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Purpose: Excessive fluoride induces kidney injury by reducing the antioxidant capacity and causing oxidative stress. Our previous studies have shown that moderately forced treadmill running alleviates oxidative injury. However, the impact of voluntary wheel-running exercise on fluoride-intoxicated mice remains unclear. In this study, we investigated the effects of voluntary wheel-running exercise on oxidative stress-induced renal injury in fluoride-intoxicated mice. Methods: 80 Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) mice (half male and half female), were randomly divided into one of eight experimental groups: four receiving distilled water and the other four ingesting 100 mg/L sodium fluoride. Each group was subdivided to incorporate different exercise regimens--no wheelrunning, daytime, nighttime, and all-day wheel-running exercises. After 6 months, mice were euthanized for subsequent analyses. Results: HE staining revealed that 6 months of fluoride exposure caused structural damage in the kidneys of mice, elevated blood urea nitrogen (BUN), and uric acid (UA) levels in the serum. Levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), reactive oxygen species (ROS), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), and catalase (CAT) enzyme activity significantly increased. In contrast, glutathione (GSH) content and total superoxide dismutase (T-SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-PX) enzyme activities obviously decreased. Interestingly, these above changes were reversed by free-wheel movement. Correlation analysis demonstrated that negative relationships exist between ROS, MDA, H2O2 levels, CAT enzyme activity, and movement distance. Additionally, T-SOD and GSH-PX enzyme activities were positively associated with exercise distance. Conclusions: Voluntary wheel-running exercise mitigated renal injury induced by sodium fluoride in mice, and the extent of renal recovery was positively correlated with the distance covered during voluntary wheel-running exercise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A gram-stain-positive, aerobic, rod-shaped bacterial strain capable of producing siderophores, named YIM B08730T, was isolated from a soil sample collected from Wumeng Mountain National Nature Reserve, Zhaotong City, Yunnan Province. Growth occurred at 10–45 °C (optimum, 35–40 ℃), pH 7.0–9.0 (optimum, 7.0) and in the presence of 0–5 % (w/v) NaCl (optimum, 0–1 %, w/v). A comparative analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequence (1558 bp) of strain YIM B08730T showed the highest similarity to Solibacillus isronensis JCM 13838T (96.2 %), followed by Solibacillus silvestris DSM 12223T (96.0 %) and Solibacillus kalamii ISSFR-015T (95.4 %). The main polar lipids were diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylserine and one unidentified lipid. The main respiratory quinone of strain YIM B08730T was menaquinone 7 (MK-7). The major fatty acids were iso-C15:0 and C16:1ω7c alcohol. The digital DNA–DNA hybridization and average nucleotide identity values between strain YIM B08730T and the reference strain S. isronensis JCM 13838T were 24.8 % and 81.2 %, respectively. The G + C content of the genomic DNA was 37.1 mol%. The genome of the novel strain contained genes associated with the production of siderophores, and it also revealed other functional gene clusters involved in plant growth promotion and soil bioremediation. Based on these phenotypic, chemotaxonomic and phylogenetic analyses, strain YIM B08730T is considered to be a novel species of the genus Solibacillus, for which the name Solibacillus ferritrahens sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is YIM B08730T (= NBRC 116268T = CGMCC 1.60169T). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-targeted therapies have demonstrated potential benefits for metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) patients with HER2 amplification, but are not satisfactory in cases of HER2 mutant CRCs. Methods: Consequently, further elucidation of amplifications and somatic mutations in erythroblastic oncogene B-2 (ERBB2) is imperative. Comprehensive genomic profiling was conducted on 2454 Chinese CRC cases to evaluate genomic alterations in 733 cancer-related genes, tumor mutational burden, microsatellite instability, and programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression. Results: Among 2454 CRC patients, 85 cases (3.46%) exhibited ERBB2 amplification, and 55 cases (2.24%) carried ERBB2 mutation. p.R678Q (28%), p.V8421 (24%), and p.S310F/Y (12%) were the most prevalent of the 16 detected mutation sites. In comparison to the ERBB2 altered (alt) group, KRAS/BRAF mutations were more prevalent in ERBB2 wild-type (wt) samples (ERBB2wt vs. ERBB2alt, KRAS: 50.9% vs. 25.6%, p < 0.05; BRAF: 8.5% vs. 2.3%, p < 0.05). 32.7% (18/55) of CRCs with ERBB2 mutation exhibited microsatellite instability high (MSI-H), while no cases with HER2 amplification displayed MSI-H. Mutant genes varied between ERBB2 copy number variation (CNV) and ERBB2 single nucleotide variant (SNV); TP53 alterations tended to co-occur with ERBB2 amplification (92.3%) as opposed to ERBB2 mutation (58.3%). KRAS and PIK3CA alterations were more prevalent in ERBB2 SNV cases (KRAS/PIK3CA: 45.8%/31.2%) compared to ERBB2 amplification cases (KRAS/PIK3CA: 14.1%/7.7%). Conclusion: Our study delineates the landscape of HER2 alterations in a large-scale cohort of CRC patients from China. These findings enhance our understanding of the molecular features of Chinese CRC patients and offer valuable implications for further investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herbal medicines (HMs) have long played a pivotal role in preventing and treating various human diseases and have been studied widely. However, the complexities present in HM metabolites and their unclear mechanisms of action have posed significant challenges in the modernization of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Over the past two decades, mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) has garnered increasing attention as a robust analytical technique that enables the simultaneous execution of qualitative, quantitative, and localization analyses without complex sample pretreatment. With advances in technical solutions, MSI has been extensively applied in the field of HMs. MSI, a label-free ion imaging technique can comprehensively map the spatial distribution of HM metabolites in plant native tissues, thereby facilitating the effective quality control of HMs. Furthermore, the spatial dimension information of small molecule endogenous metabolites within animal tissues provided by MSI can also serve as a supplement to uncover pharmacological and toxicological mechanisms of HMs. In the review, we provide an overview of the three most common MSI techniques. In addition, representative applications in HM are highlighted. Finally, we discuss the current challenges and propose several potential solutions. We hope that the summary of recent findings will contribute to the application of MSI in exploring metabolites and mechanisms of action of HMs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An innovative method to improve the oxidation efficiency of benzyl alcohol utilizes Ni–Co hexacyanoferrate hollow nanoprisms. Synthesized via a gentle self-sacrificial template method, this catalyst exhibits substantial catalytic activity and selectivity towards benzyl alcohol oxidation, facilitated by the strategic incorporation of Co to modulate CN vacancy density. Impressively, it achieves a current density of 10 mA cm-2 at 1.33 V and a remarkable 98% efficiency in benzyl alcohol conversion at 1.4 V. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seasonal and pandemic-associated influenza strains cause highly contagious viral respiratory infections that can lead to severe illness and excess mortality. Here, we report on the optimization of our small-molecule inhibitor F0045(S) targeting the influenza hemagglutinin (HA) stem with our Sulfur-Fluoride Exchange (SuFEx) click chemistry-based high-throughput medicinal chemistry (HTMC) strategy. A combination of SuFEx- and amide-based lead molecule diversification and structure-guided design led to identification and validation of ultrapotent influenza fusion inhibitors with subnanomolar EC50 cellular antiviral activity against several influenza A group 1 strains. X-ray structures of six of these compounds with HA indicate that the appended moieties occupy additional pockets on the HA surface and increase the binding interaction, where the accumulation of several polar interactions also contributes to the improved affinity. The compounds here represent the most potent HA small-molecule inhibitors to date. Our divergent HTMC platform is therefore a powerful, rapid, and cost-effective approach to develop bioactive chemical probes and drug-like candidates against viral targets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the development of synchrotron radiation sources and high-frame-rate detectors, the amount of experimental data collected at synchrotron radiation beamlines has increased exponentially. As a result, data processing for synchrotron radiation experiments has entered the era of big data. It is becoming increasingly important for beamlines to have the capability to process large-scale data in parallel to keep up with the rapid growth of data. Currently, there is no set of data processing solutions based on the big data technology framework for beamlines. Apache Hadoop is a widely used distributed system architecture for solving the problem of massive data storage and computation. This paper presents a set of distributed data processing schemes for beamlines with experimental data using Hadoop. The Hadoop Distributed File System is utilized as the distributed file storage system, and Hadoop YARN serves as the resource scheduler for the distributed computing cluster. A distributed data processing pipeline that can carry out massively parallel computation is designed and developed using Hadoop Spark. The entire data processing platform adopts a distributed microservice architecture, which makes the system easy to expand, reduces module coupling and improves reliability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ramanujan in his notebook recorded two modular equations involving multipliers with moduli of degrees (1,7) and (1,23). In this paper, we find some new Ramanujan-type modular equations involving multipliers with moduli of degrees (3,5) and (1,15), and give concise proofs by employing Ramanujan's multiplier functional equation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are one of the important immunes signaling pathways that participate in the activation of host immune response after detecting microbial pattern molecules. Despite important expression profile TLRs genes in chicken erythrocytes, studies have been lacking. This study investigated the expression profile of TLRs pathway immune gene in chicken erythrocytes in response to Mycoplasma synoviae. The purpose of the current in-vitro study was to determine the chicken erythrocytes interaction with M. synoviae using a transmission electron microscope (TEM). The mRNA gene expression of TLR1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 15, MHC I, II, and MyD88 in M. synoviae infected chicken erythrocytes was determined using quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) at four different time intervals (0, 2, 6 and 10 h) post-infection and compared to uninfected controls. The mRNA expression of TLRs such as TLR1, 2, 3, 15, and MHC II were significantly upregulated at 6 and 10 h post-infection in infected chicken erythrocytes. However, significantly upregulated expression of TLR5 and MHC I were noted at 2, 6, and 10 h while TLR4 and MyD88 mRNA expression was also significantly upregulated but at different time intervals. This study provides the first evidence of upregulated expression of TLR signaling pathway genes in M. synoviae infected chicken erythrocytes. These results provide new insights on M. synoviae infection resistance mechanisms and the role of TLR signaling immune genes in the control of the host immune response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tibial dyschondroplasia (TD) is one of the most common problems in broiler chickens. Chicken erythrocyte is the most abundant cell found in blood vessels, in which host defense resistance (HDR) and pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) play a significant role in the immune response. However, the function of HDR and PRRs in thiram induce TD chicken is not fully known yet. Therefore, this study was designed to evaluate the effect of recombinant glutathione-S-transferase A3 (rGSTA3) protein on HDR and PRRs in the thiram-induced TD chicken. One hundred twenty arbor acres (AA+) broiler chickens of seven-day-old were equally divided into six groups. Group A, B, and C were treated with 0, 20, 50 μg.kg-1 of rGSTA3 protein, respectively. Group D, E and F were treated with 0, 20, 50 μg.kg-1 of rGSTA3 protein + thiram 100 μg.kg-1. The results showed that chicks treated with thiram showed a higher TD score with typical lesions in the proximal growth plate than the rGSTA3 supplementary group. A morphological characteristic of TD was measured by TD index. Chicken erythrocytes constitutively expressed transcripts for HDR and PRRs genes. Moreover, the quantitative real time PCR (qRT-PCR) results showed that HDRs and PPRs expressions were suppressed by thiram, which found upregulated in rGSTA3 protein supplementary group. These findings demonstrated that mRNA expressions of HDRs and PPRs are highly related to thiram. Moreover, rGSTA3 protein increased the immune response of HDRs and PPRs. Conclusively the results of this study provide the strong evidence that rGSTA3 protein can promote an immune response in chicken erythrocytes by up regulating the expression of HDR and PRRs genes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mycoplasma synoviae is one of the most important pathogens in the poultry industry and often causes diseases of a chronic and persistent nature. However, there is limited data available on Nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB) signaling pathway genes expression in chicken erythrocytes infected with Mycoplasma synoviae (M. synoviae). Therefore, the aim of the current in-vitro study was to determine the interaction between chicken erythrocytes and M. synoviae using Transmission electron microscope (TEM) and further to investigate the mRNA gene expression of MyD88 (Myeloid differentiation primary response 88), CCL5 (C-C Motif Chemokine Ligand 5), MDA5 (melanoma differentiation-associated protein 5) IKBKE (inhibitor of nuclear factor kappa-B kinase subunit epsilon), NFKBIA (NF-kappa-B inhibitor alpha), NFKBIE (NF-kappa-B inhibitor epsilon), Interferon Alpha (IFN-α), cMGF (chicken myelomonocytic growth factor), and TRAF6 (Tumor necrosis factor receptorassociated factor 6) in chicken erythrocytes infected with M. synoviae using quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) at four different time intervals (0, 2, 6 and 10 h) post-infection and compared to uninfected controls. The results indicated that M.synoviae interacted efficiently in chicken erythrocytes, which strongly induced the up-regulation of NF-κB pathway and other immune system genes in response to early bacterial infection such as NFKBIA, NFKBIE, IKBKE, CCL5, MDA5, MyD88, and TRAF6 at different h's interval. Whereas cMGF and IFN-α expression were significantly downregulated during early time intervals such as 0 h, 2 h and 6 h while later on the expression level significantly increased. These results will lead to increased insights on M. synoviae infection resistance mechanisms and the role of NF-κB signaling pathway and other immune system genes in the control of the host immune response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of rapid methods for in situ chromium