Search

Abstract After cutaneous wounds successfully heal, keratinocytes that underwent the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) regain their epithelial characteristics, while in scar tissue, epidermal cells persist in a mesenchymal state. However, the regulatory mechanisms governing this reversion are poorly understood, and the impact of persistent mesenchymal-like epidermal cells in scar tissue remains unclear. In the present study, we found that during wound healing, the regulatory factor GRHL2 is highly expressed in normal epidermal cells, downregulated in EMT epidermal cells, and upregulated again during the process of mesenchymal-epithelial transition (MET). We further demonstrated that interfering with GRHL2 expression in epidermal cells can effectively induce the EMT. Conversely, the overexpression of GRHL2 in EMT epidermal cells resulted in partial reversion of the EMT to an epithelial state. To investigate the effects of failed MET in epidermal cells on skin wound healing, we interfered with GRHL2 expression in epidermal cells surrounding the cutaneous wound. The results demonstrated that the persistence of epidermal cells in the mesenchymal state promoted fibrosis in scar tissue, manifested by increased thickness of scar tissue, deposition of collagen and fibronectin, as well as the activation of myofibroblasts. Furthermore, the miR-200s/Zeb1 axis was perturbed in GRHL2 knockdown keratinocytes, and transfection with miR-200s analogs promoted the reversion of EMT in epidermal cells, which indicates that they mediate the EMT process in keratinocytes. These results suggest that restoration of the epithelial state in epidermal cells following the EMT is essential to wound healing, providing potential therapeutic targets for preventing scar formation.

The epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT) plays significant roles in the progression of cancer and fibrotic disease. Moreover, this process is reversible, resulting in mesenchymal epithelial transition (MET), which plays an important role in cancer metastasis. There is a lack of methods to trace and target EMT cells using synthetic biology circuits, which makes it difficult to study the cell fate or develop targeted treatments. In this study, we introduced responsive EMT sensing circuits, which sense the EMT using specific promoters that respond to transcription factors typical of EMT activation (EMT-TFs). The transcriptional strength of EMT-sensing promoters decreased more than 13-fold in response to the overexpression of the EMT-TF. Then, the NOT gate circuits were built by placing the tetR transcription repressor under the control of EMT sensing promoters and expressed an output signal using the constitutive CMV promoter modified with tetO sites This circuit is named EMT sensing and responding circuits .When the EMT transcription factors was present, we observed a 5.8-fold signal increase in the system. Then, we successfully distinguished mesenchymal breast cancer cells from epithelial cancer cells and repressed the proliferation of EMT tumor cells using our circuits. The EMT sensing and responding circuits are promising tools for the identification of EMT cells, which is crucial for EMT-related disease therapy and investigating the mechanisms underlying the reversible EMT process.

Porous materials possess advantages such as rich pore structures, a large surface area, low relative density, high specific strength, and good breathability. They have broad prospects in the development of a high-performance Triboelectric Nanogenerator (TENG) and self-powered sensing fields. This paper elaborates on the structural forms and construction methods of porous materials in existing TENG, including aerogels, foam sponges, electrospinning, 3D printing, and fabric structures. The research progress of porous materials in improving TENG performance is systematically summarized, with a focus on discussing design strategies of porous structures to enhance the TENG mechanical performance, frictional electrical performance, and environmental tolerance. The current applications of porous-material-based TENG in self-powered sensing such as pressure sensing, health monitoring, and human–machine interactions are introduced, and future development directions and challenges are discussed.

Summary: Here, we present Brain Registration and Evaluation for Zebrafish (BREEZE)-mapping, a user-friendly pipeline for the registration and analysis of whole-brain images in larval zebrafish. We describe steps for pre-processing, registration, quantification, and visualization of whole-brain phenotypes in zebrafish mutants of genes associated with neurodevelopmental and neuropsychiatric disorders. By utilizing BioImage Suite Web, an open-source software package originally developed for processing human brain imaging data, we provide a highly accessible whole-brain mapping protocol developed for users with general computational proficiency.For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Weinschutz Mendes et al. (2023).1 : Publisher’s note: Undertaking any experimental protocol requires adherence to local institutional guidelines for laboratory safety and ethics.

Summary: Advancing from gene discovery in autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) to the identification of biologically relevant mechanisms remains a central challenge. Here, we perform parallel in vivo functional analysis of 10 ASD genes at the behavioral, structural, and circuit levels in zebrafish mutants, revealing both unique and overlapping effects of gene loss of function. Whole-brain mapping identifies the forebrain and cerebellum as the most significant contributors to brain size differences, while regions involved in sensory-motor control, particularly dopaminergic regions, are associated with altered baseline brain activity. Finally, we show a global increase in microglia resulting from ASD gene loss of function in select mutants, implicating neuroimmune dysfunction as a key pathway relevant to ASD biology.

