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Ropeginterferon α-2b is a mono-PEGylated proline-interferon for the treatment of polycythemia vera (PV). This drug is used biweekly with a starting dose of 100 μg (50 μg if patients receiving hydroxyurea) and 50 μg increments up to a maximum dose of 500 μg. Increasing evidence indicates that patients can tolerate higher starting doses of ropeginterferon α-2b. This phase II trial utilizes 250 μg as the starting dose, 350 μg at week 2 and 500 μg at week 4 as the target dose. Doses can be adjusted according to tolerability. This study assesses the safety, efficacy and molecular response of ropeginterferon α-2b in Chinese patients with PV utilizing the 250–350–500 μg dosing schema. This study will be used to support the application of a biologics license for PV treatment in China.

Due to the difficulty of controlling the waveguide loss in the doping region, high-speed silicon micro-ring modulators usually have limited extinction ratio. In this work, we present a mode-division-multiplexing (MDM) resonance-enhanced silicon micro-ring modulator with an ultrahigh extinction ratio. We used a two-mode micro-ring resonator and a mode conversion circular structure to trap the light twice within a single micro-ring resonator. Proof-of-concept high extinction ratio up to 55 dB was obtained. 30 Gb/s PAM-8 and 50 Gb/s PAM-4 signaling with a bit error rate below the hard-decision forward error correction (HD-FEC) threshold were demonstrated with the fabricated modulator, indicating great potential for high-order pulse amplitude modulation (PAM).

To analyze the application effect of standardized nursing procedures combined with specialized management education in extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) in ICU. 18 patients treated with ECMO in our department from July 1, 2020 to December 30, 2020 were chosen as observation group, and 18 patients receiving ECMO in our department (January 2017-June 2018) were selected as control group. The control group received routine procedures in the implementation of ECMO nursing while the observation group received standardized ECMO nursing procedures combined with specialized management education to analyze the effect of different nursing management methods on ECMO patients by comparing the indexes before and after nursing management. There were no obvious differences in gender ratio, average age, average weight, average BMI, marital status, education and residence between the two groups (P > 0.05). Personnel arrival time, start time of rescue, preparation time of items, pipeline prefilling time and catheter completion time in observation group were obviously better compared with control group (P < 0.001). The total clinical efficacy rate in observation group was obviously higher compared with control group (P < 0.05). There were no significant differences in the Pa02, SP02 and PaC02 levels between the two groups before nursing management (P > 0.05), and the levels in observation group were obviously higher compared with control group after nursing management (P < 0.001). The clinical nursing satisfaction in observation group was obviously higher compared with control group (P < 0.05). The sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) score in observation group after nursing management was obviously lower compared with control group (P < 0.001). The incidence of complications in observation group was obviously lower compared with control group (P < 0.05). The implementation of standardized nursing procedures combined with specialized management education for ECMO patients can effectively shorten rescue time, the preparation time before catheterization and catheter completion time, improve the therapeutic effect, and improve blood gas indicators, safe and effective. At the same time, it can facilitate the doctor-nurse cooperation, worthy of promotion and application.

In this work, we designed and fabricated a dual-mode switch based on triple-waveguide couplers and two thermal phase shifters, and demonstrated the first silicon-integrated mode division multiplexing (MDM) switching network for $2-\mu \text{m}$ waveband. The proposed dual-mode switch shows $\mu \text{s}$ rising time and $13.2-\mu \text{s}$ falling time, with switching power of 19.2 mW. High speed on-chip MDM routing of $2\times 60$ Gbps signal was experimentally demonstrated using the proposed 2- $\mu \text{m}$ MDM switching network, drawing the promising prospect for the future photonic integration and high-speed MDM networking at 2- $\mu \text{m}$ waveband.

