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Background: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common neurodegenerative disease. Mitochondrial dysfunction and immune responses are important factors in the pathogenesis of AD, but their crosstalk in AD has not been studied. In this study, the independent role and interaction of mitochondria-related genes and immune cell infiltration in AD were investigated using bioinformatics methods. Methods: The datasets of AD were obtained from NCBI Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO), and the data of mitochondrial genes was from MitoCarta3.0 database. Subsequently, differential expression genes (DEGs) screening and GSEA functional enrichment analysis were performed. The intersection of DEGs and mitochondrial related genes was used to obtain MitoDEGs. The MitoDEGs most relevant to AD were determined by Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator and multiple support vector machine recursive feature elimination, as well as protein–protein interactions (PPI) network and random forest. The infiltration of 28 kinds of immune cells in AD was analyzed by ssGSEA, and the relationship between hub MitoDEGs and the proportion of immune infiltration was studied. The expression levels of hub MitoDEGs were verified in cell models and AD mice, and the role of OPA1 in mitochondrial damage and neuronal apoptosis was investigated. Results: The functions and pathways of DEGs were significantly enriched in AD, including immune response activation, IL1R pathway, mitochondrial metabolism, oxidative damage response and electron transport chain-oxphos system in mitochondria. Hub MitoDEGs closely related to AD were obtained based on PPI network, random forest and two machine learning algorithms. Five hub MitoDEGs associated with neurological disorders were identified by biological function examination. The hub MitoDEGs were found to be correlated with memory B cell, effector memory CD8 T cell, activated dendritic cell, natural killer T cell, type 17 T helper cell, Neutrophil, MDSC, plasmacytoid dendritic cell. These genes can also be used to predict the risk of AD and have good diagnostic efficacy. In addition, the mRNA expression levels of BDH1, TRAP1, OPA1, DLD in cell models and AD mice were consistent with the results of bioinformatics analysis, and expression levels of SPG7 showed a downward trend. Meanwhile, OPA1 overexpression alleviated mitochondrial damage and neuronal apoptosis induced by Aβ1-42. Conclusions: Five potential hub MitoDEGs most associated with AD were identified. Their interaction with immune microenvironment may play a crucial role in the occurrence and prognosis of AD, which provides a new insight for studying the potential pathogenesis of AD and exploring new targets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intermittent hypoxia is the best predictor of developing cognitive decline and Alzheimer's disease progression in patients with obstructive sleep apnea. The nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-like receptor 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome has been poorly studied as a regulator of neuroinflammation in cognitive impairment caused by intermittent hypoxia. As critical inflammatory cells, exosomes secreted by microglia have been found to affect the spread of pathologic proteins and neuropathology in neurodegenerative diseases. However, the effects of microglial exosomes on neuroinflammation and cognitive outcomes after intermittent hypoxia remain unclear. In this study, the role of miRNAs in microglial exosomes in improving cognitive deficits in mice exposed to intermittent hypoxia was investigated. We demonstrated that miR-146a-5p fluctuated over time in microglial exosomes of mice exposed to intermittent hypoxia for different periods of time, which could regulate neuronal NLRP3 inflammasome and neuroinflammation. In primary neurons, we found that miR-146a-5p regulated mitochondrial reactive oxygen species by targeting HIF1α, thus affecting the NLRP3 inflammasome and secretion of inflammatory factors. Similarly, further studies showed that inhibition of NLRP3 by administering overexpressed miR-146a-5p in microglial exosomes and MCC950 has improved neuroinflammation and cognitive dysfunction in mice after intermittent hypoxia. In conclusion, NLRP3 inflammasome may be a regulatory target for ameliorating cognitive impairment caused by intermittent hypoxia, and microglial exosomal miR-146a-5p may be a promising therapeutic strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lake ice melting and breakup form a fast, nonlinear process with important mechanical, chemical, and biological consequences. The process is difficult to study in the field due to safety issues, and therefore