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Taihang chickens are a domestic breed distributed throughout Hebei province in the Taihang Mountains of China and are characterized by their high meat and egg quality. However, the relatively limited egg production by this breed constrains their more widespread commercial utilization. The follicle selection process is closely linked to oocyte development and ovulation, making it a key determinant of laying performance and fecundity in hens. To understand the biological basis for such follicle selection and to identify the associated regulatory pathways, we conducted a genome-wide analysis of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) and mRNAs from the pre-hierarchical follicles and hierarchical follicles of Taihang laying hens. We identified 81 lncRNAs and 528 mRNAs that were differentially expressed during follicle selection, and integrated network analyses suggested that these RNAs were associated with the cell cycle, focal adhesion, oocyte meiosis, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor signaling, and steroid hormone biosynthesis pathways. The identified lncRNAs were also predicted to influence a series of target genes in cis and trans, suggesting that they may be important regulators of ovarian follicular development. Overall, the present analysis of lncRNA and mRNA expression patterns associated with ovarian follicle development offers a new foundation for future studies of reproductive physiology in Taihang chickens, highlighting new opportunities to improve the laying performance of this important domestic breed.

The APETALA2/ethylene-responsive factor (AP2/ERF) has important roles in regulating developmental processes and hormone signaling transduction in plants. Pineapple demonstrates a special sensitivity to ethylene, and AP2/ERFs may contribute to this distinct sensitivity of pineapples to ethylene. However, little information is available on the AP2/ERF of pineapple. In this study, 97 AP2/ERF family members were identified from the pineapple genome. The AcAP2/ERF superfamily could be further divided into five subfamilies, and different subfamily existed functional divergence in multifarious biological processes. ERF and RAV subfamily genes might play important roles in the process of ethylene response of pineapple; ERF and DREB subfamily genes had particular functions in the floral organ development. This study is the first to provide detailed information on the features of AP2/ERFs in pineapple, provide new insights into the potential functional roles of the AP2/ERF superfamily members, and will facilitate a better understanding of the molecular mechanism of flower in pineapple.

In recent years, exosomes as the intercellular vehicles have received extensive attention for their fundamental roles in biosystem and as novel biomarkers for early detection and therapeutic applications. It has been demonstrated that anti-CD63 can effectively target exosomes from cancer cells. In this work, multifunctional nanoelectrode-nanopore nanopipettes (MNNPs) were prepared to detect exosomes secreted from human cervical cancer cells (HeLa cells) at the single-entity level using the nanopore- based resistive pulse sensing technique. Synthetic liposomes were also measured for comparison. By modifying the anti-CD63 on the carbon nanoelectrode surface near the nanopore, the detected current signals were very different from the signals from the non-modified MNNPs. The differences were induced by the specific interactions between anti-CD63 and the membrane protein CD63 at the surface of exosomes. No obvious differences were observed when liposomes were tested. Furthermore, by utilizing micromanipulation technology, the position of the nanopipette tip could be accurately located, which enabled monitoring the secretion of exosomes from individual cells in a real-time manner. In the control experiment, the probe-to-cell distance was optimized and the HeLa cells incubated with exosomes inhibitor (GW4869) were tested by MNNPs. These significantly reduced translocation signals proved that anti-CD63 modified MNNPs were competent for exosomes detection in complex cellular environments.

Nanopipette has emerged as a versatile nanosensor. It is desirable to expand the sensing capabilities of nanopipette by integrating multiple sensing methods into one nanopipette. In this work, we presented a seeded growth approach to facilely, cheaply and quickly deposit a gold layer with controllable length at the inner surface of the nanopipette tip. The deposited gold formed a wireless ring-shape gold nanoelectrode at the nanopipette tip and enabled multimode single entity detection. With the presence of gold at the nanopipette apex, the nanopore based resistive-pulse sensing capability was obviously improved. The integrated ring-shape gold nanoelectrode could be used as a wireless bipolar electrode for electrochemical measurement. We further demonstrated that the gold coated nanopipette could be used as a substrate for surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy.

A simple and effective method for modulating nanoparticles (NPs) translocation through nanopore by tuning the surface change of chemically modified gold coated nanopore was developed. The gold-coated pore is simply prepared from a nanopipette and the partially insulated gold coating can be utilized to effectively concentrate NPs near the nanopore entrance. The surface modification of gold near the orifice effectively modulates the NP translocation behavior, mainly through electrostatic force and chemical interactions. This system can be extended to the detection of biological entities, such as virus and exosomes which have similar size of NPs.

