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We propose a heterogeneous agent model (HAM) of four groups of investors with Markov chain regime-dependent beliefs for the housing market. Within the Markov switching framework, we take into account how heterogeneous investors shift their trading behaviour in response to changes in housing market conditions. The model is estimated and compared with the benchmark rational expectation models using the Australian housing market data from 1982Q1 to 2013Q2. We find evidence of within- and between-group heterogeneity in the Australian housing market. We show that HAM with Markov switching beliefs provides a better in-sample estimation efficiency and outperforms the conventional rational expectation models in terms of out-of-sample prediction. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article presents an overview on the economic outlook in Malaysia as of January 1, 2012. It highlights the 7.2 percent increase of gross domestic product (GDP) due to the strengthen investment activities and consumption. It examines the momentum of growth caused by the weakened of global demand especially for electronics and engineering products. It stresses the impact of structural changes for the long-term development of the country due to the rise of China.

The article offers information regarding the economic performance, outlook, and key risks of Malaysia. It says the 4.5 percent quarterly based growth of the country from the recession in the fourth quarter of 2009 while its real gross domestic product remained reduced by 1.7 percent. It states the anticipated seven percent growth in the 2010's economy. It adds that the inadequate numbers of highly skilled and educated personnel in the workforce were the major obstacle to its economic progress.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the leading causes of cancer-related mortality worldwide. This study investigates the role and mechanisms of ADAM9 as a biomarker and potential therapeutic target in HCC. Utilizing RNA-sequencing data and clinicopathological characteristics from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) databases, we conducted survival and meta-analyses, functional enrichment, and immune infiltration studies. Additionally, we evaluated the effects of ADAM9 silencing on HCC cell proliferation, migration, and invasion through in vitro experiments. Our results demonstrate that high ADAM9 expression is associated with poor prognosis and increased immune infiltration in HCC patients. Furthermore, ADAM9 knockdown significantly inhibited tumor cell proliferation and migration. These findings indicate that ADAM9 is a promising prognostic biomarker and potential therapeutic target in HCC. In conclusion, ADAM9 could offer avenues for developing strategies to inhibit tumor progression and improve patient outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Direct administration of drugs with short half-lives can lead to low drug utilization rates. To solve this problem, a composite aerogel was prepared as the drug carrier with a high drug-loading ratio and excellent sustained release performance. In this study, cellulose was modified to carboxylated cellulose (CC) and then hydroxyapatite (HAP) and Cu nanoparticles were added as filler and coating respectively through blending and in situ synthesis methods. Importantly, The amount of 5-fluorouracil (5-Fu) drug loaded was 181 mg/g. The drug release time of the CC-HAP-Cu composite aerogel was 34 h (pH = 1) and 30 h (pH = 7.2), which indicated its excellent sustained release performance and pH responsiveness. By fitting and analyzing a kinetic model, the drug release of the CC-HAP-Cu aerogel was found to be primarily due to skeleton dissolution. In addition, the CC-HAP-Cu composite aerogel had good mechanical properties (6.70 MPa) and a low swelling ratio (1.7 g/g). Cytotoxicity was tested using the MTT method, and the relative cell viabilities were above 97%, which proved that the composite aerogel has excellent biocompatibility. Overall, the results indicated that CC-HAP-Cu aerogel is a promising drug carrier with potential application in medicine. [Display omitted] • The composite aerogel was successfully prepared as a drug carrier. • Double filling structure improved sustained release performance of drug. • Carboxylation modification imparted pH responsive properties to the aerogel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) is a highly contagious pathogen that has caused significant economic losses in the livestock industry. Peptide vaccines engineered with the protective epitopes of FMDV have provided a safer alternative for disease prevention than the traditional inactivated vaccines. However, the immunogenicity of the peptide is usually poor and therefore an adjuvant is required. Here, we showed that recombinant T4 phages displaying the B-cell