Destabilization damage characteristics and infrared radiation response of coal-rock complexes.

To investigate the characteristics of destabilization damage in coal-rock complexes. Mechanical property tests were conducted on coal, rock, and their complexes. An infrared thermal camera was employed to real-time monitor the infrared (IR) radiation response signals during the destabilization damage process. A numerical model of coal-rock destabilization damage was developed, and its validity was verified. Deformed stress fields and displacement contours were obtained during the destabilization damage process. Upon destabilization, numerous cracks form at the base of the "coal" section, extending towards the interface, resulting in the formation of a wave-like deformation region. The differentiation in infrared thermal images is more pronounced in the "coal" section compared to the "rock" section. A high-stress region is evident at the interface, resulting in an area of high stress differentials. However, the bottom of the "coal" section also exhibits a region with high stress differentials and a more pronounced tendency towards destabilization damage. Displacement contours revealed that numerous units at the bottom of the "coal" section had slipped and misaligned, leading to the accumulation of damage and an elevation in the local damage level. It is a crucial factor contributing to the notable phenomenon of IR thermal image differentiation.

AIV polyantigen epitope expressed by recombinant baculovirus induces a systemic immune response in chicken and mouse models.

BACKGROUND: The protective efficacy of avian influenza virus (AIV) vaccines is unsatisfactory due to the presence of various serotypes generated by genetic reassortment. Thus, immunization with a polyantigen chimeric epitope vaccine may be an effective strategy for protecting poultry from infection with different AIV subtypes. METHODS: Baculovirus has recently emerged as a novel and attractive gene delivery vehicle for animal cells. In the present study, a recombinant baculovirus BmNPV-CMV/THB-P10/CTLT containing a fused codon-optimized sequence (CTLT) of T lymphocyte epitopes from H1HA, H9HA, and H7HA AIV subtypes, and another fused codon-optimized sequence (THB) of Th and B cell epitopes from H1HA, H9HA, and H7HA AIV subtypes, driven by a baculovirus P10 promoter and cytomegalovirus CMV promoter, respectively, was constructed. RESULTS: Western blotting and cellular immunofluorescence demonstrated that the CTLT (THB) can be expressed in rBac-CMV/THB-P10/CTLT-infected silkworm cells (mammalian HEK293T cells). Furthermore, the recombinant virus, rBac-CMV-THB-CTLT, was used to immunize both chickens and mice. CONCLUSIONS: The results of an indirect ELISA, immunohistochemistry, and T lymphocyte proliferation assay indicated that specific humoral and cellular responses were detected in both chicken and mice. These results suggest that rBac-CMV/THB-P10/CTLT can be developed as a potential vaccine against different AIV subtypes.

Alternative isoforms of BmYki have different transcriptional co-activator activity in the silkworm, Bombyx mori.

Yorki (Yki), a transcriptional co-activator that is a key component of the Hippo pathway, induces the transcription of a number of targets that promote cell proliferation and survival. Bombyx mori Yki3 (BmYki3), with 445 amino acid residues, facilitates cell migration and cell division, and enlarges cultured cell and wing disc size. In this study, cellular localization, transcriptional co-activator activity, cell migration, cell cycle, and cell size were characterized in alternative isoforms of BmYki. BmYki1 and BmYki3 are mainly located in the cytoplasm and nucleus, respectively, while, BmYki2 is located in both the cytoplasm and nucleus. The mutation BmYki1S97A (S97mutated to A) was transported from the cytoplasm to nucleus. Cell migration, cell cycle, and cell size could be enhanced by BmYki, however, the effect of BmYki1 and BmYki2 on cell proliferation was less compared to BmYki3. Moreover, wing discs could be enlarged by overexpressing BmYki1 or BmYki2 isoforms. Dual-luciferase reporter assay showed that BmYki3 had the highest activity to B. mori ovarian tumor gene. In BmN cells overexpressing one of the BmYki isoforms, expression levels of kibra ortholog (kibra), inhibitor of apoptosis protein (iap), four-jointed (fj), expanded (ex), crumbs (crb) and BMP and activin membrane-bound inhibitor homolog (Bmpr) genes were upregulated, while those of α-catenin (α-cat), decapentaplegic (dpp), serrate (serr) and signal transducer and activator of transcription (stat) genes were down-regulated. There was some difference in the regulation of gene expression between different isoforms. These results suggested that the activity of BmYki isoforms was different in the silkworm.

Functional characterization of BmOVOs in silkworm, Bombyx mori.

BACKGROUND: In our previous study, we identified four isoforms of the Bmovo gene, Bmovo-1, Bmovo-2, Bmovo-3 and Bmovo-4 from the silkworm ovary and verified that ovarian development was regulated by the BmOVO proteins. RESULTS: To understand the regulatory mechanisms of ovarian development, the regulation of four BmOVO isoforms on the B. mori ovarian tumor (Bmotu) promoter activity was investigated with luciferase reporter assays. The results showed the Bmotu promoter activity was positively regulated by BmOVO-1, BmOVO-2, BmOVO-3 and BmOVO-4 in a dose-dependent manner, of which BmOVO-2 had the highest transcriptional activation. However, the first (A1) and third acidic domains (A3) at the N-terminus of BmOVO-1 are transcriptional repression domains, while the fourth (A4) and fifth acidic domains (A5) are transcriptional activation domains. A recombinant BmOVO zinc-finger domain was found to bind to the GTACCGTTGTA sequence located at the Bmotu promoter. Furthermore, the Bmotu promoter activity was negatively regulated by 'Tal-like' peptide, which can trigger BmOVO-1 degradation at the N-terminus. CONCLUSIONS: These results will help us to further understand the regulatory mechanisms of BmOVO isoforms on Bmotu promoter activity and ovarian development in the silkworm.

Circular RNA alterations in the Bombyx mori midgut following B. mori nucleopolyhedrovirus infection.

Thus far, no systematic studies have examined circRNA expression profiles in the silkworm following B.mori nucleopolyhedrovirus (BmNPV) infection. To explore the expression patterns of circRNAs in the silkworm midgut following BmNPV infection, circRNAs in normal midguts and BmNPV-infected midguts were analyzed by high-throughput sequencing. A total of 353 circRNAs were significantly differentially expressed, of which 241 were upregulated and 112 were downregulated following infection. GO annotation and KEGG pathways analyses of these circRNAs showed that many key immunity pathways and metabolism pathways were enriched in the BmNPV-infected midguts. The potential roles of the predicted targets of the miRNAs that interacted with the circRNAs showed that ubiquitin, apoptosis, and endocytosis signaling pathways were enriched significantly by BmNPV infection.