Border-associated macrophages are located at the interface between the brain and the periphery, including the perivascular spaces, choroid plexus, and meninges. Until recently, the functions of border-associated macro...Border-associated macrophages are located at the interface between the brain and the periphery, including the perivascular spaces, choroid plexus, and meninges. Until recently, the functions of border-associated macrophages have been poorly understood and largely overlooked. However, a recent study reported that border-associated macrophages participate in stroke-induced inflammation, although many details and the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. In this study, we performed a comprehensive single-cell analysis of mouse border-associated macrophages using sequencing data obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus(GEO) database(GSE174574 and GSE225948). Differentially expressed genes were identified, and enrichment analysis was performed to identify the transcription profile of border-associated macrophages. CellChat analysis was conducted to determine the cell communication network of border-associated macrophages. Transcription factors were predicted using the ‘pySCENIC' tool. We found that, in response to hypoxia, borderassociated macrophages underwent dynamic transcriptional changes and participated in the regulation of inflammatory-related pathways. Notably, the tumor necrosis factor pathway was activated by border-associated macrophages following ischemic stroke. The pySCENIC analysis indicated that the activity of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3(Stat3) was obviously upregulated in stroke, suggesting that Stat3 inhibition may be a promising strategy for treating border-associated macrophages-induced neuroinflammation. Finally, we constructed an animal model to investigate the effects of border-associated macrophages depletion following a stroke. Treatment with liposomes containing clodronate significantly reduced infarct volume in the animals and improved neurological scores compared with untreated animals. Taken together, our results demonstrate comprehensive changes in border-associated macrophages following a stroke, providing a theoretical basis for targeting border-associated macrophages-induced neuroinflammation in stroke treatment.展开更多
This article presents a micro-structure tensor enhanced elasto-plastic finite element(FE)method to address strength anisotropy in three-dimensional(3D)soil slope stability analysis.The gravity increase method(GIM)is e...This article presents a micro-structure tensor enhanced elasto-plastic finite element(FE)method to address strength anisotropy in three-dimensional(3D)soil slope stability analysis.The gravity increase method(GIM)is employed to analyze the stability of 3D anisotropic soil slopes.The accuracy of the proposed method is first verified against the data in the literature.We then simulate the 3D soil slope with a straight slope surface and the convex and concave slope surfaces with a 90turning corner to study the 3D effect on slope stability and the failure mechanism under anisotropy conditions.Based on our numerical results,the end effect significantly impacts the failure mechanism and safety factor.Anisotropy degree notably affects the safety factor,with higher degrees leading to deeper landslides.For concave slopes,they can be approximated by straight slopes with suitable boundary conditions to assess their stability.Furthermore,a case study of the Saint-Alban test embankment A in Quebec,Canada,is provided to demonstrate the applicability of the proposed FE model.展开更多
[Objectives]The 14-3-3 proteins are a class of highly conserved adapter proteins in eukaryotes that play a central role in signal transduction by recognizing phosphorylated target proteins and are crucial for plant gr...[Objectives]The 14-3-3 proteins are a class of highly conserved adapter proteins in eukaryotes that play a central role in signal transduction by recognizing phosphorylated target proteins and are crucial for plant growth and development.Chinese chestnut(Castanea mollissima)is an important woody grain crop in China.This study aimed to systematically identify the 14-3-3 gene family in chestnut and investigate their fundamental characteristics and functional clues,thereby laying a foundation for further elucidating the biological functions of this family in Chinese chestnut.[Methods]Using a combination of bioinformatics and molecular biology approaches,we conducted a comprehensive identification of the 14-3-3 family members in Chinese chestnut.Subsequently,we systematically analyzed their physicochemical properties,gene structures,conserved domains and motifs,gene duplication events,phylogenetic relationships,tissue-specific expression patterns,and codon usage bias.[Results]A total of nine 14-3-3 family members,designated CmGRF1 to CmGRF9,were identified and classified into two subgroups:epsilon(5 members)and non-epsilon(4 members).All CmGRF proteins were predicted to be hydrophilic.Phylogenetic analysis revealed a strong correlation between the clustering of CmGRFs and their respective gene structures,conserved domains,and motif compositions.Transcriptome data analysis indicated significant differences in the expression levels of different CmGRF members across various tissues and developmental stages.Codon preference analysis showed that CmGRFs tend to use codons ending with A/U,and their evolution is primarily driven by natural selection pressure.[Conclusions]This study provides the first genome-wide systematic analysis of the gene family in Chinese chestnut.The findings offer important theoretical insights and candidate genes for further research into the specific functions of these family members in chestnut growth,development,and stress responses.展开更多
Contact detection is the most time-consuming stage in 3D discontinuous deformation analysis(3D-DDA)computation.Improving the efficiency of 3D-DDA is beneficial for its application in large-scale computing.In this stud...Contact detection is the most time-consuming stage in 3D discontinuous deformation analysis(3D-DDA)computation.Improving the efficiency of 3D-DDA is beneficial for its application in large-scale computing.In this study,aiming at the continuous-discontinuous simulation of 3D-DDA,a highly efficient contact detection strategy is proposed.Firstly,the global direct search(GDS)method is integrated into the 3D-DDA framework to address intricate contact scenarios.Subsequently,all geometric elements,including blocks,faces,edges,and vertices are divided into searchable and unsearchable parts.Contacts between unsearchable geometric elements would be directly inherited,while only searchable geometric elements are involved in contact detection.This strategy significantly reduces the number of geometric elements involved in contact detection,thereby markedly enhancing the computation efficiency.Several examples are adopted to demonstrate the accuracy and efficiency of the improved 3D-DDA method.The rock pillars with different mesh sizes are simulated under self-weight.The deformation and stress are consistent with the analytical results,and the smaller the mesh size,the higher the accuracy.The maximum speedup ratio is 38.46 for this case.Furthermore,the Brazilian splitting test on the discs with different flaws is conducted.The results show that the failure pattern of the samples is consistent with the results obtained by other methods and experiments,and the maximum speedup ratio is 266.73.Finally,a large-scale impact test is performed,and approximately 3.2 times enhanced efficiency is obtained.The proposed contact detection strategy significantly improves efficiency when the rock has not completely failed,which is more suitable for continuous-discontinuous simulation.展开更多
