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Background: Dengue, a mosquito-borne febrile viral disease, is found in tropical and sub-tropical regions around the world. Since the first occurrence of dengue was confirmed in Guangdong, China in 1978, dengue outbreaks have been reported sequentially in different provinces in South China transmitted by.peridomestic Ae. albopictus mosquitoes, diplaying Ae. aegypti, a fully domestic vector that transmits dengue worldwide. Rapid and uncontrolled urbanization is a characteristic change in developing countries, which impacts greatly on vector habitat, human lifestyle and transmission dynamics on dengue epidemics. In September 2010, an outbreak of dengue was detected in Dongguan, a city in Guangdong province characterized by its fast urbanization. An investigation was initiated to identify the cause, to describe the epidemical characteristics of the outbreak, and to implement control measures to stop the outbreak. This is the first report of dengue outbreak in Dongguan, even though dengue cases were documented before in this city. Methods. Epidemiological data were obtained from local Center of Disease Control and prevention (CDC). Laboratory tests such as real-time Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR), the virus cDNA sequencing, and Enzyme-Linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) were employed to identify the virus infection and molecular phylogenetic analysis was performed with MEGA5. The febrile cases were reported every day by the fever surveillance system. Vector control measures including insecticidal fogging and elimination of habitats of Ae. albopictus were used to control the dengue outbreak. Results: The epidemiological studies results showed that this dengue outbreak was initiated by an imported case from Southeast Asia. The outbreak was characterized by 31 cases reported with an attack rate of 50.63 out of a population of 100,000. Ae. albopictus was the only vector species responsible for the outbreak. The virus cDNA sequencing analysis showed that the virus responsible for the outbreak was Dengue Virus serotype-1 (DENV-1). Conclusions: Several characterized points of urbanization contributed to this outbreak of dengue in Dongguan: the residents are highly concentrated; the residents' life habits helped to form the habitats of Ae. albopictus and contributed to the high Breteau Index; the self-constructed houses lacks of mosquito prevention facilities. This report has reaffirmed the importance of a surveillance system for infectious diseases control and aroused the awareness of an imported case causing the epidemic of an infectious disease in urbanized region. © 2012 Peng et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

Metal hydrides are crucial intermediates in numerous catalytic reactions. Intensive efforts have been dedicated to constructing molecular metal hydrides, where toxic precursors and delicate mediators are usually involved. Herein, we demonstrate a facile pressure-induced methodology to generate a cost-effective heterogeneous electrocatalytic metal hydride surface for sustainable hydrogen transfer. Taking carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) electroreduction as a model system and zinc (Zn), a well-known carbon monoxide (CO)-selective catalyst, as a model catalyst, we showcase a homogeneous-type hydrogen atom transfer process induced by heterogeneous hydride surfaces, enabling direct hydrogenation pathways traditionally considered "prohibited". Specifically, the maximal Faradaic efficiency for formate is enhanced by ~fivefold to 83% under ambient conditions. Experimental and theoretical analyses reveal that unlike the distal hydrogenation route for CO 2 to CO over pristine Zn, the Zn hydride surface enables direct hydrogenation at the carbon site of CO 2 to form formate. This work provides a promising material platform for sustainable synthesis., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: Individuals diagnosed with gastrointestinal tumors are at an increased risk of developing cardiovascular diseases. Among which, ventricular arrhythmia is a prevalent clinical concern. This suggests that ventricular arrhythmias may have predictive value in the prognosis of patients with gastrointestinal tumors., Aim: To explore the prognostic value of ventricular arrhythmias in patients with gastrointestinal tumors receiving surgery., Methods: We retrospectively analyzed data from 130 patients undergoing gastrointestinal tumor resection. These patients were evaluated by a 24-h ambulatory electrocardiogram (ECG) at the Sixth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University from January 2018 to June 2020. Additionally, 41 general healthy age-matched and sex-matched controls were included. Patients were categorized into survival and non-survival groups. The primary endpoint was all-cause mortality, and secondary endpoints included major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs)., Results: Colorectal tumors comprised 90% of cases. Preoperative ambulatory ECG monitoring revealed that among the 130 patients with gastrointestinal tumors, 100 (76.92%) exhibited varying degrees of premature ventricular contractions (PVCs). Ten patients (7.69%) manifested non-sustained ventricular tachycardia (NSVT). The patients with gastrointestinal tumors exhibited higher PVCs compared to the healthy controls on both conventional ECG [27 (21.3) vs 1 (2.5), P = 0.012] and 24-h ambulatory ECG [14 (1.0, 405) vs 1 (0, 6.5), P < 0.001]. Non-survivors had a higher PVC count than survivors [150.50 (7.25, 1690.50) vs 9 (0, 229.25), P = 0.020]. During the follow-up period, 24 patients died and 11 patients experienced MACEs. Univariate analysis linked PVC > 35/24 h to all-cause mortality, and NSVT was associated with MACE. However, neither PVC burden nor NSVT independently predicted outcomes according to multivariate analysis., Conclusion: Patients with gastrointestinal tumors exhibited elevated PVCs. PVCs > 35/24 h and NSVT detected by 24-h ambulatory ECG were prognostically significant but were not found to be independent predictors., Competing Interests: Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article., (©The Author(s) 2024. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.)

The directional transformation of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) with renewable hydrogen into specific carbon-heavy products (C 6+ ) of high value presents a sustainable route for net-zero chemical manufacture. However, it is still challenging to simultaneously achieve high activity and selectivity due to the unbalanced CO 2 hydrogenation and C-C coupling rates on complementary active sites in a bifunctional catalyst, thus causing unexpected secondary reaction. Here we report LaFeO 3 perovskite-mediated directional tandem conversion of CO 2 towards heavy aromatics with high CO 2 conversion (> 60%), exceptional aromatics selectivity among hydrocarbons (> 85%), and no obvious deactivation for 1000 hours. This is enabled by disentangling the CO 2 hydrogenation domain from the C-C coupling domain in the tandem system for Iron-based catalyst. Unlike other active Fe oxides showing wide hydrocarbon product distribution due to carbide formation, LaFeO 3 by design is endowed with superior resistance to carburization, therefore inhibiting uncontrolled C-C coupling on oxide and isolating aromatics formation in the zeolite. In-situ spectroscopic evidence and theoretical calculations reveal an oxygenate-rich surface chemistry of LaFeO 3 , that easily escape from the oxide surface for further precise C-C coupling inside zeolites, thus steering CO 2 -HCOOH/H 2 CO-Aromatics reaction pathway to enable a high yield of aromatics., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) is characterized by a high incidence rate and mortality. Recently, POC1 centriolar protein A (POC1A) has emerged as a potential biomarker for various cancers, contributing to cancer onset and development. However, the association between POC1A and LUAD remains unexplored. We extracted The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) data sets to analyse the differential expression of POC1A and its relationship with clinical stage. Additionally, we performed diagnostic receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve analysis and Kaplan-Meier (KM) survival analysis to assess the diagnostic and prognostic value of POC1A in LUAD. Furthermore, we investigated the correlation between POC1A expression and immune infiltration, tumour mutation burden (TMB), immune checkpoint expression and drug sensitivity. Finally, we verified POC1A expression using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and immunohistochemistry (IHC). Cell experiments were conducted to validate the effect of POC1A expression on the proliferation, migration and invasion of lung cancer cells. POC1A exhibited overexpression in most tumour tissues, and its overexpression in LUAD was significantly correlated with late-stage presentation and poor prognosis. The high POC1A expression group showed lower levels of immune infiltration but higher levels of immune checkpoint expression and TMB. Moreover, the high POC1A expression group demonstrated sensitivity to multiple drugs. In vitro experiments confirmed that POC1A knockdown led to decreased proliferation, migration, and invasion of lung cancer cells. Our findings suggest that POC1A may contribute to tumour development by modulating the cell cycle and immune cell infiltration. It also represents a potential therapeutic target and marker for the diagnosis and prognosis of LUAD., (© 2024 The Authors. Journal of Cellular and Molecular Medicine published by Foundation for Cellular and Molecular Medicine and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic created many challenges for in-patient care including patient isolation and limitations on hospital visitation. Although communication technology, such as video calling or texting, can reduce social isolation, there are challenges for implementation, particularly for older adults., Objective/methods: This study used a mixed methodology to understand the challenges faced by in-patients and to explore the perspectives of patients, family members, and health care providers (HCPs) regarding the use of communication technology. Surveys and focus groups were used., Findings: Patients who had access to communication technology perceived the COVID-19 pandemic to have more adverse impact on their well-beings but less on hospitalization outcomes, compared to those without. Most HCPs perceived that technology could improve programs offered, connectedness of patients to others, and access to transitions of care supports. Focus groups highlighted challenges with technology infrastructure in hospitals., Discussion: Our study findings may assist efforts in appropriately adopting communication technology to improve the quality of in-patient and transition care.

ConspectusLithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries have attracted worldwide attention as promising next-generation rechargeable batteries due to their high theoretical energy density of 2600 Wh kg -1 . The actual energy density of Li-S batteries at the pouch cell level has significantly exceeded that of state-of-the-art Li-ion batteries. However, the overall performances of Li-S batteries under practical working conditions are limited by the sluggish conversion kinetics of the sulfur cathodes. To overcome the above challenge, various kinetic promotion strategies have been proposed to accelerate the multiphase and multi-electron cathodic redox reactions between sulfur, lithium polysulfides (LiPSs), and lithium sulfide. Nowadays, kinetic promoters have been massively employed in sulfur cathodes to achieve Li-S batteries with high energy densities, high rates, and long lifespans. A comprehensive and timely summary of cutting-edge kinetic promoters for sulfur cathodes is of great essence to afford an in-depth understanding of the unique Li-S electrochemistry.In this Account, we outline the recent efforts on the design of sulfur cathode kinetic promoters for advanced Li-S batteries. The latest progress is discussed in detail regarding heterogeneous, homogeneous, and semi-immobilized kinetic promoters. Heterogeneous promoters, representatively known as electrocatalysts, function mainly by reducing the energy barriers of the interfacial electrochemical reactions. The working mechanism, activity regulation strategies, and reconstitution/deactivation processes of the heterogeneous promoters are reviewed to provide guiding principles for rational design. In comparison, homogeneous promoters are able to fully contact with the reaction interfaces and regulate the electron/ion-inaccessible reactants in working Li-S batteries. Redox mediators and redox comediators are typical homogeneous promoters. The former establishes extra chemical reaction pathways to circumvent the originally sluggish steps and boost the overall kinetics, while the latter fundamentally modifies the LiPS molecules to enhance their redox kinetics. For semi-immobilized promoters, the active units are generally anchored on the cathode substrate through flexible chains with mobile characteristics. Such a design endows the promoter with both heterogeneous and homogeneous characteristics to comprehensively regulate the multiphase sulfur redox reactions involving both mobile and immobile reactants.Overall, this Account summarizes the fundamental electrochemistry, design principles, and practical promotion effects of the various kinetic promoters used for the sulfur cathodes in Li-S batteries. We believe that this Account will provide an in-depth and cutting-edge understanding of the unique sulfur electrochemistry, thereby providing guidance for further development of high-performance Li-S batteries and analogous rechargeable battery systems.

Single-atom catalysts exhibit promising electrocatalytic activity, a trait that can be further enhanced through the introduction of heteroatom doping within the carbon skeleton. Nonetheless, the intricate relationship between the doping positions and activity remains incompletely elucidated. This contribution sheds light on an inductive effect of single-atom sites, showcasing that the activity of the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) can be augmented by reducing the spatial gap between the doped heteroatom and the single-atom sites. Drawing inspiration from this inductive effect, we propose a synthesis strategy involving ligand modification aimed at precisely adjusting the distance between dopants and single-atom sites. This precise synthesis leads to optimized electrocatalytic activity for the ORR. The resultant electrocatalyst, characterized by Fe-N 3 P 1 single-atom sites, demonstrates remarkable ORR activity, thus exhibiting great potential in zinc-air batteries and fuel cells.

Purpose: To explore the essential roles of phosphorylation in mediating the proliferation of T. gondii in its cell lytic life., Methods: We profiled the phosphoproteome data of T. gondii residing in HFF cells for 2 h and 6 h, representing the early- and late-stages of proliferation (ESP and LSP) within its first generation of division., Results: We identified 70 phosphoproteins, among which 8 phosphoproteins were quantified with the phosphorylation level significantly regulated. While only two of the eight phosphoproteins, GRA7 and TGGT1&#95;242070, were significantly down-regulated at the transcriptional level in the group of LSP vs. ESP. Moreover, GO terms correlated with host membrane component were significantly enriched in the category of cellular component, suggesting phosphoprotein played important roles in acquiring essential substance from host cell via manipulating host membrane. Further GO analysis in the categories of molecular function and biological process and pathway analysis revealed that the cellular processes of glucose and lipid metabolism were regulated by T. gondii phosphoproteins such as PMCAA1, LIPIN, Pyk1 and ALD. Additionally, several phosphoproteins were enriched at the central nodes in the protein-protein interaction network, which may have essential roles in T. gondii proliferation including GAP45, MLC1, fructose-1,6-bisphosphate aldolase, GRAs and so on., Conclusion: This study revealed the main cellular processes and key phosphoproteins crucial for the intracellular proliferation of T. gondii, which would provide clues to explore the roles of phosphorylation in regulating the development of tachyzoites and new insight into the mechanism of T. gondii development in vitro., (© 2023. The Author(s) under exclusive licence to Witold Stefański Institute of Parasitology, Polish Academy of Sciences.)

Coordination engineering for single-atom sites has drawn increasing attention, yet its chemical synthesis remains a tough issue, especially for tailorable coordination structures. Herein, a molecular recognition strategy is proposed to fabricate single-atom sites with regulable local coordination structures. Specifically, a heteroatom-containing ligand serves as the guest molecule to induce coordination interaction with the metal-containing host, precisely settling the heteroatoms into the local structure of single-atom sites. As a proof of concept, thiophene is selected as the guest molecule, and sulfur atoms are successfully introduced into the local coordination structure of iron single-atom sites. Ultrahigh oxygen reduction electrocatalytic activity is achieved with a half-wave potential of 0.93 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode. Furthermore, the strategy possesses excellent universality towards diversified types of single-atom sites. This work makes breakthroughs in the fabrication of single-atom sites and affords new opportunities in structural regulation at the atomic level., (© 2023 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Selective electroreduction of CO 2 to C 1 feed gas provides an attractive avenue to store intermittent renewable energy. However, most of the CO 2 -to-CO catalysts are designed from the perspective of structural reconstruction, and it is challenging to precisely design a meaningful confining microenvironment for active sites on the support. Herein, we report a local sulfur doping method to precisely tune the electronic structure of an isolated asymmetric nickel-nitrogen-sulfur motif (Ni 1 -NSC). Our Ni 1 -NSC catalyst presents >99% faradaic efficiency for CO 2 -to-CO under a high current density of -320 mA cm -2 . In situ attenuated total reflection surface-enhanced infrared absorption spectroscopy and differential electrochemical mass spectrometry indicated that the asymmetric sites show a significantly weaker binding strength of *CO and a lower kinetic overpotential for CO 2 -to-CO. Further theoretical analysis revealed that the enhanced CO 2 reduction reaction performance of Ni 1 -NSC was mainly due to the effectively decreased intermediate activation energy.

