Search

Abstract Angular streaking technique employs a close-to-circularly polarized laser pulse to build a mapping between the instant of maximum ionization and the most probable emission angle in the photoelectron momentum distribution, thereby enabling the probe of laser-induced electron dynamics in atoms and molecules with attosecond temporal resolution. Here, through the jointed experimental observations and improved Coulomb-corrected strong-field approximation statistical simulations, we identify that electrons emitted at different initial ionization times converge to the most probable emission angle due to the previously-unexpected Coulomb focusing triggered by the nonadiabatic laser-induced electron tunneling. We reveal that the Coulomb focusing induces the observed nonintuitive energy-dependent trend in the angular streaking measurements on the nonadiabatic tunneling, and that tunneling dynamics under the classically forbidden barrier can leave fingerprints on the resulting signals. Our findings have significant implications for the decoding of the intricate tunneling dynamics with attosecond angular streaking.

Invasive hydatidiform mole, a form of gestational trophoblastic neoplasm in reproductive-age women, poses a significant threat to life due to its associated signs and symptoms. This case report details the management of a 24-year-old Chinese woman with no prior pregnancy history, who presented at our hospital 23 days postcurettage, experiencing persistent vaginal bleeding for 3 days. While two rounds of chemotherapy effectively reduced human chorionic gonadotropin levels, a subsequent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed suspicious growth lesions in the uterus. High-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) treatment was administered under ultrasound guidance, resulting in notable grayscale changes to optimize the efficacy of chemotherapy and restrict lesion progression. Subsequent ultrasound and MRI assessments during follow-up demonstrated a transparent texture in the muscle layer at the lesion site. This case suggests that the combination of chemotherapy and HIFU, guided by ultrasound, may represent a promising therapeutic approach for managing invasive hydatidiform mole.

High-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) is commonly used to treat uterine fibroids and adenomyosis, but there is no evidence using metadata to compare fertility outcomes between conventional laparoscopic procedures and HIFU. The purpose of this study analysis is that evidence-based fertility outcomes may provide better treatment options for clinicians and patients considering fertility. The literature on fertility data for HIFU surgery versus laparoscopic myomectomy was searched in seven English language databases from January 1, 2010, to November 23, 2022. A total of 1375 articles were received in the literature, 14 of which were selected. We found that women who underwent HIFU surgery had higher rates of spontaneous pregnancy, higher rates of spontaneous delivery, and higher rates of full-term delivery but may have higher rates of miscarriage or postpartum complications than women who underwent laparoscopic myomectomy. Looking forward to future studies, it is hoped that the literature will examine endometrial differences in women who undergo HIFU and laparoscopic myomectomy to demonstrate the ability of endometrial repair. The location of fibroids in the sample should also be counted to allow for attribution statistics on the cause of miscarriage.

Bisphenol S (BPS), one of the substitutes for bisphenol A (BPA), is widely used in various commodities. The BPS concentrations in surface water have gradually increased in recent years, making it a predominant bisphenol analogue in the aquatic environment and raising concerns about its health and ecological effects on aquatic organisms. For this study, we conducted a 96 h acute toxicity test and a 15-day developmental exposure test to assess the adverse effects of BPS exposure in Chinese medaka (Oryzias sinensis), a new local aquatic animal model. The results indicate that the acute exposure of Chinese medaka embryos to BPS led to relatively low toxicity. However, developmental exposure to BPS was found to cause developmental abnormalities, such as decreased hatching rate and body length, at 15 dpf. A transcriptome analysis showed that exposure to different concentrations of bisphenol S often induced different reactions. In summary, environmental concentrations of BPS can have adverse effects on the hatching and physical development of Chinese medaka, and further attention needs to be paid to the potential toxicity of environmental BPS.

The vaccine-induced innate immune response is essential for the generation of an antibody response. To date, how Ad5-vectored vaccines are influenced by preexisting anti-Ad5 antibodies during activation of the early immune response remains unclear. Here, we investigated the specific alterations in GP1,2-specific IgG-related elements of the early immune response at the genetic, molecular, and cellular levels on days 0, 1, 3, and 7 after Ad5-EBOV vaccination. In a causal multiomics analysis, distinct early immune responses associated with GP1,2-specific IgG were observed in Ad5-EBOV recipients with a low level of preexisting anti-Ad5 antibodies. This study revealed the correlates of the Ad5-EBOV-induced IgG response and provided mechanistic evidence for overcoming preexisting Ad5 immunity during the administration of Ad5-vectored vaccines.

Abstract As compared to the intuitive process that the electron emits straight to the continuum from its parent ion, there is an alternative route that the electron may transfer to and be trapped by a neighboring ionic core before the eventual release. Here, we demonstrate that electron tunnelling via the neighboring atomic core is a pronounced process in light-induced tunnelling ionization of molecules by absorbing multiple near-infrared photons. We devised a site-resolved tunnelling experiment using an Ar-Kr+ ion as a prototype system to track the electron tunnelling dynamics from the Ar atom towards the neighboring Kr+ by monitoring its transverse momentum distribution, which is temporally captured into the resonant excited states of the Ar-Kr+ before its eventual releasing. The influence of the Coulomb potential of neighboring ionic cores promises new insights into the understanding and controlling of tunnelling dynamics in complex molecules or environment.

