With the rapid development of nanogenerator technology, intelligent motion sensors, wearable electronic devices, and human–computer interaction have received more and more attention. However, ...traditional motion sensors are limited by factors such as external power supply and their own volume and do not have the characteristics of flexibility, high intelligence, and high integration of modern sensors. This paper studied and realized a matrix motion sensor based on flexible PVDF hybrid material, which worked under piezoelectric mechanisms. The performance test of the prepared motion sensor proves that the device has good environmental adaptability. Its output performance is characterized. Under the test conditions of 3 Hz and 300 N, the output voltage of the nanogenerator is 15 mV. On this basis, the nanogenerator is used for the collection of human movement energy and the monitoring of human motion status, and through the design of electronic skin and human–computer interaction testing, it shows the huge application of flexible nanogenerator movement state monitoring and human health monitoring potential. We believe that the proposed flexible, low cost, hybrid nanogenerator will supply an effective method for energy harvesting devices.
Transcriptional activity is repressed due to the packaging of sperm chromatins during spermiogenesis. The detection of numerous transcripts in sperm, however, raises the question whether ...transcriptional events exist in sperm, which has been the central focus of the recent studies. To summarize the transcriptional activity during spermiogenesis and in sperm, we reviewed the documents on transcript differences during spermiogenesis, in sperm with differential motility, before and after capacitation and cryopreservation. This will lay a theoretical foundation for studying the mechanism(s) of gene expression in sperm, and would be invaluable in making better use of animal sires and developing reproductive control technologies.
This paper investigates the security performance of two relay selection schemes for cooperative non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) systems, where <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">K ...</tex-math></inline-formula> randomly distributed relays are employed with either decode-and-forward (DF) or amplify-and-forward (AF) protocols. More particularly, two-stage relay selection (TRS) and optimal relay selection (ORS) schemes are taken into consideration. To characterize the secrecy behaviors of these RS schemes, new closed-form expressions of both exact and asymptotic secrecy outage probability (SOP) are derived. We confirm that the SOP of the TRS scheme is equal to that of the ORS scheme for DF/AF-based NOMA systems. Based on the analytical results, the secrecy diversity orders achieved by the pair of RS schemes for the DF/AF-based NOMA systems are <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">K </tex-math></inline-formula>, which are equal to the number of relays. It is shown that the secrecy diversity orders for the cooperative NOMA systems are determined by the number of the relays. The numerical results are presented to demonstrate that: 1) the secrecy performance of the AF-based NOMA system outperforms that of the DF-based NOMA system, when not all DF relays successfully decode the received information; 2) with the number of relays increasing, the SOP of these RS schemes for the DF-/AF-based NOMA systems becomes lower, and; 3) the TRS/ORS schemes are capable of achieving better secrecy outage behaviors compared with random RS and orthogonal multiple access-based RS schemes.
Both long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) RMRP and heat shock protein (HSP) 70 have been known to play crucial roles in inflammation. The present study investigated the roles of lncRNA RMRP and HSP70 protein ...4 (HSPA4) in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced sepsis. The C57BL/6 mice were treated with LPS, following which the cardiomyocytes were isolated for
in vitro
experiments. Further, a cardiac muscle cell line, HL-1 was transfected with plasmids expressing RMRP and HSPA4, si-NC, si-HSPA4, miR-1-5p mimic, and controls
in vitro
. Cell apoptosis, mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), and levels of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS), mRNAs, and proteins were detected in the transfected mice tissues and cells. The LPS treatment significantly reduced the expression levels of RMRP, MMP, and mitochondrial cytochrome C. Moreover, it enhanced the cardiomyocyte apoptosis, intracellular ROS levels, cytoplasm cytochrome C levels, and the expression of caspase-3 and caspase-9 and nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) p65 subunit. The predicted RMRP-miR-1-5p-HSPA4 network was validated by co-transfection experiments
in vitro
in HL-1 cells. The transfection of miR-1-5p-treated cells with pcDNA-RMRP enhanced the levels of the protein HSPA4; however, no change at the mRNA level was observed. Moreover, miR-1-5p mimic attenuated the protective effect of pcDNA-HSPA4 against LPS-induced mitochondrial damage and apoptosis. In addition, we observed that silencing of HSPA4 increased the expression of nuclear p65; however, this effect could be reversed by co-transfection with pcDNA-RMRP. The lncRNA RMRP axis acts as a sponge for miR-1-5p. RMRP inhibits LPS-induced apoptosis of cardiomyocytes and mitochondrial damage by suppressing the post-transcriptional regulatory function of miR-1-5p on HSPA4. We believe that RMRP exhibits therapeutic potential for LPS-induced myocardial dysfunction both
in vitro
and
in vivo
.
