Search

nterstitial cells of Cajal (ICC) have important functions in regulation of motor activity in the gastrointestinal tract. In murine small intestine, ICC are gathered in the regions of the myenteric plexus (ICC-MY) and the deep muscular plexus (ICC-DMP). These two classes of ICC have different physiological functions. ICC-MY are pacemaker cells and generate the slow-wave electrical rhythmicity of gastrointestinal organs. ICCDMP form synaptic connections with the varicose nerve terminals of enteric motor neurons and are involved in reception and transduction of motor neurotransmission. Gene expression underlying specific functions of ICC classes is incompletely understood. In the present study, we used recently developed highly selective techniques to isolate the two functional ICC classes from enzymatically dispersed intestinal muscles by fluorescence-activated cell sorting. The transcriptomes of ICC-MY and ICC-DMP were investigated using oligonucleotide microarray analysis. Differential expression of functional groups of genes defined by standard gene ontology terms was also studied. There were substantial numbers of genes expressed more abundantly in ICC than in the tunica muscularis, and we also detected marked phenotypic differences between ICC-MY and ICC-DMP. Notably, genes related to cell junction, process guidance, and vesicle trafficking were upregulated in ICC. Consistent with their specific functions, metabolic and Ca2+ transport genes were relatively upregulated in ICC-MY, whereas genes for signaling proteins involved in transduction of neurotransmitter functions were relatively upregulated in ICC-DMP. Our results may lead to the identification of novel biomarkers for ICC and provide directions for further studies designed to understand ICC function in health and disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In emerging artificial intelligence applications, massive matrix operations require high computing speed and energy efficiency. Optical computing can realize high-speed parallel information processing with ultra-low energy consumption on photonic integrated platforms or in free space, which can well meet these domain-specific demands. In this review, we firstly introduce the principles of photonic matrix computing implemented by three mainstream schemes, and then review the research progress of optical neural networks (ONNs) based on photonic matrix computing. In addition, we discuss the advantages of optical computing architectures over electronic processors as well as current challenges of optical computing and highlight some promising prospects for the future development.

Coal burning is a main concern for a range of atmospheric pollutants, including the environmentally sensitive element chromium (Cr). Cr migrates to the environment through stack emissions and can leach out from solid coal-burning byproducts, thereby causing adverse effects on the ecosystem. In this study, atmospheric emissions of Cr from six coal-fired power plants (CFPPs), as well as the distribution of Cr inside these CFPPs in Guizhou Province, Southwest China, were investigated. Among the six CFPPs, one was a circulating fluidized bed boiler and the others were pulverized coal boilers. The results showed that Cr in the feed fuel of these CFPPs ranged from 39.5 to 101.5 mg·kg−1 (average: 68.0 ± 24.8 mg·kg−1) and was approximately four times higher than the national and global average. Cr in the feed fuel correlated significantly with the ash yield, demonstrating that Cr in coal is closely associated with ash-forming minerals. After the coal combustion and the treatment by different air pollution control devices, most Cr (>92%) in the installation was retained in the captured fly ash and bottom ash, with less as gypsum (0.69–7.94%); eventually, only 0.01–0.03% of Cr was emitted into the atmosphere with a concentration of 1.4–2.2 μg·Nm−3. The atmospheric emission factors of Cr for these utility boilers were as low as 14.86 ± 3.62 mg Cr·t−1 coal, 7.72 ± 2.53 μg Cr (kW·h)−1, and 0.70 ± 0.19 g Cr·TJ−1, respectively. About 981 kg·y−1 of Cr was discharged into the atmosphere from Guizhuo’s CFPPs in 2017, much lower than previous reported values. Most of the Cr in the CFPPs ended up in solid combustion products, identifying the need for the careful disposal of high-Cr-containing ashes (up to 500 mg·kg−1) to prevent possible mobilization into the environment.