Abstract Reprogramming of vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) differentiation plays an essential role in abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA). However, the underlying mechanisms are still unclear. We explore the expression of FAM3A, a newly identified metabolic cytokine, and whether and how FAM3A regulates VSMC differentiation in AAA. We discover that FAM3A is decreased in the aortas and plasma in AAA patients and murine models. Overexpression or supplementation of FAM3A significantly attenuate the AAA formation, manifested by maintenance of the well-differentiated VSMC status and inhibition of VSMC transformation toward macrophage-, chondrocyte-, osteogenic-, mesenchymal-, and fibroblast-like cell subpopulations. Importantly, FAM3A induces KLF4 ubiquitination and reduces its phosphorylation and nuclear localization. Here, we report FAM3A as a VSMC fate-shaping regulator in AAA and reveal the underlying mechanism associated with KLF4 ubiquitination and stability, which may lead to the development of strategies based on FAM3A to restore VSMC homeostasis in AAA.

Ethylene is a crucial industrial feedstock in the petrochemical sector. However, the presence of a small amount of acetylene impurities in ethylene products will directly affect the next application of ethylene. Acetylene semi-hydrogenation is an effective strategy to remove trace acetylene impurities (0.5–2.0%) from the ethylene stream to avoid poisoning the Ziegler-Natta catalyst. The development of cost-effective, highly selective, active and stable catalysts for acetylene semi-hydrogenation poses a significant challenge in this field. In this review, the mechanism of acetylene semi-hydrogenation is first introduced. Second, the recent progress in the different types of catalysts on semi-hydrogenation acetylene including the conventional catalysts, single atom catalysts, electrocatalysts and photocatalysts is summarized. Finally, the future prospects of acetylene semi-hydrogenation catalysts are provided. It is expected that this review will afford the researchers to understand and develop highly efficient catalysts on semi-hydrogenation acetylene.

IntroductionThe SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant has become the dominant SARS-CoV-2 variant and exhibits immune escape to current COVID-19 vaccines, the further boosting strategies are required.MethodsWe have conducted a non-randomized, open-label and parallel-controlled phase 4 trial to evaluate the magnitude and longevity of immune responses to booster vaccination with intramuscular adenovirus vectored vaccine (Ad5-nCoV), aerosolized Ad5-nCoV, a recombinant protein subunit vaccine (ZF2001) or homologous inactivated vaccine (CoronaVac) in those who received two doses of inactivated COVID-19 vaccines. ResultsThe aerosolized Ad5-nCoV induced the most robust and long-lasting neutralizing activity against Omicron variant and IFNg T-cell response among all the boosters, with a distinct mucosal immune response. SARS-CoV-2-specific mucosal IgA response was substantially generated in subjects boosted with the aerosolized Ad5-nCoV at day 14 post-vaccination. At month 6, participants boosted with the aerosolized Ad5-nCoV had remarkably higher median titer and seroconversion of the Omicron BA.4/5-specific neutralizing antibody than those who received other boosters. DiscussionOur findings suggest that aerosolized Ad5-nCoV may provide an efficient alternative in response to the spread of the Omicron BA.4/5 variant.Clinical trial registrationhttps://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.html?proj=152729, identifier ChiCTR2200057278.

Abstract Background Newborn screening (NBS) can prevent inborn errors of metabolism (IEMs), which may cause long-term disability and even death in newborns. However, in China, tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) screening has just started. This study aimed to assess the cost-effectiveness of NBS using MS/MS in Shenzhen under the nationally recommended program, as well as evaluate the value and affordability of introducing this new screening technology. Methods A Markov model was built to estimate the cost and quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) of different screening programs. We compared PKU screening using traditional immunofluorescence (IF) with the other 11 IEMs not screened and all 12 IEMs screened using MS/MS, and the programs detecting different numbers of IEMs chosen from the national recommended program were also compared. A sensitivity analysis and budget impact analysis (BIA) were performed. Results The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of detecting all 12 IEMs in the national program is 277,823 RMB per QALY, below three times per capita GDP in Shenzhen. MS/MS screening in Shenzhen can be cost-effective only if at least three diseases (PKU, PCD and MMA) are covered and when the screening program covers five diseases (PKU, PCD, MMA, MSUD, IVA), the ICER closely approaches its critical threshold. The BIA indicated the implementation cost of the national program to be around 490 million RMB over 10 years and showed no difference in budget between programs detecting different numbers of IEMs. Conclusions We conclude that the newborn screening using MS/MS in Shenzhen is cost-effective, and the budget affordable for the Shenzhen government. Two concepts for selecting the IEMs to be detected are also presented. One is to choose the most cost-effective screening programs detecting highest number of IEMs to achieve a minimal ICER. The other considers the curability and affordability of the disease as the basis of healthcare decisions to screen suitable IEMs, achieving an ICER under the threshold and close to the minimum value.

