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Strychnine is a potent, naturally occurring neurotoxin that effectively protects plants from animal pests by deterring feeding behavior. In insects, such as the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, bitter-tasting aversive compounds are detected primarily through a family of gustatory receptors (GRs), which are expressed in gustatory receptor neurons. We previously described multiple GRs that eliminate the behavioral avoidance to all bitter compounds tested, with the exception of strychnine. Here, we report the identity of a strychnine receptor, referred to as GR47a. We generated a mutation in Gr47a and found that it eliminated strychnine repulsion and strychnine-induced action potentials. GR47a was narrowly tuned, as the responses to other avoidance compounds were unaffected in the mutant animals. This analysis supports an emerging model that Drosophila GRs fall broadly into two specificity classes-one class is comprised of core receptors that are broadly required, whereas the other class, which includes GR47a, consists of narrowly tuned receptors that define chemical specificity.

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection in pregnant women is associated with a wide spectrum of adverse consequences for both mother and fetus. The high mortality in this population appears to be associated with hormonal changes and consequent immunological changes. This study conducted an analysis of immune responses in pregnant women infected with HEV manifesting varying severity. Data mining analysis of the GSE79197 was utilized to examine differentially biological functions in pregnant women with HEV infection (P‐HEV) versus without HEV infection (P‐nHEV), P‐HEV progressing to ALF (P‐ALF) versus P‐HEV, and P‐HEV versus non‐pregnant women with HEV infection (nP‐HEV). We found cellular response to interleukin and immune response‐regulating signalings were activated in P‐HEV compared with P‐nHEV. However, there was a significant decrease of immune responses, such as T cell activation, leukocyte cell‐cell adhesion, regulation of lymphocyte activation, and immune response‐regulating signaling pathway in P‐ALF patient than P‐HEV patient. Compared with nP‐HEV, MHC protein complex binding function was inhibited in P‐HEV. Further microRNA enrichment analysis showed that MAPK and T cell receptor signaling pathways were inhibited in P‐HEV compared with nP‐HEV. In summary, immune responses were activated during HEV infection while being suppressed when developing ALF during pregnancy, heightening the importance of immune mediation in the pathogenesis of severe outcome in HEV infected pregnant women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Compact Morpho‐Molecular Microscopy (CM3) is proposed and demonstrated for multi‐functional imaging and characterization of living cells and material structures by simultaneously offering quantitative phase imaging (QPI), dispersion characterization, and fluorescence imaging. The compactness and stability of CM3 are realized by propagating lasers of different wavelengths in specially treated optical fibers and fiber‐based beam splitters and wavelength division multiplexers, as well as simplifying the detection scheme through Fourier‐space multiplexing and implementing a single camera for both QPI and fluorescence imaging. Quantitative phase maps of two wavelengths are retrieved from a multiplexed interferogram, and a synthesized wavelength phase map is derived to guide the height profiling of samples with extended depth. With the wavelength resolved phase maps, a physical model is derived to obtain sample dispersion parameters, which further enables us to quantify the hemoglobin concentration of red blood cells in real time. By inserting an appropriate emission color filter, fluorescence imaging is realized using the same camera, which significantly broadens the cell imaging applications of CM3. As a cost‐effective and multifaceted imaging method, CM3 may find many promising applications in live‐cell imaging and material characterization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Photocatalytic overall water splitting into hydrogen and oxygen is desirable for long-term renewable, sustainable and clean fuel production on earth. Metal sulfides are considered as ideal hydrogen-evolved photocatalysts, but their component homogeneity and typical sulfur instability cause an inert oxygen production, which remains a huge obstacle to overall water-splitting. Here, a distortion-evoked cation-site oxygen doping of ZnIn2S4 (D-O-ZIS) creates significant electronegativity differences between adjacent atomic sites, with S1 sites being electron-rich and S2 sites being electron-deficient in the local structure of S1–S2–O sites. The strong charge redistribution character activates stable oxygen reactions at S2 sites and avoids the common issue of sulfur instability in metal sulfide photocatalysis, while S1 sites favor the adsorption/desorption of hydrogen. Consequently, an overall water-splitting reaction has been realized in D-O-ZIS with a remarkable solar-to-hydrogen conversion efficiency of 0.57%, accompanying a ~ 91% retention rate after 120 h photocatalytic test. In this work, we inspire an universal design from electronegativity differences perspective to activate and stabilize metal sulfide photocatalysts for efficient overall water-splitting. Solving component homogeneity and sulfur instability of metal sulfides is crucial for photocatalytic overall water splitting. Here, the authors develop a distortion evoked cation site oxygen doping to create electronegativity differences between adjacent atom and enhance photocatalytic activity [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cancer stem cells (CSCs) represent a distinct subset of neoplastic cells characterised by their heightened capacity for tumorigenesis. These cells are implicated in the facilitation of cancer metastasis, recurrence, and resistance to conventional therapeutic interventions. Extensive scientific research has been devoted to the identification of biomarkers and the elucidation of molecular mechanisms in order to improve targeted therapeutic approaches. Accurate identification of cancer stem cells based on biomarkers can provide a theoretical basis for drug combinations of malignant tumours. Targeted biomarker-based therapies also offer a silver lining for patients with advanced malignancies. This review aims comprehensively to consolidate the latest findings on CSCs biomarkers, targeted agents as well as biomarkers associated signalling pathways in well-established cancer types, thereby contributing to improved prognostic outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Analysis of T‐cell receptor (TCR) repertoires in different stages of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) might help to elucidate its pathogenesis and progression. This study aimed to investigate TCR profiles in liver biopsies and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) in different Barcelona Clinic liver cancer (BCLC) stages of HCC. Ten patients in early stage (BCLC_A), 10 patients in middle stage (BCLC_B), and 10 patients in late stage (BCLC_C) cancer were prospectively enrolled. The liver tumor tissues, adjacent tissues, and PBMCs of each patient were collected and examined by TCR β sequencing. Based on the ImMunoGeneTics (IMGT) database, we aligned the V, D, J, and C gene segments and identified the frequency of CDR3 sequences and amino acids sequence. Diversity of TCR in PBMCs was higher than in both tumor tissues and adjacent tissues, regardless of BCLC stage and postoperative recurrence. TCR clonality was increased in T cells from peripheral blood in advanced HCC, compared with the early and middle stages. No statistical differences were observed between different BCLC stages, either in tumors or adjacent tissues. TCR clonality revealed no significant difference between recurrent tumor and non‐recurrent tumor, therefore PBMCs was better to be representative of TCR characteristics in different stages of HCC compared to tumor tissues. Clonal expansion of T cells was associated with low risk of recurrence in HCC patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transition metal sulfides are commonly studied as photocatalysts for water splitting in solar-to-fuel conversion. However, the effectiveness of these photocatalysts is limited by the recombination and restricted light absorption capacity of carriers. In this paper, a broad spectrum responsive In2S3/Bi2S3 heterojunction is constructed by in-situ integrating Bi2S3 with the In2S3, derived from an In-MOF precursor, via the high-temperature sulfidation and solvothermal methods. Benefiting from the synergistic effect of wide-spectrum response, effective charge separation and transfer, and strong heterogeneous interfacial contacts, the In2S3/Bi2S3 heterojunction demonstrates a rate of 0.71 mmol/(g·h), which is 2.2 and 1.7 times as much as those of In2S3 (0.32 mmol/(g·h) and Bi2S3 (0.41 mmol/(g·h)), respectively. This paper provides a novel idea for rationally designing innovative heterojunction photocatalysts of transition metal sulfides for photocatalytic hydrogen production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]