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Optical remote sensing has been widely used to estimate soil moisture. However, modeling soil moisture dynamics across a large area based on remotely sensed optical data still poses a problem because of its spatial discontinuity due to cloud contamination. This study proposes a multisensor strategy for better mapping surface soil moisture on a daily basis at a regional scale. The basic idea is to decompose the surface soil moisture at any location into two terms, namely, baseline value in an observed period and daily variation, and to estimate for each term differently. For a certain day of interest, the corresponding 16-day composite of Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data is used to estimate the soil moisture baseline values across space, and the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer for EOS (AMSR-E) data are employed to estimate the daily variations. The proposed model was applied to produce daily surface soil moisture maps at a 1-km resolution for the fairly large study area of Xinjiang, China, regardless of the local weather conditions. It was found that the integrated use of MODIS and AMSR-E data was able to achieve significantly higher accuracy in surface soil moisture estimation (with a root-mean-square error of 3.99% in May and 4.43% in August, 2009) than the approaches based on either data alone could. The proposed model is expected to perform well for mapping surface soil moisture in other arid areas after the required parameters are calibrated with the local field data. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The circadian clock plays an important role in the liver by regulating the major aspects of energy metabolism. Currently, it is assumed that the circadian clock regulates metabolism mostly by regulating the expression of liver enzymes at the transcriptional level, but the underlying mechanism is not well understood. In this study, we showed that Lgr4 homozygous mutant (Lgr4m/m) mice showed alteration in the rhythms of the respiratory exchange ratio. We further detected impaired plasma triglyceride rhythms in Lgr4m/m mice. Although no significant changes in plasma cholesterol rhythms were observed in the Lgr4m/m mice, their cholesterol levels were obviously lower. This phenotype was further confirmed in the context of ob/ob mice, in which lack of LGR4 dampened circadian rhythms of triglyceride. We next demonstrated that Lgr4 expression exhibited circadian rhythms in the liver tissue and primary hepatocytes in mice, but we did not detect changes in the expression levels or circadian rhythms of classic clock genes, such as Clock, Bmal1 (Arntl), Pers, Rev-erbs, and Crys, in Lgr4m/m mice compared with their littermates. Among the genes related to the lipid metabolism, we found that the diurnal expression pattern of the Mttp gene, which plays an important role in the regulation of plasma lipid levels, was impaired in Lgr4m/m mice and primary Lgr4m/m hepatocytes. Taken together, our results demonstrate that LGR4 plays an important role in the regulation of plasma lipid rhythms, partially through regulating the expression of microsomal triglyceride transfer protein. These data provide a possible link between the peripheral circadian clock and lipid metabolism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adult T cell leukemia (ATL) is a malignant lymphoproliferative disease caused by human T cell leukemia virus type I (HTLV-I). To develop an effective therapy against the disease, we have examined the oncolytic ability of an attenuated vaccinia virus (VV), LC16m8▵ (m8▵ ), and an HTLV-I Tax-specific cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) line, 4O1/C8, against an HTLV-I-infected rat T cell line, FPM1. Our results demonstrated that m8▵ was able to replicate in and lyse tumorigenic FPM1 cells but was incompetent to injure 4O1/C8 cells, suggesting the preferential cytolytic activity toward tumor cells. To further enhance the cytolysis of HTLV-Iinfected cells, we modified m8▵ and obtained m8▵ /RT1AlSCTax180L, which can express a single chain trimer (SCT) of rat major histocompatibility complex class I with a Tax-epitope. Combined treatment withm8▵ /RT1AlSCTax180L and 4O1/C8 increased the cytolysis of FPM1V.EFGFP/8R cells, a CTL-resistant subclone of FPM1, compared with that using 4O1/C8 and m8▵ presenting an unrelated peptide, suggesting that the activation of 4O1/C8 by m8▵ /RT1AlSCTax180L further enhanced the killing of the tumorigenic HTLV-I-infected cells. Our results indicate that combined therapy of oncolytic VVs with SCTs and HTLV-I-specific CTLs may be effective for eradication of HTLV-I-infected cells, which evade from CTL lysis and potentially develop ATL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Imprinted monolayers have several advantages over bulk imprinted