Showing papers by "Wuhan University published in 2012"

Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy

Abstract: In 2008 we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, research on this topic has continued to accelerate, and many new scientists have entered the field. Our knowledge base and relevant new technologies have also been expanding. Accordingly, it is important to update these guidelines for monitoring autophagy in different organisms. Various reviews have described the range of assays that have been used for this purpose. Nevertheless, there continues to be confusion regarding acceptable methods to measure autophagy, especially in multicellular eukaryotes. A key point that needs to be emphasized is that there is a difference between measurements that monitor the numbers or volume of autophagic elements (e.g., autophagosomes or autolysosomes) at any stage of the autophagic process vs. those that measure flux through the autophagy pathway (i.e., the complete process); thus, a block in macroautophagy that results in autophagosome accumulation needs to be differentiated from stimuli that result in increased autophagic activity, defined as increased autophagy induction coupled with increased delivery to, and degradation within, lysosomes (in most higher eukaryotes and some protists such as Dictyostelium) or the vacuole (in plants and fungi). In other words, it is especially important that investigators new to the field understand that the appearance of more autophagosomes does not necessarily equate with more autophagy. In fact, in many cases, autophagosomes accumulate because of a block in trafficking to lysosomes without a concomitant change in autophagosome biogenesis, whereas an increase in autolysosomes may reflect a reduction in degradative activity. Here, we present a set of guidelines for the selection and interpretation of methods for use by investigators who aim to examine macroautophagy and related processes, as well as for reviewers who need to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of papers that are focused on these processes. These guidelines are not meant to be a formulaic set of rules, because the appropriate assays depend in part on the question being asked and the system being used. In addition, we emphasize that no individual assay is guaranteed to be the most appropriate one in every situation, and we strongly recommend the use of multiple assays to monitor autophagy. In these guidelines, we consider these various methods of assessing autophagy and what information can, or cannot, be obtained from them. Finally, by discussing the merits and limits of particular autophagy assays, we hope to encourage technical innovation in the field.

Chemistry and Biology Of Multicomponent Reactions

Abstract: Multicomponent reactions (MCRs) are one-pot reactions employing more than two starting materials, e.g. 3, 4, … 7, where most of the atoms of the starting materials are incorporated in the final product.1 Several descriptive tags are regularly attached to MCRs (Fig. 1): they are atom economic, e.g. the majority if not all of the atoms of the starting materials are incorporated in the product; they are efficient, e.g. they efficiently yield the product since the product is formed in one-step instead of multiple sequential steps; they are convergent, e.g. several starting materials combine in one reaction to form the product; they exhibit a very high bond-forming-index (BFI), e.g. several non-hydrogen atom bonds are formed in one synthetic transformation.2 Therefore MCRs are often a useful alternative to sequential multistep synthesis. Open in a separate window Figure 1 Above: multistep syntheses can be divergent (sequential) or convergent; below: in analogy MCR reactions are convergent and one or two component reactions are divergent or less convergent.

Convergence of conduction bands as a means of enhancing thermoelectric performance of n-type Mg2Si(1-x)Sn(x) solid solutions.

Abstract: Mg(2)Si and Mg(2)Sn are indirect band gap semiconductors with two low-lying conduction bands (the lower mass and higher mass bands) that have their respective band edges reversed in the two compounds. Consequently, for some composition x, Mg(2)Si(1-x)Sn(x) solid solutions must display a convergence in energy of the two conduction bands. Since Mg(2)Si(1-x)Sn(x) solid solutions are among the most prospective of the novel thermoelectric materials, we aim on exploring the influence of such a band convergence (valley degeneracy) on the Seebeck coefficient and thermoelectric properties in a series of Mg(2)Si(1-x)Sn(x) solid solutions uniformly doped with Sb. Transport measurements carried out from 4 to 800 K reveal a progressively increasing Seebeck coefficient that peaks at x=0.7. At this concentration the thermoelectric figure of merit ZT reaches exceptionally large values of 1.3 near 700 K. Our first principles calculations confirm that at the Sn content x≈0.7 the two conduction bands coincide in energy. We explain the high Seebeck coefficient and ZT values as originating from an enhanced density-of-states effective mass brought about by the increased valley degeneracy as the two conduction bands cross over. We corroborate the increase in the density-of-states effective mass by measurements of the low temperature specific heat. The research suggests that striving to achieve band degeneracy by means of compositional variations is an effective strategy for enhancing the thermoelectric properties of these materials.

