Reliable Method for Fabricating Tissue‐Mimicking Materials With Designated Relative Permittivity and Conductivity at 128 MHz

Artificial materials that can simultaneously mimic the relative permittivity and conductivity of various human tissues are usually used in medical applications. However, the method of precisely designing these materials with designated values of both relative permittivity and conductivity at 3 T MRI resonance frequency is lacking. In this study, a reliable method is established to determine the compositions of artificial dielectric materials with designated relative permittivity and conductivity at 128 MHz. Sixty dielectric materials were produced using oil, sodium chloride, gelatin, and deionized water as the main raw materials. The dielectric properties of these dielectric materials were measured using the open‐ended coaxial line method at 128 MHz. Nonlinear least‐squares Marquardt–Levenberg algorithm was used to obtain the formula, establishing the relationship between the compositions of the dielectric materials and their dielectric properties at 128 MHz. The dielectric properties of the blood, gall bladder, muscle, skin, lung, and bone at 128 MHz were selected to verify the reliability of the obtained formula. For the obtained formula, the coefficient of determination and the expanded uncertainties with a coverage factor of k = 2 were 0.991% and 4.9% for relative permittivity and 0.992% and 6.4% for conductivity. For the obtained artificial materials measured using the open‐ended coaxial line method, the maximal difference of relative permittivity and conductivity were 1.0 and 0.02 S/m, respectively, with respect to the designated values. In conclusion, the compositions of tissue‐mimicking material can be quickly determined after the establishment of the formulas with the expanded uncertainties of less than 10%. Bioelectromagnetics. 2021;42:86–94. © 2020 Bioelectromagnetics Society.     

Metabolic and oxidative impairments in human salivary gland cells line exposed to MeHg

Background/aimThe ingestion of contaminated seafood by MeHg is considered the main route of human exposure, turning the salivary gland one important target organ. The salivary glands play critical roles in maintaining oral health homeostasis, producing saliva that maintains the oral microbiota, initiation of the digestion of macromolecules, and being essential in maintaining the integrity of the adjacent soft tissues and teeth. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the effects of MeHg exposure on human salivary gland cells line.MethodsCells were exposed to 1–6 μM of MeHg for 24 h, and analysis of toxicity was performed. Based on these results, the LC50 was calculated and two concentrations were chosen (0.25 and 2.5 μM MeHg) to evaluate intracellular mercury (Hg) accumulation (THg), metabolic viability and oxidative stress parameters (GSH:GSSG ratio, lipid peroxidation, protein oxidation and DNA damage).ResultsThe results demonstrated accumulation of THg as we increased the MeHg concentrations in the exposure and, the higher the dose, the lower is the cell metabolic response. In addition, the 2.5 μM MeHg concentration also triggered oxidative stress in human salivary gland cells by depleting the antioxidant competence of GSH:GSSG ratio and increasing lipid peroxidation and proteins carbonyl levels, but no damages to DNA integrity.ConclusionIn conclusion, although these two elected doses did not show lethal effects, the highest dose triggered oxidative stress and new questionings about long-term exposure models are raised to investigate furthers cellular damages to human salivary gland cells caused by MeHg exposure to extrapolate in a translational perspective.     