polymers such as excellent mass transfer of molecules into and out of imprinted sites and transduction of binding signals detected in real time. Protein-imprinted self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) were created with multiple binding sites and biocompatible imprinted cavities from functional thiols and novel disulfide compounds containing an oligoethylene glycol (OEG) terminal moiety and two amide groups incorporated in the chain (DHAP) in a biologically benign solution. DHAP played an important role in the formation of multiple binding sites and biocompatible cavities in addition to resisting nonspecific protein binding. The created protein-imprinted SAMs exhibited the excellent ability of specific binding of target proteins determined by multiple binding sites and imprinted cavities. The strategy generates tailor-made monolayer surfaces with specific protein binding and opens the possibility of controlled assembly of intellectual biomaterials and preparation of biosensors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For protection from HIV-1 infection, a vaccine should elicit both humoral and cell-mediated immune responses. A novel vaccine regimen and adjuvant that induce high levels of HIV-1 Env-specific T cell and antibody (Ab) responses was developed in this study. The prime-boost regimen that used combinations of replication-competent vaccinia LC16m8Λ (m8Λ) and Sendai virus (SeV) vectors expressing HIV-1 Env efficiently produced both Env-specific CD8+ T cells and anti-Env antibodies, including neutralizing antibodies (nAbs). These results sharply contrast with vaccine regimens that prime with an Env expressing plasmid and boost with the m8Λ or SeV vector that mainly elicited cellular immunities. Moreover, copriming with combinations of m8Λs expressing Env or a membrane-bound human CD40 ligand mutant (CD40Lm) enhanced Env-specific CD8+ T cell production, but not anti-Env antibody production. In contrast, priming with an m8Λ that coexpresses CD40Lm and Env elicited more anti-Env Abs with higher avidity, but did not promote T cell responses. These results suggest that the m8Λ prime/SeV boost regimen in conjunction with CD40Lm expression could be used as an immunization platform for driving both potent cellular and humoral immunities against pathogens such as HIV-1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To further understand the hardening mechanism of austenitic manganese steel under actual working conditions, the work hardening ability was studied and the microstructures of austenitic manganese steel were observed under different impact energies. The work hardening mechanism was also analyzed. The results show that the best strain hardening effect could be received only when the impact energy reaches or exceeds the critical impact energy. The microstructural observations reveal that dislocations, stacking faults and twins increase with raising impact energy of the tested specimens. The hardening mechanism changes at different hardening degrees. It is mainly dislocation and slip hardening below the critical impact energy, but it changes to the twinning hardening mechanism when the impact energy is above the critical impact energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel gold nanoparticle (AuNP)-based optical sensing system has been developed for the detection of myoglobin (Mb), which is of significant importance for early disease diagnosis. Two thiol molecules containing an iminodiacetic acid moiety (IDA) were synthesized. This detection is based on the Mb-induced aggregation of IDA-functionalized AuNPs resulting from the structures of Mb sandwiched between the functionalized AuNPs via Cu2溸鶁 in the coordination interactions of IDA–Cu2–histidine residues available on the Mb surface, which was confirmed by UV–vis spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, dynamic light scattering, and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry. The induction aggregation resulted in a red shift in plasmon resonance band of the AuNPs concomitant with a change in solution color from red to purple. The qualitative and quantitative detections of Mb can be achieved by colorimetric observations and UV–vis spectral measurements, respectively. The selectivity of protein assay with the functionalized AuNPs was further investigated, and it is found that the optical sensing of histidine-rich proteins is closely related to number and distribution of surface histidine residues as well as size of proteins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In vivo studies of HIV-1 pathogenesis and testing of antiviral strategies have been hampered by the lack of an immunocompetent small animal model that is highly susceptible to HIV- 1 infection. Although transgenic rats that express the HIV-1 receptor complex hCD4 and hCCR5 are susceptible to