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Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterized by the pathologic aggregation and prion-like propagation of a-synuclein (a-syn). Emerging evidence shows that fungal infections increase the incidence of PD. However, the molecular mechanisms by which fungi promote the onset of PD are poorly understood. Here, we show that nasal infection with Saccharomyces cerevisiae (S. cerevisiae) in a-syn A53T transgenic mice accelerates the aggregation of a-syn. Furthermore, we found that Sup35, a prion protein from S. cerevisiae, is the key factor initiating a-syn pathology induced by S. cerevisiae. Sup35 interacts with a-syn and accelerates its aggregation in vitro. Notably, injection of Sup35 fibrils into the striatum of wild-type mice led to a-syn pathology and PD-like motor impairment. The Sup35-seeded a-syn fibrils showed enhanced seeding activity and neurotoxicity compared with pure a-syn fibrils in vitro and in vivo. Together, these observations indicate that the yeast prion protein Sup35 initiates a-syn pathology in PD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research has shown that exposure to Japanese gardens reduces physiological measures of stress, e.g. heart rate, in both healthy subjects and dementia patients. However, the correlation between subjects' physiological responses and their visual behavior while viewing the garden has not yet been investigated. To address this, we developed a system to collect simultaneous measurements of eye gaze and three physiological indicators of autonomic nervous system activity: electrocardiogram, blood volume pulse, and galvanic skin response. We recorded healthy subjects' physiological/behavioral responses when they viewed two environments (an empty courtyard and a Japanese garden) in two ways (directly or as a projected 2D photograph). Similar to past work, we found that differences in subject's physiological responses to the two environments when viewed directly, but not as a photograph. We also found differences in their behavioral responses. We quantified subject's behavioral responses using several gaze metrics commonly considered to be measures of engagement of focus: average fixation duration, saccade amplitude, spatial entropy and gaze transition entropy. We found decrease in gaze transition entropy, the only metric that accounts for both the spatial and temporal properties of gaze, to have a weak positive correlation with decrease in heart rate. This suggests a relationship between engagement/focus and relaxation. Finally, we found gender differences: females' gaze patterns were more spatially distributed and had higher transition entropy than males. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New tetramic acid derivatives, (±)-conipyridoins A-D (1-4), conipyridoins E (5) and F (6), and new 4-hydroxy-2-pyridone alkaloids (±)-didymellamide E (7), (+)-didymellamide B (8), (+)-N-hydroxyapiosporamide (9), and didymellamides F-H (10-12) were isolated and identified from the solid culture of the fungus Coniochaeta cephalothecoides. Chiral resolution of 1, 2, 3, 4, and 7 gave five pairs of enantiomers: 1a/1b, 2a/2b, 3a/3b, 4a/4b, and 7a/7b, respectively. Stereochemistry of 1a and 1b, and 2a and 2b was established and confirmed by the single-crystal X-ray diffraction and electronic circular dichroism (ECD) methods. Absolute configuration in 3a, 3b, 4a, 4b, 7a, and 7b was assigned by ECD calculations. Compounds 1-6 possess an unprecedented chemical skeleton featuring a decalin ring and a tetramic acid moiety. Compound 11 significantly inhibited the growth of Candida albicans and Aspergillus fumigatus with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 3.13 and 1.56 μM, respectively, and was further confirmed to be a new chitin synthesis inhibitor. Compound 5 exhibited the strongest activity against the growth of both Staphylococcus aureus and MRSA with MIC value of 0.97 μM. In the light of a co-occurrence of 3-acyl tetramic acids and biogenetically related pyridine alkaloids, the biosynthetic pathway for 1-12 was postulated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Self-esteemis an affective, self-evaluation of oneself and has a significant effect on mental and behavioral health. Although research has focused on the neural substrates of self-esteem, little is known about the spontaneous brain activity that is associated with trait self-esteem (TSE) during the resting state. In this study, we used the resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) signal of the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFFs) and resting state functional