The Peculiar Clinical Symptoms and Treatment of Limbic Encephalitis Associated with AMPA Receptor Antibody.

Alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid receptor (AMPAR) antibody-related diseases are very rare in autoimmune neurological diseases. We collected and analyzed the data of 3 patients with peculiar clinical manifestation positive for AMPA2-R antibody in the Department of Neurology, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University. In our reported case series, 2 patients were male and 1 was female.

Sustainable Performance Evaluation: Evidence from Listed Chinese Mining Corporations.

Rapid industrial development has caused a series of environmental problems, which is not conducive to sustainable development of society as a whole. It is necessary to build a sustainable development evaluation system. Most of the existing literature has evaluated corporate sustainable performance from the economy, environment and society on the basis of triple bottom lines.

Mechanistic insights into the effect of phosphorylation on Ras conformational dynamics and its interactions with cell signaling proteins.

Ras undergoes interconversion between the active GTP-bound state and the inactive GDP-bound state. This GTPase cycle, which controls the activities of Ras, is accelerated by Ras GTPase-activating proteins (GAPs) and guanine nucleotide exchange factors (SOS). Oncogenic Ras mutations could affect the GTPase cycle and impair Ras functions.

Dual roles of ATP-binding site in protein kinases: Orthosteric inhibition and allosteric regulation.

Protein kinases use ATP to phosphorylate other proteins. Phosphorylation (p) universally orchestrates a fine-tuned network modulating a multitude of biological processes. Moreover, the start of networks, ATP-binding site, has been recognized dual roles to impact protein kinases function: (i) orthosteric inhibition, via being blocked to interference ATP occupying and (ii) allosteric regulation, via being altered first to induce further conformational changes.

Integrated Metabolomics and Lipidomics Analysis Reveal Remodeling of Lipid Metabolism and Amino Acid Metabolism in Glucagon Receptor-Deficient Zebrafish.

The glucagon receptor (GCGR) is activated by glucagon and is essential for glucose, amino acid, and lipid metabolism of animals. GCGR blockade has been demonstrated to induce hypoglycemia, hyperaminoacidemia, hyperglucagonemia, decreased adiposity, hepatosteatosis, and pancreatic α cells hyperplasia in organisms. However, the mechanism of how GCGR regulates these physiological functions is not yet very clear.

Efficiently Passivated PbSe Quantum Dot Solids for Infrared Photovoltaics.

Infrared (IR) solar cells are promising devices for significantly improving the power conversion efficiency of common solar cells by harvesting the low-energy IR photons. PbSe quantum dots (QDs) are superior IR photon absorbing materials due to their strong quantum confinement and thus strong interdot electronic coupling. However, the high chemical activity of PbSe QDs leads to etching and poor passivation in ligand exchange, resulting in a high trap-state density and a high open circuit voltage () deficit.

A general Fc engineering platform for the next generation of antibody therapeutics.

Fc engineering has become the focus of antibody drug development. The current mutagenesis and protein design methods are confined by the limited throughput and high cost, while the high-throughput phage display and yeast display technologies are not suitable for screening glycosylated Fc variants. Here we developed a mammalian cell display-based Fc engineering platform.

Hybrid Device Architecture Using Plasmonic Nanoparticles, Graphene Quantum Dots, and Titanium Dioxide for UV Photodetectors.

In this work, a nanoscale device architecture is demonstrated for a UV photodetector application on sapphire (0001), incorporating the plasmonic hybrid nanoparticles (HNPs), graphene quantum dots (GQDs), and titanium oxide (TiO) for the first time. The hybrid GQDs/TiO/HNPs photodetector exhibits the photocurrent of 1.58 × 10 A under the 1.

Cryo-EM Structure of an Extended SARS-CoV-2 Replication and Transcription Complex Reveals an Intermediate State in Cap Synthesis.

Transcription of SARS-CoV-2 mRNA requires sequential reactions facilitated by the replication and transcription complex (RTC). Here, we present a structural snapshot of SARS-CoV-2 RTC as it transitions toward cap structure synthesis. We determine the atomic cryo-EM structure of an extended RTC assembled by nsp7-nsp8-nsp12-nsp13-RNA and a single RNA-binding protein, nsp9.

Architecture of a SARS-CoV-2 mini replication and transcription complex.

Non-structural proteins (nsp) constitute the SARS-CoV-2 replication and transcription complex (RTC) to play a pivotal role in the virus life cycle. Here we determine the atomic structure of a SARS-CoV-2 mini RTC, assembled by viral RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp, nsp12) with a template-primer RNA, nsp7 and nsp8, and two helicase molecules (nsp13-1 and nsp13-2), by cryo-electron microscopy. Two groups of mini RTCs with different conformations of nsp13-1 are identified.

Two new compounds from a mangrove sediment-derived fungus H175.

Two new compounds, 6-acetyl-4-methoxy-3,5-dimethyl-2-pyran-2-one () and (2,4)-5-((2,3,4,5)-3,4-dihydroxy-2,4,5-trimethyltetrahydrofuran-2-yl)-2,4-dimethylpenta-2,4-dienal (), and 22 known compounds were identified from the mangrove-forest-derived fungus H175. The structures of these compounds were elucidated by analysis of the high-resolution electrospray ionisation mass spectroscopy (HR-ESI-MS), 1 D and 2 D nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) data. The hypoglycaemic effect of compounds was evaluated by the Tg (Ins: htBidTE-ON; LR) zebrafish model.

Enhanced Spatial Light Confinement of All Inorganic Perovskite Photodetectors Based on Hybrid Plasmonic Nanostructures.