Hollow-core fiber (HCF) has been attracting broad interests in recent decades, and has extended the communication window to longer wavelength, 2 micron. In this article, we present a demonstration of low-latency HCF short-reach optical interconnection at 2 micron, achieving a high single-lane speed of 100 Gbps. High physical speed (near vacuum-light-speed) and high information speed (100-Gbps) optical interconnection with 100-m transmission distance is experimentally achieved with error-free performance. Probabilistically shaped discrete multi-tone (PS-DMT) modulation with entropy loading is employed to accommodate the deteriorated frequency response caused by the mode dispersion in HCF. Compared with conventional solid-core fiber (SCF), HCF contributes 30.95% (1.5-μs per kilometer) latency reduction for the physical link. The system level latency reduction is 28% for 1-km interconnection distance (11% for 100-m), with respect to a microsecond-scale switching network for typical datacenter applications. This work substantially leaps over the 100G milestone of 2-micron HCF optical interconnection, and shows the potentiality with lower latency and further higher capacity.

Chromatic dispersion engineering of photonic waveguide is of great importance for Photonic Integrated Circuit in broad applications, including on-chip CD compensation, supercontinuum generation, Kerr-comb generation, micro resonator and mode-locked laser. Linear propagation behavior and nonlinear effects of the light wave can be manipulated by engineering CD, in order to manipulate the temporal shape and frequency spectrum. Therefore, agile shapes of dispersion profiles, including typically wideband flat dispersion, are highly desired among various applications. In this study, we demonstrate a novel method for agile dispersion engineering of integrated photonic waveguide. Based on a horizontal double-slot structure, we obtained agile dispersion shapes, including broadband low dispersion, constant dispersion and slope-maintained linear dispersion. The proposed inverse design method is objectively-motivated and automation-supported. Dispersion in the range of 0–1.5 ps/(nm·km) for 861-nm bandwidth has been achieved, which shows superior performance for broadband low dispersion. Numerical simulation of the Kerr frequency comb was carried out utilizing the obtained dispersion shapes and a comb spectrum for 1068-nm bandwidth with a 20-dB power variation was generated. Significant potential for integrated photonic design automation can be expected.

We reported a silicon modulator with L-shaped PN junction for high efficiency modulation based on mode conversion to recycle light twice within the modulator phase shifter. Record low vπ·lπ of 0.37 V·cm was experimentally demonstrated.

Silicon micro-ring modulator with 18-GHz electro-optic bandwidth and

In this work, a silicon-integrated edge coupler supporting dual-mode fiber-to-chip coupling was designed and fabricated on 220-nm-thick SOI wafer with standard CMOS-compatible fabrication process. The proposed low-complexity structure consists of a multimode interference and triple-tip inverse taper. Both LP01 and LP11 modes in the few mode fiber (FMF) can be stimulated simultaneously by the edge coupler from TE0 and TE1 modes in silicon waveguide. Such a design is compatible with broadband wavelength division multiplexing and can be scaled up to 4-polarization-mode coupling as well. Using the proposed edge coupler, 2×100-Gbps/lambda PAM4 multimode interface through dual-mode fiber was demonstrated successfully.

Sepsis is a major condition caused by an overwhelming inflammatory response to an infection. Sepsis-induced myocardial dysfunction (SIMD) is a common complication in septic patients and a major predictor of morbidity and mortality. Here, we investigated the role of tripartite motif 31 (TRIM31) protein in sepsis progression in vitro and in vivo. Quantitative real-time PCR and western blot were used to detect the expression levels of relative genes and proteins. Cell proliferation and apoptosis were evaluated to determine cell viability. H&E and IHC staining were performed to examine morphological and pathological changes in mice. ELISA assay was used to detect inflammatory factors. TRIM31 was upregulated in septic patients compared with normal people. TRIM31 depletion reduced LPS-induced apoptosis whereas TRIM31 overexpression-elevated LPS-induced apoptosis. Furthermore, TRIM31 interacted with and ubiquitinated transforming growth factor-β-activated kinase-1 (TAK1), resulting in TAK1 activation and subsequent induction of NF-κB signaling. Of note, Trim31 depletion or blockade by PDTC treatment inhibited LPS-induced apoptosis in vivo. In conclusion, TRIM31 played an important role in SIMD by activating TAK1-mediated NF-κB signaling pathway.