epitope of the FMDV VP1 protein (VP1 130–158), without additional adjuvants, induced similar levels of antigen-specific IgG1 but higher levels of IgG2a compared to the peptide vaccine. Incorporation of a CD4+ T cell epitope, either 3A 21–35 of FMDV 3A protein or P2 830–844 of tetanus toxoid, further enhanced the immunogenicity of VP1-T4 phage nanoparticles. Interestingly, the extrinsic adjuvant cannot enhance the immunogenicity of the nanoparticles, indicating the intrinsic adjuvant activities of T4 phage. Furthermore, the recombinant T4 phage can be produced on a large scale within a short period of time at a relatively low-cost using Escherichia coli , heralding its potential in the development of a safe and effective FMDV vaccine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] Adsorption is a green technology of treating heavy metal-contaminated strong acid wastewaters for the recycling of heavy metal and reuse of strong acid. Herein, three amine polymers (APs) with different alkalinities and electron donating abilities were prepared to investigate the adsorption-reduction processes of Cr(VI). It was found that the removal of Cr(VI) was controlled by the concentration of –NRH+ on the surface of APs at pH > 2, which relies on the alkalinity of APs. However, the high concentration of NRH+ significantly facilitated the adsorption of Cr(VI) on the surface of APs and accelerated the mass transfer between Cr(VI) and APs at strong acid environment (pH ≤ 2). More importantly, the reduction of Cr(VI) was enhanced at pH ≤ 2, due to the high reduction potential of Cr(VI) (E ≥ 0.437). The ratio of reduction to adsorption (α) of Cr(VI) was above 0.70, and the proportion of Cr(III) bonding on Ph-AP excessed 67.6 %. Finally, a proton-enhanced mechanism of Cr(VI) removal was verified by analyzing FTIR and XPS spectra as well as constructing DFT model. This study provides a theoretical basis for the removal of Cr(VI) in the strong acid wastewater. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The incidence of neurodegenerative diseases is severely increasing with ageing. Lycopene (LYC), a carotenoid pigment, has been reported to have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective properties. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the ameliorative effect of LYC on D-galactose (D-gal) induced cognitive defects and the underlying mechanisms. Forty-five female CD-1 mice (2 months old) were separated into three groups to be fed with either a normal diet or a LYC diet (0.03%, w/w, mixed into normal diet). Meanwhile, the mice were treated by intraperitoneal injection of normal saline or D-gal 150 mg/kg/day for 8 weeks. The behavioral test results indicated that LYC alleviated D-gal induced cognitive impairments. LYC ameliorated brain ageing by decreasing the number of SA-β-gal- stained neurons, downregulating the protein expression of the cellular senescence associated genes P19/P21/P53, increasing the activities of the antioxidant enzymes GSH and SOD, downregulating the level of ROS, inhibiting the activation of MAPKs signaling and downregulating the levels of the inflammatory cytokines IL-1β and TNFɑ in mouse brains. LYC ameliorated synaptic dysfunction by increasing the expression of the neurotrophic factor BDNF and synaptic proteins. Moreover, LYC attenuated D-gal-induced mitochondrial morphological damage, and promoted the expression of mitochondrial functional proteins. LYC also promoted insulin signal transduction in mouse brains through the regulation of IRS-1/AKT/GSK3β signaling. Lycopene attenuated D-galactose-induced cognitive impairment by alleviating oxidative stress, neuroinflammation, and brain ageing and further enhancing mitochondrial function and improving insulin signalling in the brains of female CD-1 mice. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lycopene (LYC) has been regarded as a nutraceutical that has powerful antioxidant and hepatoprotective bioactivities. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the beneficial effects of LYC on hepatic insulin signal transduction under oxidative stress conditions and the possible involvement of FGF21 and mitochondria pathways. Two-month-old CD-1 mice were treated by intraperitoneal injection of D-galactose (D-gal) 150 mg/kg/day for 8 weeks and received 0.03% LYC (w/w, mixed into diet). The results showed that LYC increased the expression of FGF21, alleviated mitochondrial dysfunction and improved hepatic insulin signal transduction in D-gal-treated mice. Furthermore, knockdown of FGF21 by small interfering RNA notably suppressed mitochondrial function and blunted LYC-stimulated insulin signal transduction in H2O2-treated HepG2 cells. Moreover, suppressed mitochondrial function via oligomycin also inhibited insulin signal transduction, indicating that LYC supplementation ameliorated oxidative stress-induced hepatic dysfunction