Thousands of large intergenic noncoding RNAs (lincRNAs) have been identified in the mammalian genome, many of which have important roles in regulating a variety of biological processes. Here, we used ...a custom microarray to identify lincRNAs associated with activation of the innate immune response. A panel of 159 lincRNAs was found to be differentially expressed following innate activation of THP1 macrophages. Among them, linc1992 was shown to be expressed in many human tissues and was required for induction of TNFα expression. Linc1992 bound specifically to heterogenous nuclear ribonucleoprotein L (hnRNPL) and formed a functional linc1992–hnRNPL complex that regulated transcription of the TNFα gene by binding to its promoter. Transcriptome analysis revealed that linc1992 was required for expression of many immune-response genes, including other cytokines and transcriptional and posttranscriptional regulators of TNFα expression, and that knockdown of linc1992 caused dysregulation of these genes during innate activation of THP1 macrophages. Therefore, we named linc1992 THRIL (TNFα and hnRNPL related immunoregulatory LincRNA). Finally, THRIL expression was correlated with the severity of symptoms in patients with Kawasaki disease, an acute inflammatory disease of childhood. Collectively, our data provide evidence that lincRNAs and their binding proteins can regulate TNFα expression and may play important roles in the innate immune response and inflammatory diseases in humans.
•Novel evaluations of stability based on DFT for adlayer hydroxides are presented.•Galvanic corrosion on B2 matrix is due to the lower stability of adlayer hydroxide.•The quality of Cr rich hydroxide ...dominates the corrosion behavior around Ecorr.•The stable ipass is related to lower ksp values of Co(OH)3, Fe(OH)3, and Cr(OH)3.•The annealing enhances the uniformity and corrosion resistance of passive film.
This work investigates the corrosion mechanism of annealed equiatomic AlCoCrFeNi tri-phase alloy in 0.5 M H2SO4 aerated aqueous solution. Experimental results indicate that the B2 matrix is preferentially corroded away while grain-boundary FCC and labyrinth-like BCC endure, consistent with the tendency of formation energy for monolayer hydroxide on the (001) plane of three phases calculated by the first principle based on density function theory. Furthermore, the stable passive current density is related to lower ksp values of Co(OH)3, Fe(OH)3, and Cr(OH)3, while the annealing effect on enhancing corrosion resistance is owing to the more uniformity of passive hydroxide film.
Understanding the overall patterns of information flow within the brain has become a major goal of neuroscience. In the current study, we produced a first draft of the Drosophila connectome at the ...mesoscopic scale, reconstructed from 12,995 images of neuron projections collected in FlyCircuit (version 1.1). Neuron polarities were predicted according to morphological criteria, with nodes of the network corresponding to brain regions designated as local processing units (LPUs). The weight of each directed edge linking a pair of LPUs was determined by the number of neuron terminals that connected one LPU to the other. The resulting network showed hierarchical structure and small-world characteristics and consisted of five functional modules that corresponded to sensory modalities (olfactory, mechanoauditory, and two visual) and the pre-motor center. Rich-club organization was present in this network and involved LPUs in all sensory centers, and rich-club members formed a putative motor center of the brain. Major intra- and inter-modular loops were also identified that could play important roles for recurrent and reverberant information flow. The present analysis revealed whole-brain patterns of network structure and information flow. Additionally, we propose that the overall organizational scheme showed fundamental similarities to the network structure of the mammalian brain.
•A Drosophila connectome was reconstructed by 12,995 neuron images in FlyCircuit 1.1•Hierarchical organization, small word, and rich club were observed in the brain•Pathways of information flow during behavior were predicted from network structure•Organization schemes of fly and mammalian brains showed fundamental similarities
A draft of the Drosophila connectome was reconstructed from 12,995 neuron images. The network showed hierarchical structure, small world, and rich-club organization. The present analysis revealed whole-brain patterns of network structure and rules of information flow. The overall organizational scheme showed fundamental similarities to the mammalian brain.
Three corrosion potentials and three corrosion current densities are clearly identified before the passivation for both dynamic polarization curves of equimolar CoCrFeNi high-entropy alloy (HEA) and ...304 stainless steel (304SS) in 0.5 M H2SO4 aerated aqueous solution, by decomposing anodic and cathodic polarization curves. The passivated current density of the former is greater than the latter, compliant with not only the constant of solubility product (ksp) and redox equilibrium potential (Eeq) of each metal hydroxide but also the sequence of bond energy (Eb) for monolayer hydroxide on their facets derived from the first principle founded on density function theory. However, the total amount of ion releasing from HEA is less than 304SS, since the hydroxide/oxide film formed in the air of the latter containing greater amounts of Fe(Ⅱ) and Mn(Ⅱ) is less stable around corrosion potentials while they are further oxidized into more stable Fe(Ⅲ) and Mn(ⅢorⅣ) with much lower ksp, leading to the much less increasing ratios of ion releases from 0.25 to 0.6 V.
Abstract
The mechanism of carrier recombination in downsized μ-LED chips from 100 × 100 to 10 × 10 μm
2
on emission performance was systemically investigated. All photolithography processes for ...defining the μ-LED pattern were achieved by using a laser direct writing technique. This maskless technology achieved the glass-mask-free process, which not only can improve the exposure accuracy but also save the development time. The multi-functional SiO
2
film as a passivation layer successfully reduced the leakage current density of μ-LED chips compared with the μ-LED chips without passivation layer. As decreasing the chip size to 10 × 10 μm
2
, the smallest chip size exhibited the highest ideality factor, which indicated the main carrier recombination at the high-defect-density zone in μ-LED chip leading to the decreased emission performance. The blue-shift phenomenon in the electroluminescence spectrum with decreasing the μ-LED chip size was due to the carrier screening effect and the band filling effect. The 10 × 10 μm
2
μ-LED chip exhibited high EQE values in the high current density region with a less efficiency droop, and the max-EQE value was 18.8%. The luminance of 96 × 48 μ-LED array with the chip size of 20 × 20 μm
2
exhibited a high value of 516 nits at the voltage of 3 V.