only little is known about its details. In the present work, the field data were collected on foot, by hydrocopter, and by boat for a full time series of the evolution of ice thickness, structure, and geochemistry through the melting period. The observations were made in lake Pääjärvi in 2018 (pilot study) and 2022. In 2022, the maximum thickness of ice was 55 cm with 60 % snow ice, and in 40 d the ice melted by 33 cm from the surface and 22 cm from the bottom while the porosity increased from less than 5 % to 40 %–50 % at breakup. In 2018, the snow-ice layer was thin, and bottom and internal melting dominated the ice decay. The mean melting rates were 1.31 cm d -1 in 2022 and 1.55 cm d -1 in 2018. In 2022 the electrical conductivity (EC) of ice was 11.4 ± 5.79 µ S cm -1 , which is 1 order of magnitude lower than in the lake water, and ice pH was 6.44 ± 0.28, which is lower by 0.4 than in water. The pH and EC of ice and water decreased during the ice decay except for slight increases in ice due to flushing by lake water. Chlorophyll a was less than 0.5 µ g L -1 in porous ice, approximately one-third of that in the lake water. The results are important for understanding the process of ice decay with consequences for lake ecology, further development of numerical lake ice models, and modeling the safety of ice cover and ice loads. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The presence of pesticide residues has become one of the main risk factors affecting the safety and quality of agro-food. In this study, a multi-residue method for the analysis of 284 pesticides in five local fruit cultivars in Shanghai was developed based on ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-QTOF/MS). The limits of determination and the limits of quantitation of pesticides were 0.6–10 and 2–30 μg/kg, respectively. A total of 44, 10, 10, 18, and 7 pesticides were detected in strawberries, watermelons, melons, peaches, and grapes, respectively. The pesticide levels in 95.0% of the samples were below the maximum residual limits (MRLs) prescribed by China, and in 66.2% of the samples below the EU MRLs. The dietary risk assessment study showed big differences in the chronic and acute exposure risk values among different Chinese consumer groups. Through fruit consumption, children/females showed higher exposure risks than adults/males. But both the risk values were less than 100%, indicating that potential dietary risk induced by the pesticides was not significant for Chinese consumers. Nevertheless, certain measures are needed for both growers and the government in order to decrease the MRL-exceeding rate of pesticide residues and ensure the quality and safety of fruits for consumers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The salience network (SN) is mainly involved in detecting and filtering multimodal salient stimuli, and mediating the switch between the default mode network and central executive network. Early studies have indicated a right‐sided dominance in the functional organization of the SN; however, the anatomical basis of the functional lateralization remains unclear. Here, we hypothesized that the structural connectivity profile between the frontoinsular cortex (FIC) and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC), which are two core hubs of the SN, is also dominant in the right hemisphere. Based on diffusion and resting‐state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rfMRI) of adult healthy volunteers in independent datasets, we found a stable right‐sided laterality of both the FIC‐dACC structural and functional connectivity in both the human connectome project cohort and a local Chinese cohort. Furthermore, a significant effect of aging on the integrity of the right FIC‐dACC structural connectivity was also identified. The right‐sided laterality of the structural organization of the SN may help us to better understand the functional roles of the SN in the normal human brain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High northern latitudes are climatic sensitive areas, and are also regions to which polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) easily transport and accumulate with potential risk to natural ecosystems. However, the effect of PAHs on northern woody plant growth and defense under climate change is very little studied. Here, we conducted a unique experiment in greenhouses to investigate sex-related responses of the dioecious Populus tremula to pyrene (50 mg kg −1 ) and residue of pyrene in soils under ambient and elevated temperature (+1.8 °C on average) and CO 2 (740 ppm). Pyrene decreased stem biomass and leaf area by 9% and 6%, respectively under ambient conditions, and the reduction of leaf area was more severe under elevated temperature (38%), elevated