The removal of acetylene impurities remains important yet challenging to the ethylene downstream industry. Current thermocatalytic semihydrogenation processes require high temperature and excess hydrogen to guarantee complete acetylene conversion. For this reason, renewable electricity-based electrocatalytic semihydrogenation of acetylene over Cu-based catalysts is an attractive route compared to the energy-intensive thermocatalytic processes. However, active Cu electrocatalysts still face competition from side reactions and often require high overpotentials. Here, we present an undercoordinated Cu nanodots catalyst with an onset potential of -0.15 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode that can exclusively convert C 2 H 2 to C 2 H 4 with a maximum Faradaic efficiency of ~95.9% and high intrinsic activity in excess of -450 mA cm -2 under pure C 2 H 2 flow. Subsequently, we successfully demonstrate simulated crude ethylene purification, continuously producing polymer-grade C 2 H 4 with <1 ppm C 2 H 2 for 130 h at a space velocity of 1.35 × 10 5  ml g cat -1 h -1 . Theoretical calculations and in situ spectroscopies reveal a lower energy barrier for acetylene semihydrogenation over undercoordinated Cu sites than nondefective Cu surface, resulting in the excellent C 2 H 2 -to-C 2 H 4 catalytic activity of Cu nanodots., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Dilute alloying is an effective strategy to tune properties of solid catalysts but is rarely leveraged in complex reactions beyond small molecule conversion. In this work, dilute dopants are demonstrated to serve as activating centers to construct multiatom catalytic domains in metal nitride electrocatalysts for lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries, of which the sulfur cathode suffers from sluggish and complex conversion reactions. With titanium nitride (TiN) as a model system, the dilute cobalt alloying is shown to greatly improve the reaction kinetics while inducing negligible catalyst reconstruction. Compared to the pristine TiN, the dilute nitride alloy catalyst enables onefold increase in the high rate (2.0 C) capacities of Li-S batteries, as well as an impressively low cyclic decay rate of 0.17% at a sulfur loading of 4.0 mg S cm -2 . This work opens up new opportunities toward the rational design of Li-S electrocatalysts by dilute alloying and also enlightens the understandings of complex domain-catalyzed reactions in energy applications., (© 2022 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Heteroatom-doping is a practical means to boost RuO 2 for acidic oxygen evolution reaction (OER). However, a major drawback is conventional dopants have static electron redistribution. Here, we report that Re dopants in Re 0.06 Ru 0.94 O 2 undergo a dynamic electron accepting-donating that adaptively boosts activity and stability, which is different from conventional dopants with static dopant electron redistribution. We show Re dopants during OER, (1) accept electrons at the on-site potential to activate Ru site, and (2) donate electrons back at large overpotential and prevent Ru dissolution. We confirm via in situ characterizations and first-principle computation that the dynamic electron-interaction between Re and Ru facilitates the adsorbate evolution mechanism and lowers adsorption energies for oxygen intermediates to boost activity and stability of Re 0.06 Ru 0.94 O 2 . We demonstrate a high mass activity of 500 A g cata. -1 (7811 A g Re-Ru -1 ) and a high stability number of S-number = 4.0 × 10 6  n oxygen  n Ru -1 to outperform most electrocatalysts. We conclude that dynamic dopants can be used to boost activity and stability of active sites and therefore guide the design of adaptive electrocatalysts for clean energy conversions., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Lithium-sulfur (Li-S) battery is strongly considered as one of the most promising energy storage systems due to its high theoretical energy density and low cost. However, the sluggish reduction kinetics from Li 2 S 4 to Li 2 S during discharge hinders the practical application of Li-S batteries. Although various electrocatalysts have been proposed to improve the reaction kinetics, the electrocatalytic mechanism is unclear due to the complexity of sulfur reduction reactions (SRR). It is crucial to understand the electrocatalytic mechanism thoroughly for designing advanced electrocatalysts. Herein an electrocatalytic model is constructed to reveal the chemical mechanism of the SRR in Li-S batteries based on systematical density functional theory calculations, taking heteroatoms-doped carbon materials as an example. The adsorption energy of LiS y ⋅ (y=1, 2, or 3) radicals is used as a key descriptor to predict the reaction pathway, rate-determining step, and overpotential. A diagram for designing advanced electrocatalysts is accordingly constructed. This work establishes a theoretical model, which is an intelligent integration for probing the complicated SRR mechanisms and designing advanced electrocatalysts for high-performance Li-S batteries., (© 2022 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

The development of emerging rechargeable batteries is often hindered by limited chemical understanding composing of entangled patterns in an enormous space. Herein, we propose an interpretable hybrid machine learning framework to untangle intractable degradation chemistries of conversion-type batteries. Rather than being a black box, this framework not only demonstrates an ability to accurately forecast lithium-sulfur batteries (with a test mean absolute error of 8.9 % for the end-of-life prediction) but also generate useful physical understandings that illuminate future battery design and optimization. The framework also enables the discovery of a previously unknown performance indicator, the ratio of electrolyte amount to high-voltage-region capacity at the first discharge, for lithium-sulfur batteries complying practical merits. The present data-driven approach is readily applicable to other energy storage systems due to its versatility and flexibility in modules and inputs., (© 2022 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Spontaneous monodispersion of reducible active species (e.g., Fe, Co) and their stabilization in reductive atmospheres remain a key challenge in catalytic syngas chemistry. In this study, we present a series of catalysts including spontaneously monodispersed and enriched Fe on ZnCr 2 O 4 . Deep investigation shows remarkable performance in the syngas-to-aromatic reaction only when monodispersed Fe coupled with a H-ZSM-5 zeolite. Monodispersed Fe increases the turnover frequency from 0.14 to 0.48 s -1 without sacrificing the record high selectivity of total aromatics (80-90%) at a single pass. The increased activity is ascribed to more efficient activation of CO and H 2 at oxygen vacancy nearest to the isolated Fe site and the prevention of carbide formation. Atomic precise characterization and theoretical calculations shed light on the origin and implications of spontaneous Fe monodispersion, which provide guidance to the design of next-generation catalyst for upgrading small molecules to synthetic fuels and chemicals., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

