Hua Fan

CD26, acting as a costimulator of T cell activation, plays an important role in the immune system. However, the role of CD26 in the differentiation of T cell subsets, especially of new paradigms of T cells, such as Th17 and Tregs, is not fully clarified. In the present study, the role of CD26 in T cell differentiation was investigated in vitro. CD26 expression was analyzed in the different subsets of human peripheral blood T lymphocytes after solid-phase immobilized specific anti-CD3 mAb stimulation. Here, the percentage of CD4⁺ cells significantly increased and most of these cells were coexpressed with CD26, suggesting a close correlation of CD26 expression with the proliferation of CD4⁺ cells. Subsequently, after immobilized anti-CD3 mAb stimulation, CD26 high-expressing cells (CD26^high) were separated from CD26 low-expressing cells (CD26^low) by magnetic cell sorting. We found that the percentages of cells secreting Th1 typical cytokines (IL-2, IFN-γ) and Th17 typical cytokines (IL-6, IL-17, and IL-22) or expressing Th17 typical biomarkers (IL-23R, CD161, and CD196) in the CD26^high group were markedly higher than in those in the CD26^low group. In addition, a coexpression of CD26 with IL-2, IFN-γ, IL-17, IL-22, and IL-23R in lymphocytes was demonstrated by fluorescence microscopy. These results provide direct evidence that the high expression of CD26 is accompanied by the differentiation of T lymphocytes into Th1 and Th17, indicating that CD26 plays a crucial role in regulating the immune response.

The article presents technical solutions for the implementation of a high-precision satellite positioning system when performing mine surveying in an open pit. A system was put into commercial operation at one of the fields of JSC "Sokolovsko-Sarbayskoe mining and processing production association" (JSC "SSGPO") this year. The project was funded by the Science Committee of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan through grants for scientific and technical projects 2018–2020 and was co-financed by a private partner, JSC "SSGPO". All work was carried out jointly with the Subsidiary Limited Liability Company "Institute of Space Engineering and Technology". The technology of differential correction of GNSS signals in the form of base stations of differential correction (BSDC) allows solving the problems of high-precision satellite positioning. The main task assigned to the continuously operating base station is the collection of code and phase data from GPS/GLONASS satellites and the distribution of this data to users (services of JSC "SSGPO" and specialists of contracting organizations performing mine surveying and geodetic work at the field). Development of a mobile module and the rationale for its inclusion in the BSDC is provided in this work.

The world development of science and technology prompts many countries to use their own modern coordinate systems, determined on the basis of satellite measurements. Moreover, the modern system must be characterized by its openness and unity for the entire territory of the country. One of the main problems arising during the creation and operation of our own high-precision positioning satellite systems in the Republic of Kazakhstan are: the lack of domestic satellite equipment, specialized software and test methods for the software and hardware complex. A unique opportunity appeared in the development and testing of the software and hardware complex of the high-precision satellite positioning system at the Kacharsky open pit thanks to the funding of the Science Committee of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan through grants for scientific and technical projects for 2018-2020 (grant No. AP05136083) and co-financing of the private partner JSC "SSGPO". The article presents the results of technical solutions for the implementation of a high-precision satellite positioning system, in particular, the creation of a permanent base station (BS) of global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) at operating open pit. The primary purpose of the work is to provide high-precision positioning of an open field in order to determine geodetic coordinates using modern satellite navigation technologies in real-time and post-processing. This development continues the path of introducing the elements of Industry 4.0, which is currently being carried out at the Kacharsky open pit.

Organizations, companies and start-ups need to cope with constant changes on the market which are difficult to predict. Therefore, the development of new systems to detect significant future changes is vital to make correct decisions in an organization and to discover new opportunities. A system based on business intelligence techniques is proposed to detect weak signals, that are related to future transcendental changes. While most known solutions are based on the use of structured data, the proposed system quantitatively detects these signals using heterogeneous and unstructured information from scientific, journalistic and social sources, applying text mining to analyze the documents and natural language processing to extract accurate results. The main contributions are that the system has been designed for any field, using different input datasets of documents, and with an automatic classification of categories for the detected keywords. In this research paper, results from the future of remote sensors are presented. Remote sensing services are providing new applications in observation and analysis of information remotely. This market is projected to witness a significant growth due to the increasing demand for services in commercial and defense industries. The system has obtained promising results, evaluated with two different methodologies, to help experts in the decision-making process and to discover new trends and opportunities.

Organ transplantation is an effective therapeutic tool for treating many terminal diseases. However, one of the biggest challenges of transplantation is determining how to achieve the long-term survival of the allogeneic or xenogeneic transplant by, for example, preventing transplant rejection. In the current study, CD26 gene-knockout mice were used to investigate the potential role of CD26/dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPPIV) in allogeneic skin graft rejection by tail-skin transplantation. Compared with wild-type (CD26^+/+) counterparts, CD26^–/– mice showed reduced necrosis of grafts and delayed graft rejection after skin transplantation. Concentrations of serum IgG, including its subclasses IgG1 and IgG2a, were significantly reduced in CD26^–/– mice during graft rejection. Moreover, after allogeneic skin transplantation, the secretion levels of the cytokines IFN-γ, IL-2, IL-6, IL-4, and IL-13 were significantly reduced, whereas the level of the cytokine IL-10 was increased in the serum of CD26^–/– mice compared with that in the serum of CD26^+/+ mice. Additionally, the concentration of IL-17 in serum and the percentage of cells secreting IL-17 in mouse peripheral blood lymphocytes (MPBLs) were both significantly lower, while the percentage of regulatory T cells (Tregs) was significantly higher in MPBLs of CD26^–/– mice than in those of CD26^+/+ mice. Furthermore, a lower percentage of CD8⁺ T cells in MPBLs and fewer infiltrated macrophages and T cells in graft tissues of CD26^–/– mice were detected during graft rejection. These results indicate that CD26 is involved in allogeneic skin graft rejection and provides another hint that CD26 deficiency leads to less rejection due to lower activation and proliferation of host immune cells.

In this study, we investigated the potential role of CD26 in ovalbumin (OVA)‐induced airway inflammation using CD26 gene knockout mice. Compared with WT counterparts, CD26^−/− mice showed an obviously enhanced tissue response and denser pulmonary infiltrates containing eosinophils around vessels and in the parenchyma after OVA sensitization and challenge. Serum IgG, including subclasses IgG1 and IgG2a, was greatly reduced in CD26^−/− mice, but serum IgE remained unchanged. CD26^−/− mice had increased mRNA expression of the Th2 cytokines IL‐4, IL‐5, and IL‐13 in the lungs compared with WT mice, whereas the levels of the pro‐Th1 cytokine IL‐12p40 were similar in both strains. Consequently, enhanced protein secretion of IL‐4, IL‐5, and IL‐13 was detected in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid from CD26^−/− mice. In agreement with overexpressed Th2 cytokines, both mRNA transcript and protein levels of chemokines eotaxin and RANTES, as well as their receptors CC chemokine receptor 3 (CCR3) and CCR5, were elevated in CD26^−/− mice. These results suggest a protective role for CD26 in restricting OVA‐induced airway inflammation.