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Human monkeypox is a viral zoonotic smallpox-like disease caused by the monkeypox virus (MPXV) and has become the greatest public health threat in the genus Orthopoxvirus after smallpox was eradicated. The host immune response to MPXV plays an essential role in disease pathogenesis and clinical manifestations. MPXV infection leads to skin lesions with the genital area as the main feature in the current outbreak and triggers a strong immune response that results in sepsis, deep tissue abscess, severe respiratory disease, and injuries to multiple immune organs. Emerging evidence shows that the immunopathogenesis of MPXV infection is closely associated with impaired NK-cell function, lymphopenia, immune evasion, increased antibodies, increased blood monocytes and granulocytes, cytokine storm, inhibition of the host complement system, and antibody-dependent enhancement. In this overview, we discuss the immunopathology and immunopathogenesis of monkeypox to aid the development of novel immunotherapeutic strategies against monkeypox.

The echo signal of light detection and ranging (LiDAR) system is easily disturbed by various noises under the influence of intense background light. The signal to noise ratio (SNR) decreases with increasing distance, which seriously affects the retrieval accuracy of the LiDAR system. This paper combines local mean decomposition and an improved thresholding method (LMD-ITM) to process the Lidar signal with a lot of noise, so as to avoid the loss of useful information. In this research, the correlation coefficient and energy entropy are used to distinguish between the relevant and irrelevant components decomposed by the local mean decomposition. Subsequently, the improved thresholding method is applied to process the irrelevant components. It can extract the effective signals which are difficult to be separated from the high-frequency signals. Finally, all components are reconstructed to get the denoising signal. The experimental results demonstrate that this method can effectively avoid the short-range migration, suppress the long-range noise, and adapt to different weather conditions. Compared with the previous denoising method, the proposed method increases the SNR by about 15%.

Ting Qiu,1 Hui Wen,2 Zhen-Xing Liu,2 Xiao-Ping Pan,2 Tao Zeng2 1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Guangzhou Women and Children’s Medical Center, Guangzhou, Guangdong, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Neurology, Guangzhou First People’s Hospital, School of Medicine, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, Guangdong, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Tao ZengDepartment of Neurology, Guangzhou First People’s Hospital, School of Medicine, South China University of Technology, No. 1 of Panfu Road, Guangzhou, 510180, People’s Republic of ChinaTel +86 20 8104 8631Email zeng_tao518@163.comObjective: The present study aims to assess the cognitive function of healthy full-term puerperae and compare it with the cognitive function of healthy non-pregnant women in order to analyze possible influencing factors.Methods: The study subjects were divided into two groups: the maternal (case) group (n = 80) and the control group (n = 30). A total of 50 healthy single-birth full-term primiparous women and 30 women undergoing a second pregnancy were assigned to the maternal group, while 30 non-pregnant women matched by general data were assigned to the control group. Subject cognitive function was assessed using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) (Beijing version) and the Birmingham Cognitive Screen (BCoS) (Mandarin version); related influencing factors were analyzed.Results: In the maternal group, the results showed a MoCA score of 26.52 ± 2.13 points and a cognitive impairment incidence of 26% in primiparous women, along with a MoCA score of 25.83 ± 2.49 points and a cognitive impairment incidence of 36.7% in women undergoing a second pregnancy. All scores were lower in the maternal group than in the control group, which had a MoCA score of 27.47 ± 1.28 points and cognitive impairment incidence of 6.7% (p < 0.05). The differences in MoCA score and cognitive impairment incidence between the primiparous sub-group and the second pregnancy sub-group were not statistically significant (p > 0.05). The visual space and executive function MoCA scale scores were lower in the maternal group than in the control group (p < 0.01). Furthermore, the scores were lower in the maternal group than in the control group in the following BCoS items: instant story recall, total apple deletion number, auditory attention, rule conversion, and gesture imitation (p < 0.05).Conclusion: Women in the postpartum period may develop cognitive dysfunction; however, the difference in cognitive impairment incidence between the primiparous sub-group and the second pregnancy sub-group in this study was not statistically significant. The educational level, labor analgesia, and total labor time (min) were found to be influencing factors in the postpartum cognitive function decline (p < 0.05).Keywords: parturient, cognition, impact, screening, analgesia

