In Vivo Simultaneous Analysis of Gene Expression by Dual-Color Luciferases in Caenorhabditis elegans

Both fluorescent and luminescent observation are widely used to examine real-time gene expression patterns in living organisms. Several fluuorescent and luminescent proteins with specific optical properties have been developed and applied for simultaneous, multi-color observation of more than two gene expression profiles. Compared to fluorescent proteins, however, the application of multi-color luminescent imaging in living organisms is still limited. In this study, we introduced two-color luciferases into the soil nematode C. elegans and performed simultaneous analysis of two gene expression profiles. Using a green-emitting luciferase Eluc (emerald luciferase) and red-emitting luciferase SLR (stable luciferase red), the expression patterns of two genes were simultaneously observed in single animals from embryonic to adult stages over its whole life span. In addition, dual gene activities were observed at the single embryo level, with the simultaneous observation of morphological changes. These are the first application of a two-color luciferase system into a whole animal and suggest that precise relationship of expression patterns of multiple genes of interest can be analyzed over the whole life of the animal, dependent on the changes in genetic and/or environmental conditions.     

Human DDX17 Unwinds Rift Valley Fever Virus Non-Coding RNAs

Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) is a mosquito-transmitted virus from the Bunyaviridae family that causes high rates of mortality and morbidity in humans and ruminant animals. Previous studies indicated that DEAD-box helicase 17 (DDX17) restricts RVFV replication by recognizing two primary non-coding RNAs in the S-segment of the genome: the intergenic region (IGR) and 5′ non-coding region (NCR). However, we lack molecular insights into the direct binding of DDX17 with RVFV non-coding RNAs and information on the unwinding of both non-coding RNAs by DDX17. Therefore, we performed an extensive biophysical analysis of the DDX17 helicase domain (DDX17_135–555) and RVFV non-coding RNAs, IGR and 5’ NCR. The homogeneity studies using analytical ultracentrifugation indicated that DDX17_135–555, IGR, and 5’ NCR are pure. Next, we performed small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) experiments, which suggested that DDX17 and both RNAs are homogenous as well. SAXS analysis also demonstrated that DDX17 is globular to an extent, whereas the RNAs adopt an extended conformation in solution. Subsequently, microscale thermophoresis (MST) experiments were performed to investigate the direct binding of DDX17 to the non-coding RNAs. The MST experiments demonstrated that DDX17 binds with the IGR and 5’ NCR with a dissociation constant of 5.77 ± 0.15 µM and 9.85 ± 0.11 µM, respectively. As DDX17_135–555 is an RNA helicase, we next determined if it could unwind IGR and NCR. We developed a helicase assay using MST and fluorescently-labeled oligos, which suggested DDX17_135–555 can unwind both RNAs. Overall, our study provides direct evidence of DDX17_135–555 interacting with and unwinding RVFV non-coding regions.     

Identification of the Primary Factors Determining the Specificity of Human VKORC1 Recognition by Thioredoxin-Fold Proteins

Redox (reduction–oxidation) reactions control many important biological processes in all organisms, both prokaryotes and eukaryotes. This reaction is usually accomplished by canonical disulphide-based pathways involving a donor enzyme that reduces the oxidised cysteine residues of a target protein, resulting in the cleavage of its disulphide bonds. Focusing on human vitamin K epoxide reductase (hVKORC1) as a target and on four redoxins (protein disulphide isomerase (PDI), endoplasmic reticulum oxidoreductase (ERp18), thioredoxin-related transmembrane protein 1 (Tmx1) and thioredoxin-related transmembrane protein 4 (Tmx4)) as the most probable reducers of VKORC1, a comparative in-silico analysis that concentrates on the similarity and divergence of redoxins in their sequence, secondary and tertiary structure, dynamics, intraprotein interactions and composition of the surface exposed to the target is provided. Similarly, hVKORC1 is analysed in its native state, where two pairs of cysteine residues are covalently linked, forming two disulphide bridges, as a target for Trx-fold proteins. Such analysis is used to derive the putative recognition/binding sites on each isolated protein, and PDI is suggested as the most probable hVKORC1 partner. By probing the alternative orientation of PDI with respect to hVKORC1, the functionally related noncovalent complex formed by hVKORC1 and PDI was found, which is proposed to be a first precursor to probe thiol–disulphide exchange reactions between PDI and hVKORC1.     