Cu2SnS3 is a potential absorber material for thin film solar cells. However, Cu2SnS3 solar cells are normally prepared by high temperature sulfurization process. In this work, the Cu2SnS3 nanoparticle films with a porously structured surface are in situ prepared by a new and facile molecular precursor solution approach featuring a low annealing temperature (250 °C–350 °C) and a short annealing time (5 min); furthermore, the novel planar heterojunction solar cells configured as FTO/TiO2/CdS/Cu2SnS3/P3HT/MoO3/Ag are fabricated, in which poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT), an organic conjugated polymer, mainly acts as hole transporting material. It is found that the annealing temperature imposes a significant influence on the structure of Cu2SnS3 nanoparticle film. While increasing annealing temperature leads to a higher crystallinity of Cu2SnS3 nanoparticle film, the pores on the film surface become larger at annealing temperature  >300 °C. It is also revealed that the solar cell performance depends on the annealing temperature and Cu2SnS3 film thickness, and the efficiency of 2.03% is obtained in the solar cells with 60 nm thick Cu2SnS3 thin film prepared at 300 °C. The results here demonstrate a low-temperature solution preparation strategy to prepare Cu2SnS3 thin films for solar cells and other optoelectronic devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sapelovirus is a member of the family Picornaviridae and is emerging as an enteric porcine, simian, and avian pathogen. Here, we report the genome sequence of a novel porcine sapelovirus strain YC2011 isolated from piglets with severe diarrhea. The availability of the genome sequence is helpful to further investigations of molecular characteristics and epidemiology of porcine sapelovirus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract. Loquat (Eriobotrya japonica Lindl.) is an economically important subtropical fruit tree, originating and commercially produced mainly in China and Japan. The aseptic seed germination of 13 loquat cultivars, including 9 white-fleshed cultivars and 4 red-fleshed ones, was studied, and the relationship between the germination rate and the content of endogenous ABA in seeds was explored. The germination rate and the seedling height at 80 days after sowing of white-fleshed cultivars were generally higher than that of red-fleshed ones. The ABA content in seeds was generally lower in white-fleshed cultivars, and the ABA content negatively correlated with the germination rate at 80 days after sowing. A moderate detrimental effect of 75% ethanol disinfection on aseptic germination of loquat seeds was observed, especially, for the cultivar Dashing, and the germination rate and seedling height were reduced by around half and one-third, respectively. The addition of plant preservative mixture (PPM) to the germination medium at a final concentration of 25 mg·L-1 effectively controlled contamination when the 75% ethanol disinfection procedure was omitted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

MSC's transplantation is a promising cell-based therapy for injuries in regenerative medicine, and in vivo visualization of transplanted MSCs with noninvasive technique is essential for the tracking of cell infusion and homing. A new cationic polymer, poly(ethylene glycol)-block-poly(l-aspartic acid)-grafted polyethylenimine functionalized with superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (PAI/SPION), was constructed as a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-visible non-viral vector for the delivery of plasmids DNA (pDNA) encoding for luciferase and red fluorescence protein (RFP) as reporter genes into MSCs. As a result, the MSCs were labeled with SPION and reporter genes. The PAI/SPION complexes exhibited high transfection efficiency in transferring pDNA into MSCs, which resulted in efficient luciferase and RFP co-expression. Furthermore, the complexes did not significantly affect the viability and multilineage differentiation capacity of MSCs. After the labeled MSCs were transplanted into the rats with acute liver injury via the superior mesenteric vein (SMV) injection, the migration behavior and organ-specific accumulation of the cells could be effectively monitored using the in vivo imaging system (IVIS) and MRI, respectively. The immunohistochemical analysis further confirmed that the transplanted MSCs were predominantly distributed in the liver parenchyma. Our results indicate that the PAI/SPION is a MRI-visible gene delivery agent which can effectively label MSCs to provide the basis for bimodal bioluminescence and MRI tracking in vivo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]