Streptococcus agalactiae is an important pathogen in humans, cows, fish and so on, which causes pneumo-nia, sepsis, meningitis and sometimes death in human and mastitis in cows. In fish, S. agalactiae can result in massive kills of fish and is responsible for heavy eco-nomic losses in many species of freshwater, marine, and estuarine fish worldwide. Many reports showed that the infections characterized by septicemia and men-ingoencephalitis (Evans et al., 2002, 2006; Mian et al., 2009; Geng et al., 2012; Delannoy et al., 2013). Now, many antimicrobials have routinely been the drugs for prophylactic strategies and treatment of the infections of S. agalactiae. But, more and more multidrug resistant strains represent a critical challenge for antimicrobial therapy.Quorum sensing (QS) is a cell-cell communication mechanism to coordinate social activities. It is well known that one QS signal called autoinducer-2 (AI-2) is shared by both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacte-ria (Bassler, 1999; Miller and Bassler, 2001; Waters and Bassler, 2005; Federle, 2009; Zhao et al., 2010; Wang et al., 2011). AI-2 molecule is formed as a result of spontaneous rearrangement of dihydroxy-2,3-pentanedi-one (DPD), which is catalyzed by the conserved and widespread luxS enzyme (Chen et al., 2002; Xavier and Bassler, 2003). Many studies have highlighted the sig-nificance of luxS/AI-2 in the biological processes of vari-ous bacterial species including antimicrobial production, biofilm formation, carbohydrate metabolism and viru-lence expression and so on (Bassler et al., 1993; Vendeville et al., 2005; Doherty et al., 2006; Ahmed et al., 2007, 2009; Choi et al., 2007; Palaniyandi et al., 2013).Interestingly, S. agalactiae also possesses a func-tional luxS gene and has the ability to produce AI-2 molecule. Analysis of 3D structure showed that deduced LuxS protein contained conserved active cen-ter (His-57, His-61, Cys-127) and Zn

Streptococcus agalactiae is an important human and animal pathogen. To better understand the genetic features and evolution of S. agalactiae, multiple factors influencing synonymous codon usage patterns in S. agalactiae were analyzed in this study. A- and U-ending rich codons were used in S. agalactiae function genes through the overall codon usage analysis, indicating that Adenine (A)/Thymine (T) compositional constraints might contribute an important role to the synonymous codon usage pattern. The GC3% against the effective number of codon (ENC) value suggested that translational selection was the important factor for codon bias in the microorganism. Principal component analysis (PCA) showed that (i) mutational pressure was the most important factor in shaping codon usage of all open reading frames (ORFs) in the S. agalactiae genome; (ii) strand specific mutational bias was not capable of influencing the codon usage bias in the leading and lagging strands; and (iii) gene length was not the important factor in synonymous codon usage pattern in this organism. Additionally, the high correlation between tRNA adaptation index (tAI) value and codon adaptation index (CAI), frequency of optimal codons (Fop) value, reinforced the role of natural selection for efficient translation in S. agalactiae. Comparison of synonymous codon usage pattern between S. agalactiae and susceptible hosts (human and tilapia) showed that synonymous codon usage of S. agalactiae was independent of the synonymous codon usage of susceptible hosts. The study of codon usage in S. agalactiae may provide evidence about the molecular evolution of the bacterium and a greater understanding of evolutionary relationships between S. agalactiae and its hosts.

During a one-hour interval of interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) B z ≈0nT, the equatorial spacecraft Double Star TC-1 encountered the dawn flank magnetopause many times at the magnetic local time (MLT) of about 08:00 and the latitude of about -27°. During each encounter, reconnection jets were observed with their velocities up to more than 500km/s, significantly higher than the background flow in the magnetosheath. The fast flows match the theoretical prediction of Alfvenic acceleration well. The medium temperature and density of ions in the boundary layer indicate the open magnetic field topology inside this layer. The mainly southward and tailward flows of the plasma jets alongside with the negative slopes of the Walen test indicate that the spacecraft was located south of the reconnection site, consistent with both anti-parallel and component reconnection models. The accelerated flows were observed lasting for about one hour, with some modulations by the oscillations of the magnetopause, but no reversals in the direction of V z were found during the interval. The significantly enhanced flows in the boundary layer compared to the adjacent magnetosheath indicate that the reconnection was quasi-continuously active at the magnetopause northward of the spacecraft under such IMF conditions. At the same time, the bipolar signatures in B N with enhancements of the magnetic field indicate the occurrence of the Flux Transfer Events (FTEs). The observed reconnection was quasi-continuous, whereas the simultaneously accompanied FTEs were time-dependent under the IMF B z ≈0nT. For this event, however, it is not possible to identify whether the reconnection was anti-parallel or component because the TC-1 was far away from the reconnection site. © 2015 COSPAR.

