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Ancherythroculter nigrocauda is a cyprinid fish endemic of the upper reaches of the Yangtze River in China, where it is an important aquaculture and commercial species. It is also a threatened species as a result of overfishing, dam construction and water pollution. In this study, a chromosome-level genome assembly of A. nigrocauda is reported and built using PacBio sequencing and the Hi-C technology. The 1.04-Gb sequenced genome of A. nigrocauda contained 2,403 contigs, with an N50 length of 3.12 Mb. Then, 1,297 contigs, which represented 54.0% of all contigs and 97.2% of the whole content of the genome nucleotide base, were assembled into 24 chromosomes. Combined with transcriptome data from 10 tissues, 27,042 (78.5%) genes were functionally annotated out of 34,414 predicted protein-coding genes. Interestingly, high expression of many positively selected genes and expanded gene families in the brain suggested that these genes might play important roles in brain development in A. nigrocauda. Finally, we found tissue-specific expression of 10,732 genes. Functional analyses showed that they were mainly composed of genes related to (a) environmental information processing, (b) the circulatory system, and (c) development, suggesting they might be important for adaptation to different environments and for development of A. nigrocauda. The high-quality genome obtained in this study not only provides a valuable genomic resource for future studies of A. nigrocauda populations and conservation, but is also an important resource for further functional genomics studies of fishes.

Background It has been demonstrated previously that induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have immunosuppressive effects on activated T cells. However, the effects of iPSC-MSCs on quiescent T cells are still unknown. The aim of this study was to identify the immunomodulatory role of iPSC-MSCs on resting peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from allergic rhinitis (AR) patients. Methods PBMCs were cocultured with iPSC-MSCs without any stimulation, following which lymphocyte proliferation, activation of T cells, TH1/TH2 and regulatory T (Treg) cell differentiation, and Treg cell function were analyzed. The roles of soluble factors and cell–cell contact were examined to investigate the mechanisms involved. Results iPSC-MSCs promoted the proliferation of resting lymphocytes, activated CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, and upregulated and activated Treg cells without any additional stimulation. In addition, iPSC-MSCs balanced biased TH1/TH2 cytokine levels. Cell–cell contact was confirmed to be a possible mechanism involved. NF-κB was identified to play an important role in the immunomodulatory effects of iPSC-MSCs on quiescent T cells. Conclusions iPSC-MSCs activate quiescent T cells and elevate regulatory T-cell response in AR patients, suggesting different immunomodulatory functions of iPSC-MSCs according to the phases of diseases. Therefore, iPSC-MSCs are a potential therapeutic candidate for treating allergic airway inflammation. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s13287-018-0896-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Background Curcumin (Cur), derived from Curcuma species, exhibits anti‐inflammatory, antioxidant, and anticancer effects. Although Cur has some beneficial effects on asthma, its clinical application is limited by its low bioavailability. Tetrahydrocurcumin (THC), the major active metabolite of Cur, has multiple biological functions, similarly to Cur, and importantly, it showed enhanced bioavailability in tissues and plasma. However, the effect of THC on asthma has not been reported. Objective The current study sought to investigate the efficacy of dietary THC on allergic asthma compared to that of Cur in an animal model. Methods The anti‐inflammatory effects of Cur and THC were evaluated in an ovalbumin‐induced asthmatic mouse model. The nasal symptoms, pathological alterations of the lung tissues, oxidants and antioxidants, cytokine production, T cell subsets, and Th2‐related signalling pathway activity were assessed. Results Both THC and Cur had beneficial effects on asthmatic mice with regard to nasal symptoms, pathological changes (eosinophils and mucus hyper‐production), oxidative stress (malondialdehyde), cytokine production (IL‐13), Th17 and cytotoxic T cell subsets, and Th2 signalling pathway (IL‐4Rα‐Jak1‐STAT6 and Jagged1/Jagged2‐Notch1/Notch2 axis) activity. THC was more effective than Cur in suppressing tissue eosinophilia, mucus production, and IL‐4Rα/Jak1/STAT6 pathway activity. Furthermore, only THC inhibited peripheral eosinophil levels, Th2 cytokines (IL‐4 and IL‐5), and Th2 cell subsets and enhanced an antioxidant enzyme (glutathione). Conclusion and Clinical Relevance The above results demonstrated for the first time that THC was superior to Cur in modulating allergic asthmatic phenotypes, especially attenuating the Th2 response. THC might be a potentially effective agent for asthma treatment.