Recently, significantly raised interests have emerged for the 2 µm waveband as an extended new window for fiber optic communication. Much research progress has been made on the photonic integrated circuits for the 2 µm waveband, especially on the CMOS-compatible silicon-on-insulator wafer. In this work, a silicon integrated microring modulator (MRM) with record high-speed performances at the 2 µm waveband was demonstrated. An L-shaped PN junction was specially designed for 2 µm to achieve a high modulation efficiency with V π L of 0.85 V · cm . The measured 3 dB bandwidth is 18 GHz, supporting up to 50 Gbps signaling at 2 µm. Additionally, optical bistability induced by the thermo-optical effect and nonlinear effects was analyzed theoretically and observed experimentally in the 2 µm MRM for the first time to our knowledge. Nonlinear coupled mode theory and the Runge–Kutta method were used to simulate the behaviors of bistability in the 2 µm MRM. The simulation and experimental results indicate that, when the MRM is launched by a high optical power, the distorted resonant spectrum under an optical bistable state deteriorates the modulation efficiency and signal performances. This work breaks the record of high-speed silicon MRM at 2 µm, drawing a promising prospect for the silicon photonic integration and high-speed interconnection at the 2 µm waveband, and it provides the referenceable analysis of optical bistability, which guides the design and experimental investigation of 2 µm MRM.

Optical signaling without a high voltage driver for electric-optic modulation is in high demand to reduce power consumption, packaging complexity, and cost. In this work, we propose and experimentally demonstrate a silicon mode-loop Mach–Zehnder modulator (ML-MZM) with record-high modulation efficiency. We used a mode-loop structure to recycle light twice in the phase shifter. With an L-shaped PN junction, a comparably large overlap between the PN junction and optical modes of both TE 0 and TE 1 was achieved to lower the driving voltage or decrease the photonic device size. Proof-of-concept high-efficiency modulation with low V π L of 0.37 V · cm was obtained. Subvoltage V π can be realized with a millimeter’s length phase shifter by this scheme, which makes the realization of CMOS-compatible driverless modulation highly possible. 40 Gb/s signaling with a bit error rate below the 7% forward-error-correction threshold was then demonstrated with the fabricated ML-MZM, indicating great potential for high-speed optical communication.

In this work, mode-division multiplexing (MDM) phase-sensitive amplification (PSA) for all-optical mode selective and mode equalized phase regeneration is presented and investigated. MDM PSA relies on reasonable phase-matching conditions, which makes intramode four-wave mixing in the fiber much stronger than that of cross-mode. It enables multimode signals to interact mainly with the same spatial mode pumps and idlers. Thus, MDM signals can obtain synchronous phase regeneration and avoid cross talk with different mode signals. To achieve this, we designed an appropriate few-mode fiber by an inverse design method based on a neural network for obtaining the desired phase mismatch and low modal dispersion. The results show that effective phase regeneration can be achieved for the degraded 40 Gbit/s binary phase shift keying (BPSK) and quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) signals. For BPSK signals, error vector magnitudes (EVMs) of the regenerated signal on two modes are reduced from − 8.013 d B and − 8.068 d B to − 24.867 d B , and − 26.090 d B , respectively. For QPSK signals, the EVMs are reduced from − 16.767 d B and − 16.583 d B to − 24.867 d B and − 24.822 d B , respectively.