determination in natural water is important. A new nanocomposite was fabricated by impregnating gold nanoparticles onto archetypical UiO-66 metal organic frameworks and modifying glassy carbon electrodes (Au/UiO-66/GCE) for rapid Cr(VI) determination in water by linear scanning voltammetry (LSV). The Au/UiO-66/GCE showed excellent linearity in the 100 to 1200 ppb Cr(VI) concentration range, with 0.07132 µA/ppb·cm2 sensitivity and a 11.73 ppb detection limit. When potential interfering metals were added, including Cr(III) and Fe(III), the electrochemical detection signal of Cr(VI) did not meaningfully change, suggesting that Au/UiO-66/GCE has good selectivity. A Au/UiO-66/screen printing sensor was also developed for Cr(VI) and used with a portable, handheld electro-analyzer. The Au/UiO-66 nanocomposite—used as an active substrate for electrode modification—was stable, interference-free, and fast, showing promise for the practical determination of Cr(VI) species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A gram-stain-positive, aerobic, rod-shaped bacterial strain capable of producing siderophores, named YIM B08730T, was isolated from a soil sample collected from Wumeng Mountain National Nature Reserve, Zhaotong City, Yunnan Province. Growth occurred at 10–45 °C (optimum, 35–40 ℃), pH 7.0–9.0 (optimum, 7.0) and in the presence of 0–5 % (w/v) NaCl (optimum, 0–1 %, w/v). A comparative analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequence (1558 bp) of strain YIM B08730T showed the highest similarity to Solibacillus isronensis JCM 13838T (96.2 %), followed by Solibacillus silvestris DSM 12223T (96.0 %) and Solibacillus kalamii ISSFR-015T (95.4 %). The main polar lipids were diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylserine and one unidentified lipid. The main respiratory quinone of strain YIM B08730T was menaquinone 7 (MK-7). The major fatty acids were iso-C15:0 and C16:1ω7c alcohol. The digital DNA–DNA hybridization and average nucleotide identity values between strain YIM B08730T and the reference strain S. isronensis JCM 13838T were 24.8 % and 81.2 %, respectively. The G + C content of the genomic DNA was 37.1 mol%. The genome of the novel strain contained genes associated with the production of siderophores, and it also revealed other functional gene clusters involved in plant growth promotion and soil bioremediation. Based on these phenotypic, chemotaxonomic and phylogenetic analyses, strain YIM B08730T is considered to be a novel species of the genus Solibacillus, for which the name Solibacillus ferritrahens sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is YIM B08730T (= NBRC 116268T = CGMCC 1.60169T). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Breast cancer is a significant threat to life and health, which needs more safe and effective drugs to be explored. Teadenol B is a characteristic chemical component of microbial fermented tea. This study discovered that teadenol B could exhibit obvious inhibitory effects on all four different clinical subtype characteristics of breast cancer cells. Proteomic studies show that deoxycytidine triphosphate deaminase (DCTD), which could block DNA synthesis and repair DNA damage, had the most significant and consistent reduction in all four types of breast cancer cells with the treatment of teadenol B. Considering MDA-MB-231 cells exhibit poor clinical prognosis and displayed substantial statistical differences in KEGG pathway enrichment analysis results, we investigated its impact on the size and growth of MDA-MB-231 triple-negative breast tumors transplanted into nude mice and demonstrated that teadenol B significantly suppressed tumor growth without affecting body weight significantly. Finally, we found that the conversion of LC3-I to LC3-II in MDA-MB-231 increased significantly with teadenol B treatment. This proved that teadenol B could be a strong autophagy promotor, which explained the down-regulation of DCTD to some extent and may be the potential mechanism underlying teadenol B's anti-breast cancer effects. This finding provides new evidence for drinking fermented tea to prevent breast cancer and highlights the potential of teadenol B as a novel therapeutic option for breast cancer prevention and treatment, necessitating further investigations to clarify its exact target and the details involved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Granulomas, the pathological hallmark of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infection, are formed by different cell populations. Across various stages of tuberculosis conditions, most granulomas are classical caseous granulomas. They are composed of a necrotic center surrounded by multilayers of histocytes, with the outermost layer encircled by fibrosis. Although fibrosis characterizes the architecture of granulomas, little is known about the detailed parameters of fibrosis during this process. Methods: In this study, samples were collected from patients with tuberculosis (spanning 16 organ types), and Mtb-infected marmosets and fibrotic collagen were characterized by second harmonic generation (SHG)/two-photon excited fluorescence (TPEF) microscopy using a stain-free, fully automated analysis program. Results: Histopathological examination revealed that most granulomas share common features, including necrosis, solitary and compact structure, and especially the presence of multinuclear giant cells. Masson's trichrome staining showed that different granuloma types have varying degrees of fibrosis. SHG imaging uncovered a higher proportion (4%~13%) of aggregated collagens than of disseminated type collagens (2%~5%) in granulomas from matched tissues. Furthermore, most of the aggregated collagen presented as short and thick clusters (200~620 µm), unlike the long and thick (200~300 µm) disseminated collagens within the matched tissues. Matrix metalloproteinase-9, which is involved in fibrosis and granuloma formation, was strongly expressed in the granulomas in different tissues. Discussion: Our data illustrated that different tuberculosis granulomas have some degree of fibrosis in which collagen strings are short and thick. Moreover, this study revealed that the SHG imaging program could contribute to uncovering the fibrosis characteristics of tuberculosis granulomas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A gram-stain-positive, aerobic, rod-shaped bacterial strain capable of producing siderophores, named YIM B08730T, was isolated from a soil sample collected from Wumeng Mountain National Nature Reserve, Zhaotong City, Yunnan Province. Growth occurred at 10–45 °C (optimum, 35–40 ℃), pH 7.0–9.0 (optimum, 7.0) and in the presence of 0–5 % (w/v) NaCl (optimum, 0–1 %, w/v). A comparative analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequence (1558 bp) of strain YIM B08730T showed the highest similarity to Solibacillus isronensis JCM 13838T (96.2 %), followed by Solibacillus silvestris DSM 12223T (96.0 %) and Solibacillus kalamii ISSFR-015T (95.4 %). The main polar lipids were diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylserine and one unidentified lipid. The main respiratory quinone of strain YIM B08730T was menaquinone 7 (MK-7). The major fatty acids were iso-C15:0 and C16:1ω7c alcohol. The digital DNA–DNA hybridization and average nucleotide identity values between strain YIM B08730T and the reference strain S. isronensis JCM 13838T were 24.8 % and 81.2 %, respectively. The G + C content of the genomic DNA was 37.1 mol%. The genome of the novel strain contained genes associated with the production of siderophores, and it also revealed other functional gene clusters involved in plant growth promotion and soil bioremediation. Based on these phenotypic, chemotaxonomic and phylogenetic analyses, strain YIM B08730T is considered to be a novel species of the genus Solibacillus, for which the name Solibacillus ferritrahens sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is YIM B08730T (= NBRC 116268T = CGMCC 1.60169T). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Background: The incidence and mortality rates of stroke are escalating due to the growing aging population, which presents a significant hazard to human health. In the realm of stroke, brain-computer interface (BCI) technology has gained considerable attention as a means to enhance treatment efficacy and improve quality of life. Consequently, a bibliometric visualization analysis was performed to investigate the research hotspots and trends of BCI technology in stroke, with the objective of furnishing reference and guidance for future research. Methods: This study utilized the Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-Expanded) within the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC) database as the data source, selecting relevant literature published between 2013 and 2022 as research sample. Through the application of VOSviewer 1.6.19 and CiteSpace 6.2.R2 visualization analysis software, as well as the bibliometric online analysis platform, the scientific knowledge maps were constructed and subjected to visualization display, and statistical analysis. Results: This study encompasses a total of 693 relevant literature, which were published by 2,556 scholars from 975 institutions across 53 countries/regions and have been collected by 185 journals. In the past decade, BCI technology in stroke research has exhibited an upward trend in both annual publications and citations. China and the United States are high productivity countries, while the University of Tubingen stands out as the most contributing institution. Birbaumer N and Pfurtscheller G are the authors with the highest publication and citation frequency in this field, respectively. Frontiers in Neuroscience has published the most literature, while Journal of Neural Engineering has the highest citation frequency. The research hotspots in this field cover keywords such as stroke, BCI, rehabilitation, motor imagery (MI), motor recovery, electroencephalogram (EEG), neurorehabilitation, neural plasticity, task analysis, functional electrical stimulation (FES), motor impairment, feature extraction, and induced movement therapy, which to a certain extent reflect the development trend and frontier research direction of this field. Conclusion: This study comprehensively and visually presents the extensive and in-depth literature resources of BCI technology in stroke research in the form of knowledge maps, which facilitates scholars to gain a more convenient understanding of the development and prospects in this field, thereby promoting further research work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Systemic inflammation is associated with the prognosis of colorectal cancer (CRC). The current study aimed to construct a comprehensively inflammatory prognostic scoring system named risk score (RS) based on eosinophil- and basophil-related markers and assess its prognostic value in patients with stage II and stage III CRC. Patients and methods: A total of 3,986 patients were enrolled from January 2007 to December 2013. The last follow-up time was January 2019. They were randomly assigned to the training set and testing set in a 3:2 split ratio. Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO)-Cox regression analysis was performed to select the optimal prognostic factors in the construction of RS. The Kaplan-Meier curve, time-dependent receiver operating characteristic (ROC), and Cox analysis were used to evaluate the association between RS and overall survival (OS). Results: In the training set, all inflammatory markers showed certain prognostic values. Based on LASSO-Cox analysis, nine markers were integrated to construct RS. The Kaplan-Meier curve showed that a higher RS (RS > 0) had a significantly worse prognosis (log-rank p< 0.0001). RS (>0) remained an independent prognostic factor for OS (hazard ratio (HR): 1.70, 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.43-2.03, p< 0.001). The prognostic value of RS was validated in the entire cohort. Time-dependent ROC analysis showed that RS had a stable prognostic effect throughout the follow-up times and could enhance the prognostic ability of the stage by combination. Nomogram was established based on RS and clinicopathological factors for predicting OS in the training set and validated in the testing set. The area under the curve (AUC) values of the 3-year OS in the training and testing sets were 0.748 and 0.720, respectively. The nomogram had a satisfactory predictive accuracy and had better clinical application value than the tumor stage alone. Conclusions: RS might be an independent prognostic factor for OS in patients with stage II and III CRC, which is helpful for risk stratification of patients. Additionally, the nomogram might be used for personalized prediction and might contribute to formulating a better clinical treatment plan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a novel aerobic mesophilic bacterial strain with capable of degrading chitin, designated YIM B06366T, was isolated and classified. The rod-shaped, Gram-stain-negative, on-spore-forming bacterium originated from rhizosphere soil sample collected in Kunming City, Yunnan Province, southwest PR China. Strain YIM B06366T exhibited growth at temperatures between 20 and 35 °C (optimum, 30 °C) and at pH 6.0–8.0 (optimum, pH 6.0). The analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity revealed that strain YIM B06366T was most closely related to type strain Chitinolyticbacter meiyuanensis SYBC-H1T (98.9%). Phylogenetic analysis based on genome data indicated that strain YIM B06366T should be assigned to the genus Chitinolyticbacter. The Average Nucleotide Identity (ANI) and digital DNA-DNA Hybridization (dDDH) values between strain YIM B06366T and the reference strain Chitinolyticbacter meiyuanensis SYBC-H1T were 84.4% and 27.7%, respectively. The major fatty acids included Summed Feature 3 (C16:1ω6c/C16:1ω7c), Summed Feature 8 (C18:1ω6c/C18:1ω7c), and C16:0. The polar lipids were diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, aminophospholipids, and two unidentified phospholipids. The predominant menaquinone was Q-8, and the genomic DNA G + C content was 64.1%. Considering the polyphasic taxonomic evidence, strain YIM B06366T is proposed as a novel species within the genus Chitinolyticbacter, named Chitinolyticbacter albus sp. nov. (type strain YIM B06366T = KCTC 92434T = CCTCC AB 2022163T). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new Gram-negative, rod-shaped, flagellated bacterium was isolated from soil in the Guishan, Xinping County, Yuxi City, Yunnan Province, China, and named YIM B01952T. Growth occurred at 10–40 °C (optimum, 30 °C), pH 6.0–9.0 (optimum, pH 7.5) and with up to ≤ 5.0% (w/v) NaCl on Tryptic Soy Broth Agar (TSA) plates. Phylogenetic analysis based on the 16S rRNA gene and draft-genome sequence showed that strain YIM B01952T belonged to the genus Pseudomonas, and was closely related to the type strain of Pseudomonas alcaligenes (sequence similarity was 98.8%). The digital DNA–DNA hybridization (dDDH) value between strain YIM B01952T and the parallel strain P. alcaligenes ATCC 14909T was 49.0% based on the draft genome sequence. The predominant menaquinone was Q-9. The major fatty acids were summed feature 8 (C18:1ω6c and/or C18:1ω7c), summed feature 3 (C16:1ω6c and/or C16:1ω7c) and C16:0. The major polar lipids were phosphatidylethanolamine, diphosphatidylglycerol, and phosphatidylglycerol. The genome size of strain YIM B01952T was 4.341 Mb, comprising 4156 predicted genes with a DNA G + C content of 66.4 mol%. In addition, we detected that strain YIM B01952T had some traditional functional genes (plant growth promotion and multidrug resistance), unique genes through genome comparison and analysis with similar strains. Based on genetic analyses and biochemical characterization, the strain YIM B01952T was identified as a novel species in the genus Pseudomonas, for which the name Pseudomonas subflava sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is YIM B01952T (=CCTCC AB 2021498T = KCTC 92073T). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel Gram-staining negative, aerobic, rod-shaped bacterium, designated strain YIM DDC1T, was isolated from an estuary sediment sample of Dongda River flowing into Dianchi lake in Yunnan, southwest China. The strain displayed growth at 10–40 °C (optimum of 28 °C), pH 5.0–9.0 (optimum of 7.0–8.0) and in presence of 0–3% (w/v) NaCl (optimum of 0–1%). Strain YIM DDC1T comprised diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylcholine and two unidentified aminolipids as the predominant polar lipids; the ubiquinone 10 as the major respiratory quinone; and summed feature 8 (C18:1ω6c and/or C18:1ω7c), summed feature 3 (C16:1ω7c and/or C16:1ω6c) and C18:1 2-OH as the major cellular fatty acids. Analysis of 16S rRNA showed that YIM DDC1T represents a member of the genus Azospirillum, and was closely related to A. brasilense ATCC 29145 T (98.9%), A. baldaniorum Sp245T (98.2%), A. argentinense Az39T (98.2%) and A. formosense CC-Nfb-7 T (98.2%). The draft genome size was 7.15 Mbp with a 68.4% G + C content. The average nucleotide identity (ANI) and digital DNA-DNA hybridization (dDDH) values between strain YIM DDC1T and the aforementioned closely related strains exhibited similarity in the range of 93.8–93.5% and 53.7–52.7%, respectively. nif gene cluster (nifHDK) and denitrification genes ((napA, nirS, nirK, norBC and nosZ) detected in the genome indicated its potential nitrogen fixation and full-fledged denitrifying function. Based on combined genotypic and phenotypic data, strain YIM DDC1T represents a novel species of the genus Azospirillum, for which the name Azospirillum aestuarii sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is YIM DDC1T (= KCTC 42887 T = CGMCC 1.17325 T). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background & aims: Little is known about molecular biomarkers that predict the response and prognosis in unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) treated with programmed death (PD)-1 inhibitors. Methods: A total of 62 HCC patients who underwent next-generation sequencing were retrospectively included in our department for this study. Patients with unresectable disease were subjected to systemic therapy. PD-1 inhibitors intervention (PD-1Ab) group and nonPD-1Ab group included 20 and 13 patients, respectively. Primary resistance was defined as initial on-treatment progression or progression with an initial stable disease of less than 6 months. Results: Chromosome 11q13 amplification (Amp11q13) was the most common copy number variation in our cohort. Fifteen (24.2%) patients harbored Amp11q13 in our dataset. Patients with Amp11q13 showed higher level of Des-g-carboxyprothrombin (DCP), tumor number and were more prone to be combined with portal vein tumor thrombosis (PVTT). In the PD-1Ab group, the proportion of progressive disease (PD) in patients with Amp11q13 was significantly higher than that in patients with nonAmp11q13 (100% vs 33.3%, P=0.03). In the nonPD-1Ab group, the proportion of PD in patients with Amp11q13 and nonAmp11q13 had no significant difference (0% vs 11.1%, P>0.99). In the PD-1Ab group, the median progression-free survival (PFS) was 1.5 months in Amp11q13 patients vs 16.2 months in non-Amp11q13 patients (HR, 0.05; 95% CI 0.01-0.45; P = 0.0003). No significant difference was observed in the nonPD-1Ab group. Notably, we found that hyperprogressive disease (HPD) might be associated with Amp11q13. The increased density of Foxp3+ Treg cells in HCC patients with Amp11q13 might be one of potential mechanisms. Conclusion: HCC patients with Amp11q13 are less likely to benefit from PD-1 blockade therapies. These findings may help guide the use of immunotherapy for HCC in routine clinical practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Every fraction was further isolated by silica gel column chromatography, Sephadex LH-20 column chromatography to afford compounds B 1 b (88 mg), B 2 b (4.1 mg), B 3 b (5.6 mg), B 4 b (2.7 mg), B 5 b (3.2 mg), B 6 b (11.8 mg), B 7 b (13.3 mg), B 8 b (7.1 mg), B 9 b (40.3 mg), B 10 b (11.5 mg), B 11 b (13.8 mg), B 12 b (6.3 mg), B 13 b (10.5 mg), B 14 b (20.1 mg), B 15 b (8.8 mg), B 16 b (5.4 mg). The EtOAc fraction (380g) was chromatographed over a silica gel column eluted with petroleum ether-ethyl acetate and yielded six fractions (A-F). Especially the petroleum ether and ethyl acetate extracts exhibited significant inhibitory activities on human myeloid leukemia HL-60 (HL-60), with IC SB 50 sb values of 10.56 and 17.21 g/mL, respectively. [Extracted from the article]

Production optimization has gained increasing attention from the smart oilfield community because it can increase economic benefits and oil recovery substantially. While existing methods could produce high-optimality results, they cannot be applied to real-time optimization for large-scale reservoirs due to high computational demands. In addition, most methods generally assume that the reservoir model is deterministic and ignore the uncertainty of the subsurface environment, making the obtained scheme unreliable for practical deployment. In this work, an efficient and robust method, namely evolutionaryassisted reinforcement learning (EARL), is proposed to achieve real-time production optimization under uncertainty. Specifically, the production optimization problem is modeled as a Markov decision process in which a reinforcement learning agent interacts with the reservoir simulator to train a control policy that maximizes the specified goals. To deal with the problems of brittle convergence properties and lack of efficient exploration strategies of reinforcement learning approaches, a population-based evolutionary algorithm is introduced to assist the training of agents, which provides diverse exploration experiences and promotes stability and robustness due to its inherent redundancy. Compared with prior methods that only optimize a solution for a particular scenario, the proposed approach trains a policy that can adapt to uncertain environments and make real-time decisions to cope with unknown changes. The trained policy, represented by a deep convolutional neural network, can adaptively adjust the well controls based on different reservoir states. Simulation results on two reservoir models show that the proposed approach not only outperforms the RL and EA methods in terms of optimization efficiency but also has strong robustness and real-time decision capacity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The anterior (AcomA) and posterior communicating arteries (PcomA) are two of the most frequent sites for intracranial aneurysms. Anatomical variations in the Circle of Willis (COW) are frequently observed in patients with AcomA and PcomA aneurysms. Strong evidence is needed to determine the pooled estimate of the eect of COW variations on the formation and rupture of these aneurysms. Aim: This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to establish the eect of COW variations on the formation and rupture of AcomA and PcomA aneurysms using available studies. Summary of review: PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science databases were systematically searched for studies published in English before September 21, 2022. Studies investigating AcomA aneurysms and the hypoplastic/aplastic A1 segment of the anterior cerebral artery and PcomA aneurysms and hypoplastic/aplastic PcomA or fetal-type posterior cerebral artery (FTP) were included. The heterogeneity of the studies was assessed using Cochran Q-test and I2 statistic. Pooled estimate was assessed using either a random- or fixed-eects model based on the heterogeneity of the studies. Among the 4,932 studies, 21 were eligible and included in the analysis. The presence of hypoplastic/aplastic A1 was significantly correlated with the formation [OR (95% confidence interval [CI]) = 7.97 (5.58, 11.39), P < 0.001] and rupture [OR (95%CI) = 1.87 (1.29, 2.72), P < 0.001] of AcomA aneurysms. Significant associations between