CO 2 (37%), and combined T + CO 2 (42%). Other growth parameters were unchanged by pyrene. Pyrene did not affect the concentration of leaf total phenolics under ambient conditions, but increased it by 16%, 1%, and 20% compared to controls under elevated temperature, elevated CO 2 , and T + CO 2 , respectively. Pyrene had only minor sex-specific effects on plant growth and phenolics. The concentration of residual pyrene in pyrene-spiked soils was higher under elevated CO 2 than under ambient, elevated temperature, and combined T + CO 2 . The results suggest that both sexes of P. tremula have the capacity to regulate growth and metabolism to adjust to the stress of the tested pyrene contamination under elevated temperature and CO 2 , but potential risk of pyrene to plants still exists in the future changing climate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The combined effects of climate change and chemical contaminants on plant performance are still not well understood. Especially, whether different sexes of dioecious plants respond differently to combined stresses is unknown. In order to study the sex-related responses of European aspen to soil nTiO 2 contamination (0, 50, 300 mg kg –1 ) under elevated temperature (+1.6 °C) and CO 2 (730 ppm), we conducted a study in greenhouses. Ti accumulated in roots exposed to nTiO 2 (1.1–3.3 and 2.7–21.1 mg kg –1 in 50 and 300 mg kg –1 treatments, respectively). Elevated CO 2 had no effects on Ti uptake, while elevated temperature increased it in the 300 mg kg –1 treatment. Males grew taller than females under ambient conditions, but females had greater height and biomass increment under elevated temperature. In all climate treatments, nTiO 2 increased leaf phenolics in females by 12–19% and 15–26% at 50 and 300 mg kg –1 , respectively. Leaf phenolics decreased under elevated temperature, but increased under elevated CO 2 in both sexes. Results suggest that females have better chemical defense against nTiO 2 than males under future climate conditions. In the longer run, this may cause changes in the competitive abilities of both sexes, which again may affect sex ratios and genetic variation in nature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Benign epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes (BECTS) is the most common idiopathic focal childhood epilepsy associated with either unilateral or bilateral epileptic discharge. Asymmetry as an important characteristic of the human brain is beneficial for brain functions. However, little is known about on asymmetry of BECTS patients with different epileptic spikes pattern. In the present study, we investigated functional and structural asymmetries in unilateral spikes BECTS (U_BECTS) patients and bilateral spikes BECTS (B_BECTS) patients using resting state functional magnetic resonance images and diffusion tensor imaging. Compared with the controls, we observed a decreased voxel-mirrored interhemispheric functional connectivity (FC) in primary sensorimotor cortex (SM1) in U_BECTS and B_BECTS groups, and reduced fractional anisotropy (FA) values of the corpus callosum (CC) connecting bilateral SM1 were also observed in B_BECTS group. Further region-based FC map analysis of SM1 demonstrated increased functional asymmetry with ipsilateral hemisphere, contralateral hemisphere and the whole brain in U_BECTS and increased functional asymmetry with the contralateral hemisphere and the whole brain in B_BECTS groups. The correlation between functional asymmetry of SM1 and intelligence quotient scores was found in the U_BECTS group. The altered asymmetries of the SM1 further indicated the important role of SM1 in the pathophysiology of the BECTS. Furthermore, the B_BECTS group also showed abnormal voxel-mirrored interhemispheric FC in the temporal pole, the lobule IX of the cerebellum, the caudate and the occipital cortex relative to the controls. Altogether, our findings provide additional insight into the neuronal mechanism of BECTS with different epileptic spikes pattern and cognitive impairments with BECTS patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modification of calcium carbonate particles with surfactant significantly improves the properties of polyvinyl chloride (PVC). Hydrophobic spherical CaCO 3 particles were prepared in the presence of dodecyl dihydrogen phosphate (DDP) by a carbonation method. In the process, DDP was used as an organic substrate to induce the nucleation and growth of calcium carbonate. The operating parameters such as temperature and the dosage of the organic substrate were varied to study their influences on the active ratio and contact angle of calcium carbonate particles. The surface property of CaCO 3 particles was changed from hydrophilic to hydrophobic when the dosage of DDP