Robbins Cooney (oxalloy8)

Elastic and viscous association of lamin-B1 and lamin-A is supported by transcriptional and proteomic profiling analyses. Chromatin decondensation quantified by electron microscopy softens the nucleus unless lamin-A is expressed. A mechanical framework is provided for assessing nucleus response to applied forces in health and disease. © 2020 The Authors. Published by WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.RNA sequencing has greatly facilitated gene expression studies but is weak in studying temporal RNA dynamics; this issue can be addressed by analyzing nascent RNAs. A famous method for nascent RNA analysis is metabolic labeling with noncanonic nucleoside followed by affinity purification, however, purification processes can always introduce biases into data analysis. Here, a chemical method for nascent RNA sequencing that avoids affinity purification based on acrylonitrile-mediated uridine-to-cytidine (U-to-C) conversion (AMUC-seq) via 4-thiouridine (s4U) cyanoethylation is presented. This method converts s4U base-pairing with guanine through the nucleophilic addition of s4U to acrylonitrile. The high reaction efficiency permits AMUC-seq directly and efficiently to recover nascent RNA information from total RNAs. AMUC-seq is validated by being used to detect mRNA half-lives and investigating the direct gene targets of a G-quadruplex stabilizer, which can be regarded as potential anticancer drug, in human cells. Thousands of direct gene targets of this drug are verified (these genes are significantly enriched in cancer such as SRC and HRAS). AMUC-seq also confirms G-quadruplex stabilization that impacts RNA polyadenylation. These results show AMUC-seq is qualified for the study of temporal RNA dynamics, and it can be a promising strategy to study the therapeutic mechanism of transcription-modulating drugs. © 2020 The Authors. Published by WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.Surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) are viable candidates for integration into on-chip nano-circuitry that allow access to high data bandwidths and low energy consumption. Metal-insulator-metal tunneling junctions (MIM-TJs) have recently been shown to excite and detect SPPs electrically; however, experimentally measured efficiencies and outcoupling mechanisms are not fully understood. It is shown that the MIM-TJ cavity SPP mode (MIM-SPP) can outcouple via three pathways to i) photons via scattering of MIM-SPP at the MIM-TJ interfaces, ii) SPPs at the metal-dielectric interfaces (bound-SPPs) by mode coupling through the electrodes, and iii) photons and bound-SPP modes by mode coupling at the MIM-TJ edges. It is also shown that, for Al-AlO x -Cr-Au MIM-TJs on glass, the MIM-SPP mode outcouples efficiently to bound-SPPs through either electrode (pathway 2); this outcoupling pathway can be selectively turned on and off by changing the respective electrode thickness. Outcoupling at the MIM-TJ edges (pathway 3) is efficient and sensitive to the edge topography, whereas most light emission originates from roughness-induced scattering of the MIM-SPP mode (pathway 1). Using an arbitrary roughness profile, it is demonstrated that various roughness facets can raise MIM-SPP outcoupling efficiencies to 0.62%. These results pave the way for understanding the topographical parameters needed to develop CMOS-compatible plasmonic circuitry elements. © 2020 The Authors. Published by WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.The emergence of the strain of coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) and its impact on global health have made imperative the development of effective and safe vaccines for this lethal strain. SARS-CoV-2 now adds to the list of coronavirus diseases that have threatened global health, along with the SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) and MERS (Middle East respiratory syndrome) coronaviruses that emerged in 2002/2003 and 2012, respectively. As of April 2020, no vaccine is commercially available