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Paper‐based materials are widely used in various fields due to their advantages, such as environmental friendliness and sustainability. However, the highly hydrophilic nature of the cellulose that makes up paper‐based materials limits their use. In this paper, micron/nano‐graphite/polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) coatings with excellent superhydrophobic and conductive properties were prepared on the surface of filter paper by a simple spraying method. A mixture of micro‐graphite and nano‐graphite was used to form a multistage rough structure on the surface of the filter paper by spraying, and the low surface energy PDMS enhanced the adhesion of the micro‐graphite and nano‐graphite on the surface of the filter paper. The results showed that the samples possessed the best superhydrophobic properties when the ratio of micro‐graphite to nano‐graphite was 1:1, at which time the contact and rolling angles of the samples were 165.4° and 3.2°, respectively. The prepared superhydrophobic samples have good bounce and self‐cleaning properties, while the samples have good mechanical stability and chemical resistance. Additionally, due to the conductivity of micro–nano‐graphite, both particle sizes closely contact the sample surface, creating a conductive network. With a 1:1 ratio of micro‐ and nano‐graphite, the coating exhibits minimal resistance at 1.89 KΩ, and the sample maintains stable conductivity even underwater. The above properties greatly extend the application range of paper‐based superhydrophobic materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing environmental genotoxic chemicals have been shown to induce epigenetic alterations. However, the interaction between genetics and epigenetics in chemical carcinogenesis is still not fully understood. Here, we constructed an in vitro human lung carcinogenesis model (16HBE-T) by treating human bronchial epithelial cells with a typical significant carcinogen benzo(a)pyrene (BaP). We identified a novel circular RNA, circ0087385, which was overexpressed in 16HBE-T and human lung cancer cell lines, as well as in lung cancer tissues and serum exosomes from lung cancer patients. The upregulated circ0087385 after exposure to BaP promoted DNA damage in the early stage of chemical carcinogenesis and affected the cell cycle, proliferation, and apoptosis of the malignantly transformed cells. Overexpression of circ0087385 enhanced the expression of cytochrome P450 1A1 (CYP1A1), which is crucial for metabolically activating BaP. Interfering with circ0087385 or CYP1A1 reduced the levels of ultimate carcinogen benzo(a)pyrene diol epoxide (BPDE) and BPDE-DNA adducts. Interfering with CYP1A1 partially reversed the DNA damage induced by high expression of circ0087385, as well as decreased the level of BPDE and BPDE-DNA adducts. These findings provide novel insights into the interaction between epigenetics and genetics in chemical carcinogenesis which are crucial for understanding the epigenetic and genetic toxicity of chemicals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Super‐hydrophobic surface is widely used in waterproof, antifouling, and anticorrosion fields because of its unique wetting characteristics. However, the rough structure of super‐hydrophobic surface is easily damaged in service, which leads to the loss of various properties, making it difficult to apply super‐hydrophobic surface on a large scale in actual production. In this paper, epoxy resin was used as adhesive, mixed with hydrophobic silica particles and sprayed on the surface of carbon fiber composites. After curing, the surface of super‐hydrophobic carbon fiber composites with contact angle of 158 ± 2° and sliding angle of 1 ± 0.5° was formed. The surface had excellent dynamic water repellent performance, and the droplets could bounce more than three times on the surface. Furthermore, the super‐hydrophobic surface had excellent wear resistance and mechanical stability. After the friction damage test, the surface structure of the sample was slightly damaged. The amount of wear was small, and the surface was still in super‐hydrophobic state. Through soaked in solutions with different pH values, the microstructure of the surface was not obviously damaged by corrosion, the contact angle of water droplets was greater than 155°. The preparation method of super‐hydrophobic surface of carbon fiber composite proposed in this study is simple and rapid, and the prepared surface has excellent performance, the practical application of super‐hydrophobic surface is promoted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drought is a critical abiotic stress which leads to crop yield and a decrease in quality. Annexins belong to a multi-gene family of calcium- and lipid-binding proteins and play diverse roles in plant growth and development. Herein, we report a rice annexin protein, OsANN9, which in addition to regular annexin repeats and type-II Ca2+ binding sites, also consists of a C2H2-type zinc-finger domain. We found that the expression of OsANN9 was upregulated by polyethylene glycol (PEG) or water-deficient treatment. Moreover, plants that overexpressed OsANN9 had increased survival rates under drought stress, while both OsANN9-RNAi and osann9 mutants showed sensitivity to drought. In addition, the overexpression of OsANN9 increased superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD) and catalase (CAT) activities, which regulate reactive oxygen species homeostasis. Collectively, these findings indicate that OsANN9 may function as a positive regulator in response to drought stress by modulating antioxidant accumulation. Interestingly, the setting rates of osann9 mutant rice plants significantly decreased in comparison to wild-type plants, suggesting that OsANN9 might be involved in other molecular mechanisms in the rice seed development stage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fibroblast growth factor (FGF) signaling plays a crucial role in lung development and repair. Fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2) can inhibit fibrotic gene expression and suppress the differentiation of pulmonary fibroblasts (PFs) into myofibroblasts in vitro, suggesting that FGF2 is a potential target for inhibiting pulmonary fibrosis. To gain deeper insights into the molecular mechanism underlying FGF2‐mediated regulation of PFs, we performed mRNA sequencing analysis to systematically and globally uncover the regulated genes and biological functions of FGF2 in PFs. Gene Ontology analysis revealed that the differentially expressed genes regulated by FGF2 were enriched in multiple cellular functions including extracellular matrix (ECM) organization, cytoskeleton formation, β‐catenin‐independent Wnt signaling pathway, supramolecular fiber organization, epithelial cell proliferation, and cell adhesion. Gene Set Enrichment Analysis and cellular experiments confirmed that FGF2 can suppress ECM and actin filament organization and increase PFs proliferation. Taken together, these findings indicate that FGF2 acts as an upstream regulator of the inhibition of PFs activation and may play a regulatory role in pulmonary fibrosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The present study aimed to evaluate the capability of persimmon pectin (PP) as a stabilizer for acid milk drinks (AMDs) compared with commercial high-methoxyl pectin (HMP) and sugar beet pectin (SBP). The effectiveness of pectin stabilizers was assessed by analyzing particle size, micromorphology, zeta potential, sedimentation fraction, storage, and physical stability. Results of CLSM images and particle size measurements showed that PP-stabilized AMDs had smaller droplet sizes and more uniform distributions, indicating better stabilization potential compared with the HMP- and SBP-stabilized AMDs. Zeta potential measurements revealed that the addition of PP significantly increased the electrostatic repulsion between particles and prevented aggregation. Moreover, based on the results of Turbiscan and storage stability determination, PP exhibited better physical and storage stability compared with HMP and SBP. The combination of steric repulsion and electrostatic repulsion mechanisms exerted a stabilizing effect on the AMDs prepared from PP. Overall, these findings suggest that PP has promising potential as an AMD stabilizer in the food and beverage industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

S. cerevisiae strains were isolated and identified from vineyards and the spontaneous fermentation must at the eastern foot of Helan Mountain in China, and their oenological properties and fermentation abilities were analyzed. From the total of 199 S. cerevisiae strains isolated and identified, 14 isolates (F4-13, F5-7, F5-9, F5-12, F5-18, F5-19, F5-21, F6-8, F6-23, F9-23, SXY-4, HT-10, ZXY-17, MXY-19) exhibited excellent tolerance to sugar, SO2, and ethanol. Among the isolates, the strain F4-13 exhibited the better oenological properties, with low H2S production (+), suitable flocculation ability (58.74%), and reducing-L-malic acid ability (49.07%), and generated high contents of polyphenol, anthocyanin, tannin, terpenes, and higher alcohols, which contributed to the improvement of the red fruity and floral traits of the wines. The obtained results provide a strategy for the selection of indigenous S. cerevisiae for wine fermentation to produce high-quality wine with regional characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inhalation of carbon black nanoparticles (CBNPs) can impair lung tissue and cause DNA damage, but the epigenetic mechanism responsible for these effects is still unclear. We explored the role of circular RNAs (circRNAs) in DNA damage induced by CBNPs in the lung. Human bronchial epithelial cell lines (16HBE and BEAS-2B) were treated with 0, 5, 10, 20, 40, or 80 μg/ml CBNPs for 24, 48, and 72 h, and BALB/c mice were exposed to 8 and 80 μg/d CBNPs for 14 days to establish in vitro and vivo models of CBNP exposure, respectively. We found that CBNPs caused DNA double-strand breaks in the lung. Using high-throughput sequencing and quantitative real-time PCR to identify CBNP-related circRNAs, we identified a novel circRNA (circ_0089282) that was overexpressed in the CBNP-exposed group. We used gain-/loss-of-function approaches, RNA pulldown assays, and silver staining to explore the regulatory function of circ_0089282 and its interactions with targeted proteins. We found that circ_0089282 interference could increase CBNP-induced DNA damage, whereas overexpression resulted in the opposite. Circ_0089282 could directly bind to the fused in sarcoma (FUS) protein and positively regulate downstream DNA repair protein DNA ligase 4 (LIG4) through FUS. This regulatory effect of circRNA on DNA damage via promotion of LIG4 illustrated the interactions between genetics and epigenetics in toxicology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction. Changes in eating habits have made gout a metabolic disease of increasing concern. Previous studies have indicated that there are significant differences in species composition and abundance of gut microbiome in gout patients compared with average. Considering that traditional Chinese medicine has a momentous effect in treating gout, the research study aimed to explore the differences of genomic and metabolomics of gut microbiome before and after traditional Chinese medicine treatment in patients with gout. Method. 30 patients with gout and 29 matched controls were recruited of which 16 patients took H treatment and 14 patients took T treatment. Stools were collected twice for patients before and after treatment and only once for controls. A total of 89 samples were annotated with metagenomic species and functions, and the enrichment analysis of differential genes and KO pathway was carried out. Result. The results showed a decrease in the diversity of gut microbiome in gout patients and the gene abundance and metabolomics had great differences among study groups. The number of bacterial genera also had significant differences among treatment groups. Moreover, among different groups, the regulation of different species was variously correlated. The correlation between species and clinical laboratory indicators in the rising group was stronger than that in the decreasing group and the upregulation of some strain was related to the content of urea nitrogen. Conclusion. After the traditional Chinese medicine treatment, the glutathione pathway was significantly enriched and some pathogenic bacteria were significantly inhibited. The study suggests that traditional Chinese medicine treatment may exert its therapeutic effect by inhibiting relevant pathways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and aims: Plant community stability is threatened by anthropogenic climate changes such as increased precipitation. Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi have been shown to drive the resistance of ecosystems against climate changes to provide stable ecosystem functions. However, how AMF affects plant community stability under climate change is still not sufficiently clear in Central Asia. Methods: A comprehensive study was conducted with increased precipitation and suppression of AMF in mycorrhizal and non-mycorrhizal plant communities, respectively. Changes in plant community composition and aboveground biomass were measured, and the temporal stability of plant community was calculated. Results: Mycorrhizal plant community responded more sensitively to the increased precipitation and suppression of AMF than non-mycorrhizal plant community. Species synchrony and population variability were only significantly changed by increased precipitation in the mycorrhizal plant community. The stability of dominant and mycorrhizal plants were positively related to community temporal stability of both plant communities. While contrasted with the positive effects of increased precipitation on community temporal stability, increased precipitation reduced community temporal stability by increasing temporal variations of plant biomass in the mycorrhizal plant community, and by decreasing plant diversity in the non-mycorrhizal plant community. However, AMF buffer the decreases in community stability by increasing plant community biomass under increasing precipitation. Conclusion: Our findings highlight ongoing increases in precipitation potentially weaken the temporal stability of ephemeral plant communities in the desert ecosystem stability; however, AMF can alleviate these negative effects through increasing community biomass, especially in the plant community dominated by mycorrhizal species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Increasing studies have demonstrated potential disproportionate functional and ecological contributions of rare taxa in a microbial community. However, the study of the microbial rare biosphere is hampered by their inherent scarcity and the deficiency of currently available techniques. Sample-wise cross contaminations might be introduced by sample index misassignment in the most widely used metabarcoding amplicon sequencing approach. Although downstream bioinformatic quality control and clustering or denoising algorithms could remove sequencing errors and non-biological artifact reads, no algorithm could eliminate high quality reads from sample-wise cross contaminations introduced by index misassignment, making it difficult to distinguish between bona fide rare taxa and potential false positives in metabarcoding studies. Results: We thoroughly evaluated the rate of index misassignment of the widely used NovaSeq 6000 and DNBSEQ-G400 sequencing platforms using both commercial and customized mock communities, and observed significant lower (0.08% vs. 5.68%) fraction of potential false positive reads for DNBSEQ-G400 as compared to NovaSeq 6000. Significant batch effects could be caused by stochastically introduced false positive or false negative rare taxa. These false detections could also lead to inflated alpha diversity of relatively simple microbial communities and underestimated that of complex ones. Further test using a set of cow rumen samples reported differential rare taxa by different sequencing platforms. Correlation analysis of the rare taxa detected by each sequencing platform demonstrated that the rare taxa identified by DNBSEQ-G400 platform had a much higher possibility to be correlated with the physiochemical properties of rumen fluid as compared to NovaSeq 6000 platform. Community assembly mechanism and microbial network correlation analysis indicated that false positive or negative rare taxa detection could lead to biased community assembly mechanism and identification of fake keystone species of the community. Conclusions: We highly suggest proper positive/negative/blank controls, technical replicate settings, and proper sequencing platform selection in future amplicon studies, especially when the microbial rare biosphere would be focused. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to obtain new antifreeze peptides (AFPs) that are natural, safe, and high activity from Ctenopharyngodon idella scales. The optimal hydrolysis conditions were investigated, and chromatography-based isolation was conducted using thermal hysteresis activity (THA) as an index. Molecular dynamic simulation (MDs) was explored to reveal the antifreeze mechanism of the AFPs. The results showed that the optimal hydrolysis conditions were 4000 U/g papain enzyme for 60 °C at pH 5.0 and substrate concentration (1:10) for 3 h, as unveiled by single-factor experiment results. The AFPs documented a THA of 2.7 °C when the Th was 1.3 °C. Hydrophilic peptide, named GCFSC-AFPs, with a THA of 5.09 °C when the Th was 1.1 °C was obtained after a series isolation of gel filtration, ion exchange, and reversed-phase HPLC chromatography. The AFPs had a molecular weight of 1107.54~1554.72 Da with three main peptides in the amino acid sequence of VGPAGPSGPSGPQ, RGSPGERGESGPAGPSG, and VGPAGPSGPSGPQG, respectively. The survival rate of yeast with GCFSC-AFPs reached 84.4% following one week of exposure at −20 °C. MDs indicated that GCFSC-AFPs interfered with the ice-water interaction and thus inhibited the ice crystallization process. Our data suggested that the GCFSC-AFPs were a novel and potential antifreeze agent in the food industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to improve the hydrophobic and mechanical properties of paper mulch film, ZnO/SiO2 composite coated paper mulch film was prepared with a brush coating method. Hydrophobicity and durability of the original paper mulch film and the coated paper mulch film were measured by static contact angle and mechanical torsion tests, and the mechanical properties of the two kinds of paper mulch films were measured by tensile and tear tests at different temperatures. The two kinds of paper mulch films were characterized by their micro-morphology and surface element distribution. The results show that the contact angle of the ZnO/SiO2 composite coated paper mulch film reaches 161.46°, and the contact angle can still reach 153.15° after 80 mechanical torsion cycles, which shows good superhydrophobic and hydrophobic durability. Compared with the original paper mulch film, the mechanical properties of the coated paper mulch film are also improved to some extent. Combined with the surface micro-morphology, it is found that a ZnO/SiO2 composite coating fills the pores between fibers in the paper mulch film and promotes the adhesion between fibers, thus improving the hydrophobicity, durability, and mechanical properties of the paper mulch film. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the alumina nitrile rubber was prepared by mechanical blending. The effects of different amount of alumina doping on tensile, tearing and tribological properties of nitrile rubber were studied and analyzed. The results show that the tensile and tear fracture of alumina nitrile rubber is neat, and there are crack propagation and rapid fracture stages, which do not affect the basic fracture mechanism of nitrile rubber. The doping of alumina enhances the matrix strength of nitrile rubber. When 5 g alumina is added, the synergistic load-bearing effect of alumina and nitrile rubber makes the composite have the best wear resistance, and the wear resistance is more obvious at high load and high speed. In friction test, alumina nitrile rubber mainly shows fatigue and adhesive wear. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bacterial communities in soil serve an important role in controlling terrestrial biogeochemical cycles and ecosystem processes. Increased nitrogen (N) deposition in Northwest China is generating quantifiable changes in many elements of the desert environment, but the impacts of N deposition, as well as seasonal variations, on soil bacterial community composition and structure are poorly understood. We used high-throughput sequencing of bacterial 16S rRNA genes from Gurbantünggüt Desert moss crust soils to study the impacts of N addition on soil bacterial communities in March, May, and November. In November, we discovered that the OTU richness and diversity of soil bacterial community dropped linearly with increasing N input. In November and March, the diversity of the soil bacterial community decreased significantly in the medium-N and high-N treatments. In May, N addition caused a substantial change in the makeup of the soil bacterial composition, while the impacts were far less apparent in November and March. Furthermore, the relative abundance of major bacterial phyla reacted non-linearly to N addition, with high-N additions decreasing the relative richness of Proteobacteria , Bacteroidetes , and Acidobacteria while increasing the relative abundance of Actinobacteria and Chloroflexi. We also discovered that seasonality, as characterized by changes in soil moisture, pH, SOC, and AK content, had a significant impact on soil bacterial communities. Significant variations in the makeup of the community were discovered at the phylum and genus levels throughout the various months. In May, the variety of soil bacterial community was at its peak. Further investigation showed that the decrease in soil bacterial diversity was mostly attributed to a drop in soil pH. These results indicated that the impact of N deposition on the soil bacterial community was seasonally dependent, suggesting that future research should evaluate more than one sample season at the same time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contemporary society expects learners to synthesize large amounts of available information and take advantage of interdisciplinary knowledge to tackle complex, real-world issues. STEAM education aims to cultivate students' ability to solve such problems through interdisciplinary thinking but is often represented by courses that are merely disjointed arrays of school subjects. On the other hand, Maker education harnesses society's enthusiasm for technological innovation and creativity but overlooks the scientific principles that underpin these processes. This research presents a novel elementary school course informed by the interdisciplinary principles of STEAM, integrated with Maker's focus on technology and creativity. The course design also utilized engineering design as a meta-thematic framework. A total of 164 third-grade pupils participated in the research, with responses analyzed using descriptive statistical methods. The findings indicated that the integrated design of the course promoted pupils' learning motivation, self-efficacy, and acquisition of interdisciplinary knowledge. These effects were not gender-specific and demonstrate the potential applicability of a STEAM/Maker integrated approach to curriculum design in other settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vibrio parahaemolyticus has emerged as a significant enteropathogen in human and marine habitats worldwide, notably in regions where aquaculture products constitute a major nutritional source. It is a growing cause of diseases including gastroenteritis, wound infections, and septicemia. Serotyping assays use commercially available antisera to identify V. parahaemolyticus strains, but this approach is limited by high costs, complicated procedures, cross-immunoreactivity, and often subjective interpretation. By leveraging high-throughput sequencing technologies, we developed an in silico method based on comparison of gene clusters for lipopolysaccharide (LPSgc) and capsular polysaccharide (CPSgc) by firstly using the unique-gene strategy. The algorithm, VPsero, which exploits serogroup-specific genes as markers, covers 43 K and all 12 O serogroups in serotyping assays. VPsero is capable of predicting serotypes from assembled draft genomes, outputting LPSgc/CPSgc sequences, and recognizing possible novel serogroups or populations. Our tool displays high specificity and sensitivity in prediction toward V. parahaemolyticus strains, with an average sensitivity in serogroup prediction of 0.910 for O and 0.961 for K serogroups and a corresponding average specificity of 0.990 for O and 0.998 for K serogroups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ecosystem stability is threatened by multiple global change factors such as drought and elevated nitrogen deposition. Yet, it is still poorly understood whether soil organisms can buffer against such perturbations. Here we focus on arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), a common and widespread group of soil fungi. AMF form symbiotic associations with the majority of terrestrial land plants and promote a range of ecosystem services including plant production, diversity and nutrient cycling.We tested whether AMF have the ability to enhance the resistance and resilience of plant communities under soil moisture deficit (hereby drought) and nitrogen deposition. Grassland microcosms with 11 different plant species were established with and without AMF and exposed to elevated nitrogen levels and to an intermittent period of drought.Drought strongly reduced plant productivity and nitrogen cycling, but had limited effects on plant diversity. Nitrogen enrichment reduced plant diversity and increased nitrogen leaching and N2O emissions. The presence of AMF enhanced plant productivity, plant diversity and reduced nitrogen losses. AMF facilitated the resistance of plant productivity and nitrogen cycling to drought and the recovery of the plant community structure back to its pre drought state. Furthermore, AMF also mitigated the adverse effects of nitrogen enrichment on the resistance of multiple ecosystem functions to drought.Synthesis. Our work highlights the integral role of AMF for the stability of ecosystem functioning; AMF are not only able to promote resistance to