Imidazole, an organic alkaloid, is an important pharmacophore in drug discovery. Anti-neoplastic potential of imidazole derivatives has been documented in several studies; however, mechanisms by which tumor cells respond to these stimuli remain to be elucidated. Autophagy and apoptosis have key roles in tumorigenesis and tumor treatment. In this study, we systematically examined autophagic events induced by imidazole in HEC-1B cells. Accumulation of autophagic vacuoles in imidazole-treated cells was verified by conversion of LC3 protein, as well as confocal and transmission electron microscopy. Furthermore, imidazole blocked autophagic degradation by impairing maturation of autophagosomes into autolysosomes. Concurrently, imidazole treatment induced apoptosis in HEC-1B cells, accompanied by activation of caspase 9 and 3. The proapoptotic effect was mediated by increased Bim expression. Moreover, imidazole upregulated the protein level of Foxo3a and induced its increased nuclear localisation. In addition, siRNA-mediated silencing of FoxO3a effectively attenuated imidazole-induced Bim upregulation and cell death, indicating direct involvement of this pathway in the imidazole-induced apoptosis. Taken together, our data provided a molecular link between imidazoles and anticancer therapies; understanding of these properties of imidazole is essential for development of effective cancer therapeutics using imidazoles.

Accumulating evidence indicates that cellular and molecular abnormalities occur during oocyte aging, including fragmentation, increases in intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS), and abnormal Ca(2+) oscillations. The objective of the present study was to characterize the relationships between intracellular ROS, Ca(2+) homeostasis of endoplasmic reticulum (ER), and fragmentation in aged porcine MII oocytes. Prolonged culture (36 h) of porcine oocytes resulted in elevated intracellular ROS level, impaired ER Ca(2+) homeostasis (i.e., Ca(2+) storage, Ca(2+) rising patterns after electroactivation, and the cluster distribution of ER), and increased fragmentation rates. However, when the porcine oocytes were treated with 1,2-bis(2-aminophenoxy)ethane-N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid tetrakis(acetoxymethyl ester), an intracellular Ca(2+) chelator, the fragmentation was significantly inhibited during in vitro aging. In order to pursue the underlying mechanisms, H2O2 and cycloheximide (CHX) were used to artificially increase or inhibit, respectively, the intracellular ROS levels in aged porcine oocytes during in vitro culture. The results demonstrated that incubation of porcine MII oocytes with H2O2 damaged the ER clusters and the Ca(2+) regulation of ER, leading to a high proportion of fragmented oocytes. In contrast, CHX, an intracellular inhibitor of ROS generation, prevented both increase of ROS level and damage of the ER Ca(2+) homeostasis in porcine oocytes during aging, resulting in low fragmentation rate. We conclude that the increased intracellular ROS damaged the ER clusters and ER Ca(2+) homeostasis, resulting in a disorder in ooplasmic free Ca(2+), which caused the fragmentations seen in porcine MII oocytes during aging.

Accumulating evidence indicates that cellular and molecular abnormalities occur during oocyte aging, including fragmentation, increases in intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS), and abnormal Ca(2+) oscillations. The objective of the present study was to characterize the relationships between intracellular ROS, Ca(2+) homeostasis of endoplasmic reticulum (ER), and fragmentation in aged porcine MII oocytes. Prolonged culture (36 h) of porcine oocytes resulted in elevated intracellular ROS level, impaired ER Ca(2+) homeostasis (i.e., Ca(2+) storage, Ca(2+) rising patterns after electroactivation, and the cluster distribution of ER), and increased fragmentation rates. However, when the porcine oocytes were treated with 1,2-bis(2-aminophenoxy)ethane-N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid tetrakis(acetoxymethyl ester), an intracellular Ca(2+) chelator, the fragmentation was significantly inhibited during in vitro aging. In order to pursue the underlying mechanisms, H2O2 and cycloheximide (CHX) were used to artificially increase or inhibit, respectively, the intracellular ROS levels in aged porcine oocytes during in vitro culture. The results demonstrated that incubation of porcine MII oocytes with H2O2 damaged the ER clusters and the Ca(2+) regulation of ER, leading to a high proportion of fragmented oocytes. In contrast, CHX, an intracellular inhibitor of ROS generation, prevented both increase of ROS level and damage of the ER Ca(2+) homeostasis in porcine oocytes during aging, resulting in low fragmentation rate. We conclude that the increased intracellular ROS damaged the ER clusters and ER Ca(2+) homeostasis, resulting in a disorder in ooplasmic free Ca(2+), which caused the fragmentations seen in porcine MII oocytes during aging.

We investigate the properties of rotating asymptotically flat black ring solutions in five-dimensional Einstein-Maxwell-dilaton gravity with the Kaluza-Klein coupling. Within the quasilocal formalism, the balance condition for these solutions is derived by using the conservation of the renormalized boundary stress-energy tensor, which is a new method proposed by Dumitru Astefanesei and his collaborators. We also study the thermodynamics of unbalanced black rings. The conserved charges and the thermodynamical quantities are computed. Due to the existence of a conical singularity in the boundary, these quantities differ from the original regular ones. It is shown that the Smarr relation and the quantum statistical relation are still satisfied. However, we get an extra term in the first law of thermodynamics. As the balance condition is imposed this extra term vanishes., Comment: 10 pages