Biodiversity of the Micro-morphologies of the Petal Epidermis of Angiosperms &Their Scientific Aesthetics, Quasi-Geometry

The micro-morphologies and biodiversities of the epidermis of flower petals of angiosperms were reported for the first time. By manual slicing anatomy and microscopic photography technique, the micro-morphologies of the upper and lower epidermis of petals of some common ornamental flowers in Kunming were studied, and the biodiversities were discovered. The results showed these much-varied pigment cells appeared not only a new compensation to anatomy, but a new criteria to taxonomy, so that a brand new research field of “Cell Taxonomy” was established instead of the current “Chromosome Taxonomy” widely used in phytosystematics research. Furthermore, the most interesting and significant phenomena was their scientific aesthetics: these pigment cells of flower petals were quite special, planary, far different from the ordinary plant cells in plant organs & tissues. By comparison to ordinary geometry, these colorful cells of the fresh flower petals could be described as “Quasi-geometry” for their special origin and micro-morphological characteristics. As for the aspect of art, it was quite similar to “Quasi-crystal” discovered by Daniel Schechtman, so that the art future was discussed, obviously another new epoch of scientific-art history began.

Spontaneous running wheel improves neuroprotection efficacy of ischemic postconditioning in mice following ischemia/reperfusion injury

Ischemic postconditioning(IP)has been shown to provide protection for ischemia/reperfusion(IR)injury,but its efficacy is limited.In this study we hypothesized that spontaneous running wheel(RW)could improve neuroprotection efficacy of IP for IR.We established mouse models of IR and showed that compared to Sham group,IR group had obvious brain infract and neurological dysfunction.In IR+IP group,brain infract and neurological dysfunction improved compared to IR group.However,in IR+IP+RW group brain infract and neurological dysfunction improved much better.TUNEL assay showed that IP but not RW significantly reduced the number of apoptotic cells after IR.However,the number of apoptotic cells was significantly reduced in RW+IP group.In addition,the levels of pro-apoptotic factors increased in IR group but significantly reduced in IR+IP+RW group,while the levels of antiapoptotic factors decreased in IR group but significantly increased in IR+IP+RW group.Moreover,in IR+IP+RW group,MDA level was further decreased and SOD level was further increased compared to IR+IP group.Finally,both PI3K inhibitor and STAT3 inhibitor significantly worsened brain infract and neurological dysfunction and promoted apoptosis in IR mice.In conclusion,RW combined with IP reduces brain infract and neurological dysfunction in mice after IR,and this is associated with enhanced anti-apoptotic and anti-oxidant benefits via the activation of PI3K and STAT3 pathways.

3种平台Delta-Omicron嵌合RBD二聚体新型冠状病毒疫苗的免疫原性头对头比较

新型冠状病毒(新冠病毒)在全球范围内流行,对公共卫生和人民生命健康造成了巨大威胁,新冠病毒疫苗的研发和使用对预防疾病和控制疫情起到了关键作用.基于包括重组蛋白亚单位、病毒载体、mRNA脂纳米颗粒在内的多种技术平台开发的疫苗都获得了使用.然而,由于抗原设计的差异、免疫剂量和注射间隔的差别,不同疫苗平台之间的免疫效果无法直接比较.因此,本研究以Delta-Omicron嵌合RBD二聚体为免疫原,对广泛使用的3个疫苗平台(重组蛋白亚单位疫苗、腺病毒载体疫苗和mRNA疫苗)进行了免疫原性头对头比较,通过小鼠模型比较了它们同源接种和序贯接种所诱导的体液免疫和细胞免疫反应的差异.结果显示,小鼠在免疫同源的两剂疫苗后,m RNA疫苗诱导的结合抗体和中和抗体滴度都最高,其次分别是重组蛋白亚单位疫苗和腺病毒载体疫苗;异源加强免疫的结果显示,不管是以重组蛋白亚单位疫苗、腺病毒载体疫苗或者mRNA疫苗初免,以mRNA疫苗作为第2针加强免疫均能诱导更强的体液免疫反应.此外,在疫苗激发的细胞免疫方面,mRNA疫苗诱导了较强的CD4^(+)T细胞反应,腺病毒载体疫苗诱导了较强的CD8^(+)T细胞反应,而亚单位疫苗刺激的细胞免疫反应以CD4^(+)T细胞为主,但在强度上较弱.本研究具有重要的应用价值,为未来新一代的新冠病毒疫苗研发和接种策略提供了指导.

