Molecular Cloning and Putative Functions of KIFC1 for Acrosome Formation and Nuclear Reshaping during Spermiogenesis in Schlegel’s Japanese Gecko Gekko japonicus

Spermiogenesis, occurring in the male testis, is a complicated and highly-ordered developmental process resulting in the production of fertile mature sperm. In Gekko japonicus, this process occurs in 7 steps during which the spermatids undergo dramatic changes in the cytoskeleton and nucleus. Here, we cloned and sequenced the cDNA of the mammalian KIFC1 homologue in the testis of G. japonicus. The 2 344 bp full-length cDNA sequence contained a 191 bp 5’-untranslated region, a 134 bp 3’-untranslated region and a 2 019 bp open reading frame encoding a protein of 672 amino acids. Tissue expression analysis revealed the highest expression of kifc1 mRNA was in the testis. Fluorescence in situ hybridization revealed that the kifc1 mRNA signal was hardly detected in step 1 spermatids but became concentrated at the acrosome of step 2 spermatids and abundant in the nucleus of step 5 spermatids where the nucleus then undergoes dramatic elongation and compression. The kifc1 mRNA signal then gradually disappears in mature sperm. This expression of KIFC1 at specific stages of spermiogenesis in G. japonicus implies its important role in the major cytological transformations such as acrosome biogenesis and nucleus morphogenesis.

Rapid and sensitive detection of urinary KIM-1 using fully printed photonic crystal microarrays

Urinary kidney injury molecule 1(uKIM-1)serves as a reliable marker for the early diagnosis of acute kidney injury(AKI).The rapid and facile detection of changes in uKIM-1 is essential for early AKI diagnosis,ultimately improving the prognosis of patients.In this study,we developed a fully printed photonic crystal-integrated microarray with photonic crystal-enhanced fluorescence properties,which can detect uKIM-1 levels at the point-of-care.We confirmed its efficacy in the early diagnosis of AKI using clinical urine specimens.Direct quantitative detection of uKIM-1 was achieved within 10 min.The lowest limit of detection is 8.75 pg·mL^(-1) with an accuracy of 94.2%.The diagnostic efficacy was validated using 86 clinical urine samples,highlighting the high sensitivity and stability of the photonic crystal microarray.Consequently,a facile and reliable immunoassay was designed and prepared for the rapid quantitative detection of uKIM-1,which is crucial for the early identification and convenient detection of AKI in hospital or community settings.Rapid,convenient,cost-effective,and long-term monitoring of changes in uKIM-1 levels can assist clinicians in making timely adjustments to treatment regimens,preventing the transition from AKI to chronic kidney disease(CKD),improving the quality of life of patients with AKI,and reducing healthcare costs.It highlights the advantages of utilizing urine samples as a noninvasive and easily accessible medium for early detection and monitoring of kidney-related conditions.

Fe-doped and sulfur-enriched Ni3S2 nanowires with enhanced reaction kinetics for boosting water oxidation

Exploring cost-effective and highly-active oxygen evolution reaction(OER)electrocatalysts is a pressing task to propel water electrolysis for green hydrogen production.Herein,we constructed a class of Fe-doped and Senriched Ni_(3)S_(2)nanowires electrocatalysts for optimizing the target intermediates adsorption to decrease the OER overpotentials at various current densities.The optimal Ni_(3)S_(2)-1.4%Fe electrocatalyst possesses the most active sites and exhibits an ultralow overpotential of 190 mV at 10 mA cm^(-2) with an excellent stability of>60 h,exceeding the majority of recently-reported Ni_(3)S_(2)-based electrocatalysts.The trivalence Fe-doping not only reduces the electron density of the Ni center,but also enables the sulfur enrichment on the Ni_(3)S_(2) surface,which greatly improves the intrinsic activity and the number of target intermediates(*OOH).A novel methanol-assisted electrochemical evaluation further reveals that the Ni_(3)S_(2)-1.4%Fe electrocatalyst demonstrates a weaker binding ability to*OH with the rapid generation of*OOH species,and thus gives a lower apparent activation energy compared with the surface sulfur reduced ones.This work provides a new perspective for regulating the adsorption of intermediates through doping strategy.