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Pseudorabies virus (PRV) variants have caused substantial economic losses in the swine industry in China since 2011. To surveil the genetic variation in PRV field strains, here, two novel variant strains of PRV were isolated from Shanxi Province in central China and were designated SX1910 and SX1911. To identify the genetic characteristics of the two isolates, their complete genomes were sequenced, and phylogenetic analysis and sequence alignment revealed that field PRV variants have undergone genetic variations; notably, the protein-coding sequences UL5, UL36, US1 and IE180 exhibited extensive variation and contained one or more hypervariable regions. Furthermore, we also found that the glycoproteins gB and gD of the two isolates had some novel amino acid (aa) mutations. Importantly, most of these mutations were located on the surface of the protein molecule, according to protein structure model analysis. We constructed a mutant virus of SX1911 with deletion of the gE and gI genes via CRISPR/Cas9. When tested in mice, SX1911-ΔgE/gI-vaccinated mice were protected within a comparable range to Bartha-K61-vaccinated mice. Additionally, a higher dose of inactivated Bartha-K61 protected the mice from lethal SX1911 challenge, while a lower neutralization titer, higher viral load and more severe microscopic lesions were displayed in Bartha-K61-vaccinated mice. These findings highlight the need for continuous monitoring of PRV and novel vaccine development or vaccination program design for PRV control in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The availability of nanoparticles (NPs) to deliver small interfering RNA (siRNA) has significantly expanded the specificity and range of 'druggable' targets for precision medicine in cancer. This is especially important for cancers such as triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) for which there are no targeted treatments. Our purpose here was to understand the role of tumor vasculature and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) overexpression in a TNBC xenograft in improving the delivery and function of siRNA NPs using in vivo as well as ex vivo imaging. We used triple negative MDA-MB-231 human breast cancer xenografts derived from cells engineered to overexpress VEGF to understand the role of VEGF and vascularization in NP delivery and function. We used polyethylene glycol (PEG) conjugated polyethylenimine (PEI) NPs to deliver siRNA that downregulates choline kinase alpha (Chkα), an enzyme that is associated with malignant transformation and tumor progression. Because Chkα converts choline to phosphocholine, effective delivery of Chkα siRNA NPs resulted in functional changes of a significant decrease in phosphocholine and total choline that was detected with 1H magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS). We observed a significant increase in NP delivery and a significant decrease in Chkα and phosphocholine in VEGF overexpressing xenografts. Our results demonstrated the importance of tumor vascularization in achieving effective siRNA delivery and downregulation of the target gene Chkα and its function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

CoFe 2 O 4 &V 2 CT x hybrid material was synthesized as a high volumetric performance anode in lithium-ion batteries by an in-situ hydrothermal method. Multilayered V 2 CT x in the hybrid acts as a superior host for homogenous loading CoFe 2 O 4 nanoparticles due to the opened two-dimensional structure of MXene, favorable electrical conductivity and low Li+ diffusion barrier. XRD results confirmed CoFe 2 O 4 &V 2 CT x hybrid had been formed, and SEM images showed the spherical CoFe 2 O 4 nanoparticles were randomly deposited on the surface of accordion-like morphology MXene. Being an anode material, it exhibited a good reversible capacity of 638.6 mAh g−1 with 97.8 % coulombic efficiency after 100 cycles at 1 C. In addition, ex-situ X-ray photoelectron spectra revealed that a redox reaction was involved in the Li+ ions extraction/insertion process. Our work provides further insight into the hybrid application of the binary metal & layered MXene hybrids as high-performance anode electrodes for lithium-ion batteries. [Display omitted] • CFO&V 2 CT x hybrid material were prepared the by in-situ hydrothermal method. • CFO&V 2 CT x hybrid exhibited a reversible capacity of 638.6 mAh g−1 after 100 cycles at 1 C. • Ex-situ XPS revealed a redox reaction was involved in the Li+ ions extraction/insertion process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are few reports on the reproductive biology of celery, which produces small flowers in a long flowering period. Anther development was analyzed by paraffin sectioning and related genes were examined by transcriptome sequencing and