harsh conditions of global change but also improve resilience by enabling plant communities to recover. These findings underline AMF's insurance capacity to buffer ecosystems against global change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) can significantly influence the soil carbon cycle, however, their impacts on desert soils are still unclear. Here, a field control experiment, using in‐growth mesocosms, was conducted to quantitatively assess the contribution of AMF and ephemeral plants to ecosystem respiration (Re) and methane (CH4) flux in the Gurbantunggut Desert in China, from April to May 2017. Ephemeral plant biomass was significantly increased by AMF infection. Re was significantly positively correlated with AMF infection rate, whereas CH4 flux was significantly negatively correlated. The contribution of AMF to Re was up to 24%, comparable to the contribution of non‐AMF microbial respiration, which accounted for up to 36%, whereas the respiration of ephemeral plants accounted for 40%. Variation in Re was most strongly associated with soil organic carbon and soil available potassium concentrations and soil temperature. Non‐AMF microorganisms accounted for most of the CH4 flux (up to 85%). In contrast, AMF only accounted for 15% of total CH4 flux. The CH4 flux was significantly influenced by soil NO3−‐N content, soil moisture, soil temperature and soil NH4+‐N content. Overall, AMF significantly influenced Re and CH4 flux, and also enhanced the growth of ephemeral plants, which have an important role in the carbon cycle in desert ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Questions: Plant community stability is threatened by increasing numbers of simultaneously changing factors such as increased precipitation and nitrogen (N) deposition. Despite the pivotal roles of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) for plant community dynamics, only few studies have paid attention to their roles in maintaining plant community stability under global change. We therefore assessed the interactive effects of a realistic N deposition and AMF on plant community temporal stability under future increased precipitation scenarios. Location: Gurbantunggut desert, China. Methods: We conducted a four‐year field experiment simulating a realistic N deposition and with/without AMF treatments in one typical ephemeral plant community, dynamically monitoring the changes in plant community biomass and composition. Results: We found that suppression of AMF significantly reduced Shannon–Wiener diversity and evenness while the realistic N deposition only marginally reduced the Shannon–Wiener diversity. Suppression of AMF and increased N deposition highly increased the species turnover. Particularly, the stability of subordinate plant species significantly correlated to the community‐level stability. AMF were able to buffer the negative effects of increased N deposition on plant community diversity, to maintain community‐level stability. Conclusions: Our study supports the subordinate insurance hypothesis, highlighting the considerable roles of subordinate plant species in maintaining community stability. Furthermore, our results indicate the joint roles of AMF and N deposition in regulating plant community stability, and point to the importance of taking AMF and the realistic N deposition into account for understanding the responses of community stability to multiple global change scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many microorganisms can enter a viable but non-culturable (VBNC) state under various environmental stresses, while they can also resuscitate when the surroundings turn to suitable conditions. Cell walls play a vital role in maintaining cellular integrity and protecting cells from ambient threats. Here, we investigated the alterations in the cell wall of Rhodococcus biphenylivorans TG9 at VBNC state under norfloxacin stress and then at resuscitated state in fresh lysogeny broth medium. Electron microscopy analyses presented that TG9 in the VBNC state had a thicker and rougher cell wall than that in exponential phase or resuscitated state. Meanwhile, the results from infrared spectroscopy also showed that its VBNC state has different peptidoglycan structures in the cell wall. Moreover, in the VBNC cells the gene expressions related to cell wall synthesis and remodeling maintain a relatively high level. It indicates that the morphological variations of TG9 at the VBNC state might result from kinetic changes in the cell wall synthesis and remodeling. As a consequence, the alterations in the cell wall of VBNC TG9 may somewhat account for its tolerance mechanisms to antibiotic treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Skin damage can be induced by excessive ultraviolet B (UV-B) irradiation. This study aimed to investigate the potential protective activity of persimmon oligo-proanthocyanidins (P-OPC) against UV-B induced human keratinocyte cells (HaCaT cells) and skin damage and its underlying mechanisms in vitro and in vivo. P-OPC was shown to inhibit the production of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) induced by UVB radiation in both HaCaT cells and mouse skin tissues by increasing the activity of the antioxidant enzyme system [superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), and glutathione (GSH)]. Furthermore, P-OPC was found to suppress cell apoptosis and the production of inflammatory cytokines, TNF-α, and IL-6. Overall, P-OPC could protect skin tissues from UV-B-induced damage by suppressing oxidant stress, acute inflammation, and cell apoptosis via regulating MAPK and NF-κB signalling pathways. These results indicate the potential of P-OPC as a photochemo-protective agent against UV-B induced skin damage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Escherichia coli O157:H7, a causative agent of haemolytic uremic syndrome, can enter into a viable but non‐culturable (VBNC) state in response to harsh stress. Bacteria in this state can retain membrane integrity, metabolic activity and virulence expression, which may present health risks. However, virulence expression and resuscitation ability of the VBNC state are not well understood. Here, we induced E. coli O157:H7 into a VBNC state by high temperature, which is commonly used to prevent the proliferation of pathogens in process of soil solarization, composting and anaerobic digestion of organic wastes. The virulence genes were highly expressed in the VBNC state and resuscitated daughter cells. The resuscitation of VBNC cells occurred after the removal of heat stress in Luria‐Bertani medium. In addition, E. coli O157: H7 cells can leave the VBNC state and resuscitate with the clearance of protein