秦巴山地NPP及对气候变化响应的多维地带性与暖温带-亚热带界线

秦巴山地位于我国的南北过渡带,对我国生态地理格局产生重要影响。为了探索秦巴山地植被净第一性生产力(NPP,Net Primary Productivity)的时空格局及其气候响应的多样性和复杂性,为我国暖温带-亚热带界线的具体分布提供新的佐证,基于2000—2015年的MOD17A3的地表植被NPP数据和秦巴山地93个气象站点数据,从经度、纬度、海拔、坡向多个维度研究了秦巴山地地表植被NPP的分布及与气候因子的关系。结果表明:从2000—2015年,(1)秦巴山地中低山地区,自北向南随纬度降低,地表植被多年平均NPP呈现增加的趋势,体现了纬度地带性;年均NPP与温度的关系由负相关变为正相关,转折点出现在汉江;与降水的相关性减弱。(2)自西向东多年平均NPP值先增加后减少,秦岭一线地表植被年均NPP与温度由正相关变为负相关,与降水主要呈正相关,相关性先增加后减少。(3)随高度的增加,秦巴山地多年NPP值及增长率均呈现先增加后减少的趋势。(4)秦岭和大巴山多年平均NPP均呈现增加趋势,但是秦岭增长较大巴山更明显;2000m以下,秦岭南坡增长率明显高于北坡,大巴山北坡增长率明显高于南坡;2000—3000m,秦岭南北坡差异较小,但是大巴山差异明显;中山地区(1000—2500m),秦岭年均NPP与气温呈负相关,而大巴山则呈现正相关或弱相关;秦岭地区年均NPP与降水的相关性整体强于大巴山地区。这就意味着全球变暖、气温升高对秦岭植被尤其是中低山地区的植被产生不利影响,但是对大巴山则有利,而前者植被生长主要与降水增加有关。这也说明了基于汉江为界的秦岭和大巴山无论是地表植被NPP的均值还是其南北坡差异以及对气候因子的响应呈现了明显的差异,而汉江作为中山地区植被NPP与气温相关性由正相关性到负相关的转折点,与降水的关系由弱相关到正相关的转折点,更合适作为南北分界线。     

子宫内膜异位细胞改良体外培养技术的研究进展

体外细胞培养是子宫内膜异位性疾病研究的重要工具。本文回顾了细胞体外培养技术在分离、纯化环节的改良以及子宫内膜异位性疾病永生化细胞系改造中的研究进展,并总结了近几年来激素及细胞因子诱导培养、细胞共培养及三维培养技术在该疾病体外机制研究中的应用,并对其发展前景进行了展望。     

Spatially Explicit Assessment of Sandhill Crane Exposure to Potential Transmission Line Collision Risk

Infrastructure development can affect avian populations through direct collision mortality. Estimating the exposure of local bird populations to the risk of direct mortality from infrastructure development requires site- and species-specific data, which managers may find difficult to obtain at the scale over which management decisions are made. We quantify the potential exposure of sandhill cranes (Antigone canadensis) to collision with horizontal structures (e.g., transmission lines) within vital wintering grounds of the Middle Rio Grande Valley (MRGV), New Mexico, USA, 2014–2020. Limited maneuverability and visual acuity make sandhill cranes vulnerable to collisions with infrastructure bisecting their flight paths. We used data from 81 global positioning system (GPS)-tagged cranes to estimate the spatially explicit flight height distribution along the MRGV, the passage rate across hypothetical transmission lines, and the resulting exposure rate (exposed passes/crane/day). The exposure rate ranged from 0–0.28 exposed passes/crane/day (median = 0.015) assuming an exposure zone of 7–60 m above ground level, and identified hotspots of potential exposure within the MRGV. Mapped exposure rates can assist in the siting of proposed high-voltage transmission lines, or other infrastructure, to limit effects on sandhill cranes and other avian species at risk of collision. Our approach can be replicated and applied in similar situations where birds are exposed to possible collision with power lines. © 2021 The Authors. The Journal of Wildlife Management published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of The Wildlife Society.     

Benchmarking and optimization of a high-throughput sequencing based method for transgene sequence variant analysis in biotherapeutic cell line development

In recent years, High-Throughput Sequencing (HTS) based methods to detect mutations in biotherapeutic transgene products have become a key quality step deployed during the development of manufacturing cell line clones. Previously we reported on a higher throughput, rapid mutation detection method based on amplicon sequencing (targeting transgene RNA) and detailed its implementation to facilitate cell line clone selection. By gaining experience with our assay in a diverse set of cell line development programs, we improved the computational analysis as well as experimental protocols. Here we report on these improvements as well as on a comprehensive benchmarking of our assay. We evaluated assay performance by mixing amplicon samples of a verified mutated antibody clone with a non-mutated antibody clone to generate spike-in mutations from ∼60% down to ∼0.3% frequencies. We subsequently tested the effect of 16 different sample and HTS library preparation protocols on the assay's ability to quantify mutations and on the occurrence of false-positive background error mutations (artifacts). Our evaluation confirmed assay robustness, established a high confidence limit of detection of ∼0.6%, and identified protocols that reduce error levels thereby significantly reducing a source of false positives that bottlenecked the identification of low-level true mutations.     