The fabrication process and light extraction efficiency of AlGaInP-based flip-chip micro- light-emitting diode (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">\mu </tex-math></inline-formula>-LED) array ...chips are improved by employing a wafer-bonding process, patterned metal contact, and sidewall passivation layers. The epilayers with indium tin oxide (ITO) can be successfully transferred from the GaAs substrate to the sapphire substrate and bound. Three types of patterned n-metal are employed in the <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">\mu </tex-math></inline-formula>-LED as a self-aligning mask and light reflection layer, where the n-GaAs layer can be partially removed by the wet etching process. The dry etching process of MESA has been optimized by applying the BCl 3 gas in the inductively coupled plasma (ICP) system, which can suppress the etching rate of the sidewall and improve the etching depth uniformity. Consequently, the leakage current of the <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">\mu </tex-math></inline-formula>-LED array chip is decreased from 85 to 7 nA under the bias of −5 V. Moreover, three configurations of the metal contact/n-GaAs structures with Omnidirectional reflector (ODR) have been designed to reduce the emission light absorption, passivating the sidewall of MESA, and enhance the output power. Finally, the 0.52-in red <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">\mu </tex-math></inline-formula>-LED array with a chip size of <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">100\,\,\mu \text{m}\,\,\times 100\,\,\mu \text{m} </tex-math></inline-formula> and resolution of 138 pixels/in is realized when bonded with the drive IC. Consequently, the <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">\mu </tex-math></inline-formula>-LED array chips with ODR and patterned contact show the highest external quantum efficiency of 51.1% and relative output power enhancement of 441% compared to the chip with SiO 2 passivation layer and nonpatterned n-metal contact.
Psoriasis affects more than 125 million people worldwide, and the diagnosis and treatment efficacy evaluation of the disease mainly rely on clinical assessments that could be subjective. Our previous ...study showed that the skin erythema level could be quantified using diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), and the hemoglobin concentration of most psoriatic lesion was higher than that of its adjacent uninvolved skin. While the compromised epidermal barrier function has been taken as the major cause of clinical manifestation of skin dryness and inflammation of psoriasis, very few methods can be used to effectively evaluate this function. In this study, we investigate the near infrared spectroscopic features of psoriatic (n = 21) and normal (n = 21) skin that could link to the epidermal barrier function. From the DRS measurements, it was found that the water bonding status and light scattering properties of psoriasis are significantly different from those of uninvolved or normal skin. The connection between these parameters to the epidermal barrier function and morphology will be discussed. Our results suggest that objective evaluation of epidermal barrier function of psoriasis could be achieved using a simple DRS system.
Neoadjuvant immunotherapy and chemotherapy have improved the major pathological response (MPR) in patients with early-stage operable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). This study aimed to assess ...whether the presence of targetable driver mutations affects the efficacy of the combination of immunotherapy and chemotherapy. We enrolled patients with early-stage operable NSCLC who received preoperative neoadjuvant therapy between January 1, 2017, and December 30, 2020. Neoadjuvant therapy was delivered with platinum-doublet chemotherapy; moreover, pembrolizumab was added at the attending physician's discretion based on patient's request. Pathological responses were assessed; moreover, disease-free survival was estimated. Next-generation sequencing was performed in case sufficient preoperative biopsy specimens were obtained. We included 23 patients; among them, 11 received a combination of neoadjuvant immunotherapy and chemotherapy while 12 received neoadjuvant chemotherapy alone. The MPR and pathological complete response rates were 54.5% and 27.3%, respectively, in patients who received a combination of neoadjuvant immunotherapy and chemotherapy. These rates were significantly higher than those in patients who only received neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Three patients in the combination group experienced disease recurrence during the follow-up period even though two of them showed an MPR. These three patients had targetable driver mutations, including an EGFR exon 20 insertion, EGFR exon 21 L858R substitution, and MET exon 14 skipping. Only one patient who remained disease-free had a targetable driver mutation. Among patients with early-stage operable NSCLC requiring neoadjuvant therapy, comprehensive genomic profiling is crucial before the administration of the combination of neoadjuvant immunotherapy and chemotherapy.
Versican is a chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan (CSPG), which deposits in perineurium as a physical barrier and prevents the growth of axons out of the fascial boundary. Several studies have indicated ...that the chondroitin sulfate (CS) chains on versican have several possible functions beyond the physical barrier, including the ability to stabilize versican core protein in the extracellular matrix. As chondroitin sulfate synthase 1 (Chsy1) is a crucial enzyme for CS elongation, we hypothesized that in vivo knockdown of Chsy1 at peripheral nerve lesion site may decrease CS and versican accumulation, and result in accelerating neurite regeneration. In the present study, end-to-side neurorrhaphy (ESN) in Wistar rats was used as an in vivo model of peripheral nerve injury to evaluate nerve regeneration after surgical intervention. The distribution and expression of versican and Chsy1 in regenerating axons after ESN was studied using confocal microscopy and western blotting. Chsy1 was silenced at the nerve lesion (surgical) site using in vivo siRNA transfection. The results indicated that Chsy1 was successfully silenced in nerve tissue, and its downregulation was associated with functional recovery of compound muscle action potential. Silencing of Chsy1 also decreased the accumulation of versican core protein, suggesting that transient treating of Chsy1-siRNA may be an alternative and an effective strategy to promote injured peripheral nerve regeneration.
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