Field-induced tunneling is one of the most fundamental quantum phenomena. In atoms this process has been successfully explored by attosecond interferometry based on high harmonic generation. Adapting this method to solids, the reconstruction of the subcycle tunneling dynamics calls for rigorous theoretical models that are able to properly map the experimental observables to the character of the tunneling process. Unlike in atomic gases, for crystalline solid-state systems the validity and applicability of the semiclassical trajectory-based model are still highly debated. Here we present a saddle-point analysis for solid-state systems which includes the quantum dynamics during tunneling. This allows us to quantify the initial conditions of electrons and holes when they emerge after the tunneling process in the classically allowed region. Our quantum trajectory simulations clarify the crucial role of the tunneling dynamics for the subsequent evolution and the harmonic emission from solids. Besides a nonzero initial electron-hole separation, a nonzero initial velocity of electrons/holes at the tunneling exits is revealed which arises from nonadiabatic tunneling. We find that depending on the ionization time, both inward and outward movements of the electron and its associated hole at the tunneling exit can occur. Our results provide intuitive insight into the nonadiabatic tunneling dynamics in solids and have direct implications for revealing fundamental quantum mechanical phenomena in solid-state systems with attosecond spectroscopic techniques.

Abstract Highly divergent SARS-CoV-2 variants have continuously emerged and spread around the world, and updated vaccines and innovative vaccination strategies are urgently needed to address the global SARS-COV2 pandemic. Here, we established a series of Ad5-vectored SARS-CoV-2 variant vaccines encoding multiple spike proteins derived from the Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Epsilon, Kappa, Delta and Omicron lineages and analyzed the antibody immune responses induced by single-dose and prime-boost vaccination strategies against emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOCs). Single-dose vaccination with SARS-CoV-2 variant vaccines tended to elicit the optimal self-matched neutralizing effects, and Ad5-B.1.351 produced more broad-spectrum cross-neutralizing antibodies against diverse variants. In contrast, prime-boost vaccination further strengthened and broadened the neutralizing antibody responses against highly divergent SARS-CoV-2 variants. The heterologous administration of Ad5-B.1.617.2 and Ad5-B.1.429 to Ad5-WT-primed mice resulted in superior antibody responses against most VOCs. In particular, the Omicron spike could only stimulate self-matched neutralizing antibodies with infrequent cross-reactivities to other variants used in single-dose vaccination strategies; moreover, with prime-boost regimens, this vaccine elicited an optimal specific neutralizing antibody response to Omicron, and prompted cross-antibody responses against other VOCs that were very similar to those obtained with Ad5-WT booster. Overall, this study delineated the unique characteristics of antibody responses to the SARS-CoV-2 VOC spikes with the single-dose or prime-boost vaccination strategies and provided insight into the vaccine development of next SARS-CoV-2 VOCs.

FLOURY ENDOSPERM 2 (FLO2), encoding a tetratricopeptide repeat domain (TPR)-containing protein located in the nucleus, is considered to be a regulatory protein that controls the biosynthesis of seed storage substances. The diversity of flo2 allele is attributable for the variations in grain appearance, amylose content (AC), and physicochemical properties, influencing the eating and cooking quality (ECQ) of rice. In this study, we used CRISPR/Cas9 to introduce loss-of-function mutations into the FLOURY ENDOSPERM 2 gene in Suken118 (SK118), a widely cultivated elite japonica rice variety in Jiangsu, China. Physiochemical analyses of the flo2 mutants were congruent with previous studies, exhibiting lowered AC and viscosity, risen gel consistency (GC) and gelatinization temperature (GT) values, which were all instrumental to the improvement of ECQ. However, the wrinkled opaque appearance and the decrease in grain width, grain thickness and grain weight imply trade-offs in grain yield. Despite the ex-ante estimation for low yielding, the superior ECQ in these novel genotypes generated by using genome editing approach may have the potential for formulating high value specialty food.

Adenovirus type 7 (HAdV7) is one of the most pathogenic human adenoviruses (HAdVs) and can cause severe illness and even death, particularly in people with weakened immune systems. Many countries worldwide have experienced epidemics of this highly contagious pathogen, including China and Sierra Leone; however, studies describing the seroprevalence of anti-HAdV7 neutralizing antibodies (nAbs) are still lacking. Herein, we established an efficient neutralization assay based on a recombinant luciferase-expressing HAdV7 virus (HAd7-Luc) to monitor historical HAdV7 infections and predict outbreak distributions. Among the 2,350 serum samples collected from eight sites in China and Sierra Leone in this cross-sectional serological survey, the overall proportion of anti-HAdV7-seropositive individuals was nearly 60%, with higher seroprevalence rates in Sierra Leone than in China. Regionally, HAdV7 nAb titers were higher in China than in Sierra Leone and showed a geographic variation across different regions. Regardless of the location, the seropositive rate of HAdV7 nAb was lower than that of HAdV5 nAb, as was the nAb titer. The prevalence rates of antibodies against HAdV7 and HAdV5 were both related to age but not to sex. In addition, serologic cross-reactions were rarely observed among people infected with HAdV7 and HAdV5. These results indicate a humoral immune response acquired through endemic HAdV7 infection and enrich the understanding of not only the epidemiological prevention and control of HAdV7 but also the clinical application of HAdV7-based vaccines or gene therapy tools.