CD4⁺T cells: differentiation and functions

Abstract: CD4+T cells are crucial in achieving a regulated effective immune response to pathogens. Naive CD4+T cells are activated after interaction with antigen-MHC complex and differentiate into specific subtypes depending mainly on the cytokine milieu of the microenvironment. Besides the classical T-helper 1 and T-helper 2, other subsets have been identified, including T-helper 17, regulatory T cell, follicular helper T cell, and T-helper 9, each with a characteristic cytokine profile. For a particular phenotype to be differentiated, a set of cytokine signaling pathways coupled with activation of lineage-specific transcription factors and epigenetic modifications at appropriate genes are required. The effector functions of these cells are mediated by the cytokines secreted by the differentiated cells. This paper will focus on the cytokine-signaling and the network of transcription factors responsible for the differentiation of naive CD4+T cells.

A Soft Approach to Encapsulate Sulfur: Polyaniline Nanotubes for Lithium‐Sulfur Batteries with Long Cycle Life

Abstract: Applications of rechargeable batteries are diverse and range from storing energy from renewable resources such as wind generators and solar arrays , powering electric vehicles and portable electronic devices. Significant R&D efforts have focused on achieving high energy density, long cycling life, low cost, and safety.1 Among all known rechargeable battery systems, lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries have attracted considerable attention.2, 3 Elemental sulfur is abundant, and is a very attractive cathode material for lithium batteries because of its high theoretical capacity (1672 mAh g-1) and specific energy (2600 Wh kg-1), assuming complete reaction of lithium with sulfur to form Li2S.

Menarche, menopause, and breast cancer risk: Individual participant meta-analysis, including 118 964 women with breast cancer from 117 epidemiological studies

Abstract: BACKGROUND:Menarche and menopause mark the onset and cessation, respectively, of ovarian activity associated with reproduction, and affect breast cancer risk. Our aim was to assess the strengths of their effects and determine whether they depend on characteristics of the tumours or the affected women.METHODS:Individual data from 117 epidemiological studies, including 118 964 women with invasive breast cancer and 306 091 without the disease, none of whom had used menopausal hormone therapy, were included in the analyses. We calculated adjusted relative risks (RRs) associated with menarche and menopause for breast cancer overall, and by tumour histology and by oestrogen receptor expression.FINDINGS:Breast cancer risk increased by a factor of 1·050 (95% CI 1·044-1·057; p<0·0001) for every year younger at menarche, and independently by a smaller amount (1·029, 1·025-1·032; p<0·0001), for every year older at menopause. Premenopausal women had a greater risk of breast cancer than postmenopausal women of an identical age (RR at age 45-54 years 1·43, 1·33-1·52, p<0·001). All three of these associations were attenuated by increasing adiposity among postmenopausal women, but did not vary materially by women's year of birth, ethnic origin, childbearing history, smoking, alcohol consumption, or hormonal contraceptive use. All three associations were stronger for lobular than for ductal tumours (p<0·006 for each comparison). The effect of menopause in women of an identical age and trends by age at menopause were stronger for oestrogen receptor-positive disease than for oestrogen receptor-negative disease (p<0·01 for both comparisons).INTERPRETATION:The effects of menarche and menopause on breast cancer risk might not be acting merely by lengthening women's total number of reproductive years. Endogenous ovarian hormones are more relevant for oestrogen receptor-positive disease than for oestrogen receptor-negative disease and for lobular than for ductal tumours.

Two Different Roles of Metallic Ag on Ag/AgX/BiOX (X = Cl, Br) Visible Light Photocatalysts: Surface Plasmon Resonance and Z-Scheme Bridge

Abstract: Ag/AgX/BiOX (X = Cl, Br) three-component visible-light-driven (VLD) photocatalysts were synthesized by a low-temperature chemical bath method and characterized by X-ray diffraction patterns, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, and UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectra. The Ag/AgX/BiOX composites showed enhanced VLD photocatalytic activity for the degradation of rhodamine B, which was much higher than Ag/AgX and BiOX. The photocatalytic mechanisms were analyzed by active species trapping and superoxide radical quantification experiments. It revealed that metallic Ag played a different role for Ag/AgX/BiOX VLD photocatalysts, surface plasmon resonance for Ag/AgCl/BiOCl, and the Z-scheme bridge for Ag/AgBr/BiOBr.

