Self-powered multifunctional platform based on dual-photoelectrode for dual-mode detection and inactivation of Salmonella enteritidis.

Self-powered photoelectrochemical (PEC) sensing is a novel sensing modality. The introduction of dual-mode sensing and photoelectrocatalysis in a self-powered system enables both detection and sterilization purposes. To this end, herein, a self-powered multifunctional platform for the photoelectrochemical-fluorescence (PEC-FL) detection and in-situ inactivation of Salmonella enteritidis (SE) was constructed.

Accurate Thermodynamic Properties of Ideal Bosons in a Highly Anisotropic 2D Harmonic Potential.

One can derive an analytic result for the issue of Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) in anisotropic 2D harmonic traps. We find that the number of uncondensed bosons is represented by an analytic function, which includes a series expansion of -digamma functions in mathematics. One can utilize this analytic result to evaluate various thermodynamic functions of ideal bosons in 2D anisotropic harmonic traps.

Ammonia-sensitive cellulose acetate-based films incorporated with Co-BIT microcrystals for smart packaging application.

Nowadays, there is an increasing demand for smart packaging materials capable of effectively monitoring the food freshness. In this study, new Co-based MOF (Co-BIT) microcrystals with ammonia-sensitivity and antibacterial function were constructed and then loaded within cellulose acetate (CA) matrix to create smart active packaging materials. The influences of Co-BIT loading upon structure, physical, and functional properties of the CA films were then thoroughly explored.

Free-Surface Velocity Measurement Using Direct Sensor Orientation-Based STIV.

Particle image velocimetry (PIV) is a quantitative flow visualization technique, which greatly improves the ability to characterize various complex flows in laboratory and field environments. However, the deployment of reference objects or ground control points (GCPs) for velocity calibration is still a challenge for in situ free-surface velocity measurements. By combining space-time image velocimetry (STIV) with direct sensor orientation (DSO) photogrammetry, a laser distance meter (LDM)-supported photogrammetric device is designed, to realize the GCPs-free surface velocity measurement under an oblique shooting angle.

Genome-wide CRISPR-Cas9 screening identifies the CYTH2 host gene as a potential therapeutic target of influenza viral infection.

Host genes critical for viral infection are effective antiviral drug targets with tremendous potential due to their universal characteristics against different subtypes of viruses and minimization of drug resistance. Accordingly, we execute a genome-wide CRISPR-Cas9 screen with multiple rounds of survival selection. Enriched in this screen are several genes critical for host sialic acid biosynthesis and transportation, including the cytohesin 2 (CYTH2), tetratricopeptide repeat protein 24 (TTC24), and N-acetylneuraminate synthase (NANS), which we confirm are responsible for efficient influenza viral infection.

Global translation inhibition yields condition-dependent de-repression of ribosome biogenesis mRNAs.

Ribosome biogenesis (RiBi) is an extremely energy intensive process that is critical for gene expression. It is thus highly regulated, including through the tightly coordinated expression of over 200 RiBi genes by positive and negative transcriptional regulators. We investigated RiBi regulation as cells initiated meiosis in budding yeast and noted early transcriptional activation of RiBi genes, followed by their apparent translational repression 1 hour (h) after stimulation to enter meiosis.

Translation and validation of the Tibetan confusion assessment method for the intensive care unit.

Background: At present, there is no available delirium translated assessment method for 3.3 million Tibetans. This study aimed to provide a method for delirium assessment for Tibetan patients speaking this language by validating a translation of the Confusion Assessment Method for the Intensive Care Unit (CAM-ICU).

Small and Large Ribosomal Subunit Deficiencies Lead to Distinct Gene Expression Signatures that Reflect Cellular Growth Rate.

Levels of the ribosome, the conserved molecular machine that mediates translation, are tightly linked to cellular growth rate. In humans, ribosomopathies are diseases associated with cell-type-specific pathologies and reduced ribosomal protein (RP) levels. Because gene expression defects resulting from ribosome deficiency have not yet been experimentally defined, we systematically probed mRNA, translation, and protein signatures that were either unlinked from or linked to cellular growth rate in RP-deficient yeast cells.

Pervasive, Coordinated Protein-Level Changes Driven by Transcript Isoform Switching during Meiosis.

To better understand the gene regulatory mechanisms that program developmental processes, we carried out simultaneous genome-wide measurements of mRNA, translation, and protein through meiotic differentiation in budding yeast. Surprisingly, we observed that the levels of several hundred mRNAs are anti-correlated with their corresponding protein products. We show that rather than arising from canonical forms of gene regulatory control, the regulation of at least 380 such cases, or over 8% of all measured genes, involves temporally regulated switching between production of a canonical, translatable transcript and a 5' extended isoform that is not efficiently translated into protein.

The auxin-inducible degradation (AID) system enables versatile conditional protein depletion in C. elegans.

Experimental manipulation of protein abundance in living cells or organisms is an essential strategy for investigation of biological regulatory mechanisms. Whereas powerful techniques for protein expression have been developed in Caenorhabditis elegans, existing tools for conditional disruption of protein function are far more limited. To address this, we have adapted the auxin-inducible degradation (AID) system discovered in plants to enable conditional protein depletion in C.

Enhanced Electrocatalytic Activity by RGO/MWCNTs/NiO Counter Electrode for Dye-sensitized Solar Cells.