The concrete shrinkage strain and creep coefficient calculation method in CEB - FIP MC90 model is briefly introduced. For application convenience in bridge design, a simplified formula for calculation of the concrete shrinkage strain and creep coefficient is derived. Considering the varying range of every influence factor, a correlation analysis for the factor is carried out. And the weights of those factors related to concrete shrinkage and creep coefficient are discussed. Considering the climate characteristics and the bridge structure features in the Pearl River Delta area, the variation ranges of concrete nominal shrinkage strain and nominal creep coefficient are calculated respectively.

The modern prestressed concrete bridges have the characteristics of large-span, high concrete strength, reinforced volume prestress and linear shape complexity. The structure bearing capacity and durability are considerable impacted by concrete creep, such as stresses redistribution and deflections increase. Some of the prediction concrete creep models that are being widely used at present are briefly introduced in this paper. Based on the analysis of existing research achievement, for the aim of improving the calculation accuracy of creep effects in bridge structures, several main problems that should be paid attention to in concrete creep analysis are pointed out from four aspects: (1) in design stage, the reasonable creep prediction model should be selected in accord with the local building materials and environment conditions; (2) during the analysis of creep effects, the initial stresses state and the stresses redistribution should be attended; (3) the reliability of prestress loss calculation should be considered in analysis of concrete creep effects; (4) the differences between normal construction materials and that of new types should be taken into account in concrete creep analysis.

Based on the analysis of reinforced concrete beams under biaxial bending, an equivalent cross-section method is proposed to calculate the shear capacity of the beams. According to the two basic equivalence principles, a biaxial flexural beam is changed into a uniaxial flexural member, and the shear strength of biaxial flexural beam is calculated as a uniaxial flexural member. Furthermore, the interrelationships among the equivalent cross-section and the neutral axis inclination as well as the ratio of depth to width of the cross-section are deduced in advance. The ratios of some typical cross-section’s equivalent dimensions to its original ones are pointed also. In order to verify the availability of the equivalent cross-section method, some academic references about the ultimate strength of biaxial flexural beams are consulted in this paper, and the shear capacity computing methods by literatures for uniaxial flexural beams are adopted in the strength calculation of biaxial flexural reinforced concrete simply supported beams with stirrups or without stirrups. The comparison between the calculation results and experimental results shows that the presented equivalent cross-section method is feasible and practical which can be used as a reference in practice design.

This paper reports on the preparation and advantages of novel amperometric biosensors in the presence of hydrophobic ionic liquid (IL), 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([BMIM][PF6]). Carbon paste biosensors have been constructed by entrapping heme proteins in carbon + IL mixed with paraffin oil as a binder. The most suitable paste composite was determined according to the catalytic activity of the biosensors to H2O2. The simplified preparations of the biosensors display advantages of a high sensitivity, a wide linear range, and a good activity toward H2O2. The IL-contained paste enhances high stability (thermal, pH, and operational) onto the immobilized heme proteins. Moreover, the biosensors could still maintain their good activity and the sensitivity after 3-month storage when keeping in the dry state in a refrigerator at 4 °C. The resulting biosensors are suitable for the precise determination of H2O2 in actual environment. Keywords: Ionic liquid, Carbon paste electrode, Binder, Amperometric response, Stabilization

