An ultra-thin and highly efficient electromagnetic interference shielding composite paper with hydrophobic and antibacterial properties.

Facing the increasing electromagnetic interference (EMI) pollution in the living environment, it is a new trend to explore an efficient EMI shielding material with facile fabrication and a wide range of application scenarios. A hydrophobic composite paper composed of silver nanowires (AgNWs) and kapok microfibers cellulose (MFC) was modified by methyl trimethoxy silane (MTMS) through a simple method. As a result, the composite paper has a good EMI shielding effectiveness (EMI SE) of 61.7 dB with electrical conductivity of 695.41 S/cm. The modification of MTMS improved the thermal stability performance of composite paper, which also increased its water contact angle to 113°. The free silver ions (Ag+) released from AgNWs can kill surrounding microbial bacteria, endowing the composite paper with good antibacterial property. Water resistance and antibacterial property enable MTMS/AgNWs/MFC composite paper to cope with complex application environments.

Cellulose nanocrystals-based bio-composite optical materials for reversible colorimetric responsive films and coatings.

Photonic materials with a tunable chiral nematic structure that can selectively reflect light dynamically are valuable for applications in smart responsive materials. Here, we prepared potential photonic composites with a chiral nematic structure by forming cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) and waterborne polyurethane (WPU) composites with different compositions on different substrates by evaporation-induced self-assembly. With increasing WPU content, the reflected wavelength increased from 400 to 680 nm, which was mainly caused by the increase of the chiral nematic pitch. In addition, the mechanical properties were better for higher WPU content. WPU was sensitive to small amounts of moisture in ethanol owing to the swollen WPU after absorbing water will increase the helical pitch. The reversible red shift induced by moisture was approximately 100 nm. When wood was used as the substrate, the CNCs still self-assembled to form chiral nematic structures and the adhesion forces of the composites to the wood substrate were strong. By using MgCl2 solution as an ink, invisible patterns can be written on the coating, which can be revealed temporarily by ethanol. In addition, the invisible pattern of photonic coating is rewritable. The easily prepared environmentally friendly photonic composite has great potential in sensors, anti-counterfeiting labels and smart decorative coatings.

Anti-inflammatory effects of progesterone through NF-κB and MAPK pathway in lipopolysaccharide- or Escherichia coli-stimulated bovine endometrial stromal cells.

Postpartum uterine infection in dairy cows is commonly caused by pathogenic bacteria such as Escherichia coli (E. coli). Progesterone elicits immunosuppressive function within bovine endometrium, and has been suggested to be related to postpartum uterine infection. Endometrial stroma is exposed to bacteria due to the disruption of epithelium during parturition, but the effect and mechanism of progesterone on innate immune response of stromal cells has not been reported. This study evaluated the impact of progesterone on inflammatory response of primary endometrial stromal cells stimulated by lipopolysaccharide or heat-killed E. coli. Quantitative PCR analysis revealed that progesterone repressed mRNA induction of IL1B, IL6, TNF, CXCL8, NOS2, and PTGS2 in stromal cells in response to lipopolysaccharide or E. coli challenge. Consistently, Western blot and immunofluorescence staining results showed that progesterone suppressed lipopolysaccharide- or E. coli-induced MAPK and NF-κB activations characterized with decreased phosphorylations of ERK1/2, JNK, P38, IκBα, and P65, and inhibition of P65 nuclear translocation. In unstimulated stromal cells, progesterone alone did not affect the mRNA transcription for IL6, TNF, CXCL8, NOS2, and PTGS2, and the signaling cascade of MAPK and NF-κB, but decreased IL1B mRNA expression. These results revealed that the anti-inflammatory effect of progesterone in lipopolysaccharide- or E. coli-challenged endometrial stromal cells was probably mediated through MAPK and NF-κB pathways.

Cortisol inhibits lipopolysaccharide-induced inflammatory response in bovine endometrial stromal cells via NF-κB and MAPK signaling pathways.

Bovine uterine infection is commonly caused by Escherichia coli (E. coli). Elevated concentrations of plasma cortisol have been reported in postpartum cows. However, the direct role of cortisol in the inflammatory response of bovine endometrial stromal cells (BESCs) remains unclear. Therefore, the aim of the study was to explore the regulatory effect of cortisol on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammatory response in BESCs. Both the primary and immortalized BESCs were used in this study. BESCs were treated with cortisol (5, 15, and 30 ng/mL) in the presence of LPS. The mRNA expression of inflammatory cytokines and chemokines was detected using RT-qPCR. Western blot and immunofluorescence were used to analyze the activation of the NF-κB and MAPK signaling pathways. The results revealed that cortisol downregulated the LPS-induced overexpression of interleukin(IL)-1ß, IL-6, IL-8, TNF-α, COX-2, iNOS in BESCs. Moreover, cortisol inhibited LPS-induced phosphorylation levels of IκB, p65, ERK1/2, JNK and p38, and p65 nuclear translocation in BESCs. These results indicated that cortisol inhibited LPS-induced inflammatory response in BESCs, which may be mediated by suppressing the NF-κB and MAPK signaling pathways.

Prevalence and molecular spectrum of α- and ß-globin gene mutations in Hainan, China.

This study investigated prenatal diagnosis of α-thalassemia and ß-thalassemia in 3049 families in 18 regions of Hainan Province. Molecular diagnosis was performed in 3049 couples with thalassemia in Hainan Province. Genomic DNA was extracted from peripheral blood of the couples and villus, amniotic fluid, or cord blood of fetuses. DNA-based diagnosis was performed using polymerase chain reaction. The most commonly detected mutation for α-thalassemia was- SEA/αα (31.53%), followed by - α4.2/αα (11.15%) and - α3.7/αα (11.02%). The most common mutation for ß-thalassemia was CD41/42 (30.27%), followed by - 28 (2.56%). Prevalence was highest in the coastal regions and lowest in the Wenchang, Lingao, and Ding'an regions. We also found that the most common gene mutations in Han people and other minority groups were not homogeneous. Prenatal diagnosis showed 556 normal fetuses, 116 with α-thalassemia hydrops, and 134 with ß-thalassemia major. Our findings provide important information for clinical genetic counseling regarding prenatal diagnosis for thalassemia major in Hainan Province.

RNA-sequencing and bioinformatics analysis of long noncoding RNAs and mRNAs in the asthenozoospermia.

Asthenozoospermia is one of the major causes of human male infertility. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) play critical roles in the spermatogenesis processes. The present study aims to investigate the intricate regulatory network associated with asthenozoospermia. The lncRNAs expression profile was analyzed in the asthenozoospermia seminal plasma exosomes by RNA-sequencing, and the functions of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were analyzed by Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway and DO (Disease Ontology) enrichment analyses. Pearson's correlation test was utilized to calculate the correlation coefficients between lncRNA and mRNAs. Moreover, the lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA co-expression network was constructed with bioinformatics. From the co-expression analyses, we identified the cis regulated correlation pairs lncRNA-mRNA. To confirm sequencing results with five of the identified DElncRNAs were verified with quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). We identified 4228 significantly DEGs, 995 known DElncRNAs, 2338 DEmRNAs and 11,706 novel DElncRNAs between asthenozoospermia and normal group. GO and KEGG analyses showed that the DEGs were mainly associated with metabolism, transcription, ribosome and channel activity. We found 254,981 positive correlations lncRNA-mRNA pairs through correlation analysis. The detailed lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA regulatory network included 11 lncRNAs, 35 miRNAs and 59 mRNAs. From the co-expression analyses, we identified 7 cis-regulated correlation pairs lncRNA-mRNA. Additionally, the qRT-PCR analysis confirmed our sequencing results. Our study constructed the lncRNA-mRNA-miRNA regulation networks in asthenozoospermia. Therefore, the study findings provide a set of pivotal lncRNAs for future investigation into the molecular mechanisms of asthenozoospermia.

Identification of Highly Specific Diversity-Oriented Synthesis-Derived Inhibitors of Clostridium difficile.

In 2013, the Centers for Disease Control highlighted Clostridium difficile as an urgent threat for antibiotic-resistant infections, in part due to the emergence of highly virulent fluoroquinolone-resistant strains. Limited therapeutic options currently exist, many of which result in disease relapse. We sought to identify molecules specifically targeting C. difficile in high-throughput screens of our diversity-oriented synthesis compound collection. We identified two scaffolds with apparently novel mechanisms of action that selectively target C. difficile while having little to no activity against other intestinal anaerobes; preliminary evidence suggests that compounds from one of these scaffolds target the glutamate racemase. In vivo efficacy data suggest that both compound series may provide lead optimization candidates.

A One-Step System for Convenient and Flexible Assembly of Transcription Activator-Like Effector Nucleases (TALENs).

Transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs) are powerful tools for targeted genome editing in diverse cell types and organisms. However, the highly identical TALE repeat sequences make it challenging to assemble TALEs using conventional cloning approaches, and multiple repeats in one plasmid are easily catalyzed for homologous recombination in bacteria. Although the methods for TALE assembly are constantly improving, these methods are not convenient because of laborious assembly steps or large module libraries, limiting their broad utility. To overcome the barrier of multiple assembly steps, we report a one-step system for the convenient and flexible assembly of a 180 TALE module library. This study is the first demonstration to ligate 9 mono-/dimer modules and one circular TALEN backbone vector in a one step process, generating 9.5 to 18.5 repeat sequences with an overall assembly rate higher than 50%. This system makes TALEN assembly much simpler than the conventional cloning of two DNA fragments because this strategy combines digestion and ligation into one step using circular vectors and different modules to avoid gel extraction. Therefore, this system provides a convenient tool for the application of TALEN-mediated genome editing in scientific studies and clinical trials.

[Low frequency-based non-uniform sampling strategy to improve Chinese recognition in cochlear implant].

To enhance speech recognition, as well as Mandarin tone recognition in noice, we proposed a speech coding strategy called zero-crossing of fine structure in low frequency (LFFS) for cochlear implant based on low frequency non-uniform sampling (LFFS for short). In the range of frequency perceived boundary of human ear, we used zero-crossing time of the fine structure to generate the stimulus pulse sequences based on the frequency selection rule. Acoustic simulation results showed that although on quiet background the performance of LFFS was similar to continuous interleaved sampling (CIS), on the noise background the performance of LFFS in Chinese tones, words and sentences were significantly better than CIS. In addition to this, we also got better Mandarin recognition factors distribution by using the improved index distribution model. LFFS contains more tonal information which was able to effectively improve Mandarin recognition of the cochlear implant.