infection, HIV-1 replicates very poorly in these animals. To demonstrate the molecular basis for developing a better rat model for HIV-1 infection, we evaluated the effect of human CyclinT1 (hCycT1) and CRM1 (hCRM1) on Gag p24 production in rat T cells and macrophages using both established cell lines and primary cells prepared from hCycT1/hCRM1 transgenic rats. Results: Expression of hCycT1 augmented Gag production 20-50 fold in rat T cells, but had little effect in macrophages. Expression of hCRM1 enhanced Gag production 10-15 fold in macrophages, but only marginally in T cells. Expression of both factors synergistically enhanced p24 production to levels approximately 10-40% of those detected in human cells. R5 viruses produced in rat T cells and macrophages were fully infectious. Conclusion: The expression of both hCycT1 and hCRM1 appears to be fundamental to developing a rat model that supports robust propagation of HIV-1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated potential sources of infection for 6 confirmed influenza A (H5N1) patients who resided in urban areas of People's Republic of China. None had known exposure to sick poultry or poultry that died from illness, but all had visited wet poultry markets before illness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An empirical comparison of the EO-1 Hyperion, EOS ASTER, and Landsat ETM sensors was performed to examine the utility of these three sensors for gold-associated lithologic mapping in the southeastern Chocolate Mountains area, California. Three images were evaluated with respect to three aspects: classification accuracy, matched filtering score index, and separability of the five significant rock types in the study area. The results show that the classifications from Hyperion and ASTER data are mostly similar with an overall accuracy of over 85 percent and kappa coefficient 0.81. Due to the presence of more SWIR and thermal bands, the Hyperion and ASTER images can achieve better lithologic mapping than ETM. The assessment of matched filtering score index and the separability also supports these findings. Hyperion can discriminate more similar classes than ASTER and ETM, while the better availability and spatial coverage makes the ASTER sensor more suitable for large-area lithologic mapping. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the ex situ conservation of freshwater cetaceans Baiji and Yangtze finless porpoise in two semi-natural reserves in Shishou, Hubei Province and Tongling, Anhui Province in China to rescue them from the exploited Yangtze River system at the same time establish their viable breeding populations. Results revealed that porpoises were able to survive and reproduce in both the reserves with at least one or three calves born in each reserve each year. Releasing the animals back into the river when the natural environment has been improved should be the long term-goal and the in situ conservation efforts in natural reserves and lakes should not be abandoned. The range-wide Yangtze cetacean survey that is in preparation is expected to capture any remaining Baiji successfully.

Discusses the importance of carbon nanotubes (CNT) as a promising component for polymer matrix composites. Difficulties in the fibrication of CNT; Details on the load transfer efficiency of CNT's embedded in epoxy resins; Mechanical properties of CNT.

Objective: This study aimed to elucidate the risk factors associated with alcohol use disorders (AUDs) among inpatients with schizophrenia at a specialized mental hospital in Baoding city, China. Methods: This cross-sectional survey comprised 301 comorbid patients. Three binary logistic regression models were used to investigate the factors linked to AUDs in patients with schizophrenia. Propensity score matching analysis was conducted to validate inconsistent variables identified by the regression models. Results: Significant differences were observed between the comorbid and non-comorbid groups concerning sex (P < .001), disposition (P = .049), smoking habits (P < .001), place of residence (P = .010), family relationships (P = .002), family history of mental disorders (P = .008), history of alcoholism (P = .003), onset latency (P = .005), impulsivity (P < .001), suicide or self-injury history (P < .001), and obvious aggressive behavior (P < .001) in univariate analyses. The area under the curve values for the three regression models were 0.83 (P < .001), 0.80 (P < .001), and 0.81 (P < .001), respectively. Binary logistic regression and propensity score matching analyses indicated that introverted disposition, smoking, acute onset, impulsivity, and suicide or self-injury history were independent risk factors associated with AUDs in inpatients with schizophrenia with an odds ratio of > 1. Conclusion: Introverted disposition, smoking, acute onset, impulsivity, and suicide or self-injury history were independently associated with the AUDs in inpatients with schizophrenia. Future studies should prioritize longitudinal studies to discern the evolving dynamics of potential confounding risk factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

