Aryl piperazine suppresses cataractogenesis in a diabetic rat model via Nrf2/HO-1 signaling pathway

Purpose: To investigate the inhibitory potential of aryl piperazine on cataract formation in diabetic rats, and the underlying mechanism of action. Methods: Sprague-Dawley rats (7-week-old) were divided into 7 groups: control rats, untreated diabetic rats, and five aryl piperazine treatment groups given the drug at doses of 1, 2, 5, 10 and 15 mg/kg. Diabetes was induced in the rats via injection of streptozocin (STZ) in citrate buffer at a dose of 65 mg/kg. An ophthalmoscope was used to evaluate cataract formation, while GlucoLeader was used for the measurement of blood glucose level. Results: Aryl piperazine treatment significantly reduced blood glucose level from 6 to 12 weeks following administration of STZ, and prevented cataractogenesis in the diabetic rats (p < 0.05). Cataract score in the diabetic rats was also significantly decreased by aryl piperazine (p < 0.01). Aryl piperazine exposure reversed STZ-mediated decreases in antioxidant capacity (AOC) and glutathione (GSH) levels, enhanced glutathione peroxidase (GPX) activity and decreased malondialdehyde (MDA) levels in diabetic rats (p < 0.05). It suppressed the expressions of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and interleukin (IL)-1β in retinal tissues, while it upregulated the expressions of nuclear factor erythroid 2- related factor 2 (NRF2) and heme oxygenase (HO-1). Conclusion: Aryl piperazine suppresses cataractogenesis and reduces cataract score in diabetic rats by targeting oxidative stress. Moreover, in retinal tissues of diabetic rats, aryl piperazine activates Nrf2/mHO-1 signaling pathway. Thus, aryl piperazine has a potential for use in the prevention of cataracts

Conformation-selective rather than avidity-based binding to tumor associated antigen derived peptide-MHC enables targeting of WT1-pMHC low expressing cancer cells by anti-WT1-pMHC/CD3 T cell engagers

T cell engagers, a category of T cell-retargeting immunotherapy, are rapidly transforming clinical cancer care. However, the lack of tumor-specific targets poses a significant roadblock for broad adaptation of this therapeutic modality in many indications, often resulting in systemic on-target off-tumor toxicity. Though various tumor-derived intracellular mutations provide a massive pool of potential tumor-specific antigens, targeting them is extremely challenging, partly due to the low copy number of tumor associated antigen (TAA)-derived pMHC on tumor cell surface. Further, the interplay of binding geometry and format valency in relation to the capacity of a T cell engager to efficiently target low density cell-surface pMHC is not well understood. Using the Wilms’ tumor 1 (WT1) oncoprotein as a proof-of-principle TAA, combined with an array of IgG-like T cell engager modalities that differ in their anti-TAA valency and binding geometry, we show that the ability to induce an immunological synapse formation, resulting in potent killing of WT1 positive cancer cell lines is primarily dependent on the distinct geometrical conformations between the Fab arms of anti-WT1-HLA-A*02:01 and anti-CD3. The augmented avidity conferred by the binding of two anti-WT1-HLA-A*02:01 Fab arms has only minimal influence on cell killing potency. These findings demonstrate the need for careful examination of key design parameters for the development of next-generation T cell engagers targeting low density TAA-pMHCs on tumor cells