We theoretically investigate the non-sequential double ionization of Ar atoms in the combined fields of linearly polarized laser and circularly polarized laser through 3D semiclassical simulations. By partially overlapping the two time-delayed multicycle laser pulses, we construct an optical waveform whose polarization ellipticity increase slowly for consecutive optical cycles. This composite laser pulses with the time-dependent ellipticity can tunnel-ionize atoms and steer the first tunneling electron to recollision with the second bound electron through different trajectories, in which the recollision occurs with different return times of the first ionized electron. Through tuning delay time between the two laser pulses, the double ionization yields and recollision trajectories with different return times can be controlled. The time-dependent ellipticity with different delay time can enhance or suppress the probability of different return times. This work provides a scheme exploring electron dynamics in few optical cycle or even subcycle time scale in a multicycle laser field without having to be limited to near-single-cycle laser pulses.

The proper route for vaccine delivery plays an important role in activating a robust immune response. Several viral vector-based vaccines against Ebola disease administered intramuscularly have been found to have excellent immunogenicity and protectiveness. In this study, we evaluated different vaccine routes for Ad5-EBOV delivery by comparing humoral and cellular responses, germinal center reactions, dendritic cell activation and antigen expression. Mice injected intramuscularly with the vaccine exhibited an advantage in antigen expression, leading to more robust germinal center and humoral responses, while intradermal injection recruited more migrating DCs and induced a more polyfunctional cellular response. Our study provides more data for future use of viral vector-based vaccines.

Bisphenol F (BPF) has been used in the syntheses of polymers, which are widely used in coatings, varnishes, adhesives, and other plastics. During the past decades, BPF contamination in the aquatic environment has dramatically increased due to its release from manmade products. Concerns have driven much attention to whether it may adversely impact aquatic lives or human beings. The present study performed an acute toxic exposure experiment and a 15 d developmental exposure of BPF at environmental concentrations (20, 200, and 2000 ng/L) using Chinese medaka (Oryzias sinensis). In the acute toxic exposure, the LC50 of BPF to Chinese medaka is 87.90 mg/L at 96 h. Developmental exposure induced a significant increase in the frequency of larvae with abnormalities in the 2000 ng/L BPF group compared to the control group. Transcriptomic analysis of the whole larvae revealed 565 up-regulated and 493 down-regulated genes in the 2000 ng/L BPF exposure group. Analysis of gene ontology and KEGG pathways enrichments indicated endocrine disorders to be associated with BPF-induced developmental toxicity. The present results suggest that BPF is developmentally toxic at 2000 ng/L concentration in Chinese medaka and causes endocrine-related aberrations in the transcriptional network of genes.

In recent years, β-Hexachlorocyclohexane (β-HCH) has been detected frequently in water, seriously threatening human health and ecological balance. To explore the effects of different treatment groups on the removal of β-HCH in experimental water and the response of microbial community structure in the system, three strains of β-HCH-degrading bacteria—Ochrobactrum sp. (Och1, Och2) and Pseudomonas sp. (Pse1)—combined with Canna were selected for microbial, plant, and microbe–plant repair hydroponic experiments, respectively. Solid-phase extraction combined with GC-ECD and high-throughput sequencing determined the β-HCH content and bacterial community in water and Canna tissues. The results showed that when β-HCH stress concentrations were 10 μg·L−1 and 100 μg·L−1, Och1 and Pse1 showed the best degradation performance (33.49% and 60.02%, respectively). Following this, the three degrading strains were combined with Canna. Under the two β-HCH stress concentrations, the combination of Och1–Canna showed the highest β-HCH removal efficiency (96.74% and 99.06%). At the same time, we measured the concentration of β-HCH in Canna tissues and found that Och1 had a better removal effect on β-HCH in water and that the addition of Pse1 may significantly improve the absorption capacity of β-HCH in Canna roots. In addition, the relative abundance of Methophilic bacteria in experimental water and Canna root samples increased significantly after the inoculation of degrading bacteria, suggesting that Methophilic bacteria may be vital in degrading benzene-ring-containing substances. The results of this research can provide a theoretical basis and technical support for the prevention and control of the non-point source pollution of organic pesticides.