3D incident light confinement by radical electromagnetic fields offers a facile and novel way to break through the performance limit of inorganic perovskite CsPbBr quantum dots (QDs). Herein, metallic nanoparticles decorated anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) hybrid plasmonic nanostructures with geometric control are first proposed for cyclic light utilization of perovskite photodetectors, enabled by spatially extended light confinement. The drastic multiple interference induced by plasmonic coupling within AAO matrixes are generated as a function of pore sizes, which can effectively collect the transmitted photons back to the surface.

A circular RNA from NFIX facilitates oxidative stress-induced H9c2 cells apoptosis.

Myocardial infarction is the leading cause of death worldwide, and cardiomyocyte apoptosis during myocardial infarction and reperfusion is a significant factor of poor prognosis. As important regulatory molecules, biofunctions of circRNAs in the pathogenesis of myocardial infarction remain elusive. To confirm the expression level and biological function of circNFIX in cardiomyocytes upon oxidative stress.

Staprexanthones, Xanthone-Type Stimulators of Pancreatic β-Cell Proliferation from a Mangrove Endophytic Fungus.

This project was focused on the discovery of novel compounds that promote endogenous β-cell regeneration. Screening of extracts identified the fungus as a promising candidate. After fermentation and extraction of , we isolated five new prenylated xanthones, namely, staprexanthones A-E (-), with staprexanthone A () being the first natural xanthone bearing a rare 4,5-dimethyl-1,3-dioxolane moiety.

IDDB: a comprehensive resource featuring genes, variants and characteristics associated with infertility.

Infertility is a complex multifactorial disease that affects up to 10% of couples across the world. However, many mechanisms of infertility remain unclear due to the lack of studies based on systematic knowledge, leading to ineffective treatment and/or transmission of genetic defects to offspring. Here, we developed an infertility disease database to provide a comprehensive resource featuring various factors involved in infertility.

Thermo-Optical Tuning Cascaded Double Ring Sensor with Large Measurement Range.

In this paper, a thermo-optic tuning optical waveguide sensor system based on a cascaded double micro-ring resonator is investigated. The system consists of a micro-ring resonator with the microheater as a reference ring and a micro-ring resonator with removing the upper cladding layers as a sensing ring, combined with a microfluidic control. The refractive index change of the sample is measured by the electric power change of the microheater.

Wearable Circuits Sintered at Room Temperature Directly on the Skin Surface for Health Monitoring.

A soft body area sensor network presents a promising direction in wearable devices to integrate on-body sensors for physiological signal monitoring and flexible printed circuit boards (FPCBs) for signal conditioning/readout and wireless transmission. However, its realization currently relies on various sophisticated fabrication approaches such as lithography or direct printing on a carrier substrate before attaching to the body. Here, we report a universal fabrication scheme to enable printing and room-temperature sintering of the metal nanoparticle on paper/fabric for FPCBs and directly on the human skin for on-body sensors with a novel sintering aid layer.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma progression is restrained by stromal matrix.

Desmoplasia describes the deposition of extensive extracellular matrix and defines primary pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA). The acellular component of this stroma has been implicated in PDA pathogenesis and is being targeted therapeutically in clinical trials. By analyzing the stromal content of PDA samples from numerous annotated PDA data sets and correlating stromal content with both anatomic site and clinical outcome, we found PDA metastases in the liver, the primary cause of mortality to have less stroma, have higher tumor cellularity than primary tumors.

Impact-Induced Removal of a Deposited Droplet: Implications for Self-Cleaning Properties.

The ability to remove a deposited drop on a substrate is crucial for self-cleaning materials. Here, an approach to achieve the removal of a deposited droplet by employing the impact of a smaller droplet as remover is reported. The results give visible evidence that with the increase of the impact velocity and the size of the impacting droplet, a deposition-to-rebound transition of droplets could occur.

Role of salt ions and molecular weights on the formation of Mesona chinensis polysaccharide-chitosan polyelectrolyte complex hydrogel.

The effects of the addition of salt ions and molecular weights (Mw) of CH on Mesona chinensis polysaccharide (MCP)-chitosan (CH) hydrogel were investigated. Result indicated both low concentration of monovalent salt ions (Na and K), divalent cations (Ca) and oxoanions (SO) could promote the gel properties of MCP-CH hydrogel. The Mw of CH has huge impact on the formation and properties of hydrogel.

Effects of biochar properties on the bioremediation of the petroleum-contaminated soil from a shale-gas field.

The characteristics of biochar carriers prepared from different biomass (corncob, straw, and sawdust) were investigated, and the bioremediation performance of the biochar through microbial immobilization was analyzed. Corncob biochar had the highest specific surface area (157.11-312.

The Expression and Clinical Significance of MicroRNA-409-3p in Acute Myeloid Leukemia.

Background: MicroRNA-409-3p, is down-regulated in a variety of malignant diseases. However, the expression level and clinical value of microRNA-409-3p in acute myeloid leukemia has not yet been systematically studied.

Methods: We collected 88 bone marrow samples derived from 73 patients with acute myeloid leukemia and 15 healthy controls.

Ag-Sn bimetallic nanoparticles paste for high temperature service in power devices.

In this paper, high strength Cu-Cu interconnections were achieved by sintering the paste of Ag-Sn bimetallic nanoparticles at low temperature. Compared with nano-Ag paste, the outer Sn coatings of the nano-Ag particles were found to be favorable for the densification of the bondline. The microstructures of Ag-Sn bimetallic nanoparticles and the bondlines under different sintereing conditions were studied in detail by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), x-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM).