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Remote and noncontact surface temperature measurements are frequently required yet challenging to execute. One the most promising options consists in using rare earth or transition metal doped materials as optical (luminescence) temperature sensors. In this paper, a series of novel Tb3+/Mn4+ co-doped SrLaMgNbO 6 (SLMN) phosphors have been synthesized and thoroughly investigated for their structural, luminescence spectroscopic and decay kinetics properties as well as for temperature sensing performance. X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) analysis has shown that the prepared sample presents a double perovskite structure. Upon the UV excitation, emission spectra of SLMN:Tb3+, Mn4+ exhibit green and red emission bands for Tb3+ and Mn4+ dopants, respectively. Temperature-dependent photoluminescence (TD-PL) studies revealed sever thermal quenching of Mn4+ emission while that of Tb3+ was moderate providing well pronounced difference in fluorescence intensity ratios (FIR) of the ions. The maximum relative sensitivity (Sr) was found to be 3.27% K−1 and 1.92% K−1 for Mn4+ and Tb3+, respectively. This implies that SLMN: Tb3+, Mn4+ phosphor is a viable candidate material for a dual-mode optical temperature detection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In wild-type phototrophic organisms, carotenoids (Crts) are primarily packed into specific pigment–protein complexes along with (Bacterio)chlorophylls and play important roles in the photosynthesis. Diphenylamine (DPA) inhibits carotenogenesis but not phototrophic growth of anoxygenic phototrophs and eliminates virtually all Crts from photocomplexes. To investigate the effect of Crts on assembly of the reaction center–light-harvesting (RC–LH) complex from the filamentous anoxygenic phototroph Roseiflexus (Rfl.) castenholzii, we generated carotenoidless (Crt-less) RC–LH complexes by growing cells in the presence of DPA. Here, we present cryoEM structures of the Rfl. castenholzii native and Crt-less RC–LH complexes with resolutions of 2.86 Å and 2.85 Å, respectively. From the high-quality map obtained, several important but previously unresolved details in the Rfl. castenholzii RC–LH structure were determined unambiguously including the assignment and likely function of three small polypeptides, and the content and spatial arrangement of Crts with bacteriochlorophyll molecules. The overall structures of Crt-containing and Crt-less complexes are similar. However, structural comparisons showed that only five Crts remain in complexes from DPA-treated cells and that the subunit X (TMx) flanked on the N-terminal helix of the Cyt-subunit is missing. Based on these results, the function of Crts in the assembly of the Rfl. castenholzii RC–LH complex and the molecular mechanism of quinone exchange is discussed. These structural details provide a fresh look at the photosynthetic apparatus of an evolutionary ancient phototroph as well as new insights into the importance of Crts for proper assembly and functioning of the RC–LH complex. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several genome-wide linkage analyses of different families are conducted to identify the genetic loci and possible candidate genes of congenital long QT syndrome, a hereditary disorder. The results demonstrate that the Kir3.4 mutation plays an extremely significant role in the etiology of the disorder.

In order to investigate redshift space distortion effect on voids, VIDE (Void Identification and Examination toolkit) algorithm is used to find cosmic voids in real space and redshift space based on a mock galaxy catalog produced by the semi-analytical galaxy formation model. The voids can be divided into "collapsed" type and "expanded" type, according to the galaxy velocity on the void wall. The results show that the fraction of the "collapsed" voids decrease as the voids' size grows, while "expanded" voids are contrary. The effective radius of two type voids differs by 20% in real space, and the mean radial density profile of "collapsed" voids is significant higher than that of "expanded" voids. Using the member galaxies to match the voids in two spaces, the comparison of the voids' number distributions of two spaces shows that the difference of voids' number between them is related to the voids' size, and half of the voids in redshift space can not matched to the voids in real space. For the matched voids, the redshift space distortion has stronger effect on the density profile of the "collapsed" voids. For the unmatched ones, their density profile is clearly different, and the infall movement of galaxies on their shell is more obvious in real space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