// Yan Yu 1, * , Bingjian Lu 2, * , Weiguo Lu 3 , Shuang Li 4 , Xiuqin Li 5 , Xinyu Wang 3 , Xiaoyun Wan 3 , Yaxia Chen 3 , Suwen Feng 3 , Yao Jia 4 , Ru Yang 4 , Fangxu Tang 4 , Xiong Li 4 , Shulan Zhang 5 , Xinyan Wang 5 , Heng Wei 5 , Zhilan Peng 6 , Lin Lu 6 , Huizhen Zhong 7 , Linjun Zhao 7 , Zhangqian Huang 8 , Lin Lin 9 , Weihong Shen 9 , Yan Lu 3, 10 , Zhu Cao 1 , Jian Zou 1 , Yuejiang Ma 1 , Xiaojing Chen 1 , Qifang Tian 3 , Shiming Lu 11 , Pengyuan Liu 10, 12 , Ding Ma 4 , Xing Xie 3 and Xiaodong Cheng 3 1 Key Laboratory of Women’s Reproductive Health of Zhejiang Province, Women’s Hospital School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China 2 Department of Surgical Pathology, Women’s Hospital School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China 3 Department of Gynecologic Oncology, Women’s Hospital School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China 4 Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China 5 Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning, China 6 Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, West China Second Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China 7 Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Ningbo Women and Children’s Hospital, Ningbo, Zhejiang, China 8 Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Shaoxing Women and Children Hospital, Shaoxing, Zhejiang, China 9 Zhejiang University Hospital, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China 10 Institute for Translational Medicine School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China 11 Department of Clinical Laboratory, Women’s Hospital School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China 12 Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China * These authors have contributed equally to this work Correspondence to: Xiaodong Cheng, email: chengxd@zju.edu.cn Xing Xie, email: xiex@zju.edu.cn Ding Ma, email: dma@tjh.tjmu.edu.cn Pengyuan Liu, email: pyliu@zju.edu.cn Keywords: genomics, whole-exome sequencing, complete hydatidiform mole, pathogenesis Received: March 31, 2017 Accepted: July 29, 2017 Published: September 08, 2017 ABSTRACT Complete hydatidiform mole (CHM) is a rare pregnancy-related disease with invasive potential. The genetics underlying the sporadic form of CHM have not been addressed previously, but maternal genetic variants may be involved in biparental CHM. We performed whole-exome sequencing of 51 patients with CHM and 47 healthy women to identify genetic variants associated with CHM. In addition, candidate variants were analyzed using single base extension and Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization-Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry in 199 CHM patients and 400 healthy controls. We validated candidate variants using Sanger sequencing in 250 cases and 652 controls, including 205 new controls. Two single nucleotide polymorphisms, c.G48C(p.Q16H) in ERC1 and c.G1114A(p.G372S) in KCNG4 , were associated with an increased risk of CHM ( p

Purpose: The indispensable role of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in tumorigenesis has been increasingly reported. In the present study, LINC01694 was found to regulate the proliferation, invasion, as well as apoptosis in gallbladder cancer (GBC) cells through sponging miR-340-5p. Methods: LINC01694 level in GBC cells was quantified by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). The proliferation, invasion, and apoptosis were determined by Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8), Transwell, and flow cytometry, respectively. The expression of Sry-related high-mobility group box 4 (Sox4) was detected by Western blot (WB). The interaction between LINC01694 and miR-340-5p was measured by dual-luciferase reporter (DLR) assay, RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) test, and RNA pull-down. Tumor formation was examined by in vivo experiment. Results: qRT-PCR illustrated that cancerous tissues had higher LINC01694 than normal tissues. Survival analysis demonstrated that the prognosis of patients with high LINC01694 was significantly poorer than those with low LINC01694. Down-regulation of LINC01694 slowed down the proliferation and invasion in GBC cells and accelerated the apoptosis. DLR assay indicated that LINC01694 elevated Sox4 expression by regulating miR-340-5p. LINC01694 functioned as miR-340-5p sponge to inhibit Sox4 expression. Conclusion: LINC01694 level is elevated in GBC by regulating miR-340-5p/Sox4 axis, which indicates the poor prognosis of the patients.

Grating coupler and mode converter working at 2-micron waveband were fabricated on the 600-nm-thick As2S3-on-oxide platform. Both simulation and experiment results indicate that 2-micron As2S3 components has broadened wavelength bandwidth and improved fabrication tolerance.

We use a neural network to inversely design a four-ring few-mode fiber for weak-coupling optimization so as to support MIMO-less MDM optical communication. This method provides high-accuracy, high-efficiency and low-complexity for complexed fiber design.