qPCR. The development process was divided into nine stages based on the significant changes in the cell and tissue morphologies. These stages included: archesporial stage, sporogenous cell stage, microspore mother cell stage, dyad and tetrad stage, mononuclear microspore stage, late uninucleate microspore stage, binuclear cell stage, mature pollen stage, and dehiscence stage. A total of 1074 differentially expressed genes were identified by transcriptome sequencing in the early flower bud, middle flower bud, and early flowering period. Functional annotation indicated that these genes were involved in physiological and biochemical processes such as ribosomes metabolism, sugar metabolism, and amino acid metabolism. Transcription factors such as C2H2, AP2/ERF, bZIP, WRKY, and MYB played key regulatory roles in anther development and had different regulatory capabilities at various stages. The expression patterns based on qPCR and transcriptome data of the selected transcription factor genes showed consistency, suggesting that these genes played an important role in different flower development stages. These results provide a theoretical basis for molecular breeding of new celery varieties with pollen abortion. Furthermore, they have enriched research on the reproductive biology of celery and the Apiaceae family. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• High (001) orientation in the off-stoichiometric L 1 0 -MnGa thin film by Fe doping was obtained. • The appropriate Fe doping can improve H c and K u eff, then decrease M s of the MnGa film. • (BH) max can reach to 9.21 MGOe. • Our research provides a new inspiration for the design and application of L 1 0 -MnGa film. M s and K u eff of Fe-doped L 1 0 -MnGa film as functions of Fe compositions and (b) cross-sectional HRTEM image of 6.8% Fe-doped L 1 0 -MnGa film [Display omitted] L 1 0 -MnGa alloy film is a kind of promising material for application of spintronics device and permanent magnet. In this paper, we prepare the Fe-doped L 1 0 -MnGa films on thermal MgO (100) substrates with different annealing temperatures and report magnetic regulation of the off-stoichiometric L 1 0 -MnGa thin film by tuning Fe doping amount and annealing temperature. It is found that the 4.6% Fe-doped L 1 0 -MnGa film has (001) orientation, large coercivity of 6.14 kOe, high effective anisotropy constant of 9.9 Merg/cc and low saturation magnetization of 482 emu/cc. The film annealed at 500 °C has a maximum magnetic energy product of 9.21 MGOe. The production of tensile strain and the change of interatomic exchange coupling state by Fe doping and annealing temperature enable the L 1 0 -MnGa film to apply in many fields. It is noteworthy that there are the different doping results compared to the Pt-doped L 1 0 -MnGa film in the previous work. These research results are valuable for the design and application of L 1 0 -MnGa film. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Liver is the most common organ for metastasis for various cancers, including uveal melanoma, the most common primary intraocular tumor. Uveal melanoma metastasizes to the liver in ~90% of patients, and results in death in almost all cases due to late detection and lack of effective treatment. There is a pressing unmet medical need to develop MRI contrast agents and imaging methodologies with desired sensitivity and specificity to overcome the high heterogeneous background and in vivo properties as well as reduced toxicity. Herein, we report the development of a collagen targeting protein contrast agent (ProCA32.collagen1), since collagen is a diagnostic biomarker and therapeutic target for many types of primary and metastatic cancers and the tumor microenvironment. In addition to a strong affinity to collagen I, ProCA32.collagen1 possesses high relaxivities (r 1 and r 2 are 68.0 ± 0.25 and 100.0 ± 0.32 mM−1 s−1 at 1.4 T, respectively, and 42.6 ± 1.0 and 217 ± 2.4 mM−1s−1 at 7.0 T per particle). ProCA32.collagen1 also has strong serum stability against degradation, resistance to transmetallation, and 102 and 1013-fold higher metal selectivity for Gd3+ over Ca2+ and Zn2+, respectively, compared to clinical contrast agents. ProCA32.collagen1 does not exhibit any cell toxicity for various cell lines. Sensitive detection of liver lesions in animal models can be achieved using multiple imaging methodologies, taking advantage of the dual relaxation property of ProCA32.collagen1. ProCA32.collagen1 enables sensitive and early stage detection of hepatic micrometastasis as small as 0.144 mm2 and two different tumor growth patterns. Further development of ProCA32.collagen1 has the potential to greatly facilitate non-invasive, early detection and staging of primary and metastatic liver cancers, and devising effective treatments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]