TNIP1 has been increasingly recognized as a security check to finely adjust the rate of mitophagy by disrupting the recycling of the Unc-51–like kinase complex during autophagosome formation. Through tank-binding kinase 1–mediated phosphorylation of the TNIP1 FIP200 interacting region (FIR) motif, the binding affinity of TNIP1 for FIP200, a component of the Unc-51–like kinase complex, is enhanced, allowing TNIP1 to outcompete autophagy receptors. Consequently, FIP200 is released from the autophagosome, facilitating further autophagosome expansion. However, the molecular basis by which FIP200 utilizes its claw domain to distinguish the phosphorylation status of residues in the TNIP1 FIR motif for recognition is not well understood. Here, we elucidated multiple crystal structures of the complex formed by the FIP200 claw domain and various phosphorylated TNIP1 FIR peptides. Structural and isothermal titration calorimetry analyses identified the crucial residues in the FIP200 claw domain responsible for the specific recognition of phosphorylated TNIP1 FIR peptides. Additionally, utilizing structural comparison and molecular dynamics simulation data, we demonstrated that the C-terminal tail of TNIP1 peptide affected its binding to the FIP200 claw domain. Moreover, the phosphorylation of TNIP1 Ser123 enabled the peptide to effectively compete with the peptide p-CCPG1 (the FIR motif of the autophagy receptor CCPG1) for binding with the FIP200 claw domain. Overall, our work provides a comprehensive understanding of the specific recognition of phosphorylated TNIP1 by the FIP200 claw domain, marking an initial step toward fully understanding the molecular mechanism underlying the TNIP1-dependent inhibition of mitophagy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Salmonella screening is a key to ensure food safety in poultry supply chains. Currently available Salmonella detection methods including culture, polymerase chain reaction and enzyme-linked immuno-sorbent assay could not achieve rapid, sensitive, and in-field detection. In this study, different strategies for separation and detection of Salmonella were proposed, compared, and improved based on our previous studies on immunomagnetic separation and impedance biosensor. First, the coaxial capillary for immunomagnetic separation of target bacteria was improved with less contamination, and 3 strategies based on the improved capillary and immunomagnetic nanoparticles were compared to separate the target bacteria from sample and form the magnetic bacteria. The experimental results showed that the strategy of capture in tube and separation in capillary was the most suitable with separation efficiency of approximately 88%. Then, the immune gold nanoparticles coated with urease were used to label the magnetic bacteria, resulting in the formation of enzymatic bacteria, which were injected into the capillary. After the urea was catalyzed by the urease on the enzymatic bacteria in the capillary, different electrodes were compared to measure the impedance of the catalysate and the screen-printed electrode with higher sensitivity and better stability was the most suitable. This impedance biosensor-based bacterial detection strategy was able to detect Salmonella as low as 10²CFU/mL in 2 h without complex operations. Compared to the gold standard culture method for practical screening of Salmonella in poultry supply chains, this proposed strategy had an accuracy of approximately 90% for 75 real poultry samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wheat bran, while a nutritious and economic feed ingredient, contents high levels of non-starch polysaccharides which entraps nutrients and interferes digestion and absorption. To study the influence of fermented wheat bran by xylanase-producing Bacillus cereus on growth performance and intestinal microflora of broiler chickens, a total of 180 broilers (21-day-old, mixed of male and female) were randomly divided into 3 treatments, with 6 replicates in each treatment and 10 broilers in each replicate: 1) control check (CK), corn-soybean meal-based diet; 2) wheat bran group (WB), 5% of the corn were replaced with wheat bran; and 3) fermented wheat bran group (FWB), 5% of the corn were replaced with fermented wheat bran. Growth performance was determined in the period of 21- to 42-day-old. Intestinal digestive enzyme activities and microbiota diversity were analyzed on day 42. No differences were observed on growth performance among treatments (P > 0.05). The activity of amylase in the duodenum of FWB was 1.56 times higher than CK (P < 0.05). The Chao1 index of microbiota in cecum of FWB increased 24.26% compared with CK (P < 0.01). The amount of Bifidobacteriaceae in cecum of WB was 29.1 times and 15.8 times higher than CK and FWB (P < 0.05) respectively. Principal co-ordinates analysis in cecum revealed the dissimilarity microbiota among treatments. In summary, the use of fermented wheat bran to partially replace corn (5%) in diets had no adverse effect on growth performance and triggered beneficial effects such as increasing duodenal amylase activity and intestinal microflora abundance in broiler chickens. These observations support that solid-state fermentation by xylanase-producing Bacillus cereus is feasible approach to pre-treat wheat bran for feedstuff industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Family food handling by women plays a key role in the risk of foodborne acute gastroenteritis. Nevertheless, the data indicating the association between women's food handling and foodborne disease has not been reported in the People's Republic of China. The purpose of this study was to determinate the status of food handling for women and the association between food handling behaviors and foodborne acute gastroenteritis. A cross-sectional survey was conducted from 1 September 2015 to 30 August 2016 in Anhui Province, China. Data on foodborne disease and food handling was collected via a questionnaire. Of the 630 respondents included in the study, 99 (16.0%) reported having experienced symptoms in the past 4 weeks of acute gastroenteritis that may have been caused by food. The following behaviors were prevalent in respondents: (i) infrequently boiling kitchen utensils to disinfect (70.6%); (ii) infrequently heating cooked food purchased from outside the home (64.3%); (iii) infrequently storing leftovers in the