Raman spectroscopy: a new approach to measure the percentage of anatase tio2 exposed (001) facets

Abstract: Controlling the growth of high-activity anatase TiO2 exposed {001} facets improves greatly the adsorption and electronic and photocatalytic properties and has been attractive for various environmental and energy-related applications. In this paper, we introduced a novel approach for quantitatively measuring the percentage of exposed {001} facets in anatase TiO2 by using Raman spectroscopy. Comparing to XRD, Raman peaks originate from the vibration of molecular bonds, that is, vibrational mode Eg and A1g peaks, which are related to different crystal planes. Therefore, it provided a high sensitivity and accuracy for measuring the percentage of the exposed facets from the micro perspective of molecular bonding with less measurement errors. With the photocatalytic experiments, we found that 50% was the optimal percentage of the exposed {001} facets for the highest efficiency, which seemed more reasonable than the value of 70% obtained from XRD.

Mining high utility itemsets without candidate generation

Abstract: High utility itemsets refer to the sets of items with high utility like profit in a database, and efficient mining of high utility itemsets plays a crucial role in many real-life applications and is an important research issue in data mining area. To identify high utility itemsets, most existing algorithms first generate candidate itemsets by overestimating their utilities, and subsequently compute the exact utilities of these candidates. These algorithms incur the problem that a very large number of candidates are generated, but most of the candidates are found out to be not high utility after their exact utilities are computed. In this paper, we propose an algorithm, called HUI-Miner (High Utility Itemset Miner), for high utility itemset mining. HUI-Miner uses a novel structure, called utility-list, to store both the utility information about an itemset and the heuristic information for pruning the search space of HUI-Miner. By avoiding the costly generation and utility computation of numerous candidate itemsets, HUI-Miner can efficiently mine high utility itemsets from the utility-lists constructed from a mined database. We compared HUI-Miner with the state-of-the-art algorithms on various databases, and experimental results show that HUI-Miner outperforms these algorithms in terms of both running time and memory consumption.

Hyperspectral Image Denoising Employing a Spectral–Spatial Adaptive Total Variation Model

Abstract: The amount of noise included in a hyperspectral image limits its application and has a negative impact on hyperspectral image classification, unmixing, target detection, and so on In hyperspectral images, because the noise intensity in different bands is different, to better suppress the noise in the high-noise-intensity bands and preserve the detailed information in the low-noise-intensity bands, the denoising strength should be adaptively adjusted with the noise intensity in the different bands Meanwhile, in the same band, there exist different spatial property regions, such as homogeneous regions and edge or texture regions; to better reduce the noise in the homogeneous regions and preserve the edge and texture information, the denoising strength applied to pixels in different spatial property regions should also be different Therefore, in this paper, we propose a hyperspectral image denoising algorithm employing a spectral-spatial adaptive total variation (TV) model, in which the spectral noise differences and spatial information differences are both considered in the process of noise reduction To reduce the computational load in the denoising process, the split Bregman iteration algorithm is employed to optimize the spectral-spatial hyperspectral TV model and accelerate the speed of hyperspectral image denoising A number of experiments illustrate that the proposed approach can satisfactorily realize the spectral-spatial adaptive mechanism in the denoising process, and superior denoising results are produced

Genome-wide association study identifies eight new risk loci for polycystic ovary syndrome

Abstract: Following a previous genome-wide association study (GWAS 1) including 744 cases and 895 controls, we analyzed genome-wide association data from a new cohort of Han Chinese (GWAS 2) with 1,510 polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) cases and 2,016 controls. We followed up significantly associated signals identified in the combined results of GWAS 1 and 2 in a total of 8,226 cases and 7,578 controls. In addition to confirming the three loci we previously reported, we identify eight new PCOS association signals at P < 5 × 10(-8): 9q22.32, 11q22.1, 12q13.2, 12q14.3, 16q12.1, 19p13.3, 20q13.2 and a second independent signal at 2p16.3 (the FSHR gene). These PCOS association signals show evidence of enrichment for candidate genes related to insulin signaling, sexual hormone function and type 2 diabetes (T2D). Other candidate genes were related to calcium signaling and endocytosis. Our findings provide new insight and direction for discovering the biological mechanisms of PCOS.