T-cell immunity plays an important role in the control of SARS-CoV-2 and has a great cross-protective effect on the variants. The Omicron BA.1 variant contains more than 30 mutations in the spike and severely evades humoral immunity. To understand how Omicron BA.1 spike mutations affect cellular immunity, the T-cell epitopes of SARS-CoV-2 wild-type and Omicron BA.1 spike in BALB/c (H-2d) and C57BL/6 mice (H-2b) were mapped through IFNγ ELISpot and intracellular cytokine staining assays. The epitopes were identified and verified in splenocytes from mice vaccinated with the adenovirus type 5 vector encoding the homologous spike, and the positive peptides involved in spike mutations were tested against wide-type and Omicron BA.1 vaccines. A total of eleven T-cell epitopes of wild-type and Omicron BA.1 spike were identified in BALB/c mice, and nine were identified in C57BL/6 mice, only two of which were CD4+ T-cell epitopes and most of which were CD8+ T-cell epitopes. The A67V and Del 69-70 mutations in Omicron BA.1 spike abolished one epitope in wild-type spike, and the T478K, E484A, Q493R, G496S and H655Y mutations resulted in three new epitopes in Omicron BA.1 spike, while the Y505H mutation did not affect the epitope. These data describe the difference of T-cell epitopes in SARS-CoV-2 wild-type and Omicron BA.1 spike in H-2b and H-2d mice, providing a better understanding of the effects of Omicron BA.1 spike mutations on cellular immunity.

Abstract Background Tubal choriocarcinoma is an extremely rare but highly malignant trophoblastic tumor, which may be either gestational or non-gestational in origin. Due to atypical clinical manifestations and symptoms similar to ectopic pregnancy, it is easily to be confused with ectopic pregnancy. In addition, inadequate understanding of this rare disease by clinicians often leads to misdiagnosis or missed diagnosis, which in turn results in delayed treatment or even tumor metastasis. Case presentation This report summarized a case of a woman who was finally diagnosed as tubal choriocarcinoma through the follow-up of serum β hCG levels and histopathological results after undergoing salpingectomy for being misdiagnosed as ectopic pregnancy. Five courses of adjuvant chemotherapy (5-fluorouracil, actinomycin-D, vinorelbine regime) have been administered to the patient in the prevention of any recurrences. During 1-year follow-up, the patient was asymptomatic and presented no evidence of recurrence. Conclusions Tubal choriocarcinoma is easily to be confused with ectopic pregnancy. By analyzing this case and previous related cases, we aimed to provide references for clinicians in the diagnosis and treatment of tubal choriocarcinoma.

A vaccine preventing infection and transmission of SARS-CoV-2 is needed. Here, Wu et al. generate an adenovirus-vector vaccine expressing SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and show that a single dose of mucosal vaccination protects mice and ferrets from infection and inhibits virus replication in the upper respiratory tract.

Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a potentially life-threatening disease that is common in the aging population. Currently, there are no approved diagnostic biomarkers or therapeutic drugs for AAA. We aimed to identify novel plasma biomarkers or potential therapeutic targets for AAA using a high-throughput protein array-based method. Proteomics expression profiles were investigated in plasma from AAA patients and healthy controls (HC) using 440-cytokine protein array analysis. Several promising biomarkers were further validated in independent cohorts using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Thirty-nine differentially expressed plasma proteins were identified between AAA and HC. Legumain (LGMN) was significantly higher in AAA patients and was validated in another large cohort. Additionally, “AAA without diabetes” (AAN) patients and “AAA complicated with type 2 diabetes mellitus” (AAM) patients had different cytokine expression patterns in their plasma, and nine plasma proteins were differentially expressed among the AAN, AAM, and HC subjects. Delta-like protein 1 (DLL1), receptor tyrosine-protein kinase erbB-3 (ERBB3), and dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPPIV) were significantly higher in AAM than in AAN. This study identified several promising plasma biomarkers of AAA. Their role as therapeutic targets for AAA warrants further investigation.

In two-color strong field ionization of atoms, dynamical characteristics such as ionization rate and electron trajectory depend heavily on the relative phase of the strong fundamental field and its second harmonic. The phase-of-the-phase spectroscopy method reveals the oscillation of the photoelectron momentum distribution with the relative phase of the two-color field, and the relative phase contrast and its phase are usually obtained by the fitting process. Instead, we apply the generalized Bessel function to the strong field approximation and derive analytical expressions for the first- and second-order relative phase contrast and phase-of-the-phase spectra. Our analytical results are in good agreement with fitting-based ones, but calculating them is much less computationally intensive. We illustrate the advantage of using generalized Bessel functions in two-color phase-of-the-phase spectroscopy of argon.

High-order harmonic generation (HHG), the nonlinear upconversion of coherent radiation resulting from the interaction of a strong and short laser pulse with atoms, molecules and solids, represents one of the most prominent examples of laser–matter interaction. In solid HHG, the characteristics of the generated coherent radiation are dominated by the band structure of the material, which configures one of the key properties of semiconductors and dielectrics. Here, we combine an all-optical method and deep learning to reconstruct the band structure of semiconductors. Our method builds up an artificial neural network based on the sensitivity of the HHG spectrum to the carrier-envelope phase (CEP) of a few-cycle pulse. We analyze the accuracy of the band structure reconstruction depending on the predicted parameters and propose a prelearning method to solve the problem of the low accuracy of some parameters. Once the network is trained with the mapping between the CEP-dependent HHG and the band structure, we can directly predict it from experimental HHG spectra. Our scheme provides an innovative way to study the structural properties of new materials.