of insulin signal transduction by up-regulating FGF21 and enhancing mitochondrial function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Limited furfural yields and reagent waste are often the critical problems of conventional zeolite catalytic systems. Consequently, in the present study, an efficient solid acid catalyst (Cr-deAl-Y) containing Cr was prepared from H Y zeolite via dealumination and ion exchange. The modified catalyst possesses more strong acid sites and a more developed pore structure. Cr-deAl-Y was used to catalyze the conversion of xylose into furfural in the water/n-butanol system. The maximal furfural yield was 77.5% and xylose conversion reached 99.7% after reaction at 180 °C and 30 min. After the reaction is accomplished, all components of the catalytic system can be recovered, realizing the sustainable utilization of reagents. Moreover, the catalyst cycling performance and the catalytic performance of hydrolyzed biomass xylose were evaluated under optimal conditions. [Display omitted] • Modified zeolite showed high catalytic activity in the conversion of xylose to furfural. • 77.5% furfural yield and 99.7% xylose conversion were obtained from xylose. • Components of the catalytic system can be effectively recovered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aging impairs cognitive function, whereas nutritional intervention can delay aging and age-related diseases. Lycopene (LYC), a naturally occurring carotenoid, posses multiple health-promoting properties, including neuroprotective function. Here, the effects of LYC on memory and behavioral deficits induced by D-galactose (D-gal) treatment and the relative contribution of LYC-derived gut microbiota in these process were investigated. Results demonstrated that LYC showed effective protection on D-gal induced cognitive deficit and neuronal damage. Moreover, LYC treatment has beneficial effects on gut barrier damage, microbiota dysbiosis and levels of SCFAs in D-gal-induced subacute aging mice. Next, fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) experiment was performed and increased SCFAs were observed in mice received stools from D-gal+LYC group when compared with D-gal-FMT group. Thus, we added SCFAs treatment served as a control group in order to evaluated whether the alterations of gut-brain axis could be attributed to LYC-reshaped gut microbiota and SCFAs. Results showed that recipient mice received SCFAs and stools from D-gal+LYC group have similar beneficial effects in improving gut and brain function, demonstrated as: improved intestinal health via elevating antioxidant enzymes contents, increasing the expressions of tight junctions proteins and protecting gut barrier, enhanced mice working memory capacity via alleviating hippocampal neurons impairment, improving synaptic function and enhancing mitochondrial function in the intestinal pseudo-aseptic mice. In conclusion, our results demonstrated that LYC-derived microbiome played a pivotal role in the regulation of cognitive functions during aging and enhanced SCFAs formation might be an important signaling molecule connecting gut microbiome and brain., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interests The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The nucleotide binding oligomerization domain containing 2 (NOD2) protein and its ligand N-acetyl muramyl dipeptide (MDP) are crucially involved in Crohn's disease (CD). However, the mechanism by which NOD2 signaling is regulated in CD patients remains unclear. Ubiquitin specific protease (USP14) is a deubiquitylase that plays an important role in immunity. This study aimed to investigate the mechanism by which UPS14 regulates NOD2 induced inflammatory response in CD and inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). Our results showed that USP14 protein and mRNA levels in intestinal tissues of CD patients were significantly higher than those in healthy controls. In addition, USP14 was upregulated in IBD mouse model. While treatment with MDP, TNF-α or the Toll-like receptor 1/2 agonist Pam3CSK4 all led to significantly higher mRNA levels of TNF-α, IL-8 and IL-1β in THP-1 cells, pretreatment with USP14 inhibitor IU1 could stimulate further upregulation of TNF-α, IL-8 and IL-1β. In particular, MDP promoted the activation of JNK, ERK1/2 and p38 as well as NF-kB in THP-1 cells, and IU1 significantly enhanced the MDP-induced activation of these proteins without effects on USP14 protein level. Furthermore, the JNK inhibitor sp600125, ERK1/2 inhibitor U0126 or P38 MAPK inhibitor PD169316 significantly decreased the mRNA levels of TNF-α, IL-8 and IL-1β in THP-1 cells stimulated by both IU1 and MDP. In conclusion, our findings suggest that USP14 could inhibit MDP-induced activation of MAPK signaling and the inflammation response involved in IBD, and that USP14 is a potential therapeutic target for IBD.

