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Abstract Background The purpose of this study was to evaluate the role of osteoprotegerin gene (OPG) polymorphisms as genetic modifiers in the etiology of prostate cancer (PCa) and disease progression. Methods Three hundred and sixty one patients with PCa and 195 normal controls were enrolled in the study, and two genetic polymorphisms, 149 T/C and 950 T/C in the putative promoter region of OPG, were genotyped. Results There was no significant difference in the genotype frequencies between PCa patients and controls (P = 0.939 and 0.294 for 149 T/C and 950 T/C polymorphisms, respectively). However, those patients with TC and TT genotypes in the 950 T/C polymorphism had a significantly increased risk of extraprostatic (age-adjusted odds ratio; aOR = 1.74 and 2.03 for TC and TT genotypes compared with the CC genotype, P = 0.028) and metastatic disease (aOR = 1.72 and 2.76 for TC and TT genotypes compared with the CC genotype, P = 0.009) compared with those with the CC genotype. In addition, analysis of the metastatic PCa patients (Stage D) showed that the presence of the T allele of the OPG 950 T/C polymorphism was an independent risk factor predicting survival by Cox proportional hazard regression analyses (P = 0.031). Conclusion Progression of PCa may be influenced by an intrinsic genetic factor of the host's bone metabolism. The variant C allele of 950 T/C in the OPG promoter may play a major role as a genetic safe guard against progression in patients with PCa.

Developing a single emitter with dual emission or multi‐emission, termed as single‐molecule white‐light emission (SMWLE), has attracted more and more attention. However, the exploration of fluorescence‐RTP SMWLE is very challenging because purely organic RTP molecule is still at the preliminary stage. Here, a robust white‐light emitting is successfully achieved through dual‐mode phosphorescence by incorporating intramolecular electron coupling. A series of carbazole–nicotinamide isomers are designed and synthesized. Dyads 2–4 show efficient room‐temperature persistent phosphorescence with the highest quantum yield of 21.3% and the longest lifetime of 846 ms. In particular, dyad 4 manifests robust white‐light emitting property with a rather high phosphorescence quantum yield of 11.2%. The calculated CIEx,y chromaticity coordinate is (0.26, 0.28) in the white‐light zone. Interestingly, dyad 4 is sensitive to mechanical force and acid, demonstrating the multi‐state stimuli‐responsive properties. It is found that the force‐induced phase transition from crystalline to amorphous drives the dual‐mode mechanochromism (fluorescence shift and phosphorescence on–off), and the protonation of pyridine units results in acidichromism. Moreover, a RTP self‐enhancement process is observed. Dyad 4 is a considerably rare white‐light‐emitting purely organic RTP molecule with multi‐responsive luminescence via dual‐mode phosphorescence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The lungs possess an effective antimicrobial system and a strong ability to eliminate microorganisms in healthy organisms, and were once considered sterile. With the development of culture-independent sequencing technology, the richness and diversity of porcine lung microbiota have been gaining attention. In order to study the relationship between lung microbiota and porcine respiratory disease complex (PRDC), the lung microbiota in healthy and diseased swine bronchoalveolar lavage fluids were analyzed and compared using the Illumina MiSeq sequencing platform. The predominant microbial communities of healthy and diseased swine were similar at the phylum level, mainly composed of Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, Tenericutes, and Bacteroidetes. However, the bacterial taxonomic communities of healthy and diseased swine differed at the genus level. The higher relative abundances of Lactococcus, Enterococcus, Staphylococcus, and Lactobacillus genera in healthy swine might provide more benefits for lung health, while the enhanced richness of Streptococcus, Haemophilus, Pasteurella, and Bordetella genera in diseased swine might be closely related to pathogen invasion and the occurrence of respiratory disease. In conclusion, the observed differences in the richness and diversity of lung microbiota can provide novel insights into their relationship with PRDC. Analyses of swine lung microbiota communities might produce an effective strategy for the control and prevention of respiratory tract infections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: The liver is an immune‐privileged organ with a tolerogenic environment for maintaining liver homeostasis. This hepatic tolerance limits the intrahepatic CD8+ T‐cell response for eliminating infections. The tolerant microenvironment in the liver is orchestrated by