Triclosan (TCS), a ubiquitous antimicrobial agent, has been frequently detected in wild fish, leading to concerns regarding TCS safety in the aquatic environment. The present work aims to investigate the TCS-mediated effects on various tissues (the liver, gills, brain, and testes) of wild-sourced adult mosquitofish based on histological analysis and transcriptome. Severe morphological injuries were only found in the liver and gills. The histopathological alterations in the liver were characterized by cytoplasmic vacuolation and degeneration, eosinophilic cytoplasmic inclusions, and nuclear polymorphism. The gill lesions contained epithelial lifting, intraepithelial edema, fusion and shortening of the secondary lamellae. Consistently, the numbers of differently expressed genes (DEGs) identified by transcriptome were in the order of liver (1627) > gills (182) > brain (9) > testes (4). Trend-aligned histopathological and transcriptomic changes in the 4 tissues, suggesting the tissue-specific response manner of mosquitofish to TCS, and the liver and gills were the target organs. TCS interrupted many biological pathways associated with lipogenesis and lipid metabolism, transmembrane transporters, protein synthesis, and carbohydrate metabolism in the liver, and it induced nonspecific immune response in the gills. TCS-triggered hepatotoxicity and gills damnification may lead to inflammation, apoptosis, diseases, and even death in mosquitofish. TCS showed moderate acute toxicity and bioaccumulative property on mosquitofish, suggesting that prolonged or massive use of TCS may pose an ecological risk.

Abstract Background Hemodialysis patients suffer from a serious threat of cerebrovascular disease. Klotho, as an aging-suppressor gene, contributes to protect on vascular calcification and oxidative stress, which are the risk factors of cerebrovascular disease. The purpose of the present study is to determine the relationship between serum klotho and cerebrovascular disease in patients receiving hemodialysis. Methods Serum klotho levels of hemodialysis patients were measured by ELISA. Cerebrovascular diseases were diagnosed by CT or MRI scans. The cognitive function of hemodialysis patients with cerebrovascular disease were evaluated with a neuropsychological battery assessing domains of global cognition verbal memory, spatial memory, executive function and verbal fluency. Results Eighty-eight patients were included, 57 ± 14 years, 63.64% male, 52.27% older than 60 years. Twenty-eight participants had cerebrovascular disease (23 cases had cerebral infarction, 5 cases had cerebral hemorrhage). The average level of serum klotho of all participants was 119.10 ± 47.29 pg/ml. The serum klotho level was significantly associated with cerebrovascular disease in hemodialysis patients (HR(95%CI) = 0.975(0.960–0.990), p = 0.001). The optimal cut-off value of serum klotho for predicting cerebrovascular disease in hemodialysis patients was 137.22 pg/ml, with a specificity of 96.4% and a sensitivity of 46.7%. But serum klotho was not an independent risk factor of cognitive impairment for hemodialysis patients with cerebrovascular disease (HR((95%CI) = 1.002(0.986–1.018), p = 0.776) or with cerebral infarction (HR(95%CI) = 1.005(0.987–1.023), p = 0.576). Conclusions The serum klotho level is a potential predictor of cerebrovascular disease in hemodialysis patients, but it is not an independent risk factor of cognitive impairment for hemodialysis patients with cerebrovascular disease.

Abstract An apparent increase in the frequency of human adenovirus type 4 (HAdV-4) infections among general populations has been observed over the past 10 years. However, available epidemiological data that may reflect previous viral circulation and assist in predicting potential outbreaks are sparse, particularly in mainland China and Africa. In this study, a convenient neutralization assay for use in the surveillance of historical HAdV-4 infections was established based on a recombinant luciferase-expressing virus. Subsequently, the neutralizing antibodies (nAbs) of 1013 healthy adult serum samples from China and Sierra Leone were evaluated. Our results showed that over 50% of the participants from China and nearly 70% of donors from Sierra Leone had detectable nAbs against HAdV-4 despite the few infection cases officially reported in these regions. Furthermore, the prevalence of nAbs to HAdV-4 is lower than that to HAdV-5, and both varied by geographic location. In addition, the seropositive rates of both HAdV-4 and HAdV-5 nAbs increased with age. However, the nAbs stimulated by HAdV-4 remained stable at low (≤200) levels among the different age groups, whereas moderate (201–1000) or high (>1000) nAb levels were produced by HAdV-5 and tended to decrease with age. These results elucidate the human humoral immune response against HAdV-4 and revealed that this virus may be an underestimated causative agent of respiratory disease among adults in China and West Africa, demonstrating the importance of HAdV-4 surveillance and providing useful insights for the future development of HAdV-4-based vaccines.

