Efficient recruitment and angiogenesis of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) are critical during a thrombus event. However, the details of EPC recruitment and the regulation of angiogenesis have not ...been fully determined. The aim of this study was to determine the role of the long noncoding (lnc)RNA Wilms tumor 1 associated protein pseudogene 1 (WTAPP1) in regulation of the migration and angiogenesis of EPCs. EPCs were isolated from human peripheral blood and characterized by flow cytometry, after which lentivirus‐mediated lncRNA WTAPP1 overexpression and knockdown were performed. Scratch assay, Transwell assay, and in vitro and in vivo tube formation assays were performed to measure cell migration, invasion, and angiogenic abilities, respectively. Moreover, a microarray screen, bioinformatic prediction, and quantitative PCR and Western blot of miRNAs interacting with lncRNA WTAPP1 were conducted. Western blot was carried out to elucidate the relationship among WTAPP1, miR‐3120‐5P, and MMP‐1 in the autophagy pathway. WTAPP1 positively regulated migration, invasion, and in vitro and in vivo tube formation in EPCs by increasing MMP‐1 expression and activating PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling. Furthermore, WTAPP1 contains a putative miR‐3120‐5P binding site. Suppression of WTAPP1 by miR‐3120‐5P decreased the level of MMP‐1. In addition, we demonstrated that suppression of the autophagy pathway is involved in the effects of WTAPP1 on EPC migration and angiogenesis. The lncRNA WTAPP1, a molecular decoy for miR‐3120‐5p, regulates MMP‐1 expression via the PI3K/Akt and autophagy pathways, thereby mediating cell migration and angiogenesis in EPCs. Acting as a potential therapeutic target, the lncRNA WTAPP1 may play an important role in the pathogenesis of DVT. Stem Cells 2018;36:1863–12
The long noncoding RNA Wilms tumor 1 associated protein pseudogene 1, a molecular decoy for miR‐3120‐5p, regulates MMP‐1 expression via the PI3K/Akt and autophagy pathways, thereby mediating cell migration and angiogenesis in endothelial progenitor cells.
Phylogenomic evidence from an increasing number of studies has demonstrated that different data sets and analytical approaches often reconstruct strongly supported but conflicting relationships. In ...this study, 785 single‐copy nuclear genes and 75 complete plastomes were used to infer the phylogenetic relationships and estimate the historical biogeography of the apple genus Malus sensu lato, an economically important lineage disjunctly distributed in the Northern Hemisphere and involved in known and suspected hybridization and allopolyploidy events. The nuclear phylogeny recovered the monophyly of Malus s.l. (including Docynia); however, the genus was supported to be biphyletic in the plastid phylogeny. An ancient chloroplast capture event in the Eocene in western North America best explains the cytonuclear discordance. Our conflict analysis demonstrated that ILS, hybridization, and allopolyploidy could explain the widespread nuclear gene tree discordance. One deep hybridization event (Malus doumeri) and one recent event (Malus coronaria) were detected in Malus s.l. Furthermore, our historical biogeographic analysis integrating living and fossil data supported a widespread East Asian‐western North American origin of Malus s.l. in the Eocene, followed by several extinction and dispersal events in the Northern Hemisphere. We also propose a general workflow for assessing phylogenomic discordance and biogeographic analysis using deep genome skimming data sets.
Phylogenomic conflict analyses in the apple genus Malus s.l. reveal widespread hybridization and allopolyploidy driving diversification, provide insights into the complex biogeographic history in the Northern Hemisphere, and inspire a general workflow for assessing phylogenomic discordance and biogeographic analysis using deep genome skimming datasets.