The lifespan of practical lithium (Li)-metal batteries is severely hindered by the instability of Li-metal anodes. Fluorinated solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) emerges as a promising strategy to improve the stability of Li-metal anodes. The rational design of fluorinated molecules is pivotal to construct fluorinated SEI. Herein, design principles of fluorinated molecules are proposed. Fluoroalkyl (-CF 2 CF 2 -) is selected as an enriched F reservoir and the defluorination of the C-F bond is driven by leaving groups on β-sites. An activated fluoroalkyl molecule (AFA), 2,2,3,3-tetrafluorobutane-1,4-diol dinitrate is unprecedentedly proposed to render fast and complete defluorination and generate uniform fluorinated SEI on Li-metal anodes. In Li-sulfur (Li-S) batteries under practical conditions, the fluorinated SEI constructed by AFA undergoes 183 cycles, which is three times the SEI formed by LiNO 3 . Furthermore, a Li-S pouch cell of 360 Wh kg -1 delivers 25 cycles with AFA. This work demonstrates rational molecular design principles of fluorinated molecules to construct fluorinated SEI for practical Li-metal batteries., (© 2022 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Background: There is the lack of reports on apatinib (APA) combined with radiation in the treatment of cervical cancer. The aim of our study was to investigate the anti-tumor effect of APA combined with radiation using an in vivo model of cervical cancer., Methods: The mouse models, established using Henrietta Lacks (HeLa) cells, were randomly divided into 4 groups: the control group, radiotherapy (RT) alone group, cisplatin (DDPs) combination RT group (DDPs + RT), and APA combination RT group (APA + RT). The expressions of the vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 (VEGFR-2), platelet endothelial cell adhesion molecule-1 (CD31), proliferating cell nuclear antigen (Ki-67), and histone H2AX family member (γ-H2AX) were determined using immunohistochemistry (IHC), the extent of apoptosis was determined using terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase (TdT)-mediated (dUTP) nick-end labeling (TUNEL), and tumor metabolism was determined using micro18F-fluorodexyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography. The length of survival was observed and recorded., Results: The positive expressions of VEGFR-2, CD31, and Ki-67 in the APA + RT group were obviously reduced compared with the control, RT, and DDPs + RT groups (P<0.05). The positive expression of γ-H2AX was obviously increased compared with the control and RT groups (P<0.05), whereas the apoptosis rate in the APA + RT group was obviously increased compared with the control, RT, and DDPs + RT groups (P<0.05). The tumor metabolism and volume in the APA + RT group were obviously reduced compared with the control, RT, and DDPs + RT groups. The length of survival was prolonged by 22 and 11 days in the APA + RT group compared with the RT and DDPs + RT groups, respectively (P<0.05)., Conclusions: The combination of APA and RT could significantly enhance the anti-tumor efficacy of RT and prolong the median survival in a mouse model of cervical cancer., Competing Interests: Conflicts of Interest: All authors have completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure form (available at https://atm.amegroups.com/article/view/10.21037/atm-22-1442/coif). The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare., (2022 Annals of Translational Medicine. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: This systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted to explore the effect of physical training on frailty status and physical performance in the community dwelling elderly., Methods: We set keywords and used the Boolean operator to search the CEPS, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, PubMed, MEDLINE, and EMBASE databases from inception to 10 August 2021. The search was limited to randomized controlled trials (RCTs) conducted within a five-year period. The Cochrane Collaboration bias assessment tool was used to assess article quality, and RevMan 5.4.1. software (Cochrane Training site based in London, UK) was used to conduct the meta-analysis., Results: Physical training was found to improve frailty status, physical performance, lower limb strength and balance. The best dose-response for physical training was 60 min per time, 2-3 times per week, for 3 months., Conclusion: Designing an appropriate physical training program can decrease the frailty score and increase physical performance in frail elderly in the community.

The electrochemical conversion of carbon di-/monoxide into commodity chemicals paves a way towards a sustainable society but it also presents one of the great challenges in catalysis. Herein, we present the trends in selectivity towards specific dicarbon oxygenate/hydrocarbon products from carbon monoxide reduction on transition metal catalysts, with special focus on copper. We unveil the distinctive role of electrolyte pH in tuning the dicarbon oxygenate/hydrocarbon selectivity. The understanding is based on density functional theory calculated energetics and microkinetic modeling. We identify the critical reaction steps determining selectivity and relate their transition state energies to two simple descriptors, the carbon and hydroxide binding strengths. The atomistic insight gained enables us to rationalize a number of experimental observations and provides avenues towards the design of selective electrocatalysts for liquid fuel production from carbon di-/monoxide., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Background: Breast cancer is the most common cause of cancer-related death among women, and prognosis is especially poor for patients with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC); therefore, there is an urgent need for new effective therapies. Recent studies have demonstrated that the uracil auxotroph Toxoplasma gondii vaccine displays anti-tumor effects. Here, we examined the immunotherapy effects of an attenuated uracil auxotroph strain of T. gondii against 4T1 murine breast cancer., Methods: We constructed a uracil auxotroph T. gondii RH strain via orotidine 5'-monophosphate decarboxylase gene deletion (RH-Δompdc) with CRISPR/Cas9 technology. The strain's virulence in the T. gondii-infected mice was determined in vitro and in vivo by parasite replication assay, plaque assay, parasite burden detection in mice peritoneal fluids and survival analysis. The immunomodulation ability of the strain was evaluated by cytokine detection. Its anti-tumor effect was evaluated after its in situ inoculation into 4T1 tumors in a mouse model; the tumor volume was measured, and the 4T1 lung metastasis was detected by hematoxylin and eosin and Ki67 antibody staining, and the cytokine levels were measured by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay., Results: The RH-Δompdc strain proliferated normally when supplemented with uracil, but it was unable to propagate without the addition of uracil and in vivo, which suggested that it was avirulent to the hosts. This mutant showed vaccine characteristics that could induce intense immune responses both in vitro and in vivo by significantly boosting the expression of inflammatory cytokines. Inoculation of RH-Δompdc in situ into the 4T1 tumor inhibited tumor growth, reduced lung metastasis, promoted the survival of the tumor-bearing mice and increased the secretion of Th1 cytokines, including interleukin-12 (IL-12) and interferon-γ (INF-δ), in both the serum and tumor microenvironment (TME)., Conclusion: Inoculation of the uracil auxotroph RH-Δompdc directly into the 4T1 tumor stimulated anti-infection and anti-tumor immunity in mice, and resulted in inhibition of tumor growth and metastasis, promotion of the survival of the tumor-bearing mice and increased secretion of IL-12 and IFN-γ in both the serum and TME. Our findings suggest that the immunomodulation caused by RH-Δompdc could be a potential anti-tumor strategy., (© 2021. The Author(s).)

Toxoplasma gondii surface antigen 1 ( Tg SAG1) is a surface protein of tachyzoites, which plays a crucial role in toxoplasma gondii infection and host cell immune regulation. However, how Tg SAG1 regulates these processes remains elucidated. We utilized the biotin ligase -TurboID fusion with Tg SAG1 to identify the host proteins interacting with Tg SAG1, and identified that S100A6 was co-localized with Tg SAG1 when T. gondii attached to the host cell. S100A6, either knocking down or blocking its functional epitopes resulted in inhibited parasites invasion. Meanwhile, S100A6 overexpression in host cells promoted T. gondii infection. We further verified that Tg SAG1 could inhibit the interaction of host cell vimentin with S100A6 for cytoskeleton organization during T. gondii invasion. As an immunogen, Tg SAG1 could promote the secretion of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) through S100A6-Vimentin/PKCθ-NF-κB signaling pathway. In summary, our findings revealed a mechanism for how Tg SAG1 functioned in parasitic invasion and host immune regulation., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2021.)

