Competitive immunoassay for monitoring polybrominated diphenyl ethers in PM_2.5 in Shanghai

<p>In this paper, a sensitive biotin–streptavidin (BS)-ELISA was developed for determining the polybrominated diphenyl ethers in PM_2.5. For establishing this proposed BS-ELISA, we prepared the biotinylated antibody primarily. And for reducing the background interference, some influencing factors and procedures for this immunoassay were also discussed and optimised. Under the optimal conditions, the IC₅₀ = 0.53 ng/mL; IC₁₀ was 0.002 ng/mL; and the results were almost consistent with those using the gas chromatography and electron capture detection (GC-ECD). Less procedures and simpler sample preparation were required for this method compared with the GC-ECD. The results showed that the highest value of BDE-47 concentration occurred in December, which might reflect the combination of heating and industrial pollution. In our analysis, we studied the Pearson correlations between BDE-47/PM_2.5 and gaseous pollutants (such as NO₂, SO₂, CO, O₃, PM₁₀ and PM_2.5). BDE-47 showed a higher correlation with NO₂ than that with PM₁₀, PM_2.5 and SO₂, which implied that the BDE-47 emission process might be accompanied by the emission of NO₂. Moreover, during the Spring Festival, the concentration of BDE-47 in PM_2.5 decreased significantly, whereas the PM_2.5 changed little. This suggested factories and vehicles might be the major contributors to BDE-47 emissions (but not to PM_2.5).</p

Integrative Analysis of mRNA and miRNA Expression Profiles of the Tuberous Root Development at Seedling Stages in Turnips

<div><p>The tuberous root of <i>Brassica rapa</i> L. (turnip) is an important modified organ for nutrition storage. A better understanding of the molecular mechanisms involved in the process of tuberous root development is of great value in both economic and biological context. In this study, we analyzed the expression profiles of both mRNAs and miRNAs in tuberous roots at an early stage before cortex splitting (ES), cortex splitting stage (CSS), and secondary root thickening stage (RTS) in turnip based on high-throughput sequencing technology. A large number of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and several differentially expressed miRNAs (DEMs) were identified. Based on the DEG analysis, we propose that metabolism is the dominant pathway in both tuberous root initiation and secondary thickening process. The plant hormone signal transduction pathway may play a predominant role in regulating tuberous root initiation, while the starch and sucrose metabolism may be more important for the secondary thickening process. These hypotheses were partially supported by sequential DEM analyses. Of all DEMs, miR156a, miR157a, and miR172a exhibited relatively high expression levels, and were differentially expressed in both tuberous root initiation and the secondary thickening process with the expression profiles negatively correlated with those of their target genes. Our results suggest that these miRNAs play important roles in tuberous root development in turnips.</p></div

Statistics of the sRNA sequences generated from the six libraries.

<p>Statistics of the sRNA sequences generated from the six libraries.</p

Statistics of categorization and abundance of tags generated from the six cDNA libraries for DEGs analysis.

<p>Statistics of categorization and abundance of tags generated from the six cDNA libraries for DEGs analysis.</p

Synthesis, gas barrier and thermal properties of polyimide containing rigid planar fluorene moieties

<p>In order to obtain pristine polyimides with high barrier properties, pyromellitic dianhydride (PMDA) and 9H-fluorene-2,7-diamine (FDA) containing rigid planar fluorene moieties were used to prepare polyimide (FPI) via a conventional two-step polymerization process in this paper. The synthesized polyimide shows good barrier properties, with oxygen transmission rate (OTR) and water vapor transmission rate (WVTR) low to 1.01 cm³ m⁻² day⁻¹ and 2.35 g m⁻² day⁻¹, respectively. The effect of rigid planar structure in main chain on the barrier properties of polyimide was studied by means of wide angle X-ray diffractograms (WAXD), molecular dynamics simulations and positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy (PALS), which was rarely reported before. The results reveal that the good barrier properties of FPI are mainly due to the high crystallinity, high chain rigidity and low free volume, which are resulted from the rigid planar structure. Additionally, the polyimide exhibits excellent thermal and dimensional stability with 5 wt% loss temperature of 519°C, glass transition temperature of 370°C and coefficient of thermal expansion (<i>CTE</i>) of 5.72 ppm/K. The good gas barrier and thermostability endow the polyimide with promising potential in flexible electronics encapsulation applications.</p

Statistics of target genes of DEMs.