Phenylarsine oxide (PAO) is a known environmental pollutant and skin keratinocytes are most seriously affected. Baicalin (BCN) was reported to have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects, but its protective effect against PAO toxicity is unknown. This study aimed at exploring whether baicalin can reverse the toxicity of human epidermal keratinocytes that are subjected to PAO exposure and underlying mechanisms. In silico analysis from a publicly accessible HaCaT cell transcriptome dataset exposed to chronic Arsenic showed significant differential expression of several genes, including the genes related to DNA replication. Later, we performed in vitro experiments, in which HaCaT cells were exposed to PAO (500 nM) in the existence of BCN (10-50 µM). Treatment of PAO alone induces the JNK, p38 and caspase-3 activation, which were engaged in the apoptosis induction, while the activity of AKT was significantly inhibited, which was engaged in the suppression of apoptosis. PAO suppressed SIRT3 expression and induced intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS), causing a marked reduce in cell viability and apoptosis. However, BCN treatment restored the PAO-induced suppression of SIRT3 and AKT expression, reduced intracellular ROS generation, and markedly suppressed both caspase-3 activation and apoptosis induction. However, the protective effect of BCN was significantly attenuated after pretreatment with nicotinamide, an inhibitor of SIRT3. These findings indicate that BCN protects against cell death induced by PAO via inhibiting excessive intracellular ROS generation via restoring SIRT3 activity and reactivating downstream AKT pathway. In this study, we firstly shown that BCN is an efficient drug to prevent PAO-induced skin cytotoxicity, and these findings need to be confirmed by in vivo and clinical investigations., 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 © 2024. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Toll/interleukin-1 receptor (TIR) domain-containing proteins play a critical role in immune responses in diverse organisms, but their function in bacterial systems remains to be fully elucidated. This study, focusing on Escherichia coli, addresses how TIR domain-containing proteins contribute to bacterial immunity against phage attack. Through an exhaustive survey of all E. coli genomes available in the NCBI database and testing of 32 representatives of the 90% of the identified TIR domain-containing proteins, we found that a significant proportion (37.5%) exhibit antiphage activities. These defense systems recognize a variety of phage components, thus providing a sophisticated mechanism for pathogen detection and defense. This study not only highlights the robustness of TIR systems in bacterial immunity, but also draws an intriguing parallel to the diversity seen in mammalian Toll-like receptors (TLRs), enriching our understanding of innate immune mechanisms across life forms and underscoring the evolutionary significance of these defense strategies in prokaryotes., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

METTL14 functions as an RNA methyltransferase involved in m6A modification, influencing mRNA biogenesis, decay, and translation processes. However, the specific mechanism by which METTL14 regulates glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) to promote the progression of lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) is not well understood. Quantitative measurement and immunohistochemistry (IHC) analysis have demonstrated higher levels of m6A in LUAD tissues compared to adjacent normal tissues. Additionally, the expression of METTL14 was significantly increased in LUAD tissues. In LUAD cell lines, both METTL14 and m6A levels were elevated compared to normal human lung epithelial cells. Knockdown of METTL14 markedly reduced LUAD cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. Conversely, overexpression of METTL14, but not the mutant form, significantly enhanced these cellular processes in LUAD. In vivo studies using nude mice with subcutaneously transplanted LUAD cells demonstrated that stable METTL14 knockdown led to notably reduced tumor volume and weight, along with fewer Ki67-positive cells and lung metastatic sites. Importantly, METTL14 knockdown reduced glycolytic activity in LUAD cells. Through a combination of RNA sequencing and MeRIP-sequencing, we identified numerous altered genes and confirmed that IGF2BP2 enhances G6PD mRNA stability after METTL14-mediated m6A modification, thereby promoting tumor growth and metastasis. Moreover, LUAD patients with higher levels of G6PD had poorer overall survival (OS). In conclusion, our study indicates that METTL14 upregulates G6PD expression post-transcriptionally through an m6A-IGF2BP2-dependent mechanism, thereby stabilizing G6PD mRNA. These findings propose potential diagnostic biomarkers and effective targets