Facile preparation of mesoporous carbon-silica-coated graphene for the selective enrichment of endogenous peptides.

A sandwich-like composite composed of ordered mesoporous carbon-silica shell-coated graphene (denoted as graphene@mSiO2-C) was prepared by an in-situ carbonation strategy. A mesoporous silica shell was synthesized by a sol-gel method, and cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide inside the mesopores were in-situ carbonized as a carbon source to obtain a carbon-silica shell. The resulting mesoporous carbon-silica material with a sandwich structure possesses a high surface area (600 m(2) g(-1)), large pore volume (0.

Identification and characterization of CD4⁺ T-cell epitopes on GapC protein of Streptococcus dysgalactiae.

The GapC protein is highly conserved surface dehydrogenase among Streptococcus dysgalactiae (S. dysgalactiae) and is shown to be involved in bacterial virulence. Immunization of GapC protein can induce specific CD4(+) T-cell immune responses and protect against S.

Identification of CD4+ T-cell epitopes on iron-regulated surface determinant B of Staphylococcus aureus.

Iron-regulated surface determinant B (IsdB) of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) is a highly conserved surface protein that can induce protective CD4(+) T-cell immune response. A pivotal role of CD4(+) T-cells in effective immunity against S.

Bax-PGAM5L-Drp1 complex is required for intrinsic apoptosis execution.

Intrinsic apoptosis eliminates cells with damaged DNA and cells with dysregulated expression of oncogene. PGAM5, a member of the phosphoglycerate mutase family, has two splicing variants: PGAM5L (the long form) and PGAM5S (the short form). It has been well established that PGAM5 is at the convergent point of multiple necrosis pathways.

Proliferation PET image to characterize pathological spatial features in patients with non-small cell lung cancer: a pilot study.

Purpose: (18)F-FLT-PET imaging was proposed as a tool for measuring in vivo tumor cell proliferation and detecting sub-volumes to propose escalation in radiotherapy. The aim of this study was to validate whether high FLT uptake areas in (18)F-FLT PET/CT are coincident with tumor cell proliferation distribution indicated by Ki-67 staining in non-small cell lung cancer, thus provide theoretical support for the application of dose painting guided by (18)F-FLT PET/CT.

Materials And Methods: Twelve treatment naive patients with biopsy proven NSCLC underwent (18)F-FLT PET/CT scans followed by lobectomy were enrolled.

Transcription Factor Repertoire of Homeostatic Eosinophilopoiesis.

The production of mature eosinophils (Eos) is a tightly orchestrated process with the aim to sustain normal Eos levels in tissues while also maintaining low numbers of these complex and sensitive cells in the blood. To identify regulators of homeostatic eosinophilopoiesis in mice, we took a global approach to identify genome-wide transcriptome and epigenome changes that occur during homeostasis at critical developmental stages, including Eos-lineage commitment and lineage maturation. Our analyses revealed a markedly greater number of transcriptome alterations associated with Eos maturation (1199 genes) than with Eos-lineage commitment (490 genes), highlighting the greater transcriptional investment necessary for differentiation.

SpDamID: Marking DNA Bound by Protein Complexes Identifies Notch-Dimer Responsive Enhancers.

We developed Split DamID (SpDamID), a protein complementation version of DamID, to mark genomic DNA bound in vivo by interacting or juxtapositioned transcription factors. Inactive halves of DAM (DNA adenine methyltransferase) were fused to protein pairs to be queried. Either direct interaction between proteins or proximity enabled DAM reconstitution and methylation of adenine in GATC.

MiR-125a targets effector programs to stabilize Treg-mediated immune homeostasis.

Although different autoimmune diseases show discrete clinical features, there are common molecular pathways intimately involved. Here we show that miR-125a is downregulated in peripheral CD4(+) T cells of human autoimmune diseases including systemic lupus erythematosus and Crohn's disease, and relevant autoimmune mouse models. miR-125a stabilizes both the commitment and immunoregulatory capacity of Treg cells.

A prospective phase II trial of EGCG in treatment of acute radiation-induced esophagitis for stage III lung cancer.

Background: Acute radiation-induced esophagitis (ARIE) is one of main toxicities complicated by thoracic radiotherapy, influencing patients' quality of life and radiotherapy proceeding seriously. It is difficult to be cured rapidly so far. Our phase I trial preliminarily showed that EGCG may be a promising strategy in the treatment of ARIE.

Multi-species, multi-transcription factor binding highlights conserved control of tissue-specific biological pathways.

As exome sequencing gives way to genome sequencing, the need to interpret the function of regulatory DNA becomes increasingly important. To test whether evolutionary conservation of cis-regulatory modules (CRMs) gives insight into human gene regulation, we determined transcription factor (TF) binding locations of four liver-essential TFs in liver tissue from human, macaque, mouse, rat, and dog. Approximately, two thirds of the TF-bound regions fell into CRMs.

Determination and inference of eukaryotic transcription factor sequence specificity.

Transcription factor (TF) DNA sequence preferences direct their regulatory activity, but are currently known for only ∼1% of eukaryotic TFs. Broadly sampling DNA-binding domain (DBD) types from multiple eukaryotic clades, we determined DNA sequence preferences for >1,000 TFs encompassing 54 different DBD classes from 131 diverse eukaryotes. We find that closely related DBDs almost always have very similar DNA sequence preferences, enabling inference of motifs for ∼34% of the ∼170,000 known or predicted eukaryotic TFs.

