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 t...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<span style="font-family:Verdana;"> a </span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">new criteria to taxonomy, so that a brand new research field of </span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">“</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Cell Taxonomy</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">”</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> was established instead of the current </span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">“</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Chromosome Taxonomy</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">”</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> widely used in phytosystematics research. Furthermore, the most interesting and significant phenomena w</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">as</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> 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</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">”</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> for their special origin and micro-morphological characteristics. As for the aspect of art, it was quite similar to “Quasi-crystal</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">”</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> discovered by Daniel Schechtman, so that the art future was discussed, obviously another new epoch of scientific-art history began.</span>展开更多
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 neuroprote...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.展开更多
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 incid...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.展开更多
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 ...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.展开更多
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...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.展开更多
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 sti...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.展开更多
文摘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<span style="font-family:Verdana;"> a </span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">new criteria to taxonomy, so that a brand new research field of </span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">“</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Cell Taxonomy</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">”</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> was established instead of the current </span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">“</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Chromosome Taxonomy</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">”</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> widely used in phytosystematics research. Furthermore, the most interesting and significant phenomena w</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">as</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> 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</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">”</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> for their special origin and micro-morphological characteristics. As for the aspect of art, it was quite similar to “Quasi-crystal</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">”</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> discovered by Daniel Schechtman, so that the art future was discussed, obviously another new epoch of scientific-art history began.</span>
基金supported by the Joint Fund for Yunnan Provincial Science and Technology Department-Kunming Medical University(No.2017FE467-152)Yunnan Provincial Workstation of XunMing Ji(2018)+2 种基金National Natural Science Foundation of China(Regional Fund Project)(No.81060102)Yunnan Provincial Medical and Health Units set up research institutes for scientific research projects(No.2014NS077,2016NS262,2016NS263,2017NS286,2017NS287)Chinese stroke high-risk population intervention suitable technology research and promotion project(No.GN-2016R0005).
文摘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.
基金Key Technologies Research and Development Program of Zhejiang Province(No.2021C03099)Key R&D Program of Zhejiang Province(No.2022C03167)+2 种基金National Natural Science Foundation(No.82271735)Zhejiang Province Public Welfare Technology Application Research Project(No.LGC21H090001)Scientific Research Fund of Zhejiang University(No.XY2022045)
文摘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.
基金This project was supported by the Research Grant Council of Hong Kong SAR(No.1620441)NSFC-RGC Joint Research Scheme(No.N_HKUST607/17)+4 种基金the Innovation and Technology Commission(No.ITC-CNERC14SC01)the Zhongshan Municipal Bureau of Science&Technology(No.ZSST19EG03)National Natural Science Foundation of China(NSFC)(Nos.11825203,51872100,21825103,21501060 and 51727809)National Basic Research Program of China(Nos.2015CB932600 and 2019kfyRCPY059)Foundation of Shenzhen Science and Technology Innovation Committee(No.JCYJ20180504170444967).
文摘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.
基金supported by grants from the National Basic Research Development Program of China (2014CB964602)the National Natural Science Foundation of China (91132713 and 81400878)+2 种基金the Zhejiang Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China (LR13H090001)the Science and Technology Planning Project of Zhejiang Province, China (2017C03011)the ‘Double First-Rate’ Project Initiative, and Chinese Ministry of Education Project 111 Program (B13026)
文摘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.
基金supported by The National Natural Science Foundation for Young Scholars of China (81901679)The Natural Science Foundation for Young Scholars of Zhejiang Province (LQ19H100005)China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2019M662076)。
文摘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.