His current research interests include active distribution network security analysis and restoration. Wenchuan Wu (SM'14) received the B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees from the Electrical Engineering

BackgroundNeurotropic virus-based tracers have been extensively applied in mapping and manipulation of neural circuits. However, their neurotropic and neurotoxic properties remain to be fully characterized.MethodsThrough neural circuit tracing, we systematically compared the neurotropism discrepancy among different multi-trans-synaptic and mono-synaptic retrograde viral tracers including pseudorabies virus (PRV), rabies virus (RV), and the newly engineered retro adeno-associated virus (rAAV2-retro) tracers. The (single-cell) RNA sequencing analysis was utilized for seeking possible attribution to neurotropism discrepancy and comparing cell toxicity caused by viral infection between glycoprotein-deleted RV (RV-∆G) and rAAV2-retro. Viral toxicity induced microglia activation and neuronal protein change were evaluated by immunohistochemistry.ResultsMulti-trans-synaptic retrograde viral tracers, PRV and RV, exhibit differential neurotropism when they were used for central neural circuit tracing from popliteal lymph nodes. Mono-synaptic retrograde tracers, including RV-∆G and rAAV2-retro, displayed discrepant neurotropic property, when they were applied to trace the inputs of lateral hypothalamic area and medial preoptic nucleus. rAAV2-retro demonstrated preference in cerebral cortex, whereas RV-∆G prefers to label basal ganglia and hypothalamus. Remarkably, we detected a distinct preference for specific cortical layer of rAAV2-retro in layer 5 and RV-∆G in layer 6 when they were injected into dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus to label corticothalamic neurons in primary visual cortex. Complementation of TVA receptor gene in RV-resistant neurons enabled EnvA-pseudotyped RV infection, supporting receptors attribution to viral neurotropism. Furthermore, both RV-∆G and rAAV2-retro exerted neurotoxic influence at the injection sites and retrogradely labeled sites, while the changes were more profound for RV-∆G infection. Finally, we demonstrated a proof-of-concept strategy for more comprehensive high-order circuit tracing of a specific target nucleus by combining rAAV2-retro, RV, and rAAV tracers.ConclusionsDifferent multi-trans-synaptic and mono-synaptic retrograde viral tracers exhibited discrepant neurotropism within certain brain regions, even cortical layer preference. More neurotoxicity was observed under RV-∆G infection as compared with rAAV2-retro. By combining rAAV2-retro, RV, and rAAV tracers, high-order circuit tracing can be achieved. Our findings provide important reference for appropriate application of viral tracers to delineate the landscape and dissect the function of neural network.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s13024-019-0308-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

The total supply capability (TSC) is an important index for assessing the reliability of a distribution power system. In this paper, two models to evaluate the TSC are established. In the first, the TSC is acquired with the conditions that all load outages can be restored via network reconfiguration with transformers' N-1 contingencies, i.e., that all constraints related to branch thermal ratings and bus-voltage limits can be satisfied following restoration for each N-1 contingency. The second model, which is revision of the first, considers the daily load curves for different classes of customers, e.g., residential, commercial and industrial. Both models can be formulated as mixed integer problems with second-order cone programming (MISOCP), which can be solved using commercially available optimization software. Two test systems are used to demonstrate the applicability of the presented models. Numerical results show that the presented model is more accurate than the previously published models. This proposed analytical approach can be applied in a range of network planning studies, e.g., for selecting appropriate ratings of transformers, or for optimal locating of circuit breakers and distributed energy resources.Index Terms-Daily load curves, distribution power system, N-1 contingency, total supply capability. NOMENCLATURESet of all buses, excluding root buses.Set of root buses.

Recent studies have demonstrated that the brain is equipped with a lymphatic drainage system that is actively involved in parenchymal waste clearance, brain homeostasis and immune regulation. However, the exact anatomic drainage routes of brain lymph fluid (BLF) remain elusive, hampering the physiological study and clinical application of this system. In this study, we systematically dissected the anatomy of the BLF pathways in a rat model. Moreover, we developed a protocol to collect BLF from the afferent lymphatic vessels of deep cervical lymph nodes (dcLNs) and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from the fourth ventricle. Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy showed that BLF contains more metabolites than CSF, suggesting that BLF might be a more sensitive indicator of brain dynamics under physiological and pathological conditions. Finally, we identified several metabolites as potential diagnostic biomarkers for glioma, Parkinson's disease and CNS infectious diseases. Together, these data may provide insight into the physiology of the lymphatic system in the brain and into the clinical diagnosis of CNS disorders.

Like most DNA viruses, herpesviruses precisely deliver their genomes into the sophisticatedly organized nuclei of the infected host cells to initiate subsequent transcription and replication. However, it remains elusive how the viral genome specifically interacts with the host genome and hijacks host transcription machinery. Using pseudorabies virus (PRV) as model virus, we performed chromosome conformation capture assays to demonstrate a genome-wide specific trans-species chromatin interaction between the virus and host. Our data show that the PRV genome is delivered by the host DNA binding protein RUNX1 into the open chromatin and active transcription zone. This facilitates virus hijacking host RNAPII to efficiently transcribe viral genes, which is significantly inhibited by either a RUNX1 inhibitor or RNA interference. Together, these findings provide insights into the chromatin interaction between viral and host genomes and identify new areas of research to advance the understanding of herpesvirus genome transcription.

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Using ZSM-5 zeolites as catalysts for the methanol to propylene (MTP) reaction is being widely investigated and has been industrially applied. In this study, pure ZSM-5 zeolite was successfully synthesized by a direct hydrothermal method using the fly ash of coal gasification as an additional raw material. Various analysis methods such as X-ray diffraction, N2 sorption, scanning electron microscopy, and infrared spectroscopy, were employed to characterize the physicochemical properties of parent and modified zeolites. Then, the prepared ZSM-5 catalysts were tested in the MTP reaction. The results showed that pure ZSM-5 could be directly synthesized in the optimized conditions using fly ash as additional silicon and aluminum sources, and those ZSM-5 catalysts turned out to be candidate catalysts for the MTP reaction. Whereas their catalytic lifetimes were not good enough due to the strong acid sites and needed improving.

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