Family with sequence similarity 46, member C (FAM46C) is a highly conserved non-canonical RNA polyadenylation polymerase that is abundantly expressed in human and mouse testes and is frequently ...mutated in patients with multiple myeloma. However, its physiological role remains largely unknown. In this study, we found that FAM46C is specifically localized to the manchette of spermatids in mouse testes, a transient microtubule-based structure mainly involved in nuclear shaping and intra-flagellar protein traffic. Gene knockout of FAM46C in mice resulted in male sterility, characterized by the production of headless spermatozoa in testes. Sperm heads were intermittently found in the epididymides of FAM46C knockout mice, but their fertilization ability was severely compromised based on the results of intracytoplasmic sperm injection assays. Interestingly, our RNA-sequencing analyses of FAM46C knockout testes revealed that mRNA levels of only nine genes were significantly altered compared to wild-type ones (q < 0.05). When considering alternate activities for FAM46C, in vitro assays demonstrated that FAM46C does not exhibit protein kinase or AMPylation activity against general substrates. Together, our data show that FAM46C in spermatids is a novel component in fastening the sperm head and flagellum. Summary Sentence Non-canonical RNA polyadenylation enzyme FAM46C is specifically expressed in the manchette of spermatids in mouse testes and plays an essential role in spermiogenesis by fastening the sperm head and tail together.
A series of compounds ADyL
·solvent composed of a dysprosium(iii) ion coordinated by four chelated naphthyridine-like ligands (L = 4-hydroxy-8-methyl-1,5-naphthyridine-3-carbonitrile) and an alkali ...metal ion (A = Na, K, Rb, Cs) were synthesized and characterized. They behave as single-molecule magnets under a zero dc field with an effective energy barrier of around 95 cm
. Meanwhile, the main part, ADyL
, of these SMMs is thermostable and sublimable. The geometric structures of three sublimed compounds are identical to the original ones without solvents, which is confirmed by X-ray diffraction using single crystal and powder samples. The static and dynamic magnetic properties remain unchanged before and after sublimation. Luminescence measurements at 5-77 K were performed to verify the energy gap between low-lying states and to understand the pathway of the thermal relaxation process of magnetization, as well as to inspect the tiny variation in magnetic sublevels for the ground term of Dy(iii). The photoluminescence spectra under a magnetic field (0-36 T) for the Dy-SMMs are investigated for the first time. The energy splitting of the two lowest sublevels of the ground term
H
of Dy(iii) are analyzed using the Zeeman formula.
The corrosion of reinforcements that results from chloride iron erosion and freeze–thaw damage is the key cause of concrete material failure. Indoor accelerated freeze–thaw cycling tests on reactive ...powder concrete are carried out in this study, and the mass-loss rate (MLR), relative dynamic-elastic modulus (RDEM), and compressive strength are measured in order to evaluate its durability. In addition, the microstructure and composition of the reactive powder concrete during the chloride-salt freeze–thaw cycles were analyzed using scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive spectroscopy, and mercury-intrusion porosimetry. The results show that the reactive powder concrete was durable under chloride freeze–thaw cycling. Furthermore, the values of MLR and RDEM indicated that the actual method is not suitable for reactive powder concrete and should be modified, and that ettringite-type erosion products are generated during the freeze–thaw cycles. The conclusions in this study are valid for specific reactive powder concrete mix.
Acute sympathetic stress causes excessive secretion of catecholamines and induces cardiac injuries, which are mainly mediated by β-adrenergic receptors (β-ARs). However, α1-adrenergic receptors ...(α1-ARs) are also expressed in the heart and are activated upon acute sympathetic stress. In the present study, we investigated whether α1-AR activation induced cardiac inflammation and the underlying mechanisms. Male C57BL/6 mice were injected with a single dose of α1-AR agonist phenylephrine (PE, 5 or 10 mg/kg, s.c.) with or without pretreatment with α-AR antagonist prazosin (5 mg/kg, s.c.). PE injection caused cardiac dysfunction and cardiac inflammation, evidenced by the increased expression of inflammatory cytokine IL-6 and chemokines MCP-1 and MCP-5, as well as macrophage infiltration in myocardium. These effects were blocked by prazosin pretreatment. Furthermore, PE injection significantly increased the expression of NOD-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3) and the cleavage of caspase-1 (p20) and interleukin-18 in the heart; similar results were observed in both Langendorff-perfused hearts and cultured cardiomyocytes following the treatment with PE (10 μM). Moreover, PE-induced NLRP3 inflammasome activation and cardiac inflammation was blocked in Nlrp3-/- mice compared with wild-type mice. In conclusion, α1-AR overactivation induces cardiac inflammation by activating NLRP3 inflammasomes.