Exacerbations of allergic asthma are often triggered by respiratory viral infections. We have previously shown that in a T-helper type 2 (Th2)-biased cytokine environment, mouse and human airway epithelial cells (AEC) exhibit increased expression of pro-inflammatory and anti-viral genes in response to synthetic double-stranded ribonucleic acid (dsRNA), a virus-like stimulus. This implies coordinated regulation of gene expression, suggesting possible involvement of microRNA. To investigate this, we developed a novel approach to identifying candidate microRNA using online databases, then confirmed their expression by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR).Using a list of genes of interest, defined on the basis of the previous study as being up-regulated in a Th2 environment, we searched mouse and human microRNA databases for possible regulatory microRNA, and selected 10 candidates that were conserved across species or predicted by more than one human database. Expression of these microRNA was tested by qRT-PCR, in primary human AEC pre-treated with Th2 cytokines and exposed to dsRNA.Expression of hsa-miR-139-5p, miR-423-5p and miR-542-3p was significantly decreased in Th2 pre-treated AEC, and miR-135a-5p exhibited a trend towards decreased expression. Further database searches confirmed that these microRNA regulated additional pro-inflammatory and anti-viral response genes for which expression had previously been shown to be up-regulated, confirming the validity of this approach.Our study demonstrates the value of using multiple online databases to identify candidate regulatory microRNA and provides the first evidence that in an allergic environment, microRNA may be important in altering the pro-inflammatory and anti-viral responses of human AEC during exacerbations of asthma.

Background Connexin (Cx)-based gap junction channels play important roles in the inflammatory response. Cx43 is involved in the pathogenesis of some lung diseases such as acute lung injury. However, the Cx43 expression in asthma is unclear. In the present study, we used a murine model of ovalbumin (OVA)-induced allergic airway disease to examine the levels of Cx43 and analyze the relationship between Cx43 and airway inflammation in allergic airway disease. Methods Asthma was induced in mice via sensitization and challenge with OVA. Cx43 mRNA and protein expression levels were investigated via QT-PCR, western blot, and immunohistochemistry 0 h, 8 h, 1 d, 2 d and 4 d after the first challenge. The relationship between Cx43 protein levels and inflammatory cell infiltration, cytokine levels was analyzed. Results The OVA-induced mice exhibited typical pathological features of asthma, including airway hyper-responsiveness; strong inflammatory cell infiltration surrounding the bronchia and vessels; many inflammatory cells in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF); higher IL-4, IL-5 and IL-13 levels; and high OVA specific IgE levels. Low Cx43 expression was detected in the lungs of control (PBS) mice. A dramatic increase in the Cx43 mRNA and protein levels was found in the asthmatic mice. Cx43 mRNA and protein expression levels increased in a time-dependent manner in asthma mice, and Cx43 was mostly localized in the alveolar and bronchial epithelial layers. Moreover, lung Cx43 protein levels showed a significant positive correlation with inflammatory cell infiltration in the airway and IL-4 and IL-5 levels in the BALF at different time points after challenge. Interestingly, the increase in Cx43 mRNA and protein levels occurred prior to the appearance of the inflammatory cell infiltration. Conclusion Our data suggest that there is a strong upregulation of Cx43 mRNA and protein levels in the lungs in asthma. Cx43 levels also exhibited a positive correlation with allergic airway inflammation. Cx43 may represent a target to treat allergic airway diseases in the future.

We previously found that mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) derived from human-induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) exerted immunomodulatory effects on Th2-mediated allergic rhinitis in vitro. However, their contribution to the asthma and allergic rhinitis in animal models remains unclear. In this study, we developed a mouse model of ovalbumin (OVA)-induced allergic inflammation in both the upper and lower airways and evaluated the effects of the systemic administration of human iPSC-MSCs and bone marrow-derived MSCs (BM-MSCs) on allergic inflammation. Our results showed that treatments with both the iPSC-MSCs and BM-MSCs before the challenge phase protected the animals from the majority of allergy-specific pathological changes. This protection included an inhibition of inflammatory cell infiltration and mucus production in the lung, a reduction in eosinophil infiltration in the nose, and a decrease in inflammatory cell infiltration in both the bronchoalveolar and nasal lavage fluids. In addition, treatment with iPSC-MSCs or BM-MSCs before the challenge phase resulted in reduced serum levels of Th2 immunoglobulins (e.g., IgE) and decreased levels of Th2 cytokines including interleukin (IL)-4, IL-5, or IL-13 in the bronchoalveolar and/or nasal lavage fluids. Similar therapeutic effects were observed when the animals were pretreated with human iPSC-MSCs before the sensitization phase. These data suggest that iPSC-MSCs may be used as an alternative strategy to adult MSCs in the treatment of asthma and allergic rhinitis. Stem Cells 2012;30:2692–2699