for anti-metabolism therapy in LUAD., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: Kawasaki disease (KD) is a vasculitis of unknown etiology in children aged under 5 years. Coronary arterial aneurysm (CAA) is the major complication of KD. It is no longer though to be a self-limiting disease because its cardiovascular sequelae might persist into adulthood. NLRP3 is a key protein of the NLRP3 inflammasome that participates in sterile inflammatory disease. This study investigated the serum levels of NLRP3 in patients with KD at different stages to explore the relationships between serum NLRP3 and clinical parameters., Methods: A total of 247 children enrolled in this study. There were 123 patients in the acute stage of KD, and 93 healthy children made up the healthy control (HC) group. Among the acute KD patients, 52 had coronary arterial aneurysm (KD-CAA) and 71 did not (KD-NCAA). 36 patient samples were collected after IVIG and aspirin treatment. Additionally, 29 patients were in the cardiovascular sequelae stage. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to measure serum NLRP3 levels in all subjects., Results: Serum NLRP3 was elevated in the KD group and was even higher in the KD-CAA subgroup than in the KD-NCAA subgroup of acute-stage patients. Serum NLRP3 declined when the patients were treated with IVIG and aspirin, but during the convalescent (coronary sequelae) stage, serum NLRP3 re-increased. Serum NLRP3 was higher in the ≥ 6-mm-coronary-arterial-diameter group than that the < 6-mm-diameter group. The ROC curve of serum NLRP3 indicated its utility in the prediction of both KD and KD-CAA., Conclusions: NLRP3 may be involved in the development of KD and CAA in children with KD. Targeting NLRP3 might mitigate CAA, thereby reducing the risk of cardiovascular events in adulthood., 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 © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Cell division cycle 5-like (CDC5L) protein is implicated in the development of various cancers. However, its role in the progression of lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) remains uncertain. Our findings revealed frequent upregulation of CDC5L in LUAD, which correlated with poorer overall survival rates and advanced clinical stages. In vitro experiments demonstrated that CDC5L overexpression stimulated the proliferation, migration, and invasion of LUAD cells, whereas CDC5L knockdown exerted suppressive effects on these cellular processes. Furthermore, silencing CDC5L significantly inhibited tumor growth and metastasis in a xenograft mouse model. Mechanistically, CDC5L activates the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway by transcriptionally regulating WNT7B, thereby promoting LUAD progression. Besides, METTL14-mediated m 6 A modification contributed to CDC5L upregulation in an IGF2BP2-dependent manner. Collectively, our study uncovers a novel molecular mechanism by which the m 6 A-induced CDC5L functions as an oncogene in LUAD by activating the Wnt/β-catenin pathway through transcriptional regulation of WNT7B, suggesting that CDC5L may serve as a promising prognostic marker and therapeutic target for LUAD., Competing Interests: None., (AJCR Copyright © 2024.)

Purpose: Kawasaki disease(KD) is a vascular inflammatory disease that was first identified in 1967. Numerous studies have been conducted on KD and have yielded valuable recent insights. This current bibliometric analysis aimed to determine the intellectual landscape of research interest in KD., Methods: Publications were collected from the Web of Science Core Collection. Bibliometric tools such as CiteSpace and VOSviewer were utilized to analyze the research focus, emerging trends, frontiers, and hot topics in this specific field., Results: A total of 6122 articles on KD were retrieved. Pediatric Cardiology, Pediatrics International, and Pediatric Infections Disease Journal were the three most productive journals reporting KD development. The University of California San Diego was the most productive institution, with 230 publications. The USA was the most productive country, with 1661 articles in KD. SARS-CoV-2, diagnostic serum biomarkers, and risk factor prediction models for coronary arterial lesions and subtypes of KD are popular topics in KD research. Factors that induce smooth muscle cell transition to myofibroblastic cell, potentially halting the subacute/chronic vasculitis process and endothelial dysfunction in macrophage activation syndrome associated with KD were the frontiers in the study of KD., Conclusion: KD has attracted widespread attention worldwide that has continued to increase since 1974. The most productive institution and country are the University of California San Diego and the USA, respectively. SARS-CoV-2, serum biomarkers, and prediction models are hot topics in this field., 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.)