Abstract
The recently emerged Omicron (B.1.1.529) variant has rapidly surpassed Delta to become the predominant circulating SARS-CoV-2 variant, given the higher transmissibility rate and immune ...escape ability, resulting in breakthrough infections in vaccinated individuals. A new generation of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines targeting the Omicron variant are urgently needed. Here, we developed a subunit vaccine named RBD-HR/trimer by directly linking the sequence of RBD derived from the Delta variant (containing L452R and T478K) and HR1 and HR2 in SARS-CoV-2 S2 subunit in a tandem manner, which can self-assemble into a trimer. In multiple animal models, vaccination of RBD-HR/trimer formulated with MF59-like oil-in-water adjuvant elicited sustained humoral immune response with high levels of broad-spectrum neutralizing antibodies against Omicron variants, also inducing a strong T cell immune response in vivo. In addition, our RBD-HR/trimer vaccine showed a strong boosting effect against Omicron variants after two doses of mRNA vaccines, featuring its capacity to be used in a prime-boost regimen. In mice and non-human primates, RBD-HR/trimer vaccination could confer a complete protection against live virus challenge of Omicron and Delta variants. The results qualified RBD-HR/trimer vaccine as a promising next-generation vaccine candidate for prevention of SARS-CoV-2, which deserved further evaluation in clinical trials.
The current pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection has dramatically influenced various aspects of the world. ...It is urgent to thoroughly study pathology and underlying mechanisms for developing effective strategies to prevent and treat this threatening disease. It is universally acknowledged that cell death and cell autophagy are essential and crucial to maintaining host homeostasis and participating in disease pathogenesis. At present, more than twenty different types of cell death have been discovered, some parts of which have been fully understood, whereas some of which need more investigation. Increasing studies have indicated that cell death and cell autophagy caused by coronavirus might play an important role in virus infection and pathogenicity. However, the knowledge of the interactions and related mechanisms of SARS-CoV-2 between cell death and cell autophagy lacks systematic elucidation. Therefore, in this review, we comprehensively delineate how SARS-CoV-2 manipulates diverse cell death (including apoptosis, necroptosis, pyroptosis, ferroptosis, and NETosis) and cell autophagy for itself benefits, which is simultaneously involved in the occurrence and progression of COVID-19, aiming to provide a reasonable basis for the existing interventions and further development of novel therapies.
•Twelve air samples and 355 surface samples from a hospital were tested for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).•Only one air sample, which was obtained during an intubation ...procedure, tested positive.•A low level of surface contamination was found, and most occurred on high-touch surfaces.•No association was found between surface contamination and patient characteristics.
Few studies have explored air and surface contamination by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in healthcare settings.
Air and surface samples were collected from the isolation wards and intensive care units designated for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients. Clinical data and the results of nasopharyngeal specimen and serum antibody testing were also collected for the patient sample.
A total of 367 air and surface swab samples were collected from the patient care areas of 15 patients with mild COVID-19 and nine patients with severe/critical COVID-19. Only one air sample taken during the intubation procedure tested positive. High-touch surfaces were slightly more likely to be contaminated with SARS-CoV-2 RNA than low-touch surfaces. Contamination rates were slightly higher near severe/critical patients than near mild patients, although this difference was not statistically significant (p > 0.05). Surface contamination was still found near the patients with both positive IgG and IgM.
Air and surface contamination with viral RNA was relatively low in these healthcare settings after the enhancement of infection prevention and control. Environmental contamination could still be found near seroconverted patients, suggesting the need to maintain constant vigilance in healthcare settings to reduce healthcare-associated infection during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mucosal immunity plays a significant role in the first-line defense against viruses transmitted and infected through the respiratory system, such as SARS-CoV-2. However, the lack of effective and ...safe adjuvants currently limits the development of COVID-19 mucosal vaccines. In the current study, we prepare an intranasal vaccine containing cationic crosslinked carbon dots (CCD) and a SARS-CoV-2 antigen, RBD-HR with spontaneous antigen particlization. Intranasal immunization with CCD/RBD-HR induces high levels of antibodies with broad-spectrum neutralization against authentic viruses/pseudoviruses of Omicron-included variants and protects immunized female BALB/c mice from Omicron infection. Despite strong systemic cellular immune response stimulation, the intranasal CCD/RBD-HR vaccine also induces potent mucosal immunity as determined by the generation of tissue-resident T cells in the lungs and airway. Moreover, CCD/RBD-HR not only activates professional antigen-presenting cells (APCs), dendritic cells, but also effectively targets nasal epithelial cells, promotes antigen binding via sialic acid, and surprisingly provokes the antigen-presenting of nasal epithelial cells. We demonstrate that CCD is a promising intranasal vaccine adjuvant for provoking strong mucosal immunity and might be a candidate adjuvant for intranasal vaccine development for many types of infectious diseases, including COVID-19.
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