Reduced-order model (ROM) based on proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) is a fast computational fluid dynamics (CFD) method and has been widely applied to pure flow or heat conduction problems in the past. In this paper, the typical 2D Rayleigh–Benard convection (RBC) in a square cavity was set as a research target. Firstly, the POD-ROM of 2D RBC problem was constructed at Ra = 107, Pr = 0.71. Combining with direct numerical simulation (DNS) databases, a closure model (CM) was then proposed to correct the evolution process of POD-ROM. Based on the proposed CM, we realized the prediction of flow evolution for a new flow case under the parameters different from that used to get its POD eigenmodes. It showed that the proposed POD-ROM with CM could be able to predict the dynamics of new flow cases. Moreover, the corresponding method proposed in the present study can be also easily extended to other types of flow-heat coupling problems, such as natural heat convection, etc.

This paper follows Part I of the rheological and thermophysical propertires of seawater with surfactant. In Part II, the thermophysical properties of seawater with the addition of different amounts of CTAC/NaSal are measured at different temperatures, including surface tension and thermal conductivity. Uncertainty analyses are conducted for all the measurements. The effects of the temperature, the salts in the seawater and the concentration of CTAC/NaSal on the thermophysical properties are investigated, and the corresponding influence mechanisms are analyzed. The results show that the addition of salt can decrease the surface tensions of the CTAC/NaSal solutions prepared by deionized water, and the surface tension of seawater is dramatically reduced after the addition of CTAC/NaSal. There is no substantial difference in the thermal conductivity among the solutions with different CTAC/NaSal concentrations at each temperature. Tap water can be utilized instead of deionized water in the following experiments on RSCE as expected.

The transplanted liver inevitably suffers from ischemia reperfusion (I/R) injury, which represents a key issue in clinical transplantation determining early outcome and long-term graft survival. A solution is needed to deal with this insult. This study was undertaken to explore the effect of Caffeic acid (CA), a naturally occurring antioxidant, on I/R injury of grafted liver and the mechanisms involved. Male Sprague-Dawley rats underwent orthotopic liver transplantation (LT) in the absence or presence of CA administration. In vitro, HL7702 cells were subjected to hypoxia/reoxygenation. LT led to apparent hepatic I/R injury, manifested by deteriorated liver function, microcirculatory disturbance and increased apoptosis, along with increased PDIA3 expression and nicotinamide adenosine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidase activity, and membrane translocation of NADPH oxidase subunits. Treatment with CA attenuated the above alterations. siRNA/shRNA-mediated knockdown of PDIA3 in HL7702 cells and rats played the same role as CA not only in inhibiting ROS production and NADPH oxidase activity, but also in alleviating hepatocytes injury. CA protects transplanted livers from injury, which is likely attributed to its protection of oxidative damage by interfering in PDIA3-dependent activation of NADPH oxidase.

Efficient mixing is one of the keen interest of many bioengineering and chemical engineering processes. In this work, we designed an efficient micro-mixer with viscoelastic fluid which can induce both strong shear and strong extension by being embedded several rhombic blocks to destabilize the viscoelastic fluid flow and can be also easily integrated. Experimental visualization and direct numerical simulation (DNS) of mixing process were conducted to evaluate the mixing performance. By adding green fluorescent particles into the fluids, apparent mixing enhancement was observed for viscoelastic fluid flow when the flow rate exceeded a threshold. The efficient micro mixing progress also shows great potential for bioengineering application with the biocompatible working fluids. Through DNS, we discussed the flow patterns and the role of polymers playing in viscoelastic fluid flow to respectively figure out the underlying mechanism of efficient mixing and the occurrence of unstable flow motions. The results show that when the elasticity is strong enough, the viscoelastic fluid flow is irregularly twisting and swinging in the channel, and as a result enhances the mixing by increasing the intersecting frequency of fluids of different concentrations. Moreover, owing to the special designed geometry, the polymers act as the energy supplier of unstable flow motions, which keeps the fluctuations from decaying towards the laminar regime.

The sensitive analysis of DNA is of extreme importance in the field of clinical diagnosis, targeted therapeutics, gene therapy, and a variety of biomedical studies. Even though significant achievements have been made in the detection of single-stranded DNA (ssDNA), facile strategy for the detection of double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) is still lacking. In this study, we have constructed an electrochemical DNA sensor based on homogeneous hybridization. Target dsDNA is thermal denatured and hybridized with thiolated capture probe and biotin-labeled reporter probe in solution phase. Excessive amount of the probes and precise control of hybridization temperature ensure the predominant formation of sandwich SH-dsDNA-biotin rather than reannealing product of the target dsDNA. A bovine serum albumin (BSA)-modified gold surface is designed to improve self-assembly capability of the sandwich SH-dsDNA-biotin structure in the presence of excessive SH-ssDNA probe. Thus, the target dsDNA can be successfully detected by using enzyme-linked amperometric amplification. By employing this strategy, dsDNA can be detected in a linear range from 5 pM to 1 nM with a detection limit down to 800 fM (S/N = 3). Cryptococcus neoformans in clinical real samples from cryptococcal meningitis patients can be discriminated successfully by the proposed method. Our research would make the electrochemical biosensor be an excellent candidate for pathogens detection in clinical diagnosis and prognosis.

