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Abstract Ultrasonography (US) of thyroid nodules is often time consuming and may be inconsistent between observers, with a low positivity rate for malignancy in biopsies. Even after determining the ultrasound Thyroid Imaging Reporting and Data System (TIRADS) stage, Fine needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) is still required to obtain a definitive diagnosis. Although various deep learning methods were developed in medical field, they tend to be trained using TI-RADS reports as image labels. Here, we present a large US dataset with pathological diagnosis annotation for each case, designed for developing deep learning algorithms to directly infer histological status from thyroid ultrasound images. The dataset was collected from two retrospective cohorts, which consists of 8508 US images from 842 cases. Additionally, we explained three deep learning models used as validation examples using this dataset.

Abstract Hantaan virus (HTNV) is asymptomatically carried by rodents, yet causes lethal hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome in humans, the underlying mechanisms of which remain to be elucidated. Here, we show that differential macrophage responses may determine disparate infection outcomes. In mice, late-phase inactivation of inflammatory macrophage prevents cytokine storm syndrome that usually occurs in HTNV-infected patients. This is attained by elaborate crosstalk between Notch and NF-κB pathways. Mechanistically, Notch receptors activated by HTNV enhance NF-κB signaling by recruiting IKKβ and p65, promoting inflammatory macrophage polarization in both species. However, in mice rather than humans, Notch-mediated inflammation is timely restrained by a series of murine-specific long noncoding RNAs transcribed by the Notch pathway in a negative feedback manner. Among them, the lnc-ip65 detaches p65 from the Notch receptor and inhibits p65 phosphorylation, rewiring macrophages from the pro-inflammation to the pro-resolution phenotype. Genetic ablation of lnc-ip65 leads to destructive HTNV infection in mice. Thus, our findings reveal an immune-braking function of murine noncoding RNAs, offering a special therapeutic strategy for HTNV infection.

Abstract An insufficient energy supply to intestinal epithelial cells decreases production performance in weaned piglets. Triglycerides are the main energy source for intestinal epithelial cells in piglets. The present study aimed to investigate the effects and mechanisms of valine supplementation on triglyceride synthesis in porcine intestinal epithelial (IPEC-J2) cells. Valine supplementation in the medium significantly increased the content of triglycerides, fat droplets, and long-chain fatty acids (C17:0, C18:0, C20:0, C18:1, C20:1, and C22:1) (P

Abstract Newcastle disease (ND), caused by virulent Newcastle disease virus (NDV), is a contagious viral disease affecting various birds and poultry worldwide. In this project, differentially expressed (DE) circRNAs, miRNAs and mRNAs were identified by high-throughput RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) in chicken thymus at 24, 48, 72 or 96 h post LaSota NDV vaccine injection versus pre-inoculation group. The vital terms or pathways enriched by vaccine-influenced genes were tested through KEGG and GO analysis. DE genes implicated in innate immunity were preliminarily screened out through GO, InnateDB and Reactome Pathway databases. The interaction networks of DE innate immune genes were established by STRING website. Considering the high expression of gga-miR-6631-5p across all the four time points, DE circRNAs or mRNAs with the possibility to bind to gga-miR-6631-5p were screened out. Among DE genes that had the probability to interact with gga-miR-6631-5p, 7 genes were found to be related to innate immunity. Furthermore, gga-miR-6631-5p promoted LaSota NDV replication by targeting insulin induced gene 1 (INSIG1) in DF-1 chicken fibroblast cells. Taken together, our data provided the comprehensive information about molecular responses to NDV LaSota vaccine in Chinese Partridge Shank Chickens and elucidated the vital roles of gga-miR-6631-5p/INSIG1 axis in LaSota NDV replication.

The small molecule AI-2 acts as a quorum sensing signal, mediating communication within and between many bacterial species. Here, the authors identify a new type of AI-2 receptor, consisting of a dCACHE domain that is present in many bacterial and archaeal proteins.

Abstract Quantifying the stomatal responses of plants to global change factors is crucial for modeling terrestrial carbon and water cycles. Here we synthesize worldwide experimental data to show that stomatal conductance (g s) decreases with elevated carbon dioxide (CO2), warming, decreased precipitation, and tropospheric ozone pollution, but increases with increased precipitation and nitrogen (N) deposition. These responses vary with treatment magnitude, plant attributes (ambient g s, vegetation biomes, and plant functional types), and climate. All two-factor combinations (except warming + N deposition) significantly reduce g s, and their individual effects are commonly additive but tend to be antagonistic as the effect sizes increased. We further show that rising CO2 and warming would dominate the future change of plant g s across biomes. The results of our meta-analysis provide a foundation for understanding and predicting plant g s across biomes and guiding manipulative experiment designs in a real world where global change factors do not occur in isolation.