connectivity (RSFC) to identify TSE-related regions and networks. We found that a higher level of TSE was associated with higher ALFFs in the left ventral medial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) and lower ALFFs in the left cuneus/lingual gyrus and right lingual gyrus. RSFC analyses revealed that the strengths of functional connectivity between the left vmPFC and bilateral hippocampus were positively correlated with TSE; however, the connections between the left vmPFC and right inferior frontal gyrus and posterior superior temporal sulcus were negatively associated with TSE. Furthermore, the strengths of functional connectivity between the left cuneus/lingual gyrus and right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and anterior cingulate cortex were positively related to TSE. These findings indicate that TSE is linked to core regions in the defaultmode network and social cognition network, which is involved in self-referential processing, autobiographicalmemory and social cognition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Array-based comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH) is a new technique for detectingsubmicroscopic deletions and duplications, and can overcome many of the limitations associated with classic cytogenetic analysis. However, its clinical use in spontaneous abortion needs comprehensive evaluation. We used aCGH to investigate chromosomal imbalances in 100 spontaneous abortions and compared the results with Gbanding karyotyping and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). Inconsistent results were verified by quantitative fluorescence PCR. Results: Abnormalities were detected in 61 cases. aCGH achieved the highest detection rate (93.4%, 57/61) compared with traditional karyotyping (77%, 47/61) and FISH analysis (68.9%, 42/61). aCGH identified all chromosome abnormalities reported by traditional karyotyping and interphase FISH analysis, with the exception of four triploids. It also detected three additional aneuploidy cases in 37 specimens with 'normal' karyotypes, one mosaicism and 10 abnormalities in 14 specimens that failed to grow in vitro. Conclusions: aCGH analysis circumvents many limitations in traditional karyotyping or FISH. The accuracy and efficiency of aCGH in spontaneous abortions highlights its clinical usefulness for the future. As aborted tissues have the potential to be contaminated with maternal cells, the threshold value of detection in aCGH should be lowered to avoid false negatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electrochemical copolymerization of 9,10-dihydrophenanthrene and 3-methylthiophene was successfully achieved in boron trifluoride diethyl etherate by direct anodic oxidation of the monomer mixtures. The structure and properties of the copolymers were investigated with ultraviolet–visible, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, 1H nuclear magnetic resonance, fluorescence spectra, and thermal analysis. The novel copolymers had the advantages of both poly(9,10-dihydrophenanthrene) and poly(3-methylthiophene), such as good electrochemical behavior, good mechanical properties, and high electrical conductivity. Fluorescence spectroscopy studies revealed that the copolymers had good fluorescence properties, and the emitting properties of the copolymer could be parameters by changing the feed ratio of the monomer mixtures during the electrochemical polymerization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Receptor usage defines cell tropism and contributes to cell entry and infection. Coxsackievirus B (CVB) engages coxsackievirus and adenovirus receptor (CAR), and selectively utilizes the decayaccelerating factor (DAF; CD55) to infect cells. However, the differential receptor usage mechanism for CVB remains elusive. This study identified VP3-234 residues (234Q/N/V/D/E) as critical population selection determinants during CVB3 virus evolution, contributing to diverse binding affinities to CD55. Cryoelectron microscopy (cryo-EM) structures of CD55-binding/nonbinding isolates and their complexes with CD55 or CAR were obtained under both neutral and acidic conditions, and the molecular mechanism of VP3-234 residues determining CD55 affinity/specificity for naturally occurring CVB3 strains was elucidated. Structural and biochemical studies in vitro revealed the dynamic entry process of CVB3 and the function of the uncoating receptor CAR with different pH preferences. This work provides detailed insight into the molecular mechanism of CVB infection and contributes to an in-depth understanding of enterovirus attachment receptor