African swine fever is a contagious and lethal disease of domestic pigs and wild boars, which has caused significant economic loss for the swine industry. African swine fever virus (ASFV) is the etiological agent of ASF. Until now, no effective commercial vaccine and antiviral drugs are available for ASF control. Here, we report a new designed live-attenuated mutant (ASFV-ΔH240R-Δ7R) by deleting H240R and MGF505-7R genes based on the highly pathogenic ASFV HLJ/18 backbone. The viral titer of ASFV-ΔH240R-Δ7R was decreased approximately 1.0 log in porcine alveolar macrophages (PAMs) compared with its parental ASFV HLJ/18, and it is highly stability following 30 serial passages in vitro. Piglets immunized by intramuscular inoculation with 10³ or 105 HAD50 of ASFV-ΔH240R-Δ7R displayed safety without any ASF-related signs and could not be transmitted by direct contact. In addition, the immunized pigs produced specific antibodies against p30 but not those cohabitation piglets. Challenged with a virulent ASFV isolate HLJ/18, the piglets in the immunized group with 10³ HAD50 of ASFV-ΔH240R-Δ7R obtained clinically significant 100% protection with mild clinical symptoms, whereas the piglets in the immunized group with 105 HAD50 of ASFV-ΔH240R-Δ7R obtained 100% protection without clinical symptoms. Moreover, the piglets in the immunized group with 105 HAD50 of ASFV-ΔH240R-Δ7R exhibited low levels of virus replication and with no observed pathological changes by postmortem and histological analysis. Overall, our results provided a new designed live vaccine candidate and rationalized the understanding of ASFV gene function, virus attenuation, and protection against ASFV infection. IMPORTANCE African swine fever (ASF) caused by ASF virus (ASFV) is a highly contagious and acute hemorrhagic viral disease in domestic pigs. Until now, no effective commercial vaccine and antiviral drugs are available for ASF control. Here, we generated a new live-attenuated vaccine candidate (ASFV-ΔH240R-Δ7R) by deleting H240R and MGF505-7R genes from the highly pathogenic ASFV HLJ/18 genome. Piglets immunized with ASFV-ΔH240R-Δ7R were safe without any ASF-related signs and produced specific antibodies against p30. Challenged with a virulent ASFV HLJ/18, the piglets immunized with high-dose group (105 HAD50) exhibited 100% protection without clinical symptoms, showing that low levels of virus replication with no observed pathogenicity by postmortem and histological analysis. Overall, our results provided a new strategy by designing live-attenuated vaccine candidate, resulting in protection against ASFV infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An abstract of the research paper titled "Entry Inhibition of Human Retroviruses in Rat Cells," by Masahiko Shinagawa, Kaya Miyazaki, Takashi Ohashi, Hisatoshi Shida and others is presented.

African swine fever (ASF) is a highly contagious infectious disease of domestic pigs and wild boars caused by African swine fever virus (ASFV), with a mortality rate of up to 100%. In order to replicate efficiently in macrophages and monocytes, ASFV has evolved multiple strategies to evade host antiviral responses. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms by which ASFV-encoded proteins execute immune evasion are not fully understood. In this study, we found that ASFV pH240R strongly inhibits transcription, maturation, and secretion of interleukin-1b (IL-1b). Importantly, pH240R not only targeted NF-k B signaling but also impaired NLRP3 inflammasome activation. In this mechanism, pH240R interacted with NF-kappa-B essential modulator (NEMO), a component of inhibitor of kappa B kinase (IKK) complex and subsequently reduced phosphorylation of Ik Ba and p65. In addition, pH240R bonded to NLRP3 to inhibit NLRP3 inflammasome activation, resulting in reduced IL-1b production. As expected, infection with H240R-deficient ASFV (ASFV-DH240R) induced more inflammatory cytokine expression both in vitro and in vivo than its parental ASFV HLJ/18 strain. Consistently, H240R deficiency reduced the viral pathogenicity in pigs compared with its parental strain. These findings reveal that the H240R gene is an essential virulence factor, and deletion of the H240R gene affects the pathogenicity of ASFV HLJ/18 by enhancing antiviral inflammatory responses, which provides insights for ASFV immune evasion mechanisms and development of attenuated live vaccines and drugs for prevention and control of ASF. IMPORTANCE African swine fever (ASF), caused by African swine fever virus (ASFV), is a highly contagious and acute hemorrhagic viral disease