In order to more effectively monitor and interfere with enemy signals, it is particularly important to accurately and efficiently identify the intercepted signals and estimate their parameters in the ...increasingly complex electromagnetic environment. Therefore, in non-cooperative situations, it is of great practical significance to study how to accurately detect direct sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) signals in real time and estimate their parameters. The traditional time-delay correlation algorithm encounters the challenges such as peak energy leakage and false peak interference. As an alternative, this paper introduces a Pseudo-Noise (PN) code period estimation method utilizing a one-dimensional (1D) convolutional neural network based on the residual network (CNN-ResNet). This method transforms the problem of spread spectrum code period estimation into a multi-classification problem of spread spectrum code length estimation. Firstly, the In-phase/Quadrature(I/Q) two-way of the received DSSS signals is directly input into the CNN-ResNet model, which will automatically learn the characteristics of the DSSS signal with different PN code lengths and then estimate the PN code length. Simulation experiments are conducted using a data set with DSSS signals ranging from -20 to 10 dB in terms of signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs). Upon training and verifying the model using BPSK modulation, it is then put to the test with QPSK-modulated signals, and the estimation performance was analyzed through metrics such as loss function, accuracy rate, recall rate, and confusion matrix. The results demonstrate that the 1D CNN-ResNet proposed in this paper is capable of effectively estimating the PN code period of the non-cooperative DSSS signal, exhibiting robust generalization abilities.
DSSS Signal Detection Based on CNN Gu, Han-Qing; Liu, Xia-Xia; Xu, Lu ...
Sensors (Basel, Switzerland),
07/2023, Letnik:
23, Številka:
15
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
With the wide application of direct sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) signals, the comprehensive performance of DSSS communication systems has been continuously improved, making the electronic ...reconnaissance link in communication countermeasures more difficult. Electronic reconnaissance technology, as the fundamental means of modern electronic warfare, mainly includes signal detection, recognition, and parameter estimation. At present, research on DSSS detection algorithms is mostly based on the correlation characteristics of DSSS signals, and autocorrelation algorithm is the most mature and widely used method in practical engineering. With the continuous development of deep learning, deep-learning-based methods have gradually been introduced to replace traditional algorithms in the field of signal processing. This paper proposes a spread spectrum signal detection method based on convolutional neural network (CNN). Through experimental analysis, the detection performance of the CNN model proposed in this paper on DSSS signals in various situations has been compared and analyzed with traditional autocorrelation detection methods for different signal-to-noise ratios. The experiments verified the estimation performance of the model in this paper under different signal-to-noise ratios, different spreading code lengths, different spreading code types, and different modulation methods and compared it with the autocorrelation detection algorithm. It was found that the detection performance of the model in this paper was higher than that of the autocorrelation detection method, and the overall performance was improved by 4 dB.
Forest litter exerts an impact on the energy budget of snow surfaces, which lie beneath forest canopies. In this study, we measured shortwave and longwave radiation levels, as well as quantities of ...Asian spruce (Picea schrenkinan) forest litter, over 3 snow study plots that representing an open environment, 20% forest canopy openness (20% FCO), and 80% forest canopy openness (80% FCO). The fractional litter coverage (lc) was obtained through the binarization of digital photographs of forest litter. The effects of forest litter on snow surface albedo (α), snow surface temperature (Ts), upward shortwave and longwave radiation (K↑ and L↑), and sensible heat flux (H) were then analyzed. According to our results, the energy budget over snow surface influenced by forest litter principally due to forest litter forcing α decrease and Ts increase. The effects of forest litter on the energy budget increased with time and lc. We found that forest litter exerted the most significant impact on K↑ and L↑ at daytime during the latter stages of the snowmelt period. The influence of forest litter on H was more apparent on windy days. The presence of forest litter increased gains in shortwave radiation and losses in longwave radiation and decreased gains in H. Compared to the simulated energy (K↑ + L↑ + H) over a snow surface without litter, the calculated energy decreased by −13.4 W/m2 and increased by 9.0 W/m2, respectively, at the 20% FCO and 80% FCO sites during the latter stages of the snowmelt period. Overall, forest litter facilitated snow surface energy gains at the 80% FCO site and impeded them at the 20% FCO site during the latter stages of the snowmelt period.