liver‐specific immunoregulatory cells that can be functionally regulated by pathogen‐associated molecular patterns (PAMPs). Here, we report that flagellin, a key PAMP of gut bacteria, modulates the intrahepatic CD8+ T‐cell response by activating the TLR5 signalling pathway of hepatocytes. We found that mice treated with Salmonella‐derived recombinant flagellin (SF) by hydrodynamic injection had a significantly elevated IFN‐γ production by the intrahepatic lymphocytes in 7 days after injection. This was correlated with a reduced immune suppressive effect of primary mouse hepatocytes (PMHs) in comparison with that of PMHs from mock‐injected control mice. In vitro co‐culture of SF‐treated PMHs with splenocytes revealed that hepatocyte‐induced immune suppression is alleviated through activation of the TLR5 but not the NLRC4 signalling pathway, leading to improved activation and function of CD8+ T cells during anti‐CD3 stimulation or antigen‐specific activation. In an acute HBV replication mouse model established by co‐administration of SF together with an HBV‐replicating plasmid by hydrodynamic injection, SF significantly enhanced the intrahepatic HBV‐specific CD8+ T‐cell response against HBV surface antigen. Our results clearly showed that flagellin plays a role in modulating the intrahepatic CD8+ T‐cell response by activating the TLR5 pathway in PMHs, which suggests a potential role for gut bacteria in regulating liver immunity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the apparent activation energy of coal samples during pyrolysis with NiCl2, FeCl3, Ni(NO3)2 and Fe(NO3)3 in-situ loaded on was calculated. The results show that metal salts promote the devolatilization process with the activation energy decreased by 24.28%, 13.27%, 38.61%, and 41.53%, corresponding to NiCl2, FeCl3, Ni(NO3)2 and Fe(NO3)3 respectively. And the catalytic effect on the evolution of H2 and CH4 was also studied via TG-MS test. Except Fe(NO3)3, the adding of other metal salts made activation energy of CH4 and H2 descend. NiCl2-coal sample has the least activation energy of CH4, which indicates a closer interaction with coal matrix compared with Ni(NO3)2. However, the activation energy of H2 for NiCl2-coal sample and Ni(NO3)2-coal sample varies little. To further investigate the catalytic effect during pyrolysis, hydrogen distribution in solid residues was analyzed according to the FTIR spectrums. The relatively abundant hydrogen content in aromatic structure when ferric salts were added indicates the hydrogen transfer to aromatic rings under the effect of Fe element. And FeCl3 has a superior effect compared with Fe(NO3)3. The difference in the catalytic effect between metal nitrates and metal chlorides could be ascribed to the different behaviors during the decomposition process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: A retrospective analysis verified the role of gene mutations in brain metastasis in patients with non‐small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods: Data from 552 patients with advanced NSCLC treated from January 2015 to June 2017 in the Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Zhengzhou University were retrospectively analyzed. Next‐generation sequencing was used to detect mutations in eight reported driver genes and various risk factors were evaluated. Results: Of the 552 patients with advanced NSCLC, 153 (27.7%) had brain metastases. The univariate analysis showed that age (P =.008), gender (P =.016), smoking history (P =.010), lymph node metastasis (P =.003), and three driver genes, positive epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation (P =.001), positive anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) gene fusion (P =.021), and positive rearranged during transfection (RET) gene fusion (P =.003), were the factors influencing the incidence of brain metastasis. Logistic multivariate regression analysis revealed that positive EGFR mutation (P =.012), positive ALK gene fusion (P =.015), positive RET gene fusion (P =.003), pathological type (P =.009), lymph node N2‐3 metastasis (P <.001), and a younger age (P <.001) were independent risk factors for brain metastasis. In addition, a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was plotted with the above factors with an area under the curve = 0.705 (P <.001). Conclusions: An EGFR mutation, ALK gene fusion, and RET gene fusion in advanced NSCLC patients play roles in brain metastasis as positive driver genes. Impact: An EGFR mutation, and ALK and RET gene fusions are risk factors for brain metastasis in advanced NSCLC patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mosquitoes harbour a diversity of viruses and are responsible for several mosquito‐borne viral diseases of humans and animals, thereby leading to major public health concerns, and significant economic losses across the