The environmental footprint of courier, express, and parcel (CEP) logistics is significant and growing, owing to increased e-commerce. Consumer willingness to participate in the green logistics of CEPs, however, has been understudied. This study addresses this knowledge gap by surveying 155 Chinese consumers about their willingness to participate in CEP green logistics. Additionally, this research identifies some technical issues with previous survey research. Three main factors were extracted after the data were tested for reliability and validity using exploratory factor analysis with principal axis factor extraction and confirmatory factor analysis with diagonally weighted least squares. Consumer willingness is positively correlated with economic (8 items), operational (3 items), and social (3 items) factors, with a statistical significance of p < 0.001. Of all the factors, the strongest correlation, 0.67 (95% CI = 0.57, 0.75; p < 0.001; N = 155), exists between economic factors and consumer willingness. The results of a multinomial logistic regression analysis suggest that all consumers are highly unlikely to participate in economic factors, while they are highly likely to positively commit to operational and social factors. Therefore, it is recommended that the government provides monetary incentives to CEP companies to adopt green logistics, such as tax reductions and subsidies, to reduce the costs of green logistics. Meanwhile, the CEP industry could provide some direct and indirect incentives to consumers to re-use, recycle, and share materials, and to spend time learning about express enterprises' green logistics, to increase consumer participation in economic factors.

High harmonic generation (HHG) from solids shows great application prospects in compact short-wavelength light sources and as a tool for imaging the dynamics in crystals with subnanometer spatial and attosecond temporal resolution. However, the underlying collision dynamics behind solid HHG is still intensively debated and no direct mapping relationship between the collision dynamics with band structure has been built. Here, we show that the electron and its associated hole can be elastically scattered by neighboring atoms when their wavelength approaches the atomic size. We reveal that the elastic scattering of electron/hole from neighboring atoms can dramatically influence the electron recombination with its left-behind hole, which turns out to be the fundamental reason for the anisotropic interband HHG observed recently in bulk crystals. Our findings link the electron/hole backward scattering with Van Hove singularities and forward scattering with critical lines in the band structure and thus build a clear mapping between the band structure and the harmonic spectrum. Our work provides a unifying picture for several seemingly unrelated experimental observations and theoretical predictions, including the anisotropic harmonic emission in MgO, the atomic-like recollision mechanism of solid HHG, and the delocalization of HHG in ZnO. This strongly improved understanding will pave the way for controlling the solid-state HHG and visualizing the structure-dependent electron dynamics in solids.

We study the multiple interference structures in photoelectron momentum distributions (PMDs) of xenon atoms, whose dynamics can be manipulated effectively by a fundamental and weaker third-harmonic two-color laser fields, especially for an oblique interference pattern. It is found that this structure is only attributed to the contributions from the forward-scattered electrons as a Coulomb effect in strong-field physics. Further, the gross structure of the oblique interference arises from the forward-scattered electron ionized within a quarter-cycle of the fundamental field, and the fine structure is identified to originate from the intercycle interference of the trajectories. Moreover, we demonstrate that the multiple interference structure can be enhanced or suppressed by adjusting the relative phase of two colors. Our investigation shows that the two-color laser fields can be tailored with the purpose of manipulating specific dynamics process, which will be helpful to resolve ultrafast spatio-temporal information from the complex interference in strong-field ionization.

ABSTRACT Pneumocystis, a major opportunistic pathogen in patients with a broad range of immunodeficiencies, contains abundant surface proteins encoded by a multicopy gene family, termed the major surface glycoprotein (Msg) gene superfamily. This superfamily has been identified in all Pneumocystis species characterized to date, highlighting its important role in Pneumocystis biology. In this report, through a comprehensive and in-depth characterization of 459 msg genes from 7 Pneumocystis species, we demonstrate, for the first time, the phylogeny and evolution of conserved domains in Msg proteins and provide a detailed description of the classification, unique characteristics, and phylogenetic relatedness of five Msg families. We further describe, for the first time, the relative expression levels of individual msg families in two rodent Pneumocystis species, the substantial variability of the msg repertoires in P. carinii from laboratory and wild rats, and the distinct features of the expression site for the classic msg genes in Pneumocystis from 8 mammalian host species. Our analysis suggests multiple functions for this superfamily rather than just conferring antigenic variation to allow immune evasion as previously believed. This study provides a rich source of information that lays the foundation for the continued experimental exploration of the functions of the Msg superfamily in Pneumocystis biology. IMPORTANCE Pneumocystis continues to be a major cause of disease in humans with immunodeficiency, especially those with HIV/AIDS and organ transplants, and is being seen with increasing frequency worldwide in patients treated with immunodepleting monoclonal antibodies. Annual health care associated with Pneumocystis pneumonia costs ∼$475 million dollars in the United States alone. In addition to causing overt disease in immunodeficient individuals, Pneumocystis can cause subclinical infection or colonization in healthy individuals, which may play an important role in species preservation and disease transmission. Our work sheds new light on the diversity and complexity of the msg superfamily and strongly suggests that the versatility of this superfamily reflects multiple functions, including antigenic variation to allow immune evasion and optimal adaptation to host environmental conditions to promote efficient infection and transmission. These findings are essential to consider in developing new diagnostic and therapeutic strategies.