usage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metasurfaces have attracted significant attention due to the control of the electromagnetic waves that they enable. In this paper, we demonstrate a high-transmission gradient phase discontinuity metasurface composed of metallic rods and cylindrical dielectric resonators operating at a broadband microwave frequency from 8 GHz to 9.8 GHz, with a fractional bandwidth of 20.2%. The proposed gradient phase discontinuity metasurface can achieve complete 2π transmission phase coverage with π/4 phase intervals by varying the geometric parameters of the dielectric resonators and metallic rods. It is shown that the proposed metasurface can refract a normally incident plane wave to an angle of 30°. The broadband metasurface is flexible, and the refracted angle can be adjusted easily by varying the lattice constant. Besides the broadband anomalous refraction, we also demonstrate the metasurface can produce an interesting vortex and wave-focusing in the wide frequency range from 8 GHz to 9.8 GHz. Finally, we demonstrate that the present metasurface can tailor interference wavefronts to plane wavefronts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

MoS2 has been predicted to be an excellent thermoelectric material due to its large intrinsic band gap and high carrier mobility. In this work, we exfoliated bulk MoS2 by the assistance of lithium intercalation and fabricated the restacked MoS2 thin-film using a simple filtration technique. These MoS2 thin-films with different thickness showed different thermoelectric performance. It was found that with the increase of thickness, carrier concentration, electrical conductivity and Seebeck coefficient all showed an increasing trend. In particular, the maximum Seebeck coefficient was able to reach 93.5 μV K−1. This high thermopower indicates that MoS2 will have ideal thermoelectric performance in the future through optimizing its structure. The highest figure of merit (ZT = 0.01) is calculated in this experiment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs), PEDOT:PSS/SWCNTs, and SWCNTs/PEDOT:PSS nanofilms were used as working electrodes to electrodeposit polyaniline (PANI) in a mixed alcohol solution of isopropyl alcohol (IPA), boron trifluoride ethyl ether (BFEE), and polyethylene glycol (PEG). The thermoelectric (TE) performances of the resulting nanofilms were systematically investigated. SWCNTs/PEDOT:PSS/PANI nanofilms showed a relatively high electrical conductivity value of 232.0 S cm−1. The Seebeck coefficient was enhanced and exhibited the values of 33.8, 25.6, and 23.0 μV K−1 for the SWCNTs/PANI, PEDOT:PSS/SWCNTs/PANI, and SWCNTs/PEDOT:PSS/PANI films, respectively. The maximum power factor achieved was 12.3 μW m−1 K−2. This technique offers a facile and versatile approach to a class of layered nanostructures, and it may provide a general strategy for fabricating a new generation of conducting polymer/SWCNTs materials for further practical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Specific leaf area (SLA) is one of the most important plant functional traits. It integrates multiple functions and reflects strategies of plants to obtain resources. How plants employ different strategies (e.g., through SLA) to respond to dynamic environmental conditions remains poorly understood. This study aimed to explore the spatial variation in SLA and its divergent adaptation through the lens of biogeographic patterns, evolutionary history, and short-term responses. SLA data for 5424 plant species from 76 natural communities in China were systematically measured and integrated with meta-analysis of field experiments (i.e., global warming, drought, and nitrogen addition). The mean value of SLA across all species was 21.8 m2 kg−1, ranging from 0.9 to 110.2 m2 kg−1. SLA differed among different ecosystems, temperature zones, vegetation types, and functional groups. Phylogeny had a weak effect on SLA, but plant species evolved toward higher SLA. Furthermore, SLA responded nonlinearly to environmental change. Unexpectedly, radiation was one of the main factors determining the spatial variation in SLA on a large scale. Conversely, short-term manipulative experiments showed that SLA increased with increased resource availability and tended to stabilize with treatment duration. However, different species exhibited varying response patterns. Overall, variation in long-term adaptation of SLA to environmental gradients and its short-term response to resource pulses jointly improve plant adaptability to a changing environment. Overall SLA-environment relationships should be emphasized as a multidimensional strategy for