Herein, a three-dimensional (3D) inversion method in the frequency domain based on a time–frequency transformation was developed to improve the efficiency of the 3D inversion of transient ...electromagnetic (TEM) data. The Fourier transform related to the electromagnetic response in the frequency and time domains becomes a sine or cosine transform under the excitation of downward-step current. We established a transformation matrix based on the digital filtering calculation for the sine transform, and then the frequency domain projection of the TEM data was determined from the linear transformation system using the smoothing constrained least squares inversion method, in which only the imaginary part was used to maintain the TEM data transformation equivalence in the bidirectional projection. Thus, the time-domain TEM inversion problem was indirectly and effectively solved in the frequency domain. In the 3D inversion of the transformed frequency-domain data, the limited-memory Broyden–Fletcher–Goldfarb–Shannoquasi–Newton (L-BFGS) method was used and modified with a restart strategy to adjust the regularization parameter when the algorithm tended to a local minimum. Synthetic data tests showed that our domain transformation method can stably project the TEM data into the frequency domain with very high accuracy; furthermore, the 3D inversion of the transformed frequency-domain data is stable, can be used to recover the real resistivity model with an acceptable efficiency.
Background
Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disease. Evidence has shown that lipocalin-2 (LCN2) is involved in the pathological process of PD. We aimed to explore ...whether serum levels of LCN2 could be a biomarker of PD.
Methods
We recruited consecutive PD patients and healthy controls (HC) in our hospital from June 2020 to July 2020. Serum LCN2 levels were detected using the LCN2 enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit. The motor section of the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS III) and the Hoehn and Yahr Staging Scale (H&Y) were assessed on admission to evaluate disease severity in patients with PD. Cognitive status was measured by the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA).
Results
We finally recruited 75 patients, including 40 PD patients and 35 HC. Serum LCN2 levels were not significantly increased in PD patients compared with HC (4.9 − 0.7 to 18.6 vs 1.9 − 1.5 to 16.9 ng/mL,
P
= 0.33). Besides, there was no significant difference in LCN2 levels between patients at early and advanced stage of PD (
P
= 0.75), as well as between cognitively impaired PD patients, PD patients with normal cognition, and HC (
P
= 0.30). Moreover, LCN2 had no correlation with disease duration (
r
= − 0.1,
P
= 0.37), UPDRS III score (
r
= 0.07,
P
= 0.65), and MoCA score (
r
= 0.221,
P
= 0.17).
Conclusions
Overall, our study suggests that serum LCN2 levels may not be a biomarker for PD.
The development of pulmonary fibrosis involves a cascade of events, in which inflammation mediated by immune cells plays a pivotal role. Chemotherapeutic drugs have been shown to have dual effects on ...fibrosis, with bleomycin exacerbating pulmonary fibrosis and bortezomib alleviating tissue fibrotic processes. Understanding the intricate interplay between chemotherapeutic drugs, immune responses, and pulmonary fibrosis is likely to serve as the foundation for crafting tailored therapeutic strategies.
A model of bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis was established, followed by treatment with bortezomib. Tissue samples were collected for analysis of immune cell subsets and functional assessment by flow cytometry and in vitro cell experiments. Additionally, multi-omics analysis was conducted to further elucidate the expression of chemokines and chemokine receptors, as well as the characteristics of cell populations.
Here, we observed that the expression of CXCL16 and CXCR6 was elevated in the lung tissue of a pulmonary fibrosis model. In the context of pulmonary fibrosis or TGF-β1 stimulation in vitro, macrophages exhibited an M2-polarized phenotype and secreted more CXCL16 than those of the control group. Moreover, flow cytometry revealed increased expression levels of CD69 and CXCR6 in pulmonary CD4 T cells during fibrosis progression. The administration of bortezomib alleviated bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis, accompanied by reduced ratio of M2-polarized macrophages and decreased accumulation of CD4 T cells expressing CXCR6.
Our findings provide insights into the key immune players involved in bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis and offer preclinical evidence supporting the repurposing strategy and combination approaches to reduce lung fibrosis.
Nicotiana tabacum (tobacco) has attracted interest as one of the most economically important industrial crops widely cultivated in China, whose dried leaves are popularly consumed medicinally and ...recreationally by human societies. In this study, five undescribed alkaloids derivatives, isoaspergillines A–E, together with eight known alkaloids, notoamide D, (1R,4S)-4-benzyl-1-isopropyl-2,4-dihydro-1H-pyrazino-2,1-bquinazoline-3,6-dione, protuboxepin K, notoamide C, notoamide M, deoxybrevianamide E, cyclo (D-Pro-L-Trp), and versicolamide B, were obtained from the culture of the Nicotiana tabacum-derived fungus Aspergillus versicolor. Their structures were mainly elucidated through comprehensive analyses of spectroscopic data. Bioactivity evaluation of all isolated compounds revealed that isoaspergilline A and notoamide M exhibited anti-TMV activities with IC50 values of 20.0 and 22.8 μM, respectively. Molecular docking suggested that isoaspergilline A and notoamide M were well located into the active site of anti-TMV by interacting with SER138, SER143, and ASN73 residues. This study enlightens the therapeutic potential of the endophytic fungus A. versicolor and it is helpful to find undescribed anti-TMV activity inhibitors, as well as searching for new anti-TMV candidates from natural sources.