In recent years,incidents of simultaneous exceedance of PM_(2.5)and O_(3) concentrations,termed PM_(2.5)and O_(3) co-pollution events,have frequently occurred in China.This study conducted atmospheric circulation anal...In recent years,incidents of simultaneous exceedance of PM_(2.5)and O_(3) concentrations,termed PM_(2.5)and O_(3) co-pollution events,have frequently occurred in China.This study conducted atmospheric circulation analysis on two typical co-pollution events in Beijing,occurring from July 22 to July 28,2019,and from April 25 to May 2,2020.These events were categorized into pre-trough southerly airflow type(Type 1)and post-trough northwest flow type(Type 2).Subsequently,sensitivity analyses using the GRAPES-CUACE adjoint model were performed to quantify the contributions of precursor emissions from Beijing and surrounding areas to PM_(2.5)and O_(3) concentrations in Beijing for two types of co-pollution.The results indicated that the spatiotemporal distribution of sensitive source region varied among different circulation types.Primary PM_(2.5)(PPM_(2.5))emissions from Hebei contributed the most to the 24-hour average PM_(2.5)(24-h PM_(2.5))peak concentration(41.6%-45.4%),followed by Beijing emissions(31%-35.7%).The maximum daily 8-hour average ozone peak concentration was primarily influenced by the emissions from Hebei and Beijing,with contribution ratios respectively of 32.8%-44.8% and 29%-42.1%.Additionally,NO_(x)emissions were the main contributors in Type 1,while both NO_(x)and VOCs emissions contributed similarly in Type 2.The iterative emission reduction experiments for two types of co-pollution indicated that Type 1 required emission reductions in NO_(x)(52.4%-71.8%)and VOCs(14.1%-33.8%)only.In contrast,Type 2 required combined emission reductions in NO_(x)(37.0%-65.1%),VOCs(30.7%-56.2%),and PPM_(2.5)(31%-46.9%).This study provided a reference for controlling co-pollution events and improving air quality in Beijing.展开更多
Three-dimensional printing(3DP)offers valuable insight into the characterization of natural rocks and the verification of theoretical models due to its high reproducibility and accurate replication of complex defects ...Three-dimensional printing(3DP)offers valuable insight into the characterization of natural rocks and the verification of theoretical models due to its high reproducibility and accurate replication of complex defects such as cracks and pores.In this study,3DP gypsum samples with different printing directions were subjected to a series of uniaxial compression tests with in situ micro-computed tomography(micro-CT)scanning to quantitatively investigate their mechanical anisotropic properties and damage evolution characteristics.Based on the two-dimensional(2D)CT images obtained at different scanning steps,a novel void ratio variable was derived using the mean value and variance of CT intensity.Additionally,a constitutive model was formulated incorporating the proposed damage variable,utilizing the void ratio variable.The crack evolution and crack morphology of 3DP gypsum samples were obtained and analyzed using the 3D models reconstructed from the CT images.The results indicate that 3DP gypsum samples exhibit mechanical anisotropic characteristics similar to those found in naturally sedimentary rocks.The mechanical anisotropy is attributed to the bedding planes formed between adjacent layers and pillar-like structures along the printing direction formed by CaSO_(4)·2H_(2)O crystals of needle-like morphology.The mean gray intensity of the voids has a positive linear relationship with the threshold value,while the CT variance and void ratio have concave and convex relationships,respectively.The constitutive model can effectively match the stress–strain curves obtained from uniaxial compression experiments.This study provides comprehensive explanations of the failure modes and anisotropic mechanisms of 3DP gypsum samples,which is important for characterizing and understanding the failure mechanism and microstructural evolution of 3DP rocks when modeling natural rock behavior.展开更多
Methods and procedures of three-dimensional （3D） characterization of the pore structure features in the packed ore particle bed are focused. X-ray computed tomography was applied to deriving the cross-sectional imag...Methods and procedures of three-dimensional （3D） characterization of the pore structure features in the packed ore particle bed are focused. X-ray computed tomography was applied to deriving the cross-sectional images of specimens with single particle size of 1-2, 2-3, 3-4, 4-5, 5-6, 6-7, 7-8, 8-9, 9-10 ram. Based on the in-house developed 3D image analysis programs using Matlab, the volume porosity, pore size distribution and degree of connectivity were calculated and analyzed in detail. The results indicate that the volume porosity, the mean diameter of pores and the effective pore size （d50） increase with the increasing of particle size. Lognormal distribution or Gauss distribution is mostly suitable to model the pore size distribution. The degree of connectivity investigated on the basis of cluster-labeling algorithm also increases with increasing the particle size approximately.展开更多
The single phase La2（CO3）3·3.4H2 O was synthesized by hydrothermal method. The thermal decomposition and intermediates and final solid products of La2（CO3）3·3.4H2O from 30 to 1000 °C were characteri...The single phase La2（CO3）3·3.4H2 O was synthesized by hydrothermal method. The thermal decomposition and intermediates and final solid products of La2（CO3）3·3.4H2O from 30 to 1000 °C were characterized by XRD, FTIR and DTA-TG. The kinetics of dehydration of La2（CO3）3·3.4H2O in the temperature range of 30-366 °C was investigated under non-isothermal conditions. Flynn-Wall-Ozawa and Friedman isoconversion methods were used to calculate the activation energy and analyze the reaction steps; multivariate non-linear regression program was applied to determine the most probable mechanism and the kinetic parameters. The results show that the thermal dehydration of La2（CO3）3·3.4H2O is a kind of three-step competitive reaction, and controlled by an n-order initial reaction followed by n-order competitive reaction（FnFnFn model）. The activation energy matching with the most probable model is close to value obtained by Friedman method. The fitting curves match the original TG-DTG curves very well.展开更多
Aim To define a mixed redundant model(MRM), improving the reliability of C 3I system. Methods The model combined the technology characters of two? unit system with one warm stand by unit and function substitute s...Aim To define a mixed redundant model(MRM), improving the reliability of C 3I system. Methods The model combined the technology characters of two? unit system with one warm stand by unit and function substitute system. The reliability and availability equations of MRM were deduced. Results and Conclusion Compared with several other reliability models, it has obvious effect upon improving the system reliability. The effect? cost rate is very high among these models. The model can be used in reliability design, evaluation and check of C 3I system. Only a little attached cost is needed to improve C 3I system reliability effectively.展开更多