elucidating environmental change in future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Accumulation and propagation of pathological α-synuclein (α-Syn) are the major contributing factors to the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease (PD). Therapy to halt the spreading of α-Syn pathology needs to be established. Methods: After phage display and affinity maturation, human-derived anti-α-Syn autoantibodies were selected and applied to biochemical, cellular and animal models of PD. Results: The novel naturally occurring anti-α-Syn autoantibodies (α-Syn-nAbs), P21 and P22, selectively bind α-Syn preformed fibrils (PFFs), recognise Lewy bodies (LBs) and Lewy neurites (LNs) in human PD brains, block α-Syn fibrillization and inhibit the seeding of α-Syn PFFs. Moreover, systematic administration of P21 and P22 attenuates α-Syn pathology, degeneration of the nigrostriatal pathway and motor deficits in mice injected with α-Syn PFFs. Conclusions: P21 and P22 attenuate α-synuclein pathology and are promising candidates for PD treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study examines whether self-reported trust in humans and self-reported trust in [(different) products with built-in] artificial intelligence (AI) are associated with one another and with brain structure. We sampled 90 healthy participants who provided self-reported trust in humans and AI and underwent brain structural magnetic resonance imaging assessment. We found that trust in humans, as measured by the trust facet of the personality inventory NEO-PI-R, and trust in AI products, as measured by items assessing attitudes toward AI and by a composite score based on items assessing trust toward products with in-built AI, were not significantly correlated. We also used a concomitant dimensional neuroimaging approach employing a data-driven source-based morphometry (SBM) analysis of gray-matter-density to investigate neurostructural associations with each trust domain. We found that trust in humans was negatively (and significantly) correlated with an SBM component encompassing striatothalamic and prefrontal regions. We did not observe significant brain structural association with trust in AI. The present findings provide evidence that trust in humans and trust in AI seem to be dissociable constructs. While the personal disposition to trust in humans might be "hardwired" to the brain's neurostructural architecture (at least from an individual differences perspective), a corresponding significant link for the disposition to trust AI was not observed. These findings represent an initial step toward elucidating how different forms of trust might be processed on the behavioral and brain level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The electrochemical copolymerization of carbazole (CZ) and dibenzo-18-crown-6 (DBC) was successfully achieved in pure boron trifluoride diethyl etherate (BFEE) by direct anodic oxidation of the monomer mixtures on the platinum or stainless steel electrodes. The optimal feed ratio together with the suitable applied potential for their copolymerization was determined. The copolymer films, which were electrosynthesized with a feed ratio of CZ/DBC = 1:5, owned both the advantages of poly(dibenzo-18-crown-6) (PDBC) and polycarbazole (PCZ), such as nice electrochemical behavior, excellent fluorescence properties and good mechanical properties. Besides, the copolymers possessed better thermal stability and higher electrical conductivity than those of PDBC or PCZ. The structure of the copolymers was investigated by UV–vis and FT-IR spectroscopy. Fluorescent spectral studies revealed that the dedoped copolymer film was a good blue-light emitter with strong emission at 410 nm. With these advantageous properties, as-formed poly(CZ- co-DBC) films may be a good candidate for optoelectronic devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

O-GlcNAcylation is a ubiquitous protein glycosylation playing different roles on variant proteins. O-GlcNAc transferase (OGT) is the unique enzyme responsible for the sugar addition to nucleocytoplasmic proteins. Recently, multiple O-GlcNAc sites have been observed on short-form OGT (sOGT) and nucleocytoplasmic OGT (ncOGT), both of which locate in the nucleus and cytoplasm in cell. Moreover, O-GlcNAcylation of Ser389 in ncOGT (1036 amino acids) affects its nuclear translocation in HeLa cells. To date, the major O-GlcNAcylation sites and their roles in sOGT remain unknown. Here, we performed LC-MS/MS and mutational analyses to seek the major O-GlcNAcylation site on sOGT. We identified six O-GlcNAc sites in the tetratricopeptide repeat domain