to CaCO 3 changed from 0 to 2%. The contact angle of modified CaCO 3 particles was 119.51°. Moreover, X-ray diffraction (XRD), FT-IR spectrums and thermogravimetry analysis (TGA) were employed to characterize the obtained products. The schematic illustration for interaction between the organic substrate and inorganic mineral in aqueous medium was showed in the end. The synthesized CaCO 3 was applied to polyvinyl chloride (PVC) to improve its mechanical properties. The properties of PVC/CaCO 3 composites have been tested such as tensile strength, impact strength, Young's modulus and SEM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Benign epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes (BECT) is the most common form of childhood idiopathic focal epilepsy syndrome. We investigated quantitative evidence regarding brain morphology and functional connectivity features to provide insight into the neuroanatomical foundation of this disorder, using high resolution T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and resting state functional MRI in 21 patients with BECT and in 20 healthy children. The functional connectivity analysis, seeded at the regions with altered gray-matter (GM) volume in voxel-based morphometry (VBM) analysis, was further performed. Then, the observed structural and functional alteration were investigated for their association with the clinical and behavior manifestations. The increased GM volume in the striatum and fronto-temporo-parietal cortex (striato-cortical circuit) was observed in BECT. The decreased connections were found among the motor network and frontostriatal loop, and between the default mode network (DMN) and language regions. Additionally, the GM of striatum was negatively correlated with age at epilepsy onset. The current observations may contribute to the understanding of the altered structural and functional feature of striato-cortical circuit in patients with BECT. The findings also implied alterations of the motor network and DMN, which were associated with the epileptic activity in patients with BECT. This further suggested that the onset of BECT might have enduring structural and functional effects on brain maturation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Patients with GTCS demonstrated disturbed functional degree centrality in regions involved in the primary network (PN), default mode network (DMN), and salience network (SN). • The connective analysis revealed hyper-connectivity in the PN, hypo-connectivity in DMN, and increased connectivity between two of them. • Abnormal gray matter volume correlated with the functional connectivity, implying potential anatomic substrates underlying the disease. • The insula showed unbalanced connectivity with DMN and PN in patients. The present study aims to investigate the disturbance of functional and structural profiles of patients with generalized tonic-clonic seizures (GTCS). Resting-state fMRI and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) data was collected from fifty-six patients and sixty-two healthy controls. Degree centrality (DC) of functional connectivity was first calculated and compared between groups using a two-sample t -test. Furthermore, the regions with significant alteration of DC in patients with GTCS were used as nodes to construct the brain network. Functional connectivity (FC) network was constructed using the Person's correlation analysis and structural connectivity (SC) network was obtained using deterministic tractography technology. Gray matter volume (GMV) and cortical thickness (CT) were computed and correlated with connective profiles. The patients with GTCS showed increased DC in the primary network (PN), including bilateral precentral gyrus, supplementary motor areas (SMA), and visual cortex, and decreased DC in core regions of default mode network (DMN), bilateral anterior insular, and supramarginal gyrus. In the present study, 14 regions were identified to construct networks. In patients, the FC and SC were increased within the sensorimotor network (mainly linking with SMA) and decreased within DMN (mainly linking with the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC)). Except for the decreased FC and SC between cerebellum and SMA, patients demonstrated increased connectivity between DMN and PN. Besides, the insula demonstrated decreased FC with DMN and increased FC with PN, without significant SC alterations in patients with GTCS. Decreased GMV in bilateral thalamus and increased GMV in frontoparietal regions were found in patients. The decreased GMV of thalamus and increased GMV of SMA positively and negatively correlated with the FC between PCC and left superior frontal cortex, the FC between SMA and left precuneus respectively. Hyper-connectivity within