<p>Statistics of target genes of DEMs.</p

qRT-PCR validation of DEGs and DEMs from high-throughput sequencing analyses.

<p>(A) qRT-PCR validation of DEGs from high-throughput RNA sequencing analyses. Relative expression levels were calculated using actin2 as the reference gene using the formula 2^-△△Ct. The values indicate means of three biological replicates ± standard error. (B) qRT-PCR validation of DEMs from high-throughput sRNA analyses. Relative expression levels were calculated using spliceosomal RNA U6 as the reference gene using the formula2^-△△Ct. The values indicate means of three biological replicates ± standard error.</p

Pathway enrichment analysis of differentially expressed genes (Top ten enriched pathways are shown).

<p>Pathway enrichment analysis of differentially expressed genes (Top ten enriched pathways are shown).</p

DataSheet_2_A pan-cancer landscape of IGF2BPs and their association with prognosis, stemness and tumor immune microenvironment.xlsx

BackgroundThe human insulin-like growth factor 2 mRNA binding proteins 1–3 (IGF2BP1–3, also called IMP1–3) play essential roles in mRNA regulation, including its splicing, translocation, stability, and translation. However, knowledge regarding the involvement of IGF2BPs in tumor immunity and stemness across cancer types is still lacking.MethodsIn this study, we comprehensively analyzed pan-cancer multi-omic data to determine the correlation of IGF2BPs mRNA and protein expression with various cancer parameters such as mutation frequency, prognostic value, the tumor microenvironment (TME), checkpoint blockade, tumor immune infiltration, stemness and drug sensitivity. Validation of the expression of IGF2BPs in cancer samples and glioma cells were performed by quantitative real-time (qRT)-PCR, and immunofluorescence staining. Investigation of the functional role of IGF2BP3 in glioma stem cells(GSCs) were performed by sphere formation, cytotoxicity, transwell, and wound healing assays.ResultsWe found that IGF2BP1 and 3 are either absent or expressed at very low levels in most normal tissues. However, IGF2BP1-3 can be re-expressed in a broad range of cancer types and diverse cancer cell lines, where their expression often correlates with poor prognosis. Immunofluorescence staining and qRT-PCR analyses also showed that the expression of IGF2BP2 and IGF2BP3 were higher in cancer tissues than that in adjacent normal tissues. Moreover, IGF2BPs are associated with TME and stemness in human pan-cancer. Remarkably, IGF2BP3 participated in the maintenance and self-renewal of glioma stem cell (GSCs). Knockdown of IGF2BP3 attenuated GSC and glioma cell proliferation, invasion, and migration.ConclusionsOur systematic pan-cancer study confirmed the identification of IGF2BPs as therapeutic targets and highlighted the need to study their association with stemness, and the TME, which contribute to the cancer drug-discovery research. Especially, preliminary studies demonstrate the IGF2BP3 as a potential negative regulator of glioma tumorigenesis by modulating stemness.</p

Use of Prazosin for Pediatric PTSD-Associated Nightmares and Sleep Disturbances: A Retrospective Chart Review

<p><b>Article full text</b></p> <p><br></p> <p>The full text of this article can be found here<b>. </b><a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40120-017-0078-4">https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40120-017-0078-4</a></p><p></p> <p><br></p> <p><b>Provide enhanced content for this article</b></p> <p><br></p> <p>If you are an author of this publication and would like to provide additional enhanced content for your article then please contact <a href="http://www.medengine.com/Redeem/”mailto:[email protected]”"><b>[email protected]</b></a>.</p> <p><br></p> <p>The journal offers a range of additional features designed to increase visibility and readership. All features will be thoroughly peer reviewed to ensure the content is of the highest scientific standard and all features are marked as ‘peer reviewed’ to ensure readers are aware that the content has been reviewed to the same level as the articles they are being presented alongside. Moreover, all sponsorship and disclosure information is included to provide complete transparency and adherence to good publication practices. This ensures that however the content is reached the reader has a full understanding of its origin. No fees are charged for hosting additional open access content.</p> <p><br></p> <p>Other enhanced features include, but are not limited to:</p> <p><br></p> <p>• Slide decks</p> <p>• Videos and animations</p> <p>• Audio abstracts</p> <p>• Audio slides</p