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•Isoaspergilline A was an unusual tetrasubstituted indole core, and two isoprenyl groups.•Bioactivity evaluation of all compounds revealed that isoaspergilline A and notoamide M possess anti-TMV activities with IC50 values 20.0, 22.8 μM, respectively, positive control (IC50 = 36.1 μM).•Molecular docking suggested that isoaspergilline A and notoamide M were well located into the active site of anti-TMV by interacting with SER138, SER143, and ASN73 residues.
•Quaternized chitosan-Matrigel-polyacrylamide (QCS-M-PAM) hydrogel was designed for wound healing.•The QCS-M-PAM hydrogel exhibited the comparable modulus with human skin.•The QCS-M-PAM hydrogel ...showed efficient antibacterial and antifungal properties.•The QCS-M-PAM hydrogel could promote collagen deposition and induce skin adnexal regeneration.
Hydrogels could be promising wound healing dressings that maintain a moist environment in the wound site and accelerate wound healing. However, the lack of antibacterial effect, suitable mechanical property and adhesiveness limits their applications. Here, we designed a quaternized chitosan-Matrigel-polyacrylamide (QCS-M-PAM) hydrogel with multi-functions. The morphology, swelling ratio, mechanical test, antimicrobial property, hemostatic performance and biocompatibility of the hybrid hydrogel were investigated in vitro and vivo. The hybrid hydrogel showed a three-dimensional (3D) microporous structure, high swelling ratio, excellent stretchable and compressive property, similar modulus to human skin, good adhesiveness, and low cytotoxicity. The results of histology and molecular testing in vivo demonstrated that the hybrid hydrogel could significantly enhance wound healing, collagen deposition, and induce skin adnexal regeneration by upregulating anti-inflammatory factors, and downregulating proinflammatory factors. Together, the present antibacterial hydrogels with hemostatic and adhesive properties are considered to have promising potential used as wound dressings for full-thickness skin defect.
How to develop new cotton varieties possessing high yield traits of Upland cotton and superior fiber quality traits of Sea Island cotton remains a key task for cotton breeders and researchers. While ...multiple attempts bring in little significant progresses, the development of Chromosome Segment Substitution Lines (CSSLs) from Gossypium barbadense in G. hirsutum background provided ideal materials for aforementioned breeding purposes in upland cotton improvement. Based on the excellent fiber performance and relatively clear chromosome substitution segments information identified by Simple Sequence Repeat (SSR) markers, two CSSLs, MBI9915 and MBI9749, together with the recurrent parent CCRI36 were chosen to conduct transcriptome sequencing during the development stages of fiber elongation and Secondary Cell Wall (SCW) synthesis (from 10DPA and 28DPA), aiming at revealing the mechanism of fiber development and the potential contribution of chromosome substitution segments from Sea Island cotton to fiber development of Upland cotton.
In total, 15 RNA-seq libraries were constructed and sequenced separately, generating 705.433 million clean reads with mean GC content of 45.13% and average Q30 of 90.26%. Through multiple comparisons between libraries, 1801 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified, of which the 902 up-regulated DEGs were mainly involved in cell wall organization and response to oxidative stress and auxin, while the 898 down-regulated ones participated in translation, regulation of transcription, DNA-templated and cytoplasmic translation based on GO annotation and KEGG enrichment analysis. Subsequently, STEM software was performed to explicate the temporal expression pattern of DEGs. Two peroxidases and four flavonoid pathway-related genes were identified in the "oxidation-reduction process", which could play a role in fiber development and quality formation. Finally, the reliability of RNA-seq data was validated by quantitative real-time PCR of randomly selected 20 genes.
The present report focuses on the similarities and differences of transcriptome profiles between the two CSSLs and the recurrent parent CCRI36 and provides novel insights into the molecular mechanism of fiber development, and into further exploration of the feasible contribution of G. barbadense substitution segments to fiber quality formation, which will lay solid foundation for simultaneously improving fiber yield and quality of upland cotton through CSSLs.
This work reports a thermoresponsive multifunctional wound dressing hydrogel based on ABA triblock copolymers synthesized via reversible addition fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization. ...The inner B block consists of a positively‐charged hydrolysable betaine ester loaded with an antimicrobial drug as its counter ion and the B block is flanked by two outer A blocks of thermoresponsive poly (N‐isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM). A solution containing the triblock copolymers can be applied to wound sites and immediately turns into a physical gel at the body temperature. This wound dressing can reduce the risk of wound infection by releasing small‐molecular‐weight antimicrobial drug and facilitate the attachment of mammalian cells during tissue regeneration through its positive surface charge. The cationic betaine ester can then hydrolyze at the wound site to its zwitterionic form, which is known to be biocompatible and nonsticky. The thermoresponsive in situ gelation feature along with controlled drug release, enhanced tissue–hydrogel interactions as well as long‐term biocompatibility make this hydrogel a very promising material for antimicrobial wound dressing applications.
An in situ forming multifunctional wound dressing hydrogel made up of triblock copolymers with well‐controlled molecular structure was synthesized via RAFT polymerization. The physical cross‐linked hydrogel is easy to apply and gives good tissue conformity. In addition, it is experimental proven to provide antimicrobial activity and healing promotion at the wound site.
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