Characterization of Oxygen Vacancy Associates within Hydrogenated TiO2: A Positron Annihilation Study

Abstract: This paper introduces a novel method for characterizing the oxygen vacancy associates in hydrogenation-modified TiO2 by using a positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy (PALS). It was found that a huge number of small neutral Ti3+–oxygen vacancy associates, some larger size vacancy clusters, and a few voids of vacancy associates were introduced into hydrogenated TiO2. The defects blurred the atomic lattice high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) images and brought about the emergence of new Raman vibration. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) measurement indicated that the concentration of oxygen vacancies was 3% in the TiO2 lattice. The photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy, photocurrent, and degradation of methylene blue indicated that the oxygen vacancy associates introduced by hydrogenation retarded the charge recombination and therefore improved the photocatalytic activity remarkably.

Graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4)–Pt-TiO2 nanocomposite as an efficient photocatalyst for hydrogen production under visible light irradiation

Abstract: Porous graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) was prepared by a simple pyrolysis of urea, and then a g-C3N4–Pt-TiO2 nanocomposite was fabricated via a facile chemical adsorption followed by a calcination process. The obtained products were characterized by X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, UV-vis diffuse reflectance absorption spectra, and electron microscopy. It is found that the visible-light-induced photocatalytic hydrogen evolution rate can be remarkably enhanced by coupling TiO2 with the above g-C3N4, and the g-C3N4–Pt-TiO2 composite with a mass ratio of 70 : 30 has the maximum photoactivity and excellent photostability for hydrogen production under visible-light irradiation, and the stable photocurrent of g-C3N4–TiO2 is about 1.5 times higher than that of the bare g-C3N4. The above experimental results show that the photogenerated electrons of g-C3N4 can directionally migrate to Pt-TiO2 due to the close interfacial connections and the synergistic effect existing between Pt-TiO2 and g-C3N4 where photogenerated electrons and holes are efficiently separated in space, which is beneficial for retarding the charge recombination and improving the photoactivity.

Polymer–Graphene Nanocomposites as Ultrafast-Charge and -Discharge Cathodes for Rechargeable Lithium Batteries

Abstract: Electroactive polymers are a new generation of "green" cathode materials for rechargeable lithium batteries. We have developed nanocomposites combining graphene with two promising polymer cathode materials, poly(anthraquinonyl sulfide) and polyimide, to improve their high-rate performance. The polymer-graphene nanocomposites were synthesized through a simple in situ polymerization in the presence of graphene sheets. The highly dispersed graphene sheets in the nanocomposite drastically enhanced the electronic conductivity and allowed the electrochemical activity of the polymer cathode to be efficiently utilized. This allows for ultrafast charging and discharging; the composite can deliver more than 100 mAh/g within just a few seconds.

On Combining Multiple Features for Hyperspectral Remote Sensing Image Classification

Abstract: In hyperspectral remote sensing image classification, multiple features, e.g., spectral, texture, and shape features, are employed to represent pixels from different perspectives. It has been widely acknowledged that properly combining multiple features always results in good classification performance. In this paper, we introduce the patch alignment framework to linearly combine multiple features in the optimal way and obtain a unified low-dimensional representation of these multiple features for subsequent classification. Each feature has its particular contribution to the unified representation determined by simultaneously optimizing the weights in the objective function. This scheme considers the specific statistical properties of each feature to achieve a physically meaningful unified low-dimensional representation of multiple features. Experiments on the classification of the hyperspectral digital imagery collection experiment and reflective optics system imaging spectrometer hyperspectral data sets suggest that this scheme is effective.

Increasing visible-light absorption for photocatalysis with black BiOCl

Abstract: Black BiOCl with oxygen vacancies was prepared by UV light irradiation with Ar blowing. The as-prepared black BiOCl sample showed 20 times higher visible light photocatalytic activity than white BiOCl for RhB degradation. The trapping experiment showed that the superoxide radical () and holes (h+) were the main active species in aqueous solution under visible light irradiation.

Cellulose–Silica Nanocomposite Aerogels by In Situ Formation of Silica in Cellulose Gel