Tuning bimetallic effects is a promising strategy to guide catalytic properties. However, the nature of these effects can be difficult to assess and compare due to the convolution with other factors such as the catalyst surface structure and morphology and differences in testing environments. Here, we investigate the impact of atomic-scale bimetallic effects on the electrochemical CO 2 reduction performance of Cu-based catalysts by leveraging a systematic approach that unifies protocols for materials synthesis and testing and enables accurate comparisons of intrinsic catalytic activity and selectivity. We used the same physical vapor deposition method to epitaxially grow Cu(100) films decorated with a small amount of noble or base metal atoms and a combination of experimental characterization and first-principles calculations to evaluate their physicochemical and catalytic properties. The results indicate that the metal atoms segregate to under-coordinated Cu sites during physical vapor deposition, suppressing CO reduction to oxygenates and hydrocarbons and promoting competing pathways to CO, formate, and hydrogen. Leveraging these insights, we rationalize bimetallic design principles to improve catalytic selectivity for CO 2 reduction to CO, formate, oxygenates, or hydrocarbons. Our study provides one of the most extensive studies on Cu bimetallics for CO 2 reduction, establishing a systematic approach that is broadly applicable to research in catalyst discovery.

Lithium metal batteries are considered a promising candidate for high-energy-density energy storage. However, the strong reducibility and high reactivity of lithium lead to low Coulombic efficiency when contacting oxidants, such as lithium polysulfide caused by the serious "shuttle effect" in lithium-sulfur batteries. Herein we design selectively permeable lithium-ion channels on lithium metal surface, which allow lithium ions to pass through by electrochemical overpotential, while the polysulfides are effectively blocked due to the much larger steric hindrance than lithium ions. The selective permeation of lithium ions through the channels is further elucidated by the molecular simulation and visualization experiment. Consequently, a prolonged cycle life of 75 cycles and high Coulombic efficiency of 99 % are achieved in a practical Li-S pouch cell with limited amounts of lithium and electrolyte, confirming the unique role the selective ion permeation plays in protecting highly reactive alkali metal anodes in working batteries., (© 2021 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Vegetation phenology, a regular and periodic phenomenon in nature, is an important indicator for natural environment, especially climate change. The study of spatiotemporal variations of vegetation phenology is of great significance for monitoring the changes of terrestrial vegetation. In this study, the Savitzky-Golay (S-G) filtering method was used to reconstruct time-series MODIS enhanced vegetation index (EVI) data in the Qinling Mountains from 2001 to 2018. The dynamic threshold method was used to extract the spring phenological parameter (start of growth season, SOS). The correlation between multi-year mean SOS and interannual variation with altitude and slope was analyzed. The results showed that SOS was delayed by 1.82 d with every 100 m increase in altitude in the Qinling Mountains. The interannual change trends of SOS mainly concentrated in 0-5 d·(10 a) -1 . The pixels with delaying trend were mainly distributed in low-altitude regions, with the delaying degree being gradually decreased with the elevation. The interannual change trend of SOS in high-altitude regions was more complex than that in lower-altitude regions. The multi-year average SOS in the northern slope was approximately 2.9 d earlier than that of the southern slope, whereas the southern slope had a more significant advancing trend. The interannual change trends of SOS in both north and south slopes showed a delaying trend in low-altitude, with little difference between north and south slopes. The advancing trend in middle and high altitude was significantly different.

Polysulfide intermediates (PSs), the liquid-phase species of active materials in lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries, connect the electrochemical reactions between insulative solid sulfur and lithium sulfide and are key to full exertion of the high-energy-density Li-S system. Herein, the concept of sulfur container additives is proposed for the direct modification on the PSs species. By reversible storage and release of the sulfur species, the container molecule converts small PSs into large organosulfur species. The prototype di(tri)sulfide-polyethylene glycol sulfur container is highly efficient in the reversible PS transformation to multiply affect electrochemical behaviors of sulfur cathodes in terms of liquid-species clustering, reaction kinetics, and solid deposition. The stability and capacity of Li-S cells was thereby enhanced. The sulfur container is a strategy to directly modify PSs, enlightening the precise regulation on Li-S batteries and multi-phase electrochemical systems., (© 2020 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

The invasion and egress are two key steps in lytic cycle vital to the propagation of Toxoplasma gondii infection, and phosphorylation is believed to play important roles in these processes. However, the phosphoproteome of T. gondii at these two stages has not been characterized. In this study, we profiled the phosphoproteome of tachyzoites at the stages of "just invading" (JI) and "prior to egress" (PE) based on iTRAQ quantitative analysis, in which a total of 46 phosphopeptides, 42 phosphorylation sites, and 38 phosphoproteins were detected. In the comparison of PE vs. JI, 10 phosphoproteins were detected with their phosphorylation level significantly changed, and four of them were demonstrated to be significantly down-regulated at the transcriptional level. Bioinformatic analysis of these identified phosphoproteins suggested that phosphorylation-mediated modulation of protein function was employed to regulate the pathway of toxoplasmosis and metabolism and cellular processes correlated with tachyzoite's binding, location, and metabolism, and thus play vital roles in the parasite lytic cycle. Moreover, cytoskeletal network (CN)-associated Inner Membrane Complex (IMC1, IMC4, IMC6 and IMC12), Intravascular Network (IVN)-related GRAs (GRA2, GRA3, GRA7 and GRA12), and Parasitophorous Vacuole Membrane (PVM)-localized ROP5 were shown to be enriched at the central nodes in the protein interaction network generated by bioinformatic analysis, in which the phosphorylation level of IMC4, GRA2, GRA3, and GRA12 were found to be significantly regulated. This study revealed the main cellular processes and key phosphoproteins crucial for the invasion and egress of T. gondii , which will provide new insights into the developmental biology of T. gondii in vitro and contribute to the understanding of pathogen-host interaction from the parasite perspective., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2020 He, Xu, Pan, Wang, Peng and Liu.)

Toxoplasma gondii rhoptry protein TgROP18 is a polymorphic virulence effector that targets immunity-related GTPases (IRGs) in rodents. Given that IRGs are uniquely diversified in rodents and not in other T. gondii intermediate hosts, the role of TgROP18 in manipulating non-rodent cells is unclear. Here we show that in human cells TgROP18I interacts with the interferon-gamma-inducible protein N-myc and STAT interactor (NMI) and that this is a property that is unique to the type I TgROP18 allele. Specifically, when expressed ectopically in mammalian cells only TgROP18I co-immunoprecipitates with NMI in IFN-γ-treated cells, while TgROP18II does not. In parasites expressing TgROP18I or TgROP18II, NMI only co-immunoprecipitates with TgROP18I and this is associated with allele-specific immunolocalization of NMI on the parasitophorous vacuolar membrane (PVM). We also found that TgROP18I reduces NMI association with IFN-γ-activated sequences (GAS) in the IRF1 gene promoter. Finally, we determined that polymorphisms in the C-terminal kinase domain of TgROP18I are required for allele-specific effects on NMI. Together, these data further define new host pathway targeted by TgROP18I and provide the first function driven by allelic differences in the highly polymorphic ROP18 locus.

Use of redox mediators (RMs) is an effective strategy to enhance reaction kinetics of multi-electron sulfur electrochemistry. However, the soluble small-molecule RMs usually aggravate the internal shuttle and thus further reduce the battery efficiency and cyclability. A semi-immobilization strategy is now proposed for RM design to effectively regulate the sulfur electrochemistry while circumvent the inherent shuttle issue in a working battery. Small imide molecules as the model RMs were co-polymerized with moderate-chained polyether, rendering a semi-immobilized RM (PIPE) that is spatially restrained yet kinetically active. A small amount of PIPE (5 % in cathode) extended the cyclability of sulfur cathode from 37 to 190 cycles with 80 % capacity retention at 0.5 C. The semi-immobilization strategy helps to understand RM-assisted sulfur electrochemistry in alkali metal batteries and enlightens the chemical design of active additives for advanced electrochemical energy storage devices., (© 2020 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

The development of energy-storage devices has received increasing attention as a transformative technology to realize a low-carbon economy and sustainable energy supply. Lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries are considered to be one of the most promising next-generation energy-storage devices due to their ultrahigh energy density. Despite the extraordinary progress in the last few years, the actual energy density of Li-S batteries is still far from satisfactory to meet the demand for practical applications. Considering the sulfur electrochemistry is highly dependent on solid-liquid-solid multi-phase conversion, the electrolyte amount plays a primary role in the practical performances of Li-S cells. Therefore, a lean electrolyte volume with low electrolyte/sulfur ratio is essential for practical Li-S batteries, yet under these conditions it is highly challenging to achieve acceptable electrochemical performances regarding sulfur kinetics, discharge capacity, Coulombic efficiency, and cycling stability especially for high-sulfur-loading cathodes. In this Review, the impact of the electrolyte/sulfur ratio on the actual energy density and the economic cost of Li-S batteries is addressed. Challenges and recent progress are presented in terms of the sulfur electrochemical processes: the dissolution-precipitation conversion and the solid-solid multi-phasic transition. Finally, prospects of future lean-electrolyte Li-S battery design and engineering are discussed., (© 2019 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

In situ evolution of electrocatalysts is of paramount importance in defining catalytic reactions. Catalysts for aprotic electrochemistry such as lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries are the cornerstone to enhance intrinsically sluggish reaction kinetics but the true active phases are often controversial. Herein, we reveal the electrochemical phase evolution of metal-based pre-catalysts (Co 4 N) in working Li-S batteries that renders highly active electrocatalysts (CoS x ). Electrochemical cycling induces the transformation from single-crystalline Co 4 N to polycrystalline CoS x that are rich in active sites. This transformation propels all-phase polysulfide-involving reactions. Consequently, Co 4 N enables stable operation of high-rate (10 C, 16.7 mA cm -2 ) and electrolyte-starved (4.7 μL mg S -1 ) Li-S batteries. The general concept of electrochemically induced sulfurization is verified by thermodynamic energetics for most of low-valence metal compounds., (© 2020 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

In December 2019, cases of unidentified pneumonia with a history of exposure in the Huanan Seafood Market were reported in Wuhan, Hubei Province. A novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, was identified to be accountable for this disease. Human-to-human transmission is confirmed, and this disease (named COVID-19 by World Health Organization (WHO)) spread rapidly around the country and the world. As of 18 February 2020, the number of confirmed cases had reached 75,199 with 2009 fatalities. The COVID-19 resulted in a much lower case-fatality rate (about 2.67%) among the confirmed cases, compared with Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS). Among the symptom composition of the 45 fatality cases collected from the released official reports, the top four are fever, cough, short of breath, and chest tightness/pain. The major comorbidities of the fatality cases include hypertension, diabetes, coronary heart disease, cerebral infarction, and chronic bronchitis. The source of the virus and the pathogenesis of this disease are still unconfirmed. No specific therapeutic drug has been found. The Chinese Government has initiated a level-1 public health response to prevent the spread of the disease. Meanwhile, it is also crucial to speed up the development of vaccines and drugs for treatment, which will enable us to defeat COVID-19 as soon as possible.

Dengue virus (DENV) has become a global health threat with about half of the world's population at risk of infection. Although the disease caused by DENV is self-limiting in the first infection, the antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE) effect increases the mortality in the second infection with a heterotypic virus. Since there is no specific efficient medicine in treatment, it is urgent to develop vaccines to prevent infection and disease progression. Currently, only a live attenuated vaccine, chimeric yellow fever 17D-tetravalent dengue vaccine (CYD-TDV), has been licensed for clinical use in some countries, and many candidate vaccines are still under research and development. This review discusses the progress, strengths, and weaknesses of the five types of vaccines including live attenuated vaccine, inactivated virus vaccine, recombinant subunit vaccine, viral vectored vaccine, and DNA vaccine.

Toxoplasma gondii are obligate intracellular protoza, and due to their small genome and limited encoded proteins, they have to exploit host factors for entry, replication, and dissemination. Such host factors can be defined as host dependency factors (HDFs). Though HDFs are inessential for cell viability, they are critical for pathogen infection, and potential ideal targets for therapeutic intervention. However, information about these HDFs required by T. gondii infection is highly deficient. In this study, the genes of human foreskin fibroblast (HFF) cells were comprehensively edited using the lentiviral CRISPR-Cas9-sgRNA library, and then the lentivirus-treated cells were infected with T. gondii at multiplication of infection 1 (MOI = 1) for 10 days to identify HDFs essential for T. gondii infection. The survival cells were harvested and sent for sgRNA sequencing. The sgRNA sequence matched genes or miRNAs were potential HDFs. Some cells in the lentivirus-treated group could survive longer than those in the untreated control group after T. gondii infection. From a pool of 19,050 human genes and 1,864 human pri-miRNAs, 1,193 potential HDFs were identified, including 1,183 genes and 10 pri-miRNAs (corresponding with 17 mature miRNAs). Among them, seven genes and five mature miRNAs were validated with siRNAs, miRNA inhibitors, and mimics, respectively. Bioinformatics analysis revealed that, among the 1,183 genes, 53 potential HDFs were associated with regulation of host actin cytoskeleton and 23 potential HDFs coded immune negative regulators. This result indicated that actin dynamics were indispensable for T. gondii infection, and some host immune negative regulators may be involved in disarming host defenses. Our findings contribute to the current limited knowledge about host factors required by T. gondii infection and provide us with new targets for medication therapy and vaccine exploitation., (Copyright © 2020 Wu, Wei, Jiang, Li, Zou and Peng.)

The photocatalytic reduction of CO 2 is an effective way to solve the greenhouse effect. Different kinds of materials, such as semiconductors, coordination compounds, and bioenzymes, have been widely investigated to increase the efficiency of the photocatalytic reduction of CO 2 . However, a high selectivity and great stability are still challenges for material scientists. Here, we report for the first time visible light photocatalytic CO 2 reduction by a series of CdSe/ZIF-8 nanocomposites combining the excellent CO 2 adsorption capacity of ZIF-8 and the narrow energy gap of CdSe quantum dots (QDs). The composites show a higher catalytic performance than those of the pure components. Among CdSe/ZIF-8- x ( x = n CdSe / n ZIF-8 ), the highest yield (42.317 μmol g -1 ) for reducing CO 2 to CO in 12 h, was obtained using nanocomposites with a ratio of 0.42 ( n CdSe / n ZIF-8 ) within the range of investigation., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

Toxocariasis is a worldwide-distributed helminthic zoonosis, which mainly results from ascarid nematodes Toxocara canis and Toxocara cati. Humans become infected by accidental ingestion of infective eggs, raw or undercooked meat containing larvae. Keeping and contacting cats and dogs, and bad hygiene situations or habits are the main risk factors for Toxocara infection in China. The seroprevalence of Toxocara spp. is reported from 12.14% to 44.83%, and the overall seroprevalence in children was 12.14% in 1993 and elevated to 19.3% in 2015. Among the 103 cases reported in China during 1983-2019, ocular larva migrans (OLM), visceral larva migrans (VLM), and neural larva migrans (NLM) occupied 92.23%, 6.80%, and 0.97% of cases, respectively. The diagnosis of toxocariasis is mainly based on the history of exposure to infective eggs or larvae, clinical manifestations, laboratory examinations, and imaging studies. As most individuals who are infected with larval Toxocara, are unaware of their infections, patients with mild signs as described under covert toxocariasis (CT) can recover spontaneously, and treatment may not be necessary. Albendazole is the preferred treatment for patients with VLM; steroids, such as prednisolone combined with albendazole, are frequently used in treating patients with OLM, and surgery serves as an alternative treatment; thiabendazole is effective in treating patients with NLM. The true number of cases and prevalence of toxocariasis in China seems to be underestimated and neglected because of the lack of population-based epidemiological studies and insufficient clinical awareness of this disease, which are aspects that need to be improved by the Chinese government., (© 2020 Elsevier Ltd All rights reserved.)

