Predicting the function and subcellular location of Caenorhabditis elegans proteins similar to Saccharomyces cerevisiae beta-oxidation enzymes

The role of peroxisomal processes in the maintenance of neurons has not been thoroughly investigated. We propose using Caenorhabditis elegans as a model organism for studying the molecular basis underlying neurodegeneration in certain human peroxisomal disorders, e.g. Zellweger syndrome, since the nematode neural network is well characterized and relatively simple in function. Here we have identified C. elegans PEX-5 (C34C6.6) representing the receptor for peroxisomal targeting signal type 1 (PTS1), defective in patients with such disorders. PEX-5 interacted strongly in a two-hybrid assay with Gal4p-SKL, and a screen using PEX-5 identified interaction partners that were predominantly terminated with PTS1 or its variants. A list of C. elegans proteins with similarities to well-characterized yeast beta-oxidation enzymes was compiled by homology probing. The possible subcellular localization of these orthologues was predicted using an algorithm based on trafficking signals. Examining the C termini of selected nematode proteins for PTS1 function substantiated predictions made regarding the proteins' peroxisomal location. It is concluded that the eukaryotic PEX5-dependent route for importing PTS1-containing proteins into peroxisomes is conserved in nematodes. C. elegans might emerge as an attractive model system for studying the importance of peroxisomes and affiliated processes in neurodegeneration, and also for studying a beta-oxidation process that is potentially compartmentalized in both mitochondria and peroxisomes.     

气井的动态优化技术

在生产层特别是在致密含气砂岩中合理放置支撑剂是产量优化成功的关键。几十年来，油气行业一直采用同位素作为支撑剂标记来帮助确定支撑剂放置的是否成功。一般是在压裂的不同阶段加入放射性示踪剂，以帮助评价支撑剂放置在各目的层的放置情况。     

复杂定制型移植物一体化制备的创新织造技术

德国纺织机械与高性能材料技术研究所(ITM)开发出一种通过在人体内植入复杂的移植物治疗血管疾病的新技术.基于计算机辅助设计(CAD)技术,可对患者所需的移植物的结构数据进行流程化处理与定制,并在提花织机上进行一体化生产.与现有的缝制和制备工艺相比,应用该一体化制备技术制备定制型管状移植物具有较高的时间和成本效益.     

Ultrasensitive aptamer-based multiplexed electrochemical detection by coupling distinguishable signal tags with catalytic recycling of DNase I

This work reports an aptamer-based, disposable, and multiplexed sensing platform for simultaneous electrochemical determination of small molecules, employing adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and cocaine as the model target analytes. The multiplexed sensing strategy is based on target-induced release of distinguishable redox tag-conjugated aptamers from a magnetic graphene platform. The electronic signal of the aptasensors could be further amplified by coupling DNase I with catalytic recycling of self-produced reactants. The assay was based on the change in the current at the various peak potentials in the presence of the corresponding signal tags. Experimental results revealed that the multiplexed electrochemical aptasensor enabled the simultaneous monitoring of ATP and cocaine in a single run with wide working ranges and low detection limits (LODs: 0.1 pM for ATP and 1.5 pM for cocaine). This concept offers promise for rapid, simple, and cost-effective analysis of biological samples.     

Therapy for cerebral ischemic injury with erythropoietin-containing nanoparticles

In this study we prepared nanocarrier of erythropoietin (EPO) and the curative effect of the EPO-containing nanoparticles for periventricular leukomalacia (PVL) model was validated. It was demonstrated that EPO-containing nanoparticles can ameliorate drug-induced liquefaction caused by hypoxia. EPO-containing nanomedicine may open new therapeutic strategies in hypoxia cure.     

General linear optical coordinate tranformations

New optical configurations for performing general coordinate transformation operations of shear, rotation, and their combination are presented. These configurations consist of refractive spherical and cylindrical lenses that are readily available. Typically, high-resolution imagery can be obtained, depending on the size of the input object, the illumination wavelength, and the f-number of the lenses. Basic and more general configurations are presented, along with experimental results clearly showing image shearing, rotation, and a combination of these with high-quality output imagery.     

Effect of postmolding heat treatment on in vitro properties of a polyanhydride implant containing gentamicin sulfate

A polyanhydride implant containing gentamicin sulfate was fabricated using a laboratory-scale injection-molding machine. After injection molding, the implants were subject to heat treatment at 60°C for various time periods with or without nitrogen protection. The impact of this heat treatment on the in vitro properties of the implants including copolymer molecular weights, mechanical properties, and in vitro drug-release profiles was investigated. This heat treatment caused a drastic drop in the molecular weight of the copolymer. Heating without nitrogen protection resulted in the hardening of the implant, but heating in the presence of nitrogen rendered the implant less rigid. It was also found that a faster in vitro drug release profile was shown by implants heated without nitrogen protection and a pronounced slowing down in drug release was exhibited by implants heated with nitrogen protection.     

Factors Predicting Progression to Severe COVID-19: A Competing Risk Survival Analysis of 1753 Patients in Community Isolation in Wuhan,ChinaOA

Most studies of coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19) progression have focused on the transfer of patients within secondary or tertiary care hospitals from regular wards to intensive care units. Little is known about the risk factors predicting the progression to severe COVID-19 among patients in community isolation, who are either asymptomatic or suffer from only mild to moderate symptoms. Using a multivariable competing risk survival analysis, we identify several important predictors of progressi...     

Effect of Carbon Properties on Melting Behavior of Mold Fluxes for Continuous Casting of Steels

Mold fluxes are synthetic slags used to coverthe liquid steel meniscus during continuous castingof steel.The flux,whichis continuously fed on thesurface of liquid pool during casting,melts first andthenflowsintothe gap between mold wall and solid-ified steel shell.It is well known that the perform-ance of the flux can greatly affect both the castingoperation and product quality.Because of its i mpor-tance,intensiveinvestigations have been performed,and considerable progress has been made[1-6].…     

e-Automation,an architecture for distributed industrial automation systems

Due to the complexity of modern industrial systems, a conventional automation system is not capable of providing sufficient information management and high-level intelligent approaches, as achieving these functionalities requires the support of comprehensive data management and coordination between system devices and heterogenous information. This paper proposes the concept of e-Automation, in which computer networking and distributed intelligence agent technologies are applied to industrial automation systems, and presents a hardware and software architecture that implements this concept. An open infrastructure based on multi-agent systems is employed in the proposed architecture of e-Automation, which aims to allow the implementation of diverse tasks and to permit greater configurability than can be obtained from a traditional system. To evaluate our proposed e-Automation concept, this paper presents a case study of substation information management which adopts the proposed e-Automation architecture in power system domain.