of domestic pigs, with a high mortality approaching 100%. ASFV has spread rapidly worldwide and caused huge economic losses and ecological consequences. However, the pathogenesis and immune evasion mechanisms of ASFV are not fully understood, which limits the development of safe and effective ASF attenuated live vaccines. Therefore, investigations are urgently needed to identify virulence factors that are responsible for escaping the host antiviral innate immune responses and provide a new target for development of ASFV live-attenuated vaccine. In this study, we determined that the H240R gene is an essential virulence factor, and its depletion affects the pathogenicity of ASFV by enhancing NLRP3-mediated inflammatory responses, which provides theoretical support for the development of an ASFV attenuated live vaccine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We aimed to investigate the role of programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) and T lymphocytes in the proliferation, apoptosis and secretion of cells from patients and mice with Graves' disease (GD). The levels of serum hormones, related antibodies and inflammatory cytokines in GD patients were determined by electrochemiluminescence immunoassay and ELISA. The percentages of CD4 and CD8 T-lymphocytes and PD-1 expression were examined by flow cytometry. A GD mouse model, a thyroid follicular epithelial cell, and a CD4+PD-1+, CD4+PD-1- and CD8+PD-1+, CD8+PD-1- T lymphocyte co-culture system were constructed. The viability, apoptosis-related markers, serum hormones, related antibodies and inflammatory cytokines in thyroid follicular epithelial cells were determined by CCK-8, Western blot, qTR-PCR, electrochemiluminescence immunoassay and ELISA. Elevated free thyroid hormones (FT3, FT4), thyroid hormone antibodies (TRAb, TPOAb and TGAb), inflammatory cytokines, and inhibited TSH were observed in GD patients. The percentage of CD4+ T cells was increased, while that of CD8+ T cells was reduced in GD patients. PD-1 expression level was lifted in both CD4+ and CD8+ cells from GD patients. In mouse thyroid follicular epithelial cells co-cultured with CD4+PD-1+ and CD8+PD-1+ T lymphocytes, the cell viability, TH and TRAb levels and inflammatory cytokines level were the highest, while the TSH level and apoptosis were the lowest. PD-1 positive T lymphocytes were able to promote viability and inhibit apoptosis of thyroid follicular epithelial cells, which further caused a more accelerated development of GD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An abstract of the study "Indirect Evidence of Boat Avoidance Behavior of Yangtze Finless Porpoises," by Songhai Li et al is presented.

Monocytes/macrophages are major targets of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection. The viral preintegration complex (PIC) of HIV-1 enters the nuclei of monocyte-derived macrophages, but very little PIC migrates into the nuclei of immature monocytes. Vpr, one of the accessory gene products of HIV-1, is essential for the nuclear import of PIC in these cells, although the role of Vpr in the entry mechanism of PIC remains to be clarified. We have shown previously that Vpr is targeted to the nuclear envelope and then transported into the nucleus by importinα alone, in an importin β-independent manner. Here we demonstrate that the nuclear import of Vpr is strongly promoted by the addition of cytoplasmic extract from macrophages but not of that from monocytes and that the nuclear import activity is lost with immunodepletion of importin α from the cytoplasmic extract. Immunoblot analysis and real-time PCR demonstrate that immature monocytes express importinα at low levels, whereas the expression of three major importinα isoforms markedly increases upon their differentiation into macrophages, indicating that the expression of importinα is required for nuclear import of Vpr. Furthermore, interaction between importinα and the N-terminal α-helical domain of Vpr is indispensable, not only for the nuclear import of Vpr but also for HIV-1 replication in macrophages. This study suggests the possibility that the binding of Vpr to importinα, preceding a novel nuclear import process, is a potential target for therapeutic intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Porphyria is a group of disorders caused by the accumulation of porphyrin and porphyrin precursors due to the abnormalities in certain enzymes that normally participate in the production of haem. We report a case of a woman with severe menstruation-related abdominal pain, hyponatraemia, and psychiatric symptoms. Excessive porphobilinogen was found in her urine. A new mutation in intron 2 (IVS2-2Ag→G), which had never previously been reported in patients with porphyria or in healthy Chinese population, was identified in the heterozygous state in the patient and her mother.