Abstract: Aerogels with their low density (0.004–0.500 gcm ), large internal surface area, and large open pores are promising candidates for various advanced applications. The utilization of inorganic aerogels, however, has been hampered by their poor mechanical properties. A prominent example is silica aerogel, which is prepared by an organic sol–gel process, and has unique features, such as ultralow density (the lightest silica aerogel has a density that is similar to the density of air, which is 0.00129 gcm ), near transparency, and low thermal conductivity. However, the extreme fragility of this aerogel necessitates its reinforcement for practical uses. A typical method is hybridization with organic polymers, such as polyurea, polyurethane, poly(methyl methacrylate), polyacrylonitrile, and polystyrene. Other candidates for the reinforcement of inorganic aerogels are insoluble polysaccharides, which are abundantly available and show wide varieties in structure and properties. The useful features of these compounds are hydrophilicity, biocompatibility, hydroxy reactivity, and reasonable thermal and mechanical stabilities. For example, nanofibrillar bacterial cellulose and microfibrillated cellulose gel have been proposed as templates for cobalt ferrite nanoparticles and titanium dioxide. While in the above-mentioned work native cellulose with cellulose I crystallinity was used, cellulose can be prepared as a hydrogel with cellulose II crystallinity through dissolution and coagulation. Some of the resulting aerogels have remarkable mechanical strength and light transmittance. They have high porosity with open structures and thus provide an effective substrate for the synthesis of metallic nanoparticles. To further utilize the regenerated cellulose gel, we herein attempted in situ synthesis of silica in cellulose gels. While a similar attempt has been reported, in which the cellulose gel was obtained from solution in N-methylmorpholine-N-oxide monohydrate, the development of the nanostructure (nitrogen BET surface area of 220–290 mg ) and the level of silica loading (less than 13% w/w) were rather limited. By using the aqueous alkali-based solvent, we obtained the cellulose aerogel with a surface area of 356 mg , and a silica loading of more than 60% w/w resulted in surface areas that exceeded 600 mg . We used the sol–gel synthesis method toward nanostructured silica, which typically starts from tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS). The resulting composite gels were dried with supercritical CO2 to give cellulose–silica aerogels with low density, moderate light transmittance, a large surface area, high mechanical integrity, and excellent heat insulation. This method can also lead to fabrication of silica-only aerogels through the removal of cellulose by calcination, that is, the use of cellulose aerogel as sacrificial template. Figure 1 shows the preparation of the aerogel. The cellulose hydrogel is a transparent material that has a water content of 92% and a porosity of 95%. The sol–gel process catalyzed by ammonia converts TEOS to SiO2, which is deposited on the cellulose network (Figure 1b). The composite is converted to an aerogel by drying with supercritical CO2 to maintain the porous structure (Figure 1c), thus resulting in a flexible and translucent cellulose–silica aerogel. Subsequent calcination removes the cellulose matrix to give a silica-only aerogel (Figure 1d and g). The cellulose aerogel is composed of regenerated cellulose fibrils, which are typically less than 10 nm wide (Figure 2a). The BET surface area of 356 mg 1 (determined by

Gibberellin Regulates the Arabidopsis Floral Transition through miR156-Targeted SQUAMOSA PROMOTER BINDING–LIKE Transcription Factors

Abstract: Gibberellin (GA), a diterpene hormone, plays diverse roles in plant growth and development, including seed germination, stem elongation, and flowering time. Although it is known that GA accelerates flowering through degradation of transcription repressors, DELLAs, the underlying mechanism is poorly understood. We show here that DELLA directly binds to microRNA156 (miR156)-targeted SQUAMOSA PROMOTER BINDING–LIKE (SPL) transcription factors, which promote flowering by activating miR172 and MADS box genes. The interaction between DELLA and SPL interferes with SPL transcriptional activity and consequently delays floral transition through inactivating miR172 in leaves and MADS box genes at shoot apex under long-day conditions or through repressing MADS box genes at the shoot apex under short-day conditions. Our results elucidate the molecular mechanism by which GA controls flowering and provide the missing link between DELLA and MADS box genes.

Designing Advanced Alkaline Polymer Electrolytes for Fuel Cell Applications

Abstract: Although the polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC) is a superior power source for electric vehicles, the high cost of this technology has served as the primary barrier to the large-scale commercialization. Over the last decade, researchers have pursued lower-cost next-generation materials for fuel cells, and alkaline polymer electrolytes (APEs) have emerged as an enabling material for platinum-free fuel cells.To fulfill the requirements of fuel cell applications, the APE must be as conductive and stable as its acidic counterpart, such as Nafion. This benchmark has proved challenging for APEs because the conductivity of OH– is intrinsically lower than that of H+, and the stability of the cationic functional group in APEs, typically quaternary ammonia (−NR3+), is usually lower than that of the sulfonic functional group (−SO3–) in acidic polymer electrolytes.To improve the ionic conductivity, APEs are often designed to be of high ion-exchange capacity (IEC). This modification has caused unfavorable changes in...