The desert ecosystem occupies an important position in the composition of global biodiversity. The Tarim Basin is located in south Xinjiang of China and has the world’s second largest mobile desert, the Taklamakan Desert. As an endemic species in this region, Phrynocephalus forsythii has been demonstrated to have a potentially high extinction risk due to climate change. In order to understand the overall genetic status and provide accordant conservation strategies for the species, we investigated the genetic diversity and population structure of P. forsythii from 15 sites in the Tarim Basin using 21 highly polymorphic microsatellite markers. We found significant genetic structure across the study region. We also revealed generally low levels of gene flow between the 25 sites, suggesting individual dispersal and migration may be restricted within populations. In addition, geographical distance and ambient temperature might be important factors in explaining the observed genetic structure. Our results will provide a scientific basis for the future protection of P. forsythii in this area, as well as an important reference for the conservation and management of biodiversity in desert ecosystems.

This study explores the reinforcement effect of different fibers in an alkaline solution on the mechanical properties of granite residual soil using the single variable method. The macroscopic mechanical properties of the reinforced samples were studied using the unconfined lateral compressive strength test and the drop-weight load test, while the microscopic properties were characterized using techniques such as SME and XRD. The results indicated that the greatest reinforcing effect was attained when the ratio of SiO2/Na2O in the alkaline solution was 0.5 mol with the compressive strength of 4402.85 kPa. At the time, the reinforcing effect of glass fiber in an alkaline solution on granite residual soil was superior to that of basalt fiber. The inclusion of glass fibers and an alkaline solution of 0.5 mol SiO2/Na2O into the granite residual soil exhibited the best capacity for reinforcing, with the maximum impact load and compression reaching 120 kN and 12.1 mm, respectively. The findings of SME analysis revealed that GRS included a significant amount of kaolinite, which, when decomposed in an alkaline solution, generated a gel substance that bound the fibers and soil together and filled the pores between them, thereby enhancing the sample’s compactness. XRD results demonstrated the formation of gel and a small amount of geopolymer in the soil under the alkaline solution of 0.5 mol SiO2/Na2O, which tighten the binding between soil particles and fibers and increase the overall strength.

The Sansha Yongle blue hole (SYBH) is the world’s deepest blue hole known so far and its unique hydrochemical characteristics make it a valuable site for studying biodiversity and ecological processes. Here, we used metabarcoding approach to investigate the diversity, assembly mechanism and co-occurrence pattern of planktonic microbiome in SYBH. Our results revealed the distinct separation of communities from upper oxic, middle oxic and suboxic-anoxic layer and significant day-night difference was detected in the upper-layer community of microeukaryotes, indicating potential diel migration. Stochastic processes played a significant role in the community assembly of microeukaryotes, while deterministic processes dominated in prokaryotes, confirming the stronger environmental filtering on prokaryotes as also suggested by the correlation with environmental variables. Microeukaryotes were less sensitive to environments but significantly affected by cross-domain biointeraction. When comparing the subcommunities of different abundance, we found that abundant taxa were widespread while rare taxa were habitat-specific. In co-occurrence network, over 87% of the interactions and 19 out of 20 keystone OTUs (Operational Taxonomic Units) were affiliated to moderate or rare taxa, suggesting the importance of non-abundant taxa in maintaining community stability. The predominant positive edges in the network pointed to that interspecies cooperation may be one of the ecological strategies in SYBH. Overall, we highlight the divergent assembly pattern and different driving forces in shaping plankton microbiome in SYBH, which may advance current understanding on diversity and dynamics of marine life in blue hole ecosystems.

Research on metal salt-based deep eutectic solvent (DES) pretreatment is still in its infancy, and the effect of hydroxyl groups on Cl− in choline chloride (ChCl) is not resolved. In this study, a type IV DES composed of metal salt and glycerol (Gly) was prepared for pretreatment of moso bamboo to improve its enzymatic hydrolysis. The correlation between enzymatic hydrolysis and the contents of hemicelluloses and lignin was evaluated using the Box–Behnken design. The results showed that FeCl3-based DES was optimal among various DES. The solid recovery was reduced to 55.54% following FeCl3/Gly pretreatment, which was effective in the removal of hemicelluloses and lignin compared with ternary DES pretreatment (with ChCl) under mild conditions (100 °C, 3 h). With the increase of pretreatment temperature (120 °C, 2 h), a significant proportion of hemicelluloses (76.07%) and lignin (62.77%) was removed. The structure of FeCl3/Gly pretreatment residue was seriously damaged, and the glucose yield increased to 91.13% following enzymatic hydrolysis. This correlation indicated that the hemicelluloses’ content had a significant influence on enzymatic hydrolysis of the residue following FeCl3/Gly pretreatment. This study elucidates the pretreatment effect of metal salt-based DES, which will be helpful in the value-added conversion of moso bamboo under mild conditions.