FTP and both the formation [OR (95%CI) = 2.15 (1.41, 3.30), P < 0.001] and rupture [OR (95%CI) = 1.72 (1.26, 2.36), P < 0.001] of PcomA aneurysms were observed. Conclusions: Significant associations were observed between COW variations and both the formation and rupture of AcomA and PcomA aneurysms. This can help in determining interventions for patients with aneurysms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Cerebral revascularization is a neurosurgical procedure used to restore the cerebral collateral circulation channel. This study examines the countries, institutions, authors, journals, keywords, and references related to the disease in the field of cerebral revascularization from 1999 to 2022 from a bibliometrics perspective, evaluates the changes of knowledge structure clustering and identifies the new hot spots and new research directions in this field. Methods: The Web of Science Core Collection (WOSCC) database and the PICOS retrieval method were used to conduct a comprehensive search for articles and reviews pertaining to cerebral revascularization. The final filtered data were bibliometrically and visually drawn using Microsoft office 365, CiteSpace (v.6.1.R2), and VOSviewer (v.1.6.18). Results: From 1999 to 2022, a total of 854 articles pertaining to cerebral revascularization, which originated from 46 nations, 482 institutions, and 686 researchers, were extracted from the WOSCC database, and the number of publications in this field of study was rising. The United States held the highest proportion in the ranking analysis of countries, institutions, authors, and journals. By analyzing co-citations, the scientific organization of this field and the development status of frontier fields were realized. Cerebral revascularization, moyamoya disease, extracranial intracranial bypass, and occlusion are the current research focal points in the field of cerebral revascularization. Hyperperfusion and vascular disorder may also become a new study focus in this discipline in the near future. Conclusion: Using the method of bibliometrics, this study analyzed and reviewed the articles in the field of cerebral revascularization, which enabled scholars to better comprehend the dynamic process in this field and provided a foundation for future in-depth research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new aerobic bacterial strain, designated strain YIM B02290T, was isolated from the soil of Machangqing, Dali city, Yunnan Province, China. Cells were Gram-stain-positive, sporogenous, rod-shaped, and motile with peritrichous flagella. Strain YIM B02290T showed the highest 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity with Brevibacillus laterosporus (97.6%) and Brevibacillus halotolerans (97.6%). The ANI and dDDH values between strain YIM B02290T and the two reference strains Brevibacillus laterosporus LAM00312T and Brevibacillus halotolerans DSM 25T are 72.6% and 72.2%, 20.2% and 19.5% based on the draft genome sequence, respectively. The major cellular fatty acids contain anteiso-C15: 0 and iso-C15: 0. The diagnostic diamino acid of the cell-wall peptidoglycan was meso-diaminopimelic acid. The predominant menaquinone was identified as menaquinone-7. The main polar lipids of strain YIM B02290T were diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, phospholipid, phosphatidyl monomethylethanolamine. The genomic DNA G + C content was 40.6 mol%. All results showed that strain YIM B02290T represents a novel species of the genus Brevibacillus, for which the name Brevibacillus daliensis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is YIM B02290T (= CCTCC AB 2021094T = CGMCC 1.18802T = KCTC 43376T). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objective: This study aims to find the key immune genes and mechanisms of low bone mineral density (LBMD) in ankylosing spondylitis (AS) patients. Methods: AS and LBMD datasets were downloaded from the GEO database, and differential expression gene analysis was performed to obtain DEGs. Immunerelated genes (IRGs) were obtained from ImmPort. Overlapping DEGs and IRGs got I-DEGs. Pearson coefficients were used to calculate DEGs and IRGs correlations in the AS and LBMD datasets. Louvain community discovery was used to cluster the co-expression network to get gene modules. The module most related to the immune module was defined as the key module. Metascape was used for enrichment analysis of key modules. Further, I-DEGs with the same trend in AS and LBMD were considered key I-DEGs. Multiple machine learning methods were used to construct diagnostic models based on key I-DEGs. IID database was used to find the context of I-DEGs, especially in the skeletal system. Gene-biological process and gene-pathway networks were constructed based on key I-DEGs. In addition, immune infiltration was analyzed on the AS dataset using the CIBERSORT algorithm. Results: A total of 19 genes were identified I-DEGs, of which IFNAR1, PIK3CG, PTGER2, TNF, and CCL3 were considered the key I-DEGs. These key I-DEGs had a good relationship with the hub genes of key modules. Multiple machine learning showed that key I-DEGs, as a signature, had an excellent diagnostic performance in both AS and LBMD, and the SVM model had the highest AUC value. Key I-DEGs were closely linked through bridge genes, especially in the skeletal system. Pathway analysis showed that PIK3CG, IFNAR1, CCL3, and TNF participated in NETs formation through pathways such as the MAPK signaling pathway. Immune infiltration analysis showed neutrophils had the most significant differences between case and control groups and a good correlation with key I-DEG. Conclusion: The key I-DEGs, TNF, CCL3, PIK3CG, PTGER2, and IFNAR1, can be utilized as biomarkers to determine the risk of LBMD in AS patients. They may affect neutrophil infiltration and NETs formation to influence the bone remodeling process in AS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy has become a critical milestone in modern oncotherapy. Despite the remarkable in vitro effectiveness, the problem of safety and efficacy of CAR T cell therapy against solid tumors is challenged by the lack of tumor-specific antigens required to avoid on-target off-tumor effects. Spatially separating the cytotoxic function of CAR T cells from tumor antigen recognition provided by protein mediators allows for the precise control of CAR T cell cytotoxicity. Here, the high affinity and capability of the bacterial toxin-antitoxin barnase-barstar system were adopted to guide CAR T cells to solid tumors. The complementary modules based on (1) ankyrin repeat (DARPin)-barnase proteins and (2) barstar-based CAR (BsCAR) were designed to provide switchable targeting to tumor cells. The alteration of the DARPin-barnase switches enabled the targeting of different tumor antigens with a single BsCAR. A gradual increase in cytokine release and tunable BsCAR T cell cytotoxicity was achieved by varying DARPin-barnase loads. Switchable BsCAR T cell therapy was able to eradicate the HER2+ ductal carcinoma in vivo. Guiding BsCAR T cells by DARPin-barnase switches provides a universal approach for a controlled multitargeted adoptive immunotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and aims: Intestinal flora is closely associated with the occurrence and development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, gut microbial changes and biological mechanisms in HCC after transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) treatment are rarely reported. Methods: We evaluated changes in intestinal flora after TACE in rabbit HCC models and assessed the impact of these changes on the disease. Twenty-four rabbit VX2 HCC models were established and intestinal flora structures, intestinal barrier function, changes in blood lipopolysaccharide (LPS) levels, Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), and p-signal transducer and activator of transcription 3(p-STAT3) protein expression levels were studied after TACE treatment. Results: Compared with healthy rabbits, the