We applied the reduced graphene oxide/multi-walled carbon nanotubes/nickel oxide (RGO/MWCNTs/NiO) nanocomposite as the counter electrode (CE) in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) on fluorine-doped tin oxide substrates by blade doctor method. Power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 8.13 % was achieved for this DSSCs device, which is higher than that of DSSCs devices using NiO, RGO, and RGO/NiO-CE (PCE = 2.

Beyond autonomic neuromodulation: acetylcholinesterase inhibitor against peripheral artery disease.

The acetylcholinesterase inhibitor (AChEI)-based therapeutic strategies have been shown to have vasculoprotective properties in the animal model of hindlimb ischemia due to its activation of the endothelial cholinergic system. However, little is know about whether other cell types (myocytes, immunocytes) are involved in the AChEI-related therapeutic benefits in peripheral artery disease. Therefore, we review the multiple cell-targeted effects of AChEI on the animal model of hindlimb ischemia and explore its clinical application in angiomyogenesis.

Conditional targeted genome editing using somatically expressed TALENs in C. elegans.

We have developed a method for the generation of conditional knockouts in Caenorhabditis elegans by expressing transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs) in somatic cells. Using germline transformation with plasmids encoding TALENs under the control of an inducible or tissue-specific promoter, we observed effective gene modifications and resulting phenotypes in specific developmental stages and tissues. We further used this method to bypass the embryonic requirement of cor-1, which encodes the homolog of human severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) protein coronin, and we determined its essential role in cell migration in larval Q-cell lineages.

Developmental stage-dependent transcriptional regulatory pathways control neuroblast lineage progression.

Neuroblasts generate neurons with different functions by asymmetric cell division, cell cycle exit and differentiation. The underlying transcriptional regulatory pathways remain elusive. Here, we performed genetic screens in C.

Development of a new LC-MS/MS based enzyme activity assay for recombinant urate oxidase in plasma and its application to pharmacokinetics in human.

A liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method was developed and validated for the determination of recombinant urate oxidase in human plasma. This assay was based on the determination of enzyme reaction product, (15)N-allantoin, and phenacetin was used as an internal standard (IS). Separation was achieved on a C18 column by the mobile phase of 30% water (containing 0.

Refinement and discovery of new hotspots of copy-number variation associated with autism spectrum disorder.

Rare copy-number variants (CNVs) have been implicated in autism and intellectual disability. These variants are large and affect many genes but lack clear specificity toward autism as opposed to developmental-delay phenotypes. We exploited the repeat architecture of the genome to target segmental duplication-mediated rearrangement hotspots (n = 120, median size 1.

Apoptotic regulators promote cytokinetic midbody degradation in C. elegans.

Cell death genes are essential for apoptosis and other cellular events, but their nonapoptotic functions are not well understood. The midbody is an important cytokinetic structure required for daughter cell abscission, but its fate after cell division remains elusive in metazoans. In this paper, we show through live-imaging analysis that midbodies generated by Q cell divisions in Caenorhabditis elegans were released to the extracellular space after abscission and subsequently internalized and degraded by the phagocyte that digests apoptotic Q cell corpses.

Thermodynamic properties of a Kerr nonlinear blackbody.

Within the framework of quantum field theory, we present the superfluid state of photons in a blackbody whose interior is filled by a Kerr nonlinear crystal. The thermodynamic properties of a Kerr nonlinear blackbody are investigated. At the transition temperature, the Gibbs free energy of the two phases is continuous but the entropy density of the two phases is discontinuous.

Comparative and demographic analysis of orang-utan genomes.

'Orang-utan' is derived from a Malay term meaning 'man of the forest' and aptly describes the southeast Asian great apes native to Sumatra and Borneo. The orang-utan species, Pongo abelii (Sumatran) and Pongo pygmaeus (Bornean), are the most phylogenetically distant great apes from humans, thereby providing an informative perspective on hominid evolution. Here we present a Sumatran orang-utan draft genome assembly and short read sequence data from five Sumatran and five Bornean orang-utan genomes.

The genome of a songbird.

The zebra finch is an important model organism in several fields with unique relevance to human neuroscience. Like other songbirds, the zebra finch communicates through learned vocalizations, an ability otherwise documented only in humans and a few other animals and lacking in the chicken-the only bird with a sequenced genome until now. Here we present a structural, functional and comparative analysis of the genome sequence of the zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata), which is a songbird belonging to the large avian order Passeriformes.

Analysis of recent segmental duplications in the bovine genome.

Background: Duplicated sequences are an important source of gene innovation and structural variation within mammalian genomes. We performed the first systematic and genome-wide analysis of segmental duplications in the modern domesticated cattle (Bos taurus). Using two distinct computational analyses, we estimated that 3.

Lineage-specific biology revealed by a finished genome assembly of the mouse.

The mouse (Mus musculus) is the premier animal model for understanding human disease and development. Here we show that a comprehensive understanding of mouse biology is only possible with the availability of a finished, high-quality genome assembly. The finished clone-based assembly of the mouse strain C57BL/6J reported here has over 175,000 fewer gaps and over 139 Mb more of novel sequence, compared with the earlier MGSCv3 draft genome assembly.

A burst of segmental duplications in the genome of the African great ape ancestor.

It is generally accepted that the extent of phenotypic change between human and great apes is dissonant with the rate of molecular change. Between these two groups, proteins are virtually identical, cytogenetically there are few rearrangements that distinguish ape-human chromosomes, and rates of single-base-pair change and retrotransposon activity have slowed particularly within hominid lineages when compared to rodents or monkeys. Studies of gene family evolution indicate that gene loss and gain are enriched within the primate lineage.