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FZAB, GIS, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
Most electrocatalysts for the ethanol oxidation reaction suffer from extremely limited operational durability and poor selectivity toward the CC bond cleavage. In spite of tremendous efforts over ...the past several decades, little progress has been made in this regard. This study reports the remarkable promoting effect of Ni(OH)2 on Pd nanocrystals for electrocatalytic ethanol oxidation reaction in alkaline solution. A hybrid electrocatalyst consisting of intimately mixed nanosized Pd particles, defective Ni(OH)2 nanoflakes, and a graphene support is prepared via a two‐step solution method. The optimal product exhibits a high mass‐specific peak current of >1500 mA mg−1Pd, and excellent operational durability forms both cycling and chronoamperometric measurements in alkaline solution. Most impressively, this hybrid catalyst retains a mass‐specific current of 440 mA mg−1 even after 20 000 s of chronoamperometric testing, and its original activity can be regenerated via simple cyclic voltammetry cycles in clean KOH. This great catalyst durability is understood based on both CO stripping and in situ attenuated total reflection infrared experiments suggesting that the presence of Ni(OH)2 alleviates the poisoning of Pd nanocrystals by carbonaceous intermediates. The incorporation of Ni(OH)2 also markedly shifts the reaction selectivity from the originally predominant C2 pathway toward the more desirable C1 pathway, even at room temperature.
A hybrid electrocatalyst material is reported, which features small Pd nanoparticles abundantly interfaced with Ni(OH)2 and uniformly supported on graphene nanosheets. The synergy between Pd and Ni(OH)2 leads to dramatically improved electrocatalytic performance of the precious metal for the ethanol oxidation reaction and markedly shifts its selectivity toward the C1 pathway in alkaline solution.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
While electrochemical water splitting is one of the most promising methods to store light/electrical energy in chemical bonds, a key challenge remains in the realization of an efficient oxygen ...evolution reaction catalyst with large surface area, good electrical conductivity, high catalytic properties, and low fabrication cost. Here, a facile solution reduction method is demonstrated for mesoporous Co3O4 nanowires treated with NaBH4. The high‐surface‐area mesopore feature leads to efficient surface reduction in solution at room temperature, which allows for retention of the nanowire morphology and 1D charge transport behavior, while at the same time substantially increasing the oxygen vacancies on the nanowire surface. Compared to pristine Co3O4 nanowires, the reduced Co3O4 nanowires exhibit a much larger current of 13.1 mA cm‐2 at 1.65 V vs reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE) and a much lower onset potential of 1.52 V vs RHE. Electrochemical supercapacitors based on the reduced Co3O4 nanowires also show a much improved capacitance of 978 F g‐1 and reduced charge transfer resistance. Density‐functional theory calculations reveal that the existence of oxygen vacancies leads to the formation of new gap states in which the electrons previously associated with the Co‐O bonds tend to be delocalized, resulting in the much higher electrical conductivity and electrocatalytic activity.
A facile NaBH4 reduction method is reported to create oxygen vacancies on the surface of mesoporous Co3O4 nanowires and these are used as efficient water oxidation catalysts and high performance supercapacitor electrodes. The reduced Co3O4 nanowires exhibit substantially enhanced electrochemical performance compared to the pristine Co3O4 nanowires. Calculations show that oxygen vacancies create new defect states located in the band gaps of Co3O4, leading to the substantially enhanced electrochemical performance.
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FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
Bioinspired artificial haptic neuron system has received much attention in the booming artificial intelligence industry for its broad range of high‐impact applications such as personal healthcare ...monitoring, electronic skins, and human–machine interfaces. An artificial haptic neuron system is designed by integrating a piezoresistive sensor and a Nafion‐based memristor for the first time in this paper. The piezoresistive sensor serves as a sensory receptor to transform mechanical stimuli into electric signals, and the Nafion‐based memristor serves as the synapse to further process the information. The pyramid‐structured sensor exhibits excellent sensitivity (6.7 × 107 kPa−1 in 1–5 kPa and 3.8 × 105 kPa−1 in 5–50 kPa) and durability (>7000 cycles), while the memristor realizes fundamental synaptic functions under low power consumption (10–200 pJ) and remains stable for over 104 consecutive tests. The integrated system can detect tactile stimuli encoded with temporal information, such as the count, frequency, duration and speed of the external force. As a proof‐of‐concept, English characters recognition with high accuracy can be achieved on the system under a supervised learning method. This work shows promising potential in bioinspired sensing systems owing to the high performance, excellent durability, and simple fabrication procedure.