Concerns related to foodborne pathogens necessitate the decontamination of avian eggs. Conventional decontamination methods, such as egg washing, usually use health-threatening chemicals (e.g. chlorine). Hence, innovative chemical-free decontamination approaches are interesting for the food industry, especially to decontaminate commonly Salmonella infected products such as duck eggs. The present study is the first attempt to evaluate the effectiveness of cold plasma against Salmonella enterica inoculated on the surface of duck eggshell. In this regard, Salmonella -contaminated duck eggs were treated by arc plasma for 10, 20, 30, and 40 s. The bacteria count, eggshell strength, color, pH, Haugh unit, acid value (AV), thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), and fatty acid profile of the plasma-treated samples were then compared with those of untreated sample. According to the results, all the plasma treatments significantly decreased the Salmonella population and longer treatment times enhanced the bactericidal effects of plasma. A maximum bacterial reduction of 4.1 log cycle was observed when plasma was applied for 40 s. Furthermore, plasma treatments did not deteriorate the quality parameters of eggs such as eggshell strength, eggshell color, yolk color, Haugh unit, AV, and TBARS. These findings introduced arc plasma as an emerging tool for improving the safety of duck eggs with good potential for industrial application., Competing Interests: Conflict of interestThe authors have no conflict of interest to declare., (© Association of Food Scientists & Technologists (India) 2019.)

In the bioremediation of eutrophic water, a large number of aquatic plants will be produced. How to continue the reasonable disposition is the question that needs to be solved. In this paper, biomass carbon was prepared from aquatic plants, and the adsorption capacity of the biomass carbon on nitrogen and phosphorus in water was improved by magnesium modification. The characterization results of material properties showed that magnesium modification not only formed nanometer MgO sheets on the surface of biomass carbon to increase the specific surface area, but also introduced hydroxyl functional groups to promote the adsorption of ammonium nitrogen. The adsorption processes of modified biomass carbon on nitrates and ammonium nitrogen belonged to multi-layer adsorption, and the adsorption isotherms conformed to the Freundlich model. The adsorption mechanism of modified biomass carbon changed from single layer adsorption to multi-layer diffusion. The maximum adsorption capacity of the modified biomass carbon on nitrate nitrogen, ammonium nitrogen, and phosphorus were 5.66, 62.53, and 90.92 mg·g -1 , respectively. The adsorption capacity of the modified biomass carbon on ammonium nitrogen is 178 times that of unmodified biomass carbon. When phosphorus, nitrate nitrogen, and ammonium nitrogen coexist, the adsorption amounts of modified biomass carbon increase by 79.1%, 67.5%, and 47.1%, respectively. The results of this paper showed that the preparation of biomass carbon can realize the resource recovery of aquatic plants, and can be used for the removal of nitrogen and phosphorus pollution from water, which has good prospects for application.

Toxoplasma gondii is an intracellular parasite that infects humans and other warm-blooded animals. Exosomes are endocytic-derived vesicles released by cells, representing an important mode of intercellular communication. In exosomes, specific molecules of proteins, lipids, and mRNAs or miRNAs have been detected, some of which are capable of transferring biologically active molecules to recipient cells. Dendritic cells (DCs) are the only antigen-presenting cells (APCs) that activate the initial immune response. In this study, high-throughput sequencing was used to analyze the exosomal miRNA profile of DC2.4 cells infected with Toxoplasma gondii for 28 h, compared with those of uninfected DC2.4 cells. Differential exosomal miRNAs (DEmiRs) from these two cell groups were analyzed. Through high-throughput sequencing, 3434 DEmiRs were obtained, and 12 stably enriched DEmiRNAs were verified by Reverse Transcription-quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-qPCR) and selected for further analysis. The target genes of these 12 miRNAs were predicted with online analysis software and subjected to bioinformatics analyses including protein-protein interaction (PPI) network analysis, key driver analysis (KDA), gene ontology (GO) enrichment, and Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis. These DEmiRs were found to be associated with a variety of biological processes and signaling pathways involved in host ubiquitin system, innate immunity, biosynthesis, and transferase activity and could be potential biomarkers for T. gondii infection.

Lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries hold great promise to serve as next-generation energy storage devices. However, the practical performances of Li-S batteries are severely limited by the sulfur cathode regarding its low conductivity, huge volume change, and the polysulfide shuttle effect. The first two issues have been well addressed by introducing mesoporous carbon hosts to the sulfur cathode. Unfortunately, the nonpolar nature of carbon materials renders poor affinity to polar polysulfides, leaving the shuttling issue unaddressed. In this contribution, atomic cobalt is implanted within the skeleton of mesoporous carbon via a supramolecular self-templating strategy, which simultaneously improves the interaction with polysulfides and maintains the mesoporous structure. Moreover, the atomic cobalt dopants serve as active sites to improve the kinetics of the sulfur redox reactions. With the atomic-cobalt-decorated mesoporous carbon host, a high capacity of 1130 mAh g S -1 at 0.5 C and a high stability with a retention of 74.1% after 300 cycles are realized. Implanting atomic metal in mesoporous carbon demonstrates a feasible strategy to endow nanomaterials with targeted functions for Li-S batteries and broad applications., (© 2019 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

Background: The entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana has been widely used to kill mosquito larvae and adults in the laboratory and field. However, its slow action of killing has hampered its widespread application. In our study, the B. bassiana fungus was genetically modified to express the Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) toxin Cyt2Ba to improve its efficacy in killing mosquitoes., Methodology/principal Findings: The efficacy of the wild type (WT) of B. bassiana and a transgenic strain expressing Cyt2Ba toxin (Bb-Cyt2Ba) was evaluated against larval and adult Aedes mosquitoes (Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus) using insect bioassays. The Bb-Cyt2Ba displayed increased virulence against larval and adult Aedes mosquitoes compared with the WT: for Ae. aegypti adults, the median lethal time (LT50) was decreased by 33% at the concentration of 1× 108 conidia/ml, 19% at 1× 107 conidia/ml and 47% at 1× 106 conidia/ml. The LT50 for Ae. albopictus adults was reduced by 20%, 23% and 29% at the same concentrations, respectively. The LT50 for Ae. aegypti larvae was decreased by 42% at 1× 107 conidia/ml and 25% at 1× 106 conidia/ml, and that for Ae. albopictus larvae was reduced by 33% and 31% at the same concentrations, respectively. In addition, infection with Bb-Cyt2Ba resulted in a dramatic reduction in the fecundity of Aedes mosquitoes., Conclusions/significance: In conclusion, our study demonstrated that the virulence of B. bassiana against mosquitoes can be significantly improved by introducing the Bt toxin gene Cyt2Ba into the genome to express the exogenous toxin in the fungus. The transgenic strain Bb-Cyt2Ba significantly reduced the survival and fecundity of Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus compared with the WT strain, which suggested that this recombinant B. bassiana has great potential for use in mosquito control., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Androctonus australis Hector insect toxin (AaIT), an insect-selective toxin, was identified in the venom of the scorpion Androctonus australis . The exclusive and specific target of the toxin is the voltage-gated sodium channels of the insect, resulting in fast excitatory paralysis and even death. Because of its strict toxic selectivity and high bioactivity, AaIT has been widely used in experiments exploring pest bio-control. Recombinant expression of AaIT in a baculovirus or a fungus can increase their virulence to insect pests and diseases vectors. Likewise, transgenic plants expressing AaIT have notable anti-insect activity. AaIT is an efficient toxin and has great potential to be used in the development of commercial insecticides.