Myeloid malignancies with chromosome 5q deletions acquire a dependency on an intrachromosomal NF-κB gene network.

Chromosome 5q deletions (del[5q]) are common in high-risk (HR) myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML); however, the gene regulatory networks that sustain these aggressive diseases are unknown. Reduced miR-146a expression in del(5q) HR MDS/AML and miR-146a(-/-) hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells (HSPCs) results in TRAF6/NF-κB activation. Increased survival and proliferation of HSPCs from miR-146a(low) HR MDS/AML is sustained by a neighboring haploid gene, SQSTM1 (p62), expressed from the intact 5q allele.

DNA methylation dynamics during ex vivo differentiation and maturation of human dendritic cells.

Background: Dendritic cells (DCs) are important mediators of innate and adaptive immune responses, but the gene networks governing their lineage differentiation and maturation are poorly understood. To gain insight into the mechanisms that promote human DC differentiation and contribute to the acquisition of their functional phenotypes, we performed genome-wide base-resolution mapping of 5-methylcytosine in purified monocytes and in monocyte-derived immature and mature DCs.

Results: DC development and maturation were associated with a great loss of DNA methylation across many regions, most of which occurs at predicted enhancers and binding sites for known transcription factors affiliated with DC lineage specification and response to immune stimuli.

Methane emissions from rice fields under continuous straw return in the middle-lower reaches of the Yangtze River.

A three-year experiment was conducted in the middle-lower reaches of the Yangtze River in China to study the influence of continuous wheat straw return during the rice season and continuous rice straw return in wheat on methane (CH4) emissions from rice fields in which, the rice-wheat rotation system is the most dominant planting pattern. The field experiment was initiated in October 2009 and has continued since the wheat-growing season of that year. The analyses for the present study were conducted in the second (2011) and third (2012) rice growing seasons.

A facile one-pot reduction method for the preparation of a SnO/SnO2/GNS composite for high performance lithium ion batteries.

A SnO/SnO2/GNS composite with controlled oxidation states and composition has been prepared through simple one-pot reduction of an EG suspension of SnCl2 and graphene oxide. The as-prepared composite was characterized by XRD, FT-IR, XPS, SEM, TEM and BET. SnO and SnO2 nanoparticles are uniformly distributed on the surface of the graphene.

Overexpression of AtWRKY28 and AtWRKY75 in Arabidopsis enhances resistance to oxalic acid and Sclerotinia sclerotiorum.

Based on Arabidopsis microarray, we found 8 WRKY genes were up-regulated with Oxalic acid (OA) challenge, AtWRKY28 and AtWRKY75 overexpression lines showed enhanced resistance to OA and Sclerotinia sclerotiorum. The WRKY transcription factors are involved in various plant physiological processes and most remarkably in coping with diverse biotic and abiotic stresses. Oxalic acid (OA) is an important pathogenicity-determinant of necrotrophic phytopathogenic fungi, such as Sclerotina sclerotiorum (S.

Facile subsequently light-induced route to highly efficient and stable sunlight-driven Ag-AgBr plasmonic photocatalyst.

In this paper, we successfully fabricate a stable and highly efficient direct sunlight plasmonic photocatalyst Ag-AgBr through a facile hydrothermal and subsequently sunlight-induced route. The diffuse reflectance spectra of Ag-AgBr indicate strong absorption in both UV and visible light region. The obtained photocatalyst shows excellent sunlight-driven photocatalytic performance.

Properties of ionic liquids absorbing SO2 and the mechanism of the absorption.

Room-temperature ionic liquids (ILs) have been demonstrated to absorb SO(2) efficiently. However, after absorbing a large amount of SO(2), the viscosity, the conductivity, and the density of the ILs have not been studied systematically, and the mechanism of the interaction between SO(2) and ILs is still being disputed. In this work, two kinds of ILs (task-specific ILs and normal ILs) have been studied to absorb pure SO(2) at atmospheric pressure.

[Effect of monoclonal antibodies against LI-cadherin on the proliferation of human hepatocellular carcinoma cells].

Objective: To obtain monoclonal antibodies (mAb) against LI-cadherin and investigate their effects on the proliferation of human hepatocellular carcinoma cells.

Methods: Balb/c mice were immunized with recombinant LI-cadherin, and hybridoma cell lines secreting monoclonal antibodies against LI-cadherin were established with routine cell fusion and subcloning approach. The specificity of these mAbs was determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and Western blotting.

Isolation and identification of Sclerotinia stem rot causal pathogen in Arabidopsis thaliana.

A new stem rot disease is found to occur naturally on Arabidopsis plants in greenhouses of Fuzhou, China. In order to identify its pathogen, we conducted a series of fungal isolation and purification, plant reinoculation, and ascus and ascospore induction from the sclerotia. The isolate caused typical water-soaked lesions after reinoculation and produced sclerotia both on Arabidopsis plants and culture medium plates, and the sclerotia could be induced to produce discal apothecia and 8 binucleate ascospores per ascus.

[Isolation and analysis of oxalic acid insensitive mutant of Arabidopsis thaliana].

Oxalic acid (OA) is inhibitory to many fungal plant pathogens. To further characterize the molecular mechanism of OA involved in fungal pathogenesis, OA insensitive mutants were screened from a chemical inducible Arabidopsis mutant library (about 6000 lines) using MS medium (calcium free) containing 1.2 mmol/L OA and 10 micromol/L estradiol.