PN helps to understand the disturbance of primary functions, especially the motor abnormality in GTCS. The hypo-connectivity within DMN suggested abnormal network organization possibly related to epileptogenesis. Moreover, over-interaction between DMN and PN and unbalanced connectivity between them and insula provided potential evidence reflecting abnormal interactions between primary and high-order function systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims Design Methods Results Conclusions Reporting Method Relevance to Clinical Practice Trial registration Establishing a nomogram to estimate the probability of oral mucosal membrane pressure injury of endotracheal tube‐intubated hospitalized patients in intensive care unit.Multicentre prospective cohort study.Using Lasso regression and COX regression, variable selection was performed on demographic, clinical and laboratory data of 1037 ICU endotracheal tube‐intubated hospitalized patients from West China Hospital, to construct a nomogram. External validation was conducted on 484 ICU endotracheal tube‐intubated patients from People's Hospital of Zhongjiang County.Among 38 potential predictors, five variables emerged as independent predictors, integrated into the nomogram: administration of antibiotics, nutritional therapy duration, agitation, hypotension and albumin levels.We established a nomogram based on the hospital characteristics of ICU endotracheal tube‐intubated patients, aiding in the prediction of the occurrence of oral mucosal membrane pressure injury.The study followed TRIPOD guidelines.The nomogram we developed can assist clinical worker in better identifying at‐risk patients and risk factors. It enables the implementation of evidence‐based nursing interventions in care to prevent the development of oral mucosal membrane pressure injury.The study has been registered with the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (http://www.chictr.org.cn) under registration number ChiCTR2200056615. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of NO 2 gas sensors with lower operating temperature and good thermal stability is always a challenge to solve. In this work, 2D loose porous ZnO/GaN heterogeneous nanosheets were synthesized by ultrasonic mixing, in which ZnO nanosheets and GaN nanoparticles were prepared by hydrothermal method and solid-state pyrolysis, respectively. BET characterization result showed that the specific surface area of loose porous ZnO nanosheets was 57.24 m2/g, and XPS tests proved that the formation of heterogeneous interface between ZnO and GaN can effectively increase the number of negative oxygen ion species on the surface. Noticeably, 15 mol % ZnO/GaN composites (Ga:Zn) exhibited the highest response of 134.5–2 ppm of NO 2 at 125 °C and lower limit of detection of 20 ppb. Furthermore, it showed outstanding selectivity, repeatability and long-term stability. The excellent gas-sensing properties can be attributed to the loose porous structure of ZnO and the formation of n-n heterojunction between ZnO and GaN. The gas-sensing mechanism of ZnO/GaN composites to NO 2 was also discussed in detail. • ZnO nanosheets and GaN nanoparticles were prepared by hydrothermal method and solid-state pyrolysis, respectively. • 2D loose porous ZnO/GaN heterogeneous nanosheets were synthesized by ultrasonic mixing. • The loose porous structure of ZnO and the formation of n-n heterojunction between ZnO and GaN improve the response. • The sensor operated at a lower temperature of 125 ℃ and the response to 20 ppb of NO 2 gas can reach 19.6. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The electromagnetic noise of a claw pole alternator is minimized by rotor claw chamfering in this paper. Taguchi method was first applied to evaluate the importance of all of the six chamfer parameters on the output current and the main magnetic force harmonic, and three strongly influential parameters were later selected. Subsequently, the mathematical models of the output current and the sound power level with respect to the three chamfer parameters were developed using the response surface method. Finally, the three parameters were further optimized using the genetic algorithm. A prototype of the optimally designed claw pole alternator was manufactured and its performance was tested. Results show that the rotor claw chamfer does not decrease the output current but can reduce the noise significantly. The sound power level is decreased by more than 15 dB(A) after optimization. The trailing edge chamfer is better than the leading edge chamfer regarding noise reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effective detection of ppb-level NO 2 is of great significance to the natural environment and human health. In this work, a series of In 2 O 3 