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DNA degradation (Dnd) is a widespread bacterial antiphage defence system that relies on DNA phosphorothioate (PT) modification for self/non-self discrimination and subsequent degradation of unmodified DNA. Phages employ counterstrategies to evade host immunity, but anti-Dnd immunity has not been characterized. Here we report an immune evasion protein encoded by the Salmonella phage JSS1 that contributes to subverting Dnd and other defence systems. Using quantitative proteomic and phosphoproteomic analyses, we show that the protein JSS1_004 employs N-terminal Ser/Thr/Tyr protein kinase activity to catalyse the multisite phosphorylation of host DndFGH. Notably, JSS1_004 also phosphorylates other bacterial immune systems to varying degrees, including CRISPR‒Cas, QatABCD, SIR2+HerA and DUF4297+HerA. Given that JSS1_004 and its homologues are widespread in phylogenetically diverse phages, we suggest that this strategy constitutes a family of immune evasion proteins that increases the chances of phage proliferation even when a host deploys multiple defence systems., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited.)

Herein, we developed a facile method for the synthesis of battery-grade ferric phosphate (FePO 4 ·2H 2 O) using high-pressure hydrolyzed precipitates of cobalt-iron alloy acid solution. The size of the prepared FePO 4 ·2H 2 O samples was about 5-10 μm, and the microstructure of FePO 4 ·2H 2 O was polyhedral. The FePO 4 ·2H 2 O samples exhibited a high Fe/P ratio (1.03) compared with standard ferric phosphate (0.98-1.02), indicating potentially good electrochemical performance. The significance of the current work is that we have developed an effective method for the resource utilization of solid waste containing iron.

Objective/main Outcome: To study the expression of OX40 on T follicular helper (Tfh) cells and the ligand OX40L on antigen-presenting cells (APCs) in peripheral blood of patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) and the role of OX40 signaling in promoting Tfh cells to assist B-cell differentiation., Design: Cross-sectional study., Setting: Endocrinology department of a university hospital., Participants: Twenty-five patients with T1DM and 35 with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) from January 2021 to December 2021 (39 males, 21 females; mean age: 31.0 ± 4.5, range: 19-46 years)., Interventions: None., Methods: The peripheral blood proportion of CD4+CD25-CD127+CXCR5+PD1+ Tfh cells in patients with T1DM or T2DM and the OX40L expression in CD14+ monocytes and CD19+ B cells were analyzed by flow cytometry. The OX40 signal effect on Tfh-cell function was analyzed by coincubating B cells with Tfh cells under different conditions. Flow cytometry detected the ratio of CD19-CD138+ plasmacytes., Results: The Tfh cells ratio and intracellular IL-21 expression in peripheral blood was significantly higher in patients with T1DM than with T2DM, and the OX40 expression in peripheral Tfh cells and OX40L expression in APC were significantly higher in T1DM. After adding OX40L protein, the CD19-CD138+-plasmacytes percentage was significantly increased and higher in T1DM. Blocking of anti-OX40L monoclonal antibodies significantly reduced the plasmacytes ratio., Conclusion: The peripheral Tfh cells proportion increased and the OX40 expression in peripheral Tfh cells was upregulated in patients with T1DM vs patients with T2DM. OX40/OX40L signaling enhanced the Tfh-cell function to assist B-cell differentiation, which may contribute to the pathogenesis of T1DM., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Endocrine Society.)

RNA-dependent RNA Polymerases (RdRPs) synthesize double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) from a single-stranded RNA (ssRNA) template. In plants, dsRNAs produced by RdRPs can be further processed into small interfering RNA (siRNAs) with different lengths, ranging from 21 to 24 nucleotides (nt). These siRNAs play a pivotal role in various biological processes, including antiviral responses, transposable elements silencing, DNA methylation, and the regulation of plant reproduction and development. Recent research has reported significant progress in uncovering the molecular mechanisms of plant RNA-DEPENDENT RNA POLYMERASE 2 (RDR2), a representative RdRP involved in the RNA-directed DNA methylation (RdDM) pathway. These discoveries provide a molecular basis underlying the principles of RdRP function and offer insights into potential advancements in crop breeding and antiviral defense strategies., (© 2024 The Author(s). New Phytologist © 2024 New Phytologist Foundation.)

Angelica dahurica var. formosana ( ADF ), which belongs to the Umbelliferae family, is one of the original plants of herbal raw material Angelicae Dahuricae Radix. ADF roots represent an enormous biomass resource convertible for disease treatment and bioproducts. But, early bolting of ADF resulted in lignification and a decrease in the coumarin content in the root, and roots lignification restricts its coumarin for commercial utility. Although there have been attempts to regulate the synthesis ratio of lignin and coumarin through biotechnology to increase the coumarin content in ADF and further enhance its commercial value, optimizing the biosynthesis of lignin and coumarin remains challenging. Based on gene expression analysis and phylogenetic tree profiling, AdNAC20 as the target for genetic engineering of lignin and coumarin biosynthesis in ADF was selected in this study. Early-bolting ADF had significantly greater degrees of root lignification and lower coumarin contents than that of the normal plants. In this study, overexpression of AdNAC20 gene plants were created using transgenic technology, while independent homozygous transgenic lines with precise site mutation of AdNAC20 were created using CRISPR/Cas9 technology. The overexpressing transgenic ADF plants showed a 9.28% decrease in total coumarin content and a significant 12.28% increase in lignin content, while knockout mutant plants showed a 16.3% increase in total coumarin content and a 33.48% decrease in lignin content. Furthermore, 29,671 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were obtained by comparative transcriptomics of OE- NAC20 , KO- NAC20 , and WT of ADF . A schematic diagram of the gene network interacting with AdNAC20 during the early-bolting process of ADF was constructed by DEG analysis. AdNAC20 was predicted to directly regulate the transcription of several genes with SNBE-like motifs in their promoter, such as MYB46, C3H, and CCoAOMT. In this study, AdNAC20 was shown to play a dual pathway function that positively enhanced lignin formation but negatively controlled coumarin formation. And the heterologous expression of the AdNAC20 gene at Arabidopsis thaliana proved that the AdNAC20 gene also plays an important role in the process of bolting and flowering.

3D bioprinting technology, a subset of 3D printing technology, is currently witnessing widespread utilization in tissue repair and regeneration endeavors. In particular, light-based 3D bioprinting technology has garnered significant interest and favor. Central to its successful implementation lies the judicious selection of photosensitive polymers. Moreover, by fine-tuning parameters such as light irradiation time, choice of photoinitiators and crosslinkers, and their concentrations, the properties of the scaffolds can be tailored to suit the specific requirements of the targeted tissue repair sites. In this comprehensive review, we provide an overview of commonly utilized bio-inks suitable for light-based 3D bioprinting, delving into the distinctive characteristics of each material. Furthermore, we delineate strategies for bio-ink selection tailored to diverse repair locations, alongside methods for optimizing printing parameters. Ultimately, we present a coherent synthesis aimed at enhancing the practical application of light-based 3D bioprinting technology in tissue engineering, while also addressing current challenges and future prospects., Competing Interests: The authors declare they have no competing interests., (© 2024 The Authors.)

Streptococcus agalactiae ( S.agalactiae ), also known as group B Streptococcus (GBS), is a highly infectious pathogen. Prolonged antibiotic usage leads to significant issues of antibiotic residue and resistance. Chelerythrine (CHE) is a naturally occurring benzophenidine alkaloid and chelerythrine chloride (CHEC) is its hydrochloride form with diverse biological and pharmacological activities. However, the antibacterial mechanism of CHEC against GBS remains unclear. Thus, this study aims to investigate the in vitro antibacterial activity of CHEC on GBS and elucidate its underlying mechanism. The antibacterial effect of CHEC on GBS was assessed using inhibitory zone, minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) assays, as well as by constructing a time-kill curve. The antibacterial mechanism of CHEC was investigated through techniques such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), measurement of alkaline phosphatase (AKP) activity, determination of Na + K + , Ca 2+ Mg 2+ -adenosine triphosphate (ATP) activity, observation of membrane permeability, and analysis of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) and mRNA expression levels of key virulence genes. The results demonstrated that the inhibition zone diameters of CHEC against GBS were 14.32 mm, 12.67 mm, and 10.76 mm at concentrations of 2 mg/mL, 1 mg/mL, and 0.5 mg/mL, respectively. The MIC and MBC values were determined as 256 μg/mL and 512 μg/mL correspondingly. In the time-kill curve, 8 × MIC, 4 × MIC and 2 × MIC CHEC could completely kill GBS within 24 h. SEM and TEM analyses revealed significant morphological alterations in GBS cells treated with CHEC including shrinkage, collapse, and leakage of cellular fluids. Furthermore, the antibacterial mechanism underlying CHEC's efficacy against GBS was attributed to its disruption of cell wall integrity as well as membrane permeability resulting in extracellular release of intracellular ATP, AKP, Na + K + , Ca 2+ Mg 2+ . Additionally CHEC could increase the ROS production leading to oxidative damage and downregulating mRNA expression levels of key virulence genes in GBS cells. In conclusion, CHEC holds potential as an antimicrobial agent against GBS and further investigations are necessary to elucidate additional molecular mechanisms., 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 Xin, Pu, Wang, Gu, He, Du, Tang and Han.)

Chieh-qua (Benincasa hispida Cogn. var. Chieh-qua How.) fruit development starts post pollination. With the continuous expansion of the fruit, the soluble solid content of the fruit decreases. Because there are no reports on the early development of Chieh-qua fruit, this study compared fruit transcriptomes at 0-, 3-, and 7 day post pollination (dpp). 104,747 unigenes were assembled from clean reads and compared using six public databases for similarity searching. Compared with those of 0 dpp (C), there were differences in the expression of 12,982 and 6541 genes in the fruit tissue at 3 dpp and 7 dpp, respectively. Compared with 3 dpp (B), there were 14,314 differentially expressed genes in the fruit at 7 dpp (A). Based on the analysis of transcription factors, 213 nucleotides in the MYB superfamily were identified; among them, 94 unigenes of the MYB superfamily were differentially expressed at the three stages. In the pairwise comparison of differential expression, eight unigenes (Gene_id: TRINITY_DN32880_c1_g2, TRINITY_DN35142_c2_g2, TRINITY_DN32454_c11_g6, TRINITY_DN34105_c2_g7, TRINITY_DN32758_c3_g3, TRINITY_DN33604_c4_g10, TRINITY_DN34466_c3_g1, TRINITY_DN35924_c3_g2) were homologous to those of MYB59, MYB-GT3b, MYB18, MYB4, MYB108, MYB306, MYB340, and MYB-bHLH13. These unigenes differed significantly among the three stages. Furthermore, MYB59 and MYB18 exhibited higher expression at 7 dpp. MYB4, MYB-GT3b, MYB108, and MYB306 showed the highest expression levels in fruits at 3 dpp. In addition, MYB340 and MYB-bHLH13 showed higher expression levels during the unpollinated stage. MYB59, MYB-GT3b, MYB18, MYB4, MYB108, MYB306, MYB340, and MYB-bHLH13 may play crucial roles in Chieh-qua fruit development, defense, and blossoming. This study provides a basis for further investigation of MYB superfamily genes involved in early fruit expansion in chieh-qua., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Two-dimensional topological insulators hosting the quantum spin Hall effect have application potential in dissipationless electronics. To observe the quantum spin Hall effect at elevated temperatures, a wide band gap is indispensable to efficiently suppress bulk conduction. Yet, most candidate materials exhibit narrow or even negative band gaps. Here, via elegant control of van der Waals epitaxy, we have successfully grown monolayer ZrTe 5 on a bilayer graphene/SiC substrate. The epitaxial ZrTe 5 monolayer crystalizes in two allotrope isomers with different intralayer alignments of ZrTe 3 prisms. Our scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy characterization unveils an intrinsic full band gap as large as 254 meV and one-dimensional edge states localized along the periphery of the ZrTe 5 monolayer. First-principles calculations further confirm that the large band gap originates from strong spin-orbit coupling, and the edge states are topologically nontrivial. These findings thus provide a highly desirable material platform for the exploration of the high-temperature quantum spin Hall effect., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: Gastric cancer (GC) remains a formidable challenge in oncology, ranking as a leading cause of cancer mortality globally. This underscores an urgent need for innovative prognostic markers that can revolutionize patient management and outcomes. Recent insights into cancer biology have spotlighted the profound influence of lipid metabolism alterations on tumorigenesis, tumor progression, and the tumor microenvironment. These alterations not only fuel cancer cell growth and proliferation but also play a strategic role in evading immune surveillance and promoting metastasis. The intricate web of lipid metabolism in cancer cells, characterized by deregulated uptake, synthesis, and oxidation of fatty acids (FAs), opens new avenues for targeted therapeutic interventions and prognostic evaluations. Specifically, this study zeroes in on apolipoprotein A-I ( APOA1 ), a key player in lipid metabolism, to unearth its prognostic value in GC. By delving into the role of lipid metabolism-related genes, particularly APOA1 , we aim to unveil their potential as groundbreaking biomarkers for GC prognosis. This endeavor not only aims to enhance our understanding of the molecular underpinnings of GC but also to spearhead the development of lipid metabolism-based strategies for improved diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic outcomes., Methods: Transcriptomic and clinical data from GC patients and healthy individuals were sourced from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database, a comprehensive project that molecularly characterizes over 20,000 primary cancer and matched normal samples across 33 cancer types. Significantly differentially expressed lipid metabolism-related genes were identified using the "limma" package in R. Prognostic genes were selected via univariate Cox regression analysis. Differential gene enrichment analysis was performed using Metascape (http://www.metascape.org). The Human Protein Atlas (HPA, https://www.proteinatlas.org) provided information on APOA1 protein expression in GC and healthy tissues. Immune cell infiltration was analyzed using the CIBERSORT algorithm (http://cibersort.stanford.edu)., Results: Significant differences in lipid metabolism-related gene expression were observed between GC and normal tissues, closely linked to FA metabolism, oxidoreductase activity, and sphingolipid metabolism. APOA1 emerged as a potential prognostic biomarker by intersecting prognostic and differentially expressed lipid metabolism genes. Immunohistochemical analysis confirmed APOA1 downregulation in GC. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis demonstrated its predictive value, with the area under the curve (AUC) being 0.64 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.52-0.76]. APOA1 expression correlated with immune cell infiltrations. Clinical serum APOA1 results revealed lower levels in GC patients (1.38 vs . 1.26; P<0.05), associated with poor prognosis (hazard ratio =1.50; P<0.001) and clinical characteristics. ROC analysis of serum APOA1 demonstrated good diagnostic ability (AUC: 0.63, 95% CI: 0.61-0.65). Serum APOA1 levels significantly increased after treatment., Conclusions: This study highlights lipid metabolism reprogramming in GC and identifies APOA1 as a potential diagnostic and prognostic biomarker, suggesting its clinical utility in managing GC., Competing Interests: Conflicts of Interest: All authors have completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure form (available at https://tcr.amegroups.com/article/view/10.21037/tcr-23-1966/coif). The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare., (2024 Translational Cancer Research. All rights reserved.)