An artificial haptic neuron system is designed by integrating a piezoresistive sensor and a Nafion‐based memristor for the first time. The pyramid‐structured sensor exhibits excellent sensitivity and durability, while the memristor realizes fundamental synaptic functions under low power consumption and remains stable for over 104 consecutive tests. The integrated system can detect tactile stimuli encoded with temporal information.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
In this work, a novel fluorescent assay was proposed for the ultrasensitive detection of microRNA-21 (miRNA-21) based on the efficient immobilization of protoporphyrin IX (PPIX) as signal indicators ...in massive G-quadruplex structures obtained by target recycling, three-dimensional DNA walker and a rolling circle amplification (RCA) coupled cascade nucleic acid amplification strategy.
A fluorescent assay for the ultrasensitive detection of miRNA-21 is based on immobilization of PPIX as signal indicators in massive G-quadruplex structures obtained by target recycling, three-dimensional DNA walker and RCA coupled cascade nucleic acid amplification.
Accumulating studies have suggested that targeting transcription factor EB (TFEB), an essential regulator of autophagy‐lysosomal pathway (ALP), is promising for the treatment of neurodegenerative ...disorders, including Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, potent and specific small molecule TFEB activators are not available at present. Previously, we identified a novel TFEB activator named curcumin analog C1 which directly binds to and activates TFEB. In this study, we systematically investigated the efficacy of curcumin analog C1 in three AD animal models that represent beta‐amyloid precursor protein (APP) pathology (5xFAD mice), tauopathy (P301S mice) and the APP/Tau combined pathology (3xTg‐AD mice). We found that C1 efficiently activated TFEB, enhanced autophagy and lysosomal activity, and reduced APP, APP C‐terminal fragments (CTF‐β/α), β‐amyloid peptides and Tau aggregates in these models accompanied by improved synaptic and cognitive function. Knockdown of TFEB and inhibition of lysosomal activity significantly inhibited the effects of C1 on APP and Tau degradation in vitro. In summary, curcumin analog C1 is a potent TFEB activator with promise for the prevention or treatment of AD.
A small molecule activator of transcription factor EB (TFEB) promotes the degradation of beta‐amyloid precursor protein (APP) fragments, β‐amyloid peptides (Aβ), and phosphorylated MAPT/Tau aggregates in three transgenic mice models of Alzheimer's disease (P301S, 5xFAD, and 3xTg) and prevents memory impairments.
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DOBA, FZAB, GIS, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Due to the limitations of current extraction methods, extracellular DNA (eDNA) is rarely discerned from intracellular DNA (iDNA) despite having unique contributions to antibiotic resistance genes ...(ARGs) propagation. Furthermore, eDNA may be free (f-eDNA) or adsorbed to or suspended solids, including cells (a-eDNA), which affects ARG persistence and transmissivity. We developed a novel method using magnetic beads to separate iDNA, a-eDNA, and f-eDNA to assess how these physical states of ARGs change across a wastewater treatment plant. This method efficiently extracted eDNA (>85.3%) with higher recovery than current methods such as alcohol precipitation, CTAB-based extraction, and DNA extraction kits (<10%). Biological treatment and UV disinfection decreased the concentration of intracellular ARGs (iARGs) and adsorbed extracellular ARGs (a-eARGs), causing an increase of released free extracellular ARGs (f-eARGs). More ARGs were discharged through the wasted biosolids than in the effluent; iARGs and a-eARGs are prevalent in wasted biosolids ((73.9 ± 22.5) % and (23.4 ± 15.3) % of total ARGs respectively), while f-eARGs were prevalent in the effluent ((90.3 ± 16.5) %). Bacterial community analysis showed significant correlations between specific genera and ARGs (e.g., Aeromonas, Pseudomonas and Acinetobacter were strongly correlated with multidrug-resistance gene blaTEM). This treatment system decreased the discharge of iARGs to receiving environments, however, increased eARG concentrations were present in the effluent, which may contribute to the environmental resistome.