[Objective] This study aimed to investigate the prevalence and variation of porcine kobuvirus （PKV） in suckling piglets in China. [Method] In 2013-2014, 224 feces samples from suckling piglets with diarrhea in 27 pi...[Objective] This study aimed to investigate the prevalence and variation of porcine kobuvirus （PKV） in suckling piglets in China. [Method] In 2013-2014, 224 feces samples from suckling piglets with diarrhea in 27 pig farms of five provinces in China were collected to detect 3D genes of PKV with RT-PCR method; the sequences and genetic variation of 29 PKV 3D genes were analyzed. [Result] Total positive rate of PKV in feces samples from suckling piglets with diarrhea was 65.18% （146/224）; total positive rate of PKV in pig farms was 85,2% （23/27）; nucleotide sequences and the deduced amino acid sequences of 29 PKV 3D genes shared 87.0%-100% and 92.7%-100% homologies with six PKV-related 3D sequences, respectively. [Conclusion] PKV infection is prevalent in suckling piglets in China; PKV 3D genes exhibit high diversity.展开更多
An analytical approach to evaluate the performance of the 3G/ad hoc integrated network is presented. A channel model capturing both path loss and shadowing is applied to the analysis so as to characterize power fallof...An analytical approach to evaluate the performance of the 3G/ad hoc integrated network is presented. A channel model capturing both path loss and shadowing is applied to the analysis so as to characterize power falloff vs. distance. The 3G/ad hoc integrated network scenario model is introduced briefly. Based on this model, several performances of the 3G/ ad hoc integrated network in terms of outage probability, call dropping probability and new call blocking probability are evaluated. The corresponding performance formulae are deduced in accordance with the analytical models. Meanwhile, the formula of the 3G/ad hoc integrated network capacity is deduced on the basis of the formula of the outage probability. It is observed from extensive simulation and numerical analysis that the 3G/ad hoc integrated network remarkably outperforms the 3G network with regards to the network performance. This derived evaluation approach can be applied into planning and optimization of the 3G/ad hoc network.展开更多
BACKGROUND Pancreatic cancer is a highly invasive malignant tumor. Expression levels of the autophagy-related protein microtubule-associated protein 1 A/1 B-light chain 3(LC3) and perineural invasion(PNI) are closely ...BACKGROUND Pancreatic cancer is a highly invasive malignant tumor. Expression levels of the autophagy-related protein microtubule-associated protein 1 A/1 B-light chain 3(LC3) and perineural invasion(PNI) are closely related to its occurrence and development. Our previous results showed that the high expression of LC3 was positively correlated with PNI in the patients with pancreatic cancer. In this study, we further searched for differential genes involved in autophagy of pancreatic cancer by gene expression profiling and analyzed their biological functions in pancreatic cancer, which provides a theoretical basis for elucidating the pathophysiological mechanism of autophagy in pancreatic cancer and PNI.AIM To identify differentially expressed genes involved in pancreatic cancer autophagy and explore the pathogenesis at the molecular level.METHODS Two sets of gene expression profiles of pancreatic cancer/normal tissue(GSE16515 and GSE15471) were collected from the Gene Expression Omnibus.Significance analysis of microarrays algorithm was used to screen differentially expressed genes related to pancreatic cancer. Gene Ontology(GO) analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes(KEGG) pathway analysis were used to analyze the functional enrichment of the differentially expressed genes. Protein interaction data containing only differentially expressed genes was downloaded from String database and screened. Module mining was carried out by Cytoscape software and ClusterOne plug-in. The interaction relationship between the modules was analyzed and the pivot nodes between the functional modules were determined according to the information of the functional modules and the data of reliable protein interaction network.RESULTS Based on the above two data sets of pancreatic tissue total gene expression, 6098 and 12928 differentially expressed genes were obtained by analysis of genes with higher phenotypic correlation. After extracting the intersection of the two differential gene sets, 4870 genes were determined. GO analysis showed that 14 significant functional items including negative regulation of protein ubiquitination were closely related to autophagy. A total of 986 differentially expressed genes were enriched in these functional items. After eliminating the autophagy related genes of human cancer cells which had been defined, 347 differentially expressed genes were obtained. KEGG pathway analysis showed that the pathways hsa04144 and hsa04020 were related to autophagy. In addition,65 clustering modules were screened after the protein interaction network was constructed based on String database, and module 32 contains the LC3 gene,which interacts with multiple autophagy-related genes. Moreover, ubiquitin C acts as a pivot node in functional modules to connect multiple modules related to pancreatic cancer and autophagy.CONCLUSION Three hundred and forty-seven genes associated with autophagy in human pancreatic cancer were concentrated, and a key gene ubiquitin C which is closely related to the occurrence of PNI was determined, suggesting that LC3 may influence the PNI and prognosis of pancreatic cancer through ubiquitin C.展开更多
According to the structure character of the passive sub-chain of the 3TPS-TPparallel mechanism, the kinematic constraint equations of the movable platform are established,based on which the closed-form inverse kinemat...According to the structure character of the passive sub-chain of the 3TPS-TPparallel mechanism, the kinematic constraint equations of the movable platform are established,based on which the closed-form inverse kinematics formula of the parallel mechanism are presented.Through parting the spherical joints of the active sub-chains and using the force and momentequilibrium of both the active sub-chains and passive sub-chain, the constraint forces acting on theparted joints are determined. Subsequently, the analytic expressions of the actuator driving forcesare derived by means of the force equilibrium of the upper links of active sub-chains.展开更多
High-quality LDH-SO4-CO3 whiskers were synthesized via liquid precipitation method using MgSO4·7 H2 O and Al2(SO4)3·18 H2O as precursors and Na2CO3-NaHCO3 buffer solution as precipitant. The influence of buf...High-quality LDH-SO4-CO3 whiskers were synthesized via liquid precipitation method using MgSO4·7 H2 O and Al2(SO4)3·18 H2O as precursors and Na2CO3-NaHCO3 buffer solution as precipitant. The influence of buffer solution concentration on the characteristics of the samples was investigated. The asgrown whiskers were characterized by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, and BrunauerEmmett-Teller N2 specific surface area measurements. The results show that the buffer solution concentration has significant impact on whiskers with intercalated structure. The LDH-SO4-CO3 whiskers with well-defined geometry, distinct intercalated structure, decent quality, and excellent dispersing capability can be obtained under the following conditions: buffer solution volume ratio of 45%, reaction temperature of 83°C, and reaction time of 182 h. The obtained whiskers are well-crystallized and exhibit homogeneous morphology consisting of fiber bars.展开更多