It is well known that 5-methylcytosine (m 5 C) is involved in variety of crucial biological processes in cancers. However, its biological roles in lung adenocarcinoma (LAUD) remain to be determined. The LUAD samples were used to assess the clinical value of NOP2/Sun RNA Methyltransferase 2 (NSUN2). Dot blot was used to determine global m 5 C levels. ChIP and dual-luciferase assays were performed to investigate the MYC-associated zinc finger protein (MAZ)-binding sites in NSUN2 promoter. RNA-seq was used to explore the downstream molecular mechanisms of NSUN2. Dual luciferase reporter assay, m 5 C-RIP-qPCR, and mRNA stability assay were conducted to explore the effect of NSUN2-depletion on target genes. Cell viability, transwell, and xenograft mouse model were designed to demonstrate the characteristic of NSUN2 in promoting LUAD progression. The m 5 C methyltransferase NSUN2 was highly expressed and caused elevated m 5 C methylation in LUAD samples. Mechanistically, MAZ positively regulated the transcription of NSUN2 and was related to poor survival of LUAD patients. Silencing NSUN2 decreased the global m 5 C levels, suppressed proliferation, migration and invasion, and inhibited activation of PI3K-AKT signaling in A549 and SPAC-1 cells. Phosphoinositide-3-Kinase Regulatory Subunit 2 (PIK3R2) was upregulated by NSUN2-mediated m 5 C methylation by enhancing its mRNA stabilization and activated the phosphorylation of the PI3K-AKT signaling. The present study explored the underlying mechanism and biological function of NSUN2-meditated m 5 C RNA methylation in LUAD. NSUN2 was discovered to facilitate the malignancy progression of LUAD through regulating m 5 C modifications to stabilize PIK3R2 activating the PI3K-AKT signaling, suggesting that NSUN2 could be a novel biomarker and promising therapeutic target for LUAD patients., (© 2024 Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

The 3d transition metal-catalyzed enantioconvergent radical cross-coupling provides a powerful tool for chiral molecule synthesis. In the classic mechanism, the bond formation relies on the interaction between nucleophile-sequestered metal complexes and radicals, limiting the nucleophile scope to sterically uncongested ones. The coupling of sterically congested nucleophiles poses a significant challenge due to difficulties in transmetalation, restricting the reaction generality. Here, we describe a probable outer-sphere nucleophilic attack mechanism that circumvents the challenging transmetalation associated with sterically congested nucleophiles. This strategy enables a general copper-catalyzed enantioconvergent radical N -alkylation of aromatic amines with secondary/tertiary alkyl halides and exhibits catalyst-controlled stereoselectivity. It accommodates diverse aromatic amines, especially bulky secondary and primary ones to deliver value-added chiral amines (>110 examples). It is expected to inspire the coupling of more nucleophiles, particularly challenging sterically congested ones, and accelerate reaction generality.

In plant-pathogen interactions, pathogens display tissue specificity, infecting and causing disease in particular tissues. However, the involvement of microRNAs/microRNA-like RNAs (miRNAs/milRNAs) in tissue-specific regulation during plant-pathogen interactions remains largely unexplored. This study investigates the differential expression of miRNAs/milRNAs, as well as their corresponding target genes, in interactions between Valsa mali ( Vm ) and different apple tissues. The results demonstrated that both apple miRNAs and Vm milRNAs exhibited distinct expression profiles when Vm infected bark and leaves, with functionally diverse corresponding target genes. Furthermore, one apple miRNA (Mdo-miR482a) and one Vm milRNA (Vm-milR57) were identified as exhibiting tissue-specific expression in interactions between Vm and apple bark or leaves. Mdo-miR482a was exclusively up-regulated in response to Vm infection in bark and target a nucleotide-binding leucine-rich repeat (NLR) gene of apple. When Mdo-miR482a was transiently over-expressed or silenced, the resistance was significantly reduced or improved. Similarly, transient expression of the NLR gene also showed an increase in resistance. Vm-milR57 could target two essential pathogenicity-related genes of Vm . During Vm infection in bark, the expression of Vm-milR57 was down-regulated to enhance the expression of the corresponding target gene to improve the pathogenicity. The study is the first to reveal tissue-specific characteristics of apple miRNAs and Vm milRNAs in interactions between Vm and different apple tissues, providing new insights into adaptive regulation in tissue-specific interactions between plants and fungi., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nanjing Agricultural University.)

In order to address the autonomous underwater vehicle navigation challenge for dam inspections, with the goal of enabling safe inspections and reliable obstacle avoidance, an improved smooth Ant Colony Optimization algorithm is proposed for path planning. This improved algorithm would optimize the smoothness of the path besides the robustness, avoidance of local optima, and fast computation speed. To achieve the goal of reducing turning time and improving the directional effect of path selection, a corner-turning heuristic function is introduced. Experimental simulation results show that the improved algorithm performs best than other algorithms in terms of path smoothness and iteration stability in path planning., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

In plants, two atypical DNA-dependent RNA polymerases, RNA polymerase IV (Pol IV) and Pol V, and an RNA-DEPENDENT RNA POLYMERASE 2 (RDR2) together produce noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) to guide the plant-specific RNA-directed DNA methylation (RdDM). Although both Pol IV and Pol V have evolved from the canonical Pol II, they have adapted to different roles in RdDM. The mechanisms of their adaptation are key to understanding plant DNA methylation and the divergent evolution of polymerases. In this review, we summarize insights that have emerged from recent structural studies of Pol IV, Pol V, and RDR2 and discuss their structural features critical for efficient ncRNA production in RdDM., Competing Interests: Declaration of interests The authors declare no competing interests., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Adhesives have received extensive attention in flexible bioelectronics, wearable electronic medical devices, and biofuel cells. However, it is a challenge to achieve late regulation of performance once polymer-based gels are formed. Here, a double-network organogel composed of a hydrophilic and hydrophobic polymer network and a polyamide acid network was successfully prepared. In diverse liquid environments (including isopropyl alcohol, glycerol, epichlorohydrin, n -propanol, dichloromethane, triethanolamine, ethanol absolute, hydrogen peroxide, and ethyl acetate), the organogel adhesive demonstrated remarkable properties. It exhibits a strong tensile strength of 200 kPa, a high fracture strain reaching 560%, and an impressive adhesion strength of 38 kPa. In addition, the organogel demonstrates exceptional adhesive properties toward polytetrafluoroethylene, plastics, metals, rubber, and glass. Note that the organogel could also regulate adhesive and tough performance by thermally triggering a cyclization reaction even after the organogel has been formed. The strategy provides a new idea for designing soft materials with post-tunability.

Cancer remains a severe public health burden worldwide. One of the challenges hampering effective cancer therapy is that the existing cancer models hardly recapitulate the tumor microenvironment of human patients. Over the past decade, tumor organoids have emerged as an in vitro 3D tumor model to mimic the pathophysiological characteristics of parental tumors. Various techniques have been developed to construct tumor organoids, such as matrix-based methods, hanging drop, spinner or rotating flask, nonadhesive surface, organ-on-a-chip, 3D bioprinting, and genetic engineering. This review elaborated on cell components and fabrication methods for establishing tumor organoid models. Furthermore, we discussed the application of tumor organoids to cancer modeling, basic cancer research, and anticancer therapy. Finally, we discussed current limitations and future directions in employing tumor organoids for more extensive applications., Competing Interests: Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interest exists., (© The author(s).)

