Abstract Introduction Transport of glucose from maternal blood across the placental trophoblastic tissue barrier is critical to sustain fetal growth. The mechanism by which GLUTs are regulated in ...trophoblasts in response to ischemic hypoxia encountered with intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) has not been suitably investigated. Objective To investigate placental expression of GLUT1, GLUT3 and GLUT4 and possible mechanisms of GLUT regulation in idiopathic IUGR. Methods We analyzed clinical, biochemical and histological data from placentas collected from women affected by idiopathic full-term IUGR ( n = 10) and gestational age-matched healthy controls ( n = 10). Results We found increased GLUT3 protein expression in the trophoblast (cytotrophoblast greater than syncytiotrophoblast) on the maternal aspect of the placenta in IUGR compared to normal placenta, but no differences in GLUT1 or GLUT4 were found. No differential methylation of the GLUT3 promoter between normal and IUGR placentas was observed. Increased GLUT3 expression was associated with an increased nuclear concentration of HIF-1α, suggesting hypoxia may play a role in the up-regulation of GLUT3. Discussion Further studies are needed to elucidate whether increased GLUT3 expression in IUGR is a marker for defective villous maturation or an adaptive response of the trophoblast in response to chronic hypoxia. Conclusions Patients with IUGR have increased trophoblast expression of GLUT3, as found under the low-oxygen conditions of the first trimester.
High expression of Ankyrin Repeat Domain 1 (ANKRD1) in ovarian carcinoma is associated with poor survival, and in ovarian cancer cell lines is associated with platinum resistance. Importantly, ...decreasing ANKRD1 expression using siRNA increases cisplatin sensitivity. In this study, we investigated possible mechanisms underlying the association of ANKRD1 with cisplatin response. We first demonstrated that cisplatin-induced apoptosis in ovarian cancer cell lines was associated with endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, evidenced by induction of Glucose-Regulated Protein 78 (GRP78), growth arrest- and DNA damage-inducible gene 153 (GADD153) and increased intracellular Ca(2+) release. The level of sensitivity to cisplatin-induced apoptosis was associated with ANKRD1 protein levels and poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) cleavage. COLO 316 ovarian cancer cells, which express high ANKRD1 levels, were relatively resistant to cisplatin, and ER stress-induced apoptosis, whereas OAW42 and PEO14 cells, which express lower ANKRD1 levels, are more sensitive to ER stress-induced apoptosis. Furthermore, we show that overexpression of ANKRD1 attenuated cisplatin-induced cytotoxicity, and conversely siRNA knockdown of ANKRD1 sensitized ovarian cancer cells to cisplatin and ER stress-induced apoptosis associated with induction of GADD153, and downregulation of BCL2 and BCL-XL. Taken together, these results suggest that ANKRD1 has a significant role in the regulation of apoptosis in human ovarian cancer cells, and is a potential molecular target to enhance sensitivity of ovarian cancer to chemotherapy.
DENV envelope glycoprotein (E) is responsible for interacting with host cell receptors and is the main target for the development of a dengue vaccine based on an induction of neutralizing antibodies. ...It is well known that DENV E glycoprotein has two potential N-linked glycosylation sites at Asn67 and Asn153. The N-glycans of E glycoprotein have been shown to influence the proper folding of the protein, its cellular localization, its interactions with receptors and its immunogenicity. However, the precise structures of the N-glycans that are attached to E glycoprotein remain elusive, although the crystal structure of DENV E has been determined. This study characterized the structures of envelope protein N-linked glycans on mature DENV-2 particles derived from insect cells via an integrated method that used both lectin microarray and MALDI-TOF-MS. By combining these methods, a high heterogeneity of DENV N-glycans was found. Five types of N-glycan were identified on DENV-2, including mannose, GalNAc, GlcNAc, fucose and sialic acid; high mannose-type N-linked oligosaccharides and the galactosylation of N-glycans were the major structures that were found. Furthermore, a complex between a glycan on DENV and the carbohydrate recognition domain (CRD) of DC-SIGN was mimicked with computational docking experiments. For the first time, this study provides a comprehensive understanding of the N-linked glycan profile of whole DENV-2 particles derived from insect cells.