Nutritional and lipid profile status of children with spinal muscular atrophy in China:A retrospective case-control study

To the Editor:5q spinal muscular atrophy(5qSMA)is an autosomal recessive neuromuscular disorder caused by the lack of the survival motor neuron(SMN)protein encoded by the SMN1 gene,located at 5q11.2-q13.3.[1]The incidence is 1/10,000-1/6000 live births,and the mutation carrier rate in China is 1/42.[1]Spinal muscular atrophy(SMA)is mainly divided into four subtypes:SMA type I,II,III,and IV,based on the motor milestones ever achieved.Types I-III occur in children,[1]which often result in progressive muscular atrophy and weakness as well as multi-system dysfunction,including nutritional and metabolic issues.[2]Children with SMA may have hidden nutritional and lipid imbalances,despite normal body appearance and anthropometric measurements,making it difcult to detect early and intervene.

Enhancement of MoTe2 near-infrared absorption with gold hollow nanorods for photodetection

Infrared(IR)light photodetection based on two dimensional(2D)materials of proper bandgap has attracted increasing attention.However,the weak IR absorption in 2D materials,due to their ultrathin attribute and indirect bandgap in multilayer structures,degrades their performance when used as IR photodetectors.In this work,we utilize the fact that few-layer MoTe2 flake has a near-IR(NIR)bandgap and demonstrate a^60-fold enhancement of NIR response by introducing a gold hollow nanorods on the surface.Such gold hollow nanorods have distinct absorption peak located also at the NIR regime,therefore induces strong resonance,benefitting NIR absorption in MoTe2,resulting in strong near-field enhancement.With the evidence from steady and transient state optical spectra,we confirm that the enhancement of NIR response originates only photon absorption,rather than electron transport at interfaces as observed in other heterostructures,therefore,precluding the requirement of high-quality interfaces for commercial applications.

Early Activation of Astrocytes does not Affect Amyloid Plaque Load in an Animal Model of Alzheimer's Disease

Astrocytes are closely associated with Alzheimer’s disease(AD). However, their precise roles in AD pathogenesis remain controversial. One of the reasons behind the different results reported by different groups might be that astrocytes were targeted at different stages of disease progression. In this study, by crossing h APP(human amyloid precursor protein)-J20 mice with a line of GFAP-TK mice, we found that astrocytes were activated specifically at an early stage of AD before the occurrence of amyloid plaques, while microglia were not affected by this crossing. Activation of astrocytes at the age of 3–5 months did not affect the proteolytic processing of hAPP and amyloid plaque loads in the brains of hAPP-J20 mice. Our data suggest that early activation of astrocytes does not affect the deposition of amyloid b in an animal model of AD.

Development of Improved Mumps Vaccine Candidates by Mutating Viral mRNA Cap Methyltransferase Sites in the Large Polymerase Protein

Although a live attenuated vaccine is available for controlling mumps virus(MuV), mumps still outbreaks frequently worldwide. The attenuated MuV vaccine strain S79 is widely used in mumps vaccination in China, but still with many shortcomings, among which the most prominent are the side effects and decreased immunity. Therefore, there is a need to further improve the safety and efficacy of the current MuV vaccine. In the present study, we further attenuated MuV S79 vaccine strain by inhibiting viral mRNA methyltransferase(MTase). We generated a panel of eight recombinant MuVs(rMuVs) carrying mutations in the MTase catalytic site or S-adenosylmethionine(SAM) binding site in the large(L) polymerase protein. These rMuVs are genetically stable and seven rMuVs are more attenuated in replication in cell culture and five r MuVs are more attenuated in replication in lungs of cotton rats compared with the parental vaccine strain S79. Importantly, cotton rats vaccinated with these seven rMuV mutants produced high levels of serum neutralizing antibodies and were completely protected against challenge with a wild-type MuV strain(genotype F). Therefore, our results demonstrate that alteration in the MTase catalytic site or SAM binding site in MuV L protein improves the safety or the immunogenicity of the MuV vaccine and thus mRNA cap MTase may be an effective target for the development of new vaccine candidates for MuV.