Background and Aims: The traditional treatment of diabetic wounds is unsatisfactory. Exosomes isolated from bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) promote the healing of diabetic wounds. However, whether the exosomes secreted by interferon (IFN)-γ-pretreated BMSCs have an enhanced therapeutic effect on diabetic wound healing and the relevant mechanisms remain unclear., Methods: In this study, we isolated exosomes from the corresponding supernatants of BMSCs with (IExos) or without IFN-γ treatment (NExos). Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) were used to investigate the proliferation, migration, and tube formation under different treatments in vitro. Diabetic mice were induced by intraperitoneal administration of streptozotocin, and a circular full-thickness dermal defect was then made on the back of each mouse, followed by a multisite subcutaneous injection of phosphate buffered saline or exosomes. Hematoxylin-eosin (H&E) staining, Masson's trichrome staining, and histological analysis were performed to assess the speed and quality of wound healing., Results: NExos treatment accelerated the healing of diabetic wounds by promoting angiogenesis in vivo and in vitro, and IExos exhibited superior therapeutic efficiency. MicroRNA (miR)-126-3p was significantly increased in IExos, and exosomal miR-126-3p promoted angiogenesis and diabetic wound healing via its transfer to HUVECs. miR-126-3p regulates SPRED1 by directly targeting the 3'-UTR. Mechanistically, IFN-γ-pretreated BMSCs secreted miR-126-3p-enriched exosomes, which enhanced the function of HUVECs and promoted angiogenesis via the SPRED1/Ras/Erk pathway., Conclusion: Exosomal miR-126-3p secreted from IFN-γ-pretreated BMSCs exhibited higher therapeutic efficacy than NExos in diabetic wound healing by promoting angiogenesis via the SPRED1/Ras/Erk axis., (© 2023 The Authors. Journal of Diabetes published by Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.)

In this study, the significance of oxidized low-density lipoprotein (ox-LDL) in promoting the progression of atherosclerosis was investigated by inducing the differentiation of macrophages into the M2 subtype within a high-fat diet-induced ApoE -/- mouse model. The study also evaluated the effects of β2-AR agonists and blockers on this process. Ox-LDL was found to have significantly promoted the differentiation of macrophages into the M2 type and induced related functional alterations. Furthermore, it activated the pyroptosis pathway and encouraged the release of lactate dehydrogenase. The administration of β2-AR agonists intensified these processes, while β2-AR blockers had the opposite effect. In animal experiments, the model group displayed elevated numbers of M2-type macrophages beneath the aortic root intima, an increased rate of plaque destruction, and the formation of atherosclerotic plaques compared to the control group. The SAL (Salbutamol) group exhibited even more severe plaque development than the model group. Conversely, the ICI (ICI118551) group demonstrated M2-type macrophage levels comparable to the control group, with a higher plaque destruction rate than controls but significantly lower than the model group, and no atherosclerotic plaques. These findings suggest that ox-LDL promoted the differentiation of recruited monocytes into M2-type macrophages, leading to a shift in the inflammatory response from M1 to M2 macrophages. This alteration resulted in the persistence of atherosclerotic inflammation, as M2-type macrophages were prone to cell membrane rupture (such as pyroptosis), contributing to the continuous recruitment of circulating monocytes and heightened inflammatory reactions within atherosclerotic plaques. Consequently, this process fueled the progression of atherosclerosis.

Background: Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is often associated with increased lipid deposition in hepatocytes. However, when combined with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease or hyperlipidemia, it tends to have a lower HBV deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) load. The relationship between lipid metabolism and HBV DNA replication and its underlying mechanisms are not well understood., Aim: To investigate the relationship between lipid metabolism and HBV DNA replication and its underlying mechanisms., Methods: 1603 HBsAg-seropositive patients were included in the study. We first explored the relationship between patients' lipid levels, hepatic steatosis, and HBV DNA load. Also, we constructed an HBV infection combined with a hepatic steatosis cell model in vitro by fatty acid stimulation of HepG2.2.15 cells to validate the effect of lipid metabolism on HBV DNA replication in vitro . By knocking down and overexpressing Plin2, we observed whether Plin2 regulates autophagy and HBV replication. By inhibiting both Plin2 and cellular autophagy under high lipid stimulation, we examined whether the Plin2-autophagy pathway regulates HBV replication., Results: The results revealed that serum triglyceride levels, high-density lipoprotein levels, and hepatic steatosis ratio were significantly lower in the HBV-DNA high load group. Logistic regression analysis indicated that hepatic steatosis and serum triglyceride levels were negatively correlated with HBV-DNA load. Stratified analysis by HBeAg showed significant negative correlations between HBV-DNA load and hepatic steatosis ratio in both HBeAg-positive and HBeAg-negative groups. An in vitro cell model was developed by stimulating HepG2.2.15 cells with palmitic acid and oleic acid to study the relationship between HBV-DNA load and lipid metabolism. The results of the in vitro experiments suggested that fatty acid treatment increased lipid droplet deposition and decreased the expression of cell supernatant HBsAg, HBeAg, and HBV DNA load. Western blot and polymerase chain reaction analysis showed that fatty acid stimulation significantly induced Plin2 protein expression and inhibited the expression of hepatocyte autophagy proteins. Inhibition of Plin2 protein expression under fatty acid stimulation reversed the reduction in HBsAg and HBeAg expression and HBV DNA load induced by fatty acid stimulation and the inhibition of cellular autophagy. Knocking down Plin2 and blocking autophagy with 3-methyladenine (3-MA) inhibited HBV DNA replication., Conclusion: In conclusion, lipid metabolism is a significant factor affecting HBV load in patients with HBV infection. The in vitro experiments established that fatty acid stimulation inhibits HBV replication via the Plin2-autophagy pathway., Competing Interests: Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors declare that they have no conflict of interest., (©The Author(s) 2023. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.)

Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection remains a significant public health concern worldwide. Several metabolic processes regulate HBV DNA replication, including autophagy and lipid metabolism. In this study, we clarified the effect of lipids on HBV replication and elucidated possible mechanisms. We discovered that lipid metabolic gene expression levels were negatively correlated with the HBV DNA in plasma. Our data showed that fatty acid stimulation significantly reduced HBV DNA, hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), and hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) levels in HepG2.2.15 cells, which are human hepatoma cell cultures transfected with HBV DNA. The Stearoyl coenzyme A desaturase 1 (SCD1)-autophagy pathway has also been implicated in inhibiting HBV replication by fatty acids stimulation. SCD1 knockdown deregulates the inhibitory effect of fatty acids on HBV by enhancing autophagy. When 3 methyladenine (3MA) was added, the inhibitory effects of specific autophagy inhibitors eliminated the positive effects of SCD1 knockdown on HBV replication. Our results indicate that SCD1 participates in the regulation of inhibition of HBV replication by fatty acids stimulation through regulating autophagy., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Separation materials have received increasing attention given their broad applications in the management of environmental pollution. It is desired to balance the contradiction between high separation efficiency and selectivity of separation materials. The integration of ball-milled bone chars with electrospun membranes might achieve this balance. In this study, electrospun cellulose/chitosan/ball-milled bone char (CL/CS/MB) membranes were by well-dispersing ball-milled bone chars with nanoscale size (98.9-167.5 nm) and developed porosity (40.2-373.1 m 2 /g) in the electrospinning solvent. The synergistic integration of distributed MBs (5.4-31.5 wt.% of loading hydroxyapatite on the membrane matrix) allowed the efficient sorption of Pb(II) with fast kinetics (20.0 min), excellent capacity (219.9 mg/g at pH 5.0, T 298 K), and favorable selectivity coefficients (2.76-6.79). The formation of minerals was dominant for the selective sorption of Pb(II) by combining the spectral analysis and quantitative determination. The surface complexation with O-/reductive N-species, the cation exchange with inorganic Ca 2+ , the electrostatic attraction with deprotonated O - , and the cation-π coordination with the aromatic carbon via the π-electrons should be not ignored for the capture of Pb(II). This work demonstrated the feasibility of electrospun CL/CS/MB membranes as a promising candidate for the remediation of aquatic pollutants., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Excessive application of chemical fertilizer has caused many problems in Angelica dahurica var. formosana planting, such as yield decline and quality degradation. In order to promote the green cultivation mode of A. dahurica var. formosana and explore rhizosphere fungus resources, the rhizosphere fungi with nitrogen fixation, phosphorus solubilization, potassium solubilization, iron-producing carrier, and IAA-producing properties were isolated and screened in the rhizosphere of A. dahurica var. formosana from the genuine and non-genuine areas, respectively. The strains were identified comprehensively in light of the morphological characteristics and ITS rDNA sequences, and the growth-promoting effect of the screened strains was verified by pot experiment. The results showed that 37 strains of growth-promoting fungi were isolated and screened from the rhizosphere of A. dahurica var. formosana, mostly belonging to Fusarium. The cultured rhizosphere growth-promoting fungi of A. dahurica var. formosana were more abundant and diverse in the genuine producing areas than in the non-genuine producing areas. Among all strains, Aspergillus niger ZJ-17 had the strongest growth promotion potential. Under the condition of no fertilization outdoors, ZJ-17 inoculation significantly promoted the growth, yield, and accumulation of effective components of A. dahurica var. formosana planted in the soil of genuine and non-genuine producing areas, with yield increases of 73.59% and 37.84%, respectively. To a certain extent, it alleviated the restriction without additional fertilization on the growth of A. dahurica var. formosana. Therefore, A. niger ZJ-17 has great application prospects in increasing yield and quality of A. dahurica var. formosana and reducing fertilizer application and can be actually applied in promoting the growth of A. dahurica var. formosana and producing biofertilizer.

Background: In recent years, many semiconductor materials with unique band structures have been used as Pt counter electrode (CE) substitutes for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), which makes the photoelectric properties of DSSCs possible to be modulated by electric field, magnetic field, and light field. In this work, La0.67(Ca Ba)0.33MnO3 (LCBMO) thin film is employed to act as CE in DSSCs., Method: The experimental results indicate that short-circuit current density and photoelectric conversion efficiency present better stability when applying an external magnetic field to the DSSCs. Furthermore, both the exchange current density (J0) and limit diffusion current density (Jlim) are largely enhanced by an external magnetic field. J0 increases from -0.51 mA•cm-2 to -0.65 mA•cm-2, and Jlim increases from 0.2 mA•cm-2 to 0.3 mA•cm-2 when applying a magnetic field of 0.25 T., Result: The fitting results of the impedance test verify that the magnetic field reduces the value of Rct., Conclusion: Both magnetic-field enhancing catalytic activity and CMR effect jointly promote the increase of photocurrent and finally improve the photovoltaic effect in DSSCs., (Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.net.)

The growing significance of messenger RNA (mRNA) therapeutics in diverse medical applications, such as cancer, infectious diseases, and genetic disorders, highlighted the need for efficient and safe delivery systems. Lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) have shown great promise for mRNA delivery, but challenges such as toxicity and immunogenicity still remain to be addressed. In this study, we aimed to compare the performance of polyplex nanomicelles, our original cationic polymer-based carrier, and LNPs in various aspects, including delivery efficiency, organ toxicity, muscle damage, immune reaction, and pain. Our results showed that nanomicelles (PEG-PAsp(DET)) and LNPs (SM-102) exhibited distinct characteristics, with the former demonstrating relatively sustained protein production and reduced inflammation, making them suitable for therapeutic purposes. On the other hand, LNPs displayed desirable properties for vaccines, such as rapid mRNA expression and potent immune response. Taken together, these results suggest the different potentials of nanomicelles and LNPs, supporting further optimization of mRNA delivery systems tailored for specific purposes.

Cigarette smoking killed about 8 million people every year and promoted non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). We investigated the molecular mechanism of smoking-promoted NSCLC progression. Relative to non-smokers, NSCLC patients who were smokers had a higher tumor malignancy. For NSCLC cells, cigarette smoke extract (CSE) increased levels of HIF-1α, METTL3, Cyclin E1, and CDK2 and promoted the G1/S transition, which promoted cell proliferation. Down-regulation HIF-1α or METTL3 reversed these effects. meRIP-seq and RNA-seq revealed the m 6 A modification in Cyclin Dependent Kinase 2 Associated Protein 2 (CDK2AP2) mRNA as the key downstream target. Further, for NSCLC cells exposed to CSE, HIF-1α activated METTL3 transcription. Xenografts in nude mice demonstrated that HIF-1α via METTL3 participated in tumor growth. In NSCLC tissues of smokers, protein levels of HIF-1α and METTL3 were higher, and levels of CDK2AP2 were lower. In conclusion, HIF-1α via METTL3 regulation of the m 6 A modification of CDK2AP2 mRNA drives smoking-induced progression of NSCLC through promoting cell proliferation. This is a previously unknown molecular mechanism for smoking-induced NSCLC progression. The results have potential value for treatment of NSCLC, especially for patients who smoke., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Lung cancer is a commonly diagnosed disease worldwide, with non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLCs) accounting for ≈ 85% of cases. Cigarette smoke is an environmental exposure promoting progression of NSCLC, but its role is poorly understood. This study reports that smoking-induced accumulation of M2-type tumor-associated macrophages (M2-TAMs) surrounding NSCLC tissues promotes malignancy. Specifically, extracellular vesicles (EVs) from cigarette smoke extract (CSE)-induced M2 macrophages promoted malignancy of NSCLC cells in vitro and in vivo. circEML4 in EVs from CSE-induced M2 macrophages is transported to NSCLC cells, where it reduced the distribution of ALKBH5 in the nucleus by interacting with Human AlkB homolog H5 (ALKBH5), resulting in elevated N6-methyladenosine (m6A) modifications. m6A-seq and RNA-seq revealed suppressor of cytokine signaling 2 (SOCS2)-mediated activation of the Janus kinase-signal transducer and activator of transcription (JAK-STAT) pathway by regulating m6A modification of SOCS2 via ALKBH5. Down-regulation of circEML4 in EVs from CSE-induced M2 macrophages reversed EVs-enhanced tumorigenicity and metastasis in NSCLC cells. Furthermore, this study found that smoking patients showed an increase in circEML4-positive M2-TAMs. These results indicate that smoking-induced M2-TAMs via circEML4 in EVs promote the NSCLC progression through ALKBH5-regulated m6A modification of SOCS2. This study also reveals that circEML4 in EVs from TAMs acts as a diagnostic biomarker for NSCLC, especially for patients with smoking history., (© 2023 The Authors. Advanced Science published by Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

A smooth and secure spatial path planning algorithm that integrates the improved ant colony optimization with the corrective connected spatial search strategy is proposed, aiming at heavy heading switching pressure of autonomous underwater vehicles sailing in complex marine environment. On the one hand, to overcome the low-dimensional search domain and inaccurate spatial communication information in traditional spatial path planning, the spatial connectivity adjacency domain search strategy is designed based on grid environment model. On the other hand, to alleviate heading switching pressure due to large path steering angles and redundant path turning points, the heuristic functions and pheromone update criterion based on ant colony optimization are introduced to improve the solution quality of smooth paths. The simulation results show that the space search strategy can improve the success probability of safe path planning without reducing the scope of explorable free space. Additionally, the simulations demonstrate that the improved ant colony optimization using the spatial search strategy can guarantee the shortest path with lowest tortuous degree and fewest turning times in the same grid environment., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