Background: Apoptosis plays a critical role in the embryonic development, homeostasis of immune system and host defense against intracellular microbial pathogens. Infection by the obligate intracellular pathogen Toxoplasma gondii can both inhibit and induce host cell apoptosis; however, the parasitic factors involved remain unclear. The T. gondii virulence factor ROP18 (TgROP18) has been reported to regulate host cell apoptosis; nevertheless, results for this regulation have been rarely reported or have provided contradictory findings. Human purinergic receptor 1 (P2X1) is an ATP-gated ion channel that responds to ATP stimulation and functions in cell apoptosis mediation. The precise roles of TgROP18 in T. gondii pathogenesis, and the relationship between TgROP18 and host P2X1 in host cell apoptosis are yet to be revealed., Methods: Apoptosis rates were determined by flow cytometry (FCM) and TUNEL assay. The interaction between TgROP18 and the host P2X1 was measured by fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) and co-immunoprecipitation (co-IP) assay. Calcium influx and mitochondrial membrane depolarization were determined by FCM after JC-1 staining. The translocation of cytochrome C (Cyt C), Bax and Bcl2 proteins, expression of the apoptotic proteins PARP and caspase activation were detected by western blotting., Results: The apoptosis rates of glial or immune cells (human SF268, mouse RAW264.7 and human THP-1 cells) infected by any T. gondii strain (RH-type I, ME49-type II and VEG-type III) were significantly inhibited compared with their uninfected controls. TgROP18 inhibited ATP-induced apoptosis of SF268 with P2X1 expression, but had no effect on RAW264.7 or THP-1 cells without detectable P2X1 expression. It was further identified that TgROP18 interacted with P2X1, and overexpression of ROP18 in COS7 cells significantly inhibited cell apoptosis mediated by P2X1. Moreover, TgROP18 also inhibited P2X1-mediated Ca 2+ influx, translocation of cytochrome C from the mitochondria to the cytosol, and ATP-triggered caspase activation., Conclusions: Toxoplasma gondii infection inhibits ATP-induced host cell apoptosis, regardless of strain virulence and host cell lines. TgROP18 targets the purinergic receptor P2X1 of the SF268 human neural cells and inhibits ATP-induced apoptosis through the mitochondrial pathway, suggesting a sensor role for the host proapoptotic protein P2X1 in this process.

The preparation of carbon materials usually involves the decomposition of precursors and the reorganization of the as-generated fragments. However, the cleavage of bonds and the simultaneous formation of new bonds at nearly the same positions prevents effective yet precise fabrication. Herein, a supramolecular precursor, cucurbit[6]uril, that contains multiple bonds with distinct bond strengths is proposed to decouple the twin problem of simultaneous bond cleavage and formation, allowing multistage transformations to hierarchical porous carbon and metal-doped carbon in a single yet effective pyrolysis step without the need of a template or additional purification. As a proof-of-concept, the Fe-doped carbon electrocatalysts realized a Pt/C-like half-wave potential of 0.869 V vs. RHE and small Tafel slope of 51.3 mV dec -1 in oxygen reduction reaction., (© 2019 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

Surface reactions constitute the foundation of various energy conversion/storage technologies, such as the lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries. To expedite surface reactions for high-rate battery applications demands in-depth understanding of reaction kinetics and rational catalyst design. Now an in situ extrinsic-metal etching strategy is used to activate an inert monometal nitride of hexagonal Ni 3 N through iron-incorporated cubic Ni 3 FeN. In situ etched Ni 3 FeN regulates polysulfide-involving surface reactions at high rates. Electron microscopy was used to unveil the mechanism of in situ catalyst transformation. The Li-S batteries modified with Ni 3 FeN exhibited superb rate capability, remarkable cycling stability at a high sulfur loading of 4.8 mg cm -2 , and lean-electrolyte operability. This work opens up the exploration of multimetallic alloys and compounds as kinetic regulators for high-rate Li-S batteries and also elucidates catalytic surface reactions and the role of defect chemistry., (© 2019 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

Protein phosphorylation plays a key role in host cell-T. gondii interaction. However, the phosphoproteome data of host cell at various phases of T. gondii infection has not been thoroughly described. In this study, we assessed the host phosphoproteome data with isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantification (iTRAQ) method during the phases of T. gondii invasion (30 min post infection, PI) and prior to egress (28 h PI). Our iTRAQ analysis revealed a total of 665 phosphoproteins, among which the significantly regulated phosphoproteins in different between-group comparisons were further analyzed. Functional analysis of these significantly regulated phosphoproteins suggested that T. gondii modulated host cell processes through phosphorylation including cell cycle regulation, inducing apoptosis, blocking the synthesis of some inflammatory factors, mediating metabolism to support its proliferation at the infection phase prior to egress, and utilizing membrane and energy from host cell, reorganizing cytoskeleton to favor its invasion and PV formation at the phase of invasion. The phosphorylation level of Smad2, CTNNA1, and HSPB1 identified with western blot revealed a consistent trend of change with iTRAQ result. These newly identified and significantly regulated phosphoproteins from our phosphoproteome data may provide new clues to unravel the host cell's complex reaction against T. gondii infection and the interaction between the host cell and T. gondii., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

High-dielectric solvents were explored for enhancing the sulfur utilization in lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries, but their applications have been impeded by low stability at the lithium metal anode. Now a radical-directed, lithium-compatible, and strongly polysulfide-solvating high-dielectric electrolyte based on tetramethylurea is presented. Over 200 hours of cycling was realized in Li|Li symmetric cells, showing good compatibility of the tetramethylurea-based electrolyte with lithium metal. The high solubility of short-chain polysulfides, as well as the presence of active S 3 .- radicals, enabled pouch cells to deliver a discharge capacity of 1524 mAh g -1 and an energy density of 324 Wh kg -1 . This finding suggests an alternative recipe to ether-based electrolytes for Li-S batteries., (© 2018 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

Organic frameworks represent an emerging family of advanced materials that can be precisely controlled at the atomic level. However, morphology control of organic frameworks remains perplexing and difficult, strongly limiting the advantages of organic frameworks in multiple practical applications. Herein, porphyrin organic framework hollow spheres (POF-HSs) are fabricated by a template method as a proof of concept of organic frameworks with precisely controlled morphology. POF-HS exhibits explicit chemical structures of 2D POF and an expected hollow structure. The morphology of POF-HS is further regulated in terms of void size and shell thickness. Benefited from the polar chemical structures and the hollow spherical morphology, POF-HS sufficiently mitigates the shuttle of polysulfides by taking the dual effects of chemical adsorption and physical confinement and functions as a desirable host material for sulfur cathode to endow lithium-sulfur batteries with high capacity, long cycling life, and excellent rate performance. The accurate synthesis of POF-HSs demonstrates the highly controllable and versatile morphology of organic framework materials beyond precise integration of organic building blocks and represents infinite possibility of offering exotic organic frameworks for chemistry, sustainable energy, and material science., (© 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)