Demonstration of the Presence of the "Deleted" MIR122 Gene in HepG2 Cells

MicroRNA 122 (miR-122) is highly expressed in the liver where it influences diverse biological processes and pathways, including hepatitis C virus replication and metabolism of iron and cholesterol. It is processed from a long non-coding primary transcript (~7.5 kb) and the gene has two evolutionarily-conserved regions containing the pri-mir-122 promoter and pre-mir-122 hairpin region. Several groups reported that the widely-used hepatocytic cell line HepG2 had deficient expression of miR-122, previously ascribed to deletion of the pre-mir-122 stem-loop region. We aimed to characterise this deletion by direct sequencing of 6078 bp containing the pri-mir-122 promoter and pre-mir-122 stem-loop region in HepG2 and Huh-7, a control hepatocytic cell line reported to express miR-122, supported by sequence analysis of cloned genomic DNA. In contrast to previous findings, the entire sequence was present in both cell lines. Ten SNPs were heterozygous in HepG2 indicating that DNA was present in two copies. Three validation isolates of HepG2 were sequenced, showing identical genotype to the original in two, whereas the third was different. Investigation of promoter chromatin status by FAIRE showed that Huh-7 cells had 6.2 ± 0.19- and 2.7 ± 0.01- fold more accessible chromatin at the proximal (HNF4α-binding) and distal DR1 transcription factor sites, compared to HepG2 cells (p=0.03 and 0.001, respectively). This was substantiated by ENCODE genome annotations, which showed a DNAse I hypersensitive site in the pri-mir-122 promoter in Huh-7 that was absent in HepG2 cells. While the origin of the reported deletion is unclear, cell lines should be obtained from a reputable source and used at low passage number to avoid discrepant results. Deficiency of miR-122 expression in HepG2 cells may be related to a relative deficiency of accessible promoter chromatin in HepG2 versus Huh-7 cells

Flexible Photonic Cellulose Nanocrystal Films.

The fabrication of self-assembled cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) films of tunable photonic and mechanical properties using a facile, green approach is demonstrated. The combination of tunable flexibility and iridescence can dramatically expand CNC coating and film barrier capabilities for paints and coating applications, sustainable consumer packaging products, as well as effective templates for photonic and optoelectronic materials and structures.CelluForce Inc., Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (David Phillips fellowship (Grant ID: BB/K014617/1, 76933), European Research Council (Grant ID: ERC-2014-STG H2020 639088), Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (Grant ID: 1525292

Research data supporting Effect of thermal treatments on chiral nematic cellulose nanocrystal films

the dataset content is described in the associated pdf summary

THE IMPACT OF CLIMATE AND ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGES ON AGRICULTURE: CAROB SEED GERMINATION

There is a direct relationship between climate change and carob seed germination, particularly in areas where carob is native, such as Libya. It is important to study the germination process and response of carob seeds to the anticipated temperature increase. Information regarding the general effects of rising global temperatures on seed germination is currently scarce. By investigating the ecophysiology of germination performance in carob, a sclerophyllous Mediterranean species, this work seeks to close this information gap. The study concentrated on a wild carob genotype that was cultivated in Balagrae, Al-Bayda, in the Libyan region of Al-Jabal Al-Akhdar. The primary goals were to examine the germination responses of seeds from various individual trees at the same site and evaluate the impact of anticipated temperature change on carob seed germination characteristics. This study is the first to document the relationship between temperature rise in the Al-Jabal Al-Akhdar region and carob seed germination. However, given the eco-physiological features, more investigation is required to completely comprehend how carob seed germination reacts to projected temperature rise on a bigger scale. The consequences of rising global temperatures on seed germination in general are not well understood. We can forecast potential changes in flora as a result of climate change and improve our understanding of C. siliqua's distribution by gathering data on the factors influencing carob seed germination. It is acknowledged that carob is a natural species in the Mediterranean area. It is clear that several tree species with a broad regional distribution, such as carob, have evolved unique geographic variants. These differences correlate with physiological characteristics such growth season duration, photoperiod requirements, and resistance to cold, drought, and illnesses. These mutations have adapted to certain habitats through natural selection throughout time, which makes them less successful when transferred to other ecosystems. Via the seeds, these genetic variations are inherited. In the event that local seeds are unavailable, it is therefore advantageous to use seeds from a source close by or from a region with a comparable climate and latitude. Furthermore, three different trees' seeds from the same site were the subject of our investigation. Expanding the study to include more trees from both the same and different places might be beneficial. As seen by variations in growth rate, wood density, turpentine yield, and other characteristics, even trees of the same species growing near to one another can differ genetically and physiologically. The fact that these characteristics are frequently passed down through seeds to progeny highlights how crucial it is to choose seed trees for nursery planting with care. Superior trees usually produce heterozygous offspring with a variety of advantageous features

Effects of Lateral Diffusion on the Dynamics of Desorption

The adsorbate dynamics during simultaneous action of desorption and lateral adsorbate diffusion is studied in a simple lattice-gas model by kinetic Monte Carlo simulations. It is found that the action of the coverage-conserving diffusion process during the course of the desorption has two distinct, competing effects: a general acceleration of the desorption process, and a coarsening of the adsorbate configuration through Ostwald ripening. The balance between these two effects is governed by the structure of the adsorbate layer at the beginning of the desorption process

How core stiffness and Poisson ratio affect energy balance roll structure formulas

The stiffness of the core determines how much support it will offer for the initial wraps of web material, and whether this support will be maintained as internal pressures are developed. An expression is developed for calculating the effective modulus of the core for isotropic and anisotropic material. The linear solution is carried further to predict how this core modulus is reflected in local radial hardness of the roll when additional material is wound onto the core. The radial modulus parameters of a roll winding model based upon energy balance are adjusted to account for the stiffening or yielding effect of the core under given winding conditions. The effect of different Poisson ratios on core stiffness and roll formation is discussed

Toward a Mixed-Methods Research Approach to Content Analysis in The Digital Age: The Combined Content-Analysis Model and its Applications to Health Care Twitter Feeds

BACKGROUND: Twitter’s 140-character microblog posts are increasingly used to access information and facilitate discussions among health care professionals and between patients with chronic conditions and their caregivers. Recently, efforts have emerged to investigate the content of health care-related posts on Twitter. This marks a new area for researchers to investigate and apply content analysis (CA). In current infodemiology, infoveillance and digital disease detection research initiatives, quantitative and qualitative Twitter data are often combined, and there are no clear guidelines for researchers to follow when collecting and evaluating Twitter-driven content. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to identify studies on health care and social media that used Twitter feeds as a primary data source and CA as an analysis technique. We evaluated the resulting 18 studies based on a narrative review of previous methodological studies and textbooks to determine the criteria and main features of quantitative and qualitative CA. We then used the key features of CA and mixed-methods research designs to propose the combined content-analysis (CCA) model as a solid research framework for designing, conducting, and evaluating investigations of Twitter-driven content. METHODS: We conducted a PubMed search to collect studies published between 2010 and 2014 that used CA to analyze health care-related tweets. The PubMed search and reference list checks of selected papers identified 21 papers. We excluded 3 papers and further analyzed 18. RESULTS: Results suggest that the methods used in these studies were not purely quantitative or qualitative, and the mixed-methods design was not explicitly chosen for data collection and analysis. A solid research framework is needed for researchers who intend to analyze Twitter data through the use of CA. CONCLUSIONS: We propose the CCA model as a useful framework that provides a straightforward approach to guide Twitter-driven studies and that adds rigor to health care social media investigations. We provide suggestions for the use of the CCA model in elder care-related contexts