aggregates. Notably, with the accumulation of protein aggregation and increased levels of reactive oxygen species, cells lost their ability to resuscitate. The results of this study not only can facilitate a better understanding of the health risks associated with the VBNC state but also have the potential to provide a theoretical basis for thermal disinfection processing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agricultural soil contaminated by manure is becoming an important source for the transmission of foodborne pathogens. There is an urgent need for a rapid and accurate method for viable pathogen detection in agricultural soil samples. Propidium monoazide (PMA) is a DNA-binding dye that can inhibit the amplification of DNA from dead cells through subsequent quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR), thus allowing for viable cells detection and quantification. The objective of this study was to detect viable Escherichia coli O157:H7 in the agricultural soils by PMA-qPCR. In this study, cell extraction and gradient density centrifugation were incorporated before PMA-qPCR to reduce the interference of soil particle including turbidity and a high ratio of dead cells. The optimized treatment conditions were determined as follows, the maximum removal of DNA from dead cells was achieved by 1.067 g/mL Percoll of centrifugation and 50 μM PMA treatment. Under these conditions, the turbidity of paddy soil suspensions decreased from 3500 to 28.4 nephelometric turbidity units (NTU), and the ratio of viable cells to dead cells increased from 0.001 to 1.025%. For typical agricultural soils collected in China, as low as 102colony-forming units (CFU)/g of viable cells could be accurately detected in the presence of a large number of dead cells (107 CFU/g) by the optimized PMA-qPCR. Significantly, with comparable accuracy, the optimized PMA-qPCR assay was more sensitive, accessible and rapid than conventional culture methods. In addition, the viable but non-culturable (VBNC) state of E. coli O157:H7 cells in paddy soils, which often escaped the detection by conventional culture methods, could be quantitatively characterized by the optimized PMA-qPCR method. Potentially, the optimized PMA-qPCR can be further applied for viable pathogens detection and give insight into the prevalence of VBNC E. coli O157:H7 in agricultural soil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Lung cancer has high morbidity and mortality worldwide with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) accounting for 85% of the cases. Therapies for lung cancer have relatively poor outcomes and further improvements are required. Circular RNAs have been reported to participate in the occurrence and progression of cancer. Information on the functions and mechanism of circRNAs in lung cancer is limited and needs more exploration. Methods: We detected expression of genes and proteins by qPCR and western blot. Function of circSATB2 was investigated using RNA interference and overexpression assays. Location of circSATB2 was assessed by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). Interaction of circSATB2, miR-326 and FSCN1 was confirmed by dual-luciferase reporter assay. Results: Data from the investigation showed that circSATB2 was highly expressed in NSCLC cells and tissues. circSATB2 positively regulated fascin homolog 1, actin-bundling protein 1 (FSCN1) expression via miR-326 in lung cancer cells. Furthermore, circSATB2 can be transferred by exosomes and promote the proliferation, migration and invasion of NSCLC cells, as well as induce abnormal proliferation in normal human bronchial epithelial cells. Also, circSATB2 was highly expressed in serumal exosomes from lung cancer patients with high sensitivity and specificity for clinical detection and was related to lung cancer metastasis. Conclusions: circSATB2 participated in the progression of NSCLC and was differentially expressed in lung cancer tissue and serumal exosomes. circSATB2 may be potential biomarker for the diagnosis of NSCLC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A-type epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) and epicatechin-3-O-gallate (ECG) dimers have multiply biological activities. In this study, the pharmacokinetics of them were investigated in mice after a single dose intravenous administration, and the metabolites in mice plasma and urine were investigated by ultra-performance liquid chromatography-Quadrupole-time of flight mass spectrometer (UPLC-QTOF-MS). Our results showed that the half-life (t1/2) of A-type EGCG and ECG dimers were 116.37 min and 33.04 min, respectively, and the maximal concentration in plasma was 32.81 μg/mL and 55.59 μg/mL, respectively. It was found that two dimers were firstly experienced by quinone methide (QM) fission to form the EGCG and ECG analogue, and the phase II metabolites were generated subsequently. The main metabolites in plasma and urine were glucuronidation and sulphation derivatives. In addition, small molecule weight of phenolic acids were detected in urine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global climate change is one of the most pressing conservation challenges; in particular, changes in precipitation regimes have already substantially influenced terrestrial ecosystems. However, the mechanisms influencing precipitation changes on individual plants and the plant communities in desert grasslands have yet to be fully elucidated. We therefore examine the influence of increased precipitation on plant community compositions in the Gurbantunggut Desert, Xinjiang, northwestern China, from 2005 to 2009. We found that growth of all plant species and the community productivities increased markedly with enhanced water input. Cover of ephemeral synusia also significantly increased due to increased precipitation, implying that the role of the ephemeral community for stabilization of sand dunes was strengthened by increased precipitation. The response of plant community compositions to increased precipitation was primarily reflected as changes in plant density, while increased precipitation did not affect plant species richness and the diversity index. Dominant species drove the response of plant density to increasing precipitation during the five‐year study period. However, the relative responses of rare species were stronger than those of the dominant species, thereby potentially driving species turnover with long‐term increased precipitation. This finding improved our understanding of how increased precipitation drives the changes in plant community composition in desert grasslands and will help to better predict changes in the community composition of ephemerals under future global