Cell‐penetrating peptides provide a unique platform to create a new generation of cancer therapeutics with enhanced efficacy and diminished toxicity. In our study, enhanced expression of toll‐like ...receptor 2 (TLR2) was observed in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells. Screening of a phage display peptide library using Biopanning and Rapid Analysis of Selective Interactive Ligands (BRASIL) identified a TLR2‐binding peptide motif, Pep2. We show that the TLR2‐binding peptide motif targeted and penetrated into leukemia cells in a TLR2‐dependent manner. Moreover, a synthetic, chimeric peptide composed of the TLR2‐binding motif linked to a programmed cell death‐inducing sequence, D(KLAKLAK)2, induced apoptosis in AML cells with high TLR2 expression (TLR2high) but not in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) cells with low TLR2 expression (TLR2low). The antileukemia activity of this chimeric peptide was confirmed in leukemia patient samples and an animal model of myeloid leukemia, as the development of leukemia was significantly delayed in mice with TLR2high AML compared to TLR2low CML NOD/SCID mice. TUNEL assays on bone marrow tissue slices revealed that the chimerical peptide induced leukemia cell apoptosis in a TLR2‐dependent manner. Together, our findings indicate that TLR2 is a potential therapeutic target for the prevention and treatment of AML, and the prototype, Pep2‐D(KLAKLAK)2, is a promising drug candidate in this setting.
What's new?
Cell‐penetrating peptides (CPPs) are a promising tool for intracellular drug delivery. In this study, the authors hypothesized that the receptor TLR2 plays a role in acute myeloid leukemia (AML), then identified a CPP that targets TLR2. When this CPP was linked to a pro‐apoptotic sequence, it induced apoptosis in AML cells, and also reduced mortality in a mouse model of AML. These findings indicate that TLR2 is a potential therapeutic target in AML, and the authors describe a chimeric CPP targeting TLR2 that may represent a promising drug candidate.
In this work, the high-strength Mg–5Zn–2Al–2Sn (ZAT522, in wt%) Mg alloys was obtained at 220 °C and 130 °C by a two-step equal channel angular pressing (ECAP). For each stage, two passes were used. ...The results showed a remarkable grain refinement after the first stage of ECAP (A2 samples), leading to a fine-grained structure with average size of 1.40 μm. The additional stage (A4 samples) caused further grain refinement to 1.18 μm, and an ultra-fine grain structure (700 nm) appeared in the precipitate-rich region. The grain refinement mechanism for both samples was discussed in detail. To this end, the original extrusion fiber texture evolved into a new strong texture characterized by the base planes tilted toward the ECAP shear plane, with a higher Schmid factor value of 0.34. Compared with the as-extruded alloy, the yield strength of the A2 samples increased from 180 to 245 MPa, which was mainly attributed to the combined effects of grain boundary strengthening and precipitation strengthening. In the case of A4 samples, the dislocation strengthening resulted in a net increase in yield strength to 335 MPa, while the ductility was significantly reduced.
Designer chromosomes are artificially synthesized chromosomes. Nowadays, these chromosomes have numerous applications ranging from medical research to the development of biofuels. However, some ...chromosome fragments can interfere with the chemical synthesis of designer chromosomes and eventually limit the widespread use of this technology. To address this issue, this study aimed to develop an interpretable machine learning framework to predict and quantify the synthesis difficulties of designer chromosomes in advance. Through the use of this framework, six key sequence features leading to synthesis difficulties were identified, and an eXtreme Gradient Boosting model was established to integrate these features. The predictive model achieved high-quality performance with an AUC of 0.895 in cross-validation and an AUC of 0.885 on an independent test set. Based on these results, the synthesis difficulty index (S-index) was proposed as a means of scoring and interpreting synthesis difficulties of chromosomes from prokaryotes to eukaryotes. The findings of this study emphasize the significant variability in synthesis difficulties between chromosomes and demonstrate the potential of the proposed model to predict and mitigate these difficulties through the optimization of the synthesis process and genome rewriting.
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