2-micron waveband optical interconnection at record-high-speed of 100 Gbps/lane with 100-m hollow-core photonic bandgap fiber transmission is achieved. Mode-dependent bandwidth restriction is well optimized by probabilistically shaped discrete multi-tone (PS-DMT) modulation.

A simple and efficient optical fiber lens is demonstrated by graded-index fiber facet etching and high-index epoxy curing. The fundamental mode effective diameter can be reduced from 13.92 to $3.4\ \mu \mathrm{m}$ . © 2020 The Author(s)

We experimentally achieved the highest single-lane optical interconnection speed of 90 Gbps at 2-micron waveband, based on external modulation of discrete multi-tone (DMT), with BER under the FEC limit after 100 -m fiber transmission.

Recently, 2-μm wave band has gained increasing interest due to its potential application for next-generation optical communication. But the development of 2-μm optical communications is substantially hampered by the modulation speed due to the device bandwidth constraints. Thus, a high-speed modulator is highly demanded at 2 μm. Motivated by this prospect, we demonstrate a high-speed silicon Mach–Zehnder modulator for a 2-μm wave band. The device is configured as a single-ended push–pull structure with waveguide electrorefraction via the free carrier plasma effect. The modulator was fabricated via a multiproject wafer shuttle run at a commercial silicon photonic foundry. The modulation efficiency of a single arm is measured to be 1.6 V · cm . The high-speed characterization is also performed, and the modulation speed can reach 80 Gbit/s with 4-level pulse amplitude modulation (PAM-4) formats.

To overcome the capacity crunch of optical communications based on the traditional single-mode fiber (SMF), different modes in a few-mode fiber (FMF) can be employed for mode division multiplexing (MDM). MDM can also be extended to photonic integration for obtaining improved density and efficiency, as well as interconnection capacity. Therefore, MDM becomes the most promising method for maintaining the trend of “Moore’s law” in photonic integration and optical fiber transmission. In this tutorial, we provide a review of MDM works and cutting-edge progresses from photonic integration to optical fiber transmission, including our recent works of MDM low-noise amplification, FMF fiber design, MDM Si photonic devices, and so on. Research and application challenges of MDM for optical communications regarding long-haul transmission and short reach interconnection are discussed as well. The content is expected to be of important value for both academic researchers and industrial engineers during the development of next-generation optical communication systems, from photonic chips to fiber links.

We report a low-fabrication-complexity and wideband fiber lens, which is formed by fiber facet etching and filling high refractive index UV adhesive. The optical field can be significantly shrunk by the facet lens so as to obtain improved optical coupling. Numerical simulations were carried out for different coupling conditions, on both fundamental mode and high-order mode, for a nine-mode fiber. The fundamental mode area can be reduced from 152.17 to 12.57 µm 2, and the coupling loss between the fiber lens and a photonic waveguide can be reduced to −2.9 dB with over 1000 nm 3 dB bandwidth.

In this work, on-chip chalcogenide glass photonic integrations with several fundamental photonic building blocks are designed and fabricated based on the As 2 S 3 platform for improved 2 μm optical interconnection, achieving a broadened wavelength bandwidth and improved fabrication tolerance. A 600 nm thick As 2 S 3 strip waveguide has low propagation loss of 1.447 dB/cm at 2 μm. Broadband vertical coupling is realized by a grating coupler with 4.3 dB coupling loss. A Bragg grating filter, power splitter, Mach–Zander interferometer, and mode converter for on-chip mode division multiplexing (MDM) are also reported at 2 μm with reliable performances. Finally, a record high MDM optical interconnection capacity of 3 × 80 Gbps at 2 μm is experimentally demonstrated based on the proposed As 2 S 3 chip, drawing promising prospects for future photonic integration and high-speed interconnection at the 2 μm waveband.

