiber Bragg grating demodulation microsystem

Experimental demonstration and analysis of compact silicon-nanowire-based couplers

Compact 2 x 2 couplers based on silicon nanowires are fabricated and tested. They include a directional (X) coupler, a cross-gap coupler (CGC), and a multimode interference (MMI) coupler. The length of the X coupler\u27s parallel film waveguide is 1 μm. The theoretical minimum excess loss of the X coupler is 0.73 dB, whereas its experimental value is 1.0817 dB. CGC has a coupling region length of 24 μm. The minimum excess loss of CGC, which is 0.6 dB in theory, is experimentally determined to be 0.6737 dB. Taper waveguides are used as input/output waveguides for the MMI coupler. The footprint of the MMI region is only 6 x 57 μm2. The excess loss of the MMI coupler is theoretically 0.46 dB, but its experimental value is 0.5423 dB. The experimental nonuniformity of the MMI coupler is 0.0063 dB when the center wavelength is 1.55 μm. The maximum excess loss of the MMI coupler is 0.8233 dB in the wavelength range of 1.52 to 1.58 μm. The simulated and experimental results show that a small 2 x 2 MMI coupler that is suitable for optoelectronic integration exhibits lower excess loss, wider bandwidth, and better uniformity

Practical fabrication and analysis of an optimized compact eight-channel silicon arrayed-waveguide grating

We have designed, fabricated, and characterized a 1 x 8 ultrasmall compact arrayed-waveguide grating (AWG) on silicon-on-insulator (SOI) in a fiber grating demodulation integration microsystem. The miniature AWG, consisting of Si photonic wire waveguides, was designed using the complete modeling simulation in the beam propagation method. The device was fabricated on an SOI substrate and evaluated in the wavelength range around 1.55 μm, with an effective area of 230 x 160 μm. Clear demultiplexing characteristics were observed with a channel spacing of 1.91 nm. The influence of the waveguide widths on crosstalk defined by adjacent channel crosstalk and phase error is discussed. Insertion loss, crosstalk, and nonuniformity of loss were measured to be −3.18, −23.1, and −1.35 dB, respectively. Thus, the AWG design is the best choice for a fiber Bragg grating demodulation microsystem

Developmental expression and function of DKKL1/Dkkl1 in humans and mice

Background: Experiments were designed to identify the developmental expression and function of the Dickkopf-Like1 (DKKL1/Dkkl1) gene in humans and mice. Methods: Mouse testes cDNA samples were collected at multiple postnatal times (days 4, 9, 18, 35, and 54, as well as at 6 months) and hybridized to Affymetrix mouse whole genome Genechips. To further characterize the homologous gene DKKL1 in human beings, the expression profiles between human adult testis and foetal testis were compared using Affymetrix human Genechips. The characteristics of DKKL1/Dkkl1 were analysed using various cellular and molecular biotechnologies. Results: The expression of Dkkl1 was not detected in mouse testes on days 4 or 9, but was present on days 18, 35, and 54, as well as at 6 months, which was confirmed by RT-PCR and Western blot results. Examination of the tissue distribution of Dkkl1 demonstrated that while Dkkl1 mRNA was abundantly expressed in testes, little to no expression of Dkkl1 was observed in the epididymis or other tissues. In an in vitro fertilization assay, a Dkkl1 antibody was found to significantly reduce fertilization. Human Genechips results showed that the hybridization signal intensity of DKKL1 was 405.56-fold higher in adult testis than in foetal testis. RT-PCR analysis of multiple human tissues indicated that DKKL1 mRNA was exclusively expressed in the testis. Western blot analysis also demonstrated that DKKL1 was mainly expressed in human testis with a molecular weight of approximately 34 kDa. Additionally, immunohistochemical staining showed that the DKKL1 protein was predominantly located in spermatocytes and round spermatids in human testes. An examination of the expression levels of DKKL1 in infertile male patients revealed that while no DKKL1 appeared in the testes of patients with Sertoli cell only syndrome (SCOS) or cryptorchidism, DKKL1 was observed with variable expression in patients with spermatogenic arrest. Conclusions: These results, together with previous studies, suggest that DKKL1/Dkkl1 may play an important role in testicular development and spermatogenesis and may be an important factor in male infertility.http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:000308911000001&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=8e1609b174ce4e31116a60747a720701Endocrinology & MetabolismReproductive BiologySCI(E)3ARTICLEnull1

DPHL: A DIA Pan-human Protein Mass Spectrometry Library for Robust Biomarker Discovery

To address the increasing need for detecting and validating protein biomarkers in clinical specimens, mass spectrometry (MS)-based targeted proteomic techniques, including the selected reaction monitoring (SRM), parallel reaction monitoring (PRM), and massively parallel data-independent acquisition (DIA), have been developed. For optimal performance, they require the fragment ion spectra of targeted peptides as prior knowledge. In this report, we describe a MS pipeline and spectral resource to support targeted proteomics studies for human tissue samples. To build the spectral resource, we integrated common open-source MS computational tools to assemble a freely accessible computational workflow based on Docker. We then applied the workflow to generate DPHL, a comprehensive DIA pan-human library, from 1096 data-dependent acquisition (DDA) MS raw files for 16 types of cancer samples. This extensive spectral resource was then applied to a proteomic study of 17 prostate cancer (PCa) patients. Thereafter, PRM validation was applied to a larger study of 57 PCa patients and the differential expression of three proteins in prostate tumor was validated. As a second application, the DPHL spectral resource was applied to a study consisting of plasma samples from 19 diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) patients and 18 healthy control subjects. Differentially expressed proteins between DLBCL patients and healthy control subjects were detected by DIA-MS and confirmed by PRM. These data demonstrate that the DPHL supports DIA and PRM MS pipelines for robust protein biomarker discovery. DPHL is freely accessible at https://www.iprox.org/page/project.html?id=IPX0001400000

Optimal design of an ultrasmall SOI-based 1 x 8 flat-top AWG by using an MMI

Four methods based on a multimode interference (MMI) structure are optimally designed to flatten the spectral response of silicon-on-insulator- (SOI-) based arrayed-waveguide grating (AWG) applied in a demodulation integration microsystem. In the design for each method, SOI is selected as the material, the beam propagation method is used, and the performances (including the 3 dB passband width, the crosstalk, and the insertion loss) of the flat-top AWG are studied. Moreover, the output spectrum responses of AWGs with or without a flattened structure are compared. The results show that low insertion loss, crosstalk, and a flat and efficient spectral response are simultaneously achieved for each kind of structure. By comparing the four designs, the design that combines a tapered MMI with tapered input/output waveguides, which has not been previously reported, was shown to yield better results than others. The optimized design reduced crosstalk to approximately -21.9 dB and had an insertion loss of -4.36 dB and a 3 dB passband width, that is, approximately 65% of the channel spacing