Pneumocystis jirovecii is a fungus that can cause life-threatening pneumonia in immunocompromised patients. Here, the authors sequence the genomes of P. jirovecii and two other Pneumocystisspecies, and show the unexpected absence of chitin (a near universal fungal cell wall component).

The genus Henipavirus (HNVs) includes two fatal viruses, namely Nipah virus (NiV) and Hendra virus (HeV). Since 1994, NiV and HeV have been endemic to the Asia–Pacific region and responsible for more than 600 cases of infections. Two emerging HNVs, Ghana virus (GhV) and Mojiang virus (MojV), are speculated to be associated with unrecognized human diseases in Africa and China, respectively. Despite many efforts to develop vaccines against henipaviral diseases, there is presently no licensed human vaccine. As HNVs are highly pathogenic and diverse, it is necessary to develop universal vaccines to prevent future outbreaks. The attachment enveloped glycoprotein (G protein) of HNVs mediates HNV attachment to the host cell’s surface receptors. G proteins have been used as a protective antigen in many vaccine candidates for HNVs. We performed quantitative studies on the antibody responses elicited by the G proteins of NiV, HeV, GhV, and MojV. We found that the G proteins of NiV and HeV elicited only a limited cross-reactive antibody response. Further, there was no cross-protection between MojV, GhV, and highly pathogenic HNVs. We then constructed a bivalent vaccine where the G proteins of NiV and HeV were fused with the human IgG1 Fc domain. The immunogenicity of the bivalent vaccine was compared with that of monovalent vaccines. Our results revealed that the Fc-based bivalent vaccine elicited a potent antibody response against both NiV and HeV. We also constructed a tetravalent Fc heterodimer fusion protein that contains the G protein domains of four HNVs. Immunization with the tetravalent vaccine elicited broad antibody responses against NiV, HeV, GhV, and MojV in mice, indicating compatibility among the four antigens in the Fc-fusion protein. These data suggest that our novel bivalent and tetravalent Fc-fusion proteins may be efficient candidates to prevent HNV infection.

This research has focused on the source identification, concentration, and ecological risk assessment of eight heavy metals in the largest karst wetland (Huixian) of south China. Numerous samples from superficial soil and sediment within ten representative landuse types were collected and examined, and the results were analyzed using multiple methods. Single pollution index (Pi) results were underpinned by the Geoaccumulation index (Igeo) method, in which Cd was observed as the priority pollutant with the highest contamination degree in this area. As for the most polluted landuse type, via applying Nemerow’s synthetical contamination index (PN) and Potential ecological risk index (RI), the river and rape field posed the highest ecological risks, while moderate for the rest. To quantify the drivers of the contaminants, a principal component analysis (PCA) was carried out and weathering of the watershed’s parent carbonate rocks was found to be the main possible origin, followed by anthropogenic sources induced by agricultural fertilizer. Considering the impacts of these potentially toxic elements on public health, the results of this study are essential to take preventive actions for environmental protection and sustainable development in the region.

The Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) is an arthropod-borne virus that can not only cause severe disease in domestic animals but also in humans. However, the licensed vaccines or available therapeutics for humans do not exist. Here, we report two Gn-specific neutralizing antibodies (NAbs), isolated from a rhesus monkey immunized with recombinant human adenoviruses type 4 expressing Rift Valley fever virus Gn and Gc protein (rHAdV4-GnGcopt). The two NAbs were both able to protect host cells from RVFV infection. The interactions between NAbs and Gn were then characterized to demonstrate that these two NAbs might preclude RVFV glycoprotein rearrangement, hindering the exposure of fusion loops in Gc to endosomal membranes after the virus invades the host cell. The target region for the two NAbs is located in the Gn domain III, implying that Gn is a desired target for developing vaccines and neutralizing antibodies against RVFV.

Yersinia pestis (Y. pestis) has caused an alarming number of deaths throughout recorded human history, and novel prophylactics and therapeutics are necessary given its potential as a bioweapon. Only one monoclonal antibody has been identified to date that provides complete protection against Y. pestis. Here, we describe a second novel murine monoclonal antibody (F2H5) that provided complete protection against Y. pestis 141 infection when administered prophylactically to Balb/c mice (100 μg intravenously). We humanized F2H5, characterized its ability to bind to the Y. pestis F1 protein and further characterized the neutralizing epitope using computational and experimental approaches. While Western blot results suggested a linear epitope, peptide mapping using ELISA failed to identify an epitope, suggesting a conformational epitope instead. We adopted a computational approach based on Residue Contact Frequency to predict the site of antigen-antibody interaction and defined the F2H5/F1 binding site computationally. Based on computational approach, we determined that residues G104E105N106 in F1 were critical to F2H5 binding and that CDRH2 and CDRH3 of F2H5 interacted with F1. Our results show that combining computational approach and experimental approach can effectively identify epitopes.