Tripartiella macrosoma Basson & Van As 1987

Tripartiella macrosoma Basson & Van As, 1987 Host: Rhinogobio typus Locality: Qu County, Sichuan Site: Gills Date of sampling: April, 2012 Description (Figs. 5, 6, 9). The following morphological description was based on 20 specimens measured (n = 20). Small freshwate r Tripartiella with a compressed body, diameter 19.0–26.0 (23.1 ± 1.6); adhesive disc 14.0– 23.0 (18.0 ± 2.3); width of border membrane 1.5 –3.0 (1.9 ± 0.4); diameter of denticle ring 8.0–10.0 (9.3 ± 1.1); number of denticles 23–27; number of radial pins per denticle usually 4–5; span of denticle 5.5 –7.0 (6.4 ± 0.5); length of denticle 2.0– 2.5 (2.1 ± 0.1); blade long-strip or long-spoon shaped, length 4.0– 5.5 (4.6 ± 0.4), and pointed backward; distal blade surface rounded, not in parallel with border membrane, and much higher than the tangent point; anterior and posterior surfaces rough, not parallel with each other; anterior surface blade apophysis indistinct, just touching the Y + 1 axis; blade apophysis dominant and extending past Y + 1 axis. Central part relatively thin with point fitting tightly into preceding denticle. Shapes of the central part above and below the Xaxis not symmetrical and 0.5–1.5 (0.9 ± 0.2) in width. Ray connection barely distinguishable from the ray. Ray slim, and short, 1 –2.0 (1.7 ± 0.2) in length, ray apophysis invisible; ratio between denticle above and below X axis much more than two. Macronucleus C-shaped, external diameter 17.5–23.5 (19.8 ± 1.5) and internal diameter 12.5 –19.0 (15.8 ± 1.6). Micronucleus oval, 1.0–2.0 (1.4 ± 0.4) in length and 0.5–1.5 (0.8 ± 0.2) in width, situated in Y position. Adoral ciliary spiral turns about 190 °– 230 ° around peristomial disc. Remarks. Tripartiella macrosoma was originally described from gills of Barbus eutaenia in Klein Letaba River of the Olifants River system, South Africa (Basson & Van As, 1987). Later, it was first reported from gills of freshwater fishes, Hypophthalmichthys molitrix, Ctenopharyngodon idella and Pelteobagrus vachellii in Chongqing and Ningbo area of China (Tao & Zhao, 2006; Yu et al., 2011). The present population was isolated from gills of another freshwater fish, Rhinogobio typus, in Sichuan area of China. The morphology of adhesive disc of the present population is in agreement with the original description and morphometric data are also well within the range of the original description. Rhinogobio typus is established as the new host record for Tripartiella macrosoma in the present research work.Published as part of Tang, Fahui, Zhao, Yuanjun & Liu, Chunning, 2013, First records of three Tripartiella species (Ciliophora, Oligohymenophora, Peritrichida) from freshwater fishes along Yangtze River in China, pp. 169-174 in Zootaxa 3681 (2) on pages 172-173, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3681.2.6, http://zenodo.org/record/21818