Background: Necroptosis could regulate immunity in cancers, and stratification of colorectal cancer (CRC) subtypes based on key genes related to necroptosis might be a novel strategy for CRC treatment., Method: The RNA-sequencing data of CRC and other 31 types of cancers were obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. Consensus clustering was performed based on protein-coding genes (PCGs) related to necroptosis score calculated by single sample gene set enrichment analysis (ssGSEA). Module genes showing a significant positive correlation with the necroptosis score were identified by weighted correlation network analysis (WGCNA) and further used to develop a risk stratification model applying least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) and Cox regression analysis. The risks score for each sample in CRC cohorts, immunotherapy cohorts and pan-cancer study cohorts was calculated., Result: Two subgroups (C1 cluster and C2 cluster) of CRC were identified based on the necroptosis score. Compared with C1 cluster, the survival possibility of C2 cluster was greatly reduced, the levels of necroptosis score, immune cell infiltration, immune score and expression of immune checkpoint molecules were significantly increased and immunotherapy response was less active. Low-risk patients defined by the risk model had a significant survival advantage than high-risk counterparts in both CRC and the other 31 cancer types. Furthermore, the risk model was also more efficient than the Tumor Immune Dysfunction and Exclusion (TIDE) tool in predicting OS and immunotherapy response for the samples in the immunotherapy cohort., Conclusion: CRC patients were classified by necroptosis score-related PCGs, and a risk model was designed to evaluate the immunotherapy and prognosis of patients with CRC. The current molecular subtype and prognostic model could help stratify patients with different risks and predict their prognosis and immunotherapy sensitivity., 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.)

Predicting groundwater potential is crucial for identifying the spatial distribution of groundwater in a region. It serves as an essential guide for the development, utilization, and protection of groundwater resources. Previous studies have primarily emphasized finding the most accurate prediction model for groundwater potential while giving less attention to the selection of training features and sample sizes. This study aims to predict groundwater potential within Qinghai Province using automated machine learning technology and assess the influence of sample sizes and feature selection on prediction accuracy. Sixteen groundwater conditioning factors were categorized into categorical and numerical variables. Four feature selection modes were utilized as input in training the model. The results indicated that, except for correlations between evaporation and landforms (- 0.8) and precipitation and normalized difference vegetation index (0.8), the Pearson correlation coefficients among the remaining sixteen factors were ≤ 0.5 or ≥  - 0.5. The models XGB-ALL, RF-Entropy, ET-CRITIC, and XGB-PCA yielded accuracy scores of 0.783, 0.685, 0.745, and 0.703, and area under curve (AUC) of 0.819, 0.724, 0.779, and 0.747, respectively. If enough samples are available with the tree model, an increased number of features can improve prediction accuracy. The principal component analysis method showed difficulty in reducing the dimensionality of the input space, while the Entropy method proved efficient. The accuracy and AUC value of the prediction model improved with an increasing number of samples. Training with 8 features and 200 data points achieved an accuracy of 0.745, sufficient to evaluate regional groundwater potential. As for training with 600 samples, the model's performance accuracy rose to 0.9, enabling precise groundwater potential prediction. The outputs of this research can provide decision-makers in groundwater resource management in Qinghai Province with crucial theoretical and practical support. The lessons learned can have future applications in similar situations., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Ubiquitination (or ubiquitylation) and de-ubiquitination, which are both post-translational modifications (PTMs) of proteins, have become a research hotspot in recent years. Some ubiquitinated or de-ubiquitinated signaling proteins have been found to promote or suppress innate immunity through Toll-like receptor (TLR), RIG-like receptor (RIG-I-like receptor, RLR), NOD-like receptor (NLR), and the cyclic guanosine monophosphate (GMP)-adenosine monophosphate (AMP) synthase (cGAS)-STING pathway. This article aimed to provide a review on the role of ubiquitination and de-ubiquitination, especially ubiquitin ligase enzymes and de-ubiquitinating enzymes, in the above four pathways. We hope that our work can contribute to the research and development of treatment strategies for innate immunity-related diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Vaccines that trigger mucosal immune responses at the entry portals of pathogens are highly desired. Here, we showed that antigen-decorated nanoparticle generated through CRISPR engineering of T4 bacteriophage can serve as a universal platform for the rapid development of mucosal vaccines. Insertion of Flu viral M2e into phage T4 genome through fusion to Soc (Small Outer Capsid protein) generated a recombinant phage, and the Soc-M2e proteins self-assembled onto phage capsids to form 3M2e-T4 nanoparticles during propagation of T4 in E. coli. Intranasal administration of 3M2e-T4 nanoparticles maintains antigen persistence in the lungs, resulting in increased uptake and presentation by antigen-presenting cells. M2e-specific secretory IgA, effector (T EM ), central (T CM ), and tissue-resident memory CD4 + T cells (T RM ) were efficiently induced in the local mucosal sites, which mediated protections against divergent influenza viruses. Our studies demonstrated the mechanisms of immune protection following 3M2e-T4 nanoparticles vaccination and provide a versatile T4 platform that can be customized to rapidly develop mucosal vaccines against future emerging epidemics., 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.)