Fluorescence Correlation Spectroscopy Analysis of Effect of Molecular Crowding on Self-Assembly of β-Annulus Peptide into Artificial Viral Capsid

Recent progress in the de novo design of self-assembling peptides has enabled the construction of peptide-based viral capsids. Previously, we demonstrated that 24-mer β-annulus peptides from tomato bushy stunt virus spontaneously self-assemble into an artificial viral capsid. Here we propose to use the artificial viral capsid through the self-assembly of β-annulus peptide as a simple model to analyze the effect of molecular crowding environment on the formation process of viral capsid. Artificial viral capsids formed by co-assembly of fluorescent-labelled and unmodified β-annulus peptides in dilute aqueous solutions and under molecular crowding conditions were analyzed using fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS). The apparent particle size and the dissociation constant (K_d) of the assemblies decreased with increasing concentration of the molecular crowding agent, i.e., polyethylene glycol (PEG). This is the first successful in situ analysis of self-assembling process of artificial viral capsid under molecular crowding conditions.     

安卓平台上的医用图像信息采集系统的开发设计

为了探讨在安卓平台上构建医用图像采集系统的开发个案,分析通过以智能手机、平板电脑为核心安卓设备通过拍照获得化验单数据后进行文本识别并提交智慧医疗系统的解决方案。本文首先通过二值化算法形成低阈值图像数据,使用卷积神经元网络算法对文本进行逐一识别,使用K-means算法对识别后的单字文本进行字段记录值的整合并形成元数据库服务于其他智慧医疗系统模块。在使用9000组数据对神经元网络进行前期训练的前提下,该系统的识别准确率达到了99.5%以上。本系统具有一定的可行性,对未来智慧医疗的系统开发有实践意义。     

Main trends on the simulation of the drying of refractory castables - Review

Refractory castables develop microstructures after curing that behave as partially saturated porous media. Upon heating (during its drying stage), the steam generated by the physical and chemically bond water can result in pore pressurization and explosive spalling. Numerical modeling can provide guidelines for designing safer heat-up profiles and also a better understanding of the mechanisms that lead to catastrophic damage. This work aims to review the fundamentals and models available, providing insightful thoughts on the current trends of the drying phenomena of ceramic compositions. The review also highlights that there are models better oriented to result in reasonable predictions of pore pressure values and others focused on a more accurate representation of the main physical phenomena that take place during heating. According to the findings, there are still various challenges to attain accurate models with high applicability capable of yielding safer and more efficient drying of refractory castables.     

Role of the HSP70 Co-Chaperone SIL1 in Health and Disease

Cell surface and secreted proteins provide essential functions for multicellular life. They enter the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) lumen co-translationally, where they mature and fold into their complex three-dimensional structures. The ER is populated with a host of molecular chaperones, associated co-factors, and enzymes that assist and stabilize folded states. Together, they ensure that nascent proteins mature properly or, if this process fails, target them for degradation. BiP, the ER HSP70 chaperone, interacts with unfolded client proteins in a nucleotide-dependent manner, which is tightly regulated by eight DnaJ-type proteins and two nucleotide exchange factors (NEFs), SIL1 and GRP170. Loss of SIL1′s function is the leading cause of Marinesco-Sjögren syndrome (MSS), an autosomal recessive, multisystem disorder. The development of animal models has provided insights into SIL1′s functions and MSS-associated pathologies. This review provides an in-depth update on the current understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying SIL1′s NEF activity and its role in maintaining ER homeostasis and normal physiology. A precise understanding of the underlying molecular mechanisms associated with the loss of SIL1 may allow for the development of new pharmacological approaches to treat MSS.     

基于Matlab的量子激光雷达稳频通信模拟系统设计

传统通信模拟系统设计较为复杂,导致模拟过程消耗能量较大,不能准确模拟稳频通信质量。因此,提出基于Matlab的量子激光雷达稳频通信模拟系统。由于振荡器是雷达形成初始信号源的基础,通过分析振荡电路与相位噪声,获得相位噪声函数与通信频率存在的关系;为确保通信过程的稳定,将准确性与稳定性作为信号质量的评价指标,并采用锁频环稳频技术计算频率偏移程度,根据PID控制算法控制频率,量子激光雷达稳频通信;利用Matlab确定激光器、探测器等硬件组成结构,通过时序与数字阵列的设置完成模拟系统设计。仿真结果表明所提系统结构简便、性能稳定,能够真实模拟出稳频通信的信号质量。