Tripartiella orthodens Basson & Van As 1987

Tripartiella orthodens Basson & Van As, 1987 Host: Pelteobagrus nitidus Locality: Shapingba, Chongqing Site: Gills Date of sampling: February, 2009 Description (Figs. 3, 4, 8). The following morphological description were based on 18 specimens measured (n = 18). Small to medium freshwater Tripartiella with a disc-shaped body, diameter 20.0–30.0 (25 ± 2.5); adhesive disc 16.0–26.0 (21 ± 2.3); width of border membrane 1.5 –2.0 (1.8 ± 0.2); diameter of denticle ring 9.0–16.0 (11 ± 1.7); number of denticles 24 - 27; number of radial pins per denticle usually 4–5; span of denticle 5.0–7.0 (6.0 ± 0.7); length of denticle 2.0–3.0 (2.3 ± 0.4); blade length 3.0–4.0 (3.4 ± 0.4), generally narrow with anterior and posterior margins parallel. Distal margin rounded, nearly parallel with border membrane, and higher than tangent point; anterior and posterior surfaces straight and smooth and almost parallel with each other with the anterior surface just touching the Y + 1 axis; blade apophysis and posterior projection present but not very distinct. Central part barely developed with a round point fitting tightly into preceding denticle and far away from the Y- 1 axis. Shapes of the central part above and below the X-axis almost similar and 1.0–3.0 (1.5 ± 0.4) in width. Ray connection hardly conspicuous and hardly distinguishable from the ray. Ray short, straight, erect and nearly attached to the Y axis with a blunt point of ray; ray apophysis absent and length of ray was 1.0– 1.5 (1.1 ± 0.2); ratio between denticle above and below X axis more than two. Macronucleus C-shaped, external diameter 15.0– 22.5 (17.8 ± 1.1) and internal diameter 12.5–17.5 (15.6 ± 1.3). Micronucleus elliptical, 1.0– 2.5 (1.7 ± 0.2) in length and 0.5–1.5 (1.2 ± 0.3) in width, situated in + Y position. Adoral ciliary spiral turns about 230 ° - 270 ° around peristomial disc. Remarks. Tripartiella orthodens was first found and described from Tilapia rendalli swierstrai by Basson and Van As (1987) in the Sabie River of the Komati River system, South Africa. Tripartiella orthodens is characterized by the erect ray and the morphology and morphometric data of the present population from gills of Pelteobagrus nitidus fall well within the range of the original description with the only exception the smaller body size (20.0– 30.0µm in present population vs. 27.6–36.5 µm in original population). This species has not been reported since its first description from Tilapia rendalli swierstrai by Basson and Van As in 1987, and thus this report is the first record of Tripartiella orthodens in Asia.Published as part of Tang, Fahui, Zhao, Yuanjun & Liu, Chunning, 2013, First records of three Tripartiella species (Ciliophora, Oligohymenophora, Peritrichida) from freshwater fishes along Yangtze River in China, pp. 169-174 in Zootaxa 3681 (2) on page 172, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3681.2.6, http://zenodo.org/record/21818

First records of three Tripartiella species (Ciliophora, Oligohymenophora, Peritrichida) from freshwater fishes along Yangtze River in China

Tang, Fahui, Zhao, Yuanjun, Liu, Chunning (2013): First records of three Tripartiella species (Ciliophora, Oligohymenophora, Peritrichida) from freshwater fishes along Yangtze River in China. Zootaxa 3681 (2): 169-174, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3681.2.

Recognition of Transportation State by Smartphone Sensors Using Deep Bi-LSTM Neural Network

Smartphones have been used for recognizing different transportation states. However, current studies focus on the speed of the object, which only relies on the GPS sensor rather than considering other suitable sensors and actual application factors. In this study, we propose a novel method that considers these factors comprehensively to enhance transportation state recognition. The deep Bi-LSTM (bidirectional long short-term memory) neural network structure, the crowd-sourcing model, and the TensorFlow deep learning system are used to classify the transportation states. Meanwhile, the data captured by the accelerometer and gyroscope sensors of smartphone is used to test and adjust the deep Bi-LSTM neural network model, making it easy to transfer the model into smartphones and conduct real-time recognition. The experimental results show that this study achieves transportation activity classification with an accuracy of up to 92.8%. The model of the deep Bi-LSTM neural network can be used for other time-series fields such as signal recognition and action analysis

Eye feature point detection based on single convolutional neural network

Feature point detection based on convolutional neural network (CNN) has been studied widely. The effective approaches for improving detection accuracy are building a deeper network or using a multi‐network cascade structure. However, some potential capacity of CNN has not been excavated. In this study, the authors mainly analyse several factors influencing CNN performance from two aspects: (i) the position relationships between feature points and (ii) the normalisation methods of coordinates. Whether the network can learn the position relationships is also studied. For extracting the deep features of images, a network containing three convolution layers is constructed. The specific geometric relationship constraints are applied during calibration to maximise the capability of the CNN for learning the position relationship between feature points. Considering that different feature points only appear in various local regions of an image, local normalisation is proposed, which increases the mapping scope of the feature points and decreases the mapping error. The experimental results prove that the specific position relationship and local normalisation obviously improve the feature point detection based on CNN. At the detection error of 5%, the average detection accuracy of eyelid feature points is improved by 7.1% and single‐point detection receives a high accuracy of 97.96%