climate change scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate the effect of negative-pressure wound therapy (NPWT) on the circulating number of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) in diabetic patients with mild to moderate degrees of ischemic foot ulcer. Methods: We selected 84 diabetic patients who had a foot ulcer with a duration of at least four weeks and who had an ankle-brachial index of 0.5–0.9. Patients were assigned to one two groups according to 2:1 randomization: NPWT group (n = 56) and non-NPWT (patients who did not receive NPWT) group (n = 28). The control group (NC group) was composed of 18 patients who had normal glucose tolerance and lower extremity ulcer without arteriovenous disease. NPWT was performed on the ulcer after debridement for one week for patients in both the NPWT group and the NC group, and the patients in the non-NPWT group received conventional treatment process. The circulating number of EPCs was measured before and after various treatments, and the factors influencing their changes were analysed. Results: After NPWT, the circulating number of EPCs significantly increased in both the NPWT group and the NC group ((85.3 ± 18.1) vs. (34.1 ± 12.5)/106 cells; (119.9 ± 14.4) vs. (66.1 ± 10.6)/106 cells, both P < 0.05). In contrast, the circulating number of EPCs had no significant change in the non-NPWT group ((45.2 ± 19.4) vs. (34.7 ± 16.8)/106 cells, P > 0.05). In addition, the circulating levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and the protein expressions of VEGF and stromal cell-derived factor-1α (SDF-1α) in the granulation tissue significantly increased after NPWT in both the NPWT and the NC group, but there was no significant change in the non-NPWT group. Compared with the non-NPWT group, the changes in VEGF and SDF-1α levels in the sera and granulation tissue were all significantly higher in both the NPWT and NC groups (P < 0.05, P < 0.01, respectively). There was no significant difference in changes in the circulating number of EPCs in the peripheral blood and levels of VEGF and SDF-1α in the sera and granulation tissue between the NPWT and NC groups. Correlation analysis showed that the change in the circulating number of EPCs was correlated with the changes of VEGF and SDF-1α levels in the sera and granulation of the NPWT and NC groups (P < 0.05). Conclusion: NPWT may increase the circulating number of EPCs in diabetic patients with mild to moderate ischaemic foot ulcer as in non-diabetic controls, which may be attributed to the upregulation of systemic and local VEGF and SDF-1α levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Smoking is one of the major environmental risk factors for lung cancer. In recent years, the role of long-chain noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) in chemical carcinogenesis has attracted extensive research attention. In this study, we treated human bronchial epithelial cells with cigarette smoke extract (CSE) at a dose of 2 μg/ml to establish a malignantly transformed cellular model (16HBE-M). Screening of lncRNAs highly expressed in transformed cells via differential analysis revealed a crucial role of linc00152 in CSE-induced malignant transformation. The linc00152 serum level in CSE-exposed individuals was increased in a dose-dependent manner and its high expression associated with metastasis and proliferation of lung cancer tissue. In malignantly transformed 16HBE-M cells, linc00152 was involved in regulation of cell adhesion, epithelial transition and other malignant phenotypes, which in turn, affected in vivo metastasis. Interference with linc00152 expression led to G1/S arrest and inhibition of proliferation of 16HBE-M and H1299 cells. Furthermore, linc00152 promoted cyclin D1 expression and G1/S transition by functioning as an endogenous competitive RNA targeting miR-193b. Our collective findings supported a critical regulatory role of linc00152 in cell cycle alterations and abnormal proliferation in CSE-induced malignant transformation of human bronchial epithelial cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Precise precipitation forecast can better reflect the changing trend of climate, provide timely and efficient environmental information for management decision, as well as help people to make preparations for the incoming floods or droughts. However, existing approaches have limited ability to forecast future precipitation in different regions. In order to addess the problem, this paper proposes a big data based approach for precipitation forecasting based on deep belief nets, called DBNPF (Deep Belief Network for Precipitation Forecast). The proposed approach can not only learn the hierarchical representation of raw data using a highly generalized way, but also make a more accurate description of the rule underlying different kind of environmental factors. A set of dedicated experiments with hydrological multivariate time series from four typical areas of China is conducted to validate the feasibility and robustness of the model. In the experiments, environmental factors, filtered by factor analysis, are used as input vector, and the next 24 hours precipitation is used as the output vector. We compare DBNPF with other traditional machine learning approaches. The experimental results show that the proposed approach is more robust than other approaches and can also improve the forecast precision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nitrification plays a crucial role in global nitrogen cycling and treatment processes. However, the relationships between the nitrifier guilds of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB) are still poorly understood, especially in freshwater habitats. This study examined the physiological interactions between the AOB and NOB present in a freshwater aquarium biofilter by culturing them, either together or separately, in a synthetic medium. Metagenomic and 16S rRNA gene sequencing revealed the presence and the draft genomes of Nitrosomonas-like AOB as well as Nitrobacter-like NOB in the cultures, including the first draft genome of Nitrobacter vulgaris. The nitrifiers exhibited different growth rates with different ammonium (NH4+) or nitrite concentrations (50-1,500 μM) and the growth rates were elevated under a high bicarbonate (HCO3-) concentration. The half-saturation constant (Ks for NH4 +), the maximum growth rate (μmax), and the lag duration indicated a strong dependence on the synergistic relationships between the two guilds. Overall, the ecophysiological and metagenomic results in this study provided insights into the phylogeny of the key nitrifying players in a freshwater biofilter and showed that interactions between the two nitrifying guilds in a microbial community enhanced nitrification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lead is a heavy metal pollutant that is widely present in the environment and can seriously harm human health, especially the nervous system. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) play important roles in many physiological and pathological processes; however, there remains a lack of in-depth studies on the molecular mechanisms associated with lead neurotoxicity. Here, our results showed that lead exposure inhibited cell proliferation and promoted cell apoptosis. We observed that lncRNAL20992 was significantly upregulated in a lead-induced neuronal-injury cell model according to quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. Silencing lncRNAL20992 revealed its significant functions involved in promoting cell apoptosis and inhibiting cell proliferation according to cell-counting kit-8, EdU assay, terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick-end labeling, and western blot. To elucidate the molecular mechanisms of lncRNAL20992, we used RNA pulldown mass spectrometry combined with bioinformatics analysis to discover 4 proteins (AIFM1, HSP7C, GRP78, and LMNA) that interacted with lncRNAL20992. Western blot analysis indicated that lncRNAL20992 involved in lead-induced neuronal injury was mediated by the 4 proteins. Our study constitutes the first investigation of the functions and related mechanisms of lncRNAL20992 and offered valuable insight into understanding the roles of lncRNA in lead-induced neurotoxicity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Circular RNAs are widely expressed in eukaryotic cells and associated with cancer. However, limited studies to date have focused on the potential role of circRNAs in progression of lung cancer. Data from the current investigation showed that circRNA 100146 is highly expressed in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cell lines and the chemically induced malignant transformed bronchial cell line, 16HBE-T, as well as 40 paired tissue samples of NSCLC. Suppression of circRNA 100146 inhibited the proliferation and invasion of cells and promoted apoptosis. Furthermore, circRNA 100146 could interact with splicing factors and bind miR-361-3p and miR-615-5p to regulate multiple downstream mRNAs. Our collective findings support a role of circRNA 100146 in the development of NSCLC and further demonstrate endogenous competition among circRNA 100146, SF3B3 and miRNAs, providing novel insights into the mechanisms underlying non-small cell lung cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

circNOL10 is a circular RNA expressed at low levels in lung cancer, though its functions in lung cancer remain unknown. Here, the function and molecular mechanism of circNOL10 in lung cancer development are investigated using in vitro and in vivo studies, and it is shown that circNOL10 significantly inhibits the development of lung cancer and that circNOL10 expression is co‐regulated by methylation of its parental gene Pre‐NOL10 and by splicing factor epithelial splicing regulatory protein 1 (ESRP1). circNOL10 promotes the expression of transcription factor sex comb on midleg‐like 1 (SCML1) by inhibiting transcription factor ubiquitination and thus also affects regulation of the humanin (HN) polypeptide family by SCML1. circNOL10 also affects mitochondrial function through regulating the humanin polypeptide family and affecting multiple signaling pathways, ultimately inhibiting cell proliferation and cell cycle progression, and promoting the apoptosis of lung cancer cells, thereby inhibiting lung cancer development. This study investigates the functions and molecular mechanisms of circNOL10 in the development of lung cancer and reveals its involvement in the transcriptional regulation of the HN polypeptide family by SCML1. The results also demonstrate the inhibitory effect of HN on lung cancer cells growth. These findings may identify novel targets for the molecular therapy of lung cancer. This study provides new evidence for the molecular mechanism whereby circRNAs may affect transcriptional regulation in lung cancer cells, and also reveals that circNOL10 inhibits lung cancer development by promoting SCLM1‐mediated transcriptional regulation of the humanin (HN) polypeptide family. The results also demonstrate the inhibitory effect of HN on lung cancer growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Although anaerobic digestion for biogas production is used worldwide in treatment processes to recover energy from carbon-rich waste such as cellulosic biomass, the activities and interactions among the microbial populations that perform anaerobic digestion deserve further investigations, especially at the population genome level. To understand the cellulosic biomass-degrading potentials in two full-scale digesters, this study examined five methanogenic enrichment cultures derived from the digesters that anaerobically digested cellulose or xylan for more than 2 years under 35 or 55 °C conditions. Results: Metagenomics and metatranscriptomics were used to capture the active microbial populations in each enrichment culture and reconstruct their meta-metabolic network and ecological roles. 107 population genomes were reconstructed from the five enrichment cultures using a differential coverage binning approach, of which only a subset was highly transcribed in the metatranscriptomes. Phylogenetic and functional convergence of communities by enrichment condition and phase of fermentation was observed for the highly transcribed populations in the metatranscriptomes. In the 35 °C cultures grown on cellulose, Clostridium cellulolyticum-related and Ruminococcus-related bacteria were identified as major hydrolyzers and primary fermenters in the early growth phase, while Clostridium leptum-related bacteria were major secondary fermenters and potential fatty acid scavengers in the late growth phase. While the meta-metabolism and trophic roles of the cultures were similar, the bacterial populations performing each function were distinct between the enrichment conditions. Conclusions: Overall, a population genome-centric view of the meta-metabolism and functional roles of key active players in anaerobic digestion of cellulosic biomass was obtained. This study represents a major step forward towards understanding the microbial functions and interactions at population genome level during the microbial conversion of lignocellulosic biomass to methane. The knowledge of this study can facilitate development of potential biomarkers and rational design of the microbiome in anaerobic digesters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]