Few-mode fiber (FMF) supporting many modes with weak-coupling is highly desired in mode division multiplexing (MDM) systems. The multi-parameter design of FMF becomes comparably difficult, inaccurate and time-consuming when it comes for complex fiber structures and many high order modes. In this work, we demonstrate a machine learning method using neural network to inversely design the desired FMF based on multiple-ring structure. By using the minimum index difference between adjacent modes as the weak-coupling optimization aim, we realize the inverse design of 4-ring step-index FMFs for supporting 4, 6 and 10 -mode operation, and 6-ring step-index FMF for supporting 20-mode operation. This method provides high-accuracy, high-efficiency and low-complexity for fast and reusable design of optical fibers, including particularly weak-coupling FMF in this work. It can be widely extended to a lot of fibers and has great potential for instantaneous applications in the optical fiber industry.

Objective This study explored the putative mechanisms of miRNAs in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) in modulation of neuropathic pain induced by chronic constriction injury (CCI) of the sciatic nerve. Design and Methods MiRNA microarray and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) were used to examine miRNA expression profile in the ACC after CCI of the sciatic nerve. MiRNA mimics were then used to examine the role of miR-539 in the ACC in modulation of NR2B subunit expression and neuropathic pain in rats. Results The expression of nine miRNAs was enhanced, and the expression of 12 miRNAs, such as miR-539, was reduced in the ACC after CCI. We confirmed that miR-539 expression was decreased robustly in the contralateral, but mildly in the ipsilateral, ACC. This was associated with enhanced protein levels of NR2B in a similar pattern. Furthermore, administrations of miR-539 mimics into the contralateral ACC, but not the ipsilateral ACC, attenuated CCI-induced mechanical allodynia. This was associated with reduction in protein levels of NR2B in the contralateral ACC. Finally, administrations of Ro25-6981 into the contralateral ACC attenuated the CCI-induced mechanical allodynia to a greater extent than the ipsilateral ACC. Conclusions Our results suggested that CCI induces lateralized adaptations of NR2B subunit expression in the ACC, which is likely in part contributed by alterations of miR-539 expression, and may promote the regulations of neuropathic pain via NR2B-containing NMDA receptor-mediated neuronal mechanisms.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) playing crucial roles in sepsis-induced diseases, including myocardial inflammation. Nevertheless, the expression pattern and role of miR-215-5p in myocardial inflammation are still un-investigated up to now. The purpose of our study is to further inquire the effect of miR-215-5p on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-activated inflammation injury in H9c2 cells and the possibly associated mechanisms. First of all, LPS-induced H9c2 cells models were constructed and affirmed via detection of pro-inflammatory factors, the viability and apoptosis. MiR-215-5p was overtly down-regulated in LPS-treated H9c2 cells and miR-215-5p overexpression could suppress the inflammation injury. LRRFIP1 was proved to be the target gene of miR-215-5p and meanwhile, miR-215-5p also targeted ILF3 that experimented to bind to and stabilize LRRFIP1. Final rescue assays confirmed that the overexpression of LRRFIP1 or ILF3 rescued the repressive effect of miR-215-5p up-regulation on the inflammation injury in septic H9c2. Totally, miR-215-5p exerted protective function in the inflammation injury in septic H9c2 via targeting ILF3 and LRRFIP1, suggesting an additional treatment method for sepsis-activated myocardial inflammation.

Peripheral blood leukocytes (PBLs) are the main source of DNA in blood samples. A common protocol is to store buffy coat specimens for future DNA isolation, and such samples may remain in frozen storage for years. However, the currently available methods to maintain buffy coat specimens can be optimized for better quality and cost efficiency.Seventeen donors (aged 24-34 years) were enrolled in this study. Initially, five centrifugal speeds were chosen to examine the distribution of PBLs in the cell layer; the buffy coat was then harvested to evaluate the cell quantity and viability after storing at 4°C for various times. Finally, the buffy coat was isolated, snap frozen, and kept at -80°C for 1 hour, 1 week, or 4 weeks until the DNA was extracted. Agarose gel electrophoresis and multiplex PCR were used to verify DNA integrity and amplifiability.There was a linear positive correlation between the amount of fresh PBLs and the DNA yield. At least 70% of PBLs were collected in the uppermost 40% of the cellular material when the centrifugal force was over 800 g compared to 400 g. Storing blood at 4°C for no more than 24 hours did not have an effect on the amount of PBLs or their viability. In addition, the amount of extracted DNA was decreased in the frozen buffy coat that was stored for more than 7 days, though the DNA quality was acceptable.DNA should be extracted from fresh buffy coat samples as soon as possible after collection, especially for very important samples. Retaining the upper 40% of the cell pack of blood instead of whole blood could improve the storage efficiency of biobanking such samples. Our study provides a recommended option for blood collection and processing protocols in biobanking.

