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Copyright of Journal of Animal Ecology is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Li2MnO3 with different nanostructures was synthesized through a solid-state reaction. MnOOH nanorods and nanowires prepared via the hydrothermal method were used as precursors, respectively, to react with Li(OH)·H2O to prepare nanostructured Li2MnO3 in the temperature range from 500 to 800 °C. The samples were characterized by XRD, TEM, ESR and FTIR results. Based on the experimental results, the dehydration–oxidation-combination (DOC) formation mechanism of Li2MnO3 was proposed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Mn3O4 nanoparticles and MnOOH nanorods were prepared, respectively, through successfully controlling a solvothermal reaction. An aqueous ethanol solution is used as the solvent. The ethanol volume percent in the solvent and reaction temperature have important effects on the composition of the final products. Experiments show that single phase of Mn3O4 nanoparticles can be prepared at higher reaction temperature and higher volume percent of ethanol (>50%), while single phase of MnOOH nanorods as single crystallites can be obtained at lower reaction temperature and lower volume percent of ethanol (2–10%). The controlled reactions allow the large-scale and cost-effective synthesis of Mn3O4 and MnOOH with different morphologies, which are expected to show unusual properties and potential applications in catalysis, electrochromic and magnetic materials as well as to afford good precursors for further synthesis and investigation of other manganese oxides. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Tumors pose a significant global public health challenge, resulting in numerous fatalities annually. CD8 + T cells play a crucial role in combating tumors; however, their effectiveness is compromised by the tumor itself and the tumor microenvironment (TME), resulting in reduced efficacy of immunotherapy. In this dynamic interplay, extracellular vesicles (EVs) have emerged as pivotal mediators, facilitating direct and indirect communication between tumors and CD8 + T cells. In this article, we provide an overview of how tumor-derived EVs directly regulate CD8 + T cell function by carrying bioactive molecules they carry internally and on their surface. Simultaneously, these EVs modulate the TME, indirectly influencing the efficiency of CD8 + T cell responses. Furthermore, EVs derived from CD8 + T cells exhibit a dual role: they promote tumor immune evasion while also enhancing antitumor activity. Finally, we briefly discuss current prevailing approaches that utilize functionalized EVs based on tumor-targeted therapy and tumor immunotherapy. These approaches aim to present novel perspectives for EV-based tumor treatment strategies, demonstrating potential for advancements in the field., 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 © 2024 Huang, Liu, Guo, Zhou, Shi, Cai, Tang, Ouyang and Zheng.)

Anthropogenic activities have reshaped biodiversity on islands worldwide. However, it remains unclear how island attributes and land-use change interactively shape multiple facets of island biodiversity through community assembly processes. To answer this, we conducted bird surveys in various land-use types (mainly forest and farmland) using transects on 34 oceanic land-bridge islands in the largest archipelago of China. We found that bird species richness increased with island area and decreased with isolation, regardless of the intensity of land-use change. However, forest-dominated habitats exhibited lower richness than farmland-dominated habitats. Island bird assemblages generally comprised species that share more similar traits or evolutionary histories (i.e. functional and/or phylogenetic clustering) than expected if assemblages were randomly assembled. Contrary to our expectations, we observed that bird assemblages in forest-dominated habitats were more clustered on large and close islands, whereas assemblages in farmland-dominated habitats were more clustered on small islands. These contrasting results indicate that land-use change interacts with island biogeography to alter the community assembly of birds on inhabited islands. Our findings emphasize the importance of incorporating human-modified habitats when examining the community assembly of island biota, and further suggest that agricultural landscapes on large islands may play essential roles in protecting countryside island biodiversity.

The differentiation of memory CD8 + T cells is critical to the long-term cellular immunity. The transcription factor BCL6 has been reportedly important for the generation and maintenance of memory CD8 + T cells; however, using the newly established BCL6 conditional knockout mouse model, we demonstrate that BCL6 is dispensable for the maintenance of established memory CD8 + T cell pool, although BCL6 is still required for the generation of CD8 + memory precursors upon acute viral infection. In addition, BCL6 promotes the expression of TCF-1 via directly binding to the Tcf7 (gene symbol for TCF-1) allele in CD8 + memory precursors and forced expression of TCF-1 restores the generation of BCL6-deficient memory precursors. Thus, our findings clarify that BCL6 is dispensable for the maintenance of memory CD8 + T cells, but functions as an important upstream of TCF-1 to regulate the generation of memory precursors in acute viral infection., (Copyright © 2019 by The American Association of Immunologists, Inc.)

Cytotoxic CD8+ T cells (CTLs) are crucial for controlling intracellular pathogens as well as cancer. However, how to promote the cytotoxic activity of CTL cells in vitro and in vivo remains largely unknown. On the other hand, ceria nanoparticles (CNPs) are widely used in biomedical fields, but the role of CNPs in CTL cells is still unclear. In this study, we found that the activated antigen-specific (P14) and nonspecific CD8+ T cells with CNP treatment both produced more cytokines, including interleukin-2 (IL-2) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and released more effector molecules, such as granzyme B and perforin, and then exhibited higher killing activity of P14 cells in vitro and stronger viral clearance capacity of CTL cells in vivo. Mechanistically, the activated P14 cells with CNP treatment inhibited the production of reactive oxygen species, and therefore promoted the activity of NF-κB signaling. Importantly, while the P14 cells were simultaneously treated by IMD-0354, a specific inhibitor of NF-κB signaling, the increases of IL-2 and TNF-α productions and granzyme B and perforin releases were remedied, and the P14 cells eventually exhibited the natural killing activity in vitro. Thus, our results demonstrated that CNP treatment promoted the cytotoxic activity of CTL cells and provide new ideas in the usage of CNPs and fascinating pharmacological potentials for clinical application, especially cancer immunotherapy.