globe. Viral metagenomics offers a great opportunity for bulk analysis of viral genomes retrieved directly from environmental samples. In this study, we performed a viral metagenomic analysis of five pools of mosquitoes belonging to Aedes, Anopheles and Culex species, collected from different pig farms in the vicinity of Shanghai, China, to explore the viral community carried by mosquitoes. The resulting metagenomic data revealed that viral community in the mosquitoes was highly diverse and varied in abundance among pig farms, which comprised of more than 48 viral taxonomic families, specific to vertebrates, invertebrates, plants, fungi, bacteria and protozoa. In addition, a considerable number of viral reads were related to viruses that are not classified by host. The read sequences related to animal viruses included parvoviruses, anelloviruses, circoviruses, flavivirus, rhabdovirus and seadornaviruses, which might be taken up by mosquitoes from viremic animal hosts during blood feeding. Notably, sample G1 contained the most abundant sequence related to Banna virus, which is of public health interest because it causes encephalitis in humans. Furthermore, non‐classified viruses also shared considerable virus sequences in all the samples, presumably belonging to unexplored virus category. Overall, the present study provides a comprehensive knowledge of diverse viral populations carried by mosquitoes at pig farms, which is a potential source of diseases for mammals including humans and animals. These viral metagenomic data are valuable for assessment of emerging and re‐emerging viral epidemics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A Co–CoSe core–shell heterostructure encapsulated into nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes enables superior zinc air battery performance (172 mW cm−2) and stability (970 h). The enhanced bifunctionality and stability originates from the modulated d band center and confinement effect, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Getah virus (GETV) is an important zoonotic pathogen with an extensive host range, including horses, pigs, cattle, sheep, birds, and humans, resulting in substantial losses in the livestock and agricultural industries; as such, the prevalence and impact of GETV are significant concerns in China. In this study, the antigen domain of the E2 glycoprotein of GETV was expressed and purified in the Escherichia coli expression system, and an on-site immunochromatographic strip (ICS) was successfully developed to detect GETV antibodies in horses. The ICS has the advantages of being rapid, sensitive, specific, and is an effective method for the detection of GETV in horses that does not rely on special equipment or skilled personnel and can be used for the field diagnosis of GETV in horses. The prevalence and impact of Getah virus (GETV) are significant concerns in China. GETV can infect a wide range of animals, including horses, pigs, sheep, cattle, birds, and humans, resulting in substantial losses in the livestock and agricultural industries. GETV infection can cause the development of ulcers and inflammation in the mouth and gums of horses, which result in pain and discomfort and lead to symptoms such as reduced appetite, drooling, and difficulty chewing. As a result, there is a pressing need for efficient and rapid disease diagnosis methods. However, the currently available diagnostic methods have limitations in terms of operational time, equipment, and the experience of the individuals using them. In this study, a rapid, specific, and sensitive detection method was developed using a colloidal gold-based immunochromatographic strip (ICS) for the detection of antibodies against GETV in horses. To prepare the ICS, the antigen domain of the E2 glycoprotein of GETV was expressed using the Escherichia coli expression system after analysis with DNAstar v7.1 software. The nitrocellulose membrane was coated with rE2 protein or SPA to form the test line and control line, respectively. After optimizing the reaction conditions, the sensitivity, specificity, and repeatability of the strip were verified. The results showed that the test strip had a detection limit of up to 1:320 dilutions for GETV-positive serum, with no cross-reactivity observed with other equine-susceptible pathogens such as equine arteritis virus (EAV), equine herpesvirus-1 (EHV-I), equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV), equine influenza virus (EIV), African horse sickness virus (AHSV), and Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV). Furthermore, the ICS exhibited a concordance rate of 94.0% when testing 182 clinical serum samples compared to the virus neutralization test. Overall, this ICS diagnosis method will be an effective tool for the rapid detection of GETV in the field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]