intestinal flora in HCC models exhibited structural changes; intestinal barrier function was decreased, and increased LPS levels entered the circulation. A short-term follow-up after TACE showed the procedure partially reversed the intestinal microflora disorder caused by the tumor: intestinal barrier and liver functions were improved, intestinal LPS levels in the blood were reduced, and liver metabolism toward LPS was enhanced. Correlation analyses of the first 75 significantly changed bacteria with clinical factors showed that harmful bacteria had decreased and beneficial bacteria increased. Blood LPS levels and downstream signaling molecule TLR4, COX-2, and p-STAT3 protein expression levels were reduced, which correlated with tumor drug resistance and invasion capabilities. Conclusions: We first characterized gut microbiota changes and biological mechanisms in HCC after TACE treatment. Our data provide a theoretical research basis for TACE combined with an intestinal flora intervention and systemic chemotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Colorectal cancer (CRC) remains one of the most common malignancies worldwide and its mechanism is unclear. Polymeric immunoglobulin receptor (PIGR) which plays an important role in mucosal immunity is widely expressed in the mucosal epithelium and is dysregulated in different tumors. However, the role and underlying mechanisms of PIGR in CRC remain unclear. Here, we demonstrated that PIGR was hypermethylated and downregulated in our cohort (N = 272), and these features were associated with reduced overall survival in patients (HRmethylation 1.61, 95% CI [1.11-2.33]). These findings were validated by external TCGA and GEO data. Moreover, PIGR overexpression inhibits CRC cell malignant phenotypes in vitro and impedes CRC cells growth in male BALB/c nude mice. Mechanistically, PIGR physically associates with RE1 silencing transcription factor (REST) and blocks the transcription of laminin subunit beta 3 (LAMB3). Subsequently, the AKT-FOXO3/4 axis was suppressed by downregulated LAMB3. In the drug sensitive assay, PIGR-overexpressing cells were more sensitive to cisplatin and gemcitabine. Together, PIGR may serve as a powerful prognostic biomarker and putative tumor suppressor by suppressing the AKT-FOXO3/4 axis by downregulating LAMB3 in CRC. Our study may offer a novel therapeutic strategy for treating CRC patients who highly express PIGR with cisplatin and gemcitabine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Early and specific detection of cancer provides an opportunity for appropriate treatment. Although studies have suggested that QKI is a tumor suppressor gene, no studies have evaluated the diagnostic utility of QKI methylation in colorectal cancer (CRC). Here, we evaluated the methylation status of QKI by integrating the methylation data of tissues and cell lines of multiple cancer types. The diagnostic performance of QKI was analyzed in the discovery dataset from the TCGA CRC 450K array (n = 440) and tested in the test sets (n = 845) from the GEO. The methylation level of QKI was further validated in our independent dataset (n = 388) using targeted bisulfite sequencing. All detected CpG sites in the QKI promoter showed CRC-specific hypermethylation in 31 types of tumor tissues. In the discovery dataset, six consecutive CpG sites achieved high diagnostic performances, with AUCs ranging from 0.821 to 0.930. In the test set, a region (chr6: 163,834,452-163,834,924) including four consecutive CpG sites had robust diagnostic ability in distinguishing CRC and adenoma from normal samples. In the validation dataset, similar robust results were observed in both early- and advanced-stage CRC patients. In addition, QKI exhibited hypermethylation in the cfDNA of patients with CRC (n = 14). Collectively, the QKI promoter is a CRC-specific methylation biomarker and holds great promise for improving the diagnosis using minimally invasive biopsy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Colorectal cancer (CRC) remains one of the most common malignancies worldwide and its mechanism is unclear. Polymeric immunoglobulin receptor (PIGR) which plays an important role in mucosal immunity is widely expressed in the mucosal epithelium and is dysregulated in different tumors. However, the role and underlying mechanisms of PIGR in CRC remain unclear. Here, we demonstrated that PIGR was hypermethylated and downregulated in our cohort (N = 272), and these features were associated with reduced overall survival in patients (HRmethylation 1.61, 95% CI [1.11-2.33]). These findings were validated by external TCGA and GEO data. Moreover, PIGR overexpression inhibits CRC cell malignant phenotypes in vitro and impedes CRC cells growth in male BALB/c nude mice. Mechanistically, PIGR physically associates with RE1 silencing transcription factor (REST) and blocks the transcription of laminin subunit beta 3 (LAMB3). Subsequently, the AKT-FOXO3/4 axis was suppressed by downregulated LAMB3. In the drug sensitive assay, PIGR-overexpressing cells were more sensitive to cisplatin and gemcitabine. Together, PIGR may serve as a powerful prognostic biomarker and putative tumor suppressor by suppressing the AKT-FOXO3/4 axis by downregulating LAMB3 in CRC. Our study may offer a novel therapeutic strategy for treating CRC patients who highly express PIGR with cisplatin and gemcitabine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and objective: This study aimed to identify crosstalk genes between periodontitis (PD) and osteoporosis (OP) and potential relationships between crosstalk and pyroptosis-related genes. Methods: PD and OP datasets were downloaded from the GEO database and were performed differential expression analysis to obtain DEGs. Overlapping DEGs got crosstalk genes linking PD and OP. Pyroptosis-related genes were obtained from literature reviews. Pearson coefficients were used to calculate crosstalk and pyroptosis-related gene correlations in the PD and OP datasets. Paired genes were obtained from the intersection of correlated genes in PD and OP. PINA and STRING databases were used to conduct the crosstalk-bridge-pyroptosis genes PPI network. The clusters in which crosstalk and pyroptosis-related genes were mainly concentrated were defined as key clusters. The key clusters’ hub genes and the included paired genes were identified as key crosstalk-pyroptosis genes. Using ROC curve analysis and XGBoost screened key genes. PPI subnetwork, gene–biological process and gene-pathway networks were constructed based on key genes. In addition, immune infiltration was analyzed on the PD dataset using the CIBERSORT algorithm. Results: A total of 69 crosstalk genes were obtained. 13 paired genes and hub genes TNF and EGFR in the key clusters (cluster2, cluster8) were identified as key crosstalk-pyroptosis genes. ROC and XGBoost showed that PRKCB, GSDMD, ARMCX3, and CASP3 were more accurate in predicting disease than other key crosstalk-pyroptosis genes while better classifying properties as a whole. KEGG analysis showed that PRKCB, GSDMD, ARMCX3, and CASP3 were involved in neutrophil extracellular trap formation and MAPK signaling pathway pathways. Immune infiltration results showed that all four key genes positively correlated with plasma cells and negatively correlated with T cells follicular helper, macrophages M2, and DCs. Conclusion: This study shows a joint mechanism between PD and OP through crosstalk and pyroptosis-related genes. The key genes PRKCB, GSDMD, ARMCX3, and CASP3 are involved in the neutrophil extracellular trap formation and MAPK signaling pathway, affecting both diseases. These findings may point the way to future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A Gram-stain-negative, aerobic, rod-shaped bacteria strain, named YIM B01951T, was isolated from a forest soil sample collected from Mopan Mountain National Forest Park, Xinping City, Yunnan Province, southwest PR China (101°58′06" N, 23°03′02" E). Growth occurred at 15–40 °C (optimum, 30 °C), pH 5.0–8.0 (optimum, pH 6.5) and with up to ≤ 3.0% (w/v) NaCl on Nutrient Agar plates. The results of 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity analysis showed that strain YIM B01951T was closely related to the type strain of Cohnella arctica M9-62T (96.5%) and Cohnella lupini RLAHU4BT (96.3%). YIM B01951T contains anteiso-C15:0 and iso-C16:0 as the major cellular fatty acids; the main polar lipids are diphosphatidylglycerol (DPG), phosphatidylglycerol (PG), phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), lysylphosphatidylglycerol (PGL) and five aminophospholipids (APL). The MK-7 is the major respiratory quinone and the DNA G + C content is 49.2 mol%. Based on these phenotypic, chemotaxonomic and phylogenetic analyses, strain YIM B01951T is considered to be a novel species of the genus Cohnella, and named Cohnella mopanensis sp. nov. The type strain is YIM B01951T (= NBRC 115331T = KCTC 43370T). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The majority of oligodendrogliomas exhibit an intrinsic tendency to develop into malignant high-grade tumors. Angiogenesis is a major factor contributing to the malignant transformation of oligodendroglioma, and its molecular regulatory mechanism needs further study. We provide a case report of an oligodendroglioma patient with two recurrences whose disease progressed from WHO grade II to grade III. We showed that the expression of insulin gene enhancer protein (ISL2) and its angiogenic ability were positively correlated with the progression of oligodendroglioma. In Low-grade glioma (LGG) patients, including oligodendroglioma patients, overexpression of ISL2 was correlated with poor prognosis, and this correlation was not affected by gender or isocitrate dehydrogenase 1(IDH1) mutation status. ISL2 expression and ISL2-mediated angiogenic pathway activity are ideal biomarkers for the malignant transformation of oligodendroglioma. Anti-ISL2 therapy is also a potential treatment option for malignantly transformed oligodendroglioma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most common, malignant, and deadly primary brain tumor in adults. Brain-expressed X-link (BEX) protein family is involved in tumorigenesis. Here, we have explored the biological function and the prognostic value of the BEX family in GBM. Differentially expressed BEX genes between GBM and normal tissue were screened by using The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses identified the prognosis-related genes BEX1, BEX2, and BEX4, which were involved in the regulation of immune response. The results of correlation analysis and protein-protein interaction network (PPI network) showed that there was a significant correlation between the BEX family and TCEAL family in GBM. Furthermore, the expression of transcription elongation factor A (SII)-like (TCEAL) family is generally decreased in GBM and related to poor prognosis. With the use of the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) Cox regression, a prognostic model including the BEX family and TCEAL family was built to accurately predict the likelihood of overall survival (OS) in GBM patients. Therefore, we demonstrated that the BEX family and TCEAL family possessed great potential as therapeutic targets and prognostic biomarkers in GBM. Further investigations in large-scale, multicenter, and prospective clinical cohorts are needed to confirm the prognostic model developed in our study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: The anatomical structure of the bamboo stem is characterized by vascular bundles comprising the xylem, phloem, and sclerenchyma fibrous sheaths as well as parenchymatous ground tissue in which the vascular bundles are embedded. The composition of the stem is the main factor influencing the anatomical characteristics of circular bamboo, which shows considerable variation in the radial direction. However, most species of Chimonobambusa have square stems. Here, we tested the hypothesis that circumferential variation exists in the cross-sectional anatomy of this species. We analysed fibre morphology and the cross-sectional structural characteristics of vascular bundles of Chimonobambusa quadrangularis (Fenzi) Makino and their associated circumferential and radial variation in cross-sections. Microscopic observations were conducted to identify, measure, and compare fibre morphology and the structural characteristics of vascular bundles, including both circumferential and radial anatomical variation. Vascular bundles occurred as undifferentiated, semi-differentiated, and open types in the radial direction with no changes in the circumferential direction. The average length, width, and ratio of fibre length to width were 1463.6 μ m, 12.3 μ m and 119.3 in the corner region, and 1452.7 μ m, 12.8 μ m, and 111.3 in the side region, and there were significant circumferential and radial differences in length, width, and the ratio of fibre length to width (p < 0.001). The circumferential variation in density of vascular bundles, the ratio of fibre length to width, radial to tangential diameter ratio of vascular bundles, and the proportion of sclerenchyma were greater in the corner regions than the side regions. The variation in fibre width and the proportion of parenchyma were greater in the corner regions than in the side regions. The density of vascular bundles and proportions of sclerenchyma were greater in the outer stem compared to the inner stem, whereas the length, width, and ratio of fibre length to width were greatest in the centre compared to the inner and outer zones. Circumferential variation of the density of vascular bundles, fibre length and fibre width occurred in the central and outer stem zones. These findings confirm that there are significant anatomical variations in both the circumferential and radial directions and provide a scientific basis for the rational use of Chimonobambusa quadrangularis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Marek's disease virus (MDV) is a highly cell-associated, oncogenic alpha herpesvirus that causes Marek's disease (MD) in chickens. Chicken erythrocytes are nucleated cells of myeloid origin which contribute to gases exchange, transportation and immunity. The objective of this study was to reveal the immune responses of MDV-infected erythrocytes of chicken by transcriptome analysis. Twenty specific pathogenfree (SPF) chickens were divided into two groups as control and treatment. The chickens of treatment group were inoculated with MDV, and blood samples of two groups were obtained at 14 and 22 days post-infection (dpi) for RNA extraction. Transcriptome analysis was performed to explore the immune responses of chicken erythrocytes to MDV infection at 14 dpi and 22 dpi. In total, 129.6 million reads of two groups at two time points were mapped against the reference genome (Gallus gallus 5.0). A significant differential pattern of the immune response of chicken erythrocytes was identified by the GO and KEGG databases between the two phases of MDV infection. The results indicated that cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction, toll-like receptor signaling pathway, mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK) signaling pathway, Janus kinase/signal transducers and activators of transcription (JAK-STAT) signaling pathway were involved in the response to MDV infection. The expression levels of all most differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in these four pathways were upregulated significantly at 14 and 22 dpi, indicating that the immune responses of erythrocytes were induced by MDV. This study may help to elucidate the molecular mechanism of chicken erythrocytes relate to immune responses in MDV infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new phenylspirodrimane-type analog, named stachartin G (1), was isolated from the tin mine tailings-associated fungus Stachybotrys chartarum. Its chemical structure was determined using a combination of spectroscopic analyses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]