nanoparticles modified peach kernel-like GaN for NO 2 detection was synthesized by a concise two-step method. The gas-sensing results showed that 10 mol% In 2 O 3 -decorated GaN (In: Ga) exhibited a response as high as 1070.9–1 ppm NO 2 at the working temperature of 100 ℃, as well as a low limit of detection (1 ppb). Furthermore, the sensor also possessed excellent selectivity, repeatability and fast response-recovery speed. The outstanding sensing performance was contributed to the rough and porous microstructure of GaN, abundant negative oxygen ion species originating from In 2 O 3 , and the heterojunction effect between GaN and In 2 O 3. The sensor proposed herein provide a useful reference for reliable detection of ppb-level NO 2 gas. • In 2 O 3 nanoparticles modified peach kernel-like GaN was synthesized by a concise two-step method. • In 2 O 3 nanoparticles greatly increased the adsorbed oxygen species on the surface of GaN. • The response of GaN/In 2 O 3 composites can reach 1070.9–1 ppm NO 2 , and the limit of detection is 1 ppb. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Future climatic changes may alter the balance between the sexes of dioecious species due to differential effects on resource allocation to growth and defense. Our purpose was to study the impacts of elevated temperature and CO 2 concentration on the relative changes in growth and phenolics accumulation in stem bark of the dioecious Populus tremula , a keystone species for boreal forest biodiversity and one that is browsed by many mammalian herbivores. In a greenhouse experiment, four female and four male genotypes of P. tremula were grown under single and combined treatments of elevated temperature (1.5 °C on average) and CO 2 concentration (720 ppm) for one growing season. Elevated temperature increased the height, diameter, leaf and stem biomass, and in addition decreased the concentration of phenolics including salicylates, flavonoids, phenolic acids, salireposide and lignan. Elevated CO 2 concentration, on the other hand, reduced the height growth (other growth parameters were unchanged) and increased the concentration of phenolics, especially salicylates and phenolic acids. In the combined treatment, P. tremula tended to grow more, but elevated temperature counteracted the effect of elevated CO 2 concentration on phenolics accumulation. Although statistically not significant, males tended to have greater growth and a lower level of phenolics than females. The smaller sexual differences were also not strongly affected by climatic factors. Under future elevated temperature and CO 2 concentration, both sexes of P. tremula will probably grow more and possibly accumulate lower levels of phenolics, but intersexual differences in growth and phenolics accumulation may be more pronounced after sexual maturation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Neurofilament light chain (NfL) is a biomarker for large-caliber axonal degeneration in the subcortex. The purpose of this research was to examine the relationship between plasma neurofilament light chain (pNfL) and cognitive impairment following a posterior circulation stroke. Methods. Patients over the age of 18 with their first-ever acute ischemic stroke (AIS) of the posterior cerebral circulation within 24 h of symptom onset were included from July 1, 2017, to December 31, 2019. Blood samples were collected within 48 h after the stroke. The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MOCA) (MOCA < 26) was adopted to define poststroke cognitive impairment (PSCI) 90 days after stroke onset. Results. A total of 264 patients were analyzed in this research 101 (38.30%) patients were clinically diagnosed with PSCI. The PNfL concentration was significantly higher in the PSCI group compared with the non-PSCI group (p < 0.001). The pNfL concentration (OR 1.044; p < 0.001) remained to be a significant predictor for PSCI after a multivariable logistic regression analysis, even after adjusting for factors including age, sex, education background (OR 1.044; p < 0.001), baseline NIHSS, infarct volume, and TOAST classification (OR 1.035; p < 0.001). The diagnostic efficacy of pNfL concentration for PSCI was then explored with a ROC analysis. The optimum pNfL concentration threshold was 38.12 pg/ml, with a sensitivity of 78.20%, a specificity of 66.9%, and an AUC of 0.782 (p < 0.001). Conclusion. This research showed that pNfL concentration, independent of established conventional risk factors, could predict the cognitive impairment in 90 days following posterior circulation stroke. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The APOBEC proteins play significant roles in the innate and adaptive immune system, probably due to their deaminase activities. Because APOBEC1 (A1) and APOBEC3 (A3) are absent in the chicken genome, we were interested in determining whether chicken APOBEC4 (A4) possessed more complex functions than its mammalian homologs. In this study, chicken A4 (chA4) mRNA was identified and cloned for the first time. Based on bioinformatics analyses, the conserved zinc-coordinating motif (HXE ... PC(X) 2–6 C) was identified on the surface of chA4 and contained highly conserved His97, Glu99, Pro130, Cys131 and Cys138 active sites. The highest expression levels of constitutive chA4 were detected in primary lymphocytes and bursa of Fabricius. Newcastle Disease (ND) is one of the most serious infectious diseases in birds, causing major economic losses to the poultry industry. In vitro , Newcastle Disease Virus (NDV) early infection induced significant increases in chA4 expression in the chicken B cell line, DT40, the macrophage cell line, HD11 and the CD4+ T cell line, MSB-1, but not the fibroblast cell line, DF-1. In vivo , the expression levels of chA4 were up-regulated in several tissues from NDV-infected chickens, especially the thymus, testicles, duodenum and kidney. The high level expression of exogenous chA4 displayed inhibitory effects on NDV and reduced viral RNA in infected cells. Taken together, these data demonstrate that chA4 is involved in the chicken immune system and may play important roles in host anti-viral responses. • First time isolation and identification of chicken APOBEC4. • chA4 contains typical APOBEC motifs and probably has catalytic activity. • The highest expression levels of constitutive chA4 were detected in primary lymphocytes and bursa of Fabricius. • NDV infection induces significant increases in chA4 expression in immune cells and in the tissues of infected chickens. • chA4 expression induces inhibitory effects on NDV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Benign epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes (BECT) is the most common childhood idiopathic focal epilepsy syndrome, which characterized with white‐matter abnormalities in the rolandic cortex. Although diffusion tensor imaging research could characterize white‐matter structural architecture, it cannot detect neural activity or white‐matter functions. Recent studies demonstrated the functional organization of white‐matter by using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), suggesting that it is feasible to investigate white‐matter dysfunctions in BECT. Resting‐state fMRI data were collected from 24 new‐onset drug‐naive (unmedicated [NMED]), 21 medicated (MED) BECT patients, and 27 healthy controls (HC). Several white‐matter functional networks were obtained using a clustering analysis on voxel‐by‐voxel correlation profiles. Subsequently, conventional functional connectivity (FC) was calculated in four frequency sub‐bands (Slow‐5:0.01–0.027, Slow‐4:0.027–0.073, Slow‐3:0.073–0.198, and Slow‐2:0.198–0.25 Hz). We also employed a functional covariance connectivity (FCC) to estimate the covariant relationship between two white‐matter networks based on their correlations with multiple gray‐matter regions. Compared with HC, the NMED showed increased FC and/or FCC in rolandic network (RN) and precentral/postcentral network, and decreased FC and/or FCC in dorsal frontal network, while these alterations were not observed in the MED group. Moreover, the changes exhibited frequency‐specific properties. Specifically, only two alterations were shared in at least two frequency bands. Most of these alterations were observed in the frequency bands of Slow‐3 and Slow‐4. This study provided further support on the existence of white‐matter functional networks which exhibited frequency‐specific properties, and extended abnormalities of rolandic area from the perspective of white‐matter dysfunction in BECT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Newcastle disease virus (NDV) V protein is crucial for viral interferon (IFN) antagonism and virulence, determining its host range restriction. However, little information is available on the B cell epitopes of V protein and the subcellular movement of V protein in the process of NDV infection. In this study, the monoclonal antibody (mAb) clone 3D7 against genotype VII NDV V protein was generated by immunizing mice with a purified recombinant His-tagged carboxyl-terminal domain (CTD) region of V protein. Fine epitope mapping analysis and B-cell epitope prediction indicated that mAb 3D7 recognized a linear epitope 152 RGPAELWK 159 , which is located in the V protein CTD region. Sequence alignment showed that the mAb clone 3D7-recognized epitope is highly conserved among Class II genotype VII NDV strains, but not among other genotypes, suggesting it could serve as a genetic marker to differentiate NDV genotypes. Furthermore, the movement of V protein during NDV replication in infected cells were determined by using this mAb. It was found that V protein localized around the nucleus during virus replication. The establishment of V protein-specific mAb and identification of its epitope extend our understanding of the antigenic characteristics of V protein and provide a basis for the development of epitope-based diagnostic assays. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports a facile synthesis of bimetallic Au x Pt y nanozyme using C-rich oligonucleotide as the nucleation template, with high peroxidase-like activity and thiophilicity associated with the ratio of x : y . The efficient Au 2 Pt 1 nanozyme possesses highly peroxidase mimicking activity with the K m value of 0.088 mM toward 3,3′,5,5′-tetramethylbenzidine and 196 mM toward hydrogen peroxide. It is the first report to explore colorimetric assays for biothiols with high sensitivity and selectivity against non-thiol-containing amino acids, on the basis of thiol-induced inhibition of peroxidase-like activities of metal nanoparticles. By using Au 2 Pt 1 nanozyme, the limit of detection (LOD) is 3.5 nM for cysteine and 1.6 nM for homocysteine. This DNA-stabilized bimetallic Au x Pt y nanozyme shows a promising application in quantitative detection of biothiols in biological fluids. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Epilepsy is a high incidence neurological disease, and its repeated attacks cause serious physical and psychological damage to the patient. Differentially expressed in normal and neoplastic cells (DENN) domain containing 5B (DENND5B) is a lipoprotein binding protein that mediates synaptic vesicle transport and regulates neuroplasticity and lipid metabolism. Nevertheless, the effect of DENND5B on seizures remains unclear. We aimed to investigate the association of DENND5B with epilepsy, detect its expression and distribution in the nervous system, and explore its role in epileptogenesis through western blot, immunofluorescence staining, and behavioral studies. In this experiment, two C57BL/6 mice models, which induced seizures by pentylenetetrazole and kainic acid, were established. We observed that the expression of DENND5B was reduced in the brains of patients with temporal lobe epilepsy, and its expression was also similarly decreased in both chronic epileptic mice. The findings strongly suggest that DENND5B may be associated with epileptic seizures. Results of immunofluorescence showed that DENND5B was mainly expressed in the hippocampal region and co-located with neurons but not with astrocytes. Next, we used lentivirus to induce both lentiviral vector-mediated overexpression and knockdown of DENND5B in mice to test the change of susceptibility and severity of seizures in the two chronic seizure models. Knockdown of DENND5B was found to promote epileptic seizures, increase chronic spontaneous recurrent epileptic seizures and epileptic discharge, and reduce the incubation period. However, overexpression of DENND5B showed the opposite effect. These results suggest that DENND5B overexpression decreased the behavioral phenotype of epileptic seizures, but DENND5B downregulation had the opposite effect. In summary, our findings suggest that DENND5B can regulate epileptic seizures and may provide a new target for antiepileptic therapy. • We investigated the association of DENND5B with epilepsy • Our findings suggest that DENND5B may be associated with epileptic seizures • DENND5B was expressed in the hippocampal region and co-located with neurons • DENND5B can regulate epileptic seizures and provide a new target for antiepileptic therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies have indicated that the dorsal attention network (DAN) and the ventral attention network (VAN) functionally interact via several fronto-parietal connector hubs. However, the anatomical connectivity profiles of these connector hubs, and the coupling between the anatomical and functional connectivities of them, are still unknown. In the present study, we found that functional connector hubs anatomically bridged the DAN and VAN based on multimodal magnetic resonance imaging data from the Human Connectome Project (HCP) Consortium and an independent Chinese cohort. The three hubs had unique anatomical connectivity patterns with the attention sub-networks. For each connector hub, the pattern of anatomical connectivity resembled the functional one. Finally, the strength of the anatomical connectivity of these connector hubs was positively associated with the functional connectivity at the group- and individual-levels. Our findings help to better understand the anatomical mechanisms underlying the functional interactions between the DAN and the VAN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]