The enantioconvergent C(sp 3 )-N cross-coupling of racemic alkyl halides with (hetero)aromatic amines represents an ideal means to afford enantioenriched N -alkyl (hetero)aromatic amines yet has remained unexplored due to the catalyst poisoning specifically for strong-coordinating heteroaromatic amines. Here, we demonstrate a copper-catalyzed enantioconvergent radical C(sp 3 )-N cross-coupling of activated racemic alkyl halides with (hetero)aromatic amines under ambient conditions. The key to success is the judicious selection of appropriate multidentate anionic ligands through readily fine-tuning both electronic and steric properties for the formation of a stable and rigid chelating Cu complex. Thus, this kind of ligand could not only enhance the reducing capability of a copper catalyst to provide an enantioconvergent radical pathway but also avoid the coordination with other coordinating heteroatoms, thereby overcoming catalyst poisoning and/or chiral ligand displacement. This protocol covers a wide range of coupling partners (89 examples for activated racemic secondary/tertiary alkyl bromides/chlorides and (hetero)aromatic amines) with high functional group compatibility. When allied with follow-up transformations, it provides a highly flexible platform to access synthetically useful enantioenriched amine building blocks.

Chiral amines are commonly used in the pharmaceutical and agrochemical industries 1 . The strong demand for unnatural chiral amines has driven the development of catalytic asymmetric methods 1,2 . Although the N-alkylation of aliphatic amines with alkyl halides has been widely adopted for over 100 years, catalyst poisoning and unfettered reactivity have been preventing the development of a catalyst-controlled enantioselective version 3-5 . Here we report the use of chiral tridentate anionic ligands to enable the copper-catalysed chemoselective and enantioconvergent N-alkylation of aliphatic amines with α-carbonyl alkyl chlorides. This method can directly convert feedstock chemicals, including ammonia and pharmaceutically relevant amines, into unnatural chiral α-amino amides under mild and robust conditions. Excellent enantioselectivity and functional-group tolerance were observed. The power of the method is demonstrated in a number of complex settings, including late-stage functionalization and in the expedited synthesis of diverse amine drug molecules. The current method indicates that multidentate anionic ligands are a general solution for overcoming transition-metal-catalyst poisoning., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited.)

Short-chain chlorinated paraffins (SCCPs) were listed for elimination under the Stockholm Convention in 2017 due to their persistence and toxicity. Although Canada and other Stockholm signatories have prohibited the manufacture, usage and import of SCCPs since 2013, they can still be detected at high concentrations in indoor dust. To identify the sources of the SCCPs in the Canadian indoor environment, short-, medium- and long-chain chlorinated paraffins (SCCPs, MCCPs, LCCPs, respectively) were measured using a sensitive LC-ESI-orbitrap method. SCCPs were detected in 84 of the 96 products purchased in Canada after 2013 (87.5%) including electronic devices, clothing, plastics (toys), and paintings. Concentrations of SCCPs were up to 0.93% (9.34 mg g -1 ). SCCPs were also detected in newly purchased toys at 0.005-2.02 mg g -1 , indicating the potential for children's exposure. Profiles of chlorinated paraffins differed among categories of products. For example, C 13 -SCCPs were most common in toys, while electronic devices like headphones showed comparable concentrations of SCCPs and MCCPs. Additionally, four new carboxylate derivatives of CPs were detected in an electronic device sample. These are the first data to show the ubiquitous occurrences of SCCPs in a wide range of products currently marketed in Canada, suggesting continuing indoor exposure to SCCPs despite their prohibition.

Purpose: To evaluate the effect of total parathyroidectomy (tPTx) on malnutrition and inflammation in patients on maintenance dialysis (MHD) having secondary hyperparathyroidism (SHPT)., Methods: Twenty-five patients on MHD having SHPT who were being treated with tPTx were selected, and changes in their general condition (dry body mass), parathyroid hormone (PTH) and calcium levels, nutrition state (hemoglobin, hematocrit, serum albumin, and total iron binding capacity), and inflammatory status [serum C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α), and the malnutrition-inflammation score (MIS)] were observed at 12, 24, and 36 months postoperatively., Results: Compared with the preoperative period, the dry body mass increased at 12, 24, and 36 months postoperatively (P < 0.01), hemoglobin, hematocrit, and serum albumin increased significantly (P < 0.01), whereas calcium, phosphorus, and PTH levels decreased significantly (P < 0.01). Serum CRP, IL-6, and TNF-α levels were significantly decreased at 12, 24, and 36 months after surgery (P < 0.01). Furthermore, MIS was reduced as well but to a lesser extent (P < 0.01)., Conclusion: tPTx effectively reduced MIS in maintenance dialysis patients, and the alleviated malnutrition and improved inflammatory status may contributed to improving the quality of life of patients on MHD with SHPT., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.)

Despite great achievements having been made in lithium-sulfur batteries (LSBs), further improvements regarding rate performance, cycle life, and operating temperature are needed for realistic applications. Herein, we developed a simple electrospun method for the preparation of TiO 2 coaxial nanofiber (TCNFs)-modified Celgard separators to suppress the polysulfide shuttling. LSBs with a TCNF/Celgard separator display excellent electrochemical performance. For an areal sulfur loading of 2.5 mg cm -2 , the cells exhibited a capacity of 1279 mA h g -1 at 0.5 A g -1 , remained 798 mA h g -1 at 2.5 A g -1 , and low-capacity decay of 0.057% per cycle within 1000 cycles. At 50 and -10 °C, the capacity of the cells is maintained at 932 and 931 mA h g -1 after 80 cycles at 0.5 A g -1 , respectively. Detailed structural analysis and theoretical calculations revealed that the hollow-structured TCNFs offer high density of accessible electropositive Ti sites and oxygen vacancies and thus enables efficient trapping of polysulfides and facilitates Li + transfer, leading to excellent performance. The simplicity of this strategy and the diversity of hollow-structured metal oxides holds great promise to design separators for high-performance LSBs.

Staphylococcus aureus ( SA ) is representative of gram-positive bacteria. Sanguinarine chloride hydrate (SGCH) is the hydrochloride form of sanguinarine (SG), one of the main extracts of Macleaya cordata (M. cordata). There are few reports on its antibacterial mechanism against SA . Therefore, in this study, we investigated the in vitro antibacterial activity and mechanism of SGCH against SA . The inhibitory zone, minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) were measured, and the bactericidal activity curve was plotted. In addition, the micromorphology, alkaline phosphatase (AKP) activity, Na + K + , Ca 2+ Mg 2+ -adenosine triphosphate (ATP) activity, intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS), and fluorescein diacetate (FDA) were observed and detected. The results showed that the inhibitory zone of SGCH against SA was judged as medium-sensitive; the MIC and MBC were 128 and 256 μg/mL, respectively; in the bactericidal activity curve, SGCH with 8 × MIC could completely kill SA within 24 h. SGCH was able to interfere with the integrity and permeability of the SA cell wall and membrane, as confirmed by the scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images, the increase in extracellular AKP and Na + K + , Ca 2+ Mg 2+ -ATP activities as well as the fluorescein diacetate (FDA) staining experiment results. Moreover, a high concentration of SGCH could induce SA to produce large amounts of ROS. In summary, these findings revealed that SGCH has a preferable antibacterial effect on SA , providing an experimental and theoretical basis for using SG as an antibiotic substitute in animal husbandry and for the clinical control and treatment of diseases caused by SA ., 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 © 2023 Gu, Dong, Li, Luo, Dong, Tang, Zhang, Du, Pu, He, Zhao, Han and Xin.)