The world is running against time to develop enough source of sustainable energy. Producing a viable and eco-friendly energy source is one part of the solving the energy crisis, and managing it efficiently is another. Since the development of Pulsating Heat Pipe (PHP) in early 1990s, it has gained a lot of attention as potential heat management system that is passive, efficient, compact yet simple, and could address the issues related to higher heat flux in micro-electronic devices. Researchers have been working on not only to develop the advanced form of the PHP, but also in understanding the working phenomenon of operational heat pipe. With the introduction of different kinds of working conditions for the operation of the device, including the geometric parameters, orientation, heat input, and other operational parameters, researches have revealed many functioning and non-functioning features which are very complex. Introduction of various kinds of fluids as the working material for the PHP have yielded different responses by the system at different fill ratio (FR). Though many scientists have worked day and night to fully understand the thermo-physical behavior through experimental investigation, numerical and computational approach and theoretical approach, full-fledge understanding of the operational mechanism is not yet achieved. This is due to the involvement of complex coupling effect of hydrodynamic and thermodynamic features, and the presence of liquid-slug and vapor-plug system. Nevertheless PHP has found many potential application fields in the area of thermal management. In recent years, researches on PHP have shifted from conventional investigation to newer dimensions that include use of non-conventional working fluids, visualization techniques, and rigorous computational works. This review paper is mainly focused on the results of experimental and numerical works done by researchers in the recent past. Authors believe that this paper will be very useful for future researchers to understand the recent trends in this arena better. This paper also exposes the latest works on PHP with potential and promising applications in novel field of thermal management.

The ‘Two Oceans and One Sea’ area (West Pacific, Indian Ocean, and South China Sea; 15°S–60°N, 39°–178°E) is a core strategic area for the ‘21st Century Maritime Silk Road’ project, as well as national defense. With the increasing demand for disaster prevention and mitigation, the importance of 10–30-day extended range prediction, between the conventional short-term (around seven days) and the climate scale (longer than one month), is apparent. However, marine extended range prediction is still a ‘blank point’ in China, making the early warning of marine disasters almost impossible. Here, the authors introduce a recently launched Chinese national project on a numerical forecasting system for extended range prediction in the ‘Two Oceans and One Sea’ area based on a regional ultra-high resolution multi-layer coupled model, including the scientific aims, technical scheme, innovation, and expected achievements. The completion of this prediction system is of considerable significance for the economic development and national security of China.

An experimental investigation was conducted to determine the thermal performance of Pulsating Heat Pipe (PHP) with different concentrations and fill ratios (FRs) of Methanol, Ethanol and Cetyltrimethyl ammonium chloride, C19H42ClN (CTAC) and compared with that of Deionized (DI) water. In this study, effects of thermo-physical properties of these working fluids on progression of temperature at different regions of the PHP and thermal resistance at varying thermal loads ranging from 15 W to 80 W were investigated. The closed-loop pulsating heat pipe was bottom heated and kept at vertical position for the entire period of study. 35%, 50% and 65% FRs of DI water were used and it was observed that the thermal resistance was lowest when the PHP was filled with 50% FR. The lowest thermal resistance achieved with DI water was 0.34 K/W at higher heat load. Methanol and Ethanol have lower specific heat capacity and performed almost no better than DI water. Larger (dP/dT)sat values of Methanol and Ethanol produced greater fluctuations in the flow and rapid movement of the fluid was induced within the pipe because of their relatively lower surface tension and viscosity. But these properties were not dominating factors for the thermal performance at higher heat loads. Lower specific heat capacity and latent heat of vaporization of these alcohols dominated the thermal resistance. When 50 ppm, 100 ppm, 1000 ppm and 2000 ppm of CTAC surfactant solutions were used, the experimental results showed that the heat transfer capability of the PHP is highly dependent on FR. It was observed that surface tension and viscosity are dominating factor in the performance of the PHP, when CTAC surfactant solution is used, and their degree of dominance varies with FR and heat loads. Lower surface tension of CTAC solution was advantageous for lower FR and heat load. Lower viscosity offered greater advantage at higher FR and heat load. The lowest thermal resistance achieved with surfactant solution was 0.30 K/W for 35% and 50% FR with 2000 ppm CTAC solution at higher heat load which are lower than that of DI water.