Catalytic Ozonation of Polluter Benzene from -20 to >50 °C with High Conversion Efficiency and Selectivity on Mullite YMn2O5

Catalytic decomposition of aromatic polluters at room temperature represents a green route for air purification but is currently challenged by the difficulty of generating reactive oxygen species (ROS) on catalysts. Herein, we develop a mullite catalyst YMn2O5 (YMO) with dual active sites of Mn3+ and Mn4+ and use ozone to produce a highly reactive O* upon YMO. Such a strong oxidant species on YMO shows complete removal of benzene from -20 to >50 °C with a high COx selectivity (>90%) through the generated reactive species O* on the catalyst surface (60 000 mL g-1 h-1). Although the accumulation of water and intermediates gradually lowers the reaction rate after 8 h at 25 °C, a simple treatment by ozone purging or drying in the ambient environment regenerates the catalyst. Importantly, when the temperature increases to 50 °C, the catalytic performance remains 100% conversion without any degradation for 30 h. Experiments and theoretical calculations show that such a superior performance stems from the unique coordination environment, which ensures high generation of ROS and adsorption of aromatics. Mullite's catalytic ozonation degradation of total volatile organic compounds (TVOC) is applied in a home-developed air cleaner, resulting in high efficiency of benzene removal. This work provides insights into the design of catalysts to decompose highly stable organic polluters

Phonon Resonance Catalysis in NO Oxidation on Mn-Based Mullite

A phonon is the medium a bulk material used to exchange energy with the environment and is thus crucial for heterogeneous catalysis. However, a physical correlation between phonons and catalytic processes has not been established yet. Herein, by combining various in situ characterization techniques, we discovered the intrinsic correlations between phonon modes and the vibrations of reactant intermediates during NO oxidation on the mullite catalyst YMn2O5. It was found that the active phonon modes (350 (Ag(5)) and 670 cm–1 (B1g(12))) are strongly correlated with the vibrational frequencies of the adsorbed −O2 and −O–NO2 intermediates. The resulting resonance will transfer the superposed energy (nℏω) of the high-energy phonons to reactants one by one via the unit energy (ℏω) and then increase the vibrational amplitude along the reaction direction, contributing to the increase in the entropy of the surface reactants and thus the reduction of the Gibbs energy of activation. Phonon resonance catalysis (PRCAT) was thus proposed based on this discovery. This work provides insights into the bidirectional selection of catalysts and precise chemical reactions by matching catalyst phonons with reactant vibrational frequencies

Formaldehyde Decomposition from −20 °C to Room Temperature on a Mn–Mullite YMn₂O₅ Catalyst

Large ambient temperature changes (−20–>25 °C) bring great challenges to the purification of the indoor pollutant formaldehyde. Within such a large ambient temperature range, we herein report a manganese-based strategy, that is, a mullite catalyst (YMn2O5) + ozone, to efficiently remove the formaldehyde pollution. At −20 °C, the formaldehyde removal efficiency reaches 62% under the condition of 60,000 mL gcat–1 h–1. As the reaction temperature is increased to −5 °C, formaldehyde and ozone are completely converted into CO2, H2O, and O2, respectively. Such a remarkable performance was ascribed to the highly reactive oxygen species generated by ozone on the YMn2O5 surface based on the low temperature-programed desorption measurements. The in situ infrared spectra showed the intermediate product carboxyl group (−COOH) to be the key species. Based on the superior performance, we built a consumable-free air purifier equipped with mullite-coated ceramics. In the simulated indoor condition (25 °C and 30% relative humidity), the equipment can effectively decompose formaldehyde (150 m3 h–1) without producing secondary pollutants, rivaling a commercial removal efficiency. This work provides an air purification route based on the mullite catalyst + ozone to remove formaldehyde in an ambient temperature range (−20–>25 °C)