in sOGT, with Thr12 and Ser56 being two "key" sites. Thr12 is a dominant O-GlcNAcylation site, whereas the modification of Ser56 plays a role in regulating sOGT O-GlcNAcylation, partly through Thr12. In vitro activity and pulldown assays demonstrated that O-GlcNAcylation does not affect sOGT activity but does affect sOGT-interacting proteins. In HEK293T cells, S56A bound to and hence glycosylated more proteins in contrast to T12A and WT sOGT. By proteomic and bioinformatics analyses, we found that T12A and S56A differed in substrate proteins (e.g. HNRNPU and PDCD6IP), which eventually affected cell cycle progression and/or cell proliferation. These findings demonstrate that O-GlcNAcylation modulates sOGT substrate selectivity and affects its role in the cell. The data also highlight the regulatory role of O-GlcNAcylation at Thr12 and Ser56. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The wet-chemical approach is of great significance for the synthesis of two-dimensional (2D) bismuth telluride nanoplatelets as a potential thermoelectric (TE) material. Herein, we proposed a simple and effective solution method with the assistance of aniline for the fabrication of bismuth telluride nanoplatelets at a low temperature of 100 °C. The choice of aniline with its dual function avoided the simultaneous use of a capping regent and a toxic reductant. The as-synthesized nanoplatelets have a large size of more than 900 × 500 nm2 and a small thickness of 15.4 nm. The growth of bismuth telluride nanoplatelets are related to the Bi/Te ratio of precursors indicating that a larger content of the Bi precursor is more conducive to the formation of 2D nanoplatelets. The bismuth telluride nanoplatelets pressed into a pellet show a smaller electrical resistivity (∼6.5 × 10−3 Ω · m) and a larger Seebeck coefficient (−135 μV K−1), as well as a lower thermal conductivity (0.27 W m−1 K−1) than those of nanoparticles. The next goal is to further reduce the electrical resistivity and optimize the TE performance by disposing of the residual reactant of aniline adsorbed on the surface of the nanoplatelets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conductive thiophene-based polymers have garnered great attention for use in organic electron materials such as electrochromic and thermoelectric materials. However, they suffer from poor electron transport properties and long-term stability, leading to limited development eventually. Here, we proposed a strategy of functionalized thiophene-based polymers with oligo(ethylene glycol) or alkyl side chains and synthesized a series of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxy bithiophene)s (PEDTs) to tune their electrochromic and thermoelectric properties. An alkyl group bearing electronic ability at the thiophene ring effectively achieved a large increase in the electrical conductivity with nearly invariable Seebeck coefficient, resulting in an enhancement by 1 order of magnitude for the thermoelectric power factor. Moreover, the electrochromic properties of functionalized PEDTs gained an effective improvement in the optical contrast and coloration efficiency as well as stability with multicolor changes between neutral and oxidized states. The functionalized PEDTs can be proposed as an alternative strategy to tune the electrochromic and thermoelectric properties for organic polymer materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Circulating follicular helper T (Tfh) cells are a heterogeneous population of CD4+ helper T cells that promotes pathogenic immune responses in autoimmune diseases. In this study, we examined the status of different subpopulations of Tfh cells in peripheral circulation and their associations with various clinical characteristics of IgA vasculitis (IgAV). Methods: According to the phenotypic expressions of different molecules, focus was given on six subpopulations of Tfh cells: CD4+CXCR5+, CD4+CXCR5+ICOS+, CD4+CXCR5+ICOS+PD-1+, CD4+CXCR5+ICOShighPD-1high, CD4+CXCR5+ ICOS-PD-1+, and CXCR5+CD45RA-IL-21+. The frequencies of these six subpopulations and the circulating level of Tfh-related cytokine interleukin 21 (IL-21) were measured from 27 patients with IgAV and 15 healthy controls (HC) by flow cytometry and flow cytometric bead array, respectively. Results: Significantly higher frequencies of CD4+CXCR5+, CD4+CXCR5+ICOS+, CD4+CXCR5+ICOS+PD-1+, CD4+CXCR5+ ICOShighPD-1high and CXCR5+CD45RA-IL-21+ Tfh cells, as well as higher levels of plasma IL-21, were detected in IgAV patients compared to HC. The level of each Tfh subpopulation varied by the presenting symptoms of IgAV, but did not differ between patients treated or not