This paper presents a concept of the 3-state device system with link-capacity, whichcan, besides its normal operative state, assume two different failure states: an open-mode and ashorted-mode failure state. The 3-sta...This paper presents a concept of the 3-state device system with link-capacity, whichcan, besides its normal operative state, assume two different failure states: an open-mode and ashorted-mode failure state. The 3-state system reliability analysis often uses flow required andprobability of the device to compute the probability of the system with link-capacity. We use themethod of max-flow and min-cut theorem, give four theorems to reduce 3-state device network withlink-capacity reliability problems to 2-state problems. For practical, relevant network sizes (up to100 components), the algorithm is fast and efficient.展开更多
Pile foundations of ports, mooring systems for ocean surface or submerged platforms are subjected to amount of uplift loading, and prediction of the uplift capacity is one of the most important subjects in structure d...Pile foundations of ports, mooring systems for ocean surface or submerged platforms are subjected to amount of uplift loading, and prediction of the uplift capacity is one of the most important subjects in structure designs. The paper pertains to the development of a simplified theoretical method on prediction of the uplift capacity of pile group embedded in clay assuming a composite failure surface （inverted and tnmcated circular pyramidal and cylindrical sttrface）. Various pile and soil parameters such as the arrangement of pile group, pile spacing, length, diameter of the pile and the soil properties such as unit weight, angle of internal friction and the pile-soil interface friction angle, which have direct influence on the uplift capacity of the pile group, are incorporated in the analysis. A 3D numerical model is built by FLAC3D to analyze the pile group under uplift loading for comparison, and various effect factors, such as length to diameter ratio, pile spacing and pile numbers are considered. The predicted values of uplift capacity and failure surface of pile group with different length to diameter ratio, pile spacing and soil properties are then compared with numerical analysis results and tleld test results. The predictions are found to be in good agreement with numerical analysis and measured values, which validate the correctness of the developed method. It is also found that the uplift capacity is significantly influenced by the pile-soil friction coefficient, soil shear strength, etc.展开更多
Increasing population in urban areas and limitations of suitable lands for developing houses and urban infrastructure have led to the vertical development in cities.However,these developments are managed by a cadastra...Increasing population in urban areas and limitations of suitable lands for developing houses and urban infrastructure have led to the vertical development in cities.However,these developments are managed by a cadastral system which is mainly two-dimensional and cannot efficiently represent Rights,Restrictions,and Responsibilities(RRRs)in complex scenarios.In fact,a three-dimensional cadastre is required for efficiently registering and representing RRRs.In this paper,a 3D proximity analysis was proposed and implemented to determine RRRs and associated easement rights in non-topology-based data structures.This method can be used to investigate the surrounding spaces of a subject apartment unit or storage in a high-rise.The performance of the developed method was evaluated in a large complex high-rise in Tehran,Iran.The results confirmed that the proposed method can correctly identify the neighbor spaces in complex scenarios.展开更多
Combined multi-body dynamics with structural dynamics, a new discrete element with flexible connector, which is applicable for 3-D beam structures, is developed in this paper. Both the generalized elastic coefficient ...Combined multi-body dynamics with structural dynamics, a new discrete element with flexible connector, which is applicable for 3-D beam structures, is developed in this paper. Both the generalized elastic coefficient matrix of the flexible connector and the mass matrix of discrete element may be off-diagonal in a general case. The zero-length rigid element is introduced to simulate the node at which multiple elements are jointed together. It may also be effective when the axes of adjacent elements are not in the same line. The examples for eigenvalue calculation show that the model is successful. It can be extended to the geometric nonlinear response analysis.展开更多
Mineral dissemination and pore space distribution in ore particles are important features that influence heap leaching performance.To quantify the mineral dissemination and pore space distribution of an ore particle,a...Mineral dissemination and pore space distribution in ore particles are important features that influence heap leaching performance.To quantify the mineral dissemination and pore space distribution of an ore particle,a cylindrical copper oxide ore sample(I center dot 4.6 mm x 5.6 mm)was scanned using high-resolution X-ray computed tomography(HRXCT),a nondestructive imaging technology,at a spatial resolution of 4.85 mu m.Combined with three-dimensional(3D)image analysis techniques,the main mineral phases and pore space were segmented and the volume fraction of each phase was calculated.In addition,the mass fraction of each mineral phase was estimated and the result was validated with that obtained using traditional techniques.Furthermore,the pore phase features,including the pore size distribution,pore surface area,pore fractal dimension,pore centerline,and the pore connectivity,were investigated quantitatively.The pore space analysis results indicate that the pore size distribution closely fits a log-normal distribution and that the pore space morphology is complicated,with a large surface area and low connectivity.This study demonstrates that the combination of HRXCT and 3D image analysis is an effective tool for acquiring 3D mineralogical and pore structural data.展开更多
Arsenic methyltransferase（As3mt） catalyzes the conversion of inorganic arsenic（i As） to its methylated metabolites, including toxic methylarsonite（MAs~Ⅲ） and dimethylarsinite（DMAs~Ⅲ）. Knockout（KO） of As3 m...Arsenic methyltransferase（As3mt） catalyzes the conversion of inorganic arsenic（i As） to its methylated metabolites, including toxic methylarsonite（MAs~Ⅲ） and dimethylarsinite（DMAs~Ⅲ）. Knockout（KO） of As3 mt was shown to reduce the capacity to methylate i As in mice. However, no data are available on the oxidation states of As species in tissues of these mice. Here, we compare the oxidation states of As species in tissues of male C57BL/6 As3mt-KO and wild-type（WT） mice exposed to arsenite（iA s~Ⅲ） in drinking water. WT mice were exposed to50 mg/L As and As3mt-KO mice that cannot tolerate 50 mg/L As were exposed to 0, 15, 20, 25 or30 mg/L As. iA s~Ⅲaccounted for 53% to 74% of total As in liver, pancreas, adipose, lung, heart, and kidney of As3mt-KO mice; tri- and pentavalent methylated arsenicals did not exceed 10% of total As. Tissues of WT mice retained iA s and methylated arsenicals： iA s~Ⅲ, MAs~Ⅲand DMAs~Ⅲ represented 55%‐68% of the total As in the liver, pancreas, and brain. High levels of methylated species, particularly MAs~Ⅲ, were found in the intestine of WT, but not As3mt-KO mice,suggesting that intestinal bacteria are not a major source of methylated As. Blood of WT mice contained significantly higher levels of As than blood of As3mt-KO mice. This study is the first to determine oxidation states of As species in tissues of As3mt-KO mice. Results will help to design studies using WT and As3mt-KO mice to examine the role of iA s methylation in adverse effects of iA s exposure.展开更多
基金supported by Qingdao Key Medical and Health Discipline ProjectThe Intramural Research Program of the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University,No. 4910Qingdao West Coast New Area Science and Technology Project,No. 2020-55 (all to SW)。
文摘Border-associated macrophages are located at the interface between the brain and the periphery, including the perivascular spaces, choroid plexus, and meninges. Until recently, the functions of border-associated macrophages have been poorly understood and largely overlooked. However, a recent study reported that border-associated macrophages participate in stroke-induced inflammation, although many details and the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. In this study, we performed a comprehensive single-cell analysis of mouse border-associated macrophages using sequencing data obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus(GEO) database(GSE174574 and GSE225948). Differentially expressed genes were identified, and enrichment analysis was performed to identify the transcription profile of border-associated macrophages. CellChat analysis was conducted to determine the cell communication network of border-associated macrophages. Transcription factors were predicted using the ‘pySCENIC' tool. We found that, in response to hypoxia, borderassociated macrophages underwent dynamic transcriptional changes and participated in the regulation of inflammatory-related pathways. Notably, the tumor necrosis factor pathway was activated by border-associated macrophages following ischemic stroke. The pySCENIC analysis indicated that the activity of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3(Stat3) was obviously upregulated in stroke, suggesting that Stat3 inhibition may be a promising strategy for treating border-associated macrophages-induced neuroinflammation. Finally, we constructed an animal model to investigate the effects of border-associated macrophages depletion following a stroke. Treatment with liposomes containing clodronate significantly reduced infarct volume in the animals and improved neurological scores compared with untreated animals. Taken together, our results demonstrate comprehensive changes in border-associated macrophages following a stroke, providing a theoretical basis for targeting border-associated macrophages-induced neuroinflammation in stroke treatment.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos.51890912,51979025 and 52011530189).
文摘This article presents a micro-structure tensor enhanced elasto-plastic finite element(FE)method to address strength anisotropy in three-dimensional(3D)soil slope stability analysis.The gravity increase method(GIM)is employed to analyze the stability of 3D anisotropic soil slopes.The accuracy of the proposed method is first verified against the data in the literature.We then simulate the 3D soil slope with a straight slope surface and the convex and concave slope surfaces with a 90turning corner to study the 3D effect on slope stability and the failure mechanism under anisotropy conditions.Based on our numerical results,the end effect significantly impacts the failure mechanism and safety factor.Anisotropy degree notably affects the safety factor,with higher degrees leading to deeper landslides.For concave slopes,they can be approximated by straight slopes with suitable boundary conditions to assess their stability.Furthermore,a case study of the Saint-Alban test embankment A in Quebec,Canada,is provided to demonstrate the applicability of the proposed FE model.
基金Supported by The Hebei Province Key R&D Program Project(21326304D)The Engineering Research Center of Chestnut Industry Technology,Ministry of Education,Hebei Normal University of Science and Technology(202202).
文摘[Objectives]The 14-3-3 proteins are a class of highly conserved adapter proteins in eukaryotes that play a central role in signal transduction by recognizing phosphorylated target proteins and are crucial for plant growth and development.Chinese chestnut(Castanea mollissima)is an important woody grain crop in China.This study aimed to systematically identify the 14-3-3 gene family in chestnut and investigate their fundamental characteristics and functional clues,thereby laying a foundation for further elucidating the biological functions of this family in Chinese chestnut.[Methods]Using a combination of bioinformatics and molecular biology approaches,we conducted a comprehensive identification of the 14-3-3 family members in Chinese chestnut.Subsequently,we systematically analyzed their physicochemical properties,gene structures,conserved domains and motifs,gene duplication events,phylogenetic relationships,tissue-specific expression patterns,and codon usage bias.[Results]A total of nine 14-3-3 family members,designated CmGRF1 to CmGRF9,were identified and classified into two subgroups:epsilon(5 members)and non-epsilon(4 members).All CmGRF proteins were predicted to be hydrophilic.Phylogenetic analysis revealed a strong correlation between the clustering of CmGRFs and their respective gene structures,conserved domains,and motif compositions.Transcriptome data analysis indicated significant differences in the expression levels of different CmGRF members across various tissues and developmental stages.Codon preference analysis showed that CmGRFs tend to use codons ending with A/U,and their evolution is primarily driven by natural selection pressure.[Conclusions]This study provides the first genome-wide systematic analysis of the gene family in Chinese chestnut.The findings offer important theoretical insights and candidate genes for further research into the specific functions of these family members in chestnut growth,development,and stress responses.
基金financially supported by the National Key R&D Program of China(Grant No.2023YFC3081200)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos.U21A20159 and 52179117).
文摘Contact detection is the most time-consuming stage in 3D discontinuous deformation analysis(3D-DDA)computation.Improving the efficiency of 3D-DDA is beneficial for its application in large-scale computing.In this study,aiming at the continuous-discontinuous simulation of 3D-DDA,a highly efficient contact detection strategy is proposed.Firstly,the global direct search(GDS)method is integrated into the 3D-DDA framework to address intricate contact scenarios.Subsequently,all geometric elements,including blocks,faces,edges,and vertices are divided into searchable and unsearchable parts.Contacts between unsearchable geometric elements would be directly inherited,while only searchable geometric elements are involved in contact detection.This strategy significantly reduces the number of geometric elements involved in contact detection,thereby markedly enhancing the computation efficiency.Several examples are adopted to demonstrate the accuracy and efficiency of the improved 3D-DDA method.The rock pillars with different mesh sizes are simulated under self-weight.The deformation and stress are consistent with the analytical results,and the smaller the mesh size,the higher the accuracy.The maximum speedup ratio is 38.46 for this case.Furthermore,the Brazilian splitting test on the discs with different flaws is conducted.The results show that the failure pattern of the samples is consistent with the results obtained by other methods and experiments,and the maximum speedup ratio is 266.73.Finally,a large-scale impact test is performed,and approximately 3.2 times enhanced efficiency is obtained.The proposed contact detection strategy significantly improves efficiency when the rock has not completely failed,which is more suitable for continuous-discontinuous simulation.
基金supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China(No.2022YFC3701205)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.41975173)the Science and Technology Development Fund of the Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences(No.2021KJ011)。
文摘In recent years,incidents of simultaneous exceedance of PM_(2.5)and O_(3) concentrations,termed PM_(2.5)and O_(3) co-pollution events,have frequently occurred in China.This study conducted atmospheric circulation analysis on two typical co-pollution events in Beijing,occurring from July 22 to July 28,2019,and from April 25 to May 2,2020.These events were categorized into pre-trough southerly airflow type(Type 1)and post-trough northwest flow type(Type 2).Subsequently,sensitivity analyses using the GRAPES-CUACE adjoint model were performed to quantify the contributions of precursor emissions from Beijing and surrounding areas to PM_(2.5)and O_(3) concentrations in Beijing for two types of co-pollution.The results indicated that the spatiotemporal distribution of sensitive source region varied among different circulation types.Primary PM_(2.5)(PPM_(2.5))emissions from Hebei contributed the most to the 24-hour average PM_(2.5)(24-h PM_(2.5))peak concentration(41.6%-45.4%),followed by Beijing emissions(31%-35.7%).The maximum daily 8-hour average ozone peak concentration was primarily influenced by the emissions from Hebei and Beijing,with contribution ratios respectively of 32.8%-44.8% and 29%-42.1%.Additionally,NO_(x)emissions were the main contributors in Type 1,while both NO_(x)and VOCs emissions contributed similarly in Type 2.The iterative emission reduction experiments for two types of co-pollution indicated that Type 1 required emission reductions in NO_(x)(52.4%-71.8%)and VOCs(14.1%-33.8%)only.In contrast,Type 2 required combined emission reductions in NO_(x)(37.0%-65.1%),VOCs(30.7%-56.2%),and PPM_(2.5)(31%-46.9%).This study provided a reference for controlling co-pollution events and improving air quality in Beijing.
基金supported by grants from the Human Resources Development program(Grant No.20204010600250)the Training Program of CCUS for the Green Growth(Grant No.20214000000500)by the Korea Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning(KETEP)funded by the Ministry of Trade,Industry,and Energy of the Korean Government(MOTIE).
文摘Three-dimensional printing(3DP)offers valuable insight into the characterization of natural rocks and the verification of theoretical models due to its high reproducibility and accurate replication of complex defects such as cracks and pores.In this study,3DP gypsum samples with different printing directions were subjected to a series of uniaxial compression tests with in situ micro-computed tomography(micro-CT)scanning to quantitatively investigate their mechanical anisotropic properties and damage evolution characteristics.Based on the two-dimensional(2D)CT images obtained at different scanning steps,a novel void ratio variable was derived using the mean value and variance of CT intensity.Additionally,a constitutive model was formulated incorporating the proposed damage variable,utilizing the void ratio variable.The crack evolution and crack morphology of 3DP gypsum samples were obtained and analyzed using the 3D models reconstructed from the CT images.The results indicate that 3DP gypsum samples exhibit mechanical anisotropic characteristics similar to those found in naturally sedimentary rocks.The mechanical anisotropy is attributed to the bedding planes formed between adjacent layers and pillar-like structures along the printing direction formed by CaSO_(4)·2H_(2)O crystals of needle-like morphology.The mean gray intensity of the voids has a positive linear relationship with the threshold value,while the CT variance and void ratio have concave and convex relationships,respectively.The constitutive model can effectively match the stress–strain curves obtained from uniaxial compression experiments.This study provides comprehensive explanations of the failure modes and anisotropic mechanisms of 3DP gypsum samples,which is important for characterizing and understanding the failure mechanism and microstructural evolution of 3DP rocks when modeling natural rock behavior.
基金Projects(50934002,51074013,51304076,51104100)supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of ChinaProject(IRT0950)supported by the Program for Changjiang Scholars Innovative Research Team in Universities,ChinaProject(2012M510007)supported by China Postdoctoral Science Foundation
文摘Methods and procedures of three-dimensional （3D） characterization of the pore structure features in the packed ore particle bed are focused. X-ray computed tomography was applied to deriving the cross-sectional images of specimens with single particle size of 1-2, 2-3, 3-4, 4-5, 5-6, 6-7, 7-8, 8-9, 9-10 ram. Based on the in-house developed 3D image analysis programs using Matlab, the volume porosity, pore size distribution and degree of connectivity were calculated and analyzed in detail. The results indicate that the volume porosity, the mean diameter of pores and the effective pore size （d50） increase with the increasing of particle size. Lognormal distribution or Gauss distribution is mostly suitable to model the pore size distribution. The degree of connectivity investigated on the basis of cluster-labeling algorithm also increases with increasing the particle size approximately.
基金Project(201011005-5)supported by the National Land and Resources Public Welfare Scientific Research Project of ChinaProject(41030426)supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China+1 种基金Project(20095122110015)supported by Specialized Research Fund for the Doctoral Program of Higher Education of ChinaProject(2010-32)supported by Scientific Research Foundation of the Education Ministry for Returned Chinese Scholars,China
文摘The single phase La2（CO3）3·3.4H2 O was synthesized by hydrothermal method. The thermal decomposition and intermediates and final solid products of La2（CO3）3·3.4H2O from 30 to 1000 °C were characterized by XRD, FTIR and DTA-TG. The kinetics of dehydration of La2（CO3）3·3.4H2O in the temperature range of 30-366 °C was investigated under non-isothermal conditions. Flynn-Wall-Ozawa and Friedman isoconversion methods were used to calculate the activation energy and analyze the reaction steps; multivariate non-linear regression program was applied to determine the most probable mechanism and the kinetic parameters. The results show that the thermal dehydration of La2（CO3）3·3.4H2O is a kind of three-step competitive reaction, and controlled by an n-order initial reaction followed by n-order competitive reaction（FnFnFn model）. The activation energy matching with the most probable model is close to value obtained by Friedman method. The fitting curves match the original TG-DTG curves very well.
文摘Aim To define a mixed redundant model(MRM), improving the reliability of C 3I system. Methods The model combined the technology characters of two? unit system with one warm stand by unit and function substitute system. The reliability and availability equations of MRM were deduced. Results and Conclusion Compared with several other reliability models, it has obvious effect upon improving the system reliability. The effect? cost rate is very high among these models. The model can be used in reliability design, evaluation and check of C 3I system. Only a little attached cost is needed to improve C 3I system reliability effectively.
文摘[Objective] This study aimed to investigate the prevalence and variation of porcine kobuvirus （PKV） in suckling piglets in China. [Method] In 2013-2014, 224 feces samples from suckling piglets with diarrhea in 27 pig farms of five provinces in China were collected to detect 3D genes of PKV with RT-PCR method; the sequences and genetic variation of 29 PKV 3D genes were analyzed. [Result] Total positive rate of PKV in feces samples from suckling piglets with diarrhea was 65.18% （146/224）; total positive rate of PKV in pig farms was 85,2% （23/27）; nucleotide sequences and the deduced amino acid sequences of 29 PKV 3D genes shared 87.0%-100% and 92.7%-100% homologies with six PKV-related 3D sequences, respectively. [Conclusion] PKV infection is prevalent in suckling piglets in China; PKV 3D genes exhibit high diversity.
基金The National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.60872004)the Research Fund of National Mobile Communications Research Laboratory of Southeast University(No.2010A08)the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities(No.2009B21814)
文摘An analytical approach to evaluate the performance of the 3G/ad hoc integrated network is presented. A channel model capturing both path loss and shadowing is applied to the analysis so as to characterize power falloff vs. distance. The 3G/ad hoc integrated network scenario model is introduced briefly. Based on this model, several performances of the 3G/ ad hoc integrated network in terms of outage probability, call dropping probability and new call blocking probability are evaluated. The corresponding performance formulae are deduced in accordance with the analytical models. Meanwhile, the formula of the 3G/ad hoc integrated network capacity is deduced on the basis of the formula of the outage probability. It is observed from extensive simulation and numerical analysis that the 3G/ad hoc integrated network remarkably outperforms the 3G network with regards to the network performance. This derived evaluation approach can be applied into planning and optimization of the 3G/ad hoc network.
基金Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China,No.U1504815 and No.U1504808
文摘BACKGROUND Pancreatic cancer is a highly invasive malignant tumor. Expression levels of the autophagy-related protein microtubule-associated protein 1 A/1 B-light chain 3(LC3) and perineural invasion(PNI) are closely related to its occurrence and development. Our previous results showed that the high expression of LC3 was positively correlated with PNI in the patients with pancreatic cancer. In this study, we further searched for differential genes involved in autophagy of pancreatic cancer by gene expression profiling and analyzed their biological functions in pancreatic cancer, which provides a theoretical basis for elucidating the pathophysiological mechanism of autophagy in pancreatic cancer and PNI.AIM To identify differentially expressed genes involved in pancreatic cancer autophagy and explore the pathogenesis at the molecular level.METHODS Two sets of gene expression profiles of pancreatic cancer/normal tissue(GSE16515 and GSE15471) were collected from the Gene Expression Omnibus.Significance analysis of microarrays algorithm was used to screen differentially expressed genes related to pancreatic cancer. Gene Ontology(GO) analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes(KEGG) pathway analysis were used to analyze the functional enrichment of the differentially expressed genes. Protein interaction data containing only differentially expressed genes was downloaded from String database and screened. Module mining was carried out by Cytoscape software and ClusterOne plug-in. The interaction relationship between the modules was analyzed and the pivot nodes between the functional modules were determined according to the information of the functional modules and the data of reliable protein interaction network.RESULTS Based on the above two data sets of pancreatic tissue total gene expression, 6098 and 12928 differentially expressed genes were obtained by analysis of genes with higher phenotypic correlation. After extracting the intersection of the two differential gene sets, 4870 genes were determined. GO analysis showed that 14 significant functional items including negative regulation of protein ubiquitination were closely related to autophagy. A total of 986 differentially expressed genes were enriched in these functional items. After eliminating the autophagy related genes of human cancer cells which had been defined, 347 differentially expressed genes were obtained. KEGG pathway analysis showed that the pathways hsa04144 and hsa04020 were related to autophagy. In addition,65 clustering modules were screened after the protein interaction network was constructed based on String database, and module 32 contains the LC3 gene,which interacts with multiple autophagy-related genes. Moreover, ubiquitin C acts as a pivot node in functional modules to connect multiple modules related to pancreatic cancer and autophagy.CONCLUSION Three hundred and forty-seven genes associated with autophagy in human pancreatic cancer were concentrated, and a key gene ubiquitin C which is closely related to the occurrence of PNI was determined, suggesting that LC3 may influence the PNI and prognosis of pancreatic cancer through ubiquitin C.
基金This project is supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (No.59775006)Postdoctoral Science Foundation of China (No.200031).
文摘According to the structure character of the passive sub-chain of the 3TPS-TPparallel mechanism, the kinematic constraint equations of the movable platform are established,based on which the closed-form inverse kinematics formula of the parallel mechanism are presented.Through parting the spherical joints of the active sub-chains and using the force and momentequilibrium of both the active sub-chains and passive sub-chain, the constraint forces acting on theparted joints are determined. Subsequently, the analytic expressions of the actuator driving forcesare derived by means of the force equilibrium of the upper links of active sub-chains.
基金Funded by National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.51272207)Science and Technology Plan of Guangdong Province((No.2013B021100019)
文摘High-quality LDH-SO4-CO3 whiskers were synthesized via liquid precipitation method using MgSO4·7 H2 O and Al2(SO4)3·18 H2O as precursors and Na2CO3-NaHCO3 buffer solution as precipitant. The influence of buffer solution concentration on the characteristics of the samples was investigated. The asgrown whiskers were characterized by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, and BrunauerEmmett-Teller N2 specific surface area measurements. The results show that the buffer solution concentration has significant impact on whiskers with intercalated structure. The LDH-SO4-CO3 whiskers with well-defined geometry, distinct intercalated structure, decent quality, and excellent dispersing capability can be obtained under the following conditions: buffer solution volume ratio of 45%, reaction temperature of 83°C, and reaction time of 182 h. The obtained whiskers are well-crystallized and exhibit homogeneous morphology consisting of fiber bars.
文摘This paper presents a concept of the 3-state device system with link-capacity, whichcan, besides its normal operative state, assume two different failure states: an open-mode and ashorted-mode failure state. The 3-state system reliability analysis often uses flow required andprobability of the device to compute the probability of the system with link-capacity. We use themethod of max-flow and min-cut theorem, give four theorems to reduce 3-state device network withlink-capacity reliability problems to 2-state problems. For practical, relevant network sizes (up to100 components), the algorithm is fast and efficient.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China through the Postgraduate Visiting Scholar Plan (Grant No.1046-B08005)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.50679015)
文摘Pile foundations of ports, mooring systems for ocean surface or submerged platforms are subjected to amount of uplift loading, and prediction of the uplift capacity is one of the most important subjects in structure designs. The paper pertains to the development of a simplified theoretical method on prediction of the uplift capacity of pile group embedded in clay assuming a composite failure surface （inverted and tnmcated circular pyramidal and cylindrical sttrface）. Various pile and soil parameters such as the arrangement of pile group, pile spacing, length, diameter of the pile and the soil properties such as unit weight, angle of internal friction and the pile-soil interface friction angle, which have direct influence on the uplift capacity of the pile group, are incorporated in the analysis. A 3D numerical model is built by FLAC3D to analyze the pile group under uplift loading for comparison, and various effect factors, such as length to diameter ratio, pile spacing and pile numbers are considered. The predicted values of uplift capacity and failure surface of pile group with different length to diameter ratio, pile spacing and soil properties are then compared with numerical analysis results and tleld test results. The predictions are found to be in good agreement with numerical analysis and measured values, which validate the correctness of the developed method. It is also found that the uplift capacity is significantly influenced by the pile-soil friction coefficient, soil shear strength, etc.
文摘Increasing population in urban areas and limitations of suitable lands for developing houses and urban infrastructure have led to the vertical development in cities.However,these developments are managed by a cadastral system which is mainly two-dimensional and cannot efficiently represent Rights,Restrictions,and Responsibilities(RRRs)in complex scenarios.In fact,a three-dimensional cadastre is required for efficiently registering and representing RRRs.In this paper,a 3D proximity analysis was proposed and implemented to determine RRRs and associated easement rights in non-topology-based data structures.This method can be used to investigate the surrounding spaces of a subject apartment unit or storage in a high-rise.The performance of the developed method was evaluated in a large complex high-rise in Tehran,Iran.The results confirmed that the proposed method can correctly identify the neighbor spaces in complex scenarios.
基金The project was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China
文摘Combined multi-body dynamics with structural dynamics, a new discrete element with flexible connector, which is applicable for 3-D beam structures, is developed in this paper. Both the generalized elastic coefficient matrix of the flexible connector and the mass matrix of discrete element may be off-diagonal in a general case. The zero-length rigid element is introduced to simulate the node at which multiple elements are jointed together. It may also be effective when the axes of adjacent elements are not in the same line. The examples for eigenvalue calculation show that the model is successful. It can be extended to the geometric nonlinear response analysis.
基金financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.51304076)the Natural Science Foundation of Hunan Province,China(No.14JJ4064)
文摘Mineral dissemination and pore space distribution in ore particles are important features that influence heap leaching performance.To quantify the mineral dissemination and pore space distribution of an ore particle,a cylindrical copper oxide ore sample(I center dot 4.6 mm x 5.6 mm)was scanned using high-resolution X-ray computed tomography(HRXCT),a nondestructive imaging technology,at a spatial resolution of 4.85 mu m.Combined with three-dimensional(3D)image analysis techniques,the main mineral phases and pore space were segmented and the volume fraction of each phase was calculated.In addition,the mass fraction of each mineral phase was estimated and the result was validated with that obtained using traditional techniques.Furthermore,the pore phase features,including the pore size distribution,pore surface area,pore fractal dimension,pore centerline,and the pore connectivity,were investigated quantitatively.The pore space analysis results indicate that the pore size distribution closely fits a log-normal distribution and that the pore space morphology is complicated,with a large surface area and low connectivity.This study demonstrates that the combination of HRXCT and 3D image analysis is an effective tool for acquiring 3D mineralogical and pore structural data.
基金supported by NIH grant No. 2 R01 ES010845 to M.S.the UNC Nutrition Obesity Research Center grant no. DK056350,+1 种基金NIH grant No. P30ES010126 to the UNC Center for Environmental Health and Susceptibilitysupported by a pre-doctoral traineeship (National Research Service Award T32 ES007126) from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, NIH
文摘Arsenic methyltransferase（As3mt） catalyzes the conversion of inorganic arsenic（i As） to its methylated metabolites, including toxic methylarsonite（MAs~Ⅲ） and dimethylarsinite（DMAs~Ⅲ）. Knockout（KO） of As3 mt was shown to reduce the capacity to methylate i As in mice. However, no data are available on the oxidation states of As species in tissues of these mice. Here, we compare the oxidation states of As species in tissues of male C57BL/6 As3mt-KO and wild-type（WT） mice exposed to arsenite（iA s~Ⅲ） in drinking water. WT mice were exposed to50 mg/L As and As3mt-KO mice that cannot tolerate 50 mg/L As were exposed to 0, 15, 20, 25 or30 mg/L As. iA s~Ⅲaccounted for 53% to 74% of total As in liver, pancreas, adipose, lung, heart, and kidney of As3mt-KO mice; tri- and pentavalent methylated arsenicals did not exceed 10% of total As. Tissues of WT mice retained iA s and methylated arsenicals： iA s~Ⅲ, MAs~Ⅲand DMAs~Ⅲ represented 55%‐68% of the total As in the liver, pancreas, and brain. High levels of methylated species, particularly MAs~Ⅲ, were found in the intestine of WT, but not As3mt-KO mice,suggesting that intestinal bacteria are not a major source of methylated As. Blood of WT mice contained significantly higher levels of As than blood of As3mt-KO mice. This study is the first to determine oxidation states of As species in tissues of As3mt-KO mice. Results will help to design studies using WT and As3mt-KO mice to examine the role of iA s methylation in adverse effects of iA s exposure.