Crack closure behaviour of a compact tension (CT) specimen subjected to a constant amplitude cyclic mechanical load, with load ratio
R
=
−2 and the maximum load approaching and exceeding the yield ...strength based limit load of the specimen, has been examined by performing large strain elastic–plastic finite element (FE) crack growth analyses assuming kinematic hardening. Results from static analyses show that the near crack tip stress and plastic strain fields do not change significantly with further loading after crack closure takes place. Results from crack growth analyses show that the crack closure type depends on the maximum stress intensity factor (SIF) and the crack tip constraint conditions, and that the crack opening/closing loads can be correlated by the maximum SIF, for given crack tip constraint conditions (plane stress/strain). The equation given in the R5 procedure for the crack closure factor,
q
0, is conservative compared with the results obtained from the FE simulation.
Summary
lncRNAs play crucial roles in fat metabolism in animals. Previously, we have compared the mRNA transcriptome profiles between seven fat‐type Chinese pig breeds and one lean‐type Western breed ...(Yorkshire, YY). The associations between differentially expressed (DE) genes and phenotypical traits were investigated. In the present study, to further explore the underlying regulatory mechanisms, lncRNAs were sequenced and compared between YY and Chinese indigenous breeds. The results showed 9114 and 7538 DE lncRNAs between at least one Chinese breed and the YY breed in the adipose and muscle tissue respectively. KEGG enrichment analysis revealed that the target genes of these DE lncRNAs mainly influenced the glucolipid metabolism, which is an important process affecting meat quality. Correlation analyses between the DE lncRNA and DE mRNA genes related to meat quality and growth traits were performed. The results showed that LTCONS_00073280 was associated with intramuscular fat content. Four lncRNAs (LTCONS_00101781, LTCONS_00037879, LTCONS_00088260 and LTCONS‐00128343) might mediate backfat thickness. Overall, this study provides candidate lncRNAs that potentially affect meat quality, which might be useful for molecular breeding of pig breeds in future.
Electrostatic gating field and light illumination are two widely used stimuli for semiconductor devices. Via capacitive effect, a gate field modifies the carrier density of the devices, while ...illumination generates extra carriers by exciting trapped electrons. Here we report an unusual illumination-enhanced gating effect in a two-dimensional electron gas at the LaAlO3/SrTiO3 interface, which has been the focus of emergent phenomena exploration. We find that light illumination decreases, rather than increases, the carrier density of the gas when the interface is negatively gated through the SrTiO3 layer, and the density drop can be 20 times as large as that caused by the conventional capacitive effect. This effect is further found to stem from an illumination-accelerated interface polarization, an originally extremely slow process. This unusual effect provides a promising controlling of the correlated oxide electronics in which a much larger gating capacity is demanding due to their intrinsic larger carrier density.
To investigate the related risk factors in patients with decompensated cirrhosis complicated with sepsis.
1 098 cases with decompensated cirrhosis were collected from January 2018 to December 2020. A ...total of 492 cases with complete data meeting the inclusion criteria were included. Among them, the sepsis group (240 cases) was complicated with sepsis and the non-sepsis group (252 cases) was not complicated with sepsis. Albumin, cholinesterase, total bilirubin, prothrombin activity, urea, creatinine, international normalized ratio and other indicators of the two groups of patients were collected. Child-Pugh classification and MELD score were performed on two groups of patients. Mann-Whitney U test was used for non-normally distributed measurement data, and rank sum test for grade data. Logistic regression analysis was performed on sepsis-related factors that may affect patients with decompensated cirrhosis complicated with sepsis.
