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Background: Our previous studies indicated that anesthesia and surgery could aggravate cognitive impairment of 5XFAD transgenic (Tg) mice, and this aggravation was associated with tau hyperphosphorylation. We previously identified that GNA13 (the gene encoding Gα13) was a hub gene with tau hyperphosphorylation. Objective: This study aims to further investigate the mechanism that whether the Gα13-mediated signaling pathway acts as an instigator to regulate cofilin activation and autophagy impairment in this process. Methods: 5XFAD Tg mice and their littermate (LM) mice were randomly allocated into four groups: LM Control group, LM Anesthesia/Surgery group, AD Control group, and AD Anesthesia/Surgery group. For mice in the Anesthesia/Surgery groups, abdominal surgery was performed under 1.4% isoflurane anesthesia followed by sustaining anesthetic inhalation for up to 2 h. Results: Compared with the AD Control group, protein levels of Gα13, ROCK2, LPAR5, and p-tau/tau46 ratio were increased, while p-cofilin/cofilin protein expression ratio was decreased in the AD Anesthesia/Surgery group. However, the differences in these protein levels were not significant among LM groups. Conclusion: This study demonstrated that anesthesia and surgery might exacerbate p-tau accumulation in 5XFAD Tg mice but not in LM mice. And this might be closely related to cofilin activation via Gα13-mediated signaling cascade.

In this paper, a long-term workload management problem for multi-server edge computing with server collaboration is studied. In the considered model, mobile users computation-intensive tasks are generated dynamically over the time and offloaded to associated edge servers according to pre-determined subscription agreements. Upon receiving the subscribed workload, each edge server can then decide to whether participate in server collaboration for enabling workload re-allocation (i.e., workload exchange) with other heterogeneously configured edge servers. Unlike most of the existing work, this paper takes into account both competitions and collaborations among strategic edge servers in sharing their computing capacities. To achieve the equilibrium for each edge server in minimizing its expected cost (including energy consumption, delay, transmission, configuration and pricing costs), a joint optimization is formulated for determining i) its amount of workload to undertake, ii) compensation price charged from peers, and iii) computing speed to adopt. To efficiently solve this problem, we propose a novel cooperative queueing game approach, which integrates a convex optimization, a core cost sharing scheme and a mapping rule. Theoretical analyses and extensive simulations are conducted to evaluate the performance of the proposed solution, and demonstrate its superiority over counterparts.

The present situation for haptic feedback is in a urgingly booming tendency concerning the issues that influence the user in every move. Therefore, the skin-attachable haptic sensor is now in higher and more demanding requirements where there are many aspects of the problem that people frequently encounter. First, the texture cannot be harsh, leading to the dilemma where it cannot fit in communal areas, create a twist, cause an uncomfortable experience and even trigger allergic reactions. Next, color and size are essential for aesthetic demands and a person’s well-being. Finally, and most importantly, the proper mechanism of the detection system and the issue of energy supply. This paper mainly focuses on soft skin-haptic actuators for vibrotactile and kinesthetic feedback and soft skin-haptic actuators for high resolution and multimodality, respectively. The whole paper gives a thorough understanding of several sensors targeting different factors. To gain a clearer picture of the present statement, factors provided from different aspects could be of great assistance in tracing various symptoms and clinical treatment, witnessing a bright future.

Nanostructured manganese oxides (nano-MnO

Highly repetitive sequences play a major structural and function role in the genome. In the present study, we developed Cas9-assisted cloning and SMRT sequencing of long repetitive sequences (CACS) to sequence and manipulate highly repetitive genes from eukaryotic genomes. CACS combined Cas9-mediated cleavage of a target segment from an intact genome, Gibson assembly cloning, and PacBio SMRT sequencing. Applying CACS, we directly cloned and sequenced the complete sequences of fibroin heavy chain (FibH) genes from 17 domesticated (Bombyx mori) and 7 wild (Bombyx mandarina) silkworms. Our analysis revealed the unique fine structure organization, genetic variations, and domestication dynamics of FibH. We also demonstrated that the length of the repetitive regions determined the mechanical properties of silk fiber, which was further confirmed by Cas9 editing of FibH. CACS is a simple, robust, and efficient approach, providing affordable accessibility to highly repetitive regions of a genome. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: Silkworm silk is the earliest and most widely used animal fiber, and its excellent performance mainly depends on the fibroin heavy chain (FibH) protein. The FibH gene is the main breakthrough in understanding the formation mechanism and improvement of silk fiber. In the study, we developed a CACS method for characterizing the fine structure and domestication landscape of 24 silkworm FibH genes. We used CRISPR/Cas9 to edit the repetitive sequence of FibH genes, revealing the relationship between FibH genes and mechanical properties of silkworm silk. Our study is helpful in modifying silk genes to manipulate other valuable highly repetitive sequences, and provides insight for silkworm breeding.

Yi-Tong Zhang,&ast; Hui-Yao Li,&ast; Xiao-Tong Sun, Xue-Wei Tong, Yong-Yan Shan, Yu-Xin Xu, Sheng-Dan Pu, Xin-Yuan Gao Department of Endocrinology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, 150001, People’s Republic of China&ast;These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Xin-Yuan Gao, Department of Endocrinology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, 23 Youzheng Street, Harbin, 150001, People’s Republic of China, Email 15124768260@163.comBackground: Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is strongly associated with cardiovascular disease, which is a risk factor for sudden cardiac death (SCD). The index of cardiac electrophysiological balance (iCEB) and the frontal QRS-T angle are recommended to predict the risk of ventricular arrhythmias more than other ECG parameters. However, the relationships between these two markers and DR have not yet been explored. The aim of this study was to investigate the variation in the iCEB, corrected iCEB (iCEBc) and frontal QRS-T angle in different stages of DR and determine whether there are associations between these markers and DR.Methods: The sample comprised 665 patients with Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) who were classified into three groups: no DR (NDR), mild to moderate non-proliferative DR (NPDR), and vision-threatening DR (VTDR). Twelve-lead ECG was performed and the QT, QTc, QRS duration, iCEB, iCEBc and frontal QRS-T angle were recorded and compared across the groups.Results: The VTDR group had a significantly higher iCEBc and frontal QRS-T angle than the NDR and NPDR groups. After controlling for confounding variables, the correlations between the iCEBc (OR=2.217, 95% CI=1.464– 3.358, P< 0.001), frontal QRS-T angle (OR=1.017, 95% CI=1.008– 1.025, P< 0.001) and DR risk remained (P< 0.05). Subjects in the fourth iCEBc quartile (adjusted OR=2.612, 95% CI=1.411– 4.834, p=0.002) had a much higher chance of developing DR compared to those in the first quartile. In comparison to the first frontal QRS-T angle quartile, subjects in the third (adjusted OR=1.998, 95% CI=1.167– 3.422, P=0.012) and fourth (adjusted OR=2.430, 95% CI=1.420– 4.160, P=0.001) frontal QRS-T angle quartiles had significantly greater risks of DR.Conclusion: With the progression of DR, the iCEBc and frontal QRS-T angle increase. An increased iCEBc and frontal QRS-T angle are associated with an increased risk of DR.Keywords: type 2 diabetes mellitus, diabetic retinopathy, index of cardiac electrophysiological balance, iCEB, frontal QRS-T angle, ventricular arrhythmia