refrigerator (38.6%); and (iv) often purchasing stale raw vegetables, meat, and other ingredients (23.3%). Urban and rural respondents differed significantly in their answers to the food handling questions. Foodborne acute gastroenteritis was associated with the following behaviors: (i) infrequently heating milk (odds ratio [OR] = 2.587, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.396 to 6.458); (ii) infrequently heating leftovers stored in the refrigerator (OR = 16.967, 95% CI = 9.030 to 31.882); (iii) infrequently thoroughly heating kidney beans (OR = 3.524, 95% CI = 1.834 to 6.773); (iv) often storing raw and cooked meat in the same container (OR = 10.216, 95% CI = 5.109 to 20.431); and (v) often eating raw seafood (OR = 2.587, 95% CI = 1.424 to 4.700). Inappropriate food handling behaviors of women in the family are associated with foodborne acute gastroenteritis. Infrequent thorough heating and improper food storage are the most critical risk factors in foodborne acute gastroenteritis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

G-quadruplexes (G4s) are four-stranded DNA structures formed by Hoogsteen base pairing between stacked sets of four guanines. Pif1 helicase plays critical roles in suppressing genomic instability in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae by resolving G4s. However, the structural properties of G4s in S. cerevisiae and the substrate preference of Pif1 for different G4s remain unknown. Here, using CD spectroscopy and 83 G4 motifs from S. cerevisiae ranging in length from 30 to 60 nucleotides, we first show that G4 structures can be formed with a broad range of loop sizes in vitro and that a parallel conformation is favored. Using single-molecule FRET analysis, we then systematically addressed Pif1-mediated unwinding of various G4s and found that Pif1 is sensitive to G4 stability. Moreover, Pif1 preferentially unfolded antiparallel G4s rather than parallel G4s having similar stability. Furthermore, our results indicate that most G4 structures in S. cerevisiae sequences have long loops and can be efficiently unfolded by Pif1 because of their low stability. However, we also found that G4 structures with short loops can be barely unfolded. This study highlights the formidable capability of Pif1 to resolve the majority of G4s in S. cerevisiae sequences, narrows the fractions of G4s that may be challenging for genomic stability, and provides a framework for understanding the influence of different G4s on genomic stability via their processing by Pif1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Antibodies are essential biochemical reagents for detecting protein post-translational modifications (PTMs) in complex samples. However, recent efforts in developing PTM-targeting antibodies have reported frequent nonspecific binding and limited affinity of such antibodies. To address these challenges, we investigated whether directed evolution could be applied to improve the affinity of a high-specificity antibody targeting phosphothreonine 231 (pThr-231) of the human microtubuleassociated protein tau. On the basis of existing structural information, we hypothesized that improving antibody affinity may come at the cost of loss in specificity. To test this hypothesis, we developed a novel approach using yeast surface display to quantify the specificity of PTM-targeting antibodies. When we affinity- matured the single-chain variable antibody fragment through directed evolution, we found that its affinity can be improved >20-fold over that of the WT antibody, reaching a picomolar range. We also discovered that most of the high-affinity variants exhibit cross-reactivity toward the nonphosphorylated target site but not to the phosphorylation site with a scrambled sequence. However, systematic quantification of the specificity revealed that such a tradeoff between the affinity and specificity did not apply to all variants and led to the identification of a picomolar-affinity variant that has a matching high specificity of the original phosphotau antibody. In cell- and tissue- imaging experiments, the high-affinity variant gave significantly improved signal intensity while having no detectable nonspecific binding. These results demonstrate that directed evolution is a viable approach for obtaining high-affinity PTMspecific antibodies and highlight the importance of assessing the specificity in the antibody engineering process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

P 1B -type ATPase ion pumps that transport heavy metal ions across cellular membranes are essential for plant growth and development. To date, a genomic comparison overview of the family in rice, maize and sorghum is not yet available. In this study, a total of 31 heavy metal P 1B -type ATPase (HMA) genes were identified, including 9 in rice, 11 each from maize and sorghum. They were classified into two distinct subfamilies based on their sequence composition and phylogenetic relationship. Four pairs of HMA genes were expanded via gene duplication with tandemly duplicated. Comprehensive analyses were performed to investigate the expression profiles of HMA genes in various tissues by using quantitative real-time PCR. Some HMA members exhibited abundant and tissue-specific expression patterns. Moreover, most of the genes were found to be differentially expressed under the Cu/Cd treatment. This study will facilitate further studies on P 1B -type ATPase family and provide valuable hints for the functional validation in rice, maize and sorghum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]