Invariant Natural Killer T Cells Regulate Conventional Dendritic Cell Maturation to Re-establish Immune Tolerance to Rheumatoid Arthritis in DBA/1 Mice.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a type of autoimmune disease that results in immune disorder and excessive inflammatory response due to a reduction of self-tolerance. Invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells can effectively alleviate clinical symptoms and hyper-inflammation in RA, but their mechanism of action is not well-defined. This study aims to investigate the mechanism of iNKT cell therapy for RA.

The effect of Aceria litchii (Keifer) infestation on the surface properties of litchi leaf hosts.

Background: The wettability of target crop surfaces affects pesticide wetting and deposition. The structure and properties of the leaf surface of litchi leaves undergo severe changes after infestation by Aceria litchii (Keifer). The objective of this study was to systematically investigate the surface texture and wettability of litchi leaves infested.

Evaluation of aerial spraying application of multi-rotor unmanned aerial vehicle for protection.

Multi-rotor unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is a new chemical application tool for tall stalk tropical crop , which could improve deposit performance, reduce operator healthy risk, and increase spraying efficiency. In this work, a spraying experiment was carried out in two fields with two leaf area index (LAI) values, and different operational parameters were set. Spray deposit quality, spray drift, and ground loss were studied and evaluated.

Numerical simulation and verification of rotor downwash flow field of plant protection UAV at different rotor speeds.

In aerial spraying of plant protection UAVs, the continuous reduction of pesticides is an objective process. Under the condition of constant flight state (speed and altitude), the change of pesticide loading will inevitably lead to the shift of lift force and rotor speed generated by UAV rotor rotation, which will change the distribution of the rotor flow field and affect the effect of aerial spraying operation of plant protection UAV. Therefore, the rotor speed of UAV is taken as the research object in this paper, and the adaptive refinement physical model based on the Lattice Boltzmann Method (LBM) is used to numerically simulate the rotor flow field of the quadrotor plant-protection UAV at different speeds.

Control Efficacy and Deposition Characteristics of an Unmanned Aerial Spray System Low-Volume Application on Corn Fall Armyworm .

As a major global pest, fall armyworm (FAW), , invaded China in 2019, which has seriously threatened the safety of China's food production and raised widespread concerns. As a new low-volume application technology, an unmanned aerial spray system (UASS) is playing an important role in the control of FAW in China. However, the studies on the effect of the water application volume on the efficacy of FAW using UASS have been limited.

Precision Detection of Dense Plums in Orchards Using the Improved YOLOv4 Model.

The precision detection of dense small targets in orchards is critical for the visual perception of agricultural picking robots. At present, the visual detection algorithms for plums still have a poor recognition effect due to the characteristics of small plum shapes and dense growth. Thus, this paper proposed a lightweight model based on the improved You Only Look Once version 4 (YOLOv4) to detect dense plums in orchards.

Biological control technology and application based on agricultural unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) intelligent delivery of insect natural enemies (Trichogramma) carrier.

Background: Agricultural pests and diseases affect grain yield and quality. In addition to the use of chemical agents, the biological control of diseases and insect pests has attracted more and more attention due to an urgent need for environmental protection. However, traditional operational methods do not integrate well with biological control technology.

Field evaluation of spray drift and environmental impact using an agricultural unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) sprayer.

Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) applications at low-volume using fine and very fine size droplets have been adopted in several commercial spray scenarios allowing water-saving and high-efficiency operation in delivery of pesticides. However, spray drift associated with UAV applications, especially for fine droplets generated from spinning disk nozzles, has not been fully understood, raising environmental and regulatory concerns. The objectives of this study were to compare the drift potential of three different volume median diameter (VMD, or Dv) of 100, 150 and 200 μm from a commercial quadcopter equipped with centrifugal nozzles exposed to different wind speeds under field conditions.

Activation of Invariant Natural Killer T Cell Subsets in C57BL/6J Mice by Different Injection Modes of α-galactosylceramide.

Whether different injection modes of α-galactosylceramide (α-GalCer) affect the activation of different subsets of invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells in different tissues and organs of mice is unclear. This study included healthy control, subcutaneous injection, and intraperitoneal injection groups (n=10 in each group). The subcutaneous and intraperitoneal injection groups were injected with α-Galcer (0.

Adoptive Immunotherapy of iNKT Cells in Glucose-6-Phosphate Isomerase (G6PI)-Induced RA Mice.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a complex chronic inflammatory autoimmune disease. The pathogenesis of the disease is related to invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells. Patients with active RA present fewer iNKT cells, defective cell function, and excessive polarization of Th1.

Subcutaneous administration of α-GalCer activates iNKT10 cells to promote M2 macrophage polarization and ameliorates chronic inflammation of obese adipose tissue.

Objective: The role of iNKT cells was investigated in chronic adipose tissue inflammation in obese mice after administration of α-GalCer in different pathways.

Methods: C57BL/6J mice were fed high-fat diet (HFD) for 12 weeks to establish the obese mouse model. The pathology of adipose tissue was observed by H&E staining.

Methylation of H3K27 and H3K4 in key gene promoter regions of thymus in RA mice is involved in the abnormal development and differentiation of iNKT cells.

Epigenetic modifications have been shown to be important for immune cell differentiation by regulating gene transcription. However, the role and mechanism of histone methylation in the development and differentiation of iNKT cells in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) mice have yet to be deciphered. The DBA/1 mouse RA model was established by using a modified GPI mixed peptide.

Activation of hepatic iNKT2 cells by α-GalCer ameliorates hepatic steatosis induced by high-fat diet in C57BL/6J mice.

The existence of association between the subpopulation of iNKT cells with different functions and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease has not been confirmed. To investigative the role of iNKT cells in the pathogenesis of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, we established a non-alcoholic fatty liver model by feeding C57BL/6J mice for 12 weeks with a high-fat diet and injecting α-GalCer through different routes to activate hepatic iNKT cells. The liver of the mice fed a high-fat diet (HFD) had severe hepatic steatosis appearance, elevated pro-inflammatory cytokines and reduced anti-inflammatory cytokines in the liver, and high serum levels of TC, LDL, HDL, and ALT.

Study of the adoptive immunotherapy on rheumatoid arthritis with Thymus-derived invariant natural killer T cells.

Background: The therapeutic effect of adoptive infusion of specific thymus-derived invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells in a mouse model of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) was observed, and the mechanism of cellular immunotherapy was preliminarily explored.

Methods: Thymus-derived iNKT cells were infused to RA model mice, with α-GalCer as a positive control. Then, ankle swelling was examined, as well as inflammatory cell infiltration to the joint tissue (hematoxylin-eosin [H&E] staining).

Knock-in human FGFR3 achondroplasia mutation as a mouse model for human skeletal dysplasia.

Achondroplasia (ACH), the most common genetic dwarfism in human, is caused by a gain-of function mutation in fibroblast growth factor receptor 3 (FGFR3). Currently, there is no effective treatment for ACH. The development of an appropriate human-relevant model is important for testing potential therapeutic interventions before human clinical trials.

Cholesterol glucosylation by Helicobacter pylori delays internalization and arrests phagosome maturation in macrophages.

Background/purpose: Helicobacter pylori colonizes the human stomach and contributes to chronic inflammation of the gastric mucosa. H. pylori persistence occurs because of insufficient eradication by phagocytic cells.