162 cases of gram negative bacteria, 76 cases of gram positive bacteria and 2 ca
High-entropy alloy Al0.85CoCrFeNi was joined to TiAl alloy through vacuum diffusion bonding. The typical interfacial microstructure of Al0.85CoCrFeNi/TiAl joint was TiAl/ α2-Ti3Al + solid solution ...strengthened γ-TiAl / FeNi, AlNiTi / Al(Co, Ni)2Ti /Cr(Fe, Co)ss / Al0.85CoCrFeNi. The formation of Al(Co, Ni)2Ti phase and Cr(Fe, Co)ss layer was result from the diffusion of Ni and Co atoms from Al0.85CoCrFeNi into TiAl substrate and the accumulation of Fe and Cr atoms at the Al0.85CoCrFeNi side. The effects of joining temperature and holding time on the microstructure and mechanical properties of joints were revealed. The joint with the maximum shear strength of ∼70 MPa was obtained at the joining temperature of 850 °C for 1.5 h under pressure of 30 MPa. The fracture path was deflected from solid strengthened γ-TiAl layer where FeNi, AlNiTi existed to Cr(Fe, Co)ss layer.
Interleukin-33 (IL-33) and its receptor ST2 have been influentially associated with the pathophysiology of asthma. Due to the divergent roles of IL-33 in regulating mast cell functions, there is a ...need to further characterize IL-33/ST2-dependent mast cell responses and their significance in the context of asthma. This study aimed to investigate how IL-33/ST2-dependent mast cell responses contribute to the development of airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) and airway inflammation in a mouse model of house dust mite (HDM)-induced asthma. Mast cell-deficient C57BL/6-Kit
(Wsh) mice engrafted with either wild-type (Wsh + MC-WT) or ST2-deficient bone marrow-derived mast cells (Wsh + MC-ST2KO) were exposed to HDM delivered intranasally. An exacerbated development of AHR in response to HDM was seen in Wsh + MC-ST2KO compared with Wsh + MC-WT mice. The contribution of this IL-33/ST2-dependent mast cell response to AHR seems to reside within the smaller airways in the peripheral parts of the lung, as suggested by the isolated yet marked effect on tissue resistance. Considering the absence of a parallel increase in cellular inflammation in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and lung, the aggravated AHR in Wsh + MC-ST2KO mice seems to be independent of cellular inflammation. We observed an association between the elevated AHR and reduced PGE
levels in BALF
Due to the protective properties of PGE
in airway responses, it is conceivable that IL-33/ST2-dependent mast cell induction of PGE
could be responsible for the dampening effect on AHR. In conclusion, we reveal that IL-33/ST2-dependent mast cell responses can have a protective, rather than causative role, in the development of AHR.
Three-dimensional numerical study was performed for heat transfer characteristics and fluid flow structure of fin-and-oval-tube heat exchangers with longitudinal vortex generators (LVGs). For
Re ...(based on the hydraulic diameter) ranges from 500 to 2500, it was found that the average
Nu for the three-row fin-and-oval-tube heat exchanger with longitudinal vortex generators increased by 13.6–32.9% over the baseline case and the corresponding pressure loss increased by 29.2–40.6%. The results were analyzed on the basis of the field synergy principle to provide fundamental understanding of the relation between local flow structure and heat transfer augmentation. It was confirmed that the reduction of the intersection angle
θ between the velocity field and the temperature field was one of the essential factors influencing heat transfer enhancement. Three geometrical parameters – placement of LVGs (upstream and downstream), angles of attack (
α
=
15°, 30°, 45° and 60°) and tube-row number (
n
=
2, 3, 4 and 5) – were also investigated for parameter optimization. The LVGs with placement of downstream, angles of attack
α
=
30° and minimum tube-row number provide the best heat transfer performance. The effects of the three geometrical parameters on heat transfer enhancement were also analyzed from the view point of the field synergy principle and it was found that the results can be well explained by the field synergy principle.
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