The Origins of the Arc-Shaped Langshan Uplift and Linhe Trench

In the northern part of the Ordos Basin, there is a 325 km long arc-shaped Langshan uplift and a 15 km-deep Linhe Trench in front of Langshan, which are rare geological phenomena for which origins no one has explained. This article comprehensively analyzes the research achievements over the past 40 years of geology, geomorphology, seismic exploration, paleogeography, and oil and gas exploration in the Ordos Basin and Langshan. It recognizes that the northern part of the Ordos Basin experienced a meteorite impact in the Late Cretaceous period. The impact pushed the block northwest ward, subducting after colliding with igneous rocks in the north. This sudden event formed a clear arc-shaped mountain zone in the north and a wedge-shaped trench in front of the mountain. The chaotic layers, prolonged and continuous faults, and numerous thrust layers in the Langshan, a negative anomaly area in the center of the northern Ordos, abnormal orientation of crystalline basement structures in the north of Ordos, Moho uplift, and distribution of meteorite fragments in the northwest of Langshan, all of these geological phenomena support the occurrence of the meteorite impact event, forming the arc-shaped Langshan and the Trench.

Photoacoustic nanoprobe forβ-galactosidase activity detection and imaging in vivo

Detection and visualization ofβ-galactosidase(β-gal)is essential to reffect its physiological and pathological effects on human health and disease,but it is still challenging to precisely trackβ-gal in vivo owing to the limitation of current analytical methods.In our work,we reported a photoacoustic(PA)nanoprobe for selective imaging of the endogenousβ-gal in vivo.Our nanoprobe Cy7-β-gal-LP was constructed by encapsulation of a near-infra red(NIR)dye Cy7-β-gal within a liposome(LP,DSPE-PEG2000-COOH).The dye Cy7-β-gal was synthesized based on a dye Cy-OH where the hydroxyl group was replaced by aβ-D-galactopyranoside residue,which can be recognized byβ-gal as an enzyme hydrolytic site.With the addition ofβ-gal,the absorbance of Cy7-β-gal exhibited a significant red shift with the absorption peak moved from 600 nm to 680 nm,which should generate a switch-on PA signal at 680 nm in the presence ofβ-gal.In addition,as theffuorescence of the dye was totally quenched due to aggregation within the liposome,Cy7-β-gal-LP exhibited high PA conversion efficiency.With the nanoprobe,we achieved the selective PA detection and imaging ofβ-gal in the tumor-bearing mice.

Synchronous detection of glutathione/hydrogen peroxide for monitoring redox status in vivo with a ratiometric upconverting nanoprobe

Cellular redox status presents broad implications with diverse physiological and pathological processes. Simultaneous detection of both the oxidative and reductive species of redox couples, especially the most representative pair glutathione/hydrogen peroxide (GSH/H2O2), is crucial to accurately map the cellular redox status. However, it still remains challenging to synchronously detect GSH/H2O2 in vivo due to lack of a reliable measuring tool. Herein, a ratiometric nanoprobe (UCNP-TB) possessing simultaneous delectability of GSH/H2O2 is established based on a multi-spectral upconverti ng nano phosphor (UCNP-OA) as the lumin esce nee res onance energy tran sfer (LRET) donor and two dye molecules as the acceptors, including a GSH-sensitive dye (TCG) and a H2O2-sensitive dye (BCH). With the as-prepared UCNP-TB, real-time and synchronous monitoring the variation of GSH and H2O2 in vitro and in living mice can be achieved using the ratio of the upcon versi on lumin esce nee (UCL) at 540 and 650 nm to that at 800 nm as the detecti on sign al, respectively, providi ng highly inhere nt reliability of the sensing results by self-calibrati on. Moreover, the nan oprobe is capable of mappi ng the redox status within the drug-resista nt tumor and the drug-induced hepatotoxic liver via ratiometric UCL imaging. Thus, this nan oprobe would provide a reliable tool to elucidate the redox state in vivo.

Light-responsive charge-reversal nanovector for high-efficiency in vivo CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing with controllable location and time

Controllably and efficaciously localized CRISPR/Cas9 plasmids transfection plays an essential role in genetic editing associated with various key human diseases.We employed near-infrared(NIR)light-responsive CRISPR/Cas9 plasmids delivery via a charge-reversal nanovector to achieve highly efficient and site-specific gene editing.The nanovector with abundant positive charges was fabricated on the basis of an ultraviolet-sensitive conjugated polyelectrolyte coated on an upconversion nanomaterial(UCNP-UVP-P),which can convert into negative charges upon 980 nm light irradiation.Using the as-prepared nanovector,we demonstrated the plasmids could be efficiency transfected into tumor cells(~63%±4%)in a time-contolled manner,and that functional CRISPR/Cas9 proteins could be successfully expressed in a selected NIR-irradiated region.Particularly,this strategy was successfully applied to the delivery of CRISPR/Cas9 gene to tumor cells in vivo,inducing high efficiency editing of the target gene PLK-1 under photolrradiation.Therefore,this precisely controlled gene regulation strategy has the potential to serve as a new paradigm for gene engineering in complex biological systems.

Gene silencing efficiency of shRNA expression vectors targeting Cx43 in vitro

Our previous studies showed that there were close relationships between connexin 43(Cx43)and acupoints and meridians.In order to further investigate the effect of Cx43 in acupuncture treatment,RNA interference technique was used to construct small hairpin RNA(shRNA)expression vectors targeting Cx43 and identify the efficiency of RNA interference in NIH/3T3 cell lines for further use in vivo.Aiming directly at the two targets of Cx43 mRNA sequence of the rat and mouse homology region,we synthesized two pairs of comple-mentary oligonucleotide strands in vitro.Double strands were formed after annealing,and then inserted into Pgenesil-1 plasmid expression vector.After identification by enzyme cutting and sequencing,the recombinant plasmids named P-Cx43-shRNA(1),P-Cx43-shRNA(2)and P-con-shRNAwere transfected into the NIH/3T3 cells.Immunofluorescence and Western blot assays were used to detect the protein level of Cx43 after being screened by G418.The results of enzyme cutting and sequencing showed that we successfully constructed two shRNA expression vectors targeting Cx43,and a control expres-sion vector for rat and mouse.Also,the Cx43 protein level was decreased by 73.5%(P<0.01)and 10.8%,accord-ingly.The Cx43 protein level was not influenced by the transfection of P-con-shRNA.The outcomes demonstrate that the plasmid P-Cx43-shRNA(1)can specifically silence better the expression of Cx43 in NIH/3T3 cells,which offers an experimental evidence for further in vivo investigation.