treated with glucocorticoids. When the disease entered the remission stage following treatment, circulating levels of CD4+CXCR5+, CD4+CXCR5+ICOS+, CD4+CXCR5+ICOS+PD-1+, CD4+CXCR5+ ICOShighPD-1high and CXCR5+CD45RA-IL-21+ Tfh cells, as well as plasma IL-21 levels were reduced. Among the six subpopulations of Tfh cells, both CD4+CXCR5+ICOS+ and CXCR5+CD45RA-IL-21+ significantly and positively correlated with serum IgA and plasma IL-21 levels, but only CXCR5+CD45RA-IL-21+ significantly and negatively correlated with the serum C4 level. Conclusions: Tfh cells may differentially contribute to the development of IgAV or predict disease progression. These findings provide novel insights in the pathogenesis of IgAV and may benefit treatment development targeting organspecific presenting symptoms of IgAV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A porous network MnO2-poly(5-cyanoindole) composite (MnO2/PCIn) was prepared by a two-step electrochemical method. Since the porous network PCIn film validated by SEM acted as a 3D-random matrix, PCIn film provided an environment to disperse MnO2 nanoparticles and prevented the aggregation of MnO2 nanoparticles. As the active electrode material for supercapacitor, the specific capacitance of MnO2/PCIn/GC reached 322.5F g-1 at 8.3 A g-1, which was higher than that of MnO2 (247F g-1) electrodeposited on the bare glassy carbon electrode. The energy density of MnO2/PCIn/GC reached 36.1Wh kg-1 at a high power density of 12.5kWkg-1. These results indicated that the presence of PCIn film improved the specific capacitance and charge/discharge cycling stability of MnO2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In mathematics, to a large extent, control theory addresses the stability of solutions of differential equations, which can describe the behavior of dynamic systems. In this paper, a class of fractional-order nonautonomous systems with multiple time delays modeled by differential equations is considered. A sufficient condition is established for the existence and uniqueness of solutions for such systems involving Caputo fractional derivative, and the uniform stability of solution is studied. At last, two examples are given to demonstrate the applicability of our results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polythieno[3,2- b]thiophene (PTT) was electrosynthesized by facile anodic oxidation of thieno[3,2- b]thiophene (TT) in three systems: boron trifluoride diethyl etherate (BFEE), acetonitrile (ACN), and dichloromethane solutions. The onset oxidation potential of TT in BFEE was determined to be 0.62 V vs. Ag/AgCl, which was much lower than those in ACN and dichloromethane solutions. PTT films exhibited excellent electrochemical property, high thermal stability, good redox activity, and stability. Free-standing PTT films with good mechanical property can be obtained from BFEE solution, whose structure and morphology were characterized by FT-IR, UV-visible spectra, and scanning electron microscopy. With an electrical conductivity of 1.5 S cm and a Seebeck coefficient of 85 µV K at 306 K, the as-prepared free-standing PTT films showed a certain thermoelectric property. The dimensionless figure-of-merit of PTT films was estimated to be 2.3 × 10 at 306 K, which was much higher than those of some organic thermoelectric materials reported previously. All these results indicated that PTT films may have potential applications in the thermoelectric field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poly(3-methylthiophene- co-benzanthrone), a novel copolymer, was successfully achieved by electrochemical oxidation of the monomer mixtures of 3-methylthiophene (3MeT) and benzanthrone in the binary solvent system containing boron trifluoride diethyl etherate and acetonitrile. A series of experiments with different monomer feed ratios were carried out to investigate the influence of monomer feed ratio on the electrochemical copolymerization and the overall properties of the copolymer films. The resulting copolymer possesses the advantages of both polybenzanthrone and poly(3-methylthiophene), such as considerable fluorescence property, good redox activity, high thermal stability, and relatively high electrical conductivity. Ultraviolet–visible, FT-IR, and thermal analysis were used to characterize and investigate the structure and thermal stability of the copolymers. Fluorescence spectroscopic studies revealed that the copolymer dissolved in common organic solvents was a good green or yellow-green light emitter, with a strong emission at 499 nm in doped state and 529 nm in dedoped state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]