Expression profiling of immune cells in systemic lupuserythematosus by single-cell RNA sequencing

Systemic lupus erythematosus(SLE)is a systemic autoimmune disease characterized by abnormal cellular and humoral immune responses and excessive autoantibody production.The precise pathologic mechanism of SLE remains elusive.The advent of single-cell RNA sequencing(scRNA-seq)enables unbiased analysis of the molecular differences of cell populations at the single-cell level.We used scRNA-seq to profile the transcriptomes of peripheral blood mononuclear cells from an SLE patient compared with a healthy control(HC).A total of 16,021 cells were analyzed and partitioned into 12 distinct clusters.The marker genes of each cluster and the four major immune cell types(B cells,CD4+T cells,CD8+T cells,myeloid cells,and NK cells)were determined.Moreover,several genes involved in antigen processing and presentation through MHCII were highly enriched.GO enrichment analyses revealed abnormal gene expression patterns and signaling pathways in SLE.Of note,pseudotime analysis revealed that there was a different lineage hierarchy in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells(PBMCs)of the SLE patient,indicating that the cell states were substantially altered under disease conditions.Our analysis provides a comprehensive map of the cell types and states of the PBMCs of SLE patients at the single-cell level for a better understanding of the pathogenesis,diagnosis,and treatment of SLE.

Effect of UBR5 on the tumor microenvironment and its related mechanisms in cancer

Objective UBR5,recently identified as a potential target for cancer therapeutics,is overexpressed in multiple malignant tumors.In addition,it is closely associated with the growth,prognosis,metastasis,and treatment response of multiple types of cancer.Although emerging evidence supports the relationship between UBR5 and cancer,there are limited cancer analyses available.Methods In this study,online databases(TIMER2,GEPIA2,UALCAN,c-BioPortal,STRING)were employed to comprehensively explore expression levels and prognostic values of the UBR5 gene in cancer,using bioinformatic methods.Results We found that various characteristics of the UBR5 gene such as gene expression,survival value,genetic mutation,protein phosphorylation,immune infiltration,and pathway activities in the normal tissue were remarkably different from those in the primary tumor.Furthermore,“protein processing in spliceosome”and“ubiquitin mediated proteolysis”have provided evidence for their potential involvement in the development of cancer.Conclusion Our findings may provide insights for the selection of novel immunotherapeutic targets and prognostic biomarkers for cancer.

A facile synthesis of supported amorphous iron oxide with high performance for Cr(Ⅵ) removal from aqueous solution under visible light irradiation

A series of supported iron oxide nanoparticles were prepared by impregnation with Fe(NO_3)_3 supported on TiO_2,followed by low-temperature calcination. Scanning electron microscopy(SEM), X-ray diffraction(XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS), UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectra and BET have been used to characterize the samples. These iron oxide-impregnated TiO_2 were examined for photocatalytic reduction of Cr(Ⅵ). The experiments demonstrated that Cr(Ⅵ) in aqueous solution was more efficiently reduced using Fe_2O_3/TiO_2 heterogeneous photocatalysts than either pure Fe_2O_3 or TiO_2 under visible light irradiation. All TiO_2 supported samples were somewhat active for visible light photoreduction. With an optimal mole ratio of 0.05-Fe/Ti, the highest rate of Cr(Ⅵ) reduction was achieved under the experimental conditions. We also compared the photoreactivity of TiO_2 supported iron oxide samples with that supported on Al_2O_3 and ZrO_2. It can be noted that iron oxide nanoparticles deposited on high surface area supports to increase the solid-liquid contact area renders it considerably more active. Noticeably,iron oxide cluster size and dispersion are important parameters in synthesizing active, supported Iron oxide nanoparticles. In addition, the interaction between iron oxide and TiO_2 was proposed as the source of photoactivity for Cr(Ⅵ) reduction.

Enhancement of the mechanical properties of polylactic acid/basalt fiber composites via in-situ assembling silica nanospheres on the interface

A valid strategy to tailor the properties of polylactic acid for more extensive applications was introducing filler.In this work,basalt fiber assembled with in-situ SiO_(2) nanoparticles on the surface was successfully prepared via hydrothermal method and it was further treated with coupling agent KH-550 to improve interfacial interaction between polylactic acid(PLA)and basalt fibers(BF).It was demonstrated that the introduction of BFS could increase the crystallization of PLA and resulted in forming trans-crystallization based on TG and DSC results.The tensile strength of PLA/BF composites raised from 39 MPa to 62.5 MPa with increasing the fiber loading from 1 wt%to 10 wt%.Furthermore,the interfacial interaction could be effectively improved by assembling SiO_(2)(especially with 250 nm in diameter)on BF surface to build mechanical locking,which could keep the PLA matrix in place during the mechanical deformation with the tensile strength value raised from 62.5 MPa to 74.0 MPa.It is noticeable that the impact and flexural properties were effectively increased with the incorporation of in-situ SiO_(2) nanoparticles.The further KH-550 treatment made a positive impact as well.For instance,the impact strength and flexural strength of the sample with SiO_(2) and KH-550 modification were improved to 22.49 k J/m^(2) and 146.83 MPa and it enhanced about 42.16%and 41.04%than those of neat PLA,respectively.Therefore,an efficient enhancement of mechanical performance was achieved and this concept of assembling in-situ SiO_(2) on silica-based fiber as a modifier was a novel and simple path to design the interfacial construction and properties of the polymer composites.