Occludin is a tight junction protein that forms the permeability barrier, which is typically disturbed in ischemic associated diseases. The aim of the present study was to determine whether somatostatin receptor 2 (SSTR 2 ) in RF/6A cells is involved in the modulation of the downregulation of occludin induced by high glucose, and to evaluate the implicated molecules. RF/6A cells were maintained in Dulbecco's modified Eagle medium and treated with 0 or 30 mM D-glucose. SSTR 2 agonist octreotide (OCT), OCT with SSTR 2 antagonist cycle-somatostatin (c-SOM) and neuropilin 1 (NRP1) inhibitor ATWLPPR, respectively, were administered to RF/6A cells under high glucose conditions. Cell apoptosis was evaluated by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick-end labeling. Western blot analysis was used to detect the protein expression level of SSTR 2 , occludin, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), protein kinase B (Akt), phosphorylated Akt (p-Akt), extracellular signal-related kinases (ERK) and p-ERK proteins. The amount of VEGF released was determined by ELISA. Notably, the level of occludin reduced significantly under high glucose conditions. The results indicated that the administration of OCT prevented the reduction of occludin induced by high glucose, and co-administration with c-SOM reversed the effect of OCT. Increased VEGF secretion and expression of VEGF, p-Akt and p-ERK in RF/6A cells induced by high glucose were inhibited by OCT. ATWLPPR also prevented the downregulation of occludin, but did not inhibit p-Akt and p-ERK levels under high glucose conditions. The current study concluded that the activation of SSTR 2 prevents high glucose-induced occludin downregulation in RF/6A cells, and VEGF, NRP1, p-Akt and p-ERK were implicated in this process. The pharmacological effects of SSTR 2 targeting to endothelium may be used to assess the role of resistance of permeability and anti-inflammation.

This study was undertaken to evaluate the utility of matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry with the Vitek MS Plus system for identifying Mycobacterium abscessus subspecies in order to facilitate more rapid and appropriate therapy. A total of 175 clinical M. abscessus strains were identified by whole-genome sequencing analysis: 139 Mycobacterium abscessus subsp. abscessus and 36 Mycobacterium abscessus subsp. massiliense The research-use-only (RUO) Saramis Knowledge Base database v.4.12 was modified accordingly by adding 40 M. abscessus subsp. abscessus and 19 M. abscessus subsp. massiliense reference spectra to construct subspecies SuperSpectra. A blind test, used to validate the remaining 116 isolates, yielded 99.1% (n = 115) reliability and only 0.9% (n = 1) error for subspecies identification. Among the two subspecies SuperSpectra, two specific peaks were found for M. abscessus subsp. abscessus and four specific peaks were found for M. abscessus subsp. massiliense Our study is the first to report differential peaks 3,354.4 m/z and 6,711.1 m/z, which were specific for M. abscessus subsp. massiliense Our research demonstrates the capacity of the Vitek MS RUO Saramis Knowledge Base database to identify M. abscessus at the subspecies level. Moreover, it validates the potential ease and accuracy with which it can be incorporated into the IVD system for the identification of M. abscessus subspecies., (Copyright © 2016, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.)