An in vitro study of Ocimum sanctum as a chemotherapeutic agent on oral cancer cell-line

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is the most commom cancer in the world. If remain untreated for several years, it may be fatal. Hence, it is important to prevent and treat OSCC at an early stage. In this study the effect of aqueous and dry leaves extract of Ocimum sanctum was observed on Ca9-22 cell line, which is an OSCC cell line. For this, Ca9-22 cell line was cultured and maintained. After 24 h, the cells were treated with aqueous and dry leaves extract of Ocimum sanctum plant. Viability of the cancerous cells were studied by 3-(4, 5-dimethythiazol-2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay and neutral red uptake (NRU) assay. Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC), lethal concentration₂₅ (LC₂₅), lethal concentration₅₀ (LC₅₀) and highest permissive concentration (HPC) was calculated by probit computational method. Experimentally, the MIC value was 5 mg/L, whereas the HPC was 30 mg/L of the plant extract in aqueous state. For the dry extract the MIC was 5 mg/L whereas the HPC was 35 mg/L for both MTT and NRU assays. For MTT assay LC values: 7.41 (LC₂₅), 14.79 (LC₅₀) and 26.91 mg/L (LC₇₅) for aqueous extract and 12.58 (LC₂₅), 20.89 (LC₅₀), 29.51 mg/L (LC₇₅) for dry extract. For NRU assay LC values were 10.23 (LC₂₅), 14.79 (LC₅₀) and 20.89 mg/L (LC₇₅) aqueous extract, and 16.59 (LC₂₅), 23.44 (LC₅₀), 30.19 mg/L (LC₇₅) dry extract of the plant. From the above study it was concluded that, Ocimum sanctum have anti-cancerous activity. It can further be used for therapeutic purposes.     

水稻恢复系M630稻瘟病抗性改良及其代谢组研究

稻瘟病是水稻的主要病害之一,改良水稻稻瘟病抗性对水稻生产、推广具有重要意义。本研究以携带广谱抗稻瘟病基因Pi9材料9311-Pi9为供体,水稻优良恢复系M630为受体,将杂交、回交与分子标记辅助选择和背景筛选相结合,获得改良恢复系M630-Pi9。主要农艺性状和稻米品质分析显示改良后的M630-Pi9及其杂交组合徽两优630-Pi9与M630和徽两优630相比无明显差异。进一步利用安徽省优势混合生理小种进行苗期稻瘟病抗性鉴定,结果表明,改良后的M630-Pi9相对于M630抗性明显增强;稻瘟病抗性自然病圃鉴定结果发现改良后的恢复系及其杂交组合抗性明显增加。为了更好地了解稻瘟病抗性基因对植株发育的代谢机制,对M630-Pi9和M630受稻瘟病病原菌侵染后的植株进行代谢组分析,结果显示与M630相比,M630-Pi9中有212种代谢物合成受到调控,其中155种含量降低,57种含量增加;与细胞壁有关的物质含量明显增加,对生物体具有毒害和免疫作用的生物碱类代谢物含量显著降低,与生物胁迫相关的黄酮类物质受到不同程度的调控。这些数据表明稻瘟病抗性基因Pi9可能通过调控植物体中代谢物质的变化进而抵御病原体的侵害。创制的新恢复系稻瘟病抗性显著提高,对稻瘟病抗性机制研究提供依据,为水稻抗病、高产育种提供新的种质。