As wearables, such as smartwatches and data gloves, become ubiquitous in our daily lives, it is possible to capture users' behaviors as they go, and then to authenticate them using biometrics. A variety of behaviors have been exploited to authenticate users in a plethora of scenarios. However, there is still a lack of systematic investigations on what types of behaviors present better performance for authentication, and therefore, limiting our understanding of the custom design of behavioral “passwords” to fit people's needs. This paper is designed to help answer this question. First, we design a collection of behaviors, which is used to explore the effect of different types of behaviors on authentication. This collection involves hand and finger behaviors since they are common and natural human actions; it also reasonably covers both basic movements and complex behaviors, two major categories of behaviors. We evaluated authentication performance along the dimensions of behaviors, users (sensitivity) and classification models (independence). A valuable finding shows that finger-issued movements present almost equivalent performance with complex behaviors. Therefore, it suggests applying them to the wearable and mobile devices as an alternative to complex behaviors, and could considerably reduce requirements for computational resources compared to complex behaviors. Furthermore, they extend the applications of behavioral authentication to a wider array of scenarios, like performing behavioral authentication such as moving fingers in one's pocket, which is common for wearable and mobile applications.

Fiber-reinforced soil boasts fewer cracks, higher energy absorption, and higher residual strength. With the well-established concept of carbon neutralization, it is necessary to reduce the dependence on high carbon-emitting reinforcement materials such as cement and concrete. The need for resource recycling has led to the development of reusing construction waste as the raw material for slope and embankment reinforcement. The purpose of this study is to analyze the reinforcement performance and environmental feasibility of glass and basalt fiber on granite residual soil with the content of 3%, 4%, and 5% and the length of 6 mm, 9 mm, and 12 mm. The reinforced samples were subjected to static impact load tests and SEM analysis to study its mechanical properties, microcharacteristics, and structure before and after reinforcement. Results show that the incorporation of 3% glass fibers of 6 mm has the best reinforcement effect on GRS, while the incorporation of 4% basalt fibers of 6 mm also has a good reinforcement ability. Glass fiber performs better than basalt fiber under the optimal content and length. SEM results indicate that glass fibers bind the soil particles more closely, thereby increasing their friction and leading to higher compressive strength. When the length and content of fiber exceed a certain range, the fibers are prone to cross and knot and fail to fill between soil particles, so the fiber and soil particles are separated, which lowers the strength of the soil. It is concluded that both glass fiber and basalt fiber can be well used for reinforcing GRS for higher bearing capacity and fewer cracks at the given proportion and length. Fiber length and content were considered when reinforcing GRS with different fibers in this study.

As a kind of highly weathered special soil in South China, granite residual soils (GRS) feature high strength and high void ratio in a dry environment, so they tend to disintegrate in water and cause geological disasters including collapse. Therefore, modifying GRS for higher strength has become a hot spot. Glass fiber reinforced soils boast fewer cracks, higher energy absorption, and residual strength. This study aims to analyze the reinforcement effect of glass fibers on GRS with inorganic and organic solutions and its environmental feasibility. The inorganic solution contains silicon ion and sodium ion at the ratio of 1 : 4 (hereinafter referred to as Si : Na = 1 : 4 solutions), and the organic one is a modified polyvinyl alcohol solution (hereinafter referred to as SH solution). The reinforced samples were subjected to plate and impact load tests, SEM, and XRD analysis to investigate their mechanical properties, microcharacteristics, and the components produced. Results indicate that the reinforcement effect of glass fibers on GRS under Si : Na = 1 : 4 solutions was better than that of SH solutions. After being reinforced by Si : Na = 1 : 4 solutions, the samples reached maximum impact resistance. SEM results show that glass fibers bond more soil and form an integral structure; thereby the strength was improved as glass fibers share external impact load. XRD results show that geopolymer and alkali-activated materials and potassium feldspar were formed. Geopolymer and alkali-activated materials are pollution-free, inorganic polymers featuring viscosity and high compressive strength. Potassium feldspar is an aluminosilicate mineral with high strength and stable chemical properties, which can adhere to more granules and form a stronger whole structure with geopolymers playing a role. Therefore, it is feasible to reuse these soils sustainably by reinforcing them with glass fibers and the best Si : Na = 1 : 4 solutions. This study finds a new direction for recycling and reusing construction waste, GRS.