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•Magnetic beads efficiently extract extracellular DNA from wastewater & sludge.•Wastewater treatment redistributes ARGs among iDNA, a-eDNA and f-eDNA.•Overall, iARGs and a-eARGs are removed while f-eARGs increase.•More ARGs were discharged through the wasted biosolids than in the effluent.•iARGs prevailed in biosolids while f-eARGs were dominant in the effluent.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Extensive effort is being made into cathode materials for sodium‐ion battery to address several fatal issues, which restrict their future application in practical sodium‐ion full cell system, such as ...their unsatisfactory initial Coulombic efficiency, inherent deficiency of cyclable sodium content, and poor industrial feasibility. A novel air‐stable O3‐type NaLi0.05Mn0.50Ni0.30Cu0.10Mg0.05O2 is synthesized by a coprecipitation method suitable for mass production followed by high‐temperature annealing. The microscale secondary particle, consisting of numerous primary nanocrystals, can efficiently facilitate sodium‐ion transport due to the short diffusion distance, and this cathode material also has inherent advantages for practical application because of its superior physical properties. It exhibits a reversible capacity of 172 mA h g−1 at 0.1 C and remarkable capacity retention of 70.4% after 1000 cycles at 20 C. More importantly, it offers good compatibility with pristine hard carbon as anode in the sodium‐ion full cell system, delivering a high energy density of up to 215 W h kg−1 at 0.1 C and good rate performance. Owing to the high industrial feasibility of the synthesis process, good compatibility with pristine hard carbon anode, and excellent electrochemical performance, it can be considered as a promising active material to promote progress toward sodium‐ion battery commercialization.
A novel air‐stable O3‐type NaLi0.05Mn0.50Ni0.30Cu0.10Mg0.05O2 is synthesized by a coprecipitation method suitable for mass production followed by high‐temperature annealing. Owing to the high industrial feasibility of the synthesis process, good compatibility with pristine hard carbon anode, and excellent electrochemical performance, it can be considered as a promising active material to promote progress toward sodium‐ion battery commercialization.
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FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
Background and Aims
HBV‐pgRNA (pregenomic RNA) has been proposed for predicting the response of nucleos(t)ide analogue (NA) treatment, guiding discontinuation of NA therapy and monitoring the ...emergence of viral mutations. However, the contributions of HBV‐pgRNA to HCC remain open for study.
Approach and Results
Double‐center cohorts of serum samples with undetectable serum HBV‐DNA (below the lower limit of detection) were obtained from long‐term NA‐treated (≥48 weeks) HBV‐related HCC patients. The correlation between serum pgRNA concentration and the prognosis of HCC were analyzed. The role pgRNA played in HCC development was assessed both in vitro and in vivo. Our findings revealed that for patients who underwent long‐term NA therapy with undetectable serum HBV‐DNA, patients with high serum pgRNA expression had a poorer overall survival rate and higher cumulative recurrence rate after hepatectomy. Experiments demonstrated that pgRNA promotes proliferation, stemness, and tumorigenicity of HCC cells. Mechanistically, we found that pgRNA could up‐regulate the expression of insulin‐like growth factor 2 mRNA‐binding protein 3 (IGF2BP3), a well‐proven oncoprotein, at the posttranscriptional level. Furthermore, interferon (IFN)‐α‐2a could degrade the stability of pgRNA through increasing its N6‐methyladenosine (m6A) RNA modification. Collectively, our findings uncover that serum pgRNA could serve as a potential biomarker for predicting the prognosis and recurrence of HCC in patients who received long‐term NA therapy with undetectable serum HBV‐DNA; and the pgRNA‐IGF2BP3 axis plays an important role in the development of HBV‐related HCC. Moreover, IFN‐α‐2a could reduce the stability of pgRNA by increasing its m6A RNA modification level, thereby suppressing the development of HBV‐related HCC.
Conclusions
In conclusion, our studies reveal a significance and mechanism of HBV‐pgRNA in increasing stemness features and offer a potential prognostic marker and a therapeutic target for HBV‐related HCC.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK