ObjectivesRheumatoid arthritis (RA), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and primary Sjögren’s syndrome (pSS) share many clinical manifestations and serological features. The aim of this study was to identify the common transcriptional profiling and composition of immune cells in peripheral blood in these autoimmune diseases (ADs).MethodsWe analysed bulk RNA-seq data for enrichment of biological processes, transcription factors (TFs) and deconvolution-based immune cell types from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) in 119 treatment-naive patients (41 RA, 38 pSS, 28 SLE and 12 polyautoimmunity) and 20 healthy controls. The single-cell RNA-seq (scRNA-seq) and flow cytometry had been performed to further define the immune cell subsets on PBMCs.ResultsSimilar transcriptional profiles and common gene expression signatures associated with nucleosome assembly and haemostasis were identified across RA, SLE, pSS and polyautoimmunity. Distinct TF ensembles and gene regulatory network were mainly enriched in haematopoiesis. The upregulated cell-lineage-specific TFs PBX1, GATA1, TAL1 and GFI1B demonstrated a strong gene expression signature of megakaryocyte (MK) expansion. Gene expression-based cell type enrichment revealed elevated MK composition, specifically, CD41b+CD42b+ and CD41b+CD61+ MKs were expanded, further confirmed by flow cytometry in these ADs. In scRNA-seq data, MKs were defined by TFs PBX1/GATA1/TAL1 and pre-T-cell antigen receptor gene, PTCRA. Cellular heterogeneity and a distinct immune subpopulation with functional enrichment of antigen presentation were observed in MKs.ConclusionsThe identification of MK expansion provided new insights into the peripheral immune cell atlas across RA, SLE, pSS and polyautoimmunity. Aberrant regulation of the MK expansion might contribute to the pathogenesis of these ADs.
Piercing–sucking insects are prominent phloem-feeding insect pests and understanding their feeding behavior and life characteristics plays a crucial role in studying insect host adaptability. The green peach aphid, Myzus persicae (Hemiptera: Aphididae), is one of the most prominent pests in tobacco-growing areas around the world. This study evaluated the adaptability of M. persicae to five host plants: tobacco, radish, Chinese cabbage, Brassica oleracea, and rape using the electropenetrography, age-stage, two-sex life table and population dynamics. The results demonstrated that the feeding behavior of M. persicae differed significantly according to the target hosts. M. persicae exhibited reduced pathway activities and increased phloem sap ingestion on radish, whereas the opposite was observed on Chinese cabbage. Additionally, the mechanical difficulties of M. persicae mouthparts in the probe pathway phase were significantly lower on tobacco and radish than on other host plants. Life table parameters indicated that for M. persicae reared on radish, preadult duration, longevity, and total preoviposition increased significantly and the fecundity was the highest. Furthermore, the net reproductive rate (R0) increased significantly. The population number of M. persicae on radish after 15 days was significantly higher than that on other hosts, except for tobacco. Although M. persicae can successfully survive on the five plants, our results demonstrated that radish is the optimal host. These results provide significant information for understanding the population dynamics of M. persicae and on different host crops integrated management strategy.
Aphids are typical phloem-sucking insect pests. A good understanding regarding their feeding behavior and population dynamics are critical for evaluating host adaptation and screening of aphid-resistant resources. Herein, the adaptability of Toxoptera aurantii (Boyer) (Hemiptera: Aphididae) to different hosts was evaluated via electropenetrography and an age-stage, two-sex life table on six tea germplasms: Zikui (ZK), Zhongcha108 (ZC108), Zhongcha111 (ZC111), Qianmei419 (QM419), Meitan5 (MT5), and Fudingdabaicha (FD). Our findings revealed that the feeding activities of T. aurantii differed considerably among the host plants. T. aurantii exhibited significantly more pathway activities on ZK and FD than on the other hosts. However, the duration of feeding of T. aurantii on ZK phloem considerably decreased compared with those of the other germplasms. Life parameters indicated that T. aurantii exhibited the highest intrinsic rate of increase (r), net reproductive rate (R0), and finite rate of increase (λ) on MT5, and the maximum values of total longevity and oviposition period were recorded on FD; these variables were reduced significantly on ZK. The results of our study demonstrate that T. aurantii can successfully survive on the six tea germplasms; however, ZK was less suitable for T. aurantii and should be considered as a potential source of resistance in breeding and Integrated Pest Management.
Stable ultra-lean combustion is an effective way for natural gas engines to reduce NOx emissions, but it also has higher requirements for ignition stability. The passive pre-chamber can effectively increase the ignition energy and extend the lean-burn limit of natural gas engines. However, the scavenging capacity of the pre-chamber limits its performance under low engine load. In this paper, several passive pre-chambers are designed, and the CFD simulation is carried out to investigate the influence of direction, number and diameter of the nozzle on the scavenging process. The discharge of residual gas in the pre-chamber is mainly affected by the nozzle diameter, which varies from 5.9% to 1% when the nozzle diameter increases from 0.8 mm to 1.6 mm. At the same time, claw-shaped electrodes are applied in the pre-chamber to increase the combustion rate, which is validated in a cylinder combustion simulation. Finally, the passive pre-chamber is tested on a 6-cylinder natural gas engine under 25% load. The results show that, under the proper ignition timing, the excess air ratio (λ) can reach 1.9 under 25% load of propulsion characteristic with a low level of cyclic variation. At this time, the NOx emission can be as low as 0.34 g/kWh without aftertreatment equipment.
This paper presents an innovative one-dimensional mathematical model applied to the on-line measurement for transient discharge coefficient of diesel injector nozzle. The state change in the fuel system is abstracted into the transfer and evolution process of the Riemann wave, and a direct mathematical relationship between the pressure and the transient discharge coefficient in a single Riemann wave environment is established. The on-line calibration method of fuel sound velocity is proposed, which avoids the complicated off-line calibration of fuel physical property. The time-domain characteristics recognition method of input signal is put forward and the model is segmented according to time characteristics to improve the applicability. The decoupling algorithm of reflected wave and the correction method of interference wave are proposed to improve the model robustness. The experimental results show that this mathematical model has good accuracy. It is found that the variation of the average discharge coefficient with injection pressure and pulse width is nonlinear due to the cavitation and needle valve average opening.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.