In addition to the conserved RNA polymerases I to III (Pols I to III) in eukaryotes, two atypical polymerases, Pols IV and V, specifically produce noncoding RNA in the RNA-directed DNA methylation pathway in plants. Here, we report on the structures of cauliflower Pol V in the free and elongation conformations. A conserved tyrosine residue of NRPE2 stacks with a double-stranded DNA branch of the transcription bubble to potentially attenuate elongation by inducing transcription stalling. The nontemplate DNA strand is captured by NRPE2 to enhance backtracking, thereby increasing 3'-5' cleavage, which likely underpins Pol V's high fidelity. The structures also illuminate the mechanism of Pol V transcription stalling and enhanced backtracking, which may be important for Pol V's retention on chromatin to serve its function in tethering downstream factors for RNA-directed DNA methylation.

About 10 major crops basically feed the world. In fact, there are still a large number of plants that have not been fully explored and utilized because they have been ignored by the market and research. The expansion of food sources in various countries plays an important role in maintaining food security and nutrition security in the world. Miwu is the aerial part of the medicinal plant Rhizoma Chuanxiong belonging to a traditional local characteristic food raw material. Its edible value is still little known. Through textual research, component determination, literature survey, field research, and SWOT analysis, this paper has a comprehensive understanding of Miwu's diet history, chemical components, safety risks, and industrial development status. It is found that Miwu has been eaten for 800 years, is rich in nutrients and active ingredients, and has no acute toxicity. In addition, the current industrial development of Miwu has significant advantages and many challenges. To sum up, Miwu is a potentially underutilized food raw material. This paper also provides countermeasures for the industrialized development of Miwu, which will provide a milestone reference for the future utilization and development of Miwu.

Active DNA demethylation plays a crucial role in eukaryotic gene imprinting and antagonizing DNA methylation. The plant-specific REPRESSOR OF SILENCING 1/DEMETER (ROS1/DME) family of enzymes directly excise 5-methyl-cytosine (5mC), representing an efficient DNA demethylation pathway distinct from that of animals. Here, we report the cryo-electron microscopy structures of an Arabidopsis ROS1 catalytic fragment in complex with substrate DNA, mismatch DNA and reaction intermediate, respectively. The substrate 5mC is flipped-out from the DNA duplex and subsequently recognized by the ROS1 base-binding pocket through hydrophobic and hydrogen-bonding interactions towards the 5-methyl group and Watson-Crick edge respectively, while the different protonation states of the bases determine the substrate preference for 5mC over T:G mismatch. Together with the structure of the reaction intermediate complex, our structural and biochemical studies revealed the molecular basis for substrate specificity, as well as the reaction mechanism underlying 5mC demethylation by the ROS1/DME family of plant-specific DNA demethylases., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited.)

Minichromosome Maintenance protein 10 (MCM10) is essential for DNA replication initiation and DNA elongation in yeasts and animals. Although the functions of MCM10 in DNA replication and repair have been well documented, the detailed mechanisms for MCM10 in these processes are not well known. Here, we identified AtMCM10 gene through a forward genetic screening for releasing a silenced marker gene. Although plant MCM10 possesses a similar crystal structure as animal MCM10, AtMCM10 is not essential for plant growth or development in Arabidopsis. AtMCM10 can directly bind to histone H3-H4 and promotes nucleosome assembly in vitro. The nucleosome density is decreased in Atmcm10, and most of the nucleosome density decreased regions in Atmcm10 are also regulated by newly synthesized histone chaperone Chromatin Assembly Factor-1 (CAF-1). Loss of both AtMCM10 and CAF-1 is embryo lethal, indicating that AtMCM10 and CAF-1 are indispensable for replication-coupled nucleosome assembly. AtMCM10 interacts with both new and parental histones. Atmcm10 mutants have lower H3.1 abundance and reduced H3K27me1/3 levels with releasing some silenced transposons. We propose that AtMCM10 deposits new and parental histones during nucleosome assembly, maintaining proper epigenetic modifications and genome stability during DNA replication., (© 2022 Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences.)

In modern terminology, "organoids" refer to cells that grow in a specific three-dimensional (3D) environment in vitro, sharing similar structures with their source organs or tissues. Observing the morphology or growth characteristics of organoids through a microscope is a commonly used method of organoid analysis. However, it is difficult, time-consuming, and inaccurate to screen and analyze organoids only manually, a problem which cannot be easily solved with traditional technology. Artificial intelligence (AI) technology has proven to be effective in many biological and medical research fields, especially in the analysis of single-cell or hematoxylin/eosin stained tissue slices. When used to analyze organoids, AI should also provide more efficient, quantitative, accurate, and fast solutions. In this review, we will first briefly outline the application areas of organoids and then discuss the shortcomings of traditional organoid measurement and analysis methods. Secondly, we will summarize the development from machine learning to deep learning and the advantages of the latter, and then describe how to utilize a convolutional neural network to solve the challenges in organoid observation and analysis. Finally, we will discuss the limitations of current AI used in organoid research, as well as opportunities and future research directions., Competing Interests: Conflict of interestThe authors declare that they have no conflict of interest., (© Zhejiang University Press 2023, Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.)

In the present paper, resonance characteristics of the vapor bubble oscillating in an acoustic field are investigated analytically. The analytical solution of the non-dimensional perturbation of the instantaneous bubble radius during the transient process in the initial oscillation stage is explicitly obtained and physically analyzed at the resonance situation based on the Laplace transform method. And the typical oscillation behaviors obtained from the analytical solution are thoroughly exhibited and analyzed in the time and frequency domains. In addition, the corresponding oscillation behaviors at the non-resonance situation are also investigated for the purpose of comparisons. Through our investigation, several essential conclusions can be drawn as follows: (1) The analytical solution of the non-dimensional perturbation of the instantaneous bubble radius can be divided into four terms according to the physical meaning. Among them, it is the term related to the acoustic field that causes the progressively violent bubble oscillation. (2) The vapor bubble with a smaller equilibrium radius could respond faster and more significantly to the acoustic field during the oscillation. (3) The bubble oscillation characteristics always exhibit significant differences at the resonance and non-resonance situations in both the time and frequency domains, even if the difference between the natural frequency of the oscillating vapor bubble and the angular frequency of the acoustic field is greatly small., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

GATA transcription factor genes participate in plant growth, development, morphogenesis, and stress response. In this study, we carried out a comprehensive genome-wide analysis of wheat GATA transcription factor genes to reveal their molecular evolutionary characteristics and involvement in salt and drought tolerance. In total, 79 TaGATA genes containing a conserved GATA domain were identified in the wheat genome, which were classified into four subfamilies. Collinear analysis indicated that fragment duplication plays an important role in the amplification of the wheat GATA gene family. Functional disproportionation analysis between subfamilies found that both type I and type II functional divergence simultaneously occurs in wheat GATA genes, which might result in functional differentiation of the TaGATA gene family. Transcriptional expression analysis showed that TaGATA genes generally have a high expression level in leaves and in response to drought and salt stresses. Overexpression of TaGATA62 and TaGATA73 genes significantly enhanced the drought and salt tolerance of yeast and Arabidopsis. Protein-protein docking indicated that TaGATAs can enhance drought and salt tolerance by interacting between the DNA-binding motif of GATA transcription factors and photomorphogenesis-related protein TaCOP9-5A. Our results provided a base for further understanding the molecular evolution and functional characterization of the plant GATA gene family in response to abiotic stresses.