The nuclear factor of activated T cell (NFAT) family of calcium-regulated transcription factors plays a key role in the development and function of the immune system. Calcineurin, a protein phosphatase, activates NFAT by dephosphorylation. The activated NFAT is translocated into the nucleus, where it up-regulates the expression of interleukin 2 (IL-2) and other target genes. Calcineurin inhibitors such as cyclosporine A (CsA) and FK506 are effective immunosuppressant drugs and dramatically increase the success rate of organ transplantation procedures. However, since calcineurin is expressed in most tissues in the body and calcineurin inhibition alters many cellular processes besides immune cell activation, the therapeutic use of calcineurin inhibitors is limited by serious side effects. Thus inhibiting NFAT by other mechanisms such as blocking its binding to DNA could be a more selective and safer approach to target NFAT for therapeutic applications. In peripheral T cells, productive immune responses are dependent upon the cooperative binding of the NFAT/AP-1 transcriptional complex to the promoter regions of genes such as interleukin-2 (IL-2), while NFAT in the absence of AP-1 leads to T cell anergy. Protein transduction domains (PTDs) are able to penetrate cell membranes and can be used to transport exogenous proteins across the cell and nuclear membranes. In this study, we constructed a fusion protein of PTD and a minimum DNA binding domain of human NFAT1 (PTD-ΔNFATminiDBD), which contains two mutations (R466A and T533G) in the AP-1 binding sites. The delivery and functions of this fusion protein in T cells were investigated. The results indicated that PTD-ΔNFATminiDBD could be effectively delivered into T cells and transported into the nucleus. PTD-ΔNFATminiDBD attenuated IL-2 production in T cells and then inhibited T cell proliferation, likely through competing against endogenous NFAT for binding to the IL-2 gene promoter. These results demonstrated that PTD-ΔNFATminiDBD was an effective NFAT inhibitor with a novel mechanism of action and might potentially be used as an immunosuppressant for organ transplantation with higher safety and better tolerance than calcineurin inhibitors.

Luminescence investigations of ZnO films covered by Ag films using different pumping sources revealed thatinfluence of Ag films on the intensity of ZnO films luminescence depends on excitation conditions and Ag covering quality.

To express protein transduction domain (PTD)-deletion proline domain (deltaPRD) Foxp3 fusion protein, and to analyze its influence on mixed lymphocyte reaction in mice.We cloned mouse deltaPRD of Foxp3 gene by PCR, and inserted it into pET28a-PTD, pET28a-PTD-eGFP vector, then expressed fusion proteins in E.coli Rosetta (DE3). The fusion proteins were purified and refolded by Profinity IMAC Ni(2+)-Charged Resin. The expression of fusion proteins was identified by Western blot. Flow cytometry assay was used to detect the effect of PTD-deltaPRD fusion protein to transduce into mouse EL-4 cells. The ability of fusion protein to inhibit the proliferation of EL-4 cells was analyzed by two-way mixed lymphocyte reaction.The PTD-deltaPRD fusion proteins were expressed and purified efficiently. Western blot and flow cytometry indicated that PTD-deltaPRD fusion protein was transduced into EL-4 efficiently. Mixed lympocyte reaction assay showed that PTD-deltaPRD fusion protein had the bioactivity to inhibit the proliferation of EL-4 cells.The PTD-deltaPRD fusion protein was expressed in E.coli system and could be transduced into cells effectively, suggesting that PTD-deltaPRD fusion protein may be an inhibitor in lymphocytes from mouse spleen.