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a chronic disease, which progresses slowly from early to late stages over many years. Inflammation critically contributes to the pathogenesis of AMD. Here, we investigated the therapeutic potential of minocycline in a chronic model of AMD (i.e., the LysMCre-Socs3 fl/fl Cx3cr1 gfp/gfp double knockout [DKO] mice). Five-month-old DKO and wild type (WT) ( Socs3 fl/fl ) mice were gavage fed with minocycline (25 mg/kg daily) or vehicle (distilled water) for 3 months. At the end of the treatment, visual function and retinal changes were examined clinically (using electroretinography, fundus photograph and optic coherence tomography) and immunohistologically. Three months of minocycline treatment did not affect the body weight, behaviour and general health of WT and DKO mice. Minocycline treatment enhanced the a-/b-wave aptitudes and increased retinal thickness in both WT and DKO. DKO mouse retina expressed higher levels of Il1b , CD68 and CD86 and had mild microglial activation, and decreased numbers of arrestin + photoreceptors, PKCα + and secretagogin + bipolar cells compared to WT mouse retina. Minocycline treatment reduced microglial activation and rescued retinal neuronal loss in DKO mice. Our results suggest that long-term minocycline treatment is safe and effective in controlling microglial activation and preserving visual function in chronic models of AMD.

DNA methylation, a conserved epigenetic mark, is critical for tuning temporal and spatial gene expression. The Arabidopsis thaliana DNA glycosylase/lyase REPRESSOR OF SILENCING 1 (ROS1) initiates active DNA demethylation and is required to prevent DNA hypermethylation at thousands of genomic loci. However, how ROS1 is recruited to specific loci is not well understood. Here, we report the discovery of Arabidopsis AGENET Domain Containing Protein 3 (AGDP3) as a cellular factor that is required to prevent gene silencing and DNA hypermethylation. AGDP3 binds to H3K9me2 marks in its target DNA via its AGD12 cassette. Analysis of the crystal structure of the AGD12 cassette of AGDP3 in complex with an H3K9me2 peptide revealed that dimethylated H3K9 and unmodified H3K4 are specifically anchored into two different surface pockets. A histidine residue located in the methyllysine binding aromatic cage provides AGDP3 with pH-dependent H3K9me2 binding capacity. Our results uncover a molecular mechanism for the regulation of DNA demethylation by the gene silencing mark H3K9me2., (© 2022 Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences.)

In this study, four varieties of rice were cultivated on the same farmland under same conditions and for same duration. However, their lodging resistance was found to be obviously different from each other. Herein, three key factors that highly influenced the lodging resistance were identified. First, in terms of morphological trait, in contrast to the generally believed theory that the overall thickness of the fresh culm wall governs the strength, the thickness of the depressed region of the dried basal culm wall largely determined the mechanical properties by acting as the weak link. This depressed region represents the vulnerable part with high syneresis rate. Second, the culm and its carbon framework exhibited sufficient strength and rigidity for both support and stability of the rice stem. The constraint of high lodging resistance of rice plants is attributed to the culm flexibility. Furthermore, the results of the positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy corroborate that the most amorphous part and the highest-fraction free volume in the culm carbon framework were found for samples that exhibited high lodging resistance. This result confirmed the significant influence of the culm flexibility on lodging resistance. Third, a higher level of nitrogen element content in the basal culm can benefit its growth and development, which may contribute to an increase in lodging resistance of rice plants., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Organ-on-a-chip (OOC) provides microphysiological conditions on a microfluidic chip, which makes up for the shortcomings of traditional in vitro cellular culture models and animal models. It has broad application prospects in drug development and screening, toxicological mechanism research, and precision medicine. A large amount of data could be generated through its applications, including image data, measurement data from sensors, ~omics data, etc. A database with proper architecture is required to help scholars in this field design experiments, organize inputted data, perform analysis, and promote the future development of novel OOC systems. In this review, we overview existing OOC databases that have been developed, including the BioSystics Analytics Platform (BAP) developed by the University of Pittsburgh, which supports study design as well as data uploading, storage, visualization, analysis, etc., and the organ-on-a-chip database (Ocdb) developed by Southeast University, which has collected a large amount of literature and patents as well as relevant toxicological and pharmaceutical data and provides other major functions. We used examples to overview how the BAP database has contributed to the development and applications of OOC technology in the United States for the MPS consortium and how the Ocdb has supported researchers in the Chinese Organoid and Organs-On-A-Chip society. Lastly, the characteristics, advantages, and limitations of these two databases were discussed.

Goethite and lepidocrocite, as the main compositions of pipe deposits in the water distribution network, could be used as a catalyst for advanced oxidation processes (AOPs). This research utilizes them to activate PDS/H 2 O 2 and PMS/H 2 O 2 degrading the 2,4,6-trichlorophenol, respectively. To describe the incomplete degradation of pollutants and reflect the induction period, a modified first-order model has been proposed and used to analyze degradation differences under several key affecting factors. The results revealed that the PDS/H 2 O 2 system has a synergy effect in the 2,4,6-trichlorophenol degradation process. The possible degradation pathways and intermediate products were confirmed by gas chromatograph-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The paper provides a new idea for the effective use of pipe deposits to remove chlorophenols from drinking water, which is of great significance to ensure water quality safety., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

In this study, lignite activated coke (LAC) was used as the carrier for the first time, Fe 3 O 4 -CuO composite metal oxide was used as the main active material, and the nano-scale magnetic supported composite metal oxide Fe 3 O 4 -CuO@LAC catalyst was synthesized for the first time, which can effectively activate the active oxygen in peroxodisulfate (PS). XRD, FTIR, BET, SEM, XPS and other analysis results showed that there was particulate matter with spherical structure on the surface of the active coke, and its diffraction peaks matched well with the characteristic peaks of Fe 3 O 4 and CuO, and it was a mesoporous structure with a specific surface area of 619.090 m 2  g -1 . By optimizing the experimental conditions, the results showed that more than 92% of hydroquinone can be removed under the conditions of hydroquinone concentration of 50 mg/L, pH = 5, adding 0.1 g/L catalyst and 3 mmol/L PS. EPR and quenching experiments proved that there were four reactive oxygen species in the reaction system ·OH, SO 4 - ·, O 2 - · and 1 O 2 . According to the degradation products of hydroquinone detected by LC-MS, the possible degradation path was deduced which laid a foundation for solving the problem of difficult treatment of phenol-containing wastewater in coal chemical industry., (Copyright © 2022. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Lithium sulfur batteries (LSBs) have attracted tremendous attention owing to their high theoretical specific capacity and specific energy. However, their practical applications are hindered by poor cyclic life, mainly caused by polysulfide shuttling. The development of advanced materials to mitigate the polysulfide shuttling effect is urgently demanded. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have been exploited as multifunctional materials for the decoration of separators owing to their high surface area, structural diversity, tunable pore size, and easy tailor ability. In this review, we aim to present the state-of-the-art MOF-based separators for LSBs. Particular attention is paid to the rational design (pore aperture, metal node, functionality, and dimension) of MOFs with enhanced ability for anchoring polysulfides and facilitating Li + transportation. Finally, the challenges and perspectives are provided regarding to the